Lovely, lovely chapter. Haven't we all been angry with ourselves, our lives, others, whatever at 3AM to the point we are the most honest and also the most alone. The bit where she recognizes that elusive Something in Jim's eyes is particularly wonderful.
Fantastic last sentence. Fantastic.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the ending; I couldn't decide if that phrasing was too cheesy but I decided to just go for it.

I always kind of wondered what Jim's immediate reaction to finding out the wedding was off would be. Good insight here as I don't really recall many other stories taking it head on. Having him puke his guts out seems very appropriate.

Author's Response: Thanks! I have seen a lot of fics on this site that have Pam puking about Jim, but oddly fewer with Jim puking about Pam. It felt right to even the balance.

Where was all this attention when you were together Roy? Oh that's right, you were to focused on yourself and just coasting to truly realize how great Pam was. Now all of a sudden that she's new and interesting but more importantly not with you, do yo finally notice.

Okay, now that's all out of the way. Roy's thought process is interesting here. Clearly he's not over her, and won't be for a long time. I like how you basically still have him in denial. All the lines that he's lying to himself that this is just a fight and she'll come back to him. I get the guy is hurting. However it looks like he's finally starting to see some of the why's of the breakup and that he had a much larger part to play than he might have first admitted. Always a pleasure reading this one.

Author's Response: As I mentioned a few updates ago, I think,  I am a little worried that my Roy seems so convincing, but I'm glad the thought processes here are sufficiently believable. Thanks!

This is, hands down, the most perfect version I've read of "Casino Night". I love the way you manage your PoV, and how you paint the whole picture putting all three together. Really beautiful.

"like reading closed captions lagging two to three seconds behind the action, the words not quite making sense". This is perfect. Just perfect.

And of course, Pam being silent was the worst.

Thanks so much for a wonderful update.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! That means a lot to hear. I tend to try to steer away from Casino Night since for AUs I like to go happy, but I've had a lot of ideas about it bouncing around in my head ever since I started writing on this site, and this is how they came out. I'm very glad it worked well for you, because I had a lot invested in this version.

Double update! Whoo! Okay now that's out of the way cause this chapter isn't really a "whoo-hoo" moment. Sometimes Pam is to nice for her own good and that's what I get here. Don't get me wrong I completely understand. The line "once you've kicked a puppy you don't feel comfortable coming at it with a 2x4," sums that up great. Given they still work in the same building it's clearly impossible that she and Roy would not see each other, but his insistence on showing up all the time would obviously make that harder, thus triggering all that we see here with Pam.

I think you're right there at the end. Roy is trying to save face, both with himself and with others. He knows he royally screwed up and he's trying to get everyone to see that so they'll pressure Pam to take him back. It might look like he's changed, but the way you have it, he's still the selfish guy he was before. Good on Pam for seeing that, even if no one else will.

Author's Response: Yeah, I figured I'd miss a day (see: yesterday) so I needed the double to tide the story over. And yeah, this is definitely the dynamic I see with both Pam (not kicking the puppy enough) and Roy (still being selfish). I'm delighted that the story I'm trying to tell is coming across so clearly for you; thanks for the consistent reviews, they really help keep me on track.

For a short-ish chapter, you did all three of them justice.

We'll start with Pam. That there could have been more to the "I can't," was inspired. Her feeling of shock and only being able to choke out those words seems very appropriate based on what we saw in canon and in all the chapters leading up to this. She's beyond deer-in-the-headlights here. You really get the feelings she's in a fog and doesn't know how to get out of it.

Moving onto Jim. Such a wide range of things we see here. From frustration, to a small glimmer of hope, to defeat. All the barriers he's had trying to carefully separate his emotions are utterly destroyed here. That last line in his section summed it all up so great. "If she couldn't even talk to him, there was no reason to stay." So easy to see how he reaches this conclusion.

