7. The weight on his shoulders

I literally have no idea how I managed to write this in five days. And only in two writing session. I guess I had an inspiration attack. Or maybe I just wanted to get over with this chapter, since the first part it's about one of my least favorite characters.

Since I didn't wanted a 10´000 words chapter, I ended it sooner. No big deal. But I promised you Ronnie Anne on this chapter, and now she'll have to wait until chapter 8.

Now, I stand to my word and I give you my Top 3:

According-to-Canon Top 3:

1° Luna / 2° Lynn / 3° Lola (Tattle tale ranked her up)

But I also have a headcanon Top 3 that goes like this:

1° Lynn (Lynncoln, in a non-lewd, fraternal way) / 2° Luna / 3° Luan (I respect that some of you like her, but for me she's the worst. She has no backstory, there's no explanation for her bad-punning living style, she's agressive, doesn't take anything seriously and she's obsessed with filming her siblings. But in my head, that's because she's actually a really scared child, with no friends and that no one likes in school. Her comic relief is just a masquerade to hide the pain of feeling hated by averybody, even her siblings. When I think of her like that, I like her better. I hope today's episode doesn't bury her, tho)

We can ALL agree, though, that Lynn Loud Sr AKA Dad is the best character, right?

I'd like to thank you guys once again for trusting me and this story. I can't believe it has this kind of reception. You're the best audience ever.

So, thank you:

Guest 1, Guest 2, agustin163113, Red Eyes (thank you, that was the point of Bobby's speach: I can't ignore religion in a situation like this), Zach the Red Rider, Mew Shadowfang (Home-Spun was a Top Tier episode, it would've been a great season finale), Unknown Russian, Electric Loud (thank you! new episodes inspire me, they open a lot of doors), ExMarkSpot, Sonic Thruster, DANGIT-man, Arysrm (I don't know that much about hospitals to have him just die there; and sorry but no, Lori and Lucy are just meh to me), Guest 3 (You almost nailed it! And we share the same Top 3, ha), Mr Noname, Samtastic 3.0, Jackd98 (1°: I think I understand what you're saying about Bobby. It probably was all too well written in the sense that he knewEXACTLY what to say, right? I assume that mistake. 2°: He was annoyed because he wanted to be alone for a while. 3° It's actually really simple: I don't have anyone I could ask for, haha. I have a couple of friends who were born in the US, but it's not like I could go "Hey, listen, I'm writing a novel-lenght story based on a children's cartoon that I'm posting in a Fanfiction website, could you proof read it?", haha), jturne709 (based taste), The feels (glad to comply), TexasGunKing (I like your taste, amigo tejano), No One, BoukenDutch (thank you for recommending my story, I'm happy that you like it so much!), Codymitchell1, . .mx (gracias! también tengo publicada una versión en español, que espero que tenga menos errores que esta que está en inglés, jaja. Se llama "Réquiem por un Loud" también), MorenoX25 (the guru of this fanbase), BooruGuy (anon, wtf? Hahaha, go back to /trash/ m8), and FullOfRegret.

Okay, so about those last replies, I do have a drawing that I posted in an "anonnymous" page (I think you all know which one), and then someone put it on the Booru. Since I can't draw for shit, I'm not going to share it with you. The drawing itself it's just one part of the storyboard I made for the first chapter, with Lynn holding an unconscious and bleeding Lincoln. I'm aware of at least two more pics based on this fic, and I'm actually really happy that some of you took time to draw something based off this story. But yeah, that one with the crying Lynn on the park, that's mine.

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Chapter 7:The weight on his shoulders

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Lincoln extended his arm. He quickly put it down, and sighed. He extended it once again, almost making contact, but his left hand grabbed his right wrist, stopping himself. He let out a groan of impotence, not believing that his own body could attempt to stop him from doing such a simple task. Frustrated, he rested his back on the wall, sliding all the way down to the floor, starting to think that maybe he wasn't really ready for this.

The sound of digital bells made him look up, only to find that he had finally pressed the doorbell with his head while sliding down the wall. He immediately got up and walked away two steps from the door, combing his hair with his hand and trying to look casual. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Once, twice. All while mentally repeating himself that it wouldn't be that hard. He could do it. He totally could do it. He was the boss. He had thought about what he would say, about the best way to approach the subject. He hadn't found a magic solution, or one that fully convinced him that everything was going to be okay, but he had something to work with.

