Disclaimer: I only own Ava and Jackson.
A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone following the story. I love you all! Sorry for the long wait. I'm hoping it won't be too long until the next update. Enjoy. Review!
Ava sat up in bed abruptly, her breathing hard. Ever since they had brought the baby home, she had been having nightmares about something bad happening to him while they slept. Trying to calm herself down, she felt around the bed, trying to find Roman's arm to shake him awake.
"Roman." She muttered, still trying to reach for him. "Wake up."
It took her a few seconds to realize that he wasn't even in bed with her. Looking to the side of her, she blew out a small breath of frustration when she finally noticed. Throwing her feet over the edge of the bed, she started out of their room and went directly to the baby's room. After checking on him, she would feel a lot better.
Just as she reached Jackson's room she caught sight of Roman sitting in the rocking chair, holding their newborn son in his arms. She leaned against the doorway and smiled at the sight before her. Roman being home with her after the baby's birth was the greatest thing to happen. She loved that they would be able to bond together as a family before he had to go back on the road.
"How is he?" She asked, softly walking into the room.
"He's fine." Roman smiled, looking over at her. "I heard him starting to fuss on the baby monitor, so I got to him before he could wake you."
Ava stopped right in front of them. "What am I going to do once you're back on the road?"
"Take Jackson and come with me." He said, half jokingly.
"Maybe once he's a little older." Ava admitted. "Right now he's too small to bring out on the road and expose to so many germs."
Roman laughed lightly and then rose to his feet. He walked over to the crib and gently laid Jackson down. He pulled the blanket over him and then turned to Ava, a smile still on his face.
"As crazy as I know that sounds, you're right." He sighed, still looking down at Jackson. "I just know once I head back on the road I'm going to miss you both like crazy. Having you guys with me would be the best thing. I get to be with you, and together we can watch him grow."
Ava walked over to the crib and wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged herself into him. She looked down at the crib and smiled down at her sleeping son. She wanted nothing more than to pack up the baby and just leave for the road with Roman, but she really had to think about his welfare and not just her and Roman. They couldn't risk him getting sick.
"We'll see how things are when it comes time for you to head back on the road. Jackson will be a little older and I'll be less paranoid about his surroundings. I can't keep him locked up in the house." She laughed, then looked up at Roman. "But I so very much want us to be with you when you do go back."
"You will be." He kissed the top of her head. "Now that we both know he's fine, we can both get back to sleep."
They were almost to their room when Roman wrapped an arm around Ava's waist and pulled her back to him. "Maybe we shouldn't rush back to bed so quickly." Roman whispered. "Jackson is asleep. We've been at his side all day today and we're finally alone until he wakes up again."
Ava leaned back into him and tilted her head up a bit to look up at him. "As tempting as that sounds..."
"Get your mind out of the gutter." He guided her out of the baby's room and into the hallway. "I just meant we haven't said much unless its about Jackson."
"Roman, do you know how long its been for me? Six more weeks is going to kill me." She sighed. "Do you know how you look?"
Shaking his head, he let her go and turned her around to face him. "There's other things we can do."
"Look I have the six week time frame to get my butt back into shape before I get naked in front of you again."
He wrapped his arm around her again, this time grabbing a handful of her ass. "Don't. You're beautiful."
"Mmm, I bet. Now you just have more to grab onto."
"You're sexy." He tightened his grip on her ass. "I can't wait to..."
"Stop." Ava shushed him, placing a finger against his lips. "I don't want to hear it. Hearing you say these things will only excite me and neither of us in any condition to fuck."
Roman pushed her finger away from her lips with his free hand. "Damn straight it's going to be a fuck before anything else." He laughed. "All this time together and we're going to drive each other nuts not being able to touch either. Do you know how difficult it is?
Ava laughed. "Do you know? I'm seriously considering taking Jackson to my house and not seeing you for six weeks."
"You wouldn't." Roman whispered, leaning his head down towards hers.
"No, I wouldn't." She smiled. "Because I'd rather deal with being a stupid horny fool than not being here with you."
