Chapter 1

Illya was sitting in Napoleon’s office when he arrived, you could tell he was nervous about being in there. "Good Morning," he said tentatively.

"Good Morning Tovarisch," Napoleon replied with a smile on his face. He could see the look of relief pass over his young partner’s face, then vanish. They had only been assigned together for a few weeks and they were still adjusting to their new partnership. They had gotten along well enough, but were still not totally comfortable with each other. It was nice to know though that he wasn’t the only one still nervous. "Are you about ready to go back to work?"

"The Doctor will release me as of tomorrow," Illya replied, "I just wanted to check in with you for any assignments…."

Napoleon could see there was something else on his partner’s mind, but didn’t want to push him to hard. "I’m sorry I haven’t seen you for the last few days, I’ve been out of the country on another assignment. How are you feeling?" Illya had been injured in their first mission together for which Napoleon still felt guilty. As the senior agent, he felt responsible for his new partner injuries.

"I know, I checked with Mr. Waverly when I couldn’t get ahold of you. I was concerned." Illya’s reply was almost tentative, "I wasn’t checking up on you, and I’m feeling much better. Thank you for getting me out of that mess by the way."

"Illya, the most important thing about a partnership is that you know where your partner is, don’t apologize for doing your job and you never have to thank your partner for doing his job. " Napoleon started to relax, "I had a thought on my way in this morning. Why don’t we move your desk in here, it would be easier for us to work together if we shared an office."

Illya looked at him with a smile, "Is this mind reading going to become a habit with you? That is what I wanted to discuss with you." Illya had been amazed to discover that he and his new partner thought along the same wavelength. They seemed to be perfectly in tune with each other almost knowing what the other was going to do before they did it.

"Well good, as long as you think I can read your mind you won’t be thinking nasty thoughts about me." Napoleon was laughing and after a few seconds Illya joined in.

Mr. Waverly walked into the room just then. For once you could actually see the pleased look on his face when he saw the two agents laughing together. "Good Morning Gentlemen, is there a joke you would like to let me in on."

"Good Morning Sir," they replied in unison, which made them both laugh a little harder.

"No joke Mr. Waverly," Napoleon managed to get out, "just a friendly discussion between partners." He looked over at Illya, who had finally managed to get himself back under control. "Is there something we can do for you?"

"Yes Mr. Solo, Mr. Kuryakin I understand the Doctor is due to release you tomorrow. I’ve just come from talking with him and he said if you’re willing, he will release you effective today." Waverly was back to business as usual.

"Yes sir Mr. Waverly, I’m ready whenever you are." You could actually see Illya going into work mode.

"Gentlemen, I’ll be briefing the both of you in one hour in my office. In the meantime you both need to arrange for tuxedos for tonight." He left the office as quickly as he had arrived.

Illya looked over to his partner, you could see he was waiting for him to take the lead.

"I assume you don’t own a tux?" Napoleon smiled at him.

"I never needed one on a submarine." There was no smile but Illya’s face was open and just waiting.

Napoleon laughed, "Okay, I’ll arrange for the tuxedos, you contact maintenance and have them set up our office. I’ll meet you in Mr. Waverly’s office in one hour. "Are you positive you’re up to this?" He just needed to be sure.

Illya was up and moving before he was even finished. He ignored the question; "I’ll meet you in one hour." He left the office.

Napoleon laughed quietly, at least life wasn’t going to be boring. He picked up the telephone.

Exactly one hour later both of them were sitting in Mr. Waverly’s office.

"Gentlemen, there is a reception tonight at The Music Hall in honor of some visiting dignitaries. We have received information that THRUSH has created a new mind drug and figures this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out on a large group. I want the two of you to attend the party as guests and prevent them from carrying out their plan. You will have six other agents at your disposal, but you will be alone on the inside. Any questions?"

"Do we know what this new mind drug does?" Napoleon’s voice was deadly serious. "Does it kill?"

"We don’t know, the information we received didn’t say anything about the drug, you will be pretty much on your own. Is there a problem with that?"

Napoleon knew he was asking more about the status of their partnership then anything else. He looked over at his partner, Illya nodded at him. "I don’t think we’ll have any problems at all Mr. Waverly."

