Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) have been together for a long time, and they are finally taking the next step in their lives as a couple. They are going to adopt a newborn as their own. This emotional season 13 arc would not have been possible, however, if a forgotten arc during the show's first season had gone a bit differently.
Severide has had several romances over the course of Chicago Fire, so it can be hard to recall the details of all of them. Instead of building up to a place where Severide felt ready to become a dad, though, the series nearly dropped a child onto his lap during the episode "A Hell of a Ride."
Severide thought he fathered a child in season 1
The episode revolved around Severide's relationship with Renee Royce (Sarah Sahai), a woman he saved from an electrical fire during a fluke accident. The two hit it off, but Renee decided to pack up her things and move to Spain, effectively ending their romance. Renee resurfaced in "A Hell of a Ride," however, and claimed that she was pregnant with Severide's baby.
Bombshell. Severide was uncertain as to whether the baby was actually his, but he took it on good faith and agreed to help Renee co-parent. The two even moved in together during season 2. It took the urging of Severide's friend, Leslie Shay (Lauren German), for him to confront Renee and ask for a paternity test.
Renee agreed, and seemed genuinely shocked by the results when they came back. Severide was not the father of the child. This revelation ended their relationship once and for all, and Severide went back to being single. It was an interesting subplot early on in the show, especially as were getting to know Severide and Shay, but in retrospect, it is utterly mind-boggling to consider Severide almost having a family with a different woman.
The character also considered a baby with Shay
It's also worth noting that Severide almost fathered a child with the aforementioned Shay. The friends had been trying to get pregnant via In Vitro fertilization, but the Renee drama, coupled with the death of Shay at the end of season 2, kept this pregnancy from ever taking root. Severide nearly became a father two times in the show's first two seasons, and is only finally becoming one in season 13.
It's staggering to consider all the changes the character has gone through, the importance of people like Renee and Shay in his life, given that both characters are long gone. As it stands, though, we are glad things worked out the way they did. We're sure Severide is, too.