Birthday Blowout with the Gal Pals

(Story Summary: As Summer Break slowly reaches its end; our favorite gals are in the midst of putting together one final bash; Lincoln's Birthday Bash, to be precise. But while all this is going on; everyone will need to keep the birthday boy distracted long enough for them to prepare. Will Lincoln find out about the party and how will he react, when he sees a group of familiar faces among the other party guests?)

In the blink of an eye, Summer Break seemed to have come and gone incredibly quick for the children of Royal Woods. After three months of beachside fun, pool parties, outdoor merriment and other activities; the time they dreaded most was drawing ever nearer...the first day of school. However, much to the children's relief; there was still one final week of freedom left and they were going to savor it.

But while most of these children did their own things, our favorite crew of gals were yet to be seen among them. Then, one day; a lone figure dressed in a hoodie was tiptoeing around the neighborhood. Despite it being the early morning, this figure walked and hid herself within different areas of town like it was the dead of night.

Finally, the figure reached their destination, a familiar two-storey house. They made their way towards the front door and gave a sort of rhythmic knock. All was silent for a few seconds, afterwards; then, the door opened and the figure stepped into the house.

Once inside; a dog excitedly barked at the figure, rushed forward and knocked them down to the floor. Then, the hound proceeded to lick the figure's hoodie affectionately; causing them to let out a feminine laugh. "Okay, Ajax...oh-ho-ho-kay" the figure giggled in a familiar voice, "I'm happy to see you too."

After being allowed to get back onto her feet, the figure is then surrounded by a group of...very familiar females; who seem to be staring at her with mildly annoyed glares. "It's about time you got here" groaned Paige with a soft groan, "we've been waiting forever for you, Jordan." Upon hearing her name, the figure drew back her hood to show the familiar face of "Girl Jordan."

"Sorry, everybody" she giggled sheepishly, "but I had to make sure I wasn't being followed." Everyone looked at one another in silence, shared a slight nod in understanding and asked for Jordan to take her seat on the living room sofa. "Great, everyone's finally present and accounted for" Carol announced with a smile, "now...we can begin the meeting."

Sometime after school ended for Summer Break, Lincoln shared one of the more positive experiences he had with his family; Emergency Sibling/Family Meetings. During such events; Lori, the eldest of the sisters, would oversee the meeting and present any important topics that needed to be discussed. These topics would range from things of mild importance, like discussing/deciding what color a specific room should be redecorated in, to more dire subjects.

These would involve either important family/friend business, a family member being in trouble or discussing plans for an important occasion. After Lincoln shared this concept with all of them, the Gal Pals decided to hold Emergency Meetings of their own, which some of them have dubbed "Gal Pal Pow-Wows." "Okay, Gals" Carol cried out, "I hereby call this Pow-Wow to order."

After this, Whitney was given the floor and started off the meeting with a small piece of "old business." "I am pleased to report that the mall is offering discount sales for Back to School outfits" she cried with glee, "I even saw a new top there that would totes look adorable on you, Carol." Upon hearing this announcement, Carol smiled coyly at her bestie and declared she knew about the top long ago.

Then, she hurried out the door towards her van at the curb and collected something from inside. When she came back in the house, she took a moment to step into the downstairs bathroom. When Carol returned, moments later; she was seen wearing an entirely new look.

Her new top was black with a red collar, gold buttons and red rims at the end of her short sleeves. Instead of her usual checkered skirt, she sported a pair of Khaki jeans and she had a red hair clip in her hair. Upon closer inspection, everyone could see images of Boyz Will Be Boyz on it.

"You like, Gals" Carol asked eagerly, "I also got these jeans with the top; part of a 'Buy One, Get One Free' deal." Naturally, her posse extended some warm compliments towards their friend's new look. Even some of the preteen members of the Gal Pals couldn't help but admire it. "Hold up there" Stella called out suddenly, "why would you go to a 'Back to School Sale,' Carol; didn't you and your friends graduate from High School before Break?"

This revelation caused the other Gal Pals to look upon Carol curiously. After a while, the blonde teen giggled sheepishly and confessed that Stella spoke the truth. But she added that with college being on the horizon, she needed a new look for it. "I mean...I'm not sure if you ladies ever heard this before" she murmured, "but...for some time, some people have often said Lori and I almost look the same."

This statement caused the likes of Phoebe, Stella, Jordan and even Whitney to playfully say things like "no...is that so" or "I never really noticed it." "I'm serious, everybody" Carol said firmly, "after what happened between Linky and his sisters back in March, the last thing I want is for people to call me her clone or something!" From here, she said she wanted to greet the New Year with a whole new look.

"We don't doubt your reasoning, Carol" Becky stated, "but...were black and red really the right color choices for you?" No sooner had the teen said all this, a certain young Gothic member of their group appeared seemingly out of nowhere; startling the others. "Okay...first of all, the colors red and black aren't that odd looking" murmured Haiku "second of all, I think we are getting a bit off-track here."

Upon hearing this, the Gal Pals' collective minds snapped back to normal and each of them quickly got back down to business. "Thank you for the reminder, Haiku" Carol said gratefully, "the time has come to get to the point of our meeting, Gals." Before continuing, she took out her phone and brought up an image of a calendar.

On this calendar, everyone could see the first days of September on the upcoming weekend days. Not long after that, they also saw a pair of star icons and a few birthday emojis on Saturday's date. "There's a birthday coming up soon" Carol announced, "and not just any birthday; it's our special little man, Lincoln's twelfth B-Day!"

This announcement created quite a buzz from the group, to say the least. "The lil' dude's turning twelve" Cici cried in surprise, "but...I'm thirteen and a half, how could he be getting close to my age?" The Gals couldn't help but laugh heartily at her exclamation; reminding their friend that this year showed all of them one fundamental fact about Lincoln Loud...that he was full of surprises.

"Moving on; his B-Day, coincidentally enough, happens to fall on the last free weekend before school starts for some of us" Carol added, "you can all thank Mr. and Mrs. Loud for sharing this info with me." Curious, Dana raised her hand and asked why the specifics of the date mattered for this occasion. "I think I've got a good idea" Jordan interjected, "Carol wants to put on a big shindig for Lincoln's special day, one last hurrah before half of us go back to the old grind."

With a proud laugh in her throat, the aforementioned teen proceeded to sound off a chime from her cellphone; indicating that Jordan was correct. "So, what are we talkin' about here" inquired Phoebe, "Pizza Party, Bowling Party...any specific type of entertainers in mind?" Now, each of her ideas were relatively good; in their own different ways.

But considering how much Lincoln had endured before summer arrived and how close he became with each of them throughout Summer Break, the other Gals considered doing something really special for him to say thanks. Their first idea was holding a party down at Gus', mainly for nostalgia sake. But Whitney proclaimed that they'd just went there three weeks ago and was still working off the pizza and garlic knots.

"Why not have a theme party" Cristina suggested, "but then...should it be an ARRGH theme, an Ace Savvy one or...maybe something else he likes?" The Gals considered the idea carefully until moments later, they declined it; proclaiming that such a thing would prove too difficult or too confusing to make simply one choice. "Why not take a trip to Dairy Land" Paige suggested, "I imagine he'd get to be first in line on all the rides, since it's his birthday."

At first, everyone thought this would be a great idea to try. But after doing a quick web search, the Gals saw something that almost made their eyes pop. "I'm sorry...holding a birthday party costs how much there" Becky cried, "even with all ten of us, our parents and all the guests pitching in, it's still too expensive!"

In addition to this, they realized that not everyone might enjoy such a place; due to the intense nature of the thrill rides, massive crowds and long line queues always being a pain. With that idea sunk, the Gals went back to thinking up new ideas. At one point; Jordan's mother entered the room, holding what looked like a tray of cookies in her hands.

"Hello, girls; heard you were having a sort of 'meeting' together" she said with a light giggle, "so, I took the liberty of whipping up some snickerdoodles for you." Naturally, this offer pleased the group immensely and they happily welcomed it with open arms...and mouths. As she watched some of them began to nibble away at the cookies, Jordan's mother asked what they were all discussing about.

"Well, Mom...the truth is...we're kind of stuck on something" sighed Jordan, "we're trying to think up ideas on what to do for Lincoln's birthday...but everything we come up with is either too expensive, too predictable or too confusing to think of anything specific." Truly, the Gals all felt that they were caught between a rock and a hard place with this one. Then, at that moment; everyone could hear the sound of someone laughing at them.

It didn't take long for them to see that it was Jordan's mother doing it all. "All due respect, Ma'am; it's rude to laugh at someone else's dilemma" Cristina said firmly, "this is a serious matter we're dealing with." Within seconds, Jordan's mother calmed herself down and apologized for her behavior.

"I was merely laughing at the irony of this whole thing" she said bluntly, "you're all are so worried about not finding a party idea, you've forgotten one that's right out in front of you." After this, she made a sweeping gesture towards the outside of their house; specifically towards their pool. After about five seconds, the Gals all understood her point and facepalmed themselves; all while muttering "we are so stupid."

"It's totes obvious, now; ladies" giggled Dana, "how did we not see it earlier...we'll throw a poolside birthday bash!" This idea brought the rest of the group into a deep discussion, with some of them being a little hesitant on it and others whooping happily in agreement. "We haven't had a pool party here since Spring Break" Paige, "that was all so much fun!"

After giggling in agreement, Phoebe took out her camera phone and started playing clips from said party. Upon seeing the ones featuring Lincoln's cannonball, his karaoke performance and him becoming "hot under the collar" from Dana asking him to rub lotion on her back; the gang burst out into a fit of jolly laughter. "Wow, ladies" chuckled Cici, "those were some great times eh? I vote yes on Dana and Mrs. Rosato's idea!"

Mere seconds after this, Paige sided with the idea as well. Following her was Phoebe, Becky, Whitney, Cristina even Haiku agreed to it. Only Carol and Jordan remained, who both appeared to be undecided.

"Just think, one last pool party before school starts" urged Paige, "who wouldn't want that?" Upon hearing her tone, the two ladies quickly assured everyone that they didn't think the idea was bad. "It's just...I love our pool parties here, really" Jordan sighed, "but...what do you think, Mom; would holding a B-Day pool party for Lincoln be too much for us here?"

Now, there were many times where Mrs. Rosato didn't allow her daughter to have such a get-together at a drop of a hat. Not only was setting up all the different food stations and fun stations (like the tattoo booth, face painting station or the music) quite a bit to do; as her daughter said. But such a thing was mostly reserved for big engagements; like breaks during the warmer seasons or when the children simply want a fun day to unwind.

But after thinking things over from front to back, Mrs. Rosato came to a realization. This would indeed, be the kids' last pool party for the season and it was for an important occasion; the birthday of one of her daughter's dearest friends. The moment Lincoln came into mind, Mrs. Rosato immediately thought of everything he'd been through with these girls and how much they've helped each other out this past year.