He impatiently waited for less than twenty seconds, although it felt longer than that time when he was trying to buy his tickets for SMOOCH. He heard the sound of footsteps getting closer, and the key scraping the metal of the door lock. Suddenly, all his confidence faded away from him. What had he been thinking? He wasn't ready for this yet. Maybe if he ducked to the nearest bush he could hide himself and come back later. Deep inside him, however, he knew that he couldn't hide the truth from the people he loved. He wasn't ready to tell his sisters yet, but he needed to start trusting in other people. And who was better to start with than the person he trusted the most in the world?

The door finally opened.

"Lincoln!"

"Hey, Clyde", greeted Lincoln.

His best friend looked the same as always. His dark hair in an afro that had not even a single hair out of shape, being constantly revised by his dads. The same black trousers and his classic yellow and blue stripped shirt. The same thick glasses, and the same smile as always, maybe a little wider than usual. They'd knew each other for so long that Lincoln almost considered him his unofficial brother. He was the only person he knew that liked the exact same things he liked, with whom he could share absolutely everything. And Lincoln needed someone to share all the things that were going through his mind.

"Where have you been?" Asked Clyde, excitingly approaching him, happy to see his best friend again. "It's been two days you don't go to school now, and you're not answering my calls! Did you ran out of batteries?"

"No, actually I couldn't ans… Didn't you called my house?" He asked, confused. He was expecting his best friend to know that he had been in the hospital. He knew his family would've told Clyde, had he asked.

"I called twice to your house, but Lori picked up the phone, and I passed out", he admitted, looking embarrassed to the floor.

Lincoln couldn't help but smile. He actually didn't like the fact that Clyde was so in love with one of his sisters; he didn't liked ANY boy to be in love with them, really. But in Clyde's case, being such a platonic love that would never be a thing, he didn't really much care. And he actually had fun seeing how nervous his best friend got at the mere mention of Lori's name.

"Then why didn't you went to my house and asked for me yourself?" He asked again.

"I don't know, I didn't wanted to risk Lori opening the door. But that doesn't answer my question, why didn't you went to school this past two days?"

Lincoln sighed, once again. He was starting to act more like Lucy lately.

"Can we go to your room?"

"Sure! Make yourself at home. But take off your shoes before stepping onto the carpet. And try not to scream, as you always do when you enter someone else's house."

Clyde guided him to his room, so they could speak quieter. Lincoln heard some movement in the kitchen, where he assumed Clyde's dads were cooking. He realized it was nearly lunch time, and he wondered if he had arrived at a bad time. Even more, maybe he should be in his house too, having lunch with his sisters. How come he didn't realize that?

"Clyde… Were you about to have lunch?" He asked.

"My dads were cooking, yes. Why?" He said, sill walking down the hall to his room.

"Maybe I should come later..."

"Why? Dad!" He yelled, turning around on his heels.

"Yes, son?" Said both Harold and Howard McBride, poking out from the kitchen not even one second after their son had called them.

"Can Lincoln stay for lunch?"

"Of course", said Harold, with a big smile and his smooth voice.

"I hope you like sushi. Tuesdays are our oriental food days", said Howard, who was wearing a white headband with Japan's flag in the center, combining with his red hair.

They went back to the kitchen before Lincoln could say anything, and Clyde quickly entered his room. Lincoln sighed. The McBride's were a really happy family. They never seemed to be nervous, or angry; they were always happy. Clyde had never said a single bad thing about his parents, and he never came to Lincoln with a family issue. He didn't envy them, because Lincoln profoundly loved his family, but he always smiled when thinking just how different their families were.

He entered Clyde's room. His friend was putting his stuffed animals in a wardrobe specifically designed for that purpose.

"Sorry about the mess, I just came from school."

A paper sheet. A single paper sheet was lying on the floor. That was Clyde's mess.

"Okay, so, does this situation warrants a sound of 'water against the rocks', or is it more of a 'wind between the leafs of an autumn tree' type?" He asked Lincoln, testing the different options on his white noise device.

"Clyde..."

"Alright, alright, what about some birds singing in the background?"

"Clyde!"

Clyde jumped on his feet, startled. He looked around looking worried. Lincoln took a deep breath to fight his nerves. He didn't wanted to be angry with his best friend, but lately he was having troubles controlling his emotions. He took one step forward and put a hand on Clyde's shoulder.

