Chapter Text
Rick truly did love him. Morty still couldn't believe his grandpa had actually admitted it out loud. And for once, he hadn't tried to backtrack or ruin the moment by making a cruel joke or comment.
Morty wasn't sure what caused Rick to finally admit it. Perhaps it was because Rick Prime almost murdered him. Or maybe Rick finally realized, with the central finite curve destroyed and portal travel inaccessible, Morty was no longer as easily replaceable. But he didn't want to read too much into it and risk ruining the moment for himself.
If the words themselves hadn't been enough to convince Morty, the way Rick treated the rest of his injuries was all the proof he needed that his grandpa cared a lot more than he let on. He had been extremely gentle, unusually so, in the way he'd applied a healing gel to Morty's more superficial wounds. And there was a ton of them.
The black eye.
The head wound.
The bruises around his throat.
The second Rick laid eyes on the finger marks around Morty's neck, he took in a sharp breath of air. Morty braced for shouts and curses and vows of revenge, but instead of a drunken rant, he was met with absolute silence and that was honestly much more unnerving to him. Based on the tension in his shoulders and his clenched jaw, it was clear that Rick was absolutely furious. But he fumed in silence as he carefully spread the healing salve over the dark bruises.
"Are you mad?" Morty already knew what the answer was going to be, but he still felt compelled to ask, just to be certain he hadn't been the one to fuck things up.
"Obviously I'm mad, Morty. Just not at you, for once." He ruffled Morty's hair before gently pushing his head away. "Now go bother the rest of the family. I still have to clean this shit up and get your dumb dad before either Beth says anything."
And that was more surprising than anything.
The fact that Rick was actually voluntarily going to retrieve Jerry was unusual and Morty had to wonder if his grandpa was only doing it to put him at ease after the night's events.
He wasn't about to jump a gift shark in the mouth though.
Morty left him to clean the bloodstained garage in peace and, as soon as he stepped foot in the house, it became apparent Rick wasn't the only one acting weird. If he thought Rick's behavior had been strangely gentle, nothing could have prepared him for the rest of the family.
His mom pulled him into a tight hug, practically lifting him off his feet, and she actually gave him a kiss on his forehead. He couldn't even remember the last time she'd done such a thing. Perhaps when he was still in elementary school?
Both Summer and Space Beth gave him hugs that were just as unexpected and just as bone crushing. Afterwards, he was dragged straight into the living room to watch some interdimensional cable, squished between his two moms on the couch, while Summer sat on the floor between them. It was so strange being the center of attention amongst his family members, when he was usually the most overlooked and ignored person in the household.
Morty was only able to make it through a single episode of Ball Fondlers before his eyes started drooping. He didn't want to go to sleep yet, not until Rick returned with his dad, but it'd been a difficult day. Despite his best efforts, he realized he'd lost the fight against sleep when the familiar sound of creaking stairs startled him awake. He cracked his eyes open to find the downstairs lights had all been turned off and his mother was cradling him in her arms as she carried him up the stairs.
She was undoubtedly heading towards his bedroom and Morty was vaguely reminded of when she used to do this for him in his early childhood. When she got to his bedroom, she tucked him beneath the covers and gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"M'not tired. Waitin' for Rick." His mumbles weren't entirely coherent, a true testament to just how tired he actually was, but his mother didn't seem to mind and quietly shushed him.
"He'll be here when you wake up, sweetie." She pressed a soft kiss against his forehead and readjusted his comforter as his eyes fluttered close once more. "Goodnight, Morty."
~
When Morty awoke, he was greeted by the night sky above him and sat up to find himself in the clearing of a dark forest. He knew, without a doubt, that he was back in the Prime dimension. There was nothing around to tell him that he was, but Morty just knew. He could feel it in his bones.
Twigs snapped somewhere off to his right and he frantically jumped to his feet so he could back away in the opposite direction. Morty couldn't see more than a few feet into the trees, but he was certain Prime was stalking him from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Oh hey, Morty."
The familiar voice that rang out from the forest seemed to surround him, coming from both nowhere and everywhere at once. And Morty frantically turned in a circle, determined not to be caught off guard again. He'd severely underestimated Prime last time and it nearly cost him his life. "Where are you, asshole?"
"Morty."
He gasped as a voice whispered his name right behind him and stumbled over his own feet in his haste to turn around, but there was nobody there. He didn't miss the way the bushes at the edge of the clearing were trembling, as if someone was creeping through them. Knowing he was outmatched in both experience and skill, Morty did the only thing he could think of and fled into the woods. Without a fractured ankle and concussion, he was able to move much faster and cover more ground than he had the first time Prime chased after him.
But it still wasn't fast enough.
The sound of loud footfalls behind him reached his ears and Morty knew his death was imminent. He stopped in his tracks and whirled around, prepared to go down fighting. But once again, he was only met with the darkness of the surrounding woods.
Prime was toying with him. A predator teasing and taunting their prey before they inevitably dealt the final blow.
"Mortyyyy." The taunt was followed by a laugh that sent shivers down Morty's spine. It was the same laugh he'd heard after Prime almost killed him with Jerry's spear.
"Leave me alone!" There was nowhere he could go where Prime wouldn't find him, but he had to try. Escaping him was Morty's only chance of survival and he desperately tried running in a different direction.
Before he could go much further, a figure stepped out from behind a tree in front of him, and Morty came to an immediate stop, cursing as he stumbled and skinned his knees on the ground. He didn't mind a few scrapes though, so long as it meant he didn't make the same mistake as last time. The second Prime was able to get ahold of him, it'd be over for Morty.
"Hello again, Morty."
