Chapter 36

Victoria was startled when she felt something touch her face. Her eyes opened slowly to see Diego looking at her; his finger at her cheek catching a falling tear.

She gasped in surprise, falling lightly forward and hugged him as tightly as she dared. "Oh, Diego," she cried, sobbing into his good shoulder.

"Querida…what's wrong?" he asked, suddenly concerned, wrapping his arms around her as best as he could.

"I've been so scared," she choked out in between sobs.

"I told you…I wouldn't…leave you," he said, his voice still a whisper but stronger, watching her, pensive but becoming more concerned. "That's not all…is it?" he asked, his voice straining as he tried not to cough.

Victoria slowly rose up to look at him, her cheeks wet with tears. Hiccupping, she just looked at him, unsure what to say. She now realized that in her panic and fatigue, she had not been as cautious as she should have been. She didn't want to upset him with worry about his father.

"What makes you think that?" she said hesitantly.

"I know you…remember?" he said, looking at her rather sternly. He paused, and taking another stiff breath, "What's wrong?"

Feeling trapped, Victoria looked down at the bed, playing with a spot on the covers.

"Victoria…" he prompted.

"It's…your father," she was again hesitant, "but Doctor Hernandez is with him," she added quickly. She knew she shouldn't tell him, but she was desperate, tired and scared. This was becoming an unbelievable nightmare!

Panic lit across his pale face. "What's wrong, what's…happened?" he implored, his voice stronger yet, ignoring all evidence of pain. Adrenaline surged through his veins.

"I don't know!" she cried, the tears flowing anew. "I had fallen asleep right here. I heard a noise and I found him on the floor. We summoned Doctor Hernandez; he is in with him now. He should be out in just a few minutes," she sobbed. She was frightened by Diego's sudden outburst, after he had been quiet for so long. She had never seen this side of him before.

She was surprised again when he threw off the covers and attempted to get up. "I have to…go to see him!"

"NO, you can't! Please, Diego, wait until the doctor comes in to talk to you! Please!" she pleaded. Jumping up, her hands on his shoulders, she easily pushed him back down; he was too weak to really fight her efforts.

As a result of his attempt to rise, he was shocked with pain so intense he couldn't breathe as he sank back into the pillows. The sudden movement had caused another rib to break, signaled by the soft, audible pop. He continued to pant as she ran her palms over his still warm cheeks. She noted the small tears that gathered at the corners of his eyes as she pulled the covers back up. "I have to…know how he is...I am the reason…if anything happens…to him," he rasped through his labored breaths while staring up at the ceiling, his body still rigid. He was trying desperately to regain some control of his beaten body. His voice strained as he fought to speak and fight the urge to cough with its associated pain.

"NO, you're not the reason! Why would you say that?" Anger tinged her voice while she fought to remain calm.

"All this…would not have happened…if Zorro had never been created!" he shouted through gritted teeth, though it was not much more than a whisper. He shut his eyes to block out the pain. "You heard Ramiro…you know it's true!…It's all been too much…as if I hadn't hurt…my father enough with all the lies before…this just may kill him," he finished. Breathless but still angry, his painful respirations remained rigid and heaving.

"Oh, mi amor, don't be so hard on yourself. Zorro has done so much good for the pueblo. You know that you cannot control evil people like either of our alcaldes, or men like Ramiro, no more than you can control the rain or the sunshine. Things would have been so much worse without the works of Zorro. Don't even think that you are the cause for any of this! Your father loves you."

She reached forward and rubbed his temples in a soothing manner as she tried to calmly talk to him, trying to settle herself as well as her beloved. He opened his eyes to look into her face.

"Still…it shouldn't have happened," he added sullenly, his eyes closing again as he paused, exhausted and lying still. "That feels good." She massaged for a few more minutes; then offered some of the water and laudanum, getting him to take several large swallows of the mixture.

They turned toward a knock at the door. Doctor Hernandez peered into the room, looking for Victoria, not expecting Diego to be awake.

"How is he?" Diego quickly questioned, not much louder now than a whisper, the concern evident. He seemed charged with energy again.

Taken back by the fact Diego knew about his father, he paused, then entered the room, and sat in the chair next to the bed. "Your father has been under a lot of stress lately. He was awake briefly to answer questions for me. He had an attack of chest pain, not a heart attack, just pain centered near the heart area. I've prescribed and given him some herbal medicine. It should relieve any discomfort. Felipe is with him, and I've instructed him in its use. I've given him a sleeping draught, too. I want him to rest for a while. I think he should be OK IF he rests and takes care of himself. He should be up and about in a day or so at the earliest, if he rests," he paused. "How are you?" He ran his hand over Diego's forehead, feeling increased warmth from the day prior.

