Original subtitles

- Squad 3, Truck 81, Ambulance 61, structure fire.

- If you have feelings for Vasquez,

you should do something about it.

- Is there a rule against having fun?

- This would be more than just fun for me.

[dramatic music]

- You're having twins.

Congratulations. - Oh, boy.

? ?

- Anyone? We need ventilation.

- We're working on it, Chief.

- I wanna be here with you.

- It's a decision that we have to make with your mom.

- We'll talk it out together.

- Hey, Mouch, keep moving!

- Your promotion went through.

You'll be playing your part as a captain.

- Van Meter says OFI is my destiny,

but Squad 51, that's home.

- The roof! It's going to collapse!

- Emergency, emergency.

Evacuate the building immediately.

- Mayday! Mayday!

We're trapped inside.

[explosion]

? ?

- [grunts] - [breathing heavily]

- Everybody all right?

- Yeah, I'm good.

- Me too.

- Herrmann! - Yeah, I'm fine.

I can't say the same for my mask.

- Mayday, mayday!

Squad 3, Engine 51 trapped by collapse.

- Move! - Let's go!

- Copy, Squad 3.

- Let's go. We gotta move all this debris.

- Copy.

? ?

We gotta get the hell out of here now!

- We're coming for you.

- Herrmann, Ballard, see if you can find a rear egress.

Vasquez, you're with me. - Copy!

- I think you're gonna need to wait for backup.

- Hell, no!

- Lieutenant, look at their masks.

If they fail while they're in there-

- We do not have time.

And, respectfully, you are not my chief anymore.

It's my call. We're going in.

- On your left.

? ?

- How's it going up there?

- We just got to lift it another foot.

On three.

One, two, three!

[all grunting]

[metal clanking]

- Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait! You hear that?

I think there's people trapped. I'll go check it out.

- Tony, go with him.

- You can't lift that thing with two people.

I'll go out on my own. I'll use my searchlight.

- One minute. - One minute.

- Go.

- Severide! Can you hear me?

- Stella, you're close! We're on the Bravo side.

- Fire department! Call out!

Fire department! Call out!

Fire department! Call out-

- Help us! - Help!

[muffled shouting]

- I got victims trapped in a back room

on the Bravo-Charlie side.

- Hey, we found another egress on the Charlie side.

- Copy, 81. - All right.

- How many of you in there?

- There's seven of us.

- OK, all right, just hang tight.

I'm gonna try and get you out.

? ?

- [grunting]

[ominous music]

? ?

- Everybody move to the back wall.

[grunts]

? ?

[muffled shouting]

All right. Get them out.

Watch your hands and your knees.

Let's go! Let's go!

There you go. Come on out. Here we go.

Come on, buddy, let's go. Gotta move!

- Hey! - There you go.

- Ballard, you get these people.

Get them out of here.

I'll go get the rest. - Copy that.

[tool whirring] - That's it, push!

[debris clattering]

[both grunting]

- I'm in. I'm in.

- Capp, Tony, Go.

? ?

- [groaning]

- Cruz! Report!

- We're getting the victims out now!

We got clearance on the Charlie side.

- How many more victims are in there?

- Two, but one of them passed out.

- Hey, Joe, you get her out.

I'll go back in there and get the rest.

- Hey, no, Herrmann.

Take her. I'll get the other two.

- Joe! - Herrmann, go, I got it!

? ?

[shouts]

[grunts]

- Hey, mayday! Mayday!

Firefighter down. Firefighter down!

.

[The Black Keys' "In Time"]

[upbeat music] Firefighter down. Firefighter down!

? ?

[horn blares]

? ?

[cell phone ringing]

- ? Where do we go? ?

- [grunts]

- ? And all the people ?

? They sure don't want you to know ?

[both chuckle]

- ? They don't want you to know ?

? Oh ?

? Living in chains ?

? Thoughts rearrange ?

? You got a worried mind all of the time ?

? ?

? Now tell me I'm right ?

? Oh, oh, oh, oh ?

