Chicago Fire – Lift Each Other

By starrymag | December 5, 2016

By: MaryBeth McMahon

 

 

It’s all in the family when Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Gabby (Monica Raymund) go on a double date with new-couple-in-town, Antonio (Jon Seda) and Brett (Kara Killmer). With squeamish looks upon their faces, Casey and Gabby gaze across the table at the affectionate and once-unlikely new couple. Gabby mentions the upcoming anniversary party she and Antonio’s parents are throwing, which provides Antonio with the opportunity to invite Brett along to meet the parents.

 

Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) and James (Namir Smallwood) walk up to the firehouse, discussing James’ desire to finish out his senior year under Boden’s roof. Boden is elated, yet doubtful that James’ mother will feel the same way. Shortly thereafter, James is changing and preparing for shift in the locker room and a nearby Cruz (Joe Minoso) nervously takes notice of the large bruises on James’ arms and back. Cruz directly goes to Severide’s (Taylor Kinney) office, but right when he is about to report what he saw in the locker room a call comes in for Truck 81 and Ambulance 61.

 

The Firehouse 51 company pulls up to an industrial warehouse where two young boys broke in. While pretending to be The Avengers, the boys jumped from the second level of the warehouse, injuring the legs of one and causing the other boy to become tangled in pipes hanging above. Casey and Severide inspect the scene in front of them and immediately rush to help the second boy, Wiley, who is unconsciously dangling upside down. Truck 81 works to dislodge the boy’s foot from the pipes and pass him down until he is safely on the ground level. Wiley, his face pale green from excessive blood rushing to his head, receives CPR with chest compressions from Casey. He wakes up and takes in a breath, filling his lungs with much-needed oxygen. As Wiley is wheeled out on a stretcher, Casey and Severide commend one another for their quick and efficient efforts to save him.

 

While unloading from the call, Herrmann (David Eigenberg) shares his most recent scheme to get Molly’s on the map. Otis (Yuri Sardarov) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) are quickly turned off by his idea, which involves the two of them competing in a mud run whilst giving out Molly’s Bar tee shirts.

 

Cruz hops off the fire truck and pursues Severide. In a quiet area, he informs Severide about James’ bruises. Cruz described the bruises as a likely outcome of being beaten. Severide offers to handle the situation and agrees to talk to James.

 

At Chicago Med, Brett expresses concerns over going to the anniversary party, and fears being on display for the whole family. Dawson establishes that they are not the type of family that cares about everyone’s business and describes the event as “a feel-good, once-a-decade party” where everyone is drunk before 8:30pm. Brett requests a pre-party to prepare for the big event; however, Gabby defers, touching upon the awkwardness that occurred during the double date with her brother and her work partner. As they exit the hospital, Gabby gets a status update on Wiley. When she gets back to the firehouse, she informs Casey that Wiley went into a coma, resulting from cardiac arrest triggered by hanging upside down for too long. Casey shows an expression of guilt on his face, prompting Gabby to tell him that Wiley wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for him.

 

Severide confronts James and tells him that the calls involving kids are the “hard ones.” Severide reaches out and asks James if he’s okay. James avoids eye contact with Severide, takes a deep breath and says that he’s good. Severide doesn’t buy it and appears skeptical of his answer.

 

Firehouse 51 responds to a call at an intersection where a car became partially lodged underneath a tractor-trailer. The driver of the eighteen-wheeler explicitly blames the woman at the wheel of the car. The male passenger inside the car glares at the truck driver, who now refuses to step back from the scene. He shoves past James, who is visibly shaken up by the agitated man. The moment the passenger’s door is opened, he darts out and runs towards the truck driver, tackling him to the ground. James stares at the commotion, frozen with fear. Severide nudges him on the shoulder and tells him to pack up.

 

Severide enters Boden’s office and asks if James has mentioned any trouble happening at school. He mentions the bruises Cruz saw, as well as the fear James exhibited during the altercation between the men from the car accident. Boden is surprised by Severide’s questioning and begins to worry about his son.

 

Wiley’s father, eyes red and puffy, approaches Casey and Gabby in the firehouse. Both Casey and the father exchange details about Wiley’s condition, trying to get a grasp on the situation. His father begins to break down and Casey comforts him by explaining that kids will be kids and they don’t always focus on what they are doing in the present moment. After, Casey takes a seat in Severide’s office, his posture and expression conveying doubt and guilt. He asks if he did everything right in the warehouse call. Severide says Casey was “unstoppable” and did everything he could.

 

The following day, James exits the fire station and tells Boden that he likes it there and that he enjoys the people and notices the difference they all make in the community. Casey and Gabby follow behind. Gabby asks Casey to pick up the dry cleaning for the party and implies that he should buy flowers and chocolates. Casey, now clueless and confused, thinks the flowers and chocolates are for Gabby’s parents; he struggles to identify that Gabby’s hint meant that they are for her.

