Everyone in the house got silent as Lincoln dropped the bomb on them. It couldn't be possible, this had to be a nightmare that they all were having at the same time and would wake up at any moment.

Except that this was real life, they were pretty much awake and this was actually happening. Even if they tried to deny it, there was nowhere to hide from the truth.

To say that the girls were hurt would be using soft words. They all felt a sharp knife making its way through their flesh and muscle to pierce their hearts. It hurt, it fucking hurt like hell; they all wanted to cry, they wanted to run and cry their hearts out. But their parents were present, how could they explain? They had to suck it and endure the pain.

"L-Lincoln..." his father said. "Is...is that true? Are you and Sam...really..."

"Yes, dad." Lincoln replied with a stoic. "It's true, we're expecting a baby."

Lynn Sr. walked towards his son with a look of disbelief in his face. Lincoln sighed mentally, knowing that this was one of the many outcomes. He knew his parents would never accept it, they could...

What his father did next left him speechless. He put his hands on his shoulders, looked him straight in the eye and hugged him, he hugged him tight as tears formed in his eyes. Lynn Sr. patted his back with pride as he let out quiet sobs. Lincoln was surprised by this reaction; he expected him to be mad, angry that his son decided to take a responsibility this big at such young age. He was aware that, even if he was an adult, to them he would still be their little boy, and this could be a huge change.

"Rita," he said to his wife. "We're gonna be grandparents...Isn't that beautiful?"

Lincoln expected his mother to have a similar reaction, actually, he expected her to be the one happy with this and his father angry. Unfortunately, her reaction wasn't that good. She looked just as surprised as his father, but it wasn't pride what he saw in her eyes. It was disappointment.

"Lincoln..." she began. "What have you done?"

Lincoln looked at his mother's eyes and immediately he closed his eyes. He couldn't help but remember all the things that led to this result: Sam's hips swinging back and forth as she rode him all night long, her sweet voice moaning his name, he taking her from behind as she turned to give her body to him as an offering...and that was just the first day.

Nine months have passed since the first time they were together; whenever Sam's parents weren't home, she and Lincoln would succumb to their own lust in her bed; they fucked like animals every time, letting their instincts take control over them and drive over that little piece of heaven where they would lay together after their love making.

But last time, around a month ago happened something that Lincoln wasn't expecting. He was sitting on the bed, stripped naked as he tried to open the condom. He was having some troubles trying to open the bag without damaging the product. Out of all sudden, Sam snatched the condom form his hand and pushed him to the bed. She immediately climbed on top of him, blocking his way out with her legs. Lincoln tried to say something, but the sight in front of him made his words die in his mouth. She was naked except for a tank top that did little to hide her beautiful, tasty melons; he literally could see those little, pink pierced nipples peeking under her shirt, her soft, milky, tattooed legs at each side of him...it all made his little buddy come to life faster than a gazelle. He saw Sam holding the condom in her hand just to throw it away as if it was trash. For any other guy this could be a huge red flag, but as it was stated before, Lincoln's rational side was weak when he was with Sam.

"You're not coming out of this alive, my love..." She whispered in his ear before grabbing the bottom of her shirt and lift it over her head. At this point Lincoln was on sabbatical, and in his place was an hungry animal looking for a prey.

And unfortunately for Sam, she looked delicious.

They did it once, twice, three times, but it wasn't until the fourth time that he stopped feeling guilty and let his inner predator out.

Lincoln had anticipated that something like this might happen once he let them know the news, he honestly was hoping for the best, he hoped that his parents would take the new with joy; he knew exactly how his sisters would take it, but he could do nothing to avoid it.

"Listen, I know what you are thinking, mom," Lincoln replied. "I'm aware that we are too young and this is a big responsibility, but...Sam and I have been together for a while and, well, we decided we wanted to be together."

"No, Lincoln!" Rita snapped. "You don't have an idea of what you have gotten into! You're still too young, you still have a ton of things to do, to experiment; you had so many opportunities in life and you threw it all away!"

"Who says that I can't do those things?!" Lincoln countered. "Jesus Christ, mom, it's just a baby! It's not like I lost a limb or got locked away! I'm just having a baby! You should be happy about it!"

Rita calmed down in a matter of seconds after seeing his son's reaction; seeing her only son, her little boy so focused, so decided to carry on with his plan...made her realize that he was no longer her little boy. Lincoln had grown up, he was a man now; she had to affront that he was mature enough to make his own decisions, he was mature enough to know the consequences of his actions. It hurt, but it was for the best.

