The Silent Treatment

Posted on Wed Sep 30th, 2026 @ 9:43am by Lieutenant Kally Kellerman & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jadizon Enor

1,681 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Interim 3: Subspace Drift
Location: Jadizon's Room
Timeline: Evening after Hard To Do

Kally walked up and was about to just enter but thought the better of it and knocked gently. "Jadizon? It's Kally. Give a whistle if I can come in."

Inside, Jadizon stared at the door. Hours had passed since Katie left, Time had become difficult to measure. He sat on the floor beside the bed with his uniform shirt open at the collar, back resting against the mattress, a nearly empty bottle of Klingon Chech’tluth hanging loosely from one hand. The warmth of the liquor had long since settled into something heavier and duller.

Kally.

His eyes closed. Of course it was Kally.

Jadizon lifted the bottle toward his mouth, stopped, then let his arm fall back against his knee. He tried to whistle, but only air escaped. A humorless smile crossed his face for half a second before disappearing. He stared at the door, swaying slightly even while seated, then reached for the bedside controls. His first attempt missed the panel completely. The second found it, and the lock disengaged with a soft chirp.

Jadizon let his hand fall back into his lap and rested his head against the mattress, eyes closing again. That was as close to come in as he could manage.

Kally heard the door unlock and took that as an invitation. She walked in, medkit in hand, and looked around the room, confused. She spotted his head peeking out over the edge of the bed and came around, a look of concern on her face giving way to surprise and annoyance. "Oh, eff that," she said, walking over and grabbing the bottle away from him. She set it on the dresser and came back over. She couldn't haul him from the floor, so she knelt down and sat next to him. "You're not dealing with this from the bottom of a bottle," she said, popping open her medkit and loading a hypospray. She pressed it to his neck with a hiss, counteracting the alcohol in his system. "Your marbles had a good shake as it is, we don't need to add to that."

She looked around at the sheets he'd pulled to the floor around him and shook her head, then spotted the padd halfway under the bed. She pulled it out and saw what he's written. She glanced at him then cleared the padd and handed it to him. "Do you want to talk?" she said, gently.

Jadizon took the PADD, but instead of writing immediately, he looked at Kally for a long moment. The medication had cleared enough of the alcohol that the room felt sharp again, and with it came everything he had been trying not to feel. His eyes dropped to the screen.

Are you here as my doctor or as Katie’s sister?

He turned the PADD toward her, waited just long enough for her to read it, then pulled it back.

Because right now I don’t know which one I can handle.

His jaw tightened. He glanced toward the bottle she had taken away, then back down.

She told me what she thinks I feel. You were both in my head. Everybody keeps telling me what happened to me, what I feel, what I need.

His fingers stopped over the screen.

I don’t know what I need.

Another pause.

I don’t even know if I trust myself.

He swallowed and typed one last line.

I already asked my father for help.

Jadizon handed the PADD back and leaned his head against the side of the bed, closing his eyes.

That admission seemed to take more out of him than anything else.

Kally turned around and sat back against the bed next to him. "I'm here both as your doctor and as Katie's sister, and as someone who cares about you too," she said, glancing back down at the padd. "And I know you're not a fan of asking for help, let alone help from your father," she paused, biting her lip. "You say you don't know what you need...then can you trust me to suggest a few things?"

Jadizon looked at her for a long moment, suspicion and exhaustion fighting across his face. Trust was not coming easily anymore, even with her.

He took the PADD back and typed slowly. Suggest. A pause. Don’t decide. His thumb hovered over the screen before adding one more line. ...And don’t lie to me because you think I can’t handle it.

He turned the PADD toward her, then gave a small nod. That was as close to permission as he could manage.

"Suggestion number one," she said, gently, "is to avoid drinking your troubles away. I know it's a strong temptation to just numb it all out, but I'm worried how it may hurt your recovery. There's nothing physically wrong with you to prevent you from speaking, so that implies it's a trauma response. I'd rather not risk compounding it with alcohol." She patted his hand. "I can't stop you, but that's the suggestion."

She sighed and took a breath. "Suggestion number two, get some sleep. I'll leave you a single dose sleep-aid if you want it, but a night's rest, real rest, will help. Again, I can't force you to take it, but I'm offering it. Sleep helps put distance to emotions and helps clear the mind. It might be a help."

She swallowed. "Suggestion three...I think you two have some soul-searching to do, and maybe a little cooling off period would help, but neither of you should avoid this for too long. Katie's beyond distraught that she hurt you, and while her timing was shit, it's happened, and it has to be dealt with. She wants to apologize and explain herself, but she's terrified to talk to you again, fearing she'll make it worse. I'm going to keep her with me for a night or two, but if you feel like talking this out before we get back to the ship, just let me know and I'll send her over. Again, no pressure implied, but I would suggest you two talk it out before we reach the station."

Jadizon’s jaw twitched when Katie came up. He grabbed the PADD before the tapping in his fingers could get worse.

I’ll stop drinking. I’ll take the sleep aid. But I need my own quarters. I can’t stay here surrounded by nothing that feels like mine.


His eyes shifted toward the door.

And not Katie. Not yet. Thinking about talking to her makes everything start moving again.

A pause.

I need more help than the Chimera can give me. I reached out to my father. He’s arranging something for DS15.

Then, firmly:
Please don’t send her here.

Kally nodded. She felt a sting of pain at the admission that he needed more help than she could provide. No matter what, she was a doctor, and he was a patient, and she felt awful she couldn't do more for him in any regard. "You have my word, I will keep her with me and ensure you have some space." She patted his hand again. "Unfortunately, we're here for another three days, and the baryon sweep has been rescheduled for tomorrow, so you're in this room for tonight. As soon as the ship is cleared for reentry, however, I'll make sure you're in the first group back on board. I'll have Doctor Kilgallen check in on you tomorrow morning and see how you're doing."

Jadizon gave a small nod and reached for the PADD. Three days.

He stared at the words for a moment before adding Fine. Just get me back aboard the second they clear us.

He started to set the PADD aside when his expression suddenly shifted. His jaw twitched and his eyes snapped toward Kally as a sharp pressure bloomed behind his left ear and crawled down the side of his neck. For half a second, her worry and guilt hit him with such clarity that he couldn't tell whether he had sensed them or heard her say something.

Jadizon stared at her, unsettled, then pulled the PADD back. Did you say something?

He watched her face for the answer, already realizing she probably hadn't. His fingers started tapping against the edge of the PADD again. Something's wrong with my telepathy too.

Kally frowned and made a mental note to have Doctor Kilgallen scan his metacampus. "When you strain a muscle for a long period of time, there's soreness as it adjusts back to normal. This may be a similar issue. We'll keep an eye on it."

She pulled a hypospray out of her medkit, and filled it with a small dosage and put it on his nightstand, then stood up and turned, offering him a hand. "Can I at least help you up off the floor?" she said.

Jadizon looked at her hand, then at her face. Pride made him hesitate longer than it should have, but after a moment he reached up and took it.

As Kally helped pull him to his feet, his balance wavered and his grip tightened around her hand. For a second, his eyes lost focus, his jaw twitching as another faint wave of psychic noise rolled through him. He steadied himself against the edge of the bed and waited for it to pass.

Then he picked up the PADD. Thank you. A pause. For all of it. He set the PADD down again and gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go.

Kally gave him a soft smile. "You're welcome," she said. "Now, no more suggestions. This time I'm ordering as your doctor: rest." She gently pushed him back onto the bed and patted his chest before picking up her medkit and leaving him to recover.

 

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