Sweat trickled down his throat, itching a path in such a way that the darkness of sleep gave way to the darkness of waking. Neo rubbed at tired eyes that no longer existed and tried to sit up. The wealth of blankets made it difficult and then he heard a soft, “Let me help,” from Morpheus. His friend pulled off the blankets and then placed a hand under his back. helping him upright and then sitting beside him directly after.
“How long did I sleep?” Neo asked, still tired in a bone-deep way.
Morpheus answered, “Almost twenty hours. Are you hungry? I have food. Fruit.”
Startled, Neo asked, “Where did you get fruit?”
“We have hydroponic gardens now,” Morpheus explained.
It was something of a surprise to realize that he was hungry; ravenous even. Nodding, he agreed, “Bathroom first. I’ll find my way out there.”
“I left clothes on the bathroom sink for you.”
Neo paused, realizing that meant he wasn’t wearing any. He was grateful all over again that he’d been found by Morpheus. He climbed carefully out of the bed on the other side and made his way to the bathroom by touch. There was barely any response from his body when he tried to relieve himself, which meant he was seriously dehydrated. He used the water sparingly to wash a bit and he grimaced at the stubble that had grown in. Neo hated being unshaven, but knew there was no way he could do it himself.
He felt around for the clothes next, finding them easily. It took a while to figure out how to get dressed, but he managed it. There was no way he’d call Morpheus to help with that. Neo left the bathroom and walked through the bedroom to the main area where he hesitated.
“Over here, Neo,” Morpheus called.
Neo’s head turned towards the other man’s voice and he walked slowly, hands out until he touched the sofa.
“Follow the sofa and then walk three steps beyond to the table.”
He did and found the metal table easily, sitting in one of the chairs. They weren’t very comfortable, but that wasn’t a surprise. He doubted Morpheus spent much time entertaining, if any. Which brought to mind… “How is Niobe?”
Morpheus sounded surprised as he replied, “She’s fine.”
“And not here…?” Neo questioned.
“No, we never…it didn’t work out like that.” There was an awkward pause before Morpheus continued, “Here, eat.”
Neo felt the other man’s presence beside him and heard the plunk of metal on metal that meant Morpheus had set a plate in front of him.
“It’s fruit salad, mostly berries and melon, which were the easiest to grow, and there’s toast and eggs, too.”
“Eggs?” Neo echoed, stomach tightening in anticipation.
“I boiled two for you. Don’t want to overload your stomach too much at first. And, can I let the doctor look at you? I just, I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Neo nodded reaching for the plate to find a fork pushed gently into his hand.
“You want juice or water?”
“Can I have both?”
“Of course.”
When Morpheus moved away, something insid Neo tensed. He ate slowly, finding each piece of food on his plate and stabbing it firmly before raising it to his mouth. He missed the first couple of times before getting the hang of it. His ears tracked Morpheus on the other side of the room, listening to the pouring of liquids.
The other man returned shortly and sat in the seat beside him as he asked, “You up to seeing Linc? I know he’d love to see you. Maybe after the doctor looks you over?”
“I don’t know,” Neo hedged. “I…maybe tomorrow?”
Morpheus agreed, “Of course. Not until you’re ready, Neo, I promise.”
Neo relaxed at that and even smiled a little in his direction. “Thank you, Morpheus. For everything.”
* * * *
It took Morpheus a lot longer than it should have to get over the simple expression of thanks. His throat closed at the knowledge that the man who had been through hell and returned could still be so…genuine and sincere. He’d watched the young man grow into the semi-Messianic figure that others revered and never worried that it would affect Neo. Despite that, he couldn’t quite grasp that Neo could say ‘thank you’ and still mean it.
Finally recovering, he said gruffly, “Whatever you need, Neo,” and rose to pour himself some water. When he turned back, it was to find a frown of concentration on Neo’s face. As he walked back and it cleared, Morpheus realized that Neo had been listening to his location, maybe even worried that he would be left alone.
That was when it hit that the
man before him wasn’t the quietly confident man who’d left The Hammer to save
their city. This man was shattered and frightened, clinging to his calm the way
some clung to alcohol or drugs; to save their sanity. He had no inkling of what
Neo had gone through to destroy Smith and survive whatever the machines had
done in exchange for saving
Shamed by his thoughtlessness, Morpheus cleared his throat and said, “I’m going to call the doctor now, but I won’t be far. Just outside. And I won’t be long.”
Neo nodded and studiously returned to eating, chewing each bite slowly as if savoring the flavor.
Morpheus strode from the room and walked down the hall to the comm. unit that connected to all strategic points. He dialed Medical and waited impatiently for someone to pick up.
“Medical.”
“This is Morpheus.
He made it back to his quarters in no time and called out upon entering, “It’s me, Neo. The doctor should be here shortly.”
“All right,” Neo replied equably.
Morpheus saw that the food was gone already, as were the juice and water as he approached and asked, “Still thirsty?”
“A little.”
