DISCLAIMER: The Office and it's characters are owned by other people, none of them being me. I'm simply paying homage to my favorite show. In fact, they should be flattered. But the truth is I hope that they never find this....please don't sue me.

CHANGING EVERYTHING MAKES IT THE SAME

I: FIND ME

There were times in Jim Halpert would sit and wonder where he lost track of his life.

True, he didn't exactly have a dream when he left junior college. He just knew he wanted to be happy, and while he figured out how to be happy, he'd gotten a job to make sure that he could eat.

Now, here he was, five years later, a paper supply salesman and happiness?

Well, it's nothing that massive amounts of alcohol couldn't solve. Thankfully, his co-workers were only too glad to help.

But the real perk, however, was that the next day he didn't have to think about anything but his massive hangover. Such was the case this morning, after having joined Meredith and Kevin at Poor Richard's the night before.

This morning Meredith had slipped him a horrendous mixture of...something completely disgusting in his regular coffee mug and a bottle of Advil.

"Trust me, it'll get your through the day," she'd said with a knowing smile.

And she was right, it was wearing down, but the flourecent lights were still killing his eyes and the throbbing in his temples barely let up at all. It didn't help that Dwight had decided that today he would check to see if his desk drawers were properly oiled by opening them and slamming them shut repeatedly.

So before he decided to jam WD-40 down Dwight's throat, Jim knew he had to get out of there. Grabbing his coat, he slipped out for lunch.

The elevator had nearly caused him to lose it this morning, making him choose the stairwell, where the lights never really worked anyway.

He let the door shut quietly behind him and he leaned his pounding head against the cool concrete, breathing evenly in relief. The quiet was wonderful and he wondered if there was any way that he could stay here until he fully recovered.

That was until the quiet was interrupted by the echo of a gasp followed by a loud sniffle. Jim frowned at this, since he had thought he was alone. He peered over the railing of the stairs down to the other flights below as more sounds drifted up towards him. Someone was crying.

The part of him that was seriously in need of some peace and quiet told him to just turn around and go find a quiet desk in the back to lay his head against for a while. But the part of him that wanted to help won out and so he slowly made his way down the stairs. Maybe after he was done, he could take a quick nap in his car.

Near the second floor steps he found her, her back to him as she sat on the stairs, her head in her hands, the sounds of her sobs drowning out his footsteps.

Deciding to be cautious, he stayed well above her on the landing and cleared his throat.

"Hey, um, if you need a first aid kit, there's one in the hall," he offered, trying to make sure that she hadn't hurt herself somehow.

She whipped her head around, sending a piece of her hair into her eyes momentarily.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry," she said, the color rising to her face as she wiped her cheeks, standing up quickly.

Jim smiled at her and put his hand out to reassure her. "No, it's okay. It's just...you're not hurt, are you?"

She blinked at the question, as he stepped closer.

"No, I'm fine," she said, everything about her demeanor betraying her words.

He looked at her skeptically and the flurecent lights flicker a little, struggling to come back on, but ultimately give up.

She bites her bottom lip and looks at the ground, all the while tugging at the third finger of her left hand. She finally loses it, bringing her hands to her face as she ducks down onto the step again, fresh tears coming up.

Jim frowned, not wanting to leave her alone, he hesitantly moved to sit down beside her on the step. He reached inside his coat pocket, finding some napkins he's stuffed there ages ago, handing them to her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a hiccup. She wiped her eyes with the napkins while she took deep breaths to calm herself.

"I don't usually lose it like this," she explained with a small embarrassed smile.

"It's okay," Jim reassured her. "And hey, points go to you for creativity. Most people would choose the bathroom for a breakdown. The dark stairwell is an often overlooked choice."

She chuckled a little and it made him feel better.

"Sorry, I ruined it," he went on.

She shook her head at him, her hair falling in her eyes again in a way he was finding endearing. "No, really, I'm the one intruding."

Jim must have had a confused look on his face because she explained. "You see, I don't actually work here."

"Really?" Jim answered. That would explain why he couldn't place her face. She had looked familiar to him at first.

"So what made you decide that in all the buildings in Scranton, our stairwell was the best choice for your escape?" Jim asked, trying to get her to smile again. "Did you see our ad in Variety?"

"The ad did say it was Sienna Miller's getaway of choice," she replied, quickly picking up on what he was doing, even if there was a sniffle there.

"Which is why I always take the stairs," Jim told her, leaning towards her in a stage whisper.

They both shared a smile over this and fell into silence.

When she spoke up, her tone was more serious. "Actually, I'm here because this is the only place that I know he won't look for me."

