Heart of the Matter by malcolm lake
Past Featured StorySummary: AU After the merger.  Pam learns the dreams Jim had before Dunder Mifflin and why he had to abandon them.  Will it change how she feels about him?
Categories: Present, Alternate Universe Characters: Dwight, Jim/Pam, Karen, Roy
Genres: Hurt/Comfort
Warnings: Adult language, Mild sexual content
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 10 Completed: Yes Word count: 21108 Read: 43478 Published: May 31, 2007 Updated: July 04, 2007
Story Notes:
Things I own: a VW Beetle (in two more payments), a stack of CDs and books, and four guitars. Things I don't own: any of the characters portrayed in the Office TV series (darn it). If however, Greg Daniels wants to swap... I mean it's a really tall stack of books... Just sayin'

1. Chapter 1 by malcolm lake

2. Chapter 2 by malcolm lake

3. Chapter 3 by malcolm lake

4. Chapter 4 by malcolm lake

5. Chapter 5 by malcolm lake

6. Chapter 6 by malcolm lake

7. Chapter 7 by malcolm lake

8. Chapter 8 by malcolm lake

9. Chapter 9 by malcolm lake

10. Chapter 10 by malcolm lake

Chapter 1 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:
In a reply to a review by Office Elly for Summer Camp, I thought that the road to Dunder Mifflin was paved with good intentions and small stumbles. That got me to wondering why Jim Halpert ended up at a failing paper company. I mean, folks seem to like him; he (finally) pursued his dreams by telling Pam how he felt, so he's able to find what he wants and go for it. He must have had goals that didn't involve the world's most adorable receptionist. So something must have gotten in their way. This goes AU after Jim's return to Scranton. It's written from Pam's point of view and is much more drama than comedy, especially the first couple chapters. For the purposes of this story, Jim was working at Scranton before Pam arrived.
Pam Beesly was lying in her bed, afraid to close her eyes. A glance at the clock confirmed that in about three hours and fifty-six minutes she would be at work and Jim Halpert would walk back into the office and into her life. And she had no idea what she was going to do.

At five thirty, she had decided on a plan. She would run up jump into his arms, kiss him, and tell him that she loved him. Simple, dramatic decisive.

At six fifteen, the plan was modified. She would keep the running and kissing bit, and then ask him out during lunch. No words that would echo through the office and into Michael or Kevin's ears.

At seven, the kiss was abandoned. Too much. There would be glares from accounting and Dwight would say her behavior was inappropriate. Besides, she really wasn't sure what Jim felt anymore. She sighed as she prepared her lunch. "I'm such a coward." But she was terrified that something would happen and everything she wanted to have with Jim would go up in smoke.

When Jim finally showed up, Pam simply jumped into his arms. She was so relieved to see his smile as he held her that she completely missed his defensive attempt at humor. The office had so much activity that morning, she scarcely had time to look at her former best friend/current crush. Her view was further away than she would have liked ("stupid Ryan and his refusal to let Jim have his old desk back. He's never getting another phone message.") But when she finally got a good look at Jim in the conference room, she noticed he looked thinner and tired. Almost to the point of being skinny. "Maybe he really was living on jelly beans when he was here," she thought.

During the morning get acquainted session, Pam saw one of the new girls, Karen, lean forward and give Jim a piece of gum. She was pretty. Jim smiled back at her in a way that made Pam a little nervous.

Just before lunch, Roy came up to the office. After a few words with Pam, that frankly she barely listened to, he turned and called out, "Halpert!"

Jim dutifully got up and walked to reception. He caught Pam's eye and smiled as if to say, "I'll be good."

They shook hands. "Good to have you back," Roy said. "I know Pam's missed you."

Pam looked down at her computer.

"Well..." Jim said, searching for an appropriate response. "You're looking good," Jim noted.

"Yeah, I've been hitting the gym," Roy said. "Playing a lot of basketball, you know. Maybe I can get your rear end back on the court sometime. You owe me a rematch, Larry Legend."

"Sure," Jim replied. "Anytime."

"How about lunch today?" Roy said, eager. Pam caught the look in her ex-fiancé's eyes. She knew how competitive he was. And even though Roy had been patiently trying to win her back and was on his best behavior, he would still bring up Jim from time to time. It was obvious that he thought Halpert had something to do with Pam's calling off the wedding. Which was, granted, true.

Michael picked that moment to stick his head out of the office and say, "Okay, we're meeting in the conference room after lunch."

Jim sighed. Pam could tell that Jim had forgotten just how stressful a day in the Scranton branch could be. "I've got my stuff in the car," Halpert said. "I'll be down at 11:30."

Pam knew that her presence in the warehouse would probably not be a good thing. It would mean boys showing off and pushing themselves. It would also mean sweaty Jim in shorts and a t-shirt. She brought her lunch.

In fact, most of the warehouse and office staff came down to watch the game, including the new girl. Michael, of course, wanted to join in on the fun.

Darryl said, "Well, if it's going to be two-on-two, I guess I could play. I've got some anger I need to work out."

"Well, I have this meeting to run later," Michael said as he looked at the intimidating blue collar worker. "I probably should be getting ready for it."

It was decided that they would play to 15 points. The game started slowly. Pam decided that Jim had definitely lost too much weight during his time away. He wasn't moving as well as he had last year.

Roy patiently took Jim inside, using his advantage in strength to go to the basket. He missed a couple of hook shots, but was able to put in a rebound and then hit a short jumper to go up four to nothing. Jim hung out on the perimeter when he had the ball. He missed a few long-range jumpers as he tried to get his legs under him.

Pam could also tell that Jim was holding back. She couldn't decide why; maybe he was letting Roy have some payback over how things had turned out last year.

Roy backed Jim down again and spun away from the taller man. Jim was caught off balance and fell as Roy got a layup. Roy looked up at Pam and shrugged as if to say, "this is easy."

Pam's eyes moved to Jim, who had noticed the exchange. The look on his face told her that things were about to get ugly. The salesman scored the next twelve points on layups, pull-up jumpers, and drives that left the warehouse guy pawing at the air. Roy only managed two shots during the span. Jim pressed Roy on his right side, forcing Roy to dribble with his left hand. Roy wasn't able to prevent Jim from repeatedly swiping the ball.

It was almost surreal. Pam had been dragged to enough sporting events to see that Jim wasn't just playing well for a weekend warrior. Some of the things Jim was doing she had seen at Sixer's games. If he was this good, why was he selling paper?

Pam knew that her former fiancé had a temper. As the catcalls from the warehouse workers echoed, Roy's face got more and more red. Jim was breathing hard; it was clear that he hadn't been playing much. But she could tell that he wasn't going to let up.

Once again, Jim knocked the ball away from Roy's left hand. There was a scramble for the ball and Jim ended up flying against the warehouse wall.

Jim jumped up and turned to Roy, his fists clenched. Darryl, who had noted the way things were going, was prepared and jumped between the two guys. "I think that's enough for right now. We need to get some work out of you guys this afternoon."

Jim forced himself back under control. "Yeah, that paper won't sell itself. Good game," he said to Roy.

"Yeah," Roy said before turning away.

After lunch, they had settled in for the team building exercise when Jim suddenly got up. Pam thought he looked shaky.

"Jim, I'm just getting started here," Michael said, irritated.

"Sorry, I..." Jim started before turning and walking out.

"Jim, it is very disrespectful to Michael. As the new number two..." Dwight started. Jim had just left the conference room when he tumbled to the floor.

Kelly screamed.

"Phyllis, call 911," Dwight ordered. He ran up to his fallen coworker, as did Angela. Jim's body was jerking; it looked like he was having a seizure. Angela tore open his shirt and yelled out, "He's not breathing," before starting CPR.

Pam and Karen both rushed to Jim. Karen accidentally knocked Pam away from the tall salesman.

"Please," Angela hissed, not looking up. "I need room."

Dwight yelled to Pam, "Check his messenger bag for pills."

Pam shouted back angrily, "Jim's not on drugs."

Dwight shook his head, "I mean prescription drugs, Pam. Jim takes heart medication."

"But," Pam started. Surely Jim would have told her if...

"The ambulance will be here in five minutes," Phyllis called out.

"Pam, NOW," Dwight yelled.

That was enough to snap Pam out of her inner dialogue. She emptied Jim's messenger bag, but there were no prescription bottles or pills in it. "I can't find any," she said.

"Idiot," Dwight said, "Let me look at my employee health database." All eyes but Angela's turned to him. After a few keystrokes the salesman said, "His heart doctor is a J. Lambert. Ryan, see if you can track him down online."

"How did you get that information?" Karen asked.

Dwight's intensity frightened Pam. She could only imagine what the folks from the Stamford branch were thinking. "When Jim started here, he had an...incident. Fortunately he had his medication with him. As his supervisor..."

"You were not his supervisor," Phyllis said.

"In any event, I took it upon myself to obtain the information off his pill bottle so that I would be prepared in the event of a future emergency."

Ryan ran an internet query and found the doctor. The doctor asked to be told what hospital Jim was being taken to and that he would be in contact with the staff cardiologist. Ryan got the information from Phyllis.

Pam grabbed Jim's right hand. His skin was cool and clammy. She started to cry; she couldn't lose him like this.

Angela leaned back. "He's breathing again." The normally pale blonde was flushed as she turned to look at Pam. "He's...They'll help him," she whispered to the receptionist. Karen had shrunk away from the group surrounding Jim.

The EMS team stormed into the office. Michael pulled Pam away, forcing her to let go of Jim's hand.

"No," she sobbed.

"Pam, we have to let them do their job," Michael said, trying to calm her.

She rounded on her boss, "Why didn't you tell me!" she shouted.

Michael shrank back as if she'd struck him.

Pam broke down again. "I didn't know... He never said..."

Pam was engulfed in a hug from Kelly. "It'll be okay," She whispered to the receptionist. "It has to be okay."

The EMS team had secured Jim to a gurney and began to take him out. "I want to go with them," Pam said, shaking.

Kelly turned and called to her boyfriend, "Ryan, you're driving."

Pam felt Kelly and Ryan leading her out. Just before she left she noticed the new girl, Karen, alone in the corner of the office.

Michael was leaving the most of the rest of the Scranton workers. "Andy, you're in charge. Call Jim's emergency contact; there's a list in filing cabinet, in my office-top drawer. And Jan." He ordered as he left.

Chapter 2 by malcolm lake
The next hour was a blur to Pam. Somehow she found herself in Scranton Memorial Hospital surrounded by her coworkers. They acted differently in this setting. Kelly was quiet, sitting beside Pam and holding her hand while Ryan of all people kept babbling about trips he had taken to the hospital as a kid. Big, grumbly Stanley asked Pam if she wanted some tea. A few minutes later he returned with hot tea with two sugars, just like she always had in the office. She looked up to see Dwight and Angela looking at her. When they saw her face the twosome put on their most encouraging smiles.

She was reminded of when her uncle was in the hospital after his stroke. How everyone had acted around her aunt as she sat in the waiting room. That was when it hit her. These people were here for her as much as for Jim. They were treating her like Jim's wife. She leaned her head into Kelly's shoulder. She had been so worried about letting people in the office know she had feelings for Jim. And they already knew. Granted, her display when the ambulance arrived hadn't been subtle. "Oh well," she thought, "If Jim's alright I might as well..." If Jim was alright. That brought another wave of tears.

When Pam finally recovered, she looked saw Michael. He was sitting apart from the others, looking miserable. Pam knew she would have to apologize for yelling at him. Her boss was so easily wounded. She took a deep breath and walked to him.

"Hey."

"Hi," Michael replied.

"I'm really sorry I shouted at you," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Michael managed a smile. "I'm sorry too, I..."

"You didn't do anything wrong. It's just, it seemed like everyone else knew about this and I never did."

"We thought it was over," Michael said. "I mean as far as we knew there was the one time when he was in college and again right after he started work. He told us everything was fine."

"What happened?" she asked.

"It's a heart thing; an irregular heartbeat, or something. That's why he had to stop playing college ball."

"So, he was good," Pam said, piecing things together.

"Are you kidding?" Michael asked. "He was all-state in high school. He wasn't recruited that heavily, I think he was a late bloomer or something, so he went to junior college. They wanted him to go to Temple; full scholarship. Then he passed out in the middle of a game during his freshman year."

A buzz of activity caused Pam to turn around. Another person had entered the waiting room. She was a tall older woman with eyes like Jim's.

Michael got up and walked over to greet her. "I'm so sorry Larissa," he said.

"I got a call from an Andy at your office," Larissa Halpert said to Michael. "You're looking well," she managed. Pam's coworkers were all coming up to greet Jim's mom.