There was a sharp knife in his hand and the silver blade shone brightly in the moonlight. It was the same blade he'd originally stabbed Morty with and he instinctively took a step away from Prime. "When Rick gets here, he's going to fucking kill you."
"That's where you're wrong, Junebug." It felt so wrong to hear that nickname come from Rick Prime's mouth. The nickname Morty normally associated with rare moments of affection from Rick had now been twisted into a vicious mockery and Morty never wanted to hear Prime say it again. "No one's coming to save you. This time, I'll make sure you stay dead."
Morty blinked and, in that mere second, Prime had somehow closed the distance between them and was now standing in front of him. He threw himself backwards as Prime swung the knife downwards, but wasn't quick enough and cursed as the blade nicked his shoulder. He attempted to flee once more, knowing his life was literally hanging in the balance, but a hand caught his wrist and jerked him back, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process. "Fuck, let go of me!"
"You aren't getting away this time, you little shit." Prime swung the knife again, handle down this time, and slammed the hilt of it against his temple.
An explosion of stars filled Morty's vision, quickly replaced by darkness, and his limbs refused to cooperate as he temporarily lost consciousness. He came to only a few seconds later and found himself laying on the ground, Prime kneeling over him with a smug smirk on his face.
It was over. Morty had lost once again and Rick wasn't here to save him this time. He was actually going to die.
"When I see Rick, I'll give him your regards." A sick sense of of deja vu filled Morty as Prime raised the knife over his head and then brought the blade straight down.
~
Morty woke up screaming and frantically tried to pull the knife from his abdomen. Despite finding nothing there, he could still feel faint aches from a blade that had long since been removed.
It had only been a dream.
A terrifyingly real one at that.
His head snapped up at the sound of footsteps outside his room and Morty grabbed the laser gun he kept hidden under his pillow as his bedroom door was kicked open. The first thing he saw was blue hair and he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, missing his target by mere inches. His breathing grew erratic as a sickeningly familiar figure stepped through the doorway and flicked the light on.
Somehow Rick Prime had managed to travel to this dimension and sneak past Rick's house defenses. He must have realized Morty survived and had now come to finish the job. Morty's finger twitched against the trigger as he prepared to shoot again, but he blinked and suddenly it was no longer Prime standing in front of his bed. It was Rick.
His Rick.
"Take it easy, Junebug." Realizing Morty wasn't in danger like he'd first assumed, he stowed his own gun and raised his hands in a non threatening gesture. When Morty still didn't lower his gun, perhaps not even realizing he was still holding it, Rick rested one hand on top of the gun and slowly lowered it so it was no longer pointed at him. "It's just me."
"R-Rick?" The fact that Prime had only been a temporary hallucination caused by his still panicked mind did little to comfort Morty. He immediately dropped the gun and lunged forward, tightly wrapping his arms around Rick's waist. He couldn't stop the tears that began falling or the trembles that shook his body. "I thought..... I.... I thought you were Rick Prime."
That had actually been Rick's first thought when he'd been woken by Morty's screams and it was embarrassing just how relieved he felt when he realized Morty was safe and his nemesis was nowhere to be seen.
"Morty?!" No doubt woken by the commotion, Beth hurried into the room. Despite looking still half asleep, she was armed with a baseball bat and had it raised in preparation for whatever fight she was expecting. "Dad, what's going on? Is Morty okay?"
"He's fine, sweetie. It was just a nightmare." That didn't seem to ease her worries and her eyes darted about the room once more, searching for an enemy that wasn't there. He was proud of her for rushing in to protect her son, even if she brought something as useless as a bat. It also didn't escape Rick's attention that Jerry, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.
Beth finally lowered the bat, but she didn't move from her spot in the doorway. She wasn't going to leave until she was absolutely certain Morty was okay. Hearing her own child scream like that was bone chilling and she hoped she'd never hear anything like it again. "Are you sure you're okay, Morty?"
"I'm fine, mom. Promise."
"Go back to bed, sweetie. I can handle this." Rick could practically see her internally debating whether or not she should stay. She might have stood there for another few minutes, but Jerry and Summer's voices suddenly rang out from the hallway.
Summer sounded pissed and, based off what little Rick could catch, she had also noticed Jerry's choice to hide instead of helping Morty. As the argument grew louder, Beth's choice was made for her and she let out an exhausted sigh. "Okay. Thanks, dad. If you need anything at all, just come get me."
"I will." He wouldn't, but she didn't need to know that. He watched her leave and then turned his attention back to Morty. There was a haunted expression on his face, one that Rick had seen before when he looked in the mirror, and he knew getting Morty back to sleep was going to be difficult.
Before Morty could utter another lie about being okay, Rick's hand gently closed around his wrist and led him out of his room. He didn't question his grandpa as they headed past his arguing family members and down the stairs, figuring they were just going to hang out in the garage or sub-basement until Morty was too tired to stay awake. However, instead of heading through the kitchen to the garage, Morty was surprised when they ended up at Rick's room instead. He was unceremoniously shoved onto the cot in the corner of the room and barely had a chance to move over before Rick flopped down next to him.
The last time Morty had shared a bed with a family member, he'd been four years old and hiding beside his mother from a thunderstorm. He wasn't sure if Rick would appreciate him trying to cuddle like he had with his mother, but an arm wrapped around Morty's shoulders and tugged him closer before he could think anymore about it.
"Go back to sleep. Nothing bad will happen to you in here."
It went unspoken, but Morty could actually hear the subtext loud and clear for once. This was Rick's way of not only keeping an eye on him, but also making sure he felt safe enough to sleep. Morty curled up against him and, with Rick's arm still wrapped firmly around him, it wasn't long before his eyes grew heavy with sleep.