Paige somehow makes it through Tough Enough, how Mike isn't exactly sure, especially considering her breakdown after Raw last night. They return to Alberto's house and she promptly disappears so he sneaks into the kitchen and looks through the leftovers in the fridge, making a quick plate for himself before heading to the bedroom for the night. While he eats, he puts his phone on speaker and dials AJ, eager to hear her voice. Even if they have only been apart a few hours, he finds himself missing her more and more which he expects will only get worse as the pregnancy progresses.
"Hello husband," she greets him softly. "I've missed you so much. Can you believe the wedding was almost a week ago now?"
He smiles and shakes his head, not surprised that Alicia and Alex's wedding would be the first thing on AJ's mind. At least it happened before Ricardo's bombshell, he thinks wearily. "I've missed you more, sweetheart. That wedding was a lot of fun, I'm glad it went so well for them both. I was kind of worried for a minute there, but it all worked out great in the end." He hesitates for a minute, thinking about Paige and Ricardo, and he's pretty sure it's on the forefront of AJ's mind as well but neither bring it up as he forks up bitefuls of meat and potatoes. "So how are things progressing? Any more morning sickness?"
She chuckles and he can picture her sitting on the couch with her hands on her stomach. "No, I've been feeling a lot better the past couple of days, so I kind of think we're past the worst of it. We have another appointment soon and I think after that, when we know everything is still OK, we should tell everyone about the baby. What do you think about that?"
He stares blankly ahead for A few moments, smiling to himself as a mound of potatoes slips unnoticed off of his fork and hits the plate. "I know a couple people are already aware of what's going on, but I'm so impatient to tell everybody else, I can't even describe it. I know you probably feel the same, so yeah let's plan on that."
He can hear the smile on her face when she answers. "I'm looking forward to that day. I'll see you soon, husband. I love you."
"I love you too," he says softly before hanging up. finishing his meal and heading for bed. With Tough Enough ending next week, this would be one of the last times that he sleeps in this bed until the holidays, he expects. It's a weird thought and he almost regrets it because at least while he was busy with Tough Enough, it kept him off of Smackdown and gave him more time to spend in California with A.J. But now things will return to normal and he'll have to spend more time traveling with WWE, which is OK on some levels but he'll miss his wife and friends.
Sighing, he rolls over and closes his eyes, absorbing the general peace and quiet of Alberto's house until sleep claims him.
Wednesday dawns bright and early and Mike brings out his dishes from the night before, in the process of washing them as quietly as possible when he senses someone behind him. Turning, he smiles anxiously upon finding Sofia staring at him, her arms on her hips. "What do you think you're doing?" she demands, lips twitching as she joins him. "You're our guest, that's not your job."
He grimaces and hands the plate over to her as she finishes lathering it up with soap and rinses it off. "Thank you," he says lamely, standing by her and watching as she dries it and puts it away. She immediately moves to start breakfast and he shifts anxiously. His flight is a little later than normal today, so he doesn't have to rush off first thing. "Can I help you with something?"
It's obvious she's going to say no, but one look at his face changes her mind. "You could sit over there and stir together batter for pancakes," she suggests, rummaging through the pantry and giving him flour, baking powder and salt. As he sets them down on the table, she brings him a bowl and a whisk, eggs, butter and some milk. As he mixes happily, she slices fruit and puts on sausage, grinning at the look on his face. "You like cooking, Mike?"
"I used to help my mom when I wasn't in school, yeah," he says, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure it all mixes well. "I can't wait to do it with my own kid..." His words drift as she looks over at him, his face flushing when he realizes he's about to slip and say more than he wants to. How many know by now? Star, Ricardo, ... I guess that's all... It felt like more but soon everyone will know... Shaking his head, he smiles at her innocently and resumes stirring, holding his breath when she approaches and takes the bowl from him. "How's it look?"
"It looks fine," she says, bringing it to the counter and dumping the berries and slices of bananas into it. "Gracias, Mike." Pouring it into a griddle, she expertly flips it every few minutes as the batter turns making sure everything looks fine, she sits across from him and takes his hand, idly examining the lines on his palm. He swallows and stares back at her, clearly uncomfortable. "So, AJ is expecting, hm?"
He chokes on thin air and she smiles warmly, staring at him. "Ye- yes, but how did you know?"
