A/N: My apologies for being so late with this chapter. I had some unexpected things come up, then I didn't feel well over the weekend, so this is the first opportunity I had to properly finish this. The next chapter SHOULD be on time, or at least as close as it can be.

Mike winces, staring out of the airport window. "Delayed," he says into his phone. "I don't know when I'm going to get to the arena now. Holiday travel really messed this all up."

AJ makes a sympathetic noise. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to get there and see this match with Riddle through."

"I'm starting to think the universe is trying to tell me something, between Shane's injury and now this," Mike says, picking listlessly at a sticker half-peeled off of the windowsill. "By the looks of it, the flight's only going to just land and then I'll have to just turn around, get on the red eye and head back home shortly after Raw, since I booked that flight. Unless it gets delayed too." He scrubs his hands through his hair and grimaces. "Talk about frustrating. Remind me next year to schedule my flight earlier if I can."

"Noted," AJ says. "The kids'll want to video chat with you later, if they can."

"I'll try," Mike responds. "Depends on how the later flight goes. Tell them I miss them and I'll be there in the morning to eat breakfast with them before school."

"Can you believe we really have school aged children?" AJ asks, shaking her head incredulously.

"No, no I can't," Mike says with a faint chuckle. "I remember when they were so little, I could just hold them in one hand."

"I hope you didn't do that too often," AJ says with an exaggerated horrified tone.

"No," he reassures her with a laugh. "Just an example."

"Right, of course," she says, the roll of her eyes audible even in that short sentence. "You would never do such a thing with our small, vulnerable babies."

"Nope," he says cheerfully. "Not once."

AJ huffs out an exasperated laugh. "Of course," she says. Pauses as she glances over at the clock. "Well, it's getting late, so I think I'll let you go. See you in the morning."

"Alright. See you then," Mike says, blowing exaggerated kisses at the phone. "Sleep well, sweetheart."

"I will," she says. "And after we get the kids off to school, you can go to bed and catch up on some sleep as well."

"Yeah, maybe," he says. "I might have better ideas of how we can spend the afternoon though."

She smiles. "Well, I'll look forward to that then."

Mike chuckles. "Me too. Good night, sweetheart." As soon as AJ echoes the sentiments back, Mike hangs up and taps his phone against his knuckles, staring ahead blankly as he considers the lengthy flight ahead of him just to get back where he started. "Ah well," he sighs. "C'mon, Mike. Let's get this over with."

Consoling himself in what'll be waiting for him on the other side, he forces himself back onto his feet and beginning the first steps for his journey back home to his family.