Season 5 Episode 12 - Disease
The guys visit Sean in the hospital; Katy is home from school and wants a family dinner, one that includes Colleen and Black Shawn; and Lou and Tommy make a wager concerning the women in their lives.
The guys visit Sean in the hospital; Katy is home from school and wants a family dinner, one that includes Colleen and Black Shawn; and Lou and Tommy make a wager concerning the women in their lives.
Mickey learns that Tommy is drinking again; Sheila discovers that Tommy has been sleeping with Janet again; Sean tells Needles about his upcoming cancer surgery; Franco meets a gal in the gym; and Lou has another encounter with Candy.
Job safety requires Tommy and Mike to patch up their differences at work; Sheila uses her leverage to control Tommy's drinking; Lou resists the allure of an old flame.
Tommy takes heat from both Needles and Dwight, and receives offers from Janet and Sheila; Sean tells his mother about his illness; black Shawn sees Colleen again; and Franco's boxing skills are tested
Tommy goes to see his psychic to find answers as to what happened to his cousin on 9/11, but it's what a fellow firefighter tells him that sends him over the edge. Lou runs into an old friend, hooker turned porn actress Candy. Franco is having second thoughts about joining the fdny boxing team after he finds out his first opponent is a woman. Tommy and Janet try to keep their new "no strings attached" policy quiet. Meanwhile, Sheila thinks of her own plan to win Tommy back; Black Shawn and Colleen try to hide their engagement but when Mike overhears the proposal he wonders if he can keep it from Tommy.
Franco finds a new way to vent his frustrations regarding 9/11, joining the FDNY boxing team. Tommy, still reeling from the 9/11 footage is trying to keep his grasp on sobriety and sanity intact, and finds an unlikely source for comfort; Lou and Tommy are still not speaking but have to put their differences aside when a friend is stuck in a dangerous apartment fire; Mike's bar is the newest hotspot for ladies and booze, but a group of rivals soon shake things up.
Tommy returns to Ground Zero for a personal milestone; Genevieve's perspective about Sept. 11 incenses Tommy; Sean's back pain is more serious than he expected; the success of Mike's bar becomes a handful.
Tommy grows concerned about Katie's whereabouts following a run-in with Janet's brash new boyfriend; Damien decides to follow in his father's footsteps.
Lou wants to cooperate with Genevieve because he's interested in her. She's interested in Tommy, who isn't particularly interested in her, but he does watch some 9/11 footage she gives him, and what he sees is very disturbing. Meanwhile, Mike's bar opens; Sean's back still hurts; and Sheila's psycho-dramaturge tells her to "purge" herself of Tommy.
After learning of Colleen's relationship with Shaun, Tommy decides that it's time for a talk about the birds and the bees. Tommy also decides to meet with the French reporter who's writing a book about 9/11, and issues raised by her book lead to friction between Franco and Mike. Meanwhile, Mike hits on a new theme for his bar; and Sean seeks out treatment for his bad back.