After another successful Tough Talk, Mike is relieved to be back at the airport, heading home. Through texts and calls exchanged whenever he had a minute he knows that AJ is doing alright, but holding her and seeing for himself is something very different from just hearing it from her. Another relief is that Star knows, so if AJ needs anything when he's not home, she has someone to turn to who understands the situation and will be ready to move without a bunch of explanation if something goes wrong.
He's just grabbed his luggage and left the gate when he spots her, staring right at him. His lips part into a grin as she runs into his arms, Mike lifting her up and holding her close. "Hey. I missed you."
"Not as much as I missed you," she mumbles into his neck.
"How have you been? Any more morning sickness?" he asks, breathing her in as she clings to him.
"Not really," she sighs. Pulling back, she stares into his eyes. "Doctor knew I was anxious to learn the due date so she scheduled us for an ultrasound... in a couple of hours. That good for you?" He nods, gazing at her with so many emotions warring in his eyes that it overwhelms her and she smiles nervously. "I made sure it was scheduled for when you'd be home for it. She wanted to do it early next week but I refused. I want to see this little one for the first time with you." She strokes his face. "I know you have a lot to do with the events this weekend, and Battleground."
Mike hums and lightly places her back on her feet. "Yeah, but I would've made time if you couldn't get it rescheduled." He holds her close and kisses her. "Never feel like you have to work around my schedule, this whole thing is much more important than anything to do with WWE." He rests a hand on her stomach and smiles when she covers his hand with her own.
"Alright," she whispers, burying her face in his chest as he hugs her. "Come on, let's go. I want to have some alone time with you before the appointment."
"Sounds good to me," he agrees, picking his bags back up and following her out of the airport, their fingers laced together.
A few hours later, she's laying on her back in the doctor's office, Mike's hand still held tightly by her own. She breathes in quietly as the doctor joins them, reading through some papers before looking up. "Hello." She turns to Mike, a hand outstretched which he shakes quickly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Chi. You're her husband?" He nods and squeezes AJ's hand, the doctor smiling and turning her focus onto the woman. "So, AJ, how have things been progressing? Any discomfort or morning sickness?"
"A little morning sickness," she admits. "Nothing too severe though." Mike's fingers stroke soothingly over her knuckles, clearly guilty that he's not there to comfort her through every bad moment, but she smiles and lifts his hand, kissing his palms. He looks at her and she shakes her head to show that she doesn't blame him. They both turn their attention to the doctor as she continues to speak.
"Well, this should be pretty easy. I'm going to put this gel on your stomach, and use this wand to locate your baby, and as long as it cooperates, we'll have a pretty clear first picture of your baby on this machine here." She smiles as Mike stares at the screen in awe, AJ pushing her shirt up to reveal her stomach at the doctor's direction. "Let's see..."
AJ lets out a soft gasp when the warm gel hits her skin, the doctor quickly spreading it around before pressing the wand into her flesh, searching for their child. It only takes a few minutes before she nods. "There it is." They stare blankly at the screen, seeing nothing more than little shapes and blobs. Mike's about to suggest she's at the wrong spot when the doctor leans over and points at a particular point in the murky darkness. "This here, is your baby..."
When she says it, they do see what she means and Mike swallows hard, staring at the little thing that they'd created. "Wow," he breathes, overwhelmed as he gapes at it, turning to stare at AJ. "We did that." She has tears in her eyes, and he starts to get choked up too, cupping her face and searching her expression. "We did that, sweetheart."
"Yeah we did," she breathes, squeezing his wrists as he kisses her intensely.
"The baby looks to be eight weeks and two days along, and everything looks fine." The doctor hesitates for a moment, making sure they're looking before pointing at a strange flutter on the screen. "This here? Is your baby's heart beating. We won't be able to hear it yet, but on the next ultrasound, which we'll make an appointment for closer to the eighteen week mark, we definitely will be able to."
