Finally, the last part of what was supposed to be a short four chapter story! I might have got a bit carried away...

Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, followed or favourited this - I can't say how much I appreciate it. Whirlgirl, once again I'm sorry I can't reply in person, but I've valued all your reviews - thank you. Rachel, I'm really pleased you liked the story - it's been a lot of fun writing Virgil and John.

I can't finish without saying a massive thank you to Loopstagirl for all the feedback and support on this, especially this last chapter.

Chapter Ten

It was only a short drive back to Vine Technology and Jeff was far too preoccupied in planning what to say to Jennifer to do more than shoot an occasional glare in the direction of his subdued sons. When he finally pulled to a halt, his heart sinking at the sight of Jennifer pacing up and down in the lobby, he decided that although he really didn't want to let the boys out of his sight, the last thing he needed was a couple of witnesses to what was bound to be a difficult encounter - especially when at least one of them was practically guaranteed to say something unfortunate and upset the woman even more. Although that might actually get him out of this a little more easily, Jeff thought ruefully, allowing himself to wonder what would happen if he sent Virgil in to break the news that the deal - and whatever else Jennifer had had in mind - was off. But he'd never been one to take the coward's way out, even though he might regret that sometimes, and so, with a command to his boys to stay in the car no matter what - none the less forceful for being delivered in the quietest and calmest tone of voice, the one that let his boys know that they were still in deep, deep trouble - he got out of the car and went in to face the music.

Virgil scuttled over to John's side of the car to get a better look, ignoring his brother's protests as he was squashed up against the door. But if they'd been hoping for a display of histrionics in the lobby, they were both disappointed as they watched their father lead Jennifer into the depths of the building, presumably to the privacy of her office.

It was a tense fifteen minutes before they saw their father emerge from the building. Despite their relief when he'd denied any attraction to Jennifer Vine, the boys weren't convinced that she would let him get away all that easily. It seemed they'd been right when they glimpsed their father's expression as he let the doors of Vine Technology slide shut behind him - the interview with Jennifer had clearly been something of an ordeal and just for a second Jeff had allowed an uncharacteristic look of exhaustion, mixed with utter relief, to flit across his face. An expression he quickly tried to hide as he realised his sons were watching him.

"That was not an enjoyable experience," he informed them as he got into the car. Both John and Virgil were desperate for details, having passed the time speculating just how things would be going, but they knew better than to ask.

Jeff shifted in his seat, turning round to study his sons. "I suppose neither of you are any more enthusiastic about joining me in business now, are you?" he asked, unsurprised when they both shook their heads.

"Didn't think so," he sighed, turning back to the wheel.

"Artists, musicians, racing drivers... One son with a business brain - just one. Is that really too much to ask?" he grumbled under his breath, as he started the engine and pulled away.

True to his word, Jeff allowed his boys little time to collect their belongings and check out of the hotel. Grandma would have been horrified at the haphazard way they shoved their things into their bags, but Jeff was just happy that the job was done quickly. Once they were back in the car and heading towards the airfield where they'd left the family jet, he finally allowed himself to relax. All in all it had been a successful day, he thought, albeit a somewhat surprising one. He'd finally got the man whose talents he so admired to join his company - and he'd never have to see Jennifer Vine again. It was hard to stay angry at his boys when their efforts had had such a good outcome - and, he was forced to admit, they'd meant well, even if they had found the most unorthodox way of going about things. He wasn't surprised - not really. All his sons had a knack of finding trouble, even when they didn't go looking for it. Maybe he wouldn't punish John and Virgil too harshly, he thought, though for now he'd let them think they'd be in for it once they got home.

Virgil took a call from Scott - a surprisingly short one given all that had happened.

"He's meeting us at the airfield," the boy announced as he put his phone back in his pocket.

Jeff frowned. The last thing he wanted was Scott neglecting his studies as he tried to sort out yet another brother situation.

"It's okay," Virgil said, catching onto his father's train of thought. "He's just picked up the car you got him and he wants to try it out. He doesn't have classes this afternoon."

Deciding it would be interesting to see what his oldest son made of all this - and hoping his boys hadn't laid it on too thick with him about Jennifer - Jeff turned on the stereo and settled down to enjoy the drive.

His father might have been looking forward to Scott's reaction but John wasn't. He'd had more than enough lectures on how to keep his brothers out of trouble and yet he'd clearly failed in his very first attempt to act as brother-in-chief. Not to mention that Scott would be a lot harder to fool than his father, having a little more understanding of his brother's abilities when it came to computers. He just hoped Scott didn't drop him in it.

