Lincoln's dream

After their interaction with the villagers passing by with their camels, Lincoln and his crew were told that there was a tribe further north in their direction and that they could supply them with food and shelter.

But that was hours ago… and as they kept walking, all they could see was more sand and rocks. And as Lincoln tapped the side of his canteen a few times, causing the last drop of water to fall on his tongue, he knew they were in trouble.

"They lied to us, man. They fucking lied to us," Chris said, dragging his feet as he looked ready to pass out.

"They came from this direction, so there has to be something around here. No one just walks around in the desert for the hell of it," Lincoln replied.

"Open your eyes, Linc. There's nothing out here… I mean they gave us a freakin' code word to enter the village for crying out loud," Dylan argued as they all started to slowly walk up a hill. "What, are they protecting the Ark of the Covenant or something?"

Lincoln had to admit that it was strange for them to be given some 'answer to a riddle' but with what's been going on lately, you never knew who could be your enemy or friend.

"Maybe their protecting the only five-star resort in this place," Chris joked.

"Well, Ortiz, what do you see? A nice hotel with a swimming pool and beautiful models serving drinks or more sand?" Dylan asked him, who was ahead of the rest of the team. "Ortiz?"

They all looked up at Ortiz who had stopped on top of the hill of sand wondering why he wasn't answering them.

"Hey, Ortiz, are you alive up?" Chris asked, worried he was about to his friend finally give up and collapse to the ground.

"W-water…" Ortiz said in a raspy voice.

"What was that?" Lincoln asked as they all reached the top of the hill to see what their friend was staring at in disbelief.

"Water! It's fucking water!" Ortiz said with enthusiasm as he took off toward the source that would save their lives.

Lincoln, Chris, and Dylan looked out into the distance seeing a water pumping station in the middle of the Iraqi desert. They couldn't believe their luck. Dylan then snapped out of his trance and returned his sight back on Ortiz, realizing he was on a race toward a refreshing drink. "Don't forget about the rest of us, you lucky bastard!"

Ortiz had used the sand to help him slid down the hill faster as Dylan followed right behind him, both eager to be the first one there. Lincoln and Chris on the other hand staid on top of the hill still shocked but relieved that they stumbled upon a source of water.

"It's almost too good to be true," Chris said, observing the pumping station. "Now the only question left is where is this village those guys had mentioned?"

"Yeah… and where are the workers?" Lincoln replied feeling suspicious. He grabbed his binoculars and started to look around further in the distance, hoping he could see some sort of sign of life.

While Lincoln was busy looking for the village, Ortiz had finally reached the station and dropped on his knees in a quick fashion near the closes valve and turned it on, causing one of the pipes to pour out a small stream of water.

Ortiz smiled in delight as he held his head under the stream, letting it pour onto his head and catching the water into his mouth.

"Don't go hogging it all for yourself!" Dylan joked as he rushed over toward him, still a few meters away.

Back on the hill, Lincoln wasn't having any luck finding a village which meant that they had more walking to do. He started to zoom out with his binoculars when he noticed two parked SUV's in the station. He looked closer through the lenses at one of the vehicles and spotted the water company's logo on the side, and that it was empty.

"Hey, Chris, you see those cars over there on your 2 o'clock? Do you see anything suspicious?" Lincoln asked.

Chris looked through the scope of his LMG and scanned around the area, not seeing anything unusual. "Well, I can't get a good look but I don't see anything odd about it. Maybe the workers have the day off."

Lincoln then looked at the second vehicle noticing the same thing as the first but something caught his attention. The passenger side door was left half open… and the window was shattered. Lincoln was now on guard, and when he looked below the car, that's when he spotted two legs lying on the ground.

"Chris, there's a body."

"Wait, what?" Chris said, getting caught off-guard.

"Under the front car. There's a dead bod-"

"HEY GUYS!" Ortiz shouted, holding two canteens full of water with a smile on his face. "Come on, hurry up! We got water for days!"

"Damnit," Lincoln whispered to himself in annoyance. "ORTIZ, would you put your arms down! There might be a-" But before Lincoln could finish his sentence he stopped when he heard a faint crack far in the distance.

"WHAT?! Speak up! I can't hear you over the beautiful sound of this wa-"

*Zoooom*

"Aaggh!" Ortiz groaned as he felt a strong force punch him in the gut. He reached for his comm link in pain and said through the piece: "F-fuck, I'm hit."

Just then a bullet came flying between Lincoln and Chris, alerting them to the danger.

"Shit. Sniper!" Chris shouted as him and Lincoln took off running down the hill.

Ortiz tossed and turned on the ground, moaning in agony as he clutched his stomach. Dylan charged faster toward his friend to rescue him when another bullet hit the sand near his feet. "Hang on, buddy, I'm coming!"

Everyone was racing to cover as bullet after bullet came zipping past them, coming near centimeters away from a limb or ligament.

"Dylan! Ortiz!" Lincoln shouted as he and Chris slid behind an old brick wall which was used as a fence around the water station. Dylan though was still running over toward Ortiz. But as he reached his fallen squad mate and crouched down to grab him, a bullet struck his thigh as a second round zoomed past his hand.

"Damnit, Dylan! Get the f-fuck out of h-here! Go!" Ortiz yelled in pain, trying to save him from the same fate.

Dylan didn't want to leave him there but Ortiz and the sniper weren't giving him much choice so he started to run back over toward Lincoln and Chris. Racing for his life, Dylan did his best to dodge the oncoming fire.

"Bob and weave, bob and weave!" Dylan kept telling himself as the sand beneath his feet kicked up as each sniper round hit the ground. Finally reaching the age-old wall they called 'cover', Dylan dove over the wall like something out of a video game and landed behind the wall just as a bullet hit the lip of the brick wall.

Leaning against the wall, and trying to catch his breath, Dylan looked down at his thigh fearing the worse. But to his relief the bullet had hit his canteen, saving him.

"Does anyone know where the shots came from?!" Lincoln asked, gripping his gun tight.

"Fuck man, we're gonna die, man! Where gonna fucking die here!" Dylan kept repeating, having a panic attack. "I knew it, man! I knew we were-"

"Dylan, will you shut the fuck up already!" Chris shouted back, causing Dylan to get a hold of himself. "*sigh*… It's not over yet."

"Exactly. You two try and find where this sniper is. I'm going to try to see how to get Ortiz," Lincoln ordered. He carefully crawled over to edge of the right side of the wall and peaked over to see Ortiz still tossing around in the sand. "Ortiz…? Ortiz, you with me, buddy?"

"Ugh… yeah, I'm with ya…" He replied, still in pain.

"How bad is it?" Lincoln asked him, praying it wasn't too bad.

"It didn't go in… shit… It bounced off my vest," Ortiz answered. "It sure hurts like a motherfucker though."

Lincoln let out a sigh of relief knowing he was going to make it. Now all they had to worry about was the damn sniper. "Just hang in there, Ortiz. You're doing great, but you gotta stop moving, buddy. For all we know this guy probably thinks you're dead. Let's try and keep it that way."

"Argh… C-copy that, sarge." Ortiz said, trying his best to not move and ignore the pain. "J-just get us the hell out of here."

"That's the plan," Lincoln told him. He returned back to his original spot, hoping Chris or Dylan found the sniper. "You guys find anything yet?"

While Lincoln was checking up on Ortiz, Chris and Dylan both had managed to pull out a brick from the wall to look out of. Chris was lying on his stomach at the very bottom of the wall with one of the lenses from his binoculars peeking through the hole while Dylan used the scope of his carbine to look through his hole.

