*Here is chapter seven. I took a bit of time trying to write this chapter for it was a little hard trying to figure out the flow of it. I have one more chapter left to write and then it will be done. I am working on another story with the three members of the Pride family. Not telling the synopsis yet, but just for a bit of fun, Woody will deal with one major issue of raising a teenage girl...a first crush! That's all I'm giving you! enjoy*

Present

"After Joe left, I took over as leader. Woody said. All of Bobby's toys looked up to me. It made me feel important, like to I mattered to someone other than my kid. I went on to lead Robert's son, Thomas's toys, and then Andy's."

"And now your the leader of Bonnie's toys." Rosetta said.

"Co-leader. Dolly and I share the room, Rose." Dolly smiled at him. "Well that about wraps up my past life, since the rest you already know."

"Hold on there, cowboy. You're forgetting an important part of your story." Buttercup said.

"What are you talking about? I told you guys everything."

"What about losing Thomas?" Trixie asked. Woody looked at her and then at everyone else.

"Oh. Yeah, that." Woody rubbed the back of his head. "Its hard, losing a kid, we all know that.

"Yeah but you've had experience dealing with the death of an owner. Two owners actually. Dolly said. None of us have had to deal with that yet." Woody stood and took a step towards the window. He looked outside at the moon shining in. He closed his eyes.

"It was winter, just a few weeks before Christmas. Andy was four years old. His mom and Thomas were going to surprise him with a gift to let him know that he was going to be a big brother. Thomas left to go pick it up and it had just started raining. The temperature had dropped below thirty which made the roads start to get really icy. Thomas's car hit an ice patch and caused him to slide off the road and...and um..."

"Its alright honey. Take a deep breath." Bo said, she said touching his shoulder. He did and sighed.

"His car slammed into a tree. When the paramedics arrived, he was long gone. Andy's mom got the call an hour later. At the time, Andy only had me, Hamm, Rex, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head. We didn't know what was going on until the following night when she told him what happened. Andy was not the only one who cried himself to sleep that night."

1993
"Mommy, when is daddy coming back?" Andy asked. They were in his mom's room getting ready for bed. His mom came over and sat on the end of the bed.

"Sweetheart, do you remember when grandpa went to heaven last year?" She asked. Andy nodded yes. "Unfortunately, something happened to daddy. He had an accident, a very bad accident, and now he too has to go up to heaven. Do you understand, sweetie?"

"So daddy is going up in the clouds, with poppy?"

"Yes, that's right. But remember what I told you about poppy. Even if you can't see him, he is always with you. Now daddy will always be with you too." Andy nodded again and then dove into his mother's arms, crying. Mother and son sat on the bed, crying and holding each other. On the other side of the hall, five toys had heard the entire conversation.

"Oh no, mom told him." Hamm told him.

"Of course she did, Hamm. Potato Head said. What else was she going to do? Lie to him?"

"Poor Andy." Slinky said.

"What do we do, Woody? Woody?" Rex asked. The sheriff was looking at Andy and his mom on the bed. He was stunned by what they heard. No, Thomas wasn't dead. He couldn't be. But he knew mom rarely lied, so he knew this was true. He took a deep breath.

"We have to be there for Andy. He finally said. Tomorrow is the funeral. Andy is going to want to take all of us, so let's let him." They all agreed. The next day, Andy held his four toys in his arms as the casket was lowered into the grave. The wake was held at the Davis house right after. The toys were placed back in Andy's room, but they didn't want to do anything. They just sat together on the floor by the toy chest. Rex looked around the room.

"Hey, where did Woody go?" Rex asked.

"I saw him go under the bed. Hamm said. I think he wants to be left alone."

"Why? Andy's dad dying doesn't affect him." Potato Head said. Rex, Hamm, and Slinky gasped.

"Yes it does, spud head! Have you forgotten that Woody used to belong to Andy's dad? Slinky spat. That's his owner, you numskull!" The dog turned away and headed towards the bed.

"Slink, wait a minute. Let's leave him for a few minutes." Hamm said.

"No, someone needs to make sure he's alright." He lifted the bed ruffle and saw the sheriff lying by the wall, his hat beside him. Slinky sighed and walked over to his friend. "Woody, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Slinky." The cowboy mumbled.

"You know, I may not have known you for long or be a smart dog, but I know when someone is lying. You can talk to me. I've been told I'm a really good listener."

"I really don't feel like talking right now, Slink." He moved to sit up against the wall.

"Alright. Then would you mind if I sit with you?" Woody shrugged, so the springy dog sat beside him. All of a sudden, Woody started softly crying. Since Woody came into Andy's room, none of the guys had seen him show any emotions. Slinky immediately placed his head in his lap. Woody held the dog around his neck.

"I, I know death. When Robert died, I was upset, but not this upset. I, I don't understand why Thomas's death is affecting me more than Robert's."

"Did you get to say goodbye to Robert?"

"Ye, yeah. Thomas placed me in his arms before he took his last breath and I got to say goodbye. But Thomas...his death was so sudden that...oh my god. I didn't get to say goodbye. Oh Slink!" Woody held the dog, petting him.

"It's alright, Woody. Thomas knew how much you loved him. That's why he passed you onto Andy. He knew that you were the one to take care of his son if anything ever happened to him."

"It, it hurts, Slink, knowing that I didn't get to say goodbye, knowing that I'll never see him again."

"I know, buddy. Look, it's hard for us toys to understand why our owners leave us so suddenly, but you know what, even though they aren't with us anymore, they never truly leave us. They remain in our memories for the rest of our lives, and as long as we keep those memories alive, the ones we love will never leave us."

"Wow. That's some powerful stuff, Slink. Thank you."

"Of course, Woody. Do you want to go talk to the others, or do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"I'm going to stay here for a while longer. Will, will you stay with me?"

"Of course I will, pal. I'll stay as long as you want me to." Woody lay down on the cold floor and Slinky stretched out beside him, laying on the cowboy's arm.