Not sure if I should have split this into two chapters but I felt like it all belonged in one chapter. So please do let me know what you think on how large this is.
Chapter 8
Galifrey, Arcadia, Primary school
"Mommy!" Lilith's son rushed off the chair, barreling into his mom. At four years old her lovely little boy had a full head of hair and a number of bruises all over his face. Lilith squatted down, looking to his bruises. She frowned at the sight of them. But never did she let herself get angry in front of her son. He needed a steady home environment. Especially today since the school had called her to come in and pick up her boy during lunch. They stood in the office, where a couple sick children sat letting remedies take effect, and there was another boy arms crossed glaring at Lilith's son.
"Son what happened to you?" But he didn't get a chance to answer before the headmaster poked his head out of his off.
"Ah good, Lord Curator, Miss Walker you are here. Please step into my office." He left the door open for Lilith and the Curator to enter.
Lilith walked into a cozy setting. There was a bowl of sweet treats for the children who had to come here for one reason or other. The Curator followed behind her and shut the door. Lilith didn't see eye to eye with the headmaster about the upbringing of her son. The headmaster had callously suggested that she homeschool the boy. Lilith sat down in a chair on one side of the desk while her son waited outside. The Curator took the second chair. "You son was involved with a fight with the boy Koschei." That name was familiar but Lilith could not think of why. The headmaster continued, "As you can see your son is very disruptive. He has been involved with numerous fights with Koschei. Though, it has never gotten this bad before."
Lilith finally spoke up, "My son wouldn't harm a fly. Do you have a recording of the incident? You do record everything on these school grounds after all. My boy keeps to himself thanks to all of the extensive rules you stick close to every time he is involved."
The headmaster looked flustered, "He uh…. The recorder in the cafeteria was under maintenance…" Then the headmaster turned to the Curator, physically turning his whole body as if to shut Lilith out of the conversation. "Witnesses say that your son started the fight with some cruel jabs and the two got into a fist fight.
Lilith stood, not about to be ignored, "Being that the boy Koschei has no bruises and my son is covered with them, I suspect that this boy started the fight. My son has no bruising on his knuckles which tells me logically that he didn't even fight back. So clearly he is not the disruptive child. Until you can provide proof that my son caused this fight in any way, you will not punish him."
The headmaster stood, face turning bright red. "A silly human would dare to tell me how to run my school?" The Curator stood as well, but said nothing. Any slur made against Lilith was war. And so he would just watch the show.
Lilith walked calmly around the desk to stand toe to toe with this Time lord. "This silly human knows her rights under the school rules. Suspend my son, take any action against him, and I will have you fired faster than you can spell my son's name. You will rue the day you cross this mama human. Now… is that the video?"
Lilith pointed to a monitor showing a still image of her son sitting at his table. She pressed the screen and image began to play.
Her son was sitting quietly eating his lunch reading an advanced physics book, when Koschei walked over, knocking her boy's book out of his hands. "Look it's the human. Hello human." Her son looked up at Koschei then kneeled down to grab his book. Koschei shoved him out of his chair onto the ground. "You're pathetic. I bet you only have one heart! Your mum is pathetic too."
Her son turned, standing up. "Well at least my mum is always there for me and my dad doesn't send me to school without hugging me!"
Koschei punched Lilith's son in the face.
Lilith saw as her son curled into a ball while being kicked repeatedly. She turned off the video. "I want that boy Koschei punished. Use a constructive punishment involving cleaning. Suspension will only teach him that he gets a vacation when he beats a kid up. Don't punish him and I will take you to the school board for misconduct." Lilith looked at the headmaster, stiff and unyielding as ever. She had to be tough on this. The headmaster was livid but Lilith saw the truth in his eyes, grinning at him. She had won. "Good. Don't bother going over my head to his father because he will send you straight back to me. I will not tolerate you trying to belittle my son's education for any reason." Lilith walked toward the door. She stopped at the door and turned to the headmaster. "You started this. The day I brought my son in for school when you suggested I homeschool him, you began this feud."
