Pep stood there for a moment as she was surprised by what he just offered.

"Ar- Arnold? Did I hear you right?"

"I know it sounds pretty odd considering I already had someone else move in with us but… I couldn't let you suffer anymore, I want to help you out and I also want to be a close friend to you. So what do you say?" He held out his hand.

Pep smiled and shook his hand. "I really can't thank you enough for this, Arnold!"

"I just have one rule though." He started.

"And what's that?" She asked.

"Just know your limits. I nearly derailed one marriage, not happening twice 'cause of you." Arnold smirked.

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, trust me. I'll know my limits. But I seriously can't thank you enough for this, Arnold." She smiled.

"The least I can do for you." He smiled. "Now scram, I gotta catch up on this paperwork."

"Catch you later... Roomie." Pep smirked as she walked out.

"Truck 55, Engine 55, Aid Car 55, requested to structure fire in 2841 Prescott Street." The station alarm had gone off.

"Looks like the bell saves me again." He shrugged and soon got up.

The lights in the engine room lit up with everyone rushing in and starting to gear up. Within a minute, everyone was in their turnout gear and got into their respective trucks while the sirens flashed inside.

Later

The trucks were soon driving off with the sirens blaring and the horns honking as they drove by an intersection.

While they were on the way to the fire, Michelle decided to share a quick story about her father in her early days.

"You know, my Dad cried a lot before my first day of the Academy. And during my first year, he'd call after every shift and even show up randomly and check my equipment!" She chuckled. "I had to yell at him several times for him to stop, and I know you can relate, Cap." She looked at him.

Arnold shrugged. "Welp, can't say it was any different 'cause that's how my Mom was throughout my first year, I also had to do the same thing." Arnold chuckled. "And fast forward a few years later, I'm getting remarried soon, I have a kid with two pets and the most beautiful bride soon enough." He then smirked while Spinelli blushed and covered her face with her helmet.

Most of them smiled.

"And besides, McShay, you and I relate in a way since we both lost our Dads in the line of duty, no?" Arnold asked.

"Well, you have a point. Your Dad took a bullet while my Dad had to save us one last time from that storage unit." She lightly shrugged.

Soon, the sirens turned off as the trucks arrived at the house fire.

Arnold hopped out of the Ladder truck and shut the door and started strapping on his airpack.

"Ok, everyone, SCBA's on, this is a working fire on a two-story residential!" Arnold started handing out orders. "Victoria, you're on medical. Warren, Montgomery, McShay, and Spinelli, you're on ventilation, I'll be joining you guys! Smith, Gibson, you're on fire attack on A-side! LET'S MOVE!"

People came out coughing from the house.

"Is everyone out?" Arnold asked.

The old woman's face was covered with smoke. "Ther- There's 19 of us, if you count me! You gotta get them out!"

Pep came over to help. "Alright, alright! Just let my team help out while I help you! What's your name?" Pep asked while a supply line hose was connected to the Engine.

Dean and Scott soon had the hose ready and made their way to the front door.

"J- Jody Hardy. I'm the house manager! All these boys are sober, including me!"

"Alright, let's get you treated a-"

"I'm fine! How can I help?" Jody asked. "Alright, I'll get you to Lieutenant McShay and you can tell her how many people are still inside!"

Soon, Dean and Scott were inside with the hose and their SCBAs on, they had their flashlights on as the inside was filled with smoke. Scott was carrying a pike pole.

"This place is like a maze, there's no way we'll take on this with one hose!" Dean shouted as he switched on the hose.

Scott reached for his radio. "First floors fully involved, this place is like a maze, rooms dividing the rooms!"

"Copy. Sending in another line!"

Dean soon extinguished some of the fire and switched off the hose.

"I've seen houses like this, the fire will spread through these walls like a wildfire devouring everything in its path!" Dean told Scott as they started walking around to find more fire.

Meanwhile…

Stella was on her phone trying to call her son but only reached a voicemail. She had a few important questions regarding the station.

"Dispatch, this is Chief Shortman, I need a 20 on Company 55." Stella soon grabbed her radio and asked dispatch.

"Full Company 55 is at 2841 Prescott Street." Dispatch replied. "Copy." Stella replied and soon took off with her radio.

Soon…

Soon, the scene switched from Stella's office to a view of the cloudy nighttime city. Then it transitioned back to the house fire where red siren lights flashed around the area with orange lighting from the fire.

The ladder on Truck 55 was extended to the roof, Travis was the last one to climb the ladder as he was sealing his oxygen tank to his mask while the roof ventilation team was now climbing up to the roof.

While firefighters on the ground were shouting and running around, Arnold reached the roof first.

