Chapter 11

Roberta finally smiled and said, "It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, raising a young girl like that, and you say she'll grow to be about nine feet tall?"

She chuckled and commented, "God help the man who pisses her off!"

They turned and saw Freya nimbly dribbling a basketball and easily dodging both Natalie and Zenobia as she neatly sank a shot into the metal hoop.

Rachel laughed and said, "I think she's made some friends!"

Roger hollered at her, "I thought you were helping George?"

Freya hollered back, "Ah did, an' then he tauld me tae gae play!"

Roberta watched the girls playing and remarked, "I sure never thought I would be watching a snake girl, a spider girl and a young giant all playing such a normal sport as basketball. My momma sure never told me about this!"

Roger laughed and remarked, "My two ex-wives wouldn't even recognize me now, I even gave up smoking to set a better example for Freya and my old friend Henri DuValliere loves to tease me about getting house broken by a young giantess!"

Roberta smiled and said, "Me? I've got two babies to examine and tired parents to advise!" she grinned, "Time to earn a paycheck!" and picked up her bags then followed Mia and her twins into the house, they were smiling happily, Nurse Roberta was here!

Roger looked for their luggage and saw that Freya had already taken it into the house, so he too, went inside to see where they were situated.

Entering the house he saw at once, the many changes made to the house.

It was now more lamia friendly with a much roomier main bathroom and spare bedroom added to the structure.

The new bathroom was much like a Japanese onsen with a large pool for soaking in and hand held sprayers for washing up with.

Two toilets were in the room, one a conventional one and the other, a straddle type.

Roger found their luggage in the guest bedroom which conveniently, had two beds in it.

Going back outside, he noticed that the girls were still at play on the half court.

Freya had shed her plaid shirt and tied her two long braids together behind her back, she was serious now.

Roger idly noted that she needed a sports bra now, her sweating had made the sleeveless top get somewhat transparent.

Turning away Roger saw a couple approaching, he was a tall, older man and with him was a remarkably beautiful lamia wearing costly silk garments and plenty of golden jewelry.

There was no mistaking them at all.

They were the Dexters, Mia's parents and they were smiling at him.

He met them halfway and after clasping hands and clapping backs with Phillip, he turned to Ayesha and she gave him one of those memorable hugs of hers.

She smiled at him and said warmly, "It is so good to see you Roger, when did you arrive?" "We got here about half an hour ago."

"We?" Asked Phillip.

"Freya and I came down for spring break."

"Freya? Who's Freya?" Asked Ayesha with the merest hint of a frown marring her otherwise, perfect forehead.

"Freya is my foster daughter, she's staying with me while she goes to school."

Phillip chuckled and asked with a sly grin, "Does this mean that Roger, the adventurer-scholar is settling down?"

Roger grimaced and said testily, "Now don't you too join the 'Mess with Roger Tate society'!"

Phillip grinned and replied with a wink, "Are there still openings?"

"Yeah,yeah." grumped Roger.

After looking around Phillip asked, his blue eyes twinkling merrily, "Where is this Freya you speak of?"

Roger pointed at the trio of girls playing on the half court.

Phillip squinted a bit and commented, "That's a girl? She's kinda..."

"Flat, you were about to say?" replied Roger, "She's only ten and a half years old, the boobies come later."

"Ten and a half years old? She's so tall!" exclaimed Phillip.

Roger grinned and said, "She'll get a lot taller if her parents are any indicator."

"How much taller are we talking about here?" Asked Ayesha curiously.

"Well, her mom is about nine feet..."

"Waiddaminit here, nine feet, as in NINE FEET?" Spluttered Phillip.

"Yup, nine feet, her dad is just over ten feet..."

"I'm calling bullshit!" declared Phillip.

Roger grinned at him and replied sarcastically, "Coming from a man married to a beautiful lamia and father to four beautiful lamias, all of them mythical beings, I might add."

"He does have a point dear." remarked Ayesha with a smile.

