"Man," Ricardo mutters, staring down at Alex's knee as he elevates it. "How long has this been going on?"

"A while," Alex says.

"Too long," Alicia mumbles, resting a hand on his leg before handing over a glass of iced tea to Ricardo. "It's about time he got himself evaluated for surgery."

Alex releases a breath and snags her hand, lifting it to his lips. "Owens injurying my back seemed like the perfect time, I'm already convelaescing so why not..." Sensing that Alicia is getting more worked up, he leans over and kisses her bare shoulder, murmuring to her until she cups his face and kisses him.

"Well," Ricardo coughs when things seem to be moving past even their standard level of PDA, his eyes trained towards the ceiling. "If it's ok with Alicia, I'll be happy to help you before the surgery and afterwards."

Alex pulls away from Alicia, struggling to catch his breath, and smirks over at the former ring announcer. "That sounds great, man. I don't want Alicia to be alone through this anyway." His hand spreads out over her waist and she sighs, leaning back into him as Ricardo nods. "Pre-surgery exam is on Wednesday, and the surgery itself is on Thursday."

"That works," he says. "I have this Cinco De Mayo celebration on Tuesday, then I'm competing at the dojo's anniversary event on Saturday, but that's pretty much my week. I'll be on hand for anything either of you need the rest of the time."

And that's the plan until he receives the call that Paige has a fever and is in the hospital up in Vancouver. He's close, so close to dropping everything and booking a flight there, whatever she wants to talk to him about still fresh on his mind, when he receives another call. It's Paige's number and he hopes that it's her, though he expects to hear Miz's voice or AJ's. "Hello?"

"Hullo, love," she greets him and he almost melts into the floor.

"Paige! Are you ok? What's going on?"

"Yeah, love, I'm fine." She sounds exhausted though, and it scares him. "I was feverish because I had a bit of an infection brewing. But I've been given some antibiotics and released, Miz and AJ are watching over me right now." She pauses for a moment and smiles. "I'm going to be ok, love. I miss you lots though."

"I miss you too," he tells her softly. "You sound exhausted."

"I feel exhausted," she admits. "I have some time off from filming now... a couple of days. I wish you could fly out here... but I know you're busy..." Closing her eyes, she sighs. "I hope we can see each other soon..."

He nods, thinking furiously in an attempt to plan something. "Me too, mi fuerza. Listen, you obviously need sleep... How about you close your eyes and I'll talk to you until you fall asleep?"

"Alright," she murmurs. "I can do that."

He smiles and begins telling her all about Chicago, the fans he'd seen, things he and Del Rio had talked about and the things they'd done afterwards. Her soft hums and vague responses soon turn to soft, steady breathing and he pauses, listening, until the phone shifts. "Good night, Ricardo," AJ's voice whispers down the line and he releases a soft sigh.

"Good night, AJ." They hang up and he exhales, finding some relief in the knowledge that she's with their friends, will be well-taken care of. Sleep comes quickly when he crawls into bed a few minutes later.

The weekend passes slowly but Paige is doing better, returning to filming on Monday, so Ricardo breathes a little easier, able to focus on training younger competitors at the dojo that night. With the anniversary show looming, everyone's determined to put on a good show and impress those watching. Ricardo feels proud of all that's been accomplished by all of them by the end of the night, standing outside and watching the stars as he relaxes. Alberto will be home soon, which will ease his mind even more, his former employer's presence always helping to cheer him up, bringing life back into the mansion that both he and Sofia are too quiet to fill, especially when Paige isn't around.

The next day, he handles ring announcing for the Cinco De Mayo lucha event, eyes gleaming as he watches the action, glad to have some hand in it even if he hadn't been booked himself. It's still fun, the energy in the building obvious the instant he steps inside. The only way it would've been better is if Alberto had been home to witness it first hand, but still. There will be video, and pictures, and various ways for Ricardo to share it with him, it'll just have to do.

After having some drinks with the people involved in the event, Ricardo returns home once more and falls sleeps quickly after checking his alarm to make sure it'll wake him up in time. Except that "in time" comes too soon, and he sits up with a gasp, grabbing the clock to shut it up. He flops back down against the bed and comes close to falling asleep when... "Alberto!"

He's draining coffee desperately when he catches sight of the older man coming through the gate, his grin growing as Alberto grins back at him, a bag slung over one shoulder. They greet each other with one-armed hugs before Ricardo leads him towards where the car's parked. "How was Mexico, El Patron?"

"Amazing, mi hermano. I need to get you on a trip with me back there sometime soon," he says. "Maybe we could bring Sofia as well." He drops his bag into the car and smiles sympathetically at Ricardo. "So tell me everything. How is Paige? And the Cinco De Mayo event last night? Did you enjoy yourself?"

The ride to Alberto's house is spent mostly in talking about the event, Ricardo not having the energy to describe all of his feelings and thoughts regarding Paige right now, whatever they need to talk about weighing on him more and more with each passing day that they barely find a few minutes to talk on the phone. Finally, when they reach the house, Ricardo turns to look at Alberto, tapping his thumbs against the steering wheel. "I think I'm going to go to Philadelphia on Sunday."

Alberto blinks. "Well, that came out of nowhere, mi hermano. What for?"

