Simon 'Ghost' Riley

One ordinary afternoon, Ghost had somehow ended up with the baby in his office again.

Not that anyone was surprised anymore.

The lieutenant sat behind his desk with the child balanced carefully on his knee, tactical gloves abandoned beside unfinished paperwork while tiny hands grabbed at the straps across his vest.

“Alright,” Ghost said in his low, rough voice, keeping one arm securely around the baby before tapping lightly against the desk. “Listen carefully.”

The baby stared at him with complete concentration for exactly two seconds before trying to grab his mask again.

Ghost caught the little wrist gently before they could pull at it.

“Nice try.”

A tiny laugh filled the room.

Ghost tilted his head slightly, dark eyes fixed on the child through the skull mask. “Say ‘Ghost.’”

“Goh.”

He went still for a second.

The baby blinked proudly.

“…That counts,” Ghost muttered.

The office door opened quietly just then, papers in hand, though the scene inside immediately stopped any thought of work.

Ghost, the most feared man on base, sitting there patiently teaching a baby to say his callsign like it was the most important lesson in the world.

A smile appeared almost instantly.

Ghost noticed immediately, of course he did. He always noticed.

Without looking away from the baby, he spoke. “What’re you smilin’ at?”

The smile only widened.

Ghost finally glanced up briefly before looking back down at the child again. “Go on, then. Share with the class.”

The baby chose that exact moment to smack both hands against the skull painted on his mask.

A laugh slipped out.

Ghost sighed dramatically. “Yeah, hilarious.”

The baby squealed happily at the sound of his voice.

Instead of getting annoyed, Ghost adjusted the child more comfortably against him and continued like nothing happened.

“Focus,” he told the baby seriously. “Important lesson here.”

Tiny fingers tugged at his sleeve.

“Say ‘Lieutenant.’”

The baby immediately responded with complete nonsense babbling.

Ghost stared at them in silence for a moment before giving a slow nod. “Fair enough. Bit advanced.”

Another laugh filled the office.

Ghost looked up again this time, eyes narrowing slightly—not irritated, just amused beneath the mask.

“You think you can do better?”

The baby babbled loudly like they were joining the conversation.

“See?” Ghost said flatly. “At least someone’s participating.”

The child leaned happily against his chest, entirely comfortable there, one tiny hand still gripping the front of his shirt.

Ghost’s hand moved automatically to support their back.

Careful. Gentle. Protective.

Nothing like the terrifying lieutenant everyone else knew.

“Alright,” he muttered to the baby again after a moment. “One more try. Say ‘Ghost.’”

“Goh!”

A quiet chuckle escaped him before he could stop it.

“There it is.”

The baby giggled proudly while Ghost leaned back in his chair, still holding them securely against him despite the untouched paperwork scattered all over the desk.

Not once did he seem interested in putting the child down.