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Chapter Text

Woody laid back on a large rock, scratching a sleeping Bullseye behind the ears and watching Jessie draw shapes in the dirt with a stick. Andy had taken the three of them out to the backyard to play rodeo, but left them behind in excitement when his grandma came over for dinner. They stayed in the yard, waiting for Andy to realize where they were and come get them.

“We could sneak back inside if you want,” the cowboy had suggested.

Jessie shook her head no. “The family’s probably downstairs eating. Besides, Bullseye and I haven’t seen this much sun in years. I wanna enjoy it.” Woody couldn’t argue with that, so they’d spent the last almost hour talking and playing games. But now, he and Jessie were quietly watching the sun set while Bullseye slept.

Woody marveled at how close he’d already become to both of them, despite having known them for only a couple of weeks. Maybe it was just because they were all from the same set of toys, but he didn’t feel like that was enough to explain it. While their relationship started off a little rocky, he already had no trouble thinking of Jessie as not just his sister, like her character was meant to be, but as one of his best friends. And Bullseye’s playful and sweet nature had made it easy for him to find a place in the sheriff’s heart.

A question formed in Woody’s mind as he thought about the tired little horse sleeping under his arm. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it before now.

“Hey Jess,” he asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them for the last couple of minutes, “do you know if Bullseye had an owner? Before Al?”

Jessie turned toward him, her smile now touched with a little sadness. “I’m not sure. Al got him not too long after he got me. I remember overhearing Al telling somebody that he got Bullseye and some of the other stuff in his collection from something called an estate sale.” She sighed and ran her hand over the horse’s felt mane. “I think that means the person who owned him died, and all their stuff was sold.”

Woody’s eyes widened. “That’s awful.” Without thinking, he pulled Bullseye closer to himself. The horse stirred, but didn’t wake up.

“Yeah,” the cowgirl agreed. “The poor boy’s been through a lot. He hated being in storage as much as I did. Don’t know what I would’ve done without him though.”

”Well, I’m glad you’re both here now,” Woody said, smiling.

The back door opened before Jessie could respond, and Andy scooped the three of them up with enthusiasm. “Hey Grandma, look at my new cowgirl and horse!” he said, running back into the house to show off his toys.

Chapter Text

The routine had remained virtually the same since the first night Bo spent in the Davis household. Once Molly was in bed and ready to fall asleep, Mom would give her a kiss, turn on Bo’s lamp, say goodnight, and turn off the bedroom light before closing the door. Every once in a while, Mom would forgot to turn the lamp on, and Molly would quickly remind her.

Except tonight, Mrs. Davis had forgotten to turn on the lamp, and her daughter had said nothing.

Bo watched the little girl sleep peacefully in the dark for the first time. Her mind was occupied with fears that she didn’t like to think about, but were getting harder to ignore as Molly grew. The girl didn’t give the porcelain doll or her sheep much attention anymore like she used to. There had been talk of redecorating Molly’s room. And now it looked like she may not need Bo’s lamp to help her sleep anymore. The shepherdess tried to reassure herself that there was nothing to worry about yet.

But the next night, Molly asked her mom to leave the lamp turned off, and she never used it for a nightlight again. It was then that Bo knew for certain that her days in Molly’s room were numbered.

She wondered if she should talk to Woody about it. She wanted to. She wanted to cry in his arms and tell him how much she dreaded having to say goodbye to him. But it would only make him upset, and what good would that do? Whatever time they had left together, she wanted it to be happy. Even more so, she wanted him to be happy, because she knew that when it happened, he wouldn’t be. So she decided not to tell him.

“Bo, are you alright?” he asked her one night while Andy and Molly were away at their grandparent’s. He was sitting on and against her lamp and holding her in his lap. “It seems like something’s been bothering you.”

She smiled at him. “I’m fine, honey,” she answered. “The girls have just been getting into a lot of trouble lately is all.”

Chapter Text

Buzz couldn’t sleep.

It was normal for him to have trouble falling asleep in the toy box, as it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable place to be. But tonight he’d been up for what felt like hours, processing everything that had happened that day. Finally making it to Al’s Toy Barn, his encounter with the other Buzz, almost losing his best friend to a toy museum in Tokyo, and rescuing Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye from the airport. It was hard to believe it all happened in the same day.

