It was now far into the night. Somehow, the seven toys had been able to last for five hours in the hot car without any more major problems. Now, all the toys were sound asleep. That is, most of them were.
Woody sat on the dashboard of the car, staring out the front windshield. Even though the city lights blocked out most of the stars, a few could be seen twinkling against the black sky.
"You awake, Cowboy?" Dolly asked, as she jumped from the backseat of the car to the front.
Woody, startled, quickly sat up and turned around. "Oh! I didn't hear you get up. You know, you really should be asleep.
Dolly rolled her eyes. "I was about to say the same thing to you, but I guess since we're both already awake I'll have to go up there and talk to you."
At this, Woody rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said in defeat. "Do you need help getting up on here?"
"Don't worry, I can get up myself," she said defiantly.
With speed and stealth, Dolly ran over to the steering wheel of the car. She quickly climbed up it like it was a ladder and slid over next to where Woody sat.
"Now you did that just to show off!" the cowboy complained.
Dolly shrugged. "Can't let the tall people have all the fun," was her response.
Suddenly something from the back seat made a startling noise. They quickly turned around. They were both grateful to hear their talking had not awakened anyone else.
"We better be more careful, we wouldn't want anyone else to wake up," Woody whispered to the doll.
Dolly nodded in agreement. She scooted closer so she could hear him better. Half of her was praying that Woody would not think that her actions suggested more than just a way to be quieter, but the other half of her was desperately wishing that he would
Whatever the toy thought, Dolly didn't know because before anything else could happen Woody let out a long, worried sigh.
"What's wrong, Woody?" she immediately asked as concern covered her face. "Are you still worried about what we talked about earlier?"
Woody looked away. "It's nothing," he said.
Dolly raised one of her eye brows. When Woody finally looked up at Dolly he instantly regretted it. She was giving him "the look". The "If you don't tell me what's wrong right now you're going to wish you had" look.
"You're right, I am still bothered about the whole idea of the trip," he finally said, giving in. "I just, I know I'm supposed to be leader and all. And a leader is supposed to be strong, right? And be there for their pack at all times. I can't be with my pack at all times, and it is just making me feel that I'm not being a good leader." He looked even more stressed then he had earlier that day. At least now he was being calmer.
"First off, you're not the leader of the pack, you're the co-leader," Dolly started out her speech. A small smile flickered on Woody's face. "Second off, again about Buzz! Wasn't he your co-leader before? Not to mention he is still your best friend. What has gotten into you that you don't trust him?" Woody now was a little taken aback at this question.
"Why, of course I trust him! It's just that, he never was exactly my co-leader, more like my assistant leader," he quickly said off the top of his head. "And besides, as I said before, Buzz isn't exactly the best at taking care of so many toys. Honestly, I trust you a lot more than Buzz, even though he is my friend."
At this Dolly's already pink cheeks turned a deep red. "Thanks…Woody. But, you really should listen to yourself. What's the difference between Assistant Leader and Co-leader? Buzz is your friend, and you need to start giving him a little more credit. His name is Buzz Lightyear, Star Commander! I think if he can command a giant space army, he can watch over a couple of toys while we're gone."
Woody stood up and smiled at her. "You know, you're right. I need to put more trust in Buzz. If he watched over the toys once, he can do it again. Plus, he even has Jessie to help him."
Dolly wasn't exactly so sure about that last statement. If anything, Jessie would only distract Buzz (If you know what I mean). Still, Dolly didn't think it would be a good idea to tell that to the sheriff now.
"See, Woody, all the toys will be fine. In the meantime, we can just relax, take a break, and have some fun," she said. As Woody sat back down she scooted a tiny bit closer to him. "Besides, remember that we have are hands full here."
Suddenly Woody shot up. "You're right! We need to make sure Bullseye doesn't run off, make sure Buttercup isn't bored out of his mind, and keep 24 hour surveillance on the peas! Plus we need to figure out where we're going, how long we'll be gone, and at the same time still do are duties to Bonnie!" he exclaimed.
Dolly couldn't help but chuckle as the cowboy started to ramble about some sort of new safety procedure. Even though the relaxing moment with Woody was gone, she was just happy to see Woody back to normal again.
