12x13 - Never Say Goodbye

[bunniefuu]

How about you tell me
where you got that scar?

My older brother shoved me
into the flames.

I'm sorry, Carver.

I've been more honest with you

than almost anyone else in my life.

That isn't the only reason why I'm here.

Damon sounded like
he's hiding something.

He specifically said he doesn't
want anyone here to find out.

Carver, he's visiting
some old construction buddies.

You miss him?

We're not in that kind of relationship.

Keeping this casual is
the only way I can do it.

Casual, I get it.

Chief Robinson wants to be
deputy commissioner

and she will do whatever it takes.

I am frightened that
the CFD will become a place

filled with disunity and distrust.

What are you gonna do?

I gotta figure out something.

- Then what happened?
- And then I said...

[SIGHS] I can't remember.

Come on, Dad, say it!

And then I said,
fire up the water cannons.

- Yeah, you did.
- Okay, come on.

You get the feeling
you were missed a little?

- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.

All right, there you go.

We like it when you're home.

But I know James needed you in.

That was a good thing you did.

Yeah.

These eggs are lit.

Well, we're very glad to hear it.

Keep me posted on any news
about Chief Robinson?

I will.

Today's humble goal,

do everything in my power

to stop her from taking over
this department.

Go get 'em.

Hey. I love you.

- Love you too.
- Bye.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪

I think we slept through
a couple alarms.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

Oh! We are no joke late. We gotta move!

Ready in five.

What I hear?
Permanent DC will be appointed

in the next two days.

I know a few of the guys in the group

consulting the commissioner,
but I don't know

- who else is in the running.
- Latham and Contreras.

Latham?

Decent enough, but he lacks passion

and doesn't even seem to like his job.

Contreras can't stay out of trouble.

She's had more charges
than a cheap cell phone.

I can't back any of them.

I don't wanna go to the commissioner

- just to bury Robinson.
- [ELEVATOR CHIMES]

Speak of the devil.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪

This is a disaster.

The only other difference
is Velcro in the compartments.

Yeah, works pretty good.

How about we put it back the way it was?

Really?

Sorry, Lieutenant.
Be out here in two minutes.

You think they said to each other

"you go in a quarter second
before me. They'll never know"?

Subtle.

From what Lennox said, it
sounds like this DC appointment

is happening this week?

Yeah, I'm going back
to headquarters later today,

talk to every committee member
I can get my hands on.

They need to know how dangerous
Robinson would be for the CFD.

[SCOFFS]

How was your stint as
ranking officer here?

It was fine. Good.

To be honest, I didn't realize
how much of your job

was being a counselor.

Between that and the paperwork...

Yeah, it's a handful.

Herrmann helped deal
with most of the counseling.

He's got a knack for it.

Yes, he does.

What about Damon, the new floater?

Huh.

Something about the kid.

I like him.

He's a little bit hard to read.

Stella's still on the fence, but...

[ALARM BLARES]

All units, structure collapse.

[SIRENS WAILING]

[HYDRAULICS HISS]

- Whoa.
- Whoa.

First day with a new bike.

This thing has no pickup.
I had to slam the pedal.

We took it on plenty of runs
to test it out.

It seemed fine.

Yeah, well, something's off,
and it ain't me.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Watch out!

- Help! Up here!
- They're here!

Help us!

- Quick!
- Hurry!

Hey, guys! Back up. Get out of there.

Truck, raise the aerial.

- You got it, Chief.
- Help us.

- Mouch!
- I'm on it.

- Help!
- I'm slipping out.

Herrmann, see if you can
find a window vantage point.

All right, copy that.
Ritter, you're with me.

- Copy that.
- Hey, over here.

- Help us!
- Hurry!

Hey, set the jacks. We need a ladder.

It's all yours, Lieutenant.

Hey, you got an air bag in there?

- Hundred footer.
- Yeah?

All right, Carver, Damon...

come help these guys
put a bag underneath us.

Copy.

- Squad 3, we're going up.
- Copy.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

I'm slipping!

Hold on.

Hang on.

Hang on. I got you.

I got you. Easy.

- Easy.
- [GROANS]

Help!

Hang on!

I'm coming for you. Don't let go.

Can't feel my leg. Help!

[SHOUTS]

Hold on.

Let's hurry this up, 51.

Thing is massive, Chief.

[GRUNTS] All right.

Grab both rails.

- We're gonna go down together.
- Okay.

Hey, I'm coming back for you.

Get my crew first. Get them down.

- I'm the foreman. I go last.
- Just hang on.

