Spoilers ahead for Episode 8 of Chicago Med Season 6, called "Fathers and Mothers, Daughters and Sons."
Chicago Med returned from a brief break to introduce Steven Weber as the ED's newest doctor (with some complications already), bring in Natalie's mom as a candidate for Will's trial, and deliver a heartbreaking twist for a story that seemed like it was finally going to be happy. Maggie and Ben's soon-to-be adopted foster son Auggie isn't going to be adopted after all, and oddly enough, that plus a certain Chicago Fire plot makes me worried about Burgess over on Chicago P.D.. It is all one shared universe, after all!
Maggie's dream of becoming Auggie's mom seemed destined to come true... up until Auggie's biological brother and his adoptive parents dropped by the Windy City for a visit from California. The boys hit it off, leading the parents to suggest to Maggie and Ben that they take Auggie back with them so that the brothers can grow up together. After an initial refusal to even consider it, Maggie dropped the reveal that she gave up a baby girl for adoption when she was 16, and eventually realized it would be best for Auggie to be with his brother. Maggie and Ben won't be his parents after all.
And if you're like me and you've also been watching Chicago Fire over the years, Maggie's story in "Fathers and Mothers, Daughters and Sons" might have reminded you of Dawson and Casey's arc of trying to adopt the adorable young Louie before coming to the conclusion that he would be better off with his biological family. The Med plot that unfolded in this episode has some differences from Dawsey's efforts to adopt Louie on Fire, but One Chicago doesn't have a history of letting its characters build families starting with foster children.
And that brings me to Burgess over on Chicago P.D.. Burgess decided to take in a little girl named Makayla in Season 8 after Makayla lost her immediate family in a brutal crime and then was given up by her aunt, and the goal seems to be to build a family. Everything seems to be going as well for Burgess and Makayla as things ever go for anybody on the darkest show in One Chicago, but One Chicago history leads me to be concerned.
If Chicago Med and Chicago Fire, both shows that are friendlier to kids and starring characters whose jobs are easier to adjust to having kids, can't manage a happy story for characters adopting foster children, can P.D. really do it? Admittedly, I might just be paranoid here, but Chicago Med and Chicago Fire history is what made me nervous about Burgess' pregnancy in Season 7, and that story ended in tragedy. Still, on the Chicago Med front, I just hope that Maggie gets to be happy moving forward.
Chicago Med will return on March 17 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. There is no sign that NBC has plans for any more Chicago shows, but the Dick Wolf universe is only weeks away from getting bigger thanks to Christopher Meloni's Law & Order: Organized Crime. Crossovers between any of the Dick Wolf shows other than the mini crossovers between the One Chicago shows are unlikely for the time being, but the connections between the NBC and CBS shows are very much still there.