"You're nauseating."
"You were thinking it, too." Ava smiled, inching her lips up to his. "The two of us are going to suffer from blue balls until we're both cleared."
Roman's hands drifted to her hips so that he can pull her closer to him. "I couldn't think of a better person to suffer with."
"My boyfriend, the charmer." She teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We better get to sleep while we still can. Jackson likes to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to eat again."
"Daddy's boy."
Ava pulled away from him. "Damn straight he is." She replied, then started for their bedroom.
Loud knocking on the door woke them up again. Ava groaned when she looked at the clock and saw it was a little after seven in the morning. She knew exactly who was at their door. She got up and started out of the room while Roman was laying in bed, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"I'm going to kill those idiots." Ava mumbled, as she peaked into Jackson's room. A slight smile graced her lips when she saw he was still asleep. "Heavy sleeper like his Mom. You got something from me, honey."
Seconds later she was angrily pulling the door open, her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw her two friends. "What the fuck are you guys doing here this early in the morning?"
"We didn't get to visit you in the hospital." Seth said walking past her and inside. "We really wanted to see you guys."
"Your solution was to come here this early in the morning?" She snarled, shoving the door closed.
"It could have been worse, Ava." Dean shrugged. "I could have called your ass to come pick us up from the airport. We saved you the trouble. You should be grateful."
Ava lightly hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Well, stupid me. Why didn't I think of that? You're a thoughtful fella, Ambrose."
"It took me nearly a half hour to convince him it was better we come here ourselves. I told him you wouldn't be happy about us showing up this early."
"I don't know why she would be upset." Dean smirked, walking into the living room and sitting down. "We saved you money on gas and you get our smiling faces in your presence. Its a win for everyone!"
"Fuck off." Ava mumbled, sitting down next to him.
"Where's Roman?" Seth finally asked. "Is he with the baby?"
"Jackson is still sleeping and Roman was struggling to wake up when I got out of bed."
Both men nodded.
"While Sleeping Beauty is getting himself ready, can we peek in at the baby?" Seth asked. "I've seen enough of you and Roman for a lifetime. We want to see a new face."
Ava snorted. "God help him, he has such idiotic uncles."
"You say that now, Ava, but you're really going to appreciate us when he gets older." Dean warned her. "There are just some things a boy doesn't tell his parents."
"Fabulous." She laughed. "He's going to get good tips on buying alcohol underage and crossfit. Just what every little boy needs to know!"
"Its never too early to teach him about crossfit." Seth said, shaking his head.
"I'm not going to teach him about underage drinking until he's at least sixteen, Ava." Dean scoffed. "Until then I'm just going to teach him how to break shit and get away with it."
Ava looked from Seth and Dean and just shook her head. "I changed my mind, I don't want you guys around my son." She jokingly started to shoo them away. "Get out."
"You think we're that easy to get rid of?" Dean shook his head. "And here I thought you knew us."
"I'm honestly a little hurt, Ava." Seth chimed in, pressing his hand against his heart. "All those days of training and nights of binge drinking."
"You guys are morons." The new mommy laughed. "Follow me. I guess I want you losers to meet your nephew."
They followed her down the hall and into the baby's room. Just before opening the door, she turned to them. "I don't want any inappropriate language around the baby. You are not allowed to hold him until you've washed your hands and you're sitting in the rocking chair or the couch."
Dean and Seth just nodded their heads in agreement to shut her up. When she opened the door the rest of the way, she stepped aside and allowed them to walk inside. She spoke in a low voice reminding them to keep quiet.
"I don't think you need to tell us to shut up." Dean smirked, looking down into the crib. "Little guy is awake."
Ava joined them by the crib and smiled when she saw that Jackson was indeed awake, his eyes moving around and drinking in his new surroundings. She was surprised he hadn't started crying when he woke up to either be picked up or fed.
"Dude, your vagina spit out another Roman." Dean remarked.
She slapped him upside his head. "Leave my vagina out of this."
"Come on, the baby looks like him already." Seth agreed with Dean.
