October 23, 2010 (Present Day)
"And since then, Linky and I have been planning for Halloween pretty much every day!" Luan span to face Reggie, arms up excitedly as the group made their way to the dining room table. "We've even got a full proof route planned for maximum candy earnage!"
Reggie scratched the final words of Luan's tale onto his notepad. "Now that sounds like a fun time!" He said, flipping the notepad shut and placing his pen behind his ear. He looked down at Lincoln, walking beside him with a gleaming little spark in his eyes. "You must really be looking forward to that, aren't you, Lincoln!"
Lincoln nodded emphatically, "Uh-huh! Leni says my costume's almost ready! And Lori's making me a sword and shield in the garage!"
"Sounds like it'll be one cool costume!" Reggie laughed. "And with a costume like that, I'm sure you're gonna have an awesome Halloween!"
"He will with us handling it!" Lynn cried bombastically.
Reggie brought a hand to ruffle Lynn's hair in approving response, "I'm glad to hear that."
The group approached the dinner table, already set with all the plates and utensils needed for the meal. The only thing missing was the food itself, absent from the middlemost part of the table.
"We should only have a few minutes left until the food's done in the oven," Lynn Sr. informed. "I hope you still like Lynnsagna, Regginator."
"You kidding?!" Reggie boomed. "I've been dreaming about it all week!" He looked to the rest of the family, "You guys don't know how lucky you guys are to have your dad here to make it for you whenever you want! Lynnsagna night was always a highlight of the week back when your dad and me were roommates."
"When was that?" Lincoln asked, looking between him and Lynn Sr. The idea of his Mister Daddy and Mr. Reggie knowing each other prior to his arrival with his family was mind-blowing to him, as the thought of a world prior to one's existence usually is to a child.
"Oh, ages ago!" Lynn Sr. replied. "Back before you or any or your sisters were even a thought."
"Back before father time really got his claws into us, am I right?" Reggie chuckled, reaching up to brush back the few gray hairs that adorned his curly black locks.
"I happen to think we're aging gracefully, thank you very much," Lynn Sr. said, lifting his chin with an air of false haughtiness.
"Is that why I found that box of hair dye in the cupboard?" Rita asked with a smirk.
Lynn Sr. jolted, "That's just for a rainy day!"
"The ongoing rainy day that is time, Lynnzilla?" Reggie interjected with equal smarm.
Lynn Sr. huffed in exaggerated offense, and walked towards the kitchen entrance, "What is this, 'Pick on Dad day'? Are we forgetting who has been slaving away over the delicious meal we are about to all have? Where's the appreciation?"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he left Reggie's side to jog up to Lynn Sr. "I appreciate you, Mister Daddy!" He proclaimed, standing on his tiptoes, "You make the bestest food in the world!"
Even after all the time they had spent thus far with Lincoln in their home, the rest of the Loud family still found it impossible not to have themselves endeared to the boy whenever he made a statement such as that one, and this time was no exception, especially to Lynn Sr.
"Aww, thank you, Lincoln," Lynn Sr. said, kneeling down to ruffle Lincoln's hair. "It makes me happy to hear you say that! Mister Daddy loves cooking for you, too!"
Lincoln beamed at Lynn Sr. from below his messy white locks and stood a little taller to press his head further into his father's palm.
Wow, the girls weren't kidding! Reggie marveled. Looks like Lincoln totally loves the head-scratches!
It was hard to believe that just a month prior, Lincoln couldn't stand even the most careful of contacts, reviling against anything and everyone in fear of coming into harm.
Seeing him there, actively seeking proper physical affection from the friend Reggie had entrusted to be a father to him, made Reggie's emotions balloon with happiness.
"Wait, I appreciate you, too!" Lynn Jr. spoke up next, trotting up next to Lincoln to stand up on her toes alongside him, tilting her head to signal she wanted a head scratch as well. "You make the best sandwiches in the world!"
Lynn Sr. laughed heartily and did as his Junior wanted, reaching down and tousling her little brown curls. "Aww, thanks, sweetie! I'm glad you like them!"
