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Stephanie Tanner, eleven, and her 6-year-old sister, Michelle, waved goodbye to their older
sister D.J. and her boyfriend, Steve. "I wonder how Uncle Jesse's doing with Aunt Becky and the
twins in Las Vegas," Stephanie said out loud.
"It depends," Michelle said. "How is he doing what?"
"Nevermind." Their uncle's song, "Forever," was number one the previous year in Japan. It
had reached up to number 38 earlier in the US, and he'd gotten a couple pbookings in Vegas out
of it that summer.
The phone rang. Michelle and Stephanie raced to get it as their Dad, Danny Tanner, walked
down the steps. "That might be for me," Stephanie hollered. She exhaled forcefully, a slight
growl emerging, as Michelle beat her to the phone. "It might be Brad, he's the cutest boy on the
baseball team."
Michelle spoke cheerfully into the phone. "Hi, are you the cutest boy on the baseball team?"
She smiled at Stephanie, who groaned and slapped her forehead. Her hand slowly inched down
her face as the six-year-old continued to speak. "Oh. Isn't she great? I let her ride in the parade
with me at Disneyworld a couple weeks ago."
"Michelle, please tell me who that is," Stephanie begged her.
"It's your new friend Darcy," she said quickly before turning around again. Michelle did her
best to impersonate a teenager. She laid on the couch and comically propped her feet up on the
armrest while speaking. Stephanie glowered.
Danny interrupted them. "Hey, you two, Vicki had some unexpected time off and she's
coming out here." Vicki was Danny's new fianc‚, but they had such a long distance relationship
with her work that they weren't close to setting a marriage date. "Will you be okay if we grab a
bite to eat after I get her at the airport?"
Stephanie raised her eyebrows, grinning somewhat expectantly - though not getting her hopes
up. "Uh, Dad...everyone else is on dates or away performing."
Danny grinned proudly. "I know. But you've seemed pretty mature lately. Now, Jesse and
Becky's toddlers, or anyone else's kids, are above you yet. But, Michelle's not as helpless as a
toddler would be; there's no diapers, no constant watching, nothing like that. I was always
worried about D.J. watching both of you at your age. But, I'm sure you can handle just Michelle;
we've talked quite a bit about how she wandered off on vacation, and..." He chuckled at his
rambling. "Well, you'll both be good, right?"
"Right, Dad. I'll be sure we both stay here and she gets to bed." She glanced sideways at
Michelle jabbering away. "If I can ever get her off the phone."
Stephanie and Michelle waved goodbye to their dad. He'd taken time to ensure Michelle
donned her pajamas, so there would be one less thing for Stephaie to worry about; she could take
a bath the next morning.
Stephanie was excited that her dad had someone like Vicki; it was almost six years since her
mom had died in a tragic accident. The pajama clad girl beside her didn't remember Pam Tanner
at all. Stepahnie remember some things, but most of her recollections were from stories.
She didn't have much time to think, now. She worried that any phone call might be from
Brad. And...there it was.
Michelle beat her to the phone again! "Michelle!" she hollered. "It's my turn, you know."
"Hello, Tanner residence? Oh, is this Brad? Stephanie's been waiting for you to call," she
spoke warmly into the cordless phone.
"Michelle, give me the phone, gimme, gimme," Stephanie kept saying as she chased Michelle
around the couch.
Michelle continued to speak as she scurried. "No, Stephanie can't talk right now, this is her
first babysitting job. She's really a mature young lady, that's what Daddy says. And she's
supposed to pay very close attention to me," she said as she crawled under the coffee table, with
Stephanie following, "and put me to bed. So she can't talk. How about tomorrow? Lunch at the
food court? She'll meet you there at noon."
Stephanie growled as she corralled Michelle, just as the little girl turned the phone off.
"Michelle!"
"He's proud of you, and he's anxious to see you," Michelle said simply.
The grab turned into a sweet hug. "Michelle, you're such a sweet sister." Stephanie then
glared at her. "Don't do this again, understand?"
Michelle nodded. She knew she got on Stephanie's nerves soemtimes. But, she loved playing
with her, anyway. She felt really close to her, and enjoying making her proud. "You got it,
dude."
Stephanie looked unsure of whether to correct Michelle or not - she and D.J. had given her
some stern lectures on such sayings before she got to Kindergarten. However, since she wasn't
really correcting Michelle, she let it slide. Besides, Michelle usually obeyed very well, and never
spoke like that to real authority figures anymore.
