Yeah, so I did a thing. It's somewhere between canon and not. For now I consider it possible canon for the show. My canon anyway, until proven otherwise. So have fun with that. Maybe it will be your canon too. Enjoy!

Rick hops through the portal into his daughter's house and makes a quick glance around the room. Immediately he realizes he's made a mistake. "Damn it," He curses loudly. "I thought this would be Beth's room." Instead the walls are a splash of pink, blue, and yellow. Crazy designs wrap around the interior. Toys litter the floor and the bed in the corner is small. "Lousy lying little mot-" He stops himself short as his eyes fall on the little girl in the center of the room. Shit.

Summer's eyes widen to the size of bowling balls. Her mouth falls open and her breathing stills as she drinks in the man before her. He is unlike anyone she's seen before. He's messy, bad mouthed, and he's so old. Older than mommy and daddy. It clicks in her mind that what she should do is scream – strangers are bad and could hurt her – but the thought struggles to turn itself into an action.

Rick blinks down at her. So this is her. This is his grandchild. The other Rick he ran into, one that didn't run off and leave Beth, had told him that his daughter had wound up getting with some loser and having a kid. While he had no desire to meet either the deadbeat husband or Beth he couldn't help but be intrigued by the thought of a grandchild. But this child, she didn't particularly look like Beth or even the way the other Rick had described her husband. He frowns. It's strange.

Summer draws in a deep breath, her chest expanding to its fullest. She prepares to unleash a terrible scream.

Rick jumps at the sight. He waves his hands frantically. "No," He says with hushed urgency. "It's fine. I'm your grandfather." He manages a small smile. "Grandpa Rick."

Summer hesitates, but slowly lets out the breath. She blinks and tilts her head. "Grandpa?" She repeats. She frowns and her brows knit together. "How'd you get here?" She puffs her lips out and narrows her eyes. "Huh?"

Rick snorts. He pauses for a fraction of a second to contemplate the intelligence of telling this little girl about the things he can do, but in the next instant he realizes he doesn't care either way. "Through a portal." He says simply.

Summer gasps. "A portal!?" She leans forward, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Rick presses his finger firmly to his lips. "Shh," His eyes dart behind him, to the door of her room.

Summer slaps her hand over her mouth. "A portal?" She says much quieter but with no less excitement. "You mean like the computer game?" She'd messed with it a few times, but didn't really understand the way it worked or how to read it.

Rick looks unimpressed. His lips press into a firm line. "Yeah…just like that." He sighs and shakes his head. "Only not dumb."

Summer scowls. "Portal is not dumb!"

Rick growls softly. "I said quiet." He says through clenched teeth.

Summer ducks her head, but her expression remains indignant. "It's not." She hisses. "It's cooler than anything an old fart like you could do." She smirks.

Rick makes a soft sound of contemplation. He wonders where she picked up language like that. He would say himself, but he has only just met her. Perhaps it's that loser husband the other Rick mentioned. Who knows what he's like. He could be a punk. Or maybe it's television these days. He shakes his head. He can just imagine Beth putting no restraints on the channels this girl watches. In fact…where is Beth? Shouldn't she be watching her own child? This kid can't be more than three. She could kill herself easily enough.

He shakes his head. Whatever. He has a brat to knock off her pedestal. "Yeah, listen kid. Nothing is cooler than the things I can do." He bends down on one knee and looks her dead in the eye. "I'm a genius. Got that? Gen-i-us."

"Hmph! I know what a genius is. You don't have to say it like that." She rocks herself forward, onto all fours. She reaches up and points a finger an inch from his face. "So be nice." She nods firmly.

Rick stares for a long moment. A bemused look shines in his eyes as an amused smile splits his lips. "You've sure got some attitude, don't you?" He rises back to his feet. "Just like Beth." Flashes of the past pass through his mind. He wonders if she is the same as six years ago.

Summer's eye catches the shine of the object in Rick's hand. Her mouth turns into a small 'o'. She pushes herself to her feet and grabs for it.

Rick catches her in the act and draws the portal gun up higher than she could ever hope to reach. He laughs, a fake sort of sound. "No, I don't even think so. No way you're getting ahold of my portal gun." Who knows what kind of damage she could do, or what damage might be done to her.

Summer clenches her tiny fists. She bends her head forward slightly and furrows her brows, producing quite a dark scowl. She parts her lips to say something, but before she can the full gravity of his words sink in. She snaps her head up and her face lights up. "Portal gun?" She keeps her voice down this time. A grin spreads across her lips. "So that's how you got here?" She giggles. "Show me!"

Rick smirks. Why not? As long as he keeps the portal far from her it won't hurt. He jerks the gun up and points it at the ceiling. He pushes the trigger and a swirling green mass appears above their heads. Looking back at the child he can't help but smile.

