By: Ruth Petroni

Chapter 1

"Illya, I don’t care what you say." Napoleon Solo’s voice changed, he was now using what everyone called his Chief Enforcement Agent voice. "You are spending Christmas day with Aunt Amy and myself."

Illya Kuryakin had experienced the voice more times than he wanted to since he began partnering with the young American. "Napoleon, I told you, I already have plans." He was beginning to get exasperated. They’d been having this argument off and on for the last week.

Kuryakin hopped quickly out of the car as Solo came to a complete stop in from of the power plant that they were supposed to infiltrate. His expression became completely businesslike. "Now, how big is this power cell we’re looking for?"

Napoleon could see by the expression on his friend’s face that he should wait until later to get back to his Christmas plan for his partner. But, he couldn’t help himself, "Illya, you are joining us for Christmas, if I have to drag you kicking and screaming." He got out of the car and joined his partner. "The power cell is eight inches tall, give or take an inch or two."

The two men looked at each other, silently agreeing that they would continue their Christmas discussion later.

Solo pulled his special out of it’s holster and started towards the power plant, holding his gun ready. "According to Mr. Waverly’s information the new cell is supposed to be on the ground floor. The plant is closed today so there should only be two or three guards."

The two men slipped quietly through a small gap in the gate and headed towards the plant. They split up, each one moving along a wall headed towards the main door of the power plant. Illya reached the door first, pulling a small lock pick from his cuff, he had the door ready to open as Solo approached.

"It’s too quiet," Napoleon said anxiously, "Have you seen any guards?"

Illya shook his head, turning the knob and opening the door. They both jumped as two loud alarms began going off. Illya tried to pull the door closed but someone from the other side pulled it all the way open, he saw a gun in the man’s hand and hearing a shot was almost surprised not to feel a bullet.

The man fell to the ground with a thud, Napoleon pushed his body out of the way, pulling the door closed with one hand while holding his still smoking gun in the other.

Throwing his partner a quick look of gratitude, Illya dodged behind a pipe and was just starting back towards the gate when he heard Solo.

"Illya, get down," came a loud shout from his partner.

Kuryakin felt a hard push in his back as he heard the words. Not prepared for the shove he lost his balance, hitting his head hard against another pipe lying on the ground. He lay there for half a second stunned, shaking his head, trying to get his vision to clear.

"Come on." Solo hissed at him, "Let’s get out of here." He grabbed his partner’s arm and pulling him up literally dragged him to the gate. Pulling and pushing Illya all the way they got through the gate and were headed for their car when they saw a jeep stopped beside it with three armed guards just waiting for them. "This way." Solo said as he continued to pull on his friend’s arm.

The two men ran between two of the warehouses then ducked across an alley and around two more warehouses with Solo still holding tight to the arm of his dazed partner. They stopped to catch their breath and realized they were not being followed.

"That was close." Illya said calmly, sitting down on the stoop of the warehouse they were in front of, putting his head in his hands. "We almost didn’t have to argue about Christmas anymore." He looked up at his partner.

Napoleon was leaning against the wall, pulling his communicator out of his jacket. "Open Channel D." He said quickly.

"Yes Mr. Solo?" Waverly’s voice came back instantly.

"Sir, it was a trap. I need an ambulance at." He stopped to look at the address of the warehouse as his friend interrupted.

"Napoleon, I don’t need an ambulance." Illya was perturbed; it wasn’t like his friend to be this over protective. He stood up, ready to do battle.

Solo turned to him, a strange look on his face, as he handed him his communicator. "No Illya, but I do." He sank down onto the stoop his partner had just been sitting on, turning enough that Kuryakin could see a knife jutting out of the left side of the young American’s chest.

Illya grabbed the communicator. "Sir, we’re in the warehouse district. Two blocks east of the power plant, get an ambulance here as quick as you can." He closed the communicator, not waiting for an answer and knelt down to help his partner. "How bad is it?"

Solo smiled a weak smile at him, "Let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be going dancing tonight. Come on, get it out." He reached up for the knife.

Illya grabbed his hand stopping him, "Napoleon, don’t. It’s awfully close to the artery, I don’t want to move it." He’d taken a good look at the knife. It was stuck tight, forming a plug in the wound. "Let’s let the doctor take it out. You just sit here and we’ll wait for the ambulance."

Illya shifted to sit next to his friend, allowing Napoleon to lay his head on his shoulder. Sliding his left arm around his partner he held him tightly, giving him warmth from his body.

Napoleon raised his head up a fraction, "Illya, please come to Christmas with us." He said plaintively.

Kuryakin’s facial expression turned to one of exasperation. "You know this isn’t fair?"

Napoleon looked back at him, a wry grin on his face. "I know, but I have to take any advantage I can get with you." He lay his head back down on the solid shoulder, seemingly exhausted.

