Grey’s Anatomy: Will Meredith’s kids make or break MerLuca?

Whether you want Meredith and Andrew to stay together on Grey’s Anatomy or not, her kids could be the deciding factor for the future of their relationship.

Whether you love them or hate them, Meredith Grey and Andrew DeLuca have been together long enough that they’re likely heading for a significant point in their relationship on Grey’s Anatomy.

Will they stay together, or decide to break up for good?

There may not be a definitive answer yet. But we’ve been given more than one hint that points to the reason they will or won’t work in the end: Meredith’s kids — Zola, the oldest; Bailey, named after the chief herself; and Ellis, the youngest, named after Meredith’s mother.

We’ve pretty much seen more of Zola so far this season than we have in the past three or more seasons combined. There’s no way that’s a coincidence.

Grey’s Anatomy gives brief glimpses of its recurring “tiny humans” all the time, mostly just to remind the audience they’re all still alive. It’s rare these days that we get a whole storyline about them, let alone two in a row (first the surgery, and now Halloween).

It could be that Zola is old enough now to finally express her concerns about losing and forgetting her dad — she and little Bailey were still young when he died. This is really the first time we’ve seen her talk openly about being afraid she won’t remember him.

And it’s also likely leading up to something — hopefully more than just playing into Meredith’s “epiphany” that she doesn’t need to be a doctor in order to lead a fulfilling life.

It’s a nice epiphany. And Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t have to, and might not, go much deeper than that.

But focusing more on Meredith’s kids — especially on their relationship with DeLuca — is most likely a setup for the state of their relationship by the end of the midseason or season finale. At this point, they’re either going to have things locked in or the opposite.

Since we’ve already seen one disastrous date end with Meredith’s potential love interest declaring his ill feelings toward single mothers — maybe even kids in general — it only makes sense that this would be a making or breaking point for their future.

What’s almost unfair (to fans who are still iffy about them, anyway) is that more and more, DeLuca is proving he would be a great father figure for Zola and her siblings. He not only seems willing to help, but determined to support Meredith in every area of her life — including her role as a mom.

To see him go at this point would be heartbreaking even if you’ve wanted him gone from the very beginning — even if the only one you worried about in that split was Mer.

There’s going to be a test — maybe something bigger than Zola’s surgery. Something is going to happen that will prove once and for all that DeLuca either is or isn’t the right one for Meredith — and for her kids.

Whether that has anything to do with her medical license and future as a medical advocate or professional is obviously up for debate. His offering to go to jail and take the fall for her mistake didn’t break them up, so who knows if any further drama related to this will.

One thing’s for sure: We need more Zola and DeLuca alone time. She’s so smart and wonderful, and even if she doesn’t know it, she’s teaching him empathy and compassion and love — something both a doctor and a father figure/step-dad needs to succeed in their roles and responsibilities.

Never underestimate the power of a sad tiny human wearing butterfly wings.

Do you think MerLuca will last? Are you rooting for them, or are you totally over it?