Lindsey's recovery was slowly yet gradually getting better. She refused to talk to anyone about daddy. Rita and Lynn were trying to egg her on to tell police what happened but no results came. Rita walked through the hallway with Lori and Leni at her side as they went to visit Lindsey again.
Lori knocked on the door as she peeked in seeing Lindsey playing with a bandage.
"Hey Lindsey...How ya feeling?" She asked. "I think I'm better?" She said looking at the two.
"I brought you something to wear, even though you look great in that dress." Leni said as she pointed to her gown.
"Leni, it's a hospital gown, not a dress." Lori said.
"With a few accessories and a belt, it would be a great style to wear for the summer." Lori sighed.
Leni placed the outfit on her bed. It was a white long sleeve sweater and a flowing orange skirt, and a pair of black ballet flats.
"We found some of the girls old clothes back at home. Since it getting cold outside we thought the sweater would be better for you to wear, and to make sure you had something to wear for when you got ready to come home." Rita said rubbing her head. Rita came close to playing with her bang covering her eye and Lindsey shifted her head so her hand wasn't near her eye.
Rita took note of this but ignored it.
A knock came to the door. "Hello. How's our patient?"
"She's doing alright." Rita answered.
"Great. And I'm glad to see that your appetite has finally come back. That's good." He said seeing her nibbling into the sandwich again. He typed into his tablet and pulled up Lindsey's records.
"Mrs. Loud do you mind if we talk for a moment?" Dr. Savino asked. Rita nodded and walked out, leaving Lindsey with Lori and Leni.
"Your daughter has been doing well for the past few days. And I'm happy to say she's free to go home by tomorrow morning."
Rita and the girls smiled. "Really? That's awesome!" Lori said.
"You're going to be able to finally come home with us Lindsey!" Leni said hugging her.
Lindsey lost her appetite. She didn't know how to comprehend the news. She would be "going home" with a group of strangers that she's only known for a few days. Did father know about this? He wouldn't approve of her going somewhere herself, let alone be with anybody but him.
Lindsey looked down sadly.
"But what about daddy?" She questioned herself not receiving notice from the others.
'You need to keep calm Lindsey. Don't think about daddy.'
Was daddy still looking for her...right?
Lori and Leni drove home and called a family meeting. "So what's the big issue that you pulled us in for?" Lana asked crossing her arms.
"I need to do my daily soy facial treatment or my pores show!" Lola said as she sat on Lori's bed.
"Guys it's great news!" Leni cried. "Lindsey gets to come home tomorrow!"
The girls cheered. They danced and hugged each other with glee.
"We gotta celebrate!" Lynn said.
"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Luna said. She stood next to Lori. "A welcome home party is in need!"
"A welcome home party is in need!"
"You're right Luna!" Lori said. "A welcome home party would be awesome for her! We only have 24 hours to plan for it girls. We need to invite friends of Lincoln, get some party supplies, prepare some snacks..."
Lisa raised her hand. She cleared her throat. "As much as you all are elated as I am about our sibling returning home, I do need to remind you all that we probably should refrain from having a large party for her return."
The girls cried out in protest.
"I understand your upset but we have to consider Lindsey's mental status." She said adjusting her glasses. "If she's surrounded by strangers she will most likely relapse."
"But doesn't having friends and family around help with that?" Luan said.
"Sometimes it does but we don't know what happened to her or what's going on in her head. We don't know how she will react around a large group of individuals that she may not remember."
"But she deserves a party for her homecoming! I mean she's been gone for a whole year!" Lola argued. "And I agree. But I recommend that this party be kept to a very strict minimum. A large gathering could trigger something in her head that could probably harm herself or others."
"You're right Lisa." Lori said. "Aren't I almost always?" She said.
"We don't know how Lindsey will react to this. And we need to keep that in mind."
The girls nodded. "But we'll still have the party, right?" Leni asked.
"Yes Leni." Lynn said.
"Yay!" She cheered. "To the party store!"
The next day Lindsey was getting dressed as she was waiting for the nice couple to do some paperwork so she could leave.
