Well, hello I am fucking sweating. Honestly in Scotland right now as I am writing this is 20 degrees celsius, like maaannn. Hope everyone else who's somewhere cold is getting on alright. But enough of me complaining about my personal need for some ice down my back, let's get into what you've been waiting for!
I also hope you guys like the chill moments as well as the action, that's something I lean more to than the action but still trying to balance it for those who would like to see Lincoln slice someone's throat open (if that ever happens wink wink)
A couple months have gone by after the guys arrived back from Iraq from their failed mission. The first mission failed and they came back with one man deceased and the other two dead too. Now they were now in the summer, it was pretty hot so Lincoln got the chance to wear shorts to help him get through the heat. And he thought America was a hot country for a while.
Lincoln was sitting down wearing a pair of grey shorts, an orange shirt and he wasn't wearing any shoes or socks...why the fuck was he not wearing shoes or socks? Lincoln was in fact not at the base but was sitting at a dinner table with a laptop in front of him. The house he was in?
"Hey Linc you about to call your family soon?" Peters asked as he came up behind Lincoln and kicked the back of his chair to get his attention. Peters was in nothing but a pair of shorts, sunglasses on the top of his head.
Lincoln was sitting inside Peters house. Ever since Lincoln had seen Peters house, he had been invited over for almost every family dinner. With jack sometimes attending. Lincoln also helped them with some household stuff and even taking care of Emma with Peters if Audrey was working or out doing more chores. Lincoln was starting to grow onto the family, even Emma was starting to call Lincoln uncle Lincoln or uncle Linc for short.
Since Lincoln has now moved to the UK, he has been house hunting for a little while. After coming back, he did go house hunting with Sarah for a little bit, but couldn't find one that was either in his budget or was suitable for him. You would not believe how expensive apartments can be. But that's not the reason why Lincoln was using the computer now. He was getting ready to video chat with his family and tell them what's happened. Hopefully they won't be too mad at him. Even if they are, what can they do about it?
Lincoln adjusted himself in his seat as he was sat in front of the laptop waiting to start the call to his family who he texted prior about it. Lincoln checked the clock on the wall in the room "I told them I'll call them at 10 o'clock, and now its 10:03 so they're probably wondering when I will" Lincoln shook his head a little as he prepared to click the call with the mousepad.
"Okay well, I'm going to be in the back garden getting some sun, might as well get a tan while I can in this bloody heat. Oh, and don't kill me when I do this though"
"Do what-"
Peters quickly tapped the mousepad and ran out the back door laughing then closing it "Oh that son of a bit-"
"Lincoln!"
"Heyy!"
Lincoln was cut off by the sound of his sister Lilly "Lincoln! Oh, my I missed you so much!" Lilly said as she sounded ecstatic to see Lincolns face for once after many years.
"Hey Lills! Oh, wow you've grown bigger, haven't you?" Lincoln joked as Lilly started to laugh "Come on Lincoln I'm 11, we don't need to act like I'm little anymore"
Lincoln felt a little embarrassed he was talking to Lilly like she was still one year old again. This must be how siblings get when they grow older, still treating their sibling like they are still very young. I wouldn't know since my brother is a shithead "So...wait where's everyone else?" Lincoln asked her.
Lilly was sat at the dinner table by herself. Lincoln did in fact text each of his family that he would be video calling them today at 10 o'clock. I mean yeah, he was a few minutes late to it but not late enough for them to not wait. Lilly was being quiet when Lincoln asked her. She sort of looked away as she fiddled with her fingers below the table.
"Lilly...did they forget?" Lincoln asked her calmly.
He wasn't feeling mad, or any type of anger, he just felt let down and disappointed the rest of his family couldn't make it "They didn't forget Lincoln...they have their own lives to take care and must've missed your text" Lilly admitted to him.
That was more understandable, Lincoln couldn't expect them to drop their own shit for a limited video call with him "Okay, well at least you could make it. How have you been?" Lincoln asked her.
Lilly seemed to perk up when Lincoln didn't show any signs of being hurt or upset, that was enough for her to smile and look at Lincoln properly "My god you have no idea. First one of my friends said I could pull off this cute hairband but she lied and I look awful with it! Look!" Lilly turned her head to show Lincoln the hairband she was using to keep her hair up rather than have it tied.
"Lilly, it looks great! Come on now you can pull that off better than Leni!" Lincoln joked a little.
"You know it!" Lilly laughed. She noticed Lincolns arm "Do you have a tattoo?" she asked him.
Lincoln looked down at his arm and looked back up at Lilly "Oh yeah, I did. I got this one for you guys" Lincoln said as he rotated his arm in frame of the camera to show her "See each of the cards is you guys with your own initials in them, isn't that cool haha" Lincoln said.
"Oh, my wow it is so cool!" Lilly said as she admired his tattoo "Did you get any more?"
1 hour later
After what was only an hour but felt like many, Lincoln finished the video call with Lilly then decided to step outside into the garden with Peters. He was sitting outside in a sun lounger with a couple more beside him. The back garden was a little smaller than the front yard, having a trampoline and grill on one part of the garden that was a deck. Peters was also on the deck while sitting in his sun lounge. He saw Lincoln then took his glasses off and sat up "How did it go?" he asked Lincoln.