The Curator smirked, turning to follow after Lilith. The headmaster said angrily, "You would really let Lilith wear the pants in the family? Where is your pride?" The Curator turned, smirking. "If it had been up to you, my son would be at home learning from instant downloads and a tutor. If it was up to me, my boy would have fought back and beaten up that Koschei. I leave these decisions to Lilith because she protects his interests with all of her soul. Don't call my office again when our son is in trouble. Lilith handles everything because she won't let an over inflated headmaster push her around. I want a copy of that video sent to my lawyer in the next ten minutes." The Curator stepped out of the office.
Lilith was already kneeling in front of her little boy looking at his bloodied face. "You poor thing, but you'll heal up quick."
The Curator eyed Koschei. The boy was staring very intently at the wall, avoiding connecting eyes with the family as they passed. Once they got out of the building the Curator said, "That is the Lord President's son. He is a brilliant boy but I know that the President is hardly ever home. And the mother has a busy job with three other children."
Lilith thought about what the Curator said. So this was an angry lonely little boy taking out his anger on the one person he knew would not fight back. Lilith looked to her son as he sat in the vehicle on their way home. The Curator would drop them off and return back to work. So Lilith decided to do something special with her son, "How about we go on a picnic? We can pack some sandwiches and smoothies. What do you say?"
Her son looked up at her, "I'm not in trouble?" Lilith smiled to her son. He was always so sweet, and so many times he expected punishment for getting into trouble even when it wasn't his fault. She hoped to see him grown into a self-assured young man. But in the end it would simply make her happy to see him make some friends. Her son had no friends at all. None of the other children would play with him. When he was a baby the Curator could arrange play dates with other children in the family. But eventually even there the friendships were poisoned by what the parents would see. They saw an abnormally intelligent child with a human for a mother. For the past few years Lilith had been dealing with hostile parents.
Lilith had tried to start up a small art class, purely to give the children something fun to do. She wanted a babysitting gig, thinking the parents might enjoy having a real mother handle their children while they were working. She had three other children at first. Until the parents found out she was teaching them about human art.
Lilith was slowly learning about Time lord art. But it had not been fast enough before the parents yanked their kids out of the class. Lilith then dealt with that hideous headmaster constantly suggesting that their son didn't belong in public primary school. When he was disruptive in class Lilith asked him to be put in a higher class because of how much smarter he was compared to the other children. The headmaster fought tooth and nail to get her son expelled or transferred. Thank goodness the Crusader liked her. He was more than happy to come in and dish out his law book savvy in the name of a child's education.
Lilith couldn't take her son to the museum without getting looks. The boy had absolutely no friends. Her lonely little boy dealt with such horrible things. Again and again Lilith argued he might be better off living on Earth where she could enroll him into a school. The Curator could teach him about Time lord things and he could make friends with humans who would not know he wasn't. But of course that argument was pointless. She was trapped on this planet. Lilith did her best not to talk about these things around her son. She just smiled and was a mommy. They were approaching the Manor. It looked like a two story building on the outside, a nice brilliant blue color with white trim. But naturally on the inside it was fifteen stories. Most rooms with a window were artificial windows. They seemed real when they were looked at but when touched it was obvious they were just holograms projected onto glass.
Lilith didn't mind at all. She just ensured she had a real window in her bedroom. She and the Curator had a friendly relationship. But he had been talking about getting married to a lovely woman who worked in his museum. But Lilith always asked him why when he didn't love her. The Curator always was amused by the human notion to marry for love. It was rarely the way of things in the world of lord and lady Time Lords. Lilith was a bit hurt that he didn't even consider her. She took care of both of them, acting like the house wife with no thanks from the Curator. He only showed appreciation around their son to teach the boy how to treat ladies. Whenever the Curator had a long day at the museum she would have clothes ready, food, everything he needed. She even had an education bot teaching her how to cook Time Lord dishes. Lilith looked out over the red grassy landscape that spread to the front of the manor. She ached to see green grass and a blue sky. Her heart wept for the loss of her own planet. It was amazing to realize how much she had taken her home for granted.
She prayed her son never knew the pain of losing his home.
