Here we are, ten chapters into my self proclaimed magnum opus. We're finally going to see how Albert reacts to Lincoln's absence. On an unrelated piece of trivia, I imagine Avery looks a lot like Stanley Tucci. I don't own The Loud House, I just think it's really cool.

Avery and Lincoln returned home late, sometime after 10 PM. Seeing the villa for the first time in the dark gave Lincoln an almost... creeped out vibe.

"I still can't believe only two people live there," Lincoln pondered aloud. "Maybe Lucy would've liked this place after all," he joked.

"She'll get her chance, maybe. Come Fourth of July, your entire family will get to see this place if they want," Avery assured him.

The doctor pulled the sports car into the garage before grabbing the slices of peanut butter pie both uncle and nephew took to-go.

They entered the house through the garage side door, which led directly into the front foyer near the main office.

"OK Lincoln, feel free to sleep in as late as you want tomorrow. I've got an online meeting in the morning that's very personal. I'll have the entertainment room set up for you during that time."

"OK, sounds good. Goodnight, Uncle Avery."

"Goodnight Lincoln," the man replied before heading into the office to close up.

Lincoln took out his phone while walking upstairs towards his temporary room. One notification in particular caught his attention.

Missed Facecall: Ronnie Anne

"Ah shoot, has it been that long?"

He eyed the time on his phone, noting it might not be too late to text her back.

Lincoln: Hey, sorry I missed your call. We can talk tomorrow around noon if that's OK.

With the text sent, Lincoln walked into the bedroom, pulled out and put on his night clothes, and crawled into bed.

As he reflected on the day he'd just had, Lincoln could still taste the 'twang' of the cowboy sauce that he'd had not too long ago. Which reminded him…

Shit! I almost forgot to brush my teeth.

He hopped out of his bed and returned to his bag, pulling out his toothbrush and paste. Remembering where the upstairs bathroom was from his late morning 'freshening,' Lincoln made haste and jogged down the hall to the end.

What he didn't catch in time was the first 'ding' from his phone.

Luna: Hey bro, hope you settled in OK. I just wanted to wish you goodnight. I love you.

Shortly after that message was delivered, a second- separate one popped up.

Mom: Good night, sweetie. We might have to talk tomorrow, but for now, I want you to get some sleep. I love you so much.

The third message sent to Lincoln arrived just seconds before he left the bathroom and returned to his room.

Lori: 'Night Lincoln, just wanted you to know that I'm thinking about you. Really!

Freshly brushed, Lincoln re-entered his bedroom and shut off the lights. By memory, he found his bed and crawled under the covers. He received a bit of a jolt when his bare head made contact with the colder pillow.

I forget if I packed shampoo or not. 'heh' Not that I really need it.

Lincoln was fast asleep by the time the final text message arrived.

Ronnie Anne: Cool! Smell you then.

THE NEXT MORNING

The Loud family arose slowly, non of them eager to see the grandfather for once.

In the master bedroom, Rita was anxiously sipping her coffee. The previous night found her suffering from a rather jarring dream involving her father and Avery. Lynn Sr was finishing up in the bathroom nearby.

"Good thing Albert doesn't demand anything too fancy," he reminded his wife without making eye contact. "I'm thinking I can whip up his favorite meal of chili con carne to help cushion the blow of Lincoln's absence."

When Rita didn't respond to her husbands rambling, Lynn cleared his throat, alerting her and almost causing Rita to spill her coffee.

"Sorry hon, is the coffee not working?"

"I-It's not that Lynn," she confessed. "I just… can't stop thinking about that dream."

Nervously, Lynn walked over to his wife, placing an arm around her and using the free hand to grab the mug from her hands.

"C'mon honey, your father might be tough, but he's no Sampson," he reasoned. "Even if he does find out where Avery lives, he'd have to go through the rest of his family, and he wouldn't dare harm us in pursuit of 'finishing the job.'"

"I guess you're right," Rita sighed, defeated. She then flashed a small smile at her husband and embraced him, her face buried into his chest.

At the kitchen table, Leni stared at her newly made cappuccino, her eyes drooping and slightly bloodshot. The typical morning noise was having no affect on her mood. The only one who seemed to notice was her roommate.

"C'mon Len," Lori prodded in an encouraging, but not too cheerful voice. "It's not the end of the world. There will be other, better, Chaz's for you in the future."

