Rodger Harper had woken up to the most spectacular of sunrises.

Perhaps it was his reward for trying to sleep through what had been quite a terrible night. Full of downpours and even a lightning storm, there had been no rest as it battered against nylon fabric of his tent until the early hours. But it was worth it as he enjoyed the blissful morning which had greeted him.

But as any Englishman knew, the rain was never too far away.

As he poured the contents of a can of dog food into the plastic bowl, Rodger looked up at the distant grey clouds that were threatening to interrupt his trip once again. Still, there was little he could do but enjoy the sun whilst it lasted. Discarding the empty tin into a bag he'd left open on his foldable table, he put the bowl on down onto the grass and looked up as he let out a loud whistle.

"Molly!" He called. "Here girl, food!"

Calling out again when she failed to appear, Rodger frowned when he did not see a streak of black and white come charging out of the woods to greet him.

Molly would never stray too far away from him and she had been coming to these woods since she was a puppy. She also knew to come back whenever he called her. Although, if she had found a puddle or small pond to splash around in then it was a matter of waiting until she came back, no doubt in need of a good hose down and towel dry.

Settling down into his chair, a mug of hot tea in his hand, Rodger contented himself with enjoying what looked to be the last of good weather before he'd be forced to retreat into his tent again.

A loud series of yapping barks announced the arrived of his pet.

Smiling as he stood back up, Rodger knew she must have smelt her breakfast and come running back from whatever adventure had distracted her. Sure enough, there she was. Molly came racing out of the woods just beyond his parked Volvo and made straight for her bowl.

But she wasn't alone.

Rodger's smile vanished as his mouth fell open. Five people had followed Molly out of the trees and were walking towards him. There were three men and two women and they were all in an awful bedraggled state, looking as though they had spent the night in the woods without anything to shelter them from the wild weather.

They didn't look like fellow campers.

One man looked though he'd been in a fight. His face was all swollen and bruised and he was walking with one hand pressed against his ribs as though they were hurting him. Dressed in black military clothing, identical to one of the other two men, neither of them had a coat on to protect them from the cold. The other's shirt and trousers were torn in several places and he was half carrying a redheaded woman who seemed to be one shade of white up from being dead.

The blonde woman was holding the hand of the third man, and he was the most peculiar of the lot. Dressed in a sopping wet pinstriped suit and long tan overcoat, he was the only one who smiled at Rodger as they approached him.

"Hello!" The Doctor called out, waving cheerfully. "You must be Molly's owner?"

The man in front of him was around forty, but he looked older because of his grey hair and stubbled beard. Wrapped up in at least three thick layers and a waterproof coat, he had come well prepared for the unpredictable, drizzly weather.

Given the look of complete surprise and bewilderment on his face, it took a while for him to respond.

"Erm... Yes. I'm Rodger… Rodger Harper." Rodger introduced, frowning. "Sorry, but who are you?"

"Oh yes, of course, how rude of me. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose and that's Jane. These two fine men are -"

"We can skip the intros, Doctor." Peter interrupted. "Sir, I'm going to need your phone and any spare clothing or blankets you have. These people have the onsets of hypothermia and need to get warm and dry until I can get medical help here."

He had said all of this very quickly in a clinically serious tone. Whilst he had been talking, Peter plonked Jane down onto the vacant camping chair before turning back around to face the man and frowned at him when he failed to respond.

"Oh..." Rodger mumbled. "You need..."

"Now, please!" Peter barked at him. "Quick as you like."

Rodger jumped and fumbled slightly as he peeled off his coat and handed it over to him.

"Right, of course. Sorry." He apologised. "Mobile is in there. My rucksack is in the tent, I'll show you."

"Stefan, go with him and grab what we need," Peter instructed as he found the phone. "Get the others and yourself wrapped up whilst I call it in. You doing okay, how is it?"

He nodded down at his friend's side.

The corporal had been struck by Karina's powerful arm down in the cave and this topped with their underwater escape and giving Peter CPR had left him with a pain that was refusing to go away. No doubt he had bruised something, maybe even fractured a rib or two.

"Hanging in there." He muttered, managing to smile. "At least the cold is numbing it."

"Yeah, you'll be feeling it tomorrow for sure," Peter told him. "Go on, rest up."

Slightly relieved to be able to, Stefan followed after Rodger over to the tent, taking Rose and Jane with him. Except for Molly, who was greedily chomping down her food, this left the Doctor and Peter on their own.

"You could have been a bit nicer to him." The Doctor suggested. "There wasn't any need to shout at poor Rodger."

Peter's brow creased irritably as he dialled a number from memory into the phone. Putting the mobile up against his ear, he glared at the Time Lord.

"I'm not here to make friends, Doctor." He countered. "Getting you lot back in one piece and contacting UNIT are my only two priorities right now."

"Yes, I suppose. We are a bit late checking in, aren't we?"

