Author's Note: This is for mararu, CrazyJan57, and teriaizer. I didn't want to get out of bed and go to work this morning (cause I stayed up too late finishing this story!). They took the time to review and I got out of bed with a smile on my face because I had reviews. Wasn't going to post another chapter for a week, but they asked so nicely…

Setting: I guess I forgot to mention when this was set. It's going to eventually merge with My Word is My Bond Episode 4.9. You should probably watch that episode, because I'm not going to write it all. I will try to put in summaries where it's important, but I think you can still enjoy this story without reading it.

Thanks for reading! I hope all the traffic I got that didn't review still enjoyed it…

Zzz

"Ah, Señorita. I was hoping you might have some of that raspberry pie left that you made yesterday?" Mendoza looked up hopefully at Victoria as she came to his table. He frowned at Victoria's narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "What?"

"Mendoza, you can just march right back out of this tavern. I don't have anything for you today." Victoria said, annoyed with the man for yesterday.

Mendoza looked sadly a nearby table, where someone else was eating a big slice of pie. "But…"

Victoria looked around, then sat quickly next to the sad sergeant. "I want to know what you were doing yesterday," she whispered angrily.

Mendoza looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry. Zorro dragged me out of bed at midnight! So he already yelled at me. I won't bother you again."

Victoria looked at the sergeant as he stared at the table, and realized he wasn't sad because she'd refused him pie. "But I thought Zorro was your friend? Why wouldn't you give us some time alone?"

"You are both my friends. But Señorita Escalante… you should have a family. A husband. I watched you yesterday and you looked so sad and you are alone." She just stared at Mendoza, who never talked like this. Mendoza took a chance, and hoped Diego would forgive him. "Did you even notice Diego eating lunch here yesterday? I think Diego is lonely, too. I think he likes you very much. He is a good man. But if you're always talking about Zorro, a decent man like Diego doesn't have a chance." He took her hands in his. "You never even look at any other man. But you don't know anything about Zorro. How do you know he will be a good husband? Or when he will be able to marry you, if he wants to marry you?"

"Of course we're going to be married!" Victoria scolded. She looked at Mendoza's grim face as he just looked back at her silently. Victoria pulled her hands out of Mendoza's grasp, suddenly uncomfortable. "I'll go get you a piece of pie." She said quietly. Where did that come from? She went into the kitchen, disturbed to feel tears threatening. Was she being foolish? Her hand trembled as she cut a large slice of pie for the sergeant. She dropped the plate at his table without stopping, and continued up to her room for some quiet. She sat on her bed and pulled a small box from underneath.

Opening the lid, she pulled out several dried roses. Zorro had a habit of leaving her roses every once in awhile. She was surprised when Diego invaded her thoughts of Zorro. Diego had taught her how to dry the flowers. He'd seen her fingering the wilting petals one day, and suggested drying it if it made her so sad to see them die. The next morning, when she'd found several roses in a beautiful vase on her windowsill, she had shown Diego when he'd come in for lunch. He'd hung them up for her, and then brought some spray a few weeks later when he said they should be done. She thought of things she'd heard about Diego…that he wasn't romantic in the least. But that was a very sweet thing he'd done.

She flashed back to when his ex-fiancé was here. The woman loved him deeply, Victoria could tell, even after many years. It would take a great man to inspire such devotion in a woman. But Diego had said he was in love with someone else. In love with someone who loved another. He rarely seemed passionate about anything, though, and mostly expressed disinterest in anything except for The Guardian. When Diego had first returned from Madrid, she thought she'd seen a spark of interest. He said nothing, though, and soon she'd forgotten everyone but Zorro. Was Mendoza right?

What was she doing? Sitting here with a box of Zorro treasures and she'd been distracted by Diego of all things. She pulled out a few notes of love, reading them again and hearing Zorro's voice in her head, imagining Zorro was reading the words to her. But that was it…a few roses and a few notes. She held up the last item in the box. So small, so precious to her. The ring glinted off the sunlight as she held it up. But who had given her the ring?

This was all she had to show for two years of devotion to a man in a mask. She knew she loved him, but was it just a childish dream? Frustrated, she slammed the box closed and stalked to the window, grabbing her shawl and wrapping it tightly around herself. Mendoza said Zorro had came to yell at him last night. What had he said? What had Mendoza said? She worried for a second if Mendoza warned Zorro to stay away from her, but that would never happen.

