"It'll be ok" Ali told Dec as she comforted him after being informed of Ants sorry situation.

"Will it?" Dec frowned "how?he's been caught drink driving for fucks sake and if that wasn't bad enough,he crashed into someone"

"I know you're upset" Ali replied sympathetically "but let's just wait and see what happens shall we?"

Dec suddenly thought of his and Ali's growing child in her womb.

"Yeah" he smiled "I don't want you getting stressed about this,that won't be good for you or the baby"

"Me and the baby are fine" Ali assured him "it's you I'm worried about...and Ant of course"

"I'm ok" Dec sighed "Ant I can't be so sure of"

"I guess we'll just have to wait to hear from him then" Ali replied while kissing Decs forehead "that's all we can do"

"Yeah" Dec nodded sadly.

Ant did in fact arrive home in the middle of the night.He was pleased to discover Christine had waited up for him.She had been allowed to go home from the police station many hours earlier,after giving her side of the story to the police.

Ant was also pleased that Dec had already dropped Hurley back home.He had got him checked out with the vet as soon as Anne-Marie had dropped him off and thankfully all was fine,Ant needed his dog there with him and Dec knew that,even if it would turn out to be just for a few,so as soon as Christine let him know that she had arrived home the previous day,Dec made his way over to deliver Hurley back.

Ant and Lisa had agreed that they would have joint custody of Hurley and it had been his turn to have the dog,but he knew once Lisa found out about what had happened,she would demand to have him back.That probably wouldn't be such a bad thing at the moment though as Ant knew his head was all over the place and worrying about his pets wellbeing probably wasn't at the front of his mind right now.

Ant was delighted to see Hurley and just for a few amazing seconds,he forgot about the awful situation he was in.

"Hello boy" he smiled,as he buried his head into Hurleys soft ears "how are you doing?"

"He's fine" Christine smiled as she held out her arms to her son "more importantly,how are you?"

"He needs to go back to Lisa" Ant announced sadly,totally ignoring Christines question "just for now"

"Yeah,he does" Christine agreed "I'll drop him off in the morning"

"Thanks Mam" Ant replied "I need to go to bed"

"Are you ok son?" Christine asked concerned as Ant began to climb the stairs,with Hurley at his heels.

"Yeah" Ant mumbled absent mindedly,but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Ant?" Dec said as he answered the phone the next day "I thought you were gonna call me when they released you?"

"Yeah,sorry" Ant mumbled "I didn't get home till 4 o'clock in the morning,so I didn't want to disturb you or Ali"

"As long as you're ok?" Dec asked concerned.

"I guess I am" Ant sighed "can you come over?Mam is going to take Hurley back to Lisa,so we'll be able to talk in peace"

"I can bring him back with me and drop him off with Lisa afterwards if you like?" Dec suggested "we're on the same street after all,that would make sense wouldn't it?"

"Yeah,it would" Ant agreed "but Mam wants to go out anyway,wants to clear her head after everything that's happened and Lisa wants Hurley back as soon as possible,she's pretty mad about all this"

"I can imagine" Dec frowned.

"Still,Mam said she might pop in and see Ali if she's home" Ant informed him.

"ALI?" Dec called out "is it ok if Christine pops in for a cuppa while I'm at Ants"

"Yeah,of course it is" Ali shouted back in reply "will be nice to see her"

"Did you hear that?" Dec asked Ant.

"Yeah,I heard" Ant replied "I'll see you soon then"

What followed was probably one of the most emotional days of both Ant and Decs lives.The only time that Dec could recall being more upset than this was when his dad died and the day of his funeral.

"I don't know whether to thump you or hug you" Dec announced sadly as they sat together in Ants living room.

"Feel free to do both" Ant replied glumly "I deserve it"

Of course Dec chose the latter,but he was still angry...extremely angry.

"How could you have been so stupid?" Dec demanded to know as he pulled out of the hug "why the hell would you do something like that?"

"Sorry" Ant mumbled.

"That's not an answer" Dec snapped "why did you do it?"

"I don't know Dec" Ant sighed "I really don't"

"You're an idiot" Dec stated.

"I know" Ant nodded "a stupid,drunken idiot,who deserves everything he gets"

"Yeah" Dec nodded unsympathetically.

"I need help" Ant whispered.

Dec looked at Ant and observed the desperation in his face,his eyes,his body language and his general being,there was obviously more to this than Dec realised.

Ant looked like he had given up.Like things had become too much.How could this be when he had worked so hard to get his life back together just a few months earlier?

"I'm an alcoholic" Ant stated bluntly.

"What?" Dec asked surprised "no you're not"

"Yes I am" Ant insisted "I can't go a single day without a drink and this has finally proved to me that I desperately need help.I basically swapped one addiction for another,so I'm going to go back to rehab,get my life sorted once and for all and it will be for good this time"

"Ok" Dec was still trying to process this new information,but he knew if that was what Ant needed,then that was what he should do "what about the show?"

