A/N: The idea came from Mascaret, and while I usually prefer to do longer fics, this one was in my head and was asking to get out. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading.

PLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLDPLD

Della Street looked up from her typewriter, as the door opened at approximately 4:45pm on a Friday afternoon. Perry was held up at a meeting with a client in Glendale, and she was waiting for him to return, and bring them some dinner. They had a long night ahead of them, and Della was feeling more than a bit peckish.

She was also beginning to feel something else….something more on a personal level.

From the day that she first met Perry, at the interview for her job, she knew that she was dealing with an impressive, handsome, intelligent man. In the time since then, the feelings that were once simply admiration, had grown into something more. Not that she would dare put an actual name to these emotions - she would no more admit them to herself, than she would to him - but if she was honest with herself, she knew what they were.

And sometimes, when she caught him looking at her when he didn't think she was paying attention, or when he would stand closer to her than was appropriate for two people who were merely work colleagues, she thought he might have those feelings, too.

This was no time for those thoughts, however. Not when there was someone that needed her attention.

"Good afternoon," she greeted the prospective client with a broad smile. A striking woman, with light brown hair, liberally streaked with white, a regal bearing, and the most intense blue eyes she had seen since….well, since Perry Mason himself, walked up to her desk, and stood in front of Della.

"How may I help you?"

"Good afternoon….is Mr. Mason in? I'd like to see him, please."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Mason has been delayed at a meeting, though I do expect him relatively soon." Della began to page through her desk calendar. "Was he expecting you? I don't recall there being an appointment for him for this evening."

The older woman sat down in one of the chairs in front of Della's desk, in a gracefully smooth movement that belied her years. "He wasn't expecting me, but I was in town, and thought I would stop by on the spur of the moment. I hope that won't be too much of a problem, Miss….?"

Della smiled at the woman, and tried to put her at ease. Depending on how long this interruption took, it would indeed make for a long evening, and perhaps a problem for Perry, but she knew that, just like Della herself, there was no way that Perry would turn the woman away.

"Street," Della filled in for her. "Of course it won't be a problem. I'm certain that Mr. Mason will be most happy to assist you in any way that he can. May I get you some coffee while you wait?" She offered.

"That would be wonderful, thank you. Black, please….with just a spoonful of sugar."

As Della went into the small kitchenette to make the coffee, she began to think about the woman in her office. She seemed like a sweet older woman, and she hoped that she wasn't in too much trouble. She certainly couldn't see her being involved in murder, like Perry's usual clients - though to be fair, one never knew. After a year of seeing the array of clients that paraded in and out of the office, nothing surprised her much.

A few minutes later, Della brought the tray in, and set it down on her desk, handing the woman her cup and saucer, and pushing the sugar toward her to help herself. "I hope you don't mind if I have a cup with you. Confidentially, it's almost dinner time, and I haven't eaten a thing since 11:00AM."

The mention of the time caused the older woman to put her cup down, and glance at her watch, a frown gracing her lips. "I guess I didn't realize that it was so late," she fretted. "I'm afraid I don't have much time to see Mr. Mason. I hope he returns soon. I was hoping to speak with him."

Della could see the woman's concern, and her first thought was to do whatever she could to help alleviate that concern. Getting up, she went to the other woman's side, and crouched down next to her chair, before placing her hands on top of her folded ones, seeking to reassure her. "Now don't you worry one bit more! Mr. Mason should be back very soon. He is an absolutely brilliant attorney, and whatever it is you need, I promise you, you've come to the right man."

The piercing blue eyes seemed to almost dance with mirth. If Della didn't know better, she would think that this woman was attempting to hold back her amusement. "Have I? I know of his reputation; he must be outrageously expensive."

Now Della knew what the issue was. At least, partially. "He does charge a good amount of money, but while I admit to being more than a bit biased, you'll find he really is worth it. Why, do you know he's never lost a case?" She couldn't help but to beam with pride as she extolled Perry's virtues. "He's just about the most brilliant man that I've ever come across. Mr. Mason really and truly cares about his clients, and you won't find an attorney who works harder on behalf of everyone who engages him. That said," she bit her lower lip as she thought of the most delicate way that she could phrase what she wanted to say next. "If you….have a problem paying his fee, I'll be more than happy to speak to him on your behalf. I promise I won't say anything to him that could embarrass you, but I just know he'll agree to do something for you. He's much more interested in fighting for justice for his clients, than he is about making money off of them. I promise you, you'll be in the very best of hands." She looked into the older woman's eyes, her own eyes shining with pride at the thought of her boss, and his kindness and generosity.

