Chapter 1

Two years; it was the longest time Stephanie Tanner could remember her recent relationships lasting. They sat in a quiet restaurant eating dinner. She looked into his dreamy blue eyes that were such a clear color it was like you could swim in them. He gave her a compliment; she smiled as she thanked him and looked down to hide the small blush on her face.

About an hour later, they headed back to his apartment; there were too many kids running around her place. When they were at his apartment, they'd usually sit around and talk or watch a movie. It was something Stephanie had always been okay with.

The TV was on as a little background noise. His hand was on her hip as they sat on the couch and kissed. They broke apart and smiled at each other. "I love you," he said to her.

"I love you too, Damon," she replied. After a minute, she looked up to him to speak but closed her mouth; this happened several more times before Damon spoke.

"Steph, what's wrong?" he asked lovingly. "You know you can tell me anything."

"Well, it's just that it's something I haven't told very many people, but I think it's something I should tell you now. I feel secure enough in our relationship to do so."

"What is it?"

Stephanie took in a large breath of air and sighed. She took Damon's hands in hers and looked up into his eyes. "I–" she stuttered. "I can't have kids," she admitted. This was something she still hated saying. It'd been hard to do when she told DJ, she remembered being in tears as she admitted it to her older sister. Then she had DJ's support when she told the rest of the family a few months later. DJ's support in anything and everything she'd ever gone through had always made her feel better.

"What?" he asked. Damon's tone wasn't what Stephanie had expected when she told him. He almost sounded angry.

"I said I can't have ki–"

"I heard you the first time!" he cut her off. He let go of her hands and stood up.

"Okay, what's the problem?" Stephanie asked, also standing to be at his level.

"The problem is that I'll never be able to have my own family, my own kids with you. It's always been a dream of mine to have a family of my own."

"And you think it hasn't for me? Besides, we could always adopt, or get an egg donor," Stephanie tried to reason. Damon had always been understanding before.

"It wouldn't be the same!"he yelled.

Stephanie took a step back. "I'm not thrilled about it either," she said. "But this is my life, it's how things are going to be; how things have to be. I wish I could have my own kids, my own family, but it's just not possible."

"Out!" He pointed to the door.

"What?" Stephanie asked. She couldn't believe him.

"You heard me. Out. I never want to see you again." He started walking towards her, forcing her towards the door. He opened it and motioned for her to leave.

"Damon," she tried to reason with him one last time as she stood outside his door, her voice cracking.

"Leave." He spoke this final word and slammed the door in her face.

Stephanie bit back tears as she headed for her car. She sat behind the wheel crying for ten minutes, not bothering to wipe the tears from her face as they raced down her cheeks. She was sure Damon would understand. She must have eventually cried herself to sleep because a while later, she woke to the sound of her car's horn. Looking to her phone and realizing it was midnight, she put the key in the ignition and headed home.

CHCHCH

When she got home, Stephanie parked her car in the driveway and headed towards the front door, hoping she wouldn't break down again and that she wouldn't wake anyone up in coming home this late.

The door made a small squeaking noise as Stephanie walked in, so with hardly enough room, she squeezed through the door. She got it closed and relocked before going to turn the light on.

"Deej?" she exclaimed, seeing her older sister lying on the couch in sweats and a T-shirt. "What are you doing?"

"Oh," DJ started, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face. She shielded her eyes from the light and walked over to Stephanie. "I was just waiting to make sure you got home safely; I must have fallen asleep," DJ spoke reaching Stephanie and getting used to the light. "Your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been crying?"

"Um, what?" Stephanie reached up and felt the dried tears on her face, she rubbed her hand over her cheek. "Oh, no, I was just, um–" she paused. "If I had been crying my mascara would be running."

"No it wouldn't," DJ laughed lightly. "I know you always wear waterproof makeup after that unfortunate DJing incident where the sprinklers went off. Steph, what's really wrong? You know you can tell me."

Stephanie sighed. She started down the stairs of the entryway to the couch; DJ followed behind her slowly. They both sat down and turned to face each other.

