Oneshots and Other Things

Tired ~ Part 4

Part 4: Dec & Stephen (BGT 2015)

Ant had been wary when a couple of crew members started to take half-days off, disappearing over the lunch break with complaints of illness and then not being seen again for 24 hours.

It was starting to spread around backstage, with the floor manager pulling his hair out over the number of people they were having to replace or do without. And that was before two of the presenters started looking a little pale.

It started the same for everyone – complexion turning a little waxy and progressively getting sicklier. Then the shivers – fluctuations between hot and cold. After that, most people started getting sent home before the feelings of nausea turned into the real deal.

But when you presented the shows that were being filmed, that was less of an option.

"Alright, Deccy?" Ant asked just before lunch, having noticed the older man wrapping his arms around himself a few too many times, shoulders flinching every so often.

His question seemed to shake Dec out of his own thoughts and he nodded unconvincingly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

"You've not caught the bug, have you?" Ant asked, wrinkling up his nose. They worked in such a close proximity to each other that he didn't think he had any hope of avoiding it if Dec went down with it too.

"No," Dec replied a little too quickly. As if he sensed this himself, he calmed down and tried again. "No, I'm fine. Just tired - probably."

"Alright," Ant said disbelievingly. "Just let me know if you start feeling any worse."

Dec definitely ignored that last instruction. By the time the evening came around, his forehead had a near-constant sheen to it and whenever they weren't filming, he was quietly retreating to their seats and slumping heavily against the back wall. And still, unbelievably, he insisted he was just worn out.

At the end of the day, after the audience had been cleared out, they were both waiting for Stephen to turn up. Ant found himself growing frustrated that the younger man was running later than normal, wanting to get their final filming session of the day out of the way so he could escort Dec back to the hotel and force him to get some sleep. Not to mention his growing unease that the other man looked like he could be sick at any moment.

He was sat quietly next to Dec when the floor manager came over, having given up on making conversation.

"Do you know where they are?" Ant asked, with a less than subtle nod in Dec's direction.

The floor manager glanced at Dec with a sympathetic wince, taking in his eyes, screwed closed, and the hand wrapped over his stomach protectively as he leant against the wall. But when he looked back at Ant, it was clear he didn't have any good news to share.

"They've just managed to get through all of the interviews," he said with a sigh, "Stephen's caught the bug and I don't think you'll be filming anything else tonight. I'm surprised he's got as far through the day as he did, to be honest."

Ant's stomach twisted at the thought, feeling a little guilty for his earlier impatience and adding another item to his agenda for that evening. "Where is he?"

"Usual place," the floor manager replied grimly, "They'd just finished when I came over here."

Ant nodded gratefully, turning back to Dec and shaking his arm gently. "Hey, Decs? You awake, pet?"