Jim frowned at this. "Who?"

"Roy," she answered, "My...well, he was my fiancée..."

She didn't elaborate any further and Jim's mind was running through all sorts of scenarios. Why would she have to hide from her ex? Was she in some sort of trouble?

She seemed to know what he was thinking because she quickly backtracked. "It's nothing bad, I swear. Roy's a great guy. He's probably looking for me to make-up. Because I just kind of...broke up with him."

Jim didn't really know how to respond to that, but he didn't really need to since she went on, words coming out in a big rush.

"And it was all over something so stupid. We've been together for ten years and I just...ended it. We were just sitting in the kitchen and he said something about going up to the lake on the weekend and it suddenly stuck me that I don't paint anymore. And that reminded me of that movie "The Notebook". That girl didn't paint anymore because she'd given up all the things that she wanted to make other people happy and I remembered that had always made me cry because I knew exactly what that was like. Except that I don't have some lost love that I left behind. I left myself behind. And Roy didn't get that. So, I told him we should just...take a step back or something."

She was twisting the paper napkin in her hands and staring at the end of flight of stairs, but Jim could see the tears starting to form again.

"Not that it's a great stretch to do that. We've been engaged for two years and he still hasn't set a date. But he thought I was just talking and didn't mean it, so I took the bus down here this morning to tell him that I'm moving out and...he...well, at any rate, I just ran away. I know he went after me, to apologize or something. I waited until I saw his truck leave to sneak in here. He wouldn't think that I stayed in the same building where he works at, so..."

She let out a sigh as she trailed off, as if she was finally getting rid of a weight that had threatened to crush her. It was then that she seemed to remember that Jim was even there and a flush once again covered her cheeks.

"Oh, God! I'm so sorry to just ramble on like that," she apologized. "You probably don't care about all my drama."

"Seriously, don't apologize. It takes a lot of guts to do what you did," Jim told her honestly. He gave her a lopsided grin. "And don't diss the drama. A lot of people make a decent living on it."

Her smile was really pretty, he thought, even if it was a bit sad.

"Besides," he went on, "Sometimes all you need is someone to listen to you. That's why psychology is the gigantic industry that it is."

There was a pause.

"Come to think of it, do you think I should start charging?"

She really laughed this time and it made him smile.

"I better go," she said then, letting Jim help her stand up and then walk her down to the main lobby. She peeked out the front windows to the parking lot before walking through the door that Jim held open for her.

"That's his truck," Pam said, pointing to the white Ford not far from his own Corolla. "He must be back already."

It suddenly struck Jim that he knew exactly who Roy was, and he remembered seeing her a few times in the past at one or two office parties. Almost simultaneously, he thought that this girl didn't look anything like what he had thought to be Roy's type.

"Do you need a ride or something?" he found himself asking.

She shook her head at him and gave him a small reassuring smile.

"No thanks. The bus stop is just down the street," she vaguely gestured towards the street.

They stood in the parking lot for a second before she spoke up again.

"Thanks. You didn't have to sit there and listen to me go on and on. I don't even know your name."

"Jim. Halpert," he answered, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

"Pam Beesley," she identified herself, her hand small but surprisingly strong in his own.

"Well, I hope that everything works out for you," Jim said, honestly hoping the best for her.

"Thank you. It was really nice to meet you, Jim."

"It was nice to meet you, Pam."

He waved to her as she walked out of the parking lot and found himself still smiling a little even after she was out of sight.

He wasn't sure he still had time to take a quick nap in his car, but as he finally remembered his hangover, things didn't seem so bad afterall.

Maybe Toby would let him hang out with him in the annex for a while.


TBC...

A/N: So this is a story that I've been writing for a while. Yes, I write everything by hand first. This is A/U, obviously, but I wondered what would Jim and Pam be without Dunder Mifflin in common....this is my experiment. I hope you enjoy it.

Please review (it's like CRACK!). Because I will be compulsively checking my reviews. Shameless. That's me. Thanks for reading.
cheers.
--Lex

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own anything remotely related to The Office. Nope. None of it. I'm just a humble (and poor) fangirl. Please, please don't sue me.

2: "SAVE ME"

It was a month later and Jim was doing the mandatory grocery shopping for the week. Mark had been on his case all week about it, but he finally got around to it today.

Absently he thought about Katy as he browsed the cereal aisle. She was a nice girl, not hard on the eyes at all and he liked her laugh. He honestly didn't know what had gotten into him, thinking to ask her out at the office of all places, but she had given him a thousand watt smile, and he felt lucky. She laughed at his jokes, and was happy to just hang out on his couch rather than going out. Sure, her conversation was slightly one sided sometimes, and her taste in movies left something to be desired, but no one was perfect.

