Summery: Pretty straightforward, an AU where Rick is a good father instead of a negligent one.
Julie looked down at the bundle in her arms, where her baby girl rested, and smiled at her. She brushed her fingers against her cheek, making her squirm a little before continuing to rest. Julie had given birth to her a few weeks ago, and was going to be returning to work soon, and while she was happy at the thought of working again, she knew she would miss her daughter greatly.
She had always wanted to be a mother, and now she had finally gotten her wish after getting married to her husband Rick. Now that she had started a family with him, Julie wanted to do her best to be a good mother. She had never dealt with children before, but she had been reading up on raising children as much as she could, and so she felt she could handle the responsibility of looking after a child. Well, at least she hoped so...
Rick exited his lab and walked over to Julie, smiling when he saw her holding Beth. Julie saw him and walked over to him, smiling back. "It's your turn to feed Beth." She told him.
Julie handed Beth over to Rick, and noticed his hesitancy before he took her. He grabbed the bottle, and still, he appeared to be hesitant. As he fed her, there was uncertainty in his eyes. She was worried for him, Julie knew he'd been very unsure about fatherhood, and though he'd been good with Beth and clearly loved her dearly, he often remained so unsure with being a father, so uncertain and hesitant.
Rick had grown up in an abusive household, so he had no proper father figure, least of all any kind of real parental one. Julie knew his upbringing had to do with this uncertainty, and she wanted him to see he was already a better father than his own, and that he could continue to remain a wonderful father, she just had to get him to see that.
After Rick finished feeding Beth, he handed her back to Julie, who gave him a worried look. "Are you okay Rick? I've noticed how unsure you seemed feeding Beth."
"Y-You worry too much Julie," Rick brushed her off. "I'm fine, r-really."
She shook her head. "Like I said, I noticed how unsure you seemed feeding Beth. You've always been so unsure about being a father, so nervous. Please, let me help you with this."
Rick was silent for a moment, unsure what to say, before finally giving in. "Fine! I do feel nervous about a father okay! It doesn't matter how many of those parenting books I read, or anything like that, my nerves still take over and I feel like some dumb fuck!" He started to tear up. "I-I can't do this without you Julie, I-I just c-can't."
"Oh, don't say that. I'm sure it's not-"
"It is! I need you here with me! Please, d-don't go, stay here with me...p-please.."
He was sobbing against her, wrapping his arms around her. Julie placed Beth carefully on the couch, and did her best to soothe and comfort him, planting gentle kisses on him and embracing him. His words stung her, she believed in him, didn't doubt his ability to be a father, but Julie couldn't ignore his desperation and pleas. She wasn't sure what to do.
When night came and everyone went to bed, Julie stayed awake, thinking about what she should do. She wanted to support and help Rick as best as she could, yet she also wanted him to see how good of a father he was. But she was reminded of his pleas for her to stay behind with him, it broke her heart just thinking about it. What could she do?
The more Julie thought about it, the more she knew that staying behind with him just might be the best thing for her to do. Despite her trust in him, she couldn't ignore his desperation for her to stay behind, she knew how hurt he would feel if she didn't, and she cared more for his feelings than her own. Julie liked the idea of being able to spend more time with her family too. Money wasn't an issue either, as Rick's criminal activity brought in enough, and she knew he could just make an invention too. Quitting her job wouldn't be easy though…
When her six weeks of maternity leave ended, Julie headed off to work. Rick was heartbroken to watch her go, he wanted her with him, he had asked her to stay, but it looked like it wasn't going to be that way. He sighed dejectedly.
Rick sat on the couch and turned his head to see his baby girl in his arms. In spite of his nerves, he really did love her. Before Beth was born, Julie was all that mattered to him, but now Beth mattered to him too; he would die for her and kill for her as much as he would for her mother. He kissed her forehead and rocked her back and forth gently. Beth was relaxed, and fell asleep.
He smiled, kissing her head again. Rick remained unsure with himself, fearing he did something wrong, but for now, Beth was asleep, and seemed quite peaceful. Maybe he didn't need to dwell on it too much. He would turn on the TV, but he was worried the sounds would wake her up, so he just relaxed, and soon he fell asleep too…
Julie returned home not long later, quitting her job had been hard. She explained to her boss of her situation and he'd been sympathetic, but sad to see her go and wished her good luck.
