Norma has been discharged from the hospital and Alex drove her to her house where Dylan and Norman are waiting for her. She's still wearing bandages but she's a lot better now.

"What will I say to Norman? I don't think he should see me like this", she asked Alex.

"Dylan already filled him in. I know it's only been a week since he and Norman went on that vacation but Norman has matured a lot. I met with him yesterday and he's very calm about things. He's calm before but he's matured. He's going to be fine. You'll see", he answered.

She wanted to believe that but she's worried. Her son is a sensitive boy. She doesn't want him to start having blackouts again because of what happened to her.

The two reached the house and he helped her with the stairs which the house got a lot. Once they opened the door, a confetti popped on them followed by "Welcome Home!" greetings by Dylan, Norman, and Emma.

"Oh, this is so sweet! You guys don't have to do all of this", Norma muttered while looking around her house which has now turned festive.

"…but we want to. We want to surprise you", Emma said and hugged her.

Norma knew it was her idea to throw a surprise party for her. She can tell by the decoration. They have Emma's signature.

"Thank you, Emma. You really did surprise me. Thank you. I love it", she said and the young girl smiled.

"I say we head out to the kitchen and eat. I am starving", Alex intervened to get everyone out of the hallway.

The three young friends agreed in unison and proceeded to the kitchen. Alex is about to follow them when he noticed Norma stopped along the way.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…it's just, it's hard going in there and not see…I don't know. Let's go", she answered and walked but he caught her arm.

"Norma, if you're not ready, we will not force you. It's okay", he muttered in concern.

She looked at him and smiled.

"It wouldn't be the first time something happened in that kitchen. I'll be fine, Alex", she replied coldly.

Alex got shivers upon hearing that. He remembered about Keith Summers. He attacked her in the same kitchen on the first day she and her son moved to town. He raped her on top of that table and she killed him on that kitchen floor. It wouldn't be the first time something happened in that kitchen. That's what she said.

"Okay, let's go", he agreed and accompanied her to the kitchen.

Norma swallowed a little upon entering. She's trying so hard to shake the painful memories when she noticed something is different. The table is different. That is not her kitchen table. She turned to Alex and he only smiled at her. She knew it was him. He threw her old kitchen table and replaced it with a new one.

"Come on, Norman made all of these", Dylan said to the both of them.

"Really? Well, let's see what you learned from your vacation", Norma said to Norman.

"Oh, you'll be surprised, Mother. Come on, Sheriff. The food is going to get cold", Norman replied and all of them enjoyed their meal.

Norma is doing the dishes when Norman came in to help her out. The two didn't have much time to talk alone. She can feel he got a lot of questions and she is not sure if she's ready to answer them.

"Go ahead, Norman", she permitted.

"I'm not sure it's the right time", he hesitated.

"Norman, there's never going to be a right time. You either ask me now or you forget about it", she said.

Norman turned to his mother and decided to ask now.

"What happened, Mother? Dylan told me things but I want to hear it from you and please be honest", he asked.

She put down the plate and turned to her son.

"Do you remember Anika Johnson?" she asked Norman and he nodded. "When she died in front of our motel, she handed me a flash drive. She said that I should use it for us so I held on to it. I found out later that it was a business ledger of the drug business in this town. I went to Alex and asked him to take me to see Bob Paris. He owns the flash drive. I made a deal with him for us, for the motel, but he doesn't fight fair. He abducted me and when he let me go, Alex insisted that I should stay at his place so Bob wouldn't dare to touch me", she said.

"That's why you sent Dylan and me on that vacation", he concluded.

"Yes. I don't want the two of you to get involved. Then, Caleb arrived into town and you know what happened when I came here to check in a guest", she added.

Norman hugged his mother tight.

"I'm so sorry, Mother. Don't worry. I am not angry that you didn't tell me. I am grateful that you thought about my safety and Dylan's. We're here now", he said.

Later that night, Alex found Norma sitting on the bench in front of her motel alone.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked.

"I just want to be alone for a while", she answered. Her voice sounded exhausted.

"Can I sit with you?" he asked and she nodded. Alex sat next to her.

"Thank you for the new table", she muttered.

"You're welcome", he said while staring at her.

She looked troubled and it's expected. For someone who went through all those nightmares, it's normal to be troubled.

"You know when I bought this place, I have so much hope. I got so many plans on how we're going to start over. We're going to live a happy life without violence and abuse. All that went away on the first day that we got here. Still, I tried. We tried. I kept the hope up but day by day, that hope just diminishes little by little. Right now…I can't feel it anymore, Alex. I just feel so numb and cold. I cannot feel happy. I smile. I laugh but those were empty. Guess, you can call it fake. There's nothing inside than just emptiness and it's making me so tired to move, to even breathe", she confessed.

Alex put his hand on top of hers. She didn't flinch or acknowledge it. He gently turned her face towards him so she would face him. Then, Alex leaned over and put a simple but passionate kiss on her lips before pulling away.

"Don't worry. I will work on that. I will make you feel happy again", he whispered.

"What if that day never comes?" she asked.

Alex smiled. "I'm a very patient man, Norma Bates. In case you haven't notice, I waited years for you", he replied and the two smiled at each other before he put his arm around her shoulders as she leans her head on him.