Scott leads his brother's across the carpark and into the McDonald's next door. "What does everyone want?" He asks once they are seated at a table.

"A happy meal with a burger and fries and a coke with ice" Alan demands.

"Manners" Scott reminds him.

"Please" Alan adds with minimal prompting.

"That's better!" Scott says.

"Can I have a triple cheeseburger with everything and extra pickles please?" John asks.

"Why do you want onions on it?" Gordon stops Scott from replying eyeing up John, disgusted.

John rolls his eyes at his younger brother, "onions are delicious" he replies.

"No they aren't, they're yucky" Gordon insists,

"Guys! We can debate this later, Gordon what do you want to eat?" Scot asks trying to stop any arguments before they have time to start.

"Twenty chicken nuggets, large fries, a share box of cheesy bites a plain triple cheeseburger with extra cheese and a large chocolate milkshake please" Gordon replies,

"Absolutely not" Scott replies. "you'll be sick. You have have six nuggets, small fries and a milkshake"

Gordon glares at Scott, "but Scotty I am hungry" he insists.

"How about You keep up the complaints and you get nothing and will sort here quietly while we eat" Scott threatens.

"Don't be so cruel" Virgil speaks up in his little brother's defence. "but my order is the same as Gordon's but with a barbecue chicken wrap on the side"

"You are pigs the pair of you!" Scott replies as he pulls up the menu on the tablet ordering system on the table.

Scott orders everything that his greedy pig brother's ask for and the final bill is over seventy-five dollars. "I hope you know that I am not paying for this"

"We know, dad said he would remember" Virgil reminds him.

The food arrives quickly, and gordon puts his nuggets to one side intending to take them home for the cats. "Are you even going to eat those? Scott asks.

"Nope!" Gordon replies as he starts to shovel fries into his mouth. "MMM these are good" he says in between bites.

To Scott's surprise and disgust Gordon manages to eat everything he ordered apart from the nuggets for the cats. Virgil even manages dessert!

They are just finishing off when Jeff arrives back to give them a lift home. "DADDY!" Alan greets him enthusiastically throwing himself into his father's arms.

"Dad, look, we got chicken nuggets for the cats" Gordon says, showing him the two boxes of nuggets they ordered.

"Daddy I'm tired" Alan complains.

Jeff picks him up and gets him settled on his hip. "Well you can nap on the way home, come on boys let's get out of here"

"Carry me too dad" Gordon requests, as he too is exhausted and too full of junk food to move.

"Scott carry Gordon for me please" Jeff asks his eldest son, as he walks out with Alan to the parked car outside.

"Come on then you spoilt little brat" Scott says to Gordon affectionately, while he climbs up onto his back "How do you eat so much yet still be such a midget?" He asks.

"Dunno" Gordon shrugs. "I'm tired Scotty" he says burying his head on Scott's shoulder.

"Me too" Scott admits. He can't wait to get home and collapse on the sofa with a coffee and the remote control.

The boys trudge into the house while Jeff gets the car parked in the garage. Scott is determined to win control of the remote before his brothers even have the time to realise that he is planning on spending the day watching the new series of Plane Wars.

The remote, however is nowhere to be seen as he looks under cushions and behind the curtains, he even checks the bin and the fireplace and nothing. The remote has vanished.

"Looking for something Dear?" grandma asks.

Scott spins around to find grandma standing in the doorway holding the remote,

"Thanks grandma, I will take that" Scott says gratefully.

Only for grandma's smirk to become a proper smile now. "You can have it back after you have completed your chores. We have a house to clean for thanksgiving. The list has been posted on the board in the kitchen, you are starting with your rooms, and then you can pick from the remaining jobs. The faster you get your room cleaned, the more variety you will have on the remaining jobs. And yes the bathrooms are on there"

"B-b-b-but" Scott stammers in shock.

"Goats butt Scott, get a move on, you're already behind John and Virgil" Grandma informs him.

Scott leaps up the stairs two at a time and into his room, which luckily is always neat and tidy, and he hopes that this will give in an advantage over Alan, Virgil and Gordon. He starts with the bed, stripping off the sheets and throwing them in the laundry along with his pyjamas and the nest of socks he found which have taken refuge under the bed. "Ooo so that is what that smell was!" He says out loud to the empty room.

Polishing the furniture, hoovering the carpet and remaking the bed take less than twenty minutes and Scott is done. Giving the room one last look of pride, he leaves for the kitchen where hopefully there are nice and easy jobs left.

