Alicia stays. Ricardo shows her as many sights as he can, the two of them walking hand in hand quietly around Mexico City. He shows her the temple, he buys her food from one of the nearby vendors who'd been cheerful and kind to him when he'd first arrived and still felt a little awkward about the suddenness of everything. He thinks she's almost comfortable enough to go back to Texas and do what she has to to make this permanent, when the phone rings.
Her face lights up as she answers it. "Heeey girl, guess where I'm at!" He's watching as everything shifts, her lips part and she shakes her head, terror flashing across her face. "Wha- what? Oh shit, AJ, are you-?" She presses her lips tightly together and nods. "Yeah. Yes, of course." She swallows hard, and grips at her hair with her free hand until Ricardo gently reaches out and claims it, stroking her knuckles gently. "Loo- look, I'm in Mexico City with Ricardo right now, but as soon as I can get a flight and everything, I'll... I'll be there with you. I promise." She listens for a few seconds more before hanging up, burying her face in her hand, Ricardo growing more and more alarmed as her fingers tremble between his.
"Wha... what is it?" he asks in a hushed voice. "Is she ok? Mike-?"
"She's having some complications with the pregnancy," Alicia tells him after a few minutes. "I ha- I have to go. I need to be with her, help her as much as I can. I mean, Mike's always on the road or doing media, she- she has Taya and John, but they have their own careers and lives, and..." Her eyes dull a little and she shrugs. "I'm in between right now, and you're here, so I... I can do this. I can be with her, make sure she and Sara and the baby are ok."
Ricardo nods. "Of course." He thinks long and hard about it and says, "But... I want to help to," he finally says quietly. "Let me square things away with Alberto, I'll... I'll come with you."
She looks skeptical. "Will he let you?"
Ricardo sighs. "Listen, I know how it seems to you. That I ask how high when he says jump, but... things have always been really complicated and perhaps I do give him too much of my time and attention sometimes, but it's Mike and it's AJ, and he knows how much they've done for me over the years, Mike especially, so he won't hold this against me if I take some time for myself." He lifts her hand and gently kisses her knuckles. "Do you want to come with me?"
Barely half an hour later, Alicia finds herself in Alberto's basement gym, staring at him as he pants softly after stopping his workout abruptly, sweat dripping down his jaw as Ricardo hands him a towel and looks up at him, pale but resolute. "Mi hermano," Alberto says, glancing from him to Alicia. "Alicia, good to see you." Turning his attention back to his best friend, he rests a hand on Ricardo's shoulder. "What is this about? Hm?"
"Alicia received a call from AJ Lee," Ricardo explains. "She's having some complications with her pregnancy. Alicia's going to go up and help her as much as she can." He hesitates for only a second before continuing on. "It's serious, and AJ is limited in help between Mike always on the road and John and Taya busy as well, so I need some time off from the federation because I want to go with Alicia and see if I can be of any assistance. Is there anything you need me to do before I go?"
Not a question. Just a simple statement of fact, Alicia realizes, unable to keep the small smile from crossing her face. She reaches out and guides her hand into his, squeezing gently.
Alberto blinks. Looks distracted as he wipes his face off. "Pregnancy complications, eh." He sighs and looks over at them. "No, no, mi hermano, I think we can struggle along without you for a bit." He squeezes Ricardo's shoulder and smiles weakly. "Tell them I hope things go smoothly and she feels better soon."
Ricardo gently eases his hand free of Alicia, leaning forward to hug Alberto. "Gracias, mi hermano. I will."
"Is there anything I can help with? Flights to California, or-?" Alberto wonders and Ricardo glances over at Alicia, who shrugs.
"Maybe you can," Ricardo nods, the two men talking quietly amongst themselves as Alicia wanders away, staring into the ring, feeling the various equipment, smooth and well-taken care of under her trailing fingers.
She realizes she doesn't miss all of this- wrestling and nonstop training and everything else that came with it- much at all.
The next day, Ricardo stands outside of the airport, closes his eyes, and breathes in deeply, smelling the ocean in the distance. He smiles. "Hola once more," he tells California as Alicia presses a soft kiss to his jaw and pulls away to look for their rental so they can get to AJ as soon as possible.
