"How did it go kidda?" Ant asked concerned when Dec turned up at his house just a couple of hours after his talk with Clare.

Of course Dec had told Ant that he was planning to finish things with his girlfriend of ten years and Ant was desperately sad for both of them.As much as he would have loved for them to stay together forever,it wasn't his relationship and he knew Dec had to do what was best for himself and he'd obviously been unhappy for some time now.

Ant just made it clear to Dec,as a best friend should,that he was there for him if he needed a shoulder to cry on afterwards,which was exactly why he was standing on Ants doorstep now.

Dec shook his head sadly,trying to find the voice to tell Ant how it had gone,but the words just wouldn't come out,although the tears had no trouble at all.

"Oh come here pal" Ant pulled Dec into a comforting hug right there at his front door,he didn't care if anyone saw them,Dec needed it at that exact moment and they had already become pretty well known for being tactile and affectionate with each other on screen anyway,so who cares what anyone would think of this very public display of affection,certainly not Ant.

Dec sobbed uncontrollably in Ants arms as his worried friend did his best to ease his pain.There wasn't actually much Ant could say to make Dec feel better,he obviously couldn't change the situation,so all he could do was hold him,tightening his grip on the smaller man every time he shivered with grief.

And Ant knew grief was exactly what Dec was feeling.Grief for the demise of his relationship and he would be mourning that loss for some time to come,so Ant knew he would just have to do his best to help him through it.

He knew Dec better than he knew himself and how he always put on a brave face for the world.Although it saddened him to see that,knowing how Decs heart would be breaking behind the scenes,he also hated the idea of the press getting any pictures of him when he was at his most vulnerable,especially if they caught him crying,thank God that had never happened yet,Dec had always been ready with his trusted pair of sunglasses to hide any trace of emotion on his face when the press were at their worse and being the most intrusive.It had been horrendous when they'd found out that Dec had cheated on Clare and Ant really didn't want anything like that to happen again,not to Dec or Clare.

Ant sighed to himself as he still held Dec tightly in his arms,the thoughts of what the aftermath of this break up would be like swimming around his head.He stroked and patted Decs back soothingly as he sobbed,wishing he could take his pain away,but only time could do that.

"Wanna come inside Decs?" Ant finally suggested,now starting to feel a little self conscious at the occasional odd look they were getting from passers by.

Dec nodded sadly and pulled himself out of Ants embrace and made his way to the living room.

"Want a drink?" Ant offered "you look like you could do with something stronger than a cup of tea"

"No thanks" Dec sighed "I've already got a headache from crying so much,don't want to make it any worse,a hangover in the morning is the last thing I need,is Lisa here?"

"Er...no" Ant replied reluctantly "she's gone over to Clares,I told her what was happening and she wanted to be there for her"

"Good" Dec nodded "I'm glad Clare isn't on her own,I hate the idea of her being upset with no one to talk to"

"Lisa will see her right" Ant smiled "don't you worry about that,she's probably going to stay over as well just to keep an eye on her"

Dec smiled sadly and looked at Ant with hopeful,puppy eyes.

"And of course you are going to stay here tonight" Ant confirmed,knowing that was exactly what Dec was waiting to hear "I wouldn't have it any other way when you're so upset,hope you brought some clean undies?"

"No I didn't" Dec smiled "never thought to"

"Ah well" Ant replied "you can borrow some of mine,wouldn't be the first time would it?"

"No it wouldn't" Dec managed a half hearted laugh at the thought.

"So do you want to talk about it?" Ant enquired "or do you just need the distraction?"

"Dunno" Dec shrugged "talk about it I guess,then you can distract me"

"So how did Clare take it?" Ant asked.

"She was heartbroken" Dec sighed "she cried a lot,we both did"

"It must be so hard for both of you" Ant replied "I feel for you,but you'll get through it and so will she,if you're sure you've done the right thing?"

"Yeah I am" Dec confirmed "we couldn't carry on how we were,we were making each other miserable,it had definitely run it's course,it was just hard for either of us to admit it"

"Then you did the right thing if that's how you feel" Ant agreed.

