A/N: Feeling like I neglect Woody and Bo a bit, so here's a little story featuring Mr. and Mrs. Pride :-D
Bo sighed as she glanced at the clock; the morning felt as if it would never end. It was the third day in a row of temperatures that were just too cold to let the children play outside and the strain was showing. The dozen kids at the school were rambunctious, suffering from cabin fever as they wanted nothing more than to be outside playing in the snow. Bo could not help but smile as she looked over the children as they were bent over the small tables, coloring away after a rousing game of hopscotch.
The cheerful ring of the phone distracted her and she lifted the receiver to her ear, "Good morning, Sunnyside Preschool. This is Mrs. Pride, how can I help you?"
"Good morning, Mrs. Pride," responded the warm voice of her husband. "I was wonderin' if you might be interested in joining me for some housework this afternoon. We should be able to get the last touches on the dining room done, I think."
"Oh Woody," she smiled but her voice was tinged with regret, "I'd love to, but I don't know if I'll be able to."
"Everything okay? You sound a bit frazzled."
She let out a small sigh, "T'tell the truth, I am. Bonnie's on vacation and Trixie had to go home sick. She really shouldn't have even come in, but she felt so bad about leaving me all alone. If I could take the kids outside, it would be fine, but we're all stuck indoors with these temperatures. Fortunately it's only a half day today, but I feel like there is so much to get done after they've all gone home…I just don't see how I'd have the time."
"The lambs behaving themselves?"
She chuckled; he had taken to calling their students "lambs" after she said she felt like a shepherdess. "Yeah, they're great; coloring now before we have some circle time. Speaking of, I better go get that set up. Sorry to let you down, Sheriff."
"Don't worry about it, little lady. See you later on."
Bo hung the phone up and began to gather up the supplies for the numbers game they would play during circle time. It was one of the kids' favorites and Bo wanted them to have as much fun today as they could. She finally had the game together after twenty minutes, but just as she was about to make the announcement, the front door chime sounded. She looked up in delighted surprise as Woody, Andy, and a german shepherd came ambling in.
Woody tipped his hat to Bo and greeted the kids with a boisterous "Hey, howdy, hey!" The children immediately dropped their crayons and ran over to the center of the room, sitting in a circle without being told. "So, I heard there are some buckaroos around here who have been stuck inside for ages!" Woody grinned as the kids all shouted in agreement. "Well, Sheriff Andy and I brought a good friend along. This is Duke," he gestured to the dog who was obediently seated beside Andy. "And he is a member of the police! Which reminds me….anyone here want to be a deputy?" A dozen little hands shot straight into the air, "Well, okay! Miss Bo, would you be willing to give the deputies their badges?"
Bo nodded as she shot her husband a grateful look; he was full of surprises. She found the sheet of star-shaped stickers and wrote each child's name on one before fixing it to their shirt.
Woody nodded, "That's better. A fine lookin' group, doncha think, Sheriff?"
"Sure do," Andy acquiesced. "Now Duke is a very important part of our team. He can do all sorts of things…like find you if you get lost. Who wants to try?" One of the little girls raised her hand and Bo led her up to Andy. "Okay, let Duke sniff your shirt and then Miss Bo will take you somewhere to hide. After a few minutes, we'll see if ol' Duke here can track you down."
Bo took the girl's hand and asked her where she wanted to hide. Following the whispered instructions, she tucked the child in amongst the coats hung along one of the walls. "Okay, Sheriff. We're ready!"
Woody helped to herd the kids so they would be able to watch as Andy released Duke. It took no time at all for the room to fill with delighted squeals as the cold nose found its target. Andy brought both the child and Duke back to the circle and, with Woody, they talked about how Duke was trained from the time he was a puppy, what he could do, where he lived…anything the kids wanted to know about him. Duke was more than willing to show off his tricks and his tail wagged happily as the kids were allowed to pet him.
Bo was surprised at how quickly the time had passed; it seemed as if Woody and Andy had just started their program when all of a sudden parents were there to pick up their kids. The last kid left and Andy took Duke to the patrol car.
Woody waved to his boss," See ya back at the station! So," he turned to his wife, "hope it was okay that we dropped by like that. You sounded like you were in a bit of distress."
She hugged him, "It was perfect. My hero." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
In response, Woody tucked his fingers under her chin and drew her lips to his, kissing her in true hero form. "Now," he smiled, "I know normally, at this point, we'd ride off into the sunset. But failing that, how 'bout we ride off to some lunch before you have to get back to work?"
"I think that sounds just fine, Sheriff."