I'm back! :) I apologize for the long wait for an update - my life is still super busy, and brainstorming time with my co-authors is scarce. But since we got to spend some time together to watch 'Toy Story of TERROR!' (SQUEE! for the excellent Buzz/Jessie fluff and general Jessie awesomeness!), we also got to finish another chapter. I will do my best not to make it so long a wait for the next one!

And yeah, Toy Story and Disney don't belong to me, as always. Enjoy, and please leave a review! :D

Chapter 2

Before the toys knew it, a month had passed. On the day Bonnie was to leave to visit her cousins, the little girl came home from Sunnyside and bounded into her room. "Hi, toys! Bye, toys!" She threw down her backpack and was gone in an instant, the family driving away in their car only a few minutes later.

The backpack rustled and its zipper slid open. "We're here!" Barbie exclaimed, climbing out of the bag as Bonnie's toys approached. "Jessie!" she grabbed the cowgirl into a friendly hug. "Congratulations! We're so excited for you and Buzz!"

"Thanks! But what're ya doin' here, Barbie?" Jessie's brow furrowed in confusion.

"We're here for your reception, silly!" she giggled. "Well, that and the parties."

"Parties?" Jessie cast Buzz a worried glance. The Space Ranger shrugged.

Before Barbie could answer, Ken emerged, dragging even more luggage out of the backpack than they had brought for their supposed Hawaiian vacation. "So, where are we staying?" he asked, scanning the faces of the toys surrounding him. "And who's carrying this to our room for us?"

"Carry it yourself, you're not in Hawaii anymore," Mr. Potato Head grumbled.

Mrs. Potato Head chimed in quickly. "I'll show you to your room!" She hastened the fashionably-dressed couple out the door and in the direction of Bonnie's parents' room. After several minutes she returned, looking pleased with herself. "Everything's all set!"

"What d'ya mean 'everything'?" Jessie demanded, her fists planted on her hips.

"Oh… nothing, dearie. Just that they're all settled in to their room." The potato patted the cowgirl on the arm.

Jessie was suspicious. She could've sworn she heard a collective sigh of relief spread across the room.

A few hours later, Buzz and Jessie were sitting on the floor, playing a game with the peas and Totoro, when they were ambushed by Woody and Dolly.

"All right, you two," Dolly greeted them cheerfully, "It's time to go."

"Go? Go where," Buzz's eyebrows shot up. Woody gave him an apologetic look.

"You'll see," the rag doll smirked. She took Jessie by the hand and dragged her to her feet, and Buzz followed suit.

The quartet left Bonnie's room and traveled down the hallway. At the bathroom door, Dolly pushed the Space Ranger and cowboy toward it. "Have fun, fellas! You're coming with me, cowgirl."

Jessie stared back at Buzz helplessly as she was led away. All he could do was offer her an encouraging smile, which did little to assuage her anxiety.

Woody eased open the bathroom door, and the two friends cautiously entered the small space, which was pulsating with multicolored flashing lights and loud dance music. Rex had enlisted the help of his tub toy friends to turn the room into a night club, and the other male toys were milling around and enjoying the lively atmosphere.

Buzz leaned closer to the cowboy. "Uh, Woody? What's going on?"

"It wasn't my idea. I tried to stop 'em, but they were determined—"

Before Woody could give any further explanation, Ken ran over to greet them, dressed in a purple velvet tux with a ruffled shirt. "Groovy! You're here! Hold on, I have a present for you." He handed Buzz a tiny drawstring pouch emblazoned with a glittery K.

"Really, Ken, you shouldn't have," replied Buzz, sounding more apprehensive than gracious.

"It was nothing!" Ken scoffed, shoving the pouch into the Space Ranger's hand. "Now, open it!"

Buzz slowly loosened the drawstring and peeked inside. His face twisted in horror and he rushed to close the bag.

"Show the guys!" Ken's hands trembled excitedly. The other toys had finally noticed Buzz's arrival and were gathering around the guest of honor.

"I'd rather not," he said shortly, wanting nothing more than to move on to something else.

Ken pouted. "You have to!"

"I don't, actually."

"Oh, c'mon Lover Boy, we already see how you two are always sneaking off together," Buttercup teased.

