Author's Note: Hey-ho! Boy, been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, I don't know what happened to this story, but I guess I just lost my feel for it, you know? I kept trying to update it, but I just kept stalling out. But considering the time of year, I'd be remiss if I didn't update it now, so here you go!

I'm Captain Dodge – thank you, and I hope you had a great Shark Week!

(…)

Just as every person is unique, so too are their reactions to grief and trauma. In any given hospital lobby, the friends and families of those receiving treatment or undergoing emergency care give insight into their characters as they await the outcome of their loved ones' care.

On that long summer day, one family alone displayed the full spectrum of reactions as the life of their son hung by a thread.

Lori paced endlessly, back and forth, though never the same way twice. She never had a destination, only a path. Never before had she felt so helpless – so helpless to do anything as a big sister. Her brother lay on an operating table, hovering between life and death – nothing she could do about that. The thought of placing his life in the hands of complete strangers was driving her insane and leaving her at a loss.

And so, she wandered aimlessly, doing what little her collapsed ego allowed her as her family fell apart all around her.

She passed by Leni, who was still sobbing uncontrollably. The memory of seeing Lincoln lying on the beach, pale as a ghost, his bloody stump staining the sand red, was burned into her mind, and she cried as she did the moment she saw him, not stopping since. She thought he was dead right then and there – even Bobby's assurances that he still had a pulse and that he was still breathing could not dispel her doubt. When the ambulance came and carried Lincoln away, Leni thought that would be the last time she would ever see her little brother alive, and that only shattered the remainders of her heart into even tinier fragments. Even now, here, at the hospital, where the chance that Lincoln would make it presented itself, the tears didn't stop. The very thought of being bereft of her beloved baby brother sent Leni into hysterics, and nothing any of the other Louds could say or do could make her calm down.

Lori briefly sat down next to Leni, whose face was buried in the crook of her arm as she bent over the armrest. Despite it all, she couldn't help but be impressed by how much the normally sunny, gentle girl could cry so hard for so long, when even her baby sister Lily had cried herself to sleep. Placing one limp-wristed hand on Leni's shoulder, she offered yet some more hollow consolation – the only capacity now allowed to her.

"It's okay, Leni…" she said, "…Lincoln's gonna be okay. We just… We just have to trust the doctors, okay?"

Leni just kept on wailing, seemingly oblivious to Lori's efforts. Sighing, Lori got up and slunk away.

Mrs. Loud, indomitable as she was, was holding Lily in her arms and comforting her husband. Lori admired and envied her mother for her strength – she thought she was just as strong, but this situation proved her wrong. She should have known – it takes an exceptional kind of spirit to bear and raise eleven children.

Lily – the hardest, longest crier in the Loud family – had cried herself to sleep, where she was no doubt having an awful nightmare about her big brother, judging by how fitful she was in her repose. Mr. Loud was crying just like Leni. Actually, not just like Leni. Mr. Loud wasn't blubbering the way he was when the kids trashed Vanzilla while fighting over the "Sweet Spot", or when Luna kicked him out of the family band – here, he sounded legitimately distraught, with raw emotion soaking through his words like rain through clothes. He sniffled, wiping his tears away with his sleeve.

"I… I was never that close to him. I was never that close to Lincoln," he lamented. "I used to think I was, because we were the only boys in the family, but, but with so many kids, I… I-I-I just couldn't give him enough attention, and-and-and… E-Even when I did, we weren't that close… I was always closer to Lynn, and Luna, and Luan, and now I might never…" He buried his face in his hands. "I-I don't know what to do… Rita, i-if I lose my only son, I don't know if I'll be able to forgive myself…"

"We won't." Mrs. Loud put a hand on Mr. Loud's shoulder. "We won't lose him." She pulled him in for a hug. "We just have to have faith…"

And speaking of faith… Lori moved on to the twins, who were kneeling on the floor, facing the wall, heads bowed and hands pressed together. Lola was weeping, barely able to get her words out, while Lana was slightly more composed, although tears still ran down her cheeks as she whispered her prayers to whatever higher power might be listening. At the same time, she played the priest to Lola's impromptu confession.

Lola sniffled. "And-And I'm sorry I fought with him over a dollar last Sunday, and-and I'm sorry I hit him with a golf club, and… and I'm sorry I made fun of him for liking Princess Pony… and… and…" She shook her head and looked up at the ceiling, distraught. She knew that there was more to confess to – much more – but it just wasn't coming to her. "I-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything bad that I ever did! I know I did a lot of bad things, but I'm sorry! I am! Just… please…" Sobbing helplessly, she bowed her head again, pressing it against the wall, groveling before God. "Please… don't take him away…"

Lana's expression became even more pained upon hearing those words, and her voice trembled as she continued muttering a stream of prayers. Lori, meanwhile, shook her head. Typical Lola – always so selfish. Even when she was worrying about others, she somehow found a way to make it all about herself.

She sighed. Oh well – at least she still cared, in her own self-centered way.

Lori continued onwards. She went to Lisa, who was still pacing all across the waiting room, just like her. For a tiny four-year-old, she moved fast, and Lori had a hard time keeping up with her.

Lisa declined to acknowledge Lori's presence, though the latter knew she still recognized it. "…utter ridiculousness, all of it," she ranted quietly. "I am fully trained in trauma surgery, as well as general surgery. I have a Ph.D. in every field imaginable. I have a Nobel Prize." Aware that she had a listener, her voice began increasing in volume. "And they won't let me operate. They won't let me advise the procedure. They won't even let me see him!" She looked up at the ceiling and curled her fingers, as though she were squeezing two invisible balls. "Why?! Why won't they let me operate?!"

"Because you're just a kid, Lisa," Lori answered.

Lisa stopped, turned to face Lori, and shot her a withering glare that fully demonstrated the petulance that was expected of a normal girl her age. "There it is," she spat venomously. "There they are – the three words that have held me back since the day I emerged from Mother's womb. Just. A. Kid." She bit off each word. "It's foolishness, madness! They are the world's most preeminent geniuses – shouldn't they be able to see how intelligent I am? Shouldn't they see what I'm capable of, what I can do for mankind?" She ground her teeth. "But no. To them, I'm 'just a kid'. And because of that, they won't let me implement clean, renewable, efficient sources of energy! They won't accept my robotic designs and blueprints – at best, they'll shamelessly plagiarize them! They set aside my dissertations and theses as if they were crude drawings that one pins up on the refrigerator!" At the height of her impotent rage, she shut her watering eyes and stomped her foot. "And they won't let me SAVE MY BROTHER'S LIFE!"

Lori sighed wearily. "Lisa," she said, "look at you. You're literally throwing a tantrum. That right there is why they don't take you seriously – not because you're not smart enough for them, but because you're not mature enough. Think about it: if you were in that operating room, with Lincoln under the knife – your knife – would you even be able to look at him, let alone operate on him? Considering the state you're in now…"

Lisa glowered up at her, biting her lip. Lori was right – she knew it, and she hated it. Blinking back tears, she threw up her hands and growled in frustration, storming off. Lori didn't bother trying to follow her.

