Why is everyone hell-bent on exonerating the man
who killed my wife?
Whatever your gut's telling you to do,
don't do it, Chief.
All it will do is ruin your life.
Find one guy in Chicago luckier than me.
Flynn is really laying all of his cards out
on the table, huh?
I just--
I don't even know where to begin with my cards.
You won't need to call in a floater anymore.
I've requested that Jack Damon be assigned to 51 permanently.
I've been wanting to do that for a while.
Now seemed like a good time. - Perfect time.
Ugh.
What time is it?
Uh, 5:00 a.m.
Sorry.
I gotta go home first.
I can't be late for shift.
Next time, just bring your station gear.
Yeah.
I don't think we should do this again.
Not because of you, it's just...
we're both at 51 now.
And this time, I can't screw it up.
Okay, great.
Okay, great?
I think you could be a little less enthusiastic.
All right, if you were expecting me to beg--
No, no, no, not beg.
It's just-- - What?
I don't know. Just...
A little disappointed.
Look, I get it.
Okay? You have to focus on work.
And I like you and this has been fun,
like, really fun, but it's over.
It's no problem.
Okay, cool.
But before we go back to being totally platonic...
See you on shift.
Uh, how long is Truck gonna be in maintenance?
Two shifts.
So everybody in my crew is out.
But I kept the Girls on Fire sessions on the books.
Yeah, maybe because you can't stay away from the firehouse.
I just don't wanna mess with the schedule is all.
A lot of these girls depend on it.
Hey, I was thinking
maybe we get some baby furniture in here.
Well, the timeline Terry gave us was a few months to a year,
maybe more.
So you think we should hold off?
Maybe just a little longer.
Why are you so much better at waiting than I am?
Well, I'm better at billiards too.
Come on. - Ha!
Now, that is a crock.
There it is.
Like it's been just sitting there, waiting for you.
It's good to see it again.
All right, second time around,
everything's gotta go up a notch.
Nobody's gonna be taking it easy on you,
least of all me.
You ready for that?
You bet.
All right, good.
Let's do this then.
And he got away with it,
even though he only had a public defender.
No offense to Flynn, but that never happens.
I do not know how you watch
all those murder documentaries before bed.
Oh, why not? They help me unwind.
I wanted to ask Flynn
why the fingernails weren't admissible evidence.
Is he gonna be coming around any time soon?
Oh, yeah, totally.
He's just been busy and, you know, I've been busy.
Writing a letter.
Well, with everything going on at 51,
I think my head has just been elsewhere.
Mm.
It seems yours has too.
If you think that little glance didn't tell me everything
I need to know about you two, you are dead wrong.
I mean...
Hey, uh, Chief.
Lieutenant Vale.
I, uh...
Uh--
I wanted to see you.
And express my condolences for Monica.
You're not on duty, I hope.
Come on.
Did you hear what I just said?
I said that I want to express my condolences.
Yeah.
Well, you'll forgive me if I don't wanna hug it out.
What is-- what is your problem?
You show up at my office
looking like hell, reeking of alcohol.
Oh, come on. That's not your problem.
See, your problem is you think I made a move on your wife.
And it doesn't matter how I feel--
how I felt about Monica.
Is that so?
She didn't care.
She was in love with you and that was that.
I know.
Well, like I said, I'm really sorry.
This whole thing was a terrible loss.
Inch and three quarters, dumpster fire,
we pull the cross lane, all right?
It all starts with pulling the right hose.
And that can make the difference between
getting a quick knock on that fire
or getting our ass handed to us.
If that happens, then we go to ADULTS, which stands for...
Advanced fire conditions, defensive operations,
undetermined fire location,
large compartmented areas... - Mm-hmm.
Tons of water, standpipe operations.
Yeah.
I did some studying before shift.
Okay, well, that's a start.
We'll see where it goes from there.
Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambo 61...
Go.
Motor vehicle accident, 220 East Walnut.
- The Lakeside Mall? - MVA in the mall?
All right, let's load up and hit it.
Fire department coming through!
Hurry! My daughter's under there!
Uh, Squad, get jaws and cribbing.
