Becks and Charlie II
"Becks" was lucky. She found a new life thanks to many familiar friends when she was suddenly thrust into a different universe. Now she has established a great life for herself. She even got married. But sometimes she wishes she could get up in the morning and look at the bathroom mirror and see who she should see, a Kate Beckett.
All normal disclaimers apply.
A/N: I felt it was about time for another Becks story. This one is just a bit of fluff that shows what Becks life is now, and where it's going.
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Becks was standing behind Kate who was sitting on a hard chair with a towel draped around her neck and over her shoulders. The faux cousin had a comb in one hand and a pair of sharp scissors in the other. She wasn't real confident in her ability to do what Kate wanted her to do, but it wasn't her hair so she wasn't overly concerned. Kate was going to be running along a beach at their Hampton's house for a while with just the family, and hair grows back.
"So, do you understand what I want?" Kate spoke over her shoulder at the other dimensional version of herself standing behind her with a large pair of scissors. "I need to trim some length off because summer is coming, but not too much." Kate grinned. "I don't want to look too much like you. I can't have my baby calling you momma again."
Becks couldn't help smirking at her 'cousin'. "Hey it was an honest mistake. You can't blame the little angel for confusing us. Lily isn't the only one who has made that error. But I believe I understand. You want me to take these scissors and whack off some of the length since it's getting to be summer, even though I'm not very good at this. But you all are getting ready to go out to the Hampton's house to open it up for the coming nice weather. And you, the wife of a millionaire, won't pay someone who does this for a living."
"Just because we have money doesn't mean it should be spent foolishly." Kate scowled at her. "But don't cut too much." She quickly added.
Becks pulled a lock of Kate's hair out in front of her face and snipped off about 4 inches from the curl she'd been holding. "Do you mean something like that?"
Kate waved her hands at Becks. "Hey don't get too scissor happy. I just need you to trim my hair a few inches, not go all The Barber of Seville on me."
Becks chuckled at her anxious cousin. "Didn't you tell me that Rick once told you that he thought you'd look amazing in a crewcut?" Becks smirked. "I can't say I'm an expert, but I could try to give it a go."
Kate shot her an evil glare. "He was joking. You really aren't building my confidence in your capabilities."
Becks laughed out loud. "You get what you pay for."
"Ha ha," Kate responded sarcastically. "I don't have a husband who trims my hair for me every month."
Becks grinned. "He just likes playing with my hair. I'd bet that Rick would trim your hair for you if you asked him too."
Kate snorted. "He'd be too willing. I've managed to wear my hair long for quite a while by not letting him give me trims."
Suddenly Kate could hear the crunching of the scissors moving along her shoulder blades.
Kate stuck up her hand. "Not too short now."
Becks laughed. "Too late to make a change now… unless you want to go shorter?"
Kate just pressed her lips tightly together. If Becks winds up cutting her hair too short, she'd come up with a way to get even.
Becks could practically see Kate's mind working on a way to get back at her if it wasn't what she expected. "Remember cousin, you asked me. I made no claim to being a hair stylist as my old high school friend Maddie could vouch to."
Kate's memory immediately went back to the time her, and Maddie and one other gal she couldn't remember had all decided that they were all going to give themselves Mohawk haircuts and show up looking badass at school the very next day. They had all chickened out.
"Why would Maddie have reason to criticize your hair styling?"
Becks chuckled. "Well Maddie, myself, and Genie Madison all went over to Maddie's house to hang out one night. And we were all in our rebellious phases at school. So someone, I think it was Maddie, suggested we should all show up at school the next day with Mohawk haircuts." Becks shook her head. "Maddie volunteered to go first. She took her dad's beard trimmer from the bathroom and brought it down to her basement room."
Kate rolled her eyes. "You didn't."
Becks shrugged. "She wanted to be first. So she sat down in a chair and I wielded the trimmer."
Kate started laughing. "Omigod, what happened?"
"I shaved her head on each side." Becks smirked. "After seeing how it came out, both Genie, and I decided to skip the Mohawk and we went home."
"What happened to Maddie?" Kate was giggling.
Becks cracked a smile. "We didn't see her at school for a couple days, then when she came back she was wearing a short blonde wig. It was a good one, and I don't think many kids knew it was a wig. But Genie and I knew."
Kate shook her head. "I'm surprised she ever talked to you again."
Becks shrugged again. "That was the strange thing. She really wasn't mad. The wig her mother got for her was a really nice one, and it looked a lot better than her normal hair did. The boys didn't even know it wasn't her real hair."
They both laughed until Becks shouted.
"Kate!"
