10.

~ "Come on, baby." Alex prompted with a smile. "You need to eat something."

He had the fire at a comfortable blaze now and had started toasting bread for them. Norma had already had a little too much wine while they were playing a game of Truth for Truth and she'd very rapidly gotten drunk.

So far, the holiday had been surprisingly pleasant. A heavy snowfall had come and knocked power out in the middle of the night. Alex had gotten up in the morning when he felt their bedroom, as well as the whole house, was eerily quite and somber. Everything was ice cold and he had to make the trip to the basement to manually reset the new heater to run without power. Luckily, he'd made the purchase himself and bought a gas heater. Her knew how temperamental any electrical appliance would be once the bad weather set in.

Next, he went to check on Marsh, stranded down at the motel with all this snow. During the night, the storm had blown down power lines, but a crew was already at work getting things back to normal in town. Or so he was told when he radioed in.

Such a thing was normal in White Pine Bay. Luckily, the motel had propane heaters and Marsh wouldn't freeze to death.

"How inconvenient." Marsh had proclaimed when he saw the ice on the roads and the deep snow bank. "Miss Rebecca Hamilton and I were going to meet for drinks later."

The statement has shocked Alex but he shook it off quickly.
"Well, maybe the ice will clear up." he said. He didn't ask why he was meeting Rebecca. Didn't want to show that he cared in anyway. He kept his poker face stoic as ever and climbed carefully back to the large house that was now ice cold.

It was easy enough to start a fire in the living room. The fireplace was in good working order and he was used to it making fires. He would have the living room be cozy and habitable much sooner than the rest of the house. It's large rooms with their high ceilings would take forever to heat.

"Merry Christmas." Norma whispered when he finally had a good fire going.

"Merry Christmas." he said back to her. "Come in here. It's warmer."

"Is the heater broken again?" she asked in an almost desperate panic to get to the fire.

"No." he assured her. "I just had to reset it."

"This house is freezing, Alex!" she complained and he was a little amused at the layers of clothing she'd put on. She was wearing her blue bathrobe, an outdoor coat, a scarf and her winter boots.

He was never that cold, but then again, Norma had come from Arizona. The heat and cold air were different there. Here, the cold stayed with you.

"Stay close to the fire." he ordered. "I'll make the coffee."

"How?" she barked. "We don't have power."

~ "Boy Scouts?" she mused feeling very entrained while watching him boil water in a graniteware kettle he'd found in her kitchen.

"Made it all the way to Eagle." he said as if it were nothing. "Trick is not to put the kettle over the fire." he carefully checked to see if the water was boiling. "You want it to nest on the coals here. Just like that. Otherwise the fire will boil it too fast."

"Wow." Norma grinned watching him pour hot steaming water over a filter with grounds, and into a regular coffee pot. "Very impressive, Sheriff."

"We used to go camping all the time when I was little. Had to learn to cook over an open fire." he said handing her a cup. "Let that cool a little." he warned.

"We used to go camping to." she said and quickly closed her mouth. She'd said too much. Her family didn't really go camping. Not like Alex had. Her parents and brother Caleb had lived in a van because they had no where to go.

"It always looks a lot more fun then it is." Alex said dryly and Norma nodded. On that experience, they could agree on.

"Do you want to open your presents, Sheriff?" she asked setting down her cup which was doing an excellent job of warming her hands.

Alex looked embarrassed.

"Now?" he asked.

"Come on." she pleaded. She desperately wanted him to see his gifts. It had been so hard not to have him open it early.

Alex still looked uncomfortable and nodded.
"Okay."

She happily scampered over to the tree and collected the packages she'd bought for him.

"Thought we were just doing one gift." he criticized when he saw the matching wrapping paper.

"That was before." she said.

"Before what?" he asked.
"Before I changed my mind." she said. "Open this one first."

She handed him the flat rectangle box and he opened it with a slowness she almost lost her mind over. Norman and Dylan were so good at ripping open presents. Alex didn't look happy or excited about presents either. More like he was in pain.

"Dress shirt?" he asked. Looking at the plain white dress shirt she'd carefully picked out for him.

Norma nodded.

"It goes with these." she said handing him the other boxes from the same store. Alex took his time about opening the boxes containing a new suit and a MUCH better tie.

"So, I guess you didn't like my suit and tie from the wedding." he said looking over the nice jacket and dark silver tie that would be more sophisticated on him.