? You got a worried mind ?

? I got a worried heart ?

? You don't know what to do ?

? I don't know where to start ?

? You let this beat us down ?

? Well, get up off the ground ?

? One thing I know ?

? We've got to go ?

? ?

? ?

- [sighs]

- ? And I got a thing ?

? I really can't say ?

? Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ?

? You've got a worried mind ?

? I got a worried heart ?

? You don't know what to do ?

? I don't know where to start ?

? You let this beat us down ?

? Well, get up off the ground ?

? One thing I know ?

? We've got to go ?

- OK, Joe, do something for me, will you?

I need you to try to lift your left leg.

Don't worry about it actually lifting.

Just send the signal, OK?

OK. OK, relax.

OK, I'm feeling trace activation

in your left quad, which is new.

- What does it mean?

- Well, it suggests that Joe has

significant neural tissue preservation

across the fractured portion of his spine.

Uh, neuroradiologists will have to look

at your MRI to know for sure, but as of now, I'm, uh...

I'm cautiously optimistic.

- Well, optimistic like I'll walk again or-

- [sighs] Oh, wow.

Check out "Mission Impossible"

over there with that hard stare.

Hope that's not our training officer.

- It's Captain Severide.

He's the head of 51. Guy's a legend.

- Oh, nice.

- Our training officer is Stella Kidd.

Don't you read your emails, dumbass?

- [chuckles] Hey, bro, I got this job

so I didn't have to read emails.

- I think it's awesome.

Nothing like new blood in the house to keep us

old timers on our toes.

- Heard those young blood transfusions really work.

- Told you to stop reading "Natural News."

- But how cool is it that Kidd got tapped

to be a training officer? That's a big deal.

- Huge deal.

Probably means they're grooming her for bigger things.

Nobody deserves it more.

- True.

So...

- So?

- Looked like that lady cop was interrogating you pretty hard

last night. - Oh, God.

- What? She's cute.

- She's a friend, OK? Not even.

She's a friend of Girardi's, actually.

- Uh-huh.

Friend of a friend, with benefits.

Uh, but you should invite Girardi to Molly's more often.

Yeah, he seems like a good guy.

- Yeah.

Good morning, Lizzy.

- The lady cop left handcuff marks on your wrist.

- Did she?

- So when are you guys gonna put

these weird vibes behind you? - Ask him.

I'm not the one keeping these weird vibes going.

And you don't need to change the subject when I walk in.

I couldn't care less who he's sleeping with.

- OK. You got it.

- Hey. - Hey.

- How is the new place?

- Isaiah seems happy. He's got a big room.

He's only a block away from the Blue Line,

so he can come over whenever he wants.

- And how does Mom seem?

- I think she seems glad she changed her mind

and moved back. I think they both are.

- I'm bummed I didn't get to see them this morning.

- Yeah.

How was the kickoff meeting with the training chief?

- Uh, honestly, it was a little intimidating.

Uh, he said that the probies they assigned me

were all top of their class at the academy.

I think they're testing me.

- Well, you're gonna crush it, like you always do.

[phone buzzing]

- Who is that?

- Some guy from the "Telegraph."

He already left me a message this morning.

- So did he say what he was calling about?

- No, just that he wanted to talk to the head of 51.

- Well, that is you now, Captain.

[soft dramatic music]

[indistinct chatter]

- Oh, are those our new probies,

or did somebody hire Thunder from Down Under?

[both chuckle]

Hey!

Hey, uh, what's your name?

- Who, me? - Yeah.

- Marcus. - Hi.

- Marcus Burke. - Hi, I'm Lizzy.

Welcome to 51, Burke.

- Welcome to the firehouse. - All right.

Settle down, grab your seats.

Listen up!

Most of you have probably already met

our new candidates by now.

For those of you that haven't,

McCaffrey, Jansen, Hollis, and Burke.

This is their last firehouse on the rotation

before they end their probationary period.

Welcome to 51.