Illya pulled him a little tighter. "Napoleon, why in the hell couldn’t you just tell me to duck?" Hearing a small gasp, he looked down at his friend. Solo had passed out. Being very careful not to touch the knife, he brought his right arm up and putting it around his partner held him tightly, waiting for the ambulance.

Chapter 2

When the ambulance pulled up the two attendants hopped out bringing the stretcher over to the two men. Refusing any help, Illya stood up and tenderly lowered his friend onto the stretcher, standing and watching as the attendants loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"I’m going to try to get Napoleon’s car, I’ll meet you guys at headquarters." Illya said as he took three steps away from the ambulance. He turned to watch as the first attendant climbed into the back and the second one started to close the door. Just as the door was closing Illya froze for a second, paralyzed with fear. The attendant sitting beside the stretcher was reaching for the knife.

Yelling "No!" Illya ran towards the ambulance, diving through the door just as the attendant pulled the knife from Napoleon’s chest. Climbing in swiftly, Illya scooped up a towel and pushed past the attendant. He climbed on the stretcher and straddled Napoleon putting firm pressure on the now gushing wound. "What in the hell did you think you were doing, that knife was near an artery." Kuryakin shouted angrily.

The attendant just looked at him, shocked.

Illya didn’t waste any more time with the attendant, "Get this thing moving, I want the closest emergency room." He concentrated on staunching the flow of blood. He felt the ambulance start to move but didn’t have time to worry about anything but his partner.

It seemed like forever before the ambulance came to a full stop, Kuryakin continued to hold the towel down with all of his strength until they were ready to unload the stretcher. He stepped out quickly then climbed back on the stretcher to once again straddle his partner and hold the towel down over the wound. He barely took time to notice that they were at headquarters and not at the hospital as they rushed the stretcher in through the door and into the medical department.

Doctor Frank Morgan met them at the door.

"I think the knife clipped an artery Frank," Illya said without looking up from his task. "He’s been gushing blood since your attendant pulled the knife out, about five minutes ago."

Morgan didn’t hesitate steering the stretcher over to the medical bed.

Illya slid off the stretcher, allowing his hands to be replaced by the Doctor then turning to help lift Napoleon onto the bed. He moved back out of the way, staying close enough to watch while the Doctors and Nurses tried to save his partner’s life. After a minute or two, Illya turned hearing a small sound behind him.

It was the attendant from the ambulance. "I’m sorry…." he started to say.

He was interrupted as Kuryakin punched him in the mouth.

It was two hours before Morgan felt comfortable enough to leave his patient and talk to Illya. "Illya," he began.

Not liking the tone of his voice Illya interrupted him; "Will he live?"

Morgan nodded. "Illya, he’s in a coma. He lost more blood than his body could handle. We’re replacing it as quickly as we can, but I can’t tell you when or if he’ll come out of the coma."

Kuryakin began walking in the direction of his friend. Morgan stopped him by laying a hand on his shoulder. "We’ll be moving him to a room of his own shortly. You can see him then."

"Thank you Frank," Illya said quietly, his voice breaking. He turned abruptly and headed out the door to his office.

Illya slammed the door of the office behind him as he went in. He started around towards his desk, hitting his foot against a chair. He kicked it hard, then looked at it, realizing it was Napoleon’s chair he’d just kicked he stopped. Grabbing the chair and sliding it back over to the desk, he sat down on it and laying his head in his hands, he shook with emotion.

Chapter 3

When Napoleon came back to awareness, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn’t in any pain. Considering the knife wound that he had and the fact that he was headed for surgery he expected to be in a great deal of pain when he woke up. Opening his eyes, he realized something else wasn’t quite right. He was standing up.

Looking around, he realized that he was in the medical center and that there were two doctors and a nurse working on someone in a bed. Terrified that he had some sort of memory loss and that was his partner on the bed, he walked swiftly over to the bedside.

"What’s going on Frank?" he asked quietly, trying not to startle any of the medical personnel. Morgan ignored him. Solo walked right up beside the bed to check on the condition of his partner, as he got close he stopped dead, shocked. It wasn’t Illya on the bed. It was him.

Napoleon wavered for a second, then leaned forward to lay his hand on the bed to steady himself. It wouldn’t support him; his hand went right through it. Dumbstruck he thought to himself, boy, I must have had a hell of a night. Assuming he was having a dream, he reached his hand out to touch the silent form on the bed. It was solid, his hand stopped on the face. It was warm. Reaching over he tried to touch the doctors and nurse; his hand went right through them.

Stopping for a second, he listened in on the conversation, "We’ve given him four units of blood so far Doctor, but there’s no sign of him coming out of the coma." The nurse said.

Solo tried to assimilate what he was hearing and seeing, none of it made sense. He had to find Illya. Walking over towards the door, he reached for the knob. His hand passed right through it also. Taking the bull by the horns, Napoleon walked right through the door into the hallway. Wild, he thought to himself.

Figuring he just might find his partner in their office, he headed in that direction. Napoleon tried to say hello to each person he passed. Not one of them replied or even acknowledged him; it was as though he was invisible. Arriving at the door to the office, Solo automatically reached for the knob before remembering there was no point. He walked through that door too.

