Author's Notes: Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I had an idea, but I don't know if the words actually convey what I meant to write. Let me know what you think with a review, your opinions truly help with this story!

This is unedited, for now.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy….

Chapter 17: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A subtle noise from downstairs wakes Norma out of a restless slumber. Instantly she sits up in bed and grabs her cell phone from the side table next to her, catching a glimpse of the red numbers blaring on the alarm clock. She rubs her eyes with her fingertips, then throws off her covers before grabbing her robe and rushing out of the room. In noticing Norman's door remains closed, Norma knows the sound must be from her eldest son. Her face brightens at the possibility of a conversation with Dylan, since it's been a week of him avoiding her as if she didn't exist.

As she tip toes past her youngest son's door, she quietly scurries down the stairwell. Unfortunately once she reaches the end of the steps, Norma notices there is no trace of Dylan. Shuffling her feet in disappointment toward the vacant kitchen, Norma sighs sadly and sits down in one of the empty chairs at the small table. She drops the cell onto the tabletop with a soft thud and rests her elbows next to it with a shaky groan. While propping her chin on her hands, Norma's thoughts drift toward the life altering conversation from a week ago. The very same conversation Norma wishes never took place, but still feels like she had no other choice. She can't afford to be selfish and think about her own happiness when her youngest son suffers with his inner demons.

She had to let him go, Norman needs her.

The sound of the front door closing snaps her thoughts back into reality. Norma jumps from the table and scurries out of the kitchen where she's met with an exhausted looking Dylan. "Oh, good morning honey!" She exclaims a little too enthusiastic for the morning hours with a brightened smile. "Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast. I know, I'll make your favorite!" She says excitedly, clapping her hands together once before retreating back to the kitchen.

Dylan rolls his eyes and steps into the entryway by the front door while hearing various noises coming from the kitchen, mostly a frantic commotion of cabinets opening and closing. When he steps into the small space, several unwrapped boxes instantly surround his feet. He's not ashamed to admit out of pure curiosity, Dylan opened all of the packages on the front porch before hauling each and every one of them into the foyer.

Quickly he scans the open boxes until he finds the exact one he needs. Reaching forward with outstretched tired arms, Dylan lifts the appliance free of the cardboard and strides back into the kitchen.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry honey." Norma declares sadly while her back remains turned toward the doorway, sensing Dylan has returned to the room. She stares dejectedly at the empty shelves, regrettably realizing she will be disappointing her eldest son … again. Norma continues to speak softly as she closes another cabinet. "You know, I can still make those pancakes for you. Yes! I'll just make them by hand," she smiles to herself. "It will just take a little longer than if I were to have my mix-" Norma turns around, but stops suddenly when she notices a brand new shiny blue Kitchen-aid mixer in her son's hands. Her eyes widen in confusion as she finishes her previous thought with a pause, "-er."

"Looks like your problem is solved Norma," Dylan replies with a knowing smirk as he strolls past his mother and places the mixer on the counter.

"Wait!" Norma stretches her hand out to touch her son's shoulder as he steps away, though her hand misses. "Where did this come from? Who bought it? This is brand new."

Rotating to face his mother, Dylan crosses his arms across his chest and glares at his mother. "Take one guess and by the way, it wasn't me." Dylan sighs in exasperation. "Anyway, there were probably 20 boxes out there. I brought them inside and put them all by the door."

"I don't understand?" She questions softly, trying to make eye contact with her eldest son.

"What's not to understand!?" Dylan shouts, uncrossing his arms. "Romero did all of this! Even after you dumped him!" He takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself after noticing his mother's dampened cheeks. His face softens, but he can't shake his frustration completely. "Just think about what you're doing Norma," he sighs before he moves toward the doorway. Before leaving the room completely, he stops abruptly. "And don't worry about breakfast Norma, I've lost my appetite."

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After Dylan slams the front door shut, Norma picks up the cell placed in front of her and quickly scans her phone's photos until she finds the one she's been looking for. The only photo she's been able to keep hidden from the prying eyes of both her curious sons. Norma smiles with a sniffle as she enlarges the picture, studying every single angle of her love's face with great concentration almost as if her eyes haven't seen him in years.

Exhaling a shallow and shaky breath, Norma stares lovingly at Alex grinning widely for the camera. She remembers the moment fondly, the rare instance where Norma caught the Sheriff off-guard with the obscene flash of light in his face. The recollection causes a giggle to slip from her lips. What the photo doesn't capture came just after the camera clicked, the way Romero instantly wrapped his arms around her and lightly kissed up the stretch of her neck with whispers of affection and adoration needs no visual reminder. It's forever etched in her memory.

