Trinity woke up the next day to another wave of nausea. She stayed in bed though, fighting it. It finally abated and she rolled over to wrap her arms around Neo. It frightened her, how much she loved him. He'd been so amazing, going into the Matrix everyday, shouldering the responsibility of being the One and also working closely with Morpheus. Together, they'd decided on the next person to take out, a fourteen year old girl who went by Christala. Things were moving quickly towards the destruction of the Matrix. Unfortunately Morpheus had kept her out of the Matrix lately. He didn't want her going in sick. Being sick, even if you felt fine while in the Matrix, made you more vulnerable to Agent attacks. It slowed your reaction times. Trinity knew this and it made sense, but it infuriated her not to be able to help. She just wished she'd get over whatever this was so she could fight.

Neo felt Trinity shift next to him and opened his eyes, smiling down at her. Neo brushed his lips over her hair gently. "Morning," he whispered.

Trinity leaned back and smiled, meeting his lips with hers. "Morning," she answered. "Did I wake you?"

Neo shook his head. "Not really. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Trinity answered by reflex.

Neo stared at her, the look that said he knew she was lying. "Really? You looked pretty sick last night."

Trinity sighed and rolled over, annoyed. "Okay, so I've been a little sick lately," she admitted.

"How long?" Neo asked, rubbing her arm gently. He thought he knew, but just to make sure...

"About a month, I guess. It's gotten worse lately."

"We should have Tank or Dozer run some tests."

"No!" Trinity rolled over quickly, which was a bad idea with her stomach. She closed her eyes against the wave of nausea that passed over her and gripped the blanket tightly.

Neo covered her hands with his, gently rubbing the backs of them until her eyes opened again several minutes later. "Once we figure out what's wrong, we can start fixing it," he said softly.

Trinity shook her head. "It's probably a cold or something, nothing Tank or Dozer can fix."

"If it keeps up for a few more days, will you let us find out what's wrong?"

Trinity sighed. "Fine. But it's nothing."

"Then the tests will show that," Neo pointed out. "Do you want to go have breakfast, or do you want to sleep some more?"

"I don't really want breakfast, but everyone's probably up already, so I'll go with you."

Neo nodded and helped Trinity stand, pulling her into his arms and holding on tightly. Trinity couldn't help but smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist and allowed him to hold her. Neo was her only weakness, the only person she let herself be vulnerable to. The only person she let take care of her. After a minute, Neo pulled back and kissed her again. "Let's go."

They walked into the kitchen to find everyone but Morpheus already there. Neo made himself a bowl of white goop and got a small bowl for Trinity while she sat down next to Mouse. When Neo placed Trinity's bowl in front of her, she looked up at him questioningly. Hadn't she just said that she didn't want food?

"You have to keep your strength up," Neo explained in a whisper.

Trinity knew this, but she wished they had crackers or toast or something that didn't look that gross to eat. She began eating, slowly, trying to will the goop to stay in her stomach. She was only about halfway through when Morpheus entered.

"We're getting her tonight," he said seriously. "We'll make first contact with her as soon as you're done."

Neo wolfed down what was left of his goop and the others followed suit. Trinity threw hers away. She knew it was a waste of perfectly good "food," but just the idea of eating was making her feel sick again. She waited until Neo was gone though first, not wanting him to worry about her. She joined the rest of the crew which was crowded around the screens while Morpheus talked to them.

"I've sent Choi over with a phone for her, he'll be there in about 20 minutes. We'll have her meet Trinity, Neo, and Apoc at the bridge, then take her to the hotel."

"Is the hotel still safe?" Switch interrupted. "Look what happened last time."

"I know. But they think we've moved on, so it's safe to use it this one last time. After tonight, we'll have to find somewhere else. Switch, you and Mouse are going in to check on that this afternoon."

Switch and Mouse nodded. Neo caught Morpheus's eye and nodded to the side, indicating that he wanted to speak privately with their leader. Morpheus nodded and they walked off to the side.

"Are you sure Trinity should go in?" Neo asked worriedly.

"Why shouldn't she?"

"She's been sick lately."

Morpheus nodded. "I noticed that. But I think it's important for the girl to feel safe and we need a woman to do that."

"Can't you send Switch?"

Morpheus sighed. "Are you thinking like a fighter here or like a boyfriend?"

"Both," Neo insisted. "Trin's being sick could compromise the mission and this girl is important to us."

"I don't want to send Switch, she almost lost you for us," Morpheus said. "Trinity is more subtle. I think that she'll be okay, but we'll have her rest today."

"She won't like it," Neo warned.

"Who won't like what?" Trinity asked, appearing suddenly. She'd had a bad feeling when Neo had wanted to speak with Morpheus privately.

"Switch. Won't like scouting for new bases," Neo covered quickly.

Trinity gave him a suspicious look. "She'll do it."

