Disclaimer: This is a purely fictional work that does not represent any real situations. This story also is NOT intended to disrespect their personal lives. It's all in fun. Furthermore, we do not own Full House, Fuller House or any of the characters in either program.
"You must be so relieved she doesn't resemble you at all," Bob joked to his long-term friend, Lori's husband Mossimo.
"Funny. Yeah, that's funny," Mossimo said straightly in response, exchanging looks with Lori.
Mossimo was dropping off Olivia at the Fuller House set that morning so she could catch some interesting footage for her new YouTube video.
Watching this exchange between her parents, however, had caused discomfort to rise in Olivia. Usually it wouldn't, but after the revelation a few days ago, nothing felt the same anymore.
She still didn't know how to process it. She still didn't know what to do. She sat down as she watched her mom greet John and smile. It felt so strange. So fake.
Olivia had always admired her mom for her honesty and character and now all she saw were lies.
How did her mom not cringe at Bob's joke? How was she not completely uncomfortable at this set altogether? How could her mom keep a secret like that from the man who had been like an uncle to her daughters?
Olivia watched as her mother greeted the rest of the cast members. As Lori was saying goodbye to Mossimo, Olivia could see in the corner of her eye John walking to his office. Lori gave Mossimo a peck on his lips before patting her daughter's shoulder.
"Go on, say goodbye to your father."
Olivia looked from Lori to Mossimo before leaning in and giving him a hug.
"Have a great day, dad," she forced out.
"Have fun. Don't drive your mom crazy."
Olivia faked a laugh. "I won't," she promised.
Olivia eyed the door to John's office as she followed her mom back to the stage.
"You can sit there, sweetie," Lori motioned toward a chair next to the producers that was reserved for guests.
Olivia nodded, taking a seat and pulling out her camera to snap some footage for her video as Lori went to go over some lines with the cast.
A few minutes later, she clicked her camera off as the director yelled "rolling!" and she turned to watch her mom.
Olivia looked again down the hall toward John's office, but when she looked back, John was on stage engrossed in his role as Jesse.
She almost cringed watching John and her mom kiss. She knew her mom was an actress, but how could she turn it on and off so well? How could she kiss John and then keep such a huge secret from him?
She was disgusted and looked down at her phone, trying to process it all. As much as she was angry with her mom for not telling her and her sister the truth, she was even angrier at the fact John didn't know.
It was wrong. What her mom had done to her father was wrong. What she had done to her and Bella was wrong. And most importantly, what she was currently doing to John was wrong by not telling him.
Olivia's mind fought an inner battle. Should she tell him? Did he know? Obviously he didn't or he would have told them, right?She was at a complete loss.
However, she did know one thing: John had always been there for them. Next to her parents, John had always looked out for Olivia and Bella the most. And that in itself spoke volumes to Olivia. If he knew, he would have made sure they had known. There was no way he had a clue, she concluded. Which meant her mom had robbed John of so many moments he could have been there for. As Olivia looked back up at the scene playing out in front of her, she couldn't help but think of what could have been.
Olivia watched as the scene came to an end. Lori and John were standing beside each other as their characters Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse. Lori's arms were draped over John's shoulders from behind and once the director yelled cut, he had turned around to face Lori. He was about to wrap his arms around her neck, but Lori casually pushed him away and chuckled at whatever funny joke he had said in that moment. John then reached for Lori's hand, but Lori forced herself away again. However, they still smiled at each other and Olivia watched her mom give him a small wink before they parted ways - Lori walking over and pulling baby Dashiell Messitt into her arms, John making his way to his office.
Olivia snuck glances at John as he walked past the staff members and closed the door of his office behind him. She waited a moment, thinking things through one last time, before finally making her decision.
After all this time and after seeing how much he truly cared for her, Bella, and her mother, there was no longer a doubt in her mind.
He had to know.
And he had to know now.
John sat at his desk, typing away on his laptop and talking on his earpiece as Olivia approached, peeking through the cracked door.
She took a deep breath. This is it, she thought as she lifted her hand up to the doorknob. Just then, John's phone rang and Olivia quickly put her hand back down and stood quietly, listening in from behind the door. She gulped and stood there, frozen. She didn't want to interrupt.
