Basics
FULL NAME: Rebecca Ann Thomas
AGE: 36
NATIONALITY: Irish
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heteroromantic Heterosexual (Polyamorous)
MARITAL STATUS: It's Complicated
CHILDREN: Kenneth Thomas
OCCUPATION: Social Worker & Becky's Bakery Owner
MEDICAL HEALTH: Healthy
MENTAL HEALTH: Intermittent Depression
STRENGTHS: Intelligent, Selfless, Successful, Persistent, Loving
WEAKNESSES: Impatient, Stern, Distant, Aggressive, Irritable
LIKES: Horses, Ireland, Hard Work, Baking, Being Alone
DISLIKES: Dogs, Doctors, Cruelty, Abusive People, Bullies
FEARS: Being Alone, Spiders, Mice
AGE: 36
NATIONALITY: Irish
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heteroromantic Heterosexual (Polyamorous)
MARITAL STATUS: It's Complicated
CHILDREN: Kenneth Thomas
OCCUPATION: Social Worker & Becky's Bakery Owner
MEDICAL HEALTH: Healthy
MENTAL HEALTH: Intermittent Depression
STRENGTHS: Intelligent, Selfless, Successful, Persistent, Loving
WEAKNESSES: Impatient, Stern, Distant, Aggressive, Irritable
LIKES: Horses, Ireland, Hard Work, Baking, Being Alone
DISLIKES: Dogs, Doctors, Cruelty, Abusive People, Bullies
FEARS: Being Alone, Spiders, Mice
Appearance
Petite but formidable with erect posture and a way of holding her chin high, Becky is a walking contradiction -- at least where her appearance is concerned. She's always been small, behind other people her age until she hit puberty, shot up two inches, and then everyone caught up with her. If you think you can look down on Becky, however, you might be surprised how easily you'll forget that she's such a diminutive woman. Something about the way she looks down her nose with her head tipped back makes her seem taller than her actual height, and the glint in her eyes illustrates to anyone interested that she is a force to be reckoned with.
It shouldn't be surprising that a woman with such a fiery temper would have red (auburn) hair. She wears it long down her back, often in a single braid in the winter or up off her neck in a pony or a bun in the summer. The style she chooses for her hair is one of convenience and not to support her appearance. No matter what the job, whether she's at the bakery or working as a social worker, having her hair out of her face helps Becky to perform the function of the job without attempting to glamour people into liking her. People will think what they want, and if they judge her based on her appearance alone, they don't deserve her.
Her clothing is generally quite simple. In spite of her work in the stables, Becky wears long, feminine skirts and blouses. If she's working in the bakery, she'll cover her clothing with an apron to protect it from flour. Sensible boots complete her outfit and protect her feet while she's working. In the stables she opts for riding boots, but in general Becky prefers to wear work boots when she's in the bakery or working with the kids and teenagers in the foster care system on the island.
It shouldn't be surprising that a woman with such a fiery temper would have red (auburn) hair. She wears it long down her back, often in a single braid in the winter or up off her neck in a pony or a bun in the summer. The style she chooses for her hair is one of convenience and not to support her appearance. No matter what the job, whether she's at the bakery or working as a social worker, having her hair out of her face helps Becky to perform the function of the job without attempting to glamour people into liking her. People will think what they want, and if they judge her based on her appearance alone, they don't deserve her.
Her clothing is generally quite simple. In spite of her work in the stables, Becky wears long, feminine skirts and blouses. If she's working in the bakery, she'll cover her clothing with an apron to protect it from flour. Sensible boots complete her outfit and protect her feet while she's working. In the stables she opts for riding boots, but in general Becky prefers to wear work boots when she's in the bakery or working with the kids and teenagers in the foster care system on the island.
Personality
Becky's not a woman people want to toy with. Stern and foreboding, her personality is bigger than she is. It can take considerable time for Becky to warm up to someone, and her first response to a person is likely to be frightening, particularly for young children. While she loves children and teens of all ages, Becky's personality is ill-suited to working with those below high-school age, and she often frightens little and middle kids because she's so hard. Her no-nonsense personality can be a deterrent to children or teens who would otherwise want to get to know her, and her maternal appearance means little when the time comes that someone has crossed a line and therefore required that Becky issue discipline.
A vulnerable nature hides beneath the aggressive irritability that encompasses Becky's outward demeanor. She's a loving woman who gives her whole heart and soul to the people who mean the most to her, but few people get to see the inner person due to her efforts to hide the hurt she's grown up with, and in particular the hurt associated with her secondary infertility. Not being able to have more children with Rowan has hurt her. She's hard on herself and therefore hard on the people around her. Few realize that she pours her heart and soul into her family, submits to Rowan's headship in her household and that she understands love more deeply than many women her age.
At her core, Becky is a selfless woman whose energy goes to those she loves more than it goes to herself. She's not an easy woman for children to grow close to, but teenagers who are willing to put in the effort to getting to know her will find a compassionate second-mother (or sometimes adoptive mother!) who would give anything to see them happy. While she's not full of hugs and encouragement, Becky is a skilled coach and does well guiding the people in her life to make good decisions, even when she can't.
Be warned, however: If she doesn't like you, you're going to know it, and her disdain willhurt! Children and teens in particular are recommended to avoid getting on her bad side.
