Chapter 20

The following months until the birth went by quickly and rather uneventful. The pueblo was finally at peace with their new alcalde Alejandro de la Vega.

Victoria had to cope with her growing belly and all the inconveniences of her pregnancy. Diego tried to pamper her as much as possible and the relief about the outcome of the trial helped her to relax. Now she no longer needed to fear for the life of her husband and the family was reconciled. She had the company of her friends and her family. The only one who was missing in their life was Felipe who had written the last time from the harbor of Rio de Janeiro before his ship crossed the Atlantic ocean heading for Spain.

Alejandro was a regular visitor at his son's hacienda, spending more evenings and dinners with them than at his own home. He had been away on a campaign as a soldier when his son Diego had been born and he had missed the changes a child went through in the early months after birth. With his grandchildren he wanted to be there and see them.

At the birth both Dr. Hernandez and her friend Helene were present who helped her with their experience and to everyone's relief the birth went well.

"How's Victoria?" Diego asked the doctor who had finally come out of Victoria's room. "Is it over?Is the child alright?"

The doctor grinned at him. "Congratulations, Don Diego, your wife and your sons are alright."

"Sons? There are twins?"

"Sometimes it runs in the family, Don Diego. Your father was a twin and you were one too. It shouldn't surprise you."

"I never thought about that, doctor. Can I see Victoria now?" Diego asked impatiently.

"Yes, but don't take too long. Your wife needs rest now."

Happily, Diego rushed into the room, but he stopped when he saw Victoria lying on the bed, her eyes closed. Silently, because he didn't want to disturb her, he approached the bed and the cradle beside it.

"Diego?" Victoria had expected him and opened her eyes when he sat down on the bedside.

"Are you alright, Victoria?"

"Yes, I'm tired and happy."

"I'm happy too and very proud of you." Diego kissed her. "They are so tiny and so perfect." Diego marveled at the sight of his two sons who were sleeping in the cradle.

Z Z Z

Two months later Diego and his father were sitting at a game of chess in Diego's library after dinner while Victoria had already gone to bed after tending her sons.

There was a knocking at the door and Alejandro looked up surprised. "Do you expect someone, Diego?"

A few minutes later the servant led their visitor into the library. It took them a minute to recognize him, but then they both jumped up from their seats in surprise.

"Felipe!" Diego hugged him happily and then it was Alejandro's turn to embrace and pat him. "Son, we have missed you!" All had tears in their eyes.

"I hardly recognize you, Felipe." Diego said after the initial greeting. The boy who had been gone for nearly a year had changed a lot while he had been away. He had grown by some inches and he had also gained weight in muscles. His appearance had changed from that of the lean boy to that of a tall muscular man.

Felipe grinned broadly, happy to be back home.

The chess board was set aside and after some refreshments were served, both Diego and Alejandro started to question him about his journey.

Felipe told them a little of the harbors and cities he had seen on his way to Spain, but didn't go too much into detail. Diego, who could read him best, wasn't quite sure if it was because he was too excited to take the time to make all the signs or because there were things Felipe didn't want to talk about. They would talk in private during the next days.

After he had answered a lot of questions, Felipe wanted to get an update about the events in the pueblo and what had happened in the family during his absence. From the harbor in San Pedro, he had gone directly to the de la Vega hacienda and had been scared a little to find the house dark. The servants had told him where to find his brother and father. He was happy to see the family reconciled and asked about Victoria.

"Victoria has already gone to bed, but I have to show you someone." Smiling, Diego led Felipe to the nursery, signing to make no noise.

Surprised, Felipe looked at the two babies in the cradles. 'Twins?' Felipe signed. Diego nodded happily. "Your nephews!"

'Two boys?'

"Juan Alfonso and Jaime Alejandro!"

Felipe hugged Diego, congratulating him. After they had returned to the library to join Alejandro, Diego and his father told him in turns of the events during his absence.

'De Soto at the Amazonian campaign, no more Zorro and father is now alcalde?' Felipe could hardly believe the news.

It was already very late when they finally stopped talking. Diego offered Felipe a room, but Felipe shook his head. He wanted to get home and that was his old room at the de la Vega hacienda. Diego understood and Alejandro was happy to have his adoptive son returning home with him. Both promised to return the next day to talk more.

Z Z Z

The next day Diego took Felipe for a walk around the hacienda showing him his progress with the vineyard and the new foals who were sired by Toronado and promised to be a good base for Diego's horse breeding.

Leaning against the fence of Toronado's corral, Diego turned to Felipe. "What are your plans now, Felipe? I had expected you to go to the university in Madrid after your ship arrived in Spain. What made you change your mind and return home?"

Felipe put his arms on the top of the fence and stared at the horse playing around in the corral without actually seeing him. While Diego waited patiently for Felipe to turn back to him, he noted the changes in the young man that were more obvious in broad daylight than they had been yesterday evening.

The time Felipe had spent among the ship crew had changed him in body and mind. He had gained strong muscles from the hard work on board the ship, pulling ropes, climbing on masts and storing heavy cargo. At the same time his look had become less open and more withdrawn. He reminded Diego of the young child he had brought back to Los Angeles, suffering from the horrors on the battlefield. Diego wondered what had happened to Felipe to withdraw into himself again.

"Do you want to talk?" Diego asked quietly.

'I want to be a veterinarian,' Felipe signed, turning around.

"A veterinarian?" Diego asked surprised. "Why do you want to treat animals instead of humans? You would a good doctor and you have already some experiences from treating me when I was injured as Zorro. Doctor Hernandez would take you as his assistant if you wanted."

Felipe shook his head, pointed at Toronado and made a few signs that Diego didn't understand.

