A/N: Happy Easter to everyone who's celebrating today! Sorry that it's taken me this long to get the next chapter up. My motivation to write has been lacking lately so if you're still enjoying this story, please let me know. I do love writing for these characters so I'll keep writing new "episodes" as long as people are still interested in reading them!
"Okay, a little to the left," DJ instructed. "Now up a little bit higher. That's perfect!"
DJ gave Steve and Kimmy a thumbs up and took a step back to admire their work. She and her sisters had spent the afternoon preparing the house for their little brother's arrival, and the baby blue banner strung across the living room balcony reading "Welcome Home, Andy!" in bright yellow cursive lettering was one of the finishing touches.
"Thanks, guys! The banner looks great!"
Steve and Kimmy came down the stairs and Steve wrapped his arms around DJ.
"Well I think the credit should go to the one who made the banner!" he said proudly, giving his girlfriend a congratulatory kiss.
"Aww, thanks, Steve!" DJ gushed.
"Ugh, get a room!"
DJ and Steve turned to Stephanie who was taping balloons in various shades of blue around the doorframe between the living room and kitchen.
"You're just jealous that you don't have a supportive boyfriend who encourages your creative ideas!"
"As if!" Stephanie sneered. "I just hope this whole 'banner' thing doesn't become a habit!"
"We're home!" Danny announced as he opened the front door.
Vicky walked in cradling Andy in her arms and the girls rushed to greet her, completely ignoring their father, who was standing on the landing with open arms, ready to hug his daughters.
"I missed you girls, too," he said dryly.
"Vicky, how are you feeling?" DJ asked as they settled onto the couch.
"Oh, not too bad. Just a little tired. Danny, can you hand me his pacifier?"
Danny pulled a pacifier from the front pocket of Andy's diaper bag and handed it to his wife.
"Can I hold him?" Michelle asked.
Danny helped Michelle reposition herself with a pillow under her arm and gingerly handed her the baby.
"Oh, would you look at that!" Danny gushed. "My two littlest babies!"
"I can't believe how small he is!" Michelle said in awe. "Look at his little feet and his little hands…"
"That nose isn't so little!" Kimmy piped up. "He takes after you, Mr. T!"
"Kimmy, don't you have anywhere else to be?" Danny wondered.
"Come on, Kimmy. Let's go see if Liz needs any help with dinner." DJ pulled her best friend into the kitchen and her boyfriend followed suit.
"Vicky, it was really sweet of your mom to take over cooking duties while she's here," said Danny. "I'm sure it can't be easy suddenly having to make meals for almost a dozen people."
"She said she was happy to do it!" Vicky assured him. "And besides, once your mom gets here tomorrow, she'll have some extra help."
"That's true. Though I'm not sure how happy my mom's gonna be about having to share the kitchen. She can be a little particular when it comes to her cooking."
"Oh, Danny, I'm sure it'll be no problem!"
After a few moments, Andy started to fuss, so Michelle quickly handed him back to Vicky.
"Sounds like somebody's getting hungry!" Vicky cooed. "Let's get you upstairs!" She slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and took Andy upstairs to the bedroom.
"So, girls, how was your first day of school?" Danny asked.
"It was so great!" Stephanie exclaimed. "The only class that Gia and I don't have together is math, but Miss Pritchett sat me next to one of the cutest guys in our entire class!"
"We-hell!" Danny replied, "It sounds like I may need to have a talk with Miss Pritchett! How about you, Michelle?"
"It was okay. My teacher wanted us to share a fun fact about ourselves, so I told everyone that my uncle hosts Rush Hour Renegades and my teacher said she listens to it every day on her way home!"
"Wow! Did you tell her that your dad hosts Wake Up, San Francisco, too?"
"No," said Michelle. "I figured that she's always at school when your show is on so she wouldn't have a chance to watch it." Michelle shrugged and stood up from the sofa. "I better go get started on my homework. What kind of teacher assigns homework on the first day, anyway?"
"The kind that's invested in her students' futures!" Danny responded.
Michelle subtly rolled her eyes as she went upstairs to her bedroom.
"Hey, where is everybody?" Danny asked. "I thought bringing the new baby home would attract a little more attention."
"Jesse and Joey are at the radio station, and Aunt Becky is upstairs packing for their trip to Mexico."