"Nothing. This guy is definitely a professional," Chris said.

"Obviously we can't find him because he has nothing to shoot at… So, let's give him one," Dylan replied as he turned to face Lincoln with a smirk. Lincoln hated to be the bait but Dylan was right. They needed to lure him out.

Lincoln took off his helmet and placed it on the muzzle of his rifle, slowly raising it in the air as if to peek up behind the wall. They all waited a few seconds but nothing happened.

"Oh yeah, this guy's good," Chris commented.

"*sigh* Fuck me," Lincoln lowered his rifle and placed his helmet back on his head. If it's live bait he wants then that's what he'll get. Lincoln slid over a bit to another spot of the wall and creeped up.

*Snap*

"Jesus!" Lincoln said, quickly ducking as a bullet hit the brick he was leaning on.

"Nope… try again," Chris said.

"Dang it…" Lincoln took a few breaths before peeking up again, this time feeling the wind of the bullet pass over his head.

"Gotcha," Chris said, spotting the glare of the scope. "1 o'clock, in-between that pile of rocks."

"Yeah, I see it," Dylan confirmed.

"You think you can take the shot?" Lincoln asked, moving over toward Dylan.

"From this range? Not a chance."

"So, we're fucked?" Chris said.

"For the most part… But if you can lay down some fire, it could give me enough time to grab Ortiz and bring him back over here," Lincoln suggested. "How much ammo do we have?"

"I probably have 100 bullets… at most," Chris said.

"And I have two clips," Dylan added.

"It's not much but it will have to do. On my go you know what to do," Lincoln said as they all got into position. Lincoln went back over to the edge of the wall to tell Ortiz the plan, and with a thumbs up from the man still lying face down in the sand, Lincoln turned to face Dylan and Chris and gave them the go. "Now!"

Chris let out a barrage of bullets from his machine gun through the hole in the wall while Dylan fired his rifle at the sniper with precision. Lincoln dashed toward Ortiz while he had the chance. Ortiz had rolled over on his back with his rifle aimed in the direction of the sniper, ready for a final stand.

And as Lincoln reached Ortiz and started to pick him up, two pickup trucks came ramping over the hills in the distance, filled with armed men and a heavy machine gun mounted in the back. None of them expected that as the two trucks drove around them like a scene from Mad Max. The men in the trucks didn't attack Lincoln and his team but it was obvious that they were with the sniper.

The trucks then stopped, all their guns aimed at the deserted American soldiers and just watched. Dylan and Chris were now caught between a deadly sniper and a truck full of soldiers, and Ortiz and Lincoln were in the open, exposed to everyone.

"Chris…? Any bright ideas that'll get us out of this mess?" Dylan whispered to Chris who were now both leaning side-by-side for support.

"From where we're at… I see a truck full of armed thugs and a giant fuckin' gun aimed directly at us that could tear us to pieces. So, no I don't have an escape plan."

"M-maybe we can pick a couple off. The rest will run for cover, giving us some time to escape to a new spot," Dylan suggested, counting the number of men in the pickup.

"Even if we could, there is still a high chance of us getting hit… and besides… I think I'm out of ammo."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Dylan said, swallowing his nerves down.

On the other side of the wall, Lincoln and Ortiz were in the same position, trying to figure out what to do next. And like usual, the odds were not in Lincoln's favor.

"Hey, Linc, you good over there?!" Chris shouted from behind the wall, still keeping his eyes on the group of soldiers in front of him. "How's Ortiz?"

"We're fine, Chris. How are you holding up?"

"You know me Lincoln; just chillin'. Although I don't like having guns pointed at my face!" Chris told him.

"I know… Just… just let me think of something," Lincoln knew there weren't many options as he scanned his surroundings. It was between shoot it out or run to one of the abandoned cars and pray they still worked which were still terrible plans. "Chris, Dylan. If you can, meet us in the middle."

Behind the wall, Chris and Dylan turned to give each other a confused look, not sure what Lincoln was planning. They both then shrugged, figuring what else was there to lose. They slowly rose up to their feet, using the wall as leverage and carefully started to walk backwards toward Lincoln and Ortiz, still keeping their guns drawn on the group of soldiers.

At the same time, Lincoln wrapped his left arm around Ortiz's and helped lift him up from off the ground as both used their right hand to aim their weapons. Once up, Lincoln helped Ortiz walk back who was still in great pain. He noticed that the soldiers still didn't react to them moving which was a good sign. The group of soldiers just stood there watching. Lincoln started to believe that they could actually just run for it. Maybe they were just angry farmers just protecting their land.

As they had reached the middle of the pumping station, Lincoln glanced over his shoulder to see that Chris and Dylan were now right behind them. And as all four of their backs collided together, they stopped.

"Okay… Know what?" Dylan asked, afraid to take his eyes off the group of men waiting patiently in their truck.

"Honestly… I got nothing," Lincoln replied.

"So much for the 'man with the plan'," Chris said in a sarcastic tone. "Who do you think these guys are anyway?"

"They're not wearing uniforms so they can't be military. Some kind of rebel group," Lincoln suggested.

"W-well, who every they are, we're about t-to find out because they're walking this way," Ortiz said. Lincoln and the others turned to see the group of men in one of the trucks all hop out as they began to walk toward them. Chris and Dylan quickly looked back to the group of guys they were previously watching and saw that they also were hopping out of the pickup, coming over with their guns still in their hands.

The group of soldiers were obviously on edge, seeing how they were careful not to rush over toward Lincoln and his men. The same could be said about Lincoln and the others who kept their rifles high enough to get a quick shot off, but not so much were it looked threatening.

It was now all or nothing as the group of rebel soldiers reached Lincoln's group, surrounding them. No one talked until a few masked soldiers were shoved out of the way as a young man appeared and began to talk to Lincoln in his native language, belligerently.

From the way he spoke and acted gave Lincoln the impression that he was in charge… but not fully. He also noticed that he wasn't speaking Arabic but something that sounded similar to it. Lincoln couldn't communicate with him since he only knew English and a little bit of Spanish which wasn't going to help him in this situation, so he decided to put on his Lincoln charm and try his best.

It didn't help much as the man began to look frustrated and just kept shouting at him, repeating the same words.

"Look man, we don't know what the fuck you're saying!" Dylan said, getting annoyed.

This seemed to have pushed the man to his final limit as he cocked his rifle and aimed it at Dylan's face. It became a shouting match as Lincoln and his men then raised their weapons and aimed it at the men surrounding them.

"Woah, woah, woah, let's all calm down!" Lincoln yelled out, raising one hand to show he was trying to settle the peace. But it fell on deaf ears as the shouting continued. He was afraid this was going to end badly. And like all the 'last stand' scenes in the movies, usually everyone ends up dead.

"ENOUGH!" came a loud voice behind the crowd of soldiers.

Everyone had become silent after that. Lincoln looked behind the man that was previously yelling at them and saw the group of soldiers behind him start to separate as to make way for someone. Soon an older looking man with a grey beard approached them, stopping next to the man and in front of Lincoln.

From the way the older man acted, and how the man who was asking the questions had his head down shame gave Lincoln the conclusion that this was the real man in charge.

Lincoln had to tread carefully when "negotiating" with this person. Going back to his training, they were all taught that gaining the trust of an entire village relied on how well the elders liked you. It could be the difference to making a strong ally or your worst nightmare.

Dylan was also returning to lessons in training when he observed a familiar looking symbol patched on the older man's camo jacket.

