Disclaimer; Most of this chapter is taken from the show. I make no money from this story and do it for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any of the characters involved in this chapter and do not own the story line taking place. They belong to A&E. Any additional dialogue is made up entirely from my own imagination. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!

ALSO; Instead of Caleb seeing Norma after she gets home, I'm changing it to she came to Romero's house after Caleb saw her.

Alex got out of his truck and walked to his front door. As he approached the porch he noticed someone had broken the window on his front door, more than likely to let themselves in. His guard immediately went up and he pulled out his gun, cautiously approaching the door. His first thought was Bob Paris; actually it was his only thought. The Sheriff slowly opened the door to step inside, continuing to point his gun as he took in the condition of the house. By the objects out of place it looked like someone had been looking for the flash dr-. His heart stopped at the sound of rustling from further inside and he knew the person was still there. Swiftly, Romero moves towards the room but stopped when he saw the blonde woman before him. "You've got to be kidding me."

Norma turned around from the desk she was rummaging through with a picture frame in her hand, looking at him as if she was disgusted with his very existence. "My son isn't going to prison because some rich, perverted, asshole killed two woman. He doesn't deserve to be dragged into this." She put the frame back on the desk and started walking towards him, "And put your damn gun down. Like you're going to shoot me?'" she scoffed as she passed him, "That'll be the day."

"I hate you." He responded cruelly as he lowered his weapon.

She stilled, "Yeah, I hate you too. So what?" Norma turned her back to him and began looking through items on the cough

Her tone cut him like a shard of glass, how was this so meaningless to her? Did she truly feel nothing for him? He watched in disbelief as she searched through more of his belongings until she finally grew too frustrated to carry on.

"Where is it?" She refused to face him, knowing it would only add to the hurt from his betrayal. She didn't want to look at him if she didn't have to. "Where is this stupid piece of computer gear that's ruining my life?"

"I turned it over to the D.A." he wasted no time in responding as he shoved his gun into it's holster.

She whipped around, her voice lowered, "You did what?" More betrayal. Why would he do this to her? Her mind went racing so fast she didn't even hear his response. "How could you do this to me? Bob Paris will investigate my husband's death just to get back at me." Her breathing quickened, "I'm screwed!" Her voice rose with her anger, "I'm totally screwed! How could you do this to me?!" That was it, she was done with him. How could he throw her under the bus like this after everything? Norma began to storm out, but she didn't make it passed him.

Alex had had enough, he was completely fed up with this woman and her selfish behavior. She cared of no one but herself and her disturbed son. He gripped her forearm and yanked her back, ignoring her small whimper as he pinned her to the wall. His anger was getting the better on him and he knew it, but once he had her, an abundance of emotions started coursing through him, one of which was lust. There was something bothering him more than her breaking into his home and going through his belongings. "Why did you lie to me?" He asked gruffly. His breathing was heavy, matching hers.

Her eyes locked with his as she continued on with the charade that had been going on for years, "I didn't lie to you!"

Before she could completely finish he went off, "Oh come on! You know your husband didn't die in an accident!" His grip tightened on her arms as he lightly shook her, raising his voice over her protests. "You know it and I know it!" She finally fell silent, but the look on her face told him he wasn't getting through to her like he had hoped to do. "So tell me the truth. For once in your life just tell me the truth, Norma."

The woman stayed quiet, the only sound in the room was their breathing. For a fleeting moment she considered telling him, giving it all up. However, the right words would't come out. "I did it, I killed him."

Another lie, he knew she had nothing to do with it and his patience was wearing thin, "Oh come on!" He was yelling now. All he wanted was the truth from her. Not from anyone else, just her. "The truth!"

"He was abusive! He was hitting me and I hit him in the head with a blender! I didn't mean to kill him, but I did!" Norma spit out on the fly. It was half truth, why couldn't that be enough for him? Norman had been trying to save her, now she had to protect him. "I dragged his body into the garage and made it look like an accident!" She saw the hurt in his eyes and it killed her to do this to him, but she had to. Every person that knew about Norman had used it against them.

