Welcome to the family.

>"I am like, so excited! I always wanted a little sister!" Leni Jumped up and down ecstatically, eagerly anticipating the arrival of a brand new family member.
>Mom and Dad had left for the hospital early in the afternoon. It's been hours since they left, and Aunt Shirley had been phoned in to mind the girls until they come home. It was already past midnight, and the loud sisters we're supposed to be in bed, but of course, they were too excited to sleep.
>Instead, they stayed up and chatted in Lori's room.
>"Leni, you already have literally three younger sisters." Lori playfully knocked her around the head, trying to get the gears in her brain running for once. It'll turn on someday, right?
>"Do you think she'll have brown hair, like us, or blond hair?" Luna timidly asked, pulling at the skirt of her pajamas.
>"Blond, I think." Lori tried imagining what the baby would look like, like a little blond Lynn. "That way, thee of us are blond, and the other three brown, that makes sense, right?"
>"Too bad Blonds aren't actually that bright, get it hahahaha" Luan laughed at her painfully bad joke. It's all she ever did, laugh, and laugh. Maybe someday she'll make someone else laugh for once.
>"New baby!" Lynn spun around the room doing rolls over her head. "New baby!"
>"Lynn get back here!" Lori chased her around the room, despite her 2 year old stature, she was remarkably agile.
>"I know! lets think of names for her! Hmmmmmmm...." Leni's face turned purple as she was concentrating on thinking, the girls thought smoke would steam out of her ears any minute.
>"Hmmmmmmmmm How about Luna!" Leni's face returned to normal, and released a wide smile, full of pride. "Luna is a pretty name"
>"But that's her name!" Luan said, pointing to her sister.
>Y..you think it's a pretty name?" Luna turned away, blushing, sporting a small, shy grin.
>"Then....how about Lori?"
>Lori was still struggling to keep control over her youngest sister, screaming "New Baby".
>"Lori is...guh.. stop it Lynn.....that's my name!" she said, breathlessly, while tackling the vigorous infant.
>"Ok, then what about calling her Leni!"
>"But that's your name, silly!" Luan giggled.
>"That's okay!" Leni spoke gleefully. "I like to share!"
>"Well I don't!" Lori shouted, as she clutched Lynn in her arms tightly.
>"Haven't you guys figured it out yet? there are five bedrooms in this house, and five of us! if we get a new baby, that means one of us has to share a room!"
>The siblings fell silent, thinking about the current predicament, everyone apart from Lynn, who switched from shouting "New baby!" to "I'm a big sister!"
>"You mean like a slumber party?" Luan asked, her eyes glistening at the prospect.
>"A slumber party that never ends" Lori answered, irritation was easily detectable in her voice.
>"AWESOME!" Luna screamed at the top of her voice, she quickly found herself again.
>"I mean...that sounds...kinda...cool..."
>"Yeah! slumber parties are fun!"
>"Yeah...fun for one night. But forever? Having to share everything, never having your own space..."
>"O I know!" Leni spoke up "Babies are small, she can sleep in the linen closet!"
>Everyone rolled their eyes at Leni's genius statement, but then Lori smirked at the thought.
>"I want be big sister!" Lynn struggled out of Lori's grasp and continued bouncing off walls.
>"sigh, another sister.." Lori felt the weight of the world upon her shoulders. She used to like being the first child in the house, and like being a big sister, but with each new kid, she felt more and more responsibility dumped on her. Her sisters looked up to her, after all.
>She slouched down at the leg of her bed. "I just hope that this one will be easier.."
>The tranquility of the night was disturbed by the sound of a car pulling into a driveway.
>At that moment, everyone's hearts skipped a beat, simultaneously.
>The instant they heard the front door opening, the sisters ran outside to the top of the stairs, but did not dare travel down.
>They simply listened as carefully as they could to the feint whispers of Mom and Dad, and Aunt Shirley. They were too quiet though, they could only make out a few words from the mumbling.
>Aunt Shirley spoke up suddenly, giving everyone upstairs a fright.
