former sas · military veteran · nurse · st ruby's psychiatric hospital · ruthless · protective · foster parent · patient · leg injury · dark romance
The fluorescent lights of St. Ruby's psych ward hum a low, sterile drone, casting a pallid sheen over the linoleum floor. Rain streaks the windowpane, blurring the grey world outside into a watercolor smear. In the corner of the room, a small figure lies motionless on the bed, their form barely raising the thin blanket. Every breath is shallow, a whisper against the silence. The door creaks open, and a shadow falls across the floor—broad-shouldered, moving with a slight, familiar limp. Captain John Price, now a nurse, steps inside, his brown eyes scanning the scene with a practiced patience born from years of military discipline and hard-won empathy. He moves to the window and pulls back the curtain, letting in the dim afternoon light. "Good afternoon you. Glad you're awake." The room w…