The wintry sun peeked sluggishly through the curtains, casting a pale light into the room. At such an early hour, there wasn't much activity in the street outside - a few birds tweeting in the trees, a car reluctantly groaning into life a few doors down, perhaps a dog barking happily on their morning walk with their owner.

Inside the room, two people lay sleeping peacefully in the king-sized bed; comfortably snuggled into a pile of blankets and cuddled into each other. A little black and tan Dachshund was curled up at their feet, covered in his own deliciously warm blanket and perfectly content to lay near his slumbering humans.

Movement from one side of the bed then disturbed the stillness of the room, and so the day had really begun.

Ali blinked her eyes open slowly, relishing the warmth of her cocoon and sighing quietly in contentment. She rolled over to face her husband, smiling when she saw that he was still sound asleep.

She was grateful for that - Declan had been a bit ill for most of the night; running a fever and suffering with horrible nausea, as well as a stomach ache. He'd actually been acting a bit off for the past two days, but it had definitely worsened last night. Watching him sleep peacefully now, Ali couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again - he was simply adorable when he was asleep.

She lay there watching him for a few minutes; listening to his deep, slow breaths and feeling his warm presence beside her.

Speaking of warm.....

Ali reached out and laid a palm against Dec's forehead - taking care not to disturb him. It was still a little warm, but it had come down from earlier this morning at least.

Her touch caused Dec to rouse quietly; his breathing hitched a little and he snuggled further into the pillows. Ali bit her lip to keep from giggling at the adorable sight.

"Come on, love. I know you're awake" she whispered, grinning.

A tiny pout pulled at Dec's lips, before he obligingly opened his eyes. Blinking sleepily at his wife, he slowly dragged his body back into wakefulness. He was pleased to note that the horrible nausea had dissipated a little, and that his stomach seemed to have calmed as well.

"Mornin' pet" he mumbled sleepily, not bothering to stifle a wide yawn.

Ali bent forward and dropped a kiss on his forehead, smiling when he unconsciously leaned into her touch.

"Feeling any better this morning?" she asked as she pulled back, leveling her husband with a concerned look.

Dec nodded in affirmation, relieved that he did in fact feel at least a little better - last night had been simply awful.

Ali looked pleased as she sat up fully and threw her covers back.

"Good, because you have to get going to the London auditions. They're starting today, remember?"

Dec did remember: it had been all he had thought about last night, wondering if he would even make it in to the theatre this morning.

Rocky jumped up at the sound of activity and bounded over the blankets to give his mistress a good morning slobber.

"Hello" she greeted, giving the pup's ears a friendly scratch.

Dec smiled fondly at the two, before he glanced over at his alarm.

"Shit! It's half eight! I'm gonna be late!"

Ali glanced up at him, raising a cheeky eyebrow.

"And why is that suddenly an issue?" she teased, getting a half-hearted pillow to the face in retort.

"I'm going to get dressed and take Little Scamp here for a walk, then I'll be heading in for a few meetings and stuff - so I'll see you this evening" she continued, still grinning cheekily in his direction.

Dec sighed and pushed back the covers and made to get out of bed. As he moved to sit up, a sharp pain radiated across his stomach and he grunted and grabbed the area instinctively.

Ali was at his side instantly, all joviality now gone as she frowned down at her husband.

"Love? Are you alright?"

The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Dec nodded and straightened up to smile tightly at his wife.

"Just pulled a muscle, I think. Nothing too major" he tried to reassure her, though it sounded fake even to his own ears.

Ali raised her eyebrows.

"You haven't done anything to pull a muscle, though" she pointed out, putting her hands on her hips.

Dec shrugged.

"I dunno, pet. It's just a little twinge - I'll be fine."

Ali tried her hardest to believe him.

*****

As the morning progressed however, it was getting harder and harder for her to believe his adamant assurances that he would be fine.

Normally especially ravenous of a morning, Dec barely picked at his porridge, and only managed a few mouthfuls under Ali's stern gaze. He looked paler than usual as well, and his gait was a bit stiff and careful - almost as if he was trying to avoid pulling at his stomach again.

