A/N. Hey guys! We are back with a new story! This is season 2 material just so you know. Hope you will enjoy and let us know your thoughts about it.

IWC

CHAPTER 1

It had been a week since Alex came to the Bates Motel to check himself in, facing Norma and her curiosity and finally getting a key to room 11. A great thing was that Alex was never really emotionally attached to his home and never got homesick, so staying at the motel wasn't bothering him at all. Except that he couldn't avoid running into Norma on a daily basis and have her sneaking around his room, doing his laundry because "she knew him" apparently well enough for her to do so. And Alex valued his privacy and personal space. A lot. No matter if he was at his house, office or motel room.

Whiskey and bed was all you needed after a day's shift as a sheriff. That's how Romero had spent most of his evenings, at home and that's exactly the same he wanted it while staying at the motel. Norma's motel to be more specific. Talking about the Bates Motel, it had almost been full these last few days. And it was actually pretty nice to see Norma running her small business with an honest happiness, smile and not stress reflecting in her face lately. He remembered that time when he said to Norma that it's funny how she went into the service industry, because she didn't seem keen on serving anybody. And he was wrong.

Half laying in his bed now at 12am Alex's caught his mind replaying yesterday's moments over and over again. Norma cleaning his cut at her house. He tried so hard to avoid her, just a few seconds away from securely getting back into his room with his burning fist in an ice bucket and a bruise on his forehead. But there she was, using her commanding tone, that's more likely to be used on your son than the grown police man he was, insisting on cleaning his cut. He already knew there was no change in winning this argument with Norma and he was too exhausted to even try to. As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, he didn't hate it. At all. First time having her so near to him. Looking straight into those deep pale blue eyes from up so close felt somewhat magical, he would say. Somewhat he couldn't quite explain. Like the feeling of air getting too thick in that moment? Time slowing down for a few seconds? Her legs lightly brushing up his, making his chest rise and fall faster than he would have wanted, his breathing stopping completely when her fingers touched his forehead putting on the ointment there…

Loud slam of the door woke Alex from his thoughts. The sound was coming from the inside, probably one of the other motel rooms. It was his protective sheriff's side that raised him from the bed to check from where the sound came from. Tucking his gun to his belt, Alex headed towards the door, opening it at the exact moment to see a middle aged man passing his room's door.

"Oh, evening. I-I'm staying at the room 12 there. I'm s-sorry if I woke you. I was just... going out, I-I mean heading towards my car. Yeah, it's right here, that one" the man pointed to the red truck near the motel's office. "I left my phone there and I needed it to make a call now and, and my room door just slammed from the wind I guess, I'm sorry."

"No problem. You have a goodnight." Alex answered, still examining the obviously very confused man. Why would someone get so nervous about a thing like that?

He closed the door, took off his gun and decided to call it a day. After taking a long and hot shower he got to bed, a few thoughts still running through his mind. And why the hell would someone park their car on the other side of the motel when there's plenty of space right in front of the room 12? After giving it some time, sleeping pills finally kicking and letting Alex to drift off to sleep.

The very next day when Alex woke up, his mind was still on the guy who had been outside the motel. Being the sheriff of a town comes with plenty of responsibilities. He was well aware of that and he had taken them very seriously the day he got the job. The protector of White Pine Bay. Or at least he was trying to. There was no denying in that this town is pretty much messed up. A lot of crazy people, who do reckless things., many people who uses other people for their own benefit. Alex had learned this the hard way, at a very young age. His father was one of these people. And all Alex want is for this town to be safe from the bad guys, even if it is quite impossible. He was at least trying to do his job. And if Alex Romero saw a hint of warning he would probably look into it or try to figure out the entire picture. Especially since the incident last night had happened on Norma Bates property. He most certainly wouldn't let this one just slip by him.

Alex did his usual morning routine which only really involved three things: shower, getting dressed and breakfast. After getting into his sheriff's outfit, Alex felt like himself again. This outfit represented the man that he was. Someone to be trusted, someone who will look after others and take care of things. It felt more than natural and right to him.

As he made his way over to motel's office, he made a quick glance towards room 12. He gave himself a mental note to check on the room after work, as well to see who the guy actually was. Just in case.

"Good morning, Alex! Do you want some coffee? I just made it." Norma greeted him with a happy smile. How this woman could look so stunning, seven in the morning, he would never know. Her blonde, curly hair moved in a strawberry scented cloud, the smell than he now associated with Norma Bates. His eyes drifted from floral pink blouse to the swell of her hips. Her high waisted, knee length blue skirt that fit a touch too tight for modesty. Somehow he already knew she would be in his dreams tonight with every inch of her soft, curvy body.

"Alex?" Norma asked with a frown on her face, having to repeat herself.

