Having the stomach bug is not fun. All the vomiting you could ever imagine. As luck would have it, Lincoln Loud is currently at home with the cursed sickness.
Lincoln dry heaved whatever was left in his upset stomach, panting heavily and clenching the seat of the toilet. The boy whimpered miserably as his stomach turned and tossed around, as if he had eaten a ton of rocks for dinner last night. He flushed the toilet and made his way towards the living room, holding his midsection.
Lincoln settled on the couch and flipped through the TV channels. Anything to take his mind off his queasy stomach. He settled on just listening to some sports channel, too tired to care about anything. The boy curled up in a ball and groaned as his stomach made a sickened gurgle, and the fever wasn't helping the situation. He was sweating bullets, his forehead had beads of sweat rolling down. Lincoln was just a miserable and sick mess on the couch.
A girl wearing a red baseball cap entered the room from the dog door, brushing a bit of dust off her overalls. She stopped when she heard a loud moan coming from the couch.
"Lincoln?"
Another moan came out. The girl decided to investigate what was going on behind the couch. She saw a curled up Lincoln on the couch, holding his stomach in pain. The boy was too tired to look up at his sister, but he knew who she was by the sound of her voice.
"Lana? I thought you went to the mall with everyone today." Lincoln mumbled into the blanket.
"Eh, I could care less about malls, actually. What's up with you though? I saw you leave dinner early last night." Lana replied.
Lincoln groaned, "didn't feel good last night. Still don't feel good. My stomach hurts so much." The boy curled up a bit more and whimpered.
Lana's heart clenched at the sight of her brother in pain. She crawled onto the couch and nuzzled into Lincoln's chest in hopes to make him feel better. It upset Lana when she heard her brother's stomach make all sorts of gross and weird gurgling noises. She flinched when Lincoln slapped a hand to his mouth, turning extremely pale. She knew what was coming and hurriedly grabbed a plastic bucket, putting it in Lincoln's lap. Lincoln retched up a mouthful of stomach acid and bile, wiping his mouth from any strands of spit and puke.
"Do you need a glass of water, big bro?" Lana asked worryingly.
Lincoln only replied in a weak whimper. Lana took that as a yes, heading into the kitchen to grab Lincoln a cup of water along with an ice pack. She placed the ice pack on Lincoln's head and gave him the glass of water. Lincoln shakily grabbed the cup of water and slowly drank it, the cool liquid soothing his burning throat. He put the half empty cup on the table and lied back down. Lana stroked her brother's white hair, anxiety swirling in the pit of her gut as she kept staring at Lincoln. Seeing how weak and helpless her brother was, it seemed totally out of character, even for him.
"Maybe getting some chicken soup in you will help. Mom always made us soup when me and Lola were sick." Lincoln's sister said, heading into the kitchen.
She rummaged through the soup cabinet, picking out a can of chicken noodle soup. She grabbed a bowl and poured the can's contents into it and placed it in the microwave. When the soup was done, Lana grabbed the bowl and made her way to the living room. She held the bowl in her lap and sat in front of Lincoln, stirring the chicken noodle soup with a spoon. The smell of the food made Lincoln's stomach immediately turn. Lincoln groaned and swatted the smell away.
"Lana… I'm not hungry…"
The younger sister huffed, "you gotta replace the fluids you lost dude. Come on Mr. Grumpypants, it can't be that bad."
"Since when did you become Lisa?" Lincoln snorted.
"Please, I'm not an egghead, unlike her." Lana muttered the last few words. "At least eat half the bowl? I'll buy you one Ace Savvy comic if you do."
Lincoln sat up and groaned, "fine..."
Lana smiled in satisfaction and climbed on the couch. Lincoln was about to take the bowl, when Lana hit his hand with the spoon. Lincoln recoiled his hand with a small yelp.
"Let me do it." Lana scooped up a bit of the soup in the spoon and held it in front of Lincoln's face, "open up."
"Lana i-is this really necessary-"
"Lincoln, just do it."
