America to Saudi Arabia back to Canada for Smackdown. Travel which brings him nothing but soreness and loss, his chances at regaining his intercontinental title slipping through his fingers. He's relieved to be heading home after bringing Miz TV back to Smackdown for the first time in a year just to be thanked for it by losing a tag match with Shelton Benjamin against Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy.
AJ is doing a lot of media this week, for mental health awareness month. Mike smiles and sees her off with a kiss before hoisting Sara Louisa up onto his hip and kissing the top of her head as she pouts at her departing mother. "No worries," he says cheerfully. "You and I, we're going to have a great time together." He's only had a limited amount of time alone with his daughter, and he does have a little fear as she stares up at him, blue eyes searching and intimidating. He breathes in and out, settling her in her little high chair and setting a bowl of fruit and some of the cereal AJ had said is the main thing she'll tolerate without much of a fight lately. "You're awfully cute for someone starting to show signs of the terrible twos," Mike cracks, smiling weakly when his daughter looks at him suspiciously, waving her spoon around before stabbing it into the fruit, sending berries scattering every which way on her tray.
She alternates between playing with the fruit and the cereal before her hunger overwhelms her boredom and she starts picking up the fruit between her thumb and forefinger, examining it intensely before either eating it or throwing it. Something else Mike's been warned about, so he quietly goes about cleaning it up before kneeling down by Sara Louisa and waiting patiently. When she throws more berries across the room, he scoops the remaining berries up and leaves her to pick at her cereal, which thankfully she begins to eat without the distraction of easy to throw food items on her tray. He grabs the last couple of berries before kneeling down to watch her with a small smile on his face. "Grandma Mizanin used to tell me I'd like to throw my food all over too. I guess you really are a daddy's girl."
He scoops her out of the chair and takes her into the backyard, letting her babble and play on a little blanket while he makes a couple of calls. She toddles up to her feet and makes her way over to him, Mike quickly scooping her up before she could try walking along the rough concrete path to get to him. He kisses her cheek and finishes his conversation with his agent before taking her inside, settling her down with blocks. It amuses him as much as it fascinates to watch the various expressions on her face as she continues to figure things out with the blocks, like the different shapes and where they go, Mike's teeth flashing as he points out different colors to her whenever she lulls for a moment in her play
When she gets fussy after lunch, he lays her down for a nap and reads to her from one of the many books AJ's bought for her since the moment she learned she was pregnant. He watches her as she drifts off, arms and legs sprawled out in the crib as she sleeps on peacefully. He smiles and walks to the bed in the next room, expecting to only close his burning, heavy eyes for a few moments... just to wake up to find the room in shadows, and AJ leaning over him with a soft smile, kissing him awake while Sara babbles and crawls around at the foot of the bed. He blinks, confused, and reaches out for her. "Wha- what time is it?"
"About four," she says cheerfully. "I got home a couple hours ago to you both fast asleep, it was adorable." He blinks as Sara crawls up to him, and settles down on his chest, patting him cheerfully as she babbles, some real words, some toddler nonsense. He eases her closer and kisses her nose and she giggles against his facial hair, swatting his face with her pudgey hands.
"Daddy tickle," she says clearly and he beams at her growing vocabulary.
"I think Mommy and I have the next New York Times best seller on our hands here," he says, smirking. "You think you're gonna take after mommy? Huh, baby girl?"
Sara just leans against him and flaps her hands around, humming and mumbling under her breath. He chuckles and kisses the top of her head before handing her over to AJ once more, dragging himself out of bed so he can go finish this day off properly with his girls. "Come on, guys. Let's go get something fun to eat." He spins Sara around until she cries out and flails her legs around through her laughter, kissing AJ quickly. "I love you both," he says softly, watching as AJ's eyes soften with adoration for him.
"We love you too," she tells him, rubbing a hand down his chest gently.
He smiles. Feels the lingering tension from the week prior ease out of his him. "Thank you," he says softly, leaning in to first kiss AJ and then their baby daughter "I'm beyond the luckiest man on the planet."
She smiles at him and leans over to make a face at Sara, who reaches out to grip her mommy's face, causing AJ to laugh and back off a bit. "Ah, Daddy is all kinds of sappy right now, isn't he?" She giggles softly. "But that's ok, Sara and I know how lucky we are too." She smiles tenderly at him and leans in, kissing him. "Now about this something fun to eat..."
He smirks and stands, holding a hand out to her. "Yes, I should've known. It's always about food with you." He laughs as she sticks her tongue out at him and wraps an arm around her. "I was thinking about a picnic..."