A/N: It's just me back with another McCarter fic since I've run out of ideas for Staring at the moment. It's based around spoilers for next week so I'm warning you now if you avoid them. Oh yeah, and there's a bit of swearing at the beginning. I don't usually include swearing but it seemed appropriate for the context and it's a word I'm using to describe Ste a lot these days.

This is a two part fic (I hope). Not sure when part 2 will be up because I'm busy at work until Sunday but I'll try and get some stuff written.

The title is from With You There to Help Me by Jethro Tull.

Fuck, Doug thought. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. That wasn't what he had wanted to hear. Ste wanted to sell his half of the Deli. What the hell was he going to do? He didn't have the money to buy him out and he didn't know who would want to buy Ste out. Where did that leave him?

He flopped down on the sofa in the Deli and ran his hand through his hair trying desperately to come up with a solution to the bomb that Ste had just dropped on him. He needed someone to talk to, to help him figure things out so he pulled out his phone and fiddled with it for a few seconds before sending a text to John Paul.

Are you busy? I need to talk.

A few moments later his phone buzzed with the response.

Not busy, where are you?"

Doug replied and ten minutes later John Paul walked through the door.

"You okay?" He asked as he sat down next to Doug, noticing immediately that he looked troubled. He took Doug's hand and squeezed it gently. Doug smiled sadly at the small gesture.

"Ste wants to sell his half of the Deli," Doug explained. "And that means one of three things. Either I buy him out; which I can't afford, I find someone else to buy him out or we sell the Deli completely and he gets his half."

"That's not good."

"I don't know what to do."

"Can you try and convince him not to?"

"He seems pretty adamant that's what he wants to do," Doug replied sadly.

"Hey," John Paul comforted wrapping his arm around Doug's shoulder and pulling him close. "Don't let him get you down."

Doug closed his eyes and took comfort in John Paul's arms. He loved the feeling of just being held by the larger man. It made him feel safe and just for a moment as if everything was going to be okay. "I just can't believe he would do something like this."

"I know you and Ste are close and you still consider him a friend so don't take what I'm going to say badly but I'm not surprised he's done something like this."

"I think I should start using close in the past tense," Doug said. "We haven't been close for a long time."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "You know, when we opened this place it was supposed to be a fresh start for us. I spent so much of my life screwing up and I just wanted to have something that showed that I wasn't a complete failure. It was supposed to be our chance to show that we weren't failures. And we weren't, we were good at this. We built this place from the ground up and now it's all going to hell."

"The problem is Ste doesn't care anymore," John Paul told him.

"I know," Doug agreed, jumping to his feet and pacing angrily across the Deli. "He hasn't cared since Brendan went to jail but a part of me really hoped that he would come back from that."

"Ste is selfish and untrustworthy; maybe it would be best to just cut him loose."

"But then I lose the Deli and I don't want that. I just feel so useless."

"I'm sure there's something you could do."

"Maybe it would be best if I just gave up and sold it," Doug said glumly. "Both of us started this business and I don't even know if I want to do this on my own. The whole reason I came back from America after Ste and I broke up was this place. I love it and I don't want to let it go but I don't want to fight because I'm too tired. I'm tired of trying so hard to keep Ste from completely going off on one and it's not like I can get him to change his mind. I'm not even sure I want to so I don't know what to do."

John Paul stood up and grabbed Doug's arms; stopping him from pacing. He raised one of his arms and stroked Doug's cheek tenderly. "Don't give up so easily. Look, I don't know what you should do and I can't tell you what to do but whatever happens I'll agree with you if that helps," he smiled at the younger man and Doug felt his heart skip as he so often did when John Paul looked at him like that.

"I just need to take my mind off things for a bit," Doug replied. John Paul wrapped his arms around Doug's waist and pulled him into a hug.

Doug pressed close against John Paul and buried his head into the crook of the taller man's neck, breathing in his scent. He wanted to stay that way forever, just forget all his problems and stay in John Paul's arms because nothing else mattered when he was being held by the older man.

"I think I can help with that bit," he smiled and leaned in to kiss Doug.

They stood like that in the middle of the Deli just kissing for several minutes before Doug pulled away and rested his head on John Paul's shoulder. "That feels good," he whispered softly.

"Feeling better?" John Paul asked.

"Much better," Doug smiled. "For a moment I forgot what it was I was so upset about."

"I have to get back home, I left Matthew with Mum," John Paul said as he kissed Doug's temple. "How about you come back with me and we'll just sit around, watching TV, spend the night not thinking about Ste or the Deli or what you're going to do and in the morning when you've had time to sleep you can think about it again?"

Doug nodded in agreement. "Come on," he said; pulling away from John Paul but taking a quick moment to plant another kiss on his lips. "I could do with a relaxing night in."

John Paul took Doug by the hand and stroked it gently with his thumb before pulling him towards the door and out of the Deli.