"You ok?" He asked quietly over breakfast the next day.

He had lay next to her all night, listening to her even breathing while she pretended to sleep. He could hear her thinking though, hear her worrying and for once, he had no idea what to say.

He couldn't pretend that he wasn't worried about Norman coming home. He couldn't pretend to have any of the answers right now, so he had let her clamber awkwardly off his lap, let her tell him that apparently Dr Edwards had said that Norman was making great progress and could continue his treatment at home and that Dr Edwards was going to call tomorrow to talk about it with her and she rambled on and on while she scrambled around on the floor for her underwear. She had eventually stumbled out of the car, awkwardly sliding her underwear back on and then just standing there, rubbing her hand through her hair and staring despondently up at the house.

"You ok?" He had asked warily, worried when she didn't answer him, just continued shivering in the freezing cold air, staring up at her darkened house, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. He shimmied out of the car ungracefully, wrapping her forgotten coat around her shoulders, jumping when she flinched at his touch, like she had forgotten he was there.

"Norma?" He said gently, like he was talking to a wounded animal. She turned her wide, helpless eyes to him for a moment, her face completely open, looking especially vulnerable for all of five seconds before she snapped out of it.

"Hi." She said brightly, smiling too widely as she pulled her coat on properly. "Thanks."

She set off up the stairs at an alarming pace and he could only watch her for a dumbstruck second before trotting along to catch up with her.

"Norma-" He grabbed her elbow, pulling her back to him. She shook her head, sighing heavily.

"Alex, not now." She said, suddenly sounding exhausted. His face dropped as he sucked in a disappointed breath at being shut out so suddenly. It had been a while since she had flashed him the steely gaze she was staring at him with now. She softened at his hurt expression, and for one horrible moment he thought she was about to cry. "I'm just really tired." She said gently, flashing him a frantic, darting glance, looking like she desperately needed to not talk about it right now.

"Ok, ok." He murmured gently, letting his hand trail down her arm to her hand, taking it in his. He was pleased that she let him, giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze as he pulled her up the stairs with him, catching her shooting him nervous, worried little glances.

The silence became oppressive as it stretched on, all the way up the stairs, all the way into their bedroom, where she pulled away from him, turning away to undress for bed. He leaned against the doorway, watching her undress without the usual lust filling his eyes, wringing his hands together awkwardly. She was just pulling her nightdress over her head when she finally became aware of his stillness behind her, spinning round to face him as the silky fabric slid down her body, her expression confused.

"Do you... Do you still want me to sleep here?" He asked uncertainly, watching as she sighed heavily, immediately realising he'd said the wrong thing.

"Alex..." She started wearily, rubbing her hand across her eyes like she was exasperated by him. "Don't be ridiculous."

He rolled his eyes at her, taking a few steps forward, turning to drop his jacket on the chair.

"I just wasn't sure..." He muttered, feeling just as out of his depth as he had back when they got to Florida. It was different this time though. The problem wasn't something to be vanquished this time - It was her son. Horrible memories, panic attacks and Norma's demons suddenly seemed simple in comparison to this new, strange distance between them.

She sighed heavily as her only response, and when he turned, after stripping off his clothes and laying them neatly on the chair like he knew she liked, she was sitting delicately on the edge of the bed, staring up at the moon through the open curtains. Her eyes were huge and watery as she stared vacantly up at the window, bathed in silvery light, her brow furrowed, biting her lip. He crawled over the bed to stop just behind her, reaching out to grasp her shoulders lightly, pleased that she didn't flinch this time.

His thumbs began to work gently into her muscles, trying in vain to work out the knots that seemed to have formed there in the past twenty minutes. She let her head flop back, some of the tension leaving her body as she sagged back, sniffling quietly.

"It's gonna be ok." He said, somewhat uselessly, but she nodded tightly, reaching across herself to press her hand over his gratefully, nuzzling her cheek against their joined hands.