"What? What did you say?" he asked quickly, clearing his throat, his gaze now back on her face. He had heard her but he hadn't been listening to what she had been saying. He mentally kicked himself from losing control and letting his eyes wander down her body that way. He prayed it wasn't at least that obvious to her. And Alexander Romero never prays.

"Do you want some coffee? It's fresh." Norma said with a light smirk on her face. Of course she had picked up his little stare, maybe enjoying it just a little too much. But she didn't want to bug him too much today so she left it. For now.

"Yeah sure, that would be great." Alex replied fast. 'That would be great', really? Who was he? Was he actually being polite now? The stress had a weird affect on him, he needed to cut it out soon.

"I'll just give it to you in a takeaway cup so you can take it with you to work." Norma told him while adjusting her skirt a bit. And poured him a cup.

"Thanks." Alex replied in a low tone. He was fully back now, trying to keep it as cool as possible, still a bit embarrassed for looking at her a bit too long. He was already moving towards the door when he remembered the guy from last night, suddenly stopping in his tracks. It was probably him being over cautious but he needed to know who the man from room 12 was.

"Hey Norma, by the way, who is staying in room 12?" Alex asked trying to keep a casual tone, turning around to face her once again.

"What? Why are you asking?" she frowned, surprised by his question.

"I'm just curious on who the man is. Nothing more than that." Alex shrugged, sipping on his coffee. Damn, the woman made good coffee.

"Is this like a cop thing or something? You just wanna know everything, don't you?" she asked rolling her eyes at him.

"It's not a cop thing, Norma. I'm just wondering." he said. But in fact, it was a cop thing. His job made him overprotective.

"Well I'm sorry but I can't discuss other guests with you, Alex. But sure you can ask him if you're so curious." Norma said, a mocking tone could be sensed in her voice. Alex turned his gaze back to the door again without saying another word. Just as he started to walk towards the door slowly, Norma turned around, grabbing a few files from the table.

"I'll see you later, Sheriff." she was now gone from his sight, "Have a nice day!" a shout came from the back of the office.

It was Alex's chance. He put his coffee down, quickly grabbing the guest book that was lying open on the front desk. He needed to know who the heck that guy was and he certainly wouldn't ask him directly. His fingers swiftly went through the pages, trying to find the latest check-ins, eyes scanning through the list of dates and names. March. Room 12.

James Cohen.

Jackpot.

He heard tiny steps of Norma coming back. Quickly putting the book back down he grabbed his coffee and turned to leave. Already for the third time today.

Alex arrived at the office around 7.30am, he was early today. It was just him and a few others in already so he went through the giant pile of paperwork on his desk.

At around 9am he assumed his assistant Regina would be in by now. He walked outside just at a time to catch her coming in, with her leather coat on, purse in one hand and phone in the other.

"Late again, huh?" he asked a bit annoyed with her.

"Yes, sorry, Sheriff. Traffic can be a pain sometimes." she excused herself, quickly taking her coat off and sitting down at her usual place at the front desk.

'Yeah, sure it was traffic' Alex thought, shrugging it off since he needed to ask her for something important.

"Can you do me a favor and look this guy up?" he asked, handing her a piece of paper with a written name on it.

"Sure. Who is he?" she took the note, glancing at the name.

"I don't know." Alex said, his voice frustrated at her stupid question. "I think that's why I want you to look him up for me?" He raised his eyebrows at her, feeling a bit foolish for even having to explain this to her.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Got ya. Will be done, Sheriff." She said a little flustered for a second. Her expression was quickly changed by a questioning grin, clearly asking if there was anything else he wanted her to do or she can go back to her usual work, which was basically answering any calls and texting on her phone whole day long.

Alex thanked her and went back into his office to continue his work, it was going to be another long day for the Sheriff of White Pine Bay.

3 days passed and every night he could heard the same wooden door of the room nearby being closed, without a slam this time, way more quiet and careful than the night before. Heavy, hurried steps going past his door, towards the direction of the motel's office. The man, James, as he knew his name now, was like clock, leaving around 12 am, coming back ten minutes later. What could this man be possibly be doing around this hour?

He still hadn't heard back from Regina about this guy yet, so he figured he was nobody. No one to be concerned about. But the slight of curiosity was still there, he still wondered why this man was doing this late at night at the exact same time, every night Not that he was gonna confront him, maybe he was a really punctual smoker and had to have cigarette at this specific time of the night? Maybe he was insomniac who needed to have a late night walk to clear his mind? Alex thought of a lot of things that could possibly explain it and he dropped it for some time.

Until two days later.

It was around 7am as Alex woke up, took a quick shower, got ready for work and went outside, heading towards the office for his morning cup of coffee. Right in the doorway he bumped into James leaving the motel's office.

"Oh, good morning, I'm sorry, my bad." the man said in a rushed tone and stepped aside.

"Morning, are you late to somewhere?" Alex frowned. He never met the guy this early, especially in Norma's office.