"Linc, the patch on his left shoulder," Dylan whispered. "I think they're friendly."

Lincoln looked at the patch Dylan pointed out and remembered seeing it but not what it meant. He tried to think as best he could but Lincoln's time ran out when the older man finally spoke up.

"You're a long way from home, Americans."

Lincoln could only assume that these had to be the people those men with the camels they had encountered before were talking about. If that was the case, then Lincoln might as well risk it and use that strange phrase they were given to pass by.

"Forgive us. We were searching for our missing sheep when we got lost," Lincoln told him, hoping this wasn't some stupid trick to get them all killed.

The older man just kept observing Lincoln and his friends, pondering something inside his head before nodding to himself. "We haven't seen any stray sheep around here, but you're more than welcome to check our stable."

"What?! Father, you can't, they're-"

"Silence!" The older man said to the man standing next to him, before collecting himself. "It would be rude to deny assistants to our friends here."

The son seemed to be frustrated with his father as he groaned in anger and took a step to confront him.

"You're putting the whole village in danger if you bring these… infidels back home with you," He said in a low angry tone. "You tend to forget that they're the ones who started this war."

The younger man then turned around and made a quick leave toward one of the trucks with a small group soldiers following behind. The rest of the soldiers remained where they stood, along with the older man who sighed in defeat. It seemed there was the usual Father/Son misunderstanding in tribal affairs.

"You must forgive my son. He can be very aggressive toward outsiders. I hope you can understand," He asked. Lincoln and the others didn't really know what to say through all of the confusion other than to slightly nod their heads in agreement. "It would be best if we get a move on. You've had a long journey, and your injured friend here should really be checked out. Sorry about that by the way. We didn't know who you were in the beginning and we couldn't take the chance."

"Just get me a bed," Ortiz groaned, still gripping his stomach.

"Of course. If you'll follow me," The older man said. He turned around and waved to his men as they all started to head back to their truck. Lincoln and his team couldn't believe they managed to get themselves out of another hot mess. It didn't mean they were completely home free but they were still alive… for now, and that's what counted.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Lincoln," Chris said as they all started to follow the group of soldiers back to their vehicle.

"I hope so too," Lincoln replied.

March 21, 2028: Luna & Luan's room

Lincoln had started to wake up but refused to open his eyes and get out of bed. He felt so comfortable and warm; the thick blanket covering him, the soft fleshy pillows pressed up against his right arm, the warm feeling of being cuddled, and the soothing smell of… coconuts?

He slowly opened his eyelids, remembering exactly where he was and who was the cause of his comfort. Turning his head slightly to the right, Lincoln saw his comedian of a sister sound asleep, snuggling as close as she could to him, her slender arm and leg wrapped around him.

Luan looked so angelic sleeping next to him, telling him that they had been in this position all night. It warmed Lincoln's heart seeing her this way after all that she's been through. He didn't want to ruin this for her by moving too much and disturbing her slumber, but from the constant cuddling, Lincoln's arm was beginning to cramp up. It also didn't help that Luan's well above average breasts were squishing against his arm which gave him more of a reason to move his arm.

Lincoln tried his best to inch his arm out of Luan's grasp without waking her up but was surprised to find out that he couldn't move it at all. Lincoln felt like Luan's grip was getting tighter as if she didn't want to let go.

He tried again, a bit harder this time and paused when Luan started to shuffle around. Lincoln watched as she shifted closer to Lincoln, burrowing her head further into his chest and sighed in satisfaction. Lincoln could only smirk at her, accepting his defeat.

"Stuck?" said a voice coming from the foot of the bed.

Lincoln was startled from the unexpected voice and darted his head to look at where the voice came from. He was met with Luna leaning against their closet door in her over-sized purple shirt, watching him and Luan snuggled together in her bed.

"L-Luna? H-how long have you been standing there?" Lincoln asked, feeling embarrassed getting caught in his position.

"I just got up a few minutes before you did. I didn't expect to see you sleeping in Luan's bed, and seeing you two was too cute to pass up," Luna giggled. "I had to watch and admire my adorable little siblings."

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," Lincoln teased.

"Way ahead of you, dude," Luna said, waving her phone around in her hand.

"Wha- Luna!" Lincoln whispered loudly. He was about to get up and reach for the phone but soon remembered Luan was still latched onto him still sleeping and stopped himself. "You're lucky Luan's a cuddler when she sleeps or your butt would be mine."

"Oh~ so this is what you really want," Luna chuckled, turning to her side and started to shake her hips, taunting Lincoln with her smooth bare legs and bubble butt.

Lincoln's face began to flush bright red. He regretted using poor choice of words. He was at least grateful Luna's long shirt stopped just at her butt, preventing Lincoln from seeing it completely.

"I-… That's not-… What I meant was-" Lincoln stumbled with his words, trying to erase the image of his sister's ass in his head… even though he didn't want to.

"Haha, relax, bro, I'm just messing around," Luna told him, apologizing for her perverted antics. "And you aren't kidding about Luan. She's as bad as Leni when it comes to cuddling and being a heavy sleeper. Anyway, I'll leave you two 'lovebirds' alone. I smell fresh bacon downstairs and I don't want to miss out."

"B-bacon?" Lincoln asked, the thought causing his stomach to grumble. He knew his sisters would be racing down to the kitchen to grab as much as their plates can carry, leaving him with one strip, if he was lucky. "Luna, my awesome and talented sister~… You wouldn't let your wonderful little brother go hungry, would you? And what about Luan? She needs her most important meal of the day."

"Not bad, dude," Luna said, enjoying her brother's performance. "The sad puppy eyes were a good touch. But I always save some breakfast for Luan. And with what happened yesterday, I'm not sure you weren't punished enough."

Lincoln couldn't argue with that logic, especially with him yelling at Luan the other day. He still felt guilty about it and did deserve as much punishment his sisters could think of.

Luna could see the guilt written all over her brother's face and couldn't keep the charade up much longer.

"Lincoln, you can stop looking so down. I'm only teasing you. Judging by the smile on Luan's face right now, I can tell that she forgives you so I forgive you too… Unless she say's otherwise. Then I'll shove my axe so far up your ass you'll be hitting high notes like Freddie Mercury."

Lincoln swallowed nervously, getting the picture of Luna's threat. "Sooo, you'll help me out?"

"Just do what I do, bro," Luna told Lincoln as she walked to her bedroom door and stopped halfway out the room, looking over her shoulder. "Tickle her."

She stepped out, silently closing the door behind her, leaving a confused Lincoln alone with Luan. "Huh… I could have thought of that."

While Lincoln tried to figure out how to proceed with freeing his arm, In the hall, Luna was trying to get her act together, not believing what she had just done in front of Lincoln.

"Jesus, Luna, what the hell were you thinking?! Shaking your ass and asking if he wanted it?! Could you be more of pervert?!" She told herself. Luna was happy to see her sister in Lincoln's arms like that after she confessed her love for their brother, but it stirred something inside Luna that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Back inside Luna and Luan's room, Lincoln was now debating if the blood flow to his arm, and a full stomach was worth ruining this moment. He knew Luan was a heavy sleeper and the only way he was getting up was to wake up Luan which he really didn't want to do; for her and him. Lincoln would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying Luan in his arms like this.

"Luan..?" Lincoln whispered in her ear, in a song tone. "Luan… you awake?"

Luan only stirred some more and let out a soft moan as she found a comfortable position inside her brother's embrace. Lincoln was going nowhere at this rate, and hearing the slight padded footsteps in the hallway meant that all of their sisters were up. Lincoln tried again, calling Luan's name in a soothing voice.

