"H-hey, Morty, so I was-" Rick cut himself off. Morty was laying on the floor. He hadn't been able to erect himself after he'd spit up the pills, so he'd collapsed onto his side. Two empty bottles were upended next to him at eye level. Morty had been reaching for pills as he swallowed and held onto two as he stared at Rick with wide, weeping eyes.

Rick had seen this before, but he'd never thought he'd stumble across Morty like this. His shocked expression quickly turned to narrowed eyes. "How many?"

"I-I dunno..." Morty muttered. Time had slowed to a crawl. Was this happening or was he imagining it? He lazily brought the pills up to his mouth and Rick was instantaneously crouching by his side, smacking them out of his hand.

"Don't you dare!" he growled, voice tense with warning. He gave dumbstruck Morty a brief, but pointed, glare before rushing out the door.

When eye contact was broken, Morty cradled his hurt hand against his stomach, or at least he knew it should hurt but he wasn't sure if it did. What was happening? Rick had seen him, but… Was Rick abandoning him? He should have known. This was a good thing, then, he'd had a good idea for once. He'd succeeded. More tears leaked out. His success didn't feel as pleasant as he'd hoped. Deciding that his hand didn't hurt, he reached for a different pill. Almost done. One final, sad victory.

Rick reappeared in the doorway, his face knotted at what greeted him. He'd hoped Morty would listen. He knelt by Morty and grabbed the wrist holding the pill, angrily pulling his arm taut and squeezing tight enough that Morty let it go with a small yelp. That was definitely pain he was feeling.

"What the fuck did I just say, Morty?"

In his other hand, Rick held a syringe, which he quickly jabbed into Morty's upper arm, plunging a teal liquid inside.

Morty hadn't understood what Rick had said, staring at the needle dimly,. and drowsily asked, "What was that, Rick?" Rick's grip loosened and Morty collapsed into his lap. He turned to look up at him, keeping his head on his thighs. They were like firm pillows and he closed his eyes as he nuzzled into them. He felt like someone who downed 10 energy drinks, past the point of exhaustion but still jittery as shit. His body was going a hundred miles and hour and yet...he wasn't sure if it was the amount of pills he took or exhaustion from bodily bullshit or the fact that he was half dead, maybe it was whatever Rick had given him that made him so tired. Was this what death felt like? Like he needed to sleep off living?

Rick's internal monologue wasn't so enlightened.

That was me saving your life, you fucking turd! was what he wanted to say, but he figured that wouldn't be the most appropriate. Might not be accurate either, considering he didn't know what medication it was or how many pills were in there. Two bottles...maybe it wasn't all that lethal, but it didn't hurt to be sure. Also didn't change that Morty was taking pills like goddamn candy. But he had a feeling this wasn't a drug addiction. It seemed more like...well, what else would it look like?

"Take your best guess," he finally responded with hostility, which wasn't intentional, he just didn't know how to deal with the emotions he was feeling. Of course, when he'd seen him, his first response was to counteract the drugs, but once that was resolved he had to deal with his own damn issues and he was not prepared for that! He'd been prepared for hijinks! He'd come up here to tell Morty he'd found a dimension where they'd made a Ball Fondlers animated series, and a different Morty was the voice of Benjamin. He'd been saving that one up for a while, he thought Morty would get a kick out of it. He'd wanted to take him there, impersonate famous Morty for a bit (voice actors were famous in that dimension), his way of apologizing for being a dick the last few weeks.

Was this happening because of that?

Morty opened his eyes at his loud words, unsure. This didn't feel real, was it a dream? He blinked slowly. "Was it poison? A-are-are you helping?"

Rick was bug-eyed, staring at Morty like he'd spouted the most insane drivel he'd ever heard in his life. "How drugged are you? For-for fuck's sake, Morty, I know I'm an asshole but-but even I have a fucking limit. Jesus Christ!" He had to calm himself, Morty didn't need to be yelled at. The kid had turned away, pushing his face into his lap, cringing against him and mumbling gibberish to his pant leg. Damnit. Rick laid a hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. Morty somehow kept his head buried and leaned into his touch, but he didn't seem any calmer. He was a fucking mess, totally out of it right now, it was like consoling a crying toddler. He hoped that would wear off soon. Rick couldn't be upset with him when he was like this. What the fuck was he doing, getting all offended?

