Victoria slept against Diego, her head on his chest. Felipe slipped in and out of the cave to check on the both of them, spreading the large blanket around both of them with a slight smile. It was a pity that his friend slept on without waking, the situation would have been a dream come true, apart from the pain.

Zzz

Alejandro raised his eyebrows at Felipe, who dodged him as long as he could. He kept his head down so that their eyes didn't meet. He couldn't explain why he was so concerned about Zorro, or why he was so prepared to help. Not until he figured out what came next. Without Diego making decisions and thinking things through, Felipe felt more than a little lost.

Alejandro finally caught him, physically by the shoulder. His grip was so tight, the boy could not fight him off. When their eyes met, Felipe stopped fighting him. Surely he of all people should know what was really going on. Diego's father was a great man.

Felipe placed a hand on Alejandro's hand, and nodded. They sat down near the fire, Felipe glancing into the flames to try and get some clarity.

He began to sign, slowly and carefully in the scattered light. Alejandro watched carefully. There had been a time when Felipe 'talked' to the older man every day. They had become close, like a boy and father, and then Diego had returned.

Alejandro froze. "Tell me that again," he said softly.

Zzz

He hadn't misread the signs Felipe was making. He was repeating it even as Alejandro shook his head. It couldn't be right. He glanced towards the cave with its opening.

"Diego is Zorro? But how...how is this possible?" Alejandro asked, watching Felipe repeat the signs. "Yes, I understand, but why? How?"

Felipe shrugged, and stopped.

"What else don't I know about you two boys?" Alejandro asked. If they had kept something this huge from him, what else hadn't they told him? Felipe swallowed and nodded.

Felipe pointed to his ears, and gave a thumbs up. Then he repeated it in the signs.

"You can hear? But...you still can't speak?" Alejandro said interest growing in his voice. "You've been helping Diego all this time? Incredible."

Felipe looked a little drained and nervous. It had taken a lot of courage or maybe desperation to be so open after so long. Alejandro studied the boy's face in the firelight.

"Felipe?" Alejandro opened his arms and hugged the teenager, who was startled. "You are a de la Vega, but that son of mine is no more a father figure than the man in the moon. I'm going to adopt you myself, not Diego. You've been brothers this long, you can stay that way."

Felipe grinned a little shakily, and returned the hug. The stiffness in the teenager was gone, and it was almost as if he was a young child again. Alejandro knew he needed to step up and deal with this growing concern. If Zorro was injured, Diego was injured, and they had to get him home without suspicion falling on them.

"Felipe, are there spare clothes anywhere? Clothes that Diego can change into to protect himself," Alejandro said gently. Felipe nodded towards the stallion behind them, who was dozing in place.

He pointed to the saddlebags, and went to them, hushing the stallion as he startled him. Within a few moments, Diego's white shirt and brown trousers were in Felipe's arms.

"Good, good. Let them sleep for now, unless you think you should check on them again."

Felipe nodded, and placed the outfit next to them near two blankets on the dirt. With the day that Diego had been known to have had, a bit of dust and dirt would fit nicely with their stories. The teenager settled down to rest, keeping his eyes and ears open as long as he could, his senses alert to any noise that could mean threats were near.

Alejandro stayed awake as long as the boy did, aware that the vaqueros were keeping watch for bandits and coyotes. They were safe enough, and close enough to their own estate for the older man to feel confident that they were secure. The boy was obviously hyper alert, every muscle tensed, that Alejandro made sure to smile and nod at him from time to time. It seemed to calm the teenager enough to drop into a light sleep. Then Alejandro lay down on his back to contemplate the stars for a while until he too fell asleep.

Zzz

Diego opened his eyes, and pain flooded his senses again, dulling them. There was a heaviness on his chest, and glimpsing down and across, he was surprised to see Victoria sleeping against him. He stayed as still as he could, unwilling to break whatever spell had been cast to place her there, wishing for the dream to continue.

Pain radiated from his shoulder, and he gingerly tried to move his left arm. He drew in his breath sharply, and closed his eyes tight against the agony that hit him. He didn't want to wake Victoria, but the instinct to cry out was intense.

