Chapter 2

By the time the two men reached the house, it was already engulfed in flames. They could hear the baby crying but couldn't tell exactly where she was. Diego hurried to the nearby well and dipped the bucket into it. "José, get over here! Bring up the water and throw it on the door! We need to get them out!" He quickly dipped a bandana into the bucket and tied it around his neck, hoping to keep some of the smoke from his lungs.

The sound of glass shattering drew Diego's gaze toward a nearby window. He rushed to it, eyes widening when he noticed Victoria's soot-filled face as she pushed the baby out of the window.

"Take her!" Victoria coughed as Diego reached for the crying baby.

"Victoria! Climb out of the window, quickly!" Diego yelled over the crackling flames. They licked at the wood close to her head, and to Diego's surprise, Victoria disappeared within the house again.

"Victoria!"

"Diego! Malinda is unconscious, I can't lift her!"

He barely heard Victoria's voice over the roaring flames. When he glanced over at José, his eyes widened when he noticed the man pick up a large object and throw it toward the door. Flames erupted outward at the rush of additional oxygen to fan the fire.

"José! Wait! Don't!" Diego rushed to the man and shoved the baby into his arms. "Take your daughter! I'll go in through the window.

Diego deftly climbed inside and squinted through all the smoke. Large blue eyes frantically searched for the two women and he finally noticed Victoria, half carrying, half dragging the unconscious Malinda toward the window. "Victoria!"

"Zorro?" Victoria gasped as he hurried closer, blinking rapidly as the smoke blurred her vision. Her hero was here and he was going to save them! She reached for the bare hand she saw reaching through the smoke.

Diego didn't bother to correct her. He was too concerned with getting her out of the burning house. When her hand slid into his, he pulled her against his chest, grateful for the feel of her supple body pressed against his.

If Victoria noticed he wasn't Zorro, she gave no indication. She simply glanced down at the unconscious Malinda. "She took a nap. When I noticed the fire – I couldn't wake her –" Victoria inhaled sharply and just as quickly began to cough from the smoke she'd just inhaled.

Diego ripped the bandana off his face and shoved it over Victoria's head, "Cover your mouth and nose with this and follow me!" Diego lifted Malinda effortlessly into his arms and carried her swiftly back to the window. He didn't notice until it was too late that he'd moved too quickly for Victoria to follow.

"Diego?" Victoria called as the smoke swirled around his body and he vanished. "Diego!"

When Diego looked back, Victoria was nowhere in sight. "Victoria!" Flames licked at his legs as he climbed out the window.

José made his way toward them, a bucket in his hand, his wailing daughter held tightly in his other.

Diego laid Malinda on the ground next to José and took the bucket of water out of his hand. "Turn her on her side, breathe some air into her lungs! I need to get Victoria!" he tossed half the contents of the bucket over himself and then the rest at the flames licking at the window.

He launched himself through the window and was instantly overwhelmed with smoke. "Victoria!" he called and choked on the thick smoke as he inhaled to call out again. He dodged beams that fell from the ceiling but was not fast enough and one struck his shoulder causing him to hiss. Blood trickled from the gash, rapidly staining his shirt, but he ignored the sharp, stinging pain. He had to find Victoria!

He dropped to the floor and felt his way around until he encountered her motionless body.

"Victoria! No!" He pulled her into his arms and bent to push away the beam pinning her legs to the floor. Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, he made his way back toward the window, or, where he thought he remembered the window to be. When he located it, he found, to his dismay, that it was covered in flames. He looked around frantically for another way out, his eyes finally settling on the door José had broken open earlier.

Diego covered as much of Victoria's body as he could and dove through the door, heedless of the flames surrounding it. As soon as they were clear, he rolled around the ground with her, extinguishing the flames that had caught the ends of their clothes.

Coughing loudly, desperate to push the smoke from his lungs, he rolled Victoria over and felt for a pulse.

"No!" He cried when he noticed she was not breathing. He quickly tipped her head back and covered her lips with his. He breathed deeply into her mouth, flattened his hands on her chest and pushed, hoping to clear her lungs. He repeated this action several times, after each moment, he lifted her into his arms, murmuring incoherently against her hair.

"Querida, please, no, not like this," he pleaded as he leaned over her to once again fasten his lips to hers.

After several long, tense moments, Victoria inhaled sharply. Relief flooded Diego's body as he pulled her into his arms. She coughed violently for several moments, trembling from the lack of oxygen.

"Victoria," he murmured, his voice deep with emotion, "breathe normally, deeply."

"Can't," she coughed, groaning with each painful breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and trembled.

He pushed her hair out of her face and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her cheek. "Dios, Victoria, just try to breath steadily." He wiped at the soot-covered skin with the bandana he'd tied around her neck. He took a deep breath and leaned his head against hers. A few silent moments passed before he pressed his lips gently, reverently to her forehead.

The wind was blowing toward them now and Diego lifted her into his arms and carried her toward where José was sitting with Malinda and the baby. They looked gratefully over at Diego as he sank to his knees, Victoria still cradled protectively in his arms. Her head lolled against his chest and he simply held her, checking every few seconds to make sure she was still breathing.

"What happened?" Diego asked as Malinda stared with tear-filled eyes at her home.