"Oh, that's right! I forgot that they were leaving tomorrow. Can you believe that you girls are getting a new little brother and a new cousin all in the same week?"
"I know, it's awesome!" Stephanie's face fell into a frown. "It's kind of sad though," she admitted. "With Joey moving out and everything…"
Danny nodded. "Feels like everything is changing all at once, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded. "But at least they're good changes. Mostly."
"Is everything okay, Steph?"
Stephanie looked down at her hand and fiddled with her bracelet. "Gia's moving," she muttered quietly. "Her mom got engaged this summer, and they want to be closer to his family on the East Coast."
"Oh, Steph," Danny sighed. "I'm sorry, Sweetie." He sat down next to her on the couch and put his arm around her. "When are they moving?"
"They're waiting until Christmas break since the school year's already started. It just really sucks because Gia and I were starting to become really good friends, you know?"
"I know. And, as much as I hate to admit it, though Gia does have her edgy side that seems to be rubbing off on you, you seem to be rubbing off on her, too. I think you're helping her a lot, Steph."
"Thanks, Dad!"
"Hey, what are dads for?" He leaned in to give her one last hug then stood up from the sofa.
"Uh, Dad?" Stephanie asked quickly.
"Yeah?"
"I know this is a crazy idea, and you're probably going to say no, but – "
"Oh, I love questions that start out like that!"
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "What if Gia stayed with us for a few months? Just so she doesn't have to switch schools in the middle of the year."
"Stephanie…"
"I know, I know! There are too many people living in this house already. But with Joey moving out soon, we'll have a spare bedroom! And wouldn't it be nice to have an extra babysitter around with Andy and Elisa coming?"
Danny thought about it for a minute, then sighed. "I'll talk to Vicky and see what she thinks," he finally agreed. "But you have to promise me that you won't get your hopes up!"
Stephanie jumped up from the blue sofa and wrapped her arms around Danny.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best, Dad!" she said with a grin.
"Hey, like I just said: What are dads for?"
Jesse walked into the attic to find his wife moving frantically back and forth between the two suitcases she had laid out on their bed and a checklist on the coffee table.
"How's the packing going?"
"I think we might need to bring a third suitcase," said Becky, "Between the clothes we're bringing for Elisa, all these books and toys, and our stuff, I don't know if we'll have enough room!"
"Well, can't we just cut back a little bit on the stuff we're bringing?" Jesse suggested.
Becky looked around at the piles of clothing, toys, and books that seemed to cover every inch of the tiny attic apartment.
"Well, maybe…" she admitted. " It's Mexico in August, so we know it's going to be hot, but what if there's a hurricane or something? And what if our flight home gets delayed? She's going to need plenty of toys and books to keep her busy. And what if she gets scared at night and wants a stuffed animal to cuddle with? I just think we need to be prepared for any situation, don't you?"
"I think you've been living with Danny for way too long!"
Becky sighed and rolled her eyes. "I guess it's possible that I went a little overboard. I just want to make sure that she feels comfortable with us, Jess! I mean, think about it! She's leaving the only home she's ever known with two strangers who barely speak her language. She's probably never even been on an airplane before! Can you imagine how terrifying that would be for someone her age?"
Jesse sighed as he sat down on the bed. "Becky, come here." He pulled her into his lap and began gently rubbing the small of her back.
"Becky, why did we decide we wanted to adopt?"
Becky raised her eyebrows at the question, unsure of what her husband was getting at.
"Because we wanted to give all the love that we have to offer to a child who needs it," she said finally.
"Exactly!" Jesse replied. "Now, how does that old song go again?" He snapped his fingers, pretending to have to think about it for a second before answering his own question. "Oh, yeah! All you need is love! Beck, what Elisa is going to need most from us right now is our love and attention. Of course, she's going to be scared at first, but overwhelming her with all of these extra toys and things isn't going to help with that! Remember what the social worker told us? Our job during the first few days with her is to just be there for her and show her that we're the ones she can depend on to take care of her from now on. That's all she needs: Us, not some silly little toys!"
"Oh, Jess, you're right," Becky said. "I guess I'm just anxious to see her and worried about how everything is going to go, so I started thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong, and what I could do to prevent it."
Jesse nodded. "I know. I'm anxious, too. More excited than anything else, really, but it's still nerve-wracking. Most of the time you have nine months to prepare for a new baby, but we barely had three!"
