Kaleo let Halo take point on this.
"Sorry, Lieutenant. Not going to do it."
"You want me to kick your ass, Halo?"
"I'm not Halo, but you can kick mine if you want, Faust."
Kaleo turned to see Greco sitting up on the gurney.
Even with the bandage around his head, Greco's personality shone through. "Lieutenant, if you need to hit something, I'll take you to the gym so you can hit the bag."
Kaleo read the room and it was a mess.
"Those fuckers act like this is funny."
Faust's tone was angry but there was a cold edge to it, too.
"It's not damn funny."
Kaleo put his hand on Faust's shoulder. "I can smell the alcohol, lieutenant. I'm going to go out and make sure they're going to run DUI tests on the driver, okay?"
Faust lifted his chin a fraction of an inch. "Roan said they've already drawn blood for the driver. I just feel like it's not enough."
They all agreed with his assessment, but-
"You know what whatever you do is connect to the CCFD."
Kaleo was in agreement with the words, but he hadn't been the one to say it.
He was still trying to fit in and work out how far he could push the line, but he knew that the other crew members around him were also there to help their lieutenant.
"Lieutenant?"
Every head turned toward the voice.
Lexie. She gave him a little nod and met Faust's eyes.
"Lieutenant. Rock and Kate would like to see you before he goes in for surgery."
Her words were softly spoken and gently delivered, but it looked like someone had landed a sucker punch.
Faust nodded but didn't make a sound.
Kaleo and Halo helped him to his feet, knowing full well that the man could get up and down without their help, but sometimes having someone's back meant literally standing beside him, helping him up.
"Let's go." Faust swallowed and when he lifted his chin, Kaleo saw the haunted look in his eyes.
"Okay, Lieu."
Kaleo saw Halo's worried expression and the rough scratch in his voice as he added his own answer.
"Alright, Lieutenant. Let's go."
LEXIE
Lexie had heard the old idiom about the air being so thick you could cut it like a knife.
That's what she walked into right off of the elevator.
