"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

The question hung in the air for perhaps longer than it should have. Jim's thoughts drifted back to that day almost two years ago. Flonkerton. Doves. Gold medals made of yogurt lids. He looked down at the note and the medal again, then, realizing that David Wallace was waiting for his response, muttered, "Married. With kids. Three, I think. House in the suburbs. With a terrace..." He trailed off.

David chuckled politely and asked, "And professionally?"

Jim studied the note again. Not here, he thought, then recalled Pam's words at the beach - "Well, I wish you would."

"You know what? It doesn't matter," he finally blurted out.

"I'm sorry?" David was confused.

Jim stood up. "I'm sorry. This is going to sound really weird, but... I have to take myself out of the running for this job. I don't belong here. At least... not... yet."

"Are you sure? I mean, I have to be honest with you, you were my top choice," David replied as he got to his feet.

"I really appreciate that. Thank you. But I can't move here right now. I can't leave Scranton again. I'm sorry I wasted your time. I can't explain, just..."

The CFO smiled faintly and extended his hand. "Alright then. Good luck."

Jim shook his hand and turned to leave, his face red with embarrassment. What did I just do? he thought as he approached the elevator. He got out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Karen's number.

She answered with, "Hey! How did it go?"

Not knowing how to answer the question, he replied, "Hey, where are you? I'll meet you there."

"Oh, we were just finishing up with lunch. I can come back to Dunder Mifflin if you want to wait..."

"No. I mean, that's okay, I'll meet you where you are. Just stay put, okay?"

Karen must have sensed something in his voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... well, no... I don't know. Can you just tell me where you are? I need to talk to you."

She gave him the location of the restaurant and he walked outside to get a cab. When he got there she was waiting outside for him.

"What's going on?" she asked, without even saying hi.

"Are your friends still there?" He nodded toward the restaurant.

"Yeah, why? You want to meet them?"

"Um, no... I just... Karen, I can't move here."

Her eyes got wide, and she stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't move to New York. I told them I didn't want the job."

"Why?" She almost stopped breathing.

"Because I can't leave Scranton again. I need to go back."

"To her, you mean?" She didn't even attempt to hide the bitterness in her voice. "That's what this is about, isn't it? Pam?" Her eyes were quickly flooding with tears.

Jim looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Karen. You have to believe it when I say I didn't mean to hurt you..."

"Stop it! Just... stop. I need to hear you say it. Tell me the truth for once, God damn it."

He felt his stomach lurch, and then he sputtered out, "I'm still in love with her. And I probably always will be."

Karen turned and started walking back toward the restaurant. He grabbed her arm. "Karen, please," he pleaded.

"Please what? What else am I supposed to say? What do you want from me? I mean, come on, Jim. Last night we were talking about our future together. I thought we had a great time. We had sex, for God's sake! What do expect me to say? 'Oh Jim, it's fine that you're in love with someone else and that you've been using me for the past six months?'" She pulled away. "Just. Go. I don't want to look at you right now."

"Wait! We drove here together. I can't leave you here."

She laughed bitterly and replied, "If you think that I am going to sit in a car with you for two and a half hours, you are... Just go, Jim. I'll find my own way back to Scranton."

"Karen, I can't just leave you here."

She turned and said, "You already have."

And with that she disappeared back into the restaurant. He stood there for a few minutes, suddenly aware that the whole exchange had taken place on a very public street corner, and he felt like an ass. But a part of him was relieved. Relieved that he didn't have to pretend anymore. Relieved that he finally knew what he wanted.

He took a cab back to the garage where his car was parked and started the long trek back to Scranton. He had no idea what he was going to do once he got there, but he had a few hours to figure it out.

He knocked on her door at 6:33. She answered wearing a black and white sun dress, with her hair down, framing her face. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her.

"Hi," he said, nervously, as it suddenly occurred to him that maybe he should have brought flowers or something.

"Hey," she answered, "Do you want to come in?"

He followed her inside as she searched for her purse. "You look great," he said as he watched her tear the place apart.

She paused and looked over at him. "Thanks. So, where are we going?"

"Well, that depends. Do you want the fancy first date, or the super-fun first date? Because fancy is an upscale restaurant with cloth napkins, and fun is pizza and pool."

"Hmmm. Tough call," she pretended to think, "I choose fancy... and fun."

Jim laughed. "Okay, fancy and fun it is."

He ended up taking her to a nice seafood place. They kept the conversation light at first, as Pam told her about the day she experienced with Dwight in charge and all the insanity that ensued.

"And then he saluted me back. It was actually kind of sweet. But I am so glad his regime was short-lived. It was a relief when Michael came back..." She trailed off a bit. They sat in comfortable silence before she spoke again, "So. Are you going to tell me what happened? What brought this on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I am glad we are out on a date and everything, but..."

