I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in a really long time. I don't want to talk about it.

I'm dedicating this fic to the amazing Jameson Rook. Thank you for believing in me and convincing me that I could still write. You're epic, and I love you. And now you're making me mushy. Stop that.

The song is Home by Blake Shelton featuring Miranda Lambert

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

It was a fairly large bookstore in Paris that Richard Castle was sitting in. He had already signed more books than he cared to count, and there was still a huge line. He had met so many people today, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, get Katherine Beckett out of his mind.

He tried to talk to his fans to have something else to think about, but he found he was having the same thirty second conversations over and over again.It all became so repetitive that he didn't have to think about it. He needed to be distracted by it, so he would stop thinking about her, but he wasn't.

He had never felt so alone in such a large crowd.

He also had never missed someone other than his own daughter this much.

And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
"I'm fine baby, how are you?"
I would send them but I know that it's just not enough

He couldn't stop thinking about the last conversation they had had before he left. He hated that he had to leave on such bad terms.

Rick saw Kate look up from the book she was reading and glare at his suitcase that was by the door for the umpteenth time. She had been acting like she was mad at him for the past few days, and he figured it was just because he was going to leave on a book tour for several weeks.

"Are you ok?" He finally asked after she glared at the suitcase again.

"Fine," She replied bitterly, not looking up from the book that he could tell she wasn't actually reading.

He waited a few seconds before trying again. "What's wrong?"

She slammed the book shut and glared at him. "Did you even think about inviting me on your little book tour?" She asked, surprising him. He thought it was obvious why he hadn't asked her.

"You have to work" He reminded her.

"I have vacation days!"

"Yeah, that you never use!"

"Well maybe I would if you gave me a reason to!" Kate stood up and turned to leave.

"Kate, wait, I'm sure we could still-"

"No, Rick. It's too late. Just go." She said over her shoulder, just as Rick's phone began to ring. He looked at the caller ID and hit 'ignore' when he saw that it was Paula. He knew she must be wondering where he was. He started to follow Kate, but he heard their bedroom door slam and knew it was a lost cause. She was too stubborn to come out before he had to leave, especially because he had to go in 5 minutes.

Now he wished he had tried to get her to come out, if even just for those 5 minutes. The last memory he had of her wasn't a pleasant one, and he never got to say goodbye to her.

X-X-X-X

Another airplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home
I've got to go home
Let me go home
I'm just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

"No, Rick. You're not going home early! I'm not going to cancel the rest of your tour dates!" Paula sat back in the airplane seat she was in, trying to tell him that the conversation was over, but he wasn't giving up that easily.

"Tell them I got sick. Reschedule the dates, I don't care. I just need to go home."

Paula looked at his face, and he must've have looked pretty pathetic because she sighed and said, "I'll think about it" and coming from her, that was as good as a yes. Rick leaned back and enjoyed the rest of the plane ride.

X-X-X-X

Rick snuck away as soon as he got the chance after they arrived at their hotel. He tried to call Kate again, but she still wouldn't answer his calls. He wasn't planning on telling her he might be coming home, he wanted to surprise her, but it would still be nice to hear her voice. As he put his phone back in his pocket, he noticed that he was standing in a street lined with shops. One in particular caught his eye, and he headed toward it.

X-X-X-X

Let me go home
I've had my run
Baby, I'm done
I'm coming back home
Let me go home

Rick was ecstatic when Paula officially told him he could go home early. He called Montgomery and set the arrangements for Kate to come on tour with him if she wanted to this time, but made sure that Montgomery knew he was keeping the fact that he was coming back a secret. He also called Lanie, and told her to get Kate to the Old Haunt around the time he was arriving at the airport, so that she would be there before he was. He had all the planning done before he got on the plane.

X-X-X-X

When he got off, he rushed as fast as he could to baggage claim, grabbed his stuff, and hailed a cab to go home and change quickly before he met Kate and Lanie at the bar. He couldn't wait to see her. He got some strange looks as he ran into his building and up the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator, but he didn't care. He felt like he couldn't move fast enough. He wanted to see her now.

When he finally made it to the Old Haunt, he slowed down. He was there. She was there. He didn't need to rush anymore. He opened the door and saw her across the room. Her back was to him, but Lanie was facing him, and she saw him right away. He could tell she was trying not to give Kate any hints as to why they were really there.

"Kate!" Rick called, and started toward her as she turned.

It'll all be all right
I'll be home tonight…

Rick saw tears well in her eyes when she saw him, and she quickly blinked them away. She stood up from the bar slowly, as if she didn't really believe that he was there, and by the time she was starting to walk toward him, he had already crossed the room to get to her.

They wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug, and Rick breathed in the scent of cherries that he had missed so much.

"God, I missed you." She said as she pulled back to place a kiss on his lips.

"I missed you too, Kate." Rick told her, "I never want to have to leave you again." He pulled something out of his pocket and Kate gasped when she saw what it was. He got down on his knee and opened the box to show her the ring inside. "Marry me, Kate?" Kate allowed tears to fall from her eyes as she nodded vigorously.

"Yes. Yes, of course I will, Rick."

I'm coming back home…