8. Worse Than Expected

A/N: Welcome to the eighth chapter of this wonderful story. Not going to make too many spoilers as I want people to be surprised, but I hope you'll enjoy this section of the book. We all know how Lincoln reacted to just seeing one of his guilty sisters, but what if all of them wanted to visit at the same time? Get some ear plugs ready.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

As the week progressed, everyone had been trying to go about their business like usual. Yet, certain events that had unfolded during the first 2 days had made the rest anything but normal. Word travels fast in our generation, especially with the invention of the Internet, Smartphones, and Social Media. Everyone who was in Lincoln's classes had been notified about his hospitalization through the teachers, though as to how it happened was kept in the dark. This didn't stop rumors from spreading on how the Loud boy ended up in the clinic: some being outlandish tales of some stunt gone wrong to being more down to earth such as getting hit by a car. This included the very much true rumor that the Loud sisters had something to do with it. None of the girls could go a day without someone asking some variation of the question: what really happened to Lincoln? Those that did know the answer wisely kept quiet, as to not add more fuel to guilt the Loud kids were feeling.

During the week, Ronnie Anne and Clyde visited whenever they could. Sometimes, they ended up visiting their bed-ridden friend at the same time out of coincidence. The Santiago girl hadn't been grounded like she may have expected due to her suspension, but she did have her allowance revoked until her parents had time to buy her a new nightstand. Bobby also popped in from time to time to check on the little brother he always wanted. Clyde made good on his promise to bring Lincoln the new Ace Savvy comics on Wednesday, to which they definitely spent a jolly good time delving into the new issue and graphic novel.

Rusty, Polly, Tabby, Haiku and Liam also made a visit on Tuesday. Like everyone else, they were surprised at Lincoln's current state, but at least he was getting better. Yet, despite being informed prior by Lucy, the group did form some resentment towards the sisters. Tabby couldn't believe Luna would actually do such a thing, especially considering she was supposed to be the sister closest to Lincoln. As such, the punk rocker effectively stopped socializing with her. Polly was gonna be sure to give Lynn her piece of mind when she returned, and although Haiku still hung with Lucy, the Loud goth did notice her friend was starting to distance herself. Rusty and Liam just outright refused to acknowledge any of the Loud girls' existence, although they did cast glares at any of the sisters they happened to see in school.

Yet, despite all the heckling, glares, and the constant buzz about their family, the girls still held onto a glimmer of light, thinking their current situation would change for the better. They never realized how wrong they were.

It was Friday afternoon, the beginning of the weekend. Lynn and Ronnie Anne were allowed back on school grounds and had to catch up on everything they missed (including a few tests). The two occasionally saw each other throughout the day, and anyone around could feel the tension between them. The Hispanic tomboy still had the urge to floor the sports fanatic, but at the urging of her mother, she kept herself in check. Didn't stop her from uttering small threats to the girl. Ronnie Anne had similar feelings toward the other Louds, giving them a harsh glare that would make them close to wetting their pants. The guilt-ridden looks they would give in response further fueled the bully within her, though she didn't act upon her thoughts of carnage lest she wanted another suspension.

Lynn, on the other hand, spent much of the day drowning in a mixture of embarrassment and depression. Almost half the student body had been mocking her for the way Ronnie Anne practically manhandled her on Monday, thinking she was all talk and not the so-called Invincible Lynn she often boasted. Even a few dim students had the mind to attempt to physically confront her, which of course left them with bruised faces while they called for their mothers. To make her day even more shitty, Polly told her about her visit to Lincoln. The jock wasn't in the mood for another hate speech, but took anyway because deep down, she knew she deserved every moment of it. It ended with Polly refusing to even acknowledge Lynn until she fixed the mess she got herself into.

Currently, the jock was sitting on the curb with her younger sisters, waiting for their mother to pick them up.

Lucy looked at Lynn and could already tell what she went through. "Bad day too huh?"

"You don't even know the half of it..."

"You mean besides the glaring and the constant questions?..." Lana asked.

"...Ok maybe you do...Polly is done with me..."

"Harsh...I noticed Haiku is being more distant than usual. She may not say it, but I know she wants nothing to do with me as well." Lucy stated. "Rocky also isn't talking to me any more..."

Lola winced. "Mmm...what now? We're losing our friends too?"

"Seems like it. Even Maggie didn't talk with me at all lately. Only thing she did was give a sour look." Luan added as she strolled up to them.

"Whose Maggie?" The tomboy twin questioned.

"She's an emo, kinda like Lucy. Met her when Lincoln..." She paused for a moment, a deep frown forming on her face. "...tried to do an act by himself at her birthday party...I arrived and helped him out of that jam, and if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have met..." The comedian set her bag down, leaning against a pole. "I hope he likes the cake we made..."

