Jessie was eagerly counting to thirty while Buzz was trying to find a place to hide.

"Twenty-five!"

Buzz only had five seconds to find the right place.

"Twenty-six!"

He had to hurry; there wasn't much time.

"Twenty-seven!"

He couldn't make it. It was impossible.

"Twenty-eight!"

He'd have to find something else, but how?

"Twenty-nine!"

This was his only chance.

"THIRTY!" Jessie yodeled.

She began to skip around the yard in search of the space toy. She scanned the backyard, but couldn't see him at first glance. She made her way towards the front of the house and continued to search for him. Buzz watched Jessie from behind one of the bushes against the wooden fence. She continued to search for him, but she couldn't seem to find him.

Buzz could hear something coming up the street, but he ignored the noise, thinking it was nothing. It began to grow louder and louder, and Buzz realized too late that someone was coming. He yelled to Jessie, but she had already fallen to the ground inanimate. A bright red tricycle came into Buzz's view, and the little blond girl riding the trike seemed completely absorbed in her own imaginary world.

She stopped in front of Bonnie's house and hopped off of her trike. She began to talk aloud to someone, and she twirled around and around until she landed on the grass. Dizzy, she rested her head on the freshly mown lawn and continued to speak to whomever she was with. She turned to face the imaginary person when something caught her eye. She sat up and spotted Jessie lying in the grass. She crawled over to her and picked up the cowgirl doll. She held Jessie carefully in her little hands and smiled at her.

"I've always wanted a cowgirl doll!" she exclaimed. "I'd better take you home so nothing bad happens to you!"

She put Jessie in her trike's basket, and she pedaled as fast as she could. Buzz jumped out from his hiding place and ran as fast as he could after the trike. The little girl was too fast for him, and Buzz sadly watched the beautiful red tricycle turn a corner while he tried to catch his breath.

Buzz fell to his knees. He was shocked and terrified at what had just happened. His thoughts and emotions all stemmed from one common feeling: pain. He was immovable for a few minutes, his thoughts rapidly racing through his mind. Jessie, his love, lost forever. She was gone. What had taken him over a decade to gain suddenly vanished. The time and the effort he had spent; none of it mattered anymore. How could he call himself Buzz Lightyear? He couldn't protect her. The pain was overwhelming. He rested his almost lifeless body on the sidewalk and cried. No, he couldn't think about it anymore. It was too painful, but how could he avoid it? Jessie was gone. Jessie….was gone. Jessie. Gone. Jessie. His Jessie. Gone.

"Buzz?" someone called. He ignored it. What did it even matter? He thought to himself.

"BUZZ!" the voice called again. "Buzz, what happened? What's wrong?"

Buzz turned to lie on his back and looked up to see Woody. He couldn't even make eye contact with him. He'd lost Jessie. She was like a sister to Woody. He couldn't bring himself to hurt yet another toy. He lay there in silence. Woody searched Buzz's eyes to see if he could guess what was wrong.

Suddenly, wide eyed, Woody slowly asked, "Buzz, where's Jessie?"

Buzz froze. Jessie, just hearing her name alone brought tears to his eyes. Jessie, the beautiful red-haired cowgirl who'd suddenly come into his life. Jessie, the only person who ever believed in him when no one else did. Jessie, the thought alone sent chills down Buzz's spine. Jessie, his love and his only love. Jessie.

"Buzz, where's Jessie?" Woody asked, panic beginning to overtake him. "BUZZ WHERE IS JESSIE?"

Buzz used all of his remaining energy to look at Woody and say, "She's gone. She was taken."

Buzz averted his eyes and stared at a dark spot on the sidewalk. He couldn't look at Woody again. It was too painful. Woody's presence reminded Buzz that Jessie wasn't here.

Woody stared at Buzz, not being able to comprehend what he meant.

"Jessie's…gone? What happened to her? Who took her? Buzz, tell me!"

Buzz only shook his head. He didn't know. It had all happened so fast.

"Buzz snap out of it! I need to know what happened!"

Buzz looked back at Woody, the panic in his eyes was evident.

"A little girl…took her. We were playing…and Jessie was out in the…open. The girl just…took her. I…I don't know who she is or where she lives," Buzz paused for a moment, trying to regain his composure, but he soon broke down.

"Oh Woody! It's terrible! She's gone! Jessie's gone! I let her get taken! I should've done something! I could've stopped this! I shouldn't have let Jessie convince me to come out here! I knew it was a bad idea!" Buzz began to bawl.

Woody was stunned. He had never seen Buzz shed a tear. The tough space ranger he had known for so many years was…crying. Buzz had been in tight situations before and had been able to handle them calmly. This had been the final straw. This had broken Buzz. Not only had he lost his sister, he had lost his best friend. Woody looked down the street, hoping that the little girl would magically return and deliver Jessie, but he knew that would never happen. She was gone.