A surgeon's education never ends. Every patient, every symptom, every operation...is a test, a chance for us to demonstrate how much we know...and how much more we have to learn.
"How do you treat pancreatic divism?" Elijah asks, his question was answered with a slight thumping sound. He looked up from the flashcards and over at Dakota as she continued to bang her head on the table.
"Ace. I told you to stop that"
Dakota looks up at him "if I gave myself a concussion, do you think they'll still make me take the test?"
Elijah shook his head, ignoring her question "How do you treat pancreatic divism?"
Dakota groaned and dropped her head but instead of hitting the table, it landed in Elijah's hand
"You know the answer, Kota"
The girl sighed and rested her chin in his palm "Dorsal duct sphincterotomy."
Elijah didn't move as he held her gaze.
"Eli?"
Her voice snapped him from his thoughts and he nodded "Yeah...that's correct. See, you knew the answer"
Dakota smiled at him and lifted her head from his hand "Alright, hit me with the next one"
***
Dakota paced back forth next to the nurses station, with a stack of flash cards in one hand as she fidgeted with the other.
From a small distance, Derek, Elijah, and Mark all stood watching the girl.
"Test Kota scares me. She gets all twitchy" Mark grimaced
Elijah nodded "She tried giving herself a concussion last night so she wouldn't have to take the test"
Derek looked over at Elijah "You've been helping her study?"
"The others were doing group sessions and she doesn't like being around Stevens unless absolutely necessary"
Mark let out a snort "Probably for the best. She might kill her."
Derek hummed "At least she'd get out of the test"
Elijah looked over at them "Don't tell her that, because she will do it"
"I can hear you"
They all looked over to see Dakota staring at them with a raised eyebrow "You're world class surgeons. Don't you have anything better to do?"
***
Dakota was sat on an unused bed in a hallway, mindlessly flipping through her flashcards as Bailey approached her.
"You are needed down in the ER" Bailey told her
Dakota gave the woman a confused glance "You said we aren't allowed to work today because of the test"
"I know what I said, but right now that doesn't apply to you. Come with me"
Dakota put her flashcards in the pocket of her coat and followed after her resident.
They entered the ER only to be met with Burke, Elijah, Mark, Derek, Addison, and Callie.
"I thought interns were out today?" Burke questioned, noticing Dakotas presence next to Bailey
"She doesn't count" The residents and attendings told him all at once.
"Why were we all paged?" Derek asked
"Oh, because search and rescue found those lost climbers who were up on Mount Rainier." Bailey said as Richard walked in.
"People the climbers are on their way" The chief announced
"Any specifics?" Elijah asked him
"They found only three so far. One's still missing. They're reporting severe dehydration with traumatic head and chest injuries. Madden, Little Shepherd, and Bailey, you'll be my trauma team." Richard instructed
"Bad day not to have interns" Bailey said
"You'll all have to do your own heavy lifting today. And if you see an intern - aside from Shepherd - which you will, because they can't help themselves, turn them away until after the exam. The ambulances are five minutes away."
Everyone scattered to prepare for their designated jobs and Elijah looked down at Dakota.
"Time to do what we do best, Ace"
***
Dakota was only allowed to help in the ER for a short period of time before Bailey - and Elijah - made her leave to prepare for her test.
She changed out of her scrubs and ran through some notes before meeting up with the other interns.
"Where the hell have you been?" Alex asked her
Dakota shrugged as she pulled her hair up "ER"
Izzie scoffed "of course you were"
"You wanna say that a little louder, blondie?" Dakota sneered
Alex pushed her away from Izzie and into the testing room.
"Please take your seats, doctors, and put all study materials away." The proctor instructed them.
"Okay, if you don't know the answer, choose "B." It's always "B."" Cristina told them as she took her seat
"I thought it's was C" Dakota said
"And write your name in the upper right-hand corner of your answer sheets. You may open your test booklets...now."
Dakota takes a deep breath before picking up her pencil and starting the test...no pressure.
***
"What the hell am I supposed to do about the stupid vows?" Cristina huffed as she sat at her bachelorette party in Meredith's house with Dakota, Izzie, Callie, and Meredith.
"You still haven't written any?" Dakota asked her
"Well, it's stupid crap"
Izzie shook her head "No it isn't"
"Well, what am I supposed to say? I swear to love and cherish you every moment of every day of my life? I mean, that's not real. I mean, that's not how it works, right?" Cristina argues
Dakota shrugs "I couldn't tell you"
"It does at first but then..." Callie trails off
"It passes" Meredith finishes
Izzie huffs "No, it doesn't. You guys are just used to it. That's all. You already have it. You have that thing everybody else wants. You can take it for granted. But let me tell you, if you didn't, if you couldn't be with the person that you love, I guarantee that hearing him promise to love you and honor you and cherish you, no matter what, it would be pretty much all you could think about."
Dakota eyes Izzie skeptically before glancing at Callie who shared the same look as her.
"Wait, can you say that again, uh, just slowly?" Cristina asks
"You're talking about Denny...right?" Dakota asks the blonde
Izzie nods "y-yeah...of course"
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...
