This is Lincoln and Luna's second talk to one of their former siblings, Lucy Shapiro. This is after the last one and also the following day. Enjoy reading this folks and there will be some tears.

Family of two.

Chapter 14: Former Goth little sister.

(The Loud House.)

Lincoln and Luna are in the dining room eating breakfast and going through any messages they got from their friends and loved ones, then Harriet comes in with some breakfast scones. "I made these myself."

"Thanks Great Grandma Harriet" replied Lincoln and Luna as they grab some scones.

"So Great Grandma Harriet, you never told us when you came home, what happened with Great Aunt Ruth?" asked Luna, Lincoln stops eating and also looks to the ghost in the room.

"Well, she was scared and shocked to see me in front of her as a full bodied apparition and then she started begging for mercy and forgiveness and used her fingers to make the sign of the cross to me. That doesn't work on ghosts anymore, it's just plain stupid. Albert then calmed her down and we all had a talk in her home and I hated that place! It wreaked of disease, had little to know cleanliness and the number of cats was unhealthy and could kill a normal person or child! Albert and I talked to her about this, and eventually we all came to an understanding and we all decided to let her stay in the house, just as long as she cooperates with the help she gets from either albert or from the two of you."

Hearing they're names being mentioned did not make Lincoln and Luna happy at all.

"Let me finish, Ruth will not drop any hard work onto you. Just some work that she is incapable of doing, she's not as feeble as Albert and she can handle some of the house work she does, she also was told to replace her food so she won't be responsible for poisoning any guests or herself and finally she was told not to harbor anymore cats, now she own only three cats, the cats she loves the most. All has been fixed and the next time should the two of you visit then it won't end horribly, Ruth also wishes to apologize for her actions. Turns out she was still in distress and misery after the family was separated and had a little resentment against you two, she seems to be closest to talking to Rita and with her not around she felt alone and stuck with just Albert and the both of you, therefore she may only call upon your help at the end of two months and that was final, She will be getting some help from a helper from Sunset Canyon, all she has to do is call them. It was like I was being the mother I was when I was alive."

Lincoln and Luna were shocked and happy for this news. "So, was there anything else you said to her? Because you seem kinda tense" said Lincoln. Luna also can see Harriet's hand trembling.

"I scolded Ruth."

That was not the answer they were looking for. "What?"

"I voiced out what I wanted to say to her when I found out she became a horrible and lazy person! I told her that she as being irresponsible, heartless, cruel, and unruly and still the same as she was when she was my daughter and I was still alive. The one child amongst two that I barely had a bond with, which is why albert is my favored son, but I guess I regret that because I never had the chance to help Ruth with her issues, all I did was get upset with the lazy and stupid things she did. Ruth said she deserved every word I said and that she admits she doesn't see herself strong enough than anyone and just takes advantage of things, I wish to speak to her again when the time is right or when you two go and visit her."

Lincoln and Luna did not know that's how it all went down. Ruth became the same mother she as from before and with Pop-pop's help, settle down the issue Ruth has. "So, you found a way to leave the house?" asked Luna.

"Not exactly, I didn't find my book, but I saw on TV that a ghost can follow unless an object from their home is carried by someone. So, Albert, StoneHeart and Merris brought with them a piece of old wood that was found underneath the house and therefore I was able to follow them. It felt good to leave the house and deal with outside issues."

"Whoa! Should we do the same?" asked Lincoln as he eats his scones and cereal.

"That depends on the situation at hand, or if there is an event. You'll have to carry something that is a piece of the old home so I may follow you, but I still have to find my book so that I can be able to leave whenever I feel like it. Even though I love my role to stay here and keep the family together, I hate not leaving the house."

Lincoln and Luna felt bad for her, she can't go anywhere unless a piece of the house is being taken with them. "Well, if you need any help then we can help you find the book, I have been helping Lucy with her books and arranging them back then, we can tag team and double the search of the boom you're looking for."

Harriet smiles. "That sounds like a very good idea Lincoln, we can get started when you two have no plans."

Lincoln and Luna think she knows about their planning talk with Lucy, and they know she doesn't wanna show herself to her, they then continue to eat their breakfast.

"Oh, and Albert said that one of the elderly at the retirement home just died yesterday, so Albert won't be available to talk to for the next two weeks." Lincoln and Luna remain silent and look to her. Why did she tell them that anyway? Now they feel bad and a bit awkward out about this.

(Skip, hours later.)

Lincoln and Luna check on if they have everything. "Okay son, we have our phones, wallets, and my bag. So let's get to the park." Lincoln and Luna grab their jackets and head out of the room and downstairs and they run into Great Grandma Harriet and are startled.

