Reversal of Fortune: Chapter 19: Welcome Home

(Scene Change: 2:45 PM, Royal Woods Hospital)

As Dr. Chase, Linda, and Lincoln packed the last of Lincoln's boxes into the trunk of Linda's van, Dr. Chase smiled, "Alright, that should do it. Everything's in the car."

Linda chirped, "Thanks, Dr. Chase! For everything! You're the best!"

Dr. Chase chuckled, "No problem," before quipping, "You know, Lincoln, if it weren't for your situation, I'd be wishing you good luck."

Dr. Chase, Linda, and Lincoln laughed before Dr. Chase told Lincoln, "Before you go, I will say this: A lot of people love you. And God loves you. Always remember that. And if none of them work out… well, you always have me."

The trio laughed before Dr. Chase wished, "I hope everything turns out great for you, Lincoln. And say hi to the rest of the Sweetwater fam for me!"

Lincoln and Linda promised, "We will!", before waving, "Bye, Dr. Chase!"

Dr. Chase waved goodbye back to Lincoln and Linda as they got in the car and buckled their seatbelts. As Linda started the car, she asked Lincoln, "You ready to go home?", before gasping, "I-I mean, our place! Yeah! Back to our place?"

Lincoln chuckled, "Heading back to your place? You bet I am."

Linda smiled before asking Lincoln, "Dr. Chase seems like a really nice guy, doesn't he?"

Lincoln admitted, "Yeah! And I couldn't believe he was Cristina's dad, either!"

Linda responded, "Well, that's what happens when you get to know people instead of judging them at first glance."

Lincoln conceded, "Yeah."

Linda said, "Speaking of getting to know people," before her voice trailed off. When Lincoln noticed this, he asked Linda, "What's wrong?"

Linda spent the rest of the drive home telling Lincoln everything she knew about the robbery of the Loud House and subsequent deaths of the Loud pets.

(Time Skip: 10 minutes later)

When Linda finished explaining the details of the robbery of the Loud House to Lincoln, Lincoln panted, "Wow. I can't believe it. I mean, I know Charles locked me out, but still." Lincoln then started to fret, "And oh my god… who knows if the rest of my ex-housemates are going to come after me? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god… I'm so screwed."

Linda urged Lincoln, "Relax! Look, the tracking chip is out of your brain, and besides, you're going home! Well, to the closest thing you have to home, anyways, but still! At least you won't be sleeping outside tonight!"

Lincoln bitterly chuckled, "I couldn't agree more!" In that instant, Lincoln and Linda could see the Sweetwater manor dead ahead, making Linda joke back, "Speak of the devil."

Lincoln chuckled, "Yeah, no kidding."

After Linda parked in the driveway, she texted her family's groupchat on her phone, "We're here! Get into position!"

After Linda texted her family, she opened the trunk and took all of the boxes of Lincoln's stuff.

As Lincoln saw Linda carry the boxes, he offered, "Come on, let me help you. After all, I didn't carry bags for ten lazy girls every shopping trip for nothing."

Linda ruffled Lincoln's hair as she laughed, "Relax, Lincoln. Today is your day."

Lincoln responded, "No, I insist," causing Linda to gush, "Such a good boy!", as the two walked back and forth between the car and the front porch to take Lincoln's stuff in. As Lincoln walked up to the door the first time, he heard the Sweetwater girls faintly whispering and giggling, "Here he comes!" Every time Lincoln turned his back to the manor's front door, Brian, Melissa, or a Sweetwater sister would quickly open the door, grab a box, and run it upstairs to its intended place in Lincoln's room as quickly as possible.

(Time Skip: 10 minutes later)

When Linda put the final box of Lincoln's stuff down on the welcome mat, she told Lincoln, "Alright, there we go," before encouraging, "Lincoln, doorbell's all yours."

When Lincoln rung the doorbell, he could hear excited whispers of, "He's here!", and, "He's ready!", from the other side of the door. Lincoln then heard Brian's heavy footsteps practically stomping towards the door before hearing the door unlock.

As Lincoln and Brian simultaneously pushed the front door open, Lincoln saw Brian, the Sweetwater sisters, and even Melissa clapping and cheering for him, "AYYYYYYY!" They then exclaimed in unison, "WELCOME HOME, LINCOLN!"

Lincoln's jaw dropped when he saw, directly above him, a huge sign with a crudely scrawled, "WELCOME HOME, LINCOLN!" across the top of it. It appeared to be signed by everyone presently inside the house, and was complete with stick-figure drawings of Lincoln next to the Sweetwaters and red-colored hearts.

As Lincoln walked towards Brian, Brian immediately pulled him into a loving, bone-crushing hug. Lincoln tried to return the hug, but quickly found himself enveloped by Melissa and the Sweetwater sisters in a big group hug. As Melissa and Brian ruffled Lincoln's hair, the Sweetwater sisters started kissing Lincoln all over his face.

Linda saw Lincoln struggling to move and laughed, "Alright, that's enough guys. Seriously, you're gonna crush him."

Everyone else sheepishly laughed in response before letting Lincoln go. When Lincoln no longer felt the air being squeezed out of his lungs, he gulped in as much air as he could. Brian then knelt to meet Lincoln at eye level and put a hand on his shoulder while saying, "Son… thank God you're alright."

A touched Lincoln hugged Brian, which Brian, the rest of the Sweetwaters, and even Melissa eagerly returned. This time, however, they hugged Lincoln with enough restraint that Lincoln could return the hug to try & wrap around all of them. The girls' voices blended into a cacophony as they echoed Brian's statements.

Linda said, "Baby boy, you're OK!"

Becky said, "Welcome back, sweetie!"

Paige said, "We're so glad you're home!"

Melissa joined in, "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Lindsay exclaimed, "COME CHECK OUT YOUR NEW ROOM, LINKY!"

At Lindsay's mention of Lincoln's new room, the Sweetwaters broke their hug before mockingly glaring at Lindsay. Meanwhile, a confused Lincoln asked, "New room? Wait, what new room?"

Brian explained, "We were gonna keep it a secret, but somebody decided to spoil the surprise," as he, the rest of the Sweetwaters, and Melissa gave Lindsay dirty looks.

Lindsay sheepishly apologized, "Sorry, Linky. I just got so excited!"

Lincoln laughed, "It's all good. So, where's my new room?"

