Archive of Our Own

Sid walked into Bonnie’s room with her, talking to the fifteen year old girl about the toys he’d come to collect. “You still have them all?”

“Of course!” Bonnie enthused, stopping and watching as he set down the large plastic bin he’d brought with him, to pack them up. “You said on the phone that you wanted to pack them up yourself, and that’s fine. They’re either on my shelves or in the toy box. I tried to condense them all, after we talked.” She gestured around the room and added. “Some of these aren’t from him, but you’re welcome to take any toy you like. It’s not like I play with any of them anymore.”

“Thanks.” Sid was already scanning the room, looking for Andy’s old cowboy, Woody. “I’ll be as quick as I can. I don’t want to disrupt your day or anything.”

“No worries. I’m heading out anyway.” Bonnie did her own look-around, a wistful smile on her face, before she told him. “I hope your kid loves them as much as I do.”

Sid nodded and Bonnie grabbed up her purse before heading out of the room. Sid could hear her calling goodbye to her mom as she thundered down the stairs. As soon as he was sure she wasn’t going to come back for some forgotten item, he turned back to the room at large and said. “Alright, cowboy, where are you hiding? I promised I’d bring you to Andy and that’s what I’m here to do, but I could use a hand rounding all these toys up.”

Nothing happened.

Refusing to give up, Sid closed Bonnie’s bedroom door and tried again. “Come on now, don’t be shy. It’s not like I haven’t seen you up and moving around before. I don’t have time to play pretend here.” Huffing, his tone got a little sharper as he added. “Dammit, Sheriff...where are you?”

A tiny throat being cleared caught his attention and Sid looked up. Standing on a high shelf to the left was a tiny cowgirl, with a star-shaped sheriff’s badge pinned to her chest. “Sid?” She asked, seeming uncertain but with her chin raised stubbornly as though she were trying desperately to be brave. “Are you Sid Philips?”

“I am.” Sid confirmed, going over to her and lifting her down so he could talk to her more easily. “And you’re not exactly the Sheriff I was looking for, Miss. Where’s Woody?”

The little redheaded cowgirl sat on the edge of Bonnie’s desk when Sid placed her on it. She watched as he sat on the desk chair, then explained softly. “Woody’s gone.”

“No.” Sid frowned and shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. Bonnie said she still had all of the toys that Andy gave her. That includes Woody. He has to be here.”

“I’m sorry.” The toy shrugged, looking helpless. “I’m Jessie, by the way. And Woody’s gone. He’s been gone since...oh, maybe a year after Andy gave us to Bonnie? I doubt she even remembers Woody, which could be why she didn’t tell you she doesn’t have him anymore.”

“A year after...” Sid wasn’t sure what to say; what to do. “But...I made him a promise. I swore I would bring him home to Andy, when we had kids. We...the baby is due in a few months. I...I can’t bring you guys home to him without Woody, that’s not...dammit, what happened?”

Jessie swallowed hard, then softly explained to Sid about Bo Peep. About them losing her...and about Woody finding her. And about Woody’s decision to stay with her.

And Sid...Sid understood. Because if the way Woody felt about this porcelain Bo Peep was anything like how Sid himself felt about Andy...yeah, okay. He definitely got it. It just complicated matters, was all. Sid pondered the whole mess, even as he had Jessie round up the other toys, putting them all into the big bin so he could take them to his car. When Jessie admitted to a fear of boxes, Sid offered to carry her out on top of the lid.

Once they were in the car, Sid placed her on the front seat. He also popped the lid off the bin before he started driving, calling out to the toys. “Look, I need to know everything about that damned carnival that Woody and Bo Peep stayed with. I need to know where you guys were, and what year it was, and if any of you saw a name or signs or anything. So everybody who was there that night needs to start talking.”

Jessie sat up and cocked her head, then asked. “Why do you want to know all of that?”

“Because.” Sid admitted, even though he knew it was a long-shot. “I’m going to find Woody if it’s the last goddamn thing I do. I have a promise to keep.”

