19
Trinity was almost certain that she would have continued to lie in Neo's arms for an eternity if it hadn't been for the fierce rapping on the front door sometime in the early hours of the morning the following day. Groaning and shifting slightly in amongst the bed sheets, she was surprised to find herself lying on her left side and pressed up against the firm muscles of Neo's chest, having not yet fully become accustomed to waking up beside him.
The rapping on the door grew louder, alerting her attentions back to what had awoken her in the first place. Beside her, she felt Neo's hot breath upon her neck suddenly slow and draw back as he stirred in a broken sleep. Hurriedly, she wriggled out of his firm arms and dropped out of the bed, moving towards the door and tugging the dress she'd tossed to the floor the previous night over her black underwear and under-shirt.
She reached the door and wrenched it open quickly, only to come face-to-face with a smirking Dwayne. She scowled. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd decided to pay her an early morning visit.
"What the hell do you want?" She muttered, her forehead creasing into frown lines.
"You." He growled, quirking a pair of uneven, tawny and bushy eyebrows seductively.
"For once, could you please get straight to the point?" She demanded bitterly, struggling not to raise her voice, lest she wake the already disturbed Neo.
"Easy, easy." He defended, holding up a set of large, sweaty palms in protest. "I can take a hint. You're obviously not interested."
"Damn straight." She muttered under her breath.
"No need to be so rude about it." Dwayne smirked. "Anyway, I came to give a message to your little lover boy."
"So now you're a messenger boy?" Trinity scoffed. "I didn't think you'd ever sink that low."
"Well sorry for existing." Dwayne boomed, much to Trinity's annoyance. "Some people aren't as attractive and well-off as that little pretty boy you've got yourself in there."
"Some people actually work for what they get." Trinity rebutted, but continued quickly before he could refute. "What's the message, Dwayne?"
"The Council brings word that he's got three hours to get himself to Zion's hospital." Dwayne replied coolly, choosing to ignore her previous comment. This struck Trinity as odd, since she had expected him to retort as he always did. But because she was desperate to rid herself of him, she decided to let this slide.
"Fine." She answered sullenly. "Now get lost."
"Anything for a lady." Dwayne posed in a bow mockfully. "Of course, you're not really much of a lady now, are you?"
Trinity said nothing, but slammed the door in his face as sharply as possible before retreating back to her bed where Neo now lay awake, staring absent mindedly up at the roof of the bed cave.
"Who was that?" He asked tiredly, rolling his head to the side to face her the moment he sensed her presence. When she saw the dark rings circling his eyes standing out against his pale skin, she was instantly reminded of the time he informed her that he was not a morning person.
"Dwayne." She shrugged, folding her arms across her chest as she watched his face darken automatically at the mere mention of the name. "He brought a message from the Council. You need to be at the hospital in three hours."
"It's too early." He complained, much to Trinity's amusement.
"It's not as early as you think it is." Trinity smiled. "I'd say it's around 9am, Matrix time. But I could be wrong. It's always so hard to tell the time in the real world, since we don't actually have a time system of our own. We've always relied on the Matrix."
"I've always dreamed of living in a world without time." Neo grinned as a lame thought bounced into his mind. Having had only just woken up to the sounds of a loud and booming voice rambling senselessly outside his door, he was still groggy with sleep and didn't even give the upcoming and unavoidable trip to the hospital a second thought. The only words he took notice of were time, 9am, and (most importantly) three hours.
"Well, we have three hours." Neo mused, still upholding a sheepish grin. "How do you suppose we pass the time?"
As if she knew exactly what was on his mind, Trinity perched delicately on the edge of the bed with a quivering smile spread across her face...almost as if she was nervous of something. Although at the time, Neo couldn't see why she should be. He was yet to even consider making love to her as a possibility.
Trinity was silent as she sat stiffly on the edge of the bed near his waist area, facing him and not knowing what his intentions would be. No, he understands that it's too early...and far too early in the morning, come to think of it...he wouldn't even think of doing something like that...would he? But then again, the last comment he made could have really meant anything...and the tone he said it in was far too bland to tell me anything...
Her train of thought was broken suddenly when she felt warm fingers press against the skin of her right arm (the one closest to the bed) and trace lightly over both metal and flesh. She stared downwards, her eyes following the fingers back to his fragile arm that still obviously needed to feel the burden of more work before it could be brought back to the strength of the average male human, until her gaze fell upon a bare chest. She allowed her eyes to linger there for a moment...taking in the fine ripples of the muscles that were still to form properly, but were definitely supremely strong for someone who had been unplugged scarcely a month ago.
Finally, her eyes traveled to his head, which was lying amongst a mound of soft and inviting plump pillows. The bristles of upstanding, deep brown coloured hair stood out vibrantly against the pallid white of the pillows, where as his pasty skin blended with the shade well, but not so well that she couldn't see the fine outlines of his body when compared to the artificial white. His face was passive and relaxed, but his lips were parted ever so slightly, and his coffee coloured eyes shimmered with lust and awe.
Suddenly, she became aware of the fact that his fingers were still grazing the skin of her right arm, and his entire body was on a minor tilt so he could do so. She couldn't help but realize just how innocent he appeared...how small and weak he seemed to be when resting upon her bed with the flimsy white sheets tucked around his waist....and if she hadn't believed he was the One as much as she believed she loved him, she wouldn't have thought that he could ever be capable of saving an entire race.
