Jim looked directly at the camera as he walked away from the bar.  “You know what, I would save the receptionist.  I just wanted to clear that up.”  He strode purposefully toward the table where Pam and Katy were sitting.

“Hey!”  Pam grinned up at him, and he lost his train of thought for a second. 

“Hey, Pam.  Mind if I steal Katy for a minute?”

“Wha-, no!  No.  Go ahead.”  Pam skooched out of the booth, standing up to let Katy get out, before sitting back down, alone.  She looked very curious as to what Jim wanted with Katy and very determined not to give away her curiosity.  Not that everyone would be able to tell, but Jim was pretty familiar with Pam’s expressions.  He laughed a little at his own predictability as he led Katy out onto the deck.

***

“Jealous?  Why would I be jealous of Katy?  Jim can do whatever he wants with his…girlfriend.”  Pam’s face fell a little bit, and she glanced away from the camera.  She smoothed her hair absentmindedly, and glanced back up to the camera.  “Why?  Do you know what he’s doing out there?”  Before she had a chance to realize how much she’d revealed, her attention was drawn toward the door that Jim and Katy had just exited from.

 “Oh, dear.”  The camera swung around to see what Pam was reacting to: Katy had re-entered, alone, looking royally pissed off.  She flounced over to the bar and ordered something clear in a shot glass, downing it immediately.  “I wonder if I should—”

“Pam?”  The camera swiveled back to show Jim standing next to Pam.  “I wonder if I could talk to you.”  Nodding toward the camera, he added, “Alone.”

“Um…sure.”  Looking extremely curious indeed, Pam followed Jim out the door.

***

Jack the cameraman wasn’t sure if he was going to be punished or rewarded for following them out onto the deck, but he knew that the rest of the crew would never forgive him if he missed a chance to capture the moment of truth, if that’s what this was going to be, between Pam and Jim. 

Heck, he’d never forgive himself.

Besides, they’d both signed the waivers.

***

“So, I’m assuming that you said something that Katy didn’t like.  Judging by her reaction, anyway.  Is that what you wanted to talk about?”  Pam leaned against the boat’s railing and peered up at Jim’s face.

“Um, yeah, sort of.”  Jim’s hands were in his pockets and he was staring at his feet as though he had his speech written on his shoes.  “I told Katy that I was really sorry for doing this, but I realized how unfair I was being to her.  I told her that I couldn’t see her anymore, because I’m in love with someone else.” 

Pam’s face had gone through several emotions during this speech: relief, happiness, curiosity, and something that looked a little bit like jealousy.  By the time Jim looked up, though, Pam’s expression was pure amazement, mouth hanging open and all.

“Jim…Jim!”  Pam socked him in the arm.  “This is—this--who??”

He took her hand between both of his and looked her right in the eyes.  “You really can’t guess?”

Pam paused and swallowed—hard.  “I—Jim, I’m engaged.”  Despite her protest, the expression in her eyes looked—he didn’t quite know what, but it wasn’t disgust, anyway.

Jim sniffed, and laughed a bitter little laugh, as he glanced away, dropping her hand.  “You think I don’t know that?”  He looked back at her, and the intensity of his gaze made her flinch a little.  “You think I haven’t been aware, every second of every day at work that what I was feeling, what I was thinking about was strictly off-limits?  You’ve been engaged for—well, for longer than I’ve even known you, Pam, and I knew that.  But I just couldn’t help myself; I fell in love with you, and I had to let you know.  I was going to tell you at Christmas, but I chickened out—I stole back the card that went with your gift, because I’m a wuss, and because you started talking about Roy, and I thought that I couldn’t stand it if you stopped being my friend because I’d ruined it by confessing my feelings.”

He looked away again, out over the water.  “But sitting there at that table, I started thinking about how much I wished it was Roy and Katy there together, and you and me together, instead of me with Katy and you with Roy.”

Pam was looking down, her expression unreadable, but she was twisting her engagement ring around and around.  Jim put hand underneath her chin, bringing her eyes to his.  “And you can’t tell me that you didn’t think, even for just half a second, that the two of them make a better match than you and Roy.”  Smirking a little bit, he added, “And I think our many work escapades speak for themselves about what kind of team we make.”

Pam’s answering smile was brief, but genuine.  “Jim, I—I can’t just—throw away a relationship as long as mine and Roy’s.  I mean, what did you expect me to do with this—information?”

“Expect?”  Jim shrugged.  “I didn’t expect anything.  I mean, I can’t deny that I was kind of hoping you’d just fall into my arms, but…”  He laughed, flinging his arms out, suddenly looking much more carefree than he had earlier in the evening.  “Seriously, Pam, you have no idea how much better I feel, just knowing that you know.  You know why?  Because now, it’s your call.  I told you how I feel, and now you just have to decide what you want.  I’m not saying that I won’t be—upset—if you choose Roy, but at least now you know that you have that choice.”  Jim seemed to consider that a fitting conclusion to his speech, and stuck his hands in his pockets, but never took his eyes off Pam’s face.

Pam twisted her ring around a few more times, then looked up at Jim.  “Okay, so…I need to—think—about…things.”

Jim nodded.  “Completely understandable.”

Pam swallowed, and nodded quickly, pressing her lips together.  “The thing is, I can’t think when you’re looking at me like that.”

Jim put on a mock-confused face.  “How do you want me to look at you?  Like this?”  He glared at her, doing an admirable Dwight impression.  He got a smile and a laugh out of Pam, but soon her laughter started to sound like sobs.  Jim quickly pulled her into his arms.  “Hey.  Hey, don’t do that.  I promise not to make any more Dwight faces.”  She laughed once more, but continued to cling to him.  Jim’s arms tightened around her, and Pam seemed to relax as she took a few deep breaths, her face half-buried in Jim’s chest.

“There you are, Pam!  Congrat—oh!”  Kelly had burst out of the door, obviously ready to spill some exciting news, but the sight of Pam in Jim’s arms had surprised her.  Her two coworkers drew away from each other slowly, Pam looking a little embarrassed, Jim less so.

“Yes, Kelly?  You have, uh…news?”  Pam’s mouth twisted into a slight grimace on the last word. 

“Oh, my gosh, yes.  And it’s your news, really.  Roy proposed!  I mean, again, and he wants to set a date!  In June, I think, but I’m not really sure, because I was so excited, and I knew you’d be so excited, and so I wanted to see your reaction, and then I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, where’s Pam?’, and now everyone’s looking for you, and I’m so happy I got to be the one to tell you!”  Kelly’s face was shining with excitement for Pam.

All Pam said was, “Huh.  Kelly, could you ask Roy to come here, please?”  Kelly gladly ran to fulfill her errand.

