Little Beth struggled as she tried to grab the cereal from above the fridge, she growled and kicked it which made it fall down on her head. "Fuck!"
'Ah, ah, language, young lady.' Her mother's voice rang in her ear. "Sorry, Mommy."
It's been a couple months since Diane Sanchez was murdered by one of the infinite Rick's (of course, Beth didn't know that.) She thinks her mother died in a car accident while she and her dad went to get her ice cream. After Diane's funeral, Rick immediately went back to work, leaving Beth home alone with her books and toys to pass the time.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Beth went to answer it. 'Bethany, never open the door for strangers!' Beth immediately stopped in her tracks. "Yes, Mommy." She then grabbed a chair, so she could peek through the peephole, and she smiled when she saw who it was. "It's ok, Mommy, it's just Birdperson."
She then got off the chair and opened the door. "Hello, child of Rick, I have come to deliver food for you." Beth smiled and took the bags from him. "Thanks, Birdperson! Would you like to come inside and hang out?"
"Sorry, I can't, I have much to do."
"Oh..." Beth frowned disappointedly. "Well...do you know when my daddy is coming back?"
"I do not." Beth's frown deepened but her face changed into curiosity when Birdperson handed her an envelope. "Your father wanted me to give this to you. I must go now, goodbye." When Birdperson flew off, Beth quickly shut the door and went into the living room. "Look, Mommy! Daddy left a letter for us!"
She then opened the envelope, and she was expecting a letter but instead it was a small box shaped thing. "Huh?" She turned it around to see a red button and a note next to it that says, 'press me.' When she did, a hologram Rick showed up. "Daddy?"
Rick was barely standing straight, his eyes cracked open, drool pouring out of his mouth, and he was holding a beer bottle.
H-Hey, sweety, I-I know I haven't been home in a while. Shit been crazy, this mission has been a fucking waste of my time but-but anyway, I should be home soon. Maybe in like a week or so, I-I don't know.
I-I made a band, you would have loved it, we were awesome! I made friends, this-this is my friend, Squanchy, say hi t-to my daughter Squanch!" There was then a cat-like creature next to her hologram father. "Hi, Beth! Your dad is really cool!" Squanchy then left the hologram replaced by Birdperson. "A-And th-this is Birdperson! Say hi Birdperson!"
"Rick, I have already met your daughter, you asked me to bring food and supplies for her because you did not want to go home-"
"A-Alright, BP, shut up!" Rick snapped before it was just him in the hologram again. "So, yeah, coming home, don't know when. Stay good, don't try to beat up any kids, and stay the hell away from my garage! O-Ok, I g-gotta go now, I-I think I'm going to vomit, l-love you."
The hologram then disappeared, and Beth was grinning. "You hear that Mommy?! Daddy's coming home, we should make a surprise for him!" She then thought for a moment. "Daddy, always liked it when I would make those ovenless brownies, maybe I should try that!"
'Bethany, you know how your father hates it when you go into his lab without his permission.'
"I know, Mom but it will be really quick I promise! I already know how to make it!" Beth then ran into the grange, grabbing everything she would need and setting it on the counter. She set the pan, blowing a blowtorch into it, making it nice and hot before pouring two bottles of chemicals into it and just like that, beautiful brownies started to form.
"See, Mom? Told you I could do it. Now, we'll save these into the fridge until Daddy gets back!" Beth said before she grabbed the brownies and left the garage, not knowing she dropped an unknown chemical as she did.
...
Beth was humming an upbeat tune as she set the table and tidied up the kitchen. "Daddy is going to love this! I can't wait till he gets home! I wonder when that will be...he said in about a week-"
Beth was cut out of her thoughts when she heard something crash outside. She quickly ran to check it out and beamed when she saw it was her father's ship. "Daddy!" She exclaimed and ran over.
Rick groaned as he opened the door, beer cans falling out and he falling with them. "Daddy!" Beth called again and Rick sat up, covering his ears. "Ugh, Beth, volume!"
"Sorry, Daddy." She then tugged his arm. "Come inside, I got a surprise for you!" Rick stood up and followed his daughter. "Surprise, huh? Last time I heard you said that you made a mind-controlled hair clip."
Beth smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, Mommy was pretty upset after I used it on the kids at the park." Rick flinched after his daughter said that and paused at the front door, looking inside the house, the first house he and Diane bought together, the house they got married in, the house they wanted to raise their daughter in, and the house...Diane died in...
