A few author's notes…

So… this is my first attempt with a Nomero-centric fiction and to be quite honest, I'm very nervous about it.

**Norma is alive in this fiction because I'm going to be writing about season 4, but the timeline doesn't necessarily follow the show's. In fact, I haven't seen any of Season 5 yet, so please no spoilers.

**Dylemma is also a part of the storyline and Norman will occasionally become Norma if I continue this. I also know absolutely nothing about medical conditions, procedures or treatments.

**I really need feedback for this fiction because as I mentioned this is completely new territory for me. Please help me out by writing a review to let me know what you think. If people don't want to read this, I'll probably delete it.

**I don't own any characters from Bates Motel. Please don't copy my work without my permission. It's more fun to write your own stories anyway. This fiction is also available on A03.

Lastly… I hope you enjoy!

Bates Motel: Back to You

Chapter 1: Misery

A steady beeping sound pulls Norma out of her chilling nightmare with a loud gasp.

Norma's eyes slowly flicker open, her chest heaves dramatically as she struggles to take a breath and her heart starts to thump heavily against her chest. Blinking away the blurriness from her eyes, Norma immediately sits up in the bed her body is situated in and instantly feels a sharp pain shoot from her spine up to her now aching head. As an automatic response her body tenses and her right hand instantly reaches for the source of her discomfort. However, when she touches her forehead with her fingertips, it's not skin she feels. Instead a soft and puffy material covers the pain inflicted area.

Hesitantly, Norma lifts her shaky left hand to touch the other side of her forehead, only to discover the cloth is fastened there as well. With fear stricken eyes Norma parts her lips slightly, allowing another dramatic gasp to escape.

While dropping her hands limply to either side of her body, Norma scans the room in confusion. With a squint of her eyes, her vision is quickly filled with a new scene in the darkened room.

A dark haired man is slouched lazily in a chair next to the left side of her bed, appearing to be asleep. Norma carefully twists her body and tries to study the details of his face, but in the darkness it's too difficult to see clearly. Her thoughts start to intensify as she tries to focus her eyes and mind on the sleeping figure near her, but all this accomplishes is an increasing ache from her apparent injury.

In an attempt to relieve some of the pressure building in her head, Norma pushes more forcefully on the area with the palm of her right hand which unfortunately only results in pain to radiate throughout her already weakened system. Norma experiences intense agony infiltrate within every muscle of her body as she cautiously returns her torso to face forward once again. Soon the excruciating sting of her now obvious wounds overwhelms her, causing Norma to lifelessly fall backwards in her bed and her eyes to flicker shut.

XXXX

An hour later…

Romero stirs from his restless slumber.

While brushing his fingertips over his closed eyelids to gradually free himself from sleepiness, the Sheriff lets out a small groan and compels his body to sit upright in the uncomfortable chair he must've fallen asleep in a few hours before. Immediately he experiences a throbbing sting in his stiffened neck due to the awkward position he dozed off in. Unfortunately, waking up with a sore neck and back has become a routine for over a week now. The medical staff has always offered the concerned Sheriff a bed in a different room to relax in, but he could never bring himself to leave his wife.

Every day for the past 10 days Romero has not been able to leave Norma's bedside, except for the occasional trip home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Even leaving for a short amount of time has taken some extreme convincing from his new step-son, who he's grown considerably closer to since Norma's unexpected accident.

Dylan and Emma have become the sole source of support for him during this difficult time when there has been no one else to turn to. Of course the deputies from the department have understood the urgency of the situation, but with such an abrupt leave of absence the Sheriff's departure leaves them shorthanded and without a supervisor. Romero can't stop the overpowering sense of guilt that hits him from time to time. He feels helpless right now. In his mind, not only has he abandoned his deputies but he's not even able to somehow ease his wife's suffering. This truly has been a struggle and a test of his will to keep moving forward.

Upon everything the Sheriff has been dealing with for over a week, another substantial burden has been plaguing him lately. Norman. His youngest stepson has become even more withdrawn from the family since his mother's accident.

