Disclaimer: I don't own "Rick and Morty". They belong to Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and Adult Swim.

Author's Note: I know in this story Morty's been a bit emotional. But try to consider what he's been dealing with: the thought of losing the person you love more than anyone can take its toll quite severely. If anything seems OOC please let me know! Thanks for reading! :)

Birdperson wasted no time in returning Morty to Earth, dropping him off right in front of the Smith family home. Morty would have been relieved to be back home, but he was out of his mind with worry about Rick; as soon as his friend brought them down to a safe landing after exiting the portal, he immediately began to whimper, pacing about anxiously. Birdperson watched him fidget and fret in silence for a moment before he placed two strong hands on Morty's shoulders, steadying the younger instantly, and looked him squarely in the eyes. Morty, filled with fear, cringed under his gaze and continued to fidget and whimper.

"Morty," Birdperson said evenly, as calmly as he had ever been, "I understand that you are concerned for your elder. I have known Rick for many, many years. He has been through many types of challenges that has placed his and others' lives in danger. And he has always found a way out."

"But-but he's dying, Birdperson!" Morty blurted out in spite of himself, "what if-what if he doesn't come back!? What if-what if he hurts himself-what if he just gets even worse?! What if he-he's just given up entirely?! What am I-what am I going to tell my Mom? Ohhhhh!" Clutching his aching stomah, Morty crouched down to the stoop; his head was spinning. Birdperson quickly sat down next to him.

"Morty…" Birdperson spoke slowly and carefully so that he could be sure Morty was understanding him. "Your grandfather may be unwell...but he is an elder….and has lived a long time. If leaving-for whatever length of time that may be-is his wish…." Birdperson paused as if for emphasis, looking over Morty's head and off into the distance, before adding softly, "...then we must respect it."

Morty sniffled and straightened up, quickly wiping away his tears. He didn't want to admit it but that made a lot of sense. "Thanks, BP," he said with a nod, trying to force a smile across his tired face.

Birdperson returned a small but genuine smile. "Anytime," he replied, standing back up himself, "I will always assist those who support the fight for freedom." Morty smiled even though he wasn't sure what that meant. Birdperson held out a hand for Morty to shake; gratefully, Morty shook it. "And for now," Birdperson declared, "I must depart. Morty-until we meet again." With a valiant cry and a flutter of wings, Birdperson took swiftly off into the sky and soon was gone from sight.

Shaking off as much worry as he could, Morty turned and headed into the house. He was met with an eerie silence-which was strange; it was a Sunday….where was everybody?

"Dad?" Morty called out as he walked slowly through the house. His voice echoed back to him. "Mom….? Sum-Summer…..?"

"Uhhhhhnnnn…." a weak, hoarse, decidedly female voice greeted him so suddenly it made him jump. The noise had come from the kitchen. Morty quickly ran inside to find, to his utter shock, his mother, sitting slumped on the floor against the bottom of the kitchen cabinets, a half-full glass of wine clenched in her hand. Upon seeing someone enter and realizing that it was Morty, her bloodshot eyes widened in shock-Morty froze at the sight of his mother. He'd never seen her like this before. Sure….she'd gotten drunk before, but never had he seen her eyes so red, or her face so flush….and she looked completely exhausted. Her mascara was smeared all over her face; clearly Beth had been crying and getting drunk for quite some time now. Morty's heart skipped a beat. (Had she found out something about Rick he didn't know?)

"M-Mom…..?" Morty stammered anxiously as he crept awkwardly forward. He wasn't used to dealing with drunk people (only Rick, but that was nothing). His mother was something else entirely. As much as he didn't want to face it, he forced himself to look in her eyes, and he was horrified by the look of overwhelming sadness that he saw there. It frightened him, but also, he couldn't help but realize, angered him….no, it infuritated him to the point where he almost couldn't think straight. Rick had done this to her….he had always known his mother was prone to overdoing it with alcohol when things got rough, but she'd never been this bad. At that moment Morty was furious with Rick…..he didn't think about anybody else, only himself….never thought about what leaving did to anybody else.

