A few hours had passed by before Lincoln had woken up, the boy feeling very light-headed. "What happened? Where am I?" He looked around and saw a room that wasn't his, but still familiar. "Is this, Ronnie Anne's room?"
Suddenly Lincoln felt a terrible ringing in his head, very loud to the point of discomfort and displeasure, as if someone was calling a phone in his head, only the ringing sound didn't take breaks.
"What's happening! Make it stop!" Lincoln shouted, holding his head in pain. For some reason the ringing would not cease, and it was torture for the young teen.
"Lincoln?" Called a familiar voice, his older sister Lori immediately bursting into the room. "Lincoln!"
"Lori!?" Suddenly Lincoln found himself in a hug from his older sister, this making him feel much calmer, the ringing having simmered down as a result.
"Oh Lincoln, you're alright, I was so worried when Bobby told me what happened," Lori said.
"Wait, Bobby?" That confirmed it, he really must be in Ronnie Anne's room, but he had no idea why. "Lori what's happening?"
"You don't remember?" Lori asked, pulling away from her brother. "Like, nothing at all?"
"I remember going to the zoo today, then I remembered...oh right, that toy I wanted to get for Lily!" Lincoln said, looking around to see if the stuffed animal was near. "Ugh, did I not get to do that?"
"Seriously? Lincoln, you gave everyone a really bad scare, I think Lily not getting a toy is the least of our troubles," Lori said. "But you do love to spoil her."
"I don't spoil her, I just like getting her nice things, it makes her happy," Lincoln said.
"You're such a sweetheart, kind of makes me look bad though," Lori joked. "Come on, everyone's waiting, and they're worried sick."
Lincoln followed Lori outside of Ronnie Anne's room as he made his way into the living room where the entire Casagrande family were waiting.
"Hey, Lincoln's awake," Carlota pointed out.
The boy found himself surrounded by the family members, all of them checking up on him, wanting to see if he was alright. This caused another headache for Lincoln, the boy feeling overwhelmed from this attention as the ringing started to return.
"Alright, give him space!" Rosa ordered. "The boy just woke up, don't come at him at once."
"Thanks Mrs. Casagrande, I think I'm still a little dizzy," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln!" Called Stella's voice, the boy turning to see her entering the apartment with Sid and Ronnie Anne, all of them holding some health packs.
"Stella!? Wait you're here too?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, I asked my parents if I could stay to make sure you were alright," Stella said. "I got so worried about you, we all did."
"Well that's really nice of you...wait, are any of our other friends here?" Lincoln asked.
"No, they went home," Stella said. "Clyde wanted to stay as well but his dads wanted him to come home right away, especially once word got out of the zoo having an emergency situation."
"What happened anyway? Last thing I remember was going out to buy a toy for Lily," Lincoln said.
"Well the alarms at the zoo randomly went off, they didn't really go into detail why, they just said that there was an escape so we figured an animal got loose," Stella said. "It must have been one dangerous animal to evacuate the entire school."
"Something like that happened," Carlos said, not wanting to go into too much detail. The spiders were meant to be a secret experiment after all, thankfully he got all of them back, except one.
"I ran into Sid and Ronnie Anne around the time of the evacuation, and while we were running to catch up with the class, we ran into Jordan, who was trying to carry you out of the zoo," Stella said.
"Girl Jordan was carrying me?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy but she didn't want to leave you alone in that room while you were unconscious," Stella said.
"So we offered to help bring you out of the zoo, but you were really burning up, like you had a fever," Sid said.
"It was scary, we thought you were gonna die or something," Ronnie Anne said.
Lincoln's eyes widened in surprise, to know it was that bad. "Oh wow, sorry for worrying you then, but what could have caused it? I felt fine."
"I'm just as confused," Maria said, getting Lincoln's attention. "When Ronalda told me what happened, we brought you over so I can check up on you. Your fever was bad for the first few hours, then it suddenly died down. Without more equipment, I couldn't tell for sure, right now I can only hypothesize that you had a really bad allergic reaction."
"Your hand was swollen too," Sid said, gesturing to the swelled-up spot.
"How'd that happen?" Lincoln wondered.
"It was bigger when we found you, so at least it's going down," Ronnie Anne said.
"How are you feeling now anyway?" Maria asked, placing her hand on Lincoln's forehead. "You don't feel hot, which is kind of strange."
