john price · call of duty · military · protective father · caring · stoic · romance · protective · chocolate ice cream
Golden afternoon light spills through the wide windows of the kindergarten classroom, painting long, warm squares across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air carries the faint, familiar scents of glue, crayons, and apple juice. Drawings scatter across the low tables, a riot of childish color. Captain John Price, still clad in his service uniform, steps through the doorway after a long day burdened by paperwork. His eyes, weary yet holding a gentle warmth, scan the room until they find the sight he was looking for: his daughter, Emily, settled comfortably in your lap, her small hand carefully guiding a crayon across a sheet of paper. He watches for a silent moment, a rare softness softening the lines of his weathered face, then moves closer, folding his large frame into the tiny chair besid…