"Olivia? What are you doing?" she heard a voice from behind her ask.
Olivia turned around nervously to see Dave passing by. He chuckled and, to Olivia's relief, coolly continued walking by without an answer.
When she heard John hang up the phone, she hesitated once more before finally deciding to knock.
"Come in," John encouraged, scribbling something down on a piece of paper before spinning around in his chair and facing her.
"Oh, hi Olivia. Is everything okay?" he greeted with a smile.
Olivia felt a chill rush down her spine. John's voice always had a certain warmth of reassurance and security, but as she looked at him and his awaiting expression, she couldn't help but feel a sudden discomfort. He was so oblivious; so unaware.
"Do you have a moment?"
"For Lori's daughter, anything," John grinned back. "Take a seat, make yourself comfortable."
Olivia followed his instruction and took a seat in one of the two chairs facing his.
"Would you like a piece of chocolate?" John asked, motioning to the small bowl of chocolates on his desk. "I know these are your favorite, so I always keep them stocked."
Olivia smiled. "No thank you."
"Would you like water? Coffee? Iced tea? Soda? Lemonade—"
"John…" Olivia let out a small laugh. "Can we just… you know, talk?"
John raised his eyebrows at Olivia's words. "Huh. Okay." He took a second to analyze her facial expression and body language, trying to figure her out. After a moment, he gave up and simply laid back in his chair.
"So, what brings a beautiful young lady like yourself here today?" John asked as he stayed laying back in his chair.
Olivia bit her lip; John could eye that signature lip-biting anywhere. It was the same thing Lori did whenever she was debating on her next move.
John smiled to himself as he pressed the edge of the coffee mug against his lips. He took a sip as he watched Olivia's eyes slowly shut and reopen again.
"I'm your daughter."
It took only a millisecond for John's heart to race and the coffee from his mouth to scatter atop his desk.
After another second, John let out a hearty laugh, pulling his drawer open and taking out a napkin to wipe his mouth and desk.
"I'm sorry," he laughed again, "I thought I heard you say that you're my daughter."
Olivia's face remained grave.
"I did." Olivia kept looking at John until their eyes met again. "I'm your daughter."
John smirked again. "No, you can't be my daughter, because that would mean—"
Suddenly, everything came flashing through John's mind and Olivia could see his eyes darken with realization.
That night. Both nights. The two nights that Lori had come over to his place. During her marriage with Mossimo. They had one glass of champagne and knew exactly what they were doing, but it had always been that way… for the two of them, nothing was ever more intoxicating than a night where they were alone together. It had always caused them nothing but trouble.
"Holy shiiitttt!" John cursed. He pressed his hand against his forehead as everything came back to him. "I had no fucking idea..."
Olivia looked down at her hands. Without realizing it, she had been toying with her fingers in her lap in anxiety. She took a deep breath and looked back up at John. Her birth father.
"I didn't find out until a few days ago… I was trying to look for something for my dad and I accidentally found the written results from DNA tests in a folder inside my mom's dresser."
"Tests?" John's eyes widened and he let out a breath. "...Bella… I'm Bella's father too?"
Olivia simply nodded, a half-smile on her face.
"I can't believe…" John continued stammering, looking down at the now half-filled mug on his desk.
"Me neither," Olivia continued.
"Does your sister know too?" John was still trying to wrap his head around all of it.
"No, it's just me," Olivia answered. "I considered telling her about it, but she's going through a phase and I knew that if I had told her, she immediately would've gone to our mom and blown up on her."
"Your mom isn't aware that you found the papers?"
Olivia bit her lip nervously again as she looked down in guilt.
"I also knew that if I had told my mom, she wouldn't have let me come today." She looked back up at John. "I wasn't completely sure until just a few moments ago whether to tell you or not. I was still debating. But when I saw you on stage with my mom and remembered how you've always been there for me, I realized you deserved the truth."
John smiled. "Well, I appreciate that. I really do care about your mom… and you. And Bella."
Olivia returned the smile. "I know."
