Author's Note: Surprise! This chapter has a lot packed into it.

*If you want more chapters, please let me know in a review. I'm curious about reader's opinions on how this story is going. I truly appreciate your thoughts on the characters and storyline because it's not really following the pattern of the show at this point and I'm kind of winging it.

I hope you enjoy…

Chapter 7: Something Blue

"Shit!" The Sheriff exclaims with a groan as a loud screeching sound suddenly breaks his concentration, followed immediately by an urgent voice of a dispatcher. "I need to go, NOW!"

"What!?" Norma gasps, feeling a mixture of confusion and sadness when the Sheriff quickly untangles his limbs from hers.

"It's a fire! I have to be on the scene immediately." He rushes out in one breath, tugging his pants up in one swift motion in an instant. Alex scans his office to find every piece of his uniform, finding Norma's dress along with his shirt randomly tossed in the corner. "I suggest you get dressed, unless you want the entire department to see you in what you're wearing now or rather not wearing," he flashes a smirk before shoving his feet into the pair work boots which were hiding under his desk.

Instantly, Norma's dress is thrusted gently into her shaky hands. The Sheriff's words compelling her to promptly jump off the desktop where minutes ago they were in midst of a rather passionate exchange.

Working quickly, Norma pulls up the dress over her legs then torso and turns around, begging Alex to take a second to zip up the material. Once her dress is secured, she turns back around to face her man to help him fasten the buttons of his shirt while he fumbles with the police belt now hanging around his waist.

Luckily she wore her no-hassle heels Norma thinks to herself as she slips them on and then stands up to smooth the sides of her dress with the palms of her hands. Her breath is slightly erratic while she runs her fingers through her hair a few times to at least get some of the unfortunate tangles loose.

She then feels a pair of strong hands take ahold of her hips, moving her toward him with a little force. "I love you," Alex whispers before they immediately break apart at the noise of a fist knocking on the office door, followed by the rattle of the doorknob moving.

"Sheriff did you hear the call?" The deputy asks, stepping into the room. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were having an interview in here."

"I heard the call. We're finished here, aren't we Ms. Bates?" He says in a harsh tone with a raised brow and a tiny smile momentarily playing on his lips, knowing the rookie deputy can't see his playful expression.

"Not even close, you ass!" She shouts, prodding her index finger against his vest covered chest.

In an attempt to make the heated altercation appear real, the Sheriff grabs her by the bicep and leads her outside the room in fake powerful manner. "That's it! I've had enough of this," he states sternly while she pretends to struggle in his grip. Norma decides to put on a show, dramatizing her actions when he mildly shoves her into the hallway toward the front door of the department.

Giving the impression she is about to fall to all of the eyes watching the scene unfold, she regains her composure. "How DARE you push me! You're all witnesses to his cruel behavior!" She screams at the top of her lungs, pointing her finger in Alex's direction.

Norma then catches a glare and a slight hand motion from the Sheriff, silently alerting her to stop the overacting. With a subtle nod in acknowledgement, Norma spares Alex one last glance before she rushes toward the exit.

In both their haste, they don't notice Norma leaves with one less earring in her ear.

Unfortunately this loss isn't discovered until late in the evening, sending Norma into a panic. She searches everywhere she can think of including her car, house and even the motel office but it's nowhere to be found. In her distracted thoughts, Norma complete disregards the possibility that it's somewhere hiding in the Sheriff's Department.

XXXX

The next morning, Dylan picks up a familiar folder from the dining room table. He reads the post-it note addressed to him instructing him to once again drop off paperwork to the Sheriff. In reality he should be annoyed with the constant trips to the Sheriff's Department for over a month now, but he isn't. Actually, the young man finds the conversations with Romero to be somewhat relaxing and oddly therapeutic. It's a weird feeling.

Frankly, Dylan doesn't quite know what to think of this growing bond he's having with the older man. All he knows is he's starting to consider the Sheriff to be a father figure or what one should be like anyway since he's never really had one before. It's to the point where even without all the paperwork Dylan has been dropping off, he's not entirely sure he wouldn't still pop into the Sheriff's office for a regular conversation someday.

After his feet hit gravel, Dylan steps around his truck to get into the driver's seat and then drops the folder from his hand to the seat. When he shuts the door, he begins to stare at the folder resting next to him. In looking around, he notices no eyes are on him so he proceeds to pick up the file once again.

Never once has he opened the folder to look inside before dropping it off to Romero. Even without asking, Norma has insisted it's paperwork dealing with White Pine Bay's new zoning project which includes the motel. The motel has never held any interest for him; therefore he's always just transported the file without a care to know anything further.

