Hey... um, yeah, it's us.. *very guilty look*

We know we failed you, guys, with the weekly updates and we are sorry. It's just some things going on and we don't have that much time anymore. We can't promise weekly update from now on but we don't want to give up on this story either. So if it's ok with you, and it's something you would still read no matter the time of the updates, then we will willingly continue this. We love you and we are very sorry for the long wait of this one.

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IWC


She could feel how tense he was, his knuckles were almost white when she looked how hard he was steering the wheel. But he also looked tired, like he had every struggle possible on his shoulders. And not only his own issues, but hers too. And she felt guilty because of that. After tonight, he looked almost ten years older. The stress was clearly all over his face. And of course she was scared and nervous too, but she hated that she was the reason why Alex's life got interrupted as well. That was not her intention, but she didn't trust anyone else in this town. Probably not even in this world, as much as she trusted Alex.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking at him with careful eyes.

"West Coast." his answer short and clear, eyes focused on the road but the mind clearly preoccupied with other things.

"That's gonna take a while." she stated the obvious. If she didn't have so little energy, she would've probably make a big deal out of how far away that was. But she had no energy at all right now, and decided not to argue with him.

"Yes. But it's safe." he said seriously after a little pause. "You should probably get some sleep" he looked at her, nodding that it was okay.

"I'm not that tired really." she replied widening her eyes a bit. But soon her small yawn gave her away, finally making him smile. Stubborn as ever. He could tell by the dark bags under her eyes that she needed her sleep. So he turned down the music a bit, and changed to a much more calmer radio station. He fixed the heating, turning it up so the car filled with hot air, clicking the switch to put on the seat heather on her chair. And after only eight minutes she was out for the evening.

He was supposed to meet up for a car trade in Portland, and after that they only had around 2 hours left to seaside, which wasn't too bad. But it was one hell of a drive to do on your own. He wanted her to get her rest, as this situation was probably not only emotionally but also physically draining her. And to be honest, it was getting to him too. That constant fear of losing someone you care about terrified him since he had experienced that before, with his mother. And Norma was probably the only woman he had ever cared so much about besides his mom, and he still couldn't it explain it. At least not in words yet.

As an hour passed by, Alex decided he needed some coffee. If he was going to be driving all by himself he needed something strong to keep himself up and focused on the road. And he needed gas either way, so he pulled into a gas station on the driveway, not really giving up any time since it was on the way. He went in to get his coffee, some water and apple juice for her, in case she was thirsty when she wakes up. He filled up the car with gas and then they were back on the road again, continuing their way to safety.

After a few hours they arrived in Portland, Alex driving through the town to the place they arranged to meet for a car trade. Norma hadn't even stirred in her sleep, snuggled in the passenger's seat, hands wrapped around herself and head tilted to the side, resting against the window. He watched her for a moment, her slightly opened mouth and calm breathing making him feel guilty for having to intrude her peaceful sleep.

"Norma," he whispered to her gently, looking as her eyelashes fluttered a bit, "Norma, wake up."

He drove in a parking garage, only a few cars left there which wasn't unusual considering the hour. His cop's eye immediately recognised the car that was send by the station, black range rover parked at the very corner, even though it was an unmarked one, exactly as he asked for. He parked next to the car, as the two men dressed in casual clothes stepped out of it, one leaning at the hood and looking around, other waiting at the opened passenger's side door.

"Norma you need to wake up." he caressed her arm gently and soothing, since she made no signs of waking up anytime soon.

"No, I don't wanna." she muttered still half in her sleep, now frown appearing on her face that was so angel calm just a second ago.

He chuckled at her, not really expecting that answer.

"Well, you have to. We are doing a car switch now." he explained, watching as she suddenly jumped, looking around with wide eyes.

"A car switch?!" she exclaimed, fully awake now. "You mean we are changing cars? Now? What for?" she asked one question after the other.

"Yes and yes. And for the safety reasons, to make sure my police SUV won't be followed as we head to seaside. I'm gonna get our bags from the trunk, you get into this black rover." he said and stepped out of the car.

Norma looked at her surroundings, in the rear view mirror seeing as Alex nodded at the two men, opening the trunk to take their bags out. She sighed, checking herself in the mirror to touch up her messy sleep hair a bit, and stepped out of the car.

"You okay?" he asked with concern in his voice, closing the trunk as she gave him a small nod.

"Miss, please, follow me." one man said, leading Norma to where the passenger's door was opened, waiting till she got in. "And I need your phone, miss."

"What?"

"I need your phone. It's a standard procedure. We are providing you with a new one, here." the man explained, handing in a box to Norma. "It has a card and everything inside. Now I need to take your phone."