Just as she was about to make her decision, Carol stepped forth and bowed her head. "Ma'am; as one of Lincoln's four legal guardians, I happily offer whatever help you might require" she offered, "just as we did back during Spring Break." Not long after this; Becky, Whitney and Dana echoed her same words and offered their services as well.

This touched Mrs. Rosato's heart immensely but at the same time, she still needed to remain firm yet fair. "We'll hold the party here" she said with a smile, "but...in exchange, I will need all of you to help me prepare." After this, she began setting up tasks for everyone; from setting up the party décor to managing things like the sub station.

"I also have a few conditions" Mrs. Rosato added, "the party will be supervised at all times, all parents must agree to lending a hand, each of you will help clean up at the end and...someone will need to keep the birthday boy distracted." While the idea of doing garbage cleanup felt icky to some of them (specifically Whitney and Dana,) the Gals understood that this was all for their pal and decided to swallow their disgust (for the moment.) "We've got ya covered on all that, Ma'am" Becky assured, "as for the distraction, we've got just the thing."

With that; she pulled out her phone from her purse, brought up the phonebook and speed-dialed her desired number.

(Line Break)

In the next day or so, the Gals were hard at work in collecting everything they needed to set up the party. Meanwhile, in another part of town; Lincoln was sitting down with his guy friends at the McBride house. There, Lincoln was presenting an idea for another team of heroes he wished to share with Bill Buck; in hopes of adding them to the Ace Savvy universe..."La Familia Loteria."

"I got the idea from some stories Ronnie Anne shared with me during our web chat sessions" he explained, "apparently, the game is...kinda, sorta like American Bingo." Curious yet doubtful, Rusty questioned him on how similar the games truly were. "Well, from what she told me; you try to make a matching pattern upon the board" Lincoln replied, "but instead of putting chips on number squares, you put beans on pictures."

He then brought up a picture of a Loteria game board on his phone and showed it to everyone. While the boys didn't quite understand the Spanish terms; they did however, recognize many of the images. "Hold on there, pardner" Liam interjected, "how can ya make heroes based on this here game?"

In response to this, Lincoln mentioned the idea of Lucha Libre and how he wanted to blend the nature of that sport with his Loteria inspired characters. "See, each member of La Familia Loteria is dressed in a sort of Mexican Wrestler look" he explained, "and each of their identities is based off a card from Loteria." As an example, he showed them all Ronnie Anne's counterpart; La Alacrán."

"This is cool and all" murmured Zach, "but we thought you already gave her a superhero persona, Madame Roulette?" Lincoln nodded slightly and revealed that this character would be used in his Double Draw storyline. "In the other universe, she's taken up a different identity" he stated, "and each of her family members also has one."

He then showed off a series of character sheets for each member of La Familia Loteria, from Mrs. Santiago/La Arpa down to little Carlitos/El Rana In addition to these images, Lincoln also placed English translations for each character in parenthesis. When Clyde got a look at Bobby's character, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Dude...seriously, I can't believe it" he gasped between laughs, "of all names, why give him something like 'The Palm...' which is basically a palm tree." Lincoln chuckled sheepishly and admitted that after doing some research, it was the best idea he could think of. "Truth is, I looked up the meaning behind each card image" Lincoln explained, "and my sources said that La Palma represents hard work and pleasing others."

Upon hearing this explanation, the Guy Squad slowly began to understand their pal's logic. "Still, these are some cool looking costumes" Rusty admitted, "I especially love Carlotta's." After giving off a flirtatious growl, he showed the girl's superhero look to the others. She appeared to be wearing a luchadora uniform with a mask that showed of the image of a white heron on the forehead.

This same image was seen on the front of her leotard and on her cape. "In case you're wondering...no, the capes are just for show; they don't make them fly" Lincoln said bluntly, "but...each of them does have unique powers/abilities based upon whatever Loteria image they've chosen." He then described Ronnie Anne's character as someone with MMA fighter level combat skills, which greatly intrigued the boys.

"Her punches and jabs are so hard, bad guys say they feel like scorpion stings" Lincoln said with nerdy glee, "hence her heroine name, Alacrán." With this info, the boys were able to piece together what the rest of the family's abilities were. Needless to say, they liked what they saw. "This is awesome" Clyde exclaimed, "you've got to put these guys in the next issue of Double Draw!"

Lincoln nodded with great pride and declared that he already had the idea in mind. "I wonder what the Gals would think" he asked, "I should ring up Carol and show her." The moment they heard him say this, the boys quickly tackled Lincoln down before he could get to his phone. "OW! Jeez, guys...what's up with the sudden dogpile" groaned the young Loud boy, "I was just getting my phone!"

The boys swiftly yet softly chastised themselves for what they did, making certain Lincoln didn't overhear them. "Uh...Sorry, dude" Rusty chuckled sheepishly, "it's just...why spoil the surprise so soon, when you've yet to put the idea to paper yet?" Clyde nodded in agreement with him and urged Lincoln to wait until he's put the final touches to the characters to show the Gals anything.

"You've got a point there, guys" Lincoln admitted, "but it'll probably take another day or two for the sheets to be finished up." He also added that he was in need of new art supplies, after using up his current stock working on the pictures he had. "Let's head down to the crafts store" Zach suggested, "I think I heard they've got some new colored pencils in stock, some packs even have gold and silver ones."

This news caused Lincoln's eyes to sparkle with delight. If he had gold or silver colored pencils, who knew what he could create. "Sounds like a plan, dude" Rusty interjected, "maybe I'll look for some model supplies too." With that said, everyone got up from the floor and headed out for the Art Supply store.

As Lincoln took the lead, the boys hung back slightly to whisper amongst themselves. "Remember, guys; we need to keep Lincoln distracted" Clyde murmured, "don't let him catch on that the others are putting together his party." The other three boys nodded in silent agreement while also zipping their lips, as if to say they wouldn't speak a word of it to Lincoln.

At that moment, the Guy Squad suddenly heard him calling them from outside; urging them not to dawdle. "We're coming, pardner" Liam shouted back, "don't you worry none." After that, the trio collected themselves and raced out the door; hoping they wouldn't run into any of the party preppers at the crafts store.

(Scene Change: Downtown Royal Woods)

Some time later, the boys were seen walking through town; two of whom appeared to be carrying a bag in their hands. "AWESOME! I've got all the supplies I need to finish the next Double Draw issue, now" Lincoln chuckled with glee, "a shame we couldn't find any of those pencil packs Zach mentioned." While still trying not to appear suspicious, Clyde nodded slightly in agreement; claiming he hoped to use the silver pencil to stylize his binder.

"There's always next time, dude" Rusty assured, "where do ya wanna go next?" After giving it a little thought, Lincoln considered popping by the park; hoping to catch sight of his parents and sisters doing some community service work...just so he could say "hi." "That's a real sweet idea" Clyde said with a smile, "plus, who doesn't like a nice walk in the park?"

The other three boys considered the idea for a moment and soon, they too decided to go along with their pals. "Thanks a bunch, guys" Lincoln said gratefully, "I really appreciate your company; especially if some of my sisters may still have a fire in their bellies...if ya catch my drift." The boys shivered slightly in fear, dreading the idea of being caught in the crosshairs of the Loud Sisters' wrath.

After taking a moment to shake the idea from their heads, they proceeded on their way towards Ketchum Park. While in the midst of their walk, the boys could see clear signs of Fall approaching. The leaves in the trees were changing color, the squirrels were busily storing food into said trees and the park didn't appear quite as crowded.

"Nice to have the park to ourselves, eh" Lincoln sighed blissfully, "well...almost; with the exception of a few people here and there." The boys nodded in agreement, relishing in the peaceful serenity of the atmosphere. But soon, Rusty couldn't help but think that something felt...a little off.

"It's too quiet here" Lincoln murmured, "sure, there's people playing and such...but it just feels too normal here." The others couldn't help but agree, which led them to also wonder if Lincoln's hunch about his family being here was incorrect. Just then, Lincoln looked ahead and spotted what looked like Officer Schoffner; sitting on a bench.

Now; he wasn't quite on the same level of familiarity with her as he was with Officers Higgins, Simmons and Campos. But after all the help she gave him before and during the trial, Lincoln was on...some friendly terms with Schoffner. Thus, he decided to go over and greet her; much to the surprise of his friends.

"Good morning, Officer" Lincoln greeted casually yet respectfully, "anything unusual going on here?" At first, the police woman stared firmly at the young man; trying to appear serious. But then; after seeing that not many people were around, she dropped her guard a little and smiled.

"Good morning, Mr. Loud" Schoffner greeted casually, "everything appears fine here...why do you ask?" In response to this, Lincoln confessed that he thought he would come across his family in the park during their walk. Upon hearing this, Schoffner frowned and said that they hadn't been at the park for a while.

"I saw them cleaning litter here three days ago" she admitted, "after that, things have been quiet...much to the relief of everyone here." Lincoln and his guy friends couldn't help but chuckle at Schoffner's little joke, even she found it a little funny and giggled. "Thank you for the news, Officer" Lincoln said gratefully, "if you do happen to see my parents or sister around, could you tell them I said hello?"

Schoffner smiled warmly at the boy, gave him a quick nod and thanked him for his consideration. "Best move along, boys" she ordered gently, "need to keep a lookout for any litterbugs and rabble-rousers out there." Lincoln and his pals nodded in understanding, wished the officer well and proceeded back on their walk.

"What should we do after this, guys" Lincoln murmured, "head off to the arcade or to the Burpin' Burger for some lunch?" At first, the boys said nothing; while their minds were momentarily caught in a whirlwind of mild anxiety. On one hand, they thought about denying both of their bestie's ideas; inwardly speculating that some of the party preppers might be there.

But then, they suddenly heard the combined sounds of each of their stomachs gurgling; which caused Clyde to blush timidly. "Heh-heh...guess the walk is really working up my appetite" he murmured, "lunch actually sounds like a good idea right now." After a while, each of the boys came to a unanimous agreement and voted yes on Linc's plan.

"Great, they should be putting out the lunch menu right now" Lincoln said with glee, "I've been anxious to try this new plant-based burger Cristina and Jordan told me they've been advertising." Upon hearing about a "plant-based" burger, Rusty suddenly groaned with disgust; thinking it would taste like tofu or something worse.

But then, he suddenly felt Liam slap him in the back of the head slightly; snapping him out of it. "Ow! Dude" cried Rusty, "what the heck did you do that for?" Liam offered him no verbal response, only a firm stare that seemed to say "stick to the plan."

After letting out a defeated yet soft groan, he relented and resumed following Lincoln down the rest of the walking path. Meanwhile, Schoffner remained seated upon her bench; staring intently at the four boys as they wandered off into the distance. Then, the moment they were far enough out of view; she took out her walkie-talkie and pressed her thumb on the button.

"The rabbit has fled the burrow" she whispered softly, "I repeat, the rabbit has fled the burrow; do you read?" After only seven seconds of waiting, her walkie-talkie fuzzed softly and a familiar voice spoke on the other end. "I read you loud and clear, Ma'am" said a young female voice on the other end, "any idea where the boys are heading off to now?"

