Anne and Dec spent the next couple of weeks visiting Fonsey in the hospice every day.

There was not a lot they could do there,except talk to him,even though they now got very little response back.He slept practically all the time due to the heavy medication he was on.

At least Anne and Dec had each other for support,they were both glad about that and Decs siblings came by to visit whenever they could.

Ali had made sure that Ant and Dec didn't have any work commitments for the foreseeable future,at least until the inevitable had happened.There wasn't anything urgent to attend to anyway,just a couple of guest appearances,one on a chat show and one on a game show,they could both be rescheduled to later date.

So Dec was staying at his parents house indefinitely and Ant had also decided to do the same at Christines.At least one good thing had come out of this dreadful situation and that was that the boys were getting to spend more time with their families,although they both wished it could have been under happier circumstances.

Dec was exhausted though,both mentally and physically.He didn't really understand the physical part,all he'd done was sit at his dads bedside,but the longer it went on,the more drained he felt.

He glanced over at Anne while they were both visiting Fonsey one day.Anne was sat on the other side of the bed to Dec,holding her husbands hand.

"How are you doing Mam?" He asked concerned.

"Oh,you know Decky" she smiled gently "as well as can be expected,just getting by"

At that moment,a nurse entered the room to check on Fonsey.

His breathing was getting weaker,he hadn't opened his eyes or spoke for days and there wasn't even a slight grip in return when Anne or Dec squeezed his hand,they knew the time was getting nearer,maybe only a day or two away.

The nurse advised that Anne and Dec went home to get some rest.They were both reluctant to start with,but the nurse promised she would call if there was even a slight change.

So Anne and Dec left and went straight to bed as soon as they got home.It was only just 8 o'clock in the evening,but that was irrelevant,they were both worn out and a good nights sleep was exactly what they needed.

Unfortunately that wasn't what they got.

Anne was startled awake by her phone ringing in the early hours of the morning.

After listening to what the caller had to say and promising to be there soon,Anne hung up the phone on the bedside table and sleepily climbed out of bed and made her way to Decs bedroom.

"Decky" she nudged him gently in an attempt to wake him up in the least abrupt manner possible.

"Declan" she stated in a slightly firmer voice,when she got no response from him "Declan,wake up"

Dec wearily rolled over from his comfortable sleeping position and with bleary eyes,gazed at the outline of his mother sat on his bed in the darkened bedroom.

"Mam?" He yawned "what is it?what time is it?"

"I don't know" Anne replied "about one thirty I think"

Dec suddenly sat bolt upright and turned the bedside lamp on which made them both wince as the sudden light tortured their eyes.

"It's time Declan" Anne sighed "we need to get back to the hospice"

Dec couldn't speak,he just nodded as he already felt the tears preparing to torment him.He slowly climbed out of bed and started to get dressed as Anne went back to her bedroom to do the same.

Just twenty minutes later,they were in a taxi being taken to the hospice to say their last goodbyes.They had decided it wouldn't be safe for either of them to drive as they were both just too upset and at least it gave them a bit of time to call Decs siblings to tell them what was going on.

Anne had had the conversation with all of her children about what would happen when Fonseys death was imminent,they all wanted to be there if they could,to say goodbye and kiss their beloved father one last time,before he embarked on his next journey into the afterlife.

All of the sleepy Donnelly children agreed to come to the hospice with Anne and Dec as soon as they got the call and before long,the whole clan were gathered around Fonseys bed,squeezing into any small space they could find.

Dec listened intently as his Mam and all his siblings said their goodbyes,telling Fonsey how much they loved him,how much they were going to miss him and what a wonderful dad and husband he had been.

Dec wondered where they got their strength from,how could they even talk right now?because he wasn't sure he would be able to.Dec knew it would soon be his turn soon and sure enough his Mams,brothers and sisters eyes all fell on him.

"I...I" Dec stuttered "Dad I..." he shook his head despairingly as tears rolled down his cheeks and he got ready to take flight as was often his go to solution when he was upset.

As he hurriedly wiped the tears from his face and took a couple of steps towards the door,he felt two strong hands squeezing his shoulders from behind and preventing him from going any further.

"Dec,it's ok" Martin assured him in a soft voice "you don't have to say anything"

"But..." Dec attempted to reply.

"It's ok Dec" Martin repeated,nodding towards Fonsey "we know and so does he"

With that,Martin embraced his adored baby brother from behind,wrapping his arms tightly around him and leaning his chin onto Decs shoulder.

Dec could feel Martins breath on his cheek and hear his breathing in his ear,but it wasn't annoying,not in the slightest,it was comforting and Dec felt like he could stay in this safe position forever,being protected from the cruel world by his loving older brother.

"Look at him Declan" Martin whispered "he's at peace,he's ready now,we have to let him go"

Dec nodded sadly as Martin held him tightly.

"Please don't stop holding me" Dec whispered back.

"I won't" Martin replied "I promise"

The emotional family watched on helplessly,holding Fonseys hands,arms and kissing his forehead and cheeks as the inevitable got closer.

The once strong mans breathing gradually slowed until it was barely audible,before he let out a heavy,weary sigh.

Then nothing.

Just the sound of silence,quickly followed by desperate sobs as Dec,his mam and siblings realised Fonsey had taken his last breath.