"I do feel fine," Lincoln said, grabbing his stomach. "But I am really hungry."
"Oh! That's my cue," Rosa said, heading toward the kitchen.
"Mama's been making food all day for you, she had a feeling you'd be hungry," Maria said.
"Oh, she didn't have to do that for me," Lincoln said.
"You know my mom, she loves to cook, if anything this is more fun for her than a burden," Maria said.
"Plus you're like family, so of course we want to look after you," Bobby said.
"Well I do appreciate that," Lincoln said, then focused his attention to his sister. "Lori, does anyone back home know about this?"
"Of course, I wouldn't keep them in the dark about this. I called mom and dad, they were worried of course, but I told her that the Casagrandes were taking good care of you," Lori said.
"Alright, well what about our sisters? Do they know?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes, they know too, if I were you, I'd give the family a call, you know they'll be worried if you don't," Lori said.
"Good idea," Lincoln said, grabbing his phone, taking his call into the hallway for a little extra privacy.
"Well, at least things turned out alright," Ronnie Anne said.
"Not quite young lady," Maria said, glaring at her daughter. "What's this about you skipping school?"
"Oh right, that..." Ronnie Anne said.
"It's my fault Mrs. Santiago, I talked her into it, if you're gonna be mad at someone, it should be me," Sid said.
"Sid, don't," Ronnie Anne urged.
"Sid, I appreciate that you care enough about my daughter to take the blame, but she still broke the rules regardless," Maria said. "I am disappointed in you as well, I expected better from you young lady."
"But this is a matter for her parents to discuss with her," Carlos insisted. "You handle Ronnie Anne; I'll take Sid upstairs to Stanley and Becca."
"Take a good long look at each other, you might not see one another for a few days," Maria said.
"A few days?" Sid said, almost getting teary eyed.
"It'll be fine, it's not forever," Ronnie Anne said.
"I know...but it's gonna feel like forever," Sid said, her eyes still watery.
"Come on, the sooner you address this with your parents, the sooner it will be over," Carlos said, taking Sid out the apartment.
Maria turned to Ronnie Anne, "I'll wait until Lincoln goes home since I know you're worried about him, but after he leaves, you and I will discuss this, and your father will know about this as well."
"Ugh, yes mom," Ronnie Anne said, going to take a seat on the couch.
As Carlos and Sid stepped outside, Lincoln could be seen sitting on the stairs, trying to explain himself, "Mom, I'm fine, for real. I just fainted, Mrs. Santiago said I have no fever. And no, I don't need Lisa to run a CAT scan on me, you know how overboard she gets when she does these types of things."
Carlos and Sid just kept going and made their way upstairs, Sid feeling a bit guilty, hoping what she did wasn't going to have consequences, "Mr. Casagrande, is anyone going to lose their job over what happened?"
"Well, it is possible, but don't worry, your mom's job should be safe since she was very quick in acting when she needed to," Carlos said.
"I see, um, anyone else? Like whoever was in charge of whatever escaped?" Sid asked. While she and Ronnie Anne were busted by Becca for being at the zoo instead of school, they did leave out the fact that Sid was messing with the spiders, which was the reason for the alarm. "I mean, weren't you there doing important work?"
"Yes, and there is a good chance I can lose my position for being careless. I do know that me and Connor's are definitely going to get an earful from Mr. Warren after what just occurred today." Carlos said.
"Oh, I see," Sid said, feeling incredibly guilty. She couldn't keep this a secret, "Mr. Casagrande, I...I just wanted to say...I mean..."
"I know you're sorry about today, and I appreciate you worrying about my position, but everything will be fine, I'll plead my case and see if I can fight for my job," Carlos said. "I've been around my University for quite a number of years, I think I have their faith by now."
"R-right..." Sid said.
Carlos stopped before their door, knocking on it and awaiting the parents. "Sid, I just want you to know that, even if you did something bad today, you're not a bad kid. Everyone does stupid things from time to time. My sister Maria used to sneak out to go to concerts when she was a kid, what matters is what you learn from this experience, and use that to improve yourself."
"How would I do that?" Sid asked.
"You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out for yourself," Carlos said, leaving Sid to wonder.
The Chang family door opened, revealing Adelaide, the smug girl glancing toward Sid, "I told you cutting school was a dumb idea."
"Oh shove it!" Sid said.
Downstairs continued talking on the phone with his mother, wrapping up his conversation. "I'll see you when I get home, I'll ask Lori to take me now."