All right, Mouch, we're coming down.

- Get ready to swing the ladder.
- Copy that.

All right, let's go.

Easy.

- Hey, Damon.
- Got it.

Let me know when you're set, Mouch.

Almost in position.

- Hey, Kidd.
- Yeah?

You got first flanks.
I'm gonna go up after 'em.

- Mouch?
- Okay, go, go, go!

All you, Chief.

♪

- Help.
- Hey, give me your hand.

I'm right here.

- [SHOUTS]
- [GRUNTING]

I can't.

- Look at me.
- I'm slipping!

Look at me, right here.

- All you gotta do is reach out.
- Okay.

Just reach out. Reach out.

- I'm slipping.
- I'm right here.

- Just reach out.
- I'm trying.

Reach. Give me your hand, man.

Give me your hand. Reach out. Reach.

- [SHOUTS]
- [SCREAMS]

k*ll the air! Medics, we need you!

Medics, we need you!

Make way. Make way.

Okay, I got a pulse.

Weak and thready, but it's there.

Let's roll and go.

On my count... one, two, three.

Okay, everyone ready?

On three. One, two, three.

♪

The bags go slow.

You did everything you could.

Doesn't feel like it.

Hey, you guys?

Uh.

We'll keep thinking good thoughts

for this foreman, Bergson,

but nobody forget,

we saved five lives back there.

Okay?

♪

It's good you said that.

Any update on Bergson, the foreman?

Uh, he's still in pretty bad shape...

intubated and unresponsive.

It's a hell of a way to start a shift.

Yeah.

[SIGHS]

Bergson's family got there
as we were leaving.

He's got three little kids.

Real cuties.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪

Hey, Lieutenant.

Sorry about using Squad.

I just wanted to get good
at setting these struts.

Mouch and Herrmann are
working on Truck, so.

Yeah, no apologies necessary.

I like the attitude.

- You really wanna learn?
- Yes, sir.

Now, just find a good spot
to secure the ratchet hook

underneath the frame.

[RATCHET CLICKING]

- Nice.
- Thanks.

I have seen some bravery

in my time in the fire service,
Bergson, but...

that's gotta be
one of the bravest things

I've ever seen a man do.

You put everything on the line
for your team...

And you saved their lives.

You made me think about some things,

about what it means...

to lead.

But now, somehow,

you need to do more.

You need to pull through.

♪

Cylinders are the same.

- Identical.
- It's official.

Everything in this truck is

original equipment,
manufacturers' parts.

Every last piece. Nothing is modified.

Nothing was modified.

Why do you suddenly
sound happy about that?

Because if nothing was
modified on this truck

but it feels different,

then something was modified
on the old truck.

Okay?

Which means all we need to do
to figure that out

is find the original driver
of the old truck,

find out what he did to the engine.

Then you can modify this one
the same way.

And go back to driving a rig
I love, the way it used to be.

All right, let's make some phone calls.

We'll track this old
son of a bitch down.

[CHUCKLES]

What's on the menu?

Damon made pot roast.

I'm having a hard time

getting my knife through
this meat, Damon.

Use a sharper knife, Capp.
It looks good to me.

I saw you two working over
at the squad earlier.

Yeah. I don't know.

He's a self-starter. I like it.

Maybe worth keeping.

Okay, listen up, people.

I have decided to throw
my hat in the ring

for deputy commissioner.

[SOFT DETERMINED MUSIC]

♪

Hey, that is awesome, Chief.

CFD couldn't do any better.

You're the man for the moment, Chief.

No doubt.

[APPLAUSE]

Yeah, absolutely. Chief, go get 'em.

Yeah. Yeah!

Listen, everyone knows

I tried to avoid the politics
of the CFD as best I can,

but it isn't about me anymore.

It's about the whole department.

And with the current state
of leadership,

I have decided that
I can't just sit by and watch.

So I'm headed to HQ.

Do what I can, fast.

Promote myself, do the rounds.

I hear I have a day or two at best.

We're here for you, Chief.
Anything you need.

Robinson isn't going to be too happy

when she hears about it,
that's for sure.

Good.

Do you think Boden has a chance

when he doesn't play the game
like Chief Robinson does?

The chief's been campaigning
for that job for months.

- I don't know.
- If he does, though...

if he somehow gets the position,

means he'll be gone from 51 for good.

All right, there's no point
in worrying about it now.

We'll know about it soon enough.

[ALARM BLARES]

Truck 81, Ambulance 61,

smoke alarm, 5518 West Taylor.

[SIRENS WAILING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Doesn't look like much.