He must have been standing there stupidly staring at Count Chocula for a while because he didn't even notice her standing next to him until she spoke up.

"You know they say that vampires will often hypnotize their victims before attacking," she said in a completely serious tone. "I always knew that the Count wasn't as harmless as he seemed to be."

Jim made an exaggerated gesture of snapping out of his trance and gave her a look of utter relief. "Pam! Thank God, you saved me! It was like I could see myself being drawn in, but couldn't do anything to stop it. Seriously, you're my hero."

She giggled at this, her demeanor completely different from what it had been that last time he saw her. "I can't believe you remembered my name! You probably refer to me as 'the crazy girl crying in the stairwell'."

"Nope, there's too many of those. Not specific enough. I refer to you as 'Pam, The Notebook girl'," he told her matter-of-factly.

She kept smiling and he couldn't help but wonder at how at ease he was with this complete stranger.

"And you're 'Jim Halpert, stairwell guy'," she responded.

"Wow. Brownie points to you for first and last name, Ms. Beesley," he said, actually quite impressed that she had remembered.

Pam looked equally impressed. "Well, it looks like we're even so far."

He smiled back at her and the conversation dropped a little. He remembered her very well, surprising even himself. Since the last time they'd met, he'd only really thought about her a handful of times, and it was really only when he'd seen Roy down in the warehouse.

"So, how are things going for you?" he found himself asking.

Her face faltered a little then, and her eyes grew a bit sad. He instantly regretted the question.

"I'm...okay. I'm at my own place. It's small, but the rent's good, so...," she fiddle with her necklace a little and Jim noticed her ring was gone.

"So...Roy?" Jim could have kicked himself for asking when he saw the look on her face.

She took a deep breath and looked at the ground, shuffling her feet a bit. "Yeah, umm...we...I think we both agreed that it's better this way," she said. He expected her to maybe start tearing up a bit again, but she didn't. She simply nodded her head a few times as if trying to convince herself as she said, "We're working on trying to be friends."

She finally lifted her eyes to his as she affirmed again, more clearly this time, "I'm okay."

Jim touched her arm lightly. "Good. That you're okay, I mean."

She smiled at him again in thanks.

"So...which breakfast cereal have you decided is the breakfast of champions?" she asked then, turning both of their attention back to the shelves and shelves of brightly colored boxes.

"I don't know. I think the Count really did put a spell on me," Jim said, nodding sagely as if they were talking about the inner workings of the universe.

Pam frowned, considering it for a while. "I don't know, Jim. I think you have to be strong. Gotta show him that you don't need him to enjoy your Saturday morning cartoons."

He sighed heavily and reached for the box of cereal, dropping it into his basket. "I'm sorry Pam. I'm not as strong as you. You'll have to forgive me. And promise never to make fun of me."

Pam laughed again and picked up a box of Fruit Loops. "Fine, but only if you don't make fun of Tucan Sam or my Saturday morning cartoons."

"Deal," Jim agreed.

Pam seemed satisfied with that and they both walked towards the end of the aisle.

"Well, I'm done, so..."

"Yeah, I've still got things that my roommate wanted me to pick up."

"Okay, well then...I guess I'll see you around, Jim."

"Oh, yeah, definitely. You take care, Pam. And hey, thanks for rescuing me," he joked.

"Only returning the favor," she replied as she walked towards check out.

Jim finished up his shopping a while later and as he drove home he wondered what Katy would think about him eating Count Chocula every morning.


TBC...

A/N: Thanks to all the wonderful people that read and reviewed my first chapter!! I'm very excited about this fic, even though being here at MTT is a little intimidating because there are so many awesome writers, I can't even hope to compare.
Please tell me what you think!

Praise is appreciated. Con-crit is encouraged. Flames will be dealt with Dwight's spud-gun.

cheers.

--Lex

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Office, or anything remotely related to it. Please, don't sue me.

III: SEE ME

He spotted her about half an hour of having been there. She was seated at one of the picnic tables near the playground, bent over her work. A sketch, it looked like.

He felt himself grin a bit as he made his way over to her.

"So, it's Beesley, right? Is there an 'E' in between the 'L' and 'Y'? Because I want to make sure that I've got it right on the restraining order."

She had been startled to find him standing next to her but recovered quickly. She gave him a frown.

"Not a restraining order! I really don't need another one of those on my record, Halpert. People might think I'm some kind of a stalker."

