After an awkwardly quiet night that Mike spends ignoring Mizdow, they fly home and Mike gets to spend a couple of days with AJ in some desperately needed downtime. Leaving to return to the road with his personal assistant is torture, but he sucks it up and kisses her before walking out to the car to drive to the airport. She watches him go before closing the door to the house, releasing a quiet sigh. Her neck is still healing, along with the rest of her, but she's not sure when she'll be returning. As much as she misses her baby, she knows that she needs this time off. The pain had been so bad while she'd been competing with WWE that it's nice to slowly start to feel normal again. She closes her eyes and sinks into bed, hugging a pillow to her, pretending that it's Mike.
She's tired and, undisturbed by the sun gleaming in through the window, falls asleep quickly, lips twitching up into a smile.
"AJ, hey sweetheart," Mike whispers against her cheek as he kisses her, hovering over her body. "I think someone missed you."
She blinks her eyes open in confusion and stretches, feet pressing against his ankles as he pulls away and adjusts a squirming bundle in his arms. It takes a minute for it all to register with her but there's no denying what the insistent sounds coming from the blanket is. Confused brown eyes meeting Mike's steady blue, she frowns, lightly stroking the soft skin of the baby in his arms. "Sara?"
"Yes, she wants her mommy. I can't get her to stop fussing." He grins at his wife and hands over the baby, allowing AJ her first real look at the sweet face that slowly smooths out, her clear blue eyes, so similar to Mike's, locking on AJ's face.
"She's beautiful," she murmurs, a strange bond of familiarity overwhelming her despite this being the first time she thinks she's ever seen this little girl.
"Yes she is," he agrees, leaning over to kiss AJ on the forehead before settling on the bed next to his two favorite girls. He's warm and almost vibrating with pride so AJ snuggles closer to him, Sara soon falling asleep in her arms. They watch her for a quiet moment before leaning in, kissing softly. Pulling away, they rest cheek to cheek and watch the adorable little baby breathe in and out softly as she sleeps on peacefully.
AJ wakes up alone and chilled, her husband not by her side and no baby in her arms. She frowns and fumbles around, looking for her phone. Barely an hour had passed since she'd come in here, so she sighs and tweets a wish of what she wants her daughter to be like in the future. She sends it and closes her eyes, resting her arm over her face as she tries to cling onto the drifting memory of the dream. "No matter what, Sara, I'll accept you for everything you are, and I'll never try to change you. I promise," she whispers into the warm California air.
-x
Miz and Mizdow have barely landed and entered the arena for Smackdown when Kane and Big Show collects them, grouping a bunch of them in the hallway to announce something.
It's a tag team turmoil match, with all of them facing off against Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns, and Miz can't help but smirk when Slater Gator makes their presence felt, Heath pushing an oblivious Mizdow out of the way to get in front of the camera. When Mizdow's eyes flicker towards Mike, he shakes his head warningly at the personal assistant, quietly ordering him to not move. Amazingly, he obliges and, once Kane and Big Show urge them to leave, the teams quickly disperse to prepare for the match that will be starting shortly.
That Rumble misfortune sticks with Miz and he and Mizdow are the first team up. They lose quickly and Mike is disgusted as he stumbles back up the ramp, sore and angry. But he has very little to say, storming past Damien and collecting his things, wanting nothing more than to go back to the hotel and take a nice, hot shower, get some sleep before the weekend events. To his relief, he's not on the Abu Dhabi tour. Just imagining being on that flight with Mizdow makes him break out in a cold sweat.
No, instead, they'll be flying out to Florida. And, since Alberto is still overseas, they'll be staying with Ricardo and Sofia in the mansion, Paige, Alex and Alicia joining them just because it'd be pointless to have them all competing in the same general area without having a bit of a sleepover. Only one person would be missing and he's about to call AJ when he realizes that twitter's been suspiciously quiet, only a couple alerts being sent to him since he'd arrived at the arena. He frowns down at his phone and shakes it, accessing the website on his mobile browser. "...Dammit!"
Mizdow stares at him strangely, startled from organizing his bag. "What is it?"
"Damn phone's twitter alerts were down again, I haven't received so many-" His rant cutting off, he stares at the phone's screen in disbelief, sputtering helplessly. Mizdow's just started to approach him when he sits down heavily, almost missing the bench entirely.
"Are you ok?"
