"Perry, Della. I was thinking about doing something for Nat – for her birthday. I know her birthday isn't until June but I want to make her 18th birthday special."
Paul commented as he walked in one morning as Perry and Della looked at each other before looking up,
"What were you thinking about?"
Paul nodded and explained his idea as Della and Perry smiled,
"That sounds perfect, Paul. Nat's going to love it."
Della said with a smile as Natalie walked in,
"Hi!"
Perry smiled as Natalie hugged him,
"How was school?"
Natalie sighed,
"Worse, every time I do good… No one acknowledges it. Not even my teachers. I don't know what's going on. I have a feeling that the Waverly's are behind the manipulation of certain people in my school and it's spreading. They manipulated me when I was a little girl."
Paul looked to Natalie,
"What do you mean? Are you trying to tell us that the Waverly's aren't as nice as you said they are?"
Natalie nodded,
"I mean, I know this is going to have to come out in court regardless. But, the Waverly's have been in the drug business since before I was born. I found out around the time I turned 14, and I told Aunt Joyce about it and when Uncle Gregory found out… they weren't surprised in the least. That made me feel better knowing that I wasn't going insane. When I turned 15, is when I gathered the courage to call the police about it. Apparently, the Waverly's cleaned up so well that nothing was found and the police tried to convince me that I was crying wolf. I was so mad that they wouldn't believe me because I was only 15. I noticed their anger towards our family after I had called the police numerous times before they began trying to get us out of the building. Wait…"
Perry nodded as Natalie began to put the puzzle pieces together in her mind as the expression on her face changed from telling her truth to comprehending what happened at the beginning of the year and why it happened.
It was early March, as Perry couldn't get a court date any sooner.
"Go on, Nat. We're listening."
Natalie nodded,
"I think either Jeremy or Elizabeth killed them to get me out of the apartment building. It worked to an extent, but I'm not going to let them win by staying at Miss Street's place. Once we win and after I come back from USC… I'm going to live in our apartment by myself and show them that they can't emotionally manipulate me anymore. But, we don't have any hard evidence that what I said is true, even though I know that it is. What are we going to do?"
Perry and Paul looked to each other and nodded,
"Are there any other couples/families in your apartment building that would be willing to help us break up the operation?"
Paul asked as Natalie thought for a moment and nodded,
"Yes, the Kavanagh's. The wife Helen just gave birth to twin girls in December and once she found out about the Waverly's, she began begging her husband Garrett to move out but they can't afford to move out. I can run by there after school on Monday and tell them about you and give them your number. I know that Helen will be more than willing to help for her daughters' sake."
Della looked to Natalie as she tried not to tear up feeling proud of her.
She's such a strong girl. I've got so much more to learn about Nat. I'm sure that she's going to do so well at USC.
"…Miss Street? You alright?"
Natalie asked with a small chuckle and a smile as Della nodded,
"Yes, I was just thinking about how proud I am of you."
Natalie blushed,
"It's only been what, two months? What have I done to make you proud?"
The shy – humble Natalie was coming out as Della smiled,
"You've shown up in life after the traumatic experience you went through in January. You've continued to be relentlessly kind to everyone, even those who've wronged and alienated you. You're actively involved with the investigation and are willing to put yourself at risk to clear your name. I could go on and on. But those are some of the reasons why I'm proud of you, Nat."
Natalie smiled softly as she hugged Della, Perry, and Paul before heading to get some food for everyone. Perry looked to Della,
"What has happened since she came to live at your apartment?"
Della smiled,
"She wants to come back after graduating from USC and to have us be a family. She feels safe with us."
Perry nodded with a gentle smile,
"I think that would be nice. It already feels like we've become a family since I took her on as my client."
Paul smiled,
"Della's right, every time she looks at you the way a daughter would look at her father… it melts my heart and makes me happy to see that. I remember that first day she was here and how flighty she was, it broke my heart. But now? Now, I can tell she looks at me and sees me as her big brother. This feels right, Perry. All of us know that."
Everyone smiled as work resumed and heartly laughter was heard from the group.
If one was listening in by accident, the person would assume that the office of Perry Mason wasn't working on a difficult case. They would assume that the people inside were a family enjoying a rare easy day.
