Chicago Fire season 14 episode 18 recap: Do Violet and Novak survive their brush with death?

Violet and Novak are put in a dangerous situation when an armed man takes them hostage, but are the pair able to work together to save their patient’s life and their own lives?

As Chicago Fire season 14, episode 18 opens, Violet is presenting to a room of firefighters talking about how vital instincts are to being in the field. There is no backup or guide book: it’s just you and your partner. As Violet continues, she notes that there is nothing more important to a partnership than trust, as everything else depends on it, as we pan to Novak, who seems to clearly be pondering about the bombshell Violet dropped on her in episode 17 when she came clean about hooking up with Vasquez. 

We cut to 51 with Vasquez dropping his time sheet off to Lucy, who was sitting at her desk staring at the internal affairs report Hopkins had given her last shift and requested she take to HQ. It seems Lucy is struggling with what to do as she puts the report back in the envelope as we return to Violet and Novak in the ambulance after their presentation. 

As they drive, Violet asks if everything is okay, and Novak admits that she was thinking about what Violet said about trust. Before Novak can finish her thought, Violet quips that she knows that part of the presentation is a bit wordy. They arrive at the mart to pick up some snacks, and Novak admits that’s not what she meant; she knows Violet had her back in the field, but something has been weighing on her, and she needs to say it. Novak is struggling with the hurt of how Violet hid what happened between her and Vasquez. 

Before Violet can respond, a man runs up to the pair, asking for help with his girlfriend, who is pregnant. He suspects that she might be going into labor, and the pair grab their gear and follow his lead. As they walk to his building, he explains that he’s the building super and has an office in the basement where his girlfriend sometimes does laundry, and that’s where he found her doubled over. 

Violet and Novak head down to the basement where they find the woman, Sarah, restrained to the bed as she warns them to get out of here before the man walks back in with a gun and takes them hostage. 

The man orders Violet and Novak to turn off their radios and hand over their bag, as the woman informs them the man’s name is Ryan. He then makes them slide over their phones as Violet questions what is going on. He claims to be protecting Sarah and the baby, telling them that he watches over her, but then she tried to leave and he had to do what he had do to to protect her. 

Violet and Novak begin taking her vitals and assessing the situation. It seems the contractions were Braxton Hicks contractions as she informs them that she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes five months into her pregnancy. She’s showing signs of hyperglycemia as she needs her insulin shot. They try to convince him to go get the medication from Sarah’s apartment, as he takes Novak with him to ensure that Violet doesn’t try anything while they’re away. 

After he leaves, Violet attempts to free Sarah’s restraints and escape but finds the door locked. Ryan leads Novak up to Sarah’s apartment, a gun pressed to her back, while Violet speaks with Sarah. Sarah reveals that Ryan was normal at first, but a few months back he began faking reasons to come over, and then she started noticing him looking into her windows. She put in notice with the building manager, and when he found out, he broke into her place and tried to grab her. When she grabbed a knife, he pulled the gun on her and forced her down to the basement. 

Ryan leads Novak to the apartment and he begins to look for the insulin in the fridge. Novak tries to connect with Ryan. He notes that he can fix things and make things better. Novak reasons that it’s clear he cares about her, but if he wants them to deliver the baby safely, they’ll need supplies. He gives her a garbage bag as Novak begins grabbing various items from the bathroom, including medications and towels. She then comes across a pair of scissors, which she tries to conceal in her hand.

He orders her to hand the scissors over before forcing her to empty her pockets, which she does, leaving her belongings in the sink of Sarah’s bathroom before he leads Novak back out of the apartment to the building. 

Violet begins looking around and finds something she thinks can be used to break the zip ties. However, before she can try to free Sarah, Ryan and Novak return with her insulin, and Violet tucks the tool under the mattress. 

Sarah tries to convince Ryan to let her go to a hospital, as she can’t deliver the baby down here, but he notes he can’t, as she’ll tell them he kidnapped her. She suggests it’s too late for that as the paramedics know what he did, and he tells her not to worry about that, as once the baby is born, he’ll do what he has to do. 

Violet requests the OB kit and notices that his wrist is bleeding through the bandage. She removes the dressing and begins to wrap it up as he asks why she’s helping him, to which she replies it’s her job and she doesn’t get to choose who to help. 

Before he can hand her the supplies, Ryan gets a call asking about a noise complaint from the building owner and has to go meet him outside. He allows Violet to grab what she needs from the kit before he locks things back up and heads out. 

Sarah’s contractions are now five minutes apart, but Sarah worries this is something else. Violet races into action, and it seems the baby is in distress. They roll her to her left side and administer oxygen, and she points out they’ll need Versed, which she tells Ryan is used to lower cortisol levels when in reality it’s a drug used as a sedative, hinting that Violet is looking to get her hands on the medication to use on Ryan when the opportunity strikes. 

Vasquez begins to worry something is wrong and starts a search for Violet and Novak

Back at 51, Vasquez begins to worry about Violet and Novak, as they were supposed to return a while ago and haven’t returned. Worried something is up, he enlists Lucy’s help as she prepares to head out, presumably to take the internal affairs report to HQ. 

Lucy calls dispatch, and they confirm that Violet and Novak haven’t responded to multiple radio checks. They flagged their last location, and CPD is sending a unit on its way to the scene as Vasquez jots down the address and heads out. Before leaving, he asks if she could hang back at the firehouse just in case any news comes through while he’s out, and she agrees.