Ricardo is adjusting well to life back in California. He misses Alberto, yes, and what could've been back in Mexico City, but the pay hadn't been there, Alberto's fly-by-night focus had waned quickly, so here he is, back home, among friends, and he's alright with it. Besides, Alicia is in her element, surrounded by people they know, and back State-side, so he can't really complain about anything.
Mike had fallen asleep next to AJ at some point during the afternoon, so Ricardo is sitting with Sara in his arms, reading to her quietly, keeping an ear on Alicia as she wanders around the kitchen, baking something that smells delicious. Sara's focus drifts, quickly, however, and she pulls away, standing up on her chubby, wobbly toddler legs, and grips his hand. "Play," she insists.
He sighs and puts the book to the side, allowing her to drag him up and into the grass. "What do you wanna play, Sara?"
She stops and mulls it over, an adorable pout on her lips as she thinks. "Hide'n'seek!" She regards him seriously and he sees so much of AJ in her that it kind of takes his breath away. "You hide, I find," she says determinedly and he chuckles into his fist.
"Alright, I will do that," he tells her as straight-faced as he can manage. Once she has her back to him, mumbling the same handful of numbers over and over again in an attempt to count, he quickly turns and dashes into the house, easing into the kitchen. "Hide me," he says with no lack of drama to Alicia, whose eyes widen as he stands behind her, hands tangling in the strings of her apron.
She catches on quickly and giggles. "Aw, are you and Sara playing hide'n'seek?" He nods, inching down to kiss her bare shoulder and she sighs, leaning into him. "Ok, I'll allow it this once," she tells him before they hear the little girl.
"Ready-not, here I come!"
"Brace yourself," she whispers to him and of course, Sara quickly finds the yard deserted so she begins painstakingly checking the house, starting with the first room off of the doors, the kitchen. Her eyes narrow almost comically when she sees Alicia regarding her with a soft grin, a familiar shape lurking between her and the cupboards.
"Unca Ricky!" she chatters, moving quickly to get around Alicia, but the two of them work in tandem, turning so Sara has to keep spinnig to try to catch Ricardo. "Hey-" Just when the little girl is starting to look frustrated and maybe a little overwhelmed, Alicia stops and hoists Sara up, propelling her into Ricardo's arms.
"Enough!" she says cheerfully. "You can have him."
Sara giggles as Ricardo squeezes her and kisses her nose, throwing her little arms around his neck and holding on. "Do you want to hide this time?" he asks her, but she shakes her head. "No? What do you want then?"
She stares up at him, eyes bright and so blue that it's a little awe-inspiring to look into them after awhile. "More stories?" she asks hopefully and he grins.
"More stories it is then," he decides, slipping outside long enough to get the abandoned book before bringing her back inside and tucking her in close to his side on the couch while Alicia alternates between keeping an eye on the food and watching them.
Later on, after Mike wakes up and eats, bringing a plate in for AJ, and takes over the nightly routine for Sara, Alicia leans against Ricardo while they sit outside and stare up at the stars. "You're really good with kids, aren't you?" she asks softly.
"I ... I think so," he whispers back and she smiles into his shoulder. "I try to be anyway. Kids, they make it really easy usually."
She curls her fingers around his and squeezes gently. "You'd make for an amazing father." They had tried, for awhile, before Alicia's problems reared their ugly head again, and Ricardo had left for Mexico. "Let's make a vow, right here, right now," she says and he looks down at her, uncertain and almost worried about the look on her face.
"What kind of vow?"
She stares up at him, eyes intense and dark with some sort of longing that leaves him breathless and shaky. "I vow to try my hardest to stay clean," she tells him. "And you vow never to leave me like that again. And... and..." She swallows and presses a hand to his cheek, searching his face. "We'll start trying to have kids again."
He stares at her and tilts his face, pressing a soft, warm kiss to her palm. "You still want that with me? I know I messed up..."
She sighs. "We both have. I don't... I don't want to fixate on it anymore. I see you with Sara, and... and your sister's children and I know... I know you'd be a fantastic father to our children. And I want to experience it, all of it, with you." She hesitates, a strange, almost fearful look on her face. "Do you still want to?"
He stares at her for a long, quiet moment. "There's nothing I want more," he confesses softly and she smiles, weak and hopeful and so beautiful that his chest aches. He stands suddenly and kneels down, hoisting her into his arms and she fits so perfectly against his chest, lips already working against his throat, his jaw, his collar, that he can barely keep his balance as he makes his way slowly through the house to their bedroom.
She watches from where he lays her as he walks back to the door and quietly closes it, not wanting to disrupt the rest of the house, before returning to her. His hands are soft, gentle, as they run up her legs, smooth over her thighs and leaves her shivering. "Ricardo," she murmurs, licking her lips and wrapping her legs around him, tripping him forward until he sprawls out over her, a soft huff of a laugh pulled from his lips. His warmth is intoxicating, his hair tickling her shoulder, and she closes her eyes, finding his lips and kissing him, slow and soft at first, before licking into his mouth and feeling his hands press tight into her hips as they swallow each other's moans. "I've missed you," she breathes out, feeling tears prickling at her eyes, and he nods, his touch awakening a fire inside of her that she hasn't felt in so long, addiction and depression numbing her to so much the last few months. "Please..."
He sprawls a hand out over her lower back and eases her closer, the folds of her clothes whispering as he shifts. Her eyes flutter and she breaks the kiss, overwhelmed and trembling. He touches her, fingers warm and patient, and she gasps, biting his lip and causing him to laugh softly. "I love you so much, Alicia," he murmurs, voice thick and deep with need and desperation. "Forever and ever."
Words are hard to come by as she whimpers into his shoulder, still emotional, drowning in his warmth, his gentleness, hungry for more. "Please," she finally manages to say. "Ricardo-"
He presses his forehead to hers, searching her eyes, and smiles so lovingly that she pretty much forgets all of the recent bad times, all focus in this moment, how good his fingers feel against her shaky, overheated flesh, the soft words he's whispering into her ear just enough to make the moment linger sweetly, the memory of this moment one she'll never forget her entire life.