"What will Maryse do if his determination to get a contract gets Heath killed?" AJ wonders, watching with her brows furrowed as Brock attacks the ginger.

"I'm... not sure," Mike admits lowly. "It probably won't be pretty though. I think even he would be intimidated by her."

AJ chuckles. "It wouldn't surprise me." They watch more of Raw in silence, AJ lightly rocking Sara back and forth as the baby dozes in her arms. "Knowing him, he'll be back at it Smackdown, doing something even more trecherous and making Maryse fret."

"Probably," Mike sighs. "I'll do my best to keep his head on his shoulders."

"Well, that's all you can do," AJ says, leaning in and kissing him. He smiles at her before running a hand across Sara's little fist. "I wish I could sleep this deeply sometimes," she muses, staring down at the baby.

"Me too," Mike sighs. "But unfortunately, some of us have to fly all over the country for work, so..." He hesitantly gets up and finds his suitcase, taking a few things out and throwing more in, glancing over when Sara begins to wake up, fussing sleepily. "I guess she doesn't like me leaving either."

"She's not alone," AJ says, getting up to settle the baby down by where Mike's kneeling to change her and prepare her for the day. "I miss you whenever you go too."

"I miss you both a lot too," he says softly, tickling Sara in an attempt to distract her while AJ sets things she needs out. "Maybe I need to get booked for another movie so we can go back to Vancouver for a few weeks."

"Well, Christmas is coming up," AJ says softly, leaning over to kiss him. "It's gonna be her first Christmas..."

"Her first Halloween too," Mike says, grinning against her lips. "We need to buy her the cutest costume ever."

"Not that she can get much cuter, but I'm sure we'll think of something," AJ says softly, eyes gleaming with pride as she looks down at her daughter.

-x

That Tuesday, Mike hosts another MizTV with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. After they disrespect him, he stands in the corner and watches them with a cold look on his face. The entire segment ends pretty quickly when Dolph superkicks Dean, laying his claim to the title belt this weekend. He's not impressed, in the middle of talking about Apollo Creed, when Apollo Crews runs out and attacks him, reminding him that his name is really Crews. Mike's more angry than in pain, his teeth gritting as he walks backstage with Maryse.

They slip into the locker room and Mike sits down, burying his face in his hands. "This punk rookie thinks he can disrespect me, Ambrose and Ziggler, and all of these idiots... I'll show them all on Sunday, I will." He's ranting on, her fingers warm on his neck, when he realizes that Heath's match against Randy Orton is on-going. Heath actually wins, by DQ, but still. He and Maryse stare at each other and she beams. "He won!"

But it all gets washed away after the commercial when Shane and Daniel bring Heath a contract but he's so out of it that he thinks it's still Monday, confusing Shane with Stephanie and Daniel with Mick. "Oh no," Maryse murmurs, already half out of the locker room.

Mike follows her after Shane takes the contract back and sighs, coming across Shane outside of the trainer's room, listening to his comments on Heath's health. "That was kind of dirty," he tells the older McMahon sibling. "He's still in there trying to find his contract, and you just leave like that?"

Shane sighs, crossing his arms over his chest as he stares at Mike. "Listen, as much as I'd like to give him this contract, I can't in good conscious let him sign it when he's possibly concussed. As soon as the trainer tells me everything's ok, we'll revisit this. Honestly, I like the guy. He's insane, maybe a little slow, but he's entertaining. He's what I want on my brand, and he has been through a lot since the draft. Things just keep coming up, but it will work out. I promise."

This does comfort Mike a little and he goes inside to make sure things are going ok, Maryse standing by the cot and resting a hand on Heath's shoulder, whispering to him lowly as he lays there, staring blankly ahead as he holds the pen needlessly. When she looks up, Mike half smiles at her and goes to sit in a corner to wait until they can leave, checking his phone. The week spreads out long and tiring before them, a long list of things leading up to Summerslam for the both of them to do. He won't be home until next Wednesday at least, and he already aches to see his wife and daughter.

The flight from Texas to New York the next day is annoying, turbulence leaving all of them a little ill and eager to be on solid ground once more. Mike's barely gotten out of the airport when his phone rings. He fumbles and grabs it, blinking at his wife's picture. "Hey, sweetheart, everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine," AJ says quietly. "I just wanted to know if you've heard the news..."

"What news?"

"Del Rio's been suspended."

Mike sits down. Then laughs. "What?" It's ridiculous. It's funny. It's awful. Somehow, all three things at once. He's not sure what to think. Or feel.

This only intensifies when Paige is suspended a few hours later.

Mike stares at his phone, showing it to Maryse, whose dark eyes widen in surprise. "Karma's a bitch," he murmurs, pocketing his phone and guiding her to the next media event, opting to decide how he feels about all of this later on when he has some time to sit down and really think it through.