Diego jerked his head away. "I'm ok…just tired...concerned." His actions still remained somewhat guarded to avoid the pain.

"I know you are upset. But I don't want you to do anything rash…Do you hear me? He should be ok." He paused, anticipating noncompliance for his strong-minded patient. "Do you hear me?" Doctor Hernandez reiterated the question sternly.

"Yes…sir," Diego, replied. He closed his eyes and relaxed his head back on the pillows while he tried to collect himself.

"I'll make sure of it," Victoria reassured their friend. Diego shot her a dirty look.

Doctor Hernandez chuckled. "I saw that. I'm ordering you to stay put. Rest," and turning to Victoria, he continued. "Let me know if he has any difficulty in breathing, or bleeding from his nose or mouth. Call me if you need me for either one of them."

"Felipe has set up a room for you so you won't have to ride all the way back into town again in the dark. I'll show you to your room," she instructed him, now walking over to the door where the doctor now stood. She turned to Diego, "You stay put!"

He shot her another dirty look. She expected that his outburst would have left him too exhausted and hurting too much to do much else. He remained quiet, still trying to get control of the pain. He was breathless and exhausted, and she could see him mentally working to grasp or ignore the pain.

She looked saucily at Diego as she took the doctor by the arm and led him down the hall. She stopped in front of the guest room door, and turned back to face the doctor.

"I had not intended to tell him; I was crying when he woke up, and he figured it out. He's upset and feeling guilty; feels none of this would have happened if Zorro had never been created. He's blaming what has happened to his father on himself," she told him softly.

"I thought this might come up. But I am not Padre Benitez. Don Diego has endured a lot for this secret, for years, and we may never know everything he has sacrificed. This pueblo would never have survived without the help of Zorro. He did what he felt needed to be done to protect us all, especially you three. Many people would not be alive without the things Zorro has done. Tomorrow I will make the padre aware, and have him come by to visit our friend."

"Thank you. Good night. Hopefully the rest of it will be quiet," she whispered, turning and disappearing back quickly down the hall.

She returned to see Diego's eyes starting to droop. She gave him more of the water with a dose of laudanum, and then leaned in to kiss him quickly and deeply. He groaned in response. She chuckled, "Felipe is with your father. I checked on him for you. He is sleeping. Te adoro, mi corazon."

"I think…you are enjoying my…helpless state much…too much…I love you, too…" he said groggily as he drifted off to sleep.

She curled up on the cot Felipe had put in the room against the wall. With the two patriarchs ill, they wanted to be nearby if needed.

Victoria was startled awake by a noise. She sat up to see Diego drenched in perspiration, delirious, and trying to sit up, but being hindered by the corset. Jumping up, she ran to his side and tried to push him back down into the bed. "No, Diego, you can't get up!" She could tell it was hurting him to try, but in his delirium, he wasn't registering the pain.

Felipe heard her yell, and also came running, as did the doctor. Felipe was better able to hold him down while she grabbed his face so he would look at her. "Felipe will get your father. But it will be a minute. Doctor Hernandez tapped her on the shoulder, handing her a glass of liquid. Drink some water, to help bring down your fever." She put the glass at his lips and practically poured the beverage into his mouth. He swallowed, though hesitantly.

"You will…get my father," he said. His eyes were glazed; he was still agitated, but starting to settle back down into pillows. She reached over and grabbed a cloth from the nightstand, wet it, and began wiping his glistening, fevered forehead.

"Yes, he is Ok," she said soothingly. She waited while he drifted back off to sleep from the sleeping draught the doctor had quickly prepared. "I hated lying to him, but I didn't know what else to do to get him to settle down. I was afraid he would hurt himself more. I think I heard another rib break earlier," she added guiltily, having forgotten in her fright at the time.

"I know, and unfortunately, your lie may have been the best for now. I was afraid his fever might go back up. His wounds look good. It could be a reaction from the blood transfusion or the stress, however I think we are past those; but more than likely it is pneumonia. Let's get some wet rags on him and lightly cover him once again to cool him off. We are already doing all we can for the ribs at the present. We'll just have to watch for any bleeding when he breathes, and try to keep him quiet," the doctor instructed. "Just keep giving him the laudanum and the sleeping draught if they're needed."

After an hour of wiping him down, his fever had come down and he was not as restless. Feeling it safe once again, Felipe returned to Don Alejandro's room, and the doctor turned in again after checking in on the older don. This time Victoria just curled up next to Diego on top of the covers, so she could feel him move if he were to wake again. It was turning out to be a very long night.

TBC