The Love Story of Arnold Judas Rimmer

The sun rose high into the morning sky, chasing away the last remnants of the evening mist and turning the sky from black to gold and orange.
The sound of hooves pounded the sandy beach below and splashed into the outgoing tide, breaking through the silence of the dawn.
Rimmer pulled his horse to a halt and waited as Rowan came thundering up behind him.
"Never knew you could ride." She smiled as she overtook him, guiding her horse out towards the foaming retreating waters.
"Never knew you could either." He said as he followed her.
"As I keep saying," She laughed as he caught up with her. "Raised by high society, part and parcel of it."
Rimmer smiled. "So what do you reckon so far?"
Rowan returned his smile as they continued to gallop along the beach.
"I'd say race you to that clifftop, I'll bet the view up there is amazing."
Rowan had been right, the clifftop view was amazing, the sea stretched out as far as the eye could see.
"I envy you." Said Rowan as they dismounted and sat on the grassy clifftop. "There was never anything like this on my homeworld, it was all just one big city. I can't believe you didn't like it here it's amazing."
Rimmer shrugged. "You try living with parents that hated you and three brothers whose only excuse for hanging around with you was to torture you. I couldn't get away fast enough."
"Are they still alive?"
"Nope all dead and I couldn't care less. Trust me they'd take one look at you and start fighting over you, just because they think that anyone who ever looked twice at me needed a double labotamy."
Rowan smirked. "In which case I'd bang their heads together, stamp on their love spuds and then hand them back to them on a plate!"
Rimmer shook his head and laughed. "I can honestly say I know you well enough to know that that's exactly what you'd do."
"Too bad my parents weren't alive they'd have loved to have met you."
An awkward silence passed between them as Rimmer bit his lip thinking what to say next. Rowan never talked about her parents, all he knew was that her mother died when she was a few weeks old and her father was killed when his ship crashed into a meteorite when she was two.
"Can you remember them at all?" He asked.
Rowan shrugged. "No memory of my mother at all, my dad I can only just remember. He was an officer in the space corps, he left when I was born. He was really good friends with Caz's parents, that's how me and her first met." She paused for a moment as she tried to remember what she had long since buried in the back of her mind.
"I remember when I was just over a year old he'd sit me on his lap and tell me of all these adventures he'd had in the space corps, all the planets he'd been to." She laughed as she continued. "He used to say to me, "Rowan, when your older I'm going to teach you how to be a pilot and then you can join the space corps and follow in your old mans footsteps." It never came to be though. The only memory I have of them is a locket with the family portrait in it, even then that was a given to me by Caz's parents the day after the space corps informed them that my father had died."
Rimmer put his arm round her shoulder and pulled her to him, resting his head against hers.
"Caz's parents refused to let me join the space corps in the end, they always found some excuse of why I had to stay on Arkan. I guess in the end they only did it to protect me."
She sighed deeply as she continued to stare out to the horizon.

Later that day they left the VR Room and headed back to the sleeping quarters.
Lister and Cat were sat at the table playing scrabble.
"Had fun today then you two?" Asked Lister.
"Yeah, might have to go in there more often."
Lister smirked and returned his gaze to his letters. "Okay gotcha, tripple word score!" He sat back proudly folding his arms.
"Smeg head?" Asked Cat. "That's two words cheater!"
Rowan laughed and rolled her eyes as she pulled her jewelry box from under the bunk and produced a black velvet pouch, she emptied the contents to reveal a shiny silver locket on a short chain.
"Ooh, shiny!" Said Cat almost drooling at the way the light caught the locket.
"Hands off fish breath!" Snapped Rimmer as Rowan handed him the locket, he opened it and looked at the picture inside.
A young woman with long brown hair and sapphire blue eyes dressed in an elegant red dress was cradling a baby in her arms. While her husband a tall well built dark haired dark eyed man dressed in an officers uniform stood next to her with an arm round her.
"What is it?" Asked Cat.
"My only link to the family I never had." Said Rowan emotionlessly.
Cat stood and looked at the small picture, his eyes widening.
"Wow is that you're mother? You're her exact double!"
"Let me see." Said Lister as he looked over Rimmer's shoulder at the locket. "Smegging hell no kidding!"
Rowan smiled. "Callista and Robert Redfield, my parents, two of the best officers ever to serve in the Space Corps."
Rimmer smiled as he handed the locket back. "As much as I hate to admit it, Cat and Lister are right you really are your mothers double."
Rowan laughed as she put the locket back in its protective pouch.
"Believe me if I had a credit for everytime I've heard that I'd be a multi millionaire."
"So what are you two up to now?" Asked Cat.
"Well hopefully Kryten's managed to find the five horror movies I asked him to look for this morning."
"Rowan, you show Rimmer a horror movie and he'll have nightmares!" Laughed Lister, he soon stopped however as he saw the look of anger on Rimmer's face.
"Okay then Lister, if you're so brave come and watch it with us." She smirked challengingly.
"Not a problem." Laughed Lister.