>"Really?! Well it's about time, well done, you" She gently tapped Dad's shoulder with her fist. He was carrying something in both arms, a bundle of white towels, it seemed to be.
>The mumbling continued. Finally, Aunt Shirley gave Mom and Dad a hug each. "Rest easy dear, call if you need anything." She tiptoed out the front door.
>Now that she was gone, the girls ran down the stairs, falling over each other along the way.
>"Mom! Dad! we missed you!" they crowded around Mom and embraced her. She almost tumbled over from the pressure.
>"Take it easy girls, your mother has had a long and exhausting day. Besides, it's way past your bed time.
>They Looked again at dad, the towels in his arms we're actually blankets.
>"Can we see her?" Luna whispered, excitedly.
>Mom and dad glanced at each other and nodded in synchronization.
>They walked over to the couch in the living room, Mom sat herself down first.
>"Here sweetheart, I'll hold him now" Mom said, she was short of breath.
>Lori however, was the only one that noticed something, she had used the wrong pronoun.
>Dad bent over and placed the wrapped up newborn in Mom's lap for her to cradle.
>Before dad could sit down himself, the kids crawled up onto the couch, surrounding Mom.
>They kneeled over her, trying to get a look at the person hidden behind the sheets.
>Before them, was a tiny, red faced baby, with a scrunched up face, and a little wisp of translucent hair on top. He made sniffling noises as he slept.
>"Shes so cute!" Leni whispered, lifting her own cheeks with her hands.
>"What's her name?" Luan asked.
>Mom answered.
>"Girls, this is Lincoln."
>Lori looked perplexed "..Lin..coln?"
>"He's your little brother."
>"...brother? You mean its a boy?" Lori said, and looked at him curiously.
>"That's right. Your his big sisters.
>This was an unexpected turn of events, at least in this household. Five girls, and one boy.
>"A little brother..!" Leni gasped in excitement.
>"Mmhmm, we've never had a boy in this house, except for Dad, until now."
>"I love him already" Luna whispered daintily, touching the blankets he slumbered in.
>Lori kept quiet, pondering life with a brother. She already had four little sisters, who took the energy from her every single day. She was scared about having another sister to look after.
>But a brother? she didn't know what to make of that, but maybe, things will be a little different. Maybe brothers are easier than sisters.
>She looked at Lincoln and smiled warmly. Having a brother appealed to her the more she thought about it. This is a good thing, having a brother will be better.
>"Nice to meet you, Lincoln."
>"NEW BABY!"
>Lincoln began to stir in his blankets, his peaceful sniffles turned into uneasy whimpering.
>"I'M LYNN! BIG SISTER LYNN!"
>And with that bold declaration, the newborn boy screamed like there was no tomorrow.
>Lori was greeted in the morning with the triumphant screaming of her baby brother. She tried to wipe her eyes with the sleeves of her nightgown, relieving herself of the crust wedged between her eyelashes. It was only recently that Lynn deprived the household of any good night's sleep. In fact, Lori couldn't remember a time WHEN there wasn't a baby disturbing the night. She meekly crawled out of bed and into the bathroom to wash her face.
>"Good Morning Lori!"
>"Leni was already in the bathroom brushing her teeth. She seemed completely oblivious to the frantic wailing echoing the house. Lori was envious of the peace that she could somehow always find.
>"Yeah...Morning..."
>Little Luan stumbled in after her. Her eyes were black from fatigue. The second she opened the door, she passed out face first on the floor. Though the shock of the faceplant awoke her again.
>"Ow, I mean, hi guys..."
>"Good Morning!"
>"I see you slept like an angel too..." Lori said, splashing water against her face.
>"Poor Lincoln, why is he so sad?" Leni said sweetly.
>"He probably thinks he's not making us all miserable enough." Lori grunted.
>Just then, the crying stopped. The Lori and Leni sighed in relief while Luan closed her her eyes and began to snore, still standing.
>Luna was next to enter, doing a jig.
>"IneedtopeeIneedtopee."
>"Just a minute I gotta-"
>"GET OUT!" Luna stormed.
