"Ant wake up" Dec shook Ant gently.

"Ugh,do I have to?" Ant sleepily asked when he eventually came round to Decs constant pestering for him to get up.

"Yes you have to" Dec smiled "we're going up slieve gallion today remember?you need to get ready"

"What time is it?" Ant yawned.

"8.15,come on,up you get"

"It's too early Dec,I was sleeping so well" Ant stated.

"Yeah,judging by the snoring I've endured all night,I know that Mr snorey" Dec complained.

"I do not snore" Ant insisted.

"Yeah,you keep on telling yourself that" Dec replied "I'm not having this argument with you again"

"You started it" Ant pointed out.

"Yeah alright,just get up will ya?everyone is already up and waiting downstairs,you know what old people are like?Nanna and Grandad have been up since six"

That gave Ant the kick up the bum he needed to get himself out of bed.The last thing he wanted was to upset or disrespect his hosts when they'd been so kind as to let him stay.

"Ok,I'm up,will have a shower then I'll be down" Ant smiled,but noticed that Dec was still in his pyjamas.

"You're not even dressed yet" he stated.

"I know" Dec replied "won't take me long to get dressed"

"You're not even gonna have a shower?" Ant wrinkled his nose in fake disgust.

"I'm an evening shower kind of person Ant,you know,wash the grime from the day off?"

"Really?" Ant mused "I thought everyone showered in the morning,you know,to start the day off fresh?"

"How dirty do you think i get when I'm in bed?" Dec laughed.

"No idea" Ant grinned "I don't know what you get up to when you're in bed Declan"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Dec giggled.

"I really wouldn't" Ant laughed "that would be way too much information.Ok I'm going for a shower before you put me off my breakfast"

"See you downstairs" Dec laughed as he started getting dressed and Ant made his way to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later,Ant and Dec were being fussed over at the breakfast table by both Anne and Mary.

"Looking forward to the day Ant?" Anne enquired.

"Aye,I am thanks" he smiled "will be good,I've never done anything like this before"

Soon Anne,Fonsey,Ant,Dec,Eddie and Mary were all squeezed into Eddies large car on the way to the mountain.

Ant marvelled at the view,he thought it was the most beautiful place he had ever been driven through,both he and Dec constantly fiddled with their ears as they drove higher and higher.

"Don't do that boys" Anne ordered "it won't help"

"Yes it will" Dec argued "hate it when my ears block up"

"Please yourself" Anne said.

They were soon pulling up at the top of the road that led up to the peak of the mountain.

"Here we are everyone,out you get" Eddie smiled.

They had decided to bring a picnic and spend as long up there as possible,until it either got too cold or everyone,meaning mainly Dec,got bored.

"Hope you brought a jumper Ant?" Eddie enquired "gets a bit nippy up here"

"Er yeah" Ant looked down at the jumper he was already wearing.

Dec collapsed into fits of giggles at his Grandfathers silliness,he often thought he was the only one to get Eddies daft sense of humour.Eddie and Dec both found things hilarious that anyone else wouldn't even raise a titter at.

"Ignore those two eejits Ant" Mary laughed.

"Come and help me get the stuff out of the boot boys" Fonsey ordered.

As he opened the boot,Ant and Decs eyes widened at the sheer amount of stuff squeezed inside.

"Wow,when did you pack all this?" Dec asked.

"We've all been up since six remember son?plenty of time to get organised" Fonsey smiled "come on grab this"

He passed a large picnic hamper for Ant and Dec to carry over to the perfect spot the ladies had chosen.

Ant happily laid out two chequered blankets,struggling a bit with the mountain wind making things slightly difficult.

Meanwhile Dec returned to where the car was parked to see if there was anything else that needed bringing over.

In the corner of the boot,wrapped up in a black bin bag,but with the edge peeking out,he spied something very familiar.

"My kite" he exclaimed excitedly "Grandad,you've still got it?"

