diff --git a/libs/core/langchain_core/beta/runnables/context.py b/libs/core/langchain_core/beta/runnables/context.py
index 235d8f905e5..1e54f6a583f 100644
--- a/libs/core/langchain_core/beta/runnables/context.py
+++ b/libs/core/langchain_core/beta/runnables/context.py
@@ -108,8 +108,6 @@ def _config_with_context(
                 raise ValueError(
                     f"Deadlock detected between context keys {key} and {dep}"
                 )
-        if len(getters) < 1:
-            raise ValueError(f"Expected at least one getter for context key {key}")
         if len(setters) != 1:
             raise ValueError(f"Expected exactly one setter for context key {key}")
         setter_idx = setters[0][1]
@@ -118,7 +116,8 @@ def _config_with_context(
                 f"Context setter for key {key} must be defined after all getters."
             )
 
-        context_funcs[getters[0][0].id] = partial(getter, events[key], values)
+        if getters:
+            context_funcs[getters[0][0].id] = partial(getter, events[key], values)
         context_funcs[setters[0][0].id] = partial(setter, events[key], values)
 
     return patch_config(config, configurable=context_funcs)
diff --git a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/base.py b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/base.py
index ca3548a752d..dc0822fc066 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/base.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/base.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, AsyncIterator, Dict, Iterator, List, Optional, Type, Union
 
 import yaml
+from langchain_core.beta.runnables.context import Context
 from langchain_core.load.dump import dumpd
 from langchain_core.memory import BaseMemory
 from langchain_core.outputs import RunInfo
@@ -20,7 +21,9 @@ from langchain_core.pydantic_v1 import (
     validator,
 )
 from langchain_core.runnables import Runnable, RunnableConfig, RunnableSerializable
+from langchain_core.runnables.base import RunnableLambda
 from langchain_core.runnables.configurable import ConfigurableFieldSpec
+from langchain_core.runnables.passthrough import RunnablePassthrough
 
 from langchain.callbacks.base import BaseCallbackManager
 from langchain.callbacks.manager import (
@@ -674,6 +677,22 @@ class RunnableChain(Chain, ABC):
     def as_runnable(self) -> Runnable:
         ...
 
+    def as_runnable_wrapped(self, return_only_outputs: bool = False) -> Runnable:
+        context = Context.create_scope("runnable-chain")
+
+        def prep_outputs(all: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+            print("before outprep", all)
+            return self.prep_outputs(all["inputs"], all["outputs"], return_only_outputs)
+
+        return (
+            self.prep_inputs
+            | RunnableLambda(lambda i: print("after prep", i) or i.copy())
+            | context.setter("inputs")
+            | self.as_runnable()
+            | {"outputs": RunnablePassthrough(), "inputs": context.getter("inputs")}
+            | prep_outputs
+        )
+
     @property
     def InputType(self) -> Type[Dict[str, Any]]:
         return self.as_runnable().InputType
@@ -692,39 +711,51 @@ class RunnableChain(Chain, ABC):
 
     @property
     def config_specs(self) -> List[ConfigurableFieldSpec]:
-        return self.as_runnable().config_specs
+        return self.as_runnable_wrapped().config_specs
 
     def invoke(
         self,
         input: Dict[str, Any],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-        return self.as_runnable().invoke(input, config, **kwargs)
+        return self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).invoke(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        )
 
     async def ainvoke(
         self,
         input: Dict[str, Any],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-        return await self.as_runnable().ainvoke(input, config, **kwargs)
+        return await self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).ainvoke(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        )
 
     def stream(
         self,
         input: Dict[str, Any],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> Iterator[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        yield from self.as_runnable().stream(input, config, **kwargs)
+        yield from self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).stream(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        )
 
     async def astream(
         self,
         input: Dict[str, Any],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> AsyncIterator[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        async for item in self.as_runnable().astream(input, config, **kwargs):
+        async for item in self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).astream(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        ):
             yield item
 
     def batch(
@@ -733,9 +764,10 @@ class RunnableChain(Chain, ABC):
         config: Optional[Union[RunnableConfig, List[RunnableConfig]]] = None,
         *,
         return_exceptions: bool = False,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        return self.as_runnable().batch(
+        return self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).batch(
             inputs, config, **kwargs, return_exceptions=return_exceptions
         )
 
@@ -745,9 +777,10 @@ class RunnableChain(Chain, ABC):
         config: Optional[Union[RunnableConfig, List[RunnableConfig]]] = None,
         *,
         return_exceptions: bool = False,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        return await self.as_runnable().abatch(
+        return await self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).abatch(
             inputs, config, **kwargs, return_exceptions=return_exceptions
         )
 
