Final chapter. Are they going to get to the hospital in time to save Napoleon? I hope you like this final chapter :)

Once Gaby had parked in the first parking space available, she got out of the car and opened the door on Illya's side.

"Do you want me to get in on the other side and push him?", she asked.

"No. I'll just pull him out.", Illya replied. He turned Napoleon around so that the American's back would rest against his chest, then he hooked his arms under his partner's armpits and gently pulled him out of the car. As Napoleon's feet touched the ground, Illya adjusted his grip, wrapping one arm around his partner's back and pulling one of Napoleon's arms around his shoulders. He noted that the American was leaning heavily on him and he doubted that Napoleon would have been able to stand without support.

Gaby had shut the car doors and grabbed the map. She was figuring out the fastest route to get to the hospital on foot.

"Okay, so the hospital is this way", Gaby said. "It shouldn't take us more than ten minutes to get there."

"You think you can walk, Cowboy?"

"I…I'll try…", Napoleon coughed and sprayed tiny droplets of blood on the sidewalk.

Illya and Gaby exchanged another concerned look.

"Let's go."

Gaby put Napoleon's other arm around her shoulders and the three of them started heading towards the hospital.

They had only been walking for five minutes when Napoleon's knees buckled. Gaby almost fell, surprised by the sudden dead weight. Illya reflexively tightened his grip to keep his partner from falling.

"What's going on, Cowboy?"

"I can't…walk…the ground keeps moving…"

"Okay, you rest for a bit.", Illya instructed, gently lowering Napoleon to the ground so that he could sit up against a wall. He looked even worse than he had back in the car. The contrast between his deathly pale skin and the crimson blood on his face was striking. His breathing hadn't improved either.

"I'm starting to think we should have stayed in the car.", Gaby said, biting her lip. "He looks exhausted…and how are we going to reach the hospital if he can't walk?"

Illya was going to answer when Napoleon let out a pained groan.

"Peril…my chest hurts…"

Illya felt that strange tightness in his chest again when he heard his partner's words. He turned his attention back to Gaby.

"I'll carry him."

"Are you sure you can carry him all the way to the hospital?"

"I don't carry him, he'll die. Help me get him up"

Putting Napoleon's arms around their shoulders again, they managed to get him up on his feet. Illya knew that the most efficient way of carrying his partner would be to place him facedown across his shoulders, but with Cowboy's nose bleeding, he wasn't sure that it was a good idea to have his head hanging down. It also meant that he would be unable to see Napoleon and consequently unable to monitor his condition. He didn't want to get to the hospital only to find out that he had been carrying his partner's dead body. He hesitated for a second, then he bent down, hooked his arm under Napoleon's knees and lifted him bridal style. As he adjusted the American's arm around his neck, he heard him mumble something.

"What did you say?", He asked leaning closer to Napoleon's mouth.

"I…do…", Napoleon repeated weakly.

Illya rolled his eyes.

"Shut your mouth and concentrate on staying alive, Cowboy.", he growled.

They started walking in the direction of the hospital again. Gaby was leading the way with the map. Illya alternated between looking ahead and looking down at Napoleon. The American had closed his eyes, his rapid breathing and the occasional whimper that escaped his lips reassured the Russian that he was still alive. Illya's eyes lingered on Napoleon's face, then shifted to his blood-soaked shirt.

"How far are we now?", he asked Gaby.

"We're almost there."

"Good. I think Cowboy's been putting on weight."

Illya could feel his partner getting heavier in his arms. Suddenly, Napoleon stirred and started struggling weakly against the Russian's grip. His eyes were opened but unfocused.

"No…please…put me down…"

Illya tightened his grip and pressed his partner close against his chest to prevent him from moving too much.

"Don't talk like that, Cowboy. We're not putting you down yet, we can still save you."

Gaby shot him a glare that said "not funny". They turned the corner at the end of the street and she spotted the large building.

"There's the hospital!"

Illya felt a wave of relief come over him. They quickly reached the building and Gaby held the door open as he went in, still carrying Napoleon. Gaby started explaining the situation to a nurse while another nurse brought a gurney and motioned for Illya to set Napoleon down on it. Illya hesitated. He understood that Cowboy needed immediate care, but he was reluctant to let go of him. He knew that once he put his partner down on that gurney, he would be wheeled away and Gaby and him wouldn't be allowed to follow. Then the waiting and worrying would begin again. He glanced at Napoleon's face, sighed and set him down on the gurney.

You'd better not make us wait too long, useless American.

5 hours later

Illya, Gaby, Napoleon and the doctor who had taken care of him were all gathered in one of the hospital rooms. Napoleon was lying in the bed, dressed in a hospital gown. The blood had been washed away from his face, a fresh gauze-pad was taped to his chin and, although he was obviously still feeling tired, he no longer looked like he was about to die.

"Well, you are a very lucky young man.", the doctor said addressing Napoleon. "If your friends had waited a bit longer before they brought you to the hospital, you would have died from external and internal bleeding."

Internal bleeding? Judging by the look on Gaby's and Peril's faces, they were as puzzled as he was.

"It's weird though.", the doctor went on. "People usually head to the hospital as soon as they realize they've been bitten."