"Daddy? Aren't you coming in?" Beth asked with a slightly worried look on her face, snapping Rick out of his thoughts. "H-Huh? Y-Yeah, I'm coming." Beth smiled and ran inside, Rick slowly following behind. Rick blinked in surprise at the nicely set table and Beth smiling proudly beside it. "Take a seat and relax!"
Rick burped before doing so. "K-K-" He was about to sit down when Beth stopped him. "Daddy, no!" She shouted and Rick immediately jumped. "AH! What?!"
"You almost sat on Mommy! That's her seat!" Once again, Rick flinched and looked down at the empty chair which indeed, used to be Diane's seat but with no Diane to sit there. So, what was Beth talking about when she said that Rick almost sat on Mommy?
"Um...Bethany-"
"You usually sit at the end of the table, remember?" Beth interrupted while pointing at his original chair. "R-Right." He said, while moving to his chair, looking at his daughter suspiciously and worriedly. It was then that Rick noticed the three plates and it felt like someone was squeezing his heart out, it was laid out exactly how Diane used to do it. It made him uncomfortable.
"B-Beth, m-maybe we should just go out to eat, huh? W-What do you say about that?" Rick asked, wanting nothing more than to just run out of the house but he knew he couldn't, he had been away from his daughter long enough and Birdperson told him today just how sad she looked which is why Rick decided to come home earlier then he said he would.
"But I already made the pizza bites!!" Beth said while running back to the table and putting down the pizza bites. Rick's knuckles tightened, Diane would always make pizza bites on Sundays because she knew they were his and Beth's favorite snack.
Beth then sat in her chair and Rick was about to take a pizza bite but once again, his actions were stopped by Beth. "Daddy, we have to say grace." This surprised Rick, like him Beth had mixed feelings when it came to God, Diane would always make them pray before they ate because she was a strong believer and even though Rick didn't believe in the big man in the sky, he would still do it because it made his wife happy.
Beth held out her hand with a smile. "Come on, Daddy." Rick slowly took her hand and raised a brow as he watched her reach across the table, grabbing nothing but thin air. "Daddy, you gotta take Mommy's hand." Beth whispered and Rick looked at her in confusion but did as he was told, curious to see what would happen.
"Bless the lord for the food we are about to eat and bless the hands that prepared it, amen." Beth said before letting go of Rick's hand and eating. "A-Amen." Rick said, his face and mind full of confusion.
Is his daughter having delusions or is she just in-denial about her mother's passing? Whatever it was, it worried Rick and this whole 'surprise' Beth made him was making him very uncomfortable and sick. It brought too many painful memories, this whole house did! This is why he didn't want to come back but he knew he had to, he can't leave Beth alone forever, she may be smart like him but she's still just a kid! Rick doesn't know what to do, he was debating whether to make a crappy excuse to get wasted in his garage, check his daughter out for any issues, or just shut up and try to make it through this awful 'surprise.'
He was going to choose his first choice since he knew he could just check Beth out tomorrow but when he looked at his daughter, his heart just couldn't go through with it, so he chose the third choice. Though, maybe he wouldn't have to sit here very long, judging by Beth's face, she was just uncomfortable as he was. So why the hell was she doing all of this? Was it for him, did she think by doing this it would somehow make her mother reappear?
"Um...I-I need to go to the bathroom; I'll be right back." Beth said before running out and Rick sighed before grabbing his flask. "Man, is this a shitty day or what..."
...
With Beth,
She ran into the garage to get some air, needing a break from that dinner. It reminded her too much of the old days even though it was nothing like it. Once she walked inside, she gasped when she saw a big, gooey monster destroying her father's lab. "What the fuck?! How did this happen?!"
The monster then noticed Beth and went towards her. Beth gasped and grabbed a ray gun before shooting at it. She left a big hole in the monster's body, but it just filled right back up.
Beth gulped. "Oh no..."
...
Rick went to the fridge to grab some more alcohol but when he opened it, he immediately stopped in his actions when he noticed the nice-looking brownies inside. He grabbed them, looking at them curiously and sniffing them, that's when he realized that these weren't your everyday baked brownies, they were his ovenless brownies. The first thing he and his daughter made together.
