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It was safe to say she was in love with the Sheriff, even if he did act like cat around a cucumber with her most of the time. Yes, he was a neurotic, bossy, insecure mess of lanky limbs, but he was also a deeply caring, sweet, well-meaning one.
...for the most part. When he wasn’t being a big baby.
“I don’t know what to tell’im anymore” Slinky said, all but sweeping the desk with his ears as he paced around her lamp. She patted his head.
“Then don’t say anything and let him calm down by himself”
“It’s just- it’s been less than a week and he’s already falling apart”
“Uh-huh”
“And, I mean- would it really be the end of the world if Andy had a new favorite toy?”
Bo wanted to argue that Andy wanting to keep Buzz with him as he slept wasn’t necessarily an indicator that he was the new favorite; they’d all gotten a turn at least once- well, except her. Porcelain was nice to look at and smooth to the touch but it made a poor cuddle companion. Heck, Andy had even curled up with Rex a good dozen times before, particularly if he’d been having bad dreams and figured a T-rex would keep them at bay; and it hadn’t diminished Andy’s love for Woody one bit. Still, she figured as she looked over at the occupied bed where the boy was hugging Buzz’s glow-in-the-dark body close, Woody had taken this particular interruption to his routine like a shot to the heart, curling up on one corner of the toy chest like a war prisoner, refusing to let either comfort nor jokes reach him.
“Not for you and certainly not for me” she replied with a hint of a smile “He doesn’t have any dolls to play the part of damsel in distress, y’know. I have job security. But I guess being a hero is more fragile a position”
“Doesn’t it bother you? Being saved by Buzz rather than Woody?”
“A little, I guess” she didn’t enjoy the whole rescue business that much to begin with, her one perk on the job was that Andy enjoyed having her kiss Woody all over a bit too much and the consequential flirting it led to. To his credit, even he seemed to realize that having her do that with Buzz was uncomfortable and had refrained from it, but it was still a little off-putting to do the whole ‘My hero’ thing with someone else. Habits die hard “But not more than if it were Rocky or Potato Head”
“I like Buzz” Slinky admitted, as if he were surrendering the kind of secret you take to your grave. She sighed. That’s where the issue laid. It would have been so easy to take Woody’s side if Buzz had really been as insufferable as Woody made him out to be, but he wasn’t. He was hard-working, eager to help and surprisingly thoughtful.
Dare she say, they were very much alike.
“Me too” Bo all but whispered.
“He’s a nice guy, even if he’s…”
“Bananas?”
“Yeah. He really thinks he’s the Buzz Lightyear. I thought he was just dedicated to his role, but he really believes he can fix his ship and fly home”
“Give’im time. I’d like to see him take off on that piece of cardboard”
“It’s Woody I’m worried about”
“Yeah” she eyed the toy chest, now empty save for maybe a dozen toys getting their night’s rest. Among them, her neurotic, lanky mess of a Sheriff “Yeah”
“I don’t want him to say or do something he’ll regret”
Ah, Bo thought, he does tend to do that.
It was a lie, it was a filthy lie, had to be.
Or, well not a lie, RC wouldn’t lie , but… it was a mistake, it couldn’t be what they were thinking.
“It was an accident, guys you- you gotta believe me!”
“We believe you, Woody” Slinky immediately piped in, only to be stared down to his tail tucked between his legs. Bo kept quiet, mind still reeling, still trying to recompose the pieces into something that made sense to her. But the fact was, they picture they kept forming wasn’t pretty. There were words, words she couldn’t follow, and then everyone was advancing towards Woody with nothing good on their minds.
“Would you boys stop it?!” her voice lacked authority, rather, she sounded scared. She was scared. This was madness “Stop!”
Things would have quickly degenerated into something even worse had it not been by Andy’s arrival. The room was scanned for a space ranger that wouldn’t be there and Andy grabbed Woody instead. She couldn’t help but notice that rather than resigned or disappointed, the boy had simply seemed to take it in stride. Perhaps she’d been right about Woody having nothing to worry about, after all.
Well, except the angry mob that had been ready to lynch him just minutes before.
Mom’s car drove away and once he was out of sight, rage came pouring out of her again as she stomped her way as best as she could (Stomping is hard for porcelain feet) towards where said mob had gathered
“Are you all out of your mind? What were you thinking?”
Again with the quivery voice. She hated that she couldn’t sound as angry as she was. Rocky and Hamm had the good sense to look a bit abashed. Sarge and the soldiers went silent, but Potato Head was beyond that. Oh, it was his moment and he was living it.
“Save it, toots, we aren’t apologizing for- ow” her crook made an almost musical noise against his head, his hat knocked clean off. He clutched his forehead “What was that for?”
“Call me toots one more time” her tone was calm, but the threat of somehow finding a way to turn him into fries should he try again was implicit.
“Guys, please don’t fight!” Rex intervened “This is tearing us apart!”
“Things have always been the same here” Bo continued “We treat each other with, at the very least, some base respect. We stick together. And we don’t turn on one another like animals”
“Tell that to your boytoy” Hamm muttered, the last word carrying an implication she didn’t like one bit. She turned to him and he faked a cough.
“Come on, guys- Woody said it was an accident” Slinky defended.
“Oh, please, are you a preschool toy? Of course he’d say that! He wasn’t gonna say-” he raised both hand and crossed his eyes, making a whiny voice for his next words “Well, I’ve been getting my kicks being Andy’s favorite toy for a few years now and there is no way I’m letting someone else do it!”