Leni raised the mug to her lips slowly, sighing deeply into her hot drink, spilling a little of it onto her hands. The burning sensation didn't register in the usually not-so-bright girl's mind for a moment.

"Ow," Leni whined, before Lori gently took the mug from her sister and placed it out of her reach.

Man, what would Lincoln do at a moment like this? What was Leni's favorite kind of eggs? Something health conscious I'm sure.

"Chaz was the only boy who really understood me, I mean, besides dad and Linky," the longer haired blonde pondered.

"What about Pop Pop? Don't you think he's great?"

Leni sighed again, ignoring her big sister and reaching for her hot drink until Lori carefully scooped it up in her hands and sipped on it until it was no longer brimming.

"Whuh? Why did-" Leni inquired in a drained voice.

"Can't have you burning your crafty hands now can we," Lori reasoned. "How'd you like to never make clothes again?"

That seemed to jar Leni out of her depression for a second, giving way to a look of horror followed by the second oldest daughter burying her face into the table and letting out a high pitched whine.

Lori meanwhile, grabbed her face and rubbed her temples in frustration.

Way to go Lori. I swear, if Lincoln doesn't come back all sparkly and new, this family could be screwed.

The rest of the children were fighting over a box of doughnuts and assorted breakfast pastries that their father had brought home from a local bakery the previous day.

"C'mon dude," Luna begged her roommate Luan. "Let me have the chocolate covered croissant. Dad obviously got it for me, it's moon shaped after all."

Luan just laughed sarcastically.

"I call the custard filled one," Lana said. "They remind me of the insides of bugs."

Those who still had an appetite went green and dropped whatever they were eating at the moment.

"Real smooth Lans," Lynn Jr barked, stepping out of a daze she seemed to be in.

"Gross Lana!" Lola screeched.

Their parents walked out of the master bedroom, dressed and ready to leave at a moment's notice.

"Let's go, girls. Finish up breakfast and find something at least a little nice to wear for Pop Pop."

With groans echoing throughout the downstairs, the sisters complied. Some tossed their half eaten pastries in the trash, while Lori asked Leni if she still wanted her drink. Leni gently shook her head.

"Please Leni!" Lori pleaded. "I know it hurts, I can't imagine life without Bobby and his warm, sweet embrace."

That last part was said with a dreamy tone. It wouldn't be long before she could see her boyfriend whenever she wanted.

"But today is about Pop Pop, so let's see a smile, OK?"

Leni stared at her sister; A pale, dead look in her eyes. With a sniffle, she bared her teeth, revealing bits of last nights meal still residing within the cracks.

Disgusted, Lori grabbed her sister by the arm and proceeded to drag her upstairs and into the bathroom they shared with their sisters and brother.

"Don't move, I'll grab your toothbrush," the older sister demanded, walking the brief distance to her room and swiping up the item in question from her sisters' dresser. She was about to return to the bathroom when her cell phone chimed in its charging port. She thought back to the text she'd sent her brother last night, for which she still hadn't gotten a reply when she first woke up to check her messages.

With a sense of hope, she glanced at the charging phone to find… an unrelated reminder.

With a sigh, she gently whacked the side of her head a couple times and started towards the bathroom again.

One thing at a time Lori, Leni needs you more!

She gripped the right wrist of her sister and slammed the toothbrush into the open palm.

"I can understand wanting to wait for the bathroom to be less crowded, and then just forgetting to brush," Lori admitted to the longer haired blonde. "But this is not a habit I want you to pick up. Now I know you hate being treated like a child, but I'm not leaving you alone until your teeth are perfect."

Leni turned on the faucet, waiting for the warm water to heat up the brush, then grabbed the communal toothpaste and weakly squeezed until a too large dollop came out. That that point, Lori swiped the tube away before any more could be wasted.

"That's enough, now start brushing," the older teen demanded. Pathetically, Leni obeyed her sister and slowly moved the instrument towards her mouth, turning the toothbrush so that the bristles were facing down. This almost lead to the green, minty stuff falling onto the floor if not for an increasingly irritated Lori quickly guiding the arm of her sister the rest of the way to her mouth.

"Good! Now move the brush in small circles."

When Leni seemed to ignore her sister, Lori closed the bathroom door, locked it, and embraced her sister from the front. This led to the brush slipping out of Leni's limp lips.