"I...understand, Lincoln." she replied. "But I still don't think it was a good idea."

"There's no turning back, mom, what's done is done, and we're having a baby." Lincoln said.

Rita sighed. Even if she thought this wasn't a good idea, she still could support his son with his decision. Rita walked towards his son and, just like her husband, she hugged him as well. "You're right, Lincoln, I'm sorry I got all worked up." she said. "And we're going to help you in every way we can."

Lincoln returned the hug, feeling his mother's love going through his body; he understood that his mother meant her words "Thanks, mom," Lincoln replied gratefully. "I really appreciate it."

"Tell me Lincoln what is it? A boy? A girl? Oh! Don't tell me it's twins! Man I can't wait!" His father asked eagerly.

"Calm down, dad," Lincoln replied. "We haven't find out the gender, but...something inside tells me that we're having a girl."

"I'm so happy for you, sweetie," Rita said. "But you need to find a way to support your wife and child and..."

"I know that, mom," he replied. "I'll start to work at MC Comics next month, I've been in conversations with some people and they want to hire me; they like my work, and they say that if we come to an agreement I can publish my own comic."

"That's great news, son!" Lynn Sr. responded. "I'm sure you'll do a great job!"

"Thanks, dad. And Sam says that she's gonna get a job too, but as long as she's pregnant she will have to rest at home. We don't want to risk it"

"I'm so happy to see you making your own life, Lincoln," Lynn Sr. said. "And you can be sure we're gonna be the best grandparents! Gosh I can't wait!"

Lynn Sr. was excited to know that he was gonna be a grandfather. Rita, even though she wasn't entirely convinced, couldn't help but smile as the imagined a little girl running around the house, playing, making noise and asking her for cookies. Something inside her bloomed, something she thought had died when her children grew up.

Eventually everyone realised that it was too late to be awake. The parents went to their room, waiting for the sun to come so they could go and talk with Sam's parents. Lincoln was left alone with his sisters, they didn't say anything; they didn't even looked him in the eye once, they couldn't.

Lincoln knew this was the hardest blow they had taken yet, and once more it was the consequence of one of his decisions. Why? Why they had to suffer for his decisions? Why couldn't he live his life in peace? Why the fuck his choices had to impact someone else's lives? He just wanted to be a good person, be the best brother a girl could ever ask for, a good boyfriend, and now his priority was learn how to be a good husband and the perfect father.

Lincoln got up from the sofa and walked towards the stairs, at the bottom he gave one last glance at his sisters, who didn't look back; maybe it was for the best, he wasn't sure if he would be able to resist the disappointment, the sadness, the pain in their eyes. He sighed one last time before going to his room.

None of the sisters said anything, they just got up form the couch and walked upstairs, they headed to their respective rooms, dragging their feet as zombies walking without a course.

The following day their parents woke up early in the morning, they wanted to go and talk to Sam's parents about all the preparations for the baby's arrival. They wanted to celebrate; this was their first grandchildren, and probably Sam's parents as well as well.

The sisters were aware of this; their parents encourage them to go with them but they had already thought in excuses not to go. Lori said she wanted to stay home and do some work she had left from yesterday. Leni had to go and buy some fabrics, Lola, Lili and Luan would go with her, so they didn't have to think in an excuse. Luna had job pending as well, she had to review several songs and scripts, and send the clients the fixed versions. Lynn had gone running earlier, much before their parents had woken up. Lucy had to go to the book store to organize the new books that arrived the day before, Lana said she had compromised already to volunteer at the animal shelter, and Lisa needed to work on her nanobots.

All the sisters gathered in the living room. They held each other in an effort to soothe the pain; they were grieving, their love had been rejected, and if they felt there was a very little chance, it now was all lost. Lincoln had sealed the deal with Sam, and they couldn't do anything about it.

Luna was being held by Luan, her comedian sister stroked her hair, trying to calm her and calming herself in the process. The rocker didn't cry, didn't shed a single tear, she didn't show any emotion at all. Luna got up from the sofa and walked upstairs, Luan tried to follow her, but when Luna entered their room she locked the door.

This triggered an alarm in Luan's head, who tried to open the door desperately, she knocked, hit and kicked the door, but didn't get to open it. The noised alerted her sisters, who arrived at the scene.

