A/N: Meredith is 18, Olivia 29.

"Meredith," Olivia said. "You have a last name?"

"It doesn't matter, nothing happened..."

"What happened to your hand?"

Meredith looked at it and winced, "oh." She carefully stepped into her jeans and pulled them on.

"Sean has a pretty nice bruise... he could have you charged for assault. Unless it was self defence. Was it?"

Olivia sensed the girl wasn't from around here, she looked like she would bolt any second. So she parked herself against the doorway and crossed her arms. There was no escape. "You can talk to to me."

"Look, nothing happened okay? I did the same stupid crap I always do. I got drunk, really drunk... I made out with some guys at the party... then I didn't feel too well so I came here to lay down." She slumped on the bed and cradled her hand. "He got the wrong idea and followed me. I was kinda out of it until he pulled my pants off. I freaked out and yelled at him. Guess I hit him too." She sighed and pushed her long dirty blonde hair out of her eyes. "Can I go? I have to go."

Olivia considered what she heard. It seemed plausible, and Meredith didn't appear overly traumatized, although Olivia was sure she was still quite intoxicated. "Let me talk to my partner. Stay here." She stepped out of the room and into the hallway. Hearing Mikey's voice in the other room she hovered at the doorway.

"So she hit you?" Mikey was saying.

"Yeah, ow!" Sean grimaced as he touched his bruised cheek. "But I don't blame her, I wasn't really thinking... I thought she wanted it."

"Well she didn't." Olivia interrupted.

"Look, she said no, and I stopped okay?"

"Mmm hmm." She glowered at him. "After she punched you."

"Whatever. Are you gonna arrest me or what?"

Olivia gestured for Mikey to meet her in the hall. "Okay, let's compare notes."

Her partner shrugged. "He saw her go upstairs, thought she wanted some action. Then she yelled and punched him. That's when we showed up."

Olivia sighed. "That's pretty much what she said too. Alright, give him as many fines as you can think of, and I'll see if Meredith wants to press charges."

"Sure thing."

"Meredith?" Olivia stepped into the room, but the girl was gone. "Damn." She walked to the window and looked out, not seeing anything. Something in the room caught her eye though, a small red jacket. She picked it up and felt a weight in the pocket. A wallet. Flipping it open she found Meredith's student ID and some cash. "Mikey, Let's go... we got a runner."

They rushed down the stairs and out the door to the car, Olivia scanning down the road. "She couldn't have gotten far."

Mikey sighed and slammed the door to the car as he got in.

"What?" asked Olivia.

"Nothing..."

Her sharp glare caused him to fidget, and Mikey sighed... "It's just-why don't we let her go? It's a busy night."

"She's drunk and vulnerable Mikey, we need to make sure she's okay. Besides, she's not a local. She's from Boston."

"Oh."

They drove in silence for a minute or two, heading in the direction of the nearest train station. The neighborhood was too far from main roads to hail a taxi, so if Meredith wanted to get anywhere, she'd have to head for the train. Olivia's trained eyes spotted her half a block ahead, her small frame zig-zagging and stumbling along the sidewalk. The patrol pulled up to the sidewalk and drove slowly beside her. Mikey rolled down the window. "Hey, going somewhere?" he asked.

Startled, Meredith stopped.

"You left your jacket." Olivia parked and got out, walking around the front of the car. "C'mon, you're in no condition to be out here alone. We'll give you a ride. Are you staying with anyone here?"

Meredith swayed, bent slightly and held her hand to her stomach. Her body heaved and she puked all over the sidewalk, including the door of their car.

Mikey chuckled, "Looks like she got your shoes."

"Shut up," she said. "Give me her jacket."

He handed it to her through the window and Olivia threw it over the younger woman's shoulders. She helped her into the backseat, surprised that the previously fiesty woman offered no resistance.

"Where are we taking you? Is there someone we can call?"

"No."

"No?"

"Just... the bus station."

"It's three a.m. We're not dropping you off at the bus station."

"Drunk tank it is," Mikey piped up.

"You wanna spend the morning filling out D-Twelves Mikey?"

"Uh, no."

