Jim and Pam’s first date had taken place on a Thursday night, not three hours after he had gotten back from New York and a job interview he had sat through just so he could turn the job down.

It had been nice, and a lot of things had been discussed, but they had cut it short in order to not oversleep the next morning. Being responsible adults was something they were still getting used to.

Their second date was scheduled on Friday morning.

Jim didn’t make it fifteen minutes before he was leaned over Pam’s desk, eating the orange flavored jellybeans she knew he loved until he thought he was going to be sick.

“So…” he said and smiled down at her.

“Yeah?” she said, smiling back. They had been doing an awful lot of that in the last twelve hours.

“Do you want to do something tonight?” he asked.

Pam tilted her head to the right, looking him straight in the eye. “I’m sure I’ll be doing something. I mean, I usually am - laundry, washing my hair, watching whatever awful thing is on VH1.“ She paused to watch him look amusingly unamused, and she relented. “But, seriously. What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” he said, looking particularly thoughtful, “ now that your stand-up routine is over… We could go to the movies, since you said last night you hadn’t been in awhile. If that doesn’t appeal, we could go for a drive and a picnic in the park. There’s an art exhibit at Matilda’s downtown, or mochacinnos at the mall, or I can make you dinner at my place and we can rent something at Blockbuster…”

Her mouth was hanging open.

“What?” he said, but he already knew what she was thinking.

“I expected one option, not fifteen,” she said, laughing.

“It wasn’t quite fifteen. With a little more research, maybe, but we are talking the greater Scranton area, so that might be quite the trick.”

She shook her head. “Are you trying to spoil me already?” She kept her voice low, because their shift in relationship status hadn’t exactly been brought up yet.

His face scrunched up in that adorable way she loved. “Uh, yeah. Actually, I will be trying to spoil you always, so you need to get used to that. Though if you want to let me know when my mission is accomplished, I can slack off.”

She pursed her lips to stifle a giggle, and resisted grabbing his tie and tugging on it, even though it was dangling temptingly within her reach and something ditzy former cheerleaders did. “It’s okay, as long as I get to spoil you back.”

“As long as you know I’m not satisfied with a mere mochacinno.” He widened his eyes with a ‘yes, I said it’ grin.

“I’m not even going there, Jim. At least, not while we’re at work.”

He laughed at her, but he knew there were many places he could wait to go, as long as it was with her. “Let me know when you decide, all right?” he said, straightening.

“Well, what do you want to do?” she asked him.

He knew it was going to sound terribly cheesy if he said it out loud, but he went there anyway. “I don’t care, as long as it’s with you.”

She really, really wanted to jump across her desk and hug him on the spot. Her eyes welled up, but she did her best to recover. She sighed deeply. “I have no idea how I will ever make up my mind, but I’ll try.” She winked at him, which got her another laugh just before he turned and headed back to his desk.

It was amazing how her life never failed to surprise her, as dull as it seemed from the outside. She was grateful for her own brand of excitement, anyway.

For Jim’s part, he was a nervous wreck that this turn of events had even happened. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful for it, but he was expecting it to slip through his hands again at any second and that was not a pleasant feeling with which to live. Everything was happening so fast, and he felt like he should feel worse about Karen, but he didn’t past the fact that he had lied to her and himself for as long as he had. He had made his apologies when he told her he just couldn’t do it anymore, but he knew that couldn’t make up for the way he had willingly hidden behind her to try to protect himself from another heartbreak.

He was an unwilling participant in an ongoing internal debate about whether or not it was too soon to be with Pam, but he knew that he couldn’t lose anymore time with her. He had missed five years already, and he could see no point in there being a mourning period for grief he didn’t feel when the girl of his dreams was ready and willing.

If that made him a bad person, he would just have to learn to deal with it.

He swiveled in his chair and caught her smiling at him, and he didn’t feel like a bad person at all. He smiled back and vowed to himself to get his old desk reinstated. The view was much better from that one - not counting Dwight, of course.

Five minutes later, there was an e-mail alert from his computer.

Jim,
How about the drive and picnic, followed by stopping in at the art show? I’ve been wanting to see that exhibit, and I promise we don’t have to stay forever. Please?

