Sorry about the wait, been busy since I got engaged and hadn't had time to type. Please enjoy this chapter and as always, I don't own M*A*S*H and please review!
Becca hated traveling in this century.
It made her long for the sky trains of her time rather than this flying business. It was terrifying and was not relaxing at all.
If they didn't already have a plan to take them from California to Boston, Becca would have preferred walking to getting back on a plane.
Freddy just found it all fascinating.
When they landed in Boston, Becca was happy that they had reached their destination. No more flying. However, it only made her miss Charles more knowing that he was on the other side of the world.
They followed the group of other travelers off the plan, Freddy glancing around and studying everything. Becca was just tired.
"Becca!"
Becca looked up and found a woman rushing towards her. Instantly she knew that this was Honoria, Charles' sister. She had the same eyes and a similar smile. The big difference was that Honoria wasn't afraid to smile where Charles only did it rarely.
Honoria pulled Becca into her arms and hugged her. Becca felt the exhaustion melt away and returned the hug. Although it wasn't Charles, Becca felt that same comfort that she always felt when around him. Then her heart ached as she thought of him still back at the camp, knowing that this kindness was only temporary.
Once he returned home, she and Freddy would be forced out by whichever woman he took as his wife.
As Honoria moved over to Freddy, Becca looked up and found herself looking into the severe eyes of a woman that could only be Charles' mother.
She was a tall woman, with her hair pulled up in a severe bun, her blue eyes focused on Becca like laser beams, his lips pulled down in a near permanent frown. She was sizing Becca up, taking stock of the girl that her son had sent here.
Becca took a deep breath before smiling at the woman. Unlike Charles, she remained unmoved, but that didn't worry Becca.
"You must be Mrs. Winchester, Charles' mother," she said. She noticed the way the woman's eyebrow raised at Becca using Charles' name but didn't let it deter her. "It's nice to meet you."
The woman took a step forward, bringing her into Becca's personal space, her eyes glaring down at her.
"You will address me as Madam," she said firmly. "I will be shown the proper respect during your time in my home."
Becca so wanted to hit the woman, but was saved by Honoria.
"B...b...but Mother, Ch...Ch...Charles w...wanted them to stay at h...h...his home."
The flash of complete outrage in Madam's eyes was not surprising. Becca was close enough to see it and couldn't help widening her smile. In her time, there was very little prejudice and, although Lower Regency was known to be rude from time to time, there was no hatred between the classes.
This was going to be a brand new experience for her.
As they walked out of the airport, Becca and Honoria spoke. Although she had been made aware of Honoria's speech impediment prior to coming to Boston, Becca found that she barely noticed it and believed that they would become great friends. However, Becca knew that she and Madam would probably not ever see eye-to-eye.
They wasted little time arriving at Charles' home, only stopping momentarily to drop off Madam at her home nearby. It was a large house, but that didn't surprise Becca at all. She knew that Charles came from money the moment she met him as his entire being screamed it at her. She didn't care one bit about money though, only about how Charles could make her smile.
She shook Charles out of her mind. She was here and he was there and it was about time she let her little romance die. He couldn't love her, she knew that. It was why she took the coward's way out when she confessed to him. She didn't want to hear his rejection, she just wanted to tell him how she felt.
The house may have been large, but Becca could feel it's emptiness the minute she walked inside. It was cold and impersonal. The walls were stark white with bland colored furniture. There were small points of color here and there, a painting or a vase of flowers, but it wasn't enough to fill the void of the home itself.
For a man that Becca knew was full of such life and energy, she didn't understand how he lived in a home that didn't reflect a single ounce of that.
Freddy's room was more of the same, reminding Becca of their lab back home. Freddy didn't seem to mind though, taking in everything with an enthusiasm that could only belong to Freddy.
Honoria lead Becca down the hallway and opened the doors to another room, the one that would be hers.
Instantly Becca was surrounded by colors. Vibrant colors of blues and greens, reds and yellows, even hints of purple and orange. It reminded her of Charles and she couldn't help feeling wrapped up in his presence here.
"This is Ch-Ch-Charles' room. He w-w-w-wanted you to stay here."
Becca's eyes widened as she turned back to a smiling Honoria. His bedroom? No wonder his presence was so strong here when the rest of the house was lacking in it.
"His bedroom? I can't sleep here. It's an invasion of his personal space. It would be wrong."
Honoria stepped forward and took Becca's hands in her own. 'No, this is wh-what he w-w-wanted."
Becca looked around the room, feeling Charles there with her even though she knew that he wasn't there. How was she supposed to get over him while sleeping in his room? In his bed? She looked at Honoria, who was still smiling widely at her.
Charles had chosen this room for her, and Becca never could say no to Charles.
"Alright, I'll stay in this room, for Charles."
Turned out that sleeping arrangements were the least of Becca's worries over the next few weeks.
