Author's Notes: Dylan receives shocking and unexpected information regarding Emma. An unwanted guest appears on the doorsteps of the Bates' residence. And, Emma is closer than ever to her happy ending, or is her mind simply playing tricks on her?

*I've lost a lot of motivation for this fiction and I've also got a nasty case of writer's block. I am nervous to post this chapter but readers deserve an update, so here it is! I value readers' opinions and take them seriously when I write. I still have ideas, but without feedback it's tough to continue.

*I'm adding the Day count to each chapter in order to keep track of how long Emma has been missing*

I hope you enjoy...

Chapter 10: There's No Place Like Home

Day 12

Dylan is startled awake from his restless slumber by the obnoxious sound of his ring tone. "Christ," he mumbles into his pillow with a loud groan. Gradually, he turns over from his stomach onto his back and stares at the ceiling. In deep thought, Dylan stays in this position for about fifteen minutes before he decides to finally begin his morning rituals. Unfortunately, missing hours of sleep and the reevaluation of his choice to move have become a part of his daily routine. Ignoring the missed call, Dylan forces himself out of his bed and reluctantly begins his day.

Since arriving in Costa Rica four days ago, Dylan hasn't slept more than a couple hours. How can he rest when the same three questions continue to haunt his thoughts over and over again? 'Has he done the wrong thing by moving away from Emma and his family? Was he too hasty in his decision to leave? Will he ever be able to move forward with his life without Emma?' He doesn't know how to turn his mind off or even relieve the knot in his stomach that has been plaguing him ever since he left the airport.

Right now Dylan is sluggishly getting ready for his third day of work. Maybe it was a mistake to start his new employment immediately after arriving to his new home versus giving him time to adjust to his new surroundings. He continuously tells himself this is the reason why he feels so unsettled, shaking off the idea of leaving his family and Emma being the true cause of his internal problems.

The loud noise of his phone ringing from his bedroom once again disturbs him. He chooses to ignore the call for a second time as an odd form of punishment for the persistent caller. The only people who have his new number are Caleb, Gunner and Remo. They can wait.

After getting ready for the day, Dylan walks back into his bedroom when he hears the annoying and familiar ringing for the third time. He rolls his eyes as he steps towards the nightstand and sees Gunner's name flash on the display.

He answers in exasperation after the fourth ring while walking in the direction of the living room, before slouching down on his couch in a more comfortable position. "What do you want Gunner?"

A timid female voice on the other end of the line surprises him. "Dylan?"

There is a long, awkward pause while Dylan tries to register in his mind the identity of the caller. In confusion, he pulls the phone away from his face and glances at the screen before returning it back to his right ear, only to hear soft whimpers on the other line.

"Norma?" He sighs in aggravation while pinching the bridge of his nose with his left thumb and index finger. "Put Gunner on the phone. NOW!"

After a minute filled with muffled voices, a shaky male voice comes on the line. "Hey."

"What the hell Gunner!? I'm gone for a few days and already you give Norma my number. What don't understand about keeping this a secret!? Obviously I can't trust you. I'm glad I never told you where I am, otherwise she would be standing at my front door right now."

Gunner squeezes his eyes shut as his friend shouts through the phone, loud enough for everyone standing near him to hear the angry response. He clears his throat and then responds with hesitation. "There's a good reason for -"

Dylan interrupts before another word can be spoken. "I don't care about the reason. Don't you understand? This is what she does. She manipulates people to get what she wants."

More undetectable and crackling noises come over the line for a few seconds before a new deeper voice becomes clearer. "Just listen. Something -"

Dylan stops listening and interferes with the other voice's urging comments by speaking at an increased volume. "Holy shit! Remo? You fell for her bullshit too."

"SHUT UP kid!" Remo yells into the phone with authority, causing the younger man to cease all of his mocking remarks instantly. The older man sighs and then continues to speak when he finally hears nothing coming from the other line. "Listen to me! Your girlfriend is missing."

An uncomfortable silence halts the conversation for a few minutes, before a voice breaks the uneasy calmness.

"Emma isn't my girlfriend anymore, Remo. She made that decision, not me. In fact, she made it quite clear she wants nothing to do with me. Besides, I would imagine with all of the Sheriff's connections, he'll be able to track her down. She's in Seattle with her father somewhere." Dylan then pauses and continues in a noticeably insecure tone. "It's obvious she doesn't want me in her life anymore, so I can't help you."

While Dylan was giving his rather victimized response, he didn't notice the muffled noises once again coming from the other end of the line. The Sheriff had now become the listener, waiting for the perfect time to interject with the vital information he's gathered. "We spoke to her father last night. Emma hasn't been with him this entire time. Actually, Mr. Decody assumed she has been with you." Romero softens his words and decreases his volume, knowing this is all difficult for the young man to hear. "I'm sorry son, but she is indeed missing."

