It was another "Lori in charge" night for the Loud household. Rita and Lynn Sr. had decided to drive across town to see a Thankful Corpses concert, leaving Lori as the head of the household. She began the evening as she typically did - clad in army fatigues, with her trusty whistle around her neck and her younger siblings lined up against the wall in order of age.

Nowadays, however, this routine was mostly just a way to remind her siblings not to take her orders lightly. Ever since the night that they overthrew her and wrecked the house in her absence, she had made an effort to be less of a tyrant, as evidenced by her much more lenient set of rules.

"You may disperse as soon as I blow my whistle," she said, as she kept a watchful eye on each sibling to make sure they didn't budge until she gave the command. "There will be no loud music and no playing ball in the house. If you want to play in the mud, do it outside. If I overhear you fighting over the remote, I will take possession of it for the remainder of the night. Bedtime is at 9:00 sharp. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the younger siblings announced in unison (sans Lily, who just gave it her best shot).

"Good. You may disperse."

With that, Lori blew her whistle, and the rest of the family scattered around the living room. Before Lincoln could run off, though, he felt a dainty yet strong hand grip him by the wrist.

"Not you, Lincoln. You're coming with me."

Lincoln gulped. Me? What did I do?

Her command was delivered in such a terse, succinct manner that it was difficult to discern her intent. But Lincoln had to assume he was being punished for something; why else would she single him out like that?

Lori let go of his wrist and started up the stairs, motioning for him to follow her. As much as he feared what she had in store for him, he was even more afraid of what she'd do if he disobeyed her, so he followed along. As he walked behind her, he tried to get a glimpse of her face, just to reassure himself that she wasn't mad at him. Try as he might, he couldn't quite see it behind her thick, shoulder-length blonde hair.

Lori lead him into her room and promptly locked the door behind them. It was at this point that he finally managed to get a good look at her face - and to his immense relief, she was bearing a faint little half-smile, with not a single trace of anger or tension in her eyes.

"So here's the deal," she said. "I did a little snooping, and I heard that Mom and Dad's concert tonight is at The Crofoot. It's literally a three-hour drive away from here. They're not going to be home for a long time."

Her smile grew. "Soooo... I was thinking that maybe we could spend a little time together after lights out."

She lay a hand across Lincoln's shoulder, beaming down at him. "Meet me outside my room at 9:30. We'll sneak downstairs, make some hot pockets and watch a movie. Just you and me. How's that sound?"

Lincoln's face lit up like a lightbulb. "Sounds great!" he cried, prompting a frantic shush from Lori.

"Not so loud!" she hissed. "If the others hear about this, they'll all want to get in on it. This is going to be our little secret. Understand?"

"O-okay!" Lincoln whispered, scarcely able to contain his excitement.

Keeping Lori's plan a secret for the remainder of the night was a challenge, to say the least. A night of TV and junk food, free from the rigid confines of his bedtime, all courtesy of his big sister? This was almost too good to be true. He did his best to act casual as he went about his usual evening activities - playing video games, helping the younger sisters with their homework, playing with Lily - while stifling the occasional excited giggle. He garnered a few peculiar looks from his other sisters, but nothing beyond that.

From 9 to 9:30, Lincoln paced around his tiny bedroom, wishing that he could make the hands of the clock move faster. He understood that Lori wanted to make sure that the others were fast asleep before taking him downstairs, but that didn't make the wait any less agonizing.

Eventually, though, the minute hand reached the halfway point, and as soon as it did, Lincoln heard a soft knock on his door. He opened it to see a pajama-clad Lori, smiling warmly and gesturing for him to come forth. The two of them made their way across the hall and down the stairs, taking extra care to avoid stepping on the ones that creaked.

"So what are we watching?" Lincoln whispered as they walked into the living room.

"I'm glad you asked," Lori whispered back. "I bought a new Blu-Ray the other day at the mall. It was on sale."

She showed Lincoln a Blu-Ray case that she'd been carrying in the crook of her arm. "Poltergeist" was displayed in glowing, electric blue letters, accompanied by a picture of a young girl embracing the screen of a static-y television.

"This one's a classic," she said. "It's one of the creepiest ghost stories ever put to film."

She flashed him a sly smile. "What do you say? Wanna give it a go?"

