April 28th, 1975

"Yeehaw! Run like the wind, Bullseye!" cried Jessie.

Bullseye reared back and took off like a bullet around the living room with the exuberant cowgirl doll riding on his saddle. He ran under the tables and around the furniture under Jessie's command.

Two weeks had already passed with Jessie getting settled in with her Roundup gang. The three toys had all day and half the evening during the week to roam around and be free to do anything they wanted in the apartment.

The years inside the box had caught up with Jessie and all she wanted to do was run around and enjoy being outside and free. She was trying to get Emily off her mind, which the memories of her old owner would catch up to the cowgirl at night and she would curl up with Bullseye and tell him the good and bad times with her old owner.

Talking about the past helped Jessie, and within a week's time she was back to being the excitable cowgirl she was suppose to be. She was worth something in the eyes of Al.

Sure the guy liked to be disgusting at times; eating Cheetos and leaving orange smudges on things (including her jeans); but she was worth something in his eyes. Once Woody was found, she wouldn't have to worry about being abandoned and forgotten.

She couldn't wait until Al would bring Woody home.

"Jessie! Bullseye! Al's on his way home!" announced the Prospector from the window sill. Within minutes, the door opened and Al yawned while walking into his apartment. His store was across the street so the toys only had a few minutes to get back into their spots in their respective plastic cases.

Al grabbed a frozen Salisbury steak dinner out of the freezer and started to heat it up as the doorbell rang. He opened the door to reveal a man in his early 40's with dark hair and a long nose.

"Oh! I'm so happy to see you!" exclaimed Al.

"Is the little beauty ready for cleaning?" asked the older man. This man was one of the greatest artists and also restored old, beat-up toys.

The man picked up the cowgirl doll and put her in a little seat that was fit for dolls. Jessie looked at the man curiously as he dug around for some items.

"So where did you find this little cute beauty, Al? She's in very good condition; almost like the person who owned her didn't play with her," said the man.

"Boy if he only knew," thought Jessie.

"Found her in a box with some other really good merchandise. Whoever owned her was a huge Jessie fan," explained Al. He and the man made small talk until the cleaner ushered him out of the room saying something along the lines of "you can't rush art".

Jessie felt a wet q-tip touch her eyes as the man started to polish her eyes back to being shiny. He proceeded to clean off her dusty cuffs and chaps with a fancy lint roller and washed out her yarn hair to free it from the grime and dust. He then finished by drying her hair and shining her boots and belt buckle.

After re-braiding her hair and straightening things on her here and there, the man gently set her back in her case and admired his work. Al came into the room while munching on a bag of Doritos.

"Now don't handle her too much, or she's not gonna last. At least keep her and the others in a soft, spongy material if you're gonna store them away until you find the cowboy," explained the cleaner.

Al was very excited and pushed the guy out of the way to take a closer look at his collectable. "She looks amazing, you're a genius, she's just like NEW!"

The man rubbed his sore bottom and got up off the floor. Al paid him and after the man left, Al sauntered down the hall to his bedroom to retire for the night. Once the coast was clear, the three toys stirred and checked out Jessie's new look.

Jessie looked at herself in the reflection of the television and couldn't believe the toy that was staring back was really her.

She looked brand new, maybe even better than when she first was out of the box. The guy that cleaned her up got rid of all the dust, brightened the colors on her clothes, washed her hair, and polished her boots; but that wasn't all.

The cleaner also made her eyelashes darker and thicker, made her red eyebrows sharper, gave her lips a darker pale pink color, and also adjusted her stuffing in certain areas, giving her a more feminine shape.

This brand new Jessie staring back at her made the cowgirl feel like she was the valuable toy the prospector said she was.

"Well I'll be darn, Jessie look at you," said the Prospector.

Bullseye gave her a little nudge, not wanting to mess anything up on the freshly restored cowgirl doll.

"That guy did an amazin' job," said Jessie.

"He sure did. He did the same to Bullseye. Poor horse had some wear and tear on him and now look at him! He looks like a champ!"

Jessie smiled at her two friends, but one question was burning in the back of her mind...

"Hey Prospector, what did the cleaner mean by 'if you're gonna store them away'?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know Jessie; I didn't catch him saying that," responded Pete.

Jessie pondered this for a moment, then retired to her respective case for the night and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Storage...