Here's the next chapter.. hope you all enjoy.. will be looking forward to your reviews.. though not any yet but I am optimist.. Happy Sunday.. enjoy ;)

-Sabah.

Chapter.2

Undeniable

Around 4 am Dylan returned.. "Norma.. Norma where are you?" he entered the living room calling out for Norma but he was not at all prepared for the site.. "whoa.. wha-what are you doing here?" was his instance reaction when he saw his nutty mother leaning into the arms of the big daddy of White Pine Bay, sleeping soundly.

Alex preferred to ignore Dylan's query and decided to pitch in one of his "did you find Norman?"

"umm.. no.." he replied still puzzled by the scenario.

"Okay we're gonna go find him.." Alex looked down at Norma who was blissfully away from this shitty situation for a change.. "first let's take your mother up to her room; shall we?" with that he encircled one arm around her waist and glided the other underneath her knee and scooped Norma's petite body effortlessly within his firm frame. As he carried her up the stairs Alex maintained a static posture, making sure not to wake her up. Dylan followed him close behind still uncertain as to how to react.

Alex was about to enter the first bedroom when Dylan directed "umm it's the next one.."

Alex placed a dreamlessly sleeping Norma gently on the bed pulling in the duvet covering her.

He turned around to face yet a baffled Dylan.. "WHAT?" Alex asked irritated by his expression.

"nothing.. it's just weird.. I mean since when have you and Norm.."

Alex knew where he was heading, so he cut him off before Dylan could complete the sentence.. "let's just not waste time.. we need to find Norman..!" he suggested.

"you know everything, don't you?" Dylan asked.

"yeah.. and you have some answering to do pal!" he replied in his Sheriff demeanor.

"alright.. I gotta get something from my room then we can head out.." he left the room saying that.

Alex stood there taking one last look at Norma.. He had no idea her life was this difficult.. sure she had gone through a lot since she moved to this homicidal town, no doubt she was as strong as a mountain but peeking deeper into her life he just got to know how hard it must have been for her with Norman like this every day.. and carrying this burden all alone, no one to share it with, no one talk to.. no wonder she was nutcase.. a sly smile crept his stoic face thinking about how crazy she would act sometimes.. crooning over her Alex gently stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger, savoring her buttery skin.. He couldn't help but wonder how deep she had dragged him into her life.. So deep that he was ready to do anything for her; even at the cost of his job, at the cost of his own life!

"we ready to go?" Dylan called out from the bedroom's entrance right the next instance..

Alex straightened up hearing Dylan, feeling a bit conscious.. He spun around and quickly moved out of the room, calling out from behind "yeah let's go!"

They drove around the silent, caliginous town; it was still too early for a small town like WPB for any day-to-day activity. The clock devise of the car read 4:45 am.. Alex drove at a steady speed looking over at every possible place Norman could be.. meanwhile Dylan kept his gaze hooked at him not able to comprehend what exactly was going between his mother and Alex.

"would you stop that?! It's creeping me out!" Alex asserted with his sight glued to the road.

"uh-sorry, it's just weird.. what is going on between you and my mom?" he asked simply.

"nothing is going between me and Norma Dylan, just because you saw her resting on my shoulders, it doesn't mean something's necessarily going on.." he explained to the young man.

"look.. I just.."

"Dylan!" he cut him off before he could say anything further.. "the woman has gone through a lot, I'm sure you are aware of that.. show some compassion.. I'm just trying to help.. as a friend.. because I care.. that's it.. no hidden motives!"

"I know and I appreciate you being there for her.. umm and it's not that I'd have any problem if you two had dated"

Alex rolled his eyes at him.. he couldn't believe how Dylan had told that out loud, as if it was the most natural thing. Although he couldn't deny that it was something he'd been considering for quite a long time now but it wasn't that easy.. his life was a mess and Norma's was messier.. being with her would just complicate things for both of them.. he'd tried precisely to get close to her a couple of times.. however she had always managed to back out.. lucky for his stars, otherwise god knows what kind of troubles that woman would have dragged him into, not that they were any lesser now, despite of not being in a relationship with her..

