"She built it in a lab right next to yours. Even used the power from your lab so I couldn't tell what she was doing. If I hadn't have known that you weren't working today I would have thought the power surge was for something you were doing. I can't believe she managed to build a second one under my nose."

The Doctor shook his head. "She caught us both out. She was probably adding items to my supply requests and I never thought to check before I signed them. I'm a pretty bad bureaucrat I'm afraid."

"That's why I should have been checking, instead of just pushing them through."

"You were alert when it was needed. If she is using the same power source it should be fine. I can deal with it. Do you know if she had the schematics on the network?"

"I didn't think to check. What are you planning on?" The Doctor fixed him with a serious stare and raised one eyebrow. "Is this one of those better if I don't know things, again? You're not going to do anything that is going to make me regret trusting you, are you?"

"No, but Torchwood might regret trusting me. You are going to want to distance yourself from me after tomorrow. In fact, I want to go over what I did here today with you so you can sell it as your own research. It's unlikely it will be accepted very well if they knew I was involved."

"It's going to be that bad, huh?"

The looked up at the ceiling and frowned. "Well… Let's just say if there is ever a holiday in my honor, it will have a lot in common with Guy Fawks day," He fixed Pete with a serious stare. "You are going to want to have, what is it called, plausible deniability? It's important that you are able to implement my plans, otherwise we could save the universe and loose the planet."

"I'll try, I had them listening to me once. I should be able to do it again."

"You're the salesman. Just sell it."

Pete shook his head. "I'm not as good as Rose apparently. If I'd had her on my staff, Vitex could have gone worldwide."

"Well, she won't be a problem. You should have a clear field. You're better at sustained politics than I am. You should do well, you have to."

"Are you going to send her back?"

"If all goes according to plan, yes."

"And if it doesn't?"

"I'll do what I have to." He hoped he was telling the truth.

"Why are you doing this for her? You certainly don't owe her anything."

"Maybe I do, if not for her I wouldn't exist. My brother was set to go through a full regeneration and she was upset, said she had come all that way, he decided to stop it midway before he actually changed. He poured the energy into his severed hand. I guess that's what I was then. The result of his actions is what you see before you, with the help of a spark from Donna," He smiled remembering that spark, the wonder that was Donna, he hoped she was well. "It was risky he could have died, but he did if for her.

"So, in a way I owe her my life. If not for her I would still be a hand bubbling away in a jar attached to the TARDIS." He had vague memories of that being a part of that magnificent machine, all the power, not just propulsion, but the computational the ability needed to navigate the vortex. He wished he could tap into it tomorrow. He suddenly felt guilty and checked the coral. It was content not quite asleep, but close, a tuneless humming in its mind. He looked up at Pete.

"Sorry, got lost in some memories there for a moment. I also owe it to my brother, I was supposed to take care of her, make her happy, help her forget about him. I failed pretty miserably at that."

Pete's face was thoughtful. "Are you glad you were… I don't know… what's the right word, born… created?"

The Doctor stared at him puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just for a moment there you almost looked wistful, like you wish you were back to being just a hand."

"No, back then it was all just sensations, reactions on a primitive level, any real sentience was from the TARDIS I would just be drawn up into it, no more independence than your own hand has. It's a bit strange actually when I remember my past there is a point where it branches off and I remember being a hand attached to the TARDIS, Donna and my brother, all three at once.

"What I am now is really a blend of the three. My brother predominates. Then being a hand, I think because of being connected to the TARDIS. She's a pretty powerful influence. I get the feeling being with my brother for so long has made her a bit more temperamental than a TARDIS should be."

Undercover of the blankets the Doctor held the coral. "Being with you is a lot like being with the TARDIS," He told it. "Wait a minute is that who mum is? Did the TARDIS help you?"

He receive a message of "mum tired" the TARDIS tired? That didn't make sense, the TARDIS being tired. He pressed the coral for more information and all he got was that it was tired too. Absurdly he had an impression of the coral in a bed and rolling over as it pulled the covers over its head. Its way of telling him it was too tired to be bothered with his questions. He gave a little smile at that.

The Doctor turned his attention back to Pete. "I prefer the way I am now. I'm glad to have had this chance at life." He took a deep breath changing the mood. "Can I get these blankets off me now? I'm not shivering and I feel ridiculous." He raised his eyebrows hopefully at Pete.