Extricate the trapped victim.
Engine, throw down a hose line in case it flashes.
Pull the driver out. - All right.
Doherty, grab a line and cover us.
Hey, Damon, with me. - Yeah.
What's her name?
Jenna. J-Jenna.
Locking in jaws. Coming in.
Hey, it's okay.
We're gonna get you out of here, all right?
Hey, let's pop the door.
Hey, Squad, I need a C-collar and backboard.
Copy.
Hey, Jenna.
If you can hear me, just hold tight.
Is she gonna be okay?
It happened so fast.
I tried to push her out of the way.
Sir, we're doing everything we can.
Ready? Going up!
Just relax. We got you.
Severide, what's her status?
Victim is unconscious. Pulse is weak and thready.
- We'll take care of you. - Come on. We got you.
All right, guys, on your count.
Ready. One, two, three.
Ready.
Is she alive? Is she alive? Is she gonna be okay?
No radial pulse.
Got a carotid pulse.
Let's get her to the rig now.
Jenna.
You can ride with us to Med.
What is wrong with you?
Driving like a lunatic! Look what you did!
I-it was an accident.
I just looked down for one second!
I'm fine.
Momentary loss of composure, that's all.
Yeah, I get it, Chief.
But if you need more time off, I mean--
I said I'm fine.
All right, 51, let's move out.
Hi. Lieutenant Kidd?
Yeah.
Do we know each other?
No. I'm Natalie.
I saw your flyer for the Girls on Fire
at the Horizons Community Center.
Oh.
You were on the contact for it.
Horizons. Yes, very cool.
I run the program.
But, unfortunately, we-- we are for high schoolers.
How old are you?
13.
But I'm a lot tougher than the high schoolers you know.
Yeah?
For sure.
I mean, I wanna learn from you because
I know you made lieutenant really fast.
Well, I know I worked my ass off.
Girls on Fire, it's hard work too.
That's why I'm here.
Yeah, I wanna do something real.
I don't wanna--
I don't wanna just write essays or do algebra, you know?
Well, how about you come by today's session at noon?
You can help me get things set up.
Really? That--that would be--
I mean, um, yeah, definitely. I'm down for that.
All right. I'll see you then.
Bring all your game.
I always do.
All right.
Hmm.
At least they got her into surgery right away.
Yeah. Hope they can stop the brain bleed.
That's a scary one. - Very true.
I'm gonna call Flynn.
Yeah.
You should.
I wouldn't blame him
if he's angry about me keeping a distance lately.
He doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge.
How's Damon doing?
Eh, zero complaints so far.
The kid's got hustle and great potential.
Don't worry.
It was the right move bringing him back here.
Yeah, Pascal's gonna be watching him close.
Yeah. I got eyes on him too.
And I see a lot of potential so far.
Ambulance 61, person injured, 585--
Whoa!
Looks like a missed approach.
Hope they got breakfast.
He's this way.
We don't know what happened. It's not supposed to tip over.
We didn't wanna move him in case something was broken.
We gotta free his airway first.
How about some help?
You got it. All right.
Okay, Novak, let's move carefully.
Okay.
All right, no obvious neck trauma.
I'm gonna C-collar him.
Okay.
Oxygen's at 72%. Respiratory rate's at 10.
I'm gonna bag him. - Yep.
All right, pupils are constricted.
Did anybody see what happened?
He was loopy, kind of staggering around.
I just thought he was tired.
We offered to spot him.
Oxygen's at 89%.
That's still pretty low. Grab an oropharyngeal.
Okay.
Oxygen's at 92%.
It's almost like he took a sedative.
But why would he take a sedative before working out?
Uh, Doug got injured a couple months ago.
I think he was on some heavy-duty pain meds.
Okay, so this could be an opioid overdose.
All right, grabbing the Narcan.
How will we know if it worked?
If it was an overdose, he'd be waking up by now.
Okay, it's gotta be something else.
Let's just get a line in him and get him to Med.
You know, it's really awesome
to see all the kinds of drills you guys do here.
So what's next?
Grab the 4-inch and put it over by the second cone.
