Chapter 69
When Roger opened his eyes again, he was lying in a sort of bower cradled between two massive tree roots.
Above him he could see the ends of countless fine roots, all woven together to form a broad arch over where he lay wrapped in white linen.
A tiny gossamer winged being sitting on a larger root supporting a lantern, smiled happily and took off, wings all aflutter, as it flew out of his room, it cried, "He's awake! He's Awake!" and flitted out of sight.
Moments later, a woman dressed in a modern hospital lab coat, came striding into his earth and root ceilinged room.
Looking like any on-duty physician at a modern hospital, she approached him with a smile on her pretty face, her pointed ears almost twitching in delight.
She was an elf, a fae.
Roger smiled back at her and asked, "Are you my attending physician, now that I can see you?"
She grinned and replied in a melodious voice, "I am, while you are here. You still have your human doctor who will be quite pleased with your progress, I might add. I am Doctor Shannon and I am an elf as you, no doubt, have surmised."
Roger grinned at her and remarked playfully, "Your ears kinda gave it away."
He glanced around and asked, "How did I get here? Last I remember, I was sitting in my parlour and about to drink a potion Freya and the girls had made for me."
Dr. Shannon smiled and replied, "The local spriggan chief felt it was necessary to bring you under the hill, he didn't quite trust the quality of the potion and wanted you under my care. I'm happy to say your ladies did a pretty good job of making that potion for you, a lot of love went into its making."
Putting her stethoscope into her ears, Dr. Shannon leaned over him and began gently examining him, the cool disc of the stethoscope moving around as she listened to his breathing and his heart.
Roger became almost painfully aware of just how feminine Dr. Shannon was, as she leaned over him, he could not help catching the scent of flower dappled meadows and spring rains and growing things, of fresh fruit and a spring day, freshened by gentle breezes.
He could not help becoming aware of her elvish, otherworldly beauty and her flawless skin.
Straightening up again, she took off the stethoscope and cheerfully declared, "I pronounce you healed! Your clothing will soon be brought to you so we can send you home to your family."
Roger chuckled and winked, "Just like that? You're kicking me out?"
Dr. Shannon smiled and retorted, "Hospital beds are for sick people, and you, my young friend are no longer sick!"
She winked and said cheerfully, "Besides, your wolf has taken up enough space as it is."
Roger raised one eye brow and called out, "Sasha! Here Girl!"
Moments later, an enormous gray furred shape bounded into the room and nearly overwhelmed poor Roger in her sheer joy at seeing him awake again.
She reared up and wrapped her massive forelimbs around him as he too, glomped onto her huge body.
Dr. Shannon chuckled softly and said, "Sasha came under the hill with you and and only rarely left your side. Even Dena, the wood wife has not seen such devotion towards a human."
When Roger and Sasha separated again he explained, "I grew up in the foster care system. Many times it seemed like the only friends I had or could trust were dogs. Anytime I visited a house where a dog lived, I would make friends with the dog."
Reaching over, he gently played with one of Sasha's great, furry ears while she sat on her haunches with her long tongue lolling out of her mouth, a look of utter bliss on her face.
Roger continued, "When I first met Sasha, I couldn't help myself, I had to put hands on her. Dena's even accused me of liking Sasha more than her!"
Dr. Shannon smiled and remarked, "Wood wives can be a little on the jealous side. She's very fond of you and wants you well again. She was the one who badgered our local spriggan into sharing that potion recipe with them, because she felt it was taking too long for you to recover. She still insisted even after I had explained to her just how badly you had been injured...You should have died, but for the vampire's rose kiss, you would have."
Roger replied quietly, "My earthly physician did explain to me the extent of my injuries. Anastasia saved my life that time, she's my good luck charm, that girl."
He looked steadily at her and asked, "How did you become a physician here? You sound like you're familiar with earthly medicine."
She grinned at him and replied, "I was a changeling, my elf parents switched me with a human boy at birth. I grew up in the mortal world and ended up becoming a physician. I worked in medicine for almost a half century, I had to move a couple of times because people started noticing that I wasn't aging like everyone else.
"I never even suspected my true nature until the boy I had switched places with, came from under the hill to get me one night. We left a homunculus in my place and I came home at last. We got married and I came to work here in this fae hospital."
She glanced around a bit and said with a smile, "In fact, I'm a little surprised he hasn't come by to see how you are coming along. He certainly was intrigued by you."
Roger smiled and asked, "Not trying to change the subject or anything, but when can I go home again and what are the likely side effects of that potion they made for me?"
She smiled and replied, "You can leave as soon as you get dressed as a matter of fact. The side effects are mostly that you will have 'the sight' now, meaning you will be able to see the unseen by mortal eyes, and they will know that you can now see them as well."
