A week later Morpheus was back in the infirmary, Niobe at his side. "You said they'd recover!" he yelled at Cass.

"Morpheus," Niobe said warningly. "They went through a lot and it's only been a week."

"I don't know what happened," Cass said, frustration and worry evident in her voice. She knew Morpheus wasn't really mad at her, he was worried. He had been to the infirmary everyday for the past week. "It's like they've given up, they're not fighting anymore."

Morpheus ran a hand over his face. "They can't, all the times they almost died, all the times they pulled each other through, brought each other back..."

"Wait, that's it!" Niobe exclaimed. When Morpheus and Cass just stared at her, Niobe hurried to continue. "Every other time, one of them has been there to pull the other through. But they can't do that now! They're connected, they need that connection."

"So what do we do?" Morpheus asked.

Niobe paused, thinking. "Cass, scoot Trinity over. Morpheus, move Neo over to her bed."

"Are you sure about this?" Morpheus asked warily as he laid Neo next to Trinity.

"Yes," Niobe assured him. "Trust me."

"I hope this works," Cass whispered to herself.

Two days later, Cass was sitting in the infirmary when she heard a moan. Cass hurried over to the bed as Neo moaned again. "Neo?" she asked. "Can you hear me? It's Cass."

"Cass," Neo rasped. "What happened? Where's Trinity?" He sat up quickly and tried to look around.

"Whoa, wait a second Neo. Trinity's safe, she's right next to you."

Neo felt next to him and his hand brushed Trinity's leg. "Trin," he gasped, his hands running over her body. "What's wrong with her? Why isn't she moving?"

Cass sighed. "She's unconscious, Neo. She's been getting better though since we put you in her bed. It'll be a little while still. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Can I get up?"

Cass paused. "If you feel up to it..."

Neo carefully slid out of bed and felt his way around the bed until he was next to Trinity. He sat down in the chair that Morpheus had been using and took Trinity's hand in his. As he stroked her fingers gently, Neo turned his head, trying to figure out where Cass was. "Cass, what happened here? Trinity told me what it looks like out there."

"I'll let Morpheus tell you, he wanted me to call him when you woke up." Cass left to call Morpheus and came back to find Neo talking softly to Trinity.

"We did it, Trin," he whispered, tracing one hand gently over her face. "We're home. And you're going to be just fine. Cass says you're doing much better. I love you, baby. So much."

Cass cleared her throat. "Morpheus is on his way. How are your eyes?"

"They don't hurt," Neo answered. "They don't work either."

"We did some tests while you were unconscious. It looks like your occipital lobes haven't been damaged."

"Is that good?" Neo asked, still facing Trinity, even though he couldn't see her.

"It's hopeful. We'll have to do some more tests to find out if we can save your vision, but it's a good sign."

"How's she doing?" Neo asked, kissing Trinity's fingers softly.

Cass smiled sadly. Seeing how much Neo loved Trinity made her miss Dozer even more. "Her heart rate is up and her resps are improving."

"How long have we been here?"

"Nine days."

Morpheus entered the room and a relieved smile spread over his face. "Neo. How are you feeling?"

"Good." Neo stood up and felt his way towards Morpheus's voice. "Cass says that Trinity's doing better. Morpheus, what happened here?"

Morpheus explained the battle for Zion, then asked the question he'd been waiting to ask for nine days. "Why did the sentinels stop, Neo? They just laid down like...dogs or something."

Neo nodded as he felt his way back to his chair and began to stroke Trinity's hair soothingly. "When I went to the Source, I didn't try to destroy the Matrix. I knew we couldn't win that war. Right then all I could think about was ending Smith and having peace so I could get Trinity back here so she would be safe. So I asked for peace. The Source said that if I could end Smith, it would stop the war. We can free those who wish to be free. And we can use this time to rebuild so eventually, we can end the Matrix."

Morpheus nodded. "And what happened with Bane? You said something when you first got here. Something about Bane being Smith?"

Neo nodded. "He was. The closest I could figure, Smith turned Bane into one of his clones, so we brought Smith's mind out in Bane's body. He tried to kill Trinity and did this to my eyes. But somehow, I could see Smith in him afterwards, in all these lights, like flame."

Neo yawned and Morpheus smiled slightly. "Rest now, Neo. I'll be back later."

"Morpheus, wait," Neo stood, a small smile playing on his lips. "Kid really helped save Zion?"

"Yep. Who knew he had it in him?" Morpheus stroked a hand over Trinity's hair gently before leaving.

Smiling slightly to himself, Neo moved back to his side of the bed. He curled up next to Trinity and kissed her gently. "Did you hear that, sweetheart? Kid did good. Now we just need you to wake up and everything will be fine."

Neo spent the next three days sitting by Trinity, talking to her, anything that he could think of that might help. Cass had told him that he was recovering well enough to leave the infirmary but he refused to leave without Trinity. Finally, twelve days after arriving in Zion, Neo was resting his head on the bed.

