Chapter 6

"He could not see me."

"You saw him then?" Diego asked with a wince. His head still hurt and his body ached painfully. He still couldn't sit up but his body ached to lie in a different position.

"Yes, but someone came to see him and he asked me to leave."

Diego sighed. "Please try again tomorrow. I need to get a message to him."

"I will try."

"You've upset him," Kuyuma shoved her husband away and knelt beside Diego, bathing his cheeks with a cool cloth. "He's too weak . . ."

"Yes, and he needs his own people to take care of him," Tonoemu glared down at his wife. She had become enamored of this blue-eyed stranger and he could feel his temper rising each time she knelt beside him.

He sat down by the fire and served himself the dinner that had been prepared. He watched his wife closely as she carefully held the bowl to Diego's lips and he drank slowly. Tonoemu could see the small, excited smile she favored the man with and his ire rose.

After a few moments, Tonoemu drew his wife to her feet. "He can care for himself for a few moments. You have a duty to me."

Diego winced at the man's tone and chose not to try and calm the upset husband. Kuyuma was Tonoemu's wife and Diego had no right to interfere with the duties Tonoemu was demanding of her now. With some effort, he rolled onto his side and tried to think of getting back to Victoria and his father.

Cristoba stared in disbelief at the Indian who stood before him.

"What did you say?"

"The man asked me to tell you that he knew where to find Zorro."

"Zorro was killed several weeks ago," Cristoba said slowly, waiting patiently for a reaction.

"I have heard. But this man, we have been caring for him for many weeks. We cannot do so forever. He needs his own people." Tonoemu was becoming exasperated with this man. He wanted his life to return to normal and he wanted the blue-eyed stranger out of his home. His wife was becoming too attached.

"I understand. I will be ready to go with you in a moment."

Tonoemu held up his hand. "I must return to the mission to begin my work for the day. I will return when I have finished."

"All right." Cristoba nodded. Perhaps that was for the best. He would have the chance to tell Alejandro.

The Indian turned to leave just as Alejandro, Victoria, and Felipe walked into the waiting room. Alejandro nodded politely as Cristoba waved them into his office.

Cristoba's mood changed and he smiled at Alejandro before motioning for them to sit.

"I'm sorry to rush you, Luis," Alejandro began. This was difficult for him and he didn't want to linger too long. "But we must be on our way to Monterey after we have completed our business here."

"Alejandro, something has come up. The paperwork is not ready yet. But I think you will be pleased with why." Cristoba was smiling and this caused Alejandro's eyes to flicker angrily. His son was dead. But his friend could not look any happier.

"That Indian who just left. He told me that he had an injured man in his care who implored him to come see me and ask me to come to his village." Cristoba shook his head. "He came to me yesterday but I was too busy. Today, I would have declined as well, but then he told me that this stranger in his care knew the whereabouts of Zorro."

A few moments of shocked silence followed.

"What did you say?" Alejandro's eyes burned with unfathomable hope and Victoria glanced up sharply. Felipe stared, his eyes bright.

"Yes. That's all he said. He said he would be back later today." Cristoba sighed. He shouldn't have put the Indian off. "I've been away on business for the last week and I needed to get caught up before spending the better part of the day out of the office."

Alejandro allowed some semblance of hope to creep into his mind. He stood and drew Victoria to her feet with the first real smile to grace his face in a month. "If the man in the Indian village knows where Zorro is, then he knows where Diego is."

"Why would this person not come to me himself? Why send -" Cristoba's mind was already formulating an idea.

Alejandro's breath caught as he realized the implications of his friend's words. "You think it could be Diego? He would know to go to you. If he's injured and can't come himself . . ."

Victoria's eyes lifted in surprise and she clutched Felipe's hand tightly. "Dios, could it be possible?" She whispered, her voice full of hope.

"It can indeed," Cristoba answered with a small smile. "We simply need to wait for the Indian to return."

"This will be the longest day of my life." Victoria said, briefly closing her eyes and praying that the men were correct, and it was Diego who had sent for the lawyer.

The lawyer offered them some coffee and settled behind his desk to complete some more paperwork. Hours passed and the Indian did not return. Victoria's mood deteriorated as the day went on and Felipe paced the small waiting room in an effort to relieve some of his nervous energy. Alejandro similarly paced outside the building, watching the streets for any sign of the Indian he'd seen earlier.

