Norma was checking her email through her phone when she received a text message. It was from Natalie.

Hi Norma. Alex will be driving to your office to drop off the check. Talk to you soon!

Norma texted her a thanks in reply and placed her phone down on her desk. She basically had everything in order with the vendors and venue. She just needed to get the money from The Romeros in order to start fulfilling the process. A few hours had passed by before Aaron knocked on her office door telling her she had a visitor. Norma walked out of her office to see the Sheriff himself standing there. She walked up to him smiling.

"Hi Alex. Thanks for driving down."

"Yeah... It's no problem."

"Come to my office."

Norma lead Alex into her office. Before closing the door, she caught Aaron raising his eyebrows playfully at her. She shook her head at him and closed the door. She walked around her desk and sat down. Alex took a seat right in front of her desk.

"Here you are." Alex handed her the check he had in his hand the entire time. Norma took it from him and looked at it.

"Thanks Alex. Now we can finally get a move in on things."

Alex nodded his head and looked around Norma's office. Norma watched him. She found Alex to be cryptic. They didn't speak that much before. She kind of wished he would give her more opinions so she could make his wedding more enjoyable for him. However, she could just tell he wasn't really that interested in the whole marriage ceremony. She could tell he would rather just take it to a court house.

"How's Natalie?"

Alex finally looked back at Norma, her blue eyes stared directly at him. "She's good."

"Well, do you have anything you need to do today? If not, I'd like to introduce you to a few people who will be a part of your wedding. You know, the DJ, the staff that will be helping at the reception, the photographer, and whoever else is available."

"Uh... Sure, yeah. Okay." He agreed, not really sure why he did. He knew he had to go into work later today and if he hung around Norma, he'd be going in late.

Norma smiled and got up from her seat. She grabbed her purse that was underneath her desk and walked out of her office with Alex in tow.

"Aaron we'll be back later."

"Okay Mrs. Bates." Aaron smirked at her.

"We'll take my car." Norma announced. Alex followed her to her Range Rover and got in once she did. They made their way out of the parking lot and pulled out onto the road. Alex felt a little uncomfortable being in her car with her, alone, without Natalie. Natalie did most of the talking when it came to Norma. Alex didn't know if he should make conversation or just ride in silence. He decided he would let her make that decision. If she wanted to talk, she would have to initiate it.

"So how long have you been a Sheriff?"

Alex glanced at her for a moment before answering. He was surprised she was asking questions about him personally and not about him and his fiancé together.

"About 3 years."

"Have you lived in White Pine Bay your whole life?" Norma asked while keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yeah. I went to the marines after I graduated high school. I came back once I was done with that. Marines helped me get into this criminal justice program. Then I worked as a deputy and got elected Sheriff."

Norma nodded her head. "How do you like that?"

"Being a Sheriff? It has it's pros and cons to be honest."

"Yeah I can imagine."

"What about you? I know you said this career just fell into your lap."

Norma smiled at his remembrance. She didn't know if he even listened to anything she said ever since she met him. "Yes. I'm glad it did. I couldn't imagine doing anything else."

"So... how long were you married before divorcing?"

Norma raised a brow at his question. "I was married for 8 years."

"Wow. So do you have kids?"

"No. We didn't have any."

Alex nodded and decided not to pry anymore. He noticed a shift in her body language. She became more tense. They finally arrived at their destination. Norma introduced Alex to the people who would be providing the food and beverages for his wedding. They gave him samples of some food to see what he would like. Afterwards, they drove to meet the DJ and the photographer. They meetings went well and Norma and Alex were driving back to Norma's office. It was almost 4 pm by the time they got back. Norma parked next to Alex's SUV.

"So what do you think Alex?"

Alex looked at Norma. Those eyes. He thought they were so beautiful. He had never seen anyone with eyes like that. He was amazed by them.

"I think everything is good. You're pretty good at what you do."

