Illya sat up in the bed, shocked to wakefulness, a cry of "Nyet!" escaping before he was even fully aware of his surroundings.

His partner and bedmate had been awakened by the movement and outcry. "Illya?" he sleepily inquired. "What is it?" He laid a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder.

The Russian's reaction was immediate -- he sprang from the bed as if it were on fire. "Do not *touch* me!" he howled, half hysterical, the dream not yet banished to the subconscious unreality from which it had come. Illya stood near the door of the bedroom, breathing heavily, the nightmare's adrenaline rush still pumping through his veins with every too quick heartbeat.

He made a visible effort at regaining control, finally succeeding a few moments later. "Forgive me, Polya, but I think we may have moved a little too quickly. As much as I wish to fully express my love for you, I am all too aware *accidents* can happen. I think, for the time being, perhaps it would be best if our love was Platonic."

"You had a nightmare, too?" Napoleon asked, then went on to describe his own bad dream. "Maybe you're right -- it's not a risk we should be taking. I'd hate to lose the best partner I ever had due to my own irresponsible actions. Who knows? Maybe your body will reabsorb the 'womb' in time or, if it's still there after you're 40, you could reconsider having a child."

"It would be riskier for both parent and child to wait that long," Illya replied, his mind automatically shying away from the concept of *mother* as applied to himself, "and I think I would prefer having children the old-fashioned way -- siring instead of being the mare."

A part of Napoleon was saddened to think Illya didn't want his child, but then he considered his partner's point of view. Would *he* ever want to carry *Illya's* child? He couldn't honestly answer "Yes" to that question.

All thought of questions fled the minds of both agents as a knock sounded on the door to the apartment. Illya quickly tied a robe around his body and, snatching up his Special as he passed it, went to answer the knock. He peered through the peephole and was surprised to find Mark Slate on the other side of the door.

"Illya?" the Brit asked. "Mind opening the door? It's important, and not something I'd care to have overheard."

"Probably something to do with our latest case," Napoleon said, entering the room dressed in a borrowed pair of his partner's pajamas and carrying a blanket, which he unfolded and threw over the couch, as if he'd spent the night there.

Illya nodded and, after deactivating the alarms and unlocking the door, opened it for the man waiting in the hallway. He allowed Slate to pass and turned to reset the locks and alarms.

He never saw the sleep dart coming. Napoleon did, but couldn't move fast enough to either block or dodge it.

"Mark Slate" checked his victims for injuries, and to ensure they were fully unconscious, before opening the door completely to admit Sepheran and a pair of THRUSH lackeys.

"Excellent work, Gemini!" the senior agant said. "Perhaps you could tell us how to make the Illusion Device you're wearing so we could have them for ourselves."

"You will have to discuss it with Overlord," the disguised alien replied. "We will have to move quickly."

A few minutes later, two unconscious UNCLE agents and their captors were leaving the building in an unmarked van.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illya woke to woefully familiar surroundings and a very unfamiliar feeling of dread.

He was back aboard the aliens' ship, or one just like the vessel from which he'd rescued Napoleon.

"Where's Napoleon," he asked in an annoyed tone, "and what are you planning to do to me *now*?"

"Your partner is unharmed," Scholar told him, "and we are still debating how to proceed. We had assumed -- wrongly, it appears -- since he was senior he would be dominant. We are preparing to modify him to accept your seed."

Illya was horrified. "Wait, please," he said. "I will carry the child, if you will agree to certain conditions."

Intrigued, Scholar asked, "What conditions?" as she made a note of this new aspect of human behavior.

"He is to be released after you have harvested his seed. He is not to know of my condition. I will remain with you and you can study me to your heart's -- or whatever's -- content."

"We will consider this." She turned off the microphone and moved away. A moment later she consulted with the staff member whom she had set to watch over their other captive.

"This is a behavior we have not encountered before," she said. "How did the other react when he awoke to renewed captivity?"

"He asked about his partner as well," her assistant replied, "and when we told him we might modify him as well, he attempted to impose the same conditions the fair one did, with the addition of having us reverse the changes to his partner."

"We could keep them both," Dr. Egret suggested, "modified and implanted with each other's seed. If they were in separate facilities, they'd never know about each other."

"Would this not be a violation of their conditions for agreeing to the experiment?" Scholar asked.

"They would never know if we were careful enough," the THRUSH agent replied, "and it would give us twice the number of subjects as before."

"Your idea will be presented for consideration," the alien scientist said. "I must confer with the Overlord about the latest developements." Scholar departed with those words and instructions to her staff to observe the captives but take no action save to prevent their escape.

She walked swiftly through the corridors and arrived at the ship's Control Center. "A most intriguing developement," she told her supervisor.

"From the captives?" Overlord inquired.

"Yes, but also from the THRUSH agents. It was an excellent idea to test them by pretending an alliance. The female has proven to be as duplicitous as the male. She seems to feel lying is allowable if the chances of being exposed are small enough."

"Perhaps we should now test this group called UNCLE. Devise a plan which will allow us to interact with them while keeping our true motives secret."