Disclaimer: Not owned by me. Owned by ZPI.
AN: Sorry for taking so long in getting this out. Thank you so very much for all the reviews, favs and follows! You guys are all awesome! Hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Victoria spent the next twenty-four hours beside Diego's bedside. As Felipe suspected, she was much more successful in getting Diego to drink Diego's special medicinal tea than Felipe had been able to. Even though Diego was unconscious, Victoria kept up a continuous stream of conversation. At first, she was a little self-conscious in doing that, but she remembered Diego saying it was important to talk to the sick person. He had survived that terrible time when his father had been injured, and she will survive this. Diego will recover like Alejandro did. Despite what it looked like, Victoria knew this in her bones, Diego would get better. He just had to.
Victoria shared her frustrations, her dreams, her thoughts, her fears with the man lying ever so still in the bed. Even though she knew he probably didn't hear any of it, Victoria shared it all with Diego. She would gladly repeat it all to him once he was healthy, if only she would get the chance. And one thing she knew, he was going to recover. He had to. She wasn't going to lose him, now she knew the truth.
Even though she was so worried about him, Victoria's heart soared with the knowledge she could finally be with her one true love. And Diego was indeed her one true love. As she lovingly gazed upon his face, serene in rest, Victoria reflected upon her feelings. There had been so many things holding her back from recognizing those feelings. The age gap at the beginning, the class difference, her mistaken belief he didn't care for her romantically. Not to mention his supposed indifference to the needs of the pueblo.
It was Diego's supposed indifference which had been the most irritating to Victoria. She was often so frustrated with him, she didn't know what to do. This frustration would then be expressed in her distain of him, and her comparisons of him to the wondrous Zorro. A little bit of her felt bad each time about insulting him so, but she always wanted to see whether she could get a rise out of him. To bring out the young impetuous man who had gone off to Spain. Zorro distracted her from wondering too deeply where the impetuous young man had disappeared, never to return.
In the middle of one of her reflections, lulling herself to sleep, Diego's fever finally broke. Felipe noticed the difference in Diego first, when their patient began to breathe more easily. Felipe quickly checked Diego's forehead and was relieved to sense a normal temperature, no clamminess or excessive heat. Felipe went over to Victoria on the other side of the bed and gently woke her up.
He signed, "Diego's fever has broken. Please rest now, Victoria. I think the danger has passed." Victoria attempted to protest as Felipe gently stood her up and brought her to a corner of the room.
Victoria barely noted the temporary bed Felipe had set up for her in the corner of the room. Falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, Victoria rested without difficulty. Felipe kept a close eye on both of them, occasionally wiping Diego's brow, and tucking in the bedclothes on Victoria as she occasionally moved in her sleep.
Several hours past dawn, Diego began to stir. Felipe heard a low, "Felipe, why are you here?" and rushed to the bedside.
Felipe signed to him about his illness, and what they had done for him. Diego looked down, and saw Victoria sleeping on the floor in his room.
"Wh…what's Victoria doing here?"
Felipe took a deep breath. "She knows," he signed slowly.
"Knows what?" Diego's mind felt as though he was full of cotton.
"You were delirious with fever and called out to her one afternoon. As Zorro."
Diego's eyes widened, and his heart began to beat wildly. "I did? She knows?"
"Yes."
Diego swallowed, attempting to dislodge the huge lump in his throat. "What did she say?" he forced out of his mouth.
Felipe signed, "She was worried you didn't want to marry her, due to the class difference."
"Was that all she was worried about?" Diego couldn't believe it might be that easy. Could she actually accept him for who he was?
Felipe smiled at Diego's disbelief. "I told you Victoria would accept you when and if you finally told her."
The two men's attention were drawn to the corner, where they heard sounds of waking up from Victoria. Victoria sat straight up and looked at Diego.
When she observed him awake, a huge smile appeared on her face as she rushed to his side. "Oh, Diego, you're awake. How are you feeling? We've been so worried." The relief she was feeling showed clearly on her face. Diego couldn't help his own smile brightening as he observed it.
"I'm so sorry to have worried you so," Diego said, in his Diego-polite voice, trying to keep the usual polite distance between them.
Victoria studied the young man. She wondered again at the ease with which Diego played the role of the bored dilettante. Surely Felipe had told him she knew his secret? And he didn't appear worried. Instead, he was still acting as the detached aristocrat. Suddenly she felt her usual temper flaring, despite her concern about his weakness.
"Diego de la Vega, you no longer have to pretend with me."
"What?" Diego asked, actually puzzled by her statement and her sudden anger. Being 'Diego' had become so second-nature, he wasn't aware of doing it with her, now.
"That tone of voice, the seeming nonchalance. Aren't you concerned about my reaction to knowing…to finding out…that you are…" she glared at him then whispered, "Zorro!"
