Disclaimer: I only own Ava.

A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, I love you all! Enjoy. Review.


Patricia had just walked in through the kitchen door when she heard the front door open. Within moments, she heard Sika's loud voice gut out a greeting. Sensing the smile on his face, she shook her head and made a beeline for the front of the house. Roman was not going to get off this easy. Not after seeing the disappointment on Ava's face. She may have been letting him off easy, but there wasn't a chance Patricia was going to let it slide.

"Roman Joseph Reigns!" She shouted, once reaching them in the hall.

Sika cringed at the tone in his wife's voice. One look at her and he knew that she meant business.

"Hey, Mom." Roman smiled, going over to hug her.

"Don't greet me like nothing important is going on." Patricia pulled him by the ear and dragged him down the hall. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Ow, Mom, what the hell?"

"Ow, ow." She mimicked before letting go of him. Patricia folded her arms across her chest and stared at her son unamused. "Sit your butt down. We need to talk."

"Mom, I really don't have time." Roman held his hands up, shaking his head. "I came-"

"You're going to sit down." Patricia pointed towards the couch. "Whatever you came here for can wait until later. Now sit!"

Roman swallowed hard and sat down. There have been multiple occasions where he had gotten into trouble and had his parents sit him down and yell at him. But it had been years since the last time and he suddenly felt nervous, more so than when Ava told him she was pregnant.

"What the hell is going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't know, Mom." He ran a hand over his face. "I really couldn't tell you. One day, I'm helping Ava move in with me and we're getting prepared for the arrival of the baby. Then the next thing I know, it's suddenly dawning on me that I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be responsible for the well being of another human being."

Patricia slapped the back of Roman's head. "That fear is a normal feeling! Congratulations, Roman, you're human! But that doesn't mean you go run to some other woman. Let alone one who, as Ava told me, has been a pain the neck. You talk to Ava and let her know your feelings. I'm sure she feels the same way you do, but you didn't see her running. Neither of you were in this alone and you ran off like you were! I taught you better than this, Roman!"

"Who didn't run to someone else?" He asked, wide eyed. "She's been wandering around here with another guy! Ava broke up with me and then turns around and runs to the first guy she comes across."

"You're a grown man, Roman!" Patricia yelled in his face. "Grown men do not act like this! I can't even begin to describe how distraught she is. The poor girl looked miserable. She still loves you and you're running around acting like an idiot!"

"Mom, I got nervous! I tried explaining to her why I did it." Roman rose to his feet and started pacing the room. "That wasn't enough for her. What do I have to do to get through to her? Because I've tried racking my brains for the last month and I honestly can't figure it out anymore. I miss her, but I can't bring myself to call her because she didn't give me a chance."

"I think she did, you just didn't use it to your advantage." Patricia sighed, then sat down. "She's miserable without you. I know she is. Roman, you have to get yourself together and go to her. Otherwise, you will lose her."

"So everyone says." He huffed.

"Then listen to them." She snapped. "Grow up, Roman. You are better than this!"

Roman just shook his head and left her in the living room. He couldn't get through to her. Come to think of it, he couldn't get through to anybody. Most everybody that heard what happened between them instantly sided with Ava because she was the pregnant one. Nobody seemed to care that he was feeling cornered and afraid.

"Son?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to see his father standing in his office doorway. "Step into my office." He beckoned him over. "We need to talk."

"Dad, I have to go." He sighed.

At this point, he was really aggravated and was ready to cut his visit with his parents short.

"Just a few more minutes and then you can go." He tried to compromise. "You got the worst of it over with. I'm sure your mother ripped your head off."

The young wrestler blew out a breath and decided it would be the best to go. Everyone else has tried giving him advice on what to do. One more person can't do any harm.

"I don't know what you can say to me, Dad, that everyone else already hasn't." He said, sitting on the couch against the wall. "Every person has the same thing to say. It doesn't matter what I say, I'm wrong and Ava was right in doing what she did."

"She was." Sika sat on the edge of his desk. "Roman, I have seen you come by with different women on several occasions. Be it serious relationships or flings, you've had them. In every one of those, I've never seen you look as happy as you did with Ava. She filled that hole in your life that you hadn't even realized was empty. Yes, she gives you crap from time to time, but it's because she loves you. She stayed with you because she loves you."

"Dad, I'm terrified of the idea of being responsible for a baby." He said, with a new realization coming to him. "I can't be responsible for taking care of Ava, too. I thought I was ready for a family and for the all the work that goes into it. But I'm not. She seemed so put together and I knew I would probably just drag her down. She doesn't deserve to be weighed down like that."

