A/N: This is a different kind of story from me. You'll see why if/when you read it. It takes place roughly between episodes 307-309, after Alex had brought Norma her car back but before their "We're doomed in the end" conversation. They're not a couple… yet. But this is still a very Normero story. I hope you like it.

Norma Bates was cleaning the contents of her refrigerator. She was having the whole day to herself since her sons, in a strange turn of events, decided to go to a concert in another town and will be staying out for the night. She was just happy they wanted to spend time together; taking Dylan out of whatever he was doing up at the farm at the moment (she suspected it had to do with drugs and she was not totally approving it all) and also, anything that would take Norman out of the basement for even a night was fine by her.

But she was a little bored, having no one to take care of for the entire day and night, so she decided to clean the fridge. She was deep in thought and empty containers of food when her phone rang.

Without looking at the caller ID, she quickly answered the phone and waited for the voice on the other end.

"Hello?" She quips.

"Uh, Norma?" There is something slightly familiar about the male voice she's hearing but also an unusual quality to it. She then takes a look at the screen to see it is Alex calling.

"Alex? What's wrong?" She asks a little worried. She is reminded of that time not so long ago he had called her, drunk and asking her to go pick him up. In truth he had not been wasted drunk, but being the responsible sheriff and primary upholder of the law in town, he wouldn't drive around with alcohol in his blood. She wonders if he is drunk again just now.

"Norma, I need…" He's cut off by a bout of cough and she takes the phone away from her ear and looks at it with a questioning expression. "Sorry… I need a favor." He finishes in a rush.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"Mm, no, I'm… listen, I'm sick and I was wondering if you could go to the pharmacy and get me some medicine…" He asks and then stops as if he's thinking of something else to say. "I would go myself except I can't seem to be able to move." He explains. "Everything hurts, Norma." He sighs into the phone.

"Oh." She looks around at the mess in her kitchen. "Ok, I can be there in about half an hour. Is that okay?"

"Yes, Norma, whenever you can." He says not entirely pleased but mostly his bad humor has to do with being sick, not having to wait for her help. "And, thanks."

"No problem. I'll be there in a bit."

She hung up the phone and made quick work of finishing the task of cleaning and leaving the kitchen spotless before going out of the house. She hated a dirty kitchen and hated coming home to a messy one which is why she taught her sons to clean up after themselves, or at least to put their plates in the sink, ever since they were tall enough to be able to reach it.

Her thoughts return to Alex and she tries to imagine how sick he must be feeling to have called her. She knows he's not the kind of man to ask for help unless absolutely necessary but she also knew, from having raised two boys and having lived with grown men almost all her adult life, that men were babies. They would be instantly bed ridden for something as common as a headache or a stomachache; it's actually hilarious that they think women are the weaker ones.

She shakes her head smiling to herself and grabbing her coat proceeds to go see what is wrong with the Big Daddy of White Pine Bay.

"Alex?" She asks cautiously opening his front door, which she found unlocked, and poking her head in.

"It's Norma. Don't shoot!" She yells into the empty living room.

She has been here twice; the first time he opened the door to her when she came asking for a favor and after some shrieking and some tears from her part he had promised to go with her to see Bob Paris. The second time she came to his house, well, the second time she broke his window and entered without an invitation. They fought that night too. There was yelling and there were tears. She hit him that night. And he almost kissed her.

But then she had told him not to touch her and he let her go. A few days later he got drunk; she picked him up at that bar and then put him in one of the motel rooms. He also told her he thought she was beautiful and she had teased him about it, reminding him that after the alcohol haze had worn off he probably would be mortified. He smiled at her that time.

Now, his house feels empty, eerily quiet in the late afternoon, until she hears him loudly coughing and she follows the sound. She finds him in bed, in what must be his room obviously, but where she has never been before.

It's manly, dark, simple, and no-nonsense in its decoration. Just like him.

"Norma." He utters her name in a low croak, his voice almost giving out, trying to sit upright in bed.

"Mm, yes that's me. How are you feeling?" She asks concerned as she tries not to stare at his naked chest but failing miserably; her eyes roaming over his sparse chest hair, his muscular pectorals and his strong biceps.