"Can he even eat cake? I might be hard for him to chew given what I did..." Lola twiddled her thumbs.

"Well, mom said he can eat soft foods, and as long as no one put any nuts in it, he should be fine." Luan replied.

"But, what if he doesn't listen to us? Lynn, you said you apologized to him and he hit you anyways! What if he reacts the same way to us?" Lana pointed out.

"To be fair, he only struck me because I got too close to him. If he sees we have a present for him and mean no harm, he might open up to us. It won't fix everything, but it's a start, right? Just don't go near his bed, he might...you know..." The jock suggested.

The others nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, the matriarch of the 13-member family pulled up with Vanzilla. Lynn Sr. was working late today, so he let his wife use the car. Not long after departing the school, they stopped by the local university where Lisa did her job as (ironically) a science teacher. The child prodigy's chemistry set was sold to the school for a generous sum, and the little girl was saving it for her older brother's medical bill whenever it'd be mailed to the house. The family stopped at their abode for a short break, as the 3 elder sisters didn't finish school til an hour later.

Luan walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Sitting inside a glass container sat a good, large-sized chocolate cake. On top of this dessert piece, icing was arranged into the pattern of a star, as well as a sentence in the middle that said, 'Get Well Soon'. There was some debate on the matter between the sisters on what to write, and saying 'We're Sorry' wouldn't really cut it. Not only that, the cake wasn't big enough for a large paragraph. As an extra measure, Lisa had bolted the case shut in the event the sisters couldn't control their chocoholic nature.

"Lincoln doesn't have any food allergies right?..." Luan asked, mainly to herself.

"Negative. I did a thorough background investigation with our father and mother on this matter, and after obtaining permission, I checked the database of my files." Lisa explained, sticking her hand in to grab the orange juice.

"On a different note," Luan shut the door. "Be honest with me Lis. What do you think is chance that we have at getting Lincoln to forgive us?"

The four year old sipped her cup before responding. "Statistically, factoring in the mess we've put him in for the past 180 days, times the atrocity that occurred on Sunday, plus Lynn's feedback then divided by our general lack of visitation throughout the week, I'd say our chances are less than 15%. And that's only if nothing else is wrong with him."

"Well...no one can hold a grudge forever, right?" Luan smiled, though Lisa maintained her stoic posture.

"I have not studied much in the psychological realm, but if it helps, hate does fade over time. But fear is something that can take forever to conquer."

"Wait, who said anything about fear?"

"Just a thought." Lisa continued her drink. "If Lincoln doesn't hate us, I'm afraid it's much worse than previously thought..." The little genius thought to herself.

At Royal Woods General, Lincoln was about as happy as he could be since he was first admitted into the medical center. As of his latest X-ray test, his pelvis had healed enough for the doctor to allow him to get out of bed. As such, the 11 year old had to be administered a dose of anesthesia to remove the waste tube connected to his sexual organ. But this wasn't the only good news. The elbow joints in his damaged arm had finally healed enough to allow it to bend back in its natural direction. It still needed to be in a cast until it could be fully used, but at least the cast could now be strapped to Lincoln's own person instead of being suspended from a hook. His facial injuries were also non-existent now.

Naturally, after being bed-ridden for so long, his legs were practically asleep. Once he was disconnected from his medical equipment, Dr. Philips proceeded to help the boy do some exercises to get the muscles working again. The boy flinched as he knee joints popped from the doctor gently pushing his legs back. He repeated this a couple more times until the nerves in the 11 year old's legs awoken from their slumber.

"Feel anything?" Richard asked.

"I feel some tingling in my legs."

The doctor then spent a few minutes lifting the boy's legs so they could get readjusted to their natural flexibility. "Good. Now, I want you to try lifting them at your own pace."

Lincoln did as instructed with a little difficulty. After a few minutes, he could finally move his legs around at an even pace. Not at the pace they were before the incident, but it was a start. Now it was time for the hard part.

"Think you're ready to try standing up?"

"I-I guess."

"Ok. Don't rush though. Don't want to hurt yourself even more, but keep a hand on the rail of the bed so you don't accidentally fall." Richard instructed.

Lincoln grasped the side of the bed with his good hand before sitting up. Slowly moving his legs over the side, his body felt odd with almost half his weight being suspended in the air. As soon as he slid off the bed, his legs nearly buckled from supporting his own weight, but he managed to keep himself standing.

Lincoln shivered as his feet transmitted nerve signals that hadn't been active in a while. "My feet feel really funny."