Paige cheered, "Follow us!", before rocketing up the stairs. The Sweetwater daughters and Melissa followed Paige with cheers of their own. Meanwhile, Brian picked up one of Lincoln's boxes with one hand, and held Lincoln's left hand with the other. Linda went to Lincoln's other side and held his right hand as the three of them walked upstairs together.

When they arrived at the door to Lincoln's room, Lincoln noticed Melissa, Becky, Paige, and Lindsay awaiting him with toothy grins before Becky encouraged, "Come on, Lincolnovich! Open the door!"

As Lincoln reached towards the door, Brian shook his head, "Uh-uh-uh," before handing a key to Lincoln and gently smiling, "You forgot this, son."

After Lincoln took his room key from Brian's hand, everyone except Lincoln counted down, "3! 2! 1!", with the "1!" sound coinciding with Lincoln pushing the door open.

When Lincoln opened his bedroom's door, his jaw dropped, and he gasped in awe. In one corner of the room, the double-bed had been given a complete makeover, with an Ace Savvy -themed blanket and Rip Hardcore-themed pillowcases. Bun-Bun lay cutely tucked into the bed, as if he was taking a nap there. Lincoln immediately ran inside to investigate the room further, causing the Sweetwater family and Melissa to giggle amongst themselves. The posters from Lincoln's old room littered his bedside walls, just the way he liked it. Lincoln's school binders, textbooks, and notebooks were neatly arranged on his wall-mounted bookshelf, just like they were back at the Loud House. Meanwhile, in the corner of the room opposite from Lincoln's bed, directly beside the door to the closet, sat the vanity he remembered from his first night in the Sweetwater house. This time, it was stocked with all of the grooming supplies and model figurines and toys he liked to have around. Across from the vanity on one side and Lincoln's bed on the other, there was an entirely separate desk equipped with a gaming chair tucked into the desk, and a laptop and a pouch for Lincoln's school supplies mounted atop the desk.

Becky smirked, "Must be nice to not have to sleep in a closet for once, huh?"

Lincoln stammered, "I… buh… buh… buh," causing Becky to whisper to her giggling family, "I think he likes it."

When Lincoln saw the pouch that held his school supplies, he gasped, "I-is that…"

Linda informed Lincoln, "It's an Ace Savvy pencil pouch from when Becky was a little younger than you. It's got everything you need for school. Pencils, rulers, pencil sharpener, eraser, coloring pencils, everything."

Lincoln then looked closely at his school supplies, both old and new, and saw that they were completely free of stains, dirt, and mud. Regardless of how long Lincoln had them, they looked brand new. When Lincoln flipped through each of his school notebooks, he saw that his schoolwork remained completely intact. Finally, Lincoln's calendar had been moved to the wall right above the desk, completing the desk area as a sort of workstation for Lincoln.

As Lincoln let go of his school supplies, he hugged Linda while profusely thanking her through tears of joy. When they broke the hug, Linda reminded Lincoln, "You haven't explored the whole room yet. Come on… you've got one more room."

Lincoln joshed, "I thought I was supposed to have two," causing the rest of the family to laugh hysterically as Brian exclaimed, "I love this kid!"

Paige ribbed, "Who do you think we are, Luan? Nah… we didn't mess with your bathroom."

As the Sweetwaters continued to laugh, Lincoln shrugged his shoulders and decided to check his bathroom. When Lincoln opened his bathroom door, he found everything as he had left it four nights earlier.

When Lincoln turned back to the Sweetwaters, Linda gently encouraged, "Come on, Lincoln. Go check out your closet."

When Lincoln opened the door to his closet, he cried tears of joy. All of his clothes lay neatly hung from the coatrack or folded on the bottom shelf. The upper shelves were reserved for Lincoln's extensive collection of comic books, video games, and other assorted toys. Amazingly, not only had all of them survived the trip to the Sweetwater house, but there also seemed to be some additions. The additions included video games like NBA Street Vol. 8, Need For Speed: Turbo, Underwatch, Kar to Kingpin VI, and Call to Duty: Infidels.

As Lincoln took Kar to Kingpin VI and Call to Duty: Infidels out of the closet, Becky quickly ran over to Lincoln, stuffed the games back in the closet, and whispered, "I snuck those in for you. You'd better keep those hidden."

Linda quickly asked Lincoln, "Uh… what did Becky just tell you?"

Lincoln covered for Becky, "Oh, nothing," while sheepishly smiling at Linda and quickly closing the closet's door. At that, Becky smirked and gave a thumbs-up to Lincoln which no one else saw.

Linda decided to let that slide before asking, "So… what do you think, Lincoln? While I picked you up, the rest of them worked hard setting this up for you this afternoon."

Brian, Becky, Melissa, and Paige began to jokingly chant, "Speech! Speech! Speech!", with Lindsay quickly joining in. As Lincoln continued to cry tears of joy, the Sweetwaters ran over to him before Linda asked, "What's wrong, Linky?"

Lincoln sniffled, "Wow. I really don't know what to say. Uh…. sir, you calling me son, and all this… is all this really for me? I'm not even sure if I want to claim this as my room after what I've been through."

The Sweetwaters sniffled before Brian knelt to Lincoln's height and reassured him, "First of all, Lincoln, please… call me Brian, Dad… whatever you want."

Lincoln worried, "But," causing Brian to shush Lincoln. Brian then continued, "Secondly, Lincoln, whatever… they… did to you, that doesn't matter here. This is your room. And as long as you're staying with us, you're family."

Lincoln started, "But…", causing Brian to interrupt him, "Lincoln, family isn't about the people that share blood with you. It's about the people who love and care about you, no matter what. Yeah, we may have found you by accident, but now that you're here, we want you here. I want you here, Linda wants you here, and my daughters want you here. You are family, Lincoln. Always. No matter what. Don't ever forget that."

A teary-eyed Lincoln hugged Brian before Melissa and the other Sweetwaters joined in, also sniffling themselves. They wanted to stay in that hug forever, but a "beep-beep" alarm sound from Linda's phone convinced them otherwise. When Linda pulled out her phone, she saw the notification: "Dinner at Salisbury's 4 PM." Linda gasped, "Oh no!"

Brian asked, "What?"

Linda cried, "It's 3:15 PM! We'd better get ready for that dinner or else we're going to be late!"

Lincoln asked, "Dinner? What dinner?"

