First off, let me address some things;

1. This is not a theory. I do not believe that Lucy, or any Loud, is adopted. It's just for the story.

2. BoukenDutch brought up a good point in the reviews; that Lincoln and Lucy are too far separate age-wise to have both been babies at the same time. That was a mistake on my part. In the picture, Lincoln was a toddler while Lucy was a baby. I went back to the last chapter and made the correction.

3. Thank you all for the amazing feedback. It really means a lot, seeing how this is one of my favorite stories yet.

Now onto the story;


"Sleep well, all of you," Rita called up to her children on the second floor, watching the lights go out and the Loud House go dark, as she grabbed the door to her and her husband's room. She considered closing it and calling it a night, but a strange feeling overcame the woman as she inched the wooden door to a close. She frowned lightly; it was a familiar feeling. Something that felt suspiciously like her maternal instincts. She listened for any unusual sounds; no screams, no shouts, no loud thuds or bangs. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her kids, so Rita simply shrugged it off. Still, she moved her hand off the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

"Honey, did you just get a weird feeling?" she asked her husband as she turned back to him, walking over to her bed. Lynn Sr. glanced up from the van magazine he had been thoroughly invested in and simply shook his head.

"No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just thinking…"

"Ah. I thought I smelled burning," Lynn Sr. said a guffaw as he snapped his knee, chuckling at yet another one of his world class 'dad jokes.' He glanced up at his wife with a goofy and amused grin, but slowly felt it slide off his face as the blonde woman crossed her arms and glared at him with such strong intensity he felt like ducking under the covers for safety. However, he braved her glare with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, honey. What do you think caused this feeling?"

"I don't know," the woman responded, rubbing her chin in thought, "But it felt like a sense of… worry, I'll say. Over the kids."

Lynn nodded his head, suddenly understanding his wife's concerns. One of the things that had made it easy for them to raise such a large family was Rita's powerful maternal instincts, born from the powerful bonds she shared with each of her children. Lynn wouldn't say that she loved them more (no one loved his children more than him) but he sadly had to admit that she was the more 'parental' parent figure in their relationship. All of his kids would turn to her for issues regarding… everything, really. Clothes, relationships, their changing bodies… when they had concerns, they turned to Rita.

Well, except one. While she did come to them with her concerns occasionally, Lucy seemed more fond to bottle it up and only express her worries through writing…

But that doesn't make her any less of a daughter to us, Lynn stubbornly thought to himself, angry for even considering that young Lucy was any different…

"Honey?" Rita asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Lynn Sr. shook his head slightly, before admitting; "Sorry, honey, I was just thinking about… er, nothing important. What were you saying?"

Rita didn't answer, for at that moment the house was suddenly brightened by lights upstairs, causing both parents to cringe and cover their eyes. Rita was about to call out to whoever opened the lights, but paused when she heard… breathing. Not normal breathing. Loud breathing.

Like someone was having a panic attack.

The same unpleasant feeling as before returned to Rita, as she gestured towards her husband to get out of their bed. She rushed back towards the door, throwing it open when she heard the voice of her eldest daughter; "Lucy, what's wrong?" and after a small fraction of a second, an almost faint "Oh no."

The next voice came from Lucy, and Rita would always remember her exact words;

"L-Lori, what is this? Who is this woman?"

Her eyes widened in horror, and Rita felt her heart stop and her blood freeze when she heard what Lucy said. Who is this woman? Lucy's ragged breaths and panicked questions meant only one thing;

She found the photo.

She felt a violent shove as Lynn Sr, whose face was just as shocked and terrified as his wife's, rushed past her so quickly, without any other concern. Rita found herself quickly following him, racing up the stairs, praying in her mind that Lucy was talking about anyone, anyone, other than her…

When the parents reached the top floor, they found their two daughters; Lori mumbling and stammering her words with a look of pure disbelief written on her face, and Lucy sliding down the wall…

…with the photo in her hands.

The photo of her birth mother.