AJ stares at the screen for a few moments. "Can you... print that off for us?" Remembering that Mike's on the road more often than he's not, she quickly revises, "Print two of them off for us?" He smiles gratefully down at her for the quick thinking, the two of them returning to staring at the screen in awe.
"Of course," the doctor agrees. Once she's printed off copies of the ultrasound for them both, she hands them over to the eager parents-to-be. "The nurse will be in in a minute with some prenatal vitamins for you, here's a towel to wipe whatever remains of the gel off."
"Thank you," AJ murmurs, sitting up to clean off her stomach when Mike lightly tugs the fabric from her hands and begins to gently do it for her. She smiles, watching him fuss over something even as minor as this. "I can take care of myself, you know, Mike."
He stares up at her, pouting a little. "I know, but I'm not going to be here for every moment of this pregnancy, so I just... want to take care of you when I can, alright? Can you grant me that much? Please?"
She sighs and cups his face, drawing him in for another kiss. "Fine. I'll allow it then." She leans back and lets him carry on with wiping her off, pulling the shirt back down over her stomach before sitting next to her and staring at the picture of the ultrasound with a soft smile. "It's going to be a pretty good looking kid, isn't it?"
Mike laughs, resting a finger lightly on the grey blob. "Obviously. You are its mother..."
She swats at him and rolls her eyes. "If the baby takes after you, it's still going to be good looking. And it'll have beautiful blue eyes..." She stares into his with a bright smile, giggling as Mike leans in and kisses her, his hand tracing down her side and tickling her as she arches up into him. "The nurse could come in at any time," she chastises him breathlessly, slapping at his chest until he pulls back with a sigh.
He's just kissed her nose when the nurse enters with the vitamins, handing them to AJ. "So, do either of you have any other questions?"
AJ stares at Mike and, both of them unable to think of anything, shakes her head. "I think we're good right now, Sally. Thank you."
"My pleasure," she says, smiling and shaking both of their hands, handing a yellow slip of paper to AJ. "Give this to the front desk and they'll schedule your next ultrasound."
"Alright," AJ smiles. "Thank you." Collecting her purse, and slipping her hand into Mike's, they walk side by side out of the hospital room. After handing over the paperwork and scheduling the ultrasound, they head out to the car. AJ sighs as she sinks into the passenger seat, still staring at the printed picture. "It's going to be torture to wait until September..."
He nods, checking to make sure she's clicked her seatbelt into place before driving off. They're halfway to the house when he realizes that she's been quiet for awhile, peeking over at her. His eyes soften, a smile playing at his lips, when he realizes she's fast asleep, her fingers still gripping the ultrasound picture. He turns the radio off and listens to her breathing for the rest of the drive, peeking at the ultrasound whenever he's at a red light or caught in a traffic jam, wishing that they could've heard the heartbeat too.
Upon finally arriving at the house, he gets out out of the car and crosses over to her side, releasing her seatbelt and leans in, picking her up and kicking the door shut behind him as he walks back towards the house with her held bridal style in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. After unlocking the front door, he walks into the bedroom and lays her down in their bed, watching her sleep for a few minutes. "I love you," he whispers to her, leaning closer and pressing a soft kiss to her mouth.
The room is dark when AJ shifts, stirs with a soft little moan. She looks around blurrily, brushing sleep mussed hair out of her eyes as she tries to figure out what happened. Last thing she remembers is being in the car with Mike, driving away from the ultrasound appointment and... Her thoughts ease, settle on the picture standing against the lamp. She rolls over and stares at it with a soft smile, resting a hand on her stomach as she examines it and ponders the baby growing inside of her.
Her other senses waking up, she notices a delicious smell in the air and has just sat up, preparing to investigate, when the door is tapped open a few inches, Mike peeking in at her. Their eyes lock and he grins, pushing the door open the rest of the way and joining her. "Good timing, sweetheart. I have something here for you."
