A/N: Hey guys! My obsessive daydreaming has drifted to Full House, so apparently I've started writing beautiful Jesse and Michelle moments. She is so his kid in her heart, so my mind decided to write this little mini story to celebrate their relationship.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or anything from Full House. Hope you enjoy!
Thirteen-year-old Michelle Elizabeth Tanner lay on her bed sniffling down tears.
Her dad had just called. He was on a business trip in New York, and his flight home had been cancelled. That meant he wasn't going to make it back in time for the Father-Daughter dance at her school tonight.
He had apologized profusely, and said that he would do everything he could to get home as soon as possible. But it still didn't change the hurt that Michelle felt. She had been looking forward to this night for weeks. The Father-Daughter dance was the first formal dance her middle school hosted for students, and neither of her sisters had had it when they were her age. It was a special thing that Michelle was going to get to do with her dad. She had even gone on a special shopping trip with Joey to pick out the perfect dress.
Now she wouldn't get to go at all.
Why did he have to work so much? It wasn't fair. Her best friend Denise wasn't around anymore, since she had recently moved to Colorado. With Stephanie now in college and DJ in grad school, Michelle was having a particularly lonely year. Her dad had been on his business trip for a whole week, leaving Michelle as the only actual Tanner in the Tanner household. Thankfully, she still had Joey and Uncle Jesse's family to keep her company.
Michelle wiped her eyes angrily and sat up. She threw on jeans and a sweater, and went to see what Uncle Jesse and the boys were up to today.
Downstairs, the kitchen was busy. Joey was still in his cartoon PJs, despite it already being close to noon. He was happily making himself a tuna sandwich, enjoying his Saturday off of work. Aunt Becky was wrapping up food for lunch as well, packing a picnic basket at the kitchen table.
"Hi Aunt Becky," Michelle greeted her.
Aunt Becky smiled when she saw her niece. "Good morning Michelle," she replied warmly. "Are you excited for your special dance tonight?"
Michelle gave a non-committal shrug and changed the subject. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked, gesturing to the food on the table.
"Jesse, Nicky, Alex, and I are going on a family picnic today at Golden Gate Park," Aunt Becky answered, stuffing the last wrapped sandwich into the basket. "As usual, we are running late."
Just then, Uncle Jesse opened the front door. He came inside carrying a blanket over his shoulder and a cardboard box in his hands. The two eight-year-old twins, Nicky and Alex, followed close behind with a foam football.
"Alex, go long!" Nicky shouted, while his brother ran across the room.
"Boys!" Aunt Becky exclaimed. "Not in the —"
Too late, Nicky had already tossed the ball. Michelle ducked. It flew through the air and swiped the freshly-made tuna sandwich right out of Joey's hand.
"— house," Aunt Becky finished in defeat.
Alex winced, and scrambled to pick up the small football from the floor. He held up the smushed tuna sandwich as well.
"Sorry Uncle Joey," he apologized guiltily. Joey made a face, taking the broken sandwich and putting it back on his plate.
"You know, maybe I'll just order pizza," he muttered, before tossing it into the trash.
"Real smooth, Nick," Michelle rolled her eyes. "Your aim is impeccable."
"It's a gift," Nicky shot her a cheesy grin.
"Well you'll have to practice your gift later," his mother scolded him. "Just for that, the football is staying home."
The twins groaned.
"Oh don't be like that," Uncle Jesse responded to their whining. "You've got plenty of other toys to choose from," he dropped the cardboard box on the table. Nicky reached into the box for the frisbee, but Jesse held up his arm to stop him. "Not," he gave his son a warning glare, "until we get to the park."
The eight-year-old pouted and grabbed cookie from the cookie jar instead.
"Michelle, are you coming with us?" Alex asked her hopefully.
"Yeah Michelle," Nicky gave her an identically hopeful look. "You should join us at the picnic! Dad is going to help me and Alex set up the stomp rockets."
Michelle hesitated. Normally she would love to do stomp rockets with the boys, but for some reason she just wasn't feeling it today. "I don't think so…"
"You are welcome to join us, Michelle," Aunt Becky encouraged her. "We've got plenty of food," she added, "so long as you snag something before the twins devour it."
Michelle looked around the kitchen at this perfect little family, with a mother, a father, and two sons. Nicky and Alex had always been as good as brothers to her, and yet all of a sudden Michelle felt like she was intruding.
"No, I'll just stay home with Joey today," she decided with a mopey frown. "Thanks anyways."
"Hey, don't let me hold you back, Michelle," Joey chimed in. "I'm not doing anything exciting. I just didn't feel like getting dressed today," he joked, gesturing to his pajamas.
Instinctively, Michelle met Uncle Jesse's eyes. He gave her a look that she knew all too well. The one that meant he would never leave her behind. "Come on," he insisted gently. "Get outta the house a little. Do some Katsopolis family bonding."
