a/n:

- to Phantom Cleric; I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy "Revenge of the Smith..."

Chapter 3

"What happened to your top?" Trinity held up the soiled shirt and bit her lower lip, a pile of other laundry at her feet.

"I've been making love to another woman, Trinity. We like to do it in the boiler room." Neo walked out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, hair wet from the shower.

Trinity frowned, displeased with his sarcastic non-response to her question. "Well, I hope she was worth it. The top is ruined now. Might as well use it on the ship. I'll pack it."

"It's okay. I can handle my own packing." He took the shirt from her and felt around for the diskette that he'd put in the breast pocket earlier that day. Thankfully, it was still there. He balled up the unwashed garment and shoved it in his duffle-bag.

"You'll fit more if you fold them, you know."

Neo had the word 'nag' at the tip of his tongue but he held it in. He didn't want to fight with her; he just wanted to get some sleep. "Thank you for the advice, Trinity."

"You are very welcome, Neo."

"Stop it." Neo put on a pair of thin cotton draw-string pants and hung the towel to dry. "I'm tired."

He got into bed, moodily throwing the sheets over his body, shifting himself to the very edge of the mattress. Trinity's heart jumped into her throat at the realization that he was trying to keep as far away from her as possible. Part of her wanted to hit him, the other part wanted to cry. Both parts wanted to make love to him in a way that he wouldn't forget in a long time, if only to remind him of what he was missing. It hurt her to know that she'd sooner sleep with him out of spite than love. Because she did love him. She loved him more than he'd probably believe, given the last few days.

As she removed her necklace and earrings at the dresser, Trinity found herself staring into the mirror, scrutinizing the subtle lines around her eyes and the tired, pasty dullness of her skin. She looked awful. The past few months had aged her immensely and for the first time in her life, she looked like a woman in her mid forties. Time had been kinder to Neo, she thought, glancing into the corner of the mirror at his inverted image. He was sitting upright again, shifting the covers around his hips, propping his pillow into place. Broad shoulders and large, strong arms held her attention for a few moments, then well-defined pectorals and abs.

God, he still looks so damn good.

Trinity spun her wedding band around her finger and whispered a curse. Then, to his reflection in the mirror, "I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

She turned to face him, and walked over to his side of the bed. "I said I'm sorry." She sat down and took his hand in hers. "Please, Neo."

For the first time in several days, Neo let his eyes return home to the lovely, crystal blue they so dearly missed. But what he saw was unwelcome, even to the weary traveller. Such Sorrow.

"Trin… come to bed."

His emotionally estranged wife lingered next to him for a few seconds, apparently debating her next move carefully before she yielded to his request, climbing over the mattress and sitting next to him. With a gentleness she hadn't shown in weeks, Trinity took his face in her hands, and brushed his hair back from his forehead. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "God, I miss you..."

Neo found her mouth and kissed her deeply and softly, tongue lingering on her bottom lip. He felt her warm tears on his cheek. He pulled away, and wiped wetness from under her eyes. He wanted to ask her again, what was wrong. But he knew he wouldn't get the answer that he wanted, and if he heard her lie to him one more time about it, he knew he'd get up and leave.

So instead, he kissed her again, this time with more intensity, trying desperately to talk to her without words, trying to remind her of who he was, what they were. Her mouth was hot, greedy with his, pulling him in feverishly. She took his hands in her own and lifted them to the knot behind her neck that held her dress together. "Please…" she breathed.

He ran his hand down her back, fingers dancing along the line he'd traced with his eyes earlier that day. "Turn around."

She didn't smile, but she did follow instructions, facing away from him, leaning back into his arms. He kissed her shoulders and back first, executing the very fantasy that he'd imagined only six hours ago, taking his time, just as he promised himself he would. His lips caressed her soft skin, and his knowing hands massaged the tension from her muscles. As his fingers finally found their way back to the knot at the base of her neck, Neo buried his face in her hair. Eyes closed, he slowly, teasingly untangled the fabric, losing himself in the subtle scent of her and in the familiar rhythm of her breathing.

When the dress came loose, Neo caressed the fabric off her shoulders and down her torso, deliberately brushing the fullness of her breast. Trinity took his hands in hers, interlaced their fingers, and leaned back further into his lap. She had decided she wasn't going to ask and this was clearly not the time, but she had to. She couldn't let herself go until she knew. "Neo, did you see her today?"

When he didn't reply, Trinity turned to face him, and rested a hand on his chest. With pleading eyes, "Is she alright, Neo? Did she say when she's coming home?"

Did you tell her that I love her, Neo? Please, just tell me that she doesn't hate me... tell me she's coming back and it's going to be alright...

"Oh, no," he threw his hand up to his forehead. Trinity's question suddenly reminded him of the promise he'd made to Rorie that afternoon. He'd completely forgotten. "Shit. What time is it?"

"What?"

Neo checked the digital clock on the nightstand. It was early yet. He had time. Trinity still in his arms, Neo vacillated for a moment, weighing his two options carefully. She was half-naked, for goodness' sake. And they both needed this, tonight, before they left for the sewers in the morning (things left as they were between them, Neo would rather share the Neb with a sentinel). This was a sexual treaty pledging a temporary cease-fire, and they both knew it. Leaving would be nothing short of diplomatic suicide.

But the look in his daughter's eyes that afternoon... so big and brown and … Neo cursed under his breath. Just as he had twenty years ago, The One knew that he had to follow his heart. He had to trust what felt real, even if it killed him (and this time, it probably would).