"All right, Michelle, do you want a snack?"
"Order a pizza," Michelle insisted.
"Michelle, I am not ordering a pizza. Besides, you like ice cream better, anyway."
"Well, since you put it that way," she said, trailing off as she followed Stephanie into the
kitchen. "I want two scoops of chocolate."
Stephanie looked tiredly at Michelle. "Michelle, how do we ask nicely?"
"Please?"
"That's right." Stephanie dished Michelle some ice cream, then got some chocolate butter
almond for herself. "Michelle, you're sounding a little bossy again like you were at Disnleyworld.
And like before in preschool sometimes. What did I tell you before Daddy left?"
She spoke lowly and forcefully, shaking her finger and imitating Stephanie. Right now I'm
not your sister. I'm your babysitter. And you have to lsiten.'"
Stephanie grinned and tussled Michelle's hair a bit. "There, see, you know how to listen. I'm
proud of you."
Her pride lasted until she instructed Michelle to go up to bed. Michelle grabbed the remote
instead. "Let's watch TV, there might be a game on."
Stephanie snatched the remote from Michelle. "Michelle, you don't even like watching
baseball."
"You could talk to Brad about it tomorrow." Stephanie glared slightly. "It was worth a try."
Stephanie forced herself to lighten up a little. "Okay. I might have done the same at your age.
Now get in bed, and I'll tell you a special story."
"I don't want to go to bed," Michelle clamored, clearly testing the rules.
Stephanie gave a look that could melt lead. "Michelle, get in bed now."
"Okay, okay," she remarked, glancing back halfway up to see Stephanie still glaring. She
knew who the boss was, she just liked to test things; as long as she could have fun doing it. That
glare had told Michelle it wouldn't be fun to test any more. She scrambled into her bedroom to
get in bed.
She sat up waiting for a couple minutes. Finally, Stephanie came up the steps. "Where's my
story?" Michelle asked, now sounding much more compliant.
Danny had told Stephanie she sometimes seemed tougher than he was. She was often pretty
hard on herself, though, being very excitable. That translated into expecting a lot of others, too.
Especially with this being her first official babysitting job. "I don't know if you deserve one,
you've sounded kind of pushy tonight."
"But I went to bed the first time you yelled."
The comment made Stepahnie laugh, and she walked over to Michelle's bed. "Okay, I guess
other than that you've listened pretty well. Lay down and I'll tell you one."
"You're the boss," Michelle told her as she laid, hoping that would make Stephanie prouder of
her. Not having a mother, she imagined D.J. and Stephanie - at the times when they were in
charge or teaching her something like the freeze command - were much like what a mother would
be.. Stephanie stroked Michelle's hair gently as her younger sister rested her head on her
pillow. "Make it a loooong story," Michelle requested.
"A long story. Well, I'm good at that. What about?"
"Tell me about Mommy," Michelle entreated.
Stephanie smiled. "Okay," she said pensively.
Before Stephanie closed her mouth, Michelle made another request. "And one about dessert,
so I can eat while I'm dreaming. A long story about dessert."
A "whoosh" left Stephanie's mouth. "Okay, a long story about Mom and one about dessert..."
"And a long one about parties, and then one about family, and...and..."
Steaphnie gawked strangely at Michelle. She held out her hand. "Michelle, by the time I get
done with all these stories it'll be time to get up."
"That's the whole idea," Michelle proclaimed. She sensed Stephaie might be a little
aggravated, but she was having too much fun with her.
Lighten up, Stephanie reminded herself. Your charge is in bed now, and that's sometimes the
toughest part. Let her be a kid.
She smiled wistfully. She'd been the same way when she was little. Those had been such fun
times. Especially...yes. Michelle would love this story of her first vivid childhood memory - a
story spruced up with thoughts of pictures and home videos, and with her imagination. "Okay, I
know...."
Four year old Stephanie Tanner bounced from her room into D.J.'s as if on an invisible pogo
stick. Her long, blonde curly locks sailed around. "D.J., D.J., it's here," she shrieked. "It's
here!"
D.J., nine, rolled over wearily. "What's here, Steph?"
"Thanksgiving! Let's go see if the turkey left us any presents!"
"Steph," her sister mumbled as she sat up in bed, "that's Christmas where we get presents!"
"We don't get any presents," she wondered, aghast. "But we get all that candy on Halloween!
And we get all those goodies on Christmas. Why don't we get anything now?"