"He's not even a week old, Seth." Ava leaned over the crib and picked Jackson up. "His features aren't that distinct yet."
"Every mother's anthem when they find their child looks nothing like them."
Ava stopped walking to look at Dean. "Don't make me hit you again."
"Shouldn't you check on Roman to see if he's alive?" Dean asked.
They had been there for nearly an hour and they had watched Ava feed, burp, and change Jackson. They had to listen to her nervous mother's speech when Seth had asked if he could hold Jackson for a little bit. While it was funny, even Dean had to admit it was frustrating. Jackson was four days old and she was already smothering him.
"He's still sleeping."
"Long night?" Seth questioned.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Jackson had a hard time sleeping last night. Not to mention, he's still groggy from the pain meds he's had to take."
Before another word could be uttered, Roman finally joined the group. After getting through his greetings with Dean and Seth, he headed over to Ava and Jackson. He leaned down and kissed Jackson and then brought his lips up to Ava's.
"Morning." He whispered, a small smile on his face.
Seth cleared his throat from behind them. "So? Anything else new aside from Jackson being born?"
"Always to the point, Rollins." Roman smirked. He sat down next to Ava and laid his arm on the back of the couch. "Should we tell them?"
"They're going to figure it out eventually." Ava laughed as she started to get up. "I'm going to give Jackson a bath."
"You need help, babe?" Roman asked, looking up at her as she got up.
"I'll be fine. Sit with the boys for a little bit." She said. "You're still fresh from surgery too. You need to chill out a bit."
"When it comes to you guys, I can't chill out."
When she was gone, Seth and Dean looked at Roman with shit eating grins on their faces.
"Back together, I see." Dean said, not wiping the grin off his face.
"How does it feel?" Seth asked.
Roman looked in the direction Ava had gone in with Jackson and nodded his head. It felt great having her by his side again. He loved going to sleep at night knowing that she and Jackson would be there. He had his family together and he was on cloud nine.
"It feels great." He finally said, turning to look at his friends. "I didn't expect to see her at the hospital that day. I was even a little pissed off that she showed up. Especially since she was so close to her due date. But looking back on it now, I'm glad she showed up."
"Good, I'm glad." Seth smiled. "After what you guys have been through, you deserve some happiness."
"What about Corey?" Dean wondered. "Things with them were kind out there."
The mention of Corey's name made Roman's blood boil. Knowing that Ava had gotten closer to him towards the end of her pregnancy bothered him. The more he thought of it, the more he realized he couldn't be mad. He practically pushed her to Corey.
"He came to see her the day Jackson was born."
"And you let him live?" Seth asked, surprised. "I'm amazed."
"I wasn't there. He had shown up while I was here. By the time I got back to the hospital he was on his way out." He breathed in deeply and then exhaled slowly. "Ava talked to him and told him where they stood. He's fine with it."
"Are you okay with it?"
"As much as I hate it, I have to deal with it. I can't tell Ava who to be friends with. As long as he remains respectful towards her and doesn't do anything to harm her or put the moves on her, I'll be civil."
"You'll be civil?" Dean laughed. "I remember you two fighting at NXT once."
"I'll be nice to him for Ava's sake, but I'm not going to be friends with him."
"Good. Its nice to see you guys finally being adult about all this."
"I don't want to do anything to disrupt my family." Roman admitted. "I love Ava and Jackson too much to let them go."
"What about Summer?"
"Done." Roman replied without hesitating. "I fucked up."
Ava walked back into the living room with Jackson clean and dressed in fresh clothes. She walked over to Roman and sat down next to him.
"What were you talking about?"
"Corey and Summer." Dean shrugged. "Good to see that everything is settled and back to the normal."
Ava glanced at Roman for a moment before smiling and nodding her head. They had come such a long way in the last nine months. When she first discovered she was pregnant, it never crossed her mind that she would fall in love with Roman as much as she did. It never occurred to her that she would be sitting next to this man, with their son, completely enamored with the idea of family life.
