Do Better

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

A Sugar and Spies tale.  Leona gets sick at pre-school so Illya brings her to work.

Illya was in his lab feeling very frustrated.  For the past two days, he had been attempting, without success, to determine the components of a new chemical weapon developed by THRUSH.   Agents Lawson and Tate had managed to infiltrate a satrap in New Jersey and smuggle out a small sample.  Several UNCLE scientists were assigned to work on it fulltime and one had asked Illya to review his work.  He made a few adjustments in his spectrophotometer and checked again.  Suddenly, the machine began to identify the various chemicals and the Russian smiled in self – satisfaction.  Finally!  I will leave a note for Lewis and he can finish up here.  The phone in the lab rang just as he was leaving.  He walked to the desk and picked up the receiver.  “Kuryakin.”

“Hi, Mr. Kuryakin!  It’s Amanda from Communications.  Sorry to disturb you but, I thought you would want to take a call from Leona’s pre – school.”

All of his satisfaction vanished to be replaced by a knot of fear and apprehension though Amanda couldn’t tell when he said calmly, “Put the call through.”  He heard a couple of clicks and then the voice of the headmistress of Leona’s school, Miss Leonard, was on the line.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Kuryakin, I am so sorry to call you at work but, Leona isn’t feeling well.  Miss Davis told me that she drank a 12 ounce can of cola one of her friends gave her that apparently didn’t agree with her lunch.  She threw up everything and that scared her.  She’s doing better but, she began crying and said she wanted her Daddy.  Unfortunately, he is in a meeting.  Can you come and calm her down?”

“Yes, of course.  She does not drink soda at home. Please tell Miss Davis to let Leona know that Papa is coming.”

Illya stopped by his office to leave Napoleon a note.  He dropped it on Napoleon’s desk and grabbed his coat.  Just then, the door slid open and Napoleon came into the room.  Taking in the scene before him, he inquired, “Going home early, Tovarisch?”

“Leona got sick in school and is upset.  I am going to make sure she is alright.”

“Poor baby.  I would go with you but, I’m meeting with a loaner agent from UNCLE Seoul in half an hour.  Are you taking her to the doctor?”

The Russian shrugged.  “It depends on how she is feeling when I get there.  I will call you via communicator to let you know what is going on.”

MFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFU

Illya walked behind Leona as they entered Del Floria’s and went through the door into Reception.  He smiled at the woman behind the desk as she handed him his badge.  She motioned for him to lift the three year girl onto her desk and when he did, she pinned a visitor’s badge onto her blouse.  “There you go, Miss Reilly!  Now you can go anywhere Papa goes!”

Illya looked at her and tilted his head toward the receptionist.  Leona said, “Thank you!” and was rewarded with a kiss when he picked her up and placed her back on the floor. 

“You’re welcome!”  She smiled and watched as the pair went through the door in HQ.  I wish he’d kiss me on the cheek sometimes.  That is one lucky little girl.

Leona Nicole was a popular little girl.  She was rarely seen at HQ but, when she was, it was almost an event and today was no different.  Secretaries came out of their offices as word spread; even a few of the Section IIs stopped her and her father to say hello.  She would have spoken with everyone but, Illya scooped her up and with a scowl, informed everyone that Social Hour was over.  He marched down to his and Napoleon’s office and entered.

There was a woman seated next to Napoleon’s desk with her back to the door.  “Excuse me,” Illya said, “I did not mean to interrupt.  I just wanted to let you know we are here and I am taking her to Medical to get checked out but, I just think the soda did not agree with her.”

“We had finished our official meeting about five minutes ago.  Agent Young Sup Kim, I want you to meet my partner and second – in – command, Agent Illya Kuryakin.  And this little lady,” Napoleon said as he took Leona from Illya’s arms, “is our daughter, Leona Nicole, that I told you we brought back from South Korea.”

Agent Kim ignored the little girl’s “Hi!” and stood to shook Illya’s hand.  “It is nice to meet you, Agent Kuryakin.”  She turned around to face Napoleon.  “If you don’t mind, Sir, I need to report to Human Resources to fill out some paperwork and get the key to my apartment.  Thank you for your time.”  She turned and strode out the door.

Leona looked confused.  She had spoken to the woman and had gotten no answer.  Napoleon was shocked.  “Illya, did she, did she just ignore Leona?  What was that all about?”

The Russian sighed.  “It does not surprise me, Napoleon.  The Korean people are a homogenous people.  It is said they have the purest bloodlines of any race.  They consider themselves to be danil minjok, one people.  Agent Kim more than likely considers Leona Nicole honhyol, mixed blood and therefore, less than.  You saw how no one was caring for her in her village.  She would have died there from either starvation or sex abuse if we had not come along.”