"Can we just sit down and talk?"

Clyde had never seen Lincoln's face so serious. And he believed he was seeing a little sadness in his eyes too. He may be a little naive, but he certainly knew when his friend was in need. And he would never fail him. He'd never fail Lincoln, his one true friend. In school they hanged out with some of the other kids, but it was mostly due to them sharing classes and basically being forced to be together. No one ever bothered to call him outside school, unless it was to ask him for his homework. Lincoln could probably be friends with them. After all, he was a really social guy, good with words, funny and with energy for everything. Clyde had none of those qualities. He couldn't even talk with girls without feeling nervous. Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago Lincoln had danced with the four dates his sisters had landed him to the Sadie Hawkings dance like it was no big deal, and then he had a date with Ronnie Anne in the arcades.

Clyde sometimes felt like he didn't deserved a friend like Lincoln. Someone so unconditional and who could stand all his flaws. He pondered what would happen if for whatever reason they fought and he stopped being his friend. It wasn't a nice thought.

"What happened, Lincoln?" He asked, sitting on his bed.

Lincoln sat on the other side.

"Clyde I… I was in the hospital since Sunday. I just came back home today."

Clyde gasped.

"What? In the hospital? What happened? Were you sick? Or injured?"

Lincoln summed up what happened on Sunday morning and afternoon in the park, playing with Lynn. He described how he suddenly found himself having trouble breathing, with his head and chest aching like someone was ripping him apart. He explained in detail his blurry vision, and the sensation that everything around him was happening in slow motion.

"I know that", interrupted him Clyde, worried. "It happens to me too. Those are panic attacks. You don't need to be scared, it can be treated. Doctor Lopez gave me some exercises to treat them, maybe he could..."

"It's not that, Clyde."

"But… What…? What was it then?"

"Clyde… Look, I'm going to tell you, but I need you to not freak out, alright?"

"I wasn't, but now that you said that, I'm starting to freak out."

"Clyde… I've… I..." Lincoln stammered. His plans were proving infructuous. All the phrases he had come up with were messing up on his mind. One thing was picturing himself explaining everything to his best friend, and a very different thing was being right there with him, seeing his reactions. He knew it would be hard, but not like this.

"Lincoln, you're scaring me."

He sighed.

"Look, the thing is… I'm sick."

"Sick?" Asked Clyde.

"Yeah, it's a pretty difficult name. Neuromotosis… Fibramoto… I don't know. It doesn't matter."

"Does that make you pass out?"

"Not exactly. Clyde… I should've died on Sunday."

Lincoln saw his friend visibly taken aback by his words, like someone had hit him in the face with a baseball bat.

"What?!" He shouted, standing up. "What do you mean?!"

"I had a vein in my head obstructed. In my brain. It was about to kill me, but Lynn's ball hit me hard enough to… I don't know, unblock it, or something. And that saved my life", he explained, trying to be as medically accurate as possible, but there were a lot of names and conditions he just couldn't remember.

"Are you serious? I mean, I know you're serious. You wouldn't be joking with something like this. But… I can't believe it. You were about to die?"

"Pretty close actually, according to the doctors."

"Wow", said Clyde, sitting right next to his friend and putting an arm over his shoulders. "I get why you didn't answer me now. I should've gone to your house and asked your parents about you. I would've visited you in the hospital."

"You would have had some troubles passing over my sisters", chuckled Lincoln. He and Clyde shared a laugh.

"I guess you're right. Remember that time when you had a paper cut?"

"Unfortunately, I do..."

"But, hey, at least you're fine now. We were really lucky that Lynn hit you with her ball. I don't want to even imagine what it would be of me if you were gone. Best friends forever, right?" He said, extending his fist so Lincoln could bump it with his own.

But Lincoln was just sitting there, staring at the floor, his lips tight in a grimace of concern. Slowly, Clyde's fist came down.

"Lincoln?"

It was now or never. He couldn't keep avoiding it. He had to man up and say it once and for all.

"Clyde, the doctors didn't cured me."

His friend frowned.

"What do you mean? Why would they let you get out from the hospital if you're not healthy?"

"Because they can't cure me."

"They…? What?"

"There's no cure for what I have."

Clyde stared blankly at his friend.