"I appreciate you, too!"
"Yeah, I love your pancakes!"
"Your strawberry jam English muffins literally make getting up for school actually worth something!"
"You make funny-side up eggs just for me!"
In a flash of a second, Lynn Sr. was surrounded by the rest of his daughters, all passionately proclaiming just how much they loved his food and how much he himself meant to them.
And Lynn Sr. looked positively overjoyed by it.
"Aww! Thanks a bunch, kids!" He gushed, his hands going out to muss up all their perfectly groomed heads in a flurry of affection. "Nothing makes me happier than knowing the food I make with love makes you happy as well!"
Once he had successfully shown his children their due affection, he stood back up to his full height, his hands on his hips, "Now, why don't you all get settled while I go and put the finishing touches on dinner? It'll only be a few minutes. Maybe one of you can get started on a new story."
"Okay!" All the Loud siblings cried.
Shortly after, the clatter of chairs being pulled out and people taking their seats rang through the dining room, and Reggie found himself laying his notepad and pen next to his plate.
Though he was friends with the Loud family, he unfortunately was mandated to take constant notes during his visit. Nothing personal, but somewhat irksome, he had to admit.
"So then?!" He said with a bombastic clap of his hands, "Which one of you girls wants to go next? Lori? Luna? You guys wanna rock, paper, scissors for it?"
Lori looked over from her place across the table, Lincoln in her grasp as she set him in his booster seat. "That's okay," She said, letting Lincoln get a quick arm hug in as thanks for her assistance before taking her seat next to him. "Luna can go next, I don't mind."
Luna stiffened, "R-Really, you want me to go next?"
"Now, now, there's no reason to get nervous, Luna." Rita spoke up from the head of the table, catching Luna's widened gaze and returning it with a coaxing smile. "Just tell Mr. Reggie about the things you've done with your brother over the past few weeks."
"Yeah, Luna!" Before any doubts could rear their ugly head, Lincoln spoke up next, his cheery-chipper tone lifting Luna's nervousness away just a little.
Any remaining nervousness was whisked away completely when she looked over at him. His big, bright eyes made her heart practically burst with love and affection for him right there.
"Tell Mr. Reggie about the songs you sing to me!"
And just like that, the affection was drowned in a flood of embarrassment, "L-Lincoln!" She squeaked, cheeks going positively scarlet with timidity.
"Oh, that's right, you're the little songbird of your family," Reggie said, seemingly not noticing Luna's shame in being outed as said songbird. "I remember hearing from your dad about that from time to time." He looked back to Lincoln, "You telling me she's taught you a few tunes, buddy?"
"Uh huh!" Lincoln replied, nodding emphatically, completely oblivious to Luna trying to keep her eyes down just across from him. "She has the prettiest singing voice ever!"
Ha! Little bro is totally rockin' your praises! Luna's inner voice cried, adding to Luna's embarrassment with the truth of it.
"Is that right?" Reggie laughed. He chanced a glance at Luna, unsurprised when he saw her trying her darndest to avoid making eye contact with anyone. "Luna, if you wanna tell us any of those stories, I'd be happy to hear 'em. Don't worry, you don't actually have to sing anything though."
Luna gulped and clasped her hands tighter in her lap. "I—Well—The thing is—"
"C'mon, Luna!" Lincoln cried, throwing his fist into the air, "Tell Mr. Reggie about the times you sang to me! They helped me a bunch whenever I was sad!"
That proclamation fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how one would sympathize with Luna at that moment) swayed just enough of Luna's embarrassment away to have her want to comply with her little brother's request.
Oh Lincoln… Luna thought with a sigh.
He's lucky he's cute, right? Her inner voice added.
Luna agreed, and she closed her eyes and tensed up a little as she collected her words.
"Okay…" She said, her voice a little smaller. "I'll tell you about those times I—the times I—"
"Don't worry, Luna, I get it," Reggie gently interjected, "I appreciate what you're doing here. Take your time, and go as slow as you want, okay?"
