The Doctor led Peter and Rose deeper into the city and further away from the sight of the fire and the large river which divided Algero.

Heading downhill and through more identical rows of tenement buildings, the number of people on the streets began to dwindle the longer they walked. Gone were the brightly coloured shopfronts and deliciously smelling bakeries as they were replaced instead by anonymous front doors. All of the windows here swung inwards to allow the fresh air in, but every single green shutter remained firmly closed against the heat of the afternoon.

The few Nimarians they did pass only gave Peter and his soot-covered state a passing glance. There was still a hint of ash in the breeze and any wolf within five miles would be able to detect the pungent scent long before word of the commotion spread. They would all just assume that he had been caught up in the blaze and was now leaving in the company of two friends.

But what strange friends they were.

The tall and skinny man was wearing a ridiculously long overcoat which could have covered the entire back of a horse. Walking just behind him, the young woman's hair was far too bright to be natural whilst her skin was alarmingly pale as though she'd never been in the sun before now. The tightness of her trousers too went far beyond the threshold of respectability, even for riding attire, and the colour of them was simply awful.

Neither one of the pair could have come from Algero and their uniquely differing scents only made those casual glances linger a moment longer.

Rose could feel the eyes of every wolf she passed dig into the back of her skull as she and Peter continued to follow after the Doctor. The initial hustle and bustle which had welcomed them had provided a sense of anonymity. Just like in any other large city in the universe, people here had their own lives to be getting on with and three more bodies among thousands of others were never going to attract much attention.

All that had gone now they were in this quiet and isolated part of Algero.

"Doctor, where are you taking us?" She hissed. "How is this any different to where we were before?"

Peter had compared the city to a labyrinth and he wasn't wrong. Even so, the Time Lord appeared to have the entire network etched into his memory as though this was his planet they were visiting. Had he been studying up on Valerus in those infrequent moments of respite back in the TARDIS? He certainly knew enough facts about the planet to act as their guide, which seemed to include knowing where it was they were headed towards right now.

They were completely alone.

Nothing about the street they had turned onto stood out from the others. Only a stone bench and another water tough next to it made it any different to any other. Surrounded on all sides by more tenement buildings, the laundry hanging from the network of lines that had been strung between them could have been easily been identical clones of others as the damp clothes dried up in the warm sunlight.

There was a narrow alleyway that veered off to the left. Cast in shadow now as the afternoon dragged on, only the stroke of midday might have provided it with any direct light.

Drawing in a deep breath, the Doctor loudly clapped his hands together. The sharp sound echoed as it reverberated off the closely confined buildings and would have been enough to turn any head had there actually been anyone around to see these three strangers standing as they were in the middle of the street.

"Right, here we are. This is it."

"What do you mean?" Peter questioned, frowning as he looked all around him. "What is this place? Look, Doctor. You said that -"

"Hold on, now you said that you'd trust me, Peter." The Time Lord replied as he held up a finger. "So, trust me. I need you and Rose to stay here, okay? No breaking rule number one."

"No wandering off," Rose repeated back to him. "I know. I know."

Though she smiled back at him innocently enough, it didn't need to be said that she was a persistent offender when it came to wondering off when she had explicitly been told not to. Hanging from the trailing rope of a barrage balloon in the middle of the London Blitz had been the consequences of one particular occasion, all whilst Rose had been wearing a Union Flag t-shirt to boot.

But there was an anchoring factor here that would keep her a little more grounded this time.

Peter wouldn't be going anywhere as long as he thought he was going to get some answers. A lifetime of waiting was only going to last a few minutes more and all he could do for the moment was shoot the Doctor a narrowed glare of suspicion. Always wanting to help wherever she could, the Time Lord knew that Rose wouldn't leave their new friend alone to satisfy her own curiosity.

"Right, back in a tick."

Turning on the rubber sole of his scuffed-up All-Star Converses, the Doctor walked away and stepped through into the shadowy embrace of the narrow alleyway.

Watching as he turned left almost immediately and disappeared into a connecting passageway, Rose listened to his echoing footsteps for as long as she could. They too soon faded away, however, and both she and Peter were left to simply trust that he would return shortly with whatever it was he wanted to show them.