Wordlessly, he holds the phone up for Mizdow to see and the personal assistant reads AJ's tweet, eyebrows lifting as he stares at Mike. Seeing that he looks as plumbstruck as Mike feels, he quickly hits speed dial 2 and listens to the phone ringing in. She's probably trying to eat supper, considering the time differences and he feels a little guilty about this, but when AJ answers, she doesn't sound annoyed so he barrels ahead. "Sweetheart?"
"Hey, Mike, what's going on?" She's clearly clued into his sharp emotions just by that one word, her senses quickly hyperaware as he breathes in deeply. "Are you ok?"
"I saw your tweet," he says quietly. "My phone wasn't receiving alerts for awhile, so I just saw it now... Your possible future daughter?"
She barks out a soft laugh and sighs. "I wondered why you didn't respond to that. I, um, I dreamed about her, Mike." He doesn't say anything and she presses on. "She was little and adorable, and had your eyes and she was fussing until she was in my arms, and then it was like I was the only thing in her universe that made sense..." Unable to describe it any further, how the dream had felt, the sharp bitterness of reality, waking up alone afterwards, she falls silent.
"Do you want to maybe consider trying, AJ?" he asks softly. "I know not much has been said lately about you returning to WWE... If it's something you really want, we can discuss it when I'm home."
"I'm not sure," she says. "I need to think about it a little more, I think. It's all still so fresh... I'm not sure I'm done trying to win back my diva's title... But that dream felt so real... she was so precious..."
He smiles. "I can only imagine, sweetheart. Especially if she looked like you." He traces his fingers against the bench, thinking for a long moment. "So Eleanor Roosevelt, huh? I imagine she would be a brilliant little girl, with both of us as her parents."
"And extremely humble too," AJ giggles. "She'd probably run circles around both of us before either of us would be ready for it..."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Mike sighs. "Especially with Uncle John around, influencing her with all of his palace of wisdom things." He could sit and talk with his wife for hours about what could be but he realizes that time is slipping through his fingers, needing to get out of the arena to get something to eat and some sleep before their flight. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I have to go. But we will discuss this as soon as I'm home, alright? I love you."
"I love you too. Bye, Mike. Tell everyone in Florida hi for me."
"Will do. Bye." He hangs up and hangs his head for a moment, wishing he could've seen what AJ had. Their little girl, warm and safe, loved between them. But for now, she's still little more than a dream, and he has to carry on, travel to Florida, tease his friends, and be himself. Until he can discuss it properly with his wife.
-x
Ricardo greets them the next morning, grinning and clapping Mike on the back as Mizdow quietly carries their bags inside, laying them down on the floor before moving to stand behind Miz patiently. "Hola, Mike. How are you?"
"I'm great," he sighs, relieved to be in the ring announcer's calming presence once more. "How are things going for you? I hear there's been a few significant changes since I last saw you."
As soon as he finishes speaking, one of said changes walk into the room: Paige with sleep-mussed hair and no makeup, wearing little more than one of Ricardo's shirts- that drift down past her knees- and socks, unembarrassed as she leans up and kisses him on the mouth. "G'morning, love," she hums against his lips before pulling away and heading into the kitchen to get coffee, greeting Sofia cheerfully.
"Well, nice to see she made herself at home quickly," Mike laughs, wondering what Alberto thinks of such things. When Ricardo looks at him suspiciously, he tempers his expression into one of pure innocence. A quick glance at Mizdow, however, proves that he's still gaping towards the kitchen so Miz reaches up and slaps him upside the back of the head hard before Ricardo notices. "So, let me see this belt."
Ricardo nods, unable to hide his eagerness as he walks back towards his bedroom, rustling around inside before he brings it out. It's big and gold, and Mike is impressed as he touches it reverently. "If you had told me when I left WWE that I would be Puerto Rican heavyweight champion within six months, I would've laughed in your face," he says wistfully, settling the belt in Mike's lap and allowing him to get the full affect of it.
Mike rubs his fingers along the various emblems along the plate before looking up at Ricardo. "I'm so happy for you, man. You definitely deserve it."
Ricardo sits down on a chair across from Mike, Paige wandering in a moment later, looking moderately more awake and, after handing out mugs to Mike and Mizdow, curls up against Ricardo's side and playfully keeps his from him for a few moments before he pouts at her so she hands it over with a wink and grin, sipping from her own lazily. "Gracias, Mike. But I hear another kind of congratulations might be in order," he hints once he and Paige have settled down and he's not worried about spilling coffee all over the furniture.
