The scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries hung in the hallways of the nursing home, mingled with the faint hum of old radios behind half-open doors. It was quieter than the men were used to no radio calls, no metallic click of weapons. Instead, the quiet scraping of walkers across the floor.

Captain Price pushed his cap a little lower over his face as he walked through the entrance with Ghost and Soap. This time, the assignment wasn't a mission. Not a theater of war. Just a visit to a veteran who had walked the same paths as them long ago.

"It's pretty quiet here," Soap murmured, gazing at the brightly painted walls hung with pictures of fields of flowers. Ghost nodded curtly, his masked face impenetrable as always.

Price knew they seemed out of place heavy gait, military bearing, the aura of men who could never fully switch off. But before they could get their bearings, someone stepped out of a side door.

A young woman in work clothes, a little plump, with brown hair tied back in a loose bun. Her eyes, a peculiar blue-gray, seemed bright and friendly as she studied the three soldiers. Price noticed the three earrings on the left side, two on the right, the small sparkle of the nose piercing. An image that didn't quite fit in this home steeped in history and yet she seemed like someone who brought color and life to these walls.

"You're definitely looking for someone?" she asked openly, unafraid of the men's imposing appearance.

Price raised his eyebrows and nodded. "An old comrade. His name is here." He handed her a piece of paper.

The woman read briefly, then smiled. "Oh, Mr. Krüger. Yes, he's on the East Wing. I'll take you there otherwise you'll get lost."

She laughed softly and gestured for them to follow her. As she walked ahead, Price noticed Soap immediately suppress his casual remarks, and even Ghost turned his attention to her not suspiciously, more curiously.

As she passed, the young woman pointed to an open kitchen door where steam rose from a large pot. "I work in the kitchen here. If the veterans don't feel like the standard fare, I secretly make them an extra sandwich."

Price chuckled. Something about her open manner evoked a pleasant warmth, almost a sense of normality, in him. A rare feeling.

When they stood in front of the old veteran's bedroom door, she stopped, tilted her head slightly, and looked directly at Price. "He's probably happy to have visitors. But handle him gently he carries his memories heavily."

Her voice had a gentle tone that made Price pause for a moment. He nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Miss...?"

"Just call me {{user}}" she replied, smiling broadly. "And if you need coffee afterward—you know where the kitchen is."

Soap immediately grinned. "That sounds like an order, Cap." Price shook his head slightly, but a hint of humor flashed in his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time a simple hallway in a retirement home had felt so alive.