"Well... I... um..."

Lincoln couldn't help but be reminded of the time he snuck out to see The Harvester, a grisly slasher film that had him constantly looking over his shoulder for weeks. On the other hand, he didn't want his sister to think he was too babyish to handle something a little spooky. That, and a glimpse at the back of the case revealed that the film was rated PG, so he could at least be reassured that it wouldn't be as gruesome.

"...sure," he whispered. "I'm up for it."

A moment later, he heard a light beeping sound coming from the kitchen.

"Oh! That must be the hot pockets. I'll be right back."

After putting in the Blu-Ray, she dashed off to the kitchen to fetch their snacks. Lincoln took the opportunity to get himself settled in, claiming a seat on the couch and draping a blanket over himself. Moments later, Lori emerged from the kitchen with a steaming plate of hot pockets balanced on her hands.

"Careful, they're hot," she said, laying them down on the table in front of them. After taking a seat next to Lincoln, she scooped up a pocket, broke it in half and passed him a piece.

"Ready for the movie?" she asked, giving him another grin.

Lincoln gulped. "As I'll ever be."

Even though he was still rather apprehensive, he figured he could handle some PG-rated ghost story - certainly better than he handled The Harvester.

But while Poltergeist wasn't anywhere near as gory as The Harvester, it wasn't any less scary. It didn't take long for Lincoln to get shivery and jittery. AS the film's suspense ramped up, he started gritting his teeth and grabbing fistfuls of the couch cushions. All the while, the sight of his big sister in his peripheral vision motivated him to try to keep his composure by any means necessary. He knew he'd be in for some serious teasing if Lori saw him getting scared.

Eventually, though, he reached his limit. The part where the possessed tree smashed through the window and snatched Robbie out of his bed was what did it for Lincoln. On instinct, he yelped, threw his arms around Lori and clung to her like a teddy bear. A moment later, he realized what he'd done, and, with a deep sense of shame, he let go and scooted back across the couch.

Great, he thought. Nice going, Linc. She'll never let you hear the end of that.

He then felt a ginger tap on his shoulder, which shocked him enough to elicit a gasp and a shudder. When he looked to his right, he saw Lori looking over at him, giving him a smile - a warm one, completely devoid of any trace of malice, mischief or condescension. She then gestured for him to come closer.

"You... you mean it?" whispered Lincoln, inching across the couch towards her. Lori nodded. Once he got within arm's reach, she put her arm around him and pulled him close, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.

From that moment on, he had no reservations about clinging to Lori whenever the movie got too scary, which was pretty often. Of particular note was the now-iconic scene of the clown doll coming to life, coiling his arms around Robbie like a boa constrictor, bearing a wicked grin where its benign smile used to be. When that happened, Lincoln squeezed Lori tight and buried his face in her bosom, scarcely able to bring himself to look at the screen. Lori just kept her arm wrapped snugly around his back and used her free hand to stroke his hair. Occasionally, she'd reach over and feed him a hot pocket.

Once the movie was over, Lincoln continued to hold onto Lori, as he was still shaken by the preceding two hours. Curiously, he didn't hear a single objection from his big sister, who continued to hold him close with a dreamy smile on her face. It wasn't until ten minutes after the movie ended that she decided to speak at all.

"Really takes you back, doesn't it?"

Lincoln loosened his hold a bit and looked up into her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Lori giggled. "I guess you were too young to remember it," she said. "But when you were a little kid, you almost always ran to me whenever you got scared. Every time there was a thunderstorm, I could count on you clinging to me like a security blanket. It's like the only place you felt safe was in my arms."

Lincoln blushed. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm," said Lori. "Sometimes it'd take a half hour for you to let go of me."

Lincoln's blush deepened, as he began to loosen his hold on Lori.

"No, it's okay, it's okay!" said Lori, who responded by tightening her grip. "Truth is... I kind of missed it."

Lincoln looked back up at Lori, peering at her with curiosity. "Missed it?"

Lori nodded, as her cheeks began to display a blush of her own. "You know, being the one you always depended on. It feels good to be needed, you know?"

Her smile widened as she gazed down at her little brother, and she began to run her fingers through his hair again. "And I missed having you hold me like this, too. I'd almost forgotten how snuggly you are."

