A/N: Heyyy, how y'all doing? :-D I definitely did not mean to neglect this story for so long, and I have no idea if any of you are still reading, but here's another chapter, just in case. I did want to let my followers know that the next chapter will be the last one but don't worry, I have plans for a sequel! So consider it a "season finale", if you will, as we move into the next phase of the Tanners' lives, which will focus more heavily on Danny, Vicky, and the kids, with Gladstones and Katsopoli being slightly more secondary, but still present (think Fuller House). I'm really excited about it, so I hope you guys will stick with me!
Danny stumbled into the kitchen, his hair disheveled and his untied bathrobe hanging loosely from his shoulders.
"Good morning!" Vicky greeted him from behind the kitchen counter where she was washing the baby's bottles.
"Coffee," Danny grunted in response as he made his way to the coffee pot. He took a few slow sips, savoring the quick relief that came with the boost of caffeine. Finally, he perked up and noticed Vicky standing next to him.
"Oh! Hi, Honey!" He set his mug on the counter and kissed her on the forehead.
Vicky tilted her head sympathetically, rubbing the small of her husband's back. "Long night, huh?"
Danny nodded. "Oh, yeah!"
"I really appreciate you taking the night shift last night so I could get a little extra sleep," said Vicky.
Danny shrugged. "Since I'm going back to work on Monday, I figured it was the least I could do. And, when you get your beauty sleep, don't we both benefit?" he asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrow.
Vicky laughed. "The only benefit either one of us is getting from beauty sleep at this point is not scaring the baby!"
Danny's eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Oh my God, the baby! I forgot the baby! Where's the baby?" He turned frantically back towards the stairs.
"Danny!"
"What?"
"You're holding him, Sweetheart!"
Danny looked down and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized his son was sleeping soundly in his arms.
"I must be even more exhausted than I thought!" He handed Andy over to Vicky then slumped into the nearest chair at the dining room table, taking another drink from his mug.
"Hola, Tanneritos!" Kimmy bellowed, causing Danny to jump and spill the rest of his coffee. She burst in through the back door dressed from head to toe in mismatched animal prints, including a headband with leopard spots, a zebra-striped tank top, and tiger-striped sneakers. She carried a khaki messenger bag over her shoulder covered in various buttons.
"I'm all ready for the zoo!" She announced.
"I can see that," Danny replied, eying her ensemble.
"Morning, Vicky!" said Stephanie. "Hey, Dad!" She kissed her father on the cheek before sitting down next to him at the table. "Huh, I thought I heard a wild animal barge in. What's with the outfit, Gibbler? Are you going to try to donate yourself to the zoo?" She chuckled.
"Hey!" Kimmy barked. "I would never donate myself to the zoo. I would sell myself. I'd be worth a fortune!"
"Why are you even coming with us anyway?" Stephanie asked. "I thought DJ was spending the day with Steve."
"Well, since your aunt and uncle are bringing all of your sister's bratty little friends for some science club field trip, they paid me to help chaperone," Kimmy explained as she helped herself to a bowl of cereal.
"Are we sure that's safe?" Stephanie muttered to Danny.
"Hey, don't look at me! Jesse's the one who asked her."
"Actually, it was Becky's idea," Jesse said as he appeared behind Danny carrying Elisa on his hip. "I tried to tell her that we could manage the little rugrats just fine by ourselves, but she says that I can't be trusted after the museum incident."
As Jesse got Elisa situated with her breakfast, Becky came downstairs with the twins.
"Jess, your mom is on the phone for you."
"I wonder what she wants," Jesse huffed. "Probably wants me to take her side on some silly little argument with Pop. Becky, promise me that when we get old, we won't be one of those couples who bicker about every little thing and then has to get somebody else involved to back them up?"
"I promise we won't become one of those couples when we get old," Becky replied.
"Thank you."
"Because we already are one of those couples."
"Exactly! Wait, no we aren't!"