She watched an elderly couple walk up to the water fountain, holding hands. They helped each other fill containers with water and load them back into the cart. They held hands as they walked away, too, each holding a handle of the cart. Sharing the burden. Being there for one another. She wanted that. She wiped at her cheeks, but more tears kept coming. She didn't know where Zorro was right now. He said he loved her, but was she just being naïve? What if he was already married?

She shook her head. No, Zorro was not married. He seemed genuine enough in his feelings. But was that enough? Didn't she deserve more? She glanced back into the plaza again at the few people milling about. Her eyes caught on Diego as he and Felipe came out of The Guardian office. They communicated in some mysterious way, and Felipe mounted a horse and left the pueblo. Diego looked concerned about something as he watched Felipe ride away.

She flashed back on something else Mendoza had said. I think he likes you very much. Mendoza was at least partially right. Her thoughts had been so centered on Zorro she had completely missed that huge part of what Mendoza was telling her. She watched as Diego started across the plaza towards her tavern.

He must have spotted movement as she wiped more tears from her eyes, and he stopped to look up at her. His worried face relaxed and he smiled, waving as he got closer. Mid-wave he must have realized there were tears on her cheeks, and worry crept over his face again. "Victoria?" he questioned, just loud enough to be heard from her second-story window. She smiled brightly as she greeted him, ignoring the question in his eyes. Diego took a few steps closer, and in the shadow of the building he could definitely see she had been crying. He gestured to the door of the tavern. "Are you coming down?"

Victoria shook her head. "I'm not feeling very well, Diego. I think I'll just lay down for awhile." Diego obviously didn't believe her, and stood staring up at her for a moment. Then she couldn't bear the concern in his face and she shut the shutters on him.

She briefly wondered if Diego had said something to Mendoza, but knew he would never. Diego played everything close to his chest. She thought he really cared a great deal about the pueblo and what the alcalde did, but he never let it show for some reason. He was shy to a fault when it came to anything aside from his newspaper. If a man like Diego had feelings for her, why would he hide them? Alejandro was outspoken enough about wanting his son to marry. She knew many men in the pueblo had tried to get him interested in their daughters. He was rich, educated and kind…a magnificent catch even if he was socially inept.

She looked at the beautiful vase sitting on her windowsill, full now of new fresh flowers. She loved the brilliant colors and unique design of it, and wondered where Zorro had gotten it. Where did Zorro live? Her heart ached as she acknowledged that most of his life was lived without her in it. Would things ever change? Would they even get along? She set the vase down and splashed some water on her face. It was lunch time…she didn't have time to be moping. She paused at the door as she realized Diego was probably downstairs. The man had never made her nervous before, but … Nonsense. She pulled open the door and flew down the stairs, as if she could leave her tumultuous thoughts locked in her bedroom.

zzz

Diego spotted Mendoza as soon as he entered the tavern, and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He walked up behind the sergeant, who jumped a foot off the bench when Diego said his name and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Mendoza's fork slipped out of his hand onto the floor, and Diego knew Mendoza had said something. Mendoza took his time picking it up as Diego settled himself next to the nervous sergeant. Diego watched as he carefully put his fork down on his plate and slowly took a sip of lemonade, not looking at his new dining companion.

"Why is Victoria up in her room crying, amigo?" Diego asked quietly. He looked around, but none of the tables around them were occupied so they had relative privacy.

"Crying?" Mendoza asked. He looked up at Diego, then they both turned to watch Victoria rush down the stairs. She paused at the foot of the stairs, just a few feet from their table. She nodded a greeting to them, but didn't stop to say hi. "She was crying?" Mendoza asked again in a low voice. "I did not mean to make her cry…"

"So you did say something to her," Diego replied knowingly. Facing Mendoza as he was, he had a full view of the tavern with his back to the wall. He watched Victoria putter around behind the bar for a few moments, but she seemed to feel his gaze on her and looked up. When he didn't look away, she dropped her eyes and disappeared into the kitchen. Mendoza's shoulders slumped and he sat staring at his unfinished pie. When he looked up again, Diego was gone.