After much debate with his wife, Derek (Patrick Dempsey) officially accepted the brain mapping position in Washington, D.C. on Thursday's midseason finale of Grey's Anatomy.

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Despite the fact both Derek and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) agreed that he should take the president's offer, it's unclear what it means for their relationship.

"I see it as a tremendous opportunity for a really good and interesting conflict that we have not seen between them," Dempsey told The Hollywood Reporter. "We have no idea what [showrunner] Shonda Rhimes has in her mind and where she's going to take [their story]. She might want to break them up to bring them back together. That would be the thing to do. We have a long way to go in this season, so there's a lot you can do and resolve or not resolve. We'll see what happens."

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Pompeo, on the other hand, doesn't think a breakup is likely for the popular television couple.

"Meredith and Derek aren't breaking up. That's not happening," she said. "Eventually at some point we'll get back to being good, I'm sure. We go in cycles, but hopefully we'll play out the relationship in realistic ways, and we get interesting stuff so that we can give good performances."

However, the actress believes it's best for Derek to take as much time as he needs away from the Grey Sloan Memorial. She believes a quick return is "not realistic."

"If you're going to make that big move then - if he's committing to the president then he's committed. You can't just back out. So that sounds like a serious commitment to me," she said. "I hope that he doesn't rush back to Seattle, because that will undermine the importance of that job. It will feel less important if it's just over."

Grey's Anatomy returns on Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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