Hey all! So as an apology for taking so long with the next chapter of 'Through Thick and Thin', here is an extended excerpt from a multi-chapter IG fic I'm working on.

Brief summary - Penny is 16, Gadget's memories and mental processes have finally gotten back online after being deliberately suppressed for years due to evil powers-that-be. He finally finds out the truth about Penny and Brain solving his cases over the years and doesn't handle it well. At all.

He doesn't give a damn about his reputation - only the fact that Penny placed herself in danger so many times for him - and reacts how any parent would and Freaks. Out. He tries to push Penny away out of guilt and fear that he's just going to hurt her and place her in danger now that M.A.D. knows he's regained his memories. Stuff happens, they have a really bad argument because they care so much about each other and a lot has happened to change their dynamic in too short a time.

Penny gets kidnapped by the bad guys (like, really, really Bad Guys) and is missing for a few months. She then rescues herself and Brain (natch) and finally gets reunited with her uncle after almost three months apart. Gadget, during Penny's absence, nearly reaches his breaking point mentally and emotionally and is struggling to reconcile all the years he lost while being used as an idiotic puppet and his own guilt.

Penny and Brain remind him that all those things don't matter so long as they're together.

The ringing of the alarm clock startled Gadget awake. It was early evening and the sun was setting. For a moment he forgot where he was until he remembered that Quimby had secured hotel rooms for him and the other Metro PD officers that had come with Gadget.

"Go go Gadget hand," he groaned. Said hand appeared and quickly reached over across the bed, shutting the alarm off.

He blinked open bleary eyes, relieved that Penny was still asleep. At some point he had laid down in his sleep and was resting close to Penny who was still asleep, he noted with relief.

Seeing his niece's peaceful face suddenly made every emotion that he had been fighting back for weeks come roaring back with a vengeance.

"Oh, Penny," he whispered, reaching out with a shaking hand to caress the rich gold strands that he thought he would never touch again.

When Penny unconsciously leaned into his touch the trusting gesture was the final breaking point for Gadget after weeks, months of nightmares and unbearable guilt.

A sob broke free before he could muffle it and he dropped his face into his hand, struggling to retain his composure.

"Uncle?" Penny stirred and lifted her head, blinking in the faint light. "Uncle Gadget? What's wrong?"

Gadget shook his head. He would not put any more responsibility on his niece's shoulders. He would not.

"I-I'm fine," he managed. Not trusting himself to speak further, Gadget rolled away from Penny so that he was staring at the wall. He swallowed hard, fighting to regain some form of control.

Now it was Penny's turn to offer comfort and she did so, scooting closer and wrapping her arms around Gadget's tense torso.

"No, you're not," she said gently.

Gadget stiffened and briefly considered getting up - almost did, in fact - but his niece's next words froze him in place.

"You promised...no more hiding from each other, remember?"

Gadget felt tears burn at the back of his eyes and he clenched them shut.

"I-I thought you were dead."

"What?"

"The location we went to...there was blood everywhere...it tested as your blood…"

"Oh, Uncle…"

"I thought I had lost you...all I could think about was the last time I saw you we had argued…"

"Uncle Gadget…"

Penny sounded close to tears herself and that finally did it for Gadget. He rolled over and pulled Penny into his arms, clutching at her shoulders as all the grief he had bottled up suddenly came pouring out.

He pressed his face against Penny's neck, shaking with sobs as he clutched her tightly.

"It's okay, Uncle," Penny soothed. "I'm here, I'm safe, it's okay…" she said, rocking him a bit.

She pressed as close as she could to her uncle, knowing the physical contact would soothe him, twining their legs together and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…." he gasped out between harsh sobs, sounding so devastated that Penny struggled not to cry herself.

She wasn't sure what else to do so she just held onto him, just as Gadget had done for her earlier. His large hands clutched at her shoulders like a lifeline, his arms wrapped around her back in an encompassing embrace. His entire frame was shaking so hard that Penny actually feared for a moment that he might hurt himself.

"I'm safe, Uncle Gadget," Penny murmured. She brushed kisses against his damp cheeks and jaw. "I knew you'd find me, no matter what it took," she whispered in his ear.

