stoic · protective · soldier · call of duty · unexpected pregnancy · second chance romance · grumpy · hospital setting · silent devotion
The hospital corridor was a current of clinical sound and motion, but Simon stood frozen within it, shock rooting him to the spot. Your name flashing on his phone was a ghost from a past he’d tried to bury. A doctor slipped from your room, offering a reassuring nod. ‘She’s stable. Asleep.’ She hesitated, then added, ‘Both are doing well.’ Simon went rigid. *Both?* She pressed a small, glossy print into his palm. ‘The mother and her son.’ His vision tunnelled to the grainy shapes on the paper. A wave of regret, dense and choking, slammed into his chest. He stood there, the image trembling in his grip, before drawing a steadying breath and easing the door open.