"Yeah, back to normal." She smiled. "Babe, can you take Jackson? I'm going to start making food for you losers."
"Yes!" Seth exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you to say that since we got here."
"Pardon me for not rolling out the welcome wagon." Ava scoffed. "You two idiots show up here unannounced at the ass crack of dawn and expect food? That's funny."
"Why are you acting like you met us yesterday?" Dean laughed, getting up. "Come on, I'll help you out."
Ava passed the baby over to Roman and then went out to the kitchen with Dean following close behind her. When they got there, he shut the kitchen door behind them and stood in front of it.
"How are you really doing?"
It always unnerved her how well Dean knew her.
"I'm very happy, Dean." She said going over to the cabinet and pulling out a pan. "I'm happy that I'm with Roman again. It feels great knowing that he's going to be here by my side. It was hard being away from him, but I really think its helped us both in the long run."
"But?"
"But I have the fear that Summer is going to show up and sabotage everything again. He says he hasn't talked to her since then, but she never goes away. She always finds a way to butt in."
Dean watched as she moved over to the fridge and pulled a carton of eggs out. She closed the fridge and moved back to the stove. He continued to watch as she silently made their breakfast.
"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Dean finally broke the silence. "You didn't see the wreck he was when he was on the road. While he didn't cope the right way, he did miss you, Ava. I know that him sleeping with Summer is something he's always going to regret. But he won't ever go back to her. I see how much he loves you and Jackson. Look, you and I never had father figures in our lives, but the way Roman looks at Jackson is the way any loving father would look at their child. He's never going to do anything to harm him. He's not going to hurt you."
"You really mean it?"
"Yes." He responded, going over to her and pulling her in for a hug. "Roman wouldn't be here if he didn't want any of this. I know he loves you and I know you love him too. All this shit with Corey and Summer messed you guys up. Even if he says you squared things out with Corey, I know he's still worried about him. Maybe, the two of you should talk about this some more."
"Yeah, I think you're right." She completely broke away from him and went back to what she was doing. "I'll talk to him when Jackson goes down for his nap."
Dean saw how down she looked and he brightened up with an idea. "You and Roman go out after we all eat. Seth and I will take care of the little guy until you guys get back."
Ava whirled her head around to look at him, a frightened look on her face. She wasn't so sure she could leave her newborn son with Dean and Seth. Especially, since they didn't know what his cries meant, how to change him, or put him to sleep.
"No." She said.
"Why not? Seth and I can handle the baby for like an hour." Dean shrugged. "Come on, it will give you and Roman some time away from the house. I'm sure you guys haven't gotten out since the baby was brought home."
"Dean, the baby is four days old. He's too much for you and Seth to handle right now." The panicked mother said, not willing to leave her baby. "I'm too much of a wreck to leave him alone with strangers."
"Seth and I aren't strangers." Dean pointed out. "We're his uncles. It gives us a chance to bond with him and vice versa. Please, Ava for your sake, let us watch the baby while you and Roman go out."
"Do you think it was a good idea to leave them with Jackson?"
Ava looked at Roman and shook her head. Somehow Seth and Dean were able to convince them to head out for a little bit and leave them with the baby. They respectively gave them their opinions and practically ushered them out the door when they heard the defeat in their voices.
"I'm afraid that when we come back the baby might have the diaper on his head and Dean will be drinking milk out the baby's bottle."
Roman couldn't fight the smile that stretched his lips from ear to ear. "Didn't you, uh, pump that milk for your..." He asked, gesturing towards his chest in the form of cupping breasts. "From your boobs?"
"You watched me give birth to Jackson and you're having a hard time saying boobs?" She laughed, shaking her head. Her laughter died down. "I hope when we come back everyone is fine and that I can trust those two idiots with Jackson in the future."
"Jackson will be fine." Roman wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Dean and Seth will be the ones in tears when we get back. That's a guarantee."
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they finally stopped at a local coffee shop. After getting their orders, they sat down on the outside patio, as far away from other patrons as possible.
"What are we doing here?" He finally asked, leaning forward.