She looked around the waiting room. Lynn and Luan were lost causes, same as Leni – no-one could get through to them, though it didn't stop Luna from trying to console her roommate. With Luan, then, at least she didn't have to worry.

And then… her eyes fell upon her.

Lucy sat apart from the others, alone, unnoticed – only this time, the lack of attention was deliberate. And Lucy preferred it that way, because she could be alone with her thoughts.

My fault.

She unfurled her fist like a blooming flower, revealing the shark's tooth inside. She weakly lifted a finger, tracing its serrated edges. She pictured what a mouthful of these would do to a puny human's body, trying not to imagine… his body.

My fault.

The memories of the beach returned to her.

(…)

"Impossible… It CAN'T be…!"

"It had to have been a boating accident!"

"You see any boats around here?"

"But… come on! A shark attack? Here?! Come on!"

"You…! Don't you see?! Look – here, here, little girl, come here – you see that? That is a TOOTH! A SHARK TOOTH! And look at the poor kid's leg! What more proof do you need?!"

"I… It… I-It's true, isn't it…? There was a shark, at this beach…!"

"Oh my God…!"

(…)

Lucy closed her fist and her eyes, remembering the panic that engulfed the other beachgoers – the panic that she caused.

It's my fault…

She hung her head. She had to tell them – she knew that. Even if they had no way of finding out on their own, she knew that the guilt would eat her alive until she would be left with nothing to do but confess. And then…

Lucy shuddered. She didn't want to think about "and then".

She sank into her seat, trying to melt into it. She tried to limit her consciousness to herself, but inside, she was a morass of guilt and despair, so she kept hovering at the edge. She tossed out a few probes of awareness, jolting when one of them caught someone sitting down next to her.

It was Lori. Looking up at her face, Lucy knew exactly what she was going to say – just not exactly how she was going to say it. Here it comes… she thought, bracing herself for impact.

Lori let loose a heavy sigh. "…Well, Lucy," she drawled wearily, "you got what you wanted. I don't know how… or why…" She looked up at the ceiling. "…but you got what you wanted." A solitary sob escaped from her chest, and she held her arms as though she was trying to give herself a hug. "I hope you're happy…"

Lucy had suspected that no amount of bracing could stop her from crumbling under an attack right now – even one as light as that – and she was right. She buried her face in her hands and started crying. Not letting single tears roll down her stoic face, but crying – a complete betrayal of her goth image. Goths suffered in silence, brooding about the inevitability of death and oblivion – but now, Lucy realized that she might lose her brother to the Reaper and wept.

Lori sighed – her sobs might have been much softer, but they were still just as heartrending as Leni's. "…I'm sorry, Lucy," she said, though she didn't offer a comforting hug. "I know you must be feeling plenty guilty already. But…" She shook her head – as she remembered the events leading up to this hospital visit, she felt her indignation returning. "Just… why, okay?! Why would you wish for something like this?!"

To Lucy's surprise, she still had enough composure to put up a weak defense. "I…" she said, gasping to hold back her sobs, "I… n-never wanted… this…"

Lori chuckled mirthlessly. "'I don't care who it is – I WILL see someone get attacked by a shark this weekend.'" She gave her little sister a scornful glare. "Your words, Lucy."

The reminder sent Lucy collapsing back into a heap. Once again, Lori was torn between showing her contempt or pity. "I…" She groaned. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? It's just, all this is… I-I mean, I've been going around, and, and…" She slumped into the back of her seat. "I'm exhausted, okay? I've been doing everything I can, and I'm exhausted."

Lucy sniffled, wiping away her tears. "…It-It's okay, Lori," she said. "I understand…" She sighed – not saying the word "sigh", but actually sighing. "…I deserve it."

Lori rolled her head in Lucy's direction. "Lucy…" she started, and stalled there. It was just as she thought – she was all out of gas. So, she gave up, exhaling slowly and watching the chaos around her.

Lucy joined her, looking from sibling to sibling, to parents and back. Every time she looked at one of them, a little more guilt swelled inside her. On the one hand, she hated it. On the other hand, she wanted it – almost needed it to remind her that she had indeed done wrong, instead of becoming lost in self-pity. She knew (well, she should have known) that this would be the result of a shark attack: a grieving family weeping over the tragedy that befell them – and not even necessarily her own family.

Why, then? Why would she wish for one to happen?

Lucy pulled her feet up onto the seat and hugged her knees to her chest.

She didn't know. For the life of her, she just didn't know.

"…You all hate me, don't you?" she said after a while.

Lori, still recuperating, could only loll her head towards her again. "…Hm?"

"All of you. You all hate me." It made sense – Lucy hated herself a lot right now.

Lori stared back into the distance, looking for the right words. "…Well, right now, we're all too busy being worried about Lincoln," she said after a while. "But if you're talking about later… we'll be mad at you, sure. But we won't hate you yet."

Yet. That was the operative word – yet. Although Lucy was afraid to ask, she did anyway. "Wh… What do you mean?"

Lori sighed. "Listen, Lucy, we know this isn't really your fault. We know that."

Her words, although meant to be comforting, only stabbed Lucy through the heart. This was the perfect opportunity to tell her about her involvement in this affair. She deserved the truth – they all did. And yet… when Lucy opened her mouth, nothing came out.

Oblivious to Lucy's confession attempt, Lori continued. "But considering everything that's happened… it might as well be to us." She paused. "…That's why a lot of us are going to keep being mad at you for a while after this." Finally, Lori turned her entire body towards Lucy. "But that's the best case scenario. That's assuming Lincoln pulls through."

Lucy didn't dare to look back at Lori, instead keeping her gaze rooted to the floor.

"Lucy…" Lori said, "…I'm only telling you this to be fair and honest to you. I know the others. You know the others. If Lincoln dies on that operating table…" She shook her head.

"…they'll never forgive you."

Lucy shuddered. She knew she didn't have a thick skin, like Lincoln. She already had a rough time handling their anger – how could she possibly handle their hatred? "Wh-Wh-Wh-What do you think they'll do to me?"

Lori thought about it for a while, then uttered a long, slow sigh and shook her head. "…I don't know, Lucy. I really don't know."

With a shaking hand, she reached up and grasped Lori's shirt. "L-L-L-Lori…" she stuttered, "…p-p-p-please… I-If that happens… please defend me from them…"

Lori shook her head. "I won't be able to, Lucy. And I don't think I'll want to, either…"

Now Lucy grasped Lori by the shirt with both hands. "Lori, please…! Y-You know I didn't want this to happen, right? You know that!"

"No, Lucy, I don't. I know what you said." Lori shrugged. "Then again, I also know that you love Lincoln with all your heart – your black, shriveled-up heart – so I can assume that you mean you didn't want this to happen to him, right?"

