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The Sheriff's Department summer picnic was held at the Sheriff's house. Anna had moved into her own apartment by the time of the picnic, but she had a soft spot for the kind man who had taken her in when she first came to Beacon Hills. She was glad to be able to come when he invited her.
Peter had most of the food catered -- "you're all busy people, you need time to relax!" -- but there were quite a number of home-made desserts supplied by the deputies or their significant others.
Anna swiped a brownie from a plate and bit into it. Oh! Damn this was good! Nuts and chocolate chips! Her favorite combination.
"You know, you're supposed to eat dinner first," a voice said from behind her.
Anna spun in place to see a tall, blond man with blue eyes roughly her own age that she didn't know. Actually, she didn't know a lot of people at the party, which is why she was checking out the desserts. She stepped back but tried not to tense up. Everyone here should be with the Sheriff's Department, but that didn't mean anything.
"You're supposed to say back, 'life is short, eat dessert first!'" he added with a smile. But he didn't move any closer, for which Anna was thankful. He smelled human, but she didn't want to have to hurt anyone if she could avoid it.
"We haven't met," Anna said cautiously.
"I know," he replied with an easy smile. "I wanted to come and meet the pretty lady eating my brownies."
"These are yours? They're good!" Anna replied with a nod. She put the last bite in her mouth.
The man held out his hand. "Walter. My dad's a deputy."
"Anna. A... friend of the Sheriff." She stepped forward to shake his hand.
"Anna Cooper? I've heard of you!"
Anna was taken aback.
"No. No. All good! The Sheriff has talked about you and my dad has told me a couple of stories," Walter assured her hastily. "Sorry about your family."
"Umm.. Thanks."
Before it got any more awkward, Stiles came by. "Walter, my man! Good to see you!" He stepped in and gave Walter a hug.
Stiles' warm reception let Anna relax a bit.
"Come on, food's almost ready," Stiles urged them both. "Get something to drink, you know where they are, and grab a plate. There's enough food to feed an army!"
Walter introduced Anna to some of the others that she did not know. There were a couple of the younger deputies and support staff, others were someone's kid, similar to Walter. She had a sudden pang of sadness as the group sat around eating the excellent food. (If nothing else, she knew Peter would always get the best!) This reminded her too much of the pack she had lost.
Peter must have felt that pang, he came by and put a warm hand on her shoulder.
"Having a good time?" he asked gently.
She nodded. "Yes, just..." It was too hard to talk about it.
"I know," he agreed. "Duck out if you need to."
"Thanks." Peter's calm demeanor let her gather her breath. She stayed with the group, listening as they chatted.
Walter was obviously well-known to most of the others at the table. He casually explained any 'inside' jokes to her and made sure she was included in the discussion.
He also brought her another brownie after dinner.
A small fire pit was lit near the back of the property. Anna had tried to help clean up and both Stiles and Peter had eased her out of the kitchen.
"We've got this," Stiles said. "Go and have some fun." He gave her a bottle of beer with a wink. They both knew a couple of bottles of beer wouldn't affect her, but it let her fit in.
Stiles, the little shit, had decided that they needed a 'getting to know you' game as they sat around. Everyone had to put an obscure fact about themselves on an index card and they were going to guess who it was. With almost fifteen people playing, it would be interesting.
They let Stiles be the 'master of ceremonies' since he knew too much about everyone. He'd win if they let him play.
Knowing she couldn't put 'I'm a werewolf' on her card, Anna settled for 'can sew my own clothes' and threw it in the bucket.
Since she didn't know anyone, she was just randomly guessing. The one she did get right -- 'born in the Chinese year of the fire ox' -- turned out to be Walter. He grinned at her when she took credit for her correct answer. One of the young deputies got nine correct to win the game.
A couple of the other women looked interested when she admitted to being able to sew her own clothes. One of the deputy's wives sought her out to let her know that there was a dress shop in town looking for a seamstress. "I don't mean to assume, but if you're looking for work, even part time, it's a good shop. The owners are fair and are always looking for help."
"Thank you!" Anna was touched. She didn't need a job at the moment, Peter and Stiles had taken care of the pack funds and she was set that way. But something meaningful to do would be worth checking out.
It was full dark when the gathering broke up. People had come and gone all day and Anna found she had fun.
Walter had stayed after his parents had left. His excuse was to help clean up but even John saw through that.
"Umm... I was wondering if maybe you'd go out to dinner with me?" Walter asked. "You can pick, if it makes you more comfortable."
"Belinda's Diner?" she grinned. "I'll meet you there on Thursday? At six?"
Walter beamed. "That is perfect! I'll see you there." He waved as he left.
"Some-one-likes-you!" Stiles sang as he hauled another bag of garbage to the garage.
Anna blushed. "Go away!"
Stiles grinned and then sobered. "Walter's a good guy," he said.
Anna held up a hand and pointed a finger at Stiles. "And that's all I need to know. For now."
"Okey-dokey!" Stiles promised.
Anna fell asleep that night thinking about dancing blue eyes. And brownies.