This time Luan started to move more, giving Lincoln a promising sign. However, Luan's movements were starting to feel a bit intimate.

"Mmm… Lincoln~," Luan moaned softly, rubbing against Lincoln like a cat.

Lincoln didn't make out that last part Luan said, but from what he could hear and the way she was stirring around, Lincoln was starting to worry that this could head to extremely awkward situation. And when he looked down at his legs under the blanket and seeing Luan's leg hick up further up his, he knew he had to think of something quick!

"Wait, jokes!" Lincoln thought, remembering his sister talking in her sleep. He thought of a bunch of cheesy puns Luan loved to tell, picking the one that sounded best. "What do you call a pig that does karate? Pork chops."

Luan started to chuckle but no luck. She was still not awake.

"Um… Oh! How do you organize a space party?"

"Y-you planet," Luan mumbled with a smile before Lincoln could answer it himself. He was now getting close.

"Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? It had great food, but no atmosphere."

That seemed to have done the trick as Luan started to giggle before mumbling as her eyelids started to flicker. "Hmmm… L-Lincoln?"

Luan woke up in a daze, looking up and meeting her brother's perfect blue eyes. She joined Lincoln's affectionate smile as she remembered their little movie date last night on the couch.

"Morning, sunshine," Lincoln said, admiring his older sister's peaceful gaze. "Sorry to wake you up… How did you sleep?"

"I felt like I was on cloud nine," Luan said dreamingly while trying to hide her blush. She wasn't going to share the naughty dream she was having with a familiar white hair boy that's for sure. "T-thanks for staying with me… I-I didn't want to be left alone last night."

"Whatever you need Luan, I'm here for you," Lincoln told her, meaning every word. "It still doesn't excuse what I did to you… I really am sorry about that, Luan."

"Lincoln, you don't have to keep apologizing. We both made a mistake. And seeing you torture yourself over this is not helping me feel any better. Besides… I can still make you do something to 'make up for it',"

"Heh, that you can," Lincoln replied with a laugh before realizing him and Luan were still in a more than friendly position. "Um… so, now that we squashed this problem… c-can I ask you something?"

"S-s-sure, anything," Luan answered, feeling nervous at what Lincoln was going to ask her. "Does he know how I feel? D-did he hear me last night?"

"Can I have my arm back?"

Luan looked puzzled after hearing her brother's request. She had no clue what he was talking about until she felt a tug against her chest. Luan looked down and saw that she was holding onto Lincoln like how a lover would. The way they lied in her bed brought her back to the wet dream she was having and caused her to panic, wondering if she was acting out her dream while unconscious. Luan quickly let go of Lincoln pushing herself backwards.

"O-oh my God! L-Lincoln, I'm so s-sorry! I didn't mean to… I-I thought I—" Luan stuttered in fear, afraid Lincoln might have gotten the wrong impression.

"Woah, Luan, it's alright. You don't have to freak out," Lincoln reassured her. "So, you really like to cuddle. There's nothing wrong with that… I… actually liked it."

"Y-you're not embarrassed?" She asked, feeling a little relieved.

"Of course not! It's not like you girls never smothered me as a kid, and trust me, you've done a lot worse to embarrass me," Lincoln said, remembering the balloon incident. "It helps too… you know with my… problem."

Luan was glad to hear she was helping her brother out, but it hurt her to see that Lincoln still wasn't taking this whole trauma thing well. She couldn't blame him and wished she could do more to take his mind off of it.

Lincoln realized he made a mistake bringing up his situation as he watched Luan's facial expression change. "Uh oh, I did it again. I made you frown, and I can't have that. You know what that means, Luan."

"Huh? What are you– Oh no, No! Don't even think about it Lincoln. It's too early for this," Luan said figuring out what Lincoln had instore for her.

"Sorry, sis, but making my favorite comedian frown isn't a good look for me." Lincoln rose up on his knees getting ready to give Luan a taste of her own medicine. "And… Luna's orders."

"Luna-?"

But before Luan could continue, Lincoln pounced on Luan, keeping her trapped under the blankets as he tickled her relentlessly. Luan broke out laughing, trying to kick out from her attacker while pleading for Lincoln to stop.

"BWAHAH– Lincoln, alright! Hahahaha! I-I'm smiling, haha– See!" Luan pleaded through her laughter.

"Hmmm, I don't know… I don't see it. I guess I'll have to try harder."

Luan was starting to feel her eyes become watery due to her laughing so hard. She was now worried Lincoln might cause her to pee which would really be embarrassing for her. Luckily, from Luan's constant kicking under her blanket, she was able to break free from her brother and return the favor.

Lincoln and Luan tussled around in her bed, both giggling as they battled to see who would be victorious. And in the end, Lincoln came out on top as Luan finally surrendered with a big smile on her face.

"Hahaha! Ok, ok… you win," Luan huffed out as she looked up at Lincoln who was holding himself up above her. Lincoln was smiling down at her, trying to catch his breath when Luan realized they were in the same position as in the attic. Only this time Luan wasn't blushing uncontrollably.

"Ha, looks like the learner is now the master," Lincoln told her, acting all smug.

"Yeah, yeah… more like lucky. You caught me off-" But as Luan was about to finish her sentence, her bedroom door was kicked open, startling both her and Lincoln.

"Hey, Luan, wake up! Dad wants every-… Uhhhh, what are you two doing?" Lynn asked, frozen in her step, surprised at what she had just walked into.

Lincoln and Luan stared at Lynn like a deer in headlights. They were not expecting their sister to barge in. And with Lincoln still on top of Luan, they had to come up with an explanation fast.

"Um… t-tickle fight?" Lincoln said, not even convinced by his own answer. Luan thought it was better than just standing there saying nothing. Luan just followed up with an awkward smile at Lynn, hoping she'll believe them even if it wasn't a lie.

"Riiigght…" Lynn said, feeling weird out. "As I was saying, Dad wants us downstairs. Something about a surprise."

"You got it. We'll be down right away," Lincoln told her, trying to sound like everything was normal. It would have helped if he still wasn't on top of Luan.

"whatever… freaks," Lynn side-commented as she headed back to the dining room. Lincoln and Luan were relieved thinking they were in the clear, but as Luan kept her eyes on Lynn, she caught Lynn giving her a somewhat threatening glare over her shoulder just before stepping into the hallway. She didn't know what that was all about but she decided to just shrug it off and ignore it. Luan guessed it was probably another one of Lynn's grumpy moods, and she wasn't going to let it interfere with her great morning.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Lincoln stated, returning his attention at Luan who was still lying under him.

"M-maybe you should get off me then…" Luan said with a slight blush still staining her cheeks.

"Oh! R-right, heh… sorry." Lincoln finally moved over off of Luan and got out of her bed, stretching a bit before scanning the rest of her room. A lot hadn't changed since he left for boot camp other than some decoration changes and more clothing lying around. He never saw Luna and Luan having a messy room but he figured that's the life of an entertainer. He did wish they hid some of their thongs better though. "You really should lock your door if that's how every morning starts."

"Tell me about it. In this house, there is no such thing as personal space. Then again, I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn't barge in like the rest of our sisters."

Luan followed Lincoln's step, springing out of her bed and stretching out her arms and back, ignoring the feeling of her pajama shirt rising, slightly exposing her toned stomach. Lincoln kept telling himself to snap out of it as he tried his best to not gaze at Luan's tight-fitting shirt sliding up.

