"How are you feeling Ant?" Dec asked concerned as he accompanied him to the hospital on the day of his operation.

Lisa had really wanted to be there for her husband too,but she had work commitments that she just couldn't get out of.

As usual,Ant was putting on a brave face,but he was secretly quite scared,who wouldn't be when they're about to be put through any kind of operation?so he was very glad that Dec could accompany him.

"I'm fine Decs" Ant replied "just want to get it over with so my stupid knee can get back to normal"

"Yeah" Dec nodded "I can imagine how frustrating it must be"

"Mr McPartlin?" The nurse who worked at the private healthcare hospital,came to get Ant "we're ready for you now"

"Ok then" Ant smiled and got up from his seat and turned to hug Dec.

"You'll be fine" Dec replied,returning the embrace "I'll see you when it's all over and done with"

"Yep" Ant was still attempting to hide his nervousness "see you on the other side,but you know you don't have to wait,it could take a while and then I'll be taken to my room"

"Of course I'm going to wait" Dec announced "You came with me when I had my hair transplant.I've got some emails and stuff to reply to anyway,so I'll just get on with that,you go and get yourself fixed"

He hugged Ant warmly again and wished him well.He wasn't worried,Ant was in good hands and would be taken good care of and Dec would hopefully be able to see him in a few hours.

Those hours really dragged by though.Dec couldn't help but wonder how Ants operation was going,which made it very hard to concentrate on any work he was trying to do,so in the end,he had to give up and called his Mam for a chat,he knew she would keep him from stressing too much,Anne and Ant were the two people in the world who were the most capable of doing that.

Eventually,the nurse returned to get Dec.

"Mr Donnelly?" She smiled kindly "Mr McPartlin is out of surgery now and has been taken to the recovery bay,we will be moving him to his room very soon,if you'd like to follow me,then you can meet him there"

"Thanks" Dec replied and followed the nurse through the hospital corridors to Ants room.

"Very nice" he mumbled to himself after the nurse left to get on with her job.

"Hey,you're back" Dec stated,as Ant was wheeled into the room half an hour later "how are you doing mate?"

"Feeling groggy" Ant mumbled as his bed was moved into place in the middle of the room.

"That's only to be expected" Dec smiled "anesthetics seem to have a habit of making people feel groggy"

Dec stood back as the nurse returned to the room to check on Ants drip and medication,before leaving again.

"Hurts like hell man" Ant winced.

"Didn't they give you any painkillers?" Dec enquired.

"Yeah,course they did" Ant replied "doesn't feel like it though,could do with something stronger"

"It'll get better" Dec smiled "you're only just out of surgery,no wonder you're a bit sore"

"A bit sore?" Ant snapped "I wish that's all it was"

Dec knew that Ant was obviously in considerable pain,it was very unlike him to complain about anything.

"Don't worry Ant" Dec smiled sympathetically "it's done now,so it has to get better soon"

A few weeks later,Ants recovery was well under way,or so Dec thought,but that was actually very far from the truth.Ant was still in agony with his knee and he didn't understand why,the operation was supposed to fix it after all,but at least he could visit as many doctors as he liked with his private health care and get all the painkillers he needed.His downward spiral was now in full flow,but he managed to hide it well from Dec and everybody else.At least the Britain's Got Talent live semi finals were about to commence,so that would be a welcome distraction.

Before then though,Dec and Ali wanted to take a trip up to Newcastle to see family as Dec had something very special to ask one of them.

"So you'll do it?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes Declan" Dermott smiled "I'll do it.It will be an absolute honour to marry you two here in my church"

"Amazing" Dec replied as he hugged his brother tightly "thank you Dermott,that will make the day even more special,having my big brother marry us"

"It will" Dermott confirmed "I can't believe our litt'len is finally getting married,never thought I'd see the day"

"You can thank this one for that" Dec nodded towards Ali "had to go and make me fall head over heels in love with her,didn't she?"

"Couldn't help myself" Ali laughed "but thank you Dermott,I know how important this is to Dec,therefore it is to me too"

"It's my absolute pleasure" Dermott smiled.

"And this church" Ali looked around the building where she sat with her fiancè and future brother in law "it's absolutely stunning,I can't wait to get married here"

"Me neither" Dec chimed in.

"Well,it's not too far away now" Dermott observed.

Dec and Ali had decided on August 1st for their wedding and just hoped the unpredictable English weather would be kind to them.