Linda explained, "We have a reservation at Salisbury's at 4 PM! So… you might want to put the clothes in that closet of yours to good use."

Lincoln gasped, "Salisbury's? You mean the Salisbury's?"

Linda nodded, "Mm-hmm. Now come on, go get dressed!"

The rest of the Sweetwaters scattered into their rooms, and Melissa ran to the other guest room, leaving Lincoln alone in his room to get dressed.

(Time Skip: 4:00 PM, Salisbury's Steak and Haggis, Downtown Huntington Manor)

As the Sweetwaters, Melissa, and Lincoln walked into Salisbury's Steak and Haggis in downtown Huntington Manor, the beautiful and elegant piano music they heard in the background immediately impressed and relaxed them. A black-clad hostess with pale skin, light blonde hair, and blue eyes then greeted them, "Hi, welcome to Salisbury's Steak & Haggis. My name is Rose, and I'll be your hostess today. Sweetwater, reservation for 4 PM, party of seven?"

Brian nodded, "Yes."

Rose led her guests, "OK, well, follow me."

As the Sweetwaters, Melissa, and Lincoln followed Rose to their table, Lincoln found himself absolutely blown away by what he saw. Were he not in a high-class restaurant, he would have gasped out loud. The warm, dim lighting, Queen's Chairs, and wooden floors and tables immediately gave the restaurant a feel that was homey and fancy at the same time. The kitchen was nowhere in sight, and there was a spectacular wood-burning fireplace in one of the restaurant's corners. As if that wasn't enough, many of the patrons appeared to be dressed to the nines as well. The male patrons wore business suits if not outright tuxedos, while the female patrons sported elegant dresses and accessories similar to the ones the Sweetwater girls donned. Lincoln felt a little intimidated looking at the rest of the restaurant's patrons, knowing that he had only gone in his orange dress shirt, date khakis, and dress shoes. But when Melissa and the Sweetwaters noticed Lincoln's nervousness, they mouthed quietly, "Hey, it's OK, follow us." Lincoln smiled before following them to his table.

As Lincoln got ready to sit in his chair, Rose wagged her finger, "Uh-uh-uh," before presenting him with a seat cushion. Lincoln cutely asked, "What is this for?"

Rose giggled, "Silly boy, it's your seat cushion."

Lincoln asked, "So… you remove the seat cushion every time someone leaves the restaurant and get a new one every time new guests come in?"

Rose giggled, "Mm-hmm."

The Sweetwaters smirked at the astonished look on Lincoln's face. However, Lincoln remembered his etiquette, pushed his chair back, allowed Rose to place the cushion on, and then took his seat once Rose pulled the chair out for him to sit on. After doing so, he said, "Thank you, Ma'am."

Rose giggled, "You're welcome", before approaching the Sweetwater parents and asking them, "First time?"

Brian said, "Yes."

Rose chukcled, "Understood." She then walked around the table and informed everyone, "Here's your menus. I'll get a waiter to be with you shortly."

The group thanked Rose before looking through the menu to determine what to eat. Just as the group started reading their menus, a beautiful, fair-skinned waitress with wavy, shoulder-length black hair started, "Hi, my name is Veronica, I'll be serving…", before gasping, "Oh my god. Becky, Melissa? You two are OK?"

Becky and Melissa chirped, "Yeah, girl!"

Lincoln asked, "Wait… you three know each other?"

Melissa explained, "Know each other? Lincoln, Veronica is one of our best friends!"

Veronica chirped, "You're right I am! And hey, I think my little sister goes to your…", before gasping at the white bandage on Lincoln's head. Veronica then cried, "Oh-oh my god! What happened to you?"

Becky and Melissa groaned, "Long story."

Veronica whispered, "Please, do tell."

Becky replied, "Shh," before she and Melissa quickly scanned the room for potential Loud family members and their allies. When they saw the coast was clear, they whispered everything they knew about Lincoln's situation into Veronica's ears. As Veronica listened to Lincoln's story, she repeatedly gasped as the look on her face mutated from shock to disgust to full-blown horror

After Becky and Melissa finished telling Lincoln's story, Veronica gasped, "So that's why you haven't been in school for the last couple of days?"

Becky and Melissa grimly nodded, causing Veronica to gasp, "Oh my god."

Veronica then walked up to Lincoln and sniffled, "Becky and Melissa told me about what happened. I'm so, so sorry. I hope everything turns out well for you. And if there's anything I can personally do to make this the best experience possible for you… just let me know."

Lincoln smiled, "Thanks. And actually… there is one thing."

Veronica encouraged, "Sure, hon, tell me what you want."

Lincoln smirked, "I'll have an Hour Helper, please."

Veronica, Melissa, and the Sweetwater family gasped before laughing, with Veronica even pinching Lincoln's cheek, "Naughty boy." She then addressed the whole group, "Now, what can we start you off with today in terms of drinks?"

Becky immediately proclaimed, "I'll have the von Bülow 1990," with Melissa chiming in, "I'll have the Une Vie En Décline 1789."

Brian and Veronica chuckled before mockingly scolding Becky and Melissa, "Nice try, girls."

Becky and Melissa crossed their arms and pouted at Brian. Meanwhile, Veronica rolled her eyes at her friends before asking Brian, "Sir, so again, what is everybody having for drinks today?"

Brian listed, "OK, Lindsay will have a 7Down. Paige will have a Splash. Becky & Melissa will have sparkling water. I'll have the Würdiger Mensch 1823, while Linda will have the Copines 1622."

Veronica said, "OK, I'll be with you in a second."

As Veronica walked away, Becky and Melissa mockingly grumbled at Brian, "You're no fun," to which Brian laughed, "I'm not supposed to be fun, Becky, I'm supposed to be your father." Not swayed, Becky and Melissa held their glares at Brian.

(Time Skip: 5 minutes later)

When Veronica returned to the Sweetwater table, she returned to hear Brian and Becky arguing over who was the greatest basketball player of all time between Jordan Michaels and LeRon James.

Becky argued for James, "Led his team in every stat category! Plus, this year's Finals? Huh? 3-1 comeback against the greatest regular season team in history ring a bell? That chasedown block?"

Brian countered, "Michaels is a killer! 6-0 in the Finals, sweetheart. That's all I need to say. 6-0. How many Finals has your boy lost? No… wait… choked away!"

Becky defended James, "He had no help!"

