- Franco demands a sense of responsibility around the house, but a precarious call puts his leadership skills to the test. Lou delivers Tommy's letters unbeknownst to Tommy.
- Lou saunters in to work to see a spotless firehouse. Mike and Sean are busy cleaning. Franco, the new temporary boss, greets them, telling them they're late. He tosses Lou's cigar away. He tells Lou his fitness regimen is posted in his locker.
Franco tells Tommy to get in his station gear. They haven't had many real calls yet, but Franco has done ridealongs.
Tommy has more letters for Lou to give to people after he dies. He apologizes for baiting Lou and tells him about going down to Ground Zero and thinking about driving into the hole. He doesn't want to be No. 344. He tells Lou the letters are full of his inner "stuff."
Tommy leaves to get coffee and Lou lurks, waiting for him to come back and check on him.
Tommy comes home to find the women laughing it up with Teddy. Sheila leaves and everyone gets quiet.
Janet asks him to go to one meeting a day from now until the wedding and not go to Ground Zero again. And he has to promise not to freak out at the wedding. Colleen tells him Teddy is walking her down the aisle in her $10,000 dress.
Teddy gets the girls and leaves, telling Janet to consider Plan B.
When they leave, she tells Tommy that Plan B is Tommy doesn't go to the wedding. She tells him it's been five months since he went to a meeting.
Janet wants him to talk to Mickey about performing the ceremony and to get into a safe job off the rig. She wants proof he's going to meetings every day. He promises he'll be sober for the ceremony to walk Colleen down the aisle.
Tommy goes to a meeting led by Mickey. Tommy raises his hand to interrupt. Mickey tells Tommy he's not going to the wedding. He starts yelling at Tommy that he's never going to be in the same room with Sheila again. Tommy asks him to sign his form, but gets yelled at instead.
Lou sits down with Tommy's letter in his hands. He opens it.
Tommy talks about Lou being a true brother to him and says he trusts him to look after his family now that's he gone. He tells Lou that he's the bravest man he's ever known and all of his own bravery came from knowing Lou was there supporting him. Lou gets choked up.
Tommy comes in to work and Franco immediately rides him for not being in uniform. Lou comes in the kitchen and Tommy's on a non-stop rant about how everyone's mad at him. Lou just stares at Tommy weirdly. The alarm sounds.
They ride out to the waterfront, where a car is teetering half off the edge. Franco wants to get the driver out immediately, but Lou shouts at him that they need the chain on the car so it doesn't go over.
Franco goes for the driver and the car immediately starts to tip off the edge. They manage to hold it long enough for Tommy to hook the hose underneath. They use the truck to pull the car back.
Franco, realizing he was wrong, tries to talk to Lou, but Lou tells him he shouldn't have tried to be a hero to save face and that a good lieutenant never would have made that call. Lou says when they get back to the house, he's taking his title back.
Tommy smiles smugly and tells Franco that he's A-Rod and Lou is Jeter, and he goes for the win instead of the glory. Franco accuses Tommy of going for the glory. Needles tells him that Tommy understands there is none.
Lou pays Sheila a visit. He takes out a bottle of vodka and pours a shot. He lights it, saying that's how Tommy sees it. He says booze it like fire to him and when he poured the shot that night, he went to the dark place and started rummaging for information.
Lou says the darkness is also where Tommy's best instincts reside. He takes out photos of people Tommy has saved, including a woman he carried down ten flights down and revived on the sidewalk. He says the list has at least 35 people on it because of Tommy. He lights each on fire in the flaming vodka to make his point.
Finally, he takes out Damian's picture, saying Tommy saved him before his latest accident. He takes out Sheila's picture and says Tommy saved her from herself, just by being there.
He tells her about the letters Tommy has written to everyone. He says they're only supposed to read them if Tommy dies. He gives her her letter and confesses he read his already. He says it was the first time he thinks Tommy's ever been honest about their friendship.
Lou says if he's Jeter, Tommy is Mickey Mantle. He packs up his booze. Sheila tells him to leave it, but he confesses it's lighter fluid, because he wanted that eternal flame effect. Lou urges her to give Tommy another shot.
Lou leaves. She immediately opens Tommy's letter.
He says he cannot express what their time together was worth. He chooses some meaningful words: love, lips, heat, hope. He says she gave him hope and he'll always be with her. Then he adds a rambling p.s. about some wine he found in her closet. It brings her to tears.
Lou is giving the same shot-on-fire spiel to Janet, complete with photos. She worries about the fire but he proceeds with the demonstration, tossing the lit photos into the sink. He keeps talking but Janet notices the sink flaming behind him. He knocks over his lighter fluid demonstration, and fire spreads across the kitchen. Then it catches Lou's shirt on fire.
Janet grabs a fire extinguisher and puts it out. All she cares about with Tommy and his job is that he quits.
Tommy enters the rehearsal dinner. Shawn introduces him to his brothers, D'brickashaw, Maliq and José.
Needles looks at Tommy deeply and finally hugs him and kisses him. When he walks away, Mickey comes over and says hi. Tommy doesn't know what he's doing there.
Tommy joins Janet, who is all smiles and kisses him.
Colleen stands up to make a toast to Shawn. She also toasts Tommy, and tells him she loves him and thanks him.
Janet goes back to staring at Tommy with puppy dog eyes. He can't figure out what's going on.
Then Needles gets up and toasts Tommy, saying he's the best firefighter, friend and dad. Then Mickey toasts Tommy, too.
Finally, Tommy stands up and asks everyone what's going on. People are being suspiciously nice to him. He asks if he has cancer or if someone's going to shoot him again.
Janet explains that Lou handed out all of his letters and she told everyone about his promise: to retire from the fire department.
She thanks him for typing it so she could read it. Tommy asks who else got a letter. Five hands go up.
Tommy asks Lou to join him outside.
Lou tells him about giving Sheila his and accidentally lighting Janet's on fire, so he had to recreate it on a typewriter saying things he thought Janet would want to hear from Tommy. Then he cracked under the responsibility and gave everyone theirs, except "the regular guys."
Lou tells Tommy he thinks he really should quit.
Tommy freaks, saying he can't pay for the $10,000 dress with no job. He thought he gave Lou a simple task. Lou says he wanted to help, to do something Tommy can't: express how he feels.
He wrote what he thought Tommy would want to say to Janet.
Tommy says he broke a sacred bond, Lou tells him again to quit and think about other people. Tommy works to contain his rage.
He tells Lou he's not Jeter, he's Judas.
Lou points out that would make Tommy Jesus.
Tommy storms back inside.
"Don't think I'm not coming in for dessert," Lou says, "'cause I am!"
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