"Please Leni, I don't want to yell at you, but this is starting to be ridiculous. So I want you to promise me that you'll stop thinking about all the bad things in your life for just… one… day. Alright?" she pleaded.

With a deep, congested breath, Leni nodded and returned the embrace her sister was offering. After several seconds, Lori had to inhale deeply, leading to a sweetly rancid smell forcing its way into her nose. When the two sisters finally parted, Lori asked her question.

"You slept in your clothes didn't you?"

Leni nodded, uncaring.

AT LYNN'S TABLE

The Loud family had arrived at Lynn's Table, which was open only for todays private party for Albert. His girlfriend Myrtle would be driving him to the restaurant.

The family got to work getting the small gathering ready for the 11 AM deadline. The party supplies normally used for big gatherings were brought out and organized in the appropriate fashion. All the while, Leni, the family party planner, was more than willing for once to take a backseat when it came to having a say.

"Alright fam, today we'll be making chopped vegetables, chili con carne, some of old dad's Lynnsagna, and a cake."

The patriarch delegated the responsibilities as he saw fit. Since he was already aware of the 'Chaz situation' with Leni, he kept her away from the knives and instead gave her the unique job of keeping an eye on Lily while everybody else did their part.

Aside from some hostile glances from Lynn to Luna, and vice versa, the children behaved themselves for the sake of their grandfather.

Finally, an old car from decades ago pulled up to the restaurant, and a large rotund, older male with white hair and a greying mustache was helped out of the vehicle by a woman with a beehive hairstyle. The older couple made their way to the front door before knocking. Lynn Sr nervously walked over to the front doors to let his father in-law inside.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP POP," the room erupted in cheers. "HEY GRAN GRAN!"

"Well I'll be," the old man greeted his family. "You guys went all out for little old me?"

With grins big enough to scare the Cheshire Cat, the entire family nodded. That is, except for Leni, who could only muster a squiggly looking grimace. Something Pop Pop noticed right away.

"Hey Leni-penny, how's work at the department store? Another big sale coming up I hope."

Leni appeared to ignore her grandfather, earning scolds from her mother.

"Leni! Pop Pop asked you a question."

Still holding Lily, Leni then looked up, and simply nodded.

"Is everything alright? Do you not like working with clothes anymore?" he asked in concern.

Lori rushed to answer her grandfather when Leni turned away.

"Leni's going through a tough time, Pop Pop. Maybe a hug from you will help."

The eldest child grabbed the youngest from the arms of the fashionista before Albert could close the distance towards his second eldest granddaughter.

"Happy Birthday, Pop Pop," Leni uttered, weakly. This was followed by a sniffle and several unsettling words into the old man's ear.

"Why does growing up have to hurt so much?"

"Ah honey, are you worried about me getting another year older?" he softly whispered into her ear. "Because if so, I already told Lisa that I've got too much fight left in me to give up on life."

Grandfather and granddaughter parted, the hug seeming to improve Leni's mood enough.

"I know Pop Pop, it's just..."

"And hey, don't worry about getting me a gift. I've already got a great life as we speak, I can't think of anything that I really want that I don't already have now."

I hope Lincoln is still this sweet when he's Pop Pop's age.

Leni wiped her tears and went to stand with her family, or… most of them.

Albert looked around for his only grandson, not seeing a sign of the white haired boy he'd give anything for.

"So where is my doppleganger? Don't tell me he's in the back getting a special gift for me."

The Loud family froze; The time had come to explain everything, or at least, hope that Albert would listen to reason and not keel over on his own birthday.

"Actually dad, the truth is… I've been lying to you. I'm sorry," Rita confessed sadly.

"Sooo… where is Lincoln?" he asked, confused.

"He's… with..." Rita stuttered, closing her eyes and bracing for the worst.

"With whom honey?"

"Heswithavery," she practically threw out, ashamed.

"What? C'mon Rita speak slower."

"Albert, your grandson is with my brother, Avery." the patriarch explained slowly.

There was silence for a while. Albert was facing the ground, rendering his emotions unreadable. His hands began to clench. Then, tears began to form in the old man's eyes before he started shaking, and slowly raising his head. He was… laughing?

"AAAHHHHAAHAAHAAHAA," he roared as his cheeks glistened with the summer rays thanks to the happy tears he was shedding. This gave way to a short coughing fit before Lori patted her grandfather on the back to help stifle the attack.