"You want to know what happened with Karen?"

"Well, yeah."

Jim shifted in his seat a little before he started. "Well, it was you, actually. I was giving David Wallace my reports when I found your note."

"Oh," said Pam, and he noticed she started blushing.

"And, I don't know, it just hit me that it wasn't right, me moving to New York. I thought about leaving Scranton again and it just made me sick to my stomach. And then he asked me where I saw myself in ten years, and..." He stopped himself.

"What?"

He took a sip of wine. "Well, I just couldn't imagine a future, in the city. Or with Karen. All I could think about was... you." He glanced up at her. She was silent, and staring off in the distance.

"Look, I don't mean to freak you out -"

And then she smiled. A big, genuine, warm smile that went all the way up to her eyes, which soon erupted with tears. "No, Jim. You didn't freak me out. It's just I never thought I would ever hear you say that."

He felt himself getting weepy as well. He reached over and took her hand.

"You still haven't told me about Karen," she said.

He sighed. "I told her that I couldn't move to New York with her. She asked if it was because of you, and I told her I was still in love with you."

Pam took a few seconds to process what he had just said, but then she looked concerned. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. She was pretty angry with me, and I can't really blame her. I was a total asshole to her. She probably hates me."

"No, she probably hates me," she replied.

They both were quiet for a long time, then Jim asked her, "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know, Jim. This is a lot for me to take in. I had convinced myself that you didn't want me anymore and then you ask me out and I was so... and now... I mean, you were just with Karen like, this morning." He could tell her thoughts were jumbled and she was having trouble articulating her feelings.

"Pam, I'm sorry. I haven't handled things very well. But I want to be with you. That's the only thing I know for sure."

"Do you?" She was openly crying now, and he felt himself on the verge of doing the same.

"Yes. I have never been more sure of anything in my life." He got up and sat in the booth next to her, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his shoulder.

She mumbled something, but he didn't quite hear her. "What?"

"I said I love you, Jim."

He closed his eyes and pulled her closer, never wanting to let go.

-----

Eventually they made their way out of the restaurant, and suddenly realized it was quite late and they both had work in the morning. They decided to forgo playing pool this time and Jim drove her home. In the car they laughed and joked about their co-workers, putting the earlier awkward conversation behind them. When they got to her apartment he walked her to the door.

"So... do you think we could do this again sometime?" he asked playfully.

"Absolutely, I do," she responded mock seriously.

"Pam - I know it's going to be weird with Karen at work and everything, but..."

"It's okay," she reassured him. "I can handle it."

"Okay," he said, and he looked into her eyes as he held her hand, absentmindedly stroking her palm with his thumb. Then she surprised him, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close as her lips closed in on his. The kiss was soft, slow. Or, at least it was initially. But it didn't take him much time to pin her against her door, hands in her hair, tongues dueling. They must have made out like teenagers at her front door for a good five minutes before she pulled away.

"Do you want to come in?" she whispered.

He paused, unable to keep his eyes off her lips. "Oh, I do. But... I don't think I should... I don't want to rush you."

She started kissing his neck. "You wouldn't be," she murmured into his ear.

"Oh, shit," he replied, wanting nothing more than to kick her door open, pick her up and carry her inside her waiting apartment. But he made himself back away. "Not tonight," he said with a hint of defeat in his voice. "But soon."

She smiled at him and grabbed his hands.

He gazed at her for a second and then said, "So, does tomorrow work for you?"

On Friday morning he was late for work. He had had trouble sleeping, with a million different thoughts going through his head at once. He wondered how different it was going to be with Pam today now that things had changed between them. And he had no idea how he was going to deal with Karen when she came in today.

In the end, he didn't have to. She wasn't there. He couldn't blame her, and he was partly relieved and partly dreading the inevitable. But he was glad he could have at least one work day where he could talk to Pam openly without feeling guilty.

Pam was positively glowing. She had greeted him cheerfully when he walked in, and then watched with a wistful smile as he settled into his new (old) desk. He was there about a half hour before he got up to talk to her.

"So... how was your date last night?" he asked playfully as he popped a few jellybeans in his mouth.

"It was okay," she replied.

"Just okay?" He feigned indignation.

She smiled up at him. "So do I still get a second date?"

"Of course. Tonight. My place. Dinner."

"Oh, are you cooking?" she teased.

"I am a surprisingly good cook. I can boil pasta and open a jar of sauce like nobody's business."

"Well then it's a date."

He tapped on her desk and started back to his own desk, but was intercepted by Michael.

"So, you dumped Karen for Pam?" he asked with a smile. "Good call."

"Um, I don't want to discuss..."

"You know Karen didn't get the job either," Michael sighed.

Jim was surprised. He had thought it would take some time for corporate to make that decision.

