Good day, everyone. Yes, I have another story centering around Lynn being with one of her younger sister in a row for you!
This is what I call one the quickest "idea-to-written-format" concepts I've ever had. The idea for this came I believe around the beginning of this month and now here it is in completed form at the tail end of the month.
Wish I could say more, but I'll let the story do the further talking and we'll see how it goes.
The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for everything and is not being used for monetary purposes.
Another day, another hectic but manageable sequences of events were lined up for the Loud family. Or in other words, a day ending in "y".
It was another one of those cases were the majority of the abode's residents were going to be spread out throughout the town for their own pursuits for the next while and last minute preparations and the like were being put into place.
At the moment, a final rundown of the schedule was being discussed between Lynn Sr. and Rita before they and everyone else would shove off for the day.
"Okay, so let's see if I got this right.." Lynn Sr. began, "Lori has golf practice, Leni is accompanying the twins to a Blarney show, Luan has Luna, Lincoln and Lucy taking part in what she's calling her biggest series of birthday parties she's ever performed in, Lisa has her big science conference, Lily will be at daycare and you and I have our own various business as well."
"Mmm...sounds about right." Rita said, but something didn't seem right, "Wait, actually, except for Lily. I just remembered that the daycare center is closed today, so that appears to be a no go."
"Wait, really? So, if that's true, who's going to look after her? I mean, it's not like we can tell any of the kids, namely our oldest set, to just cancel their plans in order to watch Lily." Lynn Sr. pointed out.
Rita agreed, "Yeah and...wait, hold on, you didn't mention Lynn having anything scheduled for today, which is curious to say the least."
"Huh, you're right. I don't think she had anything set for today." Lynn Sr. said, "Maybe she can keep watch over Lily."
"Sounds like the most logical setup. How about I go over and see if she's okay with that while you get the rest of the kids all ready?" Rita suggested.
With an affirmative nod from her husband, Rita went on to find her fifth eldest daughter and inform her of the decision. She recalled last seeing Lynn out in the backyard, so that was her first place to look around at. Luckily, that's exactly where she was while she dribbling around with her soccer ball.
"Hey, Lynn, are you going to be busy right about now?" Rita asked her while coming into the yard.
Lynn paused in place, "Huh? Uh, well, except for having the pretty sweet feeling of having to whole place to myself, no. Why do you ask, Mom?"
"Well, probably because it'll be you plus one instead." Rita started explaining, "See, the daycare where Lily usually goes to when most everyone is gone is closed for the day and unless there's something you do have scheduled today that you haven't told your father and I, we're hoping that you can look after her if that's okay with you."
"Uh...sure, I guess. Haven't really done that before just by myself, but you know what, I think I can be up for the challenge." Lynn said, growing quite confident by the end.
"Well, that's nice to hear." Rita said with a smile, "And here I thought you might try to raise some kind of objection to that."
Lynn chuckled, "Well, that's were you're wrong, Mom. I'm more than capable of keeping tabs on Lily. After all, like I just said, I can take on any challenge that comes my way."
Liking the fact that her daughter was all too willing to take on such a task, Rita returned back inside to inform her husband of the good news.
"Well, Lynn has no problems at all with taking care of Lily while we're gone." She said.
"Whew, well that's good to know." Lynn Sr. said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Anyway, the rest of the kiddos are all packed in Vanzilla, so it appears we're all good to go."
"Just about, I'd say. Let me get a quick check on Lily and hand her off to Lynn before we go." Rita said.
She turned around and headed up to Lisa and Lily's room, where right away she saw her youngest child standing up in her crib having woken up from a nap.
"Mama!" Lily uttered happily.
"Hi there, sweetheart." Rita told her cutely, "Did you have a nice nap? Well, guess what? You're gonna have a nice day with one of your big sisters while we're gone. Won't that be fun?"
After saying that, Rita picked up Lily and brought her down with her. By the time she returned, Lynn Jr. was inside and standing alongside with her father awaiting her last minute responsibility.
"Okay, so last reminder, you sure you can handle this, Lynn?" Rita asked her.
"No sweat, Mom. This will be a total breeze!" Lynn Jr. confirmed self-assuredly.
"Well, we're proud that you're taking this head on, LJ." Lynn Sr. said, "And with that, we should really be heading off, right, honey?"
Rita nodded, "Yes, we should. We'll be back in a few hours, okay, Lynn?"
All Lynn Jr. did was wink and give her parents a thumbs up before she had her baby sister handed over to her. With that, Rita and Lynn Sr. headed out the door and joined up with the rest of their kids for the day ahead of them.
"Okay, it's gonna be you and me, Lily." Lynn said to her, "Now how shall we make use of our time together?"
Though perhaps not directly responding to Lynn's inquiry, Lily started giggling and kicking around her limbs happily.
"Well, you're full of energy now, aren't you? I like it! What say we expend some of that outside?" Lynn suggested.
