Season 13 of Chicago Fire has given the Firehouse 51 heroes little time to rest as chaos breaks out both in and out of the station. Fortunately, some are doing their best to hold down the fort, including the indomitable Lt. Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).
Considering the many twists and turns Stella has navigated this season, Chihards were quick to notice Stella’s absence from Fire’s May 6 episode. Her husband, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), has found his job in peril after the vengeful Interim District Chief Andre Hopkins (Rob Morgan) sets out to destroy his career due to a multi-decade grudge against Severide’s late father, Benny.
Severide has a formal complaint filed against him, and instead of sitting around doing nothing, his loving wife made some calls to get her hands on some answers about why Hopkins holds such strong resentment toward Benny Severide that he’d go after his son over two decades later.
Find out why Stella was M.I.A. on Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 20 (“Speak of the Devil”), below.
Where was Stella Kidd on Chicago Fire this week? (May 6, 2026)
After catching wind of some of Severide’s workplace pandemonium, former Office of Fire Investigation Chief Van Meter (Tom Hopper) made a house call. Severide was eager to see Van Meter amid the panic of his job being on the chopping block, and it didn’t take long for Van Meter to ask about Stella’s absence.
“Stella had to take off late last night to Cleveland,” Severide explained, adding that Stella had left to visit their teenage foster son, Isaiah (Hero Hunter).
“Everything alright there?” Van Meter asked.
“Yeah, his mother had a little setback in her recovery,” Severide explained. Isaiah’s mother was initially comatose when he lived with Severide and Stella. After making a steady recovery, Isaiah moved in with a family friend in Cleveland to be closer to his mom. Sadly, it looks like Isaiah’s mom took a slight turn.
“Sorry to hear that,” Van Meter said.
“Doc thinks she’s gonna be OK, but Isaiah was a little freaked out,” Severide explained. Fortunately for him, Stella wasted no time swooping in to give Isaiah some love and support.
Stella helped Severide preserve his job from afar
Despite her being OOO for a while, Stella made sure to give Severide a crucial file she dredged up about Hopkins: the original incident report Benny Severide filed against him. Hopkins had been suspended from the CFD and transferred out of Firehouse 66 due to Benny’s scathing report, so Stella encouraged Severide to do some digging into the incident that sparked the contemptuous rivalry.
Turns out, Hopkins and a former friend of his had been accused of stealing a valuable watch during a retail fire. Severide launched a side quest investigation to see if Hopkins had been wrongfully accused, later discovering that it had been Hopkins’ friend who had stolen the watch and lied to Hopkins about it. Instead of fessing up, she allowed both her and Hopkins to take the heat.
Hopkins was gobsmacked by Severide’s findings, and soon apologized to Severide for misdirecting his resentments toward him. Hopkins proved to be a mountain of challenges for Severide, but those only forged the Firehouse 51 into a stronger leader, the Chief that his predecessors always trusted him to become one day.
Watch Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.