A/N: Since I was so incredibly useless on the timing of the last posting, I pushed this one through SUPER fast, yay!

For now on, it's whumpville. Hold on tight.

I'm planning a review reply on the next chapter. THAT'S the very interesting one … :D

Chapter 6: Enter the Celene

'Jackie, I'm fine,' the Doctor was saying into the phone for roughly the 50th time that morning as Jack wandered into the main living area, yawning and stretching. 'Still here, still breathing … No, I'm not being rude, I … Yes, I have surgery today … They know what they're doing … It's a risk but … Jackie, no … Jackie … Jackie ...'

Jack retrieved a coffee for himself and took a seat opposite him, raising an eyebrow.

'… Yes, the kids are fine … Jack's here … they're fine! … No, they're still asleep … I need … Jackie, I need to … I need to go … Yes, I've got an appointment and ... Jackie … Jackie! … Jackie, I need to go … Jackie … Jackie … Jackie … bye! … I said, bye!'

The Doctor hung up the phone with a very enthusiastic thumb-press onto the screen.

'... How's the mother-in-law?' Jack said facetiously, grinning.

The Doctor's tried gaze drifted to him, utterly deadpan. 'Y'know, sometimes I think to myself, if I hadn't decided to turn left at the Frugala system and ended up in that junkyard on Earth with Susan, I might never have met Jackie Tyler.'

Jack laughed. 'Is she all right? How's Kiki? How's Torchwood going? Earth still exist?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'No idea, didn't get that far.'

'You were on the phone to her for half an hour.'

'Yep, as I said, didn't get that far,' the Doctor repeated.

Jack laughed again. 'Yeah, I'll call 'em later. What time's your surgery?'

'Got a briefing in ten minutes and then I'm going straight in.'

'I'll come with you.'

The Doctor watched him for a moment, the mood in the room suddenly changing.

'What?' Jack asked.

'Jack, if you're coming along just to try and talk me out of it, you'll be wasting your breath,' the Doctor said. 'I'd also be having the same conversation for the fourth time. If I wanted to have the same conversation four times, I'd time travel back to Donna and try and explain how to change a plug again.'

Jack raised his hands in the air submissively. 'Hey, you know I don't think it's a good idea. I don't wanna be talking to Theo in ten years about what his parents were like when they were alive. Face it, Doc, you're pretty weak at the moment, you're not very happy, and you haven't even slept properly since Rose … y'know.'

'Yeah, I know,' the Doctor replied instantly, clearly a little irritated by that.

'Sorry,' Jack said immediately. 'I just wanna make sure you know what risk you're taking, here.'

'Jack, of course it's a huge risk. But I've got to do this. I need to do this. You get it, don't you?'

Jack internally sighed. He wasn't convinced, but it was like talking to a brick wall. All that was left to do was try and support the brick wall as best he could. 'All right. When are you leaving?'

The Doctor stood up. 'Let me say bye to the kids. Meet you at the lift in ten minutes.'

You don't have to do this. Please, please think about it.

The Doctor completely ignored his subconscious as he and Jack walked into the consultation room ten minutes later and greeted the Head Surgeon - a pink-haired messean who was already suited up in a clean white outfit and ready to start cutting into him.

'Good morning,' he greeted. 'My name's Fargai, I'll be heading up your operation today, Doctor. If you're happy to go ahead, please take a seat at the examination table and I'll explain the procedure.'

'Ta,' the Doctor said and jumped into the seat in front of a squeaky clean metal table in the centre of the room. He felt Jack hovering at his shoulder, unusually quiet, watching the surgeon closely as he approached.

'I'll explain the procedure in detail. If at any point you have any questions or change your mind, please don't hesitate to let me know.'

'Got it,' the Doctor replied, giving a mock salute.

'If you'd like to place your arm on the table.'

The Doctor nodded, using his good arm to pick his paralysed one out of its protective sling. Jack had to help him get it out of his jacket and shirt so he could place it, fully exposed and completely lifeless, onto the table.