"Hm," she shrugs. "Us Latinas, we have our ways." She winks at him in a very Alberto-way and he grimaces. "But I could tell, the crackers that Senor Alberto prefers went quickly during the wedding preparation and she excused herself when Ricardo began talking about ordering sushi for lunch one day. Two very telltale signs that someone's working through morning sickness." Her finger strokes soothingly along his pulsepoint, soothing him, as he hears her out, nodding slowly.
"I can pay you back for the crackers, I'm sure they were some godawful expensive organic gluten free thing, she's just heading into the second trimester and-"
"No no, it's fine," Sofia cuts him off softly. "I expect no such thing. I'm just happy for you both, and I won't say anything until I know that it's common knowledge. I expect soon, though?"
He nods. "After the next appointment, as soon as we know everything's... going along smoothly..." He bites his lip, feeling anxious at the mere thought of something going wrong and Sofia gets to her feet, motioning to him to stand too.
As soon as he does, she hugs him tightly. "I'm sure everything will go great," she murmurs to him. "And you'll have an adorable little baby for the group to spoil terribly."
He pulls back and grins at her. "They are going to have a lot of aunts and uncles, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are." Sofia pats him on the cheek before turning to flip the pancakes and sausages before they can burn, the delicious smells soon bringing the others out for breakfast. Even Paige is there and, although she looks a little pale and sad, she eats well and the tension between her and Ricardo seems more charged than awkward. What this means, Mike's not sure, but he decides to mind his own business and eat. This isn't MizTV, after all.
Ricardo sees him off that afternoon, standing by the car as Mike throws his stuff inside. "I'm getting my own prowrestlingtees site," he tells him, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I only have two designs so far, but you know. It's a start."
"So if I buy these shirts, does it mean I'm helping to fund your adventure in India? When is that anyway?" Mike asks, slamming the cardoor and joining him.
"Good question," Ricardo says, shrugging. "When I know, I'll let you know."
"You'd better," Mike exclaims. "Anyway, I have to go, I have a very lonely wife waiting for me." He hugs Ricardo tight, looking up in time to spot Paige watching them from the front door. "Take care of yourself, yeah? And take care of her."
Ricardo doesn't even look confused at this, nodding grimly. "Tell AJ hola. And the little one," he adds with a soft smile.
"Will do. Bye, man." Mike gets in the car and pulls off, watching as Ricardo waves until he's out of sight. "Here I come, AJ..."
His time home being shortened because they're all expected in New York for the weekend, he wastes no time in getting through the ridiculous LA traffic to get home, AJ's smile making it all worth it as she runs to the car and greets him enthusiastically as soon as he gets out. "Well, hello there," he murmurs, kissing her back. She cups his face and sighs softly, closing her eyes when he lifts her up and kicks the door on the car, listening to it slam shut. Pressing a button on the keys, the locks beep and he nods, carrying his wife inside for some much needed alone time.
She giggles as he settles her on the couch, hovering over her. "I guess you really did miss me."
"There are no words to describe," he murmurs, parting her lips gently with his thumb before kissing her once more. She whimpers and cards her fingers through his hair as he nuzzles into her, tracing soft shapes into her stomach. "So this appointment?" he whispers to her, pulling back to search her eyes as his hand spans over where their child is growing.
"It's going to be a few weeks until there's another ultrasound," she says with a pout. "They usually wait until the 20 week mark for healthy pregnancies, but we can listen to the heartbeat at the next appointment."
Mike taps her nose with a small smile. "Well, it sucks that we can't do it sooner, but yeah, as long as it means everything's going fine, I'm more than ok with that." He leans down and lifts AJ's shirt, pressing a soft kiss to the slow growing bump. "As much as I'd love to see you again, little girl, you being healthy is much more important, so keep doing what you're doing." As AJ giggles and squirms against his tickling ministrations, he looks up and winks at her. "By the way, Uncle Ricardo says hello to the both of you."
"I can't believe you told him," she says, her eyes dark and fixed on him as he shifts up her body, brushing her hair back.
"I couldn't believe you told Star," he breathes. "Guess we're even." She huffs, melting into him anyway as he kisses her lips, nose and eyes.
When he lightly kisses and nibbles at her neck, she arches into him and moans softly, shaking her head dazedly. "I guess I forgive you." He smirks and kisses across her heated flesh, enjoying every movement and sound she makes in response.
