Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I'm just having fun.

Author's Note: This is a sequel to Tiny Spark. If you haven't read that, I recommend going back and reading it before this one. Thanks for reading and I hope you leave me some feedback. :)

How did this keep happening?

Scotty repeated this question to himself over and over as he sat shirtless on his bed, staring at the wall in front of him. The water was running in his shower. He wasn't using it. The person occupying the bathroom at present was very female, very beautiful, and very green. And also very unexpected.

Because this kept happening. Waking up with her red curly hair in his face, lying there in shock as she got ready for work in his bathroom, and then, inevitably, the frantic attempt to come up with a reason why this kept happening. But try as he might, he could not figure it out. Yes, they worked together, but that was no reason why he apparently couldn't stay away from her. He'd always thought he'd had a great capacity for self-control.

What was confusing him even more was the fact that it seemed she couldn't keep away from him. Scotty didn't want to be crass, but he knew Gaila, and he knew her reputation, and while he thought she was a very nice girl, a very beautiful and funny and intelligent girl, he had assumed that upon returning to the ship, her interest in him would wane and she would be off with some other officers in no time at all. Which would leave Scotty a little heartbroken of course, but it was what he expected.

But she kept coming back. She kept knocking on the door and he kept letting her in, because he had yet to discover a response that made more sense. The only solution there, then, would be to do something to keep her from coming back at all. Then he could properly get over this and move on with his life. Because it would never work. Whatever "it" was. He still wasn't entirely sure.

Gaila danced around the corner in a towel, singing something to herself - or rather, to everyone who could hear her - which was something Scotty pretended to vehemently hate.

"Good morning, Mr. Scott," she said cheerily, as she dropped the towel to pick up the clothes she had on last night, taking Scotty completely by surprise. "Sleep well?"

"Uh," said Scotty. He still wasn't used to her doing that.

"That's good. I'm going to go back to my quarters and fix my hair," she went on, standing awkwardly on one foot as she put her shoes on. "I should start bringing over some stuff so I don't have to leave as early. I've got duty at 0900, though, so I've gotta run. You have the day off, right?"

Scotty was increasingly alarmed by this speech of hers. "I... yes, but, look, Gaila, I really need to talk to you."

"Yeah, okay! We can talk tonight. Dinner? Sound good? I can come back over tonight when I get off. I'd invite you to my place but it is just a mess. I'm barely there anymore anyway." She came up and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye bye! Don't have too much fun without me!" And she danced out the door.

Well, that was fine. He would talk to her tonight. It was probably better that way, because now he had an entire day to think about how to let her down easy.

Instead, Scotty spent the entire day beating every other ensign with the day off in online Barokie. The next time he noticed what time it was, it was almost evening, he still hadn't put a shirt on, and Gaila's shift had been over for fifteen minutes.

Almost as soon as he'd realized this, the bell rang. Gaila was at the door.

"Just a minute," Scotty shouted, searching like a madman for a clean shirt. He grabbed one off the floor that smelled marginally fresh and pulled it on. After composing himself, he palmed the door open, preparing to kindly but firmly turn her away.

But then he saw her, and that sly grin of hers, and the plan was entirely shot to hell. She was wearing a lacy strapless dress that looked less like a dress and more like the sexiest nightie he'd ever seen, and it was quite clear that she hadn't layered.

"Hello," she said, and only Gaila could make a simple greeting sound like... like that.

Scotty gulped. He reckoned there wouldn't be much talking going on tonight.

Later that night, long after they were spent and Gaila had fallen heavily asleep in his arms, Scotty lay awake and stared at the ceiling. Despite his exhaustion, he found himself unable - nay, unwilling to submit to sleep. To fall asleep here, with her, would be... concession. Or acceptance. Or something. Whichever it was, he couldn't do it.

Scotty wanted desperately to give in to all of these wild and confusing sensations Gaila had stirred up in him. It was wonderful, really, being with her was, and for so many reasons - the least of which definitely not being the fantastic sex. She was smart, she made him laugh... and he wouldn't even mention how much easier his job was with her around. She anticipated his every idea, request, and order - she saw what needed to be done and did it.

It had all come together perfectly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and that obviously meant it was too good to be true. And he hated puzzles.

Because really, who was he kidding? What goods did he have to offer a girl like Gaila besides an admittedly charming personality? She could have anyone she wanted. She could have had Captain Kirk, if she wanted. In fact, Scotty recalled, not without a certain amount of bitterness, she had had Captain Kirk at one point.

