Author's note: This little vignette comes due to two things. First, as I think I noted in one other story, books say that Uncle Jesse did something for Aunt Becky every Valentine's Day before they married. They married in the TV universe in season 4 and met early season 2. That leaves two even if they celebrate the first one, which is uncertain. Every doesn't have to mean more than two, but it is known that they married in October in books and, given Nicky and Alex's ages, it has to be 4 months earler than TV universe. It's quite likely that they knew each other with Becky coming out in what would be the middle of season 1, for reasons you'll see.

The second reason is that Joey won the jackpot in the Book Universe. For those new to this site who haven't seen my other book universe stories or read the books, there is an office in the 4th bedroom since before Michelle was born in books. Jesse moved into the attic then right away and Joey got the basement or garage, which seem to be synonymous, when he did in the TV universe.

That leaves the question of getting that recording studio from the attic where it is crowded with Jesse also living there to the basement and expanding that thing so Joey can still be there with it.

It makes sense because DJ is more of a mother figure and so she and Stephanie would be with Michelle during swim lessons or something while Joey is winning. But a story just talking about remodeling a house isn't that interesting. However, Jesse and Becky are.

Jackpot

"If you're having trouble reading that, Daddy, I can help," Stephanie Tanner, a couple months shy of six, said eagerly.

"Aw, thanks honey," Danny Tanner said as he put an arm around his middle daughter. He gazed around the home office he had built in the fourth bedroom of their home. "I can read it. I was just pausing because, well, I was thinking about your mom."

The two embraced warmly. Pam Tanner had died as the result of a drunk driver hitting her car that spring.

"Thanks. I was just thinking about something your mom always wished would come true."

"What is it? Can I help?"

"Well, Steph, our station wants to try to find another sportscaster. So, since I have this office they asked me to look at a few resumes. A resume is what you give a business when you want to tell them what you can do and why they should hire you," he explained.

"What's that got to do with what Mommy wished for?" Stephanie asked as she looked at the paper. She had been reading since age four so she was good with some of the words.

"Well, Mommy wished that your Uncle Jesse would find one woman who was perfect for him." Danny wished that Jesse would, also. Jesse - Pam's younger brother - and Danny's best friend Joey now lived with him to help raise his girls oh, Stephanie, DJ who was 10, and Michelle who was a year old. "Looking at some of these resumes, part of me wonders if one of the women who applied could be the one."

Stephanie bounced excitedly. "Which one is it?"

Oh, to have her faith, Danny thought to himself. Of course, he knew Pam had probably had some of the same faith. She certainly had given Stephanie her excitability.

"Well, honey, all of these resumes talk about their job experience. It's hard to say. Uncle Jesse isn't that big into sports."

At that moment, Jesse Katsopolis was walking toward the door that would take him to the attic apartment where he lived. It was a regular 1300 square foot third story, though there was also an attic above that which was smaller. "Hey, kiddo," Jesse said as he looked in to see Stephanie.

DJ, who was like a mother figure to Michelle, follow the toddler out of the bedroom DJ and Stephanie shared, which they had shared since Michelle was born. Michelle motioned toward Jesse and said something like "up."

"Michelle wants you to play Horsey with her, Uncle Jesse," Stephanie explained.

"Nay," Jesse deadpanned.

"Come on, Uncle Jesse, I've been doing it for a while. Besides, it's not like when you play Ballerina with Stephanie and you just sit and watch her dance. You get to be active. Pretend you're a motorcycle," DJ explained.

Jesse grudgingly did so, though he showed the look that would lead to things coming to a head early in the new year when he would lock the door to the attic quite often for several weeks. He might have moved out had he been forced to be more of a nurturer by being on that floor.

"Yeah, right," Jesse said as D.J. held Michelle on him to help her steady herself. "Pretend I'm a motorcycle. Then in a few years her kindergarten teacher's gonna wonder why she says a horsey goes vroom, vroom!"

"Don't worry, Uncle Jesse, Joey will be home soon," DJ assured him.

"Yeah, this is what that clown's for," Jesse replied.

"Hey, Jess, this one sent a tape. I listened to it last night. Her name's Rebecca Donaldson. She even included calls for the Giants and the Athletics across the Bay," Danny remarked. He was especially impressed with her because she had even done hockey.

"Oh, great," Jesse quipped as he walked around on his hands and knees. "That's something else she has in common with Joey then." Joey was a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings from the couple of years he and his military family had lived in that area before his parents divorced and they moved out to San Francisco. "Yeah, why not, give me her number if she comes." He was only thinking about maybe trying to date her, not about settling down.

After she came, he'd seen Rebecca once since she arrived, just after the new year. She had been very noncommittal. Still, he decided to show up at the station late on Valentine's Day, 1988, to surprise her.

Rebecca Donaldson stepped outside the studio to hear someone singing. About her! What an amazing surprise, she thought to herself.

She approached the singer, Jesse Katsopolis. "Hi," she said, still a little taken aback.

"Hey, Becky. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

"Not at all. It's Jesse, right? What's this?"