Dylan sits up straight on the couch immediately with widened eyes. "What!?" He questions and then continues with a quiet stutter. "Wh-wha-what are you talking about?"

"She's missing and has been for days now. We believe she's being held against her will somewhere." Romero pauses for a moment, letting out a tiny cough to alieve his tightened throat. "We don't think Emma sent that message to you, Dylan."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second." Dylan's mind is traveling in circles while he tries to make sense of everything.

But, instead of giving his stepson time to think, Romero's attitude suddenly changes. He's growing impatient and exasperated with Dylan's apprehensive reaction to the news of his girlfriend's disappearance. "We don't have a second Massett! You need to come back here and help us find her right now!"

A discreet click is all Romero hears as a response.

XXXX

Dylan ends the tense call, immediately dropping the phone from his now lifeless right hand to the couch cushion next to him.

Everything is happening so fast, spinning out of control for him. All he needs is a moment to think, which he can't do with the Sheriff shouting in his ear.

In an attempt to stabilize his confusing thoughts, Dylan takes a deep breath and sinks back further into the couch. Lifting the palms of his hands to his face, he sighs loudly as he applies pressure to his eye sockets with the heel pads of his hands.

Dylan's ring tone continues to sound over and over again next to him, but he no longer hears any noise. He doesn't hear the knock on his front door, keys clinking against each other, the banging of heavy footsteps pacing against the tile floor, or even someone repeatedly calling out his name. He's too lost in his own mind to acknowledge any sound happening around him.

All of a sudden the feeling of a hand shaking his arm snaps him out of his trance, causing him to come back into reality with a noticeable flinch. Dylan limply drops his hands from his face to his sides with a thump against the cushions on either side of his slumped body.

Caleb sees the obvious distress in his son's current condition and automatically starts asking questions, a little frantically. "Are you alright? Your phone has been ringing non-stop. Didn't you hear it? What's going on? Shit, something happened. Wha-"

Dylan finally acknowledges his father's presence by looking up at him with red rimmed eyes, only muttering a few words under his breath. "I have to go home."

After hearing those uttered words, Caleb slowly steps backwards and gradually sits down in a nearby chair. Before knowing the reasons behind the statement, he jumps to the conclusion that he's failed as a father and his son no longer wants to be near him. He's hurt and the expression on his face must be apparent because Dylan attempts to reassure him this is about something other than his parenting skills. "I know what you're thinking, but it has nothing to do with you Caleb."

In relief, Caleb drops his head to look at the hands clasped tightly in his lap and forms a smile. However, his smile quickly disappears when he glances up at his son to notice the same continued sad expression. "Can you tell me why you've changed your mind?" He asks gently, careful not to upset the young man further.

"I'm not leaving for good, but I do need to go back for a little while." Dylan's voice weakens. "Emma is missing."

Caleb stares at his son in disbelief for a moment before he shoves his hands in his jacket to look for something, ultimately pulling a phone from his right pocket. "Aha!" He exclaims in victory and then starts to furiously tap on the display of his phone, causing Dylan to raise an eyebrow at the scene.

"Um, what are you doing?"

Without looking up from his screen, Caleb responds as if the answer should be obvious. "I'm buying tickets for a flight to Oregon."

Dylan scrunches his forehead and simultaneously moves his right hand to the back of neck for a moment to soothe an ache that has developed since ending the earlier phone call. "Tickets?"

There is a noiseless pause that stretches for what seems like hours, but in reality is only about 15 minutes. Dylan uses the soundless time to digest his thoughts while his father uses the quiet to concentrate on his task. "Done!" Caleb finally announces meeting his son's confused stare. "Yeah, I'm going with you."

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the offer, Dylan shifts slightly in the couch cushion he's perched on and drops his eyesight to his lap. "You don't have to do this, Caleb. This isn't your problem."

Forming a reassuring smile for the younger man, Caleb is quick to explain. "I know I don't have to, but you're my son and I want to be there for you."

Dylan attempts to return the smile, but instead his lips part slightly and his expression turns to concern. "What about Chick? He's still out there somewhere. It's too risky for you to go back."

"Let me worry about him."

Dylan sighs. "I just don't think this is a good idea Caleb. I appreciate the offer, but Chick isn't the only problem and you know that."

"Norma and I have settled things. We're fine now."

"I'm not talking about Norma. I'm talking about her husband. Have you forgotten that he's the Sheriff there? Romero could put you in jail the second he sees you. Remember, you still have an outstanding warrant. If he does a background check on you, you'll be shit out of luck."

