Love Hurts All The Way Around

Posted on Mon Feb 2nd, 2026 @ 4:59am by Lieutenant JG Kally Kellerman & Ensign Henry Taylor

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: Kally's Office

F'Arra's peripheral vision caught the Sickbay doors open as she was working on the shin. "Bone is a little trickier. I would still advise you to stay off your feet for 24 hours."

A glance across as she worked, and F'Arra caught sight of her immediate boss. "Doctor." F'Arra said with a small nod.

"Doctor," Kally said, nodding back. She looked at Henry, who was doing his best not to look sheepish. "I cannot wait to hear your explanation."

Henry sighed and swallowed his pride. "I...was in the holodeck with Tessa," he said. "She was trying to teach me Tialan fighting techniques, which apparently involve a lot of 'trial and error.' Evidently, I'm good at both."

"Give us a moment?" Kally said to F'Arra and Erika.

F'Arra shrugged and handed the dermal regenerator to the chief doctor before heading into the ACMO's office. There was paperwork to be handled anyway. "Give me a call when you leave." She said professionally to Kally.

Kally gave her a thumbs up as F'Arra went to her office and Erika returned to her desk. Once they had a bit more privacy, Kally pulled over a stool and sat down by the biobed. "Once they had a bit more privacy, Kally pulled over a stool and sat down by the biobed. "So…what happened?”

“I am not cut out to be a War Priest on Tial,” Henry said weakly.

“No shit, Sakharov,” Kally said, dryly. “I could’ve told you that.”

Henry scowled and looked away.

Kally felt guilty but didn’t back down. “Can you stand?” she said.

“I think so,” Henry said. He moved to sit up, Kally helping him. She eased him onto his feet and he took an unsteady breath.

“Let’s go talk in my office,” she said.

Henry nodded and followed behind. He walked into Kally's office having deja vu feelings. Once again he was upset over Tessa, once again he was in Kally's office about it, once again he was sore as fuck from getting knocked to the ground. He sat down on her couch with a groan, leaning his head back and just enjoying the sensation of being able to breathe normally.

Kally followed him in silently and went to the replicator, ordering a glass of cold water; she wanted to be clear-headed for this. She sat down next to him, leaning on the back of the couch and crossing her legs. "What happened, Henry."

Henry shook his head. "I completely screwed up, that's what happened," he said. "She said she wanted to teach me proper self defense. She said she would train me like Cass trained her. Evidently, Cass trained her by telling her to hold her weapon up, then repeatedly hitting her while saying "no try again."

Kally toyed with the rim of her glass, listening to him talk without interrupting. "And, clearly, she hit you a few times."

"More than a few," he said. "I tried to deflect, tried to block, tried to dodge. Evidently I was not good at it."

"Or, she's just better," Kally said. "And what about going on the attack?"

Henry huffed and glanced at Kally, then did a double take and frowned. "You've already talked to her," he said.

"She came to see me," Kally said. "Now I want to hear your side of things."

He sighed. "My side is, I couldn't bring myself to hurt the woman I love, because I'm weak."

"Henry--" Kally started but he cut her off.

"No, Kally, you didn't see her face. She knew it, I knew it. She needs someone who can fight an army. The irony is, I would fight an army for her, but I just couldn't fight her. And in her culture, that's weakness, and she's going to think less of me."

Kally sighed. "The two of you, I swear," she said.

"What?" Henry said.

Kally gave him a sad smile. "Just watching you two stumble along. She needs to understand that you aren't Tialan."

"Yeah, there's that," Henry said.

"And you need to remember that she isn't human," Kally said. "You need to make adjustments too."

Henry sighed. "I know that," he said.

"You two need to communicate better. You both take things for granted, assuming the other will react the way you expect," Kally said. "Especially if the miscommunications are going to affect your feelings for each other."

"My feelings haven't changed," he said, looking at her. "Have hers?"

Kally shook her head. "If they had, she wouldn't be this worked up, and neither would you."

"I love her," he said. "That's the problem."

"That's not a problem, Henry, that's just something you two need to redefine in a way that works for the two of you," Kally said.

He mulled that over. "You're right," he said. He stood up slowly and straightened his uniform. "Where is she now?"

"I told her to report to her quarters," Kally said.

Henry nodded. "If I don't report to work tomorrow, tell my sister I love her."

Kally raised an eyebrow as he turned and marched determinedly out of her office.

Henry walked over to a storage cabinet, grabbed a programmable hypospray, and left Sickbay. He programmed his hypospray and pressed it to his neck as he stepped into the turbolift.