Phillip shrugged and said, "Okay, point taken. This girl is a..." He paused.

"Freya is a frost giant and she comes from a tiny hamlet up in Canada where some of her people live." Answered Roger.

"A frost giant, from Norse mythology..." Phillip looked over at the three girls darting about the half court and remarked philosophically, "Well, I shouldn't be too surprised at other mythical beings existing in this crazy, old world of ours."

He laughed and commented drily, "I won't envy you when she hits that 'boy crazy' stage!"

Roger just shrugged and replied, "She hasn't shown any signs of getting that kind of crazy. Then again, she has four older brothers, so boys with all their 'ickyness' will have no charms for her."

Phillip shrugged and remarked candidly, "Our girls are experiencing boys for the first time, now that they're here. Our second oldest has been talking to one of the forest rangers that works in the area, he seems like a nice young man and he is apparently, a virgin, otherwise she wouldn't be interested in him. I guess lamias can tell if a man is pure or not."

Roger laughed and said cheerfully, "I guess that's why George and Mia fell so hard for each other! That boy was so shy around women it was almost embarrassing. He sure lucked out meeting Mia though!"

Phillip grinned and replied, "We all, lucked out when they met!"

Roger looked over at Freya, squinted and muttered to himself, "That girl's working up a good sunburn..."

He whistled loudly and hollered, "Time out for a minute, ladies!"

He looked at the Dexter's and asked, "Do you guys have any sunburn lotion?"

Ayesha looked thoughtful and replied hesitantly, "I think, Mia has some of that baby sunscreen lotion?"

Roger trotted over to Freya and asked her directly, "Did you put on any sunscreen?"

Freya grimaced and in a small voice, said, "Ah kinda forgot..."

Roger frowned and said firmly, "Well, you'd better cover up then. You've got a sunburn I could see from over there!" and jerked a thumb towards the Dexters.

"I'm going to ask Mia if she has any sunburn lotion for you." Declared Roger.

While Freya draped her shirt over her shoulders, Natalie asked Roger, "Is she okay?" Roger grinned at them and replied, "It's no big deal really, she has a sunburn because she's so fair skinned."

Natalie frowned and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier, we got caught up in the game and..."

"No harm done, we'll put some lotion on her and make sure she stays covered up."

Zenobia raised a chitinous hand and asked shyly, "May I ask a question or two?"

Roger nodded and she asked Freya, "How come you're so tall for a ten year old and why didn't you act surprised to see us?"

Freya grinned at them and replied cheerfully," Ah'm a frost giant, a Jotun an' Ah'm oanly half groon yet. Ah knew about ye because Roger tauld me about you guys an' he showed me pictures sae Ah'd know ye."

She smiled, "An' Ah wanted tae meit ye all!"

Roger cleared his throat and said, "C'mon kiddo, let's get you indoors and see about getting some sunburn lotion on you."

He grinned at the two girls and said apologetically, "Sorry about breaking up your game, but I gotta keep her healthy you know."

Natalie grinned and she quickly poked Zenobia's arm while yelling, "Tag!"

Then she sinuated away at an amazing speed towards the half court George had so laboriously put in for her.

Zenobia squawked, "Hey!" and dashed after her, her eight legs carrying her at a terrific speed.

Roger glimpsed a distinct brownish violin shaped mark on her lower abdomen as she sped away.

"So, she's like a very large brown recluse spider, that explains her shyness."

Thought Roger as the two young girls resumed their playing.

Freya sighed and muttered glumly, "Is nae fair, they can be out in th' sun an' Ah gie all burnt!"

Roger grinned at his young companion and said reassuringly, "Yes, but you can live in the cold better than they can. There's a reason why you don't see lamias and arachnes up north, it's too cold for them!"

Freya smiled at him and she took his hand like she always did and they walked into the cool house together.

In their room, Freya doffed her plaid shirt and Roger started running the water in their shower, adjusting the water temperature to a be a bit on the cool side.

