Five Times Morty Needed a Hug and One Time Rick Did

Summary: Five times Morty needed a hug and one time Rick did. Angst, hurt, comfort, slightly OOC (out of character), but hey, I read into the show whatever I want to. First time R&M writer. I found it difficult to capture Rick's speech and Morty's, also probably failed at capturing the full breadth of character expressed in the show.

I really meant for this to be more light hearted.

1.

Morty screamed, pain lancing through him. The gromflomite interrogator pressed the button and electricity once again coursed through Morty's body, pulling a blood curdling scream from him. Several seconds later the electricity stopped and Morty collapsed back against the medical chair he was tied to, trying to breathe.

"Just tell us where Rick Sanchez is and we'll let you go."

"Screw you!" Morty gasped out.

He was terrified and in so much pain. Where was grandpa Rick? Why hadn't he saved him yet?

Another course of electricity made Morty convulse on the table, screams now hoarse and just as desperate.

"Grandpa!" Morty screamed, tears in his eyes and pain everywhere.

The electricity stopped and Morty was sobbing, wishing he was dead. Where was grandpa Rick? He just wanted this to stop.

Quiet voices buzzed to the side of him but Morty was able to understand them over the pain in his head.

"This isn't working."

"We're just going to kill him, we need Rick Sanchez, not the damn investigation team in here asking questions and slapping on indictments about misuse of Federation resources and practicing non-sanctioned torture."

"Fine, fine. We'll try something else."

A rough foreleg of the invertebrate slapped Morty's face and Morty blearily opened his blood shot eyes.

"Ple-please... don-"

The gripping foreleg of the gromflomite came down again, catching Morty's cheek bone and making his head spin.

"If this works, no one is going to care about how we got Rick Sanchez, they'll be too busy congratulating us on capturing the mulitverse's most dangerous criminal!"

Morty felt his arm being yanked and then a cool needle slid into his skin. Whatever it was the effect was instantaneous, pain exploding in every part of Morty. He barely heard the sharp curses of the gromflomites as he sunk into a paralyzing existence of hot, burning pain.

Everything came back in a terrible rush, he was still in pain, but his mind was back. The gromflomites were on the floor, a bullet wound through one of the gromflomite's labrum and the other riddled with bullet holes to the point where it didn't even look like a gromflomite.

Cold, thin hands were on him, gently brushing at his face, pushing back his non-existent bangs and mumbling his name in drunken tones, stuttering past the syllables and filled with worry.

"Mor-Morty?"

Morty whimpered, his head felt all wrong and his heart was pounding strangely, offbeat. Rick uttered his name again and shook Morty by his shoulders. Morty couldn't respond, feeling as Rick pulled him up into a hug, whispering how sorry he was and that everything was going to be alright. Morty would've opened his eyes to try to see if it was really Rick, because his grandpa never said those kind of things, but he hurt too much

"Mo-Mother- Sonsovbitches! I'll-I'll-IBluurghll friggin' tear 'em apart!"

Morty felt someone fumble with his restraints and then he was lifted from the table. The pain erupted again and Morty screamed, collapsing into unconsciousness.

When Morty woke up again it was to Rick's bedroom, strange machinery beeping around him. Rick was next to him, fiddling with some kind of thing.

"Pumped ya, pumped, pumped ya up wiAUGHth friggin' da-dark matter! Those motherfuckers! Yo-you should be dead, Mo-Morty. Might sti-still..." Rick trailed off.

Rick fixed the machine to his satisfaction and turned to Morty, a hand jerkily running its way through Morty's short hair.

"It'll be okay, Morty."

Another needle plunged into Morty's arm and he flinched back from it. Something ice cold seemed to begin to crawl through his veins and Morty began shaking, pain returning. Rick leaned over, pulling Morty close.

"It-it'll be ov-over soon, Morty."

Rick clenched his eyes shut as for the next several hours Morty writhed in pain, ensconced in Rick's arms. Pressing his face onto the crown of Morty's head he held his crying grandson close. Morty wouldn't remember this once he woke up, dark matter was the most corrosive and painful substance in existence. He could only imagine the hours Morty had spent experiencing it, and now the many hours getting it out of his system. All because of Rick.

Morty wouldn't remember this, but Rick would.

"Wubba lubba dub dub," Rick whispered.

I capped the language, otherwise it would've been way more explicit.