"Luna!" Luan yelled. "Please, open the door!"

But it didn't happened. For moments they waited for a response, a noise, anything that told them that her sister was okay and didn't commit a stupid act.

The distinctive sound of a guitar being plugged on an amp was heard, and the sisters let out a sigh, but as relieved as they were, they couldn't help but wonder what her sister had planned; as far as they remembered, she had smashed her guitar at the garage months ago.

The beautiful sound of an acoustic guitar began to sound throughout the house, it took them a while to recognize the song, but eventually realization hit them like a slap across the face.

Loving you

Isn't the right thing to do

How can I ever change things

That I feel?

It's been months since Luna had even touched one of her instruments, let alone play one, so when the acoustic guitar began to sound they were more than confused. The guitar wasn't properly tuned, but it still sounded decent.

If I could

Baby, I'd give you my world

Open up

Everything's waiting for you

Her voice was filled with sentiment. They could feel what she wanted to transmit with each word: sadness, sorrow, pain; and even when it's been time since she last played, her voice sounded as beautiful as it had always sounded. They realized why Luna had choose that song; it fitted perfectly with their current situation.

You can go your own way

Go your own way

You can call it

Another lonely day

Each sister was touched by the song: Lori was trying to be strong while Lana and Lily hiding their faces on her chest, however, the tears couldn't be contained, so she stopped resisting and let them flow along with some sobs.

Leni covered her face with her hands, much like Lori, she too was crying; all those months of keeping for herself her own feelings, all this time of making them aside to comfort her sisters was taking its toll on her. She tried to be strong, but failed miserably.

Luan had her arms crossed on her chest as she looked down, she knew Luna better than anyone else, this was her own way to cope, to deal with the pain; even when she was happy to finally hear her voice singing a song again, the song evoked a river of emotions in her.

You can go your own way

Go your own way

You can call it

Another lonely day

You can go your own way

Go your own way

Lucy was holding both her hands in front of her. There was a reason why she covered her eyes: they say eyes are the window to the soul, and for Lucy the soul was the most precious thing a human could offer, something that would remain even in the afterlife (she didn't believe the 'till death do us part'); over the years she had seen many guys who were interested in her; though their looks were good, their soul was stained and sometimes as black as her hair. Unlike them, Lincoln's soul was something else; it was as white as his hair, it was so pure, so beautiful, it was the most beautiful souls she had ever seen. She wanted him, she wanted to show her soul to him, she wanted him to be the first guy on seeing her red eyes; she was sure he'd be the only one who would understand the meaning of the act. Lincoln had bonded his soul with Sam's, and the result of said union was a new life. Right now, tears rolled down his face along with her mascara.

Lola was sitting on the ground, her back against the wall as she hugged her knees to cover her crying face. She understood better than anyone that this dream they were chasing so desperately was never meant to be, they were brother and sister, she knew it was wrong and would be a huge scandal if anyone ever found out. Yet, she too understood that love works in mysterious ways; she couldn't choose who she'd fall in love with, but when she began to realize that those feelings were towards Lincoln, her brother, she foolishly decided to go for it. Lola had promised to herself, and most important, to Lincoln that she'd try to be a better person; she promised that if Lincoln didn't choose her, she'd be the first person to congratulate him and whoever he had chosen. She understood that it would be difficult and mostly painful, but she would gladly take the risk.

Now that it was happening, now that he not only didn't choose her, didn't choose any of her sisters, but choose another girl and went as far as having a child with her... it was way worse than she thought. She tried to be strong, but the pain was just too much to bear with.

Lana decided to hug her twin sister. The tomboy couldn't help but think back at the moment when she kissed him; she thought that kiss meant something, she didn't care what, just wanted to know that Lincoln had felt something for her. But deep down inside...she knew that was a possibility that wasn't likely to occur. The odds were very small, if the competence within the house had reduced her opportunities, with Sam she understood that it was near to impossible.

But to know that Lincoln had not only crossed the final line, to know that he was having a child with another girl...it burned, she rather be dead than dealing with the pain; she knew she lacked the courage to do something, but the thought had crossed her mind.

Lisa...she was having some troubles. As time passed she had become better at expressing her feelings, and this had helped her to get through this bad experience; her experiments had help her in some extent to distract her mind, but yet this was too much for her. She had her arms crossed on her chest, her eyes closed ash she listened to her sister's song.

