Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I only the own the situation in which I have put them in.
After the last remains of the Mac & Cheese had been eaten up, Perry, Della, and the children all went back into the family room to discuss plans for the rest of the weekend. All four of them sat on the couch, Perry and Della side by side, Eli on Della's other side, Brooke on Perry's. Once they were settled Della asked, "So what do you guys want to do?"
As usual Eli was the first to respond, "Let's go to the zoo!"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Della told Eli excitedly. Then pointing at Perry said, "We could take them to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It's only about an hour or an hour and a half away from here. Oh, let's do it, Perry!"
"Della," Perry smiled and laughed at her, "If I didn't know better I'd say you are as excited as the kids! But still I don't know."
"Oh please, Pop," Eli leaned over Della and begged. "I want to see the tigers!"
Perry smiled at Eli for a little bit until he looked down at Brooke on his other side and asked, "Bunny, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to the zoo?"
Brooke looked up at him, grinned, and said, "Rrroooaaaarrr!"
Perry and Della laughed and Perry said, "Well it looks like the vote is unanimous. It looks like we're going to the zoo!"
Both kids, along with Della, clapped and hollered. Perry held up his hand for silence. When the room had calmed down Perry said, "We'll go tomorrow."
"Ah, Pop," Eli groaned. "Why can't we go today and somewhere else tomorrow?"
"Well," Perry said looking to Della for a little support, "I thought that maybe we could do something relaxing and small today."
"Could we go into the woods behind the house, Pop," Eli asked. "Could me and Brooke go exploring?"
"We would have to come with you," Della explained looking sternly at Eli. "Neither you nor Brooke, especially Brooke, is old enough to go out there on your own."
Eli crossed his arms pouting and settled back into the couch cushions before he whispered, "Okay."
Della smiled and looked over at Perry to find Brooke propped up on Perry's stomach. Perry looked down at her and asked, "Do you want to go exploring in the woods, Bunny?"
Brooke looked up at him with a great big grin and nodded.
"Alright," Perry said, picking Brooke up and heading towards the back door, and said in a deep voice, "Adventurers Bunny and Whirlwind wish to explore new lands and find new creatures!"
Brooke giggled and Eli ran past Della and Perry towards the woods. Della always being the protective one shouted, "Eli, don't go too far!"
When Eli did not stop it was Perry's turn to yell, "Eli, wait for us!"
Eli stopped, turned around, and sat down in the grass waiting for Della, Perry and Brooke to catch up.
Perry put Brooke down and she ran to her brother and playfully tackled him. Perry and Della smiled, they were so cute. Perry and Della finally reached the children and off they ran into the woods. They walked lazily hand in hand, watching the children "explore". Perry chuckled.
"What's so funny," Della asked, a crooked smile playing across her lips.
"Oh," Perry sighed looking at her, "I just remember all the times we ever went hiking and picnicking."
"Those were fun times," Della agreed, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked. She remembered them just as plainly, all the food, fun, and romance. They were magical times that she would not forget any time soon.
"As a matter of fact," Perry whispered, "let's go on a picnic next weekend like we used to. We hardly ever do anything fun for ourselves anymore. How about it, do you want to go?"
"I think that would be wonderful, Perry," Della said excitedly.
Just then they heard a noise that made them go numb, it was a scream. Perry and Della looked at each other and then took off running in the direction of the scream. Della pulled ahead of Perry since his bad knee limited his movement. Della rounded a clump of trees first to see Eli sitting on a stump and Brooke sitting on the ground crying.
"Sweetheart, what happened," Della asked picking Brooke up and hugging her.
Perry soon came around the clump of trees and noticed Brooke crying in Della's arms.
Breathless he asked the crying child, "What happened, Bunny?"
When Brooke did not answer, Perry turned to Eli who merely sat on the stump offering no help to the problem. Not meaning to sound angry Perry barked, "What happened?"
Looking stunned Eli replied, "A spider got on her and she screamed and it bit her. I killed it though."
Still having a hard time breathing, Perry leaned against a tree while Della checked Brooke over, searching for the bite.
"Found it," Della said loudly after a few minutes. "It bit her on the tummy."
"You don't think…it was…poisonous…do you," Perry gasped.
"No, I don't think so," Della answered smiling at Brooke. "It'll just sting and probably itch a little later."
Wordlessly Perry nodded and closed his eyes. He thanked God that it was just a harmless spider, but next time it could be something worse. He was mad at himself because he had not been watching his Bunny. He was also frustrated that if it had indeed been something far worse, it would have taken him a while to get to her because he was too old, too slow, and too out of shape for this. He still could not quite catch his breath.
"Perry, Darling, are you alright," Della asked concerned. While he had had his eyes shut she had wandered over to check on him. "You don't look so good."
"No, I'm fine," Perry lied, smiling at Della to try and convince her otherwise. He looked down and saw Brooke staring up at him, tear stains still on her cheeks. He sighed as he asked, "Are you going to be alright, Bunny?"
She gave a small smile then asked him innocently, "Are you, Pappy?"
He pushed himself off the tree and put a hand to his chest rubbing it. It was like a dull pain in his chest and it was slightly hard to breathe. However, Perry tried to cover it up as he said to the kids and Della who still looked concerned, "I'm going to be okay."