She’d filled her mom in on all the details and then stayed awake for hours, reliving every moment of the night with Jim until she’d eventually drifted off to sleep. Upon the morning, she’d called herself a giddy moron as she got ready for work, reminding herself that she was going to work and not on a date.

She’d pulled in to work to see Jim and Karen standing in the entranceway to the building with Jim’s back to her. She parked her car in time to see Karen throw what appeared to be a set of car keys at his chest then stomp inside. She stayed in her car, unseen, and watched as he drew a deep breath then reached down to pick them up. He hadn’t seen her.

Pam waited until he went inside and then slowly gotten out of the car. She put her head on the hood for a moment, her earlier euphoria melting away as the reality of the situation reasserted itself abruptly.

Oh God. Karen.

What had she said, she wondered? Did she want him back? She still didn’t know what had happened between them in New York. Jim had said that it was her actions on Beach Day and the note that had brought him away from Karen and back to Scranton, but had something happened between them to make him rebound to her? She felt so insecure and unsure, despite the wonder of last night in her memory.

When she entered the office it was to find most of the workers already there. Karen and Jim sat at their respective desks; Karen tight-lipped and looking exhausted, Jim staring at his work with uncharacteristic concentration. He didn’t even raise his head as passed behind him to go to her desk. She put her stuff down and tried to ignore the tension to which the rest of the office was apparently oblivious. Michael arrived shortly behind her and after that, the day entered into its normal mood of manic tediousness.

She was listening to a voicemail from a tearful Kelley saying she wasn’t coming in, when a new call came. “Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam.” She answered and then glanced quickly over towards Karen. “Yes. I’ll transfer you.”

She watched Karen pick up her phone. Did she get the job? She felt a knot of dread when she watched Karen’s anxious face go wooden at whatever David was telling her.

Karen’s lips pressed tight in emotion, and then she said in a bright tone, “Alright. Thanks for letting me know, David. Goodbye,” and hung up.

Karen stared at the phone and fiddled with her pencil for a few minutes before rising from her desk to go and stand before Jim. He looked up.

“I want to talk to you.” She said in a tight controlled voice.

Jim nodded understandingly and rose to follow her into the kitchen. Pam quickly lowered her eyes back to her keyboard and diligently tried to ignore Karen’s raised voice, muffled, but still managing to pierce the glass and door.

This was going to drive her crazy, Pam thought worriedly. She was doing what everyone else in the office was doing which was trying to appear to work while being helplessly fascinated by the drama occurring in the back room. She sneaked a glance up; Karen was speaking animatedly, her agitation clear. Jim just stood there, alternating between looking at the floor and the ceiling as he occasionally nodded. With one last flap of her hands and a poke to his chest, Karen marched out of the kitchen and into the women’s restroom.

Pam’s eye’s trailed back to the kitchen. Jim was still standing in the same position: head down with his chin nearly resting on his chest, hands in pockets, and rocking back and forth as he obviously recovered from the verbal barrage. Pam eyes poured over his features in fearful search of anything like remorse for the break-up.

The ring of her phone dragged her back. “Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam,” she answered automatically. “Alright, I’ll connect you.” Michael had been in his office all morning with the door closed, thereby missing the excitement. Pam watched him pick up the phone to David Wallace, but her eyes were drawn back as Jim came out of the kitchen.

His face was still somber but his eyes were on her the whole short trip back to his desk. She couldn’t read his expression. Are you okay, she mouthed? He gave a short nod and started to sit back at his desk.

“Ouch, Big Tuna.” Andy shook his head and made sympathetic noises. “You must have…,” He stopped when Jim just looked at him closed lipped and held up a warning hand. “Sorry,” he said contritely and made the key-locking motion by his now-closed mouth.

Dwight cocked his head in superiority as Jim sat. “We Schrutte men never have trouble with our women,” he said in grating tones. He leaned forward and made a pouty face. “Did wittle Jimmy not get the job, huh? Did Jimmy upset his little girlfriend?” He waggled his big head as he continued to make annoying little sounds.

Jim was just staring, untouched, at Dwight while tapping his pencil on the desk. Pam could feel herself bracing for what she was sure to come, but Jim just replied, “Wow, Dwight, two-for-two today,” as though impressed and went back to work.

Pam just stared in shock. This scared her. Her email bleeped.

It was from Jim. “Do you still have that list of Dwight’s passwords from the CIA file?” he had written.

She sighed in relief as she got out the file. He was okay.

“Dwight Schrutte!” Dwight said loudly, leaning towards his monitor.

Pam broke down and escaped into the break room, giggling. Jim looked up from where he was idly sipping a pop.

“He’s still doing it.” She explained, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

“I know,” he smiled. “I can hear him from here.”