A vulnerable nature hides beneath the aggressive irritability that encompasses Becky's outward demeanor. She's a loving woman who gives her whole heart and soul to the people who mean the most to her, but few people get to see the inner person due to her efforts to hide the hurt she's grown up with, and in particular the hurt associated with her secondary infertility. Not being able to have more children with Rowan has hurt her. She's hard on herself and therefore hard on the people around her. Few realize that she pours her heart and soul into her family, submits to Rowan's headship in her household and that she understands love more deeply than many women her age.
At her core, Becky is a selfless woman whose energy goes to those she loves more than it goes to herself. She's not an easy woman for children to grow close to, but teenagers who are willing to put in the effort to getting to know her will find a compassionate second-mother (or sometimes adoptive mother!) who would give anything to see them happy. While she's not full of hugs and encouragement, Becky is a skilled coach and does well guiding the people in her life to make good decisions, even when she can't.
Be warned, however: If she doesn't like you, you're going to know it, and her disdain willhurt! Children and teens in particular are recommended to avoid getting on her bad side.
History
Becky was born in Ireland to William and Mary Anne Thomas. She was the second daughter born to the couple, and for the first several years of her life, she and her older sister (by six years) were inseparable. As soon as she was old enough, Becky trailed Robin to the stables and followed her while she took care of her horses. The little girl learned everything she knew about the animals initially from her sister, and only later from her father and his work with leather products, producing tack for wealthy patrons.
It was a good business to be in, and Bill was always excellent at managing his money. Savings grew and good investments expanded the family's financial base. The Thomas family gradually grew its wealth, which allowed Bill and Mary Anne to provide well for their children. In spite of their wealth, the family lived simply, working the land and feeding itself from the small farm the family maintained. A simple life allowed Bill to continue saving money.
When Becky was thirteen, her older sister left home. Robin was nineteen at the time, and she left during the night, disappearing while the rest of her family slept. A single letter informed her parents and sister that she had gone to America and to not come looking for her. She said that she was well, but that she no longer wished to have contact with her family.
The event tore the family apart. Bill moved his family to America immediately, leaving everything behind. Horses and land, crops and livestock went to the highest bidder. Becky's life shattered at the loss of her horses on top of the loss of her sister. Everything in her life had changed in her life, and nothing would ever be the same again. America was a different sort of place, and Becky instantly loathed her new environment. Green fields had been replaced by towering cities, people too busy to stop and talk to one another. Bill kept his family in Chicago for a year before it was time for Becky to start high school, and he realized that he was going to have to issue a change. Her grades were failing and she struggled to get along with the other students at her middle school. Worse, she didn't understand the different school system, and the other students bullied her because of her accent.
Depression rocked Becky's world until her father moved the family to the countryside of western North Carolina. Becky never discovered why her father had moved them to North Carolina in particular, but she suspects (even now) that there was word that her sister had moved there.
A new state meant a new school, and for the first time Bill used the money he had amassed to give Becky a taste of a better life. He enrolled her in a boarding school with stricter rules that would (he hoped) prevent her from being bullied. An international student body helped to ease Becky, but by that point her grades had dipped too low, and she needed help to bring them up. That was where she met a young teacher named Scott Bennett.
He was only twenty-four at the time, ten years older than Becky but old enough to be intriguing to a fourteen year old. An academic adviser suggested that he tutor her, and Becky began to take tutoring from Scott three days a week. It wasn't long before she'd fallen head-over-heels in puppy love with a man in authority over her. Other girls admired the male teachers at the school, but Becky managed to capture Scott's attention in spite of her youth. Perhaps it was the accent or maybe it was the way that she naturally deferred to him instead of wrestling with him for control of her education and their interactions, as so many of her classmates did. Their feelings for one another were mutual before Becky reached her sixteenth year.
It was around that time that Scott began to apply "added incentives" to Becky's education. If she wouldn't study hard enough, or if her grades slipped, he applied the method of discipline her father had employed prior to her sister's disappearance. The came proved to be an effective tool when it was necessary, and far from causing Becky to run with her tail between her legs, it brought the pair closer to one another.
Scott was (in accordance with his family's values) a gentleman. Becky was a student, and too young for a romantic relationship. Though he expressed that he had feelings for her, he never acted on them, allowing her the freedom to be a teenager. It was perhaps a mistake, because when Becky met Rowan Reid, the sparks were instantaneous. Where Scott would cane Becky if she argued with him too much, Rowan fought with her, giving her the opportunity she needed to express her anger rather than suppressing it. Rowan bore the brunt of her feelings for her sister, and he understood and accepted that she not only worried about Robin the way that her parents did, but she was angry with her sister for taking herself away from her.
The relationship was heated and violent and, with six years between them, wholly inappropriate. Their Catholic faith prevented both Becky and Rowan (who shared her Irish roots) from acting on their passion for one another, but their fights continued to bring them closer to one another. When Becky ran back to Scott every few weeks because of a particularly rough fight, he was always there for her, always willing to take her in his arms and comfort her, but something had changed -- at least for now.
Things came to a head when Becky was eighteen years old. Without her parents guidance, and freshly "legal," her morality slipped and in one weekend of frustrated passion, she lost her virginity to Scott and slept with Rowan the following night. It had never been her intention to act out sexually, but with her love for both men confusing her, she had to do something to help her decide.
