It was early the next morning when Lincoln got up before the rest of his family. He needed to go check on the kids he managed to smuggle into his home, maybe even give them some food. Getting dressed and heading out of his room, he quietly made his way down to the kitchen and got to cooking some breakfast for them. Surely, his family wouldn't notice if a few dozen eggs and sausages would go missing, would they? He kept that in mind as he finished cooking them as quickly as he could and put it all out on plates which he stacked up and carried down to the basement. Once he was there, he saw that the kids were all still in their sleeping bags, snoozing. But he gave them a light tapping on the cheeks to get them to wake up.

Lincoln:"Rise and shine, guys. Breakfast is ready."

Some of them groaned from being woken up too early, but the smell of freshly made food curbed that.

Debby:"Mmm. Morning, Lincoln."

Rufus:"Why do we have to eat breakfast so early, man?"

Lincoln:"Call it a precaution. Can't have myself looking suspicious around my family.

When he saw the food, Matthew hungrily took the plate from Lincoln and wasted no time scarfing it down. Aaron, Kelsey, Archie and Gina were a little disgusted by the way he ate.

Aaron:"Slow down, Matthew. It hasn't even been that long since last we ate."

Rufus:"So what's next?"

Lincoln:"Well, you guys can stay here for as long as you want. Just as long as we keep you guys hidden away from my family for now."

Kelsey:"Why?"

Lincoln:"...They're not too good with guests."

Rufus:"But what about having to go to the bathroom?"

Gina:"Or getting a change of clothes?"

Matthew:"Or even eating more food?"

Lincoln:"I'll...I'll figure something out."

With everyone finishing up their breakfast, Lincoln quickly took back the plates and headed back upstairs. But as he was putting the plates into the sink, a familiar voice made him freeze where he stood.

Lori:"Lincoln? What are you doing up so early?"

Turning see his elder sister, Lincoln could see that she was still in pajamas with her hair undone. He needed to come up with a fib and quick if he didn't want to get caught.

Lincoln:"I, uh...I just so happened to have woken up at this time."

Lori:"(nods) Mmm. Alright then."

It was then that she walked over to the fridge, which made Lincoln sweat nervously as it didn't take long for her to notice something out of place.

Lori:"What happened to the eggs and sausages?"

Lincoln:"Uh, um...I think Lana may have already eaten them before."

Unamused by this, Lori closes the fridge and leaves the kitchen, no doubt heading up to the Twins' bedroom. Sighing in relief, Lincoln quickly moved back down to the basement, where the kids were talking amongst themselves. He quickly got their attention...

Lincoln:"Change of plans. It might be harder to keep you guys hidden than I thought?"

Debby:"What do you mean by that?"

Lincoln:"I forget that my family have the eyes and ears of a flock of hawks.

That made Debby and Kelsey a little be worried

Rufus:"Well, we can't stay down here forever anyway."

Lincoln:"Well, then maybe we should head out right now. Just to avoid getting caught."

The rest of the kids liked the sound of that Lincoln wasted no time, quickly leading them out of the basement and to the backdoor of the house.

Lincoln:"Come on. This is our best shot of leaving quickly."

One by one, they all headed out, Gina, Matthew, Kelsey, and Aaron heading out first before Debby and Rufus. Right before Lincoln could join them, however, another familiar voice made him stop in his tracks.

Luan:"Hey Lincoln. What's shakin'?"

Lincoln:"(internally) Crud... (out loud) Uh, morning Luan. I'm guessing Lori told you I was down here?"

Luan:"Yeah. She sure spilled the beans on that (chuckles)."

Lincoln:"Heh, heh. Well, I better get going."

Luan:"Oh? And where are you off to?"

Lincoln:"Um...just going out to get some...stuff."

Luan:"Oh! I could use some stuff!"

Lincoln:"Yeah, not that kind of stuff. Bye!"

And with that, Lincoln quickly bolted out the backdoor, slamming it behind him as he left Luan standing there, bewildered by her brother's actions. The White-Haired boy soon joined back up with the rest of the kids.

Rufus:"Alright. So, where are we gonna go?"

Lincoln:"For now, how about we head down to the market? We could get you guys a few things that'll hold you up for the next few days."

The kids believed that that was a good idea as Lincoln told them to follow them. There weren't that many markets Lincoln was welcomed to, due to his family's crazy actions, but he decided to take his chances with the one he wanted to get his cereal at. Hopefully, the manager did not still hold a grudge as they were in front of the store.

Gina:"You said you were...banned from this store?"

Lincoln:"I'm hoping by now it's been lifted."

