Author's Note: I really enjoy watching the relationship between Joan and Megan throughout the series, so I decided to add a scene that shows how much the relationship between Megan and her mom has grown. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Megan, Joan, and Lacey are all property of ABC.
As Megan is pacing across the room and back, Joan is sitting on the chair next to the hospital bed playing with her nails and is getting completely irritated with her daughter.
Joan finally decides that she has had enough and she throws her hands down on her lap. "Megan," Joan says and when Megan doesn't respond, she stands up and says, "Megan. Enough. You're driving me nuts, and you're driving yourself nuts."
Megan turns around and leans her back against the wall, looking exhausted. She keeps hoping this is a nightmare and that she will wake up soon. She doesn't focus on her mom as she is talking to her, she just thinks about how she has failed her daughter once again.
"Honey, you need to get some rest," Joan says.
Megan looks down at her daughter and doesn't know what to do. She can't believe that she let Lacey down like this. She can't leave her alone now, that would make her an even worse mother. Megan reluctantly starts to leave but then turns around and gives Lacey a kiss on the forehead and whispers "I love you, Lacey." Megan walks out the door and Joan follows close behind.
Megan and Joan walk silently out to their cars and Joan watches Megan leave. Megan starts to drive to her office, but when she notices that her mom is following her, she groans and heads to her apartment.
They arrive at Megan's apartment about ten minutes apart, Joan giving Megan some time to relax. Megan is already in her bedroom when she hears her mom softly knock on her door. She opens the door and her mom is standing a few steps in front of her.
Joan doesn't wait for Megan to let her in. If she waits, she knows she is going to get some ridiculous answer from Megan telling her to go away, that she can't do this right now. Joan steps through the doorway and decides to make her way to her daughter's bedroom.
As Joan makes her way to Megan's bedroom, Megan says sarcastically to the open front door, "Come on in, Mom. You are the exact person that I want to talk to right now." Megan closes the door, turns off the light in her family room, and walks into her bedroom. Her mother is sitting on her bed, waiting for her to say something mean because that is the way her daughter acts toward her. She is surprised that Megan hasn't said anything yet. Her daughter doesn't look as hardened and controlled as she usually does, she looks tired and like she is about to cry.
"What do you want Mom? I am really not in the mood for fighting with you right now. Can't you just leave me alone in my misery?" Megan says with not enough anger in it as she would like.
"Megan, why do you think I am always going to fight with you? I do love you. You know that, right? I might not be the perfect mother that shows their love, but I do love you. Why can't you ever understand that? You are as obstinate as your father was."
"Definitely not the perfect mother," Megan mumbles under her breath, but then says in her normal, but weakened voice, "Mom, I really don't want to do this with you right now. I am not in the mood. I just, I can't. Please don't make me do this with you."
"I am not making you do anything. You're the one that started this conversation. I am trying to make up for what I didn't give you the past thirty years, I am trying. Please, just let me take care of you. That is all I want. Just let me do that."
Joan looks so lost in her words that it makes Megan finally break. She walks over to her bed and falls onto it while tears are making their way down her cheeks. Her mom puts her arms around her daughter and hugs her. Megan pulls her mom's arm closer around her and grips her arm tight.
"How did this happen? I let her down, Mom. I let her down again. I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most. I can't believe it," Megan said in a shaky voice.
"Megan, there is no possible way that you could have known that this was going to happen. Don't blame yourself for this, Lacey doesn't blame you. This isn't your fault and everything is going to okay. Try to always remember that everything is going to be okay even if it doesn't feel like it." Joan feels her daughter nod "yes" against her chest.
Joan unexpectedly kisses Megan's forehead and says, "Get some rest, Honey, you need it. I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise I am never going to leave you again." She hears Megan's breathing slow down and she knows her daughter has fallen asleep.
Joan tries to sit up to adjust herself and take her shoes off in a mannerly way, but as she starts to sit up she feels her daughter's arms subconsciously tighten around her middle. Megan has always liked that her mom isn't skinny like she is; it makes her mom feel warm and comfy to lie against. Joan smiles sadly and gently lies back down. She whispers, "I'm sorry Megan for hurting you so much," and a tear slowly makes its way down her face. She ends up kicking her shoes off and they land with a soft thud on the floor next to the bed. She slowly reaches down for the blanket toward the end of the bed and drapes it over both of them. She then tightens her hold around her daughter and falls asleep along with Megan.
The next morning, Megan rushes out of her bedroom and finds her mom cooking up some eggs.
"Mom, I'm leaving to go see Lacey. Bye," Megan calls out to Joan.
As Megan places her hand on the doorknob and is about to turn it, Joan catches her wrist and says, "Megan, you need to eat something. I'm sure Lacey won't mind if you're fifteen minutes later. She is probably still sleeping anyway."
"No, Mom, I need to go. I need to be there when she wakes up."
"Megan, please. I'm trying so hard to be the mother that I haven't been for the past thirty years, can't you at least acknowledge that? Or am I just too late and you hate me that much?"
Megan looks down from her mother's saddened eyes, shocked that she would say something like that. She takes a shuddering breath and says, "I am acknowledging it, Mom, but some things take more than a couple weeks to fix. Especially a relationship that is as broken as ours."
"I just wish that it hadn't gotten to that point. I'm really sorry, Megan, for everything I didn't give you as my daughter. I should have done more to try and save our relationship."
"I could've done more too, Mom. It's not all your fault." Joan nods her head and then there is a moment of silence.
"I miss you, Megan. I just want you back," Joan says as her voice cracks.
"I miss you, too. You're crying."
Joan wipes the tear off of her cheek and says, "Losing a daughter does that to you."
Even though Megan doesn't voice it, she realizes the other meaning in her mom's words, that this isn't the first time she's cried about losing her relationship with Megan. Megan has never thought of her mom as being emotional, she always thought of her as a heartless person.
Joan hesitantly wraps her arms around her daughter and breathes a sigh of relief when Megan returns the hug. They release each other after a moment and Megan says, "We haven't hugged in so long, it feels nice."
"Yes, it does. I've miss that."
"Me too.'
"Well, I guess we should go eat," Joan says with a watery chuckle.
Reviews are loved! So, please review. Also, I need ideas for other stories.