Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you know that I posted another story, a one shot, called Chrismukkah. I hope you all check it out.

Thank you for all the reviews, it's great to read them. They really inspire me.

Chapter 4

"Chrismukkah, Chrismukkah," Seth sang walking into the kitchen the next morning. "Chrismukkah all the way."

"Somebody's excited this year," Sandy said pouring some coffee into his mug.

"What are you talking about?" Seth asked confused. "I'm excited every year. This is the best holiday ever."

"Seth going on and on about Chrismukkah again?" Ryan asked walking in from the pool house.

"One day you will fully embrace the true Chrismukkah spirit my friend," Seth warned going for the last blueberry bagel. "And on that day my work will be complete."

"Yeah sure," Ryan said rolling his eyes at Sandy who just smiled.

Seth took a seat at the table and watched Ryan get his favorite chocolate chip bagel out of the basket and ready to toast when Kirsten walked into the room mumbling under her breath about wreaths or something. "Something bothering you Mom?"

"Just Julie worried we won't have enough wreaths at the New Match annual Christmas party," she said before leaning over to give Sandy a kiss.

"Annual? Isn't this you first Christmas party?" Ryan asked confused.

"Okay yes it is but we plan on having one every year from now," Kirsten said quickly biting her lip when they all stared at her. "I know you can't call it an annual when it's the first year but I'm just being optimistic that New Match will still be here next year and the year after that."

"Of course it will hon," Sandy said rubbing her back reassuringly. "Everybody loves New Match."

"Yeah Mom, as long as there are single people in Newport, New Match will surrvive," Seth said nodding at her.

"Great," Kirsten said smiling. "Also, you are all attending."

"Mom," Seth groaned. "I'm sure I'll be too busy to attend another New Match party."

"No you won't because Summer already told me you'd both be there," Kirsten said smiling smugly down at her son.

"Damn," Seth said shaking his head. "My girlfriend and I need to have a long discussion on agreeing to things without getting one anothers permission."

"Didn't you say yes to one of your comic book friends that you and Summer would go to some dumb comic book reading?" Ryan asked his eyes twinkling because he knew he'd got him with that one.

"That's different," Seth said seriously. "Comic books are interesting. New Match parties are like a meat market and every single person is a prime cut slab of beef or something. Plus, I'm not single so why should I go?"

"To support your Mom," Sandy chimed in. "So yes you will be going. I'll be there to dear, just tell me when and where."

"Eight o'clock on Friday night at that new place Flavor Factory," Kirsten said hiding her face because she knew they would all be staring at her again.

"Mom that place sounds," Seth said grimacing.

"Great," Sandy said shooting him a glare even though he'd been grimacing too. "Bye everybody," he said before walking out of the room, soon they heard the front door shut.

"I don't know if I'll be coming," Ryan said taking a drink of his orange juice.

"Oh why not," Kirsten said disappointed. "Do you have to work?"

"No, I'm on day's right now," Ryan said wishing he could lie but he always felt horrible lying to Kirsten. Almost like he'd kicked a puppy or ran over a turtle.

"Do you have a date?" Kirsten asked confused.

"No," Ryan said his mind picturing Taylor in that sexy red dress but he shook his head to clear the image. "I just don't want to go, the last one was a little.."

"Weird," Seth said helpfully. "Strange, gross-"

"Seth enough," Kirsten said more sharply then she intended but it worked. He quit talking but was sulking. "I know the thing with Taylor is making you a little confused but I promise you that she'll be on her best behavior."

"You invited her too," Seth said staring at his Mom wondering if she was trying to play match maker.

"She works for New Match Seth," Kirsten said closing her eyes for a moment. She seriously wondered if he ever listened to her when she was talking. "But she'll be busy helping Julie and I run the party to bother you. Besides, she's backing off I thought."

"Now how did you know that? Did she tell you that too at your cozy little lunch?" Seth asked causing both Ryan and Kirsten to stare at him. "Sorry, still a little bitter about you trying to replace me."

"Seth," Kirsten said exasperated. "Summer told me a little bit but nothing major. I don't know all the secrets."

"I seriously need to talk to my girlfriend," Seth said standing up and leaving the kitchen.

"Kirsten," Ryan said quietly, "I just think it's going to be weird; the situation not Taylor."

"I hope you change your mind Ryan," Kirsten said turning to put her coffee cup in the sink. "If you don't go I think Taylor will interpret it as you running away from her though." With that said she said goodbye and walked out of the kitchen smiling. If that didn't challenge him to at least show up for a little while, she didn't know what would.

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"Kirsten," Taylor said smiling from behind her new desk. "I got you a cup of your favorite latte."

"Thank you Taylor," Kirsten said taking it from her. "But that's not what I hired you for, I can get my own coffee."

"I know you can but I was getting myself one so," Taylor said shrugging her shoulders.