After an enthusiastic reunion, the story was told. Scott, as they had expected, was at first incredulous, then furious, and then - in what John thought was a spectacularly well-timed bit of subject-changing on the part of Virgil - forced to break off mid-rant to explain to his father why he'd already picked up a speeding ticket when he'd only had the car for two hours.

"Nice work - again," John told his younger brother, his admiration clear. "You'd think he'd have had more sense than to leave the ticket lying on the seat. He should have known you'd be all over a new car. Give it here."

It was Virgil's turn to be impressed as, in less than a minute, all records of the transgression were wiped from the police computers.

"He won't like that," Virgil said.

"There's a lot he doesn't like," John grinned. "But what's he going to do about it? Come on, let's go and rescue him from Dad."

Half an hour later, after one last round of goodbyes, the jet lifted off, Scott's figure getting smaller and smaller until he was finally lost from sight. Only then did Virgil stop waving.

John leaned back in his seat and looked at his brother.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm glad you're still here, though. Are you alright about staying home another two years?"

John considered this for a moment. "I'm fine," he said. "I guess Dad was right about there being more to life than work."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Never thought I'd say it, either. And if you tell Dad I did, I'll deny it."

"Another secret?" Virgil grinned. "You know, this has been fun."

"It has, hasn't it?"

To say Grandma was surprised at the cordiality displayed by the two boys who had barely been able to say a civil word to each other just a few days ago, was an understatement. Jeff's plan to force them to overcome their differences by making them spend time together had clearly worked. Although when she looked at her son she could tell there was something on his mind. It seemed as though things hadn't worked out quite the way he'd planned, even if the end result had been the one he'd intended. She swore she'd find out all about it before the day was done. Jeff was usually in the mood to talk once he'd had a drink and if one didn't work, well, she might not approve of overindulgence, but a woman had to know what was going on with her family and if cake wouldn't loosen her son's tongue as it would her grandsons', alcohol certainly would! But first there was the matter of feeding the returning Tracys...

Jeff had expected to be regaled with tales of bad behaviour and severe punishments, especially given how unhappy the two youngest boys had been when they'd had to say goodbye to Scott. But it seemed he'd been mistaken as his mother praised both Gordon and Alan, telling him she'd never known them make such an effort to be good. He was even more surprised when the pair set the table without fuss, were polite to each other and everyone else all through the meal, then did the washing-up without even having to be asked. Jeff decided he'd definitely got the worst end of the deal as he prepared to tell his mother the whole story. Not just yet, though; he knew from long experience that taking more than one drink would bring on a lecture, unless his mother wanted to get him to confide in her. Then she'd happily pour out a whole bottle - and this evening he was definitely a man in need of a drink!

Meanwhile the four remaining brothers had gathered in the living room.

"I'm glad you're back," Gordon said. "I don't envy you, John. It's hard work being the oldest."

"You got the lecture from Scott too, huh?" John asked, suddenly understanding why Gordon had been such an angel for the past couple of days.

"Yeah. Didn't think I'd be able to keep it up. But now you're here I can go back to being a brat again!" Gordon announced, a frankly terrifying grin creeping over his face.

"Great," John muttered.

"It is!" Alan told him. "Between Gordy and Grandma I could barely breathe without being told off."

"That's not going to change," Gordon told him. "Now I've had a taste of power I'd like to keep in practice. Sorry, Al."

Alan pouted and looked to Virgil for support. But before he could say anything, Gordon turned back to his two older brothers.

"Say, what's been going on with you two? You're getting on a whole lot better than you did before you went away."

John and Virgil settled down to give their brothers a slightly more truthful version of events than they'd allowed their father or oldest brother to hear, even if they did still keep some parts of the story to themselves, knowing from experience that it was never a good idea to supply a brother with blackmail material, especially something on this scale. It felt good to be home and united once again - even if their younger brothers barely seemed to believe half of what they were hearing...

Grandma, on the other hand, believed everything Jeff told her. As he'd expected she was horrified by her grandsons' adventures - although she burst out laughing when he told her, with some embarrassment, all about Jennifer. Finally, though, after taking a while to think it all through - and somewhat to Jeff's surprise - she calmed down and decided to focus on the positives.

"They're your sons, after all," she pointed out.

"What does that mean?"

"Jeff, you got into enough trouble yourself at that age, remember. Don't get me wrong, I was always proud of you for trying to help people, but the grey hairs you gave me - and your father."

"I wasn't that bad," Jeff muttered.

"Oh, yes, you were, dear," Grandma smiled. "This is payback. You might have got off lightly with Scott, but the other four... You'll be lucky to have any hair at all by the time you're fifty! "

Laughing to herself, she poured him another drink before leaving the room.

