Rose knew that she had fallen asleep.
One moment she was climbing into the Land Rover and snapping shut the seatbelt clip as she settled back into the soft leather seat, and the next she was being gently shaken awake by the Doctor.
"Come on, Rose." He said. "We're back."
"Back at the TARDIS?" She mumbled, yawning and stretching out her arms.
"No, not quite yet."
At long last it looked as though the rain had finally moved on, and rays of actual sunlight were staring to poke through the thinning clouds. Blinking several times, Rose look out of the window and realised that they were now back at the camp.
It looked so much smaller in the daylight and she could see that one of the three large tents had already been dismantled, whilst a second was in the process of also being packed away by Harrison's men. Only Peter's tent remained untouched, though it too would almost certainly soon be removed now that the mission had been completed.
As she stepped out of the car, Rose realised too that the plastic white and yellow tent that had been housing Tom Richardson's body was also gone.
Both it and Tom had served their purpose now.
Despite the camp being slowly packed up, however, there seemed to be much more activity going on than there had been during the previous night. The addition of Major Harrison's men had doubled the amount of soldiers walking around and two ambulances had also arrived, both parked a short distance away from the half dismantled mess tent.
Their back doors were swung wide open and Rose could just make out the paramedics in their distinguishable green overalls.
"Doctor, what are we doing here?" She asked as he joined her. "Aren't we going back to the TARDIS?"
"Soon enough." He reassured. "Thought I might..."
A sudden chorus of cheering and thunderous applause distracted him momentarily as the Doctor turned to face it, grinning expectantly.
But it was not for him.
Peter's team had raced over the moment the Land Rover containing their teammates had pulled up, and were now jubilantly greeting their commanding officer and Stefan as the two bedraggled men hopped out of their car and straight into the noisy, boisterous group.
"Told you they were alright, Gordon!" Becker laughed, slapping Peter on the back as he turned to the medic. "Boss hasn't even got a scratch on him. You owe me a tenner!"
"When has he ever though?" Gordon chucked back. "Tell you what, I'll give you half seeing as Amell here appears to have gone three rounds with one of them."
"Charming, the lot of you." Stefan said, stood with his hands on his hips. "Taking bets on our survival?"
"Well if yeh two were going to blow up a whole river!" Thompson countered with a boyish grin. "What were we suppose to think?"
"Granted not everything went to plan." Peter admitted. "How's Davidson by the way?"
The corporal had been attacked by one of the creatures the previous night and had been wounded, enough for him still to be absent from the team this morning.
But Kensington was quick to reassure both men.
"Taken to Southampton just after Major Harrison got here." He replied. "He's going to be fine. But needless to say, the major wasn't too happy with you."
That was the moment Major Harrison decided to exit the vehicle.
The mood of the group changed immediately as they all snapped to attention sharply, everyone except for Peter and Kensington saluting too.
But the major had relaxed now, and was just as jubilant as they were as he smiled at each of them in turn. With a laugh he clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder.
"So I've told him, Kensington." He chuckled. "Honestly Argent, I don't think there is much more that you could do to surprise me these days."
"Well, sir." Peter said with a grin. "I might have one or two more tricks up my sleeve."
Laughing again, Major Harrison nodded and smiled.
"Okay gentleman, at ease." He allowed, turning to leave. "Let these two get seen to and carry on with your tasks."
There was a chorus of 'yes sir' and 'understood sir' as they all stood to attention again as the major left them.
"Alright guys," Peter added. "Go on, get on with everything. We got the job done. All of us achieved that, so thank you. You didn't let me down."
"What about the Doctor and Rose?" Hart suddenly ventured, looking around. "What about them, are they okay?"
Of the three Land Rovers, only two had returned to camp.
The first had taken Jane off in a different direction, presumably to the nearest hospital.
As per the Doctor's instruction to the UNIT solider who'd been their driver, his and Rose's car had pulled up just on the other side of Peter's tent. With the vehicle mostly concealed by it, the Doctor had quickly guided Rose over to hide behind the bonnet, so that they could see and listen in on the soldiers without being detected.
"Yeah, they're fine." Peter replied, nodding. "They were invaluable down there, but I think they've hitched a ride back to the TARDIS."