"hhuuuuhhh!" Alex exhaled realizing how helpless he was when it came to Norma Bates, there was something spectral in her that kept drawing him towards her and he simply had no power over it. Her aura was clearly undeniable and it made him do crazy things; things he'd have never imagined doing in his wildest dreams.

"what's the story with Bradley Martin?" he asked in attempt to divert his mind and also probably Dylan's.

"she's alive, she.. she'd never killed herself." Dylan confessed to him without any fuss.. "we; Norman and I helped her to get out of town."

"what for?"

Dylan went silent for a while determining how to concede the entire truth.. "umm.. sh..she.." he fumbled.. "she had to get away from a crime.." he concluded.

"the murder of Gill Turner?" Alex asked, rather stated.

"yeah" Dylan replied without looking at him.

"mmhh"

Dylan couldn't anticipate Alex's reaction about Bradley, he didn't understand how he being the Sheriff kept so clam about a murder.. but he chose not to go into further details.

They were driving for more than half hour, now at the outskirts of White Pine Bay.. Silence persisted between them up until Alex pointed out at something as they were passing by the old dock yard.. "you see that?" Alex asked slowing down the roaring engine.

Dylan's eyes traced towards what he was pointing, to what he could fathom from the distance seemed like someone's lifeless body lying in the dirt.. "pullover.." he suggested only hoping that it'd be Norman; still breathing.

Norma blinked a several times to clear her vision, her eyelashes felt heavy, her head throbbed constantly from the lack of sleep; they demanded more rest.. she rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm to get a clearer view.. she looked around her to perceive where she was.. to her utmost surprise she was in her own bedroom, comfortably tucked in her bed.. The last thing she remembered was her frenetic cries to Alex, then it dawned on her; it was him, who brought her up to her room.. she got out of the bed running down the stairs looking for him.. "Alex.. you still here?"

There was no reply, she assumed he'd already left.. she went inside the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee;

her mind traced back to Alex.. 'he must have carried me up to the room.. was I too heavy for him..?' she thought to herself.. a shade of pink appeared on her pale cheeks.. she felt a little embarrassed falling asleep on him.. for a once in a long, long time her cognizance allowed her to think of someone other than Norman and in her subconscious mind she loved that feeling.. as Norma sipped on her coffee she suddenly recalled what the clutter was about.. Norman, her dear boy was still missing.. she dropped the mug of coffee immediately and rushed to grab the phone.. she heard the front door creak open midway dialing. It was Alex and Dylan carrying a motionless Norman..

"Oh my god! what happened to him?" Norma cried frantically.

"let's just get him up to his room first, ok Norma!" Alex urged.

Both men laid Norman on the bed, Norma raveled the cuffs of his sleeves and brushed dirt off of his face.. as she touched his cheeks a chill ran down her spines.. Norman seemed so estrange, she felt she never knew him.. terror ran through her nerves, she knew something was hell wrong.

"where'd you find him" she asked having her sight trained on Norman.

"Down by the old docks. He was unconscious." Dylan replied.

"and? what else?" she gorged as she spoke.

"what do you mean?" an astound Alex shot back.

Before the conversation went any further, Norman started to move.. his lips parted lightly as heaved in oxygen; he opened his eyes slowly looking around.. "wha.. what happened?" Norman asked in groggily.

"nothing.. it's okay honey, everything is fine.." Norma replied instantly caressing his hair.

"why are you all here, staring at me like that?" he sat up leaning back at the headboard.

Norma wrapped her arms around him pulling him in a tight embrace. "nothing honey, we'll talk about it later.. you need to rest.." she gently patted his back trying to soothe him.

Norma cornered her eyes at Alex still embracing Norman, she smiled at him and mouthed a "thank you" without making it audible; "I'll call you" she added soundlessly.

Alex nodded affirmative mirroring her smile and turned to leave. He stopped at the lid of the stairs to steal one last glance at her only to find her already eyeing him.. his heart felt in content, a peaceful smile graced his lips.. he knew nothing was possible between them; that Norma would never allow him to pass through that invisible barricade and it was better that way but deep down something had changed that night; that he was not just the Sheriff to her, not anymore.. She was finally beginning to trust him, maybe as a well-wisher, maybe as a friend or probably more.

TO BE CONTINUED...