Season 14 of Chicago Fire has been in short supply of shocking twists and turns for Firehouse 51 power couple Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) as they suffer a devastating heartbreak, but they’ve luckily agreed to come back together as a steel-tight unit.
Chihards have delighted in watching Stellaride navigate a new chapter as foster parents to their teen son, Isaiah (Hero Hunter), but after learning that Isaiah’s biological mother wanted to relocate him to be closer to her care facility in Cleveland, Stella and Severide were forced to do what would make their son happiest. But just as Stella got this heartbreaking news, Severide found himself fixated on an ongoing arson investigation after he and his long-time mentor, Arson Investigation Captain Tom Van Meter (Tim Hopper), were nearly killed in a targeted attack.
After learning Van Meter was to be intubated due to the extensive lung damage, Severide spent every waking minute working the case, leaving Stella to bear the brunt of Isaiah’s disheartening departure. Once Severide discovered Isaiah would be actually leaving, he and Stella had a heated argument. After the parents said goodbye to Isaiah and wished him well in his new chapter in Cleveland, it was clear that the tragedy had opened wounds in their relationship.
The couple were still struggling with the fallout of Isaiah’s sudden farewell during Season 14’s “Carry a Torch,” when they navigated a rare rough patch. Here’s what happened:
Stella and Severide were on thin ice after an intense fight
Severide was confused to see Stella rushing off to the Firehouse for a Girls on Fire course, getting a quick update about Isaiah in the process. Stella revealed that his mother Shawna was “ace-ing rehab,” and Isaiah was spending his afternoons making new memories with his mom. It was all bittersweet news for the couple, who couldn’t seem to address the Isaiah-sized elephant in the room.
It didn’t take long for their Firehouse 51 collegaues to catch on to the icy energy. Violet (Hanako Greensmith) was keen to ask Stella if there was anything she wanted to talk about, and Stella opened up about how Van Meter’s hospitalization had not only disrupter her and Severide’s marriage, but triggered old wounds from past times when Severide went M.I.A. as soon as emotions ran high.
“We have been on two different planets ever since Van Meter got hurt,” Stella confessed. “He shut me out again, and usually I fight my way back in. But this time — since Isaiah moved back to Cleveland — I just feel like I got no fight left in me.”
As Severide occasionally checked in on Van Meter, the rescue of a pregnant woman triggered Stella to think about the loss of her and Severide’s baby earlier this season. Stella had very little time to process the miscarriage before becoming a foster mom and hasn’t opened up to anyone about the tragic loss, and all of those emotions came to the surface as she visited the mother and newborn. Upon sight of the baby, an emotional Stella left as quickly as possible.
Severide rushed to Stella’s side to reunite with his family
Just as Severide and Van Meter’s daughter began losing hope, Van Meter woke up at Gaffney. As Severide watched Van Meter connect with his tearful daughter, he grew overwhelmed by the sudden need to be close to his own family: Stella. After getting the exciting text update, Stella left Molly’s to join Severide at Gaffney, but was shocked to find her husband already outside.
After he told her all he wanted was to be near her, Stella opened up about her own harrowing day at the hospital.
“Maybe I rushed into fostering fast because I just thought that it would make all of the feelings about losing the baby go away,” Stella admitted. “And it didn’t; it was so hard. It hurt so much to watch Isaiah go; it felt like everything all at once, but you seemed so OK with it. And I just, I’m like, I don’t know what is wrong with me—”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, and I’m not OK,” Severide said tearfully, finally coming undone by the heartbreak of losing Isaiah. “Not by a long shot.”
“You can show me that,” Stella reminded him kindly. “I really think the only way that we are going to be OK is if we can be not OK together, you know?”
“I do now,” Severide said, pulling Stella in for a passionate kiss, a promising omen of happier days ahead.
Stay caught up with Stellaride by watching Season 14 of Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
