Of Foul Balls and Home Runs
A Fuller House fanfic
Author's note: I do not own the characters of Fuller House. Fuller House is owned by Jeff Franklin. That being said, enjoy!
As the Tanner Clan was leaving the AT&T Park, Stephanie tried to piece everything that had just happened together in her mind. It was supposed to be so simple. She had begun dating Hunter Pence, and he had arranged for her to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the 7th inning stretch at a game. He even was kind enough to provide tickets for her family to join. She still couldn't see why the crowd had reacted with such hostility.
As Stephanie stood on the field, the crowd booed her relentlessly. She tried to put it out of her head as she began singing, but as their loudness increased, she stopped mid-note. "What is wrong with you people? she demanded, refusing to let tears fall. "What do you want from me?" she added. "Do you want me to break up with Hunter Pence?" At this, the crowd cheered.
Stephanie smiled as they walked toward the parking lot. A few minutes ago, her nephew, Max just caught a home run that Hunter had managed, unknowingly, to hit out of the park in their direction. She thought of the fat guy near their seat. He had bombarded her with insults the whole game, and taken it too far when he caught a foul ball meant for Max.
As she walked, Max seemed to sense something might be a bit wrong with his aunt, as he lagged a bit to join her. "Are you okay, Aunt Stephanie?" he asked with a smile. Stephanie bent down to hug her nephew. "You know what," she replied, returning the smile, "I think I'm gonna be okay."
Max smiled as he held his ball. He had wanted a foul ball to take to show and tell, but this was so much better. "You're still going to be with the baseball guy, right?" he asked. Stephanie thought for a minute. She mentally gave herself a pep talk. "You know what?" she said after a slight silence, "I am." She didn't care what anybody thought. If fans couldn't deal with it, it was just too bad for them. As the embrace broke, Stephanie saw DJ coming toward them, sisterly concern in her eyes.
"Hey Max, why don't you go wait with Aunt Kimmy by the car," she said. He smiled. "Okay, Mommy," he answered. Before he left, he had one thing to tell his aunt. "Oh, and Aunt Stephanie, you know that guy who took my foul ball?" he asked. Stephanie and DJ smiled. "Fat, sat on his nachos, yeah I remember him," Stephanie replied, trying not to sound bitter, even though she still was a bit.
"He booed you," Max replied softly. Stephanie wasn't surprised, but for her, the camel's back had just been broken. That man in particular had angered her. She didn't care that he booed her, but she wasn't going to let him get away with how he treated her nephew. Thinking quickly, she eyed the home run ball Max had caught. "Hey, Max, can I borrow your ball for a bit?" she asked.
DJ was quick to note a familiar deviousness in her sister's expression. "Okay Aunt Stephanie," Max replied as he handed her his precious ball. "Promise you won't lose it," he said. Stephanie smiled at her nephew. "I won't, I promise." With that, Max ran to catch up with his brother, cousin, and Kimmy, who were still heading to the car.
"What are you up to?" DJ asked as Stephanie looked thoughtfully at the ball. "Oh, nothing," she lied. DJ laughed at her answer. They both knew better than that. "Look, Deej, I'll be just a sec," Stephanie said, then headed back toward the stadium.
It took a while. She didn't even know if he'd show through the exact exit Stephanie and her family had left out of. But finally, Fat Man lumbered out of the stadium. Stephanie locked eyes with him and smiled. "What do you want, floozy?" he asked. He decided to toss the foul ball he'd caught that was meant for Max at the same time. 'Okay,' Stephanie thought. 'Two can play at that game.'
"Nice foul ball you got there," she said brightly. The fat man glared at her. "If you're here to try to convince me to trade so that kid can have it, don't waste your breath," he sneered. "I wouldn't give it to him just cause he sat near you." With those words, Stephanie returned his glare, tenfold.
"Okay," she replied in a dangerously calm voice. "First of all, he's seven." The man started laughing. "I couldn't care if he were a baby," he replied. "And second of all, a trade will not be necessary." She smiled as realization dawned on him.
"That...that..." Stephanie finished his thought for him. "Yep, Tubby, that's right. I hold in my hand, the ball that Hunter Pence hit out of right field." As the color left Fat-Man's face, she continued to press her advantage. "You know, it's a funny thing. My family and I happened to be right outside where that ball landed. Max caught it perfectly," she said, her grin widening.
The weight of what she said made him sink to his knees. "I think I'll have Hunter autograph it for him," she said smugly. The man could take no more. This was a death knell. "NO!" he screamed. "Suck on that, Tubby," she said, then left him to wallow in his despair.
Stephanie took a breath as her phone went off. It was Hunter. She accepted with a smile. "Look, I know you said we're done," Hunter began. "and if that's what you really want, I accept it, but you don't have to stop seeing me just because the fans don't like it," he added.
Stephanie smiled. "I wanted to talk to you about that," she replied. "I don't want to break up with you, so if you'll have me..." She heard an unmistakable holler of joy. "Yes, YES! One thousand times, YES!" Hunter replied. Stephanie couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Now that that's cleared up, can I ask a favor?" said.
"Of course," Hunter replied. As her conversation continued, she saw Max coming into the kitchen. "Well, the thing is, you remember that home run you hit just after I was ejected?" Max stared at his aunt. "Well," Stephanie continued, "the thing is, Max caught it." As Max watched, he was sure he heard whoever his aunt was talking to say "Awesome!"
"Anyway, I was wondering if you would autograph the ball for him?" she asked, making direct eye contact with Max. His excitement could not be contained. He began jumping for joy. "Oh, thanks," Stephanie replied. "See you around." Max continued to jump all the way back through the kitchen door.
As Stephanie hung up the phone, DJ came into the kitchen. "What's up with Max?" she asked. "He won't stop jumping." Stephanie smiled. "Oh, I kind of sort of asked Hunter to sign his baseball," she explained, to DJ's delight.
The End