Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

Naomi was sure she had unset her alarm for the next morning. Unfortunately, her body's ability to adapt woke her up early anyway.

Leave it to Naomi Wildman to unintentionally emulate her old mentor without even meaning to. Thinking of Seven made her slightly homesick, having bonded with the older woman quite closely on the ship, almost like a family would. She had been initially frightened of the former Borg, but the fear had eased away when she realized how caring and human she really was. After that Naomi had stuck to her, even imitating Borg ways, to the chagrin of Seven and Naomi's mother. She wondered what her old mentor was up to now, how she had adapted to Earth, and wondered if Icheb knew anything. Maybe she could ask him?

Pulling herself up, Naomi looked around the quiet room, yawning in sleepiness before slipping quietly out of bed. She had no rush to leave that morning so she was free to take her time. It was much too early for her roommates to wake up, however, so she still resolved to be as quiet as she could. Without having to meet confusing long-lost friends for breakfast that morning, avoiding the chance for more inevitable mixed signals for a change, Naomi set out toward the cafeteria, deciding she may as well go there and wait for her friends to wake up on their own.

She walked the halls, peering out the clear windows to look at the emerging sun from the hills. She smiled to herself, imagining the brilliant ball of fire chasing away the morning frost and bringing warmth to city. Perhaps even blanketing over her and whisking away confusing feelings and perplexing troubles. With that cheerful thought in mind, she made her way to the cafeteria, finding it mostly empty. She sat in the usual spot she and her roommates had taken for dinner on occasion and pulled out her PADD, looking over her assignments that were due that day. Between confusing ex Borgs and nosy roommates, Naomi had squeezed in precious study time, pouring herself into her assignments. She knew that in order to reach her goals she would have to do better than average. Fortunately the little Icheb had helped her with a few times that week had helped her understand a few of the more complex subjects. So engrossed in her studies, Naomi failed to notice the cafeteria slowing filling.

"Wildman!" Naomi snapped her gaze up, startled by the sudden voice near her. Kav'ain smiled and waved at her as he sat at a table with his friends.

"Morning," she greeted back cheerfully. "Have you seen Hannah or T'Chea?"

"Yeah, they stopped at the book store for something, they should be here soon," Kav'ain nodded. The Bajoran frowned slightly, seeing the preoccupied look in his friend's expression just as well as any of her other friends. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but she looked like she needed to think, so he decided against going over to her.

As Naomi waited, she could practically feel the excitement over finally reaching the weekend in the room. Her excitement was dampened slightly, her hyperactive thoughts turning her recent interactions with her old tutor over in her head more than she would have liked. Damn it, wasn't she trying to get ahead on her subjects just now? It wasn't as though she had suddenly become obsessed with him, or longed for him or any other girly synonym. Naomi was just trying to understand why after barely seeing each other and reuniting earlier that week, their dynamics could have changed so drastically.

Naomi remembered the time when she hadfirst met him. He had been extremely reclusive and naive in ways even she was ahead of him with. Even so, with how close she had gotten to Seven, it had been easy to make friends with him and the other Borg children. Naomi then remembered how her mother had once mentioned him being a 'cute boy' with the capacity to unintentionally distract her younger crewmates.

At the time, Naomi had scrunched her nose at the thought, thinking it weird and gross. He was her friend! And older and a dork. Him? Cute? No way! It had taken many months of interacting with him and growing rapidly for her to then barely see what her mother had been talking about. Even at his youth he had been attentive, kind, and helpful, and yes, Icheb had been a cute boy, noticed by the people he interacted with. She had admitted it to herself, even then as a kid, but was he distracting? Not a chance.

A few years later the thought of him being cute had resurfaced, but then five more years had gone by and she had barely thought of him. They had kept in contact, but very little and mostly through email. Here was the thing, Naomi knew she was being over-dramatic and irrational. She knew she was expending way too much time and energy thinking about him and over-thinking their growing relation, but something about him almost seemed to mirror her sentiments sometimes, and that confused the living hell out of her.

