Nice and Easy Does It
A/N: Jesse lies about the twins' ages in "Be True To Your Pre-School" – it makes sense with what else he lies about in that ep., but they're clearly born November of season 5 (1991). Still, talk on a few boards over the years showed some see Nicky and Alex as a year older (like their performers), mostly from season 6 (though fans who forget they're only 14 months when they mess up Jesse's laptop also forget his laxness at times).
If the twins were born a year earlier, numerous episodes would change. Not only would Cindy and Vicki enter at the same time, and other big changes come, but Jesse and Becky would almost surely marry a year earlier, with their beliefs (especially Becky's).
But, that made me think, it's plausible if Joey's further advanced professionally, so he's preparing more and not at the slot machine in "Luck Be A Lady." Then, the others catch them earlier and could talk Jesse and Becky into just getting engaged. So, this is a "Try, Try Again" sequel; that fic of mine is the most obvious Point of Departure.
Nice and Easy Does It
Chapter One – A Great Couple and A Man's Dream
"Okay, girls, while Joey gets ready for his big…oh, sorry," Danny Tanner said as he plowed right into his brother-in-law, Jesse Katsopolis and Jesse's girlfriend Rebecca Donaldson, who was Danny's co-host on a local TV show. "Boy, Becky, wait till I tell everyone on the show who I ran into this weekend," Danny said with a goofy grin outside their motel rooms.
"You wouldn't really use that old joke on the air, would you?" Jesse asked evenly, hoping to avoid the subject of why they were in a hurry.
"He would," D.J. and Stephanie Tanner, Danny's twelve- and seven-year-old girls, said at the same time. Jesse lived with them and helped raise Dannny's three girls, D.J., Stephanie, and two-year-old Michelle, since Danny's wife, Pam, died in a car accident. So did comedian Joey Gladstone, Danny's best friend. They'd done so for almost two years. Danny was carrying Michelle, prepared to take her for a swimming lesson.
"Don't worry, Jess, I had a goat try to eat my notes once live in Omaha before I moved out here; I can handle anything," Becky said. The couple smiled at each other. "Wherever I go, I'll have interesting things to deal with; that's the fun of doing a show live."
"What do you mean wherever you go, you're stayin' here. I mean, if we're gonna get married…" Jesse spouted.
"Are you two getting married?" Stephanie shouted excitedly.
"Wow, so you'll be our Aunt Becky!" D.J. proclaimed.
Becky gave a shy smile. "I was kind of hoping we could surprise you."
"Yeah, I mean, we could just have a party when we get back to San Francisco," Jesse said. They were in Lake Tahoe on vacation. "Although I don't know about where Becky wants to go. I mean, I got a job here, Becky."
Becky turned toward him. "Well, I don't either, Jess; I might want to stay here. But, even if I don't, a larger market would be better for your music career, right?"
"Well, yeah, if the band's willing to pull up stakes, too," Jesse considered.
Danny put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Jess, I'm not saying you can't. But, do you remember when Pam and I eloped?"
Jesse reminisced fondly. "Yeah. I was so mad I beat you up. As much as I couldn't stand Pam pressuring me to be good at times, I really valued her bein' there for me." He still missed Pam quite a bit, though he didn't let on very much. 'I still remember Dad sayin' when he got that call from you two the next morning, after the prom, he swore Pam were gonna tell him you'd proposed, and she'd said 'yes.'"
"That would have been the smart thing," Danny admitted. "Even though we'd been best friends almost since the day we met in school a few years earlier."
Becky could afford to giggle now; she didn't face the pressure of having to leave someone at an altar. Now, it was just a funny thought they'd had. Though Jesse was miffed that they hadn't been able to go through with it, Becky felt relieved. "This was pretty silly huh?" She looked at Jesse. "We didn't really want to elope."
"We didn't?"
"I think what you need to do, Jess, is plan this out. Pam and I knew we were right for each other. You haven't had as long as we had; we'd known each other several years, you've known each other around six months, and we were really close from the start, unlike the two of you," Danny pointed out.
