17 Nights

Tiredly, Ava dropped her things on Marc's bed and sat on the couch in Marc's hotel room. Ever since her pregnancy, Ava was constantly tired. She felt bloated all the time, and her feet and back frequently ached. The only thing she liked about her pregnancy, aside from the baby itself, was that she could eat whatever she wanted without having to worry about maintaining her figure.

She liked the excuse that she was eating for two, which Marc always teased her about and even though there was a lot she could complain about, the fact that she was having a baby out weighed everything and she felt like there was nothing to complain about.

She checked the watch on Marc's side table. Marc should be getting back to the hotel room soon, where Ava was waiting for him. She had planned on surprising him and asked Dan Girardi, Marc's room mate, to make sure that Marc back to his room and for he himself not to go back to the hotel as a favour. After spending two weeks apart, Ava was able to take a break from promoting her movie to go back to New York to see the doctors to find out the gender and decided to extend her break and go to LA to surprise Marc.

She sat up straight when the door knob started to jiggle. Ava watched as her boyfriend sdropped his bags in the hallway as he talked with his Mom. Marc's eyes widened when he saw Ava sitting on the chair beside the window. He hastily said goodbye to his mom and stared at Ava with his mouth agape.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked slightly confused and in a surprised tone, but Ava could tell that he was excited to see her just by the way his eyes changed from looking tired to happy.

Ava got up and went over to Marc, her hips swaying slightly, and hugged him warmly. "I missed you, so I decided to visit," she responded."And I have a surprise for you Daddy,"

As she walked over to her bag that she placed on Marc's bed and pulled out a manila envelope, Marc followed her every move with his eyes. He watched her with great interest as her eyes lit up when she pulled out the ultrasound picture of their baby from the envelope, making Marc himself excited.

"Daddy," she started with a teasing smirk and handed him the ultrasound. "Meet your baby girl."

Marc stared at the ultrasound picture in shock. He was having a little girl. He was going to be the father of a beautiful baby girl. The first Staal girl in the family since his grandfather's sister.

The young soon-to-be father felt an overwhelming feeling of pride as he continued to stare at the ultrasound picture in shock. He could just imagine now what his baby girl was going to look like.

She was going to have his family's light blonde hair, and her mother's smile and eyes. The very same eyes and smile that always got to him whenever Ava would look at him. His nose and cheeks, and hopefully her mtoher's height when she grew up. she was going to be one beautiful baby.

A mix of euphoric emotions surfaced from within Marc, making him tear up slightly. He wrapped Ava into a hug, catching her by surprise, and all he could say was 'thank you'. That was all he needed to say because he knew that Ava understood that he was thanking her for giving him a chance to be a father. For allowing their baby to have a chance at life and for making him completely and utterly happy.

After the initial shock, Ava melted into Marc's arms and wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling his body closer to hers as much as could. She had a soft smile on her face as she kissed his cheek lightly. Ava could tell the Marc was slightly crying because of the slight dampness in his cheeks, and it made her happy to know that he was happy enough to cry.

They stood there just holding each other for what seemed like hours. Marc broke the hug and looked at his girlfriend lovingly. She never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment. She was more beautiful than when she was all dressed up at a premier, more beautiful than any model actress or any girl in the world. To him, she was perfect.

*
Ava and Marc walked hand-in-hand around Rodeo Drive like a normal couple, except the few times the paparazzi would follow them, talk to them and try to get a reaction from them. Whenever they would be approached, Ava could tell that Marc would get a little uneasy and at the same time protective of her because of how close they would get.

It was understandable since Marc wasn't used to be followed around, basically stalked, by overgrown men with cameras. To Ava though, it was just another day in her life. She had been used to it since she was little, having made her debut as an actress at the young age of four, not to mention her parents being famous in their own right.

She led Marc everywhere in Rodeo Drive, starting from Chanel. The whole time, Marc was sweating bullets and his eyes were wide in shock and how ridiculously overpriced some of the dresses, shoes and handbags were. There was no way a dress could possible cost five hundred dollars, he would reason with Ava.

Ava would just shrug and proceed to take out her credit card. Every time Ava bought something and he saw the total amount he felt like fainting. There was no way one person could spend over a thousand dollars at just one store. It was impossible, but Ava managed to do it. Marc was surprised that she didn't even blink at the ridiculous amount.

"Can you please at least buy sensible shoes?" Marc asked as he watched his girlfriend try on six inch Manolo Blahnik pumps. "Plus you're taller than me with those shoes on."

Ava rolled her eyes and continued to eye the shoes in the reflection. "These are sensible shoes," she argued stubbornly, her lips pouting as she approached him."If it makes you feel better, I won't wear it until Babygirl Staal comes out," she reasoned.

Marc tried to look away and not to give in. He needed to learn to be immune to Ava's pouting if his daughter was going to be anything like her mother. He caved and looked her in the eyes, sighing as he wrapped her into a hug. "Fine, but I don't want to see you wear it while you're pregnant."

Ava squealed and broke the hug. "This is why I keep you around," she joked.

"I'd like to think you keep me around because I'm the father of your baby too."

Looking at her boyfriend with a deadpanned expression, Ava just shrugged. "Not really," she said with a bored tone, and then broke into a smile. "I'm kidding. I keep you for a lot of other things," she started and slipped her hands on his back pockets. "Like the sex and that really big stick between your legs," she said, her voice low and husky.

Marc groaned lowly and took a step back away from Ava. He narrowed his eyes at her and tried to control himself. "I really hate you right now. So cruel," he whispered huskily.

Ava laughed and moved closer to him. "We could always get that problem fixed. You know, if you have time."

Closing his eyes to keep in control of his hormones, he gently took Ava by the wrists and dragged her out of the store with Ava laughing along the way.