Neo didn't know what force had made him touch her arm. He supposed it was a combination of both the fact that her delicate and sunless skin was far too beautiful not to touch, and the fact that he knew (or at least hoped) that she would not protest after all they'd been through together thus far. Whatever the cause, he couldn't deny that the softness of her cold skin against his fingers was pleasurable, nor could he deny that he loved the way her eyes would pour into his when she stared down upon him...so beautiful and meaningful.
Neither knew how long they stayed this way. Sitting in complete silence and simply enjoying the sensations they were receiving in exchange for Neo's soft touches. But eventually, Trinity found herself unable to resist simply sitting there and watching him much longer. Slowly and instinctively, she lowered herself towards him and felt the hand that had been stroking her arm find its way to her hip, only drawing her closer so she could press her lips into his own.
He pulled her forwards until she lay beside him atop the sheets. He then rolled onto his side so he could face her and saw that her she had somehow managed to be positioned much higher up the pillows than his was, so he had to strain his neck in order to meet with her trenchant, crystal blue eyes, but not so high that he couldn't continue to kiss her, which suited both of them well.
Each kiss was heavy and strong, and laced with desire and passion. But perhaps Trinity found it a little too strong considering she was in a different frame of mind to Neo and was afraid of where this may lead. Nevertheless, she couldn't find the power or the will to stop him. Soon enough, she managed to force herself to move upwards until he could no longer kiss her, so that her head was now resting upon the topmost cushion on the bed. Unfortunately for her, her hips were now directly at his eye level, and she immediately became conscious of something as trivial as the fact that her dress had risen up her legs, leaving everything up to midway between her thighs exposed. The dress was now creased and tousled against her body, and she was therefore silently thankful that she was still wearing her under-shirt beneath it. Otherwise more skin she'd rather not reveal yet would be exposed.
Neo closed his eyes softly, and slowly bent his head, nestling against the pillows. Trinity's fingers were now toying with the short strands of hair atop his head, lightly massaging his scalp. For a brief moment, he even took the time to wonder what had happened to the old Trinity, and if she still was lying inside this figure of feminity, only to be unmasked the split second they exited through the front door. But when he breathed in the scent of her heated skin...skin that had been so cold just before...he realized that all that mattered to him was the Trinity before him now.
Life doesn't get any better than this. He concluded as a smile spread across his lips. There isn't anywhere else I'd rather be right now...nothing else I want right now other than her. If I could, I'd stay here forever.
He shifted so he could press his cheek against her stomach, wrapping an arm around her legs as he did so. Trinity smiled, subconsciously fingering threads of his hair between her fingers and trying to decide what others (namely Dwayne) would think if they walked in on them right then.
Hell, who cares? She thought gleefully to herself. Why am I thinking about anyone else at a time like this? Everyone else can get stuffed for all I care...all that matters is now.
She suddenly thought of something she needed to say. Something she desperately wanted him to know. Something she felt he deserved to hear.
"N-Neo?" She whispered in a voice that wasn't her own. It was broken...touched by desire. And the situation wasn't improving thanks to his arm, that was still hugging her legs.
Neo's eyes sprung open, and he tilted his head upwards to look at her with concern, naïve enough to worry that the tone in her voice could mean that something was wrong.
"What is it?" He whispered softly.
She paused, ashamed of what he may think of the character of her voice. Her hand came to rest in amongst his hair, and suddenly her manner changed from lustful to sincere in the blink of an eye.
"Thank you." She whispered, relieved to see that her voice was back to normal.
"For what?" He asked in confusion, still not taking his eyes away from hers.
"For yesterday." She continued rather uneasily. "For...what you did in the temple and afterwards....For everything."
She's the one I should be thanking. Neo thought to himself. Without her, I would be nothing.
"You're welcome." He beamed, lowering his head back against her stomach before he spoke again. "I don't know about you, but I kind of feel hungry."
"Me too." Trinity admitted, shifting Neo's weight so she could sit up properly and turn to face him. "Do you want breakfast?"
Neo heaved himself into a sitting position beside her, turning his head to face her as she did the same. He nodded, smiling as she continued.
"We can either stay here and make something." Trinity gestured to the small, offside kitchenette. "Or we can go and find somewhere to eat. Since I'm not much of a cook, and since you used to live on takeout in the Matrix, I suggest we take the second option."
"I'd have to agree with you there." Neo said playfully. "Somehow the mental image of you slaving over a hot stove doesn't exactly fit into reality."
Trinity smiled in reply before scooting out of bed and taking a fresh set of clothes from the closet on her way to the bathroom, leaving Neo to get himself out of bed and changed.
(o)
"What is this place?" Neo whispered in Trinity's ear when she led him into a large, rectangular, metallic room filled with identically sized picnic tables, benches and clusters of people gathered around each one.
"It's similar to the Mess Hall on board the Neb." Trinity explained. "All the children from the orphanage and the academy needed somewhere to eat, so a room like this one was created. But soon, it was flocked with those who were too old to cook, large families who want a break, and people like me who have no idea how to cook and see it as a pointless waste of time and just want a free meal." She paused to admire the smile on his face. "Eventually, rooms like this one became so popular that they were built on every level. Now almost everyone comes here to eat."
She swerved between the rows of tables in search of a familiar face, carefully avoiding a group of young children who scurried by. Neo hurried behind her, questioning her in a voice barely heard above the surrounding chatter of the few hundred peoples who occupied the tables.
"So what do you call this room, exactly?" Neo asked out of sheer curiosity.