“Alright, so we can all agree that Woody’s been taking the changes around here with less than quiet dignity and grace, but that doesn’t mean-” RC beeped and rumbled “Yeah- no, RC, I know what you saw and I’m not saying you’re lying, but-”
“Slink, look, you gotta hand it to us” Hamm intervened “Woody ain’t the most sensible guy when he’s upset”
“Oh, please!” Bo snapped at that, knowing full well they had them there “He may babble up a storm but he wouldn’t harm a fly”
“Unless Andy started playing more with that fly, of course” Potato Head said. She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t doing Woody or herself any favors by losing her temper with this. Even if Potato Head was deliberately being as incendiary as possible. Who else had seen what happened? She’d been with her sheep and the others had been playing cards. Lenny had already been put into a box. Buzz… Buzz!
“Look” she said, her tone calm again “We’re wasting time with this and Buzz is out there in the bushes”
“That’s right!” Potato Head lightened up at this “Sarge! Guys! We need recon- Buzz’ll clear this up!”
“Exactly” Bo nodded, happy that he was at least using all that energy for something productive.
“And when he tells us Woody pushed him, you’ll owe us an apology”
Another deep breath. And another. And another…
Buzz didn’t turn up and then, when mom’s car drove back in, neither did Woody. And that was all Potato Head and the rest needed to declare him guilty. Just like that, no trial, no attempt at finding a middle ground or even looking at the evidence. Sarge revealed that Woody had said something about a toy being stuck behind Andy’s desk- which was true, they found Ball-8 in there, and RC sheepishly admitted that Buzz hadn’t been standing in front of the window when Woody tried to run him over and the series of events which resulted in his fall had actually been too elaborate to seem planned beforehand. But he still tried to run him over! Hamm argued, and they stuck with that. She had no defense for that, it was obvious he’d been up to, at the very least, a very distasteful and unfunny joke, but to her it seemed obvious that it had been just that- a prank gone wrong.
Except…
Well, she remembered Woody on the previous night, sulking in the toy chest like not sleeping on the bed was the end of the world. And his near-horrified face upon finding himself the villain in Andy’s games with Buzz as the hero, ignoring the fact that this left his opinion on toys that usually got those roles look anything but good. And how he’d all but snapped upon Potato Head’s comments that he’d be sent to the attic. True, it hadn’t been very nice of the other toys to take the fact that he was feeling so bad as a personal challenge on who could make him feel the worst -bringing up the attic, of all places, like they didn’t know that’s where Andy had found him in the first place, after years of gathering dust- but his reaction hadn’t been the best either. He really needed to learn how to not blow things out of proportion every time he was mildly inconvenienced.
Who knew? Maybe he was. Somewhere out there in a big world with kids like Sid Philips and his trusty Scud that liked turning toy into craters or torn pieces for fun, and cars that ran over handsome, whiny Sheriffs-
She really had to stop thinking about it.
Of course, when the next day came, one of the obvious reasons toys were so fond of Woody became apparent when they tried to bring up the schedule for the day and going over the moving-buddy program following his often scribbly, most of the times downright illegible notes without him. Bo stayed apart, as was her custom, silently mortified at the chaos breaking along their ranks. Everyone seemed to think any reunion that wasn’t called by Woody was really just a good excuse to get together and wreak havoc and the lack of organization on the makeshift replacement wasn’t helping.
“I just- I don’t think I can handle the pressure” Rex said after his first half a dozen attempts to call everyone to order were ignored, tiny hands fumbling nervously with Mr. Mike’s microphone and the notes, unable to hold both of them at the same time“I don’t- I get nervous and remember the program and my arms are so short, and-”
“Give it here-!” Potato Head grumbled taking the microphone from him and making him spill the papers, which he immediately began retrieving, taking swings left and right with his tail “I should have been making the announcements from the start, anyway. He’ll make a better announcer, his size makes half the job for him-”
“Well, I thought it would” Hamm retorted, unamused.
“Well a fat lot of good it did!”
“Gentlemen, we still need someone to take over these duties” Sarge reminded them. He seemed just about as impatient for their arguments as Bo was feeling at this point “Tomorrow is moving day and any mistake on this program could mean-”
“I got it, OK?” Potato Head snapped at him. To Bo, it was evident that he hadn’t really realized how complicated and important Woody’s job was and it was proving to be a headache for him “Moving day. Possible lost toys. Big deal. Andy can do with a bit less either way, don’t you think?”
“Are you suggesting we leave our men behind?” Sarge demanded. His tone made Potato Head consider his next words.
“All I’m saying is we shouldn’t even stick to Woody’s stupid program anymore!”
“The program works” Slink cut him. He’d barely uttered a word since the past night, but his patience was wearing thin too and it showed “We aren’t going to leave anyone behind just ‘cause you don’t wanna bother”
“That’s some cheek you’re showing your new leader”
Bo started at that with a sharp tinkle of porcelain against the boards of the floor. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one surprised and not in a pleasant way.
“Leader? Who died and made you boss?” Hamm said, scowling.
“You can’t be serious” Slinky agreed.