The rest of the family just stared at the elderly gentleman, dumbfounded by this particular response. With a deep breath, Albert finally ceased his laughter, and spoke.

"That's… not very funny. There is no way you'd let your only son go off with that terrible man," he reasoned aloud. "Which means, that the truth is so embarrassing that you'd dare lie to your dear father, Rita."

"But…?" Rita tried to interject, but was silenced when her dad put one hand in the air.

"Let me guess, Lynn Jr went off the deep end again and really messed up her brother? And I thought getting him locked out of the house and into potential danger was enough for you to learn your lesson, Junior." Albert shook his head in pitying shame. "I suppose not then," he added with sadness.

"Actually Pop Pop," Lori addressed her grandfather. "Lincoln really is with Uncle Avery, who we met for the first time a couple days ago." As she said this, she gestured to her sisters.

With that bit of news, Al froze, staring off into oblivion.

FLASHBACK- TWENTY YEARS AGO

Images of twenty years ago flashed in his aging, but still sharp mind. He hadn't thought back to that day in so long, since seeing his daughter being treated like she did, likely wiped a few years off his life.

Rita was crying, Avery just stood there, teetering back and forth and hiccuping, before falling onto the ground with a thud. He didn't stay down for long though, as a tall, muscular man with a scar under his left eye lifted Avery by his dress shirt collar and 'helped' him up.

"You'd better let me deal with him Al, otherwise you might kill him," the man said to Al in a voice that made the statement sound more like an order than an offer. Albert clinched his fists and saw red, until Jacob Loud filled his field of vision.

"You'd better listen to Oskar, Al. I don't normally condone violence, but the sooner we get him out of here, the sooner the reception can return to normal."

Albert stepped back, his vision still red.

"Um soary, uh dinnin meatoo," Avery drunkenly pleaded. He reached for his brother, who was comforting his new bride. The newlyweds just stepped back into the crowd until they disappeared from view.

"C'mon ya drunk, I'll teach you what happens when you hurt a lady like that," the buff middle aged gentleman named Oskar informed Avery, carrying him in the opposite direction of Lynn and Rita.

A young blonde woman, in her late twenties pushed herself through the crowd and called out to him.

"Oskar? Honey, don't be too rough on him OK? He can't fight back."

Oskar looked over his shoulder to address the woman.

"Stay out of this Jilly, I always knew there was something wrong with him, and now I have to beat some sense into him to fix his brain, or something."

"At least let me hold your coat," she offered. "It'll save you the trouble of getting it splattered with any blood and ruined."

The scary man pondered her words, all the while Avery was thrashing around, begging to be returned to the ground.

"Pleez! Ya doen unterstant, eh waz in assident."

Oskar glared at the inebriated Avery, coming to a final decision.

"Tell you what, boy. If you can hobble out of here before I get my coat off, I won't break you. Understand?" he asked threateningly, his face inches away from the younger man's.

All Avery cared to hear was 'break you,' and he nodded. Oskar then dropped him, catching the younger man by surprise and struggling to get his footing before backing up and shuffling towards the word 'exit.'

The mobility of the drunk man surprised the man in his mid-50's enough that he didn't start removing his coat until his 'prey' had one foot out the door. He then caught notice of a shiny pair of keys on the floor, and made a connection.

"At least he can't drive out of here, no need to ruin other peoples lives tonight," he said to himself, picking up the item and pocketing it.

The entire scene had been witnessed by the wedding guests, most of whom felt no pity for Avery.

"The nerve of some people!"

"He'll be lucky of he ever gets those keys back."

"Not cool, dude!"

Albert's vision returned to normal, the 'threat' having been extinguished. He moved from his place and went to search for his daughter. He found her in the far corner of the reception hall, sitting on a padded bench and surrounded by not only her new husband, but a brunette woman around the same age as the couple.

"This is bad Lynn, this is reeeaaalllly bad," she told the groom. "Our brother has never done anything like this before, at least to my knowledge."

Lynn was wiping the face of his bride, paying little attention to his sister.

"Good news is, Oskar scared him off, and got his car keys too," Albert said, announcing his presence.

Lynn looked up at his now official father-in-law, giving a look of angry indifference.

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay gone. Tonight was the last straw for me. It's one thing to get plastered and make an absolute ass of yourself, but to bring Rita into it, and make her cry no less, I just..." His voice drifted off before he could finish that thought.

