Francisco sighs. He can't believe that Lynn is actually going through with her crazy plan; he understands that she hates doing paperwork, but to actually want to hire him, he refuses to believe it.

He watches her spin around on her chair as she stares up at the ceiling looking at the tiles, "Dad's going to love this. I get to go back to cooking, you get a better job, and he's happy that he won't have to keep checking on me – everybody wins!"

"Lynn, what makes you think that I even want to do this?"

"Cause you're here," she quickly responds.

It is true. If he didn't want this then he would have left already, "Do you honestly think that I'll be good at this?"

Lynn stops spinning and stares right into his eyes, "Better than me. Trust me, you're going to do a great job and I'm not just saying this so that I won't have to do it anymore," she says with a cheeky smile.

Lynn Sr. walks into the restaurant. He isn't looking forward to this morning meeting with his daughter, but he is done playing the good guy; month after month she has been skirting her responsibilities and he isn't going to let her do that anymore. He walks into his office and sees Lynn and Francisco with a stack of papers in front of them, "Good morning. Francisco, what are you doing here?"

Francisco gestures to Lynn, who happily tells her father, "Meet the new manager!"

He stands up and takes a deep breath before extending his hand to the elder Loud.

"But Lynn Jr., why do you need to hire a manager? No offense, Francisco," he assures the younger man.

"None taken."

"Dad, I don't like doing paperwork. It's boring and tedious and mind-numbing and it isn't exciting. I can't do it anymore," she confesses.

Francisco points out to Lynn, "You just said the same thing four different ways."

She rolls her eyes, "And he needs the job," she continues, "He can't do back-breaking labor with his bad back, and it works out even better since he's much more detail-oriented, attentive, thorough, and meticulous than I am."

The elder Loud has some hesitations. He is now tasked with teaching everything all over again but he will admit that it may be easier to teach Francisco than continue with Lynn, "Well…I guess we can give it a try. LJ, I guess you can go back to the kitchen."

Lynn happily leaves the two men alone and both of them quietly look at each other; neither one sure with how to start.

"Look, Mr. Loud, I know that you probably wanted Lynn to do this more than me, and I know that at the end of the day you have the final say since you own a majority of the restaurant, but–"

"It's fine. Honestly, it was getting a bit tiresome trying to get her to do the paperwork, and you know what? I thought that getting her to handle herself in the kitchen was going to be the hard part."

"I don't think you remember what Lynn was like in school, do you Mr. Loud?"

"Oh, what's with this whole 'Mr. Loud' thing? I told you that it was okay to call me Lynn."

Francisco shakes his head, "I don't think so, Mr. Loud."

The older man frowns, no matter how often he insists to the younger man, he refuses to ever call him by his name.

Lynn Sr. walks to a file cabinet and pulls out some of the old order forms that Lynn failed to fill out correctly and a few blank ones to Francisco to try his hand at. He opens up the daily inventory, and calls him to take a seat in his chair so that he can begin teaching the younger man.


Francisco opens the fridge and sighs, "I swear if I don't buy anything," he angrily mutters to himself.

He doesn't mind being the one to go to the grocery store; it's summer and he has plenty of free time between practice, but he struggles to stretch the money that his dad gives him. Every week, his dad gives him a meager amount of money and expects Francisco to make it work while still being nutritious.

His mom has gone to see her parents, leaving Francisco alone with his dad, but over the last couple of days, the sixteen-year-old has begun to realize how little his dad does in terms of helping his mom around the house.

"I hope he left a little more this time…" Francisco looks at the thirty dollars that his dad left him to buy food for the week. "Again," he sighs, "Fine, hopefully something's on sale."

The sixteen-year-old opens the fridge and the cabinets to see what they might need; he knows what he likes to eat, but figuring his dad out is much harder. Francisco can recall plenty of times when his mom would complain that his dad got sick of certain foods randomly, followed by complaining when his mom no longer made them.

Francisco grabs a pencil and tries to think of how he's going to make the thirty dollars work, especially with his and his dad's voracious appetites. He makes a list, while planning what his dad is likely to eat between the week, but unless they both eat pure vegetables and the same meal every day, Francisco doesn't see it working.

"Well, let's see what I can do with this," he tells himself before heading to buy food for the week.

At the grocery store, Francisco spots a familiar sight and walks towards his older brother, "Chuy?"

