Behind Emerald Eyes: A Cowgirl Doll's Story

by Jessie_CowgirlFan

Summary:

A story written about the life of Jessie the Cowgirl. A story of where and how she first started out as a toy, the obstacles she faces, and then finding Andy's toys and falling in love with a certain space ranger. Rated T for later chapters.
Pairings: Jessie/Buzz, OC/OC, little bit of Jessie/OC

Chapter 1: The Beginning

September 9th, 1955.

"Okay big girl, you can start opening your presents now."

A 5 year old brunette girl looked up at her mother with giddiness in her eyes as she smiled up at her. She got up off the kitchen chair with her braided pigtails bouncing behind her as she settled on the floor and picked up the first present and started tearing off the bright, yellow wrapping paper.

"Bed covers?" asked the girl, scrunching up her nose.

"Yes, Emily. Just look at the tag and read what it says," replied the girl's mother.

"Wo-Woody's Rah-r-Roundup; JESSIE COVERS!" came the surprise shriek from Emily.

Emily started to watch the show, Woody's Roundup, and instantly became a huge fan of one of the main characters named Jessie. Jessie is a cowgirl with long red hair that is braided down her back. She wears western attire and cowgirl boots with a crimson red hat resting on her head. She is shown as a very brave, tall, and beautiful cowgirl who's not afraid of anything, and that's why Emily loved her so much.

Emily looked down at her very own pair of cowgirl boots and smiled. She wanted to be just like Jessie when she grew up; brave and strong.

Emily grabbed the next present and one by one she opened the rest of them revealing Jessie related gifts like a little guitar, a lunch box, and her very own genuine Jessie cowgirl hat. After the last present, her father pulled another gift out of the cabinet and handed it to Emily.

Emily started peeling back the red and yellow colored paper and paused. She looked at her presents which where almost all Jessie themed.

As the gift was revealed from underneath the paper, Emily's face broke out into a huge, excited smile.

She got her very own Jessie the Cowgirl doll.

"A Jessie doll! I got a Jessie doll! Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!" she yelled as she jumped around.

"Well lets go to your room and take her out of the box, sweetheart," said Emily's mother as her and her husband brought the rest of Emily's presents to her room.

After a couple of minutes of fumbling with the box, Jessie was out and in Emily's hands. All Emily could do was stare down at the doll in excitement and wonder. She ran her hands through Jessie's vibrant red and yarn hair.

"You're gonna be my new best friend, Jessie. Oh Mommy, I love her so much already!" exclaimed Emily and hugged Jessie.

"Now you have a friend to go on adventures with at the park," replied her mother.

All through the rest of Emily's birthday party she had Jessie either in her little hands, or sitting next to her while eating birthday cake. As the party ended and Emily's relatives went home, she started to get ready for bed. Emily started to put her new flannel pajamas on and she put her doll, named Ginny, up on the dresser and plopped her new cowgirl doll into the empty spot on the bed. She brushed her teeth and settled under the covers and smiled remembering all the presents she got.

Emily reached over and grabbed her new friend and tucked Jessie under her arm.

"I love you Jessie; see you in the morning," yawned Emily and closed her eyes.

As Emily's breathing started to even out indicating the child was dreaming, the cowgirl doll started to take in a breath, then another as she slowly broke out of toy mode for the first time. Carefully, she wiggled her way out from underneath her new owner's grasp and stood up, shaking a little at the sensation of using her legs for the first time.

As Jessie came alive for the first time, she looked down at her hands, then down at her cow print- chapped pants and her cowgirl boots and looked up and saw Emily's mirror on the side of the room. Quietly, Jessie crept down the bed and up to the desk chair. She hoisted herself up onto the vanity and observed herself in the mirror.

She had big, almost bug like, green eyes, a cute button nose and pale pink lips that contrasted with her crimson red, yarn hair that was braided with a yellow bow holding it together. Looking at herself for the first time, she approved at what she saw. In her opinion, she was average looking and that was good enough for her. Jessie wasn't one to impress anyways.

She ran a hand down her hair smiling at how soft it was. Jessie then moved her hand to the top of her head where her large cowgirl hat sat atop it. She smiled at how much it defined her character and herself as a cowgirl doll. Jessie vowed to herself that night to never let that hat leave her sight.

When Jessie was finished observing herself in the mirror, she took a good look around the room and noticed that her new owner was a big western girl. She had a couple stuffed animals and toy horses everywhere; which were fast asleep on top of her dresser. She also had pictures of horses and various Woody's Roundup posters here and there with Jessie on them.

Jessie also noticed the fresh, out of the box cowgirl hat that complimented the one she wore herself; hanging on the bed post beside the sleeping Emily. Jessie couldn't help but love the little girl already and couldn't wait to start her new life with Emily.

"Hey, Cowgirl! Come down here for a minute!" loudly whispered a voice from the floor, breaking Jessie out of her trance. She looked down and saw the blonde Ginny doll she saw earlier, who Emily placed on top of the dresser before bedtime.

Ginny was with two other China looking dolls that were both brunette and a lot older looking and the three of them shared a smirk that Jessie didn't see; whispering about Jessie's clothes and her hair.

"Howdy!" Jessie waved kindly and smiled down at them. She carefully climbed down the vanity, still trying to adjust to using her legs and feet. When she got to the chair to prepare her descend down, she lost her footing and fell to the hardwood floor with a little clank which caused the three dolls to start giggling and scoffing.

"Did the little, brave cowgirl hurt herself?" smirked Ginny.

Jessie missed the sarcasm in Ginny's voice thinking she was expressing concern. Jessie smiled at the three dolls.

"No, um, I'm fine. Just that floor is as hard as a horse's hoof. Anyways, ya guys wanted to talk to me?" asked Jessie. She started to get self-conscious as she stood before these beautiful dolls with the curly hair and the poofy dresses. Jessie started to run her hands through her hair nervously as Ginny stood close to her and spoke.

"Listen Cowgirl, you have some nerve coming into this room and taking over. Enjoy the little time you have with Emily because she will outgrow you in a month. If you think she will want to be a cowgirl forever then you're wrong. She went from wanting to be a princess, to an ice skater, and now to a cowgirl. It's just a phase, you won't be here for long", said Ginny; tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"You're wrong, Miss. I'm sorry if ya feel threatened by little old me, but Emily said she loves me and I know I already love her. I have no intentions of 'taking over', as you call it, anything; especially your bond with Emily. Maybe you're right that it's a phase, but I don't think she will easily give up her toys," responded Jessie and started to walk away, but turned back around.

"Oh my, she's so weird. She's not even that pretty for a cowgirl," Jessie heard one of the China dolls whispering to an open mouthed Ginny and she walked back to the bed trying to hold back a sob.

When Jessie reached the bed, she carefully snuggled under Emily's arm and lied closer to her new owner, and sniffled. She didn't know why those dolls didn't like her and she didn't do anything wrong; as far as she knew. Jessie liked meeting new toys and she was a genuinely nice doll. What did she do to make those dolls so angry?

Jessie didn't question herself anymore when she closed her eyes and felt herself grow tired. She kept a firm belief that her life will be a great one with Emily and that things will get tons better. Maybe it was because she was the new toy in the room and everyone was skeptical that she would replace some toys with being the new favorite.

Tomorrow was a new day, and she was going to reassure everyone that she had no intent on hogging Emily's attention.

Jessie closed her eyes and dreamed of riding her horse with the wind whipping her hair around; helping Sheriff Woody save the day.

Chapter 2: New Friends

September 10th, 1955 7:15 AM.

"Wake up, honey. It's time to wake up for school," whispered Emily's mother. The 5 year old started to stir and wake up. As she came to, she looked down at the cowgirl doll snuggled into her little arms and smiled. After school, which was a half a day nursery school that she attended in the mornings, her father would take her to the park when he got home from work.

Emily couldn't wait to bring her cowgirl with her to the park.

She slowly climbed out of bed, carefully placing Jessie down on her pillow and started to pull some clothes out of her dresser. She put on a yellow shirt with red stripes, a pair of shorts, and she also took out her red bandana and tied it around her neck.

Emily's mother came in the room after Emily dressed to do her hair. She ended up pulling Emily's hair into a ponytail and using a red ribbon to fasten it in place. She then braided the pony tail and secured it with a hair tie.

Emily grabbed her cowgirl boots and stopped by her bed on her way out of the room.

"I'll see you after school, Jessie. We're gonna go play at the park later!" Emily knelt down and hugged the cowgirl to her as she told Jessie goodbye.

As the little girl bounced out of her room, Jessie slowly sat up when the coast seemed clear. The other toys around her were starting to get up as well. From what Jessie could see; there was a group of about five toys in the center of the room talking amongst themselves. The other group of toys consisted of the toy horses hopping off the dresser and moving around the room to run around or relax.

Jessie looked over on the other side of the room and saw Ginny heading out the bedroom door to meet her other friends that were in the living room.

Remembering her encounter with Ginny last night, Jessie brought her knees up to her chest and ran a hand down her braid and sighed. She felt like no one wanted to talk to her and she couldn't help but think Ginny had a big role in making the other toys shun her. It wasn't fair because Jessie really wanted to make some new friends.

All of a sudden, the bed moved a bit and Jessie looked up and met a pair of brown eyes looking back down at her.

In front of Jessie stood a fuzzy, brown teddy bear and behind it was a set of twin stuffed rabbits, a blonde Tammy doll, and a Gumby action figure. The group of five Jessie saw earlier was standing right in front of her.

"Why hello there, sugar! We've been dying to get up here to meet ya! Now what's your name, sweetheart?" asked the bear.

"J-Jessie, I'm Jessie the Yodelin' Cowgirl," responded Jessie. She was oddly nervous talking to these toys for the first time.

"It's very much of a pleasure to meet ya Jessie! My name is Mama Bear, but everyone calls me 'Mama'. I just wanted to welcome ya into our little family. Ya see, Emily doesn't have too many toys ever since she got all them horses over there, so it's just us. You'll fit in jus' fine," said Mama Bear. She grabbed both of Jessie's hands and helped her up onto her feet. One by one the rest of the toys stepped forward to introduce themselves.

"Hello Miss Jessie! My name is Milo and this is my twin sister Maggie," introduced the male rabbit as his twin sister was sniffing and nuzzling Jessie's side.

"Why aren't you two the cutest critters I ever did meet!" exclaimed Jessie and bent down to pet the rabbits.

As Jessie was petting the rabbits, a blonde doll with business clothing of sorts came up next and greeted Jessie with a warm smile.

"It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you, Jessie. I am so happy that Emily got her favorite character from the show to have as her own. My name is Tammy and if you need anything you can surely come to me."

"Nice to meet ya, Tammy!" Jessie shook Tammy's outstretched hand and the two girls shared a friendly smile. Jessie already knew that her and Tammy would get along just fine.

The last toy of the group was an oddly shaped green fellow that stepped forward.

"Well last but not least, my name is Gumby! Emily watches my show on Saturday mornings. I have a horse named Pokey, but he's with the others lounging around somewhere, wait there he is! Pokey! Here boy!" Gumby let out a whistle to the horse and Pokey came running to Gumby's side.

"Why don't ya say hi to Jessie? She's new to our family!" Gumby told Pokey.

Pokey stood on his hind legs as Jessie ran a hand through his cool, gummy mane.

Mama Bear smiled at the new cowgirl chatting with the other toys; already feeling a maternal instinct toward the young woman. The two rabbits started to chase each other around the room and Gumby went off to play with Pokey; leaving Mama Bear, Tammy, and Jessie still on the bed.

"There are two other toys in this room. One is Ken and he's kind of our look-out when Emily is gone to let us know when she's back. He and Tammy are 'together'. The other toy's name is Ginny. She was Emily's favorite doll for the longest time until Emily stopped playing with her a couple months ago when she got into the cowgirl life. If Ginny gives you trouble, don't worry about it. She's not a nice gal, even when she was the favorite. All she does is hang around with 'dumb and dumber' that hang out on the living room shelf," explained Mama Bear.

"Those two are the most annoying toys ever. You see Jessie, they are Emily's mother's China dolls and aren't the brightest. Maybe that's why Ginny gets along with them so much," smirked Tammy, nudging Mama Bear's side.

"That is why Ken loves ya sweetheart, you're smarter than a Barbie," complimented Mama Bear to Tammy as they both let out a giggle.

Jessie stood in her spot and smiled at the two joking with each other; enjoying the company of her two new friends. She grabbed her braid and explained to the two her encounter with Ginny.

"I already met Ginny last night. I don't think she likes me very much and I don't understand why. I hope I didn't offend her in any way," explained Jessie to the two toys.

"What did she say to ya sugar?" asked Mama Bear.

"Well first, her and her friends think I'm weird and ugly and second, she told me that Emily will outgrow me in a month and throw me aside. I didn't wanna believe her, but she yelled at me and kept insisting that I was trying to take Emily away from everyone...," Jessie drifted off and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I'm so new at everything here and I don't know how to react."

Instantly, Tammy rushed to Jessie's side and pulled her into a hug.

"Jessie, don't you let that little push-over convince you of anything. You have become Emily's favorite toy and she loves you a lot! Don't be ashamed of being loved by your owner. Emily loves all of us and plays with us still. You are also beautiful too! Ginny's just jealous because she's lonely and miserable. She's always been jealous of me."

"Exactly, Tammy. Baby, Emily loves you and everything she owns has your face on it. You have us to help you through everything. Your life has just begun and it's time to live it the best way you possibly can at this moment. Don't worry sugar, you'll be around for a long time and when Emily does grow up, you will be passed to a new owner that will love you tons too," said Mama Bear. She pulled Jessie into a huge, bear hug. When she released Jessie, she smiled at her and smirked.

"And who knows, maybe one day you'll find an action figure to sweep you off your pretty cowgirl boots. Miss 'I don't need a man' over there," as she gestured toward Tammy, "always said that and look; she's happy with a Ken doll."

Jessie pulled a playful, disgusted face at Mama Bear.

"Aw, that's okay Mama. I can take care of myself. Taking care of critters and being there for Emily is all I need," responded Jessie.

"Very good answer, cutie pie," said Mama Bear and reached her arms out to give Jessie another hug.

Jessie gratefully accepted the hug and smiled at Tammy over Mama Bear's shoulder. She had a family and an owner that thought the world of her. A sense of ease washed over the cowgirl as she noticed the other toys and a couple of horses come back up onto the bed.

"Thanks for everything, Mama," said Jessie and squeezed the bear tighter before letting go.

"No problem, honey. Just remember if anyone, especially Ginny, gives you guff; you let it roll off ya like water on a duck's back. Now let's give you a tour of this place to get ya familiar of where everything's at," responded Mama.

For the rest of the afternoon, the toys gave Jessie a tour of the house; ignoring Ginny and her friends in the dining room, and also gave Jessie the run down on what time Emily goes to school and comes home and also when the family likes to go out.

The group of five-now-six was sitting peacefully in the living room when Tammy noticed the clock and at the same time Ken came running into the room.

"Emily's due home in 5 minutes! Places!"

Chapter 3: Everything Was Beautiful

September 10th, 1955 1:15 PM

The toys helped Jessie run back to the room and told her to get into the same spot Emily left her in the morning. Jessie leaped back up onto the bed and sat against the pillow waiting for Emily to walk through the door. As soon as she heard the back door open, she froze in toy mode.

Emily came running into the room and she picked up Jessie to bring her downstairs to watch Woody's Roundup before going to the park. She adjusted Jessie's hat a bit then grabbed her own hat and ran out of the room and down the stairs and sat in front of the living room television. She put Jessie next to her on a pillow so that she could "watch" with her too. She sang along to the show's opening song and yodeled during Jessie's part.

During the show, Jessie couldn't help but marvel at how her character was portrayed. On the show, she was Sheriff Woody's sidekick who helped Woody when danger was near and also worked with a character who was named Prospector Stinky Pete. She was brave, loyal, and loved to take care of her cute little critters. Even in toy mode, Jessie's face beamed as the credits started to roll after the show was over.

Emily stretched out and stood up with Jessie in her hands.

"Come on Jessie! Let's go grab Dusty and play until Daddy gets home," Emily told her cowgirl. She walked back to her room and grabbed her favorite toy horse and put Jessie on the saddle. Emily had a big horse poster and she pretended Jessie was really riding Dusty with all the other horses on her wall.

As Emily was playing with her, Jessie couldn't help but look in the corner of the room where the rest of the toys were laying untouched. She felt a twinge of guilt in the cotton of her stomach but Mama Bear's words echoed through her head about enjoying herself. Jessie looked at Emily while in toy mode and beamed even brighter at her owner.

As Emily was playing in her room, her father came upstairs and knocked on her door before letting himself in.

"Are we going to the park today, Emily?" he asked.

"Yes, Daddy! I get to bring Jessie for the first time!" replied Emily. She put down the horse claiming how Dusty is officially Jessie's horse now and followed her father and her little brother, who wanted to go with, out to the car.

Emily buckled Jessie in next to her and took the doll's hat off. In one hand, Emily held Jessie's hat and with the other hand she held Jessie's hand.

It was quite a comfortable day out for it being the beginning of fall and the golden sun shined down on Jessie through the car windows and she felt so content when she felt Emily take her hand. As Emily stroked her hand a bit, Jessie looked up and smiled at her owner and then snuggled closer and closed her eyes. Everything felt so right at this moment.

The park was located a couple of blocks on top of the hill. The playground was located farther down the hill, except for a simple tire swing that no kids ever used. Emily ran ahead of her father and brother and ran to the tire swing. Emily was not a sociable girl and hardly ever played on the playground, unlike her brother. She always sat on the tire swing and got lost in her own imaginary world.

Emily ran down the length of the fence, swinging Jessie around, and up to the tire swing and lied down in it. The gentle breeze that was present in the air was just enough for her to use little force to help her spin around. She grabbed her cowgirl by the hands and spun Jessie with her; legs sprawled in the air as Jessie was carried by the wind too.

Emily smiled at Jessie because she was having a great time with her new cowgirl. Eventually, she was starting to get dizzy and when she went to stand up, she let her dizziness get to her as she playfully twirled around with Jessie and the both of them fell into a huge leaf pile.

Emily held up her cowgirl and rubbed her nose with the doll's button nose. As long as she had Jessie by her side, she was one happy girl.

It took every ounce of power to not make herself break out of toy mode to start laughing and Jessie had to fight the huge grin from getting even bigger on face. When Emily was happy, so was Jessie. Nothing could ruin this bond she had with her new owner and she knew right then and there that Emily and her would be together forever. When they fell into the leaf pile, Jessie snuggled into her owner once again as Emily held her close and together they looked up at the cloud formations in the sky.

Emily's father got out a camera and had Emily pose with Jessie on her lap by the tire swing with the leaves in the background.

After the park, they went home for dinner and afterwards; Emily started to get ready for the night and went to take a hot bubble bath to clean herself up from being in the leaves.

Jessie got up and found a sparkly yellow ribbon that Emily must of dropped out of her dresser drawers and thought it would look nice on her. She tied it around her waist and smiled to herself and started to go find Tammy and Mama Bear to show them.

On the way, she ran into Ginny who was coming back into the room from gossiping with her friends in the living room.

"What's with the new get up, cowgirl? Trying to fit in or something?" scoffed Ginny. "You look more like a dork than usual." Ginny started to walk away leaving Jessie just standing there. Anger started to boil through the cowgirl's veins as her pride got the best of her. She yelled to Ginny to stop and listen to her.

"Hey Ginny! I need to tell ya somethin'. Look, I don't know if I offended ya in some way, but step off my boots. The way ya talk to people makes ya look like you're studyin' to be a half wit. Now please I just want you and your two little sidekicks to leave me alone." With that, Jessie and turned on her heel and walked away leaving Ginny with an open, gaped mouth for a second time.

Mama Bear, Tammy, and Ken were just under the vanity when they heard the cowgirl confronting Ginny and when Jessie reached them, Tammy jumped forward and high fived Jessie.

"Yeah! That'll keep her off your back for sure now! Good job, girl!" said Tammy.

"Sugar, you are one brave little cowgirl for standing up for yourself," complimented Mama Bear, patting Jessie's shoulder.

"Thanks, Mama. I'm not sure what came over me, but I'm mighty glad I got the point across," said Jessie.

"Well, ya did a good job, baby; and also that ribbon looks absolutely charming on your cute little belt," complimented Mama Bear.

"Let me fix it for you though," said Tammy and tied it back into a bow at Jessie's lower back. Even Ken couldn't help himself from smiling at the cowgirl; she was just trying to fit in.

As the toys started to make small talk with each other, Ken's head shot up and yelled "Places!" when he heard footsteps. Jessie hurriedly took off the ribbon and ran back to her spot.

Ginny didn't get all the way to the top of the dresser where she was usually kept nowadays, so she froze just on the floor. As Emily came into the room, she noticed Ginny on the floor and nonchalantly put her on the shelf in the closet as she put her boots away and closed it.

Emily arranged her toy horses on the top of the vanity and put her other toys in their respective places. She crawled underneath the covers and brought Jessie close to her. As soon as her mother said goodnight and shut her door, Emily shot up in her bed and made a little fort with her covers. She then grabbed the flashlight she hid underneath her bed and grabbed Mama Bear, Ken, the two rabbits, Dusty, and Jessie.

"Hello, Miss Jessie. Will you play with us today?" Emily made Maggie and Milo say. She had Jessie play with the rabbits and Mama Bear; pretending they were her "critters" from the actual show.

Emily then wanted to have Jessie ride Dusty and had Ken be a horse breeder.

"Why hello, Jessie. Let me help you get Dusty out of the pen," said "Ken".

"Well how kind of ya to do that," responded "Jessie".

Emily had the cowgirl giggle and also had Jessie give Ken a kiss on the cheek. Jessie wanted to throw up and run away, but Emily's sappy moment stopped and she continued to have Jessie ride Dusty until Emily grew tired and lied her head down onto the pillow and immediately fell asleep.

One toy from across the room looked at the lump on the bed and sighed. She knew it wasn't Jessie or Ken's fault, but how could she not feel a tinge of jealously when Emily had Jessie and Ken flirt? Also its felt like months since she's been played with. Tammy sat at the end of the room and waited for the toys to come back down from the bed when Emily fell asleep.

Ken was the first toy down and he ran over to his girlfriend and reassured her that he still loved her and to forgive him. He felt bad that Tammy wasn't getting played with as much as she used to, but he let her know that he would always be with her.

"Of course I forgive you. Besides, it's out of a toy's control what happens during a playtime," said Tammy and kissed Ken's cheek.

Jessie walked over nervously to Tammy and almost turned around when she saw that Tammy and Ken were alone.

"Girl, get your butt over here. I'm not mad at you at all," encouraged Tammy. Jessie came over and Tammy gave her a little hug as Ken smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, Tammy," was all Jessie could say. She didn't want her new friend to be mad at her.

"Don't worry about a thing. Nothing is your fault," reassured Tammy.

"I hoped ya wouldn't be mad at me," said Jessie in return.

"No way, besides; he is kind of hard to resist, right?" asked Tammy, pinching Ken's cheek as he whined "owww".

Jessie giggled at the couple and wondered just for a split second what having a boyfriend would be like. She wouldn't be into someone like Ken, but someone who was sweet, charming, and shared her zest for life. Someone who shared common interests with her and wanted adventure; because she wasn't the lovey dovey type like the couple in front of her.

"Alright now kiddos, let's start getting ready for bed. It's starting to get late," said Mama Bear; walking up to the trio.

"Yes, Mama," they all answered in unison and smirked at each other as they went back to their places.

Chapter 4: White Christmas

December 25th, 1955

"Yeeeeehaw!"

As Emily and her family went downstairs to open presents that Christmas morning, a very excited cowgirl doll ran around the bedroom. She was very excited because this was her first Christmas she ever experienced.

For the past couple of months, Jessie settled in with her new family and gained the confidence and enthusiasm that she had within her true character. She also got used to standing on her own two feet after constantly tripping and falling for the first couple weeks of being out of the box.

As for the rest of them, the toys were more than excited to have a happy day to relax and enjoy the love and friendship in the air due to recent events.

Recently, Emily gave Gumby and Pokey to her little brother. Although he played with the two toys more than Emily, the two missed their friends in the other room; especially Pokey who missed his dear horse friends.

Another turn of events happened around November when Mama Bear got snagged by the leg on the wooden fence at the park one afternoon. The rip went unnoticed by Emily which caused the Bear great sadness; but Mama Bear adapted to the rip by finding a little wooden cane to walk with.

Since Mama Bear couldn't move as much and keep an eye on things, Jessie took the initiative to step up and take responsibility. She assisted the toys that needed help and helped them cope with the move of Gumby and Pokey. Jessie gained the toys' respect and they loved her; especially the horses.

All except for Ginny who bitterly hid herself in the dining room cabinet. Emily didn't even notice her once- favorite toy had gone missing.

"Well someone is sure excited!" said Tammy to Ken. They were sitting next to each other on top of the toy box watching the cowgirl talk excitedly to Mama Bear.

"So whadda' we do today, Mama?" asked Jessie.

"Well, sugar; we wait for Emily to open her presents and then, when the family is done, they head over to the grandparents' house for the day. Then we are free to do whatever we want!"

"Well then, can we watch Christmas movies?" asked Jessie while bouncing on her feet.

"If the others want to, then we'll do it," said Mama Bear.

Jessie smiled then hopped up onto a stack of Woody's Roundup magazines and addressed the toys.

"How does a Christmas movie sound to y'all later?" drawled Jessie.

"I know the perfect one we can watch. It's called White Christmas and it's so good. They usually play it all day on TV. It actually just came out a year or so ago," suggested Tammy.

"Then it's settled, we'll watch White Christmas when the family leaves," seconded Mama Bear; walking up behind Jessie.

The toys made small talk until Emily came bounding into her room grabbing her coat and scarf.

"Bye Jessie! I'm heading off to Grandma's for the day to open more presents! Although, you can't tell Santa, but you're the bestest present I've ever got," said Emily to her cowgirl. She picked up Jessie and hugged her and set her down on her pillow.

When Emily left the room and the sound of a car driving away was heard, the toys sprung to life and started to make their way into the dining room to check out the presents under the Christmas tree. Bows and ribbons from the presents were scattered here and there and Tammy and Jessie both put bows on their heads and laughed at each other.

While Jessie was digging through a box that contained some Woody's Roundup story books, there was a tap on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and saw a male doll with some weird 3D glasses on and he had yellow hair. He was smiling warmly at her and took his glasses off and introduced himself.

"Hey there, my name is G.I. Joe, but you can just call me Joe. May I ask your name, beautiful?"

Jessie stared at the man confused. Was he being serious? Behind him, she could see Tammy and Mama Bear holding in giggles.

"Uh, my name is Jessie," responded the suddenly shy cowgirl.

"Jessie. That's the name of an angel. If you ever want to enhance your shooting skills, you can come to me anytime baby. I fight off radiation waves with this laser gun. My awesome glasses help me see them."

Jessie stared at the action figure showing off in front of her. She didn't know whether to act flattered or freaked out. Guys were just not her thing yet and she didn't know how to act when getting hit on. She looked over to Tammy and mouthed "help".

"I'm sure Jessie would love to, but I doubt she'd be interested in that sort of thing," said Tammy, stepping in between the two and wrapping an arm around Jessie's shoulders as the cowgirl nodded to confirm what Tammy said.

"Ken will show you where your new owner's bedroom is," continued Tammy and turned to Ken and gave him a nod.

"Sir, if you want to step this way," beckoned Ken to Joe.

"Hope you're ready for New Year's Eve, cowgirl," yelled Joe over his shoulder and puckered his lips in Jessie's direction. He turned back to Ken and spoke.

"That cowgirl is a pure ten. Is she single?"

"Buddy, I think she considers you a zero. She's not interested at all," said Ken seriously.

Joe just laughed and kept following Ken as the older toy rolled his eyes.

As the two boys left the room, Tammy hugged Jessie to her and laughed.

"Girl, you better watch or that guy's gonna be all over you."

"He was so weird and I reckon he thinks he's the real Joe. He ain't gonna score any points with this cowgirl. He needs some better manners," said Jessie and made a disgusted face.

"It's okay, Sugar. At least he isn't Emily's toy. We'll make sure he stays far away from ya," said Mama Bear.

"Ugh, thank you. He better not get back up in my loins again," said Jessie.

"Aw, come on Jess. He was just being friendly," joked Tammy as Jessie gently shoved her.

The toys finished looking at the presents; which Emily's gifts were Woody's Roundup related things and clothes; no toys at all.

"How 'bout we all go into the living room to watch the movie?" Jessie addressed the toys.

After nods of approval (and after getting Milo and Maggie out from being trapped in a box) they headed for the living room.

On the way, the group passed by Ginny and her two friends in the bathroom doing their hair. Ginny noticed the group and called out to see what they were doing.

"That movie is so stupid anyways," said Ginny wrinkling her nose after Mama Bear told her what movie they were going to watch.

"We didn't ask for your opinion," Jessie shot back. Ginny noticed the bows that were still on top of the cowgirl's and Tammy's heads.

"You guys are so weird. That is why I don't hang around you nerds. You have loser written all over your faces."

"Okay, AGAIN we didn't ask for your opinion and also Tammy and I are having fun celebrating the holiday, if that's okay with you. So if ya don't have anythin' nice to say, then stop wastin' our time," said Jessie and smirked as Ginny didn't have a comeback as usual.

"You aren't no prize either, Ginny. Remember that," seconded Tammy.

The group of toys smirked at Ginny's pouty face and headed into the living room and sat on the couch as Tammy searched for the channel the movie was on.

"Jessie, I wanna be brave just like you," complimented Maggie and hopped around Jessie.

"You showed her who's boss big time," seconded Milo.

Jessie laughed and bent down to nuzzle their noses with her's.

"I want ya two to be brave no matter what. Jus' remember, don't let the bullies get to ya because in the end, being yourself is all that counts," said the cowgirl. She took her bow and placed it on top of Maggie's head and roughed Milo's fur lovingly.

"I agree with Jessie. Stayin' true to yourself will help you achieve great things and attract good people in your life," seconded Mama Bear and patted Jessie on the shoulder.

"You deserve every ounce of attention Emily gives you, honey. You are a very loyal and loving toy and we are all lucky to have ya."

Jessie was very touched by the compliment and ordered a group hug.

"Okay everyone! Let's get this movie started! Yeeeehaw!"

Ken came back into the living room and him and Tammy cuddled at the far end of the couch. In the middle, Mama Bear slunk back against the couch and propped her feet up. Beside her was Jessie with the two rabbits resting their heads in her lap and Dusty had his head resting on her shoulder.

Jessie watched the movie as Christmas spirit began to pour into her heart. She looked around and smiled at her little toy family, grateful for their love and support; then she thought of Emily. The little girl adored Jessie more and more each day and Jessie felt nothing but pure love and admiration towards her owner. As long as she had Emily, nothing could get in her way, especially Ginny.

Jessie's only Christmas wish was to be with Emily. Forever.

Notes:

Hehe, see a little Toy Story 3 comparison?

Chapter 5: She's My Whole World

November 20th, 1958

"Alright y'all! Gather 'round now!"

Jessie stood on a stack of Emily's school books and addressed the small group of toys to gather around for the usual morning announcements. For the past couple years, Jessie would fill the toys in on what to expect when Emily was not at school. Jessie was the only toy Emily seemed to play with as all the others were kept in her little toy chest in the corner of the room.

"After Emily gets home from school, she will be going to Sara's house for the night since there's no school tomorrow. We'll probably have the room to ourselves, but make sure to stay only in this room," addressed Jessie sternly.

"Tammy, I'm putting you in charge if I'm not here tonight. Make sure y'all stick together and most importantly enjoy the time off. I know we've had a rough month..."

"Sure thing, Jess," responded Tammy as the other toys nodded in agreement. As Jessie stated how rough the days before have been, the toys reflected on the events that happened.

One afternoon, Emily was cleaning her room and found old clothes and other things to donate. After she was done, she one-by-one put each toy into her little toy chest. She then spotted the rip Mama Bear had gotten a few years back. The toys watched as Emily's eyes widened at the rip on her once-favorite bear and nonchalantly threw Mama Bear into a donation bag with her old clothes.

Jessie saw the entire event on top of the bed and sprung to life when Emily had her back turned; racing down the hallway to try to free Mama Bear from the bag while trying to stay hidden from the humans. Emily and her mother went out the back door and it almost smacked Jessie in the process.

As the car drove off, Jessie slumped to the floor in disbelief. Mama Bear was gone. The first toy to take the cowgirl in and acted as a guardian to her was gone. All the other toys, including Ginny, were devastated as well; it happened so fast.

This only encouraged Jessie to be strong for her toy family, and she felt the need to protect each and every one of them. Emily was growing up which meant she was outgrowing her toys. Jessie saw each day how 8 year old Emily was growing up and finding interest in more mature things. She still loved Jessie and the two of them were very close, but as for the rest of the toys, Jessie knew something was bound to happened.

"Jess, you alright?" asked Tammy, breaking Jessie out of her thoughts.

"I'm fine...just reminiscing I guess."

Tammy gave Jessie a small hug and went to go find Ken. The two girls were best friends, almost like sisters.

Maggie came up to the cowgirl and nuzzled the side of her leg as she and Milo were passing by on their way to the living room to run around.

Ginny just shot Jessie a strange look and ventured to the dining room to find her friends.

Jessie watched everyone go about their business and started to head over to Dusty for a ride, when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hey cowgirl," whispered Joe playfully into her ear and kissed her cheek. Jessie cringed and tried to wriggle away. Joe was the last person the cowgirl wanted to be around at the moment. Her and Joe were not a couple and Jessie made that known to everyone, even though Joe insisted that they were.

"Ugh, for the millionth time, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that! It could be hazardous to your health...," replied Jessie threateningly.

"Sorry, you looked like you needed a hug." Joe squeezed Jessie tighter to him and eyed the cowgirl's figure.

"Well I'd be fine and dandy if you let me go so I can ride my horse. A cowgirl doesn't go a day without riding," replied Jessie and elbowed the action figure in the ribs to get him off of her. She stormed over to Dusty and quickly hopped onto his saddle.

"Come on boy, let's get outta here and run around for a bit," whispered Jessie to her horse. The horse neighed happily and took off toward the living room to run around with the two rabbits until the humans were due home.

After Jessie made sure all of the toys were in their places and the horses on the vanity were okay; the cowgirl lied on the pillow as Emily came running into the room and flopped onto the bed to snuggle with Jessie after a hard day of second grade.

"Jessie, history is soooo boring. I almost fell asleep in class..." Emily described her day to Jessie as usual and the cowgirl, while still in toy mode, snuggled up to her favorite person in the whole world and listened.

Emily's mother came into the room and as she headed over to the closet, she tripped on Ginny.

"Emily, how many times do I have to tell you to pick up your toys?"

"I'm sorry, Mom! I don't even play with that one anymore," responded Emily, wondering how the toy even got there in the first place.

"Well if you don't want it, then donate it. It seems like you don't play with any of these anymore," Emily's mom gestured to the toy chest.

Jessie's mind started to panic. Ginny didn't make it back to her place. Darn it Ginny!

"How about you give them to Riley? She loves getting new toys," suggest Emily's mother. Riley was Emily's little cousin.

Emily walked over to her toy chest and took each toy out and examined them.

Ken: for little girls who play with Barbies.

Her twin rabbits: she had some good times with them during her play times...but Riley would just adore them now more than her.

Ginny: her once favorite doll who isn't as fun and amazing as Jessie. One couldn't do much with a Ginny doll other than brush her hair. Riley might find some type of use for her.

Tammy: Emily totally forgot she even had her. The girl felt bad for forgetting about Tammy because she was a very nice doll, yet she didn't play with her hardly.

Emily carefully placed the toys in the box her mother gave her and looked around and smiled at Jessie. The cowgirl doll and her toy horses were the only things Emily wanted. Jessie was her inspiration and she never would get rid of her favorite cowgirl. Big girls don't play with frilly dolls and stuffed animals, especially rough and tough cowgirls.

"I'm never getting rid of you, Jessie. You're my favorite cowgirl in the whole world," promised Emily and bent down to nuzzle her nose with Jessie's.

Quite the contrary to Emily's thoughts, Jessie couldn't believe what was happening in front of her eyes. Emily was getting rid of all of her childhood toys and there was nothing the cowgirl doll could do to save her friends. She felt terrible that it had to come to this. Jessie tried so hard to keep her friends safe and nothing she did worked.

As Emily started to gather her things to take to her friend's house, Jessie looked apologetically at the toys in the box, but Tammy smiled back at her reassuringly. They were going to be another kid's toys now. They would be alright. That thought caused Jessie to let a small smile appear on her face and her and Tammy shared a departing glance.

Emily finished packing and walked out of the room with the box. They were going to stop at her cousin's on the way to her friend's house.

Jessie, however, couldn't help but feel loneliness creep up on her as Emily didn't bring her with to her friend's house. The cowgirl's friends were gone and the room was quiet, except for the horses that moved around. Jessie buried her face in her knees and just sat there feeling guilty that the other toys had to go and yet, she was the favorite and got all the attention.

Joe came through the bedroom door and noticed Jessie was alone. He heard all the commotion from his owner's bedroom and decided to make sure his 'love' was alright.

"You okay?" asked Joe, slowly approaching the cowgirl.

"I dunno, Joe. One moment they're here and now they're...gone," Jessie brought her hands up to her face and started tearlessly sobbing.

Joe didn't hesitate one minute to put his arm around the cowgirl and comfort her as she buried her face into his shoulder. He rested his head down on her's and started to nuzzle her cheek and brush his lips against her plastic skin.

Jessie didn't realize that Joe's lips were on her face until she felt something soft brush her cheek. In her already vulnerable state, she let Joe kiss her as he lowered both of them onto the bed. She thought Joe was trying to be comforting, but she didn't know if this was right or wrong to let him be the one to help her.

As he started to travel down her neck, something clicked in her head and her eyes snapped open. She didn't want this at all; she had absolutely no interest in Joe, or anyone for that matter. How could she be so naive?

She abruptly sat up, knocking Joe off her. "J-ju-jus' keep away from me. Stay in the other room and n-never come in he-here a-again. I never liked you and I never will, so do me a favor and LEAVE!" roared Jessie. She was appalled Joe would take advantage of her vulnerable state like he did.

Joe just shrugged and quietly left the room, but turned back and snarled "have a nice, lonely life cowgirl."

Jessie stood on the bed trembling and breathing heavily, leering at the doorway; which seemed like the doorway all of her friends had left her through.

Jessie didn't need anyone anymore except for her owner. Emily was the cowgirl's whole world and all Jessie cared about was being with Emily forever. She didn't care if she never had anyone except for the horses to talk to.

The mentally drained cowgirl curled into a ball on the pillow and closed her eyes, but sleep never came. Everything that happened in the day came crashing down on her and she realized just how fast Emily was growing up.

Just then, Mama Bear's voice appeared in her head; "Your life has just begun and it's time to live it the best way you possibly can at this moment."

Jessie made a vow to always be there for Emily and to be the best toy any owner would be proud to own. Emily loved her after having Jessie for three years; the cowgirl knew that Emily was happy to have Jessie helping her each step of the way.

Notes:

Just want to add a disclaimer that I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Buzz/Jessie fan, but I wanted to give Jessie a background on where she stands in regards to relationships and her uncertainty. Joe is very conceited and only cares about himself whereas Buzz is totally sweet and innocent and I promise Buzz will be coming up in this story soon!

Chapter 6: Every Hour We Spent Together

August 11th, 1962

Twelve year old Emily was getting ready for a day of shopping with her group of girlfriends for back to school clothes. She was sliding on her cowgirl boots and stood up to tighten her bandana around her neck and started to do her hair in the usual french braid.

When she was done doing her hair, Emily grabbed her purse and cowgirl hat and headed out the door when she heard the honk of her friend's mom's car. The girls were all entering seventh grade and they all wanted to show the world that they were more mature.

Back on the bed, there was a cowgirl doll that was laying on the opposite side of where her owner slept practically hanging off the edge. She was obviously shoved aside in the middle of the night as the almost-teenage girl slept. She slowly came to as her owner left the room and smiled up at her horse, Dusty, who still sat on top of the vanity with the other horses.

"Mornin' Dust!" Jessie waved to the horse as she sat up and adjusted her hat. The horse neighed in return at her.

The cowgirl heard footsteps coming from the hall and froze in toy mode as Emily's mother came into the room and started to make her daughter's messy bed up. She neatly folded the covers up and placed Jessie down in front of the pillow, as usual. When she was done, she opened the window to let the summer breeze into the room.

When Emily's mother left the room, Jessie shut her eyes and breathed in the fresh, summer air and leaned back against the pillow. She wished she could run around outside and play with Dusty, but ever since Emily started to hang out with her group of friends she never brought Jessie anywhere. Emily never even acknowledged the cowgirl anymore, yet Jessie still remained on the bed which meant her owner still loved her...right?

The content smile Jessie wore turned down into a frown as she realized that she hadn't been out of the bedroom for a good while. Emily still was into the whole cowgirl scene; with her Jessie inspired bedroom, but she started to grow more distant from Jessie as if she was just a decoration to the room.

Jessie drew her knees up to her chest and sighed. Days like these were always hard when Emily was out with her new friends. She never included Jessie in anything anymore and what made it worse was Emily had no other toys for Jessie to hang around with.

Jessie was lonely, although she wouldn't let on to Joe across the hall in Emily's brother's bedroom. In fact, she hadn't seen him since the day she yelled at him to never come near her. That was the day when her friends were taken away from her four years ago...

"Have a nice, lonely life cowgirl." Joe's words cut her like a knife that day. She was starting to dwell on the fact that he was right. After all, loneliness was all the cowgirl felt anymore.

Not wanting to think about that, Jessie hopped off the bed and grabbed one of Emily's new mystery books she bought and started to read it to kill time. Dusty sauntered up to the cowgirl and lied his head in her lap with his tail wagging.

"She's sure growin' up fast, Dusty. I-I just can't believe it," murmured Jessie to the horse.

As Jessie got to the middle of the book, she heard a car pulling up in the driveway. Knowing that was Emily, the cowgirl and her horse quickly went back to their spots. Jessie rested against the pillow and waited for her owner to come in.

Emily and her longtime friend came into the bedroom carrying shopping bags in each of their hands. The girls sat on the floor and dumped out the contents of a smaller bag.

"What color do you want, Emily?" asked the friend.

"I might try the light pink," replied Emily. She stood up and reached for her pillow while in the meantime, nonchalantly knocked Jessie off the bed onto the hardwood floor.

Emily sat back down on the floor with the pillow resting behind her back as her and her friend started to paint their nails with their new nail polish they bought.

"So Emily, I don't think Josh is gonna like that hat. If you wanna capture his attention, you should ditch the hat and wear your hair down more," suggested Emily's friend. "Cowboy stuff is like soooo not girly."

"Yeah...I'm not really into it that much anymore..." replied Emily shrugging.

They started talking about their latest crushes and the latest trends that are out. Emily took off her Jessie-inspired cowgirl hat and set it on top of the dresser next to a picture with her cowgirl doll that was taken when she was five years old. Unfortunately, she didn't even glance at the picture that once meant so much to her as she continued gossiping and giggling about fashion and boys with her friend.

Down on the floor, Jessie crawled over to peek out at what Emily and her friend were doing after getting (what she thought) accidentally knocked to the ground. The cowgirl didn't know what they were doing, but it looked very girly considering the color pink was involved.

Her eyes grew big and started to sadly stare up at her owner as Emily and her friend were talking about boys and clothes without including Jessie or anything cowgirl for that matter.

When Emily's friend made the comment about the hat, Jessie looked away dejectedly. Emily would never take off-

She did.

Jessie's heart broke at the sight of her owner taking off her hat. The matching hats signified the bond between what the owner and her toy had.

The lonely cowgirl toy just crouched under the bed opening and eavesdropped on what the girls were talking about until Emily's friend had to go home.

Jessie prayed Emily would remember she was under the bed, until she saw her owner piling her toy horses into one of the unused shopping bags and marked it as "attic".

"Hey Dad! Can you put these in the attic? I don't wanna get rid of them, but I have no room to put my new things!" yelled Emily as she went to go hand the bag to her father.

When she came back into the room, she started to arrange her new nail polish bottles and other beauty products she bought that day on her vanity, slowly shoving her "Woody's Roundup" merchandise aside. When she was done she started to get ready for bed while listening to one of her new records that had a very upbeat rhythm to it.

As Emily settled into her bed and turned off her lamp, Jessie was still laying under the bed. She saw Emily putting her beloved horses into the bag. Now the cowgirl didn't even have her horse to keep her company.

She wished Mama Bear or Tammy were here.

Throughout the night, everything was quiet and still in the house except for a cowgirl doll silently sobbing underneath her owner's bed on the cold hardwood floor feeling completely and utterly alone.

