You know, time travel really is stressful! I'm glad Pam's trying to stick a few steps ahead. Although I can't help but worry what it means that Aunt Janet isn't going to call Original!Pam now... that feels like a loose end that could come back to bite them...

This was a very effective use of time travel here to make a point about Pam's emotional journey. Whether she's living it twice or not, she knows the future with Roy, and it's pretty boring and often unpleasant. I also thought you did well with the ski trip - that seems spot on for how little Roy would tolerate wedding planning getting in the way of literally anything else he wants to do, and the way in which "compromise" with them almost always just means Pam loses.

Jim being a significant presence in this one place she has to herself in their home was a nice touch.

Loved the shout-out to Virtus, and also appreciate that you ended up using it to solve a pretty considerable problem for Pam.

Looking forward to getting more of her adventure here!

Author's Response:

Is it a loose end or a red herring?- Only time will tell.

Yea, that girl is always having to make excuses to herself for him. He really does suck. Too bad she has better vision now but still isn't quite seeing it.

Had to drop in a little Jim some way -and then getting to do it again and have both him and Dwight help solve an issue she didn't know she'd be having - and get to hint at V by way of it - well I'll admit it was fun to write.

Thanks as always for the review! 

Loved the reference to Virtus there. Just wanted to get that out of the way at the off.

So back to fog filled confused mind Pam. The analogy of the bruise was very apt I think. It's something that's wrong, but it only hurts if you prod at it and you can very easily hide it and pretend nothing is wrong. That is unless it's deep tissue bruise in which case it's a lot harder to conceal what with all the limping and such. Great job coming up with that comparison.

Yet again it's thought's of Jim that are her source of comfort while thoughts of Roy are a source of irritation. There's a pattern there Pam, might want to think about it some more. It could turn out to be the proverbial ice pack that bruise of yours needs.

Nice job with all this. I applaud that you're sticking with it considering all the complexities of time travel you're facing here. Really well done. Also I caught that quick reference to Christophers as well. Please tell me Roy has balked every time Pam suggested they go there and thus it's a Jim and Pam only place. Please?

Author's Response:

I love being able to drop in little bits like that - as that little section came about it was immediately what I thought and I figured I knew others would too so why not lean into it.

I was pretty fascinated with a recent bruise that i not only had but had no idea where it came from - that little thought process became the bruise analogy and I'm glad you liked it.

You caught the Christopher's - don't worry just one more flaw of Roy's was he never took her there...so yes, only a Jim and Pam place.

Thanks as always for your review!

1

Really enjoying this and hope the next chapter will be up soon!!

Author's Response:

Your wish is my command. 

Just so happened to be ready to post today. 

Thanks so much again. I'm so glad you are enjoying it.

1

Ok, I’m very behind on this - but also very pleased that it meant I had several chapters to read! I’m continuing to just love this, it’s so much fun. The Pam and Michael scenes are a delight, I think I could just keep reading these even if there was no Jam (I also really like that time-travelling Michael’s main efforts on Booze Cruise were to stop what he caused: you’ve got the balance between him being completely infuriating and then his moments of sweetness, e.g. with Pam comforting him in the car, so perfect). I also love how well the inclusion of Randall works in this, and the fleshing out of his character (his wife giving Michael 3 strikes, and Pam later adopting that, is genius). Also: “Your best behavior, whatever you think that is, make it even better than that” is just the instruction Michael needs always.

But back to the Jam: Pam hearing Jim describing her as warm and funny is just exactly the moment from that conversation with Michael that I would’ve loved for her to hear, and I thought you wrote it so well with her only catching those couple of tidbits. I’m continuing to enjoy the slow build of her confusion / realisation about Jim, it feels very realistic - also lol at this being the point where Michael suddenly learns to keep a secret. Tell-a-Michael really made me chuckle. The reveal end of this chapter about Roy’s potential motivations from Janet is painful, as is the fact that Pam then tries to dismiss that because they’re getting married…again, it feels very realistic and in character, but just ouch. Come on Pam!

I for one am really glad that it’s all about the journey as it means more to read - can’t wait for the next chapter!

PS I also adored the little glimpse into Dwangela - “Monkey, looking forward to showing you who the real captain is” is just so grossly, brilliantly, Dwight.

Author's Response:

so glad you like the Pam/Micheal bits as this story is not just about the Jam relationship but about theirs too - and we'll be with them without Jim for a while (but not without thoughts of him - I promise)

Also glad you like how Randall is tied in (and his wife) - they have a bit more to come.

thanks for coming back - I do adore reviews and getting your thoughts. 

Happy holidays  

"telegraph, telephone, tell-a-Michael." I lol'd.

