“Such a fine young man,” the elderly woman with the chocolate cake said as she came out of her house.  She craned her neck up towards the sky but it wasn’t the sky she was looking at, it was Bradley Hester.  Brad had just finished cleaning off the seventy-five year old woman’s town car and drive.  “I was hoping to see you again.  I never got to properly thank you for saving my car,” the woman known as Widow Foster yelled up to the giant.  Brad smiles and kneels down so that Widow Foster wouldn’t have to strain herself so much to look up at him.

“It wasn’t anything, Mrs. Foster,” Brad said in a quiet tone that he knew her hearing aid would pick up.

“Wasn’t anything?  Poppycock!  It’s not every day that I get saved by a young man with the strength to pick up an elephant.  You people are God’s gift to us and I want to show you my gratitude,” Widow Foster said as she held up the chocolate cake.  “You must be starving anyway with all that shoveling you have been doing all day,” she then said, giving Brad a caring gaze.

Brad took the cake that was barely a crumb to him and ate it to please the old woman.  She smiled up at him, waiting for a response.  Brad pleased her by saying, “Thank you Mrs. Foster.  That is by far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted.”  Widow Foster beamed.

“I must be getting back to work ma’am,” Brad said to the kindly old woman and resumed shoveling the street.

“We are here today at the small town of Spartan Falls again where we see the giants of Gaea House shoveling away the recent snowfall that has crippled the area but Spartan Falls seems to have weathered the storm well due to its resident titans.  From our chopper, you can see the giants loading dump trucks of snow being hauled away to a secluded place.  If you haven’t noticed, the giants have no need to dress for this weather.  They have evolved to withstand the harshest temperatures and many things us fragile humans can’t withstand.”

“Damn Gaea House,” Calvin Harper growled as he threw his old wheelchair across the room causing the metal frame to bend.  Calvin Harper has run out of henchmen to do his dirty work.  His no good nephew disappeared after sending pictures of that woman visiting one of the giants.  He couldn’t quite go there himself in his present condition.  Then he saw the extremely tall blond giant taking care of the elderly woman’s drive on the news.

The news reporter goes to interview this woman.  The reporter is a woman well past her prime to be a news reporter but that’s what happens when people start evolving, it’s put a lot of the older people back to work.

“Ma’am, you were just talking with one of the giants.  Can you tell us about your experience?”

“Oh yes, that kind young man saved my life, not to mention my car.”

“Today that man is saving a lot of peoples’ cars and keeping our streets clean.”

“Oh yes, but that young man prevented me from having a wreck a few months back.  He is quite special.”

“All the giants of Gaea House are quite special, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh yes, but Mr. Hester is quite different…”

“This is Liz Johnson for Channel Eight News.”

Calvin Harper managed to find the off button on his remote and pushed it with a pencil.  “Hester, hmmm, where did I ever hear that name?  Time for me to do some snooping,” Calvin mumbled to himself…

The Titan children all finished their duty and Sven couldn’t be happier.  He rewarded them with candy that Alex had manufactured special for the giants.  The children savored the confection they haven’t had in months.  The candy was a lot like the shakes with nutrition in mind despite the sweet taste.

“You all did well today.  The staff has informed me the plow trucks couldn’t do the work you all have done.  So good job, kids,” Sven said, holding up his hand for high fives.

Just as the children were walking out, Jane came out of the bedroom.  Anne lagged behind.  Jane could see the loneliness in the girl’s eyes as she had to go back to her dorm at the clinic.  The sad orphan giantess only had the people of Gaea House left in her life.  Jane then looks at the empty spare bedrooms that only get used when the kids come over.  Jane kept her thoughts clear but Sven picked up on his wife mood and stopped the young giantess.

“Annie,” Sven said with a warm smile.  Anne looked up at the big giant. “Would you like to stay with Jane and me for a while?”

“Really, Mr. Lindquist?” Anne’s eyes lit up.  She had been pretty lonely since Ashley and her family decided to go back to California.

“Really, what do you say, Annie?” Sven said with a warm smile.

“I won’t be putting you and Mrs. Powers out?”

“Not at all, Annie,” Jane said, looking up at the pretty girl.  “The kids usually stay with their father anyway.  We have two empty rooms the majority of the time.  It gets kind of lonely around here without them.  Trust me, you’re not putting us out.”

“Okay, can I go back to my dorm and get a few things?”

“Sure Annie,” Sven and Jane both said with a smile.  Anne gave Sven a hug but reframed from picking Jane up into a hug.

