What happens in this chapter...please don't kill me, guys...this is MUCH tamer than it was originally going to be, trust me.

Save Me from My Dark Side

Chapter Twenty-Three

Day Nine...

Rosie had been up to Mary's penthouse to borrow some things to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch (something she didn't have to cook) and was just coming back home. Since she hadn't been gone that long and was only next door, she had seen no need in locking the front door so she walked right in as she always did. As soon as she put her bag down on the bar in the den, that's when she found out she had a visitor.

With her back still turned, she felt someone from behind roughly slap a hand over her mouth in an effort to keep her from screaming. Unfortunately for them, Rosie had ninja training and, even though she was quite startled by the sudden attack, she managed to deliver a backwards kick into the intruder's groin area. This effectively got them off her far enough for her to spin around and deliver a punch to the face.

Unfortunately for her, the intruder was none other than Officer Bob and he was currently pissed as hell that a woman had gotten the upper hand on him. His face was fixed in an evil scowl which admittedly made Rosie hesitate out of shock. He reared back and slapped her across the face hard enough to knock her down and before she even had time to think, he had her flipped over on her stomach to disenable her from both escaping and fighting back.

"Get off me, bastard!" she was spitting at him while struggling under the man's hold. He had her arms pinned behind her back and he was sitting on her legs to keep her from trying anything.

"See here, you little bitch," Bob snarled as he tightened his grip on her arms, pulling hard at her shoulders to elicit a pained whine out of her. "Think you're such tough shit that you think you can dare threaten me in public? Remember doing that? Let's see how tough you are now."

Bob was stronger than he looked and try as she might, Rosie couldn't get herself loose from him. Okay, maybe it had been stupid and irrational of her to go up to him a few days ago in the Station and tell him off. Panic began to seize her, not knowing what it was he intended to do with her though she had a few nightmarish ideas flash in her imagination.

"That was highly inappropriate of you to do that," the deranged policeman continued, his fingers digging into her forearms even harder. She whined again which made him smile; if he was causing pain, that meant he was in control and he loved that more than anything.

"No one threatens an officer of the law, especially a woman."

Rosie's panic level shot up when she felt the cold slap of handcuffs go around her wrists.

"And especially one that spends her free time spreading her legs for notorious criminals."

She tried to jerk her arms free again to no avail, doing nothing but hurting her own shoulders, and tears started squirting out of her eyes. "Go to hell!"

"What's it like getting touched by hands that took the lives of others?" Bob cruelly asked in a low voice.

"Rather his than yours," she growled angrily before she could bite her tongue. Might not have been the smartest thing to say in her situation.

He roughly flipped her over onto her back, her hands still bound tight behind her and hurting even more now that her weight was on them. She had the displeasure of looking Bob in the face now and she wore a mixed expression of hate and fear, her eyes cutting a deep glare into his own and tears streaking down her cheeks. His knees were anchoring her hips down so she would be unable to kick at him, not that it stopped her from trying to anyway.

"Poor stupid slut, you probably have no idea what it's like to be with a real man."

He said it in what was supposed to be a sympathizing voice, only it had such a dark edge to it that it wouldn't have fooled anyone that heard it. The way he was sitting allowed for his pelvic area to press inappropriately against her and she gritted her teeth in disgust, trying to shake herself hard enough to get him off of her.

"Go ahead and struggle, I like when my women do that," he taunted her as he pulled his glock out and tapped her between the eyes with the muzzle. "You scream and it's all over, you hear me?"

Oh my God, this isn't happening, she thought alarmingly as she prepared herself to mentally block what she was sure was going to take place. She froze when he cocked the gun's lever and a cold sweat washed over her. She imagined what Turbo was going to do when she told him (if she lived through this), how stark-raving insane he'd be before he went to kill the bastard responsible and in the process getting his own self killed. Just thinking about that made her feel even worse and she had to bite down hard on her lip to stop herself from crying out loud.

