" I got her!" " Help me, please!" "God." " Kara!" " Hey, hey!" "I think it was arson." "Now you saw the husband in the fire." " Anything suspicious there?" " I don't think he did it." "Yes, he did." " This is James, my stepson." " How's he doing?" "Talks to me in 140 characters if he talks to me at all." "James." "What are you doing here?" "You surprised me with that text." " Do you want to ask me out?" " Can I buy you a drink?" "Yes, you may." " Hey there." " Hi." "Um..." "I... am a good girl." "Okay." "I say my prayers every night." "I-I give a dollar every day to a homeless guy on the off ramp." "That's very generous." "I didn't kiss a boy for real until I was 17." "Well, that's one lucky guy." " And sex..." " Waiting till you get married." "No." "No chance in hell." "Whoa." "I sang in the church choir too." "Hallelujah to that." "I really like you." "And I really like you too." "So, how old are you now, James?" " 17." " Never too early." "For what?" "Thinking about the CFD." "I-I don't know about that." " Tom, go easy on him." " What did you know at 17?" "That I wanted to be a firefighter." "You?" "Same damn thing." "Friends like your father here..." "You're damn right I'm going to call him your father..." "One in a million." "But with the CFD, there's a million of us." "Best damn stock there is." "Yeah." "I guess I never had anything like that." "Well, it's right here in front of you, kid." "So, speaking about good stock, we gonna talk about New York or not?" "I got Connie working on it." "Johnny Salka doesn't retire every day." "You should be there." " Told you I'm working on it." " Wallace..." "You gotta face this thing head on, buddy." "I understand." "But not now, okay?" "Hey, listen up." "Holy Moses." "James?" "The last time I saw you, you were just a little ankle biter." "Hey, everybody, this is my stepson James." "He's going to spend a couple of shifts with us, see if the job is right for him." "Cruz, find James a bunk, please?" "Absolutely, Chief." "Follow me." "Wow, look at him." "Yep, we're old." "Speak for yourself." "I'm just hitting my stride." "By "hitting your stride"" "you mean pulling a hamstring, right?" "I heard through the grapevine that my name came up for promotion." " You're getting promoted?" " What?" "Wait, no, I didn't..." " Herrmann!" " You're kidding." "All right." "Look, there's still plenty of time for the big shots to change their mind." "They always do." "Maybe your lieutenant could put in a good word for you." "Honestly, I've never seen Herrmann in action." "I fill in for you all the time." "How about this?" "You take the helm at 81 for the shift." "I'll shadow, get a feel for your style." " We'll go from there." " You're on." "Hey, Casey, can I talk to you a sec?" "That was Darin Whitney." "Guy who lost his wife in the fire last week." "He called to say OFI's all over him." "Asking about chemicals on his clothes." " That's their job." " Last I heard, they weren't going to pursue him." "Maybe they're tying up loose ends." "Truck 81, Ambo 61, person injured from fall." "23423 North Lasalle Street." "All you, Lieutenant." "Hey, it's my daughter, Jessie." "She was playing on the roof with her friends" " and feel through the skylight." " All right, Otis, Kidd, oxygen, jump bag, and backboard." "Look, I told her not to mess around up there." " All right." " Take us to her." "She's bleeding a lot." "I've been trying to keep her talking." "Okay." "It's okay." "You did good." "Ambo 61, this is Truck 81." "I got a girl fell through a skylight, two story home." "She's got a piece of glass stuck in her bread basket." "She's bleeding pretty bad." " Roger that." " We're almost there." "It's probably better to take Sedgwick." "Come on." "Sirens don't mean a thing to anyone anymore." "Dawson, watch out!" "No, no, no, no. 61 to Main." "We had an accident with a pedestrian." " 61, repeat your last." " I hit a pedestrian." "It looks like he's still alive." "Standby." "Everyone, head in the game." "61, companies are on the way." " Mouch, we need the wizzer." " Coming up." "81 to Main, copy that last transmission." "We still need an ambo at our location, fast as possible." "Copy, Truck 81." "Working on it." "Working on it." " How is he?" " He's only responding to pain." " Head