'Patient needs an oesophagectomy to avoid the cancer from spreading to the rest of the stomach or other organs. Risks involved are bleeding, leaking of fluids into the stomach, clots, and infection.'

The soft voice faded, signaling an end to the audio.

Kimbra stopped the tape, and pressed another button. The tape player whirred softly as it rewound the tape inside. This was the seventh time she listened to her mother's old medical tapes. Hearing her voice again made life bearable for the time being. That's how it's always been.

Stranded in my own little world.

She really wanted her mom right now. Just a small hug and to be told everything would be okay. A small scent of her lavender perfume or the soft feel of her white fur. Or that loving smile she'd always give to her children. Just something.

Every so often it would come back. A memory. Sometimes a good memory. Sometimes a not so pleasant one. But a memory.

The hardest thing about dying is having to break the news to someone. It was all too much information to take on at once. Lucille Wulfe knew that all too well when she had to tell her youngest child and only daughter that she was sick.

For years as a child, Kimbra had watched her mother lose who she was as the disease took its fatal course. Countless doctor appointments. The agonizing symptoms that tortured Lucille every day. Having to retire from her career as a surgeon. She was losing it all.

The two had finally come to terms that this was their lives.

Those days, Kimbra hung around Lucille constantly. Hardly ever leaving the room until her father ushered her out, so the older woman could rest.

One day, Lucille noticed this. "Kimbra, my love… why don't you go play with your friends?"

The preteen only responded by burying her face against the older woman. She wanted to stay in bed with her today. Her friends could wait.

A few months, the doctor said. That's how much time Lucille had left. Her Huntington's had progressed, and not even the medication could delay the inevitable. There just wasn't much else to do.

It was only getting worse.

Time was a funny thing. Usually, little Kimbra wanted time to hurry. So, she could run out of school and trek through the snow with her friends. For her birthday to edge closer, so she can stuff her face with cake and hopefully get whatever she was bugging her parents to buy her that year. Wishing time would hurry to when her crush and best friend, Derek Gage, would finally ask her out.

Yet now, Kimbra wanted time to slow to a halt. She wanted more time.

"I'd rather lay here with you…"

"Is it because you overheard Dr. Henley last night?"

Kimbra kept quiet, burying her face further into her mother. Yes, she had heard the somber news.

"I just don't want you to miss out on life." Lucille said sadly as she stroked her daughter's face.

Nothing mattered anymore. Not to Kimbra as her mother was dying. She didn't want to go out and play. She wanted to avoid missing out on time with the person who mattered most to her. That would have felt too much like saying goodbye.

Why does she have to be the one to go through this? It just wasn't fair.

"Do you see the lights up there?" Lucille pointed out the window to the night sky.

Curtains of light flickered across the sky in arrays of green, white, and hints of purple and pink. The Northern Lights. Aurora Borealis. Polar Lights. Aurora Polaris. The phenomenon had many names. The beautiful dancing waves of light had graced the town of Brittlesburg many times. It captivated onlookers for years.

Kimbra looked up towards where her mother pointed. "Yeah."

"Do you remember what I told you about them?"

"That the lights are the souls of our dearly departed."

"Do you know what that means?"

"No…"

"It means," Lucille began to stroke her daughter's hair. "Even when I'm no longer in this world, I'll be up there, watching over you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Neither of them had any idea of the darkness up ahead. For a long time, they laid there looking at the lights. Not saying a word.

There was something peaceful about the soft light.

Those memories seemed like they were a world away.

A single tear trickled down the canine's cheek, but she brushed it away. Lucille had lived a full life, a fuller life than what most people would have. Kimbra should be grateful for that. That her favorite person was surrounded by the people who loved her the most in her final days. That she had a fulfilling career and saved hundreds of lives. She seemed content with that.

But Kimbra wanted her back, so badly. Perhaps it was selfish of her to want to relive that day, even if it meant her mother suffered. She just missed her desperately. She had so many questions that needed to be answered. Advice on her career, whether to get tested for the Huntington's gene herself, and so much more. However, that wasn't going to happen.

God, I'm hopeless.

She didn't know how to be happy anymore. She knew people noticed how miserable she was. They whispered behind her back, when they assumed she was out of range to hear.

I have never seen anyone so unhappy in my life.

