Atticus Lincoln, preferably called Link, is the Head of Orthopedic Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. He was in a relationship with neurosurgeon Amelia Shepherd, with whom he has a son named Scout. He is currently in a relationship with Jo Wilson.
History[]
Cancer[]
When Link was a child, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on his femur. It was caught late, but he was fully cured of it. He says the worst part of it was seeing his mother so sad all the time.[2] At the age of ten, he got a wish granted. For his wish, he asked for a baseball game at Shea Stadium. He loved it and discovered a great pizza place in Manhattan where he ate five times. It was the last trip before his parents got divorced.[3]
Shortly after that trip, his parents sat him down and told him that their family was a lie and they would be getting a divorce. The divorce was tough on him as they used him as a pawn and forced him to choose sides. He spent Christmas days on an airplane so he could have breakfast with his father and dinner with his mother. He double-majored in college so they could go to separate graduation ceremonies. The only thing that remained was the tradition of their all having lunch together on his cancer-versary, the day he was declared cancer-free. It took him years to manage parents who could barely make it through one lunch without tearing each other apart.[4]
New Job at Grey Sloan Memorial and Interest in Meredith[]
When Nisha Chopri came into the ER with a bike attached to her after being hit by a car, Link took her as his first case at Grey Sloan Memorial. He used his past experience working at a bike shop to take the bike apart to free her. He then took her into surgery to put an external fixator on her broken leg.[5]
Link was later angry to learn that Jackson had taken Nisha into the hyperbaric chamber without notifying him. Link watched as Jackson worked on debriding her wound. When Nisha started coding, he figured out that the source was her external fixator, to which the infection had spread. Unfortunately, it was too late and Nisha died in the hyperbaric chamber.[6]
Link had the idea to make custom prosthetics with superhero themes for kids, but he needed a better 3-D printer which cost $65,000 to get. He made his proposal to Alex, who approved it quickly. When Dave Buckley came into the ER with partially amputated fingers, Link examined him and then took him to the OR to amputate two of his fingers that weren't salvageable.[7]
When Meredith showed up to work dressed up for her lunch date, Link was awed by her look.[8]
When Jackson brought Rafi Elshami to the hospital to have surgery on tumors in his scapulae, Link scrubbed in on the surgery. When they found cancer, they planned to remove his scapulae in their entirety to save his life until Jackson had the idea to remove them, use radiation to kill the cancer, and then replace them, maintaining his quality of life. The surgery went well and Rafi's father was told he'd be okay.[9]
J.J. Williams came into the ER with a broken arm after trying to climb a fence. When they did an x-ray to confirm, they saw a mass on his arm. They biopsied the mass and learned it was an osteosarcoma. Link assured J.J. and his mother that they caught it early and they'd develop a treatment plan for him. J.J. was worried about losing his hair, which Link said happened to him when he had the same cancer in his thigh as a child, so Link started cutting his own hair off and gave the scissors to J.J. to help.[10]
Link came to treat Georgia in the ER. She had a cut on her hand, so he checked her nerve function and said she looked good.[11]
During the wind storm, the power went out, trapping people in elevators. However, when the power came back, the elevators did not immediately start working again. Dahlia and Jackson found the elevator where Phoebe Moss was trapped with Bailey and Taryn and, with Link's help, started trying to get the elevator open. Jed Lundberg tried to stop them until he learned that the elevator contained organs for Cece. He then helped them get the trapped people out. After they were out, he tried to haul himself out, but before he completely cleared the elevator shaft, the elevator started working again and came down on his legs. They were able to get him free with his legs still attached. Link and Jackson operated and found a way to let him keep both his legs. After his surgery, Jed had nerve function in his foot, which was a sign the surgery worked.[12]
Link worked on the case of Natasha Deon, who had fallen three floors from a hotel balcony. He confused Meredith when he decided not to stabilize her pelvis before taking her into the OR. When they got in there, he showed her why not stabilizing the pelvis would give a better outcome. He put in an external fixator and Natasha was put into a medically-induced coma after her surgery to help her recover.[13]
When he learned that the entertainment Meredith had hired for Bailey's birthday party had cancelled and Alex backed out of helping, he offered to help set up, saying he loved superheroes, the theme of the party. They set up the party quickly and Bailey was happy when he saw what they'd done. When he saw Link, Bailey asked if he was Thor and Link played along. While the party was winding down, Link sat in the kitchen with Meredith, talking and eating birthday cake.[14]
During the mass overdose, Link treated a patient in the ER who had broken both arms before moving to the clinic, checking on patients. When Betty started having chest pains, he picked her up and carried her over to the main hospital. He then put an IV into Linus to give him fluids because he had become seriously dehydrated. However, Link later found Linus in a closet with a needle in his arms. He and Amelia tried to save Linus, but were unsuccessful. Link expressed his regret to Amelia for leaving Linus unattended.[15]
