The following Full House story was written by Doug Fowler, a big fan of Full House and Jodie. Enjoy! 
SECOND CHANCES
Given how a young Stephanie reacted to Uncle Jesse breaking his arms, & to her putting a car in the kitchen, what was Steph's week like in "Michelle Ride Again part 2"? The Full House Sisters books' portrayal of them is probably an accurate result.
Stephanie Tanner paced nervously. Seconds dragged into minutes. Where was Michelle? Where was her horse, for that matter? "What has Michelle gotten into now," she muttered wearily. Her younger sister had chased away a boy she liked just the day before, constantly calling her "dry lips." What's worse, she even told the boy Stephanie had a crush on him! She folded her arms and frowned. How dare anyone do that to her!
She saw a man on horseback riding over to the shed, too distant for her to make out any features. "He's going the wrong way, the jumping course is that way," she remarked. An ambulance crew stood waiting in that shed, for safety purposes. Horse jumping was a dangerous sport, especially for children.
But, why was an ambulance leaving it, when the competition hadn't even begun?
Stephanie heard her Aunt Becky state that there was no need to worry. "I'm sure everything's fine."
She threw out her hands. "Fine? Fine? I may not come here often, but I don't think ambulances zoom out of that gate when everything's fine!"
"You're making me dizzy, Stephanie," proclaimed her three-year-old cousin, Nicky.
"Me too," chimed his twin brother Alex. "You'll wear a hole through to China."
Suddenly, one of the participants came riding up to the family. "Michelle fell of her horse," Elizabeth told them.
While Elizabeth's mother froze in shock, Stephanie gasped. "Oh no, is she hurt? Is she awake? Is she..." She gulped, thinking of the ambulance. She couldn't stand to ask if she was breathing. Of course, if her dad was with her, at least she could be resuscitated. After all, he was very protective of his daughters. One thing he did to ensure their safety was to get CPR and other safety training every summer.
Elizabeth answered. "Yes, no, and be more specific."
Her older sister, D.J., ordered Becky, Stephanie, the twins, and Elizabeth to hold hands in a circle "We need to pray right now," she told them. Stephanie was relieved that D.J. had thought of something to take her mind off the problem. At least she'd be doing something.
However, as D.J. prayed, Stephanie couldn't help but think back to their argument the previous day. Argument? It was actually pretty one-sided to be called an argument, now that she thought about it. All her sister had done was annoy her and possibly scare off a boyfriend. How important was that now? And yet, Stephanie had flatly refused to forgive Michelle and hardly spoken to her since. She probably thought Stephanie hated her.
"Show me where she is," Stephanie commanded Elizabeth as soon as the group finished praying. She tried to get onto Elizabeth's horse, and nearly fell over on the other side. She eventually was helped on, and the two rode toward the ambulance. The others followed on foot.
Stephanie felt like crying as she neared Michelle's body. Until she'd seen her, doubt clouded her mind. At least she's still alive, she considered. Her dad seemed to be focusing on that, too.
"Phew, she's still breathing." A whiff of the horses' stench hit her, and she wrinkled her nose. "Eww, gross! Not that it's very pleasant around here."
Stephanie noticed the paramedics taking special care to keep Michelle still. Their dad and
Uncle Jesse insisted on entering the ambulance. Joey offered to stay and tell the others. Only when Stephanie knelt beside the stretcher did they notice that was unnecessary.
"Michelle, it's Stephanie. It's going to be okay," Stephanie told Michelle, fighting back tears. She didn't know if Michelle could hear her while unconscious, but she had to say this. "I love you very much, and I always have. I forgive you for bugging me and all that; please, just get better." She sniffled as the stretcher was placed in the back of the ambulance.
"She'll be okay, Steph," Joey said confidently as he also entered the ambulance.
She certainly hoped Michelle recovered. She'd already been through one very painful loss in her life.
When Stephanie was only five, her mother died in a car crash. Joey and her Uncle Jesse had moved in to help her dad, Danny Tanner, care for her and her sisters, D.J. and Michelle. Jesse had later married, and now Jesse's family, with Becky, Nicky, and Alex, lived there, too.
Stephanie considered her life as a teenager so far. She'd been increasingly crazy about guys. She really couldn't understand it. Maybe part of it was being in Junior High. Whatever it was, she'd grown much more distant from Michelle; they did very little together anymore.
That is going to change, she told herself. D.J. was driving her to the hospital while Aunt Becky took the twins.
"I'm actually thinking positively," she told D.J.. "She's going to get better. And no matter what she needs, I am going to be there for her. I can even help her wake up, I just need the words to 'You Are My Sunshine.'" A story she'd read recently told of a small boy who had helped his newborn sister recover by singing that over and over.
With less certainty, Stephanie explained. "I'll keep singing it till she wakes up or until I drive myself insane hearing it over and over. And, if I go insane doing it, I'll deserve it."
