Chapter 6 - Imprints

Quarter moon, always makes me think of you
Are you thinkin' of me too? When you see it shine
It's kind of sad; But I'm smiling, Imagine that
Cause we're lucky to have had what we had - even for a time

Didn't we set the nights on fire
Did ever a flame burn any higher
Wasn't it so sweet? Wasn't it?
Didn't we love

~ Didn't We Love - Tamara Walker

The girl had gone to put her empty pasta bowl in the sink downstairs, and when the sound of her footsteps faded from earshot, Jessie sat up a little on the end of the bed.

She fingered the elastic running under her chin, inspected the jumpsuit she wore, and a little smile crossed her face. She was clean, mended, all put together and loved, just the way she should be. This was what she'd been dreaming of since a few months after Amber had placed her on the dusty bookshelf with Buzz.

Buzz.

She sighed, thinking of the space ranger. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been cuddling her in the plastic bag in the back of Amanda's car.

"She didn't even say goodbye."

"Sometimes you don't get that chance."

She winced at the memory of their conversation, and looked across at the window. Where was Buzz? Was he safe? Was he still with Woody? Or had he gone to a different owner too? The sound of footsteps on the stairs made her flop back in position, and as she did so, the brunette who had fixed her walked back in.

Jessie judged the brunette to be in her mid 20's right from the outset. What was she doing fixing toys? This girl was way too old to own anything fluffy or cute, in Jessie's opinion. She should be out chasing boys, building a career, maybe even raising a family. She thought back to the first time she'd viewed the young woman with intrepidation and wonder...

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"Amanda!"

Jessie felt the box she had been put into drop slightly. She curled up in a foetal position, staring at the wall of darkness surrounding her. Why was she being stored in such a small container? This had be toy cruelty, even torture, she thought; even though she hadn't been in there long it scared her, reminded her of the storage from years ago.

She closed her eyes tightly, and behind the darkness of her eyelids, something glowed in her brain. She saw Buzz there, his fluorescent green glow a comfort. She snapped out of the thought, her eyes re-opening, as something around her ripped. She gasped, and froze as the box suddenly opened to reveal daylight streaming in.

"I hope you like it. I know how much you love fixing these kinds of things." Jessie had recognised the voice. That was Amanda talking. What was she still doing here?

"I do, you're right!" Hands carefully pulled Jessie from the box, a smile thrown in Amanda's direction by the young girl. "I'll take good care of her. Sheesh, she's a state though."

"Yeah. She's got some kind of stain issues going on with the cuffs, and the hat string's broken, and her seams are a little ripped, but I'm sure she'll shine up a treat." Amanda's voice floated over.

"It's cool. I'll ask Dad what to do. He'll know!" came the second voice again. "She'll be gorgeous when she's finished."

"I can't wait to see what you do with her." There was a slight pause. "Well, maybe we should get going for dinner. I can't wait to tell you what Jacob said to Mark the other day,"

The other girl laughed, and settled Jessie back into the box. She didn't close the lid though. "Okay, okay! I'll just go put the doll in my room for now."

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So that was how she'd wound up in this large room, sitting on the bed. The girl had come back home after dinner with her friend, and set straight to work on Jessie's outfit. The first thing she'd done was to remove the jumpsuit from the cowgirl, taken it downstairs and washed it before mending it. Then she'd redressed her, styled her hair, and fixed her hat.

As Jessie sat, thinking all this over in her mind, the girl grabbed her off the bed and snuggled down under the covers, sitting Jessie up against the pillow next to her. She pulled out a gadget and started pressing buttons on it, giggling away to herself as the device pinged.

Jessie risked a glance at the girl, whose brown hair fell past her shoulders, her green eyes glittering wickedly with glee as she tapped more buttons. She wondered about her, who she was, what she had in store for her, why she had fixed her.

And who - and where - the heck was this Lizzie that Amanda had spoken of?