He said to her, "Jump in the shower and let it run over your burns a bit, I set it to be a little cool and you can adjust it if necessary. In the meantime, I'm going to ask Mia if she has any sunburn lotion for your burns."

Freya nodded as she doffed the remainder of her clothing and stepped into the shower.

Her casualness about nudity in front of him was a Jotun thing and something else he'd gotten used to.

Following the sounds of animated conversation, Roger found them in the spacious nursery.

Mia was feeding her twins at her ample bosom while George took copious notes as Roberta talked.

Mia grinned at Roger and said merrily, "Hi! You'll have to wait, there's two in front of you!" Roger grinned at her and said amiably, "Sorry, unfortunately I'm lactose intolerant. Not to change the subject, but do you guys have any sunburn lotion? Freya burned like right now, with her fair skin."

Roberta frowned and asked, "Didn't she have any sunscreen?"

Roger sighed and replied peevishly, "Yes, a whole bottle Spf 70 baby sunscreen in her luggage. A fat lot of good it did there! She saw the game of hoops and joined in. I was playing catch up with Mia's folks and by the time I noticed it, she was done. Fried to a crackly crisp!"

Mia frowned and said thoughtfully while her infant girls nursed happily, "I think George has some."

George looked up from his note pad and shook his head in a 'no'.

Roberta remarked, "I may have something that'll help. Reach me over my medical bag, the one with the red cross."

Roger did as he was asked and Roberta zipped open a side pouch, pulling out a couple of foil packets.

Roger grinned and said, "Still thinking like a combat medic eh?"

Roberta grinned back and said merrily, "You damn straight! I've saved a few lives with this kit. It goes whereever I go!"

Handing him the foil packs she said, "This is burn gel, it's more than you'll need, but they will cool the burn. How is she doing?"

"I've got her in a cool shower right now, just letting the water run over her back and shoulders, I figured it couldn't hurt."

Roberta smiled and remarked, "Smart move, cooling the burn always helps the healing process."

Thanking her, Roger went back to Freya and he found her sitting on a stool in their bedroom, a towel wrapped around her slim hips.

He could see plainly now her sunburn's extent, he whistled and commented. "Damn girl, you burn so easily! We weren't out there more than about twenty or thirty minutes and this happened!"

Freya smiled at him weakly and replied, "Ah wish Ah'da thooght tae put th' lotion oan afore gettin' out ay th' van."

He smiled at her reassuringly and said gently, "It's not a problem dear, Roberta gave me some burn gel packs and we'll fix you right up!"

Roger stepped behind her and he gently applied the numbing lotion across her back and shoulders and down her upper chest and arms.

She straightened up and tilted her head back so he could swab the gel across her cheeks and forehead.

Freya smiled as the burn gel took effect, "Ahhh! 'at feels sae verra good!" she sighed.

Roger grinned and said, "What have we learned today?"

She grimaced and said sheepishly, "We, hae learnt nae tae forgit uir sunscreen."

Roger chuckled and continued,"And what, will we do before leaving the house?"

Freya grinned and air quoted as she replied, "Put oan uir sunscreen!"

Roger laughed and said happily, "That's my girl!"

Roberta knocked on the door and entered their bedroom, she smiled at Freya and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Freya shrugged and replied, "Other than me sunburn, Ah feel fine."

She looked the girl over, noting her sunburn and physical development, aside from her height

Freya had a lithe muscularity that foretold a natural athleticism and great strength.

Roberta stood in front of her and asked, "May I ask you a few personal questions?"

Freya gulped and asked, "Can't Ah put oan me clothes first?"

Roberta laughed and said cheerfully, "Of course you can! I do get caught up in being a nurse and I can get a little carried away sometimes."

Freya hastily pulled on a fresh pair of panties and trousers first, then she paused and gingerly eased a fresh, sleeveless top on.

Roberta smiled and said sympathetically, "I know how you feel, my skin gets so tender if I forget my sunscreeen."

