Ant wedged the bottom of the cocktail glasses into the sand so they wouldn't topple over and moved in close to Dec,wrapping his arms around his distraught friend.

"Please tell me what's wrong Dec?" Ant pleaded "you were fine a few minutes ago"

"I...it's nothing" Dec stuttered.

"Well,that's obviously not true" Ant stated "come on mate,talk to me,I might be able to help"

Dec wiped his tear stained face with his hand,annoyed that he didn't even have a long sleeve to mop up the tears,let alone a tissue.

"You'll think I'm being stupid" Dec whispered.

"I absolutely will not think you're being stupid" Ant replied seriously "if it's something to upset you this much,then there is nothing stupid about it"

"Well..." Dec mumbled,trying to find the right words "it's just this place and...everything else,it's all just a bit...you know?"

"Overwhelming?" Ant offered helpfully.

"I guess I've used that word a lot recently haven't I?" Dec asked.

"Yeah" Ant smiled "but if it sums up how you're feeling,then you can use it as much as you like,was there anything specific that brought this on?"

"Not sure" Dec shrugged "just sitting here,being on the most beautiful island on earth,looking out to sea...it's just so peaceful and stunning and made me think about how just a few short months ago I was sleeping on the cold streets,starving and scared,it just doesn't make any sense"

"Yeah,it does" Ant smiled and gripped Dec's upper arm tightly "you went through an extremely hard time and you've come out the other side,it does happen you know"

"I just don't feel like I deserve it" Dec said quietly.

"What?" Ant asked shocked "why the hell don't you deserve it?"

"Don't know" Dec shrugged.

"So you think you're such a bad person that you deserve all the shit that you've been through?" Ant asked confused.

"I don't necessarily think I'm a bad person" Dec whispered.

"What then?" Ant pressed for an answer,trying to understand where Dec was coming from.

"I don't know" Dec sighed "I guess to go from something so awful to something so amazing just doesn't seem right,thousands of people are still homeless and will be for the rest of their lives"

He had a sudden pang of guilt over his old friend Betty from the streets,who he promised he would keep in touch with,but in reality,she hadn't even crossed his mind in weeks.

He felt awful now and vowed to himself to pop by and see her once he got home.

"Declan,look at me" Ant ordered and Dec immediately turned to face Ant.

"Now you listen to me" Ant continued "this nonsense has to stop"

"What?" Dec frowned,shocked at Ant's abruptness.

"You know what" Ant stated "you can't carry on like this...living with this guilt and the ridiculous idea that you owe the world something"

"I don't think that" Dec protested.

"Yes you do" Ant replied firmly "you've had an awful time,no one would ever argue with that and of course it has affected you deeply,but that doesn't mean things shouldn't get better for you or you somehow don't deserve for it to"

Ant paused for a moment,giving Dec a chance to reply,but he stayed silent.

"You're a good guy Dec" Ant smiled "one of life's nice guys,I saw that in you right from the beginning,you care about people and that's a good trait to have,you're kind,loving,caring,compassionate and funny and so loved,I could see that just from the short time we were in Newcastle"

"Maybe" Dec replied shyly,feeling slightly embarrassed about Ant's gushing praise.

"Definitely" Ant smiled "it's time to look to the future Dec and I don't expect you to forget about the past,I know that would be impossible,but you need to at least try and put it behind you,put it in a box,label it as something sad,but meaningful and lock it away,then start to look forward instead of back and just because there are people worse off than you,doesn't mean you don't deserve happiness and not to suffer"

"I know you're right" Dec mused "I just find it hard to think like that"

"Look at that sunset" Ant pointed out to the horizon,admiring the stunning display of red,orange and yellow "beautiful isn't it?"

"Yeah" Dec agreed,not sure of what Ant's point was.

"So give me one good reason why you don't deserve to see it?" Ant asked "why does someone else deserve to be here more than you?"

"We have sunsets in England" Dec muttered.

"Yeah,cos that's really the same" Ant laughed "and that wasn't the question"

"I don't know" Dec frowned.

"Exactly" Ant beamed triumphantly "you don't know because there isn't a reason,you deserve happiness as much as the next person,so you need to move on from this pity party,get on with your life and make sure it's a good life"

"Pity party?" Dec asked surprised "is that what you think this is?"

"That's exactly what this is" Ant replied sternly,hoping his tough love approach would have the desired effect.

"You're going to look to the future now ok?" He continued "you've got somewhere to live,a job and our new business and you're back in touch with your family...what more could you possibly want?"

"Isla" Dec whispered quietly.

"And that is on our to do list as well" Ant smiled "we'll get you access to your daughter Dec,I promise you that"

"I hope so" Dec replied.

