Hey everyone, here's the newest chapter of Black and Blue. I hope you all enjoy it. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought, I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you all and happy reading - MJ123 :)

It was later on in the day, maybe one or two hours after Dylan had shown up at the hospital. After about half an hour, Norma had fallen asleep on her son's shoulder. He believed she had tired herself out from crying so much, but that was what happened. When Norma made herself worked up and upset, she would always pass out. Once she was finally out, he tried texting Norman but there was no answer. It wasn't a surprise, he knew his younger brother was upset over Alex and Norma's relationship, only because he got pushed aside however.

He messaged Emma next, knowing that she would respond better. He figured Norman was with her anyway, as always. Once she knew the situation, she agreed to come to the hospital and keep him some company. Dylan couldn't take care of Norma when she was like this, he was never good at comforting people. He reached over to nudge her awake, "Hey, Norma. Wake up," he murmured figuring if the doctor were to come out he would want to inform her on Alex's condition.

She squinted a bit and rose slightly, "What? What happened?" she asked, her voice still incredibly groggy, "Any word on Alex?" her concern rate was still high and just as fast as she woke up, her anxiety was back and through the roof.

"No, not yet. But I'm guessing it'll be alright," he said, noticing his mother tense up immediately once she was aware, "Mom, if something had gone wrong we would've found out by now."

A few seconds after that, Emma walked through the doors and went to Norma immediately. "Oh my god...Norma, are you okay?" she asked, the girl truly loved her like a mother and looked up to her like a role model. Looking at her face she could see how distraught and sad she was, Emma just wasn't used to seeing it, Norma was usually so strong.

She stood from the chair and hugged Emma, starting to cry on her shoulder. She pulled away once a damp puddle of tears started to form on her sweater covered shoulder, "I'm sorry...I didn't- I didn't mean to get your shirt wet," she sniffled, wiping away the tear streaks under her eyes.

"It's completely alright, Norma. Don't apologize. Why don't we go and grab a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. You can tell me what happened," she offered, looking to Dylan. He looked tired as well and she felt bad that he had to deal with his mother all alone.

She nodded and started walking with the girl before turning back to Dylan, "You gonna be alright here? Do you wanna come with us?".

He shook his head and took out his cell phone, "No thank you. You guys go and catch up a bit. I'll keep an eye out for the doctor and if there's any update I'll let you know."

"Thank you, sweetheart," she smiled, a small sad grin reaching her lips. With that, her and Emma started walking and she told her about what happened, how she was painting the nursery and heard a gunshot and the next thing she knew, Alex was down. She also briefed her on Steven and the backstory with him.

"I'm sorry that happened to him. I mean...he was only trying to protect you. I just don't see why Steven would want to come back after all these years," she inquired. From the get go, she knew there were things about the Bates family to be suspicious about, including their family history and it made her feel bad, it wasn't fair that they were always met with a some form of tragedy or disaster at every turn.

"I don't know to be honest with you. Revenge, maybe? I mean...after his brother died I did just pick up and leave Arizona. Maybe I should have told him where we were relocating to. Maybe then he wouldn't have shown up and Alex wouldn't be fighting for his life right now," she said, her voice breaking as more tears met her cheek.

"Norma, I'm gonna have to stop you, okay? This is not your fault. You aren't the one that pulled the trigger," she said, dropping a hand to her middle back. As they were walking through the hallway, Norma saw the doctor that was supposed to be treating Alex.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to hold herself back so she didn't have another breakdown, losing Alex was not an option, having total anxiety over something she wasn't even sure of yet wasn't allowed either, "Is there any update on Alex Romero?".

The doctor took out his clipboard and checked the patient sheet with a tiny smile, "There's no need to worry, Mrs. Bates. We just finished up with Sheriff Romero and he seems to be doing okay. He got really lucky though, the bullet just missed his heart."

At that moment, Norma felt like the luckiest person in the world. For once it was like God didn't want to screw her over completely. "Really...Alex is okay?" she asked, almost like a hopeful little girl. She didn't know whether she wanted to cry or do a cartwheel in that moment.

"Yes, ma'am. He is indeed okay. I wouldn't recommend anything heavy duty for the next few weeks. Just have him rest and keep him as comfortable as possible. We are gonna give him a prescription for any lingering pain he may have for the time being, we will call it in and you can pick it up at Rite Aid later in the day," he said, ripping off a page of paperwork from the clipboard and handing it to her with all the information on Alex's health.

"Thank you," she said, folding up the paper and handing it to Emma, "Honey, will you please go back to the waiting room and put this in my purse?".

She nodded and took the paper from her, starting to walk away before turning back quickly, "Do you want me to tell Dylan about Sheriff Romero or do you wanna do it?".

Norma shook her head and turned to face her, "No. It's alright, tell him what's going on," she said before looking back at the doctor, "So can I see Alex right now? Is he awake?".

The doctor nodded, "I believe so. He's in room 312. If he is awake, you can go in but only for a few minutes. If not, then give it a little while and let him relax," he informed, walking away from her to tend to another patient.

She walked to his room and felt relieved when she saw him propped up, his eyes half open, he must have been exhausted, "Alex," she said, lightly enough to throw him in a daze.

He cocked his head to look at her with a brief smile, "Hi baby," his voice was gruff like he just woke from a light nap, she moved over to him and kissed his lips gently.

"I am so damn happy that you're okay," she said, her eyes starting to shine with tears again. She didn't want him to see her weak, not after everything he had been through that day, it would just be selfish.

He took her hand and pulled it forward to kiss the back of it, "I love you and I'm happy to see you right now," he said. Once Steven pulled the trigger, Alex honestly thought he would never see Norma again. It was unbelievable how he started to doubt his own life after one gunshot wound. But, he was a cop, and his life was on the line everyday.

"I love you too, Alex," she smiled, taking the seat next to his bed and keeping a tight grip on his hand.

"So, do you have any idea where Steven is right now? Did the police get him?" he asked, right now that was the most important thing, catching this asshole and tossing him behind bars for a long time.

"No," she shook her head, "I didn't see him leave. All I saw was you lying on the ground and I called the cops and an ambulance, he had to have ran out of that house faster than lightening."

"Dammit," he sighed, shaking his head, "Alright. I need you to call the police station and tell them to start a search party for him. And you need to make sure everyone in that house, Dylan, Norman, Katie, and Ella, are somewhere out in public. If they are in the home right now, it could be fatal."

"Dylan is with me right now, he's in the waiting room. Norman is gone, he went out to the library this afternoon before everything happens and he normally doesn't come home until late, but I'll call him. Katie and Ella were at the park, I'll contact her too and warn her. She and that baby are probably next on his list to harm," she sighed, growing more anxious with the thought.

He could sense the stress on her face and tightened the grip on her hand, "I don't want you to worry okay. Norma? Everyone will be fine. We'll catch Steven and put him away for what he did."

"Okay, Alex. I trust you."

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