Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and the plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

N.b.

Italicized font indicates flashback.

Chapter 4

Scarlett woke with a start, her breathing ragged and her forehead covered with cold sweat. The dreams were always the same. For the last five years, her nights were plagued with nightmares and every night she would dream of the same thing. Fire. Running a hand over her face, Scarlett glanced at the ruby red digits displayed on the digital clock that read 5:45 AM. Throwing the covers off of herself, Scarlett made her way to her small bathroom. The door creaked as it opened and she heard the soft meow of her familiar.

"Good morning to you too," she said softly to the cat that was now stretching out its long body on her bed.

She turned on the light of the bathroom and sidled up to the wash basin. Scarlett quickly brushed her teeth and splashed some cold water on her face before wiping it clean and pausing to look at herself in the mirror. Five years ago, Scarlett would've flashed a brilliant smile at herself in the mirror but not anymore.

"Scarlett wake up!" The shrill voice tore her form her slumber and Scarlett let out a puff of annoyance at her mother's poking fingers.

"Leave me alone, Mom," she said rolling over on her bed, pushing the covers away to get away from the overwhelming warmth.

"No! Scarlett wake up! The house! Wake up! It's on fire!" Her mother screeched. Scarlett's eyes snapped open and she shot up in bed. It was only then did she realize what was happening. She could see the smoke and the orange glow of the fire in the hallway as her mother tried to pull her out.

"What on-."

"SCARLETT COME ON!" Her mother yelled hauling her to her feet and pulling her along. Scarlett tried to grab onto the photo of her father but her mother pulled her away.

"No! Let me go! No! I won't leave it behind!" Scarlett yelled trying to pull away from her mother's grip.

"Scarlett no! We can't go back!"

"I don't care! I want Dad's photo!" Scarlett yelled. Kathryn turned to look at her daughter who had both defiance and fear written on her face. The she huffed and pushed Scarlett towards the stairs.

"Get out of the house and call someone for help!"

"Mom? MOM!" Scarlett screamed as her mother ran down the hallway to Scarlett's room. Scarlett turned to find a way but there was fire everywhere. She tried running to the stairs but a column of wood fell from the ceiling blocking her path. She turned around and screamed when she saw her mother emerge from her room only to be blocked by another column blocking her path.

"MOM!" Scarlett yelled.

"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! SAVE YOURSELF SCARLETT!" Kathryn yelled back.

"NO! MOM!" Scarlett screamed running towards her mother. But the fire was getting more and more wild. The flames dancing around the hallways and engulfing everything that stood in its way.

"SCARLETT LOOK OUT!"

There was a loud bang and Scarlett only got a fleeting look of the horrified look on her mother's face before searing pain engulfed her and the world went dark.

A tear slid down her cheek at the memory and Scarlett wiped it away in haste as she stared at herself. The fire had not only taken their home, but it had taken the life of her mother, and most importantly, it had left her with a lifelong reminder of her deeds. Scarlett remembered waking up in the hospital two weeks later, her doctor breaking the news about her mother's death to her and then telling her they tried their best at "fixing" her. But there was nothing that could fix her.

Scarlett stared at her reflection. Red marks marred the left side of her face and a good chunk of her hair had been burnt leaving behind scarred flesh. But the fire hadn't just destroyed her face, it had taken a toll on her body too. While only one side of her face had been burnt, the rest of her hadn't been too lucky. Her body was littered with burn marks similar to those on her face.

She had gone back to see what was left of her home, but found that where once stood a beautiful house, now stood blackened ruins. More importantly, what felt like another blow to the gut was when she had heard the neighbors talking. The relief they felt with having a "vile girl like Scarlett" gone and sorrow for the "sweet and kind mother" who was killed "because of her daughter's selfishness" was her undoing. Scarlett had never cared what people thought about her but at that time, hearing the reality of her mother's death had crushed her. She had asked her lawyer to donate the money from her mother's savings to a local shelter that Kathryn used to help out at before packing her bags and leaving the city. Scarlett had been able to buy a small cottage with the money she had left and had begun a small B&B, naming it after her mother and silently repenting. But even after five years and her change in attitude towards others, the guilt never left her. Every night it returned to haunt her and all she could do was endure it because just like what everyone else had heard, Scarlett Rayer had killed her own mother.

A meow jerked her out of her thoughts and Scarlett looked down to see Vitani curling around her leg. She smiled and bent down to pick up the cat and kiss her nose. She had bought the kitten shortly before leaving the city and she was the only friend Scarlett had.

"Thank you," she whispered and Vitani answered by nuzzling her face against her scarred cheek. She was the only one that didn't find Scarlett hideous or turned away in disgusts from her because of her actions.

Setting her down, Scarlett quickly pulled out some clothes from the wooden wardrobe that stood in the corner of her room and dressed silently before covering herself with her gloves and scarf, then making her way out.

Scarlett grabbed some magazines from the reception that had been delivered the day before and proceeded to the lounge, humming a soft tune so as to not wake her guests. She moved towards the coffee table and flipped through the top magazine.

"Morning!"

Scarlett jumped a foot into the air and the magazines slipped from her hands and made a loud "thump!" as they fell onto the floor. Her heart hammering away in her chest, she turned to Dean who was sniggering.

"You gave me a heart att-," Scarlett broke off as she stared at Dean. He was wearing a wife beater and sweatpants, while his hair was ruffled up. A grin was plastered onto his face and his sapphire eyes were sparkling.