Sneaking past Gordon and Virgil's room where the two are having a loud argument about wether the dirty plate under the dresser is going in the dishwasher or to school as Gordon's science fair project "Grow your own mould" by Gordon Cooper Tracy" Scott can't help a chuckle from escaping. "Good luck with that Virg" he says quietly as he rounds the corner.

He rounds the corner to John's room where his middle brother has left the door slightly ajar, pushing it open all the way Scott is not surprised to find it neat and tidy, he knows that John will have already nabbed the easy jobs and he is determined to leave the bathroom for Gordon, Alan and Virgil.

He finds Alan sitting in the middle of his bedroom, tears streaming down his face and he balls his heart out, the room is its usual mess with toys and books and clothes all over the floor, and the bed. There are cereal bowls on the windowsill and a banana skin which is blackened and bruised on the desk.

"Allie?!" Scott calls, fighting his way through the debris and swearing under his breath when he stands on something unidentifiable and sludgy.

"GO 'WAY" Alan shouts back hysterically.

"No, not until you tell me what is wrong" Scott insists, sitting down on the floor next to him. Lucifer has followed him into the room and crawls up into Alan's lap purring and nuzzling into his hand. Alan goes the small cat a brief smile but doesn't stop crying. "Alan, please" Scott begs.

"Gordy said I have to clean the toilets with my hair if I don't get my room cleaned" he wails miserably, buying his head in Scott's jumper.

"Gordon!" Scott growls in a low and menacing voice. "you leave him to me! But I can assure you that is not going to happen. What else did he say?"

Alan looks up at his eldest brother. Just having him there with him has been enough to calm his tears. "That it is my turn to clean the chimney, and that I have to climb up there and that I will get stuck on the roof when I get up out of the top"

Scott is furious, but he knows that it doesn't matter what he tells Alan, he will always blindly believe Gordon!

Wordlessly he gets to his feet and starts to tidy up Alan's room. "How do you live in this chaos?" he asks as he starts on the clothes pile near the bed.

Alan shrugs. He Is just used to it and doesn't like it when the toom is too tidy. Even with Scott's help it takes the two boys most of the day to clean and sort out the room, and it is nearly supper time when Scott is finally done. All the dirty clothes are in the laundry basket, the plates are in the dishwasher, the rubbish is in the bin and the large number of stuffed animals have a clean bed to sleep in.

Scott is aware that he smells of sweat and furniture polish, but he doesn't care as he scoops Alan up for a cuddle. "See isn't that much nicer?" he asks the four-year-old who has been more of a hindrance than a help!

"No" Alan replies shaking his head "Put it all back Scotty" he demands.

"Absolutely not! Come on, let's go and tattle on Gordon"

They find Gordon asleep on the sofa, a fluffy blanket wrapped around him and his head rested on their father's leg and Scott's heart melts at the sight. Gordon might be the spawn of Satan, but he is still his brother and he can't get him into trouble.

"Alan's room is done dad" Scott announces.

"Good. Did you remember to get rid of the fire ant nest under the bed?" Jeff asks.

"THE WHAT?!" Scott exclaims in shock, waking Gordon up.

"Huh?" Gordon says sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Go back to sleep Squid, I was only kidding" Jeff reassures the sleepy blonde.

Scott rolls his eyes in disgust, he is tired and this is the last thing he needs right now, having been awake since the early hours of the morning, his temper is shorter than Alan! "I am getting something to eat" dropping Alan down on to his father's lap near Gordon's head.

"Do I have to go up the chimney now daddy?" Alan asks.

Gordon grimaces.

"Excuse me?" Jeff asks looking down at his youngest son.

"Gordy said I was going to be the chimney sweep" Alan says.

"Gordon?" Jeff queries.

Gordon sits up, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. "It was just a joke dad I promise, Alan knows that I wouldn't really put him up a chimney. Scott is just a drama queen!"

Jeff tucks Gordon under his arm, and Alan under the other. "I know you would never do anything to hurt my brothers" Gordon reminds his father. "You on the other hand" he adds with a smirk.

"Before you decide to prank me, let me remind you that I am in charge of buying your Christmas presents" Jeff replies.

"Okay" Gordon relents. "But Scott is fair game!"

Jeff decides that he doesn't want to know what Gordon is planning as that way he can't be implicated!

*TB*

"Hey Virg?" Gordon asks after supper and he is safe from Scott's wrath in their room.

Virgil is lying on his stomach on the bed reading a biography about Mozart and studying for his music exam which is sur to take place next Monday. "Mmm?" he asks, not bothering to look up.

"Where can I get fire ants from?"