Lister grunted as they limped slowly through the eerie smoke of the tunnel, his shoulder muscles throbbing with a sharp, aching groan. Rimmer was becoming less and less able to walk, and he was no light load at the best of times.

Lister, whose usual view on their lack of conversation was one of golden bliss, now found the silence between them unsettling. He'd much rather that Rimmer was throwing back insults about his personal hygiene, his guitar-playing ability, hell, even jibes about how he'd never get Kochanski. Anything but the shallow wheeze that whistled in his ear, wordlessly playing out Rimmer's painful trip downhill.

A faint yet persistent light slid through the darkness as they stumbled on, and Lister followed it, unthinking. Turning a final corner, the tunnel opened up into a cramped cave emanating a strange glow and Lister's eyes narrowed as if deciphering a tromp de l'oeil. An yellow-orange shaft of light sliced downwards through the grimy darkness and pooled silently on the floor. Lister watched transfixed as the tiny flecks of dust danced in the light.

"Oh my god," he mumbled.

Hastily rearranging Rimmer's weight across his shoulders, he staggered forward as quickly as his load would allow. For the first time in two days, he stepped warily into the pool of light, casting his gaze upwards so that the sun's warmth caressed his face. A weary grin tugged at the dry, cracked edges of his mouth and a small laugh tumbled from his lips.

"Rimmer, look!" he cried. "There's an opening above us! We've found a way out!"

Rimmer offered nothing in reply. Instead, Lister felt his full weight lean against him before he slid down with a shaking groan towards the dusty floor. Lister quickly eased him down so that he lay on his back, and cast frantic eyes over his body as he sank to his knees beside him. Rimmer's eyes were screwed shut, his furrowed brow dripping with sweat as his body twitched and shuddered.

"Rimmer -?"

The dying light of the day bathed them both in a warm glow, and Lister hissed as he studied Rimmer's neck properly for the first time. The puncture point was now deep red, highlighted with purple and green swollen bruising, the rest of his skin pale and glistening with a sheen of sweat. Rimmer's fingers twitched as he seemed to grab out at the flecks of dust that hovered and twirled in the light; odd, meaningless mumblings punctuating frantic pants through gritted teeth.

Lister mopped his face with the flat of his palm. He didn't have the first clue what to do. He needed the others and fast.

Hauling himself to his feet, Lister threw his gaze upwards. The hole certainly wasn't as far away as where they'd fallen, perhaps twenty feet above them, but teasingly high enough to remain out of climbing reach. Lister's eyes flitted across the ground where loose rock, sand and grit littered the floor. In fact, this was most likely where the original CANARY batallion had fallen; after which they'd probably wandered down the tunnel from where they'd just come, found the plant beastie, and the rest was gruesome history.

Lister cupped his hands around his mouth. "HELP!" he shouted up towards the opening, listening silently as his voice bounced and echoed around him before disappearing into infinity. "We're down here! Please! We need help!" he cried desperately, each word shadowed with echoes. He called out until his throat was raw, his voice cracking with fatigue and despair. The light was slowly retreating, the pool of light on the floor encircling him shrinking smaller and dimmer.

Lister's panic rose. They couldn't come so far only to fall short of the finish. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he panted for breath, fighting the instinct to submit to the familiar, choking blanket that threatened to sink down his throat. In a flash of inspiration, he hauled off his backpack and scrabbled through the contents, fishing out the broken radio transmitter with trembling hands.

"Please," he begged desperately. Whether he was addressing the others or the radio, he wasn't sure. "Please help us, please." He fiddled with the various switches and buttons with shaking fingers, hoping against hope to spark it into life once more. Yet the cold, lifeless plastic lay dead in his hands.

Lister sank slowly to his knees in the fading light, radio still cradled in his hands. He let the silence wash over him as he blinked slowly, tears dangling precariously in his eyes but refusing to flow. He didn't even notice when the radio slipped from his now loose fingers and onto the floor beside him.

Rimmer was still lying quivering and shaking on the dusty floor beside him, mumbling incoherent ramblings, eyes still screwed shut in distant concentration. On his hands and knees, Lister pulled himself up beside him and mopped his brow, Rimmer flinching at the strange, new touch.

"You're burning up, man," Lister laughed quietly without mirth. With slow, purposeful hands he slipped off Rimmer's padded jacket and unfastened his top, feeling the body heat instantly flaring up from his now bare chest. "There we go, that's better, isn't it?" he reassured with a quivering voice.

For the first time in the last few hours, Rimmer's eyes fluttered open, meeting Lister's gaze unsteadily as if looking through him.

"Lister," he shuddered weakly. "I'm scared - "

Taken aback, Lister drew himself up on his knees closer to his companion. "Shhhh it's ok, mate, you're ok," he soothed.

Rimmer's chest heaved as he wheezed, his eyelids blinking heavy and slow. "Can't make Z Shift today...scared they'll fire me...tell Todhunter....can't make it..."

Lister pulled his grime-stained hands down his face until they covered his open mouth. The poison was gathering momentum, now rendering Rimmer completely delirious. Lister fiddled with the edges of Rimmer's top unnecessarily, trying to mask his quivering lip with a frown as he blinked away a lens of tears.

"Sure, man," he managed quietly. "It's ok, I'll tell him."

Rimmer's eyes sank closed, his incoherent ramblings eventually disappearing into shuddered breaths. Lister sighed heavily, blinking quickly as his eyes rolled back to the opening above them. The sun had now retreated out of sight as the light dipped, now replaced with the eerily blue glow of the rising moon.