When the woman looked back at her, Della could see the amused and delighted smile on her face. Oh Lord. She had gone too far again. Sometimes she just couldn't help herself when it came to Perry and his brilliant perfection. Time to dial it back a bit.

Patting the woman's hand, Della got up, and seated herself once again behind her desk.

"Now, let me get some information about you, so that when Mr. Mason gets back, we can make the best use of his time." She took a sip of her coffee, pulled out her steno pad and pencil, and poised herself to write. "First off, I'll need your name, please."

"Of course. My name is Rachel Mason."

Della proceeded to write down the information, repeating it softly to herself as she did. "Rachel Mason. Rachel Mason?" It was then that the name struck her. "I didn't realise you were a relative of Mr. Mason's. You are, aren't you?" She smiled sheepishly.

Mrs. Mason gave Della a grin of her own. "I'm Perry's grandmother. I haven't seen him in quite some time - I know how busy he's been - but I'm on my way to visit my sister in Nevada, and the train stopped in Los Angeles, so I thought I would try my luck and see if he could spare me a few minutes."

"So this is a surprise, is it? Perry….I mean, Mr. Mason will be so happy to see you. I've never met any of his family, so this is a real treat for me, as well."

Just then, the door opened once more, but instead of Perry, Paul Drake came waltzing in, cigarette in hand.

"Hiya Beautiful! Is your boss back yet? I need to-oh." Paul caught sight of Mrs. Mason, seated in the chair. She was eyeing him carefully. "I'm sorry….I didn't realize you had a client. How do you do," he addressed the client, extending his free hand.

Della smirked. "Mrs. Mason, this is Mr. Paul Drake, our private investigator. Paul, this is Mrs. Rachel Mason - Perry's grandmother."

Paul perched on the corner of Della's desk, and faced Mrs. Mason. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mason. Perry never told me that he has such an attractive grandmother. If I didn't think he would have my head, I'd ask you out for dinner."

Rachel Mason grinned at him, and countered. "And if I were in town for more than a few more minutes, I just might have taken you up on your offer. With compliments like that, Mr. Drake, I assure you, the pleasure is mine."

Della rolled her eyes, but refrained from making the sarcastic comment that she wanted to. Paul would flirt with anything in a skirt.

Paul gave her his most winning smile before turning back to Della. "Look Beautiful, where's Perry?"

"He's not back from Glendale yet. What's the message?"

"Tell him that I still have my man Davis tailing that Stockton dame, and he's got her going in and out of Molloy's place at least three times in the past two days. I'll keep him on her, and let Perry know if there's any sign of Molloy. I've got to run, but tell him to call me at my house if he has any questions. I'm beat, and I need to get some sleep."

"He'll be glad to hear that, Paul. He was certain that Miss Stockton was more involved with Molloy than she admitted to us. We'll phone if we need you."

"Mrs. Mason, take care, and tell your grandson to loosen up. Maybe work a little less, and have some fun sometimes."

"I'll do my best, Mr. Drake. If I can get him to listen to me, I will."

Paul winked at her before heading out the door.

"He certainly is a charming young man," Mrs. Mason commented.

"He is," Della agreed with a smile. "I adore him."

Rachel Mason frowned again. "Pardon my asking, dear, but I'm a bit curious. Is he your boyfriend?"

Della laughed. "Paul? Why would you ask?"

"He seemed rather familiar for a private detective."

"He did? Oh, you mean because he called me "Beautiful"? Paul Drake is an inveterate flirt, and he has a different female friend every other day of the week. I can assure you, I am not one of them. I prefer men with a bit more gravitas. Paul….he's like my brother."

Was it Della's imagination, or did Perry's grandmother seem to smile a bit when she heard that?

"You know Mrs. Mason, I've always been curious about something as well. Do you mind my asking you a question?"