"That’s all then gentlemen, my secretary will have your invitations. The party begins at 8:00 PM. Your back up team will be waiting in the briefing room in one hour. Good luck." Waverly dismissed them.

They walked out of his office together. Illya was mumbling to himself.

"What was that?" Napoleon asked.

"It figures, we finally get a good working relationship going and our new assignment has to be a formal one."

Napoleon could tell he was making a joke out of it, but he was really bothered. "Don’t worry Tovarisch, you just follow my lead. I promise I won’t leave you stuck in the hors d'oeuvres."

Chapter 2

He had to admit to himself, Napoleon fit right into this life style. Illya was watching his partner as he casually strolled towards him. He looked totally at home in his tuxedo, unlike Illya who felt like a penguin. Napoleon had been fantastic all evening though, sticking close to his partner. Making sure he was included in any conversations and showing him without being obvious how to handle every piece of silverware and each hors d'oeuvres.

"Hey Tovarisch, anything?" Napoleon had reached his side. "Have you checked in lately?"

"Nothing new, seems like it’s just another quiet party for the rich and famous. Everything outside is as quiet as inside." Illya paused, something catching his eye. "Napoleon, am I nuts or is that a different caterer than the one that was here before?"

Napoleon turned easily to take a look. "You’re right, he is different, this may be our man. Get in touch with the other agents, put them on alert. I’m going to follow him into the back to check him out." With that he casually walked in the same direction the new caterer was headed. He followed him through the kitchen door.

Illya stepped over behind a pillar before pulling out his communicator pen. "Kuryakin here, possible sighting, all teams on alert." He was surprised not to receive an answer. "Baker, can you here me?" Still no answer. "Open Channel D," he decided to try something new.

"Waverly here." The response was swift, "Mr. Kuryakin, is Mr. Solo with you?"

"No sir, he just went in the back to check out a new caterer. I’ve been unable to reach the backup team. Why, is there a problem?"

"We’ve just learned this is a trap, there is no mind drug. THRUSH is after Mr. Solo, they have orders to take him prisoner and if they’re unable to do that, they are to kill him!" Waverly was literally talking to air.

Illya was already running towards the kitchen door. Not worrying that people were watching him he stopped at the door, whipping out his Special and cautiously opened the door. He heard sounds of a struggle but couldn’t see anything. He slipped through the door and started down the hallway towards the back door. Napoleon was struggling with three men who were trying to drag him out the back door. They were in a very small hallway, which was preventing him from fighting all out.

Illya threw himself bodily at the four men, hitting them low and knocking the whole group over. He reached into the pile of limbs and pulled his partner up. They came up together fighting.

"Welcome to the real party," Napoleon grinned at him as he hit one of the three men in the throat with a chop. "What kept you?" he said as the man dropped to the floor.

Illya was just finishing with the second man when out of the corner of his eye he saw the third raising something over his head. It was some type of club or bat. "Napoleon, look out…" But it was too late, the third man swung the bat, hitting Napoleon hard across the side of his head. The man was dead before he could turn though; Illya put two bullets into his heart.

Napoleon had dropped where he was standing. The three THRUSH agents were also down. Illya grabbed his communicator, "Open Channel D, Emergency."

"Waverly here."

"Mr. Waverly, they made their attempt. Napoleon is injured and I have three THRUSH agents down, one definitely dead. Still no sign of our backup." Illya tried to keep the concern out of his voice. "I’m going to bring Napoleon in, I don’t want to wait for an ambulance."

"Mr. Kuryakin, the backup agents have just reported in, their communications were being jammed. They’re on their way to you and will take care of the three agents. Go ahead and bring Mr. Solo in, I’ll have the Medical section on alert." Waverly voice was calm keeping Illya calm also. "What are Mr. Solo’s injuries?"

"He was clubbed in the side of the head sir." With that Illya put his communicator away and knelt down beside his partner. "Napoleon." He shook him gently; "Can you hear me?" There was no response at all.

He heard footsteps behind him and whipped around, holding his gun at ready to see Agent Baker approaching. "Is he alive?" Baker asked.

