Disclaimer: I don't own Full House or its characters, so far the only characters that are mine are Heath and Laura.

Authors Note: OK, well, I got this review, and it made me feel like a total idiot, I knew the twins were exactly five years younger than Michelle. But I said they were nine, but now I'm changing their age to 10, which is five years. And, also, sorry, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle are COUSINS of the twins, not aunts.

Chapter Two

*Can I Survive?*

"So, who's gonna tell the twins?" Danny asked, looking around at his family members as they quietly left the hospital, tears streaming down all of their faces.

"DJ, you told Aunt Becky, can't you tell the twins?" Stephanie asked, turning to her oldest sister. Everybody looked at DJ with a pleading look in their eyes.

"Nuh uh, no way, telling Aunt Becky was hard enough, I'm not gonna tell the twins. I'm not going to be the next bearer of bad news," DJ firmly put her foot down.

"But Deej, if you don't tell them, who will?" Michelle asked. She looked at her sister in a way that almost made DJ cave in.

"There's no way I can tell them," Joey said honestly, "I freaked out even trying to think about how Nicky and Alex were going to take it."

Stephanie, Michelle, and Danny looked at each other. If Joey and DJ were out of the question to tell the twins, it was up to one of the three.

Stephanie already knew Michelle would step up to the plate if she just gave her enough time. Michelle had always loved Uncle Jesse and admired him. In fact, Stephanie knew Michelle would do it just for the love and respect she had not only for Jesse, but also for Becky and the twins.

Danny stared silently at the ground. He couldn't believe he couldn't tell Nicky and Alex about it. He couldn't believe he was trying to leave it up to one of his daughters to tell them. Yet, every time he thought he could have enough courage to tell them he thought about DJ's face when he first told her about her mother dying. And he knew he could never do it, there was too great a love between a parent and their kids for him to be able to stay together.

Michelle also already knew she was going to have to do it. She knew Stephanie thought she was going to do it out of pure respect for her uncle, and Stephanie had been right. Michelle would have preferred if DJ would have told the twins along with Aunt Becky, but Michelle could see the strain DJ was already under for telling Aunt Becky. And Michelle knew her father couldn't tell the twins, because of being a parent himself. So, it had all come down to her.

"I'll do it," Michelle said quietly. Everybody looked at her, respect for her and her braveness shining in their eyes.

The others were relieved that somebody else had volunteered to do it, so they didn't have to. Yet, each of them felt guilty in their own way about making the youngest of the group do it.

Stephanie was the first to get into the car, followed quickly by Joey. Danny turned around and looked at his other two girls.

"Michelle ...," he started, but then she cut him off.

"No, its ok dad," Michelle said, "I know you can't do it. I can handle it."

"OK honey," Danny said, before entering the driver's side of the vehicle the five of them had managed to fit in. DJ then turned to her little sister.

"If you need any help telling the twins, I'll be there for you," DJ said bravely to her littlest sister.

"Deej, you've done enough, you told Aunt Becky, you did the hardest part," Michelle said.

"I can only hope that's true," DJ muttered, not wanting her sister to have this burden, but knowing Michelle could handle it.

***

Becky looked down at her sheets. They were tear-stained and soaked through. But who could blame her? She had just learned that the person she loved, the person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with had died.

Becky had wanted to go home that night. To tell the twins about their father. But the doctors had said she had to stay the night, just in case something developed. In a way Becky was relieved. It meant that she wouldn't have to tell Nicky and Alex that their father wasn't their anymore. She knew that somebody else would tell them.

Her bet was on Michelle or DJ. She knew Michelle would do it, Michelle was a lot like Jesse. She was determined, she loved music, but most of her uncle's qualities Michelle had developed was from actually looking up to and wanting to be like Jesse. She really didn't think that DJ would have had it in her to tell her or the twins. Yet, looking at it now, DJ had always been strong. She had always had to be strong. Ever since her mom had died she was the one to look after Stephanie and Michelle, and sometimes even Danny.