"Who did then?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm waiting for a call back from Wallace because he hadn't talked to the guy yet. Probably some moron. Ugh. But anyway, I was told Karen was offered a different position there than the one we all interviewed for. That's what she..." He shook his head, abandoning his favorite catchphrase in mid-sentence.

Jim glanced over at Pam, who had been listening intently.

"So she's not coming back at all?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh, she'll be back on Monday to get her stuff and tie up some loose ends, then she's taking some vacation time before she starts the new job."

Jim absorbed the information and didn't respond right away.

"Way to break a girl's heart, Jimbo," Michael added as he patted Jim's shoulder and headed back to his office.

Jim turned back to Pam. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

Neither of them knew what else to say, so he sighed and sat down at his desk. He tried to get Karen out of his mind for the rest of the day, but he did feel terrible for how things ended with her. During his lunch break he sneaked away and called her on his cell phone. Predictably, she didn't pick up. He left her a message - "Hey, it's me. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I know you don't want to talk to me, but... I'm sorry." He knew it sounded lame as soon as he started talking, but he felt he had to do something, even if there was no way to make things right with her.

He found the remainder of the day went by much faster because there was a flurry of excitement when Michael, looking quite pale and out of sorts, announced that Ryan would be Jan's replacement, which was a huge shock to everyone, especially Kelly, who had apparently been dumped by Ryan on the spot. She retaliated by telling everyone that Ryan sleeps with a stuffed bunny.

At the end of the day, Jim leaned over Pam's desk and asked, "Did you get the directions to my place?"

"Yes, I will be there at seven as requested. And dinner better be ready because I'll be awfully hungry by then."

"I'll do my best."

-----

She knocked on his door at 6:55.

"You're early!" he said as he opened the door.

"Oh, am I?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

He chuckled. "Thanks. I guess I should put them in water?"

He suddenly found that he was quite nervous. Pam looked beautiful, as always, and he watched as she checked out his apartment. This was the first time she had seen his new place. He had the same sensation of butterflies in his stomach that he had had the time she came to his barbecue when he was living with Mark.

"So this is a nice place. Much bigger than mine. I would love to have this much space."

They made small talk about the apartment for a few minutes before he gestured for her to sit down because dinner was ready. Over dinner they caught up on some things that had happened while Jim was in Stamford. How Michael had outed Oscar ("So that's what the gaydar was for"), how they had a funeral for a bird ("And here I thought that was just Creed being crazy!"), how Michael tried to kiss her ("Oh my God, no he didn't!"). He didn't tell her much about Stamford, other than the story of his first glimpse into Andy's insanity and the fact that Josh turned out to be a real dick. He didn't mention Karen at all.

When they were done eating he presented her with the choice of two movies to watch - 28 Days or 28 Days Later. She laughed remembering their phone conversation that night, and opted for the Sandra Bullock one since she had never actually seen it. They sat next to each other on the couch, his arm wrapped around her, her head resting on his chest. At one point she looked up at him and said, "This has been the perfect date."

"You say that as if it's ending soon," he whispered.

"Well, I guess I can stay until you kick me out."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She reciprocated immediately. He pulled her closer and let his hand drift up to the space between her shirt and her jeans, feeling her soft skin there. She responded by climbing onto his lap and deepening the kiss, then slowly putting her hands under his shirt. He retreated just slightly, wondering whether they were going too fast. He didn't want her to have any regrets later.

"Jim..." she breathed into his ear, apparently sensing his apprehension.

"Yeah?"

"I want this."

That was all he needed to hear.

The sun was just starting to peek through the window when he opened his eyes. At first he thought he was still dreaming, when he realized Pam was snuggled up against him. Naked. He shut his eyes again just to enjoy the moment for a few seconds longer. He remembered the night before, how they had started kissing on the couch and quickly ended up down the hall in his bedroom. How their clothes came off, and their hands were everywhere. How she smiled her radiant smile as she laid down on his bed, gesturing him to follow. How it felt to kiss her lips and her breasts and touch her and then be inside her for that glorious minute. (He chuckled silently to himself, making a mental note to try to make it to two minutes next time.) And then how it felt to hold her in his arms as she drifted off to sleep. He couldn't think of any place in the world he'd rather be.

Except, right now, for the bathroom. He really had to go. So he slowly attempted to untangle himself without waking her, and got up, pulling on his boxers on the way to the bathroom. When he came back he sat on the edge of the bed and just watched her sleep. But after a few minutes she stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey you," she muttered sleepily.

"Good morning. I was going to make breakfast. Do you want eggs or pancakes?"

"I want eggs," she replied, yawning. "With a side of Jim."

He laughed and jumped back in the bed with her. Breakfast would have to wait.

They spent the rest of the weekend together, not leaving his apartment except for the hour or so Pam went home to get a change of clothes. They ordered pizza and Chinese and made ice cream sundaes and played video games. They also talked, about anything and everything, even if sometimes it was painful. Things that needed to be said were said, and there was no anger or resentment, just a resolve to move forward.

