A/N: I was looking for an alternate way to bring Norma and Alex together and came up with this. The main premise of this story is that it is Norma who has the blackouts and not Norman although that doesn't necessarily mean that I just switched their roles and Norma is mentally ill. The blackouts might (or might not) have a different reason. Can't say more without spoiling you.

Story will be multi-chaptered. Trigger warning for rape in this chapter.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Bates Motel and its characters belong to A&E.

Alex Romero is on his way home. It's a late summer night, the temperatures during the day still warm but the nights chilly already. Wafts of mist are hanging deep between the trees; the air is humid. It will be fall soon.

The scenery the headlights of his car capture is surreal, an apparition deriving from a nightmare. A woman is walking down the road barefoot, blood all over her clothes, a knife in her hand. Her movements are strangely automatic as if she was following instructions from within. She doesn't acknowledge that his car is coming her way, just keeps on walking.

Alex pulls over and gets out. Only when he is standing right in front of her, she stops although she doesn't look at him but rather through him at a place only she is able to see. He takes her appearance in. She is wearing a floral skirt and a blue blouse, clothes and hair in disarray as if she got into a fight. Her pupils are fully dilated. This doesn't diminish the fact, however, that she has mesmerizing blue eyes. The eyes, the way she is dressed, the long, blonde hair. Alex has a pretty good idea who this is even if he has never seen her before. But he heard people talk about her. It's a small town; changes don't go unnoticed.

The dilated pupils as well as her odd behavior could indicate drug abuse. Even if he outmuscles this small-boned woman easily, dealing with people who are under the influence of drugs is no fun, especially when they carry a knife or other weapon with them. They usually are unpredictable and violent. Drug business flourishes in White Pine Bay; he knows all about the fallout.

Alex raises his hand in a defensive gesture that is meant to soothe her. "Are you hurt?" Someone is judging by the amount of blood on her clothes, in particular on her blouse.

She doesn't react. He needs to take the knife. Preferably without his blood on the blade in case she lashes out with it. Whatever happened, it's evidence. And if it's her blood on her clothes, he needs to take her to a hospital. If not… Well, then he has to take her into custody and can only hope that whoever's blood it is will manage to stay alive until they will have found him or her.

Alex draws even closer to her while she remains standing in front of him, completely immobile, staring right through him.

"I can help you," he tries again. If she is drugged, she might feel no pain even though she is suffering from blood loss or internal bleeding. But like before, she doesn't react, as if he wasn't there at all.

Another careful step, slowly getting the evidence bag out of his jacket pocket so as not to startle her. Just when Alex reaches out to take the knife from her, though, she comes alive for whatever reason, taking a deep breath as if she has been under water for too long and almost drowned. She looks around, studying her surroundings. Then her eyes rest on him, wide open, deeply worried.

"Where am I? What happened? Norman?" She looks around again, becoming increasingly agitated. "Norman?" Louder this time, her voice fading away unheard in the night. She looks at him as if he had all the answers. "Where is he? Norman?" The last word a desperate scream.

Alex's hand hovers over his gun. The last thing he wants to do is shoot her, but the situation is incalculable. The moment she turns her head away from him, he jumps at his chance to whip the knife out of her hand.

Only now she seems to realize that she even had it, staring at him as he puts it in the evidence bag. "Oh my God," she whispers, and then repeats it, "Oh my God." Hand against her chest, her delicate features distorted by confusion and fear as her breathing is becoming fitful.

She is about to snap. Alex has no time to place the bag in the car, just drops it on the ground. It doesn't matter as long as the evidence inside is secured.

"Calm down." He grabs her arms. She fights back, as expected, trying to escape from his firm grip. "Who's Norman?"

"My son." She has composed herself a little, accepted his physical dominance.

"You're Norma Bates, right?" She bought the motel and moved to White Pine Bay recently.

"Yes." She darts a suspicious glance at him. "How did you know?" Considering she was in some kind of trance only moments ago, she is recovering fast.

"You bought the Seafairer Motel. It's a small town. People talk." Alex shrugs, loosening his grip since she doesn't struggle to get free anymore.

"It's the Bates Motel now." She raises her chin, challenging him even in the middle of a situation that can only be described as peculiar in the best case.

