Ava Peralta's arrival at Springfield, in 2005, was a not a quiet one. In trouble with a loan shark who lent her money, Ava ended up at a bar called Outskirts. Shaken and battered, when she passed out, she was found by one of the owners, Jonathan Randall. More inconvenienced than concerned, the naturally impatient Jonathan was ready to kick her out when a loan shark came into the bar searching for her. Understanding what it was like to be in trouble with loan sharks, Jonathan paid off the thug but then informed Ava that she owed him and had to work for him until she paid off her debt. Ava's luck got even better when later she encountered the wealthy Bill Lewis and his wife, Olivia. She and Bill struck up a quick friendship and she confessed that she'd like to be able to carry herself with the confidence Olivia exuded. Impressed himself, Bill helped a thrilled Ava to get a job as his wife's new assistant. Ava quickly jumped at the opportunity but was reminded, by Jonathan, that she still had to work off her debt. In the course of the next few weeks, Ava's friendship with Jonathan grew and she couldn't help but notice his attraction to his other friend Tammy Winslow. It was obvious that the feeling was mutual and upon meeting Tammy, Ava encouraged her to pursue Jonathan only to learn that Tammy was engaged to a wonderful guy. Upon seeing a picture of that "wonderful" guy, Ava was shaken but covered her reaction. Later, she met up with Tammy's "wonderful guy"--Ava's husband, Sandy Foster. Having abandoned Ava, Sandy had been laying low in Springfield for two years.

Finally found, Sandy asked Ava to give him a divorce so he could marry Tammy, but Ava was not inclined to give it to him. Later, Sandy's lawyer, Fallon, cornered Ava and tried to get her to sign the divorce papers. While Fallon was pressuring Ava, Jonathan entered. When Fallon left, Jonathan (who had been trying to find dirt on Sandy) was very curious as to her connection to Fallon and after being badgered for an answer Ava finally blurted out the truth. Though Ava begged him to keep it a secret, him keeping it was not a sure thing. To Ava's relief, he did end up keeping quiet. However, later Jonathan suggested that perhaps they should both just sit back and things unfold on their own. In her case, that meant signing the divorce papers since by setting Sandy free, she'd have a fighting chance of winning him back. Later, Ava's secret almost got out when Tammy suggested that she help her pick out a wedding gift for Sandy. Although Ava almost slipped by showing Tammy a gift that would be perfect for Sandy, she was able to cover. Finally came the day of Sandy's wedding. Although the wedding went on, it ended immediately when Sandy was presented with an arrest warrant for bigamy. Believing he'd already signed the papers, Sandy accused Ava of setting him up but Ava was not the culprit—Jonathan was.

For her role in the breakup of Tammy's wedding, Ava was fired as Olivia's assistant and thrown out of the Beacon. Sandy, feeling sorry for his now homeless ex, invited her to stay at his place. Later, Tammy visited Ava demanding the truth. Ava admitted that Sandy walked out on their marriage without a word, but she still loved him. After too many days of Sandy going on and on about Tammy, Ava found herself at a new outdoor restaurant, CO2. She immediately struck up a friendship with Coop, the son of the owner. Their rapport didn't go unnoticed by Coop's girlfriend, Lizzie, who informed the interloper that she wasn't welcome around her boyfriend. Despite Lizzie's attitude, Ava continued to befriend Coop who hired her to work at Company and CO2. Later, Ava finally realized that Sandy never really loved her and gave Sandy his freedom and his ring back. She then confessed to Coop that she'd lived her entire life up to this point for Sandy - and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next. Coop offered support, which didn't sit so well with Lizzie. Afterwards, Lizzie told Ava about how busy Coop was right now and he didn't really need yet another person leaning on him. Ava got the message and, when Coop invited her to the Cooper Christmas party the next day, she politely begged off. However, she and Coop did end up together on New Year's Eve and shared a New Year's Eve kiss. Then in early 2006, Ava spotted Lizzie having a kiss of her own--with her friend Quinn. Angry, Ava confronted Lizzie, who tried to convince Ava that it was nothing--that she and Quinn dated a long time ago. She then accused Ava of wanting Coop for herself. Later, Ava talked to Quinn and learned that he and Lizzie never dated at all. Though Ava decided to tell Coop about the kiss, when Coop started talking about Lizzie's troubled childhood, Ava had a change of heart and kept mum. In the meantime, Lizzie continued to be paranoid about Ava and Coop's friendship, leading her to encourage Ava to go after Sandy. Finally, near Valentine's Day, Coop broke up with Lizzie after he learned she'd been accepting monetary gifts from Quinn and lying about it.

