Rick sat at home, staring at the blank tv while Little Bastard sat curled up in his lap. There was nothing playing on television, just Rick stopping and thinking. 

       The other day, when Morty had given a sheet to Gary and had him deliver it to Rick, the man had at least expected Morty to have the decency to deliver it himself. Instead, he made it very clear once again that he didn't want to have anything to do with Rick. But if the man knew anything, it was that Morty couldn't stay away for too long. No matter what, there was always something that would pull them back together. Rick was banking on that again. No matter how badly he fucked up, he would somehow be lucky enough to have the brunet back after a while. 

       But that still didn't mean Rick wanted AJ getting caught up in all of this. If the kid was going to be around him, Morty had to understand he couldn't keep breaking them apart for extended periods of time like this. Gary had already told Rick AJ would frequently ask Gene if he knew his dad, and if he would take him to see Rick. The kid was attached, and Morty probably didn't realize that none of that was healthy for the kid. He couldn't have a dad that he wasn't allowed to see sometimes just because daddy had an attitude he didn't want to take care of.

       With a sigh, Rick nudged LB off of his lap, making his way upstairs to his room. He managed to clamber onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow for a while. No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of that vanilla scent that seemed practically engraved into everything he had. It would always follow him. Maybe he was just haunted with memories. Every time the kid had stayed over, it seemed to get stronger.

       Huffing, Rick sat up, running a hand through his hair before he reached for his phone on the nightstand, removing it from the charger before he laid on his back, one hand pressed to his forehead while he scrolled through his notifications with the other. Whether or not Morty was aware, he didn't know, but there was a missed FaceTime call from AJ. Rick chuckled lightly, going through. The usual texts littered his screen and he unlocked his phone, saving it all for later. For now, he needed time to think. It was Wednesday, the last day of his three day long weekend, and the first time he'd decided to put actual thought into this. 

       Those three words had royally fucked him over, but he was questioning the meaning in them. Did he mean it? Even he didn't know. 

       Yes, he cared for the brunet dearly, but even he knew he was an idiot. He'd harmed Morty several times, both on purpose and accidentally. He lost control easily. There was a time where he couldn't even think of hurting the brunet, but, as time passed, it came almost too easily afterwards. 

       But you can't just blurt those words out without even thinking about it with no hesitation. Rick hadn't even planned on it, but there they were. The words were all he could think of and they managed to bubble to the surface. That look in the brunet's eyes when he'd finally registered them had almost scared Rick, but then he almost looked like he'd enjoyed hearing them, going to far as to try and get Rick to say it again. 

       To Rick, anyway, those words can't be said unless you mean it. And - though Rick was confused even by himself - some part of him knew he meant it, and that same part wanted to hang him for not saying it again when the brunet wanted to hear it.

       Rick grumbled to himself, scrolling through his contacts. Eventually he found the diamond and bear emoji - well, a bear between two diamonds - and clicked it, listening to the incessant dial tone as he waited for somebody to pick up.

"Dad!" It was AJ. Of course. But Rick would be lying if his heart didn't flutter when he heard the kid refer to him as 'dad' like he'd done it his entire life.

       "Hey, kiddo. I need to talk to your daddy. Can you get him on the phone for me?" Rick waited patiently, hearing the excited 'yea!' AJ gave before he heard the tot running towards wherever Morty was. "Daddy, it's for you! Dad wants to talk." The tone of his voice almost made Rick laugh as the toddler sounded so serious.

"Hello?"

       "Hey, Morty, listen, I gotta talk to you about the kid," Rick sighed heavily.

"What about him?"

       Morty didn't sound too happy, which didn't do much to improve Rick's almost angrily lax mood. "You gotta make him stop calling me dad," Rick grumbled, completely going off topic. He'd meant to talk to Morty about the business deals, but he felt like this was pertinent as well. "I'm not gonna be around anyways." It was true. Morty wasn't letting him around, and Rick didn't want to damage the toddler more than he already was after Rick wasn't allowed around him now. "And I don't want those damn people coming to my house and going through it all." 