And with that, they all began to head inside. But the moment Lincoln was in, that hot-headed manager showed up almost instantly and glared at the boy.

Manager:"Did I not make myself clear the last time? Get out!"

While Lincoln backed away nervously, the other kids got in front of him defensively.

Rufus:"What's the problem here?"

Manager:"Oh, not you. But that little punk has a lifelong ban from this place after the shenanigans he and his crazy family pulled!"

Lincoln:"C-Come on. It's been years already."

Manager:"Yeah? Well, I'm not letting go of what you did. I don't need you disturbing all my hard work."

Debby:"Listen here. We're just here to buy some things, not cause any trouble."

Manager:"Well, you kids are fine, but I want that brat out of my store!"

Matthew:"Lincoln's staying with us no matter what!"

Manager:"(starts waving his hand at them) Then you can get out of my store as well! Because I don't want-"

But the moment he got too close, Rufus stepped in and swatted his hand away before doing an elbow slam, a left and right hook, and then a push kick that ended up knocking him down. After that was done, Rufus turned around to see everyone else's shocked faces.

Rufus:"...What?"

Lincoln:"Are...you...CRAZY?!"

Rufus:"He was getting on my nerves."

Lincoln:"Yeah, but...uh...let's just try to move on. Look around for anything that you'll need for a while. We'll move on to other stores for some other things later on."

The girls agreed as they split up to grab some essentials. Lincoln, Debby, and Matthew go to look for a few snacks, with Lincoln picking up a big bag of cool-ranch chips. They were just looking for the normal that'll get them through for as long as they're staying with Lincoln. With that in mind, they both looked towards Matthew, who was seemingly hiding a few extra snacks for himself; cookies, fudge with smaller, rainbow chocolates on it, sour gummies, and gram crackers. They gave him a dirty look, forcing him to put the snacks back. Later on, at a clothing store, Rufus was looking at some leather jackets, Kelsey was looking at t-shirts...while Archie and Aaron were having with some of the clothing, throwing balled-up shirts like snowballs at each other. That is until Gina spotted them and chased after them, making the boys break into a run away from her.

Later on, after they got all the things they needed, the kids decided to get something to eat as they met up at a Chinese food place. They all ordered dishes of Bejieng beef, orange chicken, shrimp, rice, dumplings, eggrolls, and noodles. And they were all thinking of how they day was going.

Debby:"Despite everything that's happened, today has been a really great day."

Lincoln:"I'm glad to hear it. We should probably head back to the house though."

Rufus:"Do we still have to hide from your family?"

Matthew:"I don't mind it as long as we always get something to eat."

Gina and Kelsey roll their eyes a their friend's appetite.

Archie:"Well, eventually, we are gonna have to head back to the Orphanage."

The others thought that it would be for the best, and Lincoln agreed as well. But they still needed to get a few more things as their next stop was a hardware store. They were on their way there, walking down a sidewalk next to a grass field with a few things on Lincoln's mind.

Lincoln:"You know, I don't mind looking out for you guys. But I don't I'll be able to do it all the time. At least, not on my own."

Debby:"We wouldn't ask you to, Lincoln. You've done plenty already."

Lincoln:"Thanks. But it'd be better if I did have some help on this."

And just then, walking down the street were Lincoln's friends from school, Clyde, Liam, Rusty, Zach and Stella. Liam was in front of them all, leading them to the hardware store as he was carrying a red toolbox that looked like it's seen better days, being covered in rust. Seeing them come their way put a smile on Lincoln's face.

Debby:"Oh, who are those guys?"

Lincoln:"Those are my friends from school. Let me introduce you guys."

Clyde:"(fast wave) Hey, Lincoln! Good to see ya, buddy!"

Lincoln:"Hey, Clyde. Guys. What are you guys up to today."

Liam:"We're just on our way to the hardware store, actually."

Stella:"Liam needs a new toolbox since the one he has isn't doing well at the moment."

Lincoln:"I was just about to head over there as well with these guys."

Clyde:"Who are they, Lincoln?"

Lincoln:"Everybody, this Debby, Rufus, Matthew, Aaron, Archie, Gina and Kelsey. They're orphans that I'm looking after until further notice."

That was a bit of a surprise to hear, but the kids found it nice what Lincoln was doing for them. The Orphans and Lincoln's friends took the time to greet each other and Lincoln soon explained the situation regarding them. It was a huge shocker for his friends, hearing how they were almost killed and that Lincoln saved them.

Clyde:"So, they're all okay now?"

Lincoln:"Yep. For now. And since we're on the topic of things, I could use some help looking out for them, if you guys are able to."