"Ok, ok." she hissed, pulling out her phone from the pocket and handing it to him.

"Thank you, miss." he said, closing the car's door.

Norma looked around in the car, nervously brushing her hand against the cold black leather seat, watching Alex grab a few stuff from the SUV, exchange a few words with the men, one of them handing something in. Alex then shook their hands, finally getting into the driver's side.

"Ok, it's done, we can go." he stated, turning on the engine and driving out of the garage back into the night.

"Well, that was fast." she said, putting on a seatbelt, "Who were those guys?"

"That's how it supposed to happen, time is very important in this act." he explained, turning back into the main road, "And these were guys sent from the station of Portland." he sounded so professional.

"What did he give you?" she frowned.

"New phone. You got yours changed too?"

"Yeah, I did." she paused for a moment, looking through the window. "I've always seen those kind of things on action movies, never thought I would participate in something like that." she let out a weak sigh, snuggling back into the seat, tugging at her sweater sleeves to bury her palms in it as the air in the car was chilly and she was still sleepy.

He didn't say anything, it was his hand that found his way to hers that was resting at her thighs. His eyes still on the road, he brushed his fingers against her soft palm, intertwining their fingers and squeezing it gently. And like that, this one simple gesture was enough for her to know that everything is gonna be alright because he is here.

They sat like that for a moment, her other palm on top of their holding hands, till he had to put his hand back on the wheel while making a turn. She missed his touch immediately, warmed up hands starting to cool off again, so she leaned at the panel to turn the heating up more.

"I got you apple juice if you want." he said, one hand reaching into to take the drink, handing it to her.

"Oh, thank you." she smiled, pleased that he noted what her favorite drink was. Well, he was a cop. Observant.

She was drinking the juice, the drink waking her up a bit more, now suddenly making her feel bored.

"How much is it left?" she asked, sipping through the straw as a little kid.

"About an hour or so."

Norma let out a sigh, looking through the window at the passing street lights. She then leaned up again, narrowing her eyes at the buttons in front of her. Turning and twisting a few, she finally found what she was looking for, a radio. A sound of some old rock'n'roll song filled the car, instantly raising Norma's mood, making her hum along.

After the hour had passed, music making it all way faster, they finally arrived at the seaside. The sky was still fully dark, but way clearer than back in White Pine Bay. Norma rolled down the window, breathing in the fresh warm air, filled with salty notes.

"We're finally here." Alex announced, as they passed the town's sign, welcoming them to Gearhart, announcing the population of 1,400.

"It's a small town." she noticed, looking through the window. "And pretty distant."

"Yes, that's what makes it a safe place for us to stay." he explained, seeing her shift a bit as he brought back the real reason they were here in the first place. "Me and my family used to go here for holidays when I was a kid." he tried to change the subject, "We used to stay here for about a week, at this specific motel. I haven't been here for years now, I hope it's still there and working."

A black range rover pulled up in the full parking lot in front of the motel. Not only was it still in business but also renovated, way bigger than Alex had remembered. It was now a four storey white building, the sign announcing about free wi-fi, room service and even a small restaurant in the motel.

They made their way to the office, finding a young woman at the reception desk. The business must be really going great if they have people working night shifts, Alex thought.

"Good evening, welcome to the Marina motel." the girl smiled at both of them. "How can I help you?" she asked them politely.

"Evening. Well, I see it's a pretty busy season for you, do you have any rooms available?" he asked, not quite hoping as they barely found a place to park. But also, he didn't know any other motels around here, besides this one.

"Let me check." the woman said, typing in something in the computer. "We have two singles, one fourth floor and one in the first."

Alex looked at Norma that was standing to his side, a worried look on her face.

"Do you…" she started hesitantly, "maybe you have any doubles?"

The girl looked back at the computer screen, "No, sorry, ma'am. Only singles left." she gave Norma an apologetic shrug.

Alex saw a slight sign of panic crossing her eyes, as her breathing quickened.

"Norma, are you alright?" he asked in concern, seeing as she was almost hyperventilating now.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just…."

"Do you wanna get some fresh air? Come on." he took her arm lightly, leading her outside.

They stood outside the motel, Alex hand rubbing her back in slow circular motion, "Norma, I need you to breath. Easy, just like that. Breath in, breath out." he whispered, trying to calm her down.

After a few minutes of standing outside her steady breathing was back, panic in her eyes now replaced with tears threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, it's just-" her voice broke, left hand wiping away the tear that fell down her cheek, "I thought about staying alone in that room and I- I just got so scarred. I'm sorry, that's so stupid." he chuckled in weak voice, "I'm acting like some three year old child, that's stupid, I'm sorry."