Buzz held a hand up in protest. "Now hold on a minute… just because Jessie and I want some alone time, doesn't mean we're always—"

"Yeah, right, and I have an uncle who's a pilot," quipped Hamm.

Buttercup stepped towards Buzz, "So what are you doing, then, Captain von Prude? Hmmmm?"

"Yeah, Buzzy-boy," Mr. Potato Head smirked, "Spill it. We wanna hear some details. You forget, we know about your Spanish Mode, too, El Buzzo; so we know there are details."

"You don't tell us about YOUR private life," Woody interjected desperately, reluctant to hear any lurid details about his sister. "Why should Buzz have to tell us about his?"

The spud dismissed the objection with a wave of his hand, "Aw, you're a wet blanket, Sheriff. Loosen your bandana and have a little fun for a change. Well, Spaceman?"

"No, absolutely not," Buzz asserted. "It would be disrespectful to Jessie to divulge such i-i-intimate details." Buzz hoped that this would put an end to the relentless prodding.

Mr. Potato Head wasn't backing down, however. "Oh please, you know she's already told the girls everything."

Buzz swallowed nervously at the thought, but he was spared as Ken grasped him by the elbow and escorted him to a seat on a Kleenex box, positioned on the floor directly in front of the tub. "Seat of honor for the groom. You don't want to miss the show!"

"Show?" He was not sure this would be a relief from the narrowly-evaded inquiry.

Buzz's question was immediately answered by a parade of Barbie dolls dressed in skimpy western-style outfits. They lined up along the rim of the tub and began to dance, shimmying and gyrating in a risqué manner. His friends – all but Woody – whooped and hollered at the spectacle on display before them. The Space Ranger's jaw dropped and he quickly turned to his best friend, who looked equally uncomfortable.

One of the Barbies slipped down the side of the tub and sashayed up to Mr. Potato Head. She ran a plastic hand over his bowler hat, before removing it and tossing it aside. "I'm a married spud. I'm a married spud," the potato closed his eyes and muttered. "Awww who cares!" He spun the Barbie around by the hand and began to dance with her.

The remaining Barbies joined the toys already on the floor, pulling those willing into the dance with them. It didn't take long before one of the dolls approached Buzz, and the Space Ranger jumped up in a panic, almost toppling from the Kleenex box on which he was seated. "This is highly inappropriate," he blurted out. "I – I must go." Without a backwards glance, Buzz ran out of the room, unaware that he still had Ken's gift clenched tensely in his fist.

Dolly guided Jessie into Bonnie's parents' room, where Barbie and Trixie were waiting expectantly. The cowgirl's eyes were immediately drawn to the pink, glitter-encrusted puffs of tissue paper flowers that were scattered everywhere as decoration, and the small wrapped package that sat on the floor. She cringed at the girliness of it all.

Jessie had barely crossed the threshold when Mrs. Potato Head pounced, holding the end of a roll of toilet paper in her hand. She began wrapping the confused bride in white tissue from her shoulders to her feet.

"What in tarnation?!"

"You have to wear a dress! It's tradition!" the potato screeched.

As soon as the makeshift gown was completed, Jessie was ushered to a chair, also pink, that had been smuggled out of Ken's dream house for the occasion. She lowered herself into the seat uneasily and tugged at the toilet tissue that was tightly coiled around her, loosening it to make it more bearable.

"Present time!" Barbie called, clapping her hands in glee. "Here, this is from me!" She grabbed the little sparkly box Jessie had noticed and dropped it on the cowgirl's lap.

"I – I really don't need any presents. Buzz'n I have all we need in our dollhouse—"

"Except maybe a shiny new screwdriver," Trixie whispered to Dolly. Jessie's head snapped sharply in their direction, and the two toys diverted their eyes, giggling.

Barbie returned the cowgirl's focus to her unopened box. "I couldn't not get you a wedding gift! Open it! Open it!"

Jessie lifted the lid on the tiny parcel, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw what was inside. She hastily shut it, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Come on, show everyone what I got you!" insisted Barbie, beaming with pride.

Jessie reluctantly pulled out first a sheer black miniskirt, followed by a stretchy black lace bustier edged in pink ruffles. She winced at the sound of the delighted squeals from the other women.

"Isn't it gorgeous? It's vintage!" Barbie gushed.