Then there's Roy. No he's not the most observant guy, but after all this time at least on thing has sunk in. He finally figured out that Jim is interested in Pam in more than a friendly way. Makes sense that Roy would notice competition first. It's clear he's still thinking that Pam would never leave him. Why would he think anything else? He's been focused on himself and outside threats that the idea of a threat to his relationship from Pam isn't anywhere near to being on his radar. Looks like he's in for a rather surprising revelation in that regard.

I wish I still had some jelly beans to give to this story, because this chapter most assuredly deserves them. Great job.

Author's Response: Thanks! For me this was a longish chapter ;) though yes, since I did 3 it was on average short per character. I'm glad the treatment of this night for each worked well for you. For me this is one of those moments where choices I'd made while writing the rest came home to roost a little. Pam is sufficiently done with Roy, for instance, that I definitely wanted the "I can't" to be more than sheer intransigent disbelief. That was the biggest risk I was worried about here, so thanks for touching on it. 

Pam's turn to not get all the pieces. Though from how you set it up, it makes sense. That Pam can't quite get that Jim might have romantic feelings fits her considering her reaction on Casino Night. Yes there may have been hints in the past, Jim reviewing the grilled cheese on the roof for example, but I could see that in the midst of wedding planning Pam could have easily forgotten about things like that and gone back to the old habit of Jim's my best friend.

Roy is still Roy and it looks like Pam's starting to see that too. Good job with this one.

Author's Response: Thanks! It was really important for me that Pam not be ready for Jim's revelation on Casino Night, and this was my attempt to move her in that direction: aware that they're important to each other, but not really admitting to herself why or how much. 

Pam is a better woman than I! Mind you, I don't cook...but if I did, it would have to be for a better audience than Roy. Great depiction of the reality of the relationship versus the visual poor Jim had when he heard Roy's promise in the office.

Author's Response: I mean, she's also more of a doormat, sadly. Thank you for the feedback, and I'm glad that Jim's visual being wrong works for you (it certainly does for me..)

Wow, Roy actually got a few more of the pieces put together here. Not all of them mind you, but more. Of course he's still an insensitive jerk. I mean if he's noticed since high school that Pam's been interested in art, and now wants to pursue that it shows that he's only in the relationship for what he can get out of it, not what he can do for Pam.

Again he thinks he's noticing things, but he's not really. Pam's still his girlfriend, not fiance. He's more worried about how he is perceived and that he's getting a raw deal than what Pam thinks or wants. That the fact that he can't even fathom that Pam might leave him shows just how unobservant he truly is. Well done for again being able to get all that out.

Author's Response: Thank you! It's interesting (though disturbing) to occupy that Roy headspace each time: trying to weigh exactly what he'd notice versus what deeper subtleties he can't even realize he's not realizing. Thanks for reading!

He knows her and yet he doesn't. Again your ability to have Roy see the surface issue but have no idea about what a level or two down is great here. And then when he does try to do something, his first instinct is to get something HE'D like before he thinks of things she might like. That he doesn't even stop to seriously consider changing his plans to be there for her shows he's still just an overgrown teenager. As much as I don't like Roy, you write him very well.

Author's Response: Thank you! I feel the same, which means it worries me that I have an easy time dipping into the ethos of "eh" that I see in him. Hoping it's not reflective of my own life! Your feedback is always well-thought-out, thank you.

It's funny that he realizes that getting the groceries is a way to get on her good side...but if she needed them last week it's probably way too late. That whole part made me laugh a bit because it's so typical. Very realistic.

Author's Response: Yeah, I'm a little afraid of what it means that it's so easy to tap into the Roy vibe of "almost but definitely not quite." Thanks for reading!

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Roy makes me think about my ex, and your take on him is as if you knew him on the flesh

Author's Response: Well, I hope those thoughts aren't too unpleasant, because I hope you're enjoying the story, but I really appreciate hearing that I'm doing a good job of conjuring out a Roy-like feel from these chapters. Thank you.