Lister sank down to lie down beside him and nestled his forehead against Rimmer's shoulder instinctively. He curled his arms around himself, his stomach lurching painfully, and he drew up his knees towards his chest to dull the sensation. Thoughts, feelings, regrets all whispered fleetingly through his mind. He would have given anything to be back on Starbug with the others. He wished he'd had the opportunity to make his peace properly with the old Rimmer. To apologise for mocking the way he used to moan about being dead. Lister shivered. As he lay there on the hard, gritty floor, deprived of food, drink and sleep, the one thought that resonated through his mind was how afraid he was of dying.

Lister's eyes drooped closed to the woman he most loved in the entire world. She said nothing, merely stroking the side of his cheek reassuringly. He could almost feel the soft warmth of her hand on his stubble as he breathed her in.

He must have fallen asleep, he reasoned. When his mind dredged its way back to the real world, the early morning light had begun creeping into the cave once more, stretching into the cracks and shadows and arching up the stone walls. Yet Lister was sure it wasn't the dawn that had roused him from his dreams. It had been something else. Something fairly persistent.

Beep beep beep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep. Beep beep beep.

Lister blinked. What was that noise?

Beep beep beep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep. Beep beep beep.

A flickering red light seemed to punctuate the rhythmic beeping. That sequence sounded ever so familiar.

Beep beep beep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep. Beep beep beep.

Lister pushed himself up on his arms, scanning the floor around him before coming to rest on the culprit. His eyes widened slowly in realisation. It was the radio transmitter.

Beep beep beep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep. Beep beep beep.

Lister's breathing quickened as a small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. It was playing out an S.O.S.

Beep beep beep. Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep. Beep beep beep.

It was then that she heard her voice calling his name. He'd thought it had been his dream at first, but no. Her voice was tangled with others. Familiar voices all calling out his name. Their names.

Lister attemped to pull himself to his feet but his shuddering legs cried mutiny and he sank down to the floor once more. Desperate, he dragged himself across the gritty floor into the pool of light and cast his gaze up to the blazing sky.

"Help!" his feeble voice croaked before he coughed raggedly and tried again. "Help!" he cried louder, his voice growing more persistent and confident. "We're here! Help us! Help!"

He blinked slowly as the dark silhouettes of various faces cut into the circle of light above him, calling his name distantly. Exhausted, he sank back against Rimmer who was still wheezing faintly.

"Made it," he breathed, his eyes drooping closed in a relief that couldn't be expressed. "We made it."

The rest played out like a dream. The harness had snaked down towards him, and he first strapped in the inanimate Rimmer and watched him being hauled up to the surface. Once he was safely up, he too strapped himself in and was pulled out of the dark, oppressive caverns and up into the light.

Once he'd reached the surface, he reached out weakly, overwhelmed with happiness and relief when he was caught either side by Kryten and the Cat. His eyes scanned his surroundings, squinting feebly in the fierce sunshine.

"Rimmer," he mumbled, "is he OK?"

"It's ok, sir," Kryten soothed. Lister had never been so glad to hear his reassuring, sing-song tone. "The medi-team are looking after him now."

The mechanoid gestured over to Rimmer who sat flanked between two members of the CANARIES medi-team. He seemed to be receiving more needles in his arm than an 80's rock star. His red puffy eyes blinked slowly, underlined with dark circles that stood out against the sheen of his pale, sweating skin. His eyes met Lister's for a fleeting moment before he offered a weak smile. Lister returned the smile. He was going to be ok.

Lister's vision then shifted, his focus now on the female form that stood at a distance from the rest of the group.

"Kris," he breathed.

She returned his smile, her eyes and cheeks wet with tears as she hugged her arms across her chest. Maybe this would be it. Maybe the fact that they'd almost lost one another would convince her to forget her Lister and take a gamble on him.

Lister's smile broadened as the rest of the CANARIES either slapped him heftily on the back, tapped his head or ruffled his hair in congratulations. Maybe the last few days, despite how hellish their experience had been, would serve to build up their reputation in The Tank as hardened, heroic figures, not to be reckoned with.

Hutchins elbowed Murphy with folded arms as they surveyed the scene unfolding before them. "Hey, did you see 'em snugglin' up to one another down there in that little cave of theirs, eh?" he winked. "That Rimmer even had his top half off, you know."

Murphy sighed. "Yeah, yeah, alright, you smegger," he replied reluctantly. "Bloody couple of poofs. I guess we knew it would happen in the end." He reached into his inside pocket and fished out a couple of dollarpound notes, handing it over to Hutchins sadly. "I'll give you the rest when we get back to the 'Dwarf.

Lister glanced back to Kochanski, aghast. She regarded him strangely with a small smirk, an eyebrow cocked questioningly.

His eyes screwed tightly, frowning as he winced, head rolling back to the heavens.

Then again, maybe not.

The End.

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Aaaand if you don't quite get the point of that last conversation - quickly re-read the first paragraph of the first chapter and hopefully all will become clear ;-D

Smegging hell! I was 17 when I started writing this fic and I later uploaded the first few chapters. I've now completed it at the age of 24. Seven smegging years!!!

Now that I've finally finished it, I'd love to have some reviews to hear what you lovely lot think.

THANK YOU to those that have stayed loyal to this fic over the years, given me such kind reviews and added me as a Favourite Author or this as a Favourite Story. Especially those that told me that Red Dwarf is not their usual fandom, that means a lot.

And of course, thank you to Doug Naylor for creating such a fab show. You rock our socks.