D.J. struggled for a way to descrube it. "Because, think of it as a sandwich. A big slice of
turkey and stuffing between two slices of really sweet bread."
Stephanie hummed. "Okay. But not the crust. I don't like the crust."
D.J. nodded slowly. "Right, not the crust." She got out of bed and remarked "seven o'clock.
Well, it's later than you'll wake me come Christmas morning. Let's go in and see if the baby's up
yet." They knocked on the door, and Danny opened it with his clothes already on.
"D.J., Daddy's not the baby."
D.J. raised her eyebrows. "Dad, you're up early."
"Maybe Daddy got up to go get us some presents," Stephanie said hopefully.
Danny shook his head and hugged his girls. "Sorry, no presents, unless you count Mom's
picture perfect pumpkin pie later." Stephanie's mouth watered. "Look, the station called about
6:30, they want me in there, a couple of the regulars are sick and everyone else is on vacation for
the holidays. I've got to do the news. But I promise, I'll be home in time for dinner."
Michelle interrupted. "How old was I?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Think, Michelle. I wasn't five yet."
"Oh. I was a little bitty baby."
"That's right. Now, may I continue the story?"
"Yes you may." Michelle rested her head on her hands and listened again.
"Okay, with Dad gone, Mom still figured she'd have help. But then..."
"Girls," Pam called to D.J. and Stephanie in the back yard. They came rushing inside and
noticed a hint of concern, though not really worry, on her face. Pam was always so excitable and
confident, she never seemed to worry. She always seemed to be smiling. "I've got bad news for
you. Granny Tanner's sick and can't make it."
"Oh no," cried D.J..
"Mommy, are you sure Santa can't spare a little time?"
"Sorry, Stephanie. But with your help we'll..."
Just then, the front doorbell rang. "Maybe the turkey's gonna bring Valentine's candy
instead," Stephanie hollered, skipping into the room behind D.J..
D.J. opened the door. It was Kimmy Gibbler. "Kimmy!"
"Hey, guess what, Deej. You can celebrate."
"At least someone brought presents," Stephanie declared. "Never thought it'd be her. Usually
she's playing with D.J. when I should be playing with D.J.," she babbled.
Kimmy smiled at her, then looked back at D.J.. "Not quite, squirt. My dad bought the house
next door. Before we go to my cousins' for dinner we're moving some stuff in today."
"All right!" D.J. and Kimmy hugged. "Oh, this will be so much fun. Listen, I've got to go in
and help my mom with dinner, our one grandma can't make it."
"No problem, Deej. And don't worry. This will be the first house we'd owned. I don't think
we'll own it for five years and move out after we've trashed it like the others. We're here to
stay."
"You mean you're gonna live next to us forever," Stephanie declared. She rolled her eyes.
"First no presents, now this. What's going to happen next?"
"Just think, Deej," Kimmy remarked casually, "we can do everything together now. We don't
have to wait till we see each other in school, or I'm ungrounded and I can ride my bike over. And
you don't have to worry about blondo here hanging around."
Stephanie got up on her toes and stuck a finger in Kimmy's chest. "Are you trying to take my
sister away, you...you...sister snatcher!"
"Hey, take it easy, squirt," Kimmy remarked.
Stephanie was too excited to listen to her. "She's my sister, and she likes playing with me and
that's final," she declared, shaking her fist.
Pam had heard the beginning of commotion and come up behind Stephanie, gently pulling her
back.. "Now, sweetheart," Pam remarked calmly, "remember how we said to use your words?"
Stephanie babbled "well, what can I say? I can't talk like Daddy's friend Joey; he does a great
Donald Duck. If only I could go like Donald Duck when he gets mad," she said in a scratchy
voice that barely sounded like Donald. The attempt made her cough. "But I can't."
"Well, you know we should never grab people or shake our fists, either," Pam spoke gently.
"You talk so much, I know you can come up with something."
Stephanie smiled proudly at her mother. While Pam could get very excited at times, she was
also quite calm, and always had things running smoothly, with very few hassles. Stephanie
sometimes felt like hitting or grabbing as a toddler, but now she could control herself at least till
Pam could intervene.
In fact, that suddenly reminded her of something her mom would say when scolding her about
that. Why not? It would be like she was scolding the other person, plus be a signal that she was
upset. "Kimmy," she remarked from her mom's lap, "I just have one thing to say to you. How
rude!" Kimmy gave her a puzzled look.