Without missing a beat, Schoffner mentioned everything she heard from the boys' earlier discussion. "I think they plan on heading down to the Burpin' Burger" she stated, "would this be a problem?" After a moment of silence, a male voice on the other end said she had nothing to worry about.

"Grant's almost done with his end of the plan" a male voice assured, "once the boys get there, he'll act perfectly natural." Schoffner murmured in understanding, wished the caller on the other end good luck and was about to end things there. But she stopped herself, suddenly; wishing to make one last reminder for the caller.

"Make sure everyone keeps there noses clean over there" she said firmly, "and remember to save me some cake like we agreed."

(Line Break)

It was now Friday morning in Royal Woods, the last Friday of Freedom Lincoln would have before school starts and he was planning on making the best of every hour. "Best not exhaust myself too much today" Lincoln chuckled while jumping out of bed, "come tomorrow morning, it'll be my birthday and I'll get to have even more fun!" With all this in mind, he couldn't help but perform a little victory dance.

Yet, at the same time; something had been nagging at him in the back of his head. Throughout most of the week, he began to notice a lot of things that seemed a bit..."out of place." First, there was Officer Schoffner's news about his family not being at the park for clean up duty.

At first, he felt that they simply weren't assigned such a task that day and were at another part of town. But after leaving the Burpin' Burger, Lincoln asked to go see another part of downtown; specifically the area where Luan once performed her "Paint the Town Red" prank the one year. Upon their arrival, though; the boys (particularly Lincoln) were surprised by what they saw.

Not only was every house and/or establishment cleaned completely of any unwanted red paint. But each of them was also given a new paint job, making the buildings look just like new. At one point, Lincoln spotted a nearby produce store owner and asked if she saw any signs of the Loud Family.

"You're their boy, Lincoln; right" the woman inquired, "in any case; they left here days ago, did a real nice job with the painting too." Upon hearing this news, Lincoln felt mildly conflicted about it. On the one hand, he was proud of all the work his parents and sisters did here.

But on the other hand, this was the second time he didn't see them around town. "Don't worry, dude" Zach murmured reassuringly, "they might probably be back at your house right now." The moment this idea was presented; the grocer revealed that a trio of officers picked them up in their cars, once they were all done.

Now; it didn't take long for the boys to realize that it was Ms. Higgins, Simmons and Campos who picked Lincoln's family up. But at the moment, the aforementioned Loud boy didn't know if they were simply giving them a police escort to home or to the family's next assignment. "I'm sure they're okay, buddy" Clyde said reassuringly, "why don't we pop by the Burnt Bean for a little calming tea before we continue our walk."

For a moment or two, Lincoln considered the idea. Then, he realized he might be getting worried over nothing and felt that a little tea would be just the thing to calm him. "Sounds like a great idea, dude" Lincoln chuckled, "lead the way."

With that said, the boys went off on their way to find the town's resident trendy coffee shop; the Burnt Bean. Then, once they turned down the corner, the grocer took out her phone and pressed the speed dial button. After it rang for almost ten seconds, a young voice picked up on the other end and asked "hello?"

"Cristina, honey; I just saw the boys here" the grocer whispered, "they're on their way to the Burnt Bean, as we speak." As the camera cuts to the woman's phone, it shows an image of Cristina on the other end. Behind her, several people (young and/or old) are seen running about hither and yon with arms full of random supplies.

"Thanks for the heads up, Mom" she said with a wave, "I think we're just about finished setting up everything here." The grocer smiled warmly at her daughter and congratulated everyone on their hard work. "It won't be long now, Mom" Cristina said with a joyful giggle, "I think Lincoln is really going to love this party."

Just as she was about to say goodbye and hang up, Cristina's mother stopped her for a moment; claiming she had one final bit of news to share. "Seems that the birthday boy's been very eager to cross paths with his family today" she stated, "I don't blame him, of course; considering how busy your summer together has been for both sides...but still." Cristina nodded in understanding and hoped that Lincoln wasn't getting the wrong idea about things.

"It won't be long now, Mom" she stated, "by tomorrow morning, Linc will be in for the surprise of his life." The grocer smiled slightly at her daughter and prayed that things would turn out the way she hoped. "I'll make sure to bring my supplies over this afternoon, once my shift is over" she stated, "make sure to tell Mrs. Rosato that for me."

The young redhead nodded in response, thanked her mother for all her help and signed off. But the moment the call ended, Cristina couldn't help but feel a little worried. Then, at that moment; someone approached her from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation" said the mystery person, "but don't worry, Lincoln is totally going to love this surprise." Cristina smiled warmly at the person and thanked her for helping lift her spirits. After that, she picked up her supplies and hurried back out the door; eager to finish up preparing.

(Line Break)

Friday morning finally came and down at the Loud House, Lincoln Loud was simply glowing with excitement. "Today's the day, dude" he said to his reflection in the mirror, "your big B-Day is here and can't wait to party down!" After saying this; he crawled over to his favorite plushie, Bun-Bun and mimicked the words "Happy Birthday Lincoln" in a high-pitched voice while moving its head like a puppet.

"Heh-heh! Thanks for that, buddy" Lincoln in his normal voice, "you ready to have some fun today?" Rather than do the voice again, he simply moved the head up and down in a sort of "nodding" gesture. Then, Lincoln's eye slowly turns towards the "screen" and he softly blushes.

"Hey, don't you judge me" he murmured at the "viewer," "I may be getting one year older...but you're never too old for the 'kid stuff' you love." With that said, he took out his laptop and prepared to bring up the video chat; hoping to touch base with all of his best pals. But much to his surprise; the moment he tried to contact Clyde, Lincoln saw the words "user has failed to answer your call" beneath his profile picture.

Next, he tried the Rusty's line; hoping that he would be available for some fun. But once again, Lincoln was met with the same message; "user has failed to answer your call." From Liam to Zach right up to each member of the Gal Pals, Lincoln was unable to contact any of them. This led the poor boy to think that something dreadful must've happened to them all.

"Now, hold on there" he whispered, "there's still one number you can call...even if they're a bit far away." With this in mind, he searched through his list of contacts and brought up the image of a familiar face; Ronnie Anne. "I know she and Sid may have their own stuff to do today" Lincoln thought, "but surely, she or her family wouldn't mind a quick chat...right?"

Rather than wait for the "viewer's response," he clicked on the profile picture and waited for Ronnie Anne to answer. Alas; much like with the others, he was met with the same result..."user has failed to answer your call." "Okay, this is just too weird" Lincoln muttered in disbelief, "first, I don't find any of my family out doing community work over the past few days and now, all my friends aren't even home...what's going on here?"

The moment he said this; his still waking mind almost led him to believe that he was either still asleep, dreaming all of this or that everyone he knew had suddenly vanished. As soon as the latter idea came up, Lincoln suddenly fell over onto his bed and burst out laughing. "That's just crazy thinking, dude" he giggled, "best head down and have some breakfast; perhaps then, you'll be able to think more clearly."

With that in mind, he sauntered out the door and made his way down to the kitchen; eager to get his breakfast on before things would get too crazy. But the moment he came downstairs, he was surprised to see zero signs of anyone around. Well, that is to say; there were zero signs of any humans around.

Instead, he was met with the family's loyal pets; two of which proceeded to greet Lincoln with their usual cheek kisses and nuzzles. "Okay, guys...o-okay" Lincoln said between laughs, "good morning to you guys too!" After moving Charles and Cliff off of him, Lincoln saw Walt perching himself atop his right shoulder.

Not long after that, he began to sound off a rather musical tweet; which Lincoln immediately recognized as the "Happy Birthday" melody. "Gee, Walt; thanks for the musical message" he gushed thankfully, "are the others awake?" Now, the pets clearly knew Lincoln was referring to the other members of the family.

But because of present circumstances, they chose to "play dumb" and give out a loud yet brief cacophony of animal calls. This led to a small group of other animals to appear. Four of them were Lana's remaining pets; Hopps, El Diablo, Izzy and Bitey.

The last one to arrive was Lucy's small but friendly pet bat, Fangs. "Uh...good morning to you guys too" Lincoln murmured confusedly, "but I was actually looking for the family." With this thought in mind, Lincoln was prepared to use the house phone and ring up one of his sister's numbers.

But before he touched any of the number keys, El Diablo hissed softly and coiled himself around Lincoln's right wrist like a whip. Upon being released, seconds later, the boy was moments away from scolding El Diablo for surprising him. But he and the other pets quickly diverted his attention by gesturing towards something on the table.

There; Lincoln saw a box of what looked like Zombie Bran, his favorite cereal and a glass of orange juice just waiting for him to sample them. "What the...when did we get this" Lincoln thought curiously, "I don't remember either Mom or Luna picking it up, when they last went grocery shopping." In spite of this sudden surprise, Lincoln still welcomed it and took a seat at the table.

But just as he was about to eat his cereal, he spotted a piece of notepad paper by his orange juice. When he picked it up; he saw that the note was written in a very familiar kind of handwriting, his mother's.

"Good Morning, Birthday Boy

So sorry we couldn't greet you when you woke up, sweetie. But your father, sisters and I got called in for some important business this morning. Don't worry, though; no one is in trouble, we're just going to the station to report our Community Service progress is all.

By now, you'll have noticed the cereal at your spot on the kitchen table. You can thank Luna for picking that up for you, when you next see her. She used some of her tip money from performing before certain...events happened to get you a whole year's supply...so, make every bit last."

Upon reading this part of the note, Lincoln suddenly clutched his hand over his heart; as if the words were tugging at his soul. He could not believe that Luna would use her own money to buy him that much Zombie Bran, when she mostly used the tip money for either guitar repairs or new instruments. "I will definitely tell Luna my thanks for something like that" Lincoln murmured to himself, "make no mistake."

What truly touched him about this part of the note was the fact that Luna chose to do this for him, even after all that's happened. Perhaps, this was a sign of good things to come but chose to finish reading the not first; before trusting in hope too deeply.

Hope you'll enjoy the rest of your day, sweetheart; we'll see you later on...provided nothing crazy happens along the way. Your father and sisters all send you their love as well and can't wait to see you soon. That's all for now, talk to you later.

Love, Mom.

After finishing the note, Lincoln couldn't help but swipe away a small tear from his eyes. "Guess that explains why the family's been AWOL this past week" Lincoln chuckled, "suppose I was getting worried over nothing after all." After having a bit of an ironic laugh, Lincoln poured some of the Zombie Bran into a bowl and began to swiftly guzzle down every bit of it.

But just before he about to finish up, he noticed an additional message at the bottom of his mother's note. This time, he noticed that it was his dad's handwriting; which led him to wonder what he had to add.