"Alright dear, make sure you get plenty of rest in the car, and don't do more than you're able to," Rita said.
"Yes mom, see you in a few hours," Lincoln said. As he hung up, he slowly reentered the Casagrande home. "I'm done."
"Good, we're going to leave in a few minutes," Lori said.
This really bummed Lincoln out. Not only did his trip to the zoo had to be cut early, as well as failing to get a toy for Lily, he barely had a chance to hang out with his best friends Ronnie Anne and Sid. Sure he knew he was to go back home today, but he was hoping that his trip wouldn't be cut so short. The usual luck for the life of Lincoln Loud. The bright side is that Stella stuck around, and he deeply appreciated that.
"But not before I get you fed," Rosa said, bringing out plates of food for Lincoln to eat. "I made some nice tamales for you, along with a lot of chicken, some spaghetti, oh and I can't forget the steak and..."
"Dear, he's only one boy," Hector said.
"A growing boy," Rosa pointed out, then once again heard Lincolns grumbling stomach. "And a hungry one at that."
"Take your time Lincoln, you do need to get some food in you," Lori said.
"Sure," Lincoln said, sitting at the table. Everything looked tasty to him, more so than usual. Rosa has always been a good cook but today for some reason, the food really comes across looking like something out of a five-star restaurant.
He took one bite and suddenly he started craving more, scarfing down all the food present before him.
"Easy Lincoln, we're not in any hurry," Lori said.
"Oh he's fine dear, that's how some boys eat," Rosa said.
Stella sat on the couch, waiting for Lincoln to finish up, texting her mother about the current situation while Ronnie Anne sat next to her, lamenting today's decisions.
"So, Stella..." Ronnie Anne said, getting the girl's attention. "It was pretty nice of you to stay here and check on Lincoln, aside from Clyde, you're the only one who was willing to do so."
"Well it's not that we were the only ones willing, it's just easier for us," Stella said. "Zach, Liam, Rusty, Mollie and Jordan do care, it's just a bit more difficult for them to just up and stay in the city, plus it'd be a lot of kids here. Clyde and I agreed to be the ones to stay back and check on Lincoln, but his dads wanted him home."
"You and Lincoln have gotten pretty close the last couple of years though, haven't you?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Well, yeah, he's my best friend," Stella said. "Plus, we got lucky enough to be in the same science class together this year, which basically makes us science partners."
"Is that the only type of partner you are?" You two really aren't more than that?" Ronnie Anne asked.
Stella rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Why does everyone keep asking that? Is it that hard to believe that I just like Lincoln as a friend? I mean you two were just friends too, weren't you?"
"It was complicated, but I guess we were just friends," Ronnie Anne said. "Despite what my family wanted and what his family wants."
"Why do they want you to be his girlfriend, is it because your brother is dating Lori?" Stella asked.
"Probably, that and he's a boy my age that I know," Ronnie Anne said. "Oddly enough, no one asks that about Casey or Sameer, so I guess it's not just any boy they want me with. I just don't get why it's always Lincoln."
"Oh, I think you know, prima," Came the voice of Carlota, the older girl stepping toward the two. "Aside from Sid, the only one of your friends you constantly talk about is Lincoln, he's the one who comes all the way from Royal Woods to visit you, he's the one you're constantly doing video chats with, you've even done vlogs together, I think it's safe to say that you and Lincoln are close." Carlota twisted two of her fingers together, "A bond that can't be broken."
"It doesn't mean I'm in love with him though," Ronnie Anne said.
"You skipped school today just to hang out with him, honestly it's kind of romantic how you risked getting into trouble just to see him," Carlota said.
"Sid cut too, maybe she likes Lincoln as well," Ronnie Anne said.
"She doesn't actually, she told me she would never want to be the reason you two never ended up together," Carlota said.
"Please, if Sid wanted to she would totally go for him, I've seen the way she eyes him at times," Ronnie Anne said.
"Still, she would never violate the best friend code, you saw Lincoln first after all," Carlota said. "It's just a shame you two still haven't officially hooked up."
"The only reason we're not together is because I don't want to be with Lincoln in a romantic way," Ronnie Anne said. "Let another girl have him, I'm not interested in having a boyfriend right now."
"That's a shame really, Lincoln's a nice boy, and really handsome, you two would have such adorable babies together," Carlota said.