She shifted, and Diego knew that the tensing of his body had broken the spell. She opened her eyes and stared intensely at him, silent in the growing shaft of daylight. She didn't move from where she was, and he moved his right arm to keep her there, at least for the moment.

"Felipe bandaged your shoulder. I bandaged your head," she murmured. He stared at her for a long time. The words didn't quite make sense, although he knew they should. She was with him, that was all that mattered. She seemed unhurt and safe, so he sighed and relaxed a little.

"Just...so...tired," he murmured, and closed his eyes. His breathing grew calmer again, and the sleep he somehow knew he should be fighting overcame him again.

Zzz

Felipe entered the cave with a mug of burnt coffee again, which Victoria accepted with a tired smile. Diego wasn't the most comfortable pillow in the world, and she had slept on and off all night.

She watched the teenager remove Diego's black silk shirt, by cutting the sides with a small dagger from his belt. She marvelled at the muscles of her hero's chest and torso, and the obvious scars that mapped out some of his adventures. She hadn't realised the real dangers of Zorro's life and the risks that the man in the mask had taken. Felipe hesitated with the white shirt, well aware of the shoulder injury.

"The white shirt doesn't need to be on him. Anyone can see he injured his shoulder too badly," she said. She took the shirt, pointing to the side seams. "If we had taken it off him to treat the shoulder, then we would have cut it off to save him from too much pain. Maybe we could slice the seams, here and here. Just like you did with the black one."

Felipe nodded and smiled. He obviously needed a little guidance still, Victoria thought. He must rely on Diego a lot. Just like everyone did. Just like she did. She trembled at the realisation, even as she tried to stop it. She put down the coffee mug, aware of how hot it was.

Felipe saw her sudden change of emotion, and moved closer to her.

Felipe signed some things, slowly so she could catch them. He patted her on the shoulder.

Victoria smiled, shakily. The boy thought she was holding up well, under the circumstances. He thought that it was all going to be fine soon, she just had to hold herself together a little longer. He thought she was as good as Zorro with her courage.

"I don't know about all that," she said, still smiling. "It feels good to not be alone with this. Thank you, Felipe."

Zzz

Alejandro had soon organised Luke to fetch some more men, and then considered the problem with the cave. The rocks and ground around the opening had already fallen once. Would more rubble fall if disturbed or had the majority of damage been done? Did they need supports around the walls and ceiling of the cave structure before they removed the rest of the rocks? He was not going to further endanger his son's life in the rescue.

Pablo stood next to him as he thought over the matter. What would Diego suggest on this side of the problem? Would he use his lever principle? What other principles were involved here?

Alejandro shook his head. He had never been good at mathematics and sciences, although he had been taught them. It had been so long ago and his interest was scant at best.

"How is the best way to bring him out?" He asked Pablo softly.

"We can't injure him further. The head wound and a broken collarbone are serious issues. We don't know what other injuries he might have as well. We will have to widen the access hole."

"And how safe is he while we do that?" Alejandro said with a sigh. "Do you know much about cave ins, Pablo? How likely is it that the roof will collapse again and this time crush both of them? They could have been buried alive in there, covered in dirt and suffocated. How can we prevent that from happening?"

Pablo stared at the access hole as if staring into space. "We could prop up the access hole, and where Diego is lying...I do know who we are really dealing with in there."

Alejandro sighed. "How long have you known? Was it really that obvious?"

"I knew the boy who left us was not the man who returned, not really. How could he have changed that much in merely three years? He was well on the way to become a swordsman, a horseman of renown, and to come back as the opposite was unbelievable. He was always someone to love justice, and do something about it."

"I should have seen it too."

"He worked hard to prevent that," Pablo said with a slight smile. "It must have been so uncomfortable for the boy. To have so many people think of him as less than he was."

"Hopefully, we can talk this over with him soon. We will be able to work with him," Alejandro said softly. "Not that I would take over, but there are certain things that might work better…"

Pablo chuckled a little. "Two strong men going head to head will not work well. You are far too alike to work well together."

"Would we do that? Go head to head?" Alejandro said with surprise. "I suppose you are right. I would have to think about a way to breach the subject gently."