AN: I'm back today with a special collaboration piece co-authored with PerryLovesDella. We've been working endlessly on this for the past few months and are so excited to finally share it with you! As usual with my work, our gratitude goes out to ValancyStirling48 for her suggestions and corrections! I'll admit, this story started out very differently. It was supposed to be an angsty piece that dealt with grief and loss and mourning...but we didn't have the heart to kill off the character that had to be killed off for that. So we did this instead! I hope you'll forgive us!

Della bristled and channeled every bit of manners and grace she had. It would take every drop of self-control not to slap the woman across the face.

Instead, she gave Laura a terse smile and sought out Perry's eyes for a few brief moments before she excused herself from the room to take care of the "supplies."

Perry saw straight through her white lie, of course. She hated that she was so transparent to him.

The wish to lock the door behind her was almost overwhelming. She wanted to make him sit in the outer room and stew on why she was upset.

Which would hardly be fair. It wasn't his fault that...that woman was here.

Della knew Perry loved her, knew it even beyond the shadows of doubt that were hanging over her head right now. The history between Perry and Laura would never mean anything compared to what existed in the present between Perry and Della.

She hated that they had kept their relationship secret for so long that bringing it out in the open seemed foolish and inconsequential. It's not like they were really missing out on anything. She would be the one beside him at dinner, in court, or in bed no matter who knew of their relationship. She didn't know any married couples who shouted their love for each other from the rooftops...but having the option to do so...

'You never married?' Della had never wanted to slap someone more than she had in that moment.

She sat down at her makeshift desk and reached for her leather folio. This one was newer and still smelled of leather. Her initials were embroidered in the corner, just like the two or three before, which had all worn through from use. Della knew that tucked inside one of the small pockets on the inner face was a card in Perry's cramped writing. It was from the first folio he'd given her decades earlier.

My Darling Della,

For you, so you don't have to rubber-band all those paper files together and cart them to the courthouse that way.

Will you marry me?

Perry

It hadn't been his first proposal, nor had it been his last. He'd signed every personal letter, birthday card, and phone message like that over the years. Their own little secret code that meant I never thought I could love you more than I did yesterday, but here we are today...

Tucking the note back into it's special pocket, Della pulled out a clean sheet of paper and her favorite pen.

Dear Mrs. Robertson,

I'd like to formally answer yours and everyone's questions about the relationship between myself and Mr. Perry Mason. Not that I feel that it is your business to know, but because people are constantly speculating incorrectly, I would like to set the record straight. And not that you are deserving of an explanation, but simply because you were bitchy enough to ask outright:

No, I never married. Not in the legal or conventional sense of the word at least. But in the sense that I have dedicated half my life to one man...more than half my life, my time, my energy, sometimes my sanity, and certainly all my love, yes, I am bound by heaven and earth to Perry Mason.

Incidentally, Perry never married either. It wasn't for lack of trying-he proposed to me several times. I stopped counting at fifteen. We both knew, or thought, at least, that the legal institution of marriage wasn't for us. That said, we've spent the better part of forty years cohabitating. Now, before you clutch your pearls and click your tongue, let me assure you: I do not regret it. I wouldn't give up the comfort and peace I have had for these forty years to assuage your embarrassment on my behalf. Falling asleep and waking up beside the love of one's life is a gift like no other. Never did I have to worry about him staying at the office all night by himself. I never had to wonder if he was alright when he went home after a criminal was released from prison. If I couldn't sleep, he was there.

We've gone through everything together, from the extraordinary to the mundane. Murder trials. Health scares. Orange peels stuck in the garbage disposal. We've moved offices and houses and furniture. There's really very little we haven't experienced together.

One more thing, before I close: I know. I know everything about your relationship with Perry. Not because I asked out of suspicion or a morbid sense of curiosity, no. Simply because Perry told me out of trust. I know all the cute little secrets you had. All the things you did that ultimately ended your relationship. He told me every time he saw you after things ended so, so long ago. Again, not because of suspicion or doubt, but because we trust each other with everything. Everything.

Please know that while I do not enjoy your intrusion into our lives, I do not see you as a threat. I'm not worried about Perry being unfaithful to me, especially with the likes of you. I merely feel this is an annoyance; one that will quickly pass, and one we will work hard to avoid in the future.

Very insincerely yours, Della Street

Della read through the letter and rummaged through the drawers for a match to get rid of the evidence. She jumped when the door clicked open.