'The procedure has five stages,' the surgeon began, pulling out a thick black pen. 'First, fusing, then melding, then somatic melding, then supplementary, and then completion.' He drew a precise and thick black line with the pen down the middle of the Doctor's inner arm from the left side of his wrist to the right side of his inner elbow. 'We will cut down the path of your flexor carpi radialis muscle, from the flexor retinaculum to the area of the medial epicondyle. This will create an access point for the exotronic's metal blade to be inserted and fused to your radius bone as the main anchor to make the exotronic strong, immovable, and a part of you. That's stage one, and will take three hours to complete.'

'Ow,' the Doctor heard Jack muttered under his breath. He had to agree with that one.

They don't even know the right names for your anatomy …

He ignored her again.

'Stage two is fusing. We'll use a series of screws, plates and brackets to firmly secure the exotronic to your skin and radius bone to strengthen it even more. This involves six holes being drilled in the posterior of the hand, and lower and upper arm, and screws and rods inserted in these holes.'

The surgeon gently turned the Doctor's arm over, and drew one circle on the back of his hand, one on his wrist, one halfway up the lower arm, and three more grouped closely together on the back side of his upper arm near the shoulder.

'We'll also be cutting off small squares of skin, down to the dermis layer. This will enable the exotronic to sit comfortably on your arm for a perfect fit. The fusing stage will take five and a half hours.'

The surgeon drew several squares spaced evenly up his hand and arm.

'Stage three is somatic melding, which will take three and a half hours. We'll connect the exotronic to your nervous system, where it will act as a simple extension to the peripheral nervous system. The exotronic is designed to be adaptable, meaning on initial boot, it will listen to the unique signals of your nervous system and calibrate itself to prevent itself being controlled by the autonomic nervous system.'

'Wait, what?' Jack asked, confused.

'It'll stop the exotronic doing involuntary movements,' the Doctor clarified. 'When it initially boots up, it'll read my system, install any patches to harmonise with me, and that stops it moving on its own. Right?'

The surgeon nodded. 'Correct.'

So when the hell are you gonna tell him your somatic and autonomic nervous systems are wired up to the same thing?

'After somatic melding, it's what we call the supplementary. This is just some initial physical and software calibration and quality checks to make sure the exotronic is fitted properly and able to function. This takes one hour. Then, the surgery is complete.'

'What about the gaping holes left in his arm?' Jack wondered.

'At this point, we wait seventy-two hours, to allow acclimatisation to the exotronic and for the swelling to reduce, as well as monitoring for any post-surgery complications,' the surgeon replied. 'We'll then regenerate the skin and repair any damage with a specially calibrated bone and tissue regenerator. At this point, the exotronic should feel completely a part of you, and you will be entered into daily familiarisation sessions to allow you the chance to practice controlling the exotronic in a controlled environment.'

'Right,' the Doctor said, staring at his arm now daubed with black marks. 'When do we get started?'

'I must remind you, this is the last point at which you can withdraw from the procedure,' the surgeon said.

'No, thanks,' the Doctor said immediately, shooting a smile at the surgeon. 'When you're ready.'

'Wait, Doc,' Jack began.

'Fourth conversation,' the Doctor reminded him.

'This is seriously invasive, Doc. We can try therapy. Yeah, it'll take longer, but you're talking about thirteen-hour surgery here, plus the rest.'

Please, listen to him.

'I've already decided,' the Doctor told both Jack and his subconscious. He looked back at the surgeon and nodded. 'Where do I sign?'

Jack stayed with the Doctor during pre-op, making nervous chat as the medical staff did their final pokes and prods, he signed consent forms, and they got him prepped. As Jack watched them escort the Time Lord off into the surgery room, it almost felt like he was never going to see him again.

Jack knew it was a ridiculous feeling, but he wished for once the Doctor would have at least tried to listen to him before proceeding with that dogged determination. But that was the Time Lord all over, and there was nothing Jack could do about that.

Jack headed back on Leah and Theo, giving them the update on their dad. Theo was too young to fully understand the implications, but Leah was very nervous, he could tell. Probably even more nervous than he felt. Despite his trepidation, he reassured her as best he could, and his comforting words were enough for her to relax a bit.

