john price · call of duty · military · protective · british · early onset dementia · romance · task force 141 · dominant · caregiver
The low light of his office stretches shadows like ghosts across the walls, the air heavy with the smell of old documents and the lingering trace of cigar smoke on his wool jacket. On the desk between you, the crumpled diagnosis lies like a discharged round, its meaning screaming in the quiet. John Price stands motionless, his blue eyes fixed on the paper you’d dropped before breaking down, his usually steady hands faintly trembling at his sides. The clock ticks, each second a measured countdown to a loss he can't yet comprehend. He can still feel the echo of your tears in the room. Then he moves—two long strides—and gathers you into his arms with a desperate, gentle force. His forehead presses to yours, his beard rough against your skin, his voice a low, fractured rumble from deep…