Rowen and Rimmer sat on the back row while Lister, Cat and Kryten sat further down towards the middle.
Rowan smirking uncontrollably at the sight of a skeleton coming out of the floorboards and slowly reform body part by body part, organs, blood and all. She looked at Rimmer and burst out laughing. He'd gone pale and looked like he was about to faint, his eyes were wide and he was shaking as he turned to her.
"You are completely sick in the head! How can you watch this?"
"I can't help it, I'm a sick bitch!" She protested.
A terrified scream came from further down.
"That is smegging gross!"
Rowan and Rimmer both burst out laughing at the sillouette of Lister emptying out his popcorn and covering his head with the empty container.
"Oh my I think if I were a human I'd be on my twentieth set of underpants by now!" Said Kryten nervously as he removed his eyes.
Cat however was too terrified to move or speak.
Finally when the film finished Cat, Lister and Krtyen made their way out, leaving Rowan and Rimmer sat where they were.
"You are smegging nuts!" Shouted Lister as he walked out, looking like he needed a fresh pair of boxers.
"Miss Rowan, I suggest you see a psychiatrist." Said Kryten shakily.
"Rowan you just plain disgusting, I hope you have nightmares." Snapped Cat.
Rowan laughed and shook her head.
"I do believe that's two-nil to to me." Smiled Rowan with a cocky look on her face.
Rimmer managed a shaky laugh, he relaxed a little as Rowan snuggled up to him.
"Don't worry I won't subject you to anything like that again. I wasn't actually meant to make you sit through that, I just did it to prove a point to Lister. Although I will defiently have to make him sit through the netxt four sequels."
Rimmer's eyes bulged. "There's four more like that?"
Rowan nodded. "Yeah Clive Barker's Hellraiser was one of the most scary Earth films of all time."
Rimmer shuddered. "So what now?"
"Well we watch the movie we were supposed to watch in the first place. One of my favourite non-horrors."
"What is it?"
"How familiar are you with Eart history?"
Rimmer rolled his eyes. "Not very.
"Okay well its called Titanic, it's a love story that ends in tragedy. Really good film the special effects are amazing quality considering it was made on Earth."
"So what's the story?"
Rowan laughed.
"Just watch it, you'll see."

They sat and watched the film without Lister, Cat or Kryten returning to disturb them.
Rimmer was never a big fan of love storys but he did love a good tragedy.
"What did you think?" Asked Rowan as they walked back to the sleeping quarters.
"Not too bad, bit slow to start with but not a bad film."
Rowan smiled. "Yeah well, I always was a sucker for a slushy love story."
Rimmer laughed. "I can't stand them, makes me want to vomit."
"So why are you romantic and charming with me then?"
Rimmer stopped walking, she had him there.
"Erm, because you're different...Oh smeg you've gone and caught me out."
Rowan laughed. "What do you mean?"
"Tell no one."
"Cross my heart and hope to die." She smiled.
"With you it's different because I've never felt this way about anyone else. I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not, I can be myself around you."
Rowan's smile widened. "Good, because I love you for who you are. I'm glad I met you."
Rimmer smiled softly at her, wondering how he ever got so lucky. "I love you for who you are too, you're smart, talented...and probably the only person who's actually given me a chance to be truly happy."
Rowan blushed furiously and looked away.
Turning her back to face him Rimmer looked at her for a moment before lowering his head to hers and softly kissing her.
Had he finally found someone who he could truly be happy spending the rest of his life with?
He moved closer to her, deepening the kiss and pushing her up against the wall of the corridor.
Rowan responded by unbuttoning his jacket and pulling him closer to her using his belt so that they were crotch to crotch.
Breaking the kiss Rimmer almost dragged her as he led her along the corridor to one of the storage cupboards, locking the door behind him as they entered, he pinned her back up against the wall and kissed her again.
Unbuttoning her shirt he lowered his head to her cleavage, whilst pulling her legs from under her so that he was supporting her on his strong thighs, which was easy enough considering how light she was.
Rowan looked into his eyes for a moment as his focus returned to her face, she'd never imagined herself having sex pinned against a wall in a store room but the thought of it rather excited her.
Pulling his head back to hers she kissed him deeply, reaching round the back of his neck she stroked his hair, hearning him moan softly as he broke their kiss and turned his attention to her neck, softly kissing her skin before gently sinking his teeth into her and sucking on her flesh.
Rowan gasped and struggled to steady her ragged breathing as she felt his right hand between them and undo her jeans, find its way inside her boxers and start rubbing her clit.
Rimmer slowly put her down for a few moments to allow him to pull Rowan's trousers and boxers off and also to pull his own trousers and boxers down round his knees before he suddenly lifted her up against the wall again. Resting her light body on his thighs he qucikly entered her, feeling her tense against him.
Rowan hadn't expected him to do that, but she had to admit that it excited and thrilled her to see him so desperate to make love to her that he needed to drag her into a store cupboard and pin her up against the wall, she wrapped her arms round his neck and gripped him toghtly as he rapidly and deeply thrust into her. His hands rested on her buttocks, squeezing her pliant flesh as he roughly continued thrusting against her entire body weight, pushing her further up the wall with each powerful thrust.