2N.B.: All rights go to Jeff Franklin. No copyright infringement is intended.
26 May, 1993
Kimmy Gibbler and Steve Hale had both visited D.J., offering her moral support. Although D.J.'s spirits had gone up a bit, she still felt upset at not being able to walk. Still, she managed the best she could: she offered to sleep in the spare room downstairs, and had even learnt a few tricks with her wheelchair.
"That's great, D.J.!" said Michelle, as they played basketball in the back garden. "How can you do that with your knees?"
"Well, Michelle, you don't need your hands to do everything in basketball. That was something Uncle Jesse taught us, and I'm fiddling around with the logic a bit."
"Uncle Jesse played basketball? I never knew that," said Stephanie. As they spoke, Jesse strolled in, having come back from a ride on his motorbike. Before the older two could do anything, Michelle ran up to him.
"C'mon, Uncle Jesse! Let's play basketball!" she cried.
"Sorry, Munchkin," said Jesse playfully. "Your Uncle Jesse doesn't want to play basketball."
"Yes he does..." teased Michelle.
"No he doesn't..." teased Jesse back.
"Yes he does..."
"No he doesn't," said Jesse, flatly. Michelle rubbed her eyes and pretended to cry, adding a forlorn, "Yes he does..." for effect.
"Looks like Michelle has learnt some tips and tricks from me," said Stephanie to D.J., who laughed.
"Okey-dokey," said Jesse, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Up she goes!" he exclaimed, shooting the ball up into the air. It flew through the net and landed on the ground, rebounding and eventually landing in D.J.'s lap.
"Great throw, Uncle Jesse!" said D.J., as she and Stephanie applauded. Just then, Nick and Irene emerged from inside, looking grave.
"Jesse," said Irene.
"What, Mum?"
"We got a phone call from the nursing home on the other side of town," said Nick. "Your Great-Aunt-Irene's just taken a fall. Looks like we're gonna have to head south for a couple of days."
"But won't D.J. need your help?" Jesse asked his father.
"No, wait. Grandpa Nick, it's alright. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"Are you tired of having us around?" said Irene teasingly.
"No - it's not like that. But you don't need to stay if you don't want to," said D.J., reasonably.
27 May, 1993
Nick and Irene drove out just before Stephanie and Michelle got on the bus to school, leaving D.J. on her own with Jesse, Joey, Nicky and Alex. D.J. looked bored as she wheeled herself into the living room. Jesse and the boys followed, concerned about her.
"Deej, you okay?" asked Joey.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said D.J. listlessly. "Just bored - I've got nothing to do."
"Tell you what - why don't we take a spin 'round town in Joey's new minivan?" suggested Jesse. D.J. was kind of fed up of being cooped up in the house, so she agreed. Soon, they had all piled into the Dodge Caravan, and were heading through town. They went over the Golden Gate Bridge, past the Audiffred Building and the Colonial Dames Octagon House. However, they did not go straight home - instead they were heading towards a hospital, different to the one D.J. stayed in.
"What are we doing here?" D.J. asked Joey. Joey didn't say anything - he just helped D.J. out of the van and wheeled her straight into a room marked 'physiotherapy unit'. D.J. found out soon enough as she soon met a doctor.
"Hi," said the doctor. "I'm Melanie Krakowski. You must be Donna Jo Tanner."
"How do you know?" D.J. asked.
"Well, your father called me a few days ago and told me that you were in need of some help to regain the use of your legs. So we're here to help you."
"Th-thank you," D.J. stammered, touched that Danny had arranged this for her.
29 May, 1993
"Alright, D.J.," said Dr. Krakowski, encouragingly. "Now try to lift yourself out of the chair."
D.J. pulled herself with all the strength she could muster. It hurt like hell, but she managed.
"Good work! Now hold on to these rails and take one step at a time. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready," said D.J., albeit with a tinge of nervousness. She felt her leg creaking as she put her right foot forward. Then her left. Then her right again. Soon, D.J. had reached the end of the rail. She was overwhelmed with joy.
"Good job, D.J.!" said Dr. Krakowski, as she brought D.J.'s wheelchair over to her. "Now when can we meet again?"
