A little while after Andy excitedly left the room with his notebook, the toys crawled out of the toy box.

"What's goin' on?" Jessie wondered. Buzz hopped down to the chair and then jumped to the floor to join her.

"Andy opened the box!" Rex cheered.

"I know Andy opened the box," Jessie said. "But why?"

"He seemed to be very excited about whatever was on that computer screen," Buzz replied.

"Well, did ya see anything?" Jessie urged. The other toys began murmuring impatiently.

"I didn't see what all the excitement was about," Buzz said. "Did you, Woody?" He turned to look up at the bed, but Woody wasn't there. "Woody?" He asked again when the cowboy didn't answer.

"Over here," Woody called from the top of the desk. He was shuffling through the papers that Andy had left behind.

"Well?" Hamm asked impatiently. "Any new info?"

Woody looked down at them from over the papers with wide eyes. "It's an essay contest," He said simply.

"Boring," Mr. Potato Head said, raising his hand in front of his face with a fake yawn.

"No, no! You don't understand. Andy's entered an essay contest to get Buzz to go into space."

A collective gasp sounded from the floor and Woody jumped down to join his friends.

"You mean, space? Like for real?" Jessie shrieked.

"No way!" Hamm exclaimed.

"That's so cool!" Rex enthused.

"Yeah, right," Mr. Potato Head rolled his eyes.

"No, it's true!" Woody insisted. "NASA's taking a Buzz Lightyear action figure up in a shuttle as part of an educational Toys in Space program. The mission launches this spring and lasts for about 5 months."

All were silent as they exchanged glances with each other and pondered this. Then suddenly, Andy's room erupted with whoops and cheers.

"Whoa, Buzz! You're going into space!" Rex shouted. He swung his tail around in excitement.

"Oh, my!" Mrs. Potato Head said. "This is big news!"

They all chattered enthusiastically. All except for one toy. "Buzz? Hey, Buzz!" Woody called. "Come celebrate with us!"

"Okay, but you're celebrating the wrong thing," Buzz said.

"Are you nuts?" Jessie yelled, leaping up onto his back. "This is HUGE!"

Buzz grabbed hold of her and took a couple of involuntary steps forward under her sudden weight. "Do you guys realize how many kids must have entered that contest? Andy hasn't won yet," he pointed out. "Besides, the real victory is that Andy opened the toy box. After all these years, he took us out! And he hasn't even put the lid back."

Woody beamed. "You're right," he realized.

"Whatever," Jessie said, jumping down. "I'm goin to go tell Becca!"

Buzz sighed as he watched her leave the room. The toys around him were now talking about the possibility of Andy re-discovering his childhood, but he couldn't get his mind off the essay contest. It would be really nice to go on a mission like a real space ranger…..

Two Weeks Later

"Is it here yet?" Andy shouted as he bounded through the front door after school one day.

"Is what here yet?" His mom asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"The mail!" Andy said impatiently.

"Oh. Yeah, there's something in there for you," Mrs. Davis answered nonchalantly, gesturing over to the kitchen counter where the mail sat.

Andy hurriedly shuffled through some letters. Junk mail, a magazine for Molly, some bills…. and a letter in a NASA envelope, addressed to him. He quickly tore the envelope open, barely able to contain his excitement. An anxious feeling spread through the pit of his stomach as he scanned the contents of the letter.

"Andy?" Mr. Davis pressed when he didn't say anything after a few moments.

"I won," He said quietly, disbelieving what he read in print.

"What?" His mom exclaimed, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"I won!" He said again, shouting this time. "I won! My toy is going into space!"

"Honey, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Davis yelled, nearly tripping as she walked around the table to give him a hug.

He picked up his schoolbag and darted out of the kitchen, across the living room, and up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time. He pushed past the door to his bedroom and quickly tossed his books aside. His toys were scattered all over the floor, but in his excitement he didn't have time to wonder how they had gotten there. He picked up his Buzz Lightyear action figure and held him up as high as his arms would reach. "We did it, Buzz! You're going into space!" He held Buzz up in front of the other toys and grinned proudly. "Did you hear that, guys? Buzz is going up in space!" Suddenly, he remembered something that was written towards the bottom of the letter. "I gotta go make some phone calls!" He grabbed the paper and whirled out of the room, still unable to contain his enthusiasm.

The second Andy was gone, all the toys were cheering excitedly. "Buzz!" Rex shouted. "You're going, you're really going!" His tiny arms were waving rapidly.

Woody clapped him on the back. "Well, how about that? Old Buzz Lightyear is gonna be a real space ranger after all."

Buzz's head spun as he tried to take in the news and answer all the other toys' excited questions. He scanned the room for a familiar face, but she was nowhere to be found. Then he remembered that she had gone into Molly's room to visit with her Itsy Bitsy Baby doll friend. He was about to turn around to go find her, but Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head were each shaking his hands so hard he thought his arms would fall off.

"Oooooh!" The three squeaky aliens chorused. "He has been chosen!"

"You have, you have been chosen, Buzz!" Woody said, pulling him into a hug. He set his friend back down on the floor and turned to hug Bo. All around them, toys were hugging and cheering.

Buzz turned to look at the doorway. And there she was. Jessie pushed her hat back, smiling. "I heard all the commotion," She said, her eyes sparkling. "Did you really win?"

Buzz nodded wordlessly, waiting for her reaction. He didn't have to wait long. In a split section, she had thrown herself at him. Buzz wrapped his arms tightly around her and breathed in her earthy scent, wanting to imprint her smell, her look, and feel permanently into his senses. She was laughing, and he picked her up and spun her around.

"Buzz, you're a real space ranger!" She shouted proudly.

He grinned widely, his perfect teeth sparkling. "So you want me to go?"

"Of course I want you to go, Buzzy! This is the chance of a lifetime!" She pressed her nose against his.

"Even though it's for five months?" He asked, searching her face.

"Oh, yeah," Jessie said. She had forgotten that part.