"So are you," Michael replied. "I've tried to get some information from the nurses, but they won't say anything. I told them I was Jim's best friend but they just walked away." Pam could tell he was about to start pouting again.

Larissa scanned the crowd and called out, "Hello Dwight."

"Hello Mrs. Halpert," Dwight answered extending his hand.

She shook his hand and said, "Dwight, I'd like for you to do me a favor, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Dwight said.

"Could you please go to the nurses' station and tell them that Jim Halpert's mother, the person with his power of attorney, is in the waiting room and that you are her representative. Say that she would like an update of her son's condition at their earliest convenience."

In spite of the situation, Dwight smiled. "It would be a pleasure," he said before marching into battle.

Larissa allowed herself a small smile. "That should take care of things, Michael," she replied. She turned her head to the right and asked, "Stanley, it's good to see you. How is your oldest daughter doing?"

"She's fourteen and spoiled rotten, Larissa. I guess it's hard not to indulge them at that age."

"You're probably right," Larissa agreed. She greeted Angela, Kevin, and Phyllis before turning to the receptionist. "You must be Pam."

"Yes, Mrs. Halpert," Pam said nervously.

"Larissa, please. Jim has told me so much about you, I feel I know you already." She turned to the assembled coworkers and said. "If you'll excuse me for a minute, I think I'd like to visit the chapel for a moment. Pam, will you come with me?"

Pam nodded and followed Jim's mom. They walked to the hospital chapel and sat in the empty room.

"You've been here before?" Pam asked.

"This is the third time I've been here for Jim," she replied. "I was here once when my husband passed away. It has an uncomfortable familiarity." She shook her head and laughed bitterly.

Pam was fidgeting. "I...I'm really sorry about everything."

"What do you mean, child?" Larissa asked.

"I don't know how much Jim has told you about..."

"Jim and I are extremely close, and you have nothing to apologize for."

"It's just that he left, then he came back and he was so skinny, and he wouldn't have pushed himself playing basketball if it wasn't for me and...'

Larissa raised her hand. "Please, take a breath before you pass out." She took a deep breath and looked at the receptionist. "How much do you know about Jim's condition?"

"I didn't know anything about it before today."

"That sounds like my son. He always had so much trouble dealing with it. When he had to quit the basketball team, it was like he just wanted to start over again. He dropped out, got a job at Dunder Mifflin, and that was supposed to cure everything. He never took his medication. After the second time I was here, the doctor said that if he didn't start taking his health seriously, he was going to be dead in six months. I needed a miracle."

"What happened?" Pam asked.

"Two weeks after he was released from the hospital, I called him and he spent the next hour talking about the new receptionist Michael had hired. It was the first time I'd heard him laugh in a year. Something about you, Dwight, and an accusation of murder."

Pam smiled at the memory.

"I believe that you gave my son something to look forward to; a reason to try to get better. The next time he had a physical, the doctor said he was taking his medication and his EKG was nearly normal." The older woman was starting to cry. "Whatever happens, you gave me another three years with my little boy and I can never repay you for that."

Michael, Dwight, and a doctor appeared at the Chapel door. "Mrs. Halpert, I'd like to talk to you about your son's condition," the doctor said.

Larissa took Pam's hand as she got up. "We can do this," she whispered to Pam.

 

Chapter 3 by malcolm lake
The doctor approached Pam and Larissa Halpert. The two women, who had just met moments before, were leaning against each other for support. Dwight and Michael stood just behind the physician.

"Hello, Dr. Lambert," Larissa said. "How is my son?"

"Jim is out of surgery. The next few hours will be key, but he's stable for now."

Suddenly, Pam felt Larissa collapsing against her. They both tumbled to the floor. Michael helped Pam get to a seated position while the doctor looked at Larissa.

The older woman opened her eyes and started crying. After a few minutes, she calmed down and the doctor was able to continue. "They inserted a pacemaker. Right now, Jim's heart muscle is responding well. They're keeping him sedated until they're sure the device is operating properly." He looked at Pam and added, "I've spoken to the physician in charge and you can be in the room with him when he wakes up. He'll be a little disoriented, so it might be good to have some friendly faces there.

Larissa nodded but still couldn't speak.

"Thank you doctor," Pam said. "We were really scared we were going to lose him."

"Well, a lot of the credit has to go to the person who performed CPR. He was lucky."

Pam looked at Dwight and said, "We'll have to thank her. It was Angela, the head of our Accounting Department." She saw the pride in Dwight's face.

"Jim owes her," the doctor said. "You might want to try and get Larissa something to eat. It'll be a few hours at least before we can let you see him."

The doctor left and Michael helped Larissa sit down.

"I thought he was dead," Larissa said. "The first time, I was so afraid he was going to die. I was a basket case. Afterwards I was so embarrassed." She wiped her eyes and looked over to Pam. "The second time, I was more prepared. I knew what to expect, but still I was surrounded by all these strangers and I couldn't stop crying." Now she was shaking. "This time I was determined. I was going to be kind and gracious and the doctor would tell me it was finally over. I would be strong until I got home and then I'd let him go. When I found out I might have to do this again, it was all just too much."

Pam grabbed Larissa's hands to steady them.

"Did I really want him to die," Larissa asked, not expecting an answer. "Am I really that horrible?"

Michael, of all people, had an answer. "No, I think it's just that each time hurts so much you can only hope you don't have to feel it again."

Larissa managed a nod. She took a deep breath and to Pam Jim's mom suddenly seemed so much older. "I think I would like something to eat."

Pam looked over to Dwight, "Could you bring Angela over to the cafeteria? I think we'd all like to thank her for helping Jim," she said.

"Certainly," Dwight said.

Michael helped Pam lead Larissa into the cafeteria and got her some soup. It seemed like the logical choice. Pam got some kind of a sandwich, she wasn't really sure if it was ham or turkey.

As she ate, she tried to understand everything that had happened and how she felt about it. Why hadn't Jim told her? Would it have made a difference in how she felt about him? Could she imagine being with someone who had a heart condition? She pushed the sandwich away.

Dwight brought Angela into the cafeteria and Larissa immediately drew the rigid accountant into a hug. In spite of the circumstances, Pam had to stifle a giggle. Angela was so torn between pride and her discomfort of emotional scenes. She couldn't decide what to do with her arms; her upper body was almost bent backwards trying to keep some personal space between her face and Larissa's. Finally she relented and returned the hug.

Pam left the cafeteria and was almost back to the waiting room when she saw the new girl, Karen, sitting alone in a hallway.

"Some day, huh?" Karen offered.

"Yeah, I..." Pam stopped and shrugged, not knowing what to say. Finally, she managed, "The doctor's say Jim's going to be okay. I mean, you know doctors, they never say it like that, but it looks like he'll make it. They had to put in a pacemaker or something, so I'm not sure what that means." Pam pointed towards the waiting room. "Do you want to..."

"No," Karen said, quickly. "I stuck my head in there and they all are still...I just wanted to find out... I mean. I guess it's..." She stopped and took a breath. "You and Jim are pretty close?"

Pam could see there was something behind the question. She sat down beside Karen. "Jim was my best friend," she started. Before today, that would have been the end of her explanation, but she didn't see the point in pretending anymore. "I was engaged to Roy from the warehouse."

"They guy from the game this morning?" Karen asked.

Pam nodded. "Just before my wedding, Jim said that he loved me and he wanted more than friendship. I said no, and he left for Stamford. It wasn't until he was gone that I realized that I loved him too. I called off the wedding."

"But you two aren't...together?"

"I was too scared to call him and he was too hurt to call me," Pam said, shaking her head. "We wasted all this time. I don't even know what he's been doing." She leaned towards Karen, her face anxious. "What was Jim like in Stamford?"

Karen smiled, "Well, the first few months, he was really quiet. He was always in the office, he did good work. But there was always something off. He seemed so sad."

Pam leaned her head back against the wall.

"But he got better. I mean, he started to come out of his shell eventually, and you know how everybody always seems to like him."

"I know," Pam said, laughing. "Even Roy liked him."

"He and Josh made a good team," Karen said. "I think he was really pushing himself, but there were these times when he would just do something that was so dorky but so sweet..."

"Did you...I mean do you...?" Pam stammered.

"I liked him," Karen clarified as she forced herself to straighten in her chair. "But I could tell there was always something holding him back. We're friends." She sighed and got up. "It's been a long day, and I need to get back to my hotel."

"That's right, you're in a hotel," Pam said. "That has to suck. Look, once things have calmed down, I'd like to have you over to my apartment for dinner. It would be great to have another friend in the office. In case you haven't noticed, some of your new coworkers can be a little hard to deal with sometimes."

"A little hard? That's an understatement," Karen said, shaking her head. "To be honest with you, I don't know if I can work with these guys."

"Well, I hope you stay. You seem really nice... Well, I better get back."

"Yeah," Karen said. "I understand." Karen walked to the elevator.

Pam didn't see that on the way down, she Karen reached into her purse and took out an empty bag of Herr's potato chips. She left it in the trashcan as she walked out to her car.

Chapter 4 by malcolm lake
Pam returned to the waiting room. Kevin had raided the vending machines and was eating a package of M&Ms. Larissa Halpert was sitting beside Phyllis. Jim's cardiologist, Dr. Lambert, returned, and everyone crowded around him.

The doctor said, "Okay, I know you all want to know how Jim is doing. We've installed a pacemaker and it appears to be regulating his heart function as we'd hoped. Jim will be here for a few more days, but he should be able to return to normal activities in a week or so. He can have visitors tomorrow."

Pam leaned against Stanley; who easily supported the slim receptionist. She felt like she was finally able to breathe again.

"Will he be like bedridden or anything?" Kelly asked. "Cause that would really suck. Like there was this movie where..."

"He should be fine. There are some things we'll have to keep an eye on, but there's no reason he can't live a normal life."

Pam caught Angela's eye and mouthed, "thank you,"

Angela smiled softly and nodded. The accountant looked over at Dwight and shivered. Pam wondered what she was thinking about.

Doctor Lambert told Larissa. "I'd like you to be there when Jim wakes up."

Larissa turned to Pam, "I think Jim would like to see you."

"And I should be there too. I'm his best friend," Michael said. Neither Larissa nor Pam could think of a way to nicely ask him to leave. The others filed out of the waiting room. Phyllis, Dwight, Stanley, and even Angela hugged Pam before leaving.

The doctor turned to the remaining trio and said, "Jim has to understand the seriousness of his situation. I'll need to be brutally honest with him. So you'll have to be quiet and not interrupt me as we talk."

All three nodded. "I understand," Michael said with enthusiasm. "It's going to be liked Scared Straight."

"Michael, please," Pam warned. Her boss nodded.

They went into intensive care and Pam was shocked at how Jim looked. His skin was almost gray. He was hooked up to an EKG machine and had IVs in his arm. She leaned back against the door frame and steadied herself.

"I should have warned you," the doctor said. "We had to cool down his body as part of the procedure. It's a temporary thing."

After a few moments, Jim began to stir. It took him some time to fully regain consciousness. He saw looked around and saw everyone. Pam saw Jim's face fall when he noticed her. She didn't want to guess what that meant.

The doctor finally spoke. "Jim, you've had surgery and are in the recovery room. You're very lucky to be alive."

"I don't really feel lucky right now," Jim said, his voice thick and slow.

"Well, I really don't give a damn what you feel right now," the doctor said. "You've gone off you medication again, haven't you?"

Jim was immediately defensive. "It's not like last time. I wasn't depressed." Pam had to look away at his comment. "I made an appointment with the doctor you recommended in Stamford, but they cancelled. Then I just couldn't get away. Josh and I were working these crazy hours trying to improve our numbers so the branch wouldn't have to close."

"Stupid Josh," Michael said.

Pam silenced her boss with a glare.

Doctor Lambert cut in. "Jim, I don't care. I told you before, you have two choices. You can keep up your maintenance or you can die. That's it."

Jim looked away and nodded.

"Now we've installed a pacemaker to regulate your heart function..."

Jim tried to sit up and fell painfully back onto the bed. "I told you before that I didn't want you to put anything inside me," he spat.

"Well I want a house in the country and patients who listen to me," the doctor replied equally bluntly. "We can't always have what we want."

"You have a house in the country," Jim countered, wearily.

"Well I guess I'm just luckier than you are. The technology has improved. It's safer than ever. There's no reason you can't recover if you take responsibility for your health. Will you do it?"

"It was just a couple weeks," Jim said, looking at his mom and Pam.

"You can't miss a day, Jim," Dr. Lambert cut in. "We've been over this too many times."

"I know," Jim answered. "Look, I... I'm back here now and I know what I need to do."