Peter didn't look as though he wanted to be reminded of this. They had arranged to be back with his team at dawn, the rendezvous being the cave where they had originally entered from. Now, miles away and over two hours late, there was little to doubt that his men had already called in for back up.

At least the phone was ringing and there was a signal here. The call was answered quickly.

"This is Lieutenant Peter Argent. Immediate extraction required from the triangulated location of this phone." He relayed to the operator. "Code Nine is secure with two civilians and Corporal Amell in need of cat D relief."

The Doctor knew whoever it was Peter was speaking with would be sat in a secretive control room somewhere at a computer, no doubt with access to all kinds of resources and information that could be put through to their field personal with just a few clicks of the mouse.

"All systems go, is it?" He asked. "Tell them not to scratch the TARDIS if they bring it over."

Peter ignored him as he listed carefully to what he was being told.

"Yes, I'll hold for him." He said, pausing for a moment. "Major Harrison, sir… Yes, sir. We're back…."

Rose felt as though she had sunk into a hot bubble bath, one that she never wanted to get out of for as long as she lived. Wrapped up in a large tartan picnic blanket, she was now wearing one of Rodger's spare jackets. The man had unpacked everything he had with him and had kindly told them to take whatever they wanted.

Between herself and Stefan, they had helped Jane as she rather unsteadily clambered into the tent. She was falling asleep even as she crawled inside, her body finally giving up after enduring so much. Even so, Stefan had shaken her awake and insisted that she put on a dry jumper before allowing her to lie down on top of the unfurled sleeping bag. Draping another jacket on top of her, the soldier was shaking so much that his teeth were chattering as he helped Rose wrap up too.

"Here, put this on." She told him, finding another fleece. "You're freezing."

"T-thanks." He replied, pulling it on with some difficultly. "Damn, I think I have broken something. No, it's fine. They'll patch me up when backup comes, Peter's calling them now."

"Yeah, it's finally over." Rose realised. "What happens now, Stefan? When UNIT get here… What about Jane?"

Stefan looked down at the sleeping woman with some pity.

"Nothing is going to bring her boyfriend back." He admitted. "She won't understand why he was killed and we'll have to make her keep what she saw secret. But she can go home and live her life, and that is job done as far as we're concerned. We stopped those things from hurting anyone else."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Right, I'm going to see what's going on. Wait here, get some sleep if you can. I might be able to find some tea or food."

Wincing as he got back up, the soldier smiled at Rose reassuringly as he left the tent. Listening as the sound of his boots squelching in the mud gradually faded away, Rose knew that she should get some sleep. Her head was pounding and she had never been so tired in all of her life. But sitting here, in this tent, just reminded her of being back in that cave again.

Suddenly feeling trapped, she scrambled to her feet and stepped outside.

It had started to rain again. Pulling the blanket over her head like a hood, Rose quickly spotted Peter stood a good distance away, pacing up and down as he spoke to someone on Rodger's phone. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she could tell from his serious expression that it was a very important conversation and that he was doing more listening than talking.

The Doctor and Stefan were talking stood with the Rodger.

Molly the border collie was sat at her owner's feet, looking up at all three of them as she eagerly wagged her tail in the clear hope of getting some attention. Spotting Rose as she walked over to them, the Doctor smiled brightly and waved at her.

"Rose, there you are." He said. "You've said hello to Rodger, haven't you?"

"Yes, hi." She greeting, feeling slightly awkward. "Thanks for the blankets and everything."

"It's no trouble," Rodger replied with an unsure smile. "Just can't think what you were doing out here with nothing but the clothes on your back? You all look as though you've been for a midnight swim."

"Something like that." The Doctor laughed. "But that was only the end of it."

Rodger frowned curiously and was just about to respond when Stefan spoke up quickly.

"I was wondering, Rodger. Do you have any maps of where we are?" He asked. "In your car, maybe?"

Perhaps sensing that he was being shooed away, Rodger nodded and pointed over to his Volvo as he turned towards it.

"Yes, in my glovebox." He said. "I'll get them for you. Come on, Molly."

The dog followed after him, and soon both pet and owner had climbed into the vehicle and were out of earshot of a conversation that neither of them might have thought possible, even if the Doctor had translated it for human and canine ears alike.

"Nice diversion." The Time Lord told Stefan. "Then again, you are quite the expert on covering things up."

None of them looked Peter's way. They didn't need to, even when they knew the conversation they were about to have.

"I'm not going to apologise for protecting my friend." The soldier replied. "It's not safe for him to just tell anyone what he is."

"It must be hard for him though, pretending all the time?" Rose ventured. "People must've noticed things over the years."

"Yes, but the Doctor is right. We've gotten good at coming up with explanations. Even UNIT can be fooled by a swapped blood sample and a few adjusted field reports."

"With you providing the sample and backup testimonies, I presume?" The Doctor questioned. "Still, it's perfectly understandable. As long as he's on Earth it's the safest option for him."