"-No, I think she's back at the Delta Quadrant," a voice mentioned softly and Naomi literally blinked away her memories from her vision to look around. T'Chea and Hannah sat by her, poking at their breakfast and looking at her with amusement. "There she is. You back on Earth now?" Hannah asked with a teasing smile, leaning over the table at her in a friendly manner.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to say something to me?" Naomi blushed in embarrassment, not having meant to get so lost in her thoughts.

"We simply wished to say good morning, but you were lost to us," T'Chea explained, a Romulan brow quirked up in silent question.

"I was just... reflecting. It's been a pretty wild week," Naomi responded quietly. "I know you're curious about my mornings, but like I said yesterday, the professor is helping me with extra credit and I'm helping him adjust to his new position. It's nothing worth poking and prodding at and I'd really rather not make a big deal over something so trivial, okay?"

"Alright, Naomi," T'Chea said, trying to pacify her recently easily agitated friend. "We understand," she agreed as Hannah nodded in understanding.

"Good," Naomi let out an audible sigh of relief and got up to get her own food. As long as she was left to deal with her troubles without inquisitive friends to poke at them, she felt she was more likely to figure out how to deal with them. The morning class was uneventful for the most part. The excitement for the weekend caused Icheb to have to scold his students at one point, but aside from that it was relaxed.

After class was over, Naomi paused at Icheb's desk, greeting him politely. "I enjoyed looking at the stars last night. Thank you for explaining the constellations to me. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you, I promise you weren't boring me," she told him with a faint grin. She had been getting confusing signals from him since she met him, and wasn't sure how to react to them.

"I understand," Icheb returned the smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I'll see you around, professor," Naomi gave him another brief smile before walking out.

Icheb set his PADD down and thought of the night's event. He was still trying to understand why it had been so difficult to concentrate on his work and his project with Starfleet, with her so close to him. This wasn't the first time she had been all but glued to his side in an instructional capacity, but somehow last night it felt different. It was made especially more puzzling when she had fallen asleep on him. He had looked over her relaxed features with affection, but felt a pleasant warmth flow through him at the same time.

The surprising need to pull her into his arms had almost overwhelmed him. He had firmly told himself that it was only to make her rest more comfortable, but he wasn't so sure that was the only reason. He feared what he would have done, be it act on his impulse or rudely pull her away if he hadn't tried to gently awaken her. He was relieved when she had woken up almost immediately. Even now though, he struggled to find the reasoning in his behavior. He knew deep down that his caring for Naomi ran deeper now, was different than it had been in the past. But would it be enough for him to completely lose himself in? Icheb hoped not. Starfleet was distracting enough.

Later that day, after their classes were over, Naomi met with Hannah in the practice fields, having agreed to go with her to watch Kav'ain and his friends practice some sports. The girls walked over, Naomi getting the chance to finally be the one teasing her friend over boys. Hannah took it like a trooper though, not hiding the fact that she had been harboring a deep crush on the handsome Bajoran. Maybe it demonstrated the difference in their slight age difference, as Naomi's roommates were both slightly older than her, but Naomi shook that thought away, not believing it. She was just complicated.

They arrived at the field and smiled fondly as they watched the 'boys' play, weaving from spot to spot, dodging attacks, rolling to defensive positions and getting scores. It was all fun and games until the boys noticed they had company, the attention of girls, and started to play a little rougher, a little more competitively. Hannah leaned over the railing and jumped up in excitement when the Bajoran seemed to be playing very well, scoring a point for his team. "Go Kav'ain!" Hannah cheered. drawing his attention.

To their horror, Kav'ain had turned to wave at her, not noticing the playing heading straight for him. When he turned back, he had to make a wide movement to avoid being run into, unfortunately he missed a step and his face was struck by the handle of one of the sports' tools. The boy flew back, falling on his back from the sudden impact, his vision becoming blurry with both disorientation and a great deal of blood trickling into his eyes. Hannah screeched in horror but Naomi was past the shock, her many experiences dealing with troubling situations as a child spurring her into motion.

"Hannah go get help!" Naomi told her friend and leaped over the railing, landing in front of the bleachers with more agility than she thought she had in her. Without another thought she sprinted to the field where the other players were already beginning to circle their friend. "Move aside please!" Naomi shouldered her way through the group and knelt down beside her friend, checking his injury.