D.J. sighed. "Steph, you do not deserve to be driven insane."
"Yes I do. And, if that doesn't work, I'll...I'll move in with Kimmy!" Kimmy Gibbler was D.J.'s best friend, whom Stephanie loved to make fun of. "I should never have said anything like
that to Michelle," hollered Stephanie. "How rude!"
D.J. grinned sadly. "You probably do deserve one of your 'how rude's', I'll admit that."
D.J. drove very slowly, looking for a parking place. "Just leave me off here." Stephanie jumped out while the car was inching forward. Only a tricky ballet move kept her from sprawling to the pavement.
Once inside, she looked around for the Information Center. When she found it, she ran up to the receptionist. "Where is she? How is she?"
"It depends on who she' is," noted the nurse.
Stephanie shook her head, as if to loosen cobwebs. "Oh, sorry, Michelle."
The nurse pointed to her name badge. "My name is Melissa, not Michelle."
"I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for her!"
"For who?"
Stephanie suddenly noticed Joey coming out of the ER. "Oh, there he is," she spoke as she sped off to see him.
"I thought you were looking for a her, not a he" the nurse called after Stephanie.
She bumped into Joey. "Whoa, you got here quick, Steph. What did you do, ride the Roadrunner?"
"How is she?" She was still unconscious, but stable.
Danny came running to them. Stephanie noticed a grin on his face. "It's okay, she's waking up, but she's real groggy. The doctors won't let us all in till they're done doing tests and things; oh, I'm so glad she's safe. I knew she would be...well, of course, I was scared, too, but not in a really bad way, just sort of..."
"Where is she now?" interrupted the teen.
"In one of the rooms in the ER, she's going for a CAT scan and an MRI test in a few minutes. They're working on her, the three of us are going back for a minute with the doctor if she's completely awake," Danny remarked. Jesse approached from one side while D.J. approached from the other. They plowed into each other. "Careful, we don't want anyone else hurt."
"I want to see her," insisted Stephanie. She wanted to celebrate her awakening, but also see if she'd heard her while unconscious.
Jesse held up his hands. "Hold it. She's awake now, okay? The doctor just came and said we could go back for a second. You and D.J. wait for Aunt Becky, and let them know."
Stephanie pouted as the men left. "But I want to see if she's all right. What if she has brain damage, she could be like Kimmy the rest of her life."
D.J. held her sister back as she started to follow the men. "Freeze. Come on, she just woke up, she's going to be incoherent anyway, I bet." D.J. looked around. "Follow me, we've got to find Aunt Becky." She led Stephanie back toward the waiting area.
After a minute of fretting, Stephanie hit upon an idea, albeit a weird one. Actually, it reminded her of Michelle. Stephanie stopped and pointed up. "Look at that," she cried. As a startled D.J. glanced up, Stephanie tickled her, then broke free and ran back into the ER.
D.J. shook her head. "I haven't fallen for that since I was nine." She started after Stephanie.
Stephanie grumbled. She'd resorted to one of Michelle's tricks. Still, maybe that wasn't all that bad. Her sister was fun, in a nutty sort of way. When her own craziness over boys didn't get in the way, maybe she wasn't that bad. Maybe.
Who was she trying to fool? It didn't matter how Michelle acted. Stephanie knew she'd let it get in the way too much lately. She'd been doing less with Michelle than D.J. did with her at that age. They were close to the age when D.J. got her own room because she needed more privacy. Still, that was no excuse, especially for her actions yesterday.
After several minutes, Stephanie found the proper room. She saw Jesse and Joey just outside the entrance. "Whoa, Steph," Joey remarked, "before you go in there, there's something you should know."
Stephanie fumed at him. "What do I need to know? I know the only important thing, and that is that she thinks I'm a terrible sister right now!" Stephanie barged into the room, and ran over to Michelle's side. She noticed that her sister looked very confused.
"Steph..." began her dad.
"Michelle, it's me, Stephanie," the teen remarked with a hint of remorse.
"Honey," their dad said calmly to Michelle, "we didn't want to startle you with lots of people at once, but this is your sister, Stephanie."
"I thought you said I was Michelle."
Danny chuckled. "Sorry, honey. I mean, Michelle, this is one of your sisters, her name is Stephanie."
"I have a sister Stephanie?"
Danny nodded while holding her hand. "Yes, and before the doctors do all their tests she had to come see you because she was very scared and worried about you."
Michelle looked at Danny . "She did? I guess she's a great sister."
Stephanie could take the tension no more. She burst out of the room crying. "Oh, no, she thinks I'm a great sister now!"
Jesse explained. "She's lost her memory. We don't know when she'll get it back."
Stephanie panted heavily as she awoke in the middle of the night. No, it couldn't be, could it? Hadn't she just spoken with Michelle late that evening, when she "introduced" D.J., Aunt Becky, and the twins to her?
