After agreeing that Lola would be the first to watch over Lincoln, the four Loud girls dispersed to their respective tasks. Lisa stayed behind in her room-slash-laboratory to clean up the mess and rebuild her machine. Lana returned outside to upgrade her bike, Lucy retreated to her room to work on a poem, and Lola carried Lincoln into her own room, eager to spend time with her baby brother.
"Are you ready to play with your big sister, Linky?" Lola asked, her voice brimming with enthusiasm as she carried Lincoln to her tea party table.
"Yay!" Lincoln clapped his tiny hands, eyes sparkling with delight.
"Great!" Lola grinned, placing him gently on the chair. "I know just the game you'll love—a tea party!"
"Uh?" Lincoln tilted his head, clearly perplexed.
"Trust me," Lola said with a wink. "We're going to have lots of fun."
She grabbed two thick books from her shelf and set them on the chair, creating a makeshift booster seat. Giggling, she adjusted Lincoln so he was eye level with the table. But just as she reached for the toy teapot, she froze.
"Wait a minute…" she muttered.
"Huh?" Lincoln blinked up at her.
"You need an outfit!" she declared, pointing at his diaper. "You can't come to a tea party dressed like that!" She placed the teapot down and hurried to her closet. "I know I have something in here that'll fit you perfectly. Just give me a minute."
Lola began rummaging through the overflowing closet, tossing frilly dresses and sparkling tiaras behind her. Meanwhile, Lincoln's curiosity got the better of him. He glanced around the room, his gaze landing on the open door. With a gurgle of excitement, he clambered off the chair and began crawling toward the hallway.
"Nope, that's not it," Lola muttered, still buried in the closet. She was too engrossed to notice her tiny charge slipping away.
Lincoln made his way into the hallway, turning his head left and right to take in the unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, the sound of crumpling paper and a soft sigh caught his attention. Intrigued, he crawled toward the source, finding himself at the cracked door of Lucy and Lynn's shared room. Pushing the door open, he peeked inside.
Lucy sat on her bed, brow furrowed in concentration. "Sigh," she muttered, crumpling yet another piece of paper. "Dang it! Let's try this again."
Oblivious to Lincoln's presence, she picked up her pen and started scribbling furiously. Lincoln, however, was fascinated by the sound of the crinkling paper. With a mischievous giggle, he crawled toward her.
Out of nowhere, Lucy felt a tiny hand grab her foot. "Ah!" she yelped, jumping in surprise.
"Ha-ha!" Lincoln laughed, clapping his hands.
"Lincoln?" Lucy exclaimed, peering down at him. She scooped him up and frowned. "What are you doing here? I thought Lola was supposed to be watching you."
Lincoln responded with a delighted giggle.
"Well, I guess it's my turn now," Lucy sighed, placing him on the bed beside her. "That's fine. I can keep writing my poem and watch you at the same time. Just sit quietly for a few minutes, okay?" She smiled faintly. "Then we can play some vampire games. Deal?"
Lincoln nodded solemnly, his bright eyes fixed on her.
"Wicked!" Lucy leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I knew I could count on you."
She turned her attention back to her notebook, entirely absorbed in her work. Lincoln, however, grew restless. Spotting the open door, he climbed off the bed and crawled out of the room, his giggles muffled by the carpet.
Unaware of her brother's escape, Lucy continued writing.
Lincoln's tiny hands and knees padded against the floor as he explored the hallway once more. This time, the hum of machinery led him to Lisa's lab. Peeking inside, he saw Lisa tightening the last screw on her rebuilt machine.
"Voilà! Good as new!" Lisa proclaimed, stepping back to admire her handiwork.
"Yay!" Lincoln clapped enthusiastically.
Lisa turned, startled. "Lincoln? What are you doing here? There's no way an hour has passed already." She checked her watch. "Hmm… Either I've lost track of time, or my watch needs recalibration."
Shrugging, she knelt to his level. "Well, since you're here, why don't I use this opportunity to broaden your intellectual horizons? When you return to your original age, I can study whether your values have shifted after this unique experience!" She beamed. "Exciting, isn't it?"
Lincoln stared up at her, baffled.
"Wait here," Lisa instructed, rushing to her closet. "I need to gather a few supplies before we begin."
As Lisa rummaged through her neatly labeled shelves, Lincoln spotted another open door. With a gleeful "Bye-bye!" he crawled out, leaving Lisa muttering to herself about quantum physics.
Lincoln reached the stairs and carefully descended, giggling as he crawled into the living room. There, he explored every nook and cranny—pulling magazines from the coffee table, fiddling with the TV remote, and even crawling under the couch. Eventually, he found his way to the kitchen, where the open back door beckoned him outside.
In the backyard, Lana was hunched over her bike, tightening a bolt with a wrench.
"Just a few more adjustments, and you'll be good as new," she murmured to the bike.
"He-he," Lincoln giggled, crawling toward her.
Lana looked up, startled. "Lincoln? Is it my turn already?" She shrugged. "Well, I'm almost done anyway." Her eyes lit up. "Hey! After this, I can teach you how to make mud pies. You'll love them!"
