A/N: The Tanners became a comic strip in "See You in the Funny Pages," as could have happened OTL (our timeline) given the number of running gags on the show. That first fic showed a sixth season premiere had they introduced a "Full House" comic strip, but bits were changed to reflect the "1983 USA plopped onto 1783 land" universe (called 1983 USA ISOT to 1783, in the Alien Space Bats section visible only to members of alternatehistory dot com.)
That universe is back by request. A second part will stand alone but for convenience sake will be chapter 2 when it's done in a few months, since it'll continue the Stephaie-Rusty bit.
In that role play, the creator has Samantha Smith survive. She gained renown in OTL as a preteen/young teen for peacemaking & media work before dying young. Since the creator of the timeline has her survive, I have her appearing in season 7 of "Full House" in one of my parts of the role play. So, Samantha Smith's part is how that episode would happen. (Indeed, had she survived OTL I can see her appearing in one like this as a role model for girls.)
This happens just after Papouli's death.(No Stavros in the AU; with Greece being in 1783 it's less likely Jesse goes there; I figured Papouli and the others stayed in the US, having been in the US when the ISOT happened.)
Melina(Greek Week) is said to be there in Seasons 7-9 in the role play so they can split the Olsens & logically Jesse would care for her after a while. She wouldn't be in the comic strip right away since characters don't age for a while. Still, while there's enough confusion with AUs I thought you'd rather I keep it simple, she's in there since it is possible they'd just have her move in and both of them be six.
So, Chapter 1 contains elements of that episode with a surviving Samantha Smith. The first part (with the "just say 'y' joke) is what the teaser might have been. Whereas others would have been involved in other plots in that episode, here the plot revolves around a movie being made, too.
Real Characters
Stephanie Tanner, who had just turned twelve a month earlier, grinned a bit mischievously as she saw her older sister, D.J., seventeen, walk in the Tanners' front door with D.J.'s best friend, the very weird and dumb Kimmy Gibbler.
"Hey, Deej. Hey, Kimmy, did you know you can say my name without making a sound?"
D.J. looked curiously at Stephanie while Kimmy took the bait. "Sure; if I've got laryngitis." She paused. "Say, Deej, where in the body is the larynge, anyway?"
"It's the larynx. You must be helping Michelle and Melina with silent letters, huh, Steph?" D.J. asked.
Stephanie nodded. "Right. I just realized, looking at more advanced words, how easy it is," she responded, still hoping for something out of Kimmy. She ignored the fact that in the German spelling, with an 'f,' there would be one letter that was never silent in English. Besides, for all she knew there might be such a word in German.
Kimmy replied, as hoped. "Wow. So, that means I can go around like the Invisible Man, totally hidden by silent letters," she said excitedly.
"Well, not exactly. There's one letter in your name where there aren't any – my teacher said at least in British English, there are silent 'r's, so even Kimberley would have just one." She gestured with the pen she'd been using. "So, it looks like everyone would have to do what I always do. Look at you and just say 'y?'" Stephanie looked triumphant, Kimmy confused, and D.J. amused, unable to hide a slight grin at her sister's cleverness.
Kimmy shrugged. "Oh, well. At least I don't have a molehill growing out of my face."
"A what?" Stephanie instinctively felt her face. "Don't tell me… oh, no."
D.J. smiled sweetly at her. "It's okay, Steph; I remember when I had a big pimple on my nose just as I was about to star in a school play." She turned to Kimmy to encourage her to join in helping Stephanie feel better. "Remember when someone broke the tension by suggesting we all play connect the dots with our faces?"
"Those were great times, Deej. And, look at it this way – in the comic strip you will probably never have a zit," Kimmy expounded.
"Oh, great; suddenly I feel like parodying George Burns." He had sung about being eighteen again. But, she sang, "I Wish I Was Just Ten Again," as Joey Gladstone walked into the room.
Joey was the best friend of their dad, Danny Tanner. A professional comedian, he'd worked with a literacy effort and gotten the whole family involved in lending themselves to a comic strip. This included Danny and his girls, D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, who was seven, Danny's brother-in-law, Jesse Katsopolis and Jesse's wife Becky Donaldson – Danny's co-host for a local morning talk show – and their twin boys Nicky and Alex, D.J.'s best friend Kimmy, D.J.'s boyfriend Steve Hale – though as of now he was mostly just a friend in real life - and Joey himself. Jesse and Joey had moved in to help Danny raise the girls when their mom died when Michelle was just a baby.
Joey thought Stephanie's song idea was great. "I'll give that to Ted," he said of the producer who had helped them start the comic strip. "He could use it. After all, you girls are a year younger in the comic strip, at least for a while they'll keep us all the same age."
"But, they can't hear us sing in the newspaper," Kimmy objected.
"They don't have to – with you as class president there's enough running gags," Stephanie quipped, referring to Kimmy's position in the previous school year.
