A/N: Wow! What a great response to the last chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!!! I'm in a bad mood because I'm getting braces put on tomorrow and the spaces really hurt, but reading all your reviews really brightened up my day. Thanks again!!!

To anyone Australian reading this: I have nothing against Australians because I happen to be one myself. I just used a 'Crocodile Hunter' type charecter to describe Neo's father. Also, I'd like to note to Americans reading this that not all Australians are like Neo's father. In fact, most people aren't like that at all. I just thought I should mention that.

Yet another chapter I dedicate to Monique.

15

Me? Beautiful? God, Neo, don't make me laugh...

Trinity sat alone in the cockpit, repairing the engine as she thought over her conversation with Neo the previous day that had led to more than just a friendly chat- not that it had been comfortable to start with. She still felt horribly embarrassed whenever she ran into Tank (which thankfully didn't happen much since Morpheus had sent Tank to work in the core now that he was feeling up to it- which meant they were a considerable distance apart and the chances of running into him were slim), highly ashamed with herself when she stopped working to check up on Neo, and angry with herself all the time for letting it happen.

I need to apologize to him. I was the one who started it after all. He probably wasn't ready for it and now I've only damaged the weak relationship we had.

She rubbed her dirty hands on her shirt, squirming out from underneath the engine to retrieve a wrench before sliding back underneath it again. The wrench reminded her of the time Cypher had thrown one at Neo when they were fixing the boiler. Trinity had automatically taken to his side to escort him to the Med Bay. She smirked to herself as she remembered the look on Cypher's face when she'd taken Neo's arm and led him out of the room, but quickly brushed these pleasant memories aside in order to concentrate on the best way to apologize to Neo.

"Gee Neo, I'm so sorry I jumped on top of you yesterday and started to hump you like a wild animal." She said aloud sarcastically. "God, what's that going to sound like?"

Little did she know, but she wouldn't have to wait long to put her apology into use.

(o)

Neo groaned, rolling over in an attempt to find a more comfortable sleeping position. Unfortunately after spending three days in the one place, it was impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position. Not only was it (as it always had been) dirty and lumpy, but now the bed was a mess of tangled blankets and seemingly more uncomfortable than before.

This is why I hated being sick in the Matrix. Neo thought bitterly to himself. I feel so useless- like my very existence is meaningless. If I don't get up and do something soon, I think I'll explode with boredom.

He took his time getting to his feet to prevent pain. He gasped a little when his bare feet came in contact with the steel floor (After spending so much time in bed, he hadn't been expecting such a dramatic temperature change now he was unprotected from the warmth of his blankets and the boiler was out of operation). He found that someone had placed his boots neatly in the corner of the room. Taking both in hand along with an over-shirt and under-shirt that had once belonged to Apoc, he left his room in a hurry in the hopes of finding Morpheus and some work.

He had to admit, he was still in pain. But nearly all the open bullet wounds had healed over and the bruises on his stomach and back had subsided somewhat. Perhaps he wasn't as rested as he should be, but he definitely felt capable of doing something other than lying around in bed.

He made his way past the core only to overhear Tank whistling and scowled to himself. Tank was just as badly injured as I was. How come he can be up and working and I can't?

He ascended the ladder to the cockpit, choosing to check for Morpheus there first before thoroughly scanning the rest of the main deck. As he climbed, he overheard a faint scrambling from above him, accompanied by the sound of something electrical breaking, and a woman cursing. He began to move slower, stifling the sounds of his boots and his hands as he climbed. Arriving in the cockpit, he saw the lower half of Trinity's body sticking out from underneath a control panel which contained an engine.

Smiling to himself, he crawled across the floor of the cockpit and slid up under the engine beside her. Trinity didn't notice he was there until she felt something move next to her and turned only to see a pair of chestnut brown eyes staring back.

"Neo!" She cried in alarm, lifting her head in shock and banging it into the engine with a deafening pang. Pain seeped into her skull and her head began to throb madly until she could no longer hold in a cry of both agony and frustration. "Fuck!"

"Are you alright?" Neo asked through a laugh, although there was concern dancing in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Trinity lied, rubbing her aching head. "Neo, what are you doing up?"

Neo shrugged. "I hate lying around and feeling useless when everyone else is working, so I got up and came to find something to do."

"I know the feeling." Trinity replied with a sympathetic sigh, but then completely changed her tone of voice. "But Neo, y-you need to rest."