The hours ticked slowly by, and they all stayed in the living quarters playing games. Eventually, as evening came, Jack granted Leah custody of her little brother and promptly headed off to one of the planet's many bars for a drink. He knew it wasn't responsible, but he needed to quell the tension somehow and that wasn't going to happen when he was sitting in their living quarters in silence, waiting for communication from Panacea about some terrible unforeseen complications that had resulted in one dead or regenerated Time Lord.

He found a quiet bar near the botanical gardens and used the Doctor's psychic paper to get some free drinks in, sitting on his own and trying to focus on some strange alien sports match showing on the monitor. Around two hours into his evening, the match ended, and he decided he'd have to finish his drink and go back to Leah and Theo.

'At Pleaneas, we're at the forefront of cutting medical treatments,' an advert said as Jack stood up and reached for his coat. 'This month, we're proud to unveil our new therapy room - the Celene.'

As he pulled on his coat, he looked up at the screen to see a video of a camera panning an extremely technologically-advanced room, that was quite dark and featureless besides lines of blue neon running through the walls.

'The Celene is a centre for those patients who feel they would benefit from interactive therapy. Using psychobiological technology, Panacea can generate an accurate representation of any dead loved one and reassemble them in the Celene as a hologram for you to speak with.'

The made Jack stop in his tracks. The video showed a hologrammatic form of an alien smiling kindly, and somebody interacting with it.

'Any registered patient is eligible to enter the Celene without an appointment. Just ask Panacea for more information, or find the Celene on the 70th floor.'

There was the now-familiar sting of calming music and the logo flashed up. ''Pleaneas. We care about you.'

'Wow,' Jack muttered under his breath. Technically, he was a registered patient. Probably worth a look, he decided.

'Jack,' Panacea's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Jack tensed up immediately, his heart skipping a beat as he raised his infowatch. 'What's the news?'

'The surgery is now complete, ahead of schedule. The Doctor is awake and has an excellent cognitive response. It went very well.'

Jack smiled, immediately feeling much more relaxed. 'That's great. Where is he?'

'Surgical recovery ward 46,' Panacea replied.

'On my way.'

Jack arrived at the surgery recovery ward where he was immediately met by a nurse, who smiled at him. 'Jack Harkness?'

Jack nodded. 'I'm here to see the Doctor.'

'Of course, Panacea said we should expect you. Please follow me, sir,' the nurse said, leading him through a pair of sliding double doors that opened with a satisfying hiss, giving them way into an extremely impressive-looking ward.

Jam-packed with a host of extremely advanced technology, even ex-Time Agent Jack didn't recognise most of what he was looking at as they made their way down the aisle. There were lots of screens and flashing lights, with mathematical functions blipping in and out of existence and Panacea's voice whispering complex algorithms. Despite the spectrum of electronics dotted around, the general layout of the ward was very Earthlike, with beds lined up the sides, containing people and their families obscured by semi-translucent curtains.

Eventually, they reached the Doctor, who was laying in a bed propped up by pillows, looking exhausted, with slight bags under his eyes. He was dressed in a pristine white hospital-issued bodysuit, with his skin pale enough to match his outfit. His left arm and shoulder were covered with some sort of blue plastic-looking sheet that obscured what was beneath.

'Hey Doc,' Jack said, stepping up next to the bed.

The Doctor looked at him. His eyes were slightly sunken and a little drunk, with a thin sheen of pain. 'Jack?'

'How're you feeling?'

'Terrible,' the Doctor murmured.

'Yeah, you look it,' Jack said, stepping forward and gazing down at the blue sheet covering his arm. 'Can I see?'

'I don't think you want to,' the Doctor croaked.

Jack ignored him and took hold of the sheet, pulling it back. The Doctor's arm was now half metal, with what was left of his skin extremely discoloured, bruised and red. Pieces of metal were thrusting through his arm, fixed with screws that seemed to go all the way through the bones and out the other side. There was even more metal encasing his fingers and thumb, with a further screw drilled into his hand, edged with splatters of dried blood that were partially staining the exotronic.

'Jesus Christ.'

'Told you,' the Doctor muttered.

