Pam shut down her computer for the night. She said goodbye to Phyllis who was on her way out the door. She looked around the office and she spotted what she was looking for. Jim was sitting at the table in the kitchen. As she walked over she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She was always surprised at how Jim was able to do that to her.

After years of being friends with him, she realized it had grown to something more. It was these feelings that gave her the strength to finally call off her engagement to Roy, but by then it was too late for her and Jim. He had started a relationship with Karen, a saleswoman from Stamford who moved to Scranton after the branches had merged. She had spent almost a year watching Jim and Karen grow closer, but then out of no where Karen ha dumped Jim and so for the past few months she had been helping him through his break-up. During that time Pam had wanted to make a move, or finally admit her feelings to Jim, but she was still a little shy around Jim and she knew that Jim wasn’t ready. Pam looked at Jim with his head bowed and opened the kitchen door.

“Hey”
“Hi”

Jim replied monotonously. Today had been a bad day. He found out that he was being made to attend a DMI conference. He knew that Karen would be there and that he would probably run into her, bringing up old feelings. The only upside to the whole thing was that he didn’t work on Friday and that Michael was making Pam come along too, to “take important notes” is what he said. He knew that is Pam was going he would be able to count on her for moral support.

Jim looked up from his mug. Pam was just standing in the kitchen, fidgeting with her necklace and rocking on her heels. Sometimes Jim was caught off guard by her. She did certain things that made Jim’s stomach tighten. Jim usually blocked these feelings out by thinking of Karen and constantly reminding himself that he and Pam were best friends and that nothing would happen.

“So what do you need Beesly?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to come over and see what is so amazing about your mug, since you have been staring at it for five minutes.” Jim let out a little chuckle.

“So about tomorrow, I was thinking…” Pam started.

Jim cut her off. “I was going to ask if I can catch a ride with you to the train. I promised my brother he could have the car this weekend since his is in the shop. I was going to have him drive me, but since you’re going would it be ok if I caught a ride with you?”

“Yeah sure that’s fine. So I guess I’ll be at your place around 9:30.”

“Yeah sounds good.” Jim looked back down at his mug, he didn’t even move to get up.

“Ok, well are you going or do you plan on having a sleepover here Halpert?”

This jogged Jim out of his resumed trance of mug staring “What? Oh no. I’m going.”

Jim stood up and they made their way out of the office. In the elevator Pam kept glancing up at Jim willing him to speak. He just stared at his shoes.

“’Night Beesly. See you tomorrow.” Jim called walking to his car.

“Yeah. Goodnight.” Pam called back. She watched Jim get into his car and drive off, she then got into her own car and drove home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 9:35 Jim’s doorbell rang. He knew it was Pam so he grabbed his bag and opened the door. Pam rushed past him and went straight for the bathroom without even so much as a ‘hi’. “What so I don’t even get a greeting today?” He joked when she got back to the foyer.

“Sorry. I really, really, really had to go.” Pam replied shrugging her shoulders. Jim noticed just how attractive Pam was looking. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun. She was wearing a pair of black yoga pants, which accentuated her well toned legs and a white zipper hoodie over a white tank top. Since Jim rarely saw Pam outside the office it was always nice to see her in more casual clothes.

“Come on. We’re going to be late.” Jim grabbed his bag and followed Pam to her car.

The ride to the train station was pleasant. The two of them made small talk. Just before getting out of the car Jim asked Pam if she would make sure that he didn’t do anything stupid this weekend. Pam agreed, but she was disappointed because he was still hung up on Karen after 3 months.

Waiting for them on the train platform was Michael. He greeted them and asked where they were sitting. Their seats were not with Michael’s which was a good sign. The train ride was more fun than the car ride. Things were a little bit more relaxed. They made up stories about their fellow passengers.

“That one.” Pam pointed to a middle age balding man.

“Easy. See that white powder around his lips? It’s actually face paint. He’s is part of a travelling circus. He is the lead mime. Now he’s on his way home, back from his secret mime life.”

Pam giggled at the description. “But maybe it’s the sugar from his jelly doughnut.”