"And I just want you to know that you did the right thing by telling me," John assured her. Olivia looked up at him, examining his expression. She couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Hell, she didn't even know what she was feeling. She felt numb, like she was in the middle of a bad dream and needed to wake up.
"I don't know what to do," she finally admitted.
John couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You're telling me! Wow...I.."
"Can't process it?" Olivia verified.
John nodded.
"Yeah, me neither. I always thought my parents were normal. I mean… I didn't mean to imply you… I'm just going to stop talking." Olivia thought for a second. "Actually, I'm just going to go back out there. I've bothered you enough for today," she stuttered, attempting to stand up.
"Hold on," John ordered, putting his hand up to stop her. "Wait."
Olivia turned to look at him.
"You aren't bothering me. Please sit down." He motioned back to the chair. Olivia froze for a moment before deciding to stay.
"Number one: you could never bother me. Number two: I can't imagine what you're going through right now. I mean, I still don't know how the hell…" he drifted off. "Anyway, that's not the point. Look, this is a huge thing to deal with and I'm so sorry you've been going through this alone for the past…"
"Five."
"...five days. I can assure you that is not how your mother intended for you to find out."
"That's the thing. She was never planning on telling me. Telling Bella. Telling you. I can't even look at her the same."
"I'm sure she has a good reason," John insisted. She better have a damn good reason, he thought.
"I'm fifteen years old, John. FIFTEEN. When was she planning on telling me I was your daughter? This entire time, she's been living a lie! I'VE been living a lie!" All the emotions Olivia had been holding in came pouring out as tears fell down her face. The more she thought about the events of the past couple of days, the more hysterical she became. John immediately got up, walked over to sit on the edge of his desk, and pulled her into a hug.
"Shhh… it's okay," John comforted, although it was the furthest thing from okay in his mind. He had a daughter—daughters. Two. And he didn't know. He didn't even know how he was being this calm; he assumed it was just the shock of it all.
Olivia shook her head to say it was not okay, still crying.
"I know. I know," John continued. "You're not alone now. Okay? You don't have to worry about this. I'll take care of it."
Olivia's crying gradually subsided as she sniffed. "I just... I don't know how to tell my mom I know. I don't know how to tell Bella."
"Don't worry, Olivia," John consoled, sweetly fixing her hair as he pulled away from the hug and looked back at her. "You're a strong kid. Your mother and Mossimo raised you right. And we're in this together. I promise everything will be okay soon, alright?"
Olivia nodded slightly and John pulled her in for another hug, just as he could hear chatter erupt outside his door. Seconds later, he realized it was coming from Lori, Candace, Jodie, and Andrea.
John leaned in to Olivia's ear. "I think the ladies are leaving for their lunch break, you should go with them."
Olivia gave John a questioning look. "What, why?"
John simply returned with a knowing expression on his face and gestured her to go and follow them. Olivia wasn't sure what was happening, but she complied and started walking to the door.
"Oh, and Olivia?"
"Yes?" she called back to him.
"Do me a favor… don't tell your mother I let those curse words slip out. She would keep me in the doghouse for months," John teased.
Olivia laughed at his words. "I won't," she assured, and John gave her a small wink.
As Olivia was placing her hand on the doorknob to open the office door, she could hear footsteps come to a halt.
"Wait," she heard her mother's familiar frantic voice, "Where's Olivia?"
Olivia twisted the doorknob and watched the scene unfold in front of her. Gradually, the ladies' facial expressions faded from worried to relaxed, her mother's being the last to return to normal as she was turned around and too caught up in frantically looking around for her.
Jodie raised her eyebrows, slightly amused by Lori's frenzy. "She's right next to you, Lori."
Lori looked to the left of her and finally found her daughter. "Oh, thank goodness," she sighed with relief, placing her hand on her heart and turning back around to the main entrance.
Candace, Andrea, and Jodie shared a look. The three of them were confused as to why Olivia was left alone with John in his office; fortunately, Lori had no idea she had been in there.
"Sorry, I was just moving around the studio, trying to catch footage for my video."
Lori tilted her head. "But you don't have your camera with you?"