"Maybe I should hurry and follow him," Shirley offered. "You know, just to make sure he doesn't get hit by a car or something."

"Whatever Shirley," Lynn replied bluntly. "He's already dead to me anyway."

BACK TO THE PRESENT

"Pop Pop? Everything OK? Please say something," the voices tried to jar the old man out of his comatose state.

"WHAAAAT!" the elderly man exclaimed suddenly before realizing how loud he was. "What do you mean 'Lincoln is with Avery?' The same Avery who threw himself on you at your own wedding?"

"Lynn?! Did your brother really do that?" Myrtle asked in dumbfounded shock. "I didn't even know you had a brother."

"Neither did any of my kids, and the incident at the wedding is why," the patriarch admitted.

"Dad!" Rita urged. "If you just let us explain..."

"He was in your house?" he asked in a harsh whisper. "Around my granddaughters? Please tell me you didn't leave him unsupervised with them?"

"Pop Pop, listen to us, we can explain..." a few of the girls pleaded.

"He better not have tried the same crap he did all those years ago, or a sore head is going to be 'DEAD LAST' on his list of problems," he threatened.

"Dad, please, Avery is really sorry for what he did, and he... felt he had a good excuse for doing what he did at the time, it really was an accident."

Albert just stared at his family in utter shock, Myrtle was trying to soothe the clearly stressed man.

"C'mon Al, let them talk..." But her words fell on deaf ears.

"I cannot believe what I am hearing, why is Lincoln even with him anyway."

"It's kind of a long story Al," Lynn Sr began to explain.

"Yeah Pop Pop, it has to do with that movie we're going to be a part of."

"The superhero one? I still can't believe you'd want anything to do with the subject, since comics were always-"

"LINCOLN'S THING, WE KNOW," the sisters yelled in tandem.

"We tried Pop Pop, we really tried to help Lincoln not be so depressed. But it's been two months, and he hasn't returned to the Lincoln we know and love."

"Care to explain what 'know and love' means to you exactly."

"Well, he's sweet, and kind most of the time," Luna replied.

"Which is just code for spineless," Lynn Jr added, unwarranted. Lori would have slapped her little sister upside the head if not for there being witnesses.

"Last I saw him, Avery was going to be a doctor," the elderly man calmly said. "I guess he became a psychiatrist?"

"No actually, he's in the OBGYN oncology field," his son in law informed him.

Albert held a bitter laugh, not wanting to say something that could offend his younger grandkids.

A pervert who makes a living staring at women's genitals, why didn't I guess that first.

"Any reason why you didn't include me in decisions involving my only grandson?"

Rita was quick to defend her actions.

"I didn't think I needed your advice on everything dad," she muttered.

"Did it ever occur to you to maybe let me handle his angst?"

"Well… we thought an 'outside' perspective would've been best," Rita admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Is that your way of saying you didn't want Lincoln to air the family's dirty laundry to somebody else?" the old man asked accusingly. "Perhaps somebody who might feel obligated to get 'scary people' involved?"

Rita and Lynn Sr just chuckled, the latter scratching the back of his head. Quickly, Albert's tone shifted in a more positive direction.

"Well, I need one of you to call Lincoln so he can wish his Pop Pop a happy birthday."

"But... what if he ignores us, we're not exactly his favorite people right now," Luan reasoned.

"But… Didn't he say that he loved us?" Lana inquired. "He practically screamed it out the window as the fancy car was driving away.

"That may have been the last gasp that he had for us," Luan theorized.

"Well then, who's going to give up their phone so we can put this nightmare behind us?" Rita told her family.

"Well… Lincoln called Leni a couple days ago to let us know he was coming back, that has to count for something, right?" Lori replied.

With a heavy sigh, Leni unenthusiastically pulled her phone from her dress pocket and placed it into the hands of her grandfather, for which Albert thanked the teen. After being met with a lock screen, Albert returned the phone to the owner.

"Um, Leni, could you maybe unlock the darn thing for Pop Pop?" he requested.

Leni tapped the screen, entering her passcode: 0317. Small tears found their way down her cheeks.

Chaz's birth month and date.

Leni had enough sense left to put her grandfather in the phone app, under favorites, where Lincoln's number was featured.

IN HAZELTUCKY

Lincoln was using a VR helmet to play a game on the big screen TV in the entertainment room.

Where are you clown? I know you're around here somewhere.

