MERRY CHRISTMAS! Also, to make it easier to find me on Facebook, from now on I'll have my Facebook avatar match the one on Fanfiction. Hope that helps!


She had thought she would be able to enjoy her vacation from England and it's weather. She thought they would take the many, many hints that she would not allow the Ministry to govern her life like they did so many, let alone arrange a marriage for her.

That brief glimmer of hope for the sanity of the magical race went out the window the second she learned that Molly Weasley had written up a marriage contract and the idiots in the Ministry were all too happy to enforce it.

She liked Ron...to a point...but marrying him? Not a chance in hell. Too bad slitting her wrists wasn't an option, because it was more tempting then spending every day with her 'friend', stuck as Molly two-point-oh.

Damn goblins. When she found a way out of this she would make them suffer through hell for oh-so-conveniently finding that damn contract.

There was one chance to get out of this mess and still be able to make them pay. She had to get married.

But who would be willing to marry a perfect stranger they had just met? And who would be tolerable for her to last a full year with in order to get out of that damn contract?


Dean Winchester was a hunter. But more than that, he was someone who had difficulty connecting to people, particularly women. He had had so many one-night stands it wasn't even funny...it was a miracle he hadn't caught something by now.

As a result, whenever he had vacation time (usually in between what many considered the unofficial 'hunting' season for people like him) he went to places like Vegas for a week or two to milk the casinos of their cash. You couldn't be an effective hunter without a damn good poker face, something he put to very good use.

In less than a year after his brother finally had enough and left for Stanford, despite the knock-down, drag out fight he had with Dean and their father, Dean made a point to hit the poker tables hard this year. Maybe if he were lucky he'd win big to make up for his recent string of crappy luck in losing Sam.

So imagine his surprise when, after he was three shots to the wind and guaranteed to be hungover in the morning, he ended up being rescued by a red-haired beauty with deep green eyes when the people he was fleecing at poker finally took offense to his string of large wins.

She swooped in, offered to play them one hand in exchange for letting him go...and then proceeded to beat them with a spectacular royal flush. They couldn't very well claim she was cheating, after all she was wearing a sleeveless shirt, kept her hands in full view at all times and only ever shifted her cards in her hand once.

Dean was impressed, or would have been had he not been so drunk.

The irony was that he had been cheating a little, and this woman had just saved him from an epic beating.

The next morning Dean found himself in one of the more expensive rooms more than slightly hung over.

"Good morning," she stated simply. In her hands was a bottle of aspirin and some water. Dean accepted them gratefully.

"So...who are you and why did you help me out back there?" he asked once the aspirin kicked in. Then he took a good long look around him, "And how did I end up in what looks like the honeymoon suite in one of the better hotels?"

"Partially because I need help, but mostly because I'm not about to watch a hunter get his ass kicked by some oil tycoons from Texas just because he was drunk off his ass."

Dean blinked, before his alcohol-addled brains processed that statement.

"What did you call me?"

"A hunter. I can only assume you hunt the supernatural sect, because last I checked hunting season in America is mostly limited to fall and summer. However the season for things that go bump in the night won't become active again for at least a month, two at worst. You were somewhat chatty after the third round of whiskey, and I recognized several code words," she shrugged at his disbelieving look.

"Which ones?" he asked carefully.

"Mostly it was your complaints about how the hunting season was going to be dead, and how you hoped your baby brother made sure to keep 'salt' and 'silver' handy. The only season I know of that falls short around this time is the mystery deaths attributed to the supernatural. And hunters are well known for keeping a lot of salt handy during hunts, considering it's highly useful. I just took a wild guess you were a hunter looking to capitalize on the slow period of hunts," she replied.

Dean took a deep breath.

"You a hunter too?"

"I specialize in taking out witches, but yes. I was coming here on vacation, but my window of free time is going to be cut short unless I can get out of this contract certain people roped me in without my consent," she said, handing him another glass of water.

Dean gave her a look.

"It's not a demon contract is it?"

"Worse. Marriage. I had a friend in school who's mother is a total harpy, and she had the delusional idea that we were a 'cute couple'. So she wrote up a contract between me and him, and now since I pissed off the bank lawyers they're forcing me to go through with it, despite the fact we had a massive falling out. I want nothing to do with him, and frankly he's too damn stupid to realize I would smother him in his sleep if we were married."

"Uh-huh. And what would you need me for?"

"I just need someone to act as my husband for a year until the contract goes through the evilest things next to demons. Lawyers. Once they find a way to break it, you're free to do whatever you want."

"Right. And what's the incentive for me?"

"I know how to cook, I'm a decent shot, I'm not likely to bolt in the presence of things like werewolves and I'll pay for gas, food, and lodgings," she deadpanned.

Dean had to admit, it was a pretty nice deal. In exchange for keeping this contract off her back, he got most of his expenses paid for a year. But the fact was he knew nothing about her, and he had little to no idea how to talk to a woman past getting them into his bed.

Hunting wasn't a male-only profession, but most of the time it was men who chose to hunt these things down.

She seemed to sense his unease.

"How about this. We go on a simple salt-and-burn and you can see how good I am," she suggested.

It was a reasonable suggestion. Ghosts were among some of the least dangerous hunts and a good way to break in the greenhorns.