John and Virgil kept a low profile initially, but once it seemed that there would be no major consequences to their actions beyond an early curfew and a few extra chores, they began to relax. When, a few weeks later, their father announced that Brains had finished at Vine Technology and would be flying out to Kansas to spend some time with the family before moving on to work at Tracy Industries' new facility in California, they were delighted.

Jeff took them to the airport to pick up their friend. The man looked more relaxed than the boys had ever seen him - which wasn't really surprising given that on the other occasions when they'd met he'd either been anxious about giving a presentation or reacting to burglars, irate heads of residents associations, or breaking bad news to Roger Sparkes about his son. He was clearly delighted to be free from Vine Tech and had plenty of news for Jeff and the boys about the other players in their drama.

Jennifer Vine hadn't been idle, it seemed. Despite having told Jeff that he'd broken her heart - he'd kept that information to himself, of course - she'd quickly turned her attentions to the chairman of the rival company which had been bidding to buy Vine Technology. Jeff silently wished her - and the poor man she'd latched onto - the best of luck, before changing the subject.

"What about Mr Sparkes, Brains?" he asked.

"That l-loan shark t-turned nasty so h-he gave L-Leon the m-money to p-pay him off," Brains informed them, then had to pause to allow the groans from John and Virgil to die down.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," Jeff sighed.

"But how's he going to live?" John asked. "Doesn't that mean he can't pay his mortgage?"

"Y-Yes," Brains told them. "I-I offered to h-help him out again, b-but he said n-no. I-I think it m-might work out, though."

"How?"

"W-well, I-I n-needed someone to t-take over m-my apartment. I-I still have some experiments r-running and n-nuclear reactors take a-a while to shut d-down, you know. R-Roger's going t-to stay there and t-take care of it for m-me."

"Rent free, I'm guessing?" Jeff asked.

"Y-yes. M-Mrs H-Hanlon wasn't too h-happy about me letting someone else h-have the apartment, but once she m-met Roger she changed h-her mind. I-I think he w-was quite t-taken, too."

"Mrs Hanlon? And Mr Sparkes?" Virgil was incredulous. "But he's so nice. And she's horrible."

"Virgil!"

"But Dad, she is."

Brains laughed. "I-it's okay V-Virgil. She's a-a different w-woman around R-Roger. W-when he moved in this m-morning she b-brought c-cookies."

"He didn't let her in, did he?" John asked.

"N-no. H-he said he was d-decorating. S-so she i-invited him to her apartment for d-dinner t-tonight."

Virgil pulled a face, but John said thoughtfully, "You know, it might be a good thing if they get together. Leon won't put anything over on her. She might be the one to stop him treating Mr Sparkes so badly."

Virgil didn't look convinced. Still, the prospect of Leon being on the receiving end of Mrs Hanlon's sharp tongue was a very satisfying one and, like his brother, he hoped that there would be a happy ending for Roger Sparkes.

Shortly after that they arrived at the Tracy house to find everyone waiting on the porch to meet the young man they'd heard so much about. Grandma instantly declared that he was far too skinny, and, horrified at the answer she was given when she asked when he'd last eaten a home-cooked meal - Brains had to think for a long time before giving a date some three years ago - she took herself off to the kitchen and began pulling recipe books off the shelf, announcing that her guest wouldn't be leaving the Tracy house until he'd put on at least ten pounds. The boys, of course, were delighted. Anything that got Grandma making more cake was fine by them and Brains found that he'd immediately endeared himself to Gordon and Alan.

It was a pleasant visit. When Brains wasn't discussing technology with John and Virgil or helping the others with their homework, he was to be found shut up in Jeff's study, the pair of them emerging hours later laughing about some project which they refused to discuss with the others. Jeff simply pronounced it, 'utterly insane,' and yet there was a faraway look in his eye that suggested that maybe he might one day try to find a way to make it work. His boys didn't worry too much about it - after all, it wasn't likely to ever affect them.

And so the days went by. Brains headed off to his new job, and the family settled down to life without Scott. They missed him terribly, of course, but he kept in touch, speaking to at least one member of the family - usually Virgil - every day. He was happy and doing well and that was enough for everyone. But the family dynamic had changed and John felt it more than anyone. Gordon hadn't been wrong when he'd said he'd go back to being a brat but, unfortunately for the second-eldest, his brother been way off the mark when he'd promised to keep Alan in line. The youngest boy was once again Gordon's partner-in-crime and John was finding it more and more difficult to handle the pair. Virgil did his best to help and the two of them made a great team, but even so, the youngest boys were more than they could cope with at times. John didn't want to go running to Scott for advice, even though he knew that Virgil kept his brother up to date with all the goings-on in the Tracy house, nor did he want the two adults of the house to think he wasn't up to the job of controlling his brothers, so he was forced to rely on his own ingenuity to keep them even remotely in line.