Luna nodded, but kept her eyes closed. "Thank you," She squeaked. She took another breath, and after a moment, she continued.
"Well…The first time I sang anything to Lincoln was the day he got his cast off…"
…
October 15, 2010
"I got the glitter!" Leni bounced next to her sisters, sitting criss-cross alongside them with three jars of the sparkly substance held against her. "We've got orange, purple, and silver! You think that'll work?" She asked in a chirp.
"Aww, no red?" Lynn pouted. "How come?"
"Um, Lynnie?" Lori grabbed her youngest sister's attention with a tap on the shoulder and pointed down at her feet when she looked at her. "Remember your little art project last week?"
Lynn looked down at her sneakers, her bright, messy, sparkly red sneakers. She blushed when she remembered her impromptu glam-up snafu and stepped away from her sisters to kick them off. "I wanted to make ladybug sneakers…" She mumbled, going back to curl up against Lori's side as a means of apology. Had it not been for her, she would have gotten in massive trouble with her parents for all the glitter she had gotten on the carpet that day.
Lori rolled her eyes and brought an arm around Lynn, squeezing her against her side and rubbing her back; wordlessly conveying the lack of hard feelings and the loving affection she held for her. "Looks like things are coming together pretty nicely," She commented, leaning over the giant posterboard that laid between all of the sisters. "Is the message almost done, Lunes?"
Luna bit her cheek, not taking her eyes off the posterboard she was dribbling glue over. "Just a little more…" She muttered, her tongue poking out the corner of her lip as she finished off an "L" and moved to the final "N".
"I thought Linky couldn't read," Lynn interjected.
"That may be true," Lori said, watching Luna finish off the "L" with a cute little curve. "But we wanna make sure he knows how happy we are that he's finally getting his cast off today, right?"
"Right!" The other girls agreed.
"We're gonna draw pictures though, right?" Lynn asked.
"We will if you guys pipe down and let me focus here," Luna muttered in a rare instance of irritation with her sisters. This "M" she was working on was proving to require a stressful amount of finesse; stress that she did not need piled onto the already lengthy tower weighing heavily on her heart.
Her sisters bit back any other words that may have sprung from their lips afterwards; that is, except for the one sister who typically didn't condone such behavior.
"Um, you wanna explain where the attitude is coming from?" Lori haughtily asked. "Or am I gonna have to ask you to go to your room 'til you cool down? We kinda want Lincoln to be happy when he gets home, y'know?"
Luna sighed dismally and eased the pressure on the glue bottle, finishing off the second "S" of the word "sisters" before leaning back. "No, I'm sorry," She said plainly, her expression going despondently plain.
The other sisters glanced to one another, silently asking what could have come over Luna, as well as asking who would reach out to her.
"Luna, is something wrong?" Seemingly deciding to take the task upon herself, Leni stepped towards Luna on her knees, putting her hands on her shoulders to give her a comforting little jostle.
"It's nothing…" Luna flatly replied.
"You don't sound like it's nothing," Lynn cautiously objected.
Luna bit her lower lip and let her head fall. "You guys will think it's dumb," She murmured, bringing a hand up to scratch at her arm sheepishly.
"Um, we all remember the Mr. Coconuts fiasco of 2008," Lori said, looking down at Lynn with a playful smirk, "After that, I don't think anything else really compares on the dumb scale."
"He was evil and he was going to steal my heart!" Lynn protested fearfully.
"Lynnie, you already broke him, please at least respect his memory," Luan grumbled with an irritated frown.
"His eyes glowed in the dark!" Lynn cried.
"Both of you pipe down!" Lori huffed, glaring at her two youngest sisters. Once they were quieted, she turned back to Luna and Leni. "Okay Luna, please do us a solid and tell us what's wrong before we have to pull Luan and Lynnie apart if you don't mind."
Luna bit her lip and kept her sights on an interesting bit of fluff on the carpet, "I…Well…" She groaned and let her palms drop flat onto the carpet.
