When Ellen Pompeo revealed to TV Guide Magazine in February that after two more seasons as Grey's Anatomy’s Meredith Grey, she’ll walk, creator Shonda Rhimes kept quiet. Until now. As that date draws closer, Rhimes has some decisions to make about the future of her franchise. How do you keep Grey’s going without your main Grey? Rhimes planned for this possibility back in 2007, when she introduced Chyler Leigh as Mer’s little sis, Lexie.

But can “Little Grey” carry the show as the sole Grey in Grey’s Anatomy? “It’s possible, but I don’t know that I think of it that way,” says Rhimes. “In my head, Meredith Grey is staying forever. Ellen says, ‘I have two more years and I’m going to Italy,’ but I also say, ‘Two more years and I’m going to Italy.’ So I will cross that bridge when I come to it. For me, the show is very tied up in [the relationship between] Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang [Sandra Oh]. If I can convince the originals we have left to stay forever, I will get down on my knees to do so.”

Rhimes plans to pull out all the stops next season with episodes returning Mer and hubby Der (Patrick Dempsey) to the grassy hilltop site of their future dream home. “I want to see some house-building,” teases Rhimes. And there may even be some really little Greys on the way to fill up rooms. “Meredith has said she’s up for baby-making. It was her never-say-never moment,” reminds Rhimes of Meredith’s recent 180 on having children. “The issue as to whether or not they’ll have kids is addressed in the [May 20] finale.”

And with rumors that Patrick, too, may want out when his contract is up, one actor is already campaigning hard to be Lexie’s Lil’ McDreamy: Jesse Williams (Jackson). “That’s because those two get along like gangbusters,” says Rhimes. “But I think Justin [Chambers] would fight him for that, because he wants the exact same thing.”

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