"But see, that's the problem, isn't it?" Justin sat up, looking over at the draped Cameron with eyes betraying a level of exhaust that he had never experienced before. 
"I thought we WERE doing the best we could, I thought that I was doing a great job. There's a reason I got put in charge of the scouts at such a young age. I know what I'm doing and yet...yet they all died. All of em. I should've known that they would've followed, should've stayed back with Ryken...I should've known that we would've gotten intercepted by those animals in the clearing and I should've acted on what I KNEW." His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his hands. 
"Instead, we..." He pointed at himself.
"No, I, I got the attention of monsters that were responsible for slaughtering all of the people that I claimed to want to protect. If we had just moved like I thought we should've, just kept going past their territory, then maybe we would be in Portland already and would be coming back as saviors of humanity. Instead, the last of Omega, what was supposed to be a beacon of hope in this forsaken wasteland, got wiped out. And who knows if we'll be able to make the sacrifices Ryken and the others made worthwhile? What if we go up to Portland and those scientists Avery says are alive are actually all dead and this 'life-giving fluid' is nowhere to be found. What if this is all..." Fists again.
"What if this is all for nothing?" He stood up, hands curling and uncurling into fists as he peeled off his shirt and shorts, flopping onto the cot in nothing but his black boxer briefs. The muscles in his upper leg were partially flexed, hands uncurling for the final time as he jammed his elbows into his upper legs, massaging the tension.
"Ryken always told me that faith was important." He dug harder into his quads, eliciting a groan from his throat, but he continued:
"That faith was going to be the one thing that kept us going. Without faith, he would say, we were of men to be most pitied." A sad chortle as his hands returned the cot. 
"I believed him. We all did. And now, with him gone, I don't know if the god he talked about is as benevolent as he said he was." He paused for a few moments, gathering more of his thoughts. 
"Of course, the god he talked about I believe in...and I, although you may think it's garbage, I believe that God led me to you. You're the best partner I've ever had...well, really, the only partner I've ever had, but you set the bar high enough to where no one is ever going to be able to leap over it." He leaned against the wall now, legs folded on the cot. 
"It's nice to know that you're going with me to Portland. I really wouldn't want it any other way." He shot her a smile, eyes closing, mind still processing. It was then that he realized he had never asked her if she had any...romantic attachments. Why not ask now? Not like they'd have time at any other moment in time. 

[i]Why do you need to know? [/i]
Oh shut up. 

"Hey, so, back at Chesapeake...anyone catch your eye, make your heart all fluttery and whatnot?"