"But… But… They gave you medicines, right? To control it. So it doesn't happen again."

"No, they didn't. There's nothing that can help me. It's going to happen again, and next time… Next time I won't be that lucky."

Clyde withdraw his arm from his friend's shoulder and stood up. He started walking to and fro inside his room, breathing agitatedly. He stopped in front of his desk and started to open his drawers, throwing indiscriminately to the floor every paper sheet, pencils, pens and books he found while looking for something else. He moved on to his shelf and finally found his inhaler. He took the little device to his mouth and started breathing while pressing it. He held his breath for a few seconds and then he breathed out.

Lincoln just sat on his friend's bed, watching him repeat the process over and over again.

"Clyde.."

"This can't be happening", said his friend, his voice cracking. "Lincoln… Lincoln… Are you sure they didn't make a mistake?"

"They're doctors, Clyde."

"Doctors can be wrong too! Scientist can be wrong! Engineers can be wrong! Everybody makes mistakes!" He screamed, still walking nervously around his room. "You need a second opinion. Go see another doctor. Maybe a doctor from another state. A European doctor! Do you have you passport?!"

"I don't think they're wrong. The doctor who treated me seemed to be reliable."

"Jim Carrey is a reliable actor and he still did The Cable Guy!"

"Clyde, you have to calm down, you'll get an asthma attack", Lincoln worriedly said to his friend. He knew how Clyde had problems breathing when going through violent emotional breakdowns.

"I'm already having an attack!" Said the boy, throwing his inhaler to the floor and pressing his index and middle finger against his throat, checking his pulse. "Pulse accelerated, agitated breathing. I'm hyperventilating. What did Doctor Lopez said I should do? A paper bag!"

He once again ran to his shelf, throwing all his toys and comic books to the floor. He finally found a paper bag and put it over his mouth, breathing in and out with all his strength.

"Clyde, please, I don't like seeing you like this", pleaded Lincoln.

"Lincoln! You're telling me that it can happen again!" Complained Clyde, messing up his hair with both hands due to the stress. "How can you prevent it? A diet? Some vitamins? Skipping gym class?"

"Clyde, sit down."

"Don't tell me to sit down!"

"Clyde, please."

"Just tell me how can you prevent it!"

"I CAN'T!" Screamed Lincoln, standing up from the bed; he walked right in front of his friend and took him by the shoulders. "Clyde, I can't prevent it from happening again."

"But Lincoln..."

"I have two weeks left to live", he finally said, looking at his friend's eyes through the glasses.

Clyde's face contracted in the most eloquent expression of horror that Lincoln had seen in his life. His mouth seemed to be silently screaming, his eyebrows arched up, and through the glasses Lincoln could see his friend's eyes loosing focus. Clyde stood there, petrified for a couple of seconds, until his legs started trembling. Acting quickly so he didn't fell to the floor, Lincoln grabbed Clyde and dragged him to his bed, where he managed to sit him. Clyde was still with his gaze lost, but his hand started shaking.

His eyes focused once again on Lincoln. The white haired boy didn't knew how to react. He felt a terrible void in his chest that was wearing him down, like someone was slowly draining all his energy. He didn't felt like crying, though. It was painful, but not as bad as he initially thought it would be. It was an odd sensation. He felt like he should be feeling worst. He even cried with Bobby, and that was just an hour ago. Maybe that's why he wasn't crying? Was his body getting tired of feeling so blue? It sounded both stupid and unlikely, but now that he thought about it, Lincoln realized he was indeed feeling tired. It wasn't just the emotional weight of seeing his best friend like that, it was another type of exhaustion. Like something inside him was telling him that he needed to hold on, to stop acting so weak and vulnerable.

"Lincoln."

Clyde's voice brought him back to reality. He turned around and saw his friend starting to tear up.

"Clyde..."

"Lincoln!" He yelled, throwing against his friend, hugging him like when they were kids. He started to violently cry on his shoulder, flogging his own glasses and soaking Lincoln's polo shirt. The white haired boy hugged him too, to try and comfort him.

The bedroom door opened.

"Clyde, son, is everything ok? I thought I heard… Holy Moley! What happened here?!" Said Howard as he entered, seeing the disaster in his son's room, with all his things on the floor, and most importantly, seeing his son crying inconsolably. "Clyde! What's wrong?"

