The Toys

Andy lived a full life, and accepted the reality of what was happening to him. He was dying. At 93 years old, that is to be expected. The doctors tried not to worry Andy and hide the truth about his health, but, "we're not sure what's happening to you. Your body just seems to be shutting down," really only means one thing, and Andy figured that out pretty easily.

One Year Ago

"Woody, what are we going to do," the green T-Rex toy pleaded. "Andy can't put us in there! We will-we'll all-"

"Stop it Rex! I won't let that happen to any of us. We'll make it through this, somehow," Woody said.

"Well, that's easy for you to say, 'Mr. Favorite,'" Mr. Potato Head said in an irritated manner. "We all know Andy loves you the most, so you might get played with every once in a while. But what about the rest of us? We all know what happens to toys that don't get played with, so how are we supposed to make it?"
"The same way we always do," Buzz said. "Together. Jessie, who was it that saved you and Bullseye from Stinky Pete? Ken, who was it that convinced us to let you stay after escaping that terrible daycare? And you Potato Head, who was it that introduced you to the Mrs.? Who told you that you could do anything you put your mind too? Who helped you find a ring when you had none? Who helped all of us in our worst times? Who was it that never lost faith in Andy when the rest of us did? Woody, that's who. He even saved me when I didn't believe in myself. Woody has always been there for us, and looked after each and every single toy. If you agree anything I said, anything at all, I say Woody at least deserves your trust. If he says he's going to get us through this, he will."

"Buzz is right guys," Jessie the Cowgirl said. Woody's always been there for us, and he won't let us down now! We'll get us through this, won't we Woody?"

At this, Woody looked at the worried faces of the toys, and met their gaze one by one and said, "You bet we will."

Present Time

"Hello Molly," Andy said greeting his sister as she walked into his hospital room. "Did you bring them?"

"Well, yes and no," Molly said. "I found your Astronaut, but the cowboy wasn't there. I'm sorry Andy, I know how much he meant to you."
"Oh, it's alright dear, don't worry about it. I must have left him out somewhere while I was doing repairs. Can I see Buzz?"
Molly reached into a brown paper bag handed the toy to Andy and he admired it's detail. The astronaut has in his white uniform that had one green stripe across the breast plate with three buttons; one blue, one green, and one red; that had different sayings when pressed such as, "Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" In the center of the breast plate, there was a white insignia of a spaceship with the words, "Space Ranger" across the top.

"Hey Molly, did I ever introduce you to Buzz Lightyear? We had many adventures together when I was a kid. He's a good protector of the galaxy and an even better friend."

Molly noticed her brother smiling and staring at Buzz, and then he burst out into tears, hugging and caressing his toy.

"I'll give you two a minute," Molly said exiting the room.

"Oh Buzz, I'm sorry," Andy said in tears. "I'm so sorry!"

One Month Earlier

"Molly! How are you dear? I really appreciate you coming over. There's no way I could set up this case by myself."

"It's my pleasure. But what is the case for? You displaying something?"

"Sure am! I think it's time I retired some of my favorite toys. The children don't play with them as much as they used to, and these are classics! Take old Woody here, he's worth a fortune!"

"Oh, so you're going to sell them?"

"No, never! We've had too many adventures together, I could never just give them away like that. I'm going to put them on display to be admired by many, forever. But that's not the best part. You see, it's air tight, so no air will get in or out and they'll stay dust-free all the time they're in there!"

"Well, that's very nice of you. It's a great way to honor the memory of your toys. Let's get started and set it up. Where will you be keeping it?"

"Oh, just down in the basement for now. Here, I'll show you."

Andy and Molly set up the case, put the toys inside, and left them in the basement.

"Woody, you promised," Jessie exclaimed. "You said you'd get us through this!"

"I told you all this would happen! But no, nobody ever listens to 'Old Potato Head' do you? We should have ran away!"

Present Time

"You don't have to apologize Andy."

Andy stopped his sobbing, and looked around the room, but no one was there.

"Hello? Is anyone there," Andy asked.

