Other plots include the fallout of Alex Karev beating up Andrew DeLuca and his impending trial, Jo Wilson's true identity and past as well as Amelia's trauma over having children.

[6] While Amelia and Owen's wedding continues, Andrew is brought to the ER after being assaulted by Alex, leading Meredith and the other doctors to the hospital to help.

Nathan and Meredith continue to work out their relationship at the same time as they try to hide it from Maggie, who is affected by Andrew's assault.

On the day before Alex's trial, Bailey, Arizona and Jo drive with medical equipment including an advanced ultrasound machine to a maximum security women's prison hospital to treat a violent teenage inmate and her unborn baby.

Later Arizona scornfully tells her mother that the delivery was a success, and asks whether she will abandon this baby too if she turns out bad.

On the way back home, Bailey tells Jo that Alex plans to take the plea deal and will be going to jail, which makes her throw up.

Dr. Minnick implements phase 2 of her teaching plan, where two residents a week get to lead a surgery from start to finish.

April and Jackson travel to Bozeman, Montana to perform a throat transplant on a girl, leaving Harriet with Catherine.

However, when a lesion is discovered on the donor, the transplant is off the table, meaning a laryngectomy is the girl's only option despite her parents' objection.

Jackson does so and discovers that his father left because being an Avery didn't fit him, and that he has a happy life and never actually missed his son.

Maggie teams up with Arizona to remove a delicate tumor from a fetus's chest while her colleagues worry she's not ready yet, given it's her first day back.

After heavy turbulence hits, Meredith and Nathan tend to the injured while receiving help from Harrison Peters, a pediatric dentist.

In a quiet moment, Meredith tells Nathan about her own plane crash and losing her sister Lexie.

One of their patients starts showing signs of an epidural brain bleed while the pilot is unable to land the plane because it's caught between two storm systems.

April, Andrew, Stephanie, and Richard have bad news for their patient and her new boyfriend when she turns out to have worms breeding in her intestines.

While the woman has made peace with it and has resorted to having as much good sex as she can before dying, Maggie can't let it go that easily.

Inspired to do what's good for her in the moment, Meredith removes the tumor and post-it from her bedroom wall and takes Nathan home with her.

Richard has to second Eliza's statement that Ben has been playing it safe lately, while Stephanie lets her anger take over when a religious father threatens to sue the hospital for operating on his son's life-threatening tumor without his and his wife's permission.

Amelia supports him and calls Teddy to verify Megan's identity and secure her transfer to Grey Sloan.

Back at the hospital, the doctors are thrown for a loop when they discover that their half-naked car accident victims aren't a couple, but instead a woman who drove off the cliff on purpose to avoid getting raped.

As the flames rage throughout Grey Sloan, Bailey issues a mass-evacuation while Jackson and Meredith desperately search for Stephanie and Nathan.

Stephanie, who is revealed to be alive, is forced to perform a surgery on Erin's leg, while the flames grow even bigger and looms closer towards the duo.

Back at the hospital, Stephanie is forced to go to extremes as she braves the growing flames on her floor, ending up in the staircase.

Crawling towards the roof access with Erin in tow, Stephanie comes to the horrifying realization that her key card is missing, which is needed to open the door.

[37] A promotional poster for the season was released on August 2, 2016, portraying Dr. Meredith Grey in Seattle, for which the series is located.

McCreary went more into the storyline as she commented that "After such a long period of time and so many new people coming in and out, they remain the foundational characters of the show.

[49][50] The rest of the 6 original cast mates, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., excluding Sandra Oh, renewed their contracts on May 26, 2014, as Drs.

[54] Justin Chambers announced on March 11, 2016, that he had renewed his contract and will be playing Dr. Alex Karev in the 13th season.

[58] Series-veteran Sara Ramirez announced after the finale that they would not be returning for season 13 as Dr. Callie Torres, after the character left for New York to be with her girlfriend Dr. Penny Blake.

[59] On September 28, 2016, it was announced that the Days of Our Lives alum Jen Lilley would appear in the third episode, playing Kara.