Chapter 7: When She Loved Me

October 8th, 1966

4 years...and nothing.

"Like oh my gosh, Lydia! Chad asked me to wear his jersey on Friday!"

The sixteen year old teen was sitting at her vanity applying her makeup while gushing on the phone to her friend about her recent crush finally making a move on her. She was getting ready for another ordinary day of her sophomore year of high school.

Emily hung up the phone and finished getting ready; making finishing touches on her makeup and hair. She grabbed her bag and left the room, leaving the space completely silent.

Underneath the bed, a forgotten toy was awaken from her slumber at the sound of Emily chatting away to her friend. The cowgirl opened one eye and listened. When she realized the conversation was the usual boy talk, she rolled her eyes and tried to fall back asleep all curled up in her owner's old cowgirl hat Emily had as a child.

When Jessie heard the door shut, she took that as a sign that the house was now empty. For the past four years, her days were spent just wandering around the house; occasionally turning on some TV or reading a book to pass the time up until the humans came home.

As she stretched her arms out, she looked around at her surroundings. Under the bed with her was all of Emily's old Woody's Roundup paraphernalia. Over the past years, the teenager would throw her childhood favorites under the bed and forget about them, including Jessie.

"Another day and nothing," mumbled Jessie. She attempted to dust her very dusty clothes off. Being under the bed, dust gathered on the cowgirl where it was almost impossible to clean herself off. She hopped onto the bed and lied on the flower bedspread.

Four long years since Emily held and played with her. Yet, the girl didn't get rid of Jessie. The cowgirl doll held onto the fact that her owner still wanted her and that's why Emily still kept her and the Woody's Roundup stuff.

Still she waited for the day to hear Emily say "I will always love you". She knew she still loved Emily very much and deep down in her little cowgirl heart, she hoped Emily felt the same.

As Jessie lied on the bed, she looked around the room. Make up, girly posters, and clothes were scattered throughout the room and not to mention, the whole room had too much pink.

Yet, Jessie still held her head up high. Just because Emily didn't even attempt to look for her the past years, the cowgirl still had the freedom to roam around the house when the family was away. When Emily came home from school, Jessie would lay on the floor where she fell four years ago. Then she would crawl into Emily's old hat and sleep in it. Jessie still had a home at least.

Interrupting Jessie's thoughts, a male doll from the brother's room poked his head in.

"Hey Jess, how are you today? Haven't seen you in a while around the house," said the G.I. Joe doll.

"I'm fine. Emily was just gabbin' away early this morning on the phone which woke me up. I'm jus' a little sleepy," replied Jessie and gave Joe a small smile.

The years had caught up with the once-loved action figure as he was never played with anymore. His playboy image was not present like it was when he was a new toy and he only wore a plain white shirt and his gray pants. Humbled and aged, he would check up on the cowgirl he once had eyes for years ago; making sure she was alright. After all these years, he still secretly cared for her.

"Well if you need anything, you know where I'm at." Joe smiled warmly at her and left the cowgirl to her thoughts. She still didn't trust Joe too much, but he was at least someone to talk to.

The cowgirl looked around her owner's room again and caught sight of the picture with Emily and her friend. Sadness filled the cowgirl's being as she remembered the picture of herself and Emily; two best friends that would do anything for each other.

"What did I do wrong? I don't understand how she could just...drift away," murmured Jessie to herself and hid her face in her knees.

Emily's laughter, the scenarios she came up with, and her pure love all ran through Jessie's mind. How could Emily just...change?

As the time grew nearer for Emily to come home, the cowgirl lied down under the bed and listened for her owner to come in.

Minutes later, Emily came into the room carrying her purse and her heavy backpack. As she went to set the backpack down, she knocked over her purse and the contents in it spilled out and under the bed.

"Oh lovely," she groaned. She ran her hand under the bed to feel around for her makeup that fell out until she felt something soft.

Emily's hand circled around the object and lifted it into the light and met a pair of green eyes that seemed to be smiling up at her.

"Jessie!" Emily stared down at the cowgirl in shock. Time seemed to have frozen as owner and toy looked at each other, silently reunited themselves with each other.

The cowgirl couldn't have been happier that her owner was holding her lovingly like she used to.

Finally, Emily smiled down at the cowgirl and ran a hand through the yarn hair. She put the cowgirl doll into her purse and left the room.

As Emily stepped into the kitchen, she set the purse on the table and went to go find some boxes. After all, the donation truck was around and everyone in town was contributing to helping the needy families.

Jessie sat back in the purse and smiled to herself. Finally, after all these years; Emily still wanted and loved her. Emily was just so caught up in impressing her friends that she accidentally forgot about Jessie.

A half an hour later, Emily came into the kitchen with her mother and grabbed her purse with Jessie happily hanging over the edge and walked to the car.

Jessie had no idea where they were going, but she snuggled happily into Emily and smiled up at her. On the way, the cowgirl recognized that they were around the park where Emily used to bring her years ago.

The car stopped and Emily stepped out of the car as her mother started to unload the boxes near the donation truck. The teenager walked up to a box that held some of her old Woody's Roundup things and gently set the cowgirl down in the box and closed the lid tight.

The cowgirl didn't know what was going on until she peeked out of the handle of the box and saw Emily walking away and leaving her in the box.

As the teenager walked back to her car, she felt a little sad letting go her childhood toy; however, she was a grown up and having Jessie around would be embarrassing. Jessie would be able to make another little girl just as happy as she made her.

Emily buckled up her seat belt and looked at herself in the mirror to apply some more lip gloss as her mother started the engine up, unknown to her that a sad pair of green eyes was watching the car drive away.

When the car was out of sight, the same pair of green eyes were still looking at where the car was, but sadness was not present this time. Anger and betrayal wrought the features of the forgotten toy.

Back at the house, an action figure curled up in the corner under his owner's bed and wept when the cowgirl didn't return home.

Chapter 8: Darkness

Darkness...

Complete and utter darkness...

Unable to see, to think, to talk.

Unable to live life as it should have been.

April 14, 1975

A round, young man opened the door to the local Salvation Army; his face set in determination. He was on a mission to find some rare collectables for a collection he started months ago.

The young man was in his mid-twenties and fresh out of college. He was already successful in opening the first toy store in the Tri-County area and sales were outstanding making him one of the most successful business students in his class after graduation.

After opening his toy store, he began collecting old and rare items which often led to big money; if he played his cards right of course. Things like old gum-ball machines, baseball cards, doll clothes, all the way down to gum wrappers led to him making even more money than what his business brought in.

As he walked through the messy place, he made his way over to the toy section.

Broken dolls, stuffed animals that had stuffing falling out, and toys with missing stickers were strewn across a large table.

The man took his time to dig through the boxes on the floor and the piles of toys on the tables that were piled up over the years.

As he neared the middle of the endless amount of toys, he pulled out a box that was stashed on the floor, under the table, and far back against the wall. He opened the box and almost let out a cry of joy.

What the box contained was exactly what he was looking for...

Chapter 9: A Rare Collectible

April 14th, 1975 continued...

Pitch-black darkness turned into a bright, white light as the lid to the box was pulled back. It was the first light to shine down onto the box's contents for the first time in many years.

Other than peeking out of the handle when footsteps could rarely be heard, it's been years since she has seen the light.

Plastic green eyes met a pair of human eyes that smiled down at her, then the box closed once again; rendering darkness to creep back into the box.

She felt the box be lifted and everything the box contained got jostled around until she felt the box be set down minutes later.

"Bullseye, when the coast is clear, see what's in there."

She couldn't make out what the noise was, but it sounded like voices. Being in toy mode and in the dark for the past nine years caused the cowgirl doll's mind to not comprehend things clearly.

The lid to the box opened and the cowgirl saw a large pink nose that belonged to the horse that peered in. The horse neighed in excitement and motioned for the cowgirl to climb out. She clumsily stood on her legs; the stuffing in her being very stiff from not moving for years.

As she climbed out of the box, the horse helped lower her to the ground. As she went to take a step forward, she fell on her knees and she stared at the ground. She didn't move or speak; she didn't know what to do.

"Bullseye? Is that really her?" asked a voice causing the lost cowgirl to look up wearily.

The horse gave the cowgirl a little lick on the cheek and helped her stand up.

"Wh-where am I? Where's Emily?" asked the confused, frazzled cowgirl; forgetting what her voice sounded like. She was in some type of living room, and there were two toys by her which consisted of a brown horse and an older man in a box sitting on a table.

The older man in the box took in the cowgirl. She looked very tired and depressed. "Poor thing," he thought. After all, how long had she been in that box for?

"Jessie, it's okay now. You're home," said the man.

"Who are you? What do you mean 'I'm home'?" asked Jessie. The cowgirl had never been so terrified in her life. She gripped the horse that held her up a bit firmer.

"Surely you must recognize us from your own show, Jessie," simply answered the man.

Jessie stared at the man in the box for a minute, then gazed at the horse. Memories of cuddling on the couch with Emily watching Woody's Roundup came flooding back into her memory. She pushed those memories aside and tried to remember the episodes.

Of course!

"Bullseye? And you're the prospector, Stinky Pete! What are we doing here?" Jessie remembered the two characters very clearly.

"The question is, do you know how you got here, Jessie?" asked Stinky Pete.

"I-I don't know what you mean," Jessie sat down and cocked her head to the side in confusion at Pete's question.

"Do you have an owner?"

"I do...or did. I dunno. One moment I'm under Emily's bed and the other moment I'm in this dark place...I just...don't know anymore..." Jessie threw herself down and buried her face in her knees as Bullseye nuzzled her side. Her train of thought was very clouded at the moment and the prospector's confusing questions were not helping.

"Tell me what happened Jessie."

Jessie looked up at the Prospector and his reassuring glance made her explain everything.

"We were best friends and I loved her so much and I thought she felt the same. I still don't know what I did wrong," finished Jessie.

"You didn't do a thing wrong. The problem with owners is that they grow up and forget all about you. Humans are cruel and they always go after the latest and most popular thing and that's why you should never trust them," explained Pete.

Jessie just stared blankly at the prospector. Everything he said happened to her. Emily grew up and abandoned her for other things, like boys and fashion, but to think Emily as a cruel person?

"I-er-don't understand."

"Let me explain, turn around and look up. Bullseye?" Pete signaled to the horse to turn up the lamp. The light shown on a bunch of Woody's Roundup merchandise.

Jessie looked at the collection in awe. Every type of merchandise from the show was on that shelf.

"Something better is going to happen in your life, Jessie. The man that brought you here? His name is Al and he's a toy collector. He's been collecting everything from the show. He owns his own toy store across the street too," explained Pete. "Now let me ask you this; when did your owner stop watching the show?"

Jessie had to stop and think on that one. It wasn't long after Emily got her that the show was abruptly canceled.

"Well I'd say I reckon maybe two years. I do remember it was canceled."

"That's my point. Once Sputnik happened, children everywhere only wanted to play with space toys." The prospector nearly spat out the last two words. "Everything from our show is so rare to find now because it only lasted for not even three years."

"So everyone wanted space toys instead of us?" asked Jessie. She never met a space toy, but they sounded very arrogant as the prospector described them.

"Exactly. I had to watch all the other toys go off and be happy with their new owners. Nobody wanted an old cowboy like myself. Hence is why I'm still in the box. Al found me and brought me here as part of his collection which made me feel like I was worth something. From then on, I knew that having an owner to depend on is the worst thing a toy can do."

Jessie looked back at the merchandise, then at Bullseye.

"So how did Bullseye get here?"

"Al took Bullseye from his nephew. Same story as you, the nephew grew up and forgot about him," explained the prospector.

Jessie's mind was swirling as she tried to take everything in. A toy collector named Al found her, and now she's here with toys from the show as part of a rare collection. She was even more confused than ever.

"I still don't get why I'm here."

"Don't you know? You're a very valuable toy. It's been twenty years since the show came and gone. You're part of the collection now as well as me and Bullseye. You are probably worth hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars."

"Really?" asked Jessie, feeling a bit self-conscious. How could something as grimy as herself be worth all that sitting in a box for almost ten years? As she thought this, she picked off a big speck of the many dust particles that were caked onto her shirt.

"We've been waiting for you for a few years now and once Al finds a Woody doll, the whole collection is heading to the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo," the Prospector explained.

"Where's that at?" asked Jessie.

"That's in Japan."

"Japan? That's so far away!" Jessie grabbed her braid and started running her hands down it.

"It is, but think about it. You won't have to deal with the fear of being forgotten and thrown away. You can stay with me and Bullseye and last forever. You'll be adored by children of all generations without having to deal with belonging to someone." The Prospector looked deep into the troubled cowgirl's eyes to make her believe him. "A child's interests always change so fast that they control a toy's destiny and trust me Jessie, you don't want that anymore. Bullseye and I will help you through everything."

Jessie's thoughts drifted to the day Emily put her in that dreadful box. The cowgirl didn't know what was going on until she saw the car drive away and Emily never came back. Jessie thought back on the day she was knocked onto the floor and never was found for a couple of years. Twenty wasted years of her life all caused by waiting for Emily to express her non-existent love for her.

The prospector smiled at the cowgirl thinking to herself.

"You are 'Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl', 'Princess of the Prairie'! You're the strongest and bravest cowgirl around. Don't let some child treat you like a piece of garbage," prodded the elder toy.

Right there, something snapped inside of the cowgirl.

Jessie's eyes burned with anger as she looked Pete straight in the eye. There was no way she was ever going to let Emily, or anyone else for that matter, push her around and decide her life any longer.

"So whadda' say? Are you gonna come with us?" asked the Prospector.

"I will," was the firm answer from the cowgirl.

Jessie the Cowgirl didn't need anybody to decide her fate and she surely didn't need an owner to devote her life to again.

"Good answer. Now you need to get back into the box because Al's coming home any minute now," said Pete.

"N-no. I can't...not again," Jessie's mind turned into panic. Not the dark again; anything but that.

"Jessie look at me, I promise you'll come out of the box. One day, you'll never see boxes ever again," promised Pete.

Jessie looked into the eyes of her two partners (or what they were considered as from the show). Bullseye licked her cheek and gave her a reassuring nuzzle. They were right; she had nothing to be afraid of.

She could do this.

With eyes of determination and putting her past behind her, a new Jessie crawled backed into the box. This time, she knew she would come out in a matter of minutes.

It was time she took control of her own life.

Chapter 10: Storage...

April 28th, 1975

"Yeehaw! Run like the wind, Bullseye!" cried Jessie.

Bullseye reared back and took off like a bullet around the living room with the exuberant cowgirl doll riding on his saddle. He ran under the tables and around the furniture under Jessie's command.

Two weeks had already passed with Jessie getting settled in with her Roundup gang. The three toys had all day and half the evening during the week to roam around and be free to do anything they wanted in the apartment.

The years inside the box had caught up with Jessie and all she wanted to do was run around and enjoy being outside, free, and just...alive. She was trying to get Emily off her mind, which the memories of her old owner would catch up to the cowgirl at night and she would curl up with Bullseye and tell him the good and bad times with her old owner.

Talking about the past helped Jessie, and within a few week's time she was back to being the excitable cowgirl she was suppose to be. She was worth something in the eyes of Al.

Sure the guy liked to be disgusting at times; eating Cheetos and leaving orange smudges on things (including her jeans). Once Woody was found, she wouldn't have to worry about being abandoned and forgotten.

She couldn't wait until Al would bring Woody home.

"Jessie! Bullseye! Al's on his way home!" announced the Prospector from the window sill. Within minutes, the door opened and Al yawned while walking into his apartment. His store was across the street so the toys only had a few minutes to get back into their spots in their respective plastic cases.

Al grabbed a frozen Salisbury steak dinner out of the freezer and started to heat it up as the doorbell rang. He opened the door to reveal a man in his early 40's with dark hair and a long nose.

"Oh! I'm so happy to see you!" exclaimed Al.

"Is the little beauty ready for cleaning?" asked the older man. This man was one of the greatest restoration artists that restored old, beat-up toys.

The man picked up the cowgirl doll and put her in a little seat that was fit for dolls. Jessie looked at the man curiously as he dug around for some items.

"So where did you find this rare gem, Al? She's in very good condition; almost like the person who owned her didn't play with her much," said the man.

"Boy if he only knew," thought Jessie.

"Found her in a box with some other really good merchandise. Whoever owned her was a huge Jessie fan," explained Al. He and the man made small talk until the cleaner ushered him out of the room saying something along the lines of "you can't rush art".

Jessie felt a wet q-tip touch her eyes as the man started to polish her eyes back to being shiny. He proceeded to clean off her dusty cuffs and chaps with a fancy lint roller and washed out her yarn hair to free it from the grime and dust. He then finished by drying her hair and shining her boots and belt buckle.

After re-braiding her hair and straightening things on her here and there, the man gently set her back in her case and admired his work. Al came into the room while munching on a bag of Doritos.

"Now don't handle her too much, or she's not gonna last. At least keep her and the others in a soft, spongy material if you're going to store them away until you find the cowboy," explained the cleaner.

Al was very excited and pushed the guy out of the way to take a closer look at his collectable. "She looks amazing, you're a genius, she's just like NEW!"

The man rubbed his sore bottom and got up off the floor. Al paid him and after the man left, Al sauntered down the hall to his bedroom to retire for the night. Once the coast was clear, the three toys stirred and checked out Jessie's new look.

Jessie looked at herself in the reflection of the television and couldn't believe the toy that was staring back was really her.

She looked brand new, maybe even better than when she first got out of the box. The guy that cleaned her up got rid of all the dust, brightened the colors on her clothes, washed her hair, and polished her boots; but that wasn't all.

The cleaner also made her eyelashes darker and thicker, made her red eyebrows sharper, gave her lips a darker pale pink color, and also adjusted her stuffing in certain areas, giving her a more feminine shape.

This brand new Jessie staring back at her made the cowgirl feel like she was the valuable toy the prospector said she was.

"Well I'll be darn, Jessie look at you," said the Prospector.

Bullseye gave her a little nudge, not wanting to mess anything up on the freshly restored cowgirl doll.

"That guy did an amazin' job," said Jessie.

"He sure did. He did the same to Bullseye. Poor horse had some wear and tear on him and now look at him! He looks like a champ!"

Jessie smiled at her two friends, but one question was burning in the back of her mind...

"Hey Prospector, what did the cleaner mean by 'if you're gonna store them away'?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know Jessie; I didn't catch him saying that," responded Pete.

Jessie pondered this for a moment, then retired to her respective case for the night and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Storage...

Chapter 11: Staying Hopeful

October 1st, 1985

"Bah, why can't I find him?"

Al was on the phone complaining to his mother about everything. That's when she asked him how the search for the cowboy doll was going after ten years of searching.

"I know, it looks like I'm gonna have to pack everything up and I'll find him when I find him. It's all taking up too much space," said Al.

'What does he mean by that?' The cowgirl doll in the glass case on top of the mantle wondered as she listened to Al's conversation. Her and the Prospector shared a worried glance with each other.

"Well, I'll keep looking; I don't care if it takes years. I will find him and be rich!" exclaimed Al and hung up the phone. He looked at his Woody's Roundup collection and shook his head. Ten years he's been searching for the show's main character with no luck. Hanging his head, Al grabbed his keys and headed out to work.

The three toys that were kept in display cases came alive as they normally did when Al was at work. Jessie opened the glass door and hopped off the mantle gracefully. After being cleaned up and looking like new ten years ago after Al found her, Jessie's self esteem was greater than ever.

"So Bullseye, whadda wanna do today?" she drawled to the horse that landed beside her. Bullseye neighed happily and lifted Jessie onto his saddle.

"Yeeehaw!" yelled Jessie as Bullseye ran into the guest bedroom. The Prospector looked at the two of them and laughed to himself. After about half an hour with Bullseye (and Jessie) letting out their pent up energy, Jessie hopped off Bullseye's back.

"Ya know Prospector, I reckon Al's starting to give up looking for Woody. What would it mean for us?" she asked curiously.

"Well Jessie, I really have no idea, but what I do know is that he won't give up and we'll be just fine," he replied.

Jessie gave the Prospector a small smile. He had been right so many times and she didn't doubt him one bit. The Prospector became a guardian of sorts to the young cowgirl and helped get her back on track with her life.

As her and the Prospector were talking, Bullseye crept behind Jessie and took her hat and darted to the other side of the living room.

"Hey! Gimme my hat back ya little varmint!" yelled Jessie. She took off after the horse and the toys continued to play until evening time when Al came into his apartment carrying a bunch of boxes that contained bubble wrap and packing peanuts.

Al started to fold up, wrap up, and place the merchandise from his collection into the boxes one by one. When it got to be later in the night, he finally was down to the three dolls that were worth thousands of dollars. He carefully took each of the dolls out of their cases and wrapped them up in bubble wrap and foam and placed them into the box.

The Prospector was placed at the bottom of the box while Jessie was on top with Bullseye in the middle. They were able to see each other through the gaps in the packaging and felt themselves be lifted. The toys heard the ding of the elevator and felt themselves moving in a car.

Al lifted the boxes out of his trunk and set them in the back corner of his office at his toy store. He decided to keep his collection locked up securely in his office until he found what he was looking for.

With the last box being the toys themselves, he sat the box that contained them by itself on the ground under his large desk.

In the box, Bullseye nudged Jessie and she buried her face as best as she could in the horse's mane. Not storage, not again.

"It's going to be okay you two, we're only going to be in here temporarily until he finds Woody. It's just a matter of time before Al finds him. We're too valuable for Al to get rid of," said the Prospector trying to calm down the horse and cowgirl.

"Bu-but what if he f-forgets about u-us?" Jessie began to panic.

"Jessie, look at me. I promise we'll get out of this box. If he can't find Woody, most likely we'll still go because we're worth more money than any toy. Besides, we're on the floor so when Al's away, we can climb out and move around," the Prospector reasoned with the panic-struck cowgirl.

Jessie looked at her two friends and believed what the Prospector told her. At least she wasn't by herself in the box this time, but the darkness still got to her a little bit and Al's office was so small and dim that it was hard to see. She held herself close to Bullseye and closed her eyes.

Soon, she wouldn't have to be in a box ever again.

Chapter 12: Say That Again

November 24, 1999

"Yard Sale at 234 Elm St. We're selling baby clothes, old furniture, and old toys."

Al was skimming through the classified section of the newspaper while eating his third donut. It was Saturday morning, and he had enough time to check out the weekly yard sales before having to go into work (which is rare for a Saturday). He jotted down the addresses of the two yard sales that were advertised in the paper and hopped into his car and drove to the first house.

The house was a nice, two story brick house that held a mother and her two children. All the old clothes, books, and toys were strewn across tables and Al took his time to look through everything.

As he was making his way down the last table of toys, once again feeling slightly discouraged, he heard a light thump and he curiously turned around. Right there, laying on the table, was the object he had been searching for about twenty years. Al gasped out loud and observed the cowboy doll.

"Original hand-painted face, natural-dyed, blanket-stitched vest. Hmmmm, a little rip that's fixable. Oh if only you had your hand-stitched, polyvinyl...A HAT! I found him! I found him!" he celebrated to himself.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" asked the woman who was running the sale.

"Yeah, how about I give you fifty cents for all this junk?" offered Al.

"Whoa, ho-how did this get down here?" the woman asked more to herself and reached for the cowboy as the man moved it out of the way of her reach.

'So, looks like I have to get my business tactics on,' thought Al as the woman refused to sell the doll.

"You like my watch!?" Al started to get desperate as the woman took the doll forcefully from his hold and locked it in the cash box.

"Sorry," was the woman's stern response.

As she walked away while Al threw a tantrum, he noticed a glimmer of a random little screwdriver sitting on the table. He looked down at the ground and saw a skateboard and kicked it into a box of fragile stuff. He knew this wasn't going to be his best moment in life, but this was his chance!

"Oh, what now?" the woman exclaimed.

As she was tending to the broken items, Al was able to rig the cash box and he successfully freed the cowboy and stuffed him into the bag and quickly ran to his car.

Al celebrated to himself as he drove off. Finally, his collection was complete and he was to be a very rich man. Twenty years had paid off and finally he was going to be one of the richest toy collectors in the world.

He pulled his car into the parking lot of his store and stepped out of the car and walked into his office. He grabbed the boxes that contained all of his valuable collection items and loaded them into the car. After he was all packed, Al drove across the street to his apartment and unloaded the contents of the boxes in his living room.

All of his various Woody's Roundup posters, magazine articles, and other merchandise covered a whole shelf and wall of his living room.

As he finished standing up some glass plates that were the last things in the box, he glanced at the clock. Al had thirty minutes left until he had to put on his chicken mascot costume to film a commercial.

Al reached into his bag and pulled out the cowboy doll and immediately placed him in a case. After getting changed into his chicken costume, he beamed at the cowboy once again.

"You, my little cowboy friend, are about to make me big bu-bu-bucks!" he laughed at his joke and walked out of the door, not wanting to go all the way to work on a Saturday.

The three toys that occupied the box under the desk felt the box be lifted up and carried. Disoriented, the cowgirl doll roused from her light slumber and peeked out of the handle space.

"Guys! Wake up! We're finally going somewhere!" Jessie whispered to the other two toys that shared the box with her for the past 14 years.

"See? I told you that this day would come, Jessie!" exclaimed the Prospector.

Jessie beamed at him and Bullseye licked her cheek in excitement. Fourteen years the three of them were kept in storage in Al's dark office. Their space was limited to being in the box or stretching their legs outside of it. Either way, they were kept in a dark spot and Jessie started to get panic attacks more frequently due to her previous years of being kept in a box at the Salvation Army.

Fourteen years since either of them has seen daylight, smelled the fresh air from outside, and seeing how fat Al had gotten over the years.

"Wow, would ya look at that," observed the Prospector as he joined Jessie at the hole. She let out a small giggle as excitement filled her stuffing. Did Al find Sheriff Woody? Were they finally able to go to Japan and not have to worry about being in the dark?

Jessie looked up at the sun and let a smile spread across her face. Seeing the sun, or any type of light for that matter, instilled a sense of relief in her as her view changed to the familiar living room of Al's apartment.

From what the three toys could see, Al was unpacking all of the Roundup merchandise and setting it neatly on top of the shelf. He then reached into his bag and what he pulled out made the three observing toys' hearts almost stop.

There, in all of his glory, was Sheriff Woody. Finally.

Trying to contain their excitement, they waited until Al left and Woody came to life. As Woody turned his back, Bullseye couldn't take it anymore and he jumped out of the box which caught the cowboy's attention.

"What the-," before Woody had a chance to think, Bullseye hauled him up onto his saddle and ran around the room wildly as the cowboy yelled for him to stop.

The stuffed horse abruptly stopped, causing the cowboy to be launched forward upside down and that's where Jessie was able to come in to the picture and introduce herself.

"Yeeeeeeehawww!" she cried. "It's you! It's you, it's you, it's you! It's REALLY YOU!" She picked up the cowboy and hugged him so tight that she didn't realize how freaked out he was. The excited cowgirl yanked on Woody's pull string to confirm to herself that he was the real deal.

"There's a snake in my boot," said Woody's voice box.

"Aha! It is you! Prospector said this day would come! Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln! The Prospector! He'd wanna meet'cha!" Jessie was everywhere. She was hugging the cowboy, throwing him around, and then dropped him on the floor as she motioned for Bullseye to help the Prospector out of the box to see.

As Pete took a good look at Woody, Jessie couldn't help but think to herself how the Prospector was right. Everything will be okay in the end.

"How do you know my name?" Woody's question broke Jessie out of her thoughts.

"Everyone knows your name, Woo-deeeee," she emphasized. The poor cowboy looked so confused and Jessie was more than happy to put the Woody's Roundup tape in to show him just how important the Sheriff really was.

The cowgirl smiled at her counterpart as he took in the show and she found herself watching the show next to him and Bullseye. She looked over at Woody and smiled at his gaped mouth, then turned her attention back to the show. Woody was almost like Jessie's older brother in the show and she couldn't help but wonder if this Woody doll would treat her like a sister.

"Tune in next week for Woody's Finest Hour!" blared the end of the episode.

Jessie sadly turned it off as Woody protested to see the next episode and hopped up to the Prospector.

"It was such a great show! I mean, why cancel it?" asked the cowboy.

"Two words: Sput. Nik. Ever since the astronauts went up, children only wanted to play with space toys", spat the Prospector. Jessie realized that everything Pete was telling Woody, he told her the exact same thing when she first got to Al's apartment.

Woody began to observe all the merchandise with his face on it. He looked at everything in awe and even played with some of the toys.

"Didn't you know? You're valuable property!" exclaimed Jessie as Woody launched a toy snake for Bullseye to fetch. The toy horse ended up on top of the record player.

The cowgirl laughed at the horse and cowboy running on the record and changing the sound as they ran.

"Whoa Cowgirl! Think fast!"

Jessie was caught off guard as Woody lifted her onto the record player with him and Bullseye and she almost fell as she jumped unexpectedly at the incoming needle. As she made her way toward the needle again, a burst of energy seared through her stuffing and she flipped over it and landed perfectly.

Woody kicked up the speed on the record player and the three toys were running very fast and laughing. Jessie couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy.

"Now it's on to the museum!" announced Pete.

"Museum!?" cried Woody. He stopped running which caused Bullseye and Jessie to run into him and they spun and fell off the record player.

"We're being sold! To the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo!" announced the Prospector.

"That's in Japan!" exclaimed Jessie. The three toys were clearly excited to finally be able to be off to the museum and never have to worry about anything anymore.

"Japan! I can't go to Japan! I still have an owner! Hey, look! See?" Woody held up his boot with Andy's name inscribed on it. Jessie felt her heart break in two.

"He still has an owner...", she gasped and started to hyperventilate. She didn't want to go back into the box again. After such a long time, Woody was standing in front of her and she didn't want him to go.

"I can't do storage again! I just can't!" she cried. The Prospector tried to calm her down as Woody looked at her with concern spreading across his features.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"We've been in storage for a long time, waiting for you. The museum is only interested in the collection if you're in it, Woody. Without you, we go back into storage," explained the Prospector.

Jessie would have none of this. This cowboy was probably some spoiled toy that has never even seen a box in his life. Years and years in a box had done the cowgirl in and she be darned if she was going in storage again.

"It's not fair! How can you do this to us!?" she cried.

Jessie and the Prospector listened as Woody said how he was accidentally in a yard sale and ripped by his owner. The two toys were not impressed as Woody defended Andy.

"Sounds like he really loves you," snarled Jessie. This toy didn't get it did he? His owner didn't want him anymore and yet the cowboy wants to go back to him?

"It's not like that, okay? And I'm not going to any museum!" said Woody.

"Well I'm not going back into storage!" Jessie yelled back. She was so furious, but her thoughts got interrupted when they heard Al returning home. Jessie was afraid to go back into the box, but after the Prospector reassured her everything was going to be just fine, she jumped in as the rest of them got back into their spots Al had them in before.

Just as Woody made it back into the case, Al came in holding a camera to take pictures of his complete collection to send to Mr. Konishi.

"It's showtime!" he exclaimed. He pulled the three toys out of the box and posed the toys in front of some of the merchandise he had. As Al went to retrieve Woody from the case, the cowboy's ripped arm snagged on the edge of the stand and separated from the cowboy's body.

"His arm! Where's his arm! No no NO! What am I going to do!?" Al frantically reached for his phone and called for help. He left the room and the toys sprung to life with Woody in a panic.

Jessie thought Woody was being over dramatic. A thought crossed through her mind that since Woody's arm is missing, why would his owner want him now? The cowgirl shrugged to herself and grabbed the small gun that shot suction cups, because after all, she needed to release some anger.

"Big deal, let him go. I'm sure his precious Andy is dying to play with a one-armed cowboy doll," said Jessie. She didn't care anymore; let this cowboy go and see what a big mistake he made for leaving them.

The rest of the day, Al was out and about and Jessie took the chance to crawl up on the window sill and gaze outside, which was something she hadn't seen for a long time. She thought back to the times at Emily's with Mama Bear, Tammy, the rabbits, and the rest of the old gang. She missed them terribly. They were her first true friends; a family of sorts.

The Prospector and Bullseye were Jessie's friends, but she still felt lonely. Woody was bound to leave and she would be put back into the dark. Lately, it seemed every time the cowgirl got her hopes up, it went crashing down on her. Why couldn't anything go her way? When would the day where she would finally be accepted and loved by a family come?

The cowgirl missed having another girl to talk to. She missed Mama Bear guiding the way out of a problem, and most of all, she missed Emily. Jessie didn't think she could love anyone ever again after she gave her heart to Emily.

Jessie's mind shifted to Tammy and Ken and the special relationship they had. True, Tammy never did get played with, but she had Ken that loved her and went everywhere she went. Jessie wasn't the kind of girl that needed a guy by her side, but she couldn't help but yearn for that kind of attention too.

The cowgirl didn't have anyone to help her; it had been just her and helping herself through the time at the Salvation Army. The Prospector and Bullseye had been so great at helping her cope with her new life for the past twenty years after Al found her, and they helped her through the past years in storage. She was sick of just "making do" with her life!

The new life Prospector told her she'd have sounded very appealing to her at the beginning, but being loved by a child was what she wanted more than anything. How could she not be jealous of Woody?

"Jessie..."

The cowgirl jumped when she heard her name. The Prospector stood a couple of feet away from her and his eyes were full of concern.

"Are you okay? I came up here to tell you Al's due home any minute now, so you should probably get back into your case," he said.

With a nod, Jessie got up and hopped into her case. She refused to look at Woody next to her.

Al came into the apartment with a yawn. He quickly showered and grabbed a bag of Cheetos and dumped them into a bowl. He went over to the couch and laid down and flipped on the History Channel.

About halfway through the show, he fell asleep with orange fingers. Jessie, who had been slumbering in toy mode, woke up to a little thump in front of her case. She looked across the room to find Woody crawling on Al to get his arm. As she watched, she was unaware of a toy underneath her that pressed the "play" button on the remote.

Suddenly, the TV started to blare the Woody's Roundup commercial which caused Al to jolt up and knock Woody onto the floor. He stood up disoriented and put Woody back into his case. As he was searching for the remote, Jessie realized too late it was underneath her case.

Al yawned and turned off the television and headed for his room...with Woody's arm in his hand. Woody slammed open his case and pointed an accusing finger at Jessie.

"What is your problem? Look, I'm sorry I can't help you guys out, but you didn't have to go pull a stunt like that!" the cowboy accused his counterpart.

Jessie was appalled by this accusation. "What! You think I did that?" she asked.

"Well if the boot fits," Woody said coolly.

'Oh, heck no!' thought Jessie. "Say that again," she seethed at him.

"If. The. Boot. Fits." the cowboy challenged.

Jessie lost it right there. She flew at the one-armed cowboy and lashed all of her anger at him. She was angry at him, at her past, and all the hurt she encountered the past couple days by this spoiled cowboy doll.

"Take it back! Take it BACK!" Jessie roared at him.

At Woody's "girl" comment, she pulled on him harder making him yell out in pain until the Prospector interrupted their fight.

"Jessie! Woody! You stop this at once!" he ordered, but he accidentally knocked himself off of the ledge he was on. Jessie and Bullseye helped him up.

"I don't care how the television turned on, but fighting about it isn't helping anything," he reasoned between the two angry cow folk.

"If I had both my arms," threatened Woody. Jessie mentally laughed in her head. This cowboy thought he was just so tough.

"Well, the fact is you don't Woody. I suggest you wait until morning, the cleaner will come and fix your arm-"

"Then I'm out of here!" said the cowboy. Bullseye looked down dejectedly.

"No, Bullseye. Don't take it that way. It's just that Andy-"

Jessie had enough of that dreadful name.

"Andy, Andy, Andy. That's all he ever talks about," she rolled her eyes at him and guided Bullseye away from Woody. She couldn't look at him anymore.

Jessie led Bullseye over to the corner of the shelf and snuggled into him. Her thoughts came back and she tearlessly sobbed into the horse, waiting for the day she could be truly happy again.

Chapter 13: Come With Me

Notes:

Some of these quotes are from the actual movies themselves and are absolutely not mine. Credit goes toward Disney/Pixar.

November 25th, 1999. (Part 1)

About seven o'clock in the morning, a sleepy cowgirl looked up and realized she wasn't in her case. In fact, Bullseye wasn't in his either as they were both sleeping at the end of the shelf. She yawned when she stood up and woke up the plush horse as well. They shuffled back into their respective cases and went into toy mode; Al would be waking up soon.

Jessie's mind was spinning from yesterday. Woody finally had been found, which meant happiness and freedom for the rest of them.

Come to find out, he still had an owner and was trying to find a way back to him. Not to mention, Jessie kicked his butt last night too (which she still doesn't know where that burst of adrenaline came from).

Al yawned as he walked into the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of Lucky Charms and grabbed the paper. After breakfast, he tidied up around the apartment until the doorbell rang.

An elderly man was at the door carrying a few cases.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're here!" exclaimed Al.

"Is the specimen ready for cleaning?" asked the old man.

As Al went to retrieve Woody, Jessie looked closely at the older man. Suddenly it dawned on her that this was the same guy that cleaned and fixed her up.

"So, uh, how long is this gonna take?" asked Al as he hovered over the man.

"You can't rush art!" exclaimed the older man back. He shooed Al away and started on his work. He painted, sewed, cleaned, and polished up the cowboy.

As Jessie looked on, she remembered when she was in the chair Woody was in. She looked down at herself; she still looked like new after all these years.

When the cleaner was done with Woody, he carefully set him back in the case; chuckling to himself over his job well done, like always.

"Now, don't handle him too much, or he's not gonna last," the man started to say until Al knocked him out of the way.

"Oh! It's amazing, you're a genius, he looks like NEW!" he exclaimed as the old man slowly got back onto his feet.

"I see this little one is still looking just as beautiful," commented the cleaner as he observed Jessie and each toy.

"Eh, well I try," Al said coolly. He paid the cleaner and arranged each of the dolls on the table with some various merchandise. He snapped tons of pictures (and Jessie swore she was going to go blind) and posed each doll in various positions.

About an hour later, Al got a phone call from Mr. Konishi looking for the pictures. Al looked up at the clock and mentally cursed to himself. He had to get a move on with packing up everything for the flight to Japan that night. He had to go across the street to his store to get some boxes and packaging.

As soon as Al went out the door making up excuses to the museum's owner, the toys broke out of toy mode. Woody started gushing over his new arm and new look.

"Look at this stitching! Andy's gonna have a hard time ripping this. Hellooooo! Hiiii! Helloo!" Woody taunted Jessie by waving in her face. She would have none of this. All she wanted was for him to go already.

"Great. Now you can GO!" she responded. The cowgirl hopped off the table and wrapped her arms around herself and headed towards the window sill. She didn't want anything to do with that cowboy anymore.

As Jessie gazed sadly out the window, she heard someone climbing up next to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it was Woody and cringed.

"Hey, whatcha' doin' way up here?" the cowboy asked.

"Thought I'd get one last look at the sun, before I get packed away again," the cowgirl retorted.

"Look, Jessie, I know you hate me for leaving, but I'm still Andy's toy. If you knew him you'd understand, you see Andy's-," he was cut off by Jessie.

"Lemme guess, Andy's a real special kid, and to him you're his buddy, his best friend. When he plays with you, you feel like you're alive 'cause that's how he sees you," the cowgirl looked down as she finished speaking. Woody looked at her in shock, but mostly in awe.

"H-how did you know that?" the cowboy asked carefully, not wanting her to get even more upset.

"Because, Emily was just the same. She was my whole world," responded the cowgirl. Woody looked at her with concern present in his gaze and it made her spill everything that happened with Emily. How the girl loved her, how much Jessie loved her back and watched her grow up. How Emily just up and stopped playing with her. When she put the cowgirl up for donation...

"You never forget kids like Emily or Andy, but they forget you," Jessie broke down and buried her face in her knees. She didn't want Woody to see her like this.

All Woody could do was stare at the poor toy. He didn't know how to help her.

"Jessie, I didn't kno-"

"Just go," was her simple answer.

Glancing sadly at her one more time, Woody climbed down the shelf and over to the vent.

Jessie heard him climb down and buried her face further into her knees. She heard him unscrew the vent and talk to the Prospector down below when suddenly she heard a loud bang.

The weary cowgirl looked up and met eyes with the cowboy smiling at her. The look of reassurance was ever present in his eyes which made the cowgirl's grin grow even larger. She hopped down off the window sill and slowly made her way to Woody.

"W-Woody?"

"Jessie, I can't leave you guys. You're right, Andy's growing up and everything's starting to make sense. I sensed it when he didn't bring me to camp after ripping my arm," explained Woody.

Jessie didn't know how to respond, so she gave Woody a small smile and enveloped him in a big, cotton-crushing hug. Bullseye came over as well and licked the cowboy's cheek.

"Alright you guys, let us get back into our spots. Al's probably going to be back any minute now," said the Prospector. With that, the toys went back onto the table and made small talk until they heard footsteps in the hallway.

Al came into the apartment carrying numerous boxes and packaging items. He brought over four custom fitted insulated foam carriers over to the toys and placed them into the ones that fit them.

As Al was on the phone with the airline company arguing about the prices to transport everything to Japan, Jessie observed the foam and never felt anything more comfortable in her life. The foam fit her like a glove and she was happy that she was going to be traveling in it for the long plane ride.

"Alright, fine! I'll be in the lobby, but you better be here in fifteen minutes because I have a plane to catch!" Al was yelling on his phone at this point as he left the room to wait for the truck that would transport all the boxed up merchandise.

"Wooooohoooo! We're finally going! Can you believe it!?" exclaimed Jessie to her companions as she jumped up into a sitting position.

"Ya know, I'm actually excited for this! Really, I am!" exclaimed Woody.

Jessie was so happy. Either she was good at convincing someone or Woody finally saw sense, she didn't know nor did she care what caused Woody's change of heart.

"Yeehaw! Swing your partner dosey do! Look at ya dancin' cowboy!" Jessie started singing and dancing with Woody as Bullseye and even the Prospector joined dancing. They laughed and danced until Woody spotted a box. He ran into the box and peeked out at Jessie.

"How about giving me a little intro there, Jessie?" he winked at her.

The cowgirl laughed at her counterpart and played along with him.

"Introducing, the high-ride-ness cowboy around!"

"You forgot rootin-tootin-est!" corrected Woody.

This caused Jessie to smirk even more.

"Introducing the high-ride-ness, rootin-tootin-est cowboy of ALL TIME! Sheriff Woody!" she yelled.

Woody strutted out of the box, flashing (what he thought handsome) goofy faces around the room. This caused Jessie to burst in fits of laughter. The cowboy came over to her and gave her a goofy grin.

"Say little lady, have ya seen any trouble around these parts?" he playfully asked.

"Nary a bit. Not with Sheriff Woody around!" Jessie playfully responded. She submitted to the laughter she was trying to hold and she held her sides as she watched the cowboy play with the horse.

"Run like the wind, Bullseye!" Woody tried to imitate his television character, but fell off the horse. Jessie skipped over to him and tried to help him up, but he squirmed out of her grasp.

"Wait a second, I'm ticklish okay?"

'Now I got him', thought the cowgirl and she lunged at him with Bullseye and both tickled the cowboy without stopping.

In the middle of the tickle-fight, the vent suddenly burst open and a group of toys came running out and they all ran into the cabinet, landing in a heap.

"Buzz! Guys!" Woody exclaimed. Jessie looked on at the stranger toys and realized that Woody knew who they were.

"We're here to spring ya, Woody!" she heard one of them say. As they started to create chaos in the room, all she could do was back up into the cabinet, suddenly afraid of one of them charging at her.

"Prepare to meet Mr. Angry Eyes!" the cowgirl turned to her left and saw a Mr. Potato Head charging at her...with his feet where his "angry eyes" were suppose to be.

'You've got to be kiddin' me,' thought Jessie as the charging toy ran into the cabinet face first. She looked to her side and saw a slinky dog toy and Bullseye growling at each other and she stormed over to them.

"Hey stop it! You leave him alone, springy dog!" she yelled at him. The "springy dog" shot up and wrapped his coils around the horse and the cowgirl. The remaining toys grabbed Woody and they all headed for the vent.

"They're stealin' him!" once free, Jessie went over to the Prospector and helped him up after being knocked down by the piggy bank. A loud voice sounded throughout the room and everyone halted and went silent.

"Hold it right there!"

Jessie looked over at the voice's source and saw a space toy, who stood up right and spoke with confidence.

"It's one of those cocky Buzz Lightyears," mumbled the Prospector.