"You do look better now, go ahead. I'm just trying to keep you alive here and myself quite frankly. I wouldn't want Jackie to catch me neglecting you. We should get to work. I see they've brought down some more tea. I'll pour you a fresh cup then you can tell me what you have found."

Tea in hand the Doctor showed Pete the problem that had turned up with the ice dam and explained the solution. "You're saying Tony helped you come up with this?" Pete sounded incredulous.

The Doctor grinned at him. "In a way, yes, not that he was doing any actual civil engineering. But when his drawings developed a pattern, it sparked an idea for a solution. Hopefully in the future you can tell him about how he helped save the planet."

"You try to make everyone a hero don't you?"

"Well," the Doctor drawled. "I don't want to grab all the glory for myself, I can share a bit of it." He laughed at himself.

"It's good to see you enjoying yourself for a change, you've been so serious. So after the ice dam gets taken care of, we go on to making the radiation reflectors?"

"No, try to do both at the same time. The radiation reflectors need to be done in parallel with the ice dam. The more of the sun's energy you can reflect back while you are working on the dam the better. Just keep an eye on the models to make sure you don't create too drastic of a change, I have some charts here that show the maximum safe drop rate for the planetary temperature. Try to stay above that."

"Freezing isn't a cure for boiling. I've got that," Pete assured him.

"Good, I'm glad you two have that settled," called Jackie from the door. "It's time almost for dinner."

The Doctor was not pleased to see the wheelchair Jackie had brought with her. "Where did that come from?"

"We have one on each floor, just in case."

"Well, please put it back. I appreciate the thought but I am not that far gone yet. Here, I'll use this if that will make you feel better," He picked up a cane that was next to the work station. The irony that its handle was a stylized wolf's head wasn't lost on him. "But no wheelchair… Please."

Jackie looked at him doubtfully. "Well, if you're sure… I don't want you falling again."

"Jacks, He's fine. He's had about two pots of your tea and is fully recovered. We were just wrapping up here. We will be up in a couple of minutes."

"You had better be. Cook and I had been working all day on tonight's dinner. If it gets spoiled because you two couldn't shift yourselves, one of you is going to be needing this wheelchair." She looked them both sternly in the eye before leaving the lab, taking the wheelchair with her.

"I don't think she's kidding," observed the Doctor.

"I know she isn't. So what else is there?"

"The rest is in this folder on the computer, minor stuff mostly. This computer has a VPN connection with Torchwood doesn't it?"

"Yes, why?"

"I have a bit of work I need to do tonight. When I am done I am going to disconnect this computer from the network. Air gap it. Whatever you do, don't reconnect it until after midnight tomorrow."

"Alright, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Good, well that should about cover it. Let's see what Jackie and cook have prepared for us shall we?"

"That would probably be a wise move," Pete agreed.

Dinner as it turned out was a sumptuous affair, lamb, roasted potatoes, with all the accoutrements. For once the Doctor didn't have to tend to his soup while others were eating a heartier fare. The talk was light and cheery, mostly neighborhood and stable gossip who was getting married, who should be getting married, who the new vicar was, swapping of jokes, a very pleasant time, marred only by an empty seat usually occupied by Rose. Apparently Jackie had made her point and Rose was nursing her wounds in her room.

Dessert was served in the lounge. It was actually an assortment of bite sized treats. Miniature cakes, tarts, truffles and chocolate covered fruit. All small enough that no one had to forgo one treat in favor of another. For the Doctor it was the perfect way to end the meal sampling all the delights Jackie and the cook had prepared, though he did carefully avoid any that may have liquor in them, not wanting to stress his system even with just a little alcohol this close to the end.

He excused himself from the festivities, saying he had some work he wanted to finish up in the lab. Jackie appeared distressed at his leaving. The look on her face was almost enough to make him stay, but it was important that he determine how much work he had left to do. Rose's second dimension cannon was an unplanned for complication.

Once in the lab he discovered Tony had followed him, most likely sent by Jackie. A pot of tea soon followed after. He was afraid he was not serving her well. Tomorrow she would be losing a daughter. He wondered if she realized that yet. Well one more thing to put on his to do list for tonight.

