Donna Noble walked back along the pavement, through the old estate to find the alley leading to the high street and her office. She paced through the Powell playground, noticing the harsh graffiti on the walls. Some kid had gone a bit mad writing "Bad Wolf" over every square inch. Clearly someone had a fairytale fetish. The daylight was fading and the sun could barely be seen. Donna's breath was visible in the twilight air; streams of opaque mist fogging up her vision.
"Miss! Miss! DONNA!"
A shrill, tiny voice boomed out across the otherwise empty playground. Donna whirled around and, to her surprise, saw Rose sprinting towards her, holding out her black, leather handbag.
She caught up to her and reached out to pass her the bag.
"You – forgot – your- bag …" she managed, between heavy breaths.
"Oh! Thank you, thanks so much, Rose. Are you alright?"
"Yes … I'm just tired from running, that's all."
"Where's your mum?"
"She had to go and see her client. I wanted to make sure you got your bag."
Donna noticed the intense look of loneliness on Rose's face. Such a lonely little girl; sure, she had friends, but her and her mother's situation clearly meant that in order to make ends meet, sacrifices had to be made.
"That's lovely of you. Make sure you don't stop that …"
"Stop what?"
"Doing good things for people."
Rose smiled. Donna understood, then. Why the Doctor had taken her with him. Her smile really was beautiful and charming and glowing. "Why don't you practise running, too?"
"That's what he said."
"Who?"
"The man I spoke to – last week and yesterday. He told me to start running more. I wouldn't know when I'd need to next. John Smith, he was called. He was really nice."