"That's the spirit," Pam proclaimed excitedly, squeezing Stephanie. "Use those words. I liked
that one."
Michelle brought Stephanie to the present. Sleepily, she asked "is that the first time you ever
said that?"
"Yep. I don't get too upset anymore so now, it's just casual. In fact, I haven't said it at all for
a long while. Now can I please get on with the story?"
"Okay, I'm just trying to stall."
"That I can tell. Anyway, after Kimmy left..."
Pam stood in the kitchen and breathed deeply, bouncing slightly. She eagerly wanted this to
be the best Thanksgiving yet. She turned to D.J. and Stephanie. "Now, listen, I think I hear baby
Michelle waking up from her nap. D.J., I want you to watch the turkey, I've got it thawing.
Stephanie," she told the four-year-old, "here's the recipe for my pumpkin pie, get all the
ingredients out and measured, and I'll be down very shortly." She ran upstairs from the kitchen.
"Wow, Steph," D.J. remarked, "you've got to be a good reader to do that."
"I know. Mommy must trust me more than you. She gave you an easy job." The doorbell
rang, and Stephanie stood in front of the oven. "Here, you can get the door. I can do your job,
too."
"Little sisters," D.J. murmurred as she left the room.
Stephanie kept glancing at the oven while getting the ingredients out of the fridge and pantry.
She was so proud that she could read already! Joey Gladstone and D.J. entered the kitchen, each
carrying a bag. "Hey, Joey. D.J., don't worry. The turkey didn't go anywhere. And they say it's
hard to cook Thanksgiving dinner."
D.J. laughed and pulled out a thermometer. "Here, you have to use a meat thermometer."
Stephanie's mouth flew open. "You mean you've got glass in the turkey? Daddy says that
could hurt if we ate it!"
"Not that kind of thermometer. Look, why don't you mix your ingredients while I do this.
Joey?" D.J. noticed Joey had grabbed a fork and a plate, and was already eating out of the yams
he'd brought. "Joey, do you ever stop eating sweets?"
He looked up after a second, seemingly startled. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I just love these candied
yams."
"Candy? Let me have a taste." Stephanie scooped her figners into the yams and tasted the
sugary coating. "Not bad. But next time, try chocolate." Joey nodded his approval as Pam
descended the staircase with Michelle.
"Joey, how are you doing? Honey, why do you have yam on your fingers," Pam wondered as
she noticed Stephanie licking her fingers.
"I couldn't find the yelly," she joked, grinning toothily.
Pam smiled. As long as Stephanie wsn't hiding the fact she'd done something wrong, she'd
avoid scolding her. She wanted her girls to always tell the truth. Besides, just raising her voice a
little might upset Stephanie - she was so excitable sometimes. She got out a small plate. "Here,
use a spoon," she insisted. Stephanie obeyed and scooped a little onto her plate.
"Wel, Mommy, it's like Joey always says." Stephanie tried to impersonate Popeye. "I yams
what I yams."
"Nice try, but I think your voice is a little too high. Let's see if you can do Olive Oyl," the
professional comedian said, chuckling like Popeye as he picked her up.
"Oh, Popeye, you always bring such good candy" she said squeakily.
Pam pulled out a paper towel with two free fingers and wiped Stephanie's hands while holding
Michelle with her other hand. "Yes, and it's a good thing Halloween is only once a year, or the
entire neighborhood where he lives would lose their teeth in a month," she teased. Turning to
Joey, she explained where Danny was.
"Hey, no problem, I'll just go in and see if there's any cartoons on." He put Stephanie down
and went into the living room.
"I'll help you watch them," Stephanie started.
"Steph, wait, you haven't finished mixing your ingredients," Pam reminded her. "You want to
make this the best you can, right?"
"Okay, Mommy." Stephanie got back up on the stool and started pouring things into a
measuring cup. She eased some sugar around with her fingers, smoothing it out.
D.J. glanced back at Stephanie as Pam put Michelle in the bassinette, then came over and
helped D.J. stuff the turkey. "Wow, you're good, Steph."
Pam bounced excitedly. "Isn't she, though. She might be a great chef someday. Here, D.J.,
let me help with that."
"No, Mom, let me, I want to knwo how to do it so I can be the best turkey cokoer there ever
was."
"That's the spirit, D.J.. Pretty soon you'll each be great cooks just like..."
"Uncle Jesse," Stephanie squealed as Pam's brother walked in the back door in a leather
jacket, fresh from riding his motorcycle. Pam and Jesse embraced warmly.