Clyde:"We're willing to help. No worries, Lincoln."

The white-haired boy was glad to hear it as they all headed over to the Hardware Store together. Inside, Liam wasted no time looking around for a new toolbox while the others looked through various tools and other kinds of equipment. Specifically, at one of the isles, Rufus was climbing up to get a wrench at the top shelf, with Aaron right underneath, spotting him. All the while, the other kids were talking about what the tools might be needed for.

Archie:"So, what are we needing these tools for again?"

Lincoln:"Just a few things I feel like we're gonna need later. Hey, we can ever make a box car.

Rufus:"Got it! (loses his grip) OH SHI-"

And then, he falls right on top of Aaron, who breaks his fall. They soon recover and continue to walk through the rest of the store, in search of other things.

Aaron:"You now owe me a new set of ribs."

Rufus:"Yeah, sorry. But thanks for breaking my fall."

Aaron grumbled to himself as Liam came over with a brand new toolbox that was shiny blue.

Liam:"Welp, I'm good to go."

Lincoln:"Uh, we still need a couple of other things, Liam."

After a little while, the kid got themselves some wood, some nails and crews, and other types of equipment, and they were all hauling with a utility cart that Debby was pushing as they got to paying for it.

Lincoln:"We should be able to keep this stuff in the garage or the shed in the backyard until we make use of it."

Debby:"Good idea."

And with that, they paid for all the stuff and headed out. Later, back at the Loud House, all of the kids were hiding the things the bought in separate areas, Rufus, Debby and Lincoln were at the garage, while Clyde, Liam, Rusty, Zach, Stella, Archie, Gina, Aaron, Kelsey and Matthew were at the shed in the backyard.

Lincoln:"We have to be quick as so we don't get spotted."

Rufus:"As long as your friends are willing to cover for our kids."

Clyde and the others were right on the idea as if on cue, Leni, Luna, Lana, and Lola showed up, forcing the orphans to hide while the others covered for them. Gina and Kelsey hid up in the tree, Aaron and Archie took the back of the shed, and Matthew decided to try and jump the fence...literally. And he got stuck midway, forcing the others to quickly push him over to the other side. And not a moment too soon, as Lincoln's sister confronted his friends.

Leni:"Hey, guys. What's up?"

Clyde:"(nervously) Hey, girls! How's everyone doing this fine day?"

Luna:"We're doing alright. Why are you all here?"

Clyde:"Oh, we just...came by to see Lincoln."

Lola:"Luan told us he ran out. Is he with you? Where is he?"

Liam:"Oh, he's in the garage."

The farmboy immediately covered his mouth after he let that slip, and the others were looking at him in disbelief.

Lana:"Well thanks. You keep doing whatever."

And as the sisters leave, all of the kids glare Liam, who felt small at the moment.

Rusty:"You're an idiot."

Soon enough, the girls headed over to the garage and found Lincoln inside...and only Lincoln, standing in the middle of the garage with very inconspicuous smile on his face.

Lincoln:"Heeeey guys. How you doing?"

Luna:"We're fine. What are you doing in here, bro?"

Lincoln:"I'm just doing a little...reorganizing?"

Lana:"That's nice. I would've done the same."

Lincoln:"Yeah. But, uh, I notice there might be a gas leak in here. (puts on a convenient gas mask) Better leave before it gets worse."

With that in mind, the girls huffed it back to the house as Lincoln took off his mask with a sigh of relief. Looking up to the ceiling, he could see that its where Rufus and Debby were hiding, clinging onto the support beams. When it was safe, they decided to get down...which was apparently less safe than it was getting up, as Rufus fell on his face and Debby...fell right on top of Lincoln. She finds herself sitting on top of the boy while he is also face down on the ground.

Debby:"Oop. Sorry about that, Lincoln."

Lincoln:"(muffled groan)"

After she gets off, Lincoln recovers and dusts himself, as well as rubs off the pain, same as Rufus. They quickly head over to the backyard to meet up with everyone.

Lincoln:"Listen up. We need a new plan in order to look after these guys. Are any of you willing to open your homes to them?"

Clyde:"Sorry, Lincoln. Not me. My dad's are still not too comfortable with more than a few guests ever since your sisters broke them."

The others looked upset at Clyde declining since he's usually up to take one for the team.

Lincoln:"It's cool guys. I completely understand. For now, if any of you are willing, then the orphans can stay with you and we can switch it around from time to time."

Everyone thought it was a good idea. But for now, it was time for Lincoln's friends to say goodbye while the went set up their homes for a few guests they were going to be having later. For now, the orphans would be staying one more night at the Loud House.