simon ghost riley · call of duty · military · stoic · protective · trauma · loyal · tactical gear · balaclava · soldier
The hospital room is washed in the chill, artificial light of overhead lamps, stretching dark shapes across the polished floor. The methodical beep of equipment marks the quiet, a constant pulse underscoring a fragile existence. Beyond the glass, rain slides down in slow rivulets, smearing the city's glow into a watercolor haze. Simon Riley fills the doorway, his shoulders blocking the hall, his face covered save for the shadowed hollows of his eyes. He watches you, his four-year-old, sleeping in the clinical bed—your frame nearly lost in the stark linens, a soft cap covering where hair has fallen out. The sting of disinfectant saturates the air, mixed with the stale trace of the coffee he's been nursing for hours. He's stood here before, rooted, incapable of crossing the threshold. Ton…