During lunch, when most of the staff had left the building, Jim had gotten onto Dwight’s computer and made it so that a pop-up message appeared whenever he had to type in a password. The message said, “Security Notice: voice recognition software has been installed on your passworded files. Please say your name directly into the monitor to access”. He had happily complied, reveling in the fact that no one else’s files were important enough for the added security.

She went over to the pop machine. “Are you okay?” She asked again in a low tone, referring to that morning. This was the first she’d gotten to speak to him. The office had been in an uproar since Michael had staggered out of his office with the news that Ryan had gotten the job in New York. That explained Kelley’s absence, Pam had thought.

“Yeah,” he looked at her and gave a wan grin. “I guess I had it coming.”

Pam glanced around to see Karen staring at them. Their eyes met but Karen looked away quickly and, grabbing her cell phone, left the office. Pam’s head turned back to Jim. He’d missed the little exchange.

She went over to sit across from him. “Can I ask you something?” she asked hesitantly.

“What?” He asked, eyeing her warily. He’d gotten wary of women and their softly voiced questions.

She linked fingers in front of her as she leaned forward and whispered, “What happened yesterday with Karen?”

He leaned back and looked at her in exasperation. “Are you kidding me?” At her raised eyebrows he just shook his head, “I’m not getting into that with you,” he said firmly.

She just leaned over and started poking his arm, looking at him with what his mother had always called ‘Bambi-eyes’. “Pleeeeeease,” she whispered.

“Why do you want to know?” he whispered back.

“Because I’m a girl,” she said simply with a shrug of her shoulder, as though that explained everything. “And you’re a boy,” she ignored his ‘thanks for noticing’ and continued, “…which means you must have done something.”

“Gee, you mean besides break-up with her,” he said sarcastically. At her knowing nod, he relented. “Okay, fine. After I got out of the meeting with David I asked her to meet me by this fountain.” He looked at her with twin parts guilt and humor. “I guess I let her down pretty fast, but I had things to do.” He smiled at her slowly, his eyes ranging over her face.

She tried to ignore what the smile was doing to her insides. “You drove over together, didn’t you?”

He got the silent question. “I ordered a rental car for her before I left,” he said in his defense.

“Poor, Karen.” Pam said sympathetically, shaking her head at him in amazement.

He looked at her in disbelief. Women were incredible. “I’m sorry, Pam” he raised a finger for clarification, “but …what? You’re upset that I broke up with her? ”

She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head. “No, you moron,” she belied the insult by grinning at him. “But, once again, I’m a girl. We’re capable of feeling more that one thing at a time,” she explained in superior tones. “I can feel bad that Karen’s jerk of a boyfriend dropped her and left her stranded…,” she raised her hand to ward off his protest, “You know what I mean…hundreds of miles from home.” She then smiled slowly, warmly, as she leaned forward to lay her hand over his. “And I can feel humbled, glad, and amazed that you’d do that to get back here so quickly.”

He’d turned his hand over to link fingers with hers. “Jerk, huh?” He murmured then laughed at her easy ‘well, you’re a boy’.

Pam pulled their hands apart as Karen came back inside and headed straight for Michael’s office. Jim had seen her too, she noted as they looked at each other solemnly.

Well,” Jim began, standing up, “if I’m going to redeem myself from ‘jerk’ status, I’ve got to pull out the big guns tonight.” She looked at him enquiringly. “Disney,” he said in definite tones, nodding his head. He moved towards the door.

“Wait, what!” she asked incredulously. She couldn’t have heard him right.

“Disney,” He said again, stopping at the door. “You have a DVD player?” She nodded. “Is it okay if I bring pizza over?” She nodded again, slowly, as though still trying to translate what he’d said. “Alright, then,” he grinned at her. “I’ll see you at seven.”

He walked back to his desk just as Dwight tried to access another file.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or shows referenced here. Disney and NBC have that honor.

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**

He’d shown up at her door right before seven, grinning and holding a pizza in one hand and a DVD copy of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in the other. She had been momentarily diverted from those objects, though, as she relished the sight of Jim in jeans and a t-shirt, his short hair making his ears stick out adorably. Her female heart sighed. She never saw him out of work clothes.

“Disney.” She said doubtfully as she ushered inside. “Disney is your ‘big guns’?”

“Oooh, Pam, you have no idea,” he assured her in confident tones as he set the pizza down on her counter. As he straightened up he gave her a subtle once over. She was so pretty. Her hair was down, which he hardly ever saw. His hands twitched as he fought the urge to tug at a curl. He stuck them in his pockets. She was wearing a feminine version of his own attire; comfortable jeans and a soft t-shirt that hugged her frame the way he wanted to.

She picked up the DVD and looked up at him. “So, exactly how long have you wanted to be an eight-year old girl?” She asked in teasing tones.

