A few hours after they'd left the carnival grounds, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson talked outside over drinks from the cooler, their daughter sound asleep inside the RV.

"So does this mean Jessie's the new Woody?" Forky whispered from Bonnie's arm. Potatohead, Dolly and Buttercup all rolled their eyes.

"No," said Dolly. "Once again, that is not what this means."

"Then what does it mean?"

"Means Woody picked the perfect time to check out," said Potatohead as he took out his ears. Jessie kicked him just hard enough to get his attention and stared him down with a look that said, Be nice for cryin' out loud.

"Well," said Rex, tapping his hands together. "What happens when Bonnie realizes he's gone?"

"She might not," said Buttercup flatly.

"Come on now," said Slink. "She went to the trouble a' packin' him, she's bound to notice sooner or later."

"'Course she'll notice," Jessie said.

She gave Buzz a sideways glance and saw his face seem to soften and fall at the same time.

"And when she does," he said. "She'll probably be upset for a little while, and then move on. She's going to be be fine."

Back when Bo had left, Jessie had said the same thing about herself and severely doubted it. She'd always figured if the day came she was separated from Woody, it would be even worse.

Yet here she was, completely believing what had been said.

Bonnie's parents went to sleep around midnight, and Jessie had a mind to do the same until she realized her favorite critter was nowhere to be seen. She searched the RV and asked around, but no one had seen Bullseye, and that meant he could have been lost, scared, alone, no idea what to do or how to get home. She felt her familiar panic setting in as she tried to recall when she had last seen him, when they had last stopped, before noticing that the sunroof was cracked open. She climbed up to look through it and, sure enough, saw Bullseye curled up on the roof, staring at the sky. She sighed in relief, but it broke a toy's heart to hear the way he whimpered.

Shoulda known.

"Hey, bud," she said as she climbed out onto the roof.

Bullseye looked back at her, but didn't move from his spot.

She mustered up a sympathetic smile as she went to sit by him. "Come on, Bullseye. It's gonna be okay."

She held his chin up to face her, but he just laid his head on her lap and kept on sulking.

"Could be a whole lot worse, ya know. He could be stuck in some stuffy display case with Stinky Pete."

Bullseye huffed in response.

"Yeah, heck with that ol' miser," she said as she started to pet his mane. "But it doesn't matter, 'cause Woody's with Bo instead, and you know how happy she makes him."

He didn't move, but his ears perked up a little.

"There we go." She smirked as he stared up at her. "And you know somethin'? You were always there for me, way before we met Woody. No matter how dark it was, or how scared I got, you helped me through it. So I'm gonna be here for you."

She heard the sound of hard plastic clicking on the roof, but didn't acknowledge it.

"And we're gonna be kinda sad for awhile, but we're gonna get through it, and then we can be just plain happy for 'im." She looked down at her badge and dropped her smile as Buzz approached the two of them.

"Nice night," he said.

"It's awful quiet."

He sat down next to her and patted the top of Bullseye's head.

"I think that's what people like about camping."

"It's gonna be even harder this time, isn't it."

Buzz frowned. "We weren't exactly prepared for this one."

"When this used to happen in Andy's room - when folks would leave - I was always just sad, and that was it. Now it's like I'm feelin' a million things at once."

"Like what?"

She stopped to form the words in her head. "Like I'm gonna miss him, and that's gonna hurt pretty bad, but I still feel like I'm gonna be alright."

"That's not quite a million."

"I also feel like I've got some big boots to fill."

"Well," Buzz said as he glanced at the badge. "Bonnie thinks you can do it, and personally, I trust her judgment."

Jessie chuckled, and then they both went quiet for a moment.

"Ya know," she said finally, looking out at the trees in the RV park. "I don't know if it works this way the whole world over, or the whole galaxy - but it seems like everything that's ever happened to me was for a reason."

Buzz furrowed his brow curiously.

"There weren't any other toys in Emily's room. It was always just me and her, till it was just me. And if that didn't happen, I'd'a never met Woody. If I never met Woody, I'd'a never realized what Pete was like, and then I'd never be Andy's toy, and then I'd never meet you, or Bo, or anybody in there." She nodded down to the RV. "Maybe this is like that."

Buzz stared in awe of how smart she was, until she shook her head and put a hand to her temple.

"Look at me goin' on about myself. What about you?" She put her hand back down as her shoulders sank. "He was your best friend."

Buzz smiled at her. "I still have a best friend."

Jessie's smile grew back on her face and she leaned against him, careful not to disturb Bullseye, and rested her head on his chest. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"And who knows?" he said. "We never thought we'd see Bo again. Maybe we'll run into them again one day."

"Sure," said Jessie. "Maybe when Bonnie grows up we'll all run off and join the circus with 'em. Till then, I think we can manage."

They looked down and saw Bullseye fast asleep on Jessie's lap, looking quite content.

Buzz regarded him fondly. "Best steed a sheriff ever had."