Napoleon stepped into the office, stopping dead at the sight that greeted him. Illya was sitting at Solo’s desk, still wearing his bloody clothes, his head held in his hands. Napoleon walked over to him and even knowing it wouldn’t do any good, tried to touch his friend on the shoulder. His partner’s body was warm and solid under his touch, but there was no reaction from his friend.

"Illya," he said quietly. Keeping his hand on his partner’s shoulder.

Kuryakin’s head snapped up, he looked around the room and saw that there was no one there, he shook his head hard as though to clear it.

"Illya," Napoleon said again.

Illya’s head snapped around to look in the direction Napoleon was standing, as though he was expecting to see someone, but knowing that there couldn’t be any one there. He stood up quickly and throwing the door open, walked out of the office.

Solo followed right behind him. Waiting until his partner closed the door, Napoleon walked right up behind him again. "Illya, you need to go clean up and get changed." He whispered right into his friend’s ear.

Kuryakin froze, his head whipping sideways, looking around again. "I’m losing it," he said to himself, but he turned, heading in the direction of the locker room.

"Not bad." Solo said as he followed him down the hall. Then stopped, thinking about it, he decided to wander around headquarters while his friend changed.

He was having so much fun wandering in and out of offices that he totally lost track of the time. When he looked at his watch he was surprised to discover that it had been two hours since he’d last seen Illya.

Deciding it was time to find his partner, Napoleon headed back for their office. There was no sign of him, he wandered around headquarters again, this time searching before finally realizing he hadn’t checked his own hospital room, he headed in that direction.

Walking through the door, Napoleon stopped, stunned. His stoic young Russian partner, who had never allowed anyone to see his emotions, was sitting at his bedside, Solo’s hand clutched tightly in his own, tears running silently down his cheeks. He had to get closer to hear what he was saying.

"Come on Napoleon," Illya said quietly, "It’s time for you to wake up now. I need you, how am I supposed to save the world without you? I haven’t learned enough from you yet." Kuryakin’s voice cracked, "This isn’t the way it’s supposed to end. My life is not worth your death. So, come on, it’s time to wake up."

Napoleon came up to stand behind him, "Illya," he said almost in a whisper.

Kuryakin stopped talking, wiping his eyes. "Napoleon?" he said out loud. Looking quickly over at the comatose form of his friend. Seeing that Solo wasn’t awake, Illya shook his head again, hard.

"Illya, I’m right here, behind you." Napoleon lay his hands on his friend’s shoulders.

Illya started to get angry. "I don’t know who it is playing this game…."

Napoleon interrupted him. "Illya, this is no game, I don’t understand it either, but I’m standing right here behind you. I can touch you, but you can’t feel it, I can speak but you’re the only one who can hear me when I talk out loud. You’re the only one." Solo emphasized the last phrase again.

Illya stood up, turning to face the direction his partner’s voice was coming from. He thought about it for a second, "It’s not possible," he said out loud.

"Partner, I’m standing right here. I can answer any questions that you want." Solo moved right up to his friend. "Just ask me."

Kuryakin thought about it for a minute. "Okay," his expression was still puzzled, but he was willing to go along with the joke. "Back when we were in that warehouse a few months ago, I asked you a couple of questions. What was your answer to the one I asked about why you joined U.N.C.L.E. before you told me why you really did?"

Napoleon racked his brain before remembering his flip answer. "I said it seemed like a good idea at the time." He moved quickly, getting closer to his partner so he could watch his face.

Illya looked stunned. "This is impossible! How?" He looked around the room, trying to see any sign of his partner. There was none.

"Illya, I have no idea what’s going on, but I know one thing. It’s time for you to get out of here and get back to work. You don’t belong in here, blaming yourself for something that was my choice." Solo tried to keep his tone level, but even his partner could hear the concern.

"Napoleon, I’m going to say it again, this is impossible." He turned back to look at his friend’s comatose body, still lying on the bed, not seeing the door beginning to open. "Solo, you have to…."

"Illya, shh, someone’s here." Napoleon spoke quickly as Doctor Morgan entered the room.

"Illya, are you alright?" Morgan said quietly looking at the man, worry showing on his face. "Can I help you with anything?"

Kuryakin turned quickly, trying not to jump in surprise, "Frank, no, I’m fine, I was just talking out loud. I guess I was hoping it would bring some kind of reaction." He walked back over to the chair, sitting back down and taking his friend’s hand again. "Napoleon, I have to get back to work now, I’ll be back later." He gave the hand a small squeeze, then standing up, walked past Morgan and out of the room.

Hurrying down the hallway, Illya went into his and Napoleon’s office. Making sure to lock the door as he walked over to sit at his own desk. "Napoleon?" he said quietly, looking in the direction of his partner’s desk. "Are you here?"