When she opened the door, she smiled upon seeing both Rick and Beth were fast asleep. Julie set her purse down and walked over to them.
She started to shake Rick a little. "Come on, wake up Lemon.." Julie giggled.
He opened his eyes and was surprised to see Julie. "Huh? Julie? I thought.."
"I quit."
Rick's eyes widened. "You quit?"
"I decided staying behind with you and Beth was a good idea after all. So...I quit my job.."
He was touched by this, he hadn't expected her to agree, but was glad she did. "Oh Gingersnap..you really...you really did that?"
She nodded. "I thought it over and decided it was the right idea. It was hard...but...I feel like its for the best.."
Rick grinned. "If I-I-I wasn't holding Beth, I'd hug you right now."
"Here, I'll do it instead." She then hugged him tightly, and he pecked her on the cheek.
"I...I really d-do feel better having you around.." He admitted.
"I'm glad you do." Hearing his words made Julie feel better about her decision, and that perhaps she really did the right thing.
2 years later….
Julie was sitting down in the living room, playing with Beth, who was two years old at this point. She was dressed up, by Julie, in a red dress with a matching red bow in her blonde hair. Julie loved dressing her up in pretty clothes, nothing too fancy though, as Beth was only a toddler and so Julie thought that would be a little much; but she did like making her look nice, at least until Beth could pick out her own clothes.
Beth excitedly ran over to her mother, but on the way, she tripped and fell, bruising her knee in the process. Julie gasped and went over to her as she wailed.
"There there...Mommy's here..it's okay.." She assured her gently as she lifted her up and sat her down on the couch.
Julie inspected the bruise, it didn't seem too bad, so she felt she didn't need to do too much. She gave Beth a big smile and kissed her bruise. Beth seemed to relax at this and looked at her mother, a smile starting to form. Seeing this, Julie kissed her bruise again, and Beth started laughing. Julie began laughing a bit herself, and gave her bruise another kiss, making Beth laugh again.
She got an idea, and started kissing her stomach before blowing raspberries on it, and Beth laughed even harder than before. Julie gently grabbed onto her face and kissed her cheeks and forehead, only continuing to make Beth laugh.
"Feel better sweetheart?" Julie asked.
"Yes Mommy!" Beth replied, giving her a wide smile.
Julie picked her up and sat her down on the carpet again, when Rick walked in from his lab. Beth immediately took notice and started reaching out for him. "Daddy daddy! Here!" She exclaimed.
Rick walked over to her and picked her up. He gave Julie a concerned look. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard crying."
"Beth tripped and bruised her knee." Julie informed him. "But she's better now, kissing seemed to do the trick." She smiled at that last part.
Rick took a look at her knee and noticed the bruise. "Well...at least you feel better now."
Julie walked over to them and gave Rick a soft kiss. She turned over to Beth. "You sure you're okay sweetie?"
Rick just smiled and shook his head, Julie was a very doting mother, she got easily concerned over even the smallest things, it was no surprise to see her like this.
"I okay Mommy." Beth replied.
"Are you-"
Rick shushed her. "Look at her, Beth is perfectly fine, she's not crying or screaming or anything, she just looks really happy. See?" He gestured towards Beth, who just grinned.
Julie breathed a sigh of relief. "Well if everything's okay...why don't you have something to eat?"
"Eat eat!" Beth started to reach out towards the kitchen, making both Rick and Julie laugh.
"Okay sweetie, I'll go get you something to eat." Julie grinned and walked over towards the kitchen.
They watched her go before Rick looked down at Beth. Her arms were on either side of him and she was close to him, her head turning to see her mother.
He held her close, giving his daughter a fond look. His love for her had only grown over the two years since she was born, and they clearly shared a bond, with Beth being a bit of a daddy's girl and all. Rick knew that she was the best thing he would ever create, none of his inventions mattered to him as much as she did. He didn't make her alone either, Julie had a hand in her creation as well, and Rick thought that just made it even better. In a way, Beth was symbol of their strong love for each other, the fact that Rick agreed to even have her in the first place was amazing on it's own, and it showed how much he loved Julie that he was willing to do something just out of her happiness and not his own. Though he'd been unsure about having her at first, his fears had melted away when he first held her in his arms. He didn't regret having her with Julie at all.
