Ricardo closes his eyes and holds Alicia close, biting his lip. She leans against his side and inhales slowly, exhales a few minutes later. "I... I'm scared," she mumbles. Had woke up panicking after a nightmare, waking Ricardo up and leaving him unsettled and worried until she'd uncurled and threw her arms around him, all but hyperventilating into his shirt.

"I know," he whispers, kissing the top of her head. "I am too." He sighs. "I'm sorry, Alicia."

"It's not your fault," she murmurs. "None of this is." She pulls back and looks up at him, stroking his cheeks with her fingers. "It's- it's just a really difficult time, huh?"

There's an ultrasound taped to the mirror next to them, and Ricardo's gaze rests on it for a long, tense moment as he nods slowly. "Yeah." He doesn't know how best to protect her, take care of them, and he's never felt so helpless in all of his life. He kisses her forehead and tucks her in closer. "You're safe. Right here, right now. Just try to get some more sleep, ok?"

"Ok," she whispers in a thin voice. But when she just lays there in his arms and stares blankly at the wall, breathing uneven and shaky, he's not terribly surprised.

Both of them are groggy and just going through the motions as they get out of bed an hour or two later once the sun has risen. He's half-heartedly making eggs for breakfast, certain he's going to leave half a shell in one, or just burn the entire damn thing, when the doorbell rings. She grits her teeth and he looks up, watchful, careful. "Stay here, I'll get it," he says, eyeing some of the nearby kitchen utensils that could be used as a weapon just in case.

She lingers in the doorway to the living room as he marches purposely over to the door that hasn't been used to greet anyone in weeks. He unlocks and opens the main door only a few inches before peeking out. "Yes?"

There's a pause. And then, "Mi hijo?"

Relief and a rush of so many other emotions slam into Ricardo that he feels a quick tightness in his chest before he slams the door open and pushes the screen door open, pulling Sofia inside and hugging her tightly. "You're here," he whispers into her hair and she laughs through her own tears, hugging him back just as tight.

"Si, I am!" she exclaims, pulling back a few moments later to look up at him. "Oh, Ricardo," she whispers, taking in his bone deep exhaustion and worry. "Oh, love." She cups his face and smiles sadly up at him. "Where's Alicia?"

Frozen in fear and surprise in the doorway, Alicia finally comes back to awareness and unfreezes at this question, comes rushing in towards her. "Sofia!"

Sofia quickly turns and meets her halfway for another long, clinging hug. "Oh, darling. Let me look at you." She pulls back and examines Alicia with a soft smile on her face. "You look beautiful."

Alicia sniffs and shakes her head, wiping her eyes impatiently. "I'm a mess, I keep having nightmares, and-" Her hands go to her stomach, rubbing it fretfully and Sofia rests her hands over Alicia's, squeezing soothingly.

"It's understandable," she hums. "It's ok, it's all going to be ok." She smiles at both of them, and then pauses. "Mi hijo, is something burning?"

Ricardo pales. "AY!" He twists around and runs for the kitchen, curses pouring from his lips. Sofia and Alicia exchange glances, half-smiles on their faces before they turn to check in on him.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbles, face in his hands a few minutes later as he slumps down on their couch and bites his lip. "I just wanted to do something nice, and..."

"It's fine," Alicia says, running her fingers gently through his hair. "It's just a pan that got ruined. We're fine. And Sofia's here. She's gonna take care of it." Already, a new breakfast is cooking, one that smells much better than Ricardo's prior attempt had.

He leans into her and shakes his head, pulling his fingers away to peek up at her. "Here I'm the one who's supposed to be taking care of you," he says ruefully.

She cradles his face in her hands, smiling gently. "You do. All the time. One little mishap won't change that. But it's good to have another set of hands here. Especially when we have bad nights. Right?" She leans in and kisses him, slow and soft. "Don't start to feel like you're unneeded or anything. Because we both need you so, so very much." She gently takes his hand and rests it on her stomach and he swallows, closing his eyes and allowing himself just to feel. "I love you, Ricardo."

He smiles for the first time in what feels like for days. "I love you too."