“I’ve been undermined and ignored for too long!” Potato Head said in a grandiose tone that really just sounded like Mom’s when she caught her toe on the furniture while talking and refused to stop talking “It’s about time we had a leader that wasn’t insufferable and I nominate myself”
Bo thought that even provided that the bar were actually that low, the old potato was still miles from reaching it, but before she could think of a proper way to voice it, Hamm was already interjecting.
“And what makes you think we want you as a leader?” Hamm continued “You aren’t exactly charismatic, specially with the pre-school toys”
“What’cha talking about? They love me” and to demonstrate his point, he went to the nearest one of them, which happened to be one of Molly’s stuffed animals, all but bellowing at them with the kind of smile Bo had only seen when Andy watched the Batman cartoons “Right, buddy?”
The bunny broke into terrified wails and ran straight to Bo, clinging to her skirts helplessly despite the fact that she was about three thirds of his height. She took it in stride, patting the poor thing’s back
“There, there” she shushed him softly “The big mean potato scared you, didn’t it? What a mean potato”
She knew the remedy to a tee. Preschool toys and the generally softer population of Andy’s room, perhaps thinking looking over soft-looking creatures was her line of business after looking at her sheep were often going to her for comfort or guidance. It wasn’t the first time Potato Head had made one of them cry- admittedly, it usually happened because he snapped at them. But all the same, she knew calling him names usually got them to cheer up faster than most other things.
“Ugly smelly potato, wouldn’t know a good mood if it kicked him on the mouth. It’s just an old spuddy man with a sour mood” the bunny’s wails had turned to hiccuping and he was even smiling hesitantly at her words “Yes he is, yes he is-”
“Oh, come on-! It’s just ‘cause Andy keeps casting me as the bad guy, that’s all” he protested, looking mortified despite himself “I’d like to see Dr. Porkchop do any better”
“I’m not the one nominating himself for a big position at the top” Hamm replied smoothly.
“Well, someone’s gotta do it, and I don’t see any of you stepping forward”
“Guys- it’s a bit too soon to start talking about replacing Woody, c’mon” Slinky said.
“He’s right, Buzz could come back and he’s the obvious first choice” Rex said, earning a slight glare from Potato Head and Slinky alike.
“Fine-” Potato Head sighed “But we still need someone to lead the assembly if you intend to keep up with Woody’s program”
There was a pause. Bo briefly thought of the possible consequences of not even trying to keep up with the work Woody had done, which ranged from someone ending up in the wrong box, possibly misplaced for weeks to straight up being forgotten in the old house by Andy.
“How about me, then?” she said, having managed to make the bunny stop crying altogether. They turned to her and, to his credit, Potato Head did consider it.
“I mean- no offense, but can you?” Hamm said.
“Yeah, I’m not sure they’re gonna listen to you any more than they did the big weenie here” Potato Head pointed at Rex with his thumb. For all response, Bo, patted the bunny once more, to let him know she was going to move. He allowed it, since he was considerbly calmer, and she walked to the group, internally wondering what on earth she was doing. Once there, she reached her hand for the notes. Potato Head handed them readily and she went through them, a pang of ache shooting through her at the sight of Woody’s scribbles. However, it was no surprise to her to realize she could read them- at least for the most part. Some bits seemed like he’d been cut mid-phrase by a sudden idea and some were plain unrelated. Still, she could work with it. She went to the podium, planted the sheets on it and reached for Mr. Mike’s microphone, thanking him once he conceded.
“Excuse me” she tried. Some heads turned, maybe more out of surprise than actual interest, but for the most part the toys kept doing what they had been doing for the past fifteen minutes. She breathed and tried again “Excuse me ” Still no result. Potato Head and Hamm were already giving her ‘Told you so’ looks. She was briefly reminded of her failure at calling attention back when Woody had almost been thrown out of the window and she scowled at herself, before holding the microphone under her armpit for a moment, bringing her fingers to her mouth and let out the whistle she normally used to get the sheep to behave on the rare occasion they didn’t- she didn’t even think of it, properly speaking, but it worked. The room fell silent, every eye on her. She sighed, finally and continued, her tone steady as she moved the microphone for her mouth again “Can everyone hear me?” she turned for the farthest audience, conformed of shower toys and baby toys, who nodded “Alright, thank you, everyone, for coming- we’ll make this as quick as possible. First item of the day would be-” she took a moment to interpret Woody’s writing “Moving buddies- no, don’t argue. We’ve discussed this” she added, seeing some of her audience already starting to stir in protest “Moving day is tomorrow, we don’t have the time for it. Does everyone have a moving buddy already or not?” a reluctant murmur of agreement spread- after all, the only argument about it was how embarrassing it was. Even old Potato Head nodded, looking disgruntled. Ah, so it really was as Slinky said, huh? she looked down at the notes again “OK, next item- separate piece inventory. Sarge?”
“M’am!” the alluded leapt to action, saluting her “We ran our numbers and it all checks out, every piece is accounted for and in the trunk”
“Good” it really was good, she had feared they’d left it for last minute . She turned to the audience again “Now, don’t take anything out if you can help it, we don’t want any last-minute scrambles for someone’s missing accessory, alright?”
