Chicago Fire star explains why Stella Kidd isn't ready to have children (yet)

Stella Kidd has been taking a back seat on Chicago Fire. She's instrumental in the action scenes, and the rescue missions that Firehouse 51 has to carry out on a weekly basis, but it's been a while since there's been a focus on her personal life.

It feels as though Kidd's arc has been tied, for better or worse, to Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney). If the latter isn't present, it feels like Kidd falls by the wayside. The biggest decision the character faces in the near future is something the show has not fully delved into. And according to the star who plays her, it's because Kidd isn't ready to confront it herself.

Stella Kidd's firefighting career is still top priority

Miranda Rae Mayo spoke with Soaps.com about the notion of Kidd having children. The notion of Kidd and Severide settling down and starting a family has been floated for a couple seasons now, with Severide going as far as to say that he would be open to the idea in the season 12 finale.

While Severide's input is certainly important, Mayo believes that Kidd is not quite ready take that enormous step in her personal life. The biggest reason? Her career. "I think that a big part of her not wanting to have kids yet is she hasn’t been a truck Lieutenant for that long," the actress noted. "And I think there is a part of herself that really wants to kind of validate Boden’s belief in her."

This desire to validate Boden's belief makes sense, given the rocky process that she went through to secure the position in the first place. Kidd has proven herself to be an adept leader in the field, but a pregnancy would sideline her from being able to do so for at least a year. It's a sacrifice that Kidd is not quite ready to make.

The character is increasingly worried about childrens' safety

Mayo does admit, though, that children have been on Kidd's mind more than ever in season 13. The actress refers to the first episode of the season, and the increased concern the character develops whenever children are involved in an emergency call.

"Anytime there is an incident with kids, it fills her with dread," the actress stated. "And we will see throughout the season there are multiple calls with kids that just kind of fill her with more and more." Hopefully Kidd gets ample screen time to unpack this dread, and determine what the near future is going to look like for her.