injury." " Okay, one, two, three." "Main, patient's a trauma." "We need a transport now." "Copy 61." "Go ahead and then hold at Chicago Med for a sobriety test." "It's just protocol." "You have nothing to worry about." "All right, we're good." "81 to Main, our girl's ready to roll." "Where's her ride?" "Ambo 97 is rerouting from Wrigleyville." "Ten minutes." "Gotta be kidding." "She has to wait?" "No." "Clean out the rig." "We're going to get her to Med ourselves." "We... we're not cleared to transport." "She needs a sterile environment." "Move, Otis." "You got an order." "Copy, Lieutenant." "All right, let's get her up." "Clean." "Urine too." "We're not taking any chances." "Fill it up." " Hey." " Kidd?" "Name's Jessie Winkler, fell 20 feet through a skylight." "On scene for 20 minutes, no available ambo." " Blood pressure is 70 palp." " She's lost a lot of blood." "All right, take her to Trauma 2." "You guys probably saved her life by bringing her here yourselves." "But I'm still going to need that run sheet, though," " to give to Goodwin, all right?" " Yeah." " All right." " I can handle it." "Nah, nah, nah." "I got it." "I made the call." "I can do the rundown, all right?" "Okay." " Leaders lead, right?" " Yeah." "Brett, where's Gabby?" "She's in with Chief Hatcher." "Victim's in a coma." " I'm gonna sit in with her." " Lieutenant, you can't." "Gotta be a union rep." "Okay." "Go ahead." "Is she okay?" "She's in shock." "I mean, the guy came out of nowhere." "There was nothing she could have done to avoid him." "And how fast were you going when the pedestrian appeared?" "I'd say about 20, 25." "Which?" "20 or 25?" " Closer to 20." " Is there a difference?" "I need to get the facts straight." "If you're unclear, presumption will be that you didn't... 20 miles per hour last time I looked at the speedometer, crossing Larabee in the left-most lane." " That specific enough?" " Okay, Dawson, let's take it down a notch." "I'm here for you." " I'm on your side here." " No, you wanted to be specific." " Let's be specific." " Dawson..." "I had the lights and sirens on and I was on the horn." "Guy steps in the middle of the road not ten feet in front of me from behind the cover of a van." "The time between him stepping in the road and me slamming on my brakes was about a second, but I saw the look in his eyes." "They were blue." "Am I wrong?" "Chief, a word." "You okay?" "It was unavoidable." " What in the hell was that?" " Wallace..." "You barely wait for a union rep before you decide to interrogate?" "It's a field report." "I have a responsibility to fill this out..." "And I am her chief." "There's a comatose man in the E.D." "whose lawyer has already called the department, threatening a suit." "So what you're saying is the department doesn't have her back?" "If it were me, I'd be getting outside counsel." "Have you been with him?" "Who was with him?" "You?" "Thank you." "God, Dad..." "What happened?" "There she is." "Hey." "Come here." "Are you all right?" "I feel like I should say yes." "How's the guy?" "Critical." "That's all I know." "Hey, hey, hey." "Don't let Hatcher rattle your cage, all right?" "We all know you're in the right." "I'll call the union." "Rally support." "Thanks, everyone." "Excuse me." "How's she?" "Shaken." "Truth always comes out for the innocent though, right?" "How about you just come out and say what you want to say?" "I know you called OFI and got them" " to extend their investigation." " I'm not hiding that." "This is a grieving husband." "I saw it with my own eyes." "I don't know what it's going to take to make you see that." "The truth." "You let her down and you fail every first responder in this city!" "Is that how we treat our own?" "Then just do it." " Look, day took a turn." " It's okay." "I understand." "Chief, I've been treading water on this New York trip all day..." " Cancel it." " Really, Chief..." "Connie, please." "Send my regrets." "Will you do me a favor?" "You find Joe Cruz." "You tell him I said to show you some ladder drills." "Yeah." "Sure." "Chief, there's some lawyer out here taking pictures." "Hold on." "That's been there for months." " Dawson..." " No, that... that was, that was first watch from, a warehouse fire six months ago." "Look, you don't have to do this." "If we could just..." "If