"Yep,I've still got it" Eddie smiled "it's been gathering dust in the attic for a few years mind,but I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring it out again"

"That's great Grandad,I thought you would have chucked it away years ago" Dec replied.

"Why would I do that?" Eddie enquired "I made it especially for you,we've had lots of fun up here with it haven't we?"

"Yeah we have" Dec agreed.He thought back to the day when he was just seven years old where he had sat watching Eddie make the black and white kite.Dec had insisted on Newcastle United colours for it.

He'd watched fascinated for hours as Eddie had put his heart and soul into making the special gift for his Grandson.Dec had been enthralled by every tiny part of the construction and Anne and Fonsey had been especially amazed that Dec had managed to sit still for that long to even pay attention to what was going on.

"I loved this kite Grandad" Dec whispered.

"I know you did lad" Eddie smiled "we'll make some more memories today shall we?we can fly it after lunch"

After admiring the views for a while,everyone sat down on the blankets to enjoy the ample picnic.Anne and Mary had gone way overboard with the amount of food provided as usual.

"Do you like kite flying Ant?" Eddie asked.

"Er I've never flown a kite Eddie" Ant replied.

"What?" Eddie was surprised "how has a sixteen year old lad never flown a kite?haven't you done it with your Dad?"

Ant looked down at the cheese sandwich in his hand.

"My Dad's not around anymore and even when he was,he was too busy for things like that" Ant replied sadly.

Eddie was suddenly acutely aware that he may have approached a delicate issue,but wasn't sure how to put it right,tact wasn't his strongest point.

Fonsey quickly stepped in.

"Why don't you show him Dad?what do you think Ant,want to have a go?"

"Yeah sure,that would be good" Ant replied gratefully.

Once most of the picnic was packed up except for the flasks of hot tea and cups,Dec had the kite flapping around expertly in the breeze.

"Glad you haven't forgotten everything I taught you our Declan" Eddie stated.

"Of course not" Dec smiled "I'd never forget"

After a good half an hour of running around with the kite and even making it dance and swirl in the sky,Dec turned to Ant.

"Your turn Ant"

"Er ok" Ant took hold of the reel of string,not having a clue what to do with it,even after watching Dec for so long and it immediately came crashing down onto the mountain.

"Careful,don't break it" Dec said.

"Oops sorry" Ant smiled sheepishly.

"Don't you worry Ant,you'll soon have the hang of it" Eddie laughed.

He got up and placed himself behind Ant and enveloped his arms around him comfortably,taking charge of the kite.

"Like this lad" Eddie smiled while guiding Ants hands.Everyone watched happily as Ant soon had the kite sailing high.

Ant thought to himself as he watched the kite fly in the clear blue sky,how nice it would have been to have a male figure in his life to do things like this with him,or more specifically,how nice it would have been if his Dad hadn't left.Yes he had his own Grandparents,but he didn't see them as often as he would have liked and they certainly didn't do anything like this with him.He decided not to dwell on any of that for now.

"That's it Ant" Dec cheered excitedly "you've got it"

Everyone was sat on the blankets watching Ant and Eddie.Ant was loving every minute of this new skill he'd acquired.

"Hey Dec,wanna buy me a kite for me birthday?" Ant shouted out against the wind.

"Who says I'm buying you anything?you cheeky bugger" Dec laughed.

Once Ants arms began to ache from the exertion,he decided to join everyone else on the blankets,laying the kite gently down on the grass.

"Cup of tea Ant?" Mary poured a cup from the flask and passed it to Ant before even waiting for his reply.

"Thank you Mary" he politely said "it really is lovely up here.Thank you for bringing me"

"Such a suck up" Dec whispered while playfully nudging Ant in the ribs.

"Ant,Declan tells me you're interested in history?" Fonsey enquired.

As Dec rolled his eyes at the thought of the boring conversation that was about to follow,Ant couldn't have been happier at Fonseys question.

"Yeah I am,it's so interesting"

"Only in your opinion" Dec quipped.