"Pamela, how's it goin'," Jesse proclaimed. "Hey, you teachin' my nieces to cook already?"
He saw Stephanie almost leap off the stool. At the last second she knelt to crawl down.
"Oops, Mommy and Daddy get mad if I jump."
Jesse hefted the little girl up to his level. She put an arm around him. "Steph, you listen to
your mama, she's great at teaching people stuff like cooking."
"Okay. Did Mommy teach you how to cook?"
"Yeah, she's got this silly dream that one day I'll settle down, have a family, and be a rich and
famous chef. Can you believe her," he teased. "Thinkin' I'll have a family?"
Stephanie got down and nodded. "Wanna dance ballet with me," Stephanie wondered.
Jesse shook his head. "Your Uncle Jesse doesn't do ballet. He does Elvis."
"Mommy, Elvis could have danced ballet, couldn't he?" Pam gave a delighted giggle. "See,
Mommy thinks so."
"I'm afraid you've got two choices," D.J. pointed out to help Stephanie. "Watch her do ballet,
or go in and watch cartoons with Joey." She knew Jesse couldn't stand Joey - and vice versa.
Jesse held up a finger. "No way. There is no way I'm siiting down and watching cartoons.
Especially with someone who's old enough to shave." He turned around and looked at his
reflection in the table Danny had waxed. He looked startled, and fumbled around for a mirror in
the junk drawer. "Oh no, what..." He glanced in the mirror he found. "Gaaaah!!! I've got white
in my hair! Oh no, my beautiful long hair. What am I gonna do, Elvis never had white hair!"
Pam giggled as she flicked some flecks out of Jesse's hair. Don't worry, Jesse, Stephanie just
had a little sugar on her fingers when you picked her up."
Jesse breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. The life of every one of my hairs
passed before my eyes." He spoke authoritatively to Stephanie. "Look, your daddy might seem
nutso about cleaning, but that's one thing you should always do - always clean your hands
thoroughly before hugging your Uncle Jesse."
"Okay. Wanna watch while I put in the pumpkin mix, Uncle Jesse?"
"Sure, kid." Stephanie poured the ingredients and began mixing them while Pam prepared the
bowl to make the crust.
Michelle once again interrupted Stephanie. "Mmm, you always bake that pie on Thanksgiving,
don't you?"
"Yep. Although D.J. hasn't tried to repeat the turkey since right after Mom died."
Michelle finally closed her eyes as she continued to listen. "Maybe you can roast a turkey
stuffed with ice cream next Thanksgiving," she said softly.
"You can always dream. Let's see, Grandma and Granndpa showed up then, but Dad still
wasn't there..."
Nick Katsopolis grumbled in the living room. "Where's that son in law of mine? There can't
be that much news on Thanksgiving Day," he proclaimed. Pam hoped Nick would calm down;
she could see Stephanie had inherited his sometimes anxious demeanor - though thankfully almost
none of his temper.
D.J. sighed. "I know. It just doesn't seem right to start eating yet."
"I know," Stephanie complained, holding out her hands, "no presents, no Valentines, not even
any fireworks."
Pam giggled and stroked Stephanie long, curly hair. "Now, dear, remember, we're supposed
to be thankful for all that stuff that comes the rest of the year." She lifted Stephanie onto her lap
and squeezed her.
Stephanie nodded slowly, looking back at her. "You're right, Mommy. I'm thankful you're
here."
Jesse sat beside Pam and put an arm around her. "And I'm thankful for the best big sister in
the world. Who loved me even when I'd color her hair red, white, and blue." They laughed.
Stephanie grinned mischievously, thinking of a trick she could play on Kimmy. "Whoa, how
did that happen? I wanna hear all about it."
"You were one wild kid, huh, Uncle Jesse," D.J. commented.
"You kiddin'? Your mom's the one who'd shove carrots up my nose."
Stephanie made a face. "Ewww, grosssss. I don't even like carrots in my mouth."
Pam tickled her slightly. "That's good. Cause I don't want you repeating what you did with
that piece of candy last year. We had to take you to the emergency room, huh?"
"That's it, you guys are making me too hungry," Joey remarked as he walked into the kitchen.
"That guy's such a goofball," Jesse remarked. "Putting food up your nose makes him hungry -
he must eat through it."