Roger chuckled slightly as Freya blurted out in surprise, "But, yoo're sae dark!"

Roberta's chestnut hued face grinned and she replied with a smile, "Even very dark skin will burn. I may not get all red like you do, but I do get sunburn."

Grinning, she quipped, "I even peel!"

Having finished dressing, Freya declared, "Okay, Ah'm ready, ask yer personal questions!" Roberta grinned, "I'm going to ask you some questions about your development and yourself in general, you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable about answering them."

Roger, at this point spoke up, "Would you like me to leave?"

Freya shook her head in a 'no' and Roberta said reassuringly, "You can stay if you like, since you are responsible for her."

Roger simply grinned and quipped, "Responsible is not a word ordinarily used to describe me!"

Roberta rolled her expessive eyes and turning back to Freya said, "I'm just asking a couple of questions."

Roger made himself comfortable on his bed while Roberta asked Freya, "How old are you?"

"Ten an' a half Summers."

Roberta blinked and said, "Okay...So, when is your birthday?"

"All th' Summer birthdays ur celebrated at Summer Solstice. Ah ken Ah was born near th' beginnin' Ay Summer."

"It's a Jotun thing they do, they don't really sweat exact dates like we do." Commented Roger from his bed.

Resuming her questioning, Roberta said, "Okay...We won't worry about that then, although a bureaucrat might get sticky about it later on."

She looked at Freya closely and asked, "Have you started your period yet?"

Freya blushed and said shyly, "Me moon cycles huvnae started yet."

Roberta gently squeezed her hand and said soothingly, "It's nothing to be embarassed about dear. We all begin sometime, I didn't start until I was almost sixteen."

She grimaced and remarked drily, "I've sure made up for it since then!"

Roberta smiled, "What are you learning in school?

Freya looked thoughtful and replied, "Ah'm learnin' abit hist'ry an' geography, abit all th' different countries ay th' warld. Those're me fav'rite subjects. English an' math ur kinda boring, but Ah need tae learn them both if Ah'm tae represent me folk."

Roberta rolled her expressive eyes and said, "I hear you, math and English weren't my best subjects either.

"So, what is your favorite part of school?"

Freya smiled, "Recess, 'at's when Ah get tae play basketball wi' th' aulder kids!"

Roberta leaned back and burst out laughing, after a few moments she recovered then wiped tears from her eyes and cheerfully declared, "You go, girl! I like you already. I saw you on that half court, you played the hell out of that ball, I think the WNBA will be looking at you."

Roger chuckled softly and said drily, "I hate to be 'that guy' but, by the time she's ready for college, she'll be way too big for them, as funny as that sounds."

Roberta grinned and replied, "True, but won't it be funny to watch them salivating over a seven foot tall girl who can play hoops..."

She laughed, "We'll play them like they play us!" she declared.

"I take it you're not too impresssed by pro sports." Remarked Roger.

"Nope, not a bit, it's all about money to them. They play the P.R. Game with the youth sports programs, but academics are largely ignored. It's just not cool for a black youth to be smart. Playing sports or becoming a rapper is what's thought to be the ticket out of the ghetto." Roberta smiled wryly and remarked wistfully, "Sorry about the rant, I grew up on the streets of Chicago and saw too many kids wind up in jail, pregnant or dead."

She looked Freya over once again and declared, "Well, I'm just about done here. I gave you some burn gel packs and asked you a bunch of personal questions, got a few surprises and pretty much wore out my welcome!"

Freya smiled at her and said, "'T'was nae trooble at'all, Ah enjoyed meitin' ye an' me thenks fur th' burn gel!"

Roberta grinned at Freya and said with sincerity, "You are certainly welcome my dear and I'm glad I met you too!"

She gathered up her medical gear and handed Freya a couple of more burn gel packs for later.

The two of them hugged briefly and Roberta chuckled before saying cheerfully, "I'm looking forward to seeing you when you are all grown up and headed off to college!"