A/N: So this is it, the last chapter. It's always hard to let go of a story (at least for me), but for some reason it's especially hard to let go of this one. Therefore I hope you'll like the way I chose to end it. Sorry that this is not a longer note, but I'm really emotional right now.
The usual disclaimer applies.
No one knows she's here. Well, no one being Alex or Dylan. At the end of the day, there are very few people in our lives that matter, and to Norma, these two matter and no one else. At least as far as the living are concerned.
She needed to come here alone. The house is silent. Norma was afraid she would either become sentimental or scared the moment she opened the door, but so far none of it has happened. It's just a house full of memories that oddly enough don't seem to be connected to her anymore.
Norma walks up the stairs. Whoever cleaned up, did a good job. There is the one or other black stain that can't be removed, left by forensics whilst they were perpetuating evidence, but there is not one blood splatter. Alex must have taken care of it; it wasn't his first crime scene. On her way upstairs Norma stops right at the spot where Norman attempted to kill her. Still no blood. She reaches out to touch the handrail she held on to desperately when he dragged her down the stairs, hesitating at first before she grabs it more firmly. Nothing. No additional flash of memory aside from the pictures that will always weigh heavily on her mind, just a deep sadness that things had to end the way they did. Then again, this sadness is always there these days, accompanying her wherever she goes and whatever she does. Grief leaves an imprint on your soul that remains forever, only pales with time but never vanishes.
She takes a deep breath, walks up the last couple of steps and heads to Norman's room. When Norma opens the door, something changes. The impact she has been waiting for. Suddenly it's difficult to breathe. She enters anyway. Her son always kept the room tidy. The instinct of a mother tells Norma, though, that someone tidied up even more, probably expecting this day to happen and not wanting her to find a room that looked as if Norman had just left and would be back any moment. A scenario that would have made this difficult moment even more heartbreaking. It must have been Dylan, not Alex, considering he was the one who pulled the trigger. If anything, Alex would have wanted to clear out the room but knew he couldn't do that to her.
Norman's scent still lingers in his clothes, even after almost three months. Norma strokes some of his sweaters and his jacket as if he was able to feel her touch. The tears are there now, waiting to be shed. She searches the drawers until she finds what she came here for. A teddy bear Norman had ever since he was a baby. The moment her fingers touch the plush toy, the memories come back. She knew they would. Norma hugs and squeezes the teddy bear, burying her nose in its soft, artificial fur as she sits down on the bed.
Will he find us? Norman was five years old; they were hiding in the closet from her husband, his father when he asked her that.
No, honey. She held him tight back then, turned his face towards her so that he wouldn't see his father trashing the room through the blinds, the destructive frenzy a distraction since he'd rather hit human flesh, break skin and bones.
I don't want him to hurt you. I don't want anyone to hurt you. Ever, Norman whispered. Sooner or later Sam would hurt her again, but right then, in that moment, it felt as if Norman's love could protect her against anything.
Norma lies down on Norman's bed and curls up, her body shielding the toy like she used to shield Norman. Then she allows herself to let go and cry. This is the final goodbye.
Norma inhales deeply. Although it's freezing outside, there is nothing better than the fresh air of the sea.
"This is beautiful, Dylan," she says, turning around to look at her son even if the view is as amazing as the fresh air.
Dylan stands inside, watching her through the open door. His patio is almost as big or rather small as his living room but clearly the best thing of the house. It makes him proud that Norma obviously agrees. Proud and a little embarrassed. Dylan blushes and looks away.
"Yeah, um..." He scratches his head. "It's not a big house, only two rooms, but I thought it would be nice to have a house at the beach. I love the water."
"Me too." Norma turns around to savor the view once more.
Dylan has been living here and there during the last months. After Norma hadn't returned, there was no reason for him to stay at the house even if there was plenty of space. Although Dylan told no one, it scared him to be there alone. Too many ghosts, too many awful memories. He slept there one night and then packed his stuff the next morning, tidied Norman's room as a last farewell and never has set foot in it again ever since.
"You earn enough money so that you can afford this place?"
He should be offended because she sounds as if that is hard to believe, but Dylan is too happy right now. "Yes, I do." Even if Norma doesn't approve of what he does and the sheriff will probably arrest him one day, it feels great to be financially independent. For the first time in his life, Dylan has been able to keep a job longer than three weeks. In a way, he has made it. "You should come by and visit sometime. I have an office."
"You have an office?"
"Yeah." Casual as if it didn't mean anything. She is in for a surprise though. His office is huge.
Norma smiles at him, something that happens all the time these days. It's weird not to be the bad son anymore. Dylan hasn't replaced Norman, would never want that, especially considering the much too close relationship his brother and mother had. However it feels as if his old self doesn't exist anymore either, as if there suddenly is a third son that has been found only now.