They said their goodbyes soon after as Dermott had to get on with writing his sermon for the coming Sunday.

After hugging him goodbye,Dec and Ali left feeling very happy that Dermott had agreed to their request,although Dec knew it had been highly unlikely that his brother would have refused.

Now it was time for Ant and Dec to concentrate on the live semi finals.

As usual,a few die hard fans would hang around at the back entrance to the auditorium after the show finished in the hope of getting close up to their idols.

Ant and Dec were happy to stay and chat with them for a while,sign autographs and have their pictures taken.

"Hi" one pleasant lady smiled at Ant,while Dec was chatting to some other girls.

"Hi" Ant replied politely.

"I guess you don't remember me?" The lady asked.

"Umm...sorry no" Ant replied.

How he and Dec hated that question.Of course they understood that their fans were excited to meet them,especially if they got to do it more than once,but they'd probably met hundreds,maybe thousands of fans over the years,so it was very unlikely they'd be able to recall meeting one particular person.

"That's ok" the lady smiled as she pushed a scruffy old copy of the now defunct Smash Hits magazine under his nose "I didn't really expect you to,but maybe you remember this?"

Ant stared at the front cover of the magazine for a moment.Not much was registering with him just yet as he stared at the image of him and Dec in their PJ and Duncan days posing with a teenage girl.

Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning.

The memories all of a sudden came flooding back.Him and Dec doing a meet and greet session at the HMV record shop on Oxford Street.The sad young girl at the back of the queue, who he and Dec took under their wings,just for a couple of hours and made an unhappy,bullied victims day by including her in their photo shoot.

"ROSIE?" Ant yelled out stunned.

"Yes" Rosie grinned "it's me"

"DEC,DEC" Ant called across to his friend,who was chatting to some other fans nearby "come here quick,look who's here"

Dec obligingly made his way over to where Ant and the woman were standing.

"Look" Ant repeated.

"Er...hi" Dec smiled,having absolutely no idea who he was talking to.

"Show him" Ant insisted excitedly "show him the magazine"

Rosie quickly held it up in front of Dec.

"That's us" Dec recalled "with that girl,must be over twenty years ago now,what was her name?I just can't remember"

"Rosie" the lady beamed.

"Yeah,Rosie" Dec nodded,before the penny dropped.

"Wait a minute" he continued "what the hell,Rosie?"

"Yep" Rosie was loving playing this little game of guess who with her idols.

"Oh my God,Rosie" Dec squealed "wow,look at you all grown up,how old are you now?"

"You should never ask a lady her age Declan" Ant laughed.

"It's ok" Rosie smiled,I don't mind him asking "I'm thirty five"

"Wow" Dec replied "and what a stunner you grew up to be"

"Thanks" Rosie laughed "you did too"

"Well,I already knew that" Dec grinned.

"I just wanted to say thank you to you guys" Rosie smiled.

"What for?" Ant asked curiously.

"For changing my life" Rosie announced dramatically.

"Er...really?" Dec mused "I'm not sure how we could have done that?"

"Oh,I promise you,you really did" Rosie replied "you probably don't remember,but that little pep talk you gave me Dec,about standing up to my bully..."

"I do remember that actually" Dec cut in.

"Well" Rosie continued "it did me the world of good.I turned around and looked her straight in the eye that following Monday at school when she was being a complete and utter bitch to me and asked her exactly what her problem was"

"Did you smash her face in?" Dec asked hopefully.

"No I didn't" Rosie laughed "but I gave her a pretty thorough dressing down about what an awful person she was,how cowardly she was to pick on someone all the time,how I was a much better person than her and how she didn't have any genuine friends,just her sheep who followed her around all the time because they were too scared not to"

"Wow,good for you" Ant smiled "what did she say to all that"

"She cried" Rosie frowned.

"She cried?" Dec asked surprised.

"Yeah" Rosie nodded "then I felt really bad,don't think I've ever made any one cry in my life,except my kids occasionally when they don't get their own way"

"You have kids?" Dec beamed.

"Yeah,three" Rosie informed them "a girl,sophie,who's eight and twin boys..."

"Don't tell me..." Ant cut in "they're called Ant and Dec right?"

"That would have been brilliant" Rosie laughed "and I did even suggest it,but my husband vetoed it"

"Spoilsport" Dec replied.

"Yeah,he's no fun" Rosie giggled "so they're called Joseph and Lewis,they're six"

"Joseph?That's close enough" Dec winked.

