A/N: I officially give up on the whole 'even length chapters' thing lol. As we're getting near the end, there's not quite enough story left to keep splitting them so it just is what it is now. I'm serious this time guys – only one or two left. Like actually.

They slept late the next morning. Buck only had a headache but she of course felt like she had been hit by a truck. Then again, she had bounced back much better in her 20's too. Nevertheless, she was glad they went… she would have been gladder if she had cut herself off a drink or two sooner, but to be fair, she was out of practice. It certainly wasn't something she wanted to do on the regular, but she had to admit it was nice to let loose once in a while. At 11am Buck finally rolled out of bed and, bless his chivalrous heart, did a breakfast run so she could stay put. She didn't feel particularly great so she wasn't really in the mood to eat, but he insisted she would feel better if she ate.

After a coffee and a pastry, she finally felt human enough for a hot shower. Using the blow dryer, however, was a definite no-go. WAY too loud. She would just have to throw it in a braid or something later. Today was the kind of day she wished she had brought sweatpants and a hoodie, but no such luck, so she settled on jeans, one of Buck's t-shirts, and a jacket. It was as comfy as she was going to get. She quickly stuffed the rest of her things in her suitcase and then she was ready to go.

As soon as she stepped outside though, she instantly wished she had stayed inside. Of course it was sunny. It couldn't be grey and rainy today; it had to be bright enough to send a wave of pain shooting through her head.

"Why didn't I bring prescription sunglasses?" she wondered aloud.

"Want mine?"

"I won't be able to see very well."

"Do you need to? I'll make sure you get there in one piece."

She hesitated. "Are you sure you don't need them?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay then… but if you want them back, tell me, okay?"

"Okay."

She tucked her glasses in her bag and gratefully accepted the sunglasses, now holding onto his arm for guidance. Though she still felt a little guilty for taking them, the sunglasses helped tremendously. So did the fresh air, actually. By the time they reached the stop and hopped on the bus that would take them to the train station, she was starting to feel better. When they arrived, they discovered the train they were hoping to take was fully booked, so they reserved seats on the next one and headed to a coffee shop to kill some time.

Half way through her latte, her phone rang. It startled her for a second; except for her exchange with Cait, her phone had basically been silent since Buck arrived. When she dug it out of her bag, she saw the call was from her brother.

"It's Matt, I'm just going to step out for a minute."

Buck nodded and she quickly swapped out the sunglasses for her normal glasses before ducking out the front door of the shop.

"Hey!" she said in greeting.

"Hey, you sound cheery today."

She chuckled. "It's actually not the best day for me, to be honest. How are you?"

"I'm good. You seem to be in much better spirits than last time we talked."

"Yeah, things are good. Buck is here."

"Really? So you took my advice then?"

"You could say that… although the execution wasn't so great. It was less of a conversation about how I was feeling and more me freaking out and crying on the phone."

"Oh dear."

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty."

"Sounds like it worked out fine though."

"Definitely. I didn't even know he was coming, it was a total surprise."

"I have to say, that's pretty impressive, to just drop everything and fly over there."

"He's pretty spectacular." Without realizing it, she had started tracing the infinity pendant with her finger. "I'm really glad he came."

"Have you told him that?"

She paused and thought for a minute. "I don't know actually, I can't remember."

"You probably should."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"You're the one who can't remember if you did."

"Shut up."

He laughed. "So does this mean you're thinking about coming home soon, or still planning to stay a while longer?"

"I don't know. I know I need to make up my mind pretty soon, it's just hard."

"Tell me what's hard about it, because it seems pretty straightforward to me."

"I'm not sure I'm okay with the idea of needing someone that much. I feel like I need to be more independent."

"Accepting support doesn't mean you're not independent, Abby. That's what a good relationship is; it's a balance between leaning on one another when you need it, and standing side by side when you don't."

"I know, but what if I let myself come to rely on him and then something happens and he's not there anymore? I trust him, but shit happens."

"You know what mom always said about 'what ifs'."

She sighed and repeated the line: "life is too short to be wondering 'what if'."

"Exactly. Deep down you know what you want to do, so stop second guessing yourself and go after what you want."

"You're right… ugh why are you always right?!"

"Because I'm older and wiser."

She scoffed.

"Okay, maybe not, but I know you, and I know you need a push sometimes. It's just an added bonus that it drives you crazy when I'm right."

"Well, as much as I hate saying it, thank you."

"Always a pleasure being right."

"Okay, okay, watch your high horse."

"I'm sure you'll knock me off it sooner or later."

"That's a sister's job."

"You're very good at it."

"Why thank you."

They chatted for a few minutes more before Buck came and tapped her on the shoulder, holding her drink and motioning towards the platform. They said their goodbyes and she ended the call before heading off to the train with Buck.

They were 2 hours into the train ride, and so far Abby had been very quiet. She seemed happy when she was on the phone, so he wasn't sure why she had suddenly withdrawn. They were sitting side by side, her head resting on his shoulder, and she was so still and silent that he actually thought she had fallen asleep until he heard her voice.

"Were you serious about getting a new place together?"

His heart skipped a beat. Holy shit. He was leaving the day after tomorrow and she hadn't said a word about home, so he had reluctantly started to accept she was likely not coming with him. But this, this gave him hope.

"Yeah of course. I mean, if that's what you want."

"I think that would be good."

He kind of wanted to jump up and down and shout from the rooftops, but he was trying not to get his hopes up too high. She technically hadn't actually said she was coming home now. "Okay, we'll start looking then."

"Can we do it soon?"

"We can start tonight."

"Okay. And send me your flight details, I'll see if I can get on the same one."

Mentally he was doing cartwheels, and he was sure she could hear his heart pounding, but he didn't care. Screw the scenery; this moment right here was the highlight of his trip.

"You got it."

She was quiet for a minute before she spoke again.

"Buck?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you came."

He kissed the top of her head. "Me too."

A/N: I couldn't remember if they actually said if Abby's brother was older or younger, so I just went by the actor being older.