Hey, everyone. Thanks so much for your reviews and follows on my story An Act of True Love! Well, this fanfic is sort of a continuation of that segment, so yes, you'll see Jack in here. FrozenFever123 suggested doing a Part III of An Act of True Love where we see whether or not the bad guys did mend their ways. Well, ideas are coming together in my head! But I cannot promise when it will be up. FrozenFever123 also requested a fanfic of Buzz and Jessie's wedding as I imagined it. Well, I'm trying to work on that.

I know that the way I make Mitsy talk about Jack, it sounds like she's talking of him romantically, but she's not. He's her beloved dog. And all you dog lovers out there...you know how it is!

Yes, I am definitely planning to include more fanfics with Jack in them. But right now I really want to do more of when the toys lived with Andy. I mean Andy's room was part of our childhood, well, at least mine, and I feel like I've been writing so many of them with Bonnie. It's just that, I miss the toy loyalty to Andy lifestyle and I still want to be able to cry when I watch Toy Story3 and he gives them to Bonnie.

And thank you to everyone who have enjoyed my stories and encourage me. Thanks to everyone who has given me feedback on my fanfics. This one is mostly about my favorite cowboy, Woody.

Woody was miserable. He had a touch of the "fever" again. At first, it had been so subtle and he just brushed it away. Then he'd tried to fight it off when the symptoms appeared stronger, but they lingered and he couldn't seem to make it go away. Yes, once again, Woody was being plagued by the green-eyed monster.

In all honesty, he didn't want to feel this way, but with each passing day, his problem seemed to just grow. And he kicked himself inside over and over again for who he was jealous of: Jack. Jack had been living with Bonnie and her toys for a full month now. He was a good toy, and a great friend, too great. All of Bonnie's toys were so impressed by him that Woody felt invisible, just like when Buzz first arrived in Andy's room.

It wasn't only that he felt neglected, he felt lonely too. It was almost as if everyone in Bonnie's room had someone, a pal, a partner, someone to take under their wing, someone to love. There were the Potato Heads with their little family, there were Rex and Trixie, Hamm and Buttercup were chums, Dolly secretly had her eyes on Chuckles, Buzz had Jessie plus she had Bullseye, and Mitsy had her dog, Jack. Why, even Slinky had Jack! Slinky was now like Jack's junior counterpart and followed him everywhere. He even started playing Checkers with him, a lot. Sometimes he would invite his old pal Woody to join, but the cowboy always felt intruded on by the other big hero dog and would decline the offer. Jack would offer too, but Woody would just frown and walk away.

Mitsy had tried so hard to make the other toys believe what a wonderful character Jack was, and now that they did, it seemed like they never talked about anything else. Woody was afraid of being compared to Jack and expected to live up to his example. In fact, Potato Head, Hamm, Buttercup, and even Dolly had teased him in that way: just like when he first met Buzz. They teased him relentlessly about why he wasn't built big and robust like Jack, why Jack had many stitches-battle scars-to show for his past bravery while Woody only had one little stitching in his right shoulder. Woody was cut at that and would firmly grip his shoulder. His patching up may have been done childishly, but Andy had lovingly put it together with care, and Woody was proud of that. The smart aleks also teased him about how Jack was a real hero, and Woody was only a playtime hero. Buzz and Jessie tried to encourage him to ignore those guys and that they hadn't really meant anything by it, but Woody truly felt the sting from those "harmless" jokes.

Woody just couldn't help feeling jealous of Jack. He thought back on many events through the years. How many times he had given of himself to help or protect those he cared about, and they'd never given him a medal ceremony!

The cowboy missed Bo Peep very much these days. How he longed to hear her calm, reassuring voice and feel her comforting hand on his shoulder. His arms ached to hug her. He even missed being jerked by the neck with her staff. She'd always been his one true love, and she always would be. Oh, how he missed her terribly and needed her badly right now! It was especially at night, after everyone was in bed, or supposed to be in bed, that Woody really, really missed Bo Peep. He could remember how the two of them sometimes would wait and wait and wait for bedtime so that they could steal away some alone time together, mostly on Molly's window sill. The moonlit and or starry nights threatened to bring a lump to Woody's throat. The words from an old song would play over and over again in his mind:

"The moon is high,

The sky is blue,

And here am I,

But where are you?

A night like this

Was meant for two

And I am here,

But where are you?"

The lyrics burned inside him and wallowed in his heart so heavily that sometimes he felt his stuffing was going to bust out at the seams. Maybe someday they'd find each other again. Maybe...

Even Mitsy seemed to act differently. She used to make extra efforts just to be around Woody, and now she spent all her time with Jack. Of course, Woody personally didn't blame her much for that, after being separated all those years, then nearly losing him to death. And he could just bet that if Bonnie walked through that door with his precious Bo Peep he would probably be acting the same way. But there was another way he craved Mitsy's company now too. Even after Bo had left, Mitsy still seemed like his "little girl" almost, and she had looked up to him to solve her problems like a father and guide her through the joys and hardships of being a toy, and life with Andy. He'd felt so fulfilled the way the little princess had gone to him so much when she was mourning her loss of her best friend. He missed her coming to him with her problems, big or small. He half-wished that she would seek him out for help right now because of some little hidden fear or something that was making her feel sad. Now he seemed to not even have that. At least then, he would know that he could still be useful to someone. "I guess this is how parents feel when their children grow up," he sighed to himself. "She doesn't need me anymore. Nobody needs me."

Buzz sensed the root of Woody's depression. He figured he knew what it was, but every time he tried to talk about it, Woody would evade the conversation. Buzz felt bad. He'd seen Woody this way before, and he didn't like it. He wanted to help him so much, but the cowboy would just appear to brush everything off. The two best friends knew that Woody needed to spill it out, and Buzz tried to probe him, but the miserable cowboy wasn't ready. Buzz and Jessie were both concerned about him and tried to console him, but it didn't seem to sink in.

Woody pondered endlessly on how he'd felt when he and Buzz first met and how different that was now. Their friendship was as one could say deeper than brotherly love and meant a lot to both of them. Woody was wondering if his jealousy of Jack would turn into a genuine, respectful friendship like it had with Buzz. He honestly did want to know Jack better, but he was afraid the celebrity dog would think the sheriff was beneath him, the way some of the other toys had joked about it. He'd come close a few times to trying to start up a polite conversation with the dog, but each time he'd lose his nerve.

"Buzz, have you seen Woody? Do you know where he is?" Mitsy asked.

"Are you looking for him?" Buzz asked back.

"Yes. Jessie said that she hasn't seen him since this morning." She had a dismal look on her face.

"I'm not sure. He might be on Bonnie's bed, or out in the living room."

"Okay, thanks. I'll try those," Mitsy sighed solemnly. Buzz watched her dejected manner.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

"I'll let you know," Mitsy replied as she walked away.

Woody was out in the hallway, away from the other toys, sitting on a box of artwork of Bonnie's. He was sulking again. Earlier he'd watched as Jack and Slinky tussled around on the floor like two feisty puppies, competing at who could be tougher, and it...it just made him feel even more dogged about the attention his old pal was giving to another toy. He didn't want to talk about his feelings: he was ashamed to admit them. "Hey there, Big Guy," a familiar voice broke into his gloomy thoughts. Woody slightly turned his head.

"Oh...uh, hi," Woody answered nervously. He hadn't been expecting her. She sat down on the box to his right. Woody noticed that she appeared as miserable as he was feeling, which stimulated his curiosity. This is odd, he thought. "What's the matter with you?"

"I...it's...I..." Mitsy hung her head.

"What is it, Little Bit? You can tell me."

"Jack just scolded me," Mitsy said sadly.

"What?" Woody wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. He couldn't possibly have. "What happened?"

"Jack scolded me. He's hardly ever spoken to me like that. It sure doesn't make me feel good. But the thing is, what he said was true."

"Now hold on. We need to talk about this! What happened between you two?" Woody asked, confused and determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Well," Mitsy began, "Jack said that he was going to help Pricklepants and Potato Head gather some things from the basement, and I wanted to go too but didn't ask. I just followed. Jack asked me where I thought I was going and I said that I was coming with them…

… "Honey, there's really no need for you to come." Jack said.

"But I want to." Mitsy replied.

"Mitsy, thank you but we really don't need your help. I really think you should go find something else to do." Jack stated.

"Nah. I'm coming." Mitsy said...

'Then Jack firmly told me no. His tone cut me off guard.' " Mitsy bit her lip. Woody was dumbfounded. Lately when he'd seen the princess playing around with her big dog, it had reminded him of a child with a brand new toy. But now it was starting to sound like the honeymoon stage was over.

"Yeah?" Woody commented, not sure what else to say. Mitsy sighed heavily and then continued.

"Jack pulled me aside and explained that I absolutely didn't need to accompany him. I told him that I wanted to be with him. He said that he appreciated that, but...but then...he...he..."

"He what?" Woody prodded, a mixture of curiosity and a little worry in his voice.

"Jack said that I didn't need to smother him!" Mitsy exclaimed. Woody's jaw dropped and he blinked, cut off guard. Mitsy looked very glum. "Jack did say that he was sorry for being so direct, but that that's what I've been doing. He frowned and walked away."

"Man," Woody commented, shaking his head. "I can't believe that."

"I wanted to cry." Mitsy said flatly. "I never thought Jack would speak to me that way. I wanted to run after him, plead, beg, and make him feel guilty for what he said after what's happened to us. But after thinking about it, I guiltily realized that he was telling the truth." Mitsy's lip stuck out.

"Wow." Woody said. "I certainly wouldn't expect that from him!" Mitsy glanced up at the cowboy with her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, don't let him fool you." Mitsy slightly chuckled. "Jack may be doting on me, but that doesn't mean he always says yes! Which, if I'm honest, it's good that he doesn't. But, Woody, I...I have been smothering him. But, but it's because I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?" Woody asked.

"Promise you'll save you're opinion and advice for after I finish explaining?"

"I promise," Woody said hesitantly, not sure where this was headed.

"Woody, I've been afraid." Mitsy said sadly. "I feel like I have to keep my eyes on Jack every possible second. Like I have to constantly be at his side. I'm afraid to take my eyes off him. Every time he leaves Bonnie's room or I don't know where he is, I get so worried!"

"I see," Woody nodded, starting to understand what she was talking about. Little Mother Hen, he chuckled in thought to himself.

"I'm scared that if I don't keep my eyes glued on him, that..that I'll lose him again, that he'll never come back! Sometimes I want to hug him so tightly and never, ever let go. I just want to keep my arms around him forever, where I know he's safe and nothing bad is going to happen to him. But I can't do that. I want to keep him close to me always."

"Honey, you have kept him close to you always," Woody said, patting her shoulder. "All these years of separation, not knowing if you'd ever have a chance to see him again, you were still so fond of him. Just like in Lassie Come-Home. And, speaking from personal experience for my ears," he said in a teasing tone, "it grew more and more as time went by." Mitsy rolled her eyes, half in aggravation, half in amusement.

"Oh, Woody, what do I do? Have you ever felt this way before?"

Woody noticed that she always asked him that same question when she presented her problems to the sheriff. "Yes, I have," he sighed quietly, looking away.

"About who?" Mitsy asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Bo," Woody whispered, choking on the word. Mitsy looked away and covered her mouth with her hand. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Then she looked back up at the sad cowboy. He had a longing, pained, faraway look on his face. He was staring out the window, almost as if he was searching for something...or someone but not finding...her. Mitsy felt sorry for him. She reached over and touched his arm with her small hand.