Pam

He grinned and swung around to look at her again, and her hands were clasped beneath her chin, her best pleading face in place. He didn’t give himself away, and turned back around to his keyboard to respond.

A minute later, Pam got an e-mail back.

Pam,
How could I deny you anything? Especially with that face?

Jim

She stifled a giggle and looked over at him, and he had the most adorable smile just for her. Just like it used to be. She hadn’t seen that look on his face in so long she thought she might never look away again.

“Thank you,” she mouthed.

Still smiling, he just shook his head and mouthed, “You’re welcome” before going back to work.

It was going to be a long day.

At a quarter past two, Michael stormed out of his office, opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then turned around and stormed back inside it, slamming the door behind him.

Pam frowned and looked to Jim, who only shook his head. It was the first anyone had seen of him since he had come out of his office in the morning, asking why Karen, Ryan, and Kelly hadn’t shown up to work. Jim had gone into his office to explain Karen’s absence, but she had called in to take a sick day not two minutes later. No one knew what had happened to Ryan and Kelly, but Pam had theorized there was probably a hostage situation on the way to a Vegas wedding chapel. It didn’t really matter that Kelly was Hindu, it was the only plausible way to explain their simultaneous absence, she had explained to Jim.

With Michael’s odd behavior now, they couldn’t help but think it was something much worse.

Jim took a jellybean break at 2:16.

“Should one of us go in there?” he asked, his forearms resting on the countertop. No one else seemed overly concerned, but he and Pam were at a loss.

“I don’t know. You know how Michael is. He can really be a drama queen,” she whispered.

He smiled. “Well, I guess if it was something dire, he’d have actually announced something. Still…”

“You are the assistant manager now, Jim. You can go in there if you really think something’s wrong,” she said, encouraging him. His compassion for even the most annoying of people was only one of the things she loved about him.

“Maybe I will,” he said thoughtfully.

“Just be sure to come back out as soon as possible and let me know what’s going on.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

Michael beat Jim to the punch at 2:20 when he came back out of his office and stood in front of his door. Most of the workers looked up expectantly, and Dwight rushed to his side, offering any assistance he could manage. Michael shoved him away, and took a deep breath as everyone waited.

Michael’s face was grave, and Jim and Pam frowned at each other.

“Most of you know by now,” Michael finally started, looking down at the floor, then back up at everyone in the room, “that I interviewed for a promotion yesterday. A promotion that turned out to be Jan’s position. She was fired, and I withdrew my name out of respect for my… girlfriend,” he said, like he almost wished that wasn’t true anymore. “I figured Jim or Karen would get it after that. It turns out that is not the case.” He let out a low groan. “Ryan Howard has been given the promotion, effective immediately. That’s why he’s not in today.”

Pam was pretty convinced Michael might faint right there in front of them all. By the look on Jim’s face, she figured he was thinking the same thing.

Dwight, predictably, was the first to speak up. “The Temp is your new boss?”

Michael rolled his eyes, let out a low “Pffffffftttttt” under his breath, and walked back into his office. He closed the door, drew all the blinds, and a few seconds later they heard unintelligible, but mournful, music coming from his stereo.

“Break room, now,” Pam said to Jim, and they both ran to get there first.

She looked at him, and he looked at her. They burst out laughing at the same time.

“Oh my God,” he said.

“I know,” she replied, bouncing on her toes a little. “How did that even happen? What did Ryan do? Interview on the weekend?”

“Sounds like something he’d do,” he said, rubbing his hand over his chin. “What I can’t figure out is if Michael’s upset because Ryan won’t be around to sexually harass anymore, or he’s afraid that Ryan’s about to make him pay for the sexual harassment of the last two years. I can’t decide, either one’s good.”

Pam was giggling hysterically.

“We should probably be on Michael’s side, right?” he asked.

“Probably, but Ryan kind of scares me.”

“Yeah. He can be kind of a jerk.”

She stopped laughing suddenly, and her eyes went wide.

“What?” he asked, frowning.

“Kelly. She didn’t come in today. Oh my gosh, Jim, what if…? I mean, Ryan’s in New York, and I would bet you almost anything he broke up with her beforehand.” She pressed two fingers between her eyebrows. “I better go try to call her. If I can’t get her, we’re going to have to go over there.”

“We?” Jim said.

“Jim.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be right back,” she said, heading to her desk.

