"I'm so glad we live in California," Mike mumbles, watching the news reports of Texas- of Florida. He closes his eyes, thinking about Ricardo, stubbornly opting to remain at his and Alicia's apartment to help out in the aftermath of the hurricane. He strokes AJ's hair, pats Sara's back, and exhales. Earthquakes, I can handle, he thinks. Hurricanes... possibly not... "Next time I see Ricardo, I'm gonna kick his ass for risking all of this."
AJ smirks a little but says nothing as Mike continues to check his phone for texts or tweet alerts, his shoulders finally sagging when Ricardo tweets again. "Lost power," she reads. "Kind of what we figured, huh?" She kisses him gently. "Now relax, husband. He's fine."
He tries, some of the tension leaving him as he breathes in and out, kissing AJ. "Sorry, I just... don't like not knowing what's going on." She smiles and nuzzles into him. "But you already knew this."
"Yeah, I do," she murmurs. "But everything's going to be ok. I have no doubt." She pats his chest and then shifts to lift Sara up when she starts to whimper. "You know it too, don't you, Sara?" she asks, rocking the little girl until she calms, dozing in her mom's arms.
Mike watches them with affection and contentment, drawing AJ closer and kissing the top of her head before settling back into the cushions of the couch to watch the TV drone on for awhile longer.
-x
Things feel wrong as soon as he meets Maryse at the airport on Monday, frowning at her. She's pale and a little off-balanced, nearly dropping her suitcase before he takes it from her. "Are you ok?"
She nods forcefully. "Oui. I'm fine. Come, we're going to miss our flight." She walks into the crowd of people milling around and Mike follows her, frowning. Something's not right, but he can't tell what. Not that this is the place for such a conversation though. Exhaling, he gets in line behind her and they board together when it's time.
The flight is quiet, Maryse asleep through most of it, and that's even more confirmation that something's off. Heath and Rhyno greets them in Vegas, Heath's eyes lighting up when he sees her, and he kisses her gently, hands wrapping around her waist as she leans into him. Mike and Rhyno exchange glances before he shrugs, heading down the hall to see what's on the schedule for tonight. "Oh shit," he mumbles, seeing it immediately.
MizTV with Enzo Amore. Just how he wanted to spend his night. Not focused on the intercontinental title, of course not. He's in the middle of planning what he wants to say, how he wants to demolish every inch of self-confidence Enzo's regained since Cass betrayed him. He's just about to run things by Bo and Axel when Maryse walks up to him, gnawing at her lip and messing up her lipstick. "I need to talk to you, Mike," she says, guiding him away from everyone else to whisper lowly in his ear.
Later that night, Mike's thoughts are running a million miles an hour. The things he says when he reaches the ring- Maryse and his 'announcement', Vegas being the place they'd met, everything else he spews. She's pregnant. He shakes his head, smiling to himself as he stares into Maryse's dark eyes, thinking about what a good mother she'll be. How Sara will have a playmate soon enough. He wonders if it'll be a boy or girl as he listens to Enzo's interruption, his obnoxious flirting with Maryse that Mike quickly shuts down, putting his attention back on Mike as they exchange insults that leads to a match, Enzo still unable to keep his mouth shut on the mic during it. Maybe instead of how ya doin', you should ask that baby... who's your daddy?
The words come out of left field, and Mike looks as panicked as Maryse does when their eyes locked. No one's supposed to know, he thinks, punching Enzo to shut him up.
Maryse's body is warm, flush against his side, and Mike's eyebrows raise in surprise as she licks her lips and leans in, murmuring directly into his ear. "I'm pregnant."
He pulls away, gaping at her. "What? How?" She looks unimpressed and he stutters. "No, I mean, I know how, but- You and Heath?"
She reddens. Nods, her eyes softening. "Yes. Heath and I are... we're having a baby." She smiles weakly. "We weren't expecting it, it was... unplanned... but... here we are. I... told him over the weekend, so I assume it's time to tell you as well. I know this will affect our working relationship and I'm sorry about that, but-"
"Don't even worry about it," Mike tells her, already planning on things. "Do you want to tell everyone tonight?"