He handed her the roses and a box of chocolate. "Happy Valentine's Day. You know, I've really been into sports lately."

"Really, which ones?"

"Right now, horseback riding."

"Oh, do you know how to ride?"

"No, see, I'm the horse." He was glad to get a chuckle out of her; her smile continued as he explained. "I got reservations for the two of us."

"Well…." She hadn't had major plans, but still… "Look, I'd love to, but, just so you know, I want some say in this." She didn't think from Danny's short description that Jesse would try to run the whole relationship, but she'd wanted to say that to be sure.

The long-haired rocker shrugged. "Sure, next time you choose."

"Look; before we think about a second date, let's see how the first one goes."

"Sure, that's fine," Jesse said with great confidence.

Danny saw Becky the next morning at the station as she prepared to go to Oakland for an interview with some Warriors players.

"I heard you went out with Jesse last night; how was it?"

"It went okay. I mean, he's not really into sports, but I told him he didn't have to know everything about them, as long as he was willing to learn to enjoy some aspects of some. I told him his helping you is what really tells me a lot about him. He seemed a bit surprised by that, but it's almost like he didn't want to share why," she mused aloud.

"I see." Danny sighed. "Pam used to tell him the same kind of thing all the time. How what really attracts the right women is someone who puts time into caring about others. "

"I wondered. I didn't want to bring her up right away…" she trailed off.

"He'll talk about it. She's the only one he really opened up to, though. He's been locking the attic door more, too. It's been almost 7 months since he moved in. He might have a lot going through his mind," Danny speculated.

Becky nodded. "So, when he acts like he expects everything to happen really fast…?"

"That's normal. It might help if you acknowledge how he might feel thinking about his sister. And, that you want things to go slower, but that can be good, because then he has time to sort things out."

Becky agreed. It was worth a try. As wild as he looked, he did seem quite nice and charming. Plus, he was showing that he cared about others by being there.

Jesse and Becky had been sitting and eating for a bit a week later. The conversation hit a typical lull, and Becky decided to use her talk show skills - the talent she'd highlighted on her resume, with sports just a nice addition to make her seem more well-rounded.

"So, Jesse, if you don't mind, tell me a little about Pam."

"Like what?"

"Well, Danny said she always hoped you'd spend more time with the girls. I bet she'd be proud." He shrugged so she tried another tactic. "I was curious, growing up with brothers myself. Was she the kind who always told on you, always protected you, or what?"

Jesse appeared dreamy for a moment. "Man, you know what? That's the kind of question that a good talk show host asks."

And he's avoiding the answer, she mused. "Thanks. So, what was she like?"

"To be honest… you're gonna laugh."

"Tell me."

"She was nice, but she had this silly side. When I was little she'd shove carrots up my nose," he explained. "Maybe to make me eat 'em, like she thought I'd say, 'no, silly, they go in my mouth.' Or somethin', I don't know."

"Had any carrot noses with Danny's girls? How are things going with them?"

"Nothing like that. It's been rough. I've felt kind of confined, you know; like this just isn't who I am. If that lock wasn't there on the attic, who knows. I might have thought about moving out soon."

"Think the girls could have gotten you to come back? D.J. seems pretty clever," Rebecca remarked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't put it past her. And, I might listen. 'Cause to tell you the truth, being up there with the door locked, I've had time to think. And, I'm realizing being there's opening up parts of me I didn't know were there," Jesse confided.

Rebecca smiled as they continued. He was far from perfect, but this was a good start.

In May of the following year, she walked up to Jesse as he unpacked in a Las Vegas hotel. "Oh, hey, Becky. Quite a stash of hair products, huh?"

"I'll admit, it amazes me when I think you focus on it so much more-"

"Than you do?"

"Probably more than my hairdresser." They chuckled a little. "Jess, I know this feels romantic now that we're here, and it is fabulous," Becky said dreamily. "But, remember the problem we had last summer?"

"Oh, yeah, when I wanted us to get married and thought the pilot could do it if you fly high enough just like sea captains if you're far enough from shore?"

"I'm not even sure ship captains can do it," she considered, telling him she had never looked into the law. It sounded a little like just something for stories.

"Me neither. Anyway," Jesse began as he reached in his pocket and felt a small box, "that reminds me of something I've been thinking about-"

"Hey, Jess," Danny said as he entered. "Guess what? The hotel has free swim lessons."

Jesse smiled and put an arm around Becky. "You look great in a bikini."

"Sorry, I didn't bring one. So, are all the girls going?"

"Well, it was going to be just Michelle, but she gave D.J. that look, and D.J. likes to teach her stuff. Which means Steph will tag along," Danny said.

"Good, at first the girls thought about going with Joey, but I worry about them in a casino watching all those people wasting their money. It's not a good influence," Becky said evenly.

Jesse seemed to have found what he was looking for. He seemed to begin to kneel."Yeah, anyway, about what I was say-"

"Uncle Jesse, Becky, come see Steph swim the length of the pool!"

"On our way, Deej," Becky said as she rose. She could tell Jesse looked disappointed, and figured it was just because he wanted to spend time alone with her. "Come on, Jess, swimming is great exercise, not just a great sport!"

