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Their camaraderie was a secret, born from surprise meetings at scenes to Buck helping Lou with a lead in an investigation to Lou dragging Buck out to a bar after his barely a month long relationship with Taylor ended amicably. They didn’t bother telling anyone. With all of the 118 still reeling from the shootings and Lou preferring to work alone when not partnering with Athena, there really wasn’t anyone they could tell if they wanted to.
The moment that word got to Buck at the station that Lou had been found with his throat slit, half dead and in a coma in the hospital, he reacted. He damn near broke his fist with one solid punch to the wall before letting himself crumple down and curl up.
There wasn’t a thing that he could do for him except work. He couldn’t leave - they were still all hands on deck. He couldn’t duck out to call the doctor, having been put on as a medical proxy only weeks before, mostly because Eddie had seen the punch and was trying to get away from Ana to check on him.
The only reason he knew anything was because Athena was Athena and she’d apparently figured it out ten minutes into their friendship. Which didn’t surprise Buck, a small part of his brain not currently reeling with grief thought.
Hours later, with Jeffrey still on the run, Athena texted Buck the only thing that would calm him down right at that moment.
Awake.
And once everything was taken care of, with everyone heading for their homes and loved ones, Buck made his way to the hospital. Seeing Lou bandaged up was a shock, but hearing that the man was very much on the mend helped. Healing would take time, but they had it.