Theo had stayed with Tank another hour before she went back to her quarters. She got in bed, but didn't sleep. She had been lying on her side staring at the wall blankly while feeding the dangerous yet hopeful ideas of returning to the matrix. She let the thoughts grow in her mind. Sometime in the night, she went back to sleep.

When she awoke, everyone was just finishing lunch. She moaned to herself. She thought that sleeping in made her look lazy. She slipped out into the hallway, as quietly as one who was surrounded by creaking metal could, and went to the showers. At least the cold spray of water would help to wake her up. Theo missed being able to shampoo and condition her hair. Ten minutes later, she went to the dining hall, which was empty except for Mouser. Mouser was nice in a boyish way. He was younger than Theo by a few months, though sometimes she felt so much older than the aloof boy. "Hey!" he said. "Finally up, huh?" Theo gave an embarrassed smile and averted her eyes away from Mouser's. "Have you seen Morpheus around?" she asked. "Oh, yeah, yeah," he answered. "He's plugged in right now. Gone to visit a few contacts through the matrix." Theo sighed. Her anticipation was building, and now she had to wait longer. She thanked Mouser nonetheless. He smiled that boyish smile of his, then offered her a bowl of nourishment. It had the consistency of slime and tasted like nothing more than plastic, but it was all they had for now. Theo grimaced, but accepted the offer. "Just think of it as runny eggs," Mouser said as he filled the bowl. Theo chuckled. She missed eggs and toast as well as shampoo and conditioner. She sat down and he set the bowl in front of her.

"Can I ask you something?" she said. "Sure," answered Mouser without looking up from his bowl. "Did you have any family on the inside? That you had to leave behind?"

Mouser's spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. He set it back down and half-smiled. "Yeah," he said, looking at Theo. She saw a sadness in his eyes that made her regret asking him anything. "My mom and dad. And a little brother...his name was Titus." He paused for a moment as if calling up a picture from his memory. "I loved that kid. He looked up to me. I was on the track team at my high school. He always came to my practices and even said that he wanted to run in the Olympics one day, to make me proud of him." He paused again. Theo pressed her lips together. Mouser suddenly brightened. "I remember one time, my family showed up to a track meet one season...my brother had painted a sign for me that said 'Go win, Mousr!' The 's' was backwards and her forgot the 'e.'" Theo smiled. "He was a good kid...I miss him."

"I'm sure you do." said Theo. "So you were a track star slash computer hacker, huh?" Mouser laughed. "I guess we all have our secrets." Theo laughed too. She never would have guessed. "What about you?" asked Mouser. "Did you have anyone?"

"Yeah. My mom and two sisters...and a boyfriend." she stopped there. She didn't want to say too much.

"You had a boyfriend? You never mentioned him before."

"Yeah. I usually don't talk about personal things right up front. I sure do miss him, though."

"You want to go back for them, don't you?" Mouser asked bluntly. Theo was taken aback.

"Well...I do wish I could, but--"

"It seems impossible?"

Theo sighed. She'd been doing that a lot lately. "Not so impossible," she said. "I'd at least try to go back to them if got a chance."

"I probably would too."

"So why don't you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know if I'd want to risk it...too many things could go wrong, you know?"

Theo rested an elbow on the table. It seemed she was the only person who agreed with her.

"But I guess--I guess if you asked 'what if' all the time, then nothing would really get done, ya know? Like I bet there were a million what if's when they pulled Neo out, 'What if he's not the One?' 'What if we get him killed?' But we did try for it, and now maybe we have a chance to end this war."

"But what about everyone else in matrix?"

Mouser shrugged again. "We can't save everyone else, Theo. Not now anyway." Theo nodded. "But," continued Mouser, "We can do the best we can, right?"

"Right."

"So if you did want to risk seeing your family and boyfriend again...I don't see why you shouldn't try for it." Theo admired Mouser. He wasn't great with words, but whenever he had some insight to give, it was usually good.