“Ha ha.” He took it out of her hands to waive it under her nose. “This is a time-honored family tradition at our house. At least when mom’s not home,” he amended.

He’d first done this at college. During a house party, one of the girls had put in a Disney movie, but turned the sound off. People would then take turns dubbing for whatever was going on on screen. The hilarity would last for hours. He’d taken the idea home with him one holiday and the inherent Halpert humor had snatched it for their own. His mother though had banned it in her presence, given the nature the dialog tended to gravitate towards in a houseful of boys.

He’d often thought of Pam when they’d put on one of their newly stocked Disney discs, wishing she were there to laugh and enjoy the absurdity. He smiled to himself as he bent over her player. Right now he wanted her laughter and joy all to himself.


(an hour later)

“Stop! Stop, I’m gonna throw up!” Pam cried as she doubled over on the couch trying to still the convulsive laughter.

Jim poked her unsympathetically. “Come on, it’s your turn!” He pointed to the TV. “Look, they’re feeding the birds.”

At her weakly waved hand, he gave up and picking up her cue, began to sing, “His furs so cute.” He twitched his shoulders in rhythm. “His butt’s so tight. If only I weren’t scared that he’d eat me if we fight…”

Pam lost it again, tears falling from her eyes as she fell back against the cushions. “I still can’t believe you actually know the tunes.”

She’d laughed harder this evening than…well, the last time she and Jim had laughed together, and she was lapping up every moment. She gave up trying to watch the screen and just watched him. He’d vary his voices to the deep and manly, to the feminine and French. He’d started using people at the office, too, since he did those impressions so well. For the clock, he used Stanley’s slow voice, Nefru was Dwight as the over eager lackey, and Andy was the overly-amorous candlestick, using a falsetto voice as he leered at the feminine household objects.

The figures on the screen moved to sit together in front of the fireplace. Jim mimicked the action on the couch and scooted closer to Pam. “Whatcha got there, Belle?” he asked slyly. “A bodice buster?”

Pam elbowed him as she took up her part. “It’s a book on coat making, you goat. By the way get away from me. You’re getting fur on my dress.” She giggled but tensed a little as Jim brushed a hand across her shoulders as though removing the offensive fibers. Her skin tingled through her shirt where he passed. She could feel the heat radiating off of him, bringing with it his scent that seemed to wrap around her senses. The show was suddenly getting harder to follow.

He seemed to think so too, as the next few scenes went by silently without comment. She looked up questioningly to see him holding a piece of her hair, seemingly absorbed in the way the light played off the strands. Her breath stopped completely as he dropped the strand to then slowly burrow his hand into her loose hair.

He didn’t even remember the movie. He’d turned to smile at her and comically follow along with her comment about the fur…and then a curl had snagged on his finger. He’d slowly raised it up, drowning in the feel and sight of that one piece. He then shifted focus as he reached for the rest of the golden mass. The scent of it, of her, had befuddled his senses whenever she’d walked past or leaned past him to get another slice of pizza. Her hair had even brushed his arm more than once. Now, as he ran his fingers through the unbound length, he felt like he could drown in it and die happy.

“Jim?” The husky whisper brought him back. He looked down at her. Her eyes were slumberous as she stared at his mouth.

“Pam,” he said softly, achingly, as her eyes came up to meet his. The hand in her hair closed around the back of her neck as it had the night before. His other hand came up to run a thumb along her bottom of her lip, reveling in the shape while making her breath hitch and her eyes close. She leaned into his touch even as her head fell back.

She’d dreamed about this; the look on his face as he touched her, the feel of his mouth on hers, his taste. Now he gave her more, better than her dreams could ever hope to attain.

His lips closed softly, slowly over hers for just a moment before pulling away. She tried to follow, but he pulled back, changing the angle of his head before coming back to seemingly tease her with another small taste. “Jim.” She said again in soft protest, laying her hand over the one laying hot on her cheek.

“Shhh,” he whispered as he then pressed a kiss to her hand before drawing it away. “I haven’t tried this spot yet.” He pressed a slow, hot kiss to her cheek. “I’ve got to try all the ‘Pam’ flavors.” Her chuckle quickly turned into a groan as he than began to learn all her features using his lips.

By the time he made it back to her mouth, her hands were fisted in his t-shirt and she was making little breathless sounds. When he gently bit her lower lip, she gave a small cry and lost it.

This time she grabbed his hair, holding him still as she went in for the long, intense lip-lock that she ached for. It seemed he was in full agreement as both his arms went around her to pull her more firmly against him.

She was almost sitting in his lap as their tongues met. There was a pause as each of their breath caught with the small caress before they delved in once again. Time seemed to slow. The fingers of her hands loosened their grip and began to wonder through the strands as she got lost in the taste of him. His hands would alternately cruise over her back and shoulders or crush a handful of fabric as some aspect of her would blow one of his five senses.