Michelle crossed her arms, feeling the angry tears from earlier bubble up again. "Why should I?" She replied bitterly, her broken voice revealing not-so-subtly that she was upset. "I'm not a Katsopolis," she cried.
Before anyone could see her tears, she quickly ran back up the stairs to her bedroom.
The knock came right on cue. Michelle had been expecting it. She knew him far too well.
On her door hung the beautiful sky blue gown she was supposed to wear tonight. Michelle scowled at it. After a moment, the door creaked open, pushing the gown aside.
He didn't come in right away when he saw her, instead choosing to lean against the doorframe. He watched her as she sat on her bed with her legs curled up against her body. Michelle sighed, dropping her chin against the top of her knees.
"Brought you a snack," he tossed her an apple, which Michelle caught easily. "You didn't eat breakfast."
"I wasn't hungry."
"You're always hungry when you wake up."
"I slept in late."
Her uncle closed the door and sauntered over to her bed, sitting down across from her. He brushed a gentle hand against her face, which caused a familiar warmth to flood Michelle's body. She let the loving feeling relax her, and another tear snuck out of the corner of her eye.
"I'm sorry," Michelle said softly. "That was a pretty stupid thing for me to say."
Uncle Jesse shook his head. He knew that she was referring to the words she had spoken down in the kitchen. "Michelle, you know that you are just as much my family as Becky and the boys," he said. "Don't you?"
Michelle sniffled. "But it's not the same," she argued. "I'm just your niece. I'll always just be your niece."
He put a leg up on the bed and leaned towards her. "Michelle, who taught you to read?" He quizzed her, knowing she knew the answer.
"You did," Michelle replied reluctantly.
"Who was the only man in this house who could get you to take your cough medicine when you were little?"
Michelle smiled. "You were."
"Who changed your diapers?"
Michelle finally laughed and he grinned. "Joey," she teased him.
Uncle Jesse threw up his hands dramatically. "Okay fine, Joey," he admitted, "but also me!" He insisted. "Michelle, I didn't become an uncle because of you. I became a daddy because of you."
Michelle raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah really. You changed my whole life, kid. I never imagined I'd ever be a father. Not until you were born," he told her. "Everything I do to raise Nicky and Alex, I learned from you," he told her. "You were my first baby. If it weren't for you teaching me how to be a brave, devoted, baby-wrangling uncle, Nicky and Alex may have never been born at all."
Michelle looked down, and picked at the edge of her toenail as she let his words sink in. She loved that Uncle Jesse thought of her as his first baby. It made her feel all happy inside, and she smiled. "I guess I kind of knew that," she finally spoke. "I was just feeling... jealous, I suppose," she met his gaze. "Seeing all of you going on a fun family picnic. Nicky and Alex have Aunt Becky, and they get to have you here, all the time. I don't have a mother anymore," she reminded him sadly. Her expression darkened. "And my dad can't even show up to dance with his daughter at her first Winter Formal."
Uncle Jesse's eyes widened in surprise. "Your dad's not coming?"
Michelle felt her tears return and her throat clogged. She shook her head. "He called this morning. His flight got cancelled and he won't be home in time," she choked out the bad news.
Uncle Jesse sighed in understanding and pulled her into a comforting hug. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and Michelle closed her eyes.
"So that's what this is really about, huh?" He murmured sympathetically against her hair. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."
"It's not fair," she cried. "I know it's not his fault, but still. It's not fair."
A sob escaped from her throat and she lay there in her uncle's arms, letting him rock her back and forth quietly for a little while. She could feel his love emanating from him like a gentle glow, almost as if his heart was speaking directly to hers. Only Uncle Jesse had ever been able to have such a profoundly calming effect on her, though she never really understood why. There was something so familiar about his scent and his touch, tugging at the earliest memories of her childhood. She had never had the words to describe just how much she loved him, and how much he felt like home. There were no secrets between them. They knew each other better than they knew themselves. They were like two parts of the same soul, made to lift one another up and make each other whole.
"Uncle Jesse?" Michelle whispered, breaking the silence. "Will you take me to the Father-Daughter dance tonight?" she asked shyly.
He carefully untangled her from his arms and looked at her, his eyes filled with pure love. He brought both of his hands to rest against her cheeks, and brushed his thumbs along the side of her ears. "Nothing would make me happier," he assured her earnestly.
Michelle threw her arms around his neck again, letting herself smile through her tears. "Thank you," she breathed.
"I love you, Michelle."
Before she could respond, the moment ended abruptly with the sound of loud banging on her bedroom door. It was followed by the voices of two young boys.
"We love you too, Michelle!" The twins shouted, their words muffled behind the closed door.
Before she knew it, the door opened, and Michelle was bombarded by hugs from both Nicky and Alex, who attacked her until she was on her back. She laughed, and tickled the eight-year-old brothers until they were both rolling over with laughter as well.
She may not be able to go to the dance with her actual father, but in that moment Michelle felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
A/N: Please write a review to let me know what you think!
