Empty house Protocol

Story by Moondaffodil

>Lincoln groaned as he heard the laughter upstairs. His little, precious girl and a group of boys.
>"I'm so tired of this." He growled under his breath, reclining in his chair.
>For the past few months, his daughter Lacy had been bringing home more and more boys.
>"Oh, Lincoln, just let it be!" Lynn said from across the room. The sweet smell of her cooking wafted through the room. To think that Lynn Loud, of all people, would end up an amazing cook still boggled his mind.
>"Lynn, you don't understand. I mean, she's 13, and bringing home packs of boys. How can a father not get apprehensive over this?"
>"Trust her, honey. She won't make any mistakes, Lacy's just growing into a woman! You should be excited." Lynn let go of the whisk, letting it clatter on the counter.
>"Now come over here and eat. I'll go tell her and her little friends that it's time for dinner and that they should head on home."
>"Right...and you have to head out of here for the flight, right?"
>Lincoln sighed as his seat slowly ascended back up. He had just gotten comfortable in his favorite chair too.
>"Yeah, the team needs their coach after all." Lynn, almost always power walking, swooped over and planted a kiss on his cheek. A small smile cracked onto his lips.
>"Yeah, yeah. Good luck out there honey."
>As he got up and walked over to the kitchen table, he heard his wife up the stairs. A collective groan of boys being told that it was time to leave echoed out.
>That smile sure was short lived.
>"Alright, alright. Bye Lacy!" One called as he descended the stairs.
>"Bye Lace! Remember, we got a little study session on Tuesday!"
>"See ya around!"
>The trio of boys all left, and soon, the sound of two other people descending the stairs resonated in the house.
>"Now Lacy, take care of your dad while I'm gone. He's going to need all the help he can get!"
>The two girls shared a giggle, before Lincoln caught sight of his wife. Bag in hand, she turned to him and waved goodbye.

>As Lincoln and Lacy bid Lynn farewell, Lincoln smiled at his daughter as she turned to face him.
>"Hey there Lacy." He said, gesturing toward the other plate. "Mom made our your favorite dinner!"
>Lacy gasped and rushed toward the table.
>"She made spaghetti?!"
>With a chuckle and a smile, Lincoln nodded.
>"Yep, even made her own special red sauce. Now sit down, tell me how school was today."
>"Okay! So, today, Robbie and I totally were hitting it off during first period..."
>His smile got smaller.
>"--Then, Ethan and Johnny both tried to talk to me during free period! I barely even know them, daddy!"
>And smaller...
>"--And finally, Jimmy, Geoff, and Aaron asked to come over, and here we are!"
>And it was gone.
>"My, oh my. Who knew my little bundle of Lace would be...so popular...with the boys."
>Lincoln was absentmindedly twirling the delicious pasta with his fork.
>"Well, dad, what can I say? One day I was barely known, and the next? Boom!" She ended her sentence with a little giggle, oblivious to the red sauce that stained her cheek.
>Lincoln smiled slightly, he always did love her laugh. He recalled how much difficulty Lacy had making friends throughout elementary and middle school. She's probably thrilled with this change.
>"I know sweetie, I know. Just..." He looked up, a warm smile on his face. "Just know that not all boys are out there for your best interest, okay?"
>"Oh, daddy, come on. You know that I know that!" She flashed her signature chipped tooth smile at him, and in that instant, all his worries melted away.
>"Okay, Lacy, I just needed to make sure."
>With the matter settled, they went about finishing their dinner, Lacy and Lincoln sharing a few jokes.
>"Alright, you know what time it is. Mom's away, and that means Empty House Protocol in effect!" He announced after finishing his plate, standing from the table.
>Lacy beamed as she shot up, grabbing her plate.
>"Really?!"