"Yeah,I may have just conveniently forgotten to tell the hubby that Joseph is one of your middle names" Rosie grinned.

"Well done for standing up to your bully though" Ant returned to the original subject "what was her name?"

"Laura" Rosie stated "well,there was a few of them in her gang,but she was the ringleader"

"Yeah,well done for standing up to that Laura" Ant smiled.

"Thanks" Rosie nodded "it was one of the hardest things I've ever done,but also the best thing thanks to you guys,but it doesn't end there"

"Oh,really?" Ant asked.

"No,I actually started to feel sorry for her in the end,as all her so called friends didn't stick around once they realised she couldn't scare them into submission anymore,they all found their voices and found proper friends"

"No less than she deserved" Dec pointed out.

"I did feel sorry for her though" Rosie frowned.

"Really?you're a better person than I am then" Dec stated "I don't think I could have been so forgiving"

"Well,I'm actually glad I was" Rosie smiled "as a few days later,I noticed her sitting alone in the school playground,looking very sad,so I went over to talk to her"

"You did?" Ant asked surprised.

"Yeah" Rosie replied "and I'm really glad I did,because she apologised for everything she put me through,saying how much she regretted it and how she was basically deflecting"

"Oh really?" Dec was very curious about the other girls life now.

"Yeah" Rosie sighed "turned out she had the most awful home life and I'm not excusing for a minute what she did,there is never an excuse for bullying,but it did put it into perspective a bit more"

"How so?" Ant asked.

"Her mum left when she was just three years old and she was left with a useless father bringing her up,who was a violent waste of space,he put her through hell.She's an only child and he basically treated her as his slave and punch bag"

"Oh God,that's awful" Dec was now softening his attitude towards this former bully.

"Yeah,it was,but she got strong and she got away when she was old enough and do you know what?" Rosie smiled.

"What?" Ant and Dec replied in unison.

"We became the best of friends" Rosie announced proudly.

She then surprised the lads and the other fans who had gathered around to listen to the story and called to a woman standing at the back of the small cluster of people.

"Laura?"

The woman slowly made her way to where Ant,dec and Rosie were standing.

"This" Rosie grinned "is my best friend,Laura"

"Nice to meet you" Laura smiled sheepishly,not sure how Ant and Dec would react to her presence.

"Nice to meet you too" Ant held out his hand for her to skake and Dec soon copied his gesture.

"All's well that ends well eh ladies?" Ant smiled.

"Definitely" Rosie replied "and for you two as well?congratulations on your forthcoming wedding Dec,I read all about your proposal in Australia online"

"Old romantic isn't he?" Ant laughed.

"Yeah" Rosie laughed "you can't begin to imagine how many nights I went to bed dreaming that would be me when I was a teenager"

"Hey,what about me?" Ant winked.

"Oh,you too Ant" Rosie laughed "I wasn't fussy.How are you anyway?you had to have an operation didn't you?"

"Yeah,just on my knee" Ant confirmed "I'm fine now"

Of course,he was lying.He had actually been in constant pain night and day since his operation,but this lovely lady didn't need to know that,Dec didn't even know that.

"Well,we'd better start making our way back home,kids will be up early in the morning" Rosie announced.

"Let's have another quick look at that magazine before you go" Dec requested.

"God,we look so young" Dec frowned as he scanned the picture of him and Ant kissing Rosie on the cheeks.

"We were young" Ant replied "we've all come a long way since then though"

"Yeah,we have" Rosie nodded,while tucking her treasured magazine back into her handbag "how about an up to date picture then?"

She took her phone out from her jeans pocket and posed happily for a new photo with Ant and Dec.

"We're so glad you made the effort to come and speak to us tonight" Dec smiled.

"Oh,it was the least I could do" Rosie replied "after you changed my life"

"Well,it was actually you who changed it" Dec pointed out "you did all the work"

"Changed it for both of us" Laura added gratefully.

They all hugged each other goodbye and Ant and Dec waved to the fans still hanging around as they climbed into their waiting car to be driven home.

"How lovely was that?" Dec asked.

"It was amazing" Ant agreed "so nice to see her after all these years and hear how her life turned out"

"Definitely" Dec nodded.

"Well,it's your life that is about to change for the better now isn't it?" Ant stated as he rubbed his knee firmly "when you finally become a married man"

"Yep" Dec smiled "I can't bloody wait"

"Me neither" Ant nodded "it's gonna be a great day"

"But first,we have the small matter of the stag night to attend to!"