"Are you two off to meet up with Lucy?"

Lincoln and Luna look to each other and then they look to Harriet. "We are, we wanna have some small talk to her about what's been happening, and we wanna know how she's been doing too" replied Lincoln.

"Are you still mad at her?" asked Luna with concern in her voice.

Great Grandma Harriet was thinking about it and sighs. "To be honest, I don't know anymore. A part of me defies Lucy for letting Lincoln go through hell and be part as a gear into the machine that broke the family, but another part of me feels sad for what she might be going through. I know she feels bad and regrets bringing this pain and suffering to Lincoln, so my answer is yes and no, I do not hate her and yet I feel like hating her. Is that right?"

Lincoln and Luna know this, she doesn't want Lucy to see her because Lucy is still terrified of the ghost and Harriet somewhat hates Lucy and might go poltergeist on the little Goth girl. "We won't tell her about you and I'll even ask if she knows where you're book is" replied Lincoln.

Harriet smiles hearing that one. "Thank you Lincoln that would mean a lot to me."

Lincoln and Luna then take their leave and head to the car and make their way to the park so they may have a nice talk with the former sister, Lucy.

Harriet watches them leave and then she sighs. 'There is so much happening, I hope we can handle what happens to all of us next, also what is that annoying sound?' Harriet turns around and sees a mouse running past her. She sighs and controls the vacuum and a broom and some string. 'Time to go to work.'

(Ketcham Park.)

Luna parks her car near the park and both mother and son exit the vehicle and they then see two kids go towards them. "Lincoln!" It was Clyde and Liam.

"Clyde? Liam? What's wrong and calm down" said Lincoln.

They stop their bikes right in front of them. "Lincoln! Remember you beat the high score in Pack Rat!" asked Clyde.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Lincoln. Luna is confused by all of this.

"Dudes, what the heck is going on here? Because I am kinda lost."

"Clyde and I went to the arcade to play some games and when we passed by that there Pack Rat game there was a note stuck to it! This is it bud." Liam hands him the note and along with Luna they read it.

Dear Linc, you have beaten my score but I will not falter and let you overpower what I just started to win at the arcade. Leave me a note on when can we battle on who is better at the game - Stella.

Lincoln goes wide eyed from this. "Oh boy." But then he regains his courage and flips the note over and writes something on it. "Meet me at the arcade again on Friday, 9 o'clock sharp. Then we can settle to see who is better!" Lincoln then hands the note to Clyde. "Can you guys put this onto the game for me?"

Clyde and Liam smile. "We'll do it buddy!" Clyde and Liam race back to the arcade to post the note onto the arcade game.

Lincoln smiles and then he sees his mom looking at him confused with her arms crossed. "So, what was that about?"

Lincoln chuckles nervously. "Well, I guess the girl who I beat wants some payback after I beat her top score. But I won't be fighti9ng her I swear mom, and if it makes you feel better I can ask Jordan to come with me and back me up along with my friends!"

Luna sighs, she then holds his hand. "Lincoln, I don't want you getting into trouble, ever since what happened the High n' Buy! and with Aunt Ruth. So, for the sake of your safety and my cool turning into fire, I'm coming with you to the arcade on Friday to make sure no one gets hurt, mostly you."

Lincoln sighs and looks down. He knows Luna is doing this to make sure he doesn't start any trouble. "Okay mom, I understand."

Luna then kisses his forehead. "Good, now come on." They then walk into the park and they look for the little Goth girl.

"Where do you think Lucy is?" asked Lincoln as he looks around for a pale girl with black hair and clothing.

"Obviously someplace where we can't see her and she might come out of nowhere and surprise us, it's what she always does, and I wanna know if Lucy got that trait from Great Grandma Harriet" replied Luna. Then she sees someone by the picnic benches sitting all alone and reading a book.

Lincoln and Luna are shocked by this. "Huh, that's a first" said Lincoln. "Usually she always appears out of nowhere and scares the daylights out of us, she never shows herself out in the open like that."

Lincoln and Luna approach the little Goth girl. "Lucy." The little sister of Maggie turns around and sees them and she closes her book.

"Hey guys, you can take a seat anywhere if you want, I came here early so I don't accidently scare you two, also my mom dropped me off here and Maggie will come by and bring me home later" replied Lucy.

Lincoln and Luna sit on either side of Lucy. The atmosphere around them becomes a bit awkward and hard to get by, then Lincoln speaks up. "So, how have things been for you with your new family Luce?"