Morpheus nodded. "They're about to contact her..."

Christala was sitting at her computer. Her long curly red hair was pulled into a ponytail and her feet were tucked under her. At fourteen, she looked more like twelve, being short and skinny. But size didn't matter that much to her, she was a giant in the hacker world. She typed in "" and entered "What is the Matrix?" into the search engine. Much to her surprise, the screen went black.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed. "Stupid computer work!" She smacked a hand against the monitor. Much to her surprise, writing appeared on the screen. "'Hello, Christala'," she read softly. "'You want to know what the Matrix is? Answer the door'...what the?" she asked. A knock sounded on the door and she jumped.

Christala looked back at the computer screen which was blank, then back at the door fearfully. She took a deep breath and walked quickly to the door. She opened it to reveal a tough looking bald man. "Hello?" she asked, confused. The man handed her an envelope and walked away without a word. Christala shrugged and opened the envelope, dumping the contents into her hand. A phone? Who would send her a phone? And why? The phone rang and she answered it, surprised. "Hello?"

"Meet at the tunnel bridge in 20 minutes."

"But wait! Who are you?" Christala demanded.

"Meet there and you'll get all of your answers." The line clicked dead.

Christala paused. She didn't know who had sent her the phone, it could have been part of the System, the people who she knew tried to hurt hackers like herself. But it could be real. Christala made a decision then and grabbed her wallet and keys, stuffing them into the pocket of her overalls, and headed out.

Of course, she thought irritably as she stepped outside, it was pouring down rain. Oh well, she didn't have time to go back and grab an umbrella. Instead, she ran to the tunnel, arriving in fifteen minutes. Four minutes after she arrived a black sedan pulled up and the door opened.

A man with black hair and sunglasses, despite the rain, stuck his head out. She balked slightly, but climbed in. A woman in the front passenger side turned around.

"Hello, Christala," she said.

"Who are you?" Christala demanded.

"My name is Trinity. This is Apoc," the man driving. "And Neo," the man next to her.

Christala stared at Neo. "You're him...the one the System was after a few months ago."

"Still is, actually," Neo answered.

Christala nodded and was quiet until they reached an old hotel. She didn't think that questions were likely to be answered anyway. She looked up at the neon flashing lights, proclaiming it the Heart O' the City. They led her upstairs and opened the door. A tall black man was waiting.

"Morpheus," Christala whispered, awed.

Morpheus nodded. "Welcome. You are correct. I am Morpheus."

"And the Matrix?" Christala asked in almost a whisper.

"You ask a lot of questions, and they all will be answered. But first, you have to make a choice. What I'm about to show you is difficult to handle and you may not want to see it. Over the past few months, you've stumbled onto things that most people never see or never want to see. You have discovered the Matrix, even if you don't know what it is yet. And you have two options." Morpheus held out his hand containing one blue and one red pill. "You can take the blue pill. You'll wake up at home with no memory of tonight, Neo, the Matrix, or myself. Or you can take the red pill and see a truth that has frightened many people much older than yourself."

Christala stared at the pills for a minute before picking up the glass of water on the table next to her. She grabbed the red pill and swallowed it quickly, washing it down with an entire glass of water, before she could change her mind.

Morpheus nodded. "We have to move quickly." He pointed at a chair next to a shattered mirror and Christala sat down. Trinity attached sensors to her body and patted her shoulder lightly.

"You'll be fine," Trinity assured her.

Christala nodded and her eyes followed the movement around the room. The man who'd driven the car, Apoc? was sitting at a computer while Morpheus spoke to someone on a cell phone. Neo cleared his throat and Christala looked at him, confused. Neo nodded towards the mirror and she turned her head. That couldn't be right. It looked like the mirror was...healing itself. Tentatively, she reached out a finger and touched the glass. Her eyes grew wide when her finger stuck. She pulled back hard and was shocked when part of the mirror came with her. The silver liquid began moving over her entire body and she shivered.

"It's cold," she whispered. The next thing Christala knew, she was in some kind of tank with plugs attached to her. She fought her way out and gasped for air. The hoses attached to the plugs popped out and she felt as if she was being flushed. She was dropped into a large pool and splashed around desperately until a machine lowered a claw which lifter her up.

"I'm free," Christala whispered before passing out.

Morpheus waited until he was sure that Christala was free before calling Tank for an exit. While he was arranging it, Neo looked at Trinity. He'd made her rest some that day by resting with her but now she looked pale again, and tired. He walked over to where she was standing clutching the back of a chair.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

Trinity turned and pasted a small smile on her face. She loved that Neo worried about her, she knew it was a sign of love. But right then she didn't feel well. Being sick while in the Matrix was a strange experience. Right then her head was foggy and black dots kept forming in front of her eyes.

