Jealousy

Naomi Wildman walked down the corridor towards Cargo Bay 2. Her and Seven of Nine always played Kotis Kot at least once a week. She wouldn't miss it for anything! Kotis Kot was probably her favorite game. And aside from Neelix, Seven was her best friend.

She walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. She saw Seven... she saw the Kotis Kot board.. but across from Seven wasn't an empty seat. Instead she saw Azan and Rebi.

The twins looked up from the table. "Hi, Naomi!"

She looked at them. "Hi..."

She then looked at Seven who in turn looked at her. "I thought the twins could join us for our weekly game."

"Oh.. ok.. I guess that's alright." Naomi sat down at the table and thought about her first move.

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Naomi frowned as she walked into the messhall. Not only had she lost at Kotis Kot, but Seven asked if the twins could come to their next game. What else could she say but yes?

"Hey Naomi, care to join us?" She looked for the person behind the voice and saw Tom sitting at a table with Mezoti.

"Sure, after I get my lunch." Naomi got her lunch and sat down with them.

"Guess what, Naomi???"

"What?"

"Ensign Paris let me fly the Delta Flyer today!!"

Naomi's mouth almost dropped open. Tom usually let her fly the Delta Flyer. She lived for those moments when she could steer the tiny ship through the stars. She dreamed of flying Voyager through those stars someday.

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Naomi had decided to go back to her quarters. She actually wanted to be alone for a change. She needed to think.

She had just come from Astrometrics. Seven had promised her that she would help her study the next 3 upcoming planets for one of her school papers. But when she got there, Seven and Icheb were already working on something.

Naomi had heard Tom and Harry talking about a baseball game once. They used the phrase "Strike 3, you're out!". That's exactly how Naomi felt. She wasn't expecting a strike 4, but she sure got one...

When Naomi got to her quarters, her mother was waiting for her with a request.

"Naomi, I was thinking maybe you'd like to take the kids to visit Flotter sometime soon. I'm sure they'd love it! You've always loved going there."

Naomi just stared at her mother. These children were invading the whole ship, were taking all of her friends' time away, and now she wanted them to take away her holo-friends too?

Things were changing. She wasn't the only kid on board anymore, and people were starting to pay more attention to the ship's newest additions. Seven was especially spending alot of time with them. That was probably the roughest thing to handle. Naomi guessed it was because they had a common bond. They had all been borg. At times, Naomi almost wished she had been borg. Then maybe Seven would pay more attention to her.

Naomi liked the borg kids well enough. They had alot of fun together. But she had been the only kid aboard Voyager for 3 years. She wasn't used to sharing her friends with other children. It was hard enough sharing them with their duties. She was starting to feel jealous and she didn't like the feeling at all. It made her tummy feel funny. She needed to talk to someone about it. But who?

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"Neelix, can I talk to you for a minute?" Naomi had decided to confide in Neelix. He was her friend, her godfather, and of course, her confidant. She found him in the messhall's kitchen making some kind of soup. It smelled funny and she made a face.

"Sure Naomi, have a seat." He gestured to a table not far from the kitchen and sat down.

Naomi sat down across from Neelix.

"Now, what can I help you with."

Naomi didn't know how to begin. She couldn't really put what she was feeling into words. She didn't really understand it. She had never felt jealous of another person before.

"Well... ever since the borg kids came aboard Voyager.. you guys haven't had as much time for me. Everyone's always talking with them.. playing with them.. teaching them how to do things. You guys used to do that with me. And they were borg, they're alot smarter than I am. What if one of them decides they want to be the Captain's Assitant? Captain Janeway's sure to pick one of them. They know alot more than I do and can probably be alot more helpful."

Neelix looked down at her sad little face. He knew jealousy all too well. When he and Kes had first come aboard Voyager, Tom started paying alot of attention to Kes. Neelix became extremely jealous and he almost ruined both friendships over it.

"Naomi, what you're feeling is perfectly normal. Sometimes I used to get jealous of my sister Alixia. I still loved her of course, and my parents still loved me. But the green eyed monster still paid a visit on me from time to time. And sometimes it even does now. You've been the only child on board for so long. It's natural that you'd have trouble sharing. But what you have to realize is that no matter how many children there are on Voyager, we're still going to love you just as much as we always have and we'll still be able to spend time with you. You'll get used to sharing us, and I think you'll really enjoy having other kids to play with. Oh, and don't worry about one of the other kids being the Captain's Assistant. You're doing a great job and Captain Janeway knows it. She's very impressed with you."

Naomi's frown turned into a smile. "Thanks Neelix. I feel better now. I guess I just had a bad day." Naomi got up and started to walk out.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought maybe I'd go and ask Mezoti if she wants to play Kotis Kot."

Neelix smiled. "Well, I was kind of hoping you'd stay here and I could tell you one of my stories."

Naomi thought about that for a minute. "I'd really like that Neelix. But don't you think we should share it with the other kids?"