"Anytime," said D.J. enthusiastically. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get these legs back."
"That's great determination. I'm free tomorrow, so you can come in if you want."
"Definitely."
"Great, so it's confirmed. I'll see you around then. It was nice meeting you."
D.J. and the doctor shook hands, then D.J. wheeled herself out of the room. There, she met her father, Joey and Jesse.
"I did it, guys!" she exclaimed. "I got from one end of the room to another!"
"That's great, Deej!" said Danny. "Now let's go home for lunch. Chicken parmesan?"
"You got it, dude," said D.J., mimicking Michelle, and they headed home.
31 May, 1993
8:30 am
Michelle and Stephanie boarded the school bus that morning. Having greeted Mrs Friedman, the bus driver, they soon found seats for themselves. Soon, they were on their way to school, talking with their friends, when suddenly, the bus jerked from behind. Mrs Friedman slowed the bus down, but soon they felt the jerk again. People looked out of the windows, and soon, they saw a brown coupe driving precariously close to it. Mrs Friedman tried to speed up, but the car rammed into the bus again. The younger children were screaming and crying, the older children were trying to comfort them, and Mrs Friedman was trying to pull over. Michelle and Denise were holding on to each other, while Stephanie was checking that everyone was alright. Just then, the bus swerved, slammed through the central divider and crashed into a tree. Everyone cried out in horror. Michelle let go of Denise, then saw that Stephanie was lying on the floor of the bus with a gaping cut on her forehead. Blood was pouring from the gash.
"Stephie! Stephie, are you okay?" she cried.
8:45 am
"Steph, are you alright, honey?"
Stephanie felt a torch shining straight in her eye. She woke up to find herself lying on a foldable bed in the hospital. Michelle, Danny and a kindly-looking doctor were by her side.
"What happened to me?" said Stephanie, coming to.
"Honey, you fell on the floor when the bus crashed. You hit your head and knocked yourself out for a bit, but you'll be okay. You needed stitches, though," said Danny.
The doctor gave Stephanie a compact mirror. Her cut was swathed in gause, and there was also a nasty purple bruise on her chin. Stephanie pursed her lips in reaction.
"You'll be alright, but you won't be able to go to school today," said the doctor. "You'll need a good rest before you can do anything. Well, Mr Tanner, I think you're good to go."
"Thank you," said Danny. He offered to pick Stephanie up off the bed, but Stephanie insisted, "I can walk."
So Stephanie and Danny left the hospital, dropped Michelle off at school, and headed home. There, everybody was surprised to see them. D.J. was particularly horrified.
"Oh Mylanta!" she cried. "Steph, what on earth happened to you?"
"Note to self: never stand up on a moving school bus," said Stephanie drily. "Steph, Michelle told me what happened, and it's good that you were trying to look out for everyone, but don't forget to take care of yourself as well, yeah?" said Danny.
"I learnt that lesson the hard way," said Stephanie. Soon, Danny and Becky had set out for work and Joey had a comedy routine to attend, so Stephanie, D.J., Jesse and his sons were left at home. Jesse went to attend to Nicky and Alex, leaving the two injured sisters in the living room. Stephanie headed upstairs to get changed, then returned and dropped down on the sofa.
"How are you feeling now, Steph?" the older sister asked the younger one.
"A few cuts and bruises, but I survived. How are you feeling?"
"Bored. But I'm glad to have you around."
"Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I had the accident, then," suggested Stephanie.
"Nah," said D.J., shaking her head. The two girls found other things to talk about. Eventually, it came to the topic of physiotherapy.
"I'm improving bit by bit," enthused D.J., "and Dr Krakowski is really nice. With luck, I'll be back on my feet by the time summer vacation starts!"
"That's great!" said Stephanie. "You'll do it, D.J., I know you will."
"Thanks for the reassurance, Steph," said D.J., and paused, before saying what she had meant to say for a long time.
"You know, Steph, sometimes you can be a pain in the neck, but don't forget, I said sometimes. You're much, much more than that - you were the only one who believed me when I was accused of drinking beer. And you told everyone that I was starving myself. And that's why I couldn't be luckier to have you. And not just you, I mean Michelle as well, and this entire lovely, quaint family. I'm the luckiest girl on Earth."