Perhaps it was due to his exhaustion, but he had not yet realised even with his acute senses that this wasn't true, and that the Time Lord and Rose were only meters away from him.
"Without saying goodbye?" Becker asked. "Bit odd, isn't it?"
"No, not really. It is the Doctor after all. I guess it's just his way."
Rose looked at the Doctor, but the Time Lord just smiled back fondly at her. He wasn't going to announce himself, but neither did it look like he was about to leave. She briefly wondered why, but knew at the same time she had little chance of reading his mind.
"Well, his loss." Gordon said. "Could have helped with the report though. Especially the bit where you took out a whole river?"
"Yeah, I don't think I'll live this one down in a hurry." Peter said sheepishly. "But more pressingly, lance corporal. I think Stefan here needs seeing to."
"Oh, of course. But I'm a poor choice when the misses is here, don't you think?"
"What?" Stefan gasped, immediately looking in the direction of the ambulances. "Emma's here?"
"Come on mate, we should let her know we're alright." Peter laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll see you guys later."
The Doctor and Rose ducked down as Peter and Stefan walk over towards the ambulances, but again they were not spotted. As Peter's team dispersed and went about with their assigned duties, the Doctor tugged on Rose's arm.
"Come on, this way." He told her. "But keep quiet though."
It was almost as though they were playing grandmothers footsteps.
The Doctor crept after the two soldiers as Rose followed after him, ducking and weaving to avoid being seen by either man. Several of the soldiers they did pass gave them very funny looks. But fortunately, they did not say anything.
Rose wondered what the fascination was, and she couldn't work out why the Time Lord was being so secretive as he followed after Peter and Stefan. Yes, Peter was an alien and yes, the Doctor had offered to take him back to his home world, only for Peter to refuse on multiple occasions. Was he going to try one last time?
If so, why was he choosing to sneak around them now? Perhaps the Doctor was making a study of the lieutenant? Or, more likely, he just didn't like being told no.
Skirting around and finding cover behind the remaining flaps of the mess tent, they watched as Stefan ran over to the ambulances with Peter following closely behind him.
Rose recalled him telling them that his wife was a paramedic, and it perhaps made sense that she would be involved with UNIT somehow. Given the secretive nature of their work they had to be careful with about whom they involved, especially when it came to looking after their soldiers.
Emma Amell was young and pretty, her long blonde hair secured up in a high ponytail. She had sea blue eyes which widened with surprise and immense relief as her husband came running over and scooped her up into his arms.
"Oh, my god!" She squealed, Wapping her arms around his neck. "They said you were okay, but I can never trust them."
As Stefan let her down, she kissed him softly on the lips. That was when she properly noticed his bruised and swollen face for the first time. Mostly it was only minor injuries, but around his left eye looked the worst and the messily applied gauze pad on his neck didn't help at all to reassure her.
"Just tripped coming down a steep hill." Stefan reassured her. "It looks worse than it is."
"I'll be the judge of that." Emma challenged. "Honestly, you should be more careful."
"You should see the other guy." Peter laughed, stepping forward. "Or should I say the other bat."
"Hi Peter!" She greeted, beaming at him. "Oh, I've been worried sick."
"Nah, we're all good." Peter laughed. "Just could do with a bit of hose down and some dry clothes."
Giggling as he also held her in a lingering embrace, Emma received a quick peck on the cheek from her friend. When he let go of her, however, she reached up and held onto his grimy but unmarked face gently with both her hands.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "Really though, you're good?"
"I'm fine, Emma." He reassured. "Nothing that didn't sort itself out."
Rose could see now what a difference it made to Peter's personality when he was around those he really care about and could trust. He'd been so hostile and rude to her and the Doctor for most of the night, but that had all vanished entirely now that he was with his friends.
Did being a wolf really make it so clear cut?
She was beginning to believe that it did as she watched Emma sit the two soldiers down on the steps of the ambulance. Within moments they each had a bright orange blanket wrapped around their shoulders and a steaming cup of tea pressed firmly into their hands.
Both men were in high spirits as they chatted with her, but it was clear they were utterly depleted and exhausted.
Though injury free, Peter's eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. With his head resting against the back of the ambulance, he was actually beginning to nod off, only to jerk awake again a few seconds later.
