Disclaimer: These characters are the property of ABC Family Channel and New World Productions. For entertainment purposes only.

Author's note: This is a sequel to 'Is There Life After Death'. This is part one.

Fools Rush In

By Beth Harris

Part 1

The port of San Pedro was not as busy today as it is usually on any other given day. Ships come in and out of the port at all times but usually they are fishing boats or cargo ships. Sometimes a passenger boat would be coming in from Spain or going to Spain or other parts of the world. The Harbormaster sighed. It had been quiet lately. He was waiting on the next boat to come in. Then he spotted it, the next boat from Spain. He called down to his crew to alert them to the incoming vessel. He looked out once more before descending the stairs to go greet the newcomers and start preparations for the next trip out.

The ship was mostly a cargo ship but it did have a few passengers. One of its passengers stood on deck watching the commotion of the crew getting ready to dock. He sighed. It had been a long trip and he was tired. He was anxious to disembark. He never really liked sailing but he had to come on this trip. He had an old score to settle and he couldn't wait to see the look on De La Vega's face when he gets his revenge. He wasn't going to be taken as a fool this time.

He had time on the trip to think about his revenge and how he was going to get it. He thought about lurking in the shadows and when he saw Diego he would just shoot him but he decided against it. Too fast, too easy. He wanted to see him suffer. He wanted to see the fear on his face. So he decided he was just going to ride into Los Angeles and let it be known that he was there. He may not have jurisdiction over Los Angeles anymore but Zorro was still a wanted criminal the last time he checked so he came to capture the illusive bandit. He was an officer in the Royal Spanish Army and he was going to bring that bandit back to Spain in chains if it's the last thing he does.

He disembarked and headed off to the local tavern to get a night's lodging and then in the morning he will go to the livery and get himself a horse and then head towards Los Angeles. He entered his room that he was able to rent and laid down on the bed and let a smirk cross his face. "Soon, very soon, I will get you Zorro if it's the last thing I do. I am not leaving here without you." He laughs himself to a peaceful sleep.

The next morning after he ate a fulfilling breakfast he headed to the livery to see about getting a horse for the ride to Los Angeles. He enters the barn and approaches a man sitting on a chair. "Hola, Senor." The man looks up from his reading and gets up and answers, "Buenos Dias, Senor. How may I help you?" Ignacio De Soto looks over at the horses that are waiting there and says "I would like to get a horse, a fast one, for a trip." The man guides him to a horse and starts to tack it. "Certainly, where are you headed, Senor?" De Soto looks appreciatively at the horse as the man guides the horse out for him to mount. "To Los Angeles. I have an old friend there. I need to pay back a long-awaited debt." The man tells him the price for the horse and De Soto hands over the required payment. "Gracias, Senor. Have a nice trip to Los Angeles." De Soto waves as he heads in the direction of Los Angeles.

That afternoon, Victoria is tending to the bar in the tavern in Los Angeles. She is surveying the room to see if any of her customers needed anything. She starts to think of Diego. He's only been gone a day and she misses him already. As she is thinking of him the baby kicks. "Miss your dad too, hmm." She starts to rub her tummy to calm the baby. She starts to smile. In little over a month she will be holding this baby in her arms and she can't wait. She was now happy with her pregnancy since the nausea finally stopped three months earlier. She thought it would never go away. At least Diego was a good sport about it. He tried everything he could to come up with a remedy that would stop the nausea but in the end they had to let it run its course. She drank every herbal tea they could find but nothing helped her. Needless to say she was relieved the first morning that she woke up and didn't have to barrel over her husband to get to the water closet. He was relieved also because it meant no more bruises from being trampled by her. He had more bruises from taking care of her then he ever received while being Zorro. She laughed at that thought.

At that moment Don Alejandro, the new Alcalde of Los Angeles, enters the tavern. After greeting some of his Caballero friends, he approaches the bar. "Buenos Dias, Victoria. What are you laughing about?"

Victoria smiles up at her Father-in-law. "Oh nothing, Father, just thinking of Diego, that's all. How are you this afternoon?"

"I'm wonderful. And you are looking positively radiant. If Diego were here and saw you, I don't think you'll be standing here very long." Don Alejandro answered through a warm smile. Victoria just chuckles as she blushes.

"I hope he comes home soon." She pouts as she pours him a glass of lemonade.

"Victoria, he just left yesterday. He should be back in a week and a half." Don Alejandro lifts the delicious drink up to his mouth.