"Well, milk comes out Mom's nose when she laughs hard enough," D.J. noted. "And hey, you
got in trouble for that, but at least you weren't playing with fireworks like Kimmy got me into this
summer."
Pam nodded. "That's right. If you ever feel that urge again, tell me and I'll find you each a
Demolitions Expert Barbie instead," she teased, her laughter infecting the others until giggles
filled the house. Even Michelle seemed to giggle.
Joey re-entered with a spoon in his mouth and pretended to eat it. "Mmm, at least the
silverware is good." Jesse glared hard at him. Joey removed the spoon and asked "I wanna
know, do termites use wooden utensils. If they do, they can really eat themselves out of house
and home." The family chuckled, with Pam giggling the most. "What did the termite say when he
walked into the bar? Is the bar tender here?'"
"Ah, ha ha ha," Stephanie exclaimed, followed by a low "I don't get it."
D.J. leaned forward in her chair and explained. "You see, people would ask for the bartender,
but a termite wouldn't, he would ask if the bar was tender."
Stephanie gave a confused look. "But, D.J., what if the bar's made of metal?"
She leaned back, deflated. "Forget it."
"I got one," Nick spoke loudly. "Three men walked into a bar. The fourth one ducked."
Nick's wife shook her head standing behind his chair. "Nick, that's not really a joke, it's too
short and you didn't ask us anything."
"Oh, and I suppose you're a professional comedian," Nick declared.
Joey piped up "You know, that could be phrased as a joke, but it could also be phrased as a
monologue-style story like Bob Hope would tell."
Jesse rolled his eyes. "Mom, Pop, listen, you got Joey gettin' technical on us now. He's
spoiling the whole fun of telling jokes."
"Or," Joey continued unabated, "you could say did you hear the one about the guy who
walked into a bar? He had a big knot on his forehead later.'" Pam continued to giggle.
Danny walked into the door at that moment. Pam ran up to him, closely followed by the girls,
and all four embraced. "Sorry I'm late, everyone."
"Daddy, you almost missed the big surprise," Stephanie exclaimed. "Granny Tanner's sick, so
since you weren't here I helped Mommy make her picture perfect pumpkin pie! And I did it all by
myself!"
"I cooked the turkey, too," D.J. pointed out.
Joey held up a finger. "Actually, human beings cannot physically cook things." D.J. chuckled
and shook her head at him. "Just pointing it out."
"Okay, come on, everyone. I'll call my mom later," Danny declared. "Let's get the food on
that table." He embraced his girls. "You two are such great helpers." They ran into the kitchen,
and gathered around the table once the food was set.
"It seems so weird without Granny Tanner here," D.J. remarked.
"We missed you, too, Daddy," Stephanie declared. "We could never eat without you."
Pam smiled warmly. She loved to smile - she always said to give away a smile, it's free.
"Well, you never know what's going to happen from one year to the next. That's why you have
to cherish every moment you can with your loved ones, and give away all those smiles. Just like
Grandpa's parents were here last year, but this year they're back home in Greece."
"But it's Thanksgiving. You'll aways be here. Right, guys," Stephanie declared, looking at
her parents, D.J., and Michelle in her bassinnette.
Pam smiled warmly at her. "I hope so, dear. But no matter what, we'll always have that love
for each other. And that's what we really need to be thankful for. That's the most important
thing of all."
Danny and Vicki stood in the bedroom doorway. Vicki offered Danny a tissue. He wiped his
eyes as he filmed the final few minutes of Stephanie's story.
Only when Stephanie was finished and was simply rubbing Michelle's back quietly, as the girl
drifted off to sleep, did she notice the couple. She looked up and grinned.
She tiptoed over to them after a moment. Danny motioned them out the door, and closed it.
"Let her get to sleep before you get ready for bed, Steph. How was she," Danny whispered.
Stephanie's gruffness had melted as she told the story. She refused to back down from
challenges. But, she really loved being sweet, too. "She was great, Dad. She tested me at first,
she tried getting a tad bossy, but there was nothing major. One of those looks and she went to
bed right away," she emphasized as she pointed.
"Well, it sounds like you did a great job," Vicki remarked as the three went downstairs.
Danny smiled somberly. "And that story with Pam. It was super."
"Thanks." She paused to reflect. "I hope if and when you and Vicki get married, she's as
good as Mom was."
"I'm gonna try," Vicki said as she squeezed Stephanie.
Danny grinned. "But no matter what, like you said in your story, we've got each other, and
we've got love. That's the most important thing of all."
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