"You put a lot of folks through the ringer today," the doctor noted, his voice becoming calmer. "I had a whole waiting room full of people who wanted to make sure you were okay. So don't let them or yourself down." He patted Jim on the shoulder. "Now try to rest and I'll be in to see you in the morning. I have to get back to my house in the country."

Jim managed a weak smile as the doctor left. He looked at his mom, Pam, and Michael. "Look guys, I'm really sorry. It wasn't..."

"I don't care," Michael said. "You scared the crap out of us. Pam was crying, she yelled at me..."

"Michael, we don't need to make Jim feel any worse," Pam said.

Larissa Halpert said to Michael, "Why don't we get some tea. Pam, can you keep Jim company for a minute?" Pam nodded. "We'll be right back." She told her son.

Pam sat in the chair beside Jim's hospital bed.

"I am really sorry," Jim said, trying again to apologize.

"It's okay," Pam said, a little too quickly. Neither of them could think of anything else to say for a moment. Finally, the receptionist said, "It was Angela."

"What?"

"Angela performed CPR on you. She saved your life. I didn't know..."

"I should have told you a long time ago," Jim admitted.

"Why didn't you?" Pam asked.

Jim took a deep breath and winced slightly before he answered. "It's hard to talk about. I didn't want to seem...weak, I guess, around you. I didn't want to guilt you into having feelings for me."

"Well, you didn't," Pam said. "but I do. I've had them for a long time and I was too scared to admit it. Of course, as we always seem to do, I managed to let everyone in the office know before I was able to tell you."

"That sounds familiar," Jim agreed. "Although to be fair, I only told Michael."

Pam rolled her eyes. "The only worse thing would have been to tell Kelly...Or to do what I did." She knew she was blushing.

"Which was?" Jim asked.

"I made a huge scene when the paramedics came in. Michael had to pry my hands off of you so they could take you to the hospital. Then I screamed that I had to come with you."

Jim swallowed. He reached out his hand and Pam grabbed it and pulled it to her chest, leaning her chin against it. The beeps on the EKG became noticeably faster, and Pam worriedly dropped his hand.

The look of pain in Jim's face cut through her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, reaching out for him. He pulled his hand away.

"You should go," Jim said. Pam could tell he was holding back tears.

"I'm not leaving," Pam said quietly.

"Please," Jim begged. "you deserve someone who can be there for you. Not..."

"Not what?"

"Not someone who's broken." Finally the tears came for both of them. Pam leaned over the bed and put her head against Jim's neck as they cried together. Pam forced herself not to listen to the pinging of the EKG machine.

Finally she leaned back and got some water for Jim.

"I'm the one getting fluids," he noted. She took a sip of his water.

Pam found a box of tissues on the bedside table and dried her eyes. "There's something you should know," she said. "I was up all last night trying to get up the nerve to tell you how I felt. This isn't because you're sick." It pained her how surprised Jim looked as she spoke.

"Pam, I need to tell you that I've been out on a couple of dates with Karen," Jim said.

"I figured," Pam said. "She was here. She said that you two were friends."

"Yeah. We haven't..."

"Jim, I just wanted you to know how I felt. I know that I hurt you and if you don't..."

"I do, that's the problem," Jim said. "You deserve better than me."

Pam had been through too much today to put up with this. "Listen, if you're going to go into the ‘you need a big strong man' crap, I really am going home. Listen to me very carefully." She started ticking items off on her fingers. "I called off my wedding to Roy on my own. I have my own apartment. I'm taking art classes so I can have a career I love. I want to be with you, whether it's for two days or fifty years. So get over yourself and tell me you love me or I'm calling a cab."

"If you don't tell her, I will," Michael's voice called out from the doorway.

Pam buried her face in her hands.

"How long have you guys been there," Jim sighed.

"Since you told Pam that you dated some girl named Karen," Larissa Halpert replied.

"Add public nudity and my day would be complete," Jim said.

"Tell her," Michael warned.

"I love you," Jim dutifully said to Pam as he kissed her palm. "Michael, can you take her home?"

"Sure," his boss replied. "But we're going to talk tomorrow. I'm going to make sure that you take care of yourself from now on."

Pam suddenly had a painful vision of what the next few weeks might be like for Jim. She kissed Jim on the cheek and smiled. They still had a lot to talk about, and Jim had a lot to get through on his own. But this was a start.

"Larissa," Michael asked, "do you need a ride?"

"No thank you, Michael. I'll be fine here for now."

The activities of the day were finally catching up to Pam. By the time she had made it to Michael's car, she was practically asleep on her feet.

Pam woke up several hours later. She nervously reached out and was able to find a lamp. There were pictures of Michael and the Dunder Mifflin crew on the wall, so she guessed he had taken her to his condo. "I guess I never told him where I lived," she realized. She leaned back on the couch and thought, "Wow, Michael was very much the gentleman last night." That was when she looked down and noticed that her blouse and skirt had been removed. She cast her eyes heavenward. "Jim was the one asking for public nudity, not me," she said.

Chapter 5 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:
Thanks to everyone who has read and those who took the time to review.  This chapter basically deals with Pam processing what's happened, so not a lot of action here.  The next bit will pick up the pace - ml
Chapter 5

Pam quickly dressed and used her cell phone to call a cab, desperate to repress the thought of Michael taking off her clothes. Some things are best left forgotten. It was two in the morning and she wanted to get back to her own bed. She sat outside, shivering against the cold, and tried to reconcile the events of the day. She thought about the people who had been at Dunder Mifflin when she started work. How had Jim's illness shaped their feelings towards the friendly salesman?

In a way, it made sense that Michael had never mentioned Jim's health. She remembered how badly he had reacted when his former boss, Ed Truck, died. The thought that Jim, who was even younger than Michael, could pass away must have been terrifying.

Obviously, Michael considered Jim a friend and had a high opinion of the salesman. Maybe the reason why Dwight was still assistant (to the) regional manager was because of Jim's condition. It was obvious that while Michael knew Dwight was a good salesman, he had little respect for the high strung beet farmer.

As the cab showed up and Pam asked to be driven back to Dunder Mifflin, she started thinking about how Dwight treated Jim. It could be that part of the reason Dwight put up with Jim's pranks was his out of deference to the younger man's condition. That being said, she remembered how often Dwight would talk about his genetic superiority. Jim's pranks always seemed a bit more ruthless after Dwight went off on one of those rants. Granted, Jim's meanest prank had taken place after Dwight had loudly informed Pam that "women's problems," were no excuse for being late for work. She laughed remembering how Jim had somehow managed to find Dwight's house and insert an indelible ink cartridge into the shower head in his bathroom. It had taken five weeks before all traces of pigment were scrubbed from Dwight's pale face.

Pam paid the cabbie and got into her small car. She cranked up the seat warmer; it was the only extravagance she'd allowed herself when she bought it. As she drove home and let the heat loosen the tightness in her back, she thought how protective Phyllis had always been to Jim. Even Stanley never had a bad thing to say about him, and the things Stanley liked could be safely counted on one hand with a finger or two left to spare. Then she thought about how concerned Jim had been when Kevin announced he might have skin cancer.

The only person whose actions she couldn't understand was Angela. She must have known about Jim's condition, yet she had always been cold to him, even before he really began pranking Dwight.

She got back to her apartment and nibbled on a cereal bar before settling into bed. As she pulled up the blanket, she started thinking about Jim. How he had dropped out of college and started at Scranton, hoping that the change would make everything better. Just like how after she told him she was going to marry Roy he had transferred to Stamford, hoping for the same thing. How he said he hadn't wanted to be pitied or to guilt Pam into having feelings for him. She wondered if that was why he kept silent about his feelings for so long. That was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Pam got up early so that she could visit the hospital before work. Larissa Halpert was still there, and both she and Jim smiled as the receptionist entered the room. "We had a good night," she told Pam. "Jim was able to go to the bathroom by himself and he's already had breakfast."

Jim shot a glare at his mother, "Mom, please don't talk about me like I'm three years old."

Larissa shot back a deadly smile. "Just giving you incentive to never put me through this again, dear."

Pam's eyes grew wide, "Damn, she's good," the receptionist thought. She walked over to Jim's bed and took his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Physically, it's fine. I'm just really tired." Jim did look better. His skin had lost the gray sheen of the previous evening and they had removed the IV. "Otherwise, I just feel stupid," Jim admitted. "It's going to be so weird having to go back and face everyone. Especially since this probably wouldn't have happened if I'd taken better care of myself in Stamford. It's just that things were so crazed at the end. And we'd pulled it off. I mean, if Josh hadn't just been using our work to get a better job at Staples." Jim mused for a moment. "That doesn't even sound like me, does it?"

"I'm glad you recognized that, it was beginning to freak me out," Pam admitted. "It didn't sound like the Jim I..." Pam remembered they weren't alone, "knew."

"Well, all I can say is it's a good thing I've come back," Jim replied. "I wasn't really fond of Corporate Jim."

"But hey, it worked out for you. I mean, think of what it means now that you're Dwight's boss," Pam said.

Jim chuckled. Then his face fell, "I'm not going to be able to do anything to him now. It would be like, Jim is an evil boss." He looked like a child who had lost his second favorite toy.

Pam patted his hand. "Don't worry. Michael is Dwight's boss and he makes Dwight do his laundry." Seeing Jim's confused look, Pam simply said, "Long story. Well, I have to go. I've got a long day answering phones ahead of me." She leaned forward and gave Jim a quick kiss. It was a short peck, the kind of kiss you give someone when their mother is watching you. "Think about me today," she said.

"That's something I can do," Jim replied.

Pam arrived at Dunder Mifflin a few minutes early. The new guy, Andy, was already in the office. Just as Pam turned on her computer, Roy came into the office and walked up to her desk.

"Hey Pammy," her ex-fiancé said.

She could never convince him just how much she hated that nickname.

"I saw the ambulance. How's Halpert?"

"They think he'll be okay. They installed a pacemaker."

"That sounds serious. I feel kind of guilty about yesterday. I just wanted... I don't know...I wanted to show..."

"I know," Pam said, and she did. There was no need to make Roy say that he wanted to show Pam that he was a better man than Jim. She knew that Roy saw himself as competing with the salesman, but that wasn't the issue. Jim and Pam fit. They had the same sense of humor, the same appreciation for each other, the same need to spend time together. Roy would be perfect for a lot of women. Jim was perfect for her.

"So probably no more basketball for Halpert, huh?"

"I don't know," Pam answered. "The doctor said that he could resume a normal life. I don't know if that means he'll be working out or not." She looked around and saw that Andy had gotten up and moved to the break room. She turned back to Roy, wanting to say this in the gentlest way possible. "Look, this thing with Jim has made me think." It killed her to see the glimmer of hope in Roy's eyes. "I realized that Jim means a lot to me and I need to be with him right now. I hope this won't be weird for you."

Roy's face fell. He knew now that he had really lost her. "Yeah, I understand... I need to get to work." He turned around, not wanting her to see just how much he was hurting.

After Roy left Andy left the break room and ambled up to Pam's desk. "So Pammy, how's the Big Tuna?"

The next person who called her "Pammy" was going to lose a finger. "Who?"

Andy clarified. "Big Tuna, the conquering hero, the new number two..."

"Around here we mostly just call him Jim," Pam said.

"Figures. Scranton," Andy said. "Look I know that you're friends with Tuna and, judging from the guy who was just here, several other men around the office, but you might want to think about the new sheriff in town?"

"Who?" Pam asked again, torn between confusion and outrage.

Andy shook his head and began speaking to Pam as if she were a child. "You should think about me, my little owl. After all, Michael left me in charge on my first day in Scranton."

"Everyone else was at the hospital," Pam noted.

"It's just a matter of time," Andy continued breezily. "Dwight's obviously a mental case, Tuna is too fragile, and Michael is hanging onto his job by his fingernails. Josh couldn't have left at a better time for me. A few well chosen words to Jan when she comes to inspect the troops, and yours truly is going to be the head honcho around here. If you stick with me, you could really go places," he tried to look down her blouse as he grabbed a jellybean.

"I have faxes that need to go out," Pam said, her jaw clenched as she pulled some papers to her chest.

"Think about it," Andy said, his face deadly serious.

The Scranton crew showed up at their normal times, and all of them wanted updates about Jim's condition. Pam avoided going into the details that Clarissa had shared with her, although she was tempted to relay the information to Dwight.

When Michael showed up Pam thought she saw him blushing. She thanked him for the ride and the place to crash. To her shock he didn't mention undressing her before putting her to bed. She was so relieved that Michael hadn't broadcast it around the office that she didn't really mind when he announced to everyone "Now we need to be nice to Pam today. She's in love with Jim so she has to be going through a lot right now."

Pam merely buried her face in her hands as she heard Kelly squeal. At least she'd already told Roy. That was the small blessing in this. When she was able to look around the office again, Kevin caught her eye and giggled at her. Karen had her head buried near her computer monitor.

