"Linky, Linky! Wake up, wake up! Christmas!"
Three-year-old Lily easily woke up first in the same bed as her big brother, Lincoln, and started gently shaking him while he was under the covers. She sported a head full of hair with a small ponytail sticking upward from the back of her head. She adored Lincoln, and was eager to spend this special day of all days with him, but he groaned as he felt his little sister rocking him, yet a smile was on his sleeping face.
"Mmmf..." Lincoln stirred a bit, almost not wanting to get up. Nowadays, every night spent in bed was warm and cozy, always getting his well-deserve sleep. "Lily... is it even light out?" he muttered.
"It is, it is!" squealed Lily. "Santy Claus come! He bring presents!" Lincoln half-sleepily chuckled.
"Alright, alright, I'm up..." 13-year-old Lincoln sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His hair and face had changed a little after almost a year. His hair was still white of course, but it grew out a bit longer reaching where his nape met his shoulders and a new tuft had grown out above his forehead. "Aw man, is everyone else downstairs already?"
"Uh-huh! They wait for you!" Lily hopped out of bed and was half-running around the room until Lincoln got out of bed. He got dressed by changing into a red sweater and went downstairs with Lily. Sure enough, everyone else was in the living room.
"Well, look who's up and running," said Lori, holding a cup of coffee and sitting on the couch with Leni.
"Who?" asked Lincoln with a yawn. "Me or Lily?"
"Our man of the hour, of course," said Kate.
"I thought I was the man of the hour," Jack joked along. "I'm the one getting the T.V. prepped so we can cross-communicate."
"Yeah, I'm the man with the plan," said Lincoln.
"Aww, Lily had to wake you up again, Linky?" said Leni half teasingly, also having a cup of coffee.
"You know I earn my sleep!" Lincoln protested while grinning. "Man, seventh grade felt like a rough start, but I'm glad to be going with the flow at least. ...One more semester."
"Morning, Linc," said Jordan, greeting him warmly. Only her hair had changed a little in almost a year, growing out more from the sides of her head down her ears. She still had her hair in a braid, but she no longer had a blue bow, not that it mattered to Lincoln, as he saw her just as beautiful as ever.
"Hey, you," said Lincoln, as they had a quick kiss. The kids then dug into their presents one at a time. After going through quite a few, one stood out to Lincoln like a sore thumb. It was from Leni, but it was for both Lincoln and Lily. "What's this?"
"Ooh, Linky, you're gonna love it!" squealed Leni. "Open it!" Lincoln did so and what was inside took him completely off his guard.
"Bun-Bun!" squeaked Lily, taking the new stuffed rabbit and running around while holding it. "Bun-Bun came back!" Lincoln was still stunned.
"Leni... did you make it yourself?" he asked.
"I did," she said, blushing. "Your last one was... really torn up... so I thought to make you a new one! I call it 'Bun-Bun 2'!"
"Wait, what? Lily, hold on a sec, lemme see that."
"'kay!" Lily said, handing over the stuffed rabbit. While it was practically a splitting image of Bun-Bun, a white-colored shape of the number 2 was stitched on its purple shirt. It was easy to understand why this present was for both him and Lily. When Lincoln both saw and felt the thought that counted, tears formed in his eyes. He steadily made his way over to Leni and they shared a big hug.
"Merry Christmas, Linky," said Leni.
"Thank you so much, Leni," said Lincoln tearfully. "Merry Christmas."
"That was very thoughtful, Leni," said Kate.
"It's... a little embarrassing," said Lincoln sheepishly, as Lily held the new stuffed rabbit. "I mean, I'm 13 years old and all that."
"Nah, it's perfectly fine," said Jack. "If it's of any comfort to you, there's no shame in it. Even so, Lily seems to like it."
"Bun-Bun!" Lily repeated. Just then, the front door burst open and a certain rock star girl quickly came inside.
"Sorry I'm late!" she panted. "Bruh, that was hairy!"
"LUNA!" exclaimed Lincoln, rushing over to hug her without hesitation.
"Aw, hey, little bro," said Luna, hugging him back. "Merry Christmas! God, I missed you."
"Me too. Merry Christmas."
"Well, ya know me and that heartbreak song that went viral. After Sam and I got the band back together, we got rockin' busy! Still, it took a lot of convincing that I wasn't trying to earn sympathy points. And that Christmas Eve gig was some shindig!" Lincoln looked into Luna's eyes.
"I'm glad you're here," he said. He didn't need to say directly that he forgave her. The both of them could tell through their expressions.
"So am I, little bro," said Luna, ruffling Lincoln's hair. "So am I. ...Wow, you're a teenager now. I thought you got a little taller. Anyway, what'd I miss?" Lori and Leni quickly exchanged their hugs with their sister.
"Actually, your timing couldn't be better," said Jack. "I got texts that everyone else is ready on their ends, so... here we go." With one last adjustment, the T.V. screen showed a split screen of the Loud household and the residence of the Casagrandes. And there were the Loud parents along with Ronnie Anne, Bobby, and their extended family.
"Hi, honey!" Rita said, waving to her now teenage son. "Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, sport!" said Lynn Sr. "Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, Mom, Dad, Merry Christmas!" Lincoln said back, waving.