Perhaps he really did like keeping them in the dark for the single purpose of keeping the suspense of showing off to them what it was he had discovered.

But Peter had already lost all interest in the Time Lord and what he had in store for them. Having sat himself down on the stone bench, he was leaning back against the wall of the building behind him with his eyes firmly shut, his head titled upwards slightly in order to embrace the warm rays of the bright afternoon sun.

Even so, Rose knew that the UNIT lieutenant never entire switched himself off.

Sitting as still as a statue, Peter's head would be racing away as it assessed and puzzled over everything which had happened since they'd arrived. The house fire was almost forgettable in comparison to Rennarita's tempered reaction to learning his identity and it all only added to the mystery of what had happened all those years ago. Topped with the chilling vision he'd had of a woman being murdered… Well, Rose couldn't blame him for wanting to take five minutes to process it all.

"Peter?" She ventured. "Are you okay?"

Renn's effort to clean the soot off Peter's face had removed the worst of the black stains. But there were still some lingering traces in the creases around his eyes and nose. In the heat of the afternoon, a few tickling beads of sweat had mixed in with the grime clinging to his skin, creating snail-trail marks down his cheeks.

"Fantastic." He muttered back. "How about you?"

The effort of running into that burning building twice, as well as carrying a full-grown woman and her child out had finally caught up with him. The adrenaline which had propelled Peter into action had long since vanished and maybe another respite trip was in need already to recover from this adventure.

Had it really only been and few hours since that beautiful sunrise picnic at the Naksan Temple?

Not knowing what else to do or say in response, Rose slowly came forward and perched herself down on the opposite end of the bench to Peter. He didn't open his eyes or budge an inch but he knew that she was there and could probably sense the way in which she was looking at him right at this moment.

"How are your hands?" Rose eventually asked him. "Have they… Are they okay?"

Peter had burnt one palm and been stabbed in the other by a shard of pottery. But given the severity of the fire, it could have been so much worse. They both look okay to her now, only a few traces of dried blood remained to show for any injuries at all now that the Nimarian's ability to rapidly regenerate cells had done its job.

"They're fine." He replied. "Still, a house fire. That's a new one to all to the list. But I guess it's a boring day compared against the ice warriors and crazy cat nuns."

Finally opening his eyes, the back of his head rolled against the wall as he looked Rose's way with a teasing grin spread across his face.

"Yeah, is suppose it was." She agreed, smiling back at him brightly. "But at least you got to meet Renn?"

Peter responded with a small laugh. But there was a glint in his silvery eyes as his thoughts returned to beautiful, if slightly highly strung she-wolf. He definitely liked her and Rose had seen the way in which the raven-haired wolf had responded to his flirtations. Even so, in a city as big as Algero, they probably weren't going to meet her again.

"I could have done without the slap to face," Peter admitted. "But she… She handled herself well."

"Oh, come on!" Rose giggled. "Is that all you can say? Admit it, Peter. You liked her."

"What are you, twelve? Nobody says like anymore, Rose. Besides I… She was certainly… Look, it's over with now. Besides, she probably thinks I'm half-mad or something."

"Well, you did run into a burning building. Twice, you ran into a burning building."

Peter shrugged his shoulders, unsure of his response.

Letting out a puff of air, he simply shrugged back at her. The Doctor still hadn't returned and he didn't care enough to try and figure out where the Time Lord had gone. This was a nice enough spot to sit and wait awhile, and Rose's attempts to brighten his mood was making for a nice distraction for the moment. Aside from working together to stop all the hostile aliens they'd encountered in their short time together, Peter really hadn't had the chance to speak with her at great length and especially not about their personal lives.

"It wouldn't be the first time someone didn't like what I do."

"How'd you mean? Like… girlfriends?"

Rose would have assumed with his handsome face and uniformed occupation that Peter would have more than his fair share of admirers. He could be caring enough and even downright charming when it suited him, even if it was sometimes buried underneath a short-fused temper and slightly imperialistic manner.