“Way to take the fun out of everything Bees.” Jim said poking her in the ribs, which only made Pam giggle harder. This made the two hour train ride to NYC pass in a flash.

When they arrived at the station they rejoined Michael. Jim hailed them a cab to the hotel. Inside the hotel it was cramped with Dunder Mifflin employees and presenters. Michael worked his way to the front desk, and then fought his way back with the room keys.

“Uh-oh guys bad news only got two rooms?”

“What?!” Jim and Pam asked in unison.

“I well I forgot to call and say that three people would be coming. Well Pam I guess you can room with me.”

Pam was speechless. Jim saved her by offering to let her room with him, telling Michael that his room had two beds. Hearing that Pam’s stomach flipped and she had to steady herself. She couldn’t believe she was going to be sharing a room with Jim. Michael said ok and then walked off. Jim told Pam to wait while he went to go change rooms to one with two beds.

“Here’s an extra key for you.” Jim after he came back.

“Thanks. I couldn’t imagine spending a night in the same room as Michael.”

“Hey just looking out for your health their Pam.”

Pam and Jim met Michael down in the lobby. They had meetings all afternoon. Jim knew that these meetings were just going to be basic business stuff, and some new things on DMI. He wanted to leave but he didn’t want to leave Pm by herself with Michael all afternoon. During the first few speakers Jim paid some attention and highlighted his page, but then he started looking around the room, he knew he shouldn’t be looking for Karen, but he couldn’t help it. When he couldn’t find her he looked down at Pam’s notebook. He saw that she was writing down notes for Michael, he was about to look away when she turned the page and resumed work on her drawing. It was a small doodle that expanded into a cityscape.

Pam scratched her pen to add some final details to her sketch when she felt eyes watching her. She turned her head slightly and flicked her eyes up to Jim who was watching her. She flipped her page again and started another doodle that expanded into the words ‘Something interesting Halpert?’ She tilted the page to Jim, he wrote back ‘Just how good your drawing is. Hey do you want to get out of here?’ ‘Thanks and yes please!’ She wrote back.

Jim and Pam got up and left the room. When they got outside they were momentarily blinded by the light. When there eyes adjusted they made their way to the hotel restaurant. They grabbed a booth near the back, ordered lunch and enjoyed the hour of paperless talk. They finished their lunch just as the first set of meetings was breaking for lunch and people were filing in for lunch. Jim and Pam pushed their way through the lunch crowd.

“Hey do you want to skip out on the other meetings?” Pam asked

“Sure, but how are we going to convince Michael.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll see you back in the room”

Pam walked off in the crowd looking for Michael. Jim went to the room to change. Pam found Michael talking to Ryan. She waited until Ryan left Michael standing in the lobby before going over to talk to him.

“Hey Michael, Jim’s sick. There is something up with his stomach.” Pam immediately clutched at her stomach. “Ohh I don’t feel so good, I feel sick too. Maybe me and Jim caught the same thing.”

“Ugh. Yuck. Ok well go to the room. I can’t get sick I have a party.” Michael said walking away looking disgusted.

When Pam got to the room she found Jim stretched out on the bed. He looked hot in a pair of Jeans and a navy polo shirt. Jim looked up when Pam closed the door.

“So you got rid of Michael?”

“Yeah I told him we were feeling sick. So what do you want to do this afternoon?”

“I don’t know. How about we just do touristy stuff and then grab dinner?”

“Sounds good. Let me get changed.”

Pam and Jim left and spent the day doing touristy things. By the time that they made it back to the hotel it was after 1 a.m. They were chatting and laughing and a little tipsy. They were making plans for the next day.

“So I think we should spend the morning in the park and then we can go to Tiffany’s like Audrey in the movie.”

“You’re such a girl Beesly.”

“Thanks for noticing. Then what do you want to do?”

“The park sounds good, and then we can do your little girly thing. By the time we are done that it will give us enough time to get ready for the DMI mixer.”

“Ok. I call bathroom first.”

Pam went into the bathroom and closed the door. Jim changed in the empty room into sweatpants and an old grey t-shirt. He lay down on his bed and turned on the tv. Pam came out of the bathroom her hair in a braid and in a pair of pink shorts and black tank top. Pam walked over to her bed and flopped down on the covers. Jim couldn’t help but watch. It was a mixture of the alcohol and the way Pam looked but Jim want to reach over and grab her. Pam crawled under her covers and turned to Jim.