"Whenever you're ready," DJ said, nodding to Stephanie.

Stephanie was silent, only looking down at her hands.

"Is it Damon? Did you two break-up or something?" DJ asked, concern etched across her features.

"Yeah, I guess we're broken up now."

"What do you mean, you guess?" DJ asked.

Stephanie took a deep breath; DJ could tell her sister was unsure of what to say next so she took Stephanie's hands in a comforting way of giving her reassurance. "I decided to tell him that I can't have kids tonight and he told me to get out and said he didn't want to see me again." Stephanie's voice broke as she spoke, she was on the verge of tears, they gathered in her eyes.

"Aw, Steph, I'm so sorry," DJ said, her voice breaking as she again shared in her little sister's pain. She quickly pulled Stephanie into a hug.

"I thought he'd understand," Stephanie said, tears spilling from her eyes. "I don't even want to think of him."

"Shh, shh, it's okay," DJ spoke comfortingly. She put one hand on Stephanie's head which was resting on DJ shoulder; her other hand rubbed Stephanie's back comfortingly.

"I came down to get a glass of water, what's going on in here?" Kimmy asked, coming in from the kitchen.

Stephanie looked up slightly, her eyes were more red now than they had been before.

"Wow, Steph, what's wrong?" Kimmy asked, going over to sit on the other side of Stephanie. Despite not knowing what was going on, she placed a comforting hand on Stephanie's back.

Stephanie gave a small nod to DJ as a way of asking her to explain.

DJ nodded, getting the drift, and looked up to Kimmy. "She told Damon she couldn't have kids and he kicked her out. Apparently he doesn't want to see her again."

"Oh, Steph," Kimmy spoke. She and DJ leaned in to surround Stephanie in a hug.

"I thought he'd understand," Stephanie started after a minute. "He understood about how I live here, how I help take care of your kids and work my life around that, everything else that's crazy about my life, he understood it all. I thought he might have been the one, especially after two years," Stephanie said, reaching up to wipe the last of the tears from her cheeks.

"Midnight tequila or midnight chocolate ice-cream?" Kimmy asked.

"Let's go with the ice-cream," Stephanie laughed. The three women stood and headed to the kitchen. They got an unopened tub of chocolate ice-cream and three spoons, then headed down to Stephanie's room.

Kimmy and DJ sat on the couch while Stephanie changed into sweats and a T-shirt. When she returned, they dug into the ice-cream until eventually falling asleep.

CHCHCH

"So I'm thinking ice-cream after midnight wasn't one of our best ideas," Stephanie spoke Saturday morning, pouring herself a mug of coffee.

"Tequila probably wouldn't have been much better," Kimmy said, sitting down at the kitchen table with her own mug of coffee.

"Yeah," DJ agreed from where she sat at the table. Stephanie went to sit down next to Kimmy.

"Aunt Stephy!" Max exclaimed, running down the stairs into the kitchen. He ran over to her and embraced her in a hug. "Where were you last night? You missed saying goodnight."

"Yeah, sorry about that Mighty Max, I was over at Damon's."

"Aunt Stephy, is everything okay? You don't sound okay."

Stephanie looked over to DJ before turning to Max to explain, "Damon and I broke up last night."

"He broke up with you!" Max exclaimed.

"Max, don't worry about it."

"So you broke up with him then?" he asked, confusion written across his face.

"No." Stephanie looked down with a downcast expression right as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Max exclaimed, running to the door. He opened it to find Damon standing on the front porch; Stephanie, DJ, and Kimmy followed behind him. "What do you want?" Max asked.

"I want to talk to your Aunt Stephanie," Damon said, motioning towards the three women.

Max looked back at Stephanie, DJ, and Kimmy. "I don't think she wants to talk to you."

"Steph, I'm sorry about what I said and did last night," Damon said, stepping past Max. He made his way over to Stephanie; DJ and Kimmy stood right behind her.

Stephanie shook her head. "You showed me your true colors last night," she started as Max went over to stand beside his aunt. "I thought you'd understand. I don't ever want to see you again." She repeated the words he had told her the night before.