"I think you look very nice in a suit, Sheriff." she said honestly. "You're a married man now and you need to be in a NICE suit. What will people think if you're in that old suit with that awful tie and patterned shirt? They'll think your wife doesn't care."

She carefully laid out the shirt, tie and jacket together over him and appraised how well it would look.

"Very nice." she said admiringly. "It's going to go well with this."

She handed him a small box she'd been keeping in the pocket of her robe for a few days now.

"What's this?" he asked. His expression clearly hurt she was buying his clothes now.

Norma shrugged innocently. He was going to have to get used to her buying his clothes for him. All husbands had to accept their wives knew better then them on subjects of fashion.

Alex looked skeptical at the small wooden box but opened it as Norma smoothed and folded his new suit. Carefully putting it back in the box.

"Norma." he said at seeing the shinny new wedding band she'd picked out for him.

It wasn't anything special. Simple silver with Norma & Alex engraved inside.

She held up the dark silver tie she'd gotten him.
"Matches the tie, Sheriff." she said playfully. "That's the only reason why I got it."

She watched him carefully put on the new wedding band on his left ring finger. The bright new object flashing hopefully in the light of the fire.

"It's a good look for you." she commented happily and made sure his new suit was neatly tucked away.

She'd already made an appointment for him to have a proper fitting next week. She wouldn't give it for the town to gossip that her husband was a bad dresser.

"Thank you, Mrs. Sheriff." he grinned happily and ran a nervous hand over the strange object over his finger. He looked slightly embarrassed that she'd gone to so much trouble for him.

"You're welcome." she smiled.

"Your present… I didn't do as much." he warned.

"You mean besides my trees and my security system, my heater, my ring, my flowers-" she started to name all the little gifts she'd received from him.

Alex nodded and pulled something free from his jacket pocket.

"I… Emma, picked this out. She has better taste than I do. She… knows what you like. It was why she came here with Dylan the other day." he confessed giving her the battered present that was wrapped in purple foil wrapping paper that clearly wasn't done by a man.

"Sneaky." she accused with a smile.

Norma wasn't used to getting presents herself. Norman always gave her presents like cleaning the house for her or cooking breakfast in bed. Things a son would do. She hadn't had a real present in a long time.

The package came from a jewelry shop in Portland and Norma unwrapped it to reveal a set of vintage art deco earrings and matching necklace. They were the kind of thing from the roaring twenties with a bright blue stone set like a pendulum at the base.

From the weight and slight wear, Norma could tell they were authentic. Sapphire and diamonds neatly and elegantly fitted together in a way that wasn't done anymore.

"Emma suggested that you might like a more classic look." Alex offered. "I told her I wanted something to match your eyes."

Norma realized the set was from a very upscale antique and jewelry shop in Portland and Emma had carefully picked out a fashionable and expensive piece for her.

"Alex, this is too much." she insisted. Her voice trembling slightly at the idea she was holding something more than just costume jewelry.

"I think it'll look nice on you. Emma has good taste."

"It's too expensive." she insisted.

"My wife can pick out my suits, I can pick out her jewelry." Alex told her stubbornly.

Norma didn't argue as he easily plucked the necklace from it's secure nest and draped it around her neck. Its sheer heaviness felt amazing on her. Like she was wearing rare jewels instead of a simple antique necklace. She quickly put the earrings on and let her husband admire them.

"Well?" she laughed nervously. The weight of the earrings were also something to get used to. She'd never lose them. Not with how they felt on.

"They match your eyes." he nodded appreciatively.

Norma grinned happily.

"Well, Sheriff Boy Scout, are you going to cook us breakfast over an open fire or what?" she asked.

~ With the power still out, it had been a little easier to open a bottle of wine Alex had received as an office Christmas present and take turns playing Truth for Truth for the next hour. The snow storm had kicked up again, but things were cozy and pleasant in their little world in front of the fire.

Alex had even brought blankets from the bedroom and Norman's room and they had settled comfortably.

"So, tell me the truth!" Norma said. Her voice growing louder the drunker she got. "What did you think of me, when you first saw me?"

"Saw you?" Alex challenged.

"Yes, me!" she cried. "That night at the motel. What did you think of me?!"

"Honestly?" he laughed.

"Yes!"

"I thought you were way too young to be Norman's mother. I'd guessed you must have had him as a teenager or something." he confessed.