Kirsten wanted to smile, Taylor sat there looking so earnest and actually looking for approval instead of just assuming she got it. Maybe her trip to Europe had changed her outlook on life.

"Taylor, did you call Ms. Stevens yet?" Julie asked walking out of her office massaging her temples.

"Yes I did," Taylor said handing her the notes she'd taken down. "She really liked Mr. Bryant but did say he was a bit too old for her taste."

"He's the same age as her," Julie said shaking her head but then groaned and held her head in her hands again.

"Late night Julie," Kirsten said smiling.

"Yes," Julie said glaring at Kirsten. "But not like you think. Kaitlyn and I stayed up late watching home movies, it was very emotional so we had a couple drinks, hers nonalcoholic, mine strong."

"I heard you downstairs but I thought you guys might have wanted privacy," Taylor chimed in softly. When Julie and Kirsten looked at her she just smiled brightly.

"You could have come down and joined us," Julie said still surprised to find she liked having Taylor as a houseguest. She was polite, clean and a damn good baker. Julie'd had to add another yogalaties class to her already packed schedule.

"No it was private," Taylor said shaking her head. "I always wanted to do those things with my mom…or the next door neighbor Mrs. Crane but I was always on a strict schedule. No TV time."

"No TV time," Kirsten said picturing Seth and Ryan sitting in front of the TV almost every night while they were in high school.

"My mom was a little strict," Taylor said speaking the obvious.

"Did you ever have any fun?" Kaitlyn asked walking into the room suprising everybody.

Taylor laughed but everybody could tell it wasn't really from humor. "No, not when I was younger. Then in junior high it's so easy to just follow the path that's been laid out before you so by the time you are in high school, you have no friends, no life and you just go through the motions." She closed her eyes hating herself for bringing up personal stuff on her first day but nobody had ever asked let alone cared to listen. "I didn't know what friends were until I started hanging out with Seth and Summer. I'd always admired them from afar but was only secretly jealous of one person."

"Marissa," Kaitlyn said softly.

"She was so beautiful Julie," Taylor said bringing tears to everybody's eyes. "But it was more than that, she was perfect. She could single handedly run Harbor without breaking a sweat, plus have a boyfriend and be the perfect daughter. I wanted to ask her what her secret was but I didn't want her to laugh at me or even worse, make me feel like an idiot."

"Marissa was not perfect," Julie said shaking her head. "I know I've been portraying her that way but she wasn't. Hell, half of her life was spent hating me, I just didn't know it until Ryan showed up."

"He changed a lot of lives by moving here," Kirsten said smiling picturing the first day Ryan had arrived at Newport. "

"Nobody's more than Marissa's," Julie said smiling too.

"God I suck," Taylor said having to change the subject. She couldn't sit here and listen to them discuss Ryan and Marissa. It was killing her. "It's my first day and I've already made you both almost cry."

"Taylor it's okay," Julie and Kirsten said it at the same time.

"Hey Taylor, lets go shopping," Kaitlyn said before anybody could say anything else.

"Hey aren't you suppose to be in school?" Julie asked her daughter suspiciously.

"Did I mention that I'm suspended for two days?" Kaitlyn said smiling innocently. When Julie looked like she was about to blow she sighed. "I was tardy okay."

"I should be grounding you," Julie said crossing her arms over her chest. "But I have a feeling it would go in one ear and out the other."

"Go Taylor," Kirsten said smiling.

"But I have to work," Taylor said looking down at her desk which was empty.

"Not today," Kirsten said shaking her head no. "Today you have to go shopping, get your nails done and just have fun. Tomorrow is soon enough to start your independence."

Taylor stared at Kirsten for a minute before grabbing her purse and standing up. She walked around the desk and surprised Kirsten by pulling her in for a hug. "Thank you," she said after pulling back. "In less than 24 hours you've managed to show me what having a good mother could have been like. Ryan and Seth are really lucky. If they ever doubt that, send them to live with my Mom for a day."

Kirsten watched as Taylor walked out of New Match listening to Kaitlyn with a bittersweet smile on her face. "I like her more and more every day that I talk to her."

Julie rolled her eyes and turned to head back in her office. "Great, but since you just sent our secretary out for the day; you get to answer the phone all day."

Kirsten walked into her office and sat down behind her desk and looked at the only picture she had of Ryan and Seth on her desk. Taylor had been right in saying they were lucky but Kirsten thought she was even luckier. She'd only been blessed with one kid, the best little boy she could have asked for. She'd always wanted another and it didn't matter that she didn't get her second child until he was 16. Ryan was her little boy.

If only she could open his eys and make him see Taylor as the once in a lifetime kind of woman she was. Marissa had been one too but for different reasons. Taylor made him laugh. She made him be the boy he was before the accident. He just couldn't see that yet.