The cup of tea in her hands has long since grown cold, but she couldn't make herself get up to get a fresh one or ring for one of the people that were employed to do it for her. Not that she'd likely be in charge much longer, not when the Doctor had done exactly as he'd said and toppled her administration with six words. They hadn't voted her out yet, but there was blood on her hands. Not as much blood as there had been on Blair's when he'd been forced out, but blood none the less.
The touch of a hand on her shoulder shocked her, but she didn't look up from her desk. She knew who it was. "Thank you for coming to see me."
"You can't let them get to you. You did the right thing." The hand on her shoulder squeezed, but she still didn't look up. "Even if they vote you out, you'll be back. Earth needs Harriet Jones."
"Earth needs the Doctor, and I'm afraid we've lost him." She'd tracked down the old UNIT commander, a retired brigadier general. The Time Lords, the Doctor's people, regenerated into new bodies, new personalities, upon their deaths. The man she'd met was not the same old doctor. He was a new man entirely.
"The Doctor would understand what we did." The hand left her shoulder and stroked her hair, gently, not like a lover would but like you would a close friend at a funeral. "If he'd been here, he would have understood. I know him. He was willing to commit genocide to keep humanity safe."
Harriet let her head rest against his arm and stared at the jet black uniforms the officers of Torchwood wore. "The Doctor was there, and he didn't understand. Our Doctor," Their dear Doctor, who'd seen too much death and wore his battle shock with pride, "Our Doctor is dead. There's a stranger in his place, one who didn't take too kindly to what we did. I'll pay for our safety with my career."
"It had to be done." His fingers brushed across her face and she realized she'd been crying. "If he's regenerated... He's a new man. He can't be trusted."
"I hadn't noticed." Harriet gestured towards her muted TV and the ticker running across the bottom, reporting the call for a vote of no confidence.
"You have Torchwood now, Prime Minister. We'll protect you." Yes, Britain had Torchwood to protect her. If this vote succeeded, at least the country would be well cared for. "I can't stay. We can't be seen together, since I don't actually exist."
"I know." Harriet forced herself to straighten up and look him in the eye. "Don't ever change." She meant that desperately.
"I changed long before we met, Harriet. Can't change back." He wiped away one last tear, then slid on the leather gloves his teams wore. Men and women who didn't exist couldn't leave fingerprints. "I'll come by in a few weeks. Wherever you are, I'll find you. I'll bring a bottle and we'll toast our Doctor."
There is still one man Harriet knows she can trust. He really would find her, no matter where she ended up. He's probably the only friend she's still got. "I'll be waiting, Captain Harkness."