*Hey all, so I wanted to add this short in because I feel since I added in a nightmare story Woody had after Sunnyside, I needed one about how he felt after Rainbow Hill. It is a little long, but I felt it needed to be written. So enjoy! *
Woody hit the ground hard again for the fourth time that night. Rumble had torn him apart so badly that his chest was ripped open, his leg was hanging off, and his arm was ripped off by the elbow. Lotso came over to him as he tried to get up with his good hand.
"Please. Please Lotso, no more. Woody begged. Just kill me already and let my family go. They don't need to witness my torture anymore."
"Your family? Lotso questioned. Your family already met their tragic end, sheriff. Take a look." Woody looked to where he was pointing and saw a pile of broken toy pieces. When he got closer, he saw that they were pieces of his family."No! Jess, Buzz! Rose!" He saw a piece of Bo's face and fell to his knees. He turned to Lotso. "Murderer!""Oh,don't worry, cowboy. You'll be joining them very soon!" Suddenly the floor opened up beneath him and he fell into a fiery pit.
Woody woke up with a gasp and a chill, then he remembered he was on the roof.
"Ugh, not again. He sighed. Well, looks like another restless night. Might as well do a perimeter check." He checked around the backyard and then walked to the front yard, scanning the ground before climbing down into the open window in the living room. He had been doing this for a few weeks now, since Rainbow Hill. Since that day, Woody had become restless, unable to fall asleep without waking up from yet another stupid nightmare. He thought about telling his family, but knew he was just going to sound crazy or something like that. So he kept quiet and prayed that no one would find out.
The next morning, after Bonnie left, Rose went into the living room and found her father resting his head against the window.
"Dad?" She climbed up next to him. Woody was staring out the window, almost as if he was in a daze. Rosetta tapped his shoulder. "Daddy, are you alright?" Woody jumped and turned to her.
"Oh, Rosetta. You started me, sweetie. He said. Oh yes, I'm fine. What time is it?"
"9:30. Bonnie and mom already left."
"Shoot. I've got so much to do today. I'll see you later, baby girl." He got up and rushed up, leaving his daughter confused. What is going on with him? Rose thought. She wasn't the only one concerned about him. Bo watched him throughout the day and saw that something was off about her husband. That night, she watched as he slipped out the window once again. Quietly, she followed him. She saw him go to the corner of the roof and sit.
"Woody?" She said. He jumped but didn't go over the side.
"Darling, what are you doing up here? It's cold out here tonight." He said. That was odd for him to say since it was fairly decent out.
"I don't mind the cold. Are you alright, honey?" Woody stood up straighter.
"Yeah. Never better." She glared at him, noticing a slight twitch in his eyes.
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me if something is bothering you." He took her hands.
"I know that, Bo. But I'm alright. I just need some fresh air." She glared at him again, clearly not convinced.
"Alright, if you say so. Don't stay up here too long." She kissed his cheek and walked away. She glanced back at him once more and saw that he had turned back to look across the yard. Something is not right with him. She thought. Once she had left, Woody immediately had an image fill his head.
"Woody!" Bo yelled. He had hit the floor again, tired from Lotso hitting and kicking him. He heard Bo scream. Then he heard a little girl scream for him.
"Daddy!" Rose cried out."Get rid of them, now!" Rumble had rushed over and started pushing his wife and daughter out of the room."No! Leave them alone! Please! Ah!" Lotso ignored his pleas and struck the side of his head with his foot.
"Ah! Stop it, Woody! Stop it!" The poor cowboy gripped his head, hitting it to make the visions stop, but he couldn't. Pulling his knees to his chest, he sighed and turned his attention back to the front yard. Unknown to him, Jessie and Buzz watched him from behind the chimney stack. Jessie looked at Buzz and Buzz looked at his friend. What is going on with him to cause him so much distress? Buzz thought. The next afternoon, while Woody was off doing some sheriff duties, Buzz and Jessie decided to find Bo. They found her in Mom and dad's room.
"Hey Bo, can we talk to you?" Jessie asked.
"I hope your here to talk about Woody, she said, because I was just coming to find you. I assume you've sensed something is off with him."
"Oh, yes, we have. Buzz said. We're thinking Rainbow Hill affected him a lot more than we thought."
"At first he was waking up screaming from the nightmares, and now he's barley sleeping at all." Jessie said.
"Actually, he's stopped sleeping altogether. Bo said. This has been going on for almost two months. I'm really worried about him, guys."
"Me too. I hate seeing him like this. Buzz said. He's distracted during the day, paranoid at night. If he keeps this up, he is going to drive himself crazy."
"So, what do we do?" Jessie asked.
"There is only one thing to do." Buzz said.
"Absolutely not." Bo said. Buzz and Jessie looked at her. "You want to stage an intervention. Buzz, you know what that will do to him."
"Bo, he's struggling, badly. If he sees that we are on his side and ready to support him, then maybe he'll open up to us."
"Oh sure, or he'll think we're gaining up on him or think that he's gone mental."