"It doesn't have a specific name." Trinity replied without bothering to look over her shoulder. "But if you call it the Food Hall, people generally are able to understand what you're talking about."
"Is it free?" Neo pondered, wondering what sort of currency the people of Zion used.
"Everything in Zion is free." Trinity stopped walking abruptly to properly scan the tables. "The Council decided many years ago that the only way we can win the war is if we work together. That is why they ask that every man and woman in Zion work diligently and share their talent with everyone else, so that essentials can be distributed between everyone evenly. It's how we've managed to survive, and without having to worry about money problems."
The conversation came to an immediate halt the instant a known voice hollered to them from across the Food Hall. Both Trinity and Neo turned sharply to meet eyes with Tank, beaming brightly and waving frantically from only a few tables away.
It struck Neo as odd that someone who had just attended the funeral of their older brother the previous day should be so cheerful. He knew that he certainly would have been cheerful if his older brother had died when he was still plugged into the Matrix. But of course, things were much different between Tank and Dozer. They had been real brothers, with a proper relationship. He couldn't see how Tank could manage to act as if nothing was wrong.
Trinity, on the other hand, knew better. She could tell that the pretence Tank upheld of being the character that he was, was nothing more than a mask to hide his inner turmoil for the sake of the family that sat around him at his table. But she had to admit that his logic was working seeing as their wasn't a single dull expression imprinted onto the faces of the surrounding people.
"Come on." She instructed, leading the way to Tank's table. Neo stood stiffly in place, watching as she strode towards the table. She was dressed in an off-mauve, midriff shirt that cut in a 'V' shape down the front, revealing the very tops of her breasts and a pastel, flat stomach. To accompany this, she'd worn a buff coloured short skirt, ending midway down her thighs.
Feeling his eyes upon her, Trinity turned to stare at him quizzically. Neo waited until he made certain that a clear imprint of the way she was dressed right then was lodged into his mind before he continued to follow her. He figured that Trinity dressed in this fashion on an incredibly rare occasion, and wanted to ensure that he remembered every detail of the way she looked in a mini skirt.
"Morning." Tank said brightly as Trinity squeezed onto the end of one of the benches at the table beside him, tugging Neo onto the one opposite so that he sat directly in front of her, alongside a woman in a flowing white robe, with dark coils of hair tied loosely behind her head who was struggling to keep two children in line.
"Suppose I better introduce everyone then, huh?" Tank said, staring directly at Neo as he spoke. Neo was shifting his gaze between the other occupants of the table, and recognized each person from the temple gathering last night.
"This, here is my baby sister, Zee." Tank explained, squeezing the shoulders of the medium height, dark skinned woman sitting beside him. She had an elegant figure, and heavy eyelids, with long lashes that framed eyes similar in colour and tone to Tank's, although perhaps not as vibrant. Like most people in Zion, she had long streams of hair that she had allowed to grow out of control, spilling down her back in a mass of raven curls. She dressed in a white tank top that was, perhaps, two sizes to small for her, and rather dirty, like the ripped shorts she wore to accompany it.
"And this is Link." He nodded to the man sitting on Zee's other side. He was taller than both Tank and Neo, with dark dread locks tied together behind his dark ears. He dressed in a beige singlet shirt and baggy jade pants, an outfit almost identical to the one Tank wore. "Zee's husband."
"Hi".
"Oh, and the exquisitely beautiful young woman sitting beside you is my lovely sister-in-law, Cas, and her two charming kids, Effa and Sef."
Neo turned his head to take a closer look at Cas, only to see that her dark eyes were rimed with red, as if she'd been crying too hard for too long. Yet there was a fine and delicate smile quivering on her lips, as she nodded in greeting to him. Neo smiled in return to both the mother and her two children, being conquered with a sense of misery once more.
Cas and Dozer's children were younger than he thought. Both boy and girl wouldn't have been much older than six, and because Dozer would have often been away working on the ship, neither must have had enough time to really get to know their father. But that still didn't justify what happened. No child should have to grow up without parents.
"Who's this?" Zee asked impertinently, fixing Trinity with a penetrating stare. There was something about her that didn't make Neo feel too welcomed at that table.
"This is Neo." Trinity scowled in reply. But she was interrupted before she could say much more.
"You mean Neo? As in....the One?" Link asked in disbelief, his eyes bulging with awe. His voice may have been a touch too loud because it alerted the people sitting at the table beside them. Neo glanced worriedly across the room to a teenage girl who was gawking at him and shot her a smile. The girl raised a fine eyebrow, but eventually turned her back nevertheless.
"How does he know?" Trinity shot angrily in Tank's direction. "What did you tell them?"
"Well....I had to say something." Tank defended. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to say anything."
"That's right, he couldn't have known." Neo added softly, not wanting to draw much attention to himself.
Trinity shot Tank a look of disapproval, but said nothing, knowing that Neo was right. They had, indeed, chosen not to tell Tank about the Council's verdict until after the burial ceremony, and therefore he couldn't blame Tank for telling his family.
Who are they going to tell, anyway? Trinity reasoned to comfort herself. Besides, Tank's family has a right to know that Dozer died fighting for a good cause. I can't see any harm in this...as long as word doesn't spread...
"And you've only told the people sitting at this table?" Trinity questioned.
Tank nodded. "I really don't understand why I shouldn't."