"Anyone outside of the job doesn't stick around." He admitted. "The cancelled dates and radio silence for days or even weeks on end because of operations, not to mention that I can't even discuss it when I do get back. It all adds up and soon enough… You might as well not bother. As for those in the know, the pressures of it all can make for some pretty big arguments. It's always like having a long-distance relationship, they never last."

"I get it," Rose said. "I have… had a boyfriend. Mickey, and ever since I met the Doctor… Well, you know. We meet up last year, in Cardiff to try and figure things out. But we kinda got distracted with an alien trying to blow up the Earth again."

"Cardiff?" Peter remarked. "That wouldn't be the whole earthquake and almost end of the world Cardiff?"

Rose nodded back.

"Yeah, that's the one." She said. "Typical day, really. Alien trying to destroy up the Earth by blowing up a nuclear power station to hitch a ride home on this like big surfboard thing."

"You're right, that does sound like a fairly ordinary day," Peter said. "My God, is it any wonder Earth hasn't been destroyed yet?"

He was fighting back the urge to laugh at his own words and it was enough to make Rose smile in amusement too. No wonder Rennarita had run for the hills given the normality they were placing on even talking about such monsters and their intergalactic misdeeds.

"I don't know," Rose began. "Between the three of us, I think we've done our fair share to stop them."

Peter nodded in agreement.

He'd only known her and the Doctor for just over two weeks, and yet his new assignment had gone better than he'd imagined it would have. Sure, they had hit the ground running from day one and had already prevented at least three different planets from being destroyed or enslaved, including Earth and its eventual successor in the form of New Earth. But now, here they were again, once more ready to solve another problem on a brand new planet.

His problem. His planet.

Peter didn't want to think about what awaited him here on Valerus, and yet there was nothing he could do to keep the troubling bouts of wild imaginations from making him twitch with apprehension. The remaining soot around his nose and eyes wasn't helping at all and trying to wipe it away with equally dirty hands wasn't working. The back of his throat was bone-dry too and he had left the flask of water he'd been given behind at the site of the fire.

In its absence and under the warm glow of the Valerian sun, it was becoming somewhat unbearable.

"I'm not waiting around much longer." He decided. "I need a drink and a wash. Even if there's a fountain nearby where I can…"

Peter saw the water trough out of the corner of his eye and stared down at its tempting and shimmering contents. The water gathered inside the stone basin was there for any passing horse to take a drink from, and was not intended to be for public consumption. But it really didn't look that dirty and Peter knew that could always just spit it out again. At the very least he could rinse himself off until he could take a shower.

"Don't even think about it." Rose scolded. "Peter, you could get sick!"

Sensing what Peter was about to do as he stood up and moved over to the trough and leaned forward, placing both of his hands on the stone brim, Rose jumped up onto her feet in protest. There was no telling what bacteria was growing away inside it. Any rainfall might have contaminated it too or even the horses themselves as they had taken their fill.

"I'm just going to dunk my head under." He argued back. "I'm not going to drink it."

"Yeah, what about the horses who might want to drink it after you?"

Peter sighed irritably.

"I've seen them drink out of muddy puddles in a field. They'll be fine."

Back on Earth, he had watched as Sarah Pascall's two grey welsh cobs had rolled around until they were near black with dirt before drinking from the same flooded part of their paddock. If the horses here on Valerus were in any way similar then a little sweat and soot weren't going to affect them at all in the least. Besides, there were probably thousands of other troughs they could use. He needed this one more than they did.

"Peter -"

"Rose, it's this or I'll go and jump in the river."

"Okay, but - "

Knowing that it impossible for Rose Tyler to let go of an argument, Peter decided not to prolong this one. Perhaps he might have to take a swim in the river after all, or better yet return to the TARDIS if it was closer to them. The only problem was that he had neither a key to the time machine nor much of a clue as to which direction they needed to go from here in order to reach it.

"One quick dunk." He reasoned. "Then we'll go. Forget about what the Doctor said, he can find us back at the TARDIS."

It wasn't Rose who next spoke up on behalf of the four-legged beasts.

"That is for the horses."

A woman had appeared from out of nowhere. Stood facing both of them, she was positioned just a few meters away from the alleyway which the Doctor had walked down just a few minutes before. It was entirely possible that she had passed the Time Lord on her way here, but if she had then she didn't say.

