Young Hearts Spark Fire

"My father comes from a world where a man is measured by how many tackles he made in high school or how many beer cans he can crush against his skull."

- Sylvester

"Young Hearts Spark Fire" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Scorpion. It aired March 23, 2015.

Synopsis
Scorpion's helicopter crashes while on a mission to save lost hikers.

Plot
A group of people from a church group are wandering around in the woods, while the winds blow heavily. One of the campers blames another for getting lost because he wanted to find a waterfall. Younger campers are scared and huddled together. The camper who turned them off the path, apologizes and promises they'll get them out of there.

At the garage, Toby and Happy are betting on where a paper airplane she is making will land. The bet is if the paper plane doesn't go where she says it will, they have a dinner date. If it does go, then Toby will do her laundry for a month. She sends it out and before it can go in the window she predicted it gets hit by a truck. Toby tells her what types of food he wants. She says the bet is null and Toby tells her he's the gambling expert, so they are going on a date.

Downstairs, Walter is pouring coffee that just finished brewing. He hands Paige her cup and she drinks it, saying it's perfect, before thanking him and walking away. Toby, holding a takeout coffee cup in his hand, asks Walter for a moment and then leads him over to the trailer in the garage. He pulls out a whiteboard with a bunch of statistics on it. Walter asks what it is and Toby states it is an ironclad theorem that Walter has feelings for Paige. When Walter tries to blow it off, Toby goes into detail explaining his theory. One of his main points is that he's been getting his coffee at Kovelski's because Walter adds cinnamon to the coffee at the office, specifically because Paige likes it. Water tries to explain it away, but Toby states that Walter is giving her special treatment. Walter is pulled away from the discussion when Cabe calls to report the missing church group that has been missing for thirty-six hours. Cabe tells them the groups of people who are assisting the search and asks Walter to bring his tracking software from the Bagdad operation.

Scorpion gets to the rescue tent and set up all of their equipment. Cabe explains that the Santa Ana winds are causing the search to be hindered. Walter explains how his software works. Cabe assures the commander that the team will locate the hikers and send them coordinates. After that the rescue team can do its job. As soon as the rest of the team walks away, Walter tells Cabe that he's surprised he requested this tech. Cabe explains that he thinks about the incident in Bagdad a lot and that maybe this time it can be used for something good.

From a picture that the kids sent, the team breaks down what type of shoes the kids have. Toby assesses how the party will be arranged. Walter asks where their workstation is and they are led outside to a helicopter. Sylvester immediately protests, because it's a box held up in the sky by lawnmower blades. Walter tells Sly he needs him because he's the only one who can run the analytics fast. A man comes forward and tell Sylvester to stay there because he can't have any cry-babies in his helicopter. Cabe introduces them to their pilot and explains he can't go up with them because there's limited space.

Paige makes a remark about the pilot's attitude, while Happy attaches the equipment they need to the helicopter. The pilot makes a point of saying that if she damages the helicopter, then she'll have to pay for it. Walter reassures Sylvester and then asks him if he's good to go, to which Sylvester says yes. When up in the air, Paige tells Sly to focus only on his computer and ignore everything else, he's able to focus. They direct the pilot to turn and within seconds, find the exact walking pattern that Toby mapped out. Walter tells the pilot follow the path, while they plot the course. However, only moments later, they are hit by a wind sheer and it damages the copter. The pilot calls for a mayday, but the helicopter crash lands. During their crash, Toby undoes his seatbelt and throws himself on Happy to try to protect her.

Precariously balanced on trees, 40 feet above the ground, the team are forced to exit the helicopter using their seat belts to reach safety. Sylvester calculates which order the team should leave in for the least disruption to the helicopter's equilibrium. Sylvester states that the order that everyone should leave is, Happy, then Sylvester, then Toby. After that, Marcus, the pilot, needs to get out to take some weight off the nose, then Walter and last Paige. Happy makes it down safely to the ground. They all ascend in the proper order until it get so Walter and Paige. Instead of making Paige the last to leave, Walter insists she leave before him. Walter makes it quickly to the ground, and just barely gets out of the way before it comes crashing down behind him.