"Yes!"

"…Yeah." Lori pried Lucy's hands off of her. "But it happened anyway. And now we're all paying the price…"

"No…" Lucy hung and shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no… Please, Lori, please – there has to be something I can do to make this right…"

By now, Lori was fully recharged and thoroughly sick of talking to Lucy, but she still couldn't summon the strength to get up and leave. So, she sighed and said, "Well, you could go around and try to hold everyone together – that'd be a start." Now that she finally had a chance to rest, her tamped-down emotions started welling up, and they crept into her speech as she spoke. "Because I've been going around for hours trying to make everyone feel better, and I haven't had the time to really process what's been going on, or have the chance to grieve myself…" She started gasping and hiccupping. "…and you don't know how – h-how hard it is, t-to do all of this while, while I think about Lincoln lying there, on that table, not knowing whether he's gonna make it or not, and, and, and…"

At last, Lori's repressed sadness overflowed, and she started sobbing uncontrollably. Once again, Lucy felt the pangs of guilt, and she decided to start her job of consoling the others with her eldest sister. She placed a hand on Lori's shoulder. "Lori –"

But Lori threw her hand off, scowling and pointing at the others. "Just GO!"

Taken aback at first, Lucy sagged and let her be. Clearly, Lori wanted to be alone to vent . With a heavy heart, she left Lori sitting in her chair and began trekking towards the others.

Once she was at about an even distance from every sister, she looked around, not sure with whom to start. Since Leni seemed the most upset (outwardly, at least), Lucy decided to start with her. She approached Leni quietly, opened her mouth… and froze.

Looking at Leni's grief-stricken face, Lucy was at a total loss. What was she supposed to say? "Stop being sad"? No way was that acceptable – that much she knew. She knew how Leni felt – she thought – but she had no idea how to address those feelings. Leni wasn't her, and she couldn't even figure out how to handle herself!

That was Lucy's problem – she didn't get people. Not even herself, fully. Lucy always knew that, but now she was especially aware of it. To not understand something was to fear it – and so Lucy withdrew from people, keeping to herself. But the lifestyle of a human being inevitably brings one into contact with others, and so she learned the bare minimum required for social interaction, mostly from her siblings and parents. But she never truly got them.

And now, if she wanted to start putting things to right, she had to start trying to get them.

Lucy looked to Lori for guidance, but she found none – Lori was too busy letting it all out. Helplessly, she turned back to Leni and took a deep breath. She really didn't want to, but she had to try. She took one, then two, then three baby steps towards Leni, trembling like a wet cat.

"U-Um… Leni…?"

Leni started at the sound of her voice, looked up at her, and for the first time in hours, stopped crying. But her tears were immediately replaced by a damning, bloodshot look – a look that made Lucy choke on her next words; a look that pierced right through to her soul (if even she had one).

A look that screamed, "Why…?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…" Lucy uttered; her meager momentum had vanished. "I-I… I, uh… L-Leni, I…"

Leni watched her stutter, then sniffled, slumping atop the back of the seat and staring off into space. "H-He…" She gulped, drawing in a shuddering breath. "…He's gonna die, isn't he?"

Lucy blinked, taken aback. "Wh-What?"

"Linky. He's gonna die…" Leni sniffled again. "He wouldn't be here if it weren't for us… We brought him here, and now he's gonna die here…!"

"H-H-Hey, Leni!" Lucy ran up and grabbed Leni's forearm. "Don't say that! Lincoln… Lincoln might not die!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew what a pitiful comfort they were – and sure enough, they did nothing to make Leni feel better. "But he might, too!" she said. "He might… He might… He might…!"

Leni collapsed into a heap again. Clearly, Lucy wasn't the only one suffering from guilt, though Leni's words filled her with even more. She, Lori, Leni, Lola, and Lily would never have gotten Lincoln's vote were it not for her ploy with the rare Ace Savvy comic book.

In a way, she was responsible for this entire mess.

Lucy sagged in defeat. Given her lack of progress, and fearing trying again might make Leni feel even worse, she left her elder sister be, and slinked away. She felt like giving up then and there – quitting while she was behind.

But Lori had calmed down slightly by now, enough to shoot Lucy a glare that told her that she had to try again.

She had to know what Lori had to deal with on an almost-daily basis.

With a heavy heart, Lucy moved on to Luna and Luan, sitting together. Luan sat quietly, eyes wide and staring at nothing, while Luna held and stroked her hand, whispering gently.

Intertwining her fingers, Lucy turned her head upwards to look at Luan. "U-Um… Uh…" She gnawed on her lower lip. "…H-H-Hey, Luan. Um…" She turned her gaze to the side, trying to think about what Luan might want to hear. "H-Hey, have you… Um…" She turned back. "H-Have you… got any jokes to lighten the mood…?"

That might have been the first time that she, or any of her siblings, had ever asked Luan for a joke. Ordinarily, Luan would have been delighted to oblige. But now, she didn't even acknowledge Lucy's presence.

"It's no use, Luce," Luna said. "She's sitting in her Nowhere Land." She leaned over to whisper in Luan's ear and stroke her hair. "It's okay, Luan, I'm right here with you. Don't you feel lonely, now…"

Lucy cocked her head at Luna. "…If she's not listening to you, then why are you still talking to her?"

Luna shrugged. "'Cuz she… and they…" She nodded at Lynn, Lola, Leni, Lori, and Mr. and Mrs. Loud in order. "…they might not be talking, but they're asking for a contribution. And, well, y'know…" She shrugged again. "We're all doing what we can… even though…"

Lucy mulled over her words. Perseverance, she thought. She used to think that perseverance was futile – that the efforts and accomplishments of everyone meant nothing in the face of oblivion. But now… now that she stopped to really think about it, she wondered why.

After all, if the doctors gave up now, then Lincoln would…

Lucy didn't finish that thought. Instead, she took a seat next to Luna. "…Yeah," she said. "Gotta… Gotta think… positive, right?"

Luna gave the young goth a sidelong glance. "'Think positive'? All right, who are you, and what have you done with Lucy?"

"I-I mean it!"

"Yeah, dude, I know. Just a joke." She gave Luan a wan smile. "That's just part of how we cope, isn't it? Laugh at the pain…"

When Luan didn't respond, Luna let her head loll back over the back of the seat and closed her eyes, firing off short, quiet blasts of breath that might have been chuckles if she'd put more emotion into them. "Yeah… 'Think positive'. Easy for you to say, Miss Doom-and-Gloom – you like stuff like this, don't you?" Luna smirked scornfully. "Bet you're thinking you're so lucky that things turned out the way they did, and you got your precious shark attack, huh?"

