23. Meet a New Family

Ok. I'm back. Please put down the pitchforks and torches. Now here is another chapter. Now this one is one I hope that you enjoy. Now, I brought back Lyra and Chris is also here. Now I hope that you like the chapter.

(Leni's voice) The following is a non-profit fanbase fanfic. Loud House and its characters are all owned by Chris Savino and Nickelodeon. Please support the official release.

Chapter 23

Rita and Lynn sat in the living room anxiously awaiting Chris's arrival. Even though they knew he was coming, they were still nervous. They knew that Chris was going to check everything: the living environment, the food they were providing, and how well Lincoln was getting along with the other kids. While the first two worried them, they weren't at all worried about the last one. Lincoln got along perfectly with the girls and Charles was probably the gentlest dog the Louds have ever met. Plus he got along perfectly with the other pets. So they weren't worried about Charles acting out or Lincoln reverting back to his extremely jumpy self that he was when he first arrived.

"Rita, are you sure we have nothing to worry about?" Lynn asked. "What if Lincoln has an episode? What if Charles gets aggressive? What if the girls scare him off? There are so many things that can go wrong!"

"Lynn, relax." Rita soothes. "Everything is going to be fine. Just relax and have faith that our kids are going to behave themselves."

"I know honey." Lynn says. "I'm just so nervous. I've never done this before. Being a parent is one thing, but being a foster parent is just so nerve wrecking. Especially since Lincoln is our first foster kid."

"I know Lynn. I'm nervous too. But everything is going to be alright." Rita reassured. As they continued to relax in the living room, they heard voices coming from the front door.

"Dad, just listen to me!"

"I told you Lyra, I think you're overreacting."

"Dad, I'm not overreacting! This is important and you aren't listening!"

"Can't we talk about this later? I have a job to do."

"No dad. We can't wait til later. Um, dad? What are you doing?"

"Ringing the doorbell. Why?"

"That's probably a bad idea."

"Lyra, last time I was here I tried to open the door and the knob fell off. This time, I'm ringing the doorbell."

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you." The Louds then hear the doorbell being pressed followed by a zapping. "Told you it was a bad idea."

"Ok, you got me there. I'll just knock." The Louds then hear a knocking at the door. Lynn goes to answer it and sees Chris and Lyra on the other side with the former looking a little singed. "Lynn, you really gotta get that doorbell fixed."

"I would, but it gets us free pizza." Lynn tells him. "But that's beside the point. How are you doing Chris? Welcome back Lyra."

"I'm doing fine Lynn. Just here for Lincoln." Chris tells him.

"Yeah. Here for Lincoln." Lyra muttered. Lynn and Rita then shared a confused look.

"Is everything alright between you two?" Rita asks.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Lyra is just a little argumentative this morning." Chris tells them.

"Only because you won't listen!" Lyra argues.

"Um, ok. So are you ready to see Lincoln?" Lynn asks.

"Yep. I've been worried about him. So where is he?" Chris asks.

"He's in the backyard with the girls." Rita answers.

"So how does he get along with your daughters?" Chris asks.

"They get along fi-."

"I'm going to get you Lincoln!"

Chris immediately ran to the door to see what the commotion was all about. However when he got to the door, he was surprised at what he saw: Lincoln being chased by Lori and he was laughing. He looked at the older girl and he didn't see anger. He saw that she was smiling and laughing as well. He looked towards the tree and saw the other girls touching the tree and it looks like they were just waiting for Lincoln.

"C'mon Linky!"

"Don't let her get you Linc!"

"C'mon dude, don't stop now!"

"C'mon Lincoln! Your almost there!"

Lincoln looked at the tree and saw the girls cheering him and trying to get him to run towards the tree. He looked behind him and saw Lori was closing in on him and getting close to tagging him. As he ran, he got an idea.

"Charles! Run interference!" Lincoln yells to the dog. The dog looks up from where he was resting and saw his master. He then ran towards Lincoln and got in front of Lori, causing her to almost trip over him. While Lori was distracted, Lincoln was able to get to the tree.

"Lincoln did it! We win!" Lynn cheers. The rest of the kids joined in as they celebrated their victory.

"Dang it." Lori said as she stood in the middle of the yard as she watched her siblings celebrate. She looked down and looked at Charles who was giving her an innocent look. "Yeah, you're not so innocent." Charles then gave her the puppy dog eyes. "But I guess I literally can't stay mad at you." She then kneels down and scratches him behind the ears. She then turns to her siblings. "Ok, whose turn is it to be it this time?"

