Author's Notes: It's been an arduous week. This fic has kinda been the escape to get out of my head for awhile. So even though you readers aren't directly doing anything for me, thanks...

They felt the glowing white floor panels on the Star Command as the last of Porkchop's ship started to dissipate around them. Bo was still soaking wet without the protection of a space suit, and so she shivered uncontrollably and clung to Woody.

Only seconds previous they'd been swinging wildly above Porkchop's arena until the cord suspending them inevitably snapped. Woody's Boosters were completely shot, and they were meters from the ground before suddenly both landed on the hard ground, momentum somehow gone.

She wasn't completely aware that she had been sobbing until the gentle tugging on her arm brought her back to Earth.

"NO!" she screamed. "Don't take me away from him! Don't touch me!"

The medical staff started to pull harder.

"I'm not going to the medical bay again! You're going to take my blood!"

Woody finally scooped up the shaking woman and started to carry her following the nurses. He squeezed her gently and tried to soothe her as she whimpered, gripping the cowboy firmly. He wasn't sure he was really that ok himself, but Bo was more important.

One of the Emergency Response crew members tried one more time in vain to take Bo and put her on a hovering gurney, but both Woody and Bo resisted him. The crew finally gave up and let them walk themselves, despite how slow they went.

Buzz, however, had to be transported by gurney, as he was unconscious.

Jessie was mortified at the state of the Ranger. She kept hold of his hand as they lifted him up but was forced to let go of it as they whisked him away. The redhead was left in a daze. She was finally snapped out her trance when one of the medics starting shining a flashlight in her eyes. Jessie pushed him aside a little harder than she meant to and sprinted out of the room to follow where Buzz was being taken.

The hours went by gratuitously.

They had landed back at the Star Command base. The normally busy, noisy halls were empty, and finally word came to the medical bay that the moment the four had escaped, Star Command had laid siege to the Porkchop's ship immediately.

Bo had refused to be admitted back into the hospital ward. The staff forced her to be subject to a small checkup and insisted that she return to the regimen before the kidnapping. She dismissed the notion immediately. They suggested that she didn't have her head on straight yet due to the traumatic experience she'd just endured. She stared them down incredulously.

"You don't understand the meaning of traumatic," Bo told them before storming out of the examination room.

Woody supported her wishes, and understood why she wouldn't go back, especially when she described to him her experience of waking up in Porkchop's ship the first time.

The two sat together on the waiting room couches. They probably would have been asleep because of the exhaustion of the episode if it hadn't been for Jessie pacing up a storm. Buzz was in surgery with two broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The nurse has assured them that it was a simple procedure, but it seemed to be taking so long.

The cowgirl was fighting the voice in her head telling her it was entirely her fault. If she'd only known what she was doing…

Bo couldn't help but feel the utmost sympathy for her. Jessie had hardly noticed Bo's existence since they'd joined her in the waiting room, and the blonde didn't blame her her the slightest. After watching the cowgirl march back and forth a dozen more times, Bo finally stood up and stopped her in her tracks.

Jessie looked up, annoyed at first. And then she finally realized who she was staring at.

Bo didn't say a word. She just let her eyes do the talking. Jessie looked like she was about to break. The blonde impulsively wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. They remained in the embrace for what seemed like an eternity.

"It's funny, you're the one who just went through hell, and you're the one comforting me."

When Buzz finally woke up, he immediately inquired of his friends. He had attempted to get up but the IV held him hostage to the bed. He had to wait impatiently as they were brought to his room.

Jessie charged through the door shortly, resisting the urge to tackle him in a hug. After seeing him there with a beat up face and bandages peeking out behind his hospital gown she took a softer approach, sitting on the bed next to him and ruffling his hair. He noticed the lack of energy and spunk that he was used to, and grabbed her hand.

"Hey, I'm ok," Buzz said squeezing her fingers gently.

"I'm so s-sorry," Jessie replied, voice breaking.

"For what?"

"I had no idea what I was doing. If I'd only been faster, you wouldn't be like this," the cowgirl said, finally letting go of the tears she'd been fighting against since they'd arrived back at Star Command.

"You listen to me Jessie Pride," Buzz said very seriously. "You saved us all-"

"Only by luck," Jessie cut in.

The space ranger wiped away some of her tears, and she pressed his hand against his cheek. He took a little time to consider what he was going to say. "Regardless of how it happened, you performed admirably. Star Command would be proud to have you in its ranks."

Jessie's eyes widened. She realized the actual implications of what he was saying. "Are you- are you serious?"

Buzz had to admit that the idea of Jessie being an official Space Ranger still made him uneasy, but he'd recognized her strong desire to help others. And he knew he couldn't hold her back anymore. He nodded.

The cowgirl, however, was having second thoughts.

Before she could say anything, Woody and Bo came in. They were hesitant to remain in the room when they saw the two so close to each other, but Buzz lit up when he saw them.

"Bo! Woody! You both alright?" the ranger said as Jessie withdrew a bit.

"You got the worst of it pal. It should've been me up there facing Porkchop," Woody said, patting his shoulder.

"Although, 'I choose Buzz Lightyear!' has a certain style with it…" Buzz chuckled.

"It just came to me," Woody grinned. "How in the world did you manage to get up behind him?"

The ranger's eyes flashed towards Jessie. "Only by luck."

"Well however it happened, thank you Buzz," Bo Peep said warmly. "Thank you all for saving my life."

Jessie finally let the concern fall off her face. "I don't know about y'all, but I just really wanna go home."