And of course, in between the meals and the conversations, there was sex. A lot of sex. They were making up for lost time, and couldn't get enough of each other. And neither of them wanted the weekend to ever end.


Unfortunately, however, it did have to end eventually, and Pam left at the crack of dawn on Monday morning to go home and get ready for work. They both knew that Karen would be back today, and they didn't want to be too obvious about their relationship, out of respect for her feelings. Things were going to be awkward enough as it was.

But Jim temporarily forgot about that agreement when he first walked in and saw Pam sitting at reception. He had to remind himself that the past weekend hadn't been a dream, as he approached her desk and started to lean over to talk to her. But he stopped himself when he saw the look in her eyes and the slight shake of her head, gesturing over to Karen's desk.

Karen was there already. She was busy typing something on her computer and didn't even look up. As Jim sat down at his desk he tried to make eye contact, but she wouldn't give him a glance. He felt the pit in his stomach starting to churn again. This was going to be a long day.

He tried to immerse himself in his work for a distraction. He IM'd back and forth with Pam but didn't get up to talk to her at all. He wanted to go out to lunch with her but she thought it wouldn't be such a good idea because of the Karen situation. So he resigned himself to a lonely ham and cheese at his desk, but keeping in mind it was just this one day and Karen would be gone tomorrow. He knew he would have to talk to Karen sometime today but she successfully avoided him every time he tried to get her attention.

At 12:30 he looked up to realize both Karen and Pam were not at their seats, and a sick feeling of dread welled up in his chest. Instinctively he got up and headed to the breakroom. When he got to the door his stomach dropped.

Karen and Pam were in the middle of a rather heated argument. Toby was standing between them trying to calm them down, to no avail. Kelly stood in the doorway with her mouth agape.

"You're sorry? You're SORRY? No, you're not sorry. This ended up just the way you wanted it to!" Karen was yelling.

Pam was almost in tears and obviously upset, but also a little angry. She was shaking and unable to form a coherent sentence.

Jim stepped in between them and turned to Karen. "Please, this is between you and me. Let's not do this here. Come outside and we can talk."

At this point Meredith, Oscar, and, regrettably, Angela, had gathered around to witness the drama unfold.

Karen turned on Jim. "We have nothing to talk about, Jim. I think you said all you needed to say when we were in New York." She laughed bitterly, then gestured to the other people standing around them. "You know what's funny is that all these people think that you're this wonderful, nice guy, when in fact you're just a big asshole."

And with that, she turned and stormed out of the breakroom, on the way out bumping into Michael, who watched her go and then said, "Ooh, did I miss something good?"

Jim turned to Pam and asked her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't mean for this to happen; I didn't even want to say anything. I just..."

"Pam, Pam... stop. It's okay. It's not your fault, it's mine."

Pam gave him a quick hug and mumbled, "I should get back to my desk," and hurried off. Everyone else had left the breakroom unnoticed, and Jim just sat down at a table and put his head in his hands. He thought to himself that Karen wasn't wrong; he was an asshole. He wondered if he should go after her or just let it go. He honestly didn't know what the right thing to do was, and that uncertainty paralyzed him.

He had no idea how long he sat there like that before he heard Karen's voice.

"Jim," she said from the doorway.

He lifted his head but didn't say anything. She was holding a box.

"I had some of your stuff in my car. I just wanted to give it to you before I left." Her voice was cold.

"Karen, please believe me that I'm sorry..."

She shook her head and said, "I really don't want to hear it again. I'm done. I am leaving now. I meant what I said before. I don't want you to try to contact me or anything. Ever. Do you understand?"

He nodded mutely as she placed the box down on the table in front of him and walked out of the room.

A few minutes later Pam came back and sat down next to him.

"Karen left," she said.

"Yeah," he replied.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... I guess. I... she wasn't wrong, you know. I haven't been a very nice person."

Pam didn't say anything for a moment but then softly whispered, "It's okay." Then there was a long pause as she seemed to be holding her breath. "If you don't want to... I mean, if this is too soon for you and you need some time... I guess..."

He looked up at her and smiled. "It's a little late for that, isn't it?" He meant it as a joke but she didn't laugh. "Pam, no, I meant what I told you this weekend. I want this with you more than anything. I can still feel bad about what I did to Karen without it changing how I feel about us." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She smiled this time, and sighed with relief.

"Okay. Good. I just didn't want you to have any regrets."

"I have regrets about a lot of things, Pam, but being with you is not one of them, and it never will be." He leaned over and kissed her softly. The kiss was short-lived, however, because they were interrupted by Angela, who entered the room and headed toward the vending machine, shaking her head and muttering something that sounded like, "Man-stealing whore." They looked at each other and laughed. It was going to be okay.