"Mommy! Daddy!" said Lily, showing herself off. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm with big brother Lincoln!"
"Ah, look at you, sweetie!" said Rita, tearing up. "You got bigger!"
"How's my little girl doing?" said Lynn Sr.
"Sorry you guys couldn't see her grow like this," said Lincoln regrettably. "Once we come home, we have a lot of catching up to do."
"Hey, Feliz Navidad, lame-o!" said Ronnie Anne. Lincoln chuckled.
"You... Feliz Navidad," he said as they tapped screens with their fists. The rest of her extended family gave greetings with hand waves and saying "hola".
"Feliz Navidad, Boo-Boo Bear!" said Lori. "I miss you!"
"I miss you too, babe," said Bobby. "But we'll meet up again in a couple of days. Feliz Navidad!" The greetings went back and forth for a minute.
"Your father and I can't wait for the day you come home," said Rita. "It's next summer, right?"
"Yep. I thought I'd finish my term in Great Lakes before transferring back to Royal Woods to finish middle school."
"Oh, by the way, Lucy has something to show you," Rita announced.
"Wait... how many people are gonna see me?" came Lucy's voice.
"Don't be shy, sweetie," Rita assured. "It's just family and friends." So 10-year-old Lucy stepped forward and the Louds in the New York home audibly gasped in amazement. She had trimmed her bangs, revealing a pair of eyes at last.
"Hi, Lincoln," said Lucy, beginning to blush. "I... I did this... for you."
"For me?" Lincoln was even more surprised.
"I thought... when you do come home... and we can be a family again... that you and I can start to see each other clearly." Lucy's words brought a warm smile to Lincoln's face.
"Your eyes are beautiful, Luce," he said, making her blush again. "And I'm proud of you. By the way, I forgive you." Lincoln's words warmed the hearts of his parents and Lucy, who shed one tear.
"Lincoln," said Lori. "I know you prolly felt that before, your family might have taken you for granted." Lincoln looked down. "But never again," Lori continued, holding Lincoln's shoulders, making him look directly at her. "You are a blessing in this family, and not just because of everything you've done for us. You were a blessing from the second you were born. You are a gift that God made for us. And we'll never forget that." Lincoln's eyes brimmed with tears of joy and he let them run down his face as he and Lori hugged, the 19-year-old sister letting out tears of her own. "I love you, Lincoln."
Christmas morning was truly shaping up to be a heartwarming family moment, together in person or just through online connections. Luna sat on the couch and began playing 'Jingle Bells' on her guitar. Finally, it was time for Jordan and Lincoln to exchange their gifts. Everyone else just had to see this. Luna's sudden arrival and getting the connections with the Louds and the Casagrandes digitally had put it aside for a few minutes. Lincoln opened his gift first and it was a framed portrait with a photo of him and Jordan taking a selfie. In the photo, Jordan was wearing a lovely yellow sundress with blue flowers printed on it. Lincoln smiled.
"That was the day we met up again," he said. "The start of summer."
"Mm," said Jordan. "I enjoyed our summer vacation. Wherever you are, you can keep this in your room."
"I sure will," said Lincoln, smiling immensely.
"Merry Christmas." And then, Jordan opened up her gift from her boyfriend. And what it was surprised not only her, but everyone else present - a necklace with a locket attached. "Lincoln," she murmured, obviously the most surprised and even shocked.
"I... took an Arts and Crafts class in seventh grade," Lincoln explained. "And I thought of you while putting it together."
"You made this?" asked Jordan, starting to tear up. "For me?!" The others began murmuring over how impressed they were hearing this. Lori covered her mouth with her hand. Jordan opened the locket and inside was another selfie photo taken of them on a beach - another summer vacation memory. Jordan could barely hold her tears.
"Just like me and my gift, wherever you go, you can wear yours," said Lincoln, as Luna then started to play 'Little Drummer Boy' on her guitar. "Jordan..." Lincoln went on. "You saved my life... and... you saved my soul. I know I helped complete you in a way, but... so did you. You completed me. I thought I would lose my family forever... but I would have lost myself... if you weren't there to help me and keep me on my feet. It's been nearly a year since, but I'll never forget it. I... don't think I could." In tears, Jordan began pecking at Lincoln's lips, not caring how many people were watching. They loved each other and through everything since the day Jordan found him freezing in that park, they had each other, now and always, no matter how many more times they'd be apart.
"I love you, Linc," Jordan sniffled. "I love you so much." With another kiss, they held their lips together for about a full minute. While five kisses had been rated the most passionate and pure since the concept of kissing, one would question if this one was up there among them.
"I love you too, Jordan," said Lincoln, starting to tear up himself after their long kiss. "Merry Christmas." Lily then hugged Lincoln from behind, getting on his back while giggling, and the rest of Christmas morning filled everyone's hearts with warm, fuzzy moments and feelings.
While the Loud family had been divided for months, they were now starting to repair and pull themselves together. Truly, it would be complete once more the day Lincoln would eventually return and by seeing the changes with his own eyes, he would come to forgive his other sisters at long last. Wounds continue to heal with time, and time was what Lincoln had.
THE END