As is often the way of things, she discovered three months later that her indiscretion would leave a permanent mark on her life. Finished with high school, she ran home to her parents. They had never given Becky a reason not to trust them, and so she quickly revealed the truth of her relationship with Rowan and her condition. Bill and Mary Anne made arrangements for Becky to attend college and provided her with the necessary resources to ensure that her child was cared for.
Bill was the one who called Scott.
Scott was there immediately, caring for the child when Becky was in class and teaching around her class schedule. Early on, Kenneth Thomas should have looked on Scott as his father, and he might have if Scott's taciturn personality lent itself to parenting a young boy more than it did. Kenneth and Scott were never close. Perhaps Scott resented Kenneth for being Rowan's son, or maybe he wasn't cut out for being a parent to a teenage boy. The two boys struggled with one another, and Becky had no idea that it was happening until Scott told her he was going to have to have to move out. He'd adopted a daughter without telling Becky what his plans were. The adoption had been pending for more than four years, and now that he had his daughter, Scott could no longer help with Kenneth.
Making it through college was more difficult with a child on her hip. Becky's mother helped whenever she could, but Becky struggled for five years to complete her courses, scraping by with B's and the occasional C. Professors didn't appreciate all of her ideas, and frequent fights resulted in a tumultuous experience with her education.
When she finished with her master's degree, the family celebrated. Kenneth was six years old by that point, and Becky had raised him almost entirely on her own. Scott had left to raise his adopted daughter, who he had named Cameron, and Becky struggled as a single parent. Her mother continued to assist her as she obtained her first job in social work, and Kenneth started school when he was six years old, attending the local kindergarten.
Life went on for about two years. Becky and Scott dated off and on, but their relationship with one another was rocky, at best. Two years after her college graduation, Rowan entered Becky's life again, and her relationship with Scott abruptly ended when the passion she remembered instantly rekindled. Scott remained her "safe place" while Rowan ignited a fire in her heart. Still young and impetuous, looking for love everywhere she went, Becky rushed to Rowan and a new life with him and their son.
Except that she was not then (nor is she now) certain whether Kenneth was Scott's son or whether he was Rowan's son.
By that point Rowan had a daughter of his own, a girl he had named Charlotte. He'd been married to her mother, but upon their separation Charlie had gone to live with her mother, and so Becky didn't meet her until much later, and Rowan had supervised visits at her mother's home.
Becky and Rowan fought and struggled with one another. Work was difficult, and Becky brought her stress home with her, causing her to take it out on Rowan or on Kenneth. Tensions heightened and over time, the relationship began to crumble. It only grew worse when Becky brought home a boy late in his seventeenth year. Kenneth was twelve years old and Wilder's arrival in their lives would set off a storm that would take years to resolve.
Kenneth was twelve years old the year that he met Nikki, and it was later that year that the fourteen-year-old announced that she was pregnant. Furious with her son for doing the same thing that she'd done with her own life when she was younger, Becky cursed at Kenneth and told him that he was to have nothing to do with the girl or the child she bore.
It was a decision she would always regret.
Kenneth was gone within a week, much as her sister had been. He'd gone with Nikki, and Becky was left with few resources to find him because of her position with the department of child services. She either had to admit that she'd done the wrong thing and ask for help, or she had to use her family's resources to find him. Private investigators failed, and by the time that Becky and Rowan went to the police, Kenneth and Nikki were long gone. She didn't get a phone call when her granddaughter was born, and it wasn't until years later, when Becky had survived uterine cancer, lost her uterus and with it hope, that she reunited with her son.
The time that Kenneth was gone was chaos for Becky. While her parents, Rowan, and Scott looked for him, she discovered that she had cancer in her female organs. Unable to look for her son, she submitted to tests and to treatments that would rob her of her ability to have more children. Frustration sent her into a project to help children the system had failed -- children like Kenneth and Wilder. Supervisors rejected her efforts, and Scott urged Becky to move to Birchwood Isle, where she could help his father to establish a community in which foster children were safe and cared for in a way that was impossible thanks to the American system's inability to treat children as individuals with individual needs. Her vision was a permanent home for every child or teenager, and Ted Bennett agreed that the vision was valid.
She moved to Birchwood Isle, leaving Rowan behind to take care of Charlie. He couldn't leave her and his custody arrangement, and so he stayed on the mainland while Becky moved in with Scott and began to work on her program.
Kenneth was arrested six months after the program opened on Birchwood Isle. Nikki was dead, and Kenneth had been supporting a five year-old on his own for eight months before he was caught stealing from the till of the store where he was working. Rowan had bailed him out, and Becky went to retrieve her son from the United States to take him back to Birchwood Isle with her. Determined that he would get the help that he needed, she placed her son at Phillips House with his daughter so that he could get therapy and be pressurd into maintaining a job and taking care of Kenzie on his own.
Not long after Becky met her granddaughter for the first time, Rowan arrived on the island with Charlie in tow, and Becky moved from Scott's house to Rowan's. She still maintains a relationship with both men, going back and forth between them with no regular, steady relationship with either Rowan or Scott.
He'd been doing it for years by that point, however, and Becky gave up quickly and brought Kenneth home with her.
