Chapter Sixteen - Rough Night

Firefighters had investigated the Smash Club thoroughly, and to everyone's relief they had discovered no one trapped inside, which was a miracle considering the lack of sprinklers, and absence of a fire alarm as a warning. In fact there had been no serious injuries overall. Several people had been treated for minor burns, and cuts, sustained from the stampede of people desperately trying to escape the burning building, and a lot of people, including Jesse, Kimmy, Stephanie, and Dean had been tested for smoke inhalation, and given the all clear. The blonde guy, who had been paid to pass Regina's message onto Stephanie, had described Regina accurately as the person when questioned by police, and had been horrified by his part in her scheme.

The police had searched the vicinity of the Smash Club, and were now questioning Regina's family extensively in hopes that they might be able to shed some light on her possible whereabouts, but so far the trail had gone cold. Regina's car had been discovered in the Smash Club parking lot, so they knew she hadn't escaped that way. Due to the seriousness of the crime the police had posted a squad car outside the Tanner house. They seemed confidant that Regina was long gone, but since Stephanie was the main focus of her attention, they weren't taking any chances.

After speaking briefly with the family outside the Smash Club, and assessing the state of some of them following the fire, the police felt they had been through enough for one night and had allowed them to leave under the proviso that they would be available for further questioning in the morning. As head of the family Danny had assured them that they would do everything in their power to assist in making sure Regina was caught, and held responsible for her crimes.

Jesse had insisted that Nicky and Alex be dropped at his parents, as he didn't want them anywhere near the house, and Danny had convinced his youngest daughter to join them. Michelle had protested at first, saying that she wanted to be with Stephanie, but seeing that her young cousins were frightened and needed her, she had gone quietly. After dropping Amelia home, and updating his uncle of the situation, Dean had driven to the Tanner house, intent on spending the night.

The Gibbler's were spending the weekend in Las Vegas, and with Kimmy being Regina's possible second target, it had gone unsaid that she would be sleeping at the Tanner's as well, for as long as it took for Regina to be caught. The paramedics had inspected her head injury at the scene – suturing the cut on her head, and testing for blurred vision, confusion, and loss of short-term memory. They had wanted her to spend the night in hospital for monitoring, but Kimmy had declined, saying that apart from the mother of all headaches, she felt fine. The paramedics had recommended Tylenol for the pain, and with her promise that she would visit her primary care doctor for follow-up care on Monday they had left her alone.

It was a somber group that gathered in the Tanner living room just after midnight. Even though it was late, Danny was on the phone to DJ, explaining gently what had occurred. It could have waited until morning but Danny knew his daughter would have been upset over not being told straight away. DJ had wanted to come home, but Danny had persuaded her not to, stating that given the situation, he was relieved she was so far away.

They had all reeked of smoke, so showers all round had been in order. Jesse had loaned Dean sleepwear, and Kimmy, who hadn't even felt safe going next door, was wearing a pair of DJ's pajamas. Carmen wasn't staying, but she had still changed into the clothing Stephanie had offered.

Joey entered the living room carrying a full coffee pot in one hand, and a milk jug in the other. Carmen followed with a tray of coffee mugs. "Do you think we'll have to provide coffee and donuts to the police tomorrow?" Joey joked.

Kimmy groaned, holding a bag of frozen vegetables, wrapped in a cloth, against her head, "Don't make me laugh, it hurts. And it is tomorrow."

Sitting next to her on the arm of the chair, Jesse stroked her knee, "And the paramedics thought you were concussed."

Stephanie and Dean sat side by side on the couch, holding hands. Stephanie shook her head, "Uncle Jesse – I can't believe it – I can't believe the Smash Club is gone!"

Jesse looked tired, "I know Steph … me neither … but it's just a place. It's fully insured, so I can rebuild if I want. It's too early to think about that though."

Finished with his conversation with DJ, Danny sat down on the other side of Stephanie, "I'm just so relieved everyone got out okay." He grasped his daughter's free hand, squeezing it gently.

Jesse looked at Kimmy, "Me too!" he said softly.

"Me three!" Dean remarked.

Kimmy didn't comment. She was almost asleep, her eyes half closed, her head using the bag of frozen vegetables as a pillow.

Jesse continued to watch her, "Maybe we should think about getting some sleep?" he suggested.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep," Stephanie protested, yawning two seconds later.

