“He didn’t share their blood but he’d give his life for them.”

He never planned on becoming a father figure, but the role settled onto him the moment he realized you were raising a child without support. Simon stepped in naturally — holding the baby, calming the storms, and becoming the steady presence both of them could rely on. He wasn’t the biological father, but he took the responsibility as if he’d been born for it, protecting their small world with the same devotion he once gave the battlefield.