Fans are about to get a punch in the gut with this episode as a member of 51 is leaving the squad and show. The team rolls in for the morning shift and Boden corners Mills with big news informing him that he will rejoin squad. With Severide out on medical leave and Rice assuming his lieutenant position, a spot opened up for the current paramedic. Mills beams with excitement and snags his old uniform and gear, eager to jump back into the firefighting fray. He shines during a strange rescue involving an unconscious man impaled on top of a lamppost and later finds his sister and mother back at 51. They present him with a radical idea: what if they keep the restaurant in North Carolina? Mills bristles at the prospect of leaving 51 right after returning to squad, but his sister and mom declare that they’ve made their decision already. They’re leaving Chicago.

Later, Rice complains about hosting a dinner party for his family, and Mills offers to help cook. Thankful for the assistance, Rice insists Mills attend the dinner with his sister. At the party, Rice’s comments about not taking family for granted really land for Mills. He reassesses his desire to stay on squad and ultimately decides not to continue chasing his dad’s ghost. When Mills makes this announcement to the squad, they react with shock and sadness – and Casey pleads with Mills to wait until after this shift to make any final decisions.

A call sends the squad out to a serious car wreck and some quick thinking on Mills’ part revives the driver. Saving a life weighs heavy on his mind, coupled with personal appeals from Cruz and Herrmann to reconsider. The final trigger for Mills occurs when he hears that the impalement victim from earlier committed suicide after the death of a loved one. This solidifies Mills’ decision to move to North Carolina.

At Chicago Med, Severide shrugs off his doctor and insists he’s made a full recovery. He asks around for April at the hospital and discovers her name no longer exists on the schedule. She turns up at her apartment and reveals that she took a leave of absence from the hospital after the bomb incident and purchased an around-the-world plane ticket to refocus her life. This seems to place their rekindled friendship on a slow track – until April stops by Severide’s apartment, unannounced. Their simmering attraction quickly reaches a boiling point, and they lock lips while their clothes fall to the floor…

Meanwhile, Herrmann, Cruz, Otis and Orlovsky’s youth hockey team, the Wicker Park Wolverines, pulls off a huge win to send them into the league championship, but Orlovsky worries that Herrmann’s son, Luke, could jeopardize their chances at victory. Herrmann refuses to pull his son from the starting lineup at first, but reconsiders right before the game begins. When Herrmann tells Luke the bad news, his son celebrates, elated to sit on the bench. The move proves the key to victory and the Wolverines win the championship.

The Wolverines’ championship trophy arrives at Molly’s just in time for the beginning of the real celebration – the Peter Mills goodbye party. Before the man of honor arrives, Severide receives a message from April. She calls in a drink order for him and asks Herrmann to write “Wow!” on a napkin. Although he’s happy April enjoyed their night together, Severide fails to hide his disappointment that she decided to leave town. Moments later, Mills enters Molly’s to thunderous applause and gives an emotional speech that emphasizes how much his three years at 51 mean to him. He says all his goodbyes in between tears, but give a sorrowful kiss to his first love from 51…Dawson. Just like that the episode closes with Peter Mills packing his things and leaving the firehouse, bound for North Carolina. Farewell Mills, you will be missed at 51. Any chance he’ll come back? Next week prepare for another Crossover Week as Fire, PD, and SVU join together again. Here’s a sneak peak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQduaBk7lnU

(VIDEO CREDIT: NBC UNIVERSAL)