Lincoln tilted his head. "Huh?"
"Just wait right there," Lana instructed, patting her bike. "This won't take long."
But Lincoln's attention was already elsewhere. A colorful butterfly fluttered past, catching his eye.
"Totterfly!" he squealed, crawling after it with unbridled glee.
Back in Lola's room, she was still rummaging through her closet, determined to find the perfect outfit for Lincoln to wear at her tea party.
"Now, where could that outfit be?" she muttered, shoving dresses and tiaras aside. "I know I have it… wait!" Her eyes lit up as her hand landed on a tiny, adorable outfit hanging in the back. Triumphantly, she pulled it off the hanger and held it up. "I found it!" she declared, spinning around with her arm raised high. "Look, Linky! I found the perfect outfit for you. You'll look so adorable—"
Lola's words faltered as she opened her eyes and realized Lincoln was nowhere to be seen.
"Linky?" she called, her voice tinged with confusion. She glanced around the room, half-laughing. "Oh, are you playing hide-and-seek with me?"
Her gaze landed on a movement under the bed. "Oh well, I guess you're nowhere in—aha!" She lifted the blanket with a flourish, expecting to find her little brother.
Instead, Charles, the family dog, looked up at her, barking twice before darting out of the room.
"Dang it," Lola muttered, dropping the blanket back down. She scanned the room again, her heart sinking when she noticed the open door. "Ah!" she gasped. Panic set in as she bolted into the hallway.
"Lincoln?! Where are you? Lincoln?!"
Her voice echoed as she dashed back and forth, opening every door she came across. Meanwhile, in Lucy's room, the commotion was becoming unbearable.
"Ah!" Lucy cried, tearing her poem in half. "How am I supposed to concentrate with all this racket?" She huffed, her frustration simmering down as her gaze dropped to where Lincoln had been sitting moments ago. "At least you're quiet, Lin—"
Her sentence cut short when she realized Lincoln was no longer there. Her eyes darted to the open door.
"Ah!" Lucy shrieked, panic gripping her as she jumped off the bed and ran into the hallway.
Now both Lola and Lucy were rushing through the hall, calling Lincoln's name in desperation. It wasn't long before Lisa emerged from her room, looking just as frantic.
"How am I supposed to find anything I need with all this—" Lisa froze mid-sentence, noticing her little brother was gone and the door ajar. "Ah!"
Before long, all three sisters were in the hallway, searching high and low.
"Lincoln's not in his room!" Lucy shouted, darting out of the nursery.
"Nor the restroom!" Lisa added, running out of another room.
"He's not even in Lori and Leni's or Luna and Luan's rooms!" Lola wailed, clutching her head. "Ooooh! Where could he be?!"
Lucy froze, pointing toward the staircase. "Do you think it's possible he crawled downstairs?"
Lisa frowned, her scientific mind racing. "It's possible… but there's a high probability he could've fallen and hurt himself!"
Their collective panic skyrocketed. "AHH!"
Minutes later, the three siblings were darting around the ground floor, turning furniture upside down and shouting Lincoln's name to no avail. Finally, they stumbled into the kitchen, where Lisa noticed something.
"Um… siblings?" she said, her voice shaky as she pointed to the open back door.
Lola and Lucy turned to look, their faces falling. "Oh no!" Lola exclaimed.
"Wait!" Lucy said, grasping at a shred of hope. "Isn't Lana outside?"
Lola's eyes widened. "I just hope she has Lincoln with her!"
"Then we have no time to waste!" Lisa shouted, sprinting toward the door. "Come on!"
The three girls burst into the backyard, where they found Lana still hunched over her bike, tweaking the gears with her wrench.
"LANA!" the three shouted in unison, running toward her.
Startled, Lana dropped her tools and stood up. "Guys?! What's wrong?"
"Lincoln's missing!" Lola cried, on the verge of tears.
"We only turned our backs for a second!" Lisa added.
"And then—poof! He was gone!" Lucy chimed in.
"Is he with you?!" Lola asked desperately.
"Guys, calm down!" Lana said, raising her hands. "Lincoln's been with me for the past twenty minutes." She turned to gesture to where Lincoln had been sitting moments earlier. "See? He's right—"
Her words died as her eyes landed on an empty spot. "Ah!"
"Great!" Lola groaned. "Where did Lincoln go now?!"
Lucy squinted, her gaze fixed on a distant spot in the yard. Suddenly, she gasped. "There he is!" she exclaimed, pointing urgently.
Lola, Lana, and Lisa whipped around, searching wildly. "Where?!" they chorused.
Lucy thrust her finger forward, her voice rising. "THERE!"
The three girls turned toward the direction Lucy was pointing, their eyes widening in horror.
And there he was—Lincoln Loud, perched on a precarious, high branch near the top of the family tree, still chasing the butterfly from earlier. His giggles echoed faintly through the yard as the branch beneath him creaked ominously with every movement.
"Totterfly! Totterfly!" Lincoln cooed, his small hand reaching out toward the fluttering insect.
The branch groaned under his weight. Creeeek…
"AH!" the girls screamed in unison, their panic hitting a fever pitch.
"How did he even get up there?!" Lola shrieked.