Buzz stared up at the inside of the toy box lid, thinking. He still couldn’t believe Woody had actually wanted to go to Japan. He knew Woody could be selfish and childish at times, but he never would have thought the cowboy would be willing to leave Andy, who still very much loved and needed him. Not to mention, he was willing to leave all of his friends behind. To leave him behind. In the end, Woody had made the right decision, and for that Buzz was thankful, but the fact that he almost didn’t still bothered him. Maybe, he thought, that was a conversation he and Woody should have tomorrow. At the moment, Andy had the cowboy tucked in his arms as he slept.

The sound of movement brought the space ranger out of his thoughts. He would’ve dismissed it as another toy moving in their sleep, if he hadn’t been able to see someone sit up in the corner of the toy chest. It looked like Jessie, but the glow from his green paint had faded by then, and in the darkness he couldn’t really tell. He knew for sure it was Jessie when he heard her crying softly.

His heart went out to her immediately. He didn’t know that much about her yet, but after what he had seen her go through that day, he couldn’t blame her for crying. Buzz wanted to see if he could help her, but wondered if it was appropriate, since they only met earlier that day, and it was the middle of the night. Plus, so far his few attempts at talking to her had left him a stammering mess. But he found himself quietly and carefully moving to her corner of the box, making sure not to disturb the other toys as he did so. She was the new toy in the room, he reasoned, and he should help make her feel at home.

“Buzz?” the cowgirl whispered in confusion when she saw the outline of his figure in front of her in the dark. “What are you doing?”

The space ranger suddenly realized he hadn’t planned what to say. It helped that he could only just make out her face. “Well, ma’am, I um- I heard you… you sounded upset, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

Even in the darkness, he could see the confused expression on her face as she tried to figure out how to respond, and he regretted his decision. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come over here. I’ll just-”

“No,” she interrupted, “it’s alright. I wouldn’t mind having your company right now.” She motioned for him to sit down next to her, on the side not occupied by Bullseye. The cowgirl took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down enough to stop crying, but it didn’t work. “I’m sorry,” she said in embarrassment when she saw the look of concern on Buzz’s face. “I was stored in a box for a long time, and… and I have trouble with the dark and with small spaces. I was fine for a little while and I thought maybe I’d get to sleep, but it got worse...” She ran her hands nervously over her braided hair.

“No need to apologize,” Buzz assured her. “You don’t have to stay in the toy box if you don’t want to. You could get out and come back before Andy wakes up in the morning.”

She shook her head. “I need to get used to it,” she said between sobs. “I’ll be okay.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

There was a earnestness in his voice that surprised her. Was he always this sweet, she wondered? They’d known each other less than twenty-four hours, how could he already care about her? Maybe he was just trying to be nice and make her feel at home.

“Distract me. Tell me about Andy. Is he as good a kid as he seems?”

“He is.” Buzz told her about her new owner until the crying stopped and she seemed much more relaxed. Most of his stories were from his time with Andy, but some he’d heard from Woody or Slinky or the others.

“He tried staying awake the entire night, but-” The space ranger looked back at Jessie. Her head was resting on Bullseye, and she was fast asleep. He thought he’d never seen anything so adorable.

“Goodnight,” he whispered to her, before returning to his original spot to try to get some shuteye himself.

Chapter Text

Woody put a tape into the VCR, pushed play, and joined Bo on the sofa to watch Oklahoma! It was their tradition to watch it every year on their anniversary, which was what that day happened to be. Woody didn’t usually care for musicals, but Bo convinced him to watch it in the early days of their relationship. As she expected, the theme of cowboys and farmers in the Wild West won him over.

Bo settled into Woody’s side and he put his arm around her while the overture played. The Davises were out of town that night and the other toys were upstairs, so they had the living room to themselves.

“Comfortable?” the sheriff asked.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Good, because we’re about to have to sit through five minutes of just music before the movie actually starts.”

“We can fast forward through it if you want.”

Woody’s eyes went wide with surprise at her suggestion. “Bo ‘I want to hear the music’ Peep is actually okay with skipping this part?”

She shrugged. “I like it, but I don’t mind.”

“It’s okay,” he responded. “The music is nice.”

The movie finally started, and they watched as the two lead characters – a young blonde woman and a cowboy – tried to deny their feelings for each other.

“Do you ever wonder what it would’ve been like to live on the prairie back then?” Bo asked during the ballet scene. Woody thought he heard a little bit of wistfulness in her question. “It must’ve been exciting to be part of a brand new state, in a land of opportunity.”