The older brother turns around and spots his younger brother, "Hey Pancho," he looks down at his brother's meager basket of food, "I'm guessing dad didn't give you for the week?"

"He gives me thirty dollars and tells me to stretch it for a week's worth of groceries," Francisco complains. "And then he complains when I bring home cheap ramen!"

Chuy agrees, "Yeah, I don't think that dad knows how much food really costs. He just goes to one place, grabs what he wants and barely looks at the prices, you know, unless it's beer."

Francisco nods in agreement, "Is there any way that you can help me out? I do not feel like eating the same thing all week."

The older brother knows where this is going, normally he wouldn't mind helping his brother out of a jam, but he can't spend the summer helping Francisco and cover his own expenses.

"Why don't you get a job? You're sixteen and its summer; you have plenty of time to work a part-time job. Besides, didn't you say that Lynn's dad runs a restaurant? Maybe he can hire you to something easy until mom gets home."

"I guess."

"Anything's better than dad being annoyed that you didn't buy oranges or 'healthier food'."


Lynn Sr. reviews the paperwork in front of him; it's done a lot better than when he had Lynn do it and Francisco did it in a fraction of the time. While he wasn't onboard with his daughter's idea of hiring anyone else to handle the managerial duties, he is willing to admit that it will be easier than having Lynn do it.

He gets up, "You did a great job," he tells Francisco.

"Umm…thanks?" the younger man says, confused that he was congratulating him for doing such simple work. Looking back on those papers, Francisco wonders why Lynn made it seem harder than it really is.

"No, no, I mean it. You were quick, but effective. I honestly think that we can make this work after today," an idea pops into the older man's head, "You know what we should do? We can take a quick tour of the restaurant. Now, I know you might be thinking that things haven't really changed in the last two decades, but I assure you that they have."

Francisco tries to think of what Lynn Sr. is referring to; the décor is about the same as he recalls from the last time he walked into the restaurant, but he can't imagine that much has changed especially since Lynn has mentioned some things to him in passing.

The two men take a walk around the restaurant and while it isn't much different from a few weeks ago, it is different from nearly twenty years ago; over the years, Lisa has made the restaurant more electronic to help the staff and reduce errors, call buttons on each table to grab the attention of the staff when needed, and from what Mr. Loud was saying, a high tech security system to prevent robberies.

The older man turns to him as he continues to talk, "Oh, and by the way, Francisco, you may want to invest in slip-resistant shoes. You never know when you're going to have to go into the kitchen or when you'll walk onto a recently mopped floor," Francisco takes a mental note as the two walk through the dining area, where he loses his footing on the slippery floor. "Francisco, are you okay?"

Francisco, who is on the ground and biting down on his lip, shakes his head, "Can I get a glass of water, please?"

A waitress brings him a glass of water and the busboy helps him to a chair. Francisco pulls out his medicine, "I'll get to a shoe store immediately," he groans as he moves in his seat.

Lynn Sr. takes a seat in front of him, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Francisco swallows his medicine and nods his head, "Um…sure."

He leans in and whispers, "Do you honestly want this job?"

Francisco stops and looks at the man, "Honestly… not really. I mean, it is very nice of both you and Lynn to offer me this position, but I don't have any real managerial experience and I know that that isn't an issue, but I think that the restaurant would be better off with someone who wouldn't have such a steep learning curve."

The older man nods. He was afraid Francisco was going to say that, but he knows that he can't force him into the position, despite being desperate need of someone to handle the restaurant's managerial duties.

"So you're not interested in at least giving a try? We can do a trial run like we did with LJ, what do you say?"

Francisco looks at the man's eyes; he clearly wants him to try, but he shouldn't be wasting anyone's time for something that he isn't interested or possibly capable of doing.

"Fine," sighs Francisco.


After getting out of the shower, Francisco grabs his best button-down shirt, his newly-shined shoes, and pressed pants; Lynn told him that her dad wanted him at the restaurant this afternoon and he intends to make a good impression during his job interview. She didn't mention what sort of job he would be doing at the restaurant, but regardless, he's going to have to make it work for the rest of the summer.

Upon arriving to the restaurant, he spots Lynn, who looks over at her dressed-up friend, "Aren't you a little over-dressed to be a busboy?"

"It's a job interview; I want to put my best foot forward."

"But you already got the job, I told my dad that you were looking for work and he said to show up," she reminds him.