"It's me, I'm down here," andy heard the voice say.

Andy looked down, and all he could see is his toy, Buzz, that had had been holding.

"Buzz," Andy asked. "Is that you?"

"No," the voice said. "It's not him, not right now, anyways."

Andy looked over and was shocked to see his favorite toy,Woody, standing on his bed, staring at him. Sheriff Woody had dark brown hair with a little curl in the front, just visible under his brown cowboy hat. His light brown shirt and black and white diamond shaped vest with a golden star over his left breast pocket embedded with the word, "Sheriff." He also noticed his dark blue denim jeans and cowboy boots, each with its own spur in the back.

"Woody," Andy asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it is. I know you must have a lot of questions, like why I'm talking and how I got here, but I'll explain all of that later. Right now I need to-"

Before Woody could explain, Andy grabbed him and began hugging him and laughing.

"Woody! It's really you! I had no idea, all this time! How is this possible? Can all toys talk? Where is everyone else?"
"We're here too, Andy."

Andy looked to his side, and saw all his favorite toys sitting on the bed, smiling at him. Among them were Jessie, Bullseye (Woody's horse), Mr. Potato Head, and Rex.

"Guys! I can't believe it's really you! Even if I am just imagining this, it's amazing!"
Andy hugged each of his toys, one by one and laughed and played with them for a while, until he grabbed buzz.

"That's strange," Andy said. "Why isn't buzz alive like the rest of you?"

The toys all got quiet, and stared down with sad faces.
"What's wrong," Andy asked. "What happened to Buzz?"

Woody stepped forward from the group of toys and spoke up.

"It happened this morning, in your basement..."

Earlier the Present Morning

Woody and Buzz sat together in the case Andy and Molly had set up in the basement, talking.

"They're all gone," Buzz said. "Potato Head, Rex, Bullseye, and even Jessie. They're all gone!"

"We'll get them back Buzz," Woody said. "We have too!"

"I don't know, Woody. We've been up here for so long without children to play with us, and look what happened to the rest of them!"

Woody looked at all the other toys with him in the case. All statues, with no life in them. Woody had to turn his head because he couldn't take looking at the sight of his now lifeless friends.

"They've been here for too long Woody! And so-so have we. I don't know if I can take this much longer, I need to be played with woody. I need children, we need children."

"They'll come Buzz, Andy will have to come check on us soon, and we'll get played with!"

"But when? When will he come? I can't last that long. Look."

Woody looked at Buzz's leg, and it was stiff, and he couldn't move it. He was slowly losing movement in his body, starting at the legs.

"Buzz, No! Not you too! Hang on buddy, I'll get us out of here!"

"It's ok Woody, You did your best. None of us can blame you for that, there's nothing you could have done."
"Buzz, please," Woody pleaded. "Just wait a little longer."

"I'm sorry Woody."

Buzz stood up and and his body parts all stiffened, one by one. His eyes lost their sparkle, and he returned to his manufactured state. Just a plain old toymov.

"Nooooooo," Woody screamed. "That's it! I'm getting us to Andy!"

Woody opened the doors of the glass case where he was being held, and walked over to the basement door. He climbed up onto the table next to the door, and jumped on the door knob. Woody knew he wasn't strong enough to open the door without the other toys help, but he was desperate, and knew he had to try.

"Come on you stupid door, open!"

"Come on Junior, I want to show you something. I bet you haven't seen these in years!"

"Oh no," Woody said. "Molly! I don't have time to climb back into the case!"

Woody let go of the door knob, and dropped to the floor. It was against the rules of the toys to let humans see them in their animated state, so he hid under the table as Molly and her son, Junior came through the door.

"Woah! Uncle Andy still has these?" Junior said as he opened the case and took Jessie and Bullseye out of the case. "I can't believe it! I haven't seen these since I was five!"
"I told you you'd be surprised," Molly said. "Remember this one?"

Molly took Mr. Potato Head and Rex out of the case and began playing with them.