She hauled Lily with her through to the backyard and conveniently enough for the both of them, a handful of Lynn's many sports ball were already sitting in pile near the tree. Putting her baby sister down for the moment, Lynn went over and selected the small red rubber ball among them, turning her attention back to Lily immediately after.
"All right, coming at you, Lily!" She said.
Lynn knelt down and softly rolled the ball right at Lily, fully expecting her to mimic the same action back at her big sister. Instead, Lily laughed as she stood up, took the ball with her and started toddling off with it.
"Hey, come back here, you!" Lynn shouted with a laugh of her own.
She got up and gave chase to Lily, but the baby proved to be agile and nimble than to be expected, not that Lynn minded or had fun with it. At times she even intentionally let Lily get some distance between them just for the heck of it and playfully resumed the chase each time.
Finally, after a couple of minutes of this, Lynn chose to snatch up Lily into her arms.
"Gotcha!" She happily said.
Lily giggled as her big sister held her up high and in that moment, she also threw her arms up, causing the ball to be sent unexpectedly high in the air.
"I got it!" Lynn declared.
She gently put Lily down and went about seeking to catch said ball. She seemed primed in doing so, but it just narrowly missed her grasp and bounced off the grass… and up right into the yard of Mr. Grouse.
"Oh, dang it..." Lynn said worriedly.
This was the last place any such personal belongings of any of the Louds should ever be found in. After all, their aptly named cantankerous neighbor saw anything that landed on his property as his own, hence declaring "my yard, my property" whenever such an occurrence were to happen.
Worried that was going to ensue, Lynn ran up the chain link fence that marked the divide between her family's backyard and his. As a precaution, she bounded down over and checked his front yard and to her surprise, his car wasn't parked in the driveway.
"Hmm...he doesn't seem to be home right about now, so..."
Even so, Mr. Grouse could very well be back home very soon and indeed discover the ball in his yard soon enough. Still, even if such a window of opportunity could be shut at any second, Lynn was willing to take that risk.
"Uh, stay where you are, Lily! I'll be right back!" She shouted over to her.
With Lily just innocently sitting back, Lynn clambered over the fence, quickly snagged the ball back, tossed it back over to her family's yard and hopped back on over.
"Whew...and there you have it!" She told herself confidently.
But she was about to learn just how little time she had to accomplish that when she heard the sound of a car pulling up. Indeed, as Lynn peered back over to the front again, she saw Mr. Grouse having come back home.
"Whoa, talk about a clutch play there!" Lynn said, chuckling anxiously.
In any event, she grabbed the ball and put it back with the rest of them, then returned over and picked Lily back up.
"You know what, I think we've had enough outdoor playtime for now." Lynn told her, again laughing a little nervously.
Both of them headed back inside the house and no more than a few seconds after that did Lynn hear the distinct sound of her phone ringing upstairs due to the door leading to her room being wide open. She bounded up the stairs, placed Lily on her bed for a moment and answered it. The caller ID showed that it was her friend Margo calling.
"Yo, Margo, what's up?" Lynn said.
"Lynn, where the heck are you?" Margo wondered on the other line.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"What are you talking about? The game is about to begin in about ten minutes!"
"Game? What game?"
"Are you serious? The big soccer match up between Royal Woods FC and Sporting Hunting Oaks? You know, that one you, me and Paula all agreed to watch over at Paula's house, which is where I am right now with me and her again wondering where the heck you are?"
Completely confused as to what Margo was talking about, Lynn double checked the calendar hanging near her bed and looked for today's date. Sure enough, marked with a big circle and the words "soccer watch party with Margo and Paula" made it loud and clear that her friend was indeed right.
"Oh, dang it, you're right!" Lynn said, grunting in annoyance to herself, "How did I forget about that? I thought it was next week!"
"Uh, no, it's indeed today last I checked. Now are you coming or not?" Margo asked, getting slightly annoyed on her end.
Lynn sighed, "I don't think it's gonna be happening, Margo. I'm busy right now looking after my baby sister, Lily."
"Oh..." Margo said in a more softer tone, "I had no idea about that."
"Hey now, it's not your fault. I only got saddled with that responsibility about, oh...fifteen minutes ago since everyone else in my family had their own plans and needed someone to stick by." Lynn explained.
She sighed and mentally kicked herself in failing to remember such an important event and how she's letting down her friends for not attending...or would she?
"Hey, wait a minute, why can't I still come over?" She said, "Paula's house isn't that far away and you know what, I don't see a problem in bringing Lily over, either."
"Whoa, whoa, you don't have to do that, Lynn." Margo told her.
"Yeah, and wouldn't that be weird if you did?" Paula suddenly interjected herself in, likely having heard Lynn's unorthodox idea.
"Hey, come on now, it could work and I did promise you guys I'd be there now that I think about. And besides, you may get a kick out of her joining us. Listen, I think this is manageable, so don't get all on my case and I'll be right over, okay?" Lynn insisted.
She quickly hung up on Margo and Paula, but immediately afterward she sighed.
"Oh boy, what did I just get myself into?"
