MM Perry Mason Returns

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no profit etc.

"You can't use it," she stated looking down at her hands, feeling his eyes on her, raising hers to meet his. "I won't have it Perry."

"This proves their motive is false, how could you expect me not to use it?" His eyebrows nearly touched each other as he frowned,"Without a motive their case is purely circumstantial."

"Purely circumstantial..." she drew in a deep breathe, "the only way I will ever be free is if we find the person responsible," she pointed out reasonably.

"You knew all along he was going to give you the foundation," there was accusation in his tone.

"I wasn't going to take it," she replied with a shrug, "I'd already told him that. He ignored what he didn't want to hear."

Perry ignored the insinuation in her tone, he was pursuing a topic.

"Did you know he loved you?" he couldn't help the cracking in his voice.

"He didn't love me Perry, he was just bored with the women in his life, he wanted a change." She spoke softly, but her voice had a steely huskiness that underlined every word.

His eyes challenged her , she returned his demanding stare, the unspoken question in his eyes hurt her immensely.

She waved her hand,"we worked closely together, long hours but it was work. You of all people should know that allows anyone to make any assumption that suits their own purpose, regardless of lack of proof." she threw the challenge back at him. Her temper was rising, "He was a very close friend," she added.

His own anger was simmering or else he would have pulled back. He did not state the obvious, that the assumptions, in their own case, had been true.

She could see it written on his face so she simply added."You can't use it."

"It's important."

"He wasn't my lover, if you use that it will make it look like ...look like he was," but that wasn't all she wanted to say. He waited, rubbing his thumb into his palm. "And then they will make comparisons with you."

"I'm a big boy." She exhaled sharply at that. She couldn't believe he was going to make her say this out loud.

"And I will be made to look like some woman who .. who.. " but she couldn't say it. She turned her eyes to the statements in front of her the words blurring into incomprehensibility.

"From all accounts he was a handsome man, and he challenged you, what stopped you?" she heard the roughness in his tone only because, despite the years apart, she knew him so very well. She was glad she had not been looking at him at that moment. She held her eyes down, hesitating until she knew her tone would not screech.

"Apart from him being married you mean?"she asked, her voice deceptively quiet, he snapped his eyes to look at her. Knowing before their eyes even met, that he had insulted her unforgivably and hurt her when he should have been doing everything to support and reassure her.

"Of course, " he used his best courtroom voice, jealousy and stubbornness refusing to allow him to back down.

"I didn't love him, are we finished now, I want to get some sleep." She didn't wait for him to answer but grabbed her keys and bag. Pausing only briefly when he replied softly, "For the moment." He watched her go from underneath a furrowed brow. It was only when she was gone that the full extent of what he had said hit him. He had been out of line, way out of line. He had pushed her not to get more information on the case but because he was crazy jealous of a dead man. There had been no evidence that they had been lovers, only a statement by a spoilt although neglected daughter. He pressed his fingers into his forehead rubbing at the frustration. Aside from anything else, Della would have told him, but now, now he had made her say something that she didn't need to say. He grimaced at his carelessness. The phone rang it was Paul, he welcomed the distraction, he barked some orders down the phone. His guilt making him too ashamed to call her to apologise. His fear for her kept him working long into the night.

...pm...ds...

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he said gruffly. Her eyes widened, then softened, then narrowed and she placed her hand on her hip, suspicion written in her eyebrow line as she glared at him. Pursing her lips slightly from side to side, as if needing to physically hold the first words that demanded to come out, allowing her to consider her response.

"So you should be," she said finally, one eyebrow shooting upwards, examining his face for insincerity, she found only strain from lack of sleep and a concern bordering on fear that he could not hide. She met his eyes as he lifted his to hers, not quite able to remove the glare from her expression.

"I let jealousy cloud my reason," he admitted with his serious, impenetrable courtroom face. At that statement all her anger with him evaporated leaving her helpless and her expression softened "Hhmph," she murmured, not yet ready to forgive him but how could she resist those blue, blue eyes, it was not fair, he held such sway over her.

"It happens from time to time inappropriately," he added, the hint of an impish grin on his lips. His expression grew serious again, "I had no right to ask what I knew was a malicious lie."

She looked him up and down, "Is that an agreement not to use the information?" she pressed.

"I will use it if it becomes necessary," he stated imperiously, a stubborn set to his chin returning. He made the mistake of looking back into her eyes and could not hold her steady gaze. "But only as a last resort," he conceded. He tapped the desk in front of him, didn't she know he would use anything in his power to stop her being convicted, sensibilities be damned. Didn't she know what he would give up for her. He felt the anger rising in him anger, anger driven by fear. This time he swallowed it down.

The silence spanned out between them, less uncomfortable than it should have been.

"I ...I can live with that," she responded finally. He held out his hand for her, she took it without hesitation. He brought her fingers to his lips. Both of them had momentarily closed their eyes, neither seeing the reaction that they caused in the other. Forgiveness asked and granted in that quiet exchange. The fax sprang to life snapping their attention back to the present case.

"Where's Paul?" he demanded, his focus shifting immediately to the more pressing issues.

"Checking out the Aston connection." she replied slipping easily into secretary mode, reaching for the notes she had prepared and pushing them across to him.

The End

Thanks for reading - now go forth and multiply more P&D stories!