Note: This chapter only makes sense if you imagine that Rimmer didn't faint during his engineer's exam during The End.
"Save page sixty-one." Rimmer said. He got up and leaned over the other man's shoulder as Lister frantically flicked through the copy of Lolita.
"That bit." Rimmer pointed halfway down the page to the really dirty part.
"That's digusting." Lister replied, but he tore the page out anyway and stuffed in his jacket, whilst he tipped the rest of the book in the fire. That would keep it going for at least another ten minutes.
Meanwhile Rimmer had walked away, his face expressionless. But his insides had been whipped into turmoil, this was their fourth day now on the ice planet, prospects of any rescue were bleaker than ever. Rimmer turned round and watched from a distance as Lister rubbed his hands together and shuffled closer to the fire, desperately trying to lap up every last bit of warmth. His life depended on it.
Tears began leak out from underneath the hologram's eyelids, their situation was hopeless. There were only a couple more books left to burn, and unless they found another source of fuel, Lister would die. Rimmer didn't know if he could take it if he had to watch the man he loved slowly, freeze to certain death. He had already almost lost him once.
Rimmer couldn't lose him again.
Flashback
Rimmer tentatively opened the white envelope and pulled out the red slip of paper it contained. "We are most sorry to inform you," he began to read aloud, "that you have once again failed the engineer's exam."With a burst of anger he crumpled the paper up into a ball and hurled it across the room.
"For smeg's sake! What do they mean 'once again'? Stupid, jumped up, little..."Rimmer ranted, but was brought to an abrupt stop as Lister entered their quarters, his face sullen and distant.
"What's wrong Listy? You look like a constipated chimp," Rimmer asked snidely, though cursing himself silently in his head. Why do I always do that? Be mean and put him down, when I just want to tell him I care?
"I'm being sent into stasis for the rest of the trip, eighteen months," Lister replied doefully, as he opened his locker and searched thorugh his possessions for his Hawaiian shirt. "It's the only way they won't cut up Frankenstein. It sucks though, you know, 'coz it's eighteen months pay down the drain. Still, I'll get to Fiji one day." He didn't notice Rimmer staring at him quizzically.
"But...Lister, you can't just leave me to do Z-Shift alone...you selfish goit!" Rimmer spluttered, nostrils flaring. Eighteen months without Lister? What was he going to do...life wouldn't be worth living any more. He would rather die.
Lister turned and stared at his bunkmate, suddenly smiling. "In a way I'm glad Captain Hollister's punished me with stasis, I don't have to continue putting up with your ugly mush for the next year and a half! Smeghead."
That hurt Rimmer. But Lister didn't want to hang around, he swept off his hat in a mock bow to Rimmer and sauntered out of the room. "Seeya Rimmer," he yelled back down the corridor and then he was gone.
Rimmer sank down onto the floor pathetically, sobbing. He didn't know what to do with himself now, his heart was broken and he would probably never see Lister again, ever.
Little did he know how wrong he was...it was only the last time he would ever see Lister whilst he was alive.
I like this chapter much better...I think. :)