Dr. Shannon stepped towards the curtained entrance to his chamber and said, "When you are finished dressing, just leave the curtain open, we will take care of the rest."
After she had left the earthen ceilinged chamber, Roger got out of bed and quickly pulled on his clothing.
He noted that his trousers seemed a bit loose on him now, he had lost some more weight during his recuperation.
Leaving the curtain open as directed, Roger made his way through the tunnel like corridor with Sasha close by his side.
He quietly marveled at the myriad creatures he was now seeing.
Tiny, insect winged fairies flitted about carrying messages or small objects, to and fro in their tiny hands as they whizzed by.
Wood wives scurried about carrying fresh linens or trays with covered dishes on them, while their husbands labored unseen, keeping everything in order.
They all smiled at him and Sasha as they ambled along, seeking the exit from the labyrinthine corridors of the fae hospital.
To his pleasant surprise, one of them stopped in her travels and said cheerfully, "Me name's Ilona, Dena is me mum. Ah'm pleased tae meit yer!"
Roger grinned and hunkered down while extending his hand.
While the tiny wood elf grinned and shook his proffered finger, he replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you too Ilona."
Ilona giggled as Sasha's massive head nuzzled her in greeting.
She said happily, "Ah see yer aw growed up noo an' soon ye'll be seeking a mate tae hae yer own pups with."
Sasha nuzzled her again and Ilona laughed gaily.
She smiled at them and waved good bye as she scurried off, back to her duties.
They continued on until Roger saw Dr. Shannon being snuggled by a happily smiling centaurian being with a doglike body.
Roger surmised that he was her husband and marveled at how living among the fae had changed him the way it had.
Dr. Shannon noticed them and said, "I'm sorry, has no one shown you the way out?"
When he nodded an affirmative, Dr. Shannon said, "I will show you out then."
She turned to her husband and said , "I'll be home for dinner soon dear."
He smiled happily and his long, pointed ears fairly wiggled in his happiness as he scampered off to prepare dinner.
His paws muffled by the yielding floor of the hospital.
Falling in behind Dr. Shannon's slim form, they made their way along the corridors of the fae hospital.
They approached what appeared to be a woman sitting all in a heap in her tattered and torn clothing, her dark hair all tangled and matted.
Her downcast face was a study in sorrow, with reddened, salt rimed eyes and the tracks of her many tears streaking her grimy face.
She appeared to be utterly lost in her sorrows.
Dr. Shannon murmured, "She is a lost bean sidhe, her family died out and their house has fallen into ruin. She finally left the ruins and was wandering in the shadow lands when the spriggan chief found her and brought her here."
Roger impulsively stopped and stooped slightly to gently place his hand on her grimy shoulder.
She looked up at him and he found himself looking into reddened eyes filled with unutterable sorrow.
He said softly, "I know something of your sorrow, I am an orphan too. It will get better, I promise!"
He smiled at her stunned expression and they resumed their trek towards the exit of the fae hospital and the way back to the mundane world.
Dr. Shannon stopped just before the gateway and smiled at the two of them.
Sasha wagged her voluminous tail, eagerly anticipating her afternoon snooze before the crackling fire and Roger just wanted to go home at last.
She and Roger hugged briefly and once again, he was reminded of just how feminine an elvish woman could be.
She said softly, "Nothing personal, but I hope not to see you again. In a professional capacity that is."
Roger grinned at her and replied, "I can appreciate your sentiment Doc, but you're always welcome to visit, in a social capacity that is!"
She laughed and waved good bye as they returned to the earthly world.
It was well after dark in the dead of winter and Roger shivered as he and Sasha made their way through the snow.
He had forgotten how time flowed differently under the hill and was now being brutally reminded of that fact.
A towering form loomed before him in the dark and he heard the voice he wanted most to hear declaring, "Haur ye are! Yer gang catch yer daith ay th' cold wandrin' lost oot after dark!"
She embraced him and held him closely to her bosom, her warmth seeping into his chilled body.
Freya scooped him up into her arms and carried him back to the huge, old house they lived in.
By now, Roger had learned not to argue with a growing giantess standing over seven and a half feet tall, especially when it was in his own best interests to cooperate.
A massive, angular shape came into view with a single glowing light to challenge the darkness.
Moments later, the three of them were inside the bulky manse once built for a giant.
Freya gently set him down before the cheery blaze in the front parlour's fireplace.
He shivered slightly after Freya had released him, her warmth had felt so very good and he reluctantly refrained from glomping onto her as if his life depended on her bodily warmth for survival.
Freya smiled at him and said, "Be reit back!"
She stepped out of the parlour and returned a moment later with a blanket draped over one arm.
Roger smiled as she draped it over him and tucked it in.
He felt much better now.
Between the blanket and the cheery fire, his shivering soon ceased.
