In the days following the arrest of Rita Loud and Lynn Loud Sr., gossip spread not just to the Royal Woods schools, as Lincoln was labeled a survivor of child abuse, but began to reach the rest of town gradually. At the dental office, Dr. Feinstein, Rita's boss, had to reschedule all upcoming appointments that Rita would have taken on. Parents didn't want their kids to have their teeth cleaned by someone having been detained for neglecting her own son's health and any adults assigned to her just didn't want to go through with it anymore. While Feinstein was upset, he placed Rita on temporary leave until this case could be settled. Of course, if worse came to worst, he would have no choice but to terminate her employment. Now Lynn Sr., on the other hand... He had a dream, a dream to one day open up his own restaurant. But his current job was at an office where he was an information technology specialist in order to keep his large family together, and now he too had to be placed on current leave. And now what would his background check look like, now that he and his wife had been detained for foolishly neglecting their only son? And worse, they knew that he wasn't bad luck and so they played along with their daughters just so they could teach him a lesson for lying. Yet it wasn't a simple punishment. It was outright abuse and look where it landed them. There's no way Lynn Sr. could ever land a job at a restaurant, right? Not if kids dine out with their folks. He and his wife were liable to be ordered by society to keep away from children, maybe even if they were found innocent. Alas, though, their case was made even worse because they were never manipulated into neglecting Lincoln. They simply went with what their daughters were saying, and while they were secretly afraid of playing favorites, it seemed that this only applied towards Lincoln, meaning it was okay to side with their daughters more often than not. So it wasn't just the Loud sisters purposefully singling out their only brother. The Loud parents had done so as well, even if it was more out of fear, but why should parents be afraid of their children? Even raising too many isn't a good excuse.
On the afternoon that the McBrides drove Lincoln to the Royal Woods Child Care for Mental Health, Rita and Lynn Sr. continued to mope in their cell. They had spent at least three nights in police custody and were worried that their family and lives would never be the same again. But more importantly, they wondered if they would ever see their children, much less Lincoln, ever again. And then, Officer Schoffner opened the door to their cell.
"Alright, you two," she barked. "Out!" The Loud parents were of course surprised, but steadily made their way to the cell entrance. "You're going home, but you'll be placed under house arrest until further notice." And there was baby Lily waiting for them at the front desk, having come out of day care.
"Poo-poo!" she squealed, as Officer Schoffner placed her into Rita's arms.
"Oh, Lily!" cried Rita. "Thank God! We missed you!" Lynn Sr. joined in, helping cradle his youngest daughter.
"Now don't get too comfortable," Schoffner warned. "Enjoy your family while you still can because there's a good chance nothing is gonna end well for any of you." So Schoffner dropped them off at their house and the parents holding Lily wasted no time scrambling indoors to reunite with their other nine daughters, who had just come from school.
"MOM! DAD!" Lori shrieked. The other girls cried out as well and they all got into a big group hug while Schoffner stood in the doorway. Even though the Loud residence would surely be under police watch, this would be the closest the Loud family would get to being back together, as Lincoln was now the only one absent.
"Wh-where's Linky?" Leni nervously asked Schoffner.
"He's safe," she replied. "But don't expect him to be joining you while under police surveillance." Of course, the rest of the family was disappointed. They wanted Lincoln back in their lives, but in the time that Lincoln would spend away from his family, he wouldn't be looking at them the same way again. "Also, you've been summoned to a court of law. A trial is scheduled for next week and to ensure you'll come, you'll be getting police escort." With that, Schoffner left the house. Lynn Jr. fell to her knees in despair.
"This is all my fault," she choked. "I... I threatened my little brother into coming to that game..."
"Wait, what?!" said Rita. Lynn Sr.'s mouth hung open.
"I threatened him... with a bat..." Lynn Jr. confessed, beginning to tear up and choke on her words. "I just wanted him to come to one of my softball games... and when he finally did... and I lost... I blamed him for it... I was upset... and I let my stubbornness and pride take control!" She pounded the floor with her fists as she said the last sentence.
"You've literally got some nerve!" said Lori hypocritically, though she might have regretted almost threatening and seriously injuring her little brother herself. "He's our brother! Did you want him to be afraid of you?!" Lynn Jr. kept her head lowered to the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with the rest of her family.
"I doubt the rest of us were any better," said Luna. "We may have all done some rather heinous things to him. And if Lincoln shows up in court... he'll likely testify against us."
"Mom?" asked Lana. "What do we do?"
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," said Rita, bending down to hug her. "I don't think there's anything we can do. What we all did to Lincoln... was unforgivable. All we can do now is enjoy whatever time we have left before... before..." There was no need for Rita to finish her sentence. The Loud family huddled together, believing that the next few days together could be their last for a long time to come.