Holding It In

Part 5

The Matrix does NOT belong to me. Sure, I want it and all, but it's not happening. Judging by all the money they're raking in, I don't think the Wachowskis will ever be willing to give it up to a person like me. Sorry this one took so long. I was away for a little while. *Chord*, I hope you're happy with my attempt in writing romance.

His hand caressed her stomach gently, his fingers tracing over every inch. He seemed mesmerized by his child, his own flesh and blood, growing inside the woman he loved. What more, besides freedom, of course, could he ask for?

Every so often he would glance up at Trinity, her sleeping figure peaceful and carefree. She was six months into her pregnancy, but the baby was still small and Morpheus was the only one that noticed. Trinity's loose clothes helped to cover the baby. Morpheus kept it quiet from the rest of the crew, though he still thought it was Neo's. Not wanting to do any harm to Trinity or the baby, he tried to limit her time in the Matrix to a minimum, much against her wishes.

Neo lay and watched over his sleeping angel with nothing but love and affection shinning through his eyes. Without warning or reason Trinity's eyes shot open, straining to become accustom to the darkness covering the room like a veil. When she saw it was Neo lying beside her, she sighed deeply, comforted by his presence; she was always afraid now, just when she woke up, afraid that she would find someone other than Neo lying next to her.

"How long have I been asleep?" She propped herself up on her shoulders, her duties always her top priority.

Neo chuckled, gently pushing Trinity back down onto the bed. "Everyone's asleep; can't you tell?" He was talking about the darkness that came at the same time every night, even thought the crew never knew what time it really was. They estimated the lights to go off at around nine o-clock. Because there was no sun, it was impossible to determine whether it was night or day. Zion established a standard "lights out" time for all ships to go by.

Trinity shivered and pulled the blanket tight around her body and coughed twice, her eyes shut tight, trying to fight the pain in her throat. "Is it just me," Neo said, wrapping his arms around Trinity's body, cold as ice. "Or is it getting colder?"

Nights were always colder because all the power was shut off. It was a benefit because squiddies would rarely notice signs of life in the dark, barren sewers. Trinity's body went tight when a coughing fit came over her. Neo could do nothing but wait for it to pass. It frustrated him when he could do nothing but watch his beautiful Trinity in pain. He wondered if she was taking any medicines or if it would cause the baby any harm.

"Cold never helped a cold." Trinity said, her voice strained and hoarse. Neo, massaging her forehead gently, suggested that she should go back and sleep. Trinity shook her head. "I'm not so tired."

Neo sank back against the hard pillow. "Well I sure am." How long had he stayed awake, watching over Trinity as she slept?

The sides of Trinity's mouth turned up to form a playful smirk. "Were you watching me?"

"Yeah…" Neo admitted, wanting to tell Trinity how beautiful she was without making a complete fool of himself. He knew she didn't care about looks; maybe that's why she always looked so amazing.

Trinity snuggled closer to Neo and shut her eyes, her mouth stretching into a yawn. "I guess I am tired." She confessed, her throat aching with each word. Neo turned her head towards his and kissed her gently.

"Now you'll get sick." Trinity said, almost irritated. "That's just what you need." Her voice softened a little when Neo grinned.

"We can both be sick together." And then they kissed again, more loving, more passionate. Trinity fell asleep in minutes. Neo stayed awake until he was sure the figure next to him was sleeping before closing his eyes.

***

"What's wrong with Trinity?" Glitch asked, massaging her temples gently, trying to get rid of a headache. She sat in the operators chair, her face bathed in green light.

From behind the screens of code came another female voice. "She's sick." It was Dion.

"Again." Glitch added, getting up from the chair and walking behind the table to find Dion and Kane, the newest of the unplugged, sitting in two of the vintage dentist chairs.

Kane looked at Glitch, his body trembling from the cold, even beneath the blanket he had wrapped tightly around his frail form. The cold was something he was bound to get used to. Everyone else had. "What do you mean, again?"

Glitch walked around the table, grinning wickedly. Dion knew that look and giggled. "Glitch, what did you do?"

"It's light's out," Glitch stated, sitting down in another chair. "Why are you both up?" Kane, immediately thinking he was being accused of doing something wrong, like being awake was a bad thing, began stuttering apologies. Dion patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"Chill, man. It doesn't matter." She knew Glitch had done something. She was always pulling pranks. "What did you do, Glitch?" She asked again.

"What are you blaming me for?" Glitch put her hand on her heart, pretending to be insulted. "I can't help it if I accidentally tripped over the wire and shut off the lights."

Dion was on the floor laughing. Kane had a faint smile on his face. He was still recovering from the shock of waking up in the power plant, but he had let his guard down enough to begin to trust the crew. Glitch's eyes held the look of a mad woman, mad and crazy, yet somehow managing to be loveable at the same time. "If I'm correct, it's about eleven in the morning, Zion Time."

"Well I do appreciate you letting me sleep those extra hours, but you should have said that a little quieter." Glitch turned to find Neo standing by the ladder. He grinned at Glitch's antics as she hid behind one of the dentist chairs.

"Don't hurt me!" She wailed, peeking out to see if Neo was approaching.

"I should go turn the power back on." Neo said, collapsing into the Operator's chair. "But I don't think I can walk that far." He rubbed his eyes. "Too tired to make it."

Glitch, seeing how Neo had no intentions of harming her at the moment, came out of her hiding place. "Really, Neo, what's wrong with Trinity?" Neo looked up at the three pairs of eyes looking down at him. Blue, brown and green; Glitch, Dion and Kane. What should he tell them? That she was pregnant? No, then they wouldn't leave Trinity alone. But whatever he should say, he'd better say it soon. The quickly lengthening silence was a dead giveaway that something was going on and he didn't want to say so.

"What do you mean?" He said, pretending to be completely ignorant to what he knew. "She's not sick."

"Well, can you call her constant stomach pains and her frequent dashes to the toilet healthy?" Dion asked, rolling her eyes.

Neo couldn't tell them. It would ruin everything. Trinity would let them know when she wants to. "She's fine."

"Don't lie to us, Neo." Kane spoke softly, keeping his green eyes on the floor. "Even I can see that she's pregnant."

Dion looked shocked; Glitch was delighted. "You? A dad?" She clapped her hands together. "That'll be great." Kane glanced at Neo for a heartbeat before moving his eyes back to the floor, but he saw what he had done to Neo, who's eyes were darting around, his brain racing to come up with an excuse.

"She-She never told me anything. She's just a little sick." Neo rose from the chair and turned to walk away. "She's not pregnant. She would have told me." And he disappeared down the ladder.

Dion and Glitch both looked at Kane, who wrapped the blanket tighter around him. Without another word, he, too, was gone down the ladder. The two girls exchanged matching confused looks before Dion left Glitch alone in the Core.

The lights flickered on minutes later.