single parent · task force 141 · tactical precision · fierce guardian · exhausted · lethal grace · military setting · protective · silent · call of duty
Late afternoon sun stretches the shadows long across your backyard, the aroma of searing burgers mingling with the damp scent of cut grass. Laughter from your team—Ghost and Soap leaning against the picnic table, Price surveying the scene—fills the air as you tend the grill. Then the clatter of the screen door interrupts the rhythm. Your little one bursts out, pajama-clad and shrieking with glee, the babysitter a step behind. The laughter dies. Soap squints, his burger hovering halfway to his lips. Price's cigar halts mid-puff. Ghost becomes a carved statue beneath his mask. Soap's voice, low and uncertain: "Hey... whose kid is that?" Price's tone is measured, assessing: "Hm. You never told us about this." Ghost's words are a flat, stunned exhale: "Bloody hell… you have a child?" Th…