Thanks to everyone who favourited or followed or reviewed this story - I'm so glad you enjoyed that rather dark opening chapter. Just a short chapter this time, setting up for a longer one next time.


The fourth time Alex kissed Norma was the morning after their night together, with Norma swirling around her kitchen, making him breakfast, talking a mile a minute about nothing at all. Tension hung heavy in the air around them as he watched her dart around the kitchen, looking everywhere but at him. He stayed still, like a predator, waiting for her to slow down and move close enough to him that he could reach for her, stopping her in her tracks.

They made eye contact for the first time, and stared at each other for a long time, both with no idea what the other was thinking.

"I'm not sorry about what happened."

His fingers curled around her hip, lightly holding her there, stopping her from squirming away from his intense gaze.

"Ok. I'm not either." Her eyes darted wildly around the room, as she tried to figure out if she was lying or not. She wasn't sorry she had slept with him, but she was sorry that she was the way she was - She was sorry she couldn't trust him, and she couldn't bring herself to sleep in the same bed as him because sharing a bed with a man gave her crippling nightmares that she wasn't ready to explain to him.

Eventually the intensity of his scrutiny became unbearable and she could no longer look away, her eyes meeting his.

She was kissing him before she knew what she was doing. She didn't know why she had done it. He was just so close to her, and he was looking at her like she was his everything and she just wanted to close her eyes and not have him gaze at her so adoringly. So she had grasped the tops of his arms and raised herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him ferociously, only pulling back when he leaned his hips against hers, pressing her against the counter. She pulled away with a gasp.

"I can't do this." She offered him a tight smile. "It's too much."

She had expected him to be angry, or at the very least mildly annoyed. She had expected him to ignore her, to keep pushing it, or to stab at his breakfast with barely disguised irritation, glaring at her over his coffee cup.

"Ok ok." He whispered lightly, immediately stepping out of her personal space, and obediently sitting down to eat his breakfast. She was surprised, but didn't let it show, as she scooped another layer of food onto his already overfull plate. This was how she showed she cared. Cooking for someone was safe and she couldn't get hurt, but she could still show him she cared like this. She gazed at him from over her coffee cup, hoping he understood that.

He was wittering on about joint checking accounts, while she barely listened. She had no money to put into a joint checking account, but Romero thought it was a good idea so she would go along with it.

"-Make it look more real." She tried to suppress how much those words hurt her. It's fine, the voice in her head said. It's fake. You knew that already.

"It might be a good idea if we showed up together to the winter thing tonight?"

"What winter thing?"

"You know, downtown with all the lights and stuff."

She smiled warmly at him as he tried to explain the festival like only a man could.

"Wanna come with me?"

Her heart soared at the idea of going with him to some romantic evening full of twinkly lights. But that wasn't her life.

"I think that's a good... public place..."

Right. Public place. So they could be seen together. Because this wasn't real.

"Erm. Maybe. I was going to go and visit Emma today, so..."

"Oh. Right. Sure." His reply was clipped, like he was disappointed.

"I mean, she's doing better every day and I haven't had chance to see her yet."

"No, no. Of course." His tone softened as he turned away from her. "Yeah, you should go."

There was a long pause where he carried on eating, and Norma took a long sip of her coffee to buy herself a moment to think. He seemed genuinely disappointed that she wasn't going with him. Maybe it was more than just being seen together. Maybe he really wanted her to go with him?

"I might be back in time..." She ventured, smiling as he turned round to face her again, beaming.

"Great!"

"I mean, no promises, but I'll try my best."

He said nothing, just shovelled the last few mouthfuls of his breakfast into his mouth before standing up and grabbing his jacket.

"Great. Maybe see you there then." He got halfway to the door, a smile still playing on his lips, before turning back to plant a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"Have a good day. Give Emma my best."

And with that, he was gone, leaving a slightly shell-shocked Norma standing in her kitchen, not sure what they were doing any more.


Norma had no intention of going to the winter festival. At least that was what she told herself, but as her time with Emma drew on, she found herself glancing at the clock, mentally working out how long it would take her to get home. If Emma noticed, or was at all offended by it, she didn't let on, instead pressing Norma to "take some time for herself" now that Norman was getting the help she needed. She was never sure if Emma could somehow read her mind, or if she was just incredibly wise, but she always seemed to say exactly what Norma needed to hear.

"It's the winter festival tonight right?" Emma said thoughtfully, looking at Norma in that way where it seemed like she was looking right into her mind.

Norma jumped at the mention, immediately feeling guilty for glancing at the clock again.

"Er.. yeah? I think it might be." She nodded, glancing around the room as if she had clear forgotten.

"You should go. You'll only just make it back in time."

"What? No, Emma. I'm here... with you. I don't-"

"Norma." She interrupted her softly, placing her hand over hers.

"Its ok. Dylan filled me in on what's happening."

Norma's face flushed, as the ridiculousness of the situation and images of last night flitted through her head.

"Oh... Well. It's all very... complicated."

"Does it have to be?" Emma asked, solemnly in that way where she asked a simple question and seemed to answer it all in one go.

Norma took a deep breath, but found herself without a response, so she just accepted Emma's reassuring hand squeeze and smiled back gratefully.

"Now go! They always run out of funnel cake early."