"Thanks, Deej," said Stephanie, pleasantly surprised. "I'm really lucky to have you too - who else would've forfeited their sleepover to accompany their sister to the Honeybees' Slumber Party? I know - nobody. It's honestly a blessing for us, for you to be the eldest sister in the family. I don't know how we'd do without you."
The two sisters embraced each other, then turned on the TV. It was nine o'clock, time for the omnibus version of their father's show: Wake Up, San Francisco!.
"Welcome to Wake Up, San Fransisco!," greeted Becky, who worked with Danny. "I'm Rebecca Katsopolis."
"And I'm Daniel Tanner. Today, we'll be tackling a rather serious issue: we are interviewing a person who has been left mentally scarred for life due to the bad choices of someone else."
The camera panned over to a skinny woman with greying mouse-brown hair. She looked rather nervous.
"Hey!" said D.J., surprised. "That's Kimmy's mum."
Indeed, a caption appeared just at that moment, displaying the name, 'Carol Gibbler'. "Mrs. Gibbler, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Becky. "Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for having me with you," replied Mrs. Gibbler, weakly. "First of all, what have you got to tell us?" asked Danny.
"Well..." Mrs. Gibbler paused anxiously, then continued. "My husband passed away in a car wreck some years ago. He was driving home from work, on the interstate freeway, when somebody crashed into him. The doctors did everything they could, but..." Kimmy's mother's voice cracked. Her lips quivered.
"I'm really sorry to hear that, Mrs. Gibbler," said Danny sympathetically, laying his hand on the lady's shoulder. "The man in the other car was drunk," said Mrs. Gibbler, rising suddenly. "They let him off... said community service and a fine was more than enough!"
All of a sudden, the woman's voice rose to a shriek.
"The stupid, stupid, court... let the bastard off, scot-free, when he deprived two young children of a father! What the hell were they thinking? I'm not the only one who's been affected by this!" And with that, she collapsed into Danny's arms, sobbing.
"I'm not the only one..." she wailed, once more, as Becky stroked Mrs. Gibbler's back. D.J. turned the television off. "Oh Mylanta..." she whispered. "I knew that Kimmy's father was dead, but I never knew why!"
Stephanie looked equally shocked. She and her sister's friend did not always see eye to eye, but now it was hard not to feel sorry for Kimmy Gibbler, the girl she would tease relentlessly. All those cruel things she said came back to her:
"Gee, I wonder why your parents stopped having kids after you."
"What's a horoscope, Kimmy? A telescope that can only see your face?"
"Gibbler, you're so dumb, you don't know how dumb you are."
But now, Stephanie was determined to help Kimmy however she could, regardless of all animosity between them.
3 June, 1993
D.J. had decided that, legs or no legs, she would go to school. Since her wheelchair couldn't fit into the school bus, Joey gave her a lift in his van. As Joey helped D.J. off, she saw what she'd dreaded: a bunch of classmates picking on Kimmy. D.J. wheeled herself up to the gathering.
"Hey, leave her alone!" she called out, defending her friend. The bullies, who included another 'friend', Kathy Santoni, turned around.
"Oh, look! As though Gibbler with a dead father isn't enough! It's D.J. Tanner in a wheelchair. Need a hand, Tanner?" teased Kathy.
"Bully me all you want, Kathy," said D.J. furiously, "but keep your hands off Kimmy. What has she done to hurt you?"
"Nice try, D.J.," taunted Kathy, "but one vulnerable person can't defend another!"
And with that, the bullies walked off, laughing.
"Ever since my mum came on TV, I can't get a moment of peace," lamented Kimmy.
"I know almost exactly how you feel, Kimmy," said D.J. consolingly, "as I lost my mum to a drunk driver. I'm here for you."
"And I'm here for you, Deej," said Kimmy, and the two friends put their arms around each other.
