Chicago PD
Marina Squerciati (pictured here) reveals what's next for her “Chicago P.D.” character Kim Burgess. Matt Dinerstein/NBC

Wednesday’s episode of NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” was an important one for Officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati). Her sister was raped by a group of men.

Kim became the best cop she could ever be in Season 4, episode 19. Although she finally nabbed the perpetrators, she chose to take an indefinite leave of absence from the intelligence unit in order to help her sister recover from the harrowing assault and take care of her niece.

What many “Chicago P.D.” fans may not know is that Burgess’ absence was written as a result of Squerciati’s real-life pregnancy. The 32-year-old actress is due to deliver her first child in April. “She knows what she needs to do,” the NBC star told TVGuide in an interview, “But at the same time, she’s going to miss where she was. I think she’s going to miss where she was on the job and where she was as a person before all this happened too.”

READ: Watch the promo of “Chicago P.D.” Season 4, Episode 19

Indeed, Voight (Jason Beghe), the unit’s leader, finally gave her a compliment. She does belong on the team.

Will we see Burgess again in Season 4? Squerciati revealed that her character isn’t coming back. We will see her directly in Season 5, should the TV show be renewed. “Currently that’s it for me. It all depends on when I give birth. [Laughs] … I’m going to go on maternity leave until I pop. But that’s it for me for right now, and then hopefully in Season 5, we’ll see what’s happened to Burgess.”

In order to fill Burgess’ absence, “Chicago P.D.” has added Tracy Spiridakos to the Season 4 cast. Squerciati said that she was excited to see a powerful woman on the show who isn’t afraid to give Voight a hard time.

Squerciati also revealed the status of Burgess and Ruzek’s (Patrick John Flueger) relationship to Entertainment Weekly. “I think they’re friends again,” she said. “I don’t know if they’re lovers. They’re definitely friends, and I definitely think that they’re not dating other people. That’s the best way I can put it.”

Furthermore, “Chicago P.D.” star Amy Morton and Sophia Bush threw Squerciati a baby shower before she exited the series temporarily. The heavily pregnant actress is a private person so it’s no wonder that most fans of the show didn’t know that she has a baby on the way.

“Chicago P.D.” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on NBC.