May 22, 1995

He woke up feeling good. No, better than good. He woke up happy. For the first time in his life, Sheriff Woody was not only in love with a beautiful woman, she was in love with him too. How could things get any better?

Lying on the bed next to a still slumbering Andy, the Cowboy began to reflect on last night. He had never been a very impulsive toy. He liked to plan things out to the last detail, know what was coming ahead of time. Which was why he was still surprised that he had…

Woody felt the heat rise under his neckerchief and creep up his face. Even just the thought embarrassed him.

He frowned. He was from a more conservative time, an era where doing what they had done meant shame and being socially ostracized if anyone found out. And yet he didn't regret it. Bo wasn't some one night stand. He had loved her for months, and now she was finally his…wasn't she?

Sitting up, Woody gazed across the dark bedroom to where Baby Molly's crib and nightstand were. Bo lay near her lamp, resting her head on the base as she slept. He smiled to himself, then frowned again. Yes, they had been together, exchanged "I love you's", but had they really made anything official?

He sighed. "I've got to fix this."

It was a Monday, and the last day of school for Andy. Woody knew it would only be a half day, so whatever he did, he would have to do it before noon. No hemming and hawing this time. Besides, after last night, how shy could he be?

As it turned out, still pretty shy. As the Cowboy approached, Bo turned and gave him one of her beautiful smiles, instantly turning his knees to jelly.

Darn it Woody! Stay focused! he silently reprimanded himself. Out loud, he said, "C-can I talk to you?"

She slipped her hand in his. "You can do a lot more than that."

Woody laughed nervously, then remembered the task at hand. Leading her to some blocks, they took a seat. Her flock followed and as they sat, they nuzzled Woody, looking for ear scratches. He smiled as he complied. "I thought you guys didn't like me."

"Of course they like you," Bo said. "They like anyone their Mistress loves…" As though she had realized what she had just said, she sat up and began to smooth an imaginary wrinkle on her skirt.

Woody took a deep breath. Here we go… "Look Bo, about last night…"

Bo stopped playing with her dress. "You're not having seconds thoughts are you?"

"What? No! No, no, no!"

"Because…I really enjoyed last night. I enjoyed…spending time with you." Woody noticed her cheeks had begun to turn pink, and for a moment he wondered if sometimes she felt just as awkward as he did. Maybe she just did a better job of hiding it…

"I'm not having second thoughts. Or regrets," he said. "I meant everything I said last night." Now it was his turn for his face to change color. "I love you."

Bo gazed at him with adoring eyes. Wordlessly, she leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder. It was enough to make Sheriff Woody Pride want to break into a Do-si-do, but he knew he wasn't done yet.

"It's just everything happened so fast…"

"Six months is fast?" she murmured into his vest.

"You know what I mean." He looked at her. "We didn't get a chance to talk about…what happens next."

Bo sat up. "All right. What happens next?"

He turned toward her. "Bo, you're a lady, and…I…I wanna do this right." The Cowboy took a deep breath and pulled off his hat. "I'd like to…"

"Tooo…"

"To c-court you." Now that it was out in the open, he could breathe again.

Bo looked amused. "Court me?"

"That is the proper term, yes."

"I see," Bo said. "And how, pray tell, would you go about courting me?"

"Well for a human, the first step is asking permission from the girl's father or closest male guardian to begin the courtship process."

Bo smiled. "I don't have one of those, Woody."

Woody fiddled with his hat. "Yeah I know." He placed it back on his head. "So who am I gonna ask?"

Bo pointed at herself. "Me."

Woody looked at her, thunderstruck. "What?"

"You ask me."

Woody paused. Then he smiled. Taking Bo's hand, he said, "Little Bo Peep, may I court you?"

She gave him another heart melting smile, placing her free hand on top of his. "Absolutely."

As the Cowboy leaned in to give her a kiss she whispered, "We're not alone."

Turning, he could see Andy's other toys behind them. Slinky was grinning as his tail whipped back and forth gleefully. Rex was clutching his tiny claws together and biting his lower lip as though he were about to burst into tears. And Hamm and Potato Head? The two were just smirking. "Still 'just friends', Sheriff?"

"What do you think?" Woody took off his hat and held it up in front of their faces to give them some privacy. It would be the first of many times to come.

"You know we still know what you're doing!" Potato Head called.

Woody couldn't care less.