"Then give the girl a break." She turned to Meredith. "Let's get you sobered up a little."

xxx

The Diner was small but cozy. It was the usual cop hangout during a night like this. Olivia nudged Meredith into a booth and sat across from her. Luckily her annoying partner had sidled up to another pair of police officers as they swapped stories. The waitress arrived and Olivia ordered two waters, two coffees, and a large plate of fries. While they waited, she took her time to size up the girl. Meredith was tiny. More so in the protective pose she held herself in. But her steely gaze and previous attitude proved Meredith was stronger than she looked. Maybe this would be one of those moments where Olivia could help her.

The coffee and water arrived, the waitress mumbled fries were on the way. Meredith gulped down half the glass of water and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"How's the hand?" Olivia asked.

"Fine."

"What are you doing in New York? You're from Boston aren't you?"

Meredith didn't answer. Instead she grabbed about five packets of sugar and tore them open. The finely granulated sugar was poured into her tiny cup of coffee as she stirred.

"Look, I get it," Olivia started, this was her time to connect with the teenager. "You don't talk when bad things happen, I know. But this is the time, you know. You're eighteen, you're growing up. It's time to learn from your mistakes."

"That wasn't a mistake." Meredith mumbled.

"What?" Olivia asked, confused.

Meredith's light grey eyes looked at her with stunning sobriety. "I wanted to get drunk. I wanted to make out... I wanted to forget. The party? Not a mistake." She shook her head. "No. The mistake was thinking that my mother would be proud of me on my graduation. The mistake was thinking that she'd want to be there to see me get my diploma and throw my hat in the air or whatever. That was my mistake.

"Oh," she laughed, "And then I stupidly think she wants to see me when she calls from her hotel in New York and tells me that she was nominated for another Harper Avery award. So I show up, you know... at the gala. I even wear a freaking dress and make-up and crap, and borrow high heels from my suckup next door neighbor who worships me for some dumb reason..." She trailed off, her fingers tapping on the mug. She hadn't even taken a sip. At some point during her monologue, the waitress supplied fries to the table. Meredith picked one up and took a bite. "My mother didn't even look at me. She waved me away after she told me I was an embarrasment to even be there." She finished the fry and picked up another. "At least the guys at the party wanted me..."

Olivia opened and closed her mouth, not sure what to say. Discussing mothers wasn't entirely her strong suit. Her mother was an abusive alcoholic who resented her very birth. Because to her mother, Olivia was a reminder of the horrible, evil, disgusting thing that happened to her some twenty-nine years ago. She remembered the way her mother looked at her sometimes. Especially when she was drunk. Like she wanted to snuff out her daughter's existance. I wish you'd never been born, her mother told her constantly. You're lucky I kept you. You should be grateful you're alive.

Finally she sighed. "Some mothers don't know how to love... but that doesn't mean you have to punish yourself for it. I can tell you're a bright girl, you have a whole life ahead of you, don't waste it on immature boys and alcohol. Trust me, it isn't worth it."

"Maybe in my head I know that, but I'm too messed up to care." Meredith took a long drink of her coffee.

"I understand, Meredith, I know what it's like to have a mother that doesn't love you the way you deserve. But you can build your own life, be your own person, love yourself..."

"That why you became a cop?"

"I needed something bigger than me and my problems." She gave a half truth, she wanted to be a cop for reasons much deeper than that. "Something I could be proud of for myself."

"I'm thinking about being a doctor."

"See?" Olivia said proudly. That's what Meredith needed, to strive for something that she could make her own path in.

"My mother's a doctor. World class surgeon. Legendary Dr. Grey."

Olivia's hope for Meredith crumbled. "You're completely missing my point..." Olivia argued. She wanted her to do this for her own sake, not her mother's.

"No, I get your point... it's just- she's all I have, okay? She's all I've got. Me and her. I would do anything for her to just be proud of me for just a minute. That's just me."

"What are you going to do when it's not enough?"

Meredith looked down and picked at the hem of her sleeve, "It's got to be enough."

Sympathy for the girl ebbed from her, and Olivia decided not to push it anymore. They finished their drinks and fries in silence until Olivia's cellphone rang. She picked it up, "Officer Benson," she answered crisply. She listened for a couple minutes to the person on the other end of the line. "I'm on my way." She stood up abruptly and threw a few bills on the table. Across from her Mikey sat alone, chewing a club sandwhich. "C'mon," she motioned to her partner while helping Meredith up. "We have to go, it's my mother."

xxx

A/N: Would love to hear what you think... crossover fics don't get a lot of attention... kindly review!