He knows that fear in her voice, and it hurts to hear it. She's not River, but any child who's that afraid of him reminds him, inevitably, of her. Something the Academy had done to her: she'd never been afraid of him before. And any child who is makes him wonder, now, why they are.
At least any child as afraid as this one is.
"It's all right. I'm just going to do a quick check to make sure you're healthy, and give you a vaccine so you don't catch anything that your immune system's unfamiliar with."
no subject
He knows that fear in her voice, and it hurts to hear it. She's not River, but any child who's that afraid of him reminds him, inevitably, of her. Something the Academy had done to her: she'd never been afraid of him before. And any child who is makes him wonder, now, why they are.
At least any child as afraid as this one is.
"It's all right. I'm just going to do a quick check to make sure you're healthy, and give you a vaccine so you don't catch anything that your immune system's unfamiliar with."
He takes a deep breath, making himself smile.
"Is that all right?"