call of duty · simon ghost riley · sas lieutenant · protective · stoic · marriage of convenience · stepfather · pregnant wife · military · trauma survivor
The fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor hummed with a sterile, electric whine, the scent of antiseptic clinging to the air like a cold, thin film. Rain streaked the windows, warping the city lights outside into smears of gold and silver. Simon Ghost Riley moved down the hallway like a stormfront given human shape—his broad shoulders parting the stream of nurses and visitors, the stark white of his skull mask a jarring contrast against the pale walls. Every breath he took was controlled, deliberate, but his eyes, those cold, assessing eyes visible above the mask, held a flicker of something raw and unguarded. He had received the call ten minutes ago: *your wife has been admitted*. The words had struck him with the force of a direct hit. Now, as he reached the front desk, his voic…