Does she ever smile?

There goes McGloomy.

No wonder, she hardly has any friends.

Does she even go out anywhere besides work?

Right now, she was a sorrowful soul, trying to grasp at any small chance of happiness. Even so, Kimbra took it all in stride. No one could ever tell her she didn't deserve it. No amount of 'I'm sorry' or 'you deserve better' would ever make up for all the heartache she has had to endure.

No one spoke of it to her face. How they pitied her.

At least in St. Canard, she doesn't have to pretend anymore. She doesn't have to pretend that she's fine with the fact she possibly has Huntington's, as no one here knows of her mother or the fact a death sentence cursed her entire bloodline. Or that one day, she too could go down the same slow and painful path that would lead her to an untimely death. She didn't want to go out like that.

But in this city, she was alone. There was no one here for her. No one that truly understood the torment she endured daily. The constant intrusive thoughts. The real reason why she needed to overwork until she couldn't think straight. And she is bitter.

Kimbra wanted to scream. Just scream until she can't feel anything anymore. Not that it would do much good besides earn her a noise complaint from the neighbors.

"I don't know what to do anymore." She said into the otherwise silent room.

A reply would have been nice. Maybe some words of wisdom or a spurt of comfort.

Except she found herself speaking to thin air.

Kimbra's eyes trailed back over to the tape player. Her finger hit the play button.

'Patient will be undergoing the Whipple procedure, also known as a pancreaticoduodenectomy. Reason for surgery is to remove cancerous tumors from the head of the pancreas.'

You're just a memory.

The next couple of days passed by far too fast. Working with Bud Flud proved to be as boring as ever. Their days typically followed the same schedule. Meetup to discuss the project. Bud would spend a few hours following her around like a puppy and annoying the living hell out of her. They'd bicker back and forth until the end of the workday.

How simple it sounded.

Today, however, she had one particularly important matter to focus on. Bud asked her to come down to his factory for today's meeting, again. She wanted nothing more than for it to be over with. One reason is that she didn't like going there. Kimbra felt out of place at the factory. This was Bud's environment, not hers. She didn't belong here.

Besides, she was exhausted from doing paperwork all night and really just wanted to catch a nap in her office. Now, Kimbra was well aware that working to the break of dawn might not be the key to happiness. But really, it's all she had going for her at the moment. That she was certain of.

Well…besides the awkward frenemies thing she has going on with Bud Flud right now. That dinner the other night with him kept replaying in her mind. He was somewhat tolerable to be around. Somewhat…enjoyable. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it. That was the problem. In fact, she was fairly sure that the salesman probably already forgot all about what happened. He'd soon enough return to being a pain in the ass, and she'd too forget about that night.

Kimbra figured she could waste her time stressing over Bud, or she could focus on what were more pressing issues. Like finding where the hell he was.

After going through the factory lobby, his office, and countless other rooms, she eventually found him in the factory bottling room. He stood among a few of his employees, flipping through a clipboard and giving out orders.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of him.

You're too busy to notice anything that isn't about you.

The click of heels caught Bud's attention, and he looked up with a smile. "Mornin' Kimmie."

"Shut up."

He handed the clipboard over to a man in a white coat as another handed two paper cups of coffee to him. "Wow… I bought you coffee and this is how you treat your old pal Bud?"

Kimbra's attitude quickly perked up. She didn't have time to make coffee or drop by her local café to grab a cup. So, it's partially why she was moody this morning.

"Gimme ."

"Nope."

He amused her as much as he infuriated her. But she'll play along.

"Give it and no one will get hurt."

"Promise you'll play nice today, and I'll let you have it."

Kimbra tried to reach up to snatch it from him, but he held it way over her head. Which was a bit of an insult to her height.

Did he have to be so tall?

She gave up. "I promise to play nice today."

But old habits die hard.

"Thank you." He lowered his arm and handed the paper cup to her.

Whatever fury had been building inside her had evaporated. "Why did you want to meet here today?" She sipped the coffee in her hands.

The last thing she needed was wasting her entire day at a shabby water bottling factory.

"I have some things to do around the office and factory," He walked through the large room, heading to the back with Kimbra close on his heels. "Hope you don't mind."

"It's actually fine. Really, I don't want to be at work today anyway. Some of our directors are on a rampage today, and I would rather not get screamed at by them."