"Bo, I'm actually with Buzz on this. Jessie said. The three of us are not the only ones that noticed. Chuckles has said something to us, Dolly has said something, even Rosetta has said she's worried about him." That got Bo's attention.
"Rose is worried about him too?" Jessie nodded. Bo rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, okay. Let's do the intervention. If you really think it will help him."
"It will." They talked for a whole longer until Bonnie came home. The next evening, Bonnie left for the weekend to go to her grandparents' house without her toys. Her parents had gone out for the night, so they decided to gather together in the living room while Rosetta waited for her dad in the bedroom. Woody saw her and walked over.
"Hey sweetie, where is everyone? I haven't seen them since mom and dad left."
"I think uncle buzz said something about a movie night. Rosetta said. I was going to go down there if you'd like to join me."
"I'd love to." They walked down together, but when Woody saw all of them gathered on the floor, he stopped. He looked and saw that the TV was off.
"Hey gang, what's going on?" Woody asked.
"Woody, we've gathered here tonight because we're concerned about you." Buzz said.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're holding an intervention, against me?"
"Not against you, Woody. Jessie said. We're doing this because we're worried about you."
"We've noticed you've been kind of restless since Rainbow Hill and we want you to know that you can talk to us. Bo said. We understand that you went through a lot that day."
"I mean going up against Lotso again, facing your old bullies again." Jessie said
"Having Lotso put Rosetta in the middle, making her decide who to save." Buzz said.
"Guys..." Bo warned.
"What about a big part of your past being exposed?" Potato Head said.
"Or going back to the place where it took place?" Hamm said.
"Okay, fellas. That's enough. A lot of stuff happened to trigger you, Woody. Bo said. But you don't have to go through it alone..."
"Stop. Just stop! Enough!" Woody shouted, surprising everyone. "I've already lived through those events once, don't make me relive them again!" Woody balled up his fists and closed his eyes.
"Woody, sweetie, please talk to us. We know what happened affected you but..." Bo began to say. Woody's eyes snapped open.
"But you don't, Bo. I'm sorry, but none of you do! None of you know how badly this affected me. None of you will ever understand how much being back at that wretched place bothered me! And then finding out that Lotso took it over?!" His breathing had intensified to the point where he was taking in quick breaths. "I've stopped sleeping since we were there. I've stopped sleeping because I can't sleep. Every time I try to sleep or close my eyes, I experience everything all over again. I hear Rumble telling me I'm weak and unwanted. I feel Shego's knife resting against my throat or being stabbed into my chest. And I see Lotso's fists coming at me, punching and kicking any part of me he chooses to. The worst of it all, is seeing all of you getting hurt, or watching Rosetta being put in the middle of a life-or-death situation."
"Oh Woody." Slinky said softly. Woody closed his eyes, more images floating around his head.
His sister and Buzz broken apart. His wife and daughter, shattered to pieces. All of his friends hurt or broken in some way. And the screams!
"Woody!""Woody, help us!""Daddy!"
Woody's eyes snapped back open. He had fallen to his knees and his family looked down at him, worried. The panicked stricken cowboy did the only thing he thought was best: wrapped his arms around himself and broke down.
"I'm sorry, gang. I can't do this anymore. I haven't been able to sleep for two months because I am so scared to relive that torture again. And it sucks, because me being this scared means that I can't do my job as a sheriff. It's gotten to the point where I'm starting to think I'm not capable of being a leader anymore." Everyone watched the cowboy as he shook, the tears finally falling down his face. Rosetta was the only one to move, kneeling in front of him. She took his hands, moved them away, and wrapped her arms around him instead. Bo and Jessie sighed sadly and rushed over, getting on their knees too and wrapping their arms around him.
"Woody, why didn't you tell us it was this bad?" Prickle pants asked. Dolly glared at him. "What? It's a valid question."
"Not one that needs to be asked right now, pants." Buttercup snapped.
"Yeah, you weren't there to see what happened." Dolly said.
"Would you three shut your traps? Chuckles said. This is not the time for stupid arguments."
"How about all of you shut your halfway pieholes?!" Jessie snapped. They all looked at her. She ignored their stares and turned her attention back to her brother. "Prickle pants does have a point though, Woody. Why didn't you tell us it had gotten this bad?"
"Yeah, Woody. We were all there. Hamm said. We all saw what happened."
"Yeah, all this time, we thought you had moved past all that. Potato Head said. That you had gotten over it."
"Well, I haven't. Woody said, holding Rose. What you all saw the last two months was me trying to be brave and hide the emotional damage that came from this. The physical scars are gone because they've been sewn up, but the emotional and mental scars have not gone away. My past life is not something I like to talk about and knowing that it not only came back to haunt me, but to also hurt my family bothers me to my core. I have kept that part of my life locked up because I didn't want it to impact or effect the life I have now."
"Buddy, what happened in your past, whatever exactly happened, it may have traumatized you then, but look how much stronger it made you today. Buzz said. You have overcome so much and have faced multiple villains who have wanted to tear this family apart. You are the head of this family and the wall that is keeping us safe."