"Can't fight the facts, Beesley. Number one: you showed up at my place of employment. Number two: you approached me while I was shopping. Number three: you are sitting here watching me, rather suspiciously I might add, from a park bench," he held up three fingers at her. "Lackwana County has a three strikes law."

"I still plead not guilty due to the aforementioned circumstances being partially contrived and completely excusable," she responded, looking up at him with a playfully defiant stare.

"Wow. That was a very succinct response. Have to say that often?"

"You have no idea."

He frowned at her skeptically. "Well, in any case, let's hope that you've got a lenient judge. But don't worry too much, Beesley. You could always argue that you suck at being a stalker."

She was about to retort when he noticed his charge as moving away from the sandbox and waddling towards the small lake, attracted by the ducks, no doubt.

"One second," he told Pam as he jogged off to scoop the three year old little Sasha into his arms, ticking her belly while playfully scolding her about wandering off. The three year old giggled and happily sat back in the sandbox as Jim made her a little makeshift throne out of sand.

When he finally moved away so that Queen Sasha could rule over her new subjects (while Sir Jim went off in search of a dragon), he noticed Pam had moved to the small bench he'd initially been sitting on right next to the play area.

He sat down next to her with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. If I let her get away with it, she's jump head first into that green muck to swim with the ducks. She's really into ducks right now."

"I think we all had a duck phase. Mickey stole all the lime light, but I really do think that Donald should have had his own club too."

They shared a smile over this and looked over towards Sasha.

"How old is she?" Pam asked politely.

"She's three and a half. Which really, is the best age to be," Jim responded with a smile.

"She's adorable. You must be really proud of her."

Jim's eyebrows furrowed a little at Pam's polite tone, wondering at her response when it dawned on him what he must be thinking.

"Yeah, her dad's really proud of her. He's a friend from work and he can't stop bringing in pictures and stuff. I'm babysitting for him while he goes to a corporate meeting in New York," Jim explained.

"Oh," Pam sputtered, a slight flush coloring her cheek that only made his grin wider. "I'm sorry, I had thought--"

"Pam, I'm not even married," he said with a chuckle. "Wow, you are really unbelievably bad at this stalker thing."

Pam pretended to be hurt. "I'm sorry. It's still just so new to me. But seriously, Jim, it's really sweet that you'd do that for a co-worker."

Jim shrugged and looked to where Sasha was shyly offering to share her royal ceptor/shovel with another little boy.

"No, Toby's a friend and he's going through a rough time. He got divorced last year and his wife really took him to the cleaners. It sucks because he's a really nice guy and he puts up with so much just at work. He has to be in New York every month on a Saturday and this weekend he has Sasha. It's the least I can do for him."

Pam smiled at him with something like admiration and he could feel his ears becoming hot. "But anyway, she's a cool kid. Kinda shy because she spends a lot of time with older step siblings, but once you get her talking there's not stopping her."

"You're lucky since she seems to love you. I'm not good with kids at all," Pam said, reaching up to fidget with her necklace. "But I like to watch moms with their kids. They look so...happy."

"I have a hard time believing that kids don't like you."

"Well, at least none of Roy's nephews liked me," she responded, staring hard at the ground.

The mood shifted, and Jim noticed that Pam's eyes had teared up a little bit. He looked away, not wanting her to see that he'd noticed. She had every right to be a little melancholy, since she had pretty much dashed her own dreams of a family anytime soon.

He cleared his throat a little bit, trying to lead her away from that sadness. "Hey, do you want to meet her? Sasha loves to draw, so I think you'll already have loads in common," Jim offered, nodding at her sketchbook.

"Oh no, let her play. I don't want to bother her."

"It's cool, Pam, really. It's snack time anyway," Jim said as he wandered over to Sasha and led her toward the parking lot, waving for Pam to follow them.

"Sasha, this is my friend Pam," Jim told the little three year old as they all walked toward his car.

"Hi Sasha," Pam said putting on her brightest smile.

Sasha shyly looked at her, trying to hide behind Jim a little bit but smiled anyway.

The three of them sat happily on the curb, eating Jello snacks and Sasha asked Pam about her sketch book. Pam drew a quick cartoon of a duck for her and Sasha beamed at her while Jim gave her a thumbs up sign.

Soon enough Toby pulled up and Sasha waved good-bye to Jim and Pam.

"See? That wasn't that bad," Jim turned to her with a grin.

"She's cute," Pam said as she gripped her notebook tighter. "And she loves you."

"Well, I let her eat chocolate for breakfast."

"So you bribe her?"