He stands there a little speechless, not angry that he got the job, but annoyed that he's dressed up for job that risks him getting himself messy, "Maybe he'll offer me a better job."

She laughs, "Sure, he'll offer the best job in the restaurant to a guy with no restaurant experience."

He blushes in embarrassment, "It doesn't have to be the best job, but something higher than busboy."

Lynn grabs Francisco's head and turns him towards all the employees and patrons; the room is packed with people and it doesn't appear to be missing much of a beat in terms of having plenty of employees.

"Be lucky that you got busboy. Dad normally hires me and my siblings or some college kids during the summer." Lynn spots her dad, "He's right over there, just let him know that you're here and then you can get started."

Francisco walks over to the man, who is emerging from the kitchen, and he nervously greets his new boss, "Good morning, Mr. Loud."

He smiles, "Good morning, Francisco. My, you're very dressed up today. I'm guessing LJ didn't tell you that today is your first day. Well, no matter, I can get you an apron. Follow me," he tells the boy, as they walk towards his office. "We're going to fill out some paperwork to make your employment official and probably get you a slip-on cover for your shoes so that you don't slip and fall. Watch your step," he warns, pointing at the wet floor.

Francisco side steps around the puddle, "I'm thankful that you were able to find a position for me on such short notice, Mr. Loud."

"You're welcome, now I should be able to schedule you a few times a week, I know that you have baseball practice, but I can be accommodating, but please give me a heads up," he pleads, having learned his lesson after the nightmare that is scheduling Lynn.

"Of course."

"Also, because you're part-time, I can't offer a shift meal, but you do get to split the tips with the wait staff at the end of the week, and if you do a good job I can even offer a promotion to waiter if that sounds good to you."

Francisco excitedly answers, "Yes, it does."


Lynn picks up the order slip, "One order of meatloaf with mashed potatoes, hold the gravy, and a request to speak with the owner's daughter/fifth eldest sister!" she yells to the kitchen crew.

Greg glances over at Lynn and snickers a bit before he gets to work, "I don't think I can help you with that last part though, Ms. Insanity."

"It's Lynn-sanity!" she argues back. "Let's just get this order filled so I can send it out."

Lynn knows that Lisa placed this order, but she doesn't know why her younger sister wants to talk with her. Normally, Lisa arrives, eats and then goes back to work, assuming that she remembered to eat that day, so Lynn imagines that Lisa wants to talk, but she can't figure out why.

Greg hands her the plate with the meatloaf so that Lynn can complete the order and hand it off to their guest. Lynn walks the order into the dining area and looks for Lisa, who has her nose buried in a book. She sets the plate down in front of Lisa and takes a seat in front of her, "You wanted to see me?"

"Good afternoon, Lynn," Lisa says as she puts her book down and picks up her utensils to take a bite from her meatloaf. "Pardon, I do not wish to miss my usual eating time."

"Okay, so why did you want to talk to me?"

"I wanted to ask about Francisco and his whereabouts. I have been trying to get in contact with him, but he keeps ignoring my calls."

Lynn raises an eyebrow, "Why are you trying to get in contact with him?"

"He was my former assistant and part of an experiment and I wanted to do a follow-up after being off of my medication for the last couple of weeks."

Lynn isn't sure about what she's talking about. He told her that he was seeing Lisa, but after the hospital incident, she didn't ask him too many questions, especially since he hasn't seemed to different than before, "Well he's been here, and at home, and with Elena, sometimes at Romano's, or the gym, and the hardware store, sometimes under my car trying to fix something–"

"I don't need such a detailed list. Is he here right now?"

"I can go get him."

Lynn heads over to the back office. She quickly glances back and sees Lisa staring in her direction; creeping Lynn out.

She knocks on the door and walks inside to see Francisco making the schedule on the computer, "Lisa's here."

Francisco immediately stops what he is doing and looks over at her, "What? Why–Why does she want to t-talk with me?"

She shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, I think she was just checking up on your that drug trial that you're doing for her."

He scratches his face, "T-Tell her that I'll be out in a bit."

Lynn notices his nervous demeanor, "Are you okay? You seem a bit jittery. Wait, is Lisa's drug making you having side effects? Is she making you do weird tests to see if you're okay? I know that she says things like that, but I wanna make sure that you're fine or I'll tell her off if you're suffering because of her," she offers.

Francisco shakes his head, he feels a headache coming on, and he grabs his medicine from the drawer.

