Disclaimer: I don't own "Rick and Morty".

Jerry stood over his daughter's freshly dug grave, mindlessly chugging back one of the many beers he'd saved since the world had gone to hell. His gaze turned towards the ramshackle fort, wondering if he should check on Morty. (Thankfully, the 'other Summer' had taken on that job for the time being, so he probably shouldn't worry too much.) Those kids were strong...and, considering what Morty had just been through, a lot stronger than he'd given his youngest credit for.

He continued to down the amber liquor, lazily scanning the horizon, making out a few distorted shadows moving about in the distance, amongst the makeshift bonfires that the creatures made in order to keep warm. (It was fall here, after all, and winter was soon to be on its way.) Jerry shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, hugging his stomach as he let his eyes take in the gathering darkness.

"Hey Jerry, look alive man." The sharp command to his right nearly made him jump right out of his skin. When he followed the order and saw who the voice belonged to-Rick-he nearly fainted when he saw that the man wasn't alone. Too shocked to be angry at the man's unexcused and unforgivable absence, Jerry simply stared, jaw dropped, at the beautiful young woman standing by Rick's side.

"Oh...my God..." the woman was murmuring as she gripped his father-in-law's arm, looking just as shocked as he was, "So-it's true-he's an actual...actually a-real-human-!" To Jerry's amazement (and Rick's indifference), the woman, relieved, actually looked close to tears.

"Yeah, Jerry's about as human as you get," Rick muttered sourly with a roll of his eyes. "Just as self-righteous and obliviously pig-headed as the rest of the lowly human race. Except Jerry is a bit more, erm, 'mentally challenged' than most."

"HEY!" Jerry, face reddening, glowered resentfully back at Rick. "Talk about 'self-righteous'! What the hell's the matter with you?" Jerry demanded furiously of his son-in-law, who simply rolled his eyes again and shrugged. "I just lost my daughter, you asshole!" Jerry bellowed, his eyes shimmering dangerously with tears, "For crying out loud! Why can't you show a little respect?!"

"OH!" Jenna, standing beside Rick, gasped as she stared at Jerry with shock. "I'm SO sorry," Jenna stammered as she rushed forward and took Jerry's hands gently in her own, "he didn't tell me; I didn't know-"

Jerry blinked with astonishment at the strange young woman whose hands were clasping his eagerly in her own. "I...uh...who are you...?"

"Jenna." Suddenly blushing as though she'd realized she was out of place, Jenna backed away and released her hold. "I just met..." She turned back towards Rick, her face blushing yet again, "what...is your name again?"

"I didn't tell you," Rick said simply, taking his flask out of his pocket by habit, then groaning when he realized once again that it was empty of any useful contents. "And don't feel too bad. She wasn't his daughter to lose."

"What?!" Jerry exploded, tossing the shovel to the ground with a clang. "It's SUMMER! Of course she was my daughter-how dare you say otherwise?"

"Simple, Jerry," Rick reluctantly explained, ignoring Jenna's pointed stare at the freshly covered mound and shovel at her feet, "Your Summer is still alive. You have no reason or right to grieve."

Jerry's hand snaked back around the shovel, tearing it out of fresh dug Earth and wielding it up in the air, holding it dangerously towards Rick's head. "You selfish, self-involved sonofa-"

"Careful Jerry." Rick had noticed movement to his left-and, suddenly, there was Morty.

"...Dad?" Morty was questioning quietly as he carefully approached the two, his eyes wide as he took in the scene, his body almost trembling with pensive concern. "...Rick? What-what's going on? Wh-who's that?"

"Dad!" The other Summer had burst forth from the fort, running towards them. "Dad STOP! Don't do it! Please! Stop!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Jerry bit through clenched teeth as he held the shovel up at a sharper and even more dangerous angel. Rick stared upwards at the tip of the shovel that glinted in the moonlight and the light from the nearby streetlamps. "He doesn't care about us," Jerry added, his voice trembling and on the verge of complete and utter collapse, "he left us to die, Summer. He left all of us to die."

"Jerry-" Rick held up his hands trying to signify a truce. "Just-let me explain-"

"Too late for that," Jerry declared darkly, raising the shovel higher and preparing for action.

"Dad!" Morty ran forward and tugged hard on his father's hands, and Jerry, startled, dropped the shovel in the process. "Don't hurt him," Morty pleaded with his father as he held tightly onto his father's wrists, tugging as hard as he could, "please! We-we wanted to stay, but-we had to leave, Dad, because-the mutants would have eaten me if we had stayed!"

"You couldn't even leave a note?" Jerry laughed bitterly. "No, of course you couldn't-not even a note! You both just-just disappeared, vanished from our lives..." Jerry, completely exhausted by this point, sank to the ground and threw his arms around his son, bringing him in close.

"He-he saved my life, Dad," Morty said into Jerry's shirt, but his voice was muffled, and Jerry wouldn't loosen his hold. "I-I would have died if we stayed."

"He's a good man." It was Jenna who spoke the words, and Rick blinked, taken aback by the sincerity with which she spoke. They'd only just met...how could she believe he was a good man? She knew nothing about him. Nothing. If only she knew...

"Who-are you, again?" Jerry demanded suspiciously of this stranger as he wearily got back up to his feet.

"Jenna," said Jenna. "Who are you?" she asked Morty.

"I, uh, I'm Morty," Morty blushed as he held his hand out to her. "This is...um...my sister," he added haltingly as he gestured towards the other Summer, "her name's Summer. How do you know Grandpa Rick?"

"More importantly," Jerry added stiffly, "where did you even come from? You couldn't be from here. There are no other humans left except for us."

"I just got to this town a week ago," Jenna explained in a halting voice, glancing quickly away as she spoke to the darkness, "I thought I was the only one left. Then I ran into-Rick? That's your name? So-this is your family then?" Jenna looked pleased to be fully introduced, and Rick felt a slight nausea gathering steadily in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah, now we all know each other. Glad we got all that fun stuff out of the way. Summer, Jerry, why don't you take Jenna inside and, uh, bond over some beer or something. And while you're at it, snag me one okay? Morty-" Rick turned to his grandson, who was staring down at the fresh dirt, as though he'd been hypnotized by the sight of it. "Morty," Rick declared sternly, "you're taking a walk with your good ol' grandpa."

"Wait, now come on, just a second!" Jerry blurted out, watching incensed as Rick tore Morty abruptly away from the grave. "We were going to have a burial ceremony!" Jerry exclaimed, waving at the grave as he glowered back at Rick ferociously.

"All in good time, Jerry," Rick replied simply as he continued to tug at Morty's listless arm. "All in good time." Once again he pulled hard at Morty, who was still glancing over his shoulder at the grave. "Morty!" Rick snapped. "Eyes forward-you're coming with me."