I'm back. :)

"Seth, I think I'm in love with Taylor," Ryan said from the doorway to the den.

Seth stopped playing his video game and looked at his brother strangely.

"Well," Ryan prompted.

"Well, what?"

"I just told you that I think I'm in love with your best friend. Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"No, not really," Seth said getting up and heading for the kitchen.

"What," Ryan followed him. "Every other time I've told you something in regards to Taylor you've had some kind of reaction and now I tell you that I think I'm in love with her and you can't think of anything to say to me?"

"How long have you had this feeling?"

"Valentine's day," Ryan admitted.

"Really," Seth looked surprised.

"Yeah. I don't know what it was or how it happened. We're taking a walk after dinner and I told her that I was jealous of what the two of you had with each other and she stops and turns to me. She kisses me and then she tells me that I don't have to be jealous because now I have it too and that even if she and I end with some hideous break up she's got my back and the entire time she's saying this she's looking in my eyes and all I can think is that I think I love her."

"Did you tell her?"

"If I did, don't you think you'd know by now?"

"Good point," Seth nodded. "So, what did you say?"

"Thank you."

"As responses go, that's pretty good."

"It felt lame though. I think I love her and instead of telling her, I say 'thank you'."

"Yes, but you only thought you loved her then. Better to be sure before you say it."

"Yeah," Ryan nodded his agreement. "Hey, she hasn't said anything to you about how she feels about me, has she?"

"No," Seth shook his head.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You two are best friends. I figure this is the kind of stuff you'd talk to each other about."

"Normally, you'd be right but Taylor feels a little strange talking to me about you so when it comes to you and her stuff she mainly talks to Brooke."

"Great, so I have zero chance of ever finding out how she feels about me until she's ready to say something."

"She talks to Summer sometimes."

"If you're trying to give me hope, you're not doing very well."

"And why is that?"

"Summer is good at keeping her mouth shut and we don't spend a lot of time alone."

"And that's a bad thing because you can't ask her anything?"

"Yes. Not that I think she'd tell me anything even if I did ask," Ryan said.

"True. My girl's good at the secret keeping," Seth said.

"And you suck at it," Ryan returned.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Ryan paused. "There's also something else I've been thinking about."

"And what is that?"

"That thing I keep telling you I'm not going to push Taylor on."

"Oh, that thing."

"Yeah," Ryan nodded.

"The not pushing still stands, right?"

"Right," Ryan said.

"But?"

"But, I keep picturing her naked and it's becoming a problem, especially when I do it around her."

"Ew," Seth looked nauseous. "Never say that to me again."

"I'm sorry. I know I'm breaking some kind of unspoken rule we have when it comes to talking about sex and Taylor but I can't help it. It's not like I can talk to Sandy about this and even if he was here, Trey would never be an option for this kind of talk because he'd just tell me to go for it."

"And there's probably a part of you that wants to do that."

"Yes, but there's a bigger part of me that says Taylor deserves better than just going for it."

"As someone who just blew right through losing his virginity, I have to say that yes, she does deserve better and not just because she's my best friend, but because I don't think you think you're in love with her. I think you know you're in love with her." Seth got up and patted Ryan's shoulder as he started to leave the room.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not gonna tell anyone about this are you?"

"No. I promise," Seth said. "Hey Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"The reason I didn't have a reaction to your declaration of love is because I already knew how you felt about her."

"How?"

"You get the same look on your face when you think of her that Dad gets when he thinks of Mom."

OCOCOCOCOC

Taylor rested her head in folded arms on the edge of the pool and let herself float in the water as the sun's rays hit her back.

"Hot today," a voice commented.

"Hey Summer," Taylor greeted, not lifting her head, even when she felt her step-sister slide into the water next to her.

"What's wrong?"

Taylor turned to face her, "Nothing, why?"

"'Cause you're quiet and Seth said that's the time to worry about you."

"No worries, I'm cool," Taylor smiled.

"Okay, now I know something's wrong." Summer nudged her, "Talk."

"Nothing's really wrong in the classical sense of the word."

"Okay," Summer frowned.

Taylor frowned and pushed herself away from the edge, allowing herself to float on her back. She just looked at the sky for a while before she stood up and looked at Summer. The brunette stared back at her. "I think I'm in love with Ryan."