"The Council gave Neo and I specific orders to keep the rest of the population of Zion from knowing about anything that happened on board our ship for now. It was decided that this should be done for Neo's benefit....and also because they didn't want to get the people's hopes up." Trinity added the last sentence fragment darkly, as if it was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard of (mostly because it was). She saw no reason for any other to doubt that Neo was the One - but this didn't mean that she was not pleased that the Council would allow Neo to have the privacy he deserved without being bombarded with worshipers for the time being.
"Well gee, I'm sorry. Won't happen again." Tank continued brightly. "Here, have something to eat." Tank gestured to the table. Neo noticed that an assortment of different foods had been spread out in front of him, and it looked much more appetizing than what he received on the Nebuchadnezzar. He ate quickly in an attempt to eat as much as possible before he had to face his tests.
The tests...he'd forgotten about them until now. After waking up in a plentiful room in the last city of mankind with Trinity, then being taken to a large cafeteria type structure to be fed large amounts of food he wouldn't be able to sample anywhere else, as well as being introduced to several new people, his upcoming visit to the hospital had completely slipped his mind. Once again, fear consumed him at the very idea, although perhaps it had subsided somewhat since he'd seen the Council. At least he now knew that he would have Trinity beside him through everything that was to happen.
"So I take it that we're not leaving for some time, then?" Tank asked when silence consumed the table.
Trinity looked up from her plate and nodded. "At least not until Neo's finished his tests."
"What tests?"
"Tests to prove I'm the One." Neo mumbled as a lump of food caught in his throat.
"Aw, you'll ace them." Tank said comfortingly, tasting the fear in the other man's voice. "Neo, if you're the One, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about...right?"
"Right." Neo said after he paused to consider this. Even so, he still couldn't help but worry that the tests could be inaccurate, and not enough to prove that he was the One.
"The Council gave us a choice." Trinity continued, now speaking to each person at the table. "Tank, you, Morpheus and I can either leave Zion once the ship is repaired and return for Neo later, or remain here until Neo is finished."
"Let me guess, you want to stay." Tank stated, to which Trinity nodded curtly after a brief pause. "Well, it suits me fine. Wanted to spend as much time with the family as possible anyway."
He turned to face the two younger children, who were gazing between the adults and looking a bit lost. They now stared into the eyes of their uncle, blinking in confusion.
"Looks like I'm gonna stick around for a little while longer than I thought I would, kids." He grinned, before addressing the rest of his family. "That is, if you all can put up with me."
Both Trinity and Neo didn't fail to notice the way the faces of Tank's surrounding family seemed to brighten, and realized just how much his positive, carefree and loving presence meant to them in a time of need.
(o)
Neo never wanted breakfast to end. Even though he spent the entire meal enduring long and darkened glares the same teenage girl shot at him continually from the table beside theirs, and the fact that he didn't know Tank's family as well as Trinity did made him feel out of place and ill at ease at the table. But nothing could be as daunting or as terrible as the tests that awaited him once the meal was done.
But as Smith had once told him, it was impossible to deny the inevitable. He couldn't stop time...and sooner or later, he'd have to face his fears.
He didn't know why hospitals bothered him so much. Perhaps it had something to do with the time his father had a heart attack while he was using the bathroom, and had to be taken straight into intensive care and Neo had been confronted with the bloody body of a teenager who had been drink driving.
But when he thought about it, it seemed trivial for him to be so afraid of something so insignificant. After all, he'd already faced so much after his unplugging, and so therefore paying a visit to a hospital shouldn't bother him. He figured that what he really should be worried about was the test results, and not actually taking them. But even so, he felt as if Trinity was leading him to the gallows when he stood to follow her out of the Food Hall sometime later.
"Tank's family seemed pretty happy to me." Neo said, choosing to converse with Trinity about something completely off topic to calm his nerves. "You wouldn't have thought that they'd just lost someone."
"Tank has that effect on people." Trinity said with a shrug as she slowed her pace so she could walk beside her. "He always manages to put you in a good mood, no matter what the situation is."
"Oh." Neo mumbled. I wish I knew how to do that for Trinity...
"Here we are." Trinity announced when they reached a large entrance to a giant room. She felt Neo tense beside her and shot him a sideways glance. "You nervous?"
"A little." He admitted. "I've....I mean, I never really liked hospitals all that much. Usually try to avoid them if I can."
Funny, I thought he'd be more worried about the tests than the hospital. After being unplugged, people often seem to forget their fears. I know from my own personal experience that after you overcome the shock of being unplugged, you feel invincible because you know that now you've overcome something so horrifying, you can face anything. It should be even more so in Neo's case, since he is the One.
She took his hand in her own, squeezing it gently and interlacing their fingers. "It'll be alright. I promise."
"I know it will be." Neo smiled, clasping her hand even tighter.
"Come on." Trinity smiled in reply, jerking her head towards the entrance. "We better go."
(o)
The hospital was made up of white metal, giving the entire structure a brilliant, angelic glare about it. Like the Food Hall, it was rectangular in shape, although the main foyer was square and filled with aggravated Zionists queuing in front of a long, glittering white desk. Behind the desk stood lines of white clad nurses trying to organize themselves and others.
It did not surprise Neo that Trinity seemed to know this area of Zion like she knew the back of her hand. He had supposed this was a place she'd spent more than enough time, either staying here herself or visiting others. This theory was only further confirmed when he realized that she knew the name of every nurse standing behind the front desk, just as they knew hers.
