*this chapter has been edited.
i hope you all enjoy!*
Since the events of switching dimensions, Cas and Rick barely saw each other. Rick continued to refuse Cas on adventures due the combined trauma of burying her own body and the attempted rape making him quick to refuse every time she tried to join him and Morty. She hated the idea of not being able to travel the multiverse with Rick anymore but she appreciated Beth and Jerry didn't push on the topic and let her stay with them nonetheless. Cas assumed they both realized having an extra set of hands around wasn't so bad, especially one with Cas' power set.
And yet, in a moment of 'kindness' and to distract Cas from the boring life she was no leading without adventures, Rick dragged her into the ship. "I thought you were still banning me from your adventures, darlin'."
"Relax, it's just a-an alien pawn shop, Cas. Nothing dangerous." Rick shrugged, taking a sip from his flask as Morty climbed in the back. Cas looked down and smiled at that. "D-Don't smile like that... This i-isn't some act of goodwill, Cas. T-T-This is, this is to..." Rick trailed off for a moment, not sure how to really describe what he was doing without making Cas give that stupid smirk she'd give when he showed her some form of emotion.
"You're a softie, darlin'." Cas smirked and Rick scoffed in response.
"Shut up," Rick grumbled as he started the ship.
Once they got to the pawn shop, Rick began to bargain with the alien at the counter while Morty and Cas explored. During their exploration, Morty was quickly distracted by a female robot that was scantily dressed. "She's cute," Cas giggled before making her way to Rick, grabbing a few things on her way towards him.
"Look, I'm not paying 70 smidgens for a broken defraculator," Rick grumbled.
"That is multiphase quantum resonator," The alien argued back, crossing his arms. Cas noticed him glance at her and look over her body before turning back to Rick. Cas said nothing but she saw Rick's glare get a bit more intense.
"Well, does it defraculate?" Cas asked, speaking up with a raised eyebrow. "Fuck no," the alien replied and Cas frowned at that. She noticed Rick getting visibly upset as he huffed slightly. "Th-Then, Then it's a broken defraculator," Rick added, repeating his earlier point which only seemed to upset to pawn owner.
"Like you would even know dick about fraculation! Your planet just got cellphones, and the coverage still sucks!" He shouted one response and Cas gave an amused smile as Rick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, and your species eats sulfur. So, let's say 60 smidgens, I tell you what, I'll do you a favor. I'll throw in a fart," Rick argued back and the alien's eyes only drifted towards Cas.
"And her too?" He asked and Rick huffed again.
"60 smidgens and a fart, final offer." Rick snapped back, grabbing Cas to push her slightly behind him.
The moment of intense silence as Rick and the alien glared at each other down was broken by Morty. "Hey, uh, Rick, um, you think maybe I could get something from this place, like a souvenir, like, just to have, like, something cool, you know?" Morty asked and Cas smirked slightly at that, knowing exactly what he meant by that.
"Not here, Morty, We'll stop somewhere else, because, you know, there's always another pawn shop," Rick grumbled and rolled his eyes. The alien rolled his eyes in response as well.
"Oh, okay, I just, um, you know, I thought that robot over there looked pretty cool, you know?" Morty said slightly awkwardly. Rick glanced over at it and rose half his brow. "Oh, it looks cool, huh? That's why you want it?" Rick asked, feigning belief at his grandson's obviously poor attempts to get the robot.
"Yeah! You know, I mean, it's different from the stuff on earth, and, you know, you take me to all these crazy places across the galaxy. And, you know, I don't really have anything to, to remember all those trips by," Morty began to ramble. Rick fought the urge to roll his eyes and reached for the door but Morty continued. "It'd be kind of cool, like a souvenir. You know, like, what if you passed away or died or something? I wouldn't even have anything to remember all the cool stuff we did, you know?" Morty finished and Cas frowned at the part, ignoring Rick's rather annoyed face.
"Okay, 60 for *burp* the resonator *burp*, and my grandson wants the sex robot." Rick gave in, tossing bright purple bills on the counter.
Morty dragged the robot out as Rick and Cas watched him push her in the back of the ship. "You didn't want any thing?" Rick asked, taking a sip out of his flask as he leaned against the ship. Morty let a quiet "oof" out after almost dropping the robot, luckily with a flick of Cas' wrist, she was in the car perfectly.
"Oh, of course I did," Cas shrugged and reached in her pockets to show the things she grabbed earlier. "I just didn't pay for them. The shop owner tried to buy me like I was an object. So, I stole from him," she smirked, grabbing the flask from his hands and entering the passenger side of the car.
Rick gave a rather impressed look as he watched her walk away.
It was earlier that morning that Cas regret ever helping Morty get the robot in the ship. Breakfast was eaten while everyone tried to ignore the sounds of Morty's bed squeaking rapidly and the light above the table shaking. Cas grimaced in disgust a few times at the sounds as she tried to focus on the colors of her cereal. The rest of the table was just as tense as her, disgusted by the noises but none of them wanting to address it. Until Summer finally did.
