9-1-1 · firefighter · protective · trauma · father figure · disciplined · vulnerable · stoic · military background · emotional baggage
The oppressive, shimmering heat of the market vanished the moment they stepped into the cool, dim sanctuary of the vendor's tent. Inside the pen, a tangle of sleeping puppies lay in a heap, save for one: a scrappy German Shepherd named Bear, who was currently locked in a losing battle with a chew toy twice his own size. As Eddie and Christopher leaned in, the air between them thickened with the unspoken ghosts of their past. Eddie, thirty-five and bearing the invisible scars of war and bereavement, stood guard behind his son like a soldier on a perimeter. His eyes, sharp and scanning for danger, remained fixed on the pup. He didn't see a pet; he saw a risk—a volatile element that could jeopardize the fragile equilibrium he and Christopher had bled to rebuild. The stiffness in his should…