Lincoln walked across the grass and onto the deck taking a seat on the sun lounge next to Peters and laying down then releasing a sigh of relief "Well everyone but my little sister Lilly made it. They have their own shit to do so I can't really get upset about that...although they could've sent a reply saying they couldn't make it" Lincoln laughed a little near the end trying to make it a little joke.
Peters laid back down and put his shades back on as he soaked up more of the sun "Sorry to hear that son. At least you got to talk with one of them"
Lincoln nodded as he closed his eyes from the sun blaring down "I guess so. She really has grown up a lot since last time I saw her in person. Hah, she was about 8 the last time I saw her, now she's 11! I still see her like she is still 8-years-old" Lincoln explained.
"I know the feeling mate. When you have kids of your own it will feel like that every day of your life even when they turn 18. I tell you that I'm dreading the day Emma turns 18" Peters chuckled at the end "And she's already doing stuff herself now, tying her shoes by herself, waking up herself, almost tried making herself breakfast but couldn't work the cooker"
Lincoln couldn't help but laugh a little "Ahah, yeah I tried that before, almost burned myself on it"
The pair shared a good laugh but was interrupted by Peters phone going off. He sat up and pulled his phone out his pocket and answered it with a "Hello"
Peters didn't check the number but soon realised it was Emma's school. Lincoln tried his best not to listen, but wasn't working when Peters went- "WHAT?"
20 minutes later
Peters was then walking out with Emma beside him. He threw on a shirt and shoes for when he left to get her and so did Lincoln, both wearing grey shirts but Peters wearing a baseball cap. Lincoln tagged along as Peters seemed to be in a moment of rage and could use Lincoln to hold him back from doing something he would regret to someone.
Peters helped Emma into the backseat and then got into the driver's seat with Lincoln sitting in the passenger seat. Peters didn't start driving and instead turned around and looked at Emma. With his calmest voice he could put on "So...do you feel like telling us now?" Peters asked her.
Emma refused to tell Peters what happened, not even the teachers would tell him so Emma was the only one who could. All the teachers told him was Emma was in trouble for punching a boy. Emma noticed Lincoln was sat in the passenger seat, then she immediately started to cry.
"Sweetie its okay. We're just wanting to know so we can understand" Lincoln told her with his calmest voice too.
Emma sniffed a little and wiped her tears away and nodded "This boy Josh kept pulling my hair and telling me that he wanted to marry me because I have amazing hair...then when I said no, he- he uhm...calle h" Emma spelled out the word bitch.
"And that's why you hit him?" Lincoln asked her. Emma immediately shook her head no "I tried walking away then he grabbed my hand and said that I can't reject him and that I belong with him. I was feeling uncomfortable so I pushed him away. It was just a shove! I didn't punch him!" Emma complained.
"Honey it's okay" Peters told her softly "Can we just go home? Please?" Emma begged a little quietly.
Peters nodded and started his truck. But before leaving the property Lincoln saw a car pull in front of the school outside the gate and saw a boy come out with his school bag. Lincoln put his hand out in front of Peters "Woah woah stop for a minute" Lincoln told him. Peters stopped and looked at Lincoln "What?"
Lincoln turned around and looked at Emma then pointed at the car the boy was getting into "Is that Josh?" Lincoln asked her.
Emma nodded when she got a look at him from the backseat. Lincoln looked at Peters "If a fight starts, I can't get involved mate, they know who I am" Peters told him. Lincoln understood then got out the truck. Peters turned around again and looked at his daughter "We're going to have a word with Josh's parents, here play angry birds" Peters said as he handed Emma his phone which made her smile a little.
Lincoln was already a good distance from the truck then walked up to the driver's side window and tapped on it with the back of his knuckles. The car was a black Mercedes-Benz Glc. The window then rolled down to reveal a mid 40s woman and a mid 40s man sitting in the car, with the woman driving and the man sat in the passenger seat.
"Can we help you?" the woman asked Lincoln. Peters then walked up on the passenger side and looked inside to see a boy sitting in the back seat.
"Hi yes, I'm here helping picking up my niece who seemed to have gotten into some messy stuff with your son. Josh? Right?" Lincoln asked her.
The woman was not happy "I don't know what you're talking about, that little shit punched my son all because he asked her to marry him. What's the harm in that" she asked Lincoln.
Lincoln laughed a little "That little fucker you call of a son put his hands on her so she pushed him away after he grabbed her hand. Don't try and defend him alright?" Lincoln told her. Her husband was not happy either.
"Don't you dare talk to my wife like that you fuckin-" the husband tried getting out the passenger seat but Peters kicked it in "-What the?"
The man rolled down the window to see Peters who was on the edge of kicking this guy's spine out his body "That little shit is also my daughter I'll have you know"
"Well, you sure did a good job raising her didn't you" the man said sarcastically.
Peters looked at Lincoln who nodded. Both Lincoln and Peters switched sides, this time Lincoln leaning down to see the man through the window.
"You wanted to get out the car, right? Well get out then" Lincoln said as he pulled the car door open for the man then stepped back a little so they were stood between the car and the school gate. The man got out the car but his wife tried stopping him, he didn't listen and just shut the door. Josh was looking scared now.