       It was true. If those folks found out he and Morty were -somewhat- involved, and that Rick was a role model in AJ's life, they'd go through his house. The last thing he wanted was for them to find his private room on the third floor, or some other questionable rooms in his house. AJ would be gone faster than you could say 'drug house'.

"I--" 

       Uh-oh. Rick waited, knowing now - too late - that that was definitely the last way he could have worded that. 

"Fine. And if that's all you called to talk about, then awesome. I have a kid to take care of and a whole lifetime of mistakes to fix."

       Before Rick could ask what the actual hell Morty meant by that, he heard the line go dead, growling as he tried to dial Morty again. "Fuck!" he growled, calling Morty over and over again.

       "A whole lifetime of mistakes to fix?!" Rick bellowed, glaring at his wall as he tried Morty's cell one last time. "Not my fucking fault!"

       Rick tossed his phone away, deciding he'd find it later, and grit his teeth, laying on his back once more as his hands covered his face. "You little shit," he grumbled. 

       What was he supposed to do? It's not like Morty gave a shit. The first few times he left, he must have found a way to hate Rick, because he sure as hell didn't care about him like he had when Rick had first met him. That kid had some serious mental issues, going back and forth, never sticking to a decision. Sure, Rick didn't mind it because it meant Morty would always come back to him, no matter what, but even he had to wonder what the fuck was wrong with the kid. Was he all there? Or was he mental?

       Rick chuckled, knowing he could very well be classified as mental all on his own anyway. He was a nutcase in his own right, always drinking, always high. Well, not so much anymore. Now he was just physically destroying his body with whatever weapon he could get his hands on. It was a mess, really. Morty's name was carved into one arm, the brunet never knowing anyway. Why put forth the effort if it always ended like this anyway? The brunet was always right.

       But this was more Rick's fault than anything. He was always going out to 'poker night', buying a lovely flavor of the night to keep himself occupied because Morty wasn't 'ready'. Sure, he wouldn't pressure the kid, but it was annoying to hang around a prudish flirt. Whatever...

       Rick was preparing to jump into the shower when his ringtone began to carry through the room, leading the man to slowly search for it. When he found it, he just barely missed the call, but it was Morty. Hurriedly, the man redialed the number, sighing when AJ picked up.

"Dad!" AJ giggled, but he was quiet.

       Rick sighed, running a hand over his face again. "Hey, AJ. What are you doing with daddy's phone?"

"Daddy told me to be quiet," AJ giggled, but this statement peaked Rick's interest. "Uncle Sam is home."

       Rick's heart sank once he heard that. Sam was back. Sam was dangerous. Sam was with Morty and AJ. "Where's daddy?" Rick asked hurriedly, trying to pull his shoes on while talking to the kid. 

"Daddy took Uncle Sam to his room."

       God, no... Rick could only hurry, having found out just recently how dangerous Sam had become. His old friend was always eager to try anything, but he could never handle anything in his system properly. He was a very violent man most of the time. "Hey, AJ, I want you to stay away from Sam, okay? Like cops and robbers, maybe, I dunno. But Sam is a bad guy, okay? Like... like Plankton? Yea, Plankton. And we don't like Plankton, do we?"

"No," AJ giggled.

       "Right," Rick hurried downstairs, grabbing his keys and heading outside. "And you're... you're Mr. Krabs. You don't wanna be around Plankton because he wants to steal from you." Rick knew he was fucking this analogy up so bad, but he didn't care. It got the message through to AJ in a halfassed manner. Rick needed the kid to understand he had to stay safe.

"Hey, dad?"

       "Yea?" Rick hopped into the first car he could reach, pulling out of his driveway as fast as he could. 

"Wanna hear a joke?" AJ giggled, though Rick heard another voice before AJ announced, "I want a lot, daddy!" There was another brief pause and Rick honestly forgot what the child had just said as he headed towards Morty's.