Um--
Oh. That one right there.
Great.
You can roll it.
Like a tire.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Cool, yeah.
I'm sure none of the high school girls
are gonna lift this up either.
No, that's the heaviest of the bunch.
And during the drill, we'll unroll it, not carry it.
- Cool, cool. Okay. - Yeah.
So how long have you been a firefighter?
Uh...
'bout as long as you've been alive.
That's crazy.
Um, so if it's cool with you, I was just gonna go run
and grab one of those sodas you showed me earlier.
- Sure, yeah. Go for it. - Thanks.
Hey. all: Hi.
Right on time, girls.
All right, let's go. Damon, Cruz, you're up.
All right.
You got this. Just remember.
Once we breach-- - Stay low and go.
All right. Ready, set, go!
Set?
Good.
22 seconds. That's a new house record.
Nice work. - Yeah!
Atta boy.
Someone's been eating his Wheaties!
All right, let's gear up. We're gonna run it again.
Hell of a run.
Could have been smoother with the girth ramp.
Hey, that record you just broke...
Casey and Gallo set it five years ago.
And nobody ever thought it could be beaten.
Take the win, kid.
You got it, Captain.
All right, ladies, let's line up!
Get ready to do this drill!
Actually, hold on a minute. I'm gonna grab my assistant.
Hey, Natalie!
Tony, have you seen a teenage girl in a black parka?
Nope.
Um, hey.
Sorry, I was just getting ready, so--
That is not gonna fly around here, Natalie.
Go home.
Get yourself together.
I can't even help out?
Come on. It's not that big of a deal.
It is to me.
You can come back next session.
But only if you can handle it without getting a buzz on.
Fine.
I know that look.
Like you're trying to crack a code.
Just can't shake the feeling
that we were missing something on that gym call.
I called over at Med and the tox reports aren't ready yet,
so it's anybody's guess what's going on.
Well, I was wondering if it might be hypoglycemia.
Because a lot of those guys are burning so many calories,
and they're not eating enough carbs that they just go down.
Yeah.
Guess so.
Fun plans for off shift?
Yeah, it's Flynn.
He's gonna stop by Molly's tonight.
Okay, why do I feel like
this is another puzzle that you haven't quite solved?
I don't know what I was expecting,
but Flynn is a great guy.
You were right.
He is not the type to hold a grudge.
I am always right.
Haven't you figured that out yet?
Oh, I just realized I didn't hand in my last report.
I gotta drop that in the bullpen before Pascal leaves.
See you tonight. - Yeah, see ya.
How can I help you, Novak?
I was just...
checking in, I guess.
Are you all right?
Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm fine, really.
No offense, but being okay would be a little weird,
considering everything.
I know people thought I came back too soon.
After Monica.
But I needed to be here.
Except since the MVA call yesterday,
I, uh, I've been thinking maybe...
maybe they're right.
I'm not sure I'm handling it very well.
Any of it.
Well, Chief, what I would say to you is we are frontliners.
You and me.
We push through the hard stuff. We don't run away from it.
You have a good memory.
Especially for things
that really made an impression on me.
See you next shift, I hope.
Yes!
Okay.
What's up? You just cold-shouldering me?
- Oh, hey. - Oh, hey.
I know an intentional snub when I see one.
I do them all the time.
No, it was just
Violet mentioned that you had a party thing at Smart Bar.
Oh, okay.
So you were hoping I wouldn't be here?
And then you used Violet to spy on me?
We came here for happy hour, but we're heading there next.
Do you want my schedule for the week?
I thought we were cool.
We are. I'm just--
I'm just saying you don't have to make it weird.
You don't have to avoid me. - I wasn't.
Or lie about avoiding me.
Got it.
Okay, good.
Now, come meet my friends because
they were talking about how cute you are, and who knows?
You could get lucky.
There is something about the girl I really like,
even though I can tell she's a handful.
But I hope she comes back.
Well, it doesn't sound like she scares that easy.
I have no idea how you handle a whole class
full of teenage girls, 'cause I can barely handle one of 'em.
All right, so hey.
You still wanna pick up those extra shifts working bar?
