As Diego arrived at the entrance to the pueblo he could hear raised voices. Men and women were out of their beds assessing damage to buildings. Just ahead of him the damage to the church was unmistakable. The once strong and beautiful towers of the church building had collapsed and fallen into a depressing pile of debris. The roof of the church building had collapsed, and he could see no signs of the building's cross. The bell would need to be located and set upon a structure that would allow the people of the pueblo to use it as a warning or an alert for aftershocks and other various emergencies.

He continued riding past the damaged church and stopped just in front of Victoria's tavern which had sustained noticeable damage as well. The tavern's facade had fallen along with the balcony, and the air was tainted with the scent of smoke.

"Woah," Diego commanded as he prepared to dismount.

He secured the horse in an area that was mostly free from debris and set upon his mission to find Victoria.

As his eyes scanned the pueblo he saw Padre Benitez comforting a family as well as several mothers attempting to console their children. Suddenly his eyes began to focus on the one person whom he desperately needed to speak with. Victoria was alive and did not appear to be majorly wounded. His fears and worries dissolved, but concern lingered. She was wearing her night shift with a modest red cloak over it which reminded him of the color of the chili peppers that she cooked with. He silently watched her as she gazed at her damaged tavern. Her face had been blackened by whatever had caused the smell of smoke in the air.

Diego carefully made his way to where she stood and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Victoria turned to him and collapsed into his arms. "I think it can be saved, perhaps," Victoria calmly said. She was putting on a brave face and was attempting to think rationally. Any person in the pueblo observing the display of affection between them would only see a friend comforting and consoling a friend who is distraught from the current circumstances. Frankly he didn't give a damn who saw him hugging Victoria at the moment.

"Did everyone make it out safely?" Diego asked as he took in all of the visible damage to the outside of the building.

Victoria took a deep breath and stepped away from him.

"Yes, and the guests were essential in helping to stomp out the fires that were inside from when the lamps crashed from the shaking," she answered.

"The water container over by the smithy was damaged and everyone including the guests were doing their best to collect some of the water in buckets to put out the fires around the pueblo before the barrel became empty," she quickly added.

Diego felt the mental pull to help with treatment of possible wounds and helping where he could.

"We should try to offer our help to those who are injured," he said to Victoria just before whispering, "and then you will return to the hacienda with me."

He wondered why he had felt the need to whisper that part to her. She had stayed overnight before at the hacienda. He turned and began to walk among the distraught families who were all attempting to make sense of the earthquake. Victoria was only a few steps behind him. Diego could see that Dr. Hernandez was busy examining a man's wounds. He could hear him discussing a possible amputation of the man's leg with the man and his wife. From what he could gather from their discussion, the man had been pulled out from under a collapsed roof. He was also following the sound of groaning as he had been eavesdropping on the doctor's conversation. The groaning led him to a middle aged man who was pacing back and forth in front of the moderately damaged market.

"I have some medical experience, let me look at that wound," Diego said to the man as he convinced him to allow him to assess his injuries.

The man appeared to recognize him.

"De la Vega, you are a well educated man, I trust that you could possibly help," the man said through gritted teeth.

He held out his arm and revealed a burn from his palm that spread up to his elbow.

"Victoria, please bring a bottle of vinegar and a container of egg whites to me," Diego instructed.

"Egg whites and vinegar," she repeated as if making a mental note.

The man looked at them with a dumbfounded expression.

"I was going to slather on a bit of axle grease over the burn," the man casually responded to Diego's treatment plan.

"I would prefer to treat your burn with egg whites which will provide a sanitary seal and keep the wound from drying out rather than unsanitary axle grease,'' he informed the man.

When Victoria had returned with the egg whites and vinegar Diego poured the vinegar on the burn. The man jumped slightly from the uncomfortable feeling of the vinegar cleansing the burn. Victoria helped to apply the egg whites over the man's burn while Diego looked across the pueblo to assess how many people would continue to need his help. The man with the burn thanked Diego and Victoria for their help and promised to return the favor.

As they walked along the pueblo in search of the next person who needed their help, they came across Sargent Mendoza who looked as if he was trying to hide being in pain.

"Sargent Mendoza, are you alright?" Victoria asked. Mendoza looked at her as if he were debating on how to respond.

"I tried to pick up the mission bell to make it ring as an alarm, but I only managed to hurt my back," the haphazard soldier admitted.

"I think I just might have a remedy for that," Diego assured him. He turned to Victoria and instructed her to bring a pot of honey and crushed pepper.

As he waited for her to return he instructed Mendoza to remove his jacket and shirt. "If you say so," Mendoza replied. Victoria returned with the requested items as Diego was pushing his jacket and shirt sleeves up above his elbows. He made a paste of the honey and crushed peppers and then began to apply it to the entirety of Sargent Mendoza's back.

"Sleep with this mixture on your back overnight," he instructed Mendoza.

"Gracias Diego, I am so grateful for your help," Mendoza exclaimed.

As soon as Sargent Mendoza had walked away he felt a tug on his arm. A shy young girl was pointing at a man across from where they were standing.

"Papa needs help!" she excitedly yelled before running back to the man across from them.

Diego and Victoria glanced at each other before heading over to help their next quake victim.

"I can't seem to put weight on my left foot," the man the girl had called Papa explained.

Diego began to examine the man's leg, ankle, and foot. He found no evidence of any breaks. The man grimaced when Diego manipulated his left ankle.

"I believe that you have a sprained ankle," he informed the injured man.

Diego scratched his head as he made his request, "Victoria, for this injury I will need a paste made from a mashed onion with salt and olives, as well as something that could be used as a wrap.

As she went to prepare the mixture that he had requested Diego assessed the minor cuts and abrasions on the man's arms and hands. They were easily treatable. He cleaned the abrasions with the vinegar he still had with him and applied some of the honey from the pot on the abrasions as an antiseptic. When Victoria returned with the odd smelling mixture of onions and olives, he applied it to the sprained area of the man's ankle. He wrapped a linen bandage in a figure eight around the ankle and secured it with hair pins that Victoria had brought along with it.

For the next hour or so they continued to work as a team to treat injuries. Dr. Hernandez had thanked them profusely for helping to lighten his load of work with treating injuries throughout the night. The sun had been rising over the east, but for now the tavern was unsafe to enter to prepare breakfast or any of the other meals of the day. DeSoto had also begun to strut around the pueblo like an arrogant peacock after finally making an appearance. He had gone back to bed after the shaking from the earthquake had stopped.

"We should probably head on to the Hacienda to get some rest," Diego suggested to Victoria.

Victoria yawned as she pondered his suggestion. "I agree with you wholeheartedly," she answered.