Rick was sitting at his work bench. He set his bottle down on the bench as he let out a loud belch. The clock read 3:22. He put in a long night…he looked where he sat his bottle down, it had twenty other friends that he had finished that night. He could have sworn there was another friend or two somewhere. Maybe he already threw them out. The alien beers were the best. Rick stood up trying to keep his balance. It had been awhile since he felt this good. This feeling was always his favorite, the feeling of being carefree. Rick attempted to walk up the stairs quietly, failing as he tripped halfway up. "Shit!" he yelled then remembered he had to be quiet. The whole family was sleeping.

Rick went to his room about to open the door when he turned around starting his way toward Morty's room. Rick slowly opened the door. Morty was so peaceful, he just laid in his bed sleeping. Rick stumbled over to the bed and roughly sat on the side of the bed.

Morty felt the bed shift under him. He opened his eyes slightly to see what happened.

"Hey there buddy!" Rick said softly.

"Rick, what's going on?" Morty asked rubbing his eyes.

"I ju-just wanted to come by and see what you're up too."

Morty looked at his clock, "It's 3am Rick, you know I'm sleeping." Rick let out a belch, "Rick, are you drunk? Well more drunk than usual?"

"Drunk? Now that's a loaded question." Rick said standing up.

"No it's not. It's a yes or no question." Morty noticed his grandfather stumbling and falling against his bed, "Rick you need to go lay down." Morty sat up in his bed. He went over to his closet throwing on a shirt. He let Rick lean against him, "Come on, let's get you to bed." Morty said.

"Morty, you're a good kid." Rick said as he leaned against Morty. Rick felt the vile starting to come up. He vomited all over his shirt. "Morty, I could go for some Eyeholes." Rick stopped in his tracks, staggering back and forth then vomited again as it landed onto the floor.

"Aw geez." Morty said backing away. "Go to the bathroom." He said pushing Rick to the bathroom instead of the originally planned guest room.

"Morty, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to vomit on your floor."

"I know Rick." Morty brought his grandfather into the bathroom. It was rare that his grandfather drank enough to actually vomit. This was the third time that Morty witnessed it.

Rick ran for the toilet vomiting once more. Rick set his forehead against the porcelain throne. He had many mornings in his younger years where he would wake up hugging the toilet throughout his life. "I really screwed up Morty." Rick said out loud.

Morty started the shower up as Rick kept vomiting. "Rick, keep it down. You'll wake up the family."

"I can't do anything right MAURGHty." Rick let out another round of vomit.

"Yeah." Morty said. This wasn't the first time Morty had to aid Rick through his drunk stupors. It didn't matter what Morty said or what Rick said, Rick wouldn't remember any of this. Morty had tried to get his grandfather to agree to stop drinking but he never remembered their heart to heart talks. Morty pulled on Rick's lab coat as Rick allowed him to take it off while Rick kept his face in the toilet. "Rick, just get in and wash off the vomit. I'm tired and want to go to bed."

"Woooow, someone is laaaame." Rick held up an L to his forehead before getting into the shower and pulling the curtain closed. He let the warm water hit him.

Morty grabbed a towel and set it next to the shower. He set Rick's coat inside the bathroom cabinet so Rick couldn't find it. The last time Rick was drunk enough to vomit, he end up portaling them to another dimension to get some rare snack food. Morty looked at the vomit in the toilet then flushed it, planning on never drinking if this was what it did to you.

"Morty, do you ever wonder what life would be like if we didn't meet?" Rick asked.

Morty sighed, the same questions every time, "No." Morty just wanted to go to bed. "Hurry up Rick. And take your shirt off, you vomited all over it."

"A-a-at least buy me a drink first before asking me to strip Morty." Rick yelled while laughing.

"You're drunk enough for the whole family." Morty muttered, he sat on the toilet seat waiting with his elbows on his knees. Morty watched as the light blue shirt flew over the top of the shower and hit the floor. Then the pants and underwear came. At least there was a shower curtain between the two. Morty grabbed the clothes putting them in the hamper.

"Okay that's enough." Morty said, "You should be washed by now."

