Disclaimer: I don't own Fuller House.
It had been about a year since that first date and everything had been going swimmingly. In fact, everything had been going so swimmingly that the two had decided to move in together, granted that everybody was okay with Steve and Jasmine moving in.
"Meeting!" D.J. called to the household as Steve had an arm around her waist and Jasmine sat in a chair across from the couch.
Three pairs of children's feet, plus D.J.'s sister carrying T.J. and Kimmy came bounding down the steps.
"Hey guys, didn't know you were coming over today," Stephanie greeted.
Basically everyone had accepted Steve into the family. Jesse was happy with his mother's decision. Steve was a great guy, and his mother was happy, but he knew he would never get used to Steve being in the house, sleeping in his father's bed, cooking dinner with the pans his father had used, picking up his baby brother who called Steve "Dad". He knew Steve wasn't trying to replace his father. Steve had sat him down one day and told him that, but still, having Steve and Jasmine around the house was weird, and he didn't know if he would ever get used to it.
"Well, what's the meeting for?" Ramona asked as everyone either sat on furniture or stood.
"We've thought a lot about this," D.J. said.
"We think this is a great idea, but only if everyone is on board with this," Steve continued.
"Engaged!" Max shouted.
"No, no, no, not yet."
"Then what is it?" Jasmine asked, having an inkling of what it could be. She loved D.J. like a mother. She wanted to spend more time with her, if that was even possible. She knew how hard it must be for the boys. For them to have their mother's boyfriend and daughter around the house. Though, she'd had more practice than them, so she was more open and accepting of the idea of changing houses than she knew that J.D. was. "Are you guys moving in together?"
"Only if everyone is okay with that," D.J. answered.
The room went quiet. Nobody had expected that answer.
"Oh," Kimmy said. "Well, that's…"
"Unexpected," Steph finished. "What about bedrooms?"
"If Kimmy wouldn't mind moving into the attic then the girls could share a bed. Or, Steph, if you wouldn't mind moving into the attic, then the girls would have separate bedrooms," D.J. answered, glad that she and Steve had figured all this out beforehand.
"I'm okay with it!" Max shouted.
"Welcome to the family, bud," Kimmy said.
"Yay!" Jasmine shouted, hugging D.J. tightly.
D.J. and Steve smiled at each other.
"I guess I could do some redecorating upstairs. Plus, Steve's over here all the time anyway eating our food, so…," Stephanie said.
The couple then looked at Ramona and J.D. Steve and D.J. knew that Jesse would be the hardest to convince, after all the trouble that Jesse had had with accepting Steve in the past.
"I'm all for it. Would be okay with another teen girl in the house," Ramona agreed, hugging the girl she had become close with over the past year.
"Jesse?" Steve said, though it sounded more like a question than a name. J.D. stayed silent, feeling everybody's eyes on him, either waiting for a yes or no. Steve came over to the boy, and everybody left, giving the two a chance to talk. "We don't have to move in here. We're only doing it if everybody's comfortable, since we're over here all the time anyway."
"It's just…it's odd, having another man in my mom's life. Seeing you kissing her, having you cook dinner and picking us up from school, hearing Tommy Junior call you 'Dad', everything that a father would do," Jesse said.
"I'm not trying to replace your father, I've told you that, but I'm sorry if I've done anything that made you feel like I am. I'll try to work things out, but I can't do anything about T.J."
J.D. nodded. Frankly, he liked the idea of having Steve and Jasmine around. He had become quite close to both of them, even standing up to Jasmine's bullies when they teased her about not having a mom. He just didn't want Steve to take the place of his father.
"Can the pictures of my father still be up in the house?" J.D. asked.
"We'll never take them down," Steve promised.
He loved this kid like his own, knowing one day that all of D.J.'s kids would be his stepsons. He knew moving in with D.J. was a big step, but both of them felt ready and knew they could handle this.
It gave Steve hope that if they could handle four kids with the help of Steph and Kimmy, they could get through anything.
"I think it would be great if you guys moved in here," J.D. said finally.
In any movie or story, the boy and mother's boyfriend would hug, but this wasn't a movie, so the boy and his mother's boyfriend did not hug, they stayed where they were, smiling at each other.
"Deej, I'm moving in!" Steve shouted to Donna Jo.
She ran through the kitchen door and hugged him, legs tight around his waist. Everybody came in slowly, congratulating the couple and making plans for move-in day, which would happen in a few weeks. Jasmine noticed J.D. still sitting on the couch.
"You're a good son," she told him.
"I mean, it'll be nice to have you guys around. You and your father are great people. And, I mean, after a year, it's hard to say no to you guys," J.D. said.
"We were gonna be moving in here sooner or later, you know."
"I know. You're going to be my stepsister in a few years."
Steve and D.J. looked at their kids laughing and smiling. They had heard every word.
"Come on, let's start moving my stuff up into the attic," Stephanie said. "This house'll always be full of people, won't it, Deej?"
D.J. smiled and nodded, remembering how full their house was when they were kids. She found it funny that now that her boyfriend and his daughter were moving in, they would have the exact same number of people in the house as they did when Nicky and Alex were born.
Nine seemed to be the magic number.
And as everybody started making plans about what was to happen, Donna Jo Fuller snuggled into Stephen Hale's side, his arm wrapped protectively around her. They were content, and a month later, Steve and Jasmine had moved into the house.
Everything was right.
Yay, new update! Promise this isn't the last chapter, but we're getting to the end! Have a good week!