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Chapter 3

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The week passed quickly and before the toys knew it, the items from all around the house had been packed into totes and boxes and specifically marked for where they belonged. Even Bonnie's belongings had begun to be packed up as the moving day drew closer. It was late one night when as a thunder storm crashed outside. Bonnie was sleeping in her parent's room, scared of the storm, which gave the toys the room all to themselves. They all slept soundly in the bed where Bonnie had left them, unaffected by the storm. A large crash of thunder shook the windows and Buzz woke up, looking around the room. His gaze shifted to the friends next to him, doing a quiet role call in his head. He stood up noticing a certain red headed cowgirl was missing. He searched the room, and climbed from the bed, hoping she was perhaps hiding nearby. His prayers were answered as he heard a slight whimper and turned, lifting the bed skirt and found Jessie huddled under the bed, resting against a foot of the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees, her face hidden in those knees.

"You okay there cowgirl?" He stepped under the bed, his chest illuminating the dark space. "Jessie? Are you okay?" The little cowgirl looked to him, realizing that this was the second time her space ranger had caught her quivering with fear. She chuckled bitterly.

"Boy you must sure think I'm some sort of chicken." The tone of her voice was miserable and she turned away from him.

"Now why would I think that?" Buzz sat next to her, taking her hand.

"Because lately I'm just always so durn scared!" She threw her hat down in frustration, taking her hand from Buzz's in the process, and turning her head away from him and resting it back on her knees. Buzz looked taken aback at her withdrawal, but recovered quickly. He needed to show her how much he understood.

"Jessie…I understand. We all have things we're scared of, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Take Rex for instance…Rex is afraid of spiders."

"Buzz, Rex is afraid of everything."

Buzz chuckled at her comment, shrugging in agreement.

"Well then how about Woody? You know Woody used to be afraid of our old next door neighbor. Everyone has something they are afraid of."

"Not you." Her voice was soft. Buzz sighed, looking down, his voice matching her volume, but muddled with a hint of sadness.

"That's not entirely true." Jessie looked to him, her eyebrows raised in question. Buzz took a risk, reaching for her hand again. This time she left it there, returning the soft squeeze he gave it. He placed his other hand over hers. He took a deep breath and decided that it was now or never, and now was certainly better than never.

"When we were in that incinerator…and thought there was no hope, I just…I didn't know what to do Jess. I was so scared at the thought of losing you, so scared that I'd never be able to see you or that bright smile of yours again." Buzz paused to take a breath, his gaze shifting to look into her eyes. "But most of all, I was so afraid I'd never be able to tell you how I really feel about you." His eyes were full of sincerity as he waited for Jessie to respond. She stared at him, astonished. While Buzz had stopped stuttering while speaking to her since their return, he never had verbally expressed his feelings for her.

"Oh-Buzz…"A smile grew on her features, the same smile she'd given him when he returned to her at Sunnyside, when he carried her from the falling trash, and when they danced together.

"I care about you Jessie. I care about you a lot and never want to see anything bad happen to you. Y-you're really special to me Jess." Buzz gave a soft smile, surprised with himself for being able to say all he had wanted to. He looked to Jessie, fear gripping his chest as he waited for her response. She leaned in, hugging the space ranger, as she rested her head against his chest. "Somehow… I think I already knew partner." She smiled as she snuggled into his chest more, feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders. Buzz sighed in relief, a large smile crossing his features. The two stayed silent a moment, before Buzz whispered quietly to her.

"Did you wanna talk about your bad dream?" Jessie's head shot up, raising an eyebrow.

"I never said I had a bad dream…"

"I figured it out for myself. I never knew you to be afraid of thunderstorms, so I figured it had to be a bad dream." He looked to Jessie who only sighed, nodding her head slowly.

"We-we were back at the dump. I think the thunder made me dream about all that crashing noise. And then…then we were back in that fire, and I started to fall and you grabbed my hand to keep me from falling, but when I looked back up, you weren't there…no one was…and-and I fell." She dropped her head into his shoulder, the fear returning. Buzz was shocked at this new behavior. He'd never seen Jessie to really ever be one to be afraid of anything. And now, to see her so scared, it near broke his heart. He rested his head on top of hers, rubbing her arm comfortingly. Slowly he felt her relax.

"It was just a dream Jessie…I'd never let anything bad happen to you."

"T-thanks Buzz." Jessie stifled a yawn, snuggling her head into him more. "Hey Buzz?"

"Yea, Jessie?"

"I care about you too." Buzz smiled proudly at her declaration, squeezing her closer.

"Hey Buzz?"

"Yea, Jess?"

"Good night…" and with another yawn, the cowgirl slowly drifted off. The space ranger could have sworn he had felt his heart melt just then. He leaned back against the foot of the bed, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind Jessie's ear before bending down to lightly kiss the top of her head, his voice but a whisper.

"Good night Jessie."

…

Don't worry folks! This isn't the end! We have another chapter (or a few) to go! RxR and enjoy! :D