They have a quiet day laying in each other's arms, Mike only getting up long enough to make egg salad sandwiches for them both, with pickles on the side. He grins as she eats enthusiastically, further proof that she's right, that the morning sickness has mostly gone as they settle into the start of her second trimester.
Thursday starts in similar fashion, AJ burying her face in his shoulder and refusing to move, Mike more than content to lay still and listen to her breathe, running his hand up and down her stomach wonderingly, until his phone rings. He hisses and gently frees himself from her, grabbing it off of the bedside table. Every plan he has to just deny the call goes up in smoke when he realizes John's name is flashing on the screen. Looking regretfully down at his still sleeping wife, he takes the device with him, walking into the hall so as not to disturb her. He'd ordinarily let it go but it's early enough that John wouldn't call unless it was an emergency, so Mike answers after another ring, once he's outside. "Hello?"
"Mike, man, you have to help me," John says. "I haven't seen Star since the wedding and I know things are weird between us since Ultima Lucha, but even when she was really pissed, she'd still reply, and it's just been radio silence for days now. I've even contacted her sister and there's nothing- she's not contacted anyone, her apartment is empty and her super says he hasn't seen her for days, nor has her neighbors. I don't know what to do." His voice is shaking, he sounds close to panicking, and Mike winces, unable to remember the last time he'd heard John sound this wrecked.
"Alright, come over and we'll sort this out, man. It'll be ok, I promise. We'll get your girl back." John hangs up without another word spoken and Mike waits outside, pacing around the porch while he waits. Finally he speeds in and parks haphazardly, slamming his car door hard. "Hey, be quiet, a little. I know you're panicking, but AJ's still asleep," he tells John, hand pressed against his chest to keep him outside. "Now walk me through this."
John does, showing him the few texts he and Star had exchanged after the wedding. Tense, but maybe growing more affectionate with time. After a lot of apologies and pleading to at least hear him out. "We were supposed to meet up for dinner Monday, just to see... but she no-showed, and I worried. It's not like her, no matter how mad she is. I mean, she did go to the wedding after all. But there's been no sign of her... I don't know what to do."
"We'll figure this out," Mike promises him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her. Don't lose hope, man."
John nods, swallows hard, and nods again. "How?"
Mike bites his lip, unsure, but knowing he'd never let John down. He thinks, stares at John's phone, tries to find a good starting course of action.
-x
Blonde hair rains down around her as she gasps and struggles, pain shooting up her body as she's punched and kicked again. She's in trouble, she knows it, but there's very little she can do about it. "Por que?" she begs, staring up at the dark haired man as he leers down at her. She's a fighter, she's been through so much in her childhood and then again in her wrestling career, had thought she'd found some happiness and peace with Johnny, but then he'd kissed Melina during his match against Alberto, and her heart had shattered along with her hopes.
This attack had come from nowhere, she'd been waiting for Johnny to come so they could have supper together, but then... a blinding pain stabbing through the back of her head down her neck and she'd woke up here, back in the dark bowels of the temple, tied up tightly and unable to move with Marty the Moth leering at her. He paces, mumbling maddeningly, but it wasn't until she'd mumbled, muffled under a gag, when he'd lost it all over again. "Shut up!" His slap rocking her, she'd fallen to the floor on her side, gasping as pain stabbed up one arm, probably broken. He hadn't cared, stomping again and again on her abused body until she'd felt it. A snap close to her shoulder, and then such a blinding pain that she'd screamed through the gag until darkness claimed her.
Now she finds herself awake once more, and alone. It's dark and it's quiet and she cries bitterly as the hot throbbing pain continues to ease up her body, but she wants to be out of here. So she squirms despite the rough ropes binding her, trying to wiggle out of the temple. She's not sure where Marty is, if he'll be back, but she's determined to be free. To see John at least once more, if not to accept his apology, then at least to look into his eyes once more and tell him what she really thinks of his actions. To feel the warm California air on her flesh again... It feels like she's aged twenty years while inching her way through the vast halls when she hears a rough pounding on the door. Eyes widening, she cries and whimpers through the gag, trying to make the person there hurry up, save her from this horrible pain.
She'd even almost accept Marty now, just for all of this to end...