But the Time Lords were exceptionally peaceful. They never had wars; they weren't even known to exist by many species. Her son would always be safe on this planet. Not even the animals ever went extinct.
Lilith turned as the Curator said, "When you get home you can use the medical kit in the bathroom to heal up his wounds." Lilith nodded a little. "Yes, but not until tonight." She turned to her son, seeing the crestfallen look on his face. "Son, don't think of me as cruel. I want you to know what pain feels like so you will always remember why you never want to cause others to feel it."
Her son nodded, closing his mouth. He trusted his mother's judgment. Lilith got an idea and grinned, "How about we go on a picnic? Today is a beautiful day."
Her son got excited at that. "Yay a picnic! Can I have a peanut butter and honey sandwich? Oh and some yummy fish fingers!"
Lilith laughed and said, "Yes and I will get my fries and burger."
Her son stuck out his tongue, "Yuck! I hate chips! They are too greasy and salty. Blech!"
Lilith had to laugh at that. When they came to a stop in front of the house her son went running to get everything they always took on their picnics. Lilith climbed out of her seat. The Curator never argued with Lilith when it came to the upbringing of their boy. There was no need when she always had things in hand. Plus arguing with such a strong willed woman was futile.
Within half an hour her son had a clean shirt and was trying very hard to carry the lunch basket all by himself. Finally Lilith offered just one hand to help him carry it along. "Where shall we go? Into the forest, or just out into one of the fields?"
Her son hopped up and down, "Fields! I want to see the sky today!"
They walked around to the front of the manor into the vast expanse of land the Curator owned. They soon found their favorite spot out here. It was a little hill that allowed them to see as far as the mountains, forests, and city allowed them to see. She flipped out the blanket, her son helping her lay it down. She then set up the four rocks to hold each corner of the blanket while her son laid out the food. Of course the basket was bigger on the inside. She sat down; making sure her dress was nice. Her son took a bite out of his sandwich, always heaped with way more peanut butter that should be allowed. The Time Lords apparently imported a few plants to carefully controlled areas of their planet to enjoy more unusual cuisine. It had pleased her to no end to find that they imported the peanut.
Her son finished his sandwich and Lilith wiped his mouth and hands. Then he lay on her lap as she munched on some fries. "Mommy, tell me about your home planet again."
Lilith grinned at him. "Well it isn't so different from Galifrey. And yet it's all different. The people work, come home, have families, have fun, all the things you find here. But unlike this world, humans know they can always improve. They are always reaching out trying to make things better, trying to improve themselves as well as others. This can sometimes be a bad thing like wars and famine and hate, but it can also be a wonderful thing. Friends, family, improving technology, space travel. Human beings will forever be trying to make their lives better, because never is it perfect. Like you son. You always try to make yourself better."
Her son smiled up at her, his head in her lap. She stroked his hair, loving how much he looked like his father. But with some underlying defiance that he had yet to utilize. "And you mommy. You always try to make things better."
Lilith's eyes softened as she gazed at her observant boy. "The grass is a green color. It's as green as the Banunga trees." It was a type of tree on another part of Galifrey that grew very rarely. In fact there were only five trees in all of Galifrey. "The trees of Earth have green leaves because it absorbs the light from the sun the best. The bark is brown in color. The cities sprawl out for miles and miles and miles. Because you have to imagine that they do not have the technology to make houses and buildings bigger on the inside. And on every continent there are a thousand million different civilizations. People, who speak all different languages, and believe all different customs and religions."
Her son blinked, "Doesn't that get confusing?"
Lilith chuckled at that, "Indeed it does all the time. But they manage to work together when they need to. As I said, there are still wars and famine. Earth can be a very hard world to live on." Lilith spent a long time just describing societies to him, the way people lived and ate, telling him every good thing and bad thing about humanity. Finally she finished by saying, "Don't forget this is your home planet too. You have two of them. You were born inside a Tardis on planet earth. Your mom is human and your father is a Time lord. You are a child of two different planets. So do not be afraid to one day go there and see your other home planet."
