Jackson Returned to Save the Day on Grey's Anatomy

Things are about to get pretty intense on Grey's Anatomy, guys.

Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) is back -- er, still -- on the scene. And now that Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) knows about her pregnancy, she's taken it upon herself to step in and talk some sense into Teddy before she tries to trek back to Germany and leave Owen (Kevin McKidd) unaware. It must be serious business for Grey to take the day off from the hospital like this, but she plays it cool as she reminds her, repeatedly, that the one she should really be talking to about all of it is Owen himself.

Over a day filled with chocolate cookie-baking (yes, we're WAY off the reservation here with these two today), Teddy reveals that she really does love Owen as much as a person can and that her main concern is that by telling him about their little love child-to-be, he'll flock to her whether he really returns her affection or not. Meredith thinks it's all nonsense and that Owen's only got eyes for her. She also points out that it's not just her feelings that matter here, because if the kid grows up to find out that he or she has been deprived of a relationship with a good man, well, there's going to be a lot of hurt going around later on in their lives. Of course, she has no idea that her own sister-in-law is quickly developing a forever kind of connection with Owen and that Teddy declaring herself to him might speed up the process of pain.

Meredith seems to figure it out when Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) waltzes in the back door just as Teddy's leaving through the front and seems mightily blissed out about the fact that she's gonna be spending the night at Owen's.

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Amelia and Owen have spent the day together, with him indulging her desire to helicopter parent Betty and make 100 percent sure that their quasi-adoptee won't lean back on bad habits. Her suspicions seem proven when, halfway through the day, they spot Betty trying to ditch school with a couple of friends.

Most of their time is spent talking, though -- by some miracle, baby Leo is patient through all of this and doesn't utter a peep -- and Amelia reveals a painful bit of her past to Owen. She confides in him that losing her son caused her to give up on some things -- herself and love, for example -- and the reason she didn't want children with Owen wasn't her brain tumor, but rather, she didn't want to chance erasing the memory of Christopher. Even saying his name out loud is an act of relief for her. Thanks to their guardianship of Betty and Leo, she knows Christopher's memory will survive intact even if she does move on to parent other children. She and Owen go on to share a tender moment, the affection behind which is undeniable, and with all of that, it's no wonder she came in skipping to Mer's place.

From the look-ahead, it's clear that Teddy is going to finally talk to Owen, but what's not clear is what he'll do, now that he has two women who both love him and whom he loves and respects in return. The gravity of this build-up is just pummeling us in the feels this week, then, isn't it? Who wants to see either of these women come away with a broken heart? Gah.

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In cheerier news, Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) has returned to Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, and while he intended to flit back off into nature to take more Instagram shots of trees, a very special case reminds him just how connected he is to what he does already.

Maggie (Kelly McCreary) gives him the cold shoulder at first. She's still pretty crushed about the way he left -- really, though, heading off on a walkabout with only a voicemail as notice is almost as bad as the Carrie Bradshaw Post-It Note incident circa 2003, except this isn't really a breakup. Our recurring matchmaker patient Cici (who, sadly, seems to be fading) points out that introspection is something she should probably be doing herself.

Maggie later sees Jackson suffering in the observation deck after he's discovered his patient, a little boy, will need a much more significant surgery than he signed up for and will lose major motor functions as a result. She tells him that she doesn't take issue with his need for distance and clarity and in fact understands it greatly. She can respect the fact that things are "clearer from the top," and not only is he grateful for her company, but the lightning bulb erupts above his head as he figures out a solution to his tiny patient's problem. Instead of removing the cancerous shoulder bone, they can take it out, zap it with an otherwise intolerable amount of radiation, and then put it right back where it belongs. Jackson met this boy during his little self-discovery journey, and lo, he's found his purpose anew thanks to him. Success.

He promises Maggie that he will not ever take off on her like that again, and while she's still not ready to drop everything for date night with him, she does forgive him, and thus, Jaggie is back in full swing.

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Relationship mini-crisis No. 3 happens when Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) has to get on the floor and in the OR thanks to so many other surgeons being off-duty. His chiefliness takes a backseat when there are patients to be treated, so he jumps on Avery's peds case alongside Dr. Lincoln, aka Link, whose long-standing friendship with Jo (Camilla Luddington) is obviously grating on his nerves.

Only it's not jealousy that has him so bent out of shape about seeing Link and Jo pal around so much; what he's really upset about is the fact that Link didn't intervene when Jo -- then, Brooke -- was being assaulted by Paul. Link tells him that he had no idea of Paul's abuse and that he would've gladly "leveled him" if he did. He was doing what he thought was right by giving her space with Paul since he too didn't seem to care much for his friendship with Brooke, platonic though it always was. With that, Alex and Link have finally come to an understanding all the sniping can subside. Jolex is still definitely in the honeymooning phase, despite all these recent developments.

Meanwhile, one couple that's not where they need to be right now is Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Ben. After a day spent trying to prove that she's still the same badass surgeon who molded Meredith Grey into the Harper-Avery winning surgeon extraordinaire all those years ago, Bailey realizes that even walking away from the chief's desk has not relieved her stress. It's Ben's new job that's taking a toll on her mental well-being. Jo laughs off her concern and basically calls them #CoupleGoals, but Bailey does not seem so convinced her marriage is made to withstand this kind of heat. To be continued ...

Speaking of former chiefs, Webber (James Pickens Jr.) basically spends the whole day tut-tutting DeLuca (Giacomo Gianotti) for being too take-charge about all the life-saving in the trauma unit -- in his stoic little way, he's complimenting the guy for having the potential to be an attending some day but needs to see him take the "teaching hospital" concept more seriously and get the interns in on the game.

One of those interns, Glasses, might be a bit distracted to be fair to DeLuca. The guy has been having a tough time deciding how he wants to proceed with his burning crush for the other ortho-hottie, (who we really haven't heard enough from yet, by the way), so his mind has certainly been wandering. Otherwise? Not much doing with the interns this week -- they all really need some more screen-time so that we can actually care about these people a bit more, no?

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.