Heath remains on Raw. Mike sighs, not too thrilled that his suspicions are proven correct. He's not sure if Maryse really ever plans on returning to WWE while Monroe Sky is so very little, but on the off-chance she does, well. He winces, already feeling bad for this continuously complicated situation they all find themselves in. Unfortunately, he can't keep his concentration on just this drama because Daniel Bryan has apparently decided to turn his attention onto Mike, paying him back for the last few years of tension and insults, stolen moves, and...

Mike cringes, his decision to not show up on Smackdown relatively an easy one. He shoots a quick video with Maryse and Monroe, promising to appear next week. So the group of them settle around the living room, the smells of pizza and sushi filling the air as Mike helps Heath finish packing up Maryse's house. "You ready to be a good ol' Texas boy?" Mike asks him, using an overly exaggerated Southern accent and making Heath laugh. They had rented an airstream so they could spread out between towns and not be completely boxed in in their car for days, or constantly need to stop to find a decent looking hotel. It'd just made sense with all of Monroe Sky's needs and such a lengthy drive.

"Yeah, I am," he says, slamming the door shut on the final set of boxes. "Gonna be kinda weird though. New place, new baby. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with myself."

"Just remember if you need anything, AJ and I are just a phonecall away. And Ricardo and Alicia are already in Texas, so you'll have a support group right there. I can speak from experience that Alicia loves babies." He smiles up at Heath. "You guys are gonna be fine."

Heath pulls away from the car and approaches Mike, arms outstretched. "Thanks, man, for everythin'," he offers, hugging Mike tightly. Mike squeezes him back, patting him briskly between his shoulderblades before they pull away. "You're a good friend. Even when I get frustrated with ya." He laughs and ducks his head. "I'm gonna try to be a good dad and husband like ya too."

Mike nods. "Husband, huh?" He's not all that surprised. They've been together for awhile, and now with Monroe...

"Yeah," Heath breathes out. "Who knows." He chuckles. "Maybe Maryse'n'I, and Ricardo'n'Alicia, we'll have a double wedding or something. It might be easier with our complicated schedules."

"Don't worry about that right now," Mike advises. "Get her to say yes and then give yourself some time to enjoy the engagement. The rest can sort itself out later." Heath's nodding, lost in thought, when the front door opens and AJ peeks out before holding it open so Maryse can make her way out with Monroe Sky in her little carrier, small white booties poking out from her baby blanket. Mike smiles at the women and leans in to coo at the baby, lightly patting her feet as she squirms and makes a soft noise, staring up at him with dark, dark eyes. He doesn't want to say anything in case he's wrong and it's just a trick of the lighting, but the little fuzz of hair that he can see from this angle looks a pale shade of red.

Heath takes the carrier, soothingly talking to the baby as he settles her safely in the backseat, fixing up the car seat straps properly, and Mike turns his attention onto Maryse. "So it's time," he says, smiling a little as Maryse steps up to him, hugging him tightly.

"Yes," she says, her accent thick as she holds him. "Thank you so much for everything. Without you, I would have still been stranded, broke and lonely, unable to find my way out. Now look at me. I have a beautiful baby girl and the best man I could've possibly asked for." She peers into the car fondly as Heath continues talking to their baby even once she's strapped in, his fingers softly stroking her face. "I can't fathom my life without them now. This is all because of you." She releases Mike and smiles beautifully. "I will never been able to repay you." She turns towards AJ. "Or you. You have been much more patient and gracious than I deserve, especially the past year." She reaches out and grips AJ's hands, staring into her face. "Never doubt yourself, or how much Mike loves you. Alright?"

"Alright," AJ whispers, lips trembling a little as she smiles up at the woman, the weight of her lingering uncertainties leaving her in a rush as she's faced with Maryse's conviction. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Maryse responds, leaning in and kissing AJ on both cheeks. "We will talk soon. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," AJ laughs weakly, wiping at her eyes as Maryse pulls away gently and goes to join her family, preparing for the beginning of the trip to Texas. She and Mike lean against each other, watching with small smiles as Heath and Maryse get into the front seats and Heath leans on the horn, sticking a hand out of the window and waving as they ease onto the road for the final time. Waving at them, AJ glances over at her husband. "Think they'll be alright?"

"Yeah," Mike murmurs. "I think they will be." He rubs AJ's arm. "C'mon, let's get Sara and go home."

-x

Smackdown hasn't changed much all in all. Some different faces, some new drama and tension backstage, but really. Locker rooms remain the same, with New Day being ridiculous and Orton slinking around, and... Mike smirks, shrugging as he listens to Shane McMahon grant him time at the start of the show. Kicking things off right, he thinks, heading for the ring to begin.

He expects Daniel to come out, burning with indignation and vitriol, but no. Instead, he finds himself forced to listen to Cass drone on about small guys like Daniel, and making himself grow in high school, and... Mike's not even sure what half of Cass' speech was about, his eyes glazing over within the first minute or two. By the time Cass finally finishes and leaves, Mike quirks his head, lips twitching up into some fascimile of a smirk. The only meaningful part of all of that is when Mike learns that the reason Daniel no-showed MizTV is because Cass had attacked him, leaving him laying backstage before crashing the show himself.

Then Daniel challenges Cass to a match at the next PPV. "You don't say," Mike mumbles, his smirk only intensifying as different thoughts about how best to handle this begin to clutter his already busy mind. "Well, well. Things are getting interesting for sure..."