Genis' mind felt like mush. He couldn't think, or talk, or move. He thought he heard Raine's voice...what was she saying? "Let's begin?" He tried to get his mouth to move, or his voice to work, but it felt like there was a brick stuffed in his mouth.

"Begin...wha?" he finally got out. He heard a gasp. Genis tried to force his eyes open, but they felt as if they weighed a hundred pounds. He managed to open them a small bit. Raine was utterly shocked; What was she holding? A needle? He tried to look up when he felt something tighten around his hand. He turned to the side to see someone's gloved hand entwined with his: Presea's. He rolled his head to the other side.

"P...Pre...sea?" he managed. Genis thought he saw her smile, but he was so out of it he couldn't tell.

"It's me, I'm here Genis," she reassured him. Her voice sounded a million miles away.

"Genis," Raine started, "This is a terrible time for you to wake up, but now you have to stay awake. You could slip into a coma."

"Mm...alrigh...I'll try," he said. "Can someone...help me....sit up?" Presea removed her hand for a moment to help him and he forced his eyes open the rest of the way. The room was extremely bright for a moment, and then it faded to normal. He looked around the room, seeing everyone. Raine was looking relieved, and Lloyd looked really happy. Colette and Sheena let out a breathe they'd been holding, and Regal stood in a corner watching the scene intently. Zelos just smirked and said,

"Nice of you to join the party." Genis cracked a smile, which was a lot more of an effort than he thought it would be. He then looked up at Presea, who looked both extremely relieved and extremely happy. They gazed into each other's eyes, and he reached up to touch her pigtail.

"I thought I had lost you," she whispered.

"I would never leave you behind, Presea," the half elf said, forgetting the rest of the people in the room and kissing her gently. As they broke apart, he saw a beautiful blush spread across her cheeks, making them rosy.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Genis, but I have bad news," Raine said.

"What is it?" he asked, now almost fully awake.

"You have to get stitches...and I was about to preform the procedure when you woke up," she explained.

"Oh..." Genis muttered. He winced slightly and then said, "Go ahead, I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Raine asked. He tightened his grip on Presea's hand.

"I'm sure." Raine ordered everyone else out of the room, but Genis requested that Presea stay.

"Alright," Raine had finally agreed. As she held the ice pack to his arm she told him,

"This might hurt."

"I'll be okay," he replied. Looking over at Presea, he sighed. "What did I miss? What happened?" he probed.

"Well, in the middle of the battle, Fairess broke free of Sheena and me and attacked you, but since you were casting you didn't notice until it was too late," Presea explained.

"Mm. What about after?"

"Well, after...everyone started taking-" she paused as Genis winced, feeling the needle dully pierce his skin. She continued, "everyone started to take down their opponents. After the other two were defeated, Fairess didn't last long. After that, we took you to a doctor in Flanoir, who told us that you needed these stitches, but was too busy to actually do the sewing. So Raine volunteered, and that's pretty much all that happened."

"I see," Genis said, trying to take his mind off the pain. He pulled her hand to the spot next to him.

"Will you sit with me?" he asked innocently.

"Of course," Presea answered, settling herself next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"How's he doing, Raine?" she asked.

"Very well, these wounds are sealing up cleanly," the professor responded. They sat like that for about twenty more minutes, and Raine tied the knot.

"All done!" she declared. Genis looked down to see a few rows of neat stitches along his arm. Presea ran her fingers over them, feeling each tiny thread.

"Do they hurt?" she asked, eyes full of concern.

"No, I feel fine," he murmured, smiling. Raine packed up her things and went downstairs, with Genis and Presea trailing. When they reached the base, everyone's eyes fell on them. Presea was holding the hand opposite to the injured arm, and everyone got an eyeful of his stitching. Colette giggled.

"You look like a doll I once had," she teased. Genis rolled his eyes.

"Gee, thanks," Genis replied sarcastically. Lloyd came over and clapped him on the back.

"You know, you're pretty tough. I don't know if I could've stayed awake while someone sewed me up," he said.

"Well, I had some comfort," he said, squeezing Presea's hand. He noticed her swaying and struggling to keep her eyes open. While Genis was getting his stitches, everyone else was resting after such a big battle. However, Presea had remained with Genis and hadn't gotten a chance to sleep.

"Maybe you should rest Presea. You look really tired," he whispered. She nodded.

"I will go do that," she mumbled, eyes half shut. The little pink-haired girl gave him a kiss on the cheek and dragged herself back upstairs. Genis blushed at her little display of affection, noticing everyone looking at him.

"She's changed so much," Colette said with a smile.

"What?" Genis said dumbly.

"Yeah, I've seen a big change in her too," Sheena added.

"What are you guys talking about?" Genis asked, frustrated.

"Presea, she is different," Regal declared as if clearing up the whole matter.

"But...how? She still seems pretty calm 

and reserved, the way she always has been," Genis told them, confused.

"Ha! You should have seen her after you got sacked by that spirit!" Zelos laughed.

"Hm?" Genis said, suddenly intrigued. They all sat down on the plethora of couches and chairs.

"She was freaking out. Shrieked so loud it would have put a banshee to shame," Lloyd said.

"Presea went straight into over limit mode. She immediately charged Fairess and even though I tried to stop her, she didn't listen. She kept saying how 'you were the only one left' and whatnot. And even afterwards she couldn't stop crying. She wouldn't let anyone else carry you," Sheena explained further.

"Yeah, and at the doctors when he said he was 'too busy' to do your stitches, I thought she was gonna KO him," Zelos added with a smirk.

"She's like whole new person now, and I think it's because of you, Genis," Colette said. Genis blushed.

"Well, I-I don't know about that," he muttered.

"Maybe you should go check on her. I'm sure she's going through a lot after thinking you were dead," Lloyd suggested.

"Okay," Genis agreed before heading up the stairs.