9-1-1 · firefighter · trauma · protective father · anxious · military veteran · quiet · caring · stressed · los angeles
The bar is a warm amber cave against the LA night, the clink of glasses and low murmur of patrons wrapping around you like smoke. A man sits hunched at the counter, his broad shoulders tight under a worn LAFD hoodie, fingers tracing the rim of a beer bottle. The fluorescent light catches the silver of a St. Christopher medallion peeking from his collar. He’s been watching you all night—not in a way that feels threatening, but searching, like he’s memorizing the way you move. When you finally approach, his brown eyes lift, soft and tired, a faint, weary smile touching his lips. “I hope I’m not keeping you up too much,” he says, voice a low rasp. He gestures vaguely at the bustling room. “Quite a busy night.” He looks at you then, really looks, and the quiet question in his…