Chapter 4:

Danny Tanner was on a black stepladder in the kitchen, anxiously wiping the top of the off white refrigerator as Vicky entered the room holding baby Tommy on her left hip.

"Danny, you already dusted the fridge," scolded Vicky playfully as she placed Tommy into his highchair near the large oval table.

"Oh, Vicky," Danny said nervously as he turned around, not realizing she had entered the room. "I'm just, uh, well, you know how excited I get before I see everyone. I just want everything to be. . ."

". . .Perfect," Vicky said finishing Danny's sentence.

"Well, yes," Danny said with the shaky sound of guilt held in his throat as he stepped off the ladder to face her completely.

"I know sweetheart," she said not being able to contain her warm, kind smile.

Danny and Vicky shared a moment together as they each smiled at the other. Snapping them both back to the world in which they lived was the door bell.

"Oh. My. God. They're early!" Danny panicked, looking down at his watch. He quickly put the stepladder away in the half laundry room. "Oh, I knew I should have said four instead of three!" He said getting flustered as he made his way out the large oak swinging kitchen door to the family room.

Vicky couldn't help smiling yet again as she let out a joyful sigh and thought to herself, I married a loony, but gosh how I love that loony. Vicky heard Danny greeting DJ, Steve, and Brittany.

"My! Look how much you've grown!" She heard Danny say to little Brittany.

"Hi Grandpa!" Brittany said in sheer delight.

Vicky rose from her seat at the kitchen table when Tommy started to fuss.

"Are you a hungry baby?" Vicky asked her son as she retrieved him from the highchair. With Tommy back on her hip, she walked over to the fridge and pulled out one of his bottles. Moving him from her side to her front, Vicky let Tommy help hold his bottle. As she fed him, she strode into the family room to join everyone.

"Hi Vicky," DJ said from the door, excited to see her step-mother.

"Hi Deej," Vicky glanced up to see her and the rest of her little family.

Becky entered the still open red oak door carrying a couple large presents with her as she let out a very animated, high pitched, "Hiiii everyone!"

"Hey Becky," Danny said with a wide grin.

"Aunt Becky!" Was DJ's enthusiastic greeting. "Let me help you with those."

"Thanks, Deej, my arms are about to break," Becky said jokingly as she kissed DJ warmly on the cheek. Becky then turned her attention to the dark forest green Christmas tree as she said in complete awe, "Oh Danny, the tree is beautiful."

"It'll look even better once we decorate it tonight. Did you guys bring your ornaments?" He asked everyone standing there before him on his front doors' step.

"I did Grandpa," Brittany said looking up at Danny sounding as if she were ready to decorate as soon as she was granted permission.

Danny was about to speak when Nicky and Alex walked in carrying more presents. Brittany looked at all the gifts with stars in her eyes.

"More presents?" She asked not believing what she was seeing.

"Yup, and there's more my Dad's bringing in," answered Alex eying his little cousin over his large stack.

"You guys can just put them under the tree next to the others," Vicky said.

Jesse's footsteps were heard on the porch as he approached the house. Everyone made room by stepping off the steps and onto the hardwood floor.

"Are we clear?" Jesse asked.

"Come on in Jess," Becky called to her husband.

All that could be seen were about five or six presents being carried by a man wearing medium colored jeans that had been pulled over a pair of black boots.

"Jesse, is that you?" Danny teased.

"Don't joke Daniel, not right now. How am I doing, Beck?" Jesse asked not wanting trip over anything.

"Keep coming Jess, you're doing fine. Step down. Step down. OK!"

Danny removed a top small package which revealed his brother-in-law's face. "Hi Jess!"

"Hi," Jesse said, now already a little irritated with Danny. A little more cheerfully, he asked, "Where do you want them?"

"Over there's fine," Danny said smiling, amused with his cleverness pointing to the tree.

Jesse set the packages down in front of the tree near his sons.

"Well that's the last of it," Jesse said breathing a sigh of relief.

"Uh, Jess," Becky interjected, smiling at her next thought, "aren't you forgetting something?"

Jesse looked up towards her with a confused look painted on his face, "Hmm?"

"The bags?"

"Oh, right!" Jesse clapped his hands together, "Come on boys." Jesse, Nicky, and Alex hustled back outside to get the luggage.

---

"Alright. Now that's the last of it," Jesse said as he and his sons put the last of their things in the attic.

