Finally, Rick could catch his breath as he pulled his spaceship into the parking lot. He could hardly believe he hadn't found this place sooner- a whole citadel of Ricks hiding from the galactic government.

And that's why Rick A-77 was there. The galactic federation had been chasing him for years it seemed. It wasn't until he coincidentally ran into another Rick recently on his adventuring that he had learned about the existence of this place. It was amazing.

As he looked around, there was just one thing that puzzled him, and that was the presence of kids, no more than fourteen years old, all wearing yellow shirts. Some were alone, but most were following a Rick around.

Rick A-77 found another Rick sitting alone at a table, drinking coffee. "Hey, I'm new here," he said. "Who are these kids?"

"You mean the Mortys?" the other Rick asked. A-77 nodded. "Their our grandson. His brainwaves shield us from the galactic federation."

"Really?" A-77 asked in amazement. "I need to find mine. Thanks!" he jumped up from the table and started running back to his spaceship.

"No problem!" he heard the other Rick call out.

Rick A-77 made his way back to his spaceship (well, he was pretty sure this one was his) and hopped inside. He set the coordinates for Earth A-77 and let auto pilot take control. "Morty, I'm coming," he said.

It was time for Rick to reenter Beth's life, and if she was the same little daddy's girl she was when he left, she'd welcome him back with open arms. He pulled out his computer and started typing Beth's name. What he found shocked him.

Beth Sanchez, imprisoned for murdering her husband, Jonathan Reeves.

Sure, Beth had been a wild child, but he certainly never had imagined her capable of murder. Reeves must have been bad news. He wondered what had happened to Jerry. He vaguely remembered him from Beth's teenage years and knew he was the father of his granddaughter. A quick search later, Rick found that he was unemployed and did not have custody of the boy.

Rick growled in annoyance. Where was Morty? Beth would know. He decided to visit her in prison.

As soon as he entered Earth's atmosphere, he took the wheel and steered to where Beth was imprisoned. As he parked, and unfamiliar pang of guilt hit him. If he hadn't left Beth's life, maybe none of this would have ever happened.

He entered the dark building, heading straight for the front desk. "I'm here to visit Beth Sanchez," he said to the lady behind the desk.

"Sure thing," she replied, handing him a clipboard. He signed in and handed it back to her. "One of our staff will escort you to the visiting room now."

He followed behind the guard nervously. He hadn't seen Beth in years. What if she wasn't daddy's girl anymore? What if she refused to speak to him? How would he find Morty then?

The moment he entered the visiting room, his eyes were drawn towards her. She looked a lot the same, but thinner, paler, and the sparkle in her eyes was gone. Rick approached her hesitantly, feeling that pang of guilt again.

Beth's blonde hair hung limp in her face. She made no move to move it with her cuffed hands, which rested on the table. "So," she said. "What brings Rick Sanchez in to see his locked up daughter?"

There was pain in her eyes as she looked at him. "I met another version of myself," he said. "He had a grandson."

"Morty," Beth replied. "Why have you taken an interest in him?"

Rick thought up a quick lie. "Because Rick and Mortys everywhere have a special bond, and I want that. I want to be a part of a family again."

As he spoke, the familiar sparkle returned to his dad. "He's in the foster care system at some boy's home named Boys' Harbor. Summer emancipated and has been trying to get custody of him with no luck. Jerry's tried getting custody too, but without a job, they won't grant it." A tear slid down Beth's cheek. "But if you really mean it, you could get custody over him."

He instinctively grabbed Beth's hands. "I will," he promised gently. "But I need to know something."

"Why did I kill Jonathan?" Rick nodded. "At first he was only hurting me. I was scared to leave because he threatened the children. But then I found out that he was hurting Morty, and I had to do something."

Rick's stomach twisted in disgust. He was a sick bastard, but even he would never hurt an innocent child. "You did the right thing, Beth," he assured her.

"Get Morty," Beth instructed. He's far better off with family."

Rick left the jail feeling like the world's worst father, which he probably was. If he had just stayed in Beth's life, he could have had Jonathan taken care of. Beth wouldn't be in prison, Summer wouldn't be alone at seventeen, and Morty would have never got hurt. Not that he cared. He told himself long ago that he was better off alone.

Rick climbed back into his spaceship and set the coordinates for Boys' Harbor. It wasn't far from the jail, in a run-down part of the neighborhood. Rick touched the freeze gun in his lab pocket, making sure it was still there in case he needed it.

He hopped out of the spaceship and apprehensively entered the ragged building in front of him. This was where his grandson was living? Morty was gonna be relieved that Rick was taking him away from this dump.

He approached the lady at the front counter and cleared his throat. "May I help you?" she asked, in a bored tone.

"I'm here to visit my grandson, Morty," he explained.

"Follow me," the lady replied. He followed her down the dark hallway past the flickering lights to the last door on the left. The lady knocked before saying, "Morty, you have a visitor."

She opened the door, and let Rick inside. The room was small and dim. Morty was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring downwards at his feet. "Hey, Morty," Rick said awkwardly. "My name's Rick Sanchez. I know you don't know me, but I'm your grandpa."

Morty looked up at him with skeptical brown eyes. His yellow shirt was speckled with holes, his jeans were too small, and the shoes sitting under his bed looked worn. "How- how long have you been here?" Rick asked in horror.

His grandson made motions with his hands that Rick instantly recognized as American Sign Language. Ten months. Rick sighed in disbelief. He knew the type of destruction he could cause. He didn't know about the destruction and suffering left in the wake of his absence. "Well, put on your shoes, kiddo," he said. "I'm busting you outta here."