Korsak was laughing at me.

'What?' I looked up from my desk and tried to fix him with a glare. The best I could manage was something which wasn't quite a smile. Nothing could dampen my mood today.

'You're grinning,' he said. 'You're investigating a triple homicide with a particularly grizzly crime scene and you're grinning like a lovesick schoolgirl.'

'I'm allowed to smile, aren't I?'

'Sure, but this is a perp who murders people using kitchen equipment. A potato peeler featured prominently. Not exactly grinning material.'

I tried to ignore him and went back to staring at my case notes. Staring. Not reading. I hadn't been focused enough to actually read anything all afternoon.

Korsak wasn't finished. 'This leads me to believe that you're not thinking about the Potato Peeler Bandit…'

'Potato Peeler Bandit? Korsak, that's tasteless.'

He ignored me. 'You're excited she's coming home, aren't you/'

'No…' I started to protest, but I knew the grin on my face was plain for all to see.

'You guys are so sweet…'

Feeling myself flush red, I threw an empty paper coffee cup at him. Still laughing, he stood and headed for the door. Just before he left, Korsak turned back and looked at me with the strangest expression on his face. 'I hope she knows how lucky she is, having someone like you. I've been married three times and none of my wives have ever looked at me the way you look at her.'

'Korsak, we're not…' I began, but he'd already left the room.

Truth is, I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this excited. Maura was coming home tonight. She'd left a year ago, right after my brother asked her out. She'd been offered a fancy job in Europe and she'd spent the last year heading up the pathology lab for the British police in London. She'd picked up the faintest hint of a British accent which I intended to tease her about mercilessly, she'd started saying 'pavement' instead of 'sidewalk', 'lift' instead of 'elevator' and she'd taken to carrying an umbrella with her at all times in case of sudden rainstorms. Her anecdotes were full of afternoon tea and London buses and colleagues with names like Nigel. And police officers who didn't carry guns. She'd talked about that a lot. I don't know how I'd feel without my gun; vulnerable, I guess.

And now she's coming back permanently. Back to her old house, her old job, everything. When she left, it broke me. I didn't expect to react how I did, but, night after night, I cried myself to sleep in Ma's arms like I was five years old again. Ma was still living in Maura's guesthouse, having refused the offer of the main house for the year. Some nights I went to see her and let myself into the main house to stare forlornly at one of Maura's coats or an empty pair of shoes she'd left behind. I took to talking to Bass, who Ma was looking after, pretending that he missed Maura as much as I did. Some nights, I slept in her bed, clutching one of her old shirts in my hands, kidding myself that it still smelt of her. We talked still, texted daily, skyped weekly, but different time zones and a thousand miles fo Atlantic Ocean stretched between us. I just heard her anecdotes now, I didn't live them with her, and the people she spoke of had unfamiliar names.

Part of me hated her for leaving. It was irrational, but it was there. After all, she wasn't my partner. I had no claim on her, but resentment still burned strong. And she had never told me why she'd left. Not really. She hadn't said why she was coming back either beyond vague reasons like the miserable British weather and I hadn't asked her too many questions about it. Resentment aside, I was just happy to have her home.

Boston International Airport was crowded and I was tempted to use my badge to get to the front of the crowd in the arrivals lounge, In the end, I did it the old-fashioned way with nothing but a pair of pointy elbows to help me.

Her flight from Heathrow had just landed and the room was filled with British accents, weary from long hours of travelling, and American voices looking for the relatives and friends come to greet them.

And that was when I saw her. Maura, hair a little longer than I remembered, clad in a figure hugging dark pink dress, a pair of sunglasses on her head, a suitcase being pulled along behind her. Immaculate as always. Beautiful as always. I couldn't help myself then. I was running. I don't run, not unless it's after a perp, but, there I was, running, and then she was running too, suitcase clattering to the ground behind her as she dropped it in her excitement. We collided and her arms were around me, holding me tight against her and I was clinging back just as hard. My chin was on her head and I breathed in the scent of her perfume mixed with another scent which was uniquely her. There were tears in my eyes which I hastily tried to blink away.