He opened his mouth to speak again, with no idea what he was going to say, when she pulled away suddenly, crawling into the sheets.

"Can we just... can we just talk about this tomorrow?" She said sadly, wrapping the sheet around herself as she curled into a ball, facing away from him.

"Sure." He whispered, laying back against the pillows, unsure of what she wanted until she reached behind her, grasping his hand and pulling him onto his side, tugging his arm around her.

"Thank you for dinner." She whispered, and he nodded against her hair. "I had a nice time." Her voice was small and sad and Alex desperately hoped he was imagining the sense of finality that seemed to tinge her words.

"Me too." There was a long, heavy silence.

"You're not alone, you know?" He murmured, pulling her tighter against him. She didn't say anything, didn't squeeze his hands or move a muscle and Alex's heart sank as he seemed to feel her pulling away from him, even as she lay still and passive in his arms.

They lay like that all night, both of them pretending to sleep while their loud persistent thoughts kept them awake.


Alex was on his third cup of coffee already, both of them making awkward small talk over breakfast, their tones clipped and tight.

"Are you ok?" He said finally, looking up at her pointedly from their coffee cups.

She flashed him a tight smile, before casting her eyes down again.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Norma-" He tilted his head at her, his tone soft. "Come on..."

"What do you want me to say, Alex?" She said, resting her head on her hand, sounding exhausted.

"I don't know, Norma." He said, staring at the dregs of his coffee like they would tell him what to say. The words sounded like they could have easily been arguing, but their matching tones and expressions told a different story - A story of two people who had no idea what to think or say.

"I'm scared for him to come home." She said finally.

He nodded slowly, opening his mouth to speak, almost relieved when she cut him off.

"I'm happy he's coming home." She insisted, and Alex watched her face for any signs of insincerity, finding none. "I missed him." She added quietly, smiling to herself, and any doubts that he had about her sincerity disappeared.

"I know."

"What does this mean... for us?" He asked the bottom of his coffee cup, instantly feeling selfish for focusing on how this would affect him. He chanced a glance up at her, pleased that she didn't seem to hate him for asking the question they were both wondering about.

"I don't know." She whispered, and she suddenly shot up, filling the sink to wash their untouched plates.

"I need to talk to Doctor Edwards. I... already called him. He said I can come in to his office and talk to him in person."

"When?"

She checked her watch, gasping at the time, drying her hands on a dishtowel.

"Erm, now actually."

"Ok." He nodded at the back of her head, before rising and grabbing her phone off the wall.

"Hey, it's Romero. Tell Woods I'm gonna take the morning off today. Yeah... Yes Janine, the whole morning. I'll be in after lunch. I've got my cell if there's any emergencies... That's really none of your business, Janine. Just tell Woods, please."

He hung up and turned to find her staring at him open mouthed, the towel still hanging limply from her hands. He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to read her expression and failing miserably.

"I just... I'm here if you want me to be." He explained, shrugging lightly, as she crossed the kitchen towards him, the dishtowel dropping to the ground. For a second, he wasn't sure if she was about to slap him for his presumptuousness, so he was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a crushing hug.

"Alex?" He nodded in reply, managing to keep his hands wrapped around her waist, not letting his usually eager hands drift down to her rear.

"Don't be rude to Janine." She chastised quietly, and he laughed, a real proper laugh that surprised them both and managed to lift some of the tension that had followed them since her phonecall in the car.


After meeting with the exceptionally patient Doctor Edwards, and explaining their somewhat unusual situation, they decided it was best to try and get Norman used to the idea of Alex being around, without him being his mother's husband, not in the real sense. So Norma and Alex had glumly packed up Alex's stuff and moved him back down to Room 11 the night before Norman was due to return home, spending the last few minutes getting their stories straight.

"So we got married for the insurance and you moved in here so that you could run up to the house if the marriage police came by to check."

He smiled at her insistent use of the term "marriage police" which she said completely seriously every time she said it, trying to ignore the rest of her sentence. The truth was, it hurt him a little more every time she said it, scrolling through the facts unemotionally as she paced up and down the motel room.