>"Yes, really! Go pick out the movie you want to watch. I think tonight's warranting a little something more though..." He smiled wide, watching her excitedly bounce up and down in place, before shooting off toward the living room.
>"I bet she's gonna pick that same movie..." He whispered under his breath. Lincoln leaned down and picked up both of their plates, and deposited them into the sink. Tonight's chores could wait until tomorrow.
>He really wanted to spend this time with his daughter.
>"Alright, now wheeeere are you..." Lincoln said, as he walked over and opened the freezer. "Lynn always hides you so well."
>After a moment of moving around the freezer's contents, Lincoln spotted just what he was searching for.
>"There you are!"
>Swiping the large tub of neapolitan ice cream and a pair of spoons, Lincoln whistled a toon as he left the kitchen. He caught sight of half of Lacy's head peering behind the couch as he entered the living room.
>Her eyes filled with joy as she set her sights on what he carried.
>"Dad, what if mom finds out?!"
>"Please, I'll just say I ate it all. Don't you worry about it." He gave his daughter a quick wink, taking a seat next to her. "Now, which one did you pick out?"
>"Uh...duh! Ace Savvy in Deuces Wild!"
>He couldn't resist holding back laughter. Lincoln knew she'd pick that one, it always was her favorite, even if she never was able to finish it before falling asleep.
>"Alright, alright! Here, let me get the lights. You open that tub up, and remember, I get any chocolate you see!"
>"No fair!"

>The movie night went as swimmingly as he hoped. Lincoln and Lacy laughed, pointed out continuity errors, scenes that are missing, complained about the story being butchered.
>It was just like when she was younger. Lincoln enjoyed every second of it.
>And just like when she was younger, the moment the dynamic duo reached the villains lair, Lacy gave a quiet yawn.
>"Dad?"
>"Hmm?"
>"Can I lay my head in your lap?"
>Lincoln softly chuckled.
>"You're a bit old to be doing that, Lacy."
>His daughter quieted down.
>"I know."
>Lincoln took his eyes off the screen, side glancing toward his daughter.
>"Lacy?"
>"I know I'm getting too old, is what I said. I just thought..." She paused, pursing her lips. "Just thought I could do it one last time."
>Lincoln stared at her for only a few seconds before he sighed.
>"You inherited your mother's love for dramatics, Lacy. Of course you can, baby girl."
>With a quick giggle, she happily laid her head down on his lap.
>"Thanks Dad. I knew you'd come around."
>"You really shouldn't play with people's heart strings. Your poor old dad can't take that kind of interaction like he used to.
>He gently stroked her hair, as he always did.
>"You know, any minute now, you're going to pass out. You always do."
>"I don't know what you're talking about, dad." She laughed, only for a yawn to quickly overtake her.
>They continued watching in silence for a few minutes, until, just as he predicted, he felt her fall asleep. Lacy's light snoring was all the sign he needed to turn off the movie.
>Not before checking the time stamp.
>"Huh...you made it a few minutes than you usually do Lace." He whispered to her.
>"Let's get you to bed."

>Lincoln gently lifted his daughter's head up off his leg, quickly moving to get up, and slip an around under her legs.
>Ever so softly, he lifted her up, doing his best to not disturb her.
>"There we go..."
>As she cleared off the couch, Lacy's phone slipped out of the back of her pocket. Paying no mind to it, he focussed on getting her to someplace warm.
>Balancing her, Lincoln started walking up the stairs and towards her room.
>He maneuvered her into the room, only managing to almost knock over one thing.
>"Okay baby girl..." He strained to pull her sheets down without dropping her. "Sweet dreams."
>He tucked her in. Before turning to leave, Lincoln planted a quick kiss on his daughter's forehead.
>"Now, about those dishes."
>As he walked down the stairs, his eyes caught a dull, blinking light on the couch.
>"Oh yeah, her phone."
>Pacing over to the couch, Lincoln bent over and picked it up, accidentally pressing the lock button.
>His eyes widened at the screen.
>Over 30 missed text messages, all over about 10 boys names.
>His mood instantly fouled.
>"Ah, of course. Silly me."
>In his mind, he recalled the PIN to instantly unlock her phone in case of emergency. He could read what those boys were saying to her, what she was saying back.
>What if they hurt his precious daughter?
>The one he fought tooth and nail to gain acceptance with the rest of the family.
>Cut ties with his friends over.
>He can't have anything bad happen to her.
>His hand slid over to the emergency access PIN, and he typed three of the four numbers...
>But then, he stopped.
>"Growing up, huh?" He asked no one in particular. He recalled his conversation with her not even twenty minutes before.
>Lacy knows she's growing up.
>Lynn knows their daughter is growing up.
>It was time for him to let her grow up.
>With a sigh, Lincoln relocked the phone, placing it down on the coffee table face down.
>And looked forward to seeing the woman she'd grow into, no matter what difficulties.