Dani's POV

The first two weeks in Seattle went by somewhat smoothly, except for the time Alex and Arizona found me having a panic attack in the supply closet.

- FLASHBACK -

I was overwhelmed with school work and the pressure of being in a new city. I found myself hiding in the supply closet, trying to calm down. That's when Alex and Arizona found me.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" Alex asked, opening the door.

I jumped, startled by their sudden appearance.

"I.. I just needed a break." I stuttered, trying to hide my tears.

"Are you okay?" Arizona asked, concerned.

"I'm fine." I lied, wiping my tears away.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Alex said, taking my hand.

They led me out of the closet and into an empty on-call room where we sat down.

"Want to talk about it?" Arizona asked gently.

"I don't know. It's just.. everything is so overwhelming." I admitted.

"It's okay to feel overwhelmed. Moving to a new city can be tough." Alex said.

"I just don't know if I can handle it all." I sighed.

"You don't have to handle it all by yourself." Arizona said, putting her arm around me.

"Thanks.." I smiled a small smile.

- FLASHBACK OVER -

I was given the option to choose between homeschool and public school, and I chose to be homeschooled. Now, I spend a lot of time at the hospital, even though I don't see myself wanting to be a doctor.

"Dani, come get breakfast!" Meredith shouted from downstairs.

"Okay!" I shouted back, making my way downstairs to the kitchen.

As I sat down for breakfast, Izzie exclaimed, "I made french toast!"

"Thank you." I gave Izzie a small smile before digging in.


Dad, Meredith, and I entered the hospital once we arrived. We all went our separate ways, I decided to do school in the cafeteria while Dad and Meredith went to work.

"Hey, Dani." Alex greeted, sitting next to me.

"Hey." I replied, putting down my school books.

"Want to be my mini intern for the day?" Alex asked me.

"I don't know. I'm not really into being a doctor." I shrugged.

"Well, wanna tag along anyways? Arizona is home sick so I could use the company." Alex told me.

"Sure, I guess." I shrugged.

"Awesome." Alex said, getting up. "Let's go."


Later on, Alex and I were eating lunch with Izzie and George. Meredith and Cristina weren't joining us since they were still busy with their patients.

"It's nice to have you join us, Dr. Shepherd." I heard Richard Webber say from across the room.

"Actually, it's Dr. Montgomery now." I heard a familiar voice.

I looked over to see who Richard was talking to and saw it was Mom. What the hell was she doing here?

"I.. I got to go." I stuttered, quickly getting up from the table. I tried to make my way out of the cafeteria before Mom saw me, but I wasn't fast enough.

"Danielle!" Mom exclaimed, quickly coming towards me. She proceeded to grab my wrist.

"L-Let go.." I whispered.

"Danielle-" Mom tried talking again, holding my wrist tighter.

"I said let go!" I screamed, managing to yank my arm out of Mom's grip and running off.

"Dani!" Alex and Izzie shouted my name, their voices following me.

I ran into an empty on-call room, sitting on one of the beds with my back against the wall. I held my knees close to my chest as my breathing began to become ragged.

"Dani.." Alex spoke quietly, sitting next to me on the bed.

"I can't.. I can't breathe." I muttered, trying to control my breathing.

Alex tried to calm me down from my panic attack, but it wasn't working.

"Go get Derek." Alex told Izzie.

"Derek's in surgery." Izzie replied.

"Okay.. uh.. go get Meredith." Alex said.

"Okay." Izzie said before running out of the on-call room.

Not too long after, both Meredith and Izzie came running into the room.

"What the hell happened?!" Meredith asked, panting. She sat down where Alex was previously sitting.

"I don't know. Someone grabbed her wrist and wouldn't let go." Izzie explained.

"S-She's here.." I whimpered.

"Who's here?" Meredith questioned, sounding worried.

"M-My Mom is here!" I let out a choked sob, my breathing getting worse again.

Meredith put an arm around me protectively and gave Alex and Izzie a look to let us be alone in the room. Alex and Izzie nodded before leaving.

"Take slow, deep breaths, I can help you." Meredith instructed in a calming tone.

"I.. I c-can't." I cried out, feeling overwhelmed.

"Breathe in and out.. slowly." Meredith said, her voice soothing.

I tried to follow Meredith's instructions, but my breathing was uncontrollable. I felt like I was suffocating, my chest tightening with each breath.

"Okay, let's try something else." Meredith said, rubbing my back gently. "Tell me where you are right now."

"I'm in the hospital, in an on-call room." I managed to say between gasps.

"Good. Now, what can you see in the room?" Meredith asked.

I looked around the room, trying to focus on the details of the room. "There's a bed and a small table." I replied, my breathing starting to slow down a bit.

"Excellent. What can you hear?" Meredith continued.

"I can hear the sound of machines, beeping. And your voice." I answered, feeling a bit more in control.

"Great job. Keep focusing on your senses." Meredith encouraged me.

I continued to focus on my surroundings, trying to regulate my breathing. Eventually, my breathing slowed down to a normal pace, and I felt like I had control again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I cried, feeling ashamed.

"You don't have to apologize for anything." Meredith said, her voice gentle.

Meredith let me rest my head on her shoulder, and I closed my eyes. I held onto her hand that wasn't wrapped around me.

"You're okay." Meredith whispered. "It's going to be okay."

I felt myself drifting off to sleep, the sound of Meredith's voice lulling me into a peaceful slumber.