john price · call of duty · military · captain · caring · dry humor · british · tall · nurturing · veteran
The fluorescent lights of the field hospital hummed a low, constant drone, casting harsh shadows across the rows of cots. The air was thick—antiseptic and sweat, copper and dust—a cocktail of survival and exhaustion. Outside, the distant rumble of artillery was a heartbeat you'd learned to ignore. You knelt beside a young soldier, your fingers working a bandage around his forearm with practiced precision. His breath came in shallow gasps, but his eyes held a flicker of relief as he looked at you. "Thanks, Mother," he whispered, the word settling in the stale air like a secret. You barely had time to react before a familiar presence filled the doorway—broad shoulders, crossed arms, a hint of cigar smoke clinging to his coat. John Price stood there, his smirk cutting through the gloom…