"Aye! We need another three-and-a-half! Let's go!"

"Another supply line coming!"

He stopped and started to use the pike pole with the rubbish head attachment to check the stability. He hit the roof several times. He looked back.

"Hey! Roof is solid!" He climbed off the ladder and onto the roof.

"Alright, we'll follow your lead!" Michelle replied while they followed behind.

Arnold started feeling out the roof with the pole. With the sky being cloudy, it started to rain. Spinelli was using an axe to feel out the roof while Travis had the chainsaw. He soon reached the roof. Michelle grabbed her axe from her belt and started feeling out the roof.

She then said, "Gibson said the place is a maze inside, we'll need to cut vent holes on both sides of the roof." She told Montgomery.

"Copy!" Travis replied as he got the chainsaw ready.

Warren, Spinelli, Michelle, and Arnold were feeling out the roof.

Ben and Spinelli soon felt something odd. Rain started coming down harder. Spinelli kept feeling out the roof and got near Warren. Spinelli and Warren heard a loud creak where Spinelli stepped on.

"Hey! Guys! The roof over here- AH- AUGH!" Spinelli got interrupted as the roof immediately collapsed with her boot falling through.

CRACK

CRASH

Both Spinelli and Warren fell through the hole. They both dropped their tools, the axe and pike pole.

"WARREN! SPINELLI!" Everyone looked over as flames raged through the hole.

"AUGH!"

They were both separated. Warren and Spinelli crashed through a burning floor, only Warren had crashed through and was separated from her. Spinelli had fallen deeper, crashing through a floor.

"EUGH!" She crashed against the floor with her helmet coming off while burning roof debris fell on her. Warren was also covered with burning debris.

Michelle and Arnold had terrified looks on their faces. They immediately took off their masks.

"WARREN! SPINELLI! WARREN!" Arnold yelled.

"WARREN?!" Michelle yelled.

"Guys, what the hell just happened?!" Pep radioed.

"WARREN!" Arnold kept yelling.

Inside, Spinelli was struggling to get up for a moment, but she soon rolled over with all the debris coming off her. She saw the hole she fell through and had no idea Warren had fallen with her.

She finally managed to sit up. She got her radio, but no beep once she switched it on. "Captain! I'm trapped! I'm in one of the bedrooms, I-" She then looked at her pocket. She reached inside her pocket, only to find the cord was damaged and torn off from the fall.

"Shit!…" She looked around for a moment and then looked at the hole.

"McSHAY! ARNOLD! MICHELLE!" She yelled but knew they couldn't hear her regardless. "I hate having to do this but…" She immediately grabbed the device on her SCBA. She hit the red button on it while wincing, manually enabling the PASS device to go off. The beeping was a haunting sound for firefighters, but Spinelli had to enable it if she needed anyone to hear her.

She managed to get up and put on her helmet. She switched on her flashlights and started to walk away with a minor limp and holding her ribs.

Warren soon noticed his radio cable was also torn off. "Come on!…" The only thing he could think of… was manually turning on the PASS device beeping.

He soon grabbed his SCBA device and hit the red button to turn it on. The beeping started going off as he grabbed his helmet and soon put it on and turned on his flashlights.

He put it on and soon got up in pain. "Now I just need to see if I can get find- AH!… Find my way out." He grimaced and started to walk off.

"WARREN! SPINELLI!"

"There's still nothing!" Michelle was looking at the hole with fire pouring from it.

"McShay, be careful!" Travis warned while holding her by the shoulder.

"I'm fine!" Michelle replied and kept looking.

"We already lost someone, we don't need you or Shortman lost too!" Travis said.

"NO ONE'S LOST, MONTGOMERY!" She refused to accept anything. She soon put on her red helmet.

"Larson, Wiggins, you two are on Rapid Intervention! Go find Warren and Lieutenant Spinelli!" Pep told them. She had to take over in the meantime while Michelle was on the roof.

Jody came over. "Listen, I need to speak to you."

"One second, ma'am." Pep told her. "Ventilation, get off the roof NOW!" She radioed.

"But what about Spinelli and Warren!?" Michelle asked, rather terrified.

"I promise we'll get them." Pep replied.

"Hey! Are you going to listen?" Jody asked. "I'm sorry. This is a four-bedroom with 19 people, right?"

"But it's not my fault! We divided the rooms into smaller ones, some of the boys double up but they share!"

"But that's not of code." Pep replied.

"Like I said, I didn't do it, I just work here. I maid, cook, mother counselor, good cop, bad cop-"

Pep interrupted. "Yeah, and those improvised rooms created a firetrap." Pep started to walk away, but Jody shouted.