'I want to treat animals and not humans,' Felipe said. 'Animals are better, they are not like', Felipe made a sign of disgust.

"What has happened, Felipe, that has changed your opinion about humans so much that you want to turn to animals instead?" Diego asked shocked.

'Men are worse than animals,' Felipe signed. 'Animals aren't bad and they take you for who you are. If I become a veterinarian, it doesn't matter if I can speak or not. I don't need to ask them questions or talk with them to find out what ails them.'

"I understand that it is most convenient, Felipe, that you can help others even if you can't speak or very little, but you still haven't told me what has happened." Diego said. "You know that you can trust me and I have never judged you for anything you have done."

'I haven't done anything,' Felipe slumped on a fallen log a few feet away from the corral. His arms braced on his knees, he looked on the ground between his feet.

Diego sat down silently next to the young man, waiting for Felipe to continue. Felipe kicked some small stones forward and back on the ground between his boots, before he finally looked up again. 'I don't know how to start,' he signed, but Diego was simply waiting for him, demanding nothing.

Felipe took a heart and slowly began to tell Diego what had disturbed him so much. It took him some time to express his tale in signs and make Diego understand, but Diego could draw the right conclusions what Felipe was trying to tell him.

During his trip as a crew member Felipe had made friends with the other sailors and they had accepted him as one of them. Felipe had enjoyed to be a member of a team where nothing had been expected from him. The other sailors had easily accepted that he didn't talk and started to understand his signing. Felipe had spent all his time with them, learning the trade and enjoying the hard work on board of the ship. Before the ship left the last harbor on in South America to cross the Atlantic ocean, the crew had decided without telling him to give him a treat and make a man out of the boy. A few of his crew member had asked him to join them on a tour of the harbor and celebrate.

When Felipe had agreed, they had led the young man to a house where several young women were waiting to serve him and his friends. He had reluctantly agreed when one of the young woman who was about his age had asked him to follow her upstairs. Once they were in the room with the large bed in the center, Felipe had finally realized what it was about. The young woman had asked him to undress and go to bed with her. When he made no move, the woman told him that his comrades had already paid her to make a man out of him.

Felipe had been too shocked and had left the house in a run, not bothering to talk with his comrades.

' I could not do it,' he signed Diego. 'It should not be like this, something you pay for!' Felipe looked at Diego expressing his inner turmoil.

'You raised me to treat women with respect and to honor them. I remembered how Zorro courted Victoria and how you acted as a gentleman while showing her your love. These sailors...,' Felipe stopped for a moment searching for the right expression.

'They treated them like goods that could be bought and used. They were no better than animals. They were like pigs and they wanted me to become like them. At that moment I realized that I had nothing in common with them and that I would never be like them. All I wanted was to get back home, but the ship had already set sail for Spain.'

"I'm sorry, Felipe," Diego said sympathetically. The sailors had meant him well wanting to make a man out of him, but even though Felipe hadn't taken the offer, he lost something. Like Mendoza at the trial, Felipe had lost his innocence and his childlike view of the world and the good in people. Diego was mourning for both of them. "What did you do then?"

'The trip across the ocean was a torture and I couldn't wait for it to end. When I arrived in Cadiz, I made use of the allowance father had granted me when he adopted me and booked the next ship back to California. I didn't want to spend another trip among the crew or hear their talks. I wanted to get home to California. On my trip home I decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to treating animals on the hacienda. Horses are beautiful animals and they will never treat you wrong, unless you mistreat them first and they will always be loyal to you.'

"Felipe, I understand that your encounter in the bordello has been a shock for you. Though you went through a lot at a young age, losing your parents under such terrible circumstances, I have tried to shelter you from that side of life as much as I could. I am sorry you were confronted with the harsh realities of life in such a way."

'You knew that? Have you ever been to a bordello?'

"No, I haven't, but I was aware what was going on in these houses that you will find in every harbor in every corner of the world. The women who are working there have no other choice to support themselves. In one of my nightmares I saw Victoria turning her tavern into a bordello and becoming a whore herself and it was the worst thing I could ever imagine." Felipe looked shocked at Diego's confession.

Diego put his hand on Felipe's shoulder. "You said that the sailors were like pigs, but it doesn't mean that every man is like that just like not every woman is a whore. Give yourself time and you will realize that most of the people you know have the same values in life than you do. They want to get married and have a family and they know that women are to be treated with respect."

'You believe that?' Felipe asked him insecurely.

"I'm sure of it and I wouldn't have raised you like I did if I didn't believe in all the things I taught you," Diego assured him.

'Maybe you are right, but I still can't forget and it doesn't change anything about my decision to become a veterinarian.'

"Felipe, there is no reason to decide right now about your future, but if you want to stick to your decision, then I will help you. Your arguments concerning your inability to speak are valid and working with animals will make your work easier for you. A good veterinarian will always be needed on the haciendas in and around Los Angeles."

'Do you agree with my decision?' Felipe asked timidly.

"Yes, of course, Felipe. You have always been good with animals, especially with horses."

Relieved, Felipe started to explain his plans, showing Diego that he had thought it through thoroughly. Felipe talked about the veterinarian in Santa Paula who he wanted to ask to take him as apprentice and that he wanted to continue living on the de la Vega hacienda when he was not staying in Santa Paula learning his future profession. He didn't want to inherit the hacienda either, but wanted them to go to Diego's sons instead.

"I realize that you have given everything much thought," Diego smiled, relieved to see Felipe in a better mood who seemed to have finally found his profession though Diego wasn't sure that it was for the right reasons.

A/N: I am planning to write a short epilogue I need to think of, but except for that the story is finished and I will mark the story as complete after I posted the epilogue.