However, this time he's curious.

When he removes the paperwork from inside the folder, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. Just some basic info about the motel and a map of White Pine Bay with red lines outlining the location of the motel.

With curiosity now sufficiently satisfied Dylan starts the engine and drives out of the driveway, in the direction of the Sheriff's Department.

XXXX

Emma pulls the curtains to the office back cautiously and peers out the window facing the parking lot of the motel. She does this every 5 minutes in hopes she'll catch a glimpse of her ex-boyfriend leaving for the day.

It's a silly thing to do, Emma knows this but seeing Dylan for even a second seems worth it to her these days. She's put her pride aside more than a few times since their heartbreaking conversation over a month ago. Unfortunately, every call she's made goes to voicemail and every message she's sent goes unanswered.

"Emma?" A soft voice breaks her focus, causing her to instantly shut the drapes and move away from the window.

"Sorry Norma. Did you ask me something?" She asks, hands still slightly shaking from her sudden movement.

"No dear. I was just saying good morning." Norma offers a sympathetic smile, knowing exactly why Emma was staring at the parking lot a moment ago. "Is everything alright?"

"Ye-ah." Emma stammers under the watchful stare of her mother figure. Her eyes close shut briefly when she hears the roar of a truck engine ignite, knowing she's missed the chance to see Dylan.

The older woman doesn't miss the disappointment written all over Emma's face. "You seem a little, well, out of it this morning. Is there anything you want to talk about?" She asks, hoping the young woman will feel comfortable to share her apparent secret.

Emma shakes her head and then begins to slowly flip through a magazine that happened to be on the desk in front of her.

Norma sighs to herself while starts to step into the back part of the office, pausing momentarily. "If you need to talk about anything Emma, you can always talk to me."

The only response Emma is able to muster is a slight nod as she holds back a few tears that are threatening to fall.

Norma decides to lessen the space between her and the young women, opening her arms to encourage Emma to take advantage of her support. As predicted, Emma steps forward and instantly feels the comforting embrace a mother would share with her daughter.

No longer able to hold in her emotions, Emma cries on Norma's shoulder. In between her sobs, a few words escape. "I made a terrible mistake Norma."

XXXX

"Good to see you Dylan," the Sheriff greets with a smile as he takes the folder from the young man and motions for him to take a seat on the other side of his desk.

"Yeah, you know Norma wanted me to give you more paperwork, I guess." Dylan responds with a tight lipped smile.

Romero gradually sits down in his squeaky office chair, trying to shake the minor trembling from his hands. He's feeling more nervous than usual about this particular chat today due to Norma's recent request for him to gather more information from her eldest son. "The zoning project is taking longer than we both thought."

Dylan holds his hand up and shakes his head once in response. "Honestly, I don't need to know. I have my own business to take care of these days and trust me that keeps me busy enough," he chuckles a little.

"Anything else keeping you busy these days?" Romero asks, hinting for the young man to maybe confess. In order to appear more casual about his question, the Sheriff tidies up the other files resting on his desktop and then stands up from his seat. With a couple of folders in his grasp, he strolls to the corner of the room and begins to file them away neatly in the standing cabinet.

"Um," Dylan pauses because the constant thought of Emma has been keeping him busy, but he knows he can't say that. "No, not really." He responds nonchalantly when suddenly his focus is drawn to the lit display of Romero's phone lying on top of the desk in front of him. Unable to control his curiosity, Dylan leans forward to get a better look at the screen only seconds before a melodic song sounds through the tiny speakers.

Romero's eyes widen dramatically when he hears the first few beats of the song "By Your Side," ringing from his cell. Flustered in his movements, he drops the files from his grip immediately and trips over his feet to quickly reach for his phone.

Once he has the cell in his grasp, Romero jumbles it between his hands before finally silencing it. With a deep breath he sets the phone upside down on his desk and dares to meet the smirk of the young man sitting across from him.

"So is Love her first name or last?" Dylan asks smugly while leaning back in his chair with a raised brow, not losing the smirk seemingly etched on his face.

"Damn," Romero mumbles with a panicked breath and a rosy tint to his cheeks. It's his mistake for using LOVE as a substitute contact name for Norma. And, of course when he came across the special song she chose for him, the Sheriff couldn't resist using it has his ring tone for her.

The room suddenly becomes quiet and remains that way for an excruciating amount of time before Romero finally clears his throat to break up the awkwardness the office now seems to be blanketed in.

Dylan flinches slightly at the abrupt sound, breaking him from the deep thoughts his mind seemed to have drifted to.