"So, what about you and the sheriff?" Dylan deflects, stepping out to join his mother on the patio.
"What about us?" But the way Norma beams the moment Dylan mentions Alex says it all.
"Well, is it serious?"
Dylan knows Alex is dead serious. A man doesn't do for a woman what Alex did for Norma and still does every day if he is not deeply in love. Dylan is not sure about Norma though. The fact that she and Alex are still together after Alex killed Norman speaks volumes. Then again, this is Norma and her perception of what she wants and needs can change on a daily basis. Any second actually.
Right now she is looking at the sea, can't seem to get enough of it, her beautiful profile a perfect subject for a photograph. Despite the almost magical scenario, Norma looks thoughtful, her mind elsewhere while she is contemplating his question.
"Don't be," Dylan says.
"Don't be what?" Norma shoots a glance at him.
"Scared."
A shadow flits across her face. His remark hit home.
"You've had nothing but bad breaks, but that doesn't mean something good won't last. Things will be better from now on. You deserve it."
This time she holds his gaze. "You think so? You think it's all gonna be okay?"
"Kind of. Yeah, I do. Life is not perfect, Norma, but it can be better than it was in the past."
She raises her eyebrows. "Doesn't take much, does it?" And yet, the mere idea of being happy with Alex scares her to death because what if life takes that happiness away again like it always did in the past? She won't survive, not with Norman gone, no matter how much her relationship with Dylan has improved. Norma's facial expression softens. "I'm sorry, Dylan. I'm so sorry, for everything. How I shut you out; it was horrible of me and I'm so sorry."
Dylan doesn't move, just keeps standing next to her as she rests her head on his shoulder and they watch the sunset together. For a moment, he can't say where his body ends and hers begins. Maybe this is how you feel when you are family and close. It feels good although almost too close. There is always that aura around Norma that is a tad too intense. He stirs.
"Hang on a sec." Dylan walks inside and returns with two bottles of beer, handing one over to Norma. "I, err, I have no glasses yet, but I think this is something we should drink to." They clink bottles. "To my new house, to a better future." He pauses. "To you and the sheriff."
Norma takes a deep breath and then smiles. "To all that." After she has taken the first sip, she screws up her face. "Can I get wine the next time?"
"Sure, Norma, anything you want."
But she continues to drink the beer and seems to be perfectly happy. Maybe the world can be a better place, even for people like them.
"Don't be mad."
"Norma, is that you?"
"Of course, it's me. Don't you recognize my number or my voice?"
Sometimes her comebacks are so quick that Alex doesn't know how to respond. Just when he is about to, he hears some rumbling in the background.
"Where are you?"
"I'm..." More rumbling, a bump, a groan and the sound of something falling down and breaking to pieces. "It's late already," Norma says, completely ignoring whatever is going on around her, "and I thought maybe you'd want to...come home."
This is starting to get really cryptic. Alex has come to terms with staying at the motel, but she has never referred to it as their home before.
"Alex," Norma's voice becomes impatient when he doesn't reply immediately as if her request was obvious and he of all people should understand what she means. There is something else in her voice though. Unease. "Come to your house," she adds before she hangs up, leaving him speechless.
It takes Alex only 10 minutes to drive over to his house, the movers just leaving when he arrives. The men nod to him politely in passing; he vaguely recognizes one or two. One of them stops to talk to him; he's obviously in charge.
"She, err, Mrs. Bates told us it was ok with you and since everyone knows the two of you are, err, together, we accepted the order."
"Yes, sure." Alex peeks inside. There are curtains in front of one window where he pulled the roller blinds up only this morning. He makes out Norma's outline, twirling through the rooms. Part of him feels slightly angry because she didn't discuss the decision with him in advance. Then again, it wouldn't have been the surprise she apparently was going for. And even from where he is standing and after just a brief look, his house appears to be so much cozier, as if Norma's sheer presence has made it warmer. Alex gets his wallet out to give the movers a tip, but the man refuses to take it.
"No, thanks, Mrs. Bates already gave us more than enough. And she made us lunch. Doesn't get much better than that. Have a nice evening."
The man catches up with his colleagues, car doors open and close while Alex remains standing outside, trying to process what is happening. He is coming home. Not to his house after a long workday to have a drink and crash on the couch, not to a motel room because the woman he loves is living there. Home.
Norma pretends not to hear him when he comes in although Alex knows she has been listening for each and every of his footsteps, tensely waiting for this moment.
"There you are." She badly fakes surprise, finally acknowledging his presence. "So, what do you think?" Norma wrings her hands nervously. There is more furniture in his living room than before, but it doesn't feel crowded at all, rather more comfortable. "I only brought along a few things and, um, my clothes. We need to talk about where I can put them and then we can decide together what furniture from my house we might want to bring here in addition. I paid the movers in advance. They are prepared to do more heavy lifting." She is rambling.