Clyde separated from Lincoln and ran right to his father, burying his face in his salmon shirt, almost the same color as his hair. Howard hugged him with all his strength, stroking his back.

"What is it?"

"L-Linc-coln!" He managed to say between sobs.

Howard hadn't seen his son cry this hard in years. He was getting scared. He turned his head and look at Lincoln. Of course, he immediately discarded the possibility of Lincoln having intentionally done something that could hurt Clyde like that. He was such a good boy…

"W-Why?!" Clyde shouted on his father's shoulder.

"Lincoln, what's going on?"

Lincoln saw how worried Mr McBride was about his son. He knew that look, that desperation. It was the same expression that had greeted him in the mirror since the last Sunday night. The very same expression he knew he had everytime he thought about his sisters. He knew the sensation of wanting to protect your loved ones, and he understood how Mr McBride felt. He hadn't really thought about telling Clyde's dads about his situation. But sooner or later they would find out, and Clyde's dad needed an answer.

"Well… Let me explain you."

Fifteen minutes later, Harold McBride was holding both his son and his husband, who were inconsolably crying on his sweater.

"L-Linc-coln!" Cried Howard, blowing his nose on a silk scarf.

"T-This can't b-be hap-p-pening!" Was mourning Clyde too, while his father was cleaning his face.

"Lincoln… I… I can't believe it", said Harold. Even if he was managing to keep himself together better than the rest of his family, he was just as devastated after hearing the news.

"I'm sorry", apologized Lincoln, not really knowing what was he supposed to do in a situation like that.

"He's apologizing! He's apologizing for dying!" Painfully cried Howard. "He's such a love! He's a good boy! Why is something like this happening?!"

"Howie, please, calm down."

"Dad! L-Lincon's gonna die!"

"Clyde, dear..."

"He's my only friend! I don't have anyone else!"

"Oh, come on, Clyde", Lincoln tried to intervene.

"What am I going to do without him?"

Harold didn't know what to say. He didn't have an answer for that. So he just hugged his son, trying to let him know that he was there for him. Then he looked at Lincoln.

"Is there anything that can be done? Any treatment?"

"It doesn't matter how expensive it is, we can help you!" Howard rushed to say.

"Lincoln, please, be honest. If there's something to do, anything, we will help you. Don't be ashamed to say it."

"I really appreciate that, Mr McBride, Mr McB", Lincoln told both Clyde's dads. "But there's nothing we can do about it. The damage on my heart is already done. And they'll never give me the green light for a transplant because I still have the tumors in my head, and it'll be just a matter of time until it happens again. If my heart doesn't kill me, my brain will."

The McBrides were absolutely speechless after hearing Lincoln. The three of them remained hugging each other, sharing their sadness. Lincoln didn't know what to do. He was feeling extremely uncomfortable there, knowing they were all crying because of him.

"Maybe… Maybe I should go."

"No! Don't leave!" Begged Clyde, looking at his friend, afraid of losing him.

"Lincoln, have lunch with us, please. We need you here right now", said, also in tears, Howard.

"I… Okay. I'll stay."

"I don't think we'll be able to finish preparing the sushi", regretfully said Howard. "I think we better order something over the phone. What do you like, Lincoln?"

"Y-You don't have to worry about that, just order whatever..."

"He likes pizza with double cheese and pepperoni", interrupted him Clyde. "He also likes double cheese burgers with medium fries, and peanut butter, jelly and mustard sandwiches, and vanilla, chocolate and pistachio ice cream."

"I'll order four of everything" resolutely said Harold, exiting the room.

"Son… Let's go wash our faces" said Howard, taking Clyde to the bathroom and leaving Lincoln alone in the now messy room.

Lincoln just sat on the bed, covering his face with his hands. That had been a lot more tough than he had imagined. He didn't really wanted to stay. He'd rather go running to his house and lock himself in his room. Maybe there he could cry without any worries, he could keep himself away from the sadness of watching a family cry for him. He could escape from reality for a while. But he knew he couldn't do that. He had to face it, no matter how hard it was for him.

He took his phone out of his pocket and started looking for the group chat he needed. He had quite a few. From school, from the comic store, but most were with his sisters. Different groups, with different combinations of participants. He finally found the one group chat he shared with his five older sisters.

