1
2 The end of Summer, sometime in the late 50s or early 60s:
3
4 All was peaceful and quiet. Jessie sat up on the pillow while Emily slept. She knew that it was the last sleep before summer ended, and school began. For Emily, it meant one last night as a fourth grader; tomorrow she would start all over again in the fifth grade.
5 Jessie stared out the window into the night. Although all the stars shone brightly, there was no moon. It had been the best summer of her life and she wished it could last forever. The hot season had dragged on slowly, making three months an entire lifetime. But for her, this one final night was going too quickly.
6 Her head drooped. It had been a long day. She had been dragged by Emily and her mother from store to store, an involuntary third party in back to school shopping. But the time she had spent with Emily was what counted, not how she spent it…
7 She could no longer stay awake. She muttered a quiet, "G'night Emily," and fell sound asleep.
8
9 ***
10
11 Present Day:
12
13 Jessie woke in a different spot now. It wasn't as comfortable as Emily's bed, but it beat storage hands down.
14 Jessie shook the thought out of her head. She had vowed to put the dark nightmare out of her mind, and that's what she was determined to do. She got down from the shelf and walked across Andy's floor, looking for some friends.
15 She could hear chuckling as she got near the bed. She recognized it as Buzz's, and the thought of the Spaceman made her smile.
16 "Morning Buzz." Jessie called up to the top of the sheet.
17 "Good morning, Jessie." He said between chuckles.
18 "What's so funny?"
19 "Come up here and see for yourself." He answered. She obliged and pulled herself up. Buzz was lying on the bed and flipping through a photo album. "Andy has to do a project for school using family photos, so he got this from downstairs. I guess he left it out." He turned the page. On the opposite side was a photo of a messy fat half-nude baby in a highchair, spaghetti and drool all over its face.
20 "Ew! What an ugly child!" Jessie made a face. "Who's that?" Buzz flipped over the photo.
21 "'Andy, one year and two months.'" He read. Jessie blushed.
22 "Oops."
23 "It's ok. Not his best moment." Buzz smiled, placing the photo back in its spot.
24 "Hey, Guys!" Someone called from below. "What are you doing?"
25 "Looking at photos!" Buzz called back. Woody pulled himself up next to them.
26 He smiled knowingly. "Sorry, Lovebirds. Did I break up anything between you and your girlfriend?"
27 Buzz turned red, but Jessie smiled. She liked the sound of that. She wanted to see Buzz turn even redder, so she put her arm around him.
28 Woody started flipping backwards through the pages. "How far back does this album go?" Jessie asked.
29 Woody, who'd seen this album before, answered, "From to his parent's childhood to Molly's birth. After Andy's father died, Ms. Davis lost interest in her photography."
30 "Oh." Woody continued to flip to the beginning. Jessie grabbed his arm.
31 "Turn back." She commanded.
32 "Why?"
33 "Do it!" He shrugged and went back to the previous page. A black and white photo of a sunny faced fourth grader smiled at them. She was sitting on a porch swing, dangling her gangly legs over the wood. Jessie let out a light curse under her breath. Woody and Buzz turned in surprise.
34 "Jessie!" Woody exclaimed.
35 "What's the matter?" Buzz took her hand. "Jessie, you look pale."
36 "Who is that?"
37 "Who?"
38 "Her! That girl!"
39 "Her? That's Ms. Davis!" Woody shrugged.
40 "That's Emily!" Woody and Buzz exchanged a surprised look.
41 "No." The Cowboy said slowly. "That's Ms. Davis!"
42 "You don't think I know Emily when I see Emily? That's Emily!" She insisted.
43 "Your hat's on too tight! That's Ms. Davis!" Woody countered.
44 "Emily!"
45 "Ms. Davis!"
46 "Emily!"
47 "Ms. Davis!" The arguing continued until Buzz whistled.
48 "Hey! Hey! Stop!" His friends quieted down. "There's only way to solve this." He picked up the photo and turned it over.
49 In Ms. Davis' writing were the words, "Me, age 10."
50 "See! I told you!" Woody nodded smugly. Jessie was not to be defeated so easily.
51 "I don't care what you say! That's Emily!"
52 Buzz pursed his lips. "Woody, what's Ms. Davis' first name?" Woody thought for a moment.
53 "I'm not sure. I've only heard her called Mom." Jessie had begun to flip backwards. Buzz peered over her shoulder.