"I know. I shouldn't be this way. But I was without him for six months and now I just don't want to have him out of my sight. I guess I'm just afraid of losing him again." Victoria turns away so Alejandro won't see the tear coming down her cheek.

Alejandro reaches over and places his hand on her arm. "Victoria, nothing will ever happen to him again. Trust me. He's safe."

"I know he's safe but not totally. Zorro still has a price on his head and if anyone finds out that he's alive and who he is then Diego will be in trouble." Victoria turns to face him again.

"Victoria, you know that I have a letter in to the governor and to the king requesting the absolute pardon of Zorro. Once that comes through then nobody, not even Ignacio De Soto, can touch him." He grabs her hand up and gives it a squeeze. Victoria places her other hand on his hand as a thank you.

"I have been wondering about De Soto lately." Victoria hates to admit that she even gives him a thought. "I sometimes have nightmares about him."

"You do. Have you talked to Diego about them?" Alejandro starts to worry about his daughter. He was against her still working here at the tavern in her condition. The doctor assured them that everything is fine and she can continue as long as she doesn't stress herself. So she mainly stood or sat on a stool behind the bar and took payments for people's orders while Alicia and Pilar did all the cooking, cleaning and tending to the customers. Don Diego or Felipe would come from time to time and do any heavy lifting for them or they would ask a lancer to help whenever the need arose. Plus as the months went by she only worked two hours a day and not everyday, only when she felt like it. She was now in the process of finding someone to manage the tavern. She promised she would stop working altogether as soon as Diego came home from Santa Paula. If she couldn't find someone to manage by the time Diego came home, he would send Sergeant Mendoza to fill in until someone was found. Don Alejandro was satisfied with the solution but he still worried. He couldn't help it, especially after losing his dear Elena. He just didn't want Diego to go through the nightmare that he did.

She shakes her head. "No, I don't want to worry him. He worries about me already. I don't want him to know that I am worried about De Soto. Not good for the baby for me to be worrying about something I shouldn't be. You know how he gets."

"It just shows you that he loves you. That is all." Alejandro raises his glass of lemonade in salute to a passerby.

"What would we do if De Soto were to ever come back here?" Victoria asks.

Don Alejandro starts to chuckle. "I don't think we will ever have to find out. De Soto would never step foot in here again. He hated Los Angeles. I remember that he couldn't wait to leave. No, De Soto would never come back."

"Don't ever say never, Don Alejandro." Both Victoria and Don Alejandro jerk their heads toward the entrance to the Tavern. There, standing in the doorway, was Ignacio De Soto. He entered taking his riding gloves off as he approached the bar where Don Alejandro was standing. He chuckled at the looks he was getting from Don Alejandro, Victoria and most of the patrons of the tavern.

Alejandro was the first to regain his voice. "De Soto, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I heard some interesting news so I came to see if it was true." He answered as he looked around the room. "So, where is your son?" He stared menacingly at them.

"Felipe? Oh, he's in Santa Barbara at a cattle auction. Since I'm the Alcalde, I can't run my ranch and Los Angeles also so he took on the responsibility of running the ranch for me." Don Alejandro answers while taking a sip of his lemonade. He can see that De Soto's presence is upsetting Victoria so he holds her hand to calm her. He also knew he was lying by telling him that Felipe was in Santa Barbara but De Soto didn't need to know that they were really in Santa Paula.

"No, I mean your eldest son; the traitor." De Soto snarls back. Why are they still trying to play him for a fool? He won't be fooled this time.

"Senor, you know as well as I do that Diego is no longer with us." Alejandro hopes that he can stick to that story. But he knows that there is whole town who knows the truth and any one of them can and will spill the beans. He decides that he's going to have to find a way to get the people behind him on this to help keep Diego alive.

"I know nothing of the sort. Zorro was a very clever man and it seems that he was even cleverer in his death. Do you really think that I don't have friends around here? One of my dearest friends in Santa Barbara wrote me and told me the miraculous news about Diego's rebirth, shall we say, shortly after my leaving Los Angeles. I don't like being taken for a fool. I really should have you all arrested for helping him escape but I don't believe you knew about his deceit." De Soto counters back.

"You have no authority here anymore." Victoria snaps at him. She is so angry and she is so worried now for Diego. She starts to shake, her nightmares are coming true.