"Norma..." Alex walks up to her, taking her in his arms, but she wriggles out of his grasp.
"If you don't want any of my furniture here, that's fine. We can throw it out. I just thought since I have some really beautiful vintage things that you might like them too. But, um, the only thing I need to keep is this."
Norma has went over to the opposite wall where her piano is standing. He loves that she plays the piano, would never tell her to get rid of it. Only when Norma becomes even more nervous, he realizes it's not solely about the piano. It's about the photo she has put on top of it right next to the photo of himself and his mother when he was a little boy. A photo of her and Norman. It must be recent; Norman doesn't look much younger than when he died. They both smile into the camera, hugging each other happily and free from worry.
Alex doesn't know what to say or do. Logically, this was a moment bound to happen. Even so, he never thought about the possibility that moving in together would entail having a photograph of the kid he killed in his own house. He allowed himself to indulge in the illusion that he could forget about what happened like he had forgotten about other things he had done in his life. Norma swallows, worried by his silence, and Alex realizes he has frozen and is staring at the photo. If she lives with him, the memory of her son will live here too.
"You want to live here with me?" On the other side Norma has come to stay with the man who killed her son. Between the two of them, she is the one who has to offer the much bigger sacrifice.
"Yes. I sold the motel and my house today." And she definitely is the one who never ceases to amaze him.
Alex takes her hand and leads her out.
"What are you doing?"
He almost regrets his spontaneous decision when he hears how scared Norma's voice sounds, but this is how it has to start. Alex stops the moment they are standing outside, turning them around so that they are facing his front door. Then he scoops Norma up and carries her inside, putting her down right next to the piano.
"Welcome to my house. And thank you for making it our home."
Norma snuggles into Alex lazily. He eventually convinced her to delay hanging the rest of the curtains until tomorrow since they needed to celebrate her moving in with him appropriately. In the bedroom. Then in the kitchen where she prepared a light meal for them. And then in the bedroom again. It's a great feeling to be exhausted and delighted at the same time. It reduces the world to the here and now, to Norma in his arms, her breath a soft caress against his neck.
Sometime between number one and three she announced that she hates his bed and that it will be either hers or a new one, something that seems to be a given in her book especially after her I don't like that I have no idea who slept with you in here statement. Alex could give her a list, but that's not the point. Let alone that he kind of likes jealous Norma. That version of her is new and really cute.
"Can you leave the light on?" she murmurs.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" He didn't know that about her.
"No." She yawns. "I want to see you."
"Norma… You're supposed to sleep, not watch me sleeping. That's creepy." Although Alex has to laugh. Who would've thought that a relaxed Norma is so sweet? He has come to know and love her strength, unpredictability, and sensuality, but witnessing her like this once in a while makes for a nice balance.
"Just for a bit." Norma is so sleepy that she won't last long, her words already barely audible. Alex only understands what she is saying because she is essentially murmuring into his ear. "I can't believe I'm here. That we're together. That after everything, we've made it."
So Alex leaves the lamp on his chest of drawers on. Save that it's not her watching him but vice versa. Norma has fallen asleep and he takes the opportunity to study her peaceful face for a while before he gets up to turn off the lights.
He is tired and bumps with his hip against the top drawer that is half open. Alex groans, pushing the drawer shut when he is suddenly reminded of something he hasn't thought of in years. There is a lot of stuff in the drawer. He fumbles around carefully to make no noise until his fingers feel the familiar little box and get it out. Alex looks at the bed before he opens the box to make sure Norma is sound asleep. The ring of his mother, safely tucked away in the box, is as beautiful as always. A classic that calls for a certain type of woman. Someone who can wear such a classic on her finger as if it was made for her. Alex looks at Norma again, smiling as he puts the little black box back into the drawer, hiding it under some stuff so that Norma won't find it accidentally. Everything is falling into place.
Norma stirs in her sleep but doesn't wake up when Alex eases into bed again. He can't resist to stroke her cheek before he puts one arm around her protectively. "Goodnight, Mrs. Sheriff."
They will bring over more of her furniture tomorrow; he will make room for it. And in the evening, he will take her to the yearly Winter Lights Festival. She will look ethereally beautiful, carrying one of the illuminated umbrellas. They will have funnel cake, a hot toddy, and she will probably talk him into dancing. Either way, he will bring the little black box because he has to ask her something that can't wait.
The End
So… I know there are some loose ends. That was deliberate. Life is one big loose end and that point in Norma's and Alex's lives felt like the perfect moment to end this story and let them have their happily ever after.
Thank you all SO MUCH for reading and reviewing, for your lovely, thoughtful comments that made me once again happy to write about such wonderful characters and for such wonderful fans. xoxo
PS: No, this wasn't my last Bates story. Just in case you were wondering. ;)