At nine-thirty, the phone rang for about the twentieth time that morning. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

"Hey, it's Jim."

"Hey, how are you doing? Any more bathroom successes you want to talk to me about?"

"Please," Jim begged. "My mom has been absolutely brutal today. She finally went home a little while ago. I'm not even going to tell you what she said to the nurse this morning."

"Something about a sponge bath?"

"Don't even go there, Beesly. Listen, my cell phone's at my desk. Could you charge it and have someone drop it off here? If any of my clients really need to talk to me you can just patch them through."

"So I'm speaking with Corporate Jim?" Pam asked.

"It's better than sitting in this bed watching SportsCenter on a continuous loop."

"I was thinking of visiting you at lunch, so I can do it."

"Wow, that'd be great. I mean, I know you have a lot of stuff to do..."

"Jim, you know that I don't. Can I bring you anything?"

"Maybe jellybeans?" Jim asked.

"Sure." Pam saw nobody was near her desk, so she said softly, "Hey, I wanted to ask you about one of the Stamford guys."

"Who?"

"Andy."

"Yeah, he's kind of strange. And I say this as someone who's worked next to Dwight K. Shrute for five years. I put his stapler in Jello and I thought his head was going to explode."

Pam's frown deepened. Should she tell Jim what the new guy had said? No more secrets, she decided. "He came by this morning and said that he thought he'd be in charge of the branch soon. It was kind of slimy."

Jim was silent.

"I'm sorry, I know it's probably the last thing you need to hear now but..."

"No, I'm glad you told me. I got that vibe from him in Stamford. With Josh around, he managed to keep it low-key. I'll have to do something when I get back. Tell you what, transfer me to Dwight."

"He and Andy have already had an insult match this morning, just so you know." She didn't want him to have to deal with this now. "I didn't mean to..."

"Stop it Beesly. You did the right thing. Know that I love you and let me talk to Mr. Bears, Beets, and Battlestar Galactica."

"Love you," Pam whispered back. She put Jim on hold and called out, "Dwight, Jim is on the phone and wants to talk to you."

Dwight looked surprised. Pam silently monitored the conversation as Dwight looked happier and happier the longer he was on the phone. When he hung up, he marched over to Andy and said, "Jim has, quite appropriately, named me acting number two in his absence. He also suggested that you might benefit from some field time with me so that I can show you the Scranton way of representing Dunder Mifflin."

Pam stifled a giggle at that. She could picture Andy's reaction to being dragged to Dwight's beet farm. From the stories Jim and Ryan had told, this was going to be an event Andy wouldn't forget anytime soon.

Dwight dropped by Pam's desk and whispered, "Jim said that you alerted him to the situation with Andy. I appreciate your assistance and loyalty."

"It needed to be done," Pam said solemnly.

"I think the time in Stamford did him some good," Dwight mused. "I... I hope things work out for you." In spite of everything, it seemed that even Dwight liked Jim.

Pam started to tear up. "Thanks. I'm going to drop off his cell phone at lunch. If you need him, you can call."

"He mentioned that, but I wasn't certain he was being serious. Interesting. I need to call my cousin Mose." Dwight went back to his desk.

Pam was confident that she would have a story to tell Jim by lunch time.

Chapter 6 by malcolm lake
Just before Pam left for lunch, Dwight and Andy returned. Both men looked strange. Pam thought she heard Andy whimper, "Beets," as he walked past. After a few moments, Dwight quietly made his way to reception. "I think Andy has...issues. He kicked a hole in Mose's barn." Saddened, he made his way back to his desk.

Pam grabbed Jim's cell phone and charger and some other items she thought he might be able to use and put them in his messenger bag. She bought some jelly beans and another item and hurried to the hospital. As she was approaching the elevator, she thought she saw Angela's familiar figure through the closing metal doors. Why would Angela visit Jim?

Another elevator door opened and Pam walked in, quickly pushing the button to Jim's floor. She was struck by a horrible, but oddly fascinating thought. What if Angela and Jim had a secret affair before Pam came to work at Dunder Mifflin? That might explain the accountant's hostility to the salesman.

As the door opened, Pam snuck her head outside the door and peaked down the hall. Sure enough, Angela was entering Jim's room.

"Are you getting out?" A voice asked.

Pam remembered she wasn't alone in the elevator. "Yeah, sorry." She hoped the blush on her cheeks would fade before she saw Jim.

As she approached Jim's door, she heard him say, "I'm really glad you came. I just want to say how sorry I am about what happened after my last... thing."

Pam thought, "Oh my God! They did have an affair!" She stepped back so they wouldn't see her.

Jim continued, "When I came back to the office and you said that I'd be welcome to attend your church, I should have reacted better. Me saying that if there was a God he wouldn't have done this to me was out of line. I should have apologized right after that. My only excuse was that I was in a bad place and by the time I realized what a jerk I'd been, you'd quite understandably written me off as a bad person."

"Thank you for apologizing. I'm sorry that you felt you had to go to Toby about it."

Jim's confusion was evident in his voice. "I never went to Toby. I was an ass, but I'd never try to get you in trouble."

"Oh," Angela said. "Well, I guess it was someone else." Pam could tell Angela was confused. The accountant finally continued, "Only it happened like the next day..."

"Angela, I'm serious. I didn't talk to Toby."

"I...I believe you," Angela allowed. Pam could almost hear the tightly wound accountant fidgeting.

Jim filled the conversational void, "I really need to thank you for what you did yesterday."

"That's not why I'm here. I..." Angela said. Pam could tell she was working herself up to saying something that was important to her. "Michael announced this morning that you and Pam apparently are in love."

"Did he actually say it out loud? Was Pam there?" Jim asked. Apparently Angela nodded. "Poor Beesly. That's so not what she wanted to have happen."

"Anyway," Angela pressed on. "Pam isn't so...She tries..." Finally, she bit the bullet and said, "Pam is my friend."

Pam could hear the little gasp in Angela's voice that she'd actually been able to say it.

"And she's had a hard time the last few months. You need to be good to her."

"I'll try my best," Jim answered.

"And-you-should-make-an-honest-woman-of-her-and-go-to-church." It all came out as one word in a gasp.

"I'll see what she thinks about that as soon as I can," Jim promised.

"And you could be nicer to Dwight...in sales."

Jim chuckled at that. "You know the office would be a lot less fun if that happened."

"Dwight can be enjoyable when he's...stimulated," Angela said. Pam could tell the accountant was smiling. "But no more dye in the shower. That was really...dangerous."

"I'll remember that," Jim promised.

"Get better," Angela said as she started walking to the door.

Pam ducked into the next room and closed the door. The older gentleman in the bed asked, "Did Charlie send you?" with wide eyes. Pam leaned her head back against the door and sighed. She didn't have any more blood to send to her cheeks.

"Sorry, wrong room."

"Believe me, I'm the one who's sorry." Seeing Pam's shocked look, he rationalized. "Hey, I've got a quadruple bypass in two days. Gotta live while you can, ya know?"

Pam exited as quickly as she could.

Jim smiled as Pam entered his room. "Your face is flushed, did you run up the stairs or something?" he asked.

"No, it's just the kind of day I'm having," Pam replied as she came to his bed and gave him a longer, softer kiss than she had earlier in the day.

When they parted, Jim said, "Angela just left. She told me about Michael's little announcement."

Pam pulled up a chair beside his bed. "I know. I heard you talking when I came in and I didn't want to intrude." She started putting the items she'd brought on the table by Jim's bedside.

"Didn't want to intrude or were more interested in playing Harriet the Spy?" Jim asked, amused as he took her hand.

"I was always more of a Nancy Drew girl," Pam said. "So why was Angela here?"

"We just needed to clear some things up, and I wanted to thank her for, you know, the whole life saving thing."

"Good," Pam relied as she leaned back into her chair. "Dwight and Andy got back just as I was getting ready to leave. I'm not sure who was in worse shape."

"Maybe they'll bother each other so much they'll leave the rest of us alone," Jim said, wistfully.

"I don't know," Pam mused. "I mean, Dwight is strange, but I'm used to him. I think I like him more than Andy." She really had been creeped out by the Stamford guy this morning.

"Well, as number two I have to be impartial, but I'm not saying you can't take sides," Jim replied.

"Good," Pam smiled, "Because when I got your jelly beans I also found this," she reached into her purse and took out a jar of beet juice. "I'm thinking of leaving it on Andy's desk tonight."

"Nice touch," Jim agreed. "Subtle."

Doctor Lambert, Jim's heart doctor, came into the salesman's room. "Hi Jim," he said. "everything is looking pretty good this morning," he said as he looked through his notes. "And you are..." he asked, looking at Pam.

"This is Pam Beesly," Jim replied. "My girlfriend." Jim looked at Pam and shyly smiled. "It's nice to finally be able to call you that." Pam smiled back at him, then looked at their intertwined hands. They seemed to fit together nicely.

The doctor interrupted their moment, "Jim, I need to discuss your new medications with you...this may not be the best time..."

Jim took a deep breath. "I need to deal with this. Pam, if you're okay with staying..."

"I want to know," she replied.

Doctor Lambert looked at them. It was like he was giving either of them a moment to change their minds. Finally he started. "Okay, first the good news. The heart musculature is okay. The pacemaker is functioning as designed. There should be no problem with discharging you tomorrow. You can be back at work on Monday. Keep up with your meds and you can start physical therapy next week, with a return to normal activities in a month."

"Wow," Pam said. "That sounds great."

"Yeah," Jim said, but he noticed the look on his doctor's face. "What's the bad news?"

The doctor didn't hesitate. "We've had to switch your medication. With the new drug, there is a chance you will have certain sexual side effects."

Jim's face paled, "Do you mean, impotence?"

Pam didn't know what to say. She looked away from Jim and tried to focus on the doctor.

"Based on our clinical data, it's reported in about ten percent of our patients. If it happens, we can explore medical options."

"Okay," Jim said, slowly. "We can discuss this later. Thanks for letting me know."

"Fine," the doctor replied. "I'll get some information for you before we let you go. The main thing to remember Jim is that this medication is what's keeping you alive. We can find ways to deal with any side effects that you encounter, but you will need to take this for the foreseeable future."

Jim nodded. "I know. We'll make it work." The earlier optimism in Jim seemed to have faded, replaced by a grim knowledge that this was what he had to do. ‘

The doctor mentioned a few other cautions and was out of Jim's room a few minutes later, leaving an overpowering silence in his wake.

"You probably need to get back to the office," Jim finally said.

"Jim, it's going to be okay," Pam said.

"I hope so," Jim answered. "It's just like it seems were finally on the same page and now this..."

She leaned forward and kissed him again. She could only imagine how worried Jim was right now. There were a couple of times Roy had "a little problem" after a night of drinking and he was always deeply embarrassed afterwards. She wanted to do something to make Jim feel better. "We'll get through this...." She paused and smiled. "Do me a favor."

"Sure, anything," Jim replied.

"Stick out your tongue," Pam said. Jim complied. Pam continued, "Hmmm." She said as if in contemplation. "Yes, I think we'll be just fine."

She was rewarded by seeing Jim's face redden. "Beesly!" It felt good to cause a blush for a change.

Pam finally had to get back to the office so she walked to the elevators. The door opened and a tall blonde with obviously fake boobs and a naughty nurse's outfit on walked out. Pam had to ask. "Did Charlie send you?"

The blonde nodded.

"Room 203," Pam replied. "Be careful, this is the coronary ward. And stay away from room 205." There are some things Jim was better off not seeing, regardless of his medical condition.

Chapter 7 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:
After reading some of the stories posted recently, I've had Thai food on the brain.  Wonder why...  Anyway, here's the next bit.  Hope it doesn't suck
By the time Pam returned from lunch, the first Stamfordite had quit. Apparently Michael had forbidden the large man from getting on an elevator that held Michael, Dwight, Andy, and Kevin. Something about fearing they were exceeding the weight limit of the device, Pam didn't get all of the details.

Shortly after Pam returned, she noticed Karen leaving. At the same time, Phyllis slowly approached the reception desk. "So, did you go to see Jim at lunch?" the salesperson asked.

"Yeah, he's doing better," Pam said. "He asked if I could drop off his cell phone and a couple of files."

"He isn't trying to work, is he?"

"I think he just doesn't want to sit around and worry," Pam replied.

Phyllis leaned forward and said even more softly than normal, "Bob Vance had a heart attack two years ago." Phyllis' eyes became distant, and Pam saw her look away. "We were just friends then, but he acted so strangely afterwards. He started working even longer hours, like he had something to prove. We...we finally had a fight about it. That's when we...." She looked back at Pam and offered her a shy smile. "He really needs someone to look after him, you know?" Pam wasn't sure if she was still talking about Bob or if they had shifted the topic back to Jim.

