"Well, it's been a long day and with Joey's room finally being finished and all, I'm exhausted."

Jessie scowled at his brother in law. "What the heck are you exhausted for? The contractors did all of the work."

"And scuffed up the kitchen floors, scraped the side of the door, dented the vinyl on the house-."

Jessie grinned. "Okay, okay! Enough! I get it! You're a neat freak!"

"And proud of it." Danny replied. "But it is getting late and I know three little girls who should be in bed right now."

"Malibu Barbie? Rainbow Brite?"

"No Stephanie. I'm talking about real people. Three little girls in this kitchen, named Michelle, Stephanie and DJ."

"There's lots of girls named Stephanie."

"Forget it, Steph. He's onto you."

Stephanie turned to her older sister. "I guess we can't put anything over on Daddy, can we?"

"No you can't." Jessie said. "And believe me, I've tried."

"Goodnight, girls!" Danny laughed.

Stephanie and DJ answered in unison. "Goodnight."

"I'll get the girls to bed and you can finish waxing the floor." Joey said. "Who does that at this time of night? Oh right. Danny Tanner."

"Daniel, you're one outrageous guy." Jessie laughed.

"Thanks. I'm just going to take care of a few things down here and then I think I'm going to hit the hay. I am beat. And thank you, Jessie."

"For what?"

"For moving in here, helping me raise my kids…"

Jessie smiled and put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny, you've thanked me hundreds of times and my response is always the same. I love those kids, I

loved Pam very much and I love you. And I'm happy to do this."

Without warning Danny pulled Jessie into a hug, causing Jessie to protest. "Whoa! Watch the hair!"

"Actually Jessie, there's something else I wanted to thank you for."

"All right, but can we do it without the hugging?"

Danny's smile disappeared. "I guess… If you think that's it's for the best."

"I know it's for the best. Now what is it?"

Danny waited until Joey was out of sight and then lowered his voice. "Thank you for going along with this plan to get Joey his own room. I know that the

commotion the last two weeks was a pain and inconvenient with the construction workers here and all, but Joey's my best friend and-."

"Daniel, stop right there, okay? Joey is my friend too. I know that he and I didn't get along when we first moved in here, but he's a great guy and no one is

more deserving."

"Thanks, Jessie."

"All right. Now I know three little girls who are just waiting upstairs for their father to kiss them goodnight."

"Say no more." Danny sprinted up the stairs, as Jessie smiled at the sight.

"What a guy."

At that moment Joey came down the stairs.

"Hey, Joey, Danny and I were just talking about you."

"All good I hope."

"Nah, but you're used to that."

"Aw, come on now, cut it out!" Joey used his signature hand moves to accentuate his joke, causing Jessie to laugh.

"Joseph, you're the comedy king."

"Thanks, Jess. I wish everyone thought so."

"You'll get your big break someday. I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Well I'm going to go to my room and get some sleep."

"Have a good night, Joseph."

"My room." Joey breathed deeply. " I still can't believe it's real!"

"Well, you deserve it! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Jessie."

When the kitchen was clear, Joey turned out the light and headed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he paused, letting his eyes move across the

room. The place was absolutely transformed. Gone were any signs that the space was once the garage that held the family car, years of Tanner memorabilia, and

more junk than they knew that they had. But now it was a room; a real room filled with everything that Joey loved; his puppets, quirky belongings-and it was

his.

He smiled and sat down on the bed, taking it all in. It would be a while before he would be used to the place but he knew that he could never thank them

enough.

After he'd showered and changed into his pajamas; the ones with red and blue clowns on a bright yellow background (They'd be perfect for his first night in his

first room) he continued his ritual by reading three Batman comic books, pleased when he found a couple of lines that would be perfect for his next stand-up act.

But he'd work on those later.

Finally he climbed into bed and turned out the light. The room was dark, except for the beam of light that shone on the ceiling from the streetlamps outside.

There would be no need for his Snoopy nightlight (the one with Snoopy laying on his red doghouse) but it provided some comfort as it had in the three years

he'd owned it.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep… and tried, and tried and tried. But sleep wouldn't come. He tossed and turned and tossed and turned and when he opened

his eyes he found that he was dizzy. Trying to sleep really wore a guy out.

Finally after arguing with himself (and nearly beating himself up in the process) his eyes flew open and he pushed back the comforter. Oh who was he kidding?