"Dylan?" Romero asks in a gentle tone out of concern, knowing there is something troubling the young man and he's almost positive he knows what it is. He just needs Dylan to say the words.

"Yeah. Sorry, I must've spaced out for a second." Dylan responds in an equally quiet volume while leaning forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

Soundlessness is then allowed to return, only because the Sheriff can sense Dylan is on the edge of spilling his inner feelings. It's a technique that has always served Romero well when it comes to gaining a confession out of a perp, he believes this circumstance is no different. His assumption is proven correct when the young man begins to speak and stirs in his seat.

"Have you ever had a fight with her? One that you're not sure you'll recover from?" Dylan asks, now leaning so close to the desk that he sets his arms on top of it.

The Sheriff sits down in his chair with a tiny smile, mentally patting himself on the back for accomplishing this tremendous feat that seemed impossible a month ago. Dylan is finally feeling comfortable enough to confide in him, a notion Romero couldn't feel happier about. Norma will be proud of him when she hears about this conversation. "Yes, of course I've had arguments with her. It's normal to disagree. But, when you care for that special person enough, the fighting never seems worth it."

"Oh, yeah that's probably true." Dylan agrees tentatively while sitting back in his seat again, moving his hands to his lap.

Romero can practically see the wheels turning in the young man's head. "Are you seeing someone? Is that why you asked those questions?" He asks, praying he didn't sound too pushy or nosey. Norma must be rubbing off on him, which may be a bad thing in this case.

Dylan lowers his head and fidgets with his fingers, nervous he's already shared too much but oddly feels comfortable to spill some of his secrets. "Don't tell Norma, but yeah I was."

Mentally, Romero is biting his tongue. He can't let the fact that he knows this whole confession involves the relationship with Emma. "Your mom isn't exactly talking to me right now that's why you're her delivery service," the Sheriff lies. "So, what happened? It sounds like you're not together now.""

"Um, well- " Dylan hesitates. "We're not seeing each other anymore. We had a fight, well, I guess maybe it's more that I fought and she just listened. I walked away, but now-"

"And now?" Romero raises his brows as a cue for the young man to continue.

"Now, I'm regretting the whole thing. I feel-" Dylan pauses as if he's trying to find the right words to say. "She was going to leave me."

Romero shakes his head slightly and then makes eye contact with Dylan. It's not hard to see this whole issue is stemming from miscommunication and the clear concept of jumping to the wrong conclusion. "How do you know that for sure?"

"Well, I guess I don't." Dylan closes his eyes briefly and sighs. "I made a mistake, didn't I?

The Sheriff flashes a reassuring grin. "I think you already know the answer to that question Dylan."

XXXX

A couple of days pass and Dylan still hasn't returned the unanswered calls from Emma. He hasn't figured out a plan yet and doesn't want to say the wrong thing during such a delicate time for them. The conversation with the Sheriff helped tremendously though. The advice has given him a new prospective that he wasn't considering previously, making him realize he most likely jumped to the wrong conclusion.

When he sees the same folder sitting in the exact spot it always is, Dylan knows he needs to take another trip to the Sheriff's Department which is actually perfect timing. Since Romero was so helpful during their last conversation, maybe he can assist in what words to use when he talks to Emma.

After arriving at the White Pine Bay Sheriff's Department, Dylan unfastens his seatbelt and jumps down from his truck. The problem is, his grip on the folder in his hand loosens and the papers inside fall to the ground.

"Shit!" He groans, bending down to pick up all of the loose pages. Once he has all of the paper collected, he sets the folder down on the driver's seat and shoves them into the pockets. However, something catches his eye.

He quickly realizes these are all of the same pages he saw a couple of days ago. "What the hell?" He whispers to himself in utter confusion, why would he be giving the exact same paperwork to Romero that he did mere days ago. "This doesn't make any sense."

Something doesn't set right with him at the moment and internally he's trying to figure out how to handle this. Should he question this or leave it alone? It's about the motel after all and really doesn't have anything to do with him, but then again this involves his mother. Norma is probably the queen of sneakiness, which makes him wonder what the true motivation is and whether there truly is a zoning project. What stops him from mentally questioning this further is the idea of motive, or rather the lack of motive. What does Norma have to gain from him delivering the same paperwork to Romero? Absolutely nothing is what he concludes.

Clearly he is once again jumping to a conclusion.

With the inkling of some sort of conspiracy existing between the Sheriff and his mother pushed aside in this mind, Dylan slams the truck door closed and tucks the folder under his arm before strolling into the Department.