Jim was in shock, but managed to get out, “Well.  Talk about timing, huh?”

Pam’s expression was completely indecipherable as she said, “Yeah.  I think that when Roy gets here, you should be inside.”

Having no idea how to take that, Jim just asked, “Yeah?”

Nodding, but not meeting his eyes, Pam replied, “Yeah.”

***

There was no way Jim was just going to leave without any clue how this conversation would go; however, he also saw the wisdom in not being alone with Pam when Roy arrived, so he made sure Pam wasn’t watching (she was turned toward the railing, staring out at the water), and instead of going inside, stepped sideways underneath the stairs leading up to the bridge.

***

Jack didn’t dare move.  First of all, he didn’t want to miss this conversation, either, and secondly, he was a little afraid of Jim or Roy, or possibly even Pam, causing him physical harm if he revealed himself now.  He checked his batteries and settled in.

***

Roy burst out onto the deck, more than a little drunk.  “Pammy!  Shelly said she told you the news!  Are you excited, baby?”

Pam didn’t bother to correct him on Kelly’s name.  She didn’t turn around, either.  “Yeah, she told me.  I was just sitting here, wondering why a third party had to tell me the date for my wedding.”

“Aw, come on, Pammy.  I thought you wanted me to set a date.”

“You know, I did.”  She turned around to face her fiancé.  “I wanted you to set a date three years ago.  Three years, Roy.  But you know what?  It’s not even that.  It’s the fact that you didn’t even notice that I wasn’t in the room when you made your big announcement.  I mean, didn’t you think that I might like to be asked about this?”

“I did ask: I said, ‘How’s June 10th?’  So I assumed you were in the room…we’re all friends here, anyway.”

“Yeah, except for the twenty or so people who we’ve never met before tonight.”  She took a breath.  “Did you ever think that I might want to decide something like that in private?”

Roy looked surprised, as though the thought of a private discussion with Pam was the last thought in his mind.  “Well, but…when I first asked you, it was in front of the whole family.”

Pam’s lips pressed together.  “Yes.  Yes, it was.  I remember.  I remember that I was happy you asked me, but I was still upset about it being in front of everyone.  I remember blushing bright red.  I remember telling you, ‘You’re lucky I love you, because otherwise I would never forgive you for doing this in front of everyone.’  Do you remember that, Roy?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.  I mean, I remember you said yes.”

“Yeah, I did.”  Taking a deep, shaky breath and letting it out again, Pam continued, “I think we should take a break.”  She pulled off her engagement ring and handed it to Roy.

“Wait, what?  You’re breaking up with me?”  He sounded quite angry, and there was a rustling from behind the stairs.

Pam, however, was quite calm.  “No, I didn’t say that.  I said that we should take a break.  Breaking up means that we’re over.  Taking a break means that one of us packs up the essentials and goes to stay with a friend for a while.  Not necessarily permanent, but just…a break, okay?”  Wistfully, she added, “Maybe we can go on a few dates like we used to have before we lived together.” 

“But…but I just told everyone that we’re getting married on June 10th!”

Pam smiled, ruefully, but with a tiny hint of malice, too.  “Well, maybe if you’d talked to me before announcing it to everyone, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Roy stomped back inside, muttering something about women never being able to make up their minds.

After a calming breath, Pam called (with a smile in her voice), “Jim, you can come out now.”  Sheepishly, he did, and Pam laughed at him.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Well, Roy didn’t see you, but since he missed the fact that I wasn’t in the room when he set the wedding date…”  She shook her head.  “I know you, Jim.  I knew you wouldn’t really leave…and I only heard the door shut once.”

“Should I start calling you Detective Beesly?”  Jim grinned down at her, his face full of love.

Pam blushed under his scrutiny, and grabbed his hand, appearing to study it so that she didn’t have to meet his eyes.  “You know that just because Roy and I are taking a break, that I’m—I’m not promising you anything, either.”

“I know, Pam.”

“I mean, I guess…” she glanced up at him, then back down at his hand.  She had it between both of hers, her left hand on top.  The white stripe where her ring had been seemed to almost glow, even in the dim light.  “I guess I figure I’ll have a clearer head if I’m on my own for a while.”  She shifted her hand in his, interlacing their fingers, and copying the motion with her other hand, so that they were holding hands, facing each other.

Looking up at Jim, Pam caught his eyes with her own.  “I’ve been with Roy for a long time.  I’m not sure that I know how to be with anyone else, anyway.”

“I’d teach you,” Jim winked to show that he wasn’t (completely) serious.  Pam played along, making an “impressed” face and an “oooh”. 

Jim couldn’t help but notice that they were still holding hands.

“Seriously, though…I think maybe we should…I don’t know, tone things down at the office for a while.”

“Yeah?  What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t know…play fewer pranks on Dwight together, you could cut back on the jellybeans,” she laughed.  “I guess I’m saying that if I’m going to take a break from Roy, I should take a break from you, too.  It’s only fair.

“Plus, if Roy thinks that you had anything to do with this, he will beat you up.  I’m just looking out for you, Halpert.”

“Okay,” Jim nodded; he’d respect her decision and her superior knowledge of Roy on this.  “First, though…”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Pam’s face softened, and her eyes sparkled a little.  There was something so endearing about the fact that he’d asked.  “I suppose, in the interests of science, it must be done.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.  For science’s sake,” Jim grinned.

Then their smiles disappeared, each of them searching the other’s face as they slowly moved their heads closer together.

The door from the bar banged open, and Michael’s protesting voice rang out.  “You can’t put me in the brig!  I am the regional manager!”

Jim and Pam broke apart, their hands suddenly smoothing clothes and hair that hadn’t even been messed up.  Their eyes met, and by mutual unspoken agreement, they decided to go back into the party.

But before Pam could enter the room, Jim grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close to whisper, “You owe me, Beesly.”

Pam stood in the doorway and watched Jim walk inside, then shook herself before following.

***

Jack knew he was getting a raise for this.

When they returned from the booze cruise on Friday night, Roy had only said, “I’ll take the couch.”

When she woke up on Saturday, after a restless night, he was already gone; he had obviously not packed for the night (she was a light sleeper even when she wasn’t wrestling with big decisions, and his duffle bag was still there, full of funky-smelling gym clothes), and they hadn’t had any real discussion about their situation, so Pam tried to call him.  His cell was turned off.

It only made sense for him to be the one to move out for a while.  Darryl lived right down the street, and Pam was sure that he’d be willing to take Roy in for a while.  Or he’d better be, considering the times that they’d housed him in similar situations.  All of Pam’s friends that weren’t Roy’s friends first (except Jim, of course) lived an hour or more away. 