The other women remained silent.
"Yeah, I erm… I took it off my phone."
Lori knew Olivia's words were absurd - Olivia never used her iPhone camera to record her YouTube videos - but then again, she knew she didn't fully understand today's technology, and decided not to push further.
"Can we go grab lunch now? I'm starving," Jodie whined in attempt to change the subject. The rest of the women agreed and began following her out the door.
Just as the girls made it out the door, Lori could feel a tap on her shoulder.
"Sorry, can I steal away Miss Loughlin?" John asked casually, trying to keep his composure.
"John, can this wait? We need to grab lunch and—"
"It's important." John's eyes narrowed at her.
"Oh… But Olivia—"
Olivia looked at John and back at her mom. "I'll be fine. I'm fifteen, not five, mom."
"Yeah, we'll take care of her," Candace assured.
Lori bit her lip and John subconsciously returned with a smug smile.
He always knew that signature gesture of hers.
As soon as Lori agreed and the women were a fair distance from them, John's eyes turned fiery again and he pulled Lori to the corner of the studio.
"What's up? Your nose is flaring again—"
"Have you lost your damn mind?!"
Lori forced out a small laugh.
"Why are you…"
"The kids are mine?!"
Lori stared at him, appalled by his accusation, trying to process how he knew.
"Olivia and Bella are—" he attempted to say before Lori snapped back into reality, realizing there were still people all around and shushed him.
"There are a ton of people here," she warned.
"I don't give a damn. They're teenagers, Lori. Teenagers. You know how much of their lives I've missed!" John practically yelled.
Lori looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before pulling John into her dressing room.
"Look, I can see why you're upset but I can explain," Lori attempted to remain calm.
"Can you? I mean, for fucks sake, Lori, you've been keeping a secret from me and our daughters for the last decade and a half!" He shook his head, still in shock from the situation. "Let me ask you this - was telling anyone ever part of your plans?" John raged. Steamed, he inched his way closer to her, and in return she protectively found herself backing away nervously. She had never seen him this angry before.
"How can you do this, Lori? You know I've always loved those girls like they were my own—and they are my own! Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly, then placed his hands on his hips as he paced back and forth, not sure what to do with all of this new information.
"I understand that you're angry—wait, how do you… how is it possible...?" The question hadn't hit Lori's mind until just then. Who had told John? No one knew besides her and Mossimo, and she knew her husband would never tell him. In fact, he was the cardinal person who was against John ever finding out.
"Does that really fucking matter, Lori? That's not the point here. Tell me right now. Are they my daughters?"
Lori nodded meekly.
Beginning to feel light headed, John stopped and stared at Lori before sitting down. It was one thing for Olivia to tell him, but it felt completely different to hear Lori actually admit it.
"You lied to me and if she hadn't found out you would still be lying to me."
"I never lied to you."
"Keeping something from someone is the same thing as lying to them— especially if it's something as big as this!" John threw his hands up in defeat.
"I thought keeping this from you would be best for you— best for us."
"You thought— you know what, I have to go. I can't do this," he hurried to the door, refusing to look at her again. He couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her.
"No, John, wait… we need to talk this through," Lori begged.
John turned back around angrily. "Now? Now you want to talk this through?" He slapped his right hand in his left in frustration. "You've had YEARS to have this conversation with me, Lori."
"I…"
"H-how long have you known?"
"Since they were toddlers," Lori answered, looking down at the floor.
"I don't understand how this happened. We were careful. You...I…"
"I know. That's why I didn't say anything. I didn't know they were yours. Mossimo and I had been trying once we got married and then we had used protection. I didn't think - I hoped - there was a chance they weren't yours," Lori defended, roaming around the room, not sure of how to sit down and face him.
"I just can't wrap my head around the fact that my daughters - MY daughters - have been standing in front of me for the past sixteen years and the three of us had absolutely no idea. That's absolute bullshit, Lori! You have one of the kindest hearts I know, but you lied straight to our faces all these years?!"
