It does end up that he has to make the time. After he emerges and takes a shower, he's pulled into a crisis, a mission gone wrong on the other side of the world. Or, theoretically gone wrong. Cessation of communication doesn't necessarily mean anything in particular. But it usually means something bad.

It's too long before communications are resumed, and then the team asks for immediate extraction. Good, because that's just what Phil had been doing in the last hour of silence.

Mission failure. What a surprise.

So when he comes down to get her, it's late. Too late, and now maybe too risky, because of the failed mission, to go into town.

He explains this to her.

"I'm sorry."