Well, there was the fact that Morty thought he was practically Satan. Why the hell would he think he wanted him dead? He couldn't be more wrong. Rick could assess that this had started as an anxiety or panic attack, most likely the later considering the state he'd found him in and how he'd been acting since, like he was detached from reality. It could be the anxiety talking, but even then it was a pretty low bar. Sure, he'd killed alternate families before, but only if they were trying to kill him first. Self defense. And, ok, he had shut down Morty's kidneys...and put him in some death defying situations...and threatened him when he was drunk… Damnit, no wonder the kid was so far off the mark! He didn't exactly come off as a caring person, but for fuck's sake he always came through for Morty in the end! It was like some strange fucking destiny. Even now it was like he'd gotten here just in the nick of time.

Morty's body shook and Rick's lap was becoming damp with tears. Eh, fuck it, his ego could stand to take a hit, the kid was what mattered in the long run. Wouldn't kill him to show that every once in a while.

Rick started again, voice level, trying to calm Morty down. Calm himself too. "I-it was a cleanser, Morty, it's gonna flush all that shit out of your system. But seriously," he couldn't shut off his damn curiosity!, "why would I want you dead? Why the hell would-would you ever think that?!" Rick concealed his aggravation because he wanted to understand. What the hell was going through this kid's head to make him think he wanted to kill him? He hoped it was just the anxiety, that Morty didn't really think that deep down.

Crap. All anxiety was rooted in something.

Morty pulled his arm out from under him, trapped even after the shift in position. This caused him to roll from his side onto his back and out of Rick's lap with a small thump. Rick tried to reach for him, but it was too sudden and the distance was too short for him to be caught. He was holding something tightly in his fist. He shakily held it toward Rick. "T-to upgrade," he muttered, a small, sad smile on his face. He blinked and fresh tears rolled down.

The words were so quiet that Rick didn't catch them and, confused, he grabbed the paper and stuffed it into his pocket. He wanted to know, shit he really wanted to know, but there was a pressing issue at hand. "I-I don't know what this is uuur-bout, Morty, but we have to go,"

"Go?" Morty was hurt that Rick didn't look at the paper and also confused. Go where? The haze was wearing off a bit, that cleanser must have been pretty potent to do its job so fast, it was even making his anxiety ebb a bit somehow. It would be nice just to lie there. Maybe nap. Forget this whole stupid dream.

Rick wasn't giving him that option. He shoved his arms under him, one under his neck and the other below his thighs, slowly easing Morty away from the floor and picking him up bridal style. Morty was annoyed at the shift in position. "H-hey, what gives?"

Rick was already walking through Morty's open door. Morty was drenched and still shaking in his arms. "I-it's a cleanser, Morty, not a miracle. So you-you're either gonna vomit or shit your pant in about 15 seconds and I think you'd rather be in the bathroom for that."

"Aww geez, do-do you have to say it like that?" Morty turned away from Rick, embarrassment now coloring his cheeks.

They were at the bathroom door in seconds and Rick set Morty on his feet. Morty stumbled a bit, clutching his diaphragm, suddenly feeling what Rick had been talking about. Rick was quick to help him upright before he closed the door behind them. "So, how're you feeling?"

"Like I'm-I'm gonna throw up." Morty responded simply. The tired numbness had worn off and he felt incredibly shitty in a lot of ways. However, he didn't want to make a longer list, so he stuck with what was at the top.

"Here," Rick held out a hand and gingerly helped Morty kneel down before kneeling beside him. Not that he needed to hold his hair or anything, but he didn't want to leave him alone right now. He was obviously in bad shape. The cleanser would get rid of the pills and there was a stimulant that might improve his mood, but it wouldn't completely remedy whatever he was feeling.