Ali watched all of this from afar, worry intensifying as the morning went on. Finally, she decided to take a bit of action.

While Dec was changing in their room, she took out her phone and whisked off a quick text to the one person who would be guaranteed to keep a close eye on her Declan for her.

Ali: Hey you.

Ant: Hey Al! Everything okay?

Ali: Yeah. Well....not really. Declan's acting a bit off - and he's still running a bit of a fever. I'm getting a bit worried....

Ant: A bit? Aw, don't worry Al. I'll keep an eye on him for you :)

Ali: Thanks darling. xoxo

Ant: xx

Just as Ant's last message arrived on her phone, Ali heard a car pull up outside their house. Pulling back one of the drapes, she looked out and recognised Joe's car.

"Dec! Joe's here, hun!" she announced, calling up the stairs to their room.

No answer.

Frowning, she started to ascend the stairs - worry churning uncomfortably in her gut.

"Declan? You alright?" she queried, steps unconsciously slowing.

She was just about to start sprinting up the remainder of the stairs when the bedroom door opened and her husband appeared. Her initial relief quickly vanished at the sight of his face: he was still pale, but now a bit of sweat had started to bead around his collar and on his forehead; his cheekbones were starting to look a bit flushed, and his eyes were glistening strangely.

She ended up sprinting up the rest of the stairs anyway, quickly arriving at her husband's side.

"Oh, sweetheart; are you alright?" she fussed, putting a hand up to his forehead once more - worried to find it a little warmer than earlier.

Dec didn't answer for a moment, then he nodded stiffly and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before padding downstairs.

"See you later!" he called back, voice sounding a little croaky - as if his throat was raw.

Ali didn't get a chance to reply, as he was quickly out the door and heading down the drive to Joe's waiting car.

A gentle breeze wafted in through their bedroom window, and a suspicious smell drifted into her nostrils. Biting her lip, she walked into their room and into the ensuite, where the smell became overwhelming.

She soon found out why when she saw the remainders of this morning's breakfast sitting in the sink drain.

*****

True to his promise to Ali, Ant kept a close eye on Dec as Joe drove them to the theatre where the London auditions were being held. He knew that something was clearly off with his friend, but Dec wasn't being very forthcoming about what that was.

It was obvious he was sick - any idiot could see that, Ant mentally scoffed - but his symptoms were so vague that he couldn't be sure. Ali had since confided via more texts that Dec had developed some stomach pains the night before, and the nausea that had been plaguing him had this morning turned into active vomiting.

So something was definitely wrong.

Now, to just find out what.

Unfortunately, they didn't get too much time to talk once they arrived at the theatre: there was a link to film from outside, some more to film from inside the theatre itself, and then the interviewing of the afternoon's acts started.

The boys were kept so busy that even Dec almost forgot about being sick. Almost: his body wouldn't allow him the luxury of actually being able to forget.

He'd already had a few near-misses during one of the interviews with an enthusiastic dancer, barely managing to keep his stomach in check until the chat was over. Somehow, he was able to dodge Ant's questions and sneak off to the bathroom to be sick properly.

As he vomited into a toilet, another sharp pain flashed through his abdomen. Groaning weakly, he raised a hand from the toilet seat to gently massage the area. He had to stifle a yelp when the pain actually increased as he pushed down on his side, and he instantly let go.

"Thought I'd find you in here."

Dec didn't even have to turn around to know who had spoken - the voice was familiar enough even through the ringing in his ears.

"You know me, it's not a good day unless I'm sick over a loo" he joked weakly, sitting up and flushing the toilet.

Ant raised his eyebrows at his friend's poor attempt at a joke, before he knelt down beside him.

"You're feeling pretty shit, aren't you?" Ant honestly wasn't expecting an answer - he knew just by looking at Dec's face that it was true.

Dec still nodded in response, running the back of his hand across his mouth - grimacing as some spittle came away on his skin.

"Ugh, why is being sick so gross?" he wondered, taking the paper towel Ant offered him.

