Inspired by a random headcanon I posted on my Tumblr account regarding Penny's full name. This is nothing but shameless family fluff and I tried to put in some character studies as well.^^

Called by Name, Answered with Love

Inspector Gadget had always considered himself a simple man, both before and after becoming the world's first bionic detective inspector. He had a simple name that matched, even if now he was known almost exclusively by his call sign of "Gadget". Very few people knew that his birth name was John, and no one had called him by that name in over a decade. But that was alright - "Gadget" suited him just fine.

So it wasn't surprising that he had never really thought about nicknames before his young niece came into his life. After all, "John" didn't require any shortening, but when you were a tiny girl with a full name of "Penelope Sophia Brown" it was a different matter altogether.

Gadget never calls Penny by her full given name - he knows she's been teased about her name in school even if his niece never says anything, too dignified and mature for tattle-telling. He had always privately thought that "Penelope" was a charming name and suited his niece perfectly, but he knew she preferred "Penny" and so that's what Gadget calls her.

He had looked up the meaning of the name one day while he and Penny were at the public library. While Penny was buried in a stack of books for her book report Gadget had browsed the shelves until he came across a dictionary of names and their origins.

He had read with interest the description of Penelope from Greek mythology and the adventures of her husband Odysseus. Clever, beautiful, loyal, devoted, steadfast...all traits that he saw more and more each day in his niece as she grew.

It's the same with endearments. Gadget has never had any use for them and most seemed too silly or ill-fitted for his niece's serious and dignified nature. And during that first uncertain, frightening, wonderful year together, Gadget had been too cautious of inadvertently hurting Penny's feelings by calling her a pet name that she may not have welcomed.

The first time he called Penny "sweetheart" it had been completely accidental. She had been five and had taken a tumble down the bottom step of the front porch, scraping her knee in the process. She wasn't badly hurt but it had stung quite a bit and was bleeding freely.

Her uncle had been at her side in an instant, kneeling in front of her and soothing her stifled gasps as she tried hard not to wail. She had been five, after all, and had told herself she was far too big to cry over such a little thing.

But she had still only been five, and still raw from the loss of her parents.

Gadget had, somewhat awkwardly, done his best to soothe her, but it wasn't until he had started to stroke her hair and rock her slightly that Penny had calmed enough so that he could clean and bandage the cut.

"There, all better, sweetheart!" he had said without thinking before pressing a soft kiss against her bandaged knee. Realizing too late what he had done, Gadget looked up at Penny only to find his niece looking at him with wide eyes, a smile finally appearing on her face.

Since then he had only called Penny "sweetheart" to comfort her when she was hurt or ill, and only when they were alone (Brain included, of course).

The only other endearment Gadget is comfortable with is "my dearest", and he's only used it a scant few times, but each moment is a precious memory to him.

The first time was the first night Penny stayed with him after losing her parents in a car crash. She had cried all night in her uncle's arms while he whispered gentle words of comfort to her, the words slipping out so naturally and easily that he hadn't even given it a moment's thought that night.

Because as far as Gadget was concerned, from that night onward Penny was his to protect and care for, the dearest thing in the world to him, and so the name stuck.

It's a special, unspoken thing between them - Penny never says anything about either endearment but the look in her eyes whenever Gadget uses them is enough - and in those moments Gadget almost, almost feels like a man again.

Penny knows that it's a moment of vulnerability for Gadget as well when he calls her "dearest" and never asks about it. But whenever she hears it Penny can't help but think her uncle is more human than any other person she's ever met.

The second time he called her "my dearest", she had been ten. Her appendix had ruptured and when Penny had woken up in the hospital after an emergency surgery she didn't remember, her first sight was of her uncle slumped over her bed, his hand holding her own.

When Gadget saw that his niece was awake (if still very groggy and confused) there had been tears in his eyes as he had pressed relieved kisses against the back of her hand, his broad shoulders shaking with emotion as he whispered, "my dearest," over and over again.

Penny hadn't learned until weeks later that she had nearly died before they got her to the OR.

She doesn't have a nickname for her uncle, but sometimes, when she hears someone mutter "freak" or "monster" under their breath she wishes she could think of some way to convey to Gadget how much he means to her, that she's not afraid of him, and that he's not a freak or any of the horrible insults that she knows he hears but chooses to ignore.

After a particularly trying day of stopping a bank robbery, a huge press conference, and more ugly insults thrown at Gadget's back, Penny is glad to be back in the safety and quiet of their home.

Towards the end of dinner Penny watches her uncle as he laughs and tells her stories about his early days in the Metro PD, wondering why so many only see a "freak" when she sees a good, kind, gentle (if imperfect) man in front of her.

Decision made, Penny sets down her fork and pushes back her chair as she stands.

"Are you alright, Penny? Do you want more salad? You're growing so quickly these past few months, and it's important to…"

He stops when Penny steps close to him and takes hold of his angular, lean face in her hands. His skin - synthetic and slightly cooler than that of a normal man's - is rough with a slight stubble and the reminder of such an ordinary, natural feature makes Penny's heart ache for all that her uncle must miss.

"You're my Uncle Gadget," she says softly, stroking her thumbs over the sharp sweep of his cheekbones. She feels the muscles of his strong, angular jawline jump but he makes no move to pull away. To her surprise he actually leans forward the slightest bit into the touch.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else calls you, Uncle."

She steps closer and kisses the bridge of his long, determined nose, feeling the slight bump in the middle where it had been broken long ago and had never healed quite right. For some reason it hadn't been fixed during Gadget's surgeries but Penny doesn't mind. She loves that unique, all-too-human trait that gives his face so much character.

"No matter what anyone else says," she continues, pressing another fond kiss along Gadget's nose before kissing his brow. "You're my Uncle Gadget," she repeats, resting her forehead against his own, comforted by the familiar smell of his cologne and soap. Oddly enough he never smelled like metal or anything mechanical.

Gadget stares at his niece for a moment, looking stunned, before his eyes soften and he nods. He reaches up to stroke Penny's hair, his throat working as if he wants to speak but can't find words.

But that's alright, Penny thinks. Words aren't always needed, and they have enough between them.