"Look, I understand you're angry but you have no fucking right to blame this all on me. I did what was best for my girls. What was best for my family. I made a mista—"
"To hell you made a mistake. I could've been there when they first learned how to talk, whenever they needed a shoulder to cry on, when they passed an audition or tryouts or school—"
"But you were there! We've stayed close, you've watched them grow up—"
"What I don't think you seem to understand is that you not only betrayed me, but you betrayed Bella and Olivia. Your own daughters. Our own daughters! Do you know how scared and confused poor little Olivia felt when she confided in me earlier? She's been keeping this from you for FIVE days, Lori. And that entire time, you had no idea how much she'd been struggling or how much she'd been hurting. I don't know if I'd even be able to respect my own mother if she were to do that to me!"
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, JOHN!" Lori finally exploded. "Do you know how I felt when I got those DNA results back and I had to reveal to my husband that the baby girls he thought were his, the girls he had always dreamt of having, weren't actually his own? That I had slept with a different man, not once, but twice? I had to watch him crumble and his heart shatter day after day and every morning I had to wake up wondering if I even deserved to remain by his side." Lori paused to take a breath, "John, those nights we spent together were two drunken mistakes that should have never happened—"
"You KNEW exactly what we were doing," John gritted through his teeth.
"And I understand that you may still feel hurt that I'm with a different man," Lori continued, ignoring John and wagging her finger, "But my love and loyalty to those girls should be unquestionable, so don't you DARE say that my girls should never respect me again." Her face was steaming red. "We slept together while I was married, yes. I got pregnant, yes. But what the hell was I supposed to do?! Leave Mossimo - my second husband and the love of my life - and start a life with you? Don't you remember you were with Rebecca? You went off to be with Rebecca. In your mind, Rebecca was the love of your life. What kind of fantasy world do you live in that makes you think things just fall that easily into place? Reality check - they don't."
"Hey, even if I was with Rebecca, you know I deserved the truth! You know I would've been a great father to them!" John snapped back.
"Have you MET you, John? You were a complete train wreck and in no way ready to raise a child, not to mention two! Bars, strip clubs; drinks, one night stands— I didn't want my girls to be raised under all of your bullshit. Even when you were with Rebecca you were out of control. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think you're great around children, but it's an entirely different thing to be an actual, genuine father figure to them. And I understand I kept it a secret, but I only did what I did because I had no other choice." Lori slammed her foot on the ground in absolute frustration.
"You had a choice...You should have told me. I may have been a wreck when you found out you were pregnant but I got help and I've been good for a long time, Lori. A long time. I may have made mistakes but that doesn't mean I didn't deserve to know the girls were mine."
"A long time, John? Just a couple of months ago you got a DUI and were sent to rehab. That wasn't the ideal vision I had for the father of my children. Do you know how many times I watched you struggle through that? How many times you got drunk and didn't even remember what happened the next day? Do you think I wanted it this way? Do you think I wanted my life to be like this? I wanted to be your wife when we were younger. I wanted it so bad that I cried every day for six months. I left my first husband for you, but you were too messed up to see that. You were incapable of any kind of maturity. You were too busy getting drunk and sleeping with every girl you met."
"I've felt something for you since our very first date as teenagers. I've loved you. I knew when you looked at me on the pier that I would always be inexplicably tied to you. You would always have a piece of my heart and you do. That's why I ended up at your place while we were married to other people, but there's a reason we aren't together. We're too different."
"That's it? That's your excuse? We're 'too different'? Your-our daughter is an emotional wreck because she's been lied to her entire life and that's your excuse? Because of my past, she was punished too? Even if you hadn't had told me, Olivia and Bella deserved to know the truth. You owe that to them, Lori! Why can't you see that?"
"Is that how it's going to be?!" Lori's eyes glared straight into John's. "Olivia comes to you with this ONE thing and you're going to act like you know her better than I do? Do you REALLY want to fucking play that card right now?!" Lori was irate.
The door suddenly burst open.
John and Lori stared each other down for a second before hearing the voice a fair distance away from them.
Fuck… Lori could hear her mind mumble.
"Olivia—" Lori and John uttered simultaneously. .