[Lincoln]

I'm at Clyde's

I told him… :/

His dads want me to stay for lunch

Can you tell mom and dad and cover me from the girls?

His messages immediately were sent to all his sisters. According to the app, Luan was the first one to read it, so Lincoln waited for her to say something. But the minutes started passing by, and she didn't answered him. Soon enough, though, the rest of his sisters saw the messages.

[Luna]

You got it, bro! (L)

Eat the rich lml

[Lynn]

Why aren't you coming home for lunch?

We've been waiting TWO DAYS for you

[Lori]

Don't worry, Lincoln

I'll talk with mom and dad

Have fun

And take care

He wasn't happy at all with Luan's silence and Lynn apparent anger. That only helped to make him feel even more guilty. But he didn't wanted to worry about that right then. Not with all the problems he already had, more immediate problems. With a sigh, he stood up and went to the dining room, wondering if this kind of stress might turn his hair even whiter.

The sky was colored in the most beautiful orange tone Lincoln ever saw. It was clear, with just the right amount of clouds to be a little more poetic and to appeal to those who could paint it. Lincoln loved sunsets. He decided that, before dying, he had to see a sunset from a high place, so he could better appreciate its effect not only on the sky but on the city as well. Maybe he could go to the woods, since they were on a hillside. He had been there before with Clyde, when they'd tried to man up. Since appreciating sunset wasn't on their "manly stuff" list, they missed the opportunity. His sisters would probably be more than willing to help him fulfill that little wish.

He soon arrived his house, and just by opening the door he found himself caught up in the noisy mess he was used to. Lana was chasing Leni with a frog on her hand, Lola was having a tea party in the middle of the stairs, Lily was crawling butt naked on the kitchen, and from Luna's room you could hear the power chords of a song. So far so good. He could even hear a disaster going on upstairs, probably caused by Lynn.

He was grateful that everything was apparently normal. He decided to go to his room. He was starting to miss it. Being almost at his door, he saw Lana's frog passing by right in front of him.

"Hops! Don't be scared, Leni wasn't going to cook you!" Was yelling the little one, running desperately to catch her pet.

Reacting quickly, Lincoln crouched and caught the frog in the middle of a jump.

"Here you got, Lana", he said.

"Thanks, Lincoln! Did you see our drawings on your room?"

"I was about to check them."

"I hope you like them. I don't mean to presume, but I think I'm drawing better than Lola", she said with a smug smile.

"In your dreams, maybe!" Yelled Lola, climbing up the stairs with one of her plastic cups, pretending she was drinking tea.

"You forgot to draw Lincoln's ears!" Complained Lana.

"And you didn't draw his nose!"

"At least I draw him with his actual clothes and not a princess dress!"

"It was a prince outfit!"

"Well, he looked dumb!"

Lola glared at her twin sister with her teeth clenched. With a hatred gaze, she shook her plastic cup, like she was throwing hot tea to her twin. Lana stared at her with a raised eyebrown.

"Really?" She asked, impassively upon the imaginary attack. Lola seemed to be ready to punch her but Lincoln, perceiving the imminent danger, decided to act.

"Hey, do you still have your cops costumes?" He asked with a smile.

"Yes" answered both twins at the same time.

"You better suit up, because… the animal criminals just escaped their prison!" Lincoln dramatically said, taking Hops from Lana's arms and letting him go. "Oh, no, now Hops joined them too!"

"Who did he joined?!" Asked Lana, with glistening eyes.

"Why the Mascot Mob of course! Charles, Cliff, Geo and Walt. But it seems they're recruiting other animals now. Oh, if only we had some kind of police officers who could catch them before dinner!"

"We can do that!" Said both twins, rushing to their rooms to put on their patrol suits.

Lincoln smiled to his own idea. Having avoided a new fight between his sisters, he finally opened his bedroom door. Just one step inside, he already saw his little sister's drawings. They were hanging on his wall, and they showed him in different situations. In a tea party, fighting crocodiles, dressed like a prince, in a puddle of what he hoped was mud, and finally a big one that showed him standing up, holding one twin on each hand. On the top of the paper sheet it read "Welcome back".

He was touched by that last drawing. Seeing all three happy faces, the three stick figures holding hands, he realized just how much his sisters loved him. He took that paper sheet and put it on his chest. He was about to give in to his emotions and allow himself to cry once again when the door suddenly opened. He quickly put the drawing back where he found it and tried to recompose himself before turning around, seeing little Lisa staring at him with his typically bored look.