He sighed. This was not what he had been expecting today. Karen coming through the door with an Uzi? Maybe. Pam not really being that into him? Definitely maybe. But of all the nightmare scenarios he had imagined, he could not have come close to this one.

Pam came back a couple minutes later, worry written across her features. “She’s not answering her home phone or her cell, and I know she’s married to her cell,” she said.

He nodded firmly. “Okay, we’ll go check on her.”

“What do we tell Michael?” she said, biting her lip.

“Nothing, he won’t be out of his office until at least quitting time, if then,” he assured her.

“Okay,” she said, following him out of the break room. She only took a moment to forward the phones to voicemail and grab her purse.

Jim was already by the door, under interrogation by Dwight.

“Where are you going?” he said, practically in Jim’s face.

“It’s emergency business,” Jim said, trying desperately to show no annoyance.

“Then why are you taking the receptionist?” Dwight asked when Pam joined them. “She’s not a salesman. Or are you sneaking off to do something that you shouldn’t be doing?”

“Her name is Pam,” was Jim’s only answer.

“I know that,” Dwight said.

Pam rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Dwight, just trust me, okay? We won’t be long. If Michael happens to emerge, cover for us, all right?”

Dwight looked suspiciously at Jim, then to Pam, and his face softened. “All right. But this better be important, and if you’re not back in an hour, I’m writing you up.”

“You can’t do that,” Jim said, unable to keep his mouth shut.

“Thank you, Dwight,” Pam said, shoving Jim out the door before their luck was pressed any further.

“What was that about?” Jim asked as they stepped on the elevator.

She glanced at him. “It’s kind of a long story, which I’ll have to tell you later.”

“I’m gonna have to hold you to that,” he said as they arrived at the lobby. “Your car or mine?” he asked when they were in the parking lot.

“Yours. I’m too nervous to drive,” she said.

He led her to his car and opened the passenger side door for her. When she was settled, he closed it and hurried around to his side.

“You have her address?” he asked, turning the key in the ignition.

“Yeah,” she said and handed him a slip of paper.

He glanced at it and pulled out of the lot. He looked over at Pam, and she was wringing her hands in her lap. He reached for her left one, effectively stilling them both.

“She’s okay, Pam,” he said softly.

She blew out a breath. “I hope so. You know how she is, I just hope she hasn’t done anything drastic.”

“Maybe she followed Ryan to New York and forgot to call in stalker,” he joked, trying to put her more at ease. She was clasping his hand pretty firmly.

She smiled weakly. “That sounds like her.”

When they arrived at Kelly’s apartment building, Pam didn’t even wait for Jim to come around and open her door, she was so anxious. They hurried up to her second floor apartment together, and she shot him another worried look before she knocked on the door.

No answer.

Pam knocked harder. “Kelly? Kelly! It’s Pam and Jim. If you’re in there, you really need to answer the door.”

He noted she sounded stronger than she currently looked.

After one full minute, the door cracked open, and they saw Kelly’s face peering out above the door chain.

“Ohmigod, Pam, what are you two doing here?” Kelly said, frowning.

Pam sighed. “Can we come in a minute, Kelly?” She wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, but not standing out in the beating May sun, talking to her through a crack in the door.

“Uh, sure… The place is kind of a mess, though,” Kelly said, closed the door briefly to remove the chain, and then opened the door to let them in.

Kelly was wearing a fuzzy, purple bathrobe, her hair was pushed back by a wide black headband, and she looked like she had been crying for God only knew how long.

Break up, Pam thought, noting that Bridget Jones’ Diary was on the TV, and various candy wrappers and Haagen-Daz containers littered the coffee table.

Jim followed in behind Pam, letting her take the lead and do the talking. He barely knew what to do with Kelly on a good day.

“Um, what’s up, Kelly?” Pam asked, trying to sound casual.

Kelly sank to the couch, not even remembering to offer either of them a seat.

“You didn’t call in today to tell us you weren’t going to be at work, so we got worried,” Pam continued when the other woman said nothing. She sat down next to her on the couch, not caring she hadn’t been invited. Jim stood just behind where her back rested against the arm, and she could feel his warmth.