"I know. But thank you." Norma smiled, making Alex grin a little too. Norma stood there still smiling at him and brushed her hair behind her ear, as if she was becoming shy all of a sudden. Alex found it... cute. Yeah. She was cute. Shit, he thought, once again scolding himself for his admiration of this woman.

"I guess I should get to work now." Alex pulled out his phone from his pocket to see if he had a missed call from Natalie. He was surprised when he didn't. Not even a text. Must still be mad, he thought. Norma watched him walk over to his SUV and drive away. She called Aaron as she was making her own way home.

"Evening Norma." Aaron greeted as he answered her call.

"Hey, were you able to rearrange that list I asked you about?"

"Sure did. So the Sheriff, pretty cute."

Norma shrugged as if Aaron could see her. "Your point?"

"And he is sooooo stoic. I see what you mean now. He seems kind of bad ass though."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm. It's getting late. What are you plans tonight?"

"I think I'm just gonna' go home."

"REALLY? Norma you should come to the bar with me so we can find you a date. You need to find a cute guy to release all that tension."

Norma rolled her eyes. "On a Monday? I'll have to pass on that. I will talk to you tomorrow. Enjoy your night Aaron."

They both hung up and Norma finally arrived home. She showered and changed into one of her thin nighties and put on her long blue robe over it. She went into her living room and started cooking baked chicken and green beans for herself. She could get lonely sometimes. After her divorce with Sam, she never dated anyone long enough for it to be considered serious. No one had genuinely sparked her interest. She didn't have any kids neither, so that was also an unfortunate thing. She would love to have kids some day. She was 30. Maybe she could still have a chance at that. She just wanted to meet the right person first. After eating her dinner, she watched an old movie and fell asleep on her couch eventually.


"Afternoon Sheriff."

Alex looked up to see Zack Shelby sticking his head in his doorway.

"What do you need Zack?"

"Need your signature on this over time form."

Alex took the paper from Zack and signed his name quickly and practically threw it back at Zack.

"Thanks... You alright?" the deputy wondered.

Alex sighed and turned around in his chair. "I'm just stressed. I'm trying to get the DEA off my ass, trying to plan this wedding. Nat's pregnant. I'm just-"

"Wait what?"

"What?"

"Natalie's pregnant?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, told me the other night." Alex watched as Zack's eyes widened. He squinted at his reaction. Zack cleared his throat and quickly got himself together.

"Uhhh. Congrats man. That's great."

"Yeah..." Alex ignored the reaction Zack had for the time being.

"Well... Guess I'll get out of your hair. Good luck with everything." Zack exited Alex's office. For the rest of the day, he finished up on some paperwork. It was going pretty slow at the office that day. Alex could have left early, but he honestly didn't know if he wanted to be around Natalie. They hadn't been speaking that much every since she told him that she was pregnant. Alex guessed she was still extremely upset about the way he reacted. He could understand though. No woman would want their soon to be husband to be upset about them being pregnant. Alex was just really stunned. Natalie was never one to forget things. How could she forget to take her pills?

He stayed at the station until his shift ended and went home. Her car wasn't outside, so Alex assumed she was at her friend's house. He took the time to enjoy being alone in his house. After 10 pm hit, Alex went ahead and called his fiancé. She hadn't called him all day, which was odd.

The phone rung 3 times before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Where are you?"

"At Kate's. Why?"

"Why? Because I haven't heard from you all day so I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It's 10."

"Oh... Well I'll be home soon."

"Okay." Natalie hung up before Alex could say anything else. He thought it was weird that she would be at Kate's house this late, since Kate had kids and a husband. She never stayed over that long. He waited until Natalie got home, which was around 11:30. She walked into the front door and Alex was sitting in his chair. She turned on the light to see him looking at her. She jumped in fear.

"Alex! Are you crazy!? Don't do that." Natalie stared at him and eventually walked to the bedroom. Alex followed behind her, closing the door once they both were in the room.

"Where have you been?"

"I already told you." She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Nat, I really don't care that you've been gone, I just don't like when you lie."