-x
John's pain eats at Mike, his own failure to think of where Star could be disturbing him. They drive around all of Star's typical haunts, favorite restaurants, venues she's competed at, places friends live, even a nearby park where John had taken her for a few dates. She's nowhere to be seen, and finally John drops into the passenger seat, tears beading in his dark eyes. "Let's go to Boyle Heights. Back to the temple."
At this point, it makes as much sense as anything else, so Mike turns and drives in that direction, neither of them saying a word as they head for where John first met her. Neither say a word, Mike worried for his best friend and John aching with fear for Star. He just knows something's wrong... but what... what... what... The questions haunt him all the way there and as soon as they arrive, he's out of the car, all but running to the temple. It was locked up, hid away from all wrestlers who used to haunt these halls, but there's something... something calling John here and he closes his eyes, resting his hand against the cool door. Forces himself to ignore all senses, instead focusing inward on the building. How empty it feels, how cold... but then...
A whimper. He gasps, his eyes shooting up and he starts pounding on the enforced door. "STAR! STAR! Can you hear me?!" Mike joins him and they exchange glances before stepping back as one, the almost forgotten in sync movements they used to have as a tag team returning like breathing. Lunging out, they kick the door together and grit their teeth as the impact rocks up their bodies. "Again, again," John hisses and once more, a second, third and fourth time- there's a horrible splitting sound as finally the base of the door gives way, cracks in two.
John lunges forward and kicks it down to the ground, staring into the dank, deserted innards of the temple. "Star?" he whispers, voice dry and cracked. He senses her before he sees her, scrambling over the door and inside. "Oh my God, Star!" He has her lifted up and outside before Mike can move, her cries of pain raw and primal and he gently tugs the gag out of blood-crusted lips.
"Hurts, so bad, John," she struggles to vocalize. "Please..." Mike finds his knife and takes to sawing at the ropes, cursing whenever he slips and knicks his own hands, but John holds her close as soon as the last of the bonds fall away. "I can't... my arm, my chest, ay dios mio!" She screams, unhindered by the gag now, as he touches her, tries to figure out how to help her.
"She needs a hospital," he chokes out, lifting her up. Mike immediately moves, brings the car to them, and takes a blanket from the trunk that he'd put there when he'd been at his most protective regarding AJ and the baby. John wraps her up in it, not wanting her to be cold, and lays her in the backseat, resting her head on his lap. "I'm here, I'm here," he murmurs.
When she passes out, it's almost a relief.
They've only been at the hospital ten minutes when AJ arrives, latching onto Mike immediately. "What happened?" she demands, staring in at Star as she's evaluated.
"She was kidnapped by Marty the Moth," Mike mumbles to her. "Doctors think she has a fractured clavicle."
"Ouch, poor Star," AJ hisses, her own hand resting against her collarbone protectively. "Is John...?"
"He's with her." Mike kisses her on top of the head, holding her close. "Thanks for coming, sweetheart."
"Of course," she mumbles, leaning against him. "Where else would I be?"
They sit and wait for awhile longer before John joins them, nodding wearily. "It's a fractured clavicle. Son of a bitch, I'm going to kill Marty the Moth when I get my hands on him." He looks like he wants to punch something so Mike grabs him and draws him outside for some fresh air and he kicks at rocks for awhile. "Dammit," he hisses. "When I think about how long she was alone there, cold and in the dark, in pain... I should've looked for her sooner, but I thought maybe she wasn't ready to forgive me yet, and needed more time... I should've known sooner... Why the hell did I wait?!" he screams out into the heavens, not minding the strange looks he gets from people walking past them.
Mike holds him in a tight hug and shakes his head. "She's gonna be ok. I know you'll make sure of that. But don't hold it against yourself, you did all you could as soon as you knew something was wrong."
He sniffs angrily and wipes his eyes, pulling away. "Yeah. I will. She needs me right now... I just hope she can admit that without feeling like she's losing even more of herself. I screwed up so damn bad, I don't know what I was thinking, allowing Melina to kiss me like that... I don't even know why she was the Temple that night..." He groans and wipes his face before returning to the hospital waiting room, unable to stay away for much longer and risk missing an update.
Star is kept overnight, then released the next morning after being immobilized properly. Mike sees this through, makes sure she's settled at John's apartment, before needing to leave for Summerslam activities. He kisses AJ, rests his hand on her stomach for a few moments. "Hey, sweetheart. Maybe you should come to Florida for the Tough Enough finale. A lot of us will be there, it'll be great." He smiles down at her as she rests her hand over his and nods. "I'll see you then." Another kiss and he regretfully departs, heading for New York.