The young woman was likewise cradled against her husband's chest, the baby wrapped protectively in her mother's arms but still wailing pitifully over the crackling flames as they devoured everything in their path.

"I don't know. I don't – remember anything." Malinda said softly, coughing with every other word.

Diego looked down at Victoria who was sinking in and out of consciousness. He brushed his hand against her cheek and hugged her close.

"There's nothing left," José whispered sadly. "It's all gone."

"Lets get to the hacienda. You can clean up and we can talk there." Diego stood and whistled for Esperanza. Diego looked around but Victoria's mare was gone. He sighed and reached for Esperanza as José reached his own stallion.

Victoria was simply aware of being lifted into the saddle and of the strong chest and arms that enveloped her, protecting her, keeping her safe. She muttered Zorro's name as she drifted in and out of uneasy consciousness.

Malinda and José fared similarly but they also had a baby to keep hold of, so the ride back to the hacienda was painfully slow.

When they arrived, Felipe and Alejandro met them at the door, having been warned of their approach by a passing vaquero.

"Son! What happened?" Alejandro reached up to help his son down but Diego brushed off his father's aid, more concerned with getting Victoria into a guest room and into a comfortable bed. Diego had guessed that she'd been struck by some falling debris in the burning house, which was the cause of her semi-unconscious state now.

"Felipe," Diego implored. "Go get Doctor Hernandez and hurry!"

"Zorro?" Victoria muttered, her head lolling against his chest as he carried her into the guestroom next to his bedroom.

Alejandro gave his son a questioning look but Diego just shrugged as he lay her onto the bed.

"I got her out of the fire, she must just think that he rescued her," Diego explained quickly. "God knows he's the only one capable." He added with an irritated tone that caused his father to level a curious look at his son.

"Victoria?" Diego cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned over her. He hadn't taken the time to check for a head injury and inwardly cursed himself now for that failure.

One of the maids hurried in with a washbasin and a towel, clucking disapprovingly as Diego leaned a bit too close to the señorita.

"Father, can she borrow some of mother's things?" Diego asked while continuing with his examination. "These are covered in –"

"Say no more, I'll fetch them immediately and check on our other guests," Alejandro moved toward the doorway, his gaze lingering for a long moment on his son, wondering at such animated concern for Victoria's welfare.

When Victoria awoke, she was deliciously comfortable but, her hand flew to her head as she tried to move and she moaned in pain.

"Victoria?" a soft, tense voice permeated her foggy mind and her heart instantly fluttered.

Zorro!

"Victoria?" came the voice again, but it was different this time, not as deep but just as concerned.

She moaned in pain as she tried to move and he was instantly beside her, holding her hand, cupping her cheek. She tried to open her eyes again but her head pounded and she squeezed them shut.

"What hurts?" the voice asked and she turned her head toward the sound.

"Everything," she whimpered.

"Well, that makes a diagnosis difficult."

One eye opened, and then another, and Victoria found, to her surprise, a haggard, sleepy-eyed Diego kneeling next to her bed.

"Diego?" she whispered disbelievingly. She blinked and gingerly looked around the room. "Where –"

"You're at the hacienda. I brought you here after the fire." He held her hand gently. "You've been unconscious for hours. We've been worried. Do you want a drink?"

Victoria swallowed convulsively and nodded. "That would be nice. Yes. Thank you."

He poured some water out of a decanter sitting on a table beside the bed and then helped her to sit up.

Grateful for the aid, for she didn't think she'd have been able to pull her battered body into a sitting position by herself, she squeezed his hand. She took the glass he offered and wrapped shaking hands around it.

"Take small sips, don't gulp it," Diego instructed, watching her carefully. When he'd decided she'd had enough, he removed the glass from her hands.

She leveled an annoyed look at him but sighed weakly and leaned back into the pillows. "So tired."

"Where is the pain?" he asked again.

"My –head, arms, legs –"

"Can you feel your legs?" Diego asked, holding his breath.

Victoria thought for a moment and then moved one leg and then the other. "Yes. Is there a reason I shouldn't be able to?"

"Well, when I found you, there was a beam lying across them. I had to lift it off to get you out of the house," Diego admitted, heaving a grateful sigh that she could at least feel her limbs.

"You carried me out?" Victoria's memory of the event was foggy.

"I did." Diego confirmed.

She sounded disappointed "Oh."

Diego dropped his eyes to hide the pain that flickered in them. He'd heard her calling for Zorro as the fire burned around them but he had never answered her, determined only to get her out and to safety.

"Thank you, Diego," Victoria's momentary disappointment vanished as her eyes lit with an earnest appreciation. She reached for his hand and squeezed it weakly. "You saved my life."

"You're welcome, Victoria," he smiled softly and then, against his better judgment, bent over and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Sleep now. We'll talk in the morning."

She didn't even question why he was in her room in the middle of the night. She was too tired and in too much pain. But the small gesture of affection sent a thrilling chill through her body, relaxing her.

He helped her to lie back down and fluffed the pillows in the most comfortable position as she closed her eyes and sank gratefully back into unconscious oblivion.

TBC

Thethirdtroll – you know, I'm starting to get used to you calling me evil. When you don't, I think I've done something wrong! Laugh Yes, Diego gets to do some rescuing…

CW – Yep…its about time Diego got to play the hero….

Uhm. What – a person of so many words….hehe, here is another short chapter for you.