“Today was a lot of fun. I can’t remember the last time I had such a great time.”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. Halpert Tours are open 365 days a year and go to any city.”

Pam giggled. She looked at Jim and he was looking at her with an intensity that made her blood heat up. She put that on the three beers he had. She rolled over and fell asleep. When Pam was no longer facing him Jim put his attention back on the tv. He thought about the day. He hadn’t had such a fun day since Karen. Karen. He hadn’t thought of her all day. ‘Wow’ he thought, ‘Pam had made me so happy that I completely forgot about Karen.’ Jim felt something in his chest tighten then he thought ‘No we’re best friends.’ Jim turned off the tv.

“Thanks Pam.” He whispered. He fell asleep to the sound of Pam breathing.

Pam and Jim squeezed their way through that crowd coming out of the Saturday meetings. The pair had spent the day in the park. Walking around, having a picnic and just enjoying each others company. They also went to Tiffany’s just for Pam. As they made their way to the elevator Pam saw Karen waiting to get on too. She quickly pulled Jim into the stairwell. She was having a great time and she could see that Jim was to and she didn’t want it ruined by a run in with Karen.

“So you want to take the stairs Bees?”

“Yeah I thought we could use a little more exercise, you know after those hotdogs and cheesecake.”

They climbed the five flights with Pam laughing at Jim and his fake struggling. When they opened the door she yawned. Jim looked at her.

“Tired their Pam?”

“Yeah I guess I am. I think I’ll take a nap, I mean there isn’t anything planned for today until the meet and greet at 8.”

“Ok. I think I am going to grab some food and just wander around the hotel.”

“See you later.”

It had been a couple hours since Jim had left the room. It was 5:30 when he headed back into the room. Pam was still asleep when he opened the door. He figured he would shower and get changed and still let her sleep. When he came out of the bathroom he saw Pam lying on her side with her caramel curls slightly covering her face. He just stared at her, she was beautiful when she was sleeping. He knew that she was attractive, but like this he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes, he looked away.

“Hey what time is it?”

“6:45”

“What?! I have to get ready.”

Pam stretched and crawled off the bed. She grabbed her suitcase and headed into the bathroom. Jim heard the shower start to run immediately and at 7:15 the water turned off. He tapped the door and said to Pam that he was going to head down stairs. She went back to getting ready for the night.

It was 8:15 when Pam stepped on the elevator heading down to the mixer. She hoped that she would get the elevator car to herself but when she got on there were two men already on. The two men leered at her and she wrapped her arms around her and stood against the wall. When she finally reached the ballroom she had regained her self confidence. She was confident in herself and her appearance. She felt like Audrey Hepburn in her little black dress. The dress from the front was conservative with a high rounded collar. It had cap sleeves, it hugged all the right curves and came down to just above her knee. The back of the dress was a different story. It was essentially backless. The material gathered together at the lower back where three small rubies seemed to hold it together.

Walking into the ballroom she felt people watching her. In stead of crossing her arms like she did in the elevator she ignored the looks and went looking for Jim. She made her way to the bar and still hadn’t seen him. She figured he would make his way to the bar so she would just wait for him to come to her. She turned to order a drink when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned expecting it to be Jim, but instead she was face to face with Karen. Karen enveloped Pam into a hug.

“How are you?” Karen asked pulling away.
“I’m good. Everything has been good.” Pam didn’t really know what to say.
“You look amazing. That dress is just wow.”
“Um Thanks.”

“Oh I have someone I want you to meet. Pam this is Lucas. Lucas, Pam.” Karen pulled the hand of a handsome man forward. To Pam he resembled a younger Patrick Dempsey, he was definitely corporate, the kind of man that Karen wanted. Pam shook his hand.

“Um Karen have you seen Jim?”

Karen’s smile died. “Yeah I saw him. He wanted to talk and was all mopey. When I said no he stalked off in that direction.” She said pointing to the side exit of the ballroom.

