TITLE: Rescue me

Chapter 06

AUTHOR: Ceindreadh

EMAIL: ceindreadh@eircom.net

CATEGORY: drama/angst/gen

WARNING: none

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: none

DISCLAIMER: They're not mine, I'm just borrowing them and I'll return them to Norman Felton and Warner Bros when I've finished with them

Thanks to FatCat and Kelly for Betaing this for me.

Part 06/07

Once again Napoleon had to fight his way through a crowd to reach Illya's side dreading what he would find when he got there.

"What's wrong?" he asked the doctor, almost afraid to hear the answer.

The doctor had his back to Napoleon and was bending over his patient, apparently listening to Illya's chest with the stethoscope. It was a few seconds before he straightened up and answered Napoleon. "It appears that Mr. Kuryakin did not appreciate waking up with a tube stuck down his throat and managed to set off a few alarms by trying to remove it. Fortunately the nurses managed to persuade him to wait until I was able to remove it properly."

"He's awake?" Napoleon couldn't hide the flood of relief that washed over his face. He looked down at Illya and realized that the tube was indeed gone from his throat. As Napoleon watched, Illya's eyes flickered open and a very weak smile appeared on his face. "Hey!" he mumbled weakly. "You...you look a mess..."

"Look who's talking," said Napoleon, unable to keep from smiling. He glanced back at the doctor. "Will he..."

"There's no reason why he shouldn't make a full recovery," said the doctor, returning Napoleon's smile. "But he's going to need a lot of rest. I can let you have five minutes with him now, but that's all." The doctor looked Napoleon up and down. "And you should go and rest as well. I don't want you collapsing from exhaustion."

Napoleon barely heard the doctor leave; he was so focused on Illya. "Hey there partner. How do you feel?"

Illya seemed to consider the question for a moment before replying, "Hungry...don't...don't suppose you still have my lunch?"

Napoleon shook his head, "Damn, I knew there was something I was meant to do."

Illya sighed softly, "You....you probably had ketchup on it anyway..." He smiled thinly, his eyes half closing for a few seconds before he forced them open, "The...the fire..."

"Mr. Waverly sent a team to investigate it," said Napoleon, "They think it might have been an incendiary device."

Illya nodded slowly, "Lot of noise...tried...tried the door...smoke...smoke everywhere..." His eyes closed and Napoleon almost thought he'd fallen asleep when they flickered open again. "You...are you all right? Didn't...didn't get burned?"

"I'm fine Illya," said Napoleon. "I wasn't..." He swallowed hard. "I wasn't there Illya...by the time I got back...the fire..." He hung his head, unable to look Illya in the face. "I should have been there, to watch your back." He felt Illya's hand touch his gently and looked up.

"Don't...not your fault..." Illya coughed slightly before continuing. "Getting lunch...just as important..." He managed a slightly stronger smile this time. "You were there...there when you were needed...you always are..." His eyes closed and this time stayed shut.

Napoleon tensed up slightly, but Illya's breathing had settled into a more regular pattern and he seemed to have simply fallen asleep. "And you're always there when *I* need you," he said softly.

----------------------------

to be continued