As Real as it Gets

Going Home (Chapter 15, Part 3)

After making himself some cereal, Morty joined his family who were eating breakfast at the dining table.

"You said that your grandpa came back?" Beth questioned, "Where is he then?"

The teenage boy shrugged, "He's still down in his lab."

Summer looked up from her phone, "For real? It's been like, three days. Should we check on him or something?"

"Definitely, one of you needs to go." Beth said, "Make him come up here."

Morty and Summer looked at each other with a death stare before engaging in a round of rock, paper, scissors. 

"God damnit!" Morty angrily stood up after losing.

Summer smiled, "Boo-yah." A few moments after her brother left she rethought her decision, "Actually, I'll go too. I wanna know what super-secret stuff grandpa Rick is working on." She stood up and headed to the garage.

"After you." Morty held the hatch door open for his sister to go down.

-

Rick sat on the floor in front of the cloth-covered machine. He took deep, slow breaths as he thought about why it wasn't working. Nothing he tried had worked. The untreated wound in his side grew more painful everyday, but he still couldn't care less about it. He had been trying to save you the entire time, not taking a minute to himself. The three restless days finally got to him and his eyes fell shut.

Summer and Morty wandered through the lab, finally stumbling upon the room in witch he was in, "Grandpa Rick!" They went over to him and shook him awake.

His eyes fluttered open, "Did it work?" 

The kids looked at each other in confusion, "Did what work?" Morty questioned. 

Rick rubbed his eyes and looked at the machine, it had stayed the same. A sigh of disappointment left his lungs, "What are you little shits even doing here?" He took a swig of some flat beer.

"You've been down here for three days! Mom told us to check on you. She's worried, you know?" Morty adressed.

"Holy shit, three days? Huh. Well, you can tell her I'm fine. Now leave." 

Summer grabbed Rick's hand and tried to pull him up to his feet, "Get up, grandpa. You smell like alcohol and bad life decisions." 

"Y-yeah, get the fuck up!" Morty joined in.

Rick protested in his half-drunk state, "No! Leave me alone! I said I'm fine. I'll come up when I'm done with this."

"What are you even doing down here by yourself?" Summer crossed her hands.

The scientist shook his head, "You wouldn't understand." He whispered, "No one would." 

-

Waiting... just waiting for something to happen. Anything. You wanted to be free. Free from this prison. Released from the nonexistent claws of darkness and nothing that held you in their grasp. Not letting you go. 

You heard more distant voices, also familiar. They seemed to be arguing with each other. How intriguing. You wish you knew what they were talking about... they seemed interesting. You would love to meet them. Talk to them.

-

"Try us." Summer spoke.

A light chuckle left Rick's mouth, "Sure I will."

"Alright! I'm done! I- I'm done with- with your shit, Rick!" Morty stormed over to the machine, "Tell us what you're doing here or I will see for myself!" He gripped the white cloth.

"Morty, leave that alone." Rick stood up and spoke with a stern voice.

"Then tell me what it is and I'll leave it be!" 

"It's a generator for a new ship I'm working on, okay? There. I said it. Now walk the fuck away from it."

The teenage boy's eyes narrowed as if trying to read Rick's body language, "I don't believe you." He then pulled the cover off of the machine and looked inside the glass chamber with wide eyes.

Summer gasped, "Grandpa, who is that?"

Rick was overflown with grief and looked down at the ground, "That's Y/N... the love of my life... at least it was supposed to be, but I can't make her cross over to it. I don't know what it is... she won't listen to me. I just can't reach her." He stared at the lifeless body that looked identical to yours, floating in the life-sustaining liquid. It had every little detail on the body perfectly match your own as he remembered from the simulation and recreated into the real world. The body had wires attached to the forehead, collarbones and back.

Morty stepped away from the machine, "Rick... what happened?"

"I have a lot of explaining to do." The old man took another sip of his beer.

-

"Oookay..." Beth placed her empty wine glass on the coffee table, "So, basically... you fell in love with a computer and you're trying to make it real?"

Rick facepalmed, "No, for fuck's sake. That's not what I said! She's not a computer, Beth, she is already real... I just have to transfer her consciousness into the body and- and she'll be here. She'll be here, with us... You'll like her." 

"I don't know. All of this sounds a lot like a 'Sal9000 and Nene Anegasaki' case to me." Jerry commented.

"I'll shove that golf club collection you have up your ass, Jerry." Rick hissed.

"Dad... I'm really trying to understand what is happening here," Beth continued, "but I don't know how you're going to transfer binary code into a human brain. I don't even think that's possible."

"It is possible. I'll make it possible." Rick muttered under his breath.

After a few minutes, Morty broke the uncomfortable silence, "You- you fell in love?"

Rick nodded, "Yes... yes! I fucking did, alright? She means everything to me. I can't lose her... I just can't. We went through so much shit together and she stayed with me the entire time. I need her. I didn't realize how fucking lonely and miserable my life was... until she made it better. There. You wanted me to open up didn't you?! Now enjoy my disgusting pile of emotions you greedy fuckers." He crossed his arms in anger. 

Morty smiled, "And here I was, thinking love was just a useless chemical that compels animals to breed."

"Don't kick me while I'm down! And yeah, okay, you win, Morty. Your stupid human emotions are worth something after all."

"I'm glad you found someone." Summer added.

"Thank you." Rick whispered.

"Yeah, I'm happy for you too." Morty tried to lift his grandpa's spirit, "I- I can't wait to meet her. I bet she's really great if you love her that much."

Rick finally smiled, "She is."