"Where did you see your son last?"

Now that she mentioned a son, Alex remembers people talking about that, too. That she looks way too young to have a teenage son already. He agrees although nothing could be less relevant at the moment. Norma and Norman. That's funny and weird although boys are named after their fathers all the time, so why not after their mother?

She opens her mouth to answer but can't. He watches her trying to remember and failing.

"I don't know," she whines. "God! What happened? And why would I have a knife?" She points at the item in question that is lying on the ground wrapped in the evidence bag as if she felt insulted by its sheer presence. If the situation was different, her behavior would be quite amusing. She definitely has a temper. When she rubs her forehead puzzled, the touch makes her flinch. "Ouch!"

"Something happened to your head?"

"I don't know." Reproachful. As if it was presumptuous of him to ask her that.

There is blood splatter on her face; however Alex doesn't see a laceration or a sufficient amount of blood in her hair that would indicate a head wound. Maybe she has a concussion.

But she already seems to have forgotten about her aching head, taking a step back to look him over. "You're the sheriff," she states. Then she raises an eyebrow, if appreciative or irritated he can't tell. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"I..." Alex has never met someone like her before, doesn't know what to respond because her behavior is so skittish. He can't tell what will happen next. Shouldn't she be more concerned? Here she is in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, blood-smeared. And yet, she is almost… flirting with him. Let alone that he maybe will have to arrest her. "We will find your son," he says eventually. "I just have to make sure first that you're not seriously injured. Otherwise I have to take you to a hospital or call an ambulance."

She glares at him as if he had lost his mind. "Are you crazy? You can't take me to a hospital. I have to go look for my son. I'm fine. Let's go." It's not even a request. She just assumes he will drive her wherever she wants.

"Don't..." Alex stretches out his arm to block her way when she tries to walk past him towards the car.

The way she behaves attests that she is not drugged. Despite her volatile mood, she is much too focused. She was in some kind of trance or shock, though, earlier. Therefore her perception of pain could still be off. Alex witnessed a man die after an accident once because he didn't realize he was injured. It was horrifying. Therefore he won't do anything before he knows that her physical condition allows it.

She sighs and looks at him for a moment before she steps back, takes a deep breath and starts to unbutton her blouse.

"What are you...?"

But she is quick, has already finished unbuttoning her blouse and pulls it open, revealing soft curves and pale skin covered with goosebumps due to the cold night air.

"See? No injuries." She didn't even take a look. Nevertheless she is right. Aside from the one or other bloody stain that has soaked through her clothes, there is no serious injury, only some nasty bruises. "Can we go now?"

She is about to button her blouse up again when he raises his hand to stop her, reaching out with it. After the incident with the man who died right in front of his eyes, Alex let a doctor show him the main critical spots on the human body that will hurt when you press them in order to find out whether there is internal bleeding.

There is a brief flicker of something in her eyes he can't quite place when his hand touches her skin. It's not fear but almost, anger for now because she obviously thinks he is taking advantage of the situation and her. However she lets him because he won't help her find her son otherwise.

"I just have to check whether you have internal injuries," he explains and albeit it is the truth, he is all too well aware that it sounds like a lame excuse to touch her.

It doesn't help that his eyes are drawn to the modest bra she is wearing. Blue cotton, matching the color of her blouse, at least the parts of it that are not soaked with blood. The bra covers well-formed breasts, the fabric thin so that it does a poor job of hiding her erect nipples. Alex tears his eyes away, however not before she caught him gazing.

She snorts. "So you're a doctor, too?"

He doesn't respond, his hands working quickly, pressing here and there without a visible reaction from her until he has convinced himself that she is fine. At least as much as the situation allows her to be. His relief is immediate, its intensity inappropriate given that he doesn't actually know her.

The moment he steps back and lowers his arm, she walks past him, brushing his body with hers in the process. It was deliberate and sends a shiver through him that she for sure noticed, probably was aiming for.

She is the one with blood on her clothes. However Alex is the one who has to regain his composure as he picks the evidence bag up while she is already sitting in his car, tugging disgusted at her blood-stained clothes as she buttons her blouse up. By now Alex believes that she has no idea what happened, attributes the dreamlike behavior he found her in and her memory lapse to a state of shock after a traumatic incident. No matter what an enigma this woman is, he has recognized no signs that this is an act. Norma Bates simply is an irresistibly beautiful and curious woman who might or might not have committed a crime and ran in front of his car afterwards.