"I mean in a movie." Joey noticed their stunned looks as Jesse entered with Michelle and Melina, the seven-year-old goddaughter he'd adopted from Greece. "Hey, Jess, I just got back; did you get my message?"
"Oh, yeah, I did. Listen, I know I balked at that comic strip idea 'cause I was afraid of bein' some running gag, but this'd be great; the band and I could even play a song or two," Jesse said enthusiastically. "Deej, the boys'll be up from their naps soon," he said of his two-year-old sons. "Can you run things till Danny and Becky get home – we have to get to our radio show, and they called and they're still workin' hard to get that Samantha Smith on their show."
"Sure, Uncle Jesse," D.J. said with a smile.
Joey went out the front door first, speaking as he did. "Great, Jess – you and the band would make great voice actors for our cartoon."
"Okay, thanks, Deej…" Jesse turned toward the door Joey had just exited from and jogged after him saying loudly, "Wait, what cartoon?'
"Wow! I knew our comic strip was popular but I didn't think we'd be trying to make a cartoon out of it so soon," Stephanie said.
Michelle opined, "If I was a cartoon I wouldn't have to bother with all these silent letters."
"I know the feeling; one of those kept me from being the best speller in the school in fourth grade," Stephanie consoled her.
"I guess it'll be geared toward the New Territories, and focused mainly on kids as the audience," D.J. speculated. "I'm more surprised they'd have a script idea so fast."
"Maybe now, Melina can be in it," Michelle offered.
Stephanie wasn't sure. "How would that work? Do you get put into a comic strip after the movie, or before, or what?"
"Who's Samantha Smith?" Melina asked.
"Oh, she was famous for writing the Soviet leader before the Event sent us back in time. She wondered why we didn't have peace. She started to do news on that Fox and Friends show, and now I guess she's in college," D.J. explained.
"Yeah. Boy, there's someone who never had problems. All she thinks about is world peace – even after the Event when our country went back from 1983 to 1783," Stephanie said.
"I think you'd be surprised, Steph," D.J. said. "I'm sure she's faced a lot of rough times, too."
"Even with silent letters?" Melina wanted to know.
"Even with those. Come on, I'll help you guys; it'll take my mind off trying to organize this charity event at school with this big zit," Stephanie said as she rose, walking up to their bedroom with them.
Ted Lewis was meeting with Danny, Jesse, and Joey in the comic syndicate's local office.
"…So, we've established the ages for your girls, and what grade they're in, so since Melina came from your grandparents to live with you last summer, Mr. Katsopolis, we wouldn't have to include her. However, we can understand your desire to include her in the project," he added, "as something other than just another voice for Michelle."
"Sure; you could come up with a lot of heartwarming plots." He shook his head. The former rock and roller, who was now such a family man – though he still played at times with his band – was stunned. "I can't believe how easy that comes out now. I didn't even make a sarcastic reference to Disney this time."
"See, Jess, you're really growing," Joey said.
"I still can't believe Joey calls that growth, but what else did you have, Ted?" Jesse asked.
"Well, the movie creators were looking though the bios you all provided," he said, looking especially at Danny. "They didn't know if you had contact with him, Mr. Tanner, but the stories you told about Rusty mean he might be quite entertaining in a movie."
Jesse scoffed. "That kid was a regular cartoon even more than Joey. All those practical jokes…" He shook his head.
"He made Bugs Bunny seem boring by comparison," Joey agreed. "But, he did calm down a lot once he got to know us and realized he had to look at life positively and make good things come out of it instead of just hoping his dad would come back."
"It was rough on him, but by the time I coached him and Steph in baseball, he wasn't too bad. He was sort of like one of the more colorful players on a pro team. From what I hear he's a nice kid, but the middle school team's equivalent of the clubhouse clown," Danny said.
"And, that would be perfect. Since the U.S. bought the New Territories from Spain, all the way down to Panama, baseball has become huge there. What do you think your daughter would say to even a budding relationship on screen?" Ted inquired.
"I think she's more worried about her face off screen," Danny joked.
"Hey, Steph, how's it going?" Becky asked later that day as she walked into the bedroom Stephanie, Michelle, and Melina shared.
Stephanie looked away from the mirror she was standing in front of. "Okay, I guess." Becky walked over and put an arm around her as the preteen lamented, "I'm practicing this song as a possible one for the movie, and I thought I'd do it in front of a mirror. Just in case they did decide to go with live action. And, it's got me wishing even more," she finished with a frown.
"I know, Steph, it's hard to grow up; adolescence happens younger than it did 200 years ago, and I think that's another part of the problem. It gets easier as you get older and your mind develops. But, when you learn to smile and just turn it into something fun, that's when you really learn to overcome things," Becky advised her.
"Maybe." Stephanie sang. "I wish I was just ten again. Now zits have my face on the mend. From play date to finding mates, will this change never end? Oh I wish I was just ten again."
"See, Steph, you still have a wonderful voice," Becky reminded her.
"I guess; though it's a bit lower pitched than some of the girls."