"What are you doing up so early?" She inquired bending down to pick up the magazines. He answered with getting down onto the floor and doing push-ups. Scarlett watched him from the corner of her eyes as she set the magazines on the table, spreading them out. His muscles were bunching up as he continued with his exercise and Scarlett had to look away when he got onto his knees and looked up at her.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I run this place," she replied turning to face him. He was back on his feet again and his head was cocked to the side whilst he studied her. Scarlett's senses went on high alert as she inconspicuously fixed her scarf and gloves to make sure her face and skin was hidden.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" He asked. She shook her head in response. The two stood there in the center of the lounge, a distance of 3 feet between them. She waited patiently for him to ask his question but he was watching her in silence.

"Dean?" She called softly.

"I don't think you're ready," he replied in a quiet voice before he sighed and resumed his push-ups. Scarlett stood there stunned but as the shock wore off, she silently left the lounge to get busy with her usual chores.

~oOo~

By the time the three men came down showered and ready, Scarlett had finished making the batter to the pancakes. She was humming again and heard the door to the dining room open and close as three voices conversed loudly. She smiled to herself. The customers that usually stopped by tended to be quiet and kept to themselves, but these three were anything but. Laughter, jokes, and occasional arguments followed the three of them. The camaraderie they shared was visible and Scarlett was willing to bet anything that together they probably made one of the best teams.

She quickened her working speed, knowing they were expecting breakfast, and soon had a stack of pancakes ready to be served. Placing everything on the trolley, she headed out to the dining room. Like the night before, they were seated at the table farthest to the right.

"Good morning!" Seth said brightly.

"Morning boys. Breakfast for today is pancakes with either maple syrup or chocolate syrup. Coffee's also ready if you would like," she said setting the plates stacked with pancakes on the table.

"Enjoy," she said before turning around to head back.

"Why don't you join us?" Roman's deep voice asked. She stopped to look at him and shook her head.

"Please, you three carry on. I'll eat in the kitchen as always," she said. Roman frowned at her and stood up to face her.

"Come on. You can eat in the kitchen every other day, join us," he insisted.

"There's a seat available, come on!" Seth added before he returned to his pancakes. Scarlett eyed the seat that was open next to Dean and then looked up at him. He shrugged at her, letting her know it was her decision if she wanted to join them or not.

"You know, people would kill to have breakfast with one of us. And here we are offering you to have breakfast with all three of us," Roman said grinning at her. That did it and Scarlett burst out laughing.

"Well aren't you modest," she chuckled. "Fine I'll join you. But at least let me give Vitani her breakfast."

"Bring her along too!" Roman called after her.

It was only when she had returned to the kitchen did she realize that even though she agreed to eat with them, she wouldn't be able to eat anything. To eat would mean to take off her scarf and Scarlett had never shown her face to anyone. Her stomach dropped at the realization and her shoulders slumped. They would lose their appetite if she ever revealed her face to them. None of them had an idea of how horrible of a person she was. Sighing deeply, she filled Vitani's food bowl and carried it to the dining area, placing it next to her seat. Vitani strolled forward and dug in immediately while Scarlett petted her.

"Sit," Dean offered, shifting to give her more space to sit. Scarlett took her seat and pulled a mug of coffee to her. If she couldn't eat, she would just have to pretend.

While Seth and Roman were more focused on the delicious pancakes with extra maple syrup, Dean's attention was fixed on the girl sitting next to him. She had taken a mug of coffee but hadn't touched any food.

Dean may have a reputation for being quick tempered, but he understood situations better than sometimes Roman did himself. Earlier in the morning he had meant to ask her why she hid her face, but he knew that she would never tell him. He was after all, still a stranger to her. Had it been any other girl, Dean would've prodded her to join them when Roman was asking her, but with Scarlett, things were different. He knew that eating breakfast would mean for her to remove her scarf and while Dean was curious, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable in any way when she was with them. Hence he had left the choice up to her.

He had seen her walls go up when Roman had asked her to join them for breakfast, had sensed the change in her stance when she returned from the kitchen, and most of all, he had seen the gloom once again swimming in her eyes. Scarlett herself didn't know how much her eyes gave away but he did and lord help him did he want to know why she was so…so…sad.

Well there's a little back story to Scarlett's life. Please don't think of her as a Mary Sue because she isn't one. I do not like writing Mary Sue characters, it's a pet peeve. :P On the other hand, there's a side of Dean we never get to see very often. I'm honestly having the time of my life writing this story since it has been plaguing my mind for a while now, and if you're enjoying it too then do leave me a Review. I love hearing from you all!

To Marina: Welcome welcome! It's great to hear from you. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! That was the intention in Chapter 1, lol. To have her be this cunning witch and then introduce another side of her's. Hopefully your theory has been on point. I didn't want to drag it out too long because then it would be too obvious. I did plan for this story to be The Shield/OC but for some reason Dean and Scarlett spoke more, therefore the romantic pairing is between Dean and Scarlett. But not to worry, I'm not leaving the other two in the dark at all :). Thank you so much for the lovely words and the encouragement. A reader's support means the world to a writer. Thank you :)

To Seth Rollins Babe: Ahahaha, wow! Never thought I'd be more glad to see a ship form for my story, lol. Ooo, I'm horrible at creating ship names. Err, why don't you keep thinking on it and let me know when you've come up with a few that work. Then maybe I'll put up a poll to see the most popular choice. Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate every bit! :)