She stares at the tray he's carrying, shaking her head in amusement. "Lunch in bed? Husband, you really don't-"
"Yes, I do," he murmurs, laying it across her legs before leaning over to kiss her. "I told you, whenever I'm actually home, I'm going to do all I can to take care of you. So just enjoy it, ok? You deserve it." He smiles at her before laying down next to her and pulling the lids off of the plates, revealing what he's made. She gapes at the spaghetti and garlic bread, Mike holding his breath in hopes that nothing in the meal will make her ill.
He quickly relaxes when she almost stabs her fork through the plate in her eagerness to taste the bread, laughing a little. When she looks over at him, brows furrowing at him, he holds his hands up. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm just glad it's agreeing with you."
She makes a soft humming noise and takes another bite, sighing happily. "You know I'll probably eat this and end up fast asleep again," she mumbles, twirling the spaghetti around her fork.
"That's fine," he tells her. "Sleep is good for you and the baby, so sleep however much you need."
"Yeah, but..." She winces. "I wanted to spend more time with you... I know you're busy the next few days..." He watches as she eats for a few more minutes before reaching over, taking the empty plate from her and resting it on the bedside table next to his before scooping her up in his arms and stroking her hair. "What're you doing?" she wonders, pressing her lips to his throat.
"Well, we get all of tomorrow with each other," he says softly. Pulling back to look at her, he smiles, brushing more hair out of her face. "But tonight, WWE wants me to be at the ESPYs... and I want you there with me."
She gapes at him before looking down at herself. Clothes wrinkled, hair a mess, body feeling just a little bit off as changes from the pregnancy slowly start to show. "Oh, no," she shakes her head desperately. "Mike, I look awful. My clothes are starting to get tighter, my skin and hair feel weird, I don't have anything to wear, it feels like I've forgotten how to do my makeup... I can't even..."
He cuts her off with a soft kiss, drawing her into his lap before parting his lips and deepening it. As she groans into his mouth, he presses his hand against her lower back and lays against the pillows, holding her close. She moves with him, eager to continue making up for lost time, her name a sigh from him as he strokes her back. "You're going to look perfect," he whispers, smirking when she shifts and stares into his eyes, a smoldering fire in her gaze. "Just like you always do. Please come with me."
She arches forward and kisses him again, tangling her fingers in his hair. "Fine," she murmurs, closing her eyes as his lips trail down her throat. "I'll come, but if I look awful-"
He presses his fingers to her lips, quieting her. "It's impossible, sweetheart. I promise. You'll see." She still looks doubtful but it stops mattering quite so much when he draws her back down and kisses her again, his hands brushing down her sides to rest on her stomach, lightly tracing circles in her warm flesh. "I love you."
"I love you too," she breathes out, lashes fluttering against his gentle ministrations.
A couple of hours later, she comes to the abrupt realization of why he'd been so certain in her comfort in her clothes and appearance: while they were in the bedroom, a makeup crew had scattered around the living room, setting up, and there are racks of dresses for her set up by the window, allowing her to get a perfect feel for each style and shade possible. Mike stands by the wall and watches the shock on her shocked face as she takes it all in. "What do you think, sweetheart?"
She laughs and shakes her head, burying her face in his chest. "I should've known you were planning something," she mumbles into his shirt.
He smiles and kisses the top of her head, rocking her back and forth for a moment. "Of course. I'm not going to throw you in the deep end and expect you to figure it out on your own. You have enough going on right now." He waits until she pulls away to brush his fingers down her cheeks, relieved that she's not really crying. "Now let's go see if they can do anything to make me halfway deserving of walking in there with someone as gorgeous as you on my arm."
She wrinkles her nose at him before allowing him to walk her over to the crew, curled up against his side as they listen to everything they'll be doing the next couple of hours. Which is a lot. Dress, purse and shoe selection for AJ, hair styling, makeup experimentation, and despite all of that, Mike ends up feeling like he's the most worked over of the two of them. He ends up with a hair cut, and a deep skin treatment- which he'll be honest was sorely needed after so many busy weeks with WWE, traveling and wrestling and not taking the best care of his pores-, then some makeup of his own to not look too shiny on the camera, suit and shoes selection and...