"Wildman?" Kav'ain blinked in confusion, rubbing the blood from his eyes.

Naomi had been tutored by the doctor quite a few times on Voyager, even serving as his 'assistant' on many occasions for simple things, such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the occasional concussion. The doctor had sworn to Samantha that what she learned could one day save her needless trouble. It seemed she had been prepared wisely, for at the very moment Naomi recognized the injury to an incident that had happened to her as child. An away team had come back from a diplomatic meeting with a rather aggressive species and the negotiations had dissolved into a conflict. At the time Naomi was being taught the basics of comparative anatomy when the injured crew member had been brought in. The doctor had, rightfully so, ushered Naomi out, explaining that she did not need to see that much blood.

Afterwards, however, Naomi's curiosity got the better of her and she asked the doctor about it. He explained how it was a contusion to the man's leftmost frontal lobe and that the bleeding could be stopped with pressure. It was only dangerous if the brain was damaged or there was too much swelling. Fortunately, by the answers Kav'ain gave her to simple questions and how his pupils reacted normally when she covered and uncovered them, relying on the light outside, it seemed like just a simple concussion. It was nothing to be too worried about... but she wasn't exactly at the doctor's level and couldn't be sure.

All the same, Naomi took a towel one of the boys handed her, leaving her alone to care for her friend, and helped to support his head, trying her best to help him clean off the blood while they waited. As it happened, Hannah, the coach, and a doctor arrived quickly enough. "It's okay, Hannah, he'll be alright," Naomi assured her friend, stepping back for the professionals to tend to him.

Naomi went over and was about to hug her, but Hannah took a step back and shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said shakily. "Besides, you're covered in blood..." she took a calming breath. "You should go get cleaned up," the normally cheerful girl warned her, subdued by the accident.

Naomi looked down at her uniform and grimaced. "You're right. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Hannah repeated. "I'll look after Kav'ain, you go on."

Naomi nodded and dashed off, hoping that if she was fast enough she could avoid unwanted attention. Naomi had been in such a rush to get to her dorm that she hadn't noticed that her path had suddenly become blocked. As it happened, it just had to be the one person she was trying to... well, not avoid per se, but not run into at the moment! She knew what he would think, seeing her covered in blood. As predicted, as soon as Icheb caught Naomi before she could collide with him, he noticed the macabre all over her hands and parts of her uniform. Faster than you could say 'warp core breach' he was hounding her with questions.

"What happened?" Icheb demanded in a strained tone, his eyes raking over her. "Is this your blood? Are you hurt? What happened?" The look of panic in his expression was severe.

Peeking around them to make sure they weren't making a scene and relieved that they were out of the way enough to not be noticed, Naomi placed her hands on his arms, gently tugging his hands from her shoulders. "Icheb, if you give me a chance, I'll explain. Don't worry, it's not my blood." Oh yeah, very comforting. It wasn't her blood, she was just covered in someone else's blood and running at full speed through the campus. Nothing wrong at all! Unfortunately, and rationably enough, her explanation didn't seem to calm him down as much as Naomi had hoped it would.

"Then who's is it? What's going on? Are we under attack?" Icheb stepped closer, the worry yet to leave his eyes.

"No no no," Naomi shook her head. "It's alright," she insisted, and began to explain. "My friend and I were watching her crush playing sports. He noticed her attention and got distracted. One thing led to another and his face sort of collided with another player. He's fine though, Hannah brought help and they're with him now."

"I see," Icheb sighed quietly, assuming Hannah was Cadet Moore and Naomi's friend in their first class. "It is a relief that you are unharmed, and that we aren't under attack," he added.

"Yeah. My only concern now is getting to my room to clean up without getting stopped every few minutes or scolded by officers or instructors!" The way he was looking at her made Naomi's heart skip a beat as it rushed within her ribcage. How could someone look so concerned and still pull off looking so captivating at the same time?

"If it would be easier, you are welcome to come with me to my residence? It is not far from here, just two blocks further than the diner. I am aware of how it may appear to others, but if we are careful and quick, you can be in and out with a clean uniform before anyone notices you missing. I have a device that will allow you to remove most of the blood easily enough." Icheb waited patiently for her reply, watching as the proverbial wheels turned in her head. Her expression was unreadable, and he hoped he hadn't stepped out of line with the suggestion.