She couldn’t go stay with her mom; she loved her mom, and she always talked to her when she was confused or upset, but…her mom considered Roy a son already.  Pam just wasn’t sure how her mom would react to this news.  And the commute time from her mom’s house would be pretty awful.

If they did officially break up at some point, Pam was willing let Roy have the apartment, but for this—logically, she should stay.

She called him at least once an hour all day long, with no idea where he was or what he was doing.  Finally, at 10:30 that night, he came home.  “Where have you been all day, Roy?”

“What’s it to you, Pam?  What are you even doing here?  I thought you wanted to leave me.”

“Okay, first of all, I wanted to have a real discussion with you—sober!—about what this means, but I guess it’s not going to happen tonight.  Also, I kind of thought that you’d be the one to go stay with Darryl.  I mean, my closest friend is Sarah, and she’s an hour away, so I thought…”

“Listen, Pam…you’re the one who wanted this stupid ‘break’ or whatever.  Plus, I paid the security deposit on this place.  So I guess you’re just going to have to find somewhere to stay—or stay here.”  Roy obviously thought that this bit of logic was going to convince her to give up and stay.

“Wow, how many beers did it take before that sounded like a convincing argument?  You know what?  Never mind.  I’m going to pack.”

She called Sarah, feeling awful about it (Sarah’s daughter was only fourteen months old), but there was no answer.  She couldn’t drive an hour, not even sure if anyone was home.  Scrolling through her cell’s phonebook, the only name that had the right area code next to it was—

“Jim?”

“Pam?  What’s up?  I hope you’re not trying to pay your debt, Beesly, ‘cause you know, over the phone doesn’t really count.”

“No, I know.  Listen, I know this is bad timing, and it’s really unfair of me to ask it in the first place, but…can I stay with you?  Just for tonight; I’ll find somewhere else tomorrow.”

“Wait—Roy threw you out?  I just assumed that he’d stay with Darryl.”

“You and me both.  I think this was his attempt at getting me to stay.  If I have nowhere to go, maybe I’ll just stay with him, you know?”

“Oh.  And he didn’t think that this might piss you off a little bit?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure he’s been drinking all day, so…”

“Ah.”

“So…can I?”

“What?  Oh, yeah.  Yeah, of course.  Come right over.”

“Thank you.”  Pam hung up and sighed.  This could not be a good idea.

However, things went pretty smoothly, at first.  Jim offered her his bed (clean sheets, he assured her), and had obviously explained things at least semi-intelligibly to Mark, so no awkward questions there.

When he had finished showing her around, Jim asked, rubbing the back of his neck, “So…are you tired, or…?”

“I am tired—didn’t sleep so well last night—but I don’t really want to sleep yet.”

“Movie, game…?”

“A movie sounds good--got popcorn?”

“What kind of bachelor pad do you think this is?  We may not have things like ‘food’ or do things like ‘laundry’, but we always have plenty of ice cream and popcorn.  Oh, and beer.”

Pam narrowed her eyes.  “You can’t fool me, Halpert.  I’ve been shopping with you.  You buy fabric softener.”

“Busted.”

They watched the movie with Mark (Dazed and Confused--which had been on both of their desert island lists, Pam remembered); they found themselves dangerously near jinx territory several times.  She wasn’t sure if it was technically ‘allowed’ (with her determination to take a break from Jim), but when she found herself leaning against Jim’s shoulder, she didn’t fight it.  She didn’t shrug his arm off her shoulder, either.  Tonight could just be an exception or something.

***

Of course it was impossible to sleep in Jim’s bed.  It smelled too much like him, which led to remembering hugs that they’d shared, and thinking about what kissing him might be like…she’d wondered before, but now she didn’t have to feel so guilty about it.  (The kiss at the Dundies didn’t count, because she couldn’t remember it very clearly.)

Even guilt-free, though, such wonderings were not conducive to sleep.  She considered going downstairs and offering to switch, but realized that midnight pajama-ed encounters might lead somewhere she wasn’t ready to go.

***

She had never denied, in her mind, her attraction to Jim.  It had snuck up on her, since she had definitely not been looking when she met him.  But one day while zoning at her desk, her eyes had settled on Jim’s face as he made a sales call, and all of a sudden, she was wondering what his lips might feel like on hers.

Being a good fiancée, she had stopped this line of thought as best she could.  But sometimes the thoughts would come unbidden.

***

The next morning, she got up early and showered, determined to make Jim and Mark breakfast.  Mark seemed like a good guy—the kind of roommate that she’d expect Jim to have—and she didn’t want the aura of exclusivity that it would project if she made breakfast for only Jim.  She was still planning to give Roy another chance.  He’d been upset, and understandably so, so she was willing to excuse his behavior this weekend.

When Pam arrived downstairs, though, Mark was already heading out the door.  “Morning, Pam—I’m off to remedy the grocery situation.  You can let Sleepy over there know I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay—hey, are there eggs here right now?”

“I think so.”

“Good.  I was gonna make breakfast.”

“Well, you should probably get him up first, ‘cause it’ll take a while.  See ya later!”

Pam waved to Mark and turned toward the couch to take his advice.  The sight that greeted her made her wish she’d packed her camera: Jim was not a pretty sleeper.  He was sprawled out on his stomach, mouth open, with both feet and one arm hanging off the sides of the couch.  It would have been great to have that photo in a frame at the office. 

Just then, her eyes landed on a camera providentially lying on the kitchen counter.  She tiptoed over to it, and checked to see whether it was digital—she didn’t want to waste anyone’s film, but doubted Mark (if it was his) would begrudge her a bit of battery for this.  It was digital; she pointed, and clicked, and clicked, and clicked a few more times.  She had to make sure that there was at least one good shot.

She turned off the camera and set it down, then knelt down next to the couch, trying to decide how to wake him.

 “Ji-im,” she singsonged softly.

No reaction.

“Jim,” she said, a little louder.

“Mmph.”

“Jim, Dwight came over last night and stole all of your most treasured possessions.”

“Mmm…’wight?”  For a second she thought that the mention of Dwight had done it, but he just went back to sleep.

“All right, that’s it.”  She circled the counter again, and searched through the cupboards to find a small cup.  Filling it up with cold tap water, she carried it over to the couch and stuck her fingers in it; she flicked the water onto the back of his neck, repeating the action several times.  When nothing happened, she lowered the cup and poured just a little of the water directly on to his neck.

Immediately his arm came up and knocked the cup out of her hand; she jumped back a little, making a startled sound.  Jim slowly sat up, rubbing his neck.  “Pam?  Did you just…pour water on me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a really sound sleeper.  Also, it was funny.”

“If you say so,” he grumbled, but Pam could see the hint of amusement underneath the pouting face he was making.  “At least you didn’t drench me.”

