Alex invites the couple to a gay benefit costume party. At the end of the evening, the partygoers are confronted by homophobic protesters. Chuck is provoked into punching their leader, and the incident is picked up by the local news. With their apparent homosexuality and marriage revealed, Chuck and Larry are heckled, and their fellow FDNY firefighters refuse to work with them. Their only ally is Fred G. Duncan, an angry, intimidating firefighter who reveals to Chuck that he is gay, and has not felt comfortable telling anyone.