"Really?!" Norma said. A smile lighting up her face that was already warm from drinking and the fire.

"Yeah. I was a little disappointed when you said you had a son though." Alex confessed.
"Why?"

"A son means a husband." he said. "When you said you had a son, I thought the kid was like ten or something, and your ex-navy seal husband was helping you clean the motel."

"I wish."

"Hey!"

"You know what I mean." she said lazily and grinned.

"What did you think when you first saw me?" he asked.

"I thought, Oh shit, the cops!" she snorted a laugh. "Hope they don't find the body we hid in the bathtub."

"The bathtub?" Alex asked wide eyes. "Keith Summers was there when… shit, Norma! Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"Don't tell me this whole marriage and falling in love thing was just an elaborate plot to get me to confess to killing Keith Summers." she grinned.

"Baby, I wished I had killed him for you." he said and handed her the wine bottle.

She took a less than graceful swing before answering.

"I wish you had to." she sighed and nodded. "I've thought about it a lot."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked taking back the bottle from her.

"Yeah, I bet you would look so sexy killing him." she said. "Who's turn is it?"

"I think it's yours again."

"Oh." she said and thought about what to ask.

"Why did you really marry me, Sheriff?" she asked. "And don't say to help Norman because we both know that's not why.

Alex was silent for just a moment. He took a small sip of wine before handing the bottle back to her.

"Because you asked me to." he said easily.

Norma was quite as she took her sip and handed the bottle back to him.

"Why did you ask me to marry you?" he challenged. "Don't say insurance. That's too easy an answer."

Norma huffed a laugh.

"You haven't said 'no' to me yet, Sheriff." she grinned.

Alex was about to take a sip when he felt her comment sting. Luckily he was numb to the world, so it didn't bother him.
"I need to start, Mrs. Romero." he said with an amused smile.

"Was it just for sex?" she asked. Her speech slightly slurred.

"Was what just for sex?"

"Why you married me?" she asked. "Was it just for sex?"

"No." he said quickly and refused to elaborate.

The bottle was back to him now but he'd grown tired of drinking. He thought about a question for her for a while.

"Do you think…" he said slowly. "Do you think we're going to make it?"

He looked back at her to see she was highly inebriated. Her vision unfocused and a little too ready to smile.
"God, I hope so." she said loudly but with a certain amount a pessimism that was just her personality. "I like having you around."

He knew she was being wholly honest with him just now. That she'd reached that stage of drunkenness where she couldn't lie.

"Your turn." he prompted. His own tolerance for alcohol was much stronger.

"Hmm?"

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Oh yeah! Why the hell didn't you stay with me that first night?"

"What first night?"

"After we got married. We went to dinner. We had champagne, and… you put me to bed and left me alone. What the hell, Alex? Thought you liked me. You're always grabbing my ass." she said with a bluntness that made him smile.

"Because, you'd had too much to drink, Mrs. Romero." he said gently and helped her to lay back down on the blankets.

"Everything's dizzy." she complained loudly.

"You had too much to drink and I didn't want to take advantage of you." he went on. He put a pillow under her head and smiled at the cranky face she made. "Because I love you." he admitted.

"Oh, I love you to, Alex." she whispered softly. "But don't tell anyone." Her eyes were fluttering shut and she was falling asleep.

"We need to get you something to eat." he laughed. "Some bread or something."

"I'm so glad you came over for dinner." she sighed with her eyes closed. "Everyone was there and it was so nice."

"Oh yeah?"

"I wish you had stayed the night." she mused half asleep.
"I wish you had invited me." he whispered before coving her up and going into the kitchen to get some bread to toast on the fire.

~ Norma woke up enough to eat a little and drink some water.

"No more drinking games." she said sleepily. "You're better at it than me."

"You should have heard what you were saying when you were out of it." Alex told her handing her another piece of toast which she ate greedily.

Norma looked horrified.
"What did I say?"

"How sexy you thought I was. How much you wanted me to come over when I was staying at the motel."

"I told you that?!" Norma panicked.

"No, but now I know that's what you really wanted."

"Alex, don't trick me!" she whined.

She looked lovely with no make up and her hair messed from her slight nap.

"Thank you for taking care of me." she sighed.

"You'r welcome."

"This was a nice Christmas." she decided. Her voice sad. "Even if Norman and Dylan aren't here."