@@ -755,15 +788,21 @@ class RunnableChain(Chain, ABC):
         self,
         input: Iterator[Dict[str, Any]],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any | None,
     ) -> Iterator[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        yield from self.as_runnable().transform(input, config, **kwargs)
+        yield from self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).transform(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        )
 
     async def atransform(
         self,
         input: AsyncIterator[Dict[str, Any]],
         config: Optional[RunnableConfig] = None,
+        return_only_outputs: bool = False,
         **kwargs: Any | None,
     ) -> AsyncIterator[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        async for chunk in super().atransform(input, config, **kwargs):
+        async for chunk in self.as_runnable_wrapped(return_only_outputs).atransform(
+            input, config, **kwargs
+        ):
             yield chunk
diff --git a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/conversational_retrieval/base.py b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/conversational_retrieval/base.py
index 147610f9764..759835289bc 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/conversational_retrieval/base.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/conversational_retrieval/base.py
@@ -15,8 +15,13 @@ from langchain_core.messages import BaseMessage
 from langchain_core.prompts import BasePromptTemplate
 from langchain_core.pydantic_v1 import BaseModel, Extra, Field, root_validator
 from langchain_core.retrievers import BaseRetriever
-from langchain_core.runnables import Runnable, RunnableConfig
-from langchain_core.runnables.base import RunnableMap
+from langchain_core.runnables import (
+    Runnable,
+    RunnableConfig,
+    RunnableLambda,
+    RunnableMap,
+)
+from langchain_core.runnables.passthrough import RunnablePassthrough
 from langchain_core.vectorstores import VectorStore
 
 from langchain.callbacks.manager import (
@@ -297,25 +302,33 @@ class ConversationalRetrievalChain(BaseConversationalRetrievalChain):
         get_chat_history = self.get_chat_history or _get_chat_history
 
         def get_new_question(inputs: Dict[str, Any]):
-            return (
-                self.question_generator
-                if inputs["chat_history"]
-                else inputs["question"]
-            )
+            if inputs["chat_history"]:
+                return self.question_generator
+            else:
+                return inputs["question"]
 
         def get_answer(inputs: Dict[str, Any]):
-            return (
-                self.response_if_no_docs_found
-                if self.response_if_no_docs_found is not None
+            if (
+                self.response_if_no_docs_found is not None
                 and len(inputs["input_documents"]) == 0
-                else self.combine_docs_chain
-            )
+            ):
+                return self.response_if_no_docs_found
+            else:
+                return self.combine_docs_chain | itemgetter(
+                    self.combine_docs_chain.output_key
+                )
+
+        output_map = {self.output_key: RunnablePassthrough()}
+        if self.return_source_documents:
+            output_map["source_documents"] = context.getter("input_documents")
+        if self.return_generated_question:
+            output_map["generated_question"] = context.getter("new_question")
 
         return (
             RunnableMap(
                 question=itemgetter("question") | context.setter("question"),
                 chat_history=itemgetter("chat_history")
-                | get_chat_history
+                | RunnableLambda(get_chat_history)
                 | context.setter("chat_history"),
             )
             | get_new_question
@@ -330,11 +343,8 @@ class ConversationalRetrievalChain(BaseConversationalRetrievalChain):
                     "new_question" if self.rephrase_question else "question"
                 ),
             }
-            | {
-                self.output_key: get_answer,
-                "source_documents": context.getter("input_documents"),
-                "generated_question": context.getter("new_question"),
-            }
+            | get_answer
+            | output_map
         )
 
     def _reduce_tokens_below_limit(self, docs: List[Document]) -> List[Document]:
diff --git a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/llm.py b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/llm.py
index 3834c79c41d..3fc036d7140 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/llm.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/langchain/chains/llm.py
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class LLMChain(RunnableChain):
         return (
             self.prompt
             | self.llm.bind(**self.llm_kwargs)
-            | {self.output_key: self.output_parser}
+            | {self.output_key: self.prompt.output_parser or self.output_parser}
         )
 
     @property
diff --git a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_conversation_retrieval.py b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_conversation_retrieval.py
index d7a56603bbb..a84b871c120 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_conversation_retrieval.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_conversation_retrieval.py
@@ -27,8 +27,10 @@ async def atest_simple() -> None:
         verbose=True,
     )
     got = await qa_chain.acall("What is the answer?")
+    memory.clear()
     assert got["chat_history"][1].content == fixed_resp
     assert got["answer"] == fixed_resp
+    assert got == await qa_chain.ainvoke("What is the answer?")
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -37,7 +39,7 @@ async def atest_fixed_message_response_when_docs_found() -> None:
     answer = "I know the answer!"
     llm = FakeListLLM(responses=[answer])
     retriever = SequentialRetriever(
-        sequential_responses=[[Document(page_content=answer)]]
+        sequential_responses=[[Document(page_content=answer)]], cycle=True
     )
     memory = ConversationBufferMemory(
         k=1, output_key="answer", memory_key="chat_history", return_messages=True
@@ -52,8 +54,10 @@ async def atest_fixed_message_response_when_docs_found() -> None:
         verbose=True,
     )
     got = await qa_chain.acall("What is the answer?")
+    memory.clear()
     assert got["chat_history"][1].content == answer
     assert got["answer"] == answer
+    assert got == await qa_chain.ainvoke("What is the answer?")
 