Summer claps and jumps up and down. "Wow!" She laughs. "It's amazing." She snaps her head around to him. "I wanna go." She nods, her hands clenched now in anticipation.

Rick makes a face. He recoils slightly. "No," He shakes his head. "No way. Absolutely not."

Summer whines. "Come on." She slumps forward with the whole upper half of her body. "Just once. I just wanna try it once, grandpa." The endearment slips past her lips without thinking. It's almost as if she's known him forever.

Rick is unaffected by it. No way a three year old, at least he guesses that's her age, is going into another dimension, even one that is a near duplicate of this one. Who knows what tiny detail might cause everything to go wrong. And he's no pro with kids even in calm settings. "It's too dangerous. You know what that means? It means no way it heck."

Summer glares. "I said I'm not stupid." She blows air out of her nose. "And…and if you don't do it, I'll…I'll scream." She crosses her arms and smirks, her eyes sparking with mischief.

Rick grinds his teeth together. I swear to God. "Look," He rubs the bridge of his nose. "There are monsters out there. You hear me? Monsters – like the ones under your bed."

Summer snorts. "There aren't monsters under my bed." She rolls her eyes. "And even if there were, I wouldn't be afraid. I'd beat 'em up!" She punches a fist into the palm of her hand.

"Hm." Rick regards her with something like respect. "Is that so?" It's been a while since he had to deal with a three year old, but as far as he remembers they generally aren't fearless, especially not this fearless. He swears Beth was terrified of monsters under her bed or closet or wherever. He had to check every night for months.

"Yeah." Summer nods firmly. "So I'm not afraid of any monsters in a portal neither."

Rick sighs. He doesn't feel like thinking of another excuse. "Look, you can't come," He shakes his head. "But…I'll go get you something from the other side, alright?" He holds his hands up in a shrug.

Summer frowns deeply. She hums thoughtfully to herself. "Alright!" She hops a little off the ground in her exuberance. "But you better come back." She narrows her eyes and points a finger at him.

Rick cringes. Damn it. Well he can't run now. Ok, he could, but she'd probably tell Beth that he was there and he can't have that. "I will." He shoots the gun and the portal appears before him. He quickly steps through and into another world.

Summer waits. She rocks back and forth on her feet, her eyes darting from one corner of the room to the next. She would have followed him, but the portal disappeared before she could get there. Stupid thing. Not half as cool as the portal game. She can't even use it.

With a whoosh of air the portal reappears and so does Rick. "Grandpa," She cheers. She rushes forward, just in front of him. "Whatcha got?" She bounces up and down. "Huh? Huh?"

Rick holds out a creature. "Here."

Summer stills. The energy drains away and she stares on at the animal with utter disinterest. "It looks like a dog." Like the one they have sleeping downstairs. A ball of white fuzz. She blows out a breath.

Rick sighs. Of course it wouldn't be good enough.

Summer shifts her gaze to Rick's face. "So what does it do?" She crosses her arms.

"Do?" Rick frowns.

"Yeah, do." Summer says slowly, as if he is the three year old. "You know. Does it shoot lasers or something?" A spark of light returns to her eyes. She dares to hope. She holds her breath.

Rick looks at her as if she's stupid. "You're kidding me, right?" He crosses his arms in an odd manner, holding the dog to his chest in order to pull it off. "I just told you hopping dimensions was too dangerous. And you think I'm going to give you a laser shooting canine?" He scoffs. "Please."

Summer's face reddens in anger. "I want something cool!" She shrills.

Rick cringes. "Hush." He waves his hands, nearly tossing the dog in the process.

"No!" She snaps. "Not until you give me something that doesn't suck." She glowers.

Rick can't believe this. What a spoiled brat. What has Beth been doing? Giving her everything she wants, it looks like. Has he taught her nothing? He shakes his head. Oh well. "Fine, fine." He hisses. "Just shut your mouth." He yanks his fingers across his lips like a zipper.

Summer shoves her head up and away from him. "It better be something cool."

Rick rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He opens another portal to a completely different dimension. He tosses the flea-bitten mutt. But he's not about to get her some laser shooting, fire breathing animal. Forget that. He isn't going to do to this kid what he did to Beth. Screwed her up. He shakes away the unsettling thought. He looks down at his feet, at the crystal rocks surrounding them. But this – this'll do. He scoops the rock up and returns to his granddaughter.

Summer taps her foot. When he appears this time she does not run to him. She keeps her distance, not about to give him the benefit of the doubt this time. "Show me."

Rick gnashes his teeth. No respect. "Here." He holds out his hand and unfurls his fingers. The rock glows a soft pink. It's jagged, but not quite sharp enough to cut herself on. He made sure of it.

Summer stares long and hard at it. First a dog, now a rock. Still, she can't find it in her to complain. The glow it gives off it quite captivating. Her eyes grow wider by the second, her mouth rounder. However, it must be asked. "What's it do?"

