CHICAGO FIRE — “Short & Fat” Episode 409 — Pictured: (l-r) Jesse Spencer as Matthew Casey, Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide — (Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBC)

Name of the Episode: Short and Fat

Beware – the follow contains spoilers!!!

Donna bails out Chief Boden from prison by setting a lean against the house. Chief Riddle names Captain Patterson as acting Chief while Boden is being investigated. Patterson continues to hand out bad news, as he tells Cruz that Freddy cannot be at the firehouse anymore. While on their first call of the shift, Gabby faces an irritating male heckler. But Mouch, Casey and Herrmann are there to hold her back.

Back at the firehouse, Cruz breaks the bad news to Freddy. Herrmann and Otis make an offer to employ Freddy at Molly’s. Chief Patterson also tells Connie she cannot house her Christmas decorations for the children; but Otis and Mouch help her conceal the décor items.

Gabby’s former co-worker from the Arson department, Susie, comes to visit. She notices suspicious lawsuits over credit cards she does not own. She isn’t much for conspiracy theories, but is wondering if her problems are connected to Boden’s. Unfortunately, for Gabby, someone recorded her confrontation with the heckler, but the story is being made to be that she simply snapped for no reason.

The story made the local news and draws more bad attention to the firehouse. Roger Maddox seems to be the criminal mastermind behind the conspiracy. Duffy, Susie, Boden, and Gabby would all be witnesses in the upcoming trial; by making them look unhinged, it’ll be better for Maddox’s case. In an effort to keep the heat off everyone, Casey suggests to Jimmy that his relationship with Chili take a back seat for the time being. Once Jimmy tells her they need to cool down, Chili does not take the news well. That night, Gabby visits Boden to let him know Antonio and the intelligence team will search for Serena on their own time.

Jimmy and Chili are caught together by Patterson and he warns termination if anything like that happens again. Chili doesn’t seem to care what happens, while Jimmy is incredibly worried about his career. Kelly went to Jamie again hoping she would give up information about her client, Maddox. His first attempt goes unrewarded; but she has time to think and comes by the firehouse. She is unable to give any confidential files, but gives a small hint to lead Kelly to the intelligence team. Going to Lake Carlisle off the tip leads the team to Serena’s hide out spot. She is taken into the interrogation room and demands to speak to her lawyer.

Antonio has mounting evidence that pins Serena as a pawn of Maddox and threatens jail time. She confesses to every bit of the plan, and the lawyers hope Maddox will make a plea. Casey had enough of Patterson’s doubting of the Chief and ridiculous rules; he allows Connie and the house to keep making the ornaments for the children like she had planned. Patterson was furious, but a call comes in that puts their feelings on hold.
A multiple car accident happened on a residential street; but one of the trucks was carrying liquid hydrogen. If the tank gets too hot, it will blow out the entire neighborhood. Cruz drives a flatbed truck as Severide, Casey and Patterson try to keep the tank cool long enough before it blows up in an empty field. With the crisis averted, the news crew comes to the scene. Patterson graciously gives credit to the firehouse and to Chief Boden.

Antonio gets Maddox and his lawyer in the interrogation room; with the pattern and evidence clearly stated, Maddox could face up to thirty years in prison. Maddox takes the plea deal and Chief Boden is exonerated. Patterson goes around Chief Riddle to make sure Chief Boden gets his house back. Patterson asks for a transfer to Firehouse 90 and Chief Riddle is transferred to District 6, airport duty. Chief Boden also reinstates Severide as the Chief Lieutenant once again.

Just as everything seems to be getting back to normal, Freddy cannot take anymore of Herrmann’s teasing. And in the moment, Freddy stabs Herrmann in the abdomen; with a massive loss of blood and no one aware he’s been injured, it’s unknown how long Herrmann will last.

The next episode will be a part of the 2 night event as Chicago becomes one when all three shows crossover on January 5^th and 6^th of the new year.  Look for more of Amrie’s videos from the set closer to the crossovers!