Ginger Down (Backpost)

Posted on Sun May 3rd, 2026 @ 1:15am by Lieutenant Kally Kellerman & Lieutenant Jeanine Jeffries

Mission: Die Hard: Chimera Edition
Location: Sickbay

Surgery was complete, blood plasma was replaced, wounds were closed, skin was grafted. In the end, it had been a grueling few hours, but Kally's patient was sleeping soundly. Kally had stripped her gloves and surgical suit off and sat down on the changing bench, closing her eyes for a moment.

She'd let Tessa finish up with the dermal regenerator. The kid was coming along well, and if Kally had any energy, she'd be incredibly proud. Between keeping an eye on the bio monitors in use and the general stress of knowing she'd be trying to keep a crew member from dying, she was completely wiped, and was thoroughly glad she had Tessa to back her up.

Kally had left Tessa and the orderly on duty to get Jeanine transferred to the first recovery room while Kally got herself cleaned up, then she'd go in and check on her patient.

She opened her eyes and checked the chronometer and was surprised to see another two hours had passed. Had she slept sitting up that whole time? Tessa should've woken her. She rubbed her neck and winced as she straightened up, and as she stood up she groaned at how tight she felt.

She walked out of the prep room and back into Sickbay, stifling a yawn. She walked over to the recovery wing and stepped into room one.

JJ was dozing. Not awake, not fully asleep. She lay on her back, eyes closed, her mind drifting on its own as though dreaming. The sound of approaching footsteps snapped her back to the waking world. JJ opened her eyes with a sharp intake of breath through her nose.

Her mind felt like a fragmented computer core. In desperate need of a full and proper reboot. Her gaze took in the rather lovely form of the doctor. "Doctor." Her voice was raspy, her throat dry.

Kally walked to the replicator and queued up a cup of ice flakes. They were a time-honored tradition for helping people who'd just woken up rehydrate. They would melt quickly, soothe the throat, and not risk choking like a cup of water would. She brought the cup over to the biobed and pulled up a stool, sitting down and taking a spoonful and bringing it to JJ's lips. "Here, take this, it'll help," she said, gently.

After a few spoonfulls of ice, and JJ's lips looking less dry, Kally set the cup down. "Don't try to talk," she said, feeling the other woman's forehead and glancing at the biobed's display monitor. "You took a beating back there, but with some rest you'll pull through. You're going to feel weak for a bit, and your stomach is going to reject most everything for a while, so be prepared for a liquid diet for a few days, but you'll recover."

She watched JJ's eyes flutter and sleep overtake her again as her body went back to healing. She set an alert up with the biobed and added a saline infusion to keep her hydrated and cool. She stood up and left the room quietly, turning down the lights. Sleep healed all.