"Trin, I'm so sorry. I have to go."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"Rorie. She wanted to talk to me about something tonight… and I forgot." He got out of bed and started to change into his clothes, avoiding eye contact with his rejected lover. He didn't have to see it to know how she was looking at him right now. He could imagine her mouth ajar, cheeks burning as she fumbled to tie her dress. Hurt, offended… probably humiliated. He could imagine her wanting to throw something straight at his head. She would be right to; he certainly deserved it. He was a fool for leaving, but he couldn't bear the idea of Rorie working alone under the hull of some ship, wondering where he was.

"I'm so sorry, Trin," he said again.

"Well, what's wrong? Is she alright?" Trinity pulled the sheets around her chest. "Talk about what?"

"She's fine. Really, she's okay. It's nothing serious. It's just…" Neo found it difficult to even explain why he was leaving. Even he didn't completely understand the decision.

"So call her, just tell her that-"

"She needs me." He struggled to get his boots on. "Well, she needs someone and we're leaving tomorrow as it is."

"Well, I need someone, too."

The pure selfishness of the statement set alarm bells of in his head. It was so unlike her that Neo couldn't help himself. "So call Ghost."

"Wh- What?"

The moment he saw the expression on her face Neo knew that he'd crossed a line. She'd never looked at him like that before. He felt sick. "Trin, I didn't mean that-"

"Is that what you think is going on here? That's your brilliant analysis? I'm fucking Ghost?"

"No, I don't-"

"Well, I feel really stupid." She struggled to untangle herself from the sheets. "This whole time I thought this was about my being a bad mother. But I'm an adulterous wife now, too?"

Neo knew that any such accusation was ridiculous. And, although Trinity wouldn't believe him if he told her this, he didn't even intend the statement to imply a romantic connection. But she had spent a lot of time in Ghost's company these past few weeks, and the more she drifted away from Neo, the more dependant she seemed to become on Ghost's companionship. Their friendship had always been very close, and Neo never minded it before (on the contrary, he considered Ghost an extended member of his family), but lately he felt as if he'd been replaced emotionally, that Trinity had pledged her most intimate confidence to another man. It was psychological adultery, and he begrudged them both the connection he'd lost.

"No… I'm sorry. Of course not, Trinity." Neo took a few steps towards her, but she dodged away as if he had just struck her and was about to do it again. "I didn't mean that. And I don't think you're a bad mother, for God's sake."

She turned from him, and Neo knew she was hiding tears. His own weren't far behind.

"Trin. Please, look at me. Come here. I'm sorry. I truly am. I just feel like... You talk to him more than you do me, and it hurts. Why can't you talk to me?"

"Because you're not hearing what I have to say. I don't want her out there, Neo. It's dangerous. Two of our colleagues died today. Isn't that enough to convince you that I'm right?"

"So that brings this year's casualties to an even four, if you include the system malfunction that killed Cereus and his partner six months ago. Trinity, this is what she wants. It's what we wanted for her…"

"No, Neo." Trinity spun around, a renewed stoniness in her eyes, voice steady and committed. "Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what we've been through? I've died… twice for this city. So have you. We took those bullets so that she wouldn't have to!"

"That was a long time ago."

"No. We have given enough. It's enough. The way I see it, Zion owes us one. And this is the one thing…" Her voice broke. "She is the one thing that I choose not to sacrifice. I just can't. If you only knew what it would feel like to lose her…" She raised a shaking hand to her forehead, consciously willing herself to be calm.

"Trinity, it doesn't matter anymore. In a month, we aren't going to have a choice."

"What?"

Neo sighed as he retrieved his shirt from the duffle bag. He produced a diskette from the pocket. "She's dropping out. This is her application for admission to the army."

Trinity took the disk from him, and examined it as if she'd never seen one before. "She came to you with this? When?"

"Today. She wanted me to endorse it."

"Did you?"

"Of course not. But in a few months it won't matter anyway. She's going to do this with or without your consent. Had you just accepted her in the first place, at least she'd be on the Neb with us."

Trinity walked past him, finally managing to tie her dress behind her neck properly. "Where is she?"

"Trinity, it's late."

"Tell me where she is. Where? The Dock, right?" She slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbed her keys and paused at the door, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one, she interpreted his silence as affirmation.

In a second, Trinity was on the catwalk, marching determinedly towards the elevators. She passed several groups of pedestrians, many of whom greeted her with a polite nod, only to be ignored or pushed out of her way. Hardly over the initial shock of Trinity's misconduct, they were then practically knocked over by The One himself, half-dressed and stumbling over the laces of the single boot he wore, hollering his wife's name in vain.

Neo reached the elevators just in time to see the doors close between Trinity and him. "Goddammit!" He threw his arms up in frustration. By this time a small crowd had gathered around the spectacle, and the whispers were far from subtle. He just knew he was going to be reading about this in the online newspapers the next day:

'Dishevelled Zion Saviour Shafted at Elevators: Captain Trinity goes AWOL.'

Neo glared at the people surrounding him as if the offending headline he'd just envisioned had actually been a group effort. He hated the press. A long time ago, Neo had taught them the hard way to leave his daughter alone but unfortunately, the more daring reporters still saw The One and his wife as fair game. Realizing that provoking them would only provide more fodder for the gossip-mongers, he quickly mustered his wits, deciding to take himself and what little dignity he had left to the stairs. He doubted they'd have the stamina to follow him all the way up to the Dock. Besides, he needed some time to cool off. The last thing poor Rorie needed right now was two unstable parents dragging a media circus to her place of work. Best to let Trinity go ahead, and then try and pick up the pieces afterwards. He had a feeling that none of them were going to get much sleep that night.

Pray, Smith. Pray hard that my mood somehow improves before tomorrow.

With slumped shoulders and a heavy heart, The One began his thirty-three level climb up the hot, poorly-ventilated stairwell.

Maybe I'll just send Trinity in after him. The way she's going, the poor bastard won't stand a chance…