"But Steph–"

"No buts," Stephanie held her arm out to stop him from moving any closer to her. "Leave."

"You heard the woman, out!" Max said, pointing to the still open door. Max escorted him out and went over to give Stephanie a hug.

"What's this for?"

"Because I love you."

"Aww, Max. I love you too," Stephanie spoke, wrapping her arms around him.

A minute later, little Tommy came toddling into the room, still a little unsteady on his feet even at three. "Aunt Stephy," he spoke as clearly as he could manage. He held onto her leg so she picked him up.

"Hey buddy," she said, reaching to get his tummy. He laughed for a minute. Once he had settled down and Stephanie had stopped tickling him, he leaned his head against her shoulder.

"You've gotten really good with him," DJ said.

"Yeah. I'm glad I moved in here to help you take care of them."

"What was Damon on about?" Max asked after a few moments of silence.

Stephanie looked over to DJ and handed Tommy over to her. Stephanie got down closer to Max's his level. "You know how I told you and the family a couple years back that I can't have my own kids?"

"Yeah," Max nodded.

"Well, last night I decided to tell Damon and he didn't take it very well."

"I get why you don't ever want to see him again. How rude!" Max exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. Stephanie shared a laugh with DJ and Kimmy as Max headed back to the kitchen.

CHCHCH

"We're having career day Friday of next week," Max's teacher spoke the Monday following Stephanie's break-up with Damon. "We would like you to invite a parent or guardian to class to talk about their jobs."

Many of the students in Max's 4th grade class turned to their friends in excitement, sharing what their parents did and trying to impress their friends with it.

Max, on the other hand, was thoughtful. 'If Aunt Stephanie can never have kids of her own, she might not get to come to career day,' Max thought, a smile slowly forming on his face.

A few minutes later, the kids were let outside for recess; Max held back. "What is it, Max?" his teacher, Miss Preston, asked.

"Would it be okay if I brought my Aunt Stephanie for career day? She helps take care of me and my brothers and has for a few years."

"I don't see why not."

Max's smile grew broad. "Okay. Thank-you Miss Preston." Max ran off to go play outside with his friends.

Later that day, Kimmy picked him up from school after picking Jackson and Ramona up. When they got home, Stephanie sat on the floor playing with Tommy.

"What does the dog say, Tommy?" Stephanie asked the little boy as they sat on the floor across from each other.

"Whoof, whoof," he said.

"That's right, now what does the cat say?"

"Meow."

"Mhm. And what does the fox say?"

"Stephanie," Kimmy spoke before Tommy got the chance to reply. "What are you teaching DJ's son?"

"Pop culture from 5, 6 years ago."

"Oh, okay. Carry on," Kimmy replied, heading towards the kitchen.

"Got homework. See you later," Ramona said, heading upstairs.

"Same," Jackson agreed, following behind her.

"You're not going to leave too, are you?" Stephanie asked Max.

"Nope," he spoke, making his way over to her and sitting down right beside her.

Stephanie turned to occupy Tommy with a few toys before turning back to Max. "What's up, Mighty Max?"

He gave a small laugh as she used the nickname she'd given him as a toddler. "Next Friday's career day. Do you want to come to my class and talk about working with Kimmy and about being a DJ?"

"Well I'd be honored," Stephanie spoke.

"Yay!" Max cheered.

"What do you think your mom's going to say about me going with you to career day instead of her?"

"She can go with Tommy!" he exclaimed; clearly he had thought this out. Tommy looked over to them at the sound of his name, wondering why Max had said it.

"How about we go get you and Tommy a snack and then we'll see if I can help you with your homework."

"Okay," Max agreed. While Stephanie got up and went to the kitchen, Max helped Tommy up and together the two brothers went to join their aunt for a snack.

After the snack, Stephanie brought some of Tommy's toys to the kitchen so she could watch him while also helping Max with his homework when needed, which wasn't all that often. Kimmy was busy working on planning a party and couldn't watch Tommy and DJ wasn't getting back from work until later.