But by now her son was deep in concentration. So Lilith asked, "Penny for your thoughts son?"
Even though Galifrey had no monetary system by now her son had come to understand when she said things like that. "Koschei only hurts me because he wants to hurt his daddy."
"What makes you think that son?"
"Little, things tell me. His daddy doesn't hug him when he drops him off. And sometimes he comes to school and is lonely and quiet like me. He only gets mean when he is around the other boys. He just gets really angry."
"You're so smart and I think you are right about Koschei. He seems like he is in a very unhappy place that he has to beat up other people. I don't know what it is that makes him so violent but sometimes not being loved can do that to a person. You know how it feels when the anger at the injustice of it just builds and builds and builds until you explode." Yes her son understood the compulsion. He once threw his favorite toy at a wall when the Curator was unable to come home for days at a time. Her son had only his parents to love him, so going too long without it affected the boy in adverse ways. She knew that he should never be alone. He seemed so cold when he was alone for too long. Even after the Curator came back her son had given him the cold shoulder for days.
"So what should I do mommy? I want to help him."
Lilith loved her son. He was becoming such a wonderful caring child.
The next day she saw her son off at the school as always. She kneeled down adjusting his shirt. His face cleared of all bruises the night before. "Now remember what I said. Don't be afraid to just go right up to him and let him have it. You're not going to get in trouble and no matter what he says you're still going to have a good time." She kissed his cheek then he rushed off, backpack over one shoulder.
Mommy knew just the right thing to do. All though this new plan seemed scary to him. Was it really going to work? He'd tried to work up his courage to go up to Koschei and give it to him. But he was scared of the boy that beat him up yesterday. Koschei was popular today because of the fight. All the other boys were chatting with him and talking bad about him.
He just didn't understand why being human made his mommy a bad person. She was a good person that always made him happy. And she always taught him important things. His face had been sore all day yesterday. But in the end when she healed up his face he understood why mommy told him to never fight with the boys. There was always a solution that didn't involve violence. And he never wanted others to hurt because of him.
As lunch came around he sat in his usual seat, alone as always with his books and his lunch. Koschei was being watched by the adults to make sure he didn't fight again.
By the time he finished his lunch, he was strong enough. He got up, holding his book and walking across the cafeteria room. He had long determined strides as he approached Koschei. He reached into his jacket as Koschei stood. Then he pulled out an envelope, handing it to Koschei. Koschei took it, "What is this?"
"It's an invitation to my birthday party this weekend. You should come to it because my mommy always makes lots and food and we end up eating a big three layer cake for days."
Koschei frowned at him, looking down at the envelope. He then tossed it behind him, "Why would I want to come to your stupid party? Go away stupid head!"
Mommy had told him this might happen. So he turned and walked away without a word, not letting them see any response. He sat back at his table to read until the lunch bell. He watched the envelope on the floor get trampled a bunch before ending up in a corner.
Lilith looked to her son as she picked him up from school. The boy looked crestfallen as he approached. She kneeled down next to him, stroking his hair. "You can't help everyone sweetie. But you do need to know that you should try. Now turn that frown into a smile and let's go bake the cake!" She took his hand and pulled him to the transport. But she stopped, seeing the boy. She rushed over to him. "Koschei." He looked up and was instantly on the defensive. Lilith smiled as she said, "You know, it's a shame you aren't coming. I make the best food and there are lots of games. I bet you would have lots of fun if you came. Oh well, maybe next time? Listen Koschei, sometimes the only way to smile is to open your heart up to kindness." Koschei didn't say anything. But Lilith didn't mind. She moved to the boy and gave him a hug. Koschei was stiff and unyielding in her arms but she held him for a few moments. The she stood, "Bye Koschei." She then rushed away back to where her son stood.