Neither of them had seen Kelly approaching. "Oh my God," Kelly exclaimed, "Are you guys talking about Jim? Because Pam, I know you're crazy for him and all, but can you really be with someone who could just die on you? I mean I don't let Ryan do anything that might hurt him. There was this time when some of his friends were going skydiving and I totally told him he couldn't do it. He ended up visiting his mom that weekend, which was so cool. I wished I could have gone along."

Normally Pam would have just let it go, but something about the way Kelly had just dismissed Jim forced her to reply, "So, instead of leaving you alone for the weekend to go skydiving, Ryan left you alone for the weekend to visit his mother...who lives in town...about five minutes away from him." She had to admit that Michael was right; there were times when having up to date emergency contact information was extremely beneficial. "Was that the weekend he came back with a twisted knee?"

Phyllis gave Pam a scandalized grin as realization finally swept over Kelly. The customer service rep turned around and yelled "Ryan, you did NOT just go skydiving behind my back!" Ryan decided it was time to get a coke. Kelly followed after him, her voice never dropping in volume as she demanded an answer.

Shortly after that, the former Stamford employee Pam could only identify as "the new mommy" stormed off to Toby's cube after Creed managed to take a picture of her as she attached her breast pump. Five minutes later, she had packed up her few personal items and was out the door.

Pam was always a little scared of Creed so she couldn't bring herself to look at the old man. She wondered how Jan would react to losing two valued employees within two days of the merger. Would it make Jim look bad? Could he have done anything if he'd been in the office?

The office phone rang. It was Jan, asking to speak with Andy. After a few minutes, she called again, asking for Michael. Five minutes later, Jan rang again. "Pam, how is Jim doing?"

"I visited him during lunch and he seemed much better. The doctors say he should be able to come home tomorrow."

"Good. Michael said that you took his cell phone to him, can I have the number?"

Pam didn't like the sound if this, but knew she had to do what Jan had asked.

As she was thinking about what Jan could be talking to Jim about, Karen returned from lunch and asked Pam to meet her in the break room. Pam entered and said, "I went to see Jim at lunch, and..."

"I know," Karen said. "So did I. He mentioned you'd dropped off his cell phone and some jelly beans. He seems better than I thought he would, I mean considering."

"Yeah," Pam agreed. "He looked terrible last night, but the doctor said it was because they had to cool his body for the surgery. When I saw him I..."

"Look," Karen interrupted again. "I know this probably is rude as hell, but I already took a long lunch and I've got to get something done today. I like Jim. It doesn't matter because he's got a thing for you and I won't be anyone's second choice. He didn't say anything when we talked today, but I know him pretty well and I can tell he's almost as scared about the thing with you as he is about his heart. You really did a number on him."

Pam took a deep breath. Karen was nothing if not direct. "He's not the only one who got hurt," she said softly.

"I believe you," Karen said. "But Jim's my friend. It was hard to get through to him, though. You need to understand how much power you have over him. If you break his heart again he'll never got over it; and that would be a shame."

"I know." Pam said.

Karen nodded. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, Jim says that you're pretty great and that we could be friends. I'm willing to try." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Karen."

Pam smiled and did the same, "Pam, pleased to meet you." They shook hands and Karen went back to her desk.

When Pam returned to reception, she had a voicemail from Jim. He sounded falsely cheery. "Hey, it's me. I spoke with the doctor and I'm getting out of the hospital today. Time off for good behavior I guess. Anyway, my mom is taking me home and I'll probably just sleep tonight. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Anyway, I love you...bye."

Pam remembered the doctor telling Jim he could be released tomorrow. Why had they moved it up a day?

She walked over to Karen's desk. "Did Jim say when he was getting out of the hospital?" Pam asked.

"He said tomorrow," Karen replied.

"That's what I thought," Pam said. "I just got a voicemail saying that he was getting released today and that his mom was taking him home..." She trailed off. It was probably nothing. "Anyway, I was wondering since you're new to town and staying in a hotel, I thought you might like someone to show you around a little."

"I'd like that. So far the only place I've been to is Chili's and I'm not really the biggest fan."

"Me neither," Pam said, not mentioning her lifetime ban from that restaurant chain. "We don't have the greatest variety around here, but there's a pretty nice Thai place."

"I love Thai food," Karen said enthusiastically.

Andy walked past at that moment. "Sounds like you two are going on a date," Andy said with a laugh.

Karen gave Andy a passing glance then looked at Pam. The receptionist had tried not to flinch when Andy arrived, but she could tell that Karen noticed her reaction.

Karen said, "Yes Andy, I want Pam to know that she has options." She let her hand slide slowly down Pam's arm as she winked at Pam. Pam, used to playing along with pranks, gave a visible shiver of anticipation.

When she looked back at Andy, she could see how flushed his face was.

Pam actually ended up having a good time with Karen that night. She seemed to be in almost constant motion even when sitting in the booth at the restaurant: commenting on the food and decor, the people, the office. It was a long, noisy conversation. It was different than hanging out with Kelly because with Kelly you could just start her talking and let your mind drift for a while, confident you wouldn't miss anything. With Karen, you had to be constantly engaged in what was going on. Pam hadn't been around anyone with Karen's intensity and it was fun, though kind of exhausting.

The next morning, Pam sleepily entered the office and was surprised to see Jim in the office. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.

Jim looked guilty. "I'm not going to do much, I promise. It's just that Jan is worried because of what happened yesterday so I said I would come in and talk to Michael and the folks who transferred from Stamford, just to try and stabilize things."

"You should be at home resting...Or in the hospital," Pam said.

"Everything in my apartment is still in boxes. Believe me, I'll do less work here."

Pam wasn't happy about this, but it was his decision. "Here are your messages."

Jim looked through the items while he was standing at her desk. Some of the messages he kept, others he crumbled into a ball. He turned and flipped the first one towards the recycle bin. It fell several feet short.

"Smooth move Tuna," Andy said from his desk.

Jim picked up the crumbled papers from Pam's desk and the one from the floor and placed them in the container. Pam saw the slump in Jim's shoulders as he sank into his desk chair.

Kevin approached Jim at his desk soon afterward. Pam tried not to listen in as the accountant said, "Hey. I know you and Pam are like, together now, right?"

Jim tensed. "I'd really rather not talk about this, Kev."

"Well, it's just that with your heart thing and all, I know there's a chance that you two could be...doing...it and you could just die."

"Kev..."

Kevin brazened on, "When I had my...thing last year, I thought of the music I wanted them to play at my wake. I made a list. Maybe you should, too. Here's some songs that I came up with." He handed Jim a piece of paper.

"Kev, I really don't think," Jim's eyes accidentally looked at the first name on the list, "All Things Must Pass, by George Harrison. Wow. I really like that song."

"It's...Classy." Kevin agreed in his slow cadence. "I like the version off the Beatles Anthology. It's acoustic."

"Full Force Gale by Van Morrison, I like that one, too. Johnny Was by Bob Marley; Kevin this is really..." He trailed off and looked up at the accountant and said, "You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC?"

Kevin giggled.

Jim's glare was broken by the smallest of smiles as he sneaked a look at Pam, who was conspicuously looking away while drumming along to a rock beat with two pens.

The mood was broken when Michael walked through the door. "Jimbo, what are you doing here? Was the hospital food that bad?"

Jim slowly got out of his chair and approached his boss. "Michael, we need to talk in your office."

"If this is about Jan's call yesterday, I..."

"Michael, please," Jim said.

Michael nodded and they went into his office. Jim, walking slowly, closed the door as he entered.

Chapter 8 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.  I think we're looking at two or three more chapters.  Hope this bit's okay.

 

Jim was in Michael's office and the door was closed. A few minutes later, Jan called and was transferred to Michael. Then Toby was called into the office.

Pam knew that this wasn't a good sign. She looked over at Jim's new desk and saw that Dwight had opened Jim's messenger bag and found a bottle of pills. He was busily copying down the information on the label. Pam suddenly remembered the side effects that the doctor had told her and Jim about.

"Dwight, could you not do that?" She asked as she walked over to him.

Dwight looked puzzled. "I think what happened on Monday shows that I need to keep this information on file, Pam."

Pam looked around and saw Andy eying things curiously. She pulled Dwight away. "Okay, I understand. It's just that...I need you to promise me something."

"What?" Dwight asked slowly, not willing to agree to anything without further information.

Pam whispered to him. "Please don't share the information with anyone and don't look up the medication."

"Why?" Dwight asked. "Pam, if anyone should want to make sure..."

"Please, Dwight," Pam whispered even more softly. "We can talk about this later but for now can you just trust me on this?"

Dwight clearly didn't understand, but he did try to be a gentleman. Especially when his own survival wasn't compromised. "I can do that."

"Thank you," Pam said, gently squeezing Dwight's shoulder as she took the pill bottle from him and returned it to Jim's bag. As she was returning to her desk, Karen arrived and waved. The salesperson heard Jim's voice through the door and looked over at Pam. "What's he doing here?"

Pam could only shrug as the phone rang. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

"Pam, this is Larissa Halpert." She sounded frightened. "I've just gotten to Jim's apartment and he's not here. Did he have to go back to the hospital?"

Pam hesitated, "No, uh, Mrs. Halpert, he's..." Karen paused by Pam's desk.

Larissa cut in, "He's not in the office today..." Suddenly her voice was very, no strike that, VERY angry.

"He's meeting with Michael," Pam said.

"His father must have dropped that boy on his head and was too afraid to tell me. That's the only possible reason for my son to be such an idiot. They only let Jim out of the hospital because he swore he would stay in bed for the rest of the week."

"I'm really sorry...We didn't know..." Pam glanced up at Karen and seeing the confused look on her face, hit the speaker phone.

Larissa was positively ranting. "You should have heard him, ‘Don't worry about me, mom, I have plenty of food in the fridge' he said. There's half a pizza and three beers." In spite of everything, Pam and Karen giggled. Jim's mom continued, "‘You don't need to come over until my doctor's appointment on Friday, I'm not going anywhere.' He doesn't have to worry about his heart. I'm going to kill him with my own two hands." Noticing the looks from the other folks in the office, Pam cut off the speaker and picked up the receiver again.

Larissa paused for a breath and Pam was finally able to cut in. "Mrs. Halpert, I'll make sure he leaves the office."

"Thanks," Larissa said, finally beginning to calm down. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't your fault. It's just, I can't believe him sometimes. I drove for an hour and I get here to find an empty apartment full of boxes..."

"Well, I could take him to my place," Pam offered, thinking out loud. "You could come by during the day and I could sleep on the couch at night; it's pretty comfortable." She'd slept on the couch often enough after leaving Roy. It seemed she'd spent half the summer there, watching sad movies and napping between crying jags.

"We couldn't impose," Larissa said.

"Please, it would be nice to have the company," Pam said, hurriedly. "Besides, that way I could keep an eye on him when you're not around." Karen had walked away and was now at her desk.

Hearing no objections from Jim's mom, Pam continued. "Can you give me Jim's new number? I'll call you as soon as I can get Jim out of here and we'll meet at my place." She gave Larissa the address and prepared to deal with Jim.

Jim left Michael's office a few minutes later and called out to the office. "Everybody, if we could just meet in the conference room for a minute. I promise, it won't take long." He caught the look in Pam's eyes and immediately looked apologetic. Michael, for once silent, walked past Jim and sat in one of the chairs in the conference room.

As Pam approached Jim, he whispered, "Can we talk after the meeting?"

"You bet we will," Pam said grimly. "By the way, your mom called," Pam stated as she walked past him.

She heard him whimper, "Oh great."

As soon as everyone was in the conference room, Jim started. Pam could tell that he looked really uncomfortable as he sat in front of them. "First off, I'd like to apologize for all of the drama this week. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was to cause a distraction to the staff. I'd like to thank you all for your friendship and support and I'd especially like to thank Angela and Dwight for their actions when I had my... thing."

"The proper term is ‘cardiac arrest,'" Dwight supplied.

"What? Oh, right. Thanks Dwight. Anyway, Corporate wanted me to go over a couple of things. First, we wanted to express our regret over the loss of two of our valued colleagues from the Stamford branch who resigned yesterday. We appreciate the sacrifices that they made to try and make this situation work and why they considered it necessary to make the choices they did. To all of you, if workplace circumstances make you uncomfortable, we encourage you to speak with Toby, Michael, or myself about the situation and give us a chance to make things right. While we understand why some of you may have thought it necessary to involve the Corporate office," Pam's eyes cut over to Andy, who was sitting beside Karen. "We hope to show you by our actions that we are committed to providing a harassment-free environment."