Another murmur, this time in more earnest. Hamm gave her what was either a thumbs up or a number one- hard to tell with pork hooves. Still, she nodded at him in acknowledgment as she moved for the next bullet point and the next, until she ran out. She adjourned the meeting feeling the tiniest bit breathless and even managed a smile when Rex, Hamm and Slink approached to tell her what a good job she’d done. Really, she almost took a bit of offense in the fact that they had doubted she could do it when her literal job was herding, but she guessed it wasn’t really anything to be too surprised about. Sometimes they seemed to forget the helpless damsel thing was just Andy’s notion of what women behaved like- for now at least. She never lost hope that one day he’d allow her to play the hero too.
“Well, gotta hand it to ya, you’re hard to ignore” Potato Head said. His compliment, despite the wording, was sincere, so she took it with a nod.
“You don’t herd sheep for years without learning a thing or two”
“Gentlemen” Sarge intervened again “I’d like to propose Miss Peep for our head of state, effective immediately”
“I decline” Bo countered, though, just as Potato Head seemed ready to rant his arms and feet off, walking off before the argument could even begin “Like Slinky said, it’s a bit too soon to be making any changes”
“We can’t hold change off forever, M'am” Sarge said, almost ruefully. She didn’t turn, but the words followed her for hours.
Out of all the houses in the whole world, let alone just this neighborhood or city, Sid’s house, he’d ended up in Sid’s house. With Buzz’s arm- just Buzz’s arm, the Space Ranger was still nowhere to be seen.
There was absolutely nothing she could have said to defend that, so she didn’t.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
In fact, all she wanted to do was maybe curl up somewhere and cry for a good while. But Slink, poor old Slink was just as destroyed as she was, so instead she sat next to him, chin on her knees and her crook on one hand and tried to breathe.
“I just can’t believe it” Rex was saying “I can’t believe Woody would do that”
“You saw it with your own two eyes, ya big dip!” Potato Head, turning to the room, enjoying the theatrics, the spotlight. Ah, what the heck, maybe he deserved it “Buzz’s arm. All that was left of him after Woody was done with’im”
“He always took such good care of us” Lenny sighed in disbelief. He wasn’t the only one having trouble believing it, most toys were adamant that it had to be some form of misunderstanding, that maybe the arm they’d seen wasn’t really Buzz’s, that maybe Buzz had been injured by Sid and Woody was trying to help. Bo was tempted to latch to those hopeful thoughts, to think there was something here she was missing, something she hadn’t been able to see. Anything that would allow her to feel less foolish. Deep down she was still convinced Woody, her lanky mess of a sheriff, couldn’t be guilty… and that in turn made her feel even more of a fool.
“...and Miss Crook over here still owes us an apology” Potato Head dropped at the end of one rant or other. Slinky, slouched next to her on the lamp’s base, eyed her cautiously. She swallowed.
“We still don’t know that you’re right” was her response.
“You really did take stupid pills for breakfast, toots” she felt her fist tighten around her crook at the word, just a little “You saw it! That creep had Buzz’s arm like- like some sort of trophy”
That he had. And Woody had tried to pass it for Buzz. What a mess.
“That isn’t a proof” She was grasping at straws and she knew it but what else could she do?
“Well, she has a point-” Mr. Shark pointed out “He could have found it somewhere else”
“Maybe if we’d let him explain…” Slinky started, meekly.
“What, you wanted a diagram? I can’t believe you two!” Potato Head snapped “I just-! I get a dog’s gonna be as faithful as a dog” he angrily motioned for Slink before pointing at her accusingly “But you should really know better!”
“Hey…” Hamm tried. What was the that thinkering sound? It was her. She was quivering. Why was she quivering? “Hey, Potato Head, maybe-”
“What, you’re just gonna act like facts aren’t piled up against him just ‘cause he’s cute?!” he spat the last words in a mock high-pitched tone and a part of her rebelled against them. He was much more, so much more than that. All ruined for jealousy and one poor decision. She wasn’t sure if it was more saddening or infuriating “You’re smarter than that, Bo! Or are you really the airhead Andy thinks you are?”
Couldn’t he just shut up? Just this once? Normally, Woody was able to make him calm down before he got like this. It was the kind of toy Woody was, a problem-solver, a friend. So sweet and caring and- the guy was still talking, and all Bo could think of was that dorky grin on Woody’s face whenever she’d hint at something more, and-
“You’re gonna keep defending that good-for-nothin’, murdering, sadistic-”
Air escaped her in a sob she hadn’t known to be holding and Potato Head immediately went silent as she sunk her face into her skirt. She heard Rocky elbow him and Hamm mutter something like ‘Way to go, spudhead ’. There were no tears, not for lack of trying. Three sets of heads nuzzled her, trying to cheer her up, and Slink laid a paw over her hand too. She tightened her fist around her crook and breathed in, trying to recover. Potato Head was shuffling close.
“Bo… Bo, I’m sorry” he sounded genuinely sorry “I didn’t think-”
“No surprises there” Hamm said, earning another elbow from Rocky.
“Bo, look… I’m sorry” he reached for her and the sheep all but hissed at him, indignant, making him back off. He sighed “You can’t keep defending him. You said it yourself, we stick together and we don’t turn on one another. And that’s what he did”
She didn’t reply. What could she say? She couldn’t deny what she’d seen, what she knew. But angry and hurt as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to condemn Woody either. An idiot, she was an idiot. An idiot in love.
“As far as I’m concerned, him and Sid deserve each other” was the last thing Potato Head said before turning to go back to cards. Slink slid his snout over her knees to rub his face with her forehead.