Kelly’s lower lip started to tremble. “Ryan broke up with me,” she said, barely above a whisper. “And then he told me he got promoted to corporate in New York, and he left this morning, and I think I’m going to die,” she finished just before she let out a wail.

Jim closed his eyes. He may have been more understanding than a lot of guys, but he was still bad with tears.

Pam laid a hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kelly,” she said sympathetically. “But, if you don’t mind my saying, Ryan wasn’t good enough for you.”

“I know,” Kelly sobbed. “It doesn’t seem to make any difference, though.”

Pam looked around until she spotted a box of Kleenex, and she grabbed several and handed them to Kelly. “So you’ve just been watching movies and eating ice cream?” she asked gently.

Kelly nodded.

“And you weren’t thinking of doing anything drastic?”

Kelly blew her nose, and looked up at Pam with wide eyes. “Oh God, Pam, you didn’t really think I was going to kill myself over Ryan Bailey Howard?” she scoffed.

“No, no, of course not,” Pam said, even though that was exactly what she had been thinking. “We just got really worried when you didn’t show up today. We knew why Ryan and Karen were out, but you need to call us if you’re going to take a sick day, all right?”

“I’m sorry, you guys, I totally wasn’t thinking,” Kelly said, wiping her eyes. “Wait, why is Karen out?”

They avoided looking at each other, but Kelly effortlessly figured out the meaning behind the uncomfortable pause.

And then she squealed in such a high-pitched manner that Jim was sure the neighborhood dogs were currently flocking to her door.

“OHMIGOD, YOU GUYS!” she shrieked, clapping her hands together. “When were you going to tell me?”

Pam was on the verge of laughter and severely uncomfortable at the same time. She was not appreciative of Kelly’s nose for romance at this moment.

“Ah…” Jim started. “We haven’t really… I guess it’s not really official yet?” He looked to Pam, but she had nothing further to add.

Kelly launched herself at Pam, hugging her tightly. Pam half-heartedly patted the other girl on the back, hoping she would let go soon.

When she finally pulled back, she looked Pam straight in the eye and sighed. “At least one of us is going to get to be happy and not die alone.”

Pam swallowed hard. “Uh, thanks. But you’re going to be all right, right? You’re going to find someone who makes you happy, too.”

“I hope you’re right, Pam. I’ll be fine, but I just gotta wallow for a little while, you know?” She looked up at Jim. “It’s a girl thing.”

He just nodded.

“We need to get back to work, but call me if you need anything, okay?” Pam said, thinking she would probably regret the offer, but she felt like she needed to make it.

“Okay, thanks, Pam,” Kelly said, getting up to show them out. She hugged Jim quickly, but said nothing. She just grinned at him and bounced up and down a little.

When they were back in the car, Pam leaned her head against the headrest and sighed.

“Well. That was… crazy,” Jim said, trying to regroup before he started the car.

“That was Kelly,” Pam said, turning to smile at him.

“It definitely was,” he agreed. “Nicely handled, though.”

“Thanks, I try.”

He reached for her hand again, even though she was no longer nervous. She looked down at her lap.

“Better be careful, Halpert. I could get used to this.”

“That’s my intention,” he said, with a quick glance her way.

After all that had happened, it shouldn’t have been so easy, but it was. He just hoped there were no other major roadblocks coming their way.



Pam had caught up on her voicemails within minutes of returning to the office, and she had watched Jim close four sales in an hour, more enthusiastic than she had seen him, well, ever. At least about work. His good mood seemed to be rubbing off on his clients, and she smiled as she thought she might have a little something to do with that.

The remaining hour and a half of work went by surprisingly fast, and Jim walked her out at 5:05, leaving a petulant Michael still pouting in his office.

He told her he would be making dinner, he would pick her up at 7:30, and left her at her car with a wave and a smile.

When Pam arrived home, her caller ID was blinking. She laughed at the thought that it might be Jim, but when she pressed the button she discovered her mother’s number instead. She had tried to call her before work to tell her about the first date, but her mother hadn’t answered. Looking at her watch, she decided she had enough time to call her back, as long as they kept it a short chat.

She dialed the familiar number, and her mother, Patty, answered right away.

“Hi, Mom,” she said, almost certain she would be able to hear the smile in her voice.

