Emily woke up one night to find Jessie sitting next to her pillow looking upset, "What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Jessie said.

"It's alright, now what's wrong?" Emily asked again.

"Buzz and I had a fight." Jessie replied, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"What about?" Emily asked.

"I wanted to try riding one of your horses and Buzz said it would be too dangerous. I said I'd be fine and, well in the end he said he wouldn't even let me to try it and I told him I don't need someone in my life who's going to try to tell me what I can or can't do and left." Jessie told her.

"Maybe you and I could go out together sometime, I hate to say it, but Buzz is right, it could be dangerous, what if you fell off and got trampled by the horse?"

"I know he was right, he said the same thing" Jessie cried, "I can just get so stubborn when I'm arguing that I don't realize I'm wrong until later."

"I'm sure he'll understand, you've been together for a long time, surly this can't be the first time you've had an argument, right?" Emily asked.

"No, but it's the first time I've sort of told him I didn't need him, he looked so hurt." Jessie told her then buried her face against her knees and continued to cry.

"I'm sure he'll understand, just tell him the truth, that you got a little carried away and needed time to think things through." Emily said wrapping a comforting hand around Jessie's shoulders.

"You really think so?" Jessie asked looking up at Emily as she wrapped her hands around Emily's thumb.

"Of course, he's crazy about you, there's no way he'd stay upset about a little disagreement for very long." Emily replied.

"Thanks." Jessie said then asked, "Do you think I could sleep in here?"

"You don't want to go back and talk to Buzz tonight?" Emily asked.

"I'll apologize to him in the morning so he has plenty of time to calm down too." Jessie said, "And there's no place a toy feels safer or more at peace than when they're close to their owner, especially when they're upset."

"Well then of course you can stay." Emily replied, "I'm not your owner though, just your friend, you've become one of the best friends I've ever had and I haven't considered you something that could be owned anymore than any of my human friends, since the first time you came to life in front of me." Emily said as Jessie curled up next to her and she rested her hand over her back.

"Thanks." Jessie said as she wrapped one of her hands around Emily's finger, "You're the very best friend I've ever had too." she said before they both fell asleep.

Emily woke up the next morning to Jessie eagerly trying to shake her shoulder to wake her up, "What is it?" Emily asked.

"I've got an idea for the perfect way to apologize to Buzz, but I'd need a little help from you." Jessie told her.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Music, candle light and dancing. I'd just need your help getting the stuff set up." Jessie said.

"Sounds like a good idea, we can set it up in one of the spare rooms, I've got plenty of candles and I'm sure you could find some good dancing music on my iPod." Emily said.

A little while later they had set up Emily's iPod speaker and several candles in one of the spare rooms and Jessie was sitting on the kitchen table going through the music on Emily's iPod while Emily ate her breakfast.

"Okay, I've got a good play list put together, I think that's all we need to do." Jessie said.

"What about something different to wear?" Emily asked.

"I can't change what I'm wearing, I'm kind of sewn into my clothes. I hate that, other dolls get to change clothes and have whole wardrobes and I'm just stuck like this, never able to dress up. A lot of other toys seem to think I'm a tough old cowgirl and wouldn't like wearing dresses or looking pretty, but really, what girl doesn't want to dress up and look nice every once in a while?" Jessie said.

"Hmm, I've got an idea, how would you like to come to work with me today?" Emily asked.

"Why, what are you planning?" Jessie asked.

Emily grinned at her, "You'll see." she said as she set her dishes in the sink then carried Jessie into the sewing room and dumped a large tub of scrap material out on the floor, "Find something you'd like a dress out of." Emily told her.

"But a dress wouldn't look right with my clothes sticking out." Jessie said.

"Trust me, I've got a plan to take care of that." Emily said as she pulled out several pieces of material and started comparing the different shades.

Emily spent every spare moment that day while the kids were working on tests and out for recess working on her project. By the time she and Jessie got home that evening all she had to do was add a few finishing touches.

As it started to get dark outside Emily added the last detail and handed the dress to Jessie, "There you go, see how it fits."

Jessie slipped it on and Emily snapped the back and tied the belt in a bow at the back for her, "How do I look?" Jessie asked.

"Absolutely beautiful, one look at you and Buzz probably won't even remember that argument." Emily told her, "There is one more thing though, how about we do something different with your hair?" Emily asked as she picked up a roll of ribbon.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" Jessie asked.

"Something simple but pretty." Emily replied as she cut the ribbon and Jessie unbraided her hair.

Ten minutes later Emily took Jessie up to the room they had set up and lit the candles, "You ready for me to go get Buzz?" Emily asked.