Rose knew exactly how they were feeling. Despite the borrowed fleece and the tartan picnic blanket she was still wearing, she was chilled to the bone and aching all over. Just standing up was hard work, and breathing was becoming labour intensive. The one spark of warmth left was the Doctor's hand as it clasped tightly around hers.
"Doctor?" She breathed. "Can I..."
He understood her meaning even though the words had failed her. Nodding, he kept hold of her hand and wrapped his free arm gently around her shoulders as he started to lead her over towards the ambulances.
"Excuse me?" He called out, specifically looking at Emma. "Sorry to bother you."
Emma heard them and looked up quizzically.
"Are you alright there?" She asked. "Can I help?"
"Doctor, Rose?" Peter questioned with surprise. "You're still here?"
He clearly hadn't thought they'd show up, and Rose saw him exchange a look with Stefan.
The sergeant, however, didn't seem at all caught off guard. He could have almost been expecting them given the hint of a grin that crossed his lips.
It took her a moment, but Emma's face was soon adorned with realisation. She obviously knew who they were. Or, more likely, knew who the Doctor was at least.
"Yes, hello." Rose greeted as they reached the trio. "I..."
"It's Rose, isn't it? I'm Emma." Emma quickly introduced. "And I think we should lie you down. No doubt you'll be suffering from shock, hypothermia and exhaustion at the very least. George, will you take her?"
Another paramedic from the other ambulance walked over.
Young and in his late twenties, he had a scruffy brown beard and a warm smile. He was already detaching Rose from the Doctor and gently coaxing her into following him.
"Sure, Emma." He replied casually. "Come on, miss. Let's get you seen to."
"Go on, Rose." The Doctor encouraged. "I'll be right outside."
Rose nodded numbly as she was passed over to George, whom hovered his arm around her back and carefully started to guide her over to the other ambulance. As she passed by the first one, her eyes fleetingly locked with Peter's.
She knew that she would remember those grey orbs for a long time, and that she wouldn't forget the sight of that gigantic wolf which he could so easily become.
She was also sad at the realisation that this was most likely goodbye.
Watching as Rose disappeared into the back of the ambulance, the Doctor then turned back to Emma and smiled at her.
"What about you, Doctor?" She questioned. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, I would like to get into some dry clothes I suppose, and maybe find out what they did with the creature's body. You know, I really would like to examine -"
"Doctor." Emma interrupted. "I meant medically speaking?"
"Oh, of course." He released. "Absolutely fine."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have my patients to attend to."
Turning away, her attention was already back on her husband and Peter as she continued her examination of Stefan's injuries. The sergeant seemed to have developed pains in his chest, and it looked as though he might have bruised or broken some ribs.
The Doctor watched for a moment, staying where he was.
"Right, yes." He agreed. "Sergeant Amell isn't looking too good, is he?"
"He's lucky it wasn't worse." Emma said as she bend down next to her husband, shinning a torch in his eyes in order to check his responsiveness. "Ok, Stefan. I'm going to pass you over to Elaine. She's going to check those ribs aren't broken and patch you up."
"Okay, so not a hospital job then?" He asked, wincing again as he stood back up. "Oh, ouch."
"You might not have broken them, but you've defiantly bruised a few." She tutted, steadying him. "Honestly, falling down a hill, really?"
"It was dark." He countered. "And it was a very steep hill."
"Plus we were chasing after one of those things." Peter added. "A literal bat out of hell."
Emma sighed and rolled her eyes like a mother who'd heard and seen it all before from two young boys who had just come back in from playing outside, filthy and covered in scrapes and injures.
"You boys." She tutted shaking her head. "What are you two like? Oh, Elaine. Would you mind looking after my brave but very clumsy husband whilst I give this one a final check over?"
A dark-skinned female paramedic had emerged from out of the ambulance they were gather around. She laughed as Emma jerked her thumb in the direction of Peter.
"As ever, Peter." She chucked. "Not a scratch on you."
"What can I say, Elaine?" Peter said, shrugging and giving her a winning smile. "Guess I'm just lucky."
Elaine laughed again as she led Stefan into the back of the ambulance, sitting him down on the padded bed and beginning to carefully examine his chest and each rib, pausing once or twice as Stefan hissed with pain.
Standing next to Peter, Emma had taken out of her pocket a small black notebook and one of her biro pens. It was already half full and she spent a moment flipping through the pages until she found the next blank one.