“That was next on the list, believe me.  Now, why don’t you go and get dressed,” Pam suggested.  She realized as she said it that she had been so focused on waking him up that she hadn’t really noticed his state of dress.  He was wearing an old ratty t-shirt and boxers.  The shirt was just a bit too tight, clinging to his chest in a way that was…interesting.  And the less she thought about the boxers, the better it would be for her sanity.

Jim had turned to the stairs, but seemed to notice Pam’s preoccupation.  “Pam?  Um…earth to Pam?”

“Um, right, yes.”  She shook herself, and said, “I’m going to make us some breakfast.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.  Now, go!”

“Yes, ma’am!”  Jim climbed the stairs, whistling to himself.

***

When he returned, showered and dressed, Pam was fiddling with his camera.  He thought this was a little odd, but he didn’t really mind; he’d brought it into work one day, thinking that they’d use it on Dwight somehow, but somehow, after she spent the first fifteen minutes of the day talking about her and Roy’s big plans for the weekend, he hadn’t had the heart to start anything.  So he had consoled himself by taking a few candid photos of her at her desk, but he didn’t think that there was anything else interesting currently on it.  So why was she giggling?

“What’s so funny?”  He came up behind her and peered over her shoulder.  Pam quickly lowered the camera, and searched for the power button. 

“Nothing.”

“Hmmm…I’m not sure I believe you.  I’m gonna have to see that camera,” he requested, holding his hand out.

“I don’t think so.  I just happen to have some very valuable blackmail material on here, and I’m just not willing to give it up.  I don’t think you can get it away from me.”  Pam clutched the camera to her chest, protecting it from Jim’s grasp.  “Your omelet’s getting cold.  Better eat it now.”

His grin was wide and a little wolfish.  “I can nuke it.  I don’t think you realize what you just got yourself into.  See, you just issued a challenge, and I never back down from a challenge.”

For a second, neither of them moved, staring into each other’s eyes.  Then Pam slowly started to back away, wrapping the camera’s carrying strap around her wrist.  When it was secure, she turned and ran up the stairs.

With his superior knowledge of the house, Jim knew that there was little chance for Pam to escape.  If she wanted to turn around, she’d have to pass him in the little upstairs hallway, so he followed more slowly, confident in his ability to catch her.

When he arrived at the top of the stairs, however, it appeared that Pam had Hide and Seek in mind, rather than Tag, because she was nowhere to be seen.  “Pam?  Paa-am!  Come out, come out, wherever you are.”  He heard a muffled giggle from the direction of his bedroom and smiled.  She never could keep quiet.

Slowly approaching his closet, he threw the door open.  Pam gave a little scream, then jumped up, running toward the door.  Jim grabbed her around the waist and drew her toward him, so that her back was against his front.  His free hand touched her shoulder, then slowly skimmed all the way down her arm till it reached her wrist, where he took the camera strap between his thumb and forefinger.  “I’ll take that,” he declared.  He noticed that her arm had goose-bumps on it.  “Cold?” he asked, as he pulled her a little closer.  She gave a small gasp and didn’t answer.  Drawing the strap off her wrist, he threw the camera on the bed, and pushed lightly on her shoulder without letting go of her waist, inviting her to turn around in his embrace.

That was the second that he realized that, yes, she was in his embrace.  In his arms.  And she wasn’t fighting it.  In fact, her eyes had a look in them that he’d imagined many times, but had never seen in real life before.

The real thing was better.

He brought his head down, lightly pressing his lips against hers.  She gasped, and lifted her face higher.  Jim took that as an invitation, and kissed her again, just brushing her lips with his two or three times, savoring the fact that she was letting him do this.

Pam, however, seemed to get frustrated: she put a hand behind his head and pulled it down to hers, pressing against him with her whole body.  She opened her mouth under his, and her tongue flicked out briefly to touch his lips.  This was all the invitation Jim needed, and he returned her ardor.  He started to slowly back up, moving toward his bed without really thinking about it; when his legs hit the edge, he sank back and pulled her on top of him.  His hands began to work their way underneath her shirt, as hers ran through his hair and massaged his scalp.

Neither of them heard Mark’s footsteps climbing the stairs, but they both heard him call, “Jim?  Pam?  Oh, shit, I’m sorry.”

Pam jumped off him and smoothed her shirt, then her hair, down.  Jim stood up and ran a hand through his own hair.  “Well,” he started, and cleared his throat.  “Well, I guess that—your debt is paid now, huh?”  He grinned a little at her. 

Her head was tilted downward.  “I guess it is.”  She glanced up at him, back down, and then looked at his face again.  “Yeah, we should eat breakfast.”

They were nearly silent as they ate, and when they finished, Jim said, “That was really good.  Thanks for cooking—I’ll clean up.”

“Okay.  I should pack, and call Sarah.”

“Okay.”

***

It turned out that Sarah’s husband Tim had ‘accidentally’ turned off the phone’s ringer, hoping (vainly) that they might be able to sleep through the night.  Sarah was apologetic, but Pam insisted that it wasn’t a big deal, and that she’d tell Sarah all about it when she arrived.

Carrying her bag down the stairs, she called out, “Goodbye, Mark!  Thanks!”  He had stayed in his room since walking in on their kiss.  She heard a muffled, “No problem!” in response.

Jim was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.  “So…”  His voice trailed off.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Pam blurted, for lack of anything else to say.  

“Yeah.  Yeah.”

They looked at each other, neither sure what their next move would be.  Pam’s eyes wandered to Jim’s mouth.  Suddenly, she dropped her bags in favor of wrapping her arms around his neck and attacking his mouth.  Jim staggered a little from the force of her attack, but was willing to reciprocate.  She pulled away after only a few seconds, though, afraid that she might not be able to stop later.  “I should leave.”

“Yeah.  Here, let me get those.”  He helped her bring her bags out to the car and watched her drive away. 

The whole way to Sarah’s house, Pam was wishing she could turn the car around, but she didn’t.  “I’ll see him tomorrow,” she kept telling herself, all the while knowing that seeing him at work wouldn’t be the same. 

“Oh, no.  Work—what do we do at work?”

Pam arrived at Sarah’s without mishap, and Tim took little Janey to the park so that the two ladies could talk uninterrupted. 

“So, Pam,” Sarah began, sitting next to her friend on the sofa, “all you said over the phone is that you and Roy are taking a break.  This wouldn’t have anything to do with the Jim that you’re always talking about, would it?”

Pam’s eyes got big.  “How did you know?”

Sarah laughed, “Honey, you talk about him all the time.  Either you have a crush on him, or he’s paying you to brag about him to total strangers.”

Her right thumb and forefinger immediately went to her left ring finger to twist the ring that was no longer there.  “What if-, what if it’s more than a crush?”