"You should really consider yourself lucky, bitch. There's no telling what viruses you picked up from sleeping with that slime, so don't worry about that," he told her in a creepily calm voice that made it sound like he was doing her a favor by not raping her. "But that doesn't mean we still can't have some fun."

It felt like hours but in reality it had been only fifteen minutes, which was long enough. A large section of Rosie's pride was wounded in that she had been put in a situation where she had been unable to defend herself. Also, she was still disgusted at the sensation of Bob doing…things to her. It made her sick to her stomach to think of what could have happened and she retched a few times as she laid there on her side on the den floor.

No, he hadn't raped her, but the way she was feeling he might as well have; he'd done plenty enough with his hands…and he hadn't been gentle about it either, he'd made sure it hurt. The lewd comments he made about her while he did…things…didn't help either. Not to mention how he seemed to enjoy it. She had kept her eyes shut and her head turned to the side the whole time, trying to force her mind to go to a happy place.

"I already know you're going to tell your husband about this," Bob whispered harshly. "But if he comes after me….it only takes one bullet."

She shuddered violently when he said "BANG!" really loud and then laughed that stupid hyena laugh of his. He eventually unlocked the cuffs to release her wrists but she still laid there frozen on the floor, absolutely petrified that if she moved then he would shoot her on the spot as he still had the gun aimed at her head.

"Consider that a warning," was the last thing she heard him say before he exited the premises, the sound of the door closing being the only clue she had that he had indeed left.

God, she felt so dirty, something she'd never felt before in her life, and she ended up crawling upstairs and sitting in the shower with the hot water running over while she hugged herself and cried. She didn't know what to do! Naturally, the first thing that crossed her mind was to run over to Sugar Rush and tell Turbo what happened, but she was so damn scared he'd get into such a rage about it that he'd do exactly what Bob wanted him to do: go after him.

It only takes one bullet.

Obviously, this was went to be a ploy to get her husband to start a fight and then get himself killed, Bob claiming "self-defense" or some bullshit like that. Turbo was a possessive guy, he always had been and especially with her. He didn't even like it when she got so much as an appreciative glance from other men, thinking they would try to take her from him even though he knew full and well that she wouldn't have left him. It was just the idea that someone would have the indecency to make eyes at his girl that pissed him off, like they were doing it on purpose to make him mad.

And now here she was having been…touched…and that was definitely enough of an incentive for him to fly into a frenzy, whether it be homicidal or just wanting to go beat the shit out of him.

Still, she couldn't keep it to herself forever, she was a bad liar and he'd see right through her and figure out something was wrong. It would just piss him off more if she kept it from him too long, wondering why she hadn't told him right away. He was her husband, for God's sake, she should be able to tell him this of all things. But he'd been in such a good mood lately, even laughing and having fun the other day at the ice skating party, and she hated to mess that up.

She juggled the pros and cons in her head while she laid her head down in her arms, which were wrapped around her bent up knees, the hot water still pouring on her. All right…all right…she'd tell him…but she wasn't going to do it right now, not with all the little kids out and about. No sense freaking them out just in case he did go crazy.

Opening hours for the arcade were soon approaching and Rosie hadn't come by to visit yet. With each hour that passed, Turbo would look around more and more anxiously to see if she was approaching but she never showed up. Everyone noticed that he was distracted, so they'd try to break his concentration by asking him for help in cutting down their assigned section of cornstalks with the shears they were all careful not to cut themselves with.

"Maybe she got roped into something with a friend and lost track of time," Vanellope suggested weakly at one point, to which she got the equally weak response of "Maybe".

The kids started leaving the Candy Corn Fields one after another during the final hour before Litwak opened up his doors and Turbo sighed sadly as he reluctantly dragged himself inside Gloyd's house to take a shower. The pumpkin boy was once again on the roster to race so he wouldn't be around all day, and the kids that didn't make it onto the roster went home to rest from all the work they'd done.