Happy states that they can call Cabe on the satphone and he'll come get them. However, Toby pulls out the phone and finds it got destroyed in the crash. The pilot is injured, he has a cut in a femoral artery on his leg, but Toby stated it has closed. However moving him would be extremely dangerous. Since the pilot shouldn't be moved, Sylvester stays behind to take care of him and repair the radio to try to get help. The pilot objects to this plan because he doesn't think Sylvester can handle the situation. Happy admonishes Toby because he let go of the satphone in order to protect her. She says it was ridiculous because all he did was turn himself into a projectile when he unbuckled his belt. After deciding on the most logical place another helicopter can land, the rest of the team leave to track the lost hikers. The pilot sends Sly over to fix the satphone, stating that's what he's there for, both unaware that the helicopter is leaking fuel.

At the rescue HQ tent, they show Cabe pictures of the crashed copter. He assures the men that his team survived and wants a copter sent to the point that he assumes Walter would go for rescue. The team says nothing is taking off in those winds and Cabe says he's reaching out to Pendleton to request a transport helo. He tells the other men that he won't leave his team out in the woods.

Walter and Toby find more of the hikers footprints and discover one of them is hurt. They quickly deduce that means the hikers will be moving slower. Walter praises Toby for his predictive footprint pattern of the hikers, and Toby replies that most of his behavior analyses are true. Toby also mentions what he did for Paige in the helicopter by letting her go first also proves his earlier points about Walter caring for Paige. Walter says they need to just focus on finding the hikers, however, a moment later Paige asks for water. Walter trying to prove to Toby that he doesn't have feelings for Paige, only gives her a capful, since that is their agreed upon ration.

Happy reaches the end of the trail and states the hikers could have gone in any direction so they have no way of finding them. Paige tells them to be quiet and then motions them in the direction she hears noise. When they reach the group of lost hikers, one of the girls hugs Walter in relief. Toby notes Walter is always the one who gets hugged, even when he is standing right there. Toby examines the hurt girls ankle and then helps her stand. Happy finds that one of the kids has a bunch of rocks in his backpack and dumps them all out. When he pouts at her, she picks one up and says he can keep just that one. After everyone gets caught up they all start to head out to get to the place that Walter deduced a rescue helicopter could land.

Meanwhile, Sylvester is trying to fix the radio and Marcus keeps trying to tell him how to do things. Marcus tells him he needs to strip some wires and Sly states he doesn't have the right tools. The pilot tells him to use his teeth and fingernails, and Sylvester notes how unsanitary it all is. Marcus starts to talk about all the rough stuff he did during training and Sylvester just congratulates him. The radio comes to life and Sylvester tries to get an answer to his call. The pilot suddenly goes silent while staring behind Sylvester and, when Sly starts talking and agreeing with the pilot to try to appease the man, Marcus points behind him and Sylvester sees that there is a fire raging their way.

The rest of the team and the hikers are walking when an ash floats down from the sky. Walter quickly stomps it out, only for Paige to point out the whole place is on fire in front and to the sides of them.

Sylvester is trying to create a contraption to help the pilot get out of the area and Marcus keeps hounding him to hurry up with whatever he's doing. Sly finishes securing the helicopter door and helps the pilot get onto it. Marcus points out that the others took the map and Sylvester tells him he knows exactly where they need to go because he has a photographic memory. He has the pilot buckle a seatbelt around himself as he begins to drag him away.

