30.

~ "Romero, are you serious?" Dylan scowled at him. "There's nothing we can do? What if we hire a lawyer? We can fight this."

Alex shook his head. Norman must have already hired a lawyer. A good one looking at how well the bank statements had been filed and the affidavit had been prepared. Norman's lawyer must have had a team of financial specialists working for him in overtime to come back with such a ruling from White Pine Bay court so quickly.

"It's an old loophole in the law." he explained to Dylan who was pacing back and forth in his office. "Came about in the depression to prevent the elderly and disabled from being evicted or having their property sold out from under them by greedy family members."

Dylan shook his head.

"The county literally says we can only sell the house and motel to Norman Bates and no one else." Dylan growled and punched the paperwork with his finger. "An for a fourth of the price we were trying to get."

Alex was trying to remain calm. He was just as upset as Dylan was and surprised by this sudden ruling that had come out of nowhere.

"Norman's lawyer says that he grew up in the house, and is currently in residence. That he is working diligently to restore the family business and had made a special appeal." Alex sighed reading the glowing testimony of one Madeline Loomis. "Also didn't hurt his case that the small business association came to his defense to. Saying that a family run motel is good for the town."

"So they say we can't sell it?" Dylan barked.

"Only to Norman." Alex re-read the neatly worded transcript. It didn't sound like Norman had wrote it or even had much to do with it. It was too… clever. Too familiar with archaic laws and how to use them to his advantage.

"Norman's stating that selling the property wouldn't result in a new owner coming in, just demolition and he had reason to believe you want to sell the land to a strip club owner. He's made the argument such an establishment would devalue property in town and cause crime to increase." Alex knew Norman had written this. Knew that his clever lawyer had thought this up. Knew that every town hated having a seedy strip club and would rather a wholesome little motel that barely did enough business to stay afloat was there.

He looked over the rest of the affidavit. Norman had big plans for the motel. Networking in town through the small business members, sponsoring the girls softball league. Advertising on a billboard near a popular waffle house about ten miles outside of town. All things that would bring in business and should have been done before.

"So what do we do now?" Dylan asked. "Take the house off the market? Give up?"

"We sell it to him." Alex said. "We can tell her she took a loss on her investment. She knew the business was going down anyway."

Dylan looked dumbstruck.

"We're just going to give Norman Bates a motel to run? After… after everything he's done?" the younger man asked.

Alex sighed. Julian had been up all night with a low fever and had been cranky and hard to sooth. Norma had worried that he might be sick enough to take to the hospital, but his fever came down after a few cool baths.

Julian finally settled down by daybreak and Alex was thankful for the peace and quite of his office. Alex Romero had his own family to worry over now, he no longer cared about Norman Bates.

"Dylan, I tried." he explained handing his step-son back the paperwork. "Last month I was down at White Pine Bay and saw Norman and met the new Sheriff. Sheriff Greene didn't want to believe that Norman was dangerous. They practically ran me out of town."

"Maybe if I go down there." Dylan said.

"No." Alex snapped. He could feel a headache coming on. He'd lost a lot of sleep with Julian's bad night.
"Dylan, your wife just lost her father. Your place is here with her." Alex said. "We promised each other that we wouldn't worry your mother with this."

Dylan looked angry. Ready to mutiny but shook his head.

"Fine." he said. "I'll call the Sheriff. Tell her myself that Norman isn't stable. Then, I'll sell to him. Let the blood be on their hands."

~ Alex found his wife and son sleeping on the couch. Norman must have nodded off with Julian curled contentedly on her chest. His body round and snug looking as it rose and fell with his mother's breathing.

She must have heard him come in because her eyes fluttered open and she made sure Julian wouldn't fall off.

"Hi." she whispered.

"Hi." he smiled at such a happy sight. "He finally went to sleep?"

"About an hour ago." she said. "It won't last forever, Alex. This part. Soon he'll be a happy baby again."

"I never knew parenthood was such an… art form." Alex admitted running a hand over his son's back and feeling the warmth of his little body.

Norma grinned.

"It's more like trench warfare." she whispered. "Wait till he's a toddler and he thinks everything he touches is his."

"Some people never grow out of that." Alex said.

Norman giggled and Julian slept soundly. His lips puckered out as if dreaming of milk and his mother.

"Dylan has a buyer for the house and the motel." Alex admitted.

Norma looked surprised.

"Really? That was fast. It only took a few weeks." she whispered.

"Well, the market isn't good. With the bypass." Alex broke the ice to her slowly. "You won't make much money back."

Norman looked disappointed.

"But he says that the new owner will keep it as a motel and live in the house." Alex said. "Even wanted to buy the furniture."

Norma looked a little sad. Alex had wanted her to take more from the house when they moved, but she had only taken what she'd come with. That and the vanity table from her bedroom. She didn't want to part with it and it was her own special place in their bedroom.

Alex had bought her a decent second hand piano for their one year anniversary. Julian had been a sleepy, angelic newborn that Christmas and they had spent the holiday much like the last one. Hidden away from the world in isolation and in love with their new baby.

"I guess its' best not to go back." she said.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." she told him quickly. "We're doing great. This will be one less thing that ties us to those bad memories."

Alex nodded and stood up.

He didn't know what his wife was thinking. No man ever did.

Norma had decided to call Pine View that afternoon instead of writing. She decided to tell Norman over the phone that they were selling the motel and when he got out, she and Alex would help him get on his feet. That he understood why he couldn't go back home.

