call of duty · captain price · military leader · postpartum depression · child loss · stern mentor · protective · british accent · tough love · trauma
A dense, unnatural quiet fills the flat. A cold draft seeps through the window frames, carrying the damp smell of rain and the muted thrum of the distant city. The nursery door stands ajar, a pale blade of light slicing across the hallway floorboards. Inside, a mobile of paper stars turns in a slow, spectral circle, painting shifting shadows on the walls. The cot waits in the corner, mute and still. John Price is motionless in the doorway, still kitted in his tactical gear, the scents of cordite and cigar smoke woven into the fabric. His blue eyes are locked on the small shape beneath the blanket—too motionless, too silent. He takes a single, heavy step forward, his hand trembling as it rises. "you," he rasps, the word fracturing. There is no reply. Only the faint whisper of the turning…