'Cause I'm putting together the schedule for this week.
Yeah.
Sign me up, please.
Well, you can tell her that it's inadmissible.
Unless there's proof it was taken by the killer.
Damn. Well, Novak will be thrilled.
I still don't understand how people
can find serial killer stuff fun to watch.
Everyone's gotta find their light in the darkness.
Mm.
Especially your job.
Mm.
Yeah, more like the black void in the darkness.
Whew.
You can tell me about all of it, you know.
Yeah, I know. Uh...
I've been out of touch recently.
I'm sorry.
It's been a tough few weeks at the firehouse,
and I didn't wanna put all that on you.
You know, actually, I--
I sort of wish you would.
I've seen my share
of time in the trenches as a public defender
and I get it.
You don't always have to put on a happy face for me, Violet.
Thanks, Flynn.
And, hey...
my drink's broken.
Let me fix that for you.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Uh, are you taking over for Pascal this shift?
Wow.
That tone really instills confidence, Novak.
No, I'm sorry, I didn't-- I didn't mean--
The answer is no, I'm not taking over duty shift
because our chief is right behind you.
- Morning. - Morning.
Today, we're gonna learn about ground ladders.
Any of you know a girl named Natalie Evans?
No?
She sometimes hangs out at Horizons Community Center?
Nobody?
Okay.
All right, well, follow me.
We're gonna throw, raise, and climb.
- Hey, Captain, you got a sec? - Uh, yeah.
What the hell happened?
I was rebedding the cross lay like you asked.
Mm-hmm.
And when I was bedding this length,
the coupling must have gotten snagged on the undercarriage,
and it got ripped up pretty bad.
Oh, come on.
We just got that one. You couldn't tear up a 2 1/2?
I mean, we've had those since the Bears won the Super Bowl.
All right, well.
I'm gonna make a call and see
if I can get one sent over ASAP.
You know, this is not gonna be fun for me
'cause I hate sucking up to these guys.
Well, whatever it costs to replace and repair,
you can take it out of my paycheck.
Huh?
It was completely my fault. I wanna pay for it.
All right, don't be absurd.
All right, this kind of thing, it happens from time to time.
Don't make a habit out of it,
but don't beat yourself up over something like this.
All right?
And never ever offer to pay, all right?
I mean, that's total lunacy.
Well, is there anything I can do?
Uh, yeah.
Tag it for the repair shop.
Copy that.
Ambulance 61, person down. 469 Cullen Avenue.
Hey, it's my buddy, Connor. There's something really wrong.
Hey, Connor. We're here to help you out.
He's flushed.
Ooh, hot to touch.
Go away!
Okay, Connor, we need to know
if you've taken any drugs or medications today, all right?
He's into all that clean eating stuff.
He doesn't even like to vape with me.
It hurts!
What hurts, Connor?
- Oh, my God. - Okay.
I see an injection mark.
He's probably septic.
Get an IV and give him a bolus. I'm gonna wrap the wound.
Copy that.
All right.
Get off of me! - Mm-hmm.
Connor, you've got a really bad wound.
We just wanna help, okay?
I promise this will make you feel better.
Don't touch me!
Roommate?
Hey, come in here and help us hold him down.
I'm not going anywhere near that thing.
That is the nastiest thing I've--
Your friend is probably septic!
If we don't get him to the hospital soon, he could die.
Get over here. Let's go. - Fine.
Okay.
Get off of me!
All right, actually, let's just
get him on the stair chair.
Come on, all right?
We're gonna get to you Med.
Let's get you on the stair chair.
- Connor, come on. - No, no.
- There you go. - You're gonna be all right.
I know.
All right, forget it.
- Yeah. - Let's just get him to Med.
- Okay. - Hang on.
- Ready? - Yep.
I got you.
Shh.
Hey.
So you know I've been worried about Natalie.
Called Amy over at the community center
and I asked about her.
What'd she say?
She knows Natalie,
but she hasn't seen her in about a week.
Is that normal?
Yeah.
I guess, 'cause she only hangs out every couple weeks.
- Okay. - But here's something weird.