Turbo let the hot water run over him, wondering what the heck had caused Rosie to not show up. Frankly, he was worried about her. It wasn't like her to break her word like that. His gut instinct told him something must have happened to her, but he shook it off. Can't go automatically thinking the worst, you know. Maybe Vanellope had been right when she just simply lost track of time. She'd probably show up first thing when he woke up later to make up for it; maybe even stay longer than normal.

With that in mind, his anxiety lowered about the situation and he went on to dry himself off and donned his pajamas. He had barely had enough time to get out of the bathroom door when he was bombarded by a redhead approximately his height wrapping her arms tight around his neck and shoulders, squeezing him into a forced hug and burying her head in the crook of his neck. The fact that Rosie was crying is what tipped him off that he'd been correct in assuming that something had indeed happened to her and he instinctively enclosed her in a protective embrace, letting one hand rub her back in a soothing gesture.

"What happened?" he asked her gently, trying to keep from sounding panicked as not to upset her more. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I…I f-forgot to l-lock the f-f-front d-door, and-and…th-there was s-s-someone in-inside and-and…," she spat out in a blubbering mess, shaking like a leaf against him and not quite able to finish her sentence.

Someone hurt her, Turbo instantly deduced in his head, already feeling a flare of anger rise up in him. He squeezed her tightly, his eyes reflecting the wrath that was surging through him.

"I…I tried t-to prot-t-tect m-myself but-but-"

"It's okay, baby doll, I know you did," he whispered to her, trying to keep his voice calm and level in spite of wanting to go out and rip off the head of whoever went after her. "Did they hurt you?"

He felt her shake her head "yes" and he had to grit his teeth hard enough to hurt himself to keep from going into a tirade. Even though he was squeezing her a bit too hard, Rosie felt so much safer being in his arms, the one place she could personally guarantee she'd never be hurt at. She knew he was trying to keep his temper in check in front of her because he was trembling with his hands clenched into fists against her back, getting his fingers tangled in her flowing hair in the process.

"How many?"

"J-just one." She decided to wait until he asked "who?" before she gave that information up, knowing that would only make him want to go out and hunt him down straight away.

"A guy?"

"Ye-yes."

"He didn't….you know…?" he asked almost helplessly, not able make himself say the word "rape" because it sounded so sick and filthy to him.

Rosie swallowed hard and she managed to blub out in summary what exactly had been done to her, the feeling of shame and degradation creeping back on her. She wisely left out the part about handcuffs so he wouldn't automatically guess who the culprit was.

If Turbo hadn't already been seeing red, he was sure seeing it now. It was one thing to mess with him; it was a completely different story to mess with her, and especially in a manner such as that.

"Who…was…it?" he growled fiercely, having to force the words out through clenched teeth.

"Does it really matter?" Rosie countered in a small voice, almost like she was pleading him not to ask her that.

"Yes, it matters, I need to know whose ass to kick hard enough to make him taste shit for the rest of his life," Turbo spat out in a breathless rush. "And that's before I castrate him and shove his dick down his throat."

At least he didn't say he was going to KILL him, was the wild thought in the back of Rosie's mind but she was still panicked that he was really going to do something close to that if she went ahead and told him who it was.

"Champ, please calm down," she begged tearfully. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm not the one that's going to get hurt, he is."

"He said he'd shoot you if you came anywhere near him," she couldn't help but whimper. "Baby, please don't go out there and start a scene, that's why I didn't want to tell you about it right away."

Turbo stayed silent for a few moments, trying to get his breathing to a more normal rate. So that's why she hadn't come by to visit until now. She hadn't wanted to tell him knowing that he'd react just the way he is now and possibly get himself killed. He thought about her sitting alone at the house worrying about what he would do when he heard the news, and it made him feel like complete and utter shit. She shouldn't have to be constantly concerned about how he was going to react to something, especially something to this degree.