Uh, you all will be reporting to your training officer,

Lieutenant Kidd. - Yes, Captain.

- And one last thing before we get to any other business,

I talked to Cruz.

His neurological exam went well this morning,

but they're still waiting on test results

from his three-month MRI in order to give a prognosis.

So keep sending positive thoughts.

Herrmann. - Yeah, I'll be quick.

Uh, just wanna thank everybody for staying

on top of the meal train.

I know it means the world to the Cruz family.

So let's keep it up.

Uh, just a reminder that we are on

for the wheelchair retrofit

at the Cruzes' place tomorrow, all right?

This is an all-hands-on-deck.

No excuses.

And I got all the ramps and the hardware.

Uh, Mouch, you're in charge of the tools.

Novak, you've got the food.

- Captain Severide.

Jacob Morales from the "Chicago Telegraph."

I left you a message. - Two messages.

- Right.

I'm working on a piece on the West Pershing Warehouse fire.

- Well, you're gonna want to talk to CFD's

Public Information Office. - I have.

And to be honest, they haven't been very cooperative.

- I don't know what to tell you.

- Well, do you have any idea why the CFD

hasn't released any findings?

Two civilians were killed in that fire,

and three months later,

nobody outside the CFD knows how it happened.

[soft dramatic music]

- No comment.

- I have a reliable source telling me

the CFD is dragging their feet to protect their own.

I assume that means they're protecting your firehouse since-

- You assume?

Let me tell you something, pal.

- You can't intimidate me, Captain.

I'm just doing my job here.

- Yeah, my guys were just doing their job too.

One of them broke his spine

rescuing five civilians from that fire.

You gonna put that in your article?

? ?

- [sighs]

? ?

I compiled some questions I was hoping to get answers to.

? ?

If I don't hear back from you within the next 48 hours,

I'm running with the-

- Get the hell out of my firehouse.

? ?

.

- These questions are pretty straightforward.

It's nothing he couldn't get from our incident reports.

- So let him make a public information request.

- We did everything by the book, right?

That's what the incident review is gonna show.

So why don't we call the PIO,

get clearance to answer the questions?

Otherwise, it looks like we really are stonewalling.

- I don't care what it looks like.

I don't care.

The guy's obviously convinced we did something wrong.

Answering those questions isn't gonna change his mind.

- OK.

So what are you gonna do?

- Jacob?

- Violet Mikami.

Wow.

I haven't seen you in,

what, since high school, I don't think?

You're a paramedic. - What are you doing here?

- I moved back from New York about a year ago.

"Telegraph" offered me a job, so I couldn't pass.

- You know what I mean.

What the hell is this article about?

- Allen Barr and Sarah Johnson.

The two people who died in the warehouse fire?

Their families deserve to know what happened, don't you think?

- Of course.

And that's what the process is for.

- Yeah, but CFD's been putting them off

for three months.

How patient would you be if it was someone in your family?

I'm just trying to get them some closure.

- The one thing that I'm absolutely sure of

is that everyone here did everything they possibly could

to save those people's lives.

- All I'm looking for is the truth.

? ?

- The goal is simple.

You'll climb through the window,

get the dummy back over the finish line safely.

And, of course, I will be timing you.

All right, let's see what you got.

- Damn, Hollis.

It wasn't enough that you ran away with the fitness award

at the academy? Trying to show us up here, too?

- Top qualifier gets the pole position.

That's a rule.

- Hey, it doesn't matter where you start, Hollis.

You're gonna be looking at my back in about two seconds.

- Go!

- Hey, no. Hey, you gotta-

- Wait, wait. I wanna see what they do.

- What are you doing? - Hold up, hold up.

- Screw the webbing. Grab an arm.

Just grab an arm. - OK, come on.

- I said an arm. That's one arm.

Dude-oh, my God. Come on.

- Give me the legs. Give me the legs.

- Hollis, move your big ass out the way.

- Come on, man, we're wasting time.

- All right, come on, on three. - Put your hands up, Jansen.