>The crying resumed.
>Ugh see what you di-"
>"I said get out!" The sisters appeared to have blacked out since before they knew it they we're standing outside in the hall just before the bathroom door slammed shut.
>"How does she do that...?"
>"She scares me sometimes" Leni said, cradling his big sister's arm.
>The sound of Lincoln's crying suspiciously became disorientated, as if he grew two mouths, screaming at different intervals.
>Lori sheltered her ears with the palms of her hands. "You guys, I think I'm literally going insane. I'm hearing double!"
>"Wait, I hear it too!"
>Lynn waddled over, balling her eyes out, she appeared to be the secondary source of the sobbing.
>"Lynn, what's wrong with you now?"
>"Mom..and..Dad..keep..ig..nor..ing..me"
>"What do you mean?"
>"They..just..keep..giving..Lincoln..all..their..time!"
>"Well yeah, Mom and Dad always baby the...ummm baby. He kinda needs it." Luan replied
>"What about me! I'm the baby too!"
>Lynn, you're three years old now, you gotta grow up! You got to be the youngest longer than anyone else anyways.
>Lynn cluched onto Leni's leg. "No! I'm the baby, I'M THE BABY!"
>"Girls!" From downstairs Mom's voice could be heard just a pitch louder than Lincoln. They walked together downstairs, Lynn still holding on to Leni's leg as if for dear life, and met their mother, frantically travelling between the kitchen and the living room gathering an assortment of bits and pieces. Her hair was tied at the back, but unkempt, her eyes were blacker than anyone else's. Baby Lincoln was in her left arm, his face red from screaming.
>"Girls the office just called in, they are incredibly understaffed for god only knows why" Her words dragged out of her rapidly, but from her tone she was clearly exhausted.
>"So I need to go to work today. I should be back by 2."
>"So is Daddy minding us?"
>Daddy's already in work sweetie, you'll be fine on your own right?"
>Lori's eyes grew wide with shock. "Wait, you never left us on our own before!"
>Lori you're nine years old I think I can trust you to look after yourself and your brother and sisters." Mom never laid her eyes upon them, too distracted by looking for car keys and putting on mismatching shoes.
>"Mom, I'm seven..."
>"Uh huh, of course" Mom swept her handbag over her shoulder and left for the doorway.
>"Okay girls Lori's in charge while I'm gone Mommy loves you ok bye bye"
>Mom turned around in a heart beat and kissed everyone on the forehead before unmetaphorically dropping Lincoln into Luna's grasp. Before the girls had time to process the situation Mom had already sped off.
>They stood there dumbfounded, and in silence, if it weren't for Lincoln's constant wailing.
>Luna held him by his armpits and looked into his face. "Shh..Shh...uhhh calm down Lincoln...G..Guys I...I..I don't know what to do!"
>Luan took him by surprise and began making silly faces speaking in baby talk. Lincoln momentarily stopped crying out of fear, then proceeded to scream louder than ever before.
>"Jeez, tough crowd"
>"Here I'll hold him!" Leni stretched her arms out in a "gimmie" gesture.
>Lori froze to ponder the consequences of letting Leni handle a 6 month old child. "NO!" She quickly pushed aside Leni's arms and caught Lincoln just as Luan was handing him over.
>"I mean!...well... he's just.....you know! very delicate....and you...well he's my...responsibility now...*sigh*...as usual." Once again she's being charged with minding her siblings, but this time she had no adult supervision to rely on.
>"Hey! He stopped crying."
>Lori looked at her brother in her arms. He returned her gaze, two giant blue eyes staring into her own. He started to laugh.
>"...How did you do that?" Luna asked timidly.
>"I..I don't know!" Lori found herself uncontrollably giggling as she spoke.
>"You got the magic touch!" Luan declared.
>"Hahaha no, I mean, I did help Mom and Dad when you were all babies so-OW!"
>As she turned to speak to Luan, Lincoln reached up and tugged harshly on Lori's ear.
>"OW! NO STOP IT!" Lori smacked Lincoln's tiny hand away, his mouth began to tremble in waves.
