Chapter 14 – From Infinity

"Okay you guys. Be good while I'm out. Remember, Lawrence is coming to stay for the weekend, so he might want to play with some of you."

It was a week before Christmas, and Lizzie was on her way out to go and see relations of hers in the next town. She had been left home alone for a while; her parents having gone further north to visit more distant relatives, a journey that Lizzie had mentioned she had been glad to avoid.

At her parting words before she left the room, the toys on the bed started to talk amongst themselves excitedly. Jessie looked up at Firefly, who was circling happily just above her.

"Firefly? Who's Lawrence?"

"He's Lizzie's cousin." Firefly said, looking down with a whinny. "She only ever sees him around Christmas time."

"Christmas?" Jessie said, her tone wondering. "Is it really Christmas already?"

"Yep. Lawrence's parents always go south for Christmas to see family, but Lawrence stays here as the journey's too long for him to manage."

Jessie fell silent and sighed. "Well, I don't have anything to worry about. I doubt Lawrence will be very interested in me."

Firefly's wings drooped a little in sadness at Jessie's words, and could only watch as the little cowgirl pulled back the edge of the blanket and crawled underneath to hide.

It was dark, and it panicked him. There was no light of any kind to be seen.

Woody had no right to complain about being uncomfortable though – there was far more of Bullseye than there was of him. The steed was right there next to him, his four legs spread out in an unruly fashion.

"Shh, boy," he murmured, petting the horse as it wriggled and gave a soft neigh. "We'll be out of here soon."

"Lizzie's back!" Firefly announced from her position down the stairwell a few hours later. She flew back into the room. "Lawrence is here too, and he doesn't know we come out of toy mode, so everyone, places please!"

She whistled shrilly and the toys arranged themselves, jumping into the wicker chest. The nightstand toys lined up and flumped down into position, and Ted flopped on the bed just next to Jessie. Firefly glanced around; making sure everything was as it should be, before she too, took a spot on the nightstand and froze.

Jessie peeked out from under the blanket, watching the other toys go about things as normal and sighed, before she settled back against the pillow. In her toy mode, she heard the excited laughter of a little boy, and her heart leapt. She remembered Andy, and all the escapades he had gotten up to as a small child.

Back when she had been with Buzz and Woody.

There were heavy running footsteps on the stairs, and Lawrence barrelled into the room. He was a small child of about four, and he was wearing jeans and a red tee shirt with an emblem of some kind printed on it that Jessie couldn't quite make out. He carried an oversized black backpack, and his hair, tousled from the outside elements, was black and curly - not too unlike Lizzie's colouring. He now shed the backpack onto the floor with a thud, glancing at the bed with a grin as he grabbed hold of Ted.

"Hi Ted!" He gave the plush bear an enormous cuddle and then swung around to face Lizzie. "Can we have a teddy bear's picnic in the garden?"

"In the winter?" Lizzie asked, raising a brow at the young boy, and Lawrence looked sad. Lizzie sighed, beaten already.

"Aw, okay, tell you what," The toys heard her compromise, "How about we have an INDOOR teddy bear picnic? I'm pretty sure we have a tablecloth that will be just right for it…"

Lawrence's face lit up. "Yeah! Can we have peanut butter and jelly?"

"Sandwiches?" Lizzie laughed a little. "Sure, kiddo. And we'll have popcorn too, how about that?"

"Awesome!" Lawrence declared. He kept a hold of Ted as he ran past Lizzie, out of the room, and back down the stairs.

Lizzie sighed to herself and leaned down to retrieve the backpack that the young boy had dropped on the floor. She laid the backpack on the bed, and turned to walk from the room. She happened to cast a glance back at Jessie, who was still lying on the bed. Her red hat was strewn to one side, and as Lizzie watched, the doll animated herself, but did not turn to look around at the window like she usually did.

Lizzie's heart ached for the toy cowgirl. Could it be, she wondered, that Jessie had finally given up?

"What is it?" Primrose asked. She hopped closer to the black material bag, her nose waffling curiously.

"It's just a backpack." Brighteyes aptly rolled her big black eyes at the toy bunny's question.

Firefly pushed her way to the front of the group. "I'll handle this. I'm good at talking to newcomers." She whinnied a little and flew over to hover in front of the backpack.

"Hello? Any toys in there? We wont hurt you. Please come out."

There was an audible silence and Primrose laughed shortly. "Ah, there's nothing in there. Probably just stuffed with colouring books and crayons or something. Lawrence has been into those forever."

Jessie sighed as she listened to the idle chatter coming from just over yonder from where she sat. She kicked her legs outside the blanket and stood up, straightening her clothes and casting a forlorn glance towards the others. No one saw her there in the background. She was alone, and she longed to be the centre of something again. She yearned for the days when she had been part of the group with the Potatoheads', Dolly, Buttercup, Rex, Trixie and all the others. But they were all long gone now, the group she had once thought of as her family, dissolved over the years.