"She didn't deserve what you did to her. Roman, she is just as afraid as you are." Sika pointed out. "You are going to be on the road and Ava is going to be at home with the baby. She already had to deal with so much with you being gone. You already had a lot to deal with not being home to be with her or the baby. Raising a family is hard, but add in that you aren't home as often and it creates for a difficult situation, but a possible one. There is a lot of compromise involved, Roman. You can't expect her to give up everything while you don't have to."

"I don't know if I can do it, Dad." He whispered, looking down at the floor. "What if I ruin the baby's life? What if I hurt Ava even more?"

"Think hard about that day you stepped out on Ava." Sika walked over to his son and sat down next to him. "You think you already didn't do those things?"

Roman remained silent.

"I think you know you did." Sika patted him on the back. "That's what not making you want to go back. You know you messed up and you know your staying away from her as long as you did made it worse. You're afraid to own up to your mistake. But that's a part of being a man; you have to own up to it. It's like I told you before son, nothing in life will be more precious than your family."

He digested his father's words before finally speaking again. "Do you think she would take me back?"

"Maybe." Sika shrugged. "That's not my call to make, that's all on Ava. But be ready to work to get her back because I doubt she is going to make it easy for you."

For the first time that day Roman laughed. "You just might be right."


"So you and Corey?" Seth asked, making himself comfortable on the couch.

Ava sat down in between Dean and Seth and the set the bowl of popcorn on her lap.

"There is no me and Corey." She sighed. "Until I get things figured out with Roman, I don't want to get involved with anybody. It wouldn't be fair to him to string him along when I still love the idiot."

"But you admit to liking him?" Dean asked, taking a handful of popcorn. "Because you two have been spending a lot of time together."

Ava munched on some popcorn as she thought about her answer. "I do like him. Maybe a little more than I should." Ava admitted. "Its just that now isn't the right time to even contemplate dating again."

"On the off chance that you and Roman don't get back together, you can't wait for him." Seth said, after swallowing his popcorn. "He can't do whatever he wants while you stay here working and taking care of your child."

Ava sighed. "I know that, Seth. It's just until I get everything sorted out, I don't want to start anything. I don't want to lead anybody on and hurt their feelings. I'm a mess right now and no guy deserves to walk into this. Here I am pregnant and about to burst with one man's baby and I have feelings for another guy, while I still love the father of my baby. That's not exactly a healthy situation."

"I don't think you've ever been in a healthy situation." Dean joked.

"Fuck off." Ava laughed, nudging him in the shoulder. "I'm just going to hold out for Roman a little bit longer before I give up all together. He can be in the baby's life, I've always maintained that I would never deny him that. As for him straightening his act up and attempting to see me or talk to me, he doesn't have much longer before I give up all together."

"Have you ever thought of getting back together with him?" Seth asked, feeling around the bowl trying to grab more popcorn.

"The thought has entered my mind, but it would take a lot work before I gave it another shot." Ava sighed. "He's not going to be home often. Summer is on the main roster with you guys and I hear he's been partying a lot lately, doing whatever it was he did before we started dating. I have to know that I can trust him. I want to be able to know that he can go out on the road without being tempted to get into bed with one of the divas or some random woman he finds in a bar or club."

"We've been telling him that since the breakup." Dean muttered. "The fucking idiot isn't getting it."

"Ambrose!"

"What?" He asked, looking at Seth. "She knows already. There is no reason to lie to her. She deserves to know the truth. How he is ever going to raise a kid if he can't get himself together?"

The three friends fell in silence before Ava decided she didn't want to talk about Roman or Corey or their relationship anymore. "I'm tired of talking about them. Let's just start the movie already."

"Wait to start the movie." Seth took the bowl off Ava's lap and got up. "I'm going to make more popcorn. More beer, Dean?"

Dean looked at his bottle before nodding. He took one more swig and handed Seth the empty bottle.

"Ava, more water?"

"Can you be a doll and get me orange juice?"

Seth nodded. "You're lucky you're pregnant. Otherwise, you'd be getting this yourself."

"My house is your house!" She shouted after him. "Bring me some peanut butter cups! They're in the kitchen drawer to the right of the fridge!"

"How are you really dealing with your feelings for Corey?" Dean asked as soon as Seth was out of ear shot.

"They're scaring the hell out of me, if I can be honest." Ava sighed. "Like I said, I need to figure stuff out before I move any further. I don't want to jump into another relationship, not now."

"But being with someone else is a possibility?"

"Yes." Ava said. "But not right now."

Dean threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "Do whatever makes you happy, kid."

"I'll try, Dean. I'll try."

"Popcorn, juice, and beer is here!" Seth said, setting everything the table and handing Ava the popcorn bowl. His smile instantly faded when he noticed the look on Ava's face. "Is everything all right?"

"It's going to be." She patted the empty spot on the couch next to her. "Now sit down, so we can start the movie."


