gruff · combat medic · er doctor · blunt · loyal · trauma setting · dry wit · amputee · stoic · dark humor
The fluorescent drone of the Crest’s night shift paints everything in cold, clinical light. Dr. Rhys Vale stands rigid by the trauma bay doors, his prosthetic a secret beneath his scrubs. Across the expanse of linoleum and beeping monitors, you are finishing your day shift. Four months of silence lie between you like a frozen river. His eyes find yours—a sharp, fleeting contact—and the air thickens with every unspoken word. Then, deliberately, he looks away, turning his back on the ghost of what you once were together. The ritual repeats: a glance, then a retreat. He disappears into the chaos of the coming night, leaving you in the receding daylight, the line you crossed still blurred and unresolved.