Natalie mentioned how I worked my way up the ladder so fast,
and I assumed she knew about it
because she talked to Amy about it.
But she didn't.
Amy said they never talked about Girls on Fire at all.
Maybe she figured you worked your way up quick
because you're young to be a lieutenant.
But how would she even know that?
You're telling me that a 13-year-old girl
just happens to know
the average age of officers in the CFD?
I saw on her sign-up that she didn't leave a phone number,
but she did leave an address, so...
maybe I-- I stop by there later.
If it'll make you feel better, go for it.
Look, I know you think that I've just been
looking for ways to distract myself from all the waiting.
Haven't you?
Okay, fine. Yes.
If I stop for too long, and it gets too quiet,
I think just what if it never happens?
Like, what if we never get the chance
to bring a baby into our lives?
It will happen.
I know it.
And for the record, the waiting has been getting to me too.
I told Capp I was going to Top Golf with him
tomorrow night while you're working.
- You're worse off than me. - Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Hey. There you are.
Uh, the shop's delivery guy is here
with that new 1 3/4 inch line,
and he wants to take the old ripped one back with him.
You know where it is?
Oh, stashed it in the turnout room.
I'll get it for him. - Thank you.
What is with this kid?
Chief.
Yes?
I got an update on the teen girl
from the car accident, Jenna.
Mm.
I--I thought you would wanna know.
They got that brain bleed under control pretty fast.
She's recovering well.
I'm very happy to hear that.
Thanks, Novak.
Doing a little light reading?
I just got off the phone with Med.
Our septic victim's tox reports came back
with traces of xylazine, the veterinary sedative.
So much for clean eating.
So Connor was on some sort of illegal street drug?
Mm-hmm. It explains the necrosis.
But Connor wasn't the only one.
That victim that we had from the gym call?
He also had xylazine in his tox report.
So he was on a sedative?
But what makes you think the two patients are connected?
When we were leaving Connor's apartment,
I noticed that he had a gym bag from Kettle Fitness.
And you think the dealer goes to that gym?
That's what I figured at first.
But no other drugs besides xylazine
showed on their tox reports.
What did show up was something else altogether.
It's good to see you guys again.
H-how's Doug doing?
He's recovering well, all things considered.
That's a relief.
The Kettle team's really been pulling for him.
Hey, sorry, that's my private office.
They have a warrant to search the premises.
What the hell is going on here?
How long have you been
selling off-market steroids to your clients?
I would never do that.
You wanted us to think that Doug had an opioid overdose.
Is that what all this is?
What, you're bringing cops in here over a bad guess?
You wanted to make some quick cash
by cutting your stash with xylazine.
Do you have any idea how dangerous it is
to mix steroids with a sedative?
You don't have any proof of that.
You have another client named Connor, right?
I don't see what he has to do with this.
Once he was treated for septic shock,
he was pretty happy to tell us
where he got the steroids that almost killed him.
Okay.
Can I just say...
you should be on one of my detective shows.
I just-- I don't get it.
These guys, they're fit, they're healthy,
they work out regularly.
Why do the drugs? Why mess with something good?
Sometimes, people aren't happy with just good, I guess.
Hmm.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
It's Carver.
He is coming back next shift.
Hey, third shift is here. You can head out.
Oh, thanks, Captain. I'm just finishing up here.
Hey, listen.
You know that locker with your name on it?
That's yours.
It's for you.
You can keep stuff in it.
You don't have to take all of it home.
Right.
I guess I'm too used to bouncing between houses.
Well, those days are over.
You're not here on a trial basis.
It's for the long haul.
This is your home now too.
Well, I really appreciate you saying that, Captain,
And I just want you to know, I'm gonna give it my all.
I know how lucky I am to have a second chance here,
and I'm not gonna blow it.
Sorry I'm late.
Listen to this.
After I found out Natalie gave a fake address,
I did some digging.
Right before I transferred when I was still at 27,
our unit rescued a family
and a four-year-old girl from a house fire.
The four-year-old girl was Natalie.
What?
Like, she had to know that it was me.
I--why wouldn't she tell me that?