And just like that, it hit her. All of a sudden, Lucy knew why – why she had wanted a shark attack in the first place. Because it's morbid, a voice inside her said. That's it – that's all there is to it. You don't NEED any other reasons. That's you. That's all you are – Miss Doom-and-Gloom. You don't care about the needs of OTHERS, their FEELINGS – you don't care about ANYTHING. Anything… except being as much of a FREAK as possible.

Lucy shook her head slowly. "N-No…" she whispered.

So your brother got his leg bitten off by a shark, huh? That's pretty horrific – and, therefore, cool. Hey, he's on the operating table right now – wouldn't it just be SO dark if he died, and you had to go to his funeral and stuff? That'd make a KILLER poem!

Lucy started shivering. "S-Stop…"

You could give his eulogy – tell everyone how death has claimed your brother, and how his soul wanders lost in the misty void beyond! Heck, you could even tell them that YOU got him killed – just to see the looks on all their faces! Lucy Loud, who murdered her brother Lincoln – you could angst about that for DECADES!

"…He's not dead," Lucy told herself. "N-Not… Not… yet…"

Luna snorted. "Right. 'Think positive'… You wanna know what I'm thinking right now?"

"What?"

"I'm thinking just how freaking impossible it is for a shark to be up here, in Lake Michigan. I mean, first of all, it's a freshwater lake. Sharks stick to the sea, right?"

"I…" Lucy scratched her head. "…I don't know," she admitted sheepishly.

"Eh, I'll ask Lise later – bet she'll know. Point is… just how likely is it for a shark not only to be in Lake Michigan, but also at that very beach, just today?"

Lucy pondered it, and after pushing aside her emotions to look at what had happened today from a logical perspective, she realized just how unlikely the events of today were. "Uh… n-not likely," she replied.

"Exactly." She looked at Lucy. "You know what? I'm thinking that the winds of destiny blew that shark right into the lake, just to take a bite out of Lincoln."

Lucy gaped at Luna. "What? W-What are you saying?"

"Heh… I'm saying that maybe something like this was meant to happen – even if we didn't come here. Like, I'm thinking that if we won, and we went to Dairyland instead, Lincoln might've fallen off the Milk Shaker, or something like that… broken every bone in his body…"

Normally, a thought like that would have filled Lucy with excitement. But by the sole virtue of it happening to Lincoln, she was horrified. "Luna!" she said. "How can you say that?!"

Luna shrugged. "Just a bad thought, brah. Like, it doesn't matter where, or maybe even when – something bad was meant to happen to Lincoln. Like, it was unavoidable."

Lucy froze. It WAS avoidable, though, wasn't it? the voice inside her said. If you hadn't peed in the water, the shark never would have come to the beach, would it? It never would have come to the beach, and it never would have attacked Lincoln. Face it, Lucy – this is all YOUR fault.

Luna chuckled mirthlessly. "Heh… listen to me…" She turned to look down at Lucy. "I'm starting to sound like you, Luce."

The comparison left Lucy stewing in her own misery, whimpering. Luna nodded. "Mm-hmm. But you know, dude, that aside… you're right. We still gotta do what we can. Gotta think positive. Gotta have hope. And if it all looks hopeless, well, we'll just, I don't know… keep on keeping on." She leaned back, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Because, you know, that's just what we do, dude – we keep on keeping on. And if we can't, well…" She turned to Luan. "We go to our Nowhere Land, where we make all our Nowhere Plans for Nobody." She patted Luan's hand. "Like you, dude. Don't blame ya – I'm starting to feel like taking a trip down there myself…"

Lucy hung her head, deeply ashamed. Without even managing a goodbye, she got up and left. This time, she didn't even bother looking at Lori – she could feel her gaze on her. "Not so easy, is it, huh, Mistress of the Dark?" she could imagine her saying.

And no – it wasn't.

Lucy didn't know how she was going to keep this up, but reluctantly she forged onwards, sitting next to Lynn. This, at least, might be easier – after all, Lucy knew Lynn better than anyone.

Lynn sat slumped in her seat, hugging her knees to her chest. Though she felt awkward initiating physical contact, Lucy reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, feeling her shivering where she could not see it.

"H-Hey, Lynn…" she said.

Lynn grunted a half-hearted greeting in response.

"How… How do you feel?"

Lynn slowly curled up tighter, hiding her face in her knees, and stayed there for a while. "…You wanna know how I feel?" she said eventually.

"How?"

Lynn made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, and she turned to Lucy, letting her raw emotions drill from her eyes into her little sister. "…Worthless."

Lucy removed her hand. "Wh-What?"

Lynn sighed, looking back at the floor. "…You know that I always, always, give it 110 percent, don't you, Lucy? Always."

Lucy nodded. "Y-Yes, I do…"

"That's it – that's my key to victory. 'Always give it 110 percent, no matter what.' Because if you don't give it your best, you can't say that you wanted it. You can't say that you tried. And, most of the time… you don't win if you don't give it your all." She dug her nails into her calves, her breathing becoming laborious. "A-And it works, you know? M-Most of the time, it works. B-Because I'm me – I'm Lynn Loud Jr. Well… Well, not this time. I did want it. I did try. I did give it 110 percent. But it…" She sniffled, then turned to Lucy. "…It wasn't enough. Do you understand what that means, Lucy? For the first time in… I don't know, forever… my best… wasn't…" She buried her face in her knees again. "My best… wasn't GOOD enough…"

Sobs escaped from the ball Lynn had curled into, and it humiliated her knowing that Lucy could see her crying. Lucy understood exactly where Lynn was coming from; though she'd never admit it, Lynn was a lot more insecure than she let on. Lucy was no psychologist, but she was quite sure that Lynn had an inferiority complex – one not helped in the slightest by her short stature, underdeveloped girl parts, and many talented siblings. Success validated Lynn's entire existence; failure left her foundering.

And the thought of letting Lincoln down when he needed her the most had brought her to the brink of total collapse.

Lucy put a hand on Lynn's shoulder again. "B-But Lynn…" she said, "…it was good enough. You got Lincoln out of the water –"

"NO!" Lynn snapped, causing Lucy to recoil. "No, I didn't! It was Bobby who dragged Lincoln and me out of the water; Bobby was the one who gave Lincoln first aid!" Lynn sniveled and choked. "And me… I couldn't even get halfway to the beach! Me, Lucy! Don't you understand?! I'm Lynn Loud! I'm supposed to be the strongest, the fastest – the best!" She shook her head. "And I couldn't save him! I don't know first aid; I've never swam while carrying someone! If-If it weren't for Bobby, Lincoln would have died there, at that beach!" She laughed bitterly, wiping away tears. "A-And you know what? He still might die. So, everything Bobby and I did to save him? It would have amounted to nothing." Uttering a sigh heavier than anything Lucy could produce, Lynn rested her chin on her knees. "…So, you want to know how I'm feeling, thinking that there's nothing I could have done to save Lincoln's life, no matter how hard I tried?" She closed her eyes. "Worthless. I'm feeling pretty freaking worthless."

