Get ready for pulse-pounding end to 2009 and new beginnings in 2010.

That's according to Shonda Rhimes herself, and we couldn't be happier.

“It’s starting to get really exciting, especially as we head towards these episodes that end the year and start off the new year,” the Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer told TV Guide Magazine. “We’ve got some really great stuff coming.”

Now that Owen and Christina are a couple, will the new resident surgeon Teddy Altman - a.k.a. “cardio god” (played by guest star Kim Raver) - put a heart-stopping wrench in their fledgling romance? Rhimes urges fans to stay tuned on that front.

“Yes, but not how you’d expect,” revealed Rhimes. “I think everyone assumes it’s going to go one way. It’s a very different story than we’ve ever told before.”

Meanwhile, Meredith and Derek will continue to take the audience on a roller coaster ride of typical emotional highs and lows, yet even more challenges await.

“I think a lot of what’s going on is watching them come into their own as doctors [and] watching what goes on between them in the hospital,” said Rhimes.

With the Chief falling off the wagon once again, leaving his wife’s imagination to run wild - and straight down to the hospital where she accuses Dr. Bailey of having an affair with him - the repercussions will go a lot deeper than just the bottom of the bottle.

“That’s going to get a little complicated,” she said, promising more info in coming episodes. “That’s going to get more complicated than anybody expects.”

Maybe another botched surgery?

“We’re not going to do the botched surgery conflict,” added Rhimes.“ I really want to portray what happens when a doctor goes off the wagon and how they deal with that.”

As for the Chief’s wife Adele (played by Loretta Divine), expect to see more of her.

“We love to have her. There’s going to be more coming up with them. I think you’re going to see what happens to the marriage and what happens to him at the hospital.”

We’ve also seen the dramatic return of Izzie Stevens, but it turns out that her welcome back will be somewhat short-lived, with Katherine Heigl taking maternity leave.

“She’s going to be taking a leave,” Shonda also confirmed. “We adapt and change. That’s what that means,” she said of what Heigl’s departure will mean for the show.

As for how long Heigl’s locker will be empty is still unknown.

“I don’t know how long, but I think it’s wonderful that a mother wants to spend time with her baby. So I have no problems with that,” said Rhimes.

Off camera, Eric Dane is expecting his first child with wife Rebecca Gayheart, while in typical life-imitating-art fashion, Mark happiness with Lexie could be shaken - by his past.

We're already wondering: Does Mark have a grown up child?

“Yes!” revealed Rhimes, who used to be anti-Grey's Anatomy spoilers. “And that’s going to be interesting. We’re going to dive very far into Mark and discover a bunch of stuff.”

We already know he’s a master with the scalpel and it seems he’s got more than just the arrogant appeal and handsome good looks fans have grown to love and hate.

“It’s going to be more than just the pretty face,” she added.

“Also just how he would actually cope with something serious.”

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.