Anna Karlsen came in, pushing before her a three tiered cart laden with a tea set and a tempting array of neatly arranged sweet comestibles.
And on the very bottom shelf, a large beef bone that was for Sasha's enjoyment.
Dena appeared as if from nowhere and cheerfully declared,"Welcome haem ye hen cheil, we hae missed ye!"
She hopped up onto the coffee table and into his arms.
Roger held the diminutive wood wife closely and replied, "And I have missed you too, all of you!"
He looked at the others and saw his towering companion looming over everyone, how much she had grown!
Her friend Anita, budding teen age girl and nascent author had grown as well.
While standing next to the tea cart was Anna Karlsen, AKA Anastasia Karloff, author of several very popular Gothic romance novels, close friend of Anita's and secretly, a vampire over 250 years old.
Dena's sudden kiss reminded him that he was holding a genuine fae in his arms, a two foot tall, very pretty wood wife of indeterminate age.
I.E. She wasn't telling how old she really is and you needn't bother asking, thank you very much!
Roger kissed Dena a couple of more times and gently set her down on the coffee table.
He always marveled at how nicely proportioned she was as she smiled up at him.
He smiled back at her and said, "I met your daughter Ilona at the fae hospital, she's working there along with a whole bunch of other wood wives I saw."
Dena chuckled and replied, "Ah've seen 'er thaur meself, she an' 'er guidman baith work thaur."
Roger grinned and remarked, "I didn't see him, but I'm sure I enjoyed his efforts while I was there."
He glanced over at Anastasia, who was the very image of a ballerina with her lithe dancer's build and prefect poise.
He reached out and she swept into his arms and they embraced fondly, holding each other very closely, almost intimately.
He squeezed her very gently and felt her small, firm breasts pressing against him as she squeezed him back, a bit more firmly.
Moments later, their lips met in a lingering kiss that ended very reluctantly.
He murmured in her shell like ear, "I owe you my life and can only say 'thank you' in return."
She squeezed him again and murmured in reply, "And you and yours have given me a sense of belonging, a feeling of being in a family, a feeling of having a home once more. I'd say I was in your debt, not you in mine."
They parted reluctantly and as she stepped away, Anita came up to him, her eyes bright with emotion as she said, "Welcome home! We've all missed you and Sasha."
They hugged each other briefly, Anita was only five feet tall and very petite, but she gave wonderful hugs and when they relaxed their hug, she rose on her tip toes and planted a brief kiss on his lips unabashedly.
Finally, Roger was able to turn his undivided attention to his long time companion, Freya Sigurdsdottir.
She smiled shyly and looked away as she blushed.
Anastasia said softly to the others, "I think we need to give them a little privacy, they have much to say to each other."
She gently shooed Anita out of the parlour and picked up Dena on their way out.
Sasha as usual, had curled up on the parquet floor in front of the fireplace and closed her golden eyes to snooze in her 'happy place' as Roger had once called it.
Freya had muttered sarcastically in reply, "'er 'happy place' is whaur ever ye are!" the first time he had said it, it was in jest and the term stuck.
Roger stepped up onto the coffee table to put him on a more nearly equal footing, heightwise.
She smiled at him and said very softly, "Ah hae missed ye sae verra much! Ye waur gain sae lang 'at Ah despaired ay e'er seein' ye again."
Roger held out his arms and she stepped into his embrace.
Folding him into her own arms, she held him closely against her swelling bosom and he became acutely aware of how much she had grown during his absence.
He closed his eyes and simply held her, letting his long suppressed feelings enjoy her warmth.
For a long moment or several moments, neither of them spoke, for mere words would not suffice this time.
Their lips met in a lingering kiss and for several, slow heartbeats, their lips indulged in a slow, unhurried kiss.
Freya held him very closely against her firm breasts, he became painfully aware of the forbidden stirrings in his loins and it was with great reluctance, he ended the kiss.
His voice was almost a moan as he whispered, "We have to stop before we go too far." and he clung to her almost desperately, relying on her great strength to hold him up as his knees threatened to give way.
Freya clung to him with equal desperation, bracing herself against her own impending collapse to the floor.
They separated slightly and as Roger stepped off the coffee table, his wobbly legs gave way and he collapsed into her arms.
She bore him to the chair and he leaned back into its welcome embrace.
He smiled at her weakly and said, "I am so tired of this weakness, all my doctors have told me I'm cured, then why do I still feel so weak? I feel better than I have in a long time, but still, I'm not back to my old, irritable self!"
Freya smiled and laughed, then she laughed and laughed.
Wiping tears from her bright blue eyes, Freya remarked, "Th' doctors waur reit, ye ur cured if ye can make a smart assed comment loch 'at! Ye jist need tae gie some exercise. Smart assed or nae!"