Author's Note: I apologize for being so slow to post this story, especially considering its length. Unfortunately, it being mid semester, I haven't had much time for writing, unless you count "Michelle1 and the Case of the Never-ending Literature Review" or my personal favorite--the weekly edition of "Michelle1 and the 12 Hour Statistics Homework".
Once prelims are over, things will get back to normal, and I promise to start posting this more quickly. I'm afraid this section's a bit short, but I wanted to post something anyway. For those of you who've been asking, Alejandro returns to the story eventually-in fact he kind of hijacked it for a while, but his appearance isn't for a few more scenes, so you'll have to bear with me. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who's been commenting on this story and tell you I'm posting it as quickly as I can. I hope to post more this weekend, but we'll have to see.
* * * * *
*Diego is ill. He cannot ride out today. * Felipe signed again.
Juan looked at him in confusion and Felipe mentally growled in frustration.
A sound in the kitchen distracted him, and, lit with an idea, he went in to grab Maria, who at least could mostly understand him.
*You have to tell Juan that Diego is sick. * he signed slowly as he led her back to the yard.
"Don Diego is ill?" she said, concern instantly transforming her features. She cast a worried glance toward the end of the hacienda where Diego slept.
Juan was looking at the two of them.
*Yes. You know he was been very tired lately. *
At Juan's continued confusion, Maria figured out she was to translate and did so. Felipe sighed in relief.
"Is it serious?" Juan asked, doing Felipe the favor of directing the question to him, rather than Maria.
Felipe shook his head. *No, but he has to rest for a few days. He's been doing too much. *
Juan's face twisted in anger and spat his chew into the yard. "It's not like it's unexpected."
"You knew he was sick?" Maria asked, frowning.
Juan shrugged. "Tchah, we all knew he couldn't keep up with all he's been doing. I always thought Don Diego was the only one of these caballeros who had any sense, but lately I've wondered about that." Another shrug. "The boys and I could have done the scouting ourselves. I should have insisted-but Don Diego always seemed to know where the trouble would be and how to keep ourselves protected."
Juan was clearly angry, but beneath that was a wide streak of real concern, matching the one on Maria. The de la Vega's people had always been very fond of Diego, but in the last few weeks, after he'd rescued Miguel's son and worked so hard not only for the protection of his father's assets but for the safety of his people themselves, they'd become even more fiercely protective of him.
"Should I send some men for Dr. Hernandez?" Juan asked.
Felipe thought that over. Doctor Hernandez would discover far too much if called, and Felipe didn't think Diego's condition was serious enough to risk that.
*No, I don't think that's necessary. Diego just needs to sleep. *
But if Diego got any worse, he wouldn't hesitate in a moment.
Juan nodded, still obviously worried but satisfied. "I didn't think the day could get any worse, but then it did."
*What happened? *
Juan looked surprised. "You haven't heard the news?"
"What is it?" Maria asked.
"The worst has happened." Juan shook his head. "Rodrigo stayed last night in town to visit his sister and her husband. This morning he returned with the news that the alcalde set a trap for Zorro last night. Zorro got away, but he was badly wounded, possibly killed."
Felipe did his honest best to look surprised and dismayed. The dismay, at least, wasn't much of an act.
Maria gasped and took a step back. "Zorro-dead! It can't be true, it can't."
"Don't know anything more on that," Juan said, his face grim. "But I don't want to think what it means if it is true."
Maria covered her face with her hand and turned away.
Juan faced Felipe. "With Don Diego ill and this news from town, we must be more careful than ever. I will take the men on patrol. You must stay here and care for Diego."
Felipe nodded. Juan gripped Maria's shaking shoulder and then strode off toward the stables, shouting commands as he went.
Felipe led Maria back inside. She turned to her kitchen duties with something like relief on her face, though she was still pale.
*I will check on Diego. *
She nodded. "I will make him some soup later, when he wakes up."
He smiled, grateful that she was trying to maintain normal patterns.
When he reached Diego's room, he found Diego fast asleep, breathing deeply and easily. Felipe closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He'd checked the wound earlier, though Diego, thank blessed Jesu, had slept through that. The poultice had helped the wound seal, though it looked an angry red and the skin around it was black with bruising.
Still, in the light of day, it did not seem as serious as it had last night, when Diego had fallen, half-unconscious and bloody, from Toronado. Felipe was no doctor, nor scholar like Diego, but he thought the real problems were from all the blood Diego had lost from the long ride home and the risk of infection. If Diego would give himself a few weeks' rest from Zorro, it should heal completely. The problem was getting Diego to take those weeks.
But for now, Diego was asleep and not likely to go anywhere. His skin was pale from the loss of blood, but the color was much better than it had been last night. Felipe laid a palm across his forehead to check his temperature and frowned at the slight rise in temperature. It wasn't much, but Diego was so weak and had already been exhausted. If the fever got any higher, he'd have to call Dr. Hernandez.
He still couldn't get that image out of his head: Diego, his shirt soaked in blood, lying on the cave floor struggling to keep the both of them calm. Diego had been so weak and there had been so much blood . . . Felipe had thought, when he'd first seen him lying still on Toronado's back, that he was dead.
He opened his eyes again and forced himself to replace the image with Diego as he was now. Wounded, but safely asleep, getting his first real rest in days. He probably was safer here, forced by his injury to rest, than he would be whole, chasing after the outlaws. Felipe couldn't really bring himself to be grateful for that, however.
