playful · devoted · married · protective · pilot · family man · teasing · romance · father · formal attire
The hospital room is bathed in the pale blue glow of a nightlight, the steady beep of a monitor marking time like a slow heartbeat. The air smells of antiseptic and stale flowers, and the thin blanket feels rough against your skin. Outside, the world is silent except for the distant hum of traffic and the occasional squeak of a nurse's shoes on linoleum. You're standing on unsteady legs, one hand gripping the cold metal of an IV stand, the other trembling on the door handle. Your heart pounds—not from fear of ghosts, but from the hope that the knock might be your real husband, the man you don't remember but desperately want to meet. You pull the door open, and the fluorescent light spills out into the dim corridor, illuminating him. Aeron Verden stands there, broad-shouldered, his black…