Hey guys, I'm back with another fic! I've had some stuff going on lately that I won't bore you with that kept me away from writing. I hope you enjoy this little one-shot while I work on some longer stories. I've been wanting to write a fic on how Penny got her watch and computer-book, so here it is. Plus I couldn't resist throwing in some H/C as well. ;)

Gifts

"Chief Quimby!" Gadget's eyes widened in surprise when he saw who was standing on his doorstep. "What are you doing here? It's after five - I thought you had the weekend off."

Quimby shrugged. "Just thought I'd drop by on my way home, see how you and Penny were doing," he said easily even though inwardly he felt a bit guilty. He wasn't spying on Gadget, he told himself. Professor Von Slickstein lived just a few blocks down the street and had assured Quimby that he'd keep an eye on Gadget and Penny, but still…Quimby worried. A lot. Penny was so young - only five - and Gadget was, well…Gadget.

"Ah, that's very kind of you! Come on in, Chief, but remember - no smoking!" he added firmly as he moved aside to let him enter. Quimby huffed softly but stepped inside, raising a brow as he took stock of Gadget's appearance. He was without his tie and coat but still had his ever-present hat attached firmly to his head. His shirt sleeves were rolled up and there were bright spots of what looked like paint on his clothes, along with some other stains that could have been tomato sauce.

Before he could ask a bright, cheerful voice came from the living room. "Chief Quimby!" He turned and smiled as Penny hurried over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Hi Chief!" she beamed up at him. From his spot on the couch Brain whuffed a greeting before returning to his earlier nap.

"Hello there, Penny," he said, gently ruffling the fine blonde strands of her hair. "What have you been up to today?"

"We've been painting, see!" Penny grabbed his hand (still covered in splotches of pain, he noticed but didn't mind) and led him over to the coffee table, which was covered in a tablecloth and laid out with crayons and paints. She grabbed the picture she had been working on and eagerly held it up for Quimby to see. He carefully took it and smiled when he saw what Penny had been working on. The picture showed a tall man wearing a grey coat and hat, along with a smaller figure with yellow hair and a brown dog with a red nose.

"It's very good, Penny," he said, handing the picture back to her. She smiled again but before she could say anything else a crash came from the kitchen where Gadget was.

"I'd better go check on him," he said with a sigh. Penny nodded and happily returned to her paints while Quimby (with no small amount of trepidation) cautiously poked his head into the kitchen.

"What on earth…" he gaped.

The normally neat and tidy kitchen looked like a whirlwind had torn through it. Or a mad scientist had been experimenting in it. Dishes were piled high on the counter and in the sink, a pan on the stove was still smoking and another pot held something that Quimby thought might be soup but he wasn't about to taste it to find out. He had no desire to spend his weekend in the hospital.

"Gadget, what on earth are you doing?" No sooner had Quimby spoken then a Gadget hand zoomed in front of his nose, turning on the faucet to fill the sink with hot water. "Making dinner, of course!" As Gadget spoke another hand emerged from his hat and gestured to the coffee pot. "Coffee, Chief? I know it's late but it's cold outside."

"Er, no thank you," Quimby replied, his eyes narrowing in concern as he watched Gadget zip around the kitchen. There was something else going on here - Gadget was moving with almost manic energy. Quimby ducked quickly to avoid another Gadget hand and cautiously eased his way around the stove to a safe corner of the kitchen. In addition to the array of dishes, pots, and pans laid out Quimby saw several cookbooks flipped open. He frowned as he remembered that Gadget had left work a few months ago with several library books in hand, stating that he needed to return them before picking Penny up from school. Quimby had caught some of the titles as Gadget left - they had all been books on parenting and child development.

When a pot (thankfully empty) crashed to the floor after it was knocked aside by a wayward Gadget hand Quimby decided to intervene. "Gadget, slow down. It's Friday night - maybe you could just order out," he added.

Gadget gave Quimby an affronted look. "Absolutely not! Take-out is the last thing a little girl needs!"

"Yes, but once in a while is okay as a treat," Quimby reasoned, sidestepping again as another pot began to bubble dangerously. He was beginning to suspect that Gadget was pushing himself too hard; only a few months ago he had confessed to Quimby that Penny hadn't been sleeping well due to nightmares. But then he really shouldn't have been surprised, Quimby thought. In a little over two years Gadget had thrown himself into his new role as uncle with a single-minded determination that was both touching and a bit alarming. While he still had serious reservations about Gadget's ability to be a parent to such a young girl, Penny seemed happy and healthy and that was really all that mattered. But that didn't mean Gadget should push himself to the point that his own health suffered. Quimby sighed as he realized he was going to have to push through the man's incredible stubbornness to make him see reason, so he tried a different tactic.

"Penny seems to be doing well. She sleeping okay?" he asked mildly.

Gadget nodded, his gaze distant as he poked at the simmering pot on the stove with a spoon. "Hmm? Oh, yes…she hasn't had a nightmare in over a month now. And she's enjoying her new school." He took a sip of the pot's contents and immediately grimaced before quickly turning off the stove.

Hiding a smile, Quimby gestured towards the phone in the den. "How about you go clean up and I'll order some food. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's healthy," he added when Gadget looked hesitant. But apparently Gadget's own hunger won out over his pride because his stomach growled loudly.

Gadget blushed and muttered a "thank you" before heading upstairs. While he was cleaning up Quimby made sure to turn off the burners in the kitchen before joining Penny and Brain. He quickly placed an order for Thai food before helping Penny clean up the table.