Lucy sighs, she knew they would ask her about that. "Things are going well, I haven't scared anyone and Maggie is helping me get over my saddened state, though my Goth phase seems to be normal and said it will fade in time when I decide to get over it. My mom and dad are supportive of me and like all my poems, I'm making nice ones instead of miserable ones and they sound really nice and make me happy to say it in front of them, but in secret Maggie and I make a few dark poems to each other. I share a room with her, for now. They said it would be a good idea that I have a roommate who can keep an eye on me while my state is …. Kinda volatile, until I'm 10 or 11 then I'll get my own room."

Lincoln and Luna were happy she was going through this nicely with the new family she is in. Then Lucy looks to them. "I …. I …. I don't know what to ask of you Lincoln, Luna. It's been almost weeks and …. And I don't ….. I don't know what to d-do or even ask y-you to." She then lets a few tears fall.

Lincoln and Luna know that the "State" she is in is her depressed side becoming worse, and it all began when the family was separated from each other.

"Lucy." Lucy looks to Lincoln. "Are you …. Are you sad that we're not family anymore?"

Lucy looks to Lincoln in shock and has no words to say to him. "I want you to be honest with me Luce, are you upset that this is what has become of the once large family we had? Are you sad that we're not siblings? Are you sad that you're not part of this small family with just Lune and myself? Are ….. Are you sad that you pushed me away? Lucy?"

Lincoln sees Lucy looking to him with tears flowing down her face, Lincoln and Luna see this and Lucy hugs him tightly. "Yes! Yes I am! I'm s-sad! I'm m-miserable! I …. I miss you L-Lincoln! Luna!" Lucy cries into Lincoln's shirt and hugs him tight.

Lincoln hugs her back and rubs her back, Luna also joins in on this. "I … I …. I should never have p-pushed you out! I …. I was s-scared, of th-them!"

"Because if you spoke you word to have Lincoln stay in the house, they would isolate you and push you away from the family" replied Luna as she strokes Lucy's hair. "I know dude, that's how I felt when they didn't listen to me, but I didn't care. What matters is the family and Lincoln is family, and now the only one I've got."

Lucy just cries hearing this and continues to hug both of them. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Lincoln. Lincoln ….. I'm sorry."

Lincoln also sheds some tears and continues to hug Lucy tight. "It's gonna be okay Lucy, I'm here now Luce." Luna smiles seeing Lincoln act like this, like a big brother again.

They stay like this for a few minutes then they break the hug. Lincoln looks to Lucy who is looking down, he raises her head and he wipes off her tears. "You feeling okay Luce?"

Lucy sighs. "Lincoln ….. I …. I'm sorry for … for what I did." Lucy then looks at her trembling hands. "You … You almost died, I …. I … I was s-scared, I didn't know w-what to do."

"Because your only 8 Lucy and soon to be 9 and as a kid like you, you can't be able to handle teasing or ignorance or other horrible outcomes that could break the meaning of who you and what things you believe in and it seems that part has passed and we're all going through it" replied Lincoln.

Lucy look down in sadness and sighs. "There's no going back Lincoln, I know that now and I can see that …. That the family we once had is … Gone, and we might as well just live out our lives, away from each other. I know you guys have a restraining order, which means I can't go anywhere near you two."

"That depends if the name was removed" replied Luna. Lucy is shocked and looks to Luna who is smirking. "Lucy, I can tell that you're in deep stress and in a lot of misery than who you were before and I know you're going to need someone to help you fight through this, or better yet. Go through this new life, with someone to watch over you, I know Maggie is keeping an eye on you, but when school begins who will be there for you?"

Lucy then realizes what she means, then she looks to Lincoln. "Lincoln, I … "

Lincoln hugs Lucy, then he strokes her hair aside and kisses her forehead which shocks her. "It's okay Luce, I forgive you. I know I can't be mad at you, you're only 8 and don't know about the bad things around you, so I wanna be there to back you up when you go to school."

Lucy is shocked at what Lincoln just said and hugs him and cries tears. But these are tears of joy. "Lincoln …. Luna …. Thank you! Thank you so much!" Luna hugs them both and sheds some of her own tears and smiles. "Thank you!"

They soon break the hug and calm down. Lucy then looks down and asks. "Lincoln, Luna. Did you guys talk to the others?"

They know who she means, the others. "We did, Leni" replied Luna.

"H-How is she?" asked Lucy.

Lincoln and Luna smile and they tell the little Goth girl all about what Leni is doing and how she's handling her problems. Lucy is shocked by this, but smiles. Lincoln and Luna left out the tumor part, they didn't want her to feel bad about Leni and the others now knowing that, it was Leni's business and they will let her tell the others, when the time is right.

Just then Lincoln notices a mother and her baby playing by the flowers. "Lily." Luna and Lucy also see her. Lily, Lily D. Pingrey and with her is her adopted mother Elena D. Pingrey and both of them are laughing and having fun together.