P.S. from me, Son

The only thing we ask from you; even though it's your special day is that you clean up your dishes when you've finished breakfast, take the kitchen trash out to the curb and make sure you feed the pets before you go anywhere today. If you do this, you won't have to worry about anything else for the rest of the day. Thanks in advance for the help, Son and Happy Birthday.

Love, Dad

While at first, he felt a tiny bit put out by being given chores on his birthday; Lincoln simply rolled his eyes with a chuckle, turned towards the "viewer" and said, "even on birthdays...we have to do our fair share, right?" With that; he finished up the last bits of his Zombie Bran, drank his OJ and brought his dishes to the sink. After gently washing and drying them, Lincoln placed the dishware back into each of their respective places.

After that, he walked over to the lower cupboard and brought out a collection of food bags; some big and some small. From these, he spread/poured out the right amount and type of food for each pet. "There ya go, gang" Lincoln sighed with satisfaction, "this should keep you satisfied till the others get home."

With his pets fed and breakfast dishware cleared away, Lincoln decided to take a seat on the sofa and relax. It was here that he realized that with his sisters out of the house, he didn't have to worry about losing the remote to anyone. With this in mind, he wondered how much better things could get for him.

Then, the moment he turned on the TV; Lincoln was suddenly greeted by a sight that made him grin ear-to-ear...a 10 Hour ARRGH Marathon. "Okay...just so you know, I'm not going to watch all ten hours of this" Lincoln chuckled at the viewer, "I'll only watch enough of it unless something else comes up...or until someone barges in and takes over the room." With that statement made, he eased himself more comfortably on the sofa and began to relax.

"Gotta say; so far, my birthday's off to a great start" he thought to himself, "had my favorite cereal for breakfast, there's an ARRGH marathon on and the house is rather...peaceful, for once." While the last part of the situation felt a bit odd, considering how things usually are, Lincoln believed he should savor the peace while he could and he planned on doing just that.

(Line Break)

It was now almost noon and Lincoln was about midway through the marathon. But at the same time, both his body and his bladder was telling him he needed to move a bit and he had no choice but to comply. After taking a brief timeout to use the bathroom, Lincoln got the idea of trying to contact the others again; wishing to share in the marathon with them.

Unfortunately; when he called each of them up on the phone, not one of them seemed to answer. "Okay, this is just like earlier in the morning" Lincoln muttered, "this is getting super weird." While trying not to think too much on everyone being AWOL, Lincoln decided to head upstairs and read some comics in his room.

"I know what you're thinking and the answer is NO" he blurted out towards the viewer, "I'm not bored with ARRGH, it's just that marathoning it in one day can cause it lose some of its luster." After that, Lincoln admitted how he preferred to watch the episodes one at a time; so that he could let everything sink in properly.

"If I end up feeling the same way about my comics, I'll just work on the material I've been whipping up" Lincoln said to himself, "besides...I've gotta find something to occupy myself at the moment." With all this in mind, Lincoln proceeded back upstairs and towards his closet bedroom.

(Line Break)

After reading/working on some comic material and having some lunch, Lincoln proceeded to take out the kitchen trash. As he headed outside, his mind was still buzzing with questions; why was no one at home when he called them online, where have they all gone off to and with the exception to the note his parents left him, why was no one around to greet him at home? Meanwhile, back in the house; the pets looked at one another with shifty eyes.

Then; Charles gave Walt a nod, barked a little bit and pointed his paw towards the window. After giving him a few more quick barks, Walt nodded in understanding and flew outside. Once in the air, he began scanning the ground below him; as if searching for something. In time, he found what he wanted.

Down below on the sidewalk was Ajax; who was out for a walk with Jordan. The moment he saw them, Walt dived down at lightning speed towards the duo; almost scaring them in the process. Naturally, Ajax barked a little in defense; believing that the bird was trying to attack them.

But once she recovered, Jordan spotted the bird for herself and sighed with relief. "Heel, Ajax...it's okay" she urged her dog calmly, "it's just Lincoln's pet canary." The aforementioned bird gave a nod and suddenly started tweeting madly, confusing both Jordan and Ajax.

Realizing that he wasn't quite getting through to them, Walt let out a bothered tweet and began gesturing towards the distance; as if signaling the duo. "Oh! You want us to follow you" Jordan gasped in realization, "what is it, is there something wrong?" Rather than answer her, Walt simply flew ahead; which caused Ajax to suddenly chase after him.

This also led to him accidentally dragging his poor owner behind him, who was doing all she could to keep her balance and not let go of the leash. Meanwhile; back at the Loud House, Lincoln had just put the last of the garbage away. Although his parents' not asked him to only take out the kitchen garbage, he thought bring the rest of the house trash would be a good idea.

"Sure, carrying this much trash outside is a bit of work" Lincoln chuckled at the "viewer," "but I want to repay Luna and my parents back, somehow for getting me my cereal." With this statement made, Lincoln was just about ready to head back inside. But then, all of a sudden; he heard the unmistakable sounds of a dog barking wildly.

This seemed a tad impossible, though; considering that Charles was still inside the house with the others. Then, as he listened carefully; Lincoln could hear another sound amongst the wild barking...the sound of someone screaming for help. He also noticed that the sound was coming from somewhere close...very close.

As he made his way over to the turning point of the sidewalk, he found the source of the noises; a dog barking like made while running with his owner being dragged along behind him. "WATCH OUT, COMING THROUGH" cried the dog-walker in a familiar voice, "SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR RUNNING INTO YOU!" In a flash, Lincoln immediately recognized the voice belonged to Jordan and became quite worried.

"Don't worry, Jordan" he called out loudly, "I know how to get him to stop running!" After this, he hurried into the house and came out with a handful of treats. Then; he positioned himself into Ajax's path, held up his hand and shouted out one simple command..."HEEL!"

Upon hearing the word and seeing the treats in the boy's hand, Ajax quickly dug the heels of his paws into the ground and stopped running. Lincoln smiled pleasantly at the hound, pleased to see that he was able to listen to a "stranger's" command and was moments away from handing him a treat. But then, something (or rather, someone) came crashing hard into Lincoln; causing both of them to tumble into the grass of his yard.

When he came to, seconds later; he was surprised to find Jordan lying on top of him like a rag doll. "Oh, no...did the crash hurt her" he murmured worriedly to himself, "I gotta see if she'll wake up!" With that in mind, Lincoln moved his right hand over to her ear and began snapping his fingers softly.

While this wasn't a very loud noise, it was loud enough to help Jordan wake up from the crash. "Whoa...What hit me" she murmured while rubbing her forehead, "and just where the heck am I any..." Before she could finish her sentence, Jordan looked down and saw that she was lying on top of Lincoln's chest.

Because her mind was still slightly dazed from the crash, the poor girl felt her face heat up with a blush. This sight caused Lincoln to quickly become worried, fearing Jordan would think he was trying to do something to her. "I know what you're thinking...and the answer is no" he murmured defensively, "you ended up on top of me, after you...crashed into me earlier."

At first, Jordan felt skeptical; thinking her guy pal was trying to lie his way out of a jam. But then, after rubbing her head for a moment; everything started to come back to her. She then looked behind her and saw Ajax, who was busily chewing up the treats Lincoln brought out.

"I...I remember, now" Jordan murmured with a light groan, "Walt came flying over to us, tweeted something and the next thing I knew, Ajax just took off; dragging me along behind him!" Upon saying this, she turned towards her dog and proceeded to lightly shame him for his actions. After that she faced Lincoln again and quickly apologized for getting upset with him earlier.

"Don't worry about it, it was an honest mistake" he assured her warmly, "but...did you say you saw Walt earlier?" Jordan nodded slightly in reply and soon after that, Walt came hovering down and perched himself atop Lincoln's head. "Naughty, naughty bird" Lincoln said firmly, "how many times do we have to tell you, don't go outside unless one of us is with you." At first, the wee canary proceeded to hang his head low; presumably ashamed of his earlier actions.

But then, he shared a couple of quick winks; one towards Ajax and another to the Loud Pets who were watching them from inside. "Sorry about all that, Jordan" murmured Lincoln sheepishly, "did you hurt yourself when you...quite literally, ran into me?" With a warm smile upon her face; Jordan shook her head lightly and said there was no harm done, aside from her still feeling dizzy from the collision.

Just then, an idea began to form in her head and a coy smile began to form on her face. "Say, Lincoln; would you like to...help walk Ajax with me" she asked, "it's a really nice day out for a walk." After considering the suggestion for a moment, Lincoln decided to accept; proclaiming that things were too boring at home to stay inside any longer.

"Sure, a walk sounds like an awesome idea" he said with a smile, "let me just get Charles and I'll be right out" With that said, he hurried into his house and collected his pet; who appeared eager for a morning stroll. Once his dog was on the leash, Lincoln rejoined Jordan outside and they continued on walking along the sidewalk.

At which time, both hounds looked slyly up at Lincoln and gave a Muttley-style snicker. "This should keep him occupied for a few minutes" Ajax barked softly (the dialogue appearing as subtitles beneath him,) "your master doesn't suspect anything, does he?" In response to this, Charles gave a slight shake of the head barked something that seemed to say "he's completely in the dark...and not in the kind of way Fangs likes."

(Line Break)

A half hour passed by since the two preteens began walking their dog walk together. During that time, Lincoln recounted the series of "odd events" that happened (or not happened, as the case may be) to Jordan; who did her best to appear surprised. "I tell ya, it's super weird" he stated, "not only was I unable to contact any of our friends this morning, I've seen no signs of my family around anywhere this past week!"

With a sheepish blush on her face, Jordan quickly apologized to her BFF for appearing distant. "This week has just been a bit...crazy for most of us" she fibbed hesitantly, "perhaps, the others were busy with back to school shopping or something?" At first, Lincoln believed the idea; considering that the first day of school was fast approaching.

But then, he found one glaring hole in his friend's logic; the young adult members of their crew (Carol, Becky, Whitney and Dana.) "The other day, Carol told us she went to the sale for some...college clothes" Jordan stated, "it may be a while before it happens but as she told us, she wanted to be prepared." After taking her statement into consideration, Lincoln realized that Jordan had a point and smiled slightly.

The moment she saw this look, however; she could tell something else was up. "What's the matter, Linc" Jordan asked with genuine concern, "why are you so down today?" At first, Lincoln didn't answer her; thinking that she might say he was getting worked up over nothing.

But then, he remembered all the times she and the other Gal Pals listened to his problems; however big or small they were. He also recalled how much they strove to cheer him up afterwards. With all this in mind, Lincoln sighed with a smile and decided to come clean.

"This past week, I've tried many times to find my family around town" he began "I figured it'd be nice to reconnect a little or lend a hand to help them, if they were working." As he approached the end of his explanation, Lincoln's demeanor dampened slightly; which made Jordan feel quite worried. "You're worried about your family, aren't you" she asked, "it's really sweet that you're so concerned about them, Lincoln."

