Paces about at home, close to staying, then getting away (8)
I believe the answer is:
escaping
'getting away' is the definition.
('escape' can be a synonym of 'get away')
'paces about at home close to staying' is the wordplay.
'about' is an anagram indicator.
'at home' becomes 'in' ('in' can be similar in meaning to 'at home').
'close to' suggests the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'staying' is 'g'.
'paces' anagrammed gives 'escap'.
'escap'+'in'+'g'='ESCAPING'
'then' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for escaping that I've seen before include "Breaking free" , "Breaking out of confinement" , "Getting away from confinement" , "Getting free" , "Fleeing" .)