As much as Kimbra hated being here at the factory, she hated what the EcoTech department directors were doing even more. Every day, they attempted to push her back down in the lower rankings of the company. She didn't have a clue why they despised her so much. Her mood began to plummet further at the thought of having to start her career all over if they had it their way.

Bud noticed this. "Are you okay?"

Why was that such a tricky question?

She looked up and gave Bud a smile as she told her the same lie that she's been telling everyone and herself the last several months. That she was fine.

"If you say so." He muttered, clearly not convinced by her response. He finished the last of his coffee and dropped the cup in a nearby trash can.

He then leaned over to a small box on the wall, to unlock the door leading to the backroom of the factory. With a few presses of the keypad, a small chime dings, sweet and gentle. The red light above the keypad switched to green. Bud pulled the metal door open, letting Kimbra walk through first.

"Have you seen a coffee mug on your way in?" He asked, closing the door behind him.

"What does it look like?"

"It's the one that says, world's best boss." He dramatically placed his hands together and pulled them apart at the word 'best'.

She snickered. "Did you buy that for yourself?"

"No, it was a gift."

"From?"

"They wish to remain anonymous."

He bought it for himself.

"I'll keep an eye out for it."

"Thanks."

Kimbra looked at him silently, thinking. "What are you wanting to discuss with me anyway?"

"This month's budget. I'd like to go over it with you if that's okay." He made a point of stepping uncomfortably close to her, invading her personal space.

She cringed at that. "I'd rather go suffer the wrath of my boss instead."

"But we work so well together!"

"Other people could beg to differ."

That didn't phase him. "How was the safety course you had to go to?"

"Boring as hell." Kimbra tried her best to pay attention to it, but the woman had a voice that droned on. "Almost as bad as this heat."

"I'll be grateful when this damn heatwave is over. It's great for business, but air conditioning costs will end up breaking my bank account." He kept glancing around the room as he walked.

"When's the last time it rained out here?"

"Do I look like a weatherman?" The sarcasm was probably uncalled-for, but she couldn't find it in her to care at that point.

"No, but you look like a smart-ass."

"I know you secretly like me."

"Do not."

But it feels that way, doesn't it?

"I knew you liked me."

"Shut up," she said with a soft smile.

The room is silent apart from the occasional hiss of machines.

Kimbra followed the CEO for a bit longer before asking what they were even doing there. "What are we looking for?"

"One of the factory valves needs replacing, and I'm looking for the serial code."

"Why don't you have an employee do it?"

"Because I'm already out here."

"You just don't wanna pay them for it."

"Shut up." Bud, of course, brushed her comment aside, as he always did.

Hehehe.

Staring at him, she asked rudely, "do you even file your taxes?"

"I said shut up."

She did, and let her eyes wander across the concrete walls, reading over all the posters that hung up as Bud finally stopped at a large pipe and leaned over to it.

Filtering System: Removes or reduces one hundred and two contaminants.

We are committed to your safety while you visit our facility.

Let's change the world!

And there was the classic image of a sad, small, white kitten hanging on a tree limb with the bold words, Hang In There plastered at the bottom.

Kimbra looked back over to Bud, patiently waiting. She didn't know how long this would take. He continued to lean over towards the pipe, twisting a valve and looking over it.

She must have been staring at him for a while, as he sharply turned around and glared at her. "What?"

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

That caused Bud to groan in annoyance. "Kimbra."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Kimbra stood firm with her hands on her hips, her eyes frozen on his. "But seriously, do you know what you're doing?"

"Yes, genius is my middle name after all."

"I thought it was Bernard."

That provoked another groan. "This is why I don't share details about myself."

"Wow ok, go off, I guess… Bernard." She began to insult him further, but was cut off.

"Kimbra, I can't concentrate if you don't shut up."

"Okay."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Bernard."

"Kimbra." Bud said in a short, clipped tone as he attempted to adjust the valve.

It didn't work. He only became more frustrated. Kimbra kept making smart remarks and Bud would grumble in reply. The CEO took a deep breath in and released it. The entire situation already stressed him out, and now they were just wasting time.