"Absolutely. Please, Beesley. A good stalker would know that I use a three year old as an excuse to watch Saturday morning cartoons."

Pam slapped her forehead, pretending to chastise herself. "God, I really suck at this."

Jim suddenly realized that he wanted to spend more time with her. They had a great rapport, especially for people that had only ever met twice. He wasn't about to just let her go if he could help it.

"Tell you what, Beesley --and keep in mind that this a one time offer-- I will teach you the finer points of stalking me so that when you actually get arrested, it'll be worth it."

"I'm sure that I could let off with a warning."

"Not a chance. I got connections, you know. I know a Lackawana County volunteer sheriff's officer."

"Oh, God. Do I want to know?"

"Beesley, I have stories you wouldn't believe."

TBC....

A/N: Okay, so that's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to get up. I'm actually looking for a beta reader. Anyone interested? Seriously, guys, I would love some feedback before posting because I am the Queen of Typos. And I tend to focus so much on details that I miss the big picture. Any kind of help would be much appreciated.

Please review, if you can!

cheers.

--Lex

DISCLAIMER: The Office does not belong to me. Like, at all. So I would really appreciate it if I didn't get sued. Because I'm not making any money. So if the real owners came after me, I'd have to run off to Mexico, change my name to "Quincha" and set up a native pottery display in some public square. 

Special thanks to xoxoxo for being the most awesome beta ever and putting up with me rambling on and on and on about this story. Seriously. She rocks.

IV: CALL ME

"Hello?"

"I did it."

"What?"

"It was glorious, you should have seen it."

"Who is this?"

"Common, Beesley don't rain on my parade."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. So what was this glorious thing that you did?"

"I put Dwight's stapler in jello."

"What?! Oh my God, really?"

"Yep. And Michael's precious 'World's Best Boss' mug."

"Together?"

"No, separately."

"What did they say?"

"Dwight lost it. He immediately accused me of course. But I'm sure I had no idea what he was talking about. You really should have seen it."

"I wish I had! What did your boss say?"

"Oh, he hasn't seen it yet. But the cameras did catch it."

"That's right! That started today? So, how does it feel to be a superstar, Mr. Halpert?"

"What can I say? My trailer's too small, they never have the flavor of jellybeans I ask for, I'm having to hide from all the rabid fangirls, and my assistant always forgets to put sugar in my coffee!"

"Unbelievable. It's so hard to find good help these days. And they say you're a diva."

"I know! You know that I'm really all about the people. It's the price you pay, I guess."

"Poor baby. But, seriously, was it weird?"

"Not really. More like...bizarre. More than usual. But the camera guys are pretty cool. I feel like finally the rest of the world can experience my daily pain."

"Well, I can't wait to see you on tv. Bet they make you wear make-up."

"Pam, it's a documentary. The whole point is that we be 'au-natural'."

"So...you're naked?"

"You're just going to have to wait and see."

"I'm on pins and needles. Oh hey, how did you come up with the jello idea, anyway?"

"Would you believe that I'm a prankster genius?"

"Umm...no."

"Ouch. That was unnecessarily straight forward. I think you might hurt my feelings. But I'll let it slide since the jello thing was your idea."

"What? No it wasn't."

"Well, maybe not directly. But inspired by you. Remember when you met Sasha and you said that you remembered that your mom would be big cake pans of jello with pieces of fruit suspended inside?"

"Oh my God, you remembered that?"

"It sounded cool! It turns out the be pretty simple. And there you have it: a stapler in jello."

"I never would have thought of that. But I'm fine talking the credit for it."

"Nice, Beesley."

"What can I say? I'm a giver."

>>>***<<<

"So, I bought a car, finally."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, I'm so glad that I don't have to take the bus anymore. I hated waiting for it when it snowed."

"You used to have to wait for it in the snow?"

"Well...only sometimes. When Roy was late to work or out with the guys or something."

"..."

"It wasn't that bad, really, Jim."

"Yeah, well...I'm glad that you've got your own ride, Beesley."

"It's not the prettiest car, but it's mine, so I like it."

"I'm sure you do. You're going to have to drive it over and show it to me sometime."

"Sure."

"And, Pam?"

"Yeah?"

"...If you need anything, you know can call me, okay?"

"Thanks."

"Don't sweat it."

>>>***<<<

"Seriously? You wrote ebola?"

"And mad cow disease."

"Hmm. I gotta admit I'm kinda disappointed in you, Jim."

"What? Why?"

"Ebola? Mad cow? That's seriously the best you could come up with?"

"Oh, well, what would have put down?"

