Lucy slowly approaches you with a pillow.

"A little smotherly love is all you'll need."

The pillow gets closer and closer.

Mama Leni

One bright sunny Sunday afternoon, Lincoln, Lucy, and Grim were watching television together.

"Today on World's Wildest Wildlife, we examine the huntsman spider! Usually found in warm to tropical regions of the world, these crab-like spiders are known to have a body as long as one inch with legs reaching three to five times that length!"

Leni walked in with a tray of sodas, "Hey you three! I thought you'd like some refreshments!"

"Watch as the huntsman spider immobilizes its prey WITH VENOM before DEVOURING IT!"

Leni screamed and tossed the tray at the TV, Grim catching it with his magic before it could break the screen. "Why in the world are you three watching that?" Leni asked.

"It's violent." Lucy bluntly said.

"It's educational." Lincoln added.

"But mostly violent." Grim remarked.

Leni made a face and shielded her eyes from the TV, "Ugh, well you guys keep watching your gross spider show, I'm gonna go look for sewing materials in the attic."

"Okay, just don't you go rooting around in me trunk." Grim warned.

Leni nodded as she went up the stairs, "Don't worry Grim, I know better!" soon enough, the familiar sound of Leni bumping into a wall was heard, "Oof! I'm okay!"

Lincoln nervously looked up the stairs, "Hmm...shouldn't we go help her?"

Lucy shrugged, "Eh, we'll step in if she screams loudly enough."

Lincoln turned back to the TV, "Yeah, that's how things usually go in this house."

Grim shrugged, "If it works, it works, now hush! This is me favorite part!"

Leni made her way into the attic where Grim had made his home away from home. She carefully walked through it without trying to disturb his items, "Let's see, Grim's trunk, Grim's bed, Grim's sickle, Grim's demonic pentagram, various boxes of random junk we never get rid of, oh there we go!"

Believing her prize was in one of the boxes of junk, Leni opened a couple and dug through them, tossing out various items that were not categorized as sewing materials. I know you may be asking why Leni doesn't just go to a hobby shop for said materials, and the answer is that if she did, it would ruin the plot. Also, sewing materials are crazy expensive.

One of the items she tossed out was one of Lynn Sr.'s bowling balls which rolled into the gutter of the attic until it hit Grim's trunk. The strike caused the trunk to open, causing a musky miasma to flow into the air. Leni soon noticed a foul stench and looked up from the boxes, "Did someone forget to walk Charles or Lana again?" Leni turned her attention to the odor and saw that Grim's trunk was open, she gasped, "Oh no! Something of Grim's must have gone bad!"

Leni hurried over and looked into the trunk, finding all kinds of unspeakable horrors, and also an oddly large egg. Leni picked up the egg, "Maybe this has gone rotten?" she wondered out loud. After pulling the egg out, the trunk shut and the horrendous smell mysteriously went away.

The dim yet sweet girl paused a moment, she sniffed at the large egg in her hand. It hadn't gone rotten at all! In fact, it had a peculiar scent to it. Leni smiled a bit, "Huh, I wonder what this was doing in there? Ooh, or what kind of bird laid this egg? Must've been a big one like a giraffe!"

Leni, you really ought to pay attention in biology. Or better yet, get out of the United States public education system. They aren't doing today's youth much good.

Topical rant out of the way, Leni held the egg to her chest, and started walking towards the attic's entrance, "Well, don't worry little birdie, I'll take good care of you! You should be better out here than in that smelly old trunk. Hmm, maybe Lisa might have an idea on wha-woah!"

Walking and talking at the same time proved to be too distracting as Leni fell down the attic steps and landed in the upstairs hallway with a thud on her back. "Oof...ow...well, at least you're okay, birdie." Leni looked at her hands to find them empty.

"Oh no!" Leni got up and looked around the floor. She spotted the egg cracked in two with some sort of green goo on the spot she landed. "Oh no..." Leni whimpered as she picked up the eggshell and goo. She then dropped it, not liking how it felt in her hands and rushed to the bathroom sink to wash them. She didn't notice the spider in her hair.

"Poor baby birdie...I would've tried my best to take care of you, raise you, and even give you a name like...ooh, Jeffery. That's a good one!" Leni looked up into the mirror to see the spider on top of her head and froze. The spider quickly made its way onto Leni's forehead and looked at her in the eyes.

"Mommy!" it said.

Leni shrieked and jumped back, "AAAAAH! ICKY GROSS SPIDER!" Leni slammed the bathroom door and ran into her bedroom, looking for the Ultra Spider Death Spray she kept for such an occasion. Upon finding it, she turned back to the hall to find Grim and Lincoln.

"Ahem."

Oh, sorry Lucy. She was there as well.

"What's with the screamin', mon? You didn't get into my trunk, did you?" Grim accused as he pointed at Leni.

Leni hugged the skeleton, causing a few bones to crack, "Oh Grim it was horrible! I don't know how but your trunk opened up and it was really stinky and then I looked inside and found a large egg and I took it out and then I fell and then it broke and I'm so sorry and then I washed my hands and then and then-"

"Too tight...ribs hurting..." Grim groaned.