“Yeah, but it came with its own set of challenges.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I think I would’ve liked it.” A thought entered her mind, one she’d had many times lately. It made her feel guilty, and she never intended to share it with anyone. But in that moment it didn't feel like a choice.

“I sometimes wish I could live out in the real world,” she confessed. “It seems like its own kind of wild west.”

Woody hoped he didn’t look as shocked as he felt. If it were anyone else saying this, he would say something about how their job was to be there for Andy or Molly. “What makes you feel this way?” he asked instead.

“The world seems so big, and us toys only get to see so little of it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life here. But sometimes I wonder what we’re missing out on.”

“From my experience, not much.”

She decided it wasn’t worth discussing further, and besides, what toy would want to live life without a kid?

As the movie went on, the two main characters eventually confessed their love and got married. The brief end credits rolled, and Woody had an idea.

“Come with me,” he said, and he helped her down to the floor.

“What are we doing?”

He answered by putting his arm around her waist and taking her hand. “May I have this dance?”

She beamed at him, and he thought he might melt. “Of course Sheriff.”

The exit music, an instrumental of the film's love song, began to play, and they danced slowly together. The music didn’t last long, and neither of them wanted the moment to end. After the music went away, Woody surprised both of them and started singing softly.

Who cares what happens now

Just keep your hand in mine

Your hand feels so grand in mine

Let people say we’re in love

He didn’t quite have the voice of Gordon Macrae, but that didn’t matter. Delighted, Bo closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest as they danced.

Starlight looks well on us

Let the stars beam from above

Who cares if they tell on us

Let people say we’re in love

“You know what I’d really like right now?” she asked after he finished the song.

“What’s that?"

“An Oklahoma hello,” she answered with a coy smile.

Woody was happy to oblige.

Chapter Text

”Ow, careful!” Jessie admonished Bo. Molly had borrowed the cowgirl to play hair salon, and turned her yarn hair into a tangled mess. The shepherdess was attempting to return it to its original braid, and doing so was proving to be difficult.

“Hold still, I’m trying to untie this giant knot,” Bo said, working her finger into the knot to loosen it.

Jessie grunted in frustration. “I like playing with Molly, but I don’t know why she did this to me when she’s got plenty of other dolls with hair thats not made of yarn.”

Bo chuckled in sympathy. “Well, she’s only three years old. It’s not as though she knows any better.”

That didn’t seem to change the cowgirl’s feelings. “You oughtta be thankful your hair is porcelain, or else you’d probably be in the same predicament.”

“Normally I find it limiting, but yes, today it does make me thankful.”

“Any idea how long this’ll take?” Jessie asked, her lack of patience growing. “Buzz and I were gonna play checkers after Molly was done with me.”

Bo’s eyebrow raised. “Just you and Buzz?”

The cowgirl would have glared at the other doll if Bo wasn’t holding her hair. “Bo-”

“I know, it’s a sore subject. I’m sorry.” The shepherdess sighed. “I just wish you two would actually talk about your feelings for each other.”

“I’ve told you before, he doesn’t have feelings for me. When we first met I thought maybe he did, but it’s been two years and he’s never made a move.”

The porcelain doll was finally able to pull the big knot apart. “Jess, I saw the way he was looking at you yesterday when you were helping Woody get ready for the staff meeting. Nobody looks that way at someone they only think of as a friend. Besides, why do you think he likes spending so much time with you?”

“Because we’re friends,” Jessie retorted. “Friends like spending time with each other.”

“He probably just hasn’t been able to work up the courage to say anything. It took Woody a while.”

“I’m sure Woody didn’t take two years.” Her voice softened. “I wish things were different, but that’s just how it is.”

Bo was quiet for a few moments, untangling two strands of yarn from each other. “Have you thought about making a move yourself, or telling him how you feel?”

Jessie’s body seemed to stiffen at the question. “I can’t- I can’t do that. He’s one of my best friends. If it didn’t work out… I couldn’t stand to lose him.”

Poor Buzz is probably thinking the same thing, Bo mused. But she couldn’t say she didn’t understand.

It took some struggle, but the shepherdess finally managed to get her friend’s hair back to normal. “There,” she said with satisfaction, tying off the yellow ribbon meant to hold the braid in place. “Good as new.”

