"What's my sign name?" I asked as we entered our home.

Esme shook her head. "I can't give you that. It has to be a deaf person who gives you a sign name. It's important to their culture."

"Okay," I accepted. "So, you're fluent in this language."

"I'm as fluent as a hearing person can be." She explained. "There's always going to be a bit of a barrier that prevents me from being fully fluent. And that's the fact that I am hearing. I used to sign a lot more when my sister and I lived together and were closer. But with the distance now, it's a bit difficult to keep it up with her."

"Where do we start?" I asked as I took a seat on the couch.

She took a seat next to me. "Let's start with some history."

She went over the history of American Sign Language. I learned a lot and found that the closest sign language to it was French Sign Language. Because that's where ASL got its origin. She went over all of that and began to teach me a few of the regular hand shapes I would encounter. She went over the alphabet. I learned that ASL was setup to be achievable with one hand, where other sign languages require two. ASL can complete the entire alphabet and most numbers with one hand.

This was the start for a new setting for us. Esme would sign regularly with me to teach me the signs and also the grammar of the language. It was interesting how different it was between my spoken language and the nonverbal language. I started to get some small sentences and phrases before I was called away for a mission.

I was gone for a week. Simple recon of a worry area. No threats but we found an interesting staff left in an abandoned vault of an old forgotten military base. It gave off a different energy signature from what G.U.N. had seen before. Rockwell wanted it brought back so they could examine it.

As I lifted it from its pedestal, I sharp pain went through my core. I felt to my knee for only a moment before it disappeared.

To think that I would be taking your form. The thought came through my head unexpectedly.

"Are you okay, Shadow?" Rouge asked.

"Yes." I responded. "I assume a reaction to the energy of the scepter. But it has passed."

"Shall we return to base?" Omega asked me.

"Yes," I responded. "We'll get this to the scientists at G.U.N. to examine it and determine if it's more important. Maybe they can find something in their data base as to why it was left behind from here."

They agreed and with a toss of a ring, we were through the portal and back to headquarters. We gave the scepter to the scientists and separated again. It wasn't often that we would spend time around each other outside of work. I knew that Rouge liked to visit Angel Island regularly to bother Knuckles. And Omega seemed to do well just staying at the G.U.N. HQ.

The pain I felt earlier had me worried. And I thought that maybe Chami could help me make sure everything was okay. I used a ring to get back home. Teleporting to the clinic, I quietly opened the door. There was a flashing light that had been installed with the door opening that it caused the hedgehog to lift her head. She smiled at me before walking over.

She grabbed the whiteboard. 'I was wondering when I would see you again. Esme said you do some dangerous stuff in your line of work.'

I lifted my hands but hesitated. She looked at me expectingly and waited. How as I supposed to communicate this? I was still new. Would I mess up? Would she even understand what I was meaning?

I pressed my lips together and tried my best. 'Have… pain… chest…'

She watched my signing and I could tell she was not quite knowing what I meant. I let out a frustrated sigh.

'Worried… pain…chest.' I tried again.

She wrote down on the board again. 'You have a pain in your chest? And you're worried about it?'

I nodded.

She gave a look that made me worried. 'I can see what I can do, but if it's not some form of physical injury, I can't heal it.'

She led be back to a sitting area and placed her bare fingers on my chest. She closed her eyes and focused. A small glow came from her hand and I waited. After a few seconds, she took her hand off my chest and looked at me.

She signed slowly. '…Chest pain… no worry…okay.'

I missed a good chuck of what she had signed, but got the idea that there was nothing to worry about. She still grabbed her pad and wrote down what she meant so I got the full message.

'I couldn't sense any physical injuries or wounds in your chest. I wouldn't worry too much about the chest pain unless it continues. Do you drink a lot of coffee?'

I missed a lot of her message. Though I did enjoy the occasional cup of coffee at G.U.N. I didn't drink it that often. I shook my head.

'Lots of caffeine can cause not only anxiety but also sometimes can cause chest pain. Can you tell me what happened that led up the pain?' She wrote for me.

That was classified information. I shook my head. She nodded her head before signing okay. Standing up she guided me out towards the exit.

Before I left, I turned to her. 'I… practice… sign… maybe… you… help?'

She watched my slow sign language and a small smile came to her lips. 'Coffee shop… Meet time 8… morning.'

I nodded. She pointed to the shop just down the street to the coffee shop she talked about and I gave another nod. She waved goodbye as I went out the door and teleported home. Esme saw me come in and gave a smile.

"Welcome home," she greeted. "How was your mission?"

"Uneventful." I responded. "But I had Chami check me out to make sure I was okay. Had a weird pain while I was out."

She nodded at me. "And what did she say?"

"She couldn't find any physical ailment." I placed my hand on my chest. "I should be fine. But she said that if the pain continues to get some help. It didn't last long at all, I just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong."

"Good." Esme stated while placing food on the table.

"I'm also meeting with her tomorrow morning." I added. "She's going to help me learn sign language."

Esme's eyes glanced up at me as she paused her movement. "Really?"

"I thought she would be a good person to practice with."

"I think that's a good idea." Esme finished placing food on the table. "I'll be here if you need any help with anything."

"I know." I added. "Thank you, Esme."