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Her father had named her Clarissa, but her mother always called Risa. Said it meant “to laugh” in Spanish, but she never did get around to teaching Risa more than some basics of the language (and of course Risa had picked up her mother’s cursing).
Before the end of the world, Risa had a nice little life going for her. She managed a restaurant, she and Miguel had a wedding date set, and her baby sister Jane was about to make Risa an aunt for the first time. Miguel had even started going to the gym with her after Risa joined the local rollerderby team.
If she was in a good mood, she’d say shit started to hit the fan when Sarah Palin was elected president, la gringa. Most of the time, she didn’t care enough to think about it. The outbreaks happened too fast for any “news of the weird” articles or “drugs making people zombies” jokes. The Croatan virus just hit and spread, and anyone not infected put up walls as quick as possible, and hoped the army could quarantine outbreak zones faster. There had been signs that things were going downhill for a few years before, though- and Miguel was a bit of a zombie freak, part of the reason he started working out with her. They both made plans for things to do if zombies attacked, but of course she never took it seriously. How naive she had been.
When Miguel and she decided it was time to leave the city, the massive group of scapegoated refugees and unstable housing situation edging their fears of an in-town outbreak, there was a group that left together. Jane with Risa’s new nephew, a few friends of hers and Miguel’s, two knowledgable people they had met in the makeshift hospital after the real one was blown up. After Miguel and their nephew died on the road, Risa and the group holed up in a rural farm, taking care of the straggling croats when necessary, occasionally taking in a stray traveler or two. They learned pretty quickly the symptoms and timeframe for the possibly infected, practiced weaponry as much as possible, and learned how to scavenge for what they needed.
It was by chance that Risa met Castiel. One guy in a small group raiding an abandoned store at the same they were, he looked Jane up and down like she was a fresh steak. Risa had a knife to his throat before anyone could say a word, and he stepped back, arms raising in the air as he let out a stoned-sounding laugh. She’d known white men with that look, guys who think that everything is for their taking. The two guys with him had their guns trained on her in a second, and Jane put up her hands, nudging her sister to do the same. Risa swore as she dropped the knife, and somehow they left the store with a plan to bring Risa’s survivors to Camp Chitaqua, despite her reservations with Cas.
At the camp, Risa was pleasantly surprised, and even Castiel won her over. There was plumbing and toiletries and food and medicine, along with more weapons than she’d ever had the chance to practice with. For the most part, everyone was friendly enough, if not somewhat secretive- the end of the world dod that to you, she supposed. The leader of the group, Dean Winchester, caught her eye, but she was more intent on figuring out what everyone’s game is. Her survivors shared a building while they started helping with the construction of more cabins and shacks and reinforcing security. Weary of the way too many of the men looked at her mostly-female group, especially her sister, she said so at both camp meetings and privately at night with her group. She knew, before the end of the world, that armed men in large groups with little to lose were never a good idea, and she made sure that everyone in camp knows she is willing to defend her women- really, any woman in the camp.
If she thought about it too hard, she figured that fierceness was what caught Dean’s eye. Well, she knew, because he eventually told her, but still- most of the time she was pissed off at Dean so she just didn’t like to think about the whole situation. Risa knew he and Cas had a past- a traumatized one that she’d never be able to fully comprehend, with Sam and demons and all sorts of stuff that would be scarier than Croats if they didn’t have the leg up on the fucked up shit currently happening. Along with a romantic history. It’s not that Risa didn’t want to know the details, she just knew that poking at the unknown, un-volunteered past too hard was a gateway that made it hard to focus on the life-and-death daily grind of the new normal. So she went with the flow. Most of the time it was Dean and her, Cas and his orgies. She didn’t question the nights when Dean stayed with Cas, and whenever Cas was sober she and him actually got along quite well, sometimes even teaming up to playfully pick on Dean, or tell him when a plan was bad.
And that’s the way it was for a while. Until something changed in Dean, something he was clearly hiding from her. There had always been secrets, but than there’s Secrets. The ones that are clearly bad ideas. They fought about it constantly, him telling her that it was safer for her not to know, her calling him on his machismo bullshit. It only pissed her off more when Cas informed her he, too, was in the dark. They shared a bottle of absinthe together and talked about what a dick Dean was one night, staying up late like it was a pre-teen sleepover, only to realize Dean wasn’t at either of their cabins the next morning. Or the next.
When he got back, it was Risa who saw him first. Kinda. Technically, her sister, who confesses the whole thing tearfully. Sure, Risa’s mad at Jane, but el puto was the one she’s been dealing with for less time, and after all the shit he’s put her through... Damn Chuck being there, even if he was defending Past Dean. Chuck didn’t know that, and neither did she at the time, and how did all this come crashing down on her, anyway?
It’s as she kissed her sister goodbye that she realized it was a suicide mission. None of them were coming back alive. She and Miguel led their team for years, and she was one of the de-facto people in charge at the camp long enough to realize what a prepared trip- hell, a prepared man- looks like. This wasn't a trip Dean expected to come back from. Risa hugged Jane tightly and closed her eyes to smell her sister's familiar smell one more time. As she opened them, Cas looked at her remorsefully and she knew he knew, too. Deciding she’s prepared for it if it’s for a damn good reason- the look in Cas’ eyes said he believed it was, and she trusts him more than Dean at this point-, she got in the car. After glancing at her sister one last time, she steeled herself and looked at the road ahead.