But then only seconds after saying that, Lynn got a steely eyed determined look on her face.
"No, that's quitter talk, LJ! You can do this! You promised Mom and Dad you'd take care of Lily and to watch the game with Margo and Paula! You're always up to any challenge that's coming your way and why can't today be any different, huh? Sure, you gotta make sure Mom, Dad and everyone else doesn't find out, buy hey, they're gonna be gone for a few hours and the game is only 90 minutes long. This can work out, right? Of course it can, so stop doubting yourself and let's get on with it!"
"Yay!"
Seeing her baby sister throwing her arms up, it was like Lynn got that little extra confidence booster that pushed her forward.
"Heh...thanks, Lily. Now, time to gather up some supplies..."
Before doing that though, Lynn picked up Lily and took her over to her and Lisa's room, placing her in the crib for a couple of minutes. Next, she grabbed the baby supply bag in the room and snagged a few things within immediate reach, such as a couple of diapers and some wipes. Next, she headed for the kitchen to get a bottle of baby formula and a jar of peach puree just in case Lily gets hungry or thirsty. Finally, Lynn returned upstairs and put everything inside the bag, then she took another glance at Lily.
"Hmm, don't think it'd be best for you to come to someone else's house in just a diaper…" She said.
She went over to the dresser and brought out a lilac colored shirt and a little pair of blue shorts before slipping both on Lily.
"There, that ought to do." Lynn said with a little grin, "Just one more thing to get and we're off to the races."
The thing would be the admittedly tacky sling that people wear when carrying babies around hands free. Lynn obtained and affixed it over her, placed Lily within it and finally slung over the bag across her shoulder. Just in case, she also took her phone with her, too.
"Okay, Lily, let's see if we can make this work. No, it will work!" Lynn expressed.
Taking a deep breath, she hauled everything and everyone with her down the stairs and out the front door.
One short bus ride later, plus many doting comments from fellow passengers directed at Lily, Lynn rounded the street corner and arrived at Paula's house. Based on the fact there was no car at the driveway, her parents had to be gone, thus giving Lynn a sizable reprieve in not having to explain the awkward situation of bringing a baby on over. In any event, she got up to the front door and rang the doorbell.
"Yo, Margo, Paula!" Lynn added in.
A few seconds later, Margo answered the door on the behalf of Paula.
"Oh, Lynn! I didn't actually think you would make it or were serious about it." Margo said, genuinely surprised at her friend and plus one's arrival.
"Hey, don't ever doubt my ability to uphold two different promises at the same time." Lynn cockily responded, patting Lily's head.
Margo wasn't entirely sure about that boastful proclamation, but when she looked down over to Lily, she couldn't help but smile.
"Hi there, Lily." She greeted the much littler Loud.
"Huh?" Lynn uttered slightly confused, "Oh, that's right, I think you and her have met before briefly. I believe it when you came over to my house during that double header which was a part of that whole stupid 'friend card' incident that dragged my whole family down the next day."
Margo nodded, "Yeah, that's right. So, anyway, guess you two should be let in now."
She stepped aside and allowed Lynn and Lily inside, where they quickly made their way over to the living room where Paula was sitting.
"Hey, Lynn." Paula said, "Oh, and this must be your little sister, right?"
Lynn nodded, "Yep, this here is Lily. Don't believe you've met until now."
Putting the supply bag down near the couch, Lynn lifted Lily out of the sling and put her on the couch. While also then taking the sling off, Lynn also watched on with a laugh when Lily crawled over towards Paula, very much intrigued by this new acquaintance.
"Well, hi Lily. Nice to meet you!" Paula addressed in cutesy tone.
The baby Loud didn't stop in being near Paula, as she quickly crawled right onto the still injured girl's lap, which the latter hardly minded at all.
"Well, aren't you adorable?" Paula expressed, but then she shared a look of concern over to the baby's big sister, "That being said though, are you sure this won't be weird at all for you, Lynn?"
"Pssh, 'course not!" Lynn answered almost dismissively.
"But what about your family? Aren't you worried if they find out about you being here with Lily instead of at home?" Margo asked.
Lynn sighed and shook her head, "Guys, guys, just relax, okay? Everything will pan out just fine. We got a game that's only 90 minutes long and my family won't be back home for a few hours, so I'm pretty sure I'm in the clear. Now let's stop worrying and watch Royal Woods kick some Huntington Oaks…butt."
The brief, awkward pause between words had a cause for confusion for Margo and Paula, which Lynn noticed and quickly clarified.
"Baby in the room, so...you know. Then again, it's not like she's never heard a four letter "D" word from me and several of my siblings before." She explained while chuckling, "Oh, and speaking of which, if Lily starts getting fussy or causes any trouble, I'll handle everything. So with that in mind, I can take her right now if you like, Paula."
"Oh, but it's no trouble, Lynn. I don't mind and if anything, she seems to like it here." Paula said, smiling as she gently tickling Lily's side.
