"Mam,please don't cry" Dec sighed as he helped pack his stuff into the boot of Eammons car.

Decs older brother had offered to drive him and Ant down to London for their big adventure.He regularly made the same trip for work,so wasn't particularly phased by the thought of having to do it at all.Dec keenly accepted his offer without a second thought,it was definitely a better option than struggling with everything he wanted to bring on the train.

"It's only for a few weeks,you know that right?" He smiled as he hugged his mother goodbye "I'll be back before you know it.It won't actually be much longer than your average package holiday"

"I know you're only trying to make me feel better" Anne smiled sadly.

"Is it working?" Dec grinned as he hugged his Mam again,noticing he was now starting to overtake her in height,he was delighted that there was now someone in his immediate family who was actually shorter than him.

"No" Anne stated bluntly "but I want you to be happy and do what's best for you,even if that means I have to let go"

"Have to cut those apron strings at some point Mam" Eammon chimed in.

"No i don't" Anne replied sternly "he's my baby and always will be"

"Jesus Mam" Eammon laughed "you're acting like he's moving to the other side of the world instead of a few hundred miles away"

"Well,he might as well be moving to Australia,I know he'll be having too much fun to bother coming to visit us lot stuck up here" Anne complained tearfully,ignoring Eammons blasphemy,she was just too emotional to care about it at that precise moment.

"That's not true Mam and I will actually be working you know,not just having fun" Dec sighed "and of course I'll visit you all and anyway,I have no interest in going to Australia,just imagine having to spend a whole day on a plane to get there,no thank you very much and they can keep their big hairy spiders,I can't ever imagine going there,it just doesn't interest me at all,but London here we come"

His futile attempt to change the subject didn't have much effect on Anne who just shook her head sadly.

"Yeah,here we come" Eammon said "and on that note,we need to get going if we're to pick Ant up on the way"

"Ok,I'm ready" Dec smiled excitedly.He turned to Fonsey,who had kept quiet while helping load up the car.

Dec held his arms out to his loving father,who engulfed him completely in his embrace.

"Bye Dad" he whispered as he snuggled warmly against Fonseys chest.

"Bye lad" Fonsey replied "you take care of yourself ok?and Ant,the pair of you need to take care of each other"

"We will Dad,don't worry" Dec smiled "I'll miss you"

"I'll miss you too Declan" Fonsey smiled "but just enjoy yourself,this is a great opportunity for you boys and if you work hard,you'll soon be reaping the rewards"

"I hope so" Dec grinned "and I promise you,I will work very hard,you've always taught me that that's how you get on in life,so that's what I plan to do"

"Good lad" Fonsey smiled and kissed his son on the forehead as they drew back from the embrace.

Martin and Cam had also turned up to wave Dec off.Dec thought it was all a bit unnecessary as he'd be back in a few weeks,but he just went along with it all to humour them.

After Dec had hugged and said goodbye to everyone,Anne moved in again for one last cuddle.

"You call me the minute you get to the hotel ok?" She insisted "let me know that you're all safe"

"I will Mam" Dec replied "stop fussing will ya?"

"It's my job to fuss Decky" Anne insisted as he climbed into the passenger seat of Eammons car "I love you"

"Bye Mam,I love you too"

"Bye sweetheart" Anne replied while waving gently with one hand and dabbing her eyes with the tissue she'd been holding in her other hand.

"Ready?" Eammon asked as he started the ignition.

"I'm more than ready" Dec sighed "lets just get going shall we?before Mam decides to come with us"

Eammon laughed and started off on the drive towards Ants house,while Dec waved at his family stood at the kerb side,obviously none of them were willing to go back inside until the car was completely out of sight.

Dec could just imagine the scene that would now be unfolding at home after his family went indoors.His Dad trying to comfort his distraught Mam,while Martin and Cam just got on with their day as usual.

"She'll be fine Dec" Eammon announced as if reading his little brothers mind.