"JUST STOP LYING TO ME!" He screamed and pressed her further into the wall, losing all control.

She did, she had to stop. Tears poured down her cheeks as she began to sob, Norma didn't want to do this anymore. She and Alex were supposed to be friends, they were supposed to be there for each other. For a time they were, and it was great. Now this is what it had come down to and it was because of her lies. "You know the truth, don't make me say it." The crying woman barley managed to get that out. Alex's grip loosened, and suddenly Norma realized what she had just done; what her feelings for him had made her do. Something inside her snapped, she had just given up her son to this man because of her feelings for him. Naturally, she punched him.

Alex could see the change in her in her eyes, he had seen it before and he knew what he was in for. He stepped back as she continued to hit him, but allowed her to get out what had been bottled up inside for so long. Eventually it wasn't just anger for the situation at hand that fueled Norma's punches, it was her anger for everyone that had hurt her in her life. "I hate you! I hate you!" She screeched, and that is when he knew enough was enough. He grabbed her hands and restrained her against the wall as she struggled against him. Her arms were held above her head and she finally gave in, too tired to fight. Alex looked at her, almost in horror at how this had turned out. She looked so broken, and all he wanted to do was fix this, help her. He let go of her wrists and cupped her face, leaning his forehead against hers.

Norma continued to cry, but momentarily leaned in to him. Part of her wanted this more than anything. He was a great comfort for her, she had felt so safe being this close to him. It was too good to be true, she told herself. She had the worst luck in men, and he had just handed over the flash drive she needed. "Don't touch me." It was an unconvincing whimper, but it's what she had to say. If she said it enough, she could convince herself she didn't actually want this. Alex stayed close, but dropped his hands. His face was just centimeters away from her and it made everything so hard. "Don't you touch me." She said, far more convincing this time. She removed herself from the space she had been fenced into and started to walk towards the door.

"Norma, please." He said as he leaned against the wall, tuning to face her. She stopped and he let out a breath, "I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

She turned around, "You protected yourself." she stated harshly. "Without that flash drive I'm done! Bob Paris is going to burry me in that hole outside my motel."

"No, he's not. Nothing is going to happen to you now." His voice was stern, "I didn't protect you then, but I will now." He meant it, even if he had to put a bullet through Paris himself.

"I'm done talking about this, Alex!" Norma turned back towards the door and was on the porch when Alex went after her and grabbed her hand. She turned back and was about to rip herself from his grasp when the look in his eyes stopped her.

"I will protect you." He pulled her closer, caressing her cheek with his free hand.

Norma stayed close, the genuine look in his eyes won her over and if anything, just this once she would allow herself to enjoy this moment with him. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

Shock hit Alex first, she hadn't responded to him like this yet and he was starting to think it would never happen. He brought both his hands up to cup her face as he respond, deepening the kiss.

Their hearts raced as they continued to press their bodies against each other, but it was he who finally broke the kiss. They stood breathlessly, looking at each other intently as if to see what the next move was. "I should get home." Norma whispered. He was about to protest when she interrupted him, "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He didn't want her to go, but he didn't want to push her either. With a simple nod he let her leave, watching her from the porch until she had driven away.

As Norma drove down the road her mind raced with what had happened in the last few hours. She pulled over when she remembered her conversation about Norman that Caleb had started. Fear filled her, Norman was getting worse and it was terrifying. It would soon be impossible to keep this "in the family" as people would put it. There had to be a place he could go for help, especially if what Caleb and Dylan had said are true; Norman thought he was her during blackouts.

The whole idea of it sent chills down her spine, but this time with Romero had made her forget about what was wrong. When they kissed it felt like everything wrong in her life was gone, it was just them. It was a dangerous feeling and she had to be careful. She couldn't forget get her priorities jostled around.

Thank you for reading, please review and let me know if I have any typos and where they are so I can fix them. Constructive criticism is welcome, I haven't written a fanfiction in a while and I'm a bit rusty.