Jesse shrugged and followed. "You're such a good teacher, Deej; you encourage your sisters so well."

"Hey, don't worry, Jess, you and Bedcky can spend time later."

"And I don't have to pull a lever to hit the jackpot," Jesse said as he put an arm around Becky. They kissed briefly.

D.J. learned what Becky had said as they walked to the simming area, with Danny holding Michelle's hand. "Don't worry, Uncle Jesse, I wouldn't have let Steph pull one of those levers. I'm more responsible since I'm trying to be proactive without Mom here. But, the pool is way more fun anyway."

Jesse nodded. "Yeah. It's okay, just thinking about your mom myself." He thought about saying that D.J. was just like Pam, but he was already feeling a little choked up. He didn't want to get any more than he had to be.

The family watched as Stephanie swam. It was really more like the width, and then a bit of an angle so she didn't swim quite the whole length. But she was very close. She would do it by the end of the vacation.

"Super," Jesse shouted as he clapped.

"She's a good athlete. It's good to see you girls focusing on things you love," Becky remarked absently.

"Yeah, especially not boys," Jesse teased D.J..

Stephanie thought that, like Becky's comment, Jesse's was meant for her, too. "I don't worry about them. I figure if they want to do somethign dumb like put a whole jalapena pepper in their mouth as a dare, I'm not going to stop them."

"Steph, did someone do that at school?" Danny asked with a mixture of shock and curiosity.

As Stephanie nodded, Becky recalled growing up during sometimes very cold Nebraska winters. "Some boys would put their tongue on a pole when it was below freezing if you didn't warn them."

"Yeah, yeah, it all sounds like some of the dumb stuff I did when I was younger. But, we're all mature adults here, and nobody's even in a position to do anything as dumb as that." He got down on one knee and took Becky's hands in his; she blushed and giggled a little. "Look, while almost everyone's here, I need to ask-"

"Guys, guess what," Joey shouted as he ran into the room. "I won the jackpot! We can have all the ice cream we want forever!"

"Oh, brother," Jesse said, rolling his eyes as he stood. "I just got done saying nobody's in a position to do anything that dumb!"

As everyone congratulated him, Danny asked, "How much?"

"Around $100,000."

"And you're gonna spend it all on ice cream?" Jesse asked, astounded.

"Well, now that you mention it, there's probably enough left over for some chocolate, maybe even a new puppet or two."

"Joey, I think what Jesse's saying is, that sounds like what Michelle would do with that much money," Danny explained.

"Well, what would you suggest?"

Jesse shook his head. "Joey, look, we need a bigger recording system. We're professionals now. And that recording studio can go right in your room."

"My room?" Joey reminded Jesse of the apartment. "You have 1300 square feet. We'd have to expand the garage to make sure it fits."

"And, I know the cost of housing anywhere in the Bay Area. Hopefully that Becky and I…" He realized what he was saying. "Can I finish that thought in one minute?"

"60, 59," Stephanie began.

"Give me some leeway, huh?" Jesse knelt and took Becky's hands in his. "Rebecca Donaldson, you are at the most fabulous woman I have ever imagined. You're more wonderful than I could have dreamed I could find. Nothing…" Somebody did a cannonball into the pool and splashed the family. "Not even that is going to keep me from asking the most important question of my life. Will you please marry me?"

"Oh, Jess, I'd love to. I mean, sure I don't know exactly what the future will bring but as long as we're not doing it right now, yes," Becky said, beaming as Jesse put a ring on her finger. Everyone around them cheered.

"Oh, I'm glad you said yes. I need to dry my hair now," Jesse replied as he got up.

The couple grew closer over the next year and finally set a date for October. Joey had lived in Michigan for a few years, where Sweetest day was very popular, just like other states in the Midwest. So, he suggested that they have the wedding van, which was agreed upon.

Soon after their return from their honeymoon, Jesse and Becky spoke in their attic apartments. "This has been so wonderful," Jesse said. "It'll be a challenge with us having our own ad company. Listen to me, I'm already acting like you're part of it."

"I'm so glad we'll be partners in everything," Becky said. "I know you know about the advertising part, but I'm glad you include me in things and ask my advice."

"Oh, sure for some stuff, I mean, you're a talk show host, but..."

Becky gave him a look. "I can find out anything from my guests."

Jesse chuckled. "Yeah, I know. They embraced. He knew he still bugged Becky quite a bit at times, acting like he had to be the businessman. But, he was so glad for what Becky was helping him through - just like Pam had done. The ways in which she resembled the big sister he missed so much were quite striking, and made him love her even more. "I'm learning. I'm glad you were willing to move in and we didn't have to wonder how we were going to do this."

"Costs in the Bay Area are ridiculous. We'll make it, matter what."

Jesse smled , fondly recalling Pam's confidence, also, when it came to so many things. As he and Becky kissed, he realized that - while he might never see his siter again this side of Heaven - he'd hit the jackpot with someone who brought out the same feelings of tenderness and being cared for that Pam always had. "Have mercy!"