Pam didn't like the sound of this. And the way that Michael was just sitting there with his head down was so out of character for her boss. Suddenly Jim's appearance in the office made more sense.

Jim continued. "I will be in and out of the office for the next few days, and I hope you can understand my situation. But I will email everyone my cell number and please feel free to call me anytime you have concerns. Does anyone have any questions?"

Andy raised his hand. "Tuna, I'm sure I speak for us all when I say how much we appreciate you coming here from your sick bed to talk to us and we know that in spite of everything that you are trying your best."

"Uh, thanks, but I'm fine. Was there a question in that?"

"No, just wanted to say something. Hope that's alright."

"Sure," Jim replied. "Anything else?"

Kelly piped in, "So, are you going to have, like massive scars or anything? I mean, I know some girls really like them, like my friend Connie totally gets off on motorcycle scars. But some girls don't and anyway, they still want their boyfriends tell them what their doing before they go skydiving, Ryan...."

"No real scars, Kell," Jim cut in. He sighed visibly and took a deep breath before asking. "Is that all?"

Karen asked, "What the hell are you doing here, Jim?"

Jim hesitated. "I was asked to participate in a meeting this morning and talk to you guys. Believe me, I'm okay. Now if there's nothing else, I know you all have work to do."

The meeting broke up, but Karen and Pam walked up to Jim, so he didn't even attempt to get out of his chair. He tried to explain, "I'll only stay half a day, tops. I'll just sit at my desk and do paperwork. It's no big deal."

"Your mom was worried when she called," Pam said. "When she found out you were here, she freaked. You are in so much trouble with all of us."

Jim looked from Karen to Pam and knew he was trapped. "Jan called me yesterday. She said if I couldn't get a handle on things she'd fire Michael and bring in a new manager. She understood the position I was in, but she was so angry after she talked with Michael she was ready to drive down and fire him herself."

"So?" Karen asked.

"So, Michael isn't the easiest person to deal with, but he's a good guy."

"Well that last thing wasn't even him," Pam said. "It was Creed."

"I know," Jim said. "And that's being taken care of now. Toby's suspending Creed without pay for a month. Dwight and Andy will handle quality control."

Pam was shocked. Not that she really had sympathy for Creed after what he'd done. Still, it showed how serious things were. But regardless of that, she was more concerned about Jim. "Fine. You've played Corporate Jim, now it's time to go home."

"I have to take care of things here," Jim started.

Karen cut in, "Jim you look half dead already; do you want to finish the job? Go home."

"It's not that bad," Jim said, defensively.

"Really?" Pam asked. "Fine. Prove it to me. Karen, you hold down Jim's left shoulder, I'll hold down his right. Jim, if you can stand up with us holding you down you can stay. Shouldn't be a problem for a big strong man like you. Otherwise, go home."

Jim didn't even try to stand. "Fine, I'll leave." They took their hands from his shoulders and Jim slowly rose to his feet. Pam had backed away and saw Jim stumble. Before she could react, Karen steadied him.

"Damn," Jim mumbled. "This is so embarrassing."

"Don't worry," Karen replied. "You pull something like this again, I'll let you fall on your butt."

"Promise?" Jim asked with a weary laugh.

Pam tried not to feel jealous. "He's with me now," she thought.

She called Larissa Halpert while Jim gathered his things with Karen. Pam left with Jim, leaving Kelly in charge of the phones.

Seeing Pam take a left out of the parking lot, Jim said, "No, I live down Ninth..."

"You're staying with me." Pam clarified.

Jim was confused. "What? I mean, thanks for the offer, but..."

"Your mom thinks you need someone keeping an eye on you and after your stunt this morning, I have to agree. So you're staying at my place and she's dropping by while I'm at work."

"Don't I have any say in this?" Jim asked, not sounding entirely displeased.

"Take it up with your mom," Pam replied.

She arrived at her apartment before Jim's mom got there, so Pam was able to straighten things up a bit while Jim sat on the couch. Jim noted the wine bottle and glasses on the table. "So, you had company last night?" he asked.

Pam looked over at Jim and saw he looked a little insecure. On most guys that would be pathetic, on Jim it was cute. She really did have a thing for him. "I went out to dinner with Karen. The hotel room was closing in on her. We came back and had some wine afterwards."

"Thanks, Beesly. I'm glad you guys are hitting it off. Of course, knowing you and alcohol, I bet Karen knows all your secrets now."

Pam smiled back at him. "I'll have you know I spent the summer doing shot contests at Poor Richard's with Meredith. I've developed quite a tolerance."

Jim laughed. "Wow. Fancy New Beesly is in the house."

"Don't you forget it," Pam deadpanned.

There was a knock on the door and Pam saw Jim take a deep breath. He was obviously not looking forward to facing his mom.

Pam opened the door and looked into the angry face of Jim's mom. Quietly, she stepped outside and closed the door. "Mrs. Halpert..."

"Larissa, please."

"Larissa. Look, I totally agree with you that Jim was an idiot for coming to work today." She saw that Jim's mom was waiting for her to continue. "But I think he did it to try and save somebody else's job. Like I said, totally stupid, but his heart was in the right place."

She saw Larissa seem to calm down a little. "That does sound like my son," she admitted. "I packed some of his things in my car. Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure."

Larissa turned around and said, "Of course, I'm still going to make his life hell for what he put us through this morning."

"Oh, I understand," Pam assured her. "I encourage it, actually. We need him to take better care of himself."

There were a couple of bags in Larissa's car. Pam picked up one and saw several pairs of pajamas, all in plastic wrap. "Did you buy these today?" she asked.

"No, I was going through some of Jim's things, trying to figure out what he might need and I came across those. Every Christmas, I ask him what he needs and every year he says ‘pajamas.' I found those. He had them all in a box, completely unopened."

"Sounds like him," Pam admitted. She didn't tell Larissa that she did the same thing to her mom.

"He has a serious problem with telling people what he wants," Larissa mused.

Pam left soon after Larissa got settled. Five minutes of Larissa's merciless care convinced Pam that she could get back to the office. As she gathered her things, Pam heard Jim's cell phone ring. It was Andy, asking if Dwight had the authority to set the schedule for their quality control activities. She silently kissed Jim's cheek as she left.

She grabbed a burger from a drive through and ate as she drove. When she got back to Dunder Mifflin she went to the bathroom to wash her hands. As she was getting ready to leave, she heard Karen and Andy, who were apparently just outside the bathroom door.

"Really," Andy was saying. "Tuna is doing that badly."

"Yes," Karen replied. "I was at Pam's last night, you know, making sure that she's aware of her options, and she mentioned that Jim's doctors have told him that sex is definitely a no-go for them."

Pam stifled a gasp. She hadn't told Karen about the side effects of Jim's medication last night. At least she was almost sure she hadn't. She hadn't had that much to drink, she was certain. Almost.

"So, Jim's no threat to you," Karen continued. "Let me have some time to work on Pam and I'm sure I can convince her to let us all play together. It'll just be a matter of time before you're running the branch and anything else you want." Karen was practically purring at the salesman.

"Well..."

"Look Andy, I know you called Jim three times since he left. All that's going to do is make Pam angry."

"You're right, there's no need for that," Andy agreed.

Pam thought she understood what was going on now. At least she hoped she did.

After they walked away, Pam waited for a few minutes before leaving.

Shortly after she returned to her desk, Karen walked behind the reception desk and leaned down to Pam. "How's Jim doing?" She asked, her hands gently caressing Pam's wrist. She winked and then moved her head slightly, indicating that Pam should look at Andy. The salesman was definitely paying attention.

"He's settled in. His mom is taking care of him," Pam replied, still uncertain on how to handle this.

"Good," Karen replied, lazily tucking Pam's hair behind her ear. Kevin, who was walking past reception on his way to lunch, saw her and accidentally walked into Ryan's desk.

"Can we talk later?" Karen asked.

"I think we need to," Pam said.

End Notes:

So, what is Karen up to?  How will Larissa treat Jim?  How will Pam and Jim spend their first night together, and is Andy invited?  For the answer to these, and possibly other questions, please review and return for the next installment of this mess

 

Chapter 9 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I didn't respond to the last chapter's reviews earlier because I'd left things with the story kind of up in the air and I didn't want to spoil anything before I got this bit out. One more chapter after this one, I think, so it's almost your last chance to tell me what you liked or what I could be doing better. Please review!

 


Pam and Karen walked outside for their three o'clock break. "What's going on?" Pam asked, trying to keep a note of accusation out of her voice.

Karen smiled. It wasn't the kind smile she'd shown Pam during their dinner last night. It was cold and proud. "I've convinced Andy to stop hassling Jim and give me the first crack at any job in Corporate." Her smile became terrifying. "In return, he thinks I'll help him get Michael fired and maybe persuade you to have sex with us."

"What?" Pam asked. Then realized that wasn't nearly enough. "You can't be..." The look on Karen's face showed she was serious. Finally, Pam managed, "Why are you doing this?"

Karen's face softened a little and she leaned against the wall. "Did you ever wonder what happened to the number two guy in the Stamford office before Jim?"

Pam was desperately trying to follow this. "No, not really."

"His name was Carl," Karen said as she lit a cigarette and made sure the smoke wouldn't blow towards Pam. "Sorry, bad habit, I know. He was a nice guy with a kid and a wife who drank way too much and didn't understand him."

Pam suddenly understood why Karen had brought this up. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. He quit last year. On Josh's last day he told me that Andy had filed a complaint with HR about us, ‘flaunting our relationship' and creating a hostile work environment. He'd taken it all the way to Corporate. Carl couldn't afford any trouble, so he quit and took a job in Vermont. Andy thought he'd get the number two position. You should have seen how he acted when Jim was hired. But he never managed to get to Jim. The closest he came was one night when we had to do sales reports and he tried to get Jim drunk. I got him out before anything happened."

"So you're doing this because..."

"Because Carl and I deserved a chance, because Jim's a nice guy and doesn't need any more hassles while he's sick..." Karen's face got that hard look again, "And because Andy should pay for what he's done. Anyway, at least he shouldn't be here. He'll wreck this office and the people in it if it helps him get ahead."

Pam didn't know what to think about this. "Wow."

Karen said, "Andy had already called Jim three times in the hour you were gone. He was the one who called Jan yesterday."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that," Pam said.

"So, I convinced Andy that you'd told me last night that Jim would never be able to have sex again and that you were kinda into me." Pam couldn't hold back a gasp. "For some reason, he already thought you were some kind of sex addict," Pam remembered Andy observing her and Roy yesterday. "So it would only be a matter of time before you needed..."

"Please don't finish that," Pam cut in.

Karen laughed. "Okay. Sorry."

Pam leaned back against the wall of the office building beside Karen. "Can we talk to Jim about this?" She asked.

"Sure, if you think he's up for it," Karen said, fully missing the pun.

"I can pick up dinner from the Chinese place I showed you last night."

"Thanks, I'd like that," Karen said.

"Okay. There are a couple of things though." Pam flushed as she said, "Can you not grope me in front of everyone? Kevin could have really hurt himself on Ryan's desk."

Karen laughed. It was a full-out guffaw and Pam saw how pretty she was when she wasn't trying to act tough.

"Seriously, if Michael would have seen you earlier, I'd never live it down."

"Sure."

"And..." Pam wasn't sure about how to mention this. "Can we not tell Jim about the part where you told Andy he'll never have sex again?"

"Halpert a little insecure?" Karen joked. Then she saw Pam's reaction. "Oh, yeah. I won't mention it." She dropped the cigarette and put it out and gave Pam's hand a quick squeeze as they went back into the office.

Michael was still in his office with the door closed when Pam and Karen returned. Pam debated about checking on him when Phyllis and Kelly approached her desk. "Jim didn't look good this morning," Phyllis said.

"Yeah," Kelly agreed. "I don't care what Jan told him, he should have stayed home."

"Well, he's resting now," Pam said, uncomfortable about sharing what Jim had told her.

"Is he really coming into the office again this week," Phyllis asked.

"I hope not," Pam replied, "but that's kind of up to him."

"He's being stupid," Kelly said.

Pam was beginning to feel like they were ganging up on her. As much as she would love to be able to tell Jim to stay at home, she knew why he did what he did and she had to let him make his own choices.

"I think you both have work to do," Angela said to Phyllis and Kelly.

Shocked, the two women looked at the petite accountant, but went back to their desks.

Pam smiled at Angela and mouthed, "Thanks."

Angela looked embarrassed, but returned the smile and resumed working.

Finally, Pam went to check on Michael. He was sitting in his office with the lights off and the blinds drawn. He looked up and saw Pam and said, "You must really be mad at me. Normally you would have came in before now."

"Michael, I'm not mad at you. Are you okay?"

