A/N: Only two more chapters, guys. I can't believe this story is coming to an end; it makes me sad...

The usual disclaimer applies.

There is no one else here that early. He can't see the opposite bank of the lake. It's foggy, the landscape dreamily surreal due to wafts of mist. Spring will arrive soon, but for now it's ice cold, especially in the morning.

Alex has been coming to the lake regularly ever since he was a child. It was his refuge when his parents were fighting, and later on, when his mother committed suicide. Nature is unimpressed by the aberrations of the human mind, by our struggles and flaws. Nature simply exists.

He will miss this place. There is not much he will miss regarding White Pine Bay even though he has been living here more or less all his life, but he will miss this. The quiet. The solace.

This is goodbye.

Six weeks ago

Alex has been thinking about change since he drove Norma to Pineview for the first time. Witnessing her breakdown after she had seen Norman triggered the need to do something about it, more than just a temporary fix, more than just comforting her. Save that it is impossible to do that while they keep living here. The demons of their past clutch and claw at them wherever they go.

He can't walk through town or do his job without meeting people that are connected to his parents, without being in places that bring back bad memories, Bob Paris' demise merely being the most recent one. Alex has no idea how Norma is able to cope with her bad memories, basically having to relive them day in and day out, since they are related to their direct surroundings, to the house and the motel. Keith Summers raped Norma in their kitchen, Zack Shelby died on the steps that lead up to the house, Annika Johnson in front of the motel in Norma's arms. He could go on and on; misery and death have left their mark all over the place.

Bottom line: Nothing should stop them from leaving, but here they are, still in the same place that has tainted their lives and continues to do so. He didn't expect their marriage to work, to last. Now that it does, though, he wants to live the best version of it possible. Leaving White Pine Bay to start over somewhere else, something that felt like an unwanted, forced adjustment when he was threatened some weeks ago, has turned into an opportunity, a shot at another life. She deserves better. But how tell her? It would be a decisive turning point, and no matter how much he loves her, Alex can't assess Norma. Would she be relieved or fight him? He wants to do the right thing, keeps waiting for the right moment albeit he is aware there is no such thing. So he is waiting for a sign. This is about their future and too important to screw it up before it even has begun.

When Alex comes home after work, he finds Dylan in the kitchen. Dylan has been living with them since he was released from the hospital. At first it was necessary because Dylan was in no condition to take care of himself and then he simply stayed. It's funny how comfortable their life together is. No fights, no sneaking around as it was with Norman.

"Hey," Dylan greets him.

The name thing. That's the only thing that's somewhat awkward. Dylan never addresses him by name, probably because he can't get used to calling him Alex. Moreover Dylan also avoids to address his mother by name lately, Alex has noticed. He used to call her Norma, but the recent events seem to have triggered an alteration Dylan is not ready to handle as yet. Somehow they are all living something in between these days.

"Hey, Dylan. Where's Norma?" It's a reflex and always his concern whenever Alex comes home and doesn't meet her first. He has to know she is okay, will never forget how it felt when he believed he had lost her for good. Maybe this need will ebb away some day, but for now it's there, every day anew.

"Doing my laundry. You know how she is." Dylan shrugs self-consciously. "I told her I'm grown up and can do my laundry myself, but she just won't allow it."

"Yeah." Alex nods. "Tell me about it."

"Actually, I've been waiting for you," Dylan says, a hint of nervousness becoming noticeable, "I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"I will move back to Seattle. I talked to my boss, my former boss. Maybe you know that I just had started a new job when…," Dylan's voice trails off, the horrible events of that fateful night a subject that is not openly discussed in this house, only in the course of the investigation. "I thought I wouldn't want to go back, but now I think I should. I mean, I appreciate everything you have done for me, but I can't live here forever with the two of you." He takes a deep breath. "Anyhow, I'm not sure how my mother will react to the idea."

Alex doesn't think of Dylan as his step-son. He is formally, but to him Dylan is more like a buddy that helps him split wood or fix the car. So much has changed. Dylan and he started out as opponents on different sides of the law, as blurry as the law always has been in White Pine Bay. Now they are on the same side.

"She will miss you; that's for sure," Alex says. "As to the rest… It's not going to be easy for her; so thank you for giving me a heads up, but I think you're doing the right thing and I'm not saying that because I don't want you here anymore."

