Hey everyone. I love all the replies I've been getting but I want to ask how you all think I'm characterizing Taylor. Is it close to how she was on the show or am I off base? ORy thanks for all your help.

"Hello?"

"Dear Seth, Merry Christmas from Stars Hollow," a very familiar voice came over the line making Seth draw up in surprise and earning him a look from Summer who was standing next to him in the kitchen.

"Hey. Uh, hang-hang on for a minute, okay?" He looked at Summer, "I'll be right back."

"Who is it?"

"Just a friend," Seth said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Summer frowned a little as Seth slipped out the back door.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH

"Hey, sorry about that. I wasn't alone."

"It's cool. I'm not alone either."

"Where are you," Seth asked, making a face at the sound of the classical music in the background.

"I, my friend, am at the annual Gilmore Christmas Dinner Party, which is actually taking place on Christmas Eve this year. So really it's more, Dear Seth, Merry Christmas from Hartford."

"So, how are you?"

"I'm fat."

"You are not, you're just pregnant."

"Seriously Seth, I look like I'm going to pop at any minute. It is not exactly fun being asked by twenty different people over the course of one hour whether or not I'm going to have a Christmas baby and then having to explain that I'm not due for like three more months and that the reason I look like this is because I'm having twins."

"Wow."

"What?"

"Just the idea of you and Ryan having the next savior," he said. "It's a little creepy."

"Ha, ha, ha," Taylor said dryly.

Seth rose an eyebrow when he heard a door shut through the phone, "What are you doing?"

"Hiding."

"From who?"

"This creepy French guy that Aunt Emily invited. His name is Henri-Michel and he's some kind of artist. He's only talking to me because I'm the only other unattached person at this party who speaks French."

"So, he's getting on your nerves?"

"Yes. He keeps trying to proposition me and he won't take "drop dead" for an answer. When he asked where I sleep at night I told him I slept with Lorelai thinking maybe he'd get the hint that I wasn't interested."

"He didn't?"

"No. After I said "I sleep with her" and pointed at Lorelai he suggested ménage trois."

"Nice," Seth observed.

"Seth! He's some kind of pervert. He wants to get it on with me and Lorelai while I'm six months pregnant with twins," Taylor said in an exasperated tone of voice.

"He probably figures he's safe sleeping with a pregnant girl. He can't knock you up again."

"How does Summer put up with you?"

"She loves me for my body," Seth said, smiling when Taylor giggled insanely on her end. "Did you get your gifts?"

"Yes. I haven't opened them yet. Lorelai and I are going to wait to celebrate until after Rory comes home so I'm not opening any gifts until then."

"When does she get back?"

"She comes home on the second which will be our Christmas Eve and the third is going to be our Christmas. Did you get your gift from me?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna open it up tomorrow."

"Good. Seth, I think we should hang up now. Someone's at the door and I get the feeling that they need to use the bathroom for more than a private phone booth."

"Okay," Seth smiled. "Merry Christmas, Taylor."

"Merry Christmakkuh Seth," Taylor said back. "And have a happy New Year if I don't talk to you."

"Same to you," Seth smiled as he shut his phone. He could see that the lights were on in the pool house and he shoved the sudden impulse he had to go in there and tell Ryan everything to the back of his mind.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Ryan yawned as he went through his laundry. He'd stayed up way too late the night before with Seth, Summer, and Kaitlyn watching movies and then the ball drop. He and Kaitlyn had listened to Seth and Summer argue for about two hours before they'd finally fallen asleep.

Ryan shook his head remembering the fight. Summer was convinced Seth was hiding something from her. Right. They were talking about Seth. If someone had told him where Jimmy Hoffa was, the body would've been found in two hours. The guy couldn't keep a secret to save his life and the idea of him keeping another one from Summer after the mess it caused last time was just plain ludicrous.

He rummaged through a bag that he hadn't cleaned out since Mexico, pulling out jeans, wife beaters, and shirts. His hands stilled when he caught sight of the rip in one of his black T-shirts.

"No way," he whispered to himself.

Seth walked in, "Hey Mom wants to know if you're coming in for dinner or if you'd like it delivered out here." He noticed Ryan's expression. "What's up?"

"Seth." Ryan raised shocked and confused eyes to his brother. "I think I had sex with Taylor."