"Jesse!" Becky suddenly moaned, in pain, "Oh my god Jesse, I love you."

***

Michelle walked in the door of their living room and saw Nicky, Alex, Steve, and Heath all still wide awake. Laura was sleeping on her father's lap. Michelle quietly took Nicky and Alex's hands and walked upstairs with them. After she had left with the twins Heath and Steve turned to the others.

"So?" Steve asked, standing up, carefully sliding his daughter onto the couch.

"Uncle Jesse's dead," DJ's voice cracked, "And Aunt Becky's okay, just a broken arm."

Heath, who had never met Jesse or Becky, nor ever had a close family, was trying to process the fact that everybody was crying, or had been crying. He then wrapped his arm around Stephanie and began to rub her back.

Steve looked at his wife. He had always liked Jesse, had thought he was a cool guy. And he knew how much each of the family's members had loved him. Especially Michelle. The two had had a special bond. But for right now Steve had to focus on his wife. So he carefully wrapped his wife in a hug, rocking her back and forth.

***

Michelle took a deep breath after the twin's had gotten dressed for bed. She almost smiled at how the twins had griped and complained to her about not being little babies anymore and not having to have their hands held.

"Look, we need to talk, the three of us," Michelle said earnestly.

"What's going on?" Nicky asked as the twins turned to face her.

"This has something to do with the hospital doesn't it?" Alex also asked a question.

"We've always been completely honest with each other, right?" Michelle asked, hoping to avoid answering the questions for a minute. To be allowed to regain her composure.

"Yes," Nicky said slowly, while the smarter twin just slowly nodded his head.

"OK, I'm gonna be completely honest with you now," Michelle started, then choked back some tears, "Your mom is fine, she only has a broken arm. But your dad, well, he ...,"

"He's dead, isn't he?" Alex asked breathlessly. As Michelle nodded her head Nicky stuffed both of his fingers in his ears.

"No! No! No! He is not dead, he can't die," Nicky yelled at the top of his lungs. Michelle gently took his fingers out of his ears.

"Nicky!" Michelle shouted to get his attention, "I know this hard to hear, but you have to hear it. You have to know about it."

"There's nothing to know about it! He's not dead," Nicky shouted back at her. Then he ran out of the attic and started to fly downstairs. Instead of chasing after him Michelle turned to Alex.

"Are you okay?" Michelle asked her other, more rational cousin gently.

"Daddy's dead," Alex said, voice almost in a whisper, "Daddy's dead."

He then went to his bed and curled up in a ball, crying to himself. For about the tenth time that night Michelle felt completely helpless. Yet, she didn't quite know which reaction was worse. Alex's withdrawing or Nicky's denial.

***

DJ could hear somebody running down the stairs. She quickly stuck out her hand to stop her cousin.

"Nicky!" she said loudly, causing him to look at her, "What is going on?"

"Michelle told me a lie," Nicky whimpered, "She told me my dad was dead. She told me he died."

"Oh honey," DJ said, her heart breaking. She took a deep breath, ready for fireworks. She sat down on the last stair and sat Nicky down by her.

"DJ! What are you going to say to me?" Nicky asked, getting suspicious.

"Nicky, you're dad really did die, I was there when the doctor told my dad," DJ gently said. Nicky looked at his cousin.

"No! He didn't! You're a liar! A liar like Michelle!" Nicky shouted at her. Then he got up and started to run again, not particularly going in any direction, just running from the truth.

"Nicky! Wait!" DJ called after him, but to no use, then she muttered, "I have to give the kid props, he can run fast."

"I only hope Alex is taking the news better than this," she said aloud.

***

Becky stopped weeping for the tenth time that night. She couldn't imagine actually not crying, not feeling this empty hole in her. Not having all this grief.

She knew Nicky and Alex weren't taking it well. They loved their father. But they had all loved Jesse. As Becky looked up at the ceiling she tried to imagine life without Jesse, but she just couldn't. She had been with him too long. She had been married to him for too long. As she lay there, with all these things running through her mind one question kept coming up in her mind.

Can I survive?