Carmen stood, "I should get going. I'll be back first thing in the morning though, so Joey make sure you have those coffee and donuts waiting for me like you promised."

Joey grinned, "I'll walk you to your car."

Kimmy looked up startled upon hearing the door close, "What was that?"

"Take it easy Kimmy," Jesse said gently. "It's just Carmen leaving."

"I think we're all a bit jumpy tonight," Danny said. "I have some Excedrin upstairs, Steph. I think you should take a couple – get a decent nights sleep!"

"No thanks Dad," Stephanie resisted. "I don't want to be in a deep sleep just in case … just in case Regina comes back!"

"Steph, there's no danger tonight."

"You don't know that Dad!" Stephanie snapped. "I'm sorry Dad – I … I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. You're just trying to help!"

"No apology necessary Stephanie! Not after what you've been through the past few weeks!"

Jesse looked over at Dean, "Dean, your sleeping options for tonight are the couch or one of my son's race car beds," he grinned.

Dean pretended to be deep in thought, "Hmm, decisions, decisions."

"Dean, you have my room," Stephanie said quietly. "I'll sleep in Michelle's room with Kimmy." She stood up stretching. Leaning over she gave her dad a hug, "Night Dad."

"Love you Steph," Danny said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Stephanie moved on to Jesse next who climbed to his feet enfolding her in an embrace. Reaching Dean, she became self-conscious upon realizing her entire family was watching, and for a moment they simply stared at each other. Deciding to compromise, Stephanie leaned over, kissing him gently on the forehead, "Goodnight Dean," she said softly.

"Sweet dreams Steph!" Dean gave her an easy smile.

Stephanie headed for the stairs, where Jesse was kissing Kimmy goodnight, with no hint of embarrassment. Still not quite used to the idea of her uncle and Kimmy, Stephanie suddenly found her fluffy slippers really interesting.

Joey re-entered the house then, and Stephanie backtracked to hug him goodnight. Thankfully when she turned around again Jesse had finished kissing Kimmy, and Kimmy was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her.

"How's your head?" Stephanie asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Better. The Tylenol's helped."

Even though it was late, the house phone started ringing, and someone downstairs picked it up on the first ring.

Stephanie frowned, "I wonder who that is?"

"Dunno! Maybe that cop outside," Kimmy suggested.

"I'm glad you're here. I don't want to sleep alone."

"Me neither."

Stephanie was quiet for a beat, "How do you think Regina got that way. I mean, there were little kids in there – Nicky! Alex! Amelia!"

"I don't know."

"Do you think we've seen the last of her?" Stephanie asked directly, pausing outside the door to Michelle's room.

Kimmy considered the question, "Honestly? I don't know!"

Dean raced up the stairs then, startling them both, "Sorry for the intrusion. It suddenly occurred to me that someone should really check out your bedroom before you go in. Regina's bound to be long gone – but you never know." He opened the door, turned on the light, and cautiously stepped inside.

"Jeez Deano," Kimmy complained. "Give us a heart attack why don't you!"

Dean gave the room a quick once over, looking inside the closet, and briefly glancing out the window, "Everything looks okay," he announced.

Kimmy rolled her eyes, "Mmm-hmm! How did you manage to get past the three watch dogs downstairs anyway?"

Dean grinned at her, "Jesse went to speak to the cop outside, Danny is on the phone to Julia, and from what I could gather, Regina has made the ten o'clock news, and Joey is in the kitchen putting the coffee things away."

Kimmy nodded her approval.

"Well I'd better leave before they appear again," Dean said. He stepped in front in Stephanie, "But first, how bout a proper kiss goodnight."

Stephanie gladly complied, and this time she did not hold back, and neither did he.

Reluctantly Dean released her, and with one last smile in her direction, he left the room, closing the door after him.

Kimmy, sitting on the edge of DJ's bed, smirked at Stephanie, "Somehow I don't think it's the room Deano came to investigate!"

Kimmy awoke suddenly, her heart leaping into her throat. Someone was screaming the house down! It took her a further moment to realize it was coming from the other bed – Stephanie was in trouble! Breathing hard, she rolled over, desperately trying to locate the switch for the bedside lamp. She could hear frantic footsteps in the hallway, as well as above her head. She finally located the control for the lamp and light flooded the room. Kimmy glanced around anxiously looking for signs of Regina – seeing nothing. Relief washed over her as she located Stephanie mumbling and thrashing about, deep in the throes of a nightmare – but otherwise alone and physically unharmed.