“It’s only until tomorrow” he muttered “We’ll be gone tomorrow”
She felt even more foolish to realize she wished she could say goodbye to him.
“We still need someone to take up Woody’s functions” Slinky said, as the sun begun to rise and everyone begun to uneasily prepare for the trip. It was chaos and Bo could only call the fact that they hadn’t woken Andy with it a miracle. Sarge was doing his best to keep order but with nervousness and excitement rushing through every circuit, stitch and bracket, it was proving impossible.
“Let Potato Head do it” she said. Her voice was hoarse. Slink looked at her knowingly. Tired.
“You know he’s gonna make a mess of it. No matter what he thinks, he ain’t cut for the job”
“Then Hamm. Or you do it. I don’t care” she did care. It was the whole problem. We look after one another, she’d told them. Slink simply pushed her listless hand with his nose once, as though to tell her to get moving and she sighed “Alright. Let’s go”
She couldn’t use her whistle again, the risk of waking Andy was too big, but she did knock on the boards with her crook three times, making a clean, glassy sound that made heads turn to her. Silently, she waved it in front of her, signaling two spots.
“Two lines, now. Everyone next to their moving buddy. We don’t have much time, the sun is almost out”
Almost eagerly, as if they’d only been awaiting her instruction, the two lines were made and Sarge ran through his lists, making sure everyone was accounted for as they piled up in the toy chest or the cardboard boxes assigned to them. She reassured plushes that they’d be fine, checked on RC and other radio-controlled toys and reminded the pre-school toys not to get scared by the racket. In no-time, everyone was safe and ready to go. Sarge saluted and went to account for his troops inside the bucket. The final box, where Bo was to enter -her lamp and sheep would go on a padded one, by Andy’s mom instructions- was the only one missing and she took a moment before filling it.
“I trust no one has a problem with my participation on today’s program” she said, looking alternatively at every one of her travel companions. Rocky blinked, not really getting what the problem was, Rex fiddled with his hands and Hamm coughed and elbowed Potato Head, who cleared his throat.
“Course not”
“Good” she was so tired, she was almost craving for the rest that awaited her in the box, so she headed for it, Slinky at her heel “Mom’s alarm will ring soon. See you all on the other side”
“We told you it had to be some sort of misunderstanding, we told you” Mr. Shark was ranting. Behind him, Wheezy and a handful of the smaller toys agreed. The commotion of RC crash-landing on top of Potato Head had drawn most them out of the toy chest, demanding answers. A bump in the road made them all jump and Bo all but grappled at the nearby box, terrified that this would be the jump where she’d topple over and break, her other hand on Slinky’s paw, comforting him. Poor thing had taken a beating and part of her was actually concerned that his spring wouldn’t recover from it.
“Look, it all looked incriminating as heck” Potato Head defended, still putting himself together, and he eyed Hamm “Am I right? Didn’t it look like something out of America’s Most Wanted?”
The piggy bank hissed, grimacing.
“I’m not saying it didn’t but... yeah I guess you sort of jumped the gun there”
“We” Bo said, almost loud enough that it got missed, but Sarge heard.
“Miss Peep is right, we all jumped to conclusions” his voice was heavy with sorrow “None of us is innocent”
“Look-! Alright so maybe he didn’t like about being trapped with Sid together, but there’s still the fact that he pushed Buzz out the window” Potato Head defended “No defense for that! He did it!”
“It was an accident” Slinky said, struggling to sit up “He told us. We should’ave listened from the start”
Most the toys voiced their agreement at this.
“And all the evidence to prove it?” Potato Head argued
“There was plenty” Bo was trying very hard to keep her tone controlled, but rage was seeping into it either way. It wasn’t even so much against him for accusing Woody but herself for having believed it “Which you very steadily decided to ignore. Dumb pills, I suppose”
More hums and yells of agreement.
“Well I didn’t hear you defend him last night!” Potato Head snapped at the multitude, pining angry eyes on Bo next “Even you stopped defending him by then!”
She saw red for a moment. Just one moment.
“Gentlemen. M’am. This is pointless” Sarge intervened, probably saving Potato Head’s life, as Bo was seriously considering throwing him out “We shouldn’t have been conducting a trial without having all the facts and now that we know that the victim is alive and well, may I suggest we hold accusations off until we can regroup?”
“But what if Buzz isn’t alive and well? And Woody?” Rex said “They flew past us- they missed us completely! What if they crashed?! What if they blew up?!”
“Not helping!” Slink hissed, most likely noticing how Bo’s body was quivering so much she was practically vibrating. She hadn’t thought about that. It had been unbearable enough to know Woody in peril when she’d thought him guilty. Now that she knew he was innocent she felt like she could break from just how much she was feeling inside. No time for that, however.
“Sarge is right- we’ll be at the new house any moment now and we can’t be seen scattered like this. Back to your boxes, everyone, we can discuss this once we arrive”
“But what about Woody and Buzz? What if they broke?” Rex asked. She took a deep breath, her mind conjuring up dreadful images only to dissolve them one moment later.