"Yeah,I know" Dec sighed "I just don't like seeing her cry"

"I know,me neither,but we all have to fly the nest at some point" Eammon smiled "even you,we all knew she'd find it hard when this day came"

"I'm not flying the nest though am I?" Dec was getting pretty fed up with having to explain that to everyone over and over again "I'm just going to London for a few weeks,it really isn't a big deal"

"Maybe" Eammon muttered unconvincingly "you'll just always be her baby,even when you're forty,so it'll always be hard for her and you've always loved being a Mammys boy as well,so that doesn't help"

"I have not" Dec snapped grumpily.

"Of course you haven't" Eammon laughed sarcastically "not one little sign of being a Mammys boy then?in all of your years on this earth?"

"Ok,well maybe a little bit" Dec grinned.

"More than a little bit" Eammon replied.

"You're just jealous" Dec teased "jealous that I'm the favourite"

"Nah" Eammon smiled "we all love you too much to be jealous squirt,you're too lovable for anyone to be jealous of you"

"Oh God" Dec cringed "don't you start going all soppy on me too,I've had enough of that from Mam"

"Don't give me that" Eammon smiled "you love it,always been a little attention seeker you have,you were born demanding attention,lucky for you,you've got a family who are willing to indulge you"

"Alright,I think I've had enough of this gushing" Dec laughed as Eammon pulled up outside Ants house and beeped the horn "Ant will hopefully bring some sanity back into my life"

Ant soon emerged from his house,kissed Christine on the cheek and hugged her before waving up to Sarha who was hanging her head out of her bedroom window.

"You see" Dec grinned "look how quick and simple his goodbyes were,that's how it should be done"

Eammon shook his head despairingly at his little brother as he got out of his car to help Ant with his bags.

"Wow,didn't leave much space for my stuff did you?" Ant complained as he stared at the practically full boot.

"Yeah sorry about that" Dec replied "couldn't decide which clothes to bring,so I practically packed everything,put some stuff on the backseat"

"Gonna have to aren't I?" Ant grumbled.He already had his suspicions that this was a sign of things to come,Decs eighteen years of being spoilt rotten and being the centre of attention with his family probably meant he wouldn't be the most ideal housemate,but Ant did at least know exactly what Dec was like by now and didn't expect too much from him.Ant was good at looking after people and Dec was good at being looked after,they were the perfect fit.

The journey down to London was uneventful.Eammon wanted to get there as soon as possible as he was planning to drive back to Newcastle the same day,that had been the reason for them setting off so early in the morning on the five hour drive.They'd left Decs house at eight o'clock,that wasn't a particularly early start for Eammon,he was used to being up alot earlier than that for work,but of course it was for Dec and he made his disapproval clear to anyone who would listen,that was until Eammon threatened to not take him at all if he kept on moaning and being such an ungrateful brat.

Eammon didn't want to stop at all during the journey,he was happy to drive straight through,but Ant and Dec managed to persuade him to make at least one pit stop along the M1 motorway so they could go to the toilet and grab a bite to eat,with Dec making it quite clear just how serious his craving for a Big Mac was.

It was a pleasant enough journey with Decs brother,best friend and him all chatting and singing along to the car radio and after what seemed like a surprisingly short amount of time,the signposts to London started to come into view.

"Only fifteen miles to go boys" Eammon smiled "can't wait to see this posh hotel you're staying at,Mams been raving about how wonderful it is ever since she came down with you and Dad that time"

Ant and Dec stared at each other nervously,Dec bit down on his bottom lip and stayed silent.

"What?" Eammon asked confused,he was expecting more of a reaction from the boys when he had mentioned the hotel and the look that had been exchanged between the two friends hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Umm....nothing" Dec mumbled.

"Don't you give me that Declan" Eammon snapped as they pulled up at some traffic lights "I know you and I know when you're lying,so do you want to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

"Shut up idiot" Dec laughed,how many times had he heard that playful threat from his siblings throughout his life? "There's nothing to tell"

"Ant?" Eammon glanced at Decs best friend in the rear view mirror to see if a different tactic would work,but Ant just shrugged his shoulders.He was keeping out of this one,he'd told Christine the truth about where they were staying so he had nothing to hide and she had been fine with it,although he was surprised his and Decs Mams hadn't discussed it between themselves,for that he was thankful,there was no way he wanted to get caught up in the middle of a full blown Donelly family argument.