Ant shrugged, not bothering to attempt to answer Dec's question.

"Now, you wanna level with me and tell me what's going on?"

Dec was about to reply when another pain ripped through his abdomen - this time more to the right, where it had been central before. He hissed sharply, all his muscles tensing sympathetically in response to the pain. Panting through tightly clenched teeth, he waited for the pain to subside.

Ant frowned at the sight, and immediately put a hand on Dec's shoulder.

"Jeez; Ali said you were having stomach pains, but I didn't think she meant like this" he muttered worriedly.

Dec let out a heavy breath as the pain subsided to a more manageable level, his muscles relaxing in relief.

"It's been getting worse since I woke up this morning" he admitted weakly, a pained look still flickering in his eyes.

Ant bit his lip at that, reaching up and putting a palm against his friend's forehead - worry twinging further as Dec leaned into his touch with a sigh.

"You're pretty hot, kid" he observed, shifting his hand to cup the side of Dec's face.

Despite feeling absolutely rotten, Dec still managed to waggle his eyebrows cheekily at him.

"I try my best" he smirked, dodging Ant's hand as it went to give him a light whack on the upside of the head.

"You know what I mean" Ant grumbled good-naturedly, folding his arms across his chest.

"How high was your temperature last night?"

Dec frowned as he considered the question, as if trawling through his brain to find the answer.

"Uh, I think the highest it got was 38.something?"

Ant chewed on his bottom lip worriedly - his friend definitely felt warmer than that now.

"Right, come on. We've got a break for an hour or so until the auditions start, so you can take a kip in the judge's room" he decided, standing and brushing himself off before holding out a hand to Dec.

Dec took his hand and accepted his friend's help to stand, although he must have moved a bit too quickly, because his side suddenly felt like it was on fire.

"Ow....." he groaned, hunching over a little as he pressed his hand to his right side and squeezing his eyes shut against the pain.

Ant immediately grabbed his shoulders and supported him, worried and slightly frightened eyes boring into the top of his head.

"Actually, maybe we should get the medic: I don't think this is an ordinary stomach ache, kiddo" he suggested, frown deepening as Dec shook his head.

"No, I'll be okay - I just need to lie down for a bit" he stubbornly insisted as he cautiously straightened up.

Ant looked squarely at his friend's face - worried at just how pale and clammy it looked - but he knew that there would be no changing Dec's mind now: he could be such a stubborn bastard sometimes.

Forced to back down, Ant simply supported his friend out of the bathroom and into the hallways of the theatre.

They didn't really talk much on the way back to the room that they had been given to share with the judges - and that worried Ant even more: Dec was normally very chatty and talkative, so for him to be so quiet was more than a little disconcerting.

"Ah, here come the stragglers!"

David's cheery voice rumbled through the room as the two boys walked into the comfortable space, the boys taking a moment to admire the room as they entered.

It was a rather spacious room - with makeup benches and mirrors set up on the far side, and a square of comfortable couches surrounding a heartily crackling fireplace. A long table stood to the other side, adorned with a variety of sweets and nibbles - it made Ant's stomach grumble just looking at the spread.

"Good to see you, boys!" Stephen exclaimed happily, bounding over to them like an excited puppy. He pulled Ant towards him in a tight hug - which Ant reciprocated, equally pleased to see their friend.

His smile dropped when Stephen started to make his way over to where Dec was standing.

"No, Stephen don't-!"

But Ant's warning came a fraction too late. As Stephen wrapped his arms tightly around Dec's stomach and started to swing him around playfully, the others could only watch as Dec's face grew suddenly paler and significantly more pained.

"Stephen, put him down! Now!" Simon ordered urgently, worry clear in his tone.

Stephen let Dec down in surprise - not really sure what was wrong.

Exactly what was wrong became all too clear to them all as Dec staggered sideways for a moment - as if trying to stop himself from collapsing - before grabbing his side and dropping to his knees with a spine-chilling, heart-wrenching scream.

*****

TBC......

*****