“They’re fine, I know they’re fine” she assured herself and Rex “And they’ll find us. You can count on that”
Rex didn’t look so sure, but he contented with that. Back in the box, Slink all but curled around her. The guilt that was eating her alive was also consuming him. For a moment, she resented the fact that she wasn’t even allowed to crumble on her own- just a moment, just enough to let everything she was holding in out- but it’s very hard for a flock to stay calm if the one tending to them crumbled. They needed her whole and stable. Just a bit more, just a little longer…
The arrival was a blur. They were picked up, moved, then picked up and moved again- thank goodness that the box she was in was one of the smaller, more fragile-looking ones. She was sure they would have been buried under other boxes hadn’t that been the case. Things as they were, they were placed on Andy’s desk and left unattended quickly. Hours passed. There was hardly any light entering the box by the time they heard Andy arrive, jump on the mattress a couple of times, only to be called away by his mother.
“We’re all camping out on the living room, just for tonight” she said “Tomorrow we’ll get your room ready, OK?”
“OK, mom!” he padded across the floor and closed the door. Coast clear, most likely, but Bo had to make sure. She peeked through a slip of the box and her strength failed her. There they were. There he was. Grimier than he’d ever been and looking like he couldn’t believe he was on Andy’s bed again -even if said bed was at the time just a naked mattress with some boxes on top- but really there. Woody exchanged a glance with Buzz and smiled, hesitant.
“Looks like we made it”
“Looks like it, Sheriff”
They looked her way and she hid, not sure why. Woody’s light steps and Buzz’s sturdier ones bounced their way to the box and the lid opened. She found herself looking up at his long nose and a hesitant smile in the twilight and she thought she’d melt.
“Everyone in one piece over here?” he said softly.
“Very funny, beanpole” Potato Head said, but the aggressiveness on his voice had diminished considerably. He turned to her “Permission to disembark, m’am?”
It took her a moment, which was absurd, as she was the only ‘M’am’ .
“Yes- uh, help the rest out of their boxes, we need to have a meeting right now”
“On it” came Buzz’s voice from outside the box and she heard him trail away. She had to appreciate the fact that he seemed to have read Potato Head’s words immediately and with ease, as Woody was still blinking down at her, silently asking for an explanation she was in no mind to give right now. His eyes, however, trailed to Slinky’s frame and he snapped out of it.
“Slink!” he jumped into the box to kneel besides his faithful friend, unwillingly giving Potato Head a place to stand on to get out “Ow- how are you feeling, buddy?”
“I’m good. Just tired” Slinky said, his tail wagging weakly. Rocky was helping Rex out of the box and then hovered near them for a moment, looking to Bo for permission to stay “Sorry I let go”
She shook her head. No, they could probably get Slinky out between the two of them. Rocky nodded and climbed out.
“Don’t say that, you would have broken otherwise” Woody held Slink’s paws with both hands, looking like he was going to cry “Thank you so much for coming after me and Buzz”
“It was the least I could do” Slinky sounded like he was going to cry too “I shouldn’t have doubted you, Woody-”
“That’s-”
“Conversation for another time” Bo interrupted them, hooking her crook on the edge of the box to climb to it with practiced ease. She was feeling close to crying herself. However, she had to pause for a moment, one leg on either side of it and look to Woody “We are going to clear matters out once and for all in this meeting, but I need to know. Were you really trying to throw Buzz out the window?”
“No” there wasn’t hesitation in his tone, or in his inflection, or the eyes set on her. There wasn’t even hurt. Just sincerity.
“We believe you, Woody” Slinky said, a sad reprise to the start of this whole mess.
“Can Buzz attest to this?” Bo continued, despite sensing by Slink’s glance that he was waiting for her to reassure Woody as well.
“He knows what happened” Woody said, but he did sound abashed this time “He knows what I was trying to do and that it only went very wrong by accident”
“And what was that?”
He looked at her as though silently begging her not to make him say it, not when he was going to have to accept it in front of everyone too, but she wasn’t concerned with his pride.
“I just… I wanted him out of sight, just for a moment, so Andy would take me to Pizza Planet. I knew you guys would fish him out from behind the desk if need be- I didn’t mean anyone to get hurt”
“And what about the arm?”
“That was Sid” he said “Or… maybe, I’m not sure. I found him like that with some of Hannah’s dolls, but he said something about trying to fly. I think maybe he did it to himself. After that he was so bummed he wouldn’t help me with anything so I thought….”
“You thought you’d lie”
“Bo…” Slinky started.
“No, she’s right” Woody said, running a hand up and down his face. He halted on his forehead and Bo saw what she thought was a nick on the smooth plastic of his face. Good grief, what had Sid been doing to him? “I wasn’t thinking. You guys were just- right there and the only thing keeping you from helping us out was you still thought I’d broken Buzz. I figured if I could get you to believe me, I’d explain everything later-”
“We didn’t” Slink muttered.
“Huh?”
“We didn’t believe you’d broken Buzz at the time. Not Bo and not me. Rex neither. Most the guys didn’t even when Potato Head told them we’d seen you with his arm” Woody looked to Bo for confirmation and she nodded, eyes still averted “After we saw it, though, well...”
“I know- I don’t blame you” he waved that off “I wouldn’t have believed me either”
“We should go” Bo reminded them “They can’t start without us”
“So you’ve been conducting the meetings?” there wasn’t as much surprise as admiration in his words and his face. It didn’t feel like he hadn’t thought she could as much as hadn’t expected her to- Woody had never seemed to doubt that Bo was not as helpless as Andy often portrayed her, but rather to like doing things for her, even if when she expressed her thanks for it he still turned into a stammering mess. It was probably what had sparked her feelings for him in the first place.