He blushed lightly in response to her comment, before quickly apologizing for making the situation "too sappy." "No...There's no reason for you to apologize" Jordan stated, "you've all been so busy over the summer that you've barely had the chance to touch base at all; it's natural to miss them." As Lincoln felt himself becoming happier from his friend's words, something nagged at him; how did Jordan know he was thinking of his family?

When he asked her this same question, the poor girl started to sweat; like a crime suspect on a detective drama. "Oh, uh...Clyde told me" she murmured, "he told me you were thinking about them, after you guys left the Burpin' Burger." Upon hearing her mention his BFF's name, Lincoln immediately asked Jordan if she knew where he was.
Once he brought up Clyde not answering his webcam call; Jordan, once again brought up the "Back to School Shopping" excuse. On one hand, Lincoln grew suspicious of Jordan for using this explanation twice on him. But then; on the other hand, he realized that Clyde's Back to School shopping involved more than just getting the right clothes.

It also involved getting the right medications together, both for himself and for his dads to give to the nurse; should any emergencies arise. "Don't worry about everyone, pal; it's fine" Jordan said reassuringly, "listen, how's about we get some Flippees and bring the dogs home; I think these boys had enough exercise for one morning."

In response to this, both hounds barked in unison and held up their paws; as if to tell them that their "dogs were barking" (no pun intended.) "Sounds like a plan, Jordan; thanks" Lincoln said gratefully, "maybe drinking something cool will help ease my worries a little." With that said, the duo proceeded off towards Flip's Food n' Fuel for a beverage.

Then, at that moment; a chime rang out from inside of Jordan's fanny-pack. "Whoops, that's my phone" she murmured, "could you hold the leashes for me, Linc?" With a soft nod of the head, Lincoln happily accepted the duty.

But not before urging Ajax to not pull him along like he did his "mommy." With a soft whimper in his throat, Ajax answered Lincoln's wishes by giving his hand a gentle lick. "Aww! Look at you boys getting along" gushed Jordan, "I won't be long, I swear."

After earning a quick "a-okay" hand sign from Lincoln, she quickly took out her phone and saw that she had received a text; which read "gang's all set, where are you?" Almost immediately, Jordan began typing up a reply to the message; while making sure Lincoln wasn't looking her way. After a while, she finished typing and sent the text; just as the dogs started barking impatiently.

"Okay, boys; I hear ya" Jordan giggled, "let's get back to our walk."

(Line Break)

Sometime later, Lincoln brought Charles back to the house and safely left him inside with the other pets. "You had a pretty good walk, boy" he chuckled while petting Charles' head, "which means you should be able to rest easy for a bit while I go help bring Ms. Jordan's dog back to his home." The wee pup yipped softly, let out a bit of a yawn and gave his owner's hand a lick to thank him for the walk.

After sharing one final goodbye with the pets, Lincoln and Jordan proceeded back out the door. But not before Ajax winked at them, signaling that the rest of the "plan" was going smoothly. After stepping back outside and locking the door, Lincoln met back up with his friend; who appeared to be giving him a sort of knowing look.

"'Miss Jordan'" she chuckled playfully, "care to explain what you meant by that, 'Mr. Lincoln?'" Without even the slightest bit of fear, Lincoln smiled at her and said that he was simply being respectable in a lady's presence. "I swear, Linc; you are such a goofball" she giggled, "but...that's what everybody loves about you."

Naturally, Lincoln was taken aback slightly by his friend's words. But before he had the chance to question her on them, Jordan proceeded to give him a big hug; while still keeping a grip on Ajax's leash. For a few brief seconds, Lincoln felt absolutely euphoric in her embrace...but he didn't quite understand why.

After a while, though; Jordan quickly took notice of this look and chuckled slyly. "Lincoln, the last time I saw you with that kind of look was when Ms. DiMartino last subbed for our class" she murmured knowingly, "are you...feeling smitten?" Upon hearing this question, Lincoln suddenly snapped out of his daze and shook his head.

"N-N-No...No, not at all" he muttered nervously, "I mean...I'm not saying I wouldn't be smitten by someone like you, if that's what you're thinking." Within moments, poor Lincoln started into a nervous tirade; one based around how he couldn't be crushing on Jordan, despite her being "one of the most awesome girls in his life." At the end of it, Lincoln could see his lady friend giving him a sort of suspicious stare; which made him feel all the more nervous.

"I'll...be right back" he murmured, "I need to get a fresh shirt, mine's starting to get moist." With that, Lincoln rushed into the house and up to his room; leaving Jordan alone in the yard. At one point, Ajax gave her a bark and a small growl; as if to ask "was all that really necessary?"

"It's all in good fun, boy; you know that" Jordan giggled, "besides, he already knows how I feel about him...along with the others."

(Scene Change: The Rosato Household)

After changing into a new, cleaner shirt; Lincoln rejoined Jordan outside and they made their way back to her home. "Lincoln, could you be a dear and do me a favor" she asked sweetly, "could you hook Ajax up on the porch while I go check on my folks in the backyard?" Without a second thought, Lincoln happily agreed; earning another brief yet appreciative hug from her.

Afterwards, Jordan hurried off to the backside of the house; while Lincoln proceeded to hook up Ajax to the porch. "I've certainly kept myself busy today" he murmured to both the dog and the viewer, "here I thought people were supposed to relax on their birthdays." Ajax whimpered softly at his words and proceeded to nuzzle his head against his torso slightly.

Upon receiving the gesture, Lincoln repaid him by giving Ajax's belly a good scratching. "Thanks for the pick me up, boy" he sighed gratefully, "best go see what your Mommy's doing." With that, he sat up from the porch steps and made his way towards the backyard of the house.

About midway through his stride, Lincoln could suddenly hear the sounds of people whispering. This led him to believe the Rosato Family had a possible intruder on the premises. "Maybe it's my sisters...or at least Lori or Lynn" he thought worriedly, "this must be part of some revenge scheme against me and my friends they've kept hidden from everyone!"

His protective instincts getting the better of him, Lincoln's mind swiftly went into "Hero Mode" (or as he saw it, "Ace Mode") and proceeded to sneak the rest of the way towards the yard. At one point, he suddenly stepped upon a stick and snapped it in half. This soft yet still noticeable noise caused the whispering voices to become frantic.

Upon listening closely, Lincoln could suddenly hear a few familiar voices amongst all the murmuring. "I think it's him, everybody" a gruff yet still feminine voice announced softly, "quick, get into positions." Almost immediately, Lincoln recognized the voice to be that of Lana's; which helped put some of his earlier fears to rest.

Still, he was curious as to what she meant by "get into positions." "There's something weird going on here" he whispered to the "viewer," "and I think now's the time to get to the bottom of it all." With that said; he pulled up his pants, puffed out his chest boldly and proceeded to run over to the backyard.

The moment he turned the corner however, he was met with something that caused him to tumble over onto the grass. Not long after; Carol, Becky and Dana hurried over to his side and help him up. "Oh, Linky; are you okay" said the young blonde, "you didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?"

Lincoln offered only a shake of the head in response, due to his mind being too deep in shock for him to speak. Ahead of him, he saw Jordan's entire backyard and pool area decorated in the most wonderful party décor. He couldn't help but notice the mixture of Ace Savvy, ARRGH, SMOOCH and even Ren Faire/D&D décor hanging in different parts of the yard.

As Lincoln stood in place, his mind desperately trying to contemplate what was happening; dozens of people seemed to pop out of nowhere and proceeded to shout "SURPRISE!" With this simple word, Lincoln finally came to his senses and tried his best to say something. "I...I just...what..." he murmured, "what is all this, how did it all..."

Before he could finish, Lincoln suddenly found himself crushed between a four-way hug-fest. "Happy Birthday, my sweet little man" Carol gushed adorably, "we worked all week to put all this together; what do ya think?" Once Lincoln was allowed to breathe again, he took one last look at the party décor and smiled up at the four teens behind him.

"You...You ladies did all this for me" he murmured, "all on your own?" The moment he said this; Lincoln heard the clichéd yet mildly amusing call of "what are we, chopped liver over here?" With a hearty laugh, Lincoln turned to the side to find the younger members of the Gal Pals crew; each of whom wanting a share of the thanks.

"You guys...You all did this for me" murmured Lincoln in shock, "this is just...I don't know what to say." After a while; Phoebe's expression quickly shifted into a joyful smile, gave the birthday boy a laugh and took a knee. "Well, birthday boy" she beckoned, "don't we get a hug too for helping set this up for ya?"

Not needing to be told twice, Lincoln swiped some tears away from his eyes and made an immediate beeline for the shutterbug. Of course, he realized too little too late that he was running too fast; which resulted in him accidentally tackling Phoebe to the grass. Of course, neither of them seemed to care; they just focused on hugging each other as tightly as they could.

"Don't hog him for yourself, Feebs" Stella giggled, "let us have some sugar." With that, the rest of the gals proceeded to give Lincoln a birthday group hug. Even Haiku, against her usual Goth nature, wasted no time in giving Lincoln some love as well.

"Girls...this is all so...thank you so much" he said with great joy, "so, this is why none of you answered my web calls this morning?" All ten Gal Pals chuckled sheepishly at his words and offered up a quick "I'm sorry" to him. "We were all just so busy prepping everything for ya, lil dude" Cici said while patting Lincoln's shoulder, "you can thank Jordan and her mom for most of this."

No sooner had the young teen said this, Mrs. Rosato came up from behind and gave Lincoln a quick but loving hug. "Happy birthday, dear" she murmured with a sweet smile, "what do you think; did we do a good job?" Without missing a beat, Lincoln let out a mad yet joyous laugh and declared that everybody did a fantastic job.

"I just can't believe you gals did all this for me" he sighed, "it must've taken a lot of time, work and planning to do it." The Gals smiled warmly at Lincoln and confessed that, as much as they wanted to; they couldn't take all the credit. "We needed some expert help for this party" Whitney stated, "and we found it from two reliable sources."

His curiosity peaked, Lincoln begged the Gals to tell him who helped them out. "To learn who the first group is, we ask that you sample something from the snack table" Jordan giggled, "careful...it's a bit spicy." While he was a bit confused on his friend mentioning this bit of information, Lincoln wasted no time and immediately heeded her suggestion.

Upon reaching the table; he saw the usual chips, cheese puffs and other snack foods. But what really caught his attention was what sat in the middle of the table. It was a large bowl, one that contained an equally large quantity of guacamole.

After receiving one final urging from the Gal Pals; Lincoln picked up a nacho chip, dipped it into the guacamole and proceeded to eat it. The moment the flavor of the dip touched his taste buds, he could feel his whole body tingling from the spicy yet savory taste of it. "WHOA! That was delicious" he exclaimed with delight, "wait a sec, there's only one person I know who makes guac with that kind of a kick to it."

Before he could say anything else, the skies suddenly echoed with the sudden yet melodious twangs of a Spanish guitar. Startled by this, Lincoln turned towards the DJ booth; wondering if there was some sort of technical glitch happening. What he found instead, was the familiar sight of both the Santiago and Casagrande Families.

