Ant tried to weigh up his options,as he pulled Decs motionless body into his arms.

He could try and get Dec back to the shelter now and to some relative comfort,but he had no idea where they were,how far inland they'd gone,or how long it would take to get back?especially as he would have to carry Dec with only the light of the moon to guide him.

Or he could wait until daylight,when it would be easier to find the way,but how could he help Dec if they stayed where they were?the truth was,he couldn't,but he still decided that was the better option,rather than risking getting lost.

All he could do was remove his T shirt and lay it under Decs head,then snuggle down against him,to keep him warm as the cool night air got increasingly colder.

Ant didn't know if he was doing the right thing,weren't you supposed to keep people with a fever cool anyway?he thought to himself.

But this wasn't cool,this was cold and couldn't be good for someone as obviously sick as Dec.

"What the hell has happened to you Dec?" Ant mumbled to himself,as he wrapped his loving arms around his friend,pulling him in as close as he could manage,mostly to protect Dec from the elements,but also to warm himself up against the bitter night air as it whipped against his bare torso.

He held onto Dec until he eventually nodded off into a restless sleep.

Just a few short hours later,the sound of the dawn chorus,with various birds and unseen small animals,making their own unique sounds,made it clear that it was time to start the day.

Ant groaned as he attempted to pull his dead arm out from underneath Dec.

In the cold light of day,Ant got a proper look at Dec for the first time and he was shocked to see just how awful he looked.

Decs face was deathly pale,although his skin was red and sunburnt,the sun had obviously broke through gaps in the trees where Dec had fallen and burnt the back of his arms,legs and neck to a crisp,although the front of his body was as pale as always,the side of his face that had been turned towards the sky,looked painfully sore.

Ant thought how much he would have teased Dec about getting sunburn if he'd fallen asleep on a sun lounger by a swimming pool,but this was very different,it was probably a blessing in disguise that Dec was unconscious as it looked incredibly painful,but Ant still had to smile despairingly to himself at how ridiculous Dec looked with his two toned skin.

"Brits abroad" he muttered to himself "this ain't Ibiza"

Ant cursed the fact that they had run out of suncream,Dec was really going to suffer with that sunburn...if he ever came round.

Ant decided to give Dec a quick once over to see if he could find any clues as to what was wrong,sadly Dec was covered in bug bites,with red,angry spots erupting all over his body,he always said he had sweet blood and those pesky little insects were always drawn to him.

"Poor guy" Ant sighed,as he scanned his eyes over the bites,hoping to himself that they really were from harmless insects and not from something more sinister like a poisonous spider or snake.

Then Ant had a thought.

A thought that shocked him to the very core and made his not very religious self pray that he was wrong.

He and Dec had had a fist fight,what if one of the punches he'd thrown at Dec had done some damage...like REAL damage...and caused internal bleeding?

Ant knew this kind of thing was rare,but it did happen,he'd heard of it in the news on occasions,some poor guy being killed by one blow to the head or stomach.

"Oh God" Ant cried out loud "what if I did this to you?"

He collapsed onto Dec,sobbing into his stomach,not having the slightest clue as to how to deal with this unbearable thought.

If Dec had internal bleeding,he'd die without proper medical intervention,that was for sure.

How could he have been so stupid as to start a ridiculous fight?over fish of all things,now he could lose Dec...forever...and he'd have no one to blame but himself.

"I'm sorry Dec" Ant sobbed "I'm so sorry,please don't leave me,you've got to be ok,don't go,don't die,I need you"

Ant lay with his head resting on Decs stomach for several minutes,distraught tears cascading down his cheeks and soaking Decs filthy shirt.

Decs breathing was shallow and laboured,but it was a comfort to Ant as he felt the very slight rise and fall on the side of his face,it meant that Dec was still alive and as long as he was alive,there was hope.

"You're gonna get through this Decs" Ant stated,as he stood up,wiped his tear stained face with his hands and bent down again to pull Dec up into a firemans lift,over his shoulder.

A new found determination had now taken over Ant,he was going to get Dec back to the shelter,get him comfortable and get him well,that was the only possible outcome Ant would entertain from now on,anything else just didn't bear thinking about.

"Let's get you back then shall we kidda?" Ant winced under Decs weight.

He was pretty heavy for a little guy,Ant thought to himself,but once he started the journey,following the sun and sound of the ocean to get some kind of idea as to where they were,he didn't notice the weight so much,he just focused straight ahead and hoped he wouldn't come out on a part of the beach that wasn't too far away from his destination.