- Hey, wait, wait, wait! - [grunts]

- Stop! Stop.

The drill's over. The victim's dead.

- I don't think I've ever seen a drill done worse.

- Get this window prop back to storage.

You're not touching it again until you figure out

what went wrong.

Let's move!

- Primary bathroom?

- Oh, that one's for the shower.

Other one goes on the vanity.

- Mouch, we're using nails for the threshold ramps?

- Uh, there's a box with these little screws.

- Yep, got them back here.

- Breakfast burritos.

- Kitchen. - OK.

- Bedroom.

Bedroom.

- Hey, Mouch.

- I know, it's a lot,

but I promise we will get it done in time.

Joe still comes home day after tomorrow, right?

- Uh, yeah, yeah,

and that wouldn't have even been possible if you guys hadn't-

I don't know how to-

- Sweetheart, you don't have to.

We're your family. This is what we do.

- Yeah, well, where's Herrmann?

I wanted to thank him in-person.

- Uh, he had a- there was an emergency

at his construction site, so-

but, uh, you know, he put this together,

ordered all this stuff, organized everything.

He really wanted to be here.

- Yeah, totally. Totally.

Uh, let me know if you need anything or-

- Will do.

- Thank you. - Hey.

[exhales sharply]

[pensive music]

? ?

[knocks]

- Hey.

I didn't expect anybody today.

I thought you guys were at my place,

doing the whole wheelchair retrofit.

- Yeah, Herrmann's got that whole thing covered.

I've never seen him so obsessed.

So how you feeling? You get the MRI results?

- Uh, no, not yet. I, um-

I guess the radiologist is out of town, so perfect timing.

- Well, I'm sure you're gonna get some good news.

So, listen, I-I got something we need to talk about.

- Yeah, sure.

- So this reporter, he came by the firehouse yesterday.

- What reporter?

- Um, he's from the "Telegraph."

He's working on a story about the warehouse fire.

- OK.

- He left this list of questions.

[tense music]

He's trying to blame us for what happened.

And he claims he's got an inside source

backing it all up.

- Did you read this?

- He's grasping at straws, Joe. He's just poking at everything.

I just wanna get ahead of it, talk to everyone again,

go through all the incident reports.

- He's not blaming us.

He's blaming me.

- We don't know that.

The Incident Review Board hasn't even released a draft.

- Look, it's right here in black and white.

"How did the interior team assess the risk

of imminent structural failure?"

There was no interior team.

It was me.

I assessed the risk.

I decided to breach the wall.

[tense music]

? ?

They think I killed those people.

.

- The last question is the tell.

They're keying in on Cruz's actions,

and if the review board finds him responsible-

- They're gonna fire him. - Can't let that happen.

Can't let him lose his job, his pension,

everything he's worked for.

- If you start digging around-

- I know it's a violation of internal review protocol.

I'm aware. I know. - No, it's not just that.

If it gets out, it could look like

you actually are interfering with the investigation,

which is exactly what that reporter is accusing us of.

- He's the one interfering.

He's trying to influence the board.

It's working.

Heard they're even flying back Pascal from Phoenix

to re-interview him. - But that is exactly my point.

The whole thing is under a microscope, Kelly.

So if you get caught doing your own investigation-

- It's a risk. I know that.

But Cruz has been through hell, and I'm the one who-

I'm his commanding officer.

I'm responsible for everything that happens to that man.

- I still can't believe you went to high school

with that guy- how random.

- I know.

- Did you ever, like, hook up with him?

- No. Not even close.

He was years ahead of me, and he ran with the cool kids.

But he was also kind of a nerd,

so all the girls had a crush on him.

- Hmm.

Speaking of crushes-

- Just watch him do a window drill.

That'll cure you real quick.

- Bet he's good at other things.

Hey, Burke. - Hey. What's up, Lizzy?

- You know, one of you is going to have to eventually

be the bigger person so that you can let go

of whatever the hell this is.

- I'm not the one holding on to anything.

- If that's true, then maybe you should just apologize

so you can both move on.

