Mike stares down at his hands, sitting on the couch in the living room, lights on low, the house settling around him the only immediate noise at this hour. He's been mulling over possible plans to spare himself from Shane revealing his truth if things at Money in the Bank should go wrong. He's still not sure why the man didn't just come out and ruin everything for Mike after winning at Wrestlemania, but it had been a few weeks that Mike had needed desperately for things to settle after the Superstar Shakeup, and AJ's pregnancy revelation. They'd kept it as lowkey as they possibly could, not even telling some of their closest friends, but she's showing more and more, faster than she did even during the pregnancy with Sara, and Mike knows they can only wait much longer before it all comes out.
He thinks he has an inkling of a plan starting to form when AJ comes out and leans into him, yawning softly against his shoulder. "Hey, did I wake you?" he asks her quietly and she shakes her head sleepily.
"No," she hums. "Just needed to use the bathroom... and saw you were out here, so. Came to keep you company." He presses his lips to her forehead and she tilts her head, sighing when he recognizes the invitation for what it's meant to be and leans in, kissing her properly. She tangles her fingers in his shirt and eases herself over, straddling him as he wraps his arms around her protectively, fingers grazing her stomach gently.
"I wish I could help you think of something to get out of this mess," she shares with him, pressing their foreheads together and searching his eyes.
He laughs and shakes his head. "No worries," he says softly. "I'm pretty sure I'm well on the road to doing just that. But I appreciate you coming to keep me company." His hands are warm, gentle as he explores her soft, flushed skin, and she groans in his ear.
"Mi-... Mike..."
He shivers and nods. "Let's try this in bed," he says quietly, getting a solid grip on her and hoisting her up. Once he's sure she's steady in his arms, he plants his feet, turning towards their room as she nuzzles into his neck, smiling.
Monday dawns bright and early and Mike fumbles for his alarm before turning to check on AJ, who is thankfully still asleep. He has to leave, his flight is soon, but it's tough getting out of bed right now when she's tucked so comfortably against him. He brushes his fingers down her cheek and whispers, "I love you, sweetheart." Carefully pulls away and gets up, peeking in on Sara, who is also still fast asleep. He doesn't touch her, aware that she's a very light sleeper normally, but blows her a kiss, eyes soft, before he turns and walks quietly down the hall. His bags are packed, and he takes the opportunity to change into some jeans and a sweater that he'd grabbed from the closet before slipping out of the bedroom.
He spends the flight working on his plan some more, and by the time he lands and drives to the arena for Raw, he thinks he has it sorted. Except that Vince is on the show, which means there are more eyes everywhere, watching what everyone does, and it's impossible to get his plan off the ground, which leaves him anxious and annoyed. Heath shifts up next to him and nudges him lightly. "Hey, man."
Mike nods at him. "Hey, Heath." They stand quietly for awhile, listening to the general rumble of the hallways grow as Vince announces the Wildcard Rule. They exchange glances, Mike peeks around, and reaches out, gripping Heath's arm. "Come with me," he mumbles. He's keeping an eye out for Shane, but there's time, he needs to rethink some things, and Heath is as good a sounding board as any, since this is his family and life on the line as well.
Heath listens, his brows furrows, lips parted as Mike goes into more detail. "I-... I mean, yeah, but... ya think it'll work?"
Mike stares up at him grimly. "It'll have to." He pats Heath on the shoulder and then tenses up when he spots Shane on the monitor behind Heath. "I gotta go." He goes right after Shane, and Shane runs. Into the back, evading Mike somehow, but Mike isn't giving up that easily, figures if Shane's going to go anywhere, he's going to go to his car, so he makes a shortcut to the parking area and lurks in the shadows, watching Shane's obnoxious limo. Sure enough, Shane arrives and Mike tackles him, brawling for all he's worth, but Shane fights back, Shane strikes him hard, and ultimately all Mike can do is stand there on shaky legs and watch as Shane gets away. He grits his teeth, digs his nails into his palm, and nods. My plan has to work.
