"Woody..."

He didn't move when he heard my voice. We snuck the skunk-Mobil under the railing of a ride and watched Andy.

"He has my hat..." Woody spoke quietly, his eyes glazed over with helplessness.

"We'll get it back," I said to him, placing my hand on his shoulder and he nodded his head barely, "We can't let him see us..." I concluded.

When those words were said, Woody seemed to snap out of his gaze, and he looked at me in pain.

It was like his soul was trying to say something his mouth wouldn't.

"I... okay."

I nodded as well, though my expression had an air of certainty about it.

I waved the girls and Woody to me, as we stood in a huddle and I used my rod to poke Woody in the chest as I said.

"Okay, plan A for getting Woody's hat."

They all looked at me in attention.

"First of all, we need a distraction. Billy, Goat, Gruth-" My girls stood alert at their names being said, "You three cause a commotion near the candy floss stand."

"Baa!" They said, saluting me and got in the skunk car, about to peddle off.

"Woody," I said to him, looking at him quite seriously, "You need to stay out of the way."

"Right- wait, WHAT?" He said confused.

"You're too close to the situation, what if you pulled a woody?"

"What do you mean by, 'pulling a Woody'?" He said annoyed, placing his hands on his waist. I rolled my eyes at his response and said quickly.

"You know, nearly getting caught,"

"Me?!" He shouted astounded at my reasoning.

"I just know," I replied, trying to keep my calm, "That you don't know how to handle these things without getting too emotionally involved."

He huffed out a breath, irritated at my plan, but he needed to understand.

"Don't worry, Cowboy," I said to him, winking as I used my rod to hook onto the railing, "We'll get your hat back, lickity split."

He eyed me annoyed, and sighed heavily replying, "If you say so, Bo."

I nodded in affirmation and got my cloak, pulling it over my head as I ran in a fast light dash over the rides, like I was a bit of cloth blowing in the wind.

When I reached the candy floss stand, I saw Andy gazing around, Woody's hat still being held tightly in his hand.

He was standing in line for some floss, but when he reached the cart, he snapped out of his thinking as the candy man asked in a gruff voice.

"What do you want, kid?"

Andy blinked surprised, and pointed his finger against his chest, asking lost, "What me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Er... I guess I'll get..." He began and pointed to the size of candy floss he wanted.

My girls stood at the peddle that powered the machine and quickly began paddling it with lightning speed.

I gave a quick chuckle, and swooped onto the vending cart's roof, holding my rod forward so that I could lock it into Woody's hat.

As I lowered my sheep rod down to Andy's hand I suddenly felt it snag on something that pulled me forward, making me lose my grip and fall through the air.

I froze stiff as I hit the ground, and I could hear my girls gasp in terror.

I couldn't move while I was so out in the open, and I felt my porcelain body being picked up gently by caring hands.

"Bo..." I heard a young man's voice say so caring, "Bo Peep?"

I wanted to gaze my eyes up to his, but I just stayed still till he turned my face to see him.

It was Andy, and flashing images of all the times he had played with me as a kid ran through my mind.

"It can't be..." He said slowly, and placed me in his backpack, "Molly's not going to believe it when I bring you home."

I began to panic as I sat in the bag and tried to push the top opened, but it had been zipped closed.

I turned my eyes to the flooring and saw Woody's plastic hat. I took hold of it and held it to my chest, panting heavily in fear.

I suddenly felt the bag drop and I tumbled forward, hitting the walling hard.

All was silent for a moment, until all of a sudden the zipper was pulled open, and there, with carnival lights shining behind him, was Woody.

"C'mon..." He said, giving me his hand and I took it gratefully. He pulled me out, and I held tight onto his hat as he rescued me from the bag and Andy's innocent grip.

I landed on the dirt ground and Woody and I ran in quick precise steps back under the nearest ride railing.

"How did you save me?" I asked, huffing in terror and disbelief.

"Billy, Goat and Gruff helped," Woody responded with a soft smile. I blinked my eyes, amazed and suddenly became alert that my girls weren't with me.

"WHERE ARE THEY, WOODY?!"

Woody took hold of my rod, pointing it back to the candy floss machine, and I saw Andy and bunch of other innocent strangers trying to wipe themselves clean of pink candy floss that covered them completely.

I let off a loud whistle, and I saw my girls'' heads pop out from below the cart, as they bleated at me, flipping the skunk-mobil over them, and peddling out through the frightened crowd over to me and Woody.

"That was close," I heard Woody say relieved. I placed his hat on his head, pulling down gently at the front to fix it and he smiled warmly to me.

"I can't believe Andy is here."

"We must be near his university and campus..." I replied, discerning this with the little evidence I had.

"Hopefully..." I heard Woody say back quietly, as he watched Andy wipe the last bit of pink floss off him.

"I wish I could just see what his life is like now," Woody said, and I looked into his hurting eyes. I placed my hand on his shoulder and whistled for a friend.

"Giggle McDimples here," My small police friend said as she hopped moments later on my shoulder, "Reporting for duty."

"You see that young man there?" I asked, pointing at Andy with my rod.

"The young well kept middle-class college student?" McDimples asked.

"That's the one," I answered, "I need you to-"

"Sneak into his bag and see how he's living?"

"Exactly," I replied with a grin sliding up my cheek. Giggle saluted me and hopped off my shoulder, bouncing across the busy carnival floor and doing a backflip into Andy's bag.

I turned my gaze back at Woody who looked disappointed. Most likely because he thought this plan would involve him.

"How will she get back...?" Woody asked quietly, his posture looking sad and disheartened.

"Where there's a Dimple, there's a way."

He smiled barely at my allegory and I exhaled deeply, placing my hand on his shoulder, "Woody, don't worry... you'll see him again."

"That's what I always told myself..." Woody responded, and sat on the metal railing, hanging his head down as he said in quiet hurting words, "That I would see him again... and I think now is that again... I don't think I'll get another one..."

"Fate can be a very strange thing... but it brought you and me back together," I said, placing my hand on his.

"And I feel the joy in my heart every day since then. Because I love you, Bo."

My mouth hung opened and my eyes widened when he said that. It had always been felt, and was an unspoken truth... but he had never said it aloud before.

I cleared my throat and looked him gently in the eyes.

"I love you too, Woody."

My girls bleated at me and Woody and I laughed at their expressions.

"We love you too, girls," We both said at the same time, and just burst into laughter at our synchronicity. My sheep baa'd in laughter too, and I saw Woody look at me with warm eyes.

"Everything will be fine." I said, and he nodded, trusting my words.

I wish I knew then what I would know in the near future. And in the near future... everything would not be fine.

Nothing would.