- I got nothing to apologize for.

- Hey. - Hey.

- Can I ask you something?

I was going to order a special meal

for the Cruz family to celebrate Joe's coming home

from the hospital tomorrow, and what do you think?

Uh, Al's or Portillo's? - Hmm.

I think Cruz has always been a Buona Beef man,

if memory serves. - You know what?

That's right. Good call.

- Everything OK at the job site?

With your contractor?

- Oh, yeah. No, it's fine.

You know, it turned out to be nothing.

You know, false alarm. - Oh.

Well, why didn't you come by the Cruzes', then?

Chloe really wanted to thank you in person.

What, are you shy about taking credit all of a sudden?

- No, I knew it was gonna be crowded over there,

and I figured the last thing you needed

was another cook in the kitchen.

- Hey, Herrmann.

Uh, Kidd wants us on the app floor.

- OK, I'll be right there. - Yeah.

- All right.

Uh, Buona Beef, then.

[soft dramatic music]

? ?

[phone ringing]

- Hey. - I'm here.

? ?

- OK. Uh, talk to me.

Let me know what you saw.

- Smoke conditions were pretty much blackout.

There was a heavy fire penetration on the south wall,

rolling up through the ceiling.

People were calling out from the office.

Door was blocked.

I tried to move the obstruction,

but it was way too heavy.

- In your statement, you said you saw a flash overhead.

- I'm not sure exactly if I saw it

or if I felt the heat wave roll overhead.

But-but, um, I definitely saw a glow from the ceiling.

That's when I realized that the beam directly over the office

was involved, and it could go at any moment.

So I figured I had a minute to get those people out, so-

- So you used a pallet jack to break through the wall.

- I had no choice. I...

[sighs]

? ?

They think I destabilized that wall,

and it caused the beam to collapse.

- I don't know, but if we can prove

the beam was involved before the collapse,

that would prove you made the right call.

Well, we know the fire was spreading from the south wall.

- Right.

- So if the beam were involved before the collapse,

we'd expect to see the deepest amount of charring

on the side facing the fire.

- Is that not what it shows?

? ?

- I mean, you know how much jostling around happens

during overhaul, so I-

you know what, let me hop off, take a few photos,

and I'll keep you posted, I'll let you know what I see.

- Uh, yeah. Yeah, thanks.

? ?

- How are they doing?

- Well, they have packed and repacked about

a thousand foot of rope so far.

- He's fast. - Yeah, they all are,

but they're not inspecting the rope as they go.

- Done. - 28, 35.

- Still champion. - You gotta check for kinks.

- If the rope doesn't pull clean, it doesn't count.

- Did you guys see this?

The "Telegraph" article just dropped.

- How bad is it?

- "CFD Cover-up in West Pershing Warehouse Fire."

What the hell?

- Hey, so much for your friend doing the right thing.

- He's definitely not a friend.

- Hey, would somebody read it out loud?

- "A source with direct knowledge of the investigation

"confirmed the existence of an unreleased CFD report

"which ruled that the deadly structural failure

"was caused by a firefighter who conducted

an improvised wall breach."

- Let me see that, please.

[horns blaring, brakes screeching]

[cars crashing]

[suspenseful music]

- Herrmann, Vasquez, take the sedan.

Ballard, you're with me. - Copy.

- Copy. - Check the passenger side.

- Stay there.

- Hey, McCaffrey, Burke, you're on traffic control.

- All right, I'll watch for traffic.

Go get the cones and flares. - What?

- That's what the protocol is, man.

Just go do it. - Who the hell made you-

- Check on the sedan. Try to-

- I'm gonna watch the traffic. Watch it!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! - Ow!

.

- Lizzy? Lizzy? - Hey, stop!

- Hey, Vi! - Yeah?

- Oh, my God, is she OK?

- Hey-

- Get back in the car and stay put.

- Hey, can you hear me? - I'm fine.

- You OK? - Yeah.

- Hey, no, no, no. Easy.