It's no secret that Norman has always been distant towards his new stepfather, but surely this tragedy would lift at least some of the tension between the two? Well, sadly the situation has only become worse and Norman has gradually pulled himself even further away from his family.

Luckily, Dylan and Emma have decided to take on the responsibility of caring for the young man and keeping a watchful eye over his unpredictable behavior. Though from what Dylan had mentioned to his stepfather, Norman has no interest in dealing with any member of his family at the moment.

Standing up from the chair with cracking bones, Romero takes a tentative step toward his wife's hospital bed and gently touches her fingers with his. The only progress he's seen in the last couple of days is that she is completely breathing on her own and no longer needs the assistance of a breathing tube. Even though there have been no significant changes in Norma's movements since her arrival at the hospital, at least he knows she has the inner strength to keep fighting.

Norma hadn't slipped into a coma after her terrible accident. In fact, the doctor specifically assured the Sheriff his wife is at no risk of falling into a vegetative state at this point. Dr. Thompson only offered a vague explanation as to why she hasn't woken up yet and advised him to just be patient. The problem for Romero is patience isn't a virtue he possesses.

As Romero gently curls his fingers around his wife's, he notices a change. The change is minor and it crosses his mind this may even be one of those instances where his desires have decided to create false hope in order to somehow bury all of the sadness he's been feeling lately. But, what if this new circumstance does indeed represent something? What if this difference is the beginning of her coming back to him?

Anxiously, he grips her hand tighter and brings her seemingly lifeless fingers to his right cheek. He bites his bottom lip nervously and then cracks a small smile when her touch feels more alive than all of the other days he's held her hand in his. No longer does he feel the chill of her skin in between his fingers, instead he senses warmth and life radiating from her previously deadened hand. Is he imagining all of this?

The Sheriff slowly moves her hand from his cheek to his lips and places a small chaste kiss on the top of her wrist. All of a sudden the sound of loud beeping surrounds the room, changing from the typical slow and steady tempo to a fast, almost out of control pace.

Romero flinches at the noise while continuing to hold his wife in a loose grip, gently rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb. "Norma?" He whispers, trying to remain calm even though on the inside he's shuddering.

With an unsteady finger the Sheriff rapidly moves to press the alert button on the wall next to him, but stops sharply when he sees a medical team rush through the doorway. The room quickly fills with doctors, nurses and all different types of medical equipment.

Before Romero can protest, he's forced to drop his wife's hand, ushered away from her bedside and pushed through the doorway by a rather agitated nurse. Once he finally registers what has happened mere seconds prior, the hospital room door is shut in his stunned face. All he can do now is wait for an update on Norma's condition.

Maybe he'll pass the time thinking of some stern words he'll use on that particular overly aggressive nurse who pushed him out the door, once she emerges from the room.

XXXX

20 minutes later…

The Sheriff has been pacing back and forth in front of his wife's hospital door for what feels like forever.

Immediately after being banished from his wife's room, Romero sent a quick message to Dylan to advise him of Norma's change in condition. The Sheriff flashed a small smirk about 10 minutes later at the scene of the young man running past the front desk with Emma's hand tightly clasped in his, tugging the tiny brunette sloppily behind him as she tried to keep up. Dylan clearly inherited his mother's skill for making a grand entrance, even ignoring the vocal pleas from the medical staff to slow down just as she would've. The Sheriff is sure Dylan had to have broken a variety of different traffic laws to reach the hospital in record time, but the older man isn't going to bring it up. He isn't on duty anyway.

As time slowly ticks by, Dylan and Emma sit in the waiting area and stare in silence at the closed door in front of them. The younger man unconsciously bounces his right leg wildly out of nervousness, while Emma occasionally sighs and places the palm of her hand on his thigh in an attempt to calm him. Meanwhile, the Sheriff hasn't broken his pattern of stalking the hospital room, only pausing occasionally to peer through the small window of the door before starting his routine of patrolling back and forth again.