54 "Jessie! Stop! Look!" The picture was a faded black and white one of three children around a Christmas tree, two boys and the girl from the previous photo. They were surrounded by ribbons and empty boxes. They were still dressed in pajamas, and the oldest boy wore a Santa hat on his head.
55 "See! Those were Emily's big brothers!" Jessie pointed.
56 "Those are Andy's uncles."
57 "Do you see what I see?" Buzz pointed to the girl's arms. What she held made all three toys lose their breath.
58 A brand spanking new Jessie doll.
59 Woody was speechless, Buzz could only stare, and Jessie felt her stomach turn upside down.
60 "I think we've seen enough proof." Buzz finally managed. Jessie stood silently.
61 "Jessie…are…are you ok?" Woody asked, concerned.
62 "I'm fine." She said shortly. "I'm going to Molly's room." And with that she hopped off the bed and left.
63 Woody turned to Buzz. "So, what do we do about this, Lightyear?"
64 "I'll go talk to her." Buzz volunteered. He lumbered off the bed and out of the room. Woody picked up the photo and turned it over:
65 "Christmas, 1957. Robert, Cole, and Emily."
66
67 ***
68
69 "Jessie?" Buzz walked into Molly's room. He didn't see her anywhere. "Bo, have you seen Jessie?" He asked.
70 "Yes, she's under the little desk." Bo gestured with her crook. "She seemed upset about something." Buzz thanked her and went towards the place she had said. "Jessie?" He peered underneath.
71 Jessie looked like she was brooding. "Hi, Jessie." Buzz sat next to her. "So…um…that was quite a shock…"
72 "A shock! That's putting it mildly!" She said it more sharply than she intended, but she didn't care.
73 He sighed. "Jessie, I know you've been hurt, but I'm sure…" Buzz trailed off. Actually he wasn't sure about anything, but Jessie looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
74 "I can't…can't ever face her Buzz!" She gasped.
75 "What are you going to do?" Buzz asked. "You can't control if Andy takes you downstairs to dinner, or you need fixing, or…"
76 "Buzz, she left me! She abandoned me! Get it? She didn't want me!" Buzz looked down. He could feel Jessie's pain and torment by looking in her eyes. Jessie grasped her temples. "My head feels like it's about to explode!"
77 "It wasn't her fault you were put in storage." Buzz said quietly. "She probably had no idea what would happen."
78 "She still left me!" Jessie hollered.
79 The two were silent. "I've decided." Jessie finally said. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to go on as if none of this happened. You hear me, Buzz Lightyear?" She shook him. "None of this happened!"
80 "Denial won't help." Buzz shook his head. He squeezed Jessie's hand. He wanted to kiss her cheek, but he felt Jessie wouldn't have been appreciative at the moment. "I have to go." He stood and started to walk out. He turned back. "If you need to talk…"
81 "I don't." She replied tartly and put her head on her knees.
82 "If you do, you know where to find me." And with that, he left.
83
84 ***
85
86 "So," Woody asked as Buzz walked back in Andy's room. "How'd it go?"
87 "She's in denial." Buzz groaned. "I feel terrible. This is all my fault! If I hadn't been looking through those photos…"
88 "Don't go blaming yourself. We would have found out eventually." Woody shook his head.
89 "What do we do?"
90 "There's nothing we can do for her now, except offer support." Woody said firmly. "It's all up to Jessie."
91 ***
92 It was another star filled, moonless night. Jessie crept out of Molly's bedroom and down the hall. Ms. Davis' door was wide open.
93 After all these years, she still hates sleeping with the door closed. Jessie thought. She crept to the doorframe, but carefully making sure she wasn't seen.
94 Ms. Davis was sitting in bed, looking through the album she had retrieved from Andy's room. Jessie couldn't stand it. She had to get a better look. So she got down on her knees, and crawled silently, catlike under the bed.
95 As she made her way to the front, she was aware of the bed shifting above her head. She poked her head out barely half an inch.
96 Ms. Davis was looking at a photo of her deceased husband. She wiped a tear away and put the photo back in. She closed the album, put it by the bed and clapped off the light.
