The Loud House - Calling Card

Chapter 1: Five Years Later

Lincoln said nothing, continuing to stare despondently at the floor. He and Lynn sat there for a few more minutes when she stood to leave. "I guess you probably want to be alone," she said. "I'll be here if you need me." She turned to leave the room.

"Lynn?"

Lynn turned at the sound of her name, looking at Lincoln questioningly. He still continued to stare at the floor, and Lynn made her way back to the bed. "What....what do I do now?" Lincoln said.

"What do you mean?" Lynn asked.

"Everything I knew, everything I was, is gone," said Lincoln. "My friends are grown and gone, my family moved on without me, I've missed out on ten years, and everyone thinks I'm dead. How....how am I going to handle this? What am I going to do?!" Lincoln placed his face in his hands and wept into them. Lynn immediately rushed over and placed her arm around the distraught child, trying to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln," said Lynn. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault." Lynn and Lincoln sat there for a while, how long she did not know, while the boy sobbed to himself. Lynn felt her heart shattering as she held her brother. Eventually, his cries began to subside, and he simply sat there in saddened silence. She was desperate to make this right, but she had no idea where to start. But one thing was clear to her: she swore to be her brother's protector, and she was given a second chance of fulfilling that oath. She would do anything to see it through, protect him until the end–

She had an idea.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," she said, getting up and excusing herself. After a few minutes, she returned, holding a small box in her hands and sitting next to her brother, who looked at the box and then at her with a confused look.

"When you disappeared Lincoln, I had similar thoughts that you are having now," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "In many ways, you were a rock to me. I never knew how much I depended on you, how much we all depended on you, and when you were taken, I felt as if the world fell out from beneath my feet." Lynn sighed sadly, the pain of that day returning to her heart. She fought back tears as she continued her story.

"I didn't know what to do with myself after that," she said. "I destroyed every bat and ball I had and wouldn't pick up another sport ever since then. It no longer mattered to me as it once did. In fact, I blamed myself and my obsessions with sports as a reason for....well, so many things, really." She handed the box to Lincoln, who took it gingerly and opened it, revealing a small, white stuffed rabbit in a purple polo shirt that Lincoln recognized all too well.

"Bun-Bun!" He exclaimed, happily hugging the plush rabbit. "You saved him after all this time?"

"Saved him? More like he saved me," Lynn said.

"What do you mean?" Asked Lincoln.

"I was in a really dark place when you disappeared, Lincoln," said Lynn, her smile disappearing. "I wouldn't eat, I would barely sleep, and I was always sneaking away from home and school trying to find you. Our family fell apart, we were separated from mom and dad, and I knew it was my fault. Sometimes...." Lynn said, a dark shadow appearing over her eyes. "I often thought it would be better if I....I wasn't...." the last word caused her throat to crack, prompting her to clear it. The shadow had disappeared and she looked back at Lincoln with a smile.

"But then I would come up here to your room, and I would see Bun-Bun, and I would remember how much you meant to me," said Lynn. "I would keep him in tact and well-cared for, because, in a way, it was helpful for me. It was me preparing for the time that you came home, when I could return him to you. It saved me...many more times than I can remember."