"Something more creative? Make something up!! Like...say that you were suffering from a rare disease where something really weird happens. Like your teeth dissolving in your mouth and sliding down your throat."

"You mean...spontaneous dental hydroplosion?"

"Yes! Oh my God, exactly!"

"You're right, Beesley. I can't believe I forgot to mention that. I'm ashamed of myself."

"You should be. Because you forgot pretendinitis."

"Count Choculitis."

"Oh my God! Wait...killer nano robots."

"Nano robots? Seriously?"

"Jim. It's an epidemic."

>>>***<<<

"Today was the worst day ever."

"Really? Worse than usual? How is that possible?"

"Two words. Expense reports."

"Yikes."

"Seriously, I think I died. And I don't even know why we bother sometimes. I mean, they've been threatening to close our branch and my boss decides to take the day off to buy a condo."

"Do you really think that they'll close your office?"

"I really don't know. It's really up in the air still."

"Well have you thought about what you'd do if they did close?"

"Umm. Yeah, I guess."

"You have a resume?"

"Somewhere there's one, I think."

"Jim. Even if they don't close the branch, you've gotta get out of there. You always say that the idea of staying there makes you want to walk into oncoming traffic."

"Beesley, honestly, have you seen traffic here? It's like, nonexistent. And I think that my exact phrasing was 'throw myself in front of a train'."

"Be serious, Jim. Have you even looked at other places?"

"I don't know, Pam. It's not that simple."

"You are great. I know you could be doing something better, with more money and maybe doing something that you actually enjoy."

"...Yeah, yeah, you're right, maybe I'll do that. I mean, I've got follow your good example, right?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"...nothing. Nevermind, just forget it."

"I should go."

"Pam, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"..."

"Pam?"

"Yeah, no, don't worry about it, Jim, really."

"No, I'm really sorry. It's just...been a long day, you know? A long week, actually."

"I should go, though, so you can get some rest. Maybe you should call Katy."

"...I probably shouldn't seeing as how she doesn't really want to talk to me."

"Oh. Well, just give her a few days. It'll work out, you'll see."

"Yeah...I really don't think so."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's better, really. I mean, her favorite movie is 'Legally Blonde'."

"Jim..."

"Hey, you know what? I just remembered that Mark asked me to do something for him last night and I totally forgot, so I should go. Maybe we can do something this weekend?"

"Yeah. Sure. That'd be fun."

"I'll call you, then. Bye, Pam."

"Bye, Jim."

>>>***<<<

"Pop rocks in his Coke."

"Bloody glove in his car."

"False messages from his mom."

"From the sheriff's office."

"From Jan."

"About finally making him assistant regional manager?"

"It's only right."

"How about moving all his stuff to another empty desk?"

"Oh! A treasure hunt!"

"Why don't you just move the whole desk?"

"Oh yeah? Where? It's not like there's many places for me to put it."

"That's what she said."

"Oh no!!! What the hell was that, Beesley?"

"You're changing the subject. Oh, I've got one! Pencil cup in the vending machine."

"Wow, breaking out the big guns, huh? I like it."

"Thank you."

"Ransom for his bobble heads."

"A letter from Publisher's Clearing House. Oh wait, wait, I've got it!"

"What?"

"Selective amnesia."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yes! It's perfect! Make it like he suddenly forgot just one thing about his life."

"Like what?"

"A sibling? That he owns property in Alaska?"

"No, I've got it. A secret girlfriend."

"No, fiancee."

"Yes, I love it. You're going to have to help me with this, Pam. Because this is quite possibly the best prank ever, and you were the mastermind. Which means, of course, you're going to have to help me."

"Why, Mr. Halpert, I'd be honored."

>>>***<<<

"Jim."

"Hey! I didn't expect to hear from you tonight. How's it goin' Beesley?"

"Um...listen. I know you're at a work thing or whatever..."

"Oh, yeah. I was going to tell you tomorrow that your bank-robbing idea? Probably would have been more fun. I feel like I've been kidnapped."

"..."

"Hey, Pam, are you okay?"

"No, it's just...Roy called."

"...oh."

"He said things about...how it used to be and about what's important about us...I know he's drunk, but he was just so..he said..."

"Pam, did he say something to hurt you?"

"No! Nothing like that, he was just...I'm just worried about him. I really hurt him, Jim and I'm not sure what he'll do. I was hoping that you guys were all together somewhere...I just don't want him to do something stupid."

"We're on a boat, Pam. He can't do much. Please, stop crying. Don't worry, I promise to keep an eye on him. I'll call you tomorrow...err, later today."

"Jim...thank you."

"You don't even have to mention it, Beesley."