'Buzz Lightyear?' Jessie couldn't help but stare at the space ranger. She was terrified that he would come over to her and yell at them, but on the contrary, he gently took Woody's shoulder and tried to reason with him to come home to Andy. He didn't appear to be cocky in the least and that's why Jessie couldn't help the blush that appeared on her cheeks as the space toy stole a quick glance at her when Woody mentioned his Round Up Gang. The glance was a look of concern; not angry or rude in the least.

As Woody tried showing the group of toys the video clips of the show, Buzz looked over at the cowgirl who was, at the moment, looking down at the ground. He smiled at how cute she looked running her hands up and down her braid. She looked up and they held each others gaze for only half a second before averting their eyes back to the situation on hand.

"I was a yo yo!" Woody finished describing his show to the group, getting a smart remark from Potato Head.

"Woody, stop this nonsense and let's go," said Buzz and started to lead the cowboy back to the vent. Woody broke away from Buzz and explained the situation of going to the museum with his Round Up Gang and the consequences if he didn't go with them.

During Buzz and Woody's talk, Jessie kept her gaze at the ground. Woody wasn't going with them, and she couldn't help but feel guilty when Andy's toys all walked into the vent dejectedly.

Before he left, Buzz turned around to look at Woody one more time.

"I don't have a choice, Buzz. This is my only chance," reasoned Woody.

"To do what, Woody? Watch kids behind glass and never be loved again? Some life," responded Buzz and shook his head as he turned away.

Jessie over heard that last bit Buzz said. Her toy heart almost broke when the words hit her. What was she doing? She tried to put on a happy face when the Prospector went over to Woody and reassure him he made a good decision.

Woody went over and slumped onto a roll of tape and watched a music number the show's Woody was performing at the moment. Jessie thought it was best to leave him alone until he suddenly got up on his feet and ran for the vent.

"Buzz! Guys! Wait up!" yelled the cowboy to his friends.

"Wait! Where are you going?" asked the Prospector who was trying to stop Woody.

Jessie only looked at the cowboy, confused by his sudden change of plans. That was, until he came up to her and asked her a life changing question.

"Come with me. Andy will play with all of us! I guarantee it!" offered Woody.

"W-Woody, I-I don't know," responded Jessie. She started shaking a little and looked at the ground. If she went with him, that meant risking the museum life and putting trust into another kid and being someone's toy again. Despite swearing off being owned by a human again, the idea suddenly felt wonderful to her because she would still have Bullseye, the Prospector, and now Woody to help her adjust.

A loud bang sounded through the room as Jessie turned toward the vent at the source of the noise. What she saw shocked her; The Prospector was out of his box and he shut the vent and screwed it shut very tightly.

"Prospector?" asked Jessie confused. Why was he doing this? Didn't he want to be played with too?

"You're out of your box!" pointed out Woody.

"I tried reasoning with you Woody, but you have forced me to take extreme measures," he responded. He gave a glare to both Woody and Jessie.

"Hey, you turned on the TV last night, not Jessie!" accused Woody. Jessie felt like lunging toward the older toy. How dare he make it look like she was the bad one? She trusted him all of these years; he had some nerve passing blame on her by making Woody feel sorry for her.

"Prospector, this isn't fair!" retorted Jessie.

That did it. The Prospector lost his cool and expressed that he was getting his way and no one was going to stop him. Woody would have none of this and headed for the vent.

"Buzz!"

"Sorry, Woody. But that silly 'Buzz Lightweight' can't help ya," Pete sneered.

"His name is Buzz Lightyear!" Woody yelled back at him.

Suddenly it dawned on Jessie. Prospector held a grudge toward space toys because they were more popular than him. He was just judging a book by it's cover; he'd never met a real space toy before. The cowgirl thought that space ranger wasn't bad at all just by that single glance at each other.

"Al's coming!"

Chapter 14: It's Bazooka Jane!

November 25th, 1999 (Part 2)

The four toys in the room ran back into their foam casings as Al came into the room frantically packing everything up. When the case was latched shut, Woody and Prospector were bickering and threatening each other back and forth while Jessie and Bullseye remained quiet.

This was something Jessie was waiting for, yet she all of a sudden didn't feel much like going. It was too late now, so there was nothing she could do but sit back and listen to the fighting continue while she felt the case be lifted and transported.

The case suddenly flew open and Buzz's face appeared at the entrance. Being on the bottom, Jessie had no idea what was going on, but judging from the noises it sounded like the Prospector was fighting with Woody and Buzz. Her vision turned to a green dinosaur and a pink piggy bank helping Bullseye out and reaching for her. She tried to move the foam that was meant for Woody away from her, but it proved difficult.

"Hurry!" exclaimed the dinosaur. Jessie was able to see them now, and reached out for Woody as he went to grab for her.

"Woody! Help!" she exclaimed as the case was forced down the chute with the cowgirl hanging out. She had to act fast and went into toy mode because of the two airport personal at the bottom. One of them pushed her back into the case and latched it shut.

When Jessie felt the movement of whatever the case was on stop, she deemed it safe to try to escape. She tried opening the case from the inside by trying to find a latch to make it open. She tried and tried, and after throwing her whole body against the opening, the cowgirl collapsed into a fetal position and sobbed. She should have known that it would have ended up this way; that she would be alone forever.

After what seemed like hours of laying in the pitch black case defeated, a light shown down on her and she slowly opened her eyes. There was Woody smiling down at her.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I believe you're on the wrong flight," he teased.

"Woody," Jessie ran over to him and hugged him. Words couldn't express how grateful and relieved she was for Woody risking his own life to save her.

"Come on Jess, it's time to take you home," said Woody as he felt Jessie tighten her grip.

"But, what if Andy doesn't like me?" she broke away from him and looked at him frantically.

"Don't worry, Andy will love you! Besides, he's got a little sister," the cowboy exclaimed. Jessie instantly grew very excited and wanted nothing more than to get off this dreadful airplane.

"He does? Why didn'tcha' say so let's go!" she exclaimed and grabbed him and they both darted for the exit. They ducked behind a suitcase to hide so they could catch a moment to escape.

"I got Buzz and Bullseye down on the ground waiting for us, so once we get out they should be where we can find them," explained Woody. Jessie nodded wordlessly in return. Did Buzz Lightyear really come help save her, out of all people?

When the luggage personal started to clear away from the door, that was their chance.

"Okay, on the count of three. 1...2...-"

Woody didn't get to three as the door was latched shut.

"This is bad," was all the cowboy could say.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Jessie asked. Their eyes were searching everywhere on the plane until they saw a little patch of light. They ran over to it and it appeared to be a little window by the wheel.

'Of course, by the wheel. Of all things,' thought Jessie as Woody started to climb down. "You sure about this?" she yelled to him.

"No! Let's go!" was Woody's honest answer.

Carefully, the two cow folk made their way down the little ramp making sure to take small, baby steps. Everything was going good until Woody slipped and Jessie's adrenaline kicked in and she grabbed his hand and caught him.

"Hold on, Woody!"

Woody's arm was starting to rip even more from the fresh rip the Prospector made on him. To make matters worse, his cowboy hat flew off his head.

Before the hat was totally lost, a white hand caught it in mid air and the two dolls looked down at it's source; grins adorned both of their faces.

"What's a cowboy without his hat?" yelled Buzz up to Woody.

"Buzz!" exclaimed Woody in surprise and relief. Jessie couldn't help the huge grin that appeared on her face when she saw the space ranger. She never thought she'd see the day where a space toy would rescue her; and even riding a horse for that matter!

'He looks kinda cute ridin' Bullseye...d'oh! Jess, focus now!'

"Jessie! Let go of the plane!" Woody yelled up to her.

"What are you crazy!?" exclaimed Jessie.

"Just pretend this is the final episode of Woody's Round Up!"

"But it was canceled! We never saw if ya made it."

"Then let's find out together!"

With that, Jessie let go and squeezed her eyes shut; hugging Woody for dear life. She suddenly felt her bottom sitting on top of Bullseye's saddle and she opened her eyes. She was sitting behind Buzz and instantly grabbed the space ranger around the waist to keep herself and Woody from falling off.

Together, the four toys watched the plane to Japan take off high into the sky.

"We did it! We did it! That was definitely Woody's finest hour!" exclaimed Jessie and happily jumped on Woody's back. Woody spun her around and put her back down when Buzz handed him his hat.

Jessie locked eyes with the space ranger and they both smiled at each other until their moment was broken when another plane started to land right above them; almost knocking off Jessie's hat. Petrified, the four toys huddled together until it was deemed safe to move.

"Let's go home," stated Woody, causing nervous laughter from Buzz and a smile from Jessie.

"Let's go back to the luggage shoot. The others might still be waiting there for us," said Buzz. They started to walk back in the direction they came from due to Bullseye being very tired from the almost impossible escape.

About half way, the others were walking towards them.

"Yay! You got Jessie!" exclaimed the dinosaur.

"We sure did!" exclaimed Buzz. Jessie stuck next to Woody's side as the toys planned their trip home. She couldn't help but feel nervous around these toys that charged into Al's apartment earlier.

"How about we use that to get us home?" Mr. Potato Head pointed to one of the luggage carts that had been abandoned.

"Alright everyone, we'll use the same method we used with the truck. Except Slink is navigating this time. Rex needs a break from the last ride," ordered Buzz as everyone hopped into their places. Woody helped up Jessie and she quietly sat in the passenger seat next to Bullseye.

"So you mean to tell me, Buzz, that you guys drove here?" prodded Woody. Buzz nervously looked at the cowboy.

"We sure did. Just leave it to us to get home. We'll take the back way," responded Buzz.

"You're going to love Andy, Jessie. He'll probably play with you and Bullseye right when he gets home tonight," said the dinosaur.

"I sure hope so, and what's your name Mr. Dinosaur?" asked Jessie, giving the nice dinosaur a big smile.

"My name's Rex!"

"I just know we'll be good buddies, Rex," said Jessie, giving the dinosaur a little hug as he jumped up and down in excitement at making a new friend. She already had a soft spot for the dinosaur.

Jessie looked up in the rear view mirror and caught Buzz glancing at her again. She gave him a small smile and he smiled warmly back in return and continued driving. Something about the space ranger caused the cowgirl to get a weird feeling in her cotton stomach. Jessie settled her gaze on the houses that passed by her, occasionally glancing at Buzz when he would yell to Slinky which way to turn.

The ride felt like hours, but only half an hour went by and Buzz pulled the luggage cart up and Jessie got out and took a good look at the medium sized, white house in front of her.

"So that's the place?" she asked Woody as he climbed down.

"No, that's the neighbor's house. That behind ya is Andy's house," replied Woody, trying not to laugh.

Jessie turned around and her jaw dropped. The house was huge! It was a two story, red brick house with a two car garage.

The toys all climbed in through the doggie door and bounded up the steps to Andy's room. Jessie straggled behind a bit to take a good look at her new home. As she climbed up to the second floor, a brown dog came at her and Woody. The dog tackled Woody and started licking him mercilessly.

"Buster, down boy! How about saying 'hi' to our new friend, Jessie?"

Buster went over to Jessie and sniffed her before giving her a friendly lick on the cheek.

"Well, hey there boy," said Jessie and scratched the dog behind the ear. The dog let out a friendly bark and went back downstairs as Jessie made her way into Andy's room.

As the cowgirl entered the room, she could feel all the toys staring at her. Woody put an arm around her shoulders and led both her and Bullseye in. He brought her up to each group of toys and introduced her and Bullseye to them.

"Oh darling, you are absolutely adorable!" exclaimed Mrs. Potato Head as she pinched Jessie's cheek.

"So, you're Woody's sister in the show?" asked Slinky.

"We're pretty sure that's what the characters are intended to be in the storyline, or family of some sort," responded Jessie.

As Jessie and Bullseye were talking to Slinky and Hamm, she noticed a blonde, glass doll that wore a pink and white dress enter the room and head straight for Woody. The cowgirl watched as Woody embraced the doll and they shared a sweet kiss. Feeling like she was witnessing something she shouldn't be, she turned away and noticed Buzz was walking towards her.

"H-how about I offer you a hand up onto the bed, ma'am? Andy's due home any time now," he said. Toys were starting to head up the bed as Etch drew a "Welcome Home Andy" sign.

"Well thank you, sir. Ya know, we haven't properly introduced ourselves," teased Jessie as Buzz offered his arm.

"Oh, well, m-my name's, er-Buzz," he stuttered out.

"My name's Jessie, and thanks for saving me tonight," she said quietly and kept her eyes forward as the space ranger led her over to the bed.

"It was n-no problem, m-miss," responded Buzz. He gave her a boost up onto the bed as the toys arranged themselves to impress Andy when he walked in. Woody and the glass figurine were the last ones up on the bed with Woody looking very happy.

Almost on cue, Andy came running into the room and immediately went over and grabbed Woody. As he was playing with Woody, he noticed two new toys on his bed.

"Oh wow! New toys! Cool! Thanks Mom!" Andy grabbed Jessie and Bullseye and immediately he set up a playtime where Jessie was "Bazooka Jane" and Bullseye was her "jet propelled horse".

Andy played with his toys until he almost fell asleep on his floor. He grabbed Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Bullseye and laid them on the bed next to where he slept and closed his eyes for the night.

Jessie snuggled up next to Bullseye and they both shared a smile. They had a new home with new friends and an owner that already played with them until he grew tired.

Jessie snuggled into Bullseye a little more and both got comfortable under the comforter and closed their eyes, awaiting for another exciting day at their new home and getting to know Andy.

Chapter 15: Part of a Family Again

November 26th, 1999

"Now you guys are officially mine!"

Andy held up his newest toys and beamed with pride as he finished writing his name on the bottom of the cowgirl's boot and the horse's hooves. He gently sat down his new toys on his bed and went over to the desk to work on his cowboy doll's ripped arm.

When Andy set her down, Jessie couldn't help but widen her smile as she remembered the events of the night before. Jumping from an airplane, driving from the airport without being seen by any humans, and coming home to a new family was a lot for the cowgirl to digest at the moment; but nonetheless, she was here at Andy's house and she belonged to the little boy now. The excited cowgirl wanted nothing more than to run around the room in excitement; but she had to keep still as Andy was trying to sew Woody's arm back together.

Down on the floor next to the toy box, the space ranger toy caught the cowgirl's eye. She thought back to the previous night and the glances they both shared on the way home. Jessie felt a weird sensation kick up every time she would meet his gaze on the ride home and when she held his arm as he led her up to the bed; but the funny feeling didn't feel bad at all, it felt kind of nice.

"Andy! Time to go, hon!" yelled Andy's mom and entered the room. She smiled at the sight of her son fixing his toy. "Hey, you fixed Woody!"

"Yeah, good thing I decided not to take him to camp. His whole arm might of come off," replied Andy.

'Boy, if he only knew,' thought Jessie. The coast appeared to be clear as the cowgirl saw Woody sit up and inspect his arm. She was ready to start the day with her new family.

"Yeeeeehawwww! Oh Bullseye! We're part of a family again!" Jessie exclaimed to the horse and showed off the name on her boot. Bullseye, in return, lifted his hooves up and showed off Andy's name on them. She smiled at Bullseye and then heard someone behind her cough nervously.

"Uh, ma-ma'am?"

Jessie turned her head and saw Buzz nervously looking at her and he walked over clearing his throat. What he said next nearly made the cowgirl's heart melt and she looked at him admiringly.

"I just wanted to say you're a bright young woman with a beautiful yarn full of hair. A hair full of yarn! It's uh-woah-uh-...I must go," the tongue-tied space ranger started to walk away. Jessie realized how sweet he was trying to be and didn't want him to leave her side just yet. She quickly reached out and grabbed him to keep him from going anywhere.

"Well aren't'chu the sweetest space toy I've ever met!" she looked him in the eye and smiled at him. He returned the smile back at her, but their moment was broken when they heard Buster bark by the door. Slinky was trying to translate and announced to the room that Buster wanted to go outside.

Jessie, with her deep love for critters, wanted to help the dog out.

"That critter needs help!" Jessie looked around and spotted the race car track and quickly kicked up the little toy car and catapulted herself down the ramp which launched her at the door and she turned the knob, letting the dog out.

While hanging onto the doorknob, she looked around the room and saw that no one saw her little stunt, until she saw up on top of the bed where she left Buzz. The space ranger had his mouth hanging open and his wings were out. When he realized Jessie was looking at him, he slowly shut his mouth and nervously retracted his wings.

Smirking to herself, Jessie hopped down to the floor and casually walked up to the space ranger.

"I-I have to say-ay, ma'am, that was qu-quite impressive," commented Buzz. It was Jessie's turn to blush and she suddenly grew shy and looked down at her cowgirl boots. After a moment, she looked up and her and Buzz shared a tender look. He was so sweet, charming, and absolutely adorable.

Their little moment was broken when the little penguin, who Jessie remembered was named Wheezy, started singing and toys started to gather around on the floor. The two toys looked up on the windowsill and spotted Woody with a female toy looking down at Wheezy and the others.

"Buzz, who is that standing next to Woody?" Jessie asked curiously. She had seen the woman in the pink dress last night and wondered who she was.

"That's Bo Peep. Her and Woody have been together for a long time," replied Buzz. "How about you come with me and meet her? I bet you two will get along just fine." Buzz grabbed her hand and the two of them hopped onto the desk. Jessie couldn't deny that she felt kind of nervous about what Bo would think of her.

Buzz helped her up onto the top and she instantly gripped his hand a bit tighter as he started to introduce her to Bo.

"Bo, this is Jessie. She's from Woody's show and we brought her here to have a family. Jessie, this is Bo Peep."

Bo looked Jessie up and down at first taking in her tomboy look, but nonetheless stuck her hand out to shake Jessie's and gave the cowgirl a friendly smile.

"It's a pleasure, Jessie." The two girls noticed that Woody and Buzz had left them alone and saw the boys standing at the window. Jessie couldn't help but smile at them.

"So," started Bo and capturing Jessie's attention, "how do you like it here so far, dear?"

"It's amazin'! Everybody here is so nice and friendly. Bullseye and I feel very comfortable already and I appreciate it greatly," the cowgirl responded.

"Well, if you need anything Jessie, you can always come to me. Besides Woody, it seems like you get along with another toy very well," Bo Peep giggled.

"Who? Bullseye?" Jessie cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"No, a certain spa-"

Bo was cut off by Woody wrapping his arms around her and depositing a kiss on her forehead.

"I see you two have met," said the cowboy as he looked between Jessie and Bo.

"We have. I'm so happy you were able to bring her here and give her a new home," said Bo. She lifted her head up and kissed Woody. "You're such a good guy, Woody."

Jessie shuffled her feet and awkwardly watched the couple as Buzz walked up to her and nudged her side. Feeling a bit daring, she leaned an arm on the space ranger's shoulder and could see Buzz nervously looking forward at the penguin, who was finishing his song down on the floor. She felt him lean into her more and the two, along with Bo and Woody, became engrossed in the song.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw Woody and Buzz share a knowing glance at each other, and she smiled even wider. Her and Bullseye have only been to the room for not even a day yet, and she has already made some close friends. On the floor, she could see Bullseye getting along with the others as well. Finally, a second chance.

As the song ended, Wheezy took a bow as all the toys clapped for him.

"Whoooweee that was amazin'!" exclaimed Jessie.

"It sure was!" seconded Woody.

"Woody, can I show Jessie Molly's room?" Bo asked.

"Of course you can, but don't take too long because Andy's due home in a few hours," replied Woody.

"Sure thing, cowboy," Bo kissed his cheek and motioned for Jessie to follow her.

Jessie glanced at Buzz and he gave her a reassuring smile back. With that, she followed the shepherdess to her own owner's bedroom.

As Jessie walked into Molly's bedroom, the color pink immediately overpowered her eyes. Slightly cringing, she followed Bo further until they were by the bed. Since Molly was still a baby, she only had little devices that made noise, and a few stuffed animals.

"Andy likes stealing me for playtime, but I really belong to his sister. See that lamp with the sheep on it? That's mine. Molly's still far too young for any older toys, so that's why I'm always in Andy's room," explained Bo Peep. "I'm glad you showed up, because I'll have a fellow gal to talk to now!"

"Well pink sure ain't my color, but I'll be happy to sneak in here and talk some time, Bo," replied Jessie. Already her and Bo have become good friends and it was so nice to have another girl to talk to...even though Bo was girly. Jessie suddenly remembered her and Bo's conversation up on the desk before Woody interrupted them. "Say Bo, what were you about to say up on the desk? Ya know, before Woody interrupted us?"

Bo smirked at the cowgirl. "Oh it's nothing really, just it seems like you and Buzz have hit it off pretty good if I say so myself."

Jessie colored a bit. "Me and Buzz? Ya can't be serious! We just met yesterday.."

"Mmhm, sure. Trust me, Jessie. I have known Buzz for a while now and I've never seen him act that way before."

"Like what?" Jessie was confused and embarrassed at the same time.

"Buzz is always so sure and serious, then all of a sudden you show up and he's been stuttering and tripping over his words. Woody's noticed it too. We think he likes you, cowgirl," Bo winked at Jessie.

The cowgirl nervously looked down at the ground at her boots. "Listen Bo, me and Buzz are just friends. I mean, I barely even know him. I've only known him for a day! Maybe he's just shy around new toys or somethin'."

Looking at the cowgirl, Bo decided to let the subject drop and walked towards Jessie and enveloped her in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Jessie. I'm only just joking. For what it's worth, we're all happy to have you here."

Jessie accepted Bo's hug and the two girls shared a comfortable silence.

"So Jessie, what's your story? Where did you come from and how did you get where Woody was?"

Pulling away from Bo, Jessie turned around and stared at the wall. The shepherdess looked at the cowgirl and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Jessie..."

"It's a long story, Bo..."

"You don't have to tell me anything if it makes you uncomfortable," replied Bo.

Jessie turned around and everything spilled out. How Emily grew up and donated all of the cowgirl's friends and horses, GI Joe's constant pestering, Emily donating her, complete darkness, meeting Bullseye and Stinky Pete, storage, and finally, Woody finding her.

"It's going to be okay now, Jessie. We won't let anything happen to you," Bo reached forward and drew the cowgirl, who was heaving with sobs, close.

"No we won't," came Woody's voice from the doorway. The cowgirl looked up as Woody stretched his arms out to her. She ran into her adoptive brother's arms and let out a shuttering breath.

"How much of that story did you hear?" Jessie's voice was muffled in his shirt. Woody didn't know the details of her back story.

"All of it," replied Woody. "Nothing's ever going to happen to you. We all look out for each other. It will be alright now, Jess."

Hearing Woody and Bo's reassurances sent a sense of relief through the cowgirl as Woody led her back to Andy's room after giving Bo a goodnight kiss. All of the toys started to get back into the positions Andy left them in.

Buzz walked over to the two cow folk and offered Jessie his arm, similar to what he did last night.

Wordlessly, Jessie accepted and linked her arm through his as he led her up the bed and helped her lie down where Andy left her. She looked up at him and they stared at each other tenderly for a moment.

Nervously coughing, Buzz shook his head and turned to go back to his spot.

'What just happened?' thought Jessie. She thought back on her and Bo's conversation. Could Buzz really want to be with someone like herself? After all, she had no doubt they were very good friends already.

Buzz was unlike any guy she'd ever met. There was Woody, who was probably the best older-brother figure in the whole world. There was Stinky Pete who was a greedy, old toy that hated humans. There was Ken, who loved Tammy with all of his heart, then there was GI Joe. He was so forward with her and she almost let him get his way when she was vulnerable. She knew after him, her outlook on male toys was not a good one and she didn't need a guy to complete her. She was Jessie the Cowgirl and she took care of herself, but now a certain space toy might have just changed her mind.

Her mind was spinning and she closed her eyes to sleep.

Chapter 16: Girl Talk and Night Snuggles

May 10th, 2000

"Come on, honey! It'll be fun!"

Jessie cringed as Bo Peep, along with Mrs. Potato Head and a couple of Barbies from Molly's room, dragged her away for some "girl talk". In the corner of her eye, she saw Buzz and Woody chasing each other with Nerf guns and wished she could join them.

"So what on Earth are we doin'?" asked Jessie as they entered Molly's room and the girls sat in a circle.

"We talk about the boys, silly," squealed one of the Barbies. Jessie rose an eyebrow and looked at Bo who giggled at Jessie's reaction. Bo didn't really hang out with the Barbies, but she did like the occasional girly nights when Andy, Molly, and Mom were away.

Bo and Jessie grew to be good friends in the past months the cowgirl arrived in Andy's room and they loved hanging out with one another...that is unless it was this kind of stuff. This was the cowgirl's first time getting invited for girl's night and she wasn't the least excited.

"So, Bo. What were you and Woody up to last night?" asked a Barbie in a pink sparkly dress. The color on Bo Peep's face colored a bit and she sat down her lipstick she was applying.

"Oh, nothing eventful. We went downstairs to get some peace and quiet. We lied on the couch and watched some western movie that was on HBO, but I don't remember much of the movie because we were distracted..."

That made all the girls squeal and Jessie put her hands up to her ears.

All of them were waiting for Bo to continue, except Jessie, who cringed at the mental image of her brother and Bo getting intimate. She tucked her knees under her chin and stared at her boots and tried to ignore the next part. She did not want to hear about how romantic Woody was, gross.

"Of course, I'm not going to go into details, girls. Sorry," finished Bo and winked at Jessie. The cowgirl looked up relieved. "How about you, Mrs. P? How's the Mr. treating you these days"?

"Well I just adore the way he's been taking care of our adopted boys. He's the perfect father! He also makes sure we have our alone time too," answered Mrs. Potato Head sighing dreamily.

"I was hoping you guys would still get some downtime with those new kids of yours," said Bo. The girls smiled warmly at Mrs. Potato Head. She became a mother when her and her husband adopted the three Pizza Planet aliens and they were quite a handful.

"So who's that space ranger in Andy's room? He's like, totally adorable and so muscular!" the newest Barbie, who was bought four days ago, piped in. This caught Jessie's attention and she slowly lifted her head up.

"His name is Buzz Lightyear. He's one of the most popular toys out there, but don't waste your time, he's obviously too good for anyone," replied another Barbie in a sparkly blue dress. "Trust me, I tried when he repaired my convertible. He's one of those toys that thinks he's 'all that'."

"Well maybe he isn't good enough for you, but I'll sure try to win that space ranger over," replied the new Barbie.

For some reason, hearing the Barbies talk about Buzz caused a stir of emotion through the cowgirl. Something inside Jessie made her angry when the Barbie wanted to get Buzz to notice her. Also, him being too good for anyone? Jessie sure wasn't blonde or pretty like the Barbies, but Buzz didn't seem to mind her. Buzz had been nothing but sweet to her ever since she met him and they became very good friends. Not wanting to hear any more, the cowgirl got up from her spot.

"I'm gonna go check up on Bullseye, girls. I'll see ya later, Bo," waved Jessie and headed for the door. Before exiting the room, the cowgirl stopped and leered at the Barbie in the blue dress. "By the way, you're wrong about Buzz. He's the sweetest space toy in the world and he's my best friend. If you're angry over a stupid rejection from him, maybe he ain't into someone like you."

Bo watched the cowgirl go and understood why she up and left.

"Well she isn't very nice," commented the new Barbie. Bo Peep turned an angry gaze at both Barbies.

"She was only sticking up for a friend," replied Bo and got up and went to tend to her sheep and hoped Jessie was alright.

When Jessie entered Andy's room, it was strangely quiet. She curiously looked around the room and noticed the only occupants were Rex and Hamm, who were playing a video game up on the desk.

"Get'er boy!"

The cowgirl turned around and barely caught sight of Bullseye lunging at her and he started to attack her with kisses. Woody was standing behind the horse laughing. After all the sneaky tackles and tickles the cowgirl surprised him, he finally got her back.

"Bullseye! Down boy!" Jessie sputtered from under the horse, laughing how the cowboy finally got her. Bullseye got off of Jessie and walked over to Woody.

"Great job, boy!" Woody patted his horse's nose and went over to help Jessie off the ground. "I think we're even now, sis."

"Eh, I dunno. You're very easy to scare, but for now we are." Jessie gave her brother a noogie after he lifted her off the ground.

"Good. So how was hanging out with Bo and the girls?" asked Woody.

"Oh boy, it was torture. I just really ain't into that mushy girly girl stuff, and between you and me, I can't stand those half-witted Barbies."

"Aw, Jess. Let's go downstairs and see what Buzz and Slink are up to. It'll be tons better than being around those Barbies," Woody chuckled and put an arm around his sister's shoulder and led her to the door.

"Thank you," said Jessie and let out a fake sob before laughing to herself and hit Woody's arm.

"Tag!" The cowgirl took off down the stairs as her brother was caught off guard.

Later that night, after Andy fell asleep, Jessie was restless. She thought about the conversation with the Barbies earlier about Buzz and it still made her feel something she couldn't explain. After tossing and turning a few times, she quietly jumped down from the bed and crawled up to the desk to look out the window. After finding Woody in Andy's room, she joined Buzz and Slinky downstairs and soon Buzz included her in on their Monopoly game; having her be on his team as the Potato Heads joined them along with Bo coming down and her and Woody were a team.

Jessie brought her knees up to her chest and looked up at the stars. Every now and then she thought back to her old friends when she belonged to Emily and wondered what they were up to. She loved to imagine her old friends, especially Tammy, meeting her new friends, Woody, and especially Buzz. Tammy would probably tease her endlessly like Bo did.

A light thump broke the cowgirl's daydream and when she turned around, she was surprised to find Buzz looking at her.

"Oh, Jessie, I-uh didn't know you where up h-here," he stammered out. He turned to leave until Jessie's voice stopped him.

"Don't go, Buzz. I don't mind the company." Buzz smiled at her and went over to sit next to her at the window. A comfortable silence passed between them as they both gazed up at the stars.

"So," Jessie began as she turned her gaze to Buzz, "what brings you up here, space ranger?"

"W-well, I wanted to see the stars tonight. Sometimes when I can't sleep, looking at the stars help me relax," Buzz met her gaze, "and what are you doing up here, cowgirl?"

"Oh, well, just thinkin' I guess. Buzz, what do ya think about those darn Barbies in Molly's room?"

"They are way too bubbly for my liking. They are all the same in looks and personality and it gets old. They're pretty but not my type. Why do you ask, Jessie?"

"Well, it...it's nothin'. I was with Bo in Molly's room today and they just annoyed me is all," Jessie didn't want to tell Buzz the conversation the two Barbies had about him.

Buzz chuckled and returned his gaze up at the stars. Jessie smiled at him and scooted closer. She boldly rested her head on his shoulder which caused a tint of red to appear on Buzz's cheeks.

"Wanna know a secret?" Jessie asked the space ranger and lifted her gaze up to Buzz's face as he looked down at her's still on his shoulder. "I often wish I could introduce my old friends to you and Woody and the rest of the toys. They would love you guys, and I worry about where they're at every now and then."

"I'm sure they're just fine, Jess, wherever they are. The way you talk about them, they sound like wonderful toys."

"They really were. We were a family until Emily grew up, but ya know that story," Jessie snuggled into Buzz's shoulder a little more to control her emotions. "However, I already feel at home here with all you guys."

"Well cowgirl, I hope you do. It'll be okay." Buzz looked back up at the stars and felt nothing but happiness sitting under the night sky with his cowgirl friend.

"I am, it's just sometimes hard," Jessie said softly. Her and Buzz stayed silent for a minute to take in the stars in the sky. All of a sudden, Jessie heard Buzz chuckling softly.

"What's so funny, space toy?"

"Just the thought of you sitting with a bunch of Barbies. You don't need their approval because you're better than any of them."

This surprised Jessie and she looked at Buzz who gave her a tender look. "Really?"

"Of course, Jessie. They're all the same and so predictable. You on the other hand-" Buzz gently nudged her playfully as they both quietly laughed. Buzz's nervousness around the cowgirl quickly diminishing.

"Thanks Buzz, it means a lot," Jessie rested her head back on his shoulder.

"Well I've put up with you for 6 months already, so of course I notice these things," teased Buzz earning a light, playful slap on the arm from Jessie.

"Well aren't you jus' captain obvious, huh?" Jessie teased back and started giggling as Buzz started to tickle her side.

After a minute, the two toys settled against each other again and started to look at the star formations.

"I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by so much beauty tonight," said Buzz and looked at Jessie through the corner of his eye.

Overcome, Jessie's response was to lean up and give Buzz a quick, soft kiss on the cheek before placing her head back on his shoulder. The space ranger looked down at the cowgirl and gave her a sheepish grin as she smiled up at him.

Never had she felt more content.

It was a night Jessie would never forget as she sat cuddling against Buzz under the stars until they grew tired.

Chapter 17: A Buzz Lightyear Movie!

Notes:

Once again, some of this dialogue is not mine. This chapter is based on the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command movie commercial which can be found on Youtube.

August 8th, 2000

Andy woke up to the sound of his Buzz Lightyear alarm clock and sleepily sat up in his bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, a sudden thought dawned on him. This was a day he's been waiting for ever since the announcement of a Buzz Lightyear cartoon movie was announced. The "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" movie was due to be available in stores and his mom was going to pick it up when the local department store opened so he could watch it when he got home from school.

The boy brushed his teeth, then went downstairs to grab his backpack and followed his mother out to the car. Being so excited for the movie, the school day was sure to be a slow one.

Not only was Andy excited, but his toys were anxious for the movie too. Buzz, naturally, was very excited at the thought of having his own movie, but being a modest toy, he didn't gloat.

It was Rex who was flailing around the room after his owner left to go to school. He was so excited and he tried to pass time playing the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" video game with Hamm until the movie arrived.

Woody had set up a way for the toys to watch the movie before Andy would come home from school. He and Sarge established a command post in the kitchen to grab the movie when Andy's mom would bring it home. The toys knew Mom was going to visit her parents for the day, so they figured they would bring the movie upstairs when she left.

The toys all went about their business in the morning with Woody and Bo sneaking to the space between the bed and the wall with Woody mumbling something about wanting to be away from the others. Rex and Hamm were engrossed in their video game, and other toys simply sat and talked to each other while still trying to wake up.

The cowgirl of the room stretched out her tense arms and snuggled into a nearby pillow; trying to wake up. She felt the bed move and opened her eyes slightly to see Buzz looking at her with a smirk on his face.

"Why are you so sleepy, cowgirl? Long night?" he asked. They met each other's gaze and bursted out laughing.

Composing herself, Jessie looked up at Buzz and grinned. Last night, the two of them played the ultimate prank on Woody. As he was sleeping, Buzz and Jessie got out a can of whipped cream and put some in Woody's open palm. Jessie partially hid behind the pillow next to the one Andy and Woody were sleeping on, and waved a feather under his nose. He sat up abruptly and slapped his hand across his face to see what was touching him, when he realized he wiped whipped cream all over the front of his face.

Jessie and Buzz high-tailed it out of the room and burst out laughing when they heard Woody's usual "Jessie! Buzz!" call after they played their pranks. After Woody got cleaned up, the two toys tried to hide from him all night until the cowboy fell back asleep (with his head buried in Andy's shoulder for safety).

The cowgirl laughed at the memory and gazed at the laughing space ranger next to her. The two of them were a great team.

"What brings ya up here, space ranger?"

"I just, um, wanted to see if you were awake. No one wants to play Sorry with me and I thought we'd could, ya know, play to-together," Buzz shuffled awkwardly as he spoke. When it came down to it being just him and Jessie, he still got nervous.

"Well that's a mighty fine idea. Let's go!" Unfazed by his nervousness, Jessie grabbed the space ranger's hand and the two went down to the floor and over to the game board Buzz already set up.

The two picked their color game pieces; Jessie the red one and Buzz the green one. Like a gentleman, Buzz let Jessie go first (after she insisted on doing rock, paper, scissors to make it fair) and she moved her game piece around the board.

Throughout the game, the two friends engaged in some small talk.

"So did Woody say anything to you this morning?" Buzz asked.

"Nah, I reckon he's still a sour puss over the whole thing," responded Jessie and threw the dice.

"He'll snap out of it, but we better watch out. He might be plotting some type of revenge."

"Which you don't promote on your planet," smirked Jessie.

"If only we were on my planet," joked Buzz. The two chuckled at that and continued to play their game. Since that night on the windowsill, the two became almost inseparable; always near one another, being each other's partner in a game, and watching movies at night.

"Ya better watch out, Buzzie, 'cuz I'm gonna be beatin' ya," joked Jessie as she caught up to Buzz's last game piece.

"Heh, we'll see about that, cowgirl." As Jessie threw the dice and moved her counter piece, Buzz stared at her with a goofy smile on his face. Jessie looked up and gave him a look.

"Do I got somethin' on my face?" she asked

Knowing he'd been caught, he grew flustered and came up with an excuse.

"N-no, just, uh-your game piece is the...same color as your...hat," he stuttered out. He looked into her emerald eyes, and quickly diverted his gaze to the game board.

"Ha! You are so silly sometimes, space toy," joked Jessie and whooped when she realized she won.

"Sorry, Buzz! YEEHAW!"

"I let you win!"

"Because you were starin' like a deer caught in the headlights at somethin', you didn't notice me stealin' your turn," laughed Jessie. Her laughter grew louder when Buzz reached across and started to tickle her sides. In turn, she caught his head in her arms in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

"Jessssss...," whined Buzz as she tightened her grip around his neck, "this is undignified." Their playful wrestling was interrupted when Sarge's voice sounded on the baby monitor. That was Rex's cue to shoot up and rush over to the monitor.

"Hey everybody! It's here! It's here!" he shouted with his little arms in the air.

"It's here? Well it's about time!" Woody appeared from behind the chest at the foot of the bed.

The door opened with Sarge and his troops carrying the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" movie above their heads and all the toys gathered around.

"Somebody put in the tape! Put it in! My tiny arms can't reach!" yelled Rex.

Woody rolled his eyes and walked over to help the dinosaur and teased him about it being stuck.

Buzz and Jessie were looking on at the toys, amused at everyone's excitement. Jessie looked at Buzz's face and she could see the anticipation the space ranger wore on his face.

"Come on, let's go check it out," Buzz said to her and they both got up and walked over to Woody.

"Let me take a look at that," Buzz inspected the case and whistled.

"A Buzz Lightyear movie," he modestly stated and looked back at Jessie to see if she was impressed (which he secretly hoped she would be).

"Well whadda'ya know? You don't look so fat when they draw you like that," Woody snickered. Buzz looked horrified and glanced back at Jessie.

The cowgirl giggled at Woody's comment, but the look on Buzz's face made her stop and she gave him a sheepish grin, then a reassuring look as he turned back around to Woody.

"Ha-ha, let's watch it."

"Yes! Please! Quick, quick!" Rex cried.

"Come on, Buzz. We're not gonna watch the whole thing. We just wanna see the commercials at the beginning," Woody teased and winked at Buzz.

"WHAT?" yelled Rex. Buzz chuckled and shook his head at how cruel Woody could be.

"He's kidding, Rex."

"Excuse me, Mr. Lightyear? You should sign that tape, it might be worth something some day," said Wheezy as he walked to the front of the crowd.

"He can sign it later! Put it IN!" yelled Rex, on the verge of passing out from excitement.

"Darn thing's jammed," Woody smirked and pretended the tape wouldn't go into the VCR just to get the dinosaur going again.

"JAMMED!? I can't stand this suspense! I just-ohh," Rex passed out from the excitement and yelling he had been doing for the past five minutes.

Everyone gasped and stayed still for a moment.

"Gee, maybe we went too far," said Woody. All of a sudden Rex jumped up and laughed at everyone's faces.

"Just kidding!"

All the toys laughed at the dinosaur. Jessie especially, because it was great revenge for Woody's teasing. Her and Buzz shared a smile and the commercials started to play.

All the toys turned their attention toward the television and sat down to watch the movie they had been waiting for.

About halfway through the movie, Jessie glanced over at Buzz, who was glued to the television. She nudged his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"How are you liking the movie?" he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"It's amazin'! Although, who's this Mira?" she curiously asked. The cowgirl noticed that Mira and herself had some things in common.

"She must be a sidekick of sorts. She's got red hair like you," Buzz pointed out.

"So she does...," sighed Jessie, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

"Hey now, cowgirl. She's that Buzz's sidekick; I already have my own red-headed partner in crime." Buzz gave her a reassuring smile and gave the cowgirl a light shove, which caused her to smile back at him and she gave the space ranger a rough shove back.

"Hey, in front! Knock it off!" yelled Potato Head, who took out his eyes and had them above his head to see the television above Buzz and Jessie's heads.

"Sorry," muttered Buzz. Him and Jessie looked at each other and chuckled. They had way too much fun together.

Chapter 18: Is This Love?

February 17th, 2004

As snow was falling heavily outdoors, there were a few kids running around outside throwing snowballs, building forts, and making snowmen. It was President's Day which meant the kids were out of school for the day, and nothing was as perfect as having snow on the ground to play in.

One of the kids outside was Andy, which meant his toys were enjoying some down time to themselves as their owner played with the neighbor kids. Some of the toys started up a movie on Andy's small TV, a card game was starting, the cowboy snuck out of the room, and two other toys were underneath the desk talking; small shy smiles adorning both of their faces.

Jessie grabbed her braid as she shyly looked down at the ground as Buzz bashfully smiled at her waiting for her to talk. Andy took a different approach with playtime that morning in regards to Buzz and Jessie. The space ranger and the cowgirl were usually partners with Woody in catching One-Eyed Bart, but this time, Andy had Jessie get captured by the bandit and Buzz had to save her.

But that wasn't it...

Jessie had noticed the past year or so, Andy would pair her and Buzz up; whether it'd be having her ride Bullseye while having Buzz fly alongside her, or being partners to help catch bad guys; Buzz was always with her while their owner played with them. Andy even had Buzz call Jessie his girlfriend, which caused both the space toy and cowgirl to stutter and avoid eye contact for a few days with each other.

The cowgirl also noticed that her and Buzz's friendship was closer than ever lately. It felt like they shared the same mind as they would come up with schemes. They would play games together, watch movies, play jokes on Woody, and even star gaze with each other. While doing these activities, they would find themselves holding each other's hand, or cuddling into each other for warmth when they would be up on the window sill alone with each other.

Today, however, Andy had made her and Buzz kiss. Even though they were in toy mode, the feeling felt so unfamiliar, yet so right to Jessie. Afterward, her and Buzz had no idea what to say to each other and went separate ways. Just a few minutes ago, Buzz came up to her as she was sitting with Bullseye and asked to talk to her, which is why they were under the desk presently.

"J-Jessie-" started Buzz which caused her to look up. "I really ho-hope this, ya know, doesn't affect our friendship."

Jessie pursed her lips and looked at him. Buzz's friendship meant the world to her and she did not want to lose him as a friend over this kiss Andy had them share. It wasn't like it was their fault anyway...

"Of course not, Buzz. What Andy did was out of our control. You're my best buddy and I wouldn't trade our friendship in for nothin'," replied the cowgirl. She saw Buzz look away for a moment and she noticed a far off look on his face.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

Buzz's eyes found her's and the tender look he gave her caused a lump to appear in the cowgirl's throat. He grabbed both her hands and looked down at them.

"Jess, there is something I want to ask you," the space ranger's voice was low and he swallowed back his nervousness before looking back up at her and speaking again.

"Do you ever see us something as more than friends in the future? Now, I'm not saying we have to change anything now, but I can feel something happening between us."

Jessie had no idea how to respond. She glanced down at their hands and realized Buzz must have thought the same thing that she was earlier. Jessie knew deep down that Buzz liked her because he didn't exactly keep it a secret on the day they met.

Buzz merely sighed at Jessie's silence and squeezed her hands, which caused her to look up and let out a small smile. He really did know how to make her feel wanted and it gave her the courage to answer him back.

"I do, but the problem is I don't know where my feeling's are. You know about my past and I really don't wanna mess up what we already have, ya know? I do know that I'd like to see us be together in the future, but I don't wanna lose ya as a friend. I've lost so much already and I don't wanna mess anythin' up with ya."

"Then we can take it slow. We can take however long we want to develop a relationship. I promise you that I won't push you into doing something you don't want to do. I will be here whenever you need me and I will never abandoned you. Ever." replied Buzz.

The cowgirl inhaled deeply and squeezed the space ranger's hands back. She knew Buzz got nervous easily around her, but hearing him say that; she knew that was his heart talking.

"You're so sweet, Buzz. I know I do like ya, but I just need some time to think. I'm just not sure right now what I'm feeling, but I do see a future for us. We just need to work on ourselves more."

"Until we're sure of ourselves, we'll remain friends. We both need some time to think about which way we're going with things," said Buzz. Jessie only nodded in return, her eyes looking down at the ground.

"That would probably be best," she quietly replied.

Buzz smiled at her and lifted her right hand and kissed it to let her know he was in agreement with her. Jessie smiled at him and threw her arms around his neck into a hug, which he gladly returned. At least they could move forward now and things wouldn't be awkward between them.

"So, want to do something later?" asked Buzz when they parted.