Lucy may not have cried, but when she saw the eight year old holding that picture, Rita Loud covered her mouth with shaky hands to keep herself from screaming, as two streams of tears rolled down her face.

Lucy turned her head to look at her, and Rita saw everything. Hurt, fear, confusion, anxiety… everything made its way to the young Goth's normally solid face. Rita wanted to make her way towards her, but one step forward was too much, as her knees buckled and her legs shook with such velocity and intensity that Rita sunk to the ground on her knees, watching through tear-stained eyes as her husband got to Lucy first, grabbing her away from the wall and wrapping his arms around the small girl, kissing her on her head as tears began to make their way out of his eyes…

Rita heard scuffling noises behind her, and looked up to see her children all exiting their rooms. Lola's face mask was messy, as if she had been interrupted while applying it. At first, she had an aggressive look on her face, but it slowly melted away when she saw the scene before her. Lynn came out of her room, as white as a ghost, when she saw her father hugging Lucy while in tears, and quickly bolted towards them with a hoarse cry of "LUCY!"

And Lincoln…

Rita felt a trembling finger tap her lightly on her shoulder, and looked around to see her only son eyeing the situation with confusion and fear in his eyes.

"Mom… what's… what's going on?"


"H-here you go, honey," Rita said nervously as she took the cup of hot chocolate in her shaking hands and placed it on the table before Lucy. She swallowed nervously as she did, hoping the young girl wouldn't react aggressively to being called 'honey' by a woman she now knew wasn't her mother…

The Goth looked down at the small cup before her with absolute disinterest. However, as she glanced up to look at everyone else in the kitchen with her, those being Rita and five older sisters, they all looked at her with concern, and Lynn even imitated the motion for drinking. Reluctantly, Lucy grabbed the mug with her cold hands, and felt a pleasant warmth spread across her fingers as she lifted the piping hot liquid to her mouth and sipped from the cup. As she felt the cocoa take its effect, she smiled in spite of herself. Her nerves were shot, and the drink helped.

The atmosphere though… that would take more than a sip of hot chocolate.

Everyone was tense, and deeply saddened by the events of earlier. Lucy was no stranger to gloomy situations, and could recognize one when she saw one. What else could you call Lori trying to maintain a bravado, Leni weakly smiling at her then turning away, Luna distracting herself from her gaze, Luan not even attempting to make light of the situation, Lynn looking at her with eyes full of guilt, and her mother pouring herself some chocolate, and blowing the steam that emerged from the cup?

They all jumped when they heard someone enter into the kitchen. Lynn Sr. looked at them all, and sighed, smiling a bit of a satisfied smile. "Well, I got everyone else back to bed. Well, almost everyone…"

As if it were on cue, Lincoln entered into the kitchen, shuddering slightly at the gloomy atmosphere that had overtaken the kitchen. He looked over to Lucy first, and gave her a weak yet brotherly smile. The young girl responded with her own, as she was calmed immensely by his presence, a warm tingle making its way through her body, almost like she had drunk the entire hot chocolate in one sip.

"Lincoln, please sit next to your sister," his father ordered, and the young man nodded as he walked over to Lucy, and sat in the chair besides her. He glanced over at her with concern and love in his eyes, still confused by everything going on, but he knew enough to allow his older sibling instincts to flood his mind, as he grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked him in the eyes, and nodded, calming both her and her brother down.

Her brother? Lucy didn't know if she could call him that anymore.

"Dad… what's going on?" Lincoln asked, "Why was everyone in the hallway? Why do you all look so… worried?"

"And what was that picture?" Lucy followed up.

Lynn Sr. sighed loudly, before clearing his throat to answer the two's questions. "Lincoln, Lucy, there's… there's something we've been… hiding, for a while now. It's something your older sisters know…"

Lincoln and Lucy both turned their heads to their five older sisters, who all looked incredibly guilt-wracked and upset.

"… and it's about you, Lucy. We wanted to hide it away for a while, but… we can't do that anymore," he said bemoaningly, "So, Lucy, Lincoln, listen closely, both of you… Lucy is adopted."