He starts the engine.

"Where could your son be?" Provided he is not dead and this is his blood on her blouse.

"Well, I hope he's at the motel. He is not supposed to be out that late." Her tone of voice makes clear that this kid is in trouble if he disobeyed her order.

They set off. From the corner of his eye, Alex sees her smoothing down her skirt, suddenly freezing when her hands move over her hips as if she noticed something.

"Everything ok?" he asks.

"Yeah, sure." That was her first lie tonight. "Can I use your phone to call my son?"

"No."

He is not exactly following protocol here. Granted, he still doesn't know whether a crime happened or not so that the decision is up to him to call for back up or investigate on his own. Alex should report the incident, though, let his deputies know he is on his way to a possible crime scene. He doesn't bother about straying from the path of duty. He does it all the time. It's his town; he makes the rules and he breaks them as it pleases him. However he can't let her make that call. Not before he found out what role her son has in all of this – accessory, witness, innocent bystander or victim.

To his surprise she accepts the refusal. Maybe it was his firm voice. Maybe she is one of those women who know exactly when to push their boundaries and when to give in.

"Why don't you call me Norma?" Obviously switching tactics, as if she wanted them to become friends when her tense posture discloses the opposite to be true. "What's your name?" She tries to get a glimpse at his name plate. "Romero? What's your first name? I can't see it from here."

Seriously? She's flirting with him.

"Alexander. Alex." And he goes along with it before he can stop himself.

What is it about this woman that captures his imagination although he doesn't even know her? Let alone that she is a possible suspect. Something in her eyes. That's what it is. Something that tells him she knows all about hard times and survival, almost as if he saw himself reflected in her. Nevertheless he has to stop this. He can't let her get under his skin.

Just as she plasters a fake smile on her face, most likely to continue the conversation and try to charm the pants off him some more as if they were on a date and she wasn't bathed in blood, they arrive at the motel and her entire behavior changes. She has her hand on the lever before he has even stopped the car because a teenage boy is running across the courtyard of the motel. He freezes when he sees the squad car, his body language as well as his expression telling Alex that he has something to hide. The boy is about to run away into the woods when he recognizes his mother in the passenger seat and stays put.

"Norman!" She is out of the car in a flash. They run into each other, ending up in a tight hug that makes them tumble and almost fall down.

"I've been looking for you. I didn't know where you were." Just as his mother, this kid is sending mixed signals. His concern for his mother is genuine although something about him is off. He must be around the age of 17, Alex estimates. No apparent injuries, no blood on his clothes. Much more important, though, he doesn't seem to be surprised or worried that his mother has blood all over her.

Alex looks up to the house that seems to hover over the motel. It is creepy and gorgeous at the same time. The windows on the first floor are illuminated from within. Whatever happened tonight, happened in that house. He studies mother and son. She is touching his face over and over, smiling at him happily.

"I'm so glad you're all right." The relief in her voice is sincere. Nothing else matters to her right now whereas Norman keeps looking back and forth between her and him, highly aware that things are far from being all right.

"Yes, I am, mother. Why wouldn't I be?" Norman responds a tad too smug. Mother instead of mom. This is weird, and yet, somehow weirdly fitting for this odd boy.

"Let's go up to the house," Alex says, watching Norman's reaction as he tries to hide his unease while she turns around to look at him as if she had already forgotten he was even there.

They are a strange procession as they walk up the countless stairs to the house. Norman first, followed by his mother, him at the end, making sure no one decides to go elsewhere.

When they have reached the front door, Norman hesitates briefly but then gives in, entering the house. There is a body on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. She gasps when she sees it whereas her son makes no sound. Alex knows that man well, grew up with him but never liked him. Keith Summers. The previous owner of the motel. His body is perforated by various stab wounds. Lots of them, actually. Whoever stabbed him did it in an uncontrollable rage. Alex checks his pulse solely for formal reasons since it's obvious that he is dead as mother and son stand idly by.

