9. Transformed

Complete story — includes the ending

Faith returns to work from a few days off. She apologizes to Bosco for hiding her illness and promises never to shut him out again. Filled with guilt, Doc begins to second-guess himself on every call. Kim reminds him that Ryan would have choked to death had Doc not removed Ryan's collar and intubated him. She also tells him repeatedly that everyone makes mistakes, but her words do not seem to have any effect. He begins to visit Ryan daily, clinging to the slim hope that the paralysis may only be temporary. Doc's prayers are answered one evening when Ryan is able to move his fingers. Kim and Doc treat a junkie whose boyfriend maintains that she was injured in a fall. When it becomes apparent to them that her injuries were caused by a beating, the boyfriend flees the scene. Soon after they arrive at the hospital, she dies, and the hunt is on for her killer. With some time on their hands, Bosco and Faith decide to roust some junkies. They make an arrest and bring the perp into the station house, where he collapses. When Doc and Kim answer this call, they discover that Bosco and Faith's prisoner is the man who beat his girlfriend to death. Meanwhile a young firefighter, Kyle Prescott, comes into the station house to try out for the squad. The mere sight of him irritates Alex, who is concerned that his presence means that she will not return to firefighting. Lt. Johnson agrees to take her back on the squad and finds a paramedic to replace her. This eases her anxiety about Prescott, and she later engages him in conversation. He tells her that he worked with her father, and lets her know that her father was very proud of her; she finally softens her demeanor towards him. While Jimmy watches him play in the park, Joey falls from the monkey bars and breaks his arm. Jimmy takes Joey to the ER and seeks to minimize the accident to assuage his feelings of guilt. When Kim finds out about Joey, she becomes very upset, despite being told by Jimmy and Ty and Sully that it is no big deal for a little boy to break a bone. She considers telling her attorney about the accident, but realizes that children have accidents that cannot always be prevented. The squad is called to a burning house where two children and a baby sitter are trapped. Jimmy and Prescott easily rescue the sitter and the infant, but Jimmy gets trapped by the flames when he attempts to rescue Max, a little boy the same age as Joey. Walsh and D. K. get Jimmy and the boy out safely. When Jimmy visits Max in the hospital, his parents are extremely grateful, but Max wants nothing to do with him. After his shift is over, Jimmy goes to Catherine's house to check on Joey and finds Kim there. He visits briefly then leaves. As he stands outside, he calls his answering machine on his cell phone and hears a message from his attorney that the judge is going to award him sole custody of Joey. He looks through Catherine's window with a pained expression on his face as he sees Kim and Joey cuddled up together on the couch.