Alicia sighs, coos over her newborn, who is finally, finally asleep, and tiptoes away to get a drink of water from the kitchen. Sofia is asleep, Ricardo is sitting outside, staring up at the stars. She yawns and wipes at her eyes, before venturing outside to join him with two glasses of water. He smiles up at her and sips from the glass, still not quite looking away from the sky. She rests her head on his shoulder, and his grips her hand with his free one, stroking her knuckles. "You alright?" he whispers.
"I am," she says. "Just... very tired." Andre requires a lot of attention, and they're all up throughout the night, checking on him, making sure he's ok. His first doctor's visit had gone well, the woman pleased with both baby and Alicia's condition, although she had clucked under her breath when Alicia explained she'd had him at home. Alicia stands her ground, however, definitely pleased with her choice. Letting Ricardo be present for the birth of their son, and Sofia being the first to hold him as he instinctively figured out how to breathe, had been all she'd wanted anyway.
Ricardo nods, kissing her forehead. "I can imagine," he says, before lapsing into silence. "You should get some sleep," he says quietly. "What's that advice they always say? You sleep when the baby sleeps?"
She smiles a little. "I will," she promises. "I just miss you. Things have been so busy, we barely get a minute to ourselves..."
"I know." He rubs her back. "I miss moments like this too, but Andre will settle before long, grow bigger and get better at sleeping through the night. Just need to be patient with him."
Alicia nods, a faint smile twitching up her face. "Yeah, that's what AJ said."
"Did she enjoy seeing him in that video chat you had going on?"
"She all but swooned," Alicia chuckles at the memory. "Then she held up George and told Andre that they were going to be best friends as soon as they could meet. Man, George is adorable too, and he's getting so big!"
"They all are," Ricardo murmurs. "Did you see those pictures of Heath and Maryse's girls? Ridiculous."
Alicia nods, looking up at him. "Did you ever think we'd join them? I mean, having kids and all? I... After Alex, I really wasn't sure."
Ricardo slowly shakes his head. "I wasn't either," he confesses. "When, uh, when Paige cheated on me, I..." He breathes in deeply. "I was pretty sure that was it for me romantically forever. That I was destined to be alone, or something. And I tried to tell myself that'd be fine, I'd figure it out, it wasn't so horrible being single. But I still... I yearned for what everyone else had." He lifts her hand to his lips and lightly kisses it, watching her eyes flutter. "I will never be able to properly show you how much I appreciate and adore you for everything you've given me so willingly these last few years."
Her eyes soften and she cradles his face, kissing him slowly, deeply. Rests her forehead against his and peers deep into his eyes. "I swear," she murmurs, "I am keeping track of these moments, Ricardo Rodriguez. As soon as I'm healed, I'm gonna pay you back so thoroughly, your head's gonna spin."
He grins. "I look forward to it," he breathes against her lips and sighs when she twists her fingers in his hair and kisses him again.