"Thanks, Mouse." Theo reached over and ruffled his hair a bit. He playfully punched her in the shoulder. "You should go talk to Morpheus."

"I was thinking the same. Do you know when he's going to get back?"

Mouser looked across the ship to see Morpheus lying unconscious on the metal chair as it was being lowered. Tank was approaching him, as Morpheus was ready to be unplugged.

"Looks like your chance," said Mouser. "Go for it."

Theo smiled at Mouser again. Without ever having touched her bowl of nourishment, she went over to the station, reassuring herself as she went. Morpheus slowly rose from his chair, letting his eyes adjust to the light again. Tank was replacing the equipment. "How was your meeting?" asked Theo. Morpheus nodded. "It went well. I just needed to get some things straightened out before we went back to Zion."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Morpheus smiled. "Of course. I needed to talk to you also." Tank looked up and winked at Theo. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she gave him a little wave. She and Morpheus both began walking.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, first of all, I know I've said this a million times, but thank you for having me aboard."

"It's been a pleasure."

"As you might know, I still have loved ones in the matrix."

"Uh huh..."

"And I know you've probably heard this before from some of the others, but they were a huge part of my life, and as wonderful as you guys have been to me, I've been lonely without them."

"Are you asking that you re-enter the matrix so that you can see your loved ones again?"

"Not only that," said Theo, "But I want them unplugged."

Morpheus' expression became a bit more somber. Theo continued. "I know, it would be a big risk, but I can't just leave them in there. I haven't been able to function knowing that they're stuck in that morbid factory."

Morpheus nodded. "I know, Theo. I've noticed."

"And they're such wonderful people, my sisters, they're always willing to help out, and my mother can fix anything...my boyfriend taught me everything I know about computers..." Theo was running out of reasons, but she pressed on. "If there's any conceivable way at all that we can save them, Morpheus, even if I have to go in there myself...please..." She felt a sob rising in her throat. "I need them, Morpheus. I need them." A few tears spilled over onto her cheeks and she swiftly wiped them away. But Morpheus heard the distress in her voice.

"Theo," he said in his characteristically fatherly voice, "I understand. And I do know what it's like to have left people behind. But you need to understand how much time, effort and risk goes into locating people--"

"I know, I do understand and I would be more than willing to contribute!" Her voice showed that she was on the verge of breaking down.

"Thus far, we've only been retrieving people who would be helpful to our cause. I apologize, it was unfair of us to strip you away from everything that you knew."

Theo nodded in acknowledgment. "But unplugging you was an investment on our part. You have a strong spirit, Theo. And your determination and skill makes you valuable to us. We need more people like that. Now I made that investment with the hopes of one day winning this war and destroying the machines for good. And I believe that one day that will come to pass, and we'll all be reunited with people that we've left behind. But for now, Theo, unplugging your family would be jeopardizing us and the rest of Zion. I'm sorry."

Theo bit her lip and fought for composure. She again nodded.

"But," continued Morpheus, "Perhaps you can at least see them again." Theo looked up at Morpheus. "The Oracle has asked to see you."

Her eyes went wide. "She wants to see me? But why?"

Morpheus shook his head. "I'm not sure. But I stopped to see her on my way back here and she wants you to come."

Theo wasn't sure what to say. "When...when do I go?"

"Tomorrow. As soon as Tank is ready to send us."

Theo smiled. "And my family?"

"I'll see what I can do. We'd have to be discreet. Perhaps Neo will be willing to come along for protection."

Theo sighed happily and wrapped her arms around Morpheus' neck. He smiled slightly and awkwardly patted her back. "Thanks, Morpheus! Thank you so much."

She went to tell Tank what Morpheus' decision was, then she stopped for moment. "Morpheus," she said. "You've been like a father to me."

Morpheus smiled and looked at the ground humbly. "Thank you, Theo. That means a lot to me."

She smiled and ran towards the construct. One day, she thought. But this was good enough for now.