In her hands was a metal flask and a freshly laundered white towel.

The canister was explainable enough given the heat of the late afternoon, but the latter of the two items she was carrying was suspicious at best. Her immaculate appearance didn't suit the need to be carrying the piece of cloth around the streets and her emerald green dress with its flowing knee-length skirt certainly wasn't practical for doing the washing up.

It was made from a silky material aside from the full-length sleeves which instead were constructed of a matching shade of delicate lace fabric. Fastened around the bottom by a pair of silver buttons, it would have been a fiddly task to roll them up to avoid any plucks in the thread or them getting wet. A thin belt made of the same metal encircled her slender waist and it complimented the earrings and crescent-shaped necklace she was wearing.

Older than Renn by at least twenty-five years, the woman had nevertheless retained the beauty of her youth. Her auburn hair was pinned up without a strand out of place, exposing her graceful neckline and a posture that was flawlessly poised. Wide almond-shaped eyes just a few shades lighter than her dress were trained intently on Peter, as though she was trying to silently steer him away from the action he was about to take.

Peter remained stubbornly determined, however.

"Yeah, well… I think I need it more." He told both her and Rose. "So, if everyone is done worrying about the horses. I'm going to clean myself up."

He only managed to half turn around before the woman spoke up again.

"Perhaps this, instead?"

She held out the flask towards him.

Something about this gesture, as simple as it was, combined with the towel the woman was carrying went beyond that of charitable. She had not chanced upon them here whilst in possession of what it was Peter was in need of them most. There was no bag or purse in sight, so either she had come out of one of the tenement blocks or…

Had the Doctor sent her?

She had emerged from the same alleyway he had vanished down and there wasn't another soul around in this quiet and isolated corner of Algero. But if the Time Lord had indeed sent this woman this way, then why and for what purpose? More importantly, why hadn't he remerged with her to explain just what it was he was up to?

Exchanging a glance with Rose and watching as she responded back with a questioning shrug of her shoulders, Peter turned his attention back to the other Nimairan.

Sensing his hesitancy, she took a small step forward and once more offered him the flask along with the towel. There was no hostility or deception in her body language to suggest that she meant him any harm and even offered a vocal assurance to Peter.

"Please, I promise you. It's not poisoned. It'll be far cleaner than that trough water."

Her smile washed away the last of Peter's lingering doubts.

There had been plenty of times before now when someone had done their best to endanger or even kill him. Usually, this ill-intent was applied in a more direct way, but his close encounter with a monk from the Brethren trying to drug his whisky had made him more aware of subtler attempts. A flask of water given to him by a complete stranger might result in the same outcome, but there was just something about this woman that made Peter want to trust her.

Besides, it wasn't as though he and Rose had stumbled across another invasion attempt or plot to destroy the planet.

"Thank you." He said politely. "I appreciate it."

Closing the gap between them, he accepted both the flask and towel from the woman.

Backing away from her and Rose to ensure that they didn't get splashed, Peter wasted no time and quickly unscrewed the lid of the container and dumped half of its contents over his head. The refreshingly cool and clean water felt amazing as it surged through his hair and ran down his face and the back of his neck. His shirt once more became stuck to his chest as the grey cotton became sodden, but he didn't care at all as he took a swig of the remaining water.

Pressing the towel up against his face, he was surprised just how dirty it came away.

As Peter repeated the motion of showering himself and wiping away the remaining traces of soot from his face, Rose saw just how intently the woman was watching him. Her smile had widened considerably, as though helping him had brought her personal joy. Her olive shaded eyes hadn't left the younger Nimarian once and she took another hesitant step towards him.

"So, you just happened to be carrying a towel around with you?" Rose questioned. "Do you live near here?"

She hadn't meant to sound quite so accusing but something here wasn't right. The woman was nervous, Rose could see in the way she was fiddling with a ring on her right hand. She was far too focused on Peter, more than any passing concern might create. Even as she was directly addressed, the woman still didn't take her eyes off him as she gave her answer.