They both reacted differently. Lucy had already come to figure that out herself, so she didn't react too strongly to the news. She maintained her normal expression, and didn't even twinge. However, she would be lying to herself if she said that her father admitting the truth didn't give her a sinking, sickened feeling in her stomach…

Lincoln, on the other hand, was the opposite. His face looked stunned, before he grew a weak smile on his face. "Oh… oh, I get it… this is some kind of prank, right? A-a joke? Luan… did you…" he immediately shut up as Luan turned away, and Lori shot him an angry look. Still, denial was overwhelming his mind, and he turned back to his father.

"Dad… you've got to be… Lucy can't be…"

"Lincoln," his father said softly, "Lucy is adopted. It's not a joke, it's… it's the truth."

"No, no, that can't be true," Lincoln said, his eyes widening and his voice starting to rise, "What about all our pictures together? What about Great Grandma Harriet? She looks exactly like her. She has to be related. What about… what about…"

"Lincoln, you're hurting me," he heard Lucy say besides him. He looked down, and realized that he had been squeezing her hand tighter and tighter the whole time, and now it even seemed to go blue. He let go in shock, casting an apologetic look her way, before quieting down for his father to answer.

"Lincoln, I know this is hard for you to accept or understand. It was the same way when we first told Junior, but… let me answer your question about your Great Grandma," he paused, before taking a deep breath to continue, "Lucy isn't completely detached from our family tree. You see… my grandmother Harriet had a sister. And it's from her sister that Lucy's mother comes from. Our neighbor and… close friend, Clara."

Clara… she's the woman from the picture… Lucy thought.

And she's my mother…

Lucy looked over at Rita, who noticed the young girl glancing and gave her the warmest smile she could muster.

But what about Mom? Isn't… isn't she my mother?

"It's funny. We didn't even know she was descended from Harriet's sister when they first came around. But… we quickly became close friends," Lynn Sr. said with a fond smile, "In fact, we used to visit them so often and they visited us so often that you kids became friends. If I recall, baby Lucy took a special interest in Lincoln. She used to always waddle after him, wherever he went," he said with a fond chuckle. Lincoln glanced over his shoulder to Lucy, and the younger girl felt her face start steaming slightly…

"So why is Clar… my mother?" Lucy asked slowly. The words 'my mother' applying to anyone other than Rita, the mother she had known her entire life, were rough and unwelcome on her tongue. And out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rita wipe small tears anyway from her eyes, and guilt was added to the mix of unpleasant emotions she was feeling.

"Lucy, you've had a long rough day. I think it'll be better if you…"

"Where is my mother?" Lucy repeated.

"Not now, Lucy. We don't want to overwhelm you…"

"Where… is… my… MOTHER?!" she screamed.

"I SAID NOT NOW," Lynn Sr. roared back in uncharacteristic fury. However, his eyes widened in horror when he saw the young girl flinch, and his expression swiftly went from one of anger to one of guilt and remorse. "Lucy… I…" he said softly, as he began to reach his arm out towards her, but Lucy had had enough. She got up with catlike agility, and rushed past Lynn Sr. out of the room, and her family heard her footsteps stomping up the stairs. Lynn Sr. looked back at his family and breathed a stressed "I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

"I'll go get her," Lincoln said, getting up from his chair…

"Wait, Lincoln, you've had to absorb a lot today…" Lori said, "You should…"

"Not as much as Lucy," he said solemnly, "I'll make sure she's OK, and try to bring her back down here."

The others were overwhelmed at that point, so only Lynn Sr. could respond with a short nod, and watch as his son disappeared to chase after Lucy.


Lucy held tightly onto the photo of the woman she now knew was her mother, as she huddled up as close as she could to the walls of her room's corners, as far from the entry as possible. She didn't need anyone right now, and all she wanted was to be alone, even more than she usually did.