Following his breakup with Lizzie, Coop was becoming even closer to Ava and made no secret of his interest but she was concerned he was still in love with Lizzie. While declining dates with Coop, Ava was making plans to go on a date with a mysterious suitor named Brian. However, Coop accidentally learned that Lizzie had hired Brian to date Ava. When Coop confronted Lizzie about hiring the guy, she accused him of jumping into bed with Ava. That same day, Jonathan informed Ava that Sandy fell to his death after terrorizing him and Tammy. He also confessed to being the one who kept their divorce from going through. Meanwhile, Coop assured Ava that he was over Lizzie, but just then received a frantic call from her, claiming someone was stalking her. True to form, Coop rushed over but soon found it was all a ruse. Later, Coop got a call telling him his fellowship to Oxford was still open. Ecstatic at this opportunity, he asked Ava to go with him to England. She accepted. Later, at a party for Coop, Lizzie informed Ava that she and Coop slept together quite recently. Coop confirmed Lizzie's story and admitted that it "just happened." Weeks later, Ava was shocked when Coop announced that Lizzie was pregnant with his child. Soon after, Coop decided to forgo the writing fellowship in order to stick around for the baby and offered to let her go, but Ava refused to go anywhere. Later, Coop confessed to Ava that he was going to propose to Lizzie, for the baby's sake. Ava gave him her blessing by saying he had to do what he had to do.

However, Coop found he couldn't go through with it and returned to Ava. Seeing that Coop was torn between duty to Lizzie and his love for her, Ava decided to walk away and leave Company However, before she did, she showed Coop her room---which she made into a nursery for his baby. Later, Ava tried to distract herself by going on a date, only to have Coop punch the guy out. Ava was furious until Coop started declaring his love for her. Although Ava tried to insist that they shouldn't be together, she gave in to the passion and the two began to make love. That is until Jonathan stormed in and lashed out at Coop for neglecting his responsibilities to Lizzie. Soon after, Coop decided he had to marry Lizzie for the baby; an idea that Ava supported since it was the noble thing to do. The day of the wedding, though, Coop couldn't stay away and he and Ava shared a kiss which was witnessed by Lizzie. Lizzie dared Ava to stop the wedding while her mother Ava locked in a meat locker so she couldn't do it. The following day, the day of the summer solstice, Ava made plans to leave town forever. At the last minute, Coop met her at the airport and told her that the wedding never happened: the baby Lizzie was carrying wasn't his! The pair reunited and Ava returned to Company.

Throughout all of this, Ava periodically clashed with Olivia, who was dating Coop's brother, Frank. Ava felt that Olivia was a manipulative user and Olivia felt that Ava wasn't as sweet and innocent as she claimed to be. So, imagine Ava's surprise when she spotted Buzz in a passionate kiss with Olivia! Though she didn't want Frank to get hurt, she felt he had the right to know and told him what she saw. Her actions earned Olivia's wrath.. Weeks later, Olivia approached Ava and offered her a job at the Beacon--stating that she wanted to rebuild her friendship with the Coopers and the best way to do that was get in Ava's good graces---since the Coopers thought she walked on water. Ava accepted the job. Soon after, Ava apologized to Buzz for alerting Frank to what she'd seen. Later, Ava clashed with Lizzie's Uncle Alan-Michael at Company when he arrived to place an order continued talking on his cell phone. Ava found that very rude and grabbed his phone away, forcing him to stop wasting her time (and the time of other customers) and place the order. When Alan-Michael ended up leaving without his take out order, Ava was forced to deliver it to him. Though Alan-Michael offered her a tip, Ava proudly turned it down. A few weeks later, Ava found herself in a harrowing situation when she and Olivia were at the Beacon Hotel when a fire broke out. While trying to get out, a door fell on Ava. Though she did try to move the door, Olivia couldn't budge it and, terrified about where her daughter was, Olivia left Ava alone in the burning building. Luckily, Ava heard someone coming down the hall and got their attention by throwing her cell phone out the doorway. That person was Alan-Michael and he valiantly saved Ava. .Afterwards, Ava angrily accused Olivia of leaving her in the fire to die. Though Coop believed her, Buzz defended Olivia which caused a rift between the Cooper men. In the meantime, Alan-Michael shocked Ava by offering her a job as his assistant. Ava initially declined, since he made it clear that he was only hiring her because she was a pretty face.