Stefan frowned at this. He hadn't wanted the topic of his friend's home planet to be discussed, and he stopped the Doctor from trying to persuade Peter into travelling to it. But he had only acted upon the lieutenant's initial rejection of the idea, and everything said afterwards had only been to protect him from being unnecessarily hurt.

"Doctor, you are not going to get him into the TARDIS by force." He said. "Peter is so stubborn and he'll only dig his heels in deeper. He might shoot you this time."

"Yes but -"

"But nothing, Doctor." Stefan cut in, holding up his hand. "Look, I don't know what's on Valerus. But he doesn't know that world, he's never thought about it or even mentioned the idea of it. Until today it's not even been possible for him to go there."

"Well, now he can." The Time Lord urged. "In fact, he should. I think that he should go to Valerus."

Stefan viewed this with some suspicion.

"You seem to be on a personal mission here, Doctor?" He questioned. "Why? I get it that you're curious about how he got here, but what's in it for you?"

The Doctor hesitated and chose not to answer him.

"Look, I know it's all a bit messy, and he's scared." He said instead. "But there's no getting away from the fact that Peter is a wolf without a pack. It's hard to explain but… Being on his own in terms of his kind isn't going to be good for him in the long run."

He didn't mean Peter was without friends or family, of course. No, there were people, Stefan included, who were as good as kin to him. But the Time Lord knew enough about wolves to know that any connection with humans would never run as deep as to those of his own species.

"You don't think I don't know that," Stefan told him. "Doctor, ever since I found out what he was I knew there would always be a difference between us. I knew there was something even before I saw him turn that first time. Peter isn't human and whenever he is reminded of that, it hurts him. All I can do… All any of us can do is to be there to support him."

The Time Lord regarded the younger man with a large smile.

"You are brilliant, Stefan. You are." He said. "Peter's lucky to have you."

"Yet I won't ever be able to understand him on a certain level. That's what you're saying, isn't it?" The corporal admitted. "Just as you and Rose won't be able to either."

"No, and I think he needs to at least go and take a look." The Doctor continued. "So help me persuade him, Stefan. We can give him the choice he needs to make before he decides what he wants."

Scoffing at the Time Lord's persistence, Stefan shook his head at the idea.

"No, Doctor. You'll have to do that on your own." He said. "But one word of advice, if you're so bent upon the idea of taking him with you, why didn't you get to know him first?"

Rose had been listening in with fascination as the two men had debated and argued over Peter's future. Stefan's words confused her, however. Hadn't they just spend a whole night together in the most extraordinary of circumstances, certainly giving room to know anything about anyone. She and the Doctor had also learned the biggest secret Peter had to offer.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "How could we not know him after tonight?"

"You know what he is, Rose. You know him as a soldier, and you've seen some of his best and worst qualities." Stefan told her. "But you don't know a thing about him. I mean… He speaks four languages aside from English. Did you know that?"

Rose hadn't known that. But she understood Stefan's point.

"I get it." The Doctor acknowledged. "Stop focusing on what he is and look at who he is."

"Exactly, appeal to him as a person. Not as a fascination or puzzle you want to solve." Stefan told him. "Then, maybe… Just maybe, he'll go with you."

"You're okay with him going then?" Rose questioned. "You wouldn't be upset? What about his parents?"

Stefan shrugged and shook his head. He looked torn over the idea, but he also understood that the decision was out of his hands.

"It's like I said, Rose." He admitted. "I just want whatever is best for him."

"We won't let you down, corporal." The Doctor said confidently. "I can promise that -"

"Just don't hurt him." Stefan suddenly snapped. "Don't break his trust. You'll never get it back if you do, Doctor. Remember that."

That was it.

It was the end of the conversation and the last time the soldier was willing to discuss the subject with him. Stefan might not have been a Nimarian wolf, but his loyalty certainly matched for one and he had only given his blessing with the knowledge that it was to be Peter's own choice and that he didn't get upset in the process.

It was raining heavily now, and Rose was starting to regret leaving the tent as she pulled the blanket up around her a little more. Looking over at Peter, she saw him finish up his call. It was only as he turned around and begin to walk towards them did she remember how incredibly sharp his hearing was.

Had he just heard every word they had said? Had he listened in as they had quite openly and brazenly discussed him in such a personal manner?

"Stefan…" She began. "Did he just…?"

Stefan caught onto her panicked expression and smiled, shaking his head.

"He's as deaf as us in the rain." He whispered. "Running water is one thing his ears can't get around."

It must have been true because Peter didn't say anything when he reached them, nor did he show any signs of knowing what they had just talked about. Still only dressed in his ripped shirt and trousers, he seemed oblivious to the weather as he looked to Stefan.

"Major Harrison is on the way with his team." He said. "They'll take us back to camp and deal with everything from there. They're twenty minutes out."

"Okay, I guess we'll just sit tight," Stefan replied. "Until then we better get out of this rain."