AJ looks up from playing with Sara, a surprised look on her face. "Wait, you mean you're getting this week off from Smackdown? No kidding?"
"No kidding," Mike confirms, his hand rubbing slow, warm circles between her shoulderblades. "I'm all yours and Sara's for the week. We're not even filming anything for Miz and Mrs." He regrets mentioning it as soon as the words slip past his lips, a pained look crossing AJ's face at the memory of Maryse's news.
"Well, either way," she says in her best fake-chipper voice that Mike could always see through. "It'll be nice to have you home for longer than a couple of days. Isn't that right, Sara?" she asks, poking the little girl on her nose and making her go crosseyed, giggling helplessly. "We should plan on doing something really fun. With John and Taya, maybe, if they're free."
"I'd like that a lot," Mike agrees, sinking down to sit behind her and hugging AJ close. "I know last week was rough, for a lot of reasons, but this week will help us to get back on track. You know?"
She nods, leaning back into his warmth. "Yeah," she says softly.
Mike watches her and Sara, mulling over the conversation he'd had with Shane. How telling him the truth had felt right in the moment, but had quickly become a panic-inducing decision, all of the "What ifs" repeating in Mike's mind. He could lose his job, they could get sued by WWE and USA Network for fraudulent claims, Maryse and Heath's lives could get seriously wrecked by all of the lies too, and... Mike sighs, closing his eyes. Shane won't do that, he thinks. We've bonded, he actually cares about me. He won't let this go poorly for me. It'll be fine.
Right? He shakes his head, trying to move past these doubts and just enjoy the few days he has alone with his girls. "So," he says, relieved when his voice stays somewhat stable. "The beach... maybe we could go to Disneyland. Just to look around a little bit," he says in response to the horrified look AJ shoots at him. "And then maybe we can get John and Taya to babysit and have a couple days all to ourselves," he suggests, trailing warm kisses down her shoulders, along to the front, where he kisses her collarbone, humming. "So good."
She cards her fingers through his hair before pushing him away. "Keep that for when Sara is with her uncle," she teases him with a grin.
"Alright," he says with a small smile. "Any other plans we want to try to fit in?" As she begins to talk- a lot of things about dog shelters and the like- he leans back and listens with a smile. No matter how dramatic and stressful things will probably always be, everything right now is happy, content, so he opts to leave all of the threats and pain behind and just enjoy this weelk as best as he can. "I love you," he murmurs in o her hair.
She pauses in her rambling and reaches back, running her fingers through his hair. "I love you too," she informs him, leaning up to kiss him gently.