Meanwhile, the night that Coop and Ava finally made love, Frank found pictures in Olivia's handbag--pictures taken from the voyeuristic Springfieldburns website. When questioned, Olivia insisted that she was being framed and accused Ava of not only framing her but being behind the website. To prove her innocence, Olivia went to her laptop to access the site. There on the front page is a picture of her with this message: FAMILY FIRST. NOT FOR THIS SPRINGFIELD MOM. REMEMBER LABOR DAY." Shocked, Olivia promptly fainted. That same day, Alan Michael showed up, again asking Ava to be his assistant. When it became clear that Alan-Michael really wanted her for the job, Coop suggested that she take it and they negotiated her wage. In the meantime, in an attempt to bury the hatchet, Buzz suggested that Olivia ask Coop and Ava to baby-sit her daughter, Emma. The pair agreed. While babysitting, Emma snuck a bottle of Ava's perfume out of her bag and drank it. Olivia arrived home to find her daughter unconscious and blamed Ava. Buzz, Olivia, Coop, and Ava rushed the child to the hospital. Ava blamed herself while Olivia accused Ava of deliberately hurting Emma as payback for Olivia. Alan-Michael offered to fly a world-class pediatrician in to look at an ill Emma. However, when Olivia learned that Ava was involved in getting the specialist she was anything but grateful. As the women argued, things got violent and Olivia nearly pushed Ava over a balcony. Days later, a drunken Olivia nearly ran Ava down with her car. Though she stopped in time, an angry Ava threatened to tell Frank about it when Emma got better. Though Ava had second thoughts against taking Emma's mother away, Coop convinced her that she might be doing Emma a favor by having Olivia put away. Meanwhile, Emma finally woke up. Days later, Olivia lured Ava to Spaulding where suddenly a man grabbed her and tried to chloroform her. Luckily, Ava got away and escaped. Later, she admitted the truth to Coop, stating that she knew Olivia had hired this man. As she was being led away by the cops, Olivia blurted out a shocking revelation—she was Ava's mother! Olivia informed a disbelieving Ava, that she became pregnant as a teenager and gave her baby girl up for adoption. Olivia claimed she'd done some investigating and Ava was her daughter.

Ava refused to believe it but Olivia showed her a photo of the woman who adopted her baby—the same woman who Ava regarded as her mother! In addition, Olivia stated that she found out the child went by the name of her stepfather—Peralta. Shocked and angry, Ava had Olivia arrested anyway. A little later, an upset Ava got drunk and invited herself into Alan-Michael's room and told him what she'd learned. Though he could have taken advantage of the situation, Alan-Michael called Coop to get Ava. Meanwhile, Coop told Ava that he overheard Olivia tell Buzz that Ava was a product of a date rape. Ava wrestled with whether to testify against Olivia and the day of the trial, stated that no crime was committed. When Olivia confronted her, Ava angrily stated she did it to prove she was nothing like Olivia. Days later, after a disastrous dinner with Buzz, Coop, and Olivia, Ava turned to work to get her mind off Olivia. When she lamented on the fact that her biological parents are horrible people, Alan-Michael proceeded to tell her that she couldn't do anything about her family so she needed to accept and then suggested that perhaps Olivia had lied about Ava being a product of rape. Maybe Ava's father was a nice guy? Anxious for the truth, Ava demanded that Olivia tell her the truth about her father but Olivia refused to tell her who it was. When Coop also suggested it was a bad idea to find her father, Ava asked Alan-Michael for help. Later, Alan-Michael got a lead to a man in San Cristobel and the pair traveled there only to learn that he was dead. However, at the grave they learned that he could not have been her father. Upon returning to town, Ava and Coop walked in on an argument between Olivia and Jeffrey O'Neill and were shocked to learn that O'Neill was Ava's father.Doing some research, Ava was dismayed to learn that Jeffrey had a less than stellar past and decided she didn't want anything to do with him. However, upon seeing him in town, she became intrigued and suggested that they could be friends. At the same time, her relationship with Olivia slowly started to improve. Meanwhile, Coop suggested to Ava that they move to London and she reluctantly agreed.

