"She lifts her chin slightly, then gives him a wink that for some inexplicable reason distinctly reminds him of the way she'd gasped his name not two hours ago, her nails scraping his back, breath hot in his ear." Niiiice. ;)

And this is lovely: "This is who we are now...."

What a great way to describe how Kevin talks -- "enunciating each word as if his life depends on it"!

I enjoyed the double meaning of Jim and Pam's exchange toward the end, Jim's observation about Ryan, and Jim throwing Kelly at Ryan in retaliation.  Pretty funny.

As for the last line, yes, I think Pam is coming.  The question is if it will be in the next chapter or if you're going to make the readers (and Jim and Pam) wait beyond that. ;) 

I think the burning oil was a sign that dinner should happen later and they can fill their time in other ways right now.  But your way is fine, too. ;)

Nice chapter. :)  

10

Killer revamp of the PLoD. I am quoting this whole paragraph because it's so breathtaking. Good on you!!

"Would you really?" It's a whisper, maybe because on some level he's afraid that if he speaks too loudly, all of this will shatter around him, and he'll be back to staring at her beneath a flourescent glow that seems to exacerbate the sensation that every day that passes is hollowing out his heart, his psyche, turning him into a shell of the man he used to be -- a man who struggles in vain to reconcile himself with the fact that the woman he's in love with is marrying someone else.

GUH.

Author's Response:

Ah, thank you so much!  Seriously -- glad you liked the re-vamp; it's something I had in mind right from the start.  :o)

Thanks so much for reviewing!

All right!  I'm going to go to bed with the promise of some giving in to impulses in the next chapter. 

I like how you're getting things in there like Michael's Birthday.  I'm sure the timeline took some planning.

I'll finish tomorrow, I think. :)

Oh, yay!  How nice!  I love that she's going through a lot of emotion here; you've made it so clear how difficult things are.  I love also that Jim's giving her some space and just being the awesome guy he is.

This bit reminded me of part of the Merger's PLoD discussion: 

And then he's shocked to hear her say in a flat voice he almost doesn't recognize as hers, "Do whatever you want."

I assume it was meant to evoke Pam's "That's totally cool. You can do whatever you want."  In any case, that's what I thought of, and her voice then was very flat and not Pam-like.

Wonderful chapter.  I really should be getting to bed, so maybe one more chapter, and the rest tomorrow.  It's such a treat to have the whole thing available to read, though! :)

There's just so much about this that's great!  I admire your ability to tell a story so completely, immersing the reader in what's happening and what the characters are feeling.

It would make me feel inadequate as a writer, except for the fact that a) I never wrote a lick of fiction before about 14 months ago, nor do I recall any actual schooling in it, and b) it's okay for me to be a different kind of writer.  (Right? Right?)

But anyway, it's so...great. :)

Forgive me for taking so long to review, but I wanted to sit down and reread this one from the beginning, start to finish.  Loved the CN wrap up with the spontaneous proposal, what a brilliant idea!

I'm so glad you found the wherewithal to complete this, G7.  I know you were struggling once the angst/smut was done to get through to the conclusion, but you really did yourself proud.  Reading the entire story through is just a treat.  Thanks so much for another great job!

This is sooo good!  As I was reading through, many lines came to me as being particularly good, or apt, but...I'd have to re-read it to find them. ;)

You're really capturing Pam's thoughts here, I think.  She'd be so stunned.  Jim's thoughts, too, although he got less "play" in this chapter, were really good, and I love everyone's reactions to the situation.

Also, Pam's mom is a good mom. :)

It may take me a while to get through the chapters, but I will. :)

OMG I was shocked when I saw this updated (in the best way possible).  I loved how the story ended it was absolutely perfect take on Casino Night for this fic.

Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful story!

Wow!  What a treat to find another chapter of this wonderful story.  Also, to make Casino Night into "Proposal Night" was a stroke of genius!

Thank you!!!!

Wow, this is really one of the best stories I've read. I just found this site last week and your story was one that got me hooked. I hope you do post the last chapter...

Your dialogue is really funny, and true to the characters. I laughed out loud several times, and got teary-eyed also (yes, I'm a sap for Jim & Pam).

Author's Response:

Thanks so much, jkfan!  I fully intend to post the last chapter; I've sent it to my beta, who suggested a small change at the end, and as soon as I can get that revision done, I'll post.  Given the length of time I've allowed this thing to languish without updates (something I feel incredibly guilty about), I doubly appreciate your taking the time to review and offer encouragement; it does help to hear that somebody's interested in a final chapter.  :o)

I also appreciate your kind words re: the dialogue; I can't think of a higher compliment than that it's true to the characters -- so thank you!  (And you're in good company on this site; we're ALL saps for Jim & Pam.)  :o)

9

Welcome back! What a nice, pleasant chap. They're so content - I love it!

Author's Response:

Yikes -- when I went to respond to your review, I accidentally hit "report this"; I almost reported you for a violation, lol!  Anyway -- so glad you liked the chapter; there's one more left, then we're all done.  :o)

Thanks for reviewing!