A/N: Hello everyone, I am back with chapter seventeen of this story. Here, Ronnie Anne takes care of her child while Lincoln talks with Clyde. Plus, a little extra.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House
It was a beautiful morning in Royal Woods. For Ronnie Anne, waking up was something she looked forward to for the first time in a while. Ronnie Anne dressed her son then got herself ready. The two then went downstairs.
"Good morning." said Maria.
"Morning mom." replied Ronnie Anne.
Ronnie Anne spotted an old high chair at the table.
"Hey, isn't that my high chair from when I was a baby?" asked Ronnie Anne.
Ronnie Anne walked over to the chair. It was plastic with a white and purple color scheme.
"I saved it and dragged her out of the basement." explained Maria.
Ronnie Anne put Lorenzo in the high chair.
"Is this right?" asked Ronnie Anne.
Ronnie Anne turned and saw her mother tearing up.
"What's wrong?" asked Ronnie Anne worried.
"It's just...that brings back so many fond memories." answered Maria.
Maria had a flashback to when Ronnie Anne was a baby.
"Mom, can I feed Ronalda?" asked Bobby.
"Sure." answered Maria.
Maria lifted Bobby.
"Here comes the string peas." said Bobby.
Bobby put a spoonful of string peas baby food into Ronnie's mouth and she eat it.
"Good job Bobby." said Maria.
"Bobby!" cried Ronnie Anne happily.
"She said my name." noted Bobby joyously.
"I think you're going to be very close." said Maria.
"Oh mom." said Ronnie Anne.
Ronnie Anne hugged her mother.
"Goo!" cried Lorenzo.
"Huh?" asked Ronnie Anne.
The hug was broken.
"I think he's hungry." noted Maria.
Maria got formula and showed Ronnie Anne how to prepare it.
"Here." said Maria.
Ronnie Anne took the bottle and approached Lorenzo.
"Here you go." said Ronnie Anne.
Lorenzo happily took the bottle and began to drink.
"He really likes it." said Ronnie Anne.
"Make sure he doesn't drink to fast." warned Maria.
"Gotcha ya mom!" declared Ronnie Anne.
Lorenzo quickly polished off the formula.
"Good job!" declared Ronnie Anne happily.
Lorenzo giggled.
"Normally, I'd advise breast milk, but that works too." said Maria.
Ronnie Anne winced.
"Any particular reason?" asked Ronnie Anne, trying to stay calm.
"It'd be no problem if you where older." answered Maria.
Ronnie Anne pounded her fist on the table.
"You just can't let it go!" cried Ronnie Anne.
"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." said Maria regretful.
Ronnie Anne took several deep breaths.
"It's okay. I need to do a better job controlling my temper." said Ronnie Anne.
"We can work on these together." offered Maria.
"It's a deal." agreed Ronnie Anne.
The two shook on it and got ready to go.
"Oh Ronnie, the Casagrandes will becoming in a few days." revealed Maria.
"Awesome." replied Ronnie Anne.
The trio left. Lorenzo was placed at daycare then Maria dropped Ronnie Anne at school before going to work. Ronnie Anne had a peaceful day including not having issues with Lincoln. She sat with her old friends at lunch without any problems either. The recess came and the kids enjoyed their free time. However, Lincoln pulled his friend Clyde aside saying then needed to talk. They slipped into the library where it would be more secluded and sat at a table.
"What's up?" asked Clyde.
Lincoln took a deep breath.
"It's...Ronnie Anne." answered Lincoln.
"I was afraid of this." muttered Clyde worried.
"Be honest with me buddy." began Lincoln.
"I always am." stated Clyde.
"Have I been...fair to Ronnie Anne?" asked Lincoln sheepish.
"I don't understand." answered Lincoln.
"It's just...my sisters have been getting in my head." sighed Lincoln.
"Tell Dr. Clyde all about it." said Clyde.
"You're not a doctor." noted Lincoln.
"What kid my age is?" asked Clyde.
"Lisa." answered Lincoln.
"She's a genius." noted Clyde.
"Fine. But, I'll have to report you for pretending to be a doctor." shrugged Lincoln.
The two chuckled a bit over their joke.
"Okay Lincoln, let's begin." said Clyde.
"Well...my sister don't think I'm giving Ronnie Anne a fair chance." said Lincoln.
"What do you mean?" asked Clyde curious.
"They claim I'm not listening to her side of things." answered Lincoln.
"Are you?" asked Clyde.
"Kinda..." answered Lincoln.
"Is that what Girl Jordan wanted to talk to you about?" asked Clyde.
"Yeah." answered Lincoln.
"Do you think they have a point?" asked Clyde.
Lincoln mulled this over.
"Maybe." answered Lincoln uncertain.
"And does that make you feel?" asked Clyde.
"Okay Freud." said Lincoln jokingly.
"I was thinking of Carl Jung myself." shrugged Clyde.
"To answer your question, I feel...it's complex." said Lincoln.
"Maybe...you feel a bit guilty." proposed Clyde.
Lincoln raised his eyebrow in surprise.
"You feel guilty for the way you've treated Ronnie Anne." clarified Clyde.
"I think I might." admitted Lincoln.
Lincoln growled.
"But, it's like, everyone defends Ronnie Anne." said Lincoln.
"And?" asked Clyde.
