Tia Marisol, the plump, pretty, older Puerto Rican woman led Castle into the tiny, immaculately clean kitchen. She went back into the living room where she had been busy dusting and straightening.

"Girlfriend?"

"No, she's my Tia, my Auntie. My mother's younger sister. She's been helping me since I got out of the hospital."

"Good to have family."

"Yeah, no shit. I don't know what I'd have done without them."

Castle pulled up a chair and sat. "What are you going to do now?"

"Don't know. I'm not like Ryan, my injuries won't keep me from going back to work. And Gates has pretty much redacted the negative stuff from my record, so there'll be no repercussions from that quarter. I'm just not sure I want to go back. Call it PTSD or whatever, I just don't want to see that place again."

"I get that. I don't want to either. Lot of things I don't want to do, but, some of them, I have to do."

"Yeah, I know. I've got feelers out for another job, but my skills are limited and anything that's not actual police work gets into some shady areas sometimes. Thing is, my leave is up in two weeks and if I don't have something, I'll have to go back. I just can't see not working." He touched a small box on the table in front of him. "I got this for Lanie." He pushed it toward Castle, "Go ahead, look, tell me what you think."

Castle opened the box. Inside was a turquoise velvet box with the word Tiffany embossed on it. Inside that box was a ring. It was white gold. Two hands clasped a heart made of yellow gold that had a tiny chip of ruby set in the center. There was a word engraved inside the band – Always.

"I'm impressed, Espo. A Claddagh ring - nice one, too. And from Tiffany's."

"I've been saving up since I can remember for something like that. I wanted to give the right woman something special. And Lanie's the right woman. The past few days proved that." He smiled. "She's badass. Anyway, if she'll have me … "

"I wish I could guarantee that, but I'm having trouble guaranteeing much of anything these days. Anyway, I have a reason for being here. For starters, if you couldn't be a cop, or didn't want to be one anymore, what would you want to do?"

"I don't know. Teach, work with troubled kids, something like that."

"You need college for that, right?'

"Yeah, I've already got some. Took courses while I was in the Army. I'm taking night courses now. I'm pretty close to a BA."

"In what?"

"You'll laugh."

"Maybe, but try me."

"Psychology."

"Not laughing … well, maybe a little. Here's an idea. Don't go back to the Police Department. I'll give you a job – either with Ryan at the detective agency or as a bartender/manager at the Old Haunt – on the condition that you finish your degree and either get a teaching credential or a Master's in Psychology or something past the BA. I'll give you flexibility so you can take the classes you need when you need them. I'll even help you with tuition and books."

"Castle, why are you doing this?"

"You're a friend. And, I owe you. This whole mess happened because of Kate…, and me: and you stood by us."

By this time Marisol had finished her work in the living room and was back in the kitchen. "Javi, take it. If you don't, you're estupido, muy estupido. You finish school, you help others do the same. And maybe my son will follow your path and make good choices and good friends." She stood facing him, arms crossed, frowning, tapping her foot. "This is honorable; you helped him, he helps you."

Esposito leaned back in his chair and attempted to look at her challengingly. It didn't work. He shook his head and threw his hands up. "Castle, anyone ever tries to convince you that Latinas are meek, submissive, and obedient – don't believe them. They run the families. The men, they just do as they're told." He gave his aunt a long look. "Ok, Tia, I'll do it."

"Good. You, Mr. Castle, you're a good man. You do right by your friends." She turned back to Esposito. "And I am a good, obedient wife to my husband. You ask him, he'll tell you." She began gathering her coat and purse. "Your dinner is in the refrigerator; you just heat it up. I'll come in tomorrow to see how you are."

The men watched her leave.

Castle turned back to Esposito. "Well?"

"You heard my Tia. I'm going to take your offer. She'd kill me if I didn't. I'm going to have to think about the jobs, though. Working with Ryan might be cool, but there could be some conflict. When I was working for the Department, it was tough coordinating studying and stakeouts. The bartender/manager job might work better. I'll think about it. Maybe I'll talk to Ryan about it. I'll let you know by the end of the week which it will be. Fair enough?"

"Ok, although there are a couple of other options."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I could hire you as a personal assistant. You'd come to my place, answer the phones, make appointments, and keep people from bothering me: occasionally, if the need arose, you might act as a bodyguard. You'd have all the time you needed to study and your hours would depend on your class schedule. The only thing is, you'd have to deal with Gina. Or, you could just go to school full time and I'd give you a no-interest, pay it back when you can, loan to cover the cost and related expenses."

"No interest and pay it back at my convenience? That's a lot of trust."

"You've already paid the interest. And, yes, I do trust you to either pay it back or pay it forward."

Javier leaned back gave Castle a long, thoughtful look. A few minutes passed before he spoke. "Or I could just go back to the Department. But, I don't want to do that. I want that education. I've suddenly realized just how badly I want it. I'm going to think about everything we've talked about. I'll talk to my family and I'll talk to Ryan and Lanie." He got up and went to the refrigerator. "Tia Marisol always makes too much; you want to stay for dinner?"