He was being selfish, he realized bitterly as his violent urges slowly subsided; he shouldn't be focused on revenge, not when Rosie needed him to be there with her. It still angered him immensely that someone had gone after her in an attempt to bait him, but he kept trying to tell himself that at least she was alive and not currently in any pain, at the most just shaken up.

Rosie felt his muscles gradually relax, a sign that he was starting to calm down, and he exhaled deeply. He was still going to be mad, of course, but he was making a strong attempt to control his temper. Knowing that he wasn't going anywhere just yet helped to calm her down also and she softened the tight hug that she had been keeping around his neck.

"Oh my pretty girl," Turbo sighed sadly, rubbing up and down her back in a pacifying manner. "My poor pretty girl."

She ran her hands up behind his head to dig into his still damp hair and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. Turning his head slightly, he gently kissed her on the mouth and followed up with light kisses on her cheeks, forehead, between her eyes, tip of her nose, then back on the lips.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked her quietly when he pulled back, his eyes full of concern.

She gave him a hint of a smile. "I'm always okay when I'm with you."

He gave her a faint smile back before giving her another kiss and it didn't take long for either of them to get lost in it. She felt his arms brace themselves around her before he picked her up and she popped her legs up behind her knees so he could carry her, not once breaking their kiss that was steadily growing more passionate the longer it went on, and they disappeared into the bedroom where they could properly love on each other.

Come stop your crying, it will be all right. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you...My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry. (Phil Collins, You'll Be in My Heart)

Two Hours Later

"Sorry I made us fall out of bed."

Turbo smiled softly and kissed his wife's forehead as she lay snuggled up against him, the both of them tangled up in one of the bedsheets. They'd needed about ten minutes to wordlessly relax to catch their breath after the heavy round of extended love making they'd went through, something that they hadn't done in a while (a week was considered a ridiculously long time to them).

"Floor was probably bigger for what we wanted to do anyway," he replied cheekily, his voice rumbly due to lack of sleep. "I was too preoccupied to notice right away anyhow."

Rosie blushed faintly and chuckled. "I still feel kind of odd we did this in a kids' game."

He had to laugh at that. "We're both from kids' games, silly girl. Everywhere we ever went was, so what's the difference?"

"No, I mean a game with actual kids in it," she clarified. "But I guess if we could make do in the cab of your old car or on your old staircase, I suppose this is a pretty tame location."

His eyes glinted mischievously. "I knew there was something we forgot to do when we moved in. We haven't christened the new staircase yet."

"Oh hush, I think we were both tipsy when we did that," she giggled, gently raking her nails down his chest to make him shiver.

"Yeah, we were," he agreed quietly as he caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles, something having crossed his mind when she said that. "I probably should have told you this already, but…the other day, ol' Bob showed up here-"

Rosie froze when she heard the name, ducking her chin down without realizing she was doing it.

"-and he tried to get me to take a flask of whiskey from him."

She gulped silently before asking, "What'd you do?"

"I told him to get the hell out," he told her proudly. "Skittles might have helped persuade him as well."

Turbo noticed that she'd grown quiet and lowered his head down. "What's the matter?"

Rosie curled her arms up in the bedsheet to tug closer to her, feeling dreadfully insecure. "That's who it was," she said in such a quiet voice that he almost didn't hear her.

He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, slowly hissing his breath through them audibly in aggravation. Rosie's heart pounded, fearing he was going to hop up and go promptly approach the man, but he didn't make any such move. Instead, he tugged her closer to him in a hug, wrapping his arm around her to keep her there. He felt stuck between a rock and a hard place: if he went after Bob, he would either shoot Turbo dead or start a fight with him just to start even more trouble for him out in Game Central Station ("See! He really is crazy!"); if he didn't go after him, that was like saying he was too weak or scared to defend his own wife's honor.

"Champ, I know you want to do something to him, but he was being serious about shooting you," Rosie interrupted his thoughts, nuzzling under his chin. "I don't want you getting hurt or killed over me."