Diego exchanged glances with Felipe. Felipe's heart broke at the despair on his friend's face. He gave Diego an encouraging pat on his shoulder as he left the room. Diego watched Felipe leave with a longing look on his face. How he wished Felipe would stay to give him moral support, but he knew it wasn't practical. And I have to learn how to weather these Escalante temper flare ups. They will certainly be occurring throughout our lives together.
Diego took in a deep breath and turned his attention to the beautifully angry senorita in front of him. "I'm sorry you found out this way."
"Is that all you're sorry about? Nothing else?" Diego was taken aback by the coldness in her voice.
"No, of course not. I'm sorry I fell in love with you before I was worthy. I'm sorry I had to constantly lie to you. I'm sorry for every time you were in danger because of me."
"Worthy?"
"Before I could truly offer you marriage without constraint. Without making you wait for me."
"Why did you? Propose to me that day in the cave?"
"I was so very close to telling you who I was, wanting a life with you, and you were so heartbroken, I was swept up in the moment."
Diego could tell his words softened her, but only a little. The wall came up as quickly as it had slipped. "Why didn't you tell me who you were?"
"The robbers were saying how they were going to do anything to you to get you to tell them where the cave was. I didn't want to put you in that position. I didn't want you to die for me. Die because of me."
Victoria exhaled an angry burst of air. "The one thing you never understood, was no one would believe me when I would say I didn't know who you were."
"Yes, they did. If that were true, the Alcalde would have…."
"He would have what? Jailed me? Harassed me? He did it often enough, didn't he?"
Diego shrugged. "But he never…"
"Because Zorro scared him enough to prevent him from carrying out his threats. But…it was always a huge risk for me. One you never seemed to fully understand."
"I'm sorry. If you felt this way, why didn't you say something?"
Victoria considered the question. Why didn't she? "It just isn't as easy as that. I was afraid…of losing you, of finding out who you really were, of finding out we weren't meant for each other. A lot of things." Victoria looked down at her hands, in her lap bunching up her skirt. She looked up with a sidelong glance. "Perhaps I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know who you were."
Diego reached for her hand, and Victoria gave it to him. A moment of silence occurred while they exchanged a love-filled look. "Victoria, if you'd only give me the chance, I will spend the rest of my life apologizing to you. Making it up to you, in every way I can."
Looking into his beautiful blue eyes, Victoria's heart softened even more. They had a lot more to discuss, but surely this wasn't the appropriate time. She almost lost him; he could have a relapse if they weren't careful. Giving him a big smile, she said, "I think I will take you up on your offer. But only when you're well." As Diego leaned in for a kiss, she gently pushed him away. "No, I think you need to rest. And we need to talk more before we do any more of that."
"But…I'm sure your kisses will aid greatly in my recuperation," Diego stated in his most persuasive tone, with his patented puppy-dog look Victoria had become accustomed to over the years.
"Oh, no, you don't, Diego. I know that look too well. You may be handsome, but I better let you get some rest. We will talk later, you can count on it."
Some of the light faded from Diego's eyes. "Yes, I'm sure we will."
Taking pity on this very real reaction, Victoria leaned over and kissed his forehead. "It won't be that bad, Diego."
"You promise?"
She smiled. "I promise."
Diego remembered something Felipe hadn't discussed. "I don't know if Felipe told you, but Father doesn't know I'm Zorro."
Victoria didn't think she could be any more surprised by anything Diego could tell her, but she was wrong. "He doesn't? Why not?"
"I needed to keep him safe. Same reason I didn't tell you."
Attempting to understand the full scope of what that meant, Victoria couldn't grasp how two people could accomplish everything Zorro had over the years. "So it was only you and Felipe….?"
"Yes, it has only been Felipe and me. Easier to keep it a secret."
Victoria shook her head. "But more difficult in carrying out your mission."
Diego gave a little shrug. "At times. Sometimes, though, other things were even more difficult to pull off."
Victoria felt a twinge of guilt. "Like withstanding the insults from everyone, especially from your father and me, I suppose."
"Please, Victoria, don't feel bad. It only helped with my cause by ensuring my identity was kept secret. How could I be Zorro when even my father and my good friend detested my lack of involvement?"
Victoria was surprised to hear a note of sadness in Diego's voice. It only highlighted how little she knew of what his mission cost Diego over the years. She also noted the lines of fatigue written on his face.
Leaning down, Victoria placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead. "I better let you rest. I don't want you to have a relapse. I've worked too hard, and waited too long, for you to get out of your wedding proposal."
"Oh? I don't recall Don Diego de la Vega asking the most beautiful Senorita Victoria Escalante for her hand in marriage?"
"Not yet, but if I don't let him rest, he won't be able to offer me one as soon as possible."
Diego nodded grudgingly, and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. "We shall certainly talk later. I will now be able to rest a lot more comfortably, with your smile in my dreams."
Victoria smiled her reply, and quickly left. Otherwise, she would have been tempted to ravish him then and there. Her face became hot, and she sighed. We better get married soon, or else I won't be responsible for what I do next.
AN: Thank you again for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought in a review. Make me happy!