"And what happens when that wall finally breaks because he is no longer strong enough to protect his family? What if another time comes when this family is threatened, and I can't stop it from happening? What happens then?" Rosetta wriggled out of his arms and stood up.
"Stop that, dad! Stop that right now. Rosetta yelled. You have got to get it through your head that everything that happens to this family does not rest solely on your shoulders! Yes, you are the sheriff and yes, you have a duty to protect the ones you love, but you don't need to burden yourself by taking responsibility for what happens to us."
"Rosetta Grace!" Buzz snapped.
"She's right, Buzz. Jessie said. I'm sorry to say that bro, but every time something bad happens to us, it is not on you. We love that you protect us, but you don't need to blame yourself when bad things happen." Woody stood up to face her.
"Who else am I going to blame, Jess?! It is my job to protect this family from threat. Whenever I fail at that, it makes me think I can't do that job and I'm left feeling powerless. And I absolutely hate that feeling. If I fail at the one job I've done my whole life, then what kind of leader does that make me?"
"The best kind of leader, honey. Bo said. Your failures make you a better leader, because you learn from them. Your greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time you fail. If you make a mistake or fail at something you thought would work, you do all that you can to right that wrong. That's what you've always done, because you never give up." She looked at the others quickly before looking back at him. "But honey, you really do need to wake up and stop blaming yourself for things beyond your control."
"Oh Bo... not you too." Woody sighed.
"Do not give me that, Woodrow Pride! Just look at what you've went through. Me getting sold, Sunnyside, Andy going to college, Rainbow Hill, those were all bad events that you have blamed yourself for, and you shouldn't. As a leader, yes, it is one thing to take responsibility, but that does not mean you blame yourself. Those things that happened, they were things that were far beyond your control, and not your fault. Mom decided to sell me, and Andy got older. Those were both things none of us could stop from happening. The problem you have is what happened with Sunnyside and Rainbow hill. You blame yourself for those two events when the person you should be blaming is Lotso! Lotso is the reason you are blaming yourself!"
"Wait, what? What…How? What does Lotso have to do with me taking the blame?" Woody asked.
"Because by blaming yourself, you are giving the person responsible power over you, which means power over your thoughts, your attitude, everything! By him having that power over you, you are making yourself a victim. That is why you are feeling this way, that is why you've been restless and thinking you can't be the leader we all know you are."
"Don't you dare call me a victim!"
"She's not calling you a victim, Woody! She's telling you to quit making yourself one!" Buzz snapped. "I have never seen you so beaten down on yourself and to be honest, it's scaring me, because I'm really worried that you're going to hurt yourself because of this. Please, Woody, this has got to stop. We want to help you, but we can't do that if you push us away or don't trust us to get you through it. You have made this family from scratch, dedicated your life to protecting and keeping us together, and left no time to take care of yourself. Let us take that responsibility. Because if you're not okay, we're not okay." Woody sighed and looked down.
"I, I just don't want to be a burden to anyone." He said.
"You're not, Dad. Rosetta said. You know you can always come to any of us if something is bothering you. That's what you tell me constantly."
"Yeah, we'll listen, Woody. No matter what." Slinky said.
"We've got your back, cowboy!" Buttercup said.
"Yeah, we do!" Hamm shouted. A few others agreed as well. Woody breathed in, his breath staggering.
"Thanks gang. Woody said. I love you all, so much." They all surrounded him, hugging him.
"Nicely done, gang. Buzz said. I think our sheriff is going to be just fine." They all started to disperse except for Buzz, Jessie, Bo, and Rosetta. Rose and Jessie hugged him tight.
"Thank you, guys, for the intervention. Woody said. I didn't realize how much I needed it."
"Anytime, brother." Jessie said.
"Are you going to be okay, daddy?" Rose asked.
"I think so, baby girl."
"Does that mean you'll actually try to sleep tonight?" Bo asked, walking over.
"I will, but can I ask a favor? Will you all sleep next to me?" Bo smiled.
"Of course, we will, honey." Jessie and Rose moved so that Bo could hug him. She kissed him lightly and rubbed his back.
"Let's go to sleep."
"One more thing. Not to pry or anything, but you will tell us about what happened the first time at Rainbow Hill one day, right?" Jessie asked. Buzz glared at her, but Woody waved him off.
"I promise I will, Jess. I will tell you that story when I'm ready. But after everything that happened, I'm not ready just yet."
"That's fair. Alright, let's go to bed." They all picked a spot on Bonnie's bed and snuggled close together. Rose lay in between her parents and Buzz laid with Jessie next to Woody. They felt the bed move and soon were surround by the rest of the gang who cuddled up to them as well. Woody looked around him at his friends, his family, and smiled. He lay against the bedsheets and closed his eyes, finally feeling at peace for the first time in two months.
*And that's that. I hope you all enjoyed this. I may do another short about what happened after the storm, but we shall see. I also have a story written up about the toys running into Sid again and Sid taking his revenge out on Woody. It's a bit dark in some parts, but should I still post it? Let me know what you think. Till next time!