A/N: This was sort of inspired as a play on something that happened in Nashville. If you watch/watched that show, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. If you don't, it's not actually important lol so don't worry about it. You can probably guess where I'm going with this based on the second part of the chap.

Abby stayed at Buck's bedside for the rest of the day, and aside from a quick trip home to get changed, so did Bobby. Truth be told, Bobby was exhausted, but he wanted to be there if Buck woke up and he didn't want to leave Abby alone. He owed it to Buck to make sure she was okay. Hen and Karen, Chimney, and Athena all stopped by to check in and make coffee runs but while their concern and comfort bolstered him a little bit, nothing seemed to help Abby. He wished he knew who to call to come support her, but only Buck would know that. He remembered hearing about a brother, but didn't know his name or have any idea where to start looking for him. Maybe Athena could pull some strings and help with that. Or maybe he should just mind his own business, since he didn't really know what their relationship was like. He wasn't sure which route to go.

"Excuse me."

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see a sympathetic looking nurse standing in the doorway. "Yes?"

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over."

"What? No, I'm not leaving," Abby protested.

"I'm sorry. If it were up to me, I'd let you stay, but I can't: it's hospital policy."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "But I want to be here when he wakes up!"

"I promise we'll call you both immediately if his condition changes."

"Come on Abby," Bobby said gently, "I'll take you home. You need to eat and get some rest. Buck will have my head if I don't make sure you're taking care of yourself."

A few tears were starting to spill over, but she nodded reluctantly. Leaning over, she softly kissed Buck's forehead and promised she would be back first thing in the morning.

They walked out of the hospital in silence, neither sure what to say, until they finally reached his car.

"I left my car at work, can you drop me off there?"

He eyed her skeptically. "You sure you're okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay then," he agreed. But before he pulled out of the parking lot, he turned to look at her again. "He'll be okay."

She nodded again and forced a tight smile, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.

Buck was confused. He was in an apartment, but it wasn't the one he shared with Abby, and he wasn't sure how he got here. The last thing he remembered was being at work. There were pictures of him and Abby scattered through the living room, so one or both of them must live here. There was a pillow and a blanket on the couch in the living room too, which was a bit strange. Did that mean he was sleeping on the couch tonight? Had he done something to make her mad? Where was she, anyways?

"Abby?" he called out. No answer.

He slowly made his way through the apartment, not sure where he was going or what he was looking for. He rounded a corner and paused when he heard a muffled voice coming from a room near the end of the hallway. It was her.

"Abby?" he called again. Still no answer.

What the hell was going on? He could hear her talking, so surely she heard him. He must have really screwed up this time if she wasn't even speaking to him. But why didn't he remember doing anything? Everything was fine when he left this morning, he was sure of it. She had teased him during breakfast and kissed him goodbye at the door, and he didn't think he had talked to her since then, so how could he have upset her so much? Her voice grew louder as he moved further down the hall, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. She must be on the phone with someone, he figured. Why else would she be talking aloud in an empty apartment?

But when he reached the open door and peered inside, he saw that she wasn't alone at all: she was seated in a rocking chair, a blanket over her lap, and a tiny baby in her arms. What the actual fuck was happening here?

"Abby," he said again, but she didn't look up. "ABBY!" he shouted this time, but she still didn't react, and neither did the infant.

He was stunned, to say the least. Could they seriously not hear him? No way a baby could ignore a loud voice like that. Cautiously he entered the room, and spotted a mirror on one wall. Then, as he crossed directly in front of it, he was shocked to see that no reflection greeted him. It was as if he wasn't there at all.

A surge of panic rushed through him. How could this be happening? How could any of this be happening? How was it possible that he completely missed Abby having a baby? A girl, if the pink walls and onesie were any indication. And was it his baby? The pictures around the apartment certainly didn't suggest she had moved on with someone else. But why couldn't they see him or hear him?

There was a knock at the door, and he numbly followed Abby and the baby as they went to answer it, brushing past him without even noticing. To his surprise and relief, it was Bobby on the other side of the door.

"Bobby! Thank God. You can hear me, right? What the hell is going on?"

But Bobby didn't even look in his direction. Instead, he addressed Abby and the baby.

"Hey, how is little Brianna doing today?"

Abby smiled. "She's good."

"And how's mom?"

"Tired. Somebody didn't want to sleep last night, and hasn't wanted to nap much today either."

"Why don't I watch her for a little while? Then you can get some rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah of course. I'm happy to spend some time with this little peanut," he said, tickling the baby's cheek.

"Thank you so much. Don't let me sleep too long though, okay? Wake me up if you need to get going."

"Okay."

"I'm serious," she said, giving him a pointed look. "You are not going to sit here all afternoon and let me sleep the day away like last time."

"I won't, I promise."

"Okay. There's a bottle in the fridge if she gets hungry."

"Got it. Come on Brianna," he took the baby in his arms, "you're going to visit with Uncle Bobby while your mommy gets some sleep."

"Thanks again," Abby said appreciatively.

"Any time."

Abby headed back down the hallway while Bobby made his way to the living room, settling down on the couch, and Buck just stood and watched in a daze of confusion.

"Hi sweet girl," Bobby murmured softly. "You know, you really need to let your mommy sleep at night, at least a little bit; it's a lot of work taking care of you by herself."

By herself? So then they weren't still together, and he wasn't even in the picture. He must have done something truly awful for her to cut him out altogether; she wasn't the kind of person who would keep their daughter away from him unless she honestly didn't trust him with the baby. Or what if he had walked away? It didn't feel like a possibility, but he didn't remember anything, so he supposed he couldn't rule it out. He couldn't imagine not wanting to be with her and their baby though. Either way, wouldn't it be awkward for Bobby to come around if things had ended badly? Nothing about this made any sense.

"You may have your mommy's hair, but you look just like your daddy. I know you're too young to understand what's happening, but all you need to know is that he loves you so much. Hopefully one day he'll be home with you. He's a good guy; you would love having him around. And your mom would too. She misses him a lot… so do I."

Well at least my daughter and I have something in common, Buck thought wryly; neither one of us understands why I'm not really here.