Hadn't she told him this when he popped up on the network? Maybe she hadn't. She had been so upset, then confused, then relieved.
"I thought you were dead," she whispered, trying to get the stop the tears. "I thought I had lost you forever. I thought I was never going to see you again and I couldn't breathe. Even when I saw you on the network I was so scared to believe you were really here."