“Thanks Karen. It was great seeing you.” Pam hugged Karen again and headed off in the direction that she had been pointed in.

She pushed the door open and went into the empty hallway. When the door shut behind her she was in silence. Then she heard the faint sounds of a piano being played. She followed the music further down the hall. She recognized it as the Moonlight Sonata. She came to ballroom where the music was coming from and stopped in front of the door. She looked through the small window and saw Jim sitting in from of the grand piano playing the haunting song.

Jim hadn’t played the piano since moving out of his parent’s house almost 8 years ago, but he easily remembered how it felt to play and he quickly got back into it. Piano had come as easy to him as basketball did. It was probably the long fingers that helped him play so well. Playing the piano had been a balance to playing basketball and running cross country. After his confrontation with Karen the piano had been soothing, a comfort. He had gone through riffs of other songs and then remembered one of his harder pieces the Moonlight Sonata. To him this song was always dark and brooding and it fit with his mood so he started to play.

He had gotten so into the song that he didn’t hear the door to the small ballroom open, but he did hear it close. He looked up and saw Pam. His jaw dropped. He was looking at Pam, but not the same Pam from this afternoon or the Pam who was always there to cheer him up. This Pam was sexy, mysterious and he wanted her. He couldn’t help but check her out as she stood at the door. The dress hugged her curves, her hair hung in loose curls over her shoulders and her slight bangs framed her face. Her face, he had never seen her look so intrigued by him. The look made his heart beat fast and his whole body tingle. He was speechless, but she broke the silence first.

“Sorry.” It was almost a whisper. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine. I just… I came in here to get away from…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Yeah I kind of figured when I didn’t see you that you had left. So I asked someone if they had seen you go and they pointed me in this direction.”

Pam was still standing awkwardly at the door. She was too stunned to move. Jim didn’t move to get up either. They were both frozen like they had been caught doing something they shouldn’t.

“So you never told me you played the piano. How come?”
“Well I haven’t played in years. I always thought it was too dorky to share with people.”
“Come on you’re talking to the queen of dorky hidden talents. You’re really good by the way. I was never musically inclined, that’s why I’m such a dorky dancer I don’t have any rhythm.” Pam tried to joke, but it failed.
“Well I can teach you something if you want.”

That prompted Pam to move towards the grand piano and Jim. She walked timidly, like any second her moves would set of some kind of alarm. Jim moved over on the piano bench giving her room to sit down.

“Ok Beesly what do you want to learn?”
“Well my cousin and her boyfriend play this one song. What is it called? Oh um Heart and Soul.”

Jim smiled at her. It was an easy song to play and easier to teach. He thought that she should play the higher part of the song. He taught her the part in three separate sections. They spent time getting each section right before she was able to put all three together. They were both having fun. Jim was patient with her, going slow and helping her get the right notes. Time just didn’t matter to them, they were in their own little Jim and Pam world. When she finally had gotten her part down he asked if she wanted to combine the two parts. She nodded and focused back on the piano.

Jim started slowly. He played through his part twice allowing Pam to get a feel for the song. Just before he started his third round he nodded at Pam to start. She started nervously, but then as she progressed through her part she relaxed and felt the music flowing through. They got through Pam's part twice when Jim reached across Pam to add a third higher part to the song. As he reached past her hand his fingers brushed her knuckles causing her to hit the wrong key. She quickly pulled her hand away from the keyboard like it had burned her. Jim looked at her and gave her a crooked smile and chuckled. She smiled back, looked down at the key board and then she started to blush. She felt the colour rising in her cheeks. She looked back up at Jim, their faces were inches apart. Pam breathed in and closed the gap between their lips.  

Pam's lips brushed against Jim's. In those seconds her entire body tingled. Jim was caught off guard by the kiss, but shut his eyes and kissed her back. She quickly pulled away. 

"Jim I..."

She didn't finish her sentence. She sprang up from the bench and ran for the door. Jim was frozen to the spot, he watched Pam's bare back speed out the door. He still felt her lips on his. In that split second he realized that he wanted Pam. She was always there when he needed her, she was there helping him through the bad days and joking around with him on the good days. He finally realized that all those feelings he had been suppressing was love. He was in love with Pam. 