Naomi couldn't decide what she wanted to do more, laugh at herself for how she was reacting to his innocent suggestion, or mourn her luck at having such a seemingly clueless friend. She wondered if he realized how his suggestion sounded. At any rate, it would be easier if she went to his place, as she was already closer to the entrance to the academy than to the dorms. In the end, she chose the easiest path, not to mention she was very curious how he lived on Earth nowadays. "Thank you, Icheb, sure, lead the way," she said at last, hoping she wasn't making a mistake as she waved for him to lead her.

As they made their way out, Icheb removed his uniform jacket, placing it over Naomi's shoulders. "It will look much better if you wore this rather than showing the whole of San Francisco your uniform covered in blood," he explained.

"Good thinking," Naomi acknowledged, averting her gaze, pulling the jacket in close. She was now surprisingly past the stage she didn't understand most of her body's reactions to him; she knew why she was blushing, she just hoped he wasn't paying too close attention.

They walked quietly, seemingly linked minds reflecting at how complicated things were getting between them for some reason, but neither knowing how to deal with it. When they arrived to Icheb's apartment, they made sure no one was around. While they could pull off being sweethearts or friends visiting each other to normal people, a few of Icheb's colleagues, instructors to the academy lived here as well. They could not risk being caught by them.

Once inside, Icheb directed Naomi to his bathroom. As she shut the bathroom door behind her, Naomi forced herself to relax. Really, this was just friendly help from her good friend, nothing to make a big deal out of. Still... glancing at his sonic shower, unwitting images flitted through Naomi's mind and she had to physically shake her head of the intrusive thoughts. Naomi instead forced herself to focus on her task. Pulling Icheb's uniform jacket off, she paused for a second and brought it to her nose, slowly breathing in his familiar, comforting scent.

After a moment she yanking it away in frustration, wondering what she was doing. Naomi made sure to look it over with the sonic scrubber before she left and set it down on the small counter. She was beyond relieved that the 'device' Icheb had mentioned was none other than a sonic scrubber, just like the one she had been meaning to buy all week. After scrubbing her hands clean of her friend's blood, she took care to remove her uniform. Setting it down next to Icheb's jacket, she methodically ran the scrubber over them. Once she was satisfied with the results, Naomi put her uniform back on and set Icheb's uniform neatly over a rung, stepping out of the bathroom.

Looking around the sparse apartment, she wasn't too surprised to find his living arrangement clean and organized, few choice personal items neatly displayed in their logical places. Walking through the small apartment, she found Icheb moving around in his kitchen, no doubt busying himself while he waited for her. "This is a nice place you've got," Naomi mentioned, placing her hands at her front in an almost defensive manner. Naomi wasn't sure why she was suddenly so nervous, being here in his apartment, but for some reason it was a little disconcerting. She was out of her element here, and on top of that, Icheb seemed more relaxed than usual.

"Thank you," the Brunali smiled easily.

To distract herself from her nerves, Naomi decided to fall back to humor. "You know, if you straightened this place any more, I'd swear you were related to Tuvok! You sure you aren't part Vulcan?" she joked lamely.

"Quite sure, Naomi Wildman. I believe I appreciate the use of humor and expression of happiness more than keeping it all withheld," Icheb countered. There was an awkward pause. "Would you like a drink?" he asked curiously.

Again deciding she needed a little mirth to ease the tension, Naomi grinned and shook her head. "Are you trying to get me drunk? Invite me to your apartment and offer me a drink?" she teased. To her astonishment, Icheb did not react in the way she had imagined he would, awkward, apologetic, and amending. Instead, he titled his head to the side and gave her a familiar impish smirk... with an unfamiliar slyness mixed into it.

"Trust me, if my intention were what you are suggesting, you would not need to get drunk for anything to happen between us," Icheb said in slow, low tone. For however much Icheb had denied to himself the true feelings he had for Naomi, he couldn't help feeling thrilled by her reactions to his less than innocent reply. He was well aware that it wasn't appropriate, but he knew she liked him to at least some degree, had been getting many clues that told him so, so his reaction to her joke had been only natural. His body reacted to her challenge in a way he was more or less familiar with, though now only a little surprised that he was doing so for her.

