Upon her return she expresses preference at using her Chinese name "Jing-Mei", although John Carter continues to affectionately call her "Deb".

Chen also supported Carter as he recovered from the same near-fatal stabbing that had led to the death of talented medical student Lucy Knight, and was part of the group who confronted him about his drug addiction and successfully convinced him to attend a rehab facility in Atlanta.

She gives birth to a baby boy on Christmas Eve, accompanied by her longtime friend John Carter.

After considering the challenges of being a doctor and a single mother, and also realizing she would not get much support from her family because her son is biracial, she subsequently places the child for adoption.

At the end of the season, both she and Carter apply for Chief Resident, but her application is declined due to her time off for maternity leave.

In the episode "The Longer You Stay", Jing-Mei and Dr. Dave Malucci make a hasty decision to perform a procedure before checking all necessary tests, ultimately leading to the death of a patient who is later found to have symptoms associated with Marfan syndrome.

The board determines that because of her maternity leave, she did not have Attending status at the time of the incident and was therefore not authorized to make the decision for the procedure.

Their relationship afterward is awkward at best, but reaches an accord after both parties impress the other with their professionalism and the need to work as comrades while under pressure from County's chaotic environment.

At the end of Season 8, Jing-Mei begins working with the new Dr. Greg Pratt, who constantly flirts with her, to a mix of condescension and amusement.

In this season, Jing-Mei and Pratt start a relationship, which is mostly marked by a lot of arguments (most of them initiated by Chen) and some occasional sex.

Jing-Mei and Greg Pratt require major surgery, and Elgin dies while receiving emergency care.

Later in Season 11, an overwhelmed Jing-Mei/Deb quits County after Dr. Susan Lewis, the newly appointed chief of emergency medicine, refuses her request for leave to care for her father on Christmas Eve.