It was a good business to be in, and Bill was always excellent at managing his money. Savings grew and good investments expanded the family's financial base. The Thomas family gradually grew its wealth, which allowed Bill and Mary Anne to provide well for their children. In spite of their wealth, the family lived simply, working the land and feeding itself from the small farm the family maintained. A simple life allowed Bill to continue saving money.
When Becky was thirteen, her older sister left home. Robin was nineteen at the time, and she left during the night, disappearing while the rest of her family slept. A single letter informed her parents and sister that she had gone to America and to not come looking for her. She said that she was well, but that she no longer wished to have contact with her family.
The event tore the family apart. Bill moved his family to America immediately, leaving everything behind. Horses and land, crops and livestock went to the highest bidder. Becky's life shattered at the loss of her horses on top of the loss of her sister. Everything in her life had changed in her life, and nothing would ever be the same again. America was a different sort of place, and Becky instantly loathed her new environment. Green fields had been replaced by towering cities, people too busy to stop and talk to one another. Bill kept his family in Chicago for a year before it was time for Becky to start high school, and he realized that he was going to have to issue a change. Her grades were failing and she struggled to get along with the other students at her middle school. Worse, she didn't understand the different school system, and the other students bullied her because of her accent.
Depression rocked Becky's world until her father moved the family to the countryside of western North Carolina. Becky never discovered why her father had moved them to North Carolina in particular, but she suspects (even now) that there was word that her sister had moved there.
A new state meant a new school, and for the first time Bill used the money he had amassed to give Becky a taste of a better life. He enrolled her in a boarding school with stricter rules that would (he hoped) prevent her from being bullied. An international student body helped to ease Becky, but by that point her grades had dipped too low, and she needed help to bring them up. That was where she met a young teacher named Scott Bennett.
He was only twenty-four at the time, ten years older than Becky but old enough to be intriguing to a fourteen year old. An academic adviser suggested that he tutor her, and Becky began to take tutoring from Scott three days a week. It wasn't long before she'd fallen head-over-heels in puppy love with a man in authority over her. Other girls admired the male teachers at the school, but Becky managed to capture Scott's attention in spite of her youth. Perhaps it was the accent or maybe it was the way that she naturally deferred to him instead of wrestling with him for control of her education and their interactions, as so many of her classmates did. Their feelings for one another were mutual before Becky reached her sixteenth year.
It was around that time that Scott began to apply "added incentives" to Becky's education. If she wouldn't study hard enough, or if her grades slipped, he applied the method of discipline her father had employed prior to her sister's disappearance. The came proved to be an effective tool when it was necessary, and far from causing Becky to run with her tail between her legs, it brought the pair closer to one another.
Scott was (in accordance with his family's values) a gentleman. Becky was a student, and too young for a romantic relationship. Though he expressed that he had feelings for her, he never acted on them, allowing her the freedom to be a teenager. It was perhaps a mistake, because when Becky met Rowan Reid, the sparks were instantaneous. Where Scott would cane Becky if she argued with him too much, Rowan fought with her, giving her the opportunity she needed to express her anger rather than suppressing it. Rowan bore the brunt of her feelings for her sister, and he understood and accepted that she not only worried about Robin the way that her parents did, but she was angry with her sister for taking herself away from her.
The relationship was heated and violent and, with six years between them, wholly inappropriate. Their Catholic faith prevented both Becky and Rowan (who shared her Irish roots) from acting on their passion for one another, but their fights continued to bring them closer to one another. When Becky ran back to Scott every few weeks because of a particularly rough fight, he was always there for her, always willing to take her in his arms and comfort her, but something had changed -- at least for now.
Things came to a head when Becky was eighteen years old. Without her parents guidance, and freshly "legal," her morality slipped and in one weekend of frustrated passion, she lost her virginity to Scott and slept with Rowan the following night. It had never been her intention to act out sexually, but with her love for both men confusing her, she had to do something to help her decide.
As is often the way of things, she discovered three months later that her indiscretion would leave a permanent mark on her life. Finished with high school, she ran home to her parents. They had never given Becky a reason not to trust them, and so she quickly revealed the truth of her relationship with Rowan and her condition. Bill and Mary Anne made arrangements for Becky to attend college and provided her with the necessary resources to ensure that her child was cared for.
Bill was the one who called Scott.
Scott was there immediately, caring for the child when Becky was in class and teaching around her class schedule. Early on, Kenneth Thomas should have looked on Scott as his father, and he might have if Scott's taciturn personality lent itself to parenting a young boy more than it did. Kenneth and Scott were never close. Perhaps Scott resented Kenneth for being Rowan's son, or maybe he wasn't cut out for being a parent to a teenage boy. The two boys struggled with one another, and Becky had no idea that it was happening until Scott told her he was going to have to have to move out. He'd adopted a daughter without telling Becky what his plans were. The adoption had been pending for more than four years, and now that he had his daughter, Scott could no longer help with Kenneth.
Making it through college was more difficult with a child on her hip. Becky's mother helped whenever she could, but Becky struggled for five years to complete her courses, scraping by with B's and the occasional C. Professors didn't appreciate all of her ideas, and frequent fights resulted in a tumultuous experience with her education.
When she finished with her master's degree, the family celebrated. Kenneth was six years old by that point, and Becky had raised him almost entirely on her own. Scott had left to raise his adopted daughter, who he had named Cameron, and Becky struggled as a single parent. Her mother continued to assist her as she obtained her first job in social work, and Kenneth started school when he was six years old, attending the local kindergarten.
