Disclaimer: I do not own Zorro, nor do I make any money from writing this story. Dialogue and situations used from the episode are property of ZPI, the rest of the story is my property and cannot be printed or used without my permission.
Author's note: I'm showing all my cards! Posting everything I have and I won't have anything to post later :( I should wait... I hope you keep reviewing and commenting so I don't go into withdrawal. I just liked this and wanted to see if you did, too.
I hated Victoria's comment at the end of My Word is My Bond. I was almost going to end Mendoza the Matchmaker like this, but then I changed it and had this leftover. Since I'm past that part in Mendoza, I thought I'd post this to tide you over till I finalize the next chapter of Mendoza.
This picks up at the end of My Word is My Bond, but isn't an alternate ending to my other story. This begins after Diego had to rescue Victoria while he had a broken leg and everyone is back in the pueblo.
AND I need your help! See the note at the end.
One shot, this is all you get. I like the ending.
DeSoto glanced towards the entrance as Jose followed several men on horseback into the pueblo, Victoria driving a wagon carrying his wife and son. "Who on earth are all those men?"
Diego limped forward, always eager to spend time with the beautiful senorita. He'd been growing concerned that it took them so long to get back to the pueblo, especially since he'd been back waiting for them for what seemed like ages. "Victoria, we were worried about you."
Victoria stopped the wagon near Diego. "Oh, there was no need to worry, Don Diego. And by the way, Don Alejandro, your horses are back safely in your corral."
Don Alejandro looked up at her in surprise. "Well, that's marvelous, Victoria. But how?"
Victoria climbed down from the wagon, smiling proudly at the alcalde. "Alcalde, those are the men who are responsible for the robberies." She watched the alcalde look uncomfortable as several lancers went to escort the bandits to the jail. "And…Jose Macias helped me to apprehend them and bring them back to you."
DeSoto turned to face her in surprise. "He did what?"
Diego grinned at Victoria as he addressed DeSoto. "Apparently, you arrested the wrong man, Alcalde. Again." He narrowed his eyes as DeSoto blustered. "It really is a habit you should try to break.
Victoria came to stand next to Diego. "And now I would like my bail money back if you please."
DeSoto shook his head in confusion. "Bail?"
Mendoza walked over to them, eyeing Victoria critically. "Senorita, it's impossible. You and Jose captured all those horses?"
Victoria looks back at Jose with a smile, "Well…"
Diego answered for her. "I think she may have had a little help, Sergeant…" They all look over and see Z's carved into the back of the bandits' jackets, "…from a friend. So, Jose, apparently you won't be needing my legal expertise."
Jose spoke proudly. "No, amigo. Zorro already came to my defense."
Don Alejandro watched as the bandits he'd spent all day chasing were lead to the jail without fuss. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like a long cool lemonade."
Diego could go for one, too. Lord but his leg hurt after all the trouble this afternoon and he hadn't even gotten a kiss out of it. "Splendid idea! Have one on me, Father." Diego started to walk towards the tavern, and cried out in pain as he put too much weight on his broken leg.
Alejandro came to help support his limping son, and Victoria grinned to Julieta. "Now, if that were Zorro, he wouldn't be such a baby about a broken leg."
Diego stopped, pulling away from Alejandro as he turned to face Victoria. She flushed in embarrassment as she realized he'd heard her, and dropped her eyes. "And if Zorro had a broken leg," Alejandro added sadly, though Diego wasn't paying much attention, "the pueblo of Los Angeles would be the one to suffer."
Diego stared hard at Victoria's bowed head, surprised at the annoyance he felt. Sometimes Victoria could be just as harsh as his father, and he usually thought nothing of it. He didn't let their words bother him because it meant his secret was safe, that they were safe. But today he'd already been annoyed with her for going after Jose alone. What he was feeling right now might be better classified as irritation. His leg hurt because he'd been riding and fighting today instead of resting it, and he wasn't being a baby. He took a deep breath, shaking his head, not able to brush it off as easily today.
"Oh, and I suppose even if Zorro did have a broken leg, you'd still expect him to ride to the rescue, eh?" Diego tried to keep his tone light, but he knew he sounded petulant. "It doesn't matter that you blindly dive into dangerous situations, because Zorro will always be there to save you, right?" He glanced sideways at his father. "I bet he'd never get a broken leg, because that would be too inconvenient for everyone." Diego turned away from them both, not caring how they reacted. He was going home. He was going to go to bed with a book, put his broken leg up on a pillow and forget about the outside world for the rest of the week. The pueblo could take care of itself!
"Diego," Alejandro called after him. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."
Diego rolled his eyes, not stopping or turning back around. Would they always completely miss the bigger picture? "Never mind, father. I promised Felipe I'd help him with something. I'll must go home. I'll see you later."