"Steph, don't compare yourself like that. Be the best you – you don't have to be them. Remember what your dad said about spelling?"
"There'll always be someone better than you at something, and there'll always be someone worse than you at something, so just be your best." Becky nodded enthusiastically. "But, Aunt Becky, what if my face is always like this? What will people think? Back then I didn't realize just how much people noticed. Now?"
"Well, Steph, at your age I think you get overwhelmed so you don't realize how little people notice, and how much they'll accept if you're a bit different. If it's boys you're worried about, the right ones don't care about the physical – they care about the person inside…"
Danny interrupted the conversation as he waltzed into the girls' room. "Hey, Steph, just got back from meeting with Ted about that cartoon movie."
"Oh, cool. You know, I think that's a neat idea; we can still do the voices when we're older if we work at it hard enough," Stephanie reasoned.
"I think you're right. Although I'm kind of disappointed I won't get to create those magic holes like in Looney Tunes – the ones where you can just throw stuff in and it vanishes. That would be an awesome way to get rid of dirt," Danny said as Michelle and Melina entered the room.
"I wish I could put one on this zit," Stephanie quipped.
"How about putting silent letters in them," Michelle suggested.
Melina turned to her. "Maybe that's why they're silent. Maybe we need to take them out so they can make sounds."
"Oh, sure; as if Poland doesn't have enough troubles; thei language would be really difficult then," Stephanie said.
"Do they have lots of silent letters?" Michelle asked.
"Eastern European countries have langauges with so many, it sometimes feels like they invented the concept," Danny joked. "It took sports writers a while to learn to say names like Yastrzemski and Krzyzewski, let alone spell them."
"We're having Samantha Smith on the show early next week," Becky explained. "When the Event happened, it was before the Second and Third Partitions of Poland. Of course, Poland found out about those events and some wars happened after a buildup, but Samantha Smith wrote world leaders and was part of the peace process there to keep Poland from being swallowed up. Only a small part, but still a part"
Melina spouted, "I'd rather she work with English before she helps with Polish."
"Well, whatever she does, I'm sure she'll do it without any zits. And, with her fame, she'll probably never have to worry about boys, either," Stephanie complained.
"You don't either, Steph," Michelle pointed out.
Melina asked, "Didn't your dad tell you about Rusty?"
"Uh, girls…he didn't get a chance to yet," Becky cautioned them. "And, Melina, when he was here a few years ago…" She didn't know quite how to say it.
"Wait – you mean Rusty wants to set me up with someone?" Stephanie asked, incredulous.
"No, I mean in the movie. Rusty's going to play your boyfriend," Danny said. Stephanie plopped down on her bed, totally deflated at that news.
"…And, that'll do it for this morning's show," Danny said cheerfully early the following week. He was on the set of "Wake Up, San Francisco" with Becky and Samantha Smith. "Thanks so much for being with us, Samantha," Danny said.
"Thank you for having me; it was a real pleasure." After they signed off, she added, "I'm sure your girls will enjoy the encouragement. I guess you'll have this taped for them?"
"Danny's got a whole video library in our house," Becky said.
"I do love to relive those happy family times. I just wish Steph was more confident. She's at that awkward age where she's just not sure what she wants to do; she doesn't have the confidence to keep pursuing some of the things she did when she was younger," he explained.
"She wants to help with a fundraiser at school, but she just got her first pimple," Becky remarked, "and she's all worried about finding her place. But, in grade school she was always helping out – especially since Michelle called her a 'genius' and started sending other kids to her as a Kindergartener – and was in all sorts of sports and everything."
Samantha nodded. "So, it sounds like she's still outgoing and everything, but just confused?" They nodded. "I understand. You know, I'd be glad to come by and talk to her if you want."
Danny's eyes lit up. "Would you? That'd be great. I know D.J. looks up to you, and I think Steph does, too, but the thing with Steph is she doesn't think you've ever had the kinds of problems she does. I've told her you've had it all." He thought for a minute. "Well, we've got a movie deal possible with a huge practical joker playing her boyfriend. You probably haven't had that one."
"Can't say that I have. I'll come by this afternoon when your girls are home from school," Samantha promised.
In the Tanner home that afternoon, Danny, Jesse and Joey were in the living room with Stephanie as a knock came at the door. Jesse opened it. "Hey, Samantha Smith." She nodded as he continued. "Danny told us you were coming. I'm Jesse Katsopolis, this is my radio partner Joey Gladstone, and this is Stephanie."
"Pleasure to meet you," Samantha said. She shook the mens' hands and Stephanie stood and shook her hand as Joey spoke.
"Same here. Say, I hear there's some really good cartoons coming out of Poland; including a Yosemite Sam-type who combines Prussian and Russian traits since they were the countries most involved in the Partitions in our history," Joey said. "Do you know much about their cartoons?"
Samantha and Stephanie both chuckled. "Sorry, I only really know about the geopolitical aspects of the situation," Samantha said.