"And we've become friends since you've been here-"

"We were already friends." He corrected, from where he was perched on the edge of the bed, watching her pace. She stopped, turning to face him.

"Right. Yeah... right. But now we're... better friends and that's why you come up for dinner every day, and he'll get used to having you there for dinner and then..."

She trailed off, her words tumbling out too fast as he jumped up and crossed the room, his hands grasping her waist to stop her nervous movements.

"It's going to be fine. Doctor Edwards said so. And he doesn't strike me as the lying type." He smiled gently at her as she nodded, puffing out a calming breath. She finally caught his eye, smiling gratefully up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a gentle hug.

He embraced her for a moment, breathing in the lavender scent of her shampoo, his hands sliding along the curve of her back, already trying to commit every aroma, every curve and aspect of her to memory as if he were going off to war. He turned his face into her neck, pressing soft kisses there, his hands drifting down to rest on her tailbone, feeling her body melt against his for a few moments before she leaned back, jerking her neck away from his lips. He frowned down at her, confused as she pushed against his chest, shooting him an unreadable expression as she wriggled out of his grip, taking a shaky step back.

"Ok. Well, goodnight." She said quietly, reaching up to peck his cheek, before turning and sweeping out of the room without another word.

He stood there, dumbstruck as the door closed behind her and he stood staring blankly at the door for a few moments.

His eyes darted around the room, like he couldn't quite believe what had happened, hating himself for becoming the man who simply expected sex from his wife, but still in shock that on this, their last night together before their world was turned upside down, she would simply kiss him on the cheek and leave.

After a few silent minutes, there was a chipper little knock on the door, and he lurched forwards with an embarrassing haste, wrenching the door open to find her standing there, one arm stretched out above her, leaning on the doorframe seductively.

"Hi." She smiled wickedly at him, taking in his flustered expression, raising her eyebrows at him. "Just kidding."

She giggled as he reached for her, pulling her into the room, and kicking the door shut behind her. There was a shrill peal of laughter that made her glad they didn't have any other guests, as he hoisted her up to roughly deposit her on the dresser next to the door, his hands gripping her thighs, pulling them up to wrap around his hips, before his hands slid higher, gasping into her mouth as he kissed her hard.

"You're not wearing any underwear." He blurted out against her mouth, feeling her smile as his lips drifted to her jaw.

"I keep leaving them places." She said innocently, pouting, sounding genuinely saddened by her own forgetfulness and the awkward situations it had created for them. He laughed against her throat, before nipping gently at her collarbone, frowning as she jerked away.

"No marks. I don't want Norman to see." She scolded lightly, and he let his mouth fall open as if wounded by her warning. In truth, he was occasionally mildly horrified by the faint handprints he sometimes left on her thighs or her hips, or the stubble rash that marred the insides of her thighs, or the tiny hickeys he sometimes accidentally left on her neck in the heat of the moment. Not that Norma seemed to mind, tutting and rolling her eyes, but secretly admiring the faint possessive marks in the mirror when she thought he wasn't looking. She was always careful to assure him he hadn't hurt her, just like he was always careful to check.

"Don't act like you don't need telling." She shook her head at him incredulously, giggling, and he slowed his pace, returning to where he had just grazed his teeth, replacing the action with a series of incredibly soft kisses.

"Fine." He agreed, licking softly at the hollow of her throat. "I'll be gentle."

"Now, no-one said anything about gentle." She muttered back, suddenly yanking the shoulder of his black t-shirt down, biting down on the curve between his shoulder and his neck. He yelped, shaking his head at her, open mouthed at her audacity. Apparently marks on him were still fair game.

"Now, now. Mrs Romero." His hands drifted to her shirt, pulling the simple sweater over her head. "Play nicely." He murmured, his tone low and dangerous, watching as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, her breaths coming out too hard. His hands drifted behind her, undoing her bra with one smooth flick of his wrist, sliding it off and bending his knees to slide down her body a little. She leaned back on the dresser, letting her hands stretch out behind her, her head dropping back.