Brian scoffed, "Pssh… excuses, excuses. The best perform on the biggest stage. Besides, after how LeRon left Cleveland for Miami, I can't respect the two rings he won there. Michaels would have never done something like that! I mean, throwing a welcome party before you play a game, guaranteeing 8 championships, and then choking your first Finals away? How can you consider him the greatest after that?"

Becky retorted, "Look at who LeRon had to face vs. Michaels. LeRon had to face All-Star superteams every year! Michaels never had to do that!"

Veronica chuckled, "Everyone having fun today?"

Everyone at the table nodded, "Yup," or, "Mm-hmm."

As Veronica poured the drinks into the teens' and adults' glasses and handed the kids their juice boxes with straws, she told them, "Alright, here you go. I'll be back momentarily for your starters. Let me know if you need anything."

Brian assured Veronica, "We will, thanks," as she left the table. Brian then loudly cleared his throat, and all eyes on the table turned to him as he picked up his glass and stood up before saying, "I'd like to propose a toast… to Lincoln Loud. Ever since this boy came into our lives, he has made us proud to call him a son, and a brother. He may be a mischievous one, but he makes everyone around him a happier and better person. And most importantly, he always tries to do the right thing by others when it counts. Lincoln, we wish you nothing but health and happiness going forward. And we'd love to continue having you around."

Brian then raised his glass as he bellowed, "To Lincoln!"

The rest of the table toasted and cheered back, "To Lincoln!", before clinking their glasses or juice boxes against each other and drinking from them.

As everyone drank from their glasses or juice boxes, they perused through the menu. When everyone finished their drinks, the Sweetwaters and Melissa tried to convince Lincoln that their choices on the menu were the best thing to eat at the restaurant.

Linda asked, "Why don't you start out with the partan bree spaghetti? They always make it really good."

Brian playfully scoffed, "No, no! Lincoln needs to grow into a big, strong man! I say get him a Haggisburger with Ayrshire bacon! And make it a double!"

Becky deadpanned, "Of course you'd suggest that, Mr. Triple Haggisburger. But Lincoln, if I were you, I'd take the Lorne sausage hot dog morning roll!"

Lindsay argued, "No, no! Get their Salisbury's Steak with the Clapshot dip! It's to die for!"

Paige yelled, "You people are all wrong!", before suggesting, "Lincoln, take the tatties & herring! It's unbelievable!"

Melissa teased, "Hey, Lincoln, when you get the smoked salmon pizza, let me cop a slice or two off you, OK?"

When Linda noticed Lincoln beginning to sweat in overwhelm, she firmly told everyone else, "Guys… it doesn't matter what you like! What matters is what Lincoln likes!"

Brian chuckled, "Hey, when the wife's right, she's right," causing the kids to slump into their seats, cross their arms, and pout, "Party poopers!"

Linda replied, "Thanks, Bri," before asking Lincoln, "Sweetie… what do you want?" When Linda noticed Lincoln absentmindedly drooling, she asked, "Uh… earth to Lincoln? Lincoln, anyone?"

The Sweetwaters giggled before Paige assured Linda, "I've got this." She then walked next to Lincoln and snapped her fingers in his ear while whispering, "Lincoln!"

Lincoln quickly said, "Oh.. uh… I… you know what, I'll go with the Haggisburger. And maybe, we can split a smoked salmon pizza?"

Brian ruffled Lincoln's hair as he bragged, "That's my boy! I knew you'd make the right choice! And let's make it a double!" Melissa also smugly smirked at Becky, Paige, and Lindsay, much to their chagrin.

Linda giggled, "Brian, stop! He's only 11, he doesn't need that much food!"

Brian justified, "He's a growing boy! He needs to eat!"

Melissa defended Lincoln, "Yeah… and we can all share the smoked salmon pizza!"

Linda deadpanned, "Whatever you say, guys," before asking Lincoln, "Do you want a single or double Haggisburger?"

After comparing the sizes of both the Double and Single Ayrshire Bacon Haggisburger, Lincoln decided, "You know what… I'll have the single Haggisburger, and a smoked salmon pizza please. And as for my starter… some skirlie would be nice."

Linda chirped, "Sounds good!", before going around the table to collect the rest of the family's orders. Much of them were about what she expected. That meant that by the time Veronica returned to the table to take everybody's orders, Linda breezed through them.

(Time Skip: 45 minutes later)

As Lincoln, Melissa, and the Sweetwaters started eating their main courses, they argued with each other which version of Ace Savvy was the best.

Brian insisted, "Overly Muscular Weapon-Toting Ace Savvy! That man was a hero! He'd always come in guns-blazing and save the day!"

Linda countered, "I don't know. I always found the Grungy Ace Savvy kinda cute."

Brian deadpanned, "Of course you'd say that."

Lincoln argued, "Oh no, no. Classic Ace Savvy is the best."

Becky teased, "Linky, Linky. You're so vanilla. Everyone knows Bling-Bling Ace Savvy is the best Ace Savvy."

Melissa contended, "I don't know. I kind of liked World War 2 Sergeant Ace Savvy the best. So rugged in that military camo… such a hunk," after which she fanned herself.

Paige fawned, "Futuristic Ace Savvy all the way! That metallic robot suit… oh my god."

A bored Lindsay interrupted, "Guys, we can continue this conversation later," before clearing her throat and asking Lincoln, "So, Linky, we saw some of the footage of life at the Loud House. And there's some stuff that we'd like to ask you."

Lincoln gulped, "S-sure, Lindsay. What did you want to ask me?"

Lindsay started, "It seems as if a lot of the bad stuff that happened to you was stuff that, one way or another, you helped to create."

Lincoln asked, "What do you mean?"

Lindsay said, "First things first: the 'Sweet Spot' incident. You made a plan to get the 'Sweet Spot' of a couch, and fought your siblings over it, after your parents grounded you guys for fighting over the Sweet Spot in Vanzilla? Did you learn nothing?"

Lincoln reassured the glaring Sweetwaters, "It's OK, I've got this." He then sighed, "I really want to be comfortable when I'm sitting, OK? In a big family like mine, we don't have a lot of money for repairs, so a lot of our seats are filled with springs coming out, are stained, you know, all that kind of stuff! I just wanted a dry, non-springy, comfortable seat. Is that too much to ask?"