"Sure! We can always crash Woody and Bo's "romantic movie" night tonight while Andy's gone," replied Jessie as she mocked the cowboy and his girlfriend.

"Sounds good," chuckled Buzz. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Can't wait!" responded Jessie. She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek and squeezed his hands before releasing him.

As he turned to go find Woody, Jessie remained under the desk. She had no idea how to process what Buzz just admitted to her.

Walking slowly over to a sleeping Bullseye in the corner of the room, she didn't notice any toys because all she was thinking about was Buzz.

"Jessie! You alright, darling? You look like you've seen a ghost!" called Mrs. Potato Head from the other side of the room, breaking the cowgirl out of her train of thought.

"I'm alright, just a little tired. I'm gonna go take a nap before the staff meeting," answered Jessie and snuggled up next to Bullseye.

Her thoughts drifted to Buzz and the conversation from earlier. After all, he did like her and he had been so sweet and caring as she gave him her answer to his question about being together. He knew about her past and he knew how to take care of her when she was upset over anything that had to do with Emily. He was nothing like the GI Joe from all those years ago, who constantly tried to woo her.

No, Buzz was absolutely nothing like that. He was what a true gentleman should be and he always put her first before anything else and made sure she felt comfortable in whatever they did.

Jessie would never admit it, but there were times she looked at what Tammy and Ken had and wished one day she could have that. After accidentally walking in on a conversation they had one day, the cowgirl couldn't help herself to watch:

"You ok, Tam?" Tammy and Ken sat quietly on the couch while the family went out for dinner. It was two days after Mama Bear was donated and the weariness still hung in the air.

"I think so, I just miss Mama, Ken. So much," replied Tammy as she leaned her forehead against Ken's. The Mattel doll started to massage his girlfriend's shoulders as she spoke.

"I'm just nervous for when the time comes for Emily to donate us. What if we get separated?"

"We won't, I won't let it happen," replied Ken. He drew her in close and the two shared a passionate kiss.

Jessie quietly crept out of the room leaving the two to themselves.

Bullseye kicking her in the leg brought her back to reality as she thought about Buzz saying something similar to her and she decided she wanted nothing more than to let Buzz be at her side for the rest of her life, but there was one emotion that was keeping her from committing to the space ranger...

Jessie could feel it in her cotton stomach. She was in love and that was that. The feeling felt so familiar to the cowgirl and she hid it the best she could, and would continue to keep hiding it. After all the heartbreak with Emily, how could she love someone again knowing it would probably end up the same way?

Chapter 19: Always On My Mind

She could see her target clearly from her spot under the bed. His back was to her which was the perfect opportunity to pounce.

"3...2...1...GO!"

"Yeeeeeehawww!"

There was a collision of red and brown as Jessie tackled her brother from behind as he was talking to Buzz and they ended up in a heap on the floor.

"Gah! Jessie!" Woody's muffled protests could be heard over the laughter of the cowgirl and the spaceman watching the scene.

"Can't a girl say howdy to her favorite big brother?" Jessie's eyes grew big as she pouted at Woody who rolled his eyes in return.

"Ugh, most girls don't choke their brothers to death," said Woody.

Jessie shifted her position to sitting on Woody's back Indian style and regarded Buzz with excited emerald eyes.

"Well howdy space ranger," she winked at him.

"He-hey Jess," stuttered the space ranger.

"You boys excited to have your 'boy's night out'?"

"Jess, you make it sound like we're doing something like you girls do when ya have your 'girly nights'," whined Woody.

"Ya mean when Bo and Mrs. P go? I rather get kicked in the head by a mule before bein' around those half-witted Barbies. I have more fun hangin' with Bullseye anyway."

"What are you guys talking about?" Bo's voice was heard calling to them as they saw her peak around the bed post.

"Oh, just Jessie griping about being a girl and-will you get off'a me?" The cowboy lightly shoved his sister off his back. Jessie fell with a light clunk to the floor as Woody got up and greeted Bo with a kiss.

"Leave Jessie alone, we're going to have a pleasant night tonight," responded Bo and winked at Jessie on the floor.

Woody and Buzz were going to hang out for the evening, so Bo and Jessie planned to have an evening of catching up with each other without any testosterone ears listening.

"What are you girls gonna be up to?" asked Buzz, blushing as Jessie stood up off the floor and slipped her arm through his and leaned against him.

"We ain't tellin' ya!" replied Jessie.

"Well whatever ya do, just stick around here and be safe," said Woody and clutched Bo more tightly to him. Jessie rolled her eyes at the overprotective cowboy.

"Andy's coming!" yelled Hamm from his position on the window sill.

All the toys ran back into the toy box, including Woody. Bo didn't have time to run back to Molly's so she simply hid behind the end table by Andy's bed.

The 13-year old wasn't too keen on having his toys laying out in the open anymore. On occasion, he did open his toy box and had shorter play times than he used to have as a younger kid. All the toys didn't seem to mind, except Jessie, but knowing she had her friends beside her, she knew everything would be just fine. Since Andy started middle school, he had to focus more on his homework these days, but still expressed love towards his toys.

The door to the bedroom opened and Andy threw down his backpack on the floor and his load of homework for the weekend spilled out onto the floor. Not caring about the mess, he started to pack a duffel bag full of clothes and video games to bring over to his grandparent's house as the whole family was staying that night.

"Andy? Ready to go?" asked Andy's mother about half an hour later.

"Yeah!" replied Andy and bounded out the bedroom door.

When the toys heard the sound of the car pulling away, they jumped out of the toy box and proceeded their night; free to roam around the house until morning. Bo Peep came out of her hiding place and walked over to her cowboy.

"Now you boys behave tonight, you hear me?" she joked.

"Always do," replied Woody. "And you girls behave too." He gently poked her side.

Bo smirked at the cowboy and glanced over at Jessie and Buzz walking towards them.

"Well ya boys have a good night," said Jessie as Buzz squeezed her to his side before the space toy followed Woody downstairs.

The girls watched the boys walk out of the room. Once they were out of sight, the girls ran over to the bed giggling and brought out some crayons and pieces of paper.

Jessie started to nonchalantly doodle on her paper with a green crayon as Bo looked at her and smirked.

"So dear, what's new in the cowgirl world?" asked the shepherdess.

"Oh nothin' much. Being crammed in the toy box doesn't give us much room to move anymore," replied Jessie.

"I know, Woody complains a lot about it. He's been worried about Andy growing up, but it's like I always told him, it's no use worrying about the future. We just have to enjoy what we have now."

"Very true," replied Jessie. "I dunno, maybe that's why I haven't been able to get closer to Buzz..."

Just then, the girls heard the bedroom door creak open a bit and a furry head stuck itself through the door.

"Howdy Buster! What'cha up to, boy?" called Jessie to the dog. Buster let out a happy bark and trotted over to Jessie and Bo. He licked Jessie's cheek and lied down next to her.

"Why aren'cha lookin' for Woody? He's downstairs with Buzz," the cowgirl told the dog. Buster just shook his head and leaned his head against the cowgirl's lap and closed his eyes.

"I think he's trying to say he wants to be by you, Jess," laughed Bo.

"Well that's mighty fine with me. You're such a good boy Buster," Jessie rubbed her nose against the dog's and started to rub his belly.

Bo just looked on at the cowgirl and smiled. She admired Jessie's ability to interact with animals and how the cowgirl was so nurturing towards them.

"So anyway, back to Buzz..." Jessie began, "it seems like since we've been in the toy box, he's started to get nervous 'round me again. It feels like we're back at square one..."

"Well honey, unfortunately the toy box doesn't offer much privacy..." started Bo.

Jessie blushed at the word "privacy".

"But honey listen, just because you guys are in the toy box doesn't mean you have to stop being good friends. I can see it on your face that you still really like him, so what's holding you two back?"

"I-er...dunno. If you mean do I like him as a boyfriend..."

"The first color crayon you chose is green and you're drawing what looks like him..." Bo pointed out.

Jessie blinked at her and looked down at her picture. Bo was right, she was drawing Buzz unconsciously.

"But you drew Woody!"

"There's not a time where I'm not thinking about my cowboy," responded Bo and she got a dreamy look on her face.

"You really love Woody, don'tcha?" asked Jessie, smiling at the shepherdess.

"I really do. I wouldn't know what I'd do without him." The two girls locked eyes and shared a friendly, understanding smile.

"Can you keep a secret, Jessie?" asked Bo.

"Of course!"

"I'm just a little nervous. Yeah Andy's growing up, but Molly is too. She doesn't tell me that she feels safe with me lighting up her room anymore." Bo stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room as she trailed off.

"Oh Bo, I know it's hard, but ya have us! And Woody! Woody will make sure absolutely nothin' happens to ya!" Jessie rested a reassuring hand on the shepherdess's arm. Bo looked at the cowgirl and placed her other hand on top of Jessie's.

"I know Jess, it's just hard. You of all people know how it is, and I trust you when you say that," Bo pulled the cowgirl into a hug which Jessie gladly returned.

The girls resumed drawing and when they were done, Bo started to re-braid Jessie's hair and they talked about nothing in particular until the boys came running into the room breathless from racing each other.

Jessie laughed as Buzz playfully wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder and yawned loudly.

"This space ranger's batteries are running on low," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"At ease space ranger," giggled Jessie and turned to look at Woody and Bo.

Bo had her arms wrapped around the cowboy's neck and they both had their foreheads resting against each other's. Both looked extremely content to be in each other's arms.

Jessie looked down at Buzz and nudged him to stand up straight.

"Come on space ranger. Let's give these two some privacy," she winked and walked away with a sleepy space ranger in tow; leaving the two lovers to themselves.

Chapter 20: The Yard Sale

May 1st, 2008

Jessie cracked open her eyes and quickly shut them as a beam of sunlight shone through the crack in the front of the toy box. She stretched out her arms and legs, trying to be careful not to hit Slinky who was sleeping near her boots.

The sleepy cowgirl rolled over onto her side and saw Buzz fast asleep. In fact, she was the only one awake out of the handful of toys Andy still kept in the toy chest after donating the rest. The boy was fifteen years old already, but he still held on to his cowgirl doll and, with reassurances from Woody and Buzz that Andy still loved her, Jessie was not afraid. After all, she had her brother, Bullseye, and a certain space ranger that would always be there for her. She missed Andy's playtimes, but nonetheless, she was comforted with the fact this time it wouldn't turn out like it had with Emily. Andy's name was still clear as day on the bottom of her boot and that, along with having her toy family, gave her a reason to smile every day. Buzz always promised her she would never be alone.

They were going on about eight years since they first met, and both of them could not deny their feelings for each other. They remained friends though; both not bearing the thought of losing one another as a friend, but it was clear how much they desired each other by flirting and stealing embraces when the others were not looking. However, being stuck in a toy box with the other toys did not provide much privacy and time to be around each other to even think of starting a relationship. It also seemed like Buzz grew back into his stuttering self when he was around her.

Thinking of the space ranger and, since the other toys were asleep, Jessie smirked to herself and scooted closer to him. She rested her hand on the edge of his helmet and nuzzled her nose against his ear and closed her eyes. It had been months since she and Buzz even shared a hug or wrestled with each other.

About a few minutes later, she felt Buzz stir and their eyes met. Everything they wanted to say to one another was said in their gaze and Jessie felt some sort of invisible pull as their faces moved slowly towards each other. Their lips lightly touched for a fraction of a second, but the sound of an excited dinosaur toy's voice shot them back to reality. Jessie almost groaned aloud and she and Buzz shared a disappointed look and quickly shuffled away from each other. This was one out of almost a dozen times this had happened which held the same result; they were always interrupted.

"Wake up everyone! It's morning!" announced Rex.

"Few more minutes..." mumbled Woody as he rolled over.

Jessie shook her head to clear what almost happened out of her mind and looked glumly at the dinosaur. "Why do ya always gotta wake everyone up, Rex? What's gotcha so excited?"

"Andy's going to be gone all day! We can play out of the toy box!" eagerly responded Rex and started to flail his tiny arms around.

"At ease, Rex. You meant well," said Buzz and patted the dinosaur's tail. He then glanced at Jessie and quickly looked away when she glanced at him.

Woody got up and grabbed a walkie talkie and paged Sarge and the other two soldiers. They hid in the kitchen and would report to the toys when the house was empty over the other walkie talkie.

"Sergeant? Are we on the all clear?"

"Roger that, motherbird. You all may disperse about the house," Sarge responded.

All the toys gave a sigh of relief and hopped out of the toy box.

"Well, I'm off to spend the day with Bo at least until Molly comes home from school," announced Woody to whoever cared and started to head out of the bedroom to find his girlfriend.

Plucking the strings on Andy's new electric guitar, Jessie heard someone cough nervously behind her. She turned around and saw it was Buzz. Her heart almost did a somersault when she met his eyes.

"J-Jessie? Um, I just, uh, wanted to say, uh, morning good-er-good morning to you," stuttered Buzz and he smiled sheepishly at her, the thoughts of almost kissing her running through his head at full force.

The cowgirl giggled at the space ranger. He really was too adorable. "Well good morning to you too, space boy."

In a matter of seconds, the mood in the room turned frantic as Woody ran back breathless.

"Has anyone seen Bo!?" he shouted, panic evident in his voice. The other toys all responded in a jumbled "not me" or "haven't seen her" response.

"Did you check all the rooms downstairs? I know it's not like Bo to go anywhere in the house without you," asked Buzz as he and Jessie walked up to the Sheriff who was visibly shaking. Jessie put a hand to Woody's shoulder to steady him.

"No it's not. I've already checked every single room high and low and can't find her! Buzz, what do I do-" Woody was cut off when he heard gasps coming from the toys by the window.

"Woody, I think I found Bo, but you need to hurry up and get down there! Looks like Mom is having a yard sale again and I see a pink dress in a box!" Hamm yelled down to him.

Jessie's mind started to swirl; this could not be happening to her best friend! She turned to see what the plan was to rescue Bo, but Woody was already gone. She and Buzz shared a glance and ran out of the room to follow the cowboy.

When they reached the doggie door that led to the yard, Buzz held up an arm to stop the cowgirl from crawling out. "We have to make sure the coast is clear before we go out there. Let's see if we can find Woody first," Buzz cracked open the door and saw Woody sneaking under the tables to hide from the humans.

"Psssst, Woody!" the space ranger whispered loudly and waved. The cowboy saw the two at the door and motioned for them to stay there and go back to the room.

"Does he really think we wanna stand here and do nothin'?" huffed Jessie.

"Well I trust Woody and it looks like he's got it under control. Let's do what he says and go back upstairs," Buzz grabbed her hand and they went back up to Andy's room and pushed their way to the window.

By that point, Woody was hidden behind the leg of a card table that had Bo's box sitting on top of it. He was about ready to jump up, when a young girl and her mother stopped in front of the box and picked up Bo.

Jessie unconsciously reached for Buzz's arm and together, the toys watched in horror as the little girl and her mother went over to Mrs. Davis and bought Bo, and drove away with their purchases. This all happened in a matter of minutes.

"No! Bo!" Jessie went to dash toward the door but Buzz held her around the waist and wrapped his arms around her to keep her steady and comfort her. He knew her so well and out of all of them, she would be the one taking it the hardest; she knew how it was. He rubbed her back to try to calm her down and he glanced out the window to see Woody kneeling on the grass with his head in his hands.

Chaos erupted all over the room as the toys watched their friend be taken away. There had been plenty of yard sales and they had seen toys move onto new owners, but Bo was different. She was the quiet and compassionate one, yet she kept things in order. Most importantly, she was Woody's rock and with her gone...

"Buzz, what are we gonna do?" asked Slinky.

"I don't know where to begin, Slink. We just need to find a way to get him into the house," responded Buzz and squeezed Jessie tighter to him.

"Poor Bo, I'm j-just gonna miss her so much," cried Mrs. Potato Head. She was leaning on her husband who was trying his best to comfort his wife. The spud no longer knew who she would turn to when she needed advice. Usually Bo had been right there for her.

Bullseye was laying on the ground staring sadly at the bedroom door; waiting for Woody to return.

"Buzz, how about you go down and try to get Woody to come in. It's getting cloudy out and he probably doesn't even know what to do," Mr. Potato Head suggested.

"Please Buzz? We don't want anything happening to him too!" seconded Rex.

Buzz sighed and looked at the hopeful eyes of his toy family. Losing a big part of their family devastated them, but the road to helping their cowboy leader was sure to be a long one and they were determined to help Woody as much as they could.

The space ranger turned his head and met Jessie's tearful eyes as she picked up her head off his shoulder.

"I-I'm gonna go with ya-"

"No Jess. I want you to stay here, okay? It would be the be-"

"He's my BROTHER! I need to see if he's alright."

"Jess please, you're upset and you need to get yourself together before you talk to Woody. Let me at least get him inside and then we can go from there. I'll come right back and let you know what's going on," reasoned Buzz and squeezed her hand.

Jessie sighed and shook her head yes and leaned against Buzz again. She knew Buzz was right; she needed some time to find the words to comfort Woody. Everything happened so fast that her mind was spinning. Buzz was the level headed one and he knew the most important thing as of now was to be there for the cowboy.

The space ranger quickly hugged the cowgirl to him before pulling away. He turned to the slinky dog and dinosaur standing next to him.

"Rex? Slink? Come over and keep Jessie company, okay? We all need to help each other through this." He patted Rex on the back and briskly walked out of the room.

Rex walked up to Jessie and the cowgirl threw her arms around him while Slinky leaned his head against her leg. Hamm and the PotatoHeads joined them up on the desk and together they watched the space ranger approach his best friend.

At first, the cowboy didn't budge as Buzz tried to coax him into the house. After a few minutes of trying to reason with the cowboy, the space ranger put a hand on the sheriff's shoulder and guided him into the house. All the toys let out a sigh of relief.

They sat at the window quietly and waited for Buzz to come back. After a while, the door opened and the space ranger walked in looking tired. He motioned for the toys to join him on the floor and they all sat in a circle.

"I know this was a hard day on all of us," addressed Buzz, "but the most important thing to do from now on is stick together. We have to remember that Miss Peep was part of a lamp used for babies and toddlers and the little girl that bought her today was nothing but excited when she found Bo. I have no doubt that she will be happy with her new owner. We have to move forward and keep a positive mind, but also watch out for one another. Agreed?"

Murmurs of agreement were heard and the toys all stood up and tried to go about their business. Bullseye walked over to Jessie and nudged her hand and looked at her with sad eyes.

"It'll be alright, boy. Woody will be just fine," the cowgirl tried her best to smile at the horse. Together, the cowgirl and horse walked over to Buzz.

"He's going to need some time alone," explained Buzz, "I figured we can go check up on him in a little while, but in the meantime, how about we try to relax?"

Relaxing seemed hard to do at a time like this, but the cowgirl heeded the space ranger's advice and followed him up the bed. Together they sat against the pillows and Jessie laid her head on Buzz's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. Bullseye galloped over to the two of them and snuggled against Jessie's thigh and closed his eyes. The space ranger shut his weary eyes and Jessie was left pondering over things.

"Buzz?"

"Hmm?"

"Do ya ever think you and I will get separated? I-er-mean, we all get separated from each other? What if Andy throws us away, or donates us separately, or-"

"Shhh, Jess," Buzz held a finger up to her lips to shush her rambling. "I know today was rough on all of us, but you have to remember that Bo was Molly's. We are Andy's toys and there's a reason he's kept all of us. I know we'll be together for a long time a-and I'll m-make sure you're never alone." He turned away to cover his blush. "Let's just focus on helping Woody now, ok?"

Jessie smiled and nodded. She watched Buzz drift off to sleep and she looked down at Bullseye and ran her hand softly over his mane. Her face turned thoughtful as she thought about what Buzz had said. Sure she trusted him, but she just saw with her very own eyes what could happen if she and he ever got close. Frowning, Jessie looked over at Buzz and shook her head. She could not bring herself to snuggle back up to him. How could he promise something that neither of them could control? After all, it just happened to Woody and Bo.

Very carefully, the cowgirl snuck past the space ranger and walked out of the room and searched for the distraught sheriff.

Being careful of Andy's mom, she snuck her way around the house. She looked under furniture, in cabinets, and finally in Molly's room. The pre-teen had a night stand in between her bed and the wall and that was where she found the cowboy.

For a minute she just stood there and took the cowboy in. Never had she seen him so depressed; so broken. He sat with his knees pulled up to his chest and his face rested on his knees. Not wanting to startle him, she knocked on the leg of the table lightly.

"Woody?" she all but whispered.

The cowboy did not move except to lift his head up for a second. Jessie did not wait for a response and crawled over to him and ran a hand up and down his back. She felt him slightly relax and he rested his head against her shoulder.

He mumbled something and Jessie barely caught the end of it.

"What was that?"

"I said I'm sorry, Jess. You didn't need to see that today."

"Oh Woody, you have nothing to be sorry for ya hear? What happened today was-"

"Was something I could have prevented! If I could have gotten down there fast enough, or if I checked on her earlier, or-"

"Woody stop! You're gonna drive yourself bezerk if ya keep thinkin' of the what if's! There was no way you could have known what was gonna happen!" Jessie stared intently at her brother as he soaked in what she just said.

"I just wish there was a way I could have saved her. I just hope she's okay where she is. I hope she's not sad, or lonely, or afraid..." Woody drifted off and closed his eyes.

Jessie pulled her brother in for a hug and he gratefully returned it.

"Woody, take it from me. I'm actually glad to see Bo went with a little girl. At least she didn't end up in donation and you wouldn't have even known where she would'a been. The little girl loves her and hopefully Bo will love her new home." Jessie looked down as she felt Woody nod against her shoulder in agreement.

"Come on big brother, ya need to pull yourself together. You're our sheriff and it's your job to be brave and run the town. That's exactly what Bo would'a wanted!"

"I know Jessie, but it all just happened so fast. I still can't comprehend the fact that she's gone. I'm just gonna need some time to think."

"I know it's hard, but ya have me, Buzz, and the others to help you through it. They're all worried about you, but they know ya need your space."

"I know I do, and thank you for your help Jessie. Everything will be alright in time I suppose."

"It will, I promise," Jessie gave her brother a big hug and helped him stand up. "Come on, let's go back to Andy's room. Ya look like ya need a nap."

Jessie walked Woody back to the room and led him over to the toy box. Buzz was waiting for them, but Jessie did not risk a glance in his direction; it would be hard enough to resist those handsome blue eyes. All the toys climbed into the toy box with Woody curling up in the far corner and covering his face with his hat.

Jessie lay down not too far away from her brother and she felt Buzz behind her. She closed her eyes and pretended she was already asleep, yet she felt Buzz softly place his lips on her forehead before he also retired for the night.

A tear slowly slipped down her cheek when she thought of never seeing Bo again. Sure, there was Barbie and Mrs. Potato Head, but Bo understood her. She knew and understood Jessie's feelings about the cowgirl's past and her feelings for Buzz.

Jessie then thought of the brokenhearted cowboy. Woody and Bo had been together for a long time and separating them seemed impossible. If that could happen to them, who was to say that would not happen to her and Buzz if they got together?

Thinking of the space ranger, Jessie lifted her head and looked at him sleeping next to her. She could not deny that she was in love with him, but she had to push those thoughts aside for her own sake. The reason was right in front of her, sleeping restlessly in the corner of the toy box. She did not want to be hurt deeply twice.

Chapter 21: Her Buzz Lightyear

June 2nd 2009

"Okay Rexy-boy, just breathe in deeply and let it rip!"

Jessie was in the corner of Andy's room with Rex teaching the dinosaur how to roar. She breathed in deeply with him and he let out a huge roar that could be heard all throughout the house; meanwhile knocking Jessie's hat off her head.

"Woooweee that was amazin' Rex!" cheered Jessie.

"I did it! I did it! Thanks Jessie!" Rex jumped up and down and the cowgirl gave him a huge hug. "Buzz used to help me with this all the time when he first arrived."

As Rex talked about the space ranger, Jessie frowned and looked down at the ground. She really didn't want to bring him up at the moment; hence is why she was hanging out with Rex. In fact, she hadn't hung out with Buzz much in the past months since Bo was sold. Sure they still talked and such, but they weren't as close as they used to be.

"And it's all my fault", thought Jessie.

A year later and Woody was still coping with the loss of his girlfriend and Jessie made sure she was there for the cowboy every time he needed a shoulder to cry on. She spent more time hanging around the other toys and avoided situations that would lead her and Buzz to be alone. The cowgirl knew that deep down, Buzz was hurt. She could see it in his eyes when he would invite her to watch a movie with him and she'd decline his offer. He kept asking until he finally gave up after about four months of Jessie declining his offers. It hurt her to know that she was disappointing the man she loved, but how could they be together when it would wind up with them being separated in the end?

Deep down she thought Buzz knew. Woody would throw hints about how the space ranger was scared of losing his family and how everyone should stick together from now on. Buzz was the first to check up on her every day to see how she was and she would quickly respond with a one-worded answer and a quick smile. They flirted occasionally still; Jessie still loved making the space ranger stutter and grow flustered. She missed the tickle fights they used to get into, snuggling up to him at night, and surprising him with an occasional kiss on the cheek that would leave him speechless.

"Jessie?"

Jessie shook her head as Rex's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Sorry, what did ya say?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping me practice."

"Oh it's nothing Rex ol' buddy!" Jessie slung an arm around the dinosaur's neck and scouted out Bullseye. On the way, she passed Buzz and she smiled at him. He nervously laughed and waved to her and kept walking at a faster pace to hide the blush Jessie barely caught. Walking up to her favorite horse, she nuzzled her face into the horse's neck.

"Howdy Bullseye!"

Bullseye neighed and brushed his face against her's, sensing something was off.

"I'm alright, boy. Let's go for a ride, huh?" Jessie swung up onto his saddle and met eyes with Buzz from across the room. He smiled that kind of smile that was only reserved for her and she couldn't help but grin back and tip her hat.

One day, she dreamed of overcoming her fear of abandonment. One day, they would be together and not have to worry about being separated. One day, he will be her Buzz Lightyear.

Chapter 22: We're On the Curb!

Notes:

Once again, some of the dialogue used in this and the upcoming chapters are not mine and are credited by the owners at Pixar and Disney.

June 10th, 2010 Part 1

"Okay guys, time to get in position," ordered Woody.

Jessie was lightly napping atop an old Playstation game controller when Woody's voice snapped her back to reality. Smirking to herself, she propped herself up and scouted out where she needed to be. Sure enough, she saw the purple target crouching near the entrance and she popped up and called his name.

"Buzz! Mine if I squeeze in next to ya?" She jumped towards him and she leaned her whole body against his arm and looked at him slyly.

"Yes!" he answered a little too abruptly, "No! I-I mean, wh-why would I mi-mind squeezing next to...you?" He coughed and his eyes darted around the toy box. The cowgirl could feel his nervousness pouring out of him and she gave him a seductive smile as he blushed exclaiming "is it hot in here?"

Woody rolled his eyes at the two as he reached up and cracked open the toy box lid. Sarge and the troops were hauling Andy's cell phone towards the toy box and Woody, Jessie, and Buzz helped to lift the phone into the box with them. This was yet another one of Woody's "Operation Playtime" plans to get Andy to notice them. So far each plan was met with failure, but the cowboy was certain this time it would work.

Jessie, however, knew that it was useless. The kid was growing up and he was bound to outgrow his toys; yet she had to hand it to Woody that he never gave up on his owner. She waited for Woody to give her the signal to start dialing Andy's number with the kitchen phone they stole earlier in the day. Jessie admitted to herself that she was nervous over the outcome of this, and glanced at Buzz when he opened his wrist communicator with the phone number inscribed in it.

Playfully, and also because she needed some reassurance that he was with her, she pulled Buzz against her to get a good look at the phone number and she dialed it into the kitchen phone. She slightly hesitated for a moment before pressing the call button and all the toys held their breaths as Woody, Buzz, and Jessie peered under the lid to watch for his foot steps.

"Target is on approach!" announced Buzz. All the toys dropped into toy mode just in time as Andy opened the toy box lid to retrieve the ringing cell phone.

"Just like we rehearsed it guys!" ordered Woody. All together the toys went into toy mode as the lid was lifted and a much older Andy's face appeared at the entrance. He fumbled around the contents in the box and finally noticed his cell phone which was in Rex's tight grasp. The teen reached for his cell phone and pulled Rex with it. He gazed at his old dinosaur toy confused and then threw him back into the toy box, shut the lid, and walked out of the room.

Jessie looked down and sadly shook her head. She knew this would happened despite Woody's hope. Slowly she got up and followed the group of worried toys out of the toy box

"Guys, we need a staff meeting. Everyone! A staff meeting! Slink gather everybody up!" called Woody.

"Uh, we are gathered, Woody," replied Slink.

Jessie looked around and sadly realized they were the twelve remaining toys left. The cowgirl looked up and met Buzz's eyes and he slowly nodded in her direction encouragingly as Woody started talking.

"Now we all know that our job isn't about getting played with it's about-,"

"Being there for Andy, we know," Jessie interrupted. She didn't mean to make it sound like she was smarting off to the cowboy, but she was getting sick of the old 'trying to get your owner to notice you' brigade. The other toys were starting to ask Woody if there was another plan and until his answer shocked everyone.

"I'm callin' it guys. We're closing up shop," he said and looked down at his boots. All the toys including Jessie couldn't hide their shocked expressions. Buzz suddenly interrupted and spoke firmly to the toys.

"We're going into attic mode, folks. Keep your accessories with you at all times, spare parts, batteries, anything you need for an orderly transition," he said in his usual authoritative voice.

"Orderly? We're done, finished, over the hill!" exclaimed Potato Head. As Woody went to calm down the panicky spud, Buzz looked over at the window sill and noticed Sarge and the other two soldiers preparing to leave.

"Hey Sarge! What are you doing?" he called.

"War's over folks. Me and the boys are moving on," replied Sarge.

"Moving on?" asked Woody, jumping off the stack of books.

"You're going AWOL?" seconded Buzz.

"We done our duty; Andy's grown up," explained Sarge.

"Yeah, when the trash bags come out, our Army guys are the first to go," seconded soldier #2.

Jessie immediately started to panic. Everything around her started to fade as she saw nothing but being shoved in a bag all by herself where it was pitch black. She barely acknowledged the fact that Sarge flew off with his men because she started to unknowingly hyperventilate.

"We're getting thrown away!?" exclaimed Rex and flailed his arms around.

"We're being abandoned!" Jessie blurted out in between breaths and steadied herself against Bullseye.

"We'll be fine Jessie," said Buzz. He took a few steps towards her and gave her a look of reassurance. She held his gaze and the two shared a compassionate look. Jessie's breathing started to return to normal as she stared into his comforting blue eyes.

Jessie's grip tightened on Bullseye as the toys reminisced over the others that have come and gone. Rex brought up Bo and all eyes were on Woody as he suddenly looked on the verge of tears before quickly regaining his composure. The cowgirl quickly glanced at the space ranger once again, and their eyes met each other's for another minute. Buzz gave her a small smile and returned to the task at hand.

"All good toys that have gone on to new owners. But through every yard sale, every spring cleaning; Andy held onto us! He must care about us or we wouldn't be here!" explained Woody. Jessie looked on at the cowboy and admired the fact that he still took the role as leader seriously and did everything he could to try to calm everyone down.

Maybe the attic wouldn't so bad. Woody and Buzz were listing off all the fun things that was up in the attic and Jessie knew as long as she had her friends beside her everything would be ok.

"And those guys from the Christmas decoration box. They're fun right?"

Jessie and the other toys grimaced and looked away. Those Christmas decorations were bad news, especially the blue nut cracker that was constantly trying to court Jessie every Christmas in front of Buzz.

"Someday, Andy will have kids of his own," continued Woody.

"And they'll play with us then, right?" asked Rex hopefully.

"We'll always be there for him," replied Woody and wrapped an arm around the dinosaur.

"Come on guys! Let's get our parts together, get ready, and go out on a high note!" exclaimed Buzz.

Jessie looked sadly at Bullseye and the two started to walk away from the group. Somehow in the back of her mind, the cowgirl could see that everything that happened with Emily was starting with Andy. However, as she glanced at Bullseye and then across the room to Woody and Buzz, she knew she wouldn't be entirely alone. However, what if she got separated from all of them? Not wanting to think about that, she buried her face into Bullseye neck and shut her tired eyes for a few minutes.

"No Molly!"

The toys all looked towards the door and then quickly ran back into the toy box just as Andy opened the door with his little sister trailing behind him asking him if she could have all of his stuff.

"Forget it, Molly!"

"Okay Andy, let's get to work here. Anything you're not taking to college either goes in the attic or it's trash," said Andy's mother. As the boy's mother started to go through some of his things, the toys found the toy box lid opening.

"Why do you still have these toys?" Molly said all snotty.

"Ugh, Molly! Outta my room!"

"Three more days then it's miiiiine!" she sang and she shut the lid closed.

The toy scrambled to the top of the box to listen to the conversation the humans were having and Woody lifted the lid up a little bit to peer out. They could see Molly throwing a bunch of her old toys into a donation box and sadly, they looked on as the tween threw her old Barbie doll into the box.

"Poor Barbie," whispered Jessie.

"I get the Corvette," remarked Hamm. Jessie didn't know if he was serious or not.

Andy's mother started to turn towards the box and the toys quickly froze as the lid was lifted.

"No one's gonna want those old toys! They're junk!" they heard Andy tell his mom.

Every toy that was in the toy box felt their little hearts break at Andy's comment.

'So this is it...again.' Jessie felt like she was going to go back into a panic, until she looked at Buzz and met his gaze. If Andy got rid of them, at least she'd be with Buzz, Woody, and the other toys.

The toys met the eyes of the seventeen year old boy as he reached his hand into the toy box and pulled the toys out one by one and dropped them into a black garbage bag. Jessie was the last one to be dropped in and she looked up and gasped as Andy held Buzz and Woody in each of his hands. She grew extremely nervous because she needed Buzz and Woody with her to help her through whatever Andy planned to do with them.

Suddenly, she felt something heavier landing on her and she came faced to face with Buzz. The cowgirl let a small sigh of relief pass her as the toys tried to adjust to comfortable positions. She felt herself be comforted a little bit when Buzz lightly squeezed her hand and the two of them focused on what was going on.

"What's happening?" Rex whimpered.

"We're getting thrown out, you idiot! That's whats happening!" yelled Mr. Potato Head.

The toys felt the bag being set down on the floor and they all were trying to listen intently. Jessie felt like the sides of the bag were caving in on her and she felt her head start to spin as she tried to catch her breath.

"I can't breathe!" yelled the panic cowgirl. The toys were all talking at once when finally Buzz shushed them all after hearing something outside of the bag. Before they were able to comprehend what it was, they felt themselves being tumbled around as the bag was pushed.

Not knowing where they were going as they felt the bag being picked up by Andy's mom, the toys were quiet and some of them were whimpering as they knew where the bag would be set down at.

Jessie crawled closer to Buzz and slipped her arm through his as she tried to listen and pin point on where exactly they were at the moment. When she felt the bag hit something hard she realized where they all were...

"We're on the curb!"

Chapter 23: Sunnyside

June 10th Part 2

We're on the curb!

Jessie looked around the bag frantically, desperately trying to find a way out. She couldn't breathe and she felt as if the bag was caving in on her.

"Pull everyone! Pull!" shouted Buzz. Together, all of the toys tugged, pulled, and pushed at the plastic bag with all of their might, but the tough plastic was too strong.

"Oh Andy doesn't want us! What's the point?" said Mr. Potato Head.

"Point, point, POINT!" Buzz suddenly exclaimed and looked at the point on Rex's tail. He positioned his hands on Rex's chest and urged Jessie to do the same.

The cowgirl glanced at the space ranger as he nodded in determination at her when their eyes met. Together, and with the help of the other toys, they were able to stab a hole through the bag. Buzz pulled the plastic back to make the hole bigger, and they all scrambled out and into an empty recycle bin to hide from the approaching garbage truck.

As they heard the truck rolling away, the toys scurried in the direction of the garage with the bin still over themselves, and they lifted it away when they got inside.

Jessie was fuming. Her hands clenched into a fist and she wished she had something that she could punch.

"This doesn't make any sense," Buzz pressed a hand to his face and leaned against the van tire.

"I should have seen this coming! It's Emily all over again!" Jessie yelled to no one in particular and walked away from the group. She walked around the back of the van and noticed the trunk was open. Her green eyes squinted to read the writing on the box, and once she deciphered what it said, the cowgirl had a brilliant idea.

She turned to the others and exclaimed, "YEEHAW! Fellas, I know what to do!" The toys walked over to the jubilant cowgirl and looked up at the box. It had the name "Sunnyside" written on it, and they remembered it was the daycare that Andy's mom was talking about.

"Well, I'm in. Good riddance to Andy," shrugged Mr. Potato Head and headed towards the back of the van. He tried to jump up to reach the ledge, but he wasn't even close. "How about a little help, cowgirl?"

Jessie smiled brightly at the spud and lifted him and Mrs. Potato Head up with ease as they climbed into the van. The aliens followed shortly after.

"I'm with you," seconded Hamm as he indicated to Jessie to lift him up as Slinky wordlessly followed and jumped up too.

"Jessie, I-" Buzz was cut off as the cowgirl and Rex started laughing at the dinosaur's failed attempt to reach out to her.

"Buzz! Come help me lift this poor dino up!" Jessie called down to him.

Shaking his head, the space ranger carefully lifted Rex up as Jessie caught the dinosaur's little arms and pulled him into the van before jumping up himself and landing beside the cowgirl, who started lifting the toys into the box. Jessie grunted a little as her tired arm muscles lifted up Mrs. Potato Head, and she glanced at the space ranger who seemed to be contemplating something. She knew Buzz wouldn't be comfortable with doing something without Woody's consent.

"Jessie, wait. What about Woody?" asked Buzz as he walked closer to her.

"He's fine, Buzz!" she retorted, "Andy's taking him to college! Now we need to go!" Jessie looked at him sternly, almost challenging and his features softened. She flashed him a small smile before climbing up the box herself.

"You're right. Come on!" responded Buzz and he helped her lift up the last alien. He smiled up at her and she realized they were going to be okay.

"Buzz?" Or not.

"Woody!" Buzz exclaimed, knowing they got caught.

"What are you doing? Don't you know this box is being donated?"

"It's under control Woody, we have a plan." The space ranger smiled reassuringly down at the cowboy.

"We're going to daycare!" exclaimed Rex.

"Daycare? Have you all lost your marbles?" Woody climbed up into the van and shot all the toys a look of disapproval. Jessie knew the cowboy would try to talk them out of it, and she glared back at her him.

"Well didn't ya see? Andy threw us away!" Mrs. Potato Head yelled back.

Jessie just continued to glare at the cowboy and backed up the toys as they fought with their leader. For once, she was right and Woody was wrong. She couldn't deny the relief she felt as the toys started to crawl inside the box. "Andy's moving on, Woody. It's time we do the same." With that, all the toys, except for Buzz and Woody were inside the box.

"Okay, out of the box! Everyone right now!" ordered Woody.

"Guys, he doesn't get it, don't move," Jessie whispered to the toys and she glared at the cowboy through the box handle as Buzz tried to reason with the cowboy.

Suddenly, they heard a boom, and fell silent as Andy's mom shut the trunk lid and started up the vehicle. Jessie quickly ducked down and out of sight as Woody and Buzz hid behind the box. She heard sniffling and saw Molly's Barbie hunched over in the corner of the box as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head were trying to console her. The cowgirl calmed down at the sight of the distraught doll and walked over to her and placed a hand on Barbie's back.

"J-Jessie...h-how can th-this happen?" the Mattel doll choked out to her cowgirl friend. She knew out of everyone, Jessie would be the one to understand.

"Kids grow up, Barbie. I wish I had an explanation, but I don't. Ya jus' have to accept it. We ALL have to accept it," she regarded all the toys and continued to rub Barbie's back as she continued her sobbing.

"Aw, it's alright Barbie. You'll be okay," seconded Mrs. Potato Head.

"Well, Molly and I have been growing apart for years, but I can't believe she would THROW ME AWAY," Barbie responded angrily.

"Welcome to the club, toots," chimed in Mr. Potato Head, earning a smack from his wife.

Suddenly the lid to the box opened and Woody and Buzz jumped in. Woody was trying to tell them a plan to get back to Andy's, but the toys would have none of it.

"Get it through your vinyl noggin, Woody. Andy doesn't want us anymore," said Mr. Potato Head.

"He was putting you IN THE ATTIC!" shouted Woody.

"He left us on the CURB!" Jessie shouted back. She would not let Woody yell at the toys; it was her idea after all.

"Alright! Calm Down! BOTH of you!" Buzz pushed the two cow folk apart and looked sternly at the stewing cowgirl.

"Alright, just wait until you see what daycare's like," chided Woody.

"Why? What's it like?" Rex asked innocently.

"Daycare is a sad, lonely place for washed up old toys who have no owners," explained Woody.

This didn't help ease Barbie's nerves and she started to cry again. Mrs. Potato Head immediately went over to comfort her.

"Quite a charmer, arent'cha?" Hamm said sarcastically.

"Oh just you wait, once you get to daycare you'll be begging to come home-AGH!" Woody got knocked over as the van hit a bump. As the toys picked themselves up, they noticed the car stopped and the box being picked up.

Jessie scrambled over to the box handle to peek out at their surroundings. Buzz joined her shortly at the opening. Her eyes widened in wonder and she delightfully gasped at what was in front of her. "There's a playground! We hit the jackpot, Bullseye!" The cowgirl brought the horse to her side as he looked out with her.

"So much for sad and lonely huh?" Hamm whistled in amazement.

"Oh come on guys, let's just keep this in perspective!" retorted Woody.

"Perspective? This place is perfect!" responded Mr. Potato Head.

"Woody! It's nice, see? The door has a rainbow on it!" Rex clapped in excitement.

As Andy's mom entered the building, the toys froze and waited as she talked to the front desk woman.

Jessie looked to her side and noticed Buzz grinning at her.

"Impressive, cowgirl." he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Thank ya, kindly, space ranger," Jessie whispered back and boldly kissed his cheek. She chuckled as Buzz coughed nervously and made sure nobody noticed their exchange. The cowgirl felt the box be picked up again, and she ran to peek out of the handle and, once the box was set down, she and Buzz observed their surroundings.

The toys kept whispering "what do you see?" and "what's out there?", until Rex ran anxiously to the front and pushed the others out of the way. Jessie felt the box start falling, and before she knew it, she was on the ground and almost a hundred pair of eyes were looking back at her and her family. There was a full minute of silence until...

"New toys!" announced a jack in the box. They all cheered and started to walk towards Andy's toys.

Jessie noticed two toys, a rock looking toy and a robot, approaching her and Buzz and she reached out to shake the rock toy's hand.

"Well howdy! Glad to meet'cha!" she exclaimed. The cowgirl reached over and shook the robot toy's hand after. Noticing toys waving at them from all over the room, Jessie shuffled closer to Buzz and the two of them waved back. As everyone was introducing themselves, a yellow dump truck appeared with a purple teddy bear on the back. The smell of strawberries immediately took over Jessie's nostrils.

"Well hello there! I thought I heard new voices! Welcome to Sunnyside folks, I'm Lotso Huggin' Bear, but please, call me Lotso," the pink bear greeted them. Jessie sadly noticed that he reminded her of Mama Bear all those years ago. 'I wonder where she's at...' thought Jessie.

Buzz walked up to the bear and held out a hand to greet him. "Buzz Lightyear! We come in-" he didn't get to finish as the bear picked him up into a suffocating bear hug. When Lotso set him down, the space ranger inhaled a gulp of air and tried to catch his breath.

Jessie smirked at the exchange knowing Buzz didn't like too much physical contact, but when Lotso asked about their bad day, her smile changed into a frown as she nodded in agreement to Mrs. Potato Head's answer.

"Well ya safe now! We're all cast-offs here! We've been dumped, donated, just plain thrown out, but just you wait; you'll find being donated's the best thing to ever happen to ya!" said Lotso.

Woody rolled his eyes and scoffed as Rex asked a question.

"Mr. Lotso? Do toys here get played with every day?"

"All day long! Five days a week," replied Lotso.

"But what happens when the kids grow up?" asked Jessie. That's all she wanted to know.

As Lotso explained how daycare worked and showed them pictures of many kids that came and went, Jessie couldn't help but look at the pictures in front of her and marvel. Finally her instinct was right and she knew this was where her and her family belonged. Even if Woody didn't see it.

"No owner means no heart break!" finished Lotso.

"YEEHAW!" That's exactly what Jessie wanted to hear. She grabbed Bullseye into a hug.

"It's a miracle!" exclaimed Mrs. Potato Head.

"And you wanted us to stay with Andy!" Mr. Potato Head pointed at Woody.

