A/N: Apologies for the mistake with Grim's species. I got some bad information, but it should be fixed now. :) Like I said, it's been YEARS since I've written a fic in this universe (though I've been there since the beginning) so if I make any mistakes, please let me know.

Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed, and to my one reviewer for pointing out my mistake. :)

TIMELINE: During the movie. Immediately following Ratchet saving Alero City. Ratchet is 17.

...

WORRY

He was going to kill Ratchet.

Grim hadn't decided how he'd do it from all the way on Veldin, but he was determined. He didn't know where to begin. Taking out one of their ships (without permission) or nearly getting himself killed? Both were good enough reasons to chew out a seventeen year old. What was worse was that he now had to be the "bad guy". Sure, he'd been OK with Ratchet wanting to join the Galactic Rangers to a point, but this? THIS was taking it too far. He didn't have the armor of the Galactic Rangers, and that ship had been a hunk of junk!

He didn't even know how he'd managed to pull off the save. Nor how he'd managed to get a robot, steal the ship, and most of all, leave the planet before he woke up. But that news story that had reached all the way to Veldin sure did give him away.

And Ratchet must have known it too. Since he refused to answer the holo phone he'd given him for his sixteenth birthday the first eight times he'd called. With each lack of answer, Grim could feel his anger bubbling. But he could also feel his worry bubbling in the same way. Was Ratchet OK? Had he gotten hurt in a way they hadn't shown on TV? His ears lowered slowly, his fear gaining headway on his anger.

When Ratchet finally got back to him, it was in the form of a hologram. Grim knew that Ratchet knew he was in for it for sure now. Given he'd never have wanted to face him face-to-face from another planet otherwise. "Alright, Grim, I know what you're gonna say." Ratchet started from atop the hologram transponder at the corner of the garage. "It's a... Heh, really funny story..."

"What the heck were you thinking, boy!? I don't even know where to begin! Stealing a ship, heading off planet with some robot I've never seen! And what, you couldn't even leave me a note? Some idea of where you're going?" Grim started in on him without even missing a beat, watching as his adopted son cringed slightly. "You could have been killed! Coulda been killed and I'd have to find out my son was dead from a news report!"

Ratchet looked especially guilty when Grim played the "son" card. Sure, Grim called him his son to other people, it was what he was after all. But he rarely used it in casual conversation unless he was giving him a scolding, like now. "Would it help if I said the Galactic Rangers let me in?" Ratchet asked innocently.

Grim snorted, amused that Ratchet would even bring that up. "You're kidding me, right? No it doesn't help. Because now I have to be the bad guy and tell you to get your furry little butt back home." Grim replied bluntly. "Not only did you go behind my back. But you still have work to do at the garage. You were fine to go to try-outs, even fine to join. But you blew it by going behind my back."

Ratchet looked dejected at the answer, but Grim wasn't giving in. Not this time. Ratchet had truly scared him beyond words by pulling that stunt. Grim had turned to his work, trying to make it final when Ratchet spoke up. "Grim, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much I'd scare you." Grim shot the hologram a look. "OK, I did. But I just... Clank showed up and I finally felt like I had my chance to prove myself to them!"

"Who's Clank?" Grim asked with a grunt.

"The robot from TV. You said you saw the news broadcast."

Grim was silent for a long moment, thinking over his next response. "How did you even end up with that little guy? And what does he even begin to have to do with this?" Grim questioned point-blank. "What exactly has he dragged you into?" He questioned.

He lingered onto Ratchet's every word about what had happened. Between finding Clank at a crash site, finding out about the raid on the Galactic Rangers, to saving Alero City. He crossed his arms, thinking over what he said, though he still wasn't too happy. "Well I can't lie and say that you didn't do the right thing. But if you had just given me the heads up, I could have lent you a REAL ship. That one could have gotten you killed." He replied.

"None of your ships have the mag booster. And without that, The Hall of Heroes would be a pile of rubble." Ratchet replied, though Grim only rolled his eyes absently at that. "Grim, you can't make me go back there. Not yet. I promise I'll come back and help when I can, but the Rangers need me here..."

Grim looked at Ratchet silently. "Yeah, and what about me? I need you alive, I'm not about to lose you." Grim replied, a hint of sadness to his voice. "If you're going to be that foolhardy before you're even with the rangers, how can I count on you not to be worse now that you are with them? I've heard rumors about that Qwark not being the sharpest tool in the shed."

Ratchet could really hear the paternal worry in his adoptive father's voice now. And he couldn't blame him, he guessed. Grim had raised him his whole life, and Ratchet hadn't even turned eighteen yet. He was still technically Grim's responsibility legally. "I guess you just gotta trust me." Ratchet told him firmly. "I promise, once this mission is done, I'll come back. Even if it's just to visit."

Grim wanted to argue further, he wanted to keep yelling. But he also knew that Ratchet had already made up his mind. Again, he was regretting the fact he'd grown up with him, a stubborn old alien in his own right. "There's no way I'm talking you out of this, is there?" Grim asked, to which Ratchet shook his head. "Fine. But you had better, and I do mean, better come back once this business with Drek is done. I want to see with my own two eyes that you're in one piece. And you tell them if that's not the case, I'll be coming down there to give 'em a piece of my mind."

Ratchet smiled, knowing that Grim was far from joking. Sure, Ratchet may have been on the cusp of adulthood now, but he'd always be Grim's little "fuzzball". "Yeah, I don't think they want to see you that angry. Though I don't think I'd want to see a fight between you and Brax either." Ratchet laughed a bit. "I gotta go now speaking of Brax. I think he needs to see Clank and I for something."

"You call me the second you get a chance." Grim grunted. "I expect you to check in often."

"Yes, Grim." Ratchet was starting to sound embarrassed, giving Grim the idea that his teammates were nearby.

"Alright then, fuzzball. Go on." Grim paused a moment, and before Ratchet could turn off the connection, he spoke up. "Ratchet?" The Lombax looked up again. "I'm proud of ye, kid."

Ratchet smiled a little more at that. "I'll call you as soon as I can."

As the hologram fizzled, Grim couldn't help but let a smile escape him. Sure, the boy had gone behind his back, but his heart was in the right place. And how could he fault him for that?

...

"That friend of yours seems awfully protective."

Ratchet looked at Brax quietly, a small smirk on his face. The big guy had no idea, really. He had expected the worry from Grim, but not on the level he had. And now, he had a feeling that Brax, at the very least, would have a good idea of what they'd be in for if something happened to him. "That's 'cause he's not my friend... He's uh..." Ratchet paused, he didn't often refer to Grim this way in public, but still... "He's my dad."

Brax stared at him like he'd sprouted a second head. Tilting his head slightly, he made a comment. "Adopted?" He finally put together.

"Yeah." Ratchet nodded.

Brax nodded his head slightly, putting his hands on his hips. "Wish I was lucky to have a dad that cared like that. Mine threw me into a military academy at age eight. I haven't had much contact with him since." Brax was silent a moment. "You're a lucky guy, Cadet." He paused a moment. "Now come on, let's go find that robot friend of yours. We gotta get your training started, quick."

As Brax lead the way down the hall of heroes, Ratchet's smile widened. He had to agree, that despite Grim's overprotective nature, he definitely was lucky.

...

A/N: I know, in the game Grim did seem to know what was happening. But in the movie, it felt like Ratchet just took off without telling him. So I couldn't resist doing his reaction after he saw the news broadcast. XD