Soon, it was time for their lessons. Much unlike their classmates, the teachers gave D.J. a warm welcome back to school, and offered Kimmy moral support. Eventually, the day passed without too many major incidents. Soon, D.J. and Kimmy both went to the Tanner family's house. There, Kimmy stayed around for lunch. "Hola, Tannerinos!" she called chirpily, entering the kitchen. Danny, Becky and Stephanie, now aware of Kimmy's situation, were all civil to her, and Stephanie even joined in on their conversation on boys. By the end of the day, Kimmy and D.J. had cleansed their minds of all the troubles of times before.
5 June, 1993
11:30 am
It was a Saturday. D.J. went for her physiotherapy lesson with Danny, Stephanie and Michelle. Joey took Nicky and Alex out to a circus, as Jesse and Becky had some work to be done. But what were they doing?
"Jess, are you sure this is a good idea?" Becky asked her husband from the front seat of their hired car, a Pontiac Grand Am. "Mrs. Gibbler's still quite overwhelmed. I don't think this is the right time for us to do this."
"Well, Beck," said Jesse, navigating along the corners, "if we don't find out about that driver now, who knows what he's going to do on the road next?"
Soon they pulled up outside Kimmy's house. Becky knocked on the door, and Kimmy answered.
"Kimmy, we're sorry to turn up so abruptly. Would your mum happen to be around?" said Becky.
"Yeah, sure," said Kimmy. She led them to the kitchen, where she left them with Carol Gibbler.
"Mrs. Gibbler," said Jesse, "we're sorry to come in all of a sudden, but would you mind telling us a bit more about that drunk driver? I need some information about them."
For a moment, both Jesse and Becky thought Mrs. Gibbler would be upset, but instead, she answered, albeit with a shaking voice.
"That man," she said, "was five times over the legal limit when he was tested, and it wasn't even for that incident. It was for one, five years later, last year, from what the papers said. He was only trialed in January, and he got off again, the sod!"
"What was his name?" asked Becky.
Mrs. Gibbler paused for a moment, then said, "Mark Munroe." Jesse and Becky looked at each other. They thanked Mrs. Gibbler again, then left the building. "Jess, do you think that Mark Munroe person was the one who's been causing all this carnage?"
"Well, I'm not ruling anything out," said Jesse. Soon, he and Becky had returned, and before long, so had the others.
6:30 pm
Stephanie had finished her share of chores, having washed the dishes. She busied herself making a cup of coffee - it may not have been for kids, but she was thirsty, and that was the only drink in the house at the time. Just then, she sensed a voice from behind her.
"Steph?"
It was D.J., in the doorway. Stephanie wondered what she was going to do.
"Stephanie... wish me luck," said D.J. nervously. She then pulled herself up from the chair, and took a nervous step forwards. Then another, and six more until she could go no further. By the end, both sisters were in tears of joy. "Deej," sobbed Stephanie, as she hugged her elder sister. "Deej, I'm so proud of you."
And then, there were more sobs coming from behind. Danny, Joey, Jesse, Becky and Michelle had seen everything, and soon, all the members of the family were in a many-armed hug. Soon, when the euphoria had worn off and all the children were in bed, Jesse and Becky told Danny and Joey what they'd heard.
"Mark Munroe..." said Danny thoughtfully. "The CCTV evidence showed that the driver was drunk, I can tell by the way that car was moving."
"And Mrs. Gibbler said that Munroe had only been charged for one incident," said Becky.
"Well, let's not jump to conclusions," said Joey.
9 June, 1993
4:30 pm
Danny was cruising home from work on the freeway in his Ford Taurus. He was calmly driving along at a hundred miles an hour (as per the speed limit) when suddenly he saw a brown Buick LesSabre driving crazily all over the place.
"That looks just like the one I saw in the evidence," thought Danny as he drove. "If it's him, he's made a mistake by using the same car."
The Buick was going at top speed, when it suddenly cut in front of another car, an orange Ford Pinto. The hatchback braked, but it was too late - it smashed straight into the Buick. The man panicked, then he broke into the other car, reversed, turned and drove off in the opposite direction the same way the Buick had been driven. Luckily the two occupants, a middle-aged woman and a boy of about five, were able to escape. They were unhurt, yet the woman seemed traumatised.