'Good afternoon,' Panacea's voice suddenly said from beside Jack, making him jump in surprise slightly as her hologram erupted into existence. 'I can see from your vital signs that you are stable, Doctor, and the surgery went well. We had no complications.'

'That's good to know,' the Doctor murmured, half asleep.

'So now we wait?' Jack asked.

'There will be a recovery period of seventy-two hours until we regenerate the bone and skin,' Panacea said. 'Over the next three days, the brain and nervous system will be adapting to the exotronic's new biological bypass system.'

'They're not gonna be a fun few days, are they?' Jack supposed.

'As discussed before, this treatment is very experimental, particularly on a gallifreyan. I could not say what is going to happen as the brain and nervous system adapt. As previously discussed, there is a risk that the exotronic may be rejected altogether. My prediction matrix anticipates a variety of potential side effects, including drowsiness, fever, nausea, fainting, dyspraxia, and confusion.'

'Not much, then,' Jack said, glancing at the Doctor, who appeared to have fallen asleep. He still thought this was a terrible idea, but even if he could change the Doctor's mind it was far, far too late. 'So what ward is he staying on?'

'Staying on a ward is optional. I find it's extremely beneficial for patients to return to their living areas to recover from surgery in a calm and friendly atmosphere with friends and relatives, as analysis shows this offers the most positive recovery times. The biosuit he is wearing will monitor and alert me to any issues requiring an emergency response. You and his other guests' assistance in his recovery period is paramount. However, if you prefer, we can keep him on the ward.'

'It's okay, I'll take him and fluff his pillows.'

'I will reassess his condition in three days to ascertain how he's progressing,' Panacea continued. 'If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me immediately.'

Eventually, he got the half-conscious Time Lord back to their living quarters. Jack settled him into bed, where he immediately closed his eyes and drifted. Jack made sure to keep the mess that was his arm obscured before Leah and Theo were allowed in, and expressly forbid them from looking at the result of the surgery.

Jack sat up with him all night, watching him closely just in case anything happened. It didn't. He just slept soundly, clearly completely taken out by whatever they'd used to put him to sleep with. So as the Time Lord slept and the kids went to bed, Jack took the opportunity to do a little bit of research on the Celene.

When dawn broke, he could see the Doctor was slowly stirring, so he ran off to grab him some breakfast. When he got back he was delighted to find the Doctor lying there with his eyes open, looking a lot less pale than the night before.

'Hey, you're awake. Morning,' Jack greeted.

'Morning,' the Doctor echoed, somewhat lacking energy.

'How are you feeling?'

'Bleh,' he replied.

'You look better. And hey, got you some proper hospital food,' Jack said, giving him some orange juice and toast before taking a seat on the bed.

'Thanks,' the Doctor replied. 'Where are Leah and Theo?'

'Still asleep. They were up pretty late with you.'

'I don't remember that.'

'You were pretty out of it,' Jack answered. 'Do you remember any of the surgery at all?

'No,' the Doctor admitted. 'I remember talking with Jackie yesterday, then it all sort of slides into a blur.'

'They must've given you a hell of a good drug,' Jack joked. 'You've lost a whole day. Reminds me of my 21st birthday, except that was a whole week.'

'I've still got my arm, then?'

'Yep. Well, half of it,' Jack replied. 'You haven't looked?'

'No.'

'Yeah, I wouldn't if I were you, you'll throw that toast right back up again,' Jack advised as the Doctor bit into a slice. 'Panacea said it was a success. You've just gotta stay in bed for a few days while your body adapts. She doesn't know what side effects you might have, yet.'

'I feel okay. I mean, apart from the seriously painful sensation of my arm being on fire, that is.'

'Yeah, well, that's a given. Hey, and if you're feeling pain, that's good, right? It's a feeling. That's more than you had before.'

'Doesn't feel that good, but point taken,' the Doctor conceded, gulping down the juice.

'Oh, meant to ask, have you ever heard of the Celene?'

'Err, nope. What's that?'

'It's here on Pleaneas. Some kinda new technology. It's a psychotherapy thing - it uses your memories to create images of dead people so you can talk to them,' Jack said.