An eternity passed. He finally managed to adjust it enough to find the serial code. He took a small notepad out of his inner suit pocket and wrote it down, tucking it back in place after he finished. He stood up after readjusting the valve and motioned for Kimbra to follow him out the back door.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Bud closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Took you long enough."

"I own a business and have to take care of it," he gave her a sly grin. "Not that you'd understand."

Now that's just wrong.

She said nothing as Bud knelt down to check some metal gauges against the building. They probably regulated the water pressure or something. She wasn't a hundred percent sure, not that she cared anyway.

A tall bear man in an SCPD uniform walked down the sidewalk that cut behind the building, and smiled at her. "Morning."

"Good morning," Kimbra almost didn't recognize him. It's been so long. She thought she could get through life without crossing paths with the officer ever again.

"You better be keeping in line, Wulfe."

"Officer Jenkins," she did her best to behave and not be snarky. Getting arrested in front of Bud would have been embarrassing. "I have been."

"Mayor won't appreciate another one of your projects throwing the whole city into a blackout," he tapped the brim of his hat. "Just remember that."

That only happened three times, thank you very much.

"Yes sir."

A loud snort came from Bud's direction. He was still knelt down, tinkering with the gauges. Now it was just the two of them. Alone.

"Are you friendly with the entire SCPD?"

Not really.

"Nope, I just know Jenkins."

That's a little white lie.

Maybe he'd believe her and drop the topic. She'd rather not admit that her ex-boyfriend was possibly on the force as well.

"Work related?"

"Nah, it's because he arrested me a few years back when I was a freshman in college."

"Wait—" Bud looked up, scrambled to his feet, and made it to Kimbra's side. "You? Little-Miss-Perfect has an arrest record?" Disbelief lingered in his tone.

"Doesn't everyone?"

"No!"

"Well now you know I do." She wanted that to be the end of the discussion.

"You have to tell me the whole story." He took a step towards her, standing far too close. "I need to know."

Kimbra pressed her hands against Bud's chest, forcing him to step back and add space between them. "Don't stand so close to me. And why are you so curious?"

"Trust me, I need to know."

He didn't need to know. Bud just wanted something else to tease Kimbra about, and she knew that. They didn't have time for this.

"If I tell you, will you pry out of my personal life?" She was so confounded by his stubbornness. Almost as stubborn as her.

"I promise."

What a liar.

"So a few days prior," she began. "My high school boyfriend broke up with me."

Derek Gage, her high school sweetheart and childhood best friend. She hadn't thought much about him these days. Or if he's even still in St. Canard or moved back to Alaska. She hadn't dated much after him. The breakup hurt too much. Besides, he was her person. Could there possibly be another? Someone else out there who'd make her heart soar like he did? They were madly in love, after all.

Kimbra considered dating again. Several times. Should she try again?

No. There was no one else for her. She's always known that.

"Oh, you poor little thing." Bud mocked out a pitiful tone. It made her frown.

"Shut up, or I won't tell the story."

"Proceed."

"I was very much in love with him. It hurt. So… my broken heart and I went to this party off campus," Kimbra didn't know why she was telling him this. "We all had way too much to drink. Neighbor called the cops."

"I see where this is going."

"Desperate to get out of there, I ran out to the backyard and jumped over the hedge."

"Then…?" Bud trailed off, as if to encourage her to finish the story.

"Well, there was a cop, Jenkins, just… standing there."

"Ohmygod."

"He tried arresting me."

"Tried ?"

"Well…" she hesitated on mentioning this next part. "I decked him in the throat before he could."

"Kimbra ."

"I was drunk, and don't you dare scold me. You aren't my dad."

"Ohmygod," Bud held his hand against his forehead and he began laughing. "You of all people punched a cop?" Too bad he wasn't around then to see it.

"Again, I was drunk, and he deserved it anyway."

Bud continued to laugh, much to Kimbra's disappointment.

"Bud, it's not that funny."

"Oh yes, it is!" Bud used the back of his hand to wipe a tear from his eye.

"I love that you blatantly ignored the blackout part."

"What else do I not know about you?"

"I also stabbed a guy."

"What ?"

"I'm only kidding." She found it amusing how gullible he could be sometimes.

"You, are the absolute worst,"

She wasn't going to argue with that.

Bud chuckled, going back to Kimbra being more spontaneous in her youth. "Maybe I should've partied more in college."