>"Nononono I didn't me-" Lincoln cut her off to sob hysterically.
>Gravity pulled the weight of their shoulders down. "I take it back, no magic touch"
>"I wanna play outside! Lynn leaped from Leni's leg and out the back door"
>"Wait no Lyn-"
>"Oooo i'll totes come with!"
>"Leni!"
>"Oh that reminds me! Dad wanted me to take all the towels out of the Linen closet and put them in the basement"
>"What, why?!"
>"Idunno." Luan shrugged and ran up stairs. Luna fiddled with her fingers between each other.
>"I uhh..I..I..s..should help Luan."
>"No! Luna!" Lori hadn't the time to reply before Luna sprinted up the stairs after Luan. Leaving Lori alone with her brother who, clearly wasn't all too impressed with her behavior. Judging by the screaming.

>Lori paced the ground floor for over an hour, shushing her brother, rocking him, trying to make him laugh again. Nothing was working. How could a baby possibly cry for this Long?
>Eventually Leni returned from the garden with Lynn in her arms. Lynn had scrapped her knee on the ground. She was biting her lip but no tears. As Leni was putting a bandage on Lynn Lori came into the kitchen crying harder than Lincoln.
>"Will someone please help me!"
>"How? Leni shrugged.
>"Stop crying baby!" Lynn snapped.
>Luna and Luan had finished rehousing the towels, blankets and trinkets and met in the kitchen.
>"You STILL haven't calmed him down!"
>"Shut up Luan you're not helping!"
>"Maybe he needs a diaper change?" Leni suggested.
>"He doesn't smell bad though..."
>"I bet he wet himself after you smacked him." Luan replied with a disapproving look.
>"I didn't! well....maybe....well it can't hurt to try."
>Lori walked into the sitting room and lay Lincoln on the couch.
>"Lynn go get the diaper bag" Lori commanded as she tried to work out the straps on Lincoln's.
>"Lynn responded with a soldier's salute. "Yes sir, Ma'am" and waddled off. The rest of the girls stuck around in case Lori needed help.
>"C'mon..." Lori struggled to get the straps undone, her face glistened with pride once they we're off.
>"Yes! okay...lets see what we're in for" Lori quickly removed the diaper.
>....
>....
>Silence engulfed the room. Not even Lincoln made a stir.
>After a long, awkward pause, Luan did the honor of speaking up.
>"...what the heck is that?..."
>The four of them stared in bewilderment at the instrument dangling between Lincoln's legs, where his pee hole should of been.
>"I..I have no idea.." Lori looked up into her brothers face, his eyes responding to their disturbing looks with confusion, as if he was trying to ask them "What...what's wrong?"
>"Lincoln has a tail?" Leni asked to no one in particular.
>"I...I don't know...Is that where tails are supposed to be?"
>"Human beings don't have tails though!"
>"So is Lincoln like, part dog or something?"
>"Well that would certainly explain his constant bitching.."
>"Leni, Luan and Luna gasped in harmony"
>"You said a swear word!" Luna whispered cautiously.
>"Oh who cares! Mom and Dad aren't home remember." Lori turned around and towered over her sisters with an intimidating scowl. "And they're not gonna know that I swore, got it?"
>They gulped in synchronization and nodded profusely. The last thing they wanted was to make Lori mad.
>Lynn skipped into the Living room with the bag diaper bag swinging in her grasp.
>"I got the-" The moment Lynn caught the sight of Lincoln's anatomy, she stopped dead in her tracks. Jaw dropped, her eyes wide open, focused on her little brother like a vulture.
>"Thanks Lynn!" Leni took the bag from her. She made no response in return. Leni reached out to Lori to deliver the bag but she waved it away.
>"Not yet, We need to figure this out first."
>Why?...s..so what if h..he has a ...a tail? said Luan, shrugging.
>"It's just...weird is all..." Lori replied she looked back at Lincoln, eyes squinting at their his secret.
>"I think its kinda cute" Leni responded with her usual positive attitude.