Finally after an additional 15 minutes of waiting, the hospital room door suddenly swings open to allow the many nurses inside to exit the area. In order to avoid a potential collision, the Sheriff quickly takes a step backward to move out of the way. At the sight of the now open room, Dylan and Emma jump up from their seats in the waiting area and rush to stand near the Sheriff in anticipation of an update from the doctor.

After the last nurse walks through the open doorway, Dr. Thompson steps out of the room and closes the door behind him. Instantly, the doctor notices the Sheriff standing nearby with his arms crossed tightly across his chest and a small scowl plastered on his usual stoic face.

Doctor Thompson carefully approaches not only Romero but also a young man and woman standing next to him, recognizing them immediately as Norma's adult son and girlfriend. "Hello. I apologize for having to rush you out of there eariler, but we needed to make sure we could assist your wife effectively."

Romero nods, but his face remains unchanged. "I understand," he grumbles.

"What's happened to her?" Dylan speaks up as Emma nuzzles closer into his side with his right arm fitting around her waist comfortably.

"Norma is awake now," he announces with a reassuring smile. "Her heart rate increased to a dangerous level and that is what set off all of the machines in her room and alerted us to her distress."

Emma's eyes open wide in shock as she glances up at her boyfriend and then at the doctor. "Her heart was in distress? I thought her head injury was the main concern."

The doctor realizes his mistake in bringing this into the conversation when he has three pairs of anxious eyes focusing directly on him. He inadvertently caused a wave of panic. "I can assure you her heart is fine. Sometimes when patients are in pain they have a brief surge of adrenaline, but when given the correct medication the problem is immediately corrected." He smiles at the family again, hoping to soothe their uneasiness. "Honestly, no need to worry about her heart."

Romero sighs out of relief and uncrosses his arms. "Is there any permanent brain damage after all of this? When I found her she was bleeding badly from her forehead."

"There shouldn't be any lasting damage. The laceration on her forehead is stitched up and is healing nicely. We were concerned about the bruising of her skull, but the MRIs we've been conducting show all positive signs of healing as well."

Dylan holds Emma a little snugger into his side and flashes a small grin at the doctor. "Thank you Doctor."

Dr. Thompson nods and returns a genuine smile. "Of course, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns." He pauses for a moment and then directs his focus specifically to Romero. "Norma has been asking for her husband. So, Sheriff you're welcome to go in and see her, but I'm sorry at this point we're limiting her to one visitor at a time." The doctor turns to walk away but then stops sharply after a couple of footsteps and aims his attention to Romero again. "Oh and Sheriff?"

Romero turns away from his wife's hospital room door to acknowledge the doctor. "Yes?"

"Just to let you know, she is quite emotional right now. Norma actually heard us mention she has been unconscious for 10 days. She's frustrated at the moment with everything and it's a good chance she won't be able to tell you what happened to cause her accident."

The Sheriff nods in the direction of Dr. Thompson, takes a deep breath and then re-approaches Norma's door, carefully and almost silently pushing it open. Stepping through the threshold of the room he immediately hears the soft buzz of bright lights now shining above Norma's bed versus the previous tranquil darkness. With the aid of a few fluffy pillows Norma appears to be comfortably propped upright in her bed, using the palms of her hands to gently cover her eyes. His wife's current state of misery is obvious to him as he sees her cry hushed tears, while her shoulders shiver in between each soft sniffle.

The Sheriff cautiously steps toward the front of her bed. "Norma?"

The fragile woman draws her trembling hands slowly down her tear stained cheeks at the sound of Romero's voice, revealing reddened and puffy eyes. Norma's body visibly stiffens at the view of the man standing in front of her. "I asked for my husband," she says with a shaky voice and a puzzled look on her face.

Romero's breath hitches in hearing his wife's confusion.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable stillness in the room, Norma finally breaks the silence with a whisper. "Where's John?"

His fear has become reality.

She's forgotten him.

XXXX

Continue? Or Delete?

Thank you for reading this! Please let me know what you think, I appreciate the help!