As the morning stretched into siesta, the burden of his heart began to weigh him down. Perhaps this was just some cruel joke. Someone who had heard of Zorro's death but wanted to spread a rumor about the legend being alive and well.

He'd finally sat down as the sun began to set and held his head in his hands. "Oh, Diego," he whispered with a shake of his head. Alejandro had not grieved for his son, not the way he felt he should have. The tears would just not come. Perhaps because he didn't truly believe his son was dead. It was a thought he clung to as he waited impatiently for the Indian to return.

Alejandro refused to eat as the sun began to set. In his growing despair, Alejandro would have completely missed the Indian man if he hadn't accidentally brushed passed him in an effort to enter the waiting room. His eyes widened and he followed the Indian quickly into Cristoba's office.

"Hello again." Tonoemu addressed Cristoba with a smile.

"I was beginning to worry you would not return." Luis extended his hand.

"I had to finish my work before going home." The Indian glanced warily at Alejandro, Victoria, and Felipe.

"Oh, forgive me. This is Alejandro de la Vega, Victoria Escalante and Felipe. Alejandro is a dear friend who thinks he may be able to identify the man who asked you to come to me with news of Zorro."

"Oh."

"What does he look like?" Victoria asked suddenly. "Please, Diego has been gone for so long. We are so afraid."

"D-i-go?" Tonoemu stumbled over the name. "That name sounds familiar. We could not pronounce this man's name so we call him Sanhican, because we found him along the river."

Victoria gasped and looked hopefully at Alejandro.

"Please take us with you to your village," Alejandro pleaded and the desperation in his eyes was not lost on Tonoemu. "I must know if he is my son."

"I will take you." Tonoemu nodded and indicated that they follow. "It is not a long walk. My village is not far outside of the mission property."

"We have a carriage. Would you ride in it?" Alejandro indicated the carriage that waited outside Cristoba's office. "We can get you there faster. Darkness is falling, we don't want to cause your people any alarm."

"I will." Tonoemu glanced warily at the carriage and gingerly stepped up beside the driver.

Alejandro assisted Victoria into her seat and then joined her, followed by Felipe and Cristoba. Soon they were traveling along the western outskirts of Santa Barbara toward the Indian village.

Indian children watched wide-eyed as the carriage approached. They hopped and skipped around it when they noticed that one of their own was sitting beside the driver, even if he looked a little frightened. When the carriage came to a stop, he was the first to jump down and embrace his little girl.

"Did you bring the man Tall One wanted to see?"

Victoria smiled down at the little raven-haired girl as Felipe, Alejandro, and Cristoba joined her beside Tonoemu.

"Who are you?" She asked, hiding behind her father.

"I'm a friend of your Tall One. . ." Victoria smiled and the little girl instantly knew she could trust the pretty woman.

"Oh!"

"Can you tell me where he is?" Victoria held out her hand and the little girl glanced uncertainly back to her father for permission. When Tonoemu nodded, the little girl slid her little fingers into Victoria's hand and led her down a small path to her home.

"He might be sleeping. He sleeps a lot." The little girl happily chatted away and Victoria instantly imagined having her own raven-haired child with deep, penetrating blue eyes. Her heart was pounding when they stopped outside the entrance to the round hut and the little girl called for her mother.

A near perfect duplicate of the little girl stepped out of the hut and smiled a bit warily at the Spaniards. "This lady is a friend of Tall One."

"Oh?" Kuyuma raised a curious eyebrow. "Are all these friends of his?" She glanced at Alejandro, Cristoba, and Felipe.

"I am Luis Cristoba. I believe your Tall One asked this man," he indicated the Indian standing behind them, "to find me and bring me here."

"Oh, yes. You may come in but please keep your voice low." She opened the flap. "Sanhican has a bad head injury and if we are too loud, his head hurts very much."

"Please – may I come?" Victoria asked, her eyes pleading with Kuyuma.

"Are you his mate?"

"Yes." Victoria answered without thinking.

"I am his father and this," Alejandro indicated Felipe, "is his son."

"Oh?" Kuyuma's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "He told me he did not have children. But," she glanced uncertainly at Victoria's waist, "that he hoped to soon."

Victoria blushed and Alejandro smiled warmly. If only it were possible. If only it truly were his son, perhaps - . He dared not hope any further. "Felipe is an adopted and Diego and Victoria are not married – yet."

"Oh."