"What?" She tried to look back at Becks.
"You moved while I was cutting."
Kate had an anxious look on her face. "And?"
"Your hair is going to be shorter than we originally planned."
"Crap."
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Beck said her goodbyes to the Castle clan as they piled into their Range Rover and made ready to head out for the Hampton's. She'd come over at their request to have a farewell breakfast and to get her all the addresses and other phone numbers she could use to contact them or leave messages. That was if she'd need to get a hold of them while they would be there. Their plan had been to spend three weeks there and then decide if they wanted to stay longer. Becks already had all their personal phone numbers, so she wasn't sure why she needed the other numbers.
Becks agreed to check on the loft occasionally while they were gone. Charlie wouldn't be home from visiting his folks, who were celebrating their 40th anniversary, for another couple days. Becks had used the fact that there were really only two investigators that worked at RCI, and they couldn't leave Joanne alone there for nearly a week by herself.
At least that was the reasoning that Becks gave Charlie. It wasn't that she didn't want to visit his folks, but she just wasn't ready to "meet" the family yet. They'd only been married less than two months and she needed some more time to become comfortable with the idea of meeting his parents. Especially since she didn't really have any family of her own. She just had friends who were like some of those whom she'd left behind. It just still felt weird.
She'd only given Charlie the basics of who she really was and how she got here, not that she really understood how she got here. They were due for a more in depth conversation about who she really was.
Becks walked into Ricard Castle Investigations and waved at Joanne, the woman who served multiple duties and who without, the place would fall apart.
"Hey Joanne, everything quiet I hope?" Becks called out to the smiling woman who sat at the large desk in the outer lobby of the office.
"Yep, mostly just calls from salesmen, and a few from past clients who need more information for their insurance companies." She smiled at Becks. "I'll take care of those." She grabbed a small stack of notes from a spike on Joanne's desk. "These are for you."
Becks took the notes from her. "Anything important or urgent?"
The efficient receptionist and office manager just shook her head. "Not really, unless you count several from a certain absent employee who must've not had anything else to do except call you."
Becks shook her head. "He has my personal number why wouldn't he call me direct?"
Joanne rolled her eyes. "I asked him that, but he just said he didn't want to bother you if you were busy." She smirked. "Are you going to call him back?"
Becks pursed her lips. "I'm not sure? I must have some important paperwork on my desk that needs to be dealt with."
Joanne laughed. "Actually, I'm sorry to have to tell you there isn't anything urgent that needs your attention."
Becks smirked back. "He doesn't know that." She winked at the laughing office manager.
Joanne smiled. "I haven't seen Kate and the baby in a while. How are everyone doing?"
Becks returned the smile. "Everything is in a state of panic. They are getting ready to drive out to the Hampton's house to get it ready for the coming summer season." Becks shook her head. "I had to trim Kate's hair so it wouldn't be as much a bother as the temperatures get hotter while the coming summer makes itself more obvious."
Joanne laughed. "The Castles have more money than they can spend, and Kate called you to trim her hair?"
Becks shrugged. "I know, but I think it comes from when, after her mother was killed and her father had his battles with the bottle. Kate was struggling with a new job, and also dealing with making ends meet with all the problems that she had to deal with." Becks let her head bob slightly. "It's something that will always stay with you." As Becks knew very well.
Joanne returned a nod of understanding. "Sometimes I forget how tough it was for her back then. It must've been a lot to carry for one still so young."
Becks smiled. "I think she's never really gotten used to having anything she wants because she happened to marry a wealthy man. She worked hard to become self-sufficient and even still, she tends to think in terms of her money and his money." Becks frowned and put her finger to her chin. "Well, after all these years, I think she's finally begun to not let herself think in terms of his money and her money. Especially since she's decided to semi-retire so she can spend time at home with Lily."
Joanne chuckled. "But some habits are hard to quit and something as minor as just a trim doesn't really qualify as an actual haircut."
Becks smiled. "Well, after this morning, she may change her mind about that."
Joanne gave Becks 'a look'. "What did you do?"
Becks just looked off toward her office. "Well, there might have been a slight faux pau that happened while trimming her long locks."
The suspicious Joanne gave Becks a raised brow. "Rebecca Beckett! You did not purposely cut your cousin Kate's hair shorter than she wanted you to, did you?"
Becks smiled, turned away from Joanne and walked quickly into her office, closing the door as she went.
She had no sooner sat down behind her desk than her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pants pocket and checked the screen. Her lips curved into a large smile.
"Hey lover, you got smart and decided to call my personal phone, how are your folks?"
