Grey’s Anatomy Stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver on Creating a ‘Safe Place’ on Set amid On-Screen ‘Trauma’

Grey’s Anatomy stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver are sharing insight into how their on-screen romance has helped them create a strong friendship when the camera stops rolling.

The actors joined fellow cast members onstage at a D23 fan event in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, and reflected on how their characters’ decades-long relationship (which began off-screen when they served overseas in the military) has resulted in a real-life friendship.

McKidd, 51, proved as much when he lent his costar his jacket during the panel, picking up that she was cold from her body language.

“I’ve been kind of shivering,” Raver, 55, told the audience after the sweet gesture as she wore the jacket over her shoulders.

She thought if she kept “shifting” she might feel better and McKidd, who plays her character Teddy Altman’s husband Owen Hunt on Grey’s, noticed.

“We’ve worked so much together that he picked up [my body language],” Raver said, after telling McKidd she was “freezing.”

She credited part of their dynamic to their characters, who have been married before and are raising a blended family, having gone through “intense” moments in their relationship.

“It’s really nice when you have a great solid working foundation, too,” Raver said.

McKidd also offered his perspective on their relationship.

“It feels like a safe place that we created as actors in that relationship,” he said. “Teddy and Owen met in combat and war and a military environment and I think the theme of their relationship has been trauma. And they find in each other a place to heal … and keep each other warm and safe.”

He patted Raver’s shoulder as the D23 crowd let out a chorus of “awws,” reacting to the sweet moment.

As fans will recall, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo, who PEOPLE learned will appear in seven episodes of the show’s upcoming season) resigned from her job at the hospital after Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) discovered her secret Alzheimer’s research at the end of season 20. Teddy, Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen were also caught in the crosshairs of the controversy.

McKidd previously told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview on the red carpet for the premiere of his latest film, It Ends with Us, that Teddy and Owen have “a rocky road” ahead of them as they return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital after the ordeal.

“I can’t say too much about it, but it causes some tension between Teddy and Owen as well,” he added. “Because there’s been some decisions made, but I think they’re going to fight through it. But it’s a little bit rocky for a little moment.”

As for Pompeo, 54, the actress had a scaled-back role in season 19 and season 20 of the drama. However, she remained an executive producer on the series while continuing to provide the opening and closing voiceover for each episode.

In April, ABC announced Grey’s Anatomy was renewed for season 21, extending its record as the longest-running primetime medical drama and the network’s longest-running primetime scripted series.