She yelped when she looked over at Michelle's empty bed. Still a little disoriented, she raced over to D.J.'s room. "Deej, wake up," cried a panicked Stephanie. "Tell me it isn't true."
"It isn't true," mumbled D.J. As she turned over and pushed herself up on her elbows, she asked "what did I just say wasn't true?"
Stephanie grumbled slightly and grabbed D.J.'s phone. "I'm calling the hospital."
She spoke quickly when the receptionist picked up the phone. "Hello? I'm calling about... Why are you asking me the time? What do I look like, a wristwatch?...Okay, I know you can't see what I look like...Look, Miss, just tell me how is she...Sorry, Mich- I'm not starting that again! Just connect me to Michelle's Tanner's room." She looked up. "They're connecting me." 
The phone rang a couple times. "Hello?"
Very tiredly, Joey spoke. "Yeah, what is it, Steph?" He made a snoring noise.
"Listen, Michelle's okay, isn't she? I mean, I know she can't remember anyone, but otherwise. When I woke up I thought...that is, I had this dream, and it seemed so real, and...well, I think it was a dream. Please, tell me it was a dream!"
"Stephanie," interrupted Joey, "it's okay. She's sleeping right now, but they've got monitors on her, she'll be here a few days to rest and make sure there's nothing else wrong. You saw her this evening, remember, when she ate supper?"
"I know, my nightmare just felt so real."
Joey told her Danny was sleeping, too. "Michelle's fine. You guys stopping off early tomorrow morning? We could use clothing."
"Yeah, DJ and I'll stop off early, we want to go to church. Listen, I'll be down there every free moment, I'm even going to do my homework down there," Stephanie told him.
Jesse entered the bedroom claiming he heard a scream. D.J. explained that Stephanie had a bad dream. As Stephanie hung up, Jesse spoke solemnly. "I know it's scary, Steph."
"Uncle Jesse, I just can't believe I treated her like that! I could have had to live my life with one of the last things I ever said to her being 'I'll never forgive you,'" she spoke with a slight whine at the end.
D.J. put an arm around Stephanie. "Steph, 13 is a very tough age. All this boy stuff was just as exciting and confusing to me at that age. I did pretty crazy things because of it, too."
Stephanie stood and gestured with her right hand. "And what did you ever do? Convinced us to lie to Dad so we couldn't go out for a couple days. Got mad enough you wanted and got your own room. Tried to steal a boy I thought I had a crush on once. Did you ever stop speaking to me for even a couple hours? Ever refuse to forgive me?"
"Stephanie, you're overreacting," D.J. told her. "Great, I sound like Dad. Anyway, you've always gotten a lot more excited about everything. So you said one little thing. Michelle understood."
"Well, I don't! And saying one little thing is different than actually believing it, like I did."
Jesse sighed as he put a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Steph, let's look at it this way. What's my favorite saying?"
Stephanie looked at him as though he'd grown two heads, and spoke sarcastically. "What on Earth does anything Elvis have to do with this?"
"Okay, not those favorite sayings. I'm talking about 'Have Mercy?'"
Still upset, Stephanie asked "what about it?"
"Look, you know we forgive you. But, let's assume - just for a moment," he assured D.J., glancing briefly at her. "Let's assume that you have done something that should not be forgiven."
Stephanie agreed as she breathed deeply, trying to calm down.
"Okay. Now, I like to say 'Have Mercy' when I'm getting a big hug or kiss, especially from Becky, right?" It was true. "There's a reason for this. You see, mercy is when you don't get what you deserve, like you assuming you don't deserve forgiveness. It's real close to its cousin, grace, which is unmerited favor. But mercy is special. You know why?"
Stephanie was intrigued. She rarely saw this philosophical side of her Uncle Jesse. "Why?"
"It's special because the person who gives it gives it knowing the other person isn't perfect or deserving. They give it before the other person even tries to get better." Stephanie nodded slowly. "You know you can just ask and the Lord will forgive you. You've even received that from Michelle; she didn't hate you when you said that. She forgave you. Capiche?"
Stephanie thought for a moment. Yes, it seemed like Michelle forgave her, even though she probably did think Stephanie hated her. "Capiche."
"That means that the only person refusing to forgive you is yourself. All I'm asking is, have mercy on yourself. Forgive yourself, then you'll feel free to move on, and do what's needed to help Michelle."
Stephanie and D.J. were both amazed. "Wow, that's profound, Uncle Jesse. Where'd you hear that," Stephanie inquired.
Jesse asked if they remembered hearing how he'd get yelled at so much. D.J. vaguely recalled. "Yeah, because your dad never was able to talk things through and forgive right away."