Once done, he collapses into the director's chair that AJ had brought him for Christmas, feeling exhausted. He peeks over at her, certain that between the pregnancy and everything else, she'd be out on her feet too, but he forgets all of that at the first real look he gets of her. Her hair is done in light curls spanning her face, and she's wearing a pale green dress that seems to highlight her features and hug her curves just right. Her makeup is soft, barely noticeable, and all in all, she looks about as stunning as she had the night of their wedding.
He reaches out for her in awe and she laughs, taking his hand and pressing it against her midsection, holding on tightly. "Sorry, husband, but after all the work we went through to get me looking this good, no touching." He pouts and she leans closer, brushing a careful kiss to his cheek, shifting to whisper in his ear. "After the show, though... you get to help me get out of this, how about that?"
This cheers him up and she laughs, patting his hand before releasing him so they can go.
The Espys are fun, but over much too soon, and, after a day to themselves where they learn that Ryback is in the hospital for a staph infection (Nice timing, Mike can't help but think) which means the Intercontinental title match at Battleground has been canceled, Friday comes and Mike finds himself back at work, handling ADR for Santa's Little Helpers. AJ accompanies him and watches as they put together the last bits that this movie will hopefully need from the actors till December, when it'll air on TV. Except for a short meal break halfway through, it's a long, tiresome day and Mike's relieved when they can finally leave, AJ already dozing in his chair while she waits. He kneels down in front of her, kissing her hands until her eyes flutter open and she smiles sleepily at him. "Are you done?"
"Yep, sweetheart, let's get out of here." As they walk out of the building, her head resting on his shoulder, he has no doubt that he's the luckiest man in the world.
It's back to the grind the next day, Mike catching a flight to Chicago where he then drives down to Peoria, Illinois. Comes to the ring for an impromptu MizTV- Sign Guy is at ringside with a Miz-nion sign, the Moneymaker disrespected by being photoshopped onto minions from that ridiculous children's movie... Mike catches another sign out of the corner of his eye but he's already turning around and doesn't feel like reading another mocking sign, so he turns his focus to the business ahead. After mentioning Ryback and the canceled match he was supposed to have the next night, he begins to mock Big Show's movies and even shows a clip of it, insulting it further.
When Big Show finally comes out, he sits in his chair and Mike continues to talk, antagonizing the crowd and being antagonized by them. Show eventually grows bored of it and walks up to his side, the two of them arguing about their movies and the match, everything else possible until- Show rears back and Mike doesn't remember anything else for awhile, tangled up in his black hoodie robe. He groans and rolls over, clutching his head as he slowly finds his way out of the ring.
Battleground is no better, Mike deciding to try to get payback and holding another MizTV. But Big Show interrupts and does the same thing again, leaving him laying and forced to struggle backstage. This one is somehow worse, however, because at least in Peoria, only the crowd there actually saw it. This one was on the Network around the world, and AJ had no doubt watched it, if not asleep again.
For this reason, as soon as he's backstage, he finds his phone and dials her, pinching his nose anxiously while slumping back against a crate. It rings twice before she answers it. "Mike? Are you ok?"
His head hurts but all in all he feels ok, though her distressed, desperate tone of voice leaves him aching deep down. "Yeah, sweetheart, I'm fine. I knew you probably saw it so I just had to call you. Don't worry, it's going to be ok."
She sniffs, making him feel even worse. "Please be careful, Mike. Big Show is so huge, and if anyone knows how it feels to be targeted by him, it's me."
"I will, sweetheart." He gets his legs back under him and walks towards the trainer's office to confirm that he's fine. He doesn't put the phone down through the whole examination, tracking the trainer's hand with his eyes even as AJ talks on about her day, slowly calming down. When the trainer finishes, he hands the phone to him. "Tell her what you think."
