'Grey's Anatomy's' Sarah Drew: April is 'totally over' her crush on Derek

If you thought that April's (Sarah Drew) crush on Derek (Patrick Dempsey) was the most annoying thing about "Grey's Anatomy" last season, you aren't alone. Luckily, Drew promises that the Mercy West intern is done fawning over her boss, for good.

"No, she's totally over it," Drew tells Zap2it. "She's moved on. I think almost getting him shot did a number on her. Plus, she witnessed Meredith's miscarriage and had a real moment with her, when Meredith was telling her about how much she loved Derek. April was definitely rattled out of the whole hopeless puppy love thing."

The events of the Season 6 finale rattled the cast just as much as the viewers. "You should've been there when we first read the script!" Drew says. "Shonda [Rimes] didn't let us read it before or flip through it or anything. We just did a cold reading, all of us together. She wanted us to get the full impact. People were gasping and screaming at the table."

Drew hopes that despite the shooting startling her character out of her McDreamy obsession, April won't be alone for long. "When April was talking to the shooter, she said 'I've never been loved,'" Drew recalls. "I'd really like her to fall in love for the first time this season. It'd be nice to have something innocent and tender. You know, 'Grey's Anatomy' is a show with all this incredibly hot sex all over the place - I'd love for April's story to be sweet. I want to see her blossom."

Does Drew have any sexy co-stars in mind to play her love interest? "I don't care who it is!" she laughs. "I just think there could be something really beautiful in that story. I got to explore first love a little bit on 'Everwood,' but it's got a little more depth when you're older and in this intense situation."

Before she can fall in love, though, April (and the rest of the Seattle Grace gang) will have to get past the gatekeeper... also known as the grief counselor. James Tupper has booked an arc as Andrew Perkins, who has to approve all of the doctors before they can return to their regular surgical duties.

"It's going to surprise you," Drew says. "People who you'd think would be eager to get back to work aren't going to want to go back to surgery. The hospital's still running in the background. It didn't shut down at all. Some people will get back to work quickly; for others it'll take longer. There are a few people who try to fake their way through counseling to get back to work, even though they're not ready."

The Sept 23 season premiere will catch up to the doctors several weeks after the traumatic events of the finale. "There will be flashbacks to just days after the shooting," she assures us. "You'll see where everyone is and how they got there. You know, the trauma effects different people in different ways. Everyone is handling things at a different pace; everyone has different coping methods."

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Photo Credit: ABC