"Yeah I know" Dec nodded "it's just so incredibly hard after ten years,I'm not sure how to deal with this and how to move on,I've obviously never been in this situation before,neither has she"

"One day at a time Decs" Ant smiled sympathetically "just take one day at a time,that's all you can do"

"Yeah,I know" Dec replied "I do wonder though..."

"About what?" Ant cut in.

"How different things would have been if I hadn't cheated on her that night" Dec replied.

"Declan" Ant scolded "you can't keep beating yourself up about that,I'm not going to let you.It's in the past and you need to let it go now"

"Yeah,but..." Dec interrupted.

"No buts Dec" Ant replied sternly "you and Clare may have drifted apart anyway,even if that hadn't happened and I get that it's frustrating that you may never know for sure what contributed to your break up,but you can't go on blaming yourself,you have to forgive yourself at some point and now is the time"

"Maybe" Dec frowned.

"No,definitely" Ant snapped "what's done is done,you're not a bad person Dec,I know that better than anyone,you made a stupid mistake,over two years ago and you've paid the price for that mistake,you don't need to feel guilty about it any longer,that's it now,done and dusted,time to move on"

"Yeah,I know you're right" Dec sighed.

"Aren't I always?" Ant winked.Now attempting to make the conversation more lighthearted and bring Dec out of his desperately sad slump.

"Er no,you're not" Dec smiled.

"So" Ant said "what can I do to make this day end on a better note than it started?"

"Don't know" Dec replied.

"A game of golf would really cheer you up I bet?" Ant suggested.

"Umm...it's a bit late don't you think?" Dec grinned,glancing out of the living room window "it's getting dark"

"Yeah,good point" Ant replied "maybe tomorrow then?make the most of a rare day off?"

"Yeah,I'd like that" Dec smiled,just as his phone that was tucked away in his jeans pocket started to ring.

"Oh God,it's Mam" Dec frowned "I can't talk to her now,she'll know something is up,she always does"

"Don't answer then" Ant replied.

"She'll keep ringing if I don't,she'll be worried if she can't get hold of me" Dec replied.

"But there must be loads of times when she can't get hold of you when we're working?" Ant mused.

"Not really" Dec replied as the shrill ringtone finally stopped "she always knows when I'm on live telly as she watches us and you've heard me answer her calls even when we've been in meetings and tell her I'll call her back haven't you?"

"Yeah,I have" Ant smiled "that's one persistent Mama"

"Give it two minutes and she'll be calling back" Dec insisted "talk to her for me Ant please,I just can't face it right now"

"What?" Ant asked surprised "I can't do that,what would I say?"

"You don't have to say anything" Dec assured him "just make up some excuse,please Ant,she won't leave me alone otherwise"

"You're going to have to tell her about you and Clare splitting up eventually" Ant pointed out.

"Yeah,I know" Dec nodded "but not yet eh?it's too fresh in my mind,I'm still coming to terms with it myself,I'm just not ready for me Mams overwhelming concern,not just yet anyway"

"Ok" Ant smiled as Decs phone predictably rang again,Dec glanced at the screen to confirm it was actually his mother calling back and handed the phone to Ant.

"Hi Anne" Ant answered in the most cheerful voice he could muster up.

"Oh,hi Anthony" Anne replied "didn't expect you to answer,you took me by surprise there"

"Yeah,sorry about that" Ant laughed "we're just about to go into a meeting,Dec is scrambling around for some notes he lost"

Ant tried not to laugh as Dec started shuffling magazines on the coffee table and flicking through the pages in an attempt to make convincing rummaging noises.

"Honestly,that boy" Anne smiled at the thought of her sons lack of organisation "why are you having a meeting this late anyway?"

"Oh,it's not that late" Ant replied "it's not unusual in our line of work"

"Ok" Anne sighed "well,will you please tell Declan to call me when he's done?"

Dec shook his head furiously,having heard his Mams request as he strained to hear what she was saying over Ants shoulder.

"Umm...well,it'll be pretty late by the time it's done,these meetings can drag on for hours" Ant glared at Dec for putting him in the awkward position of having to lie to Anne "maybe he can call you tomorrow?"

