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The living room of Blaze's house looked like a toy box had blown up in the best possible way.
An assortment of different toys ranging from dolls to stuffed animals, all of them had been put through their paces over the course of the day. Bonnie and Blaze had run every toy through at least four different adventures before collapsing onto a pile of blankets in front of the TV, a half eaten bowl of popcorn between them and a movie reaching the start of its end credits. Both of them were out cold thanks to the movie being pretty boring to begin with. Nonetheless, they both had a very good day and still had one more day to play before Bonnie had to go back home, in which the two girls may continue to hang out via text or games until the next sleepover.
The toys waited patiently. Then, once Blaze's parents had turned off the TV, covered the girls in a couple of blankets and left the room, they were given the signal by Snappy.
“Coast is clear.” the camera said in a whisper as she caught the parents' bedroom door closing for the night.
One by one, Bonnie and Blaze's toys carefully got themselves up and started mingling about, getting to know each other and starting to explore their surroundings. Jessie looked around and watched as SmartyPants was quickly making friends with Hamm, Buttercup and Mr. Potato Head. She wasn't surprised, knowing that the old device would somehow act like he was always part of their friend group. Mr. Potato Head seemed to be getting annoyed by all the toilet humor.
The cowgirl giggled and looked over to see Dolly, Forky, Karen, Mr. PricklePants, Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky, Rex, and Trixie getting along nicely with Snappy and Atlas. Trixie in particular was really enjoying all the tech talk and was wondering if Blaze's laptop was up to code for some games she had in mind.
She was expecting Bullseye to be with Blaze's horses instead, he stuck close to her. He nuzzled her hand and looked towards the door in the kitchen. Buzz was climbing up to the door knob.
Jessie walked towards him, hoping that the others wouldn't get nosy and start following her.
“Buzz, what are you doing?”
The space toy had to stop himself from jumping off the counter and onto the door knob. He looked down and saw Jessie and Bullseye making their way to him, looking a little confused.
“I was about to come and get you.” he said with a smile. “I wanted to check the sky. The light pollution is minimal out here. The stars should have good visibility.”
“That sounds nice.” Jessie said with a little smile. She looked back into the living room to see if the toys were ok. They were fine. She could hear one of the toys joking around about one of the adventures the girls had set them on earlier. She turned around and headed out the now open door with Bullseye and Buzz.
Buzz put a nearby gardening tool in between the door and the doorway to make it easier to get back inside. With the tool in place, the three toys began to make their way out towards the field.
The couple opted for Tree Swing Hill to be a good viewing spot. It was far away from the house just enough where the others wouldn't come prying, and close enough where the walk back wouldn't take too long. Bullseye trotted ahead with his nose down like a bloodhound. He was enjoying the smell of the grass.
When they got close to the base of the tree, Jessie hesitated. She was the first to spot the lunch box. It was right where she had left it near the base of the tree. She swallowed whatever emotions were threatening to bubble up and continued towards the tree. She crouched down and looked at the items. A coin purse, cassette tape, sunglasses, hair ties, her old hair ribbon and other items were still there. The photograph had blown a few feet down the hill.
Buzz gave her a few moments to collect herself before heading down the hill and picking up the photograph. He helped Jessie tuck everything back into the lunch box without a word. They made the original hole by the tree a bit deeper and worked together until the box sat buried and the ground looked undisturbed.
Jessie then sat down against the tree with her knees to her chest and arms wrapped around them, right under the “Jessie was here” message that was left so many years ago. Buzz sat down beside her. Bullseye settled himself on Jessie's other side and put his head in her lap, which made her bring her knees down. She rested her hands on his head.
“Emily was beautiful.” Buzz was looking at the spot where the lunch box was now buried.
Jessie rubbed one of Bullseye's ears as the horse rested with his eyes closed, enjoying a few pats he was getting from Buzz. “She really was... you should have seen her when she was Bonnie's age. Cute as a button.”
“She looks a little like you. Her kid too.”
She gave him a small smile. “That's probably why her mom bought me.”
“She wasn't a fan of your show?”, Buzz caught on pretty quickly.
Jessie shook her head. “Not until after she got me. Then she got curious and obsessed like kids do at that age.” she giggled at the memory.
Buzz looked up at the stars for a moment. They shined brightly against the night sky. Some looked like they were flickering like lights threatening to go out. He smiled for a moment at the last thing Jessie said. It made him think of Andy and all of the Star Command posters and sheets the young boy had to have. It drove Woody up the wall.
“Do you still think about her?” Buzz asked.
Jessie instinctively reached for her braid. She gently stroked the plastic beads that now adorned it. “I think about all of my kids. I'm not trying to play favorites, but Emily is different.”
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Buzz in turn placed his free arm around her.
“Ya know, Buzz, you never talk about Andy.”
She hadn't meant it to come out like she was accusing him of any wrongdoing. She hoped that she didn't hit a nerve. Before she could apologize, Buzz shifted a bit.
He didn't answer right away. He looked up at the stars and focused on the North Star.
“I've found it's better not to dwell on it for too long.” he said finally. “Sometimes when Bonnie takes me to do groceries with her parents, they take a route that goes past Andy's house.”
He paused. “When I see the house, I start to wonder if he's alright. If he's happy. I hope he's doing well. A career with the white picket fence and a wife with one and a half kids. If he's really lucky, then he's making his way towards an early retirement.” he chuckled a little.
Jessie looked over and saw that he was no longer looking at the stars. His attention was back to where the lunch box was buried.
“My mission now is making sure Bonnie has a good life. I intend to see it through.”
Jessie gave Buzz a small pout. “Aww, I never knew you could be so sappy.”
“You once told me that I was the sweetest space toy.”
“So?”
“That should have been your first indication.” he smiled.
Jessie gave his shoulder a little shove. He didn't budge.
The three toys looked at the stars for a few more minutes.
“I know it's hard coming back here.” Buzz said as he saw her gaze shift from the sky to the house.
He took hold of one of her hands and gave it a light squeeze. “It'll get easier now that Bonnie is starting to make regular visits here. Give it time.”
“And when Bonnie leaves us?” Jessie snuggled a little closer to him.
“We'll figure it out. We always do.”