Alicia closes her eyes as she plays with Ricardo's fingers, tracing her nails against his palm. "I wonder," she mumbles.

"Hmm?" he asks sleepily.

Rolling over, she faces him, lightly kissing him on the lips. "This secret admirer," she makes a face, thinking about the person who'd sent her flowers while she was accompanying Noam. "It's bugging me who it is." She shrugs and presses another kiss to his sleep-warm skin. " I guess it sucks being so popular." She smiles hesitantly, leaning in as Ricardo strokes her cheek.

"I guess so." He pulls her closer and mouths lightly at her shoulder, feeling her exhale against him. "When do you have to leave?"

"In a couple hours," she says, eyes fluttering as she leans against him and lazily nips at his bottom lip. "What do you have in mind?"

His lips part into a slow, sharp grin and she laughs, running her fingers through his har as he hums against her.

There are a lot of things to do once she is gone, blowing bittersweet kisses at him from the door as he watches her leave. He lays there for awhile, lost in thought, before gingerly rolling into a sitting position. Calling for the puppy, he hoists him up when he runs over and kisses him loudly between the eyes. "You know I don't want to do this, right?"

He hadn't mentioned it to Alicia, had watched them play together this morning, aware that time's running out. His mother had helped him find a place to live willing to take he and Alicia both, but... it doesn't accept pets. For the money and location, it's the best they're going to get, but still. He's pretty sure Alberto nor Paige are at home, busy with rehab and indy events and whatever else so he puts the puppy in the car and drives towards the richer part of town.

He presses the gate alarm once he arrives at the house and when Sofia answers, says softly, "Hola, Sofia. It's Ricardo. May I come in for a little bit?" He's allowed in immediately and drives to the circling driveway nearest the door. As soon as he's parked, he scoops the puppy up and heads inside, where Sofia coos over both him and the puppy, shutting the door so Ricardo can let the dog go scampering through the house.

Once his hands are empty, she leans up and cups his face, searching his eyes. "You look well," she hedges, fingers warm against his cheeks. "You feel fine?"

"Si, Sofia, I feel fine," he tells her with a faint smile, cupping her wrists. "But I... need to talk to you about something." She nods, following him into the living room. As he settles in, the puppy returns and lays at his feet, yawning loudly. He pets the puppy's head before turning back to her. "As you know, Alicia and I are moving to California in April." She nods, looking like she's fighting back tears. "Our new apartment... doesn't allow pets." He swallows. "I just bought this little guy, and I don't... I can't just abandon him." He stares at the dog sadly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sofia asks. "Help you find him a new home? I can ask some of the friends I have, or-"

"I think I have a better idea," he says slowly. "I think... I want you and Alberto to keep him."

Sofia looks shocked. Peers down at the puppy. "Wha... what?"

Ricardo smiles at her. "I trust you to take good care of him... and I don't know, maybe... it'll give me an excuse to come by sometimes, depending on where indys may take me in the future. You never know."

She looks emotional as soon as he says it, nodding desperately. "Si, si, I'll accept that." She laughs through her tears, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "We're going to miss you so much, mi hijo. But I hope you find everything you're looking for over there."

"Gracias," he whispers, squeezing her back. "I don't know what I would've done without your support these last few years, Sofia. I knew no matter what you always had my back, and it kept me together more than you may ever realize."

She bites down a sob, hugging him tighter. "I'm glad I could help you. I just wish I could do more." She pulls away and cups his face, staring at him resolutely once more. "No matter what, I will always be a phone call away, no matter what you need. Si?"

"Si," he says with a small smile. "Gracias for everything again."

Leaving the puppy and Sofia behind is bittersweet and Ricardo exhales sharply as he returns to the quiet apartment, slumping back onto the couch he'd left a couple of hours before. Stares at the moon reflecting off of the ceiling and hopes, not for the first time, that he's doing the right thing. Making the right decisions. For himself and Alicia.

When Alicia returns a few days later with a gigantic teddy bear and a guilty look on her face, he takes the bear from her and heads outside, Alicia trailing behind him as he explains to her where the puppy's at. She takes it in stride, commenting about going to visit him one last time before they leave, and he nods, staring out at the surf as this gigantic bear flaps against his side in the wind that seems to be growing in strength. He's tempted to throw it out into the water, watch it become oversaturated and then sink underwater, but no... Too risky for the fish and other creatures below.

He's still holding onto it tightly when there's a sharp thud nearby and a child close to his niece's age starts sobbing, her mother leaning over her with worried, wide eyes, trying to comfort her after her fall. The bear dwarfs her- hell, it dwarfs Ricardo in a way- but he dusts sand off of it and drags it over, kneeling by the child. "Hey, are you ok?" She's immediately distracted by the monsterous bear, thumb inching towards her lips, and he smiles. "He's a huge teddy bear, isn't he? This is the sad thing about him," Ricardo continues, shaking the bear a bit and inching him closer to her.

She looks curious, leaning towards the bear, so Ricardo continues to speak. "He can make people feel better, especially after a scary fall, but we don't have room for him anymore..." Ricardo glances up at the hovering mother, who looks doubtful for a moment, but then realizes what he intends and nods with a vague shrug, clearly willing to do anything to make her child stop crying so brokenheartedly. "Would you give him a nice home? I bet he'd like to stay with you, would you like that?"

Her voice is low, weak from crying. "Yes," she manages, all but crawling into the bear's lap and hugging him around the middle while Ricardo releases him.

"Thank you," the frazzled mom mouths at him as he smiles and returns to Alicia's side, hugging her.

"We're gonna be alright," she tells him after they watch the mother and daughter walk back down the beach, hoisting the bear awkwardly to the exit. "California, Florida, with a ton of pets or without. It doesn't matter." She pushes up on her tiptoes and kisses him softly, smiling when water licks at their feet. "As long as we're together, I'll be happy."

He tangles his fingers in her hair and eases her closer, kissing her deep and slow, her fingers digging into the straps of his tank top as she exhales out a whimper. "Me too," he murmurs, hoping with everything in him that for once, this happiness lasts.