"Why are you taking that? You took it a few hours ago."

"I took it when we got to work, and enough time has passed since I last took it."

Lynn doesn't question him about the time, he has his watch to help him remember when he last took his medicine, "Wait, didn't you say that your medicine was once a day?"

"Lisa gave me a different kind after I fell off the roof and broke my thumb," he tells her.

"Alright, well I have to get back before the kitchen gets backed up," Lynn tells him, "Let me know if she gives you a hard time, I've always wanted to tell a customer to scram."

He walks past her, "Do that when…when you have a decent something…"

Francisco's heart begins to race as he approaches the table that Lisa is sitting at. He knows what she wants to talk about and now there was no way of escaping without drawing attention himself.

Lisa looks over at the man, who appears to be glancing at everyone around. She makes a mental note of what she sees; he appears to be neglecting his personal appearance, based off of his messy hair, he appears tired and paranoid as though worried about what other people can hear, especially since he's assuming what the conversation is about.

"Can we go somewhere else?" he asks, hoping to keep the patrons around them from overhearing their conversation.

"As you wish," she answers, receiving confirmation on her previous suspicion.

The two walk to the back of the restaurant and Lisa stares at the man, who is currently scratching his arms while staring out in space.

Lisa stares at him and asked, "Are you itchy?"

'What?' he thinks to himself; unaware that he was beginning to scratch his arms, "No, why do you ask?"

"No reason," she says with a subtle smile. "May I ask why you haven't returned to the experiment?"

"I've been busy…I don't feel…I don't feel…" he repeats, trying to think of the word to finish his sentence.

"Pain?" Lisa finishes, "It's only a small vial of blood, I can run the blood work, so we can continue the treatment."

Francisco shakes his head, "There's no point…I'm…" he doesn't continue. His head feels as though it's splitting in two as it tries to make sense of what is happening in front of him.

Knowing that Francisco isn't going to admit anything, or take part in the experiment at the moment, she bids him a farewell, "I see. Since you claim that you cannot return, I should go."

"Great!" he snaps, as he slowly walks back into the restaurant. "Maybe next time don't waste my time!"

Lisa watches him go; he stumbles on his feet as he steps towards the entrance, one hand on the side of the restaurant to maintain stability, and the other on his head tell her enough to know what has been going on with him.

She hates to see him like this, and promptly sends a text to her sister before heading inside to finish her meal.


Francisco grabs the coffee pot and refills the table's cups, before heading back to his busser's station. Despite the tedious nature of the job, he enjoys being quietly left alone as he works, and Mr. Loud told him that he has the chance to become a waiter if he is interested in the position.

At the moment, he has been working for only a week and in that time, he's learned that Mr. Loud, and by extension the staff, are friendly people which makes the job much better than he anticipated. Every shift, Francisco takes an opportunity to become more efficient at his job, which includes learning from the more experienced staff members.

He looks over at the other busboy, who is taking a quick bite of a discarded mac and cheese bite. The busboy notices the younger boy looking at him, "What? Old man Loud doesn't mind so long as the customers don't see us."

Francisco isn't sure if he's telling the truth, but his coworker, who has been on the job longer than him, would know better than him. As he hears the man chew on the cheesy noodles, Francisco gets an idea; if Mr. Loud doesn't mind, then he could probably take some home so that he doesn't have to worry about making meals for his dad or himself when he gets home.

He steps closer and whispers, "Are we…are we allowed to take some home? You know, in containers?"

The busboy shrugs his shoulder, "You can try, just get a container and keep it hidden so that no one takes it from you, last thing you want to do is share an appetizer."

He made sense to Francisco and the teen makes a plan to grab a to-go container, or two, in an effort to help out until he gets his first paycheck.

As he continues his shift, he walks the dirty dishes back to the station and in the open to-go container he puts in the food that he's sure that the patrons didn't bite into. It doesn't take long for Francisco to get enough to cover him for the night, but with his shift only half-way over, he's a little tempted to get another container.

The teen is excited; no more suffering through his dad's egg, onion, and pepper dishes, but also no more hearing him complain about how he cooks.

Francisco takes a bite from the mac and cheese bite and it's just like he remembers the chef's cooking to be – warm and comforting, even if it is an appetizer.