"You're not so innocent too; barging in on me changing during work," Luan teased, putting her hands on her hips and giving Lincoln a flirtatious smirk. She didn't know where this sudden hint of confidence came from but it was better than her unusual shy, insecure self she was going through lately.

Lincoln just stood there flustered at the memory of him barging in on Luan in her dressing room at the comedy club. He was hoping she had forgotten about that stunt, but obviously the opposite happened. Luan seemed to remember it vividly. All Lincoln could do was stumble over his reply causing Luan to giggle over her brother's embarrassment.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Lincoln asked with a smirk of his own.

"A little," Luan replied. "… Did you enjoy the view?"

"Wha– I–… but you—"

"BWAHAHA!" Luan burst out laughing, seeing she caught Lincoln again in another trap. "Lincoln, you're just too easy!"

Lincoln just shook his head as he chuckled a little. Sure, he felt his face burning up but it was the price he was willing to pay to see Luan cheering up again. He wasn't sure what was troubling her since his return but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Are you done, because I heard there's some bacon waiting for us downstairs and I'd hate for us to miss out," Lincoln told her.

"Yeah, I'm done," Luan said, letting out the last of her laughs before finally settling down with a bright smile. "Lead the way 'Rambo'".

Walking downstairs, Luan followed behind Lincoln as they both appeared in the dining room as their mom placed a plate of toast and bacon on the table before the rest of their siblings dug in, snatching it like a bunch of vultures.

"Just in time! I was afraid there wasn't going to be any left for you two," Rita said, greeting the final two of her children missing from the dining table.

"You and me both," Lincoln replied, giving his mom a morning kiss on the cheek before taking a seat.

Luan greeted her mother as well as she went to sit next to Lincoln. But just as she pulled the chair out, Lynn quickly slid past her and sat down in Luan's chair, ignoring her confused sister standing behind her. Once again, Luan just shrugged it off and took the next empty seat next to Lynn.

As she got settled in, Luan asked Lincoln to pass the plate full of bacon which Lincoln kindly did. But as he was about to hand Luan the plate, Lynn got in-between them, grabbing it and placing some bacon on her plate.

"Oops, almost forgot the best part!" Lynn said, blocking Luan.

"What the heck, Lynn! What's your problem!" Luan said, getting annoyed with Lynn's antics.

"What, I'm hungry! What's your problem?" Lynn replied back with a full mouth. She gave Luan another accused stare before slowly giving her the plate she had asked Lincoln for. Luan just took the plate and went back to her breakfast, not giving Lynn the benefit of a reaction.

"So, how'd you two sleep?" Rita asked Lincoln and Luan as she returned back from the kitchen and taking her seat at the head of the table.

"Great," They both answered as they continued their meal.

"Oh, I bet~" Luna quietly commented, giving Luan a sly grin. Luan started to blush, looking around the table quickly to see no one had heard that before giving Luna a "shut up!" look.

"So, Luan, I heard you were a pop star last night," Lori said. After Luna brought a drunk Leni inside her room, Lori had many questions that needed answering so Luna told her the whole thing minus Luan confessing her love for their brother. Once Lori was filled in, she regretted not going. She would have loved to be there to see it in person. "You're a hit on social media."

Lori then pulled out her phone and showed a bunch of videos of Luan singing on stage. The rest of the family charmed in, sharing positive feedback and expressing glee and surprise at Luan's hidden talent.

"Oh, jeez… look at the views," Luan groaned slightly embarrassed. She watched Lori scroll through her feed as countless videos came up with hundreds of thousands of views and positive comments. She figured something like this would happen. The only plus side she saw out of this was that maybe more people would come to her comedy shows. "Luna, I hope this doesn't affect anything."

"Don't sweat it, sis. Besides… it looks like you had a good time." As Luna said that with a smug look, she then pulled out her phone, flashing Luan a picture of her cuddling with Lincoln in their sleep.

Luan's eyes went wide before, not thinking, stretched out over the table and tried to reach for Luna's phone before catching herself and sitting back down. She pretended to act calm as she looked around and was relieved that no one else saw the photo as everyone went back to their own conversations. Luan then returned her attention back at her punk roommate.

"Where did you get that!" Luan whispered through a fake smile, demanding the truth.

"Chill out, Lu, I'm not gonna show anyone," She answered, taking one last look at the picture, admiring the two together. "I just thought you'd like something to remember last night by. Hehe, maybe you can add it to your porn stash on your laptop."

Before Luan could respond, most likely causing another scene, Lynn Sr. came walking into the dining room. "Morning family! Glad to see everyone's here and eager to learn the news."

"Yeah, so what is it Dad?!" Lana asked excitedly, sitting on the edge of her seat.

"*GASP* Is mom having another baby!" Leni exclaimed with glee at the thought of having a new addition to the family while also causing Rita to choke on her coffee, hearing her daughter's wild guess.

"No, Leni, we're not having another baby." Lynn Sr. then looked back at his wife with a hint of worry on his face. "… You're not pregnant, right dear?"

"No, honey, I'm not pregnant," Rita reassured him with an amused grin.

"Right…! I thought we had that fixed years ago… Anyway, no, the real surprise is that I got us tickets to a Lions game!"

Half the siblings sitting at the table expressed their excitement, liking the idea while the other half of the siblings let out a dull "yay", not thrilled to be going to some boring baseball game.

"Now, I know it might not interest some of you but I thought it would be good to do something as a family; get the old Loud rhythm going again!" Lynn Sr. explained, trying to boost everyone's enthusiasm.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Rita said as the Loud children also agreed it had been awhile since they all did something together.

"Yeah, dad, this awesome! I knew you'd finally listen to some of my suggestions," Lynn said, being the most excited about going to the game.

"What can I say, when you cater to the entire team you get some sweet perks," Lynn Sr. bragged.

"Maybe you can for any secret tips and tricks used in the league. If I can learn them then I could use them to turn my team into undefeated champs!"

"Lynn, your team are already undefeated champs. They haven't lost a game in seven years. They're already great," Lily told her.

"But why be great when you could be amazing."

"Or suck. The Tigers are terrible," Luan added, irritating Lynn.

"Suck huh? Like how you suck—!"

"Ok, that's enough you two," Rita said, stopping them from causing any verbal fight. "Now, I want all of you to clean up and get ready. This is a family event and I will not allow anything to ruin it."

A few hours later, all the Louds were either getting ready or already outside by the van waiting for whoever was still inside, finishing up. Upstairs in Lincoln's room, Lincoln chose the usual getup: sneakers, jeans, a white and blue baseball t-shirt, and completing his outfit with a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. He checked himself over in his mirror approving his decision yet concluding orange was still his color.

Lincoln chuckled at his remark and was just about ready to leave his room when the small picture to his right, stuffed in the edge of the mirror, caught his attention. He looked closer at the group photo of him, Dylan, Chris, Ortiz, and Rook, getting lost in the memory and smiling at the thought of all their goofy moments.

"I always liked that photo," Rook commented, his voice coming from Lincoln's left, out of view as he continued to stare at the photo.

Lincoln could almost feel the warm wind blowing against his skin and the crunching sound of boots walking over gravel as his unit walked around the base camp. It was oddly soothing for him even if the memory was based in a combat zone. To Lincoln is was one of those sounds where you would close your eyes and get lost in the sound of crashing waves on the beach or birds chirping and twigs snapping as you wonder into a forest.

"We were a good-looking bunch," Lincoln joked, still facing the photo.

