A patient gives Meredith some clarity on her dating situation around the holidays. The strain on Bailey and Ben’s marriage comes to a head. Meanwhile, Betty drops a bomb on Owen and Amelia.

Added screencaps of 15×09 in the gallery.

Mama Karev is back.

Lindsay Wagner will reprise her role as Alex’s mother, Helen Karev, for a very special episode in the current 15th season, ET has exclusively learned.

Wagner, who was first introduced late last season, will appear in the 15th episode, which holds special meaning for Grey’s. The episode, slated to air in late February, will make Grey’s the longest-running primetime medical drama in history, surpassing ER.

While storylines are being kept under wraps, as is usual practice on Grey’s, things between mother and son were left on a positive note by the end of the season 14 episode, “Fight for Your Mind.” With his mother having suffered from schizophrenia for most of his childhood, Alex (Justin Chambers) had to see for himself that his mom was on a brighter path, after learning that she was not cashing the checks he had been sending for quite some time. When they reunited at the Iowa library she had returned to work at, Helen explained that her mental illness had “burned itself out” and that she was more “vigilant” with her daily routine. They appeared to have mended fences, as she offered to have Alex change the due date on the library stamp, something he used to love doing when he was younger. Earlier this month, ABC bumped up the episode order for season 15 from 22 to 25, bringing the standing total for Grey’s to 342 episodes at the culmination of the season. In addition to Wagner’s return, Jennifer Grey will also be joining the show in a top-secret role, which very well could be Jo’s estranged mother.

Grey’s Anatomy returns Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.