Becky grinned. "I know. Isn't it crazy?"
"And it's not like we're bringing home another newborn, either! She's a four-year-old with a personality, opinions, her own likes and dislikes. I mean, what if she doesn't like Elvis?" Jesse wondered, genuinely concerned.
"As if she'll have a choice with you as her dad!" Becky teased.
Jesse's face relaxed and he broke into his signature smolder.
"Have mercy!"
Nicky and Alex ran over to the bed from where they were playing on the other side of the room and tackled their parents with hugs, simultaneously echoing, "Have mercy!"
"See, Beck, what did I tell you? All they need is love! Right, boys?"
He picked up one of the twins and tossed him in the air while Becky smothered the other with tickles, and the whole family erupted with laughter.
"Oh, aren't you just precious?" Liz said to her new grandson. "Did you let your Mommy and Daddy get any sleep last night?"
Vicky chuckled. "Not really. He was up every two hours like clockwork. You're a hungry boy, aren't you? Yes, you are!"
"Look who's here!" Danny swung the front door open to reveal Claire Tanner, who threw her arms out and went to hug Vicky before turning her attention to Andy.
"Oh my goodness! Isn't he just the most beautiful baby you've ever seen? Well, aside from the girls, of course!"
Danny laid his hand on his mother's shoulder as Vicky placed Andy in her arms. "Mom, this is Andrew!"
"Oh, Andrew, you are just darling! Danny, he looks just like you!"
Danny chuckled. "Yeah, poor kid!"
"I see you've decided to give him a pacifier," Claire noticed.
"Mom, don't start…"
"I'm not starting anything!" Claire said defensively. "It's just that my father was a dentist, and when I had you, he warned me about the damage pacifiers can do to a baby's teeth, even from the beginning. I just want you to make an informed decision, that's all!"
"Are you implying that Vicky isn't making informed parenting decisions?" Liz accused.
"Oh no, not at all! I was just trying to be helpful!" Claire laughed awkwardly.
Liz hopped up from the couch with her hands on her hips and scowled intensely at Claire.
"Because if you're insinuating that my daughter can't do her research and make decisions about the wellbeing of her own child, then –"
"Then what?" Claire handed the baby back to Vicky then stood to face Liz, mirroring her stance.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Danny formed the time-out signal with his hands and grabbed his mother by the shoulders. "Now, come on, Mom. Is this whole pacifier thing really that big of a deal?"
"Oh, I guess not." Claire sighed and turned back to Vicky. "I'm sorry, Honey. I guess I got a little carried away. Why don't I make it up to you both by getting into the kitchen and whipping up my famous cheesy chicken casserole for dinner?" She rubbed her hands together and made her way into the kitchen.
"Mom, why don't you go give Claire a hand?" Vicky suggested.
Liz sighed. "Oh, I suppose." She stood up and sauntered into the kitchen.
Vicky trilled her lips and let out an exasperated sigh, sinking back into the couch. "They're unbelievable!"
"I know," Danny said, "How much longer is your mother going to be here?"
"Ten days."
"Well, look at it this way, Honey." He slid in next to Vicky on the sofa and took the baby from her. "My mom is only staying with us for five days, so that's five days that you and I have to play referee, and after that, we can just go back to ignoring your mother's advice!"
Vicky laughed, then sighed. "Grandmas, huh?"
"I know. You don't get any sleep, with or without them!" Danny laughed lightly, careful not to disturb the sleeping newborn on his chest, and gave Vicky a kiss.
That evening Danny came into the master bedroom to find Vicky trying to rock an inconsolable Andy to sleep.
"Oh, it's okay, Honey! Mommy's here!"
She softly hummed a few bars of a lullaby in desperation, but the crying only grew louder. Once Danny noticed, he rushed over to relieve his wife.
"Hey, Buddy, it's alright!" He swayed his hips from side to side while simultaneously bouncing his legs. He started humming a tune that Vicky recognized as the theme from Bonanza, making her giggle.
Seconds later, Andy was fast asleep, and Danny laid him in his bassinet and sat down across from Vicky on the side of their bed.
"How did you do that?" Vicky asked. "I've been trying to get him down for over an hour!"
Danny rubbed her thigh and tilted his head sympathetically. "Colic, huh?"
"I guess so."
