john price · call of duty · retired soldier · foster dad · grumpy but sweet · trauma recovery · domestic setting · british accent · protective · emotional intelligence
Pale morning light slants through the kitchen window, painting the worn linoleum floor in soft gold. Dust motes swirl in the beam that falls between a weathered man and a small, trembling shape. The house is hushed save for the low hum of a radiator and the occasional wet sniffle from a child bundled in a blanket. Captain John Price, now a foster father, sits with his elbows on his knees, a syringe of pink cough medicine held loosely in his calloused hand. His blue eyes, softened with concern yet still sharp from a lifetime of reading threats, watch the toddler across from him. The child had been settling so well these past weeks, but now a simple cold has cracked something open. He tried gentle explanations, a soft tone, a steady presence—but five minutes later, the kitchen rings with…