Jim leapt from the seat and ran out of the room. He knew that Pam would head back to the room. He found the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time. He got to the room and unlocked the door. Pam's back was to him but she turned when she heard the door.

"Jim I'm sorry. It's just that... I couldn't..."

Jim crossed the room in three strides and crushed his lips against hers before she could finish her sentence. His arms wrapped around her body and she snaked her hands up into his hair. The force of the kiss nearly knocked her off her feet but Jim was strong and steady and held her up. She felt his tongue run along her bottom lip, she opened her mouth and brought her tongue out to meet his in their frenzied kissing. 

It was Pam that pulled away first. She looked up into Jim's eyes. He looked back with an intensity that she had never seen before. She wanted to get lost in their desire but she had to know before this went any further.

"Jim is this?" She searched his face for the answer.
"Yeah it is. It's you Pam, I think it's always been you I was just too blind to see it."

It was Pam that started the kiss this time. Jim's lips left hers and worked their way down her neck, when he kissed her behind her ear she let out a soft moan. He found he lips again. This time when he pulled away he turned her around. He moved her hair to the side and kissed her shoulder and ran his hands up along the line of the dress to her sleeves. When he got to the top he pushed the sleeves off her shoulders and her dress gathered around her waist. Pam turned in his arms, and Jim pushed the fabric over her hips and the dress pooled at her feet. 

Pam reached up and kissed him again and he walked her backwards to the bed. He laid her down, and when she was lying on the bed he kissed down her neck to the tops of her breasts. He took her left nipple in his mouth and Pam arched her back in response. Jim pulled back again and Pam sat up. She brought her hands to the buttons on his shirt and made quick work of undoing them and pushing the shirt off his shoulders. She roamed her hands across his broad chest. Jim pulled her in for another kiss. She can feel that he is hard under his pants. Her hands travel down his chest and find the belt buckle. She undoes the button and pulls down the zipper. They are still kissing when she starts to glide his pants off of him.

He pushes her back onto the bed. He kisses down her chest across her taught stomach, places a gentle kiss on her hip bone before making his way back up to her lips. Pam is writhing beneath his kisses. He takes his hands and glides her black booty shorts off her. He takes his right hand and places it between her legs. She is already wet and waiting. He uses his long index and middle fingers and slides them into her slowly she moans. Jim looks at her, she has her eyes closed and he can tell that she is enjoying it. He uses his thumb to rub her clit, causing her to moan louder and arch her back. Just before she gets to the edge he pulls his hands out. She opens her eyes and sees that he is pulling off his boxers, and she can see that he is huge and ready. 

He lowers himself on top of her, the head of his cock brushing against her wetness. She looks into his eyes and says, "Now. Jim." He plunges into her in one thrust and a loud moan escapes her lips and he grunts. He doesn't pull out right away, he just wants to enjoy the feeling of being inside her. Pam wraps her legs around him and he pulls out slightly before going back in. He repeats the slow thrusting a few more times with Pam moaning his name louder. He then pulls her up so that she is practically sitting in his lap. She starts rocking back and forth fast and faster. She knows that she is on the edge and she can feel that he is too. Just before she explodes he lays her back onto the bed and thrusts into her a final time. He can feel her body clench around him and she comes, loud. He goes over the edge to groaning her name into her neck.

Jim doesn't pull out of her immediately. They come down from their ecstasy, and their breathing returns to normal. He pulls out of her and wraps himself around her naked body. Pam turns to face him. Her eyes are closed, he kisses both her eyelids and then she opens them. She searches his face for a hint of regret or idea that this was a mistake, she can't find any.  

"Jim. I'm in love with you. I have been all along."
"I love you too."

She reaches up and kisses him. Gently this time, trying with her lips to convey all the love she has in her heart. He returns the kiss in the same way. She lies back on the bed. His arms are still wrapped around her. She reaches her hand down and entwines her fingers with his. They lay there silent, covered by the sheets, feeling the heat coming off of each others bodies. She falls asleep first. Jim stays awake a little longer drinking in all the emotion. He falls asleep to Pam tracing around his thumbnail with her middle finger.