As Kimmy's feet hit the floor, the door flew open, and Jesse, Dean, Danny, and Joey collided in the doorway as they all tried to enter together.

"Kimmy, you okay?" Jesse asked worriedly, from his squashed position against the doorframe.

"We're both okay. Steph's having a nightmare that's all." Reaching Stephanie's bed, Kimmy placed a hand on her arm, shaking her gently awake. "It's okay Steph, it's just a dream."

With a start, Stephanie sat up, grabbing Kimmy tightly by the arm.

"Stephanie!" Kimmy gasped. "You're hurting me. It's Kimmy, not Regina!"

Stephanie loosened her grip, letting go of Kimmy, as she fully grasped the situation. She was alone in her bed – there was no Regina – she was just having a nightmare. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Kimmy.

Kimmy was rubbing her arm. She sure was in the wars tonight, "No problem!"

The guys finally managed to untangle themselves, and Danny made his way over to his daughter's bed, "Steph, its okay. I'm here!" He sat down by her putting his arms around her.

Stephanie hugged him back, "It was so real Dad! I really thought Regina was here in this room!" she cried.

Joey rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth, "You sure gave me a fright Steph. When I heard you screaming I leapt out of bed so high I almost ended up on the ceiling."

"Same here!" Kimmy muttered under her breath, inspecting her arm for a fresh bruise.

"Steph, everything's locked up tight – no one can get in," Dean soothed.

Stephanie's eyes were wide with terror. "That doesn't stop her from burning the place to the ground from the outside," she said sarcastically. "Gee it's not like she hasn't done that once tonight already."

Jesse, Dean, and Joey all looked at each other. They obviously hadn't thought of that.

Danny had though, "Honey, a squad car is parked right out front. They won't let anyone near the place."

"They can't watch everywhere at once," Stephanie insisted. "Dad, they don't know Regina like I do. They don't know what she's capable of."

"Okay honey, okay," Danny comforted. "I will head outside right now and have a chat with the officer – tell him to be extra cautious. Jesse, Joey, and Dean will recheck every lock in this entire place, okay?"

Stephanie lay back down against the pillows, "Okay Dad, thank you." She felt calmer now. She took a moment to check out Dean, who was dressed only in a pair of pajama bottoms.

Danny's voice was firm, "I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe Steph!" Jesse, Joey, and Dean nodded in agreement.

"Mmm-hmm," Stephanie said distantly, still focusing on Dean's many positive physical attributes, determined that her next dream was going to be about more pleasant things.

Danny ushered the guys back out of the room, "Kimmy will stay with you," he said from the doorway. "Try and get some more sleep okay?"

"I'll try," Stephanie said in a small tired voice, already drifting back to sleep.

Kimmy stared at the ceiling, listening to Stephanie's deep even breathing. After, half scaring everyone to death, Sleeping Beauty had managed to fall back to sleep pretty promptly. Kimmy moved around in the bed attempting to locate a comfortable position; there didn't appear to be one. Giving up, she decided to head downstairs. She had noticed a couple of new magazines on the kitchen table earlier, although she had to admit she didn't like the idea of sitting exposed in the wide-open kitchen – well at least not tonight anyway!

Michelle kept a flashlight atop her set of shelves, so Kimmy decided she would go downstairs, retrieve the magazines, and read them under the covers with a flashlight. Swinging out of bed, Kimmy's feet lightly touched the floor. Barefoot she padded to the door, opening it slowly, careful not to wake Stephanie. At the door, she glanced back at Stephanie's bed. Stephanie was lying still and quiet, and Kimmy was only planning on being gone a few minutes, so she wasn't worried.

In the hallway Kimmy crept along, moving carefully and quietly. She heard loud snores coming from within Mr. T's room as she passed his door. All was silent from behind Stephanie's door though. Kimmy smiled to herself thinking that Stephanie would one day be thankful to have a boyfriend who didn't snore – and considering the way they had been going at it in Michelle's room earlier – maybe one day soon!

Kimmy descended the couple of steps at the end of the hall, turning right to negotiate the landing that led to the back stairs. From the top of the stairs Kimmy anxiously peered down into the darkness below. She was far enough away now from the bedrooms to turn on a light without disturbing anyone, but for some reason she decided against it. On the third to bottom step, which was at the same level as the light switch, Kimmy concluded she would turn on the light, grab the magazines off the table, and race back to the stairs. Her hand found the light switch and she quickly flicked it on, almost jumping out of her skin!

