"What are you doing here?" Amelia asked, her voice colored with genuine surprise as she lifted her gaze to meet Alan's eyes. The question slipped from her lips naturally, without any of the tension that still lingered in the hospital room like an invisible storm cloud after Samuel's startling announcement. Her tone was calm, even curious, though inside her chest her heart had not yet steadied from the weight of all that had just unfolded.
"I called your phone, but could not reach you." Alan's deep voice, smooth and commanding as always, carried a trace of concern beneath its usual authority. "We just finished a meeting nearby, and I thought you might need a ride back."