Every day Madam and Honoria would come to visit and every day was a battle for power between Madam and Becca.
It wasn't conscious on Becca's part to play this power game with Charles' mother, but for some reason the woman forced Becca's hand into this game with her. Charles had warned her before, but it was nothing like the woman in the flesh.
One day, Madam and Honoria brought another visitor with them. An older woman confined to a wheelchair who was introduced as the head of the Winchester family, Charles' grandmother, Charlotte.
The woman may have been confined to the wheelchair, but that didn't stop her from being the most dominate force in the room. During their visit, Madam would start naming off women as prospects for Charles when he returned and Charlotte would reject them. As the afternoon wore on, Becca couldn't help the smile that graced her face as, once again, another girl was rejected.
Madam glared at Becca. "This doesn't concern you," she said fiercely. Becca kept her smile in place.
"Charles is my friend, why wouldn't this concern me?"
"You are only here because that is what Charles wanted. Once he returns home he will be taking a wife worthy of the Winchester name, not some orphaned refugee from a barbaric land."
"Charles is grown man," Becca replied calmly. "Surely he would like some say in his future bride."
"He will have the choice between the women we pick for him, of which you will not be included."
Becca wanted to roll her eyes. She didn't and instead replied, "Did I say that I wanted to be included? I don't care about your approval, or anyone else's. If, by some crazy mixed up situation, Charles lost all his money, his home and his job, would the women you are thinking about even consider him?" Madam's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. "No, they wouldn't. They only care about what Charles can give them just as you care only about what they can give Charles."
Becca stood, suddenly weary of the whole conversation. Just the thought of them discussing Charles' future wife without him had already angered her enough.
"Charles should be allowed to find someone who makes him happy. A woman who can give him her heart and he give her his. A woman who will pick him up when he is down and support him in the hard times while celebrating the good. Charles needs...no deserves...a woman who loves him unconditionally, not a nice list of references."
Becca turned and walked out of the room, but not before she caught a glimpse of a smile on Charlotte's face.
The weather changed and the leaves began to fall. Fall had arrived in Boston and Becca was still in love with Charles.
She had tried so hard to forget him, and there were days when she thought that she might succeed. Then the sun would set and she would lay down in his bed and know that it wasn't over at all.
She and Honoria spent lots of time together after that day when Becca had her rant about Charles' life being his own. She had even responded to a few invitations to Charlotte's home nearby. She had barely seen anything of Madam, which suited Becca just fine.
Becca and Freddy had also discussed trying to return home, only knowing that it was futile. Both had accepted that this was perhaps where they were going to remain for their lives. Even if they could find a strong enough power source, the technology of this time wasn't advanced enough to handle it long term. Plus, they weren't even sure where they would end up if they did try.
It was a normal fall day when the mail arrived and Honoria rushed into the room with an excitement they hadn't seen on her face before.
"You've g-g-g-gotten a letter f-from Charles."
Becca nearly dropped the book she was reading. Her heart began to pound in her chest at those words. Honoria handed her the letter and she could see her name written in Charles' neat handwriting. Her hands were shaking as she held the letter. It had to hold the response from her confession. How stupid of her not to think of this. Of course Charles would write her a letter. This was too big a topic to just let go.
"W-w-w-well, aren't you g-g-going to open it?'
Becca looked up at Freddy and Honoria, suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone. She licked her lips before looking back down at the letter. It was thick, so the man must have written quite a lot to her. She looked up at Freddy, who gave her a non-committal shrug. He was no help.
Honoria looked enthusiastic, but then she didn't know about what she had said Charles right before leaving.
"I think I'll read it a little later," she said softly as she moved the letter to her pocket.
Honoria pouted, but instead decided to play the recording she had received from Charles in the room, unaware of the turmoil she was putting Becca through.
His voice sounded exactly as Becca remembered it sounding. She could almost feel his presence in the room with her, his arms around her. It washed over her like waves on a shoreline, crashing into her with such force that she almost felt like it would knock her over.
She thought that she was getting over him just because she was able to not think about him for some short periods during the day? How wrong she was. It was only now, hearing his voice through the recording, that she realized how deeply she felt for him. Love wasn't a strong enough word, but she unsure just what word would be strong enough.
She excused herself, unable to listen to him talk about the war and what he was going through. Even as she moved down the hallway and up the stairs, his voice followed her, just as strongly as it was when she was sitting in the room with Freddy and Honoria.
She shut the door to her room, blocking out his voice. It did nothing to stop the feeling of his presence as his room was such a connection to him that it hurt Becca.
She took a deep breath and slid to the floor, her back against the door.
She reached into h er pocket and pulled out the letter. He had recorded his voice for his sister, but had taken the time to actually write to her. He found paper to do this, just for her.
She stared at the envelope, like there was a snake inside waiting for her to open it to attack her. She took a deep breath and ripped the letter open.