>"Ooooh! Do you think it wags when he's happy!?" Luan asked enthusiastically.
>"Just wait a second you guys! It doesn't even really look like a tail!, It looks more like a worm or...something.!"
>"That's silly Lori, how could a worm get into Lincoln's diaper?" Luan crossed her arms defiantly.
>"Is it even a..attached to h..him?"
>"I dunno...someone poke it"
>"You touch it Lori!"
>"What! no! what if it attacks or something."
>"It won't attack because it's just a tail!"
>"I already said human beings don't have tails!"
>"So Lincoln's a dog then?"
>"Yes..I mean NO..I mean, Look I don't know just let me think!"
>"I wish I had a tail.."
>While most of the sisters we're arguing among themselves over the current situation, Lynn sneaked past them and crawled up onto the cough were Lincoln lay in utter confusion. In an attempt to discover the answers for herself, she grabbed Lincoln's parts and tugged at them as hard as she could. He screamed in pain.
>"Lynn no don't touch it!" Lori grasped onto the toddlers hips and lifted her away"
>"I think that hurt him..." Luna said curiously.
>"Well how would you like it if someone yanked your tail!" Leni picked up Lincoln and rocked him, in a futile attempt to calm him down. Lincoln was terrified at this point, and in response, he involuntarily released his bladder.
>"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH" Leni shreaked at the top of her voice. "It's spraying me!"
>"IT'S ATTACKING! IT ACTED IN DEFENSE!" The girls screamed in unison.
>"WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO!"
>"I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW! Leni! put Lincoln down, shower, and change your clothes, it could be acidic!"
>Leni blinked at her "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she dropped Lincoln on the couch and ran upstairs flinging her arms about in wild uncontrollable patterns.
>The pain and loud external stimulation was too much for Lincoln to bare, tears ran down his cheeks like a waterfall, wailing in fear.
>"What is it?!"
>"You guys what if that thing has been hurting Lincoln this whole time!"
>"Luan put her hand to her cheeks "Oh my god it's EATING LINCOLN!"
>Lori, fearful for her brother's safety, picked him up and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry Lincoln, I had no idea! That's why you we're crying all the time!"
>"Luan's sucked in the tears from her eyes, now was the time to be brave, for her brother's sake. "Don't worry Lincoln. We'll save you!"
>"So what do we do?! Luan's heart raced at a pace of a hummingbird.
>"We gotta cut it off somehow!" Lori turned around and pointed at Luna with authority.
>"Luan, get a knife or a scissors, paper towels and gloves from the kitchen, we gotta do this now!"
>"Okay!" Luan sprinted into the kitchen pulled at the counter where all the cutlery was stored, however, no matter how hard she tugged at it, it wouldn't budge open.
>"I..I can't open it! I..I..It's stuck or something."
>That's when Lori remembered. "OH GOD DAMN FUCKING CHILD LOCKS!"
>"YOU JUST SWORE AGAIN! THE F WORD!!"
>"SHUT, UP, LUNA!"
>"Oh wait I know!" Luan ran up to her room at the same time Leni came back down wearing fresh clothes, her hair still wet from the shower.
>"Wait, what are we all worked up over again?" Leni pinched her bottom lip and looked up into the empty void that was her head. "Oh yeah! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"
>"Luan came charging down into the living room again with something in her hands. "I got it! will this work?" she raised her hand above her head, revealing a pair of pink, plastic scissors held firmly in her fist.
>"Better than nothing I guess, give them here!"
>Lori placed Lincoln on the coffee table and knelt in front of him. she quickly snapped on the gloves and took the plastic scissors in her right hand.
>"Don't worry Lincoln! Everything is going to be okay!"


>"Okay Mr McKennedy the procedure is finished now, your new fillings have been set perfectly." Mrs Loud gave the patient a cheerful smile and removed the table of surgical tools into the corner. The man sat up, massaging his jaw. he attempted to speak a coherent sentence yet could only produce muttering.
>"The anesthetic will ware down after about 4 hours, I'll be prescribing you some painkillers in the meantime for after-"
>"Mom was interrupted by the lobby receptionist entering the room, flinging the door open without warning."