Mike stares at him for a moment before coughing into his fist, laughing ruefully. "Read AJ's tweet, huh? Well, not yet. She's not pregnant, it's just something we're weighing. We want to make sure that it's something we're both ready for. But a baby... yeah, I think I'd like to be a father. I just don't want to push her when she might not be ready to give up her wrestling career for such a lengthy period of time just yet. I know she still feels like she has some unsettled business with the Bellas... it just depends on her neck, and everything."
"Gotcha," Ricardo says, his hand curling around Paige's waist. "I was hoping you would've let us know if something like that had happened, at least before the general public on Twitter."
"Of course. You guys would be the first to know, promise." They sit for awhile, pondering the future, when Mike sits up a little. "So when is Alex and Alicia arriving?"
"Should be soon," Ricardo says, glancing at his watch. "In fact..." Hearing car doors slamming outside, he pulls away from Paige and ventures to the front door, laughing and sidestepping to avoid running into Sofia, as they make faces at each other, the housekeeper swatting playfully at him before she answers the door for Alex and Alicia. "Hola!" Hugging his former roommate and grinning at Alicia, he leads them into the living room and watches as Mizdow scoots down the couch to make room for them.
"WWE needs to have more events in Florida," Alicia says, shaking her hair out as she settles next to Alex. "I miss hanging out with everyone! Holidays aren't enough." She grins and nuzzles into her boyfriend's side, glancing over at Mike. "Miss AJ too. Any updates on her rehab?"
"Nothing significant," he sighs. "She's taking it slow, which I'm glad for. Neck injuries are nothing to play with." Morrison had been proof of that, and Mike refuses to see such things happen with his wife, if he can help it.
They sit and talk, eat and catch up until it's time for the WWE superstars to go to the arena, and Ricardo to go defend his Puerto Rican title at the dojo's event in a match that he seems really excited for. Mike's sad he has to miss it, but Ricardo accepts his good luck graciously, hugging him with a small grin before they go their separate ways.
Hours later, he and Mizdow are the first back at the house, Mike relieved to collapse into his bed... and more relieved that there are so many bedrooms, he doesn't need to share with his personal assistant, which means he gets privacy to call AJ and talk with her about his match, random things he'd seen in the audience, and everything but babies. It gets harder and harder to keep his eyes open so finally he has no choice but to hang up with a quick exchange of good nights and I love yous. As he rolls over and closes his eyes, hugging his pillow to him, he imagines AJ's dream as she'd described it to him earlier, falling asleep with a smile on his face.
-x
"I can't believe we're all here to watch Total Divas together," Paige says quietly the next night, resting a hand on Ricardo's ankle as she leans over and kisses him. "I'm not sure which episode it'll be, or how it's edited... hopefully it doesn't end in bloodshed."
He laughs softly and brushes her hair out of her eyes, smiling down at her. "I doubt we'll have to worry about that. We might have to muzzle Mike if he complains through it- after all, he's the only one without a significant other on the show, so he doesn't have to watch it..." She lightly pinches his side and he gasps, squirming away from her. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
She crinkles her nose at him before kissing him, running her fingers through his hair as he sighs, hands warm against her back. Neither notice the others enter the room until Alicia sprays water down Paige's back, causing her to squeal and squirm away, twisting around and about to grab at the other girl, except that Ricardo's arms are wrapped around her, holding her back, and Alex is doing the same for Alicia, the two men exchanging glances as the women yell at each other, words blending together. "Stop it!" Ricardo exclaims. "Sofia's asleep!"
This quiets the two immediately, Paige slumping in Ricardo's arms as she looks guilty. "I'm sorry."
"So am I," Alicia whispers, a horrified look on her face. The group listens for a few minutes, relieved when the only thing that happens is Mike and Mizdow enter with popcorn and drinks, the personal assistant passing around the bowls and bottles before sitting down.
When Alicia and Alex settle on the couch on the opposite side of the room from where Paige and Ricardo are sitting with no other trouble, Ricardo relaxes and loosens his grip on Paige, their eyes locking as he smiles wanly at her and kisses the side of her face. "Are you mad at me?"
"No," he refutes her worry. "Just... try to take it easy, ok? I know Alicia is overly hyper sometimes, but it's only for a couple more days." She nods and they turn their attention to the TV, quietly watching.