"That's right." He turned back to Stephanie. "I might have really beat myself up mentally after some of those episodes. I might have decided I was so bad it wasn't worth staying on the right path, except for one person. That one person was your mother."
"Really?" Stephanie suddenly realized she'd never heard the origins of her uncle's favorite saying. It was as if it had just always existed.
"Stephanie, your mother always had a smile for everyone. And she told me that it didn't matter how mad people were at me, there was always mercy around if I just asked for it. First mercy from the Lord when we merely repent, what we celebrate at Easter, but also mercy from others. I didn't have to feel miserable after my dad screamed his head off. Because mercy is the key part of true love."
He told her Pam always was merciful, forgiving him no matter what he did to her. "'Have mercy' reminds me of the life and family and other great things I've gained by letting good things happen even if I don't think I deserve them right then. But, it also reminds me of Pam. It's something of hers I'll always cherish."
D.J. was stunned. "You know, now that I think about it, I kind of remember Mom saying it a few times. But, I never thought..." She shook her head in wonder.
Stephanie considered the words. She often missed her mom, but for the first time in years, she found herself truly considering what Pam would do were she there. "Next I'll be talking to Mr. Bear again," she said to herself, thinking of a favorite stuffed animal. Actually, that probably would be a good step to fight the loneliness. But, first she needed that mercy.
It sounded great to her. She'd trusted in Christ's mercy and forgiveness years before with the same kind of blind faith. Because, it was hard for her to understand forgiveness. After all, she'd wondered how her dad could ever forgive her when she'd crashed a car into the house, or how her uncle could when she'd cut off a piece of his hair, leading to his breaking his arms.
It was hard to comprehend. Maybe that's why she'd had trouble with it at other times. But, in the long run, that didn't matter. Her Uncle Jesse hadn't understood it much, either. He'd just accepted mercy. She decided she should, too.
"Thanks, Uncle Jesse. You're right. Whether I deserve it or not doesn't matter. I'll have mercy on myself."
She closed her eyes and glanced downward for a moment. She breathed deeply. Even if you don't deserve it, you're forgiven, you can go on now, came the thought. She instantly felt better.
She speedily turned to D.J., excited about what she could do now that she wasn't mad at herself. "And now, I am going to do one of two things. Help Michelle get her memory back, or if I can't, start building the six million memory girl." To her sister's quizzical look, she explained. "Even if she has no memories, we can rebuild her."
Stephanie walked into the hospital room with D.J., Becky, and Jesse Sunday afternoon. Joey watched the twins at home. Stephanie carried Mr. Bear. "Hi, Michelle."
"Hi...wait, don't tell me." She thought hard for a moment. "Okay, tell me. I gotta start writing these down."
Danny nodded. "Yes, you'd better, the doctors don't want you having to concentrate hard for a few days, or make sudden movements, so your brain can heal.
"Stephanie. And this is D.J. and your Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky." The young teen instantly took charge of the visit. "I brought you something that might look familiar."
"Nice bear. Is he mine?"
Stephanie shook her head. "Actually, he's mine. D.J. has one of yours." D.J. laid a small bear by Michelle. "What do you think my bear's name is?"
Michelle shrugged. "How should I know what you named your bear, I can't even remember your own name. I've been told it, but I can't even remember mine being Michelle."
"This is Mr. Bear." She told the story of receiving it when Michelle was born. "I talked to him last night for a while."
"Why? Do you usually talk to him?"
How would she explain this? She didn't want to tell her about her dream. It might make her more anxious. She simply mentioned the time after the nightmare. "I guess I was lonesome. 
Lonesome for you. Sometimes we don't know what we have till we lose it."
"Do I have any stuffed animals? Any favorites," she inquired.
Stephanie wasn't sure which would be her favorite. She described several of Michelle's stuffed animals, and told her the one D.J. had placed next to her was Michelle's. She was disappointed when none rang a bell.
"Nice try, hon," Danny whispered to her. "Good job of not forcing her to think."
Stephanie began to talk about vacations. "We went to New Zealand once - though it was an accident...well, sort of."
Michelle wondered why she knew New Zealand was in the Pacific. She got excited for a second. "Am I remembering where that is because I was there?"
Stephanie leaned forward anxiously. "Let's see, why did we go, who were we with?"
Michelle frowned. Nothing came to mind. She couldn't even remember being there. "I must have just learned where it is somewhere else," murmured the girl. "Do I go to school?" The others nodded. "Maybe that's it."
Stephanie sighed. Michelle knew certain things - how to talk, the alphabet, and so on - without being told. Those were apparently in a different part of her brain. Knowing where New Zealand was probably didn't mean she was any closer to remembering her family. Unless...
Danny seemed to comprehend his middle daughter's look. "Sorry, Steph, but right now I don't think putting you and her on a plane to Auckland is going to help."
"I have heard of people getting memory back by reliving something major," Becky pointed out, "but it would have to be recreated exactly, I think."
