Ausiello: For the most part, they’ll be shielded from all the sturm und drang unfolding around them at Seattle Grace when the season picks up this Thursday. “There are heavier storylines in other places so [the writers] have to create a delicate balance between the heavy storylines and the light storylines,” explained Mer’s portrayer, Ellen Pompeo, during my visit to the Grey’s set last week. “And I think 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.” Patrick Dempsey, meanwhile, seemed a little surprised when I informed him that Shonda Rhimes was planning to put Derek and Mer’s sex life under a microscope this season. “I need to go to the gym more,” he deadpanned, before adding, “I hope so. 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.”