Finally,after making it back to the beach,he gently lowered Dec to the ground,so he could see where he was and luckily he had come out on a part of the beach that was probably no more than a 15 minute walk back to the shelter.

He quickly went down to the sea to splash some water on his face and cool his sweaty brow,before picking Dec up again and continuing the journey.

After a strenuous ten minutes,a welcome visitor came bouncing towards them.

"Hey Piccolo" Ant smiled "nice of you to come and meet us,miss us did ya?"

Ant was heartened by the fact that Piccolos appearance hopefully meant that they were almost back to the shelter and he was right.

Relief swept over Ant as the small hut came into view,so much so,that he managed to find a final burst of energy for the last leg of the journey and broke into a sprint to get there.

Finally,he was able to lay Dec down on the blanket and prop his head up on one of the the makeshift cushions from the boats seats.

"That's a bit better ain't it pal?" Ant whispered gently.

He placed his palm on Decs forehead.

"Still burning up" Ant sighed.

He didn't know what to do for the best,Dec was obviously seriously ill and Ant had nothing that could help him.

He rummaged through the first aid kit,in a desperate attempt to find something that might be of use,but other than the bandages that he thought he could maybe use as a cool compress,he couldn't think of anything else he might need it for.

"What bloody use are a box of plasters to me?" He mumbled to himself as he doused one of the bandages in water from his bottle,before wringing it out and placing it on Decs forehead.

Was that it?was that really all he could do to help Dec?

He'd never felt so useless in his entire life.

He had very limited medical knowledge and even what he did know,wasn't helping in the current situation,so he decided the only other thing he could do was talk to Dec.

He had heard that the hearing was the last thing to go when people die,that's why doctors always tell people to talk to their loved ones on their deathbeds,even if they couldn't talk or respond,there was a good chance they could still hear their friends and relatives saying their last goodbyes.

Ant sighed at that thought and gave himself a telling off.

"He is NOT dying" Ant scolded himself "that's NOT gonna happen"

He wished he knew exactly what was wrong with Dec,he probably wouldn't know what to do about it,but the curiosity was driving him crazy.

He still decided to lay down next to Dec and chat to him,probably more for his own benefit than Decs,he would drive himself crazy otherwise,wondering what was going on and what he could do about it,when in reality he knew the answer was probably nothing,he was just going to have to wait this one out with Dec and hope for the best.

"You know kidda" Ant smiled,as he lay on his back,staring up at the roof of the shelter "there's no one on earth I'd rather be stranded on a desert island with than you"

"Not even Anne-Marie" he continued "or even the dogs,although it would have been nice to have them here too"

He paused for thought for a moment.

"It's always been you Decs" Ant smiled "right from day one,no one gets me like you do,we've been through a lot haven't we pal?laughed together,cried together,always supported each other no matter what,I couldn't have asked for a more amazing best friend"

He glanced over towards Dec.

"Still don't fancy waking up then?" He sighed.

"I miss talking to you,hell I even miss you taking the piss out of my fishing skills"

Ant shook his head despairingly,still with the niggling doubt that one of the punches he laid on Dec my have caused this.

"I'm so sorry Decs" he whispered,as tears started to roll down his cheeks once again "I wish I could turn back time,not get into that stupid fight,not take my anger and frustration out on you,or even better...not have gone on that stupid dolphin watching trip in the first place"

Ant was desperate for Dec to do something...anything.

Just a cough,a groan,any kind of movement,just to show there was something going on,then maybe that meant there would be a slight chance he would come round soon and hopefully be out of the woods.

He didn't know how he could live with himself if Dec died.

Even if Ant hadn't been responsible for his demise,he would probably never know for sure and there would always be that niggling doubt.

"I CAN'T STAND THIS DEC" Ant suddenly shouted as he stood up,his strong resolve from not so long ago,already disappearing "I CAN'T STAND THIS"

He ran out of the shelter and on to the beach,as a bemused Piccolo watched on,while gnawing casually on some tasty leaves.

Ant fell to his knees on the sand,sobbing into his hands,the desperation of the situation hitting him hard like a massive kick in the stomach.

"I can't stand this" he wailed desperately once again "I can't do this any more,I don't want to"

He raised his head towards the sky.

"What kind of God are you?" He sobbed "all he's ever done is believe in you,so why?...WHY?"

Ant regained his composure after a few minutes,looked out to sea and watched the waves gently falling onto the beach,now feeling surprisingly calm.

"Well" he stated in a matter of fact fashion "if you're going to take him..."

"You're going to have to take me too!"