Lincoln was jolted by the ringtone he had for Leni blaring in the background. He paused the game and picked up his phone.

What would Leni want? Maybe I should leave her hanging.

He let the phone go to voicemail, before he remembered what his mother texted to him last night. When 'Leni' tried to call again, Lincoln didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hey Leni, everything OK?"

"Lincoln! Are you OK?" a familiar deep, warm, but frantic voice answered instead.

"Oh, hey Pop Pop! What are you doing on my sister's phone?"

"I want to see him, how do I turn on the camera again?" the old man asked the family around him.

"You press the camera button Al," Lynn Sr told him. Albert listened to his son-in-law and touched the icon, bringing up a tween boy in a helmet.

"Pop Pop! Hi!"

"Hey Lincoln," his sisters answered offscreen enthusiastically.

"What in the world are you wearing? Are you alright? Are you being held against your will?"

The questions were coming so fast that Lincoln was feeling dizzy. Finally, he found the strength to ask the burning question.

"Not that I don't love seeing you, but… Why are you calling me? Did I miss something important?"

"Only my birthday Lincoln. I'm surprised it wasn't on your radar, but you seem to be enjoying yourself," he said with a bit of venom.

Lincoln gasped, upset he'd forgotten the birthday of who he saw as another father, perhaps a real role model. The rest of the family scrunched together to get a better look at the boy, only to find what looked like a robot in his place.

"Would you take that ridiculous looking thing off your head, boy?" the old man demanded.

Sighing, Lincoln removed the VR headset from himself, revealing the awful truth.

Albert stared at the screen in horror for what felt like an eternity, his maw growing massive as the seconds ticked by.

"Good Golly," Myrtle broke the silence with. "I'd say that's the worst haircut I've ever seen, if it was done with garden shears."

"What… the hell… happened?" Albert finally asked.

"That's part of why I had to go away Pop-pop," Lincoln admitted nervously, rubbing his dome.

"Did that bast-" the angry old man started to say before Myrtle moved to cover his mouth.

"I mean… what happened to the snow on your roof, boy?" he asked with sadness.

"It… it's stupid, I don't want to talk about it."

"If that..." he turned to the group, contemplating which word to use. "Idiot shaved your head, I'll kill him myself."

"Pop Pop, Uncle Avery didn't do this, I did." he sadly confessed.

"And again I ask... Why?"

"I don't know, I mean, at the time, I was so upset, and felt so useless."

Not wanting to bear his heart a second time to his family, Lincoln asked...

"Could we talk in private? I really don't want everybody staring at me right now?"

Albert nodded slightly before standing up from the large booth at the restaurants center and making his way over to the booth closest to the front doors. At some point in the conversation, Myrtle stood up from the table and excused herself to the restroom.

As Lincoln continued to try to explain to his grandfather why his hair was gone, and by extension why he couldn't be at the birthday party, the rest of the family was either covering their ears or looking away to avoid fresh tears from coming and being seen.

"Geez Lincoln," Albert finally said. "I didn't think your guilt would make you do something this drastic.

All the bitterness that had disappeared from Lincoln when he left Royal Woods a couple days ago was returning in full force.

"Believe me Pop Pop, I'm regretting it already, and it's only been a couple days."

Lincoln began to scratch his head, unintentionally ripping off the bandages still stuck to it.

Pop Pop couldn't help but snicker at his only grandson's misery.

I don't know what gave him the idea to shave his head, but I'm not surprised he cut himself doing so.

Albert hid his amusement and collected himself before continuing his interview.

"I still don't see how one mistake could warrant going away from your family," Albert insisted, confused.

Lincoln thought for a moment whether he wanted the entire room to hear what he had to say next, at the risk of permanently damaging the relationship he had left with his family.

"Lori? Luna?" he said aloud. "I read those texts you sent last night, and I was doing alright until just now."

Hearing their brother, the two sisters in question dried their eyes of any remaining sadness and stood up to walk over to the booth the grandfather was occupying.

"So did you get settled in OK? You're not too bored I hope," Luna inquired.

"Well, the truth is, my work isn't going to start until after Uncle Maurice comes back from Germany tomorrow night."

"So what the heck are you doing until then?"

Lincoln blushed, somewhat ashamed.

"You saw me in the VR helmet, right?" he asked sheepishly.

VR Helmet, huh?