"Buzz, will you snap out of it?" Woody hissed. Buzz had been annoyingly quiet the entire time they had made their way home. It was almost like another of his nervous breakdowns; similar to the one he'd had in Sid's room so many years ago. Now they were back in the box where Amanda had stored them, Woody was petting an overjoyed Bullseye, as well as trying to make Buzz cheer up.

Of course, Woody knew it would be a hopeless task. Buzz was attached to Jessie now, like she was a gadget he owned, or one of his wings. Breaking them up was probably hard for both of them, but Woody figured it was probably best to use the "cruel to be kind treatment" given that there was never any guarantee they would always stay together.

"Why, Woody? What good will it do?" Buzz hissed, climbing to the edge of the box and looking out of the window. The moon glowed faintly from above them, its white light streaking through the window and casting a effect over the bed in the dark room.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Behind him, Woody sighed, and Buzz knew the cowboy was beaten. There was nothing more to say. Jessie was going to a new owner soon, and they were stranded across the street from her, never knowing what would become of the cowgirl. He sat back and glanced around at Woody with Bullseye. The cowboy, evidently exhausted from their mission, had settled back against the horse, his hat pulled down over his eyes. Both toys had their eyes closed in preparation for sleep.

Buzz exhaled and turned back to the window. He noted that the moon was waning, but it continued to wink down at him as he curled up; remembering the sound of Jessie's laugh when they cuddled together in the moonlight, the way it would reflect off her emerald eyes when she gazed at him, the way she looked when she nestled closer to press her lips against his.

Buzz stifled another sob, and clapped a hand over his mouth, so as not to disturb the slumbering toys in the far corner. She couldn't be gone. He was going to wake up soon and this would all be a dream, and they'd be back in Amber's room on the bookshelf.

But something in the back of his mind told him the effort was fruitless. As much as Buzz hated giving up, he knew it was over – their family broken, bonds ripped, friendships dissolved across the miles, and his girlfriend lost to him for good.

The young girl had fallen asleep many minutes ago, and until she was completely sure she was asleep, Jessie didn't dare budge from her place. Only when the girl let out a soft snore did the cowgirl finally deem it safe enough. Hopping over the pillow, she vaulted herself down to the floor, scrambling over the beanbag chair that sat under the window. She pulled herself up on the cushions, grabbing at the side of the heater that was attached to the wall, hauled herself up over the top and grasped at the narrow windowsill, climbing onto it.

Jessie pushed a candleholder out of the way and looked out of the window. Below her gaze and stretching out for a good mile in front of her, lay rows and rows of houses. Jessie gawped - she'd never seen so many houses. Emily, Andy and Bonnie had lived rather openly in a house that didn't attach to any other buildings, and Amber had lived in a house that only connected to one other building. But these houses connected to one after the other, in stacks of three or four.

Tearing her eyes from the houses and gardens laid out in a pattern, Jessie looked up at the sky. She'd always looked at stars when she'd sat on the windowsill with Buzz. Now it looked like she'd have to do that alone. A tear came to her eye as she settled herself to kneel on the ledge, her eyes darting to where the moon shone down on her. It was a waning moon, she noticed. Buzz had taught her what that was, one particularly romantic evening they'd spent together a few months ago.

She missed him like crazy. She'd never wanted to admit that this day could finally come, but it had. She knew Woody had always had reservations about them all staying together – after all, their luck was bound to run out sometime - but he'd always hidden it from her. Buzz had never voiced an opinion either way, continuing to be strong and silent throughout every difficulty. Now, their worse fear had come true. They'd been separated, forever.

Jessie shifted slightly, and her gaze fell on something imprinted on the window. She blinked, peering closer. It appeared to be a handprint on the glass. She frowned. How had that gotten there?

She put her own hand up to it, touching the outline, and noticed the size of the print was larger than her own hand. The fingers were thicker, the ends rounded, the palm square and flat.

She'd know that print anywhere, she thought, with a little smile gracing her features.

Maybe Buzz wasn't completely gone after all.