Author's Note: I know I'm probably fudging things a bit w/ the timeline of when Mary & Rhoda stopped speaking vs. Mary's pregnancy, but it's not like we're told exact details. I think it could probably work. :)

Mary's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the calendar on her desk. How was it possible that Rose's first birthday was in almost two weeks? Ever since she'd had the baby, nothing in Mary's life had been the same. She'd left the newsroom, but she remained in TV, having switched to a news/entertainment show that allowed her a bit more flexibility. Sure, she missed the adrenaline of chasing a big story, but being a new mom more than made up for it.

Ever since she and Steven were married, Mary had wanted a family. All of her friends gushed about what a great mother she'd be. So far, she wasn't sure that was the case. Diapers and 2am feedings seemed like more than she could handle right now. To make matters worse, she and Rhoda had stopped speaking shortly after Rose was born. Who knew one comment about her friend's husband could cost Mary the best friend she'd ever had?

There's no use reliving that, Mary thought to herself. She'd been over it countless times before. She'd even picked up the phone a few times to call her, but she never knew what to say. She forced those thoughts aside. After all, none of this was Rose's fault, and she still deserved an amazing birthday party.

Mary decided she couldn't spend the entire day worrying about a birthday party or being stuck in the past. There was still a show to get on the air, after all. She somehow managed to put her other thoughts aside, telling herself she would deal with it when she got home. Luckily, there seemed to always be a crisis in the office, and she found it wasn't as hard as she'd expected to focus on what she needed to do.

But when she returned to the house she and Steven shared, everything came back in full force. As soon as she saw the calendar hanging in the kitchen, she remembered the birthday party she hadn't even started to plan.

Steven sat at the table, reading the paper, when he noticed the worried expression on his wife's face. "What's wrong?" He took her in his arms, hoping that would calm her.

"Rose's birthday is in two weeks. Her first." Mary tried to hide the panic in her voice, but didn't really succeed.

"Oh, is that all?" Steven gently kissed her forehead. "You'll throw her an amazing party. We'll take lots of pictures, so we can embarrass Rose when she's a teenager. It's our obligation as her parents." He laughed, hoping the joke would make Mary feel better.

Mary wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. "You don't understand. My parties usually don't go so well. Rhoda used to say they were disasters." The mention of her former neighbor hurt even worse than the worries over the party.

Steven gently touched her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sure you're worrying over nothing. I know how hard you worked in the newsroom. You always give your all in anything you do, and this won't be an exception. You love Rose more than I thought possible, so I know this party will be wonderful."

Mary smiled weakly at his words. She knew he was trying to comfort her, and she loved him for it. But the memories were still as fresh as they'd been at the time. She took a deep breath, somehow managing to calm down a bit. "But you don't know what my parties were like. One time, I even had Johnny Carson come to one of my parties." She was about to tell him how it had happened, how a Congresswoman she'd interviewed had brought the talk show host to a benefit, but she realized it was beside the point. "Right before he got there, there was a blackout! We never even saw him!"

Steven saw that her eyes were quickly filling with tears. He had always loved how sensitive and caring she was. It was one of the first things he'd noticed when they met. He held her close, feeling her shaky breathing as she continued to sob. He wished he knew what to say to make her realize that those memories were all in the past. Rose's first birthday would be memorable – for the right reasons. He would make sure of it.