Paige crosses her arms over her chest and stares at the match board for Raw, frowning. She isn't booked in a match- neither is Mike, for that matter, and she's 75% certain tonight's going to suck. Until, that is, she feels a presence behind her and turns to glare at the person until- "Mike! What're you doing here? I figured since you weren't booked, you were with your wife."

She swats at him and he laughs. "Well, it was tempting, but I felt like I was needed more somewhere else for today." It's clear he means her but before she can snap at him, he wraps an arm around her and squeezes her. "So what are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing," she sighs. "Commentary and blah." He grimaces and she smirks. "Maybe we both should've stayed home this week." She dislodges his arm and walks away, heading back towards the divas locker room where she keeps her head down and prepares for her time behind the desk. Her best chance at seeing Becky and Charlotte, maybe convince them that she'll try to be better is shot to hell when she realizes that Natalya is out there, lurking around ringside and once more blocking her from making a heartfelt apology.

Paige grits her teeth and tries to spare the television audience from having to deal with too much of the banality of the three men babbling, but her anger gets the best of her. She lunges up and starts fighting with Natalya, which distracts Charlotte and leaves her open to lose to the Bellas. She feels bad about it on some distant level, but she's not sure what to do about it. If she even wants to do anything about it.

She can tell Mike is worried, but he seems lost in thought, maybe trying to think of what to do or say to put things back on track for her. But really, she can only see one way for that to happen. Get rid of Natalya... your girls will be yours once more...

To her, it makes all the sense in the world. So she spends the next few days planning, plotting, preparing. Once Smackdown rolls around, she's glad to see that Mike's not booked, nor at the event. He has that ultrasound appointment with AJ, she reminds herself while on the way to put her plan into motion. It starts off simply enough. She finds Natalya in the halls and talks with her, apologizing and trying to explain about the pressure she puts on herself, that she misses her friendship with Natalya.

Natalya's response is a bit cooler than she'd have liked, only saying that it's a start, before turning and entering the diva's locker room. Paige's lips twitch into a smirk.

Later, she's watching on the backstage screens as Charlotte beats Alicia, just to get beat down with Becky by the Bellas. She runs down to the ring and snags the three women, helping her former teammates to defend themselves long enough to kick Team Bella out of the ring entirely. Her attempts at apologizing to them, and explain herself, is met with as much belief as Natalya had shown her... just for everything to squeech to a halt when they realize there's a commotion happening in the diva's locker room, and the girls run ahead just to find that Natalya had been attacked, left unconscious on the floor.

Paige watches from the doorway with a strangely blank look on her face as Becky and Charlotte crowd around Natalya, trying to get her to respond. Her lips part in a demented looking sneer before she turns and leaves as quietly as she'd arrived.

There are live events in Mexico that weekend and Paige stares glumly out at the sites from her hotel window. She thinks before it would've been gorgeous but right now, with Ricardo so very far away, she can barely bring herself to care about any part of it. Mike is saying something behind her, trying to get her to go out and sightsee before a meet'n'greet, or something, but she doesn't care. She can't bring herself to move, not when she wishes the voice she's hearing now is her boyfriend's, his arms snug around her as they plan where to go to first. But alas, that's not to be, at least-

"Hola, mi fuerza."

She jumps and twists around, finding Ricardo staring back at her from the screen of Mike's phone. She gapes at him and all but tears the phone from Mike's grip. "Love, you're awake?"

"Si, it's a bit early but that's ok. I like being up at this hour, it's bright and quiet, and peaceful." He smiles at her. "I can watch the sunrise." He twists the phone around and she takes it in, the brilliant reds and purples streaking across the morning sky. "Beautiful, huh?"

"Yes," she says with tears choking her up a bit. His eyes are dark with worry and she forces a smile. "I'm alright, love. I just wish I was there with you."

He releases a breath. "Mike tells me that you refuse to look around Mexico while you're there." His voice is soft, loving, and, if she closes her eyes and holds her breath, she can pretend that it's his fingers trailing down her body as slowly, as gently. "What's going on, mi fuerza? I thought you liked Mexico." He sounds hurt, as if her refusing to explore his home country without him is some sort of personal slight against him.

It causes her to force her eyes open and she gapes at him. "No, no! Love, Mexico is beautiful, I adore it, you know this. But looking around without you by my side... I can't... I can't do it, it hurts too much."

He does relax at this, offering her a small smile. "Perhaps you would feel more comfortable wandering around Merida if we were on the phone? Skype won't work once you're out of wifi, but we can definitely talk and you can tell me what you see."

She mulls it over, nods her head slowly. "That sounds amazing, love. Let's do it."

As Ricardo beams at her and she works at setting it up right, she hears Mike mumble "Another job well done" but doesn't bother to turn to respond to him, ask what exactly he means. She only has eyes- and ears- for Ricardo.