>"Dr. Loud there's a call waiting for you outside."
>"Excuse me but I am still just finishing up a procedure"
>"The call is from a girl, she say's she's your daughter. apparently it's an emergency"
>Mrs. Loud felt a chill down her back, she reflected on this morning, thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave the kids on their own. She walked speedily into the Lobby, packed full of waiting patients and family, proceeded to the reception desk and picked up the phone.
>"Hello?"
>"MOM!"
>"Lori?? What's the matter honey?"
>From the opposite end of the line Mrs Loud could hear a choir of berserk shouts and screeches. Something was definitely wrong.
>"I DON'T KNOW, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH LINCOLN!"
>"Calm down Lori, just speak nice and slowly and tell me what happened".
>"You went to work and then Lincoln was crying and then he started laughing and then he pulled my ear and then he started crying again and then everyone left me with him and then they came back again but he was still crying and then-"
>Mrs Loud looked around the room and kept her voice down so the public couldn't listen in. "Lori cut to the chase and tell me what's wrong!"
>"We were going to change Lincoln's Diaper but there was this weird..thing attached to him!"
>Mrs.Loud let out a sigh of relief, until she realized that she now had to explain what exactly it is. She tried to think of a summary that wasn't awkward, but this wasn't exactly the place to have the talk.
>"No sweetheart he's fine, that's..supposed to be there."
>Lori didn't appear to hear her, and continued her rant. "So then we were all like, what is it is it a tail or what-"
>"No Lori, listen to me" Mrs Loud dug her head into the receiver, speaking as hushly as she could. "Like I said, its supposed to be-"
>"But then Lynn grabbed it and then it attacked Leni with acid or something."
>"LORI SWORE SHE SAID THE F WORD!"
>"Luan I am literally going to kill you!"
>"Lori, pay attention to me! Just leave Lincoln alone, I'll explain when I-"
>"So then we realized that it was hurting him so the thought we should cut it off!"
>"Wait...No..LORI!"
>"But then Lincoln started screaming really really loud and there was blood so I stopped but it's still stuck on him and we-"
>"GIRLS! LEAVE YOUR BROTHER'S PENIS ALONE!!" Mrs.Loud roared into the receiver, almost causing the earth to quake around her. She looked up and saw dozens of pairs of eyes staring at her with disturbed, dismayed expressions."
>She smiled meekly at the room "Ahah..don't mind me just...yeah....Lori don't move, or do ANYTHING. I'm coming home." She hung up briskly.
>"What did she say?"
>"...She said....leave his peanuts alone..?"
>Mrs Loud drove home in record time, running a few red lights in the process. The moment she busted the door open she was greeted eagerly by Leni.
>"Hi Mom! :D"
>"Where's Lincoln?!"
>"He's here.." Lori tip toed out of the Kitchen holding her brother, naked, and whimpering quietly. He had eventually tired himself out from crying. His eyes we're half open, and red, streaks of his cheeks glistened from where tears had fallen.
Mom sternly took Lincoln from her arms and examined his area carefully. Part of his groin was stained a dark pink from where blood had seeped. There was a long cut at the very base of his penis but luckily, not too deep.
>"She looked at Lori again, she gave her a terrifyingly neutral look.
>"Where are the others?"
>"There...around somewhere.."
>"LUAN! LUNA! LYNN!"
>The rest of the girls weakly moved into the living room, answering their mother's booming voice.
>"H...h..hi..mom"
>"I want all five of you, in your rooms. and you are not to leave them, until I call you again. AFTER, I take your brother to the hospital."
>"Mom, we didn't mean to.."
>Mrs. Loud pinched the bridge of her nose and talked under her breath "Your father is going to kill me when he finds out Lincoln almost had a botched circumcised from his daughters..."
>"Mom?"
>"Lori....I'm so angry, and...disappointed in you..."
>Lori felt a familiar sting in her eyes"
>"Mom I'm...I'm sorry..."
>"I said, go to your room."