"They're good, but they were disappointed that you didn't want to meet them." She could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Real funny, maybe someone will be disappointed when he comes home and finds the locks have been changed." She heard his laugh through the small speaker on her phone.
"Well, I thought I should warn you. I'll be coming home tomorrow afternoon." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Oh, are your parents already tired of you?" Becks chuckled.
"That's really funny. Keep being the smart aleck and no one will want to marry you."
She rolled her eyes. "If I only knew that sooner."
He choked down a laugh. "I suppose that you've been swamped with cases while I was gone."
"Some might say that."
"Might you?" She could hear the sarcasm in his voice.
"No." They both chuckled. "So, if you give me a shout out when you're about an hour out, I'll have something ready for lunch."
"I'll do that."
"Do you want anything special?" She asked.
"Just you."
She rolled her eyes. "You are such a sap."
"Yeah, but you are my tree."
"Omigod," she giggled. "Did you fall and hit your head or something." She had trouble holding back her laughter. "No more Sesame Street for you."
She waited until they both quit laughing. "Just give me a call when you're close."
"I will."
"Love you."
"Love you too." He hung up.
Becks broke the connection. She had a smile on her face. Charlie had been the best thing that had happened to her since she found herself trapped in this dimensional future that she didn't really belong in.
She often wondered if she hadn't been sucked into this dimension, would her life there followed the path that Kate and Rick's had? Given all that Kate had to go through over the years, would it have been worth it, would she have survived all of the near death situations she had? Was Becks actually lucky to have come here? Is her life in this universe better than the one she would have had in her own world. Would she have survived what Kate had?
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Becks could hear the door to their apartment opening as she moved over toward the oven door to be ready to pull the pizza out of the oven. When Charlie had called her about an hour ago, he had mentioned that he had a craving for pizza. So pizza it was going to be.
Becks knew that he had meant for her to just call in a local Pizza Shack to deliver one so she wouldn't have to cook him a big meal. But she decided that if he wanted pizza, he would get pizza, but not some typical delivered cardboard and ketchup commercial version of a pizza. She was going to make it from scratch. And that was what she did.
Actually, it was something she used to do quite frequently when she came home from an unproductive day at the precinct. She'd pull out her mom's recipe for a classic garbage pizza and let her mind focus on making the excellent pie instead of what a crappy day she'd had at work. While there was no bad day at work to forget about. She wanted to do something special for Charlie. Something that he could only get from her efforts.
"What smells so good?" She smiled as she pulled the pizza out of the oven. She then set it on the countertop and quickly sliced it into several pieces.
"Lunch." She called back. "Go wash up, I'll set up some plates at the table."
He walked over and kissed her on the forehead. "When I think I know everything about you, you do something that surprises me yet once again."
She laughed. "It's just pizza." She punches him in the arm. "Go wash up." He kissed her again, then moved on toward the bathroom.
Becks listened to Charlie's week with his parents while they ate, and then while they both cleaned up after themselves. That was just another reason why she loved him. Tasks that needed to be done were done. There was none of the "that's your job" and "that's my job" baloney in their small household. If there was work to be done, they did it… together.
Rick always told Becks that the reason that Charlie was so willing to help get chores done is because he figured that it would give them more time for more enjoyable activities. She didn't tell him he was wrong.
Becks had been living in Kate's old apartment since shortly after they found out she was permanently stuck in this time and place. Originally, after cousin Sophie moved out of town with her boyfriend, Castle felt they should keep it in case Alexis might need someplace while going through her graduate studies.
But he hadn't counted on Kari, and with both of them still in school, Rick figured they would need a bigger place. Luckily they were able to take over Haley's former place after she left to go back to Britain. It had been a two bedroom apartment because Kari was living with Haley while she was here, but when Haley left, Alexis moved in with Kari. And they now had all the extra room they needed with the extra bedroom to store their things.
Kate's apartment was perfect for Becks to move into with Castle as her new landlord, but once Charlie entered the picture Rick wondered if it would be big enough for the two of them if they decided to have kids right away. Becks told Rick that kids were not in their plans for a long time to come. So it turned out perfectly. Charlie had been renting a furnished hole in the wall so when the two of them got married their future domicile was never in question. Becks often teased him that he married her for her apartment, which actually was Kate's.
Rick was a very good landlord. He told Becks that the apartment was part of her compensation from RCI. And when she and Charlie got married, he bought them a king sized bed just like the one in his and Kate's bedroom for their wedding gift. Of course he paid for most of the wedding also. But Becks vowed that they would pay him back…eventually. Considering that Castle paid her's and Charlie's salaries he would just be getting back his own money anyway.
