'Grey's Anatomy': Maggie Pierce Makes a Major Decision as Miranda Bailey Faces a New Threat

It appeared that all hope may be lost for Maggie Pierce's (Kelly McCreary) marriage on Thursday's Grey's Anatomy.

Maggie and her husband Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) were still reeling after she took all the credit in an article about their partial heart transplant.

The couple attended marriage counseling together but Maggie had to leave because she was on call, and Winston said he's "not even surprised" because she was being put in "the hot seat" over their communication issues.

When Maggie arrived at the hospital, she immediately started to treat a patient named Georgia who could have been paralyzed after being injured in a bull riding accident.

While the doctors debated the best treatment plan, Georgia's father told the doctors, "Do the spinal surgery. Save our daughter's ability to ride."

Before Georgia's surgery, Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) asked Maggie about half a dozen job offers she received after the press attention but encouraged her to stay at Grey Sloan Memorial, saying, "You don't have to move to do your next big thing."

The doctors realized they needed to switch plans after her hematoma exploded mid-surgery. When they told Georgia's mom it may be time to end her rodeo career, she insisted that "the light in her eyes was gone" when they previously tried to stop her from riding.

Maggie respected that she wants to pursue her passion as she has done in the medical field and told Georgia, "I get what it's like to be a girl in a guys' world."

By the end of the episode, Maggie and Winston were still struggling to move past their issues with her accusing him of abandoning her in the marriage.

With nothing left to lose, Maggie decided she is ready to say goodbye to Seattle and move to Chicago for a new professional challenge. The moment came after McCreary announced that she is exiting Grey's Anatomy as a series regular with her final episode scheduled for next week.

Meanwhile, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) tried to reassure her husband Ben Warren (Jason George) that she was safe with the hospital's new security protocols after Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) was hit by a car.

However, she was proven incorrect when Ben found flyers — with her picture and personal information outside the hospital — that read, "Baby Killer." He told her, "We are not fine, Miranda."

Elsewhere in the hospital, Dr. Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd) and Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) helped Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) treat a patient who arrived in the E.R. experiencing pain.

They quickly learned the patient had lied about his drug use after visiting several hospitals for the same issue, and Richard decided he should be discharged for drug rehabilitation treatment.

The patient was upset with the plan as he was in "agony" and said, "I should have never admitted I used drugs." Lucas then suggested that it was possible the other hospitals had missed something.

When Richard shut him down, he asked Simone for help, sharing, "I've always had your big back. Could you at least have mine?"

As they worked out a game plan, Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) interrupted them and insisted they follow Richard's orders. After Lucas maintained there was "something more to this patient," Levi coldly replied, "Discharge the patient and never question Dr. Webber again."

After overhearing the confrontation, Bailey encouraged Schmitt to change his ways. She recalled, "You know what they called me when I was chief resident, the Nazi."

"For a while, I became someone people didn't like very much," she added. Bailey reminded Schmitt that he wanted to be "the vagina of the program."

"You got to be the whole vagina, not just the muscle," she explained, noting that vaginas bring pleasure and life.

While working to diagnose the patient, Lucas and Simone began to discuss her wedding. She revealed she wants "the marriage but not the pomp and circumstance."

Simone added she loves that her fiancé creates big moments in their life, making Lucas realize that was why they weren't solving the case — the scans were "frozen moments in time."

They convinced Richard to do a procedure to see more snapshots of the patient and discovered he had a toothpick lodged in his body. Richard told Lucas, "Incredible save."

Back in the staff room, Lucas thanked Simone for the help, and she asked for a big favor, saying, "I could really use a friend to help get through it. I'm asking you to be my man of honor."

Despite their romantic history, he agreed, adding, "It would be an honor."

On the personal front, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) insisted that she was sick but Atticus "Link" Lincoln (Chris Carmack) knew better and realized the impact that last week's car crash was having on her.

He told her, "You need a day off but you're not sick" and brought her a latte and little donuts with pink frosting.

While laying in bed together, they realized they both struggle to rest for very different reasons.

"I think you only have trouble resting when you're not taking care of someone else," Jo told him.

He added, "I think you can't rest because you never had anyone to take care of you."

She then asked him to stay while she took a nap and they continued to lay together in bed.

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.