Diego found himself waking up with his arms still wrapped around Victoria. She was soundlessly dreaming with a smile on her face. He wondered what she was dreaming about as he watched her sleep. He had tried to be responsible and not allow himself to get too carried away overnight with Victoria. The night had begun with passionate kissing, which eventually led to cuddling and caressing while openly communicating without secrets between them, back to hungry kisses and caresses, and then finally exhaustion. He was fairly sure that Victoria could sense just how much that he had wanted her throughout the night.

Victoria had begun to stir. She rolled over to face Diego and smiled, reached her arms up, and placed them around his neck. He pulled her closer to him. He gently kissed her good morning and gave her back side a quick squeeze.

"Buenos dias mi amor," Diego whispered.

"Buenos dias Zorro," Victoria said with a yawn.

Diego found himself yawning in response to her yawn.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, as he secretly hoped that sleeping on the floor wasn't a turn off.

Victoria paused for a moment before replying, "I slept fairly well even though part of you was awake throughout the night."

It hadn't gone unnoticed during the night that he had been thinking about how close she was to him. He couldn't hide how being near her had made him feel.

"Unfortunately we can't hide in my cave all day," Diego sighed.

"No, I must get back to the tavern and take care of the customers," Victoria agreed as she sat up suddenly when a noise startled her.

Toronado seemed to have made a noise that almost seemed like laughter. Diego had always felt that his horse knew what humans around him were saying.

Even though his father had sent a messenger to the tavern before the evening meal informing Sargent Mendoza that she would be staying overnight after dining with them instead of traveling back at a late hour, she needed to return soon. Sargent Mendoza enjoyed keeping watch over the tavern for Victoria because it meant free food for himself. Diego had never known Mendoza to pass up an offer for free food, but their friend would have to return to his duties as a soldier soon.

He stood up and reached his hand out to pull Victoria up from the floor of the cave. Victoria began to finger comb her hair. Diego reached over to pick up a comb that he kept in the cave from returning as Zorro. He was glad that he had access to it considering how messy Victoria's hair looked.

"Here, allow me to help you," Diego volunteered to help with ensuring that her hair was presentable.

When he had deemed that Victoria was presentable, Diego led her back through the fireplace and escorted her to the front door. The vaqueros would assume that she had stayed as a guest after the late dinner and nothing more.

Before opening the door for Victoria, Diego stood facing her with his hands gently holding her face as she clung to his shoulders. He gently kissed her goodbye. They embraced each other tightly before he opened the door for her to leave.

"Be safe, I will see you soon," Diego reassured her.

"I'm counting on it," Victoria cheekily responded.

Victoria left Diego in the doorway after blowing a kiss to him. He watched her walk away as she went to find her wagon. He closed the door and made his way back into the library.

Diego felt a bit empty now that Victoria had gone back to the tavern. Rather than rushing to find something to eat he found a random book and began to pretend to read it as he began to evaluate how much that his life had changed in just one day.

"Diego, we need to talk," his father's voice broke through his thoughts.

He looked up and saw his father approaching him with a serious expression.

"Oh no, " he thought to himself, "this is what I've been dreading."

His father sat down with a sigh.

"Diego, I am concerned for your safety..." his father started to warn him.

Diego looked at his father without saying a word. He more than deserved this lecture.

"Do you realize that you almost got yourself caught yesterday with your little slip up?" his father asked him with a raised voice.

Diego simply hung his head. He knew that he had not been careful enough. He had let his emotions cloud his judgment for a moment when the scene of his father's "death" had flashed before his eyes.

"You're just lucky that the only other person besides me who heard what you said is dead!" his father yelled in frustration.

Diego still had no words, choosing to remain silent as he listened to his father.

"What if the other men had not been far enough away from you and too busy to notice what you had called me?" his father continued to chastise him.

Diego understood exactly why his father was so concerned about his actions.

"I'm sorry father, I failed," Diego finally replied.

His father slowly stood up and walked over to embrace him.

"No my son, you did not fail," his father reassured him.

"You simply made a very crucial mistake," his father continued.

Diego took a deep breath and blew the air back out again.

"From now on we are in this together, but you must make sure that you don't make the same mistake again," his father said encouragingly as he patted him on his back.

Diego appreciated his father's honesty.

Felipe who had heard the commotion had come into the room to make sure that everything was as it should be. When he noticed Diego's face he began to sign to him asking about Victoria. Diego was grateful for the distraction from the serious conversation with his father.

"Victoria has gone back to the tavern,"he answered.

His father cleared his throat.

"Diego, I hope that you have not compromised her," his father addressed him, even though it seemed more like a question.

Even though the matter was a bit embarrassing to discuss with his father, especially in front of Felipe who was like a son to him, he owed his father an answer. He could at least give his father some reassurance that he had not completely gone off the deep end.