"Taylor," Summer looked surprised.

"I know. It's way too soon for that and I'm probably out of my mind crazy but I can't help it. I have never felt this way to this degree about anyone in my life and I'm pretty sure it's love."

"When did you realize it," Summer asked.

"The night after Brooke left. We were sitting in the pool house studying for our history test-"

"Very romantic," Summer nodded.

"Shut up," Taylor splashed Summer lightly. "Anyway, we were on his bed; I was against his pillows with our book and he was lying across the bed with my feet in his stomach. I was asking him about some date and when he didn't answer I looked up to see what he was doing and he was asleep. He looked so innocent and sweet and I think my heart actually clenched at that point and I just thought I could spend forever looking at him." Taylor looked at Summer. "Okay this is the point where you, as my step-sister and friend, tell me to wake up and snap out of it. You need to tell me that I'm crazy and that it is way too soon for me to be thinking about love and gooey stuff like this."

"Do you think he loves you?"

Taylor sighed, "I have no idea. Part of me really hopes he does and the other part of me is scared out of my mind that he does because I'm kind of terrified of not measuring up."

"To what? To who?"

"Ryan's not exactly a virgin," Taylor said, avoiding Summer's eyes.

"So? That doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean he can't fall in love with a virgin."

"That's not what worries me."

"And what does worry you?"

"Being good enough," Taylor admitted quietly, scrunching up her nose.

"In what sense?"

"In what sense do you think Summer?"

Summer thought and then rolled her eyes. "You honestly think he'd judge you?"

"See, this is why I shouldn't have said anything. I knew you wouldn't understand. How could you? You and Seth could both be completely lousy in bed-"

"We were the first few times."

"And you'd never know because you were both virgins," Taylor finished. "Ryan's had sex. He's had lots of drunken anonymous sex with girls who've probably been doing it since their hormones kicked in."

"Oh, now there's an image," Summer said, looking vaguely disgusted by Taylor's words.

"Okay, you: not helping."

"You're freaking out," Summer observed.

"Yes I am," Taylor agreed.

"I've never seen you freak out before," Summer said.

"You didn't see me when I had a crush on Jake," Taylor rolled her eyes. "I was pretty bad and sex wasn't even on my radar then."

"Because you weren't in love with Jake. You just had a crush on him," Summer clarified.

"Right," Taylor nodded. "With Jake, it was 'God, I'd love to kiss him.' But with Ryan, it's more 'God, I want to rip his clothes off'."

"That's a sentiment shared by most of the girls at school," Summer said. "But you actually have a shot at making it happen."

"And God, does that freak me the hell out," Taylor sighed. "Why does it freak me the hell out?"

"Well, for one you're a virgin and, as someone who blew right past losing theirs, I can tell you losing it is a monumental event in somebody's life."

"Yeah but you and Seth kind of made up for it, didn't you? Years from now, when you think of your first time, what are you going to think about? Ripping each other's clothes off in your room or Valentine's day in his?"

"The second part," Summer admitted.

"See that's the kind of memory I want," Taylor said.

"Is this calming you down at all?"

"Strangely enough, yes it is," Taylor nodded.

"Good. Now, the other thing? The whole experience thing," Summer prompted.

"I have none and he has a lot," Taylor said.

"It doesn't matter.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because he may have had sex before but I'm pretty sure he's never felt about any of those girls what he feels for you and before you ask, I can tell because he looks at you the same way Cohen looks at me when he thinks I'm not looking."

Taylor smiled at her, "Thanks Summer."

"Anytime Sis," Summer nodded.

Okay so I think I have x-over fever 'cause I think I want to do a x-over with Gilmore Girls and the OC in which Taylor sleeps with Ryan right after Marissa dies and gets pregnant. Knowing that Ryan is in no condition to handle a baby she goes to her grandmother's niece who once upon a time was in her position-Lorelai Gilmore, a woman whose own life has just fallen to pieces because she slept with her ex right after she and Luke broke up. Lorelai looks at Taylor and sees herself so many years ago when she showed up at the Independce Inn and decideds to become Taylor's Mia. What do you all think?