I'm so sorry for the long delay. My seventeen-year-old cousin died last Wednesday and I went out of town for his funeral. Since I generally don't write on weekdays, I waited until the weekend to start up the story again. I'm sorry for making everyone wait, but it's been a very hectic week. Thanks again for all the reviews. They really make my day, especially after this huge blow to my family.

Chapter 6: The Hospital

Stephanie Tanner slowly woke up to find herself in a white room. At first she wasn't sure where she was. It slowly hit her—she was in the hospital. She was laying flat on her back with tubes holding her down. She tried to reach up and pull them off, but she couldn't. She franticly tried to feel something—anything. She couldn't feel. She was completely numb. Stephanie cried out for someone to help her. She was so scared. She wanted her father, but he wasn't there.

"Daddy!" she cried. "Dad, where are you?"

Just then, the nurse came into the small room and tried to calm Stephanie down. She had a hard time trying to do so though. The nurse then decided to give Stephanie something to make her go to sleep. As Stephanie was crying, she watched the nurse pick up a small glass bottle and inject the syringe into it. Steph watched the liquid swiftly come up into the syringe tube as she whimpered softly. She then watched the nurse pull out the syringe and approach one of the tubes that was in her arm. The nurse swiftly put the syringe into the tube and ejected the liquid into the tube. Steph then felt woozy and fell into another deep sleep.

"Shhhh!" Joey gestured as he tried to shush the gang. They were all closely packed into the small room. Everyone felt very nervous and tense.

Stephanie slowly stirred and looked around at first. She slowly turned her pale face towards her father. He then looked at Stephanie. He looked like he had been crying. He then mustered a small smile and got up from his chair in the corner and walked over to Stephanie.

"Steph," he sighed as he reached her. Danny reached for Stephanie's hand and took it in his big, loving hands. Steph was so glad for this that she felt like she was going to explode with emotion. She then remembered why she was there. She gulped silently and turned her face downward and softly murmured, "Dad, I'm so sorry. I never should have left the house. I'm sorry that I disappointed you."

"Steph, its alright. I'm not mad at you. Right now I'm just worried about you getting better."

"Am I alright?" she asked franticly looking up towards her father's solemn face.

"Steph, just calm down. You've only been here since last night. The doctors aren't entirely sure what is wrong with you, but they are trying. I'm sure you'll be fine though," he said slowly. He then mustered another small smile and turned towards Jesse. "I think someone has something to say to you."

Jesse came close to Stephanie and looked at her silently and lovingly into her eyes. Steph could tell that he too had been crying. He slowly took a deep breath and knelt beside Stephanie's white bed that had piles of blankets on it. The doctors had taken some of the tubes away, but there were still a lot left.

"Steph, I don't know what to say to you," Jesse said slowly and willfully. "All I do know is that I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I didn't mean it. I love you with all of my heart. I love all of you girls with my whole heart. It's just that I've been very stressed these days, and yesterday was especially stressful. I'm just so sorry that this had to happen to you. I don't want to lose someone else like I lost your…." He stopped before he could finish. It hurt him to admit that Steph could die just like his sister, Pam, did.

Stephanie saw how much this was hurting him. She reached out and took his hand and said to him, "Uncle Jesse, I forgive you. You weren't the only one who did something wrong. Everybody makes mistakes. I made the biggest one, by running out into the street. That is just about the dumbest things I have ever done. It's alright though. I'm alright. So don't cry. I'm going to be fine," she slowly looked at her sisters and smiled. "You can all go home if you'd like. I'm going to be alright and I bet I'll be out of the hospital by the end of the week! I'll bet you that I will. You just wait and see. I'll be as good as new once I get out and then you'll go back to being pestered by me!"

She watched everyone lightly chuckle as she laughed a little to her own joke herself.

"I'm going to say to you what you always say to Kimmy: 'Go home!'"

She then heard a few protests but in the end. Her father was the only one who stayed. He didn't want to leave her. He wanted to be with her. He knew that she was dying. But he couldn't bring himself to tell everyone. He knew that deep down; Stephanie really knew that she was going to die. Danny softly whimpered in his vigil chair for the rest of the night.

I shed a few tears as I was writing this. I think it was a bit too soon to be writing about death after my cousin died, but I really wanted to get this updated. So here it is. Tell me how you liked it by reviewing my story.

-Katie