Author's Notes: Well, I decided to start a sequel…
Hello, I'm back! Readers didn't like how the last story ended from the personal messages I received, which I can understand after skimming through it. Hopefully I can fix that feeling with this continuation?
I have ideas for this fiction, but it's a bit spontaneous so I don't even know if I like the title I chose. If I continue this sequel and I figure out a different title, I'll change it.
To be honest, I'm not even sure if people are still reading fanfiction for this tv show anymore, but if you happen to stumble across this story I hope you enjoy!
*Please leave a review, let me know if I should continue or delete this?
(If you haven't read the original, I suggest it in order to follow along with this sequel – Bates Motel: Stolen Kisses)
Bates Motel: Where We Belong
Dylan's leg bounces up and down while he sits in the dull lit, somewhat depressing waiting area. One particular light continues to flicker above him, which isn't helping his anxious mood. With each minute that passes he grows more restless and impatient, especially when he notices the receptionist occasionally flashing him a pitied smile.
After another 15 minutes of anguish passes, Dylan glances upward to the sound of footsteps approaching him. Instantly, he connects his stare with the older man stepping his way with an extended hand. "Mr. Massett, good to see you again." The doctor announces with a seemingly genuine grin.
"Call me Dylan," the young man stands also extending his hand in greeting.
"Yes, right. I'll drop the formalities then. I understand you wanted to talk with me today about your brother. Why don't we speak in my office?" Dr. Clark turns on his heels before receiving an answer, knowing the young man will automatically follow.
As soon as the two men enter the office, the doctor takes a seat in the chair he typically utilizes during his sessions with clients. He slips into doctor mode, especially after immediately noticing Dylan's uneasiness.
Dylan follows the doctor into the office and looks around the space awkwardly, realizing his only option to sit is on the client couch. Slowly he takes the lone available seat, already feeling scrutinized under the doctor's heavy stare.
A stretch of silence thickens the air, making Dylan squirm a bit on the couch cushions. The doctor continues to focus on the young man's demeanor, secretly waiting for him to speak first as he does with his patients.
After a few minutes pass without either saying a word, Dr. Clark sighs and reminds himself this isn't a session but rather a conversation. "What brought you in to talk with me today? I haven't seen you on the visitor's list for a while."
Dylan sits up in his seat, instantly feeling a heavy dose of guilt at the doctor's comment. He drops his head in shame, before making eye contact with the older man again. "I know I should visit more."
The doctor leans back in his chair a tad while remaining fixated on the young man's mannerisms. "Dylan, I'm not trying to insinuate you are not a good brother when I mentioned your previous visits. By you stopping in to see me today, I know you care about his wellbeing."
Relief washes over Dylan's expression and his stature appears to relax slightly at the doctor's words of support. "Well, anyway Norma told me my brother is being released for a day visit soon and I'm concerned."
Dr. Clark raises a brow but remains quiet, sensing the strain in the relationship between mother and her eldest son without any explanation. "You're not close with your mother, are you Dylan? He asks casually, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose with his index finger.
"Um, w-what?" Dylan stutters, squeezing his eyes shut momentarily. "W-why would you say that?"
With a small grin, Dr. Clark continues to push the subject. "Referring to your mother by her first name usually demonstrates some tension in the relationship."
"I don't need to be analyzed here doc." Dylan scoffs crossing his arms, obviously agitated with the doctor's prying into his situation with his mother.
"I understand, you're here for your brother." Dr. Clark replies, noticing Dylan's body language change in the shift of conversation. "But, we do have a support group for families of patients here. We even offer one on one sessions."
"I'm not interested," Dylan states firmly with a roll of his eyes. "Norma attends those, maybe she can share what went wrong with me." While concentrating on Dr. Clark's expression, Dylan continues because now he's downright bitter. "I'm sure she told you all about her rebellious son. The son who she could've cared less about. The son who she abandoned because she was ashamed of herself. Maybe, she told her darkest secret that resulted in a pregnancy that she never wanted." Dylan blurts out without any sense of control before standing up abruptly, ready to get out of there.
Also standing, the doctor tries to calm the situation. This is not a new reaction for the doctor to see, he actually has extensive experience dealing with uncomfortable conversations. "I've struck a nerve with you Dylan and I apologize. This was just something I picked up on in our chat and I thought you may need to talk about it. You can trust I mean no harm, I just can see how my patients' behaviors can affect their families." He pauses with a gentle smile and then motions with his hand toward the couch. "Please have a seat. I promise we'll leave this subject alone, until you want to speak about it again."
"Fine." Dylan grumbles as he carefully takes a seat, clearly on guard this time around.
"Before I dug too deep with you, there is some things you said that I would like to address." The doctor pauses, attempting to make eye contact with the young man. Unfortunately, he doesn't succeed but he decides to continue talking anyway in hopes he'll gain his attention again. "Your mother never attended any group sessions or any one on one therapy with our facility."
"What? You're wrong, aren't you? I mean, maybe you made a mistake?" Dylan asks, shifting positions to leaning forward with puzzled and disappointed expression on his face.