“Thank you,” Anne said, showing off her perfect smile.  “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“We know, sweetie,” Jane said as Anne walked out the door.

Sven smiles down at his favorite human.  The old Sven wouldn’t give a hill of beans about an orphan child but the new Sven felt good about helping someone in need, especially a lonely girl like Anne.  Anne like most the giants, needed to be around others like her.  Of course she had that at the dorm but she needed a friend and Sven knew the child looked up to him as a role model of sorts.

“Looks like our little family is going to get bigger,” Jane said as she looked up at her giant.  “Annie is a good kid.”

“Yes she is.  It’s too bad she has no other family.  I think we should adopt her,” Sven said with a smile.

“That wouldn’t be too hard, under law she is considered deceased as far as her human life goes and I’m sure if we ask, the other giants wouldn’t object.  Annie would make a nice addition to our family.  She needs a place where she can truly belong.  I don’t think she feels like she belongs at the dorms in the clinic.  That place is permanent for no one, let alone a child,” Jane said.  Sven gently picked her up and held her in his hand.  He gives her a warm smile as he admired his human, imperfections and all.

“I’m glad you are with me on this.  As soon as Calvin Harper is through plaguing us and more humans can accept us, I plan on building us a home of our own, off the Gaea House campus.  We’ll have plenty of room for the kids and Annie.  It’ll be our personal paradise,” Sven said and paused for a moment.  “First I must ask the others how they feel about us taking in Annie.  I’m sure they’ll agree.”

“I hope so Sven.  That poor child has been through too much.  Her parents were afraid of the one thing that truly saved their little girl’s life.  I have no problems anymore with accepting another giant into my life.  Annie will be happy here with us, I have no doubts,” Jane said, thinking back on her own feelings about her growing children and how frightened she was when all three of her children passed her up in height and intelligence.  With Sven’s help, Jane worked past all her fears.

Annie came back to the hangar with a pack full of clothes.  Jane let her stay in the twin’s room.  Annie joined them for movie night and they played games together.  Annie liked chess and her and Sven started a game that never ended.  Annie felt like she truly belonged somewhere staying with Sven Lindquist and Jane Powers.  When Annie couldn’t stay awake much longer, Sven ended the chess game for the night and encouraged Annie to go to bed.  Jane and Sven then decided to retire for the night themselves.  Jane had been exhausted lately, carrying around a child in her stomach that could be a giant or a human for all she knew.

Sven gently laid Jane down on her bed but she wanted to stay with her giant for a little while longer.  Sven lay down on his own bed with Jane lying on his chest.  Jane curled up in the fetal position and Sven lazily played with her hair, both content and happy.

“Sven, I think we made a special girl’s day.  Are you going to ask the others before we bring it up to her?” Jane asked her giant as she listened to the soothing sound of his heart.

“I think that would be best.  Can you handle having another giantess living with us, Jane?”

“I think it’ll be good for the both of us.  Annie is a good kid, she needs a home.  No one else will take her.  Not a human family for sure.  She needs a giant around.  She may be self-sufficient, but she is still a kid, a very heartbroken kid.”

“She can help you when I’m not around.  You’ll be protected,” Sven said as he ran his fingers over her small body.  He stopped at her stomach and gently touched her expanding belly.

“I’ve grown quite used to looking up at everybody anyway.  I already feel protected.  You have given me so much, Sven Lindquist.  More than you will ever know,” Jane said as she played with his chest hair.

“She will have to follow house rules if she is to stay with us.  She will be no different than the other kids,” Sven said.

“No telepathy, we need to make that clear.  This house is a telepathy free zone.  I don’t like that the kids can always know what I’m thinking.  I’m sure she’ll abide,” Jane said as she felt sleep over taking her.

“That’s understandable.  She is to help you out whenever possible.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Jane yawned.

Sven got out of his bed, holding Jane who had fallen asleep.  He gently laid her down on her bed and kissed her head before going back to his own bed.  Sven was a happy giant these days.  He was about to become a family man even though he could never be the loving husband, not legally at least.  The United States government was still trying to decide how to handle giants.  Some still got to keep their old identity while others were declared deceased by family members and some, like Sven Lindquist who weren’t true citizens, seem to have lost all identity of their human past.  The government was franticly working on a registration program that would seem humane but most were afraid of the growing population at large.  Quite a few wanted to bring back the old secret clinics that the president declared unjust and unlawful towards its occupants.  The Gaea Foundation stepped in to help but there is still a lot of work to be done to give the giants the life they deserved…