Lindsay pointed out, "Lincoln, you had 10 siblings. Would it have killed you to let one of them take the Sweet Spot? Or better yet, have a system where if a sibling had a birthday or a special occasion or whatever, they got the Sweet Spot?"

Lincoln deadpanned, "You know my ex-housemates. They want everything, all the time."

Lindsay mused, "Fair enough. Oh yeah, and about the kiddie table thing, three words: know your crowd."

Lincoln conceded, "True."

Next, Brian scolded Lincoln, "There's also you joining in on your sisters' eavesdropping, especially with your ex-dad's ties. I mean, some things are just not meant to be listened to, because sometimes, you might get the wrong idea. I mean, knowing what we know now, you had the right idea, but still. Not your best move."

Lincoln admitted, "Yeah, that wasn't my best move. And you know what, I felt bad about jumping to conclusions then," before snarling, "Keyword: Then."

Paige implored Lincoln, "And, another thing, why would you volunteer to bring the class tarantula home? I mean, I wasn't even in your class, I didn't know your situation, and even I knew that was a bad idea when Cristina told me about it. Lincoln, if your sisters really are that chaotic, you should know better than to trust them with delicate things. I mean, yeah, Leni stepped up and saved the day in the end, but still. What were you going to do next, sacrifice your class' environmental rating just for a chance to play some video games while forcing your sisters to live like cavewomen?"

Lincoln cried, "What? No! I would never do something like that!" Everyone else at the table deadpanned at Lincoln before Lincoln admitted, "OK, yeah, maybe I would."

Next, Linda scolded, "And what the heck got into you selling all of your family's furniture just to win a competition? I mean, that sounds almost as bad as what your sisters did to you! And when your parents call you on it, you do a victory dance?" She ended her rant by scoffing, "Now I see where the sisters got it from."

Lincoln sighed, "Yeah, I know, that was messed up of me. And I'm sorry. It's just, I get carried away when we compete, OK? I don't have any trophies in that house, and I thought if I won this one thing, I'd feel equal to them."

Linda warned Lincoln, "Look, as long as you don't try selling any of our furniture, we're good. Unless we tell you that you can do so. So yeah… wait for our word next time, OK? And remember, Lincoln, don't let your self-worth get tied up in trophies. They're just shiny structures that rust and corrode over time." She then pointed to her heart while assuring Lincoln, "What matters is what's in here. All that glitters is not necessarily gold. Watching Lola, I think you'd know that by now."

Lincoln laughed bitterly, "Yeah, you're right."

Paige's eyes then moistened as she whimpered, "And Lincoln… then there's how you treated Ronnie Anne. I mean, I get that she bullied you, but n-now, I-I don't know. Y-you called her 'rude, gross, and totally annoying' when bullies made fun of you for being friends with her. I get that the guys at our school can be gross, annoying jerks, but still. And then, there's the whole thing where you didn't tell your sisters about the fact that you were going on a date with Ronnie Anne anyway, so you went through with their crazy idea of juggling four dates at the Sadie Hawkins Dance."

She then sniffled as she walked up to Lincoln, "L-Linky… is this what you do to girls when your so-called 'friends' make fun of you for hanging out with them? Deny you ever liked them and move on to the next girl who you get set up with?", before sobbing into Brian's arms. As Paige cried, the rest of the table glared harshly at Lincoln, especially Brian and Becky.

As Lincoln's heart broke for Paige, he tried to defend himself, "N-no! Ronnie Anne and I are just friends! Friends!", before groaning, "If that, even."

Paige whimpered, "Lincoln, Ronnie Anne knows. About everything."

Lincoln gasped, "S-she knows?"

Paige sniffled, "I told her. You know how she reacted? I had to talk her down from coming to your old house with scimitars. Literal scimitars. And not just was she going to go there, she tried to make me go with her to fight the Louds."

The rest of the table gasped before Lincoln stuttered, "S-she did? Wait, what are scimitars?"

Paige explained, "Those long swords from the Middle East. You might have seen them at Arabiafest."

Lincoln mouthed, "Oh," before Paige continued, "As I was saying, she was willing to walk into near-certain death. For you, Lincoln. That girl cares about you. I care about you. When it comes to matters of the heart, you need to remember: there are people who truly love you. And they matter more than any fleeting popularity contests you might win."

Lincoln sighed, "You're right."

Paige suggested to Lincoln, "Now, because we saw you apologize to Ronnie Anne on numerous occasions, I'm not going to ask you to do it again. But I'd recommend you two at least talking things out peacefully."

The rest of the table muttered, "Yeah", or, "Mm-hmm."

Finally, Melissa reprimanded Lincoln, "And then, there was how you treated your sisters when they had the flu. You tried to get everybody to evacuate the house, which was incredibly irresponsible. It wasn't just that you left your sick sisters behind to fend for themselves. With how fast the flu virus spreads, you could've infected others and caused a pandemic. And that flu looked bad. Flu viruses spread asymptomatically, you know."

Lincoln asked, "Asymptomatically? What does that mean?"

Becky explained, "Lincoln, it means that you can spread the virus without knowing you're sick."

Lincoln paled before fretting, "Look, I didn't mean any harm! I just didn't want to get sick, I wanted to save my ex-housemates, and," before whimpering, "Oh, what have I done? I'm just as big of a jerk as them!"

Linda immediately hugged a crying Lincoln and reassured him, "Hey, it's OK."

Lincoln sniffled, "W-w-what do you mean?"

Brian told Lincoln, "Your plans go awry because a lot of the time, you don't see the obvious solutions in front of you. Sometimes, the best solutions are the simple ones. But from what we've seen, whenever you make mistakes, you always do your best to make things right. We saw more than enough proof of that." He then smirked while whispering into Lincoln's ear, "And between you and me… balancing four dates at a dance at the age of 10? You're a little ladykiller, huh? Just don't pull that with my Paige, OK?"

Lincoln responded, "Yes, sir," causing Brian and Linda to smile proudly at him.

Linda then asked Lincoln, "And when you stood up for Lucy and took the blame for owning that 'Princess Pony' book: why did you take the blame for Lucy? Why didn't you just tell your ex-parents what happened, and ask them to keep it a secret? I mean, knowing them, they probably wouldn't have been able to, but at least it was worth a shot."

