Alright kiddies, in honor of the 4400 Season Three premier (can I get a WOOHOO!) I thought I'd quick put out this little one-shot ficlet. So by "quick" I mean, no more rambling, let's go!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, with the exception of my OC, which I'm sure you'll figure out who that is since this fic will be Shawn/OC….you're smart people, aren't ya? -

This story takes place somewhere kinda between "the Fifth Page" and "Mommy's Bosses" during the quarantine of the 4400 in Season 2.

..:Nothing Can Ever Be the Same:..

Shawn Farrell had a lot to think about, a lot more than someone at his age should be thinking about. In the past few weeks, things had changed, drastically, leaving him to try and keep up the pace. His mentor and the dearest friend he'd had since he returned had been shot and killed, leaving him the head of his own company.

Shawn seemed on the outside to be your typical 20-something who had been forced to grow up too fast. Instead of being a poor college student wearing his favorite band tee-shirt and going to concerts on a Friday night with his roommates, he was in board meetings, wearing suits, making appointments, and avoiding migraines. And the closest friend he had at the moment was his receptionist.

All of these factors though, had now come to an abrupt and shuddering halt. So here he was back at NTAC, a place he swore he'd never come back to, in quarantine, something he swore he'd never put himself through again. This time it had been a good reason. The 4400 had been unexplainably infected by some kind of strange virus. An antidote had since been found, but only with enough to save one person. The officers at NTAC were fearing that they were now being put up to the task of deciding which one of the 4400 should live while the rest would be condemned, but his uncle, Tom Baldwin, had realized that one vaccine was all they needed.

Shawn had been the one, but his task wasn't over there, he then had to go around and heal 4399 people. Healing one person was enough to tire him out for half an hour or so, but they didn't have that kind of time with a pandemic. So here lay Shawn hours later: spent, exhausted, and all around weak.

Despite it all, he rose from his make-shift bed and wandered late at night in the dark. NTAC kept everyone over-night to check the vitals and such on all the members of the 4400, so Shawn tried his best to move silently. On his journey to the other end of the room, he passed the occasional empty bed and he prayed that they were empty because their owners were on a similar journey around the room.

He was growing increasingly light-headed in the dark and tried to find somewhere to sit. He stumbled to the end of a row of beds and found an empty one that he half sat, half collapsed onto. Shawn held his head in his hands and leaned back onto the mattress that he was finding more uncomfortable by the second.

"If you don't mind, pretty boy, those are my legs you're laying on."

Shawn sat bolt upright, eyes wide and migraine momentarily forgotten. The bed shifted and a soft laugh could be heard to Shawn's left. "Relax, I won't shoot you for it," the person sat up. Shawn could tell now without even looking that it was a girl.

"I'm sorry, I honestly didn't see you there-"Shawn began to explain, but she cut him off.

"Hey hey, ease up a bit," the girl said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, that had to be the best icebreaker I've ever seen," she snorted. Shawn couldn't help but laugh at himself. "There you go," she said. "My name's Naima, Naima Raylen."

"Shawn Farrell," he replied. She gave him a toothy grin and even in the dark of the room, he could see the light from the moon reflect off her teeth.

"Of course. You're the savior who brought us all back from our near death experiences," she replied melodramatically.

Shawn smiled. "Well I don't know about that, but thanks… I think."

"Don't mention it."

He looked away for a moment, his eyes full of emotion. The look wasn't lost on Naima. "So what seems to be troubling you Shawn Farrell, savior to 4400-kind?" she joked.

He laughed slightly. "I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Ahhh, but of course you do," Naima prodded.

"Well…" Shawn trailed off. Naima raised her eyebrows expectantly. She wasn't taking "no" for an answer. Shawn sighed and looked away again. "Ever feel like the world just got dumped on your shoulders?" He asked distantly.

"I see." Naima nodded thoughtfully. She scooted over and patted next to her. "Step into my office, I'm intrigued," she smiled. Shawn turned to face her. He leaned back so he was lying flat on the cot next to Naima who was sitting up. He looked a bit confused to say the least, and he was questioning her motives as well, but in the end, he saw no harm in it and tucked his arms behind his head.

"So," Naima began, bending slightly over so she was looking him in the face. "You feel like all this responsibility has been thrown at you and you're trying to catch it all." It was more of a statement than a question. Shawn nodded silently and she gave him another toothy grin. "Well I hate to say it, pretty boy, but 'Welcome to Adulthood.'" He glared at her for the 'pretty boy' remark.

"You know, usually after someone introduces themselves to you, you shouldn't have to use funny pet-names anymore," he seethed.

She began to laugh and cut it off suddenly by replying, "Don't change the subject."

He was finding it difficult to stay angry at her and it frustrated him. "Fine, but I'm pretty sure not every normal adult has to deal with all the things I have to deal with now."

Naima quirked an eyebrow. "So you'll learn, besides, you're not a 'normal adult' are you?" She stared at him intensely for a moment and added, "You have pretty eyes."

Shawn was taken aback, but recovered quickly with, "What happened to not changing the subject?"

"See? You're learning already," she grinned again.

"But…I…" Shawn stammered slightly.

"Look. As clichéd as it sounds, you're never going to know until you try it." Naima said.

"But what if I don't want to try?" Shawn asked desperately.

"We all have to do things we don't want to sometimes. Me for example: I never wanted someone to sit on me while I was trying to slee-"

Shawn cut her off, "But what if I fail?"

"Yes well, that's what's so lovely about trying. You don't have to be Tiger Woods to try golf. You don't need to have a backhand like the Williams sisters to give tennis a go. No one said you had to know how to run your company overnight."

Shawn sat up and looked at her. "Unfortunately, yes, someone did say that, so now what? And…How did you know what I was talking about? I didn't even tell you."

Naima's smile never wavered. "First question, you forget about everyone else and what they say. 'Do or die,' is not listed under the definition of trying. Worry about yourself for a second, because you're trying so hard to keep everyone else happy that you're suffering. You can't please everyone. Second question, because I'm smart."

"How do you know I'm suffering?"

"Well I'd answer that with 'because I'm smart,' again, but some people might find that arrogant." She smiled. Shawn looked away and put his head in his hands again. Naima put a hand on his shoulder. "Because you wouldn't be here talking to me if you weren't," she answered finally.

Shawn turned to look at her, letting his hands fall into his lap again. His brown eyes full of sorrow, he stared into her bright green ones. "Nothing can ever be the same, can it?"

Naima shook her head in mock frustration. She reached up and put her hand on the back of his neck and pressed his lips to hers. Shawn's eyes remained open in shock for a moment, but they soon fluttered shut. Naima broke away teasingly just as he began to respond to her. Their foreheads rested together and she smirked as he gave her the first genuine contented look since she met him. "No, no it can't," she breathed to him. "But that doesn't have to be a bad thing."

Woohoo! Naima's such a fun character to write. I have her as an RP character on a few sites now and I really love to have fun with her. She's kind of like an eccentric genius. A bit of a female Rafiki, really. Add a dash of a modern Elizabeth Bennet and dialogue sort of like Meg from the cartoon movie "Hercules," and BOOM! Naima! Haha, ok, now that I've talked up my own character development and you've survived….REVIEW KIDDIES!