"Yep." Jessie said, "Oh and thank you for all this." She added.

"You're very welcome." Emily replied before heading to the toy room.

"Buzz, Jessie would like to talk to you." Emily said seriously, as she stepped into the toy room.

"She does?" Buzz asked sounding a little nervous as he walked over to her.

"Yep and you shouldn't keep her waiting, so come on." Emily told him.

"Okay." Buzz said shooting a worried look at Woody before following Emily out of the room.

Emily opened the door to the room Jessie was waiting in , "Go on in, she's waiting for you." she told Buzz.

"Are you sure? I don't see her." Buzz said glancing around the room.

"She's in there, now go on, don't make me carry you in there, she's not going to bite, I promise." Emily said.

Buzz stepped into the room and looked around then hesitated when he didn't see any sign of Jessie.

"Keep going, you've got to get farther into the room than that." Emily told him, trying not to smile.

Buzz continued to walk into the room until Jessie stepped out from behind the box she had been hiding behind right inside of the door so that Emily would be able to see Buzz's reaction too, "Buzz." Jessie said.

Buzz turned around, his eyes going wide, mouth opening and wings popping open as he stared at Jessie.

Jessie was wearing a red satin dress, the skirt was wide with layers of ruffles that came down to her ankles, the waist had a gold belt that tied in a bow at the back, the neck line was off her shoulders with a single gold rose at the center front. Covering from the sleeves to her wrists and from the neckline up to just above the collar of her shirt was material that nearly matched her skin and in the dim candle light it blended seamlessly with her skin. Her hair hung loose except for a red ribbon that was tied around just above her forehead and then down under her hair at the back, a gold rose was attached to it just above her ear.

"I'm sorry about arguing with you last night, I know you were right. Think you could forgive me?" Jessie asked as she walked over to Buzz.

"It's my fault to, I over reacted, I just couldn't bear the thought of you getting hurt. Of course I forgive you, if you'll forgive me." Buzz said.

"I already have." Jessie said and kissed him lightly, then stepped over to the iPod, turned it on and they began to dance.

Emily quietly shut the door then noticed Woody standing by her feet, "What are you doing here?" Emily asked.

"Just making sure Buzz was okay, he's been freaking out all day over that argument they had, thought Jessie might try to convince you to get rid of him." Woody replied.

"He really thought Jessie would want me to get rid of him over a little argument?" Emily asked.

"I don't think he actually believed it would happen, but whenever they fight his imagination runs wild with the worst possible outcomes." Woody told her.

"Poor guy." Emily said then asked, "So do you have any plans for this evening?"

"No, why?" Woody asked.

"Because I don't have anything that needs done and it seems like forever since the last time I played Monopoly and I need someone to beat." Emily told him.

"I'll play it with you, but there's no way you'll beat me." Woody said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure of that?" Emily asked.

"I've been playing it longer than you've been alive." Woody replied.

"Yeah, did they invent it before or after you were made? Had they even invented the wheel yet when you were made?" Emily teased.

"Hey! I'm not that old." Woody said.

"I know, but you're the one bragging about how long you've been around, how could I resist turning it against you?" Emily asked grinning at him, before picking him up, setting him on her shoulder and heading downstairs.

A few days later Emily was sitting at the kitchen table grading school papers when Pete climbed on to the table, "What did you find me this time?" Emily asked.

"Just a few little things." he replied holding out a gold earring and a small diamond, "I was wondering if you'd mind if I kept these?"

"Of course not, I'm sure I never would have found them on my own, so there's no reason you can't have them." Emily replied then asked, "What do you want to do with them?"

Pete glanced around the room and towards the stairway door then stepped closer to Emily and whispered, "Buzz is going to ask Jessie to marry him and said he wished he could give her a proper ring. I told him I could find everything we'd need and make the ring."

"Oh that's a wonderful idea, if you need anything else to help with making it just let me know." Emily told him.

A couple Weeks later

"Okay guys, my uncle and grandmother will be here soon, so make sure you're quite up here and it would probably be best to go into toy mode if you hear anyone coming." Emily said as she walked into the toy room after having just given everyone in the doll room the same warning,

Emily glanced around the room to make sure no one was off running around the house where they might be seen, "Where is Jessie?" she asked when she didn't see her.

"She said she needed some time alone, she's probably in your room." Buzz told her.

"Okay, I'll go let her know what's going on." Emily said before shutting the door and going to her room.

When she got there Jessie was sitting on the windowsill turning something in her hands that glittered as the sun reflected off of it, "You okay?" Emily asked as she walked over to her.

