Just as he was about to swat at her as if she were some sort of overgrown fly, Jo’s voice fully registered. He let the book drop onto his lap, and he fumbled to remove his reading glasses.

"....Jo? Is it really you?"

Placing his glasses on the side table, he grabbed for his wand and murmured an incantation to light a lamp on the other side of the room. With the addition of the better lighting, he fully took her in, his expression softening. Immediately, he reached out to lay a hand on her, needing to be sure she wasn’t just some sort of apparition. Once it was apparent she wasn’t a figment of his imagination, Zach quickly began to untangle himself from his blankets.

"Forgive me. I...I don’t often get visitors at this hour."

Once he had more freedom of movement, Zach scooted closer, concern written all over his face. While he was relieved to see her, he couldn’t help but worry something additional had occurred for her to arrive so late. The way she clutched her temples had him wishing he could take his reaction to her arrival back. He couldn’t bear the thought that he’d harmed her, or made her ailment more unbearable.

"Forgive me," he repeated, the volley of emotions welling in his chest, preventing him from saying anything else coherent. After a moment, he settled with, "How...how are you?"