Author's Note: I know I may have fudged things on the timeline of Rhoda's marriage vs. Mary's, but I think it could still work. I'm glad to have this story done, even if it's only a one-shot! :)

"You never let me do anything!" The door slamming made Rhoda jump. So this was it, being the parent of a teenager. She sighed. How had her life ended up here?

It had all started innocently. One day, she met a man named Jean-Pierre. She'd loved the fact that he was French. His accent made her weak. Almost before she knew what was happening, they were getting serious. Rhoda bit the bullet and took him to meet her parents. That went about as well as could be expected. Her mother objected, of course, but, thankfully, her father intervened. Before long, they were engaged. A huge wedding was planned, to make up for the one she didn't really get the first time. Once again, her parents objected to the idea that the newlyweds were moving to Paris, but Rhoda put her foot down. She would follow her husband anywhere, and a chance to start over in a new country didn't sound that bad. It was actually a blessing in a sense, as she and Mary had a terrible argument at her wedding reception. They didn't speak after that.

It wasn't much later that Rhoda found herself pregnant. She wanted so badly to share her joy with Mary, but then she heard from Georgette that Mary had married a US Senator. No doubt they would have a fairytale life, complete with two perfect children, and everything that Mary could dream of. Rhoda couldn't bring herself to attempt to contact her former best friend. So, when Meredith was eventually born, only her family was notified. Ida did not take well to the idea that her only grandchild was an ocean away. An agreement was reached whereby Meredith would spend part of her summer vacation in New York with her grandparents.

Everything should have been perfect in Rhoda's life. After years of not really finding her niche in life, she eventually fell in love with photography. It satisfied her in ways windowdressing never had. And Meredith was a great kid: very smart from a young age, dreaming of a career as a doctor almost from the time she could talk. Rhoda joked about it, wondering where on earth her daughter got this drive from.

But things were not so wonderful in her marriage. Jean-Pierre was an actor, which meant he was often gone for long periods of time. When this coincided with Meredith's visits to New York, it left Rhoda very lonely. But now that her daughter was in high school, she no longer visited her grandparents as regularly. Things had stabilized a bit in Rhoda's life, until the rocky teen years started.

Rhoda pushed the memories aside. She knew she had to deal with this. Taking a deep breath, she marched to her daughter's room, opening the door without even a knock. "We do not slam doors in this house, young lady!"

"Another thing I'm not allowed to do!" Meredith shot back. "Why don't you just lock me in here?"

"That's not fair," Rhoda replied. "You go out all the time. All I'm saying is, you can't go to a nightclub at your age!"

"Why not?" Meredith asked. "You moved out when you weren't that much older than me, and then you moved halfway across the country!" When her mother reacted with surprise, Meredith laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, Grandma Ida told me all about what you've done!"

"Yes, I moved to Minneapolis," Rhoda said. "I felt like I needed to get out of New York. It's a good thing I did, because that's where I met Mary. I don't know what would've happened if I hadn't." She ignored the pang of regret she felt mentioning her friend's name. "You might not be here," she said, after regaining her composure. "But this isn't about me. This is about you."

"Why can't you just stay out of my life?!" Meredith said angrily.

Her daughter's outburst stung. But it also caused Rhoda to have a flashback to her own adolescence. She recalled saying the same thing to her own mother once upon a time. When Meredith was born, Rhoda had sworn to herself that she would never be that mother, the kind who drove her child as far away as possible. "You're my kid, I can't stay out of your life," Rhoda finally said, hoping her daughter wouldn't see how much her words had hurt.

"Yeah, but do you have to control everything I do?" Meredith asked. "I'm practically an adult!"

"I know you are. But I can't let you do things that might not be safe."

"But -" Meredith began. Rhoda cut her off, giving her daughter a look that clearly said she wasn't going to change her mind. A sigh escaped from Meredith, seeing she wasn't going to win.

For once, Rhoda was glad for the fact that she was used to standing her ground. She knew it was normal for her daughter to try to push the limits, but that didn't mean it was always easy to deal with as a parent. But she remembered that she knew how it felt to be on the other side of this kind of argument. "I know it seems like I'm trying to ruin your life, but I'm not. I promise. I love you."

Meredith's expression softened. "I know. But sometimes, I wish you loved me… a little less, you know?"

Rhoda laughed. "Yeah, I know. It's not like I haven't been where you are, you know. Because I have. More than I'd care to admit, actually."

"Really?" Meredith asked. In all her conversations with her grandparents and aunt, that hadn't really been brought up.

"Yes," Rhoda said. "Why do you think I left New York?"

"Oh," Meredith said, as if finally understanding something for the first time.

"It's a very long story that I'll tell you one of these days."

"I think I'd like that." When Meredith came over, wrapping her mother in a hug, Rhoda sighed. It wasn't always easy raising a teenager, especially one who was so much like herself. But moments like this made it all worthwhile.

The End