"I may not have the authority to arrest you or Alejandro but I do still have the authority to get Zorro. And I will." He threatens her. He notices that she looks a little pale and there's something different about her from the last time that he saw her. He strokes his beard as he contemplates what has changed.

"You've got to be kidding. Your friend has the wrong information. Diego is dead. Someone saw someone who looked like Diego and had spread the rumor that he was alive. We quickly dispelled the rumor but I guess your friend didn't hear that it was false before he contacted you. You're gravely mistaken. If my son was alive, I would know." Don Alejandro lets a tear come down his cheek for effect.

"Perhaps." De Soto starts to think that maybe they are telling him the truth. And then he realizes what was different about Victoria. He grins "Ah, Senorita, I see that you are expecting. So who's the lucky man?"

"His name is Sebastian and you have never met him. He came to Los Angeles some time after you left and works out at the De La Vega rancho." Victoria smiles as she remembers the name that he had given them when he showed up at the ranch. What is she going to do? She needs to get to Diego to tell him about De Soto's return. He will think of something. He always does.

De Soto contemplates this information. Could they be protecting Diego or could this Sebastian fellow be Diego and they don't know it? "I would love to meet the man that stole your heart away from the fox. Where is he?"

"He's with Felipe. He may not have replaced Diego in our hearts but he has been a big help with Felipe in helping him get over his broken heart. Felipe was very attached to Diego if you remember." Victoria smiled.

He smirks. Yes he remembers very well. Out of kindness he spared Felipe. He could have easily taken him in and hung him as an accomplice of Zorro's but he decided that the family didn't need anymore grief. He may yet just change his mind on that. "How touching. When will they be returning?"

"I don't know, maybe in a week or so. Why?" Victoria cocks her eyebrow at him. Maybe he'll decide to leave, she hopes.

"No reason. Maybe I'll take a trip to Santa Barbara and visit him myself instead of waiting for his return. The sooner I'm out of this dust hole of a pueblo the better." De Soto decides.

"Why would you want to go to Santa Barbara, Senor? And how long will you be staying here in California." Alejandro tries to remain calm. He knows that Diego is in Santa Paula but if De Soto goes to Santa Barbara that will at least give them a week or so to prepare.

"I came here to look for the truth, Don Alejandro. If I have to go to Santa Barbara to find it then I will. And I will stay here for as long as it takes me to find Diego." De Soto answers with a sneer on his face.

Don Alejandro can't hold back the anger. "When will you get it through your thick head that my son is dead?"

"When I see it for myself, Don Alejandro." De Soto snaps back with a menacing sneer toward Don Alejandro.

"You did see it for yourself. You were there. Don't you remember?" Don Alejandro couldn't keep from showing his anger. He moved towards De Soto but Victoria came around the bar to hold him back with a hand on his arm.

"Time will tell." De Soto brought his gloves up and slapped them against his other hand. "Buenos Dias, Don Alejandro. I will see you when I return from Santa Barbara with your son in chains." He moved to leave the tavern.

Don Alejandro turned and said "Oh, De Soto, don't forget your traveler's tax" he snarled. He had abolished that tax shortly after taking office but De Soto didn't know it so he didn't bother to tell him. De Soto turned around and took out the required amount and placed it on the bar and left with a huff. Don Alejandro lifted it up and, with a grin on his face and mischievous look in his eyes, placed it in his pocket. He will deposit it into the poor box on the way home later.

Victoria watches him leave and then turns to Don Alejandro. "What are we going to do? We have to convince him that it was a rumor. We are going to need the help of the entire pueblo."

"Yes, but first I have to send someone to Santa Paula to warn Diego. We need to tell him to stay there until this blows over." Don Alejandro turns to face her and to try to calm her down. They will find a way.

"Unfortunately, Father, he's the one we need to help us. Besides he won't stay away, not when he thinks there is danger. He will want to help in some way." Victoria squeezes his hand as she takes it to calm his troubled heart. She knows how Alejandro feels. They just got him back and De Soto may take him away.

"What do you mean, Victoria?" Don Alejandro looked at her curiously.

"Do you remember when De Soto was going to hang Jose Rivas for Don Sebastian's murder and Diego almost convinced him that they had already executed him?" Victoria's face started to look hopeful to Alejandro. Yes he did remember it and he also remembered how proud he was of his son during that time.

"Yes and it almost worked if it hadn't been for the wine stain." He shook his head in memory. "But what would that have to do with this problem?"