"I could hear you two yelling from outside the door." She looked at her parents, red-faced and steaming with anger. "This is EXACTLY what I didn't want happening!" Their daughter exploded, slamming the door and storming off hysterically.
"Wait! Olivia!" Lori called down the hall, but she was gone. Lori eyed John who was looking back at her. Lori shook her head at him and groaned before leaving to chase after her daughter.
Lori ran past the stage, and just as she reached the other side of the studio, she spotted Olivia who quickly slammed a door and locked it before her mother could catch up.
Olivia took a moment to look around the room and analyze where she was. The dressing room had been the closest room to her when she heard her mother's footsteps and decided to secure herself in it. It only took a few seconds for the location to sink in, and fortunately it was a room she was very familiar with as she had been there plenty of times before. Usually with one of her close friends, Natasha Bure.
Her eyes were scanning the couch, just as she heard a voice from the corner of the room.
"Olivia?"
She jumped.
The person chuckled.
"Oh, Candace," Olivia sighed as she fixed her hair nervously.
"What are you doing in here?" Candace asked, tilting her head in puzzlement. "I mean, of course you're always free to make yourself home in here, but…"
"I erm…I…"
Olivia's stammering was cut short by the roaring of knocks on Candace's door.
"Olivia, let us in, please! We need to talk to you!"
Candace's eyebrows narrowed, her lips pursed apprehensively as she looked from the door to Olivia.
Olivia shrugged in response, her eyes pleading in desperation.
"Please let us in, Olivia!" Olivia and Candace could hear John's voice from the other side of the door.
Candace bobbed her head, receiving another piece to the story. She kept her eyes on Olivia, looking apologetically into her eyes and stroking her hair in comfort.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Lori's voice was growing softer. Guilt was now apparent in her tone. The two of them had given up on knocking and were simply conversing through the door. "I should have told you the truth years ago."
Trying to wrap her head around the extraneous situations that could have happened, Candace grew suspicious and bewildered by the possibilities.
"What on earth did you guys do?"
Lori and John suddenly heard Candace's voice, and their eyes instinctively locked.
"Hey, Candace," John called out from behind the door, "you're one of the good ones. Can you please open the door so we can talk to our daughter?"
"WHAT?" Candace gasped.
Olivia shot Candace a pleading look to deny her father's request.
"JOHN, WHAT THE HELL?!" Lori exclaimed, slapping John's arm.
"Ow!" he complained, rubbing the now sore spot on his body.
"What is wrong with you?!"
"I—"
"Stop it guys!" Olivia shouted at their continuous bickering from the other side of the door.
"She's not your daughter… she can't…" Candace's eyes fell back to Olivia. She examined her from head to foot and gasped again. The world around her felt like it was spinning. "Oh my goodness…" Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. Her small laugh. The way there was a twinkle in her eye when she smiled. Her love to entertain a crowd. "You're so much like John."
Olivia could feel her heart beat a million times per second and she looked down at the ground anxiously. She didn't know what to do or say.
"You're… he's your…" Candace was at a loss for words.
"Yes, he's my father," Olivia answered simply.
Candace closed her eyes in thought before reopening them and looking at Olivia pitifully.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Olivia looked down for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "No…" she murmured, more to herself than to Candace.
There was so much running through Candace's mind, but as she was looking at Olivia she knew that her own distress could wait.
Candace took a second to look at Olivia before sighing and pulling her in toward her.
"It'll be okay," she promised, her motherly instincts kicking in. After all, for the past fifteen years, she had viewed Olivia as a second daughter.
The two of them could hear Lori and John's mumbled arguing behind the door.
"It's just…" Olivia continued. "I was scared that telling John would ruin things between him, my mom, and my dad… and I didn't want to be the reason behind it. And now they're arguing and I… it's all my fault."
Candace half-smiled bitterly at her. "You know it's not your fault, right? The truth had to be revealed at some point."
Olivia was lying her head on Candace's shoulder and Candace was stroking her fingers through her hair comfortingly.
Within seconds, they could hear John banging on the door again. "Come on, Olivia, I'll give you $5."
"JOHN," Lori slapped him again.