Rick remembered that her first word was even "dada", that day was still clear in his mind…
Rick walked into the living room from his lab, and smiled when he saw Julie playing with Beth, who had her dressed in a red shirt with a darker red skirt; she was dressed as pretty as always. He shook his head, still smiling, and walked over to them.
Julie pointed to Rick, directing Beth's attention over to him. "Look Beth, it's Daddy!"
Beth turned to Rick, a big grin on her face. She was always so excited to see her father. "Dada!" She exclaimed. "Dada dada!"
Both Rick and Julie were shocked hearing her first word, before that shock turned into excitement. "Rick, I can't believe it! She said her first word!"
"And it was…" He smiled. "She was referring to me.."
Julie giggled before taking a picture to commemorate the occasion. "She loves you so much you know."
"Yeah...yeah I do.." Rick softly said as Beth crawled over to him and raised her hands in the air, wanting him to hold her, which he did. He kissed her forehead, making her giggle, while she managed to utter "dada" again.
Rick put Beth down and watched as she ran over to Julie, clearly very excited about eating. He smiled and shook his head.
Another 2 years later…
Beth was three years old at this point, but her fourth birthday was coming up soon, and she was really excited. She was thinking about all the amazing presents her Mommy and Daddy were going to get for her, especially her Daddy, he always had something really cool for her.
But Rick wasn't sure what to get her, he was in the dark about a possible present for her. So, he decided to ask Julie about it.
"I'm not sure what to get for Beth this year Gingersnap, what do you think?"
"Don't worry about it sweetheart, the right idea will come to you soon enough." She assured him.
Rick sighed. "What are you getting for her?"
"A stuffed horse. She seems to really love animals after all, thought it would be nice." Julie replied.
He didn't say anything, but continued to eye her, his gaze lowering until he noticed the lilac pendant necklace she was wearing. Suddenly, it hit him.
"I know what I'm gonna get her this year." He proclaimed.
Julie giggled. "That quickly? Well, I'm sure whatever idea you have, it's a good one."
"Just wait and see." He winked.
Rick headed into his lab, intent on making his present for Beth: a pendant necklace like Julie's, but brown instead of lilac-coloured. He spent his time working on it, before the big day arrived.
When it did, Beth was super excited, sitting down on the carpet in the living room with wrapped presents around her. Mark and Vivian had planned to come, but got swamped up with looking after their twins Allison and Helen; so instead, they just sent their gifts over.
Beth happily opened her presents, which was mainly toys, until there was only two left: Rick and Julie's 'main' presents. Julie handed her a bag containing the stuffed horse, when Beth opened it and brought it out, her eyes widened and she squealed in joy, hugging it tightly.
"I love it so much Mommy!" She grinned. "She's perfect!"
Julie smiled. "I knew you would." She then turned to Rick. "Daddy still has to give you his present."
Rick handed Beth a small box, which she gleefully opened until she spotted the necklace and pulled it out. It looked just like the one her Mommy always wore, except the pendent was a different colour. "It's so pretty!" She beamed.
"Do y-you w-want me to put it on?" Rick asked.
"Yes please!"
He picked up the necklace and put it on her carefully. As soon as it was on her, Beth turned to look at Julie. "We match!" She exclaimed.
"We certainly do!" Julie grinned, hugging her tightly as Beth laughed.
After this, Julie had gotten them matching bracelets, so they'd match even further, which Beth loved. Though Beth was a Daddy's girl, she still shared a strong bond with her mother. In addition to their matching, Julie read to Beth every night since she was two years old, and every time she went over to put her to bed, Beth would pick out a book for her to read, her mother's soothing voice only helped in making her fall asleep.
Since Beth was four now, school was coming close, and the first day she left for kindergarten, she cried as the bus drove off to school. But when she got there, she did have fun, though missed both her parents deeply.