97 An hour passed. Jessie just sat there, thinking. Finally, she could no longer contain herself. She pulled herself up to the pillow. Ms. Davis was asleep. Jessie watched her old owner snooze. She took a deep breath.
98 "Well, here you are, Emily. And here I am." She whispered. "You have your own kids, a career. You've changed so much, and I've stayed the same." Jessie sat down next to her head. "I remember the time Cole got mad at you, so he stole me from you and hid me in a tree. Then later he couldn't remember where he put me, and you panicked. I was up in that oak for hours. You were so happy when your father finally spotted me. You hugged me so long and hard, I thought I would suffocate. But I was so happy to be in your arms again, it wouldn't have mattered." Ms. Davis turned over in her sleep. Jessie stiffened. "I was mad at you for giving me up." She continued. "But you're only human. All my anger seems to have melted away. I guess everything's ok now." She stood and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the head, then hopped off the bed.
99 As she got near the door, she stopped and touched the doorstop, remembering it from when it used to hold Emily's old door open. "G'night, Emily." She whispered in the dark.
100 ***
101 The next day:
102
103 It was a bright weekday morning. Andy was at school, Molly at daycare, and Ms. Davis at work. Woody and Buzz were down in the kitchen where Andy had left them at breakfast.
104 "So, what do we say when we see Jessie?" Buzz asked.
105 "Nothing about yesterday, unless she brings it up." Woody said. He sniffed the coffeepot from where it had been left out. "Ew, it's cold!" He made a face and put it back. "Anyway, most likely, she's still going to be upset, and she needs friends more than ever…"
106 "Here she comes." Buzz said. Jessie walked in the kitchen, humming.
107 "G'morning!" She said happily. The two males hopped off the table.
108 "Good morning, Jessie." Woody said slowly.
109 "How are you feeling?" Buzz asked. Jessie grinned at him.
110 "I feel great!" She cried. "Just great!" And without warning, she wrapped her arms around the Space Ranger and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. Woody snickered at Buzz, whose eyes had gone wide and his face beet red. Jessie pranced out of the kitchen happily.
111 "Well, I'd definitely say she's feeling better." Buzz smiled and ran after her, leaving Woody gaping.
2 The end of Summer, sometime in the late 50s or early 60s:
3
4 All was peaceful and quiet. Jessie sat up on the pillow while Emily slept. She knew that it was the last sleep before summer ended, and school began. For Emily, it meant one last night as a fourth grader; tomorrow she would start all over again in the fifth grade.
5 Jessie stared out the window into the night. Although all the stars shone brightly, there was no moon. It had been the best summer of her life and she wished it could last forever. The hot season had dragged on slowly, making three months an entire lifetime. But for her, this one final night was going too quickly.
6 Her head drooped. It had been a long day. She had been dragged by Emily and her mother from store to store, an involuntary third party in back to school shopping. But the time she had spent with Emily was what counted, not how she spent it…
7 She could no longer stay awake. She muttered a quiet, "G'night Emily," and fell sound asleep.
8
9 ***
10
11 Present Day:
12
13 Jessie woke in a different spot now. It wasn't as comfortable as Emily's bed, but it beat storage hands down.
14 Jessie shook the thought out of her head. She had vowed to put the dark nightmare out of her mind, and that's what she was determined to do. She got down from the shelf and walked across Andy's floor, looking for some friends.
15 She could hear chuckling as she got near the bed. She recognized it as Buzz's, and the thought of the Spaceman made her smile.
16 "Morning Buzz." Jessie called up to the top of the sheet.
17 "Good morning, Jessie." He said between chuckles.
18 "What's so funny?"
19 "Come up here and see for yourself." He answered. She obliged and pulled herself up. Buzz was lying on the bed and flipping through a photo album. "Andy has to do a project for school using family photos, so he got this from downstairs. I guess he left it out." He turned the page. On the opposite side was a photo of a messy fat half-nude baby in a highchair, spaghetti and drool all over its face.
20 "Ew! What an ugly child!" Jessie made a face. "Who's that?" Buzz flipped over the photo.
21 "'Andy, one year and two months.'" He read. Jessie blushed.
22 "Oops."
23 "It's ok. Not his best moment." Buzz smiled, placing the photo back in its spot.
24 "Hey, Guys!" Someone called from below. "What are you doing?"
