I don't own M*A*S*H. Just the original characters and plot line.
To say he was surprised when the wedding preparations began the next day was an understatement. Charles was sure that when Becca ran from him that was a clear sign that the whole thing was over.
The date was set and Charles saw very little of Becca or Honoria. Both women were rushing about with his grandmother planning the whole thing. His mother would occasionally join he heard, but from the look on her face when he saw her, she wasn't happy about it.
Charles found himself spending more time with Freddy. Becca's best friend was a great conversationalist and kept Charles on his toes when they played a round of chess. Even so, Charles found himself missing Becca.
Freddy became Charles' best man and even gave him advice on things Charles was unsure about.
Mostly he was unsure about Becca. Her attitude towards him had changed, but he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Mostly, she reminded him of when she was scared of Pierce, back in Korea. She was confused too, which he didn't blame her. He had basically told her that he was marrying her satisfy his grandmother, he cared about her like a sister and then he kissed her like he had.
He decided to go and visit her two days before the wedding. He had to sort this all out. Just as he was about to walk out the door, Freddy walked in.
"Hey Charles," he said with a smile. "You mind if I speak with you for a moment?"
Charles nodded and walked into the sitting room. The two sat across from each other and Charles waited. Freddy was still smiling and seemed to be in a good mood, which kept Charles' spirits up. If Freddy had been in upset that would have been worrisome as the man never seemed upset over anything.
"So, it's almost the big day. Never thought I'd witness my best friend getting married in 1953."
"Yes, I'm sure you both thought you would be home by now."
Freddy chuckled. "I'm sure she did. I knew the moment I woke up in the hospital bed and that I wasn't in the right time that it was highly unlikely I would ever see my home again."
Charles narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Freddy's expression changed to one of confusion. "You mean, she never told you?" Charles shook his head slightly. Freddy chuckled and shook his head. "That silly girl. She always has to make things difficult." He smiled again. "Becca told me how she how she felt about you one night in the hospital. How she loved you and how painful it was because you had rejected her."
Charles was even more confused now. "Rejected her?"
Freddy raised a hand to silence Charles. "I figured it all out now. It was a misunderstanding on both sides due to the cultural differences of our time periods. She thought she had made it clear how she felt when she hugged you and you pushed her away to protect her from you."
Charles remembered that. He had thought it a bit unusual that Becca had hugged him so suddenly, but he hadn't thought anything of it overall.
"Regardless, that same night when she explained her feelings for you to me she mentioned returning home. She knew that a relationship between you would never work if she had to return to 2152. I told her the facts. The chances of us finding a way back from this time period were less than 10%. The technology in this time is just too inferior to recreate the same time displacement that sent us here and, even if we could replicate it, the possibility of sending us back to our own time rather to some other point in human history would always be a risk. We can never return home."
Charles had never felt such relief. Despite Becca's acceptance of his proposal, things were still rocky between them. He always feared that she would return to her own time if the opportunity presented itself, but to know that she couldn't return home at all, never leave him. It just begged the question, if he did tell her of his feelings, would she stay if she did have the choice?
Freddy placed a hand on Charles' shoulder, drawing the older man's concentration back to the conversation at hand. "I remember Becca's face that night when I told her we couldn't return home. She was scared, of course, so was I, but underneath that was happiness. She knew that she didn't have to leave you and it made her happy. I also think that what lead to her depression as well following that conversation was because she believed that you had already rejected her."
Charles didn't know what to think. Knowing that Becca couldn't return home shed a whole new light on everything that had happened. He regretted not telling her how he felt before she left or in the letter after she confessed to him. Even last night when he feared it was already too late he regretted not saying the words. All this pain and suffering he had felt, that she had felt, was because they hadn't understood each other.
Freddy leaned back and took a deep breath. "I do have a serious question to ask you now." His eyes narrowed at the other man. Charles hadn't seen Freddy like this and was a bit concerned.
"Are you marrying her because your grandmother is asking you to, or do you truly love Becca Coals?"
Charles looked at Freddy with new eyes. This man was Becca's best and closest friend, her only link to her life in another time. He cared about her like a sister and was playing the part of the protective older brother. Charles couldn't help it, he laughed.
Freddy blinked in surprise at Charles' laughter before smiling at the man. He didn't understand what was so funny, but Freddy could never frown when someone else was laughing.
"Freddy," Charles said once he calmed down a bit, "I would have changed my grandmother's mind has she asked me to marry anyone other than Becca. I can't live without her. I love her more than I thought possible."
Freddy laughed. "That's good to know." Then Freddy looked away with a blush on her face. "Now, I kinda have another serious question to ask you...regarding your sister, Honoria?"
Becca couldn't believe that today was her wedding day. She had barely seen Charles in the last several months as she was forced to run all over the place for dress fittings, menu tastings, picking décor, picking musicians and so many other things that made her head hurt. It made her long for the simple ceremony of 2152. You just signed some paperwork and you were married. There was a small party of your closest friends with food provided by the government. This whole business seemed...insane.
However, she couldn't deny that her dress was beautiful. She had chosen it after hours of trying on dresses picked out by Honoria and Charlotte, even one picked by Evelyn, which is what Charles' mother wanted her to call her now.
It was only after all those hours that she finally was able to see this dress, hiding behind so many others, like it had been abandoned there. It was long and simple, no sequins or sparkles of any kind. It just looked like a long, white dress. The sleeves were the only part with any kind of design on the lace.