Jesse sighed. "Okay, look…man this is…it's always tougher this way."
"Well, we could marry someday," Becky promised him. "But, Danny's right. Instead of that all or nothing attitude, why don't we discuss things like mature adults?"
"Because I want to marry you," Jesse proclaimed as he began prancing. "That's what a man does when he loves a woman so much he can't believe it, and she makes him feel different than any woman he's ever been with. He goes and says, 'I want to spend my whole life loving you." He stopped suddenly. "Man, I oughta write that down. That could be the start of a cool song."
"Or a proposal," Becky offered modestly. While the thrill of the moment was gone and she realized marriage right now would be a mistake, she was certainly still willing to say "yes" if Jesse proposed. His words really thrilled her.
Jesse hastily walked back toward Becky. "Becky…what I just said is true. It doesn't always come out right when I let things get in the way instead of blurting it out…but you see why I like goin' on the spur of the moment? I mean, you loved that just now, right?"
Danny turned toward the others as Jesse and Becky talked. "I hope you girls are taking notes. Someday this will be one of you with a boy. I hope you don't go too fast." He began to wipe his face with a handkerchief. "I get sweaty just thinking about it."
As Danny and the girls talked, Jesse and Becky ironed things out. "So, you don't mind if I ask you now? I mean, it's still spur of the moment," Jesse said.
"It is. But it's not 'Let's do this right away.' It's, 'Let's take our time and see how this could work.'"
Jesse was disappointed. However, he still had a chance at Becky. It just meant he'd have to mature. It had been easy when he moved in to help Danny. He knew his nieces needed him. This would be harder, but he knew he could try.
"Okay. Then take what I said before about how much I love you," Jesse said as he got down on a knee, "and add this. Rebecca Donaldson, will you please marry me?"
"It's still a tentative yes. But…yes," Becky said with a broad grin. She hoped Jesse would slow down and start to think of her more, rather than thinking of his desires. However, he had a good career – he was an advertising executive with Joey in addition to being a musician; they worked out of the Tanner home. He was nice, and from all she could tell, he'd been growing better ever since he moved in to help raise his nieces, which showed her something in itself. It might take a while, but as they kissed, she knew he could very well be the one.
Jesse and Becky's engagement meant they saw each other more and more that summer. Joey travelled to do a few comedy shows, partly from Phyllis Diller's recommendation, as she'd learned of how Joey had hoped to perform for a talent scout who was only there to see her so people she knew who owned the club could drum up more business. Those couple shows led to a few others. With Joey gone at times, Becky helped at the Tanners quite a bit with the girls, and Jesse even took them to the stables so he and Becky could be together while Becky rode with D.J..
A few weeks after school began, Jesse and Becky were gazing lovingly at the large stray dog, Minnie, and her newly born puppies, who were all on his bed. They were sitting on a cot the Tanners had moved into his room – which used to be Stephanie's, and still had the pink bunnies. "Why'd she have to pick my bed?" Jesse whined slightly. He looked at Becky. "And, please, I know it's hard to help it with you growing up in the country, but no more jokes about the bunnies."
"Come on, Jess, I'm just teasing," Becky promised. She didn't lecture about how he took his macho attitude too far sometimes, though; she knew he was just being silly this time. In fact, as Jesse had told her, it was sort of like how he'd be with pam at times when she urged him to try to do something with the girls when she was alive.
"Yeah, I know. But, this is a guy's room." He stared at the bunnies. "With a…few little compromises. I can't wait till that guy gets back from his long business trip in South Korea so he can get these dogs. This room is for watching the Three Stooges, not nature films about baby animals."
Becky smiled warmly at him. "Well, you do mighty well at handling young humans. The way you helped Michelle get used to her big girl bed, and then how you handled Steph when she was teasing that boy – you really have what it takes to be a good family man."
