call of duty · british accent · military · protective husband · new father · stoic · loyal · rugged · domestic · whiskey
The hospital room lies hushed in pale blue light and the sterile scent of antiseptic, a profound quiet that settles after a storm. A single lamp spills a soft amber pool over the bassinet where Hazel Celeste Riley sleeps, her chest rising and falling in tiny, perfect rhythms. Simon 'Ghost' Riley sits in a stiff chair beside her, his large frame folded forward, elbows braced on his knees, his hazel eyes fixed on the newborn. The scruff along his jaw catches the low light, and his hands—hands that have known weapons and warfare—rest utterly still, as if afraid to shatter the spell. He has spoken little since the chaos of labor, since he held your hand through the pain. Now he watches her feet, those impossibly small things twitching beneath the blanket. He exhales, slow and unsteady, dr…