Life went on for about two years. Becky and Scott dated off and on, but their relationship with one another was rocky, at best. Two years after her college graduation, Rowan entered Becky's life again, and her relationship with Scott abruptly ended when the passion she remembered instantly rekindled. Scott remained her "safe place" while Rowan ignited a fire in her heart. Still young and impetuous, looking for love everywhere she went, Becky rushed to Rowan and a new life with him and their son.
Except that she was not then (nor is she now) certain whether Kenneth was Scott's son or whether he was Rowan's son.
By that point Rowan had a daughter of his own, a girl he had named Charlotte. He'd been married to her mother, but upon their separation Charlie had gone to live with her mother, and so Becky didn't meet her until much later, and Rowan had supervised visits at her mother's home.
Becky and Rowan fought and struggled with one another. Work was difficult, and Becky brought her stress home with her, causing her to take it out on Rowan or on Kenneth. Tensions heightened and over time, the relationship began to crumble. It only grew worse when Becky brought home a boy late in his seventeenth year. Kenneth was twelve years old and Wilder's arrival in their lives would set off a storm that would take years to resolve.
Kenneth was twelve years old the year that he met Nikki, and it was later that year that the fourteen-year-old announced that she was pregnant. Furious with her son for doing the same thing that she'd done with her own life when she was younger, Becky cursed at Kenneth and told him that he was to have nothing to do with the girl or the child she bore.
It was a decision she would always regret.
Kenneth was gone within a week, much as her sister had been. He'd gone with Nikki, and Becky was left with few resources to find him because of her position with the department of child services. She either had to admit that she'd done the wrong thing and ask for help, or she had to use her family's resources to find him. Private investigators failed, and by the time that Becky and Rowan went to the police, Kenneth and Nikki were long gone. She didn't get a phone call when her granddaughter was born, and it wasn't until years later, when Becky had survived uterine cancer, lost her uterus and with it hope, that she reunited with her son.
The time that Kenneth was gone was chaos for Becky. While her parents, Rowan, and Scott looked for him, she discovered that she had cancer in her female organs. Unable to look for her son, she submitted to tests and to treatments that would rob her of her ability to have more children. Frustration sent her into a project to help children the system had failed -- children like Kenneth and Wilder. Supervisors rejected her efforts, and Scott urged Becky to move to Birchwood Isle, where she could help his father to establish a community in which foster children were safe and cared for in a way that was impossible thanks to the American system's inability to treat children as individuals with individual needs. Her vision was a permanent home for every child or teenager, and Ted Bennett agreed that the vision was valid.
She moved to Birchwood Isle, leaving Rowan behind to take care of Charlie. He couldn't leave her and his custody arrangement, and so he stayed on the mainland while Becky moved in with Scott and began to work on her program.
Kenneth was arrested six months after the program opened on Birchwood Isle. Nikki was dead, and Kenneth had been supporting a five year-old on his own for eight months before he was caught stealing from the till of the store where he was working. Rowan had bailed him out, and Becky went to retrieve her son from the United States to take him back to Birchwood Isle with her. Determined that he would get the help that he needed, she placed her son at Phillips House with his daughter so that he could get therapy and be pressurd into maintaining a job and taking care of Kenzie on his own.
Not long after Becky met her granddaughter for the first time, Rowan arrived on the island with Charlie in tow, and Becky moved from Scott's house to Rowan's. She still maintains a relationship with both men, going back and forth between them with no regular, steady relationship with either Rowan or Scott.
He'd been doing it for years by that point, however, and Becky gave up quickly and brought Kenneth home with her.
Connections
Scott Bennett - Scott, Becky's second lover (when she was eighteen), is an important figure in her life and in the lives of her children and grandchildren. Most of her children think of him as their father (or one of their fathers) and her grandchildren call him Papa. She respects him and she looks up to him, believing that Scott hung the moon and the stars. He would bend over backward to make her happy and she loves him with a deep, steady love. Scott is her safe place.
Rowan Reid - Becky's first lover and other boyfriend, Rowan is the man she loves passionately, the one who makes her crazy but lights her fire. Their romance is intense and crazy and unbelievable and weird all at the same time. He is one of Kenneth's possible fathers, but neither of them has dared to find out for sure. Her children think of Rowan as their father the same as they do with Scott, and the grandchildren call him Granda. Rowan is where Becky goes when she needs passionate love.
Kenneth Thomas - Kenneth is Becky's first son. He's her biological child, and she's not sure whether he is Scott or Rowan's son. Since both men are dark haired (as is Kenneth), and she's never had DNA testing done, she's not sure. She has a rocky relationship with her son. Since Becky rejected him once, Kenneth has trouble trusting her. Now the two of them have to work on restoring their relationship with one another, but it's been especially difficult for Becky knowing this is her fault.
Wilder Corban - Becky adopted Wilder when he was eighteen years old (seven years ago), shortly before Kenneth ran off with Nikki. The two boys didn't have much of a chance to get to know one another prior to that, and Becky has long wondered if Wilder's presence in the home isn't what set Kenneth on his difficult road. Even so, she adores the boy who grew up to make something of himself by becoming a counselor. He makes her happy by speaking Irish and showing an interest in her culture.