"Yes, I need you to go get our car and park it outside the door, he needs medical attention." Illya replied while turning back to his partner. He reached into Napoleon’s pocket to get out the car keys tossing them to Baker. "Get two other agents in here to take control of these men. We’ll need a clean up crew for the third one."

Baker left swiftly. Illya tried again to wake Napoleon up. It was no use, he was out cold. He bent down to gently lift his partner into his arms as he heard the car being pulled up outside. Anyone seeing Illya’s size would have thought there was no way he could lift let alone carry the bigger man, but they didn’t know him very well. He stepped out the door carrying his burden as gently as he could.

Baker was waiting for him, "Want some help?"

"I’ve got him," Illya replied, carefully lowering his partner into the passenger seat which Baker had laid back for him. Just to be safe, he fastened Napoleon down with the seat belt then without another word, got in the driver’s side and drove off.

The drive to U.N.C.L.E. was going to take about twenty minutes. Illya was watching the road, but spared numerous glances to check on his unconscious partner. He didn’t look quite so fancy anymore with his tuxedo torn and the large bump appearing on the side of his head. But Illya thought it was good that this man was his friend, he couldn’t tell him this, but it made him feel good to see the protective way his partner watched out for him at the party. Making sure he didn’t embarrass himself and taking the time to teach him. He hadn’t been sure when they were assigned together that it would work out, but it was nice to know that Mr. Waverly was correct, they had formed a good partnership.

Just then he heard a low moan coming from the direction of his partner. "Napoleon, can you hear me?" He reached over to touch him on the shoulder. "Napoleon."

"Illya, what happened?" Napoleon’s voice was very faint.

"You got hit in the head with something that looked like a baseball bat. Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to duck?" his question was asked laughingly to try to keep the mood light. "How are you?"

"I think I’m okay, but I have a horrible headache. Why’s it so dark in here?"

Illya looked at him strangely, as three cars passed them from the other side, their lights shining into the car. "Dark?"

"I can’t see a thing," Napoleon replied quietly. "I take it it’s not totally dark from where you’re sitting?"

"Napoleon, please just lay back and relax for now. We’ll be at headquarters in a few minutes. I’ve got Medical on alert, they’ll get you checked out." Illya again tried to keep his voice light.

"Illya, I don’t want anyone else to see me like this." Napoleon was emphatic on this point. "How are we going to get into headquarters?"

"Leave that to me, no one will see anything unusual, I promise." He knew how Napoleon felt about showing any weakness in front of the other agents. That was the first thing he learned from the man, never let anyone else see you suffer, keep everything professional at work.

Napoleon lay back against the seat, trusting that his partner would take care of everything, this partnership had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. The young Russian was not only a good agent, but extremely nice to have as a friend.

Once Illya had the car parked, he came around to the passenger side to help his partner out. "Can you walk?" he asked gently as he assisted Napoleon to his feet. He swayed a bit but managed to stay upright.

"Walking doesn’t seem to be the problem, I still can’t see anything." You could hear the worry in his voice now. "I’m still pretty light headed."

"Napoleon, just trust me, if you can walk I’ve got the rest figured out. I promise, I won’t leave you and no one will know." Illya reached for his partner’s arm and leaned him up against the outside of the car. "Now wait one second while I tie this handkerchief around your head." He had a large white handkerchief, which he had folded like a bandage. He tied it gently around his partner’s forehead so that it partially covered his eyes. "Now, just put your left arm over my shoulders, I’ll hold on to you and steer you with my right arm around your waist. If I put any major pressure on you just stop, okay?"

They walked through Del Floria’s like that, with Illya quietly whispering to him when to step up or turn. When they stepped through the dressing room into the U.N.C.L.E. reception area he quietly said "Joan."

"Hey Joan," Napoleon said with his usual jauntiness, "Thank you", he finished as she pinned a badge on he and Illya. His partner never let go of him and used his arm to gently get his partner going again. "See you later."

"Thank you partner," Napoleon’s voice was almost non-existent.

"No problem, just remember, you owe me one." Illya steered him down the hallway and stopped him as they arrived at the door to Medical. He opened the door without letting go of Napoleon and guided him over to a medical table. Helping him to climb up and stretch out on the table, then posting himself at his side.

Doctor Morgan moved over to the table as soon as he saw them arrive. "Well Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?"

