Title: Close Call

Pairing: Lucky Spencer/Cooper Barrett

Rating: PG13

AN: Written for the 1000 Word Challenge over at the UC Board... prompt - Week 39: Nick of Time/It's Not Too Late.


It's Coop's day off and Lucky's smiling… freaking whistling as he walks into the PCPD. He just left his boyfriend in their bed—debauched and sleepy—as he strode out the door with promises for even more later on. Lucky has an early shift left but then the weekend is theirs and he can't wait. The day couldn't go by fast enough.

---

It's pretty quiet… highlights of their shift include a public indecency call and kids vandalizing the mini mart a couple blocks over. All in all, Lucky can't complain. He's busy listening to one of Cruz's disastrous blind dates his sister tried to set him up on as they head back to the station.

"Seriously, man, I'm thinking I should just take a page out of your book. Start scoping out dudes or something cause these women are insane."

Lucky laughs. "You can barely handle the ladies, Rodriguez. Don't think hopping the fence is going to be any better for you."

"Ha ha, asshole. You're hilarious." And Cruz is pushing him into a wall and it sets Lucky off even more. He's glad they remained friends after he and Coop came out. It was a huge relief and a friendship and partnership Lucky was grateful for.

Cruz clears his throat suddenly and Lucky is still laughing but it falls away at Mac's look. He feels his skin prickle with goose-bumps. "What's going on?"

Mac sighs and Lucky just knows something isn't right.

"What? Tell me, Mac."

"It's--"

"What?" Lucky growls.

"It's Coop," he starts. "Call just came in. He's been abducted." And Lucky's happiness just crumbles away.

---

The first several hours nearly kill him.

Lucky is on edge and angry—and completely scared out of his mind.

"We're going to find him, Lucky." Cruz whispers, gripping his shoulder in a sign of comfort. "You know we are."

"He could already be dead."

"You don't know that."

Lucky's eyes burn as he looks over at his friend. "I can't lose him."

"I know." Cruz sighs. "And you're not. Mac's got all his men working on this. The tech is trying to find clues from that phone call. We've got forensics at the scene… people talking to witnesses. Every avenue is being searched… we're going to find him, Lucky."

"Yeah." Lucky nods, licking his lips, eyes narrowed—dangerous and cold. "And when we do, the son of a bitch who took him is going to pay."

---

One anonymous call later and Mac sends out a team to an abandoned building a few blocks away from the original crime scene. Lucky's beside himself; he can't believe all the time that's been wasted… can't believe Cooper was so close all along. All he can think now is Coop is dead.

No doubt about it. He's gone.

He feels sick to his stomach, tries to will away the despair in his chest as he watches his fellow officers flank the sides of the building—Cruz signals from up ahead as Mac sidles up on the right side with two other officers. They head inside, scour the area and move in. There's a clearing up ahead and Lucky hears the distinct sounds of someone being hit and Coop's unmistakable scream of pain. He wants to rush in but Cruz holds him back. Mac takes the lead and Lucky hears him yell—a clear warning before shots are being fired.

Lucky can't breathe. He can't hear Cooper anymore and he knows someone's screwed up. They've moved too soon. He knows it can't be good. Then…

"All clear!"

"Get a medic in here. We've got an officer down."

People are scrambling around then and Lucky pushes his way through the masses the moment that Cruz lets him go. He can hear Cruz telling people to give him room but Lucky doesn't have time to be grateful. Bodies litter the floor but Lucky barely pays them any attention. He's solely focused on the curled body that Mac kneels beside and Lucky drops down next to him without a thought.

"Coop."

"Hey," he gasps in pain. "Knew—" he coughs. "Knew you'd find me." He smiles through a bloody lip and Lucky catalogs his wounds… does a mental checklist of everything he sees—black eye, broken knuckles, split lip, cut along his cheek that will probably scar and when Lucky's eyes move away he catches the glint of the knife that was most likely used to mark him.

"Of course I did," Lucky responds cold and firm. He's not angry at Coop but he can't get his feelings in check either.

"Vic in the cooler," Coop reveals and Lucky's heart grows cold. Mac nods and tells his guys where to go. "Couldn't save him."

"It's okay," Lucky assures. At least you're still alive, he doesn't say. "Not your fault," he says instead. He's still feeling along Coop's body. Coop hisses in pain, doubles in on himself and bats his hand away but Lucky won't be deterred—fractured ribs, broken hand, dislocated shoulder, Lucky thinks before a medic is coming over.

They really did a number on him and Lucky wants to rip someone apart but the cops have done most of the job already. He can't stop though, gets up and heads over to the one in handcuffs—the one with raw knuckles, who's laughing and taunting and asking Lucky if he's the cocksucker boyfriend. And Lucky just let's go… throwing punches and curses until he's being yanked away and Cruz demands that he stops. But Lucky can't and he fights to get out of his friend's grip, cursing and raging on.

"Lucky, stop. Stop!" Coop gasps. Lucky stills in Cruz's hands. "Not worth it," Coop insists.

And Lucky wants to argue because it is worth it. Coop could've died. They were going to take Coop away from him and that's not okay. He shrugs Cruz off and takes his place right beside his boyfriend, uncaring of everyone else around them as he grasps Coop's hand in his.