She felt him shake his head, his harsh breathing hot and ragged against her neck. "You had more faith in me than I did," he said raggedly.

"I'll always have faith in you, Uncle Gadget. Enough for both of us."

That made fresh tears spring to his eyes and he clung to her as much as he could, holding onto her shoulders, her hair, anything to keep her as close as possible.

Penny suspected that there was more to her uncle's grief than just her being missing and delayed shock but she didn't speak. Words didn't matter right now.

She kept murmuring soft shushing noises to Gadget, who suddenly seemed desperate to reassure himself that she was safe and whole. He pressed kisses to her brow, her cheeks, her nose - anywhere he could reach - between ragged gasps and sobs.

After he had calmed somewhat he realized how tightly he was clinging to Penny and finally managed to pull back a little. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"No, of course not," she said. "Just..." Penny's expression faltered, her brave expression finally giving way to reveal her own exhaustion and fear that she had stubbornly pushed aside for days. "Keep holding me?" she asked, her voice quavering and suddenly sounding heartbreakingly young and vulnerable.

Gadget nodded, pulling her close again but this time holding her as if she were made of spun glass. His breathing was still somewhat erratic but he seemed calmer as he held her.

Penny wiped away a tear track that lingered on his cheek with gentle fingers. Gadget caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"I'll never leave you alone again," he vowed softly, kissing her fingers between the words.

Penny gave him a brilliant smile, her own eyes moist with tears. "That makes two of us, Uncle."

Gadget managed a rather shaky smile of his own. Penny leaned towards him, snuggling against him as he brushed soft kisses against her hair and forehead. He pressed his face against her throat again, feeling the strong, steady pulse thrumming against his own skin.

Alive, he told himself. She was alive and safe...this was real. They were both safe.

Penny rested a slender hand against his chest, where she could feel his own heart beating along with the slight hum of intricate circuitry. She felt Gadget cover her hand with his own, his other carding through her hair.

She let out a soft puff of laughter when the bridge of her uncle's nose tickled the sensitive skin of her neck.

It felt so wonderful to hear that laugh again, Gadget thought, his heart so full that he wondered that his electrical system didn't short-circuit from the strength of his feelings. He nuzzled against Penny's throat again, earning another beautiful laugh, but suddenly froze when he noticed the bruises.

He hadn't noticed them earlier - Penny had been wearing a borrowed female officer's coat - but now that she was wearing a spare t-shirt and shorts Gadget had given her (that were far too big on her) he could see them in stark, brutal detail.

Shocked, Gadget sat up and quickly turned on the bedside lamp before reaching for Penny.

He tilted her chin up and aside so he could better examine the bruises that wrapped around her throat like a ghastly tattoo.

"Penny, what…" he couldn't get any other words out, shock and fury momentarily robbing him of speech. The marks were clearly in the shape of fingers. There were similar marks all along her upper arms, as well as abrasions on both of her wrists.

"Uncle Gadget, it's fine, I'm okay..."

Gadget wasn't listening. A horrible, unspeakable suspicion rose in his mind and he stood quickly, pulling back the covers. Penny let out a squeak as the cold air hit her skin but Gadget's focus was riveted on her legs.

Penny's shins and knees were mottled with bruises and scrapes. Even worse there were dark, ugly lacerations across her ankles that still had flecks of dried blood on them. Gadget knew enough from his days as a police officer to recognize the pattern of bruising and they definitely matched with Penny being restrained.

Oh dear God, what if…

Penny saw the horror in her uncle's eyes and realized what he was thinking. She quickly rose to her knees, wincing a bit but determined as ever. She reached out and held his face, making sure he could look at her and see the truth in her eyes.

"Uncle Gadget, it's alright! I'm okay, really."

"Penny, what...what happened?" Gadget finally managed to get the words out.

"I did most of that to myself trying to escape," she assured him, gesturing to the marks on her wrists and ankles. "It was pretty uncomfortable, but it worked in the end."

As if sensing his dark thoughts Penny let go of his face and took his hands in her own. "I promise, Uncle Gadget, all they did was shove me around. Nothing else. Mostly they left me alone - I think they had orders not to hurt me."

Gadget stared at her for a long moment before nodding.

She smiled and added, "You should have seen their faces when they saw that I had escaped. It was priceless!"