"Don't worry. Your body is just getting used to being up and about. Pretty soon you'll be feeling normal again. Now try walking."

At first, the Loud boy waddled around like a penguin. But over time, he automatically corrected his rhythm and began walking like a normal person, albeit slowly. A sudden knock on the door made him pause, but Dr. Philips just told him to continue while he answered it.

Opening the door, he saw Mrs. Loud, along with her daughters. Even if their visits were frequent, it still baffled him how this family had 11 children. "Hello Mrs. Loud."

"Hey doc, is Lincoln awake?" Rita asked.

Richard chuckled. "Just look for yourself."

Rita poked her head in, and nearly cried in joy. "My baby is moving again!" This got Lincoln's attention, causing him to smile at his mother.

This caused the sisters to gawk in surprise. They all moved to the door, but were quickly stopped by their mother. "Hold on dears. It took some debating to let you all visit Lincoln, especially considering what happened Monday...but let me talk to him first and get him ready, ok?" The girls nodded.

Rita walked in with Lily, closing the door behind her. Upon getting within hugging range, the infant reached her hands out to her brother. Lincoln fondly hugged his baby sister.

"How ya been Lily?" The baby giggled in response.

"How's my little trooper doing?" Rita asked, kneeling to his level.

"I can finally walk again, kinda. At least I can use the bathroom on my own again, and my arm is getting better as well."

"That's great honey. You may be out of here sooner than expected." The mother smiled.

"Y-Yeah..." Lincoln replied, a frown forming as nervousness crept in.

This didn't go unnoticed. Rita ruffled the boy's hair a little. "Oh, I know you're a little scared right now sweetie. But your sisters have been regretting what they did ever since you got here. Now, they're here to see you, but they're nervous too. Do you want to give them a chance to apologize?"

A little nervous was the biggest understatement of the year. Lincoln was practically terrified at the mere mention that all of his other sisters were here. It was as if another of his nightmares was becoming a reality. His mother's words sounded sincere, but he wasn't so sure. Did they really want his forgiveness? Or did they want to rip his throat out? It was such an internal debate that he freezed up, trying to figure out what to do. Rita awaited his response, but he seemed very hesitant on giving one. The mother was forced to divide her attention when the door suddenly opened and 8 of the siblings crashed onto the floor. Apparently one of them accidentally pulled on the handle. The only person not in the pile was Luna, as she was holding the cake.

"Girls! I told you to wait!" Rita hissed.

"Sorry mom, but we got so nervous it was literally killing us!" Lori explained.

As the sisters situated themselves, all parties looked at each other with varied looks. The sisters were full of guilt, Lincoln was still frozen on the spot as if he was in a daze, and Rita and Lily glanced between them with uncertainty. While the sisters were happy that Lincoln looked to be getting better, the memory of what he was like earlier in the week was still etched in their minds. Lynn was especially nervous, standing closer to the back as to not upset him. The air was thick with tension. The moment of truth. Someone had to say something, anything, to break the uneasiness everyone shared.

It was Luna who finally spoke. "Lincoln...what we did to you is completely unforgivable...in the past we've made fun of you for your habits, laughed at you, humiliated you, used you for our own purposes, but nothing compares to what we did on Sunday...siblings gets into fights, that's certain, but it shouldn't...it shouldn't have gotten that out of hand...we beat you, possibly almost killing our only brother, all because we were being selfish and thinking for ourselves..." Luna's voice grew heavy as she carried on. "We've failed as sisters...I've failed the bond we shared since you were just a baby..." She paused, sniffling to clear her sinuses. "I still remember the first time I held you when I was only 4. All those times I sang you to sleep when you awoke in the night, watching you grow...years later I helped you out with your first SMOOCH concert, and what did I do to repay it all? I help in making your life miserable...I can't even look at myself at in the mirror, because all I see is someone who doesn't deserve to be related to you..." Lola shared her older sister's sentiments. The little princess hadn't looked at a mirror since, except to take care of her hygiene. "The bond we shared may be gone...but we all hope that one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive us, if you can..."

"We even made you a cake that you'll like, totes enjoy!" Leni added nervously, taking off the unbolted glass cover and showing Lincoln the decorated dessert.

However, Lincoln didn't respond to anything. He still had a trance-induced look on his face, blocking out anything Luna and Leni may have said.

"Lincoln? You alright?" Lori asked.

"Wincon?" Lily asked, poking the boy's cheek.