Solo, who had followed his friend into the office walked over and touched his own chair. It was solid to his touch. He thought about it for a minute. Anything that was his, he seemed to be able to touch, including his partner. Everything else he was unable to make any kind of contact at all. "I’m still here Illya." He replied, as he sat down at his own desk.

"Napoleon, what in the hell is going on?" The expression on Illya’s face would have been priceless in any other instance. He turned to face the direction of his partner’s voice.

"Illya, I’m don’t know, but I think we both need to take advantage of it." Solo’s tone had become serious. "We can use this to our advantage, just think what we can do to Thrush right now."

Kuryakin’s expression changed to one of concern. "Napoleon, what about you, how long can your," he paused, "Your body, survive without you?"

Solo paused, he hadn’t even thought of this, "Illya, I’m not even sure why I’m here with you right now, but until something else happens, I think it’s time for us to get back to work, don’t you?"

Illya took a deep breath, "This has got to be the weirdest thing." He stopped, "Solo, I have to admit, being partnered with you is never dull. Okay, let’s get to work. I think we should head back for that power plant and find the power cell. What do you think?"

"Illya, you’re in charge, it seems I’m just along for the ride." Solo smiled, even though he knew his partner couldn’t see it. "You’re going to have to take my car, otherwise, I get to walk all the way there. I sure hope someone picked it up." He watched as his partner stood up and headed towards the door. "I take it we’re in a hurry?"

Kuryakin stopped for a second, "I have plans for later on, but if we hurry we’ve got enough time to get our mission accomplished, and yes, your car is in the garage, I had it picked up." He opened the door and walked out of the office, assuming his partner would follow.

Chapter 4

Illya actually had to laugh as he pulled Napoleon’s convertible out of the parking garage. The expression on the attendant’s face had been priceless when he’d requested his partner’s car. Everybody knew that Napoleon Solo preferred that no one, including his partner, drive his car.

"That’s a nice sound Tovarisch." Solo said to his friend from the passenger seat. "If I’d known it would make you laugh like that I’d have let you drive my car sooner."

Kuryakin didn’t even bother to turn to look this time; he was actually getting the hang of an invisible partner. "Well, you have to admit that look was hysterical. I think he was actually expecting you to show up and blame him for me taking the car."

Solo laughed lightly, "You know, you could let me drive. The car is perfectly solid to me."

Illya did turn his head on that one, laughing out loud. "It might actually be worth getting pulled over to see the officer’s face." His face turned suddenly serious, "Napoleon, you’re here and your…" He paused again, "Your body is back at the hospital. How is this possible?"

"Illya," Solo replied quietly, "I quit second guessing our miracles after we survived the first and second unsurvivable missions. I don’t know what is special about our partnership, but I’m beginning to think that anything is possible." His tone grew somber, "Let’s just get this mission done and see exactly what happens next okay?"

"Sounds good to me."

If Illya could have seen his partner’s face, he would have seen the mischievous look appear. "You are going to spend Christmas with Aunt Amy and I now aren’t you?"

Kuryakin looked relieved as they pulled back up in front of the power plant. Things were actually getting back to normal. He decided to ignore the question. "Okay, I take it you’re coming in with me. How do we want to play this?" He turned to look in the direction of his partner. "Do you want to go in first and let me know where the guards are?"

Solo had already climbed out of the car and had walked right through the fence. "You know what Tovarisch, this is a lot easier when you’re a ghost. Hey, not bad, I’m your ghost of Christmas present." He laughed heartily; stopping when he saw his friend wasn’t laughing. "Illya, what’s wrong?"

Kuryakin had choked up for a second, taking a deep breath to get his emotions under control. "Napoleon, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about yourself like that. I don’t believe in ghosts and you are definitely not one, okay?" He slipped through the same small gap in the gate he’d gone through earlier. "Come on, let’s get this done, I’ve got other things to do."

Solo walked straight up the middle of the power plant, watching as his partner slipped back against a wall and worked his way to the door. Napoleon walked through the door and seeing there were no guards, stuck his head back out, "All clear in here, move to the right as you step through the door, I’m heading further in, I’ll be right back."

Illya picked the lock on the door and opened it quickly, ducking low and moving to the right to wait for his friend. He’d been waiting only a few seconds before he heard his partner’s voice again.

"Okay Illya, there are two guards twenty steps down the hall. They’re both facing the other way so you should have no problem taking them both out before they can react." Solo’s voice had gotten deeper as he realized that even though he was here and helping out, there was really nothing he could do if Illya got into trouble. "Take it slow, okay. Give me a chance to check out in front of them."

Solo was talking to air. Kuryakin had started moving the second his friend told him where the guards were.

"Illya?"

Illya looked in the direction of his partner’s voice, raising his finger to his lips and pointing back at himself.

Solo got the message quickly; his partner didn’t want to risk anyone hearing a voice. "Okay partner, I’ll be back in a second." He headed down the hall, stopping between the two guards. "They’re right here."