"Wait here." She instructed, before loosening her hold on his hand. She crossed the room and tapped a nurse on the shoulder, engaging in a hushed conversation with her before turning and pointing to Neo. The nurse, an elderly woman with long silvery hair dripping over her shoulders and a withered, wrinkled face, strode across the room to him immediately.
"I'm the Matron." She said in a strong and commanding voice, almost equivalent to the strength in Trinity's voice when she addressed anyone other than himself. "The Council has entrusted me with the task of appointing a trustworthy staff member to take you through several medical tests before the end of the day. If you would be so kind as to follow me, we can get started."
Neo was hesitant. There was something about the Matron that made him uneasy, and he would much rather remain in the foyer than follow her (or better yet, leave the hospital altogether). But it seemed as if he didn't have much choice in the matter, and started after her despite the fluttering sensation he was experiencing in his stomach, taking comfort in Trinity, who walked beside him.
The Matron turned sharply before they'd even had a chance to take their third step. She rose a thin and bony neck snobbishly, looking down upon Trinity in a manner of obvious distaste.
"I'm sorry, but I have been given specific instructions from the Council. Neo is to take the tests alone." She shot Trinity her most menacing glare. "Completely alone."
Trinity's forehead immediately creased into frown lines, and the muscles around her lips tightened. "Excuse me?"
"I'm under orders, Trinity." The Matron said sternly. "No one is to accompany the patient at all."
Trinity stood rigidly to the spot, fuming and feeling her blood boil beneath her skin. How dare she think she has the authority to keep me away from him!
"I don't see why you'd want to come in with him anyway." The Matron continued when Trinity failed to reply, too angry to even form words. "It isn't as if his affairs are any of your business."
"Why don't you learn to mind your own business and butt out of other people's lives?" Trinity demanded angrily in the same tone of voice she'd used with Neo when he had told her she wasn't allowed to follow him into the Matrix to save Morpheus. She figured that the Council had not yet told the Matron about how Neo came to be the one and was silently thankful for it in amongst her rage. She and the Matron had a reputation for hating each other, and Trinity knew things would have been made much worse for her if the Matron knew about her personal life with Neo.
"I think it's about time you learnt where your place is, Trinity, and learn how to control that over-inflated ego of yours?" The Matron rebutted, her voice slightly risen out of rage.
Neo saw the anger lurking in Trinity's eyes...the dangerous fire ablaze within her pupils and knew that it could only mean trouble. And as much as he needed Trinity with him, he didn't want to bring anymore attention to them than required.
"It's alright." Neo said timidly, bringing the argument between Zion's two fiercest women to an abrupt halt. "Trin, I'll see you later, ok?"
Trinity shot him a dangerous look, and for a moment, Neo almost believed she was about to take her anger out on him. But instead, she merely nodded briskly and folded her arms across her chest, admitting defeat.
If he doesn't need me with him, then there isn't any point in going.
The Matron looked on in disbelief. She knew that Neo was special...that it was foretold that he was the One. Although she didn't believe in the prophecy, she knew that this man must have been someone pretty special if he was able to silence Trinity, and give her ridiculous nicknames without being shouted at, or flattened in an instant- as it was in Trinity's nature. She stood stunned for a moment, before Neo interrupted her train of thought.
"Erm...should we be going somewhere?" He asked quietly.
The Matron shook herself back into reality, and nodded abruptly, gesturing to an offside corridor Neo hadn't noticed before, that undoubtedly led into the core of the hospital.
Neo turned his attentions to Trinity, who obviously appeared to be slightly put out. Despite his own inner turmoil at not having her with him during the course of his medical tests, he managed to force a comforting smile onto his lips.
"You don't have to wait for me here." Neo whispered just before the Matron became too impatient and dragged him away herself. "I'll meet you back at the room."
Trinity nodded, and watched silently until he'd disappeared down the offside corridor before retreating out of Zion's hospital.
(o)
"Ok, Neo, I just need to take another blood sample and then I can let you go on your way."
"Another blood sample?" Neo raised an eyebrow as he sat on the medical table in the center of the bland, white, operation room with his hands gripping the edge on either side of his body for support and his legs swinging idly over the side.
The young nurse nodded, making her way to his side with a tray of assorted medical equipment. For the past six hours, Neo had been sitting in this one room in the company of the one nurse, suffering through scan after scan...doctor after doctor...inspection after inspection...x-ray after x-ray....and worst of all, numerous amounts of injections and blood tests taken from different points of his body.
"This will be the last one." The nurse comforted. "For now, at least."
"What's this one for?" Neo asked irritably as she prepared the injection.
"Observation."
"You already took one for observation! Actually, you took three."
"I know you're getting aggravated with me, Neo. But could you at least try not to sound so much like a bitter old man?" The young woman demanded forcefully.
"Sorry." Neo apologized. He reminded himself that he was not the first person who had to undergo this same treatment and therefore in this situation she must have felt even more petulant than he did.
He rose his arm obediently and clenched his eyes shut as the needle was jabbed into one of his arm plugs, sucking up the blood from his arm. He bit down on the insides of his cheeks, causing raw marks to form where his teeth had been, and tried to think of something completely unrelated to what was happening now.
I wonder if this nurse even knows why she has to run me through all these medical tests...I wonder how many people she's had to treat today...I wonder if she's as tired of this as I am...I wonder if she enjoys taking blood from other people...likes seeing it rise up out of my arm through a small tube............I wonder what Trinity did after I left...