The moment they appeared, each member from both groups greeted Lincoln with the words "feliz cumpleaños;" which was Ronnie Anne explained was the Spanish way to cry out "Happy Birthday." Needless to say, Lincoln was left dumbfounded by this sudden surprise. But before he could say a word about anything, he was suddenly plucked off the floor and squeezed lovingly by Carlotta.

"Long time now see, Linc" she squealed adorably, "happy birthday!" Thankfully, this hug wasn't quite so tight; which left Lincoln with just enough air in his lungs to express his thanks. Once he was let back down, CJ placed a birthday themed pirate's bandana around Lincoln's head.

"Happy Birthday, matey" he said with glee, "we're gonna have so much fun today!" Lincoln chuckled at his pal's words and nodded in agreement. "But before we have fun, I gotta greet the rest of my guests" he stated, "and...it looks like I've got a lot."

The moment he said this, the adults from both the Casagrande and Santiago Families approached him; wishing Lincoln a happy birthday. "When your friends told us about your party, I knew there would be many mouths to feed" Rosa said with pride, "so...I took the liberty of preparing a few things." Now, when someone like Mrs. Casagrande claims to have made "a few things to eat;" anyone could tell she was fibbing a little.

Surely enough, the moment he was shown the buffet table; the "few things" she made almost took up all the space there. Of course, at Mrs. Rosato's request; she made sure to leave plenty of space open for the rest of the food. Just before Lincoln could make any comments about this, his eyes were blinded by a sudden flash.

"Oops! I forgot to tell you to smile" the voice of Frieda Casagrande giggled, "so sorry." After taking a moment to clear the spots from his eyes, Lincoln smiled up at the Hispanic woman and assured her he was okay. "But...I don't understand" he murmured, "when and how did you guys get here; when I tried calling Ronnie Anne's chat, she didn't answer."

No sooner had he said this; Lincoln was suddenly jumped from behind, put into a slight headlock and felt someone ruffling his cowlick slightly. During that time; he heard a familiar voice say to him "you think I'd forget your B-Day, lame-o?" When he was finally released, seconds later; Lincoln was greeted by the welcomed friend/former bully, Ronnie Anne.

"Ronnie Anne, you're here" he cried with joy, "I mean...it makes sense your family would want to bring you here with them but...well, you know." The young Santiago girl chuckled warmly at his comment and proceeded to greet him proper with a hug. When asked why she didn't perform her usual arm jab/shove, Ronnie Anne smiled.

"It's a whole new year for this guy" she declared, "which means, I needed to step up my game in how we greet one another." The moment she said this, Ronnie Anne warned Lincoln to never put her into a headlock...ever. "You won't have to worry about that" he assured, "headlocks are more Lynn's thing, not mine."

With that said, Ronnie Anne exchanged a quick high five with her pal and offered the floor to her family. But instead of meeting just Bobby and Mrs. Santiago, there was a new face among them. "So...you are the Lincoln mi familia talks so much about" the man greeted, "I'm Arturo Santiago, Ronnie and Bobby's papa."

To say the young Loud boy was shocked by this reveal would be a gross understatement. In all the time that he knew Ronnie Anne or that Lori knew Bobby, the both of them rarely heard about the duo's father. So, getting the chance to meet him face-to-face was a real honor.

Of course, he was quite timid about it all and proceeded to greet Arturo in the same manner he once did the Pingreys or Jordan's folks; with an extended hand and a nervous, "it's nice to meet you." "Ha-ha! You were right, Ronita; he is funny" Arturo chuckled while shaking Lincoln's hand, "I think we'll get along fine." After this, the Casagrande Family proceeded to cheer wildly with joy; which caused everyone else to do the same.

"By the way, dude; nice job with the comic art" Bobby said appreciatively, "Carlotta's particularly fond of her outfit from the picture." Confused by this, Lincoln questioned what he was referring to. "He's talking about the Familia Loteria picture you made, dude" Becky giggled, I sent a pic to Carlotta the other day of what you made."

From here, the young Latina teen in question confessed that she felt compelled to try and design the heroes' costumes herself. "There will be a time for that later, girlfriend" Carol stated, "for now...we party!" Without a second thought; everyone, young and old cheered loudly in agreement and the party was underway.

(Line Break)

For almost an hour, the party went relatively well; guests laughed, played, chatted about how their summer went and some even playfully tried to outdo Lincoln's cannonball record (to no avail.) Needless to say, things were going relatively well. At the same time, though; Lincoln couldn't help but feel like something felt...off about all this.

"This party is awesome and I'm having an amazing time" Lincoln murmured sullenly to the "viewer," "but...I dunno, something just feels...missing." With this thought in mind, he proceeded to heave out a weary sigh; which Carol immediately overheard. "Linky, what's the matter" she asked worriedly, "aren't you enjoying yourself?"

Upon hearing her concerned inquiry, Lincoln looked up and confessed his concern openly to her. Afterwards, the young teen simply stared off into space while scratching her chin; as if lost in thought. Then, Carol smiled slightly at Lincoln and encouraged him to eat his fill at the buffet.

"All that dog walking you did with Jordan must've worked up quite an appetite, eh" she inquired, "go on and dig in...you may even find something you like." At first, Lincoln felt like denying the idea...until his stomach suddenly argued otherwise. With a light chuckle, he relented and made his way towards the food.

Within moments, his sinuses were bombarded with many wonderful aromas that almost made his mouth water. The question was...where should he start; the "Make Your Own Sub" Station, some of Mrs. Casagrande's food or maybe someone one of the Gal Pals' parents made.

Then, just as he found himself lost in thought; a new scent filled his nostrils. At the same time, there was something rather...familiar about this aroma. Within seconds, he found the source of it; a bowl filled with dozens of piping hot Mac n' Cheese bites.

After hearing his belly gurgle loudly one final time, Lincoln immediately made up his plate. "I think I'll start with the Mac n' Cheese bites" he thought, "something about them feels...familiar to me." With that, he plucked one off his plate and immediately popped it into his mouth.

As Lincoln started chewing, his taste buds suddenly tingled at the touch of a sweet-tasting flavor that was packed into the little ball. "Wow, these taste so good" he thought delightfully, "the sweet flavor really helps bring out...the..." Before he could finish his train of thought, he popped his finger slightly into his mouth and suddenly felt something inside; something gooey.

Upon bringing it back out, he immediately noticed a speck of what looked like caramel on his index finger. "Except for that frozen food company, there's only one person I know who adds caramel sauce in Mac n' Cheese bites" he murmured, "but that can only mean..." Just as he was about to reach his conclusion, there came the sudden sound of a police siren wailing.

This sound suddenly caused the party music and games to come to a screeching halt. Alarmed by this sudden disruption, Mrs. Rosato and several other parents walked over to the front yard; determined to find the cause of it all. "You kids hang back here...especially you, Lincoln" Stella's father ordered, "we'll take care of this."

The kids all nodded in silent agreement and asked for the adults to be careful, if things got hairy. "We will be fine, niños y niñas" Hector Casagrande assured, "don't you worry." With that, the adults made their way over to the front yard of the house; some of them taking along some objects for weapons (if necessary.)

Despite the brave words of Mr. Casagrande, the kids still couldn't help but fear for them; especially Lincoln. "Boy...just when I thought things were going well, Fate comes along and throws a stink bomb" he murmured worriedly, "I hope they'll be able to try and settle...whatever's going on." For a while now, there was no sign of the adults; which left the kids all feeling rather nervous.

Then, at long last; everyone saw Mr. and Mrs. Pingrey approaching. "Everyone, it seems the police are here" the latter announced, "and...they've asked for the birthday boy to come and speak with them immediately." As expected, this announcement sent an icy chill down Lincoln's spine.

For what felt like ages (which was only actually a few seconds,) he found himself understandably conflicted on what to do next. Now; in the past, he may either choose to run for cover in these situations or ask for his sisters to help protect him (in their own way.) But after everything he experienced this past year, after surviving so much; another part of him felt otherwise.

"No...I'm not gonna run anymore" he said firmly, "I've been doing it all year, whenever things got hard and now...I'm just done letting fear hold me back!" The Gal Pals couldn't help but admire what he was saying, some of them even finding it rather...captivating. With his mind now made up, Lincoln puffed out his chest and proceeded over to the front yard.

When he arrived; he spotted three police cars parked in the driveway, just as Mr. and Mrs. Pingrey said. But upon looking at the cars more closely, Lincoln's eyes widened. "These cars look...familiar" he thought, "but...it couldn't be them...could it?"

As Lincoln prepared to take a closer look at the cars, a loud fart sound suddenly echoed through one of their intercoms. In his current, unprepared state; this noise immediately spooked the poor boy. But in an instant, Lincoln realized what it truly was...the sound of a whoopee cushion sputtering.

Mere seconds after that, a voice suddenly came on the intercom and cried out in saying "we toot-ally got you, Lincoln!" This admittedly juvenile pun was then followed by a fit of laughter, a laugh that suddenly caused Lincoln's heart to swell. "That pun" he murmured hopefully, "I know only one person who makes puns that amusingly lame."

The moment this thought came into his head, Lincoln's eyes began to well up with tears. Then, the doors for one of the police cars opened and Lincoln could see a familiar pair of black and white sunglasses poking out slightly. "No...please, no" Lincoln choked with a mild sob, "don't let this be a cruel, sick joke!"

When the car's occupant closed the door, she turned towards the young boy and smiled the brightest grin he'd ever seen. Within seconds, Lincoln immediately recognized the girl as his second eldest sister; the adorably ditzy Leni. The moment she caught sight of him, she made an immediate beeline for the young white haired boy; all while calling out one word at the top of her lungs..."LINCOLN!"

Before the aforementioned boy could react, Leni suddenly tackled him to the grass like a lioness and proceeded to smother him with kisses. "Oh, Linky...my sweet baby brother" she sobbed loudly with joy, "I missed you so much!" Wasting no further time, Lincoln held on to the young teen for dear life; never wanting to let go.

Mere seconds later, several more of Lincoln's sisters were heading there way; which made his heart came close to bursting with joy. "LINKY, I'm so happy to see you" Lola cried while leaping into his arms, "give me a great big hug." Not needing to be told twice, Lincoln enveloped the wee pageant princess in his arms and held her as tightly as she wished.

Soon; Lana, Lucy, Luna and even Lisa joined in on the hugfest...despite finding so little of him left to actually hug. "Hey, chiquitas; don't hog him for yourselves" a familiar authoritarian voice called out, "someone else here wishes to say hello." Immediately, the Loud Sisters broke away and helped their brother off the grass; while also dusting off his clothes a little.

Meanwhile, Lincoln looked off into the distance and spotted Officer Campos approaching. Following her from behind were her partners, Higgins and Simmons and Lincoln could see Lily giggling happily in her arms. If Lincoln wasn't close to bursting before, it certainly was now.