"Thank you, Chief Quimby," she said politely once they were done. No sooner had she spoken then the doorbell rang with their food. Quimby spread out the food, wondering in the back of his mind when he had decided to spend his Friday evening checking on the world's only bionic detective, his niece and their dog. Gadget came downstairs a few minutes later, freshly showered and changed, but to Quimby's surprise only picked at his food even though Quimby knew he had to be hungry. And if the shadows under Gadget's eyes were anything to go by, Quimby knew it wasn't Penny who was now having trouble sleeping.

His suspicions were proved right when half-way through their meal Gadget slumped sideways on the couch, snoring softly. Quimby quickly took the nearly-full box of noodles away from Gadget's limp hands before it could fall. Penny and Brain helped Quimby pack the leftovers up and put them away, moving quietly so they wouldn't wake Gadget.

"You're a fine helper, Penny," Quimby said once they had cleaned up the kitchen as much as they could without causing too much noise. They were now seated at the small kitchen table, Quimby sipping on a cup of coffee and Penny with a glass of milk, Brain as ever by her side.

Penny looked over her shoulder at her uncle's sleeping figure before turning those wide, serious eyes back to Quimby. "He has bad dreams sometimes," she said gravely.

Quimby paused with his cup halfway to his mouth. "Bad dreams?" he repeated, keeping his expression calm.

The girl nodded. "Really bad ones, Chief. Last night I heard him shouting but when I asked him he said he didn't remember."

'Damn. Von Slickstein said the nightmares should have stopped by now.' Hiding his growing concern, Quimby took another sip of coffee before setting his mug down and looking at Penny. "Best not to ask him, Penny," he said gently. Penny shook her head, her lip trembling. "But I want to help him! Uncle Gadget always makes me feel better when I have bad dreams."

"Sometimes adults don't like to share things with children, Penny. It's not because your uncle doesn't want your help," he added when Penny's expression fell. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Penny was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Chief Quimby? Why don't the people at the station like Uncle Gadget?"

Startled, Quimby straightened. "Who told you that?"

"No one, but sometimes when Uncle Gadget takes me and Brain to the station they give me funny looks. And ask me if I'm okay." Penny wrinkled her nose as she frowned. "Which is silly 'cause Uncle Gadget takes good care of me! Right Brain?"

Brain whuffed softly, giving Quimby a knowing look.

Quimby's frown deepened. It looked like the gossip mill at the station was kicking up again. He was going to have words with his officers on Monday if it was so bad that Penny was picking up on it. But that'd have to wait. Right now he had an exhausted inspector and upset child on his hands.

"Tell you what, Penny. I'll talk to them on Monday. Everyone knows that your Uncle cares a lot about you," he soothed. "How does that sound?"

Penny seemed satisfied with that, because she nodded and then yawned. "Thanks, Chief," she mumbled. "I just wish I could help Uncle Gadget more."

Quimby smiled and reached over to ruffle her hair again. "Believe me, Penny, you help Gadget more than you know."

Three weeks later…

When Penny hopped off the bus in front of her house after school she checked the mailbox but it was empty, but did find a package sitting on their front doorstep. She unlocked the front door (her uncle had been called out on a last-minute case, hence her needing to take the bus home, and had left a message with the school that he'd be home later that evening) and carried the package inside, Brain following closely as he eyed the package suspiciously.

Once she had set her bag down and put away her coat she placed the package on the coffee table, puzzled. It was wrapped in simple brown paper and addressed to her, but as far as she knew they weren't expecting a package, and her birthday was still several months off. Penny carefully turned the package over but there was no return address. She hesitated, torn between curiosity and obedience. Uncle Gadget had warned her to never, ever take anything from strangers.

"Look, Brain, there's a note." Penny pulled the plain brown envelope off and opened it to find an equally simple note written in a hand she didn't recognize.

'Dear Penny,

I thought you would find these items useful - consider them early birthday presents. The book opens into a computer and the watch is programmed to link with Brain's collar. Use them wisely, and best of luck to you and your uncle.

Signed,

A friend.'

Penny frowned. She still wasn't sure it was safe. "What do you think, boy?" She held the package out to Brain, who sniffed it thoroughly before looking back up at Penny and nodding. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be dangerous.

"Okay, here goes." Penny took a deep breath and slowly peeled the brown paper away to reveal two items tucked into the box, a large rectangular shape and a smaller box. Penny opened the small box first to reveal a watch. It was too big for her wrist but Penny eagerly put it on anyway. She quickly figured out the controls and both she and Brain jumped in surprise when antennae emerged from Brain's collar.

"Wow, Brain! This is so cool!" Her earlier trepidation forgotten, Penny pulled out the larger box and opened it to reveal what looked like a book, but when she opened it Penny was amazed to see it was indeed a computer, and one far more advanced than anything she had seen before.

"Brain, these are amazing! Maybe I can help Uncle Gadget whenever he's away!"

Brain barked excitedly as Penny explored the features on the computer. After a few minutes Penny carefully closed it and set it aside before turning back to Brain. "Do you think Chief Quimby sent us these, Brain?"

Brain sniffed the box again and shook his head, miming a pipe with his paws. Penny nodded. "Doesn't smell like him, huh?"

Brain shook his head again and she frowned in thought. Whoever had sent this to her knew that Penny wanted to help her uncle, but it hadn't been Quimby and they hadn't signed their name. Which meant whoever it was didn't want anyone to know Penny had these items. She wasn't sure why, but something inside her told Penny to keep this a secret, at least for now. Penny looked at Brain again and made a decision.

"Listen, Brain, I don't know why but we've gotta keep this a secret, okay? Uncle Gadget needs help but I'm too little, so we have to make sure we don't get caught. We'll be like secret agents!" she added excitedly.

Brain barked eagerly and Penny hugged her loyal dog as she picked up the computer again.