For the longest time he sat in the baby's room, taking in his surroundings. He couldn't help but remember when he had first shown Ava the room. The way her face had lit up was something he would never forget. With every turn she took to take in the moment and with every step she took, he knew she could visualize herself there with the bay. He knew she could see what it felt like for them to be in the room together, looking in on the baby.

"I'm a fucking idiot."

He got up from the rocking chair and started out of the room. More than enough time had passed since they had last spoken. He knew she was angry with him and that she was hurt. Ava would make him work for her trust and at this point in time he was more than willing to do whatever it took. If he wanted to start piecing it all back together, now was the time to start. Roman had to find a way to make things up to her before Corey swooped in on his family.

As he walked out the house, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called up a friend.

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Dean dug it out and smirked when he saw the name on the screen. Part of him was tempted to ignore the call. He didn't need to hear about how he was feeling attacked, but at the same time Roman was still his good friend and he couldn't ignore him.

"I'll be right back." Dean said, excusing himself. He left Seth and Ava in the living room and stepped out into the kitchen and out the back door. He closed the door behind him and answered. "What's the damage now?"

"I'm a fucking idiot."

"We all knew that." He said, leaning against the wall. "As a matter of fact, we've been telling you that for the last month."

"I went to see my parents today..."

"And your mom ripped you a new one."

"Pretty much." Roman admitted. "But that wasn't what did it for me."

"Then what was it?" Dean asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"My dad sat me down and talked to me. Everything he said was an accumulation of what you guys told me. But he mentioned something that hadn't occurred to me. Over the years I've had one relationship or another, but nothing as serious as what Ava and I had. But none of them made me as happy as Ava does."

"Why step out on her? Why have countless one nightstands? We've all told you this before and you refused to listen."

Roman went silent for a minute, before continuing to speak. "Look, I need to see Ava right away. This is all stuff I should be telling her."

"Okay, then do it." Dean said. "What's stopping you?"

"I don't know where she lives now." He admitted, embarrassed. "That's where you come in."

Dean rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh of annoyance. "Seth and I are over right now. Shoot me a text when you get close to the house and I'l make up some bullshit excuse to get out of here."

"Thank you, bro. I owe you one."

"Yeah, you really do." Dean said, then gave him the address. "I can't guarantee she won't kick you in the nuts."

"I deserve it." He laughed. "I'm heading over right now."


The sudden departure of the boys was a blessing in disguise. Sometime during the movie she had become tired and really didn't want to be around anybody anymore. So when Dean abruptly ended their movie night, she didn't question it. At that point all she wanted to do was curl into bed and sleep for days.

"Thank god Seth cleaned up before they left." She muttered to herself. "Those two can be slobs."

She had just shut off the TV and the lights in the living room when a knock sounded at the door. She suddenly grew irritated that one of them had come back because they had forgotten something. Waddling over to the door, she unlocked it and hurled it open, a crude comment on her lips. However, when she saw who was on the other side, her mouth clamped shut.

"Hi, Ava." He said, connecting his eyes with hers. "Can we talk?"

Ava regained her wits about her.

"Talk?" She laughed. "A month goes by and now you want to talk."

Roman nodded. He deserved this, he knew he did. "Can I please come in?"

A brief moment of silence fell between them before she stepped aside and gestured for him to come in. She wasn't doing this for her or for him. At this point, she was doing it for their unborn son.

"I see you took time out of your busy schedule to see me." Ava commented as she gestured for him to sit down. "What's the matter? Slow night at the bar? Ugly girls surrounding you?"

"I deserve that."

"You deserve so much more than that and I think you know that."

"I didn't come here to fight with you." He finally said. "I didn't come here to upset you further."

"Then what did you come here for?"

"I came here to make things right between us, for our family."

Ava fought the urge to laugh as she made herself comfortable on the couch. "A month has gone by without a word from you and I'm to expect that you still care about me or the baby even."

"I know that what I did was stupid. You're right to be upset with me." He tried to reason with her. "Nothing will ever make up for the hurt I caused when I went to Summer and for every other woman after that. I never claimed to be a saint and I still don't, Ava, but baby I was afraid. The sudden realization that I was going to have a family, that I was going to be responsible for yourself and a child terrified the shit out of me."

"How do you think I felt?" Ava exclaimed. "I'm just as afraid as you are, but I didn't go running to someone else! Do you want to know why? Because I love you, Roman!" She said before he could answer her. "Because I believed you when you told me that you would never leave us, that you would never hurt us! I thought you believed me when I told you these things. It was always going to be you and I and then that all flew out the window!"

"I did mean those things. I had one lapse in judgement."

"No, you had several." Ava cried. "I know all about the drunken sleepless nights."

"You broke up with me!" Roman exclaimed. "What was I supposed to do? Because I sure as hell know you weren't going to do anything."

"I'm not the one that fucked up!" Ava yelled, hitting the couch with the palms of her hands. "You were the one that felt cornered and felt the need to go elsewhere, not me."