Immediately, Higgins plucked Lincoln off the ground and crushed his tiny frame in a loving embrace. He didn't really mind, though; the boy was just so happy to see his sisters and friends safe. "Happy birthday, sugar pie" Higgins said with glee, "sorry for the scare...it was all Miss Luan's idea."

For a moment, Lincoln simply cast a firm glare towards his joker of a sister; leading her to believe he was upset. But then, he smiled and admitted that it wasn't him that required the apology. "Don't you worry, hon" assured Simmons, "we got you covered there."

Once he was set back down, Lincoln proceeded to greet each of his sisters accordingly; starting with Lily. "Oh, girls...I missed you all so much" he murmured while tenderly hugging the baby, "I was starting to fear you wouldn't come...or that you forgot my birthday completely." Upon hearing this suggestion, Luan brought out Mr. Coconuts and had him gasp in a dramatic manner that would put Mrs. Bernardo to shame.

"Baby bro, we'd never forget your big day" Luna said firmly, "we just got a little held up is all." Before she could explain further, another familiar voice called out from the party area. "C'mon, girls; you can talk later" it shouted, "best get some food while it lasts."

In an instant, Lincoln quickly recognized the voice and hurried back to the backyard; all while carrying Lily with him. When he arrived, his eyes came close to popping from his head. Standing by the buffet table, helping assist Rosa in serving the guests was his father; Lynn Sr.

Not too far away, Lincoln also spotted his mother; who was in the midst of getting her face painted to look like an adorable teddy bear. Needless to say; seeing them, his sisters and the officers all at the party together made his heart swell. In time; Rita turned away from the face painter and smiled at Lincoln lovingly.

"There's my handsome birthday boy" she gushed adorably, "c'mere and give Mommy a big hug!" After getting someone to hold Lily for him, Lincoln rushed to his mother like the Flash on a sugar high; whereby he almost tackled her from her seat. "Mom...Dad, you came" he cried, "I was...I couldn't find you anywhere all week and...I was worried you wouldn't be coming.

Not wishing to see his boy sad on his special day, Lynn Sr. sat him down on his lap and decided to give him his gift. "Bear in mind, this isn't a typical present" he stated, "just a bit of some good news...and some bad news." After taking in a nervous gulp, Lincoln looked up at his parents and asked what the good news was.

"The good news, chamaco is that your family's debt to the town has been paid" explained Officer Campos, "which means their community service work is done!" Upon hearing this, Lincoln came close to leaping with joy. But then, he quickly remembered that there was also bad news as well and asked everyone to give it to him straight.

"The bad news is while we've paid back the town for the damages with our work, we're still on probation" Luna interjected, "but we can still get back to our old work." Higgins nodded slightly in agreement but explained that while his family was going back to work, they would still be under police supervision. "This means you'll still be seein' a lot more of us, kid" Simmons chuckled, "hope you don't mind."

Rather than answer her verbally, Lincoln decided the best way to show his reaction by giving her a hug; which the officer happily welcomed. "There is one other thing" Higgins said suddenly, "but I think we'll have both of them tell you for themselves." Before Lincoln could ask who were the "them" she was referring to, a tall shadow suddenly loomed over him; one that he...regrettably recognized.

As he slowly turned around; he came face to face with the haggard and stoic demeanor of his eldest sister, Lori. To her right was Lynn; who's own expression seemed to match her older sister's, to say the least. Because of this, Lincoln couldn't tell if they were happy to see him or not.

For a moment or so, neither side spoke to the other; which left the Gal Pals feeling slightly apprehensive. Then, Lori fell to her knees and looked Lincoln square in the eyes. This caused his body to shiver all over, much to his surprise.

After a while, Lincoln decided to be brave an offer up two simple words in greeting; "Uh, hi...Sis." The moment she heard those words, the corners of Lori's eyes started to well up. Then, before he could even say another word; Lori took Lincoln into her arms and hugged him closely.

"Lincoln...I've literally missed you so much" she murmured, "I'm so happy I could make it here." Not only was Lincoln taken aback by this gesture but (with the exception of his parents and other sisters) so was everyone else. After hugging him for almost a minute, Lori passed Lincoln over to Lynn; who wasted no time in following her sister's lead.

"Good to see ya again, Bro" she murmured softly, "and happy B-Day to ya." While he did enjoy this bit of affection from the both of them, Lincoln was rather confused by all this and turned to his parents for answers. "What happened" he asked, "they look like Lori and Lynn but something feels...I dunno, different."

With a hearty chuckle in his throat, Lynn Sr. patted Lincoln's shoulder affectionately and did his best to explain. "They're still the same girls you know, Son" he assured, "they've just...mellowed out a little, during the classes they had to take with Luan, Lola and Lisa." Alas, even with this explanation; Lincoln still couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.

"What your father means, honey is that your sisters are okay" Rita stated, "but while they're released from community service like the rest of us, the court feels it would be best if they kept going to their classes." Mildly confused by this, Lincoln asked if either class was able to help them even slightly. "They have, chamaco; really" Campos assured, "they just had...a bit more emotional baggage than any of us anticipated."

After this, Lori raised her hand up and politely asked if she could help explain things to Lincoln. With soft smiles on their faces, both Mr. and Mrs. Loud agreed and gestured for her to proceed. "Lincoln...to start things off, I'd like too...apologize" she murmured uneasily, "my classes helped me face the facts that...there were times where I failed you as a sister."

Upon hearing the "F" word, Lincoln recoiled in shock; as if she said a hideous slur. "But Lori...you've protected all ten of us, helped our parents however you could and...in your own way, kept bullies off my back for some time" he listed, "where have you 'failed' me?" Then, like a karate kick to the head; he suddenly realized what she meant.

But before he could say anything, Lori decided to list the examples for herself; however much they hurt her emotionally. "I failed you when I decided to make that stupid protocol that drove you out of the house...twice" she groaned, "I failed you when I tried to force you into relationships you never wanted, I failed you when I chose to act like a taskmistress instead of your sister!" Upon hearing the third example, Lincoln wondered where she got the idea of her being a "taskmistress."

Then, in an instant; it all became clear, Lori was referring to all the times she forced him and her sisters to do tasks for her to earn favors. Unfortunately, Lori didn't stop there with her confessions. "I failed you, Lincoln when I chose to place the blame on our family's stress on you last March; even though it was all my doing" she said while choking out a sob, "and for that and so much more...I'm sorry, I'm so...so sorry!"

That did it; with that simple statement, Lori collapsed onto her knees once more and cried. Alarmed to see his eldest sister in such a state, Lincoln wasted no time in rushing over and taking Lori into his arms. "Lori...don't cry, it's okay" he whispered, "I'm just happy you're here...and I forgive you."

Naturally, she was taken by surprise by this and asked how Lincoln could forgive her just like that; after everything. "Make no mistake; I'm still upset by how you behaved towards me back then" he said bluntly, "but...it's not in my nature to hate somebody forever, no one can really do that." After sniffling a little, Lori smiled and let out a soft yet sweet laugh.

"I'm just so proud of you all" Lincoln stated, "you accepted the court's sentence, kept at it and never gave in; that proves to me that you really wanted to change." No sooner had he said this, someone else started to cry but it wasn't Lori or Lynn. Instead, much to everyone's surprise; it was Lisa. "Oh...dearest Brother, I have missed your optimism so" she whimpered in her iconic lisp, "may I have a hug as well?"

Without a second thought, Lincoln scooped up the genius toddler and held her tight in his arms. This inspired the rest of the family to quickly join in. But while the Gal Pals all felt the scene was truly heartwarming, something still nagged at them. "So...let me see if I understand here" Becky interjected, "even though your community work is done, your still going to your classes?"

Upon hearing this; Officer Simmons clarified that Lori, Lynn, Luan and Lisa would only be taking their classes for two hours on the weekends. "This was something they themselves requested" she added, "which explains why we were all unable to touch base with the birthday boy this week." After taking all this in, Lincoln thanked the officer for her explanation and resumed hugging his family.

"Wow, that's...great" Dana murmured, "Lincoln's got his family back together again...yay."

(Line Break)

Sometime after Lincoln's family arrived, the party went back into full-swing and the birthday boy couldn't be any happier. At the same time, Leni reconnected with the likes of Dana and Becky; asking if they would ever take her back as a friend. Without a moment's hesitation, both ladies sandwiched her into a hug and happily welcomed her back.

Meanwhile, Lincoln was telling his parents about all the things he and the Gal Pals got to do together. "Sounds like you all had some real fun, honey" Rita said happily, "and I'm happy you were well taken care of while we were busy." Upon hearing this, Officer Higgins ruffled Lincoln's hair and proclaimed that having him around made hers and her partner's lives all the more interesting.

"I really am glad you guys are all back, Mom and Dad" Lincoln muttered with a half-smile, "but...I guess that means I won't need Carol or any of the Gals to help look after me anymore." No sooner had he said this, Lincoln suddenly felt someone smearing cake icing onto his face. When he turned around, he spotted Carol standing over him with both her holding the birthday cake.

"You think I'm just going to up and leave; now that your family's back, Linky" she murmured with a fake hurt voice, "nope...the court made me and my friends your guardians and we will stay with you as long as you want us, understood?" After licking away the icing from his face, Lincoln answered her with the biggest hug he could ever give. "Alright, dear; enough hugging for now" Mr. Pingrey said in a firm yet gentle tone, "it's time for the big moment!"

With that, Lincoln was led over to a big table on the yard; where Carol's parents then placed the cake down at. There, he could see almost everyone he knew and love sitting alongside him. At the moment, he was preparing to hear them all sing the traditional "Happy Birthday" melody.

But in a rather amusing twist; his sister, Luna and Hector Casagrande appeared and began to sing a duet. The particular song they sung however, wasn't that of Happy Birthday. Instead it was something Bobby called "Mi Amor, So Glad You're Mine."

Needless to say; Lincoln happily welcomed this change, reclined himself in his chair and let the melody fill his ears. Then, the moment the song came to the verse "you're the greatest, greatest of all time/Mi Amor, so glad you're mine;" his eyes began to swell up. Eventually; the song came to an end and every single guest closed things off with the loud outcry of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINCOLN!"

"Now, lil dude; make a wish and blow out the candle" Phoebe urged anxiously, "this'll be great for my scrapbook." With that said, everyone sat in anticipation; waiting for Lincoln to blow out the candle and officially become twelve. But for a moment or two; he simply sat in his chair, struggling to hold back his tears.

The moment he noticed everyone's concerned expressions, Lincoln swiped away his tears and chuckled softly. "Sorry for the scare, everyone" he murmured, "but...what else could I possibly wish for, when I've got everything I want right here." To drive his point home, Lincoln said he felt so touched that his whole family worked so hard to put everything together...just for him.

"Of course we did this for you, Linky" Leni said sweetly, "we love you." While Lucy couldn't help but agree with her, she also mentioned that Lincoln's statement held a bigger meaning to it. "Ever the emotionally observant one; eh, Lucy" Lincoln chuckled, "I really missed that."