Kuryakin headed in the direction of his friend’s voice, pulling out his gun and checking the load to be sure it was loaded with sleep darts. He didn’t hesitate, shooting both men from behind and watching as they crumpled to the ground. "Napoleon," he whispered quietly.

"Right here, Tovarisch. You’re safe the rest of the way down this hall. There are two more guards posted in the next room. One twenty feet in and three feet to your right. The other on the left and straight ahead."

Illya moved ahead, ducking low as he came into the next room and firing rapidly, taking out both of the new guards. "Okay," he whispered again, "Have you seen the power cell?" He scanned the new room when he didn’t get an answer, seeing a strange looking engine on a large table in the corner of the room, he moved swiftly over to it, reaching to open a door on the engine, he pulled out the small power cell, sliding it into his pocket and turning back towards the door.

Solo had been checking out the other rooms, finding no one else in the building he’d just returned to his friend when he saw a guard sneaking up behind his partner. "Illya duck and roll, behind you." He yelled, holding his breath as his partner rolled spun and fired his gun.

The guard fell, out cold. Kuryakin stood back up, moving back against a wall where he leaned for a second to regain his breath. "Thank…"

Napoleon interrupted him; "hey the rules haven’t changed. No thank yous." Solo was talking trying to calm himself back down. "Let’s get the hell out of here." He watched as Illya started back down the hall, running quickly to get ahead of him to keep watch.

Illya wasn’t waiting for any more help, he had what he’d come for and wanted to get out as badly as his friend did. He moved swiftly down the hall and was just reaching for the knob at the main entrance when he heard his partner’s voice again.

"Illya, stop. There’s another guard waiting outside the door." Solo’s voice had a faint note of fear in it for his partner. "He’s up on the second level at about two o’clock as you come out the door."

Kuryakin didn’t wait; he pulled the door open and diving through, fired as he hit the ground. This guard wasn’t as lucky as the others, he fell over the railing, falling the twenty feet and hitting the ground with a thud. Illya was already slipping through the gap in the gate and headed for the car. It took him less than a minute to start the car and he was pulling away as Napoleon hopped over the door and joined him.

"Napoleon?"

"Right here Tovarisch." Solo was trying to keep his voice level while he took deep breaths to calm himself back down. He had never been so afraid in his life, unable to help and watching while his partner was in danger. All he knew was this couldn’t continue, it had ceased to be fun when he discovered how useless he really was.

"Napoleon." Illya’s voice was calm and level the adrenaline gone now. "I have to make a stop on the way back to headquarters." He stated as he pulled into a parking lot. "Are you coming with me?"

"I think I’ll stay here." Solo had some thinking to do.

Illya was out of the car quickly and had gone into the store; Solo sat silently in the car, contemplating his problem. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he saw Illya coming out of the store carrying three large bags. Napoleon was just starting to get out of the car, when he realized he couldn’t move. Looking at his hand, it was beginning to fade. "Illya." He said nervously.

Hearing the tone of his partner’s voice, Kuryakin climbed back into the car rapidly. "Napoleon, are you alright?"

"Illya, I appear to be fading away….." Solo vanished from the car.

"Napoleon?" A look of concern crossed the young Russian’s face. "Napoleon?" When there was still no response he started the car and drove as fast as possible back to headquarters.

Pulling Solo’s car back into the garage, Kuryakin parked and grabbing the bags he’d gotten at the store, hurried through reception, stopping only long enough to grab a badge then running for his partner’s room. Reaching his friend’s bedside, he reached a gentle hand down to feel for a pulse. It was there, regular and strong, but his partner was still out cold.

Consciously working to calm his rapid heartbeat, Illya reached for the bags he’d brought with him and quickly pulled everything out of them. Working efficiently, he set everything up then reaching in the final bag, he pulled out a stack of books. Setting the entire stack down on the stand beside his partner’s bed, Illya reached over and pulled a chair up against the bed.

Sitting down in the chair, Illya reached over to pull the first book off the stack then taking his friend’s hand in his own, proceeded to read aloud.

Chapter 5

Frank Morgan entered Napoleon’s room early on Christmas Eve morning. He’d reviewed all the newest tests on the young American and just wanted to check on him.

He stopped short as the door closed behind him. The entire room had been decorated for Christmas. There was even a small tree standing in the corner of the room, decorated and lit.

Frank smiled as he spotted Illya Kuryakin sitting in a chair pulled tightly up against his partner’s bed. He was sound asleep, a book open on his lap, his friend’s hand held tightly. Morgan walked over to the sleeping man; reaching for the book he closed it and sat it on a stack sitting on the bedside stand. He smiled again as he read the title on the book, "A Christmas Carol."

Illya’s eyes opened as Morgan was reaching to wake him. "Frank?" he said quietly, blinking his eyes, trying to remember where he was. He looked embarrassed as he realized he was still clutching his partner’s hand, but maintained the tight grip.

"Good Morning Illya." Morgan kept his tone neutral, not acknowledging the man’s embarrassment. "I see Santa Claus was here a day early." He smiled gently at the agent’s discomfort. "You haven’t been here all night have you?"