"Actually yes, I have to be in Seattle by the afternoon so I just came to inform the motel's, ugh, manager, that I will be coming back after a few days."

"Business?" he asked, scanning the man's face who looked confused. Again. Did this guy have some sheriff phobia or what?

"Yes. Yeah, business stuff." James smiled with a wry smirk.

"Ok, have a safe trip then." Alex said and reached for the office door.

"I-I sure will."

Alex got inside the office, his gaze following the man though the window now.

"Good morning to you too, Alex?" Norma's voice came from behind the desk.

He stayed quiet for another second, watching the man who was now getting into the car.

Navy blue sedan that stood right in front of room 12.

That same night Alex was lying in his motel room unable to sleep. He had taken his sleeping pills way too late tonight for them to kick in before midnight. After tossing and turning in bed for half an hour he decided to go outside for a small walk in the cool night air.

Putting on his leather jacket and taking the room key, Alex went outside, closing and locking the door quietly. He sat on the chair he found on the motel's porch, not far away from the office. The night sky was dark and cloudy, light wind starting to form. Thunder could be heard far away, promising a storm to come. Alex found this calming, before the storm weather, relaxing and soothing, those few minutes making you feel like floating in the vacuum. Looking around, he saw that all motel's guests were probably already sleeping, no light on, including room 12. Now he couldn't really blame James, spending a few minutes outside at night was really calming and you could get used to it.

After sitting for some time he decided to walk around the motel and go back in, finally the feel of sleepiness taking over his body. As he was walking pass the Bates house it was the light in the window that caught his attention. He stopped, taking a better look and the he saw it.

A woman's silhouette behind the curtains that were too sheer to hide anything.

Norma.

In her bedroom.

She was standing in front, what he assumed was a mirror or her closet. Still for a moment, then slowly getting herself out of her sky blue cardigan, throwing it on the bed. Knowing the time, she was probably getting ready for bed, he assumed. Now her fingers went to her floral blouse, unbuttoning the first button. Alex breathing became heavier, chest starting to rise and fall faster. He knew it was bad. Very, very inappropriate. But he just couldn't move, couldn't pull his eyes away from the scene happening in the window. From the shape of her. He gulped at the sight of her finally undoing all the buttons, the blouse now open at the front, delicate black lacing covering the porcelain skin of her chest. Taking the shirt off completely and tossing it on the bed too, the perfect curves of her waist, hips and breasts now fully exposed. Her hands moved to the belt of her skirt next, unclasping it and moving to the zipper on the side. She slided it down her radiant legs, letting it pool at the floor. Alex eyes follow the contour of her body. In his mind he was the one undressing her.

Now standing only in her matching underwear, she looked invincible. The color black had never looked this good before, in Alex's eyes, as it did on her pale, glowing skin. He tried to look away from her. He really did. Alex was mesmerized by her, not realizing that he is acting like some creepy voyeur. The growing beating of his heart pumping through his whole body, filling his ears. She was examining herself in the mirror, hand running over her collarbones, down the cleave and belly, stopping at her upper right thigh, caressing the skin there for few seconds.

It took few minutes for Alex to get himself together and pull his gaze away from the window. It was a hard thing to do but he respected Norma too much. He felt embarrassed for staring at her for so long, he knew better than peeping on a unsuspecting woman getting undressed and feeling all the things he felt. Who the hell was he, some creepy stalker? -No. He quickly looked around to see if someone was around, trying to look as smooth as possible in this awkward situation. He turned around and made it back to his room fast. He knew he needed to forget about what had just happened. But at the same time he knew that all his sleepiness was completely gone for tonight. He was more awake than ever.

The day after, Alex got ready for work way too early, skipping his morning coffee, going straight to the car. He wouldn't be able to look Norma in the eye, at least not for today, after the previous night… He arrived at the police station and went straight into his office, only to be greeted by his assistant, Regina. He was quite surprised that she had come in earlier than him, the Sheriff himself. It was never a case with her, he was used to her being late all the time.

"Regina, you're early today." Alex stated the obvious, for no particular reason at all.

"Yes, I needed to talk to you." she explained to him. Grabbing a hold of a file with a bunch of papers in it. The file looked like a mess. Classic Regina.

"I looked up that name you gave me quite a while ago, you remember? Some Cohen guy? This is what I found." she said and handed him the file. "I forgot to give it to you sir, I'm sorry." Regina looked away from him, assuming he would get mad at her. She wasn't really the greatest assistant of the year exactly. Alex ignored her and opened up the file immediately. The word "sexuall assult" written more times than it should have been, was caught by his eyes first.

James Cohen, born on 1973 in Aberdeen, Washington. Arrested multiple times since 1990 in Michigan, Arizona, Illinois, South Carolina...

Alex eyes running through the words quickly.

'Oh my god.'

To be continued...