Mackenzie Thomas - Kenzie is Kenneth's daughter, making her Becky's granddaughter. While she is sometimes a difficult child to get along with, Kenzie has a sweet side to her. Becky wants to do whatever she can to make her granddaughter happy, since Kenzie had such a difficult first five years of her life. Their relationship is strong, and Kenzie seems to be the gateway between Kenneth and Becky, the little bit of a girl who gradually brings them back together and restores their family.
Daveigh Corban - Wilder's daughter, Daveigh, was adopted when she was five years old. She has been one of the first success stories of New Beginnings. Daveigh is a sweet, but needy little girl who requires a lot of attention. Becky adores her because of her need for affection and her quiet and gentle grace. Bad behaviors are easy to put aside for a girl who is ordinarily so sweet, though Becky does have trouble with the frequent temper tantrums Daveigh has.
Charlotte Reid - Though not technically Becky's step-daughter, Becky has accepted Charlie as such. They aren't close, as Charlie resents Becky (and many other women, for that matter) because she views Becky as another female authority figure likely to hurt her. Her mother was a woman who liked to play games with Charlie's emotions, though Becky believes the woman might not have believed that she was doing any harm to her daughter. Some parents hurt in the name of discipline, after all.
William Thomas - Bill is Becky's father. They've always been close, and though he's a strict man who favors harsh discipline, she adores everything about him. He's the one who has helped Becky to get to where she is in the world today, the one who encouraged her when Kenneth was gone, and the one who has given her the funds necessary to make her program happen. She can always run to her father in times of need, and for that, Becky is incredibly grateful. The Thomases are a close family.
Jonathan Reid - Rowan's father has always supported Becky and her relationship with Rowan -- at least as long as she's known him. He came from Ireland only a few years ago and since moving to BWI settled right in and got to work breeding his horses here. She helps him when she can, and he helps her to train the children in how to ride and in good horsemanship. They are close to one another, which makes up for her overall lack of relationship with Scott's father, Ted.
William Templeton - When the Thomas family discovered that Robin had passed away from a similar cancer to the one that rendered Becky barren, they also discovered that she had a daughter (also now deceased) who birthed two children to a boy named Will Templeton. Becky searched for Will and helped him to find Phillips House and has since agreed to sponsor and potentially adopt him. He's a wonderful kid and Becky admires his devotion to his children. She loves him as her own son,.
Layla Templeton - Will's older daughter, Lala is a sweet little bundle of creative energy. She's imaginative and curious and she drives Becky crazy. Her father doesn't like to discipline his children, and so Lala gets away with a lot of things that she should otherwise be punished for. She sometimes puts a wedge between Becky and Will because Becky feels that he should be doing more to take care of his children and to correct Layla's misbehavior than he does. If Becky steps in, things turn bad.
Richard Templeton - Becky feels for Will's younger child, a boy named Richie. Richie tries hard and is a good kid, but he is often overshadowed by his sisters temperamental nature. She doesn't realize that he sometimes hides behind it on purpose, knowing that if he lets her make a scene nobody is going to notice his own naughty behavior. His new grandmother is right on the edge of finding out what he's been up to, and when she does find out, the dynamic in their little family is likely to change.
Gavin Reid - Rowan's much younger brother, Gavin has recently made an arrival on Birchwood Isle, where he has expressed a desire to settle with his daughter, Chloe. He's living on the ranch for the moment, which means that Becky has frequent exposure to him. Gavin and Chloe make the family rather large, but Becky is quickly finding out that Gavin is one of her favorite people in the household and she loves to take time to sit and chat with him. His intelligence thrills her.
Chloe Reid - A sweet, affectionate child who seems to know the definition of "family" better than most people do, Chloe has quickly captured the hearts of everyone in the family, but perhaps none so much as Becky. While Becky has a preference for male children (and teenagers at that), she has a soft spot for Chloe. Whatever pulls at Becky's heart strings, Chloe is able to make her feel better, and she likes to spend time with the little girl. There's no honest definition for their connection, but that's fien.
Faith Carson - Faith has been Becky's best friend since they were in their early twenties together. When Faith needed her help, Becky stepped up to do whatever she could to help her friend, and they have been inseparable since their first moments together. They do everything together. Days that neither woman works, they spend time riding horses through the countryside, watching movies, or sipping coffee. One of their favorite things to do together is to bake.
Kevin Carson - Becky loathes Kevin for leaving Faith in the care of her parents. Even though he has restored his marriage, she believes that he could have done more to protect Faith and their children from the evil that existed within that home. They don't get along (at all) and she tries to avoid Kevin so that they won't fight. It's incredibly difficult for Becky to be around Kevin without yelling at him, and both of the men in her life will punish her if she goes overboard. Her hatred is unjustified.
Agatha Carson - Faith's older daughter has always been something of a miracle to Becky. She's watched children come out of abusive situations either broken or (as Kristy does) identifying with their abuser, but for Aggy, she's steadily continued to be the same girl she always was. Becky adores the twelve year-old and enjoys spending time with her. She's Aggy's godmother and likes to do projects with her the way that her mother does. Sometimes they even all work together!
