Disclaimer: I only own Ava.

A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who is following the story. I love you all! Enjoy. Review.


For the millionth time in the last fifteen minutes, Ava checked the time. It was getting closer to seven, which meant Roman would be coming for her soon. Releasing a nervous breath, she picked up her lipstick and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"It's Roman." She whispered to herself. "You're going to have his baby in a few months. There's no reason for you to be nervous. Everything will be all right."

A knock sounding at the front door pulled Ava out of her thoughts. Looking at the door, she released another shaky breath and then turned back to the mirror. Dabbing the lipstick on her lips, she got up and moved out of the room. Gripping her purse, she mentally told herself that everything would be all right.

Another knock sounded just as she reached the door. Running a hand over through her hair, she quickly pulled the door open and quickly wished they weren't going out anymore. Clad in black dress pants and a green dress shirt that complimented his skin tone, he looked too handsome to take out. His usually let down hair was slicked back into a ponytail and his lips were turned into a smile, an impish glint in his dark eyes. Suddenly, she didn't want to go out anymore. Now, she wanted to take him to her room and stay there for the rest of the night.

"Hey, beautiful." He smiled. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She smiled back, stepping into the hall and turning her back towards him. Locking the door, she turned back to face him. "Let's get going."

Roman took his hand in hers and led her down the hall. "Are you excited?"

"Excited, nervous." Ava admitted, laughing slightly. "It's not like I've never been on a date before."

"I want you to relax." Roman moved in front of her and rested his hands on his shoulders.

She could feel his hands slightly shaking as he held onto her shoulders. He could pretend to be as cool and collected as he wanted but Ava knew the truth. Roman being nervous made her feel less alone. They were in this together, each taking baby steps towards something different.

"You need to relax, too." She smirked.

"A beautiful woman stands in front of me and I can't help but get nervous." Roman shrugged. "Besides, my nerves are out of excitement. I've been looking forward to this all day."

"Do you do this with all the women you get pregnant?" Ava teased, then move around him to start for the stairs.

"Cute." He playfully swatted her on the butt. "Just for that, you're going to pay for your own dinner."

Stopping in her tracks, she turned to look over her shoulder, a small smirk on her face. "Keep doing that and we won't make it to dinner."

Roman moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Tilting his head to the side he brought his lips close to her ear. "We're going to have to take things slow."

"I think we're past that." Ava leaned into him.

"Mmm, well past it, but we have to take it slow if we want to figure things out. Okay?"


"I'm done." Ava laughed, tossing her dinner napkin at him. "Stop staring at the poor kid like you're going to kill him."

"He needs to stop staring at your chest." Roman shrugged, crumpling his dinner napkin and placing it on the table. "It was funny at first, but it isn't anymore. I don't like it, Ava."

"Oh, please, Roman, you're overreacting." She leaned forward, resting her hand on top of his. "I've worn less to the ring and you've never been so pissy about it. My boobs have gone up a cup since I got pregnant. Even with a bra, they're all over the place."

"You weren't pregnant with my baby and out with me before." He growled. "I don't like it, Ava. The thought of other men looking at you like that drives me up the wall."

Dropping her hand back to her lap, she leaned back in her chair. Biting down on her lower lip, she shifted in her seat before turning her eyes back onto him. The look of frustration on his face hadn't gone unnoticed by her. In fact, it had even set her off.

"Aww, you're jealous." She teased.

"I'm not jealous."

Before she could respond, the waiter came by and left the check on the table. Without looking at either Roman or Ava, he walked off, possibly frightened by the looks he was being given.

"You have no reason to get jealous." Ava rested her elbow on the table. "The girl two tables down has been eye fucking you all night. Do you see me getting frustrated over it?"

"Yes." Roman laughed, picking up the check. "If you weren't pregnant, I'm pretty sure you would have knocked her into next week."

"I wouldn't have." Ava shook her head. "Because I'm not jealous."

"She's looking over here right now." Roman said without looking up. Taking the money out of his wallet, he placed it in the folder. Dropping it to the table, he looked up just in time to see Ava looking in the direction of the girl. "No, you're not jealous at all."

"I thought I heard someone one calling me."

"Right." He drawled the word out, trying to fight back a laugh.

"It's true."

He said nothing as he rose to his feet, moved around to her side of the table and pulled her chair out. Helping Ava to her feet, he took her hand in his and led her out the restaurant. They walked to the car in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"I think I ate too much." Ava broke the silence.

"You're eating for two." Roman started the car. "I don't think there's a such thing."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Nope." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "You're fine the way you are."

"Nice play." Ava nodded her head in approval.

"I'm not playing or trying to avoid an argument." Roman took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. "I mean it, Ava."

The brunette only nodded as their brief conversation came to a sudden halt. The silence that fell between them gave her a chance to wonder just what would come of this. Things had drastically changed between them over the last couple of months, making her question just when it had happened. It seemed they were different people from before, giving her odd feelings about what could potentially happen.

"Everything okay?"

"Just thinking." She admitted, resting her head against the window. "It's not to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." She smiled, resting her hands on her bump.


His hand intertwined with hers as they walked down the beach. His free hand gripped a beach towel, while her free one held onto her shoes. Their laughter filled the air as they continued their walk.

"Did you want to stop here?"

"Please." Ava dropped her shoes into the sand.

Within seconds they were all setup and soon sitting down. Sitting next to him, Ava rested her head on his shoulder and watched as the waves crashed against the shore. In the distance she could see the flashing of lights from the boats going to their next destination.

"Can I ask you something, Roman?" She asked, her eyes never leaving the water.

"Go ahead." He shrugged.

"Why didn't you like me when we first met?"

"I heard things about you that really just put me off. Sometimes your attitude was too much for me to handle, which told me that everything I heard about you was true. Stupid reasoning, I know, but it just really made me dislike you, Ava. It didn't help matters that whenever we crossed paths, we would butt heads."

"Pregnancy aside, what made you change your mind?"

"I'm slowly getting to know you. Sure, you're still stubborn and we still butt heads from time to time, but I really care about you." He answered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Your side of things?"

"Easy. You made my life hell and I considered you to be a douche bag." Ava slightly laughed. "To be honest, I didn't make things any easier for you, but I couldn't help it. Everything about you just irritated the hell out of me. The fact that we fought all the time didn't make things any easier either."

"Now?"

"Like I said last night, my feelings for you are all over the place." She admitted, snuggling into him. "Sometimes you aggravate me to the point of wanting to punch you in the throat."

"Hormones."

"Other times, I want nothing more than to feel your arms around me and have you telling me that everything will be all right." Ava whispered. "There's a warmth and comfort that I'm getting from you that I've never felt before. Some days when I don't hear from you or see you, I feel lost inside..I really do care about you, Roman. The feelings are strong."

"I know how you feel. When I'm on the road all I can think about is when I get to be with you again. Dean and Seth have taken to giving me shit for it."

"That explains the last phone call I got from them." She laughed.

"What?"

"Story for another day." Ava laughed it off, then quickly grew serious. "What do we do now?"

"Let's give us a try."


A/N: What do you think?