~*~*~*~

“I just...I have to go, okay?” Sid tried to step around his husband, but Andy folded his arms over his chest and deliberately blocked the doorway to their son’s room. “Dammit, Andy...move.”

“No.” Andy snapped, and Sid silently cursed the fact that his husband was so stubborn. “Sid, I just...I need you to talk to me, okay? Because this is worrying behavior. You go gallivanting off on these one or two day trips, sometimes coming back with odd toys for Benji and sometimes coming back empty-handed, but you won’t ever tell me why. Or where you’re going. I don’t...Sid, I don’t understand and I want to. I really do. It’s gone on for too long now and I’m done watching and staying silent.”

“This has been you staying silent?” Sid snarked, because it had always been his first line of defense and he had no idea how to explain what he was doing to Andy. Not without betraying the toys who trusted him.

Andy growled. “Not funny, Sid.”

Sid was still struggling for words when Jessie squirmed her way half out of the messenger bag slung around his body and tugged on his shirt. He looked down instinctively and Andy did as well. His husband was staggering back, gasping in shock, as Jessie spoke. “It’s okay, Sid. We can tell him.”

“Wh-wh-ah...?” Andy was breathing oddly, and had backed himself clear across their upstairs hall, into the far wall, where he was leaning as though his legs no longer wanted to support him. “She...she...”

“Hello, Andy.” Jessie said, waving a little shyly, which was odd considering her normally exuberant personality. But then, Sid remembered how cautious she’d been with him, at first. “I’m sorry if I scared you. It’s just that Sid’s been trying so hard to find Woody for you, but he didn’t want to say anything in case he couldn't.”

“I know it’s a lot.” Sid told his husband, approaching Andy slowly after setting the bag - and Jessie - on the floor in Benji’s doorway. Getting too close to Andy with a living toy while he was still adjusting might not be a good idea, but Sid wanted to comfort and reassure the younger man. “I’ve known since I was ten and the second time Woody and I interacted - right before you started college - was...god, it was terrifying. But Jessie’s a good toy, and she and the others have been helping me for over two years to try to track down Woody. He and Molly’s old Bo Peep - from her night light lamp - were traveling with a carnival the last the toys saw them. Hence all of the trips.”

Andy looked down at Jessie, who was standing on the floor and staring up at him with wide eyes and a worried but hopeful expression on a face that shouldn’t have been able to show anything. And he thought about Woody. About all of the time his cowboy had seemed to say exactly the right thing, when his string was pulled. He thought about every time he’d misplaced Woody or another toy and it had seemed to show up again, just when he was on the brink of believing all hope was lost. Remembered telling Woody all of his secrets when he was younger, and how it had always made him feel better. Remembered being torn, when giving Woody to Bonnie, but wanting the little girl to have him to love the same way he had.

Remembered the ache in his heart when Sid had shown him the toys he’d picked up for Benji’s nursery back when Hannah was still pregnant...and Woody hadn't been among them. He’d had no idea that Sid was still trying to track the old cowboy toy down, but now that he did...

Andy leaned in and caught Sid’s lips in a fierce kiss. When they broke apart, he glanced down to see that Jessie was looking away, her cheeks bright red with a blush. “You take care of him for me, Jessie. Don’t let anything happen to him while you two are on these little trips. I’m trusting you, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.” Jessie promised solemnly.

Andy bent down and picked her up, hugging her gently, fond memories surging to the surface. “Thank you, for helping him with this.” Andy told her softly. “I know you understand how much Woody means to me.”

Andy set her back on the floor and Jessie nodded, then told him. “He wouldn’t have gone, but it was Bo. For her...well, how could he not? I hope you aren’t mad at him for it.”

Andy looked over at Sid, then smiled at Jessie. “Yeah, I get that.” He stood and kissed Sid again, murmuring against the older man’s mouth. “Find him, if you can. But know that I love you for trying, either way.”

Sid nodded, then scooped Jessie and his bag back up. He walked backwards to the stairs, watching Andy as his husband stepped back into their son’s room. “Hey, Andy?” When Andy turned and raised an eyebrow, Sid said. “I love you, too. And thanks, for...well, for taking this so well. If you have questions, just ask Buzz. Tell him Jessie said it’s okay to talk to you. Might take him a few minutes to do it, but he will.”