“Hi, honey. Are you doing all right? I saw you called this morning, but I was out in the garden and you know how I always forget to bring the phone outside with me. I almost called you at work, but I figured if it was an emergency you’d try again.”

“No emergency. I’m good, really good, actually.” She took the portable phone over to her couch and sat down. “Something really amazing happened yesterday.”

“What?” her mother said with a great sense of anticipation.

Pam bit her lip. “Jim asked me out,” she said without preamble.

“What?! Oh, Pam…” Patty seemed at a loss for words. “But I thought - Well, I thought you said he had a girlfriend.”

Pam closed her eyes at the reminder of what twenty-four hours could change. “He did. But he doesn’t anymore.” She had told her mother all about the night at the beach, and how she felt like she was becoming a whole different person, so she figured she would make the connection.

“He listened then, didn’t he?” Patty said softly.

“Yeah, he did. He always has, Mom. He’s just… he’s everything, you know?”

“Sweetie, I’m so happy for you. Have you two really worked everything out?”

“We’re getting there. I mean, it’s barely been a day, but we’re going out again tonight. He’s probably home right now making us a picnic.”

Patty laughed. “That boy’s a keeper.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m never letting him get away again.”

“That’s my girl. You’ll have to bring him around soon. No pressure, it’s just that you’ve known him for years and I’ve only met him once, and your father’s never met him at all.”

Pam laughed. “As long as Daddy promises not to break his kneecaps for breaking his little girl’s heart.” She rolled her eyes. “That was as much the little girl’s fault as anyone’s.”

“Your father will be on his best behavior, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Okay. I just don’t want to rush him into anything, unless he wants to be,” Pam said with a sigh. “I’m still waiting - I don’t know. Everything feels too right.”

“Pam, I’m sorry to say it, but you’re the only person in the world that would worry about something going your way.”

“You’re probably right. I’ve just waited so long for this, us, to be fixed, and now that we’re getting there it’s all a little surreal. I had given up on ever having him. I don’t know how I was going to live that way, but I was resigned. Then he just literally burst through the door and changed everything. He asked me out in front of the cameras, Mom.”

“At least it’s documented.”

“Mom!” Pam exclaimed, laughing.

“I’m just saying, honey. Sometimes men forget.”

“Not Jim.”

“I hope not.” There was a pause. “Don’t you have a date to get ready for?”

“Definitely. He’s not going to be here until seven-thirty, so I just wanted to call you a minute and let you know what’s going on.”

“I’m glad you did. I just want you to be happy, and you better tell him I said so. I’m sure he thinks I’m quite mild-mannered, but you’re still my baby girl and I feel protective.”

“Thanks, Mom. But you have nothing to worry about from Jim. He’s the best man I’ve ever known. Besides Daddy,” she amended.

“I know. Now go get ready for him, and I’ll talk to you later. I love you, Pam.”

“I love you, too, Mom. Tell Dad I said hi and I love him, too.”

“I will. Bye.”

“Bye,” Pam said, pressing the ‘off’ button on the phone.

Something about telling someone else had served to make it more real, and butterflies began to congregate in her stomach. It was only Jim, her best friend, the man she loved in a way she had never loved anyone else, but she felt tonight would be the night it truly went to the next level. Last night had been like the coming attractions, and tonight was the feature presentation. Last night had been a hug and a promise of another date, today had been handholding and a crisis in the car, and tonight could be something else, so much more to end the week than she had ever expected at the start.

She worried that she wasn’t prepared for all of this so fast, but then she realized she had been preparing for it for a year. Without Jim her life would have turned out so miserably different, and now she was ready to accept him and all he had to offer. She wanted to be with him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She got up off the couch to find a proper dress to wear for their date, and the butterflies disappeared. The past six months all she had asked herself was, What am I waiting for?

She wasn’t waiting any longer.

Jim was five minutes early to pick her up, and she still met him at the door before he had even knocked. “You really shouldn’t tip your cards like that,” he said.

“Like what?” she said, breathless and grinning.

“Like you’re overeager to see me or something.”

“Well, what if I am?” she asked playfully, liking this whole honesty thing a lot more than she thought she would.

“Then I would have to say we feel the same way,” he said. He never thought he would see the day he could say that.

“That’s always good to know,” she said, stepping out the door and locking it behind her.

