Mike and AJ visit over the next few days and it brightens both Alicia and Ricardo's days, the two of them relieved for a bit of a distraction from their issues. Alicia coos at the baby, poking at her small hands and grinning when the little girl squeezes her fingers, eyes wide and locked on her face. "It's been great having you here, little one. You drag your parents back out this way to visit Auntie Alicia again soon, alright?" As Ricardo leans over to say his own farewell to the baby, Alicia turns to Mike and hugs him. "Safe travels, Mike. And good luck with your title match at No Mercy."
"Thanks," he says with a small smile as she turns to AJ, both of them pouting as they throw their arms around each other.
"I don't want you to go!"
"And I don't want to go," AJ sighs, squeezing her. "But I have things to do back in California, my shelter dogs are going to miss me... and we need to get Sara here settled back at home before she forgets what her room looks like." Pulling back, she cups Alicia's face. "You call, text or skype me whenever you need to talk, alright? I'll be right there, just for you." She smiles at her. "Love you, Foxy. Take care of yourself." She hugs her again and whispers, "And take good care of Ricardo too."
"I will," she promises, pulling away and smiling down at her. Ricardo's just finished tickling Sara and grinning sadly at the little girl before turning to hug Mike and AJ, Alicia standing back and watching as they murmur to each other, Mike squeezing Ricardo just a little longer than most. Once they've left, Alicia leans in and wraps her arms around Ricardo, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Well, now it's just us and the zoo again," she murmurs, kissing his shoulder.
He nods, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "It's almost too quiet now," he chuckles wearily as she guides him over to the couch and sits down next to him, turning the TV on to drone on quietly behind them.
Somewhere between one set of commercials and the next, she looks over to find Ricardo leaning back, his eyes closed as he dozes. She smiles and grips him by the shoulder, lulling him over so his head is resting in her lap. She plays with his hair, carding her fingers through the long strands, and leans in, kissing him on the forehead. "Rest well," she whispers to him before settling in to watch the rest of the movie she'd tuned into in the middle of.
The next few days pass by slowly, Alicia and Ricardo doing what they can to stay cool due to a broken AC. Finally the repair man comes and fiddles with things, cleaning stuff out, fixing what he can. By the time cool air is once more filtering through the apartment, the news can talk about nothing but the hurricane promising to make landfall later on the following week and they exchange wary, uncertain glances. Before they can really discuss it, however, Ricardo's phone lights up with alert after alert after alert.
He purses his lips and lifts it up, staring at it. He immediately pales and peers up at Alicia. "I... uh. Oh God." She takes the phone from him as he sags, unable to focus or do anything. She reads the words on his screen and immediately wraps an arm around him. "Alberto was stabbed?" he murmurs. "That's why he no-showed AAA last night?"
She sits quietly by his side as he trembles a little. "What do you want to do?" she asks.
"I don't know." He fiddles with his phone and picks at the carpet, barely paying attention to Zero as he licks at Ricardo's fingers. After a few moments of silence, he looks up and searches Alicia's face. "What should I do?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Every instinct is telling me to go check on him, but I don't know if I can take it."
She finds his hand and squeezes it. "Whatever you choose to do, I'll be by your side through it," she promises.
He nods vacantly before standing up, wandering around and collecting a couple of things before walking outside. She locks up and follows him, settling into the driver's seat when he slumps down into the passenger side. She doesn't even need to ask where they're going, taking one glance at Ricardo before starting the car and turning towards the richer part of town. They sit for awhile outside of the gate, staring up at Alberto's massive grounds, before Ricardo murmurs the gate code. She enters it quietly and drives forward once they're allowed inside.
The house is quiet and Ricardo shuffles on the front patio as they linger by the front door, Alicia waiting patiently for him to make the first move. Finally he knocks tentatively and they exchange glances before she settles in against his side and curls her fingers around his, squeezing when the door is pulled open and Sofia immediately throws her arms around him and hugs him, shoulders shaking.
Once she's cried herself out and they sit down in the dining room, Sofia still holding onto Ricardo's hand tightly, he stares at her. "Is he alright?"
"He will be," she exhales. "It was awful. He had left to catch his flight to Mexico and... I'm not sure the entire story, but he has these deep stab wounds up his arm, and along his scalp..." She closes her eyes. "He's resting down the hall, but it's up to you if you want to see him or not."
Ricardo doesn't say anything right away, Sofia's smile turning sad even as she squeezes his hand in understanding. "I can't, not right now," he says, licking his lips. "But I couldn't stay away either, I guess I just needed to hear first hand that he'd going to be ok."