Then he takes the crime scene in. Keith Summers' pants are pulled down, a pair of handcuffs fastened to the kitchen table, a woman's panties lying on the floor. Torn as if someone ripped them off. Alex can't help but turn around and look at Norma. It's the first time he addresses her by her name even if only in his mind. When she told him to call her Norma in the car, he liked and resented it at the same time. It was only a ploy on her part to get him to do what she wanted. She must have sensed what effect she has on him. Or maybe she just assumed it because this is the way every man reacts to her.

However, now that he sees what she's been through, how the bruises and the blood got on her, Alex can't keep his distance any longer. He has been fighting a losing battle, anyway. The moment she touched her hips when she smoothed down her skirt must have been the moment she noticed that she isn't wearing panties, still unaware what happened because she doesn't remember but deeply worried because there are only so many plausible explanations. It's fatal to draw premature conclusions during an investigation, but Alex is quite sure what happened here. And when he sees the faint, yet distinct, red imprint around her right wrist, physical proof that Keith Summers handcuffed her to the table, probably right before he ripped off her panties to rape her, makes him sick. That bully was twice her weight at least. He can't imagine the amount of violence she had to endure because she would have put up a fight; that much Alex is sure of.

He looks at Norma. She is trembling, staring alternately at the dead body, the kitchen table and the torn panties on the floor.

"He raped her," Norman says, his lower lip quivering, crushing every hope that it was only an attempt. "When I came home, he had her on the kitchen table and he… raped her..." The boy has tears in his eyes. No wonder he behaved so bizarrely.

"What happened then?" Alex asks gently. He doesn't intend to cause Norma and her son more pain, but he has to know.

"I knocked him out and got the first aid kit and when I came back he was… she was..." Norman starts to cry. The boy must have come back to find his mother stabbing her rapist. "I wanted to call the police, but then she ran away and I didn't know what to do and couldn't find her."

"Oh, Norman." Norma embraces her son.

"Don't do that." Alex touches her elbow, softly pulling her away from her son. "I'm sorry, but this is a crime scene. You… your clothes are evidence. You shouldn't touch anyone right now." He also should have stopped her from embracing and touching her son when they were down at the motel, but he wasn't sure then that a crime actually had happened and she was so relieved to find her son unharmed. Just another time he disregarded protocol for her. This woman literally walked into his life not an hour ago and it already has become a habit.

She looks at him and it's all in her eyes. The pain, the anger, the resentment to have to endure violence and its fallout another time. For some reason Alex knows this wasn't the first time Norma became a victim of violence and abuse. Some people just give off that vibe and he has a good instinct.

"You touched me," she dares him, proving once more that Norma Bates is a force of nature that should never be underestimated. She might be the victim here. That doesn't mean, though, that she's weak or perceives herself that way.

"Norma..." It is the first time Alex says her name out loud and it does something to her. Maybe she heard the genuine concern. Her expression softens and she eventually lets go of her son.

"Ok, here's what we're going to do," Alex states. "I'm going to call this in and then I'll take you..." He nods at Norma. "…to the hospital. You might have a concussion and you, um, need to do a rape kit." Whatever happened during her fight with Keith Summers is probably the reason for her aching head and the rape kit is needed as part of the chain of evidence.

Norma holds his gaze as she reaches out for her son's hand, then lets go of it again when she remembers what Alex said. "Can he come with me?"

"Of course." They will have to be interrogated separately, but it would be downright cruel to not let Norman support his mother in such a situation.

Norma gives him a hint of a smile. Then her countenance changes and she doubles up.

"Oh," she whispers, "I think... I don't feel well."

Her breathing quickens and becomes fitful before she collapses. Norman reaches out to her, but Alex is faster. He catches Norma, scooping her limp body up in his arms.

To be continued

The ending of this chapter is not meant as a cliffhanger that is supposed to torture you and worry about Norma. It was just a good moment to make a break as the chapter kept getting longer and longer. So I'm just going to spoil you and tell you that Norma is not going to die or be in a coma or something. Just so you know and can relax until I'll upload the next chapter. ;)

It's different and not easy for me to write Alex and Norma in a scenario where they don't know each other and meet for the first time. Therefore I'm curious: What do you think of this alternate scenario? Interesting or meh? Serious question. I'm not fishing for compliments but really want to know since I struggled with writing this. Thanks.