A/N: In all honesty, I hadn't planned on chapter 3. But then I got story alerts after I'd published the second (and originally the last) chapter. And I felt guilty for not writing more. So any further continuation of this story depends on reviews/favorites/story alerts/PMs asking for more.

Spoilers for Miracle Day (I haven't actually seen the last episode, but I read the summary, so forgive me for anything I might have missed/changed/ruined FOREVER) and Series 6 of Doctor Who.

It was all over. Sure, there were bad guys still out there, but Gwen Cooper was back in the game. Torchwood had returned.

The ending of the Miracle han't come easily. Two members of the new team were dead: Esther and Vera. Sweet, innocent Esther and brave, confident Vera, who she'd barely known.

Gwen closed her eyes, thinking back on all that happened. Rhys pushed Anwen on the swing at the park they were at. He chatted with the woman pushing a little boy on the swing next to Anwen.

"So, the world's back to normal," observed the man sitting on the bench next to her, he held a newspaper in front of his face.

That voice...

Gwen leaned back, poking her head behind the paper to get a good look at him. "Hello, Doctor."

He lowered the paper, smiling grimly. "Nice to see you, Gwen."

"You too. Should I assume Miracle Day was another fixed point?"

"Not this time; I was busy."

"Busy?" Gwen snorted. "Doing what?"

"Failing to rescue a little girl," he sighed. "Having a horrible day."

"I'm sure you did everything you could."

"It was my fault. Always is, in the end. She never would've been taken if her parents hadn't been traveling with me. That child is going to grow up without her mum and dad because of me."

"I'm sorry. If the mother, your friend, needs help tell her I'm here, as another mother who's aware of the risks of alien-fighting. Anwen was kidnapped during the Miracle."

"I won't be able to talk to her. Still, it's not a bad idea. Her name is Amelia P- Williams, Amy Williams. She lives in Leadworth. I'm sure you'll be able to get in contact with her with all the connections Torchwood has. Aren't there files somehwhere on all my my acquaintances?"

"Why can't you talk to her?" Gwen asked. When he didn't answer, she changed the subject. "So, what brings you to Wales?"

"I'd say social visit, but that's a lie."

"Then why?"

"Do you ever remember Jack saying that he's a fixed point in time?"

"No..."

"Well, he is. He's a fact. He keeps coming back, no matter what."

"What's your point?"

"It's come to my attention that there are two facts in the universe now."

"Oh!" Gwen laughed. "You mean Rex."

"Who?"

"Rex Matheson," Gwen said. "He transfused himself with Jack's blood. No one knew that would happen... He's still trying to come to terms with it. Of course, Jack's ecstatic about not being alone any more."

"Tell him not to pull any stunts."

"Why don't you tell him yourself? He and Jack are in America, trying to set up a new base. But we can jump into the TARDIS and be back before Rhys notices I'm gone. Jack would love to see you again."

"I don't have time."

"Why not?" Gwen asked. "You have a time machine, doesn't that give you all the time in the universe?"

He hesitated. "I have an appointment."

"What kind of appointment?"

"Alright, so it wasn't just Rex I came here to talk about. But I needed to tell someone. Jack would try to stop me. Same with any old companions. So I didn't have very many options. I could've gone to one of Sarah Jane's kids, but, well, they're kids. They wouldn't understand, and I couldn't put that on them. So that left you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone's going to have to look after this place. The Daleks are still out there. So are Cybermen. I think I'm half crazy for giving this, but you never know when it could come in handy," he handed Gwen a box wrapped in TARDIS blue paper.

"What is it?"

"Present for you. Don't open it until I leave."

"What's going on, Doctor? You make it sound like you're not going to be around anymore... you're not giving up on us, are you?"

"All my life, I've been running. Never looking back, never taking a moment to rest. Just going and going. But I can't do it anymore. I'm stopping."

Gwen folded her arms. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to die," he said, his voice was too calm.

"What?"

"I'm going to die. I have one last trip after this, visiting an old friend. And then I'm gone."

"You mean you're going to- whatsitcalled- 'regenerate'?" Gwen frowned. "I like this version of you, but you've changed lots of times before-"

"I'm not going to regenerate, Gwen. Not this time."

"What?"

"I'm going to die. Permanently."

"But you can't. Doctor, you can't. We'll help you stop it. I know you don't like guns, but if there was ever a time—"

"I'm not having anyone else dying for me. My death is a fixed point. And it's already happened from your point of view. At 5:02 PM on the 22 of April, 2011 by Silencio Lake in Utah, America."

"That was months ago."

He nodded.