"Yeah, all three of the girls had it. Have the grandmas given you any unsolicited advice yet?"
Vicky shook her head. "They're still downstairs doing the dishes. But I'm sure as soon as they're finished, they'll be up here telling me about all kinds of home remedies and helpful tips from parenting experts who either don't have any children or haven't had children since the sixties!" She rested one arm on the arm of the rocker and propped her chin on her fist in an attempt to stay awake. "So how was the girls' first day of school? I barely got the chance to talk to any of them at dinner thanks to this little guy!"
"It sounded like it went really well!" said Danny, "Except that Stephanie found out that Gia's moving away. She seemed pretty upset about it."
Vicky's face fell. "Well, of course, she is! Making friends at her age is hard enough."
"I know. She even suggested that Gia move in with us to finish out the school year!" Danny chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Isn't that ridiculous?"
"So you told her no?"
"I told her that I needed to talk to you about it."
"Oh, so you were going to let me be the bad guy?" Vicky accused.
"I figured you would agree with me! I mean, Vicky, you just gave birth two days ago and Jesse and Becky are bringing home Elisa in another two days. I thought the last thing we needed right now was another mouth to feed."
Vicky stood up from the rocker and began pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed.
"When would Gia be moving in?" she asked.
"Right after Christmas," Danny hesitated. "Vicky, you're not actually considering this, are you?"
"Joey will have moved out by then," Vicky continued, ignoring her husband, "So Stephanie and Gia could take his room. I'm sure my mother would be happy to redecorate it for them. And then Elisa could move in with Michelle, and once DJ leaves for college, we can put Andy in her room!" Vicky folded her arms across her chest and smiled triumphantly.
"Okay, so maybe having enough room isn't an issue," Danny admitted, "But Gia doesn't exactly have the best track record as a good influence. She already has Stephanie wearing crop tops and heavy makeup. I don't want her behavior rubbing off on the other kids too."
"Then look at it this way, Sweetheart," said Vicky, "If Gia moves in with us then we would have the opportunity to be a good influence on her. You could be the father figure that she hasn't had in her life." She sat next to him on the bed. "You're already doing such a great job raising your three girls with your infamous Dad Talks. Think of how much of an impact you could have on somebody who's never had that kind of role model. Moving in with us might be exactly what Gia needs right now."
Danny sighed. "Well, when you put it that way…"
"Makes it pretty hard for you to say no, doesn't it?" Vicky smirked.
"Are you kidding? Between that and the fact that you just had our baby, I couldn't say no to you right now if I wanted to!"
Vicky rolled her eyes. "How romantic!" she scoffed.
"Oh, you want romantic? I can give you romantic!" Danny cleared his throat. "Have mercy!" he crooned, flirtatiously wiggling his eyebrows. He turned his head to kiss his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist. After a few seconds, he pulled back. "I can't pull that off, can I?"
Vicky quickly shook her head in agreement and laughed. Danny joined in and then pressed his forehead against hers until their noses touched.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Andy started to cry again, causing the couple to collectively groan.
"Duty calls!" Danny jumped up from the bed and snapped the burp rag in his hand with a flourish before tossing it over his shoulder and picking up the newborn.
"Hi, Grandma! Hi Liz!" Michelle greeted as she came into the kitchen.
"Hi Honey! How was school? Are you hungry? I can fix you a snack!" Claire offered.
"Yes, please!" Michelle nodded eagerly.
"If she has a snack now, won't that spoil her dinner?" Liz wondered.
"Oh, nonsense!" said Claire, "a light, healthy snack like ants on a log won't ruin her appetite, will it. Sweetie?"
Michelle shrugged. "I guess not."
"Well, she barely touched her pot roast last night," said Liz.
"That's because there were peas in it. Michelle hates peas!" Claire retorted.
"I do hate peas," Michelle agreed.
"See? It has nothing to do with her appetite. Now, if you would make meals that the kids would actually eat, then maybe you wouldn't be so worried about them snacking!"
"You know, for someone who's so concerned about dental health, I would think that - "
"Hey, whoa, girls! What's going on?" Danny yelled as he came downstairs carrying a basket full of laundry. "Oh, it's you," he realized. "Alright, this has got to stop, okay? You two have been arguing nonstop for the last two days. Vicky is stressed out enough as it is with the new baby, and you're only making things worse! Now, I want you to apologize to each other, and mean it."