"See, Dad, this is what I was saying," Stephanie told her dad. "Before, I was just worried about fitting in in my own school. I mean, I really admire you and everything," she said, turning briefly to Samantha, "but now I have to worry about comparing myself to someone who travelled the globe at my age," she concluded, talking to both.
Samantha understood. "I'm in college now, so I'm sort of past that, but I know it can be really hard to decide whether you want to fit in or stand out."
"Or fit in while standing out, or stand out while fitting in," Stephanie joked.
"Or, maybe you can combine the two and stand in while fitting out. Or you could even fit stands," Joey added to lighten the mood.
Jesse looked oddly at him. "That doesn't make sense. Then, the opposite's inning out."
Snickering a little, Danny said, "Steph, why don't you show Miss Smith to the kitchen so you can talk, and also guard the refrigerator; D.J. should be home soon which means Kimmy will be right behind."
"Sure, Dad." Stephanie and Samantha walked while she spoke – partly to relieve tension - telling their visitor, "You can tell we've got a really fun family."
"You do; it's really great to see a family that's close like yours. The way the others have pitched in – including D.J. when they struggled – is really the way I always hoped the world would be," Samantha said cheerfully.
Stephanie was lost in thought for a moment as they entered the kitchen. She finally spoke as they sat. "You make it all sound so simple. It's kind of like kids Michelle's age do."
"Well, I know writing the Soviet leader seemed pretty simple. I'll admit I was a lot more politically astute when I wrote the leaders about the situation with Poland, and I'm still learning about the complexities of things like that. But, it all boils down to private citizens having a voice in things, and getting world leaders to realize we matter."
"You know that sounds so… what's the word I want? Well, it just feel so beyond anything I could do. I mean sure, I could try, and I guess I'm a decent writer. But, I'm worried enough about pimples, whether I can get people to listen for this charity thing for school, and wondering if having a practical joker for a boyfriend as a cartoon will lead somewhere I don't want it to go in real life," Stephanie rambled.
At that moment, Michelle and Melina came in from playing out back. "Hey," Michelle said, "aren't you that famous girl who helped solve Poland's problems?"
"Yes, I did my part writing to various world leaders," Samantha told them.
"Good, maybe you can do something about the English language. At least get people to stop using all those silent e's," Melina declared.
"This is my younger sister, Michelle, and my cousin Melina," Stephanie introduced them. "You know, if we did that, Melina, we'd never know if we should hope or hop." She continued in a somewhat Groucho Marx-style voice, "Or if you pronounce the 'e,' instead of hoping or hopping, you could be hoping or getting help from the Hopi."
Michelle looked at Melina. "That sounds hard to even say real fast."
"Something like that, you can get from context," Samantha noted.
Stephanie agreed. "Sure; I'll help you guys in a little bit, right now I want to talk with her about something," she said.
"Thanks. And, good luck with the Polish problems," Melina said as Kimmy entered with D.J...
"It's pronounced polish," Kimmy told the younger girls as they left, thinking of nail polish.
"Samantha Smith," D.J. said excitedly, "I'm D.J. Tanner; this is my best friend Kimmy Gibbler."
"Great to meet you," Kimmy said. "I hear you answered a lot of polish questions," Kimmy said.
"It's Polish, Kimmy. You know, Poland," Stephanie explained.
Kimmy looked oddly at her. "I don't care where it was invented," Kimmy spouted. She then turned to Samantha Smith and asked, "So, I had a few questions about nail polish." Kimmy asked a couple short ones.
Stepahnie was astounded by Kimmy's questions, to say nothing of her confusion between Polish and polish. "Kimmy, this is Samantha Smith, not Dear Abby. She thinks about big problem like world peace, not something little like what color nail polish goes with what. She's never even experienced anything simple like that."
"Why don't you go ask our Aunt Becky," D.J. said, hinting that she needed to talk to them alone. As Kimmy went upstairs, D.J. explained as she sat at the table with them, "I know in her position in media, at her age, it seems hard to believe, Steph. But, Samantha Smith has been through the same childhood and adolescent problems we all have."
"Sure; I thought about things like zits and nail polish and popularity and all those things growing up. I took different paths toward resolving my questions; but I really can understand what girls your age are going through," Samantha concurred.
"What do you mean, different paths?" Stephanie inquired.
"What I did was I chose to focus on others and think about the good I can do," Samantha elaborated, "rather than worrying about what others thought of me."
D.J. leaned toward her younger sister. "See, Steph, it doesn't matter if you can't do everything she did, you can do some things better than her. Like sports, singing, things like that."
"Right; when you focus on helping others with their problems, oftentimes it helps you to stop worrying about your own. And, then usually your problems take care of themselves really easily. Your face clears up, the friends that are really your friends stick with you, the ones who weren't real friends you don't have holding you back anymore, and so on," Samantha said.
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah. Like I'm trying to mentor this one girl named Gia. I'm helping her to stop smoking and trying to get her to be nicer…" She snickered. "Sort of like what you tried to do with the Soviets."