"Ok, that should be just about enough." The nurse decided, slowly sliding the needle back out of his plug. Neo gasped as it slipped out of his arm, and watched as she shook the droplets of blood off the needle and stored the two bags of blood on the medical tray.
Neo cringed, wondering why on earth anyone would want to be a nurse.
"Alright Neo, you're free to go." The nurse said, beaming brightly as she spoke. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Neo froze just before he let his body drop to the metallic white floor. "Tomorrow?"
"Uh huh." The young woman said cheerily, tossing her long and uncontrolled black hair about her shoulders, dusting off the white medical gown she wore. "Matron told me to inform you that you need to be back here at the same time tomorrow to continue the testing."
"Oh." Neo muttered sarcastically. "Great."
"Yeah, I can't wait to see you again, too." The nurse replied sardonically.
"Well...thanks." He murmured, although he couldn't see what he needed to thank her for.
"Don't mention it." The girl beamed. "Come on, I'll take you back to the foyer."
She half ran, half skipped to the door, then turned suddenly to watch Neo fixedly, her manner serious for once.
"I don't think I've introduced myself, have I?" Said the nurse, beaming when Neo shook his head. "I'm Vivianna."
"Oh." Neo mumbled, dropping to the floor to follow her out the door. "Hi."
(o)
Trinity paced the floor of her room, wondering when Neo would be back. After she left the hospital, she'd returned to her room, paced it aimlessly, set off on a walk, ran into Tank and spent some time conversing with him, before returning to her room to take a short nap, shower and change back into the dress she'd worn the previous day for seemingly no reason whatsoever, and then continued pacing the room again.
"God, I've never had this much free time." She told herself into the ringing silence of the surrounding walls. Indeed, this was not true, as she had spent more than just two days in Zion before. But perhaps she was growing restless because for the first time ever, she had not planned on spending any time throughout the trip alone, and therefore found it much harder to become settled. Especially when she had Neo to worry about.
The red steel front door squeaked, informing her that someone was trying to turn the wheel. Thinking it was Dwayne (as he was the only one she knew who was idiotic enough not to know how to open a door), Trinity crossed the room irritably with the intentions of telling him to piss off and opened the door harshly, only to be confronted by a surprised and bug-eyed Neo.
"Sorry." Trinity said hurriedly. "I thought you in."
She stood aside to give him access to the room that lay beyond, and Neo shot her a look of confusion before he stepped past her, leaving her to close the door behind him.
"What happened?" She asked anxiously as he made his way to the other side of the room and collapsed atop the bed with exhaustion.
"Nothing much." Neo shrugged. "Basically, they took me through more inspections, x-rays, blood tests and injections than I could ever count. Plus about a thousand different doctors, with a thousand different opinions and beliefs."
"So how many of the doctors know?" Trinity asked, standing stiffly in the middle of the room. Neo didn't need to ask what she'd meant.
"Only one, I think. And the Matron. But neither of them know the full story." He turned to face her, one hand massaging his forehead as a cheesy grin spread onto his face when an idea sprung into his head. "So...err...w-what do you want to do tonight?"
Trinity's eyes lit up in surprise, sensing that there may be two meanings to his comment. Most of her time spent alone in the past six hours had been used to reflect on her relationship with Neo, and how far they planned to take it. If their relationship was to be anything like Switch and Apoc's, then Zion was the perfect place to consider that kind of...thing. In the end, she'd decided it was best not to think about that, and just let fate take its course. But that didn't mean that comments he made of that nature wouldn't make her anxious.
"I-I thought you'd be too tired to want to do anything but sleep." She finally replied.
Neo didn't see why he would want to sleep. All I was doing was sitting on a medical table for six hours. It isn't as if I was doing any physical activity. Besides, why would I want to sleep when I'm in the last city of mankind with Trinity?
"I'm fine." Neo stated firmly. "I feel like....I don't know...doing something. Know anywhere we can go for fun?"
"Not really." Trinity shrugged. "Like I've told you before, I don't usually stay in Zion long enough to do anything like that. But I suppose there are clubs and things..."
He noticed that she didn't sound too thrilled about the prospect, and he had to admit that he wasn't ever much of a clubbing person anyway. But he was in an entirely new city...an entirely new world...he wanted to explore everything that was around him, and see everything Zion had to offer. And after all he and Trinity had been through thus far, he believed that they did deserve to a break...a chance to live a little. Who knew how long it would be before they had the opportunity to do so again? But, like every other decision he had to make now, he had to think about Trinity as well.
"You don't want to?" He asked her quietly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to face her.
"No, I don't mind." She said truthfully. "I mean....if you want to..."
"Well, there really isn't much else we could do with ourselves." Neo reasoned, again making a statement with a double meaning. At least in Trinity's frame of mind.
"Oh....well...right." She said hurriedly. "Let's go."
(o)
The club Trinity took him to was the only one she really knew. When she'd first been unplugged, she was underage and therefore unable to go clubbing with the other members on board the Nebuchadnezzar until she was eighteen. By that time, Switch had been unplugged and they had spent Switch's first night in Zion in that club, before deciding conjointly that this was not the way they wanted to spend their leisure time any longer. Thinking back on that night now, as she led Neo to the very same club, Trinity realized that this was, in fact, the place of origin of her friendship with Switch.