Neo heard the land line ring and picked it up, handing it to Trinity. "You go first," he said. Even if she wasn't going to protect herself, he was going to protect her. Too sick to argue, Trinity took the phone. She opened her eyes back on the Neb and blinked. The room rotated and black dots swam before her. What was wrong with her? Tank pulled the plug from her head and raised the chair so she could stand. But when she tried to move her legs, it felt like all the bones were gone from them and Trinity slid to the ground, unconscious.

"Trinity!" Tank yelled. Switch and Mouse had taken Christala to the infirmary and Dozer lifted Trinity into his arms.

"Call Morpheus and get Neo back here. I'll take her to the infirmary," Dozer said.

Tank nodded and dialed Morpheus's cell phone. "Sir, you need to send Neo back now."

Morpheus looked around anxiously. "Are there agents?"

"No, Trinity's sick, she fainted. But don't tell him, just send him back."

"All right."

Morpheus hung up and the land line rang. Neo picked up the phone and held it out to Morpheus. Neo was used to being the last to leave the Matrix since he was the One and could fight off agents better than they could. But Morpheus shook his head.

"You go."

Neo gave Morpheus a confused look. Why was Morpheus sending him back? What did he know? He put the phone to his ear and the next thing he knew, Neo was back on the Neb. He looked around quickly. "Where's Trinity?"

Tank unplugged him and raised the chair. "She fainted, Dozer took her to the infirmary."

Neo raced off and barged into the infirmary. Dozer was wetting Trinity's face with a wet cloth. Neo took the cloth from his friend and took over, talking softly to coax her awake.

Trinity felt something cool and wet on her face and could hear Neo talking above her. But where was she? She fought to open her eyes and saw Neo's face above hers. "What?" she whispered as she tried to sit up.

Neo held her shoulders down gently. He knew she must be weak still since she didn't put up much of a fight. He was really worried about her now. "You fainted, Trin, you're in the infirmary."

"Oh," Trinity whispered. "I feel better."

Neo smiled. "I'm glad. But I want Tank to run some tests on you, this has been going on for long enough."

Trinity sighed. She didn't want to take the stupid tests. She wanted to get back in and see how the newbie was doing, she wanted to fight. She didn't want to be hovered over. "I'm okay," she insisted.

Neo shook his head. "You're having the tests Trinity. The sooner we know what's wrong, the sooner we can treat it. And the sooner you can be back to fighting."

"Neo, I said that I don't want them! I'm fine, it's probably just a cold!"

Neo narrowed his eyes. "I'm so tired of this Trinity! You've been sick for weeks and you keep putting off finding out what's wrong! What are you so afraid of?!"

"Nothing! Fine, I'll have the stupid tests!" Trinity huffed. This was so stupid, she'd be fine in a few days!

Tank came over and drew four vials of blood from her arm. "I'll have the results in a few hours, you should rest until then."

Trinity shook her head. She may have given in to the tests, but she refused to not pull her weight around the ship. "I want to see how Christala's doing. Then I have to work on the new tracing system."

Neo rolled his eyes. He loved Trinity, more than words could say. But did she always have to be so hard headed? "We can check on Christala, but the tracing system will have to wait."

"Whatever," Trinity grumbled. She hated being pushed around, even by Neo. Neo pulled her gently to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist for support. She pushed his arm off of her. "I can walk," she snapped.

Neo backed off, but stayed close enough to keep an eye on her. They walked into the next room and saw Christala laying on the table. There were tiny needles stuck all over her body, sending tiny electrical impulses to her muscles to rebuild them. Morpheus and Tank were hovering over her and Neo looked at them.

"How's she doing?"

"Better than expected actually. Because she's young, her muscles aren't in as deteriorated as your were," Morpheus answered. "She should be out of here in about two weeks."

Tank looked at Trinity. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I must have just been light headed, I didn't eat much today."

"The tests should be back soon."

Trinity nodded. Her attention was drawn back to the table by a small whimper.

Christala opened her eyes and immediately shut them again, the light hurt. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

"You were freed," Morpheus answered gently. "Just rest now, you'll feel better later."

"What are you doing to me?"

"Rebuilding your muscles."

Christala closed her eyes, exhausted. Neo looked at her, then back at Morpheus. "She's so young," he said.

Tank shook his head. "Not really. We usually don't free people after they're 17 or 18. You were an exception." He glanced at the clock. "The tests should be done now."

Neo and Trinity followed him back to her room. "So they'll prove that I just have a cold," Trinity said. She didn't get why everyone was making such a big deal out of her being sick. She sat down on the cot while Tank read over the results.

He looked at Trinity and Neo and tried to figure out how to say what he had to. "I hope you enjoyed going into the Matrix," he finally said.

Trinity looked at him, confused. "I don't enjoy it, I go in to do a job and I get out, what are you talking about?"

"Well you won't be going in for awhile."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Tank smiled slightly. "You're pregnant."