Victoria, however, was unsettled the rest of the day. As the tavern emptied for siesta, Victoria dissected what Diego had said. She hadn't meant to be mean, but she flushed in shame as she realized how it had sounded. Diego had broken his leg protecting the pueblo from a raging bull. That had been very brave and heroic. She'd never even said anything to him about it. Zorro always seemed to outshine everything and everyone in her life. A broken leg takes time to heal, and it hurts no matter who you are. Diego had made her forget because he was not complaining about it. The one time he said 'ow' and she jumped on it.
Victoria walked back into her kitchen and looked around. She owed Diego an apology. Apologies always went better with cookies. She started pulling out ingredients and got to work.
A short time later, Victoria pulled up to the De La Vega hacienda carrying a hot basket of chocolate apologies.
She knocked on the door and Felipe quickly answered. "I know Diego came home to help you out with something so you're probably busy, but I wonder if I could talk to him for a moment?" She held out the basket. "I made cookies." She beamed at Felipe.
Felipe, however, just looked confused, shaking his head. Victoria let the basket fall again. "Diego's not here?" Felipe shrugged, then asked her to wait a moment. He ran back into the house, apparently looking for Diego. So Diego hadn't come home to help Felipe with something. He'd just wanted to get away from her. She looked at the ground, thoroughly ashamed. She looked up as she heard Diego's voice inside. Quickly she heard footsteps approaching and prepared to apologize to her friend. It was Felipe, however, who came to the door. He came outside, pulling the door almost closed behind him. Felipe shook his head.
"Diego's not here?" Felipe couldn't hold her gaze as he agreed with her. Victoria stood on tiptoes in an attempt to look through the crack in the door behind him, and Felipe pulled the door more fully closed behind him. She held her breath for a moment because suddenly she wanted to cry. Diego was home. He just didn't want to see her. But how could she apologize if he wouldn't see her?
Victoria looked at Felipe, who was becoming interested in the delicious smell coming from the basket.
"I made chocolate cookies." Felipe smiled up at her, reaching for the basket. She pulled it away, though, and he pouted. "They're hot out of the oven," she further taunted him, "but they're for Diego." She smiled as Felipe looked back into the house and back at the basket. "If Diego's not here, I have to take them back to the tavern with me. A special treat for anyone who comes in for dinner." Victoria briefly pulled the towel off the top of the basket and a cloud of chocolate-scented air made Felipe inhale deeply.
"Maybe if Diego's not here, I can leave them in the library for him," Victoria prodded. Felipe looked guiltily up at her before glancing back into the house. He scratched his head and rubbed his stomach, as if he were suddenly starving. She felt a little guilty as he held up one finger, begging for just one cookie. She held firm, though, and shook her head.
Felipe was smart. He knew that she knew Diego was home. He looked at her sadly, and Victoria understood when he came right out and told her Diego didn't want to see her.
"Felipe, I said something stupid. I hurt his feelings. Diego is my friend, please let me in to talk to him." Felipe looked at her apologetic expression, thought of how Diego had snuck home without telling him. He'd found Diego sulking in a corner of the library after Victoria told him Diego was home. He'd barely looked up from his book when Felipe had asked him what he was doing hiding in the corner, and just grumbled to tell her to go away.
He nodded and reached for the basket, and Victoria smiled. She handed over the bribe, and followed Felipe inside. He dug in to the basket as he headed toward the library, but paused before entering to let her go first. She walked in and found Diego with a book on his lap, slouched in an armchair with his leg propped up on a stool. He wasn't reading, just staring into space. He did look tired, and she felt bad knowing that his leg hurt more than he let on and she made fun of him for it. A pitcher of lemonade was sitting on the table next to him, and she felt bad he hadn't felt comfortable coming to her tavern for a glass with everyone else earlier this afternoon. He'd had to get it himself, when he was injured.
He finally sensed her and he looked up. Rather than getting up to greet her, however, he slouched further into the chair and picked up his book, ignoring her. "I baked you some cookies," Victoria said, smiling despite her inner turmoil.
He looked over at her, seeing her empty hands. "What cookies?" Diego mumbled. Diego never mumbled, and Victoria stared at him in surprise for a second before registering his words.
Victoria backed up a step, leaning back into the archway. She grabbed Felipe by the back of his shirt and pulled him into the room, basket clutched possessively to his chest, chocolate on his face and a half-eaten cookie in his other hand. Victoria couldn't follow what Felipe said, but somehow Diego seemed to understand despite Felipe's not letting go of his precious bounty. She smiled as she figured Felipe was scolding Diego for something. Diego just shook his head hopelessly as Felipe left the library, keeping all the cookies.
