Okay so here we are again. I apologise for the delay but I broke my laptop and have only just been able to afford to get a new one. Not only did I have to wait to get one but I lost all the progress I had on my old one. Anyway let's try this again.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Three
By Rosa241

Scott POV:

Okay so this was definitely a better way to spend the day.

When we'd been arguing this morning about what to do we'd eventually agreed on coming down to the pond. Of course my idea had been to head off into town but John had won out. Star boy may be the quiet one in the family but dear lord is he stubborn. He was right though. Skipping rocks and generally lazing about wins over trekking into town and fighting through crowds.

"Ha! 9! Beat that one." Of course we couldn't just hang out we'd ended up making it into a competition, one that John was currently winning.

"Okay first of all that skipped 8 times not 9, learn to count bro." Naturally John does the very mature thing and sticks his tongue out at Virgil's words. Nice bro. "And second of all it doesn't count."

"Wait why?" Shaking his head the 11 year old pointed to the line in the ground he'd drawn earlier.

"You crossed the line. That means it doesn't count."

"I so did not cross the line!" Biting my lip I find it hard not to comment on how much Virgil looks like Grandma right now as he folds his arms and tuts.

"You completely did. Your giant oaf feet went way over the line." As the two continue to argue something pops into my mind. I think this might be the first time in a long while that I've actually seen Virgil really smiling. Ever since the bullying Virgil has been so down in the dumps that it almost hurt to watch him. Even after it all came out and Dad put things right with the principal (and John and I had our own conversation) he was still so worried. Watching him chewing his bottom lip and worrying over what might happen that day was harrowing.

"Ow! What the heck?" Clutching the back of my head I glared at my younger brothers. "Who threw the damn rock!?"

"Language!" They chorus with a joint smirk.

"Who threw the rock?" They share an amused look before both shrugging.

"No idea. Didn't see a thing." I choose to send a glare John's way, I know it was him. "However since we finally have your attention…are you actually going to take your turn now?"

Rubbing the spot at the back of my head I manage to glare at the blond annoyance once more, I know it was him, before grabbing the rock out of his hands. Turning back towards the pond I hear the fake whispering.

"I think he's losing it in his old age." Star boy I swear to god.

"Must be going senile." Oh Virgil not you too.

"Definitiely senile. We might have to start thinking about putting him down." That's it.

"Alright!" As I spin back to face them they both attempt, and fail, to conceal the grins cross their lips. "John I'd use your next comment wisely since it'll be the last one you get before I beat you into next week. And Virgil…don't listen to this moron."

The snort of laughter Virgil releases is worth a look that promises payback from my blond brother.

It's nice to see him happy again.

Grant POV:

When I'd insisted on Gordon coming with me this morning he'd been so happy but now I think he's regretting it. Of course I knew that he would be more than happy to come along. He was too young to notice the hidden agenda behind my actions. The young lad is a happy soul and loves to have fun which isn't a problem at all but when it comes at the expense of his brothers…then we have a problem.

"How much longer Grandpa?" Chuckling at his whine I can't help but ruffle his hair.

"This is the last stop munchkin. We'll get going in a minute." He sighs in what I assume is relief before going back to fiddling with his watch. Before long I've finally managed to locate the right screws, why Don insists on rearranging this place every five minutes is beyond me, and we're finally back on our way.

As we set off back towards home it's obvious to me that the kid is bored. Good. Lord knows that boy can be hard to get through to when he's excited.

"How's your eye feeling?" He doesn't look at me when I ask but I can see the angry look cross his face.

"Virgil's a jerk." Truth be told I don't think he meant for me to hear that.

"Oh is he now?" He winces slightly as he realises I've heard him and shrugs his shoulders.

"It was just a joke."

"To you. It was a joke to you but I don't think your brother saw it that way." I can tell from the way that he doesn't respond to me right away that he knows I'm right.

"He didn't have to hit me though." And that right there was the problem. Gordon was so sour about the black eye he wasn't going to be able to see the truth in anyone's words.

"Now that's true. Punching you in the face was not the way to deal with this." Hearing that I agree with him seems to take some of the anger from his face. "Although…"

"Now you sound like dad." He mutters which brings a smile to my face. Jeff's had this conversation with him but he's not been willing to see the truth. Ignoring his words I continue.

"Although between the bullying and your 'jokes' I guess that he reached the end of his rope pretty quickly." At the mention of the bullying the anger comes back to his face full force. Don't mess with my grandsons or you'll be dealing with the entire family.

"I hate bully's."

"You and me both kiddo. You and me both." For a while neither of us says anything. Eventually I break the silence. "All bullies do is upset people and make fun of them. They make them feel like they're nothing, like they're worthless…gets people all worked up. I guess Virgil got to the end of his rope."

"Well yeah I guess." Seeing the sheepish look on his face almost makes me smile. Looks like we're finally getting through to you kiddo.

"You know upsetting people and making fun of them, you've been doing a lot of that lately." He tilts his head at my words, clearly confused. "Yeah your dad and your brothers have been telling me about your jokes and pranks. Honestly I don't think they're finding them funny."

"But they tease me too!" He protests with a stubbornness that could only belong to a Tracy.

"That's true. You all tease each other, it's part of being brothers. There's just one difference between you and your brothers." As we pull into the drive way I catch sight of said brothers wandering round the side of the house. Turning to the little trouble maker I make my words clear. "Your brothers know when to stop. When your brothers tease you and you tell them to stop, do they?"

A sheepish 'yes' comes out of my second youngest grandson as the message hits home.

"And when Virgil told you to stop, did you?" It takes a moment but eventually he shakes his head. "Having fun and teasing your brothers is part of life but you have to know when to quit." Exiting the car I give him time to think over my words.

Ruth POV:

"Oh my word." Looking round at the mess that used to be my kitchen words almost fail me. "Oh. My. Word."

We were just making cookies.

We only made cookies.

How could this much mess happen within such a short space of time?

Looking at the blond haired monster stood in the centre of the mess I fight back a smile.

That's how.

Jeff had warned me this morning that Alan could make a mess in an empty room but I honestly thought he was kidding. All kids are messy especially when they're as young as him. Alan though…I think he wins the award.

"Alright I think I got…holy mother of god what happened in here?" My husbands words bring a smile to my lips. Picking the messy four year old up off the floor we turn to face them.

"We made cookies."

And that's where we leave it. Strange I know. I don't do fluff and happiness, torture and nightmares yes but happiness? No.

Keep your eyes peeled for more fluff and happiness next time…or torture and nightmares…we'll see how kind I'm feeling.

Bye x