"Raaaawr!" Molly said impersonating a dinosaur. "Your time has come, Mr. Potato Head! You'll finally become my lunch!"

"Not if we can help it!" Andy raised his voice as high as he could, to impersonate Jessies voice.

Woody watched the two of them play with the toys, and couldn't help but smile.
"Everythings actually going to be alright," Woody said to himself. "They're all going to be just fine."

Molly and her son played with he toys for a while, running around the basement, laughing. As the toys were being played with, he saw the sparkle slowly come back into each of their eyes, and he was happier than he had been in years. He was about to sneak back into the case, when Junior said something that caught his attention.

"Mom, Uncle Andy's going to be alright, won't he?"
"I don't know, dear," Molly replied. "That stroke really laid a toll on him. But I hope so. All we can do now is pray. Come on, let's get going. He asked me to bring his Woody and Buzz. Come to think of it, where's woody?"

"I didn't see him in the case. Maybe Uncle Andy had it in his room while he was cleaning it?"
"Good idea, let's go check."

Junior and his mom put back the toys, took Buzz out of the case, and headed out of the basement.

"We were played with!" Jessie screamed with excitement. "It felt so good, Woody did you see?"

"Yeah, I saw," Woody said. "It's good to have you guys back."

"With no thanks to you," Mr. Potato Head said. "You said you wouldn't let this happen!"

"Oh, leave him alone Potato Head," Rex said defending Woody. "There's nothing he could have done."

"Look guys," Woody said. "Something happened to Andy, and we need to go, now."
"You're right," Jessie said. "He had a stroke! Andy needs us!"

"And not just Andy, Buzz too," Woody said.
"That's right," Jessie said. "Buzz wasn't played with! Let's go, we can sneak in the back of the car and get to the hospital!"

"Hold on Andy," Woody said. "We're coming."

Present Time

After Woody finished explaining to Andy what happened to Buzz, Andy was saddened by his tale.

"I-I had no idea! I'm so sorry Buzz, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not too late, Andy," Woody said. "It's not too late to fix this! All you have to do is play with him, and he'll be fine!"
"I don't know if I can. I mean, it's been years, since Junior was a boy. What if I don't play with him properly? What if it doesn't work?"

"You can do it Andy," Jessie said. "We know you can!"

"You can do it!" The rest of the toys screamed in unison.

"Please," Woody asked. "Just give it a try."
"Well, alright," Andy said. "Here goes nothing!"

Andy picked up Buzz and started moving him through the air, pretending he was flying.

"Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue!" He said.

Andy did this for about five minutes, and the toys were all losing hope. Just when Andy was about to stop, Buzz's leg moved.

"Did you see that!" Woody said. "I think it's working! Keep going Andy!"

Andy continued to play with Buzz, and his eyes slowly began to sparkle, and Buzz said, "Woah there, now you're making me dizzy."
"Buzz!" The toys and Andy all screamed together.

"It's good to have you back buddy," Woody told Buzz.

Andy and his toys were all having such a wonderful time talking and laughing, telling their own personal life stories to each other, catching up like old friends. Woody had just finished telling of the time Mr. Potato Head lost his nose, and it somehow ended up in Andy's pet dog's waste, and how he that's all he could smell for the next week. Andy was laughing heartily, like he hadn't laughed in a long while, when he noticed his toys were lifeless again.

"Hello Mr. Davis," the nurse greeted Andy. "Just here to check up on things. How you holding up? Are you comfortable?"

"I make a living," Andy replied jokingly.

"Hahahaha! That's why you're my favorite patient, Mr. Davis. You make my day that much brighter with your humor. Is that a Woody doll? I haven't seen one of those in years! You're lucky to have one, they're very rare nowadays. Well, I'll leave you be. Oh! Before I forget, you're sister called. Said she went to get some lunch and would be back in five minutes."

"Ok, thank you nurse!"

The nurse nodded her head and left Andy alone with his toys.
"Guys, I don't know if you've realized yet, but I don't have much time left," Andy told his toys. "But I haven't forgotten about you, I've made some arrangements."

