The night-terrors came and went, but when they came, they came abruptly.

Woody could still remember the fateful day he lost his beloved Bo Peep. He remembered the way her soft porcelain features flickered into an expression of grief, as Andy's mother went to remove her from their home. Stupid, treacherous garage sales. He had lost so many friends due to the abrupt decisions made by the Davis family, whether to get rid of the possessions by saling his companions or donating them.

Gosh, Woody remembered Bo. To this day, he still cherished her memory. She was so beautiful and sweet in his mind. The tiniest part of him resented Andy's mother and sister for deciding to do away with her. Such... unknowing bastards. It would forever haunt him how they managed to take away his favorite toy away from him, his beautiful Bo Peep.

Woody Pride did not even have her sheep to remember her by. Everything had been taken when his precious darling was stolen from him. But perhaps she was never his to begin with. The two were simply "toys" after-all. Yet a hollow emotion, so full of feeling, sat like a rock within his chest. So human in its grief.

None of the toys around him understood his exact emotions.

Though Woody was surrounded by friends, a part of him felt oh-so alone; so alone that mages of darkness sometimes managed to creep their way upon him in slumber. Visions of being torn from his one true love - Bo had to be, Woody had never loved any other toy so wholeheartedly - plagued his dreams off and on. The softest whimpers along with gentle shaking accompanied those moments. But a comforting hand was never a part of the instant.

The sensation arrived as a sudden touch. Woody's thoughts jumped in terror, but became confused as the feeling transformed into the sensation of gentle circles caressing his side. It was odd but... oddly lovely.

Dolly could not believe that she was doing this. Yet at the same time she wholly could. The tiny rag-doll had always held a certain soft spot for the old cowboy doll ever since the first time she laid her pretty little black googly-eyes on him.

Dolly found herself somewhat entranced, as she neared her round and caring small nub of a hand toward Woody's person. Idly, she noticed the way his body shook slightly as he laid on the welcoming carpet of Bonnie's bedroom floor. Darn it, he looked absolutely spooked, the poor dear. His face was set into an expression of moderate distress. A pale coldness settled upon his brow, but his face continued to be as cute and angular as it always was.

Dolly knew that the two of them had a close enough relationship. Perhaps if she tried to comfort him...

She placed her hand on his side and began to gently rub circles. It was just a simple motion, tender in its meaning, and she stayed that way for a good twenty seconds before a blush settled on her cotton cheeks. She pulled her hand from his side and shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. She had performed the gesture in true tsundere fashion; that was a term Dolly learned from watching an anime with Bonnie. Though it was some cartoon that was terribly inappropriate for a child Bonnie's age, but Ms. Anderson had a tendency to never check over her daughter's online history. Thus why Trixie had been able to talk to her dinosaur friend from down the street for so long.

Woody woke with a jolt. He stared up at Dolly with a pair of wide, surprised and also confused brown eyes. The latter's blush instantly deepened, and she was thankful for the way her form was shrouded in a mixture of natural darkness and moonlight.

"S-Sorry," Dolly managed to get out before mentally straightening herself. She could do this.

"I just... noticed that you were upset, and I knew that if I was you, I wouldn't want to be left alone to my dreams. So I decided to wake you up."

Smooth, Dolly, her mind berated her.

Woody gave a bewildered expression, a tiny part of him remembering how an outside source seemed to offer him a bit of solace during his slumber. He blinked, sent her an exhausted smile, and moved to straighten out his gangly legs.

"Well, thank you partner. That was very nice of you, all things considered."

Woody crossed his legs. He pat at the spot beside him and continued, "But I could have went without the shaking bit at the end."

"Sorry, sorry," Dolly repeated, almost losing all of her usually strong sense of composure. She hurriedly sat on his left and peeked over at him when he chuckled softly.

"It's no problem," he spoke, teasingly nudging her with his elbow, "Especially since I got to wake up to such a pretty face."

Dolly laughed quietly at that. A sudden boldness took hold of her. "Oh, you cowboys. Whatever could a hot thing like me do without you?"