"You can't die!" Gwen's voice rose. "You can't! I won't let you!"

"It's alright. I've had lifetimes. I've met all sorts of people and been nearly everywhere. And the places I haven't been are probably for the better. I've been a parent and grandparent, I've fallen in love, I've fought monsters and ghosts and robots and demons. And I have to say, my life is just about as full as you could get. I'm very, very old. I've bad more than enough time."

"You can't die. We can barely keep the world safe with all of us together. With you gone... And what about other worlds? Other planets?"

"They'll have to manage."

Gwen shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. "You can't."

"I'm sorry," he said, pulling her against him in a hug. Gwen cried into his shoulder. "It's alright," he soothed. "Trust me."

Gwen shook her head. "You're the one who got me to move on. You let me say goodbye. After everything you've done, everything you didn't or couldn't do, you're the most extraordinary person I've ever met. And that's including Jack."

"Take care of our Jack, Gwen. Got that? But you let him take the bullets for you."

Gwen gave a watery laugh.

"He's immortal, he might as well use it."

"Doctor..."

"I have to go," he cupped her face in his hands and wiped away the tears with his thumbs. "Your promise still applies. Everything's up to you now."

Gwen nodded.

He kissed her forehead, then got up, leaving her crying on the bench.

Two days later

Jack sat across from Gwen in her sitting room, "What's going on that you couldn't tell me over the phone? You do realize it took some effort to get me over here so quickly, right?"

"The Doctor's been paying me a few visits."

"What?"

"Three times. One right after you came back, before Tosh and Owen died. One three months after the 456 incident. And one a few hours before I called you."

"Why?"

"The first two times were more social, just talking to me. But this last time... he told me— he said he was going to die."

"You mean regenerate?"

Gwen shook her head. "No, he said he was going to die. That he already had on April 22, 2011, in America. I'm sorry."

Jack bowed his head."You just let him go?"

"Yes."

"You should've done something -anything- to stop him. You just let run off to his death! You could have stopped him, by force if you had to. Do you know how many times we owe our lives to him? How many people would be dead without him? How many people are going to die now that he's gone... And why would he tell you, anyways?"

"Because he trusted me not to stop him," Gwen said. "He had to go. He said his death is a fixed point."

Jack shook his head.

"He gave me this," Gwen said, handing him the box the Doctor had given her. "I decided to wait for you before I opened it."

Jack took it from her, unwrapping it and prying open. A faint smile lit up his face as he removed a silver device with a red tip.

"It's a sonic screwdriver," Jack said. "He gave you a sonic screwdriver. He must really like you."

Gwen took it from him, pressing a button experimentally. It whirred, then a light bulb shattered above them. Gwen jumped.

Jack chuckled and Gwen allowed herself a smile.

Jack looked back down at the box, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. "It's from the Doctor," he said, opening it and reading aloud. "Jack, I imagine Gwen has told you everything by now, and you're trying to figure out some way to ensure that I live to see another day. That's very typical of you. Please, don't anything stupid. I've removed all settings on the screwdriver that you could use to fix your vortex manipulator, so don't bother trying.

"It seems like it's been a long time since I picked you up in World War II. Remember the gas mask zombies? Or the Slyveen? Or the end; the parting of the ways. I realize Rose caused you a great deal of pain that day. I promise, she didn't mean it. I think you know that.

"I'm sorry. For you getting stuck here, for immortality, for being 'prejudice.' For everything.

"Anyways, the purpose of this letter isn't to reminisce on times long gone. I'm trusting you with the fate of world. I can't be there to stop things anymore, so it's up to you and Gwen. Speaking of Gwen, I've instructed her to take care of you, and I expect you to do the same to her. I'll go to my death with a considerably lighter heart knowing you'll take care of this planet when I'm gone. I have faith you and your abilities, even if I don't always approve of your methods. I trust you. Thank you, The Doctor"

Jack's voice broke on the last word; tears ran down his face and letter fell at to his feet. He ran his fingers through his hair, eyes closed.

Gwen moved across the room, sitting next to him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"I always figured," he whispered. "if there was one thing in life that I could count on, it'd be the Doctor. No matter how old I lived to be, he'd still be around."

"Everyone has their time," Gwen said.

"He's been gone for months now. How are we going to do it without him? If things ever got out of hand, got too big for us to manage on our own, he'd be there, swooping in to save the day. The Doctor, saving the universe with a blue box, a screwdriver, and a huge ego," he laughed. "But not anymore. There's no one to bail us out. Everything's on us..."

"Are you going to be alright?" Gwen asked.

Jack shook his head. "Someday, maybe. In the meantime, we have universe to save."