"Yeah, I guess I sort of do," Jesse said, not wanting to give up too much of his macho attitude, yet also glad that Becky appreciated him and was urging him to try. He couldn't believe how much of Pam he saw in her at times.
"You know, if it wasn't for us being so close over the summer, we probably wouldn't have talked things out near as much as we did. We might have had an even bigger blow-up about horseback riding or something else," Becky noted.
Jesse felt a little more relieved now. "Yeah; I'm glad we don't feel like we have to do stuff just because the other one does. Except now, I have to share my room with a walking, talking nature film for a few weeks. Except it doesn't talk, it barks."
Becky chuckled. "You handle the inconvenience very well. You're willing to take time for others; you even come out to see me ride horses."
"Yeah. Of course, Joey being gone a little more helps." Joey burst into the room impersonating the Tasmanian Devil. "Speak of the devil,"
"Good one, Jess. Hey, guess where I'm going?"
"Crazy. Wait, you can't go there, you're a permanent resident already," Jesse cracked.
Ignoring the taunt, Joey said, "It's so amazing, I was just looking through my old tapes and Danny and found a video from college. I promised myself I'd be on Johnny Carson in ten years, and now here I am."
Jesse looked around. "This is the Tonight Show? Funny, I always pictured the stage to be a lot bigger." He gazed at the dogs. "And not swarming with ankle biters."
"Well, actually, what happened was, Phyllis Diller had recommended me a while back if they ever needed an emergency guest, so I'm flying there tomorrow! And, you can all come with me!"
"No, I'm not flying on a plane with all these dogs!"
"We took care of that," Danny said as he stepped into the doorway. "Steph's friend Allie's dad's been laid off for a month or so; he'll probably get called back to work soon, but in the meantime they could use the money. So, they're house-sitting for a few days, since the puppies need time to grow."(1)
"Well, all that hard work has paid off, man. Congratulations," Jesse said. "But, I still think you're nuts," he was sure to add.
"Thanks. I called the ad agency; they said they'd give us the day off," Joey said.
The trip was fantastic. Jesse couldn't get anyone on the Tonight Show to take his demo tape, but Joey wowed the crowd with his material, including his Wizard of Oz routine. The taping was a little long for the younger two, so they came for Joey's part only and were swimming with Becky the rest of the time.
Joey sat in the motel lobby thinking the next morning. Michelle walked up to him. "You were funny," she said.
"Thanks. Just one problem. I never had any goals after that." He thought a moment as Michelle climbed into his lap. "I don't want to give up comedy. But, when you're in your early twenties, ten years is often enough to plan ahead; unless it's someone like your dad who had everything planned out." And that, joey considered, might be why he still struggled over Pam's death.
"You're still funny."
"You're right, Michelle, I'm still funny. "But, I made it to the mountaintop. It's like, where to I go from here?"
"We're on a mountain?"
Joey chuckled. "That's just a saying. It means I made it to the top of my profession. Where do I go from here?"
"Home. Duh-huh," the nearly three-year-old said.
"True. I guess now, I can relax. I won't feel as much pressure. I've got a good career with Jesse. But, that doesn't mean I'll stop comedy. I'd keep going another sixty years even if I hadn't made this milestone, though. Because, you know what? It's something I love. And the best part about real love is, it's forever," Joey remarked as they hugged.
"Yeah, that's right, man," Jesse said, putting an arm around Becky.
Danny told Joey someone was on the phone for him. "I just want to warn you, it's someone you probably wouldn't expect."
"We wanted him to come but it was too short a notice," Stephanie said.
"Dad said you and your dad didn't get along well, but trust me, he said he loved watching the show when he saw it last night," D.J. said.
Joey was stunned, not sure of who it could be – he never imagined it would be his dad, with whom he'd had a falling out years earlier when he was still a child, after his parents divorced. However, it was. They had quite a long talk on the phone, and talked a few more times before his father's death over a year later.(2)
Jesse and Becky continued to discuss the joy of marriage – which Jesse was more sure about after one last kiss, this from a woman he'd hung out with a lot with his previous band. He was committed for sure – though Becky thought he should be committed for being crazy when he rode his motorcycle on the roof of a building. Then, there would be that whole skydiving the day of his wedding bit a few months later.
