Author's Note:

I'm having a blast with the alphabet challenge, but it means that I'm writing stories about Colby and Hannah (and their offspring!) in the future. Sorry about that. Bear with me, I'll be getting back into the present soon.

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Brandon surveyed his surroundings with some satisfaction. He'd finished work on several pieces of art in the last few days, something he hadn't done in a while. His mother had turned over the running of the jewelry store to him recently and he'd been kept busy getting things in place the way he wanted it. He owned half the jewelry store outright now, the other half was evenly split up amongst his four siblings, plus a share for his mother that all the siblings had agreed upon. That share was probably the only thing they hadn't argued about. Brandon sighed. He realized that, as siblings, they probably got on better than most, but it was still a trying task to get consensus on anything. Quiet and often dreamy, he got along with both his brothers better than they got along with each other. But it irked him a little that the focus of his mother's attention was usually on Tyler and Cameron, when they were all together, they were the apples of their mother's eye.

Cameron surveyed his surroundings with some satisfaction. He handled his family's finances and the outcome thus far had been lucrative. Well, except for Tyler. Tyler refused to have anything to do with him, had apparently not trusted him with his finances. Probably didn't trust him for anything, Cameron thought a little bitterly. Tyler always seemed to do the right thing. He never forgot a birthday or a special occasion. He bought the perfect gift. Always knew what to say to make their mother smile. Whereas Cameron had always managed to screw things up. It had been tough, growing up with Mr. Perfect Son and Mr. we-have-to-take-care-of-him Dreamy Artist, the apples of their mother's eye.

Tyler surveyed his surroundings with some satisfaction. He was happy in the FBI, and was finally an experienced enough agent to lead in smaller cases. And his father was happy about Tyler's reputation in the FBI thus far. He wasn't sure how his mother felt about it all. She hadn't been particularly happy that he'd decided to join the FBI, not that it had been any surprise to anyone. That's what he'd always wanted to be, an FBI agent, just like his father. He'd done all the right things, but his younger brothers always seemed to get their mother's attention. It hadn't mattered that Cameron had screwed up, yet again. Or that Brandon had forgotten to be where he was supposed to be, yet again. They had been the apples of their mother's eye.

And it infuriated Tyler, to see Cameron's candy-apple red Porsche pulled haphazardly across the driveway at their parents' home. It was equally infuriating to see Brandon's bright metallic blue BMW SUV pulled onto the grass because Cameron's Porsche was blocking the driveway. "Will you two stop nattering and re-park your cars so other people can get in the driveway?" Tyler yelled out his window to his brothers. Cameron rolled his eyes and made some snarky remark. Brandon laughed. Tyler saw red, and slammed the door as he got out of his car.

Before they knew it, they were fighting. And they meant it. Fists and elbows were flying every which way. Feet and knees were connecting where ever possible. It didn't matter which brother was on the receiving end.

A horrified "Oh my God! They're fighting!" from their mother stopped the brawl. They stared at each other, as she ran into the house to get the one person she knew who could break up a fight. "Colby! Oh God, Colby! They're fighting!"

They started to laugh helplessly, as they took a closer look at themselves, the ridiculous tangle of limbs, the torn clothing, and the bruises that were starting to form.

"Brawling like we were fifteen!" Brandon got out, between gasps of laughter.

Cameron was laughing too hard to reply, but Tyler started to worry about bruises, "God, I hope I don't have bruises that show! It'll be hell explaining it at work!" Which made Cameron laugh even harder.

"Now they're laughing!" Hannah was outraged. She turned to Colby indignantly, poking him in the chest, "They're your sons! Do something!" as she stormed back into the house.

Aggrieved by the unwarranted abuse heaped upon him by his wife, Colby strode purposefully toward the miscreants with an ominous scowl on his face.

Cameron saw Brandon get up and brace himself, a resigned look on his face. "The old man can't take all three of us at the same time," he said, starting to panic at the look of alarm on Tyler's face as he scrambled up from the grass. "Can he?"