Lincoln had quickly adjusted to his new surroundings and some of his depression had lifted now that all of his furniture and belongings had been found and returned to him. The irony was that good luck found him and if there was any way to prove that he was never bad luck, this would have been it... not that it would do his family any good here and now, what with his parents in jail and his sisters in a state of mourning. But now that the white-haired boy had his school stuff back, the receptionist called the Royal Woods Elementary School to notify both Mrs. Johnson and Principal Huggins and they were both relieved. They were also encouraged to show leniency should they decide to send any schoolwork Lincoln would miss out on his way, given the environment he was currently in, to which they heartily agreed.

Lincoln and Clyde walked down the school hallway together, but of course, several eyes were on Lincoln because word had spread of his parents' arrest for what was considered domestic abuse as well as child endangerment and neglect. Lincoln had referred to himself as 'the man with a plan' for so long and regarding his own mistakes, misfortunes, and mischief, no one would ever have guessed that his own family might have been the incentive for him to push himself to do anything crazy just to live his life the way he wanted to or even had so much as a shred of evidence that his sisters and parents would ever have abused him back at home. Other students could see in his eyes that he just looked listless and sad, so they couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Clyde kept his arm around his best friend to escort him to his first class of the day.

"Lincoln?" The poor boy's eyes widened and he shuddered where he stood. It was Cristina, his former crush, who called him by his name. He slowly turned his head to look at her. She wasn't mad or upset. She looked downright concerned for him. Lincoln's breathing picked up the pace. "I... heard what happened..." Cristina said. "Are you okay?" In that moment, Lincoln felt ashamed, remembering his embarrassing video he made to put himself in his sisters' places as the new laughingstock of the Internet. Thankfully, recent events would likely make the video be left forgotten, but in Lincoln's mind, seeing Cristina again just reminded him of what he did to her... for his sisters... who proceeded to betray him... Tears sprang to the poor boy's eyes and he ran off, making a beeline for the nearest restroom.

"Lincoln!" Clyde called to him while Cristina looked on, for once feeling sorry for the boy who humiliated her. Once behind a stall in a boys' restroom, Lincoln sobbed his eyes out for at least five minutes.

When night fell, after Lincoln returned to his room from taking a nice, hot shower, he got into bed - his own bed after so long - and snuggled with Bun-Bun. In that moment, he wouldn't care what Lyra would think of him, an 11-year-old boy still relying on a stuffed animal for comfort. But of course, Lyra didn't make fun of him, far from it. Instead, she came over and rubbed his back.

"I love stuffed animals," said Lyra. "Besides, you really look like you need yours." Lincoln nodded and had himself a little cry. "There, there," said Lyra soothingly. "You'll see me again tomorrow." Lincoln laid down and Lyra tucked him into bed as he snuggled with Bun-Bun, falling asleep. "Good night, Lincoln." Lyra kissed his forehead. "See you in the morning."

Lincoln woke up the next morning with Bun-Bun snug in his arms. Sitting up in bed, he looked around the room, knowing immediately it wasn't his own, but with all of his possessions, it sure looked like it, only slightly larger because it wasn't a former closet. He then heard a gentle knock on the door.

"It's me, Lyra," said Lyra's voice. She slowly opened the door and came in, seeing Lincoln in bed. "Good morning, Lincoln!" She came over and kissed his forehead, happy to see him. Lincoln was somehow able to form a small smile on his face when he looked at Lyra. "Hey, a smile! Look at that! How are you feeling?" Lincoln looked down.

"I'm sad," he murmured. Lyra sighed, as she knew why, but she kept her own smile fixated on Lincoln and held his hand. "Would you like me to sit with you and... hold you for a bit?" Lincoln blushed for a second, but then nodded. So Lyra sat on the bed and held the white-haired boy on her lap with her arms around him. "You know," she said to him. "When I was younger, I was teased because of my white hair." This surprised Lincoln as he never recalled anyone bullying him for just his hair. "It was hard for me to fit in with other students, and what's ironic is that my dad has white hair and he used to tell me that it was because of his white hair, my mom fell in love with him and eventually they married."

