A/N: I'm starting to hit a wall with this lol but I'm gonna try to power through. Hopefully it doesn't get too boring. I'm a little stressed about it, not gonna lie.

It had been 3 days since Abby had last called Buck. She was originally planning to call him tonight but she texted to ask if he would be around and unfortunately he was going to be working, so she would call in the morning (or evening, at home) tomorrow instead. Her museum day had been nice, and on a whim she had booked a day trip to Giant's Causeway for the following day, so today had been her first true "free" day. It was a little strange not having a plan; it wasn't something she typically did. She had never been much of a 'where the wind takes me' kind of person, but she wanted to try. It seemed like a more light-spirited way to live, and she wanted to get back more of her light.

She had eaten dinner at the hotel restaurant tonight, but decided she would go out for a drink. Again, not something she did very often, but when in Rome, right? There was a pretty popular bar a couple blocks away, so she headed there. She wanted somewhere loud and lively, even if she would be alone. It was the atmosphere she was after. It was fairly busy at this point in the evening but the wait to get in wasn't long, and soon she had managed to procure a seat at the bar. After nearly an hour of nursing her drink, she was about to pack it in for the night, but just before she got up, an attractive middle-aged man approached her.

"Hi there."

She smiled politely, "hi."

"Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but it looks like you're here alone. I came over to see if you'd like to join me and my mates for a pint," he said, gesturing towards a table with another man and three women. "My name's Darragh, by the way."

She hesitated for a second before deciding to accept the invitation. Darragh went around the table and introduced her to everyone: Shannon, Cait, Darragh's cousin Connor, and Connor's girlfriend Alanna. Where the wind takes me, she reminded herself. It would be nice to meet some locals.

It turned out to be a great decision. They were a great group and the time flew by, laughing and talking. Before she knew it, it was well after midnight and they were all pretty buzzed. She couldn't remember the last time she had just gone out and had fun with some friends. Actually, when she thought about it, she didn't really have any friends anymore. Between work and caring for her mom, she hadn't had much free time and sort of drifted away from her friends. Really, she hadn't even been getting out of the house very much until Buck and Carla came along. They were basically the only friends she had now. And would she even see Carla anymore? Maybe she should reach out when she got home, see if they could stay friends. Friends definitely needed to become a priority again. Without meaning to, she had essentially isolated herself, and that needed to change.

It was getting late and they were all preparing to go their separate ways but Darragh insisted that someone make sure Abby got back to her hotel okay. Normally she would have protested, but it was much darker now and she didn't exactly have her wits about her. Cait's bus stopped right near the hotel, so she volunteered to be Abby's escort.

Once they had rounded the corner, Cait spoke up. "So, I know you're not sure how long you're going to stay, but just so you know, Darragh's single. I think he has a glad eye for you."

"A what?"

Cait chuckled, "it means he has a thing for you."

"Ohh… actually, I have a boyfriend."

"Oh! Sorry about that. Is he coming to join you then?"

"No, this trip was something I wanted to do alone."

Cait looked skeptical. "And he's okay with you staying however long you want?"

"Yeah, I think so. He's really great, he's been so understanding and supportive with my mom and everything."

"Sounds like a keeper to me. Does he work with you?"

"We met through work but no, he's a firefighter."

"Ooo firefighter! Is he hot? Do you have a picture?"

Abby laughed, pulling one up on her phone and handing it over. After taking a few more steps, she realized Cait wasn't beside her anymore. Looking back, she saw her gaping at the phone.

"This is your boyfriend? Holy shit. How the hell did you manage to walk away from that?"

"I know; I'm crazy, right?"

"Totally mad. I'd put a ring on that if I were you."

"We're not there yet. It's only been a few months, actually."

"Well I hope it works out for you, sounds like a keeper."

"Yeah, he is," Abby agreed with a smile. Maybe she would facetime with him tomorrow instead of just call. Suddenly she really wanted to see him.

Just then they arrived at Abby's hotel, and Cait turned to face her.

"Here's your phone back. I put my number in it, hope that's okay. Give me a ring if you need anything or you want to come out with us again."

"Okay, thanks."

"No bother. Nice meeting you!"

"You too, and thanks for walking me back."

Before she went to bed, Abby made sure she set the alarm on her phone to get up and call Buck. If she wasn't up early, it would be too late to call. And she was really missing him tonight.

It was 11pm on the dot when Buck's phone rang. He had been looking forward to this all day and was even happier to see it was a facetime call.

"Hey," she greeted him with a sleepy smile.

"Hey… you okay?"

She laughed softly. "I might be a little hung-over."

"Wait, I missed seeing you drunk?"

"I wasn't drunk, I was just… almost drunk."

"Uh huh." He didn't look convinced.

"Anyways, how have you been?"

"Good, I guess. Nothing eventful to report. What about you? Other than your big night out."

"Ha, ha. I went to see Giant's Causeway but that's about it," she replied, stifling a yawn.

"Abbs, why don't you go back to bed? You can call me back tonight, I don't work early tomorrow." As much as he wanted to talk to her, she looked exhausted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"You're so great… I miss you."

"I miss you too. Get some more sleep, we'll talk later."

The call may have been short, but he still fell asleep with a smile on his face. She missed him too.

A/N: I apologize if this was like stereotypically Irish or, on the flip side, not even remotely Irish, but making google sound realistic can be tricky lol. Stole the males names from the Irish show jumping team, gotta work with what you know lol. Also, as a heads up, happy fluffy time is coming to a close; time to step up the drama a notch. As always though, I promise a happy ending.