"Yeah, about that Andy," Woody said. "We, um-"

"What Woody is trying to say is, it sucks."

"Potato Head!" All the toys yelled in unison.

"What," Asked Mr. Potato head. "It's true!"

"Hahaha don't worry, I never had any intentions of leaving you in that glass prison. Especially not after what you've told me, that's horrible! You need children."

"We love children," Rex said. "Nothings better than being with children!"

"Exactly, that's why I've decided to put you in a museum."

"A museum!" All of the toys exclaimed, looking at Woody.
Woody looked around at the toys, and remembered how he previously failed in his promise. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Thank you Andy," Woody said. "We appreciate your thoughtfulness, but-"

"And it's not just any old museum," Andy said. "It's a childrens museum! Children will be there all day admiring you all, and you'll never have to be without a child again! Isn't it great?"

There was a brief silence in the room, and all the toys were looking down, with disappointed looks on their face. Andy noticed this, and asked what was wrong.

"That seems wonderful Andy," Woody said. "And we're all so, so grateful, but there's this little girl, three rooms down. Her name is Anna and her mother has cancer. And she-well she's-I heard the doctors saying she doesn't have much time left, and I was thinking-I mean, the girl is only 4 and-we appreciate your museum offer, it's really nice, but-"

Andy saw the worry in Woody's eyes, and realized his mistake. He didn't want to give up his toys so much, he was willing to put them on display, never to be played with again. Ashamed at his selfishness, Andy changed his mind.
"Woody, it's o.k. You all don't belong in cases, you're toys for Pete's sake! You need to be played with! Go, that little girl is going to need you more than ever. Now don't give me that look, there'll be no crying now. If you start, then I'll start and-"

Before Andy could finish his sentence, all of the toys jumped on him and hugged him, all with tears in their eyes. The toys all started rejoicing and saying things like, "Thank you Andy," and "We love you Andy," and "We'll never forget you."

"No, I should be the ones thanking you. You've filled my childhood with so much joy and laughter, and now you get to do the same thing for another child. You'll look after her won't you?"
"You bet we will," exclaimed Woody. "We'll always be there for her, won't we gang?"

'We sure will," the toys all replied joyously.

"Oh ho ho, I know you will! I know you will."

"Know I will what, Andy?"

Andy looked over and saw Molly looking at him quizzically through the doorway.

"Oh, I was just talking to-"

Andy looked at his toys on his chest, laying there in the same apparent lifeless state he had always known and loved.

"Nothing," Andy said tearing up again, and hugging his toys one last time. "It's nothing."

"Is everything alright Andy? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm happy is all. I was just reminiscing on old times with my buddies here."

"Oh! I see you've found woody! And a few other toys, it would seem."

"Yes, I did! They all just-showed up! But hey, Molly, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course! What can I do for you?"

"Three doors down, there is a little girl…"

Andy explained the situation to his sister, and she agreed to offer the toys to Anna. He and Molly talked for a while, and then it was time for her to go.

"It's been great talking with you Andy, but I have to go pick up Junior from school. I'll be back in an hour, ok?"

"Alright, well come give me a kiss."

Molly knelt over and hugged her brother, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Andy."

"I love you too dear."

Andy began handing Molly the toys one by one, and then he got to Woody and stopped. He held Woody in his hands, admiring his favorite toy.

"You know," Andy said to his sister. "I've had Woody for as long as I can remember. He was always by my side, Sheriff Woody. 'He's the rootinest, tootinest, cowboy in the wild, wild west!'"

Andy took one last good look at Woody.

"You'd better take good care of that girl, ya here? Goodbye, everyone, and thank you."

Andy hesitated at first, and then handed over Sheriff Woody to Molly.

"Are you sure everything's alright Andy?"

"I'm sure dear, thank you."

With that, Molly walked towards the door and opened it. Just before she left the room, Woody turned his head, and looked at Andy, now laying lifeless in his bed

"Goodbye, old pal," Woody whispered.

Molly left the room with the toys all in her arms, and shut the door.