"Hey Lisa, what's up?" He saluted her, hoping she didn't noticed his watery eyes.

"Lincoln, I would appreciate if you could come with me to my lab a few minutes so we can discuss our plan of action, considering the circumstances."

"Plan of action? Circumstances? What are you talking about?"

Lisa sighed, adjusting her glasses.

"I believe it's a topic you would rather discuss in my room, where we are forty three point seven percent less likely to be interrupted by one of our siblings."

Without giving him time to say anything, Lisa abandoned his room, entering her own. Lincoln remained still with his face locked in an expression of confusion. He shrugged it off and finally went to Lisa and Lily's room. After closing the door behind him, he noticed that Lisa's lab, always full of chemicals, test tubes and weird gamma rays machines was now full of machines that, strangely enough, reminded him of the ones they had in the hospital. His sister was standing on a stool, preparing what looked like a really big syringe.

"Lisa? What's that?" Worriedly asked Lincoln.

"Clearly, this is a syringe, with which I'll draw the blood samples I need from your arm veins", she patiently explained, as if she was teaching Lily the vowels.

"What?!" Said Lincoln, stepping back. "No way I'm going to let you draw blood from me! Why would you even consider doing that?"

"To find a cure to your disease, of course."

Lincoln felt the air escaping his lungs, like he had received a punch in the stomach.

"Disease? You…? You know?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Evidently."

Lincoln slowly supported himself in the nearest wall, and let himself slid down it. This was terrible. Had the older girls failed to hide it? Did any other of his younger sisters knew? The twins seemed oblivious. But Lucy was nowhere to be found… Did she know? He started sweating. This couldn't be happening.

"Lisa… How…?"

"I spent the last few days nourishing my brain with information regarding genetic conditions and alterations on the normal state of the human body", said Lisa, signaling a pile of the biggest books Lincoln had even seen in his entire life. "In my last visit to the hospital, I managed to get a look at the test they did to you and what was the suggest and/or applied treatment. Knowing your symptoms and the measures taken by the trained medical staff, it wasn't hard to deduce that you have a strange variable of the disease known as neurofibromatosis type one."

They all knew that Lisa was a genius, but this exceeded everything Lincoln would expected from her. His sister, in two days, had learned enough to diagnose what apparently was a very weird disease that doctors hadn't detected in eleven years. A lot of times her experiments scared him and the rest of the family, but Lincoln was profoundly proud of his little sister. He was convinced that she would change the world eventually. In a family full of talents, Lisa was the one who held the most potential. Sometimes some of her siblings might've gotten jealous, but deep down they were all proud.

But smart as she may be, Lisa was still a four year old girl. And Lincoln knew that even though she usually tried to conceal her feelings, she still got them. It was just like with Lucy. She might shelter herself in her seriousness as much as she wanted to, but things affected her just like it did everyone.

"Wait, you didn't tell the other about this, did you?" He suddenly asked.

"Judging by the emotional state of our five older sisters, it's safe to infer that they are already aware of the situation. If they decided not to tell the rest of our sisters yet it's because they don't think of it as a necessary course of action. Therefore, I don't find the need to communicate it neither."

"Lisa, listen to me, this is serious. You can not let it slip like that time where I had chewing gum in my hair and you told Lynn", he warned her, remembering that time.

"Lincoln, that time my mind had no room for such a trivial occurrence. This, however, merits concentration."

Lisa took a terrifyingly long needle and put it on the syringe, hitting it slowly with her fingers to remove any trace of air trapped inside it. She looked just too calm, like it was an everyday situation. She may had find out his disease, but maybe she didn't know the consequences.

"Lisa, do you understand what's going to happen to me?" Lincoln slowly asked.

"Absolutely. Given the stage your disease is currently in and the advance it already had on your organism, I estimate that your body will manage to resist between two and three weeks before your heart finally fail, resulting in a premature death."

"Why are you saying it so… so… serious? Like you're reading it from a book?" Lincoln asked her, feeling suddenly a little upset. "Aren't you worried that I'm going to die?"

Lisa left the syringe aside and stepped down the tool. She walked all the way to his brother, stopping right in front of him with her head up to maintain visual contact. She stared at him with seriousness in her eyes, although through her glasses Lincoln could notice a special glistening in her eyes, one that he didn't remember seeing in her little sister in a long time.