Lucy sat quietly, digesting Lynn's rant and looking for the right response before her sister sank entirely into despair. After a while, she said the best one she could muster: "We… We know you did your best, Lynn. We wouldn't expect anything less from you. But I guess sometimes…" She paused, recalling what Luna had said to her. Her next words felt like rusty hooks, ripping her heart apart. "Sometimes, no matter how hard you try… things are just… just… out of your control. And as hard as it is, you…" She bit her lower lip. "…you just have to accept that. Tell yourself that you did your best, and that's all anyone could ever ask of you."

Lynn didn't respond, only tucking her head back into the fetal position. Dismayed by the next few minutes of silence, Lucy sighed, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"…'Out of my control', huh…?"

Lucy stopped and turned around. "Huh?"

Lynn looked back up. "You're saying this was 'out of my control'?"

Lucy sat back down next to her. "Y-Yes…?"

Lynn snorted, relaxing her sitting position. "Right… Lucy, you know I hate to lose, right? Don't answer that, that was a rhetorical question – yes, I do. I had my own reasons for wanting to go to Dairyland, same as Luna, Luan, Lana, and Lisa. But more than that, I wanted to get Lincoln on our side. I wanted to win. And when you guys snagged his vote, I got mad. Really mad. I could have just let it go, you know? Let it go, and make the most of my weekend at the beach. But no – I decided to get all pouty, and sore. And Lincoln… heh. You know Lincoln, always trying to make things right when he feels like he screwed up…"

"Y-Yeah…"

"He just had to cheer me up, challenge me to a race. No, really – he had to do that. It's just part of what he does. Me? I could have said 'no'. Said, 'Thanks, Linc, but I'm feeling a lot better now, okay? Let's just play some beach volleyball.'" She shook her head. "But nope – I just had to make it a competition again; just had to race him; just HAD to be a sore loser and get him to challenge me in the first place." She laughed sardonically. "Yeah… you know what? Losing Lincoln's vote and the shark being there might have been out of my control, but everything else sure as heck wasn't."

Lucy remembered what Leni had said. Because of her, the family had gone to Aloha Beach for their annual summer vacation.

Because of her, all of this was possible.

Lucy's soul strained under the weight of the added guilt. Tears welled in her eyes and her teeth chattered as she placed her hand on Lynn's shoulder again. "L-L-L-Lynn…" she said, struggling, "I… I'm sorry…"

Lynn waved dismissively, not even looking at her. "…Don't be, Lucy. This wasn't really your fault…"

But it WAS, the voice inside Lucy said. Why don't you just tell her that, get it out of the way? You like to think you're a dark little mystery, girl, but your siblings can read you like a book. They'll see how guilty you feel, and then they'll see how guilty you ARE. You think you can really keep your mouth shut about this, Lucy? Even if you can, they won't stop sniffing around to find out what's wrong. One way or another, they're going to find out what you did. You messed up BIG TIME, Lucy – and sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the price…

"All you did was wish for a shark attack," Lynn continued. "You didn't make it happen…"

Lucy couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't do it anymore – forget what Lori said! She got up, ran to the furthest corner of the room, and curled up there and cried. She was terrible at this "consoling" thing. Not only had she failed to make Leni, Luna, Luan, and Lynn feel better, she'd actually managed to make Lynn feel worse – to say nothing of how their words were making her feel. She had to confess, she knew that! She HAD to! But… But…

Lucy started lightly banging her head against the wall. But how could she?

For half an hour, she sat there, inconsolable, while the others did their own things themselves. Lori had recovered, and was up and about again Mrs. Loud had joined her, having left Lily with her husband. Lucy could hear them walking around, handing out soothing words to the others. They were a little more effective than she was at comforting them, but only a little; their kind words were like the tides, causing the waves of depression to ebb for a momentary reprieve before they swept back in, knocking down the flimsy, crumbling walls the Louds had thrown up against them.

Neither of them ever came over to comfort her, though. Perhaps that was because Lucy was just that forgettable. Or maybe they were ignoring her on purpose. Either reason was plausible.

Either way, Lucy was alone, and she wanted it that way.

Her self-imposed exile was ended when she heard someone approaching by their heavy footsteps and their weary sniffling. Looking up, Lucy saw that it was Lana.

Lana wiped her dripping nose with the back of her hand, trailing a strand of mucus. Her eyes were red and puffy. "Th-Th-There you are, Lucy," she said. "I…" She gulped. "I've be-been looking everywhere for you…"

That caught Lucy off-guard. "Wh –? Me? Why?"

Lana sat on the floor next to Lucy, hugging her knees. "L-Lucy… is there a God?" she asked.

"H-Huh? I-I don't…" Lucy shook her head. "Wh-Why are you asking me?"

"B-Because you know all about the spirits, and-and magic, and stuff! So… so…" Lana looked at her. "Is there…?"

Lucy fell quiet, flummoxed. She knew she had always gone on about oblivion, and death, and talking to spirits and such, but did she really believe all that, or was she just playing around? Every culture and religion had its own interpretation of the afterlife, but there was never any evidence to support an afterlife - or a lack thereof. Well, there was some evidence, but the jury was out on whether it was authentic or not. She had believed in spirits and a life beyond, but was that all it was – belief?

"I… I…" Lucy looked straight ahead, shaking her head. "…I don't know, Lana. I'm sorry."

Lana sagged against the wall, deeply disappointed. "Oh…"

Lucy looked at her. "Um… w-why do you ask? I-If there's a God or not…"

Lana's eyes started to water again. "Be… Because…" Her lips started quivering, and as the sobs popped up one by one, she shifted and wrapped her arms around Lucy's neck, burying her face in her shoulder. "Because…! I used to think God was good, and nice, and he did all sorts of wonderful things for us! B-But then this happened, and I started thinking, 'Why would God do this? Lincoln didn't deserve THIS!' And-And then I thought, maybe God didn't do this – maybe he just let it happen! But then I thought, why would he let it happen, then? And-And-And then I thought maybe…" She threw her head back for one big sniffle, then laid her head back on Lucy's shoulder. "Maybe… he wouldn't let this happen, and he didn't do this, because God doesn't even exist…"

Lucy grimaced. "Lana…"

Lana looked up at Lucy, not caring how ugly she looked with her red eyes and her runny nose. "I-I'm trying, Lucy! I'm trying to be strong – I'm trying to have faith! I keep praying, and praying, and praying, but…" She crumpled against Lucy, thumping her fist against her chest. "But no matter how much I pray… it doesn't feel like anyone's listening…"

Lana sobbed helplessly, and Lucy, by now feeling very uncomfortable, awkwardly reached her arms around her little sister and gave her a few unsure pats on the back. She uttered a weary sigh – it seemed consolation duty was being forced on her, whether she liked it or not. So, then, what to do? "U-Um… Lana…"

"Mm?" Lana said, her face still pressed into Lucy's black dress.