Trinity could hear beeping and shivered slightly. Her chest and left arm hurt. Why was it so cold? She shifted and blinked her eyes open. As she regained consciousness, memories from the Machine City came flooding back to her. She moved her right hand and felt hair. Looking down, a smile bloomed on her face. "Neo," she said softly.

Neo's head jerked up and turned toward Trinity. "Trin?" he asked softly, hardly believing that it was true.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Neo smiled, relief spreading over his face. "I'm fine. We're in the infirmary. How are you feeling?"

"I'm cold," Trinity said softly.

"I'll get Cass, she can bring a blanket." Neo stroked a finger lovingly down Trinity's cheek before standing. He felt his way to the other room where Cass was caring for a Zionian who had broken her arm during clean up. He felt his way back to Trinity with the blanket Cass had given him. He tucked it around her and as he did he heard a sniffle. Neo sat on the edge of the bed and raised his hand to Trinity's cheek. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Are you hurting?"

Trinity shook her head against his hand and forced herself to sit up. She gasped in pain but buried her face in Neo's chest. His arms came around her as she sobbed. Each sob sent stabs of pain through her chest and back but she couldn't contain them.

"You're okay," Neo soothed. "Sh, it's okay honey."

"I just...your eyes," she sobbed.

"Oh baby, don't cry for that. Please Trin, Cass said that there's hope."

Cass hurried into the room, relieved when she saw Trinity clinging to Neo. "Trinity, welcome back." She walked over to the bed as Neo carefully lowered Trinity back to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little sore," Trinity answered, trying to minimize her pain. "How long have we been here?"

"Twelve days." Cass checked her heart rate and did other tests. "I'm going to go call Morpheus. He's been worried about you."

After she left, Trinity reached for Neo's hand. "How did you do it? How did you heal me?"

"I just knew I could," he said softly. "The Oracle told me that I had power here as well as in the Matrix." Neo's eyes filled with tears which leaked out the sides and down his face. "I couldn't let you go, Trin. I love you too much."

Trinity smiled and brought his fingers to her lips so he could feel it. "I love you, too," she whispered softly as she sat up. Trinity bit back a gasp of pain but Neo could feel it as she wrapped her good arm around his neck. Seeing the worried look on his face, Trinity pulled his lips to hers and kissed him passionately, reveling in the feel of his lips on hers and the taste that only belonged to her love. Neo kissed her back, overjoyed that he could, that she was alive. Behind them, a throat cleared and they jumped.

"I guess you're feeling better, Trinity," Morpheus said, trying to hold back a smile.

Trinity nodded and grinned broadly. "Morpheus." He was standing there with Niobe, their fingers linked intimately.

Morpheus left Niobe, walked to the bed, and folded Trinity into his arms. He stroked her hair gently as he pulled back. "How are you feeling?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm okay," Trinity reached for Neo's hand. She didn't feel comfortable being separated from him yet. She needed to touch him, to feel that he was alive, they both were, and they were safe. "Hello, Niobe. We brought the Logos back for you. She's taken a beating, but she'll work."

Niobe laughed. "Thanks."

Morpheus caught Niobe's eye and nodded. "Neo, may I see you?

Feeling Trinity's hand clutch his unconsciously, Neo stroked it reassuringly. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Trin."

Morpheus shook his head. "Not this. I'll bring him back," Morpheus smiled as he took Neo's arm to lead him from the room. Once they were in the hall and out of hearing distance, Morpheus stopped. "Thank you for bringing her back," he began. "I don't know how you did it, but right now I care less about the how than the why."

"I love her," Neo replied simply. "I need her, I couldn't leave her because I knew I couldn't do it without her."

"I appreciate your honesty," Morpheus said. "I just wanted to warn you...be careful with her. She loves you and I won't see her hurt."

Neo's face showed only shock. "I would never hurt her," he all but yelled. "You've known that we're together for nearly a year and you've never had a problem with it before."

"That was different," Morpheus said calmly. "You were both so busy working, I know you needed her and she needed you. But everything's different now. There's peace. I don't want to see that tear you apart."

"It won't," Neo stated.

"Good." Morpheus paused briefly. "I've known Trinity for years. I unplugged her and I watched her grow up and become a soldier. But I also watched her hide her emotions and build a wall around her heart. I've never seen her as happy as she's been these past few months with you. I love Trinity like a daughter and I don't want to see her hurt."

Neo paused, surprised by Morpheus's honesty. "You won't," he finally answered.

Back in the main room, Niobe had taken a seat in the chair next to Trinity. "Are you really okay?" Niobe asked worriedly.

Trinity nodded. "I'm a little sore, but not too bad, considering."

"Morpheus told me what happened." Niobe laughed when she saw the shock on Trinity's face. "Neo told him."

"Are you and Morpheus...?" Trinity trailed off, feeling awkward. She remembered clearly when Niobe and Morpheus were together and their break up. Morpheus had been devastated but tried to hide it, as usual.

Niobe nodded. "Jason and I weren't meant to be together. All we did was fight."

Trinity nodded, not terribly surprised. "Is Link alright?" she asked, anxious to find out the fate of her friend.