Part of Ronnie Anne wanted to grimace at the thought of what the two would have to do to make those babies, another part of her was met with wonderous curiosity, one she almost felt ashamed of having, "Just, please leave."
"Fine, but don't wait too long trying to nab Lincoln," Carlota said as she walked off.
"I'm not interested in...!" Ronnie Anne groaned in frustration. "Ah forget it, it's like talking to a wall."
"Well at least they're supportive," Stella said. Deep down she did feel some cringe toward what Carlota was saying, though she wasn't entirely sure why.
"There's being supportive, and there's being annoying, and my family is definitely leaning more towards being annoying," Ronnie Anne said.
Stella empathized with Ronnie Anne, this must be embarrassing for her, she's almost grateful this doesn't happen to her, if anything her parents seem almost against the idea of her dating a boy at her current age.
Lincoln continued to eat, scarfing down the food like if his stomach was a bottomless pit. "This is really good Mrs. Casagrande."
"Gracias, chico," Rosa said, though even she was amazed at how much Lincoln ate, wondering if his parents even truly know how to feed a large family. "You must be really hungry."
"A bit too hungry, Lincoln don't you think you've had enough?" Lori asked.
"Maybe, but I can't help it, my body wants food," Lincoln said.
"It just means you have good metabolism," Rosa said. "You are a teenager now, your body is growing more and your muscles are building."
"Well this is taking too long, I don't want to get home too late, remember I have to take Stella home too," Lori said.
"I can wrap this up for you mijo, then you can eat at home, or on the way there," Rosa said.
"Thank you, I'd appreciate that," Lincoln said, standing up. "Alright Lori, I'm ready to go home now."
"Finally," Lori said, then called her other passenger. "Stella, we're leaving!"
"Coming Lori!" Stella said, getting off the couch.
"I'll walk you to your car babe," Bobby offered.
"I appreciate that boo-boo bear," Lori said.
Ronnie Anne had gotten off as well, walking over to Lincoln, "Hey, glad you're doing alright, try not to let that happen again."
"I'll do my best," Lincoln said. Suddenly he found himself in a hug from Ronnie Anne, one he quickly returned.
"See you around, lame-o," Ronnie Anne said, breaking off.
"Yeah, I'll see you soon," Lincoln said, leaving with both Stella and Lori.
Ronnie Anne couldn't help but feel a bit flustered, despite her insistence, she couldn't help but find Lincoln attractive, be it his calm and mature nature, his energetic side or even that reassuring smile of his. Of course, she doesn't know if she can handle a long-distance relationship, it's hard enough just being friends, being more than friends would take more of a toll.
"Ronalda," Maria said, getting her attention.
"Right, gotta accept my punishment," Ronnie Anne said.
"Come, we'll discuss this in private," Maria said, leading Ronnie Anne away.
"Poor girl," Carlota said, getting the attention of her brothers. "It's obvious she's so into Lincoln, I just wish there was a way to get her to admit it."
"It's been two years though, what's taking her so long?" CJ asked.
"Maybe Ronnie Anne doesn't like Lincoln?" Carlitos said.
"It's not that baby bro, some girls are just stubborn, plus she might be waiting for Lincoln to make the first move," Carlota said.
"This would have been a perfect opportunity to, shame tia Maria busted her for cutting," Carl said.
"Well, that is against the rules, so of course she'll get in trouble for that," Carlota said. "We should help her manage her passion better before anything else."
"What about Stella?" CJ asked.
"What about her?" Carlota asked.
"She might like Lincoln too, and she lives in the same town," CJ reminded.
"You leave Stella to me," Carl said, licking his hand and brushing his hair back. "This little operation could benefit both me and Ronnie Anne."
"Seriously? Stella is WAY out of your league, but I do agree with CJ, she might be an issue," Carlota said.
"You're not gonna do anything mean to her, are you?" Carlitos asked.
"No, we're not gonna do anything mean to her, even if Ronnie Anne and Lincoln are meant to be, Stella is a nice girl who means no harm. I mean we don't even know if she likes Lincoln that way, from the way he describes it, she's just a friend and that's probably how she wants it," Carlota said. "Is it possible for her to fall in love with him, maybe it is, friends develop feelings over time. But that's why we gotta help Ronnie Anne, if Stella does end up falling in love with Lincoln and confesses first, then it's game over, but until that moment, we work with what we have."
