The days that Mike are in Saudi Arabia feels like fresh torture, especially on his birthday. Wifi is iffy at best, so AJ hears very little from him. She spends her days with Star, who is also anxious and grim. She will be having an appointment in a few days to see if she can shed the sling, finally begin rehab on her collarbone. Get strong once more before Lucha Underground season 2 kicks into gear.

They go shopping and buy more maternity clothes, for the later months when AJ's pregnancy becomes more pronounced. Dinner is at a Chinese place and AJ eats enough mooshu pork and sweet'n'sour chicken for the three of them, Star merely smiling at her when she's looking and glaring down anyone who dares to stare at her strangely when she's not. After the meal, and a few fortune cookies- AJ's fortune reading Enjoy the good luck a companion brings you, which causes both women to giggle as her hand rests over her stomach.

Star's is a bit more complicated, Be on the lookout for coming events; They cast their shadows beforehand. She stares at it, perplexed, feeling like it means something about Lucha Underground looming in the shadows. Things are still unresolved between her and Johnny after what had happened between him and Melina, and she's not sure what to think about things should the woman continue to make a play for her man. But she had promised AJ a fun day, so she shakes it off and they go home. Star puts in Marine 4, recognizing the look on AJ's face of longing, and sits down next to her. After they're twenty minutes into the movie, Star clears her throat. "Mami, I was able to buy something while you weren't looking."

"Oh, Star," she shakes her head, laughing weakly. "You didn't have to-" But it's too late, so she quiets her protests and watches as the woman digs around in her purse with her good arm, finding the bag and drawing it out. AJ takes it from her with a soft thank you and slowly unfolds the plastic, revealing the item inside. "Oh my God," she breathes, eyes welling with tears. "Oh my God. It's adorable." A small onesie for newborns, with puppies all over the soft fabric, all ready and waiting for when her baby will be in her arms, needing something to wear. "The first clothes bought for my baby..." She laughs and cries as Star hugs her one-handed. "Thank you, Star. I appreciate this so much."

Star pulls away and beams at her. "I need to plan a baby shower for you, mami. Maybe once my arm is stronger."

"I'd like that," AJ admits, imagining being surrounded by her closest friends and playing games, eating food and celebrating the upcoming birth of her first child. The two of them settle back in to watch the rest of the movie until they fall asleep side by side, the movie soon winding down and going to a blank screen until Morrison comes and scoops Star up, taking her to the car. He returns long enough to make sure AJ's comfortably settled on the couch, draping a blanket over her, before locking the door behind him and leaving.

-x

After leaving Saudi Arabia, Mike returns home. He's not booked on Raw, he wouldn't even bother going there except that Paige really does seem to be hanging over the precipice since Ricardo left. He touches the baby clothes with a wistful, amazed look in his eyes and then gently folds it once more and lays it in the dresser drawer that he had put into the nursery so it'd feel a little less empty. There's still so much to do, they need to paint the room, and get a crib, and a changing table, and a high chair, and a million other little things and-

AJ's hand rests against his stomach, feeling his abs as he breathes in deeply, trying to keep track of it all. She presses a soft kiss to his back, her warmth obvious through his shirt, and whispers, "Star wants to plan a baby shower. That will put some of the pressure off of us because people will buy things..." She presses against him, letting him feel the signs of her pregnancy against his spine. "It's becoming real, isn't it, Mike?" He nods and she smiles, turning him around and urging him to lean down so she can kiss him, slow and hot and with all of the passion that the time apart has left her with. "I didn't get to give you anything on your birthday, or even wish you a happy one..." She pouts and shifts up to wrap her arms around his neck, allowing him to feel every inch of her. "I guess I should make that up to you..."

He moans into her mouth and guides her back, out of the nursery and down the hall into the nearest room, the bathroom where he lifts her up and sits her on the counter, drawing her back into him. As she wraps her legs around him, he hisses and supports her by gripping her hips. "I've missed you so damn much," he sighs, her fingers making quick work of his shirt.

"Not as much as I've missed you," she rebuffs him, pressing closer to him as he trails slick kisses down her throat, her chest. Her shirt disappears next and she sighs as his hand shifts down her stomach, resting for a moment over where the baby tends to kick the most, before moving on. She closes her eyes and grips him tighter, breathing hard between each kiss. He's always so gentle, fluid, with her, that she can never quite get enough, and tonight's no exception. Especially with her hormones making everything just a little more intense, desperate, between them. "Mike," she breathes into his ear as his lips and tongue trace against her flesh. "Mike..." She feels as he smiles against her, a shaky gasp slipping from her lips. "Please."

He straightens back up and stares her in the eye, brushing her hair out of her face before claiming her lips once more. She clings to him and sighs, closing her eyes once more as her nails dig into his shoulders. Tension melting from her in a rush, she slumps into him and sighs when he gently lifts her and carries her back out of the room, her ankles still digging into his spine as he settles her on the bed. He hovers over her, watching as she catches her breath and smiles sleepily up at him. "Sweetheart," he hums, stroking her arms gently. "I love you so much."

"I love you more."

He wrinkles his nose at her, then laughs, leaning down to kiss her stomach. "And we both love you more than anything."

"Yes, we do," AJ whispers, their fingers slowly interlacing over where their baby's at. "Next Thursday's ultrasound feels so far away. And February seems unimaginable right now..."

"Both dates will be here before you know it," Mike says, shifting to the foot of the bed and taking her feet in his hands, lightly massaging them from the tip of her toes to the bottom of her heel. She gasps and moans softly, staring at him with intent dark eyes. He knows that the majority of the stress of the pregnancy goes here from all of the walking or standing she tends to do, he had bought her a few pairs of shoes just in case her feet should swell or change shape too drastically, but hadn't mentioned it to her yet. His hands are warm, knows just where to go to really make her melt into a tension-free puddle against the pillows, and as she sighs and murmurs, he leans over and kisses her toes softly.

His fingers trail up her ankles, massaging higher and higher until he looks up to find she's asleep, breathing in and out peacefully. He kisses her knee before crawling up the bed and cocooning her in the sheets, easing her over onto her side since that always seems more comfortable for her. She sinks back into his arms and hums under her breath, not even stirring under his ministrations. He smiles and kisses between her shoulderblades, finding it harder and harder to not touch or kiss some part of her every waking moment. Pregnancy definitely agrees with her, she's never been more beautiful.

-x

On Monday, he pulls himself away reluctantly and goes to Raw. There's nothing for him, of course, but he watches as Paige sits ringside and watches Becky and Charlotte vs Alicia and Brie. Natalya is at ringside as well, he knows it's going to go wrong, but for now he stands at gorilla and fiddles with the PayDay bar Paige had thrust at him. Before long, it ends in a brawl between the two women that cause Charlotte and Becky to lose. Paige seems far from guilty, in fact Mike thinks he sees something close to pride in her eyes when she storms backstage and snatches the candy from his hands. "Paige, come on-"

"THEY'RE MY GIRLS! NOT HERS!" she screams at him before storming away.

He watches her, speechless, before burying his face in his hands and grimacing. As eager as he is to meet his little girl, he's almost more eager for Ricardo to return home in March. Make everything right for Paige. Because really, right now, there's not a lot he can do for her. He sighs and walks back into the locker room, not looking forward at all to meeting back up with her later to go to the hotel. "There has to be something..." he mutters, staring down at his phone. "Mikey Mizanin to the rescue again."