Rick smirks. "So glad you asked." Even if she is only three she can appreciate something like this. He can get the praise he so deserves. "It is a rock, yes, but it has special properties. When you look into it, you can see whatever you want." He raises his brows twice. "All you have to do is ask."

Summer draws in a slow breath. "No way." She grins from ear to ear. "Gimme!" She jumps forward and snatches the stone from his hand. She draws it close, just inches from her face. "A dragon." She shakes as she waits.

The pink glow of the rock deepens then fades completely. From the clearness an image appears. A green, scaly fire breathing dragon roars at her. She jumps in her skin, nearly fumbling the rock. "This…is the coolest rock ever!" She giggles uncontrollably.

Rick smiles. "Told you."

Summer looks up and the image fades. Her brows knit together and lips turn down. "Hey, Grandpa Rick," Once she has his attention she continues, "How come you keep telling me to be quiet? If you're really my grandpa then that means you should be related to mommy or daddy."

Rick's face creases. He lets out a heavy breath. "I don't want to see Beth. That's all." He mindlessly tugs at his sleeve. "I just wanted to check you out."

Summer blinks. She loses all but one word of the sentence. "Beth?" She scrunches up her face.

Rick raises a brow. Oh, that's right. She is only three. It's the same way he and his wife were with Beth. "Your mom."

Summer digests this revelation. Mommy has another name? Beth… "Beth…" She tests the word out on her tongue. So strange. She shakes her head to rid herself of this daze. "But, why?"

Rick shakes his head. "Never mind that." He bends down on one knee. He looks her dead in the eye. "But listen to me," He waits for her to focus completely on him, her bright eyes ceasing their restless jumping. "You can never, and I mean never, tell your parents I was here. Got it?"

Summer looks intently at him. She takes in every wrinkle and especially the intensity in his eyes. "Well…" She chews thoughtfully on her lip. "If you say so Grandpa." She beams.

Rick lets out a breath. He smiles. "That a girl." He ruffles her hair. "Oh, hey, by the way, what's your name?" It completely slipped his mind what with her bratty behavior and finding her something to soothe her. Not to mention the sheer joy from pleasing her.

Summer giggles at his affections. "Summer." She grins. "An I'm three." She holds up three fingers.

Rick nods. So he was right. Three years old. "Well, I have to go now." He stands slowly.

"Aww." Summer puffs out her lower lip. "You'll be back though, right?" Her eyes widen and she nods as if to encourage him to agree. "Right?" Her voice wavers.

Rick bites his lip. He never planned to. Not really. He just wanted to see the mess his daughter created. Still…the way this girl-er, Summer is looking at him. He sighs. He hangs his head slightly. "Yeah, I'll come back." He quickly adds, "But I don't know when." No way in hell is he being held to a date.

It's enough. Summer grins. "Kay." She nods with the whole upper half of her body. "I'll be waiting." She scurries forward and wraps her arms around his legs.

Rick grimaces. He wedges his hand between her and his leg and pries her off of him. "Uh, yeah," He stretches out the words. "No, I don't do hugs." Her dejected expression, however, compels him to compensate. He pats her on the head.

Summer grabs at his hand and pulls it down. She kisses the top of it, smiling shyly over it. "Bye bye Grandpa." She giggles.

Rick makes a soft sound of acknowledgement. He pulls his hand back and rubs it against his lab coat. "Yeah, see you kid." He shoots his portal gun and disappears in a flash.

Summer stares at the place the portal once was for a long time, as long as any three year old could be expected to. Then she looks down, down at the rock in her hands. It glows beautifully. "So cool…" She breathes.

"Hey honey," Beth coos as she rounds the corner. "How are you?" She bends over, placing her hands on her knees. Her eyes catch the soft glowing mass in her daughter's hands. "Oh. Where'd you get that?" She frowns and her brows knit together.

Summer opens her mouth and prepares to spill it all. Her body tingles with anticipation. Then she remembers. Never tell your parents I was here. "I…I found it." She shrugs. "Itn't it pretty?" She shoves her hands forward in her mother's face.

Beth chuckles. "It's very pretty." She's tempted to touch it, but chides herself for her foolishness and resists. "It can be your special rock." Still, it's odd. She swears she's seen something like this before. But…that was a long time ago. And impossible. The implications are too staggering to even contemplate.

Summer smiles softly. "Yeah." She draws the stone close to her chest and looks up, over her mother's shoulder where the portal once stood. She lifts the stone to her lips. "Grandpa…" She pulls it back and tilts it just enough to watch the pink brighten and dim, revealing Rick's face within.

She grins. "Love you…"

So I have the next couple of chapters planned, then it kind of splits off into two possibilities. I'm super conflicted over it, but I'll deal with it when I come to it I suppose. Anyway, what did you think? Like it? Love it? Not so much? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please review!