"Are you alright?" said Danny, rushing over to check on them.
The woman gasped for breath, then just about to say that she was. The boy was asleep, and she was holding him in her arms.
"Tell you what, you can come to my house for dinner," said Danny kindly.
"Oh no, I couldn't... well thanks anyway," said the woman shyly. But Danny insisted, so she finally relented, getting into Danny's car with her son. Danny, meanwhile, checked windscreen for a tax disc. It read... 'Mark Munroe'.
Danny was astounded. But before he did anything else, he'd get the woman and her boy to San Fransisco and then he'd tell Jesse and Becky what he found.
5:00 pm
Everybody was surprised to see Danny walk in with a strange woman and her five-year-old son, the latter of whom was half-asleep. Danny quickly cleared things up. "Everybody, this is Barbara Jackson and her son, Jacob. I picked them up off the freeway - they've been carjacked."
Danny Tanner was not known to lie about people, so the family soon warmed to the two people. Jacob, who had been half-asleep, soon perked up and started playing with Michelle, Nicky and Alex. Becky, D.J. and Stephanie were animatedly chatting to Barbara, who was telling them about her life as a single mother. Eventually, dinnertime came, and after they had all eaten, Danny called a cab for Barbara and Jacob. Just as the taxi arrived, Barbara, carrying a sleeping Jacob, turned to Danny.
"Thank you so much for taking us in, Mr Tanner. I don't know what we would have done without your help."
"Aw, don't mention it," said Danny. "If you need any help, you're welcome to let us know. And please call me Danny."
They shook hands, then Barbara and Jacob got into the taxi and left. Everyone was still awake, so Danny was able to tell them what he had discovered on the freeway.
"The Buick LeSabre was registered to Mark Munroe after all!" he announced excitedly. "But he escaped, in that poor woman's car."
"Did you see what he looked like?" Becky asked.
"Greying black curly hair, not too tall, that's what I remember of him. I reported the Buick as an abandoned vehicle to the police on the way back home."
"And what did they say?" D.J. asked her father eagerly. "They said they'd head down to the freeway and collect the car. Right now, Munroe is safe because he's using another car. I think he must have caused so much chaos that people can recognise him."
"I wonder if he'll carry on with this tactic," said Joey.
"Maybe, maybe not, Joey," said Danny listlessly.
10 June, 1993
10:00 am
"Thank you for watching," said Becky to the cameras. "I'm Rebecca Donaldson."
"And I'm Danny Tanner," said Danny, "and this is Wake Up, San Fransisco!"
The outro music played as Danny and Becky walked off the set. As they reached the exit, Becky turned to Danny.
"I'm just gonna drop back home 'cause Nicky has a doctor's appointment," she said. "What about you?"
"Oh, I don't know," said Danny. Just then, his mobile rang. It was the police chief. Danny spoke for a few minutes, then hung up.
"Looks like I have something to do after all," said Danny. "I'm needed at the police station."
He rushed over to the car park, got into his Ford Taurus, and headed out. There, the brown Buick was waiting for him, alongside the police chief.
"Mr. Tanner, you were the one who reported this car missing, I take it?" said the chief.
"Yes, sir. The man who was driving this crashed into another car, then got into that other car and drove off. This car was left in the middle of the road."
"It was barricaded when we got here. This car, according to CCTV evidence, has been the cause of several accidents. We are assuming that the driver was drunk."
Danny had an idea. "Excuse me for one minute, sir. I have to get something from the car." He hurried off, then returned with a reel of film. He put it into the movie-maker and showed the video to the chief. It was of that same brown Buick, driving along a road in a zigzag pattern, before striking another car, a silver Chevrolet Nova, in the driver's side. After it had finished, Danny, in a shaking voice, told the chief, "That was the accident that killed my wife, and I know that because this is what the police force had given me after the accident, and because the other car in the video was the car we used at the time. But could it be the same car? That's the question."
Danny called Becky to see if she still had the piece of paper with the car's registration number. It was MYU 617, she said. Then, Danny and the chief watched the video once more. Unfortunately they didn't see anything. "Well, let's not rule anything out," said the chief to Danny. "But thank you for showing this evidence to us. We'll investigate some more." Danny was just about to head home for brunch, when his phone rang all of a sudden. He answered it promptly.