Caleb simply shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I'll deal with that if it happens. I guess I'll just have to be extra nice to the good Sheriff then." The older man then claps his hands together and stands up from his seat abruptly. He tilts his head downward to meet his son's eyes again with a slight grin. "Anyway, the flight leaves in a few of hours so pack and I'll be back."

Caleb eagerly steps toward the front door, now becoming distracted with making a mental check list of the things he will need to complete before they leave. But, before he can reach the door, Dylan springs up from the couch to quickly follow him. "Hey Caleb, hold on a sec. There is something else we need to talk about."

Letting go of the doorknob, Caleb stops abruptly and turns to face his son. "Yeah?"

Glancing downward while transferring his weight between his feet in awkwardness, Dylan takes a deep breath and apprehensively informs Caleb of the painful subject. "I really don't want to bring this up, but I feel like I have to." He then tentatively looks his father in the eyes. "I can't acknowledge you as my dad there. To everyone you are my uncle. They can't know the truth Caleb for so many reasons."

Dylan sees disappointment gradually consume Caleb's expression, causing his heart to pinch in guilt for bringing all of this to his father's attention. "Yeah, I know," Caleb softly responds.

"But, I'll know the truth." Dylan says we a genuine smile while warmly patting the older man on his shoulder a few times.

XXXX

After over a six hour flight, Caleb and Dylan finally arrive in White Pine Bay. Jet-leg hits them hard as they sluggishly step up the long stairwell leading to the Bates' house. With a struggling breath, Dylan reaches the front door followed closely by an exhausted Caleb. Dylan hesitantly lifts his knuckles to the wood, knocking repeatedly while glancing back to see his father's apprehensive expression.

The younger man never called his mother back after the tense phone call he received earlier in the day, instead he simply sent a message to Gunner telling him when and where to pick up the pair. Because of this Dylan is unsure of how his mother and the Sheriff will react to his homecoming, but all worry is forgotten when the front door whips open and the feeling of arms tightly wrap around him.

Norma buries her face into her eldest son's stiff shoulder as she sniffles. "I'm so happy to see you here," she whimpers.

"Umm. Yeah of course," he responds shakily as he struggles to loosen her grip around him so he can breathe.

Romero shakes his head fondly with a tiny smile threatening to break his usual stoic demeanor. "Alright Norma. Let the boy breathe." The Sheriff then reaches forward with his left arm to grab her waist in order to gently pull her away and move her body close to him. Gripping her snugger in his hold, Romeo notices another familiar face standing behind his stepson. A face he is not happy to see.

The couple moves to the side in order to let Dylan step through the doorway, leaving Caleb alone outside.

Norma's red eyes widen in surprise to see her brother standing in front of her. "Oh, hi. I didn't even see you there."

Caleb's pulse starts to race and his palms begin to feel damp when he sees his sister's obviously nervous expression and the angry scowl plastered on the Sheriff's face. He's made a mistake by coming here. Maybe all is not forgiven and forgotten like he thought it was?

Romero steps forward in a protective motion and mildly pushes his wife backwards to move her further inside the house. "Norma, why don't you go in and get Dylan settled. I need to speak to your brother for a moment." She timidly nods in agreement and follows her husband's request, securing the front door behind her.

As soon as the Sheriff hears the door close he aggressively strides toward the jumpy man in front of him, close enough to shove his index finger forcefully against his chest. "You are not welcome here!"

Caleb tries to take a careful step backward to increase the space between him and the furious man, but Romero encloses the distance. "I will not have a rapist stay in this house. And yes, I know exactly what happened because Norma told me everything."

Caleb doesn't know what to do so he stands still and keeps his mouth clamped shut, deep down he knows he deserves Romero's rage. It's not worth the fight even though his instinct is to rebel against the Sheriff's attitude.

Seeing his intimidation tactics have apparently worked, the Sheriff drops his hand and takes a step backward. "You are his father aren't you?" He asks quietly, narrowing his eyes. "Fuck, I knew it as soon as you were standing next to him." Caleb simply nods his head in response.

Romero continues to establish his dominance during the heated exchange. "This is what is going to happen… You are going to make an excuse and insist you stay somewhere else. I really don't care where." He clears the tightness in his throat by letting out a short cough. "I know about your warrant Caleb. I'm warning you right now, if you step out of line in any way, you'll be taken to jail. I'm only looking the other way because you are Dylan's father and he's got enough problems to deal with."

Caleb drops his stare briefly and then agrees with another nod.