"Because we're Andy's toys!" Woody tried to reason. Jessie rolled her eyes and caught the fierce look her brother threw her.

"So you got donated by this Andy, huh? Well it's his loss Sheriff. He can't hurt you no more," said Lotso, walking up to the cowboy.

Before Woody could defend himself and Andy, the toys' attentions were directed upward when Lotso called up to a big doll house in front of them and a voice was heard around the top floor.

"Be down in a sec, Lotso!"

Jessie looked up at the toy that came out of the little elevator and widened her eyes. Right in front of her was a Ken doll. However, this one looked and acted total opposite of the one she was friends with back at Emily's.

"So, who's ready for Ken's dream tour?"

The cowgirl raised an eyebrow as his attention was suddenly focused on Barbie and the two started to walk slowly towards each other. Buzz looked over at her and they shared a smirk as the two toys introduced themselves. Jessie couldn't make out what they were saying, but their flirting was interrupted by Lotso.

"Come on, Ken! Recess don't last forever!"

The two Mattel dolls jumped apart as they realized they had an audience. Ken cleared his throat and offered Barbie his arm as he started to lead the group around the classroom. He pointed out where to get fresh batteries, the repair spa, and even bragged about his dream house to impress Barbie.

The other toys walked ahead with Lotso as he headed towards the joining bathroom and knocked on the door. The door opened and a tall baby doll peeked out and shyly walked out of the bathroom as Lotso introduced him as Big Baby. The strawberry scented bear led them into the Caterpillar room and told them that this was where they would be staying.

"Look'it this place!" Jessie looked around the room and marveled at how much at home she already felt. Toys around the room were saying hi to her and introducing themselves as she walked by.

"How long has it been since y'all got played with?" Lotso's question captured Jessie's attention.

"It's been years!" replied Slinky.

"Well just you wait, in a few minutes, that bell's gonna ring and you'll get the kind of playtime you've been dreamin' of!"

"Play! Real Play! I can't wait!" Rex threw his arms around in excitement.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we must be headin' back. Welcome to Sunnyside, folks!" Lotso bid the toys goodbye as he sat back down on the yellow truck.

Jessie and the others waved bye to the bear as Ken and Barbie were wishing each other farewell. The cowgirl looked on at the couple and smiled. She remembered the day her and Buzz met. Sure they weren't bubbly and ridiculous like Barbie and Ken were, but Jessie knew that her and Buzz had a lot in common and, deep down in her stuffing, she knew they were made for each other just as how Ken and Barbie were...

"Made for each other? Oh!" the two Mattel dolls stared at each other in realization for a minute, then Barbie turned to look at her toy family for approval.

Understanding completely, Jessie threw Barbie a thumbs up and an encouraging grin. Mrs. Potato Head also ushered her to follow Ken which is exactly what Barbie did. She hopped onto his lap and the two of them rode away to the Butterfly room with Lotso.

When the toys left the room, Andy's toys all looked at each other and shared a heartfelt smile as they heard the children outside.

"How many ya reckon are out there?" Jessie asked to no one in particular. She noticed Woody hanging back from the group looking around forlornly.

"Look guys, it's nice here. I admit, but we need to go home," he started.

"We can have a whole new life here Woody! A chance to make kids happy again!" responded Jessie. She was quite giddy at the thought of bringing joy to another child's life and twirled around.

"Why don't you stay?" Slinky asked Woody. All the toys were trying to pressure him into staying, and after Jessie threw Woody a puppy dog look, he shouted "NO!"

Jessie felt nervous as the cowboy leader tried to get the toys, once again, to follow him home. Even Buzz threw her a nervous look as the cowboy talked. He beckoned for Buzz to follow him, but the space ranger stayed put. The cowgirl felt a small amount of gratitude as the space ranger gave her a small, tender look as a message that he wasn't leaving her and confronted the cowboy.

"Our mission with Andy is complete, Woody. And what's important now is we stay together," Buzz told the cowboy firmly.

"We-we wouldn't even be together if it weren't for Andy! Look under your boot, Buzz! You too, Jessie! Whose name is written there?"

Jessie clenched her fists and stared down the cowboy. So that's the route he wanted to take, huh? She should have known he would try to make her feel bad about leaving Andy, but then again the boy threw them into that trash bag and set them out with the garbage.

In Andy's eyes, all of the toys were junk.

"Woody, wake up! It's over! Andy's all grown up!" exclaimed Jessie, walking in front of Buzz. She and Woody stared each other down for a few seconds.

"Alright, fine! Perfect! I can't believe how selfish you all are," the cowboy seethed. All of the toys looked shocked, but Jessie knew that was more directed at her. The cowgirl and Buzz stood their ground, but then Jessie's features softened only a little bit as she realized the cowboy was going to leave them.

She couldn't believe how selfish HE was being.

"So this is it? After all we've been through..." Woody leered at the group of toys, just waiting for them to back down. Buzz walked up to the cowboy and extended his hand out for a farewell handshake. The cowboy declined and adjusted his hat over his eyes and walked away from his family.

Jessie knew that cowboy was always stubborn, but she was disappointed in him for just leaving them behind. She looked ahead at Buzz who dejectedly walked back to the group.

Bullseye tried following Woody, but the cowboy made his loyal horse stay. The horse whinnied, but willingly walked back to Jessie as she extended her hand out to him. At least the horse knew she wouldn't leave him.

The toys heard a voice approaching the door, and they knew their time was up. Woody ran to the door as the others hid behind various shelves. Before the cowboy walked out the door, he gave Buzz and Jessie a departing glance and left.

All Jessie could do was stare at the door that her brother just left through. How could he leave all of them? She let out a little sniffle and Buzz immediately was at her side and took her hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked and squeezed her hand. The cowgirl threw her arms around him, and he immediately wrapped her up in his arms in a comforting embrace.

"I will be; it's jus'-" Jessie tried to hold back a sob, but didn't succeed. Buzz continued to rub her back as she regained control of her breathing and pulled away from the space ranger. "I'm okay. It's just gonna be different without Woody. I jus' can't believe he left so suddenly."

"It will be different, but just remember Jessie, I'm here and I won't go anywhere. We're all a family and we'll get through this together. I promise everything will be alright," reassured Buzz and gave her a little smile as she lightly grinned in return.

"Thanks, space ranger. I'm gonna go see if Bullseye's ok."

Chapter 24: Playtime

"Aw, it's gonna be okay, Bullseye". Jessie walked over to the sulking horse and lovingly patted his snout. There were mixed emotions running through all the toys' minds as Woody left the room, leaving the family of toys stunned and, most of all, angry.

"He's going to college with Andy. It's what he always wanted," remarked Buzz as he stepped closer to Jessie.

"College isn't a place for a toy," commented Mr. Potato Head.

"Toys are for playtime!" yelled Mrs. Potato Head.

"Speaking of playtime, they're all lining up out there!" announced Hamm as he looked outside at the kids having recess.

"How many?" Buzz called down from the floor.

"There must be dozens!" exclaimed Hamm as he answered back.

"Places everyone!" Buzz yelled to the toys as they all took their positions.

Jessie flopped down next to Bullseye as they waited for the children to come in. She couldn't help but notice some of the Caterpillar toys were hiding, and she shared a concerned glance with Buzz as they watched Rex run to the door.

The door flew open and dozens of screaming, excited kids came running into the room. The cowgirl immediately felt herself being snatched up and away from Bullseye as she was flung around the room. All she could see was a whirl of colors as she was passed from kid to kid, and soon she felt something wet and sticky at the back of her head.

To her horror, one of the kids dipped her hair in paint and started using her as a paintbrush. Although the smile on her face stayed, on the inside she shut out the horrid playtime until the teacher gathered up the children for story time. As the kids all started to head over to the opposite end of the room to hear the story, the last kid to handle Jessie set her down on a chair.

The cowgirl could see Buzz a few feet away on the floor and she caught his look he threw at her. They were in trouble.

The toys all stayed in toy mode, laying completely still and exhausted for the rest of the day until the lights turned off and they couldn't hear any humans around.

Buzz broke the silence by groaning and popped the joints in his back. The other toys followed suit as they slowly looked at the state they were in.

All the cotton in the cowgirl's body was stiff as Jessie slowly lifted her head and moaned. Feeling something heavy on her back, she brought up her hand and inspected her braid, which was now coated in green paint.

"Ughhhh!" she grimaced and dropped her braid and laid her head back down for a second. Slowly she picked herself up and stood. She hopped off the chair with an unsteady landing and felt a strong hand holding onto her forearm. She glanced up and Buzz was looking at her concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asked, letting go of her arm.

"Yeah, m' fine. Just sore," Jessie answered giving him a small smile. She reached down his arm and squeezed his hand.

Over Buzz's head, Jessie could see Bullseye struggling to get a sticker off of his nose that was plastered on it. Excusing herself from the space ranger, she walked over to the horse and steadied him, taking hold of the end of the sticker as she heard Rex speak.

"Andy's never played with us like that." the dinosaur said sadly as he retrieved his missing tail.

"We're just gonna have to make the best of it," responded Jessie as she ripped the sticker off Bullseye's nose, missing the surprised look the horse had as she ripped off the sticky substance.

"But the toddlers, they don't know how to play with us," pointed out Mr. Potato Head.

As the toys were going on about how young the toddlers were, Buzz was in deep thought. He turned around to address his friends, "We'll get this straightened out, I'm gonna go talk to Lotso about switching us to another room."

The space ranger hopped up on the nearby table next to the door handle and turned it, realizing it was locked, he muttered under his breath. "Try the next one!" he yelled to no one in particular.

Jessie immediately hopped up with ease on the next door handle, but it wouldn't budge. "It's locked!"

"Try the windows!" Buzz yelled up to Hamm.

"Eh, negatory," replied Hamm as he inspected the make of the lock.

"We're TRAPPED!" yelled Mrs. Potato Head in a panic.

"Wait!" Buzz stopped the potato in her tracks. "Did anyone notice the transom?"

All the toys stopped and looked up at what Buzz was talking about.

"What's a transom, Buzz?" Rex asked curiously. The space ranger seemed to not hear the dinosaur as he inspected his surroundings.

Jessie issued a smile at Rex and patted the dino on the back. She pointed up to the open window above the door to show him the answer to his question. She then glanced over at Buzz as he was pointing up at the ceiling and muttering to himself.

"Got a plan there, space ranger?" the cowgirl asked.

"We need to find an object to launch myself up on that wire, then I can maneuver through those pieces of artwork hanging off the ceiling. Now if someone could jump down onto the broom stick, that'll be a big help..."

Jessie looked around and spotted a popper toy sitting in the middle of the room. She nudged the space ranger and he ran over to it.

"This is perfect! Good eye, Jess," he complimented which made Jessie's heart speed up.

"Okay, Hamm and Bullseye, you guys will be in charge of jumping on that rocking chair to launch the broom stick in the air when I get to the fourth hanging artwork. The rest of you will assist me in building up momentum for this rolling toy. Are we clear on this?" instructed Buzz. When he met all the determined glances of the toys, he knew they were ready. "Okay, places everyone!"

Jessie readied herself towards the handle of the popper as Buzz came running over to her. As all the toys were getting in place for their plan, Jessie reached over and rested her hand on the space ranger's shoulders.

"Buzz, just...be careful, please. I have a bad feeling about this..." Buzz cut her off by placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them in a comforting manner.

"It's all going to be okay, Jessie. I-I promise. Just keep everybody together while I find us a way out of here. I don't plan on being gone for long."

The cowgirl said nothing more, but threw her arms around the space toy's neck. He slipped his arms around her waist as they embraced for a moment. Slinky and Mr. Potato Head looked on at the two toys and then back at each other with raised eyebrows, but said nothing as they gave the cowgirl and space ranger a moment.

"Watch out for everyone, Jess. I'll be back before you know it," promised Buzz as he pulled away from the cowgirl and looked deep into her eyes. For a second, she thought he was going to say something, but he quickly coughed and turned back to the task at hand.

"Alright everybody, on the count of three. 1...2..."

"THREE!" shouted Jessie, and everyone took off running while holding onto the popper.

"Let go!" yelled Jessie as they neared the end point. All the toys let go, except for Buzz, as he jumped onto the moving toy and was hurled into the air. Jessie watched in amazement as the space toy flew in the air, swung his way through the hanging paper rings that the kids made, and then landed on top of the broomstick and jumped towards the transom; doing a flip in the air and landing right on top.

The toys cheered as he stuck his landing and Jessie couldn't help herself as she looked up at him admiringly and ran towards the rope he threw down.

"Way to go, Buzz!" she yelled up at Buzz. They shared a smile, and with that, he turned to head out into the hallway.

As she watched him go, Jessie sighed and sat down on the ground by the door. She couldn't deny she was nervous. Woody was already gone, and the thought of losing Buzz as well seemed unbearable. Lost in her train of thought, Bullseye came up to his cowgirl and lay his head down in her lap. She softly ran her fingers up and down his mane and waited for her favorite space ranger to return.

Chapter 25: Sunnyside Aftermath

June 10th, Part 4: Sunnyside Aftermath.

Flames and Buzz.

Jessie rolled over, facing away from her new owner, and dug her face deeper into the pillow. Closing her eyes, all she could see was orange which signified the flames in which she was almost engulfed in, but another image that flashed more in her mind was Buzz's face.

The cowgirl sat up and carefully made her way over to the windowsill of her new owner's room. Her thoughts drifted back from the moment Buzz returned to them after waiting for hours for the space ranger to come back to the Caterpillar room. She had been confronting Lotso and just when she thought she had the upper hand to the situation, she was stopped by no other than the space ranger himself. Just when she was about ready to ask what he was doing, he quickly turned on them.

He turned on her.

"Spare me your lies, temptress. Your emperors defeated. And I'm immune to your bewitching good looks."

Jessie inhaled sharply and dug her face into her knees, remembering how harsh he talked to her, how he threw her hand down from his shoulder. She had been so shocked and was frozen in disbelief. Deep down, she knew that wasn't her Buzz as she learned he was reset and she didn't blame him for anything. It was all Lotso's fault.

The cowgirl swore she never knew what relief felt like until Woody showed up, alive and determined as usual. The cowboy instilled a feeling of hope back into his family and Jessie helped the cowboy plan an escape.

The plan went along smoothly and seeing Woody and the others running towards her in the playground with Buzz in tow made the butterflies in her stomach flare up immediately. Would Buzz remember what he did? Was he back to normal?

Woody approached her and looked around to see who was still missing. The cowgirl heard a gasp behind her and she slowly turned around and noticed Buzz standing there, his mouth gaped open as he looked at her.

"Buzz..." before she could go any further, the space toy dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hand in his. She smiled down at him as he opened his mouth to speak.

And he wasn't speaking English.

Jessie muffled a giggle in her knees as she remembered how silly and adorable Buzz's Spanish mode had been. The dance he did around her left the cowgirl more confused than ever as he dipped her down and (what looked like to her) proclaimed his love to her. She adored how Buzz treated her and she felt so protected. She owed him her life, especially when he saved her from the trash in the dump truck. The cowgirl knew she was smitten as he heroically glanced down at her and she lovingly glanced back at him. The two were so caught up in each other that they barely noticed their surroundings. Mrs. Potato Head's scream of "look out!" brought them back to reality and they had only minutes to act as a big television came tumbling at them.

Without a further thought, Buzz instantly threw Jessie a few feet away and the television landed hard on him. The feeling that washed over Jessie was the worst fear she ever felt. She threw herself forward and the other toys helped her lift the TV off Buzz and, with the help of Woody, dragged him out. Jessie immediately began to furiously shake him awake as she begged for him to wake up. Fear gripped her heart as he remained still and she buried her face in his chest.

When she felt a lurch run through Buzz's body, she almost let out a happy sob as the space ranger came to, but as the Buzz she always knew.

He came back to her.

A single tear slipped down Jessie's cheek as she realized how happy she felt when Buzz slowly wrapped his arms around her before sitting up and focused on the task at hand; they were heading to the dump and they needed to get out of there and fast. The events at the dump went by in such a blur to Jessie that all she could register was when Buzz took her hand as they faced their, what looked to be at the time, fate.

The way Buzz looked at her made her realize the depths of the feelings she held for the space ranger. Silently, they confessed their feelings toward each other and looked around to see the rest of their friends joining hands as they silently accepted that it was the end.

Jessie looked around the room and her eyes fell on Buzz to the right of Woody on the bed. She smiled at him as she remembered them curling into each other as they closed their eyes and waited for the flames to engulf them. Although Jessie was afraid, she was comforted by the fact Buzz was right beside her and her family surrounding them.

To their greatest relief, a shadow fell above the toys and an oversized claw picked them up and carried the toys outside of the dump. Jessie realized that the aliens rescued them, and she was eternally grateful.

Sitting up slowly, her eyes adjusted to the light as she felt something on her hand, or more like gripping her hand. She slowly looked down and noticed Buzz's larger hand was curled around her smaller one. Smiling up at him bashfully, her eyes locked with his as they smiled at each other lightly.

Realization seem to slip through each other's hearts as they stared at each other for a few minutes lovingly until Buzz blinked and they realized they were still at the dump. Jessie slowly slipped her hand out of Buzz's but he quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to help her up and out of the pile of garbage they landed in. The pair approached Woody and the others, and Buzz turned towards her again and smiled at her brightly. Jessie was about to say something, but Woody's voice interrupted in front of her, so she reached up and gripped the space toy's arm.

The toys started to make their way through the piles of trash as Woody abruptly stopped; doubting himself about his idea for the others to go in the attic and always be with Andy. Jessie issued the cowboy a sympathetic look and reassured him that they were Andy's toys. Buzz stepped forward and interlaced his fingers with the cowgirl's and told Woody together, they'd be there for him all the while emphasizing the word 'together' while looking intensely at her. Jessie's heart skipped a couple of beats as she realized that her and Buzz's relationship changed into them being much more than friends.

As they saw the garbage truck, they all hopped onto the back to hitch a ride home. The toys talked aimlessly amongst themselves, and nobody questioned the fact that Buzz and Jessie were holding hands and whispering amongst themselves seated by the opening of the truck.

"I thought we were done for," whispered Jessie.

"I did too. I swear Jess, I'm never going to let anything happen to you or our friends again," promised Buzz and leaned his forehead slightly against Jessie's. Her heart fluttered as she sighed happily and leaned against him in return.

As Jessie finished her reflection, she carefully crept down off the windowsill and made her way back over to her new owner, Bonnie. The little girl was wonderful and took up an immediate interest in Jessie and her family. The cowgirl would miss Andy tremendously, but life with Bonnie appeared to be very promising. During dinner, Bonnie even held Jessie and made the cowgirl a makeshift bib and sat her new doll next to herself as the little girl ate.

Climbing up to the bed, Jessie crept over Dolly and lied down on her side where Bonnie placed her in between Woody (who was laying right next to Bonnie) and Buzz.

"Are you okay, cowgirl?" whispered the voice that filled butterflies in her stomach from behind her. She felt the sudden strength of plastic arms circling around her middle. Exhaling slowly, the cowgirl turned around in his arms and was face to face with the space toy.

"Affirmative, space boy," Jessie whispered back; caressing his cheek. Utter happiness filled her little toy heart. "Now that you're with me."

Chapter 26: I'll Always Want You

Notes:

Major fluff incoming! ^_^

June 11th, 2010

"Alright, everyone! Please gather around!"

Jessie opened one eye as she heard the voice of Dolly call out to the other toys.

"Andy's toys! You guys too! This is a staff meeting!" yelled Woody.

Groaning a bit, the cowgirl sat up and adjusted her hat. Bullseye was snuggled up next to her and she nudged the tired horse with her boot.

"C'mon, Bullseye. Up and at 'em!" Jessie softly patted the horse on the nose as he woke up and licked her cheek. The two stood up and hopped off the bed and walked over to the assembling toys. Dolly and Woody stood at the front with Buzz standing behind Woody as usual.

Dolly took a few steps forward and started to address the crowd. "Alright you guys, first off, I just wanted to officially welcome all the new toys to Bonnie's room. We sincerely hope you guys like it here-"

As the doll was giving her welcome speech, Jessie zoned out. Her brain was still in a fog from the day before and all she wanted to do was ride Bullseye around the house to let off some stress. Her eyes wandered around Bonnie's brightly covered room and then they landed on a pair of cerulean eyes staring at her.

She smiled at the space ranger and everything else seemed to fade as they simply gazed at each other like they usually did during Woody's staff meetings. Never had she felt the way she did when Buzz looked at her in the moonlight, or felt as safe as when he held her in his strong arms like he did last night. After almost facing death in the incinerator, she now knew she wanted nothing more than to move ahead in her relationship with Buzz and make up for lost time.

"Now Buzz, do you have anything to add? Buzz! Earth to Buzz!"

Woody was waving his hand in Buzz's face and the space ranger stuttered an apology as the rest of Andy's toys smirked and knew what Buzz's distraction was. Jessie merely giggled and shook her head amusingly.

"Okay, meeting adjourned!" Woody clapped his hands together and everyone dispersed into their own groups.

"Come on Bullseye, let's get outta here for a while," whispered Jessie to the horse. She jumped up onto his saddle and he galloped out of the room at full speed. They explored each room around the house and after a few hours (and knocking over a few picture frames), Jessie had Bullseye stop over by the area Rex and Trixie were playing a video game.

"Howdy, guys! What'cha doin'?"

"Jessie! You gotta see this!" Rex motioned for his cowgirl friend to come over. "Trixie can make my arms look bigger!"

The blue triceratops pushed a button on the keyboard and the arms on the picture of Rex on the game grew twice as big as normal.

"Well lookit' that, Rexy! Ya got some muscle on ya!" Jessie patted the dinosaur on the back.

For the rest of the morning, the toys relaxed amongst themselves while getting acquainted with the house and enjoyed an afternoon playtime when Bonnie came home from Sunnyside. The girl had almost the same imagination as Andy which promised a good home for her new toys. Andy's old toys were overjoyed at being played with and loved after a long time.

It was at night once again; Jessie was very restless. She scaled down the bed and headed out to the living room. She climbed up the couch and was surprised when she saw a green glow near the middle.

"Buzz! What are you doing here?"

"I can ask the same for you, cowgirl," smirked the space ranger and he motioned for her to sit by him. He put his arm around her shoulders as she plopped down next to him and they sat for a few minutes in a comfortable silence.

It was Jessie who curiously broke the quietness. "What's on your mind, space ranger?"

Buzz's eyes darted around the room and hesitated to respond. "Um, I-uh, I ju-nevermind…"

"Come on, Buzz. You can talk to me." Gently, Jessie took the space ranger's face in her hands and caressed his cheek. She looked him in the eye to let him know that she wanted him to talk to her; that she was there for him.

Slowly, the space ranger exhaled and took both her hands in his. "Jessie, I want you to tell me what exactly happened after I left you guys to find Lotso. I need to know."

Inhaling sharply, Jessie's eyes grew wide and she slowly looked down at their hands; their fingers intertwined. She was trying to avoid the subject of Buzz's alter egos, yet she understood that he had a right to know.

Never letting go of his hands, she relayed the story of his demo mode; imprisoning everyone as Lotso ordered him around. The way he acted with them, with her; treating them as prisoners. She talked about their escape plan when Woody came back to them. Then she told him about his Spanish mode. How forward he was with her and how much he protected her; the way he danced around to woo her. When she thought she lost him when that TV fell on him…

Her voice cracking, Jessie stopped talking and looked away.

"Jessie…"

The cowgirl turned back to the space ranger as he lifted one of her hands up and kissed the back of it tenderly.

"I thought I lost ya, Buzz. So many times-" Jessie was cut off as Buzz drew her into a big hug and dug his face into the crook of her neck. Slightly surprised, she slipped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. The two of them stayed in each other's embrace; Buzz soaking in what Jessie just told him.

"Jessie…I'm so sorry," breathed Buzz and lifted his face back up at her, looking at her tenderly.

"I never gave up on ya, Buzz. I never will," responded Jessie and slipped her arms around his neck.

Once again, the two toys felt that familiar pull as their faces came close to one another's, but this time, they wouldn't let anything interrupt them. Jessie felt Buzz's soft lips touch her own and she felt a surge of electricity run through her stuffing.

Her first kiss. Their first kiss.

As she felt Buzz start to pull away, she let out a soft moan of protest and captured his lips with her own; desire and need for the space ranger fired up within her heart.

Inexperienced they both were at this sort of thing; the two of them slowly let their shy, small kisses turn into something more passionate. Jessie couldn't focus on anything but wanting to get as close to Buzz as she could.

They kissed each other deeply as an overwhelming amount of passion, and love for each other started to overtake the two as Jessie tightened her arms around his neck and guided him forward until her back was pressed against the cushion. As they parted to catch their breath, Buzz's lips started to trail small kisses down her neck and Jessie stared half-lidded up at the ceiling.

Trailing her hands up and down the back of the space ranger's head as he kissed her, she reminisced how she got to this point in her life and her mind trailed back to Emily, to Mama Bear, to Tammy and Ken, to GI Joe…

Remembering that time on the bed with Joe, her eyes widened and she shot up; knocking Buzz off kilter for a second.

"Jessie! Jess, what's wrong?" Buzz caught her face in his hands and she turned towards him. The worry and admiration in his eyes made her troubles go away. This wasn't Joe. This was Buzz, her space ranger.

And she loved him.

Slowly she reached forward and pulled Buzz back on top of her. "Nothing. I got a little overwhelmed is all." She locked her arms back around his neck and rested her forehead against his.

Lightly kissing her lips he whispered, "We don't have to do this if you're not ready."

"No. I want this, I'll always want you, Buzz," Jessie responded. She leaned her head up, kissing him deeply. They parted and Buzz continued to trail kisses down her neck as she leaned her head back as he tugged her collar out of the way.

Jessie caressed the buttons on his chest as she felt him travel south. Everywhere he touched her tingled with pleasure and want for the space ranger. She felt him run his hands up and down her thighs underneath her chaps and she wrapped her legs around his.

Leaning down, Buzz kissed her and he gazed down lovingly at her. "I love you, Jessie."

Finally hearing those words from her sweet space toy, Jessie smiled brightly up at him.

"I love you too, Buzz," she responded, meaning every single word. Tears of joy pricked at the corners of her eyes as the ten years of wanting the other coming to light as the new couple savored the moment of finally being together.

Chapter 27: Forever

June 12th, 2010

Cracking open her eyes, Jessie looked around the room, confused at where she was. After a moment, she realized she was laying on the couch in the living room. Feeling a soft stream of warm air at the back of her neck, she turned her head and noticed Buzz was behind her, holding the cowgirl tightly in his arms with his face buried against her back.

The memories of the night before sent Jessie's heart beating fast as she smiled at the space ranger and laid back down; snuggling deeper into Buzz's hold. She never felt as safe and secure until now.

Sighing happily, Jessie peered across the room at the grandfather clock, which read…

"5:00 A.M.? Holy mackerel!" Jessie hissed.

Knowing that Bonnie's parents would be up in an hour, Jessie had to wake up Buzz. She glanced at the slumbering space ranger next to her and smirked.

Oh, she was going to wake him up all right.

The cowgirl turned around in Buzz's arms and started to kiss him lightly on the cheek and worked her way up around his ear. "Wake up, space ranger," she whispered into it.

She felt Buzz stir underneath her and he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

Glancing at each other lovingly, Jessie straddled him and leant forward, pressing her body against his while giving him multiple small kisses on the mouth as he came to. She didn't know what came over her, but being with Buzz like this made her feel confident.

"Mmmm, you're driving me crazy, woman," mumbled Buzz sleepily. He responded just as eagerly to her kisses, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly.

"How crazy?" Jessie purred and nuzzled her face against his cheek as he caressed her back; his hands threatening to go southbound.

Buzz turned his head and sought out her lips again. They kissed each other deeply for a long while, hands roaming everywhere until Jessie inhaled sharply at the sensation of Buzz lightly tugging on her pull string at her back.

Before she could respond, Buzz flipped them over and pinned her hands above her head.

"How much time is left until we have to be back?" he asked, his cerulean eyes sparkling down at her.

Smiling up at him and wrapping her legs around his waist, she responded "all the time in the world." She squealed as Buzz started tickling her.

That day while Bonnie was at Sunnyside, the toys enjoyed a relaxing day. They had received a letter from Barbie and Ken and Woody gathered everyone up to read it. After reading the touching letter, the toys dispersed about the room; Buzz went over to help Totoro fix his ship, the Potato Heads went to go play with their children, and Mr. Pricklepants was in the corner rehearsing his lines for his next play.

Jessie picked around the room to see if she could find anything interesting. Bonnie was a bright child that owned many random objects.

The cowgirl almost tripped over a bouncy ball as she discovered a shelf full of cd's. She skimmed the titles absentmindedly until one caught her eye.

"Gypsy Kings," Jessie read out loud. The cowgirl pulled the CD out and stared at it; a mischievous look slowly spread across her features.

"Ohhhhh Bullseyeeeee!"

The horse galloped over to his cowgirl companion and licked her cheek.

"Okay Bullseye, follow me over to that there boom box," instructed Jessie. Her and Bullseye snuck over to the electronic device sitting a few feet away from Buzz and Totoro. The space ranger smiled and waved at Jessie and she returned the gesture.

As Buzz turned back around, Bullseye lifted up the lid with his nose and Jessie quietly slipped in the CD. Together, they watched Buzz help the plush toy and waited for the right moment to interrupt.

After a few moments, Jessie smiled over at Bullseye and nodded her head. The horse pressed down on the play button and Jessie turned her eyes back to Buzz with a playful smirk on her lips. She watched as the space ranger's hips started to shake back and forth and he started to dance around in circles. As he approached her, she stood up straight with a hand on her hip, eyeing the space ranger up and down.

As Buzz grabbed her and dipped her down, she gazed up at him in a slight daze. He tried to avoid eye contact with her and stammered out an excuse.

"I-uh, I don't know what came over me…"

Wanting nothing more than to break him out of his anxious thoughts, Jessie cut him off and dipped him down, catching the space ranger off guard.

"Just go with it, Buzz," she threw him the best sultry look she could manage and was elated when he smiled impishly back up at her.

As the main chorus started, the two toys started to follow each other's lead as they performed a Paso Doble. Jessie mostly followed Buzz's moves as he spun her around and took her into his arms. She knew she was grinning like an idiot, especially when she would meet his eyes, but she didn't care. She was in love and she was happy.

The other toys circled around them and watched their two friends perform the dance that signified their relationship. They could feel the love and passion emitting off Buzz and Jessie and they cheered loudly for them.

Jessie felt like she was flying. The way Buzz danced with her sent butterflies fluttering into her stuffing. She laughed delightfully as Buzz spun her on the floor and slid her in between his legs. As Buzz picked her back up, they both realized Woody held a rose and threw it as the space ranger lifted her into the air as she prepared to catch it.

Turning around slowly, Jessie batted her eyes and threw Buzz a seductive look and extended her arm out; twisting her hand around to summon him closer. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. She wanted all of him.

Together, they twirled around the room; Buzz's arm around her waist and Jessie's hand on his shoulder as their legs weaved around each other's. Jessie didn't even notice anyone else in the room except Buzz as they lovingly gazed intensely at each other.

For the finale, Buzz dropped his arm and slid to his knee as Jessie glided backwards. He held open his arms for her and she fell into them as he twisted her around his body. She could feel his hands all over her stomach and it felt electrifying.

Gripping his waist, she held out her arm as he dipped her back and they struck their ending pose. Cheers erupted from their audience and they smiled at their family as they clapped and cheered for the new couple.

"That was SO ROMANTIC!" screeched Mrs. Potato Head as she clapped "why don't you do that for ME!?" The female spud swatted at her husband who was rolling his eyes in defeat.

"Bravo! That was such a delight to see the dance of Romeo with his Juliet!" cheered Mr. Pricklepants.

Panting and trying to catch her breath, Jessie glanced around the room one more time, then back up at Buzz, catching him in the act of staring at her. Giggling she reached up and pulled his head down so she could kiss him. As their lips met, the toys erupted in another fit of applause.

Breaking apart blushing, the couple stood up and smiled bashfully at each other. Their friends came over and started to bombard them.

"So when's the wedding?" smirked Buttercup.

"Did you see Buzzie boy checkin' her out?" Hamm was heard whispering to Mr. Potato Head as the spud nodded.

"They're finally together!" barked Slinky.

"Oh Jessie, I'm so HAPPY for you guys!" Mrs. Potato Head gave the cowgirl and space ranger a bone-crushing hug.

Bullseye came up and nuzzled his face against Jessie's cheek. She laughed as the horse licked her cheek and she snuggled into him. Looking around the room at her family and new friends, she felt like she could burst with happiness. Suddenly a voice sounded in her head; Mama Bear's voice.

"Stayin' true to yourself will help you achieve great things and attract good people in your life."

"You're right, Mama. Thank you," whispered Jessie, looking up at the ceiling.

"What did you say, Jessie?" asked Buzz as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Jessie just smiled at him and shook her head, noticing the rest of the toys had gone off to their own business. "Nothin'. Just rememberin' some good advice a wise toy told me a long time ago."

Buzz smiled lovingly at her and pulled her into a tight embrace. She locked her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes in utter bliss.

When the cowgirl opened her eyes again, Buzz was staring at her adoringly.

"What?" Jessie cocked her head to the side.

"You're just…so beautiful. I love everything about you," replied Buzz as he brushed back a strand of yarn hair. Obviously he was still very smitten from the dance.

Jessie wrapped her arms around Buzz's torso, kissed his cheek and rested her head against his shoulder as he playfully tugged her braid. She sighed, "I love you too, space ranger. I never thought I'd be where I'm at today. I'm so happy to have y'all with me."

"Then you'll never be alone again, Jess. I promise." Buzz kissed her on the forehead and grinned mischievously at her.

Jessie shrieked with laughter as Buzz picked her up and whirled her around. Kicking her feet up into the air in delight, Jessie bent her head down and cupped his face. Their lips met and again, they became lost in each other…

"Ugh! Get a room, lovebirds!"

Breaking apart, Buzz set the cowgirl down and Jessie looked to see Woody smirking at them. Jessie frowned at him, yet ran forward and joyfully hugged the cowboy. Together, the three of them joined the other toys on the bed and froze in toy mode and waited for Bonnie to come home.

Jessie's usual smile grew wider as Bonnie grabbed her first and carried her all around the house. Owners would come and go, but for now, life with Bonnie was starting out on the right foot. Never again would Jessie give up on receiving love from a child or worry about being alone, no matter what the future held. For the first time in her life, Jessie was at peace.

Chapter 28: Time Will Heal

June 17th, 2010

 

She was running, but the dark abyss was catching up on her quickly. Running as fast as she could with her eyes forward, she could see orange as the darkness seemed to swallow her and her family up. The sturdiness of the plastic hand she held tightly in her own seemed to just dissolve as the massive orange fireball chased her. She stopped and turned around to face the orange mass and she noticed all her friends were gone.

“Buzz! Buzz!” Jessie pled and frantically looked around. She only had seconds to look for her toy family when she felt an overpowering roaring heat consume her and then a bright white light.

“BUZZ!”

Jessie jolted up out of her sleep and put a hand to her chest to calm her breathing. Nearly hyperventilating, she took a moment to look around the room and take it in that she was safe and sleeping next to her new owner, Bonnie.

“Another one’a those blasted nightmares” she thought miserably as she sat in a fetal position.

She knew she was not the only one plagued with nightmares from their latest brush with death a week ago. Jessie, being one of the toys in the line on the bed, looked to her left and found Woody trembling with a grimace on his face as he slept between Bonnie and herself.

Looking around the room where Andy’s old toys were scattered, she noticed Mrs. Potato Head quietly shaking with sobs as her husband held her and murmured to her softly; their alien children sleeping soundly by their feet.

Rex was quietly whimpering in his sleep, his foot kicking the air.

Hamm was wide awake working on a crossword puzzle he stole from Bonnie’s mom’s stash.

Slinky was looking at the moon forlornly.

Panic momentarily seized Jessie’s heart when she didn’t see her space ranger where Bonnie left him on the nightstand deeming him her protector with his glow. Relief flooded through the cowgirl when she saw Buzz’s head pop up at the end of the bed as he scaled the comforter.

Almost every night, Buzz would jump onto the bed and comfort her until she fell back asleep. He also helped Slinky through his dark thoughts and tried to get Hamm to open up, but the piggy bank just dismissed him and said, “I’ll be fine”.

“Buzz,” the cowgirl whispered his name in relief. He knew exactly what to say to calm her down.

“It’s alright, Jessie” the space ranger murmured as he took her hands and helped her stand.

The cowgirl glanced down at their hands as he stroked hers with his thumb. Resting her forehead against his, a chill went down her as she recalled him disappearing in her dream. Tonight, she needed more than a little reassurance; she just needed to be with him.

“Can we go under the bed and just snuggle for a lil’ while? No one should be able to see us if we’re quiet,” asked Jessie, feeling a little silly that this particular nightmare affected her so much.

Although one thing was for sure, Buzz never judged and took care of her regardless, often putting sleep aside himself.

Buzz simply nodded and Jessie gently guided Bullseye, who was lying next to her on her right, to scoot over and cuddle up to Woody. The cowboy visually looked relaxed as the horse nuzzled against his cheek.

Helping the cowgirl down onto the floor, Buzz grabbed the fleece blanket that was draped on the end of the bed and hopped down. He lifted the bed skirt and let Jessie in first. Following behind her, the glow from his spacesuit immediately instilled calm into the cowgirl and he laid out the blanket on the ground.

“C’mere cowgirl,” he sat down on the blanket and motioned for Jessie to sit on his lap in which she gladly did. As Buzz wrapped his arms around her, she sighed contently and laid her head on his shoulder.

They sat quietly for a good while with Jessie soaking in the strength and security of Buzz’s hold. She never wanted to lose this and that thought alone made her sigh and nuzzle Buzz’s neck.

“Jess, do you want to talk about this dream? It’s got you a lot more upset than the others,” questioned Buzz, concern written on his features.

“It’s jus’…” she started.

“Take your time.”

“Mos’ of these nightmares are usually the same with us slipping further into the flames, but this one was different…”

“How so?” asked Buzz as he held onto her tighter, fully enveloping the cowgirl.

“I couldn’t find you. You jus’ seemed to have disappeared and when I went to look for you, you weren’t there.” Jessie could feel her breathing quicken again as she clung to Buzz.

“I couldn’t find you, or Woody, or Bullseye…everyone. Usually in my nightmares we’re all holding hands and you’re right there beside me, but this one messed with me pretty good. You were gone and I just couldn’t find you,” the cowgirl repeated the last part and dug her face into the crook of Buzz’s neck.

Buzz sat there and listened to his cowgirl as he rubbed her back and murmured comforting words softly into her hair. He didn’t like that her subconscious made her feel this scared and alone. As he held her, he waited patiently for her to calm down and kissed her cheek.

“It was just a dream Jessie. We’re all here. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere,” promised Buzz.

Jessie picked her head up off his shoulder to look at him. In return, the space ranger smiled reassuringly at her and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

“I know what you’re going through. I’ve had these dreams where I’ve lost you or I can’t find you, especially with all that happened,” his gaze on her faltered and he looked away.

“You can tell me Buzz, I’m here,” Jessie rested her hand on his cheek to make him turn to look at her. He sighed and took her hand.

“In the span of a week, I’ve had terrible dreams of you being imprisoned by Lotso and I can’t get to you, or you leaving me because of what I did in demo mode. The worst dream I had was surviving the dump myself and being unable to save you. My biggest fear is losing you Jess. I don’t ever want us to be apart again and I promise you that I’ll always be here for you no matter what.” Buzz rested his forehead against Jessie’s to keep himself from letting out a sob.

“Oh Buzz,” Jessie choked out, “you’ll never lose me, partner. I love you...so much, and I hope one day we can get past these thoughts without it affectin’ us like this, but one thing’s for sure, you are my hero Buzz Lightyear. Always.”

“Jess…” overcome with emotion and pure love for the woman in his arms, Buzz didn’t know what to say, so he leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

It was one thing for these nightmares to plague her, but for her sweet space ranger to have these terrible dreams was another thing and she be darned to let Buzz suffer in silence again. It was always difficult for him to talk about his feelings, but with Jessie, she would listen and knew how to comfort him. Together, they will continue to heal each other’s wounds.

“I love you too cowgirl. You’re my everything and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep us together”, said Buzz after breaking the kiss. “All of us will get better, in time.”

“I know you will, and I’ll always have your back too, space ranger,” Jessie smiled at him and leant in again, kissing him deeply.

Already the couple felt better, and Jessie didn’t care how tired they would be in the morning because she needed him, and he needed her. As they became lost in each other throughout the rest of the night, they mutually decided to try to move past all that happened and dispel any dark thoughts by the love they shared.

Notes:

I'm baaaaack!! I've been itching to write more Jessie (and Jessie/Buzz fluff) and I'm excited to announce I am continuing this story! I've always found solace in Jessie and Toy Story, but recently I've reconnected with this character, who is my favorite everything, after being consumed with real life over the years.

It's 2023 and there's more story to tell with Jessie after Toy Story 3 with everything that followed! I've got some fun things up my sleeve so stay tuned and I'll update when I can!

Chapter 29: Valentine's Day

February 14th, 2011

 

8 months have come and gone for the toys. The horrors of Sunnyside and the dump started to lift from the faces of each toy as they relished in the moment and enjoyed the second chance they were given to the fullest. They even received a letter from Ken and Barbie about their accomplishments with flipping Sunnyside into a safe haven for toys.

Jessie and her family settled into Bonnie’s room and the little girl’s toys started to feel like family more and more with each other. They had nights of watching Pricklepants’ new plays, and group games and parties when Bonnie was not home.

Rex and Trixie found companionship in each other not only because they were dinosaurs, but Rex found Trixie to be equally as enthusiastic about gaming as himself.

Hamm and Mr. Potato Head enjoyed their games of Poker still, but with new buddies such as Buttercup and Chuckles joining them.

Mrs. Potato Head seemed immediately taken to the Peas In The Pod and they often hung around with the aliens. The Peas also loved riding Bullseye and Jessie had a soft spot for them.

Dolly seemed to fit in with the close trio of Buzz, Woody and Jessie and the quartet were often watching movies or playing games with each other. Jessie liked having a strong-headed girl to talk to again as Dolly wasn’t too girly and was all about her leadership role. Jessie often thought it was hard for Woody to not be the sole leader.

However, as of late, Dolly started to make digs into Jessie that the cowgirl didn’t know if she was serious or not. For instance, when she and Buzz would snuggle down on the couch, Dolly would make a comment about them getting a room even though they weren’t doing anything.

Another instance was at a girl’s night with Dolly, Mrs. Potato Head, and Trixie. Dolly popped in a film about a female superhero that the cowgirl forgot what it was called and even about because Dolly kept saying things like “see, you don’t need Buzz”, which made Jessie extremely uncomfortable.