"Yes," spoke Danny. "There are plenty of ways which are less expensive than flying to New Zealand or coming in to find a car in the kitchen."
"People park in our kitchen," came Michelle's incredulous voice.
Stephanie told how she'd crashed Joey's car into the kitchen one day. It didn't ring a bell. 
"Oh, well, if I ever lose my memory, maybe you can use that to help me."
"Sure," agreed Michelle. "I guess I'd try to help. It sounds like we're real friends."
Stephanie went to hug Michelle, but remembered she could have no sudden movement. Instead, she kissed her on the forehead. "I want us to be really good friends." And I mean it.
"Fine. But, you know, when you kiss me it feels like sandpaper," Michelle stated bluntly.
Stephanie looked at her expectantly. She thought Michelle might remember something of when she'd been teasing Stephanie about her dry lips. Apparently not, though. She merely asked if Stephanie's lips ever felt like that before.
"Yeah, they do," she told her wearily. "A lot." Stepahnie didn't want to mention their fight. She felt Michelle would remember happy times better.
Stephanie wrote at her desk Monday evening. It felt lonely without Michelle annoying her. She moved to her diary, writing some verses about second chances, about how she would do things better, then went back to what she'd been doing.
Danny entered. "I've got clean clothes for this week now, she should be home by the weekend," her dad explained. "I'm relieving your Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky, they'll be back with the twins. Joey took them down to see her again."
Stephanie was amazed at the precision schedule her dad created for them. "Thanks, Dad." She kissed and hugged him. "Michelle and I are having fun talking, at least."
"I know, I've told her a lot, too. She's frustrated with not remembering, but if we just keep things normal eventually she'll remember." He left.
Stephanie wandered down to the kitchen. She tried to recall some of the more memorable things Michelle had done.
Andrew called her. Had D.J. not been on her line, she would have just let her older sister handle the call. As it was, the boy she was rehearsing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with would get to talk to her, after all. Not that she felt like it.
"Hey, Stephanie," spoke Andrew, "sorry I didn't get to talk to you in Drama. How's Michelle?"
"She's okay, but she doesn't remember anything or anyone. I've been spending all my time after school with her. I got my homework done down there, though."
"Great. Hey..." He paused, unsure of what to say. Finally, he spoke. "I kind of figured you wouldn't want to practice after school. So...well, when do you want to rehearse?"
"We've got it down pat pretty much." She considered that the boy didn't seem to mind talking to her. Maybe Michelle's comments hadn't hurt at all. She winced. How could she have... No, she reminded herself, she was forgiven. It didn't pay to bring that up again. "Maybe Friday, one last time before we do it," she muttered.
Andrew decided the dreary voice came from concern over Michelle. "Lots of kids I know are praying for her."
"I've prayed more than I have in my whole life, I think." She hung up, and rested her head on her hands. She really liked Andrew. Her face broke into a broad grin. He showed he cared, too. 
That was an important quality in a boy.
Getting hungry, she went to the refrigerator. Suddenly, she had an idea. She called a pet shop, and asked how many goldfish they had.
After spending several minutes on the phone with various places, Stephanie turned to notice Jesse, Becky, Nicky, and Alex entering. "I'll help you with the boys in a second if you want. Yes, that's what I said, 500 goldfish. Okay, someone will be there to get them in a few days."
Becky raised her eyebrows as Jesse went upstairs with the twins. "Five hundred goldfish? What's that for, a 1960s college reunion?"
"I don't know if you remember," Stephanie explained, "but Michelle cooked a fish in the bathtub when she gave her first pet a bubble bath."
"So...you want to recreate that," came a dumbfounded Becky.
"Sure. It'll make a great welcome home dinner."
Becky stifled laughs with her hand. "Steph, if you want to buy a goldfish and do what Michelle did with Martin, that's fine. But, for something like that to jog her memory, it has to be a little closer than a fish fry."
"Actually, I was thinking a souffle would look more like a bubble bath." If anything did, of course. It would be hard to make a dish that looked a lot like bubble bath.
Becky couldn't help but chuckle again. "I don't think Ichthyocide is necessary."
Stephanie couldn't help but join the laughs. "I don't even think it's a word," she confessed.
"She'll recover her memory on her own, I'm sure."
"In case she doesn't," Stephanie remarked, pulled out several folded sheets of paper from her pocket, "which do you think is the best way to teach her? Chronologically, or doing major reports on each family member and friend?"
Becky raised her eyebrows as she took the sheets. "Stephanie...these look like a teacher's lesson plans."
Stephanie was proud of herself. She wanted to help so badly. And, she was finding many possible ways. Even if she'd been forgiven, she still felt she had to do something. And, the way to cure that was to make things better between her and Michelle. She wanted to show she could be a great big sister.
