Half, part 1

The old hermit smiled as he gave Theta a bowl of soup. The young boy, shivering from the cold Gallifreyen wind, despite his thick fur coat, took the bowl gratefully.

"I am very pleased to see you again young master," the old man said, his smile warm and comforting. "But, if I may ask, what is the reason behind the visit? Are you not in the middle of a term in the Academy?"

"I ran away," Theta mumbled, sipping at his soup carefully.

"Oh? May I ask why?"

Theta sighed and looked at him. The old one's smile fell when he saw that the youth's eyes threatened to burst into tears.

"I was told, by a… classmate named Toran that I am diseased."

"I see… does he perhaps refer to the fact that your mother is part human, and that you are only half Time Lord?"

Theta nodded, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "He said that I am nothing more than mud… that I don't deserve to be in the Academy. Or on this planet."

"Many think this… as I recall, you were often told this when you were young, by your cousins and half-brothers. Surely it was worse to hear it from their mouths than from the lips of this bully?"

Theta looked at the ground, and a tear slowly started to trickle down his cheek. "It's just, when he said it, Koschei… well… Koschei looked horrified."

The hermit leaned back against the rough, rocky wall of the cave. Theta had often told him of the young Oakdown boy.

"… are you sure?"

Theta looked up at him, more tears streaming. "He stared at me like he had never seen me before… his mouth fell open and…" His voice cracked, and he quickly buried his head in his arms and started crying.

The hermit sighed, and poked the fire, a small explosion of sparks erupting from the flaming logs. "I gather he has never been told before?"

Theta murmered a small "no".

"Theta, what you have to understand is that Koschei was raised by the common Oakdown law; all things that are not Time Lord are less than the dust on the ground."

Theta raised his head up, trying to stop crying. "But… he's not like the other Oakdowns…"

"True. Which is why I think his reaction was simply surprise. He is surprised by the fact that you are half human… he is not repulsed by it."

"So… you think I overreacted?"

"Well, I would talk to him. Undoubtedly, he feels terrible about hurting you. Believe me, from what you've told me of him, hurting you is the farthest thing from his mind." He smiled and handed Theta a cloth. "Just talk to him."

To be continued….

Just so you guys understand my view of the Doctor's childhood… his mom is not the same mother of his brothers. His father either has two wives, or just remarried (I haven't decided). And his brothers hate his mother. And him. :( This is why he has been made fun of by his own family… they think he's crap.

And Toran (the same bully from earlier) is a bit of a jerk, isn't he?