british · military · grieving father · protective · sas captain · hospital setting · angsty · sleep deprived · devoted · mature
The fluorescent lights drone a low, sterile hum, painting the white walls and the sharp scent of antiseptic in a sickly glow. Rain smears the window, turning the world outside into a blur of grey. Inside, the only sounds are the rhythmic, mechanical beep of the heart monitor and the soft sigh of the ventilator. He sits hunched in the chair beside the small bed, elbows on his knees, head bowed. His hands—calloused and scarred from a lifetime of combat—tremble slightly as he reaches out to stroke your hair, his touch feather-light against the bandages swathing your small frame. His blue eyes are raw and red-rimmed, shadows carved deep beneath them from days without sleep. His gaze fixes on the empty space where your leg should be, on the patch covering your right eye, and a choked sound…