There was no mirror nearby, so Jessie held up her braid to look at it. “Thank you Bo.” She pulled her friend in for a hug. “I really do appreciate your help.”

“Anytime.”

Something green caught Bo’s eye by the bedroom door. “Hey Buzz!” she called. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find Jessie.”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting Buzz.” Jessie jumped down from the nightstand she and Bo were on. “Molly did a real number on my hair during playtime, and Bo was fixing it for me.”

“W-well, it looks very nice,” Buzz said, willing himself not to blush. Bo rolled her eyes.

They said goodbye, and Bo watched as the two of them made their way back to Andy’s room. Surely, she thought when she heard Jessie laughing at something funny Buzz said, it won’t be too much longer before they both come to their senses.

Chapter Text

Part of him had always known there was a possibility this could happen. It was a knowledge that he hid deep in his mind, in the place you keep thoughts and information that you have to ignore for the sake of your emotional well-being.

But as he laid in the rain, watching a van take his love away, he felt blindsided.

He couldn’t wrap his head around what had just happened. Barely ten minutes ago they rescued RC together, and now she was gone. He wanted to melt into the pavement and stay there forever, but Andy finding him prevented that from happening. He had never hated putting on his frozen toy smile so much.

The moment Andy left the room, Jessie climbed onto the bed, followed by Buzz and Bullseye. “Woody?” she said, moving closer to where the boy had seated him.

The cowboy found it difficult to speak. “Bo’s... she’s...” He opened and closed his mouth again a couple of times, but no words would come. Jessie wrapped her arms around him. She tried to stay calm for his sake, but a couple of sobs still found their way out. Bullseye came over, nuzzled his arm, and laid down at his side.

Buzz was at a loss about what to do. He watched the sad scene in front of him, and settled for putting an arm of comfort around his best friend.

Later that night, Buzz found Woody under Andy’s bed, head in his hands and hat on the floor. The space ranger’s chest sank at the sight of the sheriff so heartbroken. “Hey buddy.”

Woody removed his hands from his face, but kept his gaze fixed on the floor. “Hey Buzz,” he answered, his voice quiet and small.

Buzz wished there was something he could do to ease his best friend’s pain. “Do you need anything? Do you want to talk?”

“I just want to be alone right now.”

The action figure had doubts about the wisdom of that desire. But, he reasoned, the sheriff probably did need some time to process through things on his own. “Okay,” he agreed. “But I want you to know, we all care about you, and we’re here for you. And Jessie and I agreed that we can both take over your responsibilities around the room for as long as you need.”

Woody’s voice grew even more quiet. “Thanks Buzz,” was all he could manage to say.

As soon as Buzz left, Woody buried his face in his arms. Truthfully, he didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be in that box, in that van, with Bo.

If you should ever leave me

Though life would still go on, believe me

The world could show nothing to me

So what good would living do me

God only knows what I'd be without you

God Only Knows- The Beach Boys (as heard in the TS4 trailer)

Chapter Text

“Hey Slink,” Jessie asked the dog, who was trying unsuccessfully to untangle an old string of Christmas lights. “Did you happen to see where Woody went earlier? After-”

“After the entire neighborhood heard you two arguing about the Christmas party decorations and he stormed out of the room?” Potato Head interjected.

Jessie bit her lip. “Yeah, after that.”

Slinky stopped pulling on the lights with his mouth and set them down. “Looked like he was heading for his usual spot downstairs.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later, Jessie found Woody sitting curled up on the living room couch, staring up at the Christmas tree. The Davises were out of town for the holidays, so there was no one around to see them. She climbed onto the couch and sat down next to him. Her hands were already tugging at her braid before she began to speak.

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I was mad and I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you were right.” The cowboy looked down at his boots. “I’ve been angry and I’ve been taking it out on everybody. She would be disappointed in me.”

Jessie noted how he avoided using Bo’s name. It had been a difficult few months since she’d left, and the wound was still fresh. On top of that, tomorrow would be their first Christmas without her.

“That’s only because she knows that’s not who you are.”

Woody went back to staring at the tree. “I thought maybe getting ready for the Christmas party would help take my mind off of things, but it’s not the same without her being in charge of planning it. It’s just another reminder that she’s gone.”

The cowgirl leaned back onto her hands and searched her memories for anything that might make him feel a little better.

