Disclaimer: I own nothing. Taylor Braydon belongs to Aline Riva.

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"Microchips"

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"I love the sun!" shouted Deputy Taylor Braydon as he stood there with a large grin on his face and his slightly tan arms up in the air.

Everyone was currently at the Riverton pool, trying their best to keep cool on the hot day. It was a Saturday, meaning everyone was off and thinking the exact same thing: swimming.

Inspector Gadget sat on one of the white lawn chairs that were provided by the pool and sifted through a bag that he had dropped at his feet. Inside the bag were some basics: sun tan lotion, sunglasses, beach towels, and money. He pulled out one of the beach towels and laid it down on the hot cement beside him for the kids to use later. Gadget, Taylor, G2, and Penny had thought today would be the perfect day to bring the kids out to go swimming.

"Daddy, can you put some sunscreen on my back?" asked Emily as she walked up to Gadget. Gadget smiled up at her, still sitting.

"Sure, sweetie" he smiled. He reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen and started applying it to his daughter's back. Lula had even managed to get off work and spend the day with her daughter and her daughter's father. Lula sat in a chair next to Gadget and smiled at the sight of seeing Emily and Gadget getting along so well. She didn't have any regrets in the fling-type relationship they had shared together, because now she was blessed to have little Emily while her husband was away.

Lula pulled her blonde hair into a pony tail before applying some of her own sunscreen.

Penny was several feet away trying to get Maxie to put on some sunscreen and not having nearly as much luck with the impatient boy. "Mom, I'm fine! You put enough on!" he wailed, wanting to get into the water.

Penny shook her head, not buying it. She held onto her son's arm gently yet firmly. "Just hold still a minute! The water isn't going anywhere! I just don't want you to get sun burn and be miserable the rest of the weekend!"

Taylor was the only one who wasn't trying to work with the kids. He watched from a distance as G2, his girlfriend, take care of little Alice as she set up a little umbrella and baby seat for the child to sit in and not get too much sun. Lula was now helping Grace put some sunscreen on since Gadget was busy with Emily.

Taylor pursed his lips, feeling as though he should be helping, but at the same time, knowing it wasn't his place. He had no connection to any of them, unlike Lula. At least little Emily was hers and Gadget's. Taylor was the only one who wasn't related to one of the kids. Taylor shook his head as dark thoughts came to mind about his past and smiled out at the large swimming pool now bustling with kids.

Thanks to the fact that he was half cyborg, Taylor didn't have to worry about getting a sun burn, along with Gadget and G2. That just made being a cyborg all the better: he had always hated having to put that creamy stuff on.

"Thanks, Daddy!" giggled Emily once Gadget was done with her.

Penny grimaced as she watched Maxie run off towards the pool after being forced to wait as she put lotion on him. "I wish Maxie would have been that patient with me! Or at least of said thanks!"

Once Lula was done with Grace, the young girl walked up to Emily. "Come on, let's go!" she told the other girl. The adults watched as the two girls ran off to the pool together to go play.

"Alright, now that the kids are happy…" began Penny. She unzipped her shorts and tossed them near the bag at Gadget's feet. Her top was the next to go and she threw it to the bag as well. This left her wearing nothing but a red bikini; a red bikini that Gadget had never seen before. A red bikini that made Gadget notice every little curve to Penny's slim, attractive body.

The dark haired inspector politely looked away, very aware that they were in a very public place with lots of small children running around. He scratched the back of his neck. "Is that a new suit?" he asked.

Penny smiled down at him, a seductive look to it. "Yes, it is. Do you like it?"

Gadget nodded silently, not saying anything else. Penny could tell how nervous he was and smiled.

Lula and G2 followed suit and took off their outfits so that they were in nothing but their bathing suits. Lula wore a simple black one piece while G2 wore a navy blue and white bikini with floral patterns. Taylor had already ripped off his shirt; leaving him in his red swimming trunks.

G2 smiled over at Taylor, who looked as though he was itching to dive into the pool as he stared at it, and came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his shoulder. Taylor felt a shiver of pleasure as she pushed her body up against his own. His smile widened as his bright eyes sparkled. "Hey you…" she whispered into his ear.

Taylor turned to look at her with a smile. "Hi" he replied before turning and giving her a kiss. When they broke apart Taylor noticed her bathing suit and he stepped back to get a better look at her. He was awe at the sight of her. It was far from the first time he'd seen so much of G2, but he had never seen her in a bathing suit before. What the deputy found most fascinating was that he was able to see her flesh looking skin in the sunlight and see the faint microchips glisten. He pulled her closer, loving the feel of her. Just when G2 thought he was going to kiss her again, Taylor whipped his head around to look at Gadget. He noted that the inspector was still wearing a thin white tank top along with his dark blue swim trunks.

"Gadget! You haven't taken off your shirt yet!" he accused.

G2 blinked at him, wondering what had just happened. "So what if he hasn't taken it off?"

Gadget looked up at Taylor with wide eyes. "Yes….why does it matter?"

"We're at the pool! It's hot out! It's what you do!" argued Taylor.

"You're a very strange person, you know that, Taylor?" Lula spoke up from the other side of Gadget. She had been sitting there contently reading a magazine she had brought.