Lincoln groaned, "Like my parents would have believed me. They wanted to blame me for the toilet-clogging incident, anyways." He then shouted, "They never believe me! They always punish me first, and my s-sisters g-ganged up on me until I left! For weeks, whenever they saw me, they'd sing, 'Lalalalala, Lincoln's Princess Pony!' while laughing! At least once a day, to this day, they mock me over that! They told everybody in school! And the names they called me…", before breaking down and crying into Linda's arms.

The rest of the table gasped before Becky squeaked, "L-L-Linky? What kinds of names did they call you?"

Melissa added, "Yeah… if you're crying like this, it must have been bad."

Lincoln sniffled, "I-I-I don't know. I mean, being here, I don't think I should say it."

Lindsay begged, "Linky, tell us! Whatever they said, we'll defend you! We promise!"

The rest of the table voiced similar words of encouragement, giving Lincoln the confidence to sniffle, "L-L-Luna."

Becky asked, "Luna? What about Luna?"

Lincoln whimpered, "S-s-she… s-s-she… she c-called m-me a w-wussy baby faggot."

The rest of the Sweetwaters gasped in shock. They clenched their fists in anger as Lincoln sniffled, "L-L-Luan, L-L-L-Lynn Jr., a-and L-L-Lisa… t-they once d-dragged me i-into L-L-Lisa's room a-and p-p-played a prank on me."

A horrified Paige asked, "What did they do?"

As Lincoln sniffled, Brian nudged his chair to be closer to Lincoln and worriedly asked, "Son… w-what did they do?"

Lincoln sniffled, "L-L-L-Lisa a-a-asked m-me t-to come in for a 's-s-s-pecial experiment'. W-when I asked them what it was, the three of them laughed at me while she told me what s-she was going to do."

The rest of the table gasped before Lindsay implored Lincoln to answer, "W-w-what d-did Lisa want to do to you?"

Lincoln sniffled, "S-s-she s-showed me a b-beaker, a-a-and s-she s-said i-it w-would t-turn m-me i-into a g-g-girl w-while L-L-Lynn J-Junior a-and L-Luan l-laughed at me!," causing the rest of the table to gasp in outrage as Brian joined his wife in cradling Lincoln.

Becky venomously whispered, "What?"

Lincoln blubbered, "I-I said 'no', b-but w-when I t-t-tried t-to r-run a-away, L-L-Lynn g-gave me a 'P-P-P-Princess P-Pony P-P-Piledriver.'"

The rest of the Sweetwaters again gasped while Lindsay asked, "What's a piledriver?"

Lincoln explained through tears, "I-I-It's when a wrestler grabs their opponent, turns them upside-down, and drops into a sitting position while driving the guy head-first into the mat. Except for me… it was penis first! And she kept giving me those piledrivers!" He then seethed, "Which for some reason… she only saved for me."

Lincoln then wailed, "A-a-and t-then, L-L-Luan and L-L-Lynn h-held me down while L-L-Lisa t-tried to FORCE ME TO DRINK IT!", before sobbing into Linda and Brian's arms.

Paige trembled, "H-how did y-you get out of it?"

Lincoln sniffled, "L-Lynn Jr. s-s-suggested, a-and I q-quote, 'Fuck that. Let's get some garden shears and snip 'em off! CHOP-A-CHOP-CHOP, PRINCESS STINKOLN.' And then L-Luan j-joked, 'T-that w-would m-make h-him LINKA' w-w-while t-they l-laughed a-at me! A-and t-they s-started ev-everyone in that house c-calling m-me L-Linka for the n-next f-few WEEKS!", before crying inconsolably into Brian and Linda's arms.

Becky, who also joined in the group hug, cried as she stroked Lincoln's hair, "Oh, my poor Linky!"

As the rest of the table trembled in horror, disgust, and rage, Paige grumbled, "That's nothing compared to what happened in school to Lincoln one time."

Lincoln paled while Lindsay encouraged Paige, "Please, do tell."

Paige explained, "One day, I walked past Lincoln as he opened his locker. When he did, a bunch of dildos and Princess Pony books fell out of it while Chandler, Trent, and Richie led the whole school in laughing at him! Including his sisters!" She then sniffled, "A-a-a-and I-I l-laughed at you, too," before wailing, "And I'm SO SORRY, LINKY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!", before bursting into tears and wrapping her arms around Lincoln.

As Lincoln cried into Linda's arms, Linda gently soothed, "Shhh… Lincoln… it's OK, it's OK. Momma's gotcha, Momma's gotcha." Meanwhile, Brian, Becky, and Paige tightened their hold on Lincoln.

As Lindsay's parents and older siblings cradled Lincoln, she seethed to Melissa, "If I had garden shears, I'd snip off those brats' heads," with Melissa angrily murmuring, "Definitely."

Lincoln's breakdown attracted the attention of Veronica and a few other waitresses and patrons, who watched and listened in horror and pity. A minute after Paige and Lincoln started their latest spell of crying, the restaurant owner rushed out and panicked, "What's wrong? Is everything OK?"

Melissa introduced herself to the restaurant owner, who in turn, introduced himself to Melissa as Chris Roberts. Melissa then proceeded to whisper Lincoln's story to Chris, causing him to gasp in a combination of shock, horror, disgust, and rage.

Melissa introduced herself to the restaurant owner, who in turn, introduced himself to Melissa as Chris Roberts. Melissa then proceeded to tell Chris what had happened to Lincoln, causing him to gasp in a combination of shock, horror, disgust, and rage.

When Chris finished hearing the full story, he muttered, "M-my daughter Margo told me about this. About Lynn Jr.'s superstitions and everything. She even told me that Lynn Jr. crippled Paula because she refused to go along with her superstitions."

Everyone at the Sweetwaters' table trembled in terror before Chris explained, "I-in addition to brain surgery, my daughter got a fecal impaction because of those Loud monsters. She had to stay overnight to have it removed after she got her brain chip removed."

While Brian and Linda gasped in horror, Lindsay asked, "What's a fecal impaction?"

Chris explained, "It's when you don't go poop for so long that the poop gets stuck in your body, and you can't get it out unless doctors remove it. It makes your tummy hurt, it can cause diarrhea, and it makes you go crazy. Those psychos nearly killed my daughter, Margo, for their own sick, twisted ends. Margo was right: we can't ever let them hurt anyone again."

Melissa sneered, "You got that right, Mr. Roberts."

Chris insisted, "Please, call me Chris. And how about this: dinner's on me tonight?"

Linda implored Chris, "No, no, we can't."