The youngest Loud released a handful of giggles, but that wouldn't be the only thing that came out…
"Uh, Lynn, I think she may have...you know..." Paula tried awkwardly saying.
Lynn sighed, "Well, speaking of trouble..."
She extended her arms out and Paula handed Lily back to her big sister. The handover revealed a subtle squishing sound indicating that Lily wet her diaper.
"At least she didn't do anything else like…uh, actually, better not finish that, 'cause I might just jinx myself and a...um, er...blowout may occur. Anyway, I got this covered." Lynn said.
With Lily at hand, she turned over to Margo for a second.
"Hey, mind doing me a favor, Margo? Go through the bag over there and hand me a diaper and the pack of wipes that are inside." Lynn requested.
Shrugging after a second of thought, Margo did what her friend asked of her and retrieved those items in question from the bag before passing them on to Lynn.
"All right, thanks. Now, where's a nice place to handle this business?" She asked.
"The bathroom down the hall and to the left should work." Paula said, pointing in that direction.
Juggling with holding Lily around her waist with one arm and with the fresh diaper and wipes with the other, Lynn made her way over to the bathroom she had been recommended going to. But when she arrived at it, she found it was a fairly basic one without anything like a counter that could be ideal for diaper changing, so she had to settle with doing everything on the floor.
Slowly getting down to her knees, Lynn first placed the diaper and wipes down and then lowered Lily ever so gently back first on the rug that was in the middle of the bathroom floor. She slid off Lily's shorts, thankful they didn't get wet themselves, then undid the soiled diaper and tossed it in the nearby trash can that was conveniently to the side. She quickly wiped her baby sister down to clean up any excess wetness around, tossed the wipe in the trash and finally fitted her with the new diaper and put her shorts back on.
"There we go, all done!" Lynn said proudly, then realized another problem, "Hmm, don't think Paula's parents would like to know or see a used diaper and a wipe in the trash here. May as well take care of that, too."
She pulled up the trash bag and tied it up. Then, engaging in another act of handling multiple things at once, Lynn picked up Lily and held her with one arm, then gathered up the pack of wipes with her free hand, put it underneath her other arm and finally bringing the trash bag with her and exited the bathroom.
"Hey, Margo, grab the pack from underneath my arm and put it back in the bag, okay?" Lynn requested.
Again, Margo didn't say much and obliged her friend's request.
"Uh, what are you doing with that trash bag, Lynn?" Paula asked.
"Pretty simple if you ask me, Paula. I threw away Lily's wet diaper and a baby wipe in here and I don't want your parents to know of a single trace that some baby was in your home, so it makes entirely too much sense that I toss this away in the one of the garbage cans out front. Besides, it was pretty full beforehand, so..." Lynn replied as she made her way to the front door.
"Uh, shouldn't one of us hold on to Lily for a bit, just so you can free yourself up a bit?" Margo suggested.
Lynn sighed, "All right, fine. But the minute I come back inside and sit this butt of mine on the couch with you guys, I get her back. She's my responsibility and I like to keep it that way."
After Margo came on up and took a temporary handle of Lily, Lynn marched outside and tossed the trash bag away, and as a simple courtesy, she replenished the bathroom's trash can with a new bag after asking Paula where they're stored.
Finally, with only seconds before the game got going, Lynn joined alongside Margo and Paula sitting on the furthest end to the right near the supply bag, also having Lily sitting in her lap, and relaxed before the promised soccer watch party commenced.
For the most part, though, the game so far wasn't much to write home about, although there was some amusement shared between Lynn and her friends when Lily made various babbles and imitative shouts whenever the three of them made any "oh's" and such in response to certain plays, attempted goals and saves.
At one point, Lily started getting fussy and pointed at her mouth, which sent a clear signal to her big sister.
"Getting hungry, Lily? No big, this is exactly what I've prepared for." Lynn said.
She brought the bag up onto the couch, searched through it for a second and pulled out the peach puree jar plus a spoon as well.
"What is that stuff?" Margo asked.
"Oh, this is my dad's homemade peach puree." Lynn began explaining, "Lily absolutely loves this, and come to think of it, pretty much everyone in my family does, but Lily in particular goes nuts for it."
Just to prove that statement, Lily caught a glimpse of the puree and squealed delightfully.
"Case in point…" Lynn noted with a laugh.
The gleefulness of her baby sister fidgeting around in her lap did admittedly make for an additional challenge for Lynn to keep Lily in place while trying to feed her at the same time. Thus, she realized that she needed some assistance in this case.
"Uh, mind if you hold on to her for me while I give her the goods, Margo?" Lynn requested.
"Um…sure, no problem." Margo responded.
She reached out and took the joyfully wiggly baby toward her. Being pulled away for the briefest of moments from the beloved peach puree at first did cause Lily to become more fussy again, but that was quickly pacified when Lynn scooped up a spoonful of the puree and sent it in her direction.
"Loud lines up for the chance. She takes the shot..." Lynn said, putting on an English accent to imitate a soccer announcer.
