When Rick awoke the next morning, he was relieved to find himself in his own bed. He smiled to himself. He was safe, Morty was safe, and everything was going to be okay. He burped, stretched, got up, and made his way to the kitchen.
Beth was in there, scrambling some eggs. "Good morning, Dad," she greeted.
"Good morning," Rick returned. "Where's Morty at?"
"He's sleeping," Beth replied. "And don't go waking him up. He's had a rough couple of days."
Rick grumbled to himself as he sat at the table. Beth served him a plate of scrambled eggs and toast, which he ate slowly. He had been hoping to go on an adventure with the boy to take his mind off of the past few days' events. He supposed some food and interdimensional cable would have to do for now.
Beth sat across from him. "Actually, Dad, I was hoping that we could go on an adventure."
Rick looked up at her in disbelief. "I don-don't need your pity, Beth," he said. "I'm fine."
"That's not what this is about," Beth replied.
"Then what is it about?" Rick asked.
"I just want to spend time with you," Beth answered. "We missed so much time when I was a child, and I want to make it up. For me."
"Okay," Rick replied. He couldn't deny his daughter that. "What kind of adventure were you thinking of going on?"
"I was thinking of a hunting trip," Beth responded. "Any planets with dangerous monsters you know about?"
Rick thought for a moment. "There are many uncivilized planets where the local dominant species live in fear of what to them would be monsters," he said. "Anuva's one of them. How about we start there?"
"Alright," Beth replied with a big grin. "Let's go save some aliens!"
Rick stood and led Beth into the garage. He handed her a large assault rifle and strapped one of his own to his back. "Ready for adventure?" he asked.
"Ready!" Beth exclaimed.
Rick set the coordinates into his portal gun, and within a few seconds, they were on Anuva. The planet looked much like Earth with green grass, trees, and a blue sky. They landed in the middle of a small town, surrounded by huts. The Anuvians were a rather small species, mostly made up of blue tentacles. Upon arriving, Rick heard a lot of gasping. The Anuvians gathered around Rick and Beth, staring in wonder.
"Are you here to save us?" one of them asked.
"Save you from what?" Rick asked.
"The great monster that lives just north of our village," another said. "Every night, he awakens and hunts down anyone who is out after dark."
"That's right," Beth said. "We're here to hunt down the bastard and kill him."
Rick pulled out his compass and found which way north was. "Come on, this way," he said, leading Beth into the thick forest. They trudged through the vines and the mud, steadily making their way through until they came across a large cave.
"How much do you wanna bet the monster's in there?" Beth asked.
"Only one way to find out," Rick said, pressing forward. He entered the cave, automatically hearing the snoring of the beast.
"Hey Dad, wait up!" Beth yelled, and the snoring came to an abrupt stop.
"Shit, Beth be quiet," Rick whispered, holding the rifle out in front of him. He could hardly see and inch in front of his face, much less whatever monster the Anuvians were so afraid of.
Then suddenly, he saw a flash of bright green charging at him, heard the sound of gunfire behind him, and the monster was at his feet, oozing neon green blood. "Nice work, Beth," he complimented his daughter.
"We make a good team, Dad."
"We do."
It was late in the afternoon by the time Morty awoke. He groaned and rubbed his face. It was probably best that he checked on Rick.
He hopped out of bed and went down the stairs. Only Liz was sitting in the dining room, munching down on some of Rick's wafers. "Hey, Liz," Morty greeted.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Liz said with a teasing grin.
"Don't judge," Morty replied, sitting down next to her. "Where is everyone?"
"Well your dad's at work, and your mother went off on an adventure with Rick," she replied.
Morty smiled brightly. "That's great," he said. His eyes darkened as the thing that had been bothering him last night came back to haunt him.
"What's on your mind?" Liz asked.
"It's just, I realized something when my grandpa tried to kill himself," he said.
Liz moved in her chair to face him. "What's that?"
"Rick... he's gonna die someday. And there's going to be nothing I can do about it. He-he's just going to be gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. He's gonna leave me, and I'm gonna be all alone."
"Hey," Liz said gently. She cupped his chin with her fingers and brought his face up so the two were making eye contact. "You're not alone. Not as long as I'm here."
Morty's eyes were watery as he leaned in closer. Liz didn't move, simply accepting his advances. He felt her warm breath on his face before he leaned in all the way and pressed his lips to hers. Liz kissed him back, pushing more fiercely. Morty grunted in surprise, giving in to her.
When the two pulled away, Morty had tear tracks running down his face. Liz reached up and gently wiped them away with her finger. "I know he's your best friend. And I know you're scared of losing him. But Morty, you're never going to be alone again."
"Thank you," Morty replied, sniffling. "What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"
Liz smiled at him teasingly. "Judging by that kiss, I think somebody wants to be more than friends."
"I think somebody else does too," Morty shot back, returning the smile. "Liz, would you like to go on a date with me?"
"I'd love to," Liz responded.