The cowgirl always prided herself for being tough and able to stand her own, but having a partner like Buzz by her side was so fantastic and she didn’t know what she did to deserve it. Every day, she counted her lucky stars! Being through a lot in her life had made her tired yet grateful. All she really wanted to do now was be with Buzz and enjoy being completely loved by someone; the security she felt with him.
~~~~

It was Valentine’s Day morning. A day the cowgirl should have been looking forward to because it was her and Buzz’s first, but she was currently facing a few dilemmas…

For one, she had NO idea what to get Buzz. Being toys, it was hard to do much. Jessie did secretly sneak away one afternoon a few days ago while Bonnie was at daycare to make Buzz a little love note on a post-it. She currently had it stashed in one of Bonnie’s old shoes she knew the little girl didn’t wear anymore. It wasn’t much, but she was hoping a night to themselves would suffice. Still, she would have liked to give Buzz something other than a note that said “I love YOU to infinity and beyond -J”.

The other dilemma Jessie had was Dolly. Dolly declared she was writing off Valentine’s Day completely and adopted a new thing called “Galentine's Day”. When the family would go out for dinner and a movie, she wanted to get the girls together at night, watch movies, and do whatever else you would do with an occasion like that.

Jessie herself never really cared for the holiday because as toys, what was there to really do? Also, she knew what it was like to be excluded and even witnessed Emily pouting that no boy gave her flowers for the holiday. However, Buzz planned a night out with just the two of them and she had to politely decline Dolly’s invite.

“You are ALWAYS with him! Men typically forget about Valentine’s Day anyway. Every year Bonnie’s dad rushes to the store at the last minute to get her mom flowers. It’ll mean more hanging out with your friends!” exclaimed Dolly.

“Buzz has had this planned for a while though!” defended Jessie, “It’s aw’ful sweet really, sayin’ he’s been dreamin’ of spendin’ Valentine’s Day with me for the longest time and-“

“Ugh fine, but I don’t care about any details”, interrupted Dolly, “just go and enjoy your gross romantic night. You’ll be missing out on a better time with us.” Dolly scoffed and started to walk away but Jessie blocked her exit.

“What’s so wrong about me spendin’ time with my partner?”

“Nothing, for you, but strong women like myself don’t need a man.”

“EXCUSE ME? Buzz is my equal and-” yelled the cowgirl.

“and I don’t care”, cut in Dolly.

“Stop interuptin’ me! What’s so bad about being loved? Buzz is my best friend and that’s how we started out! Maybe if you weren’t so bossy then maybe others would want to hang around you more other'n Trixie!”

The cowgirl stared down the other doll for a few moments, fists balled up, until Dolly rolled her eyes and stormed away.

That all transpired the day before and Dolly hadn’t spoken to her since. The cowgirl wanted to talk it out with the other doll, but thought it’d be better to wait until the day was over. She confided in Woody about it and the cowboy was not too happy with Dolly. He told Jessie that they needed to talk it out. The sheriff never had patience for drama and his sister knew that.

Before she was due to meet Buzz, Jessie went over to the closet to retrieve her little note when she heard a voice behind her.

“H-hey Jess.”

Dolly stood before her awkwardly.

“Hey,” responded Jessie flatly.

“Look, I didn’t mean the things I said yesterday. I tend to let my pent-up emotions out on the wrong people and I’m very sorry,” explained Dolly as Jessie stared back wearily.

“You just come into the room, and everyone thinks you're…perfect and you have this perfect relationship too. A regular toy like myself could only dream of having what you have. I guess I’m just envious…” Dolly trailed off and looked at the ground while Jessie’s face softened.

Jessie had no idea how to take the revelation Dolly just said, but the doll was wrong on one thing, it wasn’t easy. At all.

“Dolly…I’ve been through a lot. More so than most toys. There were times I almost gave up yet always had a shred of hope deep down in my stuffin’ that things would get better for me. For you to think I’m perfect? I ain’t perfect at all, far from it. Woody saved my life and I owe him everything. I wouldn’t be here without him and I sure as heck wouldn’t’ve met Buzz. I reckon things have a way of workin’ out and ya gotta keep goin’ somehow,” the cowgirl smiled reassuringly at Dolly.

“One thing you have tons to be thankful for is ya got an amazin’ group of friends that have your back…including me. Just because Buzz and I are together doesn't mean that we don’t care any less for everyone else. We love all our friends and want to see you happy. I’m sorry for what I said yesterday too. I get mighty defensive when it comes to Buzz because he’s not just an amazin’ boyfriend, but he’s such a great pal to everyone and makes sure they’re all okay. And trust me, our relationship ain’t always sunshine and daisies…it takes work!”

Dolly looked like she was about to cry but replied, “thanks Jess…and again, I’m sorry. I’ll try to control myself.”

“I forgive ya! Maybe one day we can sit down and talk more about this. You can come to me!” replied Jessie.

“Of course, thanks cowgirl,” Dolly sincerely responded. “Now you go get ready for Buzz! Go!” The felt doll pushed the cowgirl away playfully.

Jessie grinned at her, relieved they patched up their friendship for now, and went to go find Buzz. He had told her to meet him near the master bedroom and that is where she found him.

“Hey cowgirl,” smiled Buzz and went to reach for her.

“Hey you,” responded Jessie and wrapped her arms around his neck. She let out a breath of content as the anxiety from the confrontation with Dolly diminished.

Suddenly Jessie jerked up.

“Oh! Here…I know it ain’t much, but…yeah”, she handed her little note to Buzz.

As the space ranger read the loopy handwritten note from his girlfriend, he looked back at her lovingly.

“I love you too, cowgirl, this is perfect. Now let’s go, I have a surprise for you!”

Buzz took Jessie’s hand and led her under the bed. The cowgirl stopped in her tracks and took in the surroundings.

Buzz had found a strand of LED lights and hung them above their heads on the box spring. On the floor sat two small throw pillows and a couple blankets. In the middle of the pillows, Jessie noticed a bouquet of paper roses in a makeshift vase.

“Buzz, this is beautiful!” exclaimed Jessie. Buzz took her hand and guided her to the pillows.

“It’s nothing, really. I just wish I could give you more Jess,” they sat down and Buzz pulled her in close. “There’s so much I would love to do for you, cowgirl.”

Jessie snuggled into him, laid her head on his shoulder, and let out a content sigh.

“Being with you is all I’ve ever wanted,” she replied, “and tonight, just you’n me, this is perfect.”

The cowgirl shut her eyes as Buzz kissed her on the forehead. Hitching up the blanket around them, Jessie guided Buzz to lay down with her. Facing each other, Jessie softly leaned in for a kiss and then snuggled against his chest as his arms wrapped around her waist. They laid quietly together, enjoying the moment of being in each other’s hold.

Even though the fight with Dolly was the furthest thing from her mind now, she briefly remembered a time where she felt lonely even though she was Emily’s favorite and it got even worse when the cowgirl was broken from being put in donation. Deep down, she knew what Dolly was going through, but the cowgirl decided to tread lightly with the doll in the future. She didn’t want to feel bad about what she worked so hard to get.

Looking at Buzz and caressing his cheek, she never imagined she would have this wonderful feeling of being loved by not only her toy family, but her sweet space ranger that wanted to give her the galaxy. It was truly the greatest gift in the world; way better than the materialistic items humans give on Valentine’s Day. What even?

That was Jessie’s last thought as she fell into a light doze cuddled with her mighty Buzz Lightyear.

Chapter 30: Hawaiian Vacation Part 1

Notes:

A few chapter notes:

-This will be broken up in two parts.
-The rating for this story has changed to "mature" as Jessie and Buzz develop...needs (don't worry, totally not going into explicit
territory. Y'all can use your imaginations). XD
-Credit goes to my homegirl jessiejanelightyear for helping me come up with concepts in this chapter and the next! Check her stories out!

March 12th, 2011 Part 1

 

Spring break was finally here for Bonnie and her family. Despite the snow outside, the family was extremely excited because they were going on vacation to Hawaii for two weeks. The toys were thrilled to be getting two weeks of doing whatever they wanted around the house. Bonnie’s parents said no toys out of fear one of her precious favorites got lost in travel.

Jessie was super excited for this vacation. The cowgirl found herself constantly in Bonnie’s little hands being played with, being brought to the grocery store or her grandparents’ house, and sleeping next to the little girl. Even though she was thrilled that her owner loved her and knew it was her duty to be there for Bonnie, that meant she had no free time to be with Buzz and her friends.

When Bonnie had her bath time, the space ranger would grab Jessie’s hand and all but drag her away to a corner for a few moments of much needed alone time or waited until the little girl fell asleep to give Jessie a long tender kiss before he retired for the night at his usual post on Bonnie’s nightstand, which left her yearning for more.

With this vacation now starting, the cowgirl was so ready to just spend the week with Buzz and the next week hanging out with her brother and the rest of her friends.

After Woody made the vacation announcement, and spared Buzz and Jessie from sharing their vacation plan, Jessie and Buzz hopped up on the bed to prepare for Bonnie coming in to say bye to her toys. As soon as they got up on the bed, Dolly was preparing her descent when the little girl bounded into the room to grab her suitcase. As quick as she entered, she ran back out the door excitedly and that signaled the start to a much relaxing vacation for the toys.

“Finally,” sighed Buzz as he looked at Jessie longingly. Jessie, who’s hand was trapped underneath Buzz from the result of going into sudden toy-mode, squeezed his backside playfully.

“I know, it seems that-wait, what’s that?” the cowgirl was broken from her thoughts when she saw Bonnie’s backpack wiggle and zip open revealing no other than Ken and Barbie.

“What are they doing here?” questioned Buzz, somewhat annoyed, as him and Jessie got up, scaled down the bed, and walked over to the group of toys forming at the sight of their old friend. The cowgirl was ecstatic to see Barbie.

“Barbie? Ken?” Woody asked in disbelief.

Jessie smiled at the Mattel couple but then grew confused at Ken thinking everyone was in Hawaii. When Woody mentioned that they were in Bonnie’s room, Ken flew back into the backpack and started sobbing.

“Ohhh, he’s been planning this vacation for months!” exclaimed Barbie as Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and Dolly looked over Barbie’s shoulder at the brochure Ken put together.

“Did he do that all by himself?” questioned Dolly in amusement as the cowgirl smirked knowing the answer to that question.

Jessie noticed Buzz wasn’t paying much attention and looked annoyed. She made a mental note to ask if he was okay but brought her attention back to Barbie. The sadness in the doll’s voice of wanting to share her first kiss with Ken made Jessie pause. How in the world haven’t they yet? She and Buzz sure didn’t waste any more time after they got together, and Barbie and Ken were the mushiest couple she ever met!

“You haven’t kissed yet?” exclaimed Mr. Potato Head as his wife elbowed him.

“It would have been the perfect…vacation” Barbie said sadly, almost in tears.

Jessie felt terrible and wanted to help her friend. She knew what it was like. Barbie and Ken wanted this vacation to connect as a couple and not to mention, take a big step and kiss. Also, it would be fun to get everyone together and do something different.

Woody glanced at Jessie and after sharing a glance with Buzz, since he seemed to have come back to Earth, the three of them agreed to help.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do…” Woody whispered to the group of toys. He explained that it would be fun to have a tropical vacation of their very own and all the toys were eager to jump on it and help their friends.

“So Barbie, give us a few hours to get things set up and then go get Ken,” finished Woody.

“Thank you so much, all of you!” replied Barbie and jumped into a hug with Jessie.

“Of course, you two deserve this with all the work y’all put in this past year!” the cowgirl patted Barbie on the back in return.

With that, the toys dispersed and went about their assignments.

Woody, Jessie, and Buzz oversaw the majority of the look and feel of everything. Jessie was super excited to transform the room into a Hawaiian paradise and started to help the boys set up items such as an area to sunbathe, skateboard equipment to rig as a surfboard, and construct costumes for the safari.

Hamm was in charge of the underwater snorkel adventure and he put together a fish tank by the television.

Pricklepants, Rex, and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head were in charge of the safari and would dress up as different Hawaiian creatures.

Buttercup and Bullseye were to provide horseback riding even though the unicorn was protesting that he was no trophy horse.

Trixie was going to be the captain of a fishing adventure.

Lastly, Chuckles offered his ukulele skills for dinner with Jessie in charge of figuring out entertainment. The cowgirl admired her work setting up a nice little dinner scene when Buzz, who finished hanging the lights off the wicker basket, turned to look at her and sighed.

“What’s up spaceman? Aren’t ya excited to have a Hawaiian vacation ourselves!?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess it’ll be fun,” replied Buzz as he pulled the cowgirl in close to him and nuzzled her neck with his nose. “But I would like to have our own fun too…”

“Hmm well, how about I make a deal? If I go get the screwdriver, we bring out El-Buzzo for dinner entertainment, then I’ll reward ya later tonight?” asked Jessie a little too innocently.

“Jess, you know I can control my Spanish side, no need to reset, but yes, you got yourself a deal, cowgirl,” the space ranger worked his way across her collarbone. “Te amo, mi florecilla del desierto.”

Jessie’s breath caught in her throat, and she whispered, “I’ll still keep the screwdriver handy.” She felt Buzz’s hands travel to her pull string and she had to stop him before she couldn’t stop herself.

“Buzz!” murmured Jessie as she felt him kiss the hollow of her neck, “we need to be ready soon.”

The space ranger groaned in protest as the cowgirl disentangled themselves and began to walk away, but not without giving a little sway of her hips since she knew he was looking.

She glanced slightly back at Buzz as he was frozen on the spot with his fists clenched and smirked to herself knowing that the space ranger was probably disappointed their time alone together was delayed. Buzz not being able to keep his eyes and hands off her was so new to Jessie. She never had someone…desire her the way Buzz currently was. Of course, she wanted to spend some time with her space ranger, but since Barbie was visiting, she wanted to catch up with her old friend and help her out.

However, the space ranger seemed to be frustrated about this whole Hawaiian adventure and Jessie knew she had to come up with something to bait him to go along with this gesture they were doing for their friends. She really didn’t know the first thing about being seductive, but with Buzz, she knew she didn’t have to try hard. For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful and confident because of him.

Earlier, as the cowgirl and space ranger were constructing the “BonnieLikeOke Motel”, Buzz wrapped an arm around the cowgirl’s waist drawing her close to him and murmured “you know, we should test out the accommodations first”.

“Buuuuzz I need to finish painting the sign!” responded Jessie, exasperated, yet secretly loved the attention. She felt Buzz’s hands ghost her backside and she smiled lightly to herself and shook her head.

Woody being nearby choked on the air he inhaled.

“For cryin’ out loud, I didn’t need to hear that Buzz!” exclaimed Woody as Jessie felt herself turn red.

“Heh, sorry cowboy, your fault you were listening,” smirked Buzz.

“Ugh, yeah well whatever”, sighed Woody and walked away.

Jessie swallowed hard to contain herself and kept her focus on finishing setting up.

After everything was ready to go, Dolly and Chuckles brought out a bin full of doll clothes for everyone to rummage through to dress up in Hawaiian garb as best as they could.

Hamm turned on the radio for some background music and a classic hit by The Kings titled “This Beat Goes On/Switching To Glide” came on and him and the rest of Andy’s old toys all laughed.

“Remember when Andy’s mom would get her groove thing on with this song!?” chuckled Slinky.

“Yeah, and I can’t unsee some of those dance moves she did,” replied Hamm.

“I think it’s a catchy song,” chimed in Buzz. “One-hit wonders are some of the best out there.”

Jessie laughed along with everyone. She and Barbie exchanged amused glances and the cowgirl felt happiness being surrounded by her friends for the first time in a while.

Woody found an outfit and went to haul Ken’s luggage over to the makeshift hotel they made. Jessie smirked at the shirt and straw hat he had on. 'It suits him', she thought to herself as she picked out a pink bracelet that she could use as a lei.

Barbie and Jessie both were talking amongst themselves catching up while looking for some clothes. Barbie and Ken brought their own things naturally, but Barbie insisted on helping Jessie find something to completely knock the socks off Buzz.

“I dunno what’s gotten into him today, but he’s been all over me. He’s like how Buster followed Andy’s mom around for treats with the tongue out and everything. Is this how men are like without gettin’ much affection?” Jessie confided in Barbie in a low voice. Barbie giggled.

“Well, you haven’t had much time in the past month to be alone with each other and I’m sure he’s going crazy. I wish I had that with Ken. I’m hoping so much that this plan works. We’ve been so busy with Sunnyside and this vacation was supposed to be so romantic,” sighed Barbie.

“Well, ya bet your boots we’re gonna try to make this the best darn vacation ever! Ken will want nothin' more than to smooch ya for pullin’ this off!” exclaimed Jessie.

“Jessie! Look at this! It will look DARLING on you!” yelled Mrs. Potato Head from across the bin. She threw a green piece of fabric with floral print at Jessie. The cowgirl smoothed it out and realized it looked just like a Hawaiian dress and smiled at Barbie who smirked in return.

Turning around to find Buzz, Jessie noticed he had on a paper grass skirt that Dolly made.

“I’m taking this off the second the point is across,” mumbled Buzz as he caught Jessie staring at him.

“I think it suits ya. C’mon and help me try this on,” the cowgirl led him over to a secluded corner and took off her hat. She raised her arms up and Buzz slipped the dress over her head. The fabric fell to about her ankles and Buzz stared at her like a deer in the headlights as Jessie smoothed it out.

“Well, whaddya think?” Jessie did a little twirl for him.

“Beautiful…” breathed Buzz in a trance.

“Really? I’m not one for dresses but-“

The cowgirl was cut off by Buzz’s lips on hers. She sighed and felt herself melting into the kiss as she felt his hands grip her waist.

“Buzz,” sighed Jessie in between kisses, “later, I promise, but we need to cool it.”

The space ranger reluctantly pulled away and felt the fire in him diminish as he took in her beauty. Even though she had on the dress over her usual clothes, the cowgirl radiated excitement about helping her friend and he knew it was important to help Ken and especially Barbie.

Just then a thought occurred to him.

“Jess, I forgot I found something for you. Woody and I were reading through Ken’s brochure while you were helping Mrs. P with the litter box and I-well…let me go grab it.” The space ranger ran over to the wicker basket to retrieve something and came back over to the cowgirl. In his hand was one of Bonnie’s clip-on flower hair pieces.

“I read in Hawaii it is customary for a woman to wear a flower behind her left ear to show she is in a committed relationship with her intended partner. Would you do the honor?” asked Buzz.

Jessie’s breath caught in her throat momentarily, but she quickly nodded as the space ranger clipped the flower to her hair behind her left ear.

“Perfect”, whispered Buzz and Jessie kissed him softly.

“Thank you,” responded Jessie after they parted. Buzz didn’t answer and pressed his lips to hers urgently.

The intensity of the kiss made Jessie forget the task at hand and she moaned softly against Buzz’s lips as they shared a deep kiss.

Jessie suddenly pulled away. “Barbie’s callin’! That’s our cue!”

The cowgirl ran off in a flash leaving a dumbstruck space ranger in her wake.

Sighing, Buzz walked over to the group to prepare for Ken’s surprise as Barbie readied everyone.

Chapter 31: Hawaiian Vacation Part 2

Notes:

Please check out @rain1940's artwork, "Those Hawaiian Evenings" that is referenced at the end of the chapter!

March 12th, 2011 Part 2

 

Jessie and the rest of the toys were having a blast putting on their little Hawaiian vacation. She found herself enjoying spending time with her friends and just letting loose to have fun. Even Buzz seemed to be enjoying himself, despite being annoyed initially at the Mattel couple’s sudden appearance into Bonnie’s room.

Jessie and Woody were preparing the dinner atmosphere; Woody putting together some plastic fruit and vegetables on a plate and Jessie straightening out some decorations. Chuckles was sitting with his ukulele ready to serenade and Pricklepants was rehearsing his role as a waiter and a hula dancer in one. He was so thrilled to have a thirty second costume change.

“I wish Bonnie had a plastic turkey or something that would look nice on this plate besides fruit,” mumbled Woody to Jessie.

“I hear ya, or chicken, or a sucklin’ pi-“ suddenly a thought dawned on Jessie and she stepped out from under the alcove they made.

“HAMM!!” the cowgirl yelled clear across the room to the piggybank. Many toys cringed at Jessie’s extremely loud shout, but none more than Hamm as he sauntered over to the cowgirl.

“You rang?” the piggybank said flatly as he approached the cowgirl.

Without answering, Jessie lifted Hamm up and plopped him down on the plastic plate.

“Hey what the he-mmffph mmmph,” Hamm was cut off by a plastic apple shoved into his mouth and he felt the plate under him be lifted up by the little green aliens.

“Thanks a heap Hamm-man! Now they’ll have a nice Hawaiian meal!” responded Jessie, proud of her work, and noticed Barbie and Ken coming over dressed in their evening gowns.

“Welcome dinner patrons, that would be a party of 2 I assume?” Pricklepants donned his waiter act and ushered the two to their seats. Chuckles began strumming a romantic Hawaiian tune.

Jessie looked around and made sure Buzz was ready for the entertainment and she smirked at his makeshift outfit. It took more convincing on her part, but Buzz seemed willing to do it since it would make his friends smile.

Jessie and Buzz had Trixie go on the internet to look up a traditional luau and found that hula dancing and fire spinning was what made it fun. Buzz knew he could twirl some sort of stick like that and Jessie found a glow stick from Bonnie’s stash to make it happen. He also could control his Spanish side and would let his alter ego take over for the time being. However, Jessie kept the screwdriver near just in case he had trouble.

Buzz’s bargain to do this was Woody had to be one of the hula dancers and Jessie promised him other things not meant for preschool toys’ ears later in the night.

At Pricklepants’ command, the aliens brought out Hamm on the plate and the couple seemed very impressed by the display.

“I should’ve seen this coming…” muttered Hamm.

“Alright fellas, on my mark…” whispered Jessie to the performing toys and grabbed the screwdriver.

Running over to Barbie and Ken, she told them, “the entertainment will start in just a moment…HEY BUZZ!!” The cowgirl made Ken jump out of his skin as she called for the space ranger to take his place and smirked. Barbie barely moved a muscle knowing the cowgirl that well.

Chuckles and the aliens changed it up and started using monkey barrels as drums while Pricklepants, Woody, and Dolly started to hula dance. Jessie brought her hands up to her face to hide her laughing at seeing the lanky sheriff dance.

Suddenly, Buzz dropped down from the bed in front of everyone.

“Hola señoras y señores,” he greeted and Jessie, standing off to the side, threw the glowstick at him. He started to do his routine and Jessie stood there frozen with her mouth open. He looked…good doing that.

“Jessie, the beach is almost done!” whispered Mrs. Potato Head, breaking Jessie out of her reverie. She looked over as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, with the help of the aliens, poured the cat’s litter over the floor to make it look like a sandy beach. The cowgirl gave a thumbs up at them and went over to Woody, who was already talking to Barbie. She noticed Barbie and Ken were walking away but still approached the cowboy telling him they were ready for their final venture.

“Well, Barbie said something about having it covered and pulled Ken away. Maybe she has something else up her sleeve?” asked Woody as Jessie shrugged, slightly confused. Suddenly she felt a hand run down her back and turned to see Buzz looking at her seductively.

“Enjoyed the show, cowgirl?” he murmured to her, seemingly back to being himself.

Before she was able to respond, everyone looked up at the window where Slinky was. He called for everyone to come up and look at Ken and Barbie outside in the freezing snow.

As Jessie watched the couple take a romantic stroll out to the snow and share their first kiss, she thought about her own first kiss. It even went further than a first kiss…a lot further and Jessie could feel herself getting a little warm thinking about it.

“How romantic,” Mrs. Potato Head was nearly swooning.

“Yeah! Until they fall off the deck,” responded Mr. Potato Head.

As if on cue, Barbie and Ken fell flat down into the snow.

“Oh boy,” groaned Buzz and he set to work helping Hamm and the rest of the guys get the shovel. Jessie went to follow the group outside but was stopped by Buzz.

“Stay here, cowgirl. I don’t want you getting all wet,” said Buzz.

“Are ya sure?” responded Jessie.

“I’m not going out either, Jess. We’ll absorb all that water like a sponge,” said Woody as he walked up to the couple. “Come on, let’s get the hair dryer out and ready for when they bring them in.”

The cowgirl followed Woody to the bathroom and the two retrieved the hair dryer and brought it back into the room. The remaining toys started to tear down some of the decorations and Jessie sighed sadly. She had so much fun spending time with everyone. At least the day wasn’t completely over yet as Mr. Pricklepants decided to write and put on a play with the story set in Hawaii. How the little hedgehog plush wrote such a thing in a couple hours was beyond Jessie.

The cowgirl’s ears perked up when she saw Buzz, Rex, Hamm, and Mr. Potato Head sliding a giant ice cube containing Barbie and Ken across the floor and into the room.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” exclaimed Woody, throwing his arms up in the air.

Jessie almost doubled over laughing at the looks on Barbie and Ken’s faces.

“Okay then, let’s get started”, sighed Woody as he, Buzz, and Jessie picked up the hair dryer.

“Jess, I’m borrowing this,” said Mr. Potato Head as he walked past her with the screwdriver and started to chisel away at the ice.

“Uh…okay. But ya better give that back!” she responded.

“Don’t get your chaps in a bunch, I’ll give it back for…whatever you need it for.”

Jessie giggled and shook her head as Buzz looked embarrassed, but he quickly tried to divert the attention by exclaiming “best vacation ever!” All the toys agreed.

In no time they got Barbie and Ken thawed out and the two were wrapped up in towels sitting on the vent to dry. Being made of plastic and able to change clothes, it didn’t take long for them to be totally dry.

After everything was put away and Bonnie’s room was back in order, it was later in the evening and time for Pricklepants’ play. Most of the toys were growing tired and the dim lights of the room created a relaxing atmosphere as the toys sat and watched the play.

Buzz had found a seat in the back and Jessie sat on his lap. Slipping her arms around his neck, she kissed him softly on the cheek and laid her head on top of his sighing contently. Being surrounded by her family made the cowgirl once again feel incredibly grateful.

In the middle of the play, Jessie looked over at Buzz and wordlessly took the grass crown he was still wearing off his head. She pressed her lips against his cheek and gave him a few small kisses there and she felt his hands tighten around her legs and waist where he held her. With the lights off except for a few lamps around the stage, the cowgirl quietly got off Buzz and crept to the bedroom door. She turned around and gave her best ‘come hither’ look to Buzz as he too got the message.

Once outside in the hallway, the space ranger was immediately on the cowgirl pulling at her dress.

“Now starts the real vacation,” Buzz mumbled against Jessie’s neck.

“Ya said it, partner, but let’s find somewhere else to be instead of in the middle of the hallway,” winked Jessie and started to lead the space ranger in the direction of the master bedroom.

For the first time in a long time, Jessie had an amazing day full of carefree laughs and memories with her toy family, old and new. Barbie and Ken visiting was something that the toys didn’t know they needed, but it made the cowgirl’s heart happy to see everyone laughing and genuinely smiling again. Not to mention, ending the day as her and Buzz did made the cowgirl feel complete after a while of no alone time.

Later that night, Jessie lied awake not because of any nightmares plaguing her, but she wanted to hold on to the day for as long as she could. Snuggling further into Buzz’s arms and caressing his cheek, she hoped that this would be the start of things looking up for everyone.

Chapter 32: Overreacting

April 27th 2011

“Alright Bonnie, make sure you keep her in your room so we can bring her back on Monday!” Bonnie’s mom yelled after the jubilant girl as she skipped down the hallway to her colorful room.

“Okay Mommy! Hi Toys!! I brought home a friend to play with! I think you might like her, Buzz!” exclaimed Bonnie as she bounded into the bedroom. She grabbed her space ranger toy and brought him over to the bed where her backpack was.

“Buzz, meet Chloe! She loves space just like you!” Bonnie pulled out a doll that had on a blue NASA spacesuit. The pretty doll had blonde hair tied up in a side ponytail and bright blue eyes that struck Buzz momentarily while in toy mode as Bonnie continued to have “space adventures” with himself, Chloe, and bringing in the other toys.

“Yeehaw! Come on, Sheriff! We need to check out where that spaceship crashed!” Bonnie ran over to the other side of the room and grabbed Jessie and Woody to ride Bullseye, but before she could reach the two space toys and their “crashed” ship, she heard her mom calling her that it was dinner time.

“Be right back toys!” said Bonnie and ran out of the room.

Jessie untangled herself from Bullseye and Woody and looked around the room to find Buzz.

“Woah, looks like Bonnie found an astronaut doll at Sunnyside! Hopefully she’s not a space nut like Buzz”, commented Woody as he too, looked around the room.

Their eyes landed on the corner by Bonnie’s closet where Buzz and Chloe seemed to be talking. Jessie froze as she watched Buzz show off his laser and a few of his buttons to Chloe as she giggled in response.

Panic struck Jessie when she saw Buzz smile back at Chloe shyly. That look was normally for Jessie when they first met, and the cowgirl felt her breathing quicken. She should have known a prettier toy would come along and steal Buzz from her.

Buzz always promised her that she was his one and only, so why did it look like he was enjoying this new doll’s attention? Jessie didn’t know if she should go intervene or cry.

Woody, noticing Jessie’s expression, looked at his sister and put a hand on her shoulder to break her out of her trance.

“It’s okay Jess. Buzz is just being nice and she’ll be gone by Monday and-“ Woody was interrupted as Jessie shoved his hand off of her and stormed over to Buzz and Chloe as her mind chose to intervene.

“Jessie, wait!” Woody called after her and then facepalmed. “Ugh, she’s overreacting…”

Back by the closet, Chloe was asking Buzz questions about Star Command and comparing it with NASA.

“It sounds like NASA could partner with Star Command to branch out exploration! It’s such a fascinating idea!” exclaimed Chloe. “Maybe we can pioneer that.”

Buzz smiled in return at the pretty doll as she took his hand and held it for just a second until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jessie stood next to him, staring down Chloe, as she slipped her arm through his. She had a look on her face that he could not quite comprehend, but he grinned at his cowgirl.

“Hey Jess! This is Chloe! She comes from a doll collection manufactured by NASA which is super neat!” exclaimed Buzz as he introduced Jessie to Chloe. “Chloe, this is my girlfriend, Jessie.

“Howdy Chloe,” responded Jessie quietly as she shook Chloe’s hand forlornly. Chloe didn’t seem to notice Jessie’s demeanor, but Buzz did, and he raised an eyebrow at the cowgirl.

“Oh wow! You’re his girlfriend!? You got yourself quite a catch! Buzz here has been the sweetest! I didn’t know Star Command existed and-“ as Chloe went on and on, Jessie stopped listening and just stared at the ground while clutching Buzz’s arm.

“…and him and I think it’d be an amazing idea to unite NASA and Star Command!” finished the space doll. Jessie looked up when she was done talking and noticed Buzz grinning at Chloe.

Slightly rolling her eyes, the cowgirl said “How aw’fully nice, well I’ll leave ya guys to it”. Jessie disentangled her arm from Buzz’s with a little force and started to walk away. Chloe stared at the cowgirl in confusion.

“Jessie, wait…” Buzz started after her. Jessie turned around with her hands on her hips.

“No, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Just go back to that space doll since y’all have so much in common.”

Buzz just stared as Jessie turned around and walked back to the corner Bonnie left her in. He noticed Woody walking towards him; the cowboy watched the whole thing from under the bed.

“Oh dear, is she okay? I didn’t mean to say anything to upset her,” said Chloe.

“Howdy Chloe, the name’s Woody.” Woody extended his hand to Chloe and she shook it. “Chloe, how about you go return to the backpack since Bonnie’s due back any time and then I’ll introduce you to everyone else when she goes to bed?”

Chloe nodded in response to the cowboy and returned to the backpack. Woody went over to the space ranger where Buzz was still staring off in the direction Jessie ran to.

“Woody, what did I do wrong?”

“Nothing Buzz. You see, Jessie’s just jealous of Chloe and you know how she gets. She’s probably worried you’re going to leave her.” Woody laid his hand on Buzz’s shoulder.

“I would never!” exclaimed Buzz as he looked sharply at Woody.

“I know…we all know. Heck, even Jessie knows that deep down! You just need to make her see that.” Patting Buzz’s shoulder, Woody walked away to check on Jessie.

As Buzz mulled over how he could make it up to Jessie, Bonnie’s footsteps could be heard approaching the bedroom.

The toys all froze back in their places.

As Bonnie picked back up from where she left off with her playtime, ideas started to form in Buzz’s mind as the little girl had him and Chloe fly through space, past all the stars, and then crash landing in the desert with Woody and Jessie.

Buzz was relieved when Bonnie made him and Jessie fall in love (and Woody with Chloe) and even though they were in toy mode, Buzz slightly tightened his grip on Jessie’s hand.

~~~~

“Alright peanut, it’s time for bed!” Bonnie’s dad entered the room to prepare Bonnie for bedtime.

Bonnie grabbed up some toys that would be in the line on the bed with her and she cuddled up to Bullseye for the night. Jessie was a few toys down between Woody and Buttercup.

As Jessie laid there listening to her owner drift off into slumber, her mind would not settle down. She cursed herself that her jealous side came out and knew she overreacted with Buzz. She hated how her mind immediately jumped to conclusions because of her past trauma. Shoot, she just hated her past life in general and the effect it apparently still had on her. Being with Woody and Buzz helped her heal from those wounds and Buzz reassured her every day, either verbally or in his actions, that nothing bad would ever happen to her again because he loved her.

Jessie never doubted Buzz and she knew that she shouldn’t have earlier. She noticed the hurt in his eyes before she took off and when she cooled down, felt incredibly foolish and mad at herself for jumping to conclusions and possibly hurting the most important thing to her.

“Stupid, stupid Jessie. He probably thinks I’m crazy now and find out just how damaged I really am…” Jessie chastised herself. “How could I’ve doubted him?”

Her head feeling heavy with all her thoughts, Jessie closed her eyes. As soon as she felt herself surrender to deep sleep, she felt a light shake on her shoulder.

“Jess.”

She knew that voice and her stubborn side took over. She was not in the mood for confrontation right now.

“No, go ‘way…”

“C’mon Jessie, we need to talk…” Buzz gently shook her again.

“No.”

“Okay…” suddenly Jessie felt herself being picked up bridal style and she tried to squirm out of his arms.

“Buzz! Put me down!”

“No, we need to talk.”

Jessie took a deep breath and hid her face in his shoulder.

“No, you probably hate me right now…” she murmured into his shoulder. Buzz stopped walking and looked down at the cowgirl.

“Hey, look at me…” Buzz shifted his arms under the cowgirl to bring a hand up to the nape of neck to make her look at him. “Never, mi florecilla del desierto.”

Jessie let out a little sob and buried her face in Buzz’s neck as he carried her off the bed, out of the room, and into the living room. He gave her a boost up to the couch and immediately pulled her into his lap. He took off her hat and wrapped his arms around her to get her to relax.

They sat there for a moment in silence until Buzz spoke up.

“I’m sorry Jess, for whatever I did to make you anxious like that, but you must know there was never any intent to pursue her on my account. She was new to the room, and I was trying to make her feel welcomed. It’s really not that big of a deal and-“ Buzz was cut off as Jessie suddenly extracted herself out of his lap and sat down a few inches away from him with her back turned to him. “Jess…”

“It’s a big deal to me Buzz,” whispered Jessie hugging her knees and wiping at her eyes. “Everyone I ever loved had been taken away from me. Some days I think it’s only a matter of time before I lose you, or Woody, or Bullseye…we’re toys, Buzz. We can’t control our fates no matter how much you promise we’ll all be together.”

For a few moments, Buzz just stared at Jessie’s back at a loss for words. He slowly put both hands on her shoulders from behind and guided her to lean back against him.

“I’m sorry mi amor, you were right to be mad,” he murmured into her ear, “I guess I need to be more attentive.”

“No Buzz, you have done everything so right…it’s me who’s a mess. I never should’ve doubted you,” Jessie turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You have saved me so many times, more’n you know. I’m the one who should be sorry for overreacting.”

“I know why you did, and you don’t have to explain yourself, love,” responded Buzz as he kissed her cheek and pulled her back into his lap.

They sat in silence for a few moments with Jessie snuggled against him; her worries seem to have melted away as he lightly stroked her arm with his fingertips.

Jessie glanced up at Buzz’s face and noticed he stared far off with an unreadable expression on his face. Reaching up, she caressed his cheek before turning his face down to meet hers.

“What’s on your mind space ranger?”

Buzz took a deep breath and took the hand that was on his face. He closed his eyes, kissed her hand, and looked into her eyes with a fierce determination.

“Jessie. There has to be…there’s got to be a way for toys to…just…” he took a deep breath to calm his stuttering and breathed out “marry me, cowgirl.”

After he uttered those words, he looked at her with wide eyes after he realized what he said. She too stared back at him for a moment.

“…you’re serious?” she whispered.

Knowing this was somewhat an unconventional proposal and that he should have been more prepared, he gently slipped Jessie off him, took hold of her hands, and knelt on one knee in front of her.

“I have never been more serious of anything in my life. I want us to always be together and for you to know that I am committed to you and only you. I will try my hardest to always be with you, even if it means breaking some rules. I know we’re just toys and this is unusual, but if we can find a way somehow, Jessie, will you marry me?”

Jessie was highly aware she had a dopey grin on her face as Buzz spoke, but happiness and love swelled in her cotton chest that nothing else mattered and the only thing she could say was…

“YES! Of course I’ll marry ya, you silly space toy!” Jessie pounced on Buzz and her lips found his. Both couldn’t even speak due to the happiness that consumed the two toys and they just held tightly to each other for a long while.

Buzz pulled away slightly to kiss her cheek.

“I love you, cowgirl. My fiancé.”

“I love ya more,” responded the cowgirl. “Fiancé...wait till everyone hears about this! They’ll be floored!”

“Heh, Woody already knows. I felt that I had to get his permission first.”

“Why on Earth did you think that? And when was this?”

“I’ve been planning this for quite some time. He would push me back out of the window if I didn’t ask him first. Trust me Jess, he’s that protective of you, but he did give me his blessing and I reassured him my intentions are pure. “

“Ugh, that cowboy. I’m a big girl, I don’t need his permission!” groaned Jessie in response. Buzz only chuckled and looked lovingly back at her.

Jessie suddenly shot up straight.

“Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln! I never thought I’d say this, but we have a weddin’ to plan! We need to set a date! We’ll need to pick our bridesmaids and groomsmen, and who’s gonna officiate, and OMIGOSH do I have to wear a dress!? What about our honeymoon!? And-“

“Jessie!” laughed Buzz, “we have all the time in the world for all of that. We don’t need all that fancy stuff. I just thought it’d be nice to have a little something to declare our commitment in front of our friends one day. Besides, I’m marrying you, that’s all that matters to me. But…about that honeymoon…” Buzz laid down and pulled Jessie on top of him, “I think that’s the part I’ll be most excited for.”

“Of course it is,” responded Jessie, playfully rolling her eyes and straddling him, but nonetheless leaned down to press her lips against her fiancé’s with nothing but pure happiness consuming her.

Notes:

If you Google "Astronaut Doll", you'll find the doll referenced in this chapter!

Chapter 33: Small Fry Part 1

June 3rd 2011

 

It was Bonnie’s last day of preschool and the toys were soaking in their last bit of freedom until the little girl came home in the afternoon. A lot of them were just resting either on the bed or elsewhere around the house to bask in the peace and quiet.

Buzz and Jessie snuggled down on the couch in the living room and were flipping through channels not really looking for anything in particular when a commercial caught Buzz’s eye.

“Buzz Lightyear! The world’s greatest hero is now the world’s greatest happy meal toy at Poultry Palace! Collect all 7 of these super galactic toys and help Buzz save the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg!” the commercial blared out from the television.

“Woah Buzz! It looks like your franchise is still goin’ strong!” said Jessie and gave a low whistle.

“Heh, well let’s just hope if Bonnie were to get one of those toys it won’t be Zurg. We do not need that around here,” responded Buzz as he shuddered at the thought of a mini Zurg and turned off the television.

“Well at least Bonnie loves the show…and you.” Jessie kissed her fiancé on the cheek.

Buzz grinned down at the cowgirl in his lap and laid his head down on hers, tightening his hold around her. The pair sat there in silence just soaking up the last bit of peace before Bonnie would be home all summer. Thinking of earlier in the day the love she had shared with Buzz, she sighed knowing those moments would be few and far in between with the little girl home.

The cowgirl absolutely adored the little girl and would do anything for her, but she secretly wished the family would have gone on vacation or taken a long weekend away over the summer so she could get hitched with Buzz on a warm summer’s evening. However, the two agreed to wait until Bonnie started her last year of preschool in the fall to set a date to gather their friends together. No one knew yet, except for Woody, and that’s how her and Buzz wanted it for now.

“Buzz! Jessie! Bonnie’ll be home in 15!” called Woody as he was walking by on his way back to Bonnie’s bedroom.

“Be right there!” responded Buzz and Jessie groaned, making the space ranger chuckle. He nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

“Come on cowgirl, we better get back.” Buzz helped Jessie stand and when he stood up, the cowgirl hopped on his back. The space ranger carried his fiancé back to their owner’s room and set her down by Bonnie’s craft table where the little girl left Jessie before school.

The two shared a quick parting kiss and Buzz helped her climb up on the green chair.

“Hey…I love you, cowgirl,” said Buzz as he squeezed her hand.

“I love YOU my sweet spaceman,” responded Jessie as she grinned down at him, although she quickly through a glare at Woody who also hopped up next to her on the table as he gagged at their little display of affection.

The cowgirl watched Buzz run back to his spot by the nightstand and it wasn’t long before Bonnie came bounding into the room.

“Buzz! We’re going to go get supper at Poultry Palace! We’re going to play in the ball pit and get some chicken fingers and get a toy! OOH REX! You can come too!” Bonnie picked up both toys and stuffed them in her backpack with Buzz hanging out the top. She ran out the door and the remaining toys could hear Mrs. Anderson and Bonnie drive away.

Woody chuckled as soon as the coast was clear. “Well, it looks like we get another hour.” Some of the toys got up to walk around.

Jessie couldn’t help but sigh in response to Woody’s remark since Bonnie took Buzz with her, and leaned back further in the chair, covering her face with her hat. She rested her feet on the tabletop and closed her eyes. She had no interest in getting up and was content on waiting for Bonnie to come back home in that spot. Might as well get a nap in.

“Jessie darling!”

The cowgirl cringed slightly at Mrs. Potato Head standing right in front of her and lifted her hat.

“Hey Mrs. P, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to see how you’ve been! It seems like we never get to chat anymore since we’re so busy with our guys,” responded the spud and sat down in front of Jessie.

“Oh um, I’ve been fantastic. Beyond grateful we’re all still together with an amazin’ little girl,” responded Jessie, straightening herself up.

“So am I dear, although I’m sure you’ve been EXTREMELY happy being with that spaceman of yours. He’s a keeper Jessie and you’re lucky to have him. Why, I remember when Molly’s dolls would try to flirt with him and he didn’t even acknowledge them. Then you came along and well, we all know what happened,” Mrs. Potato Head took the cowgirl’s hand in hers and held it warmly. The cowgirl smiled at her old friend; she enjoyed the maternal attitude Mrs. Potato Head always held towards her.

“Really? I know I ain’t anything special and I still don’t know how a cowgirl and a space ranger fell in love myself,” responded the cowgirl.

“Well, I came to Andy’s room after him, dear, so from what I know, no one ever captured his interest until you came home with Woody. Your relationship with Buzz is so beautiful! Enjoy each other and maybe we can double date soon!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Jessie grinned at the spud.

“Also, if you two ever get married, I want to design your dress! And help with the floral arrangements and- “Mrs. Potato Head was literally jumping down on the spot.

“Okay! Haha, okay, you’ll be one’a the first to know so you can help,” laughed Jessie, trying to maintain a poker face as to not give anything away.

“You better!” exclaimed Mrs. Potato Head and put her hands on her hips, playfully glaring at Jessie.

The toys suddenly heard the car pull into the driveway and they all ran back to their spots. No sooner, Bonnie opened the door to her room.

“Hi toys! Bye toys!” the little girl sat down her backpack and ran off to take her bubble bath.

“Hi guys! We’re home!” Rex exclaimed, popping his head out of the bag.

Jessie looked over towards the backpack as Woody welcomed them home and started to head there herself wanting to greet Buzz.

“Ugh, what smell like chicken fingers?” Woody questioned the dinosaur.

Suddenly a tiny Buzz Lightyear toy came out of the bag and hopped onto Rex’s head.

“I am Buzz Lightyear! I come in peace!” it proudly exclaimed.

“Uhh, what happened to Buzz??” questioned Jessie, anxiety slowly creeping up on her with her space ranger nowhere to be seen in the bag.

As Rex explained what Mini Buzz told him, Jessie looked over at Woody when he asked where Buzz was. The cowgirl knew Buzz would know the way home, but worry started to creep in.

“Play time play time!” the little Buzz scurried away and started to wheel himself across the bedroom floor.

“Don’t worry Jess, he’ll come home,” Woody put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

“Play time’s coming super soon doo dah doo dah…” Mini Buzz started singing and performing a little “ice skating” number with the wheels on his feet.

The toys watched on seemingly impressed by his talent and Jessie found herself unknowingly participating in clapping for the little guy.

“I’m telling you, this is the real Buzz!” exclaimed Rex.

“Rex, he’s like three inches tall,” responded Woody and as everyone was watching the skating display, the cowboy went to confront the little Buzz.

However, that confrontation was unsuccessful and led to Woody tackling the little Buzz Lightyear to the ground.

Jessie ran over to the wrestling duo with a piece of rope and tied the little Buzz up.

“Ugh, unhand me ma’am! I shall not be subdued by you cowfolk!”

“You’re going to stay right here and tell us where our friend is,” said Woody.

“NO I won’t talk!”

“Yes, you will. If not…” Jessie picked up her foot and pressed the toe of her boot down on little Buzz’s back “we WILL ship you right back to Poultry Palace.”

“Okay okay! Call off your cowgirl, Sheriff! I’ll tell you!”

Jessie threw the tiny Buzz Lightyear the look that would make anyone cower away and turned him over to talk. Mr. Potato Head came over with a glue bottle. Woody and Jessie tied the small space ranger to the bottle and looked expectingly at him.

“Yeesh, I didn’t know he had such a big alliance behind him. Lucky guy. Anyway, we were in the ball pit and that is the last place I seen him,” explained the little Buzz. “After that, I was put in that little girl’s backpack.”