>>>***<<<

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How are you?"

"Mmmm....I've been better."

"Okay, what's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Oh, you know me so well."

"I like to think that I do."

"I like that you think that."

"So, spill. What's the matter?"

"...I hate January."

"The month? This January or all in general? Should I come over and rip out all the first pages of every calendar?"

"No, I'm serious. It's cold and snow is everywhere. Not the fluffy white kind either. It's just dirty slush. Everyone's taken down the Christmas lights and there are zero holidays that mean time off from work. Just long, cold, lonely days, stretching out forever into each other."

"Hm. Yeah, it really is depressing isn't it?"

"..."

"..."

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you called."

"Yeah. Me too."

>>>***<<<

TBC...

A/N: Okay, so this a plot device to show the passage of time. I hope I didn't confuse many of you. I love the idea of Jim and Pam talking about nothing, and  have it mean something. Does that make sense? I know that it sounds like the premise to Seinfeld, but it's not, honestly. Also, I know that I said that work was not going to be something that would bring them together, but I lied. Because let's face it, Jim's life consists of work and ...work. And biking. And that's kind of it. So, yeah....

Thanks so much to everyone for reading!! 

cheers.

--Lex 

DISCLAIMER: Characters? Not mine. Premise? Not mine. NBC? Not mine. Legal responsibilities? Not mine. Therefore, when it comes time for lawsuits...they won't be mine. See how great that all works?

SPECIAL THANKS: xoxoxo. You rock. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without you.

V: KEEP ME

"Hey, I thought we lost somebody on the tour."

Pam looked back at him from her position at his book shelf. She smiled lightly, and her eyes darted momentarily to the camera man in the far corner next to his bike.

Jim held out his arms, gesturing around the room. "Yes, my inner sanctum."

"It's...nice. Especially love this," she said, walking over to his desk and picking up the little salesman statue, reading the inscription. "'Only one it takes to screw it in'?"

"Yeah, Michael meant it in terms of lightbulbs. Get it? Because I'm tall?" Jim explained, somewhat embarrassed. "Trust me, that's the tamest one."

Pam put the Dundie back on the desk with a nod. She picked up the Dunder Mifflin manual that had been there as well. "Ooh, company secrets."

Jim snatched the book from her hands and held it away from her. "Nuh uh, Beesley. These, I have been sworn to protect. And Dwight is right downstairs."

She narrowed her eyes at him as she backed off slowly. "I don't need you to tell me anything, Halpert. I'm a stalker, remember? I have my ways..."

"Okay, I'm officially scared. I'm not sure it was a good idea to invite you here tonight."

"Well, I'm here now and so you're stuck. Fulfilled every stalker's dream, you know."

Jim sighed, and dropped into his desk chair, pretending to be frustrated and cursing to himself. "Fine. I guess we can consider it my way of apologizing for keeping you outside in that tree all this time."

She moved to the other side of his bed and sat in the chair next to the window, glancing around the room like she was taking it in for the first time. "Yep, this is much better than sitting right out there. But something's missing..." She tapped her chin, pretending to think.

"Your flashlight? Fuzzy blanket?" Jim supplied.

Pam considered it. "No..." she snapped her fingers then, as if just remembering. "I got it: my porkrinds."

"Okay, that's disgusting," Jim groaned and Pam giggled. Then something caught her eye.

"Ooh, yearbook!" she cried, practically bouncing over and pulling the book from the shelf even as he groaned. "Common Jim, we've known each other for almost a year now. It's about time that I got to see embarrassing pictures."

"I'll remember that the next time I'm over at your house," he responded, giving her a threatening glare.

She sat on the bed as she giddily flipped through the pages. He stared at her from where he sat, as she giggled about him being dorky and was surprised to find that she didn't seem out of place there. It's like she belonged here with him, somehow, in way that no one had belonged in his space in a long long time.

It was a strange thought that he didn't get to contemplate long since Mark called up the stairs for him.

"Put that away, stalker. Common, let's go join the party. I think Mark's freaking out with Dwight here."

"Oh my God! I know! I mean, you describing him and even when I spoke with him on the phone could not have prepared me for the real thing."

“Beesley, I don’t think that anything could ever prepare you for the real thing.”

>>>***<<<

“Jim, come here,” Pam gestured for him to come to her. He excused himself from Toby and made his way over to her, grinning as she bounced a little on the balls of her feet.

“What’s up?”

She leaned closer to him, dropping her voice so that he had to lean down to hear her.

“Okay, so you remember how Dwight said that he’d already had a girlfriend?”