"Declan" Eammon raised his voice to show his little brother just how serious he was about this "you tell me what's going on or I will turn this car around right now and drive you both straight back to Newcastle"

"Ok,ok" Dec moaned "keep your hair on,it's not that much of a big deal"

"I'll be the judge of that" Eammon retorted as he pulled over in a lay by so he could give Dec his full attention "now out with it"

"What are you doing?" Dec asked bemused "you can't drive and listen at the same time?"

"Not at this precise moment,no I can't" Eammon snapped "I'm waiting"

"Ok" Dec sighed "it's just...."

"Just what?" Eammon cut in.

"Well,if you'll let me bloody talk" Dec replied sternly "it's just that the record company refused to put us up in the nice hotel again,we have to stay in Bed and Breakfasts for as long as this takes"

Eammon thought for a moment "well,lots of people stay in Bed and Breakfasts,I certainly have loads of times,why the big secret?"

"It was basically just for Mams sake" Dec sighed "she was getting stressed out and upset while we were talking about it and worrying about me,so it just came out.We've heard that these places can be real dives and I didn't want her to fret anymore than she already is,I'm sorry"

"Don't worry squirt" Eammon sighed,feeling relieved that it wasn't something alot more serious "I get where you're coming from,but you shouldn't lie to Mam though,she'd be really upset,probably more upset about the lying than the fact you might be staying in a not so nice place,you know what she's like?Still I don't think you've really thought this through have you?what about when she wants to ring you for a chat?which knowing her will be every single day,she'll call the hotel reception only to be told there's no one under the name of Declan Donnelly staying there,what happens then?"

"Never thought of that" Dec admitted sheepishly.

"Ok,let's just get to this place and check it out shall we?it might not be that bad and we're worrying about nothing,we'll deal with Mam if and when we need to" Eammon said cautiously.

"It's gonna be grand" Ant joined in confidently,he had stayed sitting silently in the back seat while the two brothers discussed the issues "I just know it"

"I wish I had your optimism" Eammon sighed as he restarted the ignition.

Around half an hour later,plus a slow crawl through central Londons busy,chaotic traffic,they finally pulled up outside the place that Ant and Dec would be calling home for the next few weeks,tired but excited to finally be there.Neither of them had seen it before,so what was on the inside would be a surprise to them as well as Eammon,although none of them had any idea whether it would be a good surprise or a bad surprise.

The building wasn't giving anything away,from the outside it looked pretty ordinary.

After checking in at the very small front desk,a not so friendly receptionist handed them the key to their room.

"Breakfast is between seven and nine o'clock in the morning,if you're late,you don't get fed,no smoking in the room and no visitors.Check out time is 11am"

"Umm...we don't know when we'll be checking out yet,no idea how long we'll be here for....Sue" Dec informed her,noticing the name plate pinned to her blouse stating her name.He smiled sweetly in a futile attempt to maybe win her over and get some kind of friendly response,but it never came as she just peered briefly up at him.

"Checkout is at eleven o'clock" she repeated "a minute later and you will be charged extra"

"Jesus" Eammon muttered "come on guys,let's leave little miss cheerful here to get on with her work" gaining him a rather filthy look of disdain from Sue.

Ant and Dec thanked her politely,even if she didn't have any manners,that didn't mean they could forget theirs.

"Could do with some job satisfaction that one" Ant laughed as they made their way up the stairs.

"Here we are" Eammon announced as he stopped outside the designated room "room seven"

As the three men entered the room,glancing around to see exactly what would be welcoming them,Eammon couldn't hide his shock at what he saw.

Ant and Dec stayed quiet,they didn't really need to say much,Eammon quickly summed up what they were feeling in one short sentence.

"Fucking hell,what a dump!"