"I'm sorry… bitten?", Napoleon asked.

"Yes bitten. You were lucky we're familiar with the effects of the boomslang venom here. We were able to administer the anti-venom quickly."

"I apologize if that sounds like a stupid question but…what's a boomslang?", The more the doctor talked, the more confused Napoleon was.

"Boomslang is what we call the snake that bit you. It's a type of tree snake. Its venom is a hemotoxin. Nasty thing, really. It prevents your blood from clotting, destroys red blood cells and causes internal and external bleeding. The vicious thing about it is that the symptoms can take up to a day to develop. That's why people around here, who know about the boomslang's venom, usually come to the hospital right away. Even if you think that the bite was harmless, it might actually turn out to be life-threatening."

"But…I wasn't bitten by a snake…I haven't even been around snakes"

"Well, you must have been. Its venom was in your blood. It was killing you, no doubt about that. Maybe you got bitten and didn't realize it or didn't think much of it at the time. The boomslang bite is not that painful, it feels like getting pricked with a sharp knife"

Getting pricked with a sharp knife…didn't think much of it at the time…

Then it clicked. Napoleon looked at the back of his hand, a gauze-pad was taped to it.

The man at the warehouse

The crazy man with the garrote, the man who had pulled a blade on him when he had tried to stop him. Maybe the venom had been on the tip of the blade. Or maybe what he had thought was a really thin knife was actually some kind of syringe and the venom had been injected into his hand. He remembered how he'd thought he had seen the man smile in the darkness. He hadn't been mistaken. His attacker had been smiling, because he knew that Napoleon would have no way of guessing that boomslang venom had entered his body. And with the delayed symptoms, he knew his victim wasn't likely to worry or seek medical help until it was too late. Until he was bleeding out from every hole. The thought made him shudder.

Damn…

He had been lucky that Peril and Gaby were such mother hens.

"Are you okay, Cowboy?"

"Oh hum yes…", Napoleon replied, he had been lost in his thoughts and had lost track of the conversation between Peril, Gaby and the doctor.

"How long does he need to stay here?", Gaby asked.

"Well as I said we were able to administer the anti-venom in time but with the external and internal bleeding combined he had lost a lot of blood and we had to transfuse him. The transfusion went without incident but I still want to keep him in for observation. If there are no complications from the anti-venom, he'll be out of here in three days."

Three days?

Napoleon groaned. He felt even more annoyed as he saw the smile forming on Illya's face.

"Well Mr Solo, that's what you get for not getting to the hospital right away after being bitten by a dangerous snake.", the doctor lectured him.

Napoleon cursed inwardly as the smile on Illya's face grew bigger.

After a while, the doctor left the room. Gaby and Illya stayed with Napoleon and he was able to explain to them how the boomslang venom had ended up in his body. Gaby was shaken as she realized how close they had come to disaster. Illya kept commenting mockingly on how Cowboy had the worst luck in the world. But if Napoleon had been less tired and more attentive, he might have noticed the mixture of worry, relief and anger in his partner's eyes. They sat in silence for a while and eventually Napoleon fell asleep. Illya and Gaby watched him sleep until visiting hours were over and they had to leave.

The next day

"Good morning Solo. How are you feeling?"

"Hi Gaby. Well I'm feeling pretty venom-free today. When are you taking me back to the hotel?"

"The doctor said three days, Solo. And your charming smile won't change anything. By the way, this is for you.", Gaby handed him a small, brown envelope.

Napoleon took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a photograph.

"Wow, what is that?"

"That, is a photograph of a boomslang. Illya and I got it at the museum. We thought that since you were almost killed by that snake's venom, you at least deserved to know what it looks like. Illya wanted to get you an actual boomslang. Thankfully I managed to dissuade him."

"Thanks, Peril, I appreciate the thought. By the way, I had a question for you. When you were carrying me. You know, gently carrying me like a frail bride in your big strong arms…"

"What's your question, Cowboy.", Illya cut in, annoyed.

"Did you happen to mention my weight? I can't be entirely sure because I was only half-conscious but I have a vague memory of you complaining about me putting on weight."

"Maybe I said something about that, yes."

"Well you're the one to talk, Peril, you're huge."

"I'm muscular, not the same thing."

"So what, you mean to say I'm getting fat?"

"I noticed your belly is getting soft."

Napoleon turned to Gaby for support.

"Well you do tend to butter your bread rather generously at breakfast, Solo…"

"At least that's one positive consequence of having to stay here.", Napoleon said surly. "The hospital food is so bad I think I'm actually going to lose weight."

Napoleon looked so miserable that Illya and Gaby were unable to keep a straight face any longer and started laughing.

Illya looked at his partners. Of course working in a team had its downsides. Cowboy could be a pain in the backside sometimes. Privacy was far from guaranteed. And then there was the whole worrying thing. But they made it work, they took care of one another, and in moments like these, when the three of them were together, laughing, Illya felt like it was worth it.

The end.

Again, I'm not a medical doctor so medical inaccuracies will occur :s

Thank you guys for the reviews and yes CasiNight, you guessed right, Illya totally carried Napoleon :) .