"I…I've been kind of jealous of you guys…"
Leni's head tilted quizzically, "Jealous? What for?"
"Of…" Luna reached out to twiddle with the bit of fluff, "Of all the time you guys have spent with Lincoln over the past couple of weeks. I—" Her words caught in her throat and she wrapped her arms around herself, a shimmer of moisture coming into her eyes. "I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with him since he first got here."
That's an understatement, Her inner voice chided, You haven't had a speck of "just you and him time" since that night you helped him with his nightmares at the end of his first day, and he wasn't even awake for that!
I'm aware of that, Luna internally retorted, Thanks for the reminder.
"Umm…Luna?" She was pulled out of her inner monologue by Lori. When their eyes met, Luna shrank at the skeptical sharpness present in Lori's appraisal of her problem.
"I get where you're coming from," She said, lifting a finger towards her, "But, I wouldn't call getting Linc to spend time with you that difficult. Really, all you have to do is say hi to him and he starts following you like a duckling."
"Yeah!" Luan chirped, "All I had to do to hang out with him was come downstairs one time! Well, that and look out the window with him, but still, not very hard."
"I just ask Lincoln if he wants to play!" Lynn said, an adorable little smile coming over her as she recalled the many games and sunny days they had enjoyed together since their first trip to the park at the beginning of the month.
"And Linky and I always start the days before school with cartoons!" Leni added. "And sometimes we read together after school!" She brought her hands off Luna's shoulders in favor of reaching out to take her hand off the carpet and into her own. "Luna, getting Linky to spend time with you is the easiest thing in the world!"
"I mean—Easy for you guys to say," Luna found herself saying before she could stop herself, resulting in her jolting from the surprise of it.
Her sisters perked up at that, and Lori's lips thinned in offense.
"And what do you mean by that?" She asked crossly.
Brah, you better just turn into the skid, Luna's inner voice warned. No backing out now, you know big sis is just gonna drag it out of you at this point.
Y'know…I really hate it when I'm right… Luna gulped and looked up from the bit of fluff her free hand was still playing with and faced all her sisters.
"It's just…" She frowned and a single tear moved down her cheek. "You guys have a lot more to offer Lincoln. You guys each give him something worth spending time with you."
"Luna…" Leni's heart suddenly sprouted a crack. "What makes you think that?" She asked, releasing her hand to instead take Luna into a sideways hug.
"Because it's true," Luna whispered, leaning against Leni's embrace. She regarded her sisters, a few more tears descending down her face. "Lynnie's practically the perfect playmate for Lincoln. Keeping him entertained while being gentle enough not to hurt him. Luan helped get him through his dentist visit and told Lincoln about Halloween, giving him something to look forward to." She looked up at Leni, "Leni, like you said, you've been spending your own time with Lincoln, either before or after school. Not only that, but every time he finishes one of his homeschool assignments, he goes straight to you to show you what he did. He loves getting praise from you."
Luna turned away from Leni and looked to the eldest Loud Sister. "And Lori? I don't even need to say an example. Everyone sees the way Lincoln's eyes light up whenever you walk into the room. You can practically see hearts floating above his head every time you say hi to him, and you're still the only one he lets pick him up besides Mom and Dad." She smiled a bittersweet smile and looked down to the floor again, "Lori, I don't think it'd be too farfetched to say that Lincoln most definitely loves you already."
Lori took a moment to absorb Luna's words. When they sank in, her eyes widened and her jaw fell open a little bit. "I…" Her voice fell in the possible truth of Luna's statement. Could Lincoln truly love her? She hadn't done that much to earn such a sacred emotion, hadn't she?
"Luna?" Thankfully, Leni was still able to hold onto her head in the matter. She released Luna from her hug and looked down at her, offering her kindest and sweetest smile, "You're right about those moments we've spent with Lincoln, but you're still missing something important. Something we pointed out to you at the beginning of this. We reached out to Linky; we made our way to make those moments happen with him." She beamed at Luna and reached up to wipe an errant tear away, "Dontcha think that, maybe, just maybe, you might've let your shyness get the better of you? That maybe that kept you from reaching out to him?"