"I think I'm all rested out." Neo reasoned. "Besides, if Tank's allowed to be up and working, then why can't I?"

"Tank's different." She argued. "He only sustained one wound. A deep wound, no doubt, but only one. He's in a good enough condition to be doing light work like getting the core network back online. You, on the other hand, have sustained multiple wounds and therefore need to rest."

"I'm fine, Trinity." Neo practically begged. Some small part of him knew that what she was had something to do with the fact that she cared for him so much that she refused to let him work, even if he may be up to it because she loved him and didn't want him to be in any sort of pain. "Trust me. At least let me help you for a while, and if I start feeling sick, I'll let you know."

"Fine." Trinity said with a hint of irritable uncertainty. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be as stubborn as I am.

Neo grinned happily to himself, glad to be out of bed and doing something worthwhile and also at spending the whole day in Trinity's company. "So what do you want me to do?"

Trinity sighed, gesturing to the metal sheet above his head. "Pull that down and you'll see some wires that need rewiring. I was going to start on that once I've finished with the engine."

Maybe having Neo up isn't such a bad thing. He doesn't seem to be feeling too bad, and we really do need all the help we can get. With him helping us, we might be able to get things done much faster.

Neo did as he was told by removing the panel and then tossing it aside. Of course it was impossible for him to know which wires went where, so he relied on Trinity's instructions to complete the task.

"Green wire in blue socket, Neo. Not the other way around." Trinity corrected as she worked.

"Sorry." Neo said with a smile, removing the wires he'd only just put into the wrong place. "I was never really all that great when it came to technology."

"And yet you're an infamous computer hacker." Trinity remarked.

"I could use a computer. But if it broke down, I was stuck." Neo answered. "When it comes to repairing anything technical, I have no idea what I'm doing."

There was a pause in which neither knew what to say, although both wanted to continue the conversation. Things still felt awkward, especially for Trinity who still felt the need to apologize. Finally, she mustered up enough courage to speak.

"Neo, I want to apologize." Trinity began awkwardly, feeling her cheeks redden as she worked. "About yesterday, I mean. I-I didn't mean to-"

"To show me the meaning of the word pleasure?" Neo finished without pausing to think. Now it was his turn to blush. "Oops, thinking out loud."

Trinity couldn't deny that she wasn't flattered by Neo's comment, nor could she deny herself a smile. Maybe I'm not the only one who talks themselves...

(o)

Morpheus made his way up the ladder and into the cockpit with the intentions of finding his second-in-command. Trinity had been working for a good six hours straight without even pausing to check on Neo as she'd done so frequently in the past two days. This meant that she was either working overtime, or something was terribly wrong. Either way, he had good reason to check on her and make sure she was ok.

As he neared the top of the ladder, he heard the sounds of laughter echoing down from above him. Grasping the final rudder, he pulled himself up only to see two pairs of legs sticking out from underneath the panel that contained the cockpit's main engine. Their owners were deep in conversation, their voices rebounding off the metal walls that surrounded them.

"No kidding." Neo's voice stated seriously. "I don't see what's so funny."

"You playing a guitar is what's funny." Trinity replied with a laugh. "Sorry. I just can't picture it."

"It's true." He retorted. "I was lead guitarist in a band when I was in high school. Look, if you don't believe me, then I'll have to play for you sometime."

"I believe you, Neo." Trinity replied. "I just find it hard to imagine."

"A lot's changed since then." Neo paused. "A lot. I don't know...I guess after I left school I fell out with friends and stopped playing. I wanted to move out of home the instant I left school and live as far away from my family as possible. I went to a new city where I didn't know anyone. I became isolated...alone. My only companions were my customers and my work colleges. The only thing that kept me going....that made me want to keep living was my life within computers."

"You don't have to worry about that life anymore." Trinity said quietly. "That was Thomas Anderson's life. Not Neo's."

"You're right."

There was another pause, in which Morpheus listened intently, unable to believe his ears. In eleven years of knowing Trinity, he'd never known her to speak so openly to anyone before.

"Hey, what was your Matrix name?" Neo asked randomly.

She won't tell him. Morpheus thought. She's never told anyone that before. The only living person who knows that now in the real world is myself...although I must give Neo credit for even trying to find this out.

"You'll laugh." Trinity answered solemnly.

"I promise I won't."

Trinity took in a shallow breath, as if preparing herself for the worst. "Stephanie. My Matrix name was Stephanie Day."