That finally got a small, weak laugh out of Gadget. "Good girl," he said, his voice warm with pride.

"I'm okay, Uncle," she repeated.

Gadget gave her a doubtful look and she conceded, "Well, maybe a little sore, but I promise nothing worse happened. I wouldn't keep something like that from you," she added softly.

The inspector saw the truth in Penny's steady gaze and calm tone and finally felt his earlier horror fade, even if his fury didn't.

He gently took hold of Penny's shoulders and carefully helped her lie back down. Once she was settled he sat down on the bed next to her and gestured towards her nearest leg. "Can I?"

She nodded and he carefully took hold of her slender ankle, not for the first time struck by how fragile her bird-like bones felt in his own large hands. He carefully manipulated each ankle, relieved that the joints seemed to be stiff and swollen but otherwise undamaged.

Throughout his ministrations Gadget kept every one of his enhanced senses centered on Penny, alert to the slightest hint of distress or discomfort.

He then turned his attention to her shins, carefully pressing against the bones to better determine if there were any signs of sprains or breaks. Her right knee was a bit swollen and when he carefully prodded it Penny winced.

"I think you should get this looked at tomorrow," he said. "And get those," he added, shooting a look at her battered and scraped legs, "cleaned."

Penny nodded, too tired to argue.

Once Gadget had assured himself that Penny didn't seem injured beyond scrapes and bruises (and a few sore limbs) he pulled the sheets back up to her waist. He hesitated, suddenly unsure if his niece would want some space after everything.

He very much wanted to hold her again but didn't want to cause her any unnecessary pain or discomfort. Fortunately Penny seemed to decide for him, because she tugged at his arm and he carefully climbed into the bed next to her.

Penny shifted a bit, finally deciding that staying on her back was the most comfortable position for her knee. Gadget rested on his side close to her, exhausted but too many thoughts running in his head for him to even consider sleep.

"Are you okay, Uncle Gadget?" Penny asked softly, even now perceptive as always to his moods.

Gadget wasn't sure if he'd ever be 'okay' again but he nodded anyway, his tense frame easing somewhat as Penny scooted as close as she could to him.

"Do you need anything?" he asked once he trusted himself to speak.

"No, thank you," his niece murmured. "Just stay until I fall asleep again?"

Gadget nodded, running the back of his hand down her cheek before pressing the lightest of kisses, more a mere brush of lips than anything, against the bruised skin of her neck.

It was an incredibly tender gesture and Penny didn't think she had ever felt more safe or loved as she did then. She knew her uncle was a deeply caring man but the raw tenderness he was showing her proved without a shadow of a doubt how shattered he had been while she had been missing.

Gadget gently stroked her slender arm that was splotched with bruises. "Oh sweetheart," he murmured, fighting back another surge of anger. Penny didn't need his anger now, he told himself firmly. That could wait for later.

Instead he focused on kissing each bruise, comforted by the feel of soft, warm skin, hoping that he was at least temporarily erasing any lingering pain she might be feeling.

He kissed her bruised throat one more time before nuzzling down to her shoulder. "Tell me if I hurt you," he whispered against her skin, his voice thick with emotion. Penny nodded, looking confused and then smiling softly as Gadget brushed his lips down her arm.

"You're so brave, Penny," he said, finally looking up into those beautiful eyes that he loved so much. "I'm so proud of you," he added again.

He repeated his earlier ministrations, brushing his nose and lips against those ugly bruises. Penny relaxed further in his arms as she slipped towards sleep only to shift a bit uneasily.

"Go to sleep," Gadget murmured, correctly guessing that she was afraid to close her eyes, that the nightmares would come again. He knew all too well how that felt.

"That's it...close your eyes…" he coaxed gently, trailing the words in soft promises down her bruised throat.

He cupped the back of her head with one hand, stroking her scalp while his other arm stayed draped protectively around her waist.

"It's alright, sweetheart," he murmured against the hollow of her throat. "I'm here, I won't leave you…"

"Promise?" Penny murmured, giving one last rally against sleep.

"I give you my word, Penny," her uncle replied, voice still soft but with a note of steely determination in it. "Go to sleep," he repeated gently.

And she did, finally feeling safe.