It looks as though the events of the plane crash in season 8 of Grey’s Anatomy will be bringing Meredith and Derek closer this season.

Meredith and Derek’s relationship has always been quite up and down. Fans have been missing the romance between the couple more since the addition of their daughter, which has brought more focus on their family life rather than that of a couple. Ellen Pompeo recently revealed to TV Line that the couple will be immune from the turmoil that surrounds them at work this season.

With all of the heavily emotional changes going on in the storyline, the show will use some Meredith and Derek romance for balance. Pompeo explained, “Derek and Meredith are just dealing a little bit with his hand and whether he can do surgery or not, and what does that look like? But there’s not too much drama surrounding them because, the truth is, they’re happy to be alive and be parents for their daughter. So we can play the lightness and leave the heavy stuff to other people.”

Shonda Rhimes doesn’t just want to bring romance back to Grey’s Anatomy, she wants to prove that the couple are still sexy. Rhimes detailed that, “I want to see what that means for them as a couple and how they, against the odds, manage to keep that relationship sexy and fun. So we’re playing with that and it’s been really fun.”

When Patrick Dempsey was asked about the increase of intimacy, he was glad that their characters would be bringing sexy back. He seems to feel it’s important to focus on, saying, “They’ve been fighting enough over the last eight years. I don’t know how they stayed together… We’ll see how much sex they’re having. They should have it at least once a day. But I think the baby gets in the way.”

How do you feel about the writers showing more romance between Meredith and Derek?