Jessie nodded from her place in Sid’s hands. “Tell him the password is Sheriff Pride.” She shrugged when Sid looked at her in surprise. “What? It’s Andy and, since you knew, we decided to have a plan in place in case Andy ever needed to let any of us know he knew.”

“Clever girl.” Sid murmured. Andy was laughing softly, and Sid couldn't keep the smile off his own lips. He rolled his eyes at Andy, then said. “Go talk to Buzz. I’m going to go look for Woody.”

“Good luck!” Andy called after him as Sid headed down the stairs.

Sid hoped it helped because, after more than two years searching, he was slowly losing hope.

~*~*~*~

“Woody...Woo-oo-ood-ee-ee-ee...” Sid hissed out the call, which was kind of impressive considering the lack of sibilance in the name. “Come on, cowboy, you here?”

Jessie patted Sid’s shoulder from her perch on it. She liked riding up there and, after almost five years of searching empty carnival grounds in the middle of the damned night, Sid had given up arguing about the indignity of having a doll ride on his shoulder. Like he was some kind of stupid pirate and she was his parrot or something. The only saving grace was that there was no one around to see.

“Louder.” Jessie coached, patting him again. “And don’t forget to call for Bo, too. In case she’s closer than him or whatever.”

“I know what I’m doing.” Sid snarled, because he was tired, okay.

This had been a long trip to make, but the Potato Heads had seemed insistent that this carnival was the one with the same name from all of those years ago, and Sid had nothing else to go on. He was actually fairly certain they’d hit this carnival already, a couple of years back, but there was no arguing with the toys. Or Andy, who insisted they follow every single lead the toys spit out, now that he was in the know. And Sid wouldn’t be nearly so cranky if Andy had come with them. He did, sometimes, if it wasn’t too far. They’d leave Benji overnight or for two days with Hannah or Molly or sometimes both, or else with Annie, who was everything a doting grandmother should be. But Molly was seven months pregnant with Sid’s kid, and Hannah was out of town on business, and Annie was on vacation in Italy before her new grandbaby was born...so Andy was home with Benji and Sid was on a road trip with Jessie and he was just...so done.

He hadn't told anyone yet - not Andy, and certainly not Jessie or the other toys - but Sid was pretty sure this was going to be the last trip he took. Five years. And that was on top of the ten years since Woody had left the others, back when Bonnie was starting kindergarten. Sid knew when to give up; when something was a lost cause. He couldn't keep doing this forever, after all.

“Woody!” Sid called,a little louder, because if this was going to be the last time he did this, he wouldn’t let anyone say he’d given it less than his all. “Bo Peep! Come on, come on...please be here...Bo! Woody!”

“What was that?” Jessie hissed, and Sid stopped cold as she clambered to her feet, small hands grabbing Sid’s hair for support as she craned her neck. “Woody? Bo?”

Sid heard it too, a moment later. A soft jingle, like a tiny bell. And the sound of rapid, pattering, very small footsteps...and a lot of them. “Don’t think it’s Woody or Bo...” Sid muttered, though he was scanning the shadows as he spoke to Jessie. “That was definitely a bell just now.”

“Wait...” Jessie gasped, one hand flailing and smacking Sid’s face. Too lightly to hurt, but hard enough that it was kind of annoying. Then Jessie was raising her voice - louder than Sid thought he’d ever heard it - and calling out names he’d never heard before. “Billie! Goat! Gruff! Is that you, girls? Is Bo nearby? Come on out, it’s safe!”

Sid sucked in a stunned breath when three - or one? It was hard to say - sheep came out of the shadows, little porcelain legs moving fast and three heads letting out little bleats. Jessie whooped in his ear, then launched herself into a triple somersault off his shoulder, landing in a crouch in front of him and laughing delightedly as the sheep threw themselves - itself? Whatever - at her.