After cleaning up after lunch they found themselves sitting on the sofa with the TV tuned to the local early evening news. Neither were paying much attention to the talking heads on their set. They seemed to be too engaged in exploring each other's faces with their fingers, palms, and their lips.
This continued until and old World War II movie came on which intruded their concentrations on each other's faces.
Charlie tried to find the remote without breaking his latest kiss on her lips. He failed and had to separate from Becks' face so he could find the remote and shut the TV off.
"Well," he said. "What should we do for the rest of the evening?"
Becks smiled at him. "We could read?"
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, or we could watch more T.V?" He then shook his head.
Becks shrugged. "Or we could get something to eat?" She waved her hand back and forth. "Forget that. I'm still too full to have anything more to eat."
"Or we can…" He leaned over and began planting quick soft kisses all over her face.
She pushed him back briefly and smiled. "That works."
They continued their impression of a couple of teenagers until the sun finally dropped behind the high-rises which blocked much of their western view. With great difficulty they both managed to get themselves up from the sofa to standing vertical, each in the other's arms.
"Well, that was fun," smirked Becks. "But why don't we take this into the bedroom?"
Charlie grinned. "I like that idea. Has anyone ever told you that you are not only beautiful, but you're pretty dang smart too?"
She smiled. "Today? Just you."
He bent over and quickly lifted her up into his arms. Becks let go a surprised yelp. "Point the way my love."
She was laughing as she spoke. "You are such a sap," and she pointed to the bedroom. "And if you dare call me a tree again you are sleeping on the sofa."
It took them longer to get ready for bed than one might normally think. But for some reason they kept trying to help the other in taking off their clothes which slowed down the process. They constantly found themselves giggling and fumbling with buttons and zippers. Eventually they made it to their humongous bed and fell into it laughing the whole time.
The laughter was soon replaced with sighs and moans of pleasure.
Finally, after hours of carnal escapades the two spent lovers were both flat on their backs staring up into the darkness of the room. Charlie had his arm around her shoulders and had her pulled tightly against him. Becks held his other hand and was playing with his fingers.
"Charlie, do you like my hair?"
He seemed confused by her question and didn't answer right away.
He expelled a 'woof' of air when her elbow hit him in the stomach. "You didn't answer me."
She couldn't see his frown in the dark. "You know I do. I'm the one who keeps telling you how adorable you look with the shorter hair than Kate goes with."
Becks had heard all the stories that Kate had told her about her adventures with a myriad of hairstyles over the years and how Castle reacted to all of them. She let her mouth form a smile because she never really went through a period like that. Most of her hair styling experimenting happened in high school and college.
She kept her hair around her shoulders all through her time in the Police Academy and then, as a patrolwoman she kept her hair cut at regulation length. She had let it grow out some during her time as a detective until she made it to Detective First Class and was given her own team. She had then cut it short again because as one of the few females leading a team, she wanted to project a more serious look and downplay her femininity. She wanted to just be considered a detective, and not a 'girl' detective.
Becks knew that Kate had experienced pretty much the same thing, but over time her abilities and reputation took her gender out of any conversation about her and her team.
Becks snuggled closer to Charlie. "So you don't want to see me in long flowing curls and waves like Kate's?"
"Let Kate keep that image." He leaned over and kissed her head. "You are perfect for me the way you are."
She frowned. "Even the color?"
There was a silent pause for a few seconds before she heard his response. "I knew that the red streaks were added but I didn't know that coppery color wasn't your normal color."
Becks rolled her eyes and shook her head. Neither of which he saw. "Okay, let me explain this to you again. I am the Kate Beckett from a different parallel universe. So it would follow that I would look like Kate Beckett. That would mean that the hair color I was born with would be the same as hers."
"Hey give me a break." He poked Becks in the side. "I've only known the two of you for about a year and a half. How am I supposed to know whose current look is the one she was born with?"
Becks frowned at herself. She sometimes forgets that Charlie hasn't been part of her new world since the beginning.
"I'm sorry." She rolled over onto his chest. "I forget sometimes that you haven't been my best friend this whole time." She tucked her head up under his chin. "I'd only been in this world for a couple of days when Rick took me into the precinct to visit with Kate who was the captain of the precinct at the time."
"Hadn't she seen you already?" Charlie asked.
"Oh yeah, she saw me that first night when I showed up on their doorstep." Becks then chuckled. "But she completely freaked out when she saw me with Castle at the precinct. She grabbed us and pulled us into her office. She then read the riot act to Castle."
Charlie chuckled. "Why'd she get so angry?"