After Alicia is shown hiding under a table and jumping out, yelling and screaming at various divas and superstars, things take a turn for the worse. They all know she'd dated Wade Barrett years ago, the relationship ending awhile before she and Alex had caught each other's attention. But it's clear early on that Alex doesn't know that it had weighed on her up to last November, his shoulders tense and eyes locked on the TV as he physically distances himself from her. Her eyes are wide and frightened as she watches him, looking helplessly back at the show. It's unending, Alicia making herself physically ill over the situation and working so hard to avoid Wade. When they finally confront each other, she tells Wade she's over him, she just needs to know why he'd broke up with her... and he tells her that he'd not seen him spending the rest of his life with her, that he felt their relationship was a waste of his time, and hers. They then hug and mumble things about being friends again, and being glad that he's healthy again, and...
If Alex had seemed angry before, he's downright livid now and Mike watches, biting his lip, as his former protege gets up and storms out of the house, leaving the patio door open. Alicia sits, frozen, for a moment before lunging up and racing after him. "Alex, no! Wait, please!"
Mike and Ricardo exchange uncomfortable glances before the former ring announcer gets up and slides the door shut, intending on giving the two some privacy. The last bit of the episode is watched in tense silence as Paige squeezes Ricardo's hand, hoping that Total Divas never causes them so much drama and pain.
Outside, Alicia stumbles around in the darkness, trying to find Alex. It's almost creepy, a bit chilly, and she's scared that she won't remember where the pond is and fall into it, but she plows on, determined to explain herself, make things right. That he had seen that episode at all, much less surrounded by their mutual friends, is terrifying to her. She'd wanted time to prepare him for it, but she had mixed up the episode order, not realizing this one would be aired now. If she's being honest with herself, she had put off telling him anything about it, not wanting to think about how fixated she'd been on Wade and her prior relationship those couple of weeks. "Alex, please!" she wails into the darkness, finally coming close to losing it as she sinks to her knees, lost and cold and drowning in agony. Certain that she'd officially lost him, that he won't want anything to do with her... and if he breaks up with her, she won't have to dwell for months not knowing why, it would all be her fault, for keeping such a vital thing from him.
Tears pouring down her face, she sobs and tears her fingers through the dirt and grass, lost in a shadowy copse of trees and not caring if she ever finds her way back to the house. All she can hope is that he's ok, has found his way back and is nice and warm inside, getting comforted by Mike and Ricardo... She's trembling and whimpering, lost in her own torture, when arms wrap around her, warm and sturdy, but instead of comforting her, they only make her cry harder as she recognizes them like a core piece of herself returned. "Alex," she cries out, turning around and burying her face in his chest. "I'm so so so sorry, please don't hate me, I couldn't take it."
He doesn't say anything, just holds her as she sobs harder, clinging to him. "Why didn't you tell me, Foxy?" he whispers. "I never knew Wade tore you apart like that... We were together when you were going through all of that. I had no clue... you claimed you loved only me..."
"I do," she gasps, "I do, I promise. It's only you... but Alex, please... he was my first love, he'll always have a strange, bittersweet place in my heart. Do you understand? Please understand," she pleads, cupping his face and staring into his eyes. "Please..."
He does. Alex had had his own first love, years ago, and he knows what she means. That thought of what could've been with the person who first captures someone mind, body, and soul that never really goes away, brought back with a sharp flash of nostalgia. "I would've loved to help you through that," he tells her faintly. "At least hold you when the pain was too much, support you... but no, you went to Rosa, you went to Paige. Everyone but me."
"I didn't want to hurt you with my uncertainty over a long-past relationship," she explains. "He and I were done for so long by then, I just... needed answers that I had never found the strength to ask before." She strokes circles in his wrists and sniffs, fresh tears pouring down her face. "I wanted to know, but at the same time I didn't, because... if there was something wrong with me that scared Wade off, I wasn't sure I wanted to know because... what if the same thing happens with you? What if I do something that makes you look at me one day and decide we're a waste of time, that you can't picture spending the rest of your life with me? Wade broke my heart, but I think that would tear my soul to shreds."
He cups her face and stares into her eyes, shaking his head. "Wade Barrett is a fool, and any man who gives you up for any reason doesn't deserve a second thought from you." He leans in and kisses her gently, reverently. "When I stormed out of the house... it wasn't because I was mad at you, not really. Just that someone could treat you so callously... I couldn't imagine ever letting you go, because... Alicia, you're the sweetest woman I've ever met... and you keep me on my toes, and I love it. I love you. And seeing you in so much pain and not even knowing about it until this moment, when it was being watched by millions around the world, made me feel like the most oblivious, out of touch person ever. I should've known, or guessed that you were going through something, but I've been so distracted by attempting to get booked... If I ever made you feel ignored, or unimportant, I'm so sorry. You're the best thing in my life, and I never want to make you feel like Wade did."