You know what? I understand why it's frustrating Pam, but I think Michael deserves a little credit here. For once, he has actually learned from his mistakes and he is not digging the hole any deeper. I'm proud of him. Maybe time travel really is helping him grow?

"looked back at her husband who locked eyes with her in a silent communication that reminded Pam of the way she sometimes passed messages to Jim without ever saying a word." Ugh. OPEN YOUR EYES, PAM. Come on. You can't tell that's meaningful? *grumbles* But seriously - very true to them, and feels like something she'd be thinking about here.

That's actually kind of an interesting relationship test. Could you tell them you think you're stuck in a time warp? Would they believe you? And it's a good note working in Pam's canonical belief in ghosts here.

Oh, Michael. I half expected him to ask Pam for another drink of water here. Pam's lucky to have Gabby there - maybe between a surrogate Mom and a surrogate teacher they can get him to behave.

His point about the grill is kind of smart in a round-about way! Surely regular timeline Michael would notice that his grill was gone, it would be chaos. A whole episode on its own. Wondering if his note idea is going to end up having repercussions.

"only his birthing process was the trip through time and what he forgot was what a baby he himself had been that whole day." LOL. He really is a little boy in this chapter, in a very enjoyable way. I love his spy caper.

Ugh. Poor Pam. She really gets hope dangled right in front of her and then yanked away here. I'm always interested in her relationship with Roy's family, particularly post-Superfan episodes now that we know she's pretty comfortable with Roy's mom. Casts some of her decisions in a different light knowing how intertwined their lives were.

Author's Response:

I truly appreciate your enthusiasm for this story - so much.

That seems to be the line for this chapter - all three review mentioned it. Glad you liked it.

Michael tries to do the right thing, sometime however when he tries too hard that's when things go off the rails...not saying it's going to happen here but certainly what happened in a particular episode that had an Elvis impersonation.

Open your now with perfect vision eyes, but that's the fun of this whole experiment - to bring up all the things she hasn't been able to see.

A test yes, but there might be more to it than that and that's all I'm saying.

Hope you like Gabby, she's kind of the Beth of this story. Every story needs a good OC.

NOw I am a little behind in those superfans, in truth I half avoided if only to not uncanonize things I'd written for this... then I went and watched Booze cruise  and used a tiny bit of it (Ryan in bathroom). But I'm rectifying that now. JUst hope it doesn't bite me.

Thanks again for always leaving such detailed and enthusiastic reviews. 

*It was in that situation it was fortunate Michael’s mind was in so many ways like that of a child’s, in that the circular logic was enough to end the discussion, at least temporarily.*

Loved this.

The George Foreman grill! lmao

*It was enough to make her want to hug him, and so she reached over and wrapped her arms around him in a clasp full of emotion. Michael, first stiff with resentment, after seconds in Pam’s arms, released the firm hold of his limbs and leaned into her embrace. His head felt like lead as it dropped onto her shoulder, as if holding the weight of everything they’d been through and all that he’d done.*

This is so soft! Love how Pam is with Michael in this story, it all feels very IC. I'm enjoying this ride! Excited to see what's in store next!

Author's Response:

I love the Michael and Pam relationship almost as much as the Jim Pam relationship and I've maybe said it before but this story is as much about that relationship as it is about Pam/Roy/Jim.

Thanks for your words- always love to hear.

Thought you did well establishing Pam's disorientation here - and how it extends beyond just not knowing *where* she is.

Maybe it's having just spent the weekend with my nieces and nephew, but I found myself particular amused by Pam's parental exasperation with Michael here - how she tires of the constant whys and needs to be constantly warning him to be behave himself. Of course, he also has the childlike ability to accept this bizarre situation for what it is, so maybe he's not the worst possible partner for time travel. (Angela. Definitely Angela.) Wondering what Pam's corrected eyesight means going forward...

I honestly feel a little bad that Current Michael is getting yelled at for such an innocent mistake with the car here... I mean, *he's* not the one who ruined those folks' evening, that was... you know. Past him. And this reminder of Roy's less admirable tendencies right on the heels of all of this sounds like just the ticket for Pam.

Yikes. That's a bullet dodged with Angela. Not that she would've bought the time travel, but she definitely would've made a HUGE fuss about seeing Michael and Pam in whatever she assumes is a compromising position.

Of course, I'm also kind of with Michael in assuming that having a spare two weeks feels like a good time to do something he might not otherwise have time to do. If he's got to stay out of sight, why not learn a new language? I know it's pre-Duolingo, but I think he could make some progress.

Yikes. With great power comes great responsibility, and with knowing Michael Scott is time travelling means accept him as a houseguest. Poor Randall!

Author's Response:

Yeah well I feel like I wake up often that way, wondering how did I get here (ie - where did the time go) and I'm not a time traveler so I just pumped it up a notch for what Pam is going through.