Napoleon’s eyes narrowed in anger.  He put Leona on the floor and snarled, “You take her to Medical to make sure she’s OK.  I’m going to have a word with Agent Kim.” 

“Napoleon, wait!”  He looked down at the little girl who was now leaning against his legs.  “Come with us; I want to talk to you while she sees the doctor.  Please.”

They went down the hallway and took the elevator to Medical.  When Leona realized where she was going, she began to cry but Napoleon calmed her by promising she would not get any shots.  She looked at Papa for assurance and he said, “Dr. Willis is a nice woman who wants to listen to your tummy.  We will be right outside the door.  When I finish speaking with Daddy, we will come inside, da?”

“Da, Papa.”

They walked into the reception area of Medical and a nurse greeted them.  “Dr. Willis is expecting Miss Reilly.”  Kneeling down in front of the toddler, she asked her, “Are you ready to see the doctor?”

Sighing deeply, she said, “Yes,” and took the woman’s hand and went through the door to the exam room.

Illya put his arm around Napoleon and turned him away from the door.  “Listen, Napoleon, confronting Kim would be unprofessional and a waste of time.  It is not just her thinking; it is the thinking of her culture.”

“She is not in Korea now, she is in America!  For her to act that way toward a child…”

“Napoleon, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble but, there is much racism and bigotry in America.  Your President Johnson has just signed into law the Civil Rights Act.  That law passed as a direct result of the bombing of the 16^th Street Baptist Church last year that killed four Negro girls.  For you to attack her like there is no bigotry here would be hypocritical.”

The brunet shoved his hands into his pants pockets and looked around the room.  “What you’re saying isn’t wrong, Illya.  I just hated seeing that look on Leona’s face.  She didn’t understand why Kim didn’t speak to her.  She’s three so I think she’s over it now but, I don’t want anyone looking down on her, ever.”

Illya smiled.  “That is because you are her Daddy; you want to protect her, as do I.  Unfortunately, we will not always be able to but, two things give me hope for her future.  One, she lives in the United States and the US is always improving herself and two; we work for UNCLE which is always working to improve the world.  Leona will live in a better world.”

“Being a father has made you optimistic, Tovarisch.  I guess the best thing we can do for her is love her and keep on trying to make the world better for her.”

Just then, the nurse’s intercom buzzed.  She answered it, hung up and then said, “Dr. Willis would like to speak with you both.  Go right to Exam Room 2.”

“So, Daddy and Papa, Leona is fine.  She just drank a soda on top of her mid – morning snack and lunch.  Tell your parents what you ate, Leona.”

Illya looked at his daughter.  “Leona, what else did you eat besides the cookies and milk Miss Davis gave you and the lunch Daddy made?”

“Deirdre gave me licorice, Ruth gave me gumdrops, Joey gave me a Bit O’ Honey, then we had cookies and milk and then I had a soda.  Then I got sick.”

Napoleon exclaimed, “It’s a wonder you didn’t explode!  I’m going to speak to Miss Davis about making sure you only eat what we give you.   Thank you, Doctor, any instructions?”

She stroked Leona’s hair.  “Not really though you might want to give her some soup and crackers for lunch just to ease her back into eating.”

Illya put Leona on the floor and said, “Thank you, Dr. Willis.  I appreciate you taking the time to see my daughter.

Napoleon added, “Yes, thank you, Doctor.  Perhaps I can show my appreciation by taking you out for lunch tomorrow?”

“Sorry, Mr. Solo, I recently became engaged so no, thank you.  Have a good day.”

As they walked back toward the elevator, Illya grinned and said, “You are incorrigible.  It is almost two; I was leaving at three anyway so, I am taking an hour’s personal time and taking Leona home.”

When they returned to their office, Illya put papers in his briefcase to read and home.  He put Leona’s coat on her and whispered in her ear, “Go kiss Daddy goodbye.”

Leona toddled to her Daddy.  “Bye, Daddy, love you,” she said as she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

Napoleon kissed her cheeks until she laughed.  “I love you, Baby Girl, be good for Papa.  I’ll see you when I get home.”   She took Illya’s hand and they stepped to the door, causing it to open.

“Illya.”

The Russian turned to look at his partner.  “I won’t discuss that matter with Agent Kim.  I consider it closed.  We’ll…just have to do better; as a country and an agency.”

Illya nodded.  “See you at home, Napoleon.”