"Well, we can all brag later. We're still on the clock," Rook told him. Lincoln heard the shift in the gravel indicating that Rook was walking away before hearing his name being called out repeatedly in the distance. A few more seconds went by before Lincoln went to turn around to finally acknowledge his friend, but when he did, he was met by Lana standing in his doorway trying to get his attention.

"Lincoln?"

"Huh?"

"I said are you ready?" Lana replied. She stood there wearing her baseball jersey, denim skinny jeans and backwards hat waiting for his reply. Lincoln would have answered sooner if he wasn't questioning how he could have mistaken his younger sister for…

"Oh, uh, yeah I'm ready. Sorry about that, I kinda zoned out there for a minute… visiting memory lane," Lincoln answered, shaking the last bit of confusion out of his head before giving Lana his full attention.

"Are you ok? S-should I get Lori? She probably knows what to do," Lana said with a hint of panic in her tone. She was ready to rush outside and grab Lori to check on Lincoln, but Lincoln was quick to stop her and reassure her that he was perfectly fine.

"I'm alright Lana, you can relax," Lincoln chuckled. "I appreciate you looking out for me but not every memory I have is a bad one. I mean what if I want to remember that time you let out all those lizards during Lola's slumber party!"

"Hehe, yeah, that is a classic," Lana said, reliving that hilarious prank on her twin when they were younger. "I hear you Linc. Now, we better hurry downstairs, you know how Lynn gets with these kinds of events."

"Ha, right." Lincoln followed Lana outside to the front of the house were the rest of their family was waiting, loading into Vanzilla and bickering about who sat where.

"Finally! It's about time you showed up! What, were you putting on makeup? Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Lynn shouted over the hood of the van to their brother, getting impatient while she shoved all her sisters in the backseats.

"Will you chill out, Lynn. It's the pre-season, these games don't even count," Lincoln shot back as he entered the van from the right-side sliding door.

"Every game counts. Even the ones that don't," Lynn argued.

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Shut up, Lucy," Lynn replied.

Once all the seats were taken in the back, Lynn shoved the last two remaining sisters in the middle seats starting with Luna who ended up next to Lincoln who sat next to the right-side door, followed by Luan and lastly herself before slamming the left-side door closed.

"Alright gang, is everyone comfortable?" Lynn Sr. asked from the driver's seat as he looked behind him to check on his children.

"All set, dad! Let's get this show on the road," Lynn quickly answered. She was tired of standing in their driveway and double checking everything. If it was her behind the wheel, they would have been halfway to the stadium by now.

"It's a bit tight in here," Luan commented, squirming around so she could find a decent comfortable spot.

"Yeah, dude, I'm practically suffocating back here." Luna had joined her sister in trying to get comfortable, moving all over the place. She hadn't realized how much space was taken up with Lincoln now in the picture. Luna figured his broad shoulders were probably the main culprit in their situation. Not that his muscles were a bad thing she told herself!

"Oh, I'm sorry girls. I keep forgetting your not my little babies anymore! Here, Luna why don't you sit on Lincoln's lap until we get there, ok?" Rita suggested from the front passenger seat.

Luna was taken back by her mother's solution to their little predicament as it showed; her eyes slightly wider than usual and the tiniest hint of red appearing on her cheeks. In past experiences, Luna had no problem with the idea of using her little bro's lap as a seat, but for some odd reason she now felt nervous about the idea. "W-what?"

"You don't mind, right Lincoln?" Rita asked kindly as she looked at her son.

"No, not at all," He said, nonchalantly.

Luna couldn't really do anything else since she was put on the spot other than do as she was told. She hesitantly lifted herself up from her seat and sat down on Lincoln's left thigh, using her mother's headrest as support, all while giving him an awkward smile, thanking him.

"If it gets uncomfortable for you Luna just let me know," Lincoln said, putting his sister before himself.

"S-sure thing Linc… T-thanks," Luna told him, her blush increasing by the second. It had been awhile since the last time she acted this shy around someone, and judging by what's been going on these past few days, some confused and mixed feelings were starting to resurface.

It was about half an hour as the Loud family were approaching the stadium. During the ride Lincoln was looking out his side window enjoying the scenery of his home city. If it wasn't for his cramped leg due to Luna sitting on it, he would be completely relaxed. The large buildings and congested streets were a nice change than the mountains and dirt roads he was used to seeing abroad. Although, the construction made the road they were on feel like one of those dirt paths.

"Sorry about the bumpiness back there, girls," Lynn Sr. said behind him as he did his best to maneuver around all the potholes in the street. It wasn't Detroit if you didn't encounter any sort of infostructure that was being neglected. They were almost in the clear when Lynn Sr. saw a large bump that was unavoidable. "Hang on everyone."

Vanzilla rocked as it drove over the bump, causing all it's passengers to jerk around. All the girls held on to their seats to prevent them from banging their head except for Luna who didn't have much to latch onto. Lucky for her, Lincoln had wrapped his left arm around her waist, securing her from falling forward.

Luna was grateful for Lincoln's quick reflexes and was about to thank him when she was cut off by him franticly looking around to see what had just happened. "Is everyone alright?! What did we hit?!"

Most of Lincoln's sisters were taken back by his sudden outburst, feeling he was overacting. They all assumed it was just their brother looking out for them like always.

"We're fine, Lincoln, just another pothole," Lana said.

"Speak for yourself. I think my butt absorbed most of the impact," Lola shared as she rubbed said part to ease the slight pain.

"Sorry about that kids. You know how this old girl is. You feel everything on the road," Lynn Sr. apologized. He took a glimpse through his side mirror to see if rim cap or bumper had fallen off, but was pleased to see nothing other than the cars behind him falling for the same trap. 'She's still got it' he told himself, smug to know his old van was still tough to beat.

"Um… thanks for catching me, bro," Luna said, finally getting the chance to thank him now that everyone changed their focus on something else. "I nearly ate the steering wheel."

"Uh, y-yeah, no problem Luna." Lincoln leaned back and returned his view back out the window. He hoped it could help him clear his head and explain his freak-out. You know exactly why he told himself, not realizing he was slowly rubbing the spot on his chest that marked his scar.

No one had payed a close attention to Lincoln's hand movement other than Lisa and Lucy who were sitting in the row behind him, and as they glanced at each other, they both knew they were on the same page.

Comerica Park

Finally arriving into the parking lot, all the Louds came pooling out, stretching from their cramped ride. They made their way to the main gate and through security before heading up near the stands and stopping to grab some lunch from the vast options of vendors. While Lynn Sr. was busy checking their ticket for their seating arrangements, the rest waited on line to order something.

Luna, however, stood idly by as she watched the crowd of visitors walking around. For some unexplained reason she focused more on the couples walking past her; laughing, holding hands. What the hell is going on with—

"Hey, Luna, want some of my nachos? They're cheesy like my puns so I know you'll love them," Luan joked, offering her sister a snack.

"Wha-, oh um, no thanks, Luan… I'm good."

"Hey, you feeling ok, Luna?" Luan asked next, noticing her sister looked a bit down.

"Y-yeah, I'm good. I'm just a little tired from last night's party," Luna lied, trying to get her sister to drop the subject.

"Oh, ok then. So, um… about that photo…"

"Luan, you have nothing to worry about. If it's bothering you so much I'll delete," Luna told her, ready to stand by her word as she pulled out her phone, waiting for Luan to say the word.

"N-no, I-I trust you. I was just making sure… Like you said, it is nice to have something to remember it by," Luan said. "Oh, and um… h-how did you know about m-my stash?"

