Victoria was awake long before her husband of one night, but for some time she just watched him sleep. She thought again about how drastically her opinion of Diego de la Vega had changed in only a few short days. He had gone from being a friend to being the love of her life in a matter of hours. It wasn't hard to accept, though, because once she found out for sure that Diego was Zorro, it had been much easier than she had expected for the two men to become one in her mind. All the clues had been there, and finally they all fell into place.

She looked at him. Diego had fooled them all. If anyone would have suggested him before as being Zorro, Victoria would have laughed. She knew he was a bookish young man, interested in obscure experiments and metaphysical poetry, not a powerful, skilled fighter. He did not even know how to handle a sword properly, much less stand up to the alcalde and armed lancers. But she was wrong. Zorro she knew had to be strong and agile, but to Diego she never would have attributed those characteristics- not until she knew he was Zorro, and not even until she saw him on their wedding night. He was more than she had expected. He was magnificent.

As strong as he was, he was nevertheless consummately gentle with her, despite the fact that he was trying to control a powerful sense of urgency. Victoria understood; he had endured too much heartache, and even on their wedding day it had all seemed like a dream. It was almost as if he was afraid none of it was real, or that it wasn't coming true; he had excused them from the wedding fiesta as early as he could manage it and had wasted no time in taking her home to the hacienda. But last night, their dreams had come true.

Victoria sighed happily. At last she was married to the man who was Zorro. Ramon would have made her happy, in a milder, more common sort of way, she had no doubt, but Zorro... Diego was the man she wanted, the man she longed for these long years. Even when she had forsaken him- when she saw he would let her go- she wanted him, but only her own sense that time was running out prevented her from having the patience necessary to wait for him.

She marveled at how it had all worked out. If it hadn't been for the announcement that Ramon Palos was getting married, his thieving friends would not have tracked him down and blackmailed him into one last job. In their greed, they also demanded Zorro. Diego, risking everything including his life, saved the children and saved the day, bringing to justice three of the men, who all promptly accused Palos as being the forth. All had been brought to justice, and as a result her wedding had been called off.

If none of that would have happened, she would not be married to the man she really loved now. Zorro would still be alive, as out of reach as ever, and she would have either married a man she would have been only moderately happy and content with, or she would still be single and alone. Things worked out, praise God. She had Zorro. She had Diego de la Vega, and he was everything she had ever dreamed he would be and much more.

He was magnificent... and he was hers. With another happy sigh, Victoria settled herself against him, breathing in his warm, masculine scent. She was satisfied- no, supremely, joyfully content. Yet after a while she grew tired of waiting for him to wake up and gently she began rubbing his back.

"Diego?" she called softly.

He smiled, still half asleep, and took a deep breath.

"Wake up, mi marido."

His smile grew and he rolled over to take her in his arms. "Buenos dias, Señora De la Vega," he murmured, still more asleep than awake.

Victoria laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled against him. Diego pulled her close and closed his eyes again.

"Why are you up so early?" Diego muttered sleepily, kissing her hair.

"I'm used to it," she replied. "I have been watching you sleep."

"That's about as exciting as watching adobe dry in the sun, I'm sure." When she did not answer, he opened his eyes. "What is it?"

"Oh, Diego," she murmured softly, "what a fool I was to let you go."

"You can't let me go now," he said, smiling.

She held him close. "I won't. You are mine now..."