Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) were so, so close to becoming parents in the Chicago Fire episode "Cut Me Open." Alas, it wasn't in the cards. The woman that had decided to give her baby up for adoption changed her mind upon giving birth, forcing the firefighter couple to go back to the drawing board. Or so we thought...
"The Bad Guy" largely revolved around Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) and his checkered past, but a crucial secondary plot placed Kidd is full on parent mode. The firefighter traveled to St. Louis in an attempt to reunite a teenager named Natalie (Ava Torres) with her mother. Only problem was, when they got there, Natalie discovered that her mom was long gone. She had nowhere to go.
Natalie Evans is looking for a family
The episode ended with Natalie facing an uncertain future, and Kidd assuring her that everything is going to be alright. It doesn't take a master screenwriter to see the foundation being laid in front of our eyes. Natalie needs parents, and Kidd and Severide desperately want to be parents. It makes all the sense in the world for the couple to adopt Natalie as their own.
Zooming out and reconsidering Natalie's role within season 13 only supports this theory. She was introduced in the episode "A Beast Like This" (which is listed as "Mighty Fine" on some outlets) as someone eager to get involved in Kidd's Girls on Fire program. The more we learned about Natalie, though, the more evident it became that there was more to her story.
We learned in the episode "Permanent Damage" that Natalie was rescued by Kidd a decade earlier. Kidd didn't appear in the episode, but Natalie connected with Severide and asked her to look into the fire that brought the rescue about. Severide obliged, and determined there was no foul play, but he did notice that Natalie's home life was less than ideal. Natalie's older sister, the person she thought may have started the fire, wanted her out of the house. Hence the St. Louis trip.
Natalie has already bonded with Stellaride
Chicago Fire writers are clearly placing an emphasis on Natalie, and the fact that she's had time to establish connections with both Kidd and Severide speaks volumes about her narrative purpose. It's one thing to have Kidd, an aspiring mom, attempt to help, but the show has also shown that Severide and Natalie have the makings of a great father-daughter combo.
It makes sense for Stellaride to adopt an already established character. It saves time, and it allows us to have a built-in investment in their child. It doesn't hurt that Natalie has an interest in firefighting, the passion that Kidd and Severide share above all else (their marriage notwithstanding). Adopting a teen also means the couple gets to bypass the sleepless nights that would've come with raising an infant.
Stellaride adopting Natalie could, of course, be another false lead. It really seemed like they were going to parents before, and things changed at the last possible minute. That said, we don't think the show would pull two bait-and-switches in a row. Natalie seems poised to become the daughter that Kidd and Severide have always wanted. Now we just have to watch the finale to see if it happens.
Chicago Fire's season 13 finale airs May 21 on NBC.