“There was one time,” she began, “where Molly borrowed me to play for a while and left me in her room. I think you and Andy were playing at a friend’s house that day or something. It was only a few months after I first got here, so Bo and I didn’t really know each other that well yet. Mom came in at one point and started cleaning the room. I’m not sure why, but she accidentally put me in a box with a bunch of random junk in the closet. Bo came and got me out as soon as she could, but by then I’d been in there for a while so I was in pretty bad shape. She stayed with me and helped me until I calmed down.”

She heard a noise, and stopped to look back up at Woody. The cowboy’s face was buried in his arms, and Jessie realized the sound was him starting to cry. She pulled him into a hug and let him pour out his sorrow on her shoulder. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he said in a quiet voice once the tears had mostly subsided.

“That’s alright,” she assured him. “You’ll figure it out, one day at a time.”

Chapter Text

“Blast!” Buzz exclaimed, glaring in frustration at a video game version of himself. It was his fifth failed attempt at beating a difficult level.

Rex watched from Buzz’s side. “No!” he exclaimed. “I thought if you jumped to the right just in time you could get him!”

“Maybe if I-“ Buzz started to say, but he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a certain cowgirl doll next to him.

“Howdy boys!” she said, leaning on Buzz’s shoulder and inadvertently making his cheeks turn red. “Watch’ya been doin’ up here?”

“Buzz is helping me get past this level of the new Buzz Lightyear video game!” Rex explained. “I’ve been stuck on it all day, and that was Buzz’s fifth try!” He pointed at the screen for emphasis.

Jessie looked at the controller, then at the image on the TV. “I’ve never played one of these games before, but if you show me how I could give it a go.”

“Sure, I can show you,” Buzz said. The difficult level they were trying to beat probably wasn’t a good introduction to video games. But he figured there wasn’t any harm in letting her try. He moved away from the controller Rex had set up on a couple of blocks and explained the buttons to her.

“And you press A twice to double jump.”

“Double jump?”

“It means to jump higher.”

“Got it. I’m ready,” the redhead proclaimed, tightening her hat on her head.

The level started off easy enough, which gave Jessie a few moments to get used to the controls. A small group of Zurg’s robot minions appeared and began shooting at her.

“Which button is the laser again?”

“It’s B! Press B!” Rex exclaimed, waving his tiny arms up and down.

She did, and managed to destroy the robots and make it to Zurg’s lair to fight the purple villain himself.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Buzz complimented while they waited for a cutscene to finish. “You’re doing really well for your first time.”

“Thank you,” the redhead responded, her phantom heart racing with adrenaline.

“This is the part neither of us can beat!” Rex’s arms seemed to wave even faster.

On the screen, Zurg gave an evil, maniacal laugh. “Surrender now, Buzz Lightyear, or prepare to meet your doom!”

The dinosaur turned his back to the TV. “I can’t watch!”

Jessie shouted in sync with the video game Buzz. “NOT TODAY ZURG!” She managed to get in one good shot, but soon enough she was staring at flashing GAME OVER screen.

“Not again!” Rex moaned.

“I tried to move to the left, jump, and then shoot but it’s impossible to move between each button fast enough!” the cowgirl complained.

“Well, the game isn’t really designed to be played by toys,” Buzz observed. “A person holding the controller can easily move their thumb from one button to the next.”

Jessie gave a thoughtful look at the controller, and an idea occurred to her. “What if we played it together?”

“What?”

“I mean, what if split up the buttons between the two of us and worked together?”

Buzz thought about it. “I’m not sure if that would work, but we could give it a try. It would take a lot of coordination.”

Jessie took over the A and B buttons, while Buzz was in charge of movement. With practice, and some looks from toys who heard them yelling directions at each other, it worked. The real test came when they finally reached Zurg’s lair again. To their surprise, they almost fully depleted his health bar, despite losing a lot of their own.

“Okay, we just need to get him one more time without getting hit ourselves. I’m going to run to the left, while you jump over the wall and shoot.”

“Got it.”

They managed to make the shot, and finally beat the level. Jessie jumped up in excitement.

“Yeehaw! We did it!”

“I can’t believe it!” Rex shouted.

“Good work!” Buzz held out his hand for a congratulatory handshake. To his shock, she picked him up and spun him around instead.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Um, yeah,” the space ranger answered, still trying to regain his composure.