"Better than Thomas Anderson." Neo said, causing Trinity to laugh.

Morpheus decided to take this as his cue to leave. He still couldn't believe Trinity would tell Neo her Matrix name, but perhaps now that things were different, he was going to see plenty more changes in her- possibly for the better.

Smiling to himself, he climbed back down the ladder, deciding to let the pair work a little longer before he demand they take a break.

(o)

It was almost impossible to get into a routine on board the Nebuchadnezzar. Yet soon Trinity found that she'd unwilling managed to form just that. She'd first wake up and meet the other crew members in the Mess Hall. Then she and Neo would spend the entire day at work in the cockpit, repairing engines and rewiring systems in order to get everything back online and working so they could travel to Zion before they froze to death without the boiler. They only stopped every few hours to take a short break to regain their strength before they resumed the task again. Because the boiler had been damaged when the E.M.P was triggered, it was impossible to take a shower and the food and water were running considerably low. So she would often go to bed dirty, hungry and exhausted only to have to wake up early the following morning and do it all again.

Her only consolation to this daunting way of life was her days spent with Neo. Perhaps she'd memorized his routine in the Matrix when he was still part of the system. Perhaps she'd fallen in love with him and even kissed him. But the more they talked, the more she realized how little she knew about him and only desired to learn more.

She didn't know when the uncomfortable silences first became replaced with frequent conversations. It must have happened gradually over the few weeks they worked together in the cockpit....the result of one blurting out their thoughts aloud and the other overhearing, coming up with a related reply. All she knew is that (as she had discovered on Neo's first conscious night aboard the Neb) he made the best company she'd ever had. It was as if he somehow knew what was happening inside her head. He knew when it was time to talk and when it was time to listen....when it was time to joke and time to be serious. But best of all was that he didn't ever try to seduce her, or bring up their relationship, leaving it at a neutral friendship that just so happened to contain love shared for the other.

She was amazed to find that she could love someone and hardly know them. And now she found that the more she knew about Neo, the more she grew to love him (if it were possible to love him even more than she already did). In fact, if it weren't for her time spent with Neo, she'd most likely fail to see any reason why she could continue living.

Neo loved talking to Trinity even more than she loved talking to him. She actually seemed to find the dull events of his life interesting and listened to what he had to say, speaking when appropriate. And what was really great about it was that by listening to her, he was able to find out more about the woman he loved, knowing that he was the only one who would ever learn this much about someone so private and closed in. It made him feel good to know that he was the one she was trusting her personal life with.

Before too long, Trinity trusted Neo enough to tell him about her Matrix family.

"My parents had a strange taste in names." Trinity explained when he questioned the origin of her Matrix name. "Because our last name was so basic it became a strange sort of tradition to give everyone in our family an interesting name. There were five people in my family other than myself: my parents, Col and Felicity, my brother Hope, and my two sisters Charity and Faith."

"Still don't think those names are as bad as Thomas Anderson." Neo commented with a cheesy grin.

"They weren't bad names." Trinity defended. "Just unusual. But I suppose they were suitable names for such an unusual family."

"What happened to them?" Neo asked curiously.

"When she was sixteen, Charity committed suicide. I was only seven or eight at the time. I honestly can't remember how old I was exactly." Trinity shook her head sadly at the memory. It had been a good few years since she had to recall the death of her older sister.

"God, Trinity, I'm sorry." Neo said with a sigh. He was getting a little tired of feeling sorry for other people by now.

"We were pretty close." Trinity continued, talking more to herself than to him. "It was quite a shock to me when she died. But not as much of a shock as it was when my parents divorced when I was eleven. Everything went wrong after Col moved away from us. Felicity couldn't keep providing us with money. Hope, my older brother, ran away from home. I found him later living on the other side of the country by means of the Matrix code with a wife and three children of his own. But he never told Felicity where he went, or if he was ok. For all she knew, he could be dead. It was very hard on her, and she started to do things....strange things. After I left, Faith was sent to live with Col, and Felicity was taken away to get the help she needed. But by that time, Morpheus had already gotten me out of the system."

"Wow, that's quite a life." Neo commented, slightly taken aback. He wondered if the emotionally challenging stages of her childhood had been the cause for Trinity's solitary and cold way of living when she became an adult. "How old were you when you were unplugged?"

"I think I was about fifteen." Trinity said thoughtfully. "I know it's been eleven years, so that should be about right."