"Or we'll have to find places Norman won't look." He bit down lightly on the curve of her breast, just hard enough to mark, pleased when she let out an appreciative little squeak, her hands flying to his hair, tugging painfully.

He spent the rest of the night trying to make her forget about all the worries, and the anxieties that plagued them both about the following day, finding new places to mark her, places that he hoped to god Norman wouldn't look at. By the morning, they were a mess, Alex covered in faint scratches, his shoulder aching from where she had bitten down particularly hard to muffle a scream, and he was stroking his hand up and down the curve of her hip, watching as his handprint there refused to fade at all, feeling that familiar sense of guilt at having gripped her hard enough to mark her, especially when she had specifically asked him not to. She yawned, nuzzling her head against where it was resting on his arm, her eyes fluttering open from her little doze. She stretched contentedly, freezing when she noticed something.

"We broke the wall." She observed mildly, and he followed her gaze to the wall next to the door, his mouth dropping open when he noticed the cracks in the cheap plaster work where the corner of the dresser had been repeatedly slammed against it.

"God." He muttered, slightly horrified as he pulled back from her and rolled her onto her back, his eyes darting all around her naked body, searching for any signs of distress. She watched him, a confused, slightly amused smile playing on her lips as she watched him examine her, her hand coming up to gently cup her face when she realised what he was doing. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, turning his face to place a soft kiss against her palm.

She shook her head at him, sighing exasperatedly.

"I got carried away."

She traced the bitemark on his shoulder lightly with her finger, shooting him a pointed look.

"Yeah. Me too." He rolled his eyes, laughing softly as he dropped his head to her shoulder.

"It was our last night together in the bubble." He pointed out, using her own term that she had started using since finding out Norman was coming home. It made her feel slightly guilty to think of her son as being something that would "burst the bubble" but once she'd thought of it, she couldn't help it. "I should have made love to you."

She smiled up at him, running her hands through his hair, tracing the shell of his ear with her thumb. She would have rolled her eyes at anyone else using such a quaint term for it, but sometimes, when he took her so gently and lovingly, whispering how much he loved her the whole time, pressing soft kisses against her jaw until she trembled in his arms, there didn't seem to be another term that suited it quite so well, and she couldn't bring herself to mock him for his old fashioned wording.

"Instead of fucking me on the dresser till we broke the wall?" She queried playfully, her tone seductive, not being able to help herself. His mouth dropped open at her words. She was no stranger to swearing, but she reserved some words for only occasional use, and this time, her words had the desired effect as he unconsciously shifted his body on top of hers, trailing his nails lightly down her side, making her shiver.

"Exactly." He murmured against her cheek, kissing along her cheekbone as her thighs dropped open, her ankles sliding down the backs of his legs.

She turned her head, glancing at the clock next to the bed.

"We still have time."

"So we do." He nodded mildly, rubbing himself against her teasingly, enjoying the way her head dropped back against the pillows, her back arching against him.

"Make love to me then." She whispered in his ear, in only a slightly mocking tone at his flowery wording, and he cut off her little giggle by sliding inside her smoothly, muffling her gasp by pressing his lips gently against hers.

He set up a gentle, teasing rhythm, lightly running his nails up and down her sides, enjoying the way she jerked against him every time he did it, watching her eyes flutter shut, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. He clutched her to him and rolled them over so she was on top of him, the way he knew she wanted him to, watching as she smiled down at him breathlessly, changing their pace slightly. He was happy to let her, wrapping his hands around her back, holding her against him desperately like she was going to disappear.

Her movements grew sloppy quickly, and he was glad, listening as her soft moans quickly turned to frantic sobs, feeling the muscles in her back go taut as her body began to tighten around him.

"Tell me everything's gonna be ok." She muttered desperately against his cheek.

