"Fuller House", episode 20 of season 4, has always bothered me. Why would Jesse, a grown and married man, voluntarily move back into the Tanner house? And more importantly, why does his newlywed wife Becky go along with it? And why does she talk to Danny - behind Jesse's back - about moving into the attic? This piece is a missing scene from that episode.
Jeff Franklin created the characters of Full House and Warner Brothers Television Distribution currently owns the rights to the series. This is a work of fan-fiction, written by a fan for other fans. No copyright infringement is intended.
My thanks to Cerm and Wert for beta-reading. Any remaining errors are mine.
Danny Tanner was fixing himself a late-night cup of tea when the phone rang. Startled, he sloshed the hot liquid across his hand before setting the mug down and reaching for the phone with his opposite hand.
"Hello?" he answered cautiously, inspecting the burn. Fortunately, it was mild. As he ran the kitchen tap and dunked his fingers under the cool water, he wondered who would be calling at midnight. Kimmy Gibbler was always a likely suspect for mischief, but she wouldn't call the home phone line this late - she'd ring DJ's private number. Joey didn't have many friends outside of the family and Jesse's partying days were long behind him. Besides, Jesse had just moved in with his new wife, Rebecca.
"Danny?" It was Rebecca's voice, high pitched and anxious, on the other end of the line. Her obvious distress made the hair on the back of Danny's neck stand on end.
"Becky, what's wrong? Are you all right? Is Jesse okay?" A million thoughts raced through Danny's mind at once, the foremost being that he couldn't take it if he lost another family member. What if Jesse had been in a fatal car accident like Pam?
"I don't know, Danny, I don't know!" Becky's voice rose in pitch. "I've never seen him like this! I don't know what to do!" A sob escaped her lips and Danny's heart broke. Jesse was alive, but something had to be seriously wrong with him for her to sound like that.
"Okay, Becky, you need to calm down. Now tell me what's going on."
He heard a sniff on the other end as Becky tried to compose herself. "Well, we went to bed about an hour ago. Jesse was acting really strangely about being here. He kept holding Michelle's stuffed pig and talking about how much he missed you guys and how he wanted to go home." There was a pause, and Danny heard a quiver in Becky's voice when she continued. "I told him that he lived here now," another pause, "and then we went upstairs to bed."
"Okay." Danny paced through the kitchen as far as the phone cord would take him.
"Jesse just woke up screaming. He was terrified. Danny, he didn't make any sense. He kept talking about Pam and the blood and telling her to hold on until the ambulance got there." Becky was now crying as she spoke. "I couldn't get him to snap out of it. And then he started asking me about Michelle. 'Where is Michelle? I have to take care of Michelle.' So I finally went downstairs and got Michelle's stuffed pig for him. He curled up with it and fell back asleep."
Danny's voice was gentle. "Becky, Jesse has night terrors about the night of Pam's accident. Didn't he ever tell you?"
"No."
"He was driving the night she was killed."
"Oh, my God!" Her horrified tone of voice made Danny realize that Rebecca mistakenly thought that Jesse had been the drunk driver.
"No, Becky, it's nothing like that. They were," Danny took a deep breath, "slammed into when that drunk driver crossed the double yellow line. Jesse and Pam had been out to dinner, but they'd only had a drink or two apiece. Neither of them was over the legal limit." He sighed deeply. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but that's the reason why Jesse rarely drinks now. He still feels guilty over what happened to Pamela. He thinks maybe he could have avoided the collision. I've told him to stop blaming himself, but whenever he's upset or under stress, it all comes back."
Becky's voice was small. "He's never said anything to me."
"And he probably won't. He won't remember anything you talked about tonight either. You need to keep an eye on him, Becky. When he gets like this, he sleepwalks. Try to keep him in the house. One time, I found him out in the backyard. He was sound asleep, trying to ride his Harley."
"Oh, Danny." Becky was talking through her tears. "I had no idea. What brought all this on? I mean, we just got back from our honeymoon! Things were going so well! I thought our new life together would be perfect."
Danny was silent for a long time. "Becky, I know I shouldn't say anything, but I think you have a right to know. Jesse never told me this; I learned about it during one of his night terrors. Before Pamela died, while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Jesse promised Pam that if anything happened to her, he would move in here and live with me and raise the girls."
There was a pause before Becky sobbed, "Oh, Danny. What have I done?" She started crying in earnest.
"You didn't do anything, Becky. You didn't know." Danny's voice was kind.
"I can't make him choose between me and his sister! I would never do that to him." Her crying grew louder.
"Well, maybe he doesn't have to choose."
Danny was relieved to hear Becky take a deep breath as she tried to calm down. "What're you talking about?"
"How about if you and Jesse move in here with me and live in the attic? There's plenty of room up there. I'll pay for the renovations."
"Oh, Danny, you don't have to do that. We'll figure something out." But her voice didn't sound convincing.
"Becky, I know Jesse. This isn't something that's just going to go away. When he makes a promise like that, he sticks with it. If you're willing to move in here, I think it would make life easier on all of us."
"Let me think about it, okay, Danny? This is a lot to take in all at once. But thanks, I really appreciate it."
"Anytime, Becky. Good night." Danny hung up the phone and headed back to his bedroom with a wistful smile. There was something strangely comforting and beautiful about his brother-in-law's devotion to Danny's late wife.
"Good night, Pam," he whispered into the dark. "I love you, too."