The man was wearing shorts as well. Who wouldn't it's so fucking hot. He wore a pair of crocs and had on a football shirt (soccer for you Americans reading). He was looking like a real bloke. He held up his fists and threw the first punch at Lincoln but missed when Lincoln slapped his hand away "Come on man you can do better! Show your son how to win a fight!" Lincoln said as he was starting to instigate the fight now.
He tried throwing more punches but Lincoln kept hitting them away so they just barely grazed his shoulder. Lincoln had enough when the man threw another punch again and then grabbed his fist instead then punching the man in the gut knocking the wind out of him. Lincoln let him drop to his knees and let go of his fist. Lincoln then walked up the car and peaked his head into the window to see the wife shocked and the boy looking like he was going to cry after seeing his dad get fall to the ground "Teach your son some manners on how to respect a woman" Lincoln told her.
The wife nodded and the boy started to cry. Lincoln however was then suddenly dragged to the ground by the man and then was feeling pressure from the man pinning Lincoln down then throwing some punches at Lincolns ribcage. Peters ran over and then pulled the man off Lincoln and then kneeing the man in the stomach then throwing him into the gate and pinning his arm behind his back.
"You alright Lincoln?" Peters asked him.
Lincoln gave Peters a thumbs up as he got to his feet and clenching his ribs with one of his arms.
"Let me fucking go!" the man yelled in anger as he tried getting out of Peters grip.
"I'll let you go when you calm the fuck down" Peters told him.
*RING RING RING RING*
The school bell went off meaning it was now lunch for the kids. Lincoln came up behind Peters "I think we should go before the kids see us"
Peters nodded then let go of the man's arm, turning him around and grabbing him by the shirt pressing him against the gate "Teach your son how to respect some women, then we won't be back here. And don't think we'll track you down because we know your license plate. Understood?" Lincoln told him. The man nodded as he was now in fear of Lincoln and Peters. Peters let go of him and cleared him to get back into the car then driving away.
As the pair watched the car drive away from the school and turned a corner, Peters patted Lincolns back "I think that boy won't bother Emma anymore. Thanks Lincoln" Peters said as they walked back to the truck and getting it.
Emma didn't see what happened as she was distracted by angry birds on Peters phone "Daddy I can't do this level!" Emma complained as she handed Peters his phone back.
Peters examined the level and laughed a little "Ahah honey you have to use the bomb bird to blow up the pigs below so the rest of the building collapses" Peters explained to her as he handed her back his phone. Lincoln smiled as Emma was happy again and not crying from what happened at the school.
Back home
Peters pulled into the drive and they got out and walked up to the house "I'll tell you what, this heat is really kicking my aa-" Lincoln almost spoke but remembered Emma was here and was looking up at Lincoln wanting to hear what he was going to say "..My aaaii I would like some ice cream, you want ice cream Emma?"
"Yes yes!" Emma said jumping up and down "I have to call Audrey and tell her what happened, you guys help yourself to some in the freezer" Peters told them as he stood outside and pulled his phone out.
Lincoln and Emma walked in to the house leaving Peters outside to attend to his phone call with his wife. Peters pulled up his wife in his contacts then started to call her as he stood outside enjoying the fresh air "Hi honey, that's good you called I was going to ask if you can make dinner because I'm working late. Christa was sick so I must fill in for her" Audrey said with a little dramatic voice at the end and a little chuckle too.
Peters scratched the back of his head "Yeah, no problem. But I need to tell you something that happened at Emma's school, I had to pick her up"
"Oh, what happened? Is she okay?" Audrey asked her "Yeah, she's okay, just a little scare is all. But a boy put her hands on her so she pushed her. Then I went to pick her up with Lincoln and we had a bit of an interaction with the boy's parents"
Audrey was silent on the phone "Peters what did you do" she almost demanded to know "Lincoln got into a little fight with the dad so I had to pull the man off him and pin him against the gate"
"Oh my god Peter! I told you not to get into bother at Emma's school!" Audrey said with a little annoyance in her voice to her husband.
"They called our daughter a bitch Audrey, what was I supposed to do" Peters told her.
"Seriously? Oh my god. Did you get your point to him?"
Peters sighed a little as he took that as an insult that he wouldn't "Yes honey, of course" Peters confirmed her question "Okay. If you guys and Emma is okay, then so am i. Thank you for telling me"
"You're welcome. I'll see you when you get home. I love you"
"I love you too!" Audrey said with a kiss at the end then hung up.
Peters sighed "I wish I didn't quit smoking" he whispered.
Back at the loud house
After finishing the call with Lincoln, Lilly was sitting in the living room watching the tv while she had the house to herself. Since It was summer, Lilly didn't have school and neither did the rest of her sisters who are still in high school.
"I'm home!" Rita said as she got back with some groceries in her arms "Hi mom!" Lilly said as she got up from the couch.
"Hi sweetie. Everything okay?" Rita asked her as she made her way to the kitchen with the bags of food and other stuff "Oh yeah! I just talked with Lincoln and he looks so cool now! He has tattoos like-"
"Wait wait wait!" Rita said fast as she put the groceries down on the counter and turned around to face Lilly "You spoke to Lincoln on a video call?"
"Yeah. Didn't you get his text?" Lilly asked her.
Rita pulled out her phone and checked her messages. She covered her mouth as she gasped "Oh my god I missed it!" Rita said with a little bit of anger "Why couldn't you have told me?" Rita asked her daughter.
