Chicago Fire Episode 3.21 We Called Her Jellybean

Firehouse 51's newest paramedic, Jessica "Chili" Chilton, introduces herself to the squad. The station attempts to repress any thoughts of Mills - especially Brett, who struggles to connect with her new partner. In either case, Chili proves her worth in the field, remaining calm and collected - even during a call that finds her and Brett rescuing a stabbing victim after a robbery. Chili's real mystery emerges later, however, when she receives a package at 51 full of her personal invention: Chilleeze, a self-chilling champagne bottle. The whole firehouse thinks it's a little silly... except for Herrmann who naturally loves the idea and wants to offer the item at Molly's.

A different kind of offer lands for Casey when Nesbitt, the firefighter-turned-strip club owner, asks him to bid on a franchise-level expansion at Stilettos. Casey hesitates based on Nesbitt's nebulous past and seeks out Rice, who worked with Nesbitt, for advice. Rice responds with an inconclusive (but curious) story involving Nesbitt, some missing money and the IRS. Later, Casey returns to Stilettos to continue his original contract job and ends up eating lunch with Katya, one of the dancers and Nesbitt's confidante. She encourages him to make a bid and their chemistry leaves him more than inclined, but when Casey accidentally interrupts Nesbitt during a meeting, Nesbitt's curt reaction incites Casey to reject the franchise offer. Much to Nesbitt and Katya's chagrin, Casey storms out of the club, determined to end his relationship with Stilettos altogether.

Back at 51, Otis fills in Cruz regarding an unnerving observation he made during the intense call from earlier: he clocked Rice running back to the fire truck on account of faulty equipment, not the first time Rice ducked out of a rescue. A curious Cruz checks Rice's equipment in secret and discovers it works just fine. He relays this to a few choice members of the squad and Herrmann warns that the accusation is too serious to jump to conclusions, suggesting that they keep their eyes open and their mouths shut. But Severide corners Cruz and Otis before they even implement their strategy. The lieutenant calls Otis "out of line" and demands the rumors and allegations against Rice stop now.

An urgent call sends the squad out to a raging apartment fire that appears to be caused by an overloaded electrical outlet. The team manages to save two victims from separate floors - Billy, mostly unscathed, and Victoria, severely burned and in critical condition. Herrmann blames Billy's outlet for the fire and Billy pleads with Dawson to believe he turned it off like he always does. Later, however, Antonio from Chicago P.D. approaches Dawson at the station with new information on Victoria: Chicago Med found evidence of rape. Was this Billy's doing?

Dawson doesn't have much time to consider because Billy confronts her at 51, terrified by a recent line of questioning from detectives. Dawson feels inclined to believe in Billy's innocence and Severide, who overhears their conversation, agrees. The two firefighters return to the apartment to check for any clue that could exonerate Billy and, sure enough, a thorough search leads Severide to an interesting discovery - burnt rubber (a known fire accelerant) that appears to have leaked from the ceiling above Billy's room. Upstairs it's confirmed - this was arson. Somebody torched the apartment. When a nosy neighbor mentions he saw a man in scrubs that walked into the complex, it suddenly sounds like a case for P.D.

Meanwhile, Dawson receives a voice mail from an emotional Billy. Concerned about his well-being, she enlists Antonio to help track Billy's call, and they find him dangerously close to jumping off a bridge, prepared to leap to his death, overwrought with guilt over his perceived role in the fire. Dawson convinces Boden to allow her to talk Billy down and, as they both teeter on the edge, Dawson explains that police removed him from the list of suspects. This calms Billy and allows for a safe and secure rescue. Dawson's risky save produces compliments from the squad.

As P.D. launches their investigation into the arson, another surprise gets in the mix: Sergeant Benson from New York City's Special Victim's Unit. Turns out she received an alert that crosschecked rape and arson based on an open case from 10 years back. When Voight fills her in on the details over video chat (the suspect dressed as a doctor, etc.), Benson flies up to Chicago and meets with Voight and Boden in person. She studies the victim and, based on the details, it triggers memories of that open case - the victim's green fingernail polish, hair color, height. Benson knows it's the same killer. And now it's up to Chicago P.D. and SVU to hunt him down.