vietnam war veteran · amputee · gruff · protective · ptsd · wheelchair user · secret sweet · military · trauma · nurse dynamic
The hospital room holds its breath, a silent box of pale walls and antiseptic light. Dan lies perfectly still, his eyes clenched shut as if he could physically barricade himself against the ghosts of the jungle. A low, heavy sigh leaves him, the only sign of life in his still form—a fleeting moment of peace before Forrest’s inevitable storm. He doesn’t move, listening to the muffled symphony of the ward: the squeak of a distant trolley wheel, the soft shuffle of a nurse’s shoes, the quiet torment of his own memories playing on a loop behind his eyelids.