Nicky and Alex went back downstairs leaving their dad to be alone with his thoughts. Jesse put his hands on his hips as he sighed, taking everything in. Sadly as Jesse stood there he began to reminisce about the past. He thought, "It all seems like it happened yesterday. I moved in to help Danny raise the girls, and then moved in here with Becky and built that nursery for the boys, and bada-bing! We moved out; all yesterday."

"Jess, honey," Becky said as she climbed the light grey carpeted steps to join her husband. She put her hands through his arms, around his waist, hugging him from behind. Kissing him on the shoulder blade she shared the same thoughts as Jesse had only aloud, "I remember this place like we were here yesterday."

Jesse smiled as he wiped away a tear that had fallen from his eye. He turned to face his wife, as he traced her lips with his finger tips, he said softly, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Jess." As they embraced, little Jenny came up the stairs.

"Ew," she said with a disgusted, yet intrigued look on her face.

Becky and Jesse parted at hearing the sound of the little girl. Both still wrapped in each others arms, they smiled as they looked down at her.

"May we help you?" Jesse said stretching every vowel sound still smiling.

Jenny looked up at them also smiling, "Look! I lost a tooth!" She said, proudly displaying her pink gum tissue to them.

Jesse released Becky from his arms and bent down next to his best friend's daughter examining her missing tooth. "WOW! You sure did!" He then took her into a big hug that forced her into the air as Jesse carried the five-year-old down the stairs. Becky followed them realizing, as well that Joey was there.

---

"Hello Thomas. It's very nice to meet you. How do you like my antlers?" Joey asked on one knee, holding his open hands to his head, doing his famous impersonation of Bullwinkle for the baby sitting on Vicky's lap at the kitchen table.

"Joe, the kid's two, he won't get that," Jesse said in his serious, not always understood sarcastic, tone as he, Jenny, and Becky entered the kitchen from the back stairs.

"I know Jess, it's just a little fun," Joey said defending himself, in his normal voice as he rose to his feet.

"Take it easy, I'm just teasing ya, pal," Jesse said holding his hands up as if he didn't want to be shot.

"I know, I was too," Joey said smiling trying to act like he knew that Jesse had been joking.

"How've you been?" Jesse asked as he pulled Joey by the back of his neck into a huge brotherly hug.

"Good," Joey responded with his forehead pressed firmly against Jesse's broad shoulder.

The two parted and looked at each other, smiling warmly. "I've missed you Joseph," Jesse said kindly as he put his right hand on his friend's left shoulder.

"I've missed you too, Jess," Joey said widening his smile.

---

"Hello?" Michelle Tanner yelled as she walked through the front door into her old-style San Francisco house. She thought, "Wow! It's so great to be home." As she set down her overly stuffed duffle bag, a smile crept its way across her face.

"Michelle," Danny said under his breath, but with delight at the sound of his youngest daughter's voice. Danny excitedly walked through the swinging kitchen door once more to greet his two other daughters.

"Hi Dad!" Michelle said as she flung her arms around her tall father as he entered the room. He stood a good foot taller than her, Michelle being only 5'3". Danny gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"I've missed you so much!" Danny said still hugging her, as he was so overjoyed to see her.

Just then Stephanie and Tyler walked in carrying the rest of their luggage.

Danny looked up at them, "Hey Steph, Tyler!"

"Hey Dad!" Stephanie replied as she walked over to join her father and sister for a hug.

"Mr. Tanner, Sir," Tyler said to Danny as he shook his hand, "It's great to see you again."

"Oh, Tyler, you know me better than that," Danny said as he pulled Tyler into the trio's hug.

"Right, I keep forgetting you like to hug," Tyler joked.

Then they all walked in to join everyone else in the kitchen.

"Shorty!" Jesse said smiling at his favorite niece. He had always said that he loved all his nieces the same, but he couldn't lie to himself. He had helped raise Michelle since she was just a little over a year old. She had always been there for him, through thick and thin. She was his best pal, his best friend.

"Uncle Jesse!" Michelle squealed as she saw her uncle and best friend.

They hung very tightly to one another as they hugged. Michelle and Jesse both were very careful of not showing their tears to their family, but they were both crying with joy on the inside.

Michelle, Stephanie, and Tyler said their hellos to everyone else in the room before excusing themselves to put their bags in their rooms.

"Alright everyone, dinner's in a half hour," Danny said to his large family.