She pushed the spoon toward Lily, all while verbalizing an "oh" that built in anticipation until her baby sister enthusiastically chomped and gulped down the puree.
"GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!" Lynn shouted, now complete with the passion of a Latin American soccer announcer this time around.
A laugh was shared between everyone, and following that, Lynn repeated the same process with a couple more spoonfuls and with Margo and Paula joining in with the "oh's" and shouting as well.
"Okay, I think that'll do." Lynn said, putting the jar and spoon back in the bag, "Now maybe we can wash that down with something else, huh, Lily? Oh, and I can do this myself, so you can hand her back to me, Margo."
The baby was handed back over to her big sister and after cradling Lily in her left arm, Lynn reached for the bottle she brought toward Lily's mouth, where soon enough, she gripped onto it and started drinking.
"You know, babies drinking out of bottles has to be one of the cutest sights in the world." Paula said, leaning her head over to get a better view.
Lynn smiled, "I won't disagree with that."
Despite their initial worries about this whole setup, Margo and Paula couldn't help but be impressed with how Lynn was handling everything so far with Lily. Seeing their normally brash and self-confident friend showcasing this maternal side was a touch surprising, but not entirely unexpected at the same time. They like anyone else who truly knew Lynn understood that beyond her competitive and sports obsessed exterior lies a softer, kinder side to her that can be displayed at any given time.
When she figured Lily had enough to drink, Lynn gently pulled the bottle away and stowed it away in the bag.
"That should hold you down for a little while until we get home after the game." Lynn said.
A little burp came out of the baby, resulting in a chuckle from Lynn before she situated Lily back on her lap and settled back in watching the game.
However, the ringing and vibration of Lynn's phone interrupted the flow. Groaning uneasily, she had a feeling who was calling her and confirmed that when she did take out her phone.
"Oh, crud, it's my mom." She said, sighing afterwards, "Guys, keep an eye on Lily for me while I take this for a sec."
Lynn put Lily to the side on the couch, stood up and headed over down the hall to have some privacy as got around to answering her phone.
"Hey, Mom!" Lynn said with added, feigned enthusiasm.
"Hey, Lynn. Just wanted to check up and see how things are going with Lily." Rita said.
"Oh, they're going just fine. No sweat! Totally up for the challenge like I've told you!" Lynn stated, trying her hardest not to come off too nervously.
"She hasn't given you any trouble?" Rita wondered.
"None at all, she's been a total angel!" Lynn answered, "Such an angel, she's been having fun watching a soccer match with me!"
"Oh, well that does sound fun. Anyway, again just wanted to see how everything is going and also to remind you that we'll all be back home in another hour or two." Rita said.
"Heh...okay, sounds like a plan. No need to rush or anything like that! Take your time if need be, 'cause I've got everything all under control here!" Lynn said, her act getting harder to maintain.
"Good to hear. We're so proud that you took this responsibility without any complaints, so thank you again, Lynn." Rita expressed with pride, "Anyway, we'll see you when we come back, okay? Love you."
Lynn chuckled, "Yeah, you too. Bye!"
Lynn continued to chuckle as she hung up until it trailed off more anxiously. She sighed to calm herself and tried getting her confidence back.
"Okay, an hour or two. Still sounds like a decent about of time to watch the rest of the game and get back home with Lily without anyone being the wiser. Besides, the first half of the game seemed like it just about wrapped, so I'd say I'm still in the zone. You can do this, LJ! Don't let yourself down, or Lily for that matter!"
She grinned, believing everything was in the bag.
Then, a distressed shout in the living room switched things up.
"Huh?" Lynn muttered.
Rushing back over, she arrived to the scene of Lily in between Margo and Paula, with the latter's shirt having been stained by an orange glop.
"Whoa, what happened?" Lynn asked.
"Well, Lily was making these gagging noises and the next thing you know, she spits up right on Paula." Margo explained.
Releasing yet one more sigh, Lynn didn't waste another moment in grabbing a couple of paper towels from the kitchen and tried what she could in wiping off the glop from Paula's shirt, which she had to assume was some of the peach puree Lily ate.
"There, that's….better?" Lynn said unsure.
Paula sighed, "Thanks, Lynn, I guess, but I think I need to get a new shirt on."
She reached for her crutch leaning on her side of the couch, put it underneath her right arm and stood up.
"Hey, why don't I help you by getting a shirt from your room while you head over to the bathroom down the hall?" Margo offered.
"Sure." Paula answered.
"Can I help as well?" Lynn wondered.
"Um...I think I've got things covered, Lynn. Maybe it'd be best for you to stay here and keep an eye on your….responsibility." Margo said awkwardly.
As Margo headed upstairs to get a fresh shirt for Paula, Lynn glanced at Lily and noted she had a little leftover peach puree around her mouth. Using a dry portion of the paper towels she still had at hand, Lynn wiped down away the portion.
"Guess you had a little too much, huh?" She remarked, trying find some humor out of this.