Walter, Paige, Toby, Happy and the hikers are starting to have trouble breathing. Walter puts some water on Paige's scarf and tells her to hold it up to her mouth. When Toby wets down his bandanna and starts to cover Happy's mouth, she admonishes him and tells him that she doesn't need someone to take care of her. Toby points out that Happy kissed him and now that he's responding to it, she'd scared and pulling away. Happy tells him it isn't the right time for them to be addressing this issue since they are surrounded by fire and have kids and themselves to save. Paige suddenly stops walking and the rest of them catch up, discovering there is a massively high sheer drop off cliff, with a river at the bottom. Walter states that they can't move laterally because the fire will catch up with them. They estimate that they only have 10 minutes to get across before the fire catches up to them where they are now. While they are looking for a strong branch that will hold their weight, one of the leaders states it's his fault they're all there now. He confesses that he took the group off the trail because he was trying to find a waterfall to propose to his girlfriend there. He feels terrible that he's endangered the group.

Happy throws a rope with a rock tied to over a branch and asks if any of them have ever rope swung.

When Sylvester calculates that he can't outrun the fire, Marcus starts berating him and yelling him in a military style, demanding he moves faster. Sylvester tells him to stop because that type of talk doesn't work on him. Sylvester tells him that his calculations have already proven that they can't outrun the fire. Marcus tries to talk to him calmly now, telling him that doing nothing will kill them both. Sly suddenly comes up with an idea and tells him they may not have to outrun the fire.

Happy has tied knots in the rope but she is scared to try it out because the wood could be rotten. While Toby tries to discuss what they are going to do, Walter runs towards the rope and swings over. He tells everyone it will hold and swings the rope back to the other side. Meanwhile, Sylvester moves Marcus into a storm drain and uses the helicopter door to shield them both from the heat. He states the door will hold and allow the fire to pass by them. Once the fire has passed, they get out. The pilot helps Sylvester try to fix the door. He asks Sylvester if his father was military and assumes they didn't get along, to which Sylvester tells him about his fathers beliefs. He states that it's the same type of belief system that Marcus comes from.

The rest of the team and the hikers struggle to get further. Walter tells Paige to start rationing out the water and offers to let her take his share. She tells him that he needs water just as much as the rest of them. They start to move forward only to find that there is a small path between two sides of the fire. Happy states they need to run between the two sides of the fire before they close in. They just barely make it.

Sylvester is struggling to drag the pilot to the evacuation point, but the door has completely buckled. The pilot tells him to leave him and go, but he refuses as it is not his way.

Cabe has called in a helicopter for the evacuation, but due to the raging fires can't see any survivors. The pilot points out soot could bring down the helicopter and they need to go. The team hear the helicopter, but have no way of signaling it. Then Walter realizes he can use the fire. Using the hiker's engagement ring and the boron rock that Happy allowed the young hiker to keep, he throws it into the fire creating a plume of green smoke. Thinking they are about to die, Walter holds Paige's hand.

Cabe spots the smoke and makes the pilot go back. Despite the danger, Walter refuses to leave without Sylvester, insisting that Sylvester knows how they think and would be on his way. They spot Sylvester carrying the pilot on his back. After they are evacuated the pilot thanks Sylvester and tells he would be proud to call him his kid. Paige gives her costume jewelry ring to the hiker so he can propose to his girlfriend, who says yes.

Back at the garage, Walter looks at the white board. After a second he begins to erase the whole thing. However, he stops and leaves the two stick figures in the heart. Cabe gets a cup of coffee and makes a comment about the cinnamon being awful.

Main

 * Elyes Gabel as Walter O'Brien
 * Katharine McPhee as Paige Dineen
 * Robert Patrick as Cabe Gallo
 * Eddie Kaye Thomas as Toby Curtis
 * Jadyn Wong as Happy Quinn
 * Ari Stidham as Sylvester Dodd

Trivia

 * Sylvester hides from a forest fire in a large concrete pipe with a helicopter pilot and uses the door of a crashed helicopter as a shield from the fire. He claims the door itself is made of titanium; in realty all aircraft exteriors are made of aluminum, which is lighter and melts much more easily than titanium — they would’ve died in the pipe from the heat or melting metal.

Die Feuerhölle Les cœurs en flammes