"You could call it that, sure. It's sort of weird to characterize a country that way, but otherwise, sure. Because, what I really cared about was helping the people affected by what world leaders were doing," Samantha concluded.
D.J. nodded. "Just like it sounds like Gia's been so hurt by her parents' divorce."
Stephanei agreed. She didn't know if it would make sense to Gia, but it sounded logical.
As expected, as they talked over lunch the next day at school, gia was stunned.
"Tanner," she told Stephanie bitterly, "I don't know where you get the idea that it's fun to learn about all that stuff or why."
"Gia, I'm trying to help you to see that I'm trying to understand," Stephanie explained, feeling a little frustrated.
"How by talking about world history? What's next, feeling better about that zit on your nose by comparing it to the flag Neil Armstrong put on the moon?"
Stephanie could tell gia was annoyed by her chuckling. "Sorry, I just got this image of Joey imagining there was a wee little person planting it on my nose, and saying it was actually some weird country's flag."
"That sounds more like that rustry you told me about. You know, I can take care of him if you want."
"No, Gia; I want to solve this like adults," Stephanie persisted.
"Al Capine was an adult," Gia said. "And, I'm nto talking anything as bad as he would do."
"Adults aren't supposed to just go off and…" Stephanie caught herself. "I guess in your worldadults really haven't cared too much, huh?" she asked tenderly.
Gia closed her eyes. "You've got that right."
Stephanie put a hand on Gia's. "Gia, I know it's rough. And, some of my ideas can seem pretty silly. Although believe it or not, I really am willing to sing 'Barney' songs to you along with Michelle, Nicky, and Alex if you light up again."
"You would." Gia didn't want to admit how grateful she was to Stephanie for helping her yet, but she was starting to be a little.
"That kindness, compassion, and so on are just normal in our household; Dad wouldn't let anyone into the family who didn't have that. But, I know there's a lot of people who need help." She had to admit that Gia was helping her, too. "Even without having talked to Samantha Smith, just knowing I can help you encourages me to help others, too.
Gia grudgingly admitted that one thing stood out about Stephanie. "You don't act nice just to blow your own horn. You really seem to want to put me first," she remarked, wondering if she herself deserved to be put first. She wished she knew for sure that she did, but there was a lot about how the divorce and all the bitterness before had made her feel about herself.
Stephanie admitted that, "I struggle with talking about my faith. Maybe because we just go on the church bus and don't have as much encouragement at home. But, I believe I'm forgiven and you can be, too. God made this world perfect without all that fighting and meanness and stuff, but man chose to bring sin into it, and thing started breaking down from there. That's why each of us needs to trust Jesus Christ as SAviour, myself included. And, I did when I was eight." She didn't want to mention what had prompted it – wondering how her dad could be so forgiving after she'd crashed Joey's car into the house.
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before." Gia just didn't want to think about it at that moment, so Stephanie let it drop.
She knew she could try to be a good example, though, and that was what was important. And, comments like gia's next made her realize that, at times, Gia didn't see the purpose of that.
"So, I guess you're going to be a goody two-shoes and work witht hat charity thing," Gia said.
"Well, I'd look pretty strange if I walked around wearing just one shoe," Stephanie cracked. Gia couldn't help but5 smirk a little. "I saw that little smile."
"Yeah, I guess you can be funny sometimes, Tanner. Just like that 'big fan of breathing' line early this year," she admitted, referring to the school year.
Stephanie concurred. She liked being nice not because she had to, but because she wanted to; it was a joy to her. Even when she teased Kimmy more, it was because Kimmy hd taunted her and seemed to want to be like that. She was only starting to learn about how it honored God, too, when she was nice to others, and doing it for Him and not just for herself.
But, the biggest point was, she could try to influence people like Gia with her good attitude. It was just hard, at times, to avoid starting to be like Gia, unless she was careful.
"Sounds like that rusty character and you are a perfect match,' Gia contended.
Stephanie smiled sadly. Here was a chance for Gia to learn to be a good listener, at least. "I don't know. Before, he was so over the top with his practical jokes he made Joey look like a stuffy English butler." She got a chuckle rather than an understand look, but at least that showed gia was listening. "I mean, it's just supposed to be on screen, and it won't even be our lips."
Stephanie paused. Why had she said that? There wasn't even a hint of them kissing. Was she really worried that he'd actually want to do that?
"Well, Tanner, maybe you can substituted a fish or something at the last minute," gia said.
"I think he's matured beyond me doing that,' Stephanie said.
The bell was about to ring, so they took the trays, minus their now finished lunches, to the disposal place. "Well, don't say I never gave you any ideas."
"Thanks, Gia. I appreciate you listening,' Stephanie said sincerely, still bugged by that comment about kissing. True, she'd taken a huge bite from an onion before doing it on New Year's Even just to be funny – sort of like Gia's fish idea – a few years earlier, but this wasn't supposed to go that far, was it?