“You look beautiful,” he said when she turned to face him. “I mean, you always do, but that dress… Wow.”

She laughed and tried to stop herself from blushing, but it was no use. It seemed that her tongue wasn’t the only one that had been freed in the craziness of the last few weeks. “Thanks,” she said. She smoothed her hands over the fabric with its simple white and pink floral design. It had a scoop neck, cap sleeves, and flared just above her knees, and she knew it suited her. She just hadn’t been sure before this evening that she was ever going to get a chance to wear it.

“You look really amazing,” she said, taking in his jeans and the black dress shirt that was un-tucked with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She hardly ever saw him in black, but she liked it - a lot. Especially the way the top button was open, and… She swallowed hard and diverted her eyes for a second. It was the little things that took her breath away, it seemed.

He just smiled at her.

He saw to it that she got in the car first, and when he was settled in the driver’s seat, he turned to her, iPod in hand. “Do you like The Fray?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. She watched as he scrolled to find their album, and then the soothing sounds of piano filled the car.

He pulled out of her lot, headed north, and there was a comfortable silence for a few miles before she spoke.

“Where are we headed?” she asked.

“I thought we’d go to Murphy Park. They have this hill where you get the most amazing view of the sunset.”

“I take it you’ve spent a lot of time there?”

He nodded. “A lot of bike rides. A lot of… walks.”

She looked at his profile. The way he said the last bit seemed to implicate they might have had something to do with her, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

The music changed over to Look After You, and he reached over to take her hand. He tangled his fingers with hers and rested their hands on the console between them. The song said everything he had ever wanted to say to her, and every time he had heard it before he had wished he was with her. Now that he was, it was almost too much with which to deal and drive at the same time.

“I love this song,” she said with a sigh as she leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” he said, glancing over to catch the peaceful smile on her face.

She held his hand tightly and wondered how she had lived so long without this. Without this feeling, this freedom, his hand clinging to hers, and the knowledge that she could do anything because he was always going to be right there to catch her. So many feelings presented themselves at once that she thought she might burst; she might laugh, she might cry, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep from overwhelming not only herself, but him.

It simply wouldn’t do to freak him out this early in the game.

The last few minutes of the drive he only knew she was awake because her thumb kept stroking a steady rhythm against the side of his hand. He loved that they could just be, that even after the gap they had experienced, they could fall back into place because it was where they belonged.

“We’re here,” he announced finally, and she opened her eyes.

“We better hurry if we’re going to catch the sunset,” she said and watched him hop out to open her door for her. She may have been new, independent Pam, but she wasn’t complaining about him being such a gentleman. She found it extremely refreshing, given some of the men with whom she had to deal on a daily basis.

He offered her his hand, and his breath caught in his throat when she took it, even though he had been holding it only moments before. As she stood up out of the car, she was mere inches away from him, and he briefly wondered if he was ever going to stop reacting so strongly to her. He sincerely hoped not, because though it was frustrating, it was also too good to ever lose.

She noticed the look on his face. “Are you all right?”

He gave his head a slight shake to clear it. “I can honestly say I have never been better in my life.”

She giggled, taking a step back. “Okay. So where’s this fancy picnic you promised me?”

“Did I say ‘fancy’? Because I don’t remember saying ‘fancy’.” He reluctantly let go of her hand and opened the back door of his car, pulling out a basket.

“You own a picnic basket?” she asked, surprised.

“Uh, actually, no. I ran by my mom’s to borrow it on the way home from work.”

“Adorable,” she said, swinging back and forth the tiniest bit so that the skirt of her dress swayed in front of her knees.

“Unless you’re addressing yourself, let’s not go there,” he joked, shutting the door and locking it with the button on his key ring.

He held the basket with his left hand, and this time she grabbed his free hand as they walked toward the grassy hill where he had spent so many evenings thinking about her and everything he wanted. He really did love this spot, and he thought if he brought her there it might erase a great deal of the pain he had tried to sort through so many times.

The grass, though well-kept, tickled the skin of her feet exposed by her sandals. She bumped shoulders with Jim as they walked, reveling in the fact that nothing was awkward about them for the first time in a long time.

When they reached the top of the hill, he set the basket on the ground and pulled out a blue and white plaid blanket.

“Does your mom go on a lot of picnics?” she asked as she helped him spread it on the ground.