"So how much time do you have before this contract goes into effect?"

He wasn't saying yes outright, but he wasn't saying no. If she really could hold her own on a hunt, then he might consider it. Not having someone next to him on a hunt was a prospect he would prefer to put off as long as possible.

"I have a month. I can handle taking a week, but I really need to get this settled before it goes into full effect. I think the bank's lawyers thought it would be hilarious to watch me struggle to find a way out of it, which is why I had that much," she said rolling her eyes.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

She smiled, and Dean's heart did a flip. In the afternoon light of the hotel room, he could see she was extremely hot. Better looking than most women he picked up.

He could only hope she was as competent as she claimed.

"Call me Rose."

Because there was no way she was explaining her dad was so unoriginal that he named her Scarlet.

So she went by the name Petunia used when she was in primary. Rose, which happened to be her middle name.

"I'm Dean."


"So let me get this straight. You went to Atlantic city for a week...and end up so damn drunk you got married to a perfect stranger?" said Bobby slowly, as if talking to an idiot.

"She's good on a hunt," said Dean defensively. Bobby smacked him on the head.

"I am not explaining this to John," he said flatly.

Rose, however was more interested in Bobby's library. She pulled an older tome off the shelf, took one look at the inside before she scoffed.

"Where did you find this outdated thing? Half the information was invalidated a century ago," she asked him.

Bobby looked at the book in her hands, then at her.

"Where you from again?"

"England."

"You hunt witches specifically?"

"A few werewolves. Had an encounter with a vampire coven last year, but it didn't end well for them."

"Right. Scotland, France or Russia?" asked Bobby.

Rose's eyes glinted.

"Scotland, from an old line. Hence why I was perfectly willing to enter a business marriage with Dean here to avoid marrying someone who could possibly be my own distant cousin."

"Bobby?"

"Well, you could be married to worse. But I'm still not explaining to your father how you ended up married to someone from that messed up society of witch hunters," said Bobby flatly.

"I would take offense, but sadly I happen to agree with you. They traded common sense for what they perceive to be more power," said Rose.

"This is just for a year right?"

"One year is the minimum I would need for my lawyers to find a way to break it. Those pests want to get back at me for breaking into their bank, so they conveniently found the papers and made sure everyone knew about it. And they gave me a month to see me struggle to get out," said Rose annoyed.

Bobby snorted.

"Just don't break his heart, or I'll shoot you," he said flatly.

"Fair enough."

Dean looked very confused at the exchange, but he didn't dare voice it. All he needed to know was Bobby knew something about his new partner that he didn't, and that he still trusted her. Besides, all he had to do was last a year or until the contract fell through. Easy enough, right?

Bobby watched Dean and Rose leave. He'd reserve judgment about this mess until after they had time to get used to each other's habits. For now it was purely a business arrangement, one that benefited both of them.

Rose got to avoid being married to someone who was likely related to her, and Dean got a partner who knew about the supernatural and could help him get over Sam's decision to leave him.

Considering how easily she agreed to supply him with accurate books for his library, he had the feeling she was one of the better witches from England who didn't buy into that whole blood purity crap. The fact she was willing to marry Dean (even temporarily) spoke volumes on her thoughts about muggles. So long as she continued to support Dean and kept him alive until this was over, he would keep his silence on the fact she was a witch to the Winchesters.


"DUCK YOU IDIOT!"

Dean knew when she said duck, you had better duck. The sound of buckshot filled the air and he felt something fly past his head. The ghost was forced to disappear while Dean salted and burned the body. Rose was good at keeping them distracted. And unlike Dean, she didn't have a habit of being thrown into walls on nearly every hunt, or losing her weapon.

Finally once the blaze was good and going, he looked at his partner.

"I don't know about you, but I need a drink."

"I would drive, but I don't know the first thing about cars," said Rose.

Dean accepted her hand out of the hole she helped dig. He had to admit, Rose wasn't afraid of hard work. When it came time to do the dirty stuff, like digging, she rolled up her sleeves and jumped right in.

Dean and Rose left the cemetery after they pushed the dirt back in. After the bones were burned, Rose would knock the lid closed with the shovel and they would put most of the dirt back.

Once they were out of the state, Dean found a nice bar that served decent food and they walked in.

Seeing every man's eyes on his girl, Dean felt a smidgen of pride knowing that at the end of the night, he was the one who got to walk out with her in his arms. Rose didn't mind that Dean wrapped his arms around her waist when they went to get a drink. Or that he would shamelessly flirt with her to keep the other men away.

Sure, the wedding rings weren't very fancy, but they were clearly visible. Rose barely repressed a smirk at the sight of girls smacking the boyfriends for staring at her ass.

Even after two months of being 'married' to Dean, it was still hilarious to watch.

Dean wrapped his arm around her waist, easing her into the booth. And just to show who's girl she was, he planted a kiss on her cheek.

Rose was originally uncomfortable with the displays of affection, but once Dean picked up on the fact she never had a boyfriend before he kept it mostly low-key enough that she was starting to get used to it. And while they did share a bed, he respected her boundaries. He didn't mind being turned into a giant teddy bear.

Though Dean would never admit he'd started having certain dreams with her in the starring role.