"Shit! Jax, watch what your doing!" Binary yelled up to her operator, barely missing a wrench that he had accidentally bumped over the side. "Neo! Incoming!"

Neo jumped quickly to the side, the wrench missing his head by inches and instead hitting the edge of his shoulder. In a cry of surprise and pain, Neo jumped back another step and grabbed his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. His eyes made their way up to Jax's apologetic face.

"Next time," Neo picked up the wrench and tossed it up to Binary who tossed it up to Jax. "Be a little more aware of where your tools are."

"Sorry man." Jax gave a little wave before going back to his job.

Neo shook his head before he felt Trinity's worried gaze on his back. He knew she would never run over to him, asking if he was okay, that wasn't her style. Her style was more of: when she asked how he was later and he said, "Never better," she would gently hit the bruise to disprove his statement. Hey, just because she was in love with him didn't mean she would take his shit. Neo didn't turn to meet her gaze, knowing full well it would do no good and instead picked up his torch and climbed up next to Binary.

"How's the new panel working?" Neo asked, before pulling his welder's mask over his head.

"Not bad, if you can finish that side, I'll do this one and we'll be done here." She replied, dropping her own mask over her face.

Flinching several times at sparks, both soldiers finished at roughly the same time. Lifting their masks back up, Binary smiled gently.

"One thing about repairs, they can be more dangerous that the actual attack." Neo nodded in agreement as she turned to climb down.

Placing her foot on the first foothold, Binary mistook the distance and slipped, her body falling out and away from the ship. As a screamed was ripped from her throat, she felt a hand tightly grasp her wrist, stopping her fall to the ground, 25 feet below. Every person came running from their places, and looked on in shock at the sight. Soren ran towards the footholds at the bottom, only to feel them giving way.

"We can't get up there, Neo! Can you pull her up?" Soren yelled up.

Neo winced at the pull her weight was making on his right arm, but managed to nod. Kneeling down on one leg, Neo grabbed hold of the ship's hull with his free hand.

"Binary, look at me. Look at me!" Binary's face turned from the ground beneath her to Neo's face. "Can you grip my arm with your other hand?"

Binary made a grunt before swinging her body up to grip his arm with her other hand. A startled gasp came from the crowd at her sudden movement. Neo winced as her weight shifted before her other hand gripped his forearm tightly. His eyes looked below him for a moment, seeing Tank, Trinity, Morpheus, Soren, and Vector looking up in worry for both parties, not just the one dangling. It was the knowledge that one false move could send both of them hurtling down to the ground that caused the greater fear.

If anyone could peel their eyes away from the danger above them for even a second to steal a glance at Trinity, the surprise at seeing her unbridled worry and fear shaking her body would make any person realize just how important the man holding Binary was to her.

"Binary, listen to me. Can you climb up my arm, you know, like a rope?" Neo asked, trying to hold onto the hull better.

"I think so." Binary paused before loosening her grip on his hand and raising it up to his biceps. As she pulled herself up slightly, Neo gritted his teeth, letting a guttural groan escape his lips.

Just as he thought Binary might get a leg up over the edge of the platform, Neo felt his hand lose its grip on the hull. Only able to let out a gasp of surprise before he fell, Neo heard the group below cry out in fear. For a moment, Neo felt suspended in air, like when he flew in the Matrix, but then, gravity butted in and he began to fall. Flinging out his free arm in a last attempt, Neo barely grabbed the platform he had been kneeling on. A sudden jerk caused his whole body to shake as his descent came to an abrupt halt. Pausing to take in the severity of the situation, Neo yelled in sheer pain as he swung his body back once before practically throwing Binary up towards the platform.

Binary released her grip on Neo in time to grab the platform. Climbing quickly over the edge, she grabbed Neo's forearm just as he lost his grip. Pulling him up and over the edge, they landed in a heap, breathing heavily. Jax stuck his head out over the top of the ship, smiling in relief.

"Guys, here." He tossed a rope down to the pair, who looked at it in sarcastic submission.

Neo and Binary walked slowly down the ramp of the Vigilant to the group who had just watched them almost plummet to their deaths. Binary stopped mid step and turned to look at Neo who was holding his right arm.

"Thank you."

"You'd do the same for me." Neo smiled gently before wincing in pain.

"Neo, why don't you go to the med lab, Tank can- Trinity will go with you." Morpheus quickly changed who would accompany him when he saw the look on Trinity's face.

Neo nodded once before following Trinity onto the Neb. Both couldn't help overhearing Binary's comment, "God, for a newbie, he sure put some major strength in pulling me up with only one arm to hold us both."

Upon entering the med lab, Neo sat down in a chair while Trinity went around to fill a needle with painkillers. Turning towards him, she walked over and pushed up his sleeve gently. Neo watched silently as Trinity administered the drugs in his plug and put the needle in the sink. Neo knew she was masking the fear that had been blatantly expressed only minutes beforehand. He knew how scared she was for him, and he knew she must have been working hard to keep herself under control. As she rolled his sleeve back down, Neo placed his left hand over hers. Trinity stopped and simply looked at his hand.

"I'm okay Trinity, I'm okay." Neo stood up and kissed her forehead softly.

"Neo, God." Trinity looked up at him before thumping her fist against his chest in frustration.

"I know." Neo pressed his forehead to hers, wrapping his not so sore arm around her shoulders.

Neo sat in the mess hall, his right arm in a makeshift sling, eating dinner with Vector and Binary. Binary looked at Neo for a moment before popping a seemingly random question laced with tension.

"Neo, did Trinity ever tell you about her past?"