Dec gave Ant the thumbs up,he was sure he would be a bit more composed by then,even though he still wasn't sure he'd tell his mother about his break up just yet.

"Tell him I love him" Anne insisted "I know he's there"

"She said she loves you" Ant looked at Dec.

"Love you too Mam" Dec shouted out "sorry,got to go"

"I hate lying to your Mam" Ant frowned after he hung up the phone.

"It was only a little white lie" Dec assured him "no harm done,I just can't face talking to her right now"

"Ok" Ant smiled,he hadn't wanted to push Dec into doing anything he didn't want to at that precise moment,knowing how delicate he must be feeling,so he let it go.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the evening then?" Ant enquired.

"Don't know" Dec replied "watch a film or something and you can cook me dinner"

"Or we can get a takeaway?" Ant suggested.

"Well,I'm never one to refuse a hearty chinese meal" Dec grinned.

"Who said we're having Chinese?" Ant teased playfully "maybe I fancy Indian or a pizza"

"I said" Dec smiled "and your sole job today and tomorrow is to cheer me up,so you can't argue with me"

"Is that a fact?" Ant laughed,he was actually just happy to see Dec smiling.

"Yep,it is a fact" Dec replied cheekily.

"Ok,ok" Ant replied "Chinese it is then"

The boys were soon tucking into their takeaways while watching an old action film.Ant refused to let Dec watch anything sad,he knew how Dec loved a good old fashioned weepy,but this wasn't the time for that,even though Dec insisted it was.Ant stood firm though and got his way.

"Great film" Ant announced once the movie finished a couple of hours later.

When no reply came,he turned his attention towards Dec who was by now fast asleep.Ant had felt the weight of Dec leaning on him throughout the film,but Ant just thought he was getting comfortable,it was a position Dec favoured when they were relaxing and watching telly,just leaning on Ant and snuggling up to him comfortably.Ant didn't mind,in fact he quite liked it,it was during those often quiet moments when neither of them were saying a word that the best friends felt the closest to each other,even though the weight of Dec leaning on him for so long often gave Ant a dead arm.

"Decs?" Ant muttered softly,but no reply came,only a gentle snore escaped from Decs mouth at being nudged.

"Decs?" Ant repeated,slightly louder.

Still no reply.Ant was unsure what to do for the best.He hated the thought of disturbing Dec while he was sleeping so peacefully,but he also wanted him to get a good nights sleep in a proper bed.He knew Dec would be aching all over tomorrow if he spent the night on the sofa and that would put him in a foul mood.Ant even considered carrying him up to his bedroom,but decided that would be silly,Dec wasn't drunk after all,he was just exhausted and emotional.

"Ok Declan" Ant proceeded to shake Dec a little firmer until he began to stir.

"What?" Dec asked sleepily as he slowly opened his eyes,confused for a moment about where he actually was "I was asleep"

"Yeah,I can see that" Ant laughed "enjoy the film did you?"

"Er...yeah,some of it" Dec replied as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Come on,let's get you to bed shall we?" Ant suggested kindly.

Ant followed Dec upstairs and into the spare bedroom that was only ever used for Dec,any other visitors had to use the other spare bedrooms or the sofa.

"You're gonna be ok,you know that don't you kidda?" Ant smiled as he stood in the doorway as Dec got into bed.

"I hope so" Dec sighed.

"I know so" Ant stated as he walked over and perched on the side of the bed "I know you and I promise you that you'll get through this,how can you not with me as your right hand man?"

"Yeah" Dec smiled "thanks for today Ant,you always know how to make me feel better"

"That's what friends are for" Ant replied "and I know you'd do the same for me"

"Yeah,I would" Dec nodded.

With that,Ant leant forward and gave Dec an affectionate,loving kiss on the forehead,leaving his lips lingering there for a couple more seconds than he usually would.It was a small gesture,but one that meant so much to both of them,no more words were needed,all the feelings in that small act of kindness said it all,it told Dec that Ant was there for him and always would be and everything would be alright in the end.

"Goodnight kidda" Ant smiled as he made his way towards the door "love ya"

"Love you too Ant" Dec replied.

"And thank you!"