"You got it sis," Carl said. "The Casagrandes will not rest until Lincoln and Ronnie Anne admit their love for one another, and until Stella admits her love for me."
"Give it up Carl," CJ said. "Do you want another Lola situation?"
"I never liked Lola!" Carl said. "She's too violent!"
"Uh-huh, sure, BT-DUBS, Lola's out of your league too," Carlota said, her other brothers agreeing.
"Wow you're all super harsh," Carl said.
Later on, during the drive home to Royal Woods, Lincoln was seen sleeping in the back seat of Lori's car, still exhausted from the spider bite earlier while Stella sat up front with Lori. Truthfully Stella wasn't sure what to do, she and Lori were never much for conversation.
When it came to most of the Loud sisters, Stella usually got along with them, like many of Lincoln's friends. Lana was one of the first she bonded with since the young plumber helped Stella tame her wild rabbit. She was a fan of Luna's music and Luan's comedy, and she got along well with Leni considering her friend group hangs out with Leni's friend group.
Lori was a different story, the older Loud sister has been friendly to Stella but she also put off a bit of an intimidation factor. Despite that, Stella knew Lori was a kind girl who just had little tolerance for nonsense, and the type of girl she would like to have for an older sister.
"Hey, Lori..." Stella said, getting the older girl's attention.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for driving me, I know you didn't have to," Stella said.
"Well how else would you have gotten home?" Lori asked.
"My parents could have gotten me," Stella said.
"That's true, but it just made more sense to drive you, after all you're one of my brother's friends and I would have done the same if it were Clyde or the other boys, Besides, it's already Friday and I'm heading home stay over for the weekend anyway. There really was no need for your parents to make a three-hour trip to the city and another three hours back.," Lori said as her lips began to form a small smile for the young girl. "It was nice of you to stay and check on Lincoln though, I'm glad my brother has a caring friend."
"Yeah, Lincoln's a good guy, he means a lot to me, he was one of the first friends I made in Royal Woods, he's the one who made me feel welcome in the first place," Stella said.
"You can thank me and the sisters for that, otherwise he would have shown up in a leather jacket with gelled up hair," Lori said.
"He did that anyway back when he thought I had a crush on him, but Lincoln does strike me as the type to of guy who resorts back to an original idea when desperate," Stella said.
"Yeah, really wish we caught that, but honestly we thought it'd be better if he figured it out himself, our meddling tends to make things worse for him," Lori said.
"He's lucky, I wish I had sisters myself to help me with certain things," Stella said.
"Oh yeah? Things like what?" Lori asked.
Stella realized that she may have accidentally walked into an embarrassing confession, "N-nothing! It's silly."
"I won't laugh if that's what you're worried about, if you want you can tell me," Lori said.
"Promise not to tell anyone else?" Stella asked.
"I promise," Lori said. Right now she was hoping that Stella wasn't going to admit a crush on Lincoln, Lori believes she would not be able to keep that a secret, especially given her hopeful desire of Lincoln getting together with Ronnie Anne.
"It's about...my body," Stella said.
"Huh?" Lori didn't expect that type of statement. "What about your body?"
"I feel like I've been going through some, changes, like...I feel like my breasts have gotten bigger, and I look curvier," Stella said, the girl feeling very embarrassed as she subconsciously covered up. "It makes me feel weird."
Lori understood exactly what Stella is dealing with, but did have a small hinge of jealousy that she's developing these assets at this age when she on the other hand had to deal with braces, bad acne, and glasses, basically enduring what many had called her 'Awkward Years'. , "Stella, first off, you don't need to feel weird, what you're going through is perfectly normal for a young girl. In fact, lots of girls go through this change, it's completely natural. Have you tried talking to your friends about this?"
"No, it pretty much started last weekend... I also know Jordan and Mollie haven't gone through it, neither have Ronnie Anne or Sid," Stella said. "I was gonna try some of your other sisters about it but hadn't got the chance to meet up with them, plus I was worried they might get jealous since some of them haven't developed either."
"You're just an early bloomer, Leni was too, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Lola ended up being the same way. That girl is already showing hips, and she's eight," Lori said.
"It just feels like boys look at me differently now, it's really awkward. Even Rusty and Zach give me odd glances," Stella said. "And that jackass Chandler definitely isn't subtle about it."
"What about Lincoln?" Lori asked.
"No, he doesn't, he's a bit more respectful," Stella said. "I mean, he might have noticed once or twice but he usually tries not to pay attention."
