Sorry for the long wait! I've got a few new fics coming for this series! And, truth be told, I'm not exactly sure how many chapters 'More Letters to Home' will be. Especially since we've discovered that the MC from the Paris cases is exactly the same MC as the one who goes through all the rest of the seasons (with the obvious exception of Mysteries of the Past).

Here's a look at some of the events we've seen earlier in the series, but from a slightly different perspective!


Springfield, Missouri, 12th November 2016

I leaned against my car, waiting patiently, glancing at my phone every few minutes. The hustle and bustle of the airport was a dull droning, drowned out by my own racing mind. What will Josh look like? It's been four years since he left, will I even still recognize him? After a few minutes, my phone chimed softly with a text message. We're grabbing our bags now. See you in a few minutes.

It wasn't long after that before the automatic doors slid open and two people exited. One was a pretty-looking woman with chin-length red hair, wearing a simple red top and black pants, The other was a familiar-looking young man, maybe seven years older than me, with brown hair, wearing blue jeans and a white shirt under a black jacket. I smiled widely. "Josh!"

I ran up to him, hugging him tightly as I buried my face in his jacket. I could feel the hot tears of happiness streaking down my cheeks as I breathed in the familiar scent of his shampoo. "God, I missed you, bro".

I felt Josh's hand ruffling my hair playfully. "I missed you too, Ari. I missed you too".

Shifting away so that I could see both of them, I turned towards my brother's red-haired companion, holding out a hand in offer of a handshake. So this must be the Grace I've heard so much about. "I'm Ariana Ford, but my friends and family call me Ari".

The red-haired woman smiled gently, giving Josh's hand a gentle squeeze before shaking my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ari. I'm Grace".

Josh sighed contentedly as he settled into the leather passenger seat of my car. "So good to finally be home".

I grinned at him from the driver's seat. "Yeah, I'll bet it is. So, you going to tell me what's going on between the two of you?" I queried playfully, gesturing to the woman fast asleep in the back of the car, her head resting against one of the windows.

My brother's companion had fallen asleep pretty much immediately upon getting into the car. I had a slight feeling that she wasn't really as tired as she seemed, but I appreciated the effort nonetheless. An opportunity for a conversation with Josh, considering how much we had to talk about, was very much appreciated.

"Really, sis? You're interrogating me about my relationship and you've only just met her? See, this is why I never brought anyone home" Josh retorted, though his grin made it clear that he was only being partially serious.

"Hey, you mention her all the time in your letters. At least the ones from Grimsborough and Antarctica onwards. So sue me, I got curious. So spill the beans" I said defensively.

"Fine. To tell the truth, we haven't decided whether anything is going on between the two of us yet. Would I like there to be? Yes, most definitely. Grace is… unlike anyone I've ever met, and I mean that in the best possible way. Does she want there to be something more than just being best friends between us? I don't know, Ari. All my instincts are screaming at me to believe that she does, but I just… I don't know. I don't want to risk it and then find out that she doesn't feel the same way about me and wind up with heartbreak again. Not like Stephanie Mueller in Senior year".

I knew he'd bring her up. He's been letting that bitch get the better of him for years. Grace shifted slightly in the back seat, muttering something in her sleep before slumping against the door again. My eyes flicked quickly from the road to the rear-view mirror for a couple of seconds, studying her thoughtfully, before I refocused, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. "Bro. The relationship between you and Stephanie was over more than 10 years ago. You broke up with her because she was cheating on you with her married piano teacher, remember? Plus, as you admitted after your breakup, you were never really that close anyway. Stop using the failure of a relationship that was pretty much doomed from the start to avoid making what could turn out to be the best decision you could ever make".

Josh chuckled gently and shook his head. "When the heck did you get so wise, sis?"

"I browse relationship blogs in my spare time. It's kind of amazing how much you can learn from reading what other people's relationships are like. Especially, and I hate to say this but we both know it's true, their failures".

Josh stared out of the window at the traffic. It was obvious he was in deep thought. He'd always stared out of the window in the same way, the same expression on his face, when he was thinking about something important, had done ever since we were kids. After a few minutes, he nodded before turning back to me. "Fair point. I'll talk to her about it at some point while we're here. Now, interesting as you may find it, sis, I don't think you should have all the fun of asking questions. So what's been going on with you lately? And I don't mean the things you've told me in your letters, I mean the stuff you haven't told me yet"

I blushed. "Things are getting pretty serious between Drew and me".

"Drew? Your childhood friend Drew, the one whose eyes always lit up when she saw you?"

I smiled fondly. "That's her. I used those musical tickets you sent me for my birthday a few years ago to take her on a date. We had a really good time".

"When did you two get together? I don't need to have a talk with her, do I?"

I laughed. That was just like Josh. No judgment, fiercely protective of those he cared about. "No, don't worry, you don't have to talk to her. We got together the day after my 17th birthday. She stayed the night and we played games and kind of got to talking about crushes and she confessed that she'd had feelings for me since we started high school but she was afraid that I would reject her and our friendship would be ruined. She was so worked up about it that I had to kiss her to get her to calm down. The next day we talked about it some more and agreed that we both wanted to give a relationship a try".

"Well, I'm happy for you".

I know you are. Thank you. I appreciate it. I smiled softly. If I wasn't driving, I would have hugged him. As it was, the best I could do was make a mental reminder to hug him as soon as I could. "Thanks, bro. It gets better, actually. I'm planning on proposing to her this weekend. Tomorrow, in fact. I'm going to take her to the Springfield Botanical Garden tomorrow and we're going to spend the day there, then we'll go into the Japanese garden and find a bench by the koi pond. I'm going to propose to her there when the sun sets".

"I'm sure she'll say yes, sis".

I smiled appreciatively as I slowed the car and prepared to turn into a driveway to our right. "I'm sure she will too. Oh, and she's having dinner with us tonight, so you'll get to meet her. Try not to spoil the surprise for me, alright?"

"Your secret's safe with me".

As I pulled the car to a stop, the woman in the back seat groaned gently before sitting up, rubbing sleepily at her eyes. Josh turned, looking back at her. "Good sleep, Grace?"

"It was alright. I'm going to have to have a longer sleep tonight though, definitely. What time is it?"

Josh quickly pulled out his phone and looked at it. I knew he was thinking about the conversation we had had on the trip back from the airport. "2:25 pm".

Grace nodded, giving him a warm smile. I could definitely see how my brother would fall for her, she was cute. "Okay, that makes sense. Thanks".

"Of course".

As we got out of the car and my brother and Grace grabbed their bags, I couldn't help but smile. It was good to finally have my brother home.