"She was just worried that someone who had known Kate back ten years ago, would be able to recognize me as her from that decade ago." Becks took his hand in hers.
Charlie actually laughed. "That seems pretty unrealistic. That someone would have that good of a memory after ten years. I wonder what the odds of any of the people who knew Kate ten years ago would be in close enough vicinity of the both of them to even make any connection."
"That's pretty much what Castle said, but Kate was freaking out." Becks let her hand start to slide down Charlie's chest and over his stomach. "She frantically told Castle to take me to a stylist and have them cut my hair real short so no one who might see me would make the connection to the Kate Beckett of ten years ago."
"Um, Becks? Can I ask if you have some particular destination for that wandering hand of yours?"
"Maybe." She giggled.
He placed his hand on her cheek and leaned over and kissed her nose. "Why don't we finish whatever you wanted me to know when we started this conversation before we move on to the other mischief you have in mind."
"Okay," she giggled again. "I've just been having these nostalgic feelings lately. I know that, given what had happened to me, I came out of that mess as well and anyone could ever expect to."
"But?" He ran his fingers through her hair.
"But I miss being Kate Beckett. I know that isn't possible, and I was very lucky to have been given a life as Rebecca Beckett legally. But in this universe, or whatever you want to call it, my pretend cousin is the real Katherine Beckett." She stretches her neck so she could kiss the bottom of his chin. "I just want to have something else that was mine when I was Kate Beckett. I know it will sound silly to you. But I want to have my own hair color back."
Charlie leaned back on his pillow and chuckled out loud. Becks punched him in the gut and his laughter quickly abated.
"I'm guessing you think I'm being silly about this." Her voice had a tinge of petulant to it.
"Not really, it just sounded strange when you said it." He gathered her hands in his. "I don't think you're being silly. You are going through something that no one else has ever had to deal with. I'm amazed how well you've been able to adjust to such a huge, instant change in your life. If something as innocent as getting back your natural hair color will help you accept all that has happened to you in such a short time, I say go for it."
Becks nodded her head against his chest. "I don't see what the harm would be. I've been established as Kate's cousin for nearly two years now. So I don't think my going back to my normal color would be any cause for someone to wonder about us. Besides, I've seen enough pictures of Kate that shows off a literal catalogue of different hair styles and colors she has worn over the years."
"So it shouldn't be a problem." He let his hands slide down her sides. She jerked.
"Hey, stop that I'm ticklish."
He smiled. "Oh oh, you've just confessed to a weakness that I'll have to keep in mind for the future."
"If you don't want to be punched in the groin in the future I'd forget all about that so-called weakness." She patted his lower stomach.
"Already, forgotten." He chuckled. "So, let's figure out the best way to get you back your natural color hair. The easiest, and quickest way to get your natural color back is to shave off the colored hair and then let the new hair grow in naturally."
"Try again," was her dry reply.
"Or…we could find your hair color in a bottle and give you an all over one color rinse. Then over time as you got your colored hair trimmed it wouldn't be noticeable. Eventually we'll have eliminated all the former colored tresses and all that will be left is your own natural hair."
Becks frowned in the dark as she contemplated what her husband said. "Are we going to be able to actually find the right color to match my natural hair color? Especially since I haven't seen my normal hair color since the second day I got here."
"I suppose we could get a sample from Kate," he answered.
A big smile appeared on Becks face. "And I know just where to get it. I just hope the trash hasn't been collected yet."
Charlie just shook his head at his wife's ability to focus on any problem she has until she finds her answer. "So when do you want to put this plan into operation?"
"They gave me a key to the loft while they were gone, so there's no reason we can't get started tomorrow." She paused for a moment. "If the trash wasn't collected yet."
Charlie couldn't help chuckling at the excitement that Becks was showing.
"So," he could hear the question in her voice before she said it. "How long will this process take?"
He smiled in the dark at her anxiousness. "It will depend on how quickly your hair grows and how much you want to cut off for the finishing cut. If you want to keep a style like you've been wearing up until now, I'd say we'd be back to your natural hair within a year. Maybe less if your hair grows faster than normal."
"That's kind of a long time," she pouted.
He pulled her up and kissed her on the lips. "Yeah, but if we match the color well, no one will ever really know the difference."
She kissed him back. "You are the best, you know that?"
He chuckled. "It wouldn't hurt to hear that more often so I didn't forget."
She laughed. "I'll consider it."
There was no more talking that night, but there was plenty of noise throughout the rest of the evening.
FIN.
A/N: And there you have it. I hope this brought you a smile at times.
All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish
