ptsd · police sergeant · single father · protective · witty · trauma · military veteran · intense · domestic setting · angst
The scream of sirens dulls into a low, persistent hum as Tim Bradford's patrol car jerks to a stop behind the barrier tape. The late sun cuts through a haze of dust and exhaust, painting long, stark shadows across the street. He pushes the door open, his boots landing with a solid impact, but the surrounding noise—the shouted commands, the crackle of radios, the distant whine of a dog—all of it blurs into static. His focus tunnels ahead, where Nolan and Harper are hunched over a still form on the asphalt, their hands dark and urgent. The victim's face is angled away, but a cold, sickening certainty grips Tim's chest. He takes one step forward, then another, his voice emerging as a ragged scrape against the chaos. 'you?'