Taylor turned away a bit from G2, but wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her close. "And why's that?" he called over to her.

"You have the most strangest of fetishes. You love the idea of cybernetics so much you're willing to make yourself a complete cyborg—"

"Can you do that?" demanded Taylor excitedly, interrupting Lula.

Lula acted as though he hadn't spoken. "—You are constantly putting everything into a sexual context and not even being aware of it, and you are obsessed with seeing people's microchips even at the most inappropriate of times."

Taylor sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Is this about the cocktail party? I said I was sorry! But in my defense, just about every other uncivilized brute in that place had their eyes on that woman's chest and for completely different reasons than I did! At least MY intentions were simply out of scientific interest! It's not MY fault her dress made her microchips so noticeable!"

Gadget mumbled something incoherently and forced back a laugh. Taylor frowned down at the inspector. "Oh, shut up, Gadget! You big meanie!" Taylor crossed his arms and pouted until G2 wrapped her arms around Taylor's neck and pulled him closer.

"Come on, Taylor….Let's go for a swim" she cooed at him, taking a hand and playing with his hair.

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It had been an hour since the large group of friends had gotten together at the pool. After having had a break with the kids and getting them something to eat, the kids had gone back out to play in the pool.

Taylor and G2 had gone in and swam around for a bit. Taylor had spent most of the time showing G2 and the others all the different ways he could swim like a fish.

It was after an hour of swimming with Penny and carrying her around on his shoulders as she laughed and played with the kids did he finally find himself sitting back at the chair with their stuff. He took a towel and wiped off his face. He glanced down around them at all their stuff and smiled. Six months ago, when he was still recovering the Riverton Bomber blast, he never would have guessed that he would be able to swim and do activities like this again. It was a good feeling knowing that that was all behind him. He wiped his face again as a shadow came over top of him.

He smiled. "I know you're there Penny…you can't sneak up on me…." He spoke softly and gently to the woman he loved. His smile grew as he felt her hand fall onto his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her, closing his eyes and knowing she would lean in for a kiss.

Gadget flinched though when he was suddenly pushed around by the shoulder and when he opened his eyes, he nearly fell out of the chair in shock.

Taylor had whipped him around and was now staring down at him, his eyes focusing on his chest. He was dripping yet from being in the water. Gadget just stared with wide eyes, panting slightly from the shock. "My God, Taylor! You scared me, I thought you were Penny!"

Taylor shook his head. "Nope. I have way to much man metal to be Penny" he said offhandedly.

Gadget felt his face go hot and not because of the warm weather or the sun. "What are you doing?"

"I want to see your microchips! I never did get to see them!" explained Taylor, closing looking at the microchips that glistened on Gadget's chest. They went down in a straight row in the middle of his chest. Personally this was not something Gadget liked to look at on his body, for it only reminded him of what he had lost and what parts of humanity he no longer had.

"Alright, alright! You saw them! Now will you please stop staring!" exclaimed Gadget as he got himself up and pushed the other man away. He used his towel to help cover his chest.

"I like your microchips better than mine" commented Taylor with a frown.

Gadget raised an eyebrow at him as a young child ran past them happily screaming. He looked to make sure it wasn't his own kid before turning back to Taylor and asking, "Why?"

"…I don't know…I just do…." Mumbled the blonde.

Gadget was about to open his mouth up and speak when Lula, Penny, and G2 came walking back. The girls respectively walked up to their boyfriends and hugged them close before kissing them. Lula simply smiled and sat down.

Penny leaned up into Gadget's ear. "Having fun?" she asked him quietly. Gadget nodded. "So am I and seeing you in those swim trunks and having you carrying me around like that makes me excited for what we might be doing tonight…."

Gadget looked down at the ground bashfully. "I liked having you up on my shoulders…" he whispered back.

Taylor glanced over at Penny and Gadget and gave a soft sigh. He then turned his attention on G2. He took a hand and brushed it against her cheek. "Hey, do you think…..Ummm…..Are you sure….there isn't….any chance you might….reconsider….what I suggested last night?"

G2 gave him a stern look. "No, Taylor. I am not going to go along with that game you came up with for in bed!" she spoke quietly. "Now, let's not discuss this here!"

Taylor laughed a moment before frowning again and shaking his head. "No, no. Not that! The other thing…..You know, about….." G2 frowned as he struggled for words, knowing what he was going to say. "About…..marrying me?"

G2 smiled at him sadly and pulled him in for a deep passionate kiss. When they broke apart she looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but my answer is still no…."

Taylor nodded glumly, pulling her closer to him as though he were afraid he would lose her. He couldn't help but glance over at Gadget and Penny and see how happy they were. He knew he and G2 were just as happy together, but he knew it still wasn't the same for him. He knew it never would be because he wanted things he would never be able to have with G2.

"Hey! Uncle Taylor! Wanna play with us?" came the small voice of Grace.

Taylor glanced around G2 and saw the little beaming at him. There was no possible way to keep Taylor down and depressed for too long. "You bet, kiddo!" He gave G2 a quick kiss on the cheek before running off after Grace and jumping into the water, doing a canon ball and splashing everywhere.

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Author's Note: Typical day at the pool for these guys. I decided to add Lula into the mix for the fun of it. Review please.