The Loud sisters each were nervous about where mom and dad went. They sat in the lobby of the hospital waiting for their parents to return hopefully with Lincoln by their side.
They were doing their usual things during a normal, sunny Saturday, but were glad to put it to a halt to see their brother again after a year.
Rita Loud, proud mother of 11 children was staring at her photo album looking at her various pictures of Lincoln. She looked at the pictures from Lincoln's birth, his first ice cream, and his recent birthday party. She still couldn't believe that a year has passed and there has been no sign of her son being found not even a clue has lead to his safe return home. She could still remember the last time he said goodbye.
Rita was getting ready for work like she always would. Fixing her hair, doing her makeup, and listening to the chaos known as her children running around prepping themselves for another day at school. Her husband was finishing up breakfast for the kids. She remembered the smell of bacon, eggs, and coffee in the kitchen. When she stepped out of her room she
When she stepped out of her room she saw the usual scene.
Lori on her phone talking to Bobby or one of her friends, Leni looking for her sunglasses; which is already on her head. Lucy playing with her tarot cards at the dinner table. The twins fighting over who's lunch was who's. Lynn playing around with her soccer ball and being scolded by Rita when she knocked over another lamp. Luan practicing some ventriloquism with her puppet causing Lynn Sr. to chuckle at her jokes, Luna listening to her music as she takes a strip of bacon to eat and singing aloud to her song, Lisa writing some complicated equations in her notebook, and Lily avoiding being dressed for her day at daycare by Lincoln.
She smiled when she remembered Lincoln finally dressing her and sitting her in her high chair.
She rubbed his head and gave him quick thanks. The family quickly ate breakfast with the traditional loud chatter that happened all the time.
She said her goodbyes as the kids went their ways to school. Lincoln waved good bye to his parents and went off to school.
Little did Rita know that was the last time she saw her son. The last time she heard his voice, the last time she saw his smiling face.
Rita imagined he meet up with Clyde and walked to school like he always did. And she believed she would see him after school, sitting, in his room; doing his homework.
But by the afternoon she had a feeling that something was wrong. She looked at the clock and noticed that he wasn't home yet. And he didn't call anyone to let them know where he was going.
Everyone was confused and worried.
But Lincoln had a curfew that he knew he had to follow or he would have been grounded. His curfew was to be home by 6 pm. But an hour passed and there was no response from Lincoln saying where he was.
They called around to all of Lincoln's friends only to hear that they haven't seen him around since school ended.
Rita, Lynn Sr, and the rest of the Loud sisters soon traveled the neighborhood and to Lincoln's favorite spots around town.
But soon 8 turned to 9, and 9 turned to 10. His parents knew he wasn't supposed to stay out that long. It was dark and the younger siblings were tired and hungry; due to agreeing to skip dinner to help out in the search. The Louds returned home empty handed and worried.
Rita and Lynn alerted the police and reported him missing.
Days passed and there were no signs of the middle child. Every day the siblings would pair up after school and during their weekends to continue the search. Sometimes the older Louds would skip a day of school to search.
Some people called to say they may have spotted Lincoln in various locations around town, only for it to be debunked by it being a random kid in a white hat.
Days turned into months and after the 2nd month, the search went cold was soon called off.
The family was devastated. Many tears were spilled as their brother was probably forever gone. The Loud house was a little less loud.
She rubbed her eyes as her husband came in. She suffered a long depression when the search was over. She sometimes forgot that Lincoln was gone. She would knock on his door to wake him up for school or make an extra plate when it was time for the family to eat. The family would sadly remind their mother about it only for her to remember herself.
Soon a year passed and the girls were losing hope in finding their brother. He could have been alive. No, he is alive. He's just somewhere they don't know where it is yet. The police didn't say that a body was found so there was a chance he was still out there.
Rita took this whole thing harder than anyone as expected. She would stay in her room for hours on end, crying and praying for his safe return. Lynn and the girls were her glue, for the time being, helping her stay together even though they were ready to break down along with her.
Lynn came in the room seeing his wife staring at another photo of Lincoln again.