Yeah, let's go in and see what's what.

Mouch, hang back with the medics.

I'll shout if we need anything.

And Damon, grab an extinguisher.

Copy that, Lieutenant.

How about you get your head
out of your ass for once!

Every penny is coming out
of your check, Mike.

Fire department.
Is everything all right?

Yeah, we got it all under control.

My youngest burned
a five-pound tray of pancetta

'cause he can't stop
staring at his damn phone.

Dumbass.

Okay then.

We're just gonna
give the place a once-over

just to be on the safe side
while we're here.

No need for all that.
Einstein here already

emptied the fire extinguisher
all over the stove

and wrecked the lunch service, so...

Hey, it's better safe than sorry.

Maybe you didn't notice,
but the fire's completely out,

and we got a huge mess to clean up

or we're gonna lose dinner, too, so...

[SCOFFS] If you don't mind?

We do mind, actually.

Maybe you didn't notice,
but your son is injured.

No. No, I'm okay.

Hey, we got paramedics outside.

- We'll have them...
- He said he's fine.

Hey, Violet?
We got a burn injury in here.

- Copy that. Coming in.
- Oh, for the love of...

it's a restaurant.
People get burned all the time.

And we are just gonna make sure.

This is my property, and I
want you out of here right now.

Hey, back up and let us do our job.

Carver, hey.

Hey, Violet.

Mike here's got a burn on his arm.

Ooh. Oh, yeah, how'd that happen?

I don't know. I just, uh...

Were you boiling water?

Yeah, uh, I had a pot
of boiling water in my hands.

Then I saw the bacon.

I mean, the pancetta
was burning, and I...

I sort of panicked, and I spilled it.

You spilled a pot of
boiling water on your own arm?

My dad already told you,

it happens all the time in the kitchen.

It was you, wasn't it?
You did that to him.

- Or was it your dad?
- That's enough.

I want you out of here.

Sir, we just need to
wrap your son's arm.

We can handle it!

Now, get the hell out of my kitchen.

All of you, go!

Listen, Mike,
if you're feeling unsafe...

- hey, hey, hey!
- Hey!

Whoa! Carver!

Carver! [DISHES CRASHING]

[BOTH GRUNTING]

- Stop.
- [BOTH GRUNTING]

Stop! Carver! Carver! Hey!

- Carver, enough. Stop.
- [GASPS]

[GLASS SHATTERING]

Oh! What the hell?

Look at me.

- Sam.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!

- Carver!
- You okay?

- Easy. Carver, Carver.
- Come on.

Come here, come here, come here.

Back up. Back up!

Back up, both of you.

Hey!

Back the hell up, both of you. Back up.

The hell's the matter with
you, you crazy son of a bitch?

Hey, walk away right now.

Now.

- Truck 81, Ambo 61, let's go.
- Meet you at the ambo, okay?

Mike, run some cold clean
water on that burn right away.

I'm gonna give you some clean dressing

and don't put anything else on it, okay?

No ointments or salves.

- Thanks.
- You got it.

Whatever's happening here,
if there's any abuse going on,

it doesn't matter who's doing it,

you are responsible.

Go ahead, call the cops.

Then I'll tell them that we got jumped

by a bunch of firefighters.

How about that?

♪

Hey, Novak. You good?

Damon, let's go! Now.

What the hell was that?

Are you out of your mind,
jumping a civilian like that?

You're lucky no one got seriously hurt

because that would have been on you.

Sorry, I lost my cool, too, Lieutenant.

That guy was a piece of...

You're right.

There's no excuse for what I did.

I was way out of line.

That is a huge understatement.

And with Chief Boden under a microscope,

if anything worse would have happened,

you could have blown his shot at DC.

[TRUCK DOOR OPENS, SHUTS]

[FIST BANGS DOOR]

Just talking to the nurses at Med.

Bergson seems to be improving.

He's not conscious, but there's
been signs of brain activity.

It's not exactly great news,
but I'll take it.

Could be a sign of
better things to come, right?

Let's hope so.

So Ritter said you were looking for me?

Have a seat, Herrmann.

Oh, boy. What'd I do now?

As far as I know, nothing.

And let's keep it that way.

I'm under no delusions about
getting this DC appointment.

I know my chances are low.

But if somehow I pull it off...

I want you sitting in this
chair as my replacement.

- What?
- There are some things to get in order.

You need that captain promotion

and you need to take
the Battalion Chief Test.

But you do that, and you
could look after our family.

- Chief.
- Mm.

I'm...

Nobody.