The girl stared down at the woman before her, and any attempt she made to convince herself that this woman… Clara… wasn't her true birth mother was quickly shot down by another glance at the photo. She looked too much like her. The paleness of her skin… the darkest of her long hair… the way she looked at her baby, a way only a mother could…

If this is my mother, my real mother… then who where is she? Why is she not here now? Why am I with… other people…

Suddenly, her thoughts shifted away from the family she never knew to the family she did know. Her mother and father, the two she had always called Mother and Father… could she still call them that? Were they… really her parents?

And what about her ten siblings? Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lana, Lola, Lisa, Lily… how could she still call them brother and sisters when she wasn't the same? And they knew… some of them did, at any rate. How long did they know, and how long did they keep it from her? And… why?

Her mind focused on her roommate Lynn, specifically, as she began to eye the sporty girl's bed. Despite the girl's faults, she was still one of her closest siblings, and was the one that immediately sprung to her mind when she thought of her best friend in the family, despite their vastly different interests. All those nights they spent talking together… all those times she had cheered her sister on from the stands of whatever stadium they were at… all those times her sister had been supporting her for her poetry… It was a painful stab of betrayal, from a sister whom she never thought would've been able to lie to her…

"Lucy?" she heard a soft male voice call out her name, and looked up from the photo to see Lincoln peering into through the door to her room. At first, she was confused as to why he did not see her, but then she recalled that his eyes may not have been as used to the darkness as hers. She opened her mouth, but hesitated to answer. She… she felt like she needed to be alone… especially from the family that lied to her…

But he didn't know… he can help you…

Before she could stop herself, she had already responded "I'm here." And despite her emotional state, her voice was as deadpan and monotone as ever.

Maybe she was just tired.

Lincoln made his way over to the corner where he heard the sound, bumping against a darkly colored ottoman and cringing as it scraped across the floor at such a loud pitch. However, he carried on forward, and eventually reached Lucy. He looked down at her with despondent eyes, in pain of seeing one of his sisters in trouble, as he bent down on one knee before her, looking her face to face.

"Hey Lucy. Are you… are you okay?" he asked.

"Sigh. I… I don't know…" she admitted to him, "I woke up today, a member of the Loud family. Now, I find out…"

"Lucy, you're still a member of our family," Lincoln said as he stretched his hand towards her, placing it gently on her frail shoulder, "It doesn't matter that you're… adopted. You're still my sister."

"If it didn't matter, why did they hide it?" Lucy asked him.

"Because… I think… because they were worried about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you see…" Lincoln said as he started scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably with his other hand, "They might've thought that you would… start thinking that you weren't one of us. That you wouldn't consider yourself a Loud."

He saw the girl squirm a bit uncomfortably, and he gripped both of her shoulders with both of his hands. "But you are Lucy. You are one of us. You may have been born outside, but you were raised with us. Mom and Dad have never called you anything other than their daughter. All of our sisters have only ever called you a sister. And I… I will always think of you as my younger sister."

For a moment, the Goth girl said nothing.

"Sigh," she started as she always did, "Lincoln, can you…"

He inched closer to her, to listen to her request.

"… just leave me alone? I need to be alone right now."

His heart crashed down, as the young man let out a soft little "Oh," as his sister pushed his hands off of her, and he slowly backed away.

"Lucy, please, I want to…"

"Just go… I need to think…" she hissed at him, and Lincoln sadly nodded and backed away from Lucy, getting up on his feet and walking away from her, to leave her alone in the attic. And as she watched him slowly walk away, she felt two conflicting feelings arise in her.

One side was glad he left her alone to think.

The other wanted to call him back and apologize, and beg him to stay with her.

"He doesn't have to," she muttered to herself, "After all, he's not my real brother…"


Lincoln descended the stairs miserably and made his way back to the kitchen, where his parents and older sisters had all remained, waiting for him to bring back Lucy. When they saw the eight year old girl was not with him, they all seemed more crestfallen. "You couldn't convince her to listen to us, could you?" Lori said, and Lincoln shook his head.

"Alright, my turn," said Lynn abrasively, as she started towards the doorway, "If she won't listen to Lincoln, she'll listen to her roommate…"

"I don't think she will, Lynn," Lincoln told her. Lynn gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't think… she wants to talk to anyone, right now."