Link was working on Hunter Martinez, who had osteosarcoma in his right femur. After three months of chemotherapy, he was ready to have a rotationplasty, to remove the cancerous portion of his leg and flip the lower part of his leg to make his ankle his knee. The surgery was successful and they were hopeful that he'd be able to continue to play baseball.[16]
Dating Amelia and Becoming a Father[]
Link went to the Western States Conference for Alternative Pain Relief. He was one of the presenters and talked about an athlete he treated who became addicted to opioids and later died in a car accident under the influence. Link knew he was the kid's first dealer. Despite this, he said he'd do the same thing. Amelia, who was attending his talk, walked out after hearing that. He continued and later went to her room to explain to her that he needed to prescribe the kid opioids immediately after surgery, but it should have stopped there. And he should have talked to him and his mother about the risk of becoming addicted and that's where he went wrong. The guilt over what he did caused him to quit medicine for a whole year. He came back to make it right.[17]
With Amelia, Link treated Kari Donnelly, who'd been in a bad accident. There was a risk of paralysis, but they believed they could prevent that. They took her into surgery and had almost finished the repair when they lost signal to all four of her limbs. They were unable to restore function and had to tell her child that she would be quadriplegic.[18]
Later, Link found a study that involved directly injecting stem cells into the spines of quadraplegic patients in the hopes of regaining use of their arms. He suggested this treatment for Kari, who agreed to try it.[19]
After learning from Alex that Jo had been acting different since returning from seeing her birth mother, Link went to their loft to figure out what was wrong with Jo. He was able to get her to laugh and joke about their past, but when Alex came home at the end of the day, he told Alex that something was really wrong.[20]
Link went to New York with Amelia to operate on Jonah Mays. During their trip, they ended up having dinner with Amelia's sisters, Nancy and Kathleen, and Link tried to pass as Owen, but they were found out when their mother, who had met Owen before, arrived. Amelia and Link then left. Amelia was upset with Link knowing so much about her past, but she apologized on their flight home and they shared donuts.[21]
Link and Amelia continued seeing each other until Link realized Amelia was still hiding him from her sisters. He asked her where she saw their relationship going, as he was all in.[22] After taking some time to think, Amelia told him that she needed some time to discover who she is outside of Owen, but that Link could possibly have a place in her future.[23]
Alex informed Link that Jo had been committed to the psychiatric department for her depressive episode. They went out for drinks and Link assured a fearful Alex that Jo was strong and that she would come out fine. He then told Alex about his break-up with Amelia. Later in surgery, Amelia noticed he misunderstood her and explained in surgery that she was just trying to put a stop to her habit of going all in too fast. She did want to continue dating him to get to know him. On a date, Amelia shared that she would like to try a threeway. He was surprised she'd never done that in L.A. as he had plenty there. Over time, they talked it over and Link consented to her going to ask Carina for a threeway.[24]
Amelia's Pregnancy and Birth of Scout[]
Amelia followed Link into a staircase and asked him to go somewhere private. He expected sex or bad news, like her seeing someone else, but instead, she blurted out that she was eight weeks pregnant with his baby. She said she didn't expect anything from him but just didn't want to keep it a secret. She also hinted at her bad track record with pregnancy but was paged away for a trauma before she could elaborate. Link was baffled and found a quiet place to process. Jo joined him and he told her. He said he hated his own childhood with the cancer and his parents' divorce. While Jo assured him that wouldn't happen to his kid since his cancer wasn't genetic, he said worrying about random cancer was even worse. He was also afraid about brining a kid into this terrible world with global warming. He wasn't sure if he'd get a say. Jo said it was Amelia's choice in the end but he for sure would get to weigh in and assured him he would be a great father. He then received word Amelia wanted to talk and went to find her in the green room. She opened up to him about her experiences with Christopher and how terrified it made her of pregnancy. He then told her that her experience made his imagined worst-case scenarios seem irrelevant and that the most important thing to him now was that she wouldn't get hurt. He said he's suck up his fears and be a dad if she decided to keep it or support her in any way possible if she didn't. She then abruptly left. He later found her on a bench outside and she told him his words had made her less scared and a little bit in love with him, which she attributed to the hormones. She then said she thought they would make an amazing kid and that she would like to meet it. He agreed with her.[25]
Amelia initially decided that she wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, but after witnessing the reunion of long lost lovers Bertram Hollister and Soyoung Oh, she decided that, while it scared, the pregnancy was a good thing and she wanted to share it with their friends and family with him. Together, they went to Meredith's house to deliver the news and Meredith and Andrew congratulated them.[26]