Rick and Julie decided to spend the day together, taking advantage of the fact they could be alone again. In the past, they would ask Birdperson and Squanchy or Mark and Vivian to babysit for them, but they all tended to be busy, which didn't help. When Mark and Vivian had their daughters, this was only made worse. Rick and Julie loved Beth dearly, but they missed have quality time together. Their wedding anniversaries had always been great though, they were always able to spend as much time together as they could. On their fourth wedding anniversary, the most recent, Rick had even wrote a song for her, which she'd loved so much. Beth had been there for the song too and loved it as well, even clapping along to it.
Even with Beth around, Julie and Rick's relationship remained as strong as ever, and they were still very intimate and loving. They were affectionate as always, kissing each other, hugs, and the like remained common between them. When they could, they would make love too, though always keeping the door closed for Beth's sake.
On that day, Julie thought it would be nice to go out for lunch together, making sure to save stuff for Beth as well when she came home. Rick agreed, and when noon rolled around, they headed for a burger joint.
"It's really nice to finally get some quality time together again, it feels like it's been so long.." Julie remarked.
"Don't worry about it Gingersnap." Rick smiled. "Now that Beth is in school, we'll have more than enough time to make up it for it."
Julie smiled back. "You're right. It feels like when we were just dating, and we would go and eat out together, sometimes not even on Earth. I...I like it."
He chuckled. "Same here. Now, we should figure out what burgers to get.." Rick scanned the menu, looking for what he wanted to order, when his eyes landed on one that caught his interest. "Now this one looks good, it's loaded with pickles, cheese, bacon.." Julie sat there intently, watching him ramble on about what was in the burger, not at all minding it. When he finished, he stared at Julie, a little embarrassed about his rambling.
Julie saw this and giggled. "Don't worry, I didn't mind. I assume that's what you're getting?"
"Yep. That, and a huge thing of fries. What about you?"
"Just a cheeseburger I think, with some fries too of course.."
They always remained such a contrast to each other, but Rick didn't mind, in fact, he loved it. She was a simple girl, and normally Rick hated simple and mundane things, but she was an exception, she was an exception for a lot of things really. One of the reasons he fell in love with her to begin with was her simplicity, he had dealt with so much craziness that Julie was a huge relief to him. He appreciated her more than she could ever know.
He smiled. "Of course, and as for a drink, I guess I'll just have some Coke. Same for you?"
"Sure." Julie agreed. "Now for Beth..I'll just get her a cheeseburger too with some small fries and some juice."
"Sounds good."
When the waitress came along, they placed their orders, but she seemed confused they were ordering from a kids menu with no child in sight. "Why are you ordering the kids cheeseburger and fries with no kid around?"
"It's..for later." Julie gestured to Rick. "Our daughter's first day of school is today, and we're ordering this stuff for her when she comes back."
"Ah I see..you...two...looking for some much needed quality time?" The waitress realized.
"Yep." Julie confirmed. "Feels like it's been forever.."
The waitress chuckled. "Sounds good, I'll come back with your food soon."
As she left, Julie noticed the waitress had given Rick an odd look, which he also took notice of and sighed. "Th-this is why I hate going out in public on Earth..people are so judgmental.."
"Its okay, I guess she just...thinks you look odd or something, that you and I look so different." Julie guessed. "But that's not a bad thing. I like that you're unique, in more ways than one. I think you're really attractive and handsome in your own way. You stand out from the crowd, you do your own thing, and honestly...it's one of the many reasons I love you so much."
He blushed at this. "Love you too."
They would've kissed, but since they were out in public, Julie just placed her hand on his fondly. The next time the waitress came over when bringing the food, Rick gave her a death stare, which kept her quiet. After that, they just happily spent their time eating while talking and laughing, which led to them forgetting they were out in public.
When they got home, Julie put the food they got for Beth in the fridge, then spent the rest of their time alone together relaxed, enjoying each other's company. The time eventually came for them to pick Beth up at the bus stop, and on the walk home, she told them about her day and how much fun she had, making both Rick and Julie smile. Upon their arrival, Julie gave Beth her food, and she gleefully ate it all while watching TV.