"We will" Ant stated confidently,his arm firmly around Dec once again "so are we agreed then?from this day onwards,we are looking to the future?"

"Agreed" Dec smiled gratefully and rested his head on Ant's shoulder,gazing out to sea as the sun got lower and lower on the horizon.

Ant picked up the cocktails from the sand and passed one to Dec,who took it gratefully.

"To the future" Ant beamed and clinked the heavy glass against Dec's.

"To the future" Dec repeated and they both took a large sip from their drinks.

"Oh God,that's sweet" Dec exclaimed.

"Nice though" Ant smiled.

They stayed on the beach until the sun had completely vanished from the sky,then made their way back to the bungalow.

The next couple of weeks were the most amazing of Dec's life as Ant was determined he got to experience everything that the Maldives had to offer.

Swimming with dolphins,snorkeling,parasailing just to name a few,but he drew the line at scuba diving as the thought of being deep down in the ocean scared him,so Ant went out for lessons without him while Dec was more than happy to stay behind,relaxing by the pool and drinking cocktails.

Eventually,their amazing holiday came to an end and they headed back home to England,ready to pick up where they left off with one thing or another.

Dec arranged to go to Newcastle to see the rest of his family as he had promised and Ant decided it was a perfect opportunity for him to visit his too.

Although this time they both stayed with their mother's,rather than in a hotel.

"I'll see you in a couple of days" Ant smiled as he dropped Dec off at Anne's "call if you need anything"

"I will thanks" Dec beamed as he leant over and hugged Ant.

This had now become their regular way to say hello and goodbye to each other,a warm embrace that they both appreciated and knew meant so much more than just friendly words.

Anne hugged Dec warmly as she welcomed him into her home and they spent the rest of the day chatting about anything and everything,but especially Dec's amazing holiday and he couldn't wait to show her all the pictures he'd taken.

They had arranged to meet with Dec's siblings the following day,without any of their partners or kids,Dec would rather have saved that for another day,although he was looking forward to seeing them all again at some point.

So as tomorrow came around and he heard chattering as his brother's and sister let themselves in to Anne's house with Pat's key,Dec took a sharp intake of breath as Pat,Martin and Eamonn entered the living room.

Tears were already streaming down everyone's faces before they even reached each other,but once they did,Martin was the first one to practically scoop Dec off his feet and hold him tight,sobbing uncontrollably into his hair.

"Oh Dec" he wept "I've missed you so much"

"I've missed you too" Dec whispered through his tears "I'm sorry"

"Don't be" Martin muttered "I understand,I'm just so glad you're back...let me look at you"

Martin pulled out of the embrace and held Dec's damp cheeks in his hands,gazing at him adoringly,before kissing his forehead.

"My baby brother" he sobbed "you're home"

"I'm home" Dec whispered emotionally.

"Let me have some of that loving" Eamonn interrupted and held his arms out to Dec,who willingly fell into them.

After what seemed like a lifetime of hugs and tears,Anne and her kids sat down to chat.

"Where's Moira,Cam and Dermott?" Dec asked curiously.

"They'll be here soon" Pat smiled "don't you worry about that"

And Dec didn't have too long to wait until the inevitable hugs and tears once again turned him into an emotional wreck when his remaining siblings turned up.

It couldn't have been more perfect.

The love that eminated from his family was second to none and he knew nothing would ever come between them ever again.

Dec vowed he would visit more regularly and for longer as he waited for Ant to pick him up a couple of days later for the trip back to London.

This time Ant happily accepted Anne's offer of a cup of tea and a chat.

"Look" he grinned as he showed Dec something on his mobile phone.

"Wow" Dec smiled "our first booking"

"Yep" Dec beamed "a dog named Bella,we're going to walk her this week and if all goes well,it should turn into a regular thing"

"That's great" Dec replied "what kind of dog is she?"

"A labrador" Ant smiled.

"Aww,I love labradors" Dec laughed "they're so soppy"

"Me too" Ant replied "you ready to get this business off the ground then?"

"Absolutely" Dec replied confidently.

He had agreed to stay on at the law firm until they found his replacement or the dog walking business took off,whichever came first,but it just so happened that the two more or less coincided with each other,so Dec was free to leave.

He was sad leaving his colleagues behind,but he knew it was the right thing to do.

"So,do you want to be the one to walk Bella?" Ant asked as they prepared to pick up the dog.

"But it's your company" Dec pointed out "don't you want to do it?"

"I tell you what,let's do it together" Ant suggested.

"Perfect" Dec grinned.

And as they walked the energetic dog around Richmond park,the warm spring sunshine on their faces,they both inwardly couldn't help but think how great everything was.

That was until Dec spied a face from the past that he really didn't want to see.

Nick!