"Hello?" he said. "Danny - it's Vicky here," came the voice on the other end.
Danny was surprised. Vicky Larson, a fellow TV host whom he was dating, was on the other side of the country, in Washington DC. He was the last person he expected to recieve a phonecall from. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help. Do you think you can come over? I wouldn't ask you this if I wasn't in such a pickle!"
Vicky sounded desperate. Danny decided that Vicky really needed his help, so he sent a message to Jesse that he would be flying out to Washington DC. Then he sped to the airport, booked a last-minute flight, and soon, he had landed at Dulles Airport. Vicky recieved him there; overwhelmed, she flung her arms around him.
"I'm so glad you came," she said, almost in tears. "What happened, Vicky?" asked Danny.
"I'll tell you when we get in the cab," said Vicky.
They checked out of the airport, then they climbed into a passing taxi. There, Vicky told Danny everything: her mother had been in a car accident and was in a bad way in hospital. Her siblings were out of the country, so Danny was the only one who could help. Danny felt sorry for his on-off girlfriend, and offered to help her as best as he could.
Eventually, they arrived at the hospital. Vicky walked into the intensive care unit, then walked out after a few minutes. They eventually arrived at a nearby police station. There they met a police officer.
"So, you are?" said the officer tersely.
"Daniel Tanner. Vicky's boyfriend."
"Do you know anything about this?" said the officer, pointing to a car. It was a Ford Pinto, orange, wrecked.
"I believe that this car was used in a hit-and-run and carjacking. I witnessed it on the freeway in San Fransisco, and I reported the incident."
Much to both Danny and Vicky's horror, the officer declared, "You are lying." He then grabbed Danny by the arms and handcuffed him. "Daniel Tanner, I'm arresting you on suspicion of aiding a criminal. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not do so. Anything you do say will be given as evidence in court."
"That's not true!" cried Danny, as he was dragged off. "I'm innocent!"
Vicky, too, urged the officer to let Danny go, but to no avail. She wanted to blame herself for what had happened. How was she going to break the news to Danny's family?
8:00 pm
"Well, I'm one step ahead," said D.J., as she walked into the living room on crutches. "A few more weeks and I'll be back to normal."
"That's great, Deej," said Becky. "You can do this, you know."
But then, the phone rang. Jesse picked it up.
"Talk to me. Vicky, hi. Yeah... WHAT? Danny? You're kidding! No!"
Jesse hung up, then said breathlessly, "Danny's been arrested."
Everyone looked horrified. Then, before anybody could take anything in, Jesse sprang to his feet.
"I'm heading straight for DC to bail him out!" he declared.
"I'll come with you!" said Joey. They gathered mere fundamentals, then hopped into Joey's van and sped off into the night.
11:00 pm
Becky had a hard time putting her twins to sleep, and an even harder time getting to sleep herself. Michelle had basically cried herself into a slumber, as her two elder sisters tried to console her. D.J. kept tossing and turning, and Stephanie could not sleep at all! She just lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Then, as though it was a voice calling her, she leapt out, grabbed some construction paper and markers, and headed downstairs. As she drew and wrote, a voice rang in from behind her:
"Freeze, nerdbomber!" It was D.J., perched on her crutches, looking very cross indeed. "You woke me up! And shouldn't you be in bed yourself?"
"I couldn't help it, Deej," said Stephanie. "But somehow, we've got to prove that Dad's innocent." She turned a light on; the posters read 'Free Danny Tanner'.
"Well, I have one question: why didn't I think of it before?" said D.J., and she grabbed a chair and sat down, helping Stephanie. Just then, a voice came from the stairs.
"What do you think you're doing?"
It was Michelle.
"Michelle, Steph and I are a bit busy at the moment," said D.J., trying to cover everything up. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"Daddy said, lights-out by 9 o'clock!" said Michelle. "And you broke that rule! You're in big trouble, mister!"