Leni hugged tighter, "Then I saw a spider in my hair! IN MY HAIR! Please Grim! Please help me!"

Grim firmly pulled Leni off of him, "Enough! You're choking the undeath outta me, SOMEHOW!"

"It's amazing that Grim doesn't scare you at all but seeing a spider does." Lucy commented.

"That's because of her arachnophobia, remember?" Lincoln asked, "Anyway, we should find the spider and safely let it out of the house."

Lincoln opened up the bathroom door to find an empty bathroom. He, alongside Grim and Lucy entered the bathroom and looked around.

"I don't see a spider." Grim remarked.

"I think it left on its own." Lincoln figured.

Lucy went to the vent grate in the room and entered it.

"Lucy?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm gonna check the ventilation system. Don't wait up." Lucy's voice echoed.

Leni skittishly entered, spraying the room with the spray.

Girm and Lincoln coughed as they took the spray away from Leni, "Didn't you hear us, Leni? The spider isn't in here!" Lincoln asked.

"It was the only way to make sure!" Leni argued.

"This wouldn't have happened if ye didn't went through me trunk!" Grim reprimanded.

Leni's eyes teared up like a kicked puppy, "I'm sorry..." she whimpered.

Grim's frown softened, "Oh, I can't stay mad at you Leni. Say, how about I take ye to a store to find what ya need?"

Leni instantly cheered up, "Really? That's sweet of you, Grim!"

"Uh, shouldn't we still be looking for-" Lincoln tried to interject but the two of them headed downstairs and left the house, ditching him. Lincoln looks towards you, the audience, "Oh, I'm sure nothing bad will come from ignoring this." he said, sarcastically.

"Stop breaking the fourth wall, Lincoln." Lucy reprimanded from the vents.

...

Later that night, Leni laid in bed on her phone texting Lori, who was in college, when she heard an odd noise. She pulled her eyes away from the phone and looked around the floor to see nothing out of the ordinary.

Leni shivered and texted to Lori, "O-m-gosh Lori, I think there's a big scary monster in our room!"

Lori texted back, "It's probably just the pipes again, Leni, plus it's almost three in the morning. Go to sleep."

Leni nodded, "Okay. You too."

"Not until I get a paper done for a class at five PM tomorrow. Good night!'

"Okay, love you, bye-bye!"

Leni turned off her phone and laid back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. On the ceiling was a big scary silhouette of a spider that got closer and closer.

The poor girl's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She opened her mouth to scream but couldn't find her voice. Soon enough she was face to face with a giant spider with four eyes looking back at her, "Hi mom! It's me, Jeff! I'm all grown up now!"

"Pi-pi-pi-pi-pi..." Leni was shaking and sweating with fear, she quickly pulled out her can of Ultra Spider Death Spray and tried to use it, only to find it empty.

Jeff took the aerosol can from her, his spider leg barely brushing against her hand, "Ah, you must be out of perfume. I'll recycle this and get you some more."

"EEEEYIAAAAH!" Leni screamed as she leaped out of bed and ran into the hallway. She turned around and quickly nailed wooden planks onto the doorframe. "Wait, where did I get this lumber from?"

Jeff crawled under the boards as Leni forgot to close the door. "Need help with renovations, mama?" he asked.

The door to Lana and Lola's room opened and Lana walked out with a bunch of tools, "Did somebody say renova- OOOH! Giant spider! So cool!" Lana ran up to Jeff.

Jeff smiled at Lana, "Hi aunt Lana! Looks like Leni is doing some late-night woodworking!"

"GIANT TALKING SPIDER! This is the greatest night of my life!" Lana squealed.

"Lana, what's all the hubbub- OOOH! A giant spider!" Lola ran up to Jeff.

"Hi aunt Lola! I know how much you love dresses so I made you one!" Jeff presented Lola with a beautiful pink silk dress.

Lola was awestruck as she took the dress, "This is...so beautiful!"

"O-M-Gosh it is!" Leni added, then she remembered where the dress came from, "WAIT! Lola, it could be a trap!"

Lincoln came out of his closet bedroom, "What's with the-" he then saw Jeff, "...oh. Well, I saw this coming."

"Hi uncle Lincoln! Up late playing video games?"

Lincoln wasn't fazed, "...and it talks. Of course it talks."

Lisa exited her bedroom, "Excuse me, but Lily and I are trying to- ah, an unusually colosseus Araneae! Cannot identify the family though."

Jeff waved, "Hi aunt Lisa! And you're my family, silly!"

"Ah, it's a supernatural being. That explains it."

"So, this is the spider that came out of me trunk?" Grim asked as he descended from the attic.

Lincoln nodded, "Looks like it, Grim. And it became a member of our family overnight."

Lynn suddenly barged out of her room while armed with baseball bat, "What the heck is-"

"AH!" Jeff shot web from his spinnerets at Lynn which wrapped her up and stuck her to a wall, still holding her bat.

"AH! SPIDER GOO!" Lynn protested.

Lisa walked up with a finger up, "Actually, that's silk...a high grade of silk, fascinating..."

