Coldness seemed to consume him. It started off with physical coldness. His hands, his feet, they became cold. And then the coldness seemed to seep into him and spread throughout his body. The shooting pain in his chest eventually became nothing but a cold spot that blended in with the rest of his cold body.

He didn't know how much time had passed in that cold, black world, if you could even call it a world. Perhaps it was death that he felt. The cold, harsh reality of death. There were no sounds, no people. Just...cold darkness that surrounded him.

And then suddenly, there was a beep. It was soft, barely audible, almost as if it were coming through a tunnel. The beeping was slow, only heard every now and then. It eventually became louder, no longer sounding far away but instead like it was right next to him. The coldness began to subside as Alex could begin to feel his surroundings. The darkness was still there but the coldness was gone and the beeping continued steadily. Alex could feel the scratchy blanket that laid on top of him as well as the stiff pillow that cushioned his head. And there was something warm on his arm, something holding him down.

Using all of his strength, Alex managed to open his eyes to reveal his blurry surroundings. Across from him was a pale yellow wall, his blanket was white as well as the sheet beneath him, and his gown was light blue.

Why was he in the hospital? The last thing he remembered before the cold darkness was arriving at the supermarket.

To his right, Alex found the source of the warm thing that was holding his arm down. Norma Bates had her hand resting on his arm while her head was laying on his bed. It looked like a very uncomfortable position that she was laying in.

Alex opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he realized how dry his mouth and throat felt. He tried to swallow but it was more difficult than he thought it might be, resulting in a choked cough.

This noise woke up Norma who shot her head up and stood up from her chair. She quickly walked across the room to pour Alex a cup of water and hand it to him. He sipped it through his dry lips, wincing as his chest moved when he swallowed, tugging on the bandage that covered his wound.

"Thanks." he manages to whisper, his voice still sounding hoarse. She takes the water from him and smiles softly.

"Wha...What happened?" he asks, his eyes slipping shut.

"You were shot." she tells him. He opens his eyes with surprise. As she continues to talk, the events begin to come back to him.

"You're not gonna die. But you're also not gonna go anywhere for a while." Norma tells him. He stares at her and she stares back for a moment before shifting in her spot, obviously uncomfortable.

"I should go...check on my boys." she says, standing up.

"No, no, you can't leave." he tells her.

"What?" she asks.

"You could be in a lot of danger, you can't go." he tells her.

"Alex, I'm not in any danger." she says, taking a step toward the door.

He tries to sit up but stops, his hand flying to his chest where the pain seems to resonate from.

"Don't touch that." Norma says, walking back to his side and pushing his hand away. He looks at her with a mix of worry and protectiveness.

"Don't go. Alright? At least not until I am out of this bed and can drive you home." he tells her.

"You're worried about me?" she asks teasingly.

"Yes." he tells her seriously. Her smile slowly disappears as she realizes how serious he is.

"Okay. I won't go." she tells him. He nods and relaxes back into his pillow before looking back up at her.

"Can I look at it?" Alex asks.

"What?" she asks. He looks down at his chest and she realizes what he wants.

"Oh! Yeah. Sure." Norma says, reaching behind him to untie his gown. He closes his eyes to keep them from wandering down her v neck dress. Her perfume seemed to surround him, making him feel dizzy. She pulls away, gently pulling his gown down his chest, revealing a white bandage taped to his chest. There was dry blood all over his chest and stomach, though Alex didn't care. Norma, on the other hand, gasped at the sight. She walked to the counter and grabbed the container of water and a rag before walking back to him.

"What're you doing?" he asks, watching her soak the rag in the water.

"What does it look like?" she asks, putting the wet rag on his chest and wiping away the dry blood. He flinches at the sudden intrusion of space and tries to push her hand away, his efforts surprisingly weak.

"Leave that to the people who were trained to do this." he says as she wipes at him.

"They don't do a very good job at it." she tells him, dipping the towel back in the water, staining it a light pink. She goes back to him, wiping his chest completely clean before venturing lower to his abdomen. He flinches again, unknowingly flexing the muscles on his stomach. Norma hesitates, surprised at the six pack that was just shown to her before it went back into hiding.

"Quit flinching. I'm being gentle." she tells him, going back to scrubbing his skin.

"Between the dried blood and the sweat, this is pointless. You might as well take a full shower." she tells him as she dips the rag in the water again.

"You're not doing that." he tells her firmly. She gives him a look of exasperation.

"That's not what I was saying. I just mean that these nurses don't...they don't do their jobs well enough." she says.

"I think they have better things to do than give a forty year old man a sponge bath." he tells her.

"Don't talk like that." she tells him.

"Like what?" he asks.

"Like you're...I don't know you just made it seem like you were some old guy that people could care less about." she says with a shrug. He doesn't say anything and she notices his hesitation.

"You're not. I bet these nurses are fighting over which one of them gets to tend to your bedside." she says, the words slipping from her mouth before she realizes. He smiles, looking away with embarrassment.

"Thanks." he mumbles.

She smiles, pushing his gown even lower around his hips to get more blood. He grabs her hand when she almost pushes the gown too low.

"That's low enough" he tells her. She nods, her cheeks heating up as she stares at his happy trail as well as his inguinal crease. She bites her lip to stop herself from smiling as she continues with her efforts.

"This...never leaves this room." Alex tells her, watching her work.

"Huh?" Norma asks, looking up at him. She had been so lost in the lines of his body that his words got lost.