"So... are we just going to ignore it and pretend this isn't happening?" Summer spoke up, breaking the silence. "I'm not saying that's a bad idea, just asking."
"Rick, why would you let Morty bring that thing into the house?!" Jerry said, sighing with annoyance as Rick simply ate his food like nothing was happening.
Rick took a bite of the hash browns on his plate before replying. "I don't know. What do you want from me? He thou, h-he thought it looked cool. You know what I mean?" Rick said with a mouthful, "Cas was the one to help him put it in my ship anyways. Called it cute and all."
"Please don't give me credit for this," Cas frowned and looked down at her cereal again. "And my comment was about the robot, not your grandsons infatuation and grotesque intentions with it. You're the one that bought it for him." She pointed out only just as Morty came jogging down the stairs. He wiped his sweat away with the back of his hand and began to chug the orange juice from the carton.
"Alright, back to – back upstairs!" He said awkwardly with a smile and then ran off.
"Well, I'm intervening," Jerry said and began to stand up. Cas watched with an amused face as Beth stopped him. "Intervening with puberty? You'll turn him into Ralph Fiennes in 'Red Dragon.' He's at that age, let's just be proud of him." Beth argued back and Summer and Cas shared a rather awkward glance.
"Oh, yeah. What parents wouldn't be proud when their 14 year old is violating a robot from outer space," Cas commented under her breath and Beth glared at her slightly. "What? Would you rather I sugar coat it?"
"Jesus, did I really set the bar that low?" Summer asked her parents as Morty began to run down the stairs again, stopping halfway.
"Um, Rick, could you come with me, please. Q-Quickly," Morty said alarmed. Rick stood up instantly, grabbing Cas as she went to take a bite of her cereal and dragging her upstairs with him. She pouted for a moment but that faded when she noticed the metal ball floating around Morty's room above his bed. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight before realizing the metal ball was the robot and her face morphed to mild disgust.
"Morty, where's the sex robot?" Rick asked, staring at the metal ball with one hand on his hip.
"That is Gwendolyn, I-I mean, the robot," Morty said. "She started beeping and then transformed and tried to fly away!" Morty explained, stepping forwards near the robot that was still flying around the room.
"Strange, that's usually the man's job, you know what I'm talking about, Morty," Rick joked and Cas rose an eyebrow at that. "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub! That's my catch-" He laughed out and turned to look at Cas who had an unamused look on her face and her arms crossed. "Alright, Alright, geez. Let me grab this thing," Rick said and pushed Morty out of the way. Cas watched Rick grabbed onto the robot only to be slammed up and down on the bed repeatedly. Her unamused face turned into one of great amusement as she tried to hold her laughter back.
"Okay, unacceptable!" Beth shouted as the family ran into to room. Cas' nose scrunched up at the meaning behind Beth's exclamation as Beth realized what was really going on.
"Alright, What is going on?" Jerry asked as Rick flopped into a sitting position on the bed, the robot flying off. A part on the bottom opened and out of a small pink area, a baby dropped out into Morty's arms. "Alright, uh oh," Rick said and scratched his head.
"Uh oh? What is that?!" Beth exclaimed and Cas fought the urge to roll her eyes a bit. She understood the situation was odd but you think that, much like Cas, they'd all be immune to this stuff by now.
"I think Morty's robot was designed for more than long weekends," Rick said as the robot attempted to touch and climb on him. Cas growled under her breath and with a flick of her wrist, the robot now laid still on the bed and green wisps of energy covered Cas' hands and the robot. "You couldn't have done that earlier, Cas?" Rick rose half his brow but Cas didn't respond to that. Rick pulled something from his lab coat and began to examine the robot that Cas now held still. "Genetic compiler, incubation chamber. Yep, This here's some kind of baby maker and that there's half Morty, half *burp* wh-who knows wh-what?" Rick began to explain, pulling his blaster from his coat. "It's my bad, guys. I'll, I'll take care of it," He said and aimed it at the thing in Morty's arms.
Protests from Beth, Summer and Jerry began as Morty hid the child behind his body. "Dad! What do you think you're doing?" Beth exclaimed.
"Hey, listen, you guys quarantined the house when Summer brought olives back from Mexico," Rick pointed out. Cas remembered that day with a small smile. It was the first time Rick and her had the house to themselves for a while as the rest went on their vacation and then their own quarantine. "I mean, this thing could grow to the size of Delaware. I mean, it might eat brains and exhale space aids. We got to be careful," He exclaimed in return.
"I lost the chance to be careful, Rick. I'm a father now! You know, it's time for me to be responsible, Isn't that right..." Morty trailed off for a moment.
"Don't name it," Rick mumbled quickly.
"Morty Jr.!" Morty said happily and held the child up.
"Oh, crap, he named it," Rick grumbled.