"Paige has an appearance scheduled for Wizard World, and it's the first time she's going to be in the States since leaving to film, so..." He sighs. "She says we need to talk about something, this may be our best opportunity." He bites his lip. "She was sick for a few days and I'm not sure what it did to the filming schedule, but it may delay her returning home."

Alberto nods, his eyes softening in understanding. "I see. Well, if you need anything, mi amigo, por favor, let me know. I'll be happy to help. As will Sofia, I'm sure." They sit in silence for a few moments and he sighs. "So Riley is having surgery tomorrow, hm?"

"Yeah," Ricardo nods. "Alicia is with him now for the pre-surgery x-rays and everything. I think I'm going to spend most of tomorrow at the hospital, support her. She shouldn't be alone."

Alberto smiles at him, remembering how he and Sofia had sat in the waiting room for Alberto's own surgeries over the years. "You're a great friends, Ricardo."

He looks sheepish. "I try, El Patron. But we should get inside before Sofia has a fit that we're keeping her from making sure you're still in one piece, and eating enough, and all of that great stuff."

"Si, you are right." Alberto laughs.

Thursday dawns even brighter and earlier than Wednesday had, Ricardo being as quiet as he can as he gets dressed and leaves. It's still dark outside, Alex's surgery scheduled at a terrible hour. When he arrives, Alicia is sitting in the waiting room, her fingers limp and shaking slightly against the cup of coffee that she is staring into. He sighs, wondering how long she'd been alone, before walking over to her and taking her hand, pulling the cool cup away and tossing it, offering her a fresh, warm one he'd gotten from a decent coffee shop a few blocks away. She looks up in shock before realizing it's him, quickly getting to her feet and hugging him with her free hand. "Ricardo, hey!" She sounds as wiped out as she looks, and he can only imagine how the last couple of days had been for her.

"Are you ok? Is he in already?"

She shakes her head and shrugs. "I'm alright, I guess." She sips the coffee and wavers at the delicious flavor, so much better than the horrible hospital gunk that had tried to pass as coffee. "And no, but almost. When his name flashes blue on that list over there, we'll know." She hooks a thumb back towards a long list of names and statuses, Ricardo gazing at it in some awe. "There are a lot of people, huh?"

He nods and wraps an arm around her. "Yes, there are." They sit in quiet for a few hours, Ricardo leaving a couple of times to get her more coffee and a sandwich when it's somewhere between breakfast and lunch, Alicia unwilling to get up, her eyes locked on the name list like it'll change if she dare leave the room. He does convince her to walk into the hallway, maybe splash some water on her face, and when she returns, nothing's changed. The TV drones on endlessly overhead, news channels blaring on with their ridiculousness, and he's relieved on a number of fronts when finally the name list changes and a doctor comes to them a few minutes later. "Alex Riley?"

"Yes," Alicia says in relief, dropping everything she'd been holding onto- empty coffee cup, sandwich wrapper, and even her purse, as she stands up in a rush. "Is he ok? How did the surgery go?"

He smiles as Ricardo leans over, picking her things up. "Surgery went well, he's in recovery now. We'll let you in to see him soon. He's still a little out of it from the anesthesia but he'll be happy to see you." He pats Alicia on the arm, smiling at her, before turning on his heel and leaving them to sink into their chairs in relief.

"I told you he'd be ok," Ricardo tells her with a small smile. She nods and leans into him, allowing the exhaustion and relief to overwhelm her for a moment, until the nurse comes to lead them back to him. Ricardo stands by the bed and Alicia curls in next to him, kissing him on the lips as he stirs and wraps an arm around her instinctively. "Good to see you awake, amigo," Ricardo tells him, squeezing his shoulder warmly.

Alex smiles sleepily up at him before peering down at Alicia. "Thanks for staying with her, Ricardo," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of Alicia's forehead. "Means a lot."

"I know you'd do the same for Paige if it was me," Ricardo shrugs. "I'm just glad you're doing ok, man. Soon you'll be up and kicking ass in the ring again, no doubt."

Alex smiles sleepily up at him, eyes already fluttering shut as Alicia's warmth and his body's weariness after the surgery starts to pull him under again. "Hey, when I'm rehabbing, you'll help me get back into wrestling shape, right?"

"Soon as your doctor says it's ok, I'll be proud to," Ricardo says, patting his shoulder. "But knowing you," he adds in a whisper, "I'll probably insist on hearing it from your doctor. The last thing I need is Alicia killing me because I tried to help you train and you weren't cleared."

She smiles a little but doesn't move to respond. "Good man," she comments before leaning over to kiss Alex on the lips. "I'm not marrying you if you overexert yourself and needs rolled down the aisle in a wheelchair."

Alex peeks at her, pouting. "Aw, come on, Alicia. You really wouldn't?"

She sighs and shakes her head, cupping his face. "Fine, I lied. I'd marry you no matter what, but that's a worst case scenario. Don't even think about making it a reality."

"Yes ma'am."

Ricardo chuckles and leaves them alone, leaning back against the wall outside of Alex's room, staring into the distance. He sighs, missing Paige even more. Sunday is only a couple of days away now, he reminds himself. And we have plenty to do before then... "So let's get started," he murmurs, wanting to train a little more before his match on Saturday.