Lori couldn't help but think back to a rather unfortunate memory involving a pair of VR googles.

"Yeah, it… must be nice not having to worry about them getting destroyed, huh?"

Albert gave a confused look, obviously unaware of the circumstances context.

"It's a bad memory I'd rather not revisit, Pop Pop."

"Hey bro, you should give us a tour of the house at some point, cool?"

Lincoln sighed nervously, not really wanting to bring his family into his own personal world again.

"You'll have to wait until Independence Day, Luna. It's not really rehab if I have visitors, even if digitally" he responded coldly.

Luna nodded, sadly. Lori had already walked into the kitchen to start serving the party food.

Just then, a knock came at the double doors leading into the entertainment room. Lincoln turned his head to see Avery waving at him before opening the door.

"Hey Lincoln? I'm done with my meeting. I was thinking we could order a pizza or two for dinner, so feel free to go crazy with the topp-," he began to say before he realized that Lincoln was on a call.

"And there's the punk I wanted to see," a voice from the phone broke the silence.

Rather than shutter in fear, Avery put on a face of resolve and stepped closer to his nephew to get a better look at the 'birthday boy.'

"Hello Albert, long time no punch, huh."

Albert just grimaced. Luna began to walk away in order to help her sister with the food.

"So tell me doctor, how exactly is a gynecologist qualified to treat what I'm willing to call a mental illness?" the old man demanded to know.

"Well, the practice I work for has experience dealing with patients exhibiting symptoms associated with postpartum depression, which are similar to what I saw in Lincoln. Plus, I still had to do a psychiatry rotation in school, so I'm not completely in the dark on the subject."

Myrtle had returned from the restroom to find the entire family sans Albert sitting and nosily glancing at the phone conversation at a far off booth.

"Ooooh, things must be going well," the older lady said cheerily. "Al looks so much calmer than he did a mom-."

The table shushed her.

"Sorry," she uttered meekly.

It was then that she heard a familiar voice from the phone, and her curiosity got the better of her. She slowly paced her way over to her boyfriend, standing just behind him so she could see the screen.

That's when it clicked.

"Well I'll be… Is that you Dr. Loud-Coleman?"

"Ms. Cornett?" the doctor replied with what appeared to be pleasant shock. A smile came to his face, leading to a lot of questions.

"Honey? You know this guy?" Albert inquired in shock.

Before Myrtle could answer, Avery spoke up quickly.

"Lincoln, could you follow me into my office, I'd like to transfer this call onto my main computer. You can have the phone back in a moment."

Lincoln scurried behind his uncle as the duo made their way down the hall of the villa towards the front and into the main double doored office setup.

"I learned a thing or two about computers from online tutorials, this should only take a second."

The doctor clicked a few times on his mouse and keyboard before the Facecall app on the bigger screen pulled up the image from the phone, closing the aforementioned app on the phone.

"We'll talk more later Lincoln, is there anything you'd like to say to your grandfather before I talk with him alone?"

Lincoln nodded.

"Happy Birthday Pop Pop. Believe me, I wish I could be there."

"In a way boy, I kinda understand. Your health is more important, so I'll see you when you do get back. I love you boy."

"Love you too Pop Pop." he said with a wave, which Albert returned.

Once Lincoln had disappeared from sight, the showdown could begin.

"So what's this all about Avery? How do you and my girlfriend know each other?"

"Maybe I should say it Al," the older lady offered. "Do you remember that little tumor I told you about?"

Upon hearing this, the large table at the center raised their heads in bewilderment.

"A tumor? What tumor?" Lynn Sr demanded to know.

"Honey? Do you want to step outside and keep this part of the conversation private?" Al recommended.

"No Al, it's alright, these guys are family. We can explain everything later."

Albert nodded, still unsure of her decision but accepting nonetheless.

"You mentioned your battle with cancer to me once, so how does he fit into this?" He asked, pointing at the screen.

"He saved my life Al, I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for his treatment. But he was also very comforting since I had no family of my own at the time."

Albert faced back towards the phone.

"You… saved my Myrtle?" Albert asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, it was more of an experimental treatment that she seemed right for, and while I didn't make any incisions myself, you could definitely say I was the face of her battle."

"I'm surprised my hair grew back as fast as it did," Myrtle added.

"It was so long ago. Having a stressful but nonetheless important career would've killed me if not for Maurice.

"And who is this Maurice you speak of?" Albert asked. "Lincoln called him 'uncle'."

