2. Stages of Grief

A/N: Second chapter pulling in. Quite honestly, I'm rather surprised this story caught on quickly. I knew Loud House was pretty popular, especially if it centered around certain episodes, but I didn't expect the frequency at which this story was being favored/followed. Even got a few that added me to their favorite author's list. So, I'll be sure not to disappoint, and I thank everyone for the reviews (makes me nervous a little). I realized I forgot to proof read the first chapter before posting this story, so I'll go back and update it soon after posting this. I'm going to see if I can start making these chapters longer.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Lynn Sr., Rita, and Lily were sitting rather anxiously in the waiting area of the Emergency Room. After finding their son curled up on the floor, bruised, beaten, and trying to nurse his broken arm the best he could, they wasted no time scooping him up before driving off to Royal Woods General. Lily tried to soothe him on the ride over, but he had finally passed out from the pain, prompting the parents to hurry (and nearly catching the attention of the police). It's been a few hours since the nurses wheeled him past those double doors.

Rita's eyes were still red after crying non-stop, her husband comforting her. The pile of used tissues was evident how long this had been going on. Lily hadn't stopped staring at the doors since her older brother was taken through them, wanting nothing more than to be by his side. But even as an infant, she understood she wasn't allowed to be back there.

"I should've done something...I should've at least intervened before it got out of hand..." Rita croaked.

"We should have dear...I wonder what made the girls do this...it's never got this bad..."

"I'm not concerned about the girls Lynn..." The mother stated, getting irate. "I'm worried about us! Ever since our family has grown, we've done what we can but it hasn't been enough! We entrusted them to handle themselves with care and look what happened! How can we even call ourselves good parents when we can't even prevent our daughters from putting our only son in the Emergency Room?!" Her face fell into her hands at this.

He couldn't argue with her there. Even he felt like shit, seeing as he hadn't been there for his son a good amount of the time. Lynn Sr. always wanted a son, especially after the constant line of daughters they had. When Rita was pregnant with Lincoln, he expected it to be another girl given their history, but as if God finally listened to his prayers, they were given a son. And now, his little boy was faced with the possibility of death. Lynn Sr. never got too angry with his kids, but he felt so angry at his other 9 daughters he almost wanted to disown them. Heaven forbid that he actually does.

The father was pulled from his thoughts when a nurse came through the doors. "Mr. and Mrs. Loud?" The two acknowledged her. "Your son is out of surgery, but the doctor would like to speak with you."

"S-Surgery?!" They both stated in surprise. The nurse only nodded and beckoned them to follow.

Richard Philips was known to be one of the best children doctors in the hospital. He's worked on kids that arrived from small accidents such as running with scissors to accidental hit-and-runs by a car. He's seen much through his life, and it always pained him to see kids in such a state. Visits from the Loud family were a bit common, but they usually weren't anything serious. As such, Lincoln's case surprised him greatly from the amount of injuries he sustained. He looked up from his clipboard to find one of his assistants returning with two people, the woman carrying an infant.

"Mr. and Mrs. Loud?" They nodded. "Ok, pleasant to meet you. I'm Dr. Philips. Now, I wanted to inform you first that your son is going to be ok. His condition is stable and he is currently sleeping from the anesthesia given to him."

"Oh thank God..." Rita sighed, but then she knew there had to be some bad news. "How...how bad is it?"

"Well..." He looked at his clipboard again. "Broken left arm, bruised cranium, a broken nose, missing teeth (thankfully those were baby teeth), damaged eye, bruised pelvis, his, ahem, penis and testicles were bruised so he'll be in some pain when it comes to using the bathroom, and lastly, 3 of his ribs were fractured and caused a little internal bleeding." Richard let this information sink in first before continuing. "Now, normally I'm not one to question this, but how did your son sustain these injuries? I'm only asking as part of procedure in the event the police may need to be informed."

Both parents paled at this. "N-N-No no no. The police don't need to get involved." Lynn Sr. was quick to say. The doctor looked at the two, expecting an answer. "...Thing is...our 9 other daughters...they did this..." The father said with regret.

"Hmmm...must have been over something serious if they were able to do this amount of damage." Richard stated. The parents agreed, but in reality, they knew it wasn't.

"Can...can we see him?..." Rita finally asked.

"Most certainly." The doctor lead them down the hall to Room 233.

