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This feels very accurate to early JAM, and their banter is adorable.

Author's Response: Thank you! This is still one of my favorite chapters I’ve written. 

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Loved this ending and the series! Perfect way to bring it to a close.

D'aww. A very nice way of making up for some weird storytelling in the main canon with good sexy times thrown in. Love this series, glad you found a natural stopping place you seem happy with.

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Whew, ok. You made me even more angry at S9 Jim so good job there.

Pam I definitely feel here that she is lost aching drowning. And he is just not able to give her what she needs to feel right again.
He’s clearly not quite figured it out but he’s working on it. :/
“I'm going to do better”
Much easier to say than to put into action.

But the part that really had me angry at jim is where you have him coming home and completely disregarding everything and instantly taking her to bed.
I would, however, say that what you wrote makes so much sense. He’s coming home looking for action and not realizing things aren’t how they should be. Daft man that he is during that time.

At the same time pam is allowing it because she’s so desperate for normalcy, for that connection, to believe they are what they were.

But one thing is clear, neither of them are suffering due to a lack of love. Even in that short piece, where tension is high, its apparent.

I think this feels very realistic. And her being able to break down, in his arms, because of him (again) is the perfect ending.

It must have been so stressful and exhausting every day to have to come to work feeling so alone and with so much turmoil inside and have to put on a brave face for coworkers and cameras

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Lol! That fries/shake line ended up so cheesy but it works so well!

Wow, that was something. Nice addition!

Author's Response: Thank you, yes, this chapter was definitely a little different for me

This is still one of my favorite chapters of any fic ever. You nailed their characters so well and the thing with the mini golf commission always makes me laugh.

Author's Response: Wow, thanks so much! Yes, I quite enjoyed writing this chapter!

I love the writing style. You nailed Pam, and it's cool to see what happened before the cameras showed up at Dunder Mifflin. Nice touch with the golf pencil (which ended up in the teapot years later).

This scene from the 2006 chapter stood out to me-
"She bit her lip and pressed the pen tip back to the paper.

- Because right now, I kind of need my best friend.

Her eyes kept passing over the words 'best friend'. She had considered Jim to be her best friend for years now."

It's sad how Pam uses Jim for years as her emotional crutch in the pretense of being 'best friends'. It's evident he's attracted to her, since a normal guy would a) not seek companionship in a woman or b) throw in the towel after a few weeks of getting nowhere. Pam is either completely oblivious to this or willingly ignorant, since elevating with Jim would put and end to their 'great friendship.'

Rant over- Looking forward to more chapters!

Author's Response:

Thank you for your review! I had fun with the "pre-camera" chapters since I had a little more freedom to speculate on how V-day went for them, and really enjoyed the mini-golf chapter.

I don't disagree that Pam was getting a certain level of emotional fulfillment from Jim that she wasn't getting from Roy, but I do think in her mind she was able to put it all in the "friendship" category. In seasons 1+2, we are definitely seeing Jim and Pam's relationship from Jim's perspective and it's evident to the audience that he has very strong feelings for her but there are a lot of reasons it may not have been obvious to Pam. His actions and words with her are typically pretty subtle, and any time it started to even push the "friend" line she pushed back immediately, like in The Fight and The Client, not to mention there plenty of times Jim was on the verge of revealing his feelings but retreated, (Christmas Party and Booze Cruise) and when he did reveal his "old" crush The Secret, he did it in a way that seemed to leave Pam more confused and unsure than before.

Pam also always made it clear she was committed to Roy, she (pretty infrequently, really) complained about him but there was nothing that ever approached the level of "I'm considering leaving him", and Jim knew this.

(I'm a little concerned about the "normal guy would not seek companionship with a woman" statement because why not? They work in close proximity to each other, they are the same age and they have a similar sense of humor, it makes perfect sense that they are work buddies.)

My goal with the 2006 chapter was to convey the confusion she was having about her own feelings for Jim and Roy and everything. Jim was obviously more than just a co-worker she got along with, but even considering that she may have romantic feelings for him would have felt like "cheating" since she was committed to Roy (and loved Roy, though maybe not so much "in love" with him anymore), so for her I think "best friend" was the only acceptable designation to give Jim.

And yes, I would say Pam's side there is a bit of willing ignorance because elevating Jim would do far more than end their "great friendship", it would completely upend her life. She had been with Roy for a decade, he was an integral part of her identity even if it was increasingly evident that she had outgrown him.

A work (essay, I suppose) that I frequently reference when writing early Pam is The Pam Dichotomy by Scrantonbranch, I remember it when it was first written (I'm old :-P) and still think it's a great breakdown of the emotional struggle Pam was having.

Response over ;-) thanks again for reading and reviewing!

Kinda wishing the detailed sexytimes were in this chapter instead of the last! Even though OBVIOUSLY this is a wonderful. The awkward encounter with the neighbor was great. I love that Jim has no idea what it means until after it was over.
"Hey Michael, something's popped up and Pam and I won't make it in til lunch, alright?" Oh Jim, could you have thought of any worse way to phrase that to Michael?! snort!

Author's Response: Ha, sorry! I hope I put in enough hints that the reader can kind of fill in the sexytimes for themselves ;-) And yeah, you have to be careful what you say to Michael, he will find a "that's what she said" in just about anything.

Hi ladama. I'm so glad to see new work at this site. I'm really enjoying this story so far, but I am nervous about season nine. Boy, that was frightening to watch, wasn't it? Please continue with these glimpses at Valentine Day.

Author's Response: Hi Chirstina, thanks so much for reviewing and so glad to see new faces on this site! Glad your enjoying it, it's funny you mention season 9, that chapter is actually mostly written just because I wanted to get the sadness out of the way. It was a bit nerve racking to watch but when I rewatch it now (with the knowledge that it's going to work I do think the writers made a good call putting the Halperts through some marital trouble at the end there, it brought back some emotional weight (which was much needed, I may love the Office but I have to concede it got kind of silly and sitcom-like in the later years there). Jim and Pam never truly excelled at verbal communication, and I was actually kind of glad to see the writers finally address that. Anyway, the S9 is going to be a bit sad but I promise the last three will make up for it :-)