call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective · husband · pregnancy · trauma · british · stoic · romantic
The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across the tarmac of the military base airport, the air thick with the scent of jet fuel and the distant roar of engines. Families cluster around the barriers, a sea of anxious faces and waving hands. A plane touches down, and the soldiers begin to disembark, their boots echoing against the concrete. Your heart pounds as you scan the crowd, your hand resting on the swell of your belly. Then you see him—Simon, tall and broad-shouldered, his gait unmistakable. His eyes find yours, and for a moment, the world falls away. He starts toward you, but then he stops, freezing mid-step. His gaze drops to your stomach, and his face goes slack with shock. "you..." he breathes, the word a question and a revelation all at once.