At work, Link was part of the team that treated a woman who got severely injured when the frozen body of a stowaway fell from the sky and landed on her. Link in particular took care of the woman's boyfriend, who was panicking as the frozen body had basically exploded in front of him on top of his girlfriend, covering him in blood. While Link was calming him down, the man found a toe in his hood. Afterwards, he went to assist Maggie and Teddy in the OR but by the time he was scrubbed, Alicia had been pronounced dead. Link delivered the news to Josh and comforted him. He took the news pretty hard. At Amelia's, he had her lie on top of him as a gravity-blanket. He told her he was falling in love with her. While he had always associated love with pain and divorce, he liked the feeling he was having and since people were being killed by bodies falling from the sky, there was no point in trying to avoid pain. Together, they continued to lie there with their hands on her belly.[27]
On Halloween, his cancer-versary, he invited Amelia to his annual cancer-versary brunch with his parents. While they usually ruined it with arguments about whose life turned out better after the divorce, he was planning on breaking that pattern by telling them about the pregnancy. He introduced his parents to Amelia upon arrival as they didn't know that he was seeing anyone until a few hours before. Amelia said they've been seeing each other for a few months. Link said they had known each other for longer. Amelia blurted out the entire history of how they came to be together, all the way back to Maggie setting them up and her split from Owen after the ordeal with Betty and Leo. While a bit overwhelmed, Maureen understood how things could work out better the second time around. She then announced that she was getting re-married to Link's father Eric. Link was baffled. Link found out they reconnected when his father moved to Denver for work and was matched with Maureen on multiple dating apps. They laughed about it at first but then came together again. Eric asked Link to be his best man but Link scoffed and said their divorce put him through hell. He didn't know what to say but he was sure he was never going to do what they did to him to his own kid. After dropping the pregnancy bomb, he went to get some air. Amelia joined him outside and made him realize he was mostly angry at his parents for making his cancer-versary all about them. She said they could go if he wanted to or go back inside to give his parents a chance to do better. Link opted for the latter. Over dessert, his parents suggested they get married, too, but they wanted to focus on the baby. When Link mentioned they had a lot to plan before next Spring, his parents asked when exactly Amelia was due at they had put down a deposit for a venue in April. Link grew upset but his parents were willing to forfeit it. After lunch, Amelia took Link home to de-stress and presented him with an improvised cake made up out of candy bars.[28]
Link attended Meredith's hearing with the medical commission. When Paul Castello had a seizure there, Link and Teddy drove to the hospital to assist Amelia on the case. They took scans and diagnosed a brain bleed. Tom took on the case as Amelia didn't trust herself to operate on the man who had killed her brother. She and Link sat in the gallery as she confided in him that she had dreamt about sticking a scalpel in that man's brain. He passed away on the table before their eyes. Amelia couldn't hide her joy. He drove her back to the hotel where the hearing was and they announced the news to the other doctors. When news broke that Meredith would get to keep her license, Link congratulated her.[29]
Amelia's hormones increased her libido, which Link liked. Before surgery, Link learned Jo had volunteered to become a Safe Haven volunteer and wondered if that was too much too soon. She asked him to accompany her to Station 19 for her first-ever call but he had surgery. He offered to cancel but she declined the offer. Later, he learned Amelia hadn't had an ultrasound yet, which surprised him as he wanted to find out everything they could. While scrubbing in, he learned about Andrew's inadvertent dumping of Meredith and pointed out Andrew wasn't Meredith's equal but that didn't mean she didn't respect him. Link advised him to go set the record straight. After work, he went by Jo's place and found out she had brought the baby home. She admitted it was probably too much too soon after all.[30]
Link was pacing when Meredith arrived to complain to Alex about Cormac. He pointed out Jo had stolen a baby. When they were paged for trauma, they agreed Jo could sneak the baby into the nursery for a check-up and pretend he had been there all night like he was supposed to. At work, Link asked Amelia about the ultrasound and she told him the baby was healthy. Link fixed Taryn's tib-fib fracture that she sustained in the accident at Joe's bar. After the surgery, he met up with Jo in the nursery as she handed the baby over to the social worker. Jo admitted she had fallen in love with that baby a bit. He understood as he had fallen in love with his unborn child, too. Link invited her to come hang out with his kid whenever she felt like it. Later, Amelia told him she had something serious to tell him but they were interrupted by Owen and Teddy announcing their engagement. Amelia then told him they were having a boy. Link was delighted and said he wanted the name Scout in the mix.[31]
However, soon after, Amelia broke the news to him that it was possible that not he but Owen was the father of the baby. She assured him she wanted to be with Link and a paternity test wouldn't change that, which is why she told him first. She told him she loved what they had and gave him some time to think things through. He informed Jo of the situation and added it didn't change anything as Amelia didn't want a paternity test anyway. Jo was shocked and called him out on his attitude, stating he could love Amelia and be mad at her at the same time. While they were removing a swallowed fish from a man's throat, Link defended the patient, stating maybe the happy situation of the bachelor party they were celebrating caused the man to do something that didn't seem normal. Jackson pointed out even in good situations, there are things that are not okay. Link then realized he was right and decided he did want a paternity test. He paged Amelia to the plant room and told her that as well as the fact that she should have told him right away. She admitted he was right and apologized for hurting him. She asked what would happen if they were to find out he wasn't the father. He replied he would like to be the guy who said it wouldn't matter but he couldn't promise her that. He suggested they get the test and take it one step at a time.[32]