"Everything's gonna be ok." He panted out, his hands tangling in her hair, as she began to lose her rhythm, her frenzied rocking growing erratic.

"Tell me you love me." She demanded, her nails digging in to where they were pressing against his chest.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." He chanted out, his voice ragged, his words filling the room as she grew silent for a moment, before releasing a series of quiet muffled sobs into his neck, her nails dragging down his chest of their own will, her body tightening and shuddering and pushing him over the edge at the same time.

He groaned loudly, enjoying the lack of other guests at the motel and she choked out another soft sentence that he missed over the sounds of his own release, and it took a few moments to regain his breathing and ask what she had said.

"What?"

"Tell me you wont leave me." She gasped out quietly, as she continued to tremble as his hands stroked up and down her back. His hands flew to the sides of her face and pulled her back to look at him, her gaze hesitant and worried, her eyes huge and shiny with unshed tears.

"Never." He said seriously, pulling her close to rest her forehead against his.

"Even if things with Norman get-" He cut her off as he sat up abruptly, his hands looped under her arms, holding her fast against him, his hands grasping the sides of her face to gaze at her.

"Never." He nodded at her, and she smiled, her eyes drifting shut, letting a couple of tears slip out from under her closed eyelids.

He brushed them away tenderly, kissing the tip of her nose, making her breath out a soft, tearful laugh.

"You know, if a woman cries after sex, it's usually a sign you either did something very wrong or very right."

She licked her lips, shrugging casually, as she wiped her fingers under her eyes, sniffling.

"Meh. It was ok." She said dismissively, flashing him a dangerous smile that dropped as his hand flew down to sandwich between them, swiping his thumb against her clit.

"Only ok?" He muttered dangerously, as she jerked, gasping hard.

"Too much, too much." She whispered, shuddering lightly as he immediately withdrew his hand from the over-sensitised spot above where their bodies were still joined. Her eyes fluttered open again to find him smirking at her, his expression smug, as she giggled breathlessly at him.

"Fine." She admitted, her smile telling all, and he pressed a kiss over the spot where her ring finger met her palm, tracing his lips over the cool metal there before winding her arms around his neck and wrapping his arms tightly around her back.

"Come on." He murmured, shuffling to the edge of the bed, and struggling to his feet with her in his arms.

"Where are we going?" She asked brightly, her eyes drifting back over to the chest of drawers and the splintered wall behind it, her gaze half excited, half wary. He followed her eyeline and rolled his eyes.

"Shower." He grunted out, like he was directing an unruly child to bathtime.

"Oh." She breathed out, sounding more disappointed than relieved.

"My god, woman." He muttered, kicking open the bathroom door, feeling her lips move back to his neck.

"You're gonna be the death of me."

"At least you'll die happy."


You guys! Thank you SO much for the twitter welcome! I seriously felt so loved! And slightly overwhelmed, tbh. But in a good way! If anyone missed it, I joined twitter. I'm on there as geneharl0w (yes, with a zero for the O) and I'll be posting little snippets of upcoming chapters, little sneak previews, and maybe some ideas and thoughts about upcoming one-shots. So follow me if any of that sounds appealing to you, or if you just wanna chat about Bates Motel, which I'm ALWAYS up for. :)

As always, I LIVE for your reviews, so lemme know if you liked this chapter.

So this is where the chapters are going to get quite a bit shorter, and you might start to slightly hate me. (Mwahahahahahaaa!)

A few people have expressed some concerns that I might be planning to kill off Norma or Alex at some point in this fic. And well... maybe? Who knows? But serious talk, if anyone like, legit, genuinely wants to know for 100% if I'm going to do that - like, you would stop reading and want me to confirm or deny either way, PM me and I will straight up tell you. Cause I don't want anyone to stop reading because they're scared I'm gonna kill off our beloveds. Isn't the not knowing more fun though? The constant fear that their happiness might be ripped away from them at any moment? Makes ya feel alive! :)