Minutes pass, though Norma is unsure of how many before she snaps herself out of the gaze she's been lost in. With a trembling index finger, the strong ache of Norma's heart proves too much to tolerate as she gains the confidence to scroll through her phone contacts until she finds the one she's yearned to call for the past week. There is nothing Norma wants more than to call the Sheriff and apologize, beg for him to forget about the last week because it was all such a terrible mistake.

The moment Norma is about to tap Alex's phone number, she hears footsteps enter the kitchen and drops her phone to the table with a bang.

"Mother?"

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Dylan hesitantly strides forward through the long dull corridor, each step heavier than the next. Once the lobby comes into his line of sight, Dylan pauses momentarily and then takes a deep inhale before continuing to approach. He's overthinking it, Dylan knows this but the whole scenario he's currently trapped in is awkward as hell. Leave it to Norma to make things even worse.

Maybe it would've been better if Norma never fell for the Sheriff in the first place or maybe even better, if they hated each other. That way he wouldn't have to deal with all of the conflicted thoughts swirling around in his head at the moment. Why does it feel like he's lost another father? Why does he feel like he's lost the best one? He shouldn't get involved, but he seems to have his heart involved in this situation now too and Dylan couldn't be more pissed off about it.

Truth is, Dylan is testing the waters here. Honestly this visit isn't even about Norma today, it's more about him trying preserve the friendship he's formed with the Sheriff, a friendship he never wanted to form in the first place.

He blames Norma… again.

"Hey, is the Sheriff here?" Dylan asks the receptionist, as he casually leans his side against the desk.

The young woman smiles up at him and flutters her lashes in order to capture his attention; however, her efforts go unnoticed. "Hi Dylan. How are you? It's been a little while since you were here," she continues to send unsubtle flirting tactics his way. "I've missed seeing you here," she giggles. "I mean, we've missed seeing you here."

Dylan doesn't seem to catch the hint and instead awkwardly looks everywhere, but in her direction. "Ah," he says distracted. "Right. Ok. Is he here?"

"Sorry, Massett. He's in the next county over right now, assisting in an ongoing investigation. A real tricky one actually." A gruffer voice says from behind him, causing Dylan turn around.

"Deputy Hanson, it's been a little while." The young man greets the familiar officer as he extends his hand.

"Sure has." The officer chuckles, taking Dylan's hand with a hearty shake and a genuine grin. "I take it all that paperwork business is dealt with now?"

"Oh. Um. Yeah," Dylan clears his throat awkwardly. "Well, Norma – I mean, my mom and the Sheriff didn't exactly get along."

"I definitely know that, the whole department does." Hanson smirks. "I'm not going to lie, it was always entertaining when she paid the department a visit. A real spitfire. I've never seen Romero take the kind of crap, that he did from that woman," the older man chuckles again. "And, the names she used to call him."

Dylan rolls his eyes. "She's definitely a piece of work, I'll say that for her. Anyway, will the Sheriff be out for a while?"

"Yeah, sorry kid." Hanson replies as he adjusts the radio volume strapped on his deputy belt. "Today isn't a good day to meet with him unfortunately but he should be here tomorrow though, usual hours. Is this about your business?" The deputy steps through the half door dividing the lobby and the department offices while still maintaining conversation. "How is that going by the way?" He asks out of curiosity, remembering the messiness the young man was wrapped up in before he went legit with his own pharmaceutical profession. The dramatic change in Dylan's attitude has been nothing but positive, qualities that would make him an asset to the department which happens to be a frequent topic amongst the department lately.

With a smile, Dylan explains how his business has flourished lately. The young man is proud of how he's turned his life around; however, he can't help feeling like he's never been more lost. Not only has another father-type man vanished from his life, but the most important person has been pushed aside by his own destructive choices.

More important than anything, Dylan needs to repair what he's broken with Emma.

The real motive for Dylan coming to the department today wasn't necessarily to speak with Romero about his relationship with Norma. Instead he planned on asking the Sheriff some advice regarding his own relationship, minus the part where he would mention Emma specifically. Dylan just isn't ready to share that part of his life with anyone quite yet, not until he figures out how to fix things with her first.

After a little further conversation, Dylan leaves the department and vows to return the next day. He hopes in speaking with Romero, this will be the first step in having Emma back in his arms and if he happens to undo Norma's mistake with the Sheriff, so be it.

However, Dylan doesn't know it yet but the Sheriff will actively seek to avoid him.

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Thank you for reading!