Kristen Carson - Kristy is more typical of abuse victims in that she identifies with her abusers and she believes that the people who worked so hard to rescue her are the ones who are being cruel. Becky doesn't like to be around her because she dislikes Kristy's bratty attitude, and she's brought down a hard hand on Kristy's backside on two occasions. The child has little respect for Becky and the little respect is returned, in spite of Becky's love for her younger goddaughter.
Rowan Reid - Becky's first lover and other boyfriend, Rowan is the man she loves passionately, the one who makes her crazy but lights her fire. Their romance is intense and crazy and unbelievable and weird all at the same time. He is one of Kenneth's possible fathers, but neither of them has dared to find out for sure. Her children think of Rowan as their father the same as they do with Scott, and the grandchildren call him Granda. Rowan is where Becky goes when she needs passionate love.
Kenneth Thomas - Kenneth is Becky's first son. He's her biological child, and she's not sure whether he is Scott or Rowan's son. Since both men are dark haired (as is Kenneth), and she's never had DNA testing done, she's not sure. She has a rocky relationship with her son. Since Becky rejected him once, Kenneth has trouble trusting her. Now the two of them have to work on restoring their relationship with one another, but it's been especially difficult for Becky knowing this is her fault.
Wilder Corban - Becky adopted Wilder when he was eighteen years old (seven years ago), shortly before Kenneth ran off with Nikki. The two boys didn't have much of a chance to get to know one another prior to that, and Becky has long wondered if Wilder's presence in the home isn't what set Kenneth on his difficult road. Even so, she adores the boy who grew up to make something of himself by becoming a counselor. He makes her happy by speaking Irish and showing an interest in her culture.
Mackenzie Thomas - Kenzie is Kenneth's daughter, making her Becky's granddaughter. While she is sometimes a difficult child to get along with, Kenzie has a sweet side to her. Becky wants to do whatever she can to make her granddaughter happy, since Kenzie had such a difficult first five years of her life. Their relationship is strong, and Kenzie seems to be the gateway between Kenneth and Becky, the little bit of a girl who gradually brings them back together and restores their family.
Daveigh Corban - Wilder's daughter, Daveigh, was adopted when she was five years old. She has been one of the first success stories of New Beginnings. Daveigh is a sweet, but needy little girl who requires a lot of attention. Becky adores her because of her need for affection and her quiet and gentle grace. Bad behaviors are easy to put aside for a girl who is ordinarily so sweet, though Becky does have trouble with the frequent temper tantrums Daveigh has.
Charlotte Reid - Though not technically Becky's step-daughter, Becky has accepted Charlie as such. They aren't close, as Charlie resents Becky (and many other women, for that matter) because she views Becky as another female authority figure likely to hurt her. Her mother was a woman who liked to play games with Charlie's emotions, though Becky believes the woman might not have believed that she was doing any harm to her daughter. Some parents hurt in the name of discipline, after all.
William Thomas - Bill is Becky's father. They've always been close, and though he's a strict man who favors harsh discipline, she adores everything about him. He's the one who has helped Becky to get to where she is in the world today, the one who encouraged her when Kenneth was gone, and the one who has given her the funds necessary to make her program happen. She can always run to her father in times of need, and for that, Becky is incredibly grateful. The Thomases are a close family.
Jonathan Reid - Rowan's father has always supported Becky and her relationship with Rowan -- at least as long as she's known him. He came from Ireland only a few years ago and since moving to BWI settled right in and got to work breeding his horses here. She helps him when she can, and he helps her to train the children in how to ride and in good horsemanship. They are close to one another, which makes up for her overall lack of relationship with Scott's father, Ted.
William Templeton - When the Thomas family discovered that Robin had passed away from a similar cancer to the one that rendered Becky barren, they also discovered that she had a daughter (also now deceased) who birthed two children to a boy named Will Templeton. Becky searched for Will and helped him to find Phillips House and has since agreed to sponsor and potentially adopt him. He's a wonderful kid and Becky admires his devotion to his children. She loves him as her own son,.
Layla Templeton - Will's older daughter, Lala is a sweet little bundle of creative energy. She's imaginative and curious and she drives Becky crazy. Her father doesn't like to discipline his children, and so Lala gets away with a lot of things that she should otherwise be punished for. She sometimes puts a wedge between Becky and Will because Becky feels that he should be doing more to take care of his children and to correct Layla's misbehavior than he does. If Becky steps in, things turn bad.
Richard Templeton - Becky feels for Will's younger child, a boy named Richie. Richie tries hard and is a good kid, but he is often overshadowed by his sisters temperamental nature. She doesn't realize that he sometimes hides behind it on purpose, knowing that if he lets her make a scene nobody is going to notice his own naughty behavior. His new grandmother is right on the edge of finding out what he's been up to, and when she does find out, the dynamic in their little family is likely to change.
Gavin Reid - Rowan's much younger brother, Gavin has recently made an arrival on Birchwood Isle, where he has expressed a desire to settle with his daughter, Chloe. He's living on the ranch for the moment, which means that Becky has frequent exposure to him. Gavin and Chloe make the family rather large, but Becky is quickly finding out that Gavin is one of her favorite people in the household and she loves to take time to sit and chat with him. His intelligence thrills her.
Chloe Reid - A sweet, affectionate child who seems to know the definition of "family" better than most people do, Chloe has quickly captured the hearts of everyone in the family, but perhaps none so much as Becky. While Becky has a preference for male children (and teenagers at that), she has a soft spot for Chloe. Whatever pulls at Becky's heart strings, Chloe is able to make her feel better, and she likes to spend time with the little girl. There's no honest definition for their connection, but that's fien.