"I AM GIVING ADDICTS A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS WHILE THEY FOCUS ON THEIR RECOVERY! It's tough enough to stay clean and it's harder on the streets! Now are you going to keep giving me a hard time or are you gonna go get my boys!?" She asked rather angrily.

"We're doing all we can. Alright, who else is unaccounted for?" Pep asked.

"Taylor, Milo, and Chewy…" Jody listed. "Ok…" Pep looked at the house.

"Dispatch, this is Ladder 55, requesting more Aid Cars and requesting three additional Engines!" Pep radioed.

"Copy that. Sending available Aid Cars and additional Engines."

Meanwhile

"Come on, you can do this…" Donovan took a deep breath. Catherine eventually walked in.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, a little unamused.

"Cathy, I know I may have acted out a few days ago, but…" He sighed.

"What?" She asked while listening through the stethoscope.

"I'm sorry, and I want to ask you to forgive me. I know it's not something you're gonna easily forgive me about but I've been thinking and… I want us to work. I regret what I did and I'm more than willing to make it up to you." He said.

Catherine soon looked at him. She let out a small sigh since she didn't know what to say.

"I- I know it's been difficult for you and me and well… I think we should try to fix it. Together." She shedded a small smile. "My shift ends soon, what do you say we have a few drinks at Silver Tiger's Bar?" She offered.

"Oh…" He remembered that was the place they first met. "I think I'd be up for that." Donovan smiled back.

Back at the fire, inside the house, Scott and Dean were looking around and soon found an unconscious man near a bed.

Scott walked over. "Sir? Sir!" He reached for the radio. "We found another civilian on the first floor in the B-Side hallway!"

"Copy! Sending Clyde and Cutler now!" Pep replied as they ran off.

"Sir! Can you hear me?" Scott tried to wake the man while Cutler and Clyde started making their way around the house with their flashlights and the hose line running against the ground.

"Come on…! We'll get you out!"

Cutler soon found Scott. "What's his status?" Cutler asked as the man woke up coughing.

"Barely got a pulse! Get him out, okay? Fires about to burst through that wall any second!" Scott told him.

"Got it!" Clyde replied as he put the man's arm over his shoulder to help him out.

"Stay close to the hose line, don't get lost in this maze!" Dean added.

Meanwhile, the PASS device beeping was heard. It was Ben. He limped around while trying to find his way out, but the fire spread around the house more and more.

"It's too dark, fires everywhere, and-" He soon found an unconscious body. "Don't let it be too late!" He slowly crouched over.

He took off his glove and tried checking for a pulse. "Come on…!"

He found nothing. "It's too late, he must be dead…" He put his glove back on. "I have to keep going!" He started to walk away and finding his way around.

Meanwhile, at Arnold's place, Phoebe still hadn't moved her stuff to her new home and was currently dialing up Teddy while looking at her room.

"Come on, pick up damn you!" Phoebe grumbled. She reached the voicemail.

"I have to get my job back sooner or later! I can't get fired simply for saving a man's spinal cord!" She threw her phone on the bed. She then noticed the fact it was nighttime, Arnold and Spinelli weren't home since they were working the night shift.

"Well, I didn't move in here for no reason."' She shrugged as a collar was heard. Bandit had come up to see her.

"Hey there, you precious little pup!" Phoebe crouched and smiled and started to toy with him.

Bandit wagged his tail while his tongue was out.

"You hungry, boy? I bet you are." Phoebe smiled.

Bandit soon ran off. "Oop. I guess he really was hungry." But Bandit came back with a big green square with black lines on it.

"Hey! How did Arnold get a radio, when did he get a radio?" Phoebe asked herself and grabbed the walkie-talkie from Bandit's mouth.

"Two firefighters down at 2841 Prescott Street. Radio contact was lost with both firefighters." Dispatch said. Phoebe gasped.

Stella was in her office and heard her radio go off.

"Crap!" She immediately got up and grabbed her radio. "Dispatch, this is Battalion 55, I copy and I'm on my way." She then ran off.

Inside the house, Scott and Dean were finding more fires around the place and extinguishing them.

HISS

CRASH

The fire reignited and flared up behind them.

Dean switched off the hose and grabbed his radio. "Captain! Without roof ventilation, the fire has spread upstairs! And smoke is increasing faster than it can ventilate out!" Dean shouted.

"And the fire keeps reigniting behind us!" Scott added as he looked behind for a brief moment.

"Keep moving forward! I'm sending in more fire attack teams!" Arnold pointed to Engine 6.

"Copy!" Dean replied.

"RIT team, any word on Warren or Spinelli?" Arnold asked.