"He did it because you're with me," he said almost lamentably, blaming himself for it now. "He wouldn't have gone after you if we weren't together."

"Don't talk like that," she told him in a firm yet gentle voice. "He's just…he's crazy, that's all. He probably would've done it anyway."

She paused before adding, "And…I might have pissed him off when I cursed at him a few days ago."

"You did what?"

"I told him to leave you alone and stay away from you," she explained quickly. "And that he'd have to deal with me if he did…with a few colorful words thrown in."

"You always were keeping an eye out for me," Turbo noted admirably, not helping the small smile that formed. "Remember when I crashed in that joke of a race against Rocky? And you were the only one that came to check on me?"

"Yeah and then you started screaming at me about how he made you look stupid on your home turf."

"That's not the point…and I apologized for that. The point is you're always looking out for me, so now it's my turn."

He tenderly lifted her chin up so he could examine her sweet little face; from Day One, he'd always pictured her as an innocent lamb despite her more feisty moments, and right now he couldn't help thinking she looked like a lamb that just escaped the slaughterhouse. He couldn't help but think how young she looked all of a sudden, that despite everything in her life that had wisened her or made her more mature, she was still deep down an eighteen year old girl.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but you're not going anywhere alone for a while," he stated decisively. "That includes going home."

Her brows clenched together to give him an disapproving stare and she opened her mouth to debate this decision of his but he put two fingers over her mouth before she could get a word out. He already knew before he even said anything that she wasn't going to like it.

"Don't argue with me on this. If you need or want to go somewhere, you better have someone with you, understand?"

Rosie's lowered eyes shifted to the side and she huffed quietly, removing his hand from her mouth so she could talk.

"Fine, but I'm not spending the rest of my life being babysat."

"I didn't say it was going to last forever, love," he smiled affectionately, giving her another kiss on the top of her head. "It's just until this blows over."

"What if it doesn't?"

"It will, Miss Sass," he insisted, giving her one of his roguish grins. "Besides, your hubby happens to be a resourceful guy with an ingenious plan to keep that snake off our backs."

She lightened up at the show of playful arrogance he was demonstrating, giving him a faint smile before snuggling her head down against his.

"It better work, Mr. Resourceful, is all I gotta say."

"Oh, it should. Not sure how long it'll last but he'll leave us alone for a while anyway." Turbo ran his hand through her hair again in a comforting manner before adding, "You know, we could get back in the bed if you wanted to."

"Nah, I'm too comfortable to move right now."

"Yeah, me too." He smirked before adding, "Let me know when you're ready for round three."

"Shush."

After the Arcade Closed...

When Officer Bob felt a hard tap on his shoulder, he turned around cooly to tell whoever it was to buzz the hell off. Thing was, he hadn't expected to be suddenly grabbed by his throat by a member of the most secluded society in all the arcade. He ended up gagging for air as he was pulled up off the floor, his legs dangling and his hands trying to grab at the muscular green arms that held him just tight enough to not suffocate him entirely.

"Listen up, you little punk," the ninja turtle known as Raphael growled as he pierced his eyes into Bob's frightened ones. "I'm making a special appearance outside my game just for you so you better pay attention. You mess with my sister or my brother-in-law again, you will be more than sorry. In fact, you better keep the eyes in the back of your head open while you sleep."

Bob hadn't expected to have one of the ninja turtles come after him...the plan was for Turbo to come out there threatening to kill him. He was pissed that this plan did not work but at the moment he was too busy concentrating on trying to escape the humanoid reptile to really let it faze him. He croaked out an "okay" and Raphael set him back down on the floor.

The policeman looked up in time to the turtle give him the "I'm watching you" gesture with his fingers before disappearing into the safety of his game.

Oh, so you think you can outsmart me, eh? Think you can sic your stupid horse and turtle on me? I'll show you, you sneaky son of a bitch. You just wait.