Faith Carson - Faith has been Becky's best friend since they were in their early twenties together. When Faith needed her help, Becky stepped up to do whatever she could to help her friend, and they have been inseparable since their first moments together. They do everything together. Days that neither woman works, they spend time riding horses through the countryside, watching movies, or sipping coffee. One of their favorite things to do together is to bake.
Kevin Carson - Becky loathes Kevin for leaving Faith in the care of her parents. Even though he has restored his marriage, she believes that he could have done more to protect Faith and their children from the evil that existed within that home. They don't get along (at all) and she tries to avoid Kevin so that they won't fight. It's incredibly difficult for Becky to be around Kevin without yelling at him, and both of the men in her life will punish her if she goes overboard. Her hatred is unjustified.
Agatha Carson - Faith's older daughter has always been something of a miracle to Becky. She's watched children come out of abusive situations either broken or (as Kristy does) identifying with their abuser, but for Aggy, she's steadily continued to be the same girl she always was. Becky adores the twelve year-old and enjoys spending time with her. She's Aggy's godmother and likes to do projects with her the way that her mother does. Sometimes they even all work together!
Kristen Carson - Kristy is more typical of abuse victims in that she identifies with her abusers and she believes that the people who worked so hard to rescue her are the ones who are being cruel. Becky doesn't like to be around her because she dislikes Kristy's bratty attitude, and she's brought down a hard hand on Kristy's backside on two occasions. The child has little respect for Becky and the little respect is returned, in spite of Becky's love for her younger goddaughter.
Discipline
Primary Methods of Punishment: Belt Spanking, Whipping, Paddling
Important Note: Becky rarely, if ever, spanks with the palm of her hand. Younger children will probably want to avoid getting into trouble with her!
Secondary Method of Punishment: Mouth Soaping
Other Methods of Punishment: Excessive Chores
Primary Triggers: Disrespectful behavior, Disobedience to stated rules
Secondary Triggers: Personal Disobedience, Bad Language, Poor School Performance
Other Triggers: Laziness, Angsty Behavior
Preferred Spanking Position: Bent over and supported by hands on a low surface (including the floor).
Secondary Spanking Position: Unsupported standing (such as hands on knees or ankles) or bent over and supported by a high surface, such as a desk
Other Spanking Positions: Over-the-Knee
Preferred Spanking Implement: A Boy's Own Belt
Secondary Spanking Implement: Switch cut by the miscreant him or herself
Other Spanking Implements: Hairbrushes, Wooden Spoons (usually fetched by the miscreant him or herself)
Need to Know: Becky is a quick-acting disciplinarian. She doesn't spent a lot of time establishing blame for whatever misdeed a child has committed. Punishment is swift, and when it's over she rarely provides much by way of comfort to any child to whom she doesn't already have a deep connection (such as her children, grandchildren, and godchildren). Talk during a punishment is beside the point, and Becky understands that most children aren't listening while they're being spanked, anyway.
She's harsh and aggressive and any child she punishes will walk away with a limp. Becky often assigns additional chores to children following their punishment, stretching their ability to tolerate the punishment itself.
If you're going to accept a punishment from Becky, please be aware that she expects any chores assigned to be performed within a reasonable amount of time (and I want to see a thread for them!) and that her punishments are relatively swift unless you've earned a multi-staged affair.
Whenever possible, Becky punishes boys with their own belts.
Important Note: Becky rarely, if ever, spanks with the palm of her hand. Younger children will probably want to avoid getting into trouble with her!
Secondary Method of Punishment: Mouth Soaping
Other Methods of Punishment: Excessive Chores
Primary Triggers: Disrespectful behavior, Disobedience to stated rules
Secondary Triggers: Personal Disobedience, Bad Language, Poor School Performance
Other Triggers: Laziness, Angsty Behavior
Preferred Spanking Position: Bent over and supported by hands on a low surface (including the floor).
Secondary Spanking Position: Unsupported standing (such as hands on knees or ankles) or bent over and supported by a high surface, such as a desk
Other Spanking Positions: Over-the-Knee
Preferred Spanking Implement: A Boy's Own Belt
Secondary Spanking Implement: Switch cut by the miscreant him or herself
Other Spanking Implements: Hairbrushes, Wooden Spoons (usually fetched by the miscreant him or herself)
Need to Know: Becky is a quick-acting disciplinarian. She doesn't spent a lot of time establishing blame for whatever misdeed a child has committed. Punishment is swift, and when it's over she rarely provides much by way of comfort to any child to whom she doesn't already have a deep connection (such as her children, grandchildren, and godchildren). Talk during a punishment is beside the point, and Becky understands that most children aren't listening while they're being spanked, anyway.
She's harsh and aggressive and any child she punishes will walk away with a limp. Becky often assigns additional chores to children following their punishment, stretching their ability to tolerate the punishment itself.
If you're going to accept a punishment from Becky, please be aware that she expects any chores assigned to be performed within a reasonable amount of time (and I want to see a thread for them!) and that her punishments are relatively swift unless you've earned a multi-staged affair.
Whenever possible, Becky punishes boys with their own belts.