'So we're going to live with them now.' Lila commented. Lindsey nodded. "I feel a bit weird about leaving with them. I remember daddy saying I'm not supposed to talk or go anywhere with strangers."
'You were talking to them when you meet them. So you broke that first rule.'
"Lila..."
'You're not helping yourself in any way. Daddy is still out there and he could still be looking for you. I'm pretty sure that you're already in the papers and he's already looking for you as we speak.'
"You don't know that."
'I know. But you know how he gets when he plays hide and seek with us. He always wins and we always get caught.'
"So did my 'sisters' they always got caught too." She said back.
'I don't want you to get caught because you decided to be an idiot.'
"But I know daddy will-" Lila grabbed her and made her face her. 'Daddy is not going to catch us! Do you understand?'
Lindsey nodded and Lila hugged her. "Daddy's not going to catch us..." She started rubbing her head trying to fix her hair. "He's never going to."
A knock was sounded on the door as she looked over and saw the nurse at the door with a wheelchair. "Hello Lindsey. It's time for you to go. Your parents are waiting downstairs." Lindsey nodded and followed her out with Lila walking behind her quietly.
Lindsey silently stared out the window in fascination seeing the various buildings and people passing her way. She enjoyed seeing the many colors around.
The car came to a stop at a red light. Lynn and Rita waited for the light to pass. Lindsey looked forward at the crowd of people crossing in front of the van. She saw a man standing in the middle of the walkway, just staring directly at her.
Her eyes widened and she gasped quietly. People continued to cross and the man in the middle disappeared in the dispersing crowd. The light turned green and she had a horrified look on her face. "Father?" She said.
"Yeah Lindsey?" Lynn said looking back at her. Lindsey looked up and saw both parents looking back at her concerned. "You alright sweetheart?" Rita asked. Lindsey looked away, nodding. "I'm ok."
"You're probably nervous about coming home for the first time in a while. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll come around to everything." Rita said with a hopeful look on her face.
The drive to the house was quiet for the rest of the trip.
Lindsey noticed the car pulled to a stop. She looked outside and stared at the house that Rita and Lynn said she would be living.
'This house is tall...' Her shadow said looking out through the window too. Lindsey looked at the yard seeing it littered with toys of various colors and shapes.
'And they got a ton of stuff too...'
Lynn opened the door for her. "Here you go kiddo."
She took a hesitant step out of the vehicle. The parents lead the girl to the steps seeing the red door in front of her.
Inside the Loud house, the group including Clyde were busy setting up the rest of the house. "Ok is everything in place?" Luna asked looking around. "Balloons in place!" Luan chimed in as she finished twisting a balloon animal.
"Banner?" Lori said. The twins walked in with a homemade banner with 'WELCOME HOME' written in various colors of markers decorated with both glitter and some mud.
"Done!" They said showing the banner. "Great! Snacks?"
"Done and done!" Lynn said taking and eating a hand full of chips from a bowl and giving Lily a cookie. "Lynn stop eating the snacks!"
"Lily is eating one too!" She said with a burp.
"Everything looks great guys!" Leni said.
Clyde was taking some deep breaths as he was pacing the room.
"You ok there Clyde?" Luna asked.
"Well yes...and no...I mean I haven't seen my best friend in an entire year. And when you told me about what happened, well how's a guy supposed to respond to that?"
"Listen, Clyde, you're not the only on nervous here too." Luna said placing a hand on his shoulder. "None of us still know how to react to this whole thing, but the best thing we can do is take it one step at a time."
"Guys they're outside!" Leni cried as she peeked out the window.
"Ok everyone! Get in your places!" Lori cried out. "Lola, Lana you two hold the welcome sign. Luan no pranks!" Luan threw her gag toy away and smiled. "Luan no loud music."
"What kind of party is it without any tunes?" She complained. "Remember what Lisa said." Luna sighed and put her guitar in the nearest closet.
"Ok. Smiles everyone!" The group gathered around watching as the door slowly opened.