Doc closed his eyes.
"Sometimes."
Anne took a breath.
"Cole, I need to ask you something."
He waited.
"Are you doing this for that little girl, or are you trying to get back the day we never had?"
The question hurt.
Not because it was cruel.
Because Doc had asked himself the same thing.
He looked toward the unfinished passenger seat.
"I don't know if I could've told the difference when I started."
Anne remained silent.
Doc continued.
"But I think I can now."
"How?"
He considered his answer.
"Because if her doctors say no, I'll still be glad I met her."
Anne was quiet for several seconds.
Then he heard her exhale.
"That's good."
Doc lowered his eyes.
"I found Sophie's drawing."
"The motorcycle?"
"Yeah."
Anne made a small sound.
"I remember that picture."
"She drew a place for her rabbit."
Anne laughed softly.
"Of course she did."
Doc smiled through tears.
For a moment, they were simply two parents remembering their daughter.
Then Anne said, "Sophie would have loved the idea of making room for somebody else."
Doc stared at the wall.
"I think so too."
Anne paused.
"Just promise me something."
"What?"
"Don't punish yourself if the machine never moves."
Doc closed his eyes.
"I'll try."
Anne's voice softened.
"She knew you loved her, Cole."
A tear slipped down his cheek.
For eight years, he had carried the guilt of promises left unfinished.
He had blamed himself for moments spent working when he could have been home, for days he had been too tired to play, and for the motorcycle ride they had postponed until it was too late.
Anne spoke again.
"Our daughter didn't measure your love by whether she got to ride that bike."
Doc covered his face.
"I know."
"Then remember it."
They remained on the phone for several minutes.
When the call ended, Doc sat quietly beside his workbench.
He didn't feel healed.
Grief wasn't something that disappeared because another person said the right words.
But for the first time in years, he felt able to remember Sophie without immediately turning every memory into an accusation against himself.
The project finally passed its planned technical reviews near the end of January.
That did not mean Ellie had been cleared to ride.