It's a sleepy, warm day in Texas. Ricardo drifts, the puppies nuzzled in close to him, and Alicia sits at the foot of the bed, softly stroking Ricardo's hair. He yawns and stretches, looking up at her. "You ok?" he asks softly and she nods. "I guess we should get going."
Heath and Maryse are having a small party to reveal the gender of their child before they have to film a much more lavious, obnoxious party for Miz and Mrs. Not for the first time, Ricardo wonders how Heath could possibly make it through this- for the second time, no less- without completely losing his mind. He knows if it was him and Alicia was involved in something like this, he wouldn't be able to stand it. Sighing, he rolls over and presses a soft kiss to her shoulder, moving up the curve of her neck before claiming her lips, reminding himself that it's not him, that things are fine. That she loves him, and he loves her, and nothing could come between them.
She hums into his mouth and sighs as his hands ease up her warm skin, toying with the hem of her shirt. He lets out a soft groan as her nails trail down his arms, time becoming less important the longer they press into each other, heat and intimacy taking focus away from everything else. "I love you," she tells him, eyes bright and fixed as he splays his hand out over her back and draws her in even closer.
"I love you too," he murmurs, settling her back against the pillows and breathing deeply between each kiss he presses to her skin, drowning in the soft noises she keeps making, fingers tangling in his hair as she tugs lightly, overwhelmed and needy.
When they arrive fashionably late to the gender reveal party, Maryse smirks knowingly at them but Heath remains oblivious, anxious about the party and everything else going on. As the women wander off to giggle and gossip, Ricardo sticks with Heath, teasing Monroe gently as she waves her fists at him. "Doing alright, papi?" he asks after a few minutes of uncharacteric silence.
Heath blinks. Looks up from where he's preparing baby food for Monroe Sky. "Huh?"
"Are things ok, Heath?" Ricardo asks, softer this time.
"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't they? I got a beautiful wife, a great kid, and another on the way. I got nothin' to complain about." It's false, the air is thick with Heath's despondency and Ricardo isn't terribly surprised to see tears in his eyes when he turns around to start spooning food into Monroe's mouth.
Ricardo grimaces, well aware of what WWE can do to a guy, without all of the other drama going on in Heath's life right now, and walks up to him, rubbing soft circles in his back as he feeds the baby. When Heath's shoulders start shaking, tears dripping down onto the counter, Ricardo isn't sure what to do and Monroe stops eating, her chin wobbling as she takes in her upset father. "Heath..."
"M sorry, I'm sorry!" he chokes out, pushing the bowl of baby cereal away. "I... I-" Ricardo grabs him and turns him around, tucking him in close and just holding him as he sobs into his shoulder. After letting Heath cry himself out, Ricardo eases away, moving to pour Heath a glass of water, and gently tugging Monroe's bowl over so he can finish feeding her.
Heath sips. Sniffs hard, wipes at his face. "God, I'm so sorry, Ricardo. It's just... I miss Rhyno, 'n'... I... I miss wrestlin'... I dunno what I'm doin', now there's all'a this... I just want things to be normal, again, ya know? Not have to share my wife 'n' my babies..." He looks absolutely miserable. "But I dunno what to do about it, we're so deep in all'a this mess..."
Ricardo sighs, finishing feeding Monroe and hoisting her up to walk her around a little, see if she needs burped. "I wish I knew what to say to you, Heath. Leaving WWE helped me, but there are still a lot of other problems and it's a pretty delicate situation. I know, though, that you're a smart guy- you are," he insists with a small smile when Heath looks up at him incredulously. "And you'll think of something. Something that works for yourself, and for the rest of your family." He lightly walks over and places Monroe into her daddy's arms, watching with a small smile as Heath breathes a little easier, hugging the baby tightly.
"Thank you, Ricardo," he mumbles, kissing the baby on the cheek.
Later, when the cake they cut bleeds pink, Heath's grin is honest, wide. Sincere. "I'm gonna be surrounded by girls!" He laughs, spinning Monroe around gently as she coos and wiggles around in his arms. "I can't wait!"