It took forever to put on, with probably a million buttons down the back. Honoria had been chuckling saying something about Charles that Becca didn't fully understand. Something about ripping...
Becca looked up at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Today was the day she was marrying Charles. While that thought alone was enough to make her happy, she was still confused. Why did Charles allow them to get this far? She wasn't sure what he was thinking about or what all was going on in his head. The lack of time the two of them had spent together made it more difficult for her to figure out his thoughts as well.
She still didn't understand what he had meant by her being mistaken, or why he had kissed her.
It was then she noticed the knapsack that was hiding underneath the bed. She had forgotten about stashing it there when she moved into the guest house.
She walked over and pulled it out. It was like a relic from a time long since gone. She smiled as she opened it and found all her future world treasures. She pulled out the wrinkled Walker's Ninth Symphony sheet music, the crushed empty box of Molly Moo's Cakes and the history book of Korea.
She flipped open the book and found Colonel Potter's picture instantly. The same picture that had provided the proof that she was from the future. She smiled as that picture was now one of the past. She flipped through a few more pages when she got to the last one.
Normally this would be a blank page, but someone had written on it. It was an illegal action to write in public books in 2152, but not so in 1985, which this note was dated at the top. That meant that this history book had been in the archives for many years.
She started to read the note when her eyes widened in shock. She stood, holding the book in her hand as she continued to read, the sheet music, knapsack and empty treat box falling to the ground unnoticed.
As she read her heart began to pound and her hands started to shake. As she read the last line she looked up at herself in the mirror and smiled.
There was a knock at the door and Becca turned. It was Honoria looking at her with a huge smile.
"It's time."
Charles was nervous when the doors opened and the music started. He looked out into the crowd and found Pierce and his father, Margaret and the Hunnicutts. He couldn't stop himself from inviting them to this event.
He looked at BJ with wide eyes, but the other man just smiled and nodded, as if confirming that everything was going to be alright.
Charles had explained in his letter to BJ that Becca couldn't return home to her time, that she and Freddy were both stuck here. He explained the mess he had made regarding everything and how ever opportunity to talk to Becca privately had been thwarted by unforeseen circumstances.
BJ's reply had lifted Charles' spirits. BJ had let him know that if Becca couldn't return home, then perhaps she was meant to remain her all of her days anyway, that perhaps she was meant to be with him and this was all playing out as it should. He said that if Becca didn't want to marry him on some level she would have refused his proposal rather than accept it blindly.
"Becca is a smart girl," BJ had written. "She would never just do what someone told her to do unless it was something she wanted or needed."
Those words gave Charles hope and reason to smile this day. Then he saw her and the rest of the world faded away.
Charles had always thought Becca was beautiful, but today she was a vision in white. The simple dress was extraordinarily beautiful on her. She was smiling and it was her true smile. Before he knew it, she was standing next to him and he had taken her hand in his own.
She looked at him confused but he just smiled at her instead. They turned to the priest and the ceremony took place.
Becca would have found the entire ceremony fascinating if it weren't for the hand holding her own. The feel of Charles hand in her own brought back the memory of the last moment they had been alone together.
His hands had caressed her body, causing reactions she didn't understand but wanted more of. His lips on hers were passionate and dominating, but not threatening. His body against hers was firm and molded her own perfectly against his.
Before Becca knew it she heard her own voice speak her vows. It was like she was having an out of body experience, but a good one. She was in shock that this was all happening when just a few months ago she thought that she would never have Charles.
The priest pronounced them husband and wife and it hit Becca then as Charles placed a soft kiss upon her lips.
They were married now. Charles belonged to her.
The reception was filled with lots of dancing and smiling faces, Becca's the brightest in the room, at least to Charles.
She was his wife now. She was his. Becca Winchester, his wife. He couldn't believe it. How had it come to this so quickly?
"You seem happy."
Charles turned to the voice to see his mother standing next to him, not smiling, but watching his bride as she spoke with Hunnicutt's wife, Peg.
"It is my wedding day," he replied. "I should be happy on this day."
She sighed. "You should be married to a woman who will help you when you go to society dinners and functions, a woman who presence in Boston already means something, not some poor displaced woman looking for a way up in the world."
Charles took the drink his mother was holding out of her hands, drawing her attention to her son's rather angry eyes.
"Mother," his voice was deathly calm, "Becca is my wife now. Even if you and Grandmother had tried to get me to marry someone else, it would still be Becca. Either you learn to accept her or you will no longer be welcome in my home. Do I make myself perfectly clear?'
He had unnerved her, Charles could tell in the way her eyes had widened and the slight tremble in her shoulders. She took a deep breath to calm herself and nodded.
Charles nodded. "Good." He turned back to the room, calming as he laid eyes on Becca. It still amazed him how much her presence affected his moods. She was talking with Pierce and Hunnicutt now, but he didn't feel that same jealousy he once did. Becca wasn't going to leave him, not now or ever.
He wondered about their conversation though because Becca suddenly looked confused and then Pierce laughed. She smiled at him, but she still looked confused. It didn't help that BJ was basically shaking his head at Pierce in that moment as well.
Charles shrugged to himself. It didn't matter to him. Becca was his wife, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Tonight was going to be interesting indeed.