“Oh, girls, it is you! That’s wonderful.” Jessie turned to grin up at Sid. “These are Bo’s sheep. That means Bo and Woody have got to be around here somewhere.” She turned back to the sheep and asked. “Can you take us to them, girls? We’d like to talk to them.”

The sheep bleated happily again, then turned and took off running. Jessie let out another whoop, followed by an elated, “Yee-haw!” Sid walked quickly as she took off after the sheep, keeping his eyes locked on her bright red hat so he didn’t lose them. The sheep moved with surprising speed, and Sid had learned years ago just how fast Jessie could move when she had to. The sheep disappeared into a game-booth, and Jessie ducked under the decorative bunting as well. Sid, however, skidded to a halt and circled the front of it, peering over the counter.

“Jessie?” He hissed, eyes scanning the darkness. He swore under his breath and cut on his flashlight, shining it around in a desperate attempt to spot the cowgirl. If he lost her... “Dammit, Jess, where did you go?”

Suddenly the light reflected off of white porcelain. For a moment, Sid thought it was the sheep, but it wasn’t. It was a female figure perched on the shelf right behind the counter. She had blonde curls and was dressed in pale blue, with a pink bow on her head. A purple cape was draped around her shoulders and when Sid stretched to pick her up he realized it was a polka-dot material on the reverse side. Sid felt relief wash over him as he took in the shepherdess's crook, clasped in both hands and resting against her delicate shoulder.

Sid frowned, lightly touching the white tape binding the figure’s upper right arm...and the strip of purple tape bandaging her lower right arm. “You’ve been hurt. Well, that’s fine. We can fix this up with something better than tape when we get you home.” Sid set her on the counter, then leaned down a little until he was closer to her level, and added. “You’re Bo Peep, aren’t you? Molly’s Bo, once. Any chance I can convince you to talk to me, or will we have to wait for Jessie to tell you it’s safe, do you think?”

He glanced back over the counter and added. “Or Woody can come out and tell you it’s fine, I suppose, since I’d imagine he’s never far from your side these days.”

There was the quiet sound of porcelain moving against itself, then a faintly accented female voice. “You know Woody? And...and you’ve got Jessie with you?”

“Actually, Jessie followed your sheep into this booth.” Sid admitted, turning to smile at Bo. “Not sure where they got to, but they’re here somewhere, anyway. And I’m relieved as anything to see you, by the way. We’ve been searching for you and Woody for years.”

“Why?” Bo asked, frowning, She swung her cape off, then secured it around her waist with the polka-dot side facing out, so it looked like a skirt. She leaned on her crook and the attitude rolling off of her was adorable. “Who are you to Woody? Or to Jessie, for that matter.”

Sid grinned again, and it was a little dark and a little dangerous; the closest he got these days to the smile Bo might remember from when she’d lived next door to him, anway. “I’m Sid. Sid Philips. You might remember me, from when Andy was my neighbor.”

Bo’s eyes went wide and she took a quick step back, swinging her crook into a defensive position in front of her. “I remember you.” She snarled, crouching a little as though she might attack. “No toy could forget the sorts of things we saw you do to our kind.”

Remorse swept through Sid and he nodded. “I understand that. But Woody taught me a lesson on how to treat toys, and I’ve done better since then. Like this search. I promised Woody I’d come and get him when Andy had a kid, and I’m trying so hard to fulfill that promise, but Woody left Bonnie.”

“I had to.”

Sid turned, grinning at the sight of the cowboy he’d been looking for. Jessie was standing behind him, bouncing excitedly, Bo’s sheep at her side. “I get that.” Sid told him. “I’d follow Andy anywhere, after all. So I can get you doing the same for Bo. But it’s time to come home now.” He flicked his eyes to Bo, adding. “Time for you to come home, too.”

“Bo’s not interested in belonging to a kid again.” Woody explained softly. “And I’m sorry, but as much as I want to see Andy’s child, I...I can’t leave her.”

“What about Molly’s kid?” Sid asked.

“What?” Bo stepped forward again, something desperate and pained and hopeful on her pretty face. “M-molly has a kid?”