Lucy feels nervous about seeing her former baby sister the very same one she tried to change into a Goth, and also tell her about the ghosts she made friends with, she knows that ghosts would target an infant and now she feels bad for almost getting Lily in danger.

Lincoln and Luna look to Lucy and they can tell she wasn't feeling happy about this. "Maybe we can talk to Officer Pingrey into letting you see Lucy" said Luna. Lucy looks to her. "We'll tell them why and perhaps he can see through this and be happy enough to let us along with you visit Lily." Luna then looks to Lucy and places her hand on her shoulder. "What do you say Luce?

Lucy smiles. "That would be nice." They then watch the little infant just play around with her mother. "So, how have you two been doing living just a mom and son in the house alone?" Lucy thinks that the ghost of Great Grandma Harriet left when the louds were sent to court, she has no idea.

Lincoln and Luna then tell Lucy about how they have been doing, they even tell her about the things that have happened to them, from their dates, the Supermart, Aunt Ruth, Luna's car of course, Lincoln being sick, confronting the McBride's from time to time, the house being renovated and Lincoln's Late Mother's Day for Luna. They left out the part about the ghost family member in the house, they do not want her to have a panic attack.

Lucy already heard about the news about Flip being arrested and she is thankful for that, but she felt bad that Lincoln was getting hurt from some stupid kid. Lucy feels like she wants to help, but she knows she can't. She's just 8.

"Those are some … Wow, that is a lot of stuff you guys went through and it's only been two weeks or so" replied Lucy. "Sure wish I could've done something to help out, but I don't wanna go to the house anymore, something scary about it every time I see it." they figured that Lucy now has a small fear of ghosts, and not the friendly ones.

Luna then sees an ice cream vendor. "How about we get some ice cream? My treat." Lincoln and Lucy smile to that one, they then head for the ice cream vendor and they buy some of their favorite flavors.

Lincoln chose the vanilla, Lucy chose dark chocolate and Luna got the Rocky Road, they then take a seat back to the picnic benches. "Thanks mom, this is delicious."

"Just wanted to cool down with my kid, it is still summer and some of the trees are starting to turn orange" Luna notices some trees have a few orange leaves. "Looks like autumn is trying to keep up with us, slowly."

"Sigh, 11 days away from school and summer couldn't just last any longer, even though I hate the light of the sun" replied Lucy as she licks her ice cream.

"School starts on August 4, Friday" replied Lincoln as he licks his ice cream. "And a lot of kids will be back from their vacations and getting ready for school."

"Thankfully, I got my little dude prepped and ready, same with myself." Luna then looks to Lucy. "You okay Luce?"

"Yeah, I guess I am too. Mom, Dad and Maggie got me some early school stuff for the next school year and I'll be going back as Lucy Shapiro and probably get noticed by my pals, well former pals" replied Lucy.

Lincoln pulls Lucy close to him. "I'll be there to back you up, and make sure you don't get pushed around. We may not be related anymore Lucy, but sure as heck I am not let any kid pick on you, because in a way we're kinda family."

Lucy liked hearing that. "Thank you Lincoln, and thank you Luna. Thanks for this talk, and for forgiving me. I'll try and get through my new life, like you guys and I know you two will be there to support me if I can't handle it."

Lincoln and Luna smile and sit close to Lucy. "Anytime Luce, anytime." This whole thing brings them back some memories when it was just the three of them looking to the sunset at the backyard, Lincoln reading his comic book, Lucy writing a poem and Luna on her acoustic. All three enjoying the moment.

Unknown to them, someone gothic and at Lincoln's age is watching them from behind the tree and is smiling, she heard what they all said. 'Looks like Lucy has proven herself back into the Young Morticians Club, I must inform the others on our next Summer Time Graveyard meeting.' Haiku then disappears into the shadows.

Then Lincoln forgot to mention something to Lucy. "Oh yeah, Lisa is back in Royal Woods and is adopted by the family of her best friend Darcy, so I guess she's Lisa Helmandollar and she lives across from Clyde's house."

Lucy stops licking her ice cream and looks to Lincoln. "What?"

A/N: Looks like Lucy is now forgiven but not family, so I guess she won't be adopted. Because if she does get adopted then this story will be retitled as "Family of three" and sure as heck I am not gonna let that happen, so sorry to the people who wanted her to be family again, and it seems things will change for the better with Lucy and Lincoln along with Luna, and let's hope their next visit to Aunt Ruth is going to be okay and soon to come will be Lincoln vs Stella! Or better yet, the first time they meet Stella, which means the episode "White Hare" won't exist. Leave a review and tell me what you all think.

Date made: 5/22/20.