Jesse was sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window, his hands curved around a coffee mug; its contents stone cold.

Jesse looked startled as well, by the sudden influx of light. "Sorry Kim," he apologized, "Didn't mean to scare you. I'm keeping watch, and obviously doing a terrific job, since I didn't even hear you approaching."

"That's okay! I'm glad to see you!" Kimmy removed the hand she had placed on her chest to calm the thud of her heart. She crossed the kitchen toward him, and letting out a breath, she sank down into the chair next to Jesse.

"Can't sleep?"

Kimmy shook her head, "No!"

"Head okay?"

"Getting better. It's gone from a throbbing pain, to a dull ache."

Jesse focused on the darkness outside, "I keep imagining Regina lurking out there somewhere, waiting to burn the house down."

Kimmy shuddered, and Jesse put an arm around her, drawing her close, "Sorry," he apologized again. "I shouldn't be talking like this. The worst part is that I'm sure I'm forgetting something important to do with Regina that I should be remembering." He gave her a small smile, "Heck, I should be apologizing to you, for not believing you when you insisted Regina was unstable."

"You saved my life," Kimmy said softly. "I think that makes us more than even. And I had no idea Regina was capable of setting fire to a building, with a club full of people … mostly kids … inside. God Jesse, what if they don't catch up with her!"

Jesse gave her a tight squeeze, "They will."

"And turning off the water … disabling the fire alarm …" Kimmy shook her head in disgust, unable to finish the sentence. "I should have known something was wrong when your office was unlocked."

Jesse sat up straight, "Wait! What did you say?"

"She turned off the water …"

"No, about my office being open!"

Kimmy frowned, "Yeah, your office was unlocked, Regina was still inside …" Kimmy paused trying to remember, while Jesse waited impatiently, "but I had to use my key to open the utility box. But when I did unlock it the damage had already been done. She must have had a …"

"Key!" Jesse finished for her. "That's it – that's what I've been trying to remember all night. Keys! Kimmy, my keys … they … remember they went missing last Sunday, and turned up a day later, following a Danny cleaning spree. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now I'm thinking Regina must have made copies of my keys. All the keys to the Smash Club were on there, it makes sense!" he said excitedly.

Kimmy's eyes widened, "Wait! What other keys?"

"Um … car keys … the radio station …" Jesse went pale, looking at the kitchen door, "house keys – both front and back!"

"Just this house?" Kimmy asked.

Now it was Kimmy's turn to wait impatiently while Jesse tried to recall. "Oh god," he said. "I have a key to my parent's house. That's where the kids are."

"Okay, okay, don't panic," Kimmy tried to reassure Jesse. "Regina doesn't know where your parent's live, or that that particular key is the key to their house."

"Are you kidding?" Jesse said, striding to the kitchen phone. "Regina has been far more resourceful than we thought she was, and how hard is it to look up the name Katsopolis in the phone book – not exactly the most common name in the Bay area." He frantically punched his parent's number into the phone.

Kimmy watched his expression become more desperate as he waited for someone to answer at the other end. The time stretched, with no conversation flowing, until Jesse slammed down the receiver, "Damn-it! The line's dead!" He took off across the kitchen, Kimmy close behind him.

In the living room he collided with Dean, "What's happening?" he demanded.

Jesse grabbed his keys, and cell phone, off the coffee table, heading for the front door, "There's no answer at my parent's house. I have reason to believe that's where Regina is."

Dean didn't ask any more questions, "I'll go with you."

Jesse nodded, jerking open the front door.

"Jesse wait!" Kimmy cried. "Be careful!"

"Kimmy, lock the door behind us. Wake Danny and Joey. Let them know what's going on." Jesse and Dean disappeared out the front door.

Outside, the officer behind the wheel wound down his window as Jesse approached.

Jesse said in a rush, "You need to get on that radio, and send a car to my parent's house – 155 Rush Road, Pacific Heights. No one's answering at their house, and its possible Regina Powell has a duplicate set of my keys. I'm heading over there now."

"Mr. Katsopolis," the officer called out. "Stay put. We will handle it."

Ignoring him, Jesse raced over to his car, which was parked on the street, where Dean was waiting.