The boy blushed in embarrassment at his sister feeding him like a baby, but he complied and opened up his mouth. Lana popped the spoon in his mouth and fed him the liquid food. The saltiness of the soup hit Lincoln's tongue, and he didn't realise how hungry he actually was until almost all the soup was gone.
"You did better than I expected! I guess I owe you that comic now. When's the new comic coming out?"
"May 6th." Lincoln said, nudging the bowl away. "I can't eat anymore, sorry."
"That's alright, big brother. You feeling better now that you have a full stomach?" Lana asked.
Although the soup settled like a rock in the pit of Lincoln's belly, the boy lied and nodded his head. He was suddenly washed over with tiredness and lied back down. Lana sighed and took the bowl to the counter to wash later. When she returned, she noticed her brother was fast asleep on the couch. Lana chuckled to herself and kissed her brother's forehead.
"Hope you feel better, Lincoln."
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Everything felt like it was on fire. Lincoln gasped awake, panting and gulping in air desperately. He was hit by a massive wave of nausea and vomited onto the ground. His stomach felt like absolute death as he continued vomiting onto the carpeted floor. The boy tried stifling his sobs and hiccuped in pain, strings of saliva mixed with vomit dripping from his mouth and nose. Lincoln gripped onto his aching stomach as he sobbed loudly, wishing this cursed illness was over with. He felt like a huge baby as he cried, but as sick as he was, he could care less right now. He cried harder at the realization none of his parents or other siblings were there to comfort him, as they were out for a couple more hours until they'd arrive home.
"Hey what's going on-"
Lana gasped at the scene before her. Lincoln was crying and hunching over the edge of the couch, vomit dripping down his mouth. The girl rushed over and desperately tried to calm her older sibling down. Lincoln couldn't hear Lana's desperate calls and continued to shake and sob into his knees, curling into a fetal position. All kinds of emotions swirled about inside Lana, not knowing what to do. She whined softly and pawed at Lincoln's leg, trying her best to calm him down. Nothing seemed to be working at all and it made Lana worry even more. She pulled out her phone and texted the family group chat.
"Mom, plz come home! Linc is rlly sick and crying and idk what to do! -Lana"
Lana pressed the send button and awaited for an answer back. The phone immediately buzzed and brought up a load of text notification.
"Alright honey. I'm heading home right now. Just be with Lincoln and try to calm him down alright? -Mom"
"Omg totally getting home asap. Hope the twerp is ok :( -Lori"
"Please keep our bro company Lana. -Luna"
Lana set the phone down, breathing in and out to calm herself down. She grabbed Lincoln and held onto his shaking frame. It tore her heart to see Lincoln in this much pain. What kind of stomach virus did Lincoln even have to cause him this much misery?
The girl pulled Lincoln into her lap and rocked back and forth. Honestly, he was super light; lighter than she had expected for his age. His stomach made a loud and upset grumble, alarming Lana. She placed a gentle hand on Lincoln's stomach and slowly massaged it in circles to try and ease the pain. Her brother continued hiccuping and gulping in air, sobbing into her shoulder. He absolutely reeked of stomach contents but Lana could care less right now. She had an extremely upset sibling to tend to.
"I'm sorry-" Lincoln managed to croak out. "I'm sorry you had to see me this way."
"Mom and the others are on their way home. You're gonna be better soon, I promise." Lana replied.
Lincoln's stomach twinged with guilt, "they're c-coming home just for me?! I-I can't believe I ruined t-their day! I'm a terrible sibling!"
The sobs Lincoln made got worse as the guilt swirled and twisted up his already unsettled insides. Lana gaped at what Lincoln had just choked out.
I'm a terrible sibling!
"Lincoln, you're not a terrible sibling! You're the best sibling I- no, we could ever wish for! They're coming home because they care for you! I care for you! Oh, please stop crying, Lincoln!"