Naomi knew he was joking, but she felt her mouth hang open in shock. What was more troubling though was how his soft voice had taken an almost spicy timbre. Where had that confidence come from? On top of that, he leaned back against the counter, giving her a challenging look before seemingly making a show of folding his arms. The normally relaxed muscles underneath his fair skin swelled with the precise movement attractively and Naomi was suddenly aware of a number of factors.

One, that she was standing in his apartment, close enough to feel his body heat.

Two, that Icheb was flirting with her, jokingly or not! Flirting was flirting!

Three, Naomi had the impression that Icheb's shirt was far too snug on him at the moment.

Not to mention his body language was not innocent in the least.

Naomi found herself fixated by him, unable to control the images that flashed before her eyes at his provocative suggestion. The room felt as though it had burst into flames around her and she couldn't breathe. Since when did awkward, lanky Icheb behave that way? Since when did she react to him so strongly? Seeing the intense change in his demeanor caused a sudden rush of unexpected, unexplainable longing to tear through her, making her shudder involuntarily. Naomi had to turn away, unable to look at him any longer, confused with her body's reaction to a simple flirt. Despite the trouble she knew she was in by her realization that she was more than a little attracted to him, a small part of her still thought of how very irritating all of this was.

So much for trying to deal with it.

"I... um..." Naomi was at a complete loss for words, her now complicated emotions waging a war within her rapidly coloring body. She knew her reaction to him was making her almost light up like a pure blooded Ktarian. But it was his fault! Not hers!

Icheb's eyes widened when he realized that she was more flustered by this than he thought she would be. At the same time, he was surprised at himself for how forward he had been with his flirtatious response. He would be lying if he told himself he didn't understand where that had come from though. Perhaps his relaxed inhibitions in his own home made him merely speak what had been lurking deep inside him for a while. For a moment he felt shame for his lack of filter, knowing this wouldn't help their strained friendship any, but a part of him rebelled at the control he had been keeping around her.

It was then he noticed, baring the obvious reaction she had to his inappropriate flirting, she had once again turned a very dark red, more so than normal humans and very reminiscent of the first time. His brows furrowed and he narrowed his eyes slightly. So he was right, he was the cause of her heightened emotions after all. It could only mean that she didn't find him just a little attractive. Her flush, her avoidance of eye contact, and stiffness of her back just served to ingrain his suspicion, but he still wanted to hear it from her to be sure. He wasn't completely sure why, but he needed to hear it from her.

"Naomi, do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked in a quiet tone, no semblance of his earlier candor evident. "This isn't the first time you've reacted the way you are now to me. That morning after we ran for cover from the rain. Something I did set you off, making your face redden the same way it is now. Why is that?" he stepped closer to her. "Is something wrong?"

Naomi felt her heart racing and could not control her blasted Ktarian flush. She took a step away from him as he approached and shook her head almost violently. "Nothing is wrong, Icheb," she insisted. Where did all of this come from? The week wasn't even over yet! Why had it become so unbelievably awkward so suddenly?

"Nothing? Then why do you keep trying to distance yourself from me?" Icheb asked, taking another step forward.

Naomi let out a shaky breath, heart thundering in her ears. "Why do you keep trying to come closer?" Naomi countered hotly, confused by him and herself all at once.

Icheb might have wanted to know what she was feeling, but despite his strong impulses, he was also concerned, not understanding her violent denial. Her reactions were also not just a little annoyed. That in mind, he knew this was probably a bad idea, almost like cornering a frightened animal... but his curiosity was far too strong for his normally logical mind to temper. "If nothing is wrong, don't run from me," he said in a painfully gentle way.

"I am not running," Naomi denied fervently, though she contradicted herself by taking another step back when he got close enough for her smell his faint musky aftershave. "Icheb," Naomi stressed, taking yet another step away, and placing her hand up to stop him, feeling the need to escape greater than ever. He was too close to finding out how she felt about him. She wasn't an idiot, she knew she had started to feel something a little more than friendship toward him since they reunited, but it was still too confusing for her to properly identify.