~ It had been Rebecca's idea to argue the sell of the motel and house. She'd been so brilliant and cunning that Norman almost thought they were breaking the law.

"You're sure this is legal?" he asked for the hundredth time.

"Norman," she rolled her eyes. "This law was meant to protect old people and disabled people. So when their relatives wanted to sell their homes and stuff them in a nursing home, they would have the law on their side." she explained. "Your stay at PineView, your dependence on medication and familiar surrounding puts you in the disabled category. It's horrible that your brother is trying to sell this house out from under you. To leave you homeless."

"Will I have to tell them why I was there?" Norman asked.

"If they ask. Only if they ask." Rebecca said quickly. "If they do, which they won't, you'll say you were suffering from extreme anxiety because of an overbearing mother who was bi-polar or whatever."

"She wasn't bi-polar." Norman said defensively.

"She married Alex Romero just to give you health insurance and then left him a year later. Sounds pretty bi-polar to me." Rebecca huffed.

Norman blinked.

"You'll argue that you're an asset to the community. I've already emailed all your friends from the small business group and they are on board. You'll have to say your brother wants to sell the land to a night club owner. That he wants to build something every town hates. A strip club or a bar or trailer park. Something tacky and tasteless." Rebecca said printing out page after page of documents on the office printer.

"But I haven't spoken to Dylan in months." Norman said. Dylan had stopped coming to see him regularly at PineView.

"You just have to put the fear into them. No one wants a strip club in town. Least of all one that is visible from the road leading into town. No, you argue that your business is a family business and is helping the community. You'll file these forms with Todd White and wait for you number." Rebecca said with a grin.

"I want you there with me." Norman said helplessly.

"I would love to come with you." Rebecca said. "But what have I been telling you?"

"Say it, till you believe it." Norman repeated.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to file the paper work, make my argument like you said. I'm going to tell them this is my home and it's a good wholesome business. That my brother wants to tear it down to build a strip club. That I'm asking the county to enact regulation and zoning law 48B to allow me to buy the entire property in an attempt to keep my mother's business in my family. And keep a clean business in this community." he recited.

Rebecca looked pleased.

"Knock 'em dead." she said.

~ It had been far easier than he thought. Rebecca's paperwork had done most of the talking for him. Norman only had to say yes or no answers and remember to smile. He dressed well and when he stood before the city counsel, he was only asked what kind of guests came to his motel.

"The Bates Motel is a family place." he said shyly. "It's not the kind of place where I rent rooms by the hour. I'm very happy to see families enjoying camping trips here."

That was all that was needed. It barely took an hour.

"We'll stop the sale of the property, Mr. Bates." the city chairman said. "You'll have to secure a loan for yourself but given how low the price is now, it shouldn't be too hard. These laws are meant to protect family members from each other you know. Its' sort of your brother's half of your mother's business and home. I hope you and your brother can work things out."

Norman nodded eagerly. Rebecca had already made an application for a loan and emailed it in. They'd been approved and he could go to the bank now and start the paperwork. What would he do without her? He would have lost his home and his mother's business.

~ He'd bought something nice for dinner for the both him and Rebecca tonight. He'd made a special stop and texted Madeline the good news to. He hadn't been so happy since before he and mother were separated.

He owned the house and the motel. He had a home forever now. He could pay off the small loan in a about ten years if business stayed the same. If it picked up, even better. Rebecca was full of ideas about how to improve the motel. She could make them money and they could be free. Nothing freed you or protected you better than money did.

He noticed a car in the drive of the motel and some people, hipster crowd it looked like, and they wanted three rooms for the night.

Norman happily checked them in. All the while smiling happily that he was that much closer to owning the property forever.

He couldn't wait to tell Rebecca. He might even kiss her cheek and tell her she was his best friend. Tell her that she'd stood by him when everyone else left him. Abandoned him in this abyss. But she hadn't been afraid. She'd told him it was normal to be who he was and not to worry about it. She'd freed him. He would cook the stakes he got for them and they could watch old movies together and make fun of them like they did sometimes.

Her telling him to think of Mother as some old and sickly thing upstairs was working. He was actually forgetting what his real mother looked like and could only picture a frail and pitiful old woman confined to a rocking chair in her room.

As soon as the hipsters were checked into their cabins for the night it started to rain heavily. A downpour that might turn into a flood if he wasn't careful. It was still early and more people would stop at the motel in this rain. Should he go up to the house or wait?

No, he had the stakes in the car, he better go up and tell Rebecca the good news.

He was almost out the door when the office phone rang, and Norman spun around to answer it. Its' number hadn't changed since it had been the Sea Farer. mother hadn't wanted to miss business over something as trivial as a changed telephone number.

"Bates Motel." Norman answered the phone happily.

There was a tense pause on the other end. Breathing.

"Norman?" his mother said. "Norman, honey, is that you?"

Norman felt like ice water had been thrown on him. It had hurt worse than that time Rebecca had slapped him to get him out of an episode.

"Norman?" she asked again sounding desperate. "Norman, say something. They told me at PineView you'd been released. Norman? We… Alex and I… we didn't know you'd been let out."

Norman hung up the phone in a panic.

Everything was twisting and turning again. He was falling. He was blacking out. He wouldn't remember the phone call. Or taking to his real mother. He wouldn't remember much from that night after he checked in the hipsters.

When he woke up the next morning, Rebecca was dead in the basement freezer and he was wearing her dress.