"I thought...I just thought you would remember! It's not my fault you didn't check your phone!" Lilly told her. This made Rita surprised and speechless "Just forget it. I got to talk with my brother today, you should try talking to him now while you can" Lilly ran upstairs to her bedroom then closed the door.
Rita was feeling a bit like she let down Lincoln not checking her messages. Rita then remembered however if Lilly was the only one who spoke with Lincoln, then the rest of her daughters and husband didn't.
"Jesus Christ" Rita moaned while covering her face in a little bit of embarrassment upon realising it.
Rita walked up to the laptop that was left on the table and saw Lilly hadn't closed it. Rita sat down and hovered the mouse over the call button for Lincoln. Rita took a deep breath then pressed the keypad.
Back in the UK
Lincoln and Emma were sitting in the living room eating ice cream. Emma had some less ice cream since Lincoln thought it was best not to ruin her appetite for dinner later. So, this was technically her lunch.
"I wish I had more than you" Emma said as she saw Lincoln had more than her in his bowl than she did.
Lincoln laughed a bit as he had a mouthful of ice cream "Your dad won't like it if I gave you more than I have" Lincoln told her.
Peters came in and saw the pair in the living room. He saw his bowl on the counter then grabbed it and sat down next to Lincoln while Emma was on the floor with her bowl on the coffee table.
"Daddy, I didn't get enough ice cream from uncle Linc" Emma told Peters.
Peters looked over at her bowl and then back at Lincolns who had a lot more. Peters looked at Lincoln and smirked a little.
"Emma that's plenty. And we'll be having dinner later as well. You want to stay for dinner Linc?" Peters asked him as he took a little spoonful of ice cream.
"Depends if miss not enough ice cream wants me to" Lincoln said as he looked at Emma who was now pouting which made Lincoln and Peters burst into laughter.
Emma tried to keep a straight face but couldn't help but laugh as well "Ahah...yes I do uncle Linc" Emma agreed.
"Then I guess I'm staying! What is Audrey making?" Lincoln asked him "She's working tonight so I guess we're going to have to make it" Peters explained
"Dang it. Walked into that one" Lincoln laughed then took another bite of his ice cream.
The trio almost jumped as the laptop on the dinner table was ringing. Lincoln had an incoming video call "One sec" Lincoln got up leaving his bowl on the coffee table. Lincoln saw on the laptop screen it was Lilly calling him again "I guess my sister probably wants to talk again" When peters heard that he put his finger to his lips in front of his daughter to tell her to be silent. She replied with doing the same action as her father and continued eating her ice cream.
Lincoln took a seat at the table again and then accepted the call. Lincoln was expecting to see his little sister but instead saw his mum, who looked to be on the verge of crying her eyes out "Mom? What's wrong?" Lincoln asked her as he then sat up straight at full attention.
"Lincoln... we're- I-i'm so sorry I forgot about the video call today. I've been busy with work and busy with the house. Please don't be mad I'm so sorry I forgot today we were meant to see you" Rita said quietly and trying not to cry again.
"Woah hey! Mom it's okay" Lincoln said calmly to her "I understand. You guys are busy and its okay" Lincoln reassured her but it only made Rita cry even more hearing her sons voice and seeing him.
"Oh, my goodness! Look at you! You've grown so much- oh are you growing a beard?" Rita asked him. Lincoln chuckled in a slight embarrassment as he forgot to shave today "I mean yeah. I forgot to shave but I guess I'm growing a little beard yeah" Lincoln confirmed as he rubbed his face a little. Feeling the little hairs on his face. If he grew his beard out, he could probably get a part time job as Santa for Christmas.
"Lincoln your ice cream is going to melt!- oh!" Emma shouted but then slapped her mouth covering it after realising she spoke. This got Ritas attention as she leaned in a little to the laptop "Who's that Lincoln?" she asked her son.
"Ah yeah. Uh that's my friend's daughter. I'm at his house right now instead of the base" Lincoln told her "Oh I didn't know you could leave...wait where are you?" Rita asked him another question as she noticed he was basically sitting in a normal house.
"Yeah...that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I-"
"If you don't eat the ice cream then Emma probably would Linc" Peters said as he joked a little but then remembered as well that he wasn't meant to speak so he covered his mouth like his daughter did.
"Is that your friend? Wait he sounds british...are you in the UK?!"
"Well...I guess that helps telling her" Lincoln said as he looked at Peters who couldn't stop laughing as well as his daughter was upon hearing Lincolns words.
1 hour later
Lincoln was still sitting at the table talking to his mum on the video call while Peters was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Emma was sitting down across from Lincoln at the table doing her homework. Lincoln explained to Rita how he ended up going from being a regular soldier in Iraq to being in delta force and then transferring over to the UK for training. He didn't tell her about how he transferred over to the SAS with Peters since Peters daughter was in front of Lincoln and he couldn't share that with his mum yet.
What he didn't share was his scars as she would obviously not be a fan of them, I mean who would.
