[b]Chapter 5: The Check-Up [/b] "And this is the courtyard!" Cayde said as he held up his arms, "What do you think, Jackie?.... Jackie?" He turned around when he didn't hear a response, "Jack!" She stood next to one of the worker bots, poking his arm and watching in amusement as it went on its business. "Jack, would you leave the robots alone?" He snapped as he pulled her away. She looked at him and smirked, "Wow, Cayde, enslaving your own people to clean up the tower?" He rolled his optics, "You're hilarious, now; stop bugging the robots and follow me; the infirmary is just up here." Jack followed him wordlessly as she continued to look at the buildings surrounding her. They soon entered the small building; inside, it had white walls and medical equipment. Jack winced as the scent of disinfectant filled her nostrils. "Hey Lizzy, got a patient here for you!" Jack jumped as a woman jumped up from behind one of the desks; her skin was dark with raven black hair that fell to the middle of her waist. She came over to them and smiled as she held her hand, "Hi there, I'm Elizabeth; I'm the one who will give you a check-up." Jack looked up at Cayde with a concerned look; he merely smiled reassuringly and nodded. She returned her gaze to Elizabeth and smiled as she shook her hand. "Hey, nice to meet you. Will it hurt?" "Oh no, not at all," Elizabeth smiled, "Just relax, and it will all be over before you know it," she then pointed at a medical examination table, "Now, if you could just take a seat there and we'll begin." She nodded and did as she was told, hoisting herself onto the table and giving a puzzled look as Cayde whispered to Elizabeth. When he finally noticed her gaze, he turned to her and smiled. "Alright, kid, I'll leave you here with the professional." "What, you're leaving me?" She questioned with a raised brow. "Don't worry, Liz is one of the nicest people here. Once she's done, I'll introduce you to Ikora and Zavala. Cool?" Jack frowned before slowly nodding; Cayde gave her a thumbs up and left the room, leaving her alone with Elizabeth. The woman smiled as she approached Jack with a holopad in her hands; she pressed a few buttons on it before looking back up at her. "It seems you're underweight by 20 pounds." "It's hard to find food out there," Jack answered as she stared down at her flattened belly. "Well, you don't have to worry about that now. We have so much food here; you'll gain those 20 pounds in no time!" Jack studied her as she pressed a strange object against her forehead. The nurse raised a brow, "I'm sorry?" Jack met her gaze, "I don't meet a lot of 'happy' people out there," she nodded towards the door, "I thought Cayde was weird, but I just assumed it was due to him being an Exo. I don't know much about them, but from what I've seen, they're… different. The woman in the hanger, Amanda, she seemed happy too, but you…." Elizabeth tapped the holopad again before placing the object down, picking up a small band, and wrapping it around Jack's forearm, causing her to flinch. Elizabeth's smile faded, "It's hard sometimes, but you just have to look at the positives. I have a great job in a beautiful city, I have lots of friends, I get to help people, and I'm one of the first to meet those brought back by the light. Also, I need to put on a brave face with my work. No one wants to get serious medical information from someone rude or depressed," her smile returned, "Vitals look normal, looking good." "Do you have a Ghost?" Elizabeth looked up and gave an almost sad smile before shaking her head, "No, I-" She paused, "I don't, just a regular human." Sensing her change in emotion, Jack asked, "Aaaand you don't like that?" "Oh, not at all, sweetie; it's actually kind of nice being a normal person. It means I don't have to fight," she said with a wink, "You have a Ghost, don't you?" She nodded, "Yeah. “What’s his name?” ”Sheldon." "That's a very nice name," Elizabeth said softly, "May I see him?" Jack frowned, "I don't know; he's kind of shy." [i]"It's okay, Jack," [/i]Sheldon spoke before appearing before them, "Hi, I'm Sheldon." Jack's mouth fell agape as she stared at her Ghost. His stutter was gone! "Hello Sheldon, how're you today?" "I am good, ma'am; how're you?" "I'm doing very well..." Their voices began to fade as Jack began to be lost in her thoughts. How was Sheldon's stutter gone? What could possibly change that? Her heart sank; it felt like he was a different person. Something about how he spoke sounded prim and proper, not down to earth and silly like he used to be. What was this place doing to him?