On this week's 'Grey's Anatomy,' Kelly McCreary gets sucker punched — and she enjoys it!

Though Maggie (Kelly McCreary) arrived at Grey Sloan Memorial long after the hospital shootingboth of themthe bomb in the body, and the plane crash, shell get her first taste of danger during Thursdays episode of Greys Anatomy when she gets sucker punched by a patient. The best part, for me, was that the patient who punches Maggie is the dad from The Wonder Years, Dan Lauria, McCreary tells EW. I had my first total fan girl, geek-out moment while we were shooting because I loved that show as a kid. I was like, As long as its Dan Lauria, sure. Go right ahead, punch me in the face.

The incident ends up being a big turning point for Maggie. It turns out to be this reallyfor lack of a better wordstriking moment in the episode where you figure out what the problem with this patient is, McCreary says. Im working on a case with Ben [Jason George] and Richard [James Pickens Jr.] involving a patient who exhibits signs of Alzheimers and Maggie winds up having an epic foot in her mouth moment where she gets on the familys case for not keeping the patient out of danger. This, of course, sparks the conversation between Richard and Maggie about his experiences with Alzheimers. Though McCreary is shy to say whether Maggie actually knows that her biological mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton) had Alzheimers, she says the experience will bring her closer to Richard. We get to see Richards very protective papa bear come out when Maggie gets punched, she says. Theres just a connection thats gradually been forming on a professional level over this time. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), meanwhile, is facing the real possibility in this episode that Derek (Patrick Dempsey) has been cheating on her. As weve seen in the last few episodes, Maggie is eager to be a helpful and supportive sister, McCreary says. Youll see a little bit of that going on. Maggie shows up as very compassionate towards Meredith as shes trying to solve this mystery. Speaking of relationships, Maggies budding friendship with Ethan (Lance Gross) wont be addressed during Thursdays episode, but he will be back soon. However, hell be in for a tough road ahead. Weve declared that shes very good at being alone, McCreary says. Shes maybe not that happy about it, but thats the way it is. She doesnt feel comfortable connecting with people in general. Shes still coming out of her shell in that regard. Shes still growing into a person who feels safe connecting with other people. Its going to be a gradual process. While Maggie may have trouble opening up in the love department, McCreary says well see more of the friendship between Maggie, Callie (Sara Ramirez), Alex (Justin Chambers) and Mer. Theres an awesome throwback to the tunnel scenes of the early Greys days in this episode, she says. That four-way friendship continues to be established. Greys Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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On this week's 'Grey's Anatomy,' Kelly McCreary gets sucker punched -- and she enjoys it!