“She has” Slink said as he got to his feet, still a bit wobbly “She made sure we followed the program too. Kept everyone together and calm- even made old Potato Head behave himself”
“That’s not an easy task” Woody said, eyebrows raised as he helped Slink over the edge of the box. Bo climbed down and received him on the other side, and then Woody climbed with Slink’s tail on tow and she received both on the desk.
“Which is why I’m not eager to keep doing it” she simply said, turning away from him to start walking. She couldn’t stand his eyes just yet “The sooner we get you reinstalled, the sooner I can stop dealing with it”
“Reinstalled? I-” he hurried after her, Slink trotting behind “I mean- you think they’d take me?”
“And why not? You’re innocent. And Buzz is here to prove it”
“Yeah, but- I mean, I may not be a creep but I haven’t been exactly nice either. They may just prefer to go with you- I wouldn’t blame them”
“How about you let everyone decide?” Slink said, catching up “You know… sometimes you don’t know what’s the best for us. Sometimes we know better”
Woody slid into a pensive silence and Bo sighed, reaching to take his for a moment, squeezing reassuringly. She even managed a smile when he looked her way.
“Come on. We’re happy that you’re back, we all are. We just have a lot to clear up”
He let his shoulders relax a bit, smiling back at her.
“Yes, m’am”
It went considerably smoother than they thought it would. Buzz had already briefed everyone as quickly as he could -no, Woody hadn’t really tried to kill him. No, Woody hadn’t mutilated him either. Yes, it had all been a huge misunderstanding. Those were the main concerns, but Woody still had to explain what had happened, his idea of Buzz getting stuck behind the desk temporarily and the fact that his only reason for it was wanting Andy to take him to Pizza Planet. This earned him some unkind comments on part of Potato Head and Sarge, but Buzz was having none of it. Just as swiftly, he explained Woody’s determination to get both of them back home; Woody’s refusal to leave him behind, the plan he’d come up with in order to save him- the fact that he’d been ready to let himself get eaten by Scud to buy him a chance at reaching the truck. The rest they already knew. Woody had managed to reach the truck and had been only focused on getting Buzz on it as well. If he were the kind of toy they thought him, he would have left him behind then.
“Look, Spaceman, we know it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was” Potato Head said after he was done “I mean, you two wouldn’t be here if it had been- but the fact is he still turned on you!”
“I’m not denying that” Buzz replied “To be perfectly honest, if he’d just asked me to lay low for a bit to let him take my place in Andy’s outing, I would have done it gladly”
“Yeah, like Woody would have asked” Hamm snorted.
“But the fact is he also didn’t mean to harm me in any way. I will say, though, if he ever attempts anything even remotely similar, he may find it hard to stand on his two legs again”
“Wait, what?” Woody hissed, nervously.
“There is a saying on the Gubblidor system…” Buzz proceeded to emit a series of grunts and hisses that had Rex reaching for Potato Head’s arms to cross them in front of him as if to shield himself from a vampire “...which, vaguely translated would mean: Water under the bridge. What is past is past, at least as far as I am concerned”
“All in favor?” Bo called out, every hand raised, even Potato Head’s, who had lightened up considerably at Buzz’s not-so-veiled threat “Very well, that only leaves us the matter of whether or not Woody is to be reinstalled to his position”
“I mean- do we really need him to?” Hamm asked “I feel like I sort of like the new administration”
“Told you” Woody said. Bo breathed out.
“Not that it’s not fun to act babysitter for toys that are all-age-appropriate and should know better” she said “But, all things considered, it’s hard to argue with Woody’s leading skills. He managed to organize Sid’s cannibals- I mean, unusual group of toys, which is something I don’t think any of us could have done in his place. He demonstrated the quick-thinking and problem-solving skills we used to treasure around here- our whole way of dealing with situations like birthdays and christmas and yard sales was designed in the most part by him. And I daresay at this point he’s going to have something designed in case someone falls out the window by accident” she eyed him and he didn’t seem to know whether to look abashed or not “We had good reasons to let Woody lead us before and, honestly, they all still stand”
“I, for one, am in favor” Buzz said, raising his hand. Slinky did too. Rex followed, meekly.
“Someone who can outwit Scud is someone I want on my side” he said for all explanation.
“Oh, what the heck” Hamm said, raising his arm as well “I guess someone crazy enough to light a rocket they’re tied to on fire is worth following if only for the laughs”
“It’s not like anyone else can read your notes, anyway” Potato Head said with a shrug, raising his hand.
One by one, everyone agreed. Woody’s face lightened up at the sight. He looked touched enough to cry again. Bo was almost tempted to raise her hand as well, but she minded the position she was to hold for another full minute and withheld.
“We have majority” she said, trying not to let her relief show “Very well, Woody is to be reinstalled to his previous position once more”
“Things are gonna change, though, guys” he assured “I promise, they’ll get even better”
“They better” Potato Head said, but his tone was only half-serious “Now, what do y’all say if we explore the new place for a bit? I’d love to see if we have any loose boards we can hide the cards in”
There was a murmur of agreement. Woody nodded.