"You don't seem like the type who drinks often."

"Let me take you out for drinks sometimes, I can change your mind."

"If you don't stop trying to date me…"

"It's not a date."

For the millionth time, Kimbra wanted to insult him, but decided it wasn't worth losing her job over.

I'm kidding, of course.

Well...maybe.

Once they were both at EcoTech, in her office, Bud pulled out a business card from his wallet. "I almost forgot to show you my new business cards."

Kimbra looked over it in her hands. It was white and had the Flud wave water logo printed in the corner. The middle was filled with Bud's contact info.

Bud B. Flud

Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water

It's time to rethink your water.

"Cute."

"They aren't supposed to be cute," Bud tried to snatch the card back from her, but she was too fast. "They are supposed to be professional."

"Mine now, and I think they're cute."

"Fine. Keep it. I have three hundred more back at the office." Sometimes he wondered how much longer he could keep at it. Trying to get along with her. Being her… friend. He made another attempt in the quest of staying on her good side. "Wanna go to Le Posh for lunch?"

Le Posh was a luxurious hotel in the middle of the city. A restaurant of the same name stood across the street, under the same ownership as the hotel. Bud dined there several times already. Usually to impress a hot date or one of his clients.

"That sounds terribly expensive, but as much as I'd love to make you pay, I have so much work to do. Gotta skip lunch today or just have something delivered here." She said, gesturing with her eyes towards the piles of papers on her desk. She could have left it until morning, but she would rather finish it now.

Unlike Bud, Kimbra doesn't have to keep up appearances or paint on a smile. She wasn't fond of fine dining or the attention of the media. Nope. A small fast food restaurant or café suited her just fine.

She murmured to herself blandly, with her eyes still focused on the papers. It looked as if she had other things on her mind.

It makes me wonder if you're just like me , Bud wondered. They both focused heavily on work and had past heartbreaks. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

The world was a cruel and harsh place. Bud knew that to be true. His family of all people showed him that. His younger siblings had always gotten the praise or favoritism. Any semblance of respect that had been paid to him in the past few years had only ever been out of fear of employees losing their jobs.

His parents, oh his parents were a whole other story. Bud didn't know why they kept him if they despised their firstborn so much. Cruel really. Just to bring a child into this world, only to neglect and degrade them.

Try to bond with her or something. Tell her something personal. She seemed to like that the other night.

"I don't like the thought of people knowing me," he admitted hesitantly. He glanced to the side, unable to meet her eyes.

Before, nobody had really cared enough to do so, to bother getting to know him.

"Why not?"

"For one thing, no one ever cared enough to. And the few people in my life who do, just use it against me." Bud paused and stared at Kimbra, waiting for a judgmental snippet, but when none came, he continued. "Most notably being my own parents, of course."

"Your parents?"

"Oh yes, my parents. They loved to insult my interests and degrade me for everything. I just assume I'm revolting towards them because they didn't want me to begin with, like I ruined their lives or something." His expression became more solemn as he spoke of the matter.

It was nice that Bud was able to tell Kimbra these things. He'd forgotten what it felt like to have someone listen to you. Which was probably why he'd felt obligated to complain about his parents.

Kimbra smiled sadly at the man's self deprecation. "I'm sorry that happened to you, but you seemed to turn out…um…fine."

You're such a liar, Wulfe.

Bud shifted closer, feeling drawn to her innocence. No further words were necessary. The quiet was comforting to him, even if it was with the enemy.

"We should head down to the lobby and wait for Dr. Ainsley to finish his meeting," she said when the silence dragged on too long.

He asked her how Dr. Ainsley was, and she proceeded to tell him how the reptile was doing. It was a nice change in conversation as they made their way down into the lobby. There were hundreds of EcoTech employees bustling back and forth in their official-looking white lab coats. To Bud, they looked like a sea of white coats.

Kimbra led him over to a sitting area at the side of the lobby. They sat in black leather chairs across from each other. As always, Bud began to boast about how well his company was supposedly doing. Kimbra acted like she was listening, when really she was considering all the creative ways she could shut him up.

As a few scientists made their way up one of the two staircases, everyone heard Dr. Ainsley yelling in one of the meeting rooms.

"Spector, get the hell out of my building!"

Why today, of all days? Why this? Why now?

