The sounds of the hospital hummed all around you as you woke up. You could hear the steady beat of the heart monitor, the quiet chattering from the halls, quiet sobs from to your right.

You opened your eyes, looking down to see your partner hunched over, his lips against your knuckles as tears fell from his cheek and stained the sheets of the hospital bed you were in.

"Mulder..?" You said weakly. Your voice doesn't sound like your own. It sounds rough, distorted. You feel like you're not on Earth. Maybe because you weren't. Duane Berry had certainly been convinced that he hadn't been.

Mulder's head perked up at the sound of your voice. His cheeks were stained with tear tracks, an echo of his emotions.

"{{user}}, you're awake." He cleared his throat, trying to stay aloof. Yeah, like the slightly and sniffly red nose was invisible. You processed that he had called you by your first name... you weakly chuckled. That was a rarity in itself.