"Thanks." Dylan seems to be relieved. "I just wanted you to know before I tell her."

"Tell me what?" Norma's voice catches them off-guard. She is standing behind Alex in the doorframe. "Tell me what?" she repeats, her intonation leaving no doubt that she insists on knowing what is going on.

"I'm moving back to Seattle," Dylan lets her in on what they were talking about. He might as well get it over with.

Norma stares at him. "Oh..." Rejection and disappointment are written all over her face.

"I really appreciate what you two have done for me," Dylan repeats what he already told Alex, "but I need to have my own life again."

Norma straightens herself. "Yes, sure," she agrees albeit she obviously doesn't. "I just thought with Norman not here anymore that you… I thought... Nevermind! Have fun leaving me. Again," she can't hold back the snark eventually, turning around all of a sudden and hurrying upstairs before Dylan is able to come up with a response.

He wants to follow her, but Alex retains him. "Give her a moment."

Norma is in his room, folding his clothes. When Dylan walks in, she is just tenderly smoothing down one of his shirts, startling when she becomes aware of his presence. She puts his shirt away, opening and closing the drawers of his dresser with way more force than necessary. Once she is finished, she faces him, an uncomfortable silence setting in.

"When?" she asks, keeping her distance a couple of steps away from him.

"Soon. I have not set a date, but I talked to my former boss and he wants to give me a job. Not my old job, he had to give it to someone else, but another job."

"Where will you live?" As soon as forensics were done, they terminated the lease of the apartment Emma and Dylan had shared. Dylan was still in frail health at that time, barely made it to Emma's funeral and only kept some personal things in memory of her whereas Emma's father took the rest of her belongings.

"I'll find a new apartment."

She looks at the floor. "It's just… Last time you moved to Seattle, I almost lost you."

Dylan approaches her, touching her arm hesitantly, uncertain whether she will reject his touch or not. "Mom..." The moment she hears that word, Norma practically throws herself in his arms, holding him so tight that he has trouble breathing, but he doesn't mind. It feels good. "I won't leave you," Dylan promises. "I will always be there for you. And you have Romero. You're not alone."

He feels her nod against his neck. Then she sniffles and leans back to look at him. "What about Norman?"

"What about him?"

"Will you be there for him, too?"

"Mom..."

"Will you ever visit him?"

"He killed my girlfriend and tried to kill me."

Norma creases her face into a pained expression. "He is sick and doesn't remember." She knows what happened from Dylan; Norman's memory of that night has never fully returned, only fragments. Norman wanted to go back to White Pine Bay. Emma and Dylan disagreed. They had a fight that got out of control. Because Norman had stopped taking his pills, his illness had progressed and turned into a delirious paranoia that forced him to remove every obstacle that seemingly tried to separate him from his mother even though these obstacles were his brother and his best friend.

"That doesn't change what happened. I'm not sure this is something that can be forgiven."

"You don't have to forgive him to visit him."

So this is how she does it, swallowing whatever resentment she might feel so that she is able to go and see him every couple of weeks because that's what she believes a mother has to do and because she for sure still loves Norman despite everything.

"He's your brother."

As if he needed the reminder. His younger brother that he always had meant to save from his mother, from himself finally turned against all of them. It's painful enough as it is. Why does she have to keep pushing him? Because that's who she is, he reminds himself. Some things will never change, no matter how close they are these days.

"Don't push me, Norma," Dylan states, the use of her name the threshold of their constantly tottering closeness. One moment she is mom, the next she is Norma. A lifetime of struggle between them cannot be erased within some weeks and Norman always has been the wedge between them, between her and anyone really.

He catches the flicker of hurt in her eyes when he calls her by her first name. "Okay," she gives in, "but promise me that you will try."

Isn't that what he has been doing all his life? Trying? To survive. To earn the love of a mother he has been attempting to hate for much too long and to no avail. To be a better man.

"Yes," Dylan agrees although he is not certain this is true when it comes to Norman.

"Thank you." She enfolds him in her arms again. Her embrace is not as tight and desperate as it was minutes ago, but it still feels good; it always does.