Sofia nods, staring at him. "He's going to be just fine." She looks like she's about to say something else when a door slams nearby and then...
"Sofia, I was wondering if-" Paige's thickly accented voice fades away when she sees Ricardo and Alicia sitting there, freezing right there in the middle of the room. "Oh. Oh... uh, sorry. I'll just... go..."
"Paige," Ricardo calls out, abruptly stopping her. She turns to look at him, his fingers digging into Alicia's palm. "Good luck with your surgery."
Her smile is tentative, painful. "Thank you." She tugs at the ends of her hair, swallowing. "Also thank you for all of the help you gave my family over the last few months. My mum was really impressed by how easily you settled into that role."
Ricardo nods. "No problem," he says quietly.
Paige leaves as softly as she'd arrived and the three of them sit there for awhile, unsurprised when Alberto pokes his head in a few minutes later, his eyes gritty and dry looking. He exhales and hovers, staring at Ricardo as his former best friend examines his arm, the bandages there, how carefully he's holding it. "Well, I see the news has spread," he sighs, venturing towards the table and letting Ricardo look closer. "I'm alright, mi hermano."
Ricardo doesn't acknowledge his claim, taking his hand and carefully running fingers over the few slashes still visible. "What happened?"
"It is a long story," Alberto says, sitting down between Sofia and Alicia and explaining what had led to it. Ricardo doesn't say anything, barely reacts to any of it, just staring at the older man as his voice drones on and on.
"I see," he murmurs once Alberto falls silent, still unsure how to feel or what to say about it. "I'm glad you're alright." It's the most he can offer right now, if not forever. Still, it seems to be enough because a look of relief crosses Alberto's face. "I just wanted to know what happened, and see for myself that you're ok." He stands up and nods at Alicia. As she stands up, he turns to Sofia and leans down to hug her. "I'll call you soon. We'll talk."
She nods, hugging him tightly. "I'd like that, mi hijo."
He pulls away reluctantly and turns to Alicia, who then joins him in walking towards the door. They're barely out of the kitchen when Alberto clears his throat. "Mi hermano? I know you live close to the beach... if you want to stay here, ride out the coming storm, my door's open to you whenever you need."
Ricardo stops short and turns back to look at him. "Gracias for the offer, but we'll be fine." He eyes him for a moment and exhales, "Take care of yourself. ANd Paige." Before Alberto can respond, he continues on his way to the exit and leaves, only then feeling like he can breathe properly again as he leans against the car and waits for Alicia to unlock it.
She waits until they're both settled in comfortably, seat belts clicked in and radio droning on lowly in the background. "Are you ok?"
"Better now," he admits, lifting her hand and sandwiching it between both of his. "Thank you for coming with me, Alicia. I don't think I would've gotten through it otherwise."
She cups his face and turns him towards her, kissing him slowly, deeply. "Yes, you would've," she breathes out, wiping at his lips before she tries to pull away... just to feel that deep, sharp desperation that leads to her kissing him again, her eyes fluttering as his hands brush along her shoulders and draws her in deeply. "We need to go," she finally grits out, hating herself for pulling away from him but knowing it's needed.
In the end, the storm isn't as bad as most feared, so Ricardo and Alicia huddle together with the pets and light candles when the power goes, the wind and rain thankfully not bad as it could be, considering. Despite that, it's still terrifying and, when they head to bed that night, Alicia slips out of her bed an hour in of staring, fearing the house caving in or stormwater rushing in and drowning her. Something, anything. She tiptoes down the hall and finds Ricardo's room, slipping inside and staring at his motionless body. She changes her mind as she watches him sleep, about to turn away and leave again when lightning crashes, followed by house-rattling thunder that makes her yell out in fear.
"What is it?!" Ricardo demands, sitting up and already flailing around for a weapon.
"No, no, it's me," she chokes out. "Ricardo, I'm sorry. I didn't want- I didn't want to disturb your sleep, it's just the storms are so loud, and..."
He immediately softens and pulls his sheets around to allow her inside. "Come here." As soon as she's settled down on her knees in front of him, he wraps the bedding around her and holds her close. "You'lre gonna be ok. You'll see, we'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be a little battered, a little worse for wear... but it'll still be here, you will still be here, and I will still be here, and we'll pick up and carry on."
"Thank you," she breathes out, already feeling more relaxed. She leans up and hovers over him a moment before easing in and giving him a slow, intense kiss that leaves him trying to breathe normally while in this daze. His fingers trail down her side, making her shiver and she pulls away, staring deep into his eyes before he brings her back in for a kiss. "Alicia," he groans out.
"Yes," she whispers into his ear. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
He smiles.