“We had a few when I was growing up.”

“Cool. We always ate on the tables. Not as much fun.”

He watched as she eased herself onto the ground, curling her legs beneath her dress and primly tucking it around her.

“Maybe a table would have been a good idea tonight,” he said as he sat down beside her.

She laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m good.”

He opened the basket again, and produced two colas. “I thought about wine, but I didn’t have any. Besides that, I’ve seen you drunk, and I’m driving. So… bad idea.”

“You wound me,” she said, taking the can of soda from him.

“Right. The next time you’re going through footage of the Dundies, you will thank me.”

“Soda’s good,” she said, laughing at him. She couldn’t blame him, really. She was a cheap, enthusiastic drunk.

Next he handed her a carefully wrapped, diagonally cut sandwich, and a bag of French Onion Sun Chips. She unwrapped the sandwich to look at the contents, and almost couldn’t speak. It was silly, it was just a sandwich.

“Smoked turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, and mayo?” she asked, looking up at him. “Seriously, Jim, if you weren’t my best friend, the things you know about me would really be frightening.”

“Thanks. I think,” he said, his eyebrows drawing together.

“No, this is really sweet. I just can’t believe you remember the things you do.”

He shrugged. “I remember pretty much everything.”

That was just so not typical of the guy she had been with for so long, and it almost made her want to cry. “Thank you,” she said softly, and he looked up from arranging his dinner in front of him.

“It’s really -”

“Don’t say it’s nothing, Jim. It really is, it’s everything,” she said seriously.

“You’re welcome,” he said simply and gave her a lopsided grin for good measure.

She opened her soda and chips and half-expected him to apologize for a simple meal, when it was anything but simple to her. She was glad when he didn’t.

“This really is beautiful,” she said, looking out over the park and the streets and buildings beyond it. The sky was shot through with pink, purple, and orange as the sun quickly sank at the edge of the horizon.

The warm, late spring air had brought a flush to her cheeks, and the sunset made her curls glow around her face and shoulders. He had no idea she could be anymore beautiful to him, but it was getting to the point it was a surprise every time he looked at her. He tried to focus on eating his ham and cheese and Doritos, but she made it difficult. He doubted she even realized it.

There was small talk and comfortable silences as they ate, and dusk was creeping in around them by the time they were through.

“Dessert?” he asked.

“You made dessert,” she said skeptically.

“Well… no. I’m afraid my culinary efforts don’t expand as far as baking,” he said with a laugh. “I did buy a cake, though.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “You bought a cake? A whole cake? What kind?”

“German chocolate, and it’s just one of those small ones from the bakery.” There was an indiscernible look in her eyes, and he cocked an eyebrow.

She shook her head and she couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her lips. The way she felt, she was afraid it would rival the one she hadn’t been able to get rid of when he asked her out.

“What?” he asked, finally unable to take the suspense any longer.

“You completely amaze me,” she blurted out before she could think anymore. She opened her mouth again and felt an R start to form on her tongue, but she stopped herself and started again. “No one has ever gone to this much trouble for me. Ever.” Well, except for him, but that wasn’t what she meant and they both knew it.

He licked his lips, caught off guard by her declaration. He had only bought a cake. “I - But it wasn’t any trouble. I enjoy doing things for you, Pam. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

“I know. It’s -” She couldn’t seem to come up with any words worthy of the way she felt, so she raised up on her knees, took his face in her hands, and kissed him.

His arms automatically went around her, his hands spanning her waist, pulling her closer. She practically fell into him before he managed to turn her around and ease her into a sitting position on the blanket beside him.

Her arms went around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair as she boldly deepened the kiss. There was give and take and she felt like she was drowning in the circle of his arms, the feel of being wrapped up in him so completely overwhelming to her senses.

Eventually they broke apart, gasping for air, and realized it had gotten awfully dark.

“I’m buying you cake more often,” Jim joked, unsure what to make of her uninhibited show of emotion. “What was that?” he asked as she sat back. He had been fully aware that her former fiancé could be careless, but apparently things had been worse than he thought, and he had always thought they were bad.

“I just… I can’t even,” Pam said with a sigh, dropping her hands to her sides.

Jim frowned. “You can’t even what?”