And I am for sure no Chief Boden.

You don't have to be me.

You just have to be you,

the Christopher Herrmann
who looks out for people,

who listens,

who always leads with his heart.

[EXHALES]

Whatever happens, boss...

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪

You'll never know
how much that means to me.

♪

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Hey, Stella.

- Everything okay?
- No.

Damon is off my rig next shift.

Carver might be too.

They were totally out of control.

- What happened?
- It was a full on brawl

with the three guys who own
the restaurant that we were at.

And at least with Carver,
I know what sparked it.

The dynamics hit
a little too close to home.

But Damon had no excuse.

I don't even know who the hell
that guy is, Kelly.

♪

I feel like hell about the whole thing.

Is Novak okay?

Yeah, she's fine.

But you got pretty lucky, Sam.

[SIGHS]

I can explain.

You don't need to explain anything

'cause I saw it.

That guy banged right into Kidd
and you lost it.

You know, I'm not blind, Sam.

I know when you first started
here you had a thing for Kidd.

I could tell from the way
you looked at her

and the way you acted around her.

And when that guy slammed
into her today,

it totally set you off.

Are you kidding me right now, Violet?

I'm not gonna deny that
when I first got here,

there might have been
some feelings left over

from academy days,
but you are way too smart

to think that's still true.

You know the real truth,

which is that you have thrown
every excuse at me,

done everything in your power
to push me away,

keep distance between us.

But it is not because of me
or anything I did.

It is because you can't
let go of Hawkins.

You know I'm not in love with Kidd

because I am stupid enough

to have fallen in love with you.

♪

Always good to see you.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Look whose trolling the halls now.

It's the ghost of CFDs past.

Hmm. Didn't mean to scare you.

You don't scare me, Chief Boden.

In fact, when I heard
you suddenly decided

you were interested in the DC position,

I actually laughed.

Good to know you do that
once in a while.

- I was beginning to wonder.
- You don't have a shot.

You know that, right?

I have the support of the vast majority

of department heads and the interim DC.

They all feel the same way I do.

It's time for the older
firefighters in the CFD

to make their way out
and a new wave to take over.

Chief Robinson, our meeting
is about to start.

All right.

We have the Women's
CFD Leadership Committee.

Excuse me.

♪

Hey, Lieutenant.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

What's going on, Damon?

Heard you were out of line
on that last call.

Yeah, I was acting like an idiot.

That father, he's a real piece of work.

Anyway, it just... it got to me.

You're on thin ice with your lieutenant.

Yeah, I know.

And I wanna make it right.

But the thing is...

♪

Yep, he's late.

He's retired.

Exactly. That's why he's got no excuse.

Mouch, are you sure this is our guy?

We spoke on the phone.

He claimed to be the OG driver
of the old Truck 81.

And this one may need a new driver soon.

Now that they raised
the retirement age to 65,

I'm thinking I still have
a chance of making rank.

I'm gonna take the lieutenant's test.

- Ah, get out of here!
- Mouch, that's great.

Thanks. I've been studying real hard.

Trudy's been helping me.

She made flashcards.
They're a little racy.

[CHUCKLES]

Hey.

Oh.

- One of you McHolland?
- That would be me, sir.

Thanks for coming by.

Lieutenant Geary, Lieutenant Herrmann.

- Hi.
- Darren Ritter from Engine 51.

So you blew up my rig, huh?

Well, we didn't.

Disgraceful.

- Shameful.
- Well, yes.

I mean, we figured...

that's actually what we would
like to know,

if you made any modifications?

You bet your ass we did.

Put in suspension from a Freightliner

for better lateral stability.

Performance fuel injectors

added 100 horsepower to that engine.

I knew it was something.

Couldn't do that today, though.

No, not with all
the regulations and rules.

You never should have let it blow up.

It may look the same,
but it'll never drive like it.

That rig was one of a kind.

Yep.

Well, you look like you're in
as bad mood as I am.

Yeah, it's kind of been
the shift from hell.

[SCOFFS]

It really has.

I'm torn.

I wanted to put Damon
back in the floater pool.

But not only does Severide like the kid,

now that Carver's taken
another furlough,

I do not wanna bring
two newbies in next shift.

Carver is taking another furlough?

Yeah.

I think that call really messed him up.

Just the whole brother thing.

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

Damn, I figured you knew.

You two have gotten so close.

No.

No, we haven't, really.

And that's my fault.

But please tell me.

'Cause I... I think I really messed up,

and I need to know.

♪

I'd have heard by now

if I was gonna get that appointment.