"We need Diego's brain." She said as Don Emilio and Don Carlos approached them. Both Alejandro and Victoria turned towards them as they approached.

"We remember, Senora. It was a very brave thing that Diego and Mendoza did for Jose. We want to help in any way that we can." Don Emilio spoke for them both and Don Carlos nodded and interjected "We could start speaking to people and get our vaqueros involved in getting the town behind Diego if you wish."

"Thank you Senores, we will appreciate any help in this matter." Victoria gave them both hugs and then they left to start their mission. Before they left Don Alejandro instructed them about what to say so that all their stories will match.

Victoria turned and smiled at her Father-in-law. "How about you stay here and spread the word that Diego should remain dead and I'm married to man named Sebastian and I will ride with Miguel to Santa Paula and talk to Diego?" Victoria says.

"How would we explain you suddenly leaving?" Don Alejandro started to worry that De Soto would see through this but decided to follow Victoria's lead and remain calm.

"A pre-planned trip to meet up with my husband and Miguel is going along to protect me. I will wait a few hours before I leave so I don't meet him on the road." Victoria started to head to the kitchen to talk to Alicia about the tavern.

Alejandro smiled back at her. He knew she was smart and good for his son. He hoped that they could pull off this new ruse. "Sounds like a plan. I will go talk to the lancers about our idea." He hopes they can get to everyone before De Soto returns from Santa Barbara.

Alejandro heads out of the tavern and crosses the plaza towards the Alcalde's office. He turns as a horse approaches him. Don Emilio halts his horse to stand in front of Don Alejandro. "Don Alejandro, I just wanted to let you know that I saw De Soto riding towards Santa Barbara." Don Alejandro smiles and thanks Don Emilio for his help and continues walking towards the office as he waves goodbye to Emilio. Now he realizes that they have time to carry out his plan. He notices Mendoza talking to his men about the maneuvers he's going to be sending them on tonight. Alejandro walks over to him and asks him to follow him to the office. As they enter the office, Alejandro asks Mendoza to sit and Mendoza obeys.

"Sergeant, we have a problem." He notices Mendoza start to squirm in his seat. "De Soto is back." He ignores the shocked look on Mendoza's face and continues. "He heard that Diego is alive. I told him it was a rumor someone had started because they thought they saw someone who looked like him."

"What would you like me to do, mi Alcalde?" Mendoza quickly straightened up in his seat ready to do whatever the Alcalde needed him to do.

"Victoria and I told him it wasn't true and that Victoria is now married to a man named Sebastian. We need to spread the word to lancers and citizens alike that for De Soto's sake Diego is still dead and Victoria is married to Sebastian, one of my new vaqueros. It's about time that we protect him like he had protected us all those years." Don Alejandro voiced their plan to him. "Don Carlos and Don Emilio have already started."

"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza started to rise. "Right away." But Alejandro gestured for him to sit for another minute.

"Mendoza. Do it as soon as possible. We have time, De Soto left for Santa Barbara. I will do my best to inform as many people as I can also. I will start in the Tavern then I will go speak to the Padre. He's always walking around talking to people so he could help us." Don Alejandro pleaded with him.

"Si, mi Alcalde. But what of Diego?" Mendoza asked wondering about whether or not Diego knew about this turn of events.

"He's in Santa Paula with Felipe. Victoria and Miguel will be leaving shortly to inform him. We told De Soto that Felipe and Sebastian were in Santa Barbara hoping that will throw him off. It worked; he's on his way there now. That will give us at least a week to prepare our plan." Don Alejandro was touched by Mendoza's concern.

"Well then it's a good thing he wasn't in town when De Soto arrived." Mendoza started to rise again to leave.

"Yes, but I wish we had warning that he was coming. Then at least we could have been prepared already. We failed the last time we tried to fool him." Don Alejandro was thankful that Mendoza knew the importance of the matter.

"Yes, I remember that well." Mendoza says as he rubs his neck in remembrance. He almost got hung for that decision to help Jose Rivas. If it weren't for Zorro, he wouldn't be standing here today trying to save Diego's life.

"Let's get to it." Don Alejandro also rises to go through the door with Mendoza.

"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza salutes his commanding officer and rushes off to address his lancers. Maneuvers would be cancelled tonight they had a new job to do. One that hopefully saves the life of the man he has called his friend for years now. The pueblo was going to be asked to stand up and protect the man they call their hero.

End of Part one