Later, while they are getting ready for bed, Alex watches Norma. She is so strong, the most resilient person he has ever met, but the news about Dylan weigh heavily on her, apparent in every move she makes. As difficult as the situation is for her, maybe this is the sign he has been waiting for. With Norman in Pineview and Dylan moving out soon, there is nothing left for Norma in White Pine Bay aside from him. She bought the motel to build a future for her and her sons, sons that are no longer here anymore. The motel wasn't supposed to be a ghostly reminder of a future that turned out to be vastly different from what she had been hoping for.

"What if we move, too?" Alex asks. He didn't intend to say it right now or to speak so bluntly, the words just came out.

"What?"

Judging from the look on her face, Alex can tell that his suggestion has taken Norma by surprise. He feels sorry that he dumped it on her on this of all days, but now the cat is out of the bag. He can't unsay it and perhaps it's not even that bad, perhaps it's better to discuss this now that things are already in motion, just rip the bandage off, make a clean cut and all that, instead of watching things fall apart little by little.

"You've had nothing but bad breaks since you moved here. And you deserve some good ones. Why not move somewhere else, sell the motel, start all over again?"

Norma looks as if she is going to cry but doesn't say anything.

"Norma?"

She practically collapses on the bed, covering her face with her hands. Alex rushes over to her. When he gently tries to pull her hands away from her face, he feels dampness. She is crying.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have suggested it, not today, not when Dylan just told you he will move out."

"It's not that," Norma sobs, finally looking at him. She takes several deep breaths to calm down. "I'd love to move somewhere else," she whispers, "leave all this crap behind." She snivels. "But I feel guilty for wanting to do it. How can I start over when it means that I have to leave Norman behind?"

Norman has been charged with murder although it is quite clear that he won't end up in prison, anyway, but most likely will be sentenced to remain in a closed institution for good or at least for a very long time.

"You don't have to leave him behind. He's your son. You'd never do that. You can still visit. We can. Or we move him, too, closer to wherever we will decide to go."

Norma has stopped crying. "I've been running all my life. From my family, from men, from unbearable circumstances. Is this what I'm doing? Am I running away again?" Her voice is quiet, hardly audible as if she is talking to herself.

"No you're not," Alex assures her. "We're moving together and I haven't run away from anything in my entire life."

"I won't get much money for the motel and the house." Norma's thoughts are disjointed as she is trying to adjust herself to the idea that they will live someplace else. "But I can get a job. I've always worked. I don't like to be idle and I don't want to be merely the sheriff's wife." She pauses, her eyes wide open. "What about you? Don't you want to be the sheriff here anymore?"

"Actually I talked to the Seattle PD. They have a vacancy and I could start there. And if not that, then I'll find something else, somewhere else. As long as we're together, I don't mind."

"Seattle, huh?" Norma holds Alex's gaze, her expression tender. "You want us to move there because of Dylan?"

"I thought it couldn't hurt if you're close to him. You two have come such a long way."

A smile lights up her face. Norma intertwines the fingers of both of their hands as she loves to do. "So… I can still visit Norman and we will live close to Dylan?" She leans into him.

Alex nods. "Yes, that's the plan."

"It's a good plan." Her lips brush his. "A very good plan. Let's do this." Norma pulls him towards her so that he loses his balance and topples against her, pushing her down on the bed in the process.

"Yeah, let's do this," Alex mumbles and he could be talking about the move or about something else entirely.

Presence

Some birds flap their wings, the sound interrupting Alex's trip down memory lane and bringing him back to the here and now. He has to drive to the motel. The movers will arrive any moment and Norma will go crazy if he's not there.

He picks up a flat stone, throwing it across the water so that it strikes the surface several times before it disappears amidst the lake.

"Goodbye," Alex whispers to no one in particular, but maybe his mother heard him, anyway. When he kept his mother's ring after her death, he didn't consider it possible that he would ever give it to another woman. Now he can't wait to start over with his wife.

To be continued

In a way, I could have ended the story here, but I think I want to do an epilogue with maybe the one or other surprise…

One more thing: I have no knowledge whatsoever about law enforcement and don't know whether it's realistic that Alex transfers from being the Sheriff to the Seattle PD, but for the sake of the story I made myself believe it, and in case this is a mistake, I hope you forgive me. ;)