He moved automatically to the counter where both canisters resided and simply brought them to the table as he said, “Juice is at two o’clock and water is at eleven.”
Neo smiled faintly and reached for the juice first. Morhpeus watched the once-nimble fingers feel it over to determine the dimensions. His gaze guiltily dropped when Neo’s mouth encircled the opening. It was entirely inappropriate for his thoughts to turn in any direction except wanting to help his friend and he was grateful for the knock on the door, even though it caused Neo to flinch.
Gripping Neo’s shoulder briefly, he said, “It’s probably just the doctor,” and rose to find out. He opened the door to find the tall, thin man who’d been a real doctor in the matrix standing just outside. Walsh was actually his first name, his only name, like many of them who’d escaped before the War. Morpheus hadn’t asked what it came from, but then, no one asked him where he’d latched onto his own name, either.
“Come on in,” Morpheus greeted, opening the door further.
Dr. Walsh stopped short at the sofa when Neo turned to fully face them, shock and horror at the sight of the other man rendering him apparently speechless.
Morpheus came to his rescue and introduced, “Neo, this is Dr. Walsh. He’s been here since shortly after the War. He’s a good man and knows what he’s doing.”
Neo stood and stepped forward the three paces to the sofa with his hand out. “It’s good to meet you.”
Dr. Walsh had, by then, recovered and took the hand in his own as he replied, “The honor’s mine, Neo. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
That small, crooked smile surfaced briefly and Neo commented, “Take it with a grain of salt, Doc.”
“Well, all right then,” Dr. Walsh said. “Shall we get started? Morpheus, would you give us some privacy?”
“Morpheus stays.”
Morpheus wasn’t surprised that Dr. Walsh flinched at Neo’s hard, flat tone.
“All, all right. Of course, Neo. Well, then. I’m just going to start by taking your vitals.”
Sitting on the back of the sofa, Morpheus watched closely as the doctor examined Neo from head to foot. He took vitals, checked scar tissue, took blood and urine samples, even tested reflexes. The whole thing took nearly an hour, but Neo still looked stiff and uncomfortable with the stranger’s hands on him by the end of it.
Finally, Dr. Walsh told Neo that he could dress and reported, “Everything seems fine, at first glance. I do want him to come down for x-rays and scans, but assuming nothing shows in the blood samples, he seems to be in perfect health. The, the machines did a good job fixing him up.”
Aside from the missing eyes, Morpheus thought darkly.
Neo said, “Thank you, Dr. Walsh. I appreciate you coming out like this. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“It’s an honor, as I said. When you’re ready, we’ll do those scans,” Walsh said as they shook hands again.
Morpheus walked the man to the door and said quietly, “Don’t discuss his condition with anyone or I will hunt you down and make you need treatment from your own staff.”
Dr. Walsh swallowed nervously, but nodded. “Naturally. Doctor patient confidentiality, especially here, Morpheus.”
“That wasn’t very nice, threatening the doctor like that,” Neo scolded upon the door closing.
Morpheus
snorted. “If I didn’t, it would be all over
Neo shrugged and countered,
“Gossip is gossip. It’ll still be all over
Rueful, he sat back in his chair at the table and acknowledged, “I suppose that’s true.”
“You can ask, you know.”
“Ask what?”
“About my eyes. What happened to Trin. Why the machines stopped. What happened to Smith.”
Morpheus looked at the other man, really looked at him, and took in the eerie sight of the closed eyes that would never open; the hollowed cheeks and thick stubble growing over cheeks and chin. Beyond that was the tension that radiated from the too-thin frame. He looked fragile and ready to shatter anew. Running a hand over his own face, Morpheus suggested, “Let’s sleep on it and start talking tomorrow.”
Neo nodded slowly and agreed, “That sounds good to me.”
Standing, Morpheus touched Neo’s shoulder, guiding him to his feet as he asked, “Are you warm now?”
The question seemed to startle the other man, who answered, “I am, thank you.”
“Good,” Morpheus murmured. “I’m glad.”
For a moment, it seemed as though Neo looked straight at him, though of course that was impossible. The other said at last, “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Morpheus.”
“Good night, Neo,” Morpheus replied.
He watched as Neo moved precisely to the bedroom and then stopped at the door to turn back and question, “Are you coming?”
Morpheus blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“It’s your bed, Morpheus, and I doubt even your snoring will keep me awake. Unless you’re shy?”
The teasing brought a grin to his face as he walked over and warned lightly, “I might wind up kicking you in my sleep.”
“I think I can handle that,” Neo told him, dry. “Come on, then.”
It was only a few minutes later that they were both ensconced in the fairly large bed, though Morpheus was anything but tired. He stared at the ceiling until Neo’s breathing slowed and evened, indicating a deeper sleep. Rolling onto his side, he stared at the other man’s scarred face and still saw the man with whom he’d fallen in love.
Tomorrow would bring answers and probably more pain, but for now, Morpheus had what he’d wanted for a very, very long time.