"Michelle," suggested Stephanie sneakily, "we were designing these posters to start a campaign to free Dad. Why don't you join in?"
Michelle perked up. "You got it, dude!" And the three sisters worked together, designing posters rallying for Danny's freedom, until two o'clock the following morning, when Becky caught them red-handed and sent them back off to bed.
11 June, 1993
8:30 am (PST)
Due to some political protests, it had been declared a school holiday. Since no-one was around, Becky took the day off to keep an eye on the five kids. Now, even she and Nicky and Alex were helping to make 'Free Danny Tanner' posters. The incident had been featured on the seven o'clock news that morning, and a tearful Vicky Larson had been shown protesting that Danny was innocent. Needless to say, the whole of San Fransisco was in uproar.
"As soon as school reopens," said D.J., ever the leader, "we are going to go on a walk with all the guys from school and protest for Dad. We need everyone to know that Danny Tanner is not the sort of person who will not harbour a criminal."
Just then, there came a knock on the door. It was - "Hola, Tannerinos!" - Kimmy.
"Kimmy, what are you doing here?" D.J. asked her friend, astonished to see her. "Well, we saw the news about your dad," said Carol Gibbler, walking in after her daughter. "So we decided to help you bail him out of danger."
"And we overheard your ideas about a walk," said Steve Hale, who immediately made a beeline for the fridge and helped himself to some homemade jam tarts. "Then I thought, why don't we do it now?"
"You know what, Steve?" said Becky. "That isn't a bad idea. Come on, girls. Get your posters ready and let's make a move on."
Soon, they were all on the pavement, holding flags, banners and posters. At nine o'clock on the dot, they started walking. Block after block, street after street, they marched along, belting out patriotic songs, and eventually, they realised that everybody who had seen the parade had joined in. They walked a full round until they reached the Colonial Dames Octagon House. Once they reached the spot, D.J. turned to everyone and spoke.
"Thank you all for joining us. With any luck, Danny Tanner will be a free man soon. But we have to keep going."
Everyone went home, feeling confident that their campaign would work out in the end. But on the other end of the country, worry had made no space for hope...
11:30 am (EST)
Jesse and Joey were still driving. They had had a fair dose of coffee, so neither of them were sleepy.
"Now, where could Vicky be?" Jesse asked Joey from the passenger's seat. "A phonebook could be of use," said Joey hopefully.
"She's not at home, Joseph," said Jesse sarcastically. "She must be at some hotel or the other."
But at that moment, Joey braked hard as they approached a pedestrian crossing. There, they saw a tallish woman with long black curly hair, looking very cross indeed.
"Can't you watch where you're going?" she cried, as Joey and Jesse got out of the van. Then, the two men realised who it was - Vicky Larson. "Vicky!" exclaimed Jesse. "Where are you going?"
"Jesse? What are you - and Joey - doing here?" "We've come to help bail out Danny. What happened earlier?"
"Let me take you to the hotel," said Vicky. She got into Joey's van, and they drove to The Concordia. There, the two men booked a room for themselves, and sat in the lounge while Vicky told them what was happening.
"...and then they just dragged Danny off!" said Vicky. "They didn't listen to a single word he said."
"Well, hopefully they'll understand once he's been questioned," reasoned Joey.
"It's not that easy, Joey," said Vicky. "We need more witnesses."
12 June, 1993
9:00 am (PST)
School was still closed, so once again, the walk was held in the morning. This time, everybody went as far as Chinatown, and more people than previously had been picked up. Just then, Becky, who was leading everyone, caught a voice from behind:
"Free Danny Tanner?"
Becky turned. It was Barbara Jackson, with her son Jacob holding her hand.
"Danny Tanner was the one who took us in for dinner that night," said Barbara. "What has happened to him?"
"He's been wrongly accused of helping a drunk driver," said Becky.
"Oh no! That can't be true! Danny couldn't have done that, especially when he told me that his wife was killed because of a drunk driver." "Well, Barbara, we know that. So we're doing everything it takes to bail him out. Wanna join us?"
"Okay," said Barbara. "Come on, Jake," she said to her son, and soon the group was on its way.