They agreed to meet in the plant room to discuss the paternity test results. She showed up and told him they would get the results that night. He still didn't know what the results would mean for them, specifically what if the baby were to be Owen's and if he would still want to be with her. He told her he was afraid her complicated history with Owen would shape their future. He told her he loved her but repeated that he needed to know the results. That night, he waited for her in that room again but he only received a text that she didn't get the test and needed more time.[33]
Link was worried as she took a couple of days off work and ignored his texts. Jo was going through something similar as Alex was not answering her texts while going through something with his family in Iowa. Link assured her he would tell her what was going on as soon as he was ready. Jo then informed him Amelia did something similar back when she was having a fight with Owen over having kids. Link ended up on an elevator with Owen, who commented on Amelia missing work. Link told him that the baby was healthy but things were complicated. Owen recalled feeling useless during Teddy's pregnancy and told him all he could do was listen and sympathize and keep trying to help. Link decided to seek out Amelia at home. Maggie answered the door and denied that Amelia was home though she assured him Amelia was okay. He asked why Amelia was hiding the results from him so Maggie clarified Amelia didn't know the results. Amelia then came downstairs and said she wasn't doing the test because she wanted to raise her baby with someone who would love him and her no matter what a blood test said, like her sisters. She told Link they were over and sent him home. He asked Maggie if Amelia would inform Owen, which Maggie didn't think she would. Baffled, Link walked away.[34]
Link let himself go and stopped shaving, though he did continue to show up for work. He made a comment to Maggie about Amelia in front of Teddy, which made her suspicious. After work, Link went to offer Jo some company and doughnuts. She was disappointed to see him as she had been expecting Alex. She told him she had called Helen and found out that Alex never went to Iowa. As she broke down, she said she truly believed Alex had left. Link comforted her.[35] She moved in with him as she couldn't bear to be in the loft by herself. He went to pick up some of her stuff and found a letter from Alex in the mail. He brought it to her at the hospital and offered to sit with her as she read it, which she turned down. He returned to the lounge when she finished reading Alex's goodbye letter. He offered to take her day drinking but she chose to work, though she planned on drinking at the bar after work. He told her she was his hero as she put on her white coat and took off for surgery.[36]
Link and Amelia reconcile as he finds out the baby is his.
Jo moved in with him as she couldn't bear to live in the loft by herself, which distracted Link from his problems with Amelia. He decided to let Amelia come to him if she wanted to talk. He and Jo ended up working a trauma case with her but she didn't talk to him about the baby. The patient's relationship caused Jo to realize that Alex had left her feeling worthy of love. She told Link not to blow things with Amelia, who at least had given him a choice, which is more than Alex gave her. Link then went to Meredith's house. He told Amelia that he wanted to write her a song but he couldn't come up with one as fast as he needed to come over to tell her that he didn't want to live without her. He was done feeling sad and lonely. He didn't care that the baby might not be his as loving her was all he cared about. She then kissed him and revealed that the baby was, in fact, his.[37]
Amelia informed all involved parties that the baby was Link's. At the same time, the Mariners started courting Link to take his old job back but he turned them down as all the late nights and travel would prevent him from spending time with his family. Link instead recommended Nico, which didn't sit well with Levi. During surgery, Link informed Levi what the job entailed exactly and advised Levi to tell Nico how he felt about it. That night in bed, Amelia told him that they could make it work if he wanted to take back his dream job. He told her he had new things in life that he loved more. She found it scary that dreams had to be put on hold for their kid, so they vowed to always fight for their dreams as much as possible.[38]
With the due date approaching quickly, Link realized that life as he knew it would change forever. Link and Owen operate on a Lisfranc fracture together. Link admitted he was nervous that the stress caused by Amelia looking for a diagnosis for Richard would induce labor. Owen pointed out the baby would be fine regardless since they were so close to term. He also truthfully told Link that parenthood is scary and that the worries that come with it never go away. Link was paged when Amelia supposedly went into labor. He rushed to her room. She told him she, too, had realized that the birth was not the finish line at all. Together, they screamed through another contraction. However, an OB fellow informed them that she was just experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions so she was good to go home.[39]
Link meets his son.
