RA/N This is the first Rick and Morty story so I might not have the characters down. I just started watching the show.

"Morty!"The voice called out from the darkness. Pain flooded the teen's body as he lay still. His head was spinning and he found it difficult to respond, beginning to sink deeper into the darkness, where everything seemed to be fading.

"Damn it, Morty!"

The teen groaned almost inaudibly in response.

"Come on, get up."The voice called out. It would take several minutes for the boy to gather the energy to comply. Finally, his eyes began to open, and he looked up at the blurred figure beside him.

"R-Rick?"He called out weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Took you long enough, you little turd." the man grumbled.

"Wh-what happened? My whole body hurts."Morty complained, allowing his eyes to close once more.

"D-don't start that crap again, "The man growled, lightly slapping the boy's face. Morty flinched, forcing his eyes open despite his fatigue.

"What the hell, Rick? I-I don't remember anything. I feel weird a-and I'm so tired, I just-"

"I know, Morty." The old man replied, his tone had softened. " All you need to know right now is it's gonna be fine. I need you to stay awake for a while. It's not gonna be easy, but it's important. Rest, but don't go to sleep."

"Can't you just tell me what's going on?"

"I told you we'll talk about it later. Right now you-"

"A-Am I dying, Rick?" Rick sighed in annoyance.

"You better not. Do you have any idea what kind of crap I'd have to go through to get another Morty? I don't have time for all that. Get your shit together and relax. Our last adventure was just a little...rough. But I got this, Morty. Don't even worry about it. Do you think you can take some water? It'll help you feel better."

"Shouldn't be that hard for you, don't you have that voucher for a replacement? Y-You just go pick one up, right?"Morty moaned painfully. Rick glared at the boy.

"Must not be feeling too bad if you can-"

"Rick?"

"What?"

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick."Rick took hold of Morty's arm, pulling him into a sitting position, Morty winced at the pain the movement caused, but had no time to dwell on it, immediately beginning to empty the contents of his stomach into the small trash can Rick offered him. The retching seemed to only worsen the pain.

"Get it all out, Morty, it's okay." Rick soothed. "I'm pretty sure you have a concussion, so it'll be like this for at least a couple days. The good news is, I don't think it's too severe. I've been monitoring your brain for bleeding while you were out. Your mom would throw me out- Morty?" The teen suddenly became silent. His head tilting to the side.

"Hey, Morty, can you hear me?" Rick leaned the teen back, supporting his head on his arm, shaking him slightly.

"Morty! Damn it, we're back to this." Rick shook his head, laying his grandson down on the bed, turning from the boy. He picked up a syringe filled with clear liquid, injecting half the dose into Morty's arm. When the boy showed no reaction, Rick placed a hand on the boy's chest, slightly relieved to feel his chest rise and fall unsteadily as he drew in a shallow breath. Rick shook his head.

"At least you kept breathing on your own this time. I'm sorry, Morty. This one's my fault. I-I shouldn't have let you go out there. Can you just...hang in there? I'll fix this, I promise." Rick lowered himself onto the chair at his grandson's bedside, resting his head in his hands.

"I just have to figure out how to do it."