"Sounds like Lincoln," Lori said. "If he notices you, it's not him being a pervert or anything, it's just that he's a boy and can't help it. At the very least he respects you enough to know not to be obnoxious about it."
"Yeah, your brother is a really good friend," Stella said.
"And don't worry about your body, you don't need to be ashamed of being an early bloomer, it's just biology," Lori said. "You're growing into a young woman, and you should be proud, this just means you're healthy."
"Alright, thanks Lori," Stella said.
"No problem, and if you ever feel like you need some sisterly advice, just come to me or one of my sisters, we'd be happy to help," Lori said.
"Sure, if you don't mind that is," Stella said.
"Hey, we girls have to look out for one another," Lori said. "If there's a problem, just let us know and-"
"WATCH OUT!" Lincoln suddenly shouted, leaping up to grab the wheel as he turned it away from an oncoming car that nearly crashed into them as police cars followed. This however caused them to swerve off the road, fortunately coming to a complete stop before things got bad.
Stella looked like she was about to have a heart attack, the girl was breathing extremely heavily, trying to maintain her bearings while Lori saw her life flash before her eyes. Lincoln seemed relieved that no one got hurt, but he couldn't figure out why he suddenly felt an oncoming sense of danger.
"Lincoln..." Lori began, anger seeping into her voice. "Are you out of your damn mind!? You could have killed us with that stupid stunt of yours!"
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me!" Lincoln said.
"Uh, sorry!?" Lori asked, almost sarcastically. "We nearly got into a car accident and all you can say is 'sorry'!? Are you literally being serious right now!?"
"Well, I don't know what else to say!" Lincoln replied.
"Here's something for you to learn then!" Lori shouted, grabbing Lincoln by the shirt, his ears once again ringing very loud in his head. "Don't! Touch! My Freaking! Car!"
Lincoln could tell Lori desperately wanted to use another word, but as the eldest sibling she usually refrained from using unnecessary strong language, of course rarely did his siblings use strong language, especially to avoid being bad influences on the younger siblings, such as Lily.
"Lori, maybe it's not my place to say but...Lincoln did save us from crashing into another car," Stella said.
"Huh?" Lori replied, turning her attention to the girl beside her.
"That car nearly crashed into us, that's why Lincoln grabbed the wheel," Stella said.
Lori calmed herself, letting go of Lincoln's shirt, the boy calming himself as Lori began to speak, "Sorry I lost my cool there, but still, grabbing my wheel like that was risky, you could have made things worse Lincoln."
"Noted," Lincoln said, feeling relieved.
"By the way, how did you know that car was coming towards us really fast from behind?" Stella asked.
"I honestly have no idea," Lincoln was just as curious about this as the two girls were. All he knew was that his head gave him an instant pain that woke him up to alert him about the incoming car collision as if he had a alarm system in his head.
Lori was confused by Lincoln's answer but chooses not to question further as she was not in the right mood and just wanted to go home. She pulled back onto the main road, relieved that this wasn't Vanzilla, otherwise she had doubts it would recover after such a large swerve.
Hours later they were back in Royal Woods, Lori had dropped off Stella, the young girl making her way inside.
"Thanks Lori," Stella said.
"No trouble, see you later Stella," Lori said.
"Bye Stella, I'll see you tomorrow at Gus' Games 'N' Grubs and the movies?" Lincoln said.
"Definitely, and we get to finally pick from the PG-13 selections too," Stella added as she, Lincoln, and their friends made plans for this weekend. Lori began to drive home as she walked up the pathway, "What a day..." In addition to the alarm incident, then awkwardly staying with The Casagrandes, Stella couldn't forget how that car nearly crashed into Lori's, she thanks Lincoln's quick thinking on that one. She was still questioning how Lincoln took full awareness of that right away, but she was too tired to wonder about it, "I need some sleep."
Lori then arrived back home with Lincoln, the girl pulling into the driveway as she and Lincoln stepped out the car.
"Thanks for the ride Lori," Lincoln said.
"No trouble, little brother," Lori said.
The two had come into the Loud House, with Lincoln announcing his presence to his family, "I'm back!"
Like a rumbling avalanche, a rockslide of sisters came rolling in to the front door, each of them surrounding Lincoln and Lori, all pestering him with questions.
"Dude! What happened in the city!?" Luna asked.
"Do you still feel lightheaded?" Luan asked.
