Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Johnston McCulley and Disney. Believe me there would've been SEVERAL seasons of Zorro had I been in charge!

Author's Note: This is a continuation of "The Unknown Father," which can be found on my good friend Ribeiro1896's account here at FF, or on my account over at Ao3. You really don't need to read it first (unless you want to, we don't mind). All you need to know is that Anita Cabrillo (played by Annette Funicello, S2, Episodes 21-23) in this AU is Diego's half sister.

Anita de la Vega gazed adoringly up at the tall, dark haired man sitting beside her in the wagon. Tanned face hid by a wide-brimmed hat. Neatly trimmed goatee and mustache. Dark eyes focused on the road ahead. Brown jacket and pants trimmed in a cream color over a white shirt, and brown boots propped on the edge of the footrest.

If she hadn't known better, Anita would've sworn that the man she was seated next to was the same man her mother had told her stories about in Spain-tall, dark, and handsome. Funnily enough, in a way, she was looking at her father, for Diego de la Vega was the spitting image of his father, Alejandro de la Vega.

And, well, since Alejandro was her father also…Anita imagined that when Alejandro had met her mother in Spain as a young man, he probably looked similar.

"A peso for your thoughts?" Diego questioned, catching her staring.

She looked away, embarrassed. "I was just imagining…when Mama used to tell me stories about my father, the man she described sounded a lot like you," she confessed. "Tall, handsome, brave…"

Diego chuckled. "I will have to see if I can find the paintings of my father as a boy," he said. "I have been told on multiple occasions that the two of us looked very much alike." He clicked his tongue, turning the horses around the corner into the pueblo. "All right," he said, guiding the team to the hitching post and putting the brake on the wagon wheel. "Now, you heard Father," he reminded her. "Spend only what you have on your person. And don't leave the plaza without telling me first."

"This is taking some getting used to," Anita said. "In Salamanca, my aunt made me go everywhere with her and I wasn't allowed to wander by my myself. Also, my aunt let me buy whatever I wanted," she added with a small pout.

Diego raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you were spoiled then?" he questioned.

Her eyes flashed and Diego had to stifle a laugh. So much like our father. "I was not!" she objected.

"Ah, it appears I am not the only one who acts like our father," Diego grinned. Anita's face softened and she laughed as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "The plaza is small, and though it is busy on a Saturday, things have been relatively calm and I can see Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes are patrolling. I am not worried about you looking around by yourself. Plus," he added, "I know you can take care of yourself. To an extent. Unless you have to throw something," he added with a wink. She blushed.

Diego moved across the plaza to go speak to the aforementioned sergeant while Anita moved to another stall covered with bright woven blankets. "They are beautiful," she complimented the owner. "The yellows and reds remind me of the sunset."

"Gracias, senorita," the woman smiled. "If you like those colors," she began, and snapped her fingers. A little girl of about eight or nine poked her head up from the side of the stall in the shade. Anita smiled at her. "Ramona has some beautiful earrings she made herself in that same pattern."

The little girl reached up onto a shelf and plucked out the jewelry, handing them to Anita. They were round and dangled from a silver strand. Anita pushed back her hair with one hand and held the earring to her ear, turning sideways so Ramona could see it.

"Lovely, senorita," Ramona smiled politely.

"She is right. They bring out your blue eyes, like the sky fading into your sunset," the woman agreed.

Anita laughed. "With a compliment like that, I think I simply must have them!" she declared. Ramona named her price and Anita paid the little girl, choosing to wear the earrings instead of having them wrapped. She waved goodbye and continued to make her rounds around the plaza, marveling at the smells and songs and beautiful craftsmanship of the vendors.

Two loud pops interrupted the morning, and Anita froze as several people cried out. She gasped and looked for her brother. "Diego!" she screamed.

Diego had been ribbing Sergeant Garcia good-naturedly about the state of his midsection when the two of them had seen two horses come plowing into the plaza, two riders in bandanas and low-riding sombreros atop them. One of them had a whip, and sent it crackling through the air. The end of it caught the edge of a stall and the man yanked, toppling the structure to the ground as the Chumash man selling pottery under it dove for cover. The pots clattered to the ground, shattering. The other unfurled his own whip, snapping it at an older man. Laughing, the two of them rode in circles around the well in the center of the plaza, pulling down stalls and teasing the patrons.

"Diego!"

Diego heard his sister's scream. "I have to find Anita!" he yelled to Sergeant Garcia as Garcia moved to the cuartel doors to round up more soldiers. Diego threaded his way through the chaos, searching for Anita. He found her next to Ramona and her mother, the three women crouched under a broken and bent awning. "Anita, are you all right?" he demanded. Anita was whispering reassurances to the other women in rapid-fire Spanish. He took her hand and she looked up at him before throwing her arms around him. Over her shoulder, he saw the two men take off with a handful of lancers chasing after them on foot. He returned his attention to his sister, pulling her to her feet with one hand and holding up the broken awning with the other.

Anita looked up at him, hugging him fiercely. "What did you say earlier about things being 'calm'?"

The two de la Vegas helped clean up as best they could before climbing back into the wagon to return to the hacienda. "What did those two men want?" Anita asked Diego once they were out of town.

"I don't think they wanted anything but to cause trouble," he said grimly. "Some people do not need a reason."

"Will you go after them? I mean, as Zorro?" Anita wondered.

Diego nodded. "I think Tornado and I will have a look around this evening, yes," he said. He glanced at her. She was looking straight ahead, picking at her fingernails and biting her lower lip. "Anita?"

"The night that Don Aleja-I mean, that Father was kidnapped," Anita said. "I was so scared. Today, I was scared again."

"Everything is all right," Diego promised her.

"I know. But I only just got to Los Angeles and well," she said, "I know you can take care of yourself, but those men were terrifying." She looked up at him. "Does Father worry about you when you are Zorro?"

He nodded.

"I think I will worry, too," she decided. He smiled, touched at her concern, and put an arm around her as they rode back home.