"I'm afraid it's no mistake Dylan."
"Why would she lie to me about this? God, what else is she lying about?" The young man shakes his head in disbelief, while a wave of anger and hurt floods his veins. "And, my brother?" He questions, staring at the doctor.
Dr. Clark knows the truth he's about to share will be a shock to Dylan. "She signed the papers to release your brother this morning."
"Huh? What? You released my brother?!" Dylan's voice thundered in the small office. "How could you do this? He's not ready!"
"I didn't release him, Dylan," Dr Clark states with a small groan. "This facility has two different types of patients here. One type is an uncontested mandatory hold for treatment. We call this an involuntary commitment, which usually involves a person being at risk to hurt themselves or someone else. However, the other patients we have here, are those who have either voluntary checked themselves in or their guardian has." The doctor sees the young man rest his face in his hands momentarily. "Norma felt he no longer needed our assistance with his treatment."
Dylan slides his hands down his face slowly and makes eye contact with the older man. "And what do you think?" He asks in a broken whisper.
Dr. Clark pauses and then replies with empathy evident in his voice, "I'm afraid he wasn't ready to leave our facility."
XXXX
Norma is absolutely beaming inside. Her youngest son is finally home and she couldn't be more thrilled. However, she can't seem to shake the lingering sense of nervousness behind the excitement with Norman's homecoming.
Even though she keeps telling herself she's made the correct decision this morning by signing Norman's release papers despite the doctor's opinion, what if Alex doesn't agree. The last time they spoke about Norman coming home, Alex made it clear he would like to follow the directions of the medical team.
Dylan and Emma also stressed their concern for Norman and how important this treatment is for him. With all the time and effort they both put into finding just the right medical facility for her youngest son demonstrated how much they truly care with all of the best intentions. Will they see this as a betrayal?
The recent visits with Norman had gone so well, it seemed like the next logical step to have him home with her and Alex so they can work on being a family. Without her youngest son, her family has felt fractured. Now with both her sons back in her life, a caring young woman who only wants the best for all of them and the love of her life firmly by her side, how can she possibly question her decision to bring Norman home? She simply can't.
Now she must protect her decision and her family, even if that means bending the truth about the situation. Of course she's the one who chose to release Norman from the facility and yes it was against the advice of the doctor, but she's his mother. She knows best.
It's not that she's opposed to treatment for Norman. If she sees even a hint of her youngest son struggling, Norma will make sure to reach out to Dr. Clark again for some outpatient sessions. Dr. Clark has done wonders for Norman, even in this short amount of time. She's grateful, but it's also time for Norman to be back with his loving family.
So lost in thought, Norma doesn't notice another person enter the room until she feels strong hands grip her hips and then a pair of firm, yet softened lips trace up and down her neck. She smiles at the feeling and closes her eyes to enjoy the moment, placing her hands on top of his.
Turning around, Norma instantly wraps her arms around his neck and gives him with the widest grin. "How was your day Detective?" She asks playfully while slowly moving her hands down to brace the sides of his face gently in her hold.
Her smile falters a bit when a tinge of worry sneaks into her veins as she continues to study the features of his face. She can only hope Alex will take the news of Norman joining the household as a positive and not challenge her decision. Well, she'll be leaving out of the conversation the fact this was actually her decision and not the doctor's. What he doesn't know, won't hurt him.
"I haven't been assigned a partner yet, but since it's my first week on the job I'm just getting assigned cases. They said because I have extensive experience in heading up investigations back in White Pine Bay, the department feels comfortable giving me some intense cases." He states with pride in his tone.
Norma's hands drop down further to his chest, using her fingers to help loosen his tie a little. "I'm so proud of you, Alex."
"You made this possible Norma." He says softly while bringing one of her hands to his lips, kissing her knuckles before letting her go and stepping back to remove his suit jacket.
Norma watches as he strides toward the dining table and drapes it on the back of one of the available chairs. With his back turned toward her, Norma bites her bottom lip and tries to quickly gather the words she needs to say regarding Norman. Unfortunately, the sound of shouting abruptly pulls her out of her focused state.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Alex's voice booms with his hand instantly on his right hip, ready to pull his weapon.
Norma immediately runs to Alex's side, tugging on his arm to move his grip away from his holster the moment she sees Norman stride gradually out of the shadows of the hallway.
Feeling the jerk on his arm, Alex takes a breath and squints his eyes a little to notice the young man approaching the couple with an obvious smirk on his face. "Norman?" Alex asks carefully while dropping his hand from his side.
Noticing Alex's arm begin to relax, Norma automatically loosens her grasp on his bicep but her gentle touch remains as she softly massages her thumb across his skin in a soothing manner. After a couple of moments of silence, Norma cautiously looks to her left where she is instantly met with a pair of darkened brown eyes staring down at her, searching for answers.
"Umm Alex, there is something we need to talk about."
XXXX
Thank you for reading! We'll see where this goes …