"And nobody gives a damn about how I feel." answered Lincoln angrily.
"You feel like your sisters are choosing Ronnie Anne over you." mused Clyde.
"It kinda feels that way." replied Lincoln.
"Are there any sisters who you feel aren't like this?" asked Clyde.
"Lynn has been oddly quiet lately." answered Lincoln.
Lincoln waved his hand is a dismissive motion.
"She's probably got sports event she's focused on." said Lincoln.
"Knowing Lynn that is very possible." agreed Clyde.
"But, I had to talk Lorenzo longer without her because of some reckless crap she did and the only thing people can think about is Ronnie Anne." said Lincoln angrily.
"You're family helped you." noted Clyde.
"They won't be around forever. At some point, we'll be adults and this will be our job." said Lincoln.
"True. But, you can always rely on family." replied Clyde.
"She still should have known better." said Lincoln.
"I agree she shouldn't have fought them..." began Clyde.
"Thank you." said Lincoln happily.
"But, maybe you should cut her some slack." proposed Clyde.
"Maybe." mused Lincoln.
Lincoln let out a groan.
"Why did I sleep with her?" asked Lincoln annoyed.
"You made your bed, and now you have to lie in it." answered Clyde.
"Not funny." stated Lincoln bluntly.
"I wasn't trying to be." replied Clyde.
"Then what are you trying to say?" asked Lincoln angrily.
"I'm your friend, but I have to be blunt." answered Clyde.
Clyde took a moment.
"You have to be responsible for your actions." said Clyde.
"I am. Hell, I've got more stuff I have to be responsible for thanks to Ronnie Anne." said Lincoln.
"Do you?" asked Clyde.
"Yes." answered Lincoln flustered.
"Or are you using this as an excuse?" asked Clyde.
Lincoln was confused by this.
"I hate to suggest this, but you might be trying to shift blame onto Ronnie Anne." said Clyde.
"And why would I do that?" asked Lincoln offended.
'Maybe you feel guilty about being a teenage father and you're trying to shift focus on how bad Ronnie Anne is." suggested Clyde.
"I..." began Lincoln.
Lincoln stopped and thought.
"I think you might be right." said Lincoln stunned.
"I've picked up a lot from Doctor Lopez." shrugged Clyde.
The bell rang signaling the end of recess.
"You gonna be okay?" asked Clyde.
The two boys got up and began leaving the library.
"I have a lot to think about." answered Lincoln unsure.
Hours later and night had fallen. Lori had the weekend free so she mad a "surprise" trip back home. To no surprise, Lynn was awfully quiet all night. However, it did surprise her how out of it Lincoln was. Their mother asked if things where okay and Lincoln assured her they where. That night, Lori slipped out of the house carrying two things, a pack of Marlboro Gold cigarettes and a light. She put a cigarette in her mouth and tried to light it, but her lighter had died.
"Need a light?" asked Rita.
Lori jumped then turned and saw her mother holding a pack of Camel filtered cigarettes.
"You smoke?" asked Lori surprised.
"I had eleven kids. I needed something to help with the stress." answered Rita.
The two light their smokes and began taking drags.
"So...what's going on with Lincoln?" asked Rita.
"What do you mean?" asked Lori surprised.
"I'm no fool. I know when something is wrong with my son." answered Rita.
Lori explained the situation to her mother.
"Oh boy. I was afraid this would happen." sighed Rita.
"We're literally on top of things." stated Lori.
"I'm so grateful for you." confessed Rita.
"What do you mean?" asked Lori confused.
"Your dad and I couldn't be around all the time and sometimes we took a more laissez faire approach liked with The Sister Fight Protocol." began Rita.
Rita felt ashamed of this.
"But, I always knew we could count on you. I know you had to grow up faster than most kids and became almost a third parent." finished Rita.
"It's okay. I literally think that helped me be ready to live on my own. By the time I left, I had the skills I needed." shrugged Lori.
"I've wanted to get involved, but Lincoln doesn't want help. I tried talking to him, but to no avail." said Rita sadly.
"We haven't had much luck either." confessed Lori.
Both mother and daughter took a drag from their cigarette in unison.
"Being a mother is so much harder than you think and with so many kids it's hard to pay attention to them all." noted Rita sadly.
"Hey, you're an awesome mom." said Lori.
Rita smiled grateful.
"Thanks dear." replied Rita.
"We'll help Lincoln and Lynn too." stated Lori.
'That was going to be my next question." said Rita.
Lori explained to her mother what was bothering Lynn.
"That poor girl." said Rita heartbroken.
"We need to let that issue die." stated Lori.
"I'm make sure nobody brings it up." vowed Rita.
"Who brings it up exactly?" asked Lori curious.
Rita thought when a horrible realization hit.
"Lincoln." answered Rita stunned.
"Literally great." moaned Lori.
Lori took a long drag on her cigarette.
"Okay, so we help Lincoln then we can help Lynn easily." said Lori.
"Right." agreed Rita.
A/N: That's where we'll end things for now. So, it seems Ronnie Anne is mending her relationship with her mother and Lincoln might slowly becoming around. Also, the ending was partial inspired by "Smokers Wild" by themaninthecouch and I was going to have it at the end of chapter fifteen, but ran out of time. Next time, Rita talks to Lynn Jr. and we focus on Lincoln. Please review.