"Lana's." Luan answers.

"Alright! You guys won't escape me!" Lana says playfully. The adults watched on with amusement as they watched the kids run around the yard.

"Wow. I can't believe it." Chris said in awe. "I haven't seen him smile like that since I took him to get Charles."

"Actually, he's been smiling a lot lately Chris." Rita tells him.

"Man. Your daughters are miracle workers." Chris commented. "Do you mind calling them all in?"

"Sure." Lynn answers. "Kids! Can you come in please?"

"Sure dad." Lori calls back. "Let's go guys." The eleven kids made their way to the house with Luan carrying Lily. When they got into the house, they were surprised to see Chris and Lyra standing with their parents.

"Um, mom? Why are Chris and Lyra here?" Lola asks.

"Yes. It is interesting to see them here," Lisa adds.

"Well kids, Chris came here to see how Lincoln was doing and I guess Lyra decided to tag along." Lynn Sr. answered.

"Cool." Lincoln says. He then runs up to Lyra and gives her a hug. "Hi Lyra. Didn't expect you to be visiting so soon." Lyra looks down at him and gives him a smile.

"Oh, you know. Just can't keep away from my one of my favorite boys." Lyra tells him. Lincoln looks up at Lyra and gives her a confused look. The smile that she was giving him wasn't the normal happy smile she usually gives him. This smile was almost like a pity smile.

"Lyra? Are you ok?" Lincoln asks. Lyra snaps out of it and looks at the young boy and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Linc." Lyra reassures him. Lincoln didn't look convinced but he released the older girl and went back to stand with the Loud siblings.

"So why are you here?" Luna asks.

"Well, Luna. We came here to see Lincoln." Chris answers. Every few weeks I have to check on the foster kids and see how they are doing. But this time, I'm here with a different reason."

"Really? A different reason?" Leni asks.

"Yep." Chris answers. "I actually came here with some news concerning Lincoln."

"Really! What news?" Lincoln asks excitedly.

"Lincoln, I got you adopted." Chris says. The smiles on the faces of the Loud siblings quickly disappeared.

"What?" Lynn says after a few seconds.

"Linky is," Leni says.

"Getting adopted?" Luan finishes.

"Yep." Chris answers.

"You can't take Lincoln away!" Lana yells while clutching Lincoln's waist.

"Yeah! He belongs here!" Lola adds while also clutching Lincoln's waste.

"He's our brother!" Luna shouts.

"Normally I don't give in to inane human emotions. But," Lisa says. "YOU AREN'T TAKING LINCOLN FROM US!"

"Poo Poo." Lily says while tears are starting to form.

"I'm sorry girls but it's already done." Chris tells them. "The family that adopted Lincoln already signed the papers. There is nothing I can do."

"Look girls. I know how much you like Lincoln but you knew that this wasn't going to be permanent." Lynn Sr. tells his daughters. "Besides, you knew that this was only a temporary arrangement."

"But dad, Lincoln is happy here!" Lynn argues.

"Yeah. And we are happy that he is here." Lucy adds.

"Look dad, I think we need to tell you something." Lori says. "Before Lincoln showed up, we all felt like something was missing. No matter what we did, nothing could fill that feeling." She then looks at Lincoln. "Then Lincoln showed up and it felt like that feeling has been feeling. Don't you see that he belongs here?"

"Look girls, as much as we love having Lincoln here, there is nothing we can do." Rita tells them.

"But I don't want to leave." Lincoln says. "I like it here."

"I sorry Lincoln. But there is nothing I can do." Chris says with a sigh. "Why don't you go upstairs and get your stuff together. I take you to see your new family today."

Lincoln gives a sad nod and makes his way upstairs with the girls following him. Each of them had a sad look on their faces. When they got to the top of the stairs, they all split up to their respective rooms in silence. Inside his room, Lincoln was getting his stuff together while Charles looked on.

"I can't believe this. I finally find someplace that I'm happy and then this happens." Lincoln tells his canine companion. "Why did I have to get adopted?" Charles lets out a sad whine. He was also happy here. He finally had friends. Friends that he enjoyed being around. He didn't want to leave Cliff, Walt and Geo. But where Lincoln goes, he goes. He just wished that they didn't have to leave.

When he was finally finished packing, Lincoln walked out his door, he saw that the girls' doors were closed. He had expected them to come out and see him off. But, the girls stayed in their rooms. Lincoln let out a sigh and made his way down the stairs where he saw Chris and Lyra waiting by the door. As soon as he got off the stairs, Lyra runs up to him.