"Link is fine," Niobe assured her. "So is Zee and so are Artemis and Athena," she added. Artemis and Athena were Cass and Dozer's children.

"Good," Trinity relaxed slightly. She grew quiet and looked around, waiting for Neo to return. What had Morpheus wanted to talk to him about? She's noticed both now and when Neo had briefly left her before to retrieve Cass that she felt much safer with him nearby. When he was close she felt like they could protect each other.

Niobe noticed that Trinity looked like she was on edge and sighed in sympathy. "Do you know when you can get out of here?" she asked, hoping to distract young woman who she'd helped raise. When Morpheus had unplugged Trinity, Niobe and he had just started dating. Niobe had still been at the academy and 15 to Morpheus's 20 when he introduced her to Trinity and asked Niobe to watch over the 9-year-old. Since then, Niobe had treated Trinity like a younger sister.

"I haven't asked," Trinity answered. "I have no idea what we're doing now." She paused. "Have we started rebuilding Zion? What steps are we taking to end the Matrix?"

Before Niobe could answer, Morpheus and Neo reentered the room. Neo felt his way to the bed and lowed himself next to Trinity. They immediately linked fingers and Trinity leaned into him. Morpheus stood by Niobe, resting a hand on her shoulder. "We've started rebuilding Zion, focusing on the internal damage first. Then we'll start repairing the dock. Neo, the council would like to see you when you're ready. They want a detailed report of what happened at 01 before we make any plans to end the Matrix."

Neo nodded. "We'll let you know when we're ready. The Source said that we can free those who wish to be freed. But we have to wait until Zion is fully operational again."

Morpheus nodded. "I will tell the council."

Niobe squeezed his hand and nodded towards Cass, who was hovering inside the door, looking not-so-happy. "Link and Zee want to visit, we'll have them wait a few hours." Niobe stood and smiled at Trinity and Neo. "I'm glad you're back."

Morpheus hugged Trinity again and allowed Niobe to pull him out of the room. Cass came back and began adjusting the sheets around her patients.

"What did Morpheus want?" Trinity asked, looking up at Neo.

"Well," Neo tucked his arm around her shoulders. "He warned me."

Trinity stiffened, imagining that Morpheus wanted Neo to go back into the Matrix for some reason. "He warned you against what?"

Neo paused. Trinity wasn't going to like this but he knew she was probably imagining something worse. "Morpheus warned me against you, actually."

"Me?" Trinity sat up and winded. "What do you mean he warned you about me?"

Neo reached out and gently drew her back to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Specifically? He warned me not to hurt you."

"He WHAT?!" Trinity shrieked, immediately fighting against Neo's grasp. "That pompous, meddling, over-protective..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Neo objected lightly. "Relax, Trin."

"I'm not going to relax, I'm going to kill him!" Neo, let me go!" She continued to pull away from him, determined to give Morpheus a rather large piece of her mind.

"Trinity calm down and listen!" Neo demanded as he tightened his grip on her. Trinity gasped in pain and stilled.

"What?" she snapped.

"Don't be mad at Morpheus, Trin. He was protecting you."

"I don't need to be protected, Neo. I'm not a child. I can take care of myself and Morpheus of all people should know that!"

Neo gathered her close, trying to calm her down. "He does. Inside the Matrix, as a soldier, he trusts you. But he loves you like a daughter. He just wanted to make sure I was going to treat you right. And I am."

"I still don't like it," Trinity grumbled, even though she was touched that Morpheus thought of her as a daughter. Since he'd unplugged her, he'd been a father figure to her. "And I'll have to give him hell about it."

"I know. But I imagine I'll do the same thing when our daughter starts dating."

Trinity opened her mouth, closed it, and finally spoke. "Our daughter?" she asked, confused and amused.

"Maybe. Do you want to have kids, Trin?"

She paused, thinking. "I never really thought about it until we were in 01. I couldn't during the war, I couldn't bring a child into that. And I didn't have anyone who I wanted to have babies with until you." She smiled slightly. "But yeah, I do want kids." She paused. "Do...do you think that after everything that's happened I can still get pregnant?"

"I don't know," Neo answered softly. "In a few weeks we can have Cass do some tests to find out. But right now you need to concentrate on getting better." He shifted so Trinity's head was pillowed on his chest.

"So do you," Trinity murmured, linking her fingers through his. As Trinity began to drift back to sleep, she realized Cass was carrying flowers and other gifts into the room. "Whazzat?" she mumbled.

"What's what?" Neo asked, kissing her temple gently.

"Flowers. Blankets. Stuff."

"Gifts from your fans," Cass explained with a smile. "If it's possible, you two are even more famous and beloved than before. People have been leaving presents for almost two weeks."

"Oh," Trinity murmured. "Should we keep them?"

"I think everyone would be hurt if you returned them," Cass said. "You two are heroes. You saved Zion and made peace."

"We were soldiers," Neo replied, rubbing Trinity's back gently. "We did our jobs."

"And right now, your jobs are to rest and heal," Cass said gently. She left to check on her other patient and when she came back, Trinity and Neo were both asleep, content in each other's arms.