“Maybe once Rex is finished with the game we could play together some more. Or you could teach me how to play another game.”

“That would be fun,” Buzz agreed. His next words seemed to come out of his mouth of their own accord, before he could stop them. “I always enjoy spending time with you. Um, that is to say… I enjoy our companionship.”

Jessie smiled at him. “I enjoy our companionship too.”

Chapter Text

Bo took a good long look at her new surroundings. It was a simple room, with light yellow walls, a crib, a chair, a diaper changing station, and the nightstand where she currently stood. The parents of the family seemed nice, and the baby girl was adorable. There were only a handful of of other toys, and they were mostly baby toys and a couple of stuffed animals, but they had all welcomed the shepherdess and her sheep. None of that made her first night in the new house any easier.

Billy, Goat, and Gruff bleated softly at her and nudged her skirt. She bent down to stroke all three of their heads. She had never been more thankful to be part of a set. “It’s alright girls,” the doll reassured them. “We’ll be okay.”

Those words became her internal mantra that night, especially after the baby finally went to sleep. Trying to distract herself from everything going on in her head, Bo watched as the little girl slept, bathed in circles of light from the lamp. She tried not to think about how homesick she already felt, or remember what Molly was like when she was a baby. She especially tried not to think about how devastated Woody was when they said goodbye, or imagine how he must be feeling now. Her efforts were not successful. 

I’m sorry Sheriff. The shepherdess grasped her crook tight and blinked away tears. We’ll be okay. We both will.

Chapter Text

“Aww, come on Buzz!” Woody chuckled, and jumped over three of Buzz’s red checker pieces with his black one. “I would’ve thought even someone as dumb as you would know that would happen if you moved your piece there.”

Buzz knew Woody meant it as a good natured joke. The sheriff made those kinds of jokes all the time, and Buzz would often respond with his own playful jabs. But he also knew he wasn’t always the brightest toy. He felt at times like he was a step behind everybody else. Why else had it taken him days of convincing from Woody to realize he was a toy and not a real space ranger?

The cowboy grew concerned when several moments went by without a reaction from his friend. “Buzz, you know I’m joking, right?”

The action figure looked up from the checker board. “Of course,” he said, and moved one of his pieces.

“I mean- I know I tease you sometimes,” Woody said. “But between the two of us, you’re much more likely than I am to think things through before you do something, instead of just jumping in and getting yourself in trouble. And I’ve never met anybody who knows as much about space as you do.” A mischievous grin came over Woody’s face. “I know you’re smart enough for Jessie, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The rag doll realized he’d struck a bigger nerve than he’d meant to when Buzz got quiet again.

“Alright,” he decided, “maybe we should change the subject.”

Chapter Text

"Jess, I told you," Woody said, exasperated, "I'm not going to play a game with you. I have too much work to do."

Jessie was starting to feel exasperated herself. “But work is all you've been doing lately! And when you’re not working, you’re mopin’ around all sad and grumpy. I know you've got a good reason to be sad, so I don't blame you. I'm just worried about you."

"I'm fine!" he shouted. He stomped over to where he'd been working before Jessie interrupted him, and sat down. "Can you please leave me alone so I can finish my notes for tomorrow's staff meeting?"

The cowgirl conceded defeat. "Alright, but this ain't over yet." Woody rolled his eyes as she disappeared over the side of Andy's bed. He returned to the task he'd been doing before.

Item #1, Woody wrote on the pad of paper he always used to make notes for staff meetings, Family coming this weekend. Make sure everyone is prepared to spend a couple days in the toy box...

He continued writing, and got so caught up in his work that he failed to notice when Bullseye joined him on Andy's bed. The horse trotted over to get Woody's attention, and nuzzled his arm playfully. The cowboy still wasn't in the best of moods, and he looked up, ready to be annoyed at whoever was interrupting him. But his face softened when he saw Bullseye.

“Hey buddy.” He scratched the horse behind the ear. “I can’t play right now, I’ve got too much work to do. Maybe some other time.”

Bullseye’s ears flopped down, and his eyes looked sad. It seemed like he was going to listen to Woody- until he reached up and snatched the sheriff’s hat off of his head.

“Hey! What are you doing with that?” Woody went to grab his hat out of Bullseye’s mouth, but the mischievous horse disappeared over the edge of Andy’s bed. “Great,” he sighed. Leaving his notes and pencil next to the pillow, he followed Bullseye to the floor. He saw Bullseye run in the direction of the toy box, and took off after him.

