Maryse looks hesitant as she and Mike stand side by side, preparing for the next round of media that will kick off Summerslam weekend for them. "Hey, Mike?"

"Yeah?" he asks, looking up from the printout of questions WWE has suggested for them to answer, covering everything from Miz and Mrs to Summerslam, WWE's various charity projects, and his issues with Daniel Bryan. "What's up?"

"I've been thinking," she says slowly. "And Heath and I have discussed it, and he supports my decision." She smiles up at him. "I want to come back to manage your career again. Monroe Sky will be with me, of course, but I think I can be useful for you. What do you say?"

"I say we'll talk it over with Paige as soon as we can," Mike says, his thoughts already running a million miles an hour as he thinks about having her by his side again, being able to use her for assistance when he needs it. He's capable enough on his own, of course, but he'd felt like a rudder-less ship all alone by himself on Smackdown, with his Miztourage moving on without him, and Maryse's maternity leave. "This sounds awesome," he says sincerely and she beams at him, throwing her arms around him. He hugs her back and they part when a tech hand comes to inform them that the interview is beginning momentarily.

Summerslam itself goes as well as can be expected. Daniel is a rough opponent, something Mike's forgotten in the last few years, but he manages to hold his own against him. Mike's confidence in his ability to keep Daniel down long enough for a three count starts to waver, however, and he goes to Maryse, motioning to her. She slips him a pair of brass knucks that they'd prepared for this very situation and he turns in time to hit Daniel while the referee isn't looking, dropping the weapon and kicking it under the ring apron before rolling in, and

Mike "The Miz" Mizanin defeats Daniel Bryan. Not clean, no, not entirely, but he didn't need nor want a clean victory. He just wanted it officially on the record books for the rest of time: The Miz defeated Daniel Bryan at the biggest party of the summer. It's nice. He likes how it sounds, the way it rolls off of his tongue. Maryse looks about as thrilled when he meets her backstage, the two of them laughing together as they watch replays of the pin on Maryse's phone. "Beautiful," he sighs.

Things are back to normal after this: Mike on one bed, facetiming AJ and Sara, while the opposite bed is taken up by one Rhyno, since now that Maryse is back on the road, she's eager to return to sharing rooms with Heath. Not that it'll happen much, since they're on opposite brands, but it's one benefit of the PPV that the rosters had combined for this. And, Mike thinks, with Survivor Series around the corner, she'll probably get more chances like this. "So," he says quietly, casting a quick glance at Rhyno, whose arms are crossed over his chest as he seemingly ignores Mike's conversation. "Maryse wants to come back on the road with me. Are you... ok with that?"

AJ blinks a few times. Then forces a smile. "So she's ready to come off of maternity leave already, huh? Well, I figured it'd happen at some point, Mike. Yeah, I'm ok with it. She must be really busy, between wedding plans, Monroe Sky, and everything else though."

"Yeah," he agrees. "I think she just wanted to have my back now that the Bellas are kind of back in the company though."

"Right," AJ muses. "The Bellas."

Mike watches the emotions crossing her face, visible even on the grainy picture from his phone, and then asks, "Sweetheart? Do you ever think about coming back? Especially with something like Evolution on the horizon?"

AJ bites her lips and stares back at him. "Well, I mean... maybe. You know how bad my back and everything is, but... sometimes. Maybe. For like, a night or two. I don't know if I'd wrestle but I guess it might not be necessary, right?"

"Or you could do something like the Rumble, where it's rarely too impactful," he suggests softly and she nods, lips twitching.

"You never know, husband. I might. But for now, I'm perfectly happy with our daughter and fighting for more awareness about mental health."

He nods. Smiles lovingly at her. "You know how proud I am of you, right?"

"I have a good idea, but it doesn't hurt to hear all about it again," she laughs.

So he goes through the list from the very beginning- her ability to function no matter how bad she might feel emotionally and physically some days, how she's become successful post-WWE, how patient she is with him when he needs it the most, how great of a mother she is to Sara, how easily she accepted him and his wild group of friends into her world without a blink or second-guess- just to keep that beautiful, happy look on her face, even when it gets overwhelmed by tears at points. "I love you, sweetheart," he says as he concludes the lengthy list of everything about AJ that he finds the most impressive, awe-inspiring.

"I love you too, husband," she breathes out, wiping at her eyes and smiling shakily at him. "And I always will."

-x

Tuesday, things tank. Mike, in his opinion, is done with Daniel, and he lets the crowd know it, Maryse standing by his side with a small smirk on her face. He's won, that's all they need to know that Mike is better by leaps and bounds than his former NXT rookie. But that isn't enough for Daniel, of course not. Not only does he come out and insult them both, but Brie comes out and attacks Mike. Of course, Paige seems to have it out for him- and he has to wonder if this has anything to do with her failed relationship with Ricardo, the ring announcer's disinterest in getting back together with her recently, his proposal to Alicia. She can't harm Alicia directly, and she definitely can't do anything to Ricardo since he's not in the company anymore, which leaves... yep, good ol' Mike- and she grants a mixed tag match at the Hell in a Cell with Daniel and Brie against Mike and Maryse.

He hates everything about it, and he hates how Paige mocks him and Maryse both later on. "Dammit! I retired from all things Daniel!" he exclaims, kicking at a couch until Maryse calms him, looking towards where Monroe is sleeping. Immediately he feels ashamed, holding his hands up in supplication. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," Maryse tells him, a mischevious glint in her dark eyes. "Tonight, and Hell in a Cell both. We have plenty of time to strategize now, figure out a sure-fire way to defeat both of them."

Mike grins, his anger coolling at he stares down at her. "I've missed you," he admits and she laughs softly at him, immediately jumping into thinking about some sort of plan to defeat Brie and Daniel.