 

Flowers in hand, Casey enters Chicago Med to check on Wiley’s condition. Casey sadly finds out that Wiley passed away the night before. Nurse Maggie (Marlyne Barrett) tells Casey, “You did all you could. And you gave a family a chance to say goodbye.” Regardless, Casey is devastated. He leaves behind the flowers that were originally a romantic gesture for Gabby, but now symbolize nothing but his extensive guilt and respect for Wiley and his family.

 

Boden sits down with his ex-wife and James’ mother, Shonda (Shanesia Davis), to talk about James’ interest in moving in with him. She considers that spending time with Boden could be good for James. Shonda’s new chipper boyfriend, Todd (Lamar Curtis), walks in and introduces himself to Boden. Boden asks if James gets into any trouble at school, trying to “wrap his head around the timing of all of this.” Boden casts an exasperated look towards Shonda as she walks away from the table and declares a desire to discuss this another time.

 

Casey walks into the apartment with heavy shoulders and quickly jumps into caretaker mode by helping Gabby with her outfit. She excitedly talks about the party until she notices Casey’s exhausted look. He convinces her that everything is okay and they proceed to get ready.

 

Brett is absolutely relatable and earnest in her nervous entrance to the party with Antonio. She is relieved when Casey and Gabby intercept them with hugs and smiles. The happy couples sit down and intently listen to Gabby and Antonio’s father give a speech. He throws everyone a curveball when he cuts the speech short and unexpectedly announces his divorce from their mother. Gabby is instantly crushed, while Antonio is struggling to keep his anger at bay. Their father continues to speak, but is interrupted by Antonio, who walks up to the stage and needs to be held back by guests so he cannot punch his own father. Gabby flees for an exit and is soon comforted by Casey in a stairwell. Gabby feels “blindsided” by the information and is frustrated that her mother didn’t let her know about this sooner. Even in the midst of concealing and dealing with the pain of Wiley’s death, Casey puts on a strong face and does everything in his power to put Gabby first, expressing his endless love and support for her.

 

At Molly’s, Kidd and Otis enter the front door, both covered in mud head-to-toe. Surprisingly, Otis was the successful underdog of the race and beat Kidd, most likely a shock to all of the guys who bet against him. Herrmann’s marketing plan did not run as smoothly as he anticipated and is displeased to welcome a large number of muddy racers into the bar. He later complains that their profit barely broke even, as it cost more money to clean up after the muddy mess.

 

It’s one big happy family at the Boden household, where Boden, James, Donna (Melissa Ponzio) and baby Boden are sitting around the kitchen island. Boden catches James off guard when he asks about the bruises, encouraging him not to keep secrets. James’ poker face fails him when he says that he fell down a staircase at school. Boden and Donna sit silently, processing the fabricated story James chose to share. When Boden steps back and leaves the room, Donna gives James a knowing motherly look to subtly urge James to tell the truth. James follows Boden into the front room and reveals to him, “Someone hit me, more than once.” He says it wasn’t someone from school.

 

Boden pulls up to Todd and Shonda’s restaurant and storms through the front door. In the middle of the dining room, he grabs hold of Todd and begins punching him numerous times. Shonda rushes in and pulls Boden off of Todd.

 

At the firehouse, Boden receives word that he is suspended for “conduct unbecoming of a firefighter.” The Department sympathizes with Boden’s motive to stand up for and protect his son and only grants him a one-day suspension. Donna and James arrive at the firehouse and take Boden home. After the Firehouse 51 team finds out about Boden’s suspension, Severide jokes that they should throw a party for him, supporting his fatherly actions.

 

Brett catches Dawson in the hallway and expresses her support for Gabby. She tries to lighten the mood and bring a smile to Gabby’s face by saying that her family reunions are much more chaotic; however, Gabby remains dejected. She begins to ask Brett what she’s supposed to do in this type of situation, but as usual, that trusty alarm chimes in and interrupts yet another significant conversation at Firehouse 51.

 

They arrive to find a man trapped in the back of a tractor-trailer carrying corn. Acting like quick sand, the corn pulls the man down deeper with each movement he makes. Casey can only handle so much guilt after losing Wiley and desperately needs to save this man. He swiftly climbs on top of the truck, grabs hold of the man inside and says, “You’re not dying on me.”

 

At Chicago Med, Nurse Maggie asks Gabby how Casey is holding up. Wide-eyed, Gabby listens to Maggie and is shocked to hear about Wiley’s death. She realizes that Casey found out the morning of the anniversary party and expertly kept it a secret to preserve that initially happy day.

 

Shonda comes into Boden’s home and explains that she was unaware of Todd’s mistreatment of James. James eavesdrops and rushes down the stairs to console his distraught mother. He suggests staying with her to make sure that she is okay; clearly, it is a heavyhearted decision that is tough on both he and Boden. Boden is concerned about his James’s desire to put his own needs on the back burner.

 

Gabby arrives home and gives Casey a spontaneous kiss. When she steps back, she tearfully reveals that she knows about Wiley’s death and Casey’s efforts to keep it hidden from her so she could have a good day. They hug and he comforts her by saying, “That’s what we do: lift each other up. You’ve done that for me a million times.”