Even though he hardly needed the help on his homework, Max enjoyed having his Aunt Stephanie in the room while he worked on it so he had someone to talk to and talk to problems with on occasion when he did get stuck.

After a little while, Stephanie heard the front door opening. "I'll be right back," she spoke to her nephews, heading back to the living room. "Hey Deej," Stephanie greeted. "So Max has career day next Friday and he asked me to go with him. If you want to go instead, that's fine, I un–"

"Steph," DJ cut her off. "If he asked you, you should go. Don't worry about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've got three kids, I can go with Tommy as long as he doesn't decide he wants Kimmy to go with him or something."

"I highly doubt that, beside, she got her chance with Ramona."

"True," DJ laughed.

The next few days fell into the normal routine and in the blink of an eye, it was the following Friday. Joey made the trip back to San Francisco to watch Tommy while the girls were at work. Stephanie dropped Jackson and Ramona off at the high school, then went with Max to spend the day at his school with him.

"Hold my hand while we walk through the parking lot."

"But Aunt Stephy, I'm almost 10."

"And if you get hurt on my watch, Deej will kill me," Stephanie spoke, holding her hand out for Max to take. He did so reluctantly at first, but once inside after going through the office so Stephanie could get a pass to be there for the day, he was happy to show her to his classroom.

The entirety of the morning was spent listening to the jobs different kid's parents had after their kids introduced them. "I think we have time for one more person to go before lunch. Max?"

Max turned to look over to Stephanie and got up from his seat to go meet her and bring her to the front of the classroom. "This is my Aunt Stephanie, everyone," Max spoke. "She's a DJ and works with my mom's best friend at Gibbler Style." Max looked up to Stephanie; she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him before looking to his class.

"Hi everyone," she greeted with a small wave. She then went on to explain how as a DJ she went by the name DJ Tanner since Tanner was her last name. Then she talked about everything she and Kimmy did while running Gibbler Style. "And other than helping Kimmy and my sister, DJ, take care of their kids, that's about all I do. Any questions?" Stephanie finished. When nobody raised their hands, Stephanie and Max looked to his teacher.

"All right everyone, it's about lunchtime, so let's head to lunch," Miss Preston spoke.

The class and parents got up and headed towards the door to go eat. Max started to leave and Stephanie got a little ahead of him as Miss Preston held him back just outside the classroom. "Max, I was just curious, why did you bring your aunt instead of your mom? I know she helps run a pet clinic."

Realizing Max wasn't with her, Stephanie had turned back to find him. When she looked around the corner and saw him talking to his teacher, she decided to stay back and see what she was saying to him.

"Well," Max started. "It's kinda a secret, can you keep it if I tell you?"

"Of course."

"Okay. So my Aunt Stephanie can't have her own kids and I don't know if she'll be able to adopt to have kids of her own to go to career day with. I wanted to make sure she got the chance to."

"Max, that's so sweet," Miss Preston spoke.

"Yeah, it is," Stephanie said, coming out from behind the corner where she'd been. She reached up to wipe a tear from her check but another one immediately replaced it.

"Aunt Stephy, are you sad? Why are you crying?" Max asked.

"No, I'm not sad, these are happy tears. I love you, Max." Stephanie held her arms out to him.

"I love you too."

"Aww," Miss Preston said. Stephanie looked up and smiled. "How about we all head to lunch now?"

"Sounds good," Stephanie and Max agreed.

After lunch, the rest of the kids and parents who hadn't gone yet got their chance. They were left with a little extra time at the end of the day so everyone went outside to enjoy the nice weather.

A/N: Hello to everyone and anyone who's taken the time to read this. Thanks so much for reading. This is something I started writing the weekend Fuller House first came out and I actually already have all written (and have since the beginning on May). I came across it again and wanted to get at least the first chapter published before season 2 comes out.

These first couple chapters are going to go through several years of time skip to get to the main plot of the story. I hope you enjoy this story. I'd love to know what you think and constructive criticism is much appreciated. Thanks for reading,

-CrazyHayniac