Beyond The Velvet Claws Chapter 9

The daylight and the sun streaming into the room enveloped her, making her feel warm and peaceful. Gone was the dark, cold, scared feeling. His arms were around her, his hands caressing her…..slowly…lightly. His voice was low…..soothing. His words were loving…..endearing. The nightmares were gone. He had taken them away. She had awakened, crying out in the night, filled with panic and dread….shaken and trembling. Perry had immediately taken her into his embrace, holding her, calming her, helping to clear away the confusion and fear brought on by the terrible dream.

Della would never forget the moment when Perry broke down the door to the room where Frank Locke had been keeping her. She was still groggy, the sedative that insane man had injected her with not yet having run its course. Della thought she heard voices, other voices but she couldn't be sure. They sounded very far away. At one point she thought she heard Paul and Lieutenant Tragg and some other voices she didn't recognize. There were shots and then something was being wrapped around her….something with a familiar scent and feel. Even in her drugged state she realized what it was. It was Perry's overcoat. She tried to talk but her mouth felt dry and she couldn't get the words out. She heard his voice, that wonderful resonant voice, so soft, so soothing. What was he saying? Della was so drowsy, she couldn't understand most of it. She thought she heard him say something about it all being over, about how he was here and he would never let her out of his sight again, how much he loved her. He was taking her someplace he said, but where? It didn't matter. He had found her and she knew that it would be alright. The last thing she felt before the drug overtook her again was the feel of his lips on hers.

Perry Mason paced the corridor outside the emergency room of Cedar-Sinai Hospital. He was waiting for information about Della. When he had kicked down that door, he didn't know what he would find. He only thought was to get to Della. From there on, everything happened so fast but it seemed to be in slow motion. Perry pulled up in front of the one story house in Covina. He knew that Sherwood's men were in place and they had the house surrounded. He knew that Paul and Lieutenant Tragg were parked down the street, just out of sight…..and he knew that as soon as Locke came to the door and let him inside, the police were going to converge on the house and capture him…..That's if everything went according to plan. What Perry didn't know was Della's location inside the house. Suppose she was right in front of Locke? Suppose he would use her as a human shield? Suppose there was gunfire and God forbid Della was shot? Trying to get a look inside was impossible because all the shades were drawn. Perry got out of the car and walked up the path to the front door. Steeling himself, he breathed in deeply and said a silent prayer. Then he knocked on the door.

Paul Drake carried two cups of coffee down the cold, sterile hallway. Reaching the area right outside the emergency room, he walked over to where Perry was sitting and handed him a cup. Taking a seat next to the beleaguered attorney, Paul put his hand on Perry's shoulder.

"She'll be alright pal, don't worry."

"Paul, we've been sitting her for the better part of two hours and no one's come out to tell us anything. What do you think it means?"

"I think it means they're working on her and when they have something to tell us, they'll be out."

"Did you see her Paul? There are bruises from where he hit her and God knows what else he did to her. Then there's the stuff he knocked her out with. Who knows how much of it he gave her. What effects it will have on her. When I got to her she was so out of it….she was barely conscious. She couldn't talk. She couldn't even say my name."

"Perry, Della is strong. You know that. She's a fighter and she loves you. I'd stake my reputation on the fact that even if she was so out of it and even though she couldn't talk, she knew it was you."

"Yeah, but her breathing….it's so shallow. You saw her. She 's pale as a ghost and…."

Perry stopped in mid sentence. The emergency room doors opened and a man in scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck came walking toward them. Perry started to stand but the men motioned him back down.

"Mr. Mason?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Mason, I'm Dr. Edwards. I'm the Doctor on call this evening. I'm sorry that it's taken so long to come and talk to you but we had to stabilize Miss Street and make sure everything is under control."

Perry could hardly speak. "How is she Doctor? How's Della? May I see her?"

Dr. Edwards smiled. Yes, you can see her. In fact, she's been calling your name. When you first brought her in her, we flushed out her system. It took a while because whatever he gave her was quite a bit and from what you told the nurse, it was more than once. We took blood and sent it to the lab. We hope to get a more definitive answer on what he gave her. She still has an I.V. in her and will have it in throughout the night and perhaps into tomorrow. The bruises are minimal, thank goodness and should heal nicely on their own. I don't see any cause for concern there. We are also monitoring her pulse and blood pressure. She started to come around and she's a little more coherent now. As soon as she's a little more stable, we'll transfer her to a regular room. She's pretty wiped out, which under these circumstances is normal. I definitely want her to stay tomorrow and the next day as well. After that we'll see. When I do release her, I'd like her to stay home for a few days. You know, just make sure that she rests and takes it easy. Oh and I'd like her to come back for a checkup in about ten days. "

"Dr, Edwards, thank you, thank you so much for taking care of Della and I'll make sure she follows your instructions to the letter. I appreciate everything you're doing for her, really. You don't know how much. She's everything to me. I….I love her more than life itself. Can I stay with her please? I promise I won't get in the way. I just need to be with her."

