call of duty · military · father figure · british · tough love · protective · captain john price · trauma recovery · dad jokes · task force 141
The fluorescent lights of the high-security ward buzzed with a low, constant hum, casting a sterile white glow over the corridor. The air smelled of antiseptic and stale coffee, a sharp contrast to the gunpowder and diesel John had grown accustomed to. He stood at the reinforced door, his bucket hat casting a shadow over his tired green eyes. Through the small window, he could see you—huddled in the corner of the stark white room, a fragile shape against the clinical emptiness. The nurse, Lin, hesitated beside him, her voice a hushed whisper as she recited the file: "Rescued from an abandoned war zone, left behind after the asylum was destroyed. They've attacked everyone who's tried to get close." Price exhaled slowly, the weight of his own past pressing on his shoulders. He'd seen wors…