A few days later, Danny was handing out scripts as she and the others got home from school. "I just got these hot off the presses." He explained to everyone gathered in the living room. "Basically, Jess, you learn about Melina being in an Ottoman orphanage. We have the option of your family going back to Greece after the Event to try to help them get more autonomy in 1783, with Melina still your god-daughter and born over there if possible, or instead she could be a great-great-great-great aunt, or however many greats there are. Which could be part of the fun."
"Ah, the joys of going back 200 years," Jesse said. "I sure wish Greece could be independent again; even if it was just that little bit of land it was at the start… what is that thing?"
"Penninsula," Becky said.
Jesse nodded toward her. "Thanks; yeah, I was never that interested in school. Especially ones like that I couldn't say, let alone spell."
"At least the Peloponnesus doesn't have silent letters," D.J. told Melina.
"Am I ever glad," she replied.
"It's a lot easier than it looks then, Uncle Jesse," Michelle encouraged him.
Ted was busy scribbling ideas as the family spoke. "These would actually be some good lines to add in; those scripts are preliminary, of course."
"We'll have to think about which is best; I think it'd make more sense for future movies if we keep it most similr to how it is now, though," Jesse said.
"That's understandable. I can see some good comedy if Melina and Michelle are distantly related like that, but it might be too confusing of a backstory for the comic strip day to day," Ted admitted. "So, we can certainly go with how it is now, except that instead of staying in the United States in the comic strip timeline Papouli and the others who were there went back."
"Good," Stephanie said as she finished leafing through it. "No kissing."
Danny chuckled. "Steph, were you worried you'd actually have to kiss Rusty? You're only twelve years old; I hope you don't have your first kiss for a long, long, long time."
"rusty's not that bad anymore," Joey assured her.
"I suppose," Stephanie said. "But, if he's thinking of doing some of the silly things off screen he does on, I'm going to be tempted to walk off the set."
"He only does that to those who are trying to prevent you from getting her. So, it would be counterproductive for him to do them to you on or off," Ted promised. "Anyway, this way you'll have a good reason to have her come while your characters remain the same age. The comic strip will just have her suddenly appear, with a bit of backstory that alludes to the movie."
A couple weeks later, the entire cast met for an initial rehearsal and to do a few scenes. Stephanie was a bit anxious as she approached rusty. "Hi," she said as she looked to make sure he didn't have any Silly String on him.
"Hi; what are you looking for?"
"Oh, nothing; I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to cover me withsSilly String or something."
"Where would the fun be in that? The fun part is watching Retro peoples' reactions to stuff like that. Even bubbles might be funny, although I'm thinking in an orphanage Retro kids will have easy access to those before we show up,' Rusty analyzed.
Stephanie was impressed. "Wow; you know, Rusty, you actually sound pretty intelligent about this sort of thing," she complimented him.
"Thanks. Even before, I would never have pulled any on Michelle, you know; she just happened to get hold of that thing with the ink on it. I didn't think about how quickly little kids would pick stuff up," Rusty admitted guiltily.
"Right; and, then there was that love note that got passed around," Stephanie challenged him.
Rusty admitted that had been a mistake. "I didn't think about the ramifications if things got out of control. And, if it goes in a different order, it might have made my mom and your dad fall in love." He could tell Stephanie was very uneasy at that. "Okay, my mom and joey."
"Even that…" Stephanie shook her head. "Who am I trying to kid. I might have done the same thing, not thinking of what all could come out of it."
"Sure, and your family would have figured it out without things getting too dramatic,' Rusty said.
Stephanie thought for a moment. "I suppose so," she commented.
"Anyway, let's talk about how stuff like that really makes the movie funny. Especially when the Ott6oman government somehow gets involved, and tries to declare war on a country that doesn't even exist."
"Yeah, that part's pretty silly. We get permission to take Melina home while the orphanage's owner is involved in building up for a war against North Korea. So, a 1790s empire that in our history went belly up in World War One wants to know how to fight a war against a country that in our history didn't exist till 1945. Pretty funny stuff."
"Sure; there's something in it for adults and kids, for Moderns and Retros," Joey sai. He's been listening in as everyone started to ge ready to record.
"And, this makes my character start to feel something for you, because you tag along and you're willing to help." Stephanie liked the idea. "I guess it's not too bad. And, the nice thing is, since this is totally universe-based, it means there's no reason for us to start to like each other in real life," she concluded.
"We wouldn't have to. But, we could," rusty said shyly.
Stephanie still thought the idea was silly. "Look, Rusty, my dad wouldn't like it, anyway, you're two years older than I am."
"That's okay. By the time I'm twenty-two and you're twenty, it won't make much difference."
"Which is a good reason for Dad to let me date early," she said, holding a finger up.
Joey thought it was cute how they interacted, but he, too, didn't want to encourage Rusty and Stephanie as a couple, especially not if it made her uncomfortable. "There's plenty of fish in the ocean; you don't have to think about picking one now."