"Certainly dear, what is it?"

"Mr. Mason is so dedicated to the law, and he's so serious when he's working on a case. Was he always like that, even as a little boy?"

"Perry?" Mrs. Mason's eyes grew a bit dreamy, as she hearkened back to her grandson's childhood days. "He was, at times….you know, when he thought something was unfair, or when he was working on a project for school, something that required his utmost concentration. Other than that, he was a happy, sunny child. Always had time to spend with his grandfather and me, was happy to help us work in the garden, or anything else we needed. He didn't become so serious until he came back from the service, really. He had served some time in the Navy, you see, and just before that, he had gotten involved with a -"

Her reminiscence was interrupted by the opening of Della's office door, and a familiar voice ringing out. Perry's arms were loaded with bags of food. "I'm so sorry that I'm late, Della. That meeting dragged on so long, that I thought I'd never get out of there. We'd better get a move on; we have a lot of work to do tonight, and we have to - Nana!" Perry put the bags of food down on Della's desk, and went to take his grandmother in his arms. "Nana! What in the world are you doing here?" He placed a kiss on her cheek. "I trust Miss Street has been taking care of you?" Perry looked between the two women, and caught the conspiratorial grins between them. "I'm almost afraid to ask what you've been talking about."

"Everything and nothing," Nana replied nonchalantly. "I stopped by on my way to see your Aunt Mary, but I see how busy you two are, so if you'll just phone for a taxi to take me to Union Station, I'll be on my way."

Perry balked. "No, Nana….why don't you go to my apartment, and I'll…." He was torn between the work he knew they had to get done, and his love for his grandmother.

Nana waved her hand dismissively. "Nonsense, dear. Your Aunt Mary is expecting me anyway, and it was rather presumptuous of me to just drop by unannounced. I'll tell you what; why don't I come back when I'm done visiting….if you're available," she added.

"Alright Nana. Perhaps I'll even be able to take a day or two off to spend with you then. How would you like that?"

"That would be wonderful. Now, if you'll phone me a taxi, I'll take my leave."

Perry turned to Della, who was busy examining the containers of food, and deciding what she wanted. "I'll get right on it, Chief." She knew what he was going to ask of her even before he asked it.

As Della made the call, Nana turned to Perry to ask. "Do you think you could take me downstairs to wait for the taxi? It'll give us a bit of time to chat."

"Absolutely. Della, could you hold down the fort for a bit, while I take this lovely lady down to her taxi?"

Della hung up the phone, then began to put the food back into the bags. "Sure thing, Chief. Mrs. Mason, it was very nice to meet you, and I hope to get to see you again when you get back."

"Young lady, I can guarantee it. And the pleasure was mine."

Perry and his grandmother waited outside of the Brent Building, talking about this and that, before Perry asked the question that was on his mind.

"Why did you drop by, Nana? Not that I'm not happy to see you," he clarified. "But you usually let me know ahead of time, so I can take some time off to spend with you."

"Perry, I'm headed to see your Aunt Mary, and though I adore the woman, I just know I'm going to have a full week of her bragging about her grandson, his wife, and their newborn baby boy. If I have to hear one more time about her beautiful great-grandson, then I might just have to retain you to defend me in court. Don't you think you could-"

"-Nana, you have been singing this same song to me for as long as I can recall. I just haven't found the right woman yet."

Mrs. Mason looked at him skeptically. "I think you have, you just won't admit it to yourself."

"Nana, she threw me over, don't you remember? Besides, they're married now, and from everything I hear, they're very happy. Unfortunately for me." He added bitterly.

"Perry, I don't mean her. She was never the right one for you, and I think if you could be honest with yourself, you'd admit the same thing."

He couldn't help but laugh. "You never did like her much, did you?"

"On the contrary, I liked her just fine. She was beautiful and charming, witty, and very, very clever. Almost as clever as you. But that's the thing; you were always such a brilliant and perceptive boy - I refuse to believe you couldn't see it for yourself. The minute that you introduced me to her, and then to your friend Frank, I knew. I watched the three of you together, and while you might have been the one holding her hand, he was the one that had her heart. You were almost like an….interloper is the word that comes to mind. An interloper into their relationship. Perry, you need someone who won't outshine you, but who will be a support for you. She has that in Frank, and you have that someone too, if you'll just open your eyes and see it." The taxi pulled up in front of them, and Mrs. Mason tapped on the window, holding up a finger to ask that the driver wait a minute.