She looked away from him for a second and then looked back at him. She tilted her head to the side and shot him a small smile. The man sitting across from her was the father of her child and the love of her life. With everything they had been through, she knew she had to be up front with him. Especially, after she had been so vocal about talking to each other in the past. If they really wanted to move on, they needed to hash out the subject of Summer, just like they had to do the same with Corey.
"Summer." She mumbled. "I know you've told me a million times that I have nothing to worry about anymore, that you haven't talked to her since that night, Roman. I believe you, really I do, but I have that nagging fear that she is going to try something again, whether or not you approach her. With Summer being on the main roster with you, I really worry."
"My god, Ava." Roman sighed. "Are we really going to let Summer and Corey dictate our relationship with fear? If I'm not worried about Corey, you're worried about Summer."
"You don't have to worry about Corey. I never went to bed with him." Ava pointed out.
"But you worry about my one moment of weakness with Summer?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "She was a one time thing. I regret that night. I hurt you. I hurt us." Roman said, taking her hands in his now. "I almost lost you both. That's not something I want to experience again. You guys are my world now and I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize our life now."
"What do we do now? How do we get rid of this fear that is clearly instilled in us?"
"We trust each other." Roman said, taking her hands in his. "Its as simple as that. If you feel that Corey is someone you want in your life as a friend, that's fine. I'll find a way to be civil with him to make you happy. If you say that nothing is ever going to happen between you two, then I trust you. When you left me, it was the most painful thing I've gone through. At the time, I thought you were just out to get me, to get revenge on me for going to Summer. As time went on, I realized you were right to break things off. Did I deal with it the right way? No. But I've come to learn that you put a lot of trust in me and that I killed it. You're giving me another chance and we're working up to rebuilding that trust between us. My trust is still in you because I know you wouldn't ever do a thing to hurt me. What you have to do now is start trusting me again."
Ava contemplated what he was saying and realized that he was right. In order for this to work, she needed to open up to him. Her problem was that she had always blamed Roman for what happened. She had only taken it out on him and never on Summer.
"I do trust you."
"Then why the concern?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you trusted me we wouldn't have left our four day old son with Dumb and Dumber."
"Its her I don't trust." She said, looking away him. Pulling her hands out from underneath his, she sat back in her chair. "In all the time I've known her, she's done nothing but get under my skin. The fact that you went to her in a moment of weakness is a win in her head. That one time is going to be a big thing for her and she's always going to think you're going to run back to her."
He sat forward, staring at Ava intently, hoping to get her to look at him again. When she did, he smiled lightly and reached across the table to wipe away her tears. "I love you." Roman said. "We've come a long way in the last nine months. It's been a tough time, but we've learned to work through our issues. Now shouldn't be any different. If you trust me to be with you and to raise our son together, then we wouldn't be talking about this."
Ava chewed on lower lip while she thought over what he said. "You're right. You're absolutely right." She nodded. "I do trust you. There's no way I would be at home with you, a smile lighting up my face when I watch you with Jackson and think of how happy we are. I love you. I'm not going to let her worry me. If you wanted to be with her, you would have continued seeing her."
He drank some of his coffee and then set his cup back down. "We're done with this talk?"
"You and I are done with this talk." She motioned between them. "But I think its finally time that Summer and I have a woman to woman talk next time I see her. No more snide comments. I'm a family woman now and I'm not going to let anything affect my life you with and Jackson in a negative manner."
"If that is going to help you get past this, then I support it." Roman smiled. "I want us to be stupidly and nauseatingly happy together."
Ava laughed, shaking her head. "We will be." She scooted her chair back and stood up. When Roman got up, she put her hand in his and they started walking. "Let's go home."
"Home." He repeated. "I love when you say that."
Ava stopped walking and turned around so that she was facing him. She wrapped her arms around him and looked up at Roman. "I love saying it, too." She admitted. "Makes everything in the world seem right."
Roman leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. "Let's go home."
A/N: Anybody else looking forward to her settling stuff with Summer?