So Scotty didn't really know what was going on here. Maybe she kept showing up because he was so easy. Maybe she liked his beanie - he wore it as often as he could get away with. Maybe she was just taking the old fashioned route to a promotion. It had even sort of worked already. Maybe on the nights he worked late and she didn't, she was of with other men, and coming back to him was just... to satisfy leftover urges.

Scotty hated himself for thinking like this about her, but what he hated more was the possibility that any of it could be true. He couldn't help himself remembering what that Ferengi bartender had said - "She'll have you wrapped around her finger in no time." Presumably he had left out the part where he'd inevitably get his heart ripped out and feasted upon by wild alien dogs of some kind (any would do).

He knew himself, and he knew what things he liked in a woman. And he knew how spectacularly Gaila had already come to represent every single one of those things. But he didn't know if he could trust her. Down in Engineering, there was no doubt about it... he would trust her with his ship and his life, in that order. But in a relationship, or whatever this was morphing into, he was wary. Actually, he was terrified. Because he didn't trust himself to keep this on the level he thought it needed to stay on. If this kept going, he'd probably end up doing something over the top, like falling in love with her and then actually telling her so. Which wouldn't do at all.

As early as he could get away with, he slipped out of bed, dressed quietly, and left for Engineering. He didn't leave a note, but he figured she wouldn't need one.

The morning passed uneventfully. Scotty spent his time on minor repairs, most of which had been caused by the well-meaning but inexperienced ensigns he was burdened with. By the time his lunch break rolled around he was somewhat irritable, a condition that was evidently exacerbated by his lack of sleep from the night before.

He usually sat at the same table in the mess hall, but, fearing Gaila would find him and invite herself over again, he instead sat himself down at the table farthest away from the food queue, hoping he'd be left to eat in peace.

"Scotty. Scotty."

Scotty started awake. He'd dozed off, apparently, and he stared down at his half-eaten meal, wondering if was still warm, before remembering that someone had actually woken him up. Sitting across from him, her eyebrows raised, was Gaila. Well, naturally.

"Oh, hello," he said awkwardly. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"I already did," she said. "I was finished by the time I noticed you were over here napping."

"Oh... was it good?"

"Are you okay?" She leaned forward slightly. "You haven't seemed like yourself lately."

Scotty shrugged. "Don't know what you mean."

"Last night? You were miles away the whole time. You weren't into it at all. And this morning? Leaving before I was awake? That's never happened before."

"Well, Gaila, I had to work."

"At 8. You were gone at 7:30. And the schedule says you were there a full two hours early."

"Does it?" Damn. She was good at this.

"Did you even sleep at all last night? You look like crap. Dr. McCoy is in here, we could call him over..."

"Oh, no, please. God. No," said Scotty, because she was about to follow through with her threat. "No. I don't need a doctor. I'm fine."

"Okay," she said. "But you haven't been sleeping." It wasn't a question.

Scotty rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "All right, fine. I haven't. If you must know, I've had quite a bit on my mind as of late, and I'm feeling... stressed."

Gaila nodded understandingly. "It's the ensigns, isn't it? They do as much harm as good down there. Sometimes I can't even believe they passed their exit exams."

"No, it's not them. Well. Not just them." He sighed. "Look, Gaila, I've been really meaning to say this for a while now, but... I don't think we should, um, see each other anymore."

Gaila looked like this was the absolute last thing she had expected to come out of his mouth. "What? Really?"

"It isn't that I don't like you. Because I do. I really really do. Which... is the problem. It's just that I know that you're probably, you know, seeing other people too, and I'm flattered that I'm one of them but I'd rather not be strung along anymore."

Gaila blinked slowly and cocked her head. "You think I'm seeing other people," she repeated.

"Well... aren't you?"

"Why, exactly, would you think this?"

Scotty was suddenly uncomfortable. "Well... because..." he cleared his throat, "you know..."

"Because I'm Orion," she clarified.

"Um... yes." He wanted his chair to just sink into the floor. He was withering under that stare.

"Oh. Okay. So just because I'm Orion, that means I'm just some slut for hire, more or less?"

"No! No, that's not what I... no!"

"No, it's okay." She stood up and smiled brightly. "You're right. Orions are known for their promiscuity, just like the Starfleet database says. This is a totally valid conversation." She held her hand out to him. "Friends?"

Scotty stared at her. This was going badly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's shake on it. We need to be friends. We work together. Shake my hand."

Scotty took her hand and Gaila shook it, once. Then, with a polite nod, she turned on her heels and walked quickly out of the mess hall.

Scotty looked down at his lunch. He took a bite of his mashed potatoes, but it was cold and didn't taste like anything at all.