Kuryakin moved his partner’s hand back to the bed then stood up, stretching his stiff body. "Not all night," he said quickly, avoiding the Doctor’s knowing eyes. "Well, I better get to work." He glanced one last time at Napoleon on the bed then walked out the door.

Illya headed for he and Napoleon’s office, barely sitting down when Solo’s secretary knocked, entering the room. "Illya, Mr. Waverly wants to see you." She said quietly, a look on her face that the young Russian recognized.

"There’s been no change." He turned to look at her as he headed back out the door towards Mr. Waverly’s office.

"Come in Mr. Kuryakin," It was almost calming how Mr. Waverly’s voice hardly ever changed.

Illya walked into the office and sat down in the chair opposite his boss.

Waverly looked his agent over for a moment, "How are you doing Mr. Kuryakin?"

Illya was puzzled for just a second, then he realized that Doctor Morgan had been talking to Mr. Waverly. "I’m fine sir, concerned about Napoleon but otherwise just fine."

Waverly must have liked what he saw because he got right down to business. "I was impressed with how you obtained that power cell Mr. Kuryakin. I’ll admit when Mr. Solo was injured I was concerned that you weren’t ready to be out on your own. But, it was a very well done mission."

"Thank you sir." Illya was embarrassed but knew he couldn’t let on to his boss that he hadn’t exactly finished the mission alone. Not unless he was prepared to spend a few days with U.N.C.L.E. shrinks, explaining a few things to them about invisible partners who seemed to be able to appear and disappear at will.

"I have a follow up mission for you Mr. Kuryakin," Waverly’s face was impassive, "Several of the components of the power cell have been identified as coming from a local smelting plant, which was supposedly closed down a year ago. I’d like you to check out the plant and ascertain if it really is closed?"

Thinking back to his partner in the medical section, Illya hesitated a second before answering, "Is it a local plant sir and do you wish this done today?"

Waverly had seen the hesitation and obviously knew the reason, "Yes to both questions." He handed Illya a folder. "All the details are in here and the sooner we know about the plant the better." He stopped for a second, "Mr. Kuryakin, I don’t expect you to break into the plant. We just need to know if someone is operating it."

Illya could tell by the tone of Mr. Waverly’s voice that the meeting was at an end. He stood up quickly and started out the door. "I’ll report in as soon as I get back sir." He walked out the door.

Chapter 6

Illya had just entered the elevator and was heading to the parking garage when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Good morning Tovarisch," came the bright voice of Napoleon Solo.

Illya nearly jumped out of his skin. "I wish you wouldn’t do that," he stated emphatically, than thinking about it he grinned, "I wasn’t sure if I had imagined you or not."

Solo smiled, even though he knew his partner couldn’t see him, "I said I was a ghost not a figment of your imagination. So, where are we headed today?"

Illya smiled again, "We’ve got one of your cake walks today. I just have to see if a local smelting plant is operating or not. Well, that is after I get past the parking attendant with your car again." Putting on a stern face as the elevator door opened, he headed into the garage.

It took less convincing to get Napoleon’s car this time and within five minutes they were headed towards the plant. Solo once again sitting in the passenger seat, almost enjoying his roll. With nothing to worry about on this run, he could simply give his friend a hard time and relish the fact that his partner couldn’t get back at him.

They’d been driving a few minutes when Illya spoke again, "Napoleon?"

"I’m still here Tovarisch." Solo replied laughingly.

Kuryakin expression was serious, "Napoleon, where did you go last night when you vanished?"

Napoleon paused a second to think about it. "You know, I hadn’t thought about it, but now that you ask, I’m not really sure. I don’t particularly remember being anywhere, but I do remember a voice."

"A voice?" Illya sounded puzzled.

"A familiar voice," Solo answered, "But I remember, I think it was stories. Christmas stories. I definitely remember hearing "A Christmas Carol" and I think there were others also." Napoleon turned to look at his friend.

A broad grin had appeared on Illya’s face, it looked so natural that it was hard to think how unusual it was for the young Russian.

Solo’s tone turned too one of confusion, "Okay Tovarisch, what do you know that I don’t?"

Illya’s smile turned almost mysterious. "Oh nothing, I was just wondering. Oops, I think we’re here." He changed the subject rapidly as he parked the car. "Do you want to check inside while I start in?" He climbed out of the car rapidly and headed in the direction of the smelting plant. "It looks deserted."

Napoleon had hopped quickly out of the car. Heading in the direction of the plant he tossed back over his shoulder, "I’ll be right back." He went inside the building.

Illya crept into the shadows, sneaking up to the plant, he was just headed around the side of the building towards the door when he was hit from behind and fell to the ground unconscious.

Solo barely had to enter the building before seeing piles of new equipment stacked along the walls of the plant. He headed quickly back through the door, moving in the direction he knew Illya would have gone. His partner was no where in sight. "Illya." He hollered loudly, knowing he didn’t have to worry about being overheard. There was no response. "Illya!" he yelled again, louder. There was still no response.