A few days later, Link found out she had a busy schedule and suggested she take it easy. She refused. However, while working on Richard's case with her colleagues, her water broke. She walked to labor & delivery herself and had Link paged. Upon his arrival, she admitted she had ignored the contractions that had started in the morning, figuring they were Braxton-Hicks again. Carina confirmed she was in active labor and went to fetch a fetal monitor. Link then showed a bag he brought with their stuff and sat by her side. As the labor progressed, Bailey came to get Link to operate on Richard, whom they had diagnosed with cobalt poisoning from his hip prosthesis. Carina assured him Amelia still had hours to go, so he agreed to go operate. With the gallery filled up, Link removed the hip and placed a new hip. The surgery went well. Link rushed back to Amelia's room, finding her in a calm state. He briefly thought it had been false alarm again but he then saw Bailey in the room holding his son. She handed him over to Link, who sat down with him on Amelia's bed.[40]
Soon after the birth, Meredith came to meet her nephew while his parents debated his name. They couldn't agree on one so they started saying random names to the baby in hopes of eliciting a reaction from him that would indicate that they found the right name. Since that approach didn't work, Amelia went online and read that sometimes people pick names from their dreams. When Amelia said her last dream had been a sex dream, Link cautiously suggested revisiting the subject when she was less hormonal, causing her to throw him out of her room. Eventually, they settled on Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln.[41]
COVID-19 Pandemic[]
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Seattle in the middle of their parental leave, Amelia and Link stayed at Meredith's house with their son and Meredith's kids, while Meredith and Maggie stayed in hotels after their shifts at the hospital in order not to risk bringing home the disease. Due the chaos of raising hungry and energetic children, Link and Amelia forgot about Link's birthday. Link himself didn't remember until his mother called while Amelia was only reminded by posts on his social media. Link said it was no big deal and got back to putting together the tent that Winston Ndugu sent for Maggie to sleep in in the backyard. Amelia told they kids that Link wanted them to watch a movie for his re-birthday, which she made up for forgetting his real one, and they went upstairs to have sex while the kids were distracted. They were interrupted by their son crying so Amelia got up to comfort him. In the evening, Amelia presented Link with a plate of doughnuts. She apologized since the store had accidentally sent over gluten-free doughnuts, but he appreciated the gesture and assured her he had had a good birthday.[42]
Meanwhile, Meredith had contracted COVID and was admitted to the hospital, causing Link and Amelia to look after her kids. Link was happy to get a break from parenting four kids when he was paged to the hospital for a hand trauma. Upon arrival, he ran into an exhausted Jo, who had taken over running Meredith's service. He scrubbed in to repair a sex therapist's hamate fracture. Over the procedure, they discussed the importance of sex to pass time during quarantine. After surgery, the patient shared his secret: asking for and listening to what your partner wants. Link then returned home and as he undressed in the backyard to be certain not to introduce the virus into the house, a helpless Amelia broke down crying. He asked her what she wanted. She wanted sex but didn't feel safe after he had been at the hospital. They then took off their clothes and pleasured themselves in front of another while keeping their distance.[43]
Link kept his calm demeanor around the house, playing guitar for the kids, while Amelia was stressed out taking over Meredith's role as a parent. Contrary to Amelia, he insisted on looking at everything from the bright side. Amelia snapped that she had had enough of his pep talks and couldn't keep shoving all her negative feelings down, stating there would be no bright side to the consequences of that. He then took the time to listen to her feelings without trying to make things better. After they put the kids down for the night, he told her that when he had cancer and his parents' divorce, he had already been through a period of illness and isolation. He then met a kid at cancer camp who refused to talk about anything cancer-related and that attitude of focusing on the good stuff only turned out to work well for him, so he couldn't be her partner in misery. She understood and asked him about the song he was composing.[44] A few days later, Amelia decided to go into work to help treat Tom, who had contracted COVID. In the process of leaving, she revealed to Link that Tom was not only her teacher but also her first sex partner post-Owen.[45]
When Meredith's condition worsened and had to be put on a ventilator, a sleep-deprived Link and Amelia had Jackson pick up Maggie and Winston so they could tell the kids about their mother's status together. Link set them all up with beers as they settled in the backyard. Scout woke up from his nap crying so Link paced around the backyard with him to calm down. He then vented that taking care of the kids forced him and Amelia to keep moving. He admitted he had started to wonder what would become of his life if Meredith were to die, going even as far as praying every night for her survival. Jackson and Winston understood him and assured him that it was okay for some of his reasons for wanting Meredith to live to be selfish. Link added he would hate for the kids to lose their other parent and then thanked Jackson for picking up Maggie and Winston despite his history with Maggie, thus revealing that relationship to Winston. [46]
Personality[]
Because of his history with childhood cancer, Link does not like to have stress in his life. He prevents stress by avoiding situations that he knows will end in pain and not getting too concerned about things that are out of his control. He is very laid-back, relaxed, and supportive of his friends and loved ones. He is shown to be kind, generous, and emotionally mature.