Victoria walked over to another armchair just a few feet away from Diego, stepping carefully around his leg and taking a seat. "I'm sorry for what I said," Victoria offered quietly. She folded her hands in her lap and tried not to fidget as Diego dropped his book back into his lap. He just watched her, not responding. "You're not a baby about your broken leg, I don't know why I said that. Broken bones hurt. You were injured protecting people from a dangerous animal. I didn't mean to make light of it. You were very brave, and you never complain even though I know your leg has to hurt."
Diego closed his book and carelessly tossed it onto the nearby table. He rubbed his face and suddenly Diego did feel very tired. Guilt twisted the knot in her chest tighter. He looked around the room, but then his eyes settled on her again, but he didn't say anything still. He took a deep breath and straightened a little in his chair, uncomfortable because of everything he wanted to say to her, but couldn't.
"That's what you came to apologize for? You think I'm upset about your lack of sympathy?" Diego spoke calmly, but he didn't mince his words and Victoria flushed and looked down at her hands again. He took a deep breath and straightened a little more in his chair, trying to get rid of some of his irritation with her but not backing down either. He continued to watch her for a moment, warring with himself inside. He was really tired of her rushing head first in to trouble. He didn't know how to get her to stop. He was also tired of the charade. He didn't know if he was ready for that to stop.
He looked around the library again. He'd been sitting in an armchair in a corner of the library, his favorite room. The armchair was part of a pair. He'd sat here many times with his father reading or playing chess, but he wanted to sit here with Victoria, precisely where she was sitting right now. He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted Victoria here, every day, by his side. He sighed. And she didn't have a clue.
Victoria finally spoke when she realized he wasn't going to say anything else, looking up at him in confusion. "Wait, you're mad at me…but you're not mad about what I said?"
Diego sat up fully in his chair, rearranging his leg as he made himself more presentable to talk some sense into her. He ran his fingers through his hair briefly in frustration, but then all the fight in him disappeared. Let whatever she understood happen. He didn't care anymore. He wanted to talk to her. Needed to. He was tired of hiding what he wanted to say. If she put the pieces together, so be it.
"Did you even hear what else I said?" Diego asked, his irritation still coming through in his voice. She looked at him blankly and shook her head. Diego laughed humorlessly. "You went out alone, with one gun into an unknown situation. Did you stop to think it might be dangerous? Or do you just not care, secure in the knowledge that Zorro will rescue you if you get into trouble?"
"What?" Victoria gasped in shock. She shook her head, waiting for more of an explanation, but once again Diego just looked at her with that steady, unsettling gaze.
"Victoria, did you even once think about what might happen when you found Jose? If you knew he was innocent, what did you expect to find racing off into the countryside with just a pistol? What if Zorro hadn't shown up?"
"I didn't…I don't…" Diego's meaning finally penetrated Victoria's brain. She leaned back into the arm chair and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly chilled. She thought for a long time, but couldn't think of a response. "But Zorro did show up. And I am ok."
"But what if he hadn't. Did you tell him you were going to race off after bandits alone?" Victoria slowly shook her head. "Zorro can't be everywhere at once. You have to be more careful. He can't spend all his time rescuing you." He felt a little bad about that as she blanched, but forged ahead. "And what if he did get a broken leg? He's a man beneath that mask. He can get hurt. What if he wasn't able to come to your rescue?" He watched as Victoria stood up, walking slowly toward the fire to warm her hands.
"Do you think he thinks I'm foolish?" Victoria asked after several minutes, so low Diego could barely hear her.
He took some time to think about what he wanted to say, because he was getting into dangerous territory. "Foolish? No. Impetuous? Maybe." Victoria turned back towards Diego, but didn't look up. "I'm sure he just worries. What if he hadn't known? Did you tell anyone where you were going?"
Victoria shook her head again. "No. I just told Pilar I had to go find Jose. I didn't think. I just acted. It was stupid." She looked up at him briefly, then glanced around the library some more with something that felt like panic. "I never thought about that before. What if he's angry with me, too?" Diego hardened his resolve when all he wanted to do was go over to her and take her in his arms.
"I'm sure he'll get over it," Diego replied, then muttered under his breath, "Until next time."
"I worry about him, too. You're right. He can be injured. And he has no one to help him." Victoria said quietly.
Diego scoffed. "Oh, I'm sure he was in fine health today. If Zorro ever got hurt, I'm sure he'd still be there for you." Diego smiled at Victoria. "And, you were right. He wouldn't be a baby about it." Victoria gave Diego a small smile, panic still racing through her body. Did Zorro think the way Diego did? Was she really foolish? It seemed selfish now that Diego pointed it out to her. She looked over at Diego again, remembering she was there to make amends not worry about her love life.