Sid and Jessie laughed, sharing a look. Then, Sid explained. “Hannah carried Benjamin for us, and he’s Andy’s by blood. Now Molly’s carrying my daughter - our daughter, mine and Andy’s - and she’s due soon. I bet when she’s old enough to understand, she’ll love to have something that was her carrying-mom’s when she was a kid.”

Bo’s face twisted up with sorrow. “A little girl...Molly’s having a little girl. For...for you and Andy?”

“That’s right.” Sid agreed. “Woody...he never told you about Andy and me? About how I’m the reason he decided to leave Andy and go with Bonnie? About how I promised I’d bring him home, when Andy and I eventually had kids of our own?”

Bo looked at Woody, stricken. “No. He didn’t.”

“I didn’t want you to feel bad, about what I was giving up.” Woody climbed up beside Bo, pulling her into his arms as he explained. “I wasn’t even sure Sid would ever come. It didn’t seem worth mentioning.”

Bo leaned back, dabbing at her cheeks, then said. “Do you want to go? To Andy and Molly’s children, I mean. Do you really want that?”

Woody looked torn, and Sid said the first thing he could think of, to try to convince him. “Andy can’t wait to talk to you. I mean, he loves talking to any of his old toys, but you...you’re the one he’s waiting for.”

“Andy knows?”

“We told him.” Jessie confirmed, settling herself comfortably against Sid’s arm, leaning on him in a casual way that said just how much she considered this human a friend. “We sort of had to, or he wouldn’t have let Sid keep looking for you, cause Sid wouldn’t tell him what he was doing when he ran off to check another carnival.”

“Kind of hard to explain, when I wasn’t sure you guys wanted him to know.” Sid pointed out, rolling his eyes at the little cowgirl who was probably his favorite of all the toys he’d met. “And I wasn’t sure he’d believe me if I couldn't get you guys to back me up with proof.”

“We’ll come.” Bo agreed, one hand on Woody’s shoulder as she nodded up at Sid. “Of course we will. I’d never deny Woody the chance to see Andy again. To be with Andy’s child.” She hesitated, then admitted softly. “And I want to see Molly’s daughter, when she’s born.”

Sid sighed in relief, then told her. “We’ll fix you right up, I promise. Glue your arms back together, and make you a new dress.” He blushed a little, admitting. “We have your lamp. I went by Second Chance Antiques right away and, thank god, they still had it.” He huffed and added. “Those damned ventriloquist dummies were creepy as fuck, but they helped us find the right lamp since that was before Andy knew so I couldn't exactly ask for help and Jessie wasn’t sure if she’d remember it.”

Jessie whooped, slapping her hat against her thigh. “This is great! The whole gang, back together...and oh, Woody, you’re gonna love Benji! And Andy’s gonna be pleased as punch to see you again, of course, and Buzz, and all the rest of the toys, too! We’re all super excited about the new baby, but you and Bo are gonna steal the thunder for a little bit, I’m sure.”

“Andy...” Woody breathed, looking awed. “I’ll really be able to talk to him?”

“After all this time? You’d better.” Sid joked, even as he opened his messenger bag and carefully placed Bo’s sheep into it before gesturing for Bo and Woody and Jessie to climb in as well. “Andy’s waited a long time for this reunion, cowboy. Don’t you dare let him down.”

Once he had the toys securely in his bag - along with some sort of weird action figure on a motorcycle and a tiny pocket-doll like Hannah had had when she was little - Sid headed back to his motorcycle. He was also holding an odd set of large plush toys - a duck and a bunny stitched together - who seemed overly chatty (and a little violent) but Sid wasn’t too worried about it. He trusted Jessie to control all new toys who entered his home, and Jessie swore she’d learned from Woody how to do just that, so things should only be smoother now that they had the original Sheriff back.

As Sid kicked his bike into life - all toys now safely tucked into the saddlebags, excepting Jessie who always rode with him since she still hated confined spaces - he couldn't believe he was finally bringing Woody home.

This...this had been a long time coming.

~ The End ~