Throughout the shift, Francisco imagines the tastes of all the food that he is storing away. Ever since his mom left to see her parents, Francisco and his dad haven't had the greatest of meals, mostly because neither one knew how to cook well and while this isn't the technically a meal, it is going to taste better than the overly salty or overly spicy meals that either De Los Reyes man could cook.

Francisco looks around to make sure that no one is watching him as he places some of the leftover food in a to-go container. However, he doesn't hear Lynn Sr., who is slowly stepping towards him until he feels the man's hand on his arm.

The teenager stops and begins to panic as he turns his head towards the man.

"Care to explain?"


As he waits for Lynn to finish cleaning out the kitchen, Francisco takes a look at his bank account and groans as he sees that the account is still low on funds. It's bad enough that Kiké and Lynn's arguments wreak havoc on his house, which he has to fix, but he can't keep doing so, or his bank account is going to be depleted.

Francisco's phone buzzes – it's Caroline.

We need to talk

Francisco looks at the message from Caroline and wonders what she wants to talk about. He texts her back, but he can feel anxiety begin to creep in as his mind wonders what she could possibly want to talk about.

Caroline calls him back, "Hey Francisco."

"Hey…what's going on?"

She tries to think about her words carefully, she can't see his face and knows that he is likely to lie and that he is doing well.

"I was calling about Elena," she starts. "She's been mentioning headaches and how hard it is to study at your place on weekends."

"Yeah, Lynn and Kiké are not making it easy. I've been trying to get them to stop fighting or causing so much noise, but they're stubborn."

"You brother has been there for while, what's going on?"

"Nothing, he's just–"

"Hiding out?" she interrupts. "Look, I know that he's your brother, but we both know that it's best that he isn't around Elena and you."

Francisco knows what she's implying. Ever since she's met Kiké, she's been apprehensive about him being near her, especially after she found out why he visits every few months and why he was excessively nice to her.

"I'm just worried about you."

He sighs, "Look, he'll be gone before we know it; you know that he doesn't stick around Royal Woods for long."

"Then why is he still in town?"

Francisco doesn't have an answer to that question; heck, he doesn't even know why Kiké won't leave, especially when he and Lynn keep fighting every other chance they get. Caroline does make a point, unless it's to his advantage, Kiké doesn't stick around anywhere for long.

"Can you at least tell me this; is the reason that he visited in the first place the same reason that he did when we were together?"

Francisco stays quiet; she knows why his brother is here, it's the same reason that they split up. For nearly ten years, Francisco was doing a decent job of keeping his drug use under control, especially since Kiké doesn't travel near Royal Woods that often, but with his newfound stresses, he can't help, but use a little more than normal.

"Maybe it's best if Elena doesn't visit you for a while."

"What?! Why?!"

"Why? You know why. I've been patient and I've let you see her, but having your brother around isn't good for either of you and I don't want Elena to see you at your lowest…I'm sorry Francisco, but I've made up my mind."

"You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can, I've seen you at your lowest, and I know that that's where you're going right now. You haven't been acting like yourself, and I know that you have been able to pull yourself back up, but this is the third time that this has happened." Caroline firmly tells him. She can sense that he's upset, but their daughter's well-being comes first, and Francisco can't provide that for her at the moment. Her voice breaks, "I have been kind enough to you, but I can't let Elena see you go down that path. When you take your problem seriously and decide to get real help, then maybe we can talk about this again…goodbye, Francisco."

She hangs up before he can say anything.

Francisco punches his steering wheel in frustration. He doesn't have a problem, he has everything under control, but once again someone else has to ruin everything, and now he won't get to see his daughter any more.

"I don't have a problem!" he yells at the top of his lungs.

He keeps punching the steering wheel, but he doesn't notice Lynn as she approaches the truck. She opens the door and he immediately stops.

"Sorry I took so long, but you won't believe what we found in the tomato crate. Are you okay?" she asks, concerned about his sour mood.

He nods his head, "Yeah, let's just go home."


Lynn Sr. kneads the dough for the family's pizza dinner, he keeps thinking about what happened earlier at the restaurant; Lynn never mentioned that Francisco's family was struggling to put food on their table, although he can't imagine that the boy would bring it up to begin with.

'I guess that explains the job and wanting food to take home,' he thinks to himself.

He's conflicted about what to do with Francisco; he's never had an employee taking food home, but at the same time, he can't be upset if the teenager was doing it for his family.