The energy that had sustained Felipe through the nightmarish hours of last night fled him in a rush. He lay down beside Diego on top of the covers, not wanting to go very far. Diego would need him, later.
Once prelims are over, things will get back to normal, and I promise to start posting this more quickly. I'm afraid this section's a bit short, but I wanted to post something anyway. For those of you who've been asking, Alejandro returns to the story eventually-in fact he kind of hijacked it for a while, but his appearance isn't for a few more scenes, so you'll have to bear with me. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who's been commenting on this story and tell you I'm posting it as quickly as I can. I hope to post more this weekend, but we'll have to see.
* * * * *
*Diego is ill. He cannot ride out today. * Felipe signed again.
Juan looked at him in confusion and Felipe mentally growled in frustration.
A sound in the kitchen distracted him, and, lit with an idea, he went in to grab Maria, who at least could mostly understand him.
*You have to tell Juan that Diego is sick. * he signed slowly as he led her back to the yard.
"Don Diego is ill?" she said, concern instantly transforming her features. She cast a worried glance toward the end of the hacienda where Diego slept.
Juan was looking at the two of them.
*Yes. You know he was been very tired lately. *
At Juan's continued confusion, Maria figured out she was to translate and did so. Felipe sighed in relief.
"Is it serious?" Juan asked, doing Felipe the favor of directing the question to him, rather than Maria.
Felipe shook his head. *No, but he has to rest for a few days. He's been doing too much. *
Juan's face twisted in anger and spat his chew into the yard. "It's not like it's unexpected."
"You knew he was sick?" Maria asked, frowning.
Juan shrugged. "Tchah, we all knew he couldn't keep up with all he's been doing. I always thought Don Diego was the only one of these caballeros who had any sense, but lately I've wondered about that." Another shrug. "The boys and I could have done the scouting ourselves. I should have insisted-but Don Diego always seemed to know where the trouble would be and how to keep ourselves protected."
Juan was clearly angry, but beneath that was a wide streak of real concern, matching the one on Maria. The de la Vega's people had always been very fond of Diego, but in the last few weeks, after he'd rescued Miguel's son and worked so hard not only for the protection of his father's assets but for the safety of his people themselves, they'd become even more fiercely protective of him.
"Should I send some men for Dr. Hernandez?" Juan asked.
Felipe thought that over. Doctor Hernandez would discover far too much if called, and Felipe didn't think Diego's condition was serious enough to risk that.
*No, I don't think that's necessary. Diego just needs to sleep. *
But if Diego got any worse, he wouldn't hesitate in a moment.
Juan nodded, still obviously worried but satisfied. "I didn't think the day could get any worse, but then it did."
*What happened? *
Juan looked surprised. "You haven't heard the news?"
"What is it?" Maria asked.
"The worst has happened." Juan shook his head. "Rodrigo stayed last night in town to visit his sister and her husband. This morning he returned with the news that the alcalde set a trap for Zorro last night. Zorro got away, but he was badly wounded, possibly killed."
Felipe did his honest best to look surprised and dismayed. The dismay, at least, wasn't much of an act.
Maria gasped and took a step back. "Zorro-dead! It can't be true, it can't."
"Don't know anything more on that," Juan said, his face grim. "But I don't want to think what it means if it is true."
Maria covered her face with her hand and turned away.
Juan faced Felipe. "With Don Diego ill and this news from town, we must be more careful than ever. I will take the men on patrol. You must stay here and care for Diego."
Felipe nodded. Juan gripped Maria's shaking shoulder and then strode off toward the stables, shouting commands as he went.
Felipe led Maria back inside. She turned to her kitchen duties with something like relief on her face, though she was still pale.
*I will check on Diego. *
She nodded. "I will make him some soup later, when he wakes up."
He smiled, grateful that she was trying to maintain normal patterns.
When he reached Diego's room, he found Diego fast asleep, breathing deeply and easily. Felipe closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He'd checked the wound earlier, though Diego, thank blessed Jesu, had slept through that. The poultice had helped the wound seal, though it looked an angry red and the skin around it was black with bruising.
Still, in the light of day, it did not seem as serious as it had last night, when Diego had fallen, half-unconscious and bloody, from Toronado. Felipe was no doctor, nor scholar like Diego, but he thought the real problems were from all the blood Diego had lost from the long ride home and the risk of infection. If Diego would give himself a few weeks' rest from Zorro, it should heal completely. The problem was getting Diego to take those weeks.
But for now, Diego was asleep and not likely to go anywhere. His skin was pale from the loss of blood, but the color was much better than it had been last night. Felipe laid a palm across his forehead to check his temperature and frowned at the slight rise in temperature. It wasn't much, but Diego was so weak and had already been exhausted. If the fever got any higher, he'd have to call Dr. Hernandez.
He still couldn't get that image out of his head: Diego, his shirt soaked in blood, lying on the cave floor struggling to keep the both of them calm. Diego had been so weak and there had been so much blood . . . Felipe had thought, when he'd first seen him lying still on Toronado's back, that he was dead.
He opened his eyes again and forced himself to replace the image with Diego as he was now. Wounded, but safely asleep, getting his first real rest in days. He probably was safer here, forced by his injury to rest, than he would be whole, chasing after the outlaws. Felipe couldn't really bring himself to be grateful for that, however.
The energy that had sustained Felipe through the nightmarish hours of last night fled him in a rush. He lay down beside Diego on top of the covers, not wanting to go very far. Diego would need him, later.