Jesse and Becky were sitting at a table in the Tanner kitchen before Christmas. D.J. walked by and Jesse stopped her. "Hey, Deej, I heard your first babysitting went pretty well. Well, at least pretty well if you watch a kid like me."
"Yeah. I'm just glad Dad was able to help. It sounds like Steph did well getting Michelle to bed, too."
"You girls do great with her," Becky complimented D.J. as she sat.
"Thanks. She looked ready to go after those cake samples like the Cookie Monster last month, but she didn't; she's pretty good now. I just hope Dad starts to put her in timeout himself soon; my guidance counselor and Dr. Landress both say the longer we wait, the harder it'll be, especially if he waits till that stage around four when they start testing more anyway," D.J. said. Becky told her to hang in there, as it would happen sometime. "You're probably right. I hear you guys are still stuck on Nebraska versus Graceland for the wedding."
Jesse nodded as Kimmy Gibbler, the Tanners' annoying next door neighbor and D.J.'s best friend, came in the door. "Speaking of disasters,' Jesse said.
"Hey, Deej; I hear your dad was babysitting here, too with those poker freaks." She looked at Jesse. "You call me annoying, but at least I'd never turn into a chimney like that one guy."
"That's good to hear. I guess I'm just always unlucky in cards; I just lost out on Christmas in Graceland 'cause I didn't think my three could beat her two. Now I'm afraid my luck and my charm are both shot."
"Oh, don't worry, Jess, I would never risk having my wedding in Graceland no matter how good of a chance I thought I had of winning," Becky said emphatically.
"You guys are just like Dad sometimes; you don't see the obvious solution," D.J. said.
Kimmy agreed. "That's right; meet each other halfway. Have it in a cornfield somewhere in the middle of Montana." Jesse and Becky gawked at her.
"Kimmy, that would be Missouri," D.J. said gently.
"Hey, at least I had a state this time." Kimmy turned to the couple. "One time I tried to name a state beginning with 'M' and I said Mongolia.".
"See, Becky," Jesse noted, "you said you couldn't think of one thing you'd like about Graceland, there it is. They'd speak English, unlike some places Kimmy might send us."
D.J. couldn't help but laugh. "I mean you can have the wedding here in San Francisco. Why travel for a wedding? You've got everything you need. Becky, I'm sure your family can come; there probably isn't a whole lot to do in a farming community if you both still want it in February. And nobody'll have to travel from here."
"Okay, thanks, Deej. You got a point. All our friends are here, you guys are here." Jesse admitted that Graceland could be a honeymoon spot instead.
Becky chuckled. "Maybe someday; but isn't the south Pacific really more romantic?"
"Yeah, Elvis made a movie in Hawaii, so why not."
"Or maybe that cornfield in Missouri. Guess that won't work, huh?" Kimmy said, responding to the stares. They all said it wouldn't.
The wedding took place Valentine's Day, 1990, since the kids had off school for a week in February as an experiment for Presidents' Day. Jesse and Becky planned to move out, as while Michelle missed him it wasn't quite as bad as with a year more of parental bonding with him.(3)
However, something convinced them a few days after they moved out to move back and save on the huge Bay Area rent so they could afford to buy a place sooner.
Stephanie Tanner had just finished packing in her room. She couldn't believe what she'd done. She knew it would be a while before Joey or her dad came home…unless Uncle Jesse came over to do some work with Joey…
She hugged and kissed Michelle and D.J., wondering if she could stay there. She definitely wanted to say goodbye – and her new Aunt Becky was so nice. But, Uncle Jesse would probably tell on her.
She was dropped off at their apartment and announced to Aunt Becky, "I'm moving to Mexico. Unless you think I could stay here."