He strokes her face gently, pressing his fingers against her chin and drawing her face up towards his to kiss her again, eyes fluttering as she brushes her hands under his shirt, tugging at his belt loops, deepening the kiss. She moans lightly into his mouth, something distracting her as Alex hugs her tighter, her fingers slipping down to rest on his hips... something square and hard in his pocket taking her out of the moment, her nails tapping against it until his fingers find her hand and pulls it away, a strange look in his eyes as she pulls back and stares up at him, swallowing hard. "Alex...?"
He laughs anxiously and shakes his head, brushing his free hand over his face, before turning to look at her once more. "It wasn't supposed to go like this," he tells her softly. "I wasn't sure how exactly it was going to go, especially since nothing felt right yesterday on Valentine's Day itself, but I wanted it to be gorgeous and special and... not after a heartbreaking moment, standing in the dark in Alberto's backyard, but somehow... I think it'll work. Be the beginning of the happily ever after you deserve, Foxy." He pulls out something from his pocket and, as she cups her face and cries, happy tears this time, drops to one knee before her. "You're beautiful, Alicia. Inside and out. I thank everything for the day we needed something and found each other. I will never see you as anything less than the perfect, amazing person you are. So if you think you can tolerate me and my sneakers collection and having to protect me from squirrels sometimes," she laughs through her tears and he beams up at her lovingly, "Will you marry me?"
It's hard to see the ring when he pops the box open but she knows instinctively that it's beautiful just because Alex is offering it to her, so she holds her hand out, ring finger outstretched. "Yes," she chokes out through tears and laughter and so many emotions that she can barely breathe. "Yes, yes, I will." He's on his feet before she barely finishes the first yes, pressing the ring gently into place before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her, his fingers tracing up her arms until he finds her hands and guides her back against the outer wall of one of Alberto's garages, the cool siding counteracting their burning bodies as they sigh and kiss, her lips hot against his neck and throat, his hands bracing her. "I love you."
"I love you too," he whispers, pressing his forehead against hers and gazing intently into her eyes. "Mrs. Riley..."
When they return to the house, Mike and Ricardo are sitting up, waiting for them, and both men relax when they see the two of them in one piece, hands tangled tightly together. "Everything ok?" Ricardo whispers, barely shifting as Alex peers over and realizes that Paige is asleep next to him, her head resting on his shoulder.
"More than ok," he smiles at his friends. Nodding at Alicia, she holds her hand up and allows the light to gleam against her ring, Mike and Ricardo gaping at it before Miz leaps to his feet and hugs Alex.
"You didn't tell me!" he exclaims, thumping the other man on the back hard. He laughs as Ricardo gently nudges Paige awake and guides her attention to Alicia and the diamond gleaming on her finger, the tall diva finally getting her own first really good glance at the engagement ring now that they're inside, clearly enamored with it.
As Ricardo hugs Alex and congratulates him, Paige sleepily approaches Alicia and peers at the ring too. They stare at each other for an awkward moment before Paige leans forward and hugs her, all animosity between them fading. "This is all I wanted for you when I made you talk to Wade," she tells Alicia. "You're gonna make a beautiful bride. Congratulations, Alicia."
Alicia cries- again- and hugs Paige back, nodding. "Thanks, Paige."
-x
AJ seems disappointed that she'd missed out on it when Mike calls her and hands the phone over to Alicia so the two of them can have lengthy girl talk before the event, but she's excited too, and he's flying high when he goes to Raw. Except that Mizdow is still being... Mizdow... so Mike decides to kill two birds with one stone and focus on that little problem, finding Wade backstage. Proposes a bit of a trade with him, that he'll keep an eye out for Ambrose as long as Wade knocks Mizdow down a peg or two. And Mike keeps his part of the bargain... for the most part. Watches for the lunatic fringe, but his main purpose is to distract Mizdow, assist Wade in defeating him... and once that's successfully completed, and Ambrose makes his way to the ring, Miz has no problem bailing with his personal assistant, running backstage just in time to watch as Dean forces a ziptied Wade to sign his contract, a pleased smirk on Mike's face.
He turns, pushing past Mizdow, when he catches Alex's eye from where he's standing by a monitor down the hall, his fiancee leaning against him and unaware of Mike's presence or where Alex's focus is at. "Thank you," Alex mouths to him before pressing a kiss to Alicia's forehead and taking her hand, leading her towards catering.
Mike smiles.