"I'm so sorry Linc. I tried to talk him out of it." Lyra told him.

"I don't blame you Lyra." Lincoln says. "I also don't blame Chris. He's just looking out for me. I just wished that there was another way." Lyra pulls him in and gives him a hug. After a few second, Lyra released him. He then turned his attention to Lynn and Rita. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, Lincoln." Rita says. "We enjoyed having you hear honey."

"Yeah kiddo. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're going to miss you." Lynn Sr. tells him.

"I'm going to miss you guys to." Lincoln tells them. "Thanks for being my parents while I was here."

"And thank you for being our son." Rita says. Tears form in Lincoln's eyes. He then wraps his arms around the two Loud parents.

"I'm never going to forget you." Lincoln says.

"And we are never going to forget you." Lynn Sr. says. While Lincoln was saying goodbye to his now former foster parents, Charles was doing his own goodbye to the family pets.

"I guess this is goodbye." Charles says.

"Yeah I guess so." Cliff meows sadly.

"We're gonna miss you buddy." Walt tells Charles.

"I'm gonna miss you guys to." Charles said. "Thanks again for helping me keep an eye on Lincoln."

"Thank you for giving us a chance." Cliff says. Geo looks up in his ball at the bigger pets in front of him.

"Walt, let me out of here." Geo tells Walt. Walt does as he's asked and lets Geo out of the ball.

"So, why did you want me to let you out?" Walt asks.

"Simple. I can't do this from inside a ball." Geo answers. He then runs up to Charles and hugs him. Charles doesn't respond right away as he is surprised by this. After a few seconds, Charles wraps one of his paws around the small gerbil. Cliff and Walt then join in and making it a group hug. After a few seconds, they separate. Charles looks around and saw his master and friend waiting for him.

"Ready Charles?" Lincoln asks. Charles nods and makes his way to the door. Lincoln and Charles take one last look at the steps, hoping to see the girls coming down the steps to say goodbye. But, they never show. Lincoln sighs and starts to head to the door.

"WAIT!" Lincoln stopped when he heard the ten voices cry out in unison. He turned around and saw the girls running down the steps.

"Sorry we're late." Lori apologized. "We just had to get some things together."

Lily waddles up to Lincoln and holds out her blanket to him.

"You want me to take your blankie?" Lincoln asks. Lily nods. "Are you sure?" Lily nods again. Lincoln gets down and picks up the infant and gives her a big hug. "Thank you." He then puts her down and she waddles back to her siblings. As soon as she was there, Lisa took her spot.

"Lincoln, I also wanted to give you something to remember me by." Lisa tells him. "She then holds out a pair of glasses. "Don't worry. These are my spares. I couldn't think of anything else to give you. So I hope you accept these." Lincoln gives the four year old a smile as he takes the glasses.

"I'll treasure them always." Lincoln tells her. He then leans down and gives her a hug, one that she gladly returned. After she was done, Lola and Lana came up.

"So, I know that you never got to see any of my pageants, but I wanted to give you something that you can keep with you." Lola tells him. She then holds out a tiara. "I want you have this."

Lincoln looked at her in shock. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Don't worry. I got a whole bunch more." Lola reassures him. Lana then walks up to stand next to her twin.

"I wanted to give you something to. So I'm giving you this." Lana says. She then reaches into her packet and holds out her hammer. "I want to give you this. I know it's not much, but I hope you'll take it." Lincoln takes the hammer and tiara in his hands and looks at them fondly.

"I'll never lose them." Lincoln says as the twins run into his arms. After they are done, they go to stand with their sisters and Lucy takes her turn.

"I hope you except this gift that I want to give you so that you will never forget me." Lucy says in her usual monotone, but with a little more emotion. She then holds out a small book.

"What is it?" Lincoln asks.

"It's a book of poems that I wrote for you." Lucy explains. "I've written them over the course of your stay. So I hope that you'll accept it." Lucy holds out the book and Lincoln quickly accepts it. He sets the book down and gives the young goth a hug.

"I'll treasure it forever." Lincoln says. Lucy flashes a smile and walks away. Lynn then takes her turn.

"I want to give you this." Lynn says. She then holds out a baseball. "This is my lucky baseball and I want you to have it."