"Horrible." He grunts like it's the biggest effort to just talk. "My head hurts, my throat is sore, my back is in pain… should I continue?" He gives up trying to sit and just half sits, half reclines back on the pillows.

"Then why don't you go to the hospital?"

"Because I hate hospitals."

'Babies.' She thinks.

"Well, I'm not a doctor but from my experience I think you may have the flu or a 24 hour virus. Do you have a fever?"

"Mmm, I don't know?" He shrugs and she thinks it's adorable to see him like this, like a lost sick puppy.

Norma moves closer to him and places her hand on his forehead and he instantly closes his eyes. She can't help but admire his long thick eyelashes for a second and also feel a small stab of envy. She has to apply two coats of mascara to achieve the same look and the man was born with it.

He then opens his eyes and she quickly takes her hand away from his forehead.

"You feel a little hot. Do you have a thermometer?"

"No."

"Fine. I'll go to the pharmacy and see what I can get you. I'll be right back."

She is about to leave when he stops her, grabbing her arm and reaching for his wallet on the bedside table.

"Here, let me give you money."

"No, it's fine. You can pay me back later."

"Norma, no. Here, take this or I won't drink any of the medicine you bring." He threatens as he takes two twenty dollar bills out of his wallet and gives them to her. She rolls her eyes at him and his attempt to sound authoritative when in reality it seems it pains him to even talk.

"Fine. Whatever, though guy." She takes the money and leaves.

Norma comes back with a shopping bag full of over the counter medicine and a few groceries she bought with the idea of making Alex some chicken soup. In her mind, a homemade soup is the cure for any ailment and she is going to test and prove her theory one more time today.

She makes her way to Alex's bedroom again, and enters slowly, not sure why she is being so careful.

Alex is asleep, although the frown in his face tells her he's not feeling very well. She's sad to wake him up but he needs to take some medicine.

"Alex. Wake up. I'm back."

He groans and opens his eyes. She is standing next to his bed and for a second he thinks he's dreaming, and as it has happened many times before, Norma is visiting him in his longing dreams. But then this Norma speaks to him and is giving him some white pills and a glass of water and he suddenly realizes he is not dreaming at all.

"Alex?" At her insistence he takes the pills from her outstretched palm and gulps them down. She touches his forehead again.

"Oh my god Alex, you're burning up!"

He just grunts in pain.

"You should take a cold shower. It will help take the fever down."

"Okay." He agrees but doesn't attempt to move.

"I can't carry you. You're gonna have to do this yourself, you know?"

He tries to sit, grunting and groaning, and she puts her arm around his shoulders trying to help him sit. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and Norma freezes.

"Umm… Are you naked?"

"What?" He looks at her with an annoyed expression on his face, suddenly remembering Norma and her habit of always saying the weirdest things. The woman has no filter.

"Under there…" She motions her hand around the sheet that is covering his lower half, and they both look down at lap and his hairy legs poking out from underneath the sheet.

"No, Norma. Of course not!"

"Okay. Just asking." She sounds a little flustered and just as he stands up, the sheet falling from his body to show his black boxer briefs, he could swear he heard Norma take in a deep shaky breath but by the time he looks up she is already out the door.

Norma decided it was best to leave Alex to his shower. Not that she was going to stay there and watch but she felt she was the one who needed a cold shower after seeing him in such a state of undress so she made herself useful in the kitchen.

His kitchen was a mess and it proved a nice distraction for Norma. She washed the few dirty plates, glasses and coffee mugs, cleaned the surface of the counter and set out to make the soup.

After 20 minutes or so she heard noises coming from the bedroom and since the soup was already done she served it and luckily found a tray to bring it up to him.

"Alex?" She calls out from the bedroom door, out of sight, and he answers her in a low croak.

"You can come in."

He's seated on the bed, his head down, and wearing long pajama pants and a t-shirt. Norma is relieved he decided to put on some clothes. When has she started to think of Alex as a handsome man? Why is she feeling so nervous today? The man is sick, and he asked for her help, she should be ashamed of herself and take ahold of her emotions. Is not like she has never seen a naked man before. But then, she has never seen Alex Romero naked before.