Lynn walks into the kitchen to grab a pudding cup and asks her dad, "How's it been going with Francisco? Was he the hard worker that I told you he was?" she asks with pride at her recommending her friend for the job opening.

He nods, "Yeah, he definitely worked hard. He's so good, I'm almost thinking of calling him Mr. Responsible."

It isn't a lie; Francisco is doing a good job and doesn't skip a beat in terms of making sure that everything is running as well as it can on his end, but this revelation is troubling him. He's known Francisco to be a good boy, and in their short time working together, he's proved it, but he doesn't like having to confront employees on such negative terms.

All throughout dinner, Lynn Sr. thought about how he plans on resolving his problem, but he feels knots in his stomach as he replays what Francisco say about his financially struggling family.

Later that evening, when the lights upstairs are turned off, Lynn Sr. knows that he has a little privacy to figure out what he's going to do; he feels bad about Francisco's situation, especially since he's his daughter's friend, but he warned the boy too.

Rita looks at her husband's notepad which is full of scratched out phrases, "What's wrong?"

"It's Francisco, I found him stealing food."

"Oh no."

"It wasn't fresh, just the stuff that we were going to throw out, but he told me that his family needed it," Lynn Sr. reasons.

Rita can understand why her husband is upset; Francisco is Lynn's friend, but he can't go unpunished for something that he should know is wrong.

He rests his head on his wife's shoulder, "What should I do? I mean, I didn't catch him in front of the others, but how's it going to look if I let him off the hook?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Rita says in an effort to comfort her husband. "He seems like a good boy."

Lynn Sr. nods his head, "Wait! I have an idea."

The next day, he calls Francisco into his office to discuss the incident. He has gone over what he is going to tell the teen, and he is going to be firm, but fair; he's not going to punish Francisco harshly, but it is still going to be a punishment.

Francisco takes a seat in front of his boss, "Look, Mr. Loud, I know that you warned me that I wasn't allowed to take food, but–"

Lynn Sr. raises his hand to stop Francisco, "I understand your reason, and I know that things can get tough and I understand that you wanted to help."

"You can take the money from my paycheck," he offers.

"Maybe…I mean, I am, but I am also going to have you do grunt work, like throwing out the trash, hosing down the trash cans, cleaning up any large messes on the floor, and clearing out our traps . One more thing," he takes out a container of food, "since your family is struggling, I am willing to help out, but I want you to remember that you cannot do what you did ever again. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now I don't want you to disappoint me again," Francisco nods his head. "Now, go out there and make me proud," he tells the teen, who hustles out of his office.


Francisco and Lynn walk into a quiet and empty house; both are surprised that they aren't hearing any loud noises like they usually do, and they wonder if their 'house guest' has finally left. Lynn runs down the hallway and looks at the spare room, but is quickly disappointed that Kiké's belongings are still in the room.

Disappointed, Lynn tells Francisco, "Well, the bastard is still here, but at least he isn't here right now."

He leans against the counter to rest, "Really, Lynn? You're calling him names now too?"

She crosses her arms, "He does it to me, it's only fair. Besides, I'm annoyed with how he's freeloading here and doesn't seem to leave for anything." Lynn opens the fridge, "What are you in the–" she spots two large boxes full of beer and quickly closes the fridge.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you want take-out? I can go out and get something to eat, like pizza, Chinese, or burgers. I'm really craving a bacon cheeseburger."

Francisco notices that she's walking towards her keys, "Why go out? We just got home."

Lynn tries to think of an excuse, "I've been cooking all day, I could use a break."

"I guess that fair, I'm kinda in the mood for Chinese, but I guess I can be swayed into eating a double bacon cheeseburger, with cheddar," he reminds her.

Lynn turns to him, "I know, I know. Do you want a concrete?"

"Surprise me, but no chocolate," he tells her, knowing full well that Lynn will steal bites of his frozen custard.

Lynn pouts and walks out to go for their dinner. When Lynn is gone, Francisco opens the fridge to get a bottle of water; he spots the boxes of beer and he figures out why she left. The boxes were taking up most of the space in the fridge and she can't easily avoid them. Francisco sighs and takes the two boxes out to his truck; he figures that the cold weather shouldn't ruin them and he can put them back whenever Lynn is at work.

Normally, Lynn has a good grip on avoiding temptation, but between work and his brother, he can see why it would be tempting to drink in an effort to let out some stress. Francisco looks down at one of the open boxes; he has never consumed alcohol in his life, and he's never been tempted before, but he can't stop staring at the cans in the box. He shakes his head, for now the only thing that mattered was getting the beer out of the house – for Lynn's sake.