"Yes, we are, Jess!" Becky laughed.
"I'm with Aunt Becky on this one," said Stephanie.
"We are not one of those couples, huh! Danny, will you tell her that we are not one of those couples?"
"Jesse, you do realize that no matter whose side I take here, my involvement is further proof that you are, in fact, one of those couples?"
"Well, so what if we are? It's worked for my parents for almost forty years. I'd be lucky to get half as much time with the most beautiful woman in the world." Jesse smirked and leaned in towards his wife.
"Have mercy!" said Becky as she returned the favor, much to Kimmy and Stephanie's disgust.
"Uh, Jess?" said Danny.
"Yeah?"
"The phone?"
"Oh! Right!" Jesse jumped up from the table and went upstairs.
"Jess!" Becky called as she followed him into the attic several minutes later. "Honey, we're gonna be late for the - "
Becky stopped when she realized her husband was still on the phone, pacing back and forth with one hand behind his head. When he finally hung up, he threw the cordless phone down on the bed and ran over to grab his jacket.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Becky asked.
"Where are my keys? I can't find my keys. Beck, where the hell are my keys?!" Jesse demanded.
"Jesse, you're scaring me," said Becky. "What's going on?"
Jesse paused his frantic search and sat down at the table with his head in his hands. When he looked back up at Becky, there was a tear streaming down his cheek.
"My dad had a heart attack," he said softly. He swallowed the lump in his throat before burying his face back into his hands.
"Oh, Honey!" Becky gasped. She came over and wrapped her arms around Jesse from behind.
Jesse sniffled, then cleared his throat. Finally able to compose himself, he got up from the table. "We better get to the hospital. I don't want Mom waiting all by herself."
Jesse and Becky arrived at the hospital to find Irene sitting in the waiting room.
"Mom, what happened?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know!" His mother claimed. "I was in the kitchen fixing him breakfast while he was in the bathroom yelling at me about how I bought him the wrong razors again. Then he started groaning like he was in pain and at first, I thought he had just cut himself shaving and was being a big baby about it, but then he told me to call an ambulance. We got here about twenty minutes ago and they're running some tests on him now. Where are the kids?" She asked Jesse.
"At home with Danny," Jesse responded.
"Right. Of course, they are," said Irene. "I mean, why would you bring them here? I'm sorry, Jesse, I guess I'm just a little -"
"I know, Mom." He sat her down and took her hand in both of his. "It's gonna be okay." He wrapped his arm around her and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Can I get you anything, Irene?" Becky offered.
"I'd love a coffee from the nurse's station if you wouldn't mind." Becky nodded and left the two of them alone.
"I don't really want coffee," Irene admitted. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."
"About what?" Jesse asked.
"About your father's will."
"Now, Mom, don't start! The doctors said the heart attack was minor and he's going to be fine! Isn't that what you said over the phone?"
"That is what I said, but who knows what's actually going to happen? Jesse, we have to talk about these things. He may be fine now, but he's not getting any younger. And, even if he pulls through this - "
"When," Jesse corrected her.
Irene nodded. "Okay, even when he pulls through this, he's going to be out of commission for a while. And then what am I going to do? I can only take so much time off of work to take care of him, and then there's the house to think about! I mean, who's going to mow the lawn and take out the garbage?"
"Mom! Calm down, will you? I'm sure the hospital will send nurses to the house to take care of Pop, and I can come over anytime you need help with chores. I'm not that far away, you know."
"I know that," said Irene, "I just think that your father would rather have his family taking care of him than some random nurse. And I would certainly rather have family taking care of him than leave him alone all day with some pretty little thing fresh out of nursing school."
"Oh, puh-lease!" Jesse exclaimed, "Ma, do you really think that after forty years of marriage, Pop would have the audacity to leave you for some pretty young nurse?"
"You're right," said Irene, "He knows that he's not gonna get cooking this good anywhere else!" Irene laughed and slapped Jesse on the knee.
"Exactly!" Jesse smiled.