If I could

Baby, I'd give you my world

Open up

Everything's waiting for you

You can go your own way

Go your own way

Luna eventually ended the song. The sisters were barely standing; they were hurt, they felt the pain her sister has been going through, they knew she was the most affected wit all of this.

Out of all sudden, they understood why Luna did this. Though hurt, she understood that her sisters needed some release; Luna knew that they were trying to cope with this situation as much as she has been, but, unlike her, they've been trying to suppress their sadness by doing other things. Luna knew that it would work in the short term, but as time passed it would only bring them pain, like an untreated wound it would cause more troubles.

Yesterday's event, when Lincoln confessed that he was having a child was the last drop. She knew that all that accumulated emotions would come back at them, and she feared that this would make them do something stupid. That's why she played that specific song, to help them release, to help them empty their heart's content and help them move on.

Luna unplugged her guitar and took it into its case, she had a feeling that she would eventually need it, but she also knew that it wouldn't be in the near future. Luna felt much better herself, she played that song at first to help her sisters, but it ended up helping her was well.

She unlocked the door and walked out of her room. She found all her sisters (except for Lynn, she'd help her later) looking down with tears in their eyes. She understood that they needed some time to process this, she felt she too needed some time herself. But what they did next was something she didn't expect.

They all hugged her, they shared their love and gratitude with her; they all wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone in this, just as she helped them release those feelings they were holding in their chest, they'd help her to get over this. They all would be fine.

The day eventually passed, their parents along with Lincoln retuned home with joy in their faces. The talk with Sam's parents went better than expected; they, just as the Louds, were excited to know that her daughter was having their first grandchildren, and were more than pleased to know that their son-in-law's parents were as happy as they were.

The first thing that Lincoln saw as he entered the house was all his sisters waiting for him in the living room, they all looked at him in the eye with a smile in their faces, walked over him and, in a totally unexpected move, hugged him tightly, congratulating him for the child he was expecting. This, while a very welcome gesture, took him by surprise; he didn't know how to react, yeah he returned the hug, but it was more an instinct.

Lincoln understood that this was taking a huge effort from their part, and could only imagine how it would feel to have the love of your life taken away forever. He knew they were hurt, he knew this was a painful experience and he was the responsible. But there was nothing he could do to relieve it, it was too late to back up, and even if he could...he wouldn't do it, it wouldn't be fair for Sam, for their parents, for the product of their love that was on her way. He was gonna be a father, that made him happy.

But said happiness had its cost.

Theirs.

Sleep time eventually came, and they all walked to their respective rooms. Lincoln was tired, even if the day with his in-laws went good he was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Up to this point, when everything was said and done, when the cards had been drawn there was no point in worrying about it. But if that's the case, why couldn't he stop thinking about it? He didn't know. Maybe he was too tired, and a good night of sleep would help him.

The Sharp residence was in total silence at that hour. The parents had gone to sleep right away after they arrived, Simon was staying at a friend's house, and Sam was on her bed, reading an article about the cares she had to take to have a healthy pregnancy; it surprised her all the things she had to do, all the things she had to avoid an the food that some people claimed that were bad for the baby.

It was a lot of work, just by looking at the lists the couldn't help but feel overwhelmed; this change his whole routine, she could no longer play with the band, first Luna left and now she would be on maternity leave. No more moshpits, no more night clubs, no more parties...

But she knew it would definitely be worth it. After all, this was the proof of the love that she professes for Lincoln, and the love that he feel for her. She also knew it was all her idea when the heat took over her head and she threw away the condom; the idea of him releasing inside of her, felling her womb with his love was something that worried her, but it also made her so damn horny.

She let the tablet on the nightstand and turned the lamp off. Her bed was next to a bay window, there she had several things like her alarm, a radio, some plushes, and a photo of her and Lincoln. She took the photograph, Lincoln looked so handsome, so happy...

She pressed the photograph against her chest, it made her so happy to know that she had everything she wanted; she was gonna have a life with such a good, caring man, her family supported her...

She left the photograph back on its place and put a hand on her belly, the product of their love was growing inside her, and she couldn't wait to have her on her arms.

She eventually drifted into her sleep, closing her eyes and with a smile on her face. Life was good, but what she didn't know was that, in order for her happiness to occur, the happiness of other people had to be sacrificed.

Ten people, to be exact.