Luna bit her lip again and averted her gaze from Leni. "I was too afraid to. After seeing how much he got along with you guys, all the fun he had with you, I was worried I'd be boring in comparison."
"That's not true though!" Lynn crawled out of her place between Lori's arm and side, making quick headway to Luna and stumbling over one of the (thankfully closed) glitter bottles in her haste.
"Oh, Lynnie!" Luna pulled herself away from Leni and swiftly caught her youngest sister in her arms. "You okay?"
"Uh-huh," Lynn replied, shaking off the slight disorientation that came over her.
"Wow, Lynnie has the worst luck with glitter," Luan remarked.
Once Lynn's vision stopped spinning, she focused on Luna again. "You're not boring, Luna!" She declared with gusto. "You have your own good stuff! Stuff that I know Lincoln would love doing with you!"
One of Luna's eyebrows rose, "Like what?"
Lynn needed a moment to think of a reply to that unexpected follow up question. She stared down at the carpet pensively from where Luna held her, licking her cheek in thought.
"You can practically see the little hamster spinning the wheel in her head," Luan giggled, earning herself a flick on the ear from Lori.
Lynn luckily didn't hear her as she was too lost in thought. Then, as if a bolt of inspirational lightning struck her, she sprung up and spoke on with great zeal.
"You know a buncha music and songs!" She cried, wriggling excitedly in Luna's grasp. "Remember how much Linky liked when you whistled the Robin Hood song for him?! Why don't you do more of that!? I'm sure he'd like to hear more music! Listen to music together!"
Luna's eyes widened, "Listen…To music…Together?"
"That sounds like a great idea!" Leni took Luna back into her arms, effectively taking Lynn into her arms as well for an affectionate double hug. "Luna, with all the music you listen to, I'm sure there's got to be something you can share with Linky!"
"I…" Luna bit her cheek and gazed down at her clasped hands. Music. Could that work? Could she really hold Lincoln's attention with music? What kind of songs would she even sing?
KLANG! BANG! KLANG! BANG!
All five girls nearly leapt out of their skin when the sound of a raucous cowbell rang out from Lori's pocket.
"Aw, jeez! Hurry up and answer the phone!" Luan shouted.
Lori rooted through her pocket, struggling to pull out her father's cell phone at first thanks to it getting stuck along the cloth of her pocket. With a snarl, she wrenched it out, falling onto her back with the force of it.
"Urf! Hi, Dad!" She grunted when she answered the video call. "Everything going okay?"
"Hi, sweetpea!" Lynn Sr. greeted, giving Lori a small wave, "Yeah, everything's going decently. Your mother, Lincoln, and I are just waiting for the cast technician to come in to start the removal process."
"Ugh, waiting!" Lori groaned, rolling her eyes, "That literally sounds like the worst."
"So what are you calling for?" Luan asked, pushing her face into the camera's view.
Lynn Sr. smiled sympathetically, "Well…all this waiting is starting to make your brother nervous. Because of that, your mother suggested we give you guys a call, since you girls have proven yourselves pretty good at helping him during times like these. Whaddya say? Wanna lend us a hand?"
"Sure!" Luan chimed, nearly pushing Lori over onto her side.
"Luan!" Lori sat up and shoved her back with her shoulder, prompting Luan to stick her tongue out at her, a gesture that Lori returned out of sight of the phone's camera. "Go ahead and put him on, Dad," She said when they were done antagonizing each other.
Lynn Sr. nodded and lowered the phone on his end, showing Lincoln sitting on his lap and placing it in his hands. "Alright, squirt! Here are your sisters!"
Luna watched Lori and Luan gush over Lincoln, making simple conversation with him and offering their cheeriest vibes in response to his sniffly little statements.
"Aww, why the long face, Linc?" Lori asked tenderly.
Luna had to listen intently to catch Lincoln's words, small and withdrawn in his gulped down, clearly nervous breaths.