Evenly, Sarah replied, “You’d better tell me what happened.”

When Pam had recounted the whole night and what happened after, Sarah said.  “Okay, Pam.  You can stay here as long as you need to; you know that.  You have a big decision to make, and I’m not going to tell you what to choose, but here are my semi-objective opinions.

“First: yes, Roy was rather inconsiderate, but if you really want to marry him, how much does it matter?

“Second: whatever else is true, you’re obviously attracted to Jim, you can talk to Jim—here, let me recall my college psychology lectures.  The ideal romantic love is generally considered to be a mix of friendship, sexuality, and commitment.  It sounds like he might be willing to commit, and we know Roy is—think about the other two factors.”

Pam nodded slowly, then looked up with a small smile.  “Thanks, Sarah.”  Then, sheepishly, “I should probably let my mom know what’s going on.”

Sarah’s mouth dropped open.  “What??  You haven’t told your mom about this yet?”  At Pam’s headshake, she shooed her away.  “Go, get!  You need to call your mother right now!”

***

Pam’s mom cried when she heard about the change in her daughter and Roy’s status, but she told Pam not to think about her feelings when making her decision—the most important feelings were Pam’s, Jim’s, and Roy’s. 

She also said something very similar to what Sarah had mentioned.  “I did wonder, with how often you talked about Jim, and how close you two seemed to be—well, I thought that something might be happening, but I knew you would never cheat, so I didn’t say anything.  I was probably being a little selfish, wanting you to stay with Roy.”

“Oh, mom, don’t say that.”

“No, I’m serious.  Not that Jim doesn’t sound great, but Roy’s just been a part of our lives for so long…and there I go again.  Don’t let me do that.”

“Jim is great.  But you’re right, Roy is a good guy, and I’ve spent so long with him, and he is part of our lives…I just can’t make it work out well, no matter who I choose.”

“Well, you’ve probably done the best thing you could in this situation—to remove yourself from it, as much as possible, thinking things over.  Have you thought about work, and interacting with Jim there?”

“Yeah, we talked about it.  We said we’d try to talk less, do less plotting together.  Mom, there’s something I haven’t told you yet.  We kissed—me and Jim.”

Hesitantly, her mom’s voice came through the phone.  “What was it like?”

“Intense.  It was like—I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“Like when you and Roy were first together, maybe?”  Her mom sounded hopeful.

“Not really.  Part of it was, I think, that it felt really—natural.  You’d think that being platonic friends for so long, we’d feel awkward kissing each other, but…”  Pam laughed a little.  “No.  It just felt like an extension of everything else we do together.”

“Oh, dear.”

“What?”

“My dear daughter, you are in love with Jim.”

“Oh.”

“Now, you just have to decide what to do about it.”

***

The rest of the day, Sarah, Tim, and Janey entertained Pam, consciously (on the adults’ parts, anyway) distracting her from her decision.

That didn’t stop her from lying in bed, obsessing about it, for half of the night, but eventually her exhaustion caught up with her, and she slipped into a dream.

Pam sat up in bed.  She shook her head as though to clear it. 

“That.  Was.  Weird,” she whispered to herself.

She fell back asleep after half an hour, still debating with herself about whether she would look up a dream interpretation website at work.  She couldn’t decide whether she actually wanted to know what this dream meant.

***

Jim glanced at the clock and sighed.  Could this day be any longer?  It seemed like he’d been here forever, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. 

He knew, of course, what would make the day go more quickly: talking to Pam and/or pranking Dwight.  He just couldn’t bring himself to do anything fun to Dwight without involving Pam, even in just the planning stages, and he wasn’t supposed to talk to her.

Well, she’d said, “cut down on the jellybeans.”  She hadn’t said, “no jellybeans whatsoever”, right?  He decided to risk a reprimand from her, because he just couldn’t take this. 

“Hey, Pam,” he smiled at her, leaning on her desk, just as always.

“Hey, stranger,” she answered, smiling back.  There didn’t seem to be any condemnation—either for neglecting her or for coming to talk to her now—implied in her voice, so he took a risk.

Lowering his voice, he said, “I’ve missed you today.”

Her eyes glowed a little brighter, and she said, “I know.  Me too.”

He couldn’t stop his grin at that, and leaned a little closer.  “You’re beautiful today.  Just thought you should know.”

Pam blushed, and her mouth dropped open a little.  “That’s not fair.”

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth, Pam,” he retorted, going back to his desk with a huge smile on his face.

***

Jack had been assigned specifically to Jim and Pam once the director had seen the footage from last weekend, and all morning, they had been rather boring, only giving each other short glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

Come on, Jim, he thought, she didn’t say “no jellybeans”.  She wants you to visit her and you know it.

Just then, as though he’d heard Jack’s thoughts, Jim got up and headed toward reception.

Jack himself wasn’t able to catch anything that was said between Pam’s “hey, stranger,” and Jim’s “I’m just telling the truth,” but the editing crew was amazing at cleaning up audio and lip reading. 

Besides, the look on Pam’s face and Jim’s grin were more than enough—it’s obvious that they weren’t going to be able to keep away from each other for long.

***

They ate lunch together—“Who else am I going to eat lunch with—Angela?” Jim had asked—but neither of them made any mention of their earlier exchange. 

For the first half of the lunch hour, they talked about inconsequential things and ate their food.  After throwing away their trash, Jim got a mug of coffee, and Pam used her green teapot to make some tea.

Then Jim leaned in and whispered in a rush, “So you’re still staying at Sarah’s?”  He couldn’t help it; he had had to make sure.

Pam nodded.  “She said I could stay as long as I need, and Tim’s fine with it, too.”

Leaning back, he smiled and put his hands behind his head.  “Well, Beesly, what are your plans for the afternoon?”

“Hmm,” she pretended to think really hard about it.  “Well, I was thinking that I would start out with a rousing game of FreeCell.  Then there’s always Dwight’s Coffee Cup.  And I might check out a dream interpretation website, ‘cause I had a weird one last night.”

A raised eyebrow and a “Reeeally?” were her answer.

She rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, you wish.  It was just…odd.  I’ll let you know if I find out anything interesting.”

***

That afternoon was crawling along rather uneventfully, when Roy came up from the warehouse and headed straight to Pam.  He had obviously taken a bit more care than normal with his appearance: his hair was neat and his uniform was clean.  He was carrying a dozen roses.

“Pam, can I talk to you?”

Her heart sank.  It would be rude and unfair of her to refuse to talk to him, but she really didn’t feel ready for this.  With an inadvertent glance toward Jim, who was watching her intently, she nodded.  “Sure, I’ll talk.”  There was a pause.  “So, talk.”

“Not here,” Roy insisted.

