A/N: So here's one of the few stories that I wrote a while ago. The rest will be up soon!

Norma sat wearily at the bar in the new town she just moved to. White Pine Bay. Her husband Sam got moved there to a new job that was supposed to help him make a lot more money than he did back when they were in Arizona. Norma initially thought the move would be good. Maybe it will change Sam if he was making more money, and maybe he would finally stop hitting her and her two sons, Dylan and Norman. But nothing had changed. It had all been the same.

Dylan was nine years old and Norman was five. It was a handful, raising two young boys, and with Sam not being much of a father figure although he saw them everyday, Norma was struggling to keep her household together. Dylan got mad at her earlier today for not letting him build a homemade skateboard ramp, as it was not safe, so he ran off for hours without telling her where. When he did come back home, it was almost 10 PM and he still ignored her and didn't tell her of his whereabouts. Norman was in his usual needy attention phase and it took about two hours to finally get him settled down for the night.

After Sam demanded sex from her and her kids were all in the house, she came to this bar to relieve some stress and actually relax. She was already feeling a little woozy on her third shot of vodka she was drinking. She just wanted all the pain and hurt to go away. For all the bruises on her skin to fade. Maybe the alcohol will help her forget.

In the corner of her eye, she could see this dark haired man watching her. She finally glanced at him and he looked shocked that she caught him staring. His eyes widened, but he didn't look away. She noticed his features immediately. Long eyelashes, strong jaw line. Handsome. He was just two seats away from her. Eventually, he gave her a smile which she didn't return. Instead, she grabbed her purse and moved to the seat right next to him.

She placed her elbow on the bar counter and rested her head on her hand. "Hi," she simply said.

"How are you?" He responded.

She shrugged and glanced at the beer bottle his hand was on, then she looked up into his eyes. He was really cute.

"I'm well enough," she answered.

The man nodded and cautiously put his hand out towards her. "I'm Alex."

"Norma," she took his hand eagerly and shook it. His hands were strong and it felt nice holding her soft small ones.

"So, you new around here?" He questioned.

"You know all the faces around this bar or something?" Norma rejoindered.

Alex chortled and took another sip of his beer, his eyes focusing on hers. "I come here often, won't deny it."

"Hmm," Norma said with a raise brow.

"But, I'm no heavy drinker. I just come to… I don't know. Sometimes I just need a drink every once in a while."

Norma nodded in agreement. It was the reason she was here tonight. "I suppose," she smiled and flittered her lashes at him. She also shifted her position and his eyes went to her smooth legs that wasn't covered by the short navy dress she was wearing.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" She asked with a tinge of seduction. He was watching her carefully. Alex wasn't drunk, but he was a little tipsy, and she was playing a dangerous game. He knew she was flirting with him, but then his eyes went to the ring that sat on her left hand.

"Does your husband know you're here?"

Norma's smile fell immediately, and her face soon expressed a frown. She looked down at her hand and saw the ring she hadn't bothered to remove. Alex didn't mean to offend her, but he didn't want to be caught up with some young married woman who was looking to use him.

"Mind your damn business," she said angrily and got up from her seat and soon left the bar. Alex watched her exit and scoffed. He'd definitely dodged a bullet with that one.

*deviatedrift*

The next day, Alex went to work. He had been working as a deputy in the town for five years, and planned on running for Sheriff in the upcoming election this November. He didn't think his odds were good, but being Sheriff was something he aimed for. Hopefully, the citizens of the town wouldn't think he would be exactly like his crooked father when he was Sheriff of the town years ago.

It was lunch time and Alex decided to head down to the burger joint a few blocks away from the station. He usually ate lunch alone in his patrol vehicle and observed the streets. People watching was one of his favorite pastimes. That's when he saw her. That woman from the bar. She was carrying a big large bag and putting it in her trunk. He didn't see anyone else with her, and figured she was running errands alone. Soon enough, she was driving away in her old modeled, green mercedes. His mind went back to last night at the bar. She was a gorgeous woman he must admit. If it hadn't been for his damn conscience, he probably would've gave into her advances.

As soon as Alex got back from his lunch, the Sheriff, a man named Dan Miller, sent him to the local elementary school. The school had called in and said that some kid was fooling around and waving a BB gun around the playground, which a teacher believed was very real at first.

"An elementary school?" Alex cringed. He really didn't want to deal with a snot nose, badass kid who had little home training.

"Look, all the other deputies are out on other assignments. So that just leaves you Romero," the older man smiled. "It'll be good for you. Maybe it'll help you humble yourself. Just cause' you're running as Sheriff in the next election doesn't mean you're some big shot now."

Alex huffed and grabbed his favorite leather jacket, making his way to White Pine Bay Elementary. When he got there, he found the principal's office and asked about the incident. The teacher who discovered the BB gun, the principal, and the little boy who possessed the gun were all in the office. When the kid saw Alex, his eyes widened in fear and he looked back towards the teacher with a scowl for calling the police on him.

"Deputy, thank you for finally coming in," Principal Fritz greeted. Alex nodded and glanced at the kid with a glare that was meant to scare him.

"So this little boy..." the teacher started, a frown on her face. "...starts all this trouble. It was recess and all the kids were outside playing when a third grade students comes up to me crying, saying that a kid was by the swings "fake" shooting at people. I didn't think too much about it at first, but then I looked in the direction of the swings and saw what looked like a real, actual gun in this little boy's hand."

The fifth grader rolled his eyes at the teacher and crossed his arms. Alex focused his attention back on the teacher so she could finish her story.

"I start to panic and blew the whistle to let the kids know that recess was over. After they all started lining up, I immediately went to him. I was watching him the whole time and saw him put the gun in the waistband of his pants. Where'd he even learn something like that?" The woman shook her head.