Woody sighed and facepalmed. “Alright, here’s the plan. We give Buzz through the night to see if he can make it home and if not, we’ll make a plan tomorrow to find him in the morning when Bonnie goes to visit her grandma.”

Jessie wouldn’t have it. She needed her space ranger home. She wanted to drop this little Buzz clone out the window, but that wouldn’t solve anything. The cowgirl went over to Woody and pulled him aside.

“Woody, can’t I or some of us go and help find him? I’m worried…” Jessie reached up to stroke her braid.

“I know you are Jess, but this is Buzz we’re talking about. He knows the way home and I know he’s making his way back to you now.” Woody reached out to hug his sister.

“I hope you’re right Woody. Oh, but he could be anywhere! What if some other kid brought him home? Or what if he’s trapped in a box or somethin’?” the cowgirl’s breath quickened at the thought.

“I know he is just fine Jessie. Lots of toys get lost in those darn ball pits. Like I said, we’ll go find him in the morning if he’s not back before Bonnie leaves for grandma’s. Plus, I know Bonnie will realize that he is missing too.”

“Okay…” Jessie sighed and held in a little sob.

Bonnie’s footsteps could be heard approaching the room and the toys resumed their positions with Woody shoving little Buzz under the bed, still tied to the glue bottle.

The little girl got ready for bed and lined up her toys for the night, grabbing Jessie as the one to cuddle with.

The cowgirl was grateful to be snuggled with her owner, but sleep did not come to her. She was too worried about Buzz and wanted nothing more than for him to be home with her. She looked up at the rotating stars on the ceiling illuminated from Bonnie’s star projection and sighed, wishing she could rewind to that morning when she was snuggled up with Buzz, lost in their quiet moment with just the two of them. They haven’t been apart like this since they got together, and the cowgirl didn’t realize, until now, that she needed him to fully relax; knowing he was right there if she needed him. Even though she was considered brave and could usually face whatever life threw at her, knowing Buzz was out there as potentially a lost toy scared the cowgirl.

Anxiety consuming Jessie, she snuggled up further to the slumbering child and closed her eyes willing for sleep to consume her fast so she could either wake up to him home or go save her space ranger. However, sleep was futile, and Jessie remained awake.

Chapter 34: Small Fry Part 2

June 4th 2011

 

“Bonnie, rise and shine sweetheart,” Mrs. Anderson shook her daughter awake the next morning.

“I’m awake mommy,” responded the little girl sleepily and clutched her cowgirl doll closer to her as she yawned. “Are we still going to grandma’s?”

“We sure are and she is making your favorite! Get dressed and we’ll go in a bit!” Bonnie’s mom left the room to leave her daughter to pick out her own outfit to wear.

Bonnie sat up and stretched. Leaning down, she gave Jessie a hug.

“I’ll be back later, Jessie! You’re in charge!”

After the girl dressed, the family piled into the car and headed to grandmas for breakfast.

Hearing the car pull away, Jessie jumped up and frantically searched the room for Buzz. She did manage a few hours of restless sleep and she wanted to see if the space ranger snuck in while she was out.

Realizing he was not there, she sighed sadly and sought out Woody.

She found the cowboy on the other side of the room with a white board. He was currently drawing a map of Poultry Palace and she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Woody, he’s still not back.”

“I know Jess, I’ve been up all night trying to figure out a plan to rescue Buzz. Guys!” Woody waved everyone over. Rex and Hamm dragged Mini Buzz, still tied to the glue bottle, over to the two cowfolk.

Woody noticed how tired his sister looked and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll find him, Jess.”

Jessie smiled back tiredly at her brother. There was no other toy besides Buzz that she trusted more to keep his word.

The cowgirl soon felt a pair of eyes on her and looked to her left to see Mini Buzz smiling dreamily at her. She gave him an unamused look and averted her gaze to Woody drawing up a plan for the toys.

“Okay, to save Buzz, we need to figure out a way to get inside Poultry Palace,” said Woody and waited to see if anyone had any suggestions.

“So uh, I used to work at Poultry Palace,” Jessie heard Mini Buzz beside her and shot him an annoyed look. “Do you like honey mustard sauce? Yeahhh you do.”

At that failed attempt at a pickup line, Jessie rolled her eyes in annoyance as Mini Buzz still gazed at the cowgirl and slightly puckered his lips at her.

“Come on guys, THINK! How do we get inside?” Woody asked the group of toys urgently.

As the group rattled off ways of breaking into the restaurant, a very familiar deep voice broke in from behind the group.

“Or, you can use the drive-thru!”

“Buzz!” all the toys shouted.

Jessie didn’t even think twice and ran to her space ranger, crashing into his side hugging him and shouting “you’re back!”

Buzz squeezed the cowgirl to his side and disentangled himself from her hold. He marched right up to the Mini Buzz with a threatening look on his face that would terrify any misbehaving space cadet.

“So, what do you have to say for yourself space ranger?” Buzz jabbed a finger into Mini Buzz’s helmet as the little figure gulped nervously. All the toys watched.

Jessie watched the confrontation silently with pure relief flooding through her that her spaceman was home.

Mini Buzz explained to Buzz his desire to be played with and his intentions when he saw Buzz enter the restaurant establishment with Bonnie.

Buzz sighed and shook his head, “hear me out, someone at the restaurant is going to notice you are gone so we are going to have to bring you back tonight. There is a support group you can join that will help you with your feelings, but trust me, some kid will want you when your Fun-Meal line is over with. I’ll even go with you as your sponsor.”

“You will? After all I did?” Mini Buzz asked his full-scale counterpart timidly.

“Of course, but you see that beautiful young woman over there?” Buzz pointed at Jessie, “I saw you talking to her and need I say that if I see you talking to her again, then the deal is off.”

This caught Jessie’s attention and she walked closer to the two Buzz’s. Buzz reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in close to him. She rose an eyebrow at him in response.

“Aww man, I didn’t mean any harm! I just wanted to take her on a date and show her the various condiments for dipping!” retorted the Mini Buzz and looked at Jessie adoringly. “She is so pretty though”.

If toys could throw up, Jessie was sure she would all over the floor right then and there.

“She is, isn’t she?” Buzz smiled at his cowgirl for a second before shaking his head. “But wait, that’s not the point! Just don’t let it happen again,” Buzz reached forward to free the miniature version of himself. “I’ll bring you back tonight after Bonnie goes to sleep. Now, if you’ll excuse us…” Buzz led Jessie away from the group of toys and beckoned Woody and Slink to follow him.

Once out of everyone’s eyesight, Buzz picked up Jessie and hugged her. She hugged him back tightly and kicked her feet in the air with delight.

“You okay, cowgirl?” he asked as he set her down.

“I am now that you’re home,” responded Jessie and leaned in for a quick kiss.

“So Buzz, what’s the plan for returning the little minion to Poultry Palace?” asked Woody as he approached the couple.

“Yeah, I don’t want ya to leave again, or else I’m goin’ with ya,” chimed in Jessie and reached for Buzz’s hand.

“Well that’s what I was going to ask if you three would accompany me. It’s only up the road and not far. If we leave by 10 tonight, we can be back well before sunrise. I was held up by this group of discarded Fun-Meal toys who had formed a support group. I understand it gives them a sense of purpose, but they thought I was there to willingly participate, so that’s what the holdup was on getting myself home,” responded Buzz. “I think that little Buzz might like being a part of that group.”

“I’m in,” responded Slinky.

“Sounds good to me too. Plus, I don’t think Jess is gonna let you out of her sight for the rest of the day,” Woody winked at Jessie who smirked back at her brother. “Why don’t you two go grab a nap before the family comes back from grandmas this afternoon.”

“Thanks cowboy. Can you come get us in about 2 hours?” asked Buzz.

“Of course. Go ahead and we’ll watch this little guy so he don’t get into any more trouble.”

With that, Buzz eagerly led Jessie out of the bedroom and down the hall to the master bedroom. He gave her a boost up onto the bed and the couple laid back against the mattress facing each other. Buzz wrapped his arms around his cowgirl pulling her in close.

“I missed ya, Buzz. I was worried sick,” said Jessie and reached up to caress his cheek.

“All I wanted to do was get home to you. Sorry it took me a little longer than it should have,” responded Buzz and kissed her forehead. “You didn’t sleep last night, Jess?”

“Barely. How could I when you weren’t home and I had no idea if you were comin’ back?”

“I’m here now. I’ll always find my way home to you, you know that.” Buzz fully enveloped the cowgirl and brought her in closer. He knew how worried she would have been through the night.

Jessie rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply and her anxiety slowly started to melt away as realization slipped through her that Buzz was right here holding her. She could feel him rubbing her back comfortingly and she picked her head up; her emerald eyes meeting his blue ones.

They softly smiled at one another and leant it. Just as their lips touched, Buzz pulled back slightly.

“Jess, did that little Buzz try to pursue you?”

Blinking in surprise, Jessie’s eyes widened at the sudden apprehension on the space ranger’s face.

“Uh, no? I mean, he had these horrible pick-up lines tryin’ to ask me out on a date, but naturally I looked at him like he was insane…which he is. Why do ya ask?”

“Oh no reason. Just wanted to make sure there wasn’t any immediate threat…” teased Buzz which earned a light slap on the chest from Jessie.

“As if! Although…” Jessie stopped and Buzz looked down at her slightly anxiously. Jessie quickly smirked and the tension in Buzz’s face melted into relief as he realized she was kidding.

“Hey! That’s not funny,” pouted Buzz and poked her side.

“C’mon Buzz, he’s only 3 inches tall!”

“But I am shorter than you…”

“By like half an inch. Besides, ya really think I’d choose that little varmint over you? I love YOU, Buzz Lightyear.”

“No. I guess I’m not used to other toys taking a notice to my cowgirl,” Buzz reached up and pulled the yellow ribbon out of Jessie’s hair and eased her braid loose. He ran his fingers through her yarn hair and pulled her in to capture her lips with his own while murmuring “love you too, cowgirl.”

As the two kissed softly for a few minutes, Jessie felt her eyelids grow extremely heavy. Knowing they had a long night of adventure ahead, she snuggled against Buzz, tucking her head under his chin. She draped an arm around his middle and felt sleep finally pull her under until…

“Jess? Are you sure that-“

“Buzz.”

“Sorry.”

Chapter 35: Back to Sunnyside

Notes:

Another two-parter ahead!

June 10th, 2011

It was the Friday before Sunnyside would shut down for two weeks of summer vacation and Bonnie bounded into the building holding tightly to her mother’s hand. Mrs. Anderson, along with her colleagues, was to prepare the building for when daycare resumed, and Bonnie had asked to come along to play.

Before they left, Bonnie had grabbed Jessie, Woody, Buzz, and Rex to accompany her to Sunnyside for whatever playtimes the little girl would dream up.

Currently in the car, Bonnie didn’t notice her backpack slightly moving beside her…

“Ow! Your sleeve button just poked my eye, Jess!” whined Woody as he shielded himself from the cowgirl doll tangled on top of him.

“Gah, sorry Woody! Rex’s tail is poking me in the back!” responded Jessie as she tried to wiggle free of her brother and the point of Rex’s tail jabbed into her lower back.

“Sorry! I can’t help it!” cried Rex flailing around and almost cracking Buzz over the head with his tail.

The space ranger sighed and closed his helmet to shield himself from any incoming dinosaur toy parts and tried to gain some leverage by balancing himself on the bottom of the bag. He lifted Jessie off Woody and kept his hold on her with one arm to keep her upright as he used his other arm to help Woody up to a sitting position.

After the toys had disentangled themselves, Buzz sat down and pulled Jessie into his lap as Woody and Rex found a comfortable position for themselves.

The group of four were quiet for a few minutes; the anxiety they all shared about returning to Sunnyside started to creep in.

Jessie sat quietly on Buzz’s lap stroking her braid and it was Woody who broke the silence.

“I know this is the last place we want to be, but thankfully things are different with Barbie and Ken in charge. We trust Barbie, don’t we?” Woody placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder as he regarded Jessie and Buzz.

“Of course we do, but I think the best thing to do is stick together if Bonnie takes us out of the bag,” suggested Buzz. He met the cowgirl’s anxious expression and entwined her fingers with his as the toys became silent again.

“I dunno if I can do this,” whispered Jessie, breaking the quietness in the bag after a few moments. “That place holds so many horrible memories. I don’t know if I can handle it...”

Jessie felt her breathing quicken as she recalled the time spent at the daycare when Lotso was in charge. What that rotten bear did to her friends, to Buzz and Woody, was still the subject of her nightmares.

Buzz tightened his hold around the cowgirl, kissing her forehead, as Woody reached over to rub her back; both knew how much Jessie went through. The emotional damage it did to her thinking she lost Buzz and Woody and the helplessness she felt trying to free the rest of her family still haunted the cowgirl at times.

“It’ll be ok, Jess. Buzz, Rex, and I will not leave your side,” said Woody.

“But what if she brings one of us outside and leaves us? Or what if one of us gets left behind? Or what if-“

“Jessie, you know Woody and I won’t let that happen. Plus, Barbie will be there and I’m sure she’ll be excited to see you. She won’t let anything happen either,” soothed Buzz. He placed a hand on her cheek to turn her face towards him. They held each other’s gaze for a moment until they felt the car stop.

“I think we’re here!” whispered Rex.

The toys felt the bag be picked up and swung around Bonnie’s shoulders as she skipped into the building with her mom. The little girl ran into the empty Butterfly Room and took out her toys one by one and started to play with them. She added a few more toys laying around the room to her playtime as well.

A bit later, Bonnie was holding Jessie as she sat in a beanbag chair reading a book as she looked outside towards the playground. She ran out of the room and down the hall to the reception desk where her mom was.

“Mommy, can I go outside and play?”

“Yes, sweetheart, but keep Jessie in here by your bag so you don’t lose her,” responded Mrs. Anderson. The cowgirl never felt so relieved.

“Okay mommy!”

Bonnie ran back into the Butterfly Room and deposited Jessie by her pile of toys, then she ran out the door to the fenced-in playground.

Right as Jessie sat up, she found herself tackled to the ground by a mass of blonde hair in a green summer dress.

“Jessie!! You guys are really here!” exclaimed Barbie as she hugged the cowgirl tightly.

“Hiya Barbie!” responded Jessie, wrapping her arms around her old friend.

Barbie and Jessie straightened themselves up, but the Mattel doll launched a hug at Woody, Buzz, and Rex.

“Wow! Hey guys! Welcome!” Ken came shuffling over. He held out a hand for Woody to shake.

“Hi Ken, Barbie. This place is sure lookin’ great!” said Woody, gesturing around him as the toys in the room started to roam around.

“Thanks! Everyone is so happy here. I’m so glad we were able to give everyone a home. We have been taking in so many toys, especially since that big thrift store down the street closed,” responded Barbie.

“Woah, the old Salvation Army?” gasped Jessie. “That’s where…”

Unable to finish her sentence, Buzz walked up and wrapped his arms around Jessie’s waist hugging her. Barbie looked at her cowgirl friend understandably.

“Do you guys want to see what we’ve done to the place?” interjected Ken to change the subject while noticing the sudden tension.

“Sure, but we better stay here in the Butterfly Room just in case Bonnie comes back any minute,” responded Woody.

As Barbie and Ken were showing them around, Jessie clutched Buzz’s hand tightly with her own; still unnerved about being at the daycare. She had to admit, Barbie and Ken did an amazing job of turning the place into a paradise for discarded or lost toys and she slowly felt herself becoming more comfortable. Jessie also noticed all the toys had a genuine look of peace on their faces and would either hug Barbie as they walked by or tell her hi.

After the small tour, the group of four sat in a corner with Barbie and Ken catching up on things when Jessie heard a small gasp behind her.

“Jessie!?”

Turning around, her eyes landed on a sight she thought she would never, could ever, see again and her eyes widened in shock.

“Joe!?”

Time seemed to stop as the two stared at each other opened mouthed. Finally, Joe took a step forward.

“I-I thought I’d never see you again,” he whispered. “H-uh-how are you?”

“Never been better,” responded Jessie, still in a trance. She shook her head to clear it.

“What are you doing here? Wait, Tammy? The others?”

“No no, unfortunately it’s just me. I was brought here a few months ago when the donation store closed,” said Joe, looking a little sad. “Nathan kept me for quite a while in the attic, but eventually donated me along with his other toys.”

“I’m so sorry Joe. I know how that is. Gosh, it’s been so long! You’ve been doing okay for yourself?” asked Jessie as she brought her hands up to her chest with slight anxiety talking to the toy that tried everything he could to make her his back in the day when he was Emily’s brother’s Christmas gift. He looked very worn and barred a few scratches on his face. 

Towards the end before she was donated herself, he eventually came around and grew true concern for the cowgirl, making sure she was okay. She was never interested in him and he still made her nervous to be around, but she did appreciate those check-ins.

“I’ve been doing much better here at Sunnyside. Barbie and Ken have been nothing short of accommodating to everyone from the store,” Joe gestured to the couple behind Jessie as they grinned in response. “What are you doing here, Jess? Are these your friends?”

Jessie almost forgot Buzz, Woody, and Rex were behind her and she quickly turned to her left where Buzz was silently watching the transaction with apprehension on his face looking like he was going to intervene at any time. She smiled at him reassuringly and reached for his hand.

“Joe, this is my partner Buzz Lightyear. And this is my brother Sheriff Woody, and my friend Rex. Our owner Bonnie is outside playing at the moment. We’re just here for the day,” responded the cowgirl and held on tighter to Buzz’s hand.

“Guys, this is Joe. He was Emily’s brother’s old toy and arrived at the house maybe six months after I did? I can’t remember.”

Joe reached out and shook hands with Buzz and Woody while regarding Rex with a nod.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m so glad you’re doing good for yourself, Jessie. You deserve it.”

“Thanks Joe, and it really is good to see ya again,” responded Jessie as she turned to resume her catch-up with Barbie and Ken. Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder stopped her and she turned to meet Joe’s earnest eyes.

“Can we talk in private for a second? I-uh-I need to get something off my chest,” said Joe. “Just for a minute and I’ll leave you alone,” he added as he met Buzz’s glare.

Jessie felt her chest tighten as anxiety consumed her for a moment, but curiosity got the best of her when she noticed the seriousness in Joe’s tone of voice and she relented.

“Okay, but let’s stay where the others can see us,” she responded and turned to Buzz, giving him a quick, tender kiss to make sure that Joe knew not to try any funny business.

“I’ll be right back, it’s okay,” Jessie whispered to Buzz and regarded Woody for a moment before following Joe to a corner a few feet away. Knowing Buzz and her friends were watching over her made her feel better about the situation.

Joe leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and breathed in deeply.

“I wanted to tell you something I wish I had the chance to all those years ago. I am so glad you’re happy and it looks like you found love with that Buzz Lightyear, but I want you to know that I always loved you, Jessie. I know I ruined my shot right when I met you, and there’s no excuse for that, but you must know I was naïve. I regret my actions and hoped one day I could tell you how sorry I am for scaring you like that. I could tell you were always uncomfortable around me and I apologize for that. You were...are so beautiful and strong which made me instantly attracted to you and I went about it all wrong. You deserve someone that will make you happy and I can see you have found that in Buzz.”

Jessie didn’t know what her expression was, but the shock she felt at Joe’s admission nearly made her pass out. She had no idea what to say and just stared at the action figure in front of her.

Joe looked up at her awkwardly and took her hand.

“I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said all that, but I hoped for the day I could get the chance to talk to you again. I worried about you after you left and hoped you were okay. I truly am happy to see you again and that you’re okay.”

“Joe..” Jessie went to respond and felt her throat dry up.

“You don’t need to say anything, Jess. You can go back to your friends now,” responded Joe and gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it.

“Thank you, Joe. I accept your apology and I think it’s best we move on from the past,” said Jessie as she place a hand on Joe’s shoulder.

“I am very sorry for the things you’ve been through bein’ donated, but ya have a great place to live now! Barbie is my old friend and you’re in good hands. And who knows! Maybe you’ll meet someone here?” Jessie gently poked his arm.

“Actually, there is someone in the Caterpillar Room I’ve been talking to…” Joe sheepishly responded.

“Aww great! I’m so glad! I hope the best for you Joe, really,” Jessie slipped her arm in Joe’s as he walked her back to Buzz. The space ranger looked at the two of them approaching and threw a look at Joe.

“You’ve got a great girl, space ranger. You’re one lucky toy to have her,” Joe smiled at Buzz and then back at Jessie as he guided her hand to Buzz’s.

Buzz nodded in return as Joe turned to head back to his spot across the Butterfly Room.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?” asked Buzz in a low voice to Jessie.

“Heh, Jess, you got an old boyfriend we don’t know about?” teased Woody, but immediately fell silent with the glare the cowgirl threw his way.

Jessie sighed and knew explanations would be needed, especially to Buzz, who had no idea the history she had with the G.I. Joe figure. She never thought to talk about it because she knew she would never see Joe again.

“No, he’s not what you think, but,” the cowgirl turned towards Buzz, “there is something we need to talk about when we get home,” she whispered to Buzz as her heart broke at the hurt look on the space ranger’s face.

Chapter 36: Love Heals

June 10th, 2011 Continued

The four toys sat in Bonnie’s backpack in total silence on the way home. They awkwardly stared past each other as the tense feeling in the atmosphere between Jessie and Buzz could be felt by Woody and Rex. Woody was too nervous to say anything because he didn’t want to make the situation worse. The sheriff had no idea Jessie didn’t tell Buzz about Joe and he knew the two were going to have to talk it out later.

Jessie, who was curled up in a ball, lifted her head up from her knees to look at Buzz. After trying to grab his hand when Bonnie zipped up the backpack, he didn’t grip hers back and she shuffled to the other end of the bag sadly. Sighing, she tried to get the space ranger’s attention, but he didn’t look up.

She didn’t understand why Buzz was so mad at her for the whole thing with Joe, but she knew he was hurt that she wasn’t fully truthful with him. Knowing she was the cause of Buzz’s pain made her hate herself; she just wanted to run away and disappear. The love she and Buzz had for each other made her forget all the bad things that happened to her as she shoved all of that out of her mind and concentrated on what she had in front of her; her family. She never felt the need to explain that part of her past with Joe.

The cowgirl felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Her eyes met Woody’s and he gave her a look of concern as he rubbed her back comfortingly. He and Bo were the only ones that knew the full details of when Jessie was Emily’s toy and the hard times she went through, including those times with Joe.

Feeling Bonnie lifting the backpack, the toys froze in toy mode as the little girl walked into the house, entered her bedroom, and dumped her toys on the bed. Jessie was grateful for the playtime before dinner because it gave her a chance to think of how to apologize to Buzz.

After dinner, Bonnie went outside to play for a bit and brought Jessie, Trixie, and Pricklepants with her. Jessie knew this was a good thing because it would give Buzz a chance to cool down and hopefully, it would be easier to talk to him later that night. Plus, maybe Woody would give him a good talking-to.

Time seemed to crawl for the cowgirl that evening, but finally, Bonnie was snuggling under the covers and chose Buttercup to cuddle with for the night.

When Jessie knew the coast was clear as Bonnie’s breathing indicated she was in deep sleep, she wriggled her way out of the toy line on the bed and sought out Buzz. She looked around the room and didn’t see him.

“Jess…” she heard a voice whisper and turned to see Woody sitting on the play table. “He went outside and is waiting for you on the back porch.”

“Thanks Woody!” Jessie whispered back with a wave and quietly crept through the house. She reached the cat flap by the back door of the house and slowly opened it.

Buzz was sitting on the top step of the porch with his back to her gazing up at the night sky. He didn’t acknowledge her presence, but she slowly walked over to him and sat down beside him. Awkwardly, the couple stared up at the star-filled sky and were quiet for a moment.

Jessie felt Buzz take her hand in his own, bringing it to his lips. The cowgirl glanced at Buzz and her eyes met his.

“Buzz I-I-” started Jessie.

“Did you love him at one time?” Buzz cut in. The gentleness of the question threw Jessie off-guard.

“NO!! I mean, no. I was never interested in him,” Jessie vigorously shook her head and reached up to grab her braid with her free hand.

Buzz let out a breath he seemed to be holding. Jessie noticed he seemed to deflate at that answer and realized he must have thought Joe was an ex. She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb and started to explain everything.

“Buzz, you remember that night when we told one’another we loved each other for the first time?” Jessie noticed Buzz smiling slightly at that. “The first time we…ya know…and I got a little nervous?”

“I do,” replied Buzz and looked at her with concern, “I thought I hurt you at first.”

“No, you absolutely did not, but…someone else tried to…” Jessie stopped talking and looked down ashamed. She instantly felt Buzz pull her into his lap and wrap his arms around her. She clung to him and buried her face in the crook of his neck as she couldn’t contain the few sobs that escaped from her mouth. The events of the day caught up to her and she was so relieved Buzz was right there holding her now.

“Jessie…Joe?” asked Buzz as he took off her hat and tilted her face up to his.

Jessie could only nod and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself so she could explain more.

“He was Emily’s brother’s Christmas present. Nathan was mighty excited to get Joe, but Emily’s mom made them leave all toys at home because her whole family would be at her grandma’s and her mom didn’t want any of us getting lost. As soon as they left, from day 1, he tried everything he could to make me fall in love with him. He would always grab me around the waist, touch me, or even try to kiss me…tried everything he could but I never found him the slightest bit attractive. He jus’ wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

Buzz sat there quietly and held his cowgirl tightly as she spoke. He started to feel ashamed of himself for being angry at her earlier.

“One day when everyone except for me and the horses were donated, I had never felt so lost. My friends, my…first family, were all gone just like that. Suddenly Joe was right there huggin’ me and tellin’ me everything would be ok. Then he started kissing me and…” Jessie stopped and turned away from Buzz, not being able to look at him during the next part.

“He tried to take advantage of me because I was so upset. I didn’t let him. I threw him off’a me and yelled at him to stay away from me. It worked and I didn’t see him for a few years after that.”

Jessie stopped talking and scooted down to the bottom step; curling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. As horrible as she felt, she continued with her story.

“As Emily and Nathan got older, we were not being played with anymore and he started to check on me every so often. I think he realized what he did and was tryin’ to make some sort of amends. Eventually, I did appreciate those check-ins, but that’s all I would allow; just for him to pop his head in to say hi. Then I got donated…you know the rest.”

Buzz looked at Jessie utterly speechless. He never would have guessed this happened to her and he chastised himself for being so selfish at getting mad at her for keeping Joe a secret when in reality, she needed him at that moment.

Buzz scooted down to the step where Jessie was sitting and sat behind her, slipping his arms around her tightly and nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. The couple sat there for a few minutes until Buzz lifted his face up and gave Jessie a peck on the head as she turned to look at him.

“I’m sorry I kept this from you. I didn’t think it was an important thing to share but lookin’ back, it is,” said the cowgirl and reached up to place a hand on his cheek.

“No, I’m the one that should be sorry for being mad at you. I guess I was just upset thinking that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me everything. I acted selfishly because I thought there was something between you two and I apologize for my behavior, Jess.” Buzz covered the hand on his cheek with his own and leaned in to kiss her chastely on the lips.

“It’s alright Buzz, I understand,” responded Jessie after they parted.

“If I see him again…” Buzz balled his fists up, but Jessie quickly grabbed his hands and slid her fingers through his.

“No Buzz, it’s all water under the bridge. He apologized; that’s why he wanted to talk to me. It’s all in the past now. ‘Sides I got you and every day I’m with ya, I forget about all that. You’ve shown me what real love is,” said Jessie as she settled between Buzz’s knees and leaned back against him so he could wrap his arms around her again. “Being with you, Woody, Bullseye, everyone, I’m truly the luckiest cowgirl in the whole west.”

“Jessie...you know I will do anything if it means keeping you safe. I wish I was there to protect you all those years ago,” said Buzz as he held the cowgirl even tighter, their feet dangling off the step.

“I don’t, because then I might not have what I do now,” responded Jessie, closing her eyes as she felt Buzz kiss her temple tenderly and hum in agreement.

“Love you, cowgirl,” Buzz whispered.

“I love you too,” responded Jessie.

A little while later, the two were laying in the grass staring up at the constellations in the sky. Jessie was snuggled up to Buzz’s side with her head nestled under his chin watching him point and explain what they were looking at in the sky. As he was in the middle of rambling about how a particular star isn’t seen in the winter, Jessie placed a hand on his cheek to turn his face towards her.

Their eyes locked for a moment before she leaned in and they kissed softly.

“Heh, am I boring you?” asked Buzz when they parted, grinning down at her.

“Never, space boy,” responded Jessie and pulled him in again.

Chapter 37: Partysaurus Rex

July 31st, 2011

 

Party-pooper Rex.

Crouched in her hiding spot, Jessie instantly felt terrible after Bonnie left the room with Rex as her chosen bath toy.

A few minutes before, everyone, including herself, was teasing Rex about him being a party-pooper; a play-it-safe kind of toy. Jessie couldn’t help herself to join in, but seeing Rex’s face drop in sadness immediately made the cowgirl feel bad. She didn’t have time to dwell on it because she could hear the words “bath time” coming from the other side of the door and immediately hid to avoid being chosen. Water and Jessie were a terrible combination.

“Jess? Coast is clear, cowgirl,” Buzz walked over to his fiancé to help her stand up from behind the chair she was hiding.

“Another successful bath time dodge,” smirked Jessie as she straightened her hat. The two walked over to the group of toys in the middle of the room, not straying too far as Bonnie could be back at any minute from her bath.

“Hey uh Jessie, I have a random question. Is your full name technically ‘Jessica’?” asked Hamm.

“Uhhhhh no? Seriously Hamm, how long have ya known me?” answered Jessie and rolled her eyes at the piggy bank.

“Drat! I lost that bet!” Hamm muttered to himself as Mr. Potato Head and Buttercup smirked next to him.

“Seriously? Y’all must’a ran outta ideas,” Jessie crossed her arms at the two. “What other things have ya bet on?”

“How many times you’ve fallen off Bullseye, the number of times Buzz’s wings popped out, those kinds of things,” responded Mr. Potato Head, flipping his hand nonchalantly.

“Sooo, the number of times you’ve personally seen them pop out? Cuz I can tell ya, it’s more’n what you thi-EEK!” Jessie immediately shut her mouth as Buzz gently poked her in the ribs.

“Quiet, you!” the space ranger chided the cowgirl, slightly embarrassed. The three betting toys, all on the edge of their seats while Jessie spoke, coughed, and shuffled away from the cowgirl and space ranger.

Jessie giggled at the flushed look on the space ranger’s face and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

“You’re cute,” the cowgirl crooned at Buzz.

“You’re mocking me, aren’t you,” said Buzz, narrowing his eyes at Jessie.

“’Course not! You’re just adorable when embarrassed,” responded Jessie, smiling sweetly at him.

Buzz smirked at Jessie before playfully poking her in the side. “Jessica…”

Jessie crinkled her nose at that. “Can we not?”

“I agree. Jessie fits your personality more. It’s who you are. Jessica sounds too, well, you, but not you, you know?” responded Buzz as he was trying to explain, but stopped in defeat when he met her amused look, “yeah, never mind.”

The toys were interrupted by the sounds of Bonnie and her mom coming back into the room for the little girl to get changed.

“What’s grandma gonna make for supper, Mommy?” asked Bonnie, looking up at her mother as they entered the room.

“I think some chicken and mashed potatoes. Your favorite!” responded Bonnie’s mom.

As Bonnie rattled on about her favorite foods her grandma made while she got dressed, her mother packed a small bag of essentials whenever they went over to grandma’s. Bonnie ended up choosing Buttercup and Dolly to go with her.

When the toys heard the car pull away, they started to disperse around the room in their respective groups. Jessie noticed Woody sulking while sitting by the window looking outside. Glancing over at Buzz assisting Pricklepants with stage assembly, she made her way over to her brother.

“Hey bro, whatcha doin’ by yourself over here?” she asked while climbing up next to Woody, already knowing the answer.

“Hey, Jess. Eh, it’s nothing. Just feeling a little down in the dumps I guess,” responded the cowboy without looking at Jessie.

“It ain’t nothin’, I know you Woody,” questioned the cowgirl while gently placing a hand on Woody’s shoulder.

“I’m just having another moment of missing her. I think loneliness is creeping up on me again,” Woody closed his eyes and fought back a small sob, not wanting to show weakness in front of his sister. It was the same feeling, different day, as it had been since that fateful garage sale day.

“Oh Woody, bring it here,” Jessie pulled Woody into a hug as he rested his head on her shoulder. “You jus’ let it out, I’m always here for ya. You’re never alone, ya got us!”

Woody didn’t say anything and let the comfort of his sister soothe his raging thoughts at that moment. He didn’t want to let on that he accidentally walked in on her and Buzz’s alone time the other night, which sent him reeling with the need for the love he lost years ago. The cowboy was beyond happy for the two, but he still yearned for Bo Peep, the love of his life.

Today was just one of those days for Woody.

After a few minutes, Woody let out a deep breath and straightened himself up.

“Thanks Jess, you’re the best,” he said, smiling at Jessie.

The cowgirl wasn’t very convinced he felt truly better, but the cowboy got up and went to seek out Slinky for a game of checkers.

Jessie frowned in the direction Woody walked off to and couldn’t help but feel bad for both him and Rex. She hated it when her friends were down. Speaking of Rex, Jessie noticed he had not returned as it had been almost forty-five minutes since Bonnie’s bath time.

Thinking that maybe Rex made a detour to the computer to play a video game, Jessie got up and walked over to Buzz to see what he and Pricklepants were doing.

“Pricklepants, I do not approve, on mine and Jessie’s behalf, of her playing the princess opposite of Woody,” chided Buzz to the hedgehog as he attached the finishing touches to the stage.

“Ah, but the prince I have in mind has Woody’s shape, and Jessie is the only female in the room who can pull off the part,” responded Pricklepants as he was assembling a costume. “It’s just the magic of theater. It matters not the familiar relationships the actors have to one another.”

“Maybe in 1800 B.C., Pricklepants, but not today. N. O.,” responded Buzz, leaving no questions to be asked.

“What in the world are you two talking about? An’ I’m not kissing Woody either,” Jessie joined in on the conversation and produced a sickened expression at the thought.

“Yeah that would be highly inappropriate,” Buzz seconded.

“Miss Jessica, I would be honored to have you star as Lady Cordelia in my upcoming production of King Lear,” Pricklepants got down on one stubbly knee and grabbed Jessie hand.

“Jessica!? Ooooh I’m gonna tan that porkchop’s hide. And no, I think I’m gonna pass. But thank you for the offer,” responded Jessie, slightly amused at Buzz’s reaction of him muttering “told you so” to Pricklepants.

“Thank you for your most gracious decline. Perhaps I can assume the role to Dolly,” pondered Pricklepants and walked away in search of Dolly.

As Jessie walked over intending to distract Buzz as he worked on the stage, Slinky approached the two.

“Sorry to interrupt, but have y’all heard or seen Rex? He hasn’t come back to the room,” he asked them.

“No we haven’t. I was startin’ to wonder the same thing,” responded Jessie as she and Buzz glanced around the room. “D’ya need help lookin’ for him?”

“Yeah, that would be great,” responded Slinky and walked away to continue the search.

“I feel mighty terrible how we treated poor Rexy earlier, let’s help Woody find him,” Jessie told Buzz as he got up off the floor, concern written on his face.

“Yeah. It wasn’t right what Mr. Potato Head started,” said Buzz and the two approached Woody.

The toys dispersed around the house looking for the dinosaur and the bathroom was the last place to look as Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head (with whom Woody forced to come and apologize to Rex), and Mr. Pricklepants walked in that direction.

“Is he still in there?” asked Jessie as they approached the closed bathroom door.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” responded Woody and the group stopped. Buzz approached the door.

“Rex!? Are you ok in the-“ the space ranger couldn’t finish asking as the door slammed open and a flood of soapy water, bright lights, and bath toys all came shooting out of the bathroom, sending the group of six flying all around the house.

Jessie, not knowing how to swim, had no idea what was happening as she found herself entangled in her own arms and legs underwater against the hallway wall. Eyes widening, she straightened up and stood up in the shallow water, gasping for breath.

“Buzz!?” the cowgirl desperately shouted for her space ranger above the loud music and looked around wildly for him. Panic seized her as she knew Buzz shouldn’t be exposed to water.

“Jess! Are you alright?” Woody splashed over to the cowgirl and checked her over.

“Buzz! Where’s Buzz?” Jessie ignored the cowboy and started wading through the water and bath toys, who seemed to be unaware of their surroundings by still partying it up.

“Jessie! Woody!” they heard the voice they were looking for calling out to them.

Jessie looked in the direction of the living room and saw Buzz up on the back of the chair.

“Buzz! You ok?” Jessie yelled to her space ranger as she ran over to the chair, dodging the oblivious toys scattered.

“I’m fine, I got blasted all the way over here. What in the world is going on?” Buzz descended off the chair and jumped down to the floor with a splash. The water was ankle high to the toys as it dispersed evenly throughout the house. The space ranger checked over his fiancé to make sure she was alright.

“I’m not entirely sure. Who are all these toys and where is Rex?” questioned Woody as the three looked around the room.

“Hey look! A sheriff and an astronaut!” A lighted-up, sparkly, purple dolphin approached the group. “Can I help you loosen up, Sheriff?” The dolphin batted her eyes at Woody and started to dance around him suggestively.

“How about you, spaceman? Care to give me this dance?” another sparkly, green dolphin appeared next to Buzz and nuzzled his leg. Both Woody and Buzz froze in horror on the spot and stared down at the two fish toys.

“ALRIGHT, that’s enough! Where’s Rex!?” Jessie pushed the two dolphins away from her fiancé and brother and glared down at them.

“I think he’s over by Chuck,” the green dolphin answered without hesitation, clearly frightened by Jessie.

“Chuck?” asked Buzz and looked around the room for a toy that might look like a “Chuck”.

“The rubber ducky over there. He’s so handsome…” the purple dolphin quipped demurely and gazed in the direction of a rubber ducky on the other side of the room, dancing around in circles with Rex in the middle.

“Rex! What is the meaning of this?” Woody yelled out to the dinosaur in the middle of a group of toys wearing a goofy hat.

“Woody! Look! These are my new friends! They have crowned me as their Partysaurus Rex!” Rex answered and flailed his arms around excitingly.

“Oh heyyy cowgirl. What’s your name?” the rubber duck toy hopped over to Jessie and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Buzz growled slightly at the duck and wrapped his arm protectively around Jessie, who was also glaring back at the duck in return.

Woody made his way over to Rex and grabbed him by the arm.

“Uh, heh, ok buddy. We need to get you back to Bonnie’s room. Now,” Woody and Buzz ushered the dinosaur towards Jessie, who grabbed Rex’s small hand, and after finding Mr. Potato Head and Pricklepants in the hall, they all made their way towards the bedroom.

“Potato Head, go tell the bath toys to get back into the bathroom. No questions. We don’t want them all around the house when Bonnie gets home,” explained Woody.

“No problem. I’d like to give them a piece of my mind since the Mrs. is soaking wet. And you’re not off the hook either, bud,” Mr. Potato Head pointed an accusing finger at Rex who shrunk under the spud’s harsh words.

“C’mon Rex, let’s all get dried off,” said Jessie as she led the dinosaur and the whole group into Bonnie’s room.

Buzz, Woody, and Slinky went to retrieve some towels for the wet toys.

After reentering the room, Buzz looked at Jessie, who was a sad sight. She looked annoyed, hat drooping, cloth body sloshing, and her hair hung loosely in her face. She also shivered from the chill of being wet.

“C’mere cowgirl. You're freezing,” Buzz held open the towel for Jessie and wrapped her in it. He hugged her to him and ran his hands up and down her arms to help warm her up.

After a few moments, he took the end of the towel and helped dry her face and fix her hair.

“Thanks Buzz,” said Jessie and kissed his cheek, already feeling better.

Buzz, being made of plastic and already dried, grabbed the fan Jessie was using earlier to help speed up the drying process for some of the plush toys. The space ranger passed the fan over to Jessie and beckoned Pricklepants over to help dry him.

“You guys missed it! I was a Partysaurus!” exclaimed Rex proudly, completely unaware of the damage he caused to the house.

The toys all sighed in annoyance. Jessie turned off the fan noticing Pricklepants seemed to be somewhat dry.

“You!? I’ll believe it when I see it!” huffed Mr. Potato Head.

The toys suddenly heard a car pull up and the voices of Bonnie and her mom.

“What happened!?” Bonnie’s mom was in hysterics as she entered the house. She ran through all the rooms and was met with puddles of water everywhere.

“Woahh cool!!” exclaimed Bonnie.

“Bonnie, help me pick up everything off the floor. I need to call your father,” Mrs. Anderson stepped into the kitchen to call her husband who then told her to call the plumber.

While the humans dealt with the chaos of the situation and Mrs. Anderson not being able to pinpoint the flooding cause to the plumber, both she and Bonnie got in the car and drove to the store to get some supplies as directed by the plumber to clean the home.

The toys were mostly dried off at this point and a voice on the windowsill interrupted Rex’s explanation to everyone of what happened in the bathroom.

“Hey Partysaurus, can you hook us up, man?” asked the tiny sprinkler from outside.

The toys gathered on the windowsill to see what the fuss was about.

“Duty calls!” exclaimed Rex and produced his hat from earlier, plopping it on his head.

The dinosaur jumped out of the window and over to the small kiddy pool. He turned on the water and they all started to cheer.

“Gahh, I give up! I’ve had enough for today,” Woody threw up his hands and walked away from the window.

Jessie chuckled and watched Rex for a moment before she and Buzz walked away as well, left to their own devices until Bonnie came back. At least Rex was happy.

Chapter 38: Grand Canyon Romance

Notes:

So sorry for the huge delay in posting, life has been nuts on my end. Hope y'all enjoy this next chapter!

If there was one thing Jessie loved about family vacations, it is that the Anderson’s always rented a RV to drive. The family did not like to fly and opted to see what the world had to offer on their road trips, whether it was yummy food at a new place, or different scenery.

It was nearing the end of summer vacation and the family decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Weeks prior to the trip, Bonnie would create scenes with her toys exploring a giant hole made up of blankets and pillows. To say the little girl was excited to see the canyon was an understatement.

“Daddy, how far down is it again?” Bonnie asked her dad, who was currently behind the wheel.

“Very far,” chuckled Mr. Anderson.

“You have to promise to keep a hold of my hand when we get there”, Bonnie’s mom’s voice took a serious tone.

“I promise, Mommy”, Bonnie answered happily and snuggled with her cowgirl doll.

“Jessie, what do you want to do at the Grand Canyon? Let’s see…OO donkey rides!” Bonnie was flipping through the brochure in her hands for the eighth time.

“Maybe when you’re older sweetie pie”, chuckled Bonnie’s mom.

The smile that was on Jessie’s face in toy mode got slightly bigger as the cowgirl could feel the excitement radiate off of her owner. Jessie was very much looking forward to this trip because she loved road trips with her owner and her toy family. There was something so exciting about piling into the RV and exploring the country to the cowgirl. Plus, she hoped that Buzz and she could sneak away for a moment to have a little alone time at such a pretty place. Since moving in with Bonnie, the cowgirl got to experience so much more than she ever did with her previous owners. Plus, stargazing with Buzz at night on the RV’s roof was always a bonus.

As the RV rolled past the “Welcome to Arizona” state sign, Mr. Anderson navigated to a local restaurant he read about online that had great reviews for dinner.

“Be back in a bit, toys!” exclaimed Bonnie as she followed her parents to the restaurant.

As soon as the RV closed, the toys all sat up and stretched out their legs from being in toy mode the whole day.

Buzz shuffled over to where Jessie was sitting and put his arm around her. Jessie looked over at him and the two shared a chaste kiss.

“D’awwww you two, I swear, are the CUTEST!” exclaimed Mrs. Potato Head sitting across from them, making them almost jump through the roof.

“Ah, heh”, was Buzz’s reply as Jessie threw the spud a grin.

“Ehh I still think it’s awkward seeing Buzz kiss a girl,” Hamm butted in beside Mrs. Potato Head.

“Whadd’a ya mean by that?” asked Jessie as Buzz threw Hamm a look.

“Before he met you, he never gave any girl a chance and they were practically lined up to get a piece of him! If a Barbie would hit on him, he’d immediately turn them down. Lucky duck, some of us could only dream of-“ Hamm was cut off by Buzz clearing his throat loudly to make the piggy bank stop.

“Except for when Bo Peep kissed him! Remember that before we left to rescue Woody that one time?” Mr. Potato Head spoke up from beside his wife. “Buzzy boy was blushing like a teenager going through puberty!”

Woody instantly perked up at this news and, with fists clenched, walked towards the small group of toys.

“What do you mean Bo kissed Buzz?” growled Woody at Mr. Potato Head.