"This day is like the worst," Michael moaned, theatrically. "I mean, with Jan and Jim having to come in and Creed... It's like everything's falling apart."

"It'll be okay," Pam promised.

"Oh really," Michael was pouting now. "How-how will this be okay? I'm supposed to be the leader here. Jan told Jim it was his responsibility to keep me from making a fool of myself with the Stamford people. Like I was someone to be ashamed of." He was looking out the window into the pale autumn sky.

"Michael, Jan was just angry about the people quitting. Everyone here respects you. I know Jim and I do."

That brought a small grin from her boss. "Thanks. I guess it'll all blow over in a day or two. Maybe we should do something together. We could have an office picnic or something. Maybe a beach day..."

"Michael, it's like forty degrees outside..."

"Some other time, then. Still we could have a beach party in the office. You know, Hawaiian shirts and bikinis..."

"No Michael," Pam said, in what she called her "Michael's Mom" voice.

"Yeah, you're probably right, somebody would be ‘Offended.'" Michael couldn't help using air quotes.

"What if we did a potluck thing?" Pam suggested. "With Creed gone, we don't have to worry about anyone taking that literally." Her mind went back to a previous, spectacularly awful pre-Thanksgiving party. After sampling some of Creeds "special brownies," Michael had eaten all of the desserts and gotten violently ill. Dwight had tried to kiss Kelly. Phyllis had been mysteriously absent that afternoon, as had Toby. Stanley had serenaded the office and Jim had kissed Pam's palm as the two of them sat in the break room drawing on the table. If only she'd known then....

"That could work," Michael said, bringing Pam back to the present. "Can you ask Angela about it?"

"Sure, I think she'd like to be in charge," Pam said.

Angela actually seemed to be happy about this party. Pam promised to bring a vegetarian-friendly entrée that wasn't too spicy.

At four, Pam got a call from Larissa Halpert. "Jim's asleep. I'm going to leave so I can beat the rush hour traffic."

"Are you sure?" Pam asked. "I was going to bring home some Chinese food."

"I'm positive. It's been a long day, and I want to be home before dark. Oh, by the way, if Jim asks where his pants are, just tell him I took them with me."

Pam started giggling, "No. Really?"

"Honestly, no. I'm leaving two pairs in the hall closet. But officially, he gets his pants back for this doctor's appointment on Friday and not before. If he wants to leave the apartment, he can do it in his pajamas. And tomorrow I'm bringing all of our old photo albums. I think it's time you were introduced to our little Jimmy, his sailor costume, and his baby pictures."

"I promise I will try my best never to make you mad at me," Pam promised.

"Do you really think Jim didn't inherit his talents honestly?" Larissa asked. "I'll see you tomorrow, dear. Thanks again for looking after him."

"My pleasure," Pam replied.

As Pam was getting ready to leave, she walked by Karen's desk. "So, what do you want from the Chinese place?"

Karen snuck a look around and saw that only Andy was watching them. She took Pam's hand and said, "Tofu with mixed vegetables and vegetarian fried rice. Oh and hot and sour soup if they have it. What are you getting Jim?"

Pam thought about that. She didn't think the restaurant served ham and cheese sandwiches. "I don't know, we never... Maybe beef and broccoli."

"He and I want out for Chinese after a sales call once," Karen remembered. "He had curry chicken and egg drop soup."

"Oh," Pam said, trying not to sound jealous. "Maybe I'll get that. I was going to get sesame chicken for me."

"Great," Karen replied, "I'll steal some of that." She kissed Pam's hand and grinned. Pam tried not to look over at Andy.

When Pam got home Jim was still asleep. She stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching him breathe in and out. She had imagined this scenario countless times, especially since Jim had left for Stamford. She never thought it would turn out like this. She held back her tears and waited for Karen to arrive.

Karen arrived and Jim hadn't awoken, so Pam served dinner.

"So, tell me," Karen asked. "What's the deal with Stanley? Does he ever talk to anyone?"

"Not willingly," Pam replied. "You should hear Jim's impression of him." She tried to reach a Stanley baritone, "Why do you keep cc'ing me on things that have nothing to do with me." She saw Karen's curious look. "Jim does it so much better than me. He does everyone in the office."

"Really?" Karen seemed intrigued.

"Oh yeah" Pam answered, her enthusiasm growing. "One time we were trying to get Dwight a job at another company and Jim pretended to be Michael over the phone. It would have worked, but when the guy called Dwight he had to go on and on about his ninja skills."

Suddenly a voice rang out from the bedroom, "Where are my pants?"

"Who kissed Sleeping Beauty?" Karen giggled.

Jim walked out into the living room wearing powder blue, flannel pajamas. "Mom, where did you put my..." He saw Pam and Karen. He suddenly looked embarrassed.

Pam took pity on him and got up, "Your mom went home. You're stuck with us, but we brought you Chinese." She kissed him on the cheek. "Karen said you liked curry chicken."

"Yeah," Jim said, giving Pam a quick peck on the mouth, careful not to make too much of a big deal of things around Karen. He turned to his former Stamford coworker and said, "Thanks for remembering that. Sorry I'm a little underdressed." He turned back to Pam, "My mom, right?"

"Yep," Pam replied.

Jim joined them for a nice meal, although Karen raided Jim and Pam's meals mercilessly. Jim and Pam talked about several of their Scranton coworkers and Jim performed his Stanley impersonation. Finally, Pam and Karen talked about Andy.

"I thought I was in for a really long afternoon," Jim admitted. "Andy called three times after I got here."

"Karen got him to stop," Pam said.

"Do I want to know how?" Jim asked nervously as he saw Pam look away.

Karen answered, "I told him that you were too sick to be a threat and that if he kept up bothering you it would only make Pam mad."

"Oh," Jim said, not really understanding.

Karen continued smoothly, "And I told him that I was going to seduce Pam and that if he played his cards right I'd share her with him."

The spoonful of eggdrop soup that Jim had just taken had absolutely no chance of staying in his mouth. Fortunately the spray fell between Karen and Pam.

Pam had a towel handy, so she wiped up the spill as Karen finished. "I also told him that I'd help him get rid of Michael and become the regional manager if he'd give me first crack at any job in New York."

Jim looked back and forth between Pam and Karen. Slowly he said, "But Andy has to know that you hate him, right? I mean there's no way he could possibly believe..."

Karen patted Jim's hand. "Jim, I just mentioned the possibility of hot, three-way sex to a former Ivy league frat boy. Not only does he believe it, I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be on his mind, to the exclusion of almost everything else, for most of his waking hours over the next week."

"Ugh," Jim said. "I could have done without that mental image."

"It's worse from our perspective," Pam said.

"So how do we play this?" Karen asked. "Michael seems like an idiot..."

"Actually," Jim said, "he's not. He's shallow, self-obsessed, and pretty clueless, but he's also the best salesman I've ever seen."

"Really?" Karen asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Jim chuckled. "After I accidentally told him how I felt about Pam," Jim said, looking over at his new girlfriend and smiling, "he took me on some sales calls to try to get my mind off of things."

"And to Hooter's" Pam added with a frown.

"That's another story," Jim replied. "Anyway, we went to this funeral home. The director was the owner and he was having like the worst day ever. When we showed up there was this lady who was hysterical because she didn't want her husband buried without his toupee, somebody had just quit, and the guy's son called to say he was suspended from school all right when we showed up. Normally I would have just bailed."

Pam was listening closely. Jim had never shared this story with her. Of course, they weren't talking as much after Michael had let slip about Jim's crush. She looked over and saw that Karen was listening intently as well.

"Michael wouldn't leave. We just sat there for thirty minutes, letting the guy talk. He even cried. By the time we'd left, the guy was smiling and he's a client now. Honestly, I don't know if there's anyone else who could have even been able to make their pitch to the guy that day, much less get a sale out of it. On those calls, I learned more about sales and how to connect with clients than in the four years I'd been working with Dwight and Stanley."

"That's why you're numbers are so much better now?" Pam asked.

Jim frowned, "How do you know how good my numbers are?"

Pam mumbled, "Well, I kind of queried them a few times over the last few months, just to see how you were doing."

"Wow," Jim said, "you really did miss me."

"And you didn't?" Pam asked, a little hurt.

"Okay," Jim admitted. "I did call the office a lot after five so I could hear you on the Scranton voicemail."

"So you weren't just calling Kevin that night?" Pam asked.

"No," Jim admitted. "I just had that as an excuse." He smiled bashfully.

"Getting back on the subject," Karen said. "Okay, so we don't want Michael to get fired. What do we do about Andy?"

Jim thought for a moment and an evil smile crossed his lips. It reminded Pam of the one she'd seen from Karen. "You know, I've been dying to try out my Andy impression. Here's what we could do..."

And so the plan was created. Shortly after dinner, Karen went back to her hotel room. Jim insisted on paying Pam for the food and on helping to clean up. As they put the last dishes away, Jim said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Why."

"The other night you mentioned all the things you'd done on your own since I'd left. I was your friend. Regardless of everything else, I should have called you when I found out you cancelled the wedding."

"Jim..."

"No. I was wrong. I should have sucked it up and been there for you. I owed it to you to try to help you get to a good place before I walked away."

Pam carefully drew Jim into a hug.

Jim whispered into her hair. "It's no excuse, but I felt like I was drowning. The closer the wedding got, the harder it was for me to breathe. It was like if I didn't get away from here I'd never get over you."

"I'm glad you didn't." Pam said. "We both should have done things differently. But it's not too late. We have each other now."

"I want to be there for you," Jim said. For the first time, Pam felt that Jim was really afraid. "I just hope that I can." He looked into her eyes nervously. "You don't know what it's like to be here with you and not be able to..."

"Shhh. Believe me, I understand. It'll be okay," Pam said, leading him into the bedroom. She kissed him once and left him in her bed, alone. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry where he could hear her. Not until they'd put this behind them and could really be together.

Chapter 10 by malcolm lake
Author's Notes:
This is it for this story.  Hope you like it
Pam stretched and tried to ignore the pain in her shoulder that had been caused by sleeping on her couch. She looked at the clock and saw that it was just after five in the morning. She looked down the hall and saw light coming under the door to her bedroom. Jim was awake.

She crept to her bedroom door and softly opened it. Jim was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and, startled, banged his head against the headboard.

"Sorry," Pam called. "I wasn't sure if..."

Jim was rubbing his head, "If you could make me hurt myself without resorting to putting nickels in my cell phone?"

Pam giggled, "Something like that."

Jim tried to look mortally wounded. "And the sad part is that I can't even complain. After all, I did force myself into your apartment and stole your bed. I'm not exactly operating from the moral high ground here."

"I invited you,' Pam corrected as she approached the bed, "so some complaining is allowed. Couldn't sleep?"

"I slept most of the afternoon," Jim explained. "I woke up a couple hours ago." He reached out for her and took her hand, leading her to sit on the bed. "I've been thinking and there are some things I need to say."

"Okay," Pam said, his tone making her a little anxious.

"You've had a couple of days to adjust to my...condition. If you want to just be friends I ....."

"Jim, we've been through this," Pam cut in.

"But that was said in the heat of the moment," Jim still held her hand. He looked away for a moment. He turned his head back to Pam and said, "I just don't want you to have regrets later."

Pam looked into Jim's eyes and saw how sincere he was. She nodded, bowed her head, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "This is the second time you've asked me about this. It's kind and considerate and sweet and if you do it again, I'm going to hit you in the head with a frying pan." She kissed him on the cheek and pulled away from him.

Jim started to say something, but wisely closed his mouth. He looked at her, surprised. Finally he regained his composure and said, "Okay, moving on. Here's the deal. I spent five months in Stamford and it was the most successful I'd been since I played basketball. I made a lot of money for the company and I got two raises."

"I saw," Pam said.

"And I've never been so miserable," Jim said. "Without you, it really didn't matter. There was nobody to cheer me up when the job was boring, nobody to confide in when I was scared, nobody who made me feel special. I need you in my life and I want you to be happy."

"Well, I'm a big fan of being happy," Pam said, still not sure where this was going.

"Then promise me that you'll keep following your dreams. If your art takes you to New York, fine. If you want to go to Europe, I'll find a way to get there."

"I'm not even sure how good I am," Pam said.

"That frying pan thing works both ways," Jim warned with a smile. "I don't want to hear you doubting yourself. There are times I really wish you could see yourself as I see you." He reached out and softly touched her cheek. "You can turn scraps of paper and yogurt lids into doves and gold medals. You're a wonderful artist and you make so many peoples' lives better."

"What's brought this on?" Pam asked.

"I saw it, Beesly," Jim said. "I saw all those years when you put Roy's happiness first in your life."

"Jim..."