The day she was set to leave, Ava got a call from Alan-Michael blasting her for not responding to the job offer he had made. When Ava claimed to have no idea what he was talking about, he informed her that he sent a messenger with a memo and it was delivered--to Coop. Not long after, Ava went to Outskirts where she was aggressively pursued by a man named Duke, when Jeffrey unexpectedly showed up to get him off Ava. Jeffrey tried talking with Ava but she was a bit defensive and left. She then confronted Coop about never giving her the message but he convinced her that he did it to protect her from having to make the decision herself. Meanwhile, Ava learned that Jeffrey had been injured in a fight (he defended her honor at Outskirts) and rushed to see him at Cedars. There she also found a pair of earrings with her birthstone. Jeffrey admitted that they were a Christmas present for her but Coop talked him out of giving them. Fed up with Coop making decisions for her, Ava suggested that they needed a break from each other and then went to see Alan-Michael about his job offer. Alan-Michael confirmed that he only offered her the job because he wanted to sleep with her, Ava, touched by his honesty, accepted the job offer.

In early 2007, Ava accompanied Alan-Michael to Paris on a business trip and fell in love with Paris. Unfortunately, their first night was marred by the arrival of Coop who had followed Ava to Paris and immediately began accusing Alan-Michael of taking advantage of her. Ava walked in on the argument just as Coop struck Alan-Michael. An upset, and seemingly paranoid, Coop tried to convince Ava that Alan Michael was using her. Fed up with Coop's implications that she couldn't think for herself, she ordered him to leave. Weeks later, Coop approached Ava to tell her about Tammy Winslow's death. Their mutual shock led them to make love, though Ava insisted that this changed nothing between them. Afterwards, Ava informed Alan-Michael that she wanted to keep their relationship professional and admitted that she had recently slept with Coop. Days later, Coop coerced Ava into a date with him at the same time Alan-Michael was arranging for a dinner. On her way to meet Coop, Ava innocently accepted a ride to Towers from Alan-Michael but when he was out parking the car, Ava met Coop and the two shared a kiss, just as Alan-Michael entered. Coop and Alan-Michael again began arguing about Ava who promptly walked out.

Alan-Michael went back to his office where Ava was working. When he arrived, Ava made plans to leave when Coop arrived and threw the fact that he slept with Ava in Alan-Michael's face. Of course, Alan-Michael already knew this and the two began a heated argument that went out into the balcony. There, the argument became physical with Coop shoving Alan-Michael, accidentally shoving him over the edge. Alan-Michael was immediately rushed to Cedars where he underwent surgery. Meanwhile, Ava was disturbed to learn that Coop wasn't even remotely sorry about what he'd done—in fact he blamed Alan-Michael. When Alan-Michael woke up, Ava was holding vigil while Frank immediately wanted a statement about what happened. Alan-Michael confessed that it was just an accident and later informed Ava that he couldn't feel his legs. Days later, Coop finally apologized to Alan-Michael for what had happened and then surprised Ava with a passionate kiss. Though Coop tried again to convince Ava that Alan-Michael was manipulative, Ava would not believe it and stated that she trusted him. Later, suspicious that Alan-Michael was faking his paralysis, Coop pushed Alan-Michael to the edge of the balcony, forcing him into a position where he'd have to stand. At that moment, Ava arrived and stopped Coop. After a talk with Frank, Coop realized that he didn't like the kind of person he had become and told Ava he needed to walk away from her for good.