In school, Beth had proved that she'd inherited Rick's smarts. She always did really well in school, and just like her mother, she picked up on things quickly. Beth had a curious, innocent mind and loved learning and discovering new things.
But despite that, she didn't make much friends. It wasn't that she was shy, it was just that Beth liked to do her own thing, and she didn't feel like she fit in with the other kids. But unlike her parents, she was able to stand up for herself and be assertive, she had proven to the tough, strong girl they'd hoped she would be. When Rick and Julie found out, they'd been very proud of her.
First grade rolled around, and Beth was still doing great. During the year, she was tasked to make a Mother's Day card for her mother, talking about why she loved her, and Beth had been excited. She talked about their matching bracelets and necklaces, how Julie would always read to her before bed, how she would look after her injuries and make her feel better, and how she always made great food for her. Julie had been touched, and put the card on the fridge next to a drawing Beth made of herself with her parents.
Not long later, she was tasked to make a Father's Day card where she had to talk about why she loved her father, just like with the Mother's Day one. This wasn't hard either, and Beth had been just as excited to write this one too. In this one, she talked about how she loved the gifts he made for her, how she loved playing with him, how funny she found him and that she loved when he picked her up and sometimes he'd spin her around.
The time came to give Rick the card, and when she walked over to him with it behind her back, Beth gave him a big smile.
"What do you have there sweetie?" He asked.
Beth pulled out the card from behind her back. "I made this for you Daddy."
Rick took the card and started reading it. As he read through it, tears started to form in his eyes, worrying Beth. "Are you okay Daddy?" She asked.
He wiped a few tears away. "Y-Yeah...I-I'm fine..why don't we put this beside the Mother's Day card you made?"
"Okay!" She beamed, watching as Rick did just that.
Julie walked in at that moment. "What's going on?"
"I made Daddy a card and he started crying!" Beth explained.
Julie tried to hide her amusement. "He did?"
"Yep! But he's okay now, see?"
Rick blushed in embarrassment, and Julie just smiled and shook her head.
Over the years, Beth continued to excel at school, always getting straight A's, and Rick and Julie remained proud of their daughter, and knew she had a bright future ahead of her.
As mentioned, Beth had a fondness for animals, and found she liked them more than other people. Rick and Julie saw how much she loved animals, and took her to the zoo a few times, and while there, she loved watching the animals and visiting the petting zoo. Some of the animals could be fed as well, and Beth would always try and do so.
Julie saw that Beth was a compassionate person just like her, but her compassion tended to extend more to animals than people. She still cared for other people though, namely her parents, but generally got along with animals more. Beth was kinda friends with Allison and Helen, but they were not particularly close, outside of them, she didn't have many friends. Julie didn't mind any of this though, neither did Rick, not even her lack of friends, because again, she liked animals more than people, and that was okay with them, they didn't blame her at all. They were all outcasts anyways, and seen as an odd and unusual family. Rick and Julie were an interracial couple, and therefore Beth was mixed, Rick himself was seen as strange and scary, nobody paid much mind to Julie, and Beth loving animals over people made her be seen as weird by the other kids. Julie and Rick assured Beth that she wasn't weird, she just wasn't a people person and there was nothing wrong with that. Beth listened to them, believing them, and still stood up for herself, never letting anyone push her around.
The years passed, and Beth was now 14 years old. It was around her 14th birthday that Rick found that the threat of the Galactic Federation was stronger than ever. A war was starting, and his family was in danger, what could he do?
Rick had a decision to make: he could leave, or he could stay behind. Leaving would hurt his family too much, and he wasn't sure how long he would be gone for, so he decided to stay. With his mind made up, he knew he had to let his family know.
After explaining everything, Julie and Beth were silent. Julie wasn't surprised, she was already aware of the Galactic Federation and how much of a threat they were, but this was all so new for Beth. She had found out her father, whom she'd always shared such a close and strong bond with, was a dangerous and notorious intergalactic criminal. Not only that, but Beth had also just learned about the existence of the Galactic Federation. She knew there was intelligent life in space, their family vacations were pretty unique, but Rick had always shielded her from the dangers of the universe, and now she knew why.
"So...you're a criminal?" Was all Beth could really say.