The trainer looks uncertain but eventually nods. "Mike's going to be just fine," he says. "No signs of a concussion, there's no reason to be concerned."
Once he has his phone back in hand, he smiles at the trainer. "See, sweetheart? I'm good to go. Now I'm going to change and I'll call you back as soon as I'm at the hotel and talk to you until you're asleep, alright?"
"That sounds perfect," she murmurs. "Thank you, husband."
He smiles, pushing the door to the locker room open. "I'd do anything for you." Some people would be scared by just how deeply he means it, but it just feels right to him. Perfect, really.
Monday is day three of "Getting trashed by Big Show" but this one is worse than the others. He knows as soon as Show leaps off of the top rope that things are bad. His ribs feel rubbery, each breath throbs through his chest, and he can only imagine: If last night had scared AJ so much, she must be frantic after this. He's down on the mat, writhing in pain, when Big Show complains about Ryback, challenging him in the future. As if Miz is an afterthought, unimportant. Meaningless. After every sentence, he kicks Mike again and again, his boot bruising Mike's hip... but it doesn't stop Mike from registering that Big Show is going to be in Florida for Tough Enough. Which means they're going to be in the same building.
He can barely move so, once Big Show finally leaves, trainers help him out of the ring and up the ramp and, to his incredulousness, fans actually applaud him. Not all, of course, but just the intelligent ones. He doesn't care, though, intent on getting backstage, catching his breath, and yet again calling AJ to reassure her that he's fine. Which he is, no matter how badly his body is burning right now.
It doesn't stop her from being upset, however, and she starts to cry as soon as she hears his voice. "Come home, Mike. Just come home. Hasn't the last few days been enough?"
His face hurts, his ribs feel like glass, and he'd give anything to do as she'd requested. "Sweetheart, I will, I promise. On Wednesday. I can't just drop the obligations I have because of some aching ribs."
This only makes her cry harder. "But he's going to be there, he said so himself! What if he gets his hands on you again? What if he really hurts you seriously this time? I heard about Alberto, how he collapsed and had to no-show, Paige told me- I can't go through that with you, not right now. I need you healthy and with me, to support me through this pregnancy and be there for our little boy or girl at the end of it. Please, Mike..."
Mike's heart aches. "Sweetheart, I promise you. I won't let him get his hands on me. And Jericho will be there, if Show starts to get out of control, he'll stop him. None of us want drama from the ring to bleed into Tough Enough. Nothing will keep me from being there for you, but also a little extra money won't hurt, will it?" He looks around, not wanting to be overheard, before whispering into the phone. "Give our little boy or girl even more financial security for their future?" She doesn't say anything and he grimaces, rubbing his ribs. "I promise you, it'll be ok. I'll call you before I fall asleep... and you'll get sick of my voice tomorrow, alright? I'll call you when I reach Florida, and before the show, and after Tough Talk, and whenever else I have a minute."
"You better," she sighs, finally resigning herself to his doing this. "If Big Show does anything to you, I swear..."
"Mama Bear will kick his ass," Mike says, a faint smile on his face. Even though he's kind of joking, he can see her doing it too. "Take it easy, sweetheart. I'll call you back soon. I love you so much."
"I love you more," she murmurs.
"I don't think that's possible." He sees the trainer heading his way and meets his gaze head on. "Bye, sweetheart." Hanging up, he sits still as the man pokes and prods at his sensitive mid-section, digging his nails into his palms and thinking about his wife and the ultrasound picture of his child, the two main things in his life that he continues fighting for.
"Just bruised," the trainer finally decides, causing Mike to release a relieved breath. Bruised or broken, it still hurts like a bitch but telling AJ bruised ribs sounds less terrible than broken.
"Thanks," he mumbles, collecting his things and heading for the door, mind racing. Now to get through Tough Talk tomorrow...