When they got home Lilith soon got her son to forget how bummed he was as they baked together and prepared some of the ingredients used in cooking. The teaching bot corrected when they did something wrong. Funny enough it always went berserk when she made funny shapes with the foods. The Curator returned from work to find that Lilith had made dinner. He sat and ate with his son and Lilith. They talked about their days and once her son was working on his homework Lilith went into the city. She bought a special gift for Koschei. She had a feeling that boy was used to being ignored except when it was convenient for his parents. So Lilith picked him up a goodie bag. Lilith always remembered her own birthday parties. Her mother would pick up a large selection of cheap small toys to make into little goodie bags for the kids to take home. It always made them happy since most children were jealous of the birthday kid. Lilith came home with the small bag, setting it in with the other presents hidden away for their son.
The next day Lilith finished adding the icing to the cake as well as cooking everything else. The Curator took the day off just to be with his son. So he was in the family room setting up streamers and blowing special bubbles that would change into different animal shapes as they floated around. He set up a banner that said happy birthday. Lilith set six candles on the cake, so excited. The Curator walked in, looking to the cake. She smiled to him. "Can you believe it? Our son is six years old. How the time flies."
The Curator walked over, scooping a finger full of frosting into his mouth. She smacked his hand, "Hey! This has to be perfect for him. I mean its not like I get forever with him." Her face fell. Lilith was always reminded that her son would live centuries after her death.
The Curator spoke, "You are the most involved mother I have ever met. You participate in absolutely everything you can. You never let him be alone."
Lilith looked to him, her voice cracking as she said, "I want him to have a lot of good memories. I want him to look back on his childhood and never think for even a second that I didn't love him. I don't get as long with him as you do. I can share my entire life with him. But there will be so much of his life that he can't share with me. I want to make sure he looks back and never regrets even a single day." The Curator wrapped her in a hug, holding her without speaking a word. Lilith felt tears flow, knowing that the man that had been on that Tardis, had been so happy. That man on the Tardis had smiled to her and had such a sense of completeness. She didn't want to change his future. She wanted him to always say what he did that time. That he had only that single regret that she had been so short lived. She couldn't tell the Curator what she had seen. She could only cry with joy and sorrow all at once. "It's so hard sometimes, but I love him so much."
"I know Lilith. You see that which I would take for granted. I have so long with my son, and you so little. But you are the most wonderful mother I could ever ask for, and that he could ever need." The Curator looked down to her. She looked up, sniffing a bit. Then he leaned down and kissed her.
Lilith kissed him back, closing her eyes. She had not been kissed in so long. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he held her waist. He was gentle and considerate of just how vulnerable she was. But she felt warmth spreading through her that she had not had in a while, moving more insistently as she kissed him.
The doorbell rang and Lilith cursed a little. She moved away, wiping her face before heading to the door. She opened it, and smiled at who she saw. "Hello Koschei, welcome to our house. I'm glad your parents let you come over." Koschei stood in the doorway holding a present wrapped up. He looked uncomfortable. Lilith then said, "Come in Koschei." He walked into the house and she shut the door behind him. She moved to an intercom on a wall. It had a more complicated name but just about with every machine in this world she simplified it to something she knew. Even though this machine was a fully functioning hologram she called it an intercom. "Son you have a surprise downstairs."
Koschei waited as Lilith's son came rushing through the house. When he saw Koschei his eyes lit up. "You came to my birthday party! No one has ever come before. Wow! Thank you for coming to my party Koschei we will have lots of fun. Mommy makes all kinds of games, so we will have fun aaaalllllllll day!"
Koschei smiled a little, holding out the present. "I got this for you. Um… it's not very good but I thought you'd like it."
Her son took it, "Mommy can I open it now please?" Lilith nodded, letting out a small laugh. Her son ripped apart the wrapping paper handing it to Lilith. Inside was an orb. It was a very basic toy, a clear orb with a planet inside slightly smaller and surrounded by water. It was a model of the planet Earth. "Oh wow. Its Earth mommy! He gave me Earth! Thank you Koschei this is so great! Someday I'm going to visit Earth with mommy. She says the grass is green and the sky is blue!"
Koschei's eyes went wide, "No way! That's so weird." He grinned, "I've never been to a birthday party before. I'm glad you like the present."