"Look Perry, you once asked me for this," she continued, pulling her wedding ring off her finger, "to give to someone who was intrinsically wrong for you. I didn't give it to you then, and I was right not to. I wanted to give it to you when you had a woman whose eyes light up when she's talking about you - even when you're not in the same room as she. Your Jessie had that with your friend, and I think you have the right woman to give it to now. I do so hope you'll do that, and sooner rather than later."

It took a minute, but then the penny dropped. "Nana….you can't possibly mean that you want me to give this ring to….to Miss Street, can you? She's my secretary. She doesn't think of me that way, I can assure you. Besides, I'm still not ready to get wrapped up with another woman. I think the best thing for me to do right now is focus on the law."

Rachel Mason knew her grandson better than he knew himself. He was afraid of being hurt like he had been before. But she knew he wouldn't be. The look on Miss Street's face when she spoke of him had spoken volumes. That girl was in love with her grandson. She knew that like she knew her own name.

"Perhaps you should get wrapped up with her! At least before that handsome Mr. Drake makes his move. I saw the way he looked at her, and if I'm any judge of character, he might be inspired to make that move soon! Dear boy, you willfully didn't see that your other girl wasn't right for you. Don't willfully not see the girl who is. Trust me on this."

She pressed the ring into his hand, and closed his fingers around it.

"Nana, I-"

"-Think about it, Perry. We'll talk about it when I come back."

Unable for once to think of something to say, Perry merely nodded, then bent to give his grandmother a kiss on her cheek. He opened the back door, helping her into the taxi.

"I love you, Perry."

"I love you too, Nana. You know you're my best girl." It was something that he used to say to her when he was a little boy. He didn't know what made him think of it now.

Mrs. Mason closed the door, blew him a kiss, and sat back as the taxi took off for Union Station.

Perry took a minute to look at the ring in his hand, then put it safely in his inside jacket pocket.

The elevator ride up to the 9th floor gave him ample time to turn his grandmother's words over and over again in his mind, as well as to school his features, and concentrate on the task at hand.

When he opened the door to suite #904, he found Della typing away rapidly. Perry took a few minutes to just watch her in action. Her movements, as always, were graceful and fluid - from the way she moved her hands over the typewriter, to the slight tilt she always gave to her head when she was contemplating something.

For her part, Della was supremely unaware of her boss's attention; she was too busy deciphering notes from her steno book, pencil between her teeth.

He called to her. "Della? Are you hungry?"

She turned to look at him, her hands paused on the typewriter, the pencil between her teeth prohibiting her from saying anything. She nodded instead.

"Good. I am, too. I think we need to eat."

Rising from her seat, Della took the pencil from her mouth. "Give me a minute, Chief, and I'll have everything ready for you." He caught her hand as she took the food bag, preparing to unpack it again.

"I think I'd like to go out to dinner, if you don't mind. It'll mean spending a little extra time at the office tonight, but I have some things I'd like to discuss with you, and I'd like to do that in private. Interested?"

Della almost brought up the fact that they were in the office alone, and that was much more private than a restaurant, but something in his voice made her pause, and instead she replied. "I'm always interested in anything you have to say, Perry. You know that." He took her coat from the closet, and helped her on with it.

She continued. "Your grandmother was so sweet, Perry. I can tell that she loves you very much. I can also see where you get your sharp mind!"

"She's a very clever woman," he agreed. "I'm very fortunate; I have a few clever, wonderful women in my life that I love. And now I'm clever enough to see it." Perry made sure the office door was locked behind them.

"When she comes back, I'll make sure to clear your calendar for a few days, so that you can spend some time with her."

Perry pressed the button to call the elevator. "That would be fine. Be sure to schedule yourself off for those days as well."

"Me? What for?"

The elevator doors slid open, and Perry escorted Della inside it.

"That is one of the things I thought we could talk about at dinner."