Martin still held Dec in his arms,but Dec quickly turned around so he could bury his face into his adored brothers chest.

He cried uncontrollably,the whole family did,they hugged and comforted each other,but the pain was raw,agonising,desperate.

He was gone.Their father and husband was gone.

After a while a nurse who had been listening at the open door,but stayed out of sight to give them their privacy, came into the room to confirm that Fonsey has passed away.

"I'm so sorry for your loss" she kindly said "feel free to stay as long as you wish"

She unplugged the wires and drips that Fonsey had been hooked up to and discreetly tucked them into the corner of the room before leaving the grieving family in peace.

Not much was said as they all sat or stood around the bed.They were in shock.They all knew this was coming,but somehow it still didn't seem real.

Eventually,it was time to leave,they couldn't sit there forever,no matter how much they would have liked to,they knew the staff had work to do,so they were soon on their way back to Annes house.

Martin gave Anne and Dec a lift as he had driven to the hospice earlier on in the night.The whole family sat around drinking tea and coffee,none of them were likely to go back to sleep now anyway,especially as it was getting light,so they weren't at all bothered by having a caffeine fix so early in the morning.

Eventually everyone had to make their way back to their own homes,hugging and kissing each other goodbye before they did.

"Just us now then Mam" Dec stated sadly.

"Yeah" Anne nodded as she put an arm around Dec and they both cried uncontrollably for what felt like a lifetime,before finally deciding to see if they might at least be able to catch a nap for a couple of hours,caffeine or no caffeine,they were at least going to try.

They knew the next few days would be manic.In Ireland it was traditional to bury your dearly departed loved ones within a couple of days of them dying.Even though Anne and Fonsey had moved to England a long time ago,they still held their deep rooted traditions very dear to their hearts,although Anne had to reluctantly admit most of their relatives would need more time to organise the trip over to England,so a mere forty eight hours just wasn't practical

Meanwhile,Ant and Christine had proved themselves to be invaluable to Anne and Dec by cooking for them and bringing delicious homemade dishes over to the house.Anne and Dec were extremely grateful.It usually came naturally to Anne to want to look after people,but that was the last thing she should be worrying about at the moment and it made Ant and Christine feel useful.

A few sad days later,all the Donnellys and their friends gathered for Fonseys funeral.

Ant and Christine sat a few rows back to make way for Decs very large,extended family.

The funeral went off smoothly and was a celebration of Fonseys life,finishing with the song that meant so much to him and his family.

As slieve gallion braes played through the church speakers,they didn't know it,but Ant and Dec were having exactly the same thoughts.

They were thinking back to when Anne,Fonsey and Dec took Ant over to Ireland to meet Fonseys now deceased parents all those years ago.

Tears were falling from both Ant and Decs eyes as they listened to the lyrics and Ant remembered how Fonsey had taken him under his wing that day on top of the mountain and told him the history of the area.

Unknown to Ant,dec was also recalling the exact same memory.How his loving father had taken it upon himself to care for the shy,nervous young Anthony.

Dec glanced back through his tears to where Ant was sitting as the song came to an end.

Ant immediately noticed Dec looking at him,that wasn't hard though as he practically hadn't taken his eyes off Dec throughout the whole funeral.

Ant smiled at him and placed his right hand on his chest,covering his heart.Dec did the same and smiled back.

They didn't need to say anything,the small gesture was enough,they both knew what it meant,two hearts,one mind,always there for each other,just as it had always been.

Dec was glad when the funeral finally came to an end.Many tears had been shed,but it was over now,he'd got through it and after the wake,he had no choice but to return to London as work couldn't be put off forever.

During the next few weeks,Ant did exactly as Fonsey had requested.He kept a close eye on Dec,paying particularly attention to when he was unusually quiet.

Of course Dec was sad and he missed his dad so much,he ached for him some days and he was shocked to find it was actually a physical ache,he needed and wanted his dad back so badly that he actually hurt for him,but he had no choice but to get on with his life,his dad wouldn't have wanted him wallowing in self pity,he knew that much,so he threw himself into his work as a distraction.

Preparations were already underway for the forthcoming series of I'm a celebrity,although it was still a few months away,but at least it gave Dec something to focus on other than his grief.

So he naturally threw himself into any work related projects and before they knew it,months had flown by and Ant and Dec were preparing to be guests on the game show Celebrity Juice.

"This is gonna be nuts" Ant announced as they got ready in their shared dressing room.

"God,yeah it is" Dec agreed nervously,now beginning to regret agreeing to appear on what was probably the most rude,ridiculous and unpredictable programme on British television.

"You know Leigh isn't going to go easy on us don't you?" Ant stated,referring to their good friend Leigh Francis who presented the show as his alter ego Keith Lemon.

"No,he's going to be a nightmare" Dec laughed "even more so because we're his mates"

"Yeah" Ant shook his head in mock despair "it'll be a laugh though and it's nice to see you smiling again Decs"

"Yeah,sorry" Dec mumbled.

"Hey" Ant snapped "don't you dare apologise,you've got nothing to apologise for,I know you've been so sad since your dad died and I understand that,but I think a little light entertainment right now will be just what you need"

"Yeah,you're probably right" Dec smiled "I hate to think what's in store for us though"

"Something crazy" Ant laughed.

"Definitely" Dec agreed.

Although neither of them realised just how crazy it was going to be!