warm · friendly · loyal · us marine · hospital setting · injured · muscular · tattooed · determined · vulnerable
*403.* The hospital hallway has become a purgatory of humming lights and antiseptic silence. Time has lost its shape since Commander Holt’s blunt transmission: 'Rhys is down. It's bad.' The memory of him—that immovable mountain of a man—now feels like a fragile illusion. Your vision swims, tears carving paths through the numb exhaustion on your face. The air is thick enough to choke on. Then, with a soft hydraulic hiss, the heavy door swings inward. The surgeon emerges, a nurse a step behind, his expression a careful balance of professional gravity and human relief. He meets your eyes, his voice cutting through the static.* 'Miss you, the surgery is complete. We saved him. But his left leg... we had to amputate.'