"We've…been here for a long time," Lincoln quailed. "I'm starting to get scared. It's cold in here and there's no color in this room."
"But Mom and Dad are there, right?" Lori reasoned. "You know they're there for you."
"Y-Yeah," Lincoln replied, his voice cracking, sending a painful little sting into Luna's heart. "Missus Mommy has been playing with me and Bun-Bun, and Mister Daddy has been telling me stories, but…" He coughed when his emotions grew too thick, and Luna's shoulders rose against her neck when she heard him break down.
"But I'm still getting really scared!" Lincoln wept. "I wanna go home!"
"Oh, Lincoln…" Lori whispered.
"Don't cry…" Luan cooed. "It's gonna be okay, we promise."
Together, the five sisters listened to the sound of their little brother crying from the other end of the phone, unable to think of anything they could really do, thanks to the curse of distance that separated them.
"Luna?"
Then, Leni spoke Luna's name, jarring the attention of Lori and Luan past the phone.
Luna stood a little ways in front of them, Lynn still in her arms and a glimmer of somber earnestness shining from her pouting expression.
Seeing that earnestness, a spark went off in Lori's mind. "H-Hey, Linc," She said, glancing back down at the phone. "I think I have an idea. Do you think it'd help if Luna sang something for you? You said you liked her singing voice, didn't you?"
A near silent gasp escaped Luna, and her ears began to ring with the thumps of her heartbeat. She would have to think of something to sing to Lincoln then and there? What could she sing? What should she sing? Her thoughts swirled in a manic maelstrom within her mind, and she suddenly found her mouth going dry.
"Th-That sounds nice…" Lincoln sniffled a clogged sounding sniffle, "Can she whistle the Robin Hood song for me?"
The whirling mental storm quieted to a dull roar, and Luna blinked out of her daze when she heard Lincoln's request. A simple song; thank goodness.
"I'm sure she'd love to!" Lori boomed, looking up from the phone and at Luna. "Right, Lunes?"
Luna gulped, and felt her heavy as stone legs begin to take her forward.
"Um…Luna?"
Luna stopped, then realized she was still carrying someone in her arms like a teddy bear. "Sorry, Lynnie," She said, lowering the girl onto the floor and giving her a pat on the head as a means of apology.
Lynn giggled, "It's okay." She gestured for Luna to come down to her level. When she did, she stood on her tiptoes and gave her a quick little smooch on the cheek. "Good luck," She said, darting back to Leni for another hug.
Suddenly, Luna's legs felt much lighter, along with her heart.
"Here she is!" Lori announced when Luna stepped up to her and Luan's side. She handed the phone over to Luna. "Do your thing, Lunes."
Luna carefully took the phone into her hands, turning the screen over to face the camera…
And immediately felt her heart swell with concerned affection for the boy.
Lincoln didn't look nearly as bad as he did in comparison to some of the other crying spells he had in the past, but Luna still couldn't help but feel an overbearing need to comfort him when she saw his blanched white face and his puffy red eyes.
"Hi, little one…" Luna cooed. "Feeling down in the dumps?"
Lincoln hiccupped and nodded at Luna. "Mmhmm," He murmured, bringing his good arm to wipe his nose. When he sufficiently snotted up his sleeve (Much to Luna's amusement), he gazed at Luna beseechingly. "Can you whistle the Robin Hood song, please?" He asked, pulling the large green sweater Lynn Sr. had sacrificed and swaddled him in tighter around himself.
Luna smiled lovingly, "Of course…"
Luna thankfully was able to eschew her shyness for Lincoln's sake, whistling the bouncy, jaunty tune with aplomb, holding his calmed attention and even enticing her sisters to bob their heads alongside the tune.
"Thank you, Luna," Lincoln said, smiling a watery smile at her when she finished.
Luna beamed at Lincoln, "You're very welcome, Lincoln."
"Can you—" Lincoln tensed up and twiddled his fingers, "Can you whistle more songs?"
Luna tilted her head, "I can try. Do you want anything specific?"
Lincoln gulped and peered up at her past his bangs, "Um…The song from Sleeping Beauty?"
