Title: Failure - Chapter 5

Author: StarQuality, baby.

Disclaimer: If I owned RD, would I have power over Chris Barrie? If so, I am SO getting a loan!

Summary: Lister blames Lister.

A/N: I'm still here. Ya'll knew I couldn't let Rimsy die! Anyway, read. You might as well, you read the others! I know I said I'd wait until you guys said if you liked it or not, but I wrote it, and yes. Well I think I'll finish this, do the next, then go to bed... I think there'll be six or seven chapters.

"He's gone, son, there's no bringing him back."

"No.. Please..."

"We did all we could, I'm sorry."

"No... He can't be."

"Lister, if you slash your wrists twice in as many weeks, you're not going to live very long."

"No, he's still there. He has to be."

"Give it up, son."

"I can't. I can't give up on him."

Lister walked slowly through the ship. Everyone he passed shock their heads. A few people sniggered. They hadn't heard the news. They didn't know that the man that he loved was nearly dead.

"Oooh, look, it's gay-boy!" said the First Technician who had taunted them before.

All of the anger and grief that had been trying to get out of Lister finally escaped. He turned around and said, "Shut, your mouth, Wilks."

"And what are YOU gonna do, ya shirtlifter?!"

Wilks had a bloodied nose, Lister had a sore hand.

And, he was sent to a cell to cool down.

"Lister. Visitor." The gruff prison guard announced, barging into the room where Lister was sitting on the bed, head in his hands.

Lister looked up, Doctor Lynch was standing in the doorway. The guard left, and the door slammed shut. "Hey." Lister mumbled, his head returning to his hands.

"Dave..."

"Doc, you can't cheer me up. Rimmer's gone, he's gone, and it's all my fault. I'm a total git. I've managed to kill me lover, and now I'm banged up. I can't do anything right. I'm such a..."

"Failure?"

Lister burst into tears, Dr. Lynch went over to him, and put his arm around the sobbing figure.

"Come on Lister, it's not your fault..."

"It is... I... We had a row." Lister screamed, "I KILLED HIM..."

"No, you didn't, he killed himself..."

"STOP IT!" Lister jumped up, and started pacing the room, "SHUT UP, JUST, JUST, SHUT UP! I KNOW HE DID, ALRIGHT, I KNOW!"

He sat down on the floor, starting to weep once again. Lister's head was filled of images of his partner, lying in a hospital bed, yet again. But this time, in the intensive care unit, surrounded by wires and machines.

"I... I'm sorry, doc." Lister looked up, drying his eyes. The doctor had disappeared. "God... I'm... such... an idiot..."

Lister had lost his friend.

Lister had lost his lover.

And now, Lister's heart was breaking.

TBC

Sobs silently to self Poor Lister. I now need to write the next chapter. All very short, aren't they, but, quality over quantity (No dirty jokes about me and and someone called Mr. Quantity, heard it before.), if you can class that as quality. Still, it has to get worse before it gets better. Like Rimmer!

God, if you look at your keyboard carefully, you find the strangest things. In between my keys, I have some shiny paper (From an Easter Egg), a bit of a paracetomal, what LOOKS like a noodle and something... white. Shrugs