"Of course I am, just thought I'd come enjoy a different view for a while." Jessie replied, trying to sound like her normal hyper, cheerful self, but Emily could still tell it was an act.

"Why don't you try telling me the truth this time, you know you can tell me anything." Emily said as she sat down at the desk.

"It's nothing, it's silly." Jessie replied.

"I highly doubt that anything that could upset you is nothing or silly." Emily replied.

Jessie hesitated for a moment then said, "It's been fifty eight years today since Emily abandoned me. Fifty eight years and it still upsets me and I can't help wondering where she is, if she's happy, if she ever thinks about me or if she's even still alive."

"You're first owner's name was Emily?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, she'd be in her seventies by now, I just can't help wanting to know what happened to her, what her life has been like." Jessie said as she twirled the thing in her hands around.

Emily's eyes went wide when she finally got a good look at what Jessie had in her hands, a small stick pin with a flower on it, the center was a small pearl and the petals were made of sapphires, "Where did you get that pin from?" Emily asked.

"My Emily stuck it down in my boot, she said I had to keep it safe for her, she must have forgotten it was in there when she abandoned me." Jessie replied.

"It looks a lot like one my great, great grandmother always wore when she got her picture taken. It had been given to her by her grandmother and then passed onto my grandma, but she lost it when-" Emily was cut off as the doorbell rang, "You should probably head back to the toy room while they're here." she said before heading down stairs to answer the door.

Once her uncle left Emily set out a plate of cookies and glasses of milk then sat down at the table with her grandmother, "So we're alone, will you tell me about Jessie now?" she asked.

"I suppose, you certainly seem eager to find out." her grandmother replied.

"It's been nearly three months since you said you'd tell me and you know how curious I am." Emily replied, "So why are you so determined to find the one that was yours?" she asked.

"This is going to sound completely crazy." her grandmother said.

"I've seen some pretty crazy stuff lately I doubt anything will surprise me at this point." Emily replied.

"Alright. I think she was alive." her grandmother said looking as if she was bracing herself to be laughed at or made fun of.

"Why would you have ever let great grandma make you get rid of her if you thought she was alive." Emily asked, earning a shocked, but grateful look from her grandmother.

"Because I thought I had imagined it, I thought it was just a childhood fantasy, but over the years the more I think about it the more I think it may have really happened."

"What exactly happened?" Emily asked.

"It was right after my dad died, I was only seven at the time and I had been really close to him and was devastated. I wouldn't eat or talk to anyone for several days, I just wanted my daddy back. I was curled up in bed crying and felt a hand start to brush the tears off of my face, when I opened my eyes Jessie was sitting there, alive. She told me that no matter what she'd always be there for me, that things would eventually get better and that my daddy wouldn't want me to close myself up like I was. He would always be watching over me from heaven and that he would want me to play with my friends and be happy and if I did then that would make him happy. We talked for a long time that night and as I was falling asleep Jessie said she wouldn't always be able to talk to me because toys aren't supposed to talk to people, but she'd always be there for me and would always care about me. I did what she said and started doing the things I use to do, she never did talk to me again and eventually I decided it must have been a dream, but there was always a small part of me that believed it had to have been real. That's why I want to find the one that was mine, so that I can make sure she's safe and will be well cared for, in a way she was my best friend as a child and helped me through one of the worst times of my childhood and a small part of me wants to believe that if I found her maybe she'd talk to me again." she explained, "You must think your old grandmother has lost her mind now, don't you?"

"Not at all." Emily replied then asked, "So how will you know if you've found your Jessie?"

"Do you remember that old flower pin that my grandmother use to wear?"

Emily's heart started to pound, "The one that her grandmother gave to her and she wore it in every picture that was taken of her and then she passed it to you?" she asked.

"And I would have passed it on to you and if I ever find my Jessie I will pass it on to you. When my grandmother died and the pin was given to me I gave it to Jessie to keep safe, I stuck it in-"

"Her boot." Emily finished her hands beginning to shake a little.

"Yes, how did you know that?" her grandmother asked.

"I'll explain in a minute, stay here I'll be right back." Emily said before quickly making her way upstairs.


I know, I'm horrible throwing in another cliffhanger, but without it the chapter seemed too short and I'm not quite done with the rest of grandma Emily's visit and didn't want to wait. I should have it done in the next couple of days, so being the review addicted writer that I am, if I get at least ten reviews on this chapter I'll go ahead and post the next chapter early instead of waiting until next weekend to post it.

Update; the next chapter is finished and ready to post, just two more reviews to go.