"I know. I'm devoting my summer to helping her. After all, what if it's my fault that she can't remember? What if she doesn't want to remember because she thinks I hate her?"
Becky smiled and put a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Steph, Michelle doesn't think of an I'll never forgive you' the same way you would. She figures hating her just means you don't talk. She doesn't think of you as an enemy.
"When I was her age, I had a big fight with my mom. I left her a note saying I hate you,' but you know how I signed it? I signed it Love, Rebecca.' I didn't think of hate as hate, I just couldn't express well enough that I disliked what she'd done.
"Steph, Michelle can't remember because of her head trauma, and only that. The doctors have to keep monitoring her because they have to make sure it's not any worse. Maybe the key is she's not in her own home. Maybe once she comes home, it'll become easy to remember."
Stephanie sighed. Maybe she was being too hard on herself. Still, she couldn't help but feel remorse. "I have to do something, Aunt Becky. She's my sister."
Becky suggested a compromise. "Let's cancel the goldfish fry. We'll buy a goldfish and name it Martin in a few days. I'll let Nicky and Alex give it a bubble bath so Michelle can watch, if she hasn't regained her memory after a few days of being home." Both snickered at the proposal. It was quite bizarre. However, she could tell Stephanie needed to do something. "I don't think you need to be doing this, though. It was just like with my mom and I. One moment of anger isn't going to replace eight years of love."
No, pondered Stephanie, it probably wouldn't. Still, she knew things could be much better between her and Michelle. And she intended to make that happen.
Stephanie noticed a bundle of cards on a chair as she entered Michelle's room Wednesday. Joey and Danny were there, too. She was amazed at the number. "Wow, what are these?"
Danny shushed her. "Michelle's sleeping yet." He motioned her out into the hall. "Guess what, Michelle gets to come home the day after tomorrow."
"Hot dawg," cried Stephanie. She held a hand to her mouth. "Oops."
Joey poked his head out the door. "Make that Michelle was sleeping."
They entered. "She'll be a little tired yet for a while, but she's sleeping less and less each day. That's a good sign." Danny turned to Michelle for a moment. "You get to go home the day after tomorrow, sweetheart."
"That should be interesting. What are all those?" She pointed to the cards. 
Joey picked some up. "These are all from your friends at Frazier Street Elementary School. Remember that nice boy Teddy, and Denise, and Cassie, and Mandy, and the other children who have come?"
"Wow, I must have a lot of friends. Is Elizabeth's one of these?" Elizabeth had made a card and visited Tuesday.
"No, she was jumping against you at the competition," Stephanie told her.
"Why so many from that school?"
"That's where you go to school, hon." As Stephanie studied the cards, Danny told her she was great at making friends. "No homework for a while, and they'll give you a light load till the end of the year."
"I want to do homework," Michelle told them. "I remember stuff like Washington being the first President, and water being two oxygen and one hydrogen atom."
Sadly, Danny told her "actually, it's the other way around."
Joey leaned forward. "See, it's okay to forget us, because you forget other things, too. We're no different than good old HO2."
"Yeah, but I don't know why I remember those things. Or how I learned them. Just like writing names down. How did I learn to write?"
Stephanie's face lit up. That gave her an idea. She could help her remember how she learned to say something. "Well, I know what'll make you feel better. How about I go to the cafeteria and get you a nice, big bowl of ouce cream."
Michelle glared strangely at Stephanie. "Is that a special food they have here?"
"You don't remember that?" She didn't. "It's how you used to say ice cream' when you were about three. And whenever you said it, D.J. or I would always correct you and say ice cream,' and you'd ask if we wanted some, too."
"I don't care how I said things then, I'd be happy remembering things now."
Stephanie sighed. "Oh, well, now you can think about that and how you learned to talk. Let's see these cards. Maybe they'll jog your memory."
As they read, Stephanie remembered being eight. Third grade had been awfully fun for her, too. Even getting her reading glasses was enjoyable, in retrospect. It was a much simpler time. A time when she could relax. She and the others told Michelle stories about her friends. Yes, Stephanie deduced, kids Michelle's age were fun. The only drawback was, they liked to tease. It
was an odd way of showing how much they loved someone.
Stephanie determined Michelle must love her a lot. She just had to get her to tone it down a little in front of boys. Especially in front of boys she liked.
Stephanie was elated. After the longest week of her life, Michelle was finally home. Not only that, but Andrew and she had kissed. And, this wasn't just two people perfecting the kissing scene from Romeo and Juliet, either. They had meant it.
However, Michelle had not yet regained her memory. The men had tried to sing to her like when she was little, but that had failed. Perhaps that was just like her saying "ouce cream." 
Would the goldfish idea work, then? She'd learned memories usually returned from earliest to most recent.
