Victoria found Diego. He had fallen asleep on top of his writing, the pencil having fallen from the hand, and he had rested on his right arm. He seemed more relaxed than he had been since the cave in, and Victoria smiled slightly. She lifted the shawl from her shoulders and placed it around him. If he was comfortable resting like that, she wasn't going to disturb him straight away. She walked around the room, scanning the contents with interest.

Diego had grown up in this room. A small desk sat in the room, and posters had decorated the walls, diagrams and mathematical formulae mainly. A discarded book lay on the desk, obviously moved recently, a dog-eared book on fencing of all things. She picked it up to return it to the shelf, and found herself staring at the title page, where Diego's name was scrawled in his handwriting.

He had beautiful writing, she realised. For a man with such large hands, he was very particular and did fine work in art and music, never a clumsy move with a paintbrush or on a piano keyboard. She had taken that for granted. It was just what Diego did, and had always done. She flicked through the book, the diagrams and the pictures not making much sense to her. It reminded her of Zorro, who seemed so far from her right now, even though he was sleeping in the same room, only a few steps away.

She placed back in the gap in the bookcase, and realised she was determined to keep Diego away from such things until she knew he was alright. In fact she doubted that she could keep him away from anything he truly wanted. The stronger he was physically, the stronger he would be mentally as well. No one could stop him from what he wanted to do eventually, he was Zorro after all. And a member of the de la Vega family, known personally to be as stubborn as his ancestors.

He seemed so helpless only days before, coming in and out of the light coma. Now he had been determined enough to leave his bed, to pursue interests that the doctor had forbidden.

She pulled another chair up to the desk and patted his right shoulder gently.

"Diego," she murmured. "It's time to go back to bed."

"Mother?" He said, without opening his eyes. "Not yet. I need to finish this."

"Diego, it's Victoria," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Wake up."

He opened his eyes, and lifted his head, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Then he glanced across at her hand resting on his shoulder.

Zzz

Diego had been dreaming about his childhood, escaping the school room to paint under his favourite tree on the estate. He was meant to do his schoolwork first, but he'd been left to complete some tasks on his own. He had taken the lack of supervision and used it to shirk his studies.

Just before he woke he thought he could smell his mother's favourite perfume, but as he opened his eyes he sensed that Victoria was beside him, not his mother. There was no perfume in the air, except that of the roses.

The hand on his shoulder filled him with a warmth he didn't quite understand. Her smile was one of exasperation, and as sleepiness left him, he noticed a little frown on her pretty forehead.

"What time is it?" He asked. "Sorry I worried you."

"Good thing I have a head on my shoulders," Victoria said gently. "I was worried about you. You have a head injury. You should stay in bed."

"I can't do that. I want to do things," Diego said. "I need to keep busy. There is so much just out of reach. I can't explain it, but the memories….I don't even know what I am missing." He looked down at his smudged paper. "This timeline doesn't even make sense."

She took it from the desk and looked at it. "What's wrong with it?"

"I forgot the year again," Diego said with an embarrassed shrug. "If I can't even remember what year we are in, I don't see what I can do."

Victoria squeezed his shoulder gently, with an element of affection that made him smile.

"You are not alone. I am with you," she assured him. He reached up and held her hand in place for a moment.

"Thank you, Victoria. It means a lot to me."

"Now, come on. I'll see you to bed. We can talk about activities when the doctor comes this afternoon." She helped him up, and he leant on her for a moment to get his balance.

"I can walk on my own," Diego said a little defiantly.

"You are stuck with me," Victoria assured him fiercely. "Show me, and I will see."

Diego chuckled a little, knowing that for now he liked having her close by. If that meant being bossed around for another week, it might even be worth it.

Zzz

Alejandro and Victoria checked on Diego later that day. He slept soundly, but the moments of panic from earlier in the day needed to be worked on. They moved back to the library, careful not to disturb him.

"Where did you find him?" Alejandro asked her.

"The nursery wing. He wants to be able to do things, and keep busy."

"Hernandez says we can try introducing activities slowly, and pull back if they are tiring him. He's still confused?"

"Yes, he says he's lost so many memories that he can't explain what they could be," Victoria said softly. "Could we have lost the man we knew?"

"Or didn't know," Alejandro said thoughtfully. "The problem is if he doesn't remember the cave in, and the fact that you know he is Zorro, and he does remember he is Zorro, we are not going to hear that from his lips. He kept it secret for five years after all."

"And what if he doesn't remember he is Zorro at all? What if those memories never come back?" Victoria said.

Alejandro covered her hand with his own. "Victoria, the man that Zorro is - that is Diego. He's still with us. He's just confused and injured. With patience it will come back to him."

"How long do we have to wait? We need Zorro, and the pueblo needs Zorro," Victoria said. She missed the man in the mask, the confidence he gave her whenever she saw him, he was her hero. Diego needed to remember everything, for all their sakes.

Zzz

Felipe had kept himself busy with Toronado. He groomed the stallion over and over, daily raising a high shine in the horse's coat. He found trying to communicate with Diego difficult, and his friend's confusion made him worry. There seemed to be an emptiness in Diego, something was missing, something had taken the sparkle out of his friend's eyes. He had lost something of himself, and Felipe felt as if Diego was merely a shell of who he had been.

Felipe had been exercising the stallion, dressed in the black silk outfit. He carried a pistol instead of the sword, as he felt more confident with his aim than his swordsmanship. Not that he was going to start a confrontation - it was for self defence for now. He had patrolled the outskirts of the pueblo, close enough to be seen and hopefully remembered, but far enough to be out of range of lancer fire if they chose to shoot at him.

He stood in front of the mirror, examining the fit of the outfit, a little surprised that it seemed to fit better than the last time he had worn it. He was filling out, he realised, becoming more mature in his stature. At this rate he would become as tall and broad as Zorro.

The horse snorted, as if trying to say to not get too big for his boots. Felipe smiled, and patted the stallion on his soft nose. He slipped him a sugar cube, well aware that Diego normally gave him one from time to time. Toronado crunched it gratefully, and waited for the saddle to be removed obediently.

Felipe removed the saddle, and rubbed down the stallion. It kept his thoughts away from his injured friend. He didn't visit him very often, and he hoped he wouldn't be missed too badly. He knew Victoria was looking after him, and that was something. If Diego wanted to see him, no doubt he would ask to see him. He'd see him if he asked, Felipe thought. So far he hadn't asked. Felipe wondered why, but shook his head. Concentrate on Toronado, Diego will be alright.