"Heh, I stumbled upon it trying to save my own," Luna smirked, enjoying the expression on Luan's face after admitting her dirty secret they both had in common. There was nothing wrong with a bit of personal time in bed.

"I guess that explains the new bookmarks," Luan said with a playful grin. "You have some good taste, sis."

"What can say, I learned from the best," Luna replied, complimenting her roommate before grabbing her hand and pulling her to the direction of their seats. "Now, enough play-talk. We better meet up with the others before mom thinks we snuck away."

Luna and Luan had returned back after spotting Lily waving her arms in the stands to get their attention. They both took their seats next to one another just in time for the game to begin.

Like how most people feel about baseball, the game went by slowly. But it was still an enjoyable time, laughing and mingling with each other as a family. Of course, keeping under control in fear they might get kicked out like the last time they decided to go out on a family event. Although that might be challenging with Lynn yelling every time the umpire made a bad call.

Lynn's comments weren't the only thing attracting stares as two young blondes across Lincoln's isle occasionally flirted with him. Lincoln being himself didn't quiet catch the girl's advances, assuming they were just friendly. Lori and Leni however knew exactly what they were doing as they both shared the same annoyed expression.

"Skanks," Leni commented with venom in her tone.

Lori didn't expect her sister to say something like that, and would have been surprised to hear her innocent sister use such language if she didn't agree with what she said. Leni was right. What no one else noticed was Luna was giving the two girls flirting with her brother the same stink eye Leni and Lori were giving. She couldn't understand why but seeing them flirting caused some jealousy to build up inside her.

She finally caught herself staring down these girls as if she they were checking out her boyfriend and cursed herself inside. These confusing feelings were getting to her and she didn't know what to do. She quickly excused herself as she left to look for a bathroom to clear her head.

It didn't take long for Luna to find the restrooms, and barging into the surprisingly empty bathroom, entering a stall and slamming the door shut, standing alone with her thoughts.

"What the hell is happening to me?! I-Is this real? Am I actually falling for m-my brother? No, it's got to be something else, right?!" Luna's mind was being scrambled, trying to find a reason, any reason on why she was behaving like she was. Gathering her composure, Luna unlocked the latch on the stall door and walked out to see her reflection in the mirror. Something was changing within her, and the main source was Lincoln. In order for her to conclude if her worst fears were true, there was only one way to find out. Luna just prayed it wouldn't hurt Luan.

Back in the stands, Lincoln and the others were glued to the game as it was near its end with a close score. The Tigers only needed to score two more times to win the game, and with no strikes and a player on first base, it looked good.

As the next hitter stepped up on plate, the crowd cheered hoping for a grand slam. The first pitch was thrown which was hit, causing a foul ball to fly high up into the stands directly towards Lincoln. His section of the stadium all rose up to try and catch the foul ball while others were ready to dodge the falling object. But as people were shouting to "watch their heads" and "look out", Lincoln was brought back to a very familiar situation.

"WATCH OUT, GRENADE!"

Following his training, Lincoln grabbed Lynn who was standing next to him and covered her with his body so she wouldn't get hit by the "blast". Seconds past before Lynn shoved Lincoln off of her. Lincoln didn't understand. There should have been an explosion!

"What the hell, Lincoln! I could have easily caught that!" Lynn scolded, upset that her brother caused her to miss a perfect fly ball.

Lincoln apologized before sitting back down looking around to grasp the situation. He was having another flashback, this time caused by freakin' baseball! He was getting more worried about his problem, but he had to focus on that later. Right now, he was still struggling to know if he was still in a firefight or not. Lincoln needed to get away. He didn't want to start acting up were almost half of Detroit could see.

"Uh- I need a refill! Lily, y-you need anything?" Lincoln quickly said, leaping out of his seat. He felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

"Um, no I'm fi-"

"Popcorn! Got it!" Lincoln shouted as he squeezed by his sisters' legs and exiting out of the isle. Lily thought he was acting stranger than usual, and when she looked down at Lincoln's fountain drink on the floor, she saw that it was full.

Lisa and Lucy on the other hand saw the signs and knew their brother was having another attack.

Racing up the flight of stairs, Lincoln did his best to control his breathing and block out the cheers from people he was mistaking as cries for help or battle cries. He accidentally bumped a man on his was up and apologized before finally reaching the top. He looked around the near empty hall, feeling dizzy as he clenched his forehead with one hand.

He stumbled near a pillar and rested against it before sliding down to sit with his legs against his chest and his face down. He kept telling himself he was home as he worked on controlling his breathing. His saving grace was when he heard her voice call out his name.

"Lincoln?"

After clearing her head, Luna was heading back when she saw a man sitting on the floor behind on of the stadium pillars. She didn't know it was her brother until she got closer and saw the white hair sticking from the back of his baseball hat. Panicking, Luna rushed over and got on her knees along side him to see what was wrong.

Once she saw him shaking and breathing heavily, Luna knew he was having another episode. She carefully grabbed his face and lifted it up to show him that she was here. "Breathe, Lincoln, breathe. I gotcha."

Lincoln was starting to settle down, feeling Luna's soft touch against his cheeks and her clear eyes slowly brought him back to reality. "L-Luna?"

"I'm here, bro… You're alright. Nothing's gonna hurt you," She replied, never looking away from his stare.

"I-I thought… I thought–"

"I know, bro… I know…" Luna held her brother closely as she waited for his jitters to finally decease.

"Lincoln… you alright?" A sudden voice said, startling Luna and Lincoln. They both looked up to see Lucy standing in front of him with Lisa beside her. Lincoln assumed they must have noticed his behavior and went to check up on him. He smiled knowing his little sisters were looking out for him.

"Y-yeah, Lucy… I'm fine now," Lincoln said. He then looked over to Lisa prepared to face the hard truth that he wished to delay. "I need help, Lisa… This is worse than I thought."

Lisa approached her older brother and crouched down to level with him before telling him: "All you have to do is make the call, Lincoln… There is nothing wrong seeing Dr. Lopez again. She can help you."

Lincoln wasn't fond of the idea ever since their first meeting with Lori. He didn't want his family to look at him differently. But at this point Lincoln didn't much of a choice.

"Ok, Lisa… I'll talk to her."

They all ended on a high note with a group huge, all three girls holding Lincoln tight before walking back to their seats. Luna thought it was a bad idea, fearing a repeated incident but Lincoln insisted that they should return. That incident came again as another fly ball was heading in their direction. But Lincoln was prepared this time. As the ball came closer and closer, Lincoln kept reminding himself that his war was over. He then jumped up, outstretching his right arm as he caught the baseball with one hand.

"Nice catch, son!" Lynn Sr. congratulated. Many would be proud to be lucky enough to catch a foul ball in a crowd of people racing to be the first, but for Lincoln he was proud that he was overcoming his disorder.

"That's for you Lynn," Lincoln said, tossing her the baseball. "To make up for the last one."

In the end, the Louds all had a great time, especially Lynn with the Tigers winning 5 to 3. They were now moving through the crowd to leave the stadium, doing their best to stay together which was going well until Lincoln heard his name being called out and looked to his left to see a man waving at him.

"Lincoln! Hey, Lincoln!" The man said, finally approaching him with an excited smile.

"Uh, I'm sorry, do I know you?" Lincoln didn't recognize this person and wondered if he could have been an old high school classmate he might have interacted with once or twice.

"You probably don't remember me. I'm Tyler. We met in the army. You dragged me out of that firefight, saving me from that sniper," He told Lincoln, trying to jog his memory.