Dec immediately regretted those words slipping out.This series of Saturday Night Takeaway only had two episodes left,but that was the last thing Ant should have been worrying about.

"Sorry" Dec quickly mumbled.

"It's fine Decs" Ant smiled "it's only right that you should be worried about that.What I did affects you too"

"The rest of the series will just have to be cancelled" Dec stated.

"Or you can present it alone" Ant suggested.

"I can't do that" Dec replied shocked "you've been at my side since we were kids,it would be too weird"

"These are exceptional circumstances" Ant sighed "I need to get myself well again and I need you to be strong for both of us,do you think you can do that?"

Dec nodded tearfully "what about Florida?" he sighed,referring to the series finale that was supposed to be happening at Disneyworld,Orlando,but he already knew the answer.

"If you do go ahead and present the rest of the series alone" Ant smiled gently "you'll have to go to Florida without me too"

"I can't imagine that" Dec frowned.

"I know" Ant replied sadly "but it's just the way it has to be...for now anyway.We need to arrange a meeting with ITV about all this"

"How are you being so strong?" Dec asked.

"I'm not" Ant replied "I'm in pieces,but Decs,you may not feel it,but I promise you that you are the one who is being strong here,I know you and I know you'll get through this"

"So will you" Dec smiled sadly.

"Hope so" Ant nodded.

The two men hugged again for what seemed like an eternity,neither of them willing to be the first to let go.

"I'll be in touch then Decs" Ant stated bluntly.

"Ok" Dec smiled tearfully.

Dec did indeed go ahead and present the last two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway solo.

It was weird and he was as nervous as hell,but he got through it and the trip to Florida actually did him the world of good in the end.

He missed Ant desperately and he found it incredibly strange not to have him there by his side,to bounce off,laugh and banter with at every opportunity,but he had Ali there to support him and his good friends Stephen Mulhern and Scarlett Moffatt had come through for him,supporting him and making him laugh whenever they could.

"You're such an idiot Mullers" Dec howled one day as Stephen told him one of his ridiculous jokes.

"Best way to be" Stephen grinned.

Unknown to Dec,Stephen had decided to make it his mission to make sure Dec always had a smile on his face as much as possible.

Obviously Dec would be missing Ant and he would always be sad about the circumstances that had led to this,but that didn't mean he had to be constantly miserable.In fact Stephen was pretty sure the fans would have loved to see Dec looking happy after the events of the last couple of weeks.

Ants stint in rehab went well.He worked hard to deal with his addiction once again and try to put his troubles behind him.

He had some pretty intense therapy where it became evident that he had been suffering from depression and ADHD for some time now.

Suddenly everything made sense to Ant and he was relieved to finally have a diagnosis.

He knew the next few months would be extremely difficult,but with Dec,Anne-Marie,his family,friends and fans behind him,he knew he would get through it.

Dec was delighted when Ant left the rehab facility a month later and couldn't wait to see him.

"Wow" Dec smiled,as they embraced each other in Ants living room "you've shaved your beard off?"

"Yeah" Ant laughed "it was time for it to go"

"Some of our fans will be sad about that" Dec laughed.

"They'll get used to it" Ant beamed "you know,I think I grew it as it felt like a bit of a mask,I thought I could hide behind it"

"And now?" Dec asked curiously.

"And now" Ant repeated "I don't need to hide anymore,I've faced my demons and come to terms with them and accepted my punishment"

Ant had already been to court.He was handed a hefty financial fine and driving ban,which he accepted gracefully.

"There is one thing though" Ant told Dec.

"What's that?" Dec asked curiously.

"I need to take some proper time off" Ant smiled "you know,to properly recover,this isn't something that is a quick fix,I'll always be a recovering alcoholic,that won't go away"

"I understand" Dec nodded "you should have some time for yourself,at least this years Saturday Night Takeaway is done"

"And I heard you did great" Ant smiled.

"Apparently so" Dec nodded "but we've got a few weeks till the live semi finals of Britain's Got Talent,you'll be ok by then right?"

"No Decs" Ant sighed "I won't.I'm talking about taking the rest of the year off,you know a proper career break"

"Really?" Dec asked sadly "you don't even want to do I'm a Celebrity?"

"It's not a case of not wanting to Decs" Ant replied "it's what I need.I hate that I'll have to leave you alone out there yet again,it's always been you and me against the world hasn't it kidda?but I need this,I really do,so I'm sorry,but there really isn't any other way"

"You have to do what's best for you" Dec nodded "that's the most important thing"

"I know how difficult this is for you Dec" Ant announced sympathetically "but I'm not going anywhere,I'll still be around for you"

"And I will be for you too" Dec replied confidently.