"Ooooh, Buzz is gonna love that! He won't be able to keep his wings in!" Trixie giggled.

"When the dollhouse is rockin', don't come a-knockin'!" teased Dolly.

Jessie quickly stuffed the lingerie back in the box and sunk in her chair. The cowgirl reached for the brim of her hat and yanked it further down her forehead in an attempt to hide, willing herself to become invisible and wondering how anyone endured such things.

"Okay, enough with the bridal shower part of the evening… now for the bachelorette party!" Barbie announced giddily. She straightened Jessie's downturned hat and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Let's have a little girl talk! I want you to tell us all about you and Buzz."

The cowgirl looked around the room at her friends. "There's really nothin' to tell that you don't already know 'bout us."

"Oh, sure there is. Secret stuff, you know," said Barbie with a wink. "Like, when was your first kiss?"

Well, that's not so bad, thought Jessie. I don't mind talking about that…

"It was our first full day as Bonnie's toys," she started. "We were too tuckered out when we got here, but the next day Buzz'n I snuck away to this room and talked things out – what had happened at the dump, and all those years at Andy's. We realized we loved each other, and that's when he kissed me."

"That's so romantic!" shrieked Mrs. Potato Head. "And he kissed you? But he was always so nervous at Andy's."

"Not anymore," Jessie replied. "All that was jus' cause he didn't know for sure how I felt about him."

"Then I guess you didn't waste any time after that, if you know what I mean," Dolly grinned wickedly.

"Huh?"

"You know."

Jessie gulped as realization hit her, and she tugged at her braid nervously. As deeply and passionately as she and Buzz loved each other, they preferred to keep those aspects of their life private from the other toys – at least as much as they could in such a full house.

Jessie shrunk in embarrassment. "Uh, I don't wanna talk about personal stuff."

"You can tell us, we're your friends," pleaded Barbie.

"Besides, it's not like we can't hear you guys sometimes," snickered Trixie.

"Yodelayheeehooooo! Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—Lightyear to the rescue!" Dolly added.

The women burst out into hysterical laughter – that is, all except Jessie, who was mortified. She buried her face in her hands.

"No more teasing, girls," Mrs. Potato Head scolded, observing the cowgirl's reaction. "I know what it's like to need private time with your husband, sweetie." She patted Jessie on the back. "Take it from an old married woman. When the mister and I..."

Jessie tried with all her might to ignore what she was hearing. Can it get any worse? she thought. I do NOT wanna hear about the Potato Heads' love life! Nope, it can't get any worse...

She was rescued when Barbie exclaimed, "I almost forgot about the game!"

"Game?" Jessie grimaced, afraid of what was coming next.

Trixie nodded as a crudely drawn picture of Buzz was pulled from underneath the bed. "Pin the wings on the Space Ranger! Because we all know what that means," the dinosaur insinuated.

Just then, the door burst open and Ken made a grand entrance into the room.

"Man on the floor!" Dolly shouted.

"Ken? What are you doing here?" asked Barbie, puzzled. This was not something they had planned.

"I'm here to liven up the party… because it's Ladies' Night!" Ken scaled the side of the bed, climbed on to the nightstand, and pressed play on the mp3 player docked in the alarm clock. The disco song started to play and he jumped down, landing amidst the girls with a flourish. Pursing his lips, he began to dance, strutting around confidently. In time with music, he grabbed the legs of his velvet tux and threw his hands upwards, pulling the fabric with it. The girls – minus Jessie – wolf-whistled as Ken stood in front of them, wearing nothing but a pair of heart-print boxers. He continued to parade around, certain that his audience was thoroughly impressed with his performance.

"That's it!" Jessie muttered to herself. She stood and removed the contents from the pink gift box on the floor, intending to dispose of the evidence before anything more could be made of it. Barbie and the others were so enthralled with Ken's dance that they didn't even notice Jessie sneaking out the bedroom door.

Back in the safety of the hallway, Jessie frantically ripped the toilet paper free from her body as she distanced herself from the disastrous party. As soon as she spotted a familiar green glow coming from around the corner, she raced to Buzz and threw her arms around him in desperation. The cowgirl began talking rapidly and incoherently, trying to recount the ordeal she had just been through.

"Calm down, tell me what happened," he soothed, rubbing her back.

