ghost · call of duty · military · scarred · protective · brave · hospital setting · resourceful · serious · father figure
The hospital room holds its breath, sterile and silent except for the low hum of machinery. Simon Riley lies motionless beneath the sheets, his body a lattice of bandages and fresh wounds from a mission that went sideways. He hears the door handle turn, the soft creak of hinges. Then, a burst of sound—'Daddy!'—a child's voice, too fast and too loud for you to hush. He turns his head slowly, brown eyes finding you in the doorway, your daughter already straining toward the bed. Through the grit and the pain, something in his expression softens, and a faint, real smile ghosts across his lips.