XXXX

Dylan is engaged in another supportive conversation with the Sheriff when he glances down to the ground and notices something shining next to the far corner of the desk. He squints his eyes which makes the object a little clearer, but he still can't be 100% certain as to what it is. So he bends over, even allowing his body to leave the chair a tad while pretending to tie the laces in his boots as Romero continues to provide advice to the young man.

When he carefully avoids the other man's boots placed under the same desk, Dylan stretches his fingertips until he finally secures the tiny item in his grasp. He examines it quickly, widening his eyes as he immediately realizes it's Norma's favorite earring. The very same one she was desperate to find a couple of days ago.

Dylan can't believe it.

Unfortunately, Dylan makes the mistake of staying quiet a little too long in silence, tipping the Sheriff off that something may be wrong.

When he hears the rustling of Romero's chair being shifted backward, Dylan shoves the earring in the closes pocket of his jean and sits up instantly.

"You alright?" The Sheriff questions with a hint of a frown.

"What? I mean, yeah." Dylan answers, obviously flustered. "Sorry, I was just tying my laces. I heard you though and I appreciate the advice." He then glances at his watch, using time as an excuse to get out of there. "Wow, look at the time. I should get going."

With that being said to a confused Romero, Dylan shoots up from his chair and strides toward the door. Feeling a little light headed suddenly from his quick motion, he turns the doorknob and basically jogs out of the office and down the hall toward the front door of the department.

Pushing the door open, he rushes to his truck and gets in to start the engine. Without even fastening his seatbelt, Dylan reverses his truck with a loud squeal of the tires on the pavement. Once he turns the corner, Dylan finds a parking lot nearby and pulls into a stall away from spying eyes.

After turning off the ignition, Dylan quickly pulls the jewelry from his pocket with his fingers and examines it closer. There is no mistake, the earring secured in between his index finger and thumb is most definitely Norma's.

Dylan remembers this earring specifically and could recognize it in a heartbeat, because it's a piece of jewelry she's had ever since he could remember. It was very rare and almost odd if Norma paid him any attention when he was young, but there is one moment he remembers very clearly and would never forget.

Rolling the earring back in forth within his fingers, he slips back into his memory as if it were yesterday and remembers when he was 8 years old.

Norma happened to find a failed math test set on the kitchen countertop with his name on it, next to a couple of other random papers. The truth is Dylan wanted the piece of paper to be discovered and placed it there on purpose, knowing his mother wouldn't be able to miss it. Sure he'd probably get in trouble for the test marked with a large "F", but he wanted to gain her attention somehow even if it was negative attention.

In fact Dylan was desperate for Norma to notice him, so he hatched a plan. It was a flawed plan, but he was only in elementary school at the time and didn't think any consequence could be worse than being completely ignored as he was on any other day in the Bates household.

He remembers how his mother actually showed concern rather than anger regarding the test and took the time to sit with him, snuggling the boy tight to her side while she talked. Dylan soaked up the attention and rare affection he received that day and up until recently, thought of that particular moment in time as one of the best memories he's ever had. His mother's story of why those earrings were her favorites tied into his failure at math perfectly, even though he didn't really understand this at the time.

Her story contained a combined hidden meaning of the belief in never giving up and the importance hard work. She took out one of the earrings from her ear and held it in her palm to show her son the result of her past struggles but then triumphs, or what she believed were successes back then. She mentioned how the earrings were a symbol of her strength to overcome not only her financial struggles but her personal ones as well.

Even while her being newly pregnant with him in her tummy and her age being only barely 18, Norma worked two jobs and held high hopes that her upcoming wedding would change her life. Well, it surely did change her life, but maybe not for the best. Though, that's not what his mother included in her story. In fact, Norma let it slip during her speech that she indeed was blessed to be his mother. To this day, Dylan isn't sure if she meant what she said but it didn't matter to the young boy who continued to bask in his mother's unusual kind words.

The pair of earrings are a perfect combination of rhinestones and blue sapphires. Sure, the small jewelry isn't lavish and probably not terribly expensive but those earrings were bought with Norma's own earned money and were the first piece of jewelry she ever purchased. They originally were bought specifically for her wedding that was to take place to Dylan's father (Or not his father as he later found out).

The earrings represented the traditional "something blue" item that would adorn her ears during the nuptials. They represented her hope for a happy future even though looking back at all of it now, that's not the outcome her first or even second marriage led to.

All kinds of wild thoughts fill Dylan's mind now. He then thinks carefully about Norma's behavior and then Romero's over the past months which causes a sick feeling in his stomach to suddenly appear. "Oh God," he mutters to himself when he figures out what has been happening right under his nose.

He finally knows the truth.