Dr. Edwards smiled and his voice was caring. "Yes Mr. Mason, you can stay with Miss Street. Like I said, she's been asking for you for a while now. I think it would do her a world of good and would really speed her recuperation. Why don't you come back with me now and stay with her until she's ready to go to her room. I will make sure that they bring in a cot for you as well."

Perry's face broke into a wide grin. "That would be great Doctor. Thank you."

Perry turned to Paul whose face held the same type of smile. "Paul…"

"Go on pal, go be with Della. Tell her I'm so happy that she's going to be alright and that I love her and give her a kiss for me. Tragg told me to call him and let him know how Della is. He even offered to come and pick me up. How about that? Wonders will never cease will they?"

The two friends shared a laugh then Perry turned and followed Dr. Edwards through the emergency room doors and back to Della.

Perry drew back the curtain and walked slowly over to the bed. Della was lying with her eyes closed and her face towards the wall. Sensing his presence, she turned, opened her eyes and gave the lawyer a small smile. Her voice was soft. "Hello Counselor."

Perry bent over and pressed warm lips to Della. She responded and placed her hand on Perry's arm for support in lifting herself up. Perry broke the kiss and smiled as he gently pushed Della back against the pillows. She protested and Perry tenderly placed a finger on her lips.

He tried to keep his voice even but there was no denying the depths of emotion in it when he spoke.

"Well if that kiss was any clue, then I'd say you're feeling much better Miss Street." He caressed her face and brushed back the hair from her forehead

Della answered quietly. "I don't know about feeling better but I can tell you that kiss was reserved for my hero."

"Is that a fact?"

"Yes Mr. Mason, that's a fact. You're my hero, you know that don't you? As scared as I was and even though I was out of it most of the time, I knew that you would find me…..I knew you would come and get me and bring me home. Now, what I would like to do is give 'my hero' another kiss. Do you suppose that would be alright?

Perry smiled. That would be wonderful….very nice…..but I'll let you do that under one condition"

"What's that?"

"That you let me tell you how beautiful you are and how much I love you."

"Oh Perry…." The tears that Della had kept bottled up now fell unbidden down her face.

Perry gently brushed them away and lovingly hushed her. "Shhh….shhhh…..shhhhh. Its OK darling, it's all over, you're safe. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be with you the whole time, alright? Please honey, don't cry. Come on, you're supposed to be resting. I promised the Doctor I wouldn't get in the way or do anything to upset you. What do you think he'd say if he walked in and saw you like this? I'd be in trouble for sure."

Despite the situation, Della managed a little laugh. Perry nestled her chin in his hand then bent over and left a sweet kiss on her mouth.

"Sweetheart, really, how are you feeling?"

Besides the fact that I feel like I've been dragged through the mud, there's not a bone in my body that doesn't hurt and all I want to do is sleep for a solid month, I feel wonderful, never better. Just give me five minutes and I'll put on my dancing shoes."

Perry took Della's free hand and brought it up to his lips. After kissing her wrist and the inside of her palm, he said, "my Della….I am so proud of you. You were so strong, so brave. You, my girl, are something else."

"Perry?"

"What is it….What do you need?"

"I want to go home."

"I know baby, but the Doctor wants you to stay here for a couple of days….just to make sure you're OK. I think that's a very good idea and then when we do go home I'm going to take care of you. Just think, you get to rest and be waited on hand and foot, breakfast in bed, massages, maybe some surprises…..and the pleasure of my company around the clock. What do you think about that?"

Della could not suppress a yawn and her eyes began to close. "I think Counselor, that I don't have the energy to argue with you. You'd probably win anyway. Della's voice now took on a more serious tone.

"Perry?"

"Yes dear?"

"Will you tell me what happened….what happened when you…when you found me?"

"Della, honey, I promise you I will tell you everything. I won't leave anything out but please baby, you're so tired. You need to rest. Just close your eyes and sleep. Can you do that for me…hmmm? I'll be right here." Perry brought his chair even closer to Della's bedside.

"Perry…"

"What sweetheart?" Perry was having a hard time settling Della down. He was hoping she'd be asleep by now but it was clear that she was fighting it. He didn't know if it was because she just couldn't sleep, which he found hard to believe or she was scared to close her eyes. He had a feeling that it was a little bit of both.

"Will you please hold me?"