Like the temples in Zion, clubs were made entirely of earth, rock and stone. It was a cave engraved roughly into the side of the city, large enough to hold a good few hundred people. It seemed to be blaring continuous music from an unseen location, even during the day when all clubs were empty. The mud floor was littered with young people, dancing together in the dirt with sweat dripping off their skin-bearing clothing, or lounging beside the bar, which was made up of carved rock. One thing was for certain- this was nothing like any club Neo had seen in the Matrix before.
"I never thought you'd be the clubbing type." Trinity called over the screaming music.
"I'm not." Neo replied with a grin. "I just wanted to see what a club here looked like."
"Well, now I suppose you have." Trinity answered, raising one eyebrow and folding both arms across her chest. "Happy?"
"I won't be until I've had a drink." Neo smirked, causing Trinity to smile.
"I've never pictured you as much of a drinker either."
"I'm not." Neo repeated. "But...I just want to try it. Who knows? Technically, I've never had a drink before, so I might surprise myself by liking it."
Isn't that so typical? Trinity thought to herself with a smirk. He always seems to want to try new things...to learn as much as he possibly can about what's going on around him. God, will he ever change?
Without saying a word, Trinity led him from the hollow entrance of the club past large groups of dancers. Neo noticed that unlike in the Matrix, the people of Zion did not dance in small clusters with people they knew, but spread out and took up each available space, dancing with anyone in the room regardless of whether they seemed to know the person or not.
They reached the bar at the same time, and leaned against the rock countertop facing the crowd of dancers, wedged between groups of drunks chattering senselessly to one another. The bar was towards the back of the club and out of the way so that there would be more room for dancing, so therefore the music didn't seem as loud and they could lower their voices a touch in order to make conversation.
"Yep." Neo said blandly, not tearing his eyes away from what was directly in front of him. "It's a club alright."
"A spectacular club, you must admit." Trinity said through a laugh.
Not as spectacular as you. The statement was true...very true. But of course, Neo could never bring himself to say it. It was on a very rare occasion, that he would be able to work up enough courage to give her a compliment due to fear of getting a bad reaction out of it. She didn't even like it when he said she was beautiful, so how could he think of giving her any other compliment?
"Hey, Neo!"
Neo turned at the sound of his name to see a young woman waving frantically towards him from a distance. It took him a great deal of time to recognize who she was, seeing as she was dressed in a white, midriff shirt and powder-pink sarong. But the dark hair swaying over fair shoulders gave her away instantly.
"How do you know Vivianna?" Trinity asked curiously.
"How do you know her?" Neo shot back.
"I know the name of every nurse who works in Zion. I've spent more time in the hospital than anyone else, and not because I'm weak. Because I'm not afraid to take chances." She paused, watching the smile spread across his face while he waved to the young nurse in reply before she disappeared into the crowd. "Did she treat you today?"
Neo nodded, turning his attentions back to the woman beside her. "She looks kind of young to be a nurse."
"She's nineteen." Trinity answered. "And she's not really a nurse. She's an apprentice to the Matron, fresh out of the academy. She was unplugged by Niobe and her crew when she was eleven."
"Shit, that's pretty young." Neo commented. "So...is it legal to unplug anyone under the age of twenty, even if they're a toddler?"
Trinity took a good few minutes to come up with her answer. "No, there isn't any written law against it, but it would happen on a very rare occasion. The youngest person we've ever unplugged was a ten year old."
There was a pause, in which Neo felt a pair of eyes lingering on his neck. He twisted behind him to see the same teenage girl who'd been staring at him in the Food Hall that morning watching him again with a incisive stare, her eyes bulging uncontrollably.
"Something wrong?" Trinity asked, leaning past him to see what had caught his attention.
"Who's that?" He asked quietly, gesturing to the teenager who still hadn't taken her eyes off him, even when she knew he was watching her.
"Never seen her before." Trinity snapped back, immediately becoming ashamed of the anger in her voice. The teenager was attractive, but that still didn't mean that he was interested in her by asking a simple question. She suddenly became aware of how protective she'd become over him. "Why?"
"She was staring at me at breakfast as well." Neo said with a shrug. "I guess it's just kind of...unnerving."
Trinity grinned, feeling all earlier tension flow free from her body. Neo was right; the girl did have large eyes...but Trinity couldn't blame her for gawking as her eyes subconsciously traveled down Neo's fragile body, and then upwards again so she could meet with his.
"I'll get us something to drink." She said in a voice hardly evident against the loud strumming of the surrounding music. She strode away, glancing back over her shoulder once to see if he was still watching her.
Neo wasn't alone for long. Split seconds after Trinity had disappeared through the crowds of drinkers, he felt hot breath on the back of his neck and turned sharply to meet with the large, emerald eyes of the teenager, standing so close to him that they were inches away from touching.
Now that she was closer, he could see that she was only about sixteen, with coils of blonde hair cascading down to her waist. If it weren't for her eyes, which seemed to literally bulge out of their sockets without any means of control, taking away the attention from her tight fitting, earth coloured dress, he may have even been found her attractive. She certainly did have similarities with the Woman in Red. It was not the way she looked, but the way she moved that had the drunken men around them roaming over her body with ever watchful eyes.
"What do you want from me?" He asked her, possibly a little fearfully. There was something about her that didn't seem to feel right...and Neo had a knack for sensing things wrong inside people.
"My name is Lorena." Said the girl, her voice no louder than a whisper. Neo had to strain his ears in order to hear her correctly. "What's yours?"
