Plot summary
The deaths of four teenagers in a fiery car crash profoundly affects the third watch, who were unable to save them; they congregate at the end of the shift to dispel their sadness and anger at the horrific images. Faith, Sully and Doc spend time sitting quietly in a cafe; Ty, Bobby, and Alex go to a bar; and Kim, Carlos and Jimmy go bowling. As evening turns to day, Faith's group meets up with a young woman, Ty's group meets up with a young man, and Kim's group meets up with a young couple in love.
Bosco, meanwhile, floats around all three groups while suffering privately. At dawn, everyone ends up at a beach and they build a bonfire. As the flames flicker, a flashback to the moments preceding the car crash is shown. It turns out the young people they met during the course of the evening were the dead teens whose spirits were sent back down to earth to tell Alex, Ty, Bosco, Faith, Jimmy, Doc, Bobby, Kim, Sully and Carlos that the crash could not have been prevented, and they are not to blame for what happened.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, List of Third Watch episodes. HTML formatting and reference markers removed.