Seeing that Napoleon wasn’t able to say anything Illya took the bull by the horns, "Doctor, he was hit in the head with some type of club or bat, hard enough to knock him out." He paused knowing that if he said it out loud it would be real. "He regained consciousness in the car, but…. He can’t see."

The Doctor could hear the fear in his voice. "Napoleon." There was no response. "Napoleon." Looking down he realized the agent was unconscious again. "Okay Illya, get out of here, I need to examine him."

"No Doctor, you’ll just have to work with me right here. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him!"

The Doctor’s examination took almost an hour. Napoleon was in and out of consciousness for a while but finally came to completely as Mr. Waverly walked into the room. Illya, still watching his partner didn’t even look up.

"Doctor?" Waverly’s voice was calm but you could see the concern on his face.

Doctor Morgan put a hand on Napoleon’s chest, "Napoleon, please stay down, you’ll be fine." He looked at Mr. Waverly and Illya, "Gentlemen, as far as I can tell, the blindness should just be temporary. The knock on his head has caused a great deal of swelling, which is putting pressure on the optic nerve. When the swelling goes down, his vision should return too normal. He also has a concussion, but it isn’t that severe. Napoleon you’re going to have a hell of a headache for a while. The biggest problem is it could take as long as a week for the swelling to substantially reduce itself. I think we should move you in here for the next week, or until your sight returns."

"Mr. Solo, I have to agree with the Doctor," Waverly walked up to stand by Napoleon. "We have a bigger problem than just your sight. "It seems THRUSH has put out a contract on you. They were under orders to try to capture you first and if that didn’t work, you were to be killed. Since obviously they were unable to capture you, we have to assume that there will be new attempts on your life. For your own safety, you should stay here until your sight returns."

Napoleon began struggling to sit up, Illya hurried to his friend and put his arm around the broad shoulders, lifted him to a sitting position and keeping his arm there to support him. He whispered quietly to his friend, "Relax Napoleon, it’s your decision." He knew what was coming.

"Sir." Napoleon’s voice was very quiet, "It is impossible for me to stay here, I will not have everyone in the building seeing me in this condition and you know full well I can’t stay confined to Medical for a week, I’d go nuts. I’ll just hire someone to stay at my apartment with me. With all the alarm systems I’ve got, no one will be able to get anywhere close to me."

Illya sighed, "Mr. Waverly, I’ll take him home. You know I’m the only one who can put up with him for any length of time and besides I can be his personal bodyguard."

"Mr. Kuryakin, are you sure? You would have to stay with him at all times."

"Mr. Waverly, I’m his partner. I can handle him and if I can’t, I’ll put him in a closet and lock the door, he won’t know the difference." Illya was trying to keep everything very light not wanting the Doctor or Mr. Waverly to realize how worried he really was.

"Thank you Tovarisch." You could hear the relief in Solo’s voice. "I promise to behave myself, or at least try to."

Mr. Waverly insisted on talking to Illya privately before he would allow them to leave. "Are you sure about this Mr. Kuryakin? Mr. Solo would probably be safer here."

"Mr. Waverly, he’s my partner, if he wants to leave, we leave. How will he get well if he’s not comfortable? And you know how important his image is to him. I don’t want him humiliated, we’ll do fine." Illya was adamant on this.

"Alright Mr. Kuryakin, call in as soon as you’re settled and keep me posted."

Getting Napoleon out of U.N.C.L.E. was almost as easy as getting him in. The Doctor co-operated in putting a new bandage over his forehead so it covered a portion of his eyes. Illya led him out to the car getting him comfortable in the passenger seat and removed the bandage. He walked around to the driver’s side and got settled into the car before turning to his partner.

"Okay Napoleon, do we have a plan or are we just going to wing this?" Illya asked trying to keep the concern out of his voice. "Your place or mine?"

"Illya, you decide, wherever you’ll be most comfortable. I just want to thank you for getting me out of there." Napoleon’s voice was shaky and he was still pale.

"Napoleon, you’ve said it before, we’re partners, there’s no need to thank me. You’d do the same for me, now you relax and lay back. I’ll wake you when we get home." With that Illya put the car into gear and took off.

