Due to the extra day off, Mike gets to spend more time with AJ and Sara, holding the baby up as she pats her feet against the cool wood floors, staring up at him in confusion. He merely smiles at her and waits patiently as she fusses, lips twisting as he babbles at her and slowly eases her down so her feet are pressed against the floor a little more. "Soon, you'll be walking," he tells her calmly. "But for now... we start with trying to crawl." He settles her down on her stomach and rests a hand on her back, watching her.
She makes funny little noises, easing herself up on her pudgy little hands and staring at him before flopping back onto the blanket. He rubs her back a few times as she squirms around and slowly lifts up once more, making a faint huffy noise. Mike looks up to find AJ leaning against the doorway and smiling down at them, a preview of her book in-hand. He waves at her and she quickly walks around the baby and leans against him, watching her. "She's been hoisting herself up like that off and on for the last few days," she murmurs. "I've been waiting for her to start crawling, but so far she hasn't gotten there yet."
"I want her to crawl while I'm here," he says softly. "I have an idea." Mike pulls away from AJ and sprawls out next to Sara, their eyes locking. "Hello, Sara," he murmurs to her, poking her nose gently. "So, little one, here's what we're going to do." He gets up on his hands and knees and puts one in front of the other, showing her how to do it. She whines softly and pats her fists against the blanket, squirming and trying to follow Mike's lead but failing.
"I think you're just too big, daddy," AJ teases him, putting her book down a few inches in front of Sara. "Hey, baby girl, do you want to learn to read with Mommy's new book? Crawl over and get it, huh?" Sara sticks her lower lip out before raising up on her arms once more, kicking a foot against the floor and then somehow finding the momentum to put one arm in front of the other, her legs following suit before she flops back down on the blanket. "Hey, that's a good start," she soothes the little girl as she fusses, looking over at Mike.
Sara continues to struggle, making soft little whining noises until finally Mike shifts the book and encourages her to go after it again, Sara rocking back and forth on her tummy for a few moments before squirming forward again, uncoordinating and uncertain as she inches forward again, eyes wide and locked on the book. They watch patiently as she squirms and at times crawls bit by bit, finally slapping her hand down on the dustjacket with her mommy's face on it, fussing as Mike lifts her up and rocks her. "Hey, hey, there's my girl," Mike murmurs, kissing her cheek. "I knew you could do it, baby girl."
AJ beams at them, running her fingers through Sara's soft brown hair. "I knew it too," she says softly, kissing Sara on the forehead.
By the time Mike flies out for Smackdown business, he's sure by the time he sees her again, Sara will be walking but AJ merely laughs at him before leaning in to kiss him. "That's a little early," she tells him.
Mike shrugs, squeezing her. "Hey, you never know. Our baby girl's a genius."
AJ's laugh is gentle and follows him as she waves at him until he walks backwards around a corner and can't see her anymore, reluctantly turning to get in line to board. After a flight to Alabama, Mike and Maryse meet with Daniel Bryan to discuss Mike's contract. Bryan's reluctant to meet Mike's expectations and their usual issues with each other come to a head again and things break down, Mike threatening to go to Raw if things don't get better, and after a quick conversation with Shane, Daniel returns in a clearer state of mind and offers Mike a contract that's more acceptable.
Mike scans through it before signing it, nodding at Maryse. "Thank you for your time, Daniel," he says in a smug, sarcastic way that only makes Daniel bristle even more. They leave and Maryse chuckles, leaning against Mike. "I'm such a good businessman," he sighs, squeezing her close.
She laughs and rambles on in French as they walk through the halls, Mike twirling her into his locker room before settling in with his Intercontinental title. After a vague attempt at getting out of his rematch with Ziggler later, he goes to wrestle the annoying thorn in his side. Things are going kind of iffy for him in the match until Maryse reaches into the ring and slips him something, his fingers tightening around it before he hides it against the apron curtain. The match continues once Maryse is gone and Mike waits until he has Dolph in the right position, grabbing the can and spraying it into Dolph's eyes when the referee isn't looking, taking him down with the Skull Crushing Finale and pinning him to retain. He chuckles and hugs his belt as he slumps out of the ring, exhaling.
Ziggler looks plumbstruck as Mike laughs his way back up the ramp.
Heath and Rhyno are hanging out in Mike's locker room when he returns, Maryse frowning and patting Heath's knee, staring at him worriedly. "I like this knee," she says, her accent thick. "Those nasty Usos better not do anything to hurt it."
"I won't let them," Rhyno promises her somberly. "Don't worry. Either of 'em look at him wrong again, I'll gore 'em outta their shoes."
"Merci," she sighs, smiling up at Heath.
Mike towels off his upper body before sitting next to Heath. "So, Uncle Heath, ya wanna look at a video?"
"Is it Sara Louisa?" he wonders, taking Mike's phone and pressing play, his lips stretching out into an affectionate grin as he watches her crawl. "She's too sweet," he says quietly, holding it out to Rhyno, who watches too, before nodding and letting Maryse take it to watch as well.
"You have to come out and see her at some point, man. Unless you're too busy with your own forty some kids by now." Mike laughs at the look on Heath's face. "No wonder you knew what Sara needed in Vancouver, being an expert and all."
Heath chuckles, rolling his eyes. "Sure, man. Whatever you say." He elbows Mike before holding an arm out to Maryse who sinks into his warmth on the other side of Mike. They all watch different videos Mike has of Sara Louisa, Rhyno still crunching on crackers and cheese, until it's time to leave.
"We still have to catch the sequel to that movie we watched last week," Mike tells Rhyno, who moans and buries his face in his hands, Maryse giggling while Heath laughs.
"Please no," he mumbles. "I barely survived the last one."
Throwing an arm around him, Heath smirks at Rhyno. "Don't worry about it, man. I won't abandon you tonight." He checks with Maryse, who nods at him with a small smile. "You'll have to check out the sequel with Mike next time. We gotta work on strategy against the Usos anyway."
"For now, though, let's go eat. That is if Rhyno has any appetite left after all of those crackers," Mike offers, eyeing the other man.
"I can eat," Rhyno says with a shrug, putting the box of crackers down on a nearby table and following them to the exit.