"Piu! Piu! Oh no! Evil Dr. Porkchop captured the princess with his laser lasso!" Andy cried, holding up Jessie and waving her about. With his other hand, he brought her tiny plastic hand to her up to her mouth and gasped. "Ha ha ha!" He continued in a deep, evil voice. "I, evil Dr. Porkchop, shall drown her in mud, and there is nothing you and the Sheriff can do about it!" Dangling poor Bo Peep, tied to a piece of yarn, over a large mud puddle, Andy made Jessie dash over and attempt to untie the knot. "Oh no, the laser lasso hurts my hands!" she squeaked. "But don't worry! Sheriff Woody will-"
"Andy!" His mom called from the doorway. Surprised, Andy gasped and dropped Bo Peep and Jessie directly into the mud puddle below. "Oh, Andy!" she cried, running over and scooping the two dolls out of the puddle. "You know you shouldn't have these outside, and Bo Peep is an antique!" Andy shamefully looked down at his dirt-smeared shoes.
"Sorry, mom." Andy gathered up the rest of his toys into his arms. A space toy, short in stature, shot a fleeting glance at Jessie who looked slightly horrified.
"Go inside, it looks like it's going to rain." Mrs. Davis sighed and rubbed her temple. Obediently, Andy tromped inside and up the stairs into his room. "And take off your shoes, young man!"
Looking down at the two dolls, Mrs. Davis groaned. Jessie was absolutely soaked in brownish colored water, and mud streaked her red yarn hair. Bo wasn't much better, the hem and back of her pink polka-dotted dress completely covered in mud. Her dainty shoes were completely soaked as well. To her horror, she also discovered more dirt lodged under Bo's bodice. Sucking her teeth in disgust, Mrs. Davis stormed up the stairs.
"Andy, young man! From now on, you are not to bring Bo Peep outside!" There was only silence from inside Andy's room.
"Do you hear me?"
"Yes, mom!" He shouted back, his answer tinged with attitude.
"Good!" Mrs. Davis turned on her heel and continued down the hall to the bathroom. In her arms, Jessie shot Bo a furtive glance, who remained lifeless despite their predicament. Only when they were set down on the closed toilet seat did Bo turn slightly towards Jessie, who was panicking.
"What's going on? Is she going to throw us out?" She breathed, on the verge of hyperventilating. Bo shook her head very slightly.
"Oh, no, dear, you'll see very soon," She reassured with a wink. Mrs. Davis had walked to the sink and turned on the taps, repeatedly pumping soap into the running water. Calming down, Jessie took in her surroundings. The walls were striped with white and light blue, with a white trim meeting the gray stone tiles. She had also noted little bits of sea glass tucked in the little various nooks and crannies of the room. Sure, it was a bathroom, but she had to admit that it was really pretty. Especially with the bubbles now gracefully floating about.
Realizing that the sink was nearly overflowing, Mrs. Davis turned around from folding towels and twisted the taps frantically until the water only emerged in drips.
"That was close," she murmured to herself, picking up Jessie and placing her on the side of the sink. Carefully, Mrs. Davis pulled the yellow ribbon that had tied together her braid and dropped it in the water, frothy with suds. She then proceeded to comb out the bits of debris that had become stuck in Jessie's red locks from Andy's rough play. The sensation was strange to her, seeing as she had never had her hair down from a braid. It had always been slightly pasted together, to prevent it from coming undone, but forty-four years of neglect had dried the glue away. Besides, her past owner, Emily, had been more of a girl of action. She always preferred riding Jessie around on little plastic horses to trying out new hairdos.
Mrs. Davis fluffed Jessie's tumbled red hair for a bit before removing her hat and sliding her into the warm, soapy water. Jessie's green eyes peeped out from underneath the puffs of soap, watching silently as Mrs. Davis simply pulled off Bo's dress and bonnet, throwing them in the water as well, and slipped Bo tenderly into the bubbles. Satisfied, she dried her hands on a nearby towel, threw it onto the closed toilet seat, and walked out, closing the door behind her.
Almost immediately, Jessie resurfaced from the bubbles, gasping for air. Sure, toys didn't need to breathe, but it was still uncomfortable having to hold her breath for a long period of time. Seeing Bo lounging contently from across the sink, she began to paddle over, looking for some reassurance.