Chris urged Linda, "Trust me, guys, you're good for tonight. Anything you want, on the house." He then smiled at Lincoln, "Especially you, little man. Trust me, anything you want is yours."

At the promise of free food, the rest of the Sweetwaters, Melissa, and even Veronica, encouraged Lincoln with cries of, "Go crazy!", and, "Come on Linky, all the dessert in the world, pwetty pwease?"

Lincoln chuckled, "Nah, I'm not that hungry."

Veronica then teased Lincoln, "Well, if you're not hungry, you mind ordering any food for these beautiful ladies sitting next to you? It's not costing you anything to be chivalrous here."

Lincoln playfully murmured, "Hmm," before ribbing, "In that case, you might want to ask Mr. Sweetwater over here. He's the one who wanted everything on the menu!"

The entire table, especially Brian, broke into hysterical laughter at Lincoln's joke, with Brian even playfully ruffling Lincoln's hair.

Veronica then complimented Lincoln through her laughter, "This kid is just too much… funny, smart, charming, and cute to boot!"

Lincoln blushed, "Come on… I'm not that cute."

Veronica gushed, "Oh, yes you are! That hair, that face, those freckles… absolutely adorable! I swear, if these guys weren't taking care of you, I'd adopt you on the spot, hon!"

Becky, Paige, and Lindsay playfully yelled, "HEY! LINCOLN'S OURS!", startling some of the patrons and making Brian and Linda chuckle.

Chris then whispered to Lincoln, "Hey, you'd better make our dessert order before these girls start fighting over you. Then, I'd have to kick you guys out, which I really don't want to do."

Lincoln laughed, "Alright, alright!"

As everyone expectantly stared at Lincoln, he eventually decided, "I'll have a Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with 14 scoops."

The rest of the table laughed as Brian joked, "14? How can you finish all that?"

Meanwhile, Veronica pondered, "Wait… 14 ice cream scoops… 7 people at this table," before gasping in realization. She then smirked, "Are you sure you want 14 scoops of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream? Why not 1 or 2?"

Lincoln admitted, "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm taking 2 for myself," causing the rest of the table to laugh.

Melissa teased, "And who are the other 12 scoops for, Linky?"

Lincoln admitted, "I want to give it as a gift for all of you. You all have been so kind, nice, and supportive to me over the previous few days, and I just want to repay the favor."

The rest of the table, Veronica, Chris, and even a few other waitresses and patrons watching gushed, "AWWWWWW!"

Linda insisted, "Lincoln, you don't have to do this for us!"

Paige concurred, "Yeah! Remember, this is our treat to you!"

However, Lindsay and Brian said together, "Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, now!", causing the rest of the table to laugh before Brian proclaimed, "Alright, we'll take 14 scoops of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!"

Veronica chuckled, "OK, I'll get on it right now!"

As Veronica walked away, Lincoln called out to her, "Wait!"

Veronica immediately stopped, turned around, and asked, "What is it, Lincoln?"

Lincoln smiled, "You mind putting 2 more scoops on that order to make it a 16-scoop order?"

Veronica asked, "16 scoops? Why?"

Lincoln offered, "Those last 2 scoops… I want to give them to you. Treat yourself. After everything you've done for me today… you deserve it."

Pretty much everyone watching gushed once more, "AWWWWW!", as Veronica gasped in joy.

Veronica then gave Chris a pleading look. Chris whispered, "It's OK. You've got the rest of the night off."

After getting the OK from her boss, Veronica gasped before pinching Lincoln's cheek and squealing fondly, "You are just the sweetest little thing!"

As many of the other waitresses repeated Veronica's compliment to Lincoln while caressing him, Paige felt a tiny pang of jealousy. However, Paige's jealousy was drowned by the sheer warmth and pride she felt towards Lincoln.

After everyone finished complimenting Lincoln, Veronica smiled, "Alright, 16 scoops of ice cream coming up!", before whispering to Lincoln, "And hey… save a seat for me, will ya?"

Lincoln chuckled, "Most definitely."

As Veronica and Chris walked away, Lincoln's entire table flashed touched and proud smiles at him.

Lincoln blankly asked, "What?"

Becky, Paige, Lindsay, and even Melissa immediately ran over to Lincoln before scooping him up in a group hug and cheering, "BEST BROTHER EVER!"

Linda praised Lincoln, "Such a great kid!"

Brian effused, "This kid keeps surprising us every day! He made our day after we tried to make his day!", as everyone at the table continued to praise and caress Lincoln.

(Time Skip: 30 minutes later)

After Veronica rounded the table to hand everybody their scoops of ice cream, she slyly smirked at Lincoln while handing him a sheet of paper. As Veronica sat beside Becky and Melissa, she whispered to them the details of the paper she gave Lincoln, which caused both teenagers to gasp before they also flashed sly smiles at Lincoln.

When they did, Lincoln asked, "What?"

Veronica said, "Check underneath your bowl."

Lincoln shrugged before lifting his bowl, only to find a piece of paper underneath it. When Lincoln read the paper's contents, his jaw dropped and he blushed. The paper contained the phone numbers and social media handles of both Veronica and her little sister, Rachel, who happened to be in Lincoln's grade at his school.

As Brian and Linda saw Lincoln's flustered face, Linda asked, "Mind letting me see what's on that paper?"

Lincoln silently handed over the paper, and when Linda read its contents, she gasped before giggling, causing Lincoln to ask, "What?"

Linda ignored Lincoln and silently handed the paper over to Brian, who chuckled while ruffling Lincoln's hair, "Looks like someone's a ladies' man, huh?"

Lincoln's face turned beet-red, causing everyone at the table to loudly laugh while Brian, Linda, and Becky adoringly ruffled Lincoln's hair.

As everyone ate their ice cream, this scenario repeated itself with a couple of other waitresses, causing much of the same proud and joyful laughter to erupt every time Lincoln got a new waitress' contact information.

When everyone finished eating, Veronica immediately told the rest of the table, "I'll be right back," before running to the staff room. When Veronica returned, she pulled her phone out of her purse and stood up. As she did, she told those seated at the Sweetwater table, "OK, I want everyone to smile!"

The Sweetwaters turned towards the camera before Veronica said, "Now, on three, everyone say, SALISBURY'S!"

As everyone posed, Veronica counted down, "OK, 1… 2… 3…," before everyone at the table yelled, "SALISBURY'S!"

