Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 42

Luke stepped back into the kitchen to begin cleaning up from dinner while Logan checked his email. Rory pulled Lorelai down on the couch beside her, wanting to talk to her about what she had found online.

"Mom, I did some research on ways to boost fertility. There are several herbal supplements that you can take. Bromelain is thought to help a fertilized egg implant. The B vitamins help aid in ovulation. Choline has been found to reduce birth defects. Coenzyme Q10 can reverse age-related reproductive decline. There are several others if you're interested."

Lorelai smiled. She reached down to pick up her laptop from the bottom shelf of the coffee table. She opened it, causing the screen to light up, and turned it toward Rory. An article on a parenting site was pulled up, listing various herbal supplements that are known to boost fertility. Rory looked to at her mother, smiling. "I see we were on the same page. Literally!"

"Yeah, kid, we were. I ran to pick several of these up already. I'm ready to have another baby and am willing to try almost anything to make it happen."

"I'm really happy for you Mom. I have a good feeling about this."

"I do too."

*****

A few days later, Natalie sat at her desk, trying to concentrate on the file in front of her. She had been asked by one of the law firm's partners to begin drafting a complaint for a lawsuit that a new client wanted to file for wrongful termination. She wanted to get the pleading ready to be sent to the client today and also had plans of beginning some research based on the client's situation. The problem was that she couldn't concentrate.

Her conversation with Jess after dinner the other night kept flitting through her mind. On one hand, she was afraid of being hurt. On the other, her gut told her that Jess wasn't just stringing her along. Her gut, however, had been wrong before.

Roughly a year ago, Natalie had been six months into what she thought was a long-term relationship with Ryan. Ryan was a handsome, spirited attorney from a neighboring firm whom she had met in court. She was there to assist with a trial and Ryan was the counsel for the opposing side. He approached her after the verdict came back not in his client's favor, making some remark about all the legwork she put into the case. He ended it by asking her to lunch the following day. She accepted and the two had relaxed into a fulfilling relationship. After half a year of lunch and dinner dates, several long weekends away, and the blossoming hope of a proposal, Natalie was approached by one of the head partners in the firm about her carrying on with a married attorney and the impression she was leaving on staff and clients.

Natalie was dumbfounded. She had no idea that Ryan was married. It was painfully obvious to her boss that she really didn't know so he decided no disciplinary action was necessary. It took months to be able to look into the eyes of her coworkers because she was ashamed to not only have not known about Ryan's wife but that gossip about it had apparently spread through the firm like wildfire. A fellow paralegal, Linda, befriended her when she needed it most, bonding the two deeply. Linda knew the situation so when she recommended Jess, Natalie felt like it may be good to finally get back in the dating scene. She had no idea what she would find on that blind date.

Natalie hadn't told Jess about Ryan or the disaster that followed so she wasn't mad that Jess hadn't yet told her about Rory. Throughout the dinner, she made sure not to give any inclination about knowing of the past between Jess and his old girlfriend. She watched the body language between the two but found nothing off-putting that hinted of lingering feelings. She noticed a change, though, when it was learned that Rory was pregnant. Jess seemed very upset. Natalie wasn't sure whether it was the pregnancy itself or that Logan was the father.

Grabbing her phone off its cradle, Natalie dialed Jess' number. Once he answered, she asked him to meet her for a quick lunch near her office. It was the only way she figured she would be able to get any work done before the end of the day.