A few poor attempts from Jerry to one up Rick's insult later, Cas and Summer sat in the kitchen, trying to figure out which of them should open the garage door and go in. Cas knew the signs of when Rick was in a particular mood and just didn't want to be bothered. She knew when it was best to steer clear of him but she also knew that he could be a bit much and if this lead him on an adventure, he may need her help. Cas was intelligent in many things, but mostly when it came to people. Rick may bury everything deep down and attempt at hiding who he truly was, but Cas always knew.
"I think you should," Summer shrugged. "Grandpa Rick likes you." She smirked and Cas rose an eyebrow.
"I mean, I guess he's learned to tolerate me for now," Cas shrugged as she pulled a box of wafer cookies from his cabinet. Summer chuckled quietly under her breath at how nonchalant Cas was about it. Summer knew Cas was insanely intelligent, maybe almost as much as Rick, but didn't show it often. She knew Cas understood what she was trying to say. "What?" Cas questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Oh come on, Cas. Morty spilled the beans to me. You like Rick and it's obvious he likes you back." Cas almost dropped the box of wafer's as Summer's words. "You act surprised?"
"It doesn't matter if he likes me, Summer, because I don't like him. He's almost the same age as my dad. He knew my dad," Cas lied straight through her teeth. Rick's age was the least of her concerns when it came to whatever she felt for him. They were both adults and if something ever came of them, it shouldn't matter. Sure, she admitted it was a crush to Morty but she still didn't feel that was a good word to cover what she really felt for Rick. She wasn't even sure what she felt for him. He was chaotic and she wasn't sure if she was ready to get any more involved with that.
"Just, just go open the door, Cas. Either way, it's best for you to approach him like this." Summer sighed.
"We'll do it together, come on." Cas said and the two went to to door and didn't bother knocking. Rick was hunched over his table with the robot's stomach opened up and his tools inside. "Out," was all Rick said when he heard the door open and the two sets of feet.
"Whatcha doing there, darlin'?" Cas asked and walked over to the desk to look over his shoulder as she usually did. Rick glanced at her but said nothing. "Well, I can't solve the problem my way, thanks to my family's primitive biological hang-ups," Rick grumbled and Summer gave a look at that phrasing. Cas didn't really mind, unlike the family it seemed, Cas was used to Rick by now and simply rolled with the punches.
"Gross, I might have just touched one of Morty's loads," Rick cringed and Cas' face scrunched up in disgust. "But maybe I can find suitable parents for Morty Jr, on this robot's home world, which is... Gazorpazorp in the Andromeda system." Cas' face lit up at that.
"Hey! I'm named after that galaxy!" She grinned and Rick rose an eyebrow at that. "Cassiopeia Andromeda Pines," She smiled widely.
"Good to know," Rick shrugged and Cas smirked at his response. "Now, scoot, Summer." He said as he pulled his portal gun out and began typing the location in. Cas noticed Summer's face light up, recognizing there was an open spot now that Morty had other things to do, or raise.
"Don't you need a new companion now that Morty's in the family way?" Summer smiled, hoping Rick would let her join.
"I don't do adventures with chicks, Summer." Rick grumbled and Summer rose an eyebrow and looked at Cas who had an annoyed look on her face. "Incase you haven't noticed, I don't let Cas come any more. I learned my lesson the hard way with her. It's not smart and frankly a waste of energy," Rick shrugged and Cas scoffed at that as he shot the portal.
"Oh right, because there's something about having a wiener that would make us better at walking through a hole?" Summer taunted, standing next to Cas in front of the portal. It was then two large red arms reached through and grabbed both Cas and Summer. Summer screamed loudly as Cas shouted out for Rick.
"Rick!" She screamed, trying to hit the thing that took them. Cas even tried find any sort of metal she could use to help them but nothing on the planet was found. Both her and Summer were thrown to the ground and Cas suddenly felt like she was back in the Stair Tavern bathroom. "Rick! Get him off me, please! Rick!" She screamed as loud as she could, the same things she screamed out before. The incident was flashing before her eyes as she tried to push the large creatures off of her. She could hear Summer's screams as well as her legs were grabbed.
A few loud blasts went off and the large creatures fell backwards. Cas sat up quickly, pushing herself away from them only to stand and run towards Rick. Rick didn't argue when Cas grabbed his sleeve or even when she buried her head in his chest. For a brief moment, he was back at the tavern too. She was clutching to him, trying not cry again and Rick's whole demeanor changed for brief moment. His biggest regret on any of his adventures was when she told him she had screamed for him and he was just too busy to notice. The only this time was, he really was there to save her.
"Still think it's a good idea to go through holes without a wiener, Summer? Why do you think I don't let Cas come anymore?" He snapped, placing a hand on Cas' back as the girl slowly let him go. He could see her tearing up again but trying desperately to hide it.
"I wanna go home," Summer demanded.
"Yeah, no duh," Rick grumbled and pulled his portal gun out. Just as he typed the right location in, a large rock knocked it from his hands and crushed it. "Great, now I have to take over a whole planet because of your stupid boobs." He grumbled as he looked at the large creatures standing up around them.