Rusty accepted this. "Besides, it's not like your'e saying you wouldn't date me if I was the last man on Earth."
"Well…' Stephanie didn't want to hurt his feelings. And, that sounded kidn of harsh.
"Are you, Stephanie? Would you date me if I was the last boy on Earth?"
Joey grinned. He'd recalled a "Peanuts" comic strip involving Lucy and Schroeder, where Lucy had asked if Schroeder would go with her if she was the last girl on Earth. He'd told Rusty about this, figuring it would make a nice compromise.
He was right. She could live with that, she realized. So, she made a similar pledge to that of Schroeder. "Okay. Yes, Rusty, if you were the last boy on earth, I would go out with you."
"Then there's hope," Rusty declared.
Michelle, who had overheard, said, "Steph's right, silent letters are important. Otherwise you might think you had to hop instead."
'Or become a Hopi," Melina added.
By the time they completed the final run-through, Stephanie was beginning to enjoy even delivered her lines without giggling.
"I never thought I'd see royalty with a whoopee cushion on their throne," Stephanie said.
"I'm just glad we weren't in the vicinity of the palace to actually see it," Danny spoke ina very thankful voice.
"Come on," Rusty read very convincingly, "you know that would have made Aladdin even better. Or any Disney movie."
Stephanie's character was putting a hand on Rusty's should as she said, "Rusty… don't spoil a good thing. I've really come to respect you for how you've helped us. Even to like you." She smiled sweetly. "You really show you care for us."
"Thanks. I really like you, too, Stephanie." They didn't kiss, but their hands clasped together on screen and they gazed into each other's eyes.
The next – and final - scene featured the Tanners back home in San Francisco. Stephanie's character wished rusty well. "I hope your baseball team does well. Too bad we go to different schools right now, but I know we'll see each other around sometime."
"Same here." He blew her a kiss,a nd she reciprocated.
"That's it for that scene," Ted called out.
Stephanie looked at Rusty. "Well, that wasn't too hard." She didn't totally mind that the characters might have a budding romance.
Rusty didn't, either. "I guess not every couple has to get along off screen. I just hope we don't have the chaos some couples have had."
"Yeah; like I've read about the people who played Gabe Kotter and his wife on 'Welcoem back, Kotter," Stephanie said as they walked away from the recording room.
"Yeah, I hear that was a mess. You have to have good casting. I'm glad I got to do this with you," rusty told her.
"Same here. Look, I know I was nervous about this because of how you were before. And, I've seen that you're a really nice guy now. But… just not the type of guy I'd want to go with right now. Even if you were my age."
"I understand. Well, you're only twelve, it's not like you have to make a decision right away," Rusty pointed out.
"Especially since my character's not quite twelve in the comic strip."
"Although Mr. Lewis said the characters would start aging someday, a few years down the road. So, who knows?"
Stephanie smiled. "Right. Well, time to go do the scenes with the family. And sing that silly song again."
"I heard you came up with that; you're really good at parodies," Rusty complimented her. "We'll have to get together and write some; I love doing those."
Stephanie blushed a bit. "I only came up with the concept, Joey and Mr. Lewis wrote the words."
"Still, it's really good."
"Thanks. I guess for now, let's just call it a working relationship. We've got a good one, so let's not mess it up," Stephanie said.
Stephanie was beginning to accept that someday, their characters might really have a relationship that was more than just business. For now, however, she was content to use her pretty singing voice and sing a parody someone else had made.
"…Well time turns the pages, our school days go so fast; now there dances at the star of each May. I talked with my kid sis, no she can't understand the words this preteen has to say. I wish I was just ten again…" she sang. She tried hard to ignore Michelle's and Melina's giggles as she voiced the rest of the song. Their mikes weren't on, but it didn't matter; they might be audible anyway. However, at least that would be in character.
"Are you going to invite Rusty to the dance?" Michelle asked.
"Can we watch if you do?" Melina wanted to know.
Stephanuie smirked while doing the voiceover just as her character would in the movie. "Come on, at this stage, even if I could – and he's not at my school so we couldn't yet till high school – it's just something where we sit on opposite sides of the room and stare at each other."
"Then why are you so nervous about boys?" Melina wondered.
"Maybe it's her zit," Michelle opined.
"Oh, come on," Stephanie insisted. "Besides, that's almost all cleared up by now."
"If you could invite kids from different schools, and you still didn't like Rusty, maybe you could ask Charlie Brown," Kimmy ad libbed.
"Now Charlie Brown, I'd let you date," Danny said. "Except they always seem a few years younger, and somehow Snoopy winds up on dates there." His character had a goofy grin.
"Hey, that would make a great adventure next time… whoa, I think I'm getting a little too close to that fourth wall," Joey said, stopping abruptly.
Kimmy left the scene after saying, "Well, if you're already planning another one, I'll say it's great to have you here, Melina, and go out to the concessions tand for some more popcorn."