"Right, let's see now." She said. "Where did we leave it the last time?"
"Do we really have to do this, Emma?" Peter suddenly whined. "I'm fine."
"Yes, we do. I want to make sure you're okay."
Wandering over and peering over her shoulder, the Doctor tried to catch a glimpse of what she had already written down. He caught only glances of words, but they seemed to be relevant to her work as a paramedic. They contained various notes naming parts of the body, including some bones and internal structures.
"What's that?" He asked curiously, pointing at the notebook. "Medical notes?"
Suddenly Emma was frowning, and she swiftly snapped the book shut as she turned around to face him. Stood with her hands on her hips, she was clearly running out of patience with him.
"Doctor, if you're not in any need of medical help then I suggest that you either go and check on your friend in the other ambulance, or please leave me to do my job."
"Emma, it's okay." Peter told her. "You can carry on."
She looked at him, confused and hesitant to say anything else in the Doctor's presence.
"But Peter, we need to discuss... You know..." She tried to imply. "Your medical details."
Peter looked from her to the Doctor, thought for a moment, and then looked back at her and smiled.
"It's okay." He said. "He knows."
There was only one thing that he could be referring to.
"Oh," Emma replied, sounding surprised as she looked back at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow. "I see. How?"
"I kind of showed him."
Emma whirled back around to face him. It was clear by her expression that Peter had indeed never, not once since accidentally showing her and Stefan all those years ago, let anyone else know what he was.
"Okay, that's fine." She replied slowly, as she hesitantly reopened her notebook. "It just that you've never... Anyway, it doesn't matter. You're safe, but I still want to know what's happened."
The Doctor quickly realised, as Peter began listing off his impressive list of sustained injuries and near death experiences, that Emma's notebook was a log of how his body and its ability to rapidly heal itself had reacted to the various afflictions and traumas he'd undergone over the years.
"You've made a study of it?" He said, smiling. "For how long?"
"From day one, I suppose." She replied, only after waiting for Peter to nod his permission for her to say anything. "With Peter being on his own, we don't know how far he can push it. I've got no solid references, so I've made my own."
The Doctor was impressed.
Emma and Stefan had not only chosen to accept and protect Peter's secret, but had taken it upon themselves to help him better understand what he was. Even if they did not fully comprehend it themselves and it was only guess work, they had proven themselves to be nothing short of loyal and steadfast friends that might have otherwise been absent.
No wonder Peter trusted them.
"They said you were the smart one." The Doctor told Emma once she had finished checking over Peter's left leg. "Guess they were right."
"Really?" Emma chuckled, looking at Peter as he merely shrugged and smiled back in response. "Well, they save the world. I just make sure they're okay afterwards."
The Doctor was about to reply when he saw Peter look beyond him, the lieutenant quickly getting to his feet and standing to attention as the Time Lord heard someone approaching them from behind him.
"Misses Amell," Major Harrison greeted Emma smartly as he reached the group. "Do I have the all clear for my lieutenant yet?"
"Yes, I think I'm happy with his condition, major." Emma replied. "But he's exhausted and I do recommend -"
"Sleep will have to wait, I'm afraid." Harrison apologised, holding up his hand to stop her. "I need an after action report written up now, Argent."
"Sir, yes sir." Peter replied. "I'll do it now."
"Thank you. Dismissed."
With a curt nod and a last smile at Emma as she pocketed her little notebook, Peter marched off towards his tent.
"You know, maybe I should go and help?" The Doctor suggested, pointing his thumb in the same direction. "I was there too."
Major Harrison seemed surprised.
"So were two of my finest men, Doctor." He said. "Besides, since when do you want to help out with the paperwork of all things?"
"Since I became very impressed by your two finest men." The Doctor countered. "Peter especially so."
The major's eyebrow rose up, but then he laughed.
"I do hope you're not planning on trying to recruit him as one of your companions, Doctor?"
"Well, not quite. No."
"Good." Major Harrison replied. "Now, if -"
"But, if I might, major." The Doctor continued. "I would like a word with you before I do go?"
"Really?" He asked, puzzled. "All right. Why don't we walk and talk?"
The Doctor nodded and, sensing the watchful gaze of Emma Amell digging into the back of his skull as he walked away, he fell into step with the UNIT officer.