Even so, despite denying actually feeling anything more than friendship and at the moment irritation toward him, if he found out, it could make it even more uneasy for them; it could complicate their relationship as student and instructor, could further distract her from her goals. A part of Naomi nearly yearned for her to just give in to the feeling, tell him all of her complicated... stresses... but she couldn't do that to either of them. "If you're really my friend you'll let this go, you won't push me," she insisted. Why did she have to be the voice of reason here?

Part of him told Icheb to stop, that he was making a mistake, he knew it would only complicate things, acknowledging this elusive feeling, but it was as though he had lost control of himself. "I only push you because I'm your friend and feel... concern for you." Icheb knew he was using that as an excuse now, what he felt was more of a deep tug, a desire to hear her own words reflecting his feelings. He knew she felt something, could see it plainly. Yes, it was more of an excuse than anything else, but damn him if he didn't care at the moment.

Naomi was getting more and more frustrated by his persistence. "I promise there's nothing to feel concerned about! Really Icheb, I blush and you're overreacting!"

"It's not a simple blush, Naomi Wildman," Icheb nearly growled, irritated by her stubbornness. Before she could move further away from him, Icheb surprised her by taking her hands in his and Naomi felt her heart squeeze in shock and an irrational fair amount of pleasure at the feel of his rough hands encircling hers. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? There was a point in time when you could tell me anything..." he reminded her sadly.

Naomi took a deep breath, fighting to control her emotions. "We're not kids anymore, Icheb," she responded softly, trying to tug at her hands, but he stubbornly held them secured in his much bigger ones.

"I agree with you, we're certainly not kids anymore." His eyes were intense with double meaning. "Naomi... do I make you uncomfortable?" Icheb repeated just as softly, moving close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her skin.

"You... confuse me," Naomi revealed reluctantly, craning her head to look up into his expressive eyes. "I can't tell you what you make me feel because I'm still trying to figure that out," she said barely above a whisper. Naomi shivered at the knowing look in his eyes, as though he knew exactly what she didn't say. But how could he? Unless he felt the same? It was obvious he didn't believe what she said completely, but she was glad that he at least didn't point it out.

Naomi wished they could go back to how they had been at the start, just picking on each other and having ignorant fun. She pulled her hands from his, trying very hard not to notice the look of hurt that flashed briefly through his eyes. "Even if there was anything to say, I am not prepared to tell you anything. Don't force me to say something I'm uncomfortable saying." Naomi could see that Icheb wanted to argue more, but she put her hand up again and shook her head, stopping his words in their tracks. "Thank you, for letting me use your bathroom, Icheb. I'll be going now," she told him morosely.

Icheb watched her grab her things silently. "Should I even ask if I could escort you back to the dorms?" he asked with a lamenting, weak smile after a bit, knowing whatever had changed between them this time would not be easily fixed.

"No. It will be easier to sneak out on my own, it... won't exactly look innocent for a student to be leaving her instructors apartment this late, would it?" she responded, at the same time reminding him that it was his fault they were at that point now. Her stubborn flush of her oversensitive emotions toward him had yet to leave her, but she hoped the cool night air would help ease her.

"I'll worry for your safety," he said, his hands lying limp at his side.

"I'm a big girl, and remember, I'm resourceful," she reminded him gently.

Icheb nodded and smiled wistfully. "I remember. Please let me know when you returned safely?"

"Sure..." Naomi smiled weakly and turned to leave. "Your jacket is folded in the bathroom," she let him know without turning to look back. "Thanks again, Icheb." With that, Naomi slipped out of his apartment, leaving Icheb to watch her with a familiar sense of loss, and new sense of melancholy.

What had he done?

TBC...

End A/N: This chapter was another that had not been originally included in the previous story, but it serves to further cement their complicated relation with each other. I know there's a lot of reflection going on, and there will continue to be, but the fact that there was next to zero character reflection and development in the previous story was a grave mistake. I failed to bring across the thoughts and developing feelings of the characters last time, and am trying to do so this time. I hope no one minds. This chapter was partly influenced by "Inscape" by Stateless.

Shout Outs

MissSarahG1: Aww, you're sweet. I'm super happy you're liking this story so much so far! I hope you also enjoyed this one as much as the last!