"Anyway, I grab him and demand him to give me whatever it is he had and he played like he didn't know what I was talking about, but I told him I will call the police and the swat team to get him if he didn't give me it."

Alex looked at the BB gun on the principal's desk and then at the boy. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Dylan," the boy uttered quietly.

"And where are his parents? Have they been contacted?" Alex questioned the teacher and principal.

"Yes, the mother is on her way. Should be here any minute now."

"Good, we'll just wait for her then," Alex said with a nod.

It wasn't until five minutes later when the mother of the boy finally arrived. She entered the office with a look of distress, worry, and anger. When Alex saw her, his eyes went wide with surprise. She was the same woman who had made an advance on him at the bar last night. What a coincidence it was, to see her last night, earlier that day running errands, and now here.

When Norma saw Alex in the room, she frowned. She realized he was wearing a police uniform and groaned underneath her voice. Out of all people, he had to be the one to deal with this matter with her son. The weird man who turned her down last night. She never would've figured he was a cop.

"I apologize for taking so long. I came here as soon as I could," Norma said politely.

"It's alright Mrs. Bates. So, I told you a little bit about what happened over the phone…" the principal started.

Norma nodded her head and looked at Dylan who was slumped in the chair he was sitting in. She could feel the cop's eyes on her, but she paid him no mind and decided to ignore his presence, mostly because she was embarrassed about how she came onto him last night at the bar. And it didn't make it better that she cursed at him in the end.

"Mr. Massett here brought in a BB gun and was scaring all the other younger kids with it. We have a strong no tolerance policy over things like this. Now, Dylan is facing a lot of consequences for his actions. If we get the school board involved, he will most likely be expelled," principal Fritz explained.

"This is the only elementary school in the town. Where is he supposed to go?" Norma asked with worry in her voice.

"He would probably have to attend one that is in the next town over… But if they hear about what he's done here, they probably won't allow him to enroll. He'd probably have to go to a juvenile detention school off in Portland."

"What?" Norma gasped. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "This isn't… Dylan isn't a threat to anyone. What he did was stupid and it was wrong, but he's just a kid. He gets into things. I promise he won't do anything like this ever again. Right Dylan?"

The kid shrugged and Norma's frown grew even more deep that he wasn't helping his own case. Alex felt bad for the young mother. She looked frantic and scared all together, and he felt a strong urge to reach out to comfort her. The principal and the teacher especially didn't seem pleased at all. He could see Norma was on the verge of tears and decided to input his opinion.

"Well, instead of getting the school board involved, you could just place Dylan on suspension for a week, and then make him do some community service. We have a program for young… delinquents down at the station he could participate in," he said carefully.

Norma finally looked at the deputy and then back at the teacher and principal. Alex continued to reason with them. "Sending him far off away isn't going to help. He needs to learn responsibility and I promise you this program would help him."

Norma spoke again. "I'm sorry for his behavior. We've been having a little um, trouble at home. But it will get better and he will be better. We just moved here so he's having a hard time adjusting."

Principal Fritz nodded while the teacher stood there with her arms crossed, still unconvinced. She thought that Dylan was nothing but a little trouble maker.

"Okay then," Fritz said. "Starting today, Dylan, you are officially on out of school suspension for a week and when you return, you will have to attend after school detention for two weeks with the addition of enrolling into the juvenile community service program down at the Sheriff's station. Can we all agree on that?"

"Yes, yes we can. Thank you so much," Norma quickly replied. The principal dismissed all of them and Norma, Dylan, and Alex all walked out of the building in silence. When they got to the stairs outside of the school, Alex cleared his throat to get her attention.

"So, just come down by the station to get him set up."

Norma avoided eye contact and only looked at Dylan who was standing there sheepishly. Alex knew she felt uncomfortable in his presence and decided to speak on what happened last night. He didn't know why he felt the need to apologize to her about it.

"Look, about last night…"

"Um, Dylan go to the car please honey," Norma forced to say through gritted teeth. She couldn't believe this man was going to bring this up in front of her son. Dylan made his way to her green mercedes without question and Norma turned to face Alex, arms folded over her chest.

"Are you crazy? Why would you bring that up while my son is right there?"

"I didn't even say anything yet…" Alex defended.

"Whatever," she scoffed. "There's no need to bring it up. Nothing even happened. So let's just pretend like we never met that way…"

"Okay," Alex nodded and gazed at her. "Do you remember my name at least?" He asked.

"What?" Norma questioned, although she heard him clearly.

"My name. It's Alex. Alex Romero. I'm a deputy here," he held his hand out to her like he'd done last night and waited for her to shake it. When she looked at his hand, he put it back down and placed both his hand on his hips.

"Well, just stop by at the station later and I'll get him set up," he repeated.

Norma looked back at her car to see Dylan. She rubbed her arms and shoulders as if she was nervous or something that Alex couldn't quite decipher.

She sighed and turned back to Alex. "I have to get him home now," she said quietly, and Alex found it a little suspicious how timid and worrisome she got about taking her own son back home. He wondered if her husband was the reason for that.

Alex was good at reading people, and he dealt with a good amount of women who were victims of domestic abuse. He didn't miss the bruise on her wrist that she tried to hide with her watch. And if you looked close enough, you could tell she was hiding another bruise on her right cheek with the makeup she was wearing.

Maybe that's why her son was being irrational and difficult in school. He was probably witnessing his mother getting abused and he was probably abused as well.

"Well, how about tomorrow? Will you be able to enroll him then?" Alex pushed.

"Yes."

"Okay, you know where the station is right?"

"I've passed by it a few times," Norma replied.

"Alright. See you tomorrow. Mrs. Bates," he said, remembering the principal introducing her as such. Norma nodded and made her way to her car where her son was at. He watched them as they drove down the street and out of his view.