Pam sighed.  “I can’t just leave the phone for however long you want to talk—I’ve already had lunch…”

“Ten minutes.  Please?”

With another sideways glance toward Jim, she said, “Fine.  Let’s go.”

Roy led her out to his truck, insisting that they needed to get away from the cameras.  Jack had followed anyway, but since he couldn’t exactly insist on getting into the truck with them, it was the most private they could get at work.

Once they were seated, he turned to her.  “These are for you, of course,” he said, and handed her the roses.

“Thank you,” she said evenly, and put the roses on the dashboard.  She turned her body to face his, and asked, “What did you want to talk about?” 

Roy gave her a look, and she amended the question.  “What did you want to say?”

“What do you expect me to say, baby?  I don’t know what your problem is—but I’m sorry for whatever I did.  I just want you back.”

Pam wondered if it was her new awareness of Jim’s feelings and the knowledge that he would be much more considerate of her feelings, or if that night on the boat would have been the last straw regardless, but she was unsatisfied with that apology, even though she’d taken many like it in the past.  She sighed and said, “Roy, it’s not that easy.”

“Why?  I mean, I said I was sorry, and I am.  I don’t like fighting with you, honey.”

Pam melted a little at the last sentence.  “I don’t like fighting with you, either.”  Must be strong, she reminded herself.  “It’s just that—you don’t even try to find out what you did wrong, and you never have.  You just—expect me to accept your apology, and your roses, and take you back, even though you might just do the same thing again tomorrow, because you have no idea what it is!”

“But, Pam…come on, baby.  I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.  But sometimes that’s not enough.  I need you to care about things that are important to me—like asking me first before announcing a wedding date, or even things that aren’t so important, like asking me in private instead of in front of a crowd.”

“I do care.”

“Really?  Or do you just want me around to cook and clean and sleep with?  I’m sorry if that sounds rude, but do you realize that you never even asked where I’m staying?”

“I’m sorry; where are you staying?”

“That’s not what I meant.  I want you to ask before I mention it.  I want you to care without being told that you should care.

“Anyway, I’m staying at Sarah and Tim’s…”  She hesitated, unsure if she should bring this up, but she was feeling daring.  She wanted so badly to believe that the last ten years hadn’t been a waste, to not just give up on her and Roy’s relationship, and figured maybe sparking some jealousy would help.

So, picking up her roses and climbing out of the truck, she said, “Well, I’m at Sarah’s now.  I couldn’t reach her on Saturday,” she said, walking toward the building door and speaking over her shoulder, “so I spent that night at Jim’s.”

She heard his outraged “What?” but got into the elevator without a backwards glance.

Only then did she realize what she’d just done.

She’d made Jim a target.

Shit.

***

Jack hurried to catch up with Pam and rode the elevator up with her.  The whole time, she was saying things like, “Stupid, stupid, stupid!  Shit!  Shit!  Hurry up!” under her breath. 

He couldn’t believe she’d said that, either.  He hadn’t known that Pam spent the night at Jim’s, but no matter what had happened there, it was pretty silly of Pam to just confess it like that, without any warning. 

It would make good TV, but he started to feel a little sad that he was exploiting other people’s personal dramas like this.

***

Jim could not concentrate on anything while Pam was outside with Roy.  He gave up even the pretense, and ignoring Dwight’s dirty look, went into the conference room to watch out the window.  He felt a slight twinge of guilt, but couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t possible a huge part of his future was being decided out there.

When he saw Pam flounce out of the truck, he felt hopeful, though he didn’t want to presume too much.  He went back to his desk.

Pam looked pale and—frightened?—when she reentered the office.  “Pam?  What’s—”

“Conference room.”  She pushed him in, following after.  “I’m so sorry, Jim.  I—I wasn’t thinking.  I can’t believe I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot.  What happened?”

“Yes, I am.  I just told Roy that I spent Saturday night at your place.  He’s going to want to kill you.”

“You’re not an idiot, Pam.  Just…impulsive.”  Jim put his hands on her arms and looked her in the eyes.  “It’s okay.  This confrontation would probably have to happen sooner or later.  You just moved it up a bit.”

Pam smiled back at him shakily.  “I never used to be impulsive.  If he’s not coming up now, he’ll probably try to waylay you after work.

“I’ll go talk to him again, try to explain,” she told him.

“Well, if you want to.  You don’t have to, though.  It’s okay—like I said, this is just sooner, rather than later.”

“No, I really think that I should talk to him.  I mean, I didn’t even explain that we slept in separate rooms.”  Pam turned to go back downstairs, but Jim pulled her back with a hand on her arm.

“Wait—he won’t try to hurt you, will he?  Tell me the truth, Pam.”

Her eyes widened.  “No!  No, Roy’s got his faults, but that’s not one of them.”

“Okay, if you’re sure you want to go.  You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do.”

***

Descending the warehouse steps, Pam started to have second thoughts.  “Roy?  Can I talk to you?”

“I don’t know, Pam; I thought you said quite a bit already.”

“Please, Roy; I need to explain.”

“Okay, you can explain what the hell you meant, saying you spent the night at Halpert’s?”  All of the other warehouse workers were gathered behind Roy, like a small army.

“Roy—calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!  You tell me what’s going on here, then I might calm down!”

“Listen, I shouldn’t have said it like that.  Yes, I spent the night at Jim’s house, but—we slept in different rooms—his roommate was there, you can ask him if you want!  It wasn’t like I made it sound; I’m sorry—I should not have said it like that.”

Roy deflated slightly.  “So you’re saying nothing happened?  You just slept there, and then went to Sarah’s?”

Pam couldn’t seem to make herself lie outright to Roy.  “I—I kissed him.”

“Dammit, Pam!  What are you trying to do, kill me?”  Roy did look devastated at the news, and though she knew Roy wouldn’t hurt her, she was starting to have doubts about Darryl.

“I’m sorry, Roy, I—I wasn’t thinking.”

“I knew that Halpert had a thing for you, but I thought he was a good guy—I didn’t think he’d actually do anything about it!”

“Wait, Roy.  Don’t blame Jim for this—or not completely.  I was willing.”

Roy turned away for a second.  “So you’re telling me that he didn’t push you or anything?”

Pale, Pam answered, “No, he didn’t.”

He sat down heavily on a box, and Darryl stepped forward.  “I think you should leave now.”

Pam closed her eyes and nodded, then turned and went back up the stairs.

***

Roy was waiting for Pam in the parking lot after work.  “Pam, I’ve been thinking all day,” he started.

Pam paused, listening.

“I miss you, Pammy.  I still love you, and if you promise me that this never happened before, and it won’t happen again, I’ll—I’ll forgive you.  I’ll take you back.”