"All I'm saying," said Irene, "is that with your current situation, it would be fairly easy for you to move in with us, just until your father is back on his feet. We have plenty of room for the kids, and Becky's commute would be about the same. Plus, housing in the area is pretty cheap these days, so you could even look into getting your own place in the same neighborhood!"
"Mom, even if I wanted to say yes, I'd still have to talk to Becky about it."
"Well, of course, you will! Just promise me that you'll consider it. Capisce?"
"Capisce!" Jesse agreed as he linked pinky fingers with his mother.
"Mrs. Katsopolis?" A brunette woman in light blue scrubs peeked her head around the corner.
"Yes, that's me! How's Nick?"
"He's in stable condition now, but we're still waiting for the results from his EKG," said the nurse. "Would you like to see him?"
Irene nodded and stood up to follow the nurse.
"You go on ahead," Jesse told her. "I'll wait here for Becky and let her know what's going on." He embraced her reassuringly and kissed her on the forehead before waving her off down the hallway.
After updating his wife on his father's condition and taking a break with a cup of coffee, Jesse went to rejoin his parents. About halfway down the hall, Jesse could hear the sound of two people arguing. He sighed and shook his head as the bickering grew loud enough for him to make out his parents' voices. He quietly approached the door to his father's room and leaned against the doorframe to listen, folding his arms across his chest.
"Irene, we don't need them to move in! I don't want them to move in. You heard what the doctor said. I just need to rest at home for a few weeks and then I'll be good as new!"
"That and changing your diet." Irene reminded him. "No more steak and I'm making vegetarian lasagna from now on!"
"Well, if they think I'm really gonna give up eating red meat, then they got another thing coming!"
Irene rolled her eyes. "We'll see about that. He also said you need to get more exercise."
"I get plenty of exercise!" Nick shouted.
"You do not!" Irene argued. "Ever since you retired, all you do is sit in front of the TV all day watching wrestling!"
"How would you know what I do all day while you're working, huh? What, do you have the neighbors spying on me or something?"
"Nick, calm down! Nobody is spying on you. Now lean forward a little. I need to fix your pillows."
"I do not need my pillows fixed! Oh, fine." Nick sighed in defeat as his wife ignored his protests and reached behind him to fluff his pillows.
"Turn your head," she ordered.
Nick turned his head and gazed out the window. "I guess I could take up golfing again. That counts as exercise, right?" he asked, turning back towards his wife.
"If you say so, Dear."
Jesse rapped lightly on the door. "Everything okay in here?"
"Oh, perfect! Your mother was just trying to rile me up so that I have another heart attack!"
Irene groaned in frustration at her husband's petulance. "Jesse, will you tell your father he's being ridiculous?"
"No, you tell your mother that she's being ridiculous! You don't need to move in with us," Nick insisted.
"Well, Pop, I'm with you. I don't think you need us to move in," Jesse agreed.
"See?" Nick asked pointedly.
"But," Jesse continued, taking a seat at the end of his father's hospital bed, "What if we wanted to?"
"Jesse, what are you talking about?" Nick asked.
"I don't know," said Jesse, "Becky and I have been talking about getting our own place for a while now and staying with you guys for a bit would make the transition a lot easier on the kids. Of course, I still need to talk to Becky about it, but it might not be such a bad idea. Plus, you'd get to see your grandkids every day."
Nick smiled. "Yeah, that would be pretty nice."
"Ha! So you admit that I was right."
"I never said that! I said it would be nice if they moved in, not that we need them to move in. Jess -"
Jesse threw up his hands to put a stop to the arguing once and for all. "Alright, you two. That's enough! I'll talk to Becky about it, and if she's on board, then we'll consider it, okay? Now, that's the end of this conversation. Capisce?"
"Fine," Irene conceded.
"Fine," echoed Nick.
"Good."
After spending the rest of the day at the hospital with his parents, Jesse finally arrived home to find Danny waiting up for him long after the rest of the family had gone to bed.