Bud jerked his head towards the upper floor. "The hell is that about?"

"Just the boss." Kimbra responded, not sounding or looking the least bit surprised.

To be fair, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"He's just going off on his least favorite person." She clarified for the hound.

"Who is he, anyway?"

"Dr. Ross Spector, founder and owner of SpecCorp." She never actually had met the guy, only heard of him a few times.

SpecCorp: Innovation for the Future. Your Quick Pass to the World of Tomorrow.

The company often got away with violating local health and safety regulations. Of course, Spector hides all his misdeeds well and shows only what the city of St. Canard wants to see. There was no question of it. At least if the rumors were anything to go by.

"I actually never met him. SpecCorp is our rival, and they're always trying to outdo us or buy us out."

From what Ainsley had told her, Spector did not sound like a particularly nice person.

Because Dr. Ross Spector was a known ass.

It was obvious in the way he spoke, in the way he carried himself, that he thought his work was the only one that mattered.

Least that's what her boss had said.

Anyway, there was no need to worry. Dr. Ainsley usually handled the man and his company very well (or so he says). 'Just keep focused on your work and move forward. Don't worry about SpecCorp.'

And she tried not to. She almost went back to rambling on to Bud about everything being fine and to just ignore Ainsley's outbursts. She was afraid that Spector would be arguing with him all day, or get removed from the property.

That's when he appeared.

Dr. Spector, a tall, gray, rat with black hair, headed out of the lobby, giving Kimbra a passing glance before he went through those glass doors. She hadn't expected him to be attractive and around their age. The entire time she imagined an old cranky soul.

He hadn't really meant to do that, had he? Our eyes play tricks on us, don't they?

Her lips tightened as she went back to her clipboard. She wasn't used to being looked at so closely; much preferring to be overlooked. Nevertheless, Kimbra continued on, ignoring the sidelong glance she had just received. She was just going to pretend nothing had happened.

But Bud interrupted her. "Do you have plans tomorrow?"

That caught her off guard. "Why?"

"Lemme show you."

Kimbra kept quiet as she watched Bud rummage around in his coat pocket for something. He pulled out a slip of paper and unfolded it. He handed it over to her.

She took it, and her eyes flickered across the paper that held two tickets. "Baseball tickets?"

"Yeah, I have tickets to the Condors and Jackals game."

She smirked. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Ew, no. I just know you're a Condors fan and figured… I dunno maybe it'd help us bond more or whatever the hell Ainsley wants us to do."

This was an idea Kimbra could definitely get behind. Until she realized they would be going together and have to spend hours with one another.

This was the worst. The absolute worst.

"I'd love to go." She had been smiling before that realization. A real, actual smile. "It'll be fun to see your reaction when the Condors win."

Bud rolled his eyes as if to say 'yeah right'. "Alrighty then, I'll pick you up at two." He grunted out a goodbye, as he walked out of EcoTech's front entrance.

And then he was gone.

Kimbra still didn't trust him in the slightest. No matter how kind the gesture was. That was what scared her, really. Not too long ago, they were at each other's throats. It worried her.

This wasn't the plan. Becoming pals with Bud Flud wasn't the plan at all. All she wanted was for the project to be over with, so she could move on with her dark and twisted life. Dr. Ainsley asked her to stay on the man's good side, not to become his new best friend. What the hell was he thinking? Asking her to go to a baseball game with him? She should have refused. Making up a lie that she had plans or work would be such an easy escape.

But now here she was, having to go with an egotistical capitalist to a baseball game. She couldn't believe she was going there with someone like him. Someone reckless and self-centered.

How would it even go? Would they end up fighting as usual and cause an even worse strain on the project? Will it cause her to get fired? What could she expect?

That's the problem. You never know.

Unfortunately, she would have to find out. And it could be fun.

Either way, it was a bit of a shock. He could have invited someone he'd actually enjoy time with. Like a friend or one of the countless women that was dumb enough to fall for his charms. But no, he picked her. The woman who insulted him and his beloved water bottle company. The woman who had a security guard tackle him. And countless other unprofessional mishaps.

They'd more or less just put up with each other the last four months.

Bud is only trying to take steps to keep the peace.

Kimbra let out a deep, loud sigh.

I just don't see a way out of this mess.