"Good luck with your...Damon. I'll see you then, Zachary."

He waves her goodbye.

"I'll need more than luck."

And he leaves, keeping an eye out for any evil uncles.

The next day, after her shift, Melissa stops by the Stilinski home.

"Want to explain this unplanned visit, or am I making us coffee?"

"Coffee sounds amazing."

"You realize I had to bribe Stiles to take Scott out tonight? I'm going to have that guilt hanging over me for the rest of my life."

"Uh huh. So, yesterday I met this guy at school."

"Suspect or victim?"

"...date."

"I'm not a source of gossip, Melissa, I'm the Sheriff."

"We both know they're the same thing."

He pours them both a cup and sits.

"Fine. Who do you want to know?"

"Zachary Salvatore, father of Juliet Salvatore. What have you got?"

"I'm not giving you anything on criminal history. At a certain point, we cross the line into stalking."

"Not even if I beg?"

"He lived here when we were kids. Went to school with me and Raf. He was an athlete. Kind of aloof. Some people thought he was cocky and arrogant, like he was too good for us. I didn't really think about it, honestly. The jocks were the jocks, and if you weren't, you mostly stayed away. He and Raf played together."

"You don't actually have to bring up my ex-husband when we're talking about my upcoming date, Noah."

"Right, sorry. He stopped hanging out with the jocks a little while before graduation. Everyone said it was a death in the family, or drugs- I figured it was rehab, but you know I don't like to gossip. Anyway, then he fucked off to college and stayed away until he came back to raise Juliet."

"Do you know why he came back?"

"No one really knows. It's not my place to speculate."

"No rumors? Nothing coming down the grapevine?"

"I'm not your personal rumor mill, Melissa. Ask him."

She sips her coffee.

"How's Stiles doing?"

"You know how it is this time of the year. He's holding up."

"I guess there's really no good time of the year."