Lincoln giggled, giving Lori a squeeze and letting his face rest against her shoulder. "Was I really that clingy, though?" he asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she said. "In fact, I've got another story to tell you."

Lincoln drew back a little and locked eyes with Lori once again, his curiosity piqued.

"You were about two years old - maybe two and a half," said Lori. "We were playing together in the living room. I was trying to teach you how to play tic-tac-toe - without much success, as I recall." She chuckled. "Anyway, Dad came in and said that it was time for your nap. When he bent down to pick you up, you grabbed onto my shirt and cried, 'Mama! Mama!'"

Lincoln flinched, blinking in disbelief. "Seriously? I said that?"

"You did! You called me Mama! Isn't that funny?"

Once the initial surprise wore off, Lincoln couldn't help but laugh. "I-I can't believe I said that. I just can't."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed," said Lori. "You were just a baby."

"Yeah, I know, but..."

Lincoln's voice trailed off as another thought crossed his mind. It occurred to him that he was still holding on to this sense of shame and insecurity that he had no need for at the moment. This was a safe place, a judgment-free zone where he could acknowledge and embrace his deepest feelings without fear of reprisal.

"I guess it was pretty cute," he admitted. "Plus, you were the one who taught me how to tie my shoe, and how to whistle, and how to ride a bike. So maybe..."

Lincoln's eyes fluttered, as his blush grew bright enough to cut through the darkness of the living room. "...maybe I wasn't too far off?"

Lori giggled, ruffling his hair. "I guess not."

The two of them sat together in silence for a minute or two, as Lincoln savored the moment they were sharing. He received hugs from his sisters all the time, but it was rare that he got to experience this level of physical intimacy - his arms wrapped snug around his big sister, his head resting gently against her chest, with nary a sound but the soothing, rhythmic thumping of her heart. As they sat together, the story Lori told him played over and over in his head. With each repetition, the story felt less off-putting and more comforting.

All five of his older siblings, to their credit, did their fair share of work looking after him. But Luna and Lynn were so rowdy and unpredictable, Luan rarely took anything seriously, and Leni... well, Leni was Leni. But Lori was everything you'd expect a mom to be. She was competent, she was strong, she was firm when she needed to be, and she was warm enough to provide him with a source of comfort. In her arms, he felt just as safe and secure as he'd feel in Rita's.

Suddenly, Lincoln felt a pang of sadness clutching his heart. It occurred to him that his source of comfort wasn't going to be around for much longer, as her first semester of college was just around the corner.

"Lori?" whispered Lincoln.

"What is it?" Lori whispered back.

"I...I..."

Lincoln's voice started to waver. "I-I'm gonna miss having you around," he said. "I'll be starting middle school soon. How am I gonna handle it without you?"

"Oh, Lincoln..."

Lori began to rub her hand in a circular motion across Lincoln's back. "I know you're nervous. But you'll be fine. I've been through middle school, and trust me when I say that it's nothing that you can't handle. And if you ever need me, my phone is always on."

This eased Lincoln's feelings of unease, to the point that he was able to return to a normal breathing pattern. However, as Lori spoke, he noticed that her own voice was beginning to waver, and her diaphragm quivered with every breath she took.

"But I have so much faith in you. Middle school will be no match for a kid like you. You're talented. You're friendly. You're bright. You're so much more capable than you think you are."

Lincoln released his hold on Lori, lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. She now bore a trembling smile, and her shimmering, misty eyes glistened in the dark.

"And I-I want you to know, while we still have this time together, that..."

Suddenly, she grabbed him and squeezed him as hard as she possibly could. "...you'll always be my baby brother. Always, always, always. No matter what."

Tears started to seep from Lincoln's eyes, as if the force of Lori's embrace was squeezing them out. Time seemed to stand still as the two of them held onto each other; neither of them were sure that they would ever want to let go.

Eventually, though, they would have to, lest they risk getting caught in the living room past their bedtime. With that quivering smile still covering her face, she took Lincoln by the hand and walked him upstairs to his bedroom. The two of them shared one last hug before she hoisted him onto his bed, tucked him in and pecked him on the forehead.

"Good night, Lincoln," she whispered.

Right as she was exiting the room, she heard Lincoln whisper back a response - one that would stay etched into her mind for years to come.

"Good night, mom."