"Sorry," Claire huffed indignantly.
"I'm sorry, too," said Liz.
"That's better. Man, who knew these Dad Talks could work on grandmas, too, huh?" Danny chuckled to himself.
He set down the laundry basket and went into the living room where Vicky was sitting on the couch with Andy.
"What were they fighting about this time?" Vicky asked.
"I don't know," said Danny, "But I think I've got an idea that's going to stop these two grandmas from bickering once and for all." He picked up the phone and started to dial.
"Oh? And what would that be?"
Danny grinned smugly. "We bring in Grandma Number Three!"
Shortly thereafter Liz and Claire were joined by Irene in the kitchen.
"So what you need to do with the vegetables," Irene explained, "is make it so that the kids don't realize they're there. So when I make lasagna, I chop the vegetables up so finely in the sauce that you can't see or taste them! Here, try this!" She offered a spoonful of marinara sauce to Claire.
Claire tasted the sauce and gasped, pleasantly surprised. "That's delicious! I never would have thought of hiding the vegetables like that."
Irene smiled. "It works every time! So, Danny tells me that you two haven't been getting along very well. What's going on there?"
"We just appear to have very different styles of parenting, that's all," Liz replied.
"I see," Irene said. Then she turned back to Claire. "She fought you on the pacifier thing, too, didn't she?"
"Actually, as much as I hate to admit it, Claire did have a point about the pacifier. So, you two used to argue?"
"Like cats and dogs!" said Claire. "You should have seen us the day DJ was born. We almost got into a catfight in the hospital waiting room. Do you remember that?"
"Oh yes!" Irene nodded.
"You two have always seemed so close," said Liz, "I never would have guessed! So how did you learn to get along?"
"It took us a couple of years to work out the kinks," Irene admitted, "But eventually we realized that the reason we both had such strong opinions on how our grandchildren should be raised is that we both love them and want the best for them. Isn't that right, Claire?"
"It sure is!"
"You know what we should do?" said Irene. "We should start a Grandmas' Book Club!"
Claire clapped her hands together in delight. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea! And we could invite Mindy Gladstone, too!"
"Isn't she still down in Florida?" Irene asked.
"Well, we could phone her in! And what about Nedra Donaldson?"
Irene grimaced. "Oh, do we have to invite her?" she whined.
"Well, now what happened to putting aside our differences for the sake of the grandchildren?" Claire wondered.
"When you live close by and have to see each other all the time, then you have to work out your differences," Irene explained. "When you live halfway across the country and only have to see each other twice a year, then you just stay out of each other's way!"
The ladies chuckled and went back to preparing dinner. A few minutes later, they heard the front door open, and Jesse called out, "We're home!"
"Oh, she's here!" Irene squealed excitedly. They hurried into the living room with all of the kids following close behind.
Once the whole family had gathered in the living room, Jesse set Elisa on the ground and knelt down to her level.
"Elisa, this is your family! Do you remember all of the pictures Mama and I showed you?"
Elisa nodded shyly as she clutched a stuffed animal close to her chest. She scanned the crowd nervously, then her eyes lit up when she recognized Nicky and Alex. The twins eagerly grabbed one hand each and led Elisa to their pile of toys in the middle of the living room floor. The rest of the family watched happily as the new siblings got acquainted.
"Would you look at that, Jess? They love each other already!" Becky wiped a few tears from her eyes as Jesse wrapped his arms around her.
"And they're already fighting like brother and sister!" Jesse noted as he watched Alex grab a toy from Elisa's hand. Elisa's lip quivered and she started to sniffle, prompting Jesse to step in and mediate the situation. After just a few seconds of consoling, the tears stopped and both Jesse and Elisa started to giggle. She playfully tussled her father's hair, making him laugh even harder.
"Wow," Stephanie said to her aunt, "He's not even complaining that she messed up his hair. You're really in trouble!"
"Tell me about it!" Becky chuckled.
"Well, you must be starving after such a long trip," said Irene. "Who's ready to eat?"
A series of hands flew up and the family filed into the kitchen. Carrying Elisa on his hip, Jesse paused in the doorway.
"Welcome home, Mija," he whispered.
"¡Te amo papá!" Elisa wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck, then comfortably nestled her head onto his shoulder.