She disposed of the towels and returned sitting down with Lily on her lap.
In the meantime, Lynn was having a hard time maintaining the confidence in keeping this whole operation together. The phone call with her mom and how she was referred to as responsible despite obviously lying about being at home was starting to hit her hard. Plus, although she didn't mean it crossly, the way Margo used the word "responsibility" in describing Lily didn't really make Lynn feel that much better. Because of it all, she shook her head and groaned.
A couple of minutes later, Margo and Paula rejoined Lynn on the couch after taking care of everything regarding the shirt situation.
"Did we miss anything?" Margo asked.
"No, not really. The second half has just barely begun." Lynn replied.
In any event, everyone kicked back and continued in watching the game.
However, only a few minutes in, Lynn's guilt was sustained over this setup and it clashed directly with her boastful rhetoric about how she could handle this. Theoretically, it was very much still possible she can sit through the rest of the game with her friends and be back home with Lily before family comes back home. But again it was how she lied to her mom when talking to her on the phone that begun the self doubt and it distracted her enough in zoning out and not paying attention to the game.
But as if she couldn't feel bad enough, the sudden sounds of Lily beginning to cry out of the blue brought Lynn down further, as well as drawing the immediate attention of her friends.
"Aw, why is she crying?" Paula asked sadly.
"I...I don't know..." Lynn said, sighing heavily, "Excuse us for a moment..."
She carried Lily with her away from the living room over to the hallway, where she sat down and did whatever she could in consoling her baby sister's unexpected fit of crying, including patting her back, bouncing her and shushing her softly. Whatever the reason for Lily's crying may be though, this sealed Lynn's inner turmoil about what she should do in terms of keeping up this whole juggling act of staying here and handling Lily at the same time.
"Lily, I'm not sure what's gotten you so sad all of a sudden, but while I have your attention...I'm sorry about this..." Lynn began with, following a time when Lily was settling down and within an arm's length from her big sister, "I've come to realize this was a bad idea from the get go. Now granted, aside from wetting your diaper and spitting up on Paula, nothing truly bad's happened and neither Paula nor Margo seemed truly bothered by you coming along with me, expect maybe for when Paula mentioned how weird this whole thing was."
Before going on, Lynn gently wiped away any tears from Lily's face.
"But she wasn't entirely wrong, though, and it's not your fault. It's mine for forgetting about this watch party and thinking it was a bright idea to bring you along in the first place. Mom and Dad entrusted me with taking care of you and after talking with Mom on the phone and her telling me how responsible I am...that isn't true at all and in a way, I've failed you, Lily, and for that, I'm sorry again."
Lynn released a shuddered breath of air, but she then grinned.
"However, it's not too late to make things right, and because of that, I know what I need to do."
She stood up, baby sister at hand, and returned to the living room to deliver the news to her friends.
"Guys, I hate to do this...but me and Lily are going to head back home right now." Lynn said.
"Wait, you are? But what about the game?" Paula asked.
"Well...if I'm being honest, nothing's really happened that's encouraging me to stay at the moment." Lynn began responding, "But really, the real reason I'm leaving is because the phone call with my mom has been eating away at me for the last little while. She told me how responsible I was for agreeing to watch Lily, but here I am a little way's from home with her at your house without their knowledge, Paula. Can that really be described as 'responsible'? Then when Lily started crying for whatever reason, it's like that decided for me that I can't keep this up any longer and I need head back home with her. So, I'm sorry for all of this, from dragging Lily along with me to forgetting about this get together in the first place. I get if you're both annoyed at me for all this and in any event, I guess I'll see you around."
She put the sling on, placed Lily inside and hauled the supply bag with her, and was about to head out the front door until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Margo smiling at her.
"What?" Lynn questioned.
"Hey, we understand, Lynn. You don't need to apologize for anything. It's like I said when I first called about your whereabouts that Paula and I had no idea you were tasked with looking after Lily. We weren't thinking or expecting you to come after learning that and we'd certainly wouldn't have pressured you to come, either. So we get it and we understand your choice. Family does come first after all." Margo said.
"And what it's worth, no matter how weird this may have been for you, I think you did a great job in handling Lily in the time you were here, too." Paula added.
A smile adorned Lynn's face, "Wow...uh, thanks for being so understanding, you guys, and thanks for the compliment, Paula. Plus, you're also right about what you said, too, Margo. Sports might me my passion, but my family is my lifeblood. They're really what drives me to do my best, including this little one right here."
She patted Lily's head, eliciting some babbling laughter from her.
"So, thanks again. You really are truly some great friends. Later." Lynn wrapped up saying.
After that, she took her leave and journey on back home. Another quick bus ride and a brief follow up walk came next and the Loud house was within sight.
"Well, on the plus side, at least we still have plenty of time before our family gets back home, right, Lily?" Lynn said, frowning slightly immediately after, "Still, it's best we tell them what happened when they do come back. It was bad enough lying to Mom on the phone, so there's no sense pretending my choice in taking you with me didn't happen."