25 "Looking at photos!" Buzz called back. Woody pulled himself up next to them.
26 He smiled knowingly. "Sorry, Lovebirds. Did I break up anything between you and your girlfriend?"
27 Buzz turned red, but Jessie smiled. She liked the sound of that. She wanted to see Buzz turn even redder, so she put her arm around him.
28 Woody started flipping backwards through the pages. "How far back does this album go?" Jessie asked.
29 Woody, who'd seen this album before, answered, "From to his parent's childhood to Molly's birth. After Andy's father died, Ms. Davis lost interest in her photography."
30 "Oh." Woody continued to flip to the beginning. Jessie grabbed his arm.
31 "Turn back." She commanded.
32 "Why?"
33 "Do it!" He shrugged and went back to the previous page. A black and white photo of a sunny faced fourth grader smiled at them. She was sitting on a porch swing, dangling her gangly legs over the wood. Jessie let out a light curse under her breath. Woody and Buzz turned in surprise.
34 "Jessie!" Woody exclaimed.
35 "What's the matter?" Buzz took her hand. "Jessie, you look pale."
36 "Who is that?"
37 "Who?"
38 "Her! That girl!"
39 "Her? That's Ms. Davis!" Woody shrugged.
40 "That's Emily!" Woody and Buzz exchanged a surprised look.
41 "No." The Cowboy said slowly. "That's Ms. Davis!"
42 "You don't think I know Emily when I see Emily? That's Emily!" She insisted.
43 "Your hat's on too tight! That's Ms. Davis!" Woody countered.
44 "Emily!"
45 "Ms. Davis!"
46 "Emily!"
47 "Ms. Davis!" The arguing continued until Buzz whistled.
48 "Hey! Hey! Stop!" His friends quieted down. "There's only way to solve this." He picked up the photo and turned it over.
49 In Ms. Davis' writing were the words, "Me, age 10."
50 "See! I told you!" Woody nodded smugly. Jessie was not to be defeated so easily.
51 "I don't care what you say! That's Emily!"
52 Buzz pursed his lips. "Woody, what's Ms. Davis' first name?" Woody thought for a moment.
53 "I'm not sure. I've only heard her called Mom." Jessie had begun to flip backwards. Buzz peered over her shoulder.
54 "Jessie! Stop! Look!" The picture was a faded black and white one of three children around a Christmas tree, two boys and the girl from the previous photo. They were surrounded by ribbons and empty boxes. They were still dressed in pajamas, and the oldest boy wore a Santa hat on his head.
55 "See! Those were Emily's big brothers!" Jessie pointed.
56 "Those are Andy's uncles."
57 "Do you see what I see?" Buzz pointed to the girl's arms. What she held made all three toys lose their breath.
58 A brand spanking new Jessie doll.
59 Woody was speechless, Buzz could only stare, and Jessie felt her stomach turn upside down.
60 "I think we've seen enough proof." Buzz finally managed. Jessie stood silently.
61 "Jessie…are…are you ok?" Woody asked, concerned.
62 "I'm fine." She said shortly. "I'm going to Molly's room." And with that she hopped off the bed and left.
63 Woody turned to Buzz. "So, what do we do about this, Lightyear?"
64 "I'll go talk to her." Buzz volunteered. He lumbered off the bed and out of the room. Woody picked up the photo and turned it over:
65 "Christmas, 1957. Robert, Cole, and Emily."
66
67 ***
68
69 "Jessie?" Buzz walked into Molly's room. He didn't see her anywhere. "Bo, have you seen Jessie?" He asked.
70 "Yes, she's under the little desk." Bo gestured with her crook. "She seemed upset about something." Buzz thanked her and went towards the place she had said. "Jessie?" He peered underneath.
71 Jessie looked like she was brooding. "Hi, Jessie." Buzz sat next to her. "So…um…that was quite a shock…"
72 "A shock! That's putting it mildly!" She said it more sharply than she intended, but she didn't care.
73 He sighed. "Jessie, I know you've been hurt, but I'm sure…" Buzz trailed off. Actually he wasn't sure about anything, but Jessie looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
74 "I can't…can't ever face her Buzz!" She gasped.