This wasn't going the way he had thought it would. She was really beginning to piss him off.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked. "You didn't run to anyone else? What do you call gallivanting around here with Corey? I know you have gotten closer to him in the last month. What's that all about?"

"He's just my friend." Ava shrugged. "I didn't sleep with him."

"No?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. "Because from the pictures I've seen of you two recently and from what I've heard, it seems that you two are an item. You say that you love me, but here you are, running around with him. I know I fucked up and I fully admit to it, but the least you can do is admit to it as well."

"Admit to what?" She asked, looking up at him. "There's nothing to admit to. I was never intimate with him while we were together."

"AHA!" Roman sarcastically smiled, holding his index finger up in the air. "But there was something."

Ava got up from her spot on the couch and walked over to him. Standing on her tip toes, she placed her hands on either side of her face and lowered his head down to hers. She made sure to hold eye contact with him.

"We've gotten closer over the last month and I'll admit that I have some feelings for him." She whispered. "There was one kiss and that was it, Roman. But I refuse to go any further with him because I still love you. Honest enough for you?"

"If you still love me, then let's try one more time." He said, his hands now moving up to either side of her face. "I still love you and I miss you."

More silence fell between them.

"I can't do it." She dropped her hands down to her sides and broke away from him. "Roman, we have so much work to do before I can even trust you again. What with you being on the road and Summer being there, I can't trust you. Every time you leave home, I'm going to be wondering if you're faithful. Nothing happened between me and Corey and I can already see the paranoia in your eyes. Look, we dived into this head first and look where it got us. We can't do that again. We need to learn to trust each other again before we can even try."

"How can you say you love me, but admit to having feelings for someone else?"

"How can you say you love me, but then go cheat on me?" She shot back with. "Look, I know you came here in hopes to work things out and I've been hoping you would come back as well, but it's not going the way either of us thought it would."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I need to forgive you before I can let you back in full swing. I need to know that you are serious about being around and I need to be able to trust you. You've already hurt me, Roman. I can't take the chance that you're going to hurt our son because you miss your old life."

"This last month has been hell on me!" He growled. "Do you know what it's like to wake up and not have the person you love next to you?"

"Yes, I do." She rested her hands on top of her stomach. "Now you know I've felt lately."

"Look, I'll stop partying. I know what I did was wrong." He pleaded. "It's only you and me. Nobody else. It's done and out of my system. I need you back in my life. I need my family!"

"That's just it! You don't know what you did was wrong!" Ava exclaimed. "You waltzed in here expecting me to welcome you back with open arms!" She said, then went silent when she just thought of something. "How did you get my address?"

"A friend."

She thought back to Dean earlier and how he was acting. It all came together now and she was beyond irritated. She made a mental note to bitch Dean out later.

"I'm not denying you the right to see the baby. I'm just being honest in how I'm feeling." Ava said, after calming down. "I can't pretend that none of this happened. You hurt me, Roman, and I just can't let it slide."

"I'll do whatever it takes to get you back." He promised. "I remember the day at the doctor's office where we finally found out what we were having. Just before she came in to do the ultrasound, we talked about having more kids and expanding on or family. I kept thinking how happy we were going to be and how one day you would have made the walk down the aisle in a white dress, walking towards me..."

"Stop it, Roman!" Ava interrupted him. She wiped away her tears. "You've said enough tonight. Can you please just leave?"

"Not until you tell me that there's a chance I can get you back."

Her eyes stayed locked on his as she thought about what to say next. Part of her wanted to tell him that there was a small chance, but another part of her didn't want to tell him. She wanted to know that he was being genuine and not just wanting to get back together because he feels like he lost something that was his.

"I don't know." Ava mumbled.

"I've gone absolutely insane avoiding you and missing you at the same time. Ava, you, yourself admitted that you missed me and that you were waiting for me!" He pointed out. "If you at all loved me, too, you would have tried getting a hold of me! Why do I have to do all the running and prove my worth?"

"Roman, just go."

"No." He closed the space between them. "Not until I know I have a chance in getting our family back together. Not until I know that I'll be spending the rest of my life waking up next to you in the mornings."

Ava turned away from him. She brought the back of her hand up to her face to wipe away her tears. "Please, just go."

Roman walked over to her and tried to wrap his arms around her waist. His intentions weren't to make her upset. All he wanted to know was where they stood and if they were ever going to get back together. He wouldn't be able to handle seeing her when he came by to pick the baby up for visits.

"Ava, baby, I'm-"

"No, there is no 'Ava, baby'." Ava said, shrugging him off her. "Please, just leave."

Roman watched her for a moment before he let out a sigh and started passed her. Just as he reached the hallway, he turned around to look at her one more time. "I love you. Don't forget that."


A/N: You think she'll take him back?