"Lana…" Lucy scratched her cheek, trying to think of something. "You… uh… Y-You believed that God was real and good, right?"

Lana turned her head to look up at her and nodded. "M-Mm-hmm…"

"Well…" Lucy suppressed a sigh – once again, it wasn't much, but it was the best she could do. "Well… there you go. If you believe it, then it is, okay? Even if people tell you otherwise." She realized that she was on to something, and picked up momentum. "T-Take me, for example. Everyone always told me that ghosts and spirits and demons and devils didn't exist, but I believed they were, and I actually –"

Lucy's sentence came to an abrupt end. Lana looked up at her, confused. "Lucy?"

Lucy didn't even hear her. She was too busy staring wide-eyed across the room.

There, at the entrance to the hallway leading into the rest of the hospital… was Lincoln.

Lincoln looked… lost. He didn't seem to know what he was doing there or what was going on, either with himself or with everyone else. It seemed like he recognized them, but he didn't understand what they were doing.

But it was strange. Lincoln was dressed in his normal clothes – when did he have time to do that? And maybe it was just the lighting, or maybe a trick of the eyes, but he looked kind of… transparent?

But weirdest of all… he was standing on two legs.

Yes, she was sure of it – Lincoln had both his legs. How was that possible? His left leg should be in the belly of a shark right now. How did –

For one brief, excruciating moment, Lucy's entire world came crashing to a halt.

There was only one way all of that was possible.

As time picked back up again, Lucy's brain scrambled frenetically as she began hyperventilating. No… No, it couldn't be true! It wasn't! It was just a trick of the eyes, that was all! Or-Or maybe a… a product of her guilty and exhausted mind! Yes, surely that was it! Lisa would concur, wouldn't she? After all, the idea of ghosts and spirits was… was… ridiculous! Absolutely! Ghosts, spirits, tarot, black magic – it was all just nonsense! She didn't actually believe any of that stuff – she never did! She was just trying to be dark, and gothic, and creepy – that's all there was to it! It was never anything serious, it was just a little girl playing pretend! Was that so strange? Was it?!

Yet despite all of Lucy's attempts at rationalization, Lincoln's apparition didn't dissipate. He just kept standing there, watching everybody. She might have just been imagining it – or at least, she hoped so – but it looked like Lincoln was waiting for someone…

…or something.

Lucy started shaking. This… This can't be happening… she told herself fruitlessly. This… CAN'T be happening…!

Now it was Lana's turn to console Lucy. "Lucy?" she said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Lucy slowly turned to face her. "Lana…"

Lana shrank, worried. "Lucy…?"

All of a sudden, Lucy grabbed Lana's hands. "L-Lana, please…!" She gulped. "Please… pray with me!"

"W-What?"

"Pray with me – right now!"

With that, Lucy clasped her hands together, bowed her head, and started praying. Although surprised by her sudden request, Lana complied, pressing her hands together and muttering prayers for Lincoln.

Lucy focused all her mental energy on reaching out to Lincoln. She didn't have her crystal ball, or her special candles, or any other occult paraphernalia, but even if that stuff really did work, she just needed, needed, Lincoln to hear her right now, even if he wasn't really there, inside the waiting room and outside of his body.

Lincoln, she thought, please… PLEASE go back… You can't… She gulped. You CAN'T go… Not now… W-We need you… I need you… Don't… She started tearing up. Don't give up… please…

She looked back up, and she could still see Lincoln standing there, looking at everyone, and yet no-one in particular. It didn't look like he'd heard her. Now Lucy was starting to understand what Lana meant about her prayers going unheard…

Choking back sobs, she bowed her head again. Oh, Lincoln, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, please… PLEASE don't go… Go back… Go back to your body… please… The tears started running down her cheeks. I know it's hard, but… Do it for us, Lincoln… please… Do it for ME…

She looked back up, hoping beyond hope that her message had gotten through. For a few moments, it seemed as though her calls had gone unanswered once again, as Lincoln kept standing there, watching. But just as Lucy was about to give up hope, Lincoln's eyes met hers for one fleeting moment before he suddenly turned and walked down the hallway.

That hallway led back into the hospital, towards the emergency rooms and the operating tables. Lucy felt ecstatic at first, but then noticed just how dark the hallway was as Lincoln disappeared into it. After he'd gone into it, the hallway suddenly brightened back up, the shadows dissipating. Lucy started to worry.

Had Lincoln gone back… or had he gone away?

Lucy uttered a heavy sigh. She just didn't know. It seemed the matter was in God's hands now… if there even was one.

Lana finished her prayer, then fell silent, keeping her eyes closed. Lucy reached out and touched her shoulder. "How do you feel?" she asked.

Lana opened her eyes, shaking her head. "Still doesn't feel like I did anything…" she replied. Her lower lip quivered, and she wiped at her eyes. "I don't want to lose him, Lucy… I don't want to lose Lincoln…" She sniffled again. "But… But it feels like there's nothing I can do to stop it…"

"You did do something," Lucy said. "You did the only thing you could do – you had faith." Having had a spiritual experience, herself gave her the confidence to tell Lana this. "Do you understand, Lana? When it feels like there's nothing you can do, all you can do… is have faith." She forced a smile – an expression that felt unnatural to her. "A-And as long as you have faith that everything will be all right, then… then it's not impossible that everything will be all right, okay?"

Lana smiled at Lucy. Then, to Lucy's surprise, she threw herself at her big sister, giving her a hug. "…Thank you, Lucy," she whispered in her ear.

Lucy awkwardly hugged her back. "Uh… you're welcome, Lana," she said. She looked over and saw the rest of her family, still suffering. "N-Now, uh… go on. It looks like they could use some faith, too…"

Lana looked at the others, and a determined expression spread across her face. "…You're right." She broke the hug, stood up, thanked Lucy one last time, then went over to help out the others, leaving Lucy alone again.

Lucy watched her go, feeling an odd sensation well up in her chest. It felt like… pride? In herself? Usually, she felt it whenever she wrote a particularly good poem. So, it must have been pride. For once, she had tried consoling someone, and succeeded – something she didn't think she could do. She supposed that was something to be proud of.

And yet, the voice inside her still stirred. Practice what you preach, Lucy, it said. You LIED to Lana. That's what you seem to be good at, isn't it? Lying to your family? You don't have "faith" that things will get better. Lincoln's dead – and you killed him. You BELIEVE it, and you KNOW it. That's Lucy Loud for you – always looking on the DARK side of life…

"…Shut up," Lucy said aloud. She didn't really see Lincoln's ghost – it was just a figment of her imagination. Yes… that's all it was.

…

…Right?

(…)

Another hour passed agonizingly slowly. The tension in the waiting room was palpable. The more time passed, the more the Louds feared the worst. Eventually, Lori and Mrs. Loud gave up keeping everyone's spirits up, and just sat and waited for news with dread and anticipation, along with everyone else.