"What's his name?" asked Lincoln.

"Logan," Lyra answered. "Logan Lone. My mom's name is Linda."

"Those are nice names." Lyra smiled at Lincoln's compliment.

"Fortunately, my learning environment was kind to me," she continued, stroking Lincoln's back. "So I like to think... if it wasn't for my teachers and the school staff, I might not have graduated from high school. It was after that... I went into therapy, I came out lot a stronger, I went to college, I got my Bachelor's degree... and I started here as an intern. I love kids. I love seeing them grow..." Lyra's gentle tone entered Lincoln's ears in a most soothing way as he kept his head rested on Lyra's chest, his eyes closed as he listened. "Everyone here is doing their best to make sure the children we take in can adjust to the outside world a lot better than when they are first checked in. That's what I want for you, Lincoln. You must have a dream of your own... and a future to follow..." Although Lincoln felt quite comfortable, he felt the need to let out a few more feelings he had been holding on to. While his family did hurt and betray him, he started to fear that he might not see them again anytime soon. And even if he did, it may not be on good terms. So he began to cry softly, Lyra gently shushing him like a mother as he did so. "Can you take a few deep breaths for me?" Lyra asked after Lincoln shed his tears. Lincoln did so, breathing in and out. "There you go." They finally looked at each other. "You must be hungry. Let's get something to eat."

For the rest of the day, things began to look up for young Lincoln. By mid-afternoon, he even began to play quietly with some of the other kids. One of them, about his age, plucked up his courage and spoke to him.

"Hi, Lincoln," said the boy. "I'm Max." He had dark brown hair and wore glasses and a black t-shirt.

"Hi, Max," said Lincoln. "Nice to meet you."

"I saw your Ace Savvy comics yesterday. I like Ace Savvy. Do you like Ace Savvy?" Oh, how Lincoln was tempted to explode with excitement then and there!

"I do!" he said, doing his best to keep his voice down to a reasonable level. "I can share my comics with you if you like."

"Really?!"

"You bet!" A little later on after some good reading, Max decided to bring up the more serious topic of what happened to Lincoln, as he had begun to open himself up to him over their similar interest in the Ace Savvy comic series.

"Lincoln," said Max, swallowing a bit. "I... I heard about what happened to you."

"Yeah," Lincoln muttered sadly.

"I told my mom and my dad yesterday when they came to visit me... and I never saw them cry so much in my whole life. They hugged me and told me that they would rather die than give me up like that. I thought they would take me home right then and there." Hearing how much compassion Max's parents had for him brought Lincoln to tears. He started to wonder if the reason his family ever went overboard at all was due to the sheer size of it - one boy, ten girls. While Lincoln may have told himself he wouldn't trade that for the world, it seemed that he was beginning to backpedal on that statement. It was like his own personal window was broken and even if the pieces were put back in place, the cracks would still be there. Overshadowed and overpowered, it seemed that his efforts to be his own person had left him fending for himself and it didn't help that for two nights straight, and what might as well be the following two weeks, he had all but been left high and dry. You can't put back the pieces of a broken window, Lincoln thought. Like it or not, he believed that eventually, moving on would be the only option remaining for him, as in all likelihood, he wouldn't just be tossed back into the lion's den living with the scars lingering. But for now, it was best for him to enjoy his time with caring professionals and other kids who struggled with similar issues as he was now dealing with. "Will you be okay, Lincoln?" asked Max. "Do you think... that maybe... you'll..." Max couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Find a new crowd, right?" said Lincoln for him. "It's okay, Max. I'm not offended. Hey, why don't we play some video games in my room? We'll do it there so as not to disturb anyone else." Lyra and a couple of other adults nodded in agreement and approvingly while Max smiled at his new friend. As Lincoln and Max headed for Room 208A, Lincoln thought that maybe in the long run, things wouldn't be too bad and maybe work out for the better or best, even if he was taken in by a new family. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to go through the same pain that his sisters and parents inflicted on him. Surely, there's a place in this world for even the man with a plan.