"Lilly told me you have tattoos, right? Can I see them?" Rita asked her son. Lincoln realised he forgot to tell her "Oh yeah I did uh let's see" Lincoln rolled up his sleeve "This is my first one I got when I came to the UK" he said showing her the special forces tattoo "I got this one for all of you" he said showing her his forearm "And" Lincoln rolled up his other sleeve and lifted half his shirt up showing her the one he got over his scar on his shoulder. Rita was laughing a little "Oh my god you are sounding like Luna when she got her ones at 18"
"Show her the bird one!" Emma said from the other side of the laptop.
Rita was now intrigued "Bird one? What bird one?" she asked him.
1 month ago
A month passed after returning from Iraq. Lincoln was still recovering from the incident with his back as he stood in front of a mirror in a bathroom examining his back with the help of his camera on his phone. He can see the scarring has faded but it is obvious it is still there even after removing the dressing with the help of his friends.
"Lincoln you alright?" Lincoln heard "Oh yeah I'm just-" Lincoln flushed the toilet "You know..."
"Oh...okay, come to bed then once you washed your hands"
It was Sarah.
Lincoln and Sarah started to see each other more since he got back from Iraq. They went out for drinks either with friends or by themselves to a quiet pub. Lincoln wasn't a big drinker but he started to enjoy what british pubs had to offer. Tonight, he was spending the night at Sarahs after having sex more and then instead of leaving decided to stay over instead of leaving. He wasn't sure if they were dating or a couple, but he was enjoying it with her. Lincoln threw on his shirt and left while wearing his shorts as well. He hadn't told Sarah about the scars on his back, hence why he has kept his shirt on most of the time. He exited the bathroom that was connected to Sarahs apartment.
Sarah was laying there in bed with the tv on that was placed on her dresser. She was half naked, also wearing a shirt since Lincoln was wearing his it didn't seem fair that only one was wearing clothing while the other was naked. She smiled when she saw Lincoln and then opened her arms "Come here"
Lincoln crawled into the bed and snuggled up into Sarahs arms and started to cuddle in the bed with the covers over them. The tv was playing some comedy sitcom that neither of them could be bothered paying attention to as the volume was low.
"So...anything on your mind you want to tell me?" she asked him as she played with his wife soft hair. Lincoln thought for a moment that he should tell her about the scars he received "I might need to tell you something but I don't want you to get mad" Lincoln told her as he looked up at her from his head laying on her chest "You can tell me honey"
Lincoln took a deep breath "When I went to Iraq, I came back fine right?" Lincoln started. Sarah nodded as she was following what he was saying "I came back with something I don't want to keep from you"
Sarah seemed to get the hint of what Lincoln was getting at "Do you have PTSD? Honey that's nothing to be ashamed of. I had it for a while when I came back from serving" Lincoln cleared his throat "No no, not PTSD, although I'm not too sure what to feel" Lincoln denied her guess "So what is it hun?" Sarah asked.
Lincoln got up from the cuddling and took his shirt off. Sarah was surprised but also happy he finally took it off. But her face changed when Lincoln turned around showing her his back "Oh my god!" Sarah almost yelled as she got up from the bed and looked at his back "Oh my god! What happened? Are you okay?" she asked frantically.
"I'm fine...we got taken hostage and after punching one of them, he gave me this with his knife" Lincoln explained to her.
"Holy fuck! Is this why you've been keeping your shirt on all the time?" Sarah asked as she turned him around to look at him "Lincoln honey, why didn't you tell me?"
Lincoln held her hand "I didn't want you to think of me the way the writing is on my back..." Lincoln trailed off and stayed silent after "Hun it's okay. You aren't a killer. You're a protector!" Sarah told him as she cupped his cheeks "Look at me" she told him as Lincoln was looking at the ground but now looked back up at Sarah when she told him to "I don't see you as a killer, I don't think of you as a killer either. We've both been in the same position where we must shoot our gun at someone who was a threat. You are a good person, Lincoln. You're a hero"
"I don't feel like a hero. For God sake I killed him, Sarah!" Lincoln yelled a little then pushed her hands away as he stepped away "I killed him" he sniffed and started to feel like he was on the verge of crying his eyes out to Sarah. Sarah was silent and continued to let Lincoln rant "I didn't even kill him with a gun! Or a damn knife! I killed him- HIM WITH MY HANDS" Lincoln yelled louder but keeping his distance from Sarah as he didn't want her to feel threatened by him "I watched him kill someone else...RIGHT IN FRONT OF US" Lincoln started to pace back and forth across the room while pulling at his hairs behind his head.
"Lincoln"
"I- I- I didn't even know I was doing it! I just snapped and tackled him and started punching him until my knuckles bruised and his skull caved in!" Lincoln yelled again but this time was calming down with the volume.
"Lincoln!"
"I can't even believe I am still here...I should've died there in Iraq"
"LINCOLN LOUD!"
Lincoln stopped and looked at Sarah after she yelled his full name "You are not a killer! You helped your men and fought the man who took the life of one of them and possibly the other two!" Sarah said as referring to what Lincoln told her about the men they were meant to rescue "I do not see you as a killer. You are a good man and a good soldier who did what was right and stopped someone who committed WAR CRIMES" Sarah informed Lincoln "I do not care what you say, but no matter what I will see you as a good man who has done what was right" Sarah walked up to Lincoln then wrapped her arms around his body. Her hands trailed up and down his back, feeling the scars. She then looked up at Lincoln with her chin on his chest and smiled "And I think I know what we can do about that scarring"
Present
Lincoln was now showing Rita his back which was a black painted phoenix with red tracing around its wings and feathers. As Lincoln looked at his back with the help of his view from the laptop camera, he could still see the faint outline of the words that permanently marked him. But now from that trauma a dark phoenix had arisen, born from his pain and blood. The eyes were fierce and piercing as if saying 'you won't know until it happens to you'. Its feathers were coloured black instead of the traditional red, and the entire thing was shrouded by a crimson red giving it an ominous appearance.