"Were you as much of a bad-ass then as you are now?" Neo questioned playfully.

"I wouldn't say I was as much." Trinity smirked. "But I wasn't a good girl either. I never did any school work unless it was to do with technology and spent school days on the computer, which was how I was introduced to the hacking network. Then I started skipping school and spending my days at internet cafes because my family were too poor to afford a computer of their own by that time. I did seem to get into trouble with the law a lot, too. And I didn't have any friends or anyone else to bail me out. But because I was determined, I always managed to find a way out of a bad situation. One of my old teachers used to call me a stubborn mule of a child."

"I could agree to that." Neo said with a laugh. He decided to continue the conversation by changing the topic. "So when did you crack the IRS d-base?"

"When I was thirteen." Trinity said with a shrug.

"Thirteen?" He replied, awestruck. "God, you must've been an even better hacker than I thought you were."

"People often underestimate me. When they see all I've done, male hackers automatically assume I'm a man. When they discover I'm not, they forget about my list of accomplishments and consider me as some dumb broad. Those who do often get their ass kicked." Trinity paused as Neo laughed at the mental image of her putting some poor sucker in their place. Feeling slightly uncomfortable to having said so much, she thought it only fair that he do the same. "So tell me about your family."

"There really isn't all that much to tell." Neo said thoughtfully. "Compared to you life, mine is actually pretty dull."

"Tell me anyway." It wasn't a request. It was an order.

"Well, we weren't really a picture perfect family." Neo said shyly. "I hated my father, John. He was your typical Australian Joe, if you know what I mean. A balding fat ass who only had two purposes in life: to get drunk watching the football and throw barbeques in his backyard every other day."

Trinity snorted with laughter. It's hard to image someone like that could be Neo's father......the Matrix really fucked that up.

"He used to sit me down and give me this huge lecture." Neo changed his voice to a hoarse and gruff tone in imitation of his father. "The middle child will never amount to anything in life and is bound to end up a worthless failure living out on the streets." He joined Trinity in an outburst of laughter.

"You were the middle child?" Trinity asked once she'd recovered.

"I had one older brother and one younger." Neo scowled at the memory of both. "The oldest, James, was their perfect son. He always got perfect marks at school, was involved in every school sport and co-curricular activity and dated about a thousand blonde barbie doll girls in his teenage years. Every time he brought a trophy or an award home, which was about every week, my parents would celebrate by throwing a barbeque. They worshipped him....thought he was great. But what really bothered me was the way he pretended to be this perfect big brother to me so that he would gain more appreciation from others. Good thing he was such a good actor or his plan wouldn't have worked."

"What happened to him?" Trinity asked.

"He went to collage, married young, had two kids, bought them a house just down the road from my parents and got a job as a banker." Neo smirked. "Perfect and boring life for a perfect and boring guy."

"Sounds like your typical plugged-in human." Trinity stated, listening to him with interest as she worked. "What about your other brother?"

"Mark was even worse. He worshipped James, just like everyone else, and wanted to be like him in every way. But he was overweight and not too smart, or good at sports. So he seeked attention from my parents by acting cute and innocent to impress them. It worked, and soon he could get away with anything. He used to make my life hell. He'd wreck my computer, tease me, attack me and whenever I tried to get him back, he'd tell my mother and I'd get the blame."

"What was your mother like?"

"She was like my father, only tall and nosy. She loved to stick her oversized nose into everyone else's business which made her really unpopular. We were living in America before we moved to Sydney, Australia when I was about four. I think the reason we moved was because everyone in America hated her so much and she wanted to leave before things got ugly. He paused while Trinity laughed. "She agreed with my dad. She thought I wouldn't amount to anything and she wasn't afraid to tell me what was on her mind."

"Just shows how much she knows." Trinity said absent mindedly. I haven't laughed so much in all my life. It's amazing...I've never really had anything to laugh about and now I seem to be laughing all the time.

"I want to go back to see them sometime." Neo said angrily, clenching his hands into fists at the thought of his Matrix family. "To show them they were wrong."

He seemed to speak with such a passion in his voice, as if confronting his family was something he needed to do in order to completely move on. This only made it harder for Trinity to bring him back to the reality of the situation.

"Neo, people who aren't ready to be unplugged can't be told about the Matrix." Trinity reasoned. "Not only would it be dangerous to them, but also to us. They'd think you're a lunatic and alert the proper authorities- better known as the Agents. You can't tell them you're the One."