As difficult as the next few months were likely to be,Dec knew that what Ant was saying made total sense and if this was what it would take for Ant to be well again,then of course Dec would support him wholeheartedly.

"You'll be ok decs" Ant smiled kindly as he placed an arm around Decs shoulder "you'll have a new baby in a few months,you'll be too busy to care about me"

"I will never be too busy to care about you" Dec insisted.

"I just hope the fans accept me back when all this is over" Ant frowned.

"Of course they will" Dec smiled "you've seen some of the amazing messages of support some of them have sent already"

"Yeah" Ant nodded "they're pretty great,but I know some people are understandably angry with me and with good reason"

"All you can do is prove to those people that you've sorted your life out" Dec shrugged "and if they still don't accept it,that's just how it is,don't give them another thought,you're doing your best"

"Yeah,I am" Ant agreed quietly.

"I guess we need to call another meeting with ITV" Ant announced.

"Yeah" Dec agreed "they might want to cancel this years I'm a Celebrity,it wouldn't work to present that on my own"

"Or" Ant mused "you could get another presenter to work with you"

"Nah" Dec shook his head stubbornly "that won't work,would be too weird"

"Don't write it off just yet" Ant smiled "you never know,it might work out"

"Can't imagine it somehow" Dec frowned.

"Dec,I'm going to go away for a while?" Ant informed him.

"Oh yeah?" Dec asked "where to?"

"Robbie has invited me over to his place in LA" Ant replied,referring to the duos good friend Robbie Williams "you know to recuperate for a while,relax in the Californian sunshine"

"Lucky you" Dec smiled "how long for?"

"Not sure yet" Ant shrugged "couple of weeks,maybe longer,Mams gone back to Newcastle now,so why sit in an empty house on my own?"

Christine had decided to go home while Ant was in rehab,there wasn't much point in her staying in London if she couldn't even be with Ant,but she swore to him that she would be back at the drop of a hat should he need her.

"I think that's a great idea" Dec beamed "I'll miss ya though"

"I'll be back before you know it" Ant grinned "anyway,you've got that lovely wife of yours to look after,that baby will be here before you know it"

"Yeah,it will" Dec laughed.

Ant and Dec had their meeting with ITV and their management company soon after.Everyone was totally on board with Ant taking this career break.They wanted what was best for one of their biggest stars and would support him completely throughout the rest of the year.

It was also agreed that the Britain's Got Talent live shows would be presented by Dec on his own and I'm a Celebrity would go ahead later that year,with a guest presenter in Ants place.Although Dec had initially been reluctant to go ahead without Ant,he had eventually been persuaded to go through with it.

Dec insisted that he didn't want another man as his temporary sidekick for I'm a Celebrity,so he and the team decided on This Morning and Dancing On Ice presenter Holly Willoughby.She was already a close friend of the boys,so she seemed like the perfect temporary replacement for Ant.

Ants stay at Robbies luxurious home did him the world of good,although he couldn't wait to get home to see Dec and Anne-Marie.

"I've given up smoking" Ant announced proudly to Dec once he was back in London.

"Well,it's about bloody time" Dec laughed.

"Yeah" Ant nodded "it seemed so stupid to carry on putting that poison into my body now that I've got clean in every other way"

"Congratulations" Dec beamed "you look great,California obviously agreed with you,nice tan you've got there"

"Yeah,it was amazing" Ant smiled "I'm glad to be home though,I missed you and Amzie and Hurley"

"Well,we all missed you too" Dec beamed "what's that?"

Dec watched curiously as Ant pulled something out of his pocket.

"It's a vape" Ant announced "just giving me a little bit of help with quitting my dirty habit"

"So instead of smelling of cigarettes" Dec laughed "you're gonna smell of strawberries or liquorice?"

"I guess I am" Ant grinned "this ones bubblegum flavour"

"Ugh,that's gross" Dec grimaced as he took a sniff of the air.

"Still better than what I was doing before though right?" Ant grinned.

"Definitely" Dec nodded.

As the year went on,Dec could see what a positive affect the career break was having on Ant.

He seemed happier,healthier,more relaxed and at peace with himself and that was obviously a wonderful thing.He and Anne-Marie had also decided to go public with their relationship,they didn't see the point in trying to hide it any longer.

Dec had regrets that he hadn't realised that Ant was still struggling after his first stint in rehab,but hindsight was a wonderful thing and if he could turn back the clock,he would have done things differently.He didn't know what,but he would have tried something,but that was irrelevant now.

He knew there was no point in dwelling on the past,the future was looking rosy for both of them and as long as Dec could get through I'm a Celebrity in a few months time without Ant,then all would be good.

But before then,as summer was threatening to turn into autumn,a new life was about to be brought into the world.

"DEC" Ali yelled out from the bathroom,as she realised her waters had just broke.

"IT'S TIME!"