Mike blinks awake to Sara Louisa's fussing after a late night filming and stumbles out of bed, reaching for her instinctively. AJ's laughter is soft as she hands the baby over, watching him cradle her and mumble sleepily until Sara is soothed, the baby hungrily working over her bottle. "Of course she would take it for you," AJ murmurs, leaning over to kiss him on the lips.
He squints at her in the dim hotel lighting. "You really did forgive me, huh?"
"I guess I did," she muses, leaning against him and watching Sara slowly doze off once she's fed and content. "I know you're just trying to be a good guy with this Maryse stuff. I don't like it, and I won't watch it, but I guess I kind of understand. Especially when I look at what Paige and Del Rio have done to Ricardo." She kicks her heels quietly against the mattress and sighs. "What you've done is here," she rests her hand about waist level, "and there's what those two have done..." Her hand rises to above her head. "There's no real comparison. At least I know you'd never cross that line with Maryse, to you it's probably just like acting in one of these movies. I still don't know what the hell Paige was thinking, I should probably call her, but... I don't even know what to say."
Mike nods and stands up to rest Sara back in her crib. "I know," he sighs. "I've considered calling Ricardo, but like you, I don't know what to say. Or even if I could say anything. He has to be shattered though. His best friend and his fiance... Ugh, Del Rio is such a dumb ass."
AJ nods somberly. "Well, at least he's living with Alicia now, they both will hopefully cheer each other up. I know she's having a rough time of it too with divorcing Alex and everything."
Mike nods, casting a glance over at her. "I never want things to become that bad between us."
AJ bites her lip, shakes her head. "It never will. I love you too much for that... and we have Sara to think of. I know neither of us will do anything to hurt each other, or her." She cups Mike's face, searching his eyes. "So we'll both promise never to cheat on the other, or become a hate spouting lunatic, and we should be just fine."
Mike smiles and leans in, softly kissing her. "Sounds good to me." As she settles in his lap, content to snuggle against his shoulder, he scoots backwards while holding her close, and lays against the pillows, the both of them quickly falling back asleep.
-x
Days are hectic, with all six of them loitering around the studio between takes. Naomi and Maryse are friendly, and Mike finds himself actually filling up the fourth role in the Social Outcasts. To his surprise, Heath isn't an awful person to hang out with once he's away from the wrestling ring. He's almost... chill, just sitting around laughing with Bo or teasing Axel. And he takes his role in the movie seriously, which is probably why he was selected for it. Nine times out of ten when Mike sees him, he's got the script in hand, running lines with Bo or Axel, and Mike can respect that. He was about the same way with his first movie role. By now, though, it's all commonplace to him, and he runs lines with AJ at night, so he's good to go.
The five others need refresher courses with weapons training, and Mike does what he can to assist in all of that- how to hold a prop gun, how to aim, how to shoot, all of that fun stuff. Even though some of it is special effects, it's still loud and he's glad AJ and Sara have opted to stay at the hotel through most of the filming. Sara's still young, the noises would scare her, and AJ is wary of being around Maryse too long. Just in case.
Not too much of a surprise but Heath, Axel and Bo only need a little help- country boys, of course, would have some experience with hunting. Naomi picks it up quick, and Maryse already has some experience with former roles she's had. Mike is glad when they can move on, begin piecing scenes together. The sooner the movie wraps, the sooner they all can go home and he can resume being the champion he was always meant to be. For now, however, he'll enjoy his second favorite city with his family.
They get a day off later in the week so some sets can be finalized and Mike takes the opportunity to pack Sara up and walk with AJ over to the park they'd come to love so much a few blocks from the hotel. Mike glances past the gate and then back at his wife and daughter, an awed look overwhelming him. "Can you believe this is our life now?" he wonders, remembering their first trip to Vancouver.
"No, not really," AJ says softly, leaning over and rubbing Sara's cheek with her fingers. "I'm glad we get to experience Vancouver with her now. It's a really special city."
He nods. "And she's a really special little girl." AJ smiles as he hooks his arm around her waist and walks inside with her, Sara staring around with wide, blue eyes when they stop the stroller and Mike lifts her up, giving her a better vantage point of their surroundings.
AJ giggles at them, running one hand down Mike's face and the other across Sara's. "You two are too much," she says softly, seeing so much of him in their daughter's expression. "I'm in so much trouble when she's older."
"I think we both are," Mike corrects her with a soft smile, kissing the baby before returning her to the stroller so they can walk further into the park.
After about half an hour, they return to the hotel to get some food, AJ immediately pulling out a bottle and settling in to feed Sara while Mike places an order for them both with room service. About fifteen minutes have passed when there's a knock at the door and Mike goes to answer, tilting his head when he finds the Social Outcasts standing there instead of hotel staff. "What's going on, guys?" he wonders, already a little bit wary.
"Oh hey, Mike, uh, we're just wonderin' if ya heard what the call time for the mornin' was," Heath says, glancing past him at AJ and Sara, a kind of goofy grin crossing his face.
"4:30 AM, I think," Mike says, smirking when AJ giggles helplessly. The entire cast and crew of the movie are wrapped around Sara's little finger already, and it's pretty adorable.
"Aw man," Heath groans. "We were wantin' to go out again tonight, hit up the clubs, but a'ight, boys, guess we gotta go to bed early. C'mon."
Axel is grousing the entire way down the hall, Bo's chipper voice a sharp contrast, and Mike closes the door soundly behind them before turning back to his girls. "Guess we should go to bed early too," he says, leaning in and kissing AJ softly.
"Alright," she sighs. "Today was fun though."
"Yeah, it was. We'll show Sara around some more the next time I get a few hours," he promises. "Maybe we'll show her our lock in the studio."
Her smile softens as she nods and leans in, kissing him. "I'd like that."
Finally room service arrives and they sit at the desk, eating quietly, when Mike puts his fork down and leans towards her, brushing his hand along her jaw and guiding her face up. "Thank you," he murmurs before kissing her softly. "I love you, sweetheart."
Her eyes gleam in the faint light of the lamp. "I love you too, husband."
For the first time in weeks, things feel normal.