Dakota Shepherd always had a hard time bonding with people. Growing up the only person who she ever seemed to click with was Derek - until Addison came into the picture - , and much to his annoyance, she cling to that. Until Addison
The girl struggled with both understanding other people's emotions and expressing her own. When she came to Seattle Grace, she never expected to become apart of a small dysfunctional little family.
While she still struggles, Alex makes it easier for her to express her emotions rather than keeping them bottled up. Meredith and Cristina helped her realize that she's not alone with how she's felt her whole life. George helped her to understand how to comfort others better, and Bailey has helped her learn how to fight.
The one she struggles with the most was Elijah. Technically speaking, they are actually quite close. Dakota feels a sense of comfort with him and she feels like she able to open up around him.
The problem is that she has a hard time reading his emotions. The past week he hasn't been necessarily avoiding her, he still gave her a cup of coffee every morning and they drove to work together. But something was off.
It was like he wanted to be mad at her and stay away from her but he couldn't.
Every car ride was filled silence. Not their usual comfortable silence but instead it was heavy with a thick tension. It made Dakota uncomfortable. She felt like she had done something wrong but she couldn't figure out what and she was too afraid to ask.
On this day however, Dakota planned to take the ferry. It was her birthday and she wanted to do something semi special. That plan didn't work in her favor as the sound of knocking echoed through her apartment.
Dakota furrowed her brows as she swung open the door and came face to face with Alex, who stood there with a big grin on his face and flowers in his hand.
"Who told you?" The brunette sighed, letting Alex in.
"Addison" Alex answered simply as he walked into Dakotas kitchen and put the flowers in water for her "Happy Birthday, Kota"
"Thanks." She gave him a small smile "I was gonna take the ferry, you wanna join?"
Alex shook his head "Not happening, ferries freak me out. I'll happily give you a ride though"
Dakota huffed, but agreed nonetheless "hey, Alex-"
"I won't tell anyone it's your birthday. Now, come on"
***
The second Alex and Dakota entered the front doors of Seattle Grace, their pages began beeping. 911.
The two glanced at each other her before taking off to change into their scrubs.
They burst into the ER and their eyes landed on Bailey and their fellow interns.
"We just received word of a mass causality incident nearby. All available level 1 trauma centers have been asked to respond. I need to send a team into the field immediately." Richard announced
Next thing Dakota knew, she was sitting in the back of an ambulance with Derek and Elijah.
"Do we know what happened yet?" Dakota questioned
Elijah shook his head "No. Just that it's a big trauma"
The ambulance came to a halt and the door swung open. The three doctors froze for a second when they saw what had happened.
A ferry boat - the ferry Dakota was planning on taking that morning - had crashed, there were first responders everywhere. Search and rescue rushing around hurriedly. Bodies everywhere. Fires spreading.
"Very big trauma" Dakota muttered, frozen in her spot.
"Kota, you know the protocol"
The girl nodded as she shook herself out of her thoughts and moved toward the carnage.
***
Adrenaline coursed through Dakotas veins as she went back and forth, from person to person. She was about to step onto an ambulance when her eyes drifted to the water and she saw something floating.
"Kota let's go" Elijah said from the back of the ambulance
Dakota looked over at him "Go without me, I'm gonna stay."
"Da-" Elijah's words were cut off as Dakota jumped from the Ambulance and shut the doors, beckoning for the driver to go.
The second the ambulance started, Dakota was running towards the dock nearby. She squinted slightly out at the water to get a better look at what had been floating but it was gone.
She suddenly felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down to see a little girl staring up at her.
"Hey sweetie, are you-" Dakota paused when she took notice of the girls jacket. She looked at the name tag and her eyebrows furrowed "Where's the doctor that gave this jacket?"
The little girl didn't say anything and instead she pointed out to the water. Dakotas eyes widened, the thing she had seen floating was Meredith. Without a moment of hesitation, Dakota ripped her jacket off and dove into the water.
She urged her body to move faster against the gentle currents, ignoring the stinging sensation that rippled through her body because of the cold water.
Meredith began drifting further down, before she felt a hand grab her and start pulling her up.
Dakota pulled Meredith up to the surface and over to the dock, using every ounce of strength to pull her friend onto the wooden surface as she called out for help.
***
Paramedics burst through the ambulance door pushing a gurney.
"What do we got?" Bailey asks
"Jane Doe, Hypothermic, drowning" the paramedic responds before another -frantic- voice cuts in.
"She's not Jane Doe. It's Meredith Grey. It's Meredith"
Bailey and Elijah look over to see Dakota, soaking wet, with purple lips and wide eyes looking at them
"It's Mer" She whispers
YOU ARE READING
Farewell, Neverland - Grey's Anatomy
FanfictionLife had hit Dakota Shepherd with a lot of curveballs, but the one that that stayed consistent was her desire to help people. Her desire to save lives. Now, starting her internship at Seattle Grace hospital, life has upgraded from throwing curveball...
