A/N This is Grif's back story, I think I developed his and Church's the most.
When watching the show, I picked up on a few traits of Grif's that make him a very complex character.
For one thing, he seems to be very smart, but tends to hide it. Most likely because of his laziness. Just some of the things he says and does make it fairly obvious he's smart. So in his back story, I thought of him as to be very smart, but gets bad grades in school because he is too lazy to use even one percent of his smarts.
He also, when is dedicated to something, doesn't slack off on it. When he has an interest in anything, he pays attention and does it right. Which he proved with multiple different actions he took in the series and even some in the PSA's.
Grif actually does not hate Sarge as much as he tries to make it seem. When he does something, but Sarge gives someone else the credit, it upsets him. Simmons is really the only one who ever gives him the credit, support and actual care that he needs, as Donut is too oblivious to what Grif actually needs. And Grif, in one episode, tries to make him feel better by offering to let him insult him.
I've also noticed Grif actually cares for Simmons, even with their constant fighting and insults. In many episodes he tries to make Simmons feel better about something, or tries to help him out in an instance he can't get out of himself. And Simmons returns the favor.
With the addition of Sis, who isn't in this story, I saw that Grif was extremely protective which made me think up that he had a bad childhood. In the back story I developed, I made him a hood boy. (A hood boy being a boy raised in a rough neighborhood.) and in the story, he was with his father when he died in a car crash and soon after his mother left. As he lived in a neighborhood where most people had no parents or were mistreated by their parents, he and Sis where alone in their house. The hood boy theory explaining the beenie hat Sara wore, the hat not being explained as the story was told from Simmons' point of view and he did not know.
When he first met his girlfriend, they didn't like each other. She was with the popular and smart girls, who disliked the hood boys and girls. But they started dating at sixteen when he saved her from an abusive relationship.
Six months before he left for Bloodgulch, Cristin got back a pregnancy test result stating that she was pregnant. She broke down in Grif's arms. The whole ordeal caused Grif to hate himself for putting his eighteen year old girlfriend, who was a year younger than him, through that hell. He promised to her with these exact words:
"As soon as I get back, I'm going to get you're dad's blessing, buy you a ring and ask you to marry me. I'll get down on my knee and all. And I won't make you raise our kid alone."
Another point I made in the back story that wasn't important to the story, but was more of a fun detail, was that Grif was protective of his hat. NOONE touched it, ever. Yet, Cristin wore it more than he did. And after Sara's second birthday, she gave the hat to her, giving her something of her father's to ease her mind.
Later on after the story takes place, Cristin looks at Grif, who had Sara sleeping on his lap and says "How could you hate yourself for giving me this?" And Grif just smiles, holding her closer.