**** WARNING...this chapter is rated M for some explicit content mentioned in the beginning of the chapter.***

Chapter 9 – New Found Hope

Moving Rod into his new residence and acquainting him with becoming a henchman had been a success. Where he lived was much roomier than before and he had a lot more privacy, such as having his own bathroom. Also his best friends Grem and Acer were always around, but Roseanne especially. The two hung out even more now than ever, and when it came to work the Professor always had them working together to manage the Lemons below them. Despite Rod hearing stories that when friends worked together there was always disaster, he found him and Roseanne worked as a team and always got the job done.

Two weeks after Rod had become a henchman, he found him and Roseanne hanging out in his room one Saturday night, the two of them chatting. They at first were talking about simple things such as work, but then Rod found himself talking to her about personal things, things he assumed she told no one.

"I…I need to tell you something Darrel….as to why I'm so afraid all the time, why I can never let my guard down," Roseanne said, showing she was a little tense about what she said by scrapping her tire across the ground.

"You don't have to if you don't feel that its right, Roseanne," Rod replied, since he didn't want her to tell him something that she would later regret.

"No, I need to tell someone. I haven't talked about it to anyone, and I really think its time that I do," she replied, looking into his eyes.

"If you say so, Roseanne. I'm always here to listen," Rod said, giving her a calm smile. She smiled in return and then her face became very stern as she started to talk.

"It all happened when I was about fifteen years old. I remember my parents were having a family party to celebrate my dad getting a new job as a janitor at the public school in town," she paused and then shrugged. "You can guess that my family is pretty poor. Anyway, my whole family was there…grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins…all that. Well, we were all out in the backyard that night. I remember talking to my grandmother about something, what it was exactly I don't really remember. My uncle came over and started to listen to the story, and then after it was over, he told me to come with him…somewhere. I wasn't sure where since he didn't specify. But I trusted him and followed him to wherever he wanted me to go." She paused, and he could see her eyes starting to tear up.

"Where he took me was behind the shed in the backyard, and he...he," she said, starting to choke up a bit now, trying her hardest to get the words out of her mouth. "He told me to get on the ground…I, I wasn't sure why or what was going on, but then he started to hold me down. He told me to not move, not make a sound, not complain or I would get a beating. So I listened to him, even though I was scared out of my mind. Darrel, never in my life had I been so frightened…" Now she started to talk in between sobs, and watching her talk like this was heartbreaking. Rod couldn't believe what he was hearing, and that someone within her own family would want to hurt her like this.

"He…he mounted me Darrel, tried to get on top of me. I went against what he said, and I…screamed. I didn't know why it was happening, I knew what it was but I was too young, why….why would he do that to me?" That was when she broke down. Tears came streaming out of her eyes and she quickly drove up alongside Rod's side, looking for comfort from him. Rod returned it by gently touching her side, and saying whatever he could to console her.

"Its ok, Roseanne. Its ok, you're a wonderful car, I don't know why anyone would ever do that to you…" Rod tried his best to make her feel better but he knew she had to cry until she couldn't anymore. The two stood parked next to each other, their bodies touching for quite some time until she finally ceased crying. Although when she did stop she didn't leave his side.

"My, my daddy heard me, and he came and found me…right before my uncle got inside of me. Daddy chased him away, and we haven't seen him since," she was finally able to muster out, whimpering here and there. "That's why I cannot trust, Darrel. Since when I do have trust, it is lost…"

The Gremlins were still parked together, now not saying a word to each other besides Roseanne's occasional whimpers. Then a sudden feeling flooded over Rod, one he had not expected, especially at a time like this.

At that moment, he wanted to ask her out. Why now he wasn't sure, but for some reason the moment felt right. He had been thinking about asking her out for quite some time now, but he had always been hesitant since he didn't want to rush things too quickly upon her. However, he felt that after she had told him one of her deepest and darkest secrets, one that she had told to no one, he knew that she had trust in him fully, and maybe love. Trust and love was what she had been looking for all these years and she had never been able to find it, and now he was there to give it to her. He knew he might be taking a chance asking her out now, but it was a chance he was willing to take.

"Roseanne….I need to ask you something," Rod started, and the two pulled apart to look at each other. Roseanne was sniffling here and there but she was almost fully recovered from her breakdown.

"What's that, Darrel?" Roseanne asked. Rod smiled back at her.

"Well, I wanted to ask you, why did you tell me all that? I mean, that was very personal stuff there, Roseanne. I didn't mind at all that you told me, its great to get that stuff off your chest but, why me?" The question he asked at first seemed to surprise her, but she looked right into his eyes when she spoke.

"That's because I trust you, Darrel."

For Rod, that answer was enough to pursue further. If she has my trust like she says, I think its time….Although, I haven't done this in a long time he thought, so I need to be careful as to how I ask her. I don't want to make her uncomfortable and make myself look like a fool.

"Roseanne…there's, there's something I need to admit to you. If you can trust me, then I hope you don't mind if I admit this…" He started getting hot and sweaty and his heart was pounding at a million miles her hour. He gulped hard, and then mustered up enough strength to speak.

"I, I really like you Roseanne...I mean, damn. You're so beautiful and gorgeous, yet at the same time your really strong and you don't let anyone mess you around. I really like that in a girl, and that's a trait that's very hard to come by in most female cars these days. You also work very hard, despite what you have been given in life. Life may have been unkind to you so far, but that doesn't mean it cannot get better…"

Rod stopped for a moment, planning out what he was going to say next carefully. "I, I want to be that car that makes you happy, Roseanne. After all you have told me about the difficulties you have had with other Lemons, I want to be beyond that, and comfort and help you when I can. So Roseanne….I'm going to ask you…" He stopped, swallowed hard again and let the words flow out of his mouth.

"Will you go out with me, Roseanne Gremlin?"

For a moment, the world stood still. Rod was as nervous as ever while Roseanne was staring back at him, a look of total shock on her face. For a while, the two said nothing, and Rod was thinking that maybe asking her out now was a bad idea. Maybe she never really wanted to date, and maybe she really had no interest in him like he had for her. Thoughts kept spinning through his head as the silence continued.

Roseanne stood in shock, unsure of what had just happened. Did he just ask me out? Did a man that I actually like back make a move? She herself couldn't believe it, and for a while she stood there trying to take in everything. It was a little overwhelming, since every car in her past that had asked her out was either a creep or was just after sex. Darrel Gremlin was far from the case, since he was one who actually loved and cared for her, and she loved and cared for him back.

Finally the silence between them broke when Roseanne spoke up. At first she was a little tense and then she was able to calm herself down.

"Well, Darrel…my life has been unkind in many ways, most of which I have told you. I also have been trying to find the right car and I have had no luck, its true. Then again…that was until I found you," Roseanne said, now a large grin stretched across her face. All of a sudden Rod's fears of rejection went away, and thought that maybe, just maybe, something between them could work out after all.

"There has been no other Gremlin, or Lemon, that has been quite like you. I mean…I could go on and on about it, Darrel, but I think you already know all that you have done for me…" Their gazes locked together, Roseanne looking straight into his brown eyes, and Rod looking into her blue eyes.

"Yes, I accept, Darrel Gremlin. I will date you because I…I love you….and I mean that…" Roseanne finished.

"I love you too Roseanne…"

The new couple touched their sides gently again and embraced each other. The love and understanding for each other flowed between them, and at that moment they felt nothing could ever pull them apart. The two had been looking for love, trust, and comfort for a long time, and now it had finally been found.