He hacked into the Torchwood network and quickly located the schematics for the second dimension cannon. Pete was right, she had tapped into the power supply in his lab. That made things much easier. Just a few quick tweaks in the morning and it should be taken care of.

He then proceeded to secure the computer. He set the firewall to maximum security, deleted the program used to connect to the Torchwood VPN, deleted all the information on the dimension cannon from the hard drive along with the drivers for the network card and the modem. He then defragged the hard drive while he removed the network cable and put it in his pocket.

It would take an effort for anyone to connect the computer to Torchwood or any other network for a while. It certainly wouldn't be done by Pete in a moment of forgetfulness, which was what his primary concern was. He also wanted to make sure it was his finger prints on its removal from the network, not Pete's.

When he finished he saw that Tony had fallen asleep on the floor next to him. He resisted the temptation to pick up the youngster one last time, instead choosing to shake his shoulder gently to rouse him.

Back upstairs he discovered that Pete and Jackie were enjoying a late night aperitif. "This little fellow needs to go to bed," The Doctor declared "Pete could you do the honors while I have a word with Jackie?" Pleading with him to understand it was important he get to talk to Jackie alone.

"Oh you mean you are going to quite monopolizing my son and let me have some time with him?" was Pete's reply, humor showing in his eyes.

"Thank you." The Doctor bent down to give Tony a quick hug. "You sleep well, you worked hard today." Tony staggered sleepily over to his father, who picked him up carried him up to his bedroom.

Once Pete was out of the room, the Doctor sat down in a chair across from Jackie. He leaned forward resting his forearms on his thighs staring at her with concern. "Jackie, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, anything, just ask."

"I need you to make peace with Rose, tonight."

Jackie shook her head vehemently. "No, I can't… not after what she has been doing to you. Not after what she said to me. No… no… it's too soon. That's too much to ask Doctor, I'm sorry."

"Jackie, tomorrow she is going to be leaving by my hand. You may never see her again. The last words you have with her shouldn't be in anger. I don't want to be responsible for that. Please… for me, try at least."

Jackie took a deep breath; he could see she was considering what he had said. She was a proud woman. He knew Rose had been especially hurtful to her, and not just today. "Alright, I'll try, but for your sake, not hers."

The Doctor closed his eyes and leaned back in the overstuffed chair letting it support his head as he relaxed at last. "Thank you." He opened his eyes full of appreciation for her. "Jackie you've been wonder. I can't possibly ever repay you for all you have done for me."

Jackie became flustered with his praise. Looking down and futzing with her hair. "It's nothing anyone wouldn't have done."

"That's not true. You had no reason to take me in. You could have just left me on that beach in Norway."

"I could have never done that. Not to you."

"Well, I do thank you and want you to know I appreciate it. I need to get some rest now to prepare for tomorrow." He stood up, leaving the wolf head cane by the chair and picking up a horse head one to replace it. "If I don't see you in the morning, don't worry I haven't run off. I'll be at Torchwood."

"Oh you won't be leaving here without a good breakfast if I have to put an alarm on your bedroom door, you hear me."

The Doctor laughed. "Yes Jackie, I hear you. Now good night, you have a daughter to make peace with."

Jackie screwed up her face distastefully. "I'm only doing that for you." she called after him as he entered the lift. The Doctor leaned against the back wall for the short trip to the second floor. It had been a long day and an exhausting one. He made his way to his room slowly finding the cane to be of more use than he thought it would be.

After a long soaking bath, he lay in his bed exchanging energy with the coral one last time. This time it was he who ended up better for the exchange. The coral having somehow avoided the effects of the dimension cannon.

He let his thoughts gently brush it, thanking it for its gift. Letting it know he needed it to be with him till the end. They had been in this together from the start and together was how they were going to end it, as it should be. As it didn't want him to leave it alone in this hostile universe, he didn't want it to leave him alone either.

It answered him sadly, its thoughts filled with regret that the Doctor's time had been so short, that it had never become a proper TARDIS for him. The Doctor told the coral he wasn't a proper Timelord, so what would he do with a proper TARDIS, the coral was perfect for his needs. His time may have been short, but it would be long enough for him to fulfill his purpose, which is more than many with longer lives could say. He told it to rest, it would need its strength tomorrow. They both would.