75 "What are you going to do?" Buzz asked. "You can't control if Andy takes you downstairs to dinner, or you need fixing, or…"
76 "Buzz, she left me! She abandoned me! Get it? She didn't want me!" Buzz looked down. He could feel Jessie's pain and torment by looking in her eyes. Jessie grasped her temples. "My head feels like it's about to explode!"
77 "It wasn't her fault you were put in storage." Buzz said quietly. "She probably had no idea what would happen."
78 "She still left me!" Jessie hollered.
79 The two were silent. "I've decided." Jessie finally said. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to go on as if none of this happened. You hear me, Buzz Lightyear?" She shook him. "None of this happened!"
80 "Denial won't help." Buzz shook his head. He squeezed Jessie's hand. He wanted to kiss her cheek, but he felt Jessie wouldn't have been appreciative at the moment. "I have to go." He stood and started to walk out. He turned back. "If you need to talk…"
81 "I don't." She replied tartly and put her head on her knees.
82 "If you do, you know where to find me." And with that, he left.
83
84 ***
85
86 "So," Woody asked as Buzz walked back in Andy's room. "How'd it go?"
87 "She's in denial." Buzz groaned. "I feel terrible. This is all my fault! If I hadn't been looking through those photos…"
88 "Don't go blaming yourself. We would have found out eventually." Woody shook his head.
89 "What do we do?"
90 "There's nothing we can do for her now, except offer support." Woody said firmly. "It's all up to Jessie."
91 ***
92 It was another star filled, moonless night. Jessie crept out of Molly's bedroom and down the hall. Ms. Davis' door was wide open.
93 After all these years, she still hates sleeping with the door closed. Jessie thought. She crept to the doorframe, but carefully making sure she wasn't seen.
94 Ms. Davis was sitting in bed, looking through the album she had retrieved from Andy's room. Jessie couldn't stand it. She had to get a better look. So she got down on her knees, and crawled silently, catlike under the bed.
95 As she made her way to the front, she was aware of the bed shifting above her head. She poked her head out barely half an inch.
96 Ms. Davis was looking at a photo of her deceased husband. She wiped a tear away and put the photo back in. She closed the album, put it by the bed and clapped off the light.
97 An hour passed. Jessie just sat there, thinking. Finally, she could no longer contain herself. She pulled herself up to the pillow. Ms. Davis was asleep. Jessie watched her old owner snooze. She took a deep breath.
98 "Well, here you are, Emily. And here I am." She whispered. "You have your own kids, a career. You've changed so much, and I've stayed the same." Jessie sat down next to her head. "I remember the time Cole got mad at you, so he stole me from you and hid me in a tree. Then later he couldn't remember where he put me, and you panicked. I was up in that oak for hours. You were so happy when your father finally spotted me. You hugged me so long and hard, I thought I would suffocate. But I was so happy to be in your arms again, it wouldn't have mattered." Ms. Davis turned over in her sleep. Jessie stiffened. "I was mad at you for giving me up." She continued. "But you're only human. All my anger seems to have melted away. I guess everything's ok now." She stood and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the head, then hopped off the bed.
99 As she got near the door, she stopped and touched the doorstop, remembering it from when it used to hold Emily's old door open. "G'night, Emily." She whispered in the dark.
100 ***
101 The next day:
102
103 It was a bright weekday morning. Andy was at school, Molly at daycare, and Ms. Davis at work. Woody and Buzz were down in the kitchen where Andy had left them at breakfast.
104 "So, what do we say when we see Jessie?" Buzz asked.
105 "Nothing about yesterday, unless she brings it up." Woody said. He sniffed the coffeepot from where it had been left out. "Ew, it's cold!" He made a face and put it back. "Anyway, most likely, she's still going to be upset, and she needs friends more than ever…"
106 "Here she comes." Buzz said. Jessie walked in the kitchen, humming.
107 "G'morning!" She said happily. The two males hopped off the table.
108 "Good morning, Jessie." Woody said slowly.
109 "How are you feeling?" Buzz asked. Jessie grinned at him.
110 "I feel great!" She cried. "Just great!" And without warning, she wrapped her arms around the Space Ranger and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. Woody snickered at Buzz, whose eyes had gone wide and his face beet red. Jessie pranced out of the kitchen happily.
111 "Well, I'd definitely say she's feeling better." Buzz smiled and ran after her, leaving Woody gaping.