At this point, Alan-Michael was fully released from Cedars and Ava offered to stay with him until he fully recovered. Later, Ava found Alan-Michael standing and realized that he had been faking all along. She ran out and went straight to Coop, telling him he was right about Alan-Michael and asking for another chance. However, it was too late for Coop and he simply wished her good luck and walked away. Later, Alan-Michael found Ava and was able to convince her that he hadn't been lying the entire time and she forgave him. Later, a conflicted Ava turned to Olivia for advice when she became concerned that perhaps she was attracted to Alan-Michael's money. Olivia assured her that she was not a gold-digger but advised her to stay away form Alan-Michael. Ava ignored the advice. Later, Ava learned that Alan-Michael had lied about his paralysis from the start and blasted him for his dishonesty. However, despite her anger, Alan-Michael was able to convince her to stay at Spaulding and she later helped him try to get rid of Doris by pretending to want to work for Doris. Later, after Alan-Michael insulted Olivia, Jeffrey punched him just as Ava arrived. Though she immediately went to help Alan-Michael, when he pulled her into a kiss, she realized that he was just using her and walked away. At the same time, Alan had fully recovered and ousted Alan-Michael from the company. When a drunken Alan-Michael pleaded with Ava to help him oust Alan, she refused.

Later, Ava realized she missed the Coopers. After being welcomed back to "Cooperland" by Buzz, Ava apologized to Coop and begged to be his friend again but Coop confessed that he wasn't sure they could have any kind of relationship again. Undeterred, Ava asked Olivia for help in getting Coop back. Since Ava was Olivia's maid of honor for her impending wedding, Olivia convinced Buzz to have Coop as his best man. Meanwhile, Ava was becoming closer and closer to both of her parents and was discouraged by the gulf between them. To help relieve the tension, Ava convinced Jeffrey to ask Olivia's forgiveness for what had happened years earlier. Meanwhile, the day of the wedding, Ava kissed Coop as she helped him get ready. She suggested they start over again, but Coop resisted, saying she hurt him too much the first time. In the meantime, Ava's suggestion to Jeffrey led to disastrous consequences when a tipsy Jeffrey ended up kissing Olivia on her wedding day. The couple was spotted by none other than Alan-Michael who took a picture and sent it to Buzz. Enraged, Buzz punched out Alan-Michael and Olivia called the wedding was off. Though Ava tried to convince Olivia that Buzz would forgive her, Olivia wasn't sure if she was worthy of a man like Buzz. Later, Alan-Michael left Springfield, while Ava remained at Spaulding.

Still trying to reunite with Coop, Ava got him a PR job at Spaulding. In the meantime, Ava couldn't help but notice that Coop's new friend, Ashlee Wolfe, seemed to be in love with him. Coop laughed off that suggestion and stated that they were just good friends. Though Coop may have laughed it off, Ashlee confirmed that she was interested in Coop and made it clear to Ava that she would compete for him. Later, Olivia decided to help Ava snare Coop by arranging for Ava to be mugged. Unfortunately the mugger became overzealous and ended up injuring Ava. When Ava realized that the mugging was Olivia's doing, she quickly forgave her since her intentions were good. She also used the incident to her advantage by eliciting Coop's sympathy. After milking it for all it was worth, Ava finally got Coop to go on a real date with her. Weeks later, Ava admitted to Coop that she loved him but he couldn't say the words back. The reason was Ashlee. Though Ava continued to pine away for Coop there was no way to steer him away from Ashlee. Ava finally thought she got her chance when she saw a drunken Coop at the Beacon. Ava helped him to his room where he poured his heart out about Ashlee not being there for him. Ava listened and provided comfort that soon led to a steamy kiss. However, Coop stopped himself before it went too far telling Ava that it wouldn't be fair to her since his heart belonged to Ashlee. Several weeks later, Coop confided in Ava again and again she tried to seduce him. Though Ava insisted that all she wanted was sex, Coop rejected her. In the meantime Alan was spearheading a project to renovate Main Street. However, the project would only go through with the new mayor's approval and since Buzz was against the project that new mayor would have to be Doris. On Election Day, Ava showed the Coopers Alan's plans for Main Street and told them if Doris won she would quit her job at Spaulding and help them fight.