Upon reaching the room, the doctor slowly opened the door, and instantly both parents were moved to tears. Lincoln was lying on the bed still asleep, but had medical bandages covering his head and torso, along with a cast on his left arm to keep it straight while it healed. His bruises were still evident and along with his swollen cheeks and eye. However, these were beginning to heal as well. There was an air tube connected to his nose along with another tube that was under the blanket. This one was connected to his penis to allow waste fluid to flow out into a container.

Rita had a hand over her mouth, fresh tears cropping up again. "Oh God, my poor baby!..." Her voice almost a whisper.

"Now, we're currently unsure how long it will take before we can release him, but we're estimating a 2 week to a month time from." Richards stated.

"Jesus..." Lynn Sr. said in sorrow. Looking over, Rita was at the bed knelt next to her son. Lily was on the bed, softly hugging him with a sad look on her face, small tears rolling down her face. The father's look soon hardened. He failed to be a good parent so far, and now it was time to act like one.

Back at the scene of the crime, the remaining loud sisters had slowly but surely dispersed around the house. They were still in shock about had occurred just hours ago, but one thing was fairly certain: fear, guilt, and regret plagued the house like locusts to a crop. At first, none of the sisters believed they had it in them to do what they did, thinking it might be a nightmare or something, but the fact their parents, Lily, and Lincoln were gone, their parents distraught looks when they saw what happened to their brother, and the fact there were some patches of blood in the carpet further reminded them this was reality, and they were going to be in some really deep poo-poo later on. It also made each sister re-evaluate the relationship they had with their brother.

Lori was in her room, a solemn look on her face as she stared out the window. Bobby had been texting her like he usually does, but she was in no mood to speak with her boo-boo bear. All she could think about was how broken her little brother looked. Lincoln could be an annoyance, a twerp she would call him often, even making fun of him for stupid mistakes. But the more she thought about it, they all made mistakes. Sure she's made dumb decisions in the past, but rarely had the siblings held her accountable for them. When Lincoln did, almost all the sisters took the chance to get on his case. The thought of it made her sick. But...any time Lincoln did make a mistake, he would always try to make things right. When had the sisters been held accountable for anything? She couldn't remember. Her bed vibrated from another text being received. From Roberto of course. He was asking if something was wrong due to her lack of replies. She sighed and began writing back to him. Sooner or later, he was going to find out what happened with Lincoln, and better that she tell him than his sister.

Leni hadn't stopped crying about the ordeal since their parents took the young boy away. Lying on the couch clutching one of the pillows, she was surprisingly still crying at full blast, part of the couch being soaked in the process. How could someone as sweet as the fashion diva do something so cruel? Leni herself didn't know and thought she had an evil twin. But in the end, she thought, no...she knew she was also responsible for the physical abuse her brother went through. This single thought ran through her head repeatedly, and allowed her to keep crying until she could no longer shed a tear.

Like Lori, Luna had been holed up in her room since the incident. Her face into her knees, soft tears ran through her eyes while sad, soft music played from the radio. Out of all the sisters, she was hit the hardest. Lincoln was closer to 5 of his sisters, those being herself, Leni, Lucy, Lana, and Lily, and yet Luna and Lincoln had a bond closer than that. The rocker had always been close to Lincoln since he was a baby. She would often sing for him when he was upset, laugh with him, play with him when no one else would, bloody fucking hell she even made his first SMOOCH concert one to remember. And now, she just helped in brutalizing her only male sibling. If Mick Swagger heard about this, he would outright state she wasn't worth following his footsteps and to give up rock n' roll all together. Well, he may not say that, but that's what Luna sure felt.

Luan was busy cancelling her appointments for future parties, and was considering shutting down Funny Business altogether. She didn't know when she would take on requests again, if at all, but the joker just didn't have it in her to try to be funny knowing her brother is likely in the ICU. For the first time in a while, even making a pun was the last thing on her mind. When Luan told Lincoln to butt out of their fights, part of her wanted him to do so because she didn't want him to be involved in their stupid fights over something trivial. The other half, she despised, was because she thought he would just make things worse. Sadly, the latter happened, and now he paid a price so severe...the comedian gave a frown of distaste, mainly at herself. All the pranks she pulled on him, and more specifically during last April Fools Day, she deliberately told him she invited Ronnie Anne over to make him go through all the traps she set up. That alone made her feel even less of a comedian and more of a jerk who takes joy in the misery of others. But, dwelling on the past wouldn't help. Instead, Luan decided to focus on how she could make it up to her brother. After all, he was going to need plenty of laughs to help him feel better.