“Sounds like a plan- ah, er if it’s OK with you?” he looked at all the faces in front of him and then at Bo, who took a moment to realize she was asking for her OK. She nodded, cocking an eyebrow. Woody adjourned the meeting, toys spilling everywhere in order to get to know their new home. He chucked, seemingly just out of the thrill of being back home and back on his role “Oh, boy, are there gonna be changes. I have so many ideas” he turned to her, mouthing as though searching for the right words- and it dawned on her. She didn’t have to hold it together anymore. Before he could say anything, she had already pulled him close, burying her face in his chest, keeping him locked in place with her hands grappling at his vest. Woody started to say something, and then went silent, hesitantly placing hands over her shoulders- and then, in a lapsus she wouldn’t have thought him capable of, he hugged her close.
“I was so worried” she muttered- almost whimpered.
“I’m sorry”
“I thought-” she couldn’t tell him she’d doubted him. She didn’t want to think about it herself. She knew him didn’t she? She knew he wouldn’t be capable of-
“It’s OK” he muttered into her bonnet.
“It’s not”
“It’s-”
“It’s really not”
“Why not?”
Because I should know better, she thought but couldn’t say it. They didn’t talk about it then. Woody didn’t need to and she didn’t feel like it. To be perfectly honest, for the time being it was enough to just see him and know he was OK.
They did eventually talk about it, though, on the days and weeks following the moving day, and it was frustrating for her. Woody didn’t blame her for having thought him all the things they called him. I didn’t make a good case for myself, and I did act like a baby during that whole week, he’d say, you warned me a lot of times about my big mouth, I should have listened.
Yes, he should have, Bo would agree, but the bitterness was still there somewhere inside her. Part of her wished he’d get mad at her, he’d become indignant that she’d ever doubted him. She deserved it, after all. It was probably the lack of outlet that made her feel so intensely about it, though, because any attempt to tell Woody had him tripping with himself to assure her it was OK and Slinky didn’t want to think about it anymore and she didn’t really feel like she could confide to anyone else.
Which was probably the reason she ended up doing it with Buzz, during one afternoon where Woody was out figuring safe routes for recon missions and the Space Ranger had stayed behind eyeing some comics- his mild attempt at better grasping ‘Earth culture’, or so he claimed. Buzz didn’t seem to get her problem very well, but he at least let her vent- it was probably part of what made Woody so crazy about him that first week, realizing all the things Buzz was good at that he wasn’t.
“I’m an idiot” she finalized after what seemed hours of talking about how wrong it all felt now “I should have known”
Buzz turned one page and cleared his throat.
“If I may, Miss Peep...”
“Bo’s fine”
“I wouldn’t say that the ability to look at evidence objectively is idiocy. In fact, I-”
“I know him” Bo said, not caring how rude she was being for once “He’s a mess. A real one. He can’t stop and think things through for more than two seconds when he’s worked up. He keeps putting his foot into his mouth. He acts like every little thing is the worst thing ever- but he’s not the kind of toy that would push another out the window to be the favorite again. Not ever. I knew this, I still do, but-” Buzz snorted with half-contained laughter “What?”
“I just- seeing how you- I mean with the kind of relationship you two have, I was expecting you to praise him”
“I praise him plenty” she said, suddenly self-conscious “I’m starting to think I should do the contrary more often”
“But that’s the thing, Miss Peep-”
“Bo”
“You are objective. You considered things no one else had, though. Woody’s character. His way of thinking. His faults in character”
“Big fat lot of help it was”
“My point is you don’t need to do the contrary to praising him. If Woody wants a good tongue lashing there’s plenty to choose from for it around here. Me included. You do things differently. You remind him of the best on himself and others and he has to believe it because you don’t sugar-coat the other extreme either”
“You have been reading mom’s magazines, haven’t you?”
“Guilty as charged. They do help with identity crises, you know. Miss Peep”
“Bo”
“Miss Bo, then” close enough “The truth is I don’t think any of us sees Woody like you do- I mean really see him. He is kind of neurotic. And impulsive. Stubborn as a hibsarax- a mule, I’m told, is the earthly equivalent” he shrugged “It’s the kind of thing that gets him in trouble, but I think it was also what made him leader to begin with. And even so it’s easy for him to get carried away. The fact that you see him as he is, with all the rights and the wrongs and are willing to… steer him when he’s going astray- I think it’s much better for him than the kind of blind compliance it would be otherwise. What would he gain of someone just mindlessly agreeing with him?”
“A fatter ego than usual”
“Precisely. The fact that you aren’t blind to his faults, particularly the ones he might miss himself, isn’t lost to him. He knows he misses angles that you don’t and trusts you to point them out. And I, for one, think that’s good”
She pondered the words in silence for a moment.
“Do they teach you emotional intelligence at Space Ranger Academy or something?”
“Nope, but they do give you the recipe to the best omelette in the whole galaxy” he sighed “I do miss eating. I know I never really did, but still”
“It wasn’t a holiday for you either, was it?” she asked. Truthfully, she’d been to worried about Woody and her guilt to think about Buzz “Couldn’t have been easy, learning you aren’t…”
“The real Buzz Lightyear?” he shrugged again, but the gesture wasn’t entirely sincere “I’m grateful I ever learned my true nature, to be honest. I’m sure there must be others who never do… and, of course, if someone looked after me the way you do Woody, I would have been taken down a notch much before it became a problem to myself as well” he trailed off and Bo thought he was done talking for a moment, before he added, almost despite himself “It’s no coincidence that you’re a shepherdess, Miss Bo, that’s what I think. After all, and according to Andy’s dictionary, watching over the flock is on the job description”