"Hey," Danny greeted him solemnly. "How's he doing?"
"Not bad," Jesse responded. "They were able to stabilize him with medication so that he didn't need surgery, but the recovery is still gonna take a while." Jesse took off his jacket and sank into the sofa.
"And how's your mom?"
Jesse sighed. "Oh, same as usual. She kept worrying about who's going to mow the lawn or take out the garbage while Dad recovers." He laughed slightly.
"Well, I hope you told her that we're all happy to help out in any way we can," said Danny.
"Oh, I did," Jesse assured him. "I reminded her that we live close by, and I can go over there any time, but she's still anxious about how she's going to take care of Pop and the house by herself. Plus, she was adamant that she didn't want some "pretty young nurse" looking after him all day while she works. Her words, not mine."
Danny laughed.
"Yeah, and she kept going on about how they have plenty of room for me, Becky, and the kids If we wanted to stay with them for a while."
"So are you going to take her up on that?"
Jesse exhaled then turned to look at Danny. "Would you be okay with that?"
Danny scoffed. "Jess, you don't have to ask my permission!"
"Pfft, I know that!" said Jesse. "I just don't know if I could do that to the girls."
"Do what to them? Jesse, they aren't babies anymore! It sounds like your parents could really use your help, and the girls are old enough to understand that. Besides, you would only be moving a few blocks away. You could still see them whenever you want."
"I know," Jesse said again, "but I moved in here to help you take care of them, and…"
Danny chuckled. "Jesse, that was seven years ago! This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Look," Danny rested his hand on Jesse's shoulder. "You moved in here to help me raise my daughters because you knew I needed your help, and it was the right thing to do. Right now, it sounds like somebody else you love needs you more. And that's okay! I know it may not seem like ideal timing since Joey's leaving too, but we'll make it work. Vicky's still on maternity leave for a few more weeks, and once she goes back to work, my mom can help fill in the gaps."
"You're not about to start spouting off cliches about how all good things must come to an end, are you?" Jesse asked suspiciously.
"Not now that you said it for me!" Danny quipped.
Jesse rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk.
"Y'know," said Jesse, "at the hospital today, I kept thinking about what it would be like if Pam were here taking care of all of this. She'd probably be running all around the hospital between Mom, Dad, and the girls, making sure that everyone else was okay. And if anyone dared to ask how she was doing, she would say –"
"Don't you worry about me, huh!" Danny chimed in.
Danny and Jesse laughed.
"Yeah, she would probably move your folks in here with us for a few months. She would have fixed the garage up for them, insisting that Nick shouldn't be climbing up and down the stairs to the attic, even if the doctor told him the exercise was good for him."
"She always thought she knew better than everybody else." Jesse smiled and shook his head.
"And I think she would be really proud of the way you're handling things right now, Jess."
"You really think so?"
"I do."
"Thanks, Man." He paused for a moment, then said, "I may come to regret this, but today has been one of those days, so just this once – "
Danny grinned and stretched out his arms. "I thought you'd never ask!"
"I didn't!" Jesse sneered.
"Oh, but you were going to!" Danny countered. "Come on! Bring it in!"
"Okay, fine!" Jesse said with a teasing smile. They stood and hugged for a few seconds, only to be interrupted by a loud cry coming from the baby monitor.
"Midnight on the dot!" Danny noticed as he glanced at the clock. "I should go see if Vicky needs any help. Are you gonna be okay?" he asked Jesse.
"Yeah, I'll be fine!" Jesse waved him off. "I might sleep down here though, just so I don't wake Becky and the kids."
Danny nodded and started towards the stairs, then paused and turned to look back at Jesse. "Hey, Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"Try not to think too hard about the whole moving idea tonight. Just sleep on it, okay?"
"I will. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!"
Jesse curled up on the loveseat, briefly tossing and turning in an attempt to make himself comfortable until he finally succumbed to exhaustion.