"Thanks Lynn." Lincoln says. "I'll hold on to this forever." He then holds out his fist for a fist bump which Lynn accepted. She then gave him a tight bone crushing hug. After she releases him, Luan takes her turn.

"You know, my only regret is that I never made you laugh." Luan tells him. "But I don't mind. I'm just glad that I got to meet you. But, I still want to make you laugh. So I made you this." She then holds out a book. "This is a book of my best jokes. I hope these make you laugh."

"Thanks Luan." Lincoln looks through the book and finds a certain joke. "Tell me this one." Lincoln shows her the joke that he wanted her to tell and she smiles.

"Ok. What did one monkey say to the other monkey? Quit monkeying around!" Luan laughs. She looks up and sees Lincoln laughing with her. "Take care Linc." She then pulls Lincoln into a hug which he happily accepted. After she was done, Luna took her turn.

"Well bro, it was fun while it lasted." Luna tells him. "For what it was worth, I enjoyed being your sister, your guardian and your friend."

"I enjoyed it to Luna." Lincoln says.

"In case you ever miss your parents or us, I made you this." She hands him a CD. "I made a recording of me singing 'You are my Sunshine' for you. So if you ever miss us, just play this disc, ok?"

"I'll play it every day." Lincoln then hugs her which she returns. After a few moments, Luna releases him. After she walks back to her spot, Leni walks up.

"Um, I didn't know what to give you. So I fixed your sweatshirt." Leni then pulls out the orange sweatshirt that he wore when he first came to his new home. "I fixed all the holes and I even customized it for you." She then turns the sweatshirt around to show him the back. Lincoln then sees that she sewed 'Linky' on the back of the sweatshirt. "Now everyone will know that this sweatshirt is yours and no one else's."

"Thank you Leni. I'll wear it every day." Lincoln tells her. Tears start to roll down her face as she pulls Lincoln into a hug.

"I'll miss you Linky." She then releases him and goes back to her spot with her sisters. Finally, Lori takes her turn.

"Lincoln, I have literally enjoyed having you here." Lori tells him. "Now, I didn't know what to give you, so I'm giving you this." She hands him a piece of paper. Lincoln looks at it and sees that it has some numbers on it. "That's my number. I want you to call every day. No excuses. Got it?"

"Yeah. I got it Lori." Lincoln then hugs her, a hug that Lori happily returned. After she releases him, she then walks over to behind the couch. She then walks back with a box. "This is from all of us." Lincoln opens the box and sees a picture of the eleven of them standing outside the mall. "Something that we wanted you to have to remember the fun times that we've had."

"I'll never forget the fun times either." Lincoln says with tears in his eyes. Lincoln then engulfs Lori in a hug once again, this time the rest of the Loud girls joining in. "I'm going to miss you."

"And we're going to miss you to, Linc." Luan says, her voice starting to break. After what seemed like forever, they finally separated. Lincoln then makes his way to the door where Chris and Lyra are waiting for them. Lincoln then takes one last look at the Loud family before he leaves. He then walks out the door and gets in Chris's car.

As they drove the neighborhood, Lincoln sat silently. Chris looked at Lincoln through the rear view mirror and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry about this Lincoln. I hope you understand." Chris says. "But I know that you'll love this family. They have other kids of their own. So you'll have siblings. They also have pets that Charles can play with." Lincoln doesn't say anything as they drive through the neighborhood. When they reached a stop sign, Chris suddenly realizes something.

"Dang it!" Chris shouts out of nowhere.

"What's wrong dad?" Lyra asks.

"I forgot something at the Loud house." Chris says. "It is important. We have to go back." With that, he does a U-turn and drives back to the Loud house. As soon as they arrived, Chris told Lyra and Lincoln to follow him into the house which confused them. When they went through the door, they saw the girls sitting in the living room with somber looks on their faces. When they heard the door open, they immediately looked up in surprise.

"Where's fire dude?" Luna asked.

Rita and Lynn Sr. then walk out of the kitchen with smiles on their faces.

"I actually forgot to do something. I forgot to drop something off." Chris said. He then turns to Lincoln. "I forgot to drop off you." Lincoln looks at him with wide eyes as the girls let out a shocked gasp.

"Wait. You mean?" Lincoln asked hoping he was right.

Chris gave him a nod. "Lincoln, the family that adopted you is standing right here." He then puts his arm around Lincoln. "Meet your new family, the Louds."

Ok. There you have it. Now sadly, this is slowly reaching its end. But, there will be a few more chapters. I hope you liked this. Now until next time, farewell.