After placing the boxes in the passenger seat for the night, Francisco texts Kiké to tell him that he moved the drinks to his truck. He can already imagine that his brother isn't going to be happy and is probably going to say something, but Francisco isn't planning on checking his phone to see what Kiké says.

Francisco sighs.

A few minutes, he hears the front door, and he hears yelling as Lynn and Kiké argue. Lynn smacks the man's head, as she complains that he stole fries from the bag.

"I didn't order food for you, you damn freeloader!"

"I was only gone for an hour, so I don't get to eat?!"

"Preferably you'd leave and get your own damn food!"

Kiké steals a bag and runs ahead of her to the kitchen. He dumps the food on the table, but before he can grab anything, Lynn takes the burger and tosses it to Francisco, who fails to catch it.

The two argue back and forth, as Lynn attempts to keep the fries and concrete away from Kiké.

Francisco angrily bites down on his hamburger as he hears the two arguing; it's their fault that he won't be able to see Elena. As they continue insulting each other back and forth, he feels his blood boil, and Francisco loses it, "Would you both shut up?! All I wanted was some damn peace and quiet, but because you two can't get over this stupid imaginary fight, I have to deal with all this noise as it splits my head in two!"

He grabs his car keys and slams the door shut leaving the two alone. He doesn't care what they do, but he can't be in that house any longer.

After so much time hearing them, he needs a break from it all. Francisco speeds off in his truck; he doesn't care where he goes, he doesn't care about the snow, and he doesn't care to answer Lynn's phone calls.

Francisco stops at the park. The parking lot is dim, but at least he'll be alone. His thoughts creep to what Caroline said and how he was not going to be able to see Elena. The last time that he didn't get to see her for an unknown period of time, felt like hell. He hates being the type of dad that only sees his daughter on the weekends, but not having the option to see her is even more nightmarish.

Between shaky breaths, Francisco tries to convince himself, "I've done it before…it…it can't be that hard…"

He thinks about Lynn, and how even she can't completely escape her demons – every sports game; there are beer commercials and drinkers, at family events, while the Louds are just casual drinkers, the temptation is there at some family events.

"She did it…she quit…I can too…but…she doesn't…I have a…a medical reason…I need to take," he swallows, "I need to…to take my pills…she can live without…alcohol…"

Francisco tightly grasps on the steering wheel as he stares at the road; his head is throbbing after hearing Kiké and Lynn for so many weeks without end and for how he's going to handle being away from his only child.

He pulls out his medicine, "When was the last time I took these?" he asks himself.

He knows that not a lot of time has passed, but he needs something to stop all the pain. Francisco takes two pills, but he can still feel the pain.

"I can't take any more pills…why did I even…?" he asks himself as he tries to think about why he started.

Snow begins to fall onto the windshield.

"That's why…" he mutters, as tears begin to form in his eyes. "It's all my fault…"

He turns to the cans of beer, pops it open, and begins to drink.


A lot later than usual, but at least I'm back to my usual update day.

To answer the review questions

1. The last time I mentioned that the story would end on chapter 60, but after going over my outline, I think that it's possible that it could end somewhere between chapters 50 and 60 now.

2. It depends on what characters you're referring to - Lisa, Lily, Lucy, Rocky, Lynn Sr. and Rita will appear, but the rest of the Louds are mostly reserved for past shots

3. Points to you for knowing where I'm heading with the story, but I assume that in the actual show, Dr. Lopez is a child or family psychologist, so while she could have been useful for younger Lynn and Francisco, she won't be much help to the adult versions, plus I'm not fond of Dr. Lopez being the go-to psychologist used for every problem, but it is still possible for Elena

4. Excluding Lynn and Francisco, I used my favorite pairing at the moment for all the siblings from Lori to Lucy and flipped coins to determine if they would be together for the story. I figure that in reality, not everyone stays together with their childhood sweetheart, so it would add a small element of realism, and if I ever decide to continue with the Growing Up universe using other Louds I can explain. However, for this story, it seems like it was for naught since I don't mention them at all, but I did keep notes regardless. The only reason why Luan and Benny not being together is mentioned is because Lynn plays a role and it pops up in the story later.

As always, I would like to thank you for reading, and I appreciate your patience