"No, I'm not talking about Roy, I'm talking about you. I know you, but I can't read your mind. I know I'm not the only dream you have in your life and I'm actually pretty happy about that."

"What about your dreams?" Pam asked.

"The dreams I had as a kid are gone," Jim said with a shrug. "They died when I was a freshman in college. Maybe one day I'll come up with another, but for now, if it's okay, I'll just share yours. Because I like the person I am when I'm with you."

Pam could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. She always knew that Jim had said she was talented, but this... She swallowed hard and said, "Nobody ever said anything like that to me before."

"Well they should have. Pam Beesly, I believe in you." He kissed her on the nose.

"Jim, I love you," Pam said as she pulled Jim down onto the bed. Remembering his condition, she quickly sat back up. "Sorry, just got carried away for a minute."

"Believe me," Jim replied, "you weren't the only one. This will definitely continue later." Pam heard Jim whisper, "at least I hope it will."

They stayed in bed, holding each other. Finally, Jim turned to Pam and asked softly but with great intensity, "Where are my pants?"

Pam, after repeated begging, told Jim where his pants were, on the condition that he only come in for a few minutes around lunchtime and that he let his mom drive him. She left shortly after Larissa Halpert arrived.

Shortly after Pam arrived at work, Phyllis, Dwight, and Andy approached the reception desk. "We were just wondering," Phyllis asked, "if you thought Jim would like flowers or something."

"Flowers are for women," Dwight cut in. "Although Jim is weak like a woman sometimes..."

"Nice respect for your boss," Andy interrupted the interruption. "There's nothing wrong with a get well card. Maybe a box of cigars...."

"Jim has a heart condition," Phyllis reminded him. "He shouldn't smoke."

"I think a card would be fine," Pam said.

Michael had crept out of his office during the discussion. He bellowed, "A card? Are you kidding? I mean Jim has stared death in the face and all we're going to do is give him a card. I mean something like this deserves..."

"Strippers?" Kevin volunteered from his desk.

"Deviant," Angela muttered.

"There will be NO STRIPPERS," Pam said as loudly as she could.

Michael turned to Dwight and said, "We can talk about this later."

Pam called out as the crowd dispersed. "I mean it. No strippers."

Karen dropped by Pam's desk later. "I just heard Andy leave a message for Jan. It's time to set things up."

Pam called Jim's cell phone and set up a second line for a three-way call via Karen's phone. Soon Jan called for Andy and Pam sent the call to Karen, who remained silent at her desk. Five minutes later, Jim called Pam and said that everything was set up for tomorrow at 10. "So she really thought you were Andy?" Pam asked.

"Seems that way," Jim replied. I guess all those months I was forced to listen to him weren't a total waste. Are you sure about this?"

"Hey, fancy new Beesly here," Pam insisted. "I can do it."

After hanging up the phone, Pam scribbled a note and left it on Andy's desk. It said that Jan was going to be out of the office until next Monday due to a family emergency.

Jim arrived in the office around noon with his mom in tow. He smiled at Pam and Karen and assured everyone that he was fine. He kept his word to Pam, staying only for an hour or so as he called clients and dealt with paperwork.

Michael had been at lunch when Jim arrived, but he hurried over to the salesman's desk when he saw the younger man in the office. "Hey Jimmy cracked corn, how's it going?"

"It's fine, Michael," Jim said patiently, looking beyond him to Pam.

"Please note that everyone is still here," Michael said, his voice a little strained. "I haven't made anyone quit yet today."

"Michael, please," Jim asked for his boss's patience. "Jan was just mad. We just need to get through the next few days."

"It's just..."

"It'll be okay," Jim said.

"So, you're almost back to normal, right?" Michael asked. "I mean it's been a couple days now and that's how long I was on crutches after the thing with my foot."

"Well, the doctor wants me to take it easy for a while, but yeah, I'm good."

"Cool," Michael said, trying to sound nonchalant. "So, you're going to be in the office tomorrow, right?"

"I'll probably do what I'm doing today. You know, come in around noon and stay for an hour or so." Jim was puzzled by the question.

"Great," Michael said as he spun around, flashing a grin at Dwight and Andy. "So, I guess I'll be in my office. See you tomorrow, Jim."

Dwight and Andy both got up and raced each other to Michael's office. The Stamford employee just edged out his beet farmer rival, much to Dwight's annoyance.

Jim looked over at Pam and shrugged.

After Jim left, the day dragged for Pam. A couple of times she looked over and saw Karen talking to Andy. Jim called around three, telling Pam that he had the key to the empty office on the second floor. At five, Andy and Karen hung back after everyone else had left. The Stamford twosome approached Pam's desk.

"So," Karen said, "Andy told me that Michael's going to have a stripper show up at work tomorrow for Jim."

"Oh God," Pam sighed. "That's awful. Jim is going to be so embarrassed."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "And it's not like he can even do anything, not with his condition."

"What do you mean," Pam asked, blushing.

"Karen told me about the Tuna's problem," Andy replied.

Pam remembered that it was part of Karen's cover story. She stood as she looked over at the slim brunette. "I don't want to talk about this..."

"It's okay Pam," Karen said as she drew the receptionist into a hug. "Andy said he'd bring a camcorder with him to work tomorrow so he can tape what Michael's doing."

"Stupid Jan is out of the office until Monday," Andy complained.

Karen continued, "Dwight made the call to order the stripper, so he'll be out as well. Then we'll have Andy in charge with Jim safe as his Number Two. It's really for the best." Karen was now gently stroking Pam's shoulders.

"I don't know," Pam was hesitant, as they had discussed. Her head rolled to the side in response to Karen's caresses.

"Look, do you want Jim to have to constantly worry about what Michael's going to do next?" Andy asked. "He'll have so much less stress once I'm in charge."

"But I've worked with those guys for so long," Pam protested, her voice coming out almost as a sigh as Karen's hands move to her hair, removing the clasp that held it up.

"Hey Andy," Karen said. "I think Pam and I need a girls' night out. I think once we've had a chance to talk this through, everything will be clear to all of us. Who knows, you may even have another use for the camcorder."

Andy's mouth hung open.

"See you tomorrow Andy," Pam moaned as she turned in Karen's arms. As she lingered in the slim woman's arms, Pam heard a dull thump.

"Andy just walked into the door," Karen whispered, stifling a laugh.

They parted and Pam went back to meet Jim at her apartment. Jim had made dinner and they spent the evening together watching Jim's Dazed and Confused DVD. He had brought over some movies and his DVD player with his mom's help. Pam also made a green bean salad for the Friday potluck that the office was having.

The next day, Karen came over to Pam's desk when she arrived and pocketed the key Jim had given the receptionist last night. Karen returned at 9:30. "Okay, I told Andy that you and I did it last night."

"He believed it?" Pam asked, still surprised in spite of what she'd seen yesterday.

"Are you kidding? I thought he was going to hyperventilate." Karen replied. "I told him that you were, how to put this, really visual. Once you saw something, you just had to have it."

Pam lowered her head to her desk. Taking a deep breath, she asked. "What's next?"

Karen purred into Pam's ear. "I gave Andy the key and told him to be in the empty office at five minutes till ten. I told him I'd persuade you to join me there for some break time fun. He's supposed to have to door unlocked and all his clothes off before we get there."

"This better work," Pam whispered. "If it doesn't..."

"It's all worked so far, right?" Karen asked.

"So we have nowhere to go but down," Pam observed.

"That can be arranged," Karen snickered. Pam smacked her hand.

Karen went back to her desk and nodded at Andy. The salesman seemed to pale at the gesture. For a second, Pam almost felt guilty. Then Andy noticed her look and winked at her. "So much for pity," Pam thought.

At 9:55, Pam and Karen walked into the conference room with yogurts. A minute or so later, Jan's car drove up. They walked to the stairs and descended to the second floor, leaving the door cracked. They heard the elevator ping and the sound of heels on tile as someone walked towards them. Pam and Karen stared at each other in anticipation. They both held their breath until they heard...

"What the Hell!?!" Jan was screaming. "What's the meaning of this?" There was a sound of crashing. Pam suspected that it was the sound of a camcorder hitting the floor.

Then Andy's voice rang out. "I was expecting someone else. You were supposed to be in Phoenix."

Jan's heels were now heading back to the elevator. Pam and Karen peaked out, seeing Andy trying to pull on his pants as he followed Jan.

"Please, I can explain," Andy said. As she approached Jan, she hit him with her briefcase.

Pam and Karen ran back up the stairs, just getting back to their desks before Jan stormed in. "Where's Michael?" Jan screeched.

"In his office," Pam replied.

Jan went into the manager's office and slammed the door. Within a minute, Tate and Dwight were leading Andy out of the office and toward his car.

Jim showed up shortly afterwards, bringing along some chicken for the planned potluck lunch. His mom smiled at Pam and said, "I'm going to do some shopping while I'm in town. Keep an eye on him for me, okay?"

Pam said she'd make the sacrifice and Larissa left with a smile.

Jan saw Jim as she left Michael's office. She sat at Jim's desk. Pam heard her say softly, "Well, I told you to get control of your branch, and you obviously have."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about?" Jim asked, trying not to smile.

"Sure you do," Jan replied smoothly. She waved over Karen, then led the group to Pam's desk. "One thing you need to know," Jan said, including Pam in the conversation, is that in the New York office we have a Caller ID built into all the phones. So I knew who was speaking to me yesterday and that it wasn't Andy. You three are good. Almost as good as I am."

Jim, Pam, and Karen looked nervously at each other then back at Jan. "I hope you get well soon, Jim," the New York executive said, relishing their discomfort. "I think with you three here I'll have a lot fewer problems with this branch." She waltzed out of the office. It was a minute of two before Jim, Pam, or Karen could speak.

"Wow," Pam finally managed.

The lunch, complete with a dancing teddy bear instead of a stripper (Pam had gotten the phone number that Dwight used from Angela and with the blonde's full approval, had changed the request) was a success. Angela even ate a little of what Pam had made for her, although she complained about the amount of pepper the receptionist and Jim had used.

Jim moved back onto his apartment over the weekend. The next month went slowly as Jim worked through his physical therapy. Karen and Pam became good friends, and the salesperson began to enjoy her time in Scranton, even as she constantly complained about the small town.

Jim told Pam that in confidence that he was happy with the changes he saw in the city girl. Being in Scranton seemed to knock off some of the hard sheen from her. She wasn't as visibly restless. She was even trying to get along with Michael and Angela.

The three young people often went out to lunch together, ignoring the whispers of Kevin. Once, the accountant had asked Pam, "So, are you three like, doing it?"

Fancy new Beesly was up to the task. "No Kev, if we ever do a three-way it would have to be with another guy. So, we haven't had you over for dinner yet, have we?"

Kevin backed away with a deer-in-headlights look. Kevin didn't speak to Jim or Pam for the next week.

One month later, Jim was released from physical therapy. He drove over to Pam's apartment with flowers and Chinese food. She greeted him in the blue dress she had worn to Casino Night.

"So, how did the doctor visit go?" Pam asked, her voice higher than normal.

Jim looked away and said, "It went great. The doctor said that I was cleared for all normal activities."

"Great," Pam agreed. "Really, great." She stuck her fork into her noodles (she had never quite gotten the hang of chopsticks). She put the fork down and asked, "So when he said normal, did that include..."

"Uh, yeah," Jim said. "It did. I made sure."

"Oh. Great." Pam said again. She took a sip of wine. "Do you think this could be any more awkward?" She asked.

"Well, I think the last time I was this nervous was my first day at kindergarten," Jim replied.

"You know we don't have to..." Pam started.

"Easy for you to say," Jim chuckled.

"Believe me, it isn't," Pam corrected her boyfriend.

"Whatever happens," Jim started, "You know I love you, right?"

"I know," Pam said. "And I love you, too. Of course, I'll love you more if we...."

"Beesly?" Jim asked, smiling in spite of himself. "How could you?"

"I learned it all from you," Pam said with a slight bow. "So Halpert, what are you gonna do?"

Jim took a sip of wine and stood up. "I think I'm going to kiss the girl and see what happens."

Monday at noon, Karen was away on a sales call and Angela had left for lunch. Dwight left a minute or so after the blonde accountant. Pam plugged in the iPod Jim had given her into her computer and downloaded a song. As Kevin got up to go to the break room, Pam turned up the speakers and let the familiar power chords of Angus Young fill the air.

"She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I've ever seen..."

Kevin looked from Pam to Jim and saw the salesman blushing with his head on his desk. Kevin decided he needed to find someone else to joke with about sex. Pam and Jim, especially Pam, didn't play fair.

End Notes:
The song at the end is AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long from the album Back in Black (one of Kevin's suggested funeral songs for Jim).  So the song isn't mine either.  Heavy sigh.
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