"That shouldn't even be physically possible!" Lisa stammered, her scientific mind utterly baffled.
"LOOK!" Lucy cried, pointing to the branch as the creaking intensified.
CRAAAAACK!
Before anyone could react, the branch snapped, sending Lincoln tumbling toward the ground. Time seemed to slow as he fell, a delighted "Wheeeeee!" escaping his lips.
"L-I-N-C-O-L-N!" Lana shouted, springing into action. She darted toward the tree, diving into a dramatic slide just as Lincoln plummeted toward her.
"NOOOOOOO!" she yelled, arms outstretched.
THUD!
Lincoln landed squarely on Lana's back. The impact knocked the wind out of her momentarily, but she quickly recovered. Time snapped back to normal as the three remaining sisters opened their eyes, bracing for the worst. Relief washed over them as they saw Lincoln unharmed, giggling on Lana's back.
"Ha-ha! Gan! Gan!" Lincoln cheered, waving his arms.
The girls let out a collective sigh of relief. "Phew!" they exhaled.
Lana carefully stood up, hoisting Lincoln into her arms. She carried him back to her sisters, her face a mix of exhaustion and triumph.
Lola's relief quickly turned to anger. "Lana! Why weren't you watching him?!"
"What?! You're the one who was supposed to be watching him first!" Lana shot back. "We agreed to take turns, remember?"
"Well, how was I supposed to know he'd crawl out of the room if I left the door open?!" Lola argued.
Lucy crossed her arms. "You should have been paying more attention!"
Lisa smirked. "Please. Like you're one to talk, Miss 'I get lost in my poems.'"
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?!"
"Well, if you hadn't gotten so absorbed in your writing…" Lisa began.
Lucy cut her off. "Oh, and you're perfect? What about you, then?!"
Lisa faltered, momentarily speechless. "Um… I… uh…"
Lola raised her hands, stepping between them. "Guys! Enough! What matters is that Lincoln's safe." She turned to Lincoln, taking his hand and wiggling it playfully. "Isn't that right, Linky?"
But Lincoln's face crumpled, and his laughter turned into a wail. "Wahhhhh!"
Lola jumped back, startled. "What did I do?! I just played with his hand! I do it with Lily all the time, and she loves it!"
Lisa crouched down, inspecting Lincoln's tiny hand. "Hmm… I think I see the problem here."
"What is it?!" Lola and Lana asked in unison.
Lucy leaned in, gently taking Lincoln's hand. She pointed to his index finger, where a tiny splinter was embedded. "There," she said softly.
Lola's eyes widened. "How did he even get that?!"
Lisa adjusted her glasses. "Based on my hypothesis, the splinter likely lodged itself in his finger while he crawled on the tree branch. Initially, it must've been superficial, not causing him any pain. But when Lola grabbed his hand, the pressure pushed it deeper into the skin, triggering the current pain response."
Lucy's face filled with worry. "What do we do? We can't let it stay there."
Lisa straightened up. "Not to worry, siblings! I'll retrieve my first aid kit and remove it safely. While I'm gone, your mission is to calm Lincoln down."
"You got it!" Lana saluted as Lisa sprinted toward the house.
Lana rocked Lincoln gently, her voice soothing. "It's okay, buddy. Dr. Lisa will fix you up in no time. I promise."
But Lincoln continued wailing. "Wahhhhh!"
"It's not working!" Lola groaned.
Lucy stepped forward, her arms out. "Let me try."
Lola hesitated. "No way! You'll spook him with your ghostly vibe!"
Lincoln's cries grew louder. "WAHHHHH!"
Lola winced. "Oops!"
Lana sighed and handed Lincoln over to Lucy. "Here. Go ahead."
Lucy cradled him gently, rubbing his back in slow, calming circles. "Shh… shh… it's okay. Everything will be all right."
Gradually, Lincoln's cries turned to sniffles. "Sniff…"
Lana whispered, "Wow, Lucy. Nice work!"
"Yeah," Lola admitted, begrudgingly impressed. "I didn't know you could do that."
Before Lucy could respond, Lisa returned with her first aid kit. "Great job calming him!" she whispered, kneeling beside them.
The girls shushed her, and Lisa whispered an apology. She set to work, pulling out tweezers, a cotton swab, and a small bandage.
"Okay, Lincoln," she said gently. "This will hurt for just a second. Ready? One… two…" She deftly pulled the splinter out. "Three!"
Lincoln's face scrunched for a moment. "Wa—" But then the pain faded. "Aw!"
Lisa cleaned the area with the swab, applied the bandage, and gave his finger a quick kiss. "All done! See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Lincoln grinned, shaking his head.
The sisters sighed with relief—until a familiar grumble echoed through the yard.
"What was that?" Lola asked.
Lisa adjusted her glasses. "I have a theory…"
Another grumble came, louder this time. Lana sniffed the air, wrinkling her nose. "Uh-oh. I think I know what's next."
She pointed to Lincoln's diaper. "There."
Lincoln giggled, completely unbothered. "Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Lucy groaned. "I'll take him upstairs to change."
"And we'll get lunch ready," Lisa added.