"Well, Danny, we're always hoped she'll leave out the front door, that time she just waltzed right out the fourth wall," Jesse spouted. He picked melina up and he and Becky hugged her. "We're really glad this adventure ended so well, Melina. You're gonna love it here."
They all hugged, and Ted said, "That's a wrap. We'll do some tidying up, maybe redo bits of a few other scenes, and that's going to be it."
"This has been great; I hope we can do it again," D.J. said.
Michelle agreed. "While we waited, Melina and I have gotten really good at spelling, too."
"Yeah, thanks for your help, Stepahnie," Melina said. Michelle echoed the sentiment.
"It's my pleasure. It takes my mind off thinking about toys and such."
"Did you eally think D.J. was that strange when it came to boys when you were our age?" Michelle wanted to know.
"I did. I hope we conveyed to the audience how to get along and laugh at ourselves well enough,' Stephanie related. "because that really does help relieve a lot of the stress, not taking ourselves so seriously."
D.J. agreed. "That was probably one of my bigger problems, not taking time to look at the bright side and have fun with things." Of course, she was portrayed as a fair deal more of a leader with her sisters in the comic strip than she had been in reality, though in the comic strip there wasn't an office in the 4th bedroom like in books. So, she could imagine that she might not have had that problem in the comic strip. She had to laugh at how unusual it seemed to be seeing herself in the funnies; although now it was herself a year younger.
"Well, you've started to do a really good job of that, Deej," Becky said. 'And with helping Kimmy. Although I'm not sure if that line will really in there?" Others remarked that they imagined Kimmy's line which broke the fourth wall might not make it to the theaters, though one never knew.
"Yeah, we've always been proud of you, Deej, but lately, you've really been the kind of person others can look up to," Jesse said. "I'm really glad we're in your house to let you and Steph and Michelle be such big helps with Melina."
"It was fun just trying to figure out how to get her into the comic strip," Danny said.
"Well, now we've got it set." He looked at Stephanie. "Think you'll be okay if the comic strip you and the comic strip Rusty actually start a relationship?"
"I suppose so. There have been plenty of TV couples who weren't offscreen. Besides, we'll always be a bit older than our characters now," she said with a shrug.
Rusty had overheard and responded, "I understand. But, I'm glad we can be friends. Who knows, maybe we can write some parodies someday, or do something else together."
"Sure, I'd like that. Just one thing – no practical jokes on us," Stephanie insisted.
"I promise. You know, if you need some help with your next charity event, I'd enjoy working with you on that, too," Rusty said.
"Sure, we could always use help." Feeling safe that Rusty wouldn't insist it had to turn itno love, she was comfortable with letting him help.
"Thanks. That's great. After all… well, I kind of have the same faith you do.' He breathed deeply. "I know I made a mess of things with your family because I was so mad about Dad walking out on us. I just didn't want to think of him in a bad light. So, I just figured he'd come back. But, I see why God's the Father in the bible, because He's what a perfect, loving father should be, always being there for you. I'm glad He's forgiven me."
Stephanie smiled. "Just like I think about how my dad was such a good example because he forgave me when I…" She held up her hands. "Okay, if I didn't tell you before, I don't think I'm ready to tell you quite yet."
"That's okay. I'm just glad we can be friends," Rusty said.
"me, too. I've got a friend, Gia, at school who has a lot of issues with her parents' divorce. Maybe we can work together to help and encourage her, too."
"I'd like that, sure," Rusty said. "Well, I'll see you around."
"You, too." Stephanie smiled as Rusty's mom picked him up. She told Danny, "He's starting to be nice. He jokes around a lot, like Joey, but as long as he stays at that level it's okay."
Danny agreed. "he's been through a lot. It's been hard for him to deal with forgiving his dad now that he's accepted it, but he's starting. Maybe he'll be one of the keys to you helping Gia, too," Danny considered aloud. Stephanie hoped so.
"I wish I'd been more proactive sooner, but I guess we have done really well. All I needed was faith to get through; and, I'm getting more and more,' D.J. said.
"Well, I'm glad we can all get through so much together," Danny said. The others agreed,a dn they all hugged.
Note: Of course, Stephanie and rusty wouldn't be doing much in the relationship department at this age (with her 12 and him 14), but it's a setup for another idea. That other idea might not come for a while, but when it does, it'll take place a number of years from here, with the Tanners all older and Stephanie and rusty in their early twenties.
However, this idea stands well alone, though the "movie" done later will be a second chapter for sake of ease since it's probably confusing enough doing this AU, even if you did read "See You In The Funny Pages.'
As to what the idea is for later, it's hinted at in the endnote for that fic. In the role play, it's part of the comic strip as it was in a different strip OTL. In the fic, it'll be a movie. Meaning we'll officially be entering an AU of an AU. You can probably see why I said it's easiest to keep this in the same fic when I put it up.
In the meantime, you can enjoy my other works – one free, others ebooks/print on demand books – listed in my profile. Thanks for reading.