"I made you chicken soup." She announces happily placing the tray on his end table. He looks up in surprise.

"How? There's nothing in my kitchen."

"Yeah, I figured as much so I bought some groceries." He regards her with awe. "Here, you have to also take this medicine for your sore throat and cough, and you can't do it on an empty stomach."

"Thanks Norma, but I'm not hungry." He pleads with her.

"And I just said you have to eat something." She stands up in front of him, hands on her hips, daring him to say no. "Besides, I made it. And I promise you you'll feel better after you eat it."

She glances at the tray. "Do you need me to feed it to you?"

"No. I can manage, thanks."

He sits back and allows her to place the tray on his lap and then eats the soup in silence, wincing slightly as the liquid slides down his pained throat. He has to admit though, it is delicious, and it feels nice to have something hot in his stomach since he hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

By the time he finishes eating he is sweating profusely. Norma makes him take the other medicines. "The pharmacist said you should feel better in a day or two with these, and if not, you have to go see a doctor." She then tells him to lie down.

He falls into a fretful sleep, sometimes even moaning in pain. She stands vigil by his side, placing a wet cold towel into his forehead, trying to ease his temperature down. Norma feels bad for him, even though she still thinks men are babies when it comes to being sick, Alex has a bad fever and she knows as much as the next person how painful it is.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. You'll feel better soon. " She tries to calm him down when he fidgets in his sleep.

At one point she places a kiss on his forehead, just wanting to make him feel less agitated. She doesn't think; she just kisses his fevered skin. His eyelids flutter open for a moment and he sighs. He then falls into a deep sleep. She has no way of knowing if it was her kiss that did it or not, but she likes to think it was.

It is around midnight when he finally opens his eyes and finds her seated on a chair next to his bed. She quickly wets the cloth and places it on his forehead again, and this time, moves it down to his face and neck, trying to wipe off the beads of sweat pooled there. She moves to seat on his bed now, bending over him with a concerned look on her face, taking care of him like it is the most important thing she has to do with her time.

"God, you're so beautiful." He whispers and she gasps softly at his words but he doesn't notice her reaction, closing his eyes and falling asleep again.

She smiles to herself. Alex had told her she's beautiful twice now, and even though she considers herself an attractive woman and she has been the recipient of innumerable compliments and appraising looks over the years, it also gives her a sense of pride to know that Alex Romero thinks she's beautiful.

'Come on, Norma.' She admonishes herself while shaking her head to clear it from her romantic thoughts. 'He was drunk the first time he said it. And now is the fever talking. You can't think he's making some kind of great declaration of admiration to you.' And even if he was making such a declaration, so what? They are friends. Aside from two failed attempts at kissing her he hasn't made another. She hasn't mentioned it either.

After a couple more hours of fussing over him, and making sure he took the next dose of medicines, Norma goes to the living room and reclines on the couch. Her back aches from being seated on that chair for so long and since apparently his fever has gone down and he is sleeping soundly she thinks it wouldn't hurt any of them is she takes a short nap.

Alex wakes up with a start. The orange light peeking from the window's blinds telling him it is still early morning. Turning his head to the left to reach for his watch he sees the bottles of medicines, the glass of water, and the empty chair next to his bed. Then he remembers her. Norma.

He had called her in a pain stupor, was it yesterday? The day before? He still feels a little groggy. Seating up he notices his back isn't hurting anymore, and swallowing his own saliva doesn't elicit a pain comparable to swallowing a knife.

He will have to call her and thank her, profusely, for what she did last night. Maybe even invite her to dinner as a thankful gesture. He'd been dying to ask her out for a few months now but hasn't found the right moment.

Standing on steady legs, thankful that they can hold up the weight of his body without protest again, Alex goes into his bathroom to take a shower. Then he will call Norma. It is only 6:30 am, she's probably still asleep.

After his shower, he puts in clean sweatpants and a black t-shirt. It is Saturday, he isn't working today. He goes downstairs and on his way to the kitchen stops dead in his tracks when he sees Norma asleep on his living room couch.

