It's was almost 5pm and Buck was getting more and more stressed with each passing moment. He was never one to struggle with anxiety, but he was dreading this goodbye. He walked into her apartment to find her frantically packing.

"Hey," He said softly to get her attention.

"Hey, I'm almost ready I just need to find, oh got it," She said semi-distracted.

Buck just stood there quietly watching her as she finished packing.

"Hey, I was thinking you should just stay here while I'm gone. Most of your stuff is here anyway." Abby shouted from across the room.

"Oh, really?" Buck said a little surprised.

Abby stopped what she was doing and walked over to him.

"Yea, I mean, you've been practically living here for the past few weeks. And I know you're so sick of your roommates. You don't have to, but you can if you want." She said as she put her keys in his hand.

Buck was actually really happy to hear her say that. Not only was he truly sick of his roommates, but this was concrete evidence that she wasn't leaving him. Sure she had said it, but this was real proof and that gave him some comfort.

"Ok, I'll hold down the fort while you're gone. You know water the plants and stuff" Buck joked with a smile.

Abby rolled her eyes, " Such a dork"


They had dinner and were driving to the airport. Her flight was scheduled to leave in 2 hours, but she didn't anticipate the airport being busy at this hour. The ride was relatively silent, as they were both getting sad about her impending departure. Buck parked in the short-term lot and because he wanted to walk her in.

He grabbed her bag out of the trunk and carried it for her as they walked up to the airport.

"I must be crazy to be leaving you," She said looking into his eyes.

"You're not leaving anything. I will be here waiting when you get back" He said with a smile.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" She said as she leaned in to kiss him.

"You too! Text me when you land." He said brushing the hair behind her ear.

"I will. Bye Buck" She said turning and walking into the airport.

Buck just stood there for a minute watching her walk away. This was painful.


Abby made it to her seat and luckily got the window. She intentionally booked a red eye because she hated flying. Hopefully, she would sleep the whole way.


Buck pulled into a parking space right in front of Abby's apartment but sat in the car for a moment before getting out. He had never been there without her before. It felt a little wrong, but it would feel even worse going back to his place. At least being here he was surrounded by things that reminded him of her.

He unlocked the door with her keys and locked it behind him. Rather than turning on any lights he just went straight to the bedroom. He took off his shirt and crawled into bed. He was hoping he would just fall asleep quickly because this day had been so rough. He laid on his side of the bed because it felt so weird being on hers. He kept expecting her to walk in and lay next to him, but she never came. He set his alarm for exactly the time she was supposed to land in Dublin so he didn't miss a call from her in case it came in. Then he drifted off to sleep.


Abby had woken up when the pilot came on the speaker announcing their descent into Dublin. She got off the plane, grabbed her bag from the carousel, and was in a taxi in record time. She pulled out her phone to text Buck.


[Abby] Hey, we landed and I'm in the taxi now. I'll call you tomorrow

Buck jumped at the sound of a text coming in. He read it and smiled. He already missed her so much.

[Buck] Glad to hear you made it safely. Get some rest and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

He typed 'I already miss you', but then deleted it. He didn't want to make her feel guilty for leaving him or seem to clingy. She was there for a reason and he would be strong about it.

Abby smiled when she read the text.

She was about to type, 'I wish you were here', but then she deleted it. She didn't want to seem too desperate or like she was regretting the trip. She did miss him, but she was here for a reason.


The hotel was beautiful. A truly beautiful display of old Ireland, but still modern enough to feel comfortable. She would look around more tomorrow because right now all she cared about was the bed.


The next day she went out exploring and sightseeing. Around dinnertime, she ended up in a local pub. She sat down and ordered a Guinness. 'So cliché,' she thought to herself.

After ordering the food she pulled out her phone to text Buck. She was halfway through typing a fairly lengthy message describing how beautiful everything was here when she was interrupted by the feeling of someone staring right in front of her.

She looked up and saw a man, about 40 smiling at her.

He must have taken her attention as a means to sit down across from her because that's what he did.

"Hello there", He said in his Irish accent.

She did love the sound of an Irish accent, but she wasn't really interested in talking to this guy.

"Hey," She said hesitantly.

"Oh an American. How did you end up all the way over here, then?" He asked.

Abby giggled. "You know, just exploring another country" She responded.

He motioned over to the waiter. "Do you want another, err Guinness is it?" He asked.

"Oh no, I'm good" She responded.

"Ehh come on, you need to experience Ireland." He said as he ordered 2 beers.

"Well, ok. Thank you." She responded.

"The names Keegan," He said as he put his hand out to shake hers.

"Abby," She said with a smile.

"So you're here alone? Are you looking for something or running from something?" He asked plainly.

