Alicia rebounds well enough. Emotionally more than physically. She's still injured, but she seems happy. Content in Ricardo's arms when they fall asleep together at night, not too hindered by thoughts of Alex and what might've been seen in GLOW. Ricardo saw some things in that first episode he'd rather forget, but his chief concern right now is Alicia. He watches her, in awe that she's with him, like this. Her birthday is in a couple of days and he brainstorms the perfect way to celebrate her.

Mindful of her leg amd how its recover will slow does anything they may attempt, he's not even bothered by his insomnia that night as he lays there and thinks about what to do, lazily tracing circles in her arms, side, and back.

Planning is easy, since she spends a couple of hours at the rehab building on Monday. He wanders the beach, calls Sofia. Discusses with her a few things, and then hangs up when he finally finds what he's looking for, smiling happily. The rest of the week goes by in a rush- Alicia is annoyed when Ariya breaks Noam's phone so she can't talk with him like she'd prefer during shows, but it's something of a relief to Ricardo as he finds himself with her full attention, lightly stroking her upper thighs as he kisses her, gentle around her injury.

She whimpers into his mouth and he pauses for a moment, afraid that he's hurting her further, but she presses up into him with her good leg and he chuckles, nuzzling his nose against hers. "I love you, Alicia," he mumbles.

She hums. "Prove it," she whispers, trailing her fingers through his hair, tugging lightly. He smirks, curls an arm around her waist, and does so.

By Friday, Noam has a new phone and Ricardo rolls his eyes as they continue to brainstorm ways to get back at Ariya. Even though Noam started all of this... Ricardo chuckles under his breath, secretly thankful that Noam is keeping Alicia busy. It gives him time to prepare, to set up. To confirm with Sofia that everything's going well. By the time Noam runs out of things to talk to Alicia about and leaves, she gets up and gingerly makes her way over to Ricardo, throwing her arms around his neck and beaming at him. "Thanks for being so patient. I know he's a silly guy, but we mesh together pretty well, and... eh, he's alright."

Ricardo shrugs, kisses her soft and mumbles, "Yeah, he's alright." Before she can respond, he hoists her up and she squeals, clinging to him as he carries her bridal style out of the apartment.

"Um, Ricardo, where are we going?" she asks, pressing her face against his shoulder as he walks surely through the sand leading towards the water.

"You'll see," he says with a small smirk, gripping her tightly when his step loses some of its surefootedness, the waves tickling against his toes and making the sand clump up in awkward ways perfectly designed to trip him up. But they arrive safely a few minutes later, and Ricardo beams as he sees Sofia waiting, a table and chairs set up, which he settles Alicia down on one gently as she gapes over everything. There's nothing huge food wise, sushi and some salad from a nearby place that Alicia loves, but it's clearly enough as she presses her hand to her mouth, nodding enthusiastically when Sofia unearths her plate and presses a kiss to her forehead.

"Happy birthday, Alicia," the housekeeper tells her cheerfully before winking at Ricardo and taking her leave.

He sits down a few moments later and Alicia looks up at him. "This is incredible, when did you have the time...?"

"When you were at rehab," he admits, shrugging. "I wanted to do something special for your birthday, and I found this little out of the way spot and it seemed perfect."

She smiles. Bites into her salad. "It most definitely is," she sighs, breathing in the tangy ocean scents. They talk quietly while they eat, mostly just enjoying the atmosphere. Alicia laughs when Ricardo throws some fish at a nearby bird, then repeats the action, the two of them watching as more seagulls appear, all squawking and picking at that one piece of fish. "We may have mad a mistake," Ricardo laughs. "We'll never have another moment of peace now."

She shrugs. Chuckles softly and finishes her food, leaning back to watch the clouds, the birds, everything... just to gasp when Sofia reappears with a chocolate cake, soft purple letters scattered along the sprinkles. Happy birthday, Alicia. Her eyes well up with tears and she reaches for Ricardo's hand, kissing his knuckles. "Thank you," she murmurs.

Afterwards, full of sushi and cake, they walk slowly along the beach, Ricardo supporting her whenever she falters, her leg still healing slowly. They've walked for maybe five minutes when he hesitates and brushes some hair out of her eyes, smiling down at her. "Alicia?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't freak out," he says, quietly pulling something out of his pocket and showing her. A ring box. She swallows hard, watching as he carefully lowers himself down on one knee, staring up at her. "We're nowhere near ready for marriage, I know this. So I'm not going there, not yet. But I think one thing we've both lacked too much of in our various romances over the years is any serious kind of commitment." He takes her hand, hers so smooth and gentle in his own battered and calloused one. "I'm not proposing marriage to you right now. Instead, I'm proposing commitment. I promise to never stray, to always have your back, give you support and love and kindness when you need it. Comfort and encourage you when times are hard. And make you as happy as I possibly can. Alright?"

She's crying again, so hard she can barely see him. It's not a proposal of marriage, no, but his words just erased every bitter memory she has of Alex's wedding vows, and she nods eagerly, holding her hand out to accept his ring on her finger. It's beautiful, a soft blue titanium band, and she can't stop staring at how it accenuates her finger already. "Where's mine?" she asks with a small smile as he gapes up at her.

"Yours?"

"My ring to make the same promises to you," she says. "To vow my heart and love to you forever and ever, that I will give you the love and kindess you deserve and always treat you with the dignity you've earned in spades over the years."

His face has flushed softly and she thinks he's lovely, needing nothing more than to touch him and be touched by him in kind, feeling her ring rubbing against his heated skin. "I'll get you one," he tells her breathlessly. "I'll get you absolutely whatever you want."

She cups his face, leans closer and presses a kiss to his mouth, subtle but promising all sorts of things for later. "I want you to take me home right now."

He's up and scooping her back into his arms immediately, walking as quickly as he dares through the uneven sand to do just that.