"Let us not delay." Tonoemu said, growing impatient with his wife's reluctance to let the strangers see her charge. "They will be quiet so as not to disturb his rest."

Victoria managed to enter the hut first and her eyes immediately fell on the inert form of the injured man. She had seen that outline so many times in shadow and tears instantly sprang to her eyes. "Diego!" She whispered and fell to her knees beside him.

The world behind her fell away and she didn't hear the collective gasp come from the friends behind her. Victoria brushed a gentle hand over Diego's forehead, down his cheek and over his lips before bending to embrace him tightly.

"Diego?" She said softly and rested her hand against his bandaged wrist.

Diego woke slowly, his mind barely registering the familiar voices. He shifted uncomfortably and groaned when he tried to move too quickly. He simply turned his head and opened his eyes, squinting at Victoria.

Alejandro had moved to his other side and was also on his knees, whispering to his son and clutching his hand.

"Victoria?" Diego whispered. "This is a dream. This can't be-"

His voice sounded so weak to her ears, so different. But that didn't stop the elation at seeing him alive that poured from her eyes. "I've come to realize that you dream often of me, querido." Victoria leaned down and pressed her lips to his, eliciting a soft gasp from him.

"Always." Diego whispered, lifting his injured arm to brush his fingertips across her cheek. In his weak state, he was incapable of continuing the ruse that had kept them apart for so long.

Victoria kissed his fingers and then covered them with her own. "We thought you were dead. Oh, Diego the last month has been the worst of our lives."

"Querida-" Diego breathed, his vision blurred and he groaned as a sharp stab of pain shot through his skull.

Alejandro pressed a hand to Diego's forehead and glanced at Kuyuma in concern.

"He has a bad head injury. Too much movement makes his head hurt badly."

"We need to take him to a doctor." Alejandro glanced at Cristoba for help.

"Our shaman has looked after him. He is lucky to be alive." Kuyuma tried not to be insulted.

"I don't want him to leave!" Hunata whimpered.

Victoria's smiled sadly at the distraught little girl. Diego had certainly earned the little one's love in such a short amount of time. She bent to press a kiss to Diego's forehead and turned her full attention on the little girl though still clutching his hand tightly in her own. "You can come visit him. Anytime you want. I'll come get you."

Alejandro knew he would need to treat this situation delicately so as not to offend the Indians who had saved his son's life. But he wanted to get his son back to town. Into a soft, comfortable bed where he could have a doctor look at him.

"He cannot move very well," Kuyuma said, as if reading Alejandro's mind.

"I can if I have to," Diego said quietly, determination creeping into his voice.

"He is too injured. His leg, his arm, his shoulder, his head," Kuyuma said almost desperately. She didn't want her patient to leave. She'd grown accustomed to his calming presence in her life.

As Luis Cristoba knelt at Diego's head and lifted his shoulders, Diego opened his eyes and held out his hand to the distraught Indian woman. He leaned heavily against Cristoba and took a few deep breaths. "I thank you for your excellent care but my family can remove the burden from your shoulders now."

Kuyuma took the hand immediately and fell to her knees beside him. "I don't want you to go."

Diego closed his eyes as realization dawned over his foggy mind. Victoria rested a hand on his cheek and he relished the gentle touch for a few moments before opening his eyes again. "You have a family that needs you. Just as I do. You must let me go with them."

A tear dripped down Kuyuma cheek and her husband pulled her to her feet. The tension in the hut raised tenfold. "You dishonor me!" He turned angry eyes on Diego and Alejandro. "Get him out of here."

"Tonoemu. . ." Diego began but the enraged Indian held out a hand.

"I don't know what you've done to bewitch Kuyuma but you will not do so to anyone else." He turned to Alejandro. "Leave. Now."

Little Hunata began crying hysterically at her father's raised tone and at the despair she could see etched into her mother's pretty features.

Victoria glanced back one more time in thanks but Tonoemu blocked her vision of his wife and daughter.

Diego groaned as Cristoba, Alejandro, and Felipe lifted him as best they could to the carriage. Using what little strength he had, Diego was able to climb into the carriage before he slumped very ungracefully against the seat. Alejandro sat on one side and Victoria the other while Luis and Felipe sat in facing him.

Diego's head spun but the pounding that he was so used to every time he moved wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. He knew he was leaning heavily against Victoria but he was too weak to move. His head pillowed on her shoulder until she shifted slightly, wrapped one arm around him and pillowed his head on her chest.