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Amelia Shepherd[]
While looking for the quickest route to the ER, Link met Maggie, who suggested that Amelia might be good for him. He asked Amelia to have dinner with him, but Amelia was confused and quickly declined the offer to go out with him.[47]
While Betty was in surgery, Amelia broke down sobbing and Link consoled her.[48] Soon after, Amelia attended a medical conference where she ran into Link, who was giving a lecture. They flirted with each other and Amelia even decided to check out his presentation. After hearing that he prescribed opioids to a patient who became addicted and died and would do the same thing again, Amelia got upset and left. Link continued the lecture, but visited Amelia's room afterward and told her his patient needed opioids, but where he went wrong was not telling him and his mother how addictive opioids could be and not carefully monitoring him to make sure he didn't become addicted. He said he wanted to change the system to a relieved Amelia. Amelia made a move on Link and they ended up hooking up in her hotel room. [49] After their return, things were awkward between the two of them, even though they both vowed it was a one-time thing. However, after working together on a difficult case, they hooked up again.[50]
When they went to New York for a case, Amelia's sister, Nancy, invited them over for dinner. At dinner, Amelia lied and said that Link was her husband, Owen. Link went along with it until Amelia's mother, Carolyn, came over and called them out on their lie. When all of Amelia's sisters started criticizing her, Link stood up for Amelia. On the plane back to Seattle, Amelia apologized to Link over donuts.[51]
Link and Amelia continued seeing each other until Link realized Amelia was still hiding him from her sisters. He asked her where she saw their relationship going, as he was all in.[52] After taking some time to think, Amelia told him that she needed some time to discover who she is outside of Owen, but that Link could possibly have a place in her future.[53]
Link and Amelia started dating again soon after she said she wanted to know him better before committing to him seriously.[54] Weeks later, Amelia tells Link she is pregnant, and tells him about Christopher. He replies by saying it's her choice and he'll be there for her in any way he can. She decides to keep the baby.[55]
Several weeks later. Amelia finds out she's further along than she thought, sparking doubt as to the baby's paternity.[56] She tries to tell him the news, but tells him it's a boy instead, to which he replies with the name suggestion "Scout".[57]
Link is then told by Amelia that there's a chance he may not be the father. Amelia said she loves him and wants to be with him, and that the genetics don't matter to her. Initially, Link is okay with this, but after talking with Jo, he tells Amelia that he wants a paternity test.[58].
Link waits in the plant room for Amelia to come with the results. She hovers by the door before leaving. He gets a text from her that she didn't run the test and she needed more time.[59]
Link visited her house to see if she was okay, where he finds out she isn't planning to get the results of the paternity test, because she wants someone who will love her regardless. She then ends things with him.[60] After working on Brad Spencer with Jo, Jo tells him that love doesn't suck like they think it does and that Amelia gave him a choice. He then went to Amelia's house where he professes his love to her, and how she changed him and made him want to be a parent. Amelia then kisses him and says she really needed to hear that. She then tells him she got the results, and the baby is his.[61]
They had a scare when Amelia began feeling contractions, but it turned out to be Braxton-Hicks.[62] Later, her water broke, and she was actually in labor that time. Link came to her side, but he was pulled away into surgery. He arrived back at her room after the birth of the baby and sits down next to Amelia with their baby in his arms.[63]
Meredith Grey[]
Link and DeLuca fight over Meredith.