Sighing a little, and actually starting to feel better somewhat as well, Lynn made it up to the front door of the house and stepped back inside. Her first order of business was to head up to Lisa and Lily's bedroom, then she placed Lily on the floor for a second before taking off the sling, stowing it away and putting the bag down, too.
"Since we're home now, no sense in shackling you with these clothes anymore." Lynn said with a laugh.
She knelt down and took off the shirt and shorts from Lily, restoring her to her typical style of only being in a diaper. Next, Lynn placed Lily in her crib and took a moment to unpack the bag and returned everything to the proper places. By the time that was done and Lynn checked back up with Lily again, she was fast asleep.
"Huh, guess all of that wore her out." Lynn commented barely above a whisper.
Carefully walking back up to the crib, Lynn leaned over and softly placed a kiss on Lily's forehead.
"Have a nice rest, Lily, and thanks for bearing with me despite my harebrained scheme in bring you with me for the game." She said.
She left her baby sister alone, closing the door to her room and sighed, wondering what to do now.
"Well...guess there's no reason not to see the last of that game right about now."
Lynn headed downstairs, sat herself down on the couch and flipped the TV on to the soccer match. It was shortly after that in which a realization kicked in.
"If actually remember this game was happening, there's no reason I couldn't have either watched it here at home while still keeping tabs on Lily." Lynn said to herself, shaking her head, "Was I just so worried making sure I didn't want to disappoint Margo and Paula by not watching this game with them? Then again, they were so understanding before I left, so maybe I've made a big deal out of nothing."
Nevertheless, she refocused her attention on the game and tried to enjoy herself. Ultimately in the end, the result was satisfactory for Lynn as Royal Woods came out on top, even though it was through a simple 1-0 score, but a win is a win no matter how one sliced it.
Then right as the game wrapped up, Lynn heard and saw Vanzilla pulling up on the driveway, which caught her somewhat by surprise.
"Huh, they're back home kind of early. Then again, it had been about an hour since Mom called and she did say that they'll be back in hour or two, so that's close to being on schedule, I guess." She noted.
She also realized that not too long after they step back into the house that Lynn had to explain everything involving Lily. Even if they had no clue about what happened beforehand, the benefit of having a clear conscience was enough for her to fess up to her perhaps misguided deed and withstand whatever lectures or pending punishment may be handed down.
As she heard the doorknob being turned, Lynn took a deep breath in order to prepare herself right as the rest of her family came inside the house.
"Yo, how's it going?" Lynn greeted them with a big smile.
"Hey there, LJ!" Lynn Sr. returned the favor, "Just nice to be back home after a long day, right, fam-o?"
A chorus of varying agreeing states would follow in response to the Loud patriarch's statement.
"So how did things ago with Lily?" Rita asked.
"Ah...pretty much the same, a long day, so much so that she's having a nap right now in case you are wondering where she is." Lynn Jr. replied, but then she sighed sadly, "However, speaking of a long day, I have a confession to make and you all might want to come on over while I explain things."
Confused as to what that could mean, the family nonetheless followed her request in gathering around her, with Rita and Lynn Sr. in particular sitting between her.
"Okay, I'm not gonna play around and I'll get straight to it…" Lynn Jr. began with, "I didn't spend most of the day here at home with Lily and instead I took her with me to watch this soccer game with my friends, Margo and Paula, over at the latter's house, which was something the three of us had planned to do anyway."
Everyone around her gasped and showed varying mixed emotions. Her four older sisters didn't seem pleased at all, Lincoln and the four younger sisters looked more confused than anything and perhaps much to her surprise, her parents appeared to showed an odd amount of concern. But if anyone had anything to say, they had to wait until she was done speaking.
"Now, look, you have every right to be upset at me and I get it, but please let me explain a little more. I totally had forgotten that the game was today in the first place, and yes, I know how insane that sounds considering how important sports are to me. But not too terribly long after you all left, I got a call from Margo asking me where I was and I had to explain that couldn't be able to come over because of having to watch Lily. She and Paula did then sound quite understanding of the situation, only for me in my infinite wisdom suddenly thinking that I could come over anyway and bring Lily with me, too, since Paula's house isn't that far from here. But eventually to cut to the chase, I started feeling really guilty about the whole arrangement and came back home before you all did, especially after you called me, Mom. Obviously I lied about what me and Lily were doing to an extent and I..."
Suddenly, Lynn Jr.'s phone was ringing. She took a quick check of it and saw Margo was trying to call her.
"Not a good time, Margo..." She grumbled.
"Actually, maybe you should answer her." Lynn Sr. suggested, "We might like to hear her side of this whole...ordeal, I guess we could call it."
Shrugging, Lynn Jr. obliged and answered her phone.
"Hey, Margo." She said.
"Hey, Lynn. Just thought I check up on things." Margo said.
"Uh...well, before I give you an answer, are you still at with Paula and do you mind if we switch over to a video call?"
"Yeah, I'm still at her house and she right here with me, and sure, I can do that."