Luna blinked owlishly, "The song from Sleeping Beau—Oh, you mean 'Once upon a Dream'?"
"Mmhmm," Lincoln hummed, his hands rising to take Bun-Bun from Rita off camera. "You remember it, right?" He asked, squeezing Bun-Bun against his chest.
Luna chuckled lightly, "I remember. Don't worry."
The room was then filled with the melodic melody of the song Princess Aurora danced through the forest with, Luna herself getting into it by closing her eyes and swaying with it.
Over to her right, Lori and Luan watched closely; Luan smirking and leaning towards Lori.
"You think she remembers that the words 'I love you' pop up a lot in that song?" She giggled.
"Shh, don't embarrass her, she's on a roll," Lori chided with a smirk of her own.
From then on, Luna obliged to several more of Lincoln's requests; whistling whatever tune he requested (which was mostly Disney songs) with a passionate desire to help him feel better.
"Oh!" It was around song five or six that Luna's little imitation of a songbird was interrupted by Lynn Sr. "It looks like the cast technician is here, sweetheart," He informed, pulling the phone from Lincoln and smiling gratefully at her. "Thanks a bunch for your help. We should hopefully be out and heading back before too long."
"Assuming someone doesn't prolong Lincoln's wait any longer," Rita said pointedly to the cast technician off camera.
"Eh-heh, sorry Ma'am," The cast technician squeaked.
Lynn Sr. chuckled nervously and glanced off camera for a second before turning back to Luna. "Anyway, just sit tight, we'll be back before you know it; then we can all figure out what to do for dinner, 'kay?"
Luna nodded, "Okay, but, Dad? Can I say goodbye to Lincoln?"
"Sure!" Lynn Sr. put the phone back in Lincoln's hands, allowing Luna to see his rapidly whitening face once more.
"See you in a bit, little one," Luna said, trying to inject as much warmth and comfort as humanly possible into her voice.
"Bye-bye, Luna," Lincoln quivered. "I hope I get to see you and the girls again soon."
Luna regarded Lincoln with a soft, loving smile, "I know you will. Real soon. 'Til then, don't worry. You're in good hands with Mom and Dad there with you."
Lincoln's good hand clenched around the fabric of Lynn Sr.'s sweater, still warmly wrapped around him. "I-I know," He gulped, looking up at his mother and father off camera. "Missus Mommy and Mister Daddy are here to take care of me."
"That's right, Lincoln," Rita cooed.
"Darn right, squirt!" Lynn Sr. assured.
Lincoln smiled wanly and looked back at Luna, his eyes aglitter with the feeling of safety and security that was evidently blooming in him, "Thank you for whistling for me, Luna."
Luna's heart grew warm, and she chuckled with outpouring affection. "Anytime, Lincoln. I'll be happy to do it again for you in the future." She reached out a finger and tapped the spot where Lincoln's nose was on the screen, "But for now, you get that pesky cast off and get back to us, okay?"
"O-Okay," Lincoln replied, a sliver of bravery in his voice.
"Goodbye, Lincoln."
"Bye-Bye, Luna."
After a quick additional goodbye from her parents, Luna ended the call, returning the phone to a family photo (With Lincoln included) that Lynn Sr. used as his wallpaper.
"Lunes, your smiling," Lori pointed out with a laugh.
"And your cheeks are super pink!" Luan giggled.
Luna brought her palm to her cheek, feeling the warmth now present on it along with the corner of her upturned lips. "I hadn't noticed," She whispered.
A moment passed in which everyone allowed Luna to come to terms with her growing heart, expanded by the genuine gratitude she had received from her baby brother.
Then, Luna sprung up, causing all the other girls to jolt in surprise.
"Leni, hand me the glue," Luna said, a determined grin shining upon her face. When she caught it, she immediately plopped herself down in front of the posterboard, resuming her careful weaving of the letters once more, a fireball of passion blazing to life within her heart.
"We've got a poster to finish!"
Heck yeah we do! Her inner voice cried.