"Don't tell anyone that you...gave me a sponge bath. Got it?" he asks seriously.

"Yeah like I am going to tell everyone that I gave Sheriff Bulldog a sponge bath." she tells him sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She finished her work and stands up, glancing at his face which is coated in a sheet of sweat.

"I need a new rag for your face." she says, walking to the other side of the room to find a new rag and to dump out the container of pink tinted water.

"We are going to have to be more careful, Norma." he tells her.

"What do you mean?" she asks, refilling the water bowl.

"Someone is obviously after us because of our meeting with Bob." he tells her.

"I think you're thinking too much into this. It was probably coincidence that you were the one that was shot. I don't think Bob would try to kill us." she says, walking back to him with fresh water and a new rag.

"Now you're gonna tell me how things work around here?" he asks.

"I just don't think that you should assume that he's the one who tried to kill you." she tells him.

"You know, I could be dead. I-I did get shot at." he tells her.

"Well it looks like it went right through you." she says, giving him a cold look. He looks at her with a hurt expression. He didn't understand why she was being so cold towards him.

"Where's the flash drive?" he asks.

"Why?" she asks defensively.

"Because I need to know what I'm dealing with." he tells her.

"Why do you have to drag my flash drive into this?" she asks.

"You wanted me as an ally. I gave that to you. I respected you." he reminds her. She sighs, seeming to give up.

"Fine. Dylan hid it at the farm. It's taped under a grow light timer at the cabin. Some kid named Gunner knows how to open it." she tells him. He nods, making a mental note to stop by Dylan's farm when he is released.

"What kind of name is Gunner, anyway?" she asks, easing the tension as she goes back to her work of cleaning his face.

"A stupid one." he tells her.

She begins to wipe the sweat from his face and he closes his eyes, his hand grabbing hers to hold the rag to his forehead.

"Does that feel good?" she asks.

"Mm. Yeah. It's cold." he tells her, his eyes still closed. She smiles softly, watching him rest.

"I've never seen your face so relaxed. It's weird." she says, ruining the moment. Alex releases her hand and opens his eyes again. He grabs his gown, trying to pull it back up his chest with his one good arm.

"Here." Norma says, setting the rag down and pulling his gown back up. She goes to tie it but he stops her.

"It's fine. You can leave it." he tells her. She grabs the rag and goes back to wiping the sweat and dirt from his face. Once she finishes, she stands up and sets the bucket aside.

"I'm gonna run to the restroom. Do you need anything?" she asks.

"I'm okay. Just...be quick. Alright?" he asks. She smiles and nods before leaving his room. Alex relaxes against his pillow, his eyes slipping shut. He can feel himself begin to fall asleep when he hears a voice.

"How you doin, Sheriff?"

Alex opens his eyes to look at a large black man who he recognizes as Marcus Young, the man who is running for Sheriff against Alex. He sighs and swallows, his throat having gone dry during his moment of relaxation. Marcus grabs the pitcher of water and begins to pour a cup.

"What do you want?" Alex asks.

"Relax." he says, setting the water pitcher down.

"I'm not here to finish the job." he says, offering the water to Alex. Alex looks at the water before looking back at him.

"No." he tells Marcus firmly.

"What are you here for?" Alex asks. Marcus takes a sip of the water before answering.

"They were talking about you at the club. Bob's done with you, says you're no good to him anymore. They're going to kill you. Should've gotten the flash drive back from that woman." Marcus tells Alex with a smirk on his face.

"Thanks for the tip." Alex mumbles, keeping his face straight to hide the fear he has for Norma's safety.

"For my money, though, it's a waste them killing you." Marcus tells him, taking a step closer to his bed.

"I am gonna be the sheriff here, that's a done deal. But you know this place- the ins and outs. I could use a guy like you. I could keep you alive. I can handle Bob. He just needs to know you're working for me." Marcus says, sounding confident with himself.

It frustrated Alex to no end that men kept expecting him to work for them. Alex didn't need to work for anyone. In fact, these grimy men should be working for Alex.

"Yeah, i'll think about it." Alex says, his voice deadpan.

"Excuse me." a nurse says, walking in.

"Visiting hours are over." she informs him.

"I'm on my way out. Give me one minute." he tells her before turning back to Alex. He leans forward, putting his hand on Alex's pillow, making Alex pull away from him.

"I'll be back tomorrow for an answer." he whispers.

"Then we'll proceed one way...or the other." he tells him with a warning tone. He finally pulls away and leaves Alex's room.

Norma had stopped by the coffee stand on her way back to Alex's room to get Alex a bagel and a bottle of water. She felt confident with her purchase, excited to be able to do something good for Alex after everything he has endured because of her.

But once she gets back to Alex's room, she is surprised to see his bed empty, his sheets hanging halfway off the bed as if he had been in a rush to get out of bed. Norma sets her stuff on his bed before checking Alex's bathroom which is empty. She walks back into the hallway wth confusion.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Sheriff Romero went?" Norma asks. The nurse looks at her with confusion before walking past her into Alex's room.

"Huh. He was just in here with a visitor." she mumbles with confusion.

"With me?" Norma asks.

"No. A dark, tall man in a suit." she tells Norma. Norma's heart drops as she thinks of all the things that could've happened.

"I'll have to report him missing." the nurse says, walking back to the station to send out a missing patient code.

Meanwhile, Norma feels as if she is about to faint. She rushes back into his room to check the bathroom again when she notices something. His bloody shirt was folded neatly and laid on the counter but his pants and shoes were missing.

He left.