SAFEGUARD
By: Seiferre Quintesce / 2o1o

RATING: T
PAIRING(S): BFF-shipping
GENRE(S): Romance/Humor
WARNING(S): Some material not suited for children.
COMMENTS?: Yes, please. R&R to your heart's desire. I'll love you for it.
CONTESTS: None right now.
DEDICATIONS: To all you wonderful reviewers, of course.
DISCLAIMER: 'Toy Story' is © Pixar and Disney. I do not own it, or the characters, and only claim any non-canon characters as my own. This piece of fiction was created for entertainment purposes only, bearing no intent for profit or gain.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I know you all (Or most of you, anyway) are waiting for the next installment of 'We That Are a'Changin': Perspectives', and I promise you that I am more than 3/4 s of the way done with it. You'll have to forgive me as the first couple of minutes into the movie are sort of… Well, boring, to be honest with you, and it's quite hard to put into words, but I'm looking to have it out tonight after I finish at the movies. As always, if you'd like a personal reply to your review (i.e., an answer to a question or something), you can feel free to send me a message.

TODAY'S FOOTNOTES INCLUDE: Just a little note.

Everyone did attend Mr. Spell's "What to Do if You or a Part of You is Swallowed" seminar, eventually.

With the loss of two of their leaders, the toys in Andy's room were in too much of a flurry to get anything done, and really, none of them had the potential to lead. Who were they going to follow, Bo Peep?

At the very least, they organized themselves the best they could. After all, there were basic rules in Andy's room that the Sheriff had set down long ago.

Be in your places right after dinner.

Do not lift the toy chest lid until Andy goes downstairs for breakfast.

Always travel the room with a buddy.

If battery rations are low, keep as low a profile as possible until more supplies can be found.

Today, a week after their friends had come home, was Battery-Changing Day.

Woody, ever the brilliant schemer, liked to keep a system. It was less stressful to the old cowboy if he was able to keep tabs on anyone that needed to be refueled every couple of months or so. He'd developed an arrangement to work with that seemed well-suited for anybody. Batteries were passed down from those toys which were more used for playtime than others to the ones sitting at the bottom of the toy chest, ensuring that every last drop of acid was spent before the cells were thrown away. In a house with two young ones and a single mother who almost never had the time to breathe, it conserved resources and lessened the thought of any of their friends lying comatose on the ground for days, even weeks, before they opened their eyes again.

"Sir! Battery rations successfully retrieved, Sir!"

The toy chuckled, "Thanks, Sarge. At ease," and recovered the sock full of fuel from the miniature army men. "Everybody ready?"

"Affirmative." declared Buzz, who helped Mr. Spell find a place in line. His voice was somewhat muffled and his movements slow, a result of his excursion to rescue Woody from the clutches of a deranged toy collector. Woody frowned at him and bit the inside of his cheek. They needed Buzz's arms to help screw and unscrew all the battery compartments before anything could be passed down, and as a result, his batteries would almost always be the last to be replaced. The space toy graciously accepted this kink in the plan, to his exasperation, for no one had been able to come up with a better solution as yet.

He almost felt guilty. Buzz wouldn't need a battery change for a good 'nother three months if he hadn't gone and risked his neck to save him. Stupid little idiot.

As Hamm and the Potato Heads stood by for supervision, Jessie rapidly unscrewed the shells of plastic from RC, Spell, Robot, Mike, and the Toddle Tots fire truck to reach their compartments. The faint odor of burnt plastic filled the room, with the toys shuffling subconsciously as Bullseye pried each of the batteries out with the edge of his small hooves.

"C'mere, Space Ranger." The cowgirl grinned at him, brandishing the tool as if it was a rapier, "It's your turn."

"No." The Ranger and the cowboy deadpanned. Neither glanced up to see the confused look on Jessie's face as she let the screwdriver drop to her side for a moment, too preoccupied with looking at the doodlepad to care. They were, as always, in sync.

"Andy doesn't play with Mike that much anymore," Buzz was pointing to some note or another as Woody nodded in agreement. "We'll throw his out, switch in the fire truck's…"

"Now, wait just a cotton-pickin' minute, here!" Jessie stomped a boot to grab their attention and was only satisfied when she saw two sets of eyes peek up at her from the top of the pad. "You need your batteries changed too, ya know. No one wants you droppin' dead in the middle of playtime!"

"I will not." Buzz verified, shaking his head as he watched the last of the batteries roll onto the floor. "Let's get these guys back in shape."

Hamm and the Potato Heads stepped forward, each nudging a few batteries to a different toy or else grabbing some from the inside Andy's old sock. Jessie watched impatiently, wondering why it was that Buzz wasn't frozen on the ground, until the driver was swiped from her tiny wooden hands.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Jess. I need this." Her friend tossed it from one hand to another and kicked three batteries in front of him, unaware that the redhead was watching the pullstring in his back with indignant curiosity.

"For what?"

He, of course, never answered her, choosing instead to press his second-in-command down by the shoulders so that he knelt (Quite passively) in place before cracking the pure white plastic off his back with practiced ease.

She couldn't help but notice the way his tiny fingers brushed against the edges of the compartment, the slightest glimmer in his chocolate-colored eyes alighting as the man below him shivered.

Buzz's bulk shifted just the slightest as Woody pat his lower back (in comfort, she thought), and then popped out all three cells.

"I could'a done that." She was this close to kicking him in the shins. What made Buzz so different that Woody had to take care of the man himself?

"Jess, just drop it, okay?"

"No! Why did you call me for help with everyone else if you didn't really need it? I thought you were just gonna be too busy helping out the other toys, not keeping Buzz all to yourself!"

"Why are you getting so worked up about this?" Pop! Went the first battery.

"Because I don't like doin' things like this if someone else can do 'em."

"You were a big help, Jessie, there's no denying that. Pecos knows if I asked Potato Head to unscrew everyone he'd flip his hat."

"That ain't the point!"

Pop!

"Well then?"

"I wanted to be able to help Buzz, too!" She ground out.

And Woody chuckled at her.

One of the most personal things she'd said in the week that she'd started living there, and he was laughing at her.

"Ooh, cowboy, I'm gonna - "

Pop!

Beep-Beep-Beep! Buzz's controls whirred. His eyes, ablaze with energy, revealed themselves and Woody tugged forcibly from his standing position into a ferocious, passion-inducing kiss which he returned with fervor.

Mmh.

Mmm.

Jessie stared in shock until Buzz broke the kiss and offered his companion one of his cocky I'm-a-Space-Ranger glares, somewhat tinged with lust.

"If you ever even consider leaving me again, Cowboy - "

"Oh, shut up, you idiot."

Buzz was shoved to the floor.

Woody asserted his dominance as the Sheriff.

Jessie got the message.

Sorry, Jess, there's only one cowpoke around here man enough to handle Buzz Lightyear on a battery high.

FOOTNOTES: So that was just a little quickie to tide you guys over until I uploaded WTAAC, which will hopefully happen sometime tonight or tomorrow :3. I hope you enjoyed it!