Steelcode, who owns Sage, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I own nothing.

The Light Of A Father's Love

Grillby smiled as he thought about Sage, his new son who was sleeping upstairs in his new room. It was hard to believe it had only been a week since the adoption had taken place, but there was no doubt that it had been a good match. Sage was happy to have a caring father and Grillby was happy to have a son.

The fire monster was about to do some last-minute paperwork before retiring when he heard a scream and then heard Sage yelling. Concerned, he jumped up and ran up the stairs, running into the boy's room and instantly seeing Sage sitting up, but his eyes were wide with fear and he whimpered when he looked at Grillby.

It took the bartender seconds to realize his son had had a nightmare and he took a deep, calming breath. The teenager had been having horrible nightmares for the past week and Grillby had a feeling they were about the boy's former parents. "Sage?" He called softly.

The boy whimpered again, but seemed to be calming down a little. "Sage," the fire monster cooed softly as he approached. "I'm here, son."

The boy suddenly flew at him and he caught him in a hug as Sage clung to him. "Dad?" He asked, his voice still having a touch of fear.

"Shh, I'm here, Sage," Grillby replied, one hand gently stroking the boy's hair. "I'm right here."

Sage rested his head on his father's shoulder, his breathing finally becoming steadier and he calmed down. "I…I dreamed I was…back there," he said.

"Son, was this nightmare a memory from your past?" The fire monster asked. He hated to ask that, but he couldn't think of anything else that would give his son terrible nightmares, especially after seeing the marks on the boy's back.

The teenager nodded. "I usually don't get nightmares this bad, but this time, it's like all those bad memories rolled into one," he admitted.

Grillby was quiet. "It might be possible your body is trying to expel these bad dreams," he said after a moment. "Especially where you're now in a good home and you feel safe and I'd never raise my hand to strike you."

Sage nodded again. "Maybe," he said softly. "But usually only fear would bring on these nightmares."

"Have you been afraid lately?" The bartender asked, concern in his voice and he thought perhaps something had happened to make his son feel afraid.

"Yeah, I have been," the boy replied.

A moment of silence passed before Grillby spoke again. "Was it something I did that made you feel afraid?" He asked, though hoping he hadn't.

"NO!"

The shout from the boy made him jump before Sage looked up at him. "No," the teenager replied more softly. "It's not something you did, Dad. I promise it's not."

"That's good to know," the fire elemental said, relief filling him.

Sage sighed. "Dad?" He asked.

"Yes, son?"

Quiet filled the room. "What if…my birth parents come around here?"

Grillby's arms tightened gently around the boy. "If they do, they will face me," the fire monster said, his voice taking a protective tone. "And it would be unwise on their part to invoke my anger."

Again, it was quiet. "Sage, are you afraid they'll find you here?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "For a long time since they've been in jail, I've had horrible nightmares about them breaking out and coming to find me."

"Has it happened before?"

"The breaking out part, yeah. Twice before. But the finding me afterwards part, no. My social worker had a friend in the police force who would alert her immediately if they had broken out and she'd get me to a safe house until they had been caught again."

"How long before they were caught again?" Grillby asked.

"The first time was the very next day and the second time was about a week later," Sage replied. "They never found me and apparently never got close enough to find me, from what the police said."

"That's a relief," the fire elemental said.

"Yeah, but still, to think that they could break out of jail and try…," the boy trailed off. "I've been looking over my shoulder a lot ever since I got away from them."

To his surprise, his new father picked him up and held him as if he was a small child. "They'll never get you, Sage," Grillby said in a firm, reassuring voice. "Even if they dared to try, they'd have not just me, but the others to face as well."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"You don't think Sans, Asgore, Undyne, or the others wouldn't stand up to defend you in an instant?" The bartender asked, playfully poking his son's stomach, smiling when he saw the boy smile. "If any of our own is in danger, we defend them, no matter what."

The boy felt comforted by that and hugged his father. "And if those creeps ever did come snooping around here, the security system I have is one of the most sensitive, so even if it's tampered with, it'll sound the alarm that an intruder is nearby," Grillby continued. "And you can always run to me if you feel someone is outside."

That made Sage feel a lot better before Grillby had an idea. "Sage, would you feel better if there was a small light in your room?" He asked.

"Like a night light?" The boy asked.

"Similar," the fire elemental said, setting him down and heading out of the room for a moment, returning with a stainless steel bowl and setting it by the window. As Sage watched, Grillby made a flame appear in the bowl and it seemed to dance around as if it was alive.

"What's that?" The teenager asked.

"A trick I learned years ago," his father replied, motioning him closer and showing him before pulling out a chair and carefully placing the bowl on the seat of the chair. "This flame will burn until morning, where it will snuff out. But it will not only give you some light, but will also alert me if an intruder does try to enter your room at night. If that happens, this flame will flare up and crackle to get your attention and my attention."

"So, it's like a magical shield?"

Grillby chuckled. "That's one way to put it," he said as the flame continued to dance around. Sage nodded.

"I think this will help," he said.

Nodding, the fire elemental saw his son yawn and scooped him up. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's get you back to dreamland, son."

No response came and he saw the boy had fallen asleep and he chuckled. "Sweet dreams, Sage," he said softly, tucking the teenager in and also turning in for the night.

A couple days had passed and Grillby was pleased to see Sage looked well rested. "No nightmares last night?" He asked him.

"None for the past two nights, Dad," the boy said, hugging him. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, son," Grillby said, returning the hug just as soundly.

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GoldGuardian2418