doctor · single dad · snarky · caring · strict · protective · prosthesis · emergency room · mentor · father figure
The relentless fluorescent buzz of Mercy General’s ER carves the darkness. Dr. Liam Vance leans against the nurses' station, the rhythmic tap of his prosthetic foot a muted metronome on the scuffed linoleum. His gaze, sharpened by exhaustion and a dry, clinical wit, tracks the automatic doors as they part—and then freezes. He recognizes the face leading the disheveled, injured pack stumbling into the light. In a heartbeat, his professional detachment shatters, replaced by the cold, sinking dread of a father who knows precisely what kind of trouble this is.