"I became aware that the young man involved in the fire was here." She began. "That he… That you were in need of…"

Her received pronunciation had made it clear that she came from a far more privileged background than of those who lived in any of the surrounding tenement buildings. Rennarita's accented tones sounded far more regional in comparison and this woman's obvious wealth was made more obvious by the fabric of her dress. Rose could tell it was a cut above the rest even when compared against all of the other stunning outfits she had seen today.

But most tellingly of all, the woman was looked at Peter just like Renn had done. It was as though she already knew him.

Finally, Peter also noticed her prolonged stare for himself. Putting the empty flask and blackened towel down on the stone bench, he frowned in response to the change in the woman's mannerism. This went beyond his name, he was sure of it. Unless this woman had been listening in on them there was no way she knew who he was. Besides, the news couldn't have travelled that fast about the fire, could it have?

Slicking back his damp hair, Peter took a step back towards her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "What is it?"

The woman hesitated as though unsure of wanting to admit to what it was she was thinking.

"Forgive me staring. It's just… You remind me… you resemble… Oh! Those eyes haven't changed one bit!"

A small gasping sob cut off further words and tears were suddenly threatening to spill from her eyes as she spoke. With no hesitation this time, she closed the gap between herself and Peter as her arm shot up and extended out towards his face.

Peter stumbled back from her.

"W-what…"

Recovering herself slightly and in response to his shocked reaction, the woman retracted her arm and managed to take in a long and deep breath.

"I'm sorry." She apologised. "I didn't mean to… It's just… Oh, your heart is racing away. But then again, so is mine. Please, may I?"

The hand which she had extended out with twitched with anticipation. Holding it in place against her chest with her other arm, as though she couldn't trust herself not to once more reach out towards Peter once again, the woman's pleading expression waited impatiently for his permission.

Had it been anyone else in the universe then Peter might have laughed in their face.

But he could hear his own heart thudding away against his ribcage and knew that the woman's was doing the same right now. Why? What was it about that was making him want to trust her? This wasn't just because she was another wolf, this was something else entirely. Their joint accelerated pulses were beginning to quieten now, as though the fear was being replaced by something else entirely. What was it? He was certainly nervous but…

"Yes."

The woman beamed at him as he granted her wish.

Peter then watched as her thin and elongated fingers travelled through the air towards him. There was no urge to recoil this time and he felt, with the gentlest of touches, the moment her knuckles made contact with the left side of his face. Brushing across his cheek until she reached his ear, the woman unfurled her hand so that her palm was enveloped around his jawbone. Slowly and ever so reassuringly, her thumb began to stroke the embraced skin.

For the first time since before the fire, Peter caught the smell of something.

It wasn't the artificial kind of scent that came with perfumes or deodorants. No, this was a natural smell that allowed him to identify an individual person amongst a thousand others. Immediately reaching up and taking hold of the woman's hand in his own, he slid it down towards his nose and took in a deep breath.

He knew it. He had smelt it before and he knew it.

It wasn't even a memory that came back to him, more of an impression of one. But quite suddenly he knew where he had smelt it before as he looked down and caught a glimpse of the silver and blue ring that was sitting on the woman's right index finger. Was it… Could it be? Not allowing herself to let go of him, even for a single moment, Peter felt the woman's finger and thumb brush over his larger but otherwise identical piece of jewellery which he was wearing on his opposing hand.

"P-Peter?"

Suddenly Peter knew. He knew who she was and... Oh, his heart was about to break through his chest and….

"You…" He gasped. "You're my mother?!"

She burst into tears and nodded back.

"P-Peter!" She cried. "Oh, my-y d-darling boy!"

If his heart was indeed at risk of jumping out of his body then it was swiftly forced back into place as Peter was pulled into one of the tightest hugs of his life. There was no time to process it and for a moment he simply stood there, numb to the bone as the woman… his actual birth mother clung onto to him and sobbed.

But if she was here with him now then… She wasn't the one that he'd seen being murdered.

This surge of relief was the triggering point and suddenly every emotion under the sun hit him like a freight train. At last he managed to draw in a breath and that was when the tears of his own flooded down his cheeks as his arms that had until now been hanging limply by his side suddenly regained their use. At last, after twenty-three years and for the first time in his life, he was able to hug his mother back.

