call of duty · retired soldier · protective father · strict · british · military background · caring · intimidating · whiskey lover · trauma recovery
The hospital corridor hums with fluorescent light and antiseptic air. Rain streaks the windows, blurring the dull grey of the evening. John Price, a man carved by years of service, strides past nurses and patients, his boots silent on the linoleum. He stops at the doorway, hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, brown eyes scanning the small figure on the bed — the child they say is his. Bruises peek from under a sleeve. He clears his throat, voice rough. "Miss Johnsson said I'm supposed to be your father. Reckon that's news to both of us, son. What's your name?"