SUNRISE, SUNSET

A/N: I do not own Fuller House or the characters. They are solely the property of Netflix, Jeff Franklin Productions, and their associates.

"The Lord stood with me, and strengthened me."

—2 TIMOTHY 4:17

"Either you choose to stay

in the shallow end of the pool,

or you go out into the ocean."

—CHRISTOPHER REEVE

1952 - 2004

CHAPTER 1

"Yer mo-to-rin'; what's your price for flight in fin-din' Mis-ter Ri-ight? You'll be all right to-ni-i-ight..."

That's what was playing on the stereo as Tommy Fuller Jr. stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room. Tonight was a very special night for him. In just 24 hours, he and his cousin, Pamela Katsopolis, were graduating from Bayview High, and the whole family was getting together for their party. Besides his mom. DJ, and stepfather, Steve, his Great-Uncle Jesse, Great-Aunt Becky, and their boys, Nick and Alex, would be there, along with Grandpa Danny and his wonderful wife, Vicky, his Aunt Steph, Uncle Jimmy, and their girls, Danielle and Jessica—who were thirteen and eleven, respectively—his older brothers, Jackson and Max, and their families, Grandpa Danny's best friend, Joey Gladstone, and Kimmy Gibbler, Fernando Hernandez Gurerro Fernandez Guerro, and their daughter, Ramona, the family's lifelong friends and neighbors. Talk about a full house!

After Tommy finished buttoning his black short-sleeved dress shirt and put on the black Apple watch that Steve had given him for a graduation present, he took a few minutes to look at his surroundings. He'd lived in this room and in this house since he was nine months old, and he would be turning eighteen in a few weeks. There was something he always found very comforting about the familiarity of it all, not to mention all the memories he'd had of living here. Normally, most people won't admit that they had happy childhoods, but for the most part, that's the way Tommy's was. There was definitely no shortage of activity in this house when he was growing up, or love. He remembered how much his mom and Steve loved each other, and all the stories he and his brothers had been told about when they'd met in high school. Most kids would've been bored to tears hearing about that stuff, but not Tommy. If anything, it made him hope that someday, he'd be lucky enough to find a girl who loved him enough to want to spend her life with him.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Yeah?" he answered as he put on his class ring.

"It's Pamela," the voice on the other end responded. "Got a minute?"

"Sure, come on in," Tommy said as he shut off the stereo. He was always happy to see his cousin, blood-related or not.

The door opened, and there she stood. She had on a white sleeveless button-down blouse with red vertical stripes, navy blue skinny jeans, gold hoop earrings, and spotlessly white low-tops. Her curly jet-black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her make-up was perfect, thanks to Becky. She'd always told her that the secret to make-up was to make it look like you weren't wearing any.

"Hi, cuz," she smiled as she entered the room.

"Hi," Tommy answered as he gave her a hug and kiss. "Wow, look at you!"

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."

"Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, Mom, Dad, and my brothers are downstairs with your mom and Steve. If I know them, they're either hugging, reminiscing, or both."

"Yeah? I thought for sure they'd all be bawling their eyes out and wishing we never had to grow up."

"That, too. So, looking forward to graduation?"

"Oh, you bet!" Tommy agreed. "Don't get me wrong—I'm going to miss everybody like crazy, but at the same time, I can't wait to get out of here."

"Me neither. You know, you should've seen the look on Mom's face when I showed her my acceptance letter from Julliard. I thought for sure she was going to go into cardiac arrest on the spot!"

"Well, it is in New York, and a really tough school."

"Point taken. What are you going to be doing after this is all over?"

"Well, for starters, me and a few of my friends are leaving for our backpacking trip to Oregon next week; and in the fall, I'm off to UCLA, thanks to that gymnastics scholarship I got. When I'm not competing and hoping to get a spot on Team USA, I'll be majoring in sports medicine."

"That's great, Tommy," she said. "We'll all be rooting for you. And who knows? Maybe one of these days, you'll make the team and be on your way to Montréal, or Johannesburg, or wherever the Games will be."

"Thanks. And yeah, that'd really be something."

"Tommy! Pamela!" he heard his mother's voice call from downstairs. "They're here!"

"Coming, Mom!" he called back as he put on his shoes. With that, the two cousins headed toward the stairs, anxious to see who was the first to arrive.

It was going to be just like the good old days again.