Then, Veronica took the picture before texting it to Becky and Melissa. She then walked over to her friends and asked them, "Hey, mind if I put this on IP?"

Becky informed Melissa, "For Lincoln's safety, that's not the best idea. How about this, though? We'll add you to our 'Gal Pals' group on Scramble, & you can share the picture there!"

Veronica cheered, "Alright!", as the three teens typed away to help Veronica get started on the Scramble app. After Becky and Melissa added Veronica to the "Gal Pals" groupchat, Veronica shared the restaurant picture with the groupchat, resulting in many gushing, smiling emojis being shared between the teenagers.

After a few minutes, Carol texted, "Whens Veronica getting checked for a tracking chip?", causing Becky to walk over and whisper to Brian, "Now that Veronica and Chris know… we have to get them checked for tracking chips."

Brian sighed, "I know. I'll get started on that right away." Brian then whispered to Linda, "Veronica knows, so we're going to have to go to the hospital to get her checked."

Linda gasped before whispering to Brian, "I'll call the hospital, while you go talk to Chris and tell him the same thing."

Brian replied, "OK," as the two left the table to do just that.

As Veronica noticed Brian and Linda leave the table, she asked everyone else, "What's wrong?"

Melissa whispered, "Because you're in on what we're doing, we have to get you tested to see if Lisa implanted a tracking chip in you. That probably didn't happen, but it's for our safety."

Veronica gasped before conceding, "You're right. But what if I do have one?"

Melissa said, "You're going to have to get the tracking chip removed," causing Veronica to gasp before Melissa mentioned, "If it makes you feel better, everyone who's been through the surgery has survived unharmed so far."

Veronica admitted, "True," as Brian, Linda, and Chris returned to the table. As they did, Brian asked the group, "Alright, so shall we hit the road?"

The rest of the table said, "Yeah!" As they walked out of the restaurant together, Veronica texted her parents letting them know where she was, and likely would be for the rest of the night, prompting them to text back, "OMG take care luv u".

As the group congregated outside Salisbury's, Chris and Veronica told the Sweetwaters that they would be taking their own cars to the hospital, allowing Lincoln, Melissa, and the Sweetwaters to drive straight home.

As the Sweetwaters drove home, Paige asked, "So, about the Princess Pony deal," causing Lincoln to gasp before replying, "Yeah?"

Paige asked, "You said that the book was actually Lucy's, right?"

Lincoln said, "Yes."

Paige asked Lincoln, "Do you regret taking the blame for Lucy?"

Lincoln explained, "If you guys saw the footage, you guys knew why I did what I did. Lola especially was the worst because she was the 'princess lover' of the house," causing Paige and the rest of the Sweetwaters to gasp in shock.

Then, Lincoln sighed, "But if I knew Lucy was going to turn around and join my family in locking me out back then… I would have definitely made her fess up. My ex-housemates have to learn to develop thick skins."

Brian grunted, "You got that right. And don't blame yourself, kiddo. Just remember, when push comes to shove, everyone will put themselves first. While we absolutely admire that you look out for others besides yourself, for your own sake, I suggest you start putting yourself first."

Lincoln mused, "Huh, never thought of it that way," as the van headed back to the Sweetwater house.

Closing A/N: Big shoutout to everybody for getting me to over 110 favs & 130 follows! Keep it coming, people!

A/N 2: Peep the massive upgrades to Lincoln's video game library.

A/N 3: The Sweetwaters waited to tell Lincoln about the Loud pets' deaths because Brian's equipped his car and house with protections that can block out Lisa's tech. Therefore, Lisa can't listen in on any conversations the Sweetwaters have in that car.

A/N 4: The appearance of "Rose" in my fanfic is a shoutout to Rose the Changeling, who asked me to critique his fanfic. I made the character look like his profile picture.

A/N 5: The music I intend to play at the restaurant basically starts out as the theme song from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on piano, but about 30-50% slower and softer. Later on, there are some other songs I found from YouTube mixes of "the 10 most beautiful gaming piano OSTs to study/relax to." To give it that "fancy restaurant" feel. There's about 3 volumes of that, so I used those as my restaurant background music.

A/N 6: The seat cushion thing is based on an actual experience at a restaurant I went to with my family a couple of times. Yeah, they'd actually change out seat cushions for each new guest. Nuts.

A/N 7: Veronica is meant to be Lori's black-haired friend in the light blue dress from "Friendzy." Chris Roberts is intended to be the dad of Lynn Jr.'s teammate, Margo.

A/N 8: Regarding Becky's attempted wine order: the von Bülow 1990 is a reference to the main character in the movie with the same name as my fanfic. As for the name of Melissa's attempted wine order, as well as what Brian and Linda ordered as their wines… just translate them to English (wink wink).

A/N 9: All the versions of Ace Savvy are ripped from the different versions of the Crimson Chin from the Fairly OddParents. I remember watching that episode as a kid and thinking it was funny and interesting to see Crimson Chin's evolution, so I thought, why not reuse it here?

A/N 10: Regarding the Loud House episodes the Sweetwaters scold Lincoln about, I wanted to go for ones where it was evident that he either didn't learn his lesson or didn't receive karma for it. That's why I chose the incidents that I did.

A/N 11: The "Linka" reference… my headcanon is that "Sleuth or Consequences" & its aftermath happened after the "One of the Boys" nightmare. So that's how the Loud sisters know about Linka.

And now, for the best of the reviews:

- There were honestly so many reviews that I can't keep up with all of them for this chapter, so I'm gonna give a summary:

- First of all, I've noticed that there's been a lot of reviewers doing readthroughs of my fanfic lately. All I have to say to that is, thanks for your interest, be sure to fav & follow if you like what you're reading if you haven't already, sit back, & enjoy the ride!

- Second of all, I've been noticing some reviews calling out other reviewers for acting "obnoxious" just because they criticize my story. Look, we're all fans of the Loud House here, we can all have our own opinions. And heck, I take a lot of the criticism as constructive.

- There was honestly just so much love for the Lori BrownPants song, which I really appreciate. It's just so cool to see people react so viscerally to the stuff that I put out.

- yami15147: What do you mean by a "day loop?" A "Groundhog Day Loop?"

What's in store for Lincoln when he returns to the Sweetwater home? And how will the spread of Lincoln's story amongst an upscale clientele affect the Louds? Stay tuned to find out!