[A/N: And finally, we have chapter titles for this fic!]

"Once upon a time there lived a poor shoemaker and his wife. Times were hard and they were failing to feed themselves, let alone pay the rent. The shoemaker had given away his last pair of shoes to a lady far more in need than himself. And alas, all that he had left was but one last scrap of leather.

He cut this piece of leather and laid it out, ready for the making of one last pair of shoe. Though his troubles were many, his conscience was clear and he went to sleep peacefully and prepared to rise early for work the next day.

When the shoemaker awoke, he was pleasantly surprised to find the shoes, already made, sitting upon his work bench. Looking them over, he noticed there was not a stitch out of place and that the pair was in fact quite a masterpiece. Nor he or his wife knew what to make of it.

The very same day a customer came in and found that the shoes suited him so well, he willingly paid a higher than usual price for them. With the money from his sale, the shoemaker pays the rent, goes to market, where he purchases food for him and his wife, enough leather for two more pairs of shoes and even gives some of his food to a poor and hungry traveller he meets. That night he again lays out his cut out leather for the next morning and retires to bed early.

The next morning he is again wonder struck, when he finds two ready-made pairs of shoes, just as spectacular looking as the previous pair. A customer soon comes in and speaks of how his friend bought a very fine pair of shoes from this maker yesterday and would like a pair of his own. He pays a handsome price for the first pair of shoes, leaving the shoemaker and his wife over-joyed. The shoemaker purchases more leather with these earnings, this time enough for three more pairs of shoes and gifts a needy person on the street with the second pair of shoes.

That night he and his wife decide to stay awake, but keep hidden, in order to find who is really doing all the hard work for them. Sure enough, to their astonishment, midnight came and two small, naked elves appeared. Spotting the cut out leather on the workbench, they set to work, carefully, but quickly sewing together the leather into three pairs of shoes with their little hands. They finished long before the sun rose and disappeared once more.

Wanting to show gratitude to the elves for their act of kindness and hard work, which has provided such wealth, the shoe maker's wife suggests they provide something for the elves, to keep them warm during this harsh winter. So the shoemaker's wife knits some clothing and the shoemaker makes two pairs of the smallest shoes he's ever made. That night they leave these gifts out for the elves and stuck around to watch what the elves would do.

At midnight, the elves appeared once more, skipping about happily, ready to get to work. When they saw the little clothes and shoes laid out for them they danced with glee, pulling on the garments and footwear in the twinkling of an eye, laughing to each other, before skipping off again.

The couple never saw the elves again, but from then on, everything went well for them, for as long as they lived. The End."

Geoffrey Noble sighed as he finished reading from his daughter's favourite book of fairy tales and shut it closed. The weary-eyed little Donna Noble smiled up at her father who put one palm around her rosy cheek and kissed her on the top of her wee ginger head, before leaving her bedroom and switching off the light.


Donna was ripped from what she felt had been a rather pleasant dream. However, she quickly forgot about it as she was distracted by the reason for her rude awakening. Lloyd was jostling her awake and calling her name.

"Donna, we have to get out of here. It's public now. We're wanted by law enforcement for theft. We've only a matter of time."

He pointed up at a screen, which showed news bulletins of the last Sephtinite mysteriously surviving inside a very odd medical centre patient.

What was more alarming though was the news bulletin underneath it, showing a small fuzzy CCTV picture of Lloyd and Donna escaping from prison, with the stolen shoes in tow.

Lloyd held an outstretched palm to Donna, indicating with his head towards the doors, that they had to leave, fast.
Yes, she had vowed not to leave The Doctor again, but it seemed she had no other choice right now. She placed her hand in Lloyd's and they made a break for it.

They were half way down the hallway, when law enforcement soon spotted the pair and were on their tale, shouting.

"Halt! You are under arrest!"

Evading their pursuers being their top priority at present, Lloyd and Donna were quick on their feet, rounding a corner.

Donna thought fast, spying a laundry cart she dove into it, with Lloyd following in suit.
Silently, not even daring to breathe, the two waited for the array of hurried footsteps to pass.
After checking the coast was clear, Lloyd had donned a medical mask and set of scrubs from inside the laundry pile, at Donna's suggestion and was soon pushing it out the med centre's exit and into an alleyway, where they ditched the cart and escaped once again to freedom.


Donna already had a plan. She had thought of it quite a while back now. She explained the plan to her partner in crime, who commended her on her it. Taking care to stay well out of sight, by edging around buildings and sticking to back roads and alleys, they were back again at the trusty blue box.

Rushing inside, she immediately felt more at ease, as the welcoming comfort of the ship surrounded her. Looking back at Lloyd, she noticed how he still seemed rather overwhelmed by the box's interior, yet managed to keep up with her. With even more added confidence, she heads back to that god forsaken med bay.

Heading through the door and into the room, she already expects the awful memories to come flooding back, from when she first discovered the crumpled and mangled form of the Doctor, drenched in his own blood, more lifeless than she had ever seen him.
They'll probably haunt her forever, especially if The Doctor does not end up pulling through this dilemma.

No, he will. He'll be alright
. Donna mentally reminds herself.

Focussing on exactly why she was back in this room, she looked around and realized just how less horrific the scene really was than last time. The med bay was clean, not a spot of blood anywhere, no instruments lining the floor.

She scanned the room for what she needed. There, on the bench was The Doctor's clothing, repaired, cleaned and even folded. Picking up the suit jacket, she reached into the pocket, feeling around until she found what she so desperately needed.

"Ah hah!" cried Donna, gratifyingly holding up the battered leather wallet, containing their salvation.

[A/N: Any comments, thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism, reviews, passing remarks? Leave one behind before exiting the page. Please. It would make my day.]