The Doctor paused, raising an eyebrow. 'Definitely never heard of that before.'

'It's on the 70th level, and you can just walk right in if you're a registered patient.'

'Well, that sounds horrific,' the Doctor mused, finishing his toast. 'Are you thinking of going?'

'I'm thinking it's worth a look.'

The Doctor pulled a face.

'Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you're not even a little bit curious.'

The Doctor grinned knowingly. 'Well, don't let me stop you,' he said, 'I'll be fine here if you want to go.'

'I can't leave you here on your own.'

'I won't be on my own, I've got the two little Musketeers and an overly-helpful hologram,' the Doctor pointed out. 'And I feel fine. Honestly, go.'

Jack took the lift, and in two minutes he found himself at the entrance to the Celene. Considering what happened here, it seemed incredible featureless and empty. There were a few people dotted about in the reception room chatting but were no desks, no checks, no staff - just Panacea standing there in hologram form by the entrance to a large tunnel that had a haze of blue light at the end.

He walked up to Panacea, who hailed him.

'Good morning, Jack,' she greeted. 'I am glad to see the Doctor is so well this morning.'

'You and me both,' he agreed.

'Are you here to visit the Celene?'

'Yeah. How does it work?'

'Simply enter the Celene and stand in front of the aether. Wait a few moments, and your loved one will be created. Who are you hoping to speak with?'

Jack paused, thinking about that seriously for a moment. So many people he knew had died throughout his immortal life that picking just one in a million was impossible. Owen? Tosh? Gray? Ella? He had no idea. '... Surprise me.'

She smiled. 'Very well. Please enter the Celene when you're ready.'

He looked at the tunnel, then back at her as she continued to smile. Then, with slight trepidation, he moved forward.

It seemed disproportionately long, but eventually he emerged at the other end in the place he'd seen in the video - a large circular room that was dark, besides those blue lights flashing around him through the walls like pulsating veins. There were a couple of other people in the area already speaking with holograms quietly, but he couldn't hear their conversations.

He stepped up to the aether as instructed. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, something began to take shape. Matter coalesced, gathering together to make a shape. A humanoid shape, Jack realised quickly, as facial features started to form. First a small nose, and then came a pair of blue eyes. That was followed by a thin mouth with pink lips and some small ears as the body took shape. It was a young woman, he realised. One he didn't recognise whatsoever.

He hoped it would become clearer as the shape defined itself even more into the figure of a beautiful young woman with blue hair, bathed in an ethereal white glow with slightly fuzzy edges.

He had no idea who she was.

'Jack,' she said simply.

Jack blinked in surprise. He was pretty sure the holograms weren't supposed to talk. 'Err, hey. I didn't know you talked.'

She smiled briefly. 'Don't worry about it. You know Theta, don't you?'

That startled Jack slightly, arousing his suspicions. 'You mean the Doctor? Yeah, I know him.'

'I need to talk to him.'

'How can you …?'

'Tell him to come here and see me when he's feeling better,' she said. 'I'm not going to hurt him, I promise. I would never hurt him.'

Jack gazed at her. The sincerity in her eyes was reassuring enough. 'What do you need to speak to him for?'

'He's the only one that can help me,' she said. 'Please. I need him.'

'What's your name?'

She opened her mouth to reply, when suddenly she gasped and put her hand over her mouth, with her eyes darting around as though they were snapping to invisible screens Jack couldn't see. 'No!' she cried, and promptly disappeared in a wash of light, leaving Jack standing waist-deep in a puddle of confusion. He waited a moment to see if she'd come back, but she didn't.

He really hoped the Doctor would be able to explain that one.

His infowatch suddenly began to beep, signalling an incoming communication. It was Leah. He answered. 'Hey kid, how's it going?'

'Uncle Jack you gotta help you gotta come back right now!' she cried, sounding extremely panicked.

'What? Wait, slow down, what's happened?'

'It's Daddy! He was talking and then he just stopped!'

'Stopped!?'

'He's not moving!'

'Wait, is he breathing!?'

'Yeah, but he won't move!'

'Call Panacea, I'll be back in a sec!' he shouted into the infowatch, and ran.