Jim nodded. Of course he remembered. Pam had called Dwight repeatedly, leaving very intimate voicemails, posing as his girlfriend that he had ‘forgotten’. When she’d finally been able to speak to Dwight directly, he’s informed her that he already had a girlfriend (that he was very devoted to). Jim still couldn’t believe how flawless Pam’s execution of that prank had been.

“As if I could forget,” he said, dropping his voice to match hers, for the first time noticing how green her eyes were when she was amused.

“Well, I think he wasn’t kidding,” she went on. “I think it might even be one of your co-workers. That really uptight blonde lady?”

Jim knew his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Angela??!”

“Shh,” she shushed him, glancing around before leaning in closer to him, holding on to his forearm. “I think I saw them outside…very close to each other.”

“No way,” Jim responded, not being able to wrap his head around Dwight and Angela.

“I’m serious, Jim,” the laughter left her face, but twinkled in her eyes. “A woman knows these things.”

He caught a whiff of her shampoo and she was still holding his arm when Phyllis came over, smiling warmly at both of them.

Pam mouthed to him that they would continue their conversation later just as Kelly bounced up to Pam.

“Oh my gosh, now I remember you!” she said. “You’re Roy’s girlfriend, right? From the warehouse? I remember you came around once or twice and I remember thinking that it was kinda a bummer that Roy wasn’t single because he has those totally cute dimples but then I saw the both of you together and it was just so adorably cute.”

Jim saw the falter in Pam’s smile at the mention of Roy, but she didn’t back away. “Yeah, Roy and I broke up a while a go, so...yeah, he’s totally available.”

“Awesome! I mean, it’s not awesome that you guys broke up or anything,” Kelly stuttered a little bit, and finally seemed to notice Jim. “Oh my God, are you with Jim? Jim, I thought you were dating that pretty red-head.”

“No,” both Pam and Jim said in unison.

“We’re just friends.”

“I’m not dating Katy.”

Their phrases overlapped but before anything else could be said, Dwight suddenly yelling ‘SURPRISE!’ just as Michael entered the room distracted them all.

>>>***<<<

“I can’t believe that Mark bailed on me,” Jim grumbled as he and Pam threw the last bags of trash next to the garbage cans on the side of the house.

“It’s not like it was terribly messy anyway, Jim. Besides, if he was going to get lucky tonight, wouldn’t it be better if you weren’t in the next room?”

Jim frowned. “Good point.”

They walked back inside and Pam rubbed her arms to get warm.

“Hey, umm,” Jim felt suddenly nervous. “Do you wanna stay and watch a movie or something? I think there might be one of two bottle of alcohol left over somewhere.”

“I think that everyone drank it all as soon as Michael got here,” Pam said and Jim winced.

“Yeah, I was hoping that you would never be exposed to him. Ever.”

“It wasn’t that bad, actually. I mean it could have been worse. He only mentioned his improv class to me twice and made only three obscene jokes.”

“Thank God for small miracles,” Jim responded with a grin. “So, should I make some popcorn?”

Pam crossed her arms over her chest and smiled apologetically at him. “No, it’s late and I should really get going.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re totally right, I’m sorry,” Jim backtracked, kicking himself for sounding desperate for her company. Still, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she wasn’t staying. He saw her often enough and they spoke on the phone everyday. He just suddenly really didn't want her to leave.

They walked to the door and Pam picked up her bag and coat. She turned to face him in the open doorway and after a moment of silence, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

“You’re a good guy, Jim Halpert,” she whispered in his ear and he’s glad she let go before feeling him shiver.

“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself, Beesley,” Jim responded, glad that it was dark out because he knew he was blushing.

“Thanks for inviting me. I had a good time," she said in a low voice, as if she didn’t want to disturb something.

“I’m really glad you were here. My first big party! With a crasher and everything,” he once again dropped his voice to match hers.

“A complete success. Congratulations,” she said with a smile. Then suddenly, she stood up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

“I’ll see you,” she said as she hurried off towards her car and Jim felt like he’s in the eighth grade again.

He climbs up to his room again and picks up his yearbook, remembering the way she’d giggled and how it all felt…right.

That was when Jim Halpert realized that Pam Beesley had become his best friend.

And almost immediately he decided that he was in love with her.

TBC…

A/N: So, here's my version of "Email Surveillance". For those of you keeping track, Jim and Pam have been friends for several months and have known each other a little over a year. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter!! Things are looking to be moving in the "Jim-loves-Pam-but-will-only-angst-about-it-for-a-while" direction. Oh yes.

Thanks for reading.

cheers.

--Lex