X could hear a voice coming from somewhere far away, too distant to make out any words. He felt himself drifting up through a fog. His hand twitched and reached out a little, coming into contact with something solid.

"That's it. Come on, Cowboy. Time to wake up now," he heard the voice say as he felt his lips being eased open and some sort of warm, sweet liquid being coaxed down his throat. "I promise not to yell at you too much. Just open your eyes now."

X slowly blinked, seeing the vague outline of a person, a human, sitting beside him before his eyes slid shut again.

"Uh, uh! Open those eyes and keep them open," he heard the voice insist as more of the liquid slipped down his throat.

X slowly opened his eyes again and looked up to see who was talking to him. He was shocked to see Elle sitting there beside him looking perfectly fine.

"Elle?" he whispered as he forced himself to sit up even though waves of pain shot through his body at the movement. He could feel tears starting to fall as he reached out and touched her. She was real and not a dream. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and hugging her as if he would never let go. "I thought I lost you," he murmured as he buried his face in her hair.

"Tell me about it. I ought to kill you for the scare that you gave me," she said as she eased him back down onto the bed. "Now stay still. You don't need to be moving around too much right now. What in the world were you thinking? You're lucky that you didn't break your neck!"