“Bullseye, get back here- ow!” Before he knew what was happening, Jessie appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. Bullseye disappeared out the bedroom door with Woody’s hat.

“What was that for?” the cowboy demanded. He didn’t like the look of mischief in her eyes one bit.

“Sorry,” she said, but she didn’t move, keeping him pinned to the ground. “I wasn’t planning to tackle ya, but you were running a lot faster than I expected.”

“Why did you tackle me? And why won’t you let me go?” He tried to maneuver himself out from under her, but it was no use.

“I had to give Bullseye time to get away so he could hide your hat!” she explained, like it was the most obvious and normal thing in the world.

Buzz stood watching the scene from nearby. It amused him at first. But now, watching Woody's anger grow, he worried that Jessie's plan was going to backfire. The space ranger was used to stepping in when the two of them butted heads, and he was prepared to do so now if needed.

“Jessie, you-” the cowboy started, but she cut him off.

“Uh-uh, just listen to me! You can have your hat back, AFTER you play a board game with me and Buzz!”

“What? Come on!”

“You need a break. I figured it was time to take drastic measures."

“I don’t have time for this!”

“Guess you’re not getting your hat back then.”

Woody sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’ll play one game. Just get off of me!” Jessie finally moved, and the rag doll dusted himself off. He noticed Buzz standing off the side, and glared at him.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” the cowboy asked.

Buzz held up his hands in protest. “I’m only an observer.”

After a few minutes of debate over what game they should play, they finally picked Apples to Apples. At first, Woody acted annoyed at being forced to play. But eventually he couldn’t help enjoying himself. He even laughed. Buzz and Jessie exchanged a look of surprise the first time it happened. Neither of them had seen Woody genuinely laugh much in the months since Bo was given away, and it was a relief to see it.

Woody didn’t get his hat back at the end of that game. Jessie convinced him to play another, and another, and the three of them became caught up in the fun. Before they knew it, it was almost time for Andy to come home from school.

“I’m sorry for stealing your hat and tackling you earlier,” Jessie said. She retrieved said hat from Bullseye and handed it back to its owner. “I just couldn’t think of any other way you’d agree to take a break.”

“It’s alright Jess,” he assured her as he adjusted the hat into place on his head. “I'm glad you did.”

Chapter Text

“Andy, Molly and I are almost ready to go.” Mrs. Davis stood in the doorway of her son’s room, holding her daughter's hand and a pair of small, pink tennis shoes. “You have five minutes to get your stuff and get out to the car while I help Molly put her shoes on.”

“Okay Mom!”

Andy had already gone through his packing list for Cowboy Camp twice to make sure he didn’t forget anything. It was his last year at camp since he was twelve years old, which was the camp’s age limit, and he wanted to make it a great one. There were a few items on his bed that still needed to be put in his backpack, so he began doing just that. A couple of books, a flashlight, Woody… 

He picked up the toy sheriff and stared at him, as the words of some of his fellow campers from last year echoed in his head.

“Aren’t you too old to still be playing with a cowboy doll? What are you, a baby?” 

After that, he’d been so embarrassed that he kept Woody in his suitcase for the rest of camp. Were those other kids right, he wondered? After all, he was twelve now, almost a teenager. Maybe it was weird that he still wanted to bring his favorite toy to camp. Maybe it was weird that he still played with his toys sometimes at all. He put the cowboy back down on the bed just as his mom and sister reappeared in the doorway.

“Andy, we’re heading out to the car, are you ready?”

“Yeah mom, I’m coming.”

Mrs. Davis scanned her son’s room for anything that he might have forgotten to pack, and spotted Woody on the bed. “Are you not going to bring Woody with you this year?” she asked with surprise.

“No.”

“How come?”

“I’m getting too old to bring toys to camp.”

“Are you sure about this?” Mom asked with concern. “You’ve brought him to camp with you every year. Are you sure you don’t want to spend your last year of camp with him?”

For a brief moment, Andy thought about all the great memories he had with Woody at camp, and almost changed his mind. But then he remembered what the other boys had said.

“I’m sure Mom.”

“Alright then, grab your things and let’s go.”

Woody was grateful that neither Andy or his mom had seen his usual toy smile falter for a split second at the boy’s words.