Rick nodded. "I know it must be a huge shock to you, but I hope you don't hate me sweetie. I don't w-want you to think less of me for this, but it's the tr-truth."
She pressed her lips together. "No...I don't hate you Dad. I couldn't. I guess...it's all just a big shock to me." Beth looked at over at her mother. "Did you know?"
"I knew even before your father and I got together." Julie replied.
Beth's eyes widened. "Really? And you wanted to be with him anyway despite the risk?"
"Yes." She confirmed. "I knew the risk of being with him, but my love for him has always been stronger than how much I care about my safety." Rick blushed at this.
Beth smiled, the love between her parents was always something she admired, and secretly she wished to one day have a love like theirs.
Rick continued talking. "So now I have three things in mind to deal with this. One: I'm going to make the security system in our house even more beefed up than before. Two: I'm giving you both security measures in your bodies, like what I have." He demonstrated this by making his arm turn into what looked like a gun, causing Beth to gasp. Rick then turned it off and spoke again. "Three: Beth, I think it would be best if I start training you in combat so you can defend yourself."
"Really? You want to train me?" She asked in shock.
"If the Feds come to Earth, we need to be prepared. I feel you'll be far safer if I train you in combat, because I know you'll be okay." He explained.
"What about Mom?"
"Not a fan of violence, I don't want to fight and your father knows this." Julie explained. "But I can still look after you two properly, I have a nursing degree after all. So don't worry about me."
Rick turned to look at Beth. "So...are you up for it?"
She thought for a moment. "Alright. I know you're a dangerous criminal, but you're still my dad, and I wanna help you. I'll do this."
He gave her a thumbs up. "L-Let's begin."
With the help of her father, Beth trained everyday in combat, and she'd became quite skilled at it. She could fire a gun properly, she was growing more agile by the day, and she could eventually even hold her own against Rick. He was proud of her to say the least, and knew she could handle herself properly now. Plus, like he said, he gave her and Julie's bodies security measures, just to protect them even more. He wasn't taking any risks.
In spite of this, Beth continued to mostly live like a normal teenage girl. She went to school, and had become very popular due to her looks, a lot of guys at her school gained a crush on her just for that. This bothered her a lot, she wanted guys to love her for her, not just because she was pretty. Beth knew her mother was pretty much an expert at love, and confided in her with all her frustrations. Though Julie didn't relate to this due to the bullying she dealt with in high school and was seen as ugly, a huge shock to Beth who always thought her mother was beautiful, she did advise her to find a guy who loved her for her if she wanted to date. Though Julie warned her that Rick might become an overprotective dad, which Beth just found amusing.
Beth agreed to the advice, and eventually found a guy and started dating him. Then, she decided to bring him over to meet her parents, warning him beforehand about Rick, but he just shrugged it off.
When they arrived, Julie greeted them fondly. "Hello sweetie!" She then looked at Beth's new boyfriend. "And whose this?"
Beth looked over at him. "My boyfriend, Nick."
"Hey Mrs. Sanchez." Nick greeted.
"Well Nick, why don't you come inside?" Julie offered.
"Don't mind if I do!" He grinned.
Things went pretty smoothly from then on, Julie thought Nick was 'a nice boy' and was glad to see Beth happy.
But then Rick walked in from his lab, and as soon as he spotted Nick, his eyes narrowed. "Who's that?" He asked angrily.
They all turned over to see Rick. Despite Nick brushing off Beth's warning, he was now feeling scared. Rick definitely had a threatening appearance, and the look in his eyes screamed malice.
"Hello uh...Mr. Sanchez...sir.." Nick shuddered. "I'm...I'm Beth's boyfriend Nick."
Rick had suspected this, and the confirmation only made him angrier. He walked over to Nick. "So...your her new boyfriend huh?" He then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Break her heart and...well….let's just say that things won't be good for you." Nick could only gulp.
"Dad! Put him down!" Beth yelled in annoyance.
Rick complied, but didn't turn his angry gaze away as he sat next to Julie. For the rest of the time Nick was there, Rick stayed like that, angered and silent.
Eventually, Beth and Nick did break up, and when Rick found out, he wanted to kill Nick but Beth and Julie kept him at bay. Despite this, Nick had remembered his words and had lived in fear for a time before just forgetting about it.