He could feel his father stiffen on his other side at the intimate contact. Diego could only bring himself to smile amusedly at the sight he and Victoria must have made. But he didn't care. He closed his eyes and fell into a restless sleep as the carriage took them back toward the Santa Barbara pueblo.

When he awoke next, it was morning. He dimly recalled being lifted into the carriage, sleeping against his querida's breast, and being settled into a soft, comfortable bed.

Diego opened his eyes slowly, ready for the pounding to begin. To his surprise, his head didn't hurt until the sunlight reached his eyes. Then he groaned and lifted his hand across his face.

"I've sent for a doctor to come examine you, Diego." His father's voice said.

To his other side, Victoria held a spoon to his mouth. "Eat this. It will help you get your strength back."

He opened his lips and took what she spooned into his mouth, savoring the taste of the beef stock. A few more sips and he was done, weak from just the simple exertion of opening his mouth and swallowing.

A few minutes later, the doctor arrived and hurried the concerned family out of Diego's room. It took far longer to examine him than Alejandro would have liked, and it didn't help that Felipe and Victoria were pacing holes into the floor.

When the doctor came out, his expression was one of concerned reservation.

"He's asleep."

Alejandro nodded and Felipe and Victoria immediately looked toward the doctor with impatient concern.

"I won't give you false hope, señor de la Vega. Your son is very badly injured." He indicated that the family sit before he continue. They did so grudgingly. "The wound in his leg and in his shoulder are well healed. The break in his leg will heal well enough given time. His wrist has been well splintered and is healing fine."

"His head injury?" Alejandro asked, afraid of the answer but needing to know.

"That is what concerns me. He seems lucid enough. He knows the year, his name, all of the pertinent information. But his vision is blurred and his head constantly hurts, made worse by sunlight." The doctor took a seat across from Alejandro. "He did tell me that the pain has lessened since he woke, but he can't tell me how long he's been awake and coherent."

"What is his prognosis?" Alejandro asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"If this doesn't go away on its own, I don't quite know. I've checked his head and I don't see any external swelling but that doesn't mean that there isn't something going on where I cannot see."

"Swelling inside his head?" Victoria asked, swallowing nervously.

"That is very possible, yes."

"Is there something that can be done for that?" Alejandro asked quickly.

"There is, but if I don't know where the swelling is, I can't even try. A surgery of that kind kills the patient more often than not."

"He can't tell you where it hurts?"

The doctor smiled sadly at Victoria. "Oh, he can. But it is not just one place. And I do not want to perform any kind of surgery right now until he regains some strength." A moment of silence passed and the doctor continued. "The only problem with waiting is that there could be some kind of hemorrhage if there is undue pressure that needs to be released."

"That would kill him." Alejandro said slowly.

"Yes. Instantly." The doctor said with a sigh.

Victoria began to tremble and Alejandro placed an arm around her shoulders. "Have you told Diego any of this?"

"Yes. He asked me quite a lot of questions while I examined him. I must say I am impressed with his knowledge of medicine. He's got a very brilliant mind."

Alejandro nodded. "That's why I sent him to Madrid to study the arts and sciences. I knew that's where his passion lay."

"He is very well educated and well spoken, even with this injury, which gives me some hope. But if his body begins to work against him, it will only be a matter of time. I suggest you spend time with him, talk to him. Make a decision, while he is still conscious and lucid, about what he would like you to do if his condition deteriorates."

The doctor stood and they stood with him. "Does he have a will? Dependants?"

"We don't yet have any children." Victoria said instantly and the doctor smiled sadly at her.

"Forgive me, señora. I didn't realize you were his wife." The doctor nodded as if for the first time noticing the ring on her finger.

Victoria did nothing to correct his false assumption nor did Alejandro or Felipe. She simply turned his attention with a simple, innocent question. "Will you return tomorrow?"

"Yes. I will return at first light. Please call on me should you have need."

Alejandro walked the doctor to the door. "Thank you, Señor. You will be well compensated for your time."

When Alejandro went back to the sitting room, where he'd left Victoria and Felipe, they were nowhere to be found. He moved to the doorway of Diego's room, watching the hope and despair wash across his children's faces as they watched him sleep. If Diego died, he needed to make sure Felipe and Victoria were made members of his family. His son's letter laid out his final wishes in great detail. This is something he wanted to do while Diego still lived. And he could, in part, make that happen.

TBC