Rick wanted to ask for reasons again, to have him repeat what he'd said before, but he couldn't expect much from Morty right now. He'd gripped the toilet seat and started retching right on schedule. Was it good form to ask when he was done? Fuck, when had he ever cared about good form? That was something new. Always some new form of nice because of this damn kid. He should've been nicer to him sooner... Might have lead to a better situation. Or it would have happened anyway, but if it had, at least he wouldn't feel so damn guilty about it. There wasn't any proof that this was his fault, but he had a feeling. Morty thought he'd been poisoning him, for Christ's sake. Then there was that paper. Was it a suicide note?

He rubbed Morty's back as he heaved into the toilet, simultaneously trying to find what Morty had tried to give him in his coat pocket. He should have put it in his pants, there was less junk in there, but he found it easily enough.

He clumsily uncrumpled it with one hand, the other resting on Morty's still back. He watched him. It seemed the worst of it was over, his concoction was incredibly efficient and one bout should have been the end of it, but Morty was still hunkered over the seat, wary. After checking on him briefly he turned back to the now semi-flattened paper on the floor. He recognized it the moment he laid eyes on it and was immediately agitated. Of course this had come up again, it wasn't like Morty would ever let this go. Rick thought he'd taken care of the whole multiple Ricks and Mortys and how he wasn't like them and Morty wasn't just a shield, but Morty was obviously still upset about it or he wouldn't have given this voucher to him and, damnit, he'd most likely taken it from him in the first place. How long had he been holding onto this thing, thinking about it, torturing himself? Why hadn't he said anything? It wasn't like he hadn't bitched him out before.

Damnit. If this bothered him so much he had to talk about it instead of pussyfooting around it. Fuck. He glanced at Morty, who had looked over at the sound, more present yet his face uncertain.

Rick wanted to ask him what he was doing with this, where it had come from (even though he knew), but there was no way Morty was up for this conversation right now. "Later," he said when Morty looked at him expectantly, forcing down his own curiosity. "What do you need?"

They were going to talk about it, that was going to happen, but Morty was glad it wasn't right this second. He had a feeling he'd feel better soon, like how throwing up always seems to help. You know, unless you can't stop throwing up. Still, at this very moment, he physically felt like human garbage. The embodiment of sweat and tears. Mercifully his thoughts were slowing down. The anxiety engines were puttering slowly, running out of gas. He thought about Rick's question. Before this whole episode had started he'd wanted Rick to be there, to be nice to him. Now that he was, he couldn't remember wanting anything else. And although he was on edge about what Rick was going to tell him later, his presence now was helping. Besides that… "A shower," he said dryly, his mouth still tasting like bile.

Rick nodded. "I'll get you some clothes. Don't lock the door," he warned.

"I-I won't," Morty promised. He didn't like the implication, like he couldn't be trusted by himself, but he figured that was a normal reaction. Not that he'd do anything. Even if he wanted to, he was so completely drained there was no way he could.

"Good. Beth will be pissed if I break it down," Rick mumbled the last as he hurried away. He trusted Morty, although he was questioning it right now, and he wanted him to do what made him feel better, but he couldn't risk leaving him alone for long after what had just happened. He was trying not to make a big deal about the suicide attempt, he'd honestly seen much worse things in the universe, but something like this with Morty...it really shook him up. He'd seen him freak out before, Beth had told him about his condition when he'd asked her about it. He was aware, although Morty had never said anything. He'd even asked him if he remembered his pills once and Morty had been so aghast at the question he'd never brought it up again. Although he probably hadn't phrased it very nicely, that could have been it. Still, Morty didn't want to talk about it, so he ignored it. Treated him the same way he always did, which he would have done anyway. Things had been so normal he'd almost forgotten there was anything wrong with him. Until today. The situation painted a stark picture of how uncertain life was. He'd always thought Morty would be there, he'd never considered that he wouldn't, and it was really fucking with his worldview.

This was why he had the voucher.

He shook his head as he slammed Morty's closet open. Now was not the time to think about that, that was for later. There were other things he should consider. Like whether or not he should tell Beth. It was her kid after all, but he also didn't want her to worry. She had personal shit to deal with too. But he was her son… He'd figure that out later too, he decided as he grabbed clothes, he needed to do this right now.