Lana was torn. She had never seen Lincoln this upset in her entire life. It's possible the sickness was getting to Lincoln's head, but still. Lana embraced Lincoln in a tight hug and buried her face into his chest, wishing for anything to make Lincoln feel better. She mentally prayed that whatever was making her brother upset would soon go away. This reminded her of when she was sick with a cold and Lola had to care for her.
"You know… Lola would always sing to me if I ever felt yucky inside. Maybe I can sing to you to make you feel better, albeit I'm not a good singer like Luna…" Lana mumbled.
She took a deep breath and thought of any song to calm Lincoln down. She started to hum the melodic tune and sang.
"Stand on up and take a bow,
There's something there and it's showing.
There's no need to look around,
You're the best we got going.
Shout out to the dreams you'll chase.
Shout out to the hearts you'll break.
Nothing's gonna stop you now.
I guess you better be going.
You'll never be far.
I'm keeping you near,
Inside of my heart,
You're here.
Go on,
It's gotta be time.
You're starting to shine.
'Cause what you've got is
Gold.
I know,
You're gold.
Oh, I know,
I know.
I don't need the stars in the night.
I've found my treasure.
All I need is you by my side,
So shine forever."
Lana's voice had always been a bit rusty, but the way she sung grabbed Lincoln's full attention. Her voice was gentle and calming as she continued singing to him.
"It won't take you long to get,
When you feel like you're soaring.
So write it all and don't forget,
You gotta tell us your story.
Shout out to the friends back home.
Shout out to the hearts you've known.
You've gave them nothing but the best, yeah.
You can tell them your story.
You'll never be far.
I'm keeping you near,
Inside of my heart,
You're here.
Go on,
It's gotta be time.
You're starting to shine.
'Cause what you've got is
Gold
I know,
You're gold.
Oh, I know,
I know.
I don't need the stars in the night.
I've found my treasure.
All I need is you by my side,
So shine forever.
Gold.
I know,
You're gold.
Oh, I know,
You're gold.
Won't you shine forever?
Shine forever?
Won't you shine forever?
'Cause what you've got is
Gold
I know,
You're gold.
Oh, I know,
I know.
I don't need the stars in the night.
I've found my treasure.
All I need is you by my side,
So shine forever.
Gold
I know,
You're gold.
Oh, I know
You're gold.
You're gold.
You're gold…"
Lana wiped any remaining tears off her brother's cheeks. Lincoln was amazed at his sister's singing. Probably the best she had sung by far. His stomach twisted up in pain again, causing him to let out a slight groan. Lana continued to massage his midsection to try and relieve anymore cramps. The phone resting on the couch buzzed.
"Almost home. Is Lincoln ok? -Mom"
Lana picked up the phone and read the text. She responds.
"Still has an upset stomach. Also there is puke on floor 2... ): -Lana"
"Gross! I'm not cleaning up Linc's puke Dx -Lola"
"Shut ur face, twerp :( -Lori"
"Lol gottem o3o" -Luan"
"Girls, calm down or I'm putting both of you in timeout! Anyways, I hope our champ is feeling better. See you in a bit Lana. -Dad"
Lana put the phone in her front pocket and sighed. She had a ton of puke to get out of the carpet.
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Lynn Sr. had made it home and parked the Vanzilla in their driveway. He had gotten some medication for his sick son on the way out of the mall.
"I hope Lincoln is alright." Rita worryingly said. "Lana said he vomited all over the carpet."
"Let's go see how he's doing, guys." Luna declared.
Everyone unbuckled and hopped out of the van, anticipating to see how well Lincoln and Lana had been doing. Rita unlocked the door and quietly stepped in, along with the others following suit. Luna gasped when she saw a bundle of blankets on the couch.
"What is it Luna?!" Leni asked.
The young rockstar hushed Leni, pointing at the couch, "they're sleeping. Look."
Underneath the blankets were Lincoln and Lana. The two cuddled in each other's arms and sleeping peacefully.
"That's so cute!" Leni peeped, quietly taking a picture of the two.
"And the carpet is spotless. I guess Lana cleaned it for us." Lynn said.
"She sure did." Luna replied, smiling at her two siblings.