In an x-ray tube, the atoms in the anode are ionized by incident electrons "knocking" their K-shell electrons out of orbit. Following this, an outer-shell electron decays to fill the vacancy. Now:
An atom remains ionized for a very short time (about $10^{-14}$ second) and thus an atom can be repeatedly ionized by the incident electrons which arrive about every $10^{-12}$ second. (NDT)
What causes the un-ionization, if there's another $10^{-12}$ second until the next incident electron arrives?