Nothing got Rick's adrenaline pumping like running from unfamiliar alien monsters, and this one was no exception. It had three heads, each with three eyes, and sickly looking yellow scales. But the worst part was its breath. As he ran, Rick could smell the stench. It was overpowering.

Morty was keeping up along side him easily. It used to be that Rick would have to drag the boy behind him, but these days Morty was much fitter. "We can lose him in the woods," Morty panted. "He's too big to follow us."

Rick nodded and increased his pace. Just a few more steps, and he was there, dodging tree branches and jumping over roots. "Rick!" Morty called out, and Rick turned around in panic. His feet wouldn't stop though, and he ran straight into a tree.

"Shit! Are you alright?" Morty was at his side in seconds, helping to steady him.

Rick grunted. "Yeah, think so," he replied. "I've had worse anyways."

"Do you hear that?" Morty asked with a smile.

The old scientist listened intensely, but the woods were oddly silent. He shook his head. "No," he replied, worrying that his hearing was going out.

"Exactly!" Morty exclaimed, smiling wider. "We lost him."

Rick returned the smile and put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "You were right. We did."

"Now, from what I studied, the oblian root is a deep purple color and should be at the heart of the woods," Morty said. "So I guess if we just keep walking straight, we'll find it."

"Oblian root, huh?" Rick asked. As far as he was aware, there was nothing special about the plant native to Krion. "What do you want that for?"

"To see if it tastes as good as everyone says it does," Morty explained.

Rick couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're telling me that we almost got eaten by a three-headed monster for an ingredient?"

Morty smirked. "Hey, this is my adventure, remember? No heckling."

The old scientist looked down at the boy and his smile turned into a frown. There was a time when his grandson wouldn't have wanted anything to do with dangerous three-headed aliens, but over the past few years the boy had developed a taste for danger. There were things he didn't miss, such as the boy's constant bitching and moaning, but he did miss that wide-eyed kid who'd stare at him in wonder but who would also put him in his place when he had gone too far. How had time passed by so fast that his little Morty was now eighteen and a college student?

Sensing the change in his mood, Morty turned around and looked at his grandpa in concern. "What's wrong, Rick?" he asked.

"Do you ever miss being younger?" Rick wondered aloud.

Morty's face darkened. "You mean when I was filled with debilitating anxiety, had the lowest self esteem on the planet, and even tried to kill myself?" he asked rhetorically. He gave a cheerless laugh and shook his head. "Not at all."

"Right," Rick replied awkwardly. The kid he missed had been a kid in pain, and he should be happy for Morty now. His stomach clenched with guilt for wanting that Morty back, even for a second.

Morty hadn't looked away. "But you miss those times, right?" he asked softly.

"I certainly don't miss when you tried to kill yourself," Rick said, trying to brush it off.

"But you miss the little kid who would follow you anywhere," Morty replied.

Rick remained silent. The last thing he wanted to do was make Morty feel bad for aging, which was something he couldn't control, especially since he was so much happier now. Morty sighed and continued. "Rick, you're my best friend. I'm always going to need you, okay?"

The old scientist nodded, not trusting his voice. Admittedly, he had done a lot of terrible things in his life, so what had he done to deserve Morty?

"I think I see it!" Morty said excitedly. "The root should come from that blue grass." The boy rushed forward in his excitement, grabbed a handful of grass, and pulled. Sure enough, a bunch of thick, purple roots hung down. "Come on, Rick, help me out!"

Rick couldn't help but smile at the boy's excitement. Maybe he had grown up, but he hadn't lost all those little things that made him Morty.

Morty let Rick portal them back home, landing in the living room. Liz was passed out on the couch watching Two Brothers, but awoke when she heard Rick and Morty enter the room. She looked up at the two with a sleepy smile. "How'd your adventure go?" she asked.

"Great," Morty replied, holding up his handful of oblian roots.

"Can you EURGH believe that this guy almost got us killed so he could make some soup?" Rick asked with a laugh.

"Hey!" Morty objected. "This is gonna be the best soup you've ever tasted."

Liz laughed along with Rick. "Well that does sound like an interesting story," she said. "Why don't you come tell me about it?"

Rick happily obliged, plopping down on the couch next to Liz. Morty smiled at the two of them getting along. Liz had never minded his rude, insensitive, eccentric grandpa. In fact, she actually seemed to care about him. Morty was surprised that right there didn't scare Rick away, but perhaps Rick hadn't realized it yet.

Morty turned and headed to the kitchen. He was excited to try out the oblian root. Mostly, he just wanted to impress Rick. He supposed there would always be a part of him that wanted to. But he didn't mind. He got out a pan, filled it with vegetable broth, and began heating it up. His phone started to vibrate, and he checked who was calling. It was Summer.

He answered. "Hey Summer, what's up?" he asked.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm driving home tomorrow," she replied.

"That's great!" Morty exclaimed. "Everyone will be so happy to see you. It's been so long."

"Too long," Summer agreed, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I actually wanted to talk to you about grandpa. Are you alone?"

Morty peeked out into the living room where Rick and Liz seemed to be engaged in an exciting conversation. "Yeah," Morty said softly. "I'm alone."

"Okay. Tell me exactly what happened," Summer instructed.

Morty swallowed hard, still slightly traumatized by the whole ordeal. "Alright," he agreed. "I got home, and the whole house smelled like alcohol. Like, it was really bad, Summer. So I went to look for him in his room and that's when I found the note."

"Oh god," Summer gasped. "What did it say?"

"It was addressed-" Morty cleared his throat. "It was addressed to me. It just said that his time had come and to get a replacement Rick for Mom's sake. So I ran down to the garage, vodka was everywhere, and there was an empty bottle of pills on the ground." Morty squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to get the image out of his brain. "I shook him awake, and he threw up all over me. I got him to the hospital, and they put him up in a room. Of course he refused to be admitted to the psych ward, so he's home now."

"Did- did he say why he would do such a thing?" Summer asked. It was obvious that she was crying by her voice.

Morty squeezed his eyes again in pain, tears starting to form. "It's my fault," he admitted. "I was busy with schoolwork, and I wasn't spending time with him, and he was starting to feel like he wasn't needed."

"That's not your fault," Summer assured him. "I haven't exactly been there for him either. I've just been hiding away up here, trying to escape Mom and Dad's fighting."

"That's understandable," Morty said. "They've been quiet since we got home. I guess they don't want to trigger anything."

Summer sighed. "And you've had to deal with this all on your own. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I'm not exactly alone. Liz is staying with us," Morty informed her.

"That's good," Summer said, clearly relieved. "How's he doing now?"

"Honestly?" Morty asked. "He seems so lost, like he doesn't know what to do with himself. He needs us, Summer."

"You're absolutely right," Summer agreed. "I'm going to come home every weekend to spend some time with him."

"He'd like that," Morty replied. "Even if he'll never say it."

"I gotta go now, Morty. But I'll be there tomorrow morning. I promise."

"Okay," Morty said. "Love you, Summer."

"Love you too, Morty."

Morty sighed and went back to his soup. He only hoped the oblian root would taste good enough to lift everyone's mood.