"Steph, what are you talkin' about?" Jesse asked. He'd come back from shopping for them by then, and was preparing to go over to the Tanners while Becky was at a business dinner. "What's this about Mexico?"
"Jess, let me handle this, okay?" Becky said softly to him.
Jesse got down to Stephanie's level. "Steph, if there's something on your mind, I wanna help. Now, if you feel comfortable talkin to Aunt Becky, that's fine. But, know I'm always here for you too, kid."
"Well …" Soon, she was able to explain, "I got in Joey's car...and next thing I know, I'm in the kitchen." Jesse convinced her it was best not to run from problem but to admit it.
Later that evening, D.J. and Stephanie were talking in Stephanie's room. "I know you've got tons of chores to make up for this. But, it's going to be okay,' D.J. promised.
"I know. I still can't believe Dad could forgive me,' Stephanie mourned.
"Well, that's what's special about real love. It's unconditional. That means no matter what, we love you. And like Dad said, there is could you or anyone in our family could ever do to make us love you any less." D.J. admitted that, "There are times when you really bug me." They chuckled, as she considered that - if Aunt Becky hadn't been there as often to help them try to get along earlier, they might have really had a big fight one time. But, even when you bug me, I still love you."
"Yeah. I guess Aunt Becky's right; we just like to bug each other sometimes."
"I'm not perfect, either. I probably bug people just as much with some of the things I do, like Becky said that one time," D.J. said, referring to the time she hadn't wanted to attend Stephanie's school Halloween party. She knew Becky had been right – D.J. had wanted to stay with Stephanie just a couple months earlier, and with Steph not having a mother, it was possible she felt a little lonely. That was soon after they'd discussed Stephanie's Honeybee Slumber Party next fall, and how D.J. would go with her if nobody else could; though Becky probably would since she had been a Honeybee.(4)
"It's okay, I still love you," Stephanie returned. "I guess Dad won't be making everyone do spring cleaning this year; I'll be doing all of it."
"Well, I don't know about that. I think Dad will find a way to punish with chores as well as being grounded and stuff that really works well. He's really nice. And, this reminds me of how Mom would take us to church, where we go on the bus sometimes yet, and we'd learn about God's forgiveness,' D.J. said, as something in her heart urged her to keep going further, even though she didn't usually think about such faith.
Stephanie recalled. "I remember when I prayed asking Him to find Mr. Bear."
"Me, too. The important part isn't that we're in church, though. It's that we have that same loving relationship. And, we get that by just trusting in what Christ did for us when he took the punishment for our sins on the cross, when He died and rose again. It's just calling on Him to save you by faith."
Stephanie nodded slowly. "Sin always sounded like something so awful. But, boy, if I ever sinned, today was it!"
D.J. agreed silently. "You can call on Jesus to save you right now; would you like to?"
"You bet!" Stephanie prayed and trusted Jesus to save her from her sins and get her to Heaven, as well as to come into her heart and help her here on earth. While she wouldn't always follow Him, He would always be there to help when she called on Him.
"Thanks, Deej; I feel better now," Stephanie said as Jesse and Becky stepped into the doorway. "Hey, it's late; what are you two doing here?"
"We just wanted to make sure you were okay. And tell you we'll be here a lot more now,' Becky promised.
Jesse concurred. "What happened today, it helped us realize, we've got an important role in you girls' lives. It'll save on rent – which is awful in this area – till we can afford a real home. And, well, you can room with D.J. a while longer."
Danny explained as he stepped into the room. "They're taking the attic, which means Jesse's stuff goes to the basement, so Joey's going to move in here."(5)
"You'll get used to it, Deej. Maybe in a few months, we can talk you're your dad into letting you room with Michelle and be the big sister in the room," Becky suggested.
Stephanie gave her a look, as if to ask whether that would really be a good idea. "I guess I'd feel more grown up, though; like when I took the bunnies down last week and we were looking for something more grown up." Michelle would keep one in a frame as a souvenir, and so would Jesse and Becky. Joey, of course, didn't want them.