After standing up from his chair, he said that his sister spoke the truth. "Last summer, at the Burnt Bean; I wrote a poem that said family is more than just who birthed you into this world" he murmured while choking back a sob, "it's also about the people who you love most...and I see that in all of you guys." It was here that Lincoln confessed that he considered everyone present that day as his family.

"I've considered Clyde to be my bro, ever since the day we met" he sniffled, "and his dads had both been as great of caretakers as Carol and her friends have." As if on cue, Harold and Howard McBride shed tears of joy at Lincoln's words. "I've come to love Bobby as my older brother, after the time we hung out together" Lincoln stated, "and while I'm...still on the fence about getting too sappy with her; I happily admit that Ronnie Anne is a wonderful friend to have."

Not expecting to be put on the spotlight that way; the aforementioned girl, upon hearing his words, almost fell out of her seat. But her mother quickly helped her back up and smiled warmly at her. "I love their family" Lincoln announced while gesturing at the Casagrandes and the Santiago Parents, "they may be diverse in age but deep down, they remind me so much of my own sisters."

As expected, Frieda immediately succumbed to her emotions and sobbed wildly. Of course; Rosa, Carlotta and even Maria all couldn't help but shed a few tears. The boys meanwhile, were struggling to appear "macho" in everyone's presence; with the exceptions of CJ and Carlitos (who simply copied the former's actions.) Continuing on, Lincoln expressed how much he valued his Guy Squad as "family."

"Sure, we may not enjoy the same stuff all the time" he confessed, "but I love spending time with each of my bros and wouldn't trade any of them for the world." Now, Rusty did his best to appear "tough" and not get sappy over Lincoln's speech. But on the inside, he was weeping mad tears of joy. Liam did his best to hide his blushing face from everyone, while Zach simply gave Lincoln an odd hand sign (which he explained was a sort of "intergalactic greeting.")

"But most of all, I'm thankful to have the company of the Gal Pals" Lincoln announced, "these ten wonderful ladies came to me when I was at one of my lowest points; without them, I...well, you all already know the rest." Naturally, the Gal Pals all proceeded to weep tears of joy; even Haiku held no shame in doing just that. "My point, I guess is...with all of you in my life; I've got virtually everything I could want" he said humbly, "but if I had to make a wish...it would be to make sure history doesn't repeat itself next year!"

This simple statement caused everyone to suddenly burst out into mad laughter, which was a welcomed relief from all the tears they shed. "Alright, alright; enough with the sappy talk here" Ronnie Anne chuckled while wiping some tears away, "blow out the candle and let's have some cake!" Not needing to be told twice; Lincoln took in a deep breath and with one simple blow, the candles instantly went out."

Again, the crowd burst out into cheers and shared one final declaration of "Happy Birthday" to Lincoln. As Mrs. Pingrey began cutting and giving out cake slices, Carol scooped Lincoln up in her arms and showered him with kisses. "Sweetie, that was such a beautiful speech" she gushed, "did you really mean all that?"

Lincoln blinked confusedly at the young blonde, let out a soft scoff and gave her a sort of "what do you think" gesture. "In that case, we love you too" Carol giggled, "don't we, ladies?" Almost immediately, every member of the Gal Pals sounded off loudly in agreement; followed by Carlotta and Ronnie Anne as well.

"Should we give him our present yet, ladies" questioned the Casagrande teen, "or should we wait until he has some cake?" Mere seconds after this was asked, she and the others quickly raised their hands high and called out "AYE" in unison. "That's cool, gang" Lincoln stated, "so...where's your gift?"

The moment he looked at the present table, he immediately spotted a present with one of their names on it and tried to snatch it. But then, he was quickly pulled back by his collar and landed in Carlotta's arms. "Oh...we're not talking about any of those gifts, Chulo" she giggled, "we have something else in mind, something you can't wrap up."

Confused by this, Lincoln was moments away from asking what the gift was. But these thoughts quickly faded away, when he felt a pair of soft lips kiss his forehead. His eyes eased upward and saw that it was Carol performing the gesture.

After breaking away, Becky was the next to step forward and proceeded to kiss Lincoln tenderly on his left cheek. Whitney came next and kissed the right one. When Dana came for her turn, she chose to give him a quick kiss upon his lips. Next came Phoebe, who chose to follow Carol's lead and kiss his forehead.

Cici, due to her height, chose to give Lincoln a hug and a quick kiss on his left cheek. Kat gave another kiss to Lincoln's right cheek; not caring that Chandler, Lance and Trent were all watching her poolside. Next came Stella, who chose to simply give him the warmest of hugs.

Haiku, with a soft yet warm smile on her face, also hugged Lincoln tenderly; while whispering "Happy Birthday my dearest friend" softly into his ear. Finally came Jordan, Cristina and Paige; who proceeded to give him both a three-way group hug and the biggest of kisses. By the end of it all, poor Lincoln was as stiff as a statue.

His jaw hung open, his pupils were dilated and whatever sounds emanated from his throat came out of his mouth sounded like strangled squeals. This wasn't the end however; there were still two more left to share some love, in order to make things even. With that in mind, Carlotta approached him and held Lincoln tight like he was a plushie.

When she put him back down, Ronnie Anne stepped forth and (albeit quickly) gave him a small peck on the cheek. That did it; with that last kiss, his mind slowly started shutting down (metaphorically speaking.) "There you go, little man" Phoebe giggled, "a kiss and/or a hug from each of us for all twelve of your years."

After this, the Gals saw what looked like hearts fluttering over Lincoln's head. Then, like a drunkard on New Year's; he began to stumble about in zigzags until he, eventually fell into the pool. Naturally, this caused a few of the party guests to worry; fearing he might drown.

"Don't worry, everyone; the birthday boy's okay" Whitney decreed, "he's just needs to...cool down a little." This news immediately helped put everyone's fears to rest and the party swiftly started up again. But while they laughed and made merry, Lincoln floated around in the pool; causing the water to heat up slightly due to his increased body heat (if you catch my drift.)

At one point, though; he had just enough consciousness to give his final thoughts to the "viewer." "If this is a dream, I don't want anyone to wake me up" he sighed blissfully, "my family is back home, my friends put on this awesome party for me and there's still time to have some fun." As if on cue; mere seconds after Lincoln said these words, several of his friends began leaping into the pool.

Naturally, their combined splashes immediately snapped Lincoln out of his blissful state. "No time for napping, lame-o" Ronnie Anne giggled at the inflatable slide, "it's time to celebrate!" The moment she said this, everyone began chanting the word "cannonball" over and over.

"It's like I said earlier, I've got the best gift in the world...my families" Lincoln sighed blissfully, "as long as they've got my back; I'm for anything, next year." With that final statement, he makes his way towards the diving board and begins to position himself. Then, all of a sudden; all the hard/negative moments of the past year flow through his mind.

At first, Lincoln was worried he was having an emotional relapse. But then, his conscience came in and whispered something into his ears; "with this cannonball, let all the year's troubles be washed away." With this thought in mind and his friends still chanting before him, Lincoln let out a soft sigh and smiled.

"Get your umbrellas ready, folks" he cried, "because here comes the downpour!" After saying this; he runs across the diving board, gives himself a big bounce and flies almost four feet into the air. Upon coming into contact with the water, a wave splashes forward and everything fades to black.

(First AN: Thus, the starting oneshot for the Fall Arc comes to an end; not with a whimper but with a joyful bang. My apologies if this felt too long for a typical oneshot, everybody. But the way I see it; since it's a "premiere story" for a new arc, I tried to make it feel like one of the show's one-hour special...in terms of length.

I hope you'll enjoy reading it and stick around for the next story in A Day in the Life.)

(Second AN: After calling her Jordan's Mom both in the OG Gal Pals stories and in some of the other oneshots for this anthology, I've given her an actual family name; Mrs. Rosato. I got inspired to do this from two separate sources. The first being that the character of Jordan herself was based off of the show's former storyboard artist, Jordan Rosato.

As for the second source, some LH fanfic writers have decided to address her character as such. With all this in mind, I thought it made sense to follow their lead. I just hope nobody will think I'm stealing anything.)

(Third AN: This is in regards to La Familia Loteria, Lincoln's superhero team he made in honor the Casagrandes and Ronnie Anne's family. After seeing the game itself in the Casagrandes episode, Stress Test and playing the Google Doodle version of the gamel; I got hooked. It's essentially like Bingo but a bit more fun.

Regardless; after learning about it, I thought I could give Ronnie Anne's family hero identities based off of the different cards in Loteria. For example, Carlitos' character of La Rana is Spanish for The Frog. His hero persona grants him superhuman reflexes and agility in the form of a frog's hopping.

Whereas Carlotta's character of La Garza is Spanish for "The Heron," which is a type of long-legged bird. Bet you can already guess what her abilities are, right? Moving on, you can expect La Familia Loteria to appear in my second Ace Savvy based Loud House story; Double Draw someday in the future.

But I'll need to finish up the rest of my pieces, until then; just thought I'd let you know.)

(Fourth AN: Because the show has yet to "age up" the characters yet; after this, Lincoln is now twelve years old; not quite a teenager but still pretty close. Speaking of close, it has also not yet been revealed how old characters like Cici are in the show. So, I wanted her to be thirteen and a half; just slightly above Lincoln.)

(Fifth AN: Many of my reviewers wanted to see more character growth like what I did in the Rascally Rennies four-parter. While neither Lincoln nor the Gal Pals had such a moment here, that privilege went to Lori and Lynn. As this story mentioned earlier, both sisters have quite a bit of baggage on their shoulders and will require a bit more time in their classes to help them resolve it all.

On the plus-side, they've made amends with Lincoln and are starting to reconnect with their old friends; i.e. some members of the Gal Pals. This is a sign of good things to come; rest assured, everyone.)

(Sixth AN: In addition to Lori and Lynn's continued classes; I felt it best that for the time being, it was wise to keep the rest of the Louds on probation...should any more big incidents occur. This is also the reason why the three officers are sticking around.

It also helps to mention that they just adore the Loud kids, even when some of the girls choose act a little uppity.)

(Seventh AN: For those wondering, yes...and no; Jordan's behavior towards Lincoln during the dog-walking moments were me hinting at the possibility of them becoming a ship. However, I simply wanted to make it a possibility; not a reality. Sorry if you didn't like the tease.)

(Eighth AN: The top Carol puts on for her new "Back to School" look was inspired by the cover art for my original Gal Pals story; which was done by one of my followers, RawToonage Press. Consider this my little shout out to you, dude; thank you for your continuing support.)

(Last AN: In regards to Lincoln's speech; due to all the time he's spent with the likes of the Gal Pals, Clyde or even the Casagrandes. It's only natural for him to consider them all as extensions of his family. Think of it as him "officially" naming them as honorary kinfolk.

Just thought I'd point that out, in case anyone got confused.)