Not liking the worrying thoughts going through his head, Napoleon headed swiftly back into the plant. He ran through the building, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Illya!" He had run all the way to the back of the building before he heard any noise at all. There were voices coming from a small room. He ran hurriedly through the door of the room, stopping, horror stricken to see three men gathered around the sprawled body of his partner.

Solo ran up to his friend, kneeling down beside him and reached over to touch his throat to check for a pulse. It was there. Napoleon breathed a sigh of relief then began listening to the conversation of the three men.

"It’s Kuryakin," he heard one of them say, "He’s with U.N.C.L.E. But what we don’t know is if they’re just investigating to see if we’re here, or planning an assault on the building."

One of the other men looked at him, "They can’t possibly know we’re here yet. Let’s eliminate him, we can move everything out and find a new location."

The third man turned to the other two; "There’s no need for any of that. We’ll kill him in the pool, then we can toss his body in a lake somewhere. They’ll never know where he died."

The other two looked at the third man, nodding in agreement.

"Okay," the first man said, "I’m supposed to start filling the pool now, let’s get him moved in there. It shouldn’t take more than thirty to forty five minutes to take care of him." The first and second man reached down and grabbing Illya’s arms began dragging the unconscious form out the door and into a larger room, which held a pool.

Napoleon followed along behind, trying to figure out what to do next. He tried to grab both men, but it was useless, his hand went right through them both. "Illya!" he hollered again right into his friend’s ear. There was still no response.

Solo stayed with them as his friend was dragged into the smelting pool and pulled against the wall.

The first man looked at the second, "What about all those handy dandy tools U.N.C.L.E. always supplies their agents with?"

The second man thought about it for a second, "That’s easy to deal with." He dropped Illya to the bottom of the pool and quickly pulled off his shirt and pants tossing them onto the floor above, leaving him in his underwear. They pulled the still unconscious man from the bottom of the pool and hooked his arms and legs into four chains already embedded in the concrete wall. Kuryakin was spread eagled against the wall of the pool.

The second man laughed nastily, "That should solve the problem, I don’t think he’ll have too many weapons tucked in there."

Solo stood there helplessly tapping his partner on the face, continuing to say his name. "Illya, come on partner, you’ve got to wake up now." Until finally it was too late, the last chain had been snapped tight, his partner was now trapped.

The two men climbed swiftly out of the pool and one walked over to a gate valve and began turning it. Water started pouring in.

Napoleon looked up at the two men then looked back towards his friend. He felt so helpless that the tension was loud in his voice as he called again, "Illya, you need to wake up now!"

Kuryakin moaned quietly and slowly opened his eyes. "Napoleon." He gasped out.

"Illya," Solo breathed a small sigh of relief, "It’s about time partner, we’re in trouble."

Illya looked at his surroundings, "We?" he gave a small laugh, "I don’t see you chained to the wall." He pulled on his arms and legs trying to free himself, it was useless. "Napoleon, what happened?"

The two men looked down at Illya; "Are you talking to yourself?" the first one asked.

Kuryakin threw them both a nasty glare and ignored them completely.

"It doesn’t really matter who you talk to," they said as they headed out the door, "you’ll be dead in a little while." They laughed as they both walked out, slamming the door behind them.

"Napoleon?" Illya said again.

"I’m right here partner," Came the quick reply. "This is a fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into. Do you have anything stashed that you can use?"

Illya looked up and down at himself before shaking his head. "I had a lock pick but it was in my cuff."

Solo reached over for one of his friend’s hands to try to release it. He was able to touch the hand but his fingers slid right through the manacle fastened around his wrist. He looked down; the water was just covering his partner’s feet. "Illya, we’ve got to get you out of here." There was a touch of panic in the man’s voice.

"I’m open to suggestions," The Russian replied, "But, I don’t think we have to many options at the moment."

Solo took a deep breath to calm himself, "There’s got to be something we can do."

"Napoleon," Illya looked around, desperately wishing he could see his friend, "I think I’m in a no win situation." His voice was very calm, "There’s nothing you can do to help, and I won’t be considered overdue for at least two more hours." He looked at the water pouring into the pool. "I don’t think it will take more than a half hour for this thing to fill up."

Napoleon looked around again, not answering his friend.

"Napoleon?" Illya’s voice was slightly nervous, "Are you still here?"

"I’m not going anywhere," his friend replied.

"Please don’t." Kuryakin’s voice trembled just a little, "I don’t want to die alone."

"Your not going to die," came the emphatic response from his friend. "I won’t allow that to happen."

"Napoleon, I don’t think there’s anything you can really do about it." Came the quick reply. "Just talk to me, okay?" Illya struggled again against the chains, hating to just give up. He was held tight; there was no way to get loose. "Tell me things about yourself Napoleon, things you’ve never said before. It’s not as though I’ll ever tell anyone."