Fighting back tears, Morty forced himself to crouch down next to his mother. "Mmm-Moooorty….heeey….." Beth forced a jagged smile towards her son, and Morty had to shift sharply to avoid the sloshing liquid as she waved the glass about. ...When did youuu get home? Huhhn? Is...ahh...my Dad..…the Bastard…..with you….? Noooo? Oh, no, he isn't?" She answered herself before Morty could respond. "Ohhh-kaaay…." Her frown turned into a childish pout, his mother tilted her head back and chugged the rest of the wine down her gullet. "Goood for HIM," she declared sluggishly as she scrambled suddenly to get to her feet. Unfortunately her balance-or lack thereof-cought her off guard and she slumped back down, the glass falling from her grasp and toppling to the floor. "Ooohhh…." Beth's eyes widened at the sight of a few drops of red on her clean white tile and her lids began to fill.

"Mom…." Morty swallowed hard. "It's-it's gonna be okay." He touched his mother's arm softly. "Where's Dad?" he asked carefully, as gently as possible, feeling ill as he wondered how long his mother had been sitting here alone by herself (suddenly wishing he had his own drink as well).

"At tuh courthose," his mother slurred, "fiuhling a poLICE report…." To Morty's horror his mother began to giggle like a schoolgirl, before throwing her head back and breaking into a full-blown cackle. "Like THAT'S gonne make a difference!" she spat out, in between spurts of giggles and gasps, "they don't understand ANYTHING!"

"M-Mom…." Morty cringed at the rise in her voice as he gently grasped her arm, "let's….let's get you to bed," he suggested, "okay?"

His mother turned tear-filled eyes towards him, filled with love. "Oh Morty….." she swooned as she swayed precariously back and forth, "you….you're the only good one…." Her lip began to quiver as she added, "don't….don't ever leave me…."

Morty could barely speak or see through the blur in his eyes. "I...I won't," he promised. "I won't-wait-Mom!"

His mother had passed out on his lap. Panicking, Morty had to shake her shoulder quite a few times before she opened her eyes again. This time, she acquiesced to his assistance, letting him help her onto unsteady feet. Somehow, Morty managed to get his mother out of the kitchen, and all the way down the hall to her bedroom, where she collapsed, finally, onto her own bed.

Soon she was snoring loudly and Morty carefully brought the bedsheets up over her shoulders, gently tucking her in.

He left her to sleep then and staggered down the hallway into his own bedroom. All he wanted to do was sleep for a thousand years.

The last thing he expected was to find an item on his bed. It was an envelope-and it had his name on it. Morty's heart skipped and he dove for the envelope, immediately ripping it open-he couldn't believe it! It was a letter from Rick….who, it seemed, had gotten home before he had, only to leave once again.

His heart thumping wildly in his chest, Morty sat on his bed and read the letter with bated breath:

Morty:

I'm sorry for scaring you both and bailing on you but if I'm going to beat this thing, I've got to go it alone. It's a cardinal rule for Ricks that if you have to walk through Hell you do it alone. This shouldn't take long. If it works and I return you have my promise I will be a much better, kinder, healthier Rick than all the Ricks any Morty has ever known. You might not even recognize me (just kidding).

Please don't get into my shit. Also please make sure to watch over your Mom while I'm gone. She's never handled my absences very well and the last thing I want to do is hurt her any more than I already have. Just keep telling her I'll be back soon and everyone will be better for it.

You're a good kid Morty. Be the kind of Morty I know you can be.

Don't let me down.

~Rick

By the time he'd finished reading the last words were smeared with the salt of his tears. Exhausted from the ordeal, Morty fell onto the bed and cried himself to sleep, praying that wherever Rick was, he was going to be okay….and return back home safe and sound.