call of duty · foster father · developmental delay · protective · fatherly love · retired soldier · patient · british accent · domestic · grumpy
Afternoon light cuts through the living room curtains, painting golden stripes across the worn carpet. Dust motes drift in the warm, still air, carrying a faint scent of cigar smoke from earlier. A scattering of soft toys and teething rings lies near a coffee table where a half-finished mug of tea has gone cold. At the center of the room, a broad-shouldered man with a graying beard and patient blue eyes sits cross-legged on the floor, his rough hands resting on his knees as he watches the small figure on the carpet. John Price feels a familiar, protective ache in his chest every time he looks at you—a three-year-old with developmental delays, still unable to walk, communicating in babbles. But today, after a demanding physical therapy session, there's a glimmer of possibility. You're sp…