section7mfu | PicFic 12/11--Christmas Present (Rewritten and Reposted)

Napoleon, Illya and Jo sat around the decorated Christmas tree in Napoleon’s apartment on Christmas Eve. They each had returned from an individual assignment the evening before, and agreed to meet early in the morning to find a tree.

The day had been full as Napoleon had insisted on a fresh just chopped one and Illya agreed. Dressed in warm clothes and an axe over their shoulders, the men lead the way. Jo followed mumbling about men and their need to prove their masculinity.

Jo walked around while the men argued the possibility of each tree they encountered. The discussion erupted in a snowball fight with the sound of laughter echoing throughout the white wildness.

Ignoring the men, she looked at the surrounding trees, and suddenly in front of her was THE tree. Beautiful, tall and snow covered. It reminded her of the tree she remembered from that Christmas she was alone in Paris. She could almost imagine the Eiffel Tower in the background bringing back her desire that day to be with someone who cared enough to share it with her.

Calling the men over, she pointed, “This one.”

The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes left no doubt, this was the one she needed to have. They could see it meant something special to her. Chopping it down, dragging it to the car, and carrying it up to the apartment, the men saw the joy it brought to the woman in their lives.

….

Later that evening, in the silence of the moment, each remembered a Christmas long ago when their wish was to spend Christmas with someone who truly loved them. Within this group, they had that wish fulfilled. However, each also thought of the promise they had made that night.

Napoleon looked at the tree remembering as a child he hadn’t been allowed to help with its trimming. He had been told that it was improper for him to do such things due to his grandfather’s position.

He remembered that year when he saw true love as the he watched through a window, the family with nothing but love celebrated the night as they had all decorated their tree. The meal they had shared was loving prepared and served. Yet just miles away the rich and powerful took no notice of what they ate or the decorations.

This year Illya and Jo had helped him trim his tree. As each ornament was added to the tree, Napoleon shared its special meaning and how each helped him remember his promise from many years ago to attempt to correct the unfairness of the world that had bothered him so.

A miniature Cuckoo clock ornament from Haselbach Germany reminded him of how they had stopped Thrush from destroying the small village by a mutant virus. The spider web was one Illya had found for him after they had helped scientists escape from a KGB prison camp on Sakhalin Island. Each ornament was unique, such as the craving from the Akuntsu, one of Brazil's indigenous tribe as a thank you for rescuing their people from a Thrush experimental cell.

As he spoke of each reminder, he knew he was attempting to keep his promise. The one thing that made this holiday truly special for Napoleon was that he was sharing it with his partner who was a brother to him and the woman he loved.

….

When they had returned from Brooklyn’s St Joseph's orphanage that they had accompany Illya to, Napoleon had thrown Illya an orange to fight his hunger until they were able to eat. Illya held it in his hand, bringing back memories of his promise to help the innocent whenever and wherever he could.

Although his job permitted him to do this regular, he needed to give more of himself willing. Illya had asked his partner and his sister to help him deliver gifts to the children of the home. He had searched for somewhere that would be in need this year and found that the children there wouldn’t have gifts. He remembered those days when he himself had nothing.

Many times, the kindness of others helped him survive. He wished to return the kindness that had been offered to him more than once. Now each year when he was in New York on Christmas Eve, he tried to find a place where children were in need.

Each child was given a gift Santa had delivered it personally when he made a surprise visit to pass it out. Everyone laughed as even the blond agent was convinced to sit on Santa’s lap-through he promise retribution to his partner and his sister. The smiles of the children were all the thanks he needed to understand how important his actions were.

Remembering the night he had stolen the oranges for the others he protected, he had been helped by a man he had never meet before. He had risked his life to give the children some type of Christmas and when bumping into a man, the oranges had fallen to the ground.

Instead of turning him in to the soldiers, to this day he couldn’t explain why the man he met had protected him. He was a German, his enemy, yet he helped a child give joy to others. A lesson of friendship and caring that he carried with him daily.

As they left the orphanage, he knew that he had been granted his childhood wish. The one thing that made this holiday truly special for Illya was that he was sharing it with his partner who was a brother to him, and a sister he had thought he had lost.

…..

Jo had organized a winter coat collection at the New York office of UNCLE. Mr. Waverly had known of a place that offered free coats, hats, and gloves to the homeless and when asked what she could do to help others, suggested it to her. The agents had dropped off the collection on the way to the orphanage, and were saddened by the need of people in the city.

Now sitting in Napoleon’s comfortable living room, she opened the gift he had given her. The beautiful black leather trench coat was warm and something he had seen her looking at in one of the stores. But as she held it, she thought of the gift of another coat many years before. Two women she didn’t know had given their lives so a child would be warm and safe.

Perhaps that why working for UNCLE meant so much to her. She had vowed to help other in need when and if she could. Daily she was sent on assignments to do just that, but sadly for each person she helped, there was another she couldn’t save and this bothered her.

How many have other agents had died protecting innocents who never knew the name of the person giving their life for them? How many times was an agent shot, tortured, or injured to protect someone they didn’t know?

The one thing that made this holiday truly special for Jo is that she was sharing it with the two men who meant the world to her. Her brother who she had once more found and a man she loved promised to spend the rest of her life with.

….

Offering a toast to memories they each held, Napoleon called each from their thoughts. “At one time my wish was to have someone who truly loved me to share Christmas with. You two have fulfilled that wish. I now wish to extend that to “May we always have someone who loves us.”

Sipping the drink, each repeated the wish for the years to come.