Stephanie laid in Michelle's bed - Michelle had thought Stephanie's bed was hers. She thought for a moment. What could she do? She remembered many great times. The circus party she and their Uncle Jesse threw Michelle when she turned three while locked in a gas station was lots of fun. However, she didn't think she could remember enough to recreate it. Some other amusing
incidents were too complex. A flight to New Zealand would be too expensive. The goldfish one was the best. It was a first, so it would stand out. It was cheap. There weren't many speaking lines. Her Aunt Becky was right about one thing, nobody wanted to eat goldfish. In fact, as she thought about it, she got queasy. She didn't care to try it, either.
She awakened the next morning to the twins' voices. She directed them to her normal bed. They asked Michelle if she remembered. She didn't. Stephanie knew she should say something about the fight they'd had, anyway. She still felt terrible about it. And, who knew, maybe that would spark a return of her memory after all.
Unfortunately, it didn't. She felt a little better because she'd apologized. However, Michelle still couldn't remember anything.
Stephanie could wait no more. She met with Nicky and Alex. The goldfish was tucked away in Joey's room, where Michelle wouldn't find it. "Okay, you know what to do, right?" While her Aunt Becky hadn't told the boys a bubble bath would likely kill the goldfish, they still didn't want to give it to Michelle.
"Do we hafta give Martin to Michelle," Nicky whined.
"What if we call it Bob," Alex asked her. Can we keep it?"
Stephanie shook her head. "Sorry, boys. Where do we tell her she won Martin?" They told her a carnival. She put her hands on their shoulders. "Right. I know it's hard. But, just think of how excited Michelle will be."
"And we give Martin a bubble bath for Michelle," came Alex's incredulous voice.
"Right. And remember, you need to leave her and come tell Joey, so he can say his line." Stephanie grinned broadly, thinking of Michelle's reaction when she would regain her memory. 
"She'll think you're great!"
In the same affectionate tone, Nicky said "I think you're nuts."
Stephanie laughed. "Maybe I am a little nuts. But, you know what? Maybe it's time I stopped taking myself so seriously. Teens deal with lots of serious things. Boys and stuff are lots of fun. But they're not worth being so angry over."
"Okay, you want silly?" Alex looked at Nicky. "Let's have a tickle war." They attacked Stephanie with their "tickle claws," and soon all three were rolling on the floor laughing.
Stephanie saw D.J. dressed for the senior prom. She entered her room. "If it doesn't happen before, D.J., hopefully by the time you get back, Michelle will have remembered all of us."
D.J. asked Stephanie if she'd seen where Michelle napped. "She's in her own bed. I think that was a guess, but just maybe it's the start of her remembering. Whatever it is, with you around, Steph, I feel better and better about going to my prom. I just hope Wayne doesn't make me want to forget it." Wayne was her emergency date.
"I wonder what my senior prom will be like?" came the dreamy voice.
D.J. grinned. "A moment like this brings back great memories. When you're this close to graduating high school, you just have to look back at all the growing up you've done. And, there are such happy times to remember." She sighed contentedly. "You're really trying hard to get Michelle's memory back, aren't you?"
"I just want her to see me as a great sister, so I can teach her things and help her grow," Stephanie declared. "The way you always have been, even with our differences."
"You're not still thinking about when you wouldn't forgive her?"
The young teen hedged slightly. "No...at least I don't think I am. Well, maybe a little, but I mean...I don't know."
D.J. nodded slowly. "Steph, I think what you're really scared of is that you'll act like that again. But, if you commit yourself to being more caring, and forgiving, you won't ever say or do anything like that to hurt someone. Because you are a very good kid. As I reflect on growing up, I can't help but think of you and Michelle, too. And you know what? You are, and always have been, a much better sister than you're giving yourself credit for. Can you stand to improve? Sure, we all can. But, you've always learned from your mistakes; I don't think I ever remember you being punished for the same thing twice. You've got a really good head start."
Stephanie thanked D.J. She did have a great foundation. And, she would learn from her mistake. If she just kept improving like she had this week, she wouldn't need to worry.
She walked downstairs as her dad went up to tape D.J. in her prom dress and film her coming down the steps. Nicky and Alex reported that Michelle was waking up. They also said they'd go up and turned on the water soon.
As Michelle walked downstairs, though, she looked much more confident. Suddenly, she noticed the twins had taken a toy of hers. Stephanie was elated! Her sister remembered something that happened last week! She picked her up and twirled her around excitedly when Michelle wondered why Stephanie was talking to her.
The next few minutes flew by. The men determined with questions that Michelle could remember everything. D.J.'s old boyfriend, Steve, showed up to take D.J. to the prom. Stephanie apologized again for the way she acted.
Suddenly, she heard a shout from upstairs. "Come on Michelle, you gotta see this," Alex screamed with delight. Michelle quickly ran up to the 2nd floor bathroom.
