Disclaimer: I don't own The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I think it's a fantastic movie, and I bet the TV show was really cool! But yeah, I don't own either. ^_~

A/N: So I'm a sucker for the Gaby x Illya ship, and so I gave them a kid, a daughter named Katerina, which has about a thousand nicknames. Most of the time she's called Katie, since everyone can agree on that (though Gaby and Illya sometimes call her Katya or Katyusha). She's about five years old in this ficlet. This'll be a three-shot!

Heroes Need Monsters

Gaby was awake the moment the bedroom door opened a hair, letting in the soft glow of the hallway nightlight. She opened one eye to see Illya looking back at her, alert even though his eyes were barely open.

Neither of them moved, however, as little bare feet padded over the carpet, hardly making a sound. A slight dip in the mattress and the blanket shifting downward was the only indication that their daughter had climbed onto the bed and made herself comfortable.

If they had left her like that, Katie would have slept the entire night curled up at the foot of the bed like a cat, possibly using Illya's ankles as a pillow. Cute, yes, but a little worrying.

Up until a couple weeks ago, she hadn't had any problems sleeping through the night in her own bed, and only rushed to their room after a nightmare or during a bad thunderstorm. But after Illya had left for this last mission, their curly-headed moppet had started crawling into bed with Gaby every night without fail. Apparently there were monsters with fangs and claws and lots of fur in her closet and under her bed, and a thorough inspection of all those places with a flashlight and even all the lights in the house on couldn't convince her otherwise.

Gaby had hoped that when Illya got back, the whole monster situation would go away, but no such luck. She hadn't even gotten a chance to tell him about it yet. He had just gotten back that afternoon, and they hadn't really had a moment to talk without Katie around.

Or, well, they had, but they hadn't used that time to talk.

A big, callused hand brushed across Gaby's skin as Illya sat up and then reached for their daughter. Gently, he slid her across the covers until she was close enough to gather into his arms. "I think this is not your bed, Katyusha."

Her little face with its pert nose and big green eyes looked so solemn it was almost funny. "There's a monster under my bed, Papa."

Immediately, Illya's eyebrows came together in that concerned frowny expression that Gaby loved, and he glanced over at her, silently asking what was going on.

"We've been dealing with a minor monster infestation since you've been gone, love," she said, "Can't seem to get rid of them."

"Mommy made them go away, but they won't stay gone." Katie's lower lip poked out for a split second before she determinedly hid her pout against Illya's neck, her dark blond curls spilling over his shoulder. Her next words were muffled. "They're scary."

Gaby could see Illya's arms tighten around Katie, and she reached out to squeeze his thigh, letting him know that she understood how he felt. Monsters weren't real, so there wasn't an easy way to take care of the problem. They couldn't chase it away or fix it quickly.

Illya couldn't punch invisible monsters to death. No matter how much he wanted to.

After a long moment, Illya loosened his hold and kissed Katie's forehead. "We will have to see what we can do about the monsters in the morning. It is not a good time for hunting. Little girls should be asleep." He set her down on the bed, and Gaby automatically gathered Katie to her, squishing her with a hug and covering her with kisses until she gave a sleepy giggle.

A shadow crossed over them and Illya caught Gaby's lips in a quick, crushing kiss, one of his arms planted in the mattress on her other side so he could prop himself up and not squash them. "That, by the way, includes chop shop girls." His voice was stern, and that sent a shiver down her back.

"Russian giants, too, then," she said, shoving his chest.

He growled before pulling the covers up around them, tucking his girls in. Most of the time, Gaby preferred being called a woman rather than a girl, but with Illya, it was different. Endearing instead of aggravating, most of the time.

Between them, Katie curled up against Gaby, but one of her tiny hands reached out toward Illya, fingers resting splayed on his arm as if to reassure herself he was really there. It must've been too much for him because a few seconds later, he picked her up and set her on his other side and then pulled Gaby closer. It was as if he just wanted both of them as close to him as he could maneuver them.

Gaby knew there was no need to say that they had missed each other. It was etched in every movement, in every time they reached for each other.

Before the last sliver of night faded, she felt Illya give her a feather-light kiss. "Goodnight, Радость моя."

Радость моя = My Joy (I'm sorry if I totally screw up Russian words. I'm trying, but Russian is not my strong point! Let me know if you catch my Russian mistakes so I can fix them! 3)