we could just talk, I can tell you what happened" " with your father." " Sweetheart, do me a favor." "Don't address my client." "What did you just call me?" "What's going on here?" "Scott Powers." "I'm the attorney for Russell Hayes," " the son of the man..." " I know who you are." "Why are you here?" "It's our notification of intent to sue." "We'll be chatting soon." "He is suggesting 5 million in damages against the CFD." "This is ridiculous." "Plus another million from me personally." "The department has deep pockets." "Let them take the lead." "They'll get the best settlement they can." "So you want me to take responsibility for something I couldn't avoid?" "Of course not, but I don't want you to go all Gabby Dawson and make things worse for yourself." "When have I ever done that?" "Okay, okay." "Those times were warranted." "Okay, you're right." "You're right." "Just listen." "Be strong." "We'll get through this." "It's Antonio." "Hello?" "Hey, since you're sleeping in gen-pop tonight." " Much obliged." " Yeah." "Hey." "Casey?" "Can I see you in my office?" "Is she okay?" "Still waiting to see if the white shirts are gonna have her back." "Really?" "Um." "Gotta get into character, right?" " Right." " All right." " Can I ask you something?" " Sure." "Um, this report, when they say "entity"..." "They mean Company 81." "The heck don't they say that then?" "You get promoted and before you know it you'll be a white shirt yourself." "It ain't all trophies and bald eagles." "All right." "Yeah, let me know." "I love you." "Bye." "Hey, there you are." "I wanted to see how you were doing." "That was Antonio." "Okay." "He said to say hello." "That's..." "That's nice of him." "You slept with him." "Please." "As much as I want to stay out of the middle of you two," "I also just want to get my mind off of all this other junk." "Um, well, I-I may have knocked on his door last night." "I knew it." "It was perfect." "He's so... caring." "And, his touch makes my body ti..." "Okay, wait." "I was wrong." "Thought I could handle it." "I can't." "I am here for you either way." "I know." "Thank you." "You want to see me?" "OFI called." "They confirmed the use of an accelerant in Darin Whitney's home." "Okay, so an accelerant was used." "He was still nowhere near the house when the fire was started." "What about a timing device?" "Where's the timing device, Casey?" "No one found anything." "We both know that fire didn't start itself." "Why don't you just give it a rest?" "Okay, enough." "Let me be clear." "You are both leaders in this house." "I need you to act like it, starting yesterday." "By next shift I want a final statement on my desk with both your signature it'll go to the OFI and that will be the end of it." "Understood?" "Dismissed." "And the bull-dicky just keeps piling on." "So now I'm learning that they make lieutenants go through "sensitivity training."" "Why do you want this anyway?" "'Cause I always thought I was supposed to." "And 'cause I'm an idiot." "Hang on." "Yeah." "Christopher Herrmann." "He does?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Yeah, I'll be there." "Of course, yeah." "Wait, um..." "Was he smiling when he said that?" "Yeah, that's great." "Thank you so much." "All right, bye." "Wow." "Chief Walker wants to see me tomorrow." " Must be good news." " Don't jinx it." " Hey." " Hey." "Keep your hands on that ladder, James." "How's he looking?" "Rough." "Truthfully, Chief, I think he'd rather be anywhere but here." "Thanks." "Okay, that's enough for the day." "Get changed now." "You need to hear this." "Victim has a rocky past." "Unemployed since the steel mills went bust." "He has a record too." "Court ordered treatment for attempted suicide." "You think he walked into the street on purpose?" "Well, guy's been in the valley a few times." "Pills, blades." "Does Lawyer Powers know his history?" "Does he care?" "It's never been about the truth with that guy." "It's a paycheck." "Anything that takes fault off the city, he's not interested." "Well, what about the son?" "Dad left when he was ten." "The son sued for unpaid child support when he turned 18." "Blood from a stone." "His name's not listed on any of the victim's treatment forms over the years." "So how did he find out about the