He'd never be able to sleep. He felt guilty. Everyone must have gone to so much trouble to transform the garage into this wonderful bedroom. He finally had the

privacy he wanted and yet he couldn't sleep. It was just like that episode of Yogi Bear where Yogi had trouble sleeping. Now what in the heck did Boo Boo Bear

do in that situation? If only Joey could remember. He returned his head to the pillow and closed his eyes… and then opened them again.

In frustration he threw back the comforter and swung his feet to the floor. This wasn't working at all. At this rate he'd never be able to sleep. There was only one

thing that would help him sleep now.

Quietly he crept up the stairs into the darkened kitchen and looked around to make sure he was alone. He turned on as few lights as possible slipping a little as

he made his way across the linoleum floor. Leave it to Danny to wax the kitchen floor at an hour when most normal human beings were in bed. The thought

made Joey laugh.

He poured some Oat Boats into a bowl and covered them with milk. He was thankful for the beam of light that shown through the kitchen window, illuminating

the table. At least he'd be able to eat his cereal without disturbing anyone.

But as his eyes moved around the darkened kitchen, he had an idea; a revelation. He suddenly realized why he wasn't able to sleep. He had it; the perfect

solution to the problem he never realized that he had.

He had to repay them for what they'd done for him. No one had ever done anything so thoughtful for him before; not his friends or his parents. He'd been self-

consciously trying to find a way to repay them all night and finally he'd figured it out.

A slow smile crept onto his face and he quickly finished his bowl of Oat Boats. At that moment he was so happy that he even washed the bowl, put it in the

dishwasher and started a load of dishes. It would be finished by morning before anyone else was awake and then he'd start on putting them away.

But first he had work to do.

Sometime later he sat in the darkness of the kitchen with a flashlight in hand and began his project. It took several hours and by the time the sun started to

peek through the side of the kitchen window, his masterpiece was nearly complete. Now he was in a time crunch to have it ready before everyone else woke up.

The Tanner family ate breakfast like clockwork and Joey did not want to have to explain himself. Rather, he hoped that what he'd done would be explanation

enough.

Suddenly he heard footsteps and faint voices overhead. Any moment now someone was going to walk into the kitchen and see what he'd done. But he wasn't ready.

In a panic he set to work, doing the best that he could in the time allotted. Amazingly it only took a few moments and he even had time to admire his progress.

He had to say that it was pretty good, considering what he had to work with. And the sight made him smile.

The voices grew louder and he quickly cleaned up his mess and headed down the stairs to his room. He flopped into bed and turned out the light, creating the

illusion of sleep. He wished he could see their reactions when they saw what he had done, but it was better this way.

Still, he hoped it would be enough.

"French toast!"

"Waffles!"

"French Toast!"

"Waffles!"

"Girls, girls! Not in the kitchen, huh?" Jessie scolded.

"Where else are we supposed to argue about breakfast?" Stephanie asked.

"Girls, go get ready for school. I'm going to make breakfast and-whoa, what's this?"

"What?"

Danny opened the dishwasher and pulled out the rack. "These are clean. And they're still warm!" With a smile he turned to DJ and Stephanie. "Girls, did you

sneak down here in the middle of the night to do this for your rad dad?"

Stephanie and DJ looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess."

"Okay."

Danny hugged both girls. "Thank you. It's nice to know that you can do things without being asked. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Waffles!"

"French Toast!"

"Okay, waffles and french toast it is!"

"Whoa, Daniel!" Jessie started. "You can't just cater to the girls every whim simply because they did something that they were supposed to do anyway without

asking. Isn't that right, girls?"

DJ grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I know so. And I also know that you two didn't do this."

"But Uncle Jessie-."

"But Uncle Jessie!" Jessie mimicked in Stephanie's high pitched voice.

"All right, we didn't do it." Stephanie said.

"Well, if you didn't do it, who did?"

"Hey guys look at this." Jessie pointed to the wall where a large white banner hung, bearing the words "I LOVE YOU!" in colorful markers and crayons. His smile

returned and he hugged the girls. "Girls, I owe you an apology. Thank you for this."

"For what?"

"The sign up there."

"We didn't make a-." Stephanie's words were cut off by DJ's hand over her mouth.

"Oh, you mean that sign!" DJ said. "Well, we just thought-."