Then… the moment arrived. A doctor came though the double doors separating the waiting room and the rest of the hospital and plodded into the room, holding a clipboard. His scrubs were bloody, and his body language told everyone how weary he was.

"…'Loud'?" he called out.

The Loud family sprang to their feet and hurried up to meet him together. "Yes! Yes, that's us!" Mr. Loud said.

The doctor beckoned. "…Follow me."

The Louds pushed and shoved past one another to follow the doctor back through the doors into a hallway lined with rooms that bustled with activity. Lucy wondered how many other people were being operated on, just like Lincoln… and what might happen to them.

The Louds followed the doctor down the hall, with Mr. and Mrs. Loud leading their children, and as they watched the doctor's sluggish movements, everyone feared the worst. As they packed into an elevator and rode it to the third floor, they grew more and more nervous. Finally, once they filed out of the elevator, the doctor stopped, as did the Louds.

"…There. Now we won't bother the other surgeons," the doctor said.

Nobody liked the sound of that. Mr. and Mrs. Loud shared a look, then held hands. "J-Just…" Mrs. Loud gulped. "Just… give it to us straight, Doctor… I-Is Lincoln…?"

The doctor let his gaze sweep over the entire Loud crowd. "Mr. and Mrs. Loud…" He sighed, and everyone held their breath. He was quiet for a few more seconds, and then he laid it on them:

"Your son… will live."

The response was deafening. Mr. and Mrs. Loud's eyes widened, and they cried out and kissed and hugged each other. Leni collapsed in Lori's arms, weeping with the most relieved smile on her face, and Lori hugged her and smiled as well. Luan burst out laughing, releasing everything she'd built up inside, and Luna couldn't help but join her. Lynn, holding Lily, gasped and gave her baby sister a hug that might have been bone-crushing if she hadn't exhausted herself. Lily, for her part, giggled and cheered. Lola and Lana cheered as well, hugging each other and jumping for joy, and even Lisa let her emotions run unchecked, running around in circles and squealing like the small child she was supposed to act like.

Lucy fell to her knees, a roiling storm of conflicting emotions. Of course, she was just as overjoyed as everyone else that Lincoln had survived. But now, she would have to face him, knowing she had almost gotten him killed.

The doctor smiled, pleased at himself for keeping the Louds in suspense so well. He allowed themselves to finish celebrating, then nodded and beckoned again. "I'll take you to him. This way."

The Louds eagerly followed the doctor through the twisting halls of the hospital. "How…" Mr. Loud said, "…T-Tell me, doctor, how did you do it? How did you save our son?"

The doctor chuckled. "Well, it wasn't easy, I can tell you that. Your son was in a bad shape when he arrived – he'd lost a lot of blood, and he was in shock. We even lost him more than once…"

"L-Lost…?" Lucy said. "You mean he died?"

"Well, as far as a heart stopping beating constitutes 'death', yes."

Lucy grimaced. Maybe she did see what she thought she saw…

"But with a little luck and pluck, we were able to revive him each time." He flipped through his clipboard. "Our first priority was to flush the area of foreign debris, stop the hemorrhaging and treat the shock. The flushing we did easily enough, and the shock we treated with a blood IV, but the hemorrhaging was a bit trickier. Now, the tissue surrounding the lower extremity of the femur was far too damaged to enclose it around the bone, and since the bone needs tissue to cushion it against external wear and tear, we decided to excise the damaged tissue, shorten the major blood vessels, and amputate the femur above the medial and lateral condyles."

"Amputate…?" Mr. Loud stopped to lean against the wall, woozy. Mrs. Loud supported him.

"After that, we ligated the major blood vessels and stopped the hemorrhaging, disinfected the area, attached the muscle to the remnant bone, and used a skin graft from Lincoln's lower back to close the area." The doctor turned to face the family. "It'll take a little time, but your son should make a full recovery – well, as full as can be, under the circumstances…"

Mr. Loud overtook the doctor and shook his hand. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Doctor, uh…" He looked at the doctor's ID tag. "…Doctor Chapman!"

Dr. Chapman grinned at Mr. Loud. "Don't mention it, Mr. Loud – it's all part of the job."

Taking note of the doctor's demeanor, Lisa said, "…You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you?"

Dr. Chapman stopped, and the rest of the Louds stopped with him. He turned and looked down at Lisa. "Excuse me?"

"Do not mistake me, Doctor – I am immensely grateful for your decisive action in saving my brother's life." Lisa gestured up and down at Dr. Chapman. "I merely observe that you seem rather proud of your accomplishment, is all."

"Lisa!" Mrs. Loud said sharply. "Don't be rude! Dr. Chapman –"

Dr. Chapman held up one hand. "No, no, Mrs. Loud, please… let me speak for myself." He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes, and uttered yet another weary sigh before kneeling to meet Lisa at eye level.

"Young lady," he said, "nobody's perfect. No matter what it is we do in life – sports, tests, emergency medical care – we don't always succeed. Even if we practice or study really hard for it; even if we do our best…" He shrugged. "…sometimes, our best just isn't good enough. Sometimes, we make mistakes – little, careless mistakes that we think we know better than to make. But whatever the reason… we don't always succeed in what we set out to do." He looked Lisa straight in the eyes. "And in my line of work, that means the person whose life it is your job to save – whose life you've been entrusted with saving… dies."

Dr. Chapman waved dismissively. "And like I said, nobody's perfect. Every emergency surgeon has had at least one of their patients die. And I don't have to explain how hard it hits the patients' loved ones – you know well enough. But us? The surgeons? We had a job to do, and we failed. We had to save someone's life – and we failed. And afterwards, you might tell yourself, 'there was nothing that could have been done.' And maybe there wasn't. But it's our job to treat it as though there is always something that could have been done – and we didn't do it." He frowned. "How do you think that makes us feel?"

Lisa didn't answer. She might have been silenced already, but Dr. Chapman continued out of personal necessity. "All of us, even the most skilled ones, we've all lost patients – some more than others." He shook his head, shrugging again. "And you know, being around so much death, you start to get desensitized to it, I guess. That's probably why you thought I didn't care, isn't it?"

Again, Lisa didn't say a word.

"But let me tell you, just because you get desensitized to it, doesn't mean you stop feeling it when it happens – at least, I still feel it. It doesn't mean you stop trying your best to avert it – at least, if you want to keep your job. Some of us are in the business of saving lives just for a paycheck, but not all of us, oh no." He looked down at the floor. "…I've had a few boys just like your brother die on the operating table, under the knife. My knife."

He was quiet for a long time after that, and so was everyone else. Then, Dr. Chapman stood up. "…So, to answer your question, little miss, yes. Yes, I am proud of myself for what I did. But when you've lost so many lives in spite of all your hard work, well…" He shrugged. "…it's kind of hard not to be proud when your hard work ends up saving one."

