Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I only the own the situation in which I have put them in.
Dinner was enjoyable for all of them. They laughed more than they ate. Perry had almost forgotten about his chest pains until he felt a flicker of one during dinner, which he was careful to conceal from Della and the children. After an hour and a half, dinner was over and Della was gathering the dishes into the dishwasher. The children ran into the living room, playfully fighting with each other. Only a couple of times did Perry have to reprimand Eli a little for playing a bit too rough with Brooke. He watched them run out of sight again, and then he turned to Della and his heart almost stopped.
She was as stunningly beautiful as ever. Most women lost their figure and their sex appeal, but in Perry's eyes that had certainly not happened to Della. He watched her as she bent over to load the dishwasher, and then straighten up and lean over the sink to rinse off a dish. Slowly, carefully, and quietly Perry got up from his place at the bar and crept towards her. He thought he had her until she said playfully, "You pinch my butt or grab my waist and I will have to hurt you, Perry Mason!"
Perry continued to smile as he asked with her back still to him, "How did you know?"
"After watching Eli I have developed a sixth sense when it comes to misbehaving."
She turned to face him with her eyebrow raised in a playfully threatening way, but almost immediately she laughed as she saw the pouty look on Perry's face. He grabbed her into a hug and buried his face into her neck as he said a little muffled, "I don't ever misbehave."
"Oh really," Della smirked, remembering all the times he or they had broken the law or stretched it to its max. "Then what do you call what you did to clear your clients?"
"Necessity."
Della laughed again, pushing away from him slightly so she could see his face. With his face in her hands she said, trying to act serious, "No, that was you trying to get a little adventure."
"May I remind you, Mrs. Mason," Perry said matter-of-factly, "that you came along on those cases as well for the same 'adventure' as I did?"
"Touché," Della giggled as she pulled his face to hers and kissed him. Perry kissed her back just as deeply, enjoying the sensation of her lips against his. He had always loved to kiss her and he hoped to never stop.
Just as they were getting into the heat of things, both of them heard a small gagging sound from behind them. Reluctantly letting each other go, they looked towards the sound to see Eli standing there, a disgusted look on his face.
"Gram, Pop," Eli said sticking out his tongue, "that's gross. Pop, you have girl cooties now!"
Perry chuckled as he said, "After a certain age their cooties go away."
Eli cocked his head to one side in confusion as he asked, "What age is that?"
"Oh," Perry sighed thinking of a good dating age, "about when they turn seventeen their cooties go away completely and they never come back."
"Oh," Eli said nodding, "then I'll wait till then."
"That's smart," Perry said smiling.
"Pop," Eli asked.
"Yes?"
"Girls say that boys have cooties too. When do ours go away so girls can touch us?"
Just then Brooke walked into the kitchen and stood next to her brother. She had her stuffed animal as a sign she was ready to go to sleep. Perry stared at her for a while before he said a little more stern than he had intended, "Boy's cooties don't go away for girls until they are married."
"Wow," Eli said, looking down at Brooke, "I'm glad I'm not a girl, then."
With that he ran off and they heard him going up the stairs. Laughing slightly, Perry and Della walked over to Brooke where Perry bent down to pick her up. Looking at her with a twinkle in his eye, Perry asked, "Are you sleepy, Bunny?"
Brooke merely nodded, resting her head on his chest. Perry let out a throaty chuckle as he headed upstairs with Della right behind him. When they reached the top of the stairs, Eli already had his pajamas on, and was standing at the bathroom sink getting ready to brush his teeth.
"I'll take care of Eli," Della offered, heading towards the bathroom, "you can take care of Brooke."
"Alright," Perry agreed, heading to the room that Brooke usually slept in when they came to visit. Her room was done in pink and white or as Eli had called them "Yucky little girl colors". Carefully, Perry sat her down on the bed then moved over to the small chest of drawers. He opened the first drawer and pulled out a little pink Disney princess gown for her to sleep in. After about five minutes, he had her in her nightgown, and again he picked her up and took her into the bathroom. Once there he helped her to use the bathroom, making sure she used it, and then once he was satisfied, took her over to the sink to wash her hands and brush her teeth.
Ten minutes later, Eli went back into her room and with one hand, pulled down the sheets and gently laid her in the bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead and whispered softly, "Good night, Bunny. I will see you in the morning. I love you."
"Good night, Pappy," the little girl grumbled as she turned over onto her side. "I love you too."
He smiled down at the little girl, and then walked to the door where he turned on her Hello Kitty night light. He walked out into the hall where he passed Della as they swapped to tell the other child goodnight and that they loved them. A little while later, they both met again in their bedroom where they shut the door and got ready for bed themselves, and to continue what they had started in the kitchen.