"Wait! Your family didn't already tell you?" Avery inquired with shock.

"Albert, I'm a gay man, and have been for my entire life. It's… the reason I got wasted and made a fool of myself with your daughter, I thought kissing a random woman would convince everybody that I wasn't gay. I also needed the booze to go through with it."

Albert took what he just heard and contemplated whether he should still be angry.

"So where is your 'husband' right now?"

Avery glanced at the time on his computer before giving an estimate.

"If he isn't already on a plane, he's currently waiting for one in Germany. He'll be home tomorrow evening," he explained. "Would you like to see a photo of him and me?" he offered.

When Al didn't directly accept, Myrtle gave a look of giddiness and nodded her head.

"Of course we would. I'd like to see the wonderful man married to you, you angel."

Avery reached off camera at a framed photo of him and his husband on vacation, taking his time as to hide the blush that appeared on his face. Once he was sure it was gone, he showed the picture to the elderly couple. Avery and Maurice were wearing Hawaiian style shirts with a beach in the background, a grin adorning both of their faces.

"Aawwwww, you two look like such a happy couple. Is that recent?" Myrtle asked.

Avery thought for a moment before giving an honest answer.

"It's a couple of years old."

Meanwhile, Albert just stared at Avery. The truth doing little to sway his anger.

"And how exactly has your drinking changed in the last twenty years?"

Avery returned the portrait to its prior position, then pulled the '15' year medallion from off to the side and flashed it to Albert.

"It no longer owns me, my husband is all the comfort I needed, until I realized I still had amends to make."

"Yes, I'm familiar with the 12 steps. Anyway, if what you're saying is true and not a dodge, it must make being a male OBGYN a bit easier knowing that you won't… you know, 'try anything.'"

"It's more a case that most of the women I do see are old enough to have the risk factors seen in cancer, and therefore tend to be a bit more traditional and trusting than a lot of younger women have been taught to be."

Albert nodded in understanding, sadly.

"This could not have been your dream, right?"

"My… dream?" a confused Avery asked.

"I'll be honest, when my family first told me about your choice of speciality, I could only fear the worse."

Avery only chuckled ironically.

"Well Al, the reason I decided on being an OBGYN oncologist was because of my and Lynn's mother, Patricia."

"Yes… Lynn told me about losing his mom. Must have been awful losing a parent when you're still just a kid."

After saying that, there was a long silence. Nobody knew what to say, even Myrtle. It was then that Avery had an idea.

"If you'd rather talk in person Al, why don't you and Myrtle come to the picnic on the Fourth and we can settle things once and for all?"

"I might just do that, I'll be sure to let you know if I can make it."

"Cool, hope to see you there. And Myrtle?" the doctor said suddenly before the feed could end. "I'm glad to see you doing a lot better."

Avery ended the call, bringing Leni's phone back to the home screen.

Rita met her father halfway back to the grand table at the restaurants center, eager to know how things went.

"Sooooo… How do you feel now, dad?"

"Honestly?" he replied inquisitively. "It depends on whether that gynecologist really can bring my grandson back from the brink."

Rita nodded in agreement.

"Thank you dad," the mother of eleven said with a tear in her eye. "Just so you know, I feel the exact same way. Now c'mon, Lynn made a large batch of chili con carne just for you."

Excited, Al retook the seat of honor and waited for his birthday to officially start.

MEANWHILE

The hour was reaching noon fast, and Lincoln was a mixture of eager and nervous to see his friend Ronnie Anne for the first time in a while.

"I better prepare myself for the onslaught of bald jokes she's going to give me," he told himself, chuckling.

After taking a few deep breaths, and throwing personal, silent insults at himself in an effort to toughen up, Lincoln made the call to his friend.

"Hey Lame...o?" the face on the other end answered almost immediately. Lincoln squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable laughter.

Just so you know, I've decided to change the name of this story, as well as modernize the synopsis, starting with the next update. I just feel that the description is too broad to be attracting a lot of people, even though my plans for this fic can't really be summed up in a few sentences. Still, I will try.

Also… Between the airing of Camped, which showed the real paternal grandfather of the Loud children, plus the fact that I discovered a story on this site that mirrors most of the points I was going to cover in my own story; I'm seriously considering going on hiatus with this story, until I can come up with something truly unique.

Give me your honest feedback.

Until next time.