Rita was amazed and luckily didn't see the outline of the words Lincoln was marked with the previous months ago "Wow Lincoln, that's big" Rita saw how it almost took up his whole back.
The tattoo helped covered his scars and even helped him forget the scars were even there on his back "Thanks mom" Lincoln then put his shirt back on and sat back down.
"I think I should go now. I have groceries to unpack- OH THE ICECREAM" Rita jumped as she forgets there was ice cream in the bag then went to get it out and put it in the freezer "Ahaha, love you too mom, bye!" Lincoln closed the laptop.
"Your mum seems nice don't she" Peters said as he cut up some carrots in the kitchen. Lincoln got up from the table and walked over to Peters in the kitchen "Need any help?" Lincoln asked him "Uh yeah actually, can you cut up the rest of this. I need to phone Audrey" Peters said as he took his phone and stepped outside into the back garden.
Lincoln took over and started to cut up the carrot. Peters seemed to be making a roast dinner. There was a chicken in the oven, a pot of mashed potatoes and a glass bowl of broccoli and some already chopped up carrots.
Peters immediately came back in and seemed frustrated. Lincoln looked up from cutting the carrots as he heard Peters shut the back door "Everything okay?" Lincoln asked him "No. Audrey won't answer my calls and I'm trying to see what's up. She normally calls me back straight away after I text her once or twice" Peters explained. Peters examined Lincolns carrots he cut up "That looks good mate" he said as he took the carrots with his hands and placed them in the bowl and immediately hit them with some oil and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Peters then took some ginger and garlic, cutting and smashing them with the side of his knife then threw them in the bowl and started to mix it in with the broccoli and carrots with a spatula.
Lincoln was impressed Peters was also a good cook, same as his wife. He never seen anyone make carrots and broccoli like this, not even his dad. Normally you see people boil broccoli and carrots or maybe steam them to keep them sweet.
"I know you're probably wondering why I'm not boiling them" Peters laughed as he could tell Lincoln was intrigued "Yeah I normally see people have boiled or steamed the vegetables" Lincoln said as he leaned against the counter "Yeah, but boiling makes them smell bad and taste bad. And yeah, steaming is also another one, allows the sweetness of the carrots to stay than boiling them out. But roasting gives it more flavour and lets us add more flavour with the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes too" Peters said as he kept mixing then reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of soy sauce "Oh that too?" Lincoln asked him "Yep, Emma will eat the vegetables more with all this stuff added to it" he said as he poured in some soy sauce into the bowl then continued to mix It "Can you take one of the trays out the cupboard" Peters asked Lincoln "No problem man" Lincoln said as he walked over to a cupboard and took out a tray and placed it next to Peters.
Just as Lincoln did that, the front door can be heard being opened sparking Emma to jump up "That has to be mummy!" she said as she ran across the living room and to the front door "What took her so long?" Peters said as he stopped mixing then went to see his wife "AHHH!" Emma screamed then ran back and clung to her father's leg "Woah what's wrong?" Peters asked her.
Emma didn't say anything. Audrey walked in and in tow was Josh's mum and dad walking in behind them, Josh being with them as well, probably why Emma screamed. Peters picked his daughter up letting her know she was safe in his arms "Audrey why are they here?" Peters asked.
Lincoln stood beside Peters and checked if Emma was okay and if she was crying or not "I got their phone number from the school and invited them over. I thought we can discuss what happened in an adult way" Audrey said.
Peters was visibly annoyed given it obviously scared Emma when Josh came in through the door as well "You should've told us first"
"If I did then you would have said no but we have to meet in the middle about this" Audrey explained. Peters wanted to tell them to piss off, but not in front of his wife and daughter. Lincoln was wanting to do the same as well to them but couldn't.
"Fine then, take a seat" Peters said as he put Emma down "No please" Emma said as she tried to get Peters to pick her up again. Scared Josh would do something else to her even at her house.
"Honey it's okay" Audrey told her as she got to her knees to Emma's eye level and putting her handbag down "We're going to sort this out so Josh doesn't do something like this again"
Lincoln and Peters were wondering if they told Audrey what they did to Josh's father. The mother and father were silent, same as their son who all know what happens if they were disrespectful to any of them. They didn't dare make eye contact with Lincoln and Peters.
"Now go wash up please while we talk with Josh and his parents before dinner" Audrey said as she let her daughter go to the bathroom to wash up "Please take a seat" Audrey said as she sat at the end of the table. Peters sat on one side near his wife while the father and mother sat beside each other also near Audrey. Josh sat at the end of the table while Lincoln decided to just stand in the kitchen and pretend to be on his phone but really, he was listening in.
"Peters, this is Michael and this is Christa, Josh's parents" Audrey introduced them "This is my husband Peter" Peter didn't know what to do but wave at them slightly, to which they didn't bother returning one back with. This made things awkward and an awkward silence filled the room for a minute. Audrey decided to ignore it and continue talking.