His mouth falls slightly open at the sight of her. He wasn't expecting her; he thought she had left in the middle of the night. He doesn't remember much; just that she took care of him, placing her hands repeatedly against his face with a wet cloth, speaking softly to him all the time.

Alex also remembers she placed a kiss on his forehead, a kiss that burned his skin more than the fever has. He was in too much pain to acknowledge it at the moment, so he just closed his eyes and let the tingling sensation her lips had left on his body to lull him back to sleep.

Does she know that she is slowly becoming his reason to wake up in the morning, his air, his whole life? Does she has any idea he has sworn to protect her, and stand by her, and even love her, without asking anything in return? She must know. But also, how would she if he hasn't said anything to her? The first time he tried to kiss her was after she went feral, a wild animal in his arms here in his house, and he tried to calm her down pressing her against a wall in order to protect her rather than himself. Having her so near was torture and feeling her hot breaths on his face made him want to kiss her. But she stopped him.

The second time he tried to kiss her he was drunk. No wonder she didn't let him do it. She probably thinks he was making a pass at her just because he was drunk. Smooth move, Alex, he tells himself.

Now, he's looking at her sleeping form in the sofa. Her shoes are on the floor, her pretty feet peeking out from under the blanket she found on his couch, and that is now covering her entire body. Her hair a mass of blonde curls obscuring part of her face from his scrutiny. But he knows that face; knows every curve and every angle, and every line and every smile, and every frown and every tear.

When he catches himself thinking she looks like Christmas morning he knows he has fallen in love with her.

He goes to make some coffee, mainly because his thoughts of Norma are awakening desires he shouldn't be feeling when she is asleep on his couch. He respects her too much. He won't fantasize about her while she is right here. That is something he leaves for his lonely nights, when his want for her takes over, and his hand does what he wishes he could do with her.

While he's busy making the coffee he hears a rustle of fabric and her voice behind him.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

He turns around to greet her and that's when she takes his breath away. She's standing in the middle of his living room; barefoot, skirt askew, shirt un-tucked, messy hair and no makeup, her hand rubbing over her still sleepy eyes, and she never looked more beautiful to him.

"Um… I'm feeling better actually." He tries to sound calm and clears his throat in an attempt to make his voice sound clearer. She smiles brightly.

"Good! I'm… gonna use your bathroom." She motions her hands towards the bedroom.

"Of course, go ahead." He offers a little shyly.

When she comes back into the living room, he looks out of the corner of his eyes and sees her clothes are rearranged now; her shirt is perfectly tucked inside the waist of her skirt. She sits on the couch and he can tell she's looking around in her purse but can't see exactly what she's doing. She starts to run her hands through her hair trying to placate her curls.

Alex pours coffee into two cups and sees from his peripheral vision when she stands up and starts walking towards the kitchen. She's wearing her shoes now, her hair almost perfectly in place and she's put on a pale shade of pink lipstick. She's Norma Bates again, looking as prime and proper as always, and he is a little sad that her morning disarrayed look is gone. He hopes he gets to see that again. Hopefully one morning, he will get to see her waking up next to him in his bed.

He offers her one of the coffee mugs.

"Thanks."

They start drinking their coffee, standing up on opposite sides of the kitchen island.

"I want to say thank you." He starts. "For coming over yesterday and taking care of me."

"Oh! It's nothing. That's what friends are for!" She says flippantly and seeing his somewhat hurt look, tilts her head slightly to the side and adds genuinely, "You're welcome. Anytime."

"Sorry you had to spend the night." He apologizes even though he's not sorry at all. Only knowing she spent the night under his roof is enough to make him feel giddy and ridiculously proud. She would kill him if she knew he was feeling this territorial about having her in his house overnight.

"It's okay. I didn't want to leave you alone, I mean… in case your fever got worse." She babbles nervously and bites her lip, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Alex.

"Well, thank you." He pauses to take a sip of his coffee. "What about your sons? Do they know you were spending the night out?"

"Oh, no. They're not home, they went to a concert in another town, and they won't be back until later today. I was home by myself when you called."

"Oh."