"Of course I'm worried about you, Lincoln. That's why I've decided to postpone all my projects, researches and even my professorship on the Royal Woods State University so I can devote my full abilities, resources and time to find the cure for this yet untreatable disease. Two weeks it's a too short and demanding term. This might be the most challenging task I've faced in all my two years of career, but never before was I obliged to use the one hundred percent of my capacities. Failure is not an option. Therefore, the only logical and acceptable outcome is for me to be able to cure you."

She sounded just like always. No one could ever notice the difference. But Lincoln, somehow, was able to distinguish the worry behind Lisa's words. He kneel down to be close to her height and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lisa, I don't want you to be under so much pressure."

"I need to find a cure to your disease", repeated Lisa, shaking her head. "It's the least I can do. After all, with all this years experimenting on you I failed to notice the anomalies on your brain."

"Come on, you can't blame yourself for that. No doctor ever noticed there was something wrong with me."

"Still, I should have found it sooner. Now I will compensate my mistake finding the cure to your condition."

Lincoln sighed. In a way, his sister had just taken a great weight off his back. He didn't had to find a way to tell her the truth. He now didn't had to gather an impossible amount of courage to explain a situation that overwhelmed him. Now he didn't had to see her cry for him, as he thought he would.

What he did feared now, however, was that Lisa had relieved him from some of his pressure by taking a heavier one for her. The four years old girl couldn't pretend to carry the responsibility of having to find a cure for an untreatable disease. She couldn't put herself in a position where she was the one responsible for her brother's destiny, feeling like it was her duty to save him. What if she couldn't do it? Would she live the rest of her life feeling guilty for letting him die? Lincoln would gladly spend two weeks of awful stress as long as her little sister wouldn't feel that way after his death He couldn't stand the idea of Lisa blaming herself for a situation that was beyond any of them.

"Lisa, listen. You don't have to do this. It's not your job to save me."

"Are you saying you want to die? Perhaps there's a tumor affecting the brain area that controls the survival instinct."

"No, of course I don't want to die!" He replied.

"Then I fail to see the problem. I believe we all win in this scenario."

"The problem is that you can't feel responsible for whatever happens to me, you understand?" He tried to explain. "If I die, it won't be because you couldn't find the cure or because you didn't diagnosed me in time. It'll be because I just had bad luck. Okay? You don't need to prove anything. If it makes you feel better, I'll let you take a blood sample from me, but… Look, even if you don't manage to cure me, you'll always be the most brilliant person I've ever met. Alright? You'll always be my little genius."

He smiled at her, trying to assure her that he'd always love her. It's not like he doubted she already knew that, but a reminder once in a while didn't hurt anyone. He stared at her, trying to tell what was going on in her head. Lisa then raised her arms, touching the one that Lincoln had resting on her shoulder. He smiled, believing his sister was going for a hug. Instead, he felt a painful pressure on his forearm.

"Ouch!" He said, looking at the tourniquet Lisa had applied on him with a belt. "Lisa! What the heck?!"

"We need to apply pressure to restrict the blood flow and let the veins dilate, facilitating the act of inserting the needle" she simply explained, taking him by the hand and dragging him to the stood.

Lisa took the syringe and a container the size of a juice jar.

"Alright, let's begin", she said with a mischievous smile. "After the blood draw you'll need to fill this recipient."

"What? With what?!"

.

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I hope you liked it. And I know I said the same thing about this chapter, but it'll take me a while to update, because I want to write a One-Shot first. It's going to be about one of Lincoln's sisters getting a boyfriend, and all the fraternal jealousy that comes after that. It won't be nearly as sad as I try this story to be, but it'll have an emotional charge, I hope.

Next chapter will be a turning point for the story, I believe. Lincoln will finally realize something that'll make him start taking actions. When I first drafted this story I thought it would have 15/16 chapters. Now I'm starting to believe that it'll take a couple more. Maybe 20 chapters or so. But I don't know, we'll have to wait and see.

I have to go to my karate class, so I'll have to wait like five hours to see the new chapter. And then we'll have like 3 weeks of hiatus on the show. I don't know if I'll make it through.

So, what's Fanfiction opinion on Lord Savino? He's our God, right?