2:45 pm (EST)
"Daniel Tanner, were you around at the scene of the incident involving the Ford Pinto?" said a burly muscle-bound officer.
"Yes, I was," said Danny, in all honesty. "I helped the occupants of that car escape, and then it was carjacked by the driver of the car that had crashed into it."
"Why did you let the man escape?"
"That is what I would have done, had he not driven off while I was helping the occupants. I have reported the incident to the SFPD and they have taken it to be true."
"Tanner," said the cop maliciously, "I can tell who's lying and who isn't. I know that you have many a connection to this incident. You may go to your cell now. We shall look into this when the court case arrives."
Bloodied but not unbowed, Danny returned to his cell. He knew that he would be saved at the end. Meanwhile, the officer left the interview hall, recieving a call on his walkie-talkie. He got into his police car and drove off down Freeway 13, arriving at the scene of the case, solving it, and driving back off. Just then, as he was, he saw an orange Ford Pinto driving dangerously all over the place. He chased after it ruthlessly, as it smashed into one vehicle after another. As it happened, Joey, Jesse and Vicky happened to be on that same motorway, cruising along after buying some essentials.
"How do we tell the police that Danny's innocent?" Vicky asked Joey from the back of his van.
"Well, let's think about the tactics. How do we sound convincing, yet honest? What matters is the delivery of what -"
CRUNCH.
A car had driven into the back of the van. Vicky, Joey and Jesse jumped out and saw an orange Ford Pinto, followed by a police cruiser. The driver of the Ford jumped out and was about to make a rush for it, but the cop in the car was faster: he grabbed the man, handcuffed him, and held him up against Joey's van.
"You, sir - what's your name?"
The man, a haggard sort, turned around and said, in a weak, terrified voice:
"Mark Munroe."
7:45 pm (PST)
"Mark Munroe?" said Becky incredulously, into the phone.
"At least he had the honesty to say who he was," said Jesse to his wife. "Now we're one step closer to freeing Danny. You may be needed."
"Well, we're not sure about that, Jess," said Becky. "But all of us - me and the girls - we'll do whatever it takes to get Danny's name cleared. Well, it must be late now, so try and get some sleep. Alright, love you," she finished the call, blowing a kiss into the reciever as the line was cut.
"What did Uncle Jesse say?" said Michelle excitedly.
"Michelle, I have some good news. Uncle Jesse and Joey have found the man who your dad was arrested because of. Now he just might be saved!"
Nobody cared if it was late - all three of the girls cheered, as though they were at a football match.
"Did I hear good news?" came a voice. It was Nick Katsopolis, with Irene in tow. All three of the girls went to embrace them. "Grandpa Nick, Dad's being saved!" said Stephanie excitedly, as she embraced her grandfather.
"That's great news, Steph!" said Irene. "And D.J., look at you! Well done!"
"Thanks, Grandma," said D.J., weak with joy. "It seems that the light has been lit at last."
13 June, 1993
8:30 am (EST)
"You were trialed earlier this year, were you not, Mark?" said the police officer tersely.
"Yes, I was," said Mark, as Joey, Jesse and Vicky watched on anxiously.
"And what was the judge's verdict?"
"Not guilty."
"And how many incidents were you charged for?"
"One."
"Have you been involved in any more drunk-driving incidents?"
Munroe lied through his teeth.
"No, sir, I haven't."
The officer looked Munroe in the eye.
"Nobody likes a liar, Mark Munroe," he said. "Now tell me, have you been involved in any other drunk-driving incidents?"
Munroe breathed.
"Okay... yes I have. I totaled the cars of two people this year. I carjacked one damaged car."
"You carjacked while you were drunk?" said the officer incredulously.
"I didn't know what to do, sir... I didn't want to get caught."
"Continue," commanded the officer.
"I ran over a young girl... and six years ago, I crashed into somebody else's car."
"And?"
"She died."
The officer asked, shaking with fury, "What was that woman's name?"
This was it. What was Munroe going to say? Jesse, Joey and Vicky trembled with trepidation. Munroe took a deep breath, then uttered those two words.
"...Pam Tanner."
More to come in Part 3! Sorry if this was too predictable.