"So obviously this is because of some stuff your son has done and said to our daughter. Sorry she hit your son but he did lay his hands on her first" Audrey explained.
"And in return my husband got punched in the stomach by that white haired little asshole and then nearly broke my husband's arm-"
"I do not care what happened to your husband, whatever my husband and his friend did, I know they had a damn good reason" Audrey said without even questioning Peters or Lincoln "You called our daughter a bitch because she defended herself after your son grabbed her" Audrey said with a rather calm tone. It didn't seem like she was mad, but was really wanting to sort this out without arguing or fighting "Now let me ask you this. Do you have a daughter?" Audrey asked Christa.
Christa was silent after being interrupted, she cleared her throat "I uhm...we don't, no" she answered Christa's question "Alright. So, if you did and some boy laid their hands on her and she punched them, would you be grounding them for that? Or call her a bitch?" Audrey told her.
Christ fell silent again. Michael however did speak up "...no we wouldn't"
"You see our point. Don't defend your son for what he did, otherwise he won't grow up to respect women how they should even at our daughters age" Audrey informed them "And I don't want to hear you call a little girl a bitch, ever again. Understood?" Audrey told them.
Both Christa and Michael nodded "Now if you can get Josh to apologise to Emma, we would appreciate that and you won't hear from us again"
Josh seemed red in the face after hearing he must apologise to Emma. Emma then came in after washing up but then walked over to Lincoln and sticking to his side. Lincoln looked down as she started to pull at his shirt, trying to get him to come with her. Lincoln followed as Emma walked over to Josh who then got out the chair and the two kids were standing face to face.
"I'm sorry I won't marry you Josh, but you'll find someone else" Emma told him. Josh looked at everyone who was waiting for him to apologise, he cleared his throat "I'm sorry for grabbing you Emma, I didn't mean to" Josh said.
Emma nodded and smiled a little when Josh apologised. Christa and Michael then stood up "Okay I guess we should get going. Come on Josh" Michael said as the family started to leave the house out the front door.
Audrey got up and walked to her daughter and picked her up "That was nice of you to apologise sweetie, but you didn't have to"
"I know but I felt bad for punching him" Emma said as her smile disappeared again "I know baby but you did the right thing when he wasn't listening and laid his hands on you. If a boy does that again then always know we will be on your side" Emma smiled and then hugged Audrey "I love you mummy"
Audrey and Peters smiled. Peters stood up and hugged his wife and daughter "I love you too daddy"
"We love you too sweetie" Peters whispered "Not meaning to break up the moment...but do you want me to put these vegetables in the oven?" Lincoln asked as he held the tray with one hand.
The family laughed and Peters turned to look at Lincoln "Yeah just throw them for us thanks"
Lincoln gave a thumbs up and put the tray in the oven for Peters "Ohhh you made a roast" Audrey said happily then kissed her husband's cheek.
Lincoln smiled as he saw the happy family. It made him start to miss his family again.
The loud house
After the call with Lincoln, Rita went up to Lillys room and talked with her about Lincoln. They talked about how good it was seeing him and Rita also apologised for snapping a little at Lilly. It was only a matter of time before they had to obviously tell Lynn Sr and Lisa, Lola, Lana and Lucy when they get back from hanging with friends or out doing whatever.
Rita was watching the tv while Lilly sat next to her reading one of Lincolns comics he left behind. She never understood even growing up why Lincoln enjoyed this so much, but she felt like reading it would make her feel closer to Lincoln. It was a nice moment. In a split second the door busted open and in came the girls. It seemed they arrived back coincidentally at the same time.
"Heyyy" Lola said as she walked ahead in front of her sisters "Hey girls, you have fun today?" Rita asked them as she put the tv on pause.
"It was fun! Mr Grouse needed help with his plumbing so I gave that a look and got to fix it for him! That's some good experience I'll tell you that much" Lana said as she sat down on the couch and put her toolbox down on the floor and sat next to her mother as well "While you were getting mucky as always, I had date with my crush!" Lola said happily "Lola it wasn't a date, his friends were there, even your friends were there" Lana cut in.
Lola huffed and crossed her arms as she paid attention to what her mother was watching on the tv "What about you Lucy?" Rita asked Lucy who wasn't really talking. She hadn't been talking for a while since they last spoke to Lincoln over the phone months ago. She shrugged then walked upstairs to her room that she no longer shared with Lynn "Has she talked to you guys?" Rita asked her daughters "Lucy has not said a single word for months now, I don't think she will say anything for a while unless she sees her brother" Lisa said as she made her way upstairs with some notebooks in her arms.
Rita turned to her twins "Can I tell you girls something? Since you only bothered sticking around" Rita asked them "Sure mom" Lola said.
"Me and Lilly just video called with your brother, he's doing well-"
"Wait wait! You didn't think to open with that when we walked in through the door?" Lana said as she stood up from the couch "I know I should have but I don't want you all fighting over who can talk with Lincoln one and one. Your father doesn't know and neither does the rest of your sisters, so let's just try making sure everyone can talk to him one at a time so he isn't overwhelmed. He also probably won't have time to talk to you all in one day so let's just do it gradually. I'm going to text him to see if he can video call with you tomorrow" Rita explained to them.
