Actions through which to achieve goals: Amber could do that. Fuck, Amber owned that. Give her an objective and tell her how to reach it, and she'd get there. She would've snorted at the randomness of Eric's bee metaphor, but after days of tension, laughter didn't come easy. And to laugh would mean going five steps back, with Eric pissed all over again. The important thing was, he'd told her what he needed. He was wincing too, as if he didn't expect to ever get it.

"I'm sorry," Amber said, looking straight into Eric's eyes. She wanted him to see how sincere she was. "I hate that I hurt you." She sighed. "I don't know what the next ‘bee’ will be like, but I'll try to warn you next time. Or get you to smack it with me." What that actually meant in practical terms, Amber had no idea, and wouldn't know until the next "bee" came along. In this last case, it'd have meant telling him she'd treat Casey for Lupus anyway. As for next time... she’d try to do what she had while hurting Eric as little as possible.

Amber's smile strengthened as the confused yet pleased shock washed over Eric's face. There. This is what she'd been wanting. Them willing to work things out, giving themselves time and space. "How would I get to work tomorrow without a car?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow. She liked that he'd amended his offer, though. "I'll meet you there." She wrapped her other hand around his and squeezed, letting him know this wasn't a rejection, just common sense.