XXXX

After the explosive confrontation with the Sheriff, Caleb advises his son he will be staying elsewhere. Even though Dylan pleads for him to stay, he adheres to the Sheriff's command and makes arrangements to stay at the cabin while residing in White Pine Bay.

As he and his son wait outside for Gunner to pick him up, plans are made to start the search for Emma first thing in the morning.

Once Gunner arrives to pick up his father, Dylan rushes back up the outside stairs and catches up on all of the details of Emma's mysterious disappearance from Romero and his mother.

Dylan stares blankly at the two concerned faces in front of him. Unconsciously, he taps his fingertips on the kitchen table surface as a form of stress relief while absorbing all of the information the Sheriff is saying regarding Emma's disappearance. With every word he hears, a strong feeling of guilt grows and twists harshly at the knot formed deep in his stomach. He should have never left Emma behind. "You said earlier you don't believe she sent that message to me. Do you honestly believe that is true or was that just a way to get me back here?" Dylan asks with squinted eyes and hope in his heart. Somehow it would comfort him to hear the text does not convey Emma's true feelings.

The Sheriff shakes his head once and then clarifies his action. "We don't believe she sent you that text, Dylan. In fact, we don't think any of the messages sent to her father were directly from her either. This whole thing just doesn't add up."

With a small sigh of relief, Dylan nods and slightly stammers his response with a tiny grin. "Okay."

Dylan's hands stop trembling for a moment and a comfortable hush fills the air. But, this peace is soon broken with the sound of Norma's softened tone regarding a different subject… Norman.

"Honey, I was hoping you could do me a favor?" Norma asks while reaching her hand to cover Dylan's gently.

Dylan responds with a roll of his eyes, sensing this is the real reason his mother wants him home. "Let me guess. This has something to do with my little brother. You want me to babysit him again." He huffs dramatically and runs his hand roughly through his hair out frustration. "Alright Norma, where is he?"

A wide grin appears on his mother's face, grateful she'll have a helping hand with her youngest child. "Norman is downstairs, like he always is these days." She sighs, leaning back in her chair. "He spends all of his time down there now, it's just not healthy. I don't know how to put this - he's weird."

Dylan and Romero can't hide the smirks they exchange from across the table. This is not news to either of them.

Biting his bottom lip to hold back a chuckle regarding his mother's description of his little brother, Dylan scoots backward causing a loud screech noise to sound as his chair scrapes across the floor. He then hoists himself from his seat and walks toward the doorway, turning around briefly to say one last thing before leaving the room. "I'll go down there and talk to him. But just so you know mom, Norman has always been weird." He jokes while making eye contact with the Sheriff who can't seem to keep a straight face no matter how hard he tries, earning a dirty look and a sharp jab to his side from his wife.

XXXX

Emma is numb.

Ever since Dylan left a few days ago, Emma can feel her soul slowly slip away and her spirit gradually diminish. The previous goal of breaking free from her concrete cage has been forgotten.

Some things have remained the same though, regardless of her current state of mind. For instance, Emma's nightly dinner is consistently flushed away, eliminating any chance for the extra ingredient Norman includes to contaminate her bloodstream. Maybe subconsciously she's holding onto a glimmer of hope that she'll once again be free. However, it is more likely she continues this activity in order to stay aware of her surroundings. Observing the many different behaviors of her troubled friend frightens her more than anything; therefore, slipping out of consciousness is not an option for her.

Emma may have lost her internal fighting spirit, but she refuses to lose all of her senses.

In recent days, instead of putting all of her efforts into escaping she has been passing the time resting, daydreaming and trying to keep up with Norman's spontaneous personality swaps. Every once in a while she catches herself stealing a glimpse of the unsecured window covering and imagining being anywhere else but there, especially when a random beam of light sneaks through the cracks.

After several days of holding onto the belief Dylan would somehow save her from this mess, Emma has now accepted her role as a helpless prisoner and nothing short of a miracle will change her current mindset. But, today is different than all the other days she's suffered through.

Today is the day a miracle happens…

A familiar noise suddenly breaks the stillness of the echoing room causing Emma to pull her concentration from the book in her hands to the direction of the door. As the heavy door creeps open, Emma's jaw slips ajar and her eyes widen animatedly as a well-known body cautiously moves toward her. Tears start to pool in the corner of her eyes, with a couple escaping down her now blushed cheeks while "The Great Gatsby" paperback drops from her unsteady fingertips to the ground with a thump.

Only one whispery sound can leave her lips in her state of shock.

"Dylan?"

Author's Notes: So, what do you think? Is Dylan really there, or is this a figment of Emma's imagination? Also, I know this chapter was not my best. I apologize. Thank you for reading!