With You | Ant and Dec

Part Thirteen

2 days later saw Declan showing small signs of improvement. He had only woken up a few times for a few minutes, still weak and drowsy, but the doctors assured his family that he was, indeed, improving.

Ant spent every minute with his best friend, only leaving for the bathroom and to shower. Anne, Cam and Eammon arrived the previous day, assuring the other siblings that they would keep them updated.

Alfie, Martin's son, had been quiet ever since he and his father had arrived in Australia. Ant decided he needed to talk to Declan's nephew in private, so he informed everyone that he and the teenager would go get some food.

Once they were away from the peaceful room, Alfie turned to the older man and frowned up at him.

"Ant, why did you bring me?" He asked, not understanding why he was the one that Ant brought with him. Ant sighed and found a bench for the two to sit down on.

"Alf, what's up, kidda? You've been awfully quiet since you and your father arrived 2 days ago,"

"My uncle tried to kill himself and ended up in hospital! Ant, how am I meant to react to this?!" Alfie snapped, beginning to pace around in front of the bench. Ant smiled sadly and gently grabbed the young boy's arm. Alfie stopped abruptly and Ant saw the tears and lip quiver.

"Oh, kid," Ant whispered, standing up to bring the lad into a tight hug. Seconds later, he felt his shirt getting damp and knew that the dam had broken and the teenager was finally letting his emotions out.

//

Anne Donnelly sat next to her youngest son's bedside as he slept. When Martin had called her and explained that Declan was in hospital, she had immediately booked a flight. Nothing that Martin had said had prepared her for the sight that greeted her when she arrived.

She cried and prayed and hoped to God that her youngest would pull through. She spoke to the doctor and he had officially diagnosed Declan with Clincial Depression. He had said that if Ant and Bob had been minutes after, Declan probably wouldn't have made it.

Anne remembered thanking Ant and Bob profusely the moment she arrived. Bob had brushed it off and said he didn't need thanking, he was merely doing his job as a medic, friend and co worker of her son.

Anthony, however, sobbed out apologies, saying how he had failed his best friend by not being there for him and not seeing the warning signs.

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Anthony," Anne was strict with her words, "This is not your fault! Our Declan is stubborn and will never admit his problems. There's no way you should have spotted the signs before this happened. Nobody blames you, so please don't blame yourself,"

Ant cried for another hour after that, Anne holding him close to her to try and offer comfort. Eventually, the younger Geordie fell asleep and left the other Donnelly's to watch over their youngest, all praying for him to be okay.

Note from the author:
After weeks, here's part 13! I cannot apologise enough for the delayed update, but if you've read my previous notes in this story, you'll know why.

I'm sorry for any mistakes that may be in this chapter. I'll try and correct any if I, or you guys, see any.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hopefully the next one will be up soon. Thank you for all your love and support over the difficult time I've had the last few weeks. I'm getting better slowly.

You guys keep me going, so thank you. Xxx