She was a little shocked at his forwardness.

"Oh, I um. I guess both kinda. My mom just died last week. She always talked about coming here, so I, I guess it seemed like I had to do it. Like she would have wanted me to." Abby said. It was odd for her to be revealing herself to a random stranger, but this was after all the reason she was here.

"Oh no. So sorry to hear that. It's a terrible thing; losing a parent." He said taking a sip of his beer.

"So that's the thing you're running from. What are you here to find?" He asked.

"Well, myself I guess. Sorry this is personal" She said to him not wanting to burden a stranger with the details.

"Its ok. I don't mind. I came over because you looked like you could use some talking." He replied.

"Well, before my mom died, she had been sick for years, Alzheimer's. I took care of her and I guess along the way I stopped taking care of myself. So I'm here to figure out who I am again." She finished taking a few big sips of her beer.

"Well, Ireland is a great place to do that. We're great listeners and if you don't feel like talking, we are great drinkers too." He cheers-ed his glass at her with a laugh.

Abby laughed too. "Honestly I think I could use both"

"So how long are you planning to stay?" Keegan asked.

"Well, I don't have a return flight. So I'm not sure," Abby responded.

"What about the people you left behind? Kids?" He asked.

That question made her a little uncomfortable. She hated when people brought up kids.

"I don't have any kids, but there is someone. A boyfriend. Its new, but it was hard leaving him." She paused and took another sip.

"But you know, I needed to do this. Not just for me, but for him. We started dating right when my mom took a turn for the worst. It was all canceled dates and hospital visits. Then she died and,… he's been great, really he has, but he's been taking care of a grieving person. Our relationship is so new, and… I don't know. I guess I'm just afraid that he's being rushed into things. I want to make sure he's here for me because he loves me and not because he feels obligated. I think this time apart is really important for him to decide how he really feels, without all the pressure." She finished.

Her food arrived and Keegan bid her a kind goodbye.

"It was so nice meeting you, Abby. I hope Ireland will help you answer these questions," He said.

"Thank you, really. This was… cathartic," She said with a smile.

She started eating and returned to her text.

Buck had a rough day and was desperately waiting to hear from Abby. He didn't want to interrupt her because he figured the point of the trip was for her to get some space. When he saw heard the text come in he shouted to the whole firehouse.

"She texted me!"

[Abby] Hey! So Ireland is amazing! I mostly wondered about this town today and it's gorgeous.

The text continued to describe her day and he read every word, cherishing that she finally texted him.

[Buck] I'm so happy you're loving it. Today was pretty average here. Only 3 calls. I'm about to head home now. Well, back to your place. I guess it's not home, but its starting to feel like it is. Hopefully it's not weird.

She read the text and smiled.

[Abby] Not weird. Anything would be better than the frat house. Lol!

[Buck] Yea yea. So you're saying that I can't throw a rager at your place? You could fit so many kegs in the dining room.

[Abby] Suddenly regretting giving you those keys…

[Buck] Whats the saying? When the cat's away…

[Abby] Haha. Ahh, I miss you.

Buck was so happy to see her text that.

[Buck] I miss you too. **sad face emoji**

[Abby] I'm heading back to my room now. Do you want to Facetime?

[Buck] So much!


Abby walked into her room and hit the facetime button.

"Hey, gorgeous!" Buck said as he answered the call.

"Hey Buck, how have you been? We haven't actually spoken much." She asked as she laid down on the bed.

"Terrible. Sad. Lonely!" He said dramatically.

"Ha. I miss your sense of humor." Abby said with a smile.

"I miss you too Abs. I've been good, but its weird without you here. Chim thinks I talk about you too much. Actually, he may have a point. Haha." Buck finished with a laugh.

Abby just smiled at him for a moment. He was even cuter than she remembered.

"I had an interesting conversation today." Abby said.

"Oh yea?" Buck asked,

"Yea, with an Irish guy at dinner. I was telling him all about mom, and why I came on this trip and I realized something." She paused.

"Right when we started dating, mom really took a turn for the worst. And you have been so amazing through everything. But I'm worried that the circumstances have caused us to move faster than normal. I mean you moved in because mom died, not because you wanted too. And I just,… I don't want you to feel pressured into being with me because you think you need to take care of me. I want you to take this time apart and really figure out how you feel." Abby paused again and he didn't respond.

"I just want you to really think because you're a hero, Buck. You save people everyday and maybe you just feel like you're saving me? Don't take this negatively, because honestly Buck, I'm… I'm falling in love with you. But I need to know that you're here because you love me and not because of the circumstances. So please just think about it, okay?" She finished for real this time.

Buck was shocked. "You're falling in love with me?" He asked quietly.

She smiled," Yea, I am."