"Oh, sorry Aunt Lynn! Sorry about that, my reflexes kicked in!" Jeff then noticed she was carrying a baseball bat, "I wasn't aware you wanted to play ball! Maybe later, it's a bit late now."

"Grim, why was there a spider in your trunk?" Lincoln asked.

"It was from me old flame, the Spider Queen." Grim answered.

There was a moment of silence.

"...are you going to elaborate on that?" Lisa asked.

Grim shook his head, "Not now, maybe another time."

Luna popped out of her room, "Don't stop me now, did somebody say Queen?" she asked.

Luan popped out behind her, "God save her! Hahaha! But seriously, may she rest in peace."

The two of them then noticed Jeff and recoiled a bit.

"Hi aunt Luna! Hi aunt Luan! I hope you two don't mind but I took the liberty of restringing your guitars and calling the prison holding Mr. Coconuts to convince the warden to let him out early!"

Wow Jeff, now you're just showing off.

Luna nervously smiled, "Uh, thanks brah. And nice to meet you, but what's with the aunt thing?"

Jeff put a leg around Leni, who was petrified at this point, "Because Leni is my mama, which would make you all my aunts, uncles, and friend of the family Grim! Aunt Lucy told me all about you, and taught me that you all love surprises so I waited in the shadows until you least expected me!"

"I sure did." Lucy admitted, now right beside Lincoln.

"AAH!' Lincoln fell over, "Lucy, did you really need to do all this?"

Lucy shrugged, "Well, I almost never get to have any fun messing with you all and felt this was my chance."

Lincoln pushed himself up, "But Lucy, Leni is horrified of spiders! This is messed up!"

Lucy shrugged again, "The chance was right there in front of me and I took it. Can you blame me?"

"Yes, yes I can."

Jeff frowned, "Wait, mama is horrified of spiders?" he turned to Leni who was catatonic from fright, "But why? What did I do wrong?"

Lisa cleared her throat, "My Araneae nephew, you did nothing wrong. Poor Leni just has an irrational fear of arachnids, mainly spiders. Which is oddly enough a characteristic she shares with our father."

"Oh dear, I had no idea!"

"Are you kids seriously all up at this hour?" Rita called from downstairs, slowly making her way up.

Lynn Sr. was with her, "Is there an emergency? What in the-" then he saw Jeff, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SPIDER!"

...

Jeff had a little bindle over his shoulder as he walked out of the Loud House with all the kids except Lynn - who was still webbed up - and Leni following him, "I really am sorry for all the harm I caused." he apologized.

Lucy approached looking down, "This was my fault, I should have told you that Leni was horrified of creatures like you."

Jeff patted Lucy with one of his legs, "I would have tried to earn her love anyway."

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to see Leni run outside with a blindfold over her eyes. She ran into the banister on the front porch and fell off onto the ground, "Ouch. Jeffery! I'm so sorry you need to leave! You're just too scary for me and dad!" tears flowed from the blindfold like little waterfalls.

Jeff teared up, "I'm sorry too, mama! I didn't mean to scare you and grandpa so much!"

"You do seem like a very nice and kind spider! But I don't think we could ever make it work!"

Rita walked out of the house, saddened a bit too, "I'm surprised my first grandchild was a spider. I do wish we could've done more for you, we're still getting used to the Grim Reaper living with us."

"No worries grandma! I'll be fine! I know of a place that'll accept any freak of nature like me, New York City!" with that Jeff waved goodbye and set off.

A Few Weeks Later...

On the television, a handsome, sharp-dressed young man with a stoic face greeted the viewers.

"Good afternoon, or should I say good evening, and welcome to Readin' with Steven. Tonight, we have a very special guest, a self-accomplished multimillionaire of the fabrics industry and now the author of a New York Times bestseller. Someone who has shocked the world with both his success and his state of being. Please welcome, Jeffrey Loud."

Jeff appeared on the television to a cheering crowd and waved with a leg, "Hello everyone! Thank you for inviting me, Steven, I absolutely love your show."

Steven pulled out a book with Jeff's face on it, "You're too kind, Jeff. I happen to have a copy of your autobiography titled: Icky Gross Spider - Words from my Mother. Seemed very shocking from the title alone, and upon reading cover to cover...I am shocked, but not too shocked with how your mother treated you."

Jeff sighed and sat legs-folded, "Well Steve, my mother is only human. I know I wasn't the easiest kid to raise, but her calling me an icky gross spider hurt more than all the security in this building attempting to squish me. In spite of that, I still love her, and we chat every day on the phone. It helps that she can't see me during our calls. I love the rest of my family too, my uncle, my aunts, and my grandma helped me become the spider I am today. My grandpa Lynn however just would not accept what I am though."

The audience awed and a single tear left one of Steven's stone cold eyes, "Unfortunately, the story of Jeffery Loud is all too common. Parents not accepting what their children turn into is a tale as old as time. And yes mother, I'm talking to you, you narcissistic bi-"

The TV screen showed a title card saying that the station was having technical difficulties.

Leni and Rita were watching the TV, Rita gently combing Leni's hair with her fingers, "It's a thankless job, Leni." she told her.

Leni was covering her eyes, too scared to see Jeff, "I just hope he was dressing okay..."