"I wouldn't have to." Neo answered, smiling shyly and looking away from her. "All I'd have to do is show them you and they'd realize they were wrong when they said I would never achieve anything great."

Trinity felt her face grow hot and said nothing, keeping her eyes on her work. For the past few weeks, she'd regarded Neo as an incredibly close friend who she happened to be deeply in love with. The friendly conversations they'd shared hadn't taken an intimate turn until now.

"I-I think that's the last of it." She stuttered, making a final adjustment to the engine she'd been repairing. "All the engines are now operational. If Morpheus and Tank have managed to sort everything out in the core and repair the fuses bellow the lower deck, then we should have enough power to get ourselves back to Zion."

She scrambled out from underneath the panel she'd been working bellow with Neo, with the intentions of making her way down to the core to tell Morpheus. Because the power was not yet back online, it was pointless to even try using the intercom and therefore communication would have to be reached by foot.

Neo pulled out from underneath the panel well in time to see her reach the top of the ladder. As she walked, his eyes subconsciously traveled down her back to a part of her he hadn't even dared to think about before. Feeling his eyes upon her, Trinity paused and turned to see Neo sprawled out across the floor using one elbow to prop himself up as he stared at her transfixededly, his eyes now roaming over her entire body and taking in each feature. Oddly enough, it didn't make her feel strange or uncomfortable (most likely a result of taking time to get to know him better, and therefore feel more comfortable around him).

"What?" He asked fake-innocently when he noticed she was staring back at him.

"Were you just checking me out?" She said sarcastically, smirking as she raised one eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

"And what if I was?" Neo smirked devilishly in reply, his voice tinged with playfulness despite the fear bubbling beneath his skin as he wondered what she'd do next.

It suddenly occurred to her that the last time she'd kissed Neo was in his room a good few weeks ago. Now abandoning all thoughts of leaving the privacy of the cockpit, Trinity crossed the room again as slowly as possible, giving him more time to take in each curve of her body as she moved. She knelt beside him, stretching out a hand to run it across his hair that was no where near as long as it had been before he was unplugged, but it was now just barely long enough for her to run her fingers through....the brown bristles of hair thick and still sticking upright like they'd been struck with jolts of electicity. Eventually, she let her hand come to rest at the back of his head.

"Then you'll get this." She whispered, mirroring his smile with her own moments before their lips connected in a passionate kiss. Smiling against her mouth, Neo wrapped his free arm (the one that wasn't holding him up) around her waist and drew her close to him until their bodies were touching.

Gasping at the close contact, Trinity sprawled out so she lay beside him, not breaking but only increasing the intensity of the kiss. Of course, she was nervous...terrified of doing the wrong thing or of being interrupted. But once again, her rational mind was useless with Neo pressed up so closely beside her that there wasn't a single space of air between them.

Neo's hand automatically moved to her hip, pushing her down and moving so that he was atop her. It was then that he discovered he loved to have her beneath him, wriggling and squirming with pleasure...so weak and helpless bellow him. It was hard for him to believe that this was the same woman he'd come to know her as. He broke their kiss and she struggled to continue it, lifting her head to nip on his lips as he pulled away until she gave up and fell back to the floor.

Using his arms to hold himself above her (one stabilizing himself on either side of her body), he watched her with an expression of interest. Her face was no longer white and cold, but flushed with pink and tinged with the dirt which powdered her cheeks. Her hair was a mess, disheveled and dirty and her clothes were tattered and torn, dripping with perspiration from the day's work. Her eyes were shut softly with pleasure, her lips parted slightly as she breathed thickly to calm her racing heart.

So tranquil...so helpless, a victim of desire...God, is this really Trinity?

Trinity opened her eyes slowly to see him staring at her, completely awestruck. His pupils were literally vibrating with love. She could see herself reflected in his eyes, her face dripping with lust as she lay beneath him. Smiling, she lifted a hand to him cheek, stroking it tenderly.

"What are you thinking?" She breathed hoarsely, her eyes now wide with want. Neo smirked, enjoying the effect he had on her as he moved his head against her hand....so soft against his skin.

"That I really should check you out more often if I'm going to get this response every time." Neo panted in reply, his voice laced with desire. Trinity let out a breath of laughter, though Neo's face remained firm. He lifted one supporting arm to take the hand that was tenderly stroking his cheek and guiding it down one side of his neck and let it rest on his shirt, covering it with his own fingers. She clenched the flimsy material, not breaking the eye contact they shared even when he removed his hand from hers and took it to her cheek instead. "God, you're beautiful."