“Roy—that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?  It’s happened before?  I knew it!  I knew that Halpert was a—”

“No!  It never happened before Saturday.  The problem is…I don’t know if I want you to take me back.  I don’t know if I want to come back.”  She left without looking back to see his reaction, feeling cowardly.

***

Jack went home and had dinner with his wife.  She asked about his day, as she always did, and he described the footage he’d shot to her.  He was technically under a confidentiality agreement till the show aired, but he trusted his wife, and after a day like today, he needed to tell someone who wasn’t directly involved with the show about his misgivings.

When he was done with the story, his wife just gave him a look, and he knew that she disapproved.

She called her mom, talked to Sarah about the new developments, talked to Tim to get the man’s perspective (since Jim wasn’t exactly objective in this situation), but nothing really seemed to bring her any closer to a decision.

All week, she avoided the warehouse, and didn’t spend much time, other than lunch breaks, with Jim.  (Who else would they have eaten lunch with—Angela?)  They still exchanged glances when Dwight was being ridiculous, and every once in a while, one of them would just have to tell the other something that had just happened, but mostly they just learned to save up for lunch breaks, and to communicate more fluently without words.

Pam wondered if wordless communication wasn’t cheating, but somehow couldn’t bring herself to care enough to stop.  There were some things that she just needed, and one of those things was to communicate with Jim during the workday.

Another small way that she cheated was that she didn’t answer any of Roy’s calls to her cell phone, and asked Sarah and Tim to tell him not to call the house, either; on the other hand, when Jim called (on Monday night), she didn’t answer, but she did send a text message saying that they would talk tomorrow.

She also played the voicemail he left for her several times, just to hear it again: “Hey, Pam.  I was just wondering if anything happened after work.  I saw Roy waiting there, I assume for you, and I…was just making sure you were okay.  Talk to you later.”

Pam wasn’t stupid—she knew all these signs were pointing toward Jim.  She had done what Sarah suggested, and thought about the three different aspects of love.  Her resulting conclusions were pretty conclusive, as well. 

Roy: commitment-check on his part, question mark on hers; sexuality-check; friendship-not really, anymore.  They used to be friends, but they’d never been like her and Jim, and now she didn’t think Roy really knew her at all.

Jim: commitment-she was pretty sure that was a check on his part, question mark on hers; sexuality-hell, yes, if their brief kisses were any indication; friendship-well, it was silly to even question that.

So her and Jim’s relationship was closer to ‘ideal’, than her and Roy’s.She’d even looked up that dream interpretation website.  According to dreammoods.com, wedding dreams often highlight some anxiety or fear and reflect your issues about commitment and independence.  If you dream about your waking relationships, you should compare your dream with your waking relationship, as in dreams you may be able to confront issues you would normally ignore. 

This also seemed pretty clear: Jim was what she wanted.  That, and she was very jealous of Katy, but that was kind of moot, since Jim had broken up with Katy.

So why was she hesitating?

It was crazy, she knew, because having opened up her eyes to all the feelings she had for Jim, she knew she’d be miserable being Roy’s wife, but she was reluctant to declare the last ten years of her life a waste.  She couldn’t stand the thought that she’d spent all this time with Roy with nothing to show for it.

It was Friday, one week after the booze cruise, when she finished reaching all these conclusions, but she didn’t do anything about it.

She delayed for another whole week, just pushing things to the back of her mind, wishing that she could just move, do anything, but she seemed incapable of doing so.  Then, on the day that marked the second week of her and Roy’s break, she just had to act.

She was pretending to work, as usual, and staring at Jim instead, also not unusual.  Her thoughts were focused on the kisses that they had shared, and she thought, that’s it.  Jim’s the only man I want to kiss again, ever.  And I want to get started ASAP. 

***

From: PBeesly 

To: JHalpert 

Re: Dwight 

Jim— 

It’s been way too long since we pulled something on Dwight.  I was thinking something involving his mini-me bobble head? 

--Pam 

***

Jim nodded to show his agreement and held up ten fingers to indicate that they should meet in ten minutes.  They giggled and whispered like junior-highers in the break room, and with her decision made, she felt deliciously free. 

They ended up stealing his bobble heads one by one each time he went to the bathroom (Pam was surprised they managed to do this without him noticing, but there were a surprising number of general sales calls directed his way all morning), and then over lunch break, they strung them up along the edge of the desk, like a holiday garland.  His reaction was all that they could have hoped for. 

“Michael!  A deliberate act of terrorism has been perpetrated against my personal property!  May I investigate?”

The question of investigation became moot, as Jim and Pam collapsed in laughter behind Pam’s desk.  Pam’s sense memory went into overdrive, recalling the time that they had laughed so hard about the ‘alliance’, and Roy’s outburst.  How did I not realize my feelings then?

This time, she didn’t have to pull away.

***

Jack, of course, did a lot of filming of this prank, wondering if this indicated a return to how things used to be, before the booze cruise. 

He really hoped not.  Anyone could see that Roy didn’t appreciate Pam, and everyone behind the scenes was rooting for Jim.

Ooh, there we go, he thought, and focused on on Jim’s hand resting on Pam’s shoulder, creating a visual parallel with the last time this had happened, during the ‘alliance’. 

Today, no Roy was in sight, and Jim’s hand lingered.

Something else caught Jack’s eye.  A framed picture behind the reception desk, of a tall man stretched out on a sofa, asleep.  Zooming in, he could tell that it was definitely Jim.

***

It was only fair to Roy that he should be the first to know, so she stepped outside the office that afternoon to call him and tell him that she wanted to talk after work.  No, she didn’t want to go out.  At their apartment would be fine.

When she arrived, she felt odd: she wasn’t comfortable just walking in, but it had been her home for several years; did she really need to knock?

Finally, she turned the doorknob and called, “Roy?” at the same time.  “Are you here?” 

Roy came hurrying to the door.  “Pam?  Hey, come in, dummy.  You don’t have to knock!”

It was at this point that Pam realized she may have made a bad call on the location, because he assumed that she was coming back. Bracing herself, she replied, “Yes, I do.  It’s not my home anymore.”

“Yeah, it is.  Even if you haven’t been sleeping here…”  Roy’s voice trailed off as she shook her head and her meaning sank in.  “You’re—you’re not coming back?”

“No, Roy, I’m not,” she answered, feeling the tears start.

“You’re choosing Halpert over me?  How is—?  Baby, what do you want?  I’ll change!  You want me to start playing jokes on Schrute?  You want me to go to college?  I’ll do it!”

Pam couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.  “No, no, it’s not that.  I—look, Jim was the catalyst, but I think I would have ended up unhappy with you no matter what…and that is not how I meant to say that!