"Y-you're alive!"

Further words weren't needed right now and Peter didn't want to try to attempt any as he instead buried his face into her shoulder.

"Shush, it's alright." His mother soothed. "I'm here. I'm here."

He could feel her stroking the back of his head, her reassuring touch brushing through his hair and the nape of his neck. It only made Peter hold onto his her more tightly as he drank in her scent. The refreshingly floral fragrance which he had learned all those years ago and never truly forgotten was intoxicating and he never wanted to leave it ever again. As he lifted his head up slightly to come up for air, his forehead and nose found hers and that was how they remained for a moment until his mother placed both her hands on his cheeks and took a step back from him so that she could once again take in the face of her now grown-up son.

She still hadn't let go of him and Peter didn't want her to she examined every inch of his face. "Oh, look at you!" She said, beaming with joy. "Y-you look so like your father."

"Yeah, I can see that."

The man who might be best placed to confirm this chose his moment wisely as he emerged from the shadows of the alleyway.

Peter was just as tall as his father but wasn't quite as broad shouldered. It was also clear that his more upturned nose had come from his mother rather than the slightly wider and straighter appendage his paternal side owned. But otherwise, they were the spitting image of one another.

The identical tussled locks of the elder Argent's charcoal black hair had a few hints of grey towards the top of his head whilst, like every other Nimairan, he had olive-toned skin. A strong jawline and piercing eyes to match his silver waistcoat stood out amongst his features the most. Worn under a tailored black suit, the jacket of which being longer just like a morning suit, the entire image make for the appearance of a very handsome older gentleman.

Rather than being opened-necked, his dark shirt was fastened at the top with a large silver oval-shaped brooch, at the centre of which was a large blue moonstone.

"Alex… Look at him!"

Peter's mother still hadn't let go of her son, but she tore her gaze away long enough to watch as her dumbfounded husband approached them both. Shock and disbelief at what he was seeing had made the man's jaw drop down and nearly sweep up the dirt from the cobbled ground as he stared at his long-lost child. But this was no dream, it was real and so was the young man who they had last seen as a three month-old infant.

It was Peter who spoke first.

"Hi, dad."

Peter felt his feet almost leave the ground as he was swept up into his father's warm embrace. Squeezing him back as hard as he could, he inhaled the muskier scent and leaned into the greeting as the elder Argent pressed his nose and forehead against his just as his mother had done.

"Oh, my son!" His father gasped. "Let me look at you."

Placing his hands on either side of his child's face and moving back slightly to take in his image, Peter's father experienced the same joy his wife had felt in seeing the familial resemblance and his handsome if slightly dirtied appearance. "Not bad." He declared. "Not too bad at all! Despite all this soot."

Fresh tears fell down Peter's cheeks, but he laughed in response.

"Oh, that fire!" His mother cried. "W-what were you thinking!"

Rose watched with a beaming smile as Peter was once more pulled into the tight grasp of his mother's arms, only to be pinned into place even more as his father enveloped them both into his grasp. Here was a family reunited and able to hold onto one another again at long last, and it was all because of one man who was stood silently watching from the corner of a shadowy alleyway.

Skirting around the newly reaffirmed family, the Doctor made his way over to her.

"How did…" She began. "You're unbelievable, Doctor. You really do like to show off, don't you?"

The Doctor smiled in response, but he wasn't looking in her direction. Peter and his parents had instead captured his attention and he couldn't have looked happier for it.

"Well, it was worth it in the end, wasn't it?"

Rose couldn't disagree with him.

It must have been the biggest worry in the world that Peter would have had nothing to come back to here on Valerus after a lifetime of living on Earth. But now, here he was, in the embrace of his family and able to finally get the answers he had been searching for his entire life. This was his home and regardless of what difficulties lay ahead, he at least knew that his absence had been felt most strongly by those who must have missed him the most.

Looking up at the man who had restored his son to him, Peter's father's silvery eyes met with the Doctor's watchful gaze.

"Doctor… Words cannot begin to express… I… We…"

"It was my pleasure." The Time Lord replied. "Your Majesty."