"DJ, when did you have time to do this? That wasn't there this morning when I came in to wax the kitchen floor."

"I thought you waxed it last night." Jessie said.

"This was a second coating."

"Silly me, I should have known. But you're right Danny. There's no way these girls could have gotten up in the middle of the night to make that sign."

"What's it doing there then?"

"There's only one explanation." Jessie grinned. "It must have been Joey."

"Joey did this? No way."

"Who else could it have been? It wasn't me. And it certainly wasn't Michelle."

"Why would Joey make a sign like this? And in the middle of the night?"

"Three words... Amy Sue Rogers."

"Those aren't words, Jessie. They're part of a person's name. And what about her?"

"Joey, man! Don't you see? He's in love with her!"

"Jessie, that's impossible! They've only been on one date!"

"So, haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?"

"Well, of course, but Joey…"

"He's in love, Danny. Face it."

Danny smiled wistfully. "Finally, after all of this time, my best friend Joey is actually in love."

"I just hope she's a fan of Saturday morning cartoons." Jessie quipped. "Hey, where is Joey anyway? He's usually eating breakfast with us by now."

Concern swept over Danny's face. "You know, you're right. I hope he's okay."

"Aw, I'm sure he's fine. If he was with Amy Sue Rogers, it must have been some night!" Jessie said, giving his brother in law a sly look.

"I'm gonna go check on Michelle. Let me know if Joey shows up. I want to talk to him about that sign."

Just then Joey appeared in the kitchen, looking worse for wear.

"Joey, what happened?"

"You look terrible!"

"Gee, that's a nice way to greet a guy." Joey said in his best Bullwinkle impression.

"Joey, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Danny." Joey/Bullwinkle said again. "Why do you ask? And good morning, Michelle."

Michelle waved her fingers and smiled. "Hello… Joey."

"Oh, no reason." Danny said. "We were just worried about you."

"Hey Joseph. How was your first night in your new room?"

Joey sat down at the table. "Ah, actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Jessie, Stephanie, DJ and Danny all looked at each other.

"Something wrong?"

"I knew it." DJ said. "You don't like it. I'm sorry Joey. The whole thing was my idea."

"DJ's right. It's her fault."

"Stephanie."

"Girls, please. Joey, what's wrong? If you don't like the room, we can change it."

Joey rose from his chair and walked around the kitchen table. "Don't like it? Don't like it? Are you crazy? I love it!"

"You do?"

"Are you kidding me? It's the best thing that anyone's ever done for me! Didn't you see my thank you?"

Again everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Up there!" Joey pointed to the sign. "I spent all night working on it!"

"That's for us?" DJ asked.

"Of course! Who did you think it was for?"

"Jessie thought you were in love. He thought it was for Amy Sue Rogers."

Joey threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Amy Sue Rogers, Oh Pu-leese! One date with her was more than enough!"

"Then I don't understand. It says "I love you."

That's right, Steph. It does. Because I do!"

"I don't understand." Danny said.

"Me either." DJ echoed

"Don't you guys get it?" Joey asked.

"Nope, I don't." Jessie said.

"Losing Pam was the worst thing ever and I loved her too. She was my biggest fan when I was doing my comedy. So when Danny asked me to move in and help

him raise the girls I didn't hesitate. Being a part of this family has been the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. And when you gave me that

beautiful room, I knew I had to give you something in return."

"Joey, you didn't have to do that. We gave you that room because we love you."

"Well, thank you, Danny. I guess by now you all know how I feel and I'm sorry my present isn't something better."

"Nothing could be better." DJ said.

"DJ's right. Thank you, Joey." Jessie added.

"Daddy, can I take a picture of it to show my friends at school?"

Joey and Danny laughed. "Of course you can, Stephanie." Joey said. "In fact, I'd be honored!"

"I have an even better idea." Danny said. "Stephanie why don't you take Joey's sign to school with you for show and tell and you can tell everyone about how we

made Joey a room out of the garage. In fact, bring Joey with you."

Stephanie's eyes lit up. "Could I? Can I?"

"I insist. That is if it's okay with Joey."

"I'd love to." Joey said. "But first things first."

"What's that?"

"Hugs all around!"

Jessie groaned. "Oh no, I knew this was coming. But under the circumstances…."

As usual, hugging everyone took a long time but no one seemed to mind. After all, hugging was what the Tanners did best.

~THE END~