Beth had a few more boyfriends after that, until high school was over. She had also skipped both proms just to continue training.
Speaking of her training, with high school over, Beth had been thinking and had came to a decision relating to it.
"Dad, I wanna join you in the fight with the Federation." She confessed.
"No..no sweetie y-you can't.." Rick refused. "It's too dangerous...I don't want y-y-you to get hurt."
"I know you still think of me as just your little girl, but I promise, I can handle myself out there. I've been training with you for so long, I don't want to feel like it's for nothing. Let me do this."
"Sweetie.."
"Please Dad, please let me do this. You know I can."
Rick sighed. "Alright, fine. You know I can never say no to you for long anyways."
She beamed and hugged him. "Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret it!" He just smiled.
Rick, Julie and Beth all left Earth together, travelling in a large spaceship Rick had made that was usually invisible. Rick and Beth fought hard against the Feds together, where she really had proved how capable she was, he had never been more proud of his daughter.
Julie on the other hand, looked after their injuries and nursed them back to health. While Rick and Beth would be off fighting on another planet, Julie stayed on the ship, always worrying about them.
Time passed, and the war was over. However, Beth had no intentions of returning to Earth. "I've never felt like I belonged there, but here? Out in space? It feels like home, I don't want to leave it."
"I get it," Rick chuckled. "Earth sucks, the name literally means dirt after all. The rest of the galaxy is far more interesting."
"So..we can stay?" She asked hopefully.
"Y-You bet."
Beth was overjoyed with this, but ended up wondering if Julie was okay with it too. She didn't mind either, just wanting to see Beth happy.
Present Day
Rick and Beth were in an intergalactic bar, attempting to negotiate with an alien there, but it wasn't working so well.
"W-W-What do you mean you're not taking the flurbos? We had a deal you son of a bitch!" Rick snarled.
The alien shrugged. "Well sorry, but I changed my mind."
"You can't back out of this now." Beth growled. "Like he said, we had a deal."
"So? I'll back out if it if I want to! What are you two gonna do about it?"
Rick and Beth just looked at each other before they started beating him to a pulp. Seeing this, other patrons at the bar started fighting each other and things ended up getting out of control pretty quickly.
In the end, Rick and Beth got what they wanted and returned to the ship, where Julie was waiting for them. She saw bruises on them and gasped. "What happened?"
"D-Deal went bad, things got ph-physical, and on the way back we got too close to other fights that broken out." Rick explained.
She sighed and looked after their injuries as normal. Julie hated when they got into fights with people, but she felt there was nothing she could do about it.
When she finished, Rick walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "You're the best, you know that right?"
Julie giggled. "And you know that you're still as charming and flirty as you were in our youth?"
"And I'll never stop being that baby." He winked.
Beth smiled as she watched her parents. It always made her feel good to see that they remained in a happy, healthy, stable relationship. Even as a child, whenever they'd have an argument, they did away from her as to avoid upsetting her. It all really helped her grow up in a healthy, stable environment, which had always been really good for her.
However, she did admittedly feel jealous, wanting the love her parents had, hoping she could find someone too. After Rick walked away to work on something, Beth walked up to Julie.
"Mom?"
"What is it honey?"
"I...I feel like I should admit that...I'm jealous of what you and Dad have. I've always wanted a love like what you guys share.."
Julie smiled at her and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Beth, I'm sure you'll find your true love someday too."
Beth hung her head. "But Mom...I'm thirty-four...you really think I can still find someone?"
"Trust me, you can. It doesn't matter how old you get, you can still find love. In fact, when your father and I met, I was twenty-seven and he was thirty-one. It's never too late."
Beth put her head back and gazed at her. "..Thanks Mom...you're the best." A smile formed on her face.
a/n: I have a few notes.
-Julie HAD to stay behind in order for this AU to work, with her presence, Rick isn't lazy with his parenting
-Beth's personality is more of a mix of Rick and Julie's here
-I got the name "Nick" from a list of popular baby names from the 80s, it's just a shorter version of Nicholas
also wanted to really show you what Julie was like as a mom too.