Meredith and Zola

growing up too quickly

zola's pov~
I sit quietly and think to myself in the bathroom. I was already fourteen years old, all of my friends had gotten their first periods when they were, like, twelve and I never actually expected to get mine, until right now. My mom always called me a "late bloomer" and I knew that when you got your period was genetic, and I know nothing about my birth mom. I guess now comes the awkwardness of telling her.
"Mom!!" I called from the upstairs bathroom.
"Sweetie, she's at the hospital for another hour, you know that!" Auntie Amelia replies.
Oh yeah. I forgot about that.
"How about Auntie Maggie? Is she here?" I ask. Auntie Maggie would do, she always does my hair and she's more motherly than auntie amelia. I love them both equally, but Auntie Maggie was easier to talk to.
"No. She has a shift and won't be back until tomorrow morning," she calls back. Then there was a long pause. "but if you need something I can help!" she adds.
I could tell by her voice that she had moved to right outside the bathroom door.
"Okay. Can you come in?" I ask, quietly as to not wake my brother and sister.
The door slowly opens as auntie amelia walks in.
"Did you get your period?" she asks.
"Err...yeah. How did you...know?" I respond. but really, how could she tell??
She looks at me. I can tell, even with my eyes staring at my feet as to avoid eye contact.
"I have three sisters, plus your mom and Auntie Maggie. I know these things. now, do you need anything? Your mom told me she put pads under your sink when you were ten, just in case."
"No I don't need anything. my brain is just processing this all at once." I respond, "I thought I should tell somebody."
She gives me a warm smile and walks towards me, her arms open.
"I know. Trust me, I get it. I'll give you some time to freshen up and then you can go to your room and tell your mom when she gets home." I had totally forgotten about having to tell her. I love her, i really do, but she can be intimidating.
"Love you ZoZo! Congrats! You're a woman now!" she calls out, smiling, walking away, just to embarrass me.
I return the smile, roll my eyes, walk across the hall to my room and finish up some homework as I wait for my mom to come home.

meredith's pov~
I walk in the door later than I expected. I've  had a long day which I knew was about to get even longer as I see the look on Amelia's face. She gets up from the couch with her arms crossed as I put my bag down and take off my coat.
"Zola's upstairs, in her room. she's been waiting for you to come home," she tells me.
Huh. Better than I was expecting. I figured it was Amelia that had a problem. Between Link, Owen, and her unplanned pregnancies, she was a mess.
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
"Yes! No, don't worry, everything is fine. Good, actually."
"Okay..." I reply cautiously as I head upstairs.
I knock on Zola's bedroom door before I go in.
"Hey. How was your day?" I ask, walking towards her. "Auntie Amelia said you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah... I umm...I got my period today." she says.
Wow. I wasn't ready for this. I mean, I thought I was, I gave her "the talk" when she was ten and I thought that was as hard as it could get. She's growing up. at this moment I have flashbacks to meeting her for the first time. Derek, holding her in his arms. I knew she was meant to be my daughter.
I has been zoning out for a while now, reminiscing, and she probably expects a response.
I smile warmly and say, "There's no need to be embarrassed, Zola. this is a good thing. I know you got yours later than most, but don't worry. You used the supplies under the sink, right?"
She nods her head, still avoiding eye contact.
"And you do know what this means, right?" I continue.
"Yes. I do." she responds.
"I love you. And we both know we're not genetically related, but I got mine late as well. I was fourteen. And then I had sex two years later. Oops. I probably wasn't supposed to say that."
"Mom!" she giggles.
"What? There's not a guidebook for this kind of thing!" I answer with a smile, as we inch closer to each other.
She lays her head on my lap and we're both sitting in her bed.
"We're two very different people, that's for sure. But I love you, ZoZo, just as much as Bailey and Ellis. Just because I gave birth to them doesn't mean that I think of them as my children any more than I think of you."
"I know mama," she tells me with a smile.
"You know, I really hope I'm doing this right. I never had this talk with my mom, your grandmother. When I got my period she said: 'It's about time!' and that was it..." as my voice trails off, I realize that I couldn't have screwed up being a mother that badly. Just by having moments like these with my daughter, I've done something better than Ellis.
"How about we go in my room and watch a movie together? Does that sound okay or are you too tired?" I ask, knowing her answer will be yes.
Her eyes light up as she answers, "Yes! Just us, right?"
"Of course, ZoZo, if that's what you want," I answer. I know ever since Derek died that it's been tough having time together, between Bailey, Ellis, Maggie, and Amelia.
We walk down the hallway to my room as she leaps onto the bed. I turn on some cheesy movie as we get comfortable.
We almost fall asleep, but I see amelia peer in through the open door to check up on us.
"Everything okay?" she asks.
"Yup!" we reply in unison.
"Okay, good night!" she says, walking downstairs to her bedroom.
"Good night ZoZo, I love you."
"Love you too, mama," she answers, before drifting off to sleep with her head on my shoulder.
When I know she's asleep, I shut the movie off to process what's happened today. I never imagined myself doing this without Derek by my side. I knew I would give the sex ed conversation to Zola and Ellis, but I thought I would have Derek to talk to Bailey at least.
When I was pregnant with Bailey, Cristina always joked she would deal with when the baby got her first period. While I knew she wasn't serious, I expected people to be by my side.
My life has changed these past few years, for better and for worse. I lost the people I love most but gained people I can't imagine living without.