"You keep saying that." She said with a shake of her head. "But it's not true."

"How can you even think that?" He said in bewilderment.

"Because of my little sister." Trinity replied. "Faith was the beautiful one in our family. I never cared much about looks, but perhaps I was a little jealous of her. Otherwise I would have been nicer to her when we were growing up together in the Matrix. I used to always put her down and wreck her self esteem...but she was always kind to me anyway, always so sweet. I often watch her in the Matrix to make sure that she's alright. She's nineteen now, and she's even more gorgeous than before."

Oh God, Trinity, listen to yourself! She cursed inwardly. You're talking about your beautiful kid sister at a time like this?

"She may have been beautiful, but she's not anything compared to you." Neo argued. "I don't even need to see her to know that."

How can he do that? She wondered. He's so close to actually convincing me that I am as beautiful as he says I am. It's amazing...no one has ever been able to make me feel so important before.

Trinity was obviously still uncertain. Neo sighed. "Do I need to further prove my point?"

He lowered the single arm stabilizing himself above her to bring himself against her, his lower half moving in the right place. She let out a gasp of shock when she felt him so close to her, pushing her hips up against his to try and further close the non existing gap between their bodies. She moved both hands to grope at his back as she did so, biting on the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from crying out in pleasure.

Neo began to kiss her cheek, his mouth traveling down to her neck. He could smell her so clearly now, her scent surrounding him...infecting him. He nuzzled the hollow between her neck and shoulder, his hair tickling her heated skin. She brought one hand off his back and tugged playfully at the short strands, until she cupped his chin and brought his lips to her own.

Trinity felt his tongue pressing against her lips and started to panic, truthfully afraid of experiencing her first open kiss. Her lips parted automatically and allowed him to enter her mouth involuntarily, although she couldn't deny that she didn't like what he was doing to her....didn't like the indescribable feeling of the wetness past his lips. Her tongue seemed to take on a mind of its own, pushing past his to enter his mouth. Their tongues clashed, and he moaned inside her mouth, pulling away as she emitted a soft whimper.

Neo rolled onto his back, panting with desire but remembering that the cockpit wasn't the place for that kind of....thing. Smiling, he turned on his side to face her just as she did the same. She timidly placed an arm around his neck while he draped his over her waist.

I can't believe this is...Trinity. I wouldn't have recognized her if I saw her like this a few weeks ago...before any of this happened. It's amazing that someone can go through such a dramatic change in such a short amount of time...what really amazes me is that I'm the only one who'll ever get to know or see this version of Trinity. When she lets her guard down...when she becomes less of a warrior and more of a woman.

Trinity noticed a smudge of dirt on his nose that hadn't been there before. He must've gotten it when he rubbed his nose into my neck......must've rubbed off my skin and onto his. She licked her thumb and rubbed it across his nose, smiling as she did so. Neo grinned, running his hand (the one around her waist) up and down her back soothingly yet becoming increasingly uncomfortable on the steel floor.

"Trinity?" He asked her softly. He didn't want to disturb them in this moment of peace and happiness...something so hard to find when at war. But if they didn't get up soon, they wouldn't be able to complete what they started out to do.

"Mmmm?" She answered through closed eyes, basking in the pure bliss of the moment. If it hadn't been for Neo, she wouldn't have discovered she had this side to herself....a feminine side. It must have been lying within her all this time and only needed someone to bring it to surface. In a way, kind of like Neo and his being the One.

Maybe I should let this side of me shine through a little more often. It certainly makes me feel good- more natural.

"Is it just me?" Neo continued. "Or is this floor getting more uncomfortable by the second?"

With one sentence, he brought her crashing back to reality. Trinity took in her surroundings and realized that this was neither the time nor the place to be in such a frame of mind.

"Come on." She jerked her head towards the ladder. "We better go."

She stood and made her way to the core, Neo following her lead.

(o)

Tank and Morpheus took to the ship's controls in the cockpit with Neo and Trinity standing behind them scarcely an hour later, watching intently. Of course it was impossible for four crew members to fully repair the hovercraft without the proper equipment. However, Morpheus believed they had managed to restore enough power to get them back to Zion now that Neo and Trinity had finished repairing the engines.