Jo encouraged Link to pursue Meredith, telling him that she's a tough nut to crack, but she's worth it. He asked Meredith out, but she said she was working with a matchmaker and he wasn't on the list and wasn't the kind of guy who would be on the list. At the end of the day, he ended up putting his phone number in Meredith's phone, so she could use it just in case. Meredith later took over cutting his hair when she went to Alex and Jo's loft and found Jo cutting his hair for him.[64]
Link asked Meredith out for drinks. She initially declined, but after talking to Cece, she accepted.[65]
After the wind storm died down, Link found Meredith to ask about their drink date, but she looked between him and Andrew and said she was going to go home to her kids and she'd see him later, not clarifying which of them she meant.[66]
Meredith and Link worked together on a patient and had trouble getting along because Meredith couldn't understand Link's carefree attitude. They fought some more in the operating room until Link explained why he chose his method of treatment. After their surgery, Link volunteered to help Meredith with her son, Bailey's, 5th birthday party. While setting up for the party at Meredith's house, Link told her more about having cancer as a child, which gave her more insight about him. While the kids were playing, Link sat with Meredith, and they talked and ate cake.[67]
On Valentine's Day, Meredith made a date with Link, which he seemed excited about. However, after Natasha Deon died, she went up to the roof to toast her with Andrew and stood Link up.[68] Meredith later told Jo that she apologized for standing Link up and that he accepted her apology.[69]
Jules Millin[]
Link and Jules hooked up after meeting on a dating app. On Jules' first day at Grey Sloan Memorial, she bumped into Link and recognized him from the night they spent together. Link apologized for not calling like he had said he would, but she assured him that it was okay and explained that she wasn't there for him and that she worked at the hospital. Later that day, Link met Jules outside the intern locker room and explained that he brought her some HR paperwork for her to sign, stating that their relationship predated her employment at Grey Sloan Memorial. Jules got confused and pointed out that they didn't have a relationship.[70]
When Jules got to scrub in on a below the knee amputation, she saw that Link had written messages on the patient's legs to indicate which leg to cut off. She mistook this for flirting and asked him if he was flirting with her over a sick patient's leg. Link quickly explained that he was being a supportive teacher and didn't want her to cut off the wrong leg.[71]
When Jules needed help recording sexual education videos, she found Link in the pit and asked him if he could help her, but he told her it was inappropriate and said that he didn't want anyone to think that he was harassing her.[72]
Bronwyn Murphy[]
He has an ex-girlfriend named Bronwyn who had red hair and a tattoo of the word Texas and another in the shape of Texas lower on her back. Despite this, she wasn't from Texas.[73]
Familial[]
His parents could barely afford treatment for his childhood cancer, and their marriage broke up over it.[74]
Friendships[]
Richard Webber[]
Despite butting heads with Richard over a patient, Link asked him to hang out with him and Andrew at the bar, even proposing alternate activities when he was reminded that Richard doesn't drink.[75]
Jo Wilson[]
When Link and Jo first saw each other at the hospital, they were over the moon to see each other again. Link knew Jo when she was still married to Paul, but Jo cast Link out. Link said that he never liked Paul, and then Jo drifted away from him.[76]
Alex Karev[]
Alex started out distrusting Link because he had known Jo back when she started dating Paul and he didn't protect her from him. Link explained that he tried to tell Jo that he didn't like Paul, but then Paul got jealous and made her stay away from him. Link didn't know about the abuse and thought he was just being respectful in staying away. Alex then started treating him better and they developed a friendship.
They went out for drinks together after Jo committed herself to the psychiatric department to have her depressive episode treated. Alex feared it wouldn't work as it had failed to help other people in his life. Link assured Alex that Jo was strong and that she'd make it through. He then talked about his possible break-up with Amelia.[77]
Professional[]
Nico Kim[]
He worked closely with Nico as part of Nico's training.
Career[]
He's the Head of Orthopedic Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Prior to this, he was the personal surgeon for the Seattle Mariners for three years.[78]
Notes and Trivia[]
- He worked in a bike shop for four years.[79]
- He once waited tables at Jimmy's Crab Shack, where he met Jo.[80]
- He was a cub scout and makes a mean s'more.[81]
- He does not like avocados.[82]
- According to Amelia, he is great in bed.[83]
- His cancer-versary is on Halloween.[84]
- He plays the guitar.[85]
- He is named after Atticus Finch, a character from To Kill a Mockingbird. He named his son after the character's daughter, Scout Finch.[source?]
Gallery[]
|
A more complete gallery with pictures of Atticus Lincoln can be found here. |
Notable Episodes[]
These episodes are Link-centric or otherwise very informative about his life.
- Flowers Grow Out of My Grave
- The Whole Package
- Good Shepherd
- Whistlin' Past the Graveyard
- Life on Mars?