"Come here..." He said as she broke down again in his arms. An action that he has sadly gotten used to doing nearly every week. They would just sit and remember the times they had with him. Rita and Lynn were never going to forget the day that Lincoln was born.
Lincoln was supposed to be another girl but when he was born. They both got the best surprise of their life.
Rita kissed her husband as the happy memory helped her feel better.
The phone rang. Lynn answered the phone as his wife was regaining her composure. The person on the line gave Lynn the best news they've been waiting to hear for the past year. Lincoln was finally found alive.
Lynn has a shocked expression on his face. He was relieved that his son was finally found safe. He sat next to Rita. He talked to the officer and was told where he and his wife could see him.
He thanked the man and hung up. Tightly hugging Rita, he told her what was going on. She placed a hand to her mouth, overjoyed that her son was found.
The girls heard their overjoyed parents downstairs and saw them.
"What's going on?" Luan the fourth oldest Loud had asked as she and the rest of her sisters came downstairs.
Lynn rubbed his eyes. "Lincoln's been found."
The girls were shocked. "He's been found?" Lori said. Rita nodded with tears in her eyes. The girls screamed out in relief and joy as their brother was going to come home. The girls jumped for joy, tightly hugging, and laughing with one another with bits of tears coming from their eyes.
"When is he coming home?" Luna asked rubbing the back of her hand against her eye.
"We don't know yet. We have to go to the hospital and see him." Lynn said. The girls' faces went from joy to concern.
"Is he ok? Is he hurt?" The twins asked their parents.
"We don't know yet. That's why we're all gonna go to the hospital and finally see him." Rita said.
"Well, why are we still standing around? I wanna see Lincoln again!" Lola shouted. The girls cheered and piled into Vanzilla along with their parents. After what felt like a long drive considering the fact that the hospital is only 15 minutes away, the family arrived and was nervous.
Rita and Lynn Sr. went to the desk and asked for him. The nurse typed some things into a computer and make a quick phone call. A nurse came out and escorted the parents much to the girls' dismay.
The girls didn't want to stay in the room only for Rita to calm them down. She assured them that they would get them when it was time to see him. The girls agreed as their parents walked off leaving Lori in charge as usual.
After finally seeing Lincoln they were questionable by his new appearance. Longer white hair that cascaded down to his neck with trimmed edges and a white bang that was covering his left eye completly.
The Doctor entered the room sadly asking for the parents' attention.
Rita and Lynn exited the room. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Loud. My name is Dr. Savino and I've been personally handling your daughter's case."
The parents were confused. "Daughter? No no Lincoln is our son." Lynn corrected him. "I know." He said. "I was the one who saved Lincoln from falling off of a bridge."
The parents were stunned. "Why would he...?" Rita was at a lost for words.
"I understand this is hard for you to hear but after I managed to get Lincoln down safely I recognized the picture of him and I wanted to confirm my suspicion. So after a DNA test, it was concluded that it is Lincoln."
"But why did you say he was our daughter?" Lynn asked. "He kept repeating that he was a girl and so we had to give into his request. He has a right to self-identify himself as he wants and we have to abide by it."
"Why is she acting weird? She got scared seeing us again." Rita said looking at her through the window.
"That is also what I wanted to talk about. She has experienced some violent episodes while we were trying to conduct care on her. She kept shouting about leaving before someone found out. We didn't know who she was talking about before she started to fight her way out. She had to be sedated order for us to examine her."
The parents had the worried look on their faces as he continued his explanation.
"So will she okay to go home soon?" The doctor looked at his clipboard. "She should soon but we need her to stay an extra few days in order for us to fix the injuries she has and for her to hopefully comply with police about the abduction."
"What injuries?" Lynn said. "Various scarring, bruises, a few healed broken bones, she is malnourished and underweight for her age, and we'll need to perform another test on her for DNA that the police will need."
"Ok." Rita tightly hugged the doctor. "Thank you for saving my baby." Lynn nodded and gave his thanks too.
"You're welcome Mr. and Mrs. Loud. It's what I do for a living." The doctor left the couple looking at Lincoln through the window.