Perry was in the hospital after having another procedure done on his knee. When Della went to pick him up, Perry saw a man being arrested on television for murdering the director of an upcoming musical. A man he saw outside of the hospital at the time of the murder. Della took him downtown to try and clear the man. Perry took on the man's case as he believed him to be innocent. After speaking to the accused, Johnny Whitcomb, he went to the theatre the musical previews were playing at. Perry sent Della to make some phone calls while he spoke to the producer. Perry then addressed the entire company to let them know about the four members who were unaccounted for the night of the murder.

Della got a new computer for work. Joy walked in and saw her mother messing around with it. "Need a lesson?" she asked.

"Very funny," Della said.

"Mom, have you ever used a computer before?"

"Yes, I have."

"Really? When?"

"When? Before, that's when."

"Well, let me know if you've forgotten anything," Joy started to walk towards her room, "by the way, the power button is the big round one," she said as she was walking away.

"I think I know what the power button looks like," Della said.

"Then turn it on!" Joy yelled from her room.

"I need to stop giving her a key to the room," Della mumbled before turning on the computer. She had figured out how to put the case files on the device and was doing that when Perry returned. They spoke about the case before Joy walked back out.

"Hey, you finally figured out how to turn it on," she teased.

"Perry, take her with you."

"If I take her with me, how will the computer get turned off?"

"Oh, you two are just hysterical."

Perry leaned down to kiss his wife's temple, "we're just having a little fun, dear."

"Let me know how much fun it was tomorrow after you've slept on the couch."

"What about Joy?"

"I have nowhere to send her beside her room and she likes that."

"Mom, I was just teasing. I'm sorry," she said.

"It's alright," Della smiled, "I'm not offended."

"I mean, I think it's great that you were able to go from communicating through cave drawings to using a computer."

"Why you..." Della stood and her daughter ran to her room, laughing. "I walked right into that one."

"Boy, did you ever." Perry kissed his wife, "I'll be back."

"Be careful," she said.

"I will," he responded, "our daughter better be here and alive when I return."

"Don't count on it."

Perry's client was acquitted of course. Ken asked for some help with a case he was working on, so Perry sent Della back to the room. It was still early in the afternoon. She told her daughter that she was home and that Perry was helping Ken. Della had been feeling strange all day, but just shrugged it off to lack of sleep. She started feeling achy and light-headed. "Joy!" she yelled.

The girl quickly opened the door, "yeah?"

"I don't feel well. Could you help me to the couch?"

"Sure," Joy wrapped an arm around her mother and took her hand. Once Della was on the couch, Joy grabbed the thermometer. "You have a fever," Joy said after taking her temperature. "Did you just start feeling like this?"

"It's been coming on all morning." Della placed a hand on her chest and winced.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"My chest hurts."

Without hesitation, Joy picked up the phone and called for the paramedics. She did her best to remain calm because she could see a bit of fear in her mother's eyes. "Do you want me to call daddy now or after we get to the hospital?"

"Not till I say so."

Joy didn't argue because she didn't want to upset her mother and make things worse. The teen went with her mother in the ambulance and sat in the waiting room while tests were being run. "Miss Mason," a doctor said four hours later, "your mother is doing fine. In fact, she can go home soon."

"What happened?"

"She has something called myocarditis. It's when a muscle in the heart is inflamed. I've written a prescription for her that our pharmacy is filling at this moment. It should be ready by the time she's discharged. Your mother said she had a case of strep throat a couple of weeks ago."

"Yeah," Joy answered.

"That's probably what led to this. The cells fighting the virus may have entered her heart. We gave her something to help lower her fever. You should be able to take her home within the hour."

The doctor took Joy to her mother's room. The teen hugged the woman. "How do you feel?"

"A little better. I'm sorry I scared you."

"You didn't do it on purpose. Why don't you take a nap while we wait for you to be discharged?"

"Okay," Della closed her eyes and fell asleep. Joy called for a cab to pick them up in an hour. Forty-five minutes later, Della's prescription was ready and she could go. Joy took the prescription and put it in her purse. She grabbed her mother's purse while the nurse helped Della into the wheelchair. Once the cab arrived, the nurse helped get Della inside. It took a little longer to get back up to the room because Della would have to stop and rest every now and then.

Joy got her mother settled on the couch, "what do you want me to order for dinner?"

"Just some soup," Della said.

Joy ordered room service. When it arrived, she helped her mother to a chair at the table. After she finished her soup, Della took her medicine. Joy got Della back to the couch and then cleaned up. She placed the cart right outside of the room with the dishes on it. Perry was back an hour later. "So, how was your night? Did the two of you do anything fun?"

"We just hung out around here," Della said.

"Then why are you wearing a hospital bracelet?" He could tell his wife and daughter were surprised he noticed, "I can see it from here." Perry sat on a chair facing his wife, "now, what happened?"

"Perry, I'm fine, well, I'm going to be. Remember when I had strep throat?"

"Yes," he said.

"Well, I guess the cells that were fighting it made their way into my heart and inflamed some muscle. I'm on medication for it, and the doctor said I should be back to normal in no time."

He looked at the time stamp on the bracelet, "this happened shortly after I sent you home. Why didn't I get a call?"

"I told Joy to call you when I said it was okay."

"Why didn't she?"

"Because I didn't tell her to. I guess I didn't want to tell you over the phone."

"I saw the cart in the hall. Did you eat?"

"I had some soup."

"Well, we'll stay a bit longer so you can rest."

Della looked at her daughter, "you should be proud of Joy," she directed at Perry, "she stayed calm the entire time and got help here right away. I know that I'm proud of her. I'm also grateful to her."

Joy smiled at her mother. Perry looked at his daughter and smiled, "you did great," he said.

"Thank you, daddy."

Perry looked at Della, "now," he stood, "let's get you to bed."

"I can help her," Joy said. She got her mother to her feet, "dizzy?"

"No," Della said and the two began walking towards the bedroom with Perry right behind them. The two got Della ready and tucked in bed. "Joy, do you ever wish we hadn't adopted you?"

"Just when you tell me 'no'."

"I'm serious," Della said. "Your father is falling apart. Now, I'm laid up."

"Does it suck to have older parents? Yes," she said, "but not for the reason you may think. It sucks because I don't get you guys as long as I'd like. Dad's in his seventies and you're almost there. I'm trying to at least keep one of you alive for twenty more years, but you're both making it difficult. Stop getting sick," she said to Della. Joy turned to Perry, "eat healthier, lose weight, and your knee will probably feel better."

The couple smiled at their daughter, "we'll try," Della said.

"That's better than nothing. Let me know if you need anything during the night." Joy said good-night and went to bed.

Perry joined his wife, "now I feel bad," Perry said. "I have to do something about all of this. If not for me then for Joy."

"I support whatever you decide. Now, I'm very tired."

Perry kissed his wife and the two went to sleep.