The fact that she had taken no notice of his earlier question seemed to only add additional hesitation towards conversing with her. He shot a quick glance to her arm to check for plugs, but at once came to the conclusion that she was Zion-born.
"Neo." He answered quietly, trying and failing not to observe the fact that she was usually thin for someone of her age, and her stomach seemed to curve inwards without her meaning to. "What do you want from me?"
Again, Lorena did not directly reply to the question, but countered it with another one of her own in an eerie tone. "How old are you?"
"Older than you." Neo said apprehensively, not wanting to give away too much information. His mind whirred, searching for an explanation to her odd behavior. Only one seemed plausible, yet he wasn't even sure if it was possible. He didn't know if drugs were available in Zion.
"A-Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. "Do....do you want me to take you home? Take you to see a doctor?"
Lorena was still, not emitting a single noise. Neo didn't know what to do...didn't know if she was ill or simply mental. He was about to consider grasping her wrist and leading her to the hospital by force when he felt a familiar presence behind him, and turned to see Trinity watching him with loathing.
Trinity didn't need to hear the conversation shared between the two, or know who the girl was to know what she was trying to do from the way she was moving...slowly....seductively. At once, she had felt her body swell with dislike, and stormed up to the pair of them right away.
"Piss off." She demanded in a voice that reflected no emotion. Lorena's face remained as lost and dreamy as it had been before and she retreated into the crowd, without once turning her back.
"Trin," Neo began hurriedly. "I-I didn't know what to do. I think she's sick, or there's something wrong with her. I was about to take her to the hospital when you showed up."
"She's not sick." Trinity scathed bitterly. "Just horny."
"Oh." Said Neo, replaying the passed events back through his mind. "Well, I don't think that was what she wanted. I think there's something wrong with her...like she's afraid of something...like she wanted my help. Gee, I don't know." He lifted his downcast eyes and fixed them upon Trinity's face. "I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"
Trinity shook her head, smiling now too. "No. It doesn't."
She held out a hand to pass him the drink she'd brought for him, but instead of accepting it, Neo grasped her wrist impulsively, drawing her closer to him and moving back against the countertop until she was nestled in between his legs. She let out a gasp of shock, eyes wide as they poured into the depths of his own, but then managed to calm her racing heart by sipping from the drink she still held in her other hand.
Neo accepted the drink she'd offered him earlier, again unsure what had made him pull her so close to him. He took a gulp of the substance floating in his glass and felt it catch in his throat, causing him to drop it with a clash and lean forward to cough and splutter over Trinity's shoulder. She set her own, unfinished glass aside and rubbed his back soothingly, toying with the lacy material of his short sleeved, chrome coloured shirt. She could tell now that he was leaning over her shoulder, and only increasingly closing the gap between them, that he was obviously aroused.
"Sorry." He mumbled remorsefully, drawing back once his coughing had subsided.
"It was your first drink." Trinity said with a smile. "Did you really expect it to go down so well?"
"You know, you can be really cold when you want to be." Neo grinned to show he was joking, bringing a hand down to her hip and rubbing it in a circular motion. "Anyway, it wasn't my first drink. Cypher and I had a drink one night when he was taking a shift in the core."
Trinity didn't reply, even to make a hateful comment at the mention of Cypher's name. The hand on her hip was creating friction against the fabric of her dress, making her squirm against him. Before too long, she was unable to control herself and, despite that fact that she was in clear view of anyone who chose to walk by, allowed herself to kiss him, nipping mercilessly at the corners of each lip. He hummed in the back of his throat, trying to part her lips with his tongue, but she held them together firmly...taunting him....teasing him. He knew that she knew what she was doing to him...knew that she wouldn't stop until she got the response she wanted.
The only problem was, he was too shy to give it to her. But soon the playful kisses she showered upon him became too much to bear and he pulled away from her lips, taking in long and rasping breaths.
"I love you, Trinity." He breathed against her neck.
After he'd broken their kiss, Trinity had lowered her eyes to catch her breath. Now, she lifted them to meet his and saw a mixture of uncomplicated emotions....love entwined with lust. It was enough to allow him to kiss her hungrily once more, and in plain view of the surrounding crowd. But for once, she couldn't have cared what they thought. To her, there wasn't even music in the room anymore.
Finally, he pulled away from her, finding the unknown source of confidence inside him once more. Enough, at least, to give him courage to kiss her neck, regardless of the surrounding crowd , some of whom were obviously giving them their amused attention. The fact that anyone would be brave enough to even try to kiss her was sufficient shock on its own. But the fact that she was kissing him back so was too unlike her...too unbelievable to be real.
Amongst the people of Zion, Trinity had quite a reputation for being cold, detached and single.
Eventually, Neo brought both his arms around her waist, clasping his hands together behind her and pulling her against him tightly. It was then that Trinity became aware of her location, and felt her face grow hot. Neo felt her cheeks warm against his neck, and pulled away from her, blinking in confusion.
"Let's go." She practically begged. Neo nodded, allowing her to take hold of one of his hands and march him out of the club. Once they were out of earshot, Neo bent to whisper in her ear.
"Now look who's feeling horny."
Trinity cast him a dark look, but Neo could tell that she was trying very hard not to smile.
(o)
A/N: Lemon next chapter. I suggest that if you don't like that kind of thing, you don't read it. Anyway, it won't be a very good one since I'm 13...and I sort of don't know much about that stuff. But I kind of figured that this story was leading up to it, and I haven't written anything else like this story before so hell, why not?
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Your opinion is welcomed!