She laughed a little, feeling some of the tension breaking. “It’s… never mind. I’m just having a hard time believing this is happening, that I’m actually awake. That you’re here and you’re wonderful… Any minute I’m going to wake up, and you’re not going to be here anymore.”

He reached out to gently rub her shoulder. “Hey, don’t you think I’m afraid of that, too?”

“Are you?”

“Terrified,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. “But this is happening, Pam. I want it to happen.”

“I do, too,” she assured him, burying her face in his shirt. “I want this so much.” She hadn’t known how much until he had left her, until he had come back and couldn’t look her straight in the eye.

“Is it really supposed to be this easy? After, well, the last year?” he asked, tracing slow circles on her back.

“Maybe it was always this easy, Jim. We just made it hard.” She felt the chuckle in his throat against the top of her head. “Don’t even say it,” she said with a warning tone.

He cleared his throat. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You wanted to,” she said and laughed against his shoulder.

After a few moments of silence, she sat back, sliding her hands down his arms until they rested in his hands between them. “I am about to say something exceedingly cheesy, so I need you to bear with me, and, most importantly, not laugh at me,” she said.

His mouth quirked, but he nodded. “Deal.”

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I found out what it was like to live without you, and I don’t expect us to be perfect - all the time,” she said with a slight laugh at his eyebrow quirk. “But I never want to feel like that again. God, Jim, it was like I’d lost a six foot three, hundred and eighty pound limb.”

“Which would make you an extremely disproportionate woman,” he joked. He couldn’t help himself, despite her warning. He wasn’t laughing, after all.

“Shut up,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“How is this going to work if I can’t talk?” he asked with a straight face.

“I have no idea.”

“Helpful, Beesly. Really helpful.”

She waited.

He sighed. “I know exactly how you felt - except the limb I lost was considerably shorter and lighter,” he threw in, which made her smile. “When I wasn’t here, I wanted to call you and tell you all these weird things that happened, though they were never as weird as things here. That’s impossible. And when I came back I didn’t talk to you nearly as often as I thought about talking to you, and that really sucked.”

“I could not agree more,” she said.

“Something we agree on. Great.”

She looked at her lap. Her heart started to beat faster, because what she was about to say she had wanted to say for so long that now that the moment had come, she thought she might have a panic attack. She braced herself and looked up into his eyes.

“I love you,” she said, and she was grateful that the dusk hadn’t descended enough yet for her to miss the look in his eyes.

He swallowed hard. There it was, the very thing he had been waiting to hear out of her mouth forever, and he still wasn’t sure it could be happening. “Another thing we agree on,” he quipped. He really needed to train his brain to flip the ‘off’ button on the jokes occasionally.

“What? We agree that I love you?” she said and she laughed.

His face became serious. “Well, I suppose so. What I meant is that I love you, Pam. I never stopped. I don’t really even remember what it was like before -” Her hand was on his cheek and he closed his eyes.

She kissed him again, his mouth, his cheeks, his jaw line, like she was trying to make up for all the time they had lost in a matter of minutes.

He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder, her breath on his neck. He was pretty much sold on the idea of staying right there forever.

Pam lifted her head. “I have a new idea for the rest of the evening.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we should forget Matilda’s, go by Blockbuster, and take this cake back to your place. I don’t really feel like going anywhere else tonight. Dessert and a movie sounds good to me.”

“I like the way you think, Beesly,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her again.

“Well, I’m thinking about cuddling up next to you on your couch,” she said. She laughed, feeling lighter than she had in a long time as she watched him stand and offer his hands to pull her up off the ground. She took them and practically leapt to her feet, and he immediately began cleaning up the remnants of their picnic.

“Who’s overeager now?” she teased.

He made a face at her. “A beautiful woman said she’s coming to my apartment, what do you expect me to do?”

“It doesn’t bode well for our third date if a beautiful woman is going to be at your apartment tonight,” she said, folding her hands in front of her. She stepped aside to let him pick up the blanket.

“You’re funny,” he said as he straightened, having stuffed the last of their supplies into the basket.

She shrugged a shoulder. “I can be.”

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He took her hand and began leading her back down the hill towards the parking lot.

“Is it me, or has this been a crazy day?” he asked.

She leaned into him slightly and squeezed his hand. “The craziest.”

Finis