Chicago Fire's Jimmy Nicholas has paid tribute to the fans after his character Chief Evan Hawkins was killed off on the hit NBC show.
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Fans were left devastated when the show chose to have Hawkins die when a building collapsed as he tried to help a victim escape. His character was introduced in season 10 and became a fan favorite as he fell in love with Violet Mikami despite being her boss.
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Now, Jimmy has taken to social media to share a series of fan works and thank them for the "deep well" of support they gave him.
"This ride would have been cut so much shorter if it wasn’t for the deep deep well of support I received from all of you each and every week. The edits, the posts, the fan art, all of it. This past week, I’ve been truly touched by the kindness you all have shown. Like Jesse said, 'I wish I could like every tweet', I wish I could repost every post, but for now, a massive thank you is all I can give you….from the bottom of my heart," he captioned the post.
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"I came onto this show 10 seasons in, having never seen an episode, and the dirty little secret is this: While I work on the show, and am in it, I’ll always be just like every one of you…I’m a fan. A fan of this cast, I BECAME a fan of this show, and most importantly I became a fan of all of YOU…the fans. I’m a chi-hard fan OF the chi-hards."
He then praised the fans for how much they "care" and for their "pure passion".
Jimmy shared a series of fan edits
"I'm grateful that I was able to play a part in something that a group of people love, as much as you all (yes, you, reading this now), love this show. Never stop being creative, expressing, showing love (so yes, a little less fighting) for the things you all love," he concluded.
"You all are stuck with me for life. I’m a fan of you. Thanks for being fans of me."
Hanako Greensmith, who played Violet, was quick to leave a heart emoji comment as did former co-star Caitlin Carver, who shared how "proud" she was of her friend.
Violet and Hawkins had gone public with their romance only weeks prior
This past week's episode saw Violet struggle to come to terms with his passing after taking a long furlough from the Firehouse.
She received a visit from Lieutenant Kelly Severide at one point, who gave her advice on losing a loved one - his best friend Leslie Shay died in season two and later his girlfriend Anna, whom he met when he donated bone marrow to her, succumbed to leukemia.
He encouraged her to lean on 51 and she later returned to the Firehouse where Sylvie Brett, Blake Gallo and Daniel Ritter warmly welcomed her back.