“I mean that we’re just not right for each other.  We didn’t get engaged because we wanted to marry each other; we got engaged because I wanted to get married to someone, and you knew that everyone expected us to.

“I guess—I guess I’m saying that I’ve grown up a little.  I don’t want to get married to just anyone, I want to get married to the right guy…and I don’t think that I’m the right girl for you, either.  You should have someone who will be happy with you being just the way you are, not want you to change before they approve of you.”

Roy’s face was tight with anger and the strain of holding tears back. Bitterly, he asked, “And you’re saying that Halpert is ‘the right guy’ who you want to marry?”

 “I—well, I can’t really say—”  

“But that’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

Pam pursed her lips and turned back to her car.  “Goodbye, Roy.”

She winced, but didn’t turn back, when she heard a shout of rage and loud banging.  She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he was destroying.  It was probably something of hers, but she thought that she deserved it.

***

“Hey, Pam!  Ready for lunch?”  Jim shook his paper bag hopefully.

“Oh, Jim, I’m sorry; I have an appointment today during lunch,” Pam looked apologetic, but Jim detected an air of excitement about her, too.  He really hoped it had nothing to do with Roy; she hadn’t really been forthcoming about any decision she might have made on that front, and he didn’t want to push.

Trying to hide his disappointment that they wouldn’t get to eat lunch together, he said, “Oh, well, I guess I’ll see you this afternoon, then.”

“Yeah, we can definitely talk then,” she smiled, putting on her jacket and breezing out the door.

Jim glumly sat down to his solitary sandwich.

That afternoon, Pam didn’t even mention her trip, although she acted the same as she used to, before the booze cruise, and even came over to his desk a few times.

On Tuesday, the exact same thing happened, almost word for word.

When she acted the same on Wednesday, he started to get frustrated; he had had to eat lunch alone with Kevin three days in a row, with no explanation whatsoever.  He determined to ask her what was up that afternoon.

She breezed back in the doorway, and her excitement was palpable.  Her eyes sparkled and her face glowed.  Jim felt sick; it had to have something to do with Roy.  What else could it be that would make her so excited, but that she wouldn’t want to talk to him about?  He wasn’t so sure that he wanted to ask her anymore.

Pam hung her jacket up and turned toward Jim, giving him a radiant smile.  He couldn’t seem to conjure up a good smile, but gave her his best attempt.  She noticed, of course, and her face fell a little.  She walked over to his desk and leaned on it, facing away from Dwight.  Michael was still on lunch, so this was the best bet for semi-privacy. 

“Jim, I’m sorry I’ve been so secretive.  I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t notice, because I wanted to surprise you, but I guess that was wishful thinking.”  She swallowed.  “I really want to surprise you; is it okay if I keep my secrets one more day?  I promise you’ll like the surprises.”

She had to know that he wouldn’t like anything that was good news for her and Roy’s relationship, so he agreed.  Besides, it was hard to refuse her when she was looking so gorgeous, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks pink.

“Good.  So I’m taking you out to dinner tomorrow night.  To keep it all a surprise, I’ll drive.  I expect you to be waiting for me to walk out after work tomorrow.”  With that, she whirled and went back to her desk.

Well.  That was intriguing.

***

On Thursday, she didn’t go out during lunch.  She sat down in the break room, and when she saw his confused look through the glass, motioned impatiently.

“I thought you were taking revenge or something, because I left you alone.”

“The last three days, Beesly.  You ditched me for three days.  I should take revenge.  See ya later!”  He made a show of gathering up his lunch.

Laughing, Pam grabbed his hand.  “No, please, stay!”

“Well…okay,” he said, pretending to be reluctant.  “I don’t know why I put up with you, Beesly,” he joked, knowing very well that she knew exactly why he put up with her.  “So, come on, tell me about these special secrets.”

“Uh-uh.  I don’t think so.  The agreement was that I tell you tonight,” and she tilted her head toward the cameras.

Hmmm.  Something to tell me, that she knows I’ll like, but  that she doesn’t want the cameras to see?  He was really curious now.

***

After work, Pam gathered her things and stood up to see Jim waiting for her, her jacket over his arm.  He helped her into her jacket, and she took his arm.  She was so excited about tonight, she was almost trembling with anticipation. 

Even though she was driving, Jim insisted on opening the car door for her, because that’s the kind of guy he was.

She took him to a fancy restaurant, and he raised his eyebrows.  “What?” 

“Nothing, just…I used to think about bringing you here for…special occasions,” Jim replied.  ‘Special occasions’ was definitely not exactly what he had meant, but she decided not to ask him about that just yet. 

After ordering food (she told him to make sure and order whatever, without worrying about the price, because it was a special occasion and she was paying; she also knew he hadn’t listened, and called him on it), “I suppose,” she began, glancing up at him through her lashes, “that you’d like to hear what was going on all week.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Jim leaned back in his chair and tried to look nonchalant.  “I don’t care.”

“Liar.”

“Yes, I am,” he responded, leaning forward.  “It’s killing me, actually.  What were you doing on your lunch breaks?”

Pam let out a breath and squared her shoulders.  “The first piece of news is that I officially ended things with Roy.”  She paused for his reaction: he couldn’t decide if ‘congratulations’ or a huge ‘yesss!’ would be least inappropriate, so he just sat back in his chair and smiled.

Continuing, she said, “The second thing is that when I was gone on lunch breaks, I was finding an apartment, and last night I moved.”

“Pam, that’s great!”  Jim found her hand and held it.

“Also, I am looking for a job elsewhere.”  He looked a little confused at this news, so she jokingly clarified: “I mean, it’s partly because I want to get a job that has something to do with art, but also because I just don’t want to fill out that dating form at work.”

“Are we dating?” Jim asked.

“Do you want to be?”

“Yes!”

“Then we are,” she replied with a soft smile.  Unable to resist that smile, Jim stood up and walked around the table.  She watched him, confused, as he took her hand, pulled her out of her chair, and proceeded to kiss the breath out of her.

“Pam,” he whispered, oblivious to all the people throughout the restaurant staring at them, including the waiter who was waiting to serve their appetizers.  “I love you.”

She looked down at his chest, biting her lip, then glanced up to his face.  “I love you, too.  I’m in love with you, and I don’t know why it took me so long to see it.  I’m sorry, but I promise, from now on, I will say it every day.  I’m in love with you, Jim.”

Of course, there was more kissing after that speech, and it wasn’t till other patrons started to clap that they remembered where they were.  They sat down, flushed, to hurry through dinner.

***

Jack decided that were some things even people who had signed waivers should get to keep private.  He recorded over the last ten minutes with innocuous suppertime footage and went home to his wife.

He acted as surprised as anyone else when Dwight caught Jim and Pam making out in the break room a week later.