"You think I'm lying? Why would I lie!?"

"I don't know why you're lying. I'm a Sheriff. I can read you. And you are lying."

Natalie scoffed and went into their adjoining bathroom and slammed the door shut. Alex paced the room. She was pissing him off. She'd been pissing him off everyday for the past few months. They fought every single day. It was driving Alex crazy. He opened his bedroom door and went into the guest bedroom of his house. He decided he would sleep there tonight.


A week later

Norma was just coming back from lunch with Aaron. They stopped by this deli around the corner from the office. Aaron told her she had another couple interested in her and they talked more about it. That's when Norma realized she hadn't spoken to Alex or Natalie in about a week. She decided she needed to check up on them to see how things where going, and if they were still okay with the pace of things for their wedding. She contemplated for a bit who to call. She decided to dial Alex.

"Romero."

"Hey. It's Norma Bates."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't look at my phone. I just kinda' answered it."

"It's fine. How are things going? Has Natalie finally found a dress?"

"I don't know actually."

"Oh?" Norma thought that was odd. "Well I was planning on coming down there for a few days to start putting things in order. Great news actually, since everything has been going surprisingly smooth, you and Natalie can get married sooner than I thought. Maybe in the next 3 weeks or so. That is if she finds a dress." Norma was smiling on the other line, waiting for Alex's reply.

"That's great," he said. Norma's smile fell. She could sense his tone. He didn't seem nearly as excited, but what was she even expecting? This man didn't seem excited about anything in his life and she just met him. A part of her wanted to know what was going on with him. Why was he acting this way? She wished to know more about this stoic Sheriff from this small town if she was being honest with herself.

"Yeah... Well, I'll be sure to pass that message onto Natalie. I just wanted you to know as well. I can meet up with you two tomorrow morning, and we can do like a rehearsal for your ceremony and reception. If you're available of course."

"Well, I work, and Natalie has errands to run in the morning..." Alex was silent for a bit before he spoke again. "But I can just go into work later and meet up with you. We'll have to push rehearsals back another day though when Nat can come." Alex surprised himself with his answer. Usually, when Natalie asked him to take off work to do something, he always emphasized how he was the Sheriff and couldn't just take off whenever. He could actually, he just didn't want to.

"That's perfectly fine. I'll see you tomorrow then Alex." They hung up and Norma sat her phone back down on her desk. She was excited for tomorrow.


Tomorrow finally came and Alex was up and early to meet up with Norma. Natalie had already left before Alex woke up. He didn't pay any mind to it. He drove to the venue Norma planned to have their wedding at. She was already there when he pulled up and was talking to a woman and a man. Alex got out of his SUV and walked up to them. Norma had her back turned towards him, and he couldn't help but eye her. She had on white loose blouse tucked into a navy blue fitted skirt that ended right above her knees. Her shape was nice. Get yourself together, he said to himself.

"Hey." Alex said. Norma turned around and smiled at him.

"Hello Alex. This is Sandra and David. They'll be here to help coordinate your reception."

Alex shook their hands and turned his attention back to Norma.

"I know you said Natalie couldn't make it, but I still want you to get a feel of how the reception will go." Norma walked Alex to the altar that he was supposed to be getting married. It still had yet to be decorated. He felt... strange. He would standing at that altar waiting for Natalie to walk down the aisle. Natalie.

"So, I need to know who's gonna' be your ring bearer, your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and all that good stuff. They'll have to practice too."

"Um... I don't know, I know Nat has bridesmaids but I'm not exactly sure who. I don't know who the ring bearer will be either. I don't think I'll have any groomsmen." Alex felt his face turning red with embarrassment. Why did he even come to meet Norma? He barely had any idea of what was going on or who was supposed to be involved in his wedding. He had to look away from her.

"That's okay. We have time to figure that out. At least you know who the bride will be." Norma joked. Alex chuckled, still trying to recover from the embarrassment he felt.