"It's not stupid, Norma. You had a panic attack and it's normal considering what is happening." he said looking at her, "You're incredibly strong but you're allowed to be scared. It's human. And all this shit you're dealing with, it would break anyone else in half."

She looked at him, her eyes still watery but now a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"It's gonna be ok, you'll get through this. And I will help you." his thumb came to her face to wipe away the trace of tears on her cheek. "Now let's go sort this room thing out."


They climber the stairs to the fourth floor, Alex carrying their bags as Norma was walking in front with the key for room 47, looking around to find the right doors.

The woman at the reception was very helpful, checking the system again to see if maybe someone was leaving soon, seeing that some couple will be leaving tomorrow, so she would reserve it and inform them as soon as they leave. As for tonight, she offered a folding bed in one of the single rooms. He of course agreed, he even thought of sleeping on the ground if that meant Norma feeling safe, he didn't care much for his comfort.

As Norma finally found the door they were looking for, struggling with the lock for a second and finally walking in, hand looking for a light switch.

"Oh, it's cozy in here!" she said in a surprised voice, looking around the light colored room. Every piece of furniture was from pine wood, single bed covered in blue sheets just in front of the huge window with flowy milk-colored curtains. A huge painting of sea above the bed, sand colored carpets and ship in bottle on a nightstand giving the room marinistic vibe, "Well, now I know why this place is called Marina motel?" she chuckled, examining the tiny ship under the glass. She was always wondering how do people make these.

"Yeah, my mother loved this place. Loved the sea, saying it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think." Alex said, placing their bags on the small table and locking the door behind them. "She always dreamed of redecorating our house into similar style, pine wood and light flowy curtains. But my father said that it was impractical and would look cheap."

"Well I don't think this style looks cheap at all." Norma said with confident. She liked the style to be completely honest. Always wished to go see the beach as a child, like all the other kids at school who were spending their holidays near the sea with their families.

She put down the decoration, walking to her bag to unpack as the knock on the door made her jump.

"They probably brought my folding bed." Alex said, looking at Norma's scared eyes, "It's fine."

He was right, he found the folding bed with additional sheets left behind the door. Even though it was a single room, there was enough space to place his bed near the wall, between door to the bathroom and TV table.

"Are you hungry?" Norma asked out of nowhere, while going through the stuff in her bag.

"Are you?" he returned the question, "There is this gas station here that works 24/7, it's not far from here, I can go see if I there's something I can get there to..." and he stopped in the middle of the sentence, staring at Norma who was now holding a big tupperware with a huge smile on her face.

"What's that?" he asked, frowning a bit, not quite understanding what was in it.

"Our turkey pot pie?" one eyebrow raised.

"You brought the food we made?" he laughed at her. She looked adorable.

"Of course. I wasn't gonna waste all that food, I'm not crazy" she huffed like the idea was total madness.

"I don't think we have plates in here or..."

"I brought two forks though?" she shrugged, other hand waving two silver forks in the air.

"Clever." he chuckled.

They sat on the bed, sharing the big tupperware, eating and laughing together. It felt like they have done this a million times before, such a domestic cosiness making both of them forget all the stress for a moment, until she broke it.

"Why you got called to the station?" she asked, looking at him.

"What?"

"You never told me why you got called to the station then."

Alex sat there, not saying anything for a moment, her eyes inspecting his unreadable expression. He didn't how much he should say. What he should say to not cause another panic attack.

"Station got a report about another woman assaulted. She gave a description and recognized Cohen from the mugshots of his previous arrests, so I was called in." he explained, looking at his hands. He wasn't lying. He just wasn't telling the whole details, but there was no need for that. All that mattered now was that she was here, with him, and she was safe.

"Is that woman ok?" she asked after a pause, tone a mixture of worry and shock. He saw in her face how the news still hit her, so he was even more sure it was the right decision not going into details.

"Yes. Yes, she is ok. Still after a shock but safe now. He attacked her but she got away in time and called the police." he saw Norma relax a bit now that she knew the woman wasn't hurt, "Talking about this, I'm just gonna make a few calls to the station. I'll be quick." he said, getting up from the bed where they had been eating together, still chewing.

"Okay, big shot." she grinned a little, getting another bite.

He went into the bathroom to get some privacy, not wanting her to overhear the conversation. It didn't take long, the number was already in the contacts of the new phone, reaching out directly to the deputy that he left in charge in White Pine Bay. And as soon as he finished the conversation he stepped outside, to join her once again on the bed.