 
 def test_fixed_message_response_when_no_docs_found() -> None:
@@ -74,8 +78,10 @@ def test_fixed_message_response_when_no_docs_found() -> None:
         verbose=True,
     )
     got = qa_chain("What is the answer?")
+    memory.clear()
     assert got["chat_history"][1].content == fixed_resp
     assert got["answer"] == fixed_resp
+    assert got == qa_chain.invoke("What is the answer?")
 
 
 def test_fixed_message_response_when_docs_found() -> None:
@@ -83,7 +89,7 @@ def test_fixed_message_response_when_docs_found() -> None:
     answer = "I know the answer!"
     llm = FakeListLLM(responses=[answer])
     retriever = SequentialRetriever(
-        sequential_responses=[[Document(page_content=answer)]]
+        sequential_responses=[[Document(page_content=answer)]], cycle=True
     )
     memory = ConversationBufferMemory(
         k=1, output_key="answer", memory_key="chat_history", return_messages=True
@@ -98,5 +104,7 @@ def test_fixed_message_response_when_docs_found() -> None:
         verbose=True,
     )
     got = qa_chain("What is the answer?")
+    memory.clear()
     assert got["chat_history"][1].content == answer
     assert got["answer"] == answer
+    assert got == qa_chain.invoke("What is the answer?")
diff --git a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_llm.py b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_llm.py
index 0179cd135f2..63b8ce3eac0 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_llm.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/chains/test_llm.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ def test_valid_call(fake_llm_chain: LLMChain) -> None:
     """Test valid call of LLM chain."""
     output = fake_llm_chain({"bar": "baz"})
     assert output == {"bar": "baz", "text1": "foo"}
+    assert fake_llm_chain.invoke({"bar": "baz"}) == output
 
     # Test with stop words.
     output = fake_llm_chain({"bar": "baz", "stop": ["foo"]})
@@ -58,6 +59,18 @@ def test_valid_call(fake_llm_chain: LLMChain) -> None:
     assert output == {"bar": "baz", "stop": ["foo"], "text1": "bar"}
 
 
+async def test_valid_acall(fake_llm_chain: LLMChain) -> None:
+    """Test valid call of LLM chain."""
+    output = await fake_llm_chain.acall({"bar": "baz"})
+    assert output == {"bar": "baz", "text1": "foo"}
+    assert await fake_llm_chain.ainvoke({"bar": "baz"}) == output
+
+    # Test with stop words.
+    output = await fake_llm_chain.acall({"bar": "baz", "stop": ["foo"]})
+    # Response should be `bar` now.
+    assert output == {"bar": "baz", "stop": ["foo"], "text1": "bar"}
+
+
 def test_predict_method(fake_llm_chain: LLMChain) -> None:
     """Test predict method works."""
     output = fake_llm_chain.predict(bar="baz")
@@ -73,3 +86,4 @@ def test_predict_and_parse() -> None:
     chain = LLMChain(prompt=prompt, llm=llm)
     output = chain.predict_and_parse(foo="foo")
     assert output == ["foo", "bar"]
+    assert output == chain.invoke({"foo": "foo"})["text"]
diff --git a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/sequential_retriever.py b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/sequential_retriever.py
index 45f7a6934d8..3ac54d512d2 100644
--- a/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/sequential_retriever.py
+++ b/libs/langchain/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/sequential_retriever.py
@@ -8,16 +8,20 @@ class SequentialRetriever(BaseRetriever):
 
     sequential_responses: List[List[Document]]
     response_index: int = 0
+    cycle: bool = False
 
     def _get_relevant_documents(  # type: ignore[override]
         self,
         query: str,
     ) -> List[Document]:
         if self.response_index >= len(self.sequential_responses):
-            return []
-        else:
-            self.response_index += 1
-            return self.sequential_responses[self.response_index - 1]
+            if self.cycle:
+                self.response_index = 0
+            else:
+                return []
+
+        self.response_index += 1
+        return self.sequential_responses[self.response_index - 1]
 
     async def _aget_relevant_documents(  # type: ignore[override]
         self,