And now Woody, Bullseye and even her beloved Buzz Lightyear were gone too.

She sniffed a little and looked at the new collection of toys. Something about it reminded her of the times the other toys had used to cluster around Bonnie's backpack, like when Barbie and Ken paid visits to them. Painful memories welled up in her heart, and she needed to escape them. She turned to walk away, and it was then that the sound met her ears.

Lizzie turned to look through the kitchen door. The family room door was wide open, and with it's placement right opposite the kitchen, she could see straight through to where Lawrence was sitting on the check print tablecloth. He had one hand braced behind him, the other hand pushing a piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich into his mouth. His eyes were glued onto the television, which was blaring some cartoon from it. Ted sat nearby, propped up against a chair, but was otherwise forgotten about as the programme played.

The young woman wondered for a moment how he had grown up so fast so suddenly. She watched him with the same fascination that he watched the television programme with, his black curly locks bobbing as he reached for another piece of sandwich to cram into his mouth.

She laughed softly to herself as she watched his boyish ways. Next to her, the microwave pinged, and she was brought out of her trance. "Lawrence," she called, "Popcorn's up!" It was the only thing that would take his attention off the television, she knew this well.

From the other room, she heard him cry out "Popcorn!" and when she looked around, he was tearing towards her with Ted tucked under his arm. She stifled her feelings, and smiled at the young boy.

She must be hearing things. Jessie turned around to confront the sound behind her, convinced her ears were playing tricks on her. But if that was the case, her eyes must also be in on the joke. Drawn to the sight in front of her, she was vaguely aware that her mouth, as confused as her brain and heart were, opened ever so slightly so she could whisper something.

"Buzz?"

His eyes locked onto her face. "Yes, Jessie. It's me."

She froze on the spot. She couldn't move, she couldn't talk, she couldn't make sense of anything. All that time she had spent dreaming of him returning to her, what she'd say, what she'd do – it all evaporated. It had to be a dream. He couldn't be here, it had been too long, he was supposed to have been broken or lost…..

"Jessie?"

She raised her head. He must have moved while she had zoned out. For he was standing right in front of her now, his blue irises meeting her green ones. She took a quarter-step back, blinking in confusion. There was a strange sensation going on in the back of her head, and she ignored it for a moment, lifting her hand.

Hesitating and still certain it wasn't real, she reached forward, her hand meeting the chest plate that she had so often, over the years, laid her head on when it came to bedtime, or even when she needed a nap. Her fingers quivered as she realised the plastic was firm under her touch. She slid her hand gently upwards, locating the ridge that began the large red button she had so often pushed over the first few years of being in Andy's room – back when Buzz had been too shy around her to speak his mind – and then more often than not stroked when they had been cuddled up together. Her fingers pressed down insistently on it, and suddenly the wings sprang open with a loud CHUNK.

His hand came to rest next to hers, their fingers touching as he pressed the red button again, just off to the left of centre. The wings instantly retracted and his hand closed around hers. His other hand now braced against her side as he pulled her into his arms.

And she realised. This was real.

The sensation in the back of her head transferred to the very back of her eyes, and her eyelids flickered for a moment before she felt the purple tips of his fingers on her cheek.

"Shhh…"

In that instant she realised now he was wiping a tear from her cheek, and then another and another, as she broke down right there. Her hands, which had so hesitantly touched the space toy, now pulled back from his chest long enough for her to bring them up and fling them around his neck. His embrace on her tightened as she hugged him, the tears spilling freely down her cheeks.

"Buzz!"

The exclamation left her lips, and she forgot where she was. The room around her, the other toys staring at their reunion - it all vanished completely. One of his hands reached up, stroking the now ponytailed hair, weaving between the yarn strands. His other hand, nestled on the lower of her back, kept her braced upright as she stood in his arms. Her face was buried in his neck, her tears soaking into the plastic as her body racked with sobs.

"Jessie….." he whispered soothingly into her ear, still stroking her hair as he pushed her back a little off him. Knocked off kilter and still rife with emotion, she didn't see what was coming as his lips claimed hers for the first time in many months.

It was only supposed to be a gentle, affectionate kiss, but she wanted to welcome him in the way she thought she would – so much to Buzz's astonishment and pleasure, he felt Jessie's reciprocation overwhelm him totally. Her lips pressed furiously to his, her tears making the kiss taste salty and bittersweet at the same time.

Jessie pulled back, one hand coming to touch his cheek. "Buzz…." She swallowed, the lump rising in her throat, and tried again. "I…I thought you were..."

"Gone to infinity? Nah…." He smiled at her, still holding her tightly. "Takes a lot to keep me from you, Jess. You know that."