"Say what now? Why would you think that?"

"Well, I keep having dreams of doing that and one of the dreams I had featured her ripping this shirt as she got it off of me."

Seth shrugged, not meeting his eyes, "Maybe you tore it in the cage one night."

"We didn't wear shirts in the cage," he crumpled the shirt in his fist. "No, I think I actually had sex with her."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?"

"Was it good for you?"

"That's not funny, Seth."

"I kind of got a kick out of it. Seriously, you really think you nailed Taylor Townsend?"

"Yeah," Ryan sat down on his bed, staring into space

"What are you gonna do," Seth asked sitting across from him.

"What can I do? She's in France, right?"

"Right," Seth's conscience pokes at him

"So, amazing as it was, I guess I just have to forget about it," he shakes head. "I just wish she'd stuck around long enough to let me apologize for using her like that."

Seth can see that Ryan thinks he took advantage of a drunken Taylor and opens his mouth and then quickly closes it again.

"How is she," Ryan asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think I mean how is she doing?"

"She's good. Happy."

"What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're all me." He noticed the look Seth was giving him, "Not talking a mile a minute, using only one or two words."

"Sorry if the image of you and Taylor doing the nasty takes a few minutes to process."

"It's not exactly sinking in quietly over here, either."

"I mean: it was...in the bar?" Ryan nods. "Ew. Okay, in a skeevy storage room, you with your Chino Skillz, her with the Kama Sutra." Seth makes face. "Yeah, not wanting dinner anymore." Guilt sours the stomach, Seth thinks.

"I just wanna make sure she's all right, you know," Ryan's guilt complex was beginning to surface. "Make sure she's not...damaged."

"Dude, what did you do that you would even think that? Just how wild are we talking, here?"

"Shut up Seth."

"No seriously, I wanna know."

"Look, I don't remember it all. It's just been coming to me in bits and pieces. At first I thought I had some kind of brain damage or something but the doctor Sandy took me to said I was fine and now that I've found the shirt," he looked down at the material in his hands before he looked back at Seth. "I'm not having dreams. I'm having flashbacks."

"So chuck it in the laundry and move on. One more notch in the belt of Kid Chino." He was being crude on purpose, testing the waters to see how deep Ryan was in. If he laughed, Seth would apologize to Taylor, and advise her never to tell him. If not well maybe he'd be making that trip to Stars Hollow after all.

"Don't talk like that," Ryan scowled at him. "It wasn't like that." He frowns, "I don't think."

"So what was it like? The parts you can remember, anyway."

"Good." Better than good, but there was a part of him that wanted to keep the drea- no not dreams. He wanted to keep the memories to himself. They were his, and precious; and he selfishly didn't want to share them with anyone.

Not even Seth.

"Just good?" The look on Ryan's face was making him feel guilty as heck. The guy was already half gone on her. And from one drunken night's stand? Newport was really, really weird sometimes. "I would've thought General Townsend would've made more of an impression than 'good'."

Ryan put his head in his hands, "I'm going crazy, aren't I?"

"Well, I thought you were halfway there back in the bar and now that I know you did Taylor back then, I think maybe you are just a little bit crazy, yes," Seth said, shoving the voice in his head that was screaming at him to tell him back into the dark recesses of his mind.

"Boys? Are you eating or what," Kirsten's voice called out to them.

"We're coming," Seth called as he and Ryan got up from their seats.

"Hey, Seth? "

"What?"

"Could you keep this to yourself? The last thing I need is Summer coming after me because I slept with one of her friends in a drunken stupor."

"You got it," Seth nodded. What's one more secret?

"Thanks and if you talk to Taylor, let me know. I think I might want to talk to her."

"Sure." Oh boy.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Dear Taylor,

Okay, I am approaching meltdown. He remembers or he's starting to remember. Yes I am talking about Ryan. Before it was just lying by omission. Now, it's really lying because I am keeping him under the impression that you're in France but you're not. You're in Connecticut and you're pregnant and he's starting to remember how you got that way. You need to tell him. I can't take it anymore. Every time I open my mouth I come close to letting the words, 'Taylor's pregnant and it's yours' come out. Do you know how nerve wracking that is?

You have to tell him. Now. Write him, call him, send up a smoke signal but tell him and do it soon or I will Taylor.

Seth