Lilith's son grabbed his arm suddenly and rushed to the family room. Lilith called out, "Have fun until lunch is ready. Then cake and ice cream, then presents!" She went to the kitchen, turning on the intercom so she could listen to the boys playing in there. It made her sad that Koschei never had a birthday party. Poor boy was really neglected. She worked on the food until she heard a crash. She looked up to see that her son had been pushed.
Koschei quickly said, "I'm sorry. I thought it'd be funny." Then he saw Miss Walker's face appear.
"Boys come into the kitchen."
Koschei and her son came in. She checked her boy and found he wasn't injured. She then looked to Koschei, "Does it feel good to push him?"
Koschei said in defense, "I said I was sorry!"
Lilith thought on this for a moment. Then she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a glass mug. She handed it to Koschei, "Throw it on the ground."
Koschei looked confused, staring up at her. Lilith nodded, "Go ahead. I won't be mad I promise." So he dropped it and the glass broke into several pieces. He laughed a little and smiled up at Lilith.
Lilith smiled back, "Did that feel good Koschei?"
"Yup!"
Lilith nodded, "No say sorry to the cup."
Koschei looked confused again. He looked down at the glass, "Sorry." He stared at all the broken pieces. Then he looked up at Miss Walker.
Lilith saw the look on his face, "Do you understand Koschei?"
Koschei nodded, "Yes, saying sorry doesn't fix it."
Lilith nodded, "Good. I'm glad you understand. Play nice or I may have to ask you to leave and I don't want to do that."
Koschei walked over to her son, "I'm really sorry. I won't do it again I promise."
Her son smiled back, "That's okay."
Lilith nodded, "Now both of you go play. I'll clean up."
Her son then said, "I'll meet you in a minute Koschei." Koschei nodded to him and left the room. Her son turned to her and said, "Mommy today is Koschei's birthday too. He told me that."
Lilith was surprised by this. "And he has never had a birthday party? Well today is a good day because I bought him something. Just don't say anything. He will unwrap it when you unwrap your presents."
Lilith's son rushed over and hugged her waist, "You're the best mommy in the whole world. Even to other people who aren't your sons!" He then rushed out of the room. Lilith felt her heart melt into a puddle at her feet as she cleaned up the mess on the floor. For hours they played games, ate the food as well as the huge cake, and the entire time her son was so excited about the present opening. Lilith and the Curator both were pleased with the turn of events. The Curator was simply stunned with how Lilith seemed to just know this boy needed love. In many ways he felt Lilith had wisdom not even the oldest Time Lords had.
Finally it was present time. Koschei happily helped drag in a red wagon full of gifts. He parked it right in front of Koschei who was sitting in daddy's chair because he wasn't allowed in it any other time of the year.
Lilith then walked over to Koschei and handed him the small bag of gifts. Koschei stared at it blankly, "What is this?"
Lilith smiled to the boy, "Well it's your birthday isn't it? You get presents too. I'm sorry they aren't as numerous as my son's but you should get something shouldn't you?"
Koschei took the bag, pulling out the various goodies. There was a couple pieces of candy, a straw that adds more fizz to a drink, a water pistol, a origami crane that began flying around the room, and a fob watch. He opened it, noting that it was a simple one that showed the time. Koschei was stunned for several moments, before he got up and rushed into Lilith in a tight hug. "I've never had a present before. Thank you Miss Walker."
Lilith smiled to the boy as she came down to hug him back, "Call me Lilith."
"Okay Miss Lilith."
Lilith laughed, hugging him tight before they turned to her son opening presents. The rest of the day the two played constantly. Lilith was so happy to see them together, fast friends. She cleaned up as she went with the Curator's help. But the suns were finally starting to set and the vehicle arrived to pick up Koschei. Koschei said his goodbyes to Lilith's son and Lilith walked him out to the vehicle. "I am glad you came Koschei."
Koschei looked up at her, "Can I come back tomorrow? Please?"
Lilith laughed, "Alright but bring your homework with you. I won't have your grades slipping because you had so much fun. Your parents might not let you come back. And have them give me a call some time." She kneeled down and hugged the boy again. He was stiff for only a second before melting into her arms like he belonged there. "Good night Koschei. I'll see you tomorrow."