Victoria came back to sit in her chair again, for Diego was already picturing her living here, calling that chair her own. "How is your leg? Do you need anything? I know it must hurt. That bull was awful big." Victoria stared at his leg, wishing she could make her friend feel better. "You were very brave."
"You said that already." Diego loved it when she turned pink. God, she was an amazing woman. He tried to tell himself it was a good thing that he was able to talk some sense into her without giving away his identity. He could put up with the secrecy for a little longer. Maybe. "Besides, it was an accident. Sheer luck. Think nothing of it." Diego waved her accolades off.
"Diego, how do you think he did know?" Victoria wondered quietly after another moment of silence.
"What?" Diego asked, his voice cracking a little as a tiny bit of panic crept into his voice. Maybe he wasn't out of the woods yet.
"Zorro. How do you think he knew I was in trouble?"
"Oh, I don't know." Diego grabbed his book again and started fiddling with the pages for something to do. What if she had seen him waving at her? Realized she only passed his hacienda, that he was the only one who could have seen?
"You know, he did seem strange today. Maybe he was mad at me like you were," Victoria suggested miserably.
Diego held his breath, not sure if he wanted her to start puzzling out the pieces of the afternoon or examining his behaviour too closely. He had a sudden vision of her discovering his secret, jumping into his lap and kissing him for the rest of the afternoon. He set the book aside, eager now for discovery as he smiled at her. That thought was quickly followed by another vision of her dumping the entire pitcher of icy lemonade on his head and storming out, never to see him again. He slouched miserably into his chair again.
"Diego?" she asked when he didn't respond. "Do you think he was mad at me?"
"How would I know? I didn't see the man," Diego griped, distracted by the confusing possibilities.
Victoria stilled suddenly, not sure why that simple statement should knock the breath out of her. Diego hadn't been there, that was no surprise. He never was. She leaned back in the chair, slouching like Diego, wondering how Zorro always seemed to know when she needed him. She looked at his leg again, wincing at the appearance of the wicked looking split he'd lashed to his calf. Today he'd tied it together with black strips of cloth. She hadn't noticed before. It stood out against the light blue of his suit. For some reason she couldn't look away from those ties.
"He didn't say he was mad at me. He said I saved his life. He thanked me," Victoria muttered, thinking hard now. She had a feeling something important was just outside her vision. Diego just sat there staring back at her, and Victoria wondered why her skin had started tingling all over. Diego not responding or being grouchy about Zorro wasn't surprising, either, since Diego never enjoyed talk about Zorro. She frowned. "But he didn't…" Victoria blushed for another reason and didn't finish her statement. Then she frowned again. Zorro hadn't gotten off his horse to kiss her. He looked like he'd wanted to, but he hadn't.
She sat up straight suddenly. "He was hurt!" Diego jumped a little at her exclamation. "Diego, you're right. He must have been wounded! Do you think he's alright?"
Diego concentrated on his breathing. "How do you know he was hurt?" he asked quietly.
Victoria stood to pace, frantic. "Don't you see? I saved his life because he wasn't moving very much! He didn't kiss me because it hurt him to get off his horse! Oh, Diego! You're right I was stupid! I could have gotten him killed!" She paced some more in silence, playing the fight over again in her mind. "Maybe he twisted his ankle when the bandit pulled him off his horse," she muttered to herself as she paced, trying to sort things out.
Diego watched curiously as she paced, rather enjoying watching her brain putting things together all at once after so many years. He couldn't help but smile at her, so in love with her he'd forgotten his fear of rejection. Victoria suddenly froze, her entire body going stiff and her frantic hands clenching together as if in ice. She'd been pacing away from him at that precise second, so he couldn't see her face. "Twisted his ankle…" she whispered to the fireplace. She slowly turned around, looking briefly at his face then focusing on his leg, with black silk ties.
Diego looked, too, remembering he'd just grabbed whatever was handy when he'd returned to give some support back to his leg. Pieces of an old torn cape worked just as good as anything else. He smiled weakly back at her and looked her straight in the eye. "Or broken his leg?" Diego asked.
Victoria just stood there, silhouetted by the firelight as her hands dropped weakly to her side. He set his book on the floor, and moved the pitcher of lemonade to the floor, too, just for safe keeping. Empty hands, empty lap, nothing to throw at him or pour over his head. He sat back in his chair, and waited for her to look back into his eyes."Was he a baby about it?"
Author's note: I hope you liked it! Please click the little review/favorite button :)
Ok so I need your help. I need another time Victoria was condescending/mocking/insulting/mean to Diego. I can't seem to think of any off hand. It's for another story. If you know of one, let me know.