Her hands were running up and down my back and she was whispering my name, her own tears bringing a catch into her voice. After a couple of minutes, we pulled away from each other but only far enough to see each other's faces. I kept a firm grip on her arms, just above the elbows and her hands were on either side of my waist, fingers stroking my sides.

'Welcome home,' I said and, on an impulse, I ducked my head down and kissed her on the forehead. It was something I'd never done before and I was worried that she'd flinch and pull away, but she didn't. Instead, she stepped towards me again, pulling me into another hug. 'I'm so sorry I left you,' she said.

I shushed her, not wanting anything to spoil this moment. 'I'm just happy you're back.'

'Me too,' she said, grinning up at me.

I haven't seen Ma this happy in ages. Like she keeps saying, her family's back together again. Tommy and Frankie are sat on the floor of Maura's living room, while Ma lounges in one of the armchairs. Maura herself is next to me on the sofa. And that's what's making the family complete. Maura. She's one of us. She has been for a while. Having her next to me just feels right, like I'm home again, like I'm complete again. She's leaning on me, her head on my shoulder, her arm linked through mine, our fingers intertwined. Frankie and Tommy keep shooting strange glances at our joined hands, but I don't care and there's no way I'm letting go. Maura was like this through dinner too, her foot had pressed against mine under the table the whole time and I hadn't moved away.

'How was England?' Ma asks. And I realise we haven't actually talked about England yet. We've all been too busy talking about what we're going to do now she's back and we have a doctor in the family again.

'It was…' Maura hesitates. 'Wet.'

At that, we all laugh. 'I'm glad to be back,' she continues. 'It was an interesting experience and everyone there was very welcoming, but I realised that my family is here.'

'Is Constance back in town then?'

Maura shakes her head. 'Constance is obviously my family too, but the majority of my family is here,' and she looked around at us all a little shyly.

I couldn't help myself. I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me in a hug. She pressed up against me willingly, turning her face into my shoulder for a moment and bringing her arms up and around me, squeezing me hard. Over her shoulder, I could see Ma looking at us, eyes narrowed.

'Didn't fall in love with Prince William then?' Frankie asked with a laugh.

'I didn't actually have the opportunity to meet any of the Royal family,' Maura said, turning her face back to the room, but staying snuggled up against me. I kept my arms around her as well. 'Although, my mother and Camilla do have a number of mutual friends.'

I realised how much I'd missed her literal way of thinking. 'I think Frankie was asking if you have a handsome British boyfriend.' For some reason, my heart started to beat faster as I said it.

She giggled like a schoolgirl on the word 'boyfriend' and shook her head. 'No, no. I'm footloose and fancy free.' Relief shot through me and I tried not to think too much about why I felt like that. She should be free to date whoever she wanted. Except I always hated the men she dated, even when they were nice men.

Frankie was eyeing us sceptically and seemed about to say something. Ma saw him go to speak and cut him off. 'Come on boys,' she said. 'It's late and we should let Maura sleep. She must be jet-lagged.'

After a fresh round of hugs, Ma and the boys made their way back to the guesthouse, leaving Maura and I standing by the door. She was yawning and trying her best to hide it. 'I should go too,' I said even though the thought of being parted from her again was torture.

Her face fell. 'I was hoping you might stay,' she said in a small voice. 'Although I understand that you probably need to get home…'

Hastily, I shook my head 'I would love to stay.' I pulled her into a hug again. I couldn't seem to get enough of hugs this evening. After a moment, she pulled away from me and led me up the stairs. When we passed the guest room, she didn't stop.

'Shouldn't I sort my bed out?' I said, gesturing at the empty room.

She turned back towards me, an unreadable expression on her face. 'please stay with me,' she whispered. 'In my room. I don't want to be alone.'

'Of course,' I said and followed her down the hall.