Now that he was alone with Napoleon, he had time to arrange his thoughts and consider the down side of this plan. They had to go to Napoleon’s, his was the only place big enough for them both to be comfortable and the familiar surroundings would be best for his partner.

The other problem was Napoleon, he was not going to want to be led around and treated like a baby. Well Illya, he thought to himself, you’re the one who told yourself this was a good partnership. Now is when we find out how good. If we can survive the next week together, we can survive anything. He smiled to himself, it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

He pulled into the parking area under Napoleon’s apartment building. He leaned over to his friend and put the bandage back on his head, pulling it down so that his eyes were almost totally covered. Gently shaking his partner, "Napoleon, time to wake up, we’re here."

Napoleon came to quickly, "What?" He reached up, feeling the bandage back on his head. "Why do I have this thing on again?"

"I thought it would work better for us getting in to your apartment. We can move around easier and less obvious if people realize you can’t see." Illya was ready for the argument to follow, but it never came. "I’m going to come around for you, but we need to set a few ground rules. I’m in charge, if I tell you to do something you don’t argue no matter how foolish you think you might look. Also, you go no where alone, and I mean no where. Got it?"

"Illya," Napoleon replied almost laughing, "I think you’re really going to enjoy yourself for the next few days aren’t you? Don’t worry, I knew what I was asking when I had you get me out of there. You don’t need to worry; I’m going to be the most agreeable partner you could ever want. You won’t hear a single argument out of me."

Illya didn’t laugh out loud, "Oh sure." He slid out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. Opening the door he reached in and gently grabbed Napoleon’s right arm. "Okay you, let’s figure this part out."

Napoleon slid out of the car and stopped in front of his partner. "How do you want me?"

Illya laughed, this was starting out too easy. "I think if you just hold onto my arm it would work better. It might look a little peculiar if we walk in with our arms around each other like back at work." He moved to the side of Napoleon and placed Napoleon’s left hand on his own right elbow. "I’ll tell you if you need to step up or down, okay?"

They walked like that to the elevator and rode up in silence to Napoleon’s floor. Napoleon could hear Illya reaching under his coat and heard the small swish of his gun coming out of its holster. He realized his friend was getting prepared to exit the elevator. He also realized there was nothing he could do to help.

Chapter 3

It took only twenty-four hours for the two men to settle into a routine. Illya was going out of his way to make sure his partner was comfortable and Napoleon was going overboard making sure he didn’t let on to his partner how scared he was or how angry at having to be helped with everything he did.

Illya had reported in to Mr. Waverly upon their arrival and had agreed to call in every four hours just as a precaution. Waverly had a small army of agents lined up as backup. If Illya’s call didn’t arrive they were prepared to come in at a moments notice.

It was late evening of their third night together before the first problem cropped up.

"Napoleon, where are you going?" Illya asked with a little sharper tone then he originally planned. His nerves were stretched mostly due to lack of sleep. Getting up every four hours to call in as well as worry over his partner had made it impossible to get a decent nights rest.

Napoleon who had reached his limit on being waited on, just ignored him and continued in the general direction of the bedroom.

Illya stood up and walked over next to his partner. "Napoleon, I asked where you think you’re going?" He put his hand on his partners shoulder.

Napoleon shook him off, "I’m going to take a bath, and I don’t need help!" Taking two more steps before his friend grabbed his arm again. "Let go of me……" Once again shaking his friends hand off and starting toward the other room.

His tone should have been enough to warn to Illya to back off, but lack of sleep had made his judgment a little slow. He took another couple of steps and grabbed Napoleon’s arm again, only to be met with a fist right to his jaw. He had stepped right into it and was on the floor before he knew what hit him. He shook his head a little to clear the cobwebs and looked up at his friend.

Napoleon had stopped dead, a look of horror on his face. "Illya," and a little louder when there was no answer, "Illya, are you okay?" He knelt down on the floor, reaching around for his friend. "Illya, oh God, I’m sorry." His voice broke and he sat down on the floor putting his head on his knees.

"Napoleon, I’m alright," his voice sounded a little funny due to a puffy lip but he could see his friend was devastated by his own actions. "I thought you couldn’t see, how’d you manage to aim so well?" he tried to break the tension with a laugh.

