Individual Summary: Every relationship has to start somewhere, and Bob's relationship with the boys is no exception. Way back in 2002, somewhere in far North Queensland, on the set of the first ever series, one medic is about to come face-to-face with two young Geordies, and things will never be the same again.
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If anyone had told Bob way back in 2002 that the show he was going to be filming would still be running all these years later, he would have looked at them and chuckled - saying "That would be nice, but I don't want to get too excited."
Just in case it didn't work out; that's what he'd always said.
And even when he got the call the following year to come back and be the medic for the second series, and then beyond, it still took a good few years and about three more series for it to properly sink into his mind.
At this point in the timeline, however, Bob didn't have that assuring knowledge: this was the first series of I'm a Celebrity, and no one had any idea what to expect.
He'd flown to Townsville a few days previously, and was now in a hired car on his way out to the set at Mission Beach. He knew the area - in his opinion, it was one of the better beaches in Queensland, but he was a little unsure at how it would work as the set for the camp.
The environment could be hostile - even in August, as it was, and therefore winter - and the sand and mosquitoes were likely to be the biggest source of complaint from both the camp-mates and the crew.
And - he supposed as he pulled into the hotel that the UK company had booked for him - probably the hosts as well. Being from the UK, Bob suspected that the two blokes were completely unused to environments such as this one, and that worried him a little - he just hoped that they could handle it all.
He wouldn't meet the rest of the British crew or the hosts of the show until the big meeting the following day, but Bob decided to take advantage of the early afternoon hour and go for a walk around the hotel grounds when he finally arrived. The sun was warm on his face and there was a gentle breeze cooling the air to a very pleasant temperature.
Sighing happily, Bob came to a halt by a balcony that looked out onto the vast ocean spread before them. The view really was spectacular, he mused quietly, and he smiled as the sea breeze ruffled his graying hair.
But he was quickly startled out of his musings by the sound of a loud yelp, followed by a crash and then the sound of someone swearing.
"Bollocks!" The voice was distinct, the accent definitely of British origin, and it made Bob's head turn in the direction of the voice.
The sound he heard next was that of laughter, before a different voice - but with a very similar accent - managed to speak up around their giggles.
"Numpty. You alright?"
While the voice was still laughing, Bob could hear the concern and affection simmering in the undercurrent of the speaker's tone, and it made him even more curious.
"Yeah, I just- OW! Don't touch it!" the first voice yelped, and Bob could tell that they were in some sort of pain.
He pushed away from the railing and started to walk towards the direction of the voices, just as the second voice replied with "Sorry mate."
Bob rounded the corner into the main courtyard of the hotel just as a second yelp echoed around the stone. He was a little surprised to catch sight of two younger men standing about ten metres from him; one, a small, slight, gingery-brown haired man holding his hands palms up - and even from where he was stood, the medic could see the shining redness of the blood from the gravel rash on them - while the other, a taller man with dark hair that was spiked up at the front, stood at his side with one hand on the smaller man's wrist and the other on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.
They both looked up as he approached and the injured one quickly dropped his hands and the two fell silent as they watched him get closer.
"I couldn't help but overhear" Bob started, keeping his tone light and smiling kindly at the two men - who looked more like boys to him, neither of them could be older than 25, he guessed. "I just wanted to come over and see if I might be able to help."
The dark-haired man shifted uncomfortably so that he put the sandy-haired man between himself and the newcomer, green eyes watching Bob with wariness and a degree of uncertainty.
The smaller man bumped up against him, as if in a reassuring gesture, letting his taller friend know that it was alright.
"Thanks, but we're fine" the shorter man replied, seemingly forcing a smile onto his face, despite the flicker of pain that Bob could see in his hazel eyes.
Bob's own gaze traveled down to the man's grazed palms and he raised his eyebrows. "Have you at least got a first aid kit with you?" he asked, frowning in concern. "Those should be cleaned and wrapped up properly to stop them from getting infected."
They both shared a look at that, before the taller man shook his head sheepishly.
"We just got off the plane a few hours ago, so we don't have many supplies or anything" he admitted, shooting his friend a concerned look.
"And we certainly don't have a first aid kit" the smaller man agreed, wincing as the stinging in his palms climbed further.
Bob smiled reassuringly back at them, holding out his hand for the taller man to shake.
"In that case, would you like me to get my kit and help you clean those up?" he asked, seeing the boys shoot each other another look. "I'm a paramedic, don't worry - I'm not here to try anything" he assured, smiling when the two Brits in front of him chuckled sheepishly.
The taller man took Bob's hand in his own and shook it, returning his smile.
"I'm Ant by the way" he introduced, before nodding down to his friend. "This accident-prone numpty on my left is Declan" he laughed, prompting the smaller man - Declan - to elbow him in the ribs.