"Well, let me at least show you where you'll be standing," Norma suggested. She grabbed onto Alex's arm and moved him to the end of the altar. She told David to stand a few feet behind Alex and told Sandra to stand facing the left side of Alex as if she was the priest that would be marrying him. Norma then grabbed a hold of his hands and stood directly in front of him. Alex's breathing quickened.

"So, this is how you'll be set up. If you do have groomsmen, they will behind you, but it's alright if you don't. Natalie's bridesmaids will be behind her, so they'll be facing you. Natalie will walk down this aisle and come up to you and hold your hands. The priest will speak a few words, if you and Nat have vows you want to say, you'll do that too. Then, you'll say I do. Kiss. And you'll be married." She let his hands go and Alex immediately missed the warmth. Shit.

"Okay." Alex nodded, not knowing what else to say. Norma smiled at him and gestured for them to walk into the building that will host the reception. She told him again how everything would be set up.

"Any questions?" She said once they were outside in the parking lot again.

"No. I'll make sure to tell Nat everything."

"Good, good. Have you rented or bought your suit yet?"

"No. Haven't made the time to."

"Well, do you have time now? I can take you to the place that I recommend to a lot of my clients who aren't sure what kind of tux they want. We can go right now if you'd like."

Alex nodded his head. He told Norma he would follow her in his own SUV. He still was feeling awkward around her, like a teenager. She complied and they made their way to a shop that tailored and sold suits and tuxedos. The store was something fancy, and Alex began to wonder why she even took him to this one. It's not like he needed to spend so much of his savings on a suit that he was probably never going to wear again.

"This is... nice." Alex said as they were looking around the store.

"Yes. They do rentals here too. It's actually a pretty decent price." Norma made sure to tell him.

Norma looked around the store and found a tux that she thought would suit Alex well. She asked the store associate if they could try it on and the associate opened up a fitting room for Alex. He went into the room and tried on the suit.

"Mind if I see it?" he heard Norma calling out from behind the curtain. Alex opened the curtain and walked out and stepped on the platform that had mirrors surrounding it. Norma looked at him in awe. She studied him, and Alex definitely noticed. She walked up to him with a bow tie in her hand and put it on him. Alex stared into her face the whole time. He had never been this close to her. Close enough to smell her perfume. Her eyes. He could look into those things all day. They were enthralling. This all felt... crazy. Why was he openly admiring another woman? His wedding planner for God's sake. Alex might as well dig his own grave. He was a goner. He couldn't even hide it anymore.

"Looks good on you." Norma finally looked up to see Alex looking right at her. She felt like his eyes locked her in a trance. She didn't know what was happening. She involuntarily bit the corner of her lip at his gaze. Alex stepped down from the platform and stood in front of her. That's when Norma finally broke out of her hypnotized state. "Uhh. Well what do you think? Do you like it? Do you think Natalie would like it?"

Alex groaned silently at the mention of Natalie's name. Alex knew he was making a big mistake marrying her. But he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She was pregnant. With his baby. He couldn't just leave her. Not now. He felt like his life was spiraling out of control. A part of him wanted to just kick Natalie to the curb, but what kind of man would he be? And what for? For Norma? She probably didn't even feel anyway towards him. She was always professional. She probably wouldn't even look twice his way. Why would she even bother?

"This one will do. Thank you Norma."

"You're most welcome," she smiled at him again and he instantly relaxed.

"Well, I guess I should go to work now." Alex said. Norma nodded in agreement. Alex walked back into the fitting room to change back into his regular clothing. Soon, he and Norma was walking out the door. Norma realized he didn't buy the suit, but she said nothing about it. Maybe he would come back on his own. Or maybe he would find another place to his own liking. Alex walked Norma back to her car.

"I'll be calling you and Nat soon to see if we can set up a date to rehearse."

"Sure." Alex responded.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Norma got into her SUV and drove off. Alex got into his own SUV and went the opposite direction, his mind was all over the place as he went to the station.