It didn't click at first but once he mentioned being saved from a sniper, Lincoln knew exactly who he was talking to.

"Oh yeah! Wow, you're from Michigan too? Talk about a small world," Lincoln replied, greeting him with a brotherly hug. "So, how's it been. Glad to see you made it out in one piece."

"Doing great, man. I've been state-side for a couple years now. I just decided to watch the game with my girlfriend who should be around here somewhere," Tyler said. "What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Not much, honestly. I actually just got back a couple weeks ago believe it or not. I came down here with the family to spend some quality time together."

"Well, welcome back bro! We should- Oh, babe, come quick!" Tyler called out, eager to introduce his girlfriend to Lincoln. "This is the guy I told you about who saved my ass!"

"Pleasure to meet the man who saved the love of my life," She said, shaking Lincoln's hand.

"Just doing my job," Lincoln replied, humbly. "Speaking of which, how is the leg doing?"

"Probably should have started with that." Tyler lifted the left side of his jean leg showing Lincoln the metal prosthetic leg. "The bullet really messed up my tibia. They had to amputate from the knee down."

"Oh… shit. Tyler, I'm sorry." Lincoln felt horrible that he had to lose half of his leg. Being him, Lincoln wondered if there was something he could have done differently.

"Are you kidding? Linc, I know it's not a 'perfect' outcome, but I'd choose a missing leg than being dead any day! You saved my life bro. You have nothing to be sorry about," Tyler stated as he leaned in to whisper something to him. "Besides, it makes me look badass. The lady here doesn't mind it one bit. Do I hear kinky sex?"

Lincoln chuckled at that last part. He was glad to see that Tyler was looking more at the positive of the situation. And he wasn't wrong; losing a leg is nothing compared to being six feet under. "Well, when you put it that way, it's hard to argue."

"You're a hero, Lincoln. Don't you forget that," he told him confidently. Lincoln thought that was a bit much but chose to leave it alone. "Anyway, before I let you go, let me give you my number in case you ever want to meet up. There's also this charity run for wounded vets coming up if you want to join. I could always use another battle buddy."

"Sounds good. My folks are always telling me to get out more. I'll definitely hit you up. Anyway, it was great meeting you both! I'll catch you soon," Lincoln said as he departed.

"You're my hero Lincoln! Don't you forget!" Tyler chanted as Lincoln laughed giving him one last salute goodbye. He knew he wasn't keen on being called a hero but for the first time he actually did feel like a hero.

March 21, 2028: Loud House

It was a long day for the Louds but a great one, sharing the entire day all together. And after today's plans, all the Louds were about ready to call it a night. All but Luna who still had one last thing to do before heading to bed. She washed her face as part of her usual routine and glanced over her reflection one last time before leaving the bathroom and walking up to Lincoln's bedroom door.

She took a deep breath before knocking on Lincoln's and opening it. As Luna stepped inside, she first thought Lincoln wasn't there until she was startled by her brother on the floor doing pushups.

Seeing the black polished toenails peeking into his view, Lincoln went to look up to greet his guest when he was met with bare legs leading all the way up to see his rocker of a sister, looking down at him, causing him to fall on his face.

"Oh! Lincoln, I didn't see you."

"N-no *graon* it's my fault. I was just doing a quick workout before bed," Lincoln said, clearing his throat nervously. He was not expecting to be greeted by Luna in just her night shirt and underwear again. "You need something?

Lincoln sat cross-legged on his bed and pat the bedsheets in front of him, inviting Luna to join him. She walked over and tucked her right foot under her as she sat on Lincoln's bed, leaving her left dangling on the edge of the bed.

"I just wanted to check up on you… See how you're doing," Luna asked, referring to his traumatic attack this afternoon.

"I'm alright. I mean I'm not really looking forward to see Dr. Lopez tomorrow but I know it's for the best."

"Don't belittle yourself, bro. I know you'll get through this. You're one tough S.O.B. and nothing's gonna change my mind," Luna motivated, seeing how this was bothering him.

"Thanks, Luna. That means a lot coming from you," Lincoln said, returning a smile.

Her plan seemed to be working so far, getting Lincoln comfortable to ease her next question. She just hoped no one else made any plans with him. "Also… I know you might be exhausted with all the parties lately but I was wondering, if you aren't doing anything else tomorrow if you'd like to go to a concert with me?"

"Really? Yeah, sounds awesome! Is your band playing?" Lincoln asked. He was excited to rock out with his punk sister since it had been awhile. He always had a wild adventure when hanging with Luna at a concert.

"Nope, just you, me, and a group of society's rejects headbanging to local bands."

"Well, then count me in," Lincoln confirmed.

"Right on," Luna said as she got up to make her leave. "Sweet dreams, bro."

"Night, Luna."

Luna closed the door behind her and let her shoulders relax, satisfied with the outcome. The deed was done, she told herself. Now was getting Luan's approval. She started her walk down the hall, back to her room and went inside, seeing said sister sitting in front of her vanity mirror, brushing her long wavy locks.

Luan looked so innocent combing her hair which made Luna feel even worse. She thought it was silly to ask her sister to take their brother out. It wasn't like she was doing anything wrong. 'Maybe it has something to do with the guy she's madly in love with and betraying your closes sister!' her inner voice told her.

"H-hey, Lu… Need any help?" Luna asked, doing her best to sound calm which wasn't going well.

"Sure, sis, thanks," Luan said happily, handing her the brush. Luna stood behind her sister and gently brushed her hair as Luan leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying her sister spoiling her. "Why are you such a great sister?"

"Because I have someone to be great to," Luna replied, hugging her sister from behind. You are horrible, Luna. "So, um, Luan… I was thinking about taking Lincoln out to a concert like old times. I-Is that ok with you?"

"Hmm? Luna he's our brother, of course it's ok. Why are you asking me? I don't control what he does and doesn't do," Luan said, confused by her roommates request.

"I-I know... I just figured since you know, you like him that you would mind," Luna explained as she finished brushing her sister's hair.

"Luna, I'm not a control freak. I know I could be jealous at times when I have a crush but it's nothing major," She said as she grabbed her scrunchy and made her signature ponytail before turning around to face her sister. "You're just being sisterly and taking Lincoln out on another one of your crazy adventures. It's not like you have a thing for him."

"R-right… sisterly…" Luna repeated quietly, feeling the guilt starting to slowly eat her. Luna was just planning a brother-sister hangout, but she needed to know if there was something more lingering deep, deep inside her. Luna could only keep telling herself that it was just a sisterly date. Nothing more! She climbed up to her top bunk and slid under her covers and stared at the ceiling with her thoughts as Luan turned of their lamp and got in her own bed. "G-goodnight, sis…"

"Goodnight, Luna. Try not to have too much fun tomorrow. Hehe."

"It's all in your head, it's all in your head…"

A/N

I'M BACK! Sorry to the people who wish I was gone or dead. I know I've been gone for a year which was WAY longer than I anticipated but I've been very, VERY busy. So please bear with me as I try to figure out a way around my hectic schedule. And if you can't I understand. I'm sure a lot of people figured this story was abandoned. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, and I'll probably touch a bit on Luna and Luan's ending since I felt it was a little rushed. Thanks again!

Side note: The flashbacks about Lincoln wondering the desert are a way to explain how him and his team managed to escape. I rather throw in a mini story about it than just saying he was rescued and that's it. And for the people aren't really interested, don't worry there's only one more part to it. Also, to jog anyone's memory, Tyler is the soldier referenced all the way back from chapter 2.