"Shall I run additional tests?" Lisa asked.
"Lincoln!" Lola and Lana shouted, both jumping into his arms, planting a kiss on each cheek. "We were so worried!"
"Hey! Give him some space!" Lori ordered, keeping the sisters apart. "I know you're all worried but surrounding him like this is just going overwhelm him."
"Lori? Is that you?" Lynn Sr asked, peeking his head out the door and seeing that his oldest daughter and only son have come back. "Honey, Lincoln's back!"
"Lincoln!?" Came Rita's voice, the mother of eleven quickly rushing to check on her son. "Oh Lincoln, how are you feeling, dear?"
"I'm fine, but I am a little tired," Lincoln said.
"Oh I can imagine, it must have been a long day," Rita said. "Why don't you go and get ready for bed, or would you like something to eat?
"That sounds great," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln, you literally just stuffed yourself at the Casagrande Apartment," Lori said. "You even ate on the way here."
"Yeah, but I'm still hungry," Lincoln said.
"It's fine Lori, he's a growing boy, could be why he fainted to, lack of protein and nutrition," Lynn Sr said.
"So Lynn's fault basically," Lola said.
Lynn gawked at Lola in disbelief, "Uh, mind explaining that, shrimp?"
"First off, call me shrimp again and you'll lose your tongue," Lola warned. "Second, you do like taking Lincoln's food. Actually you take all our food."
"First off, I'm not the only one who does that, it's why we redesigned our fridge in the first place," Lynn said. "Second I don't take that much, and I usually ask anyway."
"Pfft, when do you ask for anything?" Lola commented.
"Lola, it's nice of you to be worried, but I really don't think it's Lynn's fault," Lincoln said.
"Ha! In your face!" Lynn boasted.
"Lynn Jr, be nice to your little sister," Lynn Sr warned.
"I'll just reheat some leftover meatloaf while you unwind Lincoln," Rita said.
"Sure, thanks mom," Lincoln replied. He then felt someone hugging him, that turned out to be Lily.
"I'm glad you're safe, I got worried," Lily said.
"I'm fine Lily, you don't need to worry about me," Lincoln said. "I am sorry I never got you a souvenir though."
"All I care about is you being safe," Lily said, much to the awe of her family.
"It's just so ding-dang adorable," Lynn Sr said with a teardrop in his eye.
Lincoln lifted Lily up, holding her in his arms, "Why don't you spend the rest of the night with me, I could use your company."
"Ok, big brother," Lily said as Lincoln took her upstairs with him.
Many of the sisters found that adorable, of course some were a little jealous of the bond the two had. While their family is relatively close and the siblings are always there for one another, when it came to bonding, Lily took to Lincoln more than she did any of the other sisters.
Some would have thought Lily would be more interested in bonding with another girl, instead she turned to the only brother in the family. They weren't sure if it's because of Lincoln's natural charm when it came to girls, or just the fact that Lincoln took Lily in as a little protégé.
The biggest bond the two shared was during their time in Loch Loud, Scotland where Lily had spent a lot of time with Lincoln, even to the point where she joined him in helping stop Morag from taking over. It was such an experience for Lincoln, first time he felt like a hero in a comic book, with Lily as his sidekick in a way.
Of course some of the younger sisters understood the bond, and deep down wish it were them who got that close bond. Lucy technically has that bond, she relates to Lincoln more than her other sisters, then there were the twins who adored their older brother, Lana shows it more, but Lola would not deny how much she appreciates her only brother.
Given how tough it's been for Lincoln at times with so many sisters, and often feeling out of place, having a little sister who looks up to him the way Lily does is probably what he needs, and of course his sisters want to respect that.
Luna heard her phone buzzing, it was a text from her girlfriend, "Oh, I gotta call Sam." She answered and walked away while conversing, "Hey love, got your text...yeah Lincoln's fine, he just got home, a little exhausted but nothing he can't handle."
"Oh that reminds me, I need to call Benny, we have to schedule our rehearsal," Luan said, grabbing her phone as well to call her boyfriend.
"I should get Lincoln's food ready," Lynn Sr said.
"I'll join you, dear," Rita said, going with her husband into the kitchen.
All the sisters went and did their own thing, including Lori who made sure to call Bobby, letting her know she got home just fine. Lynn was the only one remaining, thinking over the events of the day. Despite her tough demeanor, even she gets worried and concern for her family, and hearing that Lincoln fainted at school and was out for a while really got to her. Part of her wants to go upstairs and give her little brother a nice hug, not just to make him feel better, but also herself.