The plan had been for Maryse and Mike to announce their pregnancy just so neither of them would get in trouble for lying about their relationships, the veracity of their wedding, everything else since then. But it had backfired, damn Enzo. He knows the truth, Mike can tell by looking into his smarmy blue eyes. He beats him down, wins the match with a SkullCrushing Finale and tries to push it all aside by regrouping with Maryse and adding to the facade, kissing her lightly. Once backstage, Mike urges Bo and Axel to accompany Maryse to the locker room, waiting. Enzo staggers in, barely able to keep on his feet, and Mike smirks as Neville walks up, eyeing Enzo before dissolving into dark chuckles all the way down the hall away from him. As soon as Enzo's alone, Mike storms up, grabs him by his stupid clothes and throws him against the wall, one arm pressed against his throat. "What do you know? Huh? What do you know?"
Enzo struggles. Digs his fingers into Mike's arm and shakes his head, trying to get free. "Who doesn't know?!" he chokes out. "It's the worst damn kept secret in the whole business!" He gags, unable to suck in a full breath. "You've got a kid with AJ Lee, and Maryse is all over Heath Slater! I dunno how long you think you can keep this secret! I've seen y'all! Can't possibly be the only one who knows! When she pops out a kid with obnoxious red hair, then-"
"Shut up," Mike groans, digging his forearm in Enzo's throat for awhile longer before pulling away, letting him drop to the ground, rubbing at his Adam's apple. "Son of a bitch..." He knows he's right, there's no hiding the truth in a business like this, where there are eyes everywhere, mouths more than willing to gossip and leak anything of interest.
"Look, man, I ain't gonna say anything." Enzo stands up, his voice sounding even rougher as he tries to suck in a deep breath. "Not my business, huh? I'm sure y'all have adorable families, whatever the situation is. Just tryin' to find my place in 205 Live, maybe here too. Ain't gotta get up in arms about it. My lips are sealed, though I know that doesn't mean much to ya." Arms held up in retreat, he turns and stumbles back down the hall- probably to look for somewhere a little more private to change and Mike closes his eyes, some of the tension leaving him.
Despite his base nature telling him not to trust in the other man, he believes Enzo's words. He heads back towards his locker room, finding Maryse held close to Heath's side, Rhyno staring at them raptly. "What's going on, guys?" he asks, not having enough energy for more drama.
"Rhyno here is thinking about what a great uncle he's gonna be to little Slater Jr, isn't he?" Heath asks with a faint smile, staring at his quiet tag partner.
"Ye- yeah," he mumbles, eyes locked on Maryse's stomach. "May I?" When Maryse nods, he reaches out and gingerly rests his hand over the satin-y fabric covering the area, swallowing hard. She's not really showing, he can't have much to feel, but still. It's sweet, the way his face twists and he looks up at Heath. "I'm so happy for ya, man."
Heath grins, shrugs. "Who knew, after all of those claims of I got kids, I'm actually... actually gonna have one all'a my own..." He cups Maryse's face and kisses her, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm so happy. I love ya so much."
She giggles softly, leans up and kisses him back. "I love you too."
Mike sighs. Turns to his phone and dials AJ's number. "Hey, sweetheart," he greets her.
She smiles at him, a strained look on her face. "So... that didn't go the way you expected."
He shakes his head. "Never does when Enzo's involved." He laughs dryly. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm great." She sucks on her teeth and looks over, probably towards where Sara is playing or sleeping. "Mike?"
"Yeah?"
"I know the timing is probably weird, with everything going on- John's wedding, Maryse and Heath having a baby, but..." She looks back at the phone and forces a smile. "I've been thinking some more about our discussion and... I think I want to try for another baby."
He stares at her. "Right now?"
She laughs. "Not right now, there's a little issue of distance, but... maybe when you get home, we can discuss it more seriously." She looks hopeful. "What do you think?"
He closes his eyes, imagining them, two children... maybe a couple of dogs... It's beautiful. He opens his eyes and beams at her. "I love you so much, AJ."
She grins, relaxing in the happiness from his gaze. "I love you more," she breathes out. "Tell Maryse and Heath I'm so happy for them both. I'll see you soon, husband."
He has to go overseas so he blows kisses at her and thinks about having to wait until next Tuesday to actually see her, making a face. "As soon as possible," he promises, ghosting his finger over the screen. "Take good care of yourself and Sara."
"Always do," she chuckles, catching his kisses and holding them close to her chest. "Goodnight, husband."
"Goodnight, sweetheart," he murmurs, waiting until the screen goes dark to return to his friends.