A few months later, Joey had just returned from another comedy routine, and was helping Danny and the others with a telethon. He was excited to be more popular, but as he told Danny, "I spoke too soon thinking I was at the top just because I made the Tonight Show. It's not like I'm getting a lot of offers. That help from Phyllis Diller just happened to get me a few. It might have been another decade before I made it otherwise.(6) Still, I like it this way. I'm really needed here. Especially with Becky's…"
Becky blurted, "Ice cream." Jesse and the others gave her odd looks as Jesse and his band prepared to perform. Once they left, she whispered, "I hinted at it, but Jesse doesn't take those well." D.J. suggested that Becky request a song. She'd long since gotten over Becky not being sure if she believed her when a boy splashed beer on her. "Good idea, thanks," Becky said as she ran up on stage. "Excuse me, can I request a song."
"Well, Becky, we've already got a full play list," Jesse said. When Becky reminded him the telethon was 24 hours, he said, "Okay, we can play 'stump the band' or something."
"Play, 'She's Having My Baby,'" Becky told him.
"Come on, Becky, we know that one; if you wanna stump us, tell us to play something like 'She's Having A Hot Dog," Jesse spouted.
"Jess, I'm not trying to stump the band, I'm trying to tell you I'm having a baby," Becky insisted before recalling she was on live.
Jesse turned back to the band for a second. "Wow, did you hear that guys, she's…what! You' mean we're having…?" Becky nodded excitedly.
The others laughed and pondered the new addition to the Tanner home which would come late that year. They knew it would mean lots more fun times.
(1) Puppies could never have been separated from their mother before 4 weeks, and had obviously grown since the birth, hence the month-long business trip the owner was on; he'd either moved from Ohio or bought Minnie there. The episode "Star Search" had to take place over at least 2 weeks. Puppies could be always upstairs– we never see the upstairs in that ep., and the final part isn't even at the Tanners'. Credit the writers for a perfect episode to embed within that space where the puppies are growing.
Allie, of course, is the book friend who, as a "best friend since Kindergarten," would have moved, likely before season 6 as Steph only then gets to know the Jennifers. See "Young Talent Night" for how she'd fit in if she doesn't move in the TVU.
(2) I think they'd call his dad for the Tonight Show just as they did for when Joey was in Vegas the next year. They didn't for Star Search because it was a longer program and not as prestigious as Johnny Carson or Vegas. As to whether he'd come to see the act instead, Joey's performance on the Tonight Show wouldn't be as long as the one in Vegas, and with all the other parts of the Tonight Show taping he'd have had to sit through, it is more plausible he'd just watch at home.
I mention his death – which I believe explains why he's never mentioned again –in my fic "Parties and Showers," but it could be any time after "Viva Las Joey."
(3) Whether Danny tells Michelle isn't important. He might have – Danny hasn't just started to punish her at this point so he wouldn't be so worried about the change (see my "Too Much Change"), It's just as likely, though, that D.J. or even Becky tells her.
(4) It's uncertain if Becky being there more often would impact "Divorce Court" but it could. Since they probably learn Becky was a Honeybee earlier, and discuss the future party, I think it's likely that such discussion leads to D.J. considering Becky's input as noted here, too, but it's admittedly a change that's not set in stone, it's just author's preference. Still, they're not close enough to have the events in the Book version, where they wouldn't fight, as in my "Kid Sisters Plus Boys Equals Silliness."
(5) Joey's room *was* the garage and could be expanded to fit the recording stuff like in books, where the 4th bedroom had an office in it. This tries to show the TVU with Nicky and Alex born a year early, so since they did it this way in our TVU, they would here, too. Still, they could move back when Jesse loses his job in "I.Q. Man" instead. (That's why they'd move back after the fall wedding in books, even with Jesse always in the attic and D.J. the mother figure.)
(6) Which I figure he does in our timeline; book and TV universes. See my "Going Out On Top.