"Well, I can think of a couple of things." Woody waggled his eyebrows.

Dolly chortled and batted playfully at his arm. The old cowboy doll had always been such a charmer. The two were adults - as far as a pair of toys could be - so she figured they could joke around like this.

Taking in a deep breath, Dolly's friend sent her an honest look.

"Seriously though, thank you for waking me up. I was... having a nightmare about Bo."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's a... fairly normal thing for me."

Her face contorted into a look of remorse.

"I'm sorry-"

"No need," her friend forced a smile, but his orbs shown with a certain loneliness, "I've come to terms with it. My subconscious just likes to remind me of her every now and again."

"I can understand that... I have some of my own demons to deal with."

This caught the cowboy off guard, and he turned to question her. Dolly sighed, knowing that she would have to explain herself. A heavy sadness abruptly settled over her.

"Yeah. Sometimes I like to think about my old owner. Her name was Jolene."

"Pretty name," Woody offered, deciding to keep quiet for now.

"Oh, yeah! She was so gorgeous... Even after chemo, her smile was beautiful. You see, my first owner had... cancer. I was given to help lift her spirits when she was originally diagnosed. I was there for her during her entire battle of cancer."

A proud but anguished smile crossed her features. Dolly's head tilted downward, as her cotton thoughts filled with the heart-wrenching images of her long lost owner.

"There were so many days when she was so weak, but Jolene, my Jolene always found the strength to hold onto me. Until the evening she passed away. Her parents eventually picked me up after she died. They needed to grab her stuff, and I was there. But they could barely look at me. Thankfully, instead of throwing me away, the two decided to donate me to a local thrift store. Bonnie's grandmother was the one who picked me up, you see. She's a cheap shopper, that one. But I'm thankful... It was because of her that I had a second owner, a new chance."

Dolly's voice had broken off, yet a tone of hope filled her words. Woody felt his heart go out to the poor toy. Of course, it was not the same pain that Woody felt, but he could sympathize. The old cowboy doll found himself wrapping a long arm around her round shoulders. His gaze turned down to the floor, and they sat in a companionable silence for a long minute. Finally Woody found the strength within him to speak.

"It really hurts my heart to hear that, Dolly. I'm so sorry for your loss."

A rueful grin passed over his friend's expression, before she allowed herself to slowly melt in his embrace. The usually strong and independent doll was happy to let herself depend on Woody for a little while, if only for this shared moment of weakness.

"It happens. It happens to both humans and toys. I could say the same to you, hun."

Woody gave a tiny shrug and continued to hold his friend. The smallest hint of a flush coated his cheeks, but he was utterly thankful to be shrouded in darkness. It gave him the chance to just hold someone without caring about being truly seen. But emotionally, Dolly could see him. The rag-doll could see that he was hurting, even to this day. Woody was tired, a haggard version of his younger self, yet he still had his spirits and wit about him. Dolly could relate to him wholeheartedly.

The two simply sat there for a long while after that. They enjoyed one another's company for the time being. Come morning, who know what would happen. The two would probably be back to their joking and sarcastic natures, idly bickering when it came to leading the toys around them. But for now, they would revel in the sweet innocence of two kindred souls, content and secure. The two ended up falling asleep in a limp pile together on the floor.

The next morning, Bonnie was simply ecstatic as a new idea filled her mind. She giggled excitedly, as she grabbed hold of the two toys she had, somewhat noting the fact that she did not remember placing them there the night before. But Bonnie did not care, as she started to play early that Sunday morning.

Instantly, Bonnie put on a deep southern twang. She held Woody up with a sense of girly pride and moved Dolly as if she were on a simple stroll.

"Why, Dolly, how absolutely beautiful you are looking today!" Bonnie declared, "I say, would you like to go on a date with me this evening?"

"Yes! Yes, I would," she spoke in a mix of giggles, as she made an attempt to sound seductive, "Anywhere you'd like to go, cowboy?"

"Your place," Woody drawled. Bonnie giggled.

The little girl shook Dolly's head in a 'no' fashion and simply said, "I like your hat."