"Oh my goodness! The goldfish!" shouted Stephanie. She'd forgotten that the twins, at only three, might not understand tht Michelle didn't need their help now.
As Stephanie hurried into the bathroom, she heard Michelle - now with all her faculties once more - saying "are you nuts! You'll kill that goldfish."
"We told you, his name is Martin," Nicky told her.
"You won him at a carnival," spoke Alex. The others entered the bathroom.
Michelle splashed around to find the goldfish as Danny filmed the spectacle. There were tons of bubbles. Soon, she and the boys were tussling so much, all three fell in. Luckily, nobody hit their heads. Danny handed the camera to Jesse and went around laying towels all over.
Stephanie laughed until her sides hurt as bubbles and water spewed out of the tub and onto everyone. Tears rolled down her face. All her tension quickly left.
Michelle glared at Becky. "Aunt Becky, tell Nicky and Alex that you can't give a fish a bubble bath. I tried it once when I was four, and it doesn't work."
"Michelle, you remembered that, too," came Alex's shocked voice.
Nicky hugged her. "We were hoping you would."
Joey explained "Michelle's remembered everything for the last five minutes."
"Yeah, boys," Becky told them, "you didn't have to recreate that to make her remember."
"You mean they put a fish into a bubble bath on purpose?" Michelle looked around. "Whose idea was that?"
Finally down to mere chuckling, Stephanie was able to raise her hand. Alex pointed at her. "It was hers."
Stephanie tried in vain to stifle her giggles as she looked at Michelle, soaked and with bubbles all over, yet fully clothed. "Oh, Michelle, I just had to help you, and be a better big sister."
"Yeah, right. By giving a goldfish a bubble bath?" The young teen was elated to hear Michelle using her customary tone and phrases once more.
Stephanie explained that she simply tried to have fun at the same time. "Admit it, it sounds like something you would try, doesn't it?" To Stephanie, it seemed just like one of her sister's crazy schemes. "I could have brought home a mule, you know."
"She also wanted to fly to Auckland with you," Danny told her.
Becky snickered as she added "you think this is bad, Michelle, we almost had goldfish souffle for supper last night." The others got queasy looks.
Jesse handed the camera to Becky and knelt beside the tub. "Yeah, munchkin. She really cares about you."
Michelle thought for a second. "Well, it's crazy. But I might have done the same thing."
Stephanie grinned. She walked over to Michelle, who got out sopping wet with bubbles galore. She could just hear Michelle asking if that could count as her bath tonight.
"Michelle, I love you so much," Stephanie said happily. "I want to be a great big sister, and help you grow. I can't promise I'll never get mad. We'll probably get a little crazy sometimes, or do things that annoy each other. But, I can promise I'll always love you and forgive you. I'll try never to say anything in anger, but even if I am mad at you, I'll still be forgiving you and loving you." Joey fished the goldfish out of the tub as the boys left it.
"And, Michelle,I know we have our own friends. But, I'd like to do more fun stuff with you than I have been. I want to be a really good friend, too, not just your sister. Okay?"
They embraced. "You got it, dude."
Stephanie sighed contenedly. "Have mercy!"
Stephanie went back to her own bed. She and Michelle had discussed things - friends, schoolwork, Stephanie's boyfriends, dreams of their own proms, and so on - till midnight. Part of this was so they could catch D.J. coming back from her prom. Still, they'd spent hours of quality time together like they hadn't in a long while. She hoped it could stay that way.
Suddenly, Stephanie was awakened by Michelle's voice. It was still the middle of the night. She didn't have a headache again from the fall or anything, did she? "What is it," came her concerned voice.
"Steph, I was laying here wondering - do snails dream?"
Looking askance at Michelle, Stephanie chuckled. "Well, at least for girl snails, every dream involves Brad Pitt," she teased Michelle.
"I mean, snails don't go anywhere. They're so slow, Dad passes them when driving. And they don't have much to look at when they crawl. So, what would they dream about?"
Stephanie struggled to think. At three in the morning, she could only ramble. "Well, a snail has imagination, at least I think so. I mean, Comet, our dog, dreams. Maybe their dreams are about different colors, or smells that are strange. And, then you have the really dreamy ones. You've never been in space, after all, but you dreamed about being an astronaut, so maybe..."
She glanced at Michelle. She was snoring. She'd talked her to sleep. The older sister laughed. What a silly question. And, what a sillier answer.
She smiled, thankful to have Michelle back again. She had a second chance. Yes, she was kind of nutty, but nutty could be fun - look at what had happened with the fish.
She got up, and walked over to the girl as she slept peacefully. As Jesse had said, it had felt like part of them was missing. And, the best part was, having her back made her feel like she'd gained something she hadn't had before. No matter how goofy she was, Michelle would always be very special to her.
Stephanie kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, my friend," she whispered, before going back to bed.