Memorable Quotes[]
Appearances[]
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 15 | |||||
| #01 | "With a Wonder and a Wild Desire" | #10 | "Help, I'm Alive" | #19 | "Silent All These Years" |
| #02 | "Broken Together" | #11 | "The Winner Takes It All" | #20 | "The Whole Package" |
| #03 | "Gut Feeling" | #12 | "Girlfriend in a Coma" | #21 | "Good Shepherd" |
| #04 | "Momma Knows Best" | #13 | "I Walk the Line" | #22 | "Head Over High Heels" |
| #05 | "Everyday Angel" | #14 | "I Want a New Drug" | #23 | "What I Did for Love" |
| #06 | "Flowers Grow Out of My Grave" | #15 | "We Didn't Start the Fire" | #24 | "Drawn to the Blood" |
| #07 | "Anybody Have a Map?" | #16 | "Blood and Water" | #25 | "Jump Into the Fog" |
| #08 | "Blowin' in the Wind" | #17 | "And Dream of Sheep" | ||
| #09 | "Shelter from the Storm" | #18 | "Add It Up" | ||
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 16 | |||||
| #01 | "Nothing Left to Cling To" | #08 | "My Shot" | #15 | "Snowblind" |
| #02 | "Back in the Saddle" | #09 | "Let's All Go to the Bar" | #16 | "Leave a Light On" |
| #03 | "Reunited" | #10 | "Help Me Through the Night" | #17 | "Life on Mars?" |
| #04 | "It's Raining Men" | #11 | "A Hard Pill to Swallow" | #18 | "Give a Little Bit" |
| #05 | "Breathe Again" | #12 | "The Last Supper" | #19 | "Love of My Life" |
| #06 | "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" | #13 | "Save the Last Dance for Me" | #20 | "Sing It Again" |
| #07 | "Papa Don't Preach" | #14 | "A Diagnosis" | #21 | "Put on a Happy Face" |
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 17 | |||||
| #01 | "All Tomorrow's Parties" | #07 | "Helplessly Hoping" | #13 | "Good as Hell" |
| #02 | "The Center Won't Hold" | #08 | "It's All Too Much" | #14 | "Look Up Child" |
| #03 | "My Happy Ending" | #09 | "In My Life" | #15 | "Tradition" |
| #04 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | #10 | "Breathe" | #16 | "I'm Still Standing" |
| #05 | "Fight the Power" | #11 | "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right" | #17 | "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" |
| #06 | "No Time for Despair" | #12 | "Sign O' the Times" | ||
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 18 | |||||
| #01 | "Here Comes the Sun" | #08 | "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" | #15 | "Put It to the Test" |
| #02 | "Some Kind of Tomorrow" | #09 | "No Time to Die" | #16 | "Should I Stay or Should I Go" |
| #03 | "Hotter Than Hell" | #10 | "Living In a House Divided" | #17 | "I'll Cover You" |
| #04 | "With a Little Help From My Friends" | #11 | "Legacy" | #18 | "Stronger Than Hate" |
| #05 | "Bottle Up and Explode!" | #12 | "The Makings of You" | #19 | "Out for Blood" |
| #06 | "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" | #13 | "Put the Squeeze On Me" | #20 | "You Are the Blood" |
| #07 | "Today Was a Fairytale" | #14 | "Road Trippin'" | ||
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 19 | |||||
| #01 | "Everything Has Changed" | #08 | "All Star" | #15 | "Mama Who Bore Me" |
| #02 | "Wasn't Expecting That" | #09 | "Love Don't Cost a Thing" | #16 | "Gunpowder and Lead" |
| #03 | "Let's Talk About Sex" | #10 | "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" | #17 | "Come Fly With Me" |
| #04 | "Haunted" | #11 | "Training Day" | #18 | "Ready to Run" |
| #05 | "When I Get to the Border" | #12 | "Pick Yourself Up" | #19 | "Wedding Bell Blues" |
| #06 | "Thunderstruck" | #13 | "Cowgirls Don't Cry" | #20 | "Happily Ever After?" |
| #07 | "I'll Follow the Sun" | #14 | "Shadow of Your Love" | ||
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 20 | |||||
| #01 | "We've Only Just Begun" | #05 | "Never Felt So Alone" | #09 | "20.09" |
| #02 | "Keep the Family Close" | #06 | "The Marathon Continues" | #10 | "20.10" |
| #03 | "Walk on the Ocean" | #07 | "She Used to Be Mine" | ||
| #04 | "Baby Can I Hold You" | #08 | "20.08" | ||