"Ignore him Ant" Fonsey laughed "when you've finished your cuppa,we can go and look at the view again and I'll tell you about the mountain,it has a fair bit of history to it,but only if you want me to"

"Of course I want you to" Ant replied,ignoring Decs fake yawn.

Ten minutes later,Fonsey and Ant were stood once again admiring the views,while everyone else stayed chatting on the blankets.

"Do you know what Slieve gallion means Ant?" Fonsey asked.

"No idea,what?"

"It means mountain of the heights."

Fonsey proceeded to point out various places they could see in the distance,gently guiding Ant around with caring hands upon his young shoulders.

"We're lucky it's such a lovely clear day,can see for miles.Over there is Lough Neagh,those are the Belfast hills,there's the Glens of Antrim and just there are the mournes of County Down"

"Wow you know so much" Ant marvelled.

"I was brought up here as you know" Fonsey smiled "Dec could actually tell you all this too,but I guess he...."

"Chooses not to?" Ant cut in.

Fonsey laughed "yeah exactly,I guess he's heard it too many times already"

"See that?" Fonsey pointed to something in the distance "that's mini uluru,the remains of an extinct volcano"

"Wow,this is so fascinating" Ant smiled.

"I'll tell you another fascinating fact Ant" Fonsey replied "there's a cairn over there"

"What's a cairn?" Ant asked curiously.

"A cairn is a mound of stones,in this case it's a tomb passage and rumour has it that this one is the burial place of King Colla Uais"

"Who?"

"King Colla Uais" Fonsey repeated "he was the 121st king of Ireland"

"Wow,this is so amazing" Ant was enthralled by Fonseys information "is a king really buried here?"

"Well it is said to be a local myth,but human bones were found here way back in 1789,so who knows?"

"Wow" Ant exclaimed again "Could have been a hiker who got lost" he grinned.

"You messing with our history there Anthony?" Fonsey laughed "Well Irish folklore also has it that it is bad luck to disrespect the tomb and doing so brings a curse,so do you fancy exploring it?"

"Umm,maybe I'll give that a miss" Ant laughed.Of course he didn't believe in curses,but he did believe in respecting the dead and their final resting places,so was happy to not get too close.

Ant appreciated this time with Fonsey so much,the caring attitude,the fatherly presence,just Fonsey taking the time to be with him and talk to him,he envied Dec so much for that.

"The sun is starting to set" Fonsey observed,they had been on the mountain for most of the day and it was now starting to cool down considerably.

"Let's go back to the others,we'll watch the sun go down for a little while,then make our way back"

"Sounds good" Ant agreed.

"How was your history lesson?" Dec smiled,slightly sarcastically.

"Was brilliant,so much to know" Ant replied "can see......"

"Yeah I know what you can see" Dec cut in "have been here a million times"

"So beautiful" Ant marvelled as he watched the sun go down in pools of red,orange and yellow.

"Stunning isn't it Anthony?" Mary smiled.

Half an hour later,they were on their way back to Eddie and Marys house,happy but exhausted.

Once they'd had dinner,Anne was packing the boys off to bed,knowing how the fresh mountain air had wiped them out.

"Goodnight boys,sleep tight.Im going to give Cam a ring to see how she is"

"We've only been here a couple of days Mam" Dec laughed "she'll be fine,probably having great time without us"

"Yeah,well maybe that's why I need to check on her" Anne smiled.

After Ant and Dec had gone to bed,Anne called her youngest daughter.

Fonsey,Eddie and Mary couldn't really make sense of Annes end of the conversation as she talked to Cam,but they were all sensing something was wrong.

"Oh no" "oh dear" "what a shame" "that's awful" were just some of the expressions Anne was using and as she hung up the phone,she turned to her bewildered family.

"What's wrong Darling?" Fonsey asked rather worried.

"It's bad news I'm afraid" she sighed with a heavy heart.

"Our Decky is going to be heartbroken!"