Doing various things around the city goes fine. His attempt at winning back the Intercontinental title does not. Ryback and Big Show are too much for him, despite everything they'd put themselves through the week prior, and Mike remembers very little after getting KO punched. He has to watch the match back afterwards as Ryback uses the advantage of Big Show's attack to pin him, his teeth gritted as he rubs at his jaw. "Son of a bitch," he mumbles, hating the loss that may have just taken him out of the title running entirely. "Now what...?"
Paige's team had won that night but she's quiet as they return to the hotel room, obviously still recovering from her and Ricardo's break up. He stares at her as she comes out in a shirt that he vaguely recognizes. "Hey, isn't that one of the shirts Ricardo put up on the website? How the hell did you get it so soon?"
She smiles sadly and strokes the lettering on the shirt before looking up at him, tears choking her voice. "Ricardo packed it for me when he thought I wasn't looking." They stare at each other for a few moments before she curls up in bed and falls asleep staring at a picture of the two of them on her phone.
Mike shakes his head. "You two are so far gone, it's ridiculous," he mumbles. Sinking into his own pillows, he falls into a deep sleep full of dreams of tickling a little brown haired girl in a pile of brightly colored fall leaves while AJ laughs from the porch.
-x
Raw is highly charged with energy when Mike and Paige arrive the next day, but neither really care as they look at the segment and match board. She has a six divas match, but it's what's scheduled before that that makes her laugh in disbelief. She, Becky and Charlotte are scheduled for MizTV, and she pushes him. "Well, looks like we're going to be sharing a ring, Mike. Best be on your best behavior."
He huffs at her. "Me?! You keep your tongue in your mouth, girly. This isn't going to be one of your selfies. My show has class." As she laughs at him and walks away, he glares at her back. "Hey! It does! My wife gave me it! Paige, dammit!"
Once they actually get to the ring, Mike wants to see how Paige would react to him at his most obnoxious. So he lays it in, talking about Ric Flair and how he'd surpassed him, just for Paige to start calling him Mizzy. Oh yeah, here we go,he thinks. Her calling him a pervert throws him for a moment but he shakes it off, just in time too as the Bellas and Alicia join them. He drifts for a moment, listening as Nikki talks about beating AJ's record soon, and he bites his lip. This fact had been something he hadn't paid much attention to, busy with his own title opportunity, but now, well... He doubts even AJ had noticed, so busy with the first months of the pregnancy and finishing her book...
He wonders if it even matters to her anymore when he decides to interject once more. Instead of keeping his focus on Nikki's comments, he turns back towards PCB. Calls them nobodies and tells them they fight like girls. Which, of course, turns all of them on him but the Bellas and Alicia rescue him from certain harm. As he rolls out of the ring, the six women fight behind him, starting their match early. He smirks and leaves, deciding that all in all it had been another successful MizTV. Sensationalized TV, that's what he always tries to give... and he usually succeeds, one way or another.
He half-listens as PCB loses but can't bring himself to care. That is, until someone pushes him into the wall by the monitor in the hallway a few minutes later. He huffs and spins around, just to stop short upon finding Paige there. "Fight like girls, do we?" she snaps, pushing him again.
"Hey-!" he protests, shaking his head. "It was just for my show, I have to try to give the audience drama, you know? I actually do have respect for-" He's twisted into the PTO before he can even finish his thought, aches and pains from the night before re-awakened and joined by fresh discomfort from the way his arms are twisted and his back is arched. "Fine, fine, I give I give!" he cries out, struggling to find a surface to tap out against.
She releases him and kicks his leg out from under him, causing him to hit the floor hard. After a moment, she drops down next to him while laughing ridiculously. "Ah, that's the best laugh I've had in awhile. Now who fights like a girl?" He flinches away when she reaches over, but she merely claps him on the arm, still giggling.
"You're mean," he grunts. "Dammit, that hold hurts! What the hell?!"
She laughs harder, getting to her feet and holding a hand out to him. He glares up at her for a moment before taking her hand and pulling himself up, grumbling loudly as they walk side by side to the exit, Paige bumping into him every few feet.
Shadows shift as a head peeks around the corner, watching them depart. "Hmm..."