- Lizzy- - I said I'm fine.

- Does anything hurt? - No, no, no.

No, I'm-I'm good. - Hey!

What the hell's wrong with you two, huh?

They didn't teach you traffic control at the academy?

- Vasquez! Focus!

- McCaffrey, watch the damn traffic.

Burke, get cones, now.

- Yes, Lieutenant. - Yes, Lieutenant.

- Sir, back to your car. Miss, careful.

- Is she OK?

- Yeah.

No, she just got a little shaken up, but...

Damn. It could've been so much worse.

I do not know what I am gonna do with these guys.

They are a disaster.

I hate to think what could happen

if I don't figure out a way to whip them into shape.

- They're probably just nervous.

Busy firehouse can be pretty intimidating.

- I know, but it's bigger than that, I think.

- It is their last rotation.

Could be the difference between a top house

or the floater pool.

- That's what it is.

They're all trying to prove that they're the star player.

- Makes sense.

- How's all this going? - Mm.

- Did you find anything helpful at the warehouse?

- Based on the burn pattern of the beam,

I can understand why the review board didn't think

the beam was on fire when it collapsed.

- So...

are you saying that Cruz did cause the collapse?

- I don't know.

I'm still working out other possibilities,

but with that article out there,

I'm sure the CFD is under a lot of pressure now.

And if I don't come up with another plausible explanation

before they release the report...

[sighs]

- Well, he's in for about 20 stitches.

No concussion, at least.

Are you sure you don't wanna get that elbow checked out?

Get some x-rays, maybe?

- Oh, no, it's just a bruise.

- Any other bombshells in there?

- They're blaming Cruz, aren't they?

- I mean, if this unreleased report even exists,

which we don't even know for sure.

[scoffs] And then who the hell is this source anyway?

- I know where we can get some answers.

[loud typing]

- Everything all right there, Herrmann?

- Why does everything have to be an app now?

You can't just call in an order.

You gotta sign up for some service,

which, apparently, I already have,

and I don't know my damn password.

- Why don't you just pick up the food

and take it over to Cruz yourself?

I bet he could use the company

with everything that's hanging over him.

- I would, but Buona's is all the way up on Irving Park.

The Cruzes are down on Logan.

And I gotta pick up bathroom tile

out in River Forest at 3:00.

What? What's that look?

- You haven't been to see him, have you?

- I can't.

- Look, I get it.

It's not easy.

Every time I go, I'm a mess afterwards.

- That's not it.

I'm not afraid to go see him. It's just, I-

I'm sure that he doesn't wanna see me.

- Oh, come on.

- It should have been me, Mouch.

I should have been the one to go in

and make the grab on those people, not him.

I was fresh. And if I were Cruz-

- If you were Cruz,

you wouldn't blame anyone else for what happened.

[somber music]

? ?

- Violet.

- You know, you are dragging a great firefighter

based on a single anonymous source.

- My source is solid.

- How can you be so sure?

- He works for the State Fire Marshal's office.

He saw a draft report weeks ago.

And he was just as frustrated as the families

that it hadn't been released.

Until now.

- Wait. What are you saying?

- My piece did what I hoped it would do.

The CFD agreed to release its findings,

and they slipped me a copy of the report.

? ?

- They're recommending Cruz's termination.

I know there's not much we can do at this point,

but I figured you would want to be the one to tell him.

What?

What is it?

- The CFD is wrong.

Their own report proves it.

[dramatic music]

.

- I got the photos.

What do they mean?

- They're blaming Cruz based on the burn patterns.

There's no way they could have nailed down

the orientation of these beams

just by looking at this pile of debris.

- And so what, they- they pulled plans?

- Exactly.

The investigators went back,

pulled the original architecture plans

to reconstruct everything, but you see this hole?

- Yeah, it's for a conduit or something.

- I didn't think anything of it until I saw the drawings

in the CFD's report.

The original plans had this hole in the east side.

- And it's actually on the west side.

- So I went back and pulled the building's full permit file,

found this.

