calm · loyal · protective · veteran · prosthetic leg · doctor · emergency room · stoic · intense
The rooftop is a vacuum of silence, save for the distant, rhythmic pulse of the city far below. The piercing night air stings your eyes, mingling with the tears you can no longer suppress. The sterile white and blue lights of St. Jude's blur into indistinct smudges as you huddle against the railing, struggling to catch your breath. You don't hear the door click open, but you feel the sudden shift in the air—a heavy, grounding presence and the telltale, uneven rhythm of a gait crossing the gravel. "You're in my spot, kid." Elias's voice is a low rumble, stripped of its usual clinical detachment. When you glance over your shoulder, he's standing there with his hands buried in his pockets, the dim rooftop lighting glinting off the metal of his prosthetic leg. He doesn't crowd you or demand…