1

Wonderfully (and frustratingly!) Pam, and also very realistic to their situation. It's very telling how much S2-S3 fanfic had their lives very naturally headed in a wildly different direction than the show ultimately did - and it's very important to point out that Pam, who Jim was always encouraging to go for more, ended up with about the same life as she might have had with Roy (albeit happier, with a better husband, and one who would be more supportive if she ever wants to go for anything else).

It's ALSO interesting how much this ended up bumping against canon s9 - where Jim (out of nowhere) wants a bigger life and Pam is the one who's comfortable.

This is the quintessential Pam showing her head - the one who can never quite be sure. Liked it very much.

10

Dude, thanks SO much for this. It was gorgeous and wonderufl and just...wow. As happy as Pam is right now, I can see this. I can see those thoughts going through her head, and her feeling a little bit guilty for it.

Keep 'em coming!

10

This is just perfect and something I've always wondered about and just - so, so perfect. Please keep going, because it's such a real, amazing premise.

I love that you're taking this approach. I think it's so real. The thing is, no matter where life goes, there's somewhere else it could have gone and it's okay to miss what could have been from time to time. From a personal standpoint, I've got a great man in my life and if we end up in a small town with a picket fence or if we end up living abroad, traveling around, I'll be happy just to share the experience with him, but of course I'll wonder what the other way would have been like. And I love that I've told him this and all he says is "okay, if we don't like how things end up, we'll work to change them."
What I'd be really interested to see is Jim's side, whether he wonders about another kind of life with her too. I'd love to see the two of them talking about this without it being a big drama of "Oh, so you don't want us, your family?" and it being a question of "is Pam going to pull a Joanna Kramer?"
I don't know what you have planned, and any way, I look forward to reading it, but if you'll accept my two cents, I'd love to read a story where the only thing that is written in stone is Jim and Pam (and Cece, of course). Anything else is anyone's guess. I'd love to see someone take us on that journey. If you're inclined, I wish you only luck.
Well, I wish you only luck regardless of the journey this story takes.