Anna grabbed her coffee, down at the break room table, and yawned. It was much too early to be in the office, but she had to finish filing the report of the case they had just closed. The captain would be expecting the report on his desk the moment he walked in the office. This case had been a long and tedious one and she was exhausted. She loved her job and the people her co-workers but lately things had begun to feel monotonous. She wasn't getting the same satisfaction from the job as she felt when she first began five years ago. Anna joined the police force academy when she graduated high school. She knew she had wanted a job that would help people and the academy was the first and quickest option for her to leave her messed up home life.

The training was rigorous and harsh, but she loved it. She loved the structure and balance of it all. She didn't care that the other trainees made fun of her demeanor and size. She was too focused on succeeding to care. The hard work had paid off and Anna had graduated at the top of her class. She was immediately placed at the Downton Station and has been here ever since. After only two years of being a rookie she was promoted to a higher position. Now she was in charge of the rookies despite being so young.

Suddenly the breakroom door burst open, making Anna jump in her seat.

"Oh, sorry Anna!" said a breathless Daisy. She was one of the rookies that Anna was in charge of.

"It's okay Daisy. I was just startled. I didn't think anybody else was here yet." She chuckled.

Daisy smiled nervously.

"Well I just wanted to make sure that the entire office was clean before the rest of the officers got here."

Anna squinted her eyes in confusion. "Why? I mean that's very sweet of you but we have custodial staff who does that." Daisy's face fell and her voice began to wobble.

"But...I thought that was a part of my job?" Anna sighed. Poor Daisy. Sometimes she was just too trusting of people.

"Did Thomas tell you to do that?"

Daisy nodded solemnly. "Daisy why don't you follow me into my office and take a nap until I wake you up." Daisy nodded again as Anna got up from her chair. "And don't listen to what Thomas tells you anymore, okay?" She said giving Daisy's hand a small squeeze. Daisy followed Anna into here office, dragging her feet as she walked.

"Here." Anna said opening the bottom drawer of her desk. "I keep a blanket in here for this exact purpose." She winked.

"Thank you so much Anna. You're always so kind to me."

Anna merely nodded and sat down at her desk to finish her report.

It wasn't until two hours later that Anna finally finished her report. The office was beginning to bustle with it's usual activity. She printed her report and only then just realized that Daisy had already left the office. Making her way out of her office she noticed a small group of people gathered around the front door of the station. Chief Grantham wasn't in his office yet, thank god, so she placed the report neatly on his desk and decided to see what the small commotion was about. She reached the outside of the group and realized they were huddled around a person. She tapped one of her rookies, Gwen, on the shoulder and asked.

"Hey, what's all this about?" Just as Gwen was about to respond, one of the officers left the circle and provided a window for her to see who they were speaking to. It was a man she didn't recognize, but Chief Grantham had his arm happily around the man's neck as if they were friends. A few of the officers were openly staring at him with a look of disdain. Anna followed their gaze and realized what they were staring at. The man had a cane in his left hand. She finally caught eyes with him and he immediately gave her a warm smile. It was the best kind of smile, one of those genuine ones that create creases next to your eyes.

"Hello," Anna held out her hand, "I'm Anna Smith. I'm the sergeant of this station." He extended his right hand and placed it gently into hers.

"I'm John. John Bates. I'll be the new detective here."

"Lovely to meet you."

"Likewise."

Anna wasn't sure what it was about him but her heart fluttered just slightly. A feeling she wasn't used to, but one she figured would happen again very soon.