"Uh, howdy," began Jessie meekly, holding tightly onto the edge. "I'm Jessie. I don't think we've met before?" Bo Peep raised her gaze, her big blue eyes locking onto Jessie's pretty green ones.
"No, I don't suppose we have," She replied thoughtfully. "Bo Peep, Bo for short though."
"A pleasure," Jessie said, slightly unsure of what else to say. There was a long pause between the two.
"Sorry you have to see me like this," Bo started, "Andy can get a little rough some times, and-"
"No, no, it's no issue. We're both girls here." Suddenly, Jessie's eyes widened. "Bo, are we going to be thrown away?" Bo chuckled.
"No, no, Andy's mom wouldn't do that to us. Another silence. "So, how do you like it here?"
"It's…fun," Jessie faltered. Bo lifted a single, thin eyebrow.
"Just 'fun?' Because it has come to my understanding that a certain, say, "space ranger" has his eye on you!" She teased as shock crossed Jessie's features, but quickly shifted to a look of downtrodden disbelief.
"You must be mistaken," Jessie turned away. "It's not like I'm pretty or anything, I get way too rough, I'm easily excitable…why would he like someone like lil' ol' me?" Bo gazed at Jessie sympathetically.
"Spit it out cowgirl. Something happened before you came here. And I don't mean in storage…" Bo paused thoughtfully. "But when you belonged to that girl."
"Emily." Corrected Jessie in a short tone.
"Right," Bo went on, unfazed by Jessie's sudden change in demeanor.
"Well, Emily and I were very close, then she grew up and abandoned me. Happy?" Jessie spat and scooted further into the bubbles.
"No, I know that. What else happened? Tell me." Challenged Bo.
"You really wanna know?"
"Yes."
"Well…" Jessie began. "I've never ever told a soul about this. Not even Woody."
"Go on…"
"Fine." She swam a little closer, and began to explain.
"There was this toy…a military man. A, uh, G-I Joe?" Jessie struggled to remember. "Yes, that's what he was. Come playtime, he looked mean and scary. But that's why Emily got him," She shrugged. "She needed a villain, and he was perfect. Only her mother disapproved of his army getup, and took away his clothes and guns. That was perfectly fine with Emily, she just stuck him in a tux!" Bo let a giggle slip out. "Anyway, you would never guess he was originally an army toy. As soon as Emily left the room, he melted into a regular prince charming! Funny, always knew the right thing to do, or say, an' really cute too! And, well, since we were the only two human-ish toys, we eventually fell for each other." The grin that had been on Jessie's face suddenly slipped. "Or so I thought. We started going out an' everything, an' he seemed happy, but soon he turned…mean." Jessie's face darkened considerably. Bo reached out a thin, porcelain hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. "He would always point out my faults, and make me feel horrible. "Shut up! You're so loud! You're lucky I'm with someone as s-stupid and u-ugly as you!" he always said. On one occasion, h-he," Jessie hid her face in her hands. "He tried to hit me! I was so surprised, he used to be so nice and caring…" Bo gently took Jessie's hands away from her face.
"Jess, is that it? He wasn't a good man, don't let what he said get to your head. You're really, really, pretty. And most certainly not stupid." Apprehensively, Jessie peered back at Bo.
"Really? You think I'm pretty?" Jessie asked in disbelief. Bo smiled sweetly.
"Yes…but you don't have to continue if you don't want to."
"Nah, it feels really nice being able to talk to someone," Jessie slid further into the lukewarm water. "Well, like I said before, he tried to hit me. I had this horse, and I think he was jealous, always saying that I spent more time with the horse than him. Well, of course I did. I hated being criticized by him all of the time." A spark ignited in Jessie's eyes as the memories started to return once again. "G-I Joe liked playing mind games. Just little things, like spying on me, or giving me the silent treatment. Sometimes he would randomly pin me against the wall. Whoa, boy, was that scary." She breathed, shaking her head. "But this one time, he took it way too far." Jessie was silent for a while, lost in the dark hole of her memories. Bo immediately became concerned for her new friend, watching the fright and anger cross her face.
"Honey, are you okay?"
