THREE WEEKS LATER

Lynn sat in the chair in Dr. Lewis' office, nervously fidgeting as her family stood behind her. Lisa's physical therapy had done its job and aided with the strengthening of her left knee, but she knew as well as everyone else that Lewis was the one who held her sporting fate in his hands. If he said no, he meant no. After waiting for what seemed like hours, Dr. Lewis entered the room carrying a manila envelope of MRI scans. "Well, I have Lynn's scans right here. Are you ready, young lady?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Well, let's take a look." Luna drummed her hands on the back of the empty chair next to Lynn as the doctor turned on his lightboard and clipped the MRI scans onto it. When he got a better look at the image, he let out a sigh and asked, "Do you want the good news or the bad news, Lynn?"

The athlete exchanged worried looks with her siblings and parents before replying, "We had the good news first last time...just give me the bad news and get it over with, doc."

"Very well. The bad news is..." Lincoln reached out and grabbed her hand, and he was soon joined by his parents and remaining sisters putting their hands on Lynn's back in a show of solidarity. She gulped back her nerves and steeled herself for whatever news that Lewis had for her, and judging by the grim look on his face, it wasn't good. Then, he finished his sentence:

"...strictly for the opposing team, because Lynn Loud Jr. is back in action. You're fully healed."

Lynn gasped in delight and leapt out of her chair, tearing her jersey off and yelling in victory as she twirled it over her head. Her family let out a cheer of their own as they lifted her up over their heads and allowed her to bask in the news, eventually calming down when Dr. Lewis cleared his throat. The cheering mass placed Lynn back on the ground as the doctor pointed to the MRI and said, "Your physical therapy has strengthened the muscles surrounding your ACL, as seen here. The knee is as good as new."

Lynn removed her knee brace and said, "Thanks, doc! Lisa's training regimen was just what I needed to get back to normal!"

"Lisa? You mean..."

The little genius stepped forward with a confident grin and declared, "Like I said, sir: I guarantee results."

"You certainly do," Lewis said in amazement. "How old are you, sweetie?"

"Four years, six months and 120 days."

Lewis' jaw dropped as Lynn Sr. said, "She's a prodigy of prodigies, doctor."

"It was my sincere pleasure to help my elder sibling return to her sporting activities." She handed Lewis a notebook and said, "The exercises I used are contained herein. If you wish, you may share this information with your network of physical therapists."

"I'll do just that," the doctor said as he thumbed through her notes. "In the meantime, Lynn, congratulations on your recovery. Get back out there and do what you do best."

"Thanks, doc. Time to get back on the horse!" Lynn rubbed her hands together in excitement and started psyching herself up as Lynn Sr. and Rita each shook Lewis' hand before the Louds exited the hospital and piled into Vanzilla. It was a pleasant drive back home as Lana asked, "So what are you gonna play first, Lynn? Basketball? Maybe some baseball? How about football? No, wait-hockey! Yeah, hockey would be good..."

"Those are all great options, sis, but you know what?" She put her arm across Lincoln's shoulders and said, "Today I just wanna hang out with my little brother."

Touched by her statement, Lincoln asked, "Really?"

"Absolutely, Lincoln. Let's grab some movies and just chill on the couch today. And, as an added bonus, no Dutch ovens."

"Sounds like a plan." The family arrived home, departing the van and entering the house as Lincoln and Lynn headed for the kitchen with the intent to pop some popcorn. Their path took them past the family trophy case, and when they passed it by, the duo stopped and looked at Lincoln's cabinet. His medal for running his first 5K rested in front of his Most Improved Brother award, and his award for finishing the race outright was draped over the trophy Lynn had modified for him after the bad luck incident. Lynn smiled and gave Lincoln a friendly punch in the arm, saying, "You should be proud, Linc. You did awesome that day."

"So did you," he replied. "If it wasn't for you, I never would've finished the race." Lincoln gave Lynn a big hug and said, "Thanks for doing that."

The athlete wrapped her arms around him in return and said, "Anytime, bro." When they broke the embrace, Lynn asked, "So what do you wanna watch? Chariots of Fire? Forrest Gump? The Running Man?"

Lincoln laughed at her joke and replied, "Nah, nothing like that. How about some good old-fashioned sci-fi? You up for Independence Day?"

"Absolutely. Then maybe we can watch one of those other movies afterwards."

"So you weren't joking?"

"Nope."

Lincoln grabbed the DVDs Lynn suggested along with his movie and plopped down on the couch as she prepared the popcorn. Ten minutes later Lynn came into the living room with a huge bowl filled to the brim, kicked off her shoes and jumped on the couch, placing the bowl in between her and Lincoln. The two of them spent the entire afternoon there, watching movie after movie until they fell asleep, with Lynn's head winding up in Lincoln's lap. He stirred from his slumber when he felt the weight and looked down at her, whispering, "You're the reason I have those medals, Lynn. Thank you so much." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before putting his head back and closing his eyes, smiling as he grasped the SavvyCon newspaper clipping in his hand.

Before he fell back asleep, he opened one eye and turned towards the camera, saying, "I know what you're thinking. Not to worry-I asked her if she wanted to go, and she said yes." With that, he closed his eye and drifted off.

-FIN-

The Loud House and its characters belong to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.