"We should count ourselves lucky." Morpheus stated as he started up the engines. "This area was remote enough to prevent us from encountering another sentinel attack. If one should have occurred, we would have been defenseless."

"I think we're lucky we didn't freeze to death." Tank said, rubbing his hands together to prove his point. "Without the boiler, I seriously thought we would have."

The engine jump started, bringing an end to the conversation. All were too busy ensuring that everything would run smoothly to notice Neo slide an arm around Trinity's waist, pulling her close to him as the ship shuddered to life. Trinity looked up into his eyes with surprise, only to see him staring directly in front of him, deep in thought and concentration. She then chose to do the same.

"Finally." Tank breathed a sigh of relief. "We're going home, guys."

"How long till we reach Zion?" Neo asked.

"About forty two hours." Morpheus answered instantly, not bothering to turn around (though if he would have, he would have gotten a nice suprise when he saw the way Neo and Trinity stood together). "Nearly two days."

"What's going to happen when we get there?" Neo asked after a silent pause, afraid of what the answer would be.

"First we'll dock the ship and then ensure it's given proper repairs." Morpheus said, perhaps with a little anxiousness hidden in amongst a tone of formality. "Next I'll see the Council about all that has happened while Trinity and Tank show you around and find you some accommodation. What happens next is in the council's hands."

Neo said nothing, but Trinity felt his arm tighten around her waist as he tensed. She began to caress his arm worriedly, urging him to relax. He's scared, and for good reason. Who knows what they'll do to him when they learn that he is the One......what they'll do to us. I wouldn't be able to bare it if they decided to order him to remain in Zion, or if Morpheus told them about our relationship and we had to be separated. But there's no way out of it. We have to go...have to face our fears.

"The two of you can take the next shift in a few hours. I'll wake you then." Morpheus instructed. "Get some sleep."

"Yes, sir." Trinity answered. Neo loosened his hold on her, allowing her to slide away and move to the ladder with him in close pursuit.

"Please note that he said sleep and not sex!" Tank joked as they descended the ladder.

"Tank." Trinity and Morpheus said warningly. Tank merely laughed in reply.

Neo reached the base of the ladder and a red faced Trinity waiting for him. He grinned, letting her lead him to the ladder that descended to the lower deck. Arriving at their separate rooms, Neo paused, his hand stiff on the door wheel. Confused, Trinity turned to face him worriedly, wondering if all the pressure built up over the past weeks had finally gotten under his skin. Frankly, she couldn't blame him when she was feeling in such a similar way, but for many different reasons.

Even though she'd been to Zion numerous times before, Trinity was particularly anxious about this visit. And not just because she was afraid they would take Neo from her. Tank's comment had reminded her of Apoc and Switch and how they couldn't do anything on the ship because the walls were too thin and it simply wasn't private enough. So therefore, the infrequent trips to Zion were always awaited with anticipation by the two of them. Would the situation be the same for her and Neo? Would this trip to Zion have more in store for them than just a regular visit?

Neo wasn't thinking about this theory at all. Something like making love to Trinity seemed too beautiful...too sacred...too unbelievable to even imagine, let alone think of as a possibility. He did, however, have something more on his mind that involved the woman beside him. He'd been thinking about this for almost two weeks, every time they parted to their separate rooms each night. But he had been too afraid to ask her about it, and still wondered if it should be a good idea to challenge their relationship this much.

"Is something wrong?" Trinity asked quietly.

Neo met her gaze and smiled. "Just thinking about what Tank said. It is pretty cold on board this ship without the boiler."

Trinity breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she thought he had been meaning to talk about the other comment. She didn't think she was ready to discuss what was on her mind just now.

Neo was rubbing the back of his head like something uncontrollable, a cause of his explosion of nerves. He knew what he wanted to say, but didn't know how he could say it. Trinity was watching him curiously, expecting him to say something more. When nothing else came, she turned away.

"Well....goodnight." Trinity bid him awkwardly, moving towards the door. Suddenly, a hand shot out a grasped her arm tightly, holding her back just moments before she pulled the door open. She froze, turning back to Neo. His face was stony, seemingly emotionless. But somehow she could tell he was afraid of something.

If I don't say something now, I never will. He told himself inside the privacy of his own mind.

"Wait." He said hurriedly, although it was clear she wasn't going to go anywhere. "This is going to come out all wrong but....well, there isn't an easier way to say it." He took in a deep breath, preparing for the worst. "Trinity, would you........I mean, I have a double bed, so....."

