Aftershocks

Aftershocks
Season 3, episode 11
Air date	December 8, 1989
Writer(s)	Jeff Franklin & Lenny Ripps
Director	Bill Foster
Previous	The Greatest Birthday on Earth
Next	Joey & Stacey and...Oh, Yeah, Jesse

Aftershocks is episode eleven of season three on Full House. It originally aired on December 8, 1989.

Summary

A frightening earthquake has left its emotional mark on Stephanie, who seeks out a measure of security by obsessively clinging to Danny. It gets even worse that night, when Kimmy sleeps in her and D.J.'s room (and they assure her it's no big deal; just a garbage truck), and again when she drags Michelle out of her room, and both sleep with Danny in his room.

As a result, Danny finds it impossible to leave the house for even a minute without Stephanie becoming hysterical. Jesse and Joey suggest taking Stephanie to a child psychiatrist. Danny reluctantly follows the suggestion, and takes her to Dr. Mary Ann Steiner.

Dr. Steiner uses a picture that Stephanie drew to get her to explain her behavior – on the day of the earthquake, Danny was about three hours late getting home from work, and a terrified Stephanie thought she would never see Danny again. Stephanie has been clinging to Danny ever since, so she will always know where he is. Danny and Dr. Steiner help Stephanie come up with a solution to her problem.

Meanwhile, D.J. wants to hide from the world when she gets her first zit – right on her nose. And she is scheduled to play as Mrs. Claus in a Christmas play at school. And even more shocking, the night of the play, there are 10 other girls in the girls' dressing room, all of whom have zits, just like her.

Later that night, when the girls are tucked in, Stephanie is assured by the guys and D.J. that they are available to help her if she needs them. So much so, per a request, D.J. untucks her sister just a tad so she can move around in her bed.

Quotes

Stephanie: (clings to Danny's leg when he says he's going out for a business dinner) No, Daddy! You can't go!

Danny: Sweetie, it's only for a couple hours.

Jesse: Steph, we'll be here with you.

Joey: Yeah, we'll play any game you want.

Stephanie: No, I want my daddy! (clings to Danny again) You can't go. Don't leave me! Don't leave me!

Danny: It's okay, it's okay. I won't go. I'll stay here with you, okay? Everything's all right.

Joey (to Danny): No father knows every answer to every problem.

Danny: That'll do me a lot of good when I try to leave for work tomorrow and Stephanie won't let go of my leg.

Joey: Maybe we need some help with this.

Danny: What do you mean, like take her to a therapist or something?

Joey: Yeah, why not?

Danny: Joey, it's not that serious!

Joey: Danny...

Danny: No, there are times when she needs me and we spend some time together, and everything's calm again.

Jesse: Danny, face it. After what happened today, whatever Stephanie's problem is, it's not going away. It's getting worse.

Danny: What do you want me to do, go to some psychiatrist and say I can't handle my own kid's problems?

Jesse: No. I want you to say that you love Stephanie so much, you would do anything to help her.

Danny: Okay, Steph, now if you need to come in my room later, remember, the sleeping bag is still on the floor.

Stephanie: Do you still snore, Daddy?

Danny: Yes.

Stephanie: I'll stay here.

Trivia

• The episode was telecast less than two months after a genuine earthquake wreaked havoc upon San Francisco in October 1989 (around the time of the World Series)
• The first time Kimmy sleeps over at the house (her guest bed is near the door of D.J. and Stephanie's room)
• When Jesse puts a Band-Aid/bandage on D.J.'s nose as a way to cover her zit for the Mrs. Santa Claus gig, he jokingly says that it's a way to suggest that "Jack Frost was nipping at her nose", a reference to a line from "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)", by Mel Tormé (1925–1999)