Sometimes when he was counting supplies, Chuck tried to pinpoint the exact moment when everything had gone wrong. The obvious answer was when Sam said yes, but Chuck didn't think that was it. He thought it was when Dean hung up on Sam after Sam told him he was Lucifer's vessel. Then he would remind himself that it didn't really matter what the past was anymore. All that mattered now was survival. Chuck had learned how to use a gun, how to sneak in and out of buildings without being detected. He learned how to tell when someone was turning into a Croat.
He shook himself slightly as the bell sounded- another wave of trauma survivors were coming in. He stepped out of the supply cabin and walked up to stand next to Risa, Dean's latest conquest.
"How many?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Seven," she said softly. "There were twenty in that group... the rest were infected." Chuck shook his head slowly. He scanned the group, pausing in shock when he saw a familiar face. Before he realized what he was doing he was walking towards her, heart pounding, needing to be sure.
"Becky?" he called. She spun around and his breath caught in his throat. It was her.
"Chuck," she breathed, and his arms were around her, practically crushing her to him.
"You're alive. You're alive," he whispered. He pulled back to look at her. She was even thinner than before, her hair and face dirty, but she was still beautiful to him.
"I was worried about you," he said. That didn't even begin to cover it, but it was all he had.
"Me too," she whispered. They started walking towards the shower cabin, and Chuck put his arm around her shoulders. He knew it was stupid, but he was afraid if he didn't have some sort of physical contact with her she'd disappear. From the way she was gripping the back of his jacket, she felt the same.
Chuck and Becky had kept in contact after he'd used her to get to Sam and Dean. He'd sent her everything he wrote, and she devoured it. He thought she was a little crazy, but she had a good heart and she cared about Sam and Dean. They'd formed a solid friendship through e-mail and video chat. When the world went to shit, they'd lost touch and Chuck had been worried about her ever since. Seeing her alive and relatively well was a huge weight off his shoulders.
They walked around the corner and straight into Dean, who did a double-take at seeing her.
"Becky," he said gruffly. "I'm glad to see you're ok." She smiled at him, and in a rare moment of emotion, Dean hugged her quickly and tightly, then nodded to Chuck.
"I'm going to talk to Cas," he said. "Not that it'll do much good." He turned and walked away, leaving Becky staring after him. She turned to Chuck, her face totally perplexed.
"What happened to him?" she asked. "He's so different. He's..."
"Hard," Chuck supplied. She nodded. Chuck shrugged.
"Losing Sam to Lucifer, losing Cas to drugs... take your pick," he sad bitterly. Becky stepped forward and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist again.
"This sucks ass," she whispered. Chuck smiled as she repeated his words from what seemed like forever ago.
If there was such a thing as a shining ray of hope in the hell that earth had become, Becky became that for Chuck. At first he was worried she wouldn't be able to rough it, but she surprised him. She learned everything he'd learned, and she became a better shot than he was. She helped him with supplies, she went on missions. She saw and did so much that Chuck worried she would go hard like Dean. But she still retained that innocence she'd had the first time they'd spoken. The more time Chuck spent with Becky, the more he realized how vital she had become to his survival. He remembered the conversation he'd had with Cas about her.
"You seem enamored with Becky," Cas said. "I don't advise it" Chuck stared at him, then laughed.
"Well I'm sorry if I don't take your advice, Cas. Some of us actually want meaningful relationships in our lives. If nothing else, she's my friend." Cas had shrugged.
"Whatever."
Chuck wasn't ready to define what Becky was to him. All he knew was that he smiled when she smiled, his heart pounded harder when she hugged him, and he was happy when she was happy.
Apparently, Becky had other plans. She cornered him in the supply cabin one rainy afternoon and at first things were like normal between them, they talked and joked like always. But there was something about the way Becky was looking at him. Just little sidelong glances, but it made him nervous.
"Chuck..." he looked over at her and she was giving him the look again. This time he couldn't help himself. He leaned towards her and pressed his lips to hers gently. He pulled back slightly but she leaned forward, pressing into him. When they finally broke apart, she was smiling, a huge smile that took over her whole face. Chuck found himself smiling too. She kissed him again, then pressed her forehead to his and whispered,
"About damn time." And he swore he'd never felt so whole before.