A little judicious tracking of Gordon and an 'innocent' comment to Grandma about his visit to a friend John knew she had forbidden him to play with had got the boy grounded. John hoped he'd have a bit of peace for a few days, knowing that Gordon would be on his best behaviour in the hope that his punishment might be cut down a little, but it wasn't to be. With Gordon out of action, Alan was really playing up, and it was driving the older boy insane. He'd worried that he'd only have half as much patience as his eldest brother in dealing with the younger boys, but he knew now he'd been wrong about that: he seemed to barely have a tenth of it.

He had sought sanctuary in his room that evening and was engrossed in some homework, when a sudden agonised wail from downstairs jarred him from his thoughts. Dropping his book, he leapt up from his chair in a complete panic and went hurtling down the stairs, charging through the door and into the lounge, taking a deep breath in readiness for whatever he was about to face.

Alan was standing by the table. Good, John thought. Standing was good. He immediately eliminated some of the worst possibilities from his mind. There was still that scream echoing through his head, though. Something bad had happened...

"Al?"

Alan turned towards him, bottom lip trembling.

"Alan? What's wrong?"

Alan stumbled towards John holding out his hand.

"I cut my finger!"

John took a step back, relief and disbelief fighting for dominance.

"You cut your finger...?"

Alan sniffed. "On the paper. Look!"

"A paper cut?" John took a deep breath and examined the proffered finger. "Is that what the fuss was all about? You scared me half to death and all because you got a paper cut?"

"It's bleeding!"

"Not any more. Go and wash it. It'll be okay." John turned to go back upstairs, only to be stopped again by another wail. "What's wrong now?"

Alan clearly felt hard done by. "What's wrong? I've cut my finger. I need band aids and that stuff Grandma puts on cuts to stop them getting infected."

"No you don't. Just wash it. Honestly, Al, it's fine."

"But... I might get blood poisoning. Like Elmer Collins did. I don't want them to chop my arm off, Johnny."

"Elmer Collins ripped his arm open on a rusty pitchfork. He was too drunk to get it seen to and by the time he sobered up it was too late. Trust me, Al, a paper cut's not going to do that."

"It might. I wish Scott was here. Scotty wouldn't tell me to wash it. He'd do it for me."

"Then wait for Scott to come back. Or better still, take yourself up to Yale and annoy him for a while."

Alan's bottom lip was jiggling furiously now and he stared at his brother in disbelief. "You're mean, Johnny. You'll be sorry when I die..."

He flung himself onto the couch and began to sob theatrically, his face buried in a cushion. John sighed, not fooled for a minute that the tears were real. He couldn't help remembering how things had been with Virgil before Scott had left, and how well things had turned out there in the end, but somehow he didn't think he'd be able to bond with Alan in quite the same way, even if a suitable situation should arise. His youngest brother was more likely to go running to Grandma to tell tales than to willingly become his accomplice.

He heard the front door open, then a moment later Virgil strolled in. John had never been so glad to see his brother, who had a lot more patience than he did.

"What's going on?" Virgil asked, taking in the sight of Alan on the sofa and John leaning sullenly against the wall.

"I cut my finger!" Alan rolled off the sofa and ran to his brother.

"You did?" Virgil asked, bending down to look. He squinted at the finger Alan held out for his inspection. "Where? I can't see anything, Al."

He winked at John, who smiled as Alan stared open-mouthed at his brother, clearly unable to believe that no sympathy was forthcoming yet again. He was clearly building up to another bout of hysteria, but then the front door opened for a second time. With a resentful glare at his brothers Alan left the room. The two boys could hear him whimpering to Grandma. John rolled his eyes as the woman immediately began to murmur words of sympathy.

"It's alright, darling," they heard her say. "Brains sent me some cream for the first aid box. He said it worked a treat on Virgil. Not that I want you boys to hurt yourselves, but I'm rather pleased I'm going to get the chance to finally try it out."

John and Virgil exchanged evil grins.

"Should we warn him?" John asked. "That stuff hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yep." Virgil, who had been pestered almost as much as John over the past few days, threw himself down onto the couch and reached for the TV remote. John sat down next to him.

"You're as mean as I am," he said with a grin, as squeals and yelps drifted through from the kitchen, interspersed with Grandma's sharp admonishments as she told her grandson to sit still and put up with it.

"Don't you feel bad?" John asked.

"Nope," his brother replied. "It's about time he toughened up."

John laughed. "You know what, Virg? I never thought I'd say it, but we make a good team, you and me."

"We do," Virgil agreed. " Hey, imagine what we could do if we had even more of Brains' inventions."

"Yeah." John's slow, wicked grin mirrored his brother's.

"Just imagine..."