Norman had passed the polygraph. Inside, Romero felt a flood of relief fill him. He had watched as Norma and Dylan embraced and wanted to put his arms around Norma, too. It wasn't the first time he'd felt a desire to touch her. He wasn't exactly sure when that had started, but it was clear to him when he had first realised it. The day he had kicked the shit out of Zane, who had only gotten one good punch in. Norma had insisted on cleaning the cut above his eyebrow. Her touch, and her close proximity had him momentarily under her spell. He'd wanted to kiss her. After that he'd gotten out of her house pretty quick.
Driving back to the motel now, Alex couldn't get her out of his mind. Now that he had been assured that Norman didn't kill Blair Watson, he had little else to think about. The drug war was over, Dylan would take over the Morgan's business and someone from Nick Ford's employ would no doubt step up. Romero let himself into his motel room and closed the door, breathing deeply for a moment or two. He set his gun down on the bedside table, and sat on the bed to take off his shoes. It was late afternoon, not dark yet, but all he wanted to do was take a shower and sleep till tomorrow.
Norman had passed the polygraph. Norma couldn't believe it. She was sure Norman had killed his teacher. But all that mattered now was that they could be together. Norman wasn't going anywhere. She hadn't been able to let go of him until they got home, and so Dylan had driven back. Even while Norma cooked, she wouldn't let Norman from her sights. Norman had barely said a word.
Norma knew she hadn't yet thanked Alex for rescuing Norman. Dylan had given the full story on how the Sheriff had given him a free pass on killing Nick Ford, too. Now that she knew Norman was safe, from Nick Ford and from being arrested for murder, things could get back to normal, finally. After making dinner for her sons, Norma went down to the motel to speak with Romero.
After eating takeout he'd ordered over the phone, Romero had the hot water running and was just about to unbuckle his belt when he heard a loud knock on the door. He hesitated a moment, wondering whether to just ignore it and get in the shower, but turned off the water with a sigh. Grabbing a shirt, he hastily put it on without bothering to button it up and moved to answer the door. He looked through the curtains first to see who had knocked. It was Norma. Of course, who else would it be? He opened the door part way.
"Hi, Alex, I - " She began, before noticing he wasn't dressed. Her eyes roamed his torso, widening slightly. A small smile tugged on the corners of her mouth. Romero looked away from her, taking his hands off the door and frame to button his shirt. Secretly, he was pleased that she was pleased by the sight of him almost shirtless. But he didn't allow her to see that on his face. "Norma. What can I do for you?"
Norma tore her gaze from his body and took a moment to regain her composure before answering. "I just.. I wanted to thank you for saving Norman the other day." She looked up at him as she answered. "Dylan told me everything." Norma continued after a pause. Romero gazed at her, not moving. "Thank you." She finished. Part of her wanted to put her arms around him.
"Just doing my job." Romero answered. Norma smiled, and turned away to walk back to the house. After several moments, she heard Alex's door close.
Romero watched Norma as she walked away, expressionless. After he closed the door, he finally allowed himself to smile. What was with that woman? How did she affect him like this? He turned the shower on and stripped off quickly this time, heaving a deep sigh of relief as the hot water ran over his skin.