accident?" "Well, my guess?" "Powers dug him up." "Can't sue the city without a plaintiff." "Is that legal?" "I doubt he's losing sleep over the particulars." "Severide." "I'm supposed to meet him at the arson site." " Go ahead." "Give him hell." " Nothing but." "I'm gonna fight this to the end." "Thank you." " Hey." " Hey." " Found anything yet?" " Not much." "The city camera showed the husband at the restaurant when the blaze started." "Accelerated fire would have engulfed this entire place in minutes." "Couldn't have been him." "Unless there was a fuse." "Some way he could delay the burn, give him time to set up an alibi." "Waste basket was a seat, right?" "No." "Right there." "Charring?" "That's where it started." "Well, this..." "This ash." "Kindling?" "Sawdust?" "Something else he piled up." "Maybe." "But how did he spark it?" "Leave the power running and hope that it surged out?" "Maybe he sabotaged the power strip." " Created a short." " No." "It would have went off as soon as the current ran through it and he would have got caught in the blaze." "And it's... it's not like he could have turned on the power strip from the restaurant." "Besides, even if he did delay the burn, why go through all of that and then run back into the fire?" "There's no logic to it." "Okay, fine." "I'm crazy." "Casey, I'm telling you we have nothing." "I'm done." "Just, um, write up the report." "I'll sign it." " Casey, hold up." " What?" "Come here." "What is it?" "It's called Home Gate." "It's a company that does home automation." "It's utilities, alarm systems, climate control." "Whole thing's controlled by an app on your phone." "Hold this." "That an Internet cable?" "Son of a bitch." "What is that, lamaze?" "You told me to relax and breathe." "Cindy and I went through this five times." "Listen." "When you make your move, any chance you'd have the pull to take me with you?" "You'd leave 51?" "You and me been riding together a long time." "He's ready for you." "Thanks for waiting, Herrmann." "We've been giving your promotion serious consideration." "However, if we're going to move forward, we need to clear the air." "About?" "Is this your name on this run sheet?" "Yeah." "I was acting lieutenant on 81." "A girl was bleeding." "She needed to get to the hospital asap." "I appreciate that." "Nevertheless, protocols are protocols." "So I'm gonna need you to write a formal statement taking liability." "What... and what does that mean?" "Short suspension." "Dock in pay." "Even though I did the right thing?" "Taking the heat is part of the job." "Taking the heat." "Kinda like what Gabby Dawson is doing?" "Excuse me?" "Are you guys gonna have her back?" "It's an open investigation, Herrmann." "How is that being a leader?" "You should probably consider your next words very carefully if you're still thinking of making lieutenant." "The funny thing is, up until now my job has been pretty straightforward." "You know, kick in a door, save a life." "There's been no inventory requests, no status reports, and definitely no statements of liability." "And there has been no sensitivity crap just in case I say something stupid, which I am definitely not gonna do right now!" "And no paper white shirts who are too jelly spined too stand up for their own!" "You know what?" "And another thing." "I got a bone to pick with you about the amount of polyester in our dress blues." "Every time that I go to a formal event," "I end up with a rash the size of Lake Michigan." "Hey, Darin." "Can we come in?" "Yeah." "Absolutely." "Something wrong?" "You headed out?" "Cousin up in Rockford got an extra bed." "I need a change of scenery." "We know, Darin." "If we looked at your phone we'd find an app that could activate this outlet from anywhere in the world, am I right?" "Look, I'm..." "We already contacted home gate to confirm your usage." "It's time stamped." "I can't help you anymore." "It's not what you think." "I was trying to bail us out." "I have problems." "Debts." "But I knew she'd never go for it." "She was supposed to be at her sister's." "I didn't know she'd come home." "I didn't know." "I saw her car out front and by then the whole house was going up." "I raced inside." "You saw me." "Darin Whitney, you have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." "You