"No father, I have not been with Victoria in that way," Diego replied as he found the situation a bit embarrassing.

His father seemed to have been studying him for a reaction.

"What were you doing with Victoria last night when neither of you slept inside?" his father asked as he got straight to the point.

Diego had been so ready for some quality alone time with Victoria that he hadn't taken time to think about his father's reaction to discovering the both of them missing together.

"I apologize for my hasty decision, but we spent most of the night in discussion of our future and sorting through our plans for how to proceed with our relationship before falling asleep," he replied while leaving out the details of their kissing sessions.

After a deep pause, his father replied, "I will leave you and Felipe to continue chatting in private while I attend to matters elsewhere, but keep in mind that trusting you to be completely honest with me will take some time."

His father walked away, leaving Diego reflecting on the points that he had just made.

Diego decided that he needed to find a distraction from the difficult conversation that he had just found himself having with his father.

"Felipe, would you mind helping me scrub my black outfit?" he found himself asking as he remembered that Victoria had kept him from scrubbing them last night.

"No, I don't mind," Felipe signed.

Thankful for something to occupy his mind, Diego went with Felipe to retrieve his blood stained clothing. As soon as Diego had spotted his mask on the floor he began to remember how Victoria looked at him once she had removed it from him. Her eyes had widened as her soft mouth opened slightly just before she said his name.

He felt the tension slipping from his body as he remembered how she had accepted him instead of rejecting him. Together Diego and Felipe scrubbed the blood and grime from his black shirt, gloves, pants, and finally his mask. He dusted off his black hat with a damp linen. Together they carried his wet clothing to the cave entrance. Diego opened the secret wall in the fireplace.

He had just begun to step inside when he heard, "Diego wait!"

His father had been calling out to him.

Diego noticed his father's shocked expression as he looked at the opening of the cave through the fireplace. His father walked through the fireplace, and into the cave. He and Felipe watched his father walking around observing his laboratory equipment to where he finally turned his attention to Toronado. His father had begun to rub Toronado's nose. Toronado looked at Diego as if to say, "Why is he here?"

Felipe hung his wet clothing in the cave to dry as Diego walked over to his father and Toronado.

"I'm sorry Diego," his father said as he turned to face him.

Once again at a loss for words Diego simply listened to his father.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, his father admitted, "I've thought about it, and perhaps I was too harsh on you son."

Diego saw Felipe stop hanging the wet laundry as he listened to the conversation.

"I allowed my fear of losing you to cause me to speak to you in a most hurtful way, and I deeply regret it," his father openly admitted.

Diego found himself suddenly embraced by his father.

"I completely understand why you would react that way," he replied as he returned his father's embrace.

They both turned to face Toronado who seemed to be invested in the conversation. The tension between them had melted. Felipe had begun to continue to hang the clothing as if he was not paying attention.

"I also apologize for insinuating that you have been up to no good with Victoria," his father added to his list of apologies.

"If I'm being honest, I have realized that during the day you will have a very hard time courting each other without someone noticing or going after you as Zorro," he added as Diego fully appreciated his revelation.

Diego found himself nodding in agreement as he noticed in his peripheral vision that Felipe clipped a glove to thin air. He chuckled and Felipe looked at him with an expression of guilt. His father, suddenly noticing the situation, also began to laugh.

After containing their laughter his father, once again serious in expression, shocked him by saying, "Diego, if you need to be with Victoria during the night I completely understand and will support you."

Diego couldn't hide the stunned look that he knew was taking over his face. Felipe, who had finished hanging the remaining wet laundry, was also staring at his father in shock.

"You have always been nothing but a gentleman and I should expect nothing less from you even after finding out your secret," his father admitted as Diego felt a sense of relief wash over him.

"Thank you father," he replied.

"There is no need to thank me Diego as I should never have spoken to you as I did earlier," his father's response once again touched him deeply.

He watched as his father walked across the cave to his alternate black outfit and picked it up. Diego and Felipe looked at each other as they wondered what he was doing with Zorro's outfit.

His father carried it to him saying, "My son you are needed in the pueblo now to find out why the cash box recovered from the stagecoach robbery has gone missing."

Diego took the clothing from his father and began to change into them after a short pause.

When he had finished changing into Zorro, Felipe handed him his hat. Diego prepared Toronado for the ride. After climbing up in the saddle he looked down at his father who was once again smiling at him.

"Be safe my son and remember that you have my love and full support with you," his father reassured him.

Diego waved near the exit of the cave as he replied, "I will do my best."

As he rode away on Toronado towards the pueblo the entrance of the cave behind him closed. After an emotionally exhausting morning he felt better about the situation with his father. He was thankful for the closure as he needed the mental capacity to deal with DeSoto. Surely he had been behind the missing cash box as he had been the reluctant person who did not want to involve a search party.