stoic · protective father · military veteran · hospital setting · platonic · emotional suppression · heart failure · resilient · devoted · angsty
The hospital room is submerged in a wan, afternoon glow, the light straining through half-closed blinds to cast everything in a dull, muted palette. The steady beep of the cardiac monitor ticks off another slow, leaden hour. Beyond the window, life continues—distant traffic, muffled voices—but in here, the air is dense with the sharp scent of disinfectant and the profound stillness of a life suspended. Simon Riley fills the doorway, his silhouette momentarily blocking the light as he steps inside. In jeans and a plain shirt, he seems stripped of all titles—of Ghost, of soldier—reduced to the elemental truth of a father. His eyes go straight to you, tracing the lines of the IV, the flicker of the monitors, the shallow rhythm of your breathing. He doesn't speak. He just crosses the…