have the right to an attorney." "If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed." "James." "How's he doing?" "I really don't know." "I should, but..." "Hey, I heard from Chief Walker." "Boy." "He thinks you're temperamentally unfit for command." " Sounds about right." " What did you do this time?" "Spoke the truth." "Not always a wise choice." "I know." "Wise and me are like water and oil, so I decided that the big guy put me on this planet to swing an axe and drag a hose, and not make higher level decisions." "Everything all right?" "Been a long couple of days." "Yeah." "For everybody, I'd say." "Truck 81, Ambo 61, Squad 3." "What do we got?" "I blew a tire and went through the wall." "I didn't even see the girl in the bike lane." "What girl?" " Herrmann?" " Yeah?" "Grab the axel with the tow strap." "Grab a winch, and pull the truck off." "Hey, that's gonna take time." "She's getting crushed." "If we cut the fence off her, we can get her out." "The whole truck could go." "The fence is the only thing holding it up." "Forget the winch." "We're gonna use manpower." "How much space you need to get in there and get her out?" "A few inches." " We can do it." " Go." " I'm coming around back." " All right, Kidd," " prep a rope." " Yeah." "Got it." "All right, Squad, help 'em out." "Cruz, grab the wire cutters just in case." "I'm going in." "Hey, just relax." "We're gonna get you out." "All right, I want two lines here." "Squad, Truck, let's do this." " Dawson, Brett, a little help." " Yeah, coming in." "One, two, three!" "You got it!" "Come on, let's get you out of here." "Okay." "Damn it!" "Pull!" "Severide, get her out of there, now!" "It's going." "Got you." "Severide!" "Talk to me, Severide." "I'm good, I'm good." "Flip her." "Nice job, bro." "Mind waiting a bit?" "No." "Do what you gotta do." "Excuse me, you can't be in here." "I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now." "You need to leave." "There's something you need to see first." "Your father needs help." "He needed help before the accident." "He'll need it even more if he pulls through." "He tried to kill himself?" "I did all I could to avoid that accident, okay?" "I did everything to save your father afterward." "Tom." "You're canceling?" "Don't blame Connie." "I nearly had to torture her to get the straight story." "That's right, Tom." "I'm not going to New York." "How about you tell me exactly why?" "How about you mind your own affairs?" "Yeah, I'm not gonna do that." "Tom, I do not need to..." "You know what I see in your eyes, Wallace?" "Fear." "For the first time in 30 years," "I see fear in Wallace Boden's eyes." "You don't know what you see." "The hell I don't." "For some day..." "When you're ready." "I know you guys love your chief." "Get him to New York." "He needs it." " Hey." " Hey." "I got something you might want to see." "September 12th." "That's me, my battalion chief, Tommy Vasquez," "Mitch Sudik, and Tom Colletti." "Colletti went to New York?" "Yeah." "He was the first one to call and say there'd been an attack." "We all just jumped in the trucks and drove through the day." "How many went?" "At least a hundred." "There was hundreds more in the weeks to come." "What was it like when you got there?" "It was hell." "Dust everywhere and the smell of... emptiness." "The colors of the world were gone somehow." "Wallace, that you?" "Been a long time, brother." "Nice." "So I joined up with some New York firefighters and I started searching through the rubble." "John Salka from New York, Colletti, and me, we didn't stop digging." "No one there stopped." "The three of us wondered aloud if this place would ever be the same." "We talked about the future and rebuilding and rebirth, but I never really believed in it." "Not in those days." "The world felt brutal, ugly." "The people who gave their lives that day would never know why." "And through all the digging and the dust and the death, we never found a single soul." "And I felt like I failed them." "Firefighters don't fail people." "A hole formed inside of me." "Hope is hard to find when you lock it out of your mind." "But maybe hope has a way of unlocking itself." "If you allow it to." "All of this time, and the answers were right here." "The future is right here."