Candace couldn't help but smirk. The scene from the first Full House episode between her and John had come to mind.
"$50," Candace joked.
"$10!"
"$49!"
"A buck? You went down a buck?"
"Okay, it's back up to $50."
"Alright, my final offer: $20."
"John, for goodness sake," Lori sighed, sick of their relentless Full House script reciting, "Do not bribe my daughter with money."
"She's not just your—"
Olivia rolled her eyes and Candace looked back at her.
"Look, I understand you're hurting right now, but you should trust your mom. She loves you and has always just wanted the best for you. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you know what I'm going to say."
"You want me to talk to them," Olivia breathed.
Candace tilted her head and gave a small nod.
Olivia let out a breath and smiled softly at her in agreement. Candace pushed Olivia's hair against her back and fixed it before going to the door and opening it to let Olivia's parents in.
"I'll leave you three alone..." she turned to leave.
"Wait," Lori grabbed Candace's arm causing her to turn and make eye contact with her. "Please don't say anything to anyone… not yet."
Candace nodded with an assuring smile. "This never happened."
"Candace," Olivia attempted to call out, but she had already disappeared.
Olivia's eyes fell back to her parents. Tears threatened to escape her eyes. She couldn't do this. It was too much.
John and Lori both sat down across from her.
"I'm so sorry," Lori started.
"We're so sorry," John corrected, looking at Lori and then back at Olivia.
"I was always trying to protect you, and I guess in trying to, I ended up doing the complete opposite." Lori looked up sadly at her daughter.
Olivia looked sorrowfully at her mom. "You had good intentions," she admitted.
"I want you to know that you can trust me. I've been your mother for fifteen years and I rarely ever let you down, right?"
"No," Lori looked at Olivia worriedly and Olivia smiled lightly, "You've never let me down."
John looked from Olivia to Lori and then back to Olivia.
"And I want you to know that I'll support you. I missed fifteen years of your life, but I'll be there for the rest."
Olivia could feel both a tear and a smile arise on her face. "I just… I don't…" she sniffed. "I don't want to wreck the friendship between you two or you and dad or… B-bella…"
Lori immediately stood up and wrapped her arms securely around her daughter, letting her tears spill onto her shirt.
John looked at Lori, almost as if searching for permission, before getting up and also wrapping his arms around the two women.
"Shh, shh…" Lori murmured to Olivia. "Everyone argues, sweetheart…" she looked back at John and shot him a gentle smile. "...even parents."
John smiled back at her. "She's right."
Lori stared deeply into John's eyes for a moment before looking back into her daughter's eyes and wiping her tears away. "Nothing's going to change, okay? I promise you that."
John's smile slightly faded but he forced it back.
Although he acknowledged it earlier, it completely sank in once hearing the words slip out of Lori's mouth.
Nothing was going to change.
Even if he was Bella and Olivia's father, John knew he wouldn't just magically win Lori's heart.
He would never be her husband.
John looked at his daughter and pressed his lips against her forehead, promising everything was going to be alright. That she would be alright.
A week. It had been a week since everything transpired. Since the long time family secret was finally out in the open. The day after filming, Lori and John had set Bella down. According to Olivia, she took it quite well. In fact, she had taken it better than Olivia had. Olivia had watched as her sister cried and screamed, but in the end she hugged both her mom and John and was okay. They would both be okay, Olivia remembered thinking in that moment. Yes, the situation was crazy. Yes, they had wished they'd known the truth sooner. But at the end of the day, they had learned to accept that this was simply the start of a new adventure. An adventure she knew would consist of her mom, her dad and her birth dad. The more the merrier, right? After all, there was no such thing as too much love.
Over the last week, John had put in a lot of effort to bond with Bella and Olivia. Whether it was taking them to dinner, shopping, inviting them to his concert with the Beach Boys, or taking them out for ice cream late at night after they spent the day with their mom, they loved it. They loved being with him.
Olivia had started seeing John in a whole new light and soon realized it didn't matter she hadn't known. It didn't matter they had lost the last fifteen years. It wasn't like that now. Now she knew and they would make up for the lost time. It was time to look forward to the future instead of dwelling on the past.