Rick opened the curtain making Morty look away. Rick attempted to grab the towel almost falling out of the tub. Finally, Rick reached it and started drying himself off.

Morty kept his back turned. "Are you covered?" Morty asked.

"Yeah." Rick said laughing.

Morty looked back, happy that Rick was telling the truth this time. "Okay, now let's get you into bed."

"You know Morty, you're a good kid!" Rick said as he was ushered down the hall. "All those other kids can go suck it because you are the best kid out there."

"Yeah." Morty said opening his grandfther's room. Rick went over and sat on his bed. Morty grabbed sleep pants out of his grandfather's dresser. "Put these on."

"No!"

"Come on Rick, I want to go back to bed." Morty complained.

"Sheesh, don't even like spending time with me anymore." Rick said snatching the sleep pants. He put them on before feeling more vomit come to his throat. Morty was just barely able to grab the trashcan at his grandfather's bed. Rick grabbed the can from Morty, vomiting into it. Morty sat on the bed with his grandfather rubbing his back. Rick had never been this drunk before. It was typically one vomit and then he was good. This was more than usual.

Morty had never noticed the scars on his grandfather's back. Large white scars that took up half his back.

Rick must have noticed him looking, "I was using my body as a shield." Rick's voice was echoing from his face leaning into the trashcan.

Morty listened to his grandfather. "The scars on the right. I had to keep him safe. I caused the explosion with him next to me. He died in my arms." Rick said holding out his arms. The trash can almost fell to the ground. Morty caught it just in time, keeping the vomit in the trash can.

"Who?" Morty asked while placing the trash can on Rick's lap, knowing the answer.

"My Morty before you." Rick held the can in his hands, he appeared like he was off in a distant memory.

Morty had figured that his Rick had a Morty before him. This was the first time Rick actually said it.

"Kid was a fighter. He went through so much with me. I watched him grow up. I was good, I didn't leave the family like most other Rick's did. I stayed with the family. I was the good one..."

Morty was about to talk when Rick started up again.

"Then the explosion, it was all my fault. I just had to work on that gun for that client. I tried to protect him. The shrapnel hit him in the head. He was alive and I tried to get him to the hospital. He was a fighter but he died in my arms on the way. I couldn't save him. The gas from the explosion killed everyone in the house." Rick felt his eyes watering.

"Why don't you lay down." Morty said.

Rick's eyes widened, "I'm sorry Morty, I wasn't supposed to tell you." Rick said looking panicked.

"It's fine Rick, I won't bring it up again." Morty helped his grandfather lay down on the bed. "Stay on your side, don't go on your back."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Rick said.

Morty put a comforter over Rick. "Good night Rick."

"Good night Morty." Rick said. Within seconds Rick was snoring.

Morty gently closed Rick's door behind him. He went to his room and started to clean the vomit on his floor.

"Hey Morty."

Morty looked to see his mom in front of him. "Hey mom."

"I heard commotion, is everything fine?" She asked kneeling down to help him clean the vomit.

"Yeah. Rick drank too much and vomited in my room." Morty said. "I had to help him to bed."

"Thank you Morty."

"For what?"

"Everyone else refuses to help Rick when he's drinking. You go beyond that though. You help him when he's down. It takes a strong person to do what you do. There's times where I'm pretty sure he's only around because of you."

Morty smiled, she had no idea how true that was. Beth helped him finish cleaning and then the two walked their separate ways to go to bed.

Morty sat in bed, he could hear Rick snoring down the hall. He was thinking of what his mom said, 'it take a strong person to do what you do.'

Morty smiled, he was strong.

Fin.

I'm with the idea that Rick C-137 had a Morty before this Morty...but not Eye Patch Morty. This story came to me cuz of the memory he had of young Morty. Rick got emotional when he saw that memory flash which to me meant something happened to make him get really close to that Morty. The saying is 'Ricks don't care about Mortys' and yet we see repeatedly that Rick is willing to risk his own life for Morty. My theory is that Rick was the reason for his first Morty's death and he doesn't want to go through that again.