Solo continued to look around. "Illya, you can’t just accept this."

Kuryakin laughed facetiously, "Tell me what else to do, I’ll do it."

Napoleon stopped, his voice now horror stricken, he thought hard. He closed his eyes, racking his brain. He heard his partner begin to say something, but suddenly he couldn’t hear him anymore.

When Napoleon opened his eyes again, he realized quickly that he was no longer in the smelting plant pool. He was in his own hospital room. "Illya!" He said out loud, turning to look around the room. His eyes opened wide as he remembered where he’d left his friend.

Leaning over towards the night stand beside his bed, Solo reached desperately into the drawer of the night stand, pulling out his communicator. He opened it hurriedly, "Open Channel D," he yelled into the communicator. "This is Solo, I need a team to the smelting plant immediately. Illya’s been captured, he’s in a pool at the back of the plant, chained to the wall. He’s got less than twenty minutes." Finished, he lay back exhausted, closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

Chapter 7

Illya had called to Napoleon for ten minutes before he finally faced the fact that his partner was gone. He had taken numerous deep breaths, keeping himself calm as the water rose up to his chin. He struggled again, trying to slide his soaked hands out of the chains. They were held tight. He tilted his head back, intent on keeping his mouth out of the water as long as possible.

He looked up as the door above him was flung open and was shocked to see Myers and Howard, two other enforcement agents run into the room. They both dove into the pool, Howard carrying a pair of bolt cutters.

Howard dove under the water while Myers helped him keep his head above the water and after a few terrifying seconds, Kuryakin felt his arms and legs come loose. The two agents helped him out of the water, Myers grabbing his pants and shirt and handing them to the soaked agent.

"How?" Illya’s teeth were chattering with cold.

Howard looked at him strangely, "We got an emergency call from Napoleon, telling us where to find you."

Illya stopped, "Napoleon? He’s conscious?"

"We didn’t wait to find out," Myers responded, "We headed over here."

Illya hurried out the door, "Come on, can you get me back to headquarters fast?" Both agents had to run to keep up with him.

It took them ten minutes to drive back to headquarters; Illya was silent the entire time. The waiting was killing him. He hopped out of the car the second it came to a complete stop, pausing for a second, "Thank you," he said quietly to the two men, before turning to run inside, grabbing his badge from the receptionist he raced down the corridor to his partner’s room.

Throwing open the door Kuryakin rushed inside. "Napoleon!" He stopped dead seeing Doctor Morgan and Mr. Waverly standing at the bedside. Waverly was holding Napoleon’s communicator pen. "Frank?"

Morgan, hearing the question turned to the young Russian, "Illya, he’s all right. He came out of the coma and seems to be asleep."

Waverly turned to Illya, "Are you all right Mr. Kuryakin?"

"I’m fine sir," Illya replied quickly, "What happened?"

Waverly’s voice was calm, "As near as we can figure out, Mr. Solo woke up called for a rescue team for you then fell asleep." He turned and walked towards the door, handing the communicator to Illya. "Although how he knew you were in trouble is indeed a mystery." He shook his head as he walked out the door, followed closely by Morgan.

"Let us know when he wakes up Illya," Morgan said quietly as he walked outside. "Amazing," he muttered to himself.

Illya walked over and pulling the chair back up beside the bed sat down and took his partner’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Napoleon, can you hear me?" Getting no response, Kuryakin reached up with his other hand to gently tap his partner on the cheek. "Napoleon, it’s time to wake up. I’ve already talked to Aunt Amy, she’s expecting us both for Christmas dinner and you know the doctors won’t let you out if you don’t wake up soon."

Solo’s eyes opened slowly, looking up into the blue eyes watching him so anxiously. "Illya," he sighed, "We made it." He squeezed his friend’s hand tightly, as though to be sure he really could; "Can you feel that?"

Illya smiled at his friend, "I can feel it and see you Napoleon. How are you?"

Napoleon thought about it for a second, "Relieved. Are you all right? How close was it?"

Kuryakin laughed lightly, "Let’s just say I made it by the skin of my teeth, okay? He paused for just a second, "Why?"

Solo knew what he meant, "Illya, I have no idea, but I’ve never in my life looked a gift horse in the mouth. I guess you and I are meant to be partners." He laughed lightly, "I can’t wait to hear the stories after this episode. Everyone already thinks we’re able to read each others minds."

"Napoleon, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I have to say it. Thank you. That’s three times you’ve saved my life this week." Illya blushed slightly.

Napoleon knew he had to change the subject, he hated seeing his stoic partner embarrassed. "Christmas with Aunt Amy?" He said quietly.

Illya, grateful for the change in subject squeezed his friend’s hand again, "Well, you said you wouldn’t take no for an answer. And who am I to argue with my partner."

Solo snorted loudly, before stopping and looking his friend in the eyes. "Merry Christmas Tovarisch."

"Merry Christmas Napoleon."

The End
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