Neo paused, his food halfway to his mouth before looking up to her eyes. Placing the spork in the dish, he shook his head. "Some things, but the past makes us who we are, it shouldn't affect us now."

"I know, but I was just wondering if she told you about her…personal life before you."

Neo's eyes flicked to Vector's before shaking his head again. He wasn't sure he should hear this…

"In the Matrix, she was what some would call an untouchable vixen: all wanted her, none got her. Once freed, Trinity spent only four months at the Academy, which was unusual, and went straight onto Morpheus's new ship, this ship. Once she found out about her future being entangled with a man she didn't even believe in, she did the only thing she was good at: she rebelled. For a month, with a fellow unplugged guy named Detrick." Binary paused, watching the darkening expression on Neo's face.

Vector picked up where Binary left off, his deep voice catching Neo's attention. "Detrick never forgot that month, and Trinity wished it had never happened. It took her a long time to visit him without the cloud of 'past times' hanging over her head. He loved her, and that month didn't help him any. After they had a huge apology, not three days later, in a routine check-up inside the Matrix, agents killed him. She took it so damn hard, because she believed his feelings for her got in the way of his concentration. After that, she really closed herself off to everyone, afraid that if she let them in, they would be killed."

"So, very few people believed the rumors of the One and Trinity's involvement with him. Many still deny it. But I just want to say, I saw the fear and calm love in her every movement today. Even when she was with Detrick, she held a part of herself away from him, knowing he wasn't who she should end up with. With you though, she's ready to give you everything. You can see it in her eyes when she doesn't know that you're watching. I just wanted to tell you, that you are truly blessed to be together." Vector finished, watching Neo's face intently.

Neo nodded. "Thank you. I should be off. I've got the graveyard shift tonight and I need to get sleep. Night."

Binary and Vector each said goodnight before glancing at one another.

Neo slumped down onto the bed, letting out an exhausted sigh before pulling the sling over his head and tossing it to the corner of the cabin. He cast a longing look down at Trinity, who had her eyes open in slits and was watching him silently. We'll never have time for romance while on duty, will we? Neo thought, trailing his fingers down the distinctive curve of Trinity's angular hip. He could feel her tensing at the touch, heat radiating off of her in waves, and yet, he knew, we can't do anything.

"Trinity, is it true that you rebelled against what the Oracle told you once?" Neo asked, his hand coming to a tense rest on the outer curve of her thigh.

Trinity paused, taking in the question before sitting up, her legs moving away from Neo. "Who told you?"

"Vector and Binary. They seemed quite energetic about it too, now that I think about it." Neo replied, watching her face.

"Goddamn them. The only problem I ever had with Soren's crew was how much they liked to tell everyone's secrets to anyone who would listen. Goddamn gossips." Trinity shook her head, anger flushing her face.

"Well, is it true?" Neo asked, lowering his head to catch her down-turned eyes.

Trinity looked up and nodded. "They may gossip, but at least they only gossip when they know it's true. I was on the Nebuchadnezzar with Morpheus for one year before he even brought me to see the Oracle. By then, he told me later, he believed I could be the One. I wasn't about to believe that, mostly because I didn't give a rat's ass about the prophecy, but I went to see her without so much as a word. I wasn't disappointed in hearing that I wasn't the One, but I was shocked when she told me I would play an important role in his life. She told me I would love him, and that only my love for him would both save him and help him to believe himself.

"After hearing that, I did what I always did when I was angry about what I was told I would do. I rebelled against it. I knew Detrick liked me more than a normal friend probably should, and I guess you could say that in my anger of shoving the Oracle's prophecy down her throat, I exploited his emotions. I used him to rebel against my future, and later pushed him away. He took it silently and always gave me plenty of space. His steadfast friendship to me never wavered, even after I told him my future. I knew I hurt him in every way for that one month because I knew I didn't love him the way he wanted me to, and yet I still led him on. For a year, I was too ashamed of my actions to even speak to him. Then one day, I was in my cabin in Zion, and he walked in."

Trinity paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She smiled at Neo's silent reassurance when he squeezed her leg gently.

"He told me he was sorry. I was shocked. If anyone should've been sorry it should have been me, but he told me that he should never have let his emotions get the better of him in a time when I needed a friend. He told me he loved me then. I already knew, it was obvious, but somehow when he said it, it became real, and I knew that I didn't love him the same way back. When I said that to him, I could see his heart breaking, and yet, his voice remained level. He told me that he would always be there for me, he would always guide me, and he would accept the One when he was found, no matter how much it would hurt him…and then he was killed."

Neo nodded, smiling sadly. "You were lucky to have a friend like him."

"Neo, you know, all of the stuff that the Oracle told me, there was one thing she didn't say."

"What was that?" Neo looked at her, confusion written on his features.

"She never told me that you would love me back." Trinity looked down at her hands for a moment before feeling Neo's breath on her cheek.

"Doesn't matter whether she did or not now." He commented, brushing his lips against her cheek.

Trinity bit her lip upon feeling a rush of heat race through her veins. God, how does he do that to me? I have never known a man who could undo my rational mind so quickly and tie my stomach in knots at the same time so easily. Actually, I've never known a man who did either of those things anyway. Neo lifted his lips, placing a soft kiss on the side of her nose, and another above her eye. He could feel her shudder with pleasure, and knew he really shouldn't lead either of their bodies on, but found that he just had to taste her, no matter the consequences.

Trinity knew they should stop, before things went too far. Things could get out of hand easily. Didn't things get out of hand when I met him? Seems a little late to worry about the warning label. Trinity leaned her head back as Neo dropped a few kisses down towards her ear and further south along her neck. This could prove to be a better night than I thought it would...