Lynn chuckled mirthlessly. "Like heck it is…"

Dr. Chapman turned to Lynn. "Hm?"

Lynn folded her arms, frowning. "It's easy for you to say… when you're not the one who made it so the person's life needed saving in the first place…"

Dr. Chapman stood up. "Hmm…" He walked over to Lynn, leaving him in the center of the group. "You say that this was caused by a shark attack?"

"That's right!" Leni said.

Dr. Chapman shook his head. "Well, that's just not possible, is it? I mean, there are no sharks in Lake Michigan…"

"It's true!" Lori turned to Lucy. "Lucy, do you still have the tooth? Show him the tooth."

Lucy didn't know what Lori was talking about at first, but then remembered the shark tooth, which she had put in her pocket. She fished it out and showed it to the doctor. "I… I found this in Lincoln's leg," she said. "It's a shark tooth."

Dr. Chapman inspected the tooth. "Hmm…" After a while, he shrugged. "…Well, I'm not stubborn or delusional enough to deny evidence right in front of my face. If you say it was a shark attack, I believe you. Though, it's still highly improbable…"

"Not too improbable," Lisa chimed in. "When you think about it, the responsible shark could only have been a Carcharhinus leucas – street name, bull shark. It's one of the three species of sharks most responsible for attacks on humans – the other two being the tiger shark and the great white shark – but most importantly, it is the only one of the three that can survive in a freshwater habitat, such as Lake Michigan." She shrugged. "However, that still begs the question of what the shark was doing there, as Lake Michigan is outside of the bull shark's normal range. And even if a bull shark did, perhaps, get lost and travel farther north than its range, it would still have had to get past Niagara Falls to get into Lake Michigan, which is impossible…"

"Hm." Dr. Chapman shrugged. "Well, I suppose that's a question for another time…" He turned back to Lynn. "So, why don't you tell me exactly what happened, if you don't mind?"

Although the memory was still fresh and painful for Lynn, she related the circumstances of the attack to Dr. Chapman (although he had her skip over the part about jockeying for Lincoln's vote and straight to the attack itself). By the time she finished, she was on the verge of tears.

Dr. Chapman digested everything Lynn had told him with a thoughtful look on his face. "…Hm."

"…It's all my fault," Lynn said. "Lincoln only went out there, into the water, because of me. He almost died… because of me." She rubbed the tears away with the heel of her palm. "I'm such a bonehead…"

The other sisters looked at each other and began to glare at Lynn, sharing her sentiments. Lucy saw them start to turn against her roommate, but, to her shame, she still couldn't gather the courage to confess her culpability in the accident.

Dr. Chapman bent down to meet Lynn at eye level and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, I don't know where you got that idea, young lady," he said. "By all accounts, you didn't nearly end your brother's life – you saved your brother's life."

Lynn blinked, dumbfounded. "H-Huh? B-But I –"

"Now, don't go blaming yourself, young lady. Let's face it – you had no way of knowing that a shark would be at that that beach that day, let alone that it would attack your brother like that. Why would you? We've already established how unlikely it was…"

YOU had some way of knowing, though, didn't you, Lucy? the voice in Lucy's head said. Lucy tried her best to ignore it. Her shark-summoning magic ritual didn't work – Lori had interrupted it before it could finish.

…And besides, magic wasn't real. Of course it wasn't – she knew that. She did know that…

"And if you hadn't been there, Lincoln would have drowned long before anyone noticed the blood or the shark and fished him out of the water. Although, it sounds like your CPR skills need work – might I recommend classes?"

Lynn rubbed the back of her head, remembering her frantic efforts at resuscitation that succeeded only by a lucky fluke. "Uh, heh, heh, yeah…"

"Regardless, if it hadn't been for you, Lincoln would never had made it to the beach, let alone here." He swept his arms out from side to side. "I believe you all owe your sister here a 'thank-you' for saving your brother."

Humbled, the other Loud sisters surrounded Lynn and gave her hugs, pats on the back, and most of all, 'thank-yous'. In an uncharacteristic display of humility, Lynn smiled sheepishly and said, "Heh, heh… Yeah, well… I-It wasn't all me, you know… Bobby was the one who got me and Lincoln to shore, and gave Lincoln first aid…"

Lori gasped. "That's right! I've got to give him the big news!" She whipped out her cellphone. "Oh, Boo-Boo Bear… My hero…!"

"Our hero!" Lola wrapped her arms around Lynn's waist. "Lynn and Bobby – they're our heroes!"

The Louds gave a hearty cheer, and started another round of praise for Lynn. Lucy gave Lynn an especially strong hug, and whispered "Thank you, Lynn…" directly into her ear.

Lynn's response was frigid. Her smile faded, she refused to look Lucy in the eyes (or wouldn't, if she could have), and just said, "…Uh-huh."

Lucy took a step back, wondering what that was about, until she recalled what Lori had said to her earlier. Now that they knew Lincoln was going to be all right, the others were starting to remember who had actually wanted a shark attack.

All of a sudden, the future didn't bode well for her…

Once the celebrations had concluded once again, Dr. Chapman continued to lead them down the hall until he stopped in front of a door. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Loud, your son is in this room, here." Before the Louds could rush in, he stepped in front of the door. "Ah, ah, ah! Before you go in there, I'd like to remind you that Lincoln lost a lot of blood, and he needs his rest right now. So please, try not to disturb him?"

The Loud sisters nodded, remembering how bad of a shape Lincoln had been in the last time they saw him. Mr. Loud opened the door quietly, and the Louds filed into the room and saw him.

Lincoln was sleeping in the hospital bed – well, more like unconscious. Tubes ran in and out of his nose, and a saline drip ran into his arm through an IV. Many of the sisters wanted to rush up and throw themselves at him, but Mr. and Mrs. Loud restrained them, signaling that they needed to be quiet.

In silence, the Louds surrounded their only son and brother, looking at him in his pitiful state. Lucy had not been quick enough to be directly by his side, but she was close enough to be right next to his hand and leg. She noticed the unevenness of the blanket, and everyone watched as she reached a shaking hand out and touched the bed, pressing down into the mattress where Lincoln's left leg should have been.

The Louds then remembered just what had been taken in the attack. Lincoln might be alive, but now he was crippled for life. For a while, no-one dared say anything. Then, Leni broke the silence with a simple:

"Lincoln…"

That single word was poignant enough to push the Loud family over the edge. One by one, the sisters started weeping for their poor, disabled brother, and their parents soon joined them. Lincoln stirred, but did not wake. Lucy wept the bitterest tears of them all. She knew what she'd done. And there was no undoing it.

Lincoln would have to live without a leg for the rest of his life.

Lucy took his hand, gently squeezing it. She had to say something, anything. "Lincoln…" She searched and searched for the right words to say; the words that would make everything right between them; the words that would absolve her.

But in the end, two words were the best she could come up with:

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…"