"So… Was I a bad patient?" He asks suddenly and she almost spits her coffee back.

"What? No, you were actually very good! Took my advice, ate the food I gave you. I'm pretty sure my soup fixed you." She says smugly.

"I think it was the medicines." He tries to play it down, although he's fairly certain her TLC helped more than any medicine or soup could.

"I'm hurt." She exclaims playfully, putting her hand to her heart, in a fake dramatic gesture.

"I'm sure your care helped a lot." He mentions and she smiles at him.

"I don't know why you didn't go to the doctor sooner. You had a very high fever. You were delirious. You were saying things…" She catches herself before continuing.

"I was? Like what?" His interest piqued now.

"Oh, you know, just… stuff. Nothing important." She dismisses quickly.

They share a meaningful look, both of them scared the other might know what the other is talking about.

Alex decides to try to move things forward.

"What can I do to thank you?"

"Say 'thank you'?" She smiles over the rim of the mug.

"No, I mean it, Norma. Let me do something for you. Take you out or something…" He lets the words hang in the air. He wants to take her out, he really does, but he's also scared is not what she wants so he's leaving space for her to decline or whatever she decides to answer.

"Alex, umm. Really, you don't have to do anything. I was doing you a favor. I know you'll do the same for me if I ever get sick."

He feels deflated. She's turning him down. Alex really thought she liked him too, but maybe all her flirting was just a way of making him do what she wanted him to do. Well, it worked.

"Okay. I just wanted to do something nice for you." He admits sincerely.

"You're always doing nice things for me." She softly whispers and that makes him look up from his coffee and into the blue infinite pools of her eyes.

He places his mug on the kitchen island and moves around it to stand in front of her. Norma gulps down heavily, her mouth has suddenly gone dry, and she licks her lips. He mirrors her actions without noticing and licks his lips too. He wants to kiss her so badly; he wants to touch her so desperately his hands actually ache.

"I'm going to say something now, Norma. And I want you to know this time I'm not drunk and I'm not incoherent with fever." She looks up at him expectantly.

"I think you're beautiful." Her eyes go huge at his words.

So he knows he said that to her last night too, she thinks happily, a hint of a smile breaking into her face.

"And I like you." He finishes and she gasps softly. Her eyes move wildly around his face, landing on his lips for a few second and then settling on his eyes. He takes the moment to move closer to her. Alex takes her face in his hands and slowly inches his way towards her mouth, enjoying the way she holds her breath momentarily.

He is going to kiss her today, he already made up his mind, but before he does he wants to know if she's okay with it or not. He needs to know if Norma wants him to touch her, because he knows what she's been through, and because as much as he wants it, if like last time she says 'don't touch me' he'll release her without hesitation. He needs to know she wants to be kissed by him because she wants him as much as he wants her.

"Norma, can I kiss you?" He murmurs as he moves his thumbs over her cheeks, cradling her face between his hands.

"Yes." Her whisper is barely audible.

His lips finally touch hers in the softest way possible. He moves his mouth over hers in a soft caress first, and then captures her lower lip in between his, licking and teasing it until she opens her mouth to him. He kisses her hungrily then, with all the want and desire he'd built up for the past several months, and she reciprocates with the same need, moaning into his mouth, getting lost in the heat of a searing kiss.

They kiss for long minutes, both of them losing track of time. When the need for oxygen precedes the want to keep their mouths together, they keep kissing each other faces' and necks. He kisses her temple and her hair and she kisses his Adam's apple, eliciting a low grunt of pleasure from his throat.

They go back to kissing lips like their sustenance is coming from the other's mouth. There's only the need to drink each other's elixir, to press bodies in a tight embrace and get lost in a kiss that both of them have imagined for a long time now.

When they part they're both breathing heavily. Her hands have wound up around his neck; bringing him close, and his have moved around her back; keeping her even closer still. Their foreheads are pressed together as they try to regain some sense of self-control and to find the appropriate words to follow this absurdly happy, deliriously passionate and unplanned perfect moment.

"So, where are you taking me?" She breaks the silence first.

He thinks for a whole second or two, but his answer is simple and honest.

"Anywhere you want to go."

The end.