Mike aches. His ribs are tender, his head is racing with negative thoughts, his heart is beating quickly as he tries not to lose it. He and Shane could be so good together, but for the first time, he doubts himself- he doubts them. "Maybe Shane is right, maybe we should've trained together," he confesses to John once he's on the plane back home and not risking Shane overhearing his plea for help, desperate for reassurances. "Maybe this was all a mistake."

John sighs. "Mike... listen, I know I've teased you about this partnership with Shane, but honestly, man. I think he's good for you. You both get each other, right? With your fathers, and everything. You had one bad night, those were the kinds of nights we would capitalize on and use as fuel for the next match. And how often did we win when we did that?"

Mike's lips twitch up a little. "A lot."

"Damn straight," John chuckles. "Now stop worrying about everything, spend a couple of days at home recovering, and then get back on that plane and make it work. Because that's what the alleged Co-Bests In The World should do, right?"

Mike smirks at the alleged dig, but finds himself comforted none-the-less. "Yeah," he says quietly. "You're right. Thanks, John. What would I do without you?"

"Be completely useless, obviously." But he sobers quickly. "Any time you need me, I'm here for you, you know that, Mike."

"Yeah," he says quietly. He does know it. Has for the better part of 11 years. "Feeling's mutual."

John's voice is warm when he responds. "I know." When they hang up, it's with a shared feeling of warmth and contentment that their friendship has always provided them, even after all of these years.

-x

AJ is pleasantly surprised by how together Mike is when he arrives, hugging him, and fussing lightly over his ribs, but finding him as together emotionally as one could be in this sort of situation. She smirks at him and shakes her head with a small laugh. "You spoke to John, huh?"

"That obvious, huh?" he asks, bouncing Sara Louisa on his knee.

"A little," she shrugs. "You're never so zen as you are right after a lengthy phone call with him." She leans in and cups his face with her hands, staring into his eyes. "I'm glad he's got your back." She leans in and kisses him and he sighs softly into her mouth, reminded yet again of how lucky he is, between all of the loyal support he gets from John, the patient love that AJ provides him, and the sweet optimism that Sara greets him with almost every time that he gets to come home to her.

"I really do have the best life," he tells her and AJ smiles down at him.

"What do you know, mine is pretty damn sweet too." She kisses him again before plucking Sara from his arms and puts her down, gripping her hand. "Let's go find something for supper."

"Sup- super," she babbles, laughing when AJ clucks at her, saying the word slower so she can try to get it right next time.

Mike just laughs at his girls before leaning back and thinking about Sunday, what kind of strategy they could honestly use against the Bar. Nothing seems right, and he shakes his head, squaring his shoulders as John's voice comes back to him. I can't doubt myself, he thinks. We will win. We have to.

And they do. Shane is struggling to breathe, flushed and beat up, but Mike is so happy, grinning so hard that it almost hurts. They cling to each other, to their new belts, and Shane swallows hard, gulping down disbelief. "We really did it," he gasps out.

"We did!" Mike exclaims, the grin not leaving his face as they stumble their way backstage and patiently pose for pictures to go into one of the many photo galleries around the website.

Mike is so happy, he thinks something has to come up and ruin it all, but when Tuesday rolls around, the good times only continue when Shane invites George down to ringside and Mike stares on blankly at his father, not sure what exactly to expect. Except that George is sweet, kind, and hugs him, telling him that he's proud of him. It's a heartwrenching moment, and Mike swallows down a wail of pain, clinging to the man who only just now finally gave him all that he's hoped for his entire childhood and adult life up into now. "I love you," he breathes. Glances over at Shane. "Thank you."

Shane nods at him with a small, happy smile, giving him the thumbs up.

Mike hasn't been this happy, this fulfilled, in... he can't remember how long.