Wildcard Rules means a certain number of guys on Raw can go over to Smackdown, varying from week to week. So, I mean, really, why not take advantage of it, right? He and Heath sit up late that night, talking and trying to figure out any weaknesses in Mike's plan. "Only thing I can think of bein' a problem is gonna be my part in all'a this," Heath confesses wearily and Mike reaches out, gripping his hand tightly.
"You listen to me," he says. "This is your family as much as it is mine. You're gonna do fine when the time comes because you wanna protect Maryse, Monroe and your baby on the way as much as I wanna protect AJ and... and Sara, right?"
Heath gulps, then nods, his eyes wide as he stares at Mike. "You believe in me that much, huh?"
"I do," he confirms with a small smile. "I know you're smarter and craftier than most people tend to believe. I have all of the faith in the world in you."
Heath looks overwhelmed at this. "Thanks, Mike. Think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me."
They act during the tag team title announcement, pleased over how much time Shane is taking with it all, staying at ringside to watch the Usos wrestle Daniel Bryan and Rowan over who truly deserves to be tag team champions. "Go, go, go," Mike hisses, and Heath nods, sneaking down towards the office. Vince isn't in, he's watching his son from gorilla, hounding the poor production people about sound levels and camera cuts and who knows what all else, so they have every opportunity. Heath crouches and works over the lock with a bobbypin, Mike standing guard and watching for anyone to come this way. Thankfully, Vince always insists the office be down a quiet, mostly abandoned hall, so no one goes by in the time it takes Heath to break through and slip inside, closing the door behind him.
Mike stands as still as he can, watching the monitor from here. He rolls his eyes when Daniel and Rowan cinch the win, casting a worried gaze towards the closed office door and wishing he could've gone in too, to help Heath, but there's no way that would've worked. He has to be lookout... He's thinking about knocking on the door to alert Heath that time's up but then they announce Shane has another announcement for after the commercial break, so he takes his chances and leaves the area, knowing that Heath needs more time. He walks straight past Vince, ignoring him, and makes a beeline for the ring.
It's all a blur after that. He thinks B-Team gets involved, which isn't that just about right- Shane using his former associates against him- and Mike tries, he really does, but there's just nothing he can do. Hopes he's given Heath enough time to find what they need as Shane stands over him and then... sharp pain stabs up his spine, into his neck and skull, and everything goes black.
You see, Mike, no one has as big of a mouth as you. It wasn't hard to get something on you. Some proof that you're still the same manipulator, the same user, you've always been. With cameras and microphones always around, recording things, I'm amazed you didn't think about it... My word means very little, especially now, but an honest to God recording showing you talking about your mixed up little drama between AJ Lee and Maryse Oulette, and how you've been using my father's company to finance all of your shady actions with these women and their children? Magniifique.
Mike's head tosses restlessly on the stretcher as the trainer guides the people pushing it through the halls to his office.
Heath, look, if I know Shane like I think I know Shane, he's a creature of habit. And when he came back to WWE, all he could talk about was the briefcase full of incriminating things he had on Vince. He never used it, because even when Shane's at his lowest, like now, I feel like he prefers to have things to hold over people, but I don't want to live like this any longer, and I know you don't either. So you make it into the office, and you look for briefcases. No, you're not gonna take the briefcase, you'll have to get it open and find one with a tape in it, like from a WWE camera. Here, here's a picture of what it probably will look like. Got it? Great...
Everything hurts when Mike stirs, his eyes squinting against the light. "Hey, could ya dim that or turn it off or somethin'?" Heath's voice whispers next to him and a second later, the room darkens, which makes it easier for him to look around. "Hey," he greets him quietly and Mike moans. "I know, I know, man. He hit ya a good one. Just take it easy." Mike stares at him, desperate and in pain, and Heath leans in, hand hovering over his shoulder like he's not sure where to touch. "I got it, Mike. I found the tape. Left the briefcase behind like ya told me to. We're gonna destroy that tape together, and you're gonna make Shane regret ever thinkin' he could go after all'a us like this, and everything can return to its only slightly hectic normal, huh?"
Mike's eyes fill with tears as he reaches out for Heath, who beams as he cradles Mike's hand close to his chest. "Thank you," he breathes out. "Thank you so much."