Rick huffed slightly in amusement, his daughter must have snuck in his lab again and made these for him. This must be the real surprise. He took a bite of one of them and nodded in satisfaction. "W-Well done Beth, made them exactly h-how I taught you."
Rick was about to take another bite but then he heard a loud crash coming from his garage. "What the-!" He put the brownies down and quickly ran to the garage, fear consuming him the whole time. 'What if that asshole came back?! What if he came back to kill Beth?!' Rick's heart raced at the thought, and he barged into his garage but was surprised to see a giant snot looking monster.
He knew Beth must have accidently spilled something to make this. Rick doesn't know whether to be relieved it wasn't who he expected or pissed off at the mess Beth made. He chose pissed off.
"God dammit, Bethany!! What did you do?!!" Rick scolded his daughter, who was standing next to him, still holding the ray gun. "It was an accident!!" Beth defended and the monster roared at them. Rick rolled his eyes before grabbing a freeze gun and shooting him, making the monster frozen solid.
Beth sighed in relief and Rick snatched the gun from her before she could hurt herself with it. He glared at the mess but stopped as he walked by the spot, Diane died which was now burned in acid.
Beth frowned. "Daddy, I'm-" Beth was cut off when Rick started shooting at the ground, over and over again. When he ran out of ammo he growled and grabbed a bat, smashing everything in sight. Beth jumped back and watched nervously, as her father destroyed everything with a weird relief on his face and rage in his eyes.
When Rick was done, he was standing tall, staring at the mess he made while panting. "B-Beth." Beth looked at him nervously. "Y-Yeah?"
"Pack all your stuff, we're leaving." Rick said, tossing away the bat and starting to pack all of his work. "W-When you're done, wait for me in the car."
"Where are we going?" Beth asked and Rick gave her a serious look. "We're moving." Beth freaked out. "What?! But I don't want to move! What about Mo-"
"Your mom's dead, Beth! She isn't coming back!" Rick snapped and Beth felt the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "N-Now go pack, if you don't then I-I'm leaving you behind."
Beth looked down defeatedly. "O-Ok." Her voice cracked a little and she left to do as she was told.
...
Later,
Beth was waiting for her dad in his space car with all of his stuff with a sad look on her face. It was supposed to be a happy night, but it didn't turn out that way.
'Oh, Beth, my baby. Mommy's here.' Her mom's comforting voice said in her ear and Beth angrily scowled at it. "No, you're not! You're dead and you are never coming back! Just go away and leave me alone!" She snapped, tears falling down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away.
Just then, her father came out and Beth watched as he stared at the house before lighting a match and throwing it inside which immediately made the house catch on fire. Beth whipped her head away, not wanting to see the house she grew up in turn to ash.
It hurt Rick greatly to see his house burn but it had to be done, he couldn't live here anymore. This wasn't the same happy home he and his wife bought, Diane is dead and Rick...has changed, he isn't the same man he used to be, and he might never be again...
He went in his car and took flight, flying as far away from his old house as possible. Beth looked back, frowning sadly as her house grew smaller and smaller. "Bye Mommy." She mumbled.
Rick glanced at her; saw how she was trying so hard to lock her emotions away. Honestly, it's like he is staring at his own reflection every time he looks at his daughter. Rick cleared his throat. "H-Hey?"
Beth looked at him and Rick handed her the brownies. "Saved these." Beth took them. "Oh, you saw them."
"Y-Yeah, you-you did a good job. Th-They taste really good." Beth smiled a little then frowned again. "I'm sorry I destroyed your lab."
"Ah, it's ok. I probably would have if you didn't." Rick joked a little but frowned when Beth wasn't sharing his humor right now. "I, uh, I-I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, I-I shouldn't yell at you, you-you didn't deserve it."
Beth shrugged. "It's ok. You were right, Mom's dead and nothing can bring her back, but did we really have to leave? I loved our house, it's the only home I know." Rick sighed. "Bethany, w-we just can't live there anymore. Y-Your mom is dead, and it sucks but it's a part of life. What happened, happened and we can't do anything but move on, th-that's why we had to leave."
Beth frowned but nodded. Rick glanced at her again. "Hey? You going to hog those brownies or what?" Beth chuckled at that and handed her father a brownie which he ate out of her hand, getting drool on her. "Ew! Daddy!" Beth laughed and Rick couldn't help but grin.