"Daddy's crying," AJ stated solemnly, and then Rick heard it. "Who ya talking to, kiddo?"

       "AJ remember what I said. Stay away from Uncle Sam." Rick was worried, hearing an edge to the tone Sam used.

"It's a secret," AJ answered innocently. 

       "No," Rick whispered, his heart sinking. AJ wasn't listening. "Fuck," Rick growled, speeding towards the bridge. He just had to get across, then it was a st-

       "What the fuck?!" Rick jumped, hearing somebody scream bloody murder in the background before something heavy hit the floor. "AJ?! AJ ARE YOU THERE?! AJ?! BABY, AJ WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Please!" That wasn't AJ... "Rick, I can't -- get here, please!"

       That was the plea of a man afraid of death. "I--" Rick growled, trying to stay calm. Morty was in danger, AJ was in danger, and Sam was a dead man no matter what. His tires hit the end of the bridge and Rick wasted no time changing lanes. "I just crossed the bridge, baby. I'll be there soon. Just, please, be careful. Get out, baby, I'll be right there. Grab your gun, an-" Rick was cut off, hearing Morty scream.

       "Morty, baby! Are you--- FUCK! Morty are you alright?" No answer, but the line was still open. "Morty! AJ?! Somebody grab the fucking phone!"

       "Stupid bitch."

       "No!" Rick shouted, turning. Two streets away. Two streets. Just two streets. 

       "We were gonna have fun. Don't touch. That's what I was told. You're filthy and disgusting. He told me no. I said yes. We were gonna have fun, Morty. You've never been fucked so good."

       "Morty!" Rick screamed into the phone, wishing he could hear him. "Morty! Get out of there!"

       "Well," Rick heard a gut wrenching sound, praying it was just a bad connection for the call, "so much for that."

       "AJ NO!"

       That wasn't static. And neither was the following sound. Rick's phone hit the floor of his car after he heard the gun go off in the background, whipping down Morty's street. He barely made the turn, seeing Morty's house. He threw the car in park just in front of the driveway, leaving his door open as he grabbed his gun and ran to Morty's house. As Rick reached the front door, seeing it was already cracked open, he heard a sickening crash, opening the door to see Morty on the floor below Sam, AJ long gone in another corner of the room. Sam looked over at Rick before he ran to the other end of the house, but he was the least of Rick's worries right now.

       "Morty!" Rick slid on the ground beside Morty, grabbing the brunet's head and cradling it in his lap. There was already a stain on the carpet, a wound on the back of the brunet's head. Rick searched for a pulse, barely having time to - thankfully - find one before something told him to turn around. Sam stood behind him, wielding a kitchen knife with fire in his eyes. 

       "You son of a bitch!" Rick howled out, jumping to his feet. He swung relentlessly, ignoring the knife that slashed at his shoulders and upper arms. It was nothing new. 

       Finally, after backing Sam into a wall while the man swung wildly, Rick grabbed his wrist, stilling the weapon before he took it and turned it on the man, leaving it lodged in his adam's apple while he went back to Morty. 

       "Wake up," Rick whispered, cradling the brunet's head in his lap. "Please," he begged, realizing he was crying only when he saw a droplet land on the brunet's forehead and fall down his temple. "I need you," Rick whispered again, stroking the brunet's matted curls. His pulse was much harder to find the second time around. "You gotta wake up," he urged, stroking the brunet's cheek with his free hand. "Come back to me." Rick placed a butterfly-soft kiss on the brunet's forehead. "Please, Morty."

       He couldn't lose him again. Not for real. Not this time. He didn't mean anything he said. He didn't mean anything he thought. He took it all back. He'd take everything back if it meant the universe would give Morty back to him; would give back the innocent brunet that acted like a lost puppy, innocent and questioning. He'd deal with Morty as he was now, even, if he got the kid back. Rick silently plead with the universe, offering promises voicelessly as he cradled the brunet in his arms, not knowing that one should be careful what they wish for.

       "I love you."