Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I only the own the situation in which I have put them in.
As Eli and Brooke were upstairs washing their hands, Perry and Della were downstairs starting dinner. All the while Perry was thinking about what he had just overheard between his grandchildren. He sighed heavily, and Della put her hand on his shoulder.
"Perry, why are you so upset," Della asked. "Are you upset with them?"
"No," Perry said, taking a seat at the bar, "I'm upset with myself. What is wrong with me?"
Perry put his head in his hands in frustration. Whenever the children were around he tried to keep his anger in check.
Della rubbed his upper back and silently whispered, "I wish I knew, Darling. Until we can see a doctor on Monday, you'll just have to take it easy."
"I wanted to have fun with the kids," Perry explained.
"Oh, Perry, they will understand this time," Della said in an attempt to calm him down.
"Della," Perry barked, beginning to become impatient, "we don't get to see them very often, and when we do they don't stay very long. This is the longest we've had them since the day they were born. Della, I'm not getting any younger, and the remainder of my time here on earth is going to be spent with those kids!"
Della looked away and walked to the stove. Perry knew he had upset her which had not been his intention. Perry walked up behind her, putting his arms around her, and burying his face in her neck. He sighed as he said, "I didn't mean to get mad at you, Della. It's just I want to be with my grandchildren and you."
Della felt wet on the back of her neck, and turned to face him. He was crying. She took his face in her hands and whispered in an understanding voice, "I know you want to be with us, Perry. We want you with us too, but if you don't let yourself get better, we may lose you. We can't, nor won't, let that happen. We need you."
"No," he choked, shaking his head; "it is I who needs you, Eli, and Brooke."
He and Della leaned in and kissed passionately. When they broke apart they were both smiling. Then they heard a giggle coming from the doorway, and looked over to see Eli standing there holding his sister's hand smiling, while Brooke was laughing.
As soon as Perry and Della saw them, their worries disappeared. Perry walked towards them and knelt down beside them. However, when he got too close, Brooke stopped laughing and Eli stopped smiling. The kids backed away as if scared that Perry would drop to the floor again, clutching his heart, and in unbearable pain. The smile vanished on Perry's face too as he watched their reaction towards him.
He stood and said in an authoritative yet gentle tone, "I want to talk with you two in the family room."
The children looked at each other confused, but none the less entered the family room and sat on the couch. Della came next, and then Perry. He waited a minute, thinking about what he was going to say, and how he was going to say it.
"Eli…Brooke…me and Grandma heard your conversation…."
"Are you mad at us, Pop," Eli asked, his eyes wide with fear.
"No, Whirlwind, I'm not mad," Perry explained. "I just don't want either of you to worry about me, okay? I want us to have fun together. Let me worry about the consequences."
Eli and Brooke looked at each other, looked at Della, and then looked back at Perry when Brooke said, "But Pappy, we make you sick. Before we got here you weren't sick. But when I screamed you started hurting. We don't want to hurt you, Pappy."
Perry stared at Brooke, his eyes becoming watery. He knelt down beside her and said, "Bunny, neither you nor Eli made me sick. It's just something that happened. I'm going to be fine, but if you shut me out, I will get sick. You know why? It's because I love you so much that I can't stay away from you, not when you're in my house. Being with you two is what makes me feel good, trust me."
Eli and Brooke glanced at each other, and then smiled at Perry. Suddenly, the children lunged at him, hugging him tightly around his neck. They hit him with such force, that he lost his footing, falling to the floor taking Eli and Brooke with him. Della laughed from her place in her chair as the kids and Perry laughed as well.
Eli was lying on the floor beside Perry and said, "It's good we don't have to stay away from you, Pop."
"Yeah," Brooke chimed in who was lying directly on top of Perry, "we would miss you too much."
"I would miss you too," Perry said back, smiling at Brooke then at Eli.
"I love you, Pop," Eli said.
"I love you too, Pappy," Brooke added.
"I love you both too!"
"Well," Della said, unable to stop the tears from coming, "I'm going to fix dinner now. I'll call you when it's ready."
"We'll help you," Perry said, trying to get up after Brooke rolled off of him and onto her brother.
"Then come on," Della smiled, "let's get dinner going because I am starving!"