After a quick switch over to video calling, both Margo and Paula were surprised to see a whole lot more company answering besides their friend.
"Oh, uh...hi there, Mr. and Mrs. Loud...and all of Lynn's siblings." Margo said a little anxiously. "I'm going to take a wild guess and assume you've found out about what happened, huh?"
"That's one way of putting it." Rita stated plainly.
"Oh dear...I knew this was really going to get weird…" Paula said trailing off.
Margo sighed and took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking, "Look, we're gonna guess Lynn has told you everything, but we want to settle something things on our end. First, we never pressured Lynn in that she absolutely had to join Paula and I for the game we were watching. In our opinion, she should've stayed home with Lily for certain. And secondly, even when she did came on over, she handled everything when it came to Lily."
"Yeah, we really think she did a terrific job and despite the circumstances, I'd even say she was very responsible." Paula added.
"So I know you must be pretty disappointed in Lynn, but understand that she never complained about bringing Lily along and I agree with how Paula characterized it. In some strange way, Lynn was pretty responsible all things considered." Margo said in conclusion.
After hearing all sides to this, the Loud family's reactions were slowly becoming more uniformly harboring a semblance of understanding of everything.
"Well, having heard from Lynn and now you girls as well, I think the only thing we really object to is not knowing about this game in the first place or Lynn calling us before she went off to join you." Rita said.
"Yeah, I wouldn't disagree with that." Paula agreed.
"Same here." Margo added.
"Yes, but still, the fact you both confirm that she did all the work in still taking care of Lily does soften the blow for us a decent amount and we do thank you for tell us that." Lynn Sr. said with a small grin.
"It's no problem. She is our friend after all and we're glad to help straighten the record for her." Margo opined proudly.
Lynn Jr. smiled, "Heh...well, thanks for that. I guess now I should let you. Bye, you guys."
The call ended and she put her phone away, then she sighed heavily and put her hands over her face for a moment.
"So...punishment's coming, right?" She wondered, looking back up.
"All right, well, we're not happy you didn't tell us about this game, or telling us you were leaving to watch it without calling us, nor about how you lied about what was going on, Lynn." Rita admitted, "But like your father said, it's at least a little bit relieving that you handled all the actions of caring for Lily by yourself anyway."
"Oh, believe me, Mom, that was my intent all the way. In spite of this whole dumb decision that I'll free admit to calling it now, I didn't bring along Lily with me like it was some kind of obligation nor did I handled everything regarding her out of reluctance, but because I wanted to. You and Dad trusted me with her, and yes I did break that trust to a degree, but even with everything that was happening, Lily was still my responsibility and I willingly chose to still take care of her...because I really do love my little baby sis so much." Lynn Jr. said, a slight bit of strain taking hold in her voice.
By this point, her family was much more sympathetic to her to the point everyone clustered closer to her and engaged in a group hug for a moment.
"Well, in a sense, we are proud of all you've done, LJ." Lynn Sr. said, "Now, you did ask if there could be some kind of punishment at the very least for not being completely open and honest with us in the beginning. I don't think 'punishment' should be the right word, and I suppose your mother and I will discuss something a little later on."
Right after he said that, the sounds of fussy babbling could be heard all the way from where the family was sitting.
"Well, sounds like someone's woken up from her nap. I'll go check on her." Rita offered to do.
She stood up, but instead a hand grabbed onto her arm belonging to her fifth eldest daughter.
"No, I can handle this, Mom. She is my responsibility still to an extent." Lynn Jr. reminded her.
Smiling at her daughter, Rita sat back down while Lynn went up the stairs and entered the baby's room. As she stepped in, the babbling and fussing came to an immediate stop when Lily laid eyes on her big sister.
"'ynn! 'ynn!" She happily said.
"Hey, Lily. You look like up and raring to go again." Lynn remarked humorously.
She picked her baby sister out of the crib, when she soon was on the receiving end of some loving infant snuggling.
"Yes, yes, I love you, too." Lynn said through some chuckling.
She patted Lily's back to make her settle down a little and once that happened, Lynn kissed her on the top of her head.
"Now, come on, everyone's back home and ready to see you again."
As she carried Lily with her, Lynn took a moment to reflect on the day's events. In spite of, or even perhaps specifically because of them, she feels like she's become as close to the youngest of her siblings as she's even been. That easily had to be the most positive thing to come out of this and she'll never forget it.
There we go. I really loved the idea of doing something involving Lynn and Lily, because that's another sibling pair you just don't see a whole lot of and I hope that my contribution fills that void to a degree.
And yes, I know some people might point out that I used a baseball pun for the title when soccer was the sport prominently mentioned. There's a reason why I chose soccer to be the sport Lynn, Margo and Paula watched, though, and that's because it's the one all three of them take part in and are affiliated with as the events of "Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow" have shown. Also, the two team names are ones I made up, but you probably figured that out already.
And with that, I thank you for taking the time to read this and we'll do this all again soon once more.