She figured given Lincoln being in the army and then a different country on top of that he must be a bit stressed. She didn't want to overwhelm her son with all his sisters trying to call him on video when he could be busy.
"So we can't tell Lucy or Lisa? Or the rest?" Lola asked her mother "I would rather you didn't because then all of you will be fighting over for who gets to talk to him first and for how long. This just helps make it less stressful for all of us"
Lola and Lana looked at each other and thought about what their mother told them. It did make sense since fighting over for the laptop or trying to see how gets to talk to Lincoln first, he would also most likely be busy in the army. The twins looked back at their mother and nodded in unison "Okay mom, that seems fair" Lola said while Lana nodded along.
"That's good babies, thank you" Rita said as she sighed and leaned back on the couch "What about dad? He doesn't know yet"
"Don't know what yet?" Lynn Sr said as he walked through the front door.
Rita looked at her daughters expecting some help on telling him "I just realised I had to call my friend" Lola said getting up and speed walking up the stairs "I have to...clean my tools" Lana said picking up her toolbox "Wait up!" she said chasing after her twin.
Lilly was still sitting reading her comic "At least one of you still stuck around" Rita said rubbing her head. Lilly looked up from the comic and smiled "What did I miss? I was reading"
Rita smacked her forehead.
Back in the UK
After having dinner with Peters and his family, Lincoln had headed to Sarahs. She texted him prior to come over once he was done at Peters, which he did straight away. Lincoln decided to walk instead of having Peters drive him, he just wanted some peace in the dark. While walking through the quiet street, Lincoln was coming up to Sarahs, but there was a group of teens outside Sarahs building.
The teens who seemed to be about 14 or 15 were wearing black clothes and wearing their hoods up and had masks on that were wrapped around their neck and can pull up to cover their face. A couple were on their bikes and the rest were just hanging around and chatting. Lincoln who didn't want to cause bother so one he got up to the building, they were blocking the steps up to the building's front door.
"You alright mate?" one of them said to Lincoln. Lincoln was trying to go around them but they weren't letting him "Just trying to get through alright?" Lincoln told them but the one who spoke stuck his hand out "Can you spare a tenner?"
"A what?" Lincoln asked confused "Ahh did you hear that? He's American ain't he?" another boy asked "A tenner means £10 mate, you got one?" the first one who spoke continued.
Lincoln did have his wallet with some cash in it, but not for this kid "No sorry" he said then attempted to move past but the boy put his hand on Lincolns chest and then pulled out a pocket knife "I don't believe you. Show us your wallet"
Lincoln just looked at the wannabe thug and didn't say a word. The boys were confused then the one with the knife lifted the knife up so show it to Lincoln "You want me to cut you-" Lincoln smacked the knife out of the boy's hand which got lost in the grass.
"What the fuck man!" the boy then swung his hand at Lincoln but Lincoln grabbed it and twisted his arm, not completely injuring him but just keeping him from punching Lincoln "If you want to hurt someone don't threaten with a knife you can't even use properly" Lincoln then pushed the boy back and letting go of his arm in the process "Now get out of the way, now" Lincoln demanded.
The boys were too scared to do anything but the knife holder came back at Lincoln and attempted to kick Lincoln. Lincoln stepped out the way and the boy ended up kicking the one behind Lincoln on his bike, causing them to fall on top of each other.
"Aghghg- fucking cunt!" the boy on the bike mumbled and pushed the knife holder off "Where the fuck did my knife go!" the boy started to search through the grass for his knife.
Lincoln saw the other boys were clenching their fists, Lincoln put his hands up "I don't want to have to beat up a couple of 14-year-olds alright"
"14? Nah man we're 18 what the fuck do you mean?" one of them said sounding angry he was assumed to be younger.
The guys were short and since Lincoln couldn't see their faces, he just assumed they were younger "Oh... that makes this easier"
One of them came up from behind on Lincoln and grabbed him. Lincoln threw his head back knocking the guy in the face and caught one of the other guy's fists and kicked him in the shin and then throwing his knee in the guys' gut. Lincoln pushed him to the side and then got ready for the last guy who also had a knife on him for Lincoln. Lincoln was controlling his breathing as the masked guy flicked open his knife and then charged at Lincoln and then stabbed into the shoulder...but it wasn't Lincolns. Lincoln had moved out of the way in time and instead the guy stabbed his friend in the shoulder.
"AAHH FUCK MAN"
Lincoln put his fists down and wiped his forehead as he was sweating just a little. All guys were on the floor and the stabbed one was in pain as the knife was still in his shoulder and his friend was confused on what to do. Lincoln came up behind him and grabbed his shoulder and leaned in to his ear "If I were you, I would call a paramedic, that knife didn't look too clean" Lincoln finished by patting his shoulder and then walking into Sarahs building.
Woop woop woop
Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Longer than normal. Also hoped you didn't mind there wasn't a mission for Lincoln and his team to go on, I'm still noting down stuff that can happen but I will be sure to include that in the next one.
Special thank you to Schadenfreude435 once again for a tattoo suggestion. If you couldn't tell it was the phoenix one. And an even bigger thank you to them for helping with describing the tattoo and the meaning for the phoenix. It really helped me out a lot, so thank you once again.
Hope you enjoyed it and I will see you in the next one.