"Negative, Captain! The fire has spread more with the smoke growing and visibility is worsening! This place is a maze!" Wiggins replied.

Arnold exhaled as he still had on his SCBA gear.

"How long do you think this place has?" Gibson shouted while Dean pointed the hose at the fire. "With the fire reigniting constantly, not very long!" Dean shouted back.

Over with the Lieutenant, Spinelli had found Milo and Taylor, but Taylor was injured and could barely walk.

Milo and the Lieutenant had to carry Taylor out with them. Once after trying to guide them out while her PASS device kept beeping, Taylor collapsed.

"His lungs are really bad, he has asthma and can't resist the smoke!" Milo told her.

Spinelli froze as she saw a firewall blocking her way. She grimaced while she tried looking around.

At triage, sirens were heard blaring in the distance while Vic was treating Jody.

"This is my fault…" Jody shook her head.

"It's not your fault." Vic tried comforting her. "It is. One of the boys got six months clean and I wanted to cook some fish for him but I somehow knocked the fryer over and the grease caught on fire. The fire spread so fast that I blinked once and the fire was everywhere! I started yelling for everyone to get out and-"

"Hey, it was an accident. It's not your fault." Vic comforted her.

"Our lives were already on fire, and they fought like hell to turn it around. Your colleague called this place a firetrap, but to them, it's home. They are more people who need it too. I could run ten houses like this and it wouldn't be enough…" Jody was teary-eyed. Vic finished bandaging her arm.

"Welp, for what it's worth, I think you're pretty badass." Vic smiled. Jody also smiled. "Thank you."

Soon, firefighters came over with a man on a backboard. "Oh, Chewy! Did you see Taylor or Milo?" She asked. He had an oxygen mask on. He only shook his head.

Vic stood up and got on her radio. "Cap, we need more Aid Cars."

"Five minutes out." Arnold replied.

"Is um- Any update on Spinelli or Warren?" She asked, rather scared.

"Negative…" He replied. While Michelle looked nervous with Travis trying to comfort her, Arnold stood alone as he was with his own thoughts, mainly about Spinelli.

He gulped. "She's tough, she can handle herself…" He tried to reassure himself.

Back inside, Spinelli was on her knees, trying to figure out what she should do next. But she had a plan. She sat up the man with asthma.

"What are you doing?!" She started taking off her mask. "Listen! I'm going to put this on you!" She took off her airpack.

"I can't carry both of you, not at the same time, especially down the stairs! I'm going to have to take one of you!" She put the mask over his face and set the airpack next to Taylor. "I'll take Milo and come back for you! I promise!"

"No, but take-"

"I'll come back for him!" She shouted. She turned back to him. "I'll be back." She soon got up and had Milo over her shoulder. She soon walked to the stairs.

While firefighters were running around the place, Stella finally arrived and approached her son and Michelle. Sirens were wailing as more Engine trucks arrived.

"Fifty-Five!"

"Chief."

"Any status on our firefighters?" Stella asked.

"No radio communication after they fell through the roof." Michelle replied. "The RIT team is dispatched and looking." Arnold added.

"What's taking so long?" Stella asked, annoyed.

"There are plywood dividers in all the bedrooms and we're having trouble making our way through." Arnold replied while Michelle gulped, she started breathing heavily as she started to feel frantic.

"Captain, I- uh- we- We're making no headway on the first floor. We have heavy fire and smoke on both ends of the hallway." Dean radioed.

Vic ran over. "Captain, all critical patients have been transported to MedStar." She said.

"All civilians evacuated?" Stella asked. "All except two." Arnold replied.

"They have names. Taylor and Milo." Jody mentioned.

"Of course, Milo and Taylor. Adding two of our guys makes four…" Arnold gulped.

Creak…

CRASH

CRACK

CRASH

Pep and Vic pulled Jody back so she wouldn't get hurt if any debris went flying.

"Roofs caving in…" Stella looked at the collapsing roof.

"Does anyone inside have eyes on Warren OR Spinelli?!" Arnold radioed. "Fire attack! Status!"

Michelle walked forward as she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Oh my God, no…"

"Captain! The second floor is starting to come down! I don't know how much longer it'll hold!" Scott replied.

Arnold was now left with an extremely tough choice with Stella eyeing him down, her eyes looked like she was forcing him into a call he'd regret. Michelle was having a horrible memory about the last time a firefighter fell through a roof. Her father when he rescued them. Michelle whimpered as her emotions were starting to show. Her eyes were filled with tears. Arnold gulped and grimaced. The fire was spreading more. Michelle was fighting back her tears.

A radio switched on. "All units! I'm calling an operational retreat! I repeat! I want everyone back outside to safety!" Shortman radioed.