They revised the roof plans after they started construction

to make way for a bigger HVAC system,

reversing the orientation of the beams.

The actual orientation shows the burn patterns

prove that Cruz didn't cause the collapse.

The fire did.

- So if he hadn't done what he did,

all of those civilians would have died.

- The review board needs to see that as soon as possible.

- I see why you called me.

You need me to take it to them.

Otherwise, the brass will find out

you went rogue and did your own investigation.

- I had to, for Cruz.

- Well, what if you hadn't cleared him

and you got caught interfering with an active investigation?

- I'd have accepted the consequences.

- They're not just your consequences anymore, Captain.

Your decisions have the potential

to blow back on all of 51.

It's a huge responsibility.

I have no doubt you're capable, Kelly,

but you also have to be willing.

- OK, listen up, 81.

Herrmann, Ballard, Vasquez, bring it in.

I've been thinking about what happened yesterday.

I know there's a lot riding on this for you.

For me, too.

I know how high the stakes are, believe me.

And when it feels like life or death,

it can be easy to justify

stepping over other people to save yourself.

And that is exactly the wrong instinct for a firefighter.

But the fear response can be hard to suppress,

so I'm gonna make it easier for you.

At the end of your rotation here at 51,

you will not receive an individual assessment.

You will receive one assessment as a group.

You live or die together.

Is that clear?

- Yes, yes. - Yes, ma'am.

- Just know,

you will not be alone.

All of 51 is going to be right there with you.

Dismissed.

- Hey. - Oh.

- Hey, how you doing? - Fine.

- Lizzy, wait.

- Look,

I put something out there that night,

and you weren't into it. - I never said that I wasn't-

- No. You never said anything.

I got the message loud and clear.

- Yeah, but that's-

- It's ancient history, all right?

So don't treat me like we have some sort of special whatever.

- Yeah, you're right.

But can't we just be normal?

- I can if you can.

[soft dramatic music]

? ?

- Thanks. - Yeah.

- [clears throat] - You're welcome.

Are you, uh- are you sure this is OK?

I feel like I'm behind enemy lines.

- Oh.

No, there are no hard feelings here,

especially since you did have to publish the correction.

- Yeah, no. Common misconception.

It's actually a badge of honor for a journalist

to admit a mistake. - Sure.

You keep telling yourself that. Yeah.

[laughter] - Oh, man.

I'm having flashbacks to academic decathlon.

- Oh. - You were a force.

- Huh. - What?

- I just-

I never would've guessed you saw me that way.

- Everyone saw you that way, Violet.

- OK, question. - Shoot.

- Was it really a coincidence?

You doing a story on my firehouse?

- OK.

I would've chased the story, no matter what.

But when I saw your name on 51's roster,

I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping

I'd run into you.

That's the truth.

- Hmm. [chuckles]

- I know you don't love hearing this-

- You think he's right.

- I mean, obviously, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

But Pascal has got a point.

- Pascal knew who I was when he tapped me for the job.

I can't suddenly just become a different person

now that I'm in that office.

- No, I know.

- But.

- You can't be afraid to evolve, either.

Neither of us can.

We got a lot more weight to carry now.

But we got this.

? ?

- Hey, thanks, Chloe.

- Thank you,

for being here.

? ?

- [clears throat] So thank God for Severide, huh?

- Hmm.

- So it must be a huge load off your shoulders, right?

- I guess so.

Doesn't really change things much, though, does it?

? ?

Those two people are still dead.

I'm probably gonna be in this chair for the rest of my life.

- Come on, Joe. Don't say that.

OK? You gotta-

you gotta stay positive. - [chuckles]

Stay positive.

- No, it makes a difference.

I remember when Cindy, uh- she got her diagnosis-

- There's nothing to be positive about, Herrmann.

I got the MRI results. I...

There's, like, a sliver of healthy tissue

across the fracture, so...

even if I get out of this chair at some point...

I'm never gonna be a firefighter again.

[somber music]

? ?

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