His speech came out slurred and touched with a quavering fear, yet somehow she managed to understand him perfectly. She gaped at him. He wants to share a bed? Well I wasn't expecting that! Not that I wouldn't want to share a bed with him. It isn't as if we're going to do anything, and even if it is just one step closer to a more 'intimate' relationship, there really isn't any harm in it. Hell, why not? I do love him after all, and this is what people in love do. I've never done something like this before, but why not start now?

She stepped away from her own door, bringing herself close enough to kiss him softly on his lips as her only reply. He took this to signify her consent, and was secretly rejoicing. Letting go of her arm, he tugged the door open and stood back to give her access to his room. Following her in and closing the door behind him, Neo watched as she took in the room's every detail as he took in her beauty and marveled at the knowledge that she wasn't just going to leave after she'd brought him his food and medical treatment like before when he still had his stitches in, but would stay with him the entire night.

Trinity looked around her and was instantly reminded of Apoc and Switch again. The rest of the crew seemed to have made a silent agreement not to go inside the room when it belonged to them. Even Mouse didn't dare violate that law. It seemed odd to now call it Neo's room, though he had occupied it ever since he'd first been brought in here injured and weak after battle. It seemed even stranger to call it Neo and Trinity's room, even if that was what it was going to be tonight.

Without making a sound, Trinity sat on the edge of the unmade bed and began to unbuckle her boots, Neo following her lead as he sat down beside her. Once this was done, he grasped both his shirts by the hem and pulled them off, folding them neatly and placing them at the end of the bed. He was not usually this neat with his belongings, but wanted to leave a good impression on the woman who sat beside him. Trinity remained silent as he moved into the bed and shifted over to the far side (the one closest to the wall), propping himself up with one elbow to watch her.

What does he expect? A strip show? She thought bitterly to herself. Nevertheless, she decided to change into her proper sleeping attire regardless of the embarrassment it would cause to both for the sheer sake of seeing the look on his face. She turned herself away from him completely, pulling her over-shirt off and tossing it onto the floor so that only her thin strapped black under-shirt and bra remained covering her top half.

Neo stared at her back in awe, marveling at her chalk white skin. Indeed, he'd seen her in this much clothing before, but in a more intimate situation things were somewhat different. He knew it was impolite to stare at her, but he found it impossible to tear his eyes away from her even if he wanted to try. When she stood up off the bed to let her pants drop, now wearing nothing on her lower half but a skimpy pair of black underwear that matched the under-shirt, and revealing startling white legs untouched by rays of sun, his jaw dropped automatically as she kicked the pants aside.

Trinity looked over her shoulder to read his reaction and was pleased with what she saw. His eyes were wide, glittering with lust and his jaw had literally dropped. She turned her body to face him and smiled as his eyes roamed over her skin, pausing at the gap between her shirt and underwear, revealing part of a flat stomach. She stood there for some time, just enjoying the feeling of his eyes on her, taking in every single exposed inch of her.

She's amazing. Neo marveled. How she can think she's not beautiful is beyond me. He remembered something Mouse had told him once: She's got legs to kill. Damn, isn't that the truth?

She slid delicately into the bed beside him, pulling the blankets up to cover her body. At first they lay still with a wide gap between them on the bed until Neo gained enough courage to move up against her....to touch her skin. They shifted around beneath the blankets, trying to find a position both were comfortable with. Eventually giving up, Trinity turned her back to him, tucking the blankets around her waist. Unable to bare such a great separation from her when they were so close, he shuffled up behind her, draping an arm over her waist and resting his hand on her stomach, grasping her fingers with his own and pressing his body against her.

"I like sleeping like this." He breathed into her neck, his breath tickling her skin.

"Me too." Trinity said with a sly grin at the lameness of the comment.

Time passed, and Neo held her tightly, regretting the time when he would have to let her go. Her skin felt so soft....so beautiful, and in that moment his worst fear was the dreaded hour when Morpheus would come to wake them up. He clasped her even tighter at the thought, practically strangling her waist with his grip, although she made no motion of protest. Eventually becoming too tired to remain awake any longer, he moved his head back up against her neck in order to speak into her ear.

"I love you." He whispered, sending shivers down her spine.

"I love you." She repeated, already mostly asleep as she grasped his hand even tighter.

He leaned in to gently kiss her neck before he rested his head back onto the pillow, listening to her steady breathing as she fell asleep.

In....out....in.....out.....