Bates

22

Dylan stood outside watching visitors come and go.

He felt a little guilty about leaving Norma alone with Norman and the doctors. She's on the verge of being a mess, he predicted silently.

He watched as a single ambulance drove out of it's spot and towards the main road. It turned the same way they had come upon driving Norman here. He shrugged it off. Alex was at work, and they were here. It couldn't have been for the motel.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he almost didn't feel it. He pulled it out, staring at it with an air of confusion.

"Hello? Emma?"

She was speaking faster than he ever imagined she could, and he had to stop her, to slow her down. "Hey, slow down, alright, start from the beginning and tell me what happened," her voice was raspy and thick; she was fighting back tears now, trying to be strong, and he felt a wave of pity overcome him. "Okay. Alright. I'm on my way. If Norma calls you, tell her you're just watching the motel for her. I don't want to her know that anything's wrong...I'll explain later."

He walked back into the hospital.

Norman was lying in the hospital bed, staring up at the television, on which a black-and-white film was playing. Norma sat at his side, looking both concerned and relieved that her youngest son was awake. Both of them glanced his way, watching him walk inside.

"Hey, Norma, there's-- Emma just called. She's at the motel and she needs my help with something. Are you gonna be okay here?"

"Is everything alright?"

"It can't be too serious, she seemed okay over the phone."

Norma nodded. "We'll be okay." She placed her hand over Norman's, and he took it, grasping it gently.

Dylan took off.

~ ~

They were loading Romero into the ambulance when he pulled into the motel. One of the workers stopped to speak to him. "She says you're his son?" he asked, indicating that Emma was still there.

"Yeah."

"If you want to ride in the back, you'd better hurry on."

He nodded, then got out quickly, in the hopes of talking to Emma. "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Are you gonna be okay to drive?"

"Yeah."

He watched her leave as he got on the ambulance, wondering what in the world could've happened to Romero. The older man was unconscious, and his breathing dangerously shallow. He was still in uniform. His usually stoic face was battered with cuts; there was a laceration above his left eye. His nose looked painfully crooked. Dylan imagined that he probably took a few punches to the face, just based on the way his lower lip was split in two.

The real kicker was his right eye. The EMTs had patched it up with a thick wad of gauze, yet it was apparent that there was still slight swelling underneath.

Dylan decided it would be best to talk to Norma as soon as he got back to the hospital, to let her know what had happened. Problem was, all he could tell her was that Emma found Alex. Someone had obviously been after him for something. In that case, there was no way they could go home.

He did his best to stay out of the way, filling in as much information as he could for the doctors and nurses. Eventually Emma joined him. She was red in the face when she came in, and gasping for breath.

"You alright?"

She huffed. "Yeah, I'll be okay. It's just-- all the excitement--"

"Thank you for watching out for Alex. I'm sorry I wasn't there to really help," he told her.

She smiled a little, "I just did what anyone else would've done."

He guided her towards Norman's room.

"Are you doing to tell Norma?"

His gaze drifted to the floor in a forlorn fashion. "I guess I have to. I just...don't want to freak her out, you know. I mean..." he fumbled a little, and Emma knew there was something he was hiding.

"Is everything okay...with Norma?"

"She's fine, it's Norman we were here for."

"What's wrong with Norman?" she asked, stopping at the door.

Dylan scratched the back of his neck. "He had a spell and passed out in the kitchen this morning. He seems fine now, but...with everything going on, Norma's practically fretting over him. And...well, she's pregnant, so--"

"You don't want to stress her out. I get it," she paused. Her cheeks were red again, but not out of exhaustion. They met each other's gaze for a moment, and Dylan seemed to smile, before her voice broke the tension, "We'll tell her together. We've got this, right?"

He nodded. "Here goes, I guess."

She took his hand as they walked into the room.

Norma's gloomy expression brightened immediately upon seeing Emma. "Emma, hello, how're you doing?" she asked, thinking that this was just a casual visit.

"I'm fine, Norma. Uh...it's just--"

"I have something to tell you, Norma, but I don't want you to freak out," Dylan started. His gaze swarmed wildly from Norma to the empty bed. He opened his mouth to ask where Norman went, if only to change the subject, yet Norma already looked bothered by his words.

"Dylan, what happened?"

Emma interrupted again. "I found Alex in the house. I was coming to talk to Norman, and the door was hanging open, so I went inside. When I got there," she stopped, sighing. "Alex was on the floor. He was beat up pretty bad. I called Dylan so that he would know what was going on--"

"Where is he?!"

"Mom, just calm down. He's fine, they're examining him now."

Norma immediately crumpled, wishing she could crawl out of her own skin. She started to mutter something that Dylan didn't understand; he bent down and wrapped his arms around her, as if he could absorb some of her pain. Her sobs grew louder, and as he began to rub her back, she latched onto him protectively. "I don't want him to die, Dylan--"

"He's not dying, Norma. I promise you," He held her a little tighter. "Everything's going to be okay."

Dylan prayed with every breath of his being that he hadn't just lied to his mother.