"Oh, Buzz, I jus' couldn't take it anymore! First they wrapped me in toilet paper to play some dumb weddin' dress game. Then Barbie gave me this and the girls made all kinds'a fun of it!" She pulled away from her husband's embrace and held up the lingerie that she had received as a present.

Buzz's eyes were transfixed on the black lacy outfit. "Heh, Jess, that's actually kinda hot," he admitted sheepishly.

"Really?" she paused and looked at him with a slightly mischievous smile, before remembering how angry she was at the other toys. "That ain't the point, Buzz!" She gestured emphatically as she told him about all the awkward personal questions they had asked and she had refused to answer (to which Buzz gave a sigh of relief that the cowgirl failed to notice), the humiliating game they had planned, and how Ken had come in to dance, which was the absolute last straw.

"My night was just as bad," he reassured her. "They interrogated me too, and then there were the strippers—"

"Strippers?!" She clenched her fists in rage. "Ohhh, when I find out who planned THAT—"

Buzz gently laid his hands on her waist. "It's over now, and we won't let them separate us again." He glanced at the crumpled fabric in Jessie's hand. "Just, don't throw that out, okay?" She smacked her husband playfully on the arm with the lingerie, and he flinched in surprise. "What?"

Woody caught up with the couple and was immediately met with a fierce glare from his sister. He held his hands up in defense, taking a small step back. "Look, Jess, I'm really sorry, I tried to stop them, but they just wouldn't listen to me! I had no idea they'd take things this far."

"Them?" Buzz and Jessie demanded in unison.

"Ken and Barbie," explained Woody.

The couple looked at each other in understanding. It made sense now.

"All we wanted was a reception, Woody!" Jessie cried. "Jus' dancin' and bein' with our friends. Not all this!"

Barbie and Ken came rushing around the corner from Bonnie's parents' room. Having discovered that Jessie was missing at the end of his dance, they had followed her trail of discarded toilet paper down the hall. Ken was still wearing only his heart-print boxers, and Woody groaned and rolled his eyes at the sight.

"There you are!" Barbie called to Jessie. "You sneaked out on us! You didn't see the end of Ken's dance!"

"I saw enough," mumbled Jessie.

Barbie's face fell. "Didn't you have fun?"

The cowgirl reached for her braid and looked down awkwardly, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings.

"We appreciate the thought and the trouble you went through coordinating these parties," Buzz spoke on her behalf. "But we're already married; and we thought we had made it clear to the others that such pre-wedding social customs were unnecessary for us. All we were expecting was a reception."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Barbie apologized sincerely. "Mrs. Potato Head's letter said you wanted the parties. I had no idea. We just wanted to return the favor, after you all threw us such a wonderful Hawaiian vacation last year."

Mrs. Potato Head came scurrying towards the group that had gathered in the hall, with Dolly and Trixie in tow. "What are you two doing together? That's against the rules!" the potato fussed, tugging at the cowgirl's arm. "Come on, Jessie, we'll have a nice slumber party with the girls tonight. You can't see Buzz 'til the reception. Run along, Buzz," she shooed him with a flick of the wrist. "Go find the boys. I'm sure they're still up to something."

Jessie turned to Buzz, panic-stricken. He wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and pulled her towards him, freeing her from Mrs. Potato Head's grasp.

"That won't be necessary," the Space Ranger insisted, with a look that told the busybody potato there was no use in arguing any further. "It's been a month since our wedding; there's no need to be apart tonight. Jessie and I stay together, in our house," he stated in a tone of finality. "In fact, I think it's a good idea if we go back there right now."

Bidding the other toys goodnight, the couple headed back to Bonnie's room. As they walked, Jessie noticed something in Buzz's hand that she hadn't seen before. She peered curiously at the bundle. "What's that?"

"N-nothing," Buzz stammered, hastily shoving the offending parcel behind his back.

Jessie reached behind him and grabbed the pouch, pulled out a toy-sized pair of leopard-print men's bikini briefs, and held them up in front of her with both hands. She looked at Buzz and raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. "I'll model mine, if you'll model yours."

Buzz raised his own eyebrow in response and smirked. "Deal."

They raced each other down the hall, back to their dollhouse and through the front door, letting it slam behind them.