Though early polls showed Doris winning, at the last moment a surge of votes went Buzz's way winning him the election. Afterwards, Ava heard Ashlee speaking with a computer hacker named Einstein. Putting two and two together, Ava realized that Ashlee rigged the election! Ava quickly took a photo of the pair talking. Knowing that Lewis Construction was the company that contracted for the Main Street project, Ava went to Bill Lewis and told him about the rigged election. Intrigued by her savvy, Bill quickly fell into bed with Ava who suggested that he leak the news about the rigged election, hoping to hurt Ashlee. However, Bill had other ideas. He wanted to use the news as leverage to force Buzz to approve the project while Ava told Ashlee what she knew and warned hr that her silence came with a price. Meanwhile, Olivia confessed to Ava that she been diagnosed with a heart defect. Though she was alright now, there was no telling how long her heart would hold out. In the meantime, Ashlee and Coop were set to pitch their ideas for youth advisors when Ava appeared and told Ashlee to back out so she could help Coop, Ashlee suddenly backed out leaving Coop confused and upset. Later, Coop surprised Ashlee with a dress for the Inauguration. Unfortunately, Ava blackmailed her again and insisted that Ashlee back out so she could accompany Coop.

In 2008, Ava's leverage against Ashlee became moot when Buzz learned of the fixed election and stepped down as mayor. Meanwhile, Bill's actions toward the Coopers had devastating consequences when a drunk Coop started a fire that injured Bill. Unnerved when he discovered that there was actually someone in the building when he tossed the flaming object, Coop was set to go to the police but Ava stopped him. In the meantime, Ashlee had confessed to rigging the election and Coop's devotion to Ashlee became loud and clear when he unsuccessfully asked Ava to steal from Spaulding so he could have bail money. At the same time, Ava continued helping Olivia who was falling more and more for Gus. All seemed lost when Gus decided to elope with Natalia. Seeing how saddened Olivia was, Ava egged her on and convinced her to use her condition to stop the elopement. Ava pretended to be upset and called Gus to tell him that Olivia was freaking out and would feel better if he could talk to Olivia's doctors. In the meantime, Ava set her sights on Bill and propositioned him. When Lizzie walked in on the couple and started blasting Bill, Ava goaded her by suggesting that maybe Bill wanted someone with less baggage. As the weeks went by, Ava and Bill enjoyed several trysts though his mind seemed preoccupied on Lizzie. At the same time, Ava was struggling with the notion that Olivia could die. Though she tried to be optimistic, Olivia's own pessimism disturbed her and she railed at Olivia for not fighting harder. Unfortunately, Olivia's fears were correct when she was told she only had mere weeks, maybe days to live.

Distraught, Ava distracted herself by making love to Bill. Wanting a family of her own since she was in danger of losing her mother, Ava poked holes in Bill's condom when he was preoccupied. Meanwhile, with such a short time left, Olivia told Ava that she wanted to fulfill her fantasy of marrying Gus before she died. Though she knew that the marriage wouldn't be legal, Olivia wanted to have the happily ever after before she died. Unfortunately for Olivia, Gus refused to be a part of it. At that point, Jeffrey stepped up and offered to marry her. Touched, Olivia accepted and Ava and Emma watched their mother marry in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Immediately after, Olivia collapsed and was rushed to Cedars. As a worried Ava waited, she confessed to Jeffrey that she thought she might be pregnant with Bill's baby. Unfortunately, a pregnancy test proved otherwise and Ava shared her disappointed with Jeffrey. Meanwhile, Gus was involved in a horrible motorcycle accident on the way to the hospital and died in surgery. Not wanting to upset Olivia, Jeffrey told her that Gus was fine. In a twist of fate, Gus was a match for Olivia and she received his heart. The day of Gus's funeral, Ava broke down in Bill's arms and kissed him after he embraced her. When Bill informed her that he was in love with Lizzie, Ava blurted out that she was pregnant.