Rita covered her eyes again, and began to sob lightly, her body trembling and shaking as she did. "I knew this would happen if she found out," she choked out, as Leni walked over to her and hugged her mother comfortingly.

"I think… I think it's best we don't tell her about her parents right now," Lynn Sr. stated, "She might become more upset than she already is."

"What… what happened to her parents?" Lincoln asked.

Lynn swallowed, and took a calming breath before addressing his son. "Lucy's parents… her birth parents," he said, inflexibly correcting himself, "were some of the most wonderful people we ever knew, and they loved their daughter with all from the day she was born to…" he paused, struggling to get the words out, but Lincoln's mind had already filled the gap…

"… to the day they died."

"L-Lucy's parents are…"

"They had left her with us, on that day. They needed to be out of town for a while, I don't remember or care why, and they had left Lucy with us. We… we expected them to come back after the weekend, but they never did. Then, a few days later, while Lucy and Junior were playing ball together, we heard a knock at the door. Lori answered, and called us over. And that's when… we found out that Clara and Adam had been… in an accident," he finished solemnly.

"Lucy's parents are… dead…" Lincoln repeated, his mind still in shock of this new discovery.

"I'll… I'll be sure to tell her later," Lynn Sr. said, dreading the moment where he would have to, "But not now. Finding out she was adopted… the way she found out… and then letting her know that her family is dead. That would be too much…"

"Her family isn't dead," Lynn Jr. growled suddenly, as everyone in the kitchen looked at her. She glanced around aggressively, with tears in her eyes, "Her family is right here. I don't care if she's adopted or not. She's my sister, no matter whose tube she slid out of," she said angrily, as if she was begging someone to disagree with her.

"She's right, dudes," Luna said in support of her athletic sister, "We shouldn't be sitting around talking to ourselves. There's a little girl upstairs whose alone, scared and… might start thinking some stuff…"

"But she said she didn't want to talk to anyone…" Lincoln said.

"And alcoholics say they can quit whenever they want. Doesn't mean we should listen to them," Lori shot back, "Luna's right. She needs her family right now. Because that's what we are… her family."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Lynn Jr. looked around at the approving faces and nods, before rushing out of the kitchen with her athletic speed, up the staircase and towards her and Lucy's room. She knew she may have messed up with Lucy before, but now was the time to set things right with her Gothic roommate. Lynn grabbed the doorknob to her room and pushed it, walking in at the same time…

… however, the door didn't move, and Lynn banged against the doorway. "What the?" she muttered as she shook the handle, again and again, twisting and turning it in all directions.

Locked. The door was locked.

"Uh, Luce? It's me, Lynn. Can you open the door?" Lynn called to her roommate.

No response.

"L-Luce? Lucy? Come on, d-don't play games with me," Lynn said with a nervous laugh, as she knocked on the door with her knuckles.

No response.

"Lucy? Come on, Lucy. Open the door. It's me, Lynn," Lynn said as she let go of the doorknob and started pounding the door with her fists, confused and wondering if somehow, Lucy couldn't hear her…

But Lucy could hear her. But she made no effort to get up from the bed she was sprawled over. And the reason was quite simple;

After she had chased away Lincoln, Lucy began to feel twinges of guilt, and decided to hear her family out again. Perhaps she was exaggerating, and that her life could still be the same, even if she was adopted. So she made her way out of her room and down the stairs, as quietly as she has always done. But it was that quietness that lead to her inadvertently sneaking up on her family talking.

And then she heard.

She heard the fate of her birth parents.

But before she could hear Lynn Jr. say her part, she had rushed away and locked the door to her room, throwing herself onto her mattress and grabbing one of the many darkly colored cushions that littered her room for comfort. As she listened to Lynn bang and call out for her outside, Lucy simply hugged her pillow closer and buried her face in it. Her tiny body began to shake as everything that had happened today finally caught up to her, and, out of sadness and exhaustion... Lucy now felt it was okay to cry.


If you thought this chapter got a little too dark, don't worry. It gets better next time, I can promise that much.