John was sitting in his producer chair when he suddenly found Lori on the other side of the room. They caught eyes and she smiled at him; he returned the smile, albeit confused at the fact that she was there. She wasn't set to be filming that day.
"What is she…" John murmured to himself before he noticed Lori waving him toward her. He followed her instruction and walked over to her.
"What are you doing here?"
"I don't think I ever properly thanked you for taking the news so bravely and… fatherly." Lori couldn't help but smile. "You truly looked out for Olivia. Thank you, John." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
When Lori pulled away, John lifted his hand and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Those girls have always meant the world to me, you know that," he answered.
They looked deeply into each other's eyes before John forced himself to look away.
"Anyway, you didn't have to come all the way over here to tell me that."
"I know." John watched as Lori began pulling her laptop out of her purse. "I thought you should watch this." She placed the laptop on the closest surface and began typing her password in.
"What is it?" he asked as Lori pulled up an internet browser.
"Just wait," she directed. Seconds later, Olivia's YouTube channel popped up and Lori went to her most recent video, uploaded just three hours earlier, titled: "Bring Your YouTuber Daughter to Work Day."
"Go ahead," Lori continued, "click it."
John looked at Lori, questioning her, before swiping his finger across the touchpad and clicking play.
As soon as they watched Olivia's bright energy light up the screen with her intro, instant smiles washed onto both the parents' faces.
They watched as footage of a quick tour behind the scenes, previews of the Fuller House filming, and even a Q&A segment with Candace, Andrea, and Jodie (which, as deciphered from the drinks and Olive Garden menu in the background, was taken during lunch), were displayed across the screen. Moments later, the video faded back to Olivia on her couch. She was excitedly explaining how fun and amazing the experience had been. How, of course, she'd been backstage plenty of times before, but taking time to really see how everything went down had given her new insight on her mother's workplace. She had learned new things, and she couldn't be prouder to have such an inspirational, loving mother.
John smiled. "That girl really loves you."
"Hold on, this is the best part," Lori grinned, moving past John's remark.
"However, while I wouldn't be where I am today without my amazing mom who is my absolute hero," Olivia went on, "I have to not only give a special shoutout but also a dedication to a man who watched me grow up and has been here for me since day one. He's given me a hug when I needed one, he's made me laugh when I thought it would be impossible, he gives me my favorite food…" Olivia had her voice travel. "what girl doesn't like food?" she laughed.
"You may know him as Jesse Katsopolis, but I know him as another great person I'm blessed to know and look up to." She grinned and shot a wink - somehow John knew it was meant for him. "And here's a slideshow of random pictures of me and him. Yay!" she exclaimed, suddenly picking something up from out of the shot. Seconds later, confetti was thrown into the air. Olivia giggled and whispered to the camera, "Sorry, I just really like confetti… annndddd, slideshow!"
The screen faded to a slideshow of ten or so pictures, capturing highlights of Olivia and John's relationship. It began with a picture of John holding Olivia by the hospital bed where she was born; that day, John had surprised Lori and Mossimo and brought a basket of chocolates (which had eventually become her favorite kind), a balloon, and a pink bunny stuffed animal. The slideshow concluded with a shot from a few days ago. In the photo, John was standing beside Olivia who was holding John's guitar and smiling up into the picture. He had been teaching her how to play, until they were interrupted by Lori calling them out to the table for dinner.
Once the slideshow came to an end and it flashed back to Olivia, there was a soft smile on her face. "Thank you, John. You're just like a father to me," Olivia tilted her head and let out a small giggle, to which John, watching from in front of the laptop screen, smiled at. "I love you."
Olivia had then gone on to apologize for her elongated video and say her usual goodbye and "thanks for watching," as Lori looked back at the man beside her.
Lori examined John for a second before chuckling. "Are you crying?"
"What? No," John claimed, although his voice was unmistakably scratchy.
Lori shook her head, laughing, and brought his hand in hers. "I told you she loves you."
John looked from their hands to Lori's eyes.
"I'm just so proud of her."
Lori smiled.
"As any true father would be."