"Most people just call me Dec" Declan corrected, smiling at Bob as well.
Nodding in understanding, Bob's smile widened as he returned the introduction. "Bob McCarron" he replied, before something about the two men's names struck a sense of familiarity into his mind.
"You're a long way from home, aren't you? May I ask what you're doing out here in Australia?" he asked, gesturing for them to follow him back to his room - where he kept his personal first aid kit.
"Yeah" Dec replied, short legs struggling to keep up with Bob's longer strides, and the medic forced himself to slow down a bit. "We're presenters, and we're shooting a show at a place called Mission Beach - starts next week actually."
At that, Bob's head swiveled back to face them in surprise - if that was true, then these were the two hosts of the show he'd been briefly told about.
Going out on a limb, he answered with "Uh, is that show called I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here?"
Ant and Dec's heads snapped up in unison, and the response would have been very amusing to Bob if he hadn't been so taken aback by it. But it did confirm the feeling he had in his gut, and he felt a smile starting to quirk at his lips.
"Soo....you guys are the hosts they told me about" he confirmed, to identical nods from the still rather surprised boys at his side. "Well, haven't we gotten off to a flying start?" he joked, shooting them an amused look, and he was pleased to see them grin sheepishly back at him.
"Normally it's him-" Dec nods over at Ant here, "-that's falling over stuff and hurting himself in the most ridiculous ways."
That made Bob laugh, and having now reached the medic's room, he unlocked the door and gestured for the boys to go inside before he followed them, closing the door behind him. He reached under the table to grab his kit and slid it out onto the floor, kneeling down next to the spare bed and gesturing for Dec to take a seat on the quilt.
He did, and Ant joined him almost immediately, still looking a little wary and unsure of the medic.
Ant later apologised for his stand-offishness during that first meeting, explaining that he was always nervous and wary around new people, and that it hadn't been anything against Bob (who had immediately chuckled and assured him that it was fine).
Putting on a pair of gloves, Bob took out some saline and a bucket from the bathroom, before he instructed Dec to hold his hands over the bucket - palms up - so that he could run the saline over the grazes on them.
"This is going to sting pretty badly at first" Bob warned, making sure that the younger man was ready before he started to clean the wounds out.
He got an instant hiss of pain as the salty water dribbled onto the open wounds, and Bob muttered a sympathetic apology as he dabbed at the grazes and wiped the bits of dirt and gravel out of them.
Watching from the side, Ant felt himself starting to relax as he felt Dec relax against his side. He saw the gentleness and the care that the older man was taking with his friend's injuries, and he heard the calmness and kindness of his warm voice. He couldn't help but feel more at ease in the other man's presence, despite having only just met him.
"So you're going to be part of the show too?" Ant asked curiously, grip on Dec's shoulder tightening as the smaller man let out a particularly pained hiss as Bob attempted to remove a stubborn piece of gravel from his wound.
"Yep" Bob answered, sighing as he succeeded in removing the troublesome piece of tiny rock and shooting Dec an apologetic glance. "I'm actually going to be the medic on the show" he added, pouring some more saline over the grazes to give them a final clean.
They were silent as Bob gently dried the wounds with a spare towel and then putting a dressing over Dec's palms before wrapping them both in a soft cotton bandage to hold them in place.
"Well, all done lads" he announced about a minute later, standing back and smiling down at the pair of them.
Tidying his kit, Bob pushed it back under the counter and turned back to the boys, who were both smiling up at him.
"Thanks....uh, Bob?" Dec spoke up for them both, cautiously saying the medic's name in case he'd got it wrong. It made Bob chuckle, and he nodded in assurance that that was indeed his name, and he chuckled harder when the smaller man visibly relaxed at that.
"Well, I hope that you both can enjoy your stay here in Australia" he began, holding out his hand to the boys for them to shake - which they both did. "And if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come and knock on my door - it's always open."
Nodding in acknowledgement, both Ant and Dec assured him that they would, and that they were looking forward to the show starting, and also to being able to explore more of Australia in their downtime, before they waved goodbye to Bob and left the room - both smiling happily as they did.
Bob watched them leave, an amused smile pulling at his lips and a warmth already spreading in his heart.
If the next few series turned out anything like this one, then this would be potentially one of the best jobs of his life.
What he did know is that now he'd met those two pint-sized Geordies, and now that he knew that the series would be continuing for the next few years at least, he knew that his summers would never, ever be the same.
And - as he thought to himself many years later- he wouldn't have had it any other way.
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END of this story.......
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That brings us to the end of this fic. I want to say thank you to everyone who's stuck with us from beginning to now this, the end, and I hope you've all enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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