Ricardo had hoped that his aches would ease, that he could stop worrying Alicia... but then he wakes up on Saturday morning and grits his teeth against the pain, wanting to curl up in a ball but unable to because Zero is sacked out next to him. He keens as quietly as possible and groans, the dog immediately coming to attention and nosing at him. When Ricardo breathes roughly, the dog gets up and pushes the door open, leaving. "Oh, Zero, get back here," Ricardo hisses but the dog's long gone. He tangles his fingers in the sheets and groans, not surprised when Zero drags Alicia into the room and she immediately drops to her knees next to him, brushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.
"Ricardo, talk to me," she says lowly, urgently.
"My knee's worse," he chokes out, gritting his teeth and feeling as her fingers slip into his hand and squeezes. "I can't- I can't do this anymore..." She helps him sit up, leaning him against her and rocking him lightly, wiping the sweat off of his forehead and kissing his temple.
"Urgent care?" she murmurs, stroking his hair. He nods miserably and she hands him his phone, listening as he cancels his appearance in Indiana that night, posting about it on Twitter while she finds him some comfortable clothes and shoos the dog out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, exhaling softly.
The drive to the urgent care is miserable, Alicia staring at him worriedly at every red light and Ricardo trying to brace against every pothole and curve in the road. Walking in is painful and he groans as she helps him sit down, the wait excruciating until he's called back to a room, where they examine his knee and Ricardo squeezes his eyes shut when they begin stretching his leg out, bending it. When he's sent back for an x-ray, Alicia gnaws at her lip and fiddles with her phone, trying to remember how to breathe normally.
After a few minutes, she gets up and starts pacing around, rubbing at her neck and considering how to run the TV when finally the door is pushed open and Ricardo's helped back onto the bed, his skin pale and sweaty just from that bit of movement from the wheelchair to the bed. She sits next to him and strokes his face until he opens his eyes and smiles at her, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips, tickling her palm. "I'll be ok."
She nods, but continues to worry. It could be surgery, he could be down for weeks needing rehab, it could be any number of things and with her road schedule with WWE, she won't be there to help him... They sit quietly and only respond when nurses come in to peek in at them, update them on wait times. Finally, almost an hour later, the doctor returns with the x-ray results, rolling the chair closer and examining them. "Well, Mr. Rodriguez, you're suffering from a ligament strain. We'll prescribe you some ibuprofen, alternate ice and heat, rest as much as possible, and if things get any worse, follow up with your doctor." Alicia thinks they're done and then he shifts his papers and points at the next x-ray that looks like the column of someone's neck and she realizes Ricardo is cringing, and not from pain. "I've looked into your records to compare your former x-rays with your current. Your prior neck injury's been aggravated, but again, rest, ice/heat and the prescribed ibuprofen should take care of that too. Any questions?"
She sits there quietly, eyes locked on her hands, until the doctor leaves. She remains motionless until the nurse comes with the discharge papers and Ricardo signs them, accepting his prescription and gingerly getting to his feet. It's not until they're safely in the car that she turns on him, dark eyes blazing. "Your neck? Your neck? You made me think your knee was the only problem you were having, and then- and then... Are you serious, Ricardo?" She reaches over and grips his jaw, mindful of his neck as she guides him over to look at her. "Do you know how many times Alex hid things from me, lied to me? I can't do that again, you have to tell me things. I had no idea your neck was a problem too," she tells him with a pained glare. "I like you, I really like you, and I think I can see a future with you, but not like this. If you feel anything for me, you have to-"
"I'm sorry," he exhales. "It's never been this bad, until I woke this morning and could barely breathe. But I... it's just..." He closes his eyes. "I know you have your own emotional issues with relationships, but so do I. Do you know how many times I've wondered what I did to make Paige choose Alberto over me? I loved her, and I proposed to her, and then... she chooses Alberto and not even five months later, she's proposing to him? I just... I don't know what to think about that. What to do with that. I don't want to... seem weak or unattractive to you or something..."
Her hand gentles immediately and she leans closer, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips. "You could never seem weak or unattractive to me," she says softly. "I can't explain Paige's actions. But to me, after my failure of a marriage to Alex, you're just what I need. You're sweet and calm, and you never expect more from me than I want to give. And I appreciate that so much. We were both broken by people important to us and now we're rebuilding together, and it's really good, I think. But when you have a problem, I want to know about it. Especially if it's your neck. Ok? Because that can be really, really serious and I just want to help you."
He exhales and cups her face, kissing her slowly. Up to this point, most of their kisses had been chaste, experiments, neither of them ready for anything more, but this one is slow, intensifying the longer he stays there, and she whimpers when he pulls away, stroking her skin. "I promise you I'll do better, I'll tell you anything important. But you have to make the same promise," he tells her, clearly remembering her last injury and how she'd only told him a few weeks into it. "If we're going to make a serious go at this, I want to be able to help you when you're hurting or having a problem too."
She nods, cupping his wrists and leaning in to kiss him again. "I promise." They smile at each other and he leans back against the neck rest as she shakes her head and turns towards the front to drive them home so he can rest. "Thank you."
"No, thank you," he sighs, sounding a little sleepy and looking even younger in the overhead lights when she glances over.
"Any time." She smiles affectionately at him before starting the car up and inching out of the parking lot.
The ibuprofen help. The ice and the rest, it all does what Ricardo needs it to. Alicia looks uncertain when she agrees to let him go to Mexico City, but she knows that she can't stop him from doing his duty for Combate America. She also knows that there's no way Ricardo will tell anyone there about the issues he's facing, since he barely told her, so the day before he flies out to Mexico City, she finds herself in the car, under the guise of 'grocery shopping', driving into the rich part of town.
She doesn't bother with the code at the gate, merely ringing the buzzer and letting Sofia know who it is, driving up to the front door. After a quick hug and exchange of small talk, she asks to see Alberto and is quickly directed to his office. He stands as soon as she enters and stares at her, lips twisting suspiciously. "What is it? Is Ricardo alright?"
"No," she says simply, smoothing her skirt out before looking him in the eye. "We won't even go into the emotional crap he's still wading through, but I just thought you should know he was at the ER a couple of days ago. He has strained ligaments in his knee, and his prior neck injury is aggravated again. You know... when he took that Brogue Kick for you?" Alberto blanches and Alicia smirks glumly. "Yeah. So. The only reason I'm here is to let you know, because God knows he won't. And I want you to promise me that you will take care of him while he's in Mexico this week doing work for your company. Alright?"
"He's still like a little brother to me," Alberto says, his voice low and hoarse. "He always will be. Of course I will take care of him."
Alicia's gaze is still piercing, warning, and he can't look away until she nods briskly and turns to leave. "You'd better," is all she says before closing the door behind her with an echoing click.