"He goddamn took my horse! He stole her, and hid for days!" She plowed on, Bo suddenly surprised by Jessie's profanity. "I looked everywhere, and of course he was gone too, so naturally I assumed the worst. But turned out he was under the bed the whole time, just waiting for me. Tried to take my beloved horse back from him, but he just raised his fist and aimed for my nose. Luckily Emily came in and decided to sell him at a yard sale, but when I think about what could've happened…" Jessie trailed off, not wanting to complete that sentence. She turned to face Bo, her face like stone. "Bo, do you think I did anything to deserve having him in my life?" Whispered Jessie brokenly.
"No, no. If anything, he made you stronger. And now, you need to move on to someone better for you." Bo replied, patting her cheek. The hand that had been cradling Jessie's face trailed along her jaw and down to her loose red hair. "Your hair really is beautiful…I can see why Buzz loves it so much." Jessie blushed, thinking back to what Buzz had said just a couple of days.
'"Uh…I just wanted to say you're a bright young woman with a beautiful yarn full of hair. A hair full of yarn."' She really did mean it when she told him he was the sweetest space toy she ever met.
"I thought he was just being nice…" Jessie said, slightly awed. A wide grin spread across Bo's elegant face. "He's not?" she nearly shrieked in response. The two squealed excitedly and burst into giggles.
"What's so doggoned funny?" Drawled a voice from the doorway. Bo's head whipped around, and found herself locking eyes with Woody.
"Woody Pride," She seethed venomously. "How long have you been there?" Woody let a chuckle slip out from behind his thin lips
"Your hair is really beautiful! I can see why Buzz loves it so-o-o much!" He breathed in a mocking falsetto voice, kicking up his boots and jumping excitedly. Woody then shifted from flouncing about to moving his hips in false seduction. "Oh, well, I thought he was just being ni-i-ce!" added Woody with an overly western twang. Jessie pouted and looked at Bo, who winked and pulled on her soaking dress with lightning speed.
"Get him!"
Bo dropped from the sink onto a pile of towels with surprising agility, with Jessie following suit. Woody, realizing that the females were faster than he thought, spun on the heel of his boot and hightailed out of the bathroom. As speedy as Woody was, Bo soon managed to catch up to the cowboy and tackle him.
"Augh! You're soaking!" He yelled, as water seeped into his stuffing.
"My voice is not that high!" Bo yelled back, who was sitting on his chest and smiling mischievously. "And I don't flounce around like that!" Jessie, who was watching from the other end of the hall, laughed and turned around to get back to the sink before Mrs. Davis found out they were gone. Before she could start walking, however, something bumped into her from behind, sending her sprawling towards the floor.
"Whoa! I-I uh, didn't see you there…" Buzz coughed, very embarrassed and shoulders tense. "I'm truly sorry, Miss,"
"Quite all right, Space Ranger!" Jessie grinned, sticking out her hand. Buzz reluctantly took it and pulled her up with ease. Yes, she could see it now. How the lightest touch between them caused his face to immediately redden, and how he couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "Well, aren't you gonna escort me back?" Buzz's mouth popped open.
"T-to where?"
"The bathroom, don't wan' Mrs. Davis to find me out and about when she left me in the sink." Jessie said with a shrug. Buzz relaxed and offered his arm.
"It would be my pleasure, miss," He rumbled, still nervous, but definitely not as intimidated as before. The two shared a smile, and Buzz started to lead Jessie down the hall. This could work, she decided. He was shy, but he could eventually open up. Buzz was very sweet, too, and not to mention pretty cute. Unlike G-I Joe, he wasn't perfect, which was just fine for Jessie. Perfection was a scary thing. A feathery touch brought Jessie back from her thoughts, and she looked down at Buzz's arm still underneath her palm, his hand lightly on top of hers. He quickly took it away when he saw her looking. "Eh heh, I apologize. Did I make you, uh, uncomfortable?" He laughed uneasily. Jessie smiled and placed his hand back on hers.
"That's better," She said in a singsong voice as Buzz flushed again with delight.
Sure, her past experiences made Jessie doubtful. But they sure did make her stronger. Maybe she did have a chance at finding someone new. Finding someone to love. Maybe, they were short, and wore a spacesuit, and had wings that popped out by the mere thought of her. Maybe, they were shy, and embarrassed easily, the complete opposite of her rowdy, excited self.
Maybe, just maybe, that someone was the one holding her hand right now.