Pam is kinda a surrogate mother to him even when they are not time traveling so this is just par for her course. 

As for the eyesight - it began as a way to simplify things as the contacts could have been a sticky thing to work in and when you can mess with logic and rules of the universe you are creating - well then why not? We will see if it has deeper meaning in the future (of this story).

Yeah I felt bad for Michael too which is why I had Pam hug him - aside from wanting to work in another near miss.

Ok - this is Michael we are talking about - you know how they say youth is wasted on the young - well time travel is wasted on the .. you know the rest.

Poor Randall - think of poor Gabby, his wife.

As always a big thank you for your review. 

1

My two favorite things, the office and harry potter! I am really enjoying this story. Thank you!

Author's Response:

Thank you for coming on the journey and sharing your review. It truly makes me happy to hear.

What always fascinated me about JK Rowling and her story besides all the fun magic and wild imagination was her ability to weave together things across 7 books and how things introduced had a way of coming back later.

Hope I do just a fraction of that. 

Thank you again for reading and reviewing. 

"He’d told her to make sense of the future you had to revisit the past."

This is it. For me the key line for this chapter. Future Pam is still kind of running around not really knowing what to do. Her head says she wants to watch Roy have his big moment, but it feels like her heart is still pulling her another way. Not that she's ready or willing to really listen to her heart right now.

However it's Jim's words, not Roy's that resonate with her. Especially when she hears that his feelings are still very much in the "present," not a discarded crush. Very much a bit thing. Then of course due to habit and denial her hand goes to her ring. Almost as if that circle of gold isn't so much a promise for a better future, but a cage holding her heart from true joy. I mean the only times she seems to acknowledge it is when she's worried or upset and that worry triggers more anxiety. If her current ring is supposed to be a symbol of her feelings towards Roy, well it's actually fairly accurate. It's leaving her with feelings of uncertanty rather than comfort for what may come.

So now there's some time before Future Pam catches up with her own timeline. Really curious to see what's going to happen here. Past Pam will be off in the Poconos leaving Future Pam to do what exactly? Really looking forward to seeing where we go from here.

Author's Response:

Well that was a big ol' chunky chapter of goodness! Lots going on here, some great descriptions around Pam's fear of losing Michael, Ryan's "woah" moment, and that ongoing river in Africa we call denial. Great stuff, Lady!

Author's Response:

"Chunky" chapter comes later but you know that. LOL.

Hope you enjoyed all the new additions to this one since your last read - and the subtle little line that is a call forward to something in the later one you just got. 

Hope I messed up Ryan a little bit - he can use a little taking down a notch (although he really wasn't all that bad yet in the show.)

Thanks for taking time to read both then and now again.

“There was one voice she knew could shut hers up so she asked him to take a walk with her, but instead of a diversion, she got silence. Silence so loud, she had to return to the rowdiness of the crowds to stop hearing it.” —Ugh this part was so good.

I love how you had her focusing on spinning her ring on occasion. It ties in wonderfully with the underpinnings of the true reason she does it and the time turner in this story.

And of course it’s always humorous when she has to essentially babysit Michael and now he is an errant child. Great job!

Author's Response:

Thank you - thank you - thank you - you know how much I love reviews and hearing the parts you enjoyed.

This was one of my favorite lines too.

Lots of spinning in this story, lots of circularity and much more symbolism to come. 

I've said before this story will be so much more than Jim and Pam's - Michael's a big part throughout - among other reasons because he is is so fun to include.

1

I like a lot of your Pam inner monologue in this chapter, it's like she knows something is wrong with her life but isn't actively facing it. It's a lot easier to swallow this way than a Pam who seems actually happy. I really hope you are doing Past Pam's inner mono when Roy sets the date next chapter because I always wonder about that Pam.

*There was nothing exciting about a wedding that wasn’t being planned or a fiancĂ© who after asking her to marry him three years ago, seemed to have forgotten he had.*

Ouch. See, I would love to see her thought process going from this to the next phase.

*Solitude, it was a treasure for some, not always for Pam. There were times when the subtle voices in her head that formed questions about her choices got a little too loud when there weren’t others around to drown them out. *

This is so good. Ignore, deny, look the other way. Now that she's being forced to watch some of this stuff it'll be interesting to see how those things might change...

Author's Response:

Pam is pretty complex in these early seasons - I think she believes that she is truly happy and she even has moments of true happiness - but it's pretty apparent she really isn't satisfied with where she is at in love or life. I'm just trying to bring that out a little more.

This episode actually showed it well - she went from 'not getting Roy' to one of those pure joy moments; even if it was misplaced/false happiness I saw it as real.

That's what she's been doing for so long she's become an expert at it - so it's going to take a whole lot of being forced to confront it to break the spell.

Thanks as always for your wonderful reviews.