“Ah don’t get your britches in a bunch, Cowboy, she told Buzz to kiss you when he found you, or something like that," Mr. Potato Head grumbled in response.

“That does sound like something she would do,” Woody let out a dry chuckle.

Meanwhile, Buzz was silently pleading with the two toys to stop, and Jessie was quiet…really quiet.

“Heh, Bo kissing Buzz, that must put your chaps in a knot, Jessie”, quipped Hamm. Jessie was still very quiet as she was staring at the side of Buzz’s head, ignoring Hamm.

“Bo was all over Buzz when he first came into the room. She was following him everywhere until she realized very quickly how much of a crazy loon he is,” Mr. Potato Head continued, and Woody looked like he was ready to lunge for the spud.

“Ok dear, Hamm, that is ENOUGH. You leave these three alone. Buzz and Jessie are a beautiful couple, and Woody and Bo were madly in love, don’t mess with them like that,” scolded Mrs. Potato Head stepping in between Woody and her husband as she ushered Mr. Potato Head and Hamm away from Woody, Buzz, and Jessie.

The three were quiet for a moment until Buzz let out a long breath and looked at Woody.

“Woody, I’m sorry, that was uncalled for what they said," Buzz reached out and grasped the cowboy’s shoulder.

“It’s ok, Buzz. It was all in the past and I forgave her for it”, sighed Woody and rubbed the back of his head scoffing, “but still, look what happened to us. I still lost her.”

“Woody-," started Buzz, but Woody just waved his hand and walked away, which usually meant he didn’t want to be bothered.

Buzz sighed and looked over into Jessie’s face, but her expression was unreadable. She knew Buzz was not at fault for anything because she was simply not there at the time. Although, she could not help but slightly resent Bo for not telling her about her fleeting crush on Buzz. As soon as that thought passed, it left the cowgirl. It didn’t matter now.

“Jess-“, the space ranger reached out and ran the back of his fingers down her cheek causing the cowgirl to look up at him.

“How many were lined up?”

The question threw Buzz off guard.

“What do you mean?” inquired Buzz as he turned her face towards him, but she still wouldn’t meet his eye.

“You know what I mean,” smirked Jessie, “Mister ‘they were lined up to get a piece of you’ Lightyear.”

“Jess, none of that is relevant to right now,” Buzz tried to reason, “are you angry?”

“No,” sighed Jessie, “I jus’ don’t understand why you chose me when you could have any toy out there.”

“Jessie, you know that I loved you the moment I met you, and do you know why?” Buzz cupped her face in his hands as he leaned in close so only she could hear him.

“When I first saw you in Al’s apartment, I was struck by how a woman could be so strong and so cute at the same time,” Buzz lightly booped her nose.

“You weren’t a typical damsel in distress either. You were right there with Woody, ready to get your hands dirty. When we got back to Andy’s room, I was so captivated by your beauty, your spirit, your confidence, and the thrill you get for an adventure. You’re perfect to me. Always have been, always will be. I never took up any of those other women’s’ offers.” Buzz kissed the cowgirl on the cheek.

Reassured, Jessie’s face softened, and she leaned in to feed a sweet kiss to the space ranger’s lips. He always knew what to say to make her feel special.

“I don’t get how little ol’ me got so lucky. I love ya,” responded Jessie as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Love you, cowgirl,” Buzz returned her kiss.

The space ranger cuddled with his cowgirl until the family came back into the RV from having their dinner.

Throughout the rest of the evening, the family drove the last stretch to the Grand Canyon and pulled into the RV campgrounds.

Woody, in toy mode, decided to glance out the window when he felt the vehicle stop suddenly and saw a pair of eyes with a big nose and massive antlers staring back at him. Trying not to jump while in toy mode, Buzz, who was next to him, could not help but notice the cowboy’s face turning paler than the color it already was. The space ranger smirked to himself and made a mental note to tease Woody later about it.

“What are those?” questioned Bonnie’s mom.

“Are they mooses!?” squealed Bonnie, completely entranced by the creatures surrounding their car.

Mr. Anderson, who was currently trying to navigate the large vehicle through the herd that decided to randomly show up on the road, didn’t answer as his daughter and wife were throwing out names of different animals.

“Ah, here it is, they’re called Elk. Dang, they’re huge!” exclaimed Mrs. Anderson while scrolling her phone.

After they made it through the herd safely, the family settled, pitched their big tent and got ready for bed. Bonnie picked Buttercup to snuggle with as the space wasn't big enough for all her toys and left them in the RV.

Later in the night, Buzz opened his eyes and looked down at Jessie napping against his chest. He leant down and lightly shook her shoulder.

“Jess? I want to show you something,” whispered Buzz, trying not to disturb all the toys and humans.

“Hmm, what is it?” Jessie groggily sat up and Buzz took her hand to help her up.

Not saying anything further, Buzz led her quietly through the RV until they got to a window near the back. Prying it open, Buzz grabbed a blanket and tied it around the leg of a table and started to lower himself to the ground. Jessie followed suit.

As soon as Jessie’s boots hit the ground, Buzz grabbed her hand and continued to lead her a few yards away from the RV and the family’s tent. He stopped at a park bench and the two toys scaled up it.

Buzz pulled Jessie into his lap and nuzzled his nose against the back of her neck, breathing her in and enjoying the sounds of nature surrounding them.

“Jessie, look up,” whispered Buzz as he kissed the back of Jessie's neck.

The cowgirl gave him a quizzical look and when she looked up, she gasped loudly.

Above them, the stars were extremely bright and big in the sky. Gazing up into the sky for a few moments, Jessie’s eyes traveled to directly in front of her and saw a little bit of the Grand Canyon sprawled out in front of her, illuminated only by the stars.

“Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful,” said the cowgirl, completely overcome by the beauty of it all.

“I read that the stars out here in the desert appear brighter since there is no artificial lighting from buildings and big cities. It was always my dream to see them one day out here, and right now, I feel like the luckiest toy in the whole galaxy to be here, especially with you.” Buzz continued to nuzzle against Jessie’s back, depositing a few small kisses along her shoulder and not caring how cheesy he sounded.

“Oh Buzz…” whispered Jessie and couldn’t think of anything else to say. She turned around in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Their lips met in a deep, passionate kiss and that is where they stayed, loving each other and enjoying their moment until peeks of sun were coming up over the horizon, casting the canyon in a soft, orange glow.

Wrapped up in Buzz’s arms, Jessie leaned her head against his as they watched the sunrise, basking in the intimacy of this moment surrounded by nature and her space ranger.

“Jessie?” asked Buzz.

“Hmm?”

“You down for helping me tease Woody endlessly about the elk last night?” chuckled Buzz.

“You bet your boots I am!” responded Jessie, leaning into him for a kiss.

Chapter 39: Vampires, Woody

Notes:

See notes at the end of chapter.

“Alright everyone, listen up!”

Woody’s voice broke through the suitcase as Jessie raised her weary head off Buzz’s shoulder.

“We have been the chosen toys that Bonnie wanted to take to Grandmas, so let me go over the standard procedures that Dolly has put together for me.”

As Woody started to rattle off sticking together and what to do if found separated from the group, Jessie inhaled deeply and glanced over at Buzz to remind herself he was there with his glow in the dark armor providing a warm glow. Andy’s toys hadn’t been to Bonnie’s grandparents’, otherwise known as Mrs. Anderson’s parents’ house yet as it was a six-hour drive.

Jessie enjoyed the road trips when the family rented a RV, but being thrown into a suitcase in the trunk of a car was a whole other level of uncertainty. Relief flooded through her as Buzz was tossed into the suitcase a moment after her. Of course, she was grateful that Bonnie loved her and that Bonnie brought Buzz to “keep everyone safe”. Jessie loved how Bonnie felt so safe and unafraid with her Buzz Lightyear around.

Buzz caught Jessie's eye and pecked her on the cheek reassuringly.

“Hey, and you two, keep the PDA to a minimum,” teased Woody, breaking through Jessie’s thoughts.

The space ranger and cowgirl glared daggers in the cowboy’s direction.

“Any questions?” Woody asked the group, immune to Buzz and Jessie’s glares.

“Yeah! What kind of snacks did we pack?” asked Trixie.

“Really, Trixie?” deadpanned Woody.

The triceratops toy chuckled and the cowboy noticed Mr. Pricklepants scurrying over to a smaller case, unzipped it, and pulled out a cord.

“Woah, woah, what are you doing, Pricklepants?” asked Woody as the plush hedgehog threw a cord over to Trixie, the latter catching the cord in her teeth. Mr. Pricklepants ushered Mr. Potato Head to help him pull out a portable DVD player.

“We get to watch movies in Bonnie’s portable DVD player! She always brings it to Grandma’s because her grandparents can’t work one,” explained Trixie, cord in her teeth as Pricklepants unzipped and opened the suitcase with Rex’s assistance. She walked over to the cigarette lighter in the back corner of the trunk and plugged in the DVD player.

“Nice thinking, Pants! Now I sure won’t be bored,” commented Mr. Potato Head as all the toys stood up and stretched outside the suitcase, “so, what are we watchin’?”

“Nothing scary I hope!” exclaimed Rex.

“Shh, keep it down Rex! Guys, we can’t watch anything too loud,” responded Woody.

“C’mon Cowboy, Bonnie has her headphones on for her tablet and her mom is listening to the radio, they won’t hear a thing,” Mr. Potato Head pointed at Trixie who was shaking her tail back and forth while setting up the DVD player.

“Soon turned out, had a heart of glass,” sang Trixie, very horribly.

“Alright, fine, we can watch something, but nothing too scary for Rex,” agreed Woody.

Jessie giggled at Trixie’s singing and walked over to the movies with everyone else to sort through what to watch, already starting to feel better from her small panic attack of being placed in the dark suitcase and thrown on top of Mr. Potato Head. She couldn’t see Buzz in the dark until his glow started to illuminate the area.

Buzz jumped up on the suitcase, hanging back from the crowd to let the others pick out a movie. Jessie turned around and the two grinned brightly at each other. Then again, maybe this little getaway would be fun. She hoped she and Buzz could sneak off somewhere new all by themselves one night.

Jessie looked over Woody’s shoulder as he was shuffling through the movies.

“Wizard of Oz?” asked Woody to the group.

“No,” said the voices behind them.

“E.T.?”

“Too sad!” exclaimed Trixie.

“My neighbor Tortoro?”

“No way, we’ve seen that movie 800 times,” remarked Potato Head.

“DRACULA! YES!” exclaimed Trixie and held up the movie with her teeth.

“Fine choice, Trixie, this film is a great epistolary novel and all the greats study it,” said Mr. Pricklepants.

“Yeah, what he said! I could go for some excitement. Meh, I’m sure it’ll be cheesy anyway,” replied Potato Head.

“Wait, wait, I thought we said no scary movies?” remarked Woody and looked over at Rex whimpering.

“C’mon Woody, it could be entertaining. It’s such an old movie, I’m sure we’ll be laughing more than being scared,” Buzz said.

“Oh, alright, but Trixie’s in charge of calming down Rex if he gets too freaked out,” replied Woody and assisted Trixie with inserting the disc into the player. The rest of the toys created makeshift seating using the toolbox.

As Jessie headed over to the suitcase to sit next to her space ranger, Woody intercepted her and plopped himself down next to Buzz.

“Really, Woody?” murmured Jessie as she shuffled up onto the toolbox on Buzz’s other side, a little upset with the cowboy.

Buzz immediately took notice of Jessie’s disappointed look and took her hand to assist her up on the toolbox. Making sure his cowgirl was comfortable, he kissed her palm and gave her a mischievous look.

Turning towards Woody, Buzz asked, “are YOU going to be scared, cowboy? Is that why you hesitated to let us watch this?”

“Uh, no, why would I be? Draculas don’t exist anyway,” replied Woody, somewhat unconvincing.

“Vampires, Woody, they’re vampires.”

“Shut up, Buzz.”

Buzz chuckled to himself and glanced at Jessie, who rolled her eyes at Woody.

“He’s afraid”, Jessie mouthed to Buzz as he nodded slightly in her direction in agreement. Of course, the cowboy wanted to sit next to his best friend when watching something scary. He and Buzz always made comments to each other during movies, and it helped ease the apprehension at expecting a jump scare.

Jessie was just grateful he didn’t squeeze pathetically in between her and Buzz, as she recalled a time the cowboy watched not even half of “Monster House” and had his head buried in Jessie’s shoulder.

As much as she got annoyed when it seemed he purposely wanted to be in the way of her and Buzz, she pitied the cowboy.

He needed a friend. He needed Bo Peep.

Putting a pin in that thought while watching the movie, Jessie grew bored and wondered what kind of adventures they would go on at their destination. The other toys seemed invested yet entertained by the movie; making comments and yelling at the main character, Betsy, although Mr. Potato Head looked like he was downright ready to fall asleep from boredom.

For Jessie, the hardest part of the trip was over, which was being thrown into the dark suitcase. That was ten times scarier than the movie she was currently watching, but with Buzz and her friends by her side, she was starting to look forward to another new adventure with Bonnie.

Until the toys all felt the car hit something in the road, trapping the cowgirl tight in the toolbox.

Notes:

Hi all!

So we are now on the events of Toy Story of Terror!

I'm not going to reiterate the whole short. This part of the story will be broken up into three chapters (one before TSofT, right after, and when they arrive to grandma's).

Happy reading and THANK YOU to everyone who has read/commented/kudo'd, etc.!

Chapter 40: After the Terror

As the laughter died down, Jessie took a deep breath and steadied herself as she started to come down from her very heroic high.

Never had she been as proud of herself until this very day when she saved Woody and her whole family. She could not believe how Combat Carl got her in the mindset to ignore the darkness of the box and focus on saving her friends, but she owed it to him and hoped he got to where he and his friends needed to go. Her focus had been to save Woody, which turned in to freeing all the toys trapped in the glass cabinet. The adrenaline she felt was a huge rush, a high she never knew she could feel. She could hear Buzz calling out to her desperately as she got stopped by the iguana, but she was able to focus on the task at hand and complete the end goal.

All the toys treated her in a way she never experienced before. Rex gave her a bone crushing hug while knocking off her hat. Trixie got up on her hind legs and hugged her friend with Jessie’s hat in her teeth, since she caught it in mid-air and plopped it back on her head. Pricklepants kept spouting off how the heroine saved them all at the end and even grumpy ol’ Mr. Potato Head grinned at her, thanking her for being able to go home to his wife and kids.

Woody kept profusely thanking her and would pat her shoulder or give her a side hug every couple of seconds, and Buzz?

Jessie realized how much this whole ordeal must have been so stressful for him, as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from behind, planting a tender kiss to her cheek.

“You alright?” asked Jessie.

“I am now,” Buzz mumbled with his head buried in her shoulder, “come on, let’s go relax with everyone else.”

Before she could begin comforting Buzz, the space ranger led her over to the suitcase, helped her in, and sat down with Jessie in his lap in the far corner of the suitcase, not wanting to let her go.

The toys all settled into the suitcase, eager to rest before Bonnie and her mom arrived at her grandparents’ house. They all had a long night.

Jessie reached up and cupped Buzz’s face in her hands, “I know that was mighty hard for ya to know if I was ok or not.”

Buzz said nothing and merely leaned in to press his lips to hers softly, not caring if the others saw. He slowly pulled away and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.

“We can talk later when we arrive at our destination, but for now, you need to rest Jessie,” whispered Buzz as he took off her hat.

“I don’t think I can rest after all that excitement,” replied Jessie, yet the yawn that followed caused Buzz to raise an amusing eyebrow.

“Heh, maybe if I take a lil’ nap, I’ll be fresh as a daisy by the time we get there,” Jessie said sheepishly.

The cowgirl, wrapped in Buzz’s arms and in his lap, nestled her head under Buzz’s chin and closed her eyes. She was downright sore and exhausted, but she didn’t want to worry Buzz. Yet, she knew the space ranger was not going to let her out of his sight any time soon.

Jessie breathed in deeply, sleep starting to creep up fast. Buzz was right there, and he would take care of her now.

As the cowgirl’s breathing signaled her asleep, Buzz was lost in thought recounting the past night and checking Jessie over to make sure nothing was amiss but was interrupted as Woody slowly sat down beside him and Jessie.

“Glad she’s resting,” said Woody in a low voice, reaching over to softly stroke the end of Jessie’s braid, “I owe her one. She really came through for all of us and stood up to her fears.”

“Yeah,” Buzz replied simply, not taking his eyes off the cowgirl and stroked Jessie’s arm that was wrapped softly around him.

The space ranger suddenly focused on a tiny, popped seam at her waist where her shirt met the denim and his eyes darkened.

“She’s injured,” Buzz said, with panic and anger seizing him.

Woody’s eyes glanced down at Jessie and saw what Buzz was talking about.

“Buzz, she’s fine! That can be easily fixed and it shouldn’t be hurting her at all,“ Woody whispered and put his hand on the space ranger’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t you help her? Blast, Woody!” Buzz pushed the cowboy’s arm away with anger on his face as he looked at Woody.

“What do you mean? And keep your voice down! Don’t wake her up!” shushed the cowboy, confusion written all over his face at the space ranger’s sudden outburst.

“You are always spouting off being protective of Jessie, yet when she needed help, you just stood there as she plunged herself into that big reptile. She could have badly hurt herself, or worse, we could have lost her…” Buzz stopped talking and looked down at Jessie still peacefully resting in his arms.

“I tried to break that glass to get to her, but I wasn’t strong enough,” whispered Buzz so softly that Woody almost didn’t catch what he said.

The cowboy sat there stock still as Buzz’s words stung.

“Buzz I-I, I’m sorry,” Woody started and tried to come up with a reason to why he was frozen on the spot while Jessie was fighting for her life to rescue everyone. He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes, ashamed of himself. Why didn’t he help his sister? Jessie was extremely important to him, and he loved her. Of course he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

“I’m sorry, Buzz,” sighed Woody. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have just stood there. Truth be told, I was terrified when I was put in the box and had no idea if I was going to ever see you guys again. Until Jessie showed up to save me, I thought that was it. It’s no excuse, but I just wasn’t thinking clearly and froze up.”

Woody stopped speaking and glanced over at his sister before smiling softly. “She is so strong, and I realized that she is so much more than I could ever be. Jessie’s been through so much, Buzz, yet she was the one who saved us all. She always puts love and family before anything else, and that is what she fought for today. For you, for me, for all of us. She always does that, even when I can’t see it, especially with Sunnyside.”

“That is completely accurate,” said Buzz as he met Woody’s eye, “and thank you for apologizing. I was frightened for her and felt so helpless. I don’t know what I would have done if…”

Buzz stopped talking and kissed the cowgirl’s forehead. He closed his eyes and leaned his head down on the slumbering cowgirl’s. Even though he was still not completely happy with Woody, he was too tired to argue with the cowboy any further.

“Get some rest, space ranger, everything is ok, and Jess is right here,” Woody whispered to Buzz and reached over to give the space ranger a pat on the shoulder. “We should be at grandmas in two hours. I got an alarm set.”

Buzz didn’t respond to the cowboy and joined the cowgirl in slumber until both he and Jessie were woken up by a beeping noise from the alarm clock a few hours later.

As the cowgirl stretched her stiff arms, Buzz took her chin and turned her towards him. He wordlessly pressed his lips to hers and fed her a sweet kiss.

“Once Bonnie goes to sleep, I’ll come find you,” said Buzz after they parted.

Jessie, still sleepy, closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his.

“Sounds like a plan. I jus’ wanna be with ya tonight,” she responded.

“Likewise,” was his only reply before the two prepared to go into toy mode.

Chapter 41: My Hero

Notes:

Warning (? not really): Lots of angst and fluff!

I also used rain1940's incredible artwork, "The Only Weakness" as inspo for this chapter. (If you haven't seen it, I implore you to drop everything you're doing right now and check it out here: https://www.deviantart.com/rain1940/art/The-Only-Weakness-421251459).

Jessie slowly picked her head up off the floor in the foreign living room of Bonnie’s grandparents’ house after an exciting, yet fun playtime. Bonnie was extremely excited to show off her new cowgirl and toys to her grandparents and when it was time for bed, the little girl grabbed Mr. Pricklepants and headed into the spare bedroom she and her mom would be staying. 

Surveying the area, Jessie noticed that Bonnie’s suitcase had been left in the foyer. The toys around her roused and made themselves comfortable on the floor, too exhausted from being up for 24 hours straight and not wanting to venture too far from each other.

Woody, lying next to Jessie, reached out and placed a hand on her arm.

“Why don’t you get some rest in the suitcase tonight, Jess? You and Buzz, take some time to yourselves and get some rest, I’ll make sure no one bothers you,” said the cowboy.

“Thanks Woody,” Jessie smiled at her brother and leaned over to give him a hug.

“It’s the least I can do since you saved my hide,” the cowboy responded and playfully messed with her hat.

While the two cowfolk were talking, Buzz silently walked up to them, grabbed Jessie’s hand, and guided her over to the suitcase after she bid goodnight to Woody.

As Jessie made the short trip to the suitcase with Buzz, she realized how sore her arms, middle, and legs were. The day had surely caught up to her.

Buzz unzipped the suitcase and held it open for Jessie to crawl in, and he followed her, still silent as he walked over to turn on a small flashlight. Jessie uncrumpled a blanket Bonnie had packed and grabbed Bonnie’s neck pillow to lean against.

Buzz and Jessie both met in the middle and Jessie found herself quickly in Buzz’s arms as he held her tight. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist to embrace him back just as fiercely.

The stiffness and pain in Jessie’s legs became too much and she guided Buzz to sit down with her. She winced in pain and Buzz snapped his eyes up to her face, concern wrought his features.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“Yeah ‘m fine, just sore from that blasted lizard thing. Ya know, I jumped out’a plane, climbed through mountains of trash, and scaled Andy’s house a few times, but none’a those compare to the exercise I got last night,” joked Jessie and laughed to herself, but immediately stopped at seeing Buzz’s forlorn face.

Buzz looked down her body and slowly reached out to start massaging Jessie’s leg, noting how her stuffing had some stiffness in some spots where she over-exerted herself.

The space ranger looked like he was about to cry as he started on her other leg. Jessie had seen him scared before, but he always displayed a brave face for the sake of the others.

The look of anguish currently on his face broke her heart as he evened out the stuffing in her leg.

“Oh Buzz,” whispered the cowgirl and reached out to cup his cheek.

The space ranger met her eye as he leant in and pressed his lips urgently to hers. Jessie kissed him back and she guided him forward as she reclined against the pillow, locking her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and was half-way on top of her when he realized he shouldn’t be doing that since she appeared to be in pain.

They broke apart, breathing heavily as Buzz tried and failed to control his emotions. He shifted to snuggle up against her side and wrapped an arm around her middle.

“I thought I lost you,” Buzz croaked and hid his face in her shoulder, his body started shaking as he tried to muffle his sobs.

“Shhh, I’m right here, it’s ok, Buzz”, Jessie rubbed the back of his head with one hand and stroked his arm holding her around her waist with her other hand. She kissed his forehead and rested her head down on his.

“Ya know, without you, there’s no way I could’a done what I did, but it’s all over now,” the cowgirl murmured to the distraught space ranger. She knew what was going through his head because Jessie knew Buzz too well; she knew he was beating himself up for not being able to save her.

“I didn’t do anything to help. I was too weak to save you. I almost lost you because I couldn’t break through that glass. I couldn’t stop that lizard, I couldn’t figure out the scheme going on in that hotel, and you had to do it all by yourself,” Buzz sobbed, his voice muffled against her.

Jessie forced him to pick his head up off her shoulder and cupped his face in both her hands.

“You listen here, mister, I don’t wanna hear ya say those things. I know ya tried your darnedest to help me. After Carl snapped me out’a my fear of gettin’ in that box, I knew I was the only one to save Woody, you, and all our friends.” Jessie moved her head to the side to meet Buzz’s eyes as he averted them away.

“All I thought about was gettin’ all of us back to Bonnie, and I wasn’t gonna let that ol’ crooney and his lizard split us up. You ain’t gettin’ rid of me that easily, partner”, Jessie smiled reassuringly at Buzz, “I know you Buzz, I get it, you did the best ya could.”

“But how can I call myself Buzz Lightyear if I can’t even protect the woman I love?” Buzz broke away from her and curled into himself, “You’re hurt and were put in a terrible situation. I let you down, Jessie.”

“Buzz Lightyear, you listen good, ya hear?” Jessie rolled onto her side and propped herself up on one arm with her other hand on her hip as she raised her voice a little, which caused the space ranger to look at her with wide eyes.

“I don’t wanna hear ya say those things about yourself. You ain’t the real Buzz Lightyear, nor do I want ya to be! You are MY Buzz, MY hero, and no matter what, I ain’t ever gonna think anythin’ different. I love you.” Jessie reached for Buzz and guided him to lay his head on her shoulder. 

She stroked his cheek as she felt him slowly calming down.

“That’s right, my sweet space toy, breathe,” she murmured. “I know what it’s like though. I thought I lost ya when that TV fell on you. I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance to tell you how much I loved you or hear your voice again.”

Buzz took in a few deep breaths and placed his hand gently on the small, popped seam on her waist.

“Does this hurt you?” he whispered, looking at the wound.

“Hmm?” Jessie looked down her body at the spot near Buzz’s hand, “ohhh I didn’t even know that was there. It don’t hurt at all. I’m sure Dolly or Mrs. P can fix me up good as new once we’re back home.”

Buzz still stared at it and Jessie smiled softly down at him as she stroked the top of his head.

“I promise Buzz, I’m totally fine. We’re ok, and we’re gonna be ok. Haven’t ya always told me that we’ll be together to infinity and…” she looked down at Buzz expectantly.

“…beyond,” whispered Buzz as he leant down and placed a soft, tender kiss on the popped seam. He started to slowly kiss his way up her body.

Jessie closed her eyes as Buzz kissed her and moaned softly when he reached her neck; he nuzzled his nose under her ear as he breathed her in. She gripped the neck of his spacesuit and pulled him on top of her as their lips found each other’s.  

“I’m marrying you,” whispered Buzz in between kisses.

“You bet your space boots you are,” replied Jessie, her lips brushing his as she spoke. She kissed him back passionately for emphasis.

As they became lost in one another, Jessie realized she had come full circle, how she was the one now reassuring Buzz with confidence that they would be ok. She knew this whole ordeal changed her for the better, even though it was hard to get over the fear of being in a box and how that fear would never truly go away. Sure, she was exhausted, but the pride she felt saving her family was amazing. The respect she earned from each and every one of the toys, especially Woody. One thing was for certain though…

She had Buzz, no matter where he was, if he was by her side or not, the thought of him was her reason to keep going.

Jessie gasped as Buzz collapsed on top of her, the two quietly trying to catch their breath. She could tell the space ranger felt better and was extremely tired.

Buzz collected himself and raised his head up to feed Jessie a soft, tender kiss.

“I love you,” Buzz murmured once they parted and stroked Jessie’s cheek, pushing back a few strands of yarn that fell out of her messy braid.

“I love you too, Buzz. I’m always gonna be right here,” Jessie quietly responded. “Let’s get some sleep, k?”

Ignoring her aching stuffing, Jessie guided Buzz’s head to rest on her chest and allowed him to lay on her soft body as he enveloped her in his arms. Ever since they had been placed back in the suitcase after Bonnie discovered her toys, all Jessie wanted was to be held by Buzz and let her worries melt away.

And Buzz needed her too. He never showed weakness in front of the other toys, but with Jessie, she encouraged him to be vulnerable with her and she created that safe space for him.

The space ranger clutched his cowgirl closer to him, and he leaned over to kiss her injured seam lightly before settling his head down on Jessie’s stomach. One of her hands lightly stroked the top of his head while her other hand rested on his bicep and he let out a breath of contentment that Jessie was right there, safe and sound as sleep started to overtake him.

It didn’t take long for Jessie to succumb to sleep too as the soft glow of Buzz’s suit created a serene atmosphere for the two of them. The slight heaviness of Buzz on top of her with his arms wrapped protectively around her allowed her to let out a breath of relief that everything turned out alright in the end, and it was because she overcame one of her biggest fears. The confidence she built in herself the past 24 hours was amazing and she knew if she never gave up, Jessie would always find a way.

 

 

Notes:

Eek, hope that ending wasn't TOO cheesy.

Chapter 42: Setting Them Boundaries

“Heheh, quiet boy, just a little closer…”

Jessie and Bullseye were crouched down behind the chair of Bonnie’s tea table as they were ready to pounce on their intended target, with whom had his back to them helping the peas fix their cardboard spaceship.

“I can see you, Jessie,” Buzz said flatly without turning around.

“Blast! How did you know!?” exclaimed Jessie as she stood up and stomped over to the space ranger.

“I have my ways,” smirked Buzz as he turned to face her.

Jessie smirked back at Buzz, and the two had a "smirk off", trying to make the other laugh.

Bullseye kept looking back and forth between the two, confused.

Finally, Buzz threw Jessie a smolder and that broke her as she started to laugh to cover up her swooning.

“Ha, that did the trick,” laughed Buzz as he gathered his cowgirl up in his arms. Just as he was about to give her a kiss, a pink nose entered his vision as Bullseye started to lick his cheek.

“Gah! Bullseye!” exclaimed Buzz as he shielded himself from the horse. He could hear Jessie’s laughter over the commotion.

Sensing Buzz’s annoyance, Bullseye stopped his playing and look down at the ground guiltily.

“Aww Bullseye, Buzz ain’t yellin’ at you, right, space toy?” Jessie gave Buzz a stern look.

“Uh, no, of course not,” replied Buzz and mustered a smile at the horse. He reached out to pat Bullseye on the head in reassurance.

“Great! How about we go for a walk outside? It’s mighty nice out and we could use fresh air,” Jessie grabbed the space ranger’s hand and started to lead him out of Bonnie’s room.

“Sounds like a good idea, cowgirl,” replied Buzz and squeezed her hand. He sensed someone behind them and noticed Bullseye was following.

“Bullseye too?” he asked.

“Is that a problem?” asked Jessie in return and narrowed her eyes at him.

“No, just, uh, never mind…” Buzz coughed into his hand. He had wanted to spend some alone time with Jessie, but of course, Bullseye was coming along like always whenever Woody was not home; the cowboy being the toy of choice to accompany Bonnie to the doctors.

Buzz loved the horse just as much as Jessie and Woody, but there were boundaries that needed to be set whenever he and Jessie were spending some much-needed alone time. However, Jessie didn’t seem to mind and always defended Bullseye whenever the horse either got in trouble or followed them.

Obviously, Bullseye and Jessie shared that deep friendship that he did not understand, yet he respected. Bullseye was Jessie’s friend, confidant, and comfort. Since the horse was important to Jessie, he was also very important to Buzz and Buzz always felt the need to watch out for the horse, for Jessie’s sake.

However, Buzz didn’t really like having an audience during their more intimate moments.

As they stepped out into the backyard, Jessie pulled Buzz over to their favorite tree, which offered the couple some privacy, and they sat down in the grass. Jessie leaned her head on his shoulder, and he put an arm around her as Bullseye played in the grass a few yards away.

“Sooo, I was thinkin’…” started Jessie as she turned her face up to Buzz’s, “how ‘bout we announce we’re gettin’ hitched next month before Christmas? I’d love to have a weddin’ during the summer before Bonnie starts kindergarten and I’m sure the gals would have a good time plannin’ with me.”

Buzz looked down in surprise at Jessie, yet his face melted as he gazed lovingly at his fiancé, imagining how perfect she’d look walking down the aisle towards him. He couldn’t wait to call her his wife and now that she was talking about it actually happening stirred major excitement in him. 

“Sounds perfect, Jess, absolutely perfect,” responded Buzz and leaned in to kiss her.

The two sat there, lips locked as they were consumed in each other, the rest of the world fading to Buzz. As Buzz started to lean more into Jessie to guide her on her back, he was stopped by something soft and brown on Jessie’s other side.

He broke the kiss and sat up, slightly breathless, and glared at the horse.

“Bullseye! How did you get over here? I thought you were playing by the porch! Go inside and find someone else to play with,” he scolded, without thinking, to the horse.

“Buzz!” Jessie scowled at the space toy.

Bullseye looked at Buzz in surprise and then darted back towards the house.

Buzz turned back to Jessie, but she was sitting there with her arms crossed, glaring at the space ranger.

“Why in tarnation did ya yell at him for? He ain’t doin’ anythin’ wrong!” the cowgirl stood up and towered over Buzz. “He was just sittin’ with us is all!”

Buzz took a deep breath, trying not to upset Jessie further, and stood up as well.

“I-I’m sorry Jessie. He was just…right there when we were, uh…and I was caught by surprise in the moment,” Buzz averted his gaze, hoping she would see where he was going with it.

“Why do ya get so squirmy when Bullseye is with us? He’s my best buddy and I wanna spend time with him too!” Jessie’s inquired while arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but Jessie, don’t you think it’s a bit intrusive?” asked Buzz as Jessie unfolded her arms and sighed, understanding Buzz’s point.  

“Well maybe, but how can I deny him my time? We’ve been inseparable an’ always there for one’another,” sighed Jessie as she started playing with her braid.

“Well, I’m not saying he can’t be with us from time to time. I care for him just as much as you. We can always set some time aside to play with him, and you two can scheme like always,” Buzz reasoned and pulled the cowgirl into his arms, “but we need time, as a couple, to be together. You and I. No interruptions.”

Buzz leaned in and kissed Jessie softly on the lips.

“I get it, but you need to go apologize to him,” murmured Jessie after they parted.

 “I will in a moment. I just want a minute with my significant other,” Buzz leaned his forehead against hers.

“Pffft, significant other? Me?” teased the cowgirl and began to lead the space ranger back towards the house.

“Uhh, you’re significant to me…as my other?” responded Buzz and they both chuckled at the failed humor.

The couple reached the house with Buzz assisting Jessie through the cat door. They reached Bonnie’s bedroom and found Bullseye brooding up on the bed.

Jessie smiled sympathetically at the horse and crawled over to him, enveloping him in her arms.

“Hiya pal, Buzz has somethin’ to tell ya.”

The horse glumly looked up at the space ranger as the latter knelt next to both Bullseye and Jessie.

“Bullseye, please accept my apology for how I reacted outside. I did not mean to hurt you. I understand how much you love Jessie and spending time with her.” The space ranger reached out and stroked Bullseye’s mane.

“But Bullseye,” started Jessie as she continued to caress the horse, “Buzz an’ I, well, we have a special thing goin’ on where we need to have some time to ourselves. Alone. Which is why I always have ya go play with Woody and then disappear on ya. I hope you can understand that. Nothin’ about our friendship changes. You’ll always be my best bud.” Jessie nuzzled her face against Bullseye’s nose. Bullseye snuggled close to Jessie in response. 

“Jessie and I have something to tell you, Bullseye. No one else knows and you’ll be the first,” said Buzz as leaned in closer to the horse and the cowgirl.

Jessie gave Bullseye a wide smile as the horse looked between her and Buzz quizzically.

“That is, I have asked Jessie to be my wife, and we plan on getting married over the summer,” started Buzz, “we love each other very much. I can promise you that I’ll always take care of her, just as how you do.”

Bullseye immediately leapt up from his spot and smothered both Buzz and Jessie with kisses.

Both the cowgirl and space ranger laughed at the horse’s antics and gathered him up for a small group hug.

"Now we have a third in our little duo,” said Jessie, glancing at Buzz, “and he’s a keeper.”

Bullseye nodded and licked Buzz’s cheek.

“I guess I have your blessing?” asked Buzz as he patted the horse’s snout.

Bullseye nodded again and nuzzled against Jessie’s side as she slung an arm around the horse.

“Hey, how ‘bout walkin’ me down the aisle with Woody?” Jessie asked her horse.

Bullseye gave her a nice slop on the cheek and sprinted in excited circles around her.

Jessie laughed and scooted closer to her space ranger as he circled his arms around her waist.

“Thank you for lettin’ Bullseye be the first to know,” whispered Jessie and pecked Buzz on the cheek.

“Of course. Hope I’m forgiven now?” asked the space ranger while grinning.

“Hmmph, we’ll just see ‘bout that,” whispered Jessie as she disentangled herself from Buzz and gave him her best “come hither” look as she started to walk away with a sway in her hips.

She waved goodbye in Bullseye’s direction as the horse snorted in laughter at the space ranger following the cowgirl out of the bedroom dreamingly.

 

Chapter 43: The Announcement

Summary:

*clap clap* Everyone! I have an announcement! Er, more like Buzz and Jessie do! ;)

“Howdy, Woody! Can we speak to ya for a minute?”

Jessie walked up to her brother with Buzz in tow as the cowboy and Dolly were preparing for the staff meeting being held in the next few minutes. Woody excused himself from Dolly and walked over to his sister and best friend.

“Hey Jess, Buzz, everything ok?” asked Woody. 

"We would like to make, ya know, THE announcement to everyone at the end of the meetin’,” Jessie played with her fingers. Even though Woody already knew, she was nervous about announcing her and Buzz’s engagement to the rest of her friends.

Woody gave his two best friends a small smile and nodded, “I’ll let you two have the floor after we talk about Woolite versus Oxiclean.”

“That’s a topic I’m actually excited about. I got this lil’ stain on my chap I need to get out,” laughed Jessie as Buzz grinned at her.

“Thank goodness at least someone will take some information seriously,” Woody slapped his forehead, “ever since that accident with that preschool toy and the bleach at Andy’s, I thought it’s a good idea to address the cleaners since Trixie got into mud the other day and-”

As Woody ranted, Jessie glanced at Buzz and butterflies filled her cotton tummy. She could not believe that she was marrying the toy she loved more than anything. It just dawned on her that it was getting real, especially with the two of them making their announcement to their family. She was a little nervous and anxious, especially anticipating Mrs. Potato Head’s wild reaction. She knew the spud would be all over her, but Buzz said he’d jump in if it got too much.

“-and how we should take the Christmas decorations with a grain of salt,” Woody finished. Buzz pretended like he was listening and would just nod whenever Woody hit a pause.

“Sounds like a good agenda, cowboy, especially since Christmas is next week!” exclaimed Buzz and wrapped an arm around Jessie.

A few moments later, Dolly and Woody started to announce the staff meeting, and Buzz took his stance behind Woody as usual.

Jessie stood off to the side next to Rex and Bullseye trying to contain her nerves. This was her family, with old and new toys, and she knew they cared for her and Buzz, but she didn’t like any attention on her.

The cowgirl draped her arm around Bullseye as Dolly started to go over the Christmas morning protocol during gifts and then the agenda for the rest of the day while Bonnie and the family went to the grandparents’ house.

New toys were a possibility with Christmas, but with Bonnie, the little girl showed so much love for each of her toys that they knew no matter what, everything would be ok. However, Jessie’s mind took a turn as Dolly wrapped up her segment and Woody started on his “toy care talk” as he called it.

Jessie recalled her first Christmas all those years ago, back at Emily’s house, and the contentment she felt with Mama Bear, Tammy, and her friends. She felt so safe and loved at the time, like the feeling she felt now. She had an owner who loved her, like Bonnie currently did, and some amazing friends, like the ones she had now. That safe feeling diminished as the years went by at Emily’s and she was scared that would happen to her again with Bonnie.

Jessie felt her breathing quicken as anxiety started to creep in and she gripped Bullseye tighter. Bullseye, confused, looked at her and nuzzled her cheek. The cowgirl cuddled into the horse and breathed in deep, closing her eyes to try to shake the anxious feeling.

Opening her eyes, they locked on Buzz’s bright blue eyes across from her and he looked at her concerned. They held each other’s stare as she felt the anxiety quickly subside as she took in his face and the loving look he gave her.

“And now, Jessie and Buzz have an announcement!” said Woody, breaking Jessie’s train of thought.

Jessie shyly walked over to Buzz as he stood in front of Woody. The space ranger took her hand and turned to address the toys.

“Heh, s-so, Jessie and I, well, we’re-“

“Getting married. We all knew this was coming,” Mr. Potato Head interrupted flatly, earning a glare from the cowgirl as his wife gasped and wacked him over the head.

“What!? I mean, yeah, but how did you know!?” Buzz sputtered, caught off guard by the interruption.

“There’s only one thing that you guys would both announce together, so I had a hunch,” shrugged Mr. Potato Head.

“Dear, I think you ruined their fun,” Mrs. Potato Head rolled her eyes, “Jessie, Buzz, go ahead.” The female spud smiled at the couple and Jessie turned to address everyone.

“Mr. Potato Head is right, we’re gettin’ hitched! We’re plannin’ on whatever weekend Bonnie will be gone durin’ the summer!” Jessie told the toys, and she could see Mrs. Potato Head bouncing with excitement. The other toys erupted in cheers and started to bombard the couple.  

“Oh dearie, I’m so EXCITED!!! I can’t wait to help you start planning!” exclaimed Mrs. Potato Head as she squeezed Jessie into a tight hug. 

“Can we be bridesmaids!?” asked Trixie, as she and Dolly ran up to Jessie as the cowgirl stared at them like a deer in the headlights. 

“This is brilliant! We shall have a wedding fit for a fair maiden with her prince,” said Mr. Pricklepants.

“Where’s the honeymoon?” asked Hamm, raising his eyebrows at Buzz making the space ranger gulp nervously.

“Ok guys let’s give them some space,” Woody intervened and put some space between the group and the couple, “we are all very happy for Buzz and Jessie and will do whatever they need to make the most out of their special day. This meeting is adjourned!”

“I will catch up with you later!” Mrs. Potato Head winked at Jessie, and the cowgirl couldn’t help but grin at the spud. Maybe this would be fun. 

“Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag, there’s no stopping everyone from hounding you guys to help,” chuckled Woody to the couple.

“I know they mean well, and we’ll let them know when it’s time for their help,” responded Buzz and then turned to Woody fully and looked at the cowboy with a serious expression.

“Woody, would you be my best man?” asked the space ranger. Truly touched, Woody smiled at his best friend and gripped his shoulder.

“It would be my honor, buddy,” responded Woody.

“How ‘bout walkin’ me down the aisle with Bullseye too?” asked Jessie.

Woody’s eyes grew wide for a split second, but then his face melted into a loving smile at his cowgirl counterpart that he called his sister.

“Nothing would make me happier, Jess,” responded Woody. He pulled Jessie into a big, brotherly hug and she buried her face in his shoulder.

“Ya know Woody, none’a this would’a happened without you. I dunno where my life would’a led me to, but I’m mighty grateful you showed up at Al’s and rescued me. Ya brought me to my true home where I belong; the place where I have you as my brother, where I met my sweet space toy,” Jessie glanced at Buzz, “and our amazin’ family. I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is thank you, cowboy.”

Woody pulled away and kept his hands on Jessie’s shoulders, “aw Jess, I’d like to think it’s the other way around. Our lives would be pretty dull without you and Bullseye. I’m so happy for you and Buzz and I’ll be there for you both, whatever you need,” Woody reached out to shake Buzz’s hand. “Never thought I’d see the day we’d be brothers!”

“I’d like to think we already are, cowboy,” responded Buzz.

“Welp, I’ll leave you two alone. I’m sure the girls will be all over you soon, Jess,” chuckled Woody and the three could see Dolly, Trixie, and Mrs. Potato Head in a huddle on the other side of the room, occasionally looking at the cowgirl.

“I’m well prepared,” laughed Jessie and cuffed Woody’s arm, “thanks bro.”

As the cowboy walked away to find Slinky, Buzz took Jessie into his arms and kissed her cheek.

“You alright, cowgirl? You looked a little tense during the meeting,” asked Buzz.

“I’m ok. Just had some thoughts from back in the day creepin’ into my mind, but as long as you’re right here, I’m gonna be ok,” responded Jessie and leant in to kiss him softly.

As Buzz returned her kiss and wrapped her up in his arms, she buried her face in his neck.

Yes, this was so different from her first Christmas. She had Woody, her brother and confidant. She had her toy family, who loved and cared for her, even Mr. Potato Head. She had an amazing owner but above all else, she had Buzz. She knew her space ranger would always be by her side and nothing bad would ever happen to her. She believed Buzz would do anything to keep their family together, even if one day Bonnie grew up and became uninterested in them. Buzz wouldn’t leave her alone, and she wouldn’t leave him alone either.

It was the two of them against the world, to infinity and beyond.

Jessie felt her breathing become easier and she nuzzled her fiancé lovingly.

They would get through Christmas in the next week, then she had a wedding to plan!  

Notes:

I wrote this story back in 2012 (which is crazy it's already 10 years old!) and decided to edit/polish it and upload onto Ao3 as I'm a lot more active over here! With that, please excuse any dated scenarios/scenes/etc in this story as it was all written right after Toy Story 3.

TS/Disney/Pixar/and the other toys mentioned are not mine. (Although I do own crusty Jessie and Buzz dolls that have been to the Disney parks a zillion times).