I'm more disappointed
than I thought I'd be.

- I'm sorry, babe.
- It's okay.

This means I'm gonna have to fight
Robinson from the inside somehow.

[DISHES CLATTER]

Hey, hey.

I am here for whatever happens next.

And if that Robinson needs
a little talking to,

you know I'm your girl.

- Yeah.
- Hmm.

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

Boden here.

Yes, I understand. Thank you.

It was Burns. He's at headquarters.

They want me down there immediately.

Okay.

I love you.

Love you too.

♪

[CHUCKLES]

You didn't know
Stella Kidd came to see me

- in Oakland, did you?
- No, I did not.

The kind of loyalty you
inspire in your firefighters

is something you should
be very proud of.

That's why I put aside my duties

and made the trip here today.

You bring people together
at a time where all of us,

including the CFD, need it most.

You should be running this place.

Thank you for your kind words.

They're not just words.

Congratulations,
Deputy Commissioner Boden.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪

You know, the way you
held on to that harness,

I knew you'd keep fighting.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

♪

I think you must have
some steel in you, my friend.

I wanted to let you know

I just got a pretty big promotion.

And that you helped inspire it.

I'm feeling a lot of... hope about it.

And that kind of surprised me.

♪

Sam?

Sam?

[KNOCKING]

[PHONE RINGING]

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

♪

Hi.

I was hoping you'd say that.

See, this is new.

And I want you to remember

as I go sashaying past you at work

that I have it on under my station gear.

I will not be able to forget it.

Good.

[PHONE DINGS]

Oh, my God.

Look at this picture Sylvie
just sent of baby Julia.

That's a cute baby.

You know, I was thinking that...

[SOFT MUSIC]

I was thinking that maybe
we start a family.

I know, at least at first,
it's a bigger decision for you.

It is, yeah.

I just...

I... I wasn't expecting that.

I know it kind of flew out of my mouth,

but I've been thinking about it a lot.

[PHONE DINGS]

♪

Something's up.

Wallace Boden is the new
deputy commissioner

of the Chicago Fire Department.

Damn.

That is crazy about Chief Boden.

Ah, so cool!

Yeah, very cool.

I haven't been here long,
but you can tell

he's a real stand-up guy.

Yeah, he exudes, like,
importance and kindness, too,

which is a rare combo, right?

You're a positive person.

Sometimes.

If I don't get to stick
around here at 51,

maybe me and you can
get together sometime?

Damon, if there's one thing
I've learned about this place,

it's that you can't really hide stuff.

So if you wanna stay at 51,
you might as well just

put whatever's been weighing
on you out there...

And just see what happens.

♪

Wanna go for a ride around the block?

Yeah.

Ah!

[HYDRAULICS HISS]

This stupid thing.

No matter what I do,

it's never gonna be the truck I loved.

That one is gone now, for good.

He's packing up his office now.

♪

I'm really, really gonna miss him.

[SIGHS]

[SNIFFLES]

We can still go down to HQ
and visit him once in a while.

Yeah.

[CHUCKLES]

He's gonna be the best damn DC
this city has ever seen.

♪

But what are we gonna do
without him here every day

holding us together?

[SIGHS HEAVILY]

Well, congrats, Deputy Commissioner.

[LAUGHS]

Nice ring to it.

Uh, we have some things
to say as we send you off

- to the tippy-top of the CFD.
- Where you should be.

Uh, thank you,

but we are all gonna
see each other again.

There is no need for a big goodbye.

That's the thing, there are
people you say goodbye to

and people you can never say goodbye to

because they've become too much
a part of who you are.

They've shaped you, trained you,

taught you everything you know, even.

Hmm.

You know, Mouch pulled me off a banister

and brought me here.

And now I look around sometimes

and it kind of feels like
I was born here.

I didn't really know what being
a firefighter was before...

or a brother.

Amen.

Now you get to do that
for the whole CFD.

And they'll see how lucky we were.

You made 51 a family, Chief,

and this fire house a home.

I don't know that I can take
much more of this.

That's okay, 'cause there
aren't any words for it.

Except, I guess,

thank you, Chief...

For being the best friend and leader

anyone could ask for.

♪

Come on now.

♪

Hey, Lieutenant. You got a sec?

What is it?

I wanted to answer the question
that you asked me last shift

about why I lost my cool on that call

and why I really came to 51.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪

That guy at the restaurant, the father?

He was being mean

and he was treating
that younger kid like dirt.

And I had a father like that too.

His name was Benny Severide.

♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

[WOLF HOWLS]