"Illya, I’m so sorry, you are the last person who deserved that. I …" his voice gave out on him. He reached an arm out again trying to locate his friend.

Illya got up off the floor, reaching down to take his friends hand and pulling him up beside him. "I’m okay, don’t worry about it." He was more concerned with his partner than himself right now. The look on his face scared him. "Napoleon, it doesn’t matter."

"How can you say that? You’re my best friend, you’ve been so great taking care of me and trying to make this easier, and how do I repay you?" Napoleon was the closest to tears that Illya had ever seen him. "I don’t know how you put up with me."

"Well, Napoleon, it isn’t always easy." Illya laughed out loud, "But let me tell you this, once this is all over, I owe you one and you’ll never know when it’s coming, deal?" He watched his friend and was pleased to see his expression change to one of amusement.

"You’ve got yourself a deal Tovarisch." Napoleon’s face lit up with the beginnings of a smile. "Thank you my friend."

"Okay, now you were saying something about a bath weren’t you, I think we can do something about that." Illya took his friends arm and they walked together into the other room.

After the incident over the bath things seemed to settle down on an even keel. Illya tried to stop stressing over every little thing and let Napoleon try to do more things for himself. Not that he wasn’t keeping a close eye on his friend, but Napoleon didn’t need to know it.

They were sitting in the living room listening to music two nights later when Napoleon decided to try something new. "I think it’s my turn to cook dinner tonight." He said with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"You want some help?" Illya sounded a little skeptical, "I could handle the stove for you."

"No thank you Tovarisch, this is no different than blind mans bluff, I want to try it on my own, okay?"

"Okay Napoleon, Illya replied, "You go ahead, I’m going to report in."

Napoleon stood up and walked confidently to the kitchen. Illya had helped him map out his whole apartment until he could travel through the whole thing without bumping into any furniture. He had also walked him through the bathroom and kitchen so much that he felt he could find anything on the first try.

He heard Illya finish up his call to Mr. Waverly as he reached for a frying pan. Suddenly he heard "NAPOLEON" and heard Illya running into the kitchen. His partner grabbed his arm and literally dragged him into the living room. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Napoleon, quiet down," Illya’s voice was full of tension. "The power’s been turned off, which means all the alarm systems are down. I tried to get back through to Mr. Waverly and someone’s jamming us. Here, take this."

Napoleon felt his gun being pushed into his hands and heard a door being opened. "What are you doing?" He exclaimed as Illya pushed him backwards against a wall.

"You my friend are staying here in the closet, while I check out the area. There’s just enough light left that I can see, but I can’t take a good look around and keep an eye on you" Illya’s tone of voice was not to be argued with, "Remember our agreement when we started this, you promised to do anything I said no matter how foolish it made you feel?"

"I remember Illya, don’t worry about me, I’ll stay right here until you come back for me. I promise." It was dark enough that Napoleon knew Illya couldn’t see he had his fingers crossed, just like a child. He heard the door close and could barely hear Illya sneaking away.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and he heard his front door being kicked in. He knew Illya hadn’t had time to get very far and could only pray he had found some cover. There were two sets of loud footsteps going past the closet and heading toward the bedroom, they seemed to separate and he heard someone opening the kitchen door. There was a loud banging and he could hear the sounds of a fight coming from the bedroom. Illya had been found and it was two against one.

Napoleon heard the other person come out of the kitchen and head towards the bedroom, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He quietly opened up the closet door and was amazed when he saw light coming in the window. He could see! He ran across the living room with his gun raised, just in time to see the man coming up behind Illya with a butcher knife raised over his head. Without even a pause, he put a bullet in the back of the man’s head. Just as Illya knocked the second one out.

Illya turned swiftly to look at his partner. "Napoleon?"

"Hi Tovarisch, nice to see you." You could hear the joy in Napoleon’s voice. "You’ve got blood on your chin…."

His sentence was interrupted when Illya grabbed him and swung him into the biggest bear hug he’d ever received. "You can see! You know what, I think we’re even, one punch in the mouth versus one knife in the back. Thank you …..."

"Illya," Napoleon said never letting go of his friend, "Don’t thank me."

"I know, partners right?"

"RIGHT!"
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