Though Jeffrey knew that Ava was lying, he agreed to keep her secret. In the meantime, Olivia was wallowing in survivor‘s guilt due to the fact that she was carrying Gus's heart. Believing that a pregnancy would give Olivia a reason to live, Ava continued with the lie. Later, a disbelieving Bill asked for proof of Ava's pregnancy and gave her a pregnancy test to be admistered in the bathroom at Towers. Luckily for Ava, a pregnant woman was there and Ava got her to take the test. After announcing her pregnancy to Bill's family, Ava used her supposed pregnancy be get closer to Bill and away from Lizzie. Meanwhile, Jeffrey informed Olivia that Ava was not pregnant and Olivia, understanding Ava's reasons for wanting Bill, agreed to keep Ava's secret. Later, Ava decided to make the lie a reality and had herself artifically inseminated. Meanwhile, Ava was befriended by Remy Boudreau who helped her when her car wouldn't start. Ava sincerely enjoyed spending time with Remy while at the same time continuing her pursuit of Bill. Finally, Ava received word that she really was pregnant. Elated, Ava worked even harder to get Bill's attentions away from Lizzie. Meanwhile, after Bill lashed out at Ava for implying to Lizzie that he used her to take over Spaulding Enterprises, Ava was comforted by Remy and they later made love. Convinced that Bill would never love her, Ava made plans to leave Springfield with Olivia. Meanwhile, Lizzie and Bill's relationship ultimately floundered because of his takeover of Spaulding Enterprises. Separated from Lizzie, Bill decided to devote all of his attention to Ava and their baby and asked Ava to move in with him.

Weeks later, Bill and Ava moved in with his sister, Dinah, at the Spaulding mansion. There, Ava was pleased to see that Remy was living there as well, as Dinah's guest. Throughout this time, Remy and Ava's friendship has flourished and Remy tried to convince Ava that she and her baby deserved better than Bill. Later, Bill, trying to boost his public image, shocked Ava by announcing to the press that he and Ava were engaged. Privately, Ava asked Bill if it was real and he assured her that he did want to marry her. However, Remy had doubts and suggested to Ava that it was all a publicity stunt. With help from Olivia and Bill's sister, Dinah, Ava made wedding preparations despite the fact that she was getting closer and closer to Remy. Finally, on the day of her wedding, Remy arrived and asked Ava to run away with him since he was in love with her. Ava refused. Immediately after, Bill approached Ava and informed her that he the child she was carrying him was not his. However, Bill had political aspirations and was not about to let this scandal ruin things. Bill informed Ava that the wedding would go ahead as planned and they'd have a marriage in name only. Ava found out what they meant when, the following morning, Bill informed her that they'd have separate beds. Not entirely happy with how things worked out, Ava decided to make the best of it. However, she missed Remy and visited him, hoping that they could renew their friendship. Though Remy was hurt by her rejection, he softened when Ava spoke about how much she valued spending time with him. Weeks later, Ava's baby, Max Harlan Lewis, arrived, several weeks premature. To everyone's shock—the baby was black. It immediately became obvious to Ava that her original positive was false—Max was Remy's baby. Unfortunately, an already overwhelmed Ava was hit with a bad case of post partum depression and, fearing that she might hurt herself or Max, Jeffrey sent her to a clinic in Chicago. Mere days later, Remy visited Ava and gave her the sad news that Max had died.

Several weeks later, Ava was released from the hospital but told Olivia that she was not returning to Springfield. Around Christmas, Ava did return and told Remy that she was interviewing for a job in San Francisco. After speaking about their shared loss, Ava invited Remy to accompany her to San Francisco so that they could discover where their relationship stood. When Remy seemed noncommittal, Ava assumed that he had a girlfriend. Remy denied it and told her that he would think about going with her. After Ava had a nice visit with her parents, Remy informed her that he would go with her to San Francisco. However, he told her that she was right—he was involved with a girl. Though Remy made it clear that he didn't know where things stood with this woman, Ava realized that he had feelings for her and decided that she should go to San Francisco alone.

In July 2009, Ava was devastated to learn that Jeffrey had apparently been killed in a plane crash. At Jeffrey's memorial service, Ava met her baby brother, Colin. Afterwards, Olivia admitted to Ava that she and Natalia had fallen in love. Ava was very happy to hear that her mother had found someone to love and, despite the fact that Natalia abruptly left town without saying goodbye, Ava believed that Natalia loved Olivia.