Ill Conceived Plans

Smiling as the ship goes down

AS soon as they were clear and into the ad break Dane was up and taking off his microphone. His usually pale complexion would make snow look like something out of the Sahara.

He was a dead man.

Mark was going to kill him and then his management would flay him alive but it was nothing to what Sarah would do to him.

Yes he was a dead man.

Anna moved in to congratulate him, to send a message to her "school chum" Sarah and to most probably ask details but Mark was quicker, as soon as the conversation took a more personal turn he was there, diving in and ushering his client away (trying to hide the look of absolute panic on his face). They were in the BBC, they were in the fucking BBC, the BBC crawling with journalists and Dane had just admitted he'd fathered a child. Dane Hilditch, one of the biggest stars in the UK, had just let slip he was a father and not with his girlfriend but his best friend. Dane Hilditch, who employed him to handle his publicity, had just made his job difficult, very difficult, so very fucking difficult all while standing inside enemy territory. Not that the BBC were all about gossip but still. Oh god, Oh god, Hilditch and Huntington WERE really going to be the death of him.

Of course all this was happening under the surface, deep down in Marks subconscious – on the surface, he was a gliding graceful swan – hopefully, no-one could see the furious paddling underneath.

"Sorry Anna we have to go – more appointments to keep," he said trying hard to keep his composure while guiding Dane out of the building as quickly as possible. Tennant and his publicist (who was a friend of Mark's and sympathetic) played interference, chatting to the host and floor manager while Dane and Mark made a break for it.

"Sorry," Dane mumbled as they left the building as fast as possible, Mark's phone was already starting to ring, or was it Dane's? He had hold of both and he got the feeling it was going to busy day.

Crowds of fans were outside to greet them, some had been there since dawn and Dane, running late on the way in, had promised to sign on the way out. But Mark had other ideas and was horrified when Dane broke away.

"Oh no you've already gone rogue once on me today we have to go," he whispered in Dane's ear as his charge signed an autograph and then took a selfie with a mum and her two young teen-aged daughters – as promised.

"Just a couple!" he hissed over his shoulders and Mark harrumphed. Dane loved his fans, he knew that, but he had a feeling this was more about stalling for time than anything else. He didn't blame him. Sarah was a firecracker at the best of times but she was surging with all sorts of pregnancy hormones at the moment. Mark didn't really want to be himself right now but he wanted to be Dane even less. 

There was another scream from the fans and they turned to see David Tennant exit the building. He came over to Dane while Gracie his publicist went to Mark and put a supportive arm around him realising, no doubt, what a shit-storm Dane had unleashed.

In contrast, David clapped Dane on the back loudly.

"Congratulations Daneo," he said. "Fatherhood is brilliant, scary but brilliant – best thing I've ever done!"

"Thanks!" Dane answered smiling unsteadily as the security helped them move away from the crowd and out to their waiting cars.

"Hug Sarah for me – um if she'll let you and just remember I have a spare room and a comfortable couch if you need it!" he said hugging his colleague as they both made their way to their vehicles. David had worked with Sarah in the past several times and he knew that boy was going to need all the luck he could get.

Safely in their car without any paps chasing them, Mark finally let out a huge breath and then launched into the tirade that Dane knew was coming. His PR, and friend was the calmest man he'd ever met, unflappable, the perfect foil for him – until he was pissed. And he was most decidedly pissed.