Tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

At first Summer thought there were raindrops falling on her head. Then she realized that it couldn't be raindrops, because she remembered suddenly that she was inside.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"Go 'way," she groaned with annoyance.

Tap, tap, tap, tap TAP!

The last one forced Summer to sit up with a start.

"WHAT-" She was about to yell, when she realized it was Mortimer. Mortimer, this unfamiliar yet familiar version of her brother, was standing right in front of her, within arm's length. His eyes were wide and urgent, and he seemed to be cringing slightly with pain.

Summer sat up fully awake now. It was probably midnight, but something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" she asked stupidly, knowing full well he was not.

Mortimer immediately and emphatically shook his head "no"-and Summer realized suddenly with a pang of embarrassment what the matter was. He was doing that strange kind of dance she'd only seen little kids do, when they really desperately needed to pee.

"Bathroom's upstairs." Summer pointed in the direction of the stairwell, but Mortimer only glanced warily in that direction and continued hopping from one foot to the other. Summer frowned; why was he hesitating? Then she had an idea. "Want me to go with you?" Summer offered, and promptly took his hand. She was relieved when Mortimer let her lead him up the stairs into the darkened hallway, which she flooded instantaneously with light. She then turned on the bathroom light as well.

Mortimer stood at the threshold of the nice clean bathroom, in awe of the sight before him. When he had stayed with his Rick, he'd only been given a bucket to use; this was all new to him. He peered in for a moment then glanced back at Summer for instructions.

"You know what to do…" Even Summer sounded unsure as she regarded him carefully. "...don't you?"

Mortimer stepped inside, blinking in the unexpected brightness that surrounded him. He was still amazed by how clean everything was. "Ohhhh…" he breathed, unable to contain his awe and excitement.

Summer was about to shut the door, but upon seeing his hesitation, she reconsidered. "I'll leave the door open a crack," she allowed, "and I'll be right down the hall in my bedroom, okay?"

Mortimer's heart thumped wildly in his ears. He really needed to pee, but everything looked too nice, and he didn't feel right about soiling it. However, his bladder kept screaming at him, so Mortimer knew he didn't have a choice: he ran over to the toilet and let go. Ahhh….sweet relief. He admired the toilet and its pearly white ceramic, and then he grew curious about the metallic switch on the side. He'd only been inside an actual bathroom once or twice, when Rick forced him into one. This bathroom was too nice to spoil it with such scary memories. Now that he'd used a regular bathroom like Rick did, he was feeling proud and brave-dare he make a move and flush the toilet? If he'd done anything of the sort while in Rick's care, he would have paid for it, and paid dearly. He decided to admire it from a distance for now, and left to go in search of this strange one who called herself Summer.

She'd said that she was down the hall. He wondered if he should knock; he'd never been given instructions on how to do this. Mortimer slowly pushed open the door and peaked inside.

The room was huge-much bigger and brighter than he'd expected-and so much different than his "room" back at Rick's. Hers was a shocking shade of pink, from floor to ceiling, and there was even a lighter shade of pink sheets on her bed to match. There were pictures of important-looking people he'd never even known had ever existed. They were plastered all over the walls, and he felt gross and microscopic in comparison. The shelves were stock full of an abundance of different kinds of untold treasures. There were so many incredible-looking objects-both beautiful as well as fascinating- throughout the expanse of the entire room so that it made Mortimer's head spin. Mortimer had never seen a room quite like it before; it felt like being inside of a dream, and he couldn't help but admit that he loved it. It was so much more inviting and exciting than his own.

Summer didn't notice Mortimer at first. She looked up from her magazine when she heard the knock and smiled at the sight of Mortimer, however disheveled and wary looking he was, amused at the sight of his taking in her simple little bedroom with such wonder.

"Hey so you found my secret hideout!" she greeted him playfully and brightly with forced cheer. "Whadduya think?"

Mortimer only continued to watch her warily from the doorway.

"Come on in," she encouraged, "I'm not going to bite!"

Gingerly, he stepped inside; there was still so much about this place he didn't know about and couldn't understand.

"Oh-hhh," he breathed as he gazed about in amazement from the center of the room. "Y-you mean you really get to live here?"

"Yup." Summer smiled, feeling pleased and proud. "I decorated it myself." Funny, how Mortimer looked impressed; her brother had never really taken the time to notice. "I'd invite you to sit down with me, but…" She crinkled her nose at his clothes; he really needed to change them, and beyond that, he really needed a bath-she could smell his presence from all the way down the hall. Suddenly, she had an idea, and the thought made her smile. "Hey-wanna see my brother's old room?" She let the magazine fall to her side as she guided Mortimer, still hesitant, down the hallway.

They stood in the threshold, where again Mortimer was reluctant to go in but was also equally impressed by the display. It was entirely different than Summer's down to the green floor rug and the pale white walls. There was a smaller rug that portrayed the solar system that, oddly, almost reminded Mortimer of home.

"Wh-where is he now?" Mortimer dared to ask, unable to contain his curiosity.

There was a strange and suddenly heavy silence, and Mortimer was suddenly terrified he'd said the wrong thing. He glanced back at Summer, whose face had transformed into a twisted and awful frown. It made him twitch uncomfortably. This was unlike any other expression he'd seen from her thus far, and it scared him. He waited anxiously for her to respond, and eventually she did, although it took a while, and for Mortimer, it felt like forever.

"He's…"Summer searched for the right words. "...Dead." There, she'd said it. That was all she really could dare to say on the subject, or risk herself crying in front of him, and she really didn't want to do that.

"...Oh…." Mortimer looked unbearably, painfully sad then, and Summer suddenly wished she hadn't brought him here. He needed a new change of clothes though, and there they were, so she wasn't going to turn back now. "Look-I got something for you," she said in a cheerful tone once more as she ran for the closet, opening it wide for her new guest to see.

"Woah…" Mortimer had come up suddenly behind her and they almost bumped into each other with their own respective excitement. The clothes hanging on the rack looked just like his own.

"Yeah…" Summer smiled excitedly as she held a pair of yellow shirt and blue pants out towards him. "And you can have them," she added emphatically. Mortimer's eyes widened with astonishment as though she'd just said magic words. "BUT!" Summer held up a finger of warning. "Before you can take these from me-you've got to do something for me first!" she declared with as firm yet as gentle a voice as she could muster.

"W-w-what's that?" Mortimer ducked his head shyly.

"You've got to take something else first." Summer held her nose and groaned.

Mortimer held his breath as he awaited her instructions anxiously. "...Wh-what's that...?"

"A BATH, Morty!" Summer groaned with as much emphasis as she could possibly muster. "YOU are TAKING A BATH!"