She didn't have to ask twice. Perry stood and pushed the chair away from the bed. Carefully he lowered the rail and even more carefully sat on the edge of the bed and very gingerly took Della in his arms. He gathered her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head. Then, covering her with the blanket, he caressed her face in small circles, murmuring soothing, loving words in order to get her to sleep. Della sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She was silent for a few minutes and Perry thought she'd finally fallen asleep. Suddenly he heard her voice, low and drowsy.

"Perry, I 'm sorry…so sorry."

Perry was momentarily taken back. He voice was filled with incredulity. "Sorry? What are you talking about? Della, love, you have nothing to be sorry for."

Della looked up at Perry meeting his gaze with her beautiful eyes. Even though she wasn't feeling herself, she didn't want to wait to explain her actions. She wanted to apologize now.

"Perry, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you where I was going. I know I should have never gone there alone. I….I just thought I could help you. You're always there for me…doing everything you can to help me and take care of me. I just thought I could do this for you. You know, make it easier. Instead, it made everything more difficult…..everything was…..

Della didn't have a chance to finish. Perry bent down and left a soft kiss on her lips. When they broke away Perry smiled and spoke in a low, gentle voice.

"Della, listen to me. I know why you went to see Locke. We all knew he was trouble right from the beginning but none of us knew what a crazy monster he was. You just did what you know how to do best. You thought you could get a confession out of him and that would speed things along, not to mention making it easier for me. I know you were only trying to help and I love you for it." Perry paused and brushed the hair away from her face. "Sweetheart, don't you know that you help me all the time? I could never accomplish half the things I do if it weren't for you. You're an incredibly amazing woman Miss Street and if I haven't told you before, I'm telling you now that I thank God every day that you are in my life."

"Oh Perry….." Della's voice was soft and drowsy and her eyes began to brim with unshed tears.

Perry's fingers gently rested on Della's lips. "Shhh….Shhhh… Shhhh…..Now that that's settled what if you just rest. Close your eyes and sleep. In a little while they're going to come and take you to your room. So if you wake up and things look different you'll know where you are but you don't have to worry because I'll be right here alright?"

There was no answer. Perry looked down at Della. His eyes filled with tears. She was finally asleep, her hand wrapped around his waist, her head on his chest. As he held her, Perry silently said a prayer of thanks to God for bringing her back to him.

Della stirred restlessly in her sleep. Perry woke and tried to settle her back into a peaceful slumber but it was to no avail. She continued to toss and turn and a minute later began crying out. Suddenly she bolted upright, shaking and screaming out loud and gripping the sheets and blanket. Perry, his arms around her, spoke in a low reassuring voice but it took a while before Della could calm down. Perry turned on the light and poured Della a cup of water from the pitcher that was on the table next to the bed. She took it with trembling hands then gave the cup back to him. One of the nurses had passed by the room and went in to see what was wrong. When Perry explained what had happened, Sarah asked her patient if she could get her anything or do anything for her. Della politely thanked her but declined saying she had everything she needed. The nurse looked puzzled for a moment then, realizing what Della was talking about smiled and left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Perry turned Della's face to his and quietly asked, "do you want to tell me about your dream?"

Della looked at Perry and nodded her head. Her voice still held the fear that her dream had caused. "Oh Perry, it was terrible. It seemed so real….like it was happening all over again. I was alone in the office. I didn't know where Locke was. Then all of a sudden I could hear his voice but it was still dark. I heard him say he was going to get you. He was going to get all the money and just take it and get out of the country. I was his way out. Then, all of a sudden, I could see him. He started coming at me with this huge needle. It was bigger than the real one. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream out. Then he came closer. He had that needle in his hand. He went to stab me with it and that's when I woke up."

Perry carefully pulled Della closer to him and spoke in a soothing voice. "You don't have to be afraid any more Della. I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. It was just a bad dream honey, just a bad dream. I promise there won't be any more of those. Why don't you lie back in my arms and close your eyes and dream beautiful dreams. You can tell me all about them when you wake up."

Della yawned and gave Perry a sleepy look. "I guess I should try so that way you could get some sleep too."

"Don't you worry about me, Miss Street. I'm fine, in fact I'm more than fine. I'm great. I have you back and that's all that matters to me. As long as you're by my side, I can do anything. You're all I need. You're all I'll ever need. Now, why don't you close your eyes and try to sleep. I bet you'll have one of those beautiful dreams I was telling you about. Just close your eyes and think about where you would like me to take you. You know, somewhere very pretty and very romantic, with warm days and starry nights. Someplace where I can give you those drinks with the little umbrella's in them and hold you close when we dance. Some place far away from here where we can be alone together without any interruptions."

It was very quiet in the room. Della's relaxed body and her slow even breathing told Perry that she had finally fallen asleep. Pulling the blanket around them, he too closed his eyes and slept till the morning light filtered through the window.

Epilogue To Follow