"Well, Jack. Thought you might be round. Come in, have a sit? Just put on a pot of tea."
Jack gave the Doctor a tired look. A lawn chair, sat outside of the TARDIS, which was still taking up half a corridor)… Jack couldn't say he was surprised. Jack gave a short nod.
"Splendid!" the Doctor said, folding up his chair.
Jack followed the Doctor inside the TARDIS, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"How's Ianto?" the Doctor asked, 'magicking' up a couple chairs and a tea tray.
"He's been better," Jack said dryly. "But… he's been worse, too."
"Guess it's pointless to say it's not the end of the world."
"Because it is for him."
"I'm -"
"Yeah, I know. Not your fault. And I'm sorry for being so…."
"Shirty?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. Doctor, there's got to -"
"You're entitled to a little shirtiness now and then. I also have to say, I may have been a little less than genial about the whole… planet exploding thing."
"I didn't expect you to be pleased."
"Yeah, but… I may have done some things at times."
"Like?"
"Burned up a sun for a goodbye, not so long ago. Of course, nobody was using it at the moment. Point is, I understand."
"Then you also understand that I'd do anything to get him right again, to get us back to Earth. Yan doesn't belong up here, I don't think it will be good for him."
"I haven't any answers, Jack."
"Maybe there's an Earth where he could be safe…."
"If you're talking parallel worlds, bad idea. You know that, Jack."
Jack sighed. "I'd take the risk, if he'd be safe."
The Doctor shook his head. "Furthermore, that's not something you can do on your own."
Jack understood exactly what the Doctor meant by that. "Maybe I shouldn't have let it blow up, maybe they'd have been able to work out something that would have gotten rid of it for good. Something that would have cleaned it up properly, like the…. Doctor! Nanogenes! Nanogenes would do it! Why didn't I think of that before," Jack said, slapping his forehead. "I didn't need that damned antidote of theirs, I just needed the nanogenes."
"Do you remember the last time you were messing about with nanogenes?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Obviously, but there's no danger of that up here."
"What if they copied your particular… state, Jack?"
Jack considered that for all of three seconds. "No. No, they wouldn't. I would… I'd stay out of the way."
"And where exactly would you get nanogenes?"
"A Chula ship, obviously. Although I'd heard they're used elsewhere in the future."
"Chula aren't usually very 'sharing' of their ships, Jack…."
"I know that. But I know where there is one they aren't using."
The Doctor blinked and looked cautious. "Where?"
"Right in the middle of London," Jack grinned.
"Come on, Jack. You know what happens if you cross your own timeline."
"You do it all the time. I can just sneak in, pick up the nanogenes, and get out. Quick operation. I know when I won't be anywhere near that ship. Just zap me in, zap me out."
"I don't know, Jack. There's so much that could go wrong, there always is with this sort of thing."
"Things can go wrong with anything, Doctor. There's no such thing as certainty. But there is a good chance. You understand this, I know you do! What it means to be able to give someone you love a normal life… and even if it's only the tiniest fraction of mine… nothing would ever mean more to me."
The Doctor gave Jack a look that said Jack understood far too much of what it was like to be a Time Lord. "I'll do it," he said slowly, at length, "but on one condition."
"Name it."
"You talk to Ianto about it first. Tell him the plan, make sure he understands the risks, because I'm not sending you into the middle of the Blitz and having to deal with his anger… which, I suspect, when unleashed, is formidable."
"You have no idea."
"Exactly."
"Then I'll talk to him. Thank you, Doctor," Jack said, hurrying back to his stateroom.