In the backyard, Lynn was constantly beating her head into the side of the tree. "Stupid stupid stupid!" She said to herself. "How could do you that to him?! You're supposed to be the one protecting him, and yet you went and broke his arm!" The jock slammed her head hard into the bark, no doubt cutting up her forehead a little.

Yes, it was Lynn who took the chance to break her brother's arm. Angry tears streamed from her eyes as she continued to vent out her frustration on the giant plant before her. Lynn always liked to rough house with Lincoln. She found it fun, though sometimes Lincoln did complain about her going overboard. One would think with such closeness in age, the two might naturally drift to each other as playmates, yet it was always Lynn who sought out Lincoln, even when he was in the middle of something he wanted to do. Delivering constant punches to bark, Lynn soon wore herself out and cried loudly in despair. She wanted to take it all back, or at least go back in time so she could stop herself and everyone else when it was apparent the fight was getting too serious. But because she couldn't keep her rage in check, she physically broke her brother more than she ever had before. No doubt Lincoln would think of her as nothing but a bully. Lynn always hated bullies, but now she was beginning to realize she had become the one thing she hated...

Lucy was curled up in her bed, crying silently to herself. Like Luna, she was considered a close sibling to Lincoln, but today that couldn't be any more further from the truth. What happened today was completely inexcusable, and she knew the spirits were damning her for it every second. Even her love Edwin would refuse to drink a single milliliter of her blood. For the first time in a long time, Lucy allowed herself to show emotion. Her eyes were no longer hidden behind her bangs, which were being held up by a headband that matched the color of her hair. Her current depressed state was something she never experienced before, delving deeper thoughts that normally occur only when one goes through extreme bouts of stress, or have suicidal tendencies. She longed for nothing more than the smile Lincoln would usually give when he was happy, though now it would take a miracle for that to happen.

In the twins room, both refused to even look at one another. Lola had partially blamed Lincoln for what happened, but Lana was very quick to remind her, harshly, that they had as much fault in breaking him like everyone else. After yet another tussle in their damaged room, the two depressed girls went to their separate sides and stayed there. Lana wouldn't play with her pets, and as the tomboy's words sunk into her twin, Lola refused to even look at herself in the mirror, because all she saw was a monster. She knew she had knocked out a few of her brother's teeth, though was unsure who else did. Looking over at her open closet, all those tiaras, all those gowns, the reason she won so many pageants...all of that was due to Lincoln's coaching. Rita was too busy to help, and none of the sisters had any interest in those affairs. Yet, it was always her brother who helped her when she needed it. He even managed to get Lana to win one after convincing her to take her place when she broke her leg. In anger, Lola took off her tiara and threw it to the wall, not caring that it shattered on impact. She didn't deserve to wear it...

In a certain little scientist's room, Lisa was working on her chemicals as if nothing happened. But over time, she couldn't focus on her work. Her mind kept dwelling back to what Lincoln said before the fight started. Everyone knew of the sister fight protocol, except for him. Lisa then slapped her forehead in annoyance. When discussion of how the protocol were to work first began, she didn't include Lincoln as he normally didn't get into fights with his sisters. But what she failed to realize was how this whole thing inconvenienced him in some fashion. To make matters worse, she told him that by leaving the house, he solved everyone's problems simply by not being there. Tears started to well in Lisa's eyes, and she removed her glasses to clear them. She didn't foresee what would occur if Lincoln decided to help his siblings like he usually does, and even worse, she didn't clearly explain to him what happened when this protocol was in effect. Such a dumb move ended up causing the most violent fight ever in the house, and now her brother was in the hospital. Didn't help that in her anger, she stomped on his family jewels twice, hoping he wouldn't have the ability to reproduce. More tears welded up in the scientist's eyes. Not only did she fail as a self-proclaimed genius, she failed as a sister.

Sniffling, Lisa rubbed her eyes. "Forgive me...my brother..."

The house only came alive with noise when everyone heard the sound of Vanzilla pulling into the driveway. Fear gripped the sisters, knowing whatever punishment their parents would give them would be worse than any grounding they received previously.

A/N: And done. What punishment will the girls face? I'm debating on ideas right now, but ALL of them are going to be affected by this not only in their household, but also their social lives will be affected as well. And once again I thank everyone for the reviews and comments. This story really caught on like wildfire.