Inside the boy's mind, every mean-spirited act that was brought upon him by his sisters played through his mind on a giant screen. He felt as if he was strapped to a chair with his eyes taped open, forced to watch the humiliation conga that was his life. Lori's constant yelling at him, Lisa's crazy experiments, Luan's constant pranking...these were just part of the factors that made him feel a lack of self-worth. Even Luna, whom he shared a special connection with, joined on the hate campaign against her brother. However, some incidents were a bit exaggerated due to his stress. For example, in the whole ordeal with the Sweet Spot, Lincoln felt he was the main target throughout the whole thing (despite the fact everyone was fighting each other to claim the seat). Lincoln even began to believe he actually clogged the toilet with a Princess Pony book (even though it was really Lucy and he was just covering for her).

Lincoln wanted to look away from the invisible screen that lay before him, but he just couldn't no matter how much thought he put into it. It was starting to become too much for him. On the outside, everyone noticed the boy's breathing was becoming heavier by the second, earning even more concern. But they were stumped on what to do. By some miracle, he heard Lily calling for him before feeling her tiny, soft hands pushing on his cheek. Closing his eyes fiercely, he was pulled from his nightmarish daydream and regained his senses, only to immediately regret it a second later.

Once he could see clearly, he saw all of his non-infant sisters standing before him with worried looks. The boy's pupils shrank as far as they could, a terrified expression taking form as his breathing became more pronounced. Lynn recognized this sign immediately and started stepping back to the door. "Guys? We should go..."

"What? Why?" Lana asked.

"Cause I think Lincoln's about to-" The jock was cut off as Lincoln screamed as loud as he could, flailing his arms in the process.

He accidentally tossed Lily into the air, but thankfully her mother caught the infant. Since the door was being blocked by his sisters, Lincoln tried whatever he could to get away from them. Key word tried. As he moved to the opposite side of the bed, it was clear his body wasn't used to walking yet, much less running, so he ended up tripping on his own feet, landing on his bad arm in the process. Seeing the boy fall triggered the protective instincts of his family, who immediately rushed to his aid. The cake was dropped in the process, the sound of shattering glass rang around the room.

The mother and sisters crowded around the boy. "You ok bro?!" Luna asked.

"Does your arm hurt?" Lynn asked.

"Is your face ok?" Leni asked.

Pain shot through Lincoln's body as his arm pulsed with pain. But one look around him made him forget about his damaged limb. Screaming again, he scooted away from the group until he felt his back touch the wall. Lincoln found himself in the same position he had been when his sisters gave him the beating of a lifetime. It was feeling like Sunday all over again. Seeing he was trapped with no route of escape, tears fell from the middle child's face as he curled into a ball to defend himself from the beating he was sure he would receive.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't respect your Sister Fight Protocol! I promise I won't do it again! I'll do anything you want! Just, please! Don't hurt me!" He finally yelled out.

"Wait, what?! Why would we..." Lola retorted at first, before Lincoln's words finally sank into her head.

As the middle child continued to sob on the floor, it was evident that his injuries were more than just physical. Rita finally realized what her son's nightmares were about, or at least, who it involved. For 9 of the sisters, they stared at the broken form of their brother with shocked expressions before the harsh realization finally hit them. They did this to him. Not only was Lincoln physically hurt, he was mentally scarred. No amount of kindness would earn them his forgiveness. The sisters began to cry as well, knowing they may have lost their brother for good.

Just as they thought it couldn't get any worse, Lincoln's sobs had quieted to labored breaths. Tears still fell down his face, but it was clear he was struggling to breathe. His constant screams coupled with his heavy breathing were too much for his still-healing chest, and now his lungs were becoming too exhausted to try to pump air into them. Lisa became aware of this fact first, and like the quick thinker she was, she grabbed the facial breathing mask that was attached to the oxygen tank in the room and strapped to mask to her brother's face. With the child prodigy keeping Lincoln stable, Lynn (being the fastest runner) ran off to find any medical staff.

"You may be afraid of me, but I'll be darned if I let you die, my brother..." Lisa thought to herself.

A/N: So, thought it was going to be a happy ending didn't ya? Everything would be all hunky dory and they'd all live happily ever after right?

NO!

Whatever hope everyone may have had was dashed today. Physical wounds can heal within months, but mental scars can takemuch, much longer to fade. How will everyone react, and what will happen now that it' become clear Lincoln is severely affected mentally? You'll see soon enough.

Writing Lincoln's hospital scene reminds me of the time I had been hospitalized due to suffering a severe case of asthma. I got stuck in the bed for 3 days, the food sucked, and the only enjoyable thing was the cartoons at the time. This was back in the mid-2000s so there was plenty to watch. And that's how I felt when finally got the strength to move again. Make no mistake, this story is far from over, and the road to recovery will be long and uneasy.