Lynn of course mentally slapped herself, she couldn't go soft now, if anything Lincoln probably needed to toughen up, she doesn't know why he fainted, and she sure isn't going to buy the whole thing about him being hungry because even in this house, everyone is adequately fed, but she needed to figure out why and help Lincoln past it.
Plus, she knew a girl wouldn't find a fainting boy attractive.
That same evening, Carlos had to return to the office after a call alongside Connors where they both received an earful Miles Warren, one of the doctors from New York who was quite infuriated with the incident regarding the spiders getting loose.
"I trusted you with these spiders! My top-secret experimental spiders! And you let them loose in the zoo!?" Warren exclaimed.
"Sorry sir, I don't know what happened," Carlos said.
"Those spiders were part of a top-secret project! You didn't even get them all back! One spider is missing!" Warren stated, the man incredibly frustrated with this turn of events.
"Maybe it's still around?" Carlos said, hoping to be optimistic.
"Yes, possibly long gone," Miles said. "Connors, I expected better from you as well. You have really been losing it since your little accident a year ago."
"Sir, with all due respect, that's quite personal," Carlos said.
"It is fine Carlos, I have not quite been myself lately," Connors said.
"But Curt," Carlos insisted.
"It's fine," Connors turned back to Warren. "Don't be too hard on Carlos, he was quite busy that day and he truly believed they were safe in his office. Their escape is a mystery, almost like someone wanted them to break free."
"You think we were sabotaged?" Carlos asked.
"It is not out of the question," Connors said.
"We'll search the security cameras, maybe we'll find something," Warren said. "However, I don't imagine you two will be employed with us for much longer!"
Carlos groaned in annoyance, he saw this coming, but it did not make things any easier, "Understandable sir."
"I hope so," Warren said, making his way out the room.
"Oh man, what a disaster," Carlos said.
"Accidents happen," Connors said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have my own business to attend to."
"Oh, sure, I should get home, it is late after all," Carlos said. "I did tell my wife I'd be back shortly and I don't want her to worry."
"Ah yes, you mentioned once you were married," Connors said. "What is your wife like?"
"Oh she's amazing, quite an artist," Carlos said. "We have four kids together; my oldest and only daughter Carlota is a successful streamer who is quite knowledgeable about make-up. Then there's my oldest son Carlos Junior, or CJ for short, he really likes pirates. Then there's my second youngest son Carl, this zoo is one of his favorite places to visit, along with the train station. He loves Komodo Dragons, Trains, and toys in general. Then there's my youngest son Carlitos, he's just learning to talk."
"It sounds like you have a wonderful family," Connors said.
"Oh yes, the best part is that it's not just us, I live next door to my parents, so they're always involve in my childrens' lives," Carlos said. "Plus, my sister Maria lives there with her son and daughter, it's great having our entire family under one, or rather, two roofs so to say. It'd be great if you came over one day, my mom makes some really great tamales."
"Perhaps, maybe I could also bring my wife and son over to so we could have our families together," Connors offered.
"Oh, you have a family too?" Carlos inquired.
"Yes, my wife's name is Martha. She's very protective of me considering my 'disability,'" Connors said as he looked to the stub where his hand was. "But I I don't let that get in the way of my work. I also have a son named Billy; he wants to grow up to be a scientist just like his old man."
"Wow, that's wonderful!" Carlos said with admiration, part of his had always wanted his children to have the same fascination of science as he did.
"Thanks," Conners showed gratitude. "Speaking of kids, how is that young boy who fainted from the zoo doing? You mentioned that you brought him home so your sister can check up on him."
"Lincoln? Oh yes, he turned out all right. He was burning up before we brought him home but now he's back to normal," Carlos reassured. "His sister is taking him back home to Royal Woods as we speak."
"That's good news. Now I must be off, I will see you tomorrow, if we are not terminated by then," Connors joked.
"Right, let's hope for a bright future," Carlos said, taking his leave and going enroute back to his home.
Connors just went to an office where he brought out some chemicals he had been working with, glancing briefly at the stump where his hand used to be.
"Getting closer, soon things will be back to normal for me," Connors said, checking his vials of what seemed to be lizard DNA. "Time to put one of mother nature's miracles to work on a mammal type being."