"What did they say?" she asked impatiently with food in her mouth.

"Nothing special. They are still on the patrol, got some more witnesses who claimed they had seen the man, a few of them were brought to the station to make a statement." he said casually, not trying to make a big deal out of it right now.

"Where are they patrolling exactly?" she asked him, stopping her eating.

"Everywhere around White Pine Bay. They will start the search in the towns nearby when the sun is up." he informed her curious self.

They continued eating in silence. Norma didn't ask more questions, because to be honest, she didn't wanna know too much. She was done worrying for the day and she trusted Alex with all of her heart. She was sure he had everything under control.

As they eventually finished up all the food they had, both agreed it was time for bed. Norma could tell from his face that Alex was pretty tired, dark shadows under his eyes and heavy eyelids giving away his need for a good rest. She was actually pretty tired herself, even though she had good 10 hours sleep the night before. Fear was exhausting.

"Alex, I really think you should take the bed. I slept in the car and you really need a good rest." Norma said after walking out of the bathroom, putting her clothes she had worn today in her bag. He was already sitting on the folding bed, not even having a discussion with her about who's gonna sleep where.

"No, this is fine Norma" Alex said. He didn't really care where he slept as long as it was in the same room as her, knowing she is ok. And the extra bed wasn't that bad as you would expect, mattress thin but wider than the standard single bed, reminding him of those times in marines when they used to sleep on the similar ones.

"But Alex, you've been awake for so long and look at that mattress, your back's gonna-"

"Norma. I'm fine here, really. Take the bed." he was not gonna take the bed and let her sleep here, not even getting into further discussion.

"Ok. Fine." Norma snapped back, giving in and jumping into the bed. She got comfortable under the soft covers, looking into the dark ceiling.

She could hear him making the small bed that was right next to hers, the metal springs of the mattress making a funny squeaky noise as he got under the covers. A few minutes passed and Norma decided to break the silence.

"Alex?" she asked quietly, just in case he had already fallen asleep.

"Hmm?" he hummed in the dark, eyes still closed.

"Are you in danger?" she whispered, with a worried tone in her voice.

Alex sighed, opening his eyes again.

"We are both safe here, Norma." he said carefully. "We just have to lay low for a while until they catch this guy. You don't need to worry about it, okay?" he reassured her in a calming tone.

This fear had been too much lately, breaking her walls down that she had built up for herself and her family. As a protection, as a cover up to let bad things stay on the other side of that wall. And someone was trying to tear her walls down with such a force that it made her question herself and her strength. Norma was not unfamiliar with rough battles. She didn't think they had made her stronger in anyway, she just consider strength to be something that you're not aware of that you have. Something that is hidden deep inside. But this case made her question it, all over again. How much can a person take? What if she was not strong enough, just wrapping herself in all those illusions?

"Okay." she whispered in a quiet and weak voice, bottom lip trembling. "I just… why me?" she spoke again after a minute, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "I just don't get it, Alex. Why me, of all the women in that damn town, why it had to be me?" She used to ask herself the same question often. Why her? Why it was her who had this childhood, why it was her who was born in that family, why it was her who always ended up in abusive relationships, why it was her whose son was sick, why why why. She knew, from the very young age, when other girls were thinking about clothes boys, she knew that it will always be harder for her. That maybe she was born under some unlucky star, she had no other explanation for why she could never get to the top. To live at peace without having to fight in blood for her and her son's lives.

"I don't know Norma... " he tailed off, brushing a hand over his tired face. He had an idea why.

"I mean, he could have picked anyone he wanted. Anyone. Why it had to be me?" voice a mixture of anger and desperation.

"Norma. This guy is a nutjob. I wouldn't think too much about it." he said and shuffled around under the covers.

It got quiet again and he worried he might have said something wrong.

"You are beautiful, Norma. You're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. That's why." he said afters a few minutes in silence, his low whisper echoing in the dark room. Part of him expected that maybe she hadn't heard it, maybe she was already asleep and he didn't make a fool of himself. Alex closed his eyes shut, exhaling deeply in relief. Yes, she was sleeping.

Suddenly, a sound reached his ears. He could her her feet make contact with the cold wooden floor, then light steps toward his side. His breathing stopped as he felt her pull the cover up by its side carefully, the folding bed shifting a bit at the weight of her sneaking in. She placed herself on his side, lying like that for a second, not moving. He didn't move either, eyes closed, listening her breathing next to him. Norma then moved closer, snuggling her face at the crook of his neck, placing a small kiss there. She wrapped her hands around his upper arm, letting out a long breath and closing her eyes. Yes, she was safe here.