Pam suddenly sat up and away, breathing unevenly as she scrambled for the remote.

“What are you doing?” He asked, reaching for her again.

She’d gotten the TV off and went back into his embrace, this time leaning into the armrest and pulling him after her. “We have to save the rest of it,” she smiled at him as she pulled his head down to hers “…for later.”

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Jim eagerly obeyed the commands of her hands as he sank into the warmth of her beneath him and the sweet heat of her mouth. Long minutes past as they learned each others patterns and tastes and what small movement would make one gasp and the other tremble. Jim’s mouth left hers at one point to roam once again over her features, lingering in places where it seemed her scent and taste was strongest.

One spot in particular made Pam’s breath catch and then release in an utterly feminine sound of pleasure. It was as though he was in one of his dreams, he thought hazily. He raised his head with a small shake to assure himself that this was indeed no dream. That Pam was with him, wanting him.

He watched her face as her eyelids fluttered open to look at him questioningly. He resisted as her fingers tugged once more, imploringly, on his scalp. His own hands mimicked hers, burrowing in to her hair to gently knead.

“You’re so beautiful.”

He blinked as he heard the heartfelt whisper. He didn’t realize he’d said it out loud.

Jim watched as her playful and sultry smile slipped away. She stared at him, one hand slipped from his hair to gently brush the contours of his face, as though she too, were trying to reassure herself of his presence. As her hand cupped his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned into her soft palm.

“I’m scared, Jim,” she whispered, causing his eyes to jump back to her face.

“Why?” He whispered back, nuzzling her hand as it continued its travels.

“Does this feel too fast to you?” Her expression mimicked her worried tone.

“Well, let’s see.” He said in mock-seriousness as he settled his weight on his elbows. “This woman I’ve been crazy about for years; the one I’ve dreamed about forever,” He started punctuating each remark with a quick kiss. “The one who, from the lack of, cause me to move states away…,” he lingered in a deeper kiss that had her clinging to his shoulders. “…and then back,” his head came up again. “Has graced me with her presence for two whole magical nights in a row. One of which…” he pointed out importantly, raising his eyebrows for emphasis, “…actually included the magic kingdom itself.” He smiled as he leaned back, tracing her features with his eyes as he brushed the hair from her face.

“Yeah.” He said lovingly, nodding his head, “You’re a hussy, alright.” He kept a straight face as she snorted and tried to wiggle out from under him. “It’s okay,” he assured her, “Personally, I like hussies.” He leaned in again, despite her wiggles. “Kiss me, you fast-moving hussy.”

“You’re such an ass!” Pam said laughingly as she pushed at his shoulders, trying to avoid his goofy, smooching ‘mwaa’s. With one well placed shove, Jim’s frame, which already exceeded the limits, horizontally, of the couch, toppled to the floor with a thud.

“Oh my God! Are you okay!” Pam asked as she scrambled to her knees. Concern warred with hilarity as she watched him pick himself up.

Jim got to his hands and knees to look up at her. Hilarity was obviously winning. “Yeah, I’m good.” He assured her. “But ‘dignity’ and ‘pride’ have suffered fatal blows.” He hauled himself back onto the couch to sit beside her.

They just sat for a moment and grinned at each other. Jim’s eyes kept going to her kiss-stung lips, but he could tell she was still nervous. He looked down and reached for her hand to twine their fingers together. She gave his a small squeeze that made a pleasure/pain ache bloom in his chest at the gesture. He looked at her face.

She was watching his face, his eyes, “You only broke up with her yesterday.” She persisted, her voice soft and worried.

He sighed to himself. They’d have to do this sometime and he wanted it out of their way. “We have to start somewhere, Pam.” He said simply. “And waiting some arbitrary amount of time…,” he shook his head. “especially when getting to be with you was the reason for ending it…,” he trailed off and smiled at her. It was amazing that someone could both wince and glow at the same time. He raised their joined hands to his mouth. “I’m not willing to wait another minute.”

Pam didn’t say anything as she looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. She finally nodded, he lips thinning out as she tried to contain some inner emotion, and leaned over to give him a kiss that was sweeter than any he had ever known. “Okay.” She said simply, pulling away only far enough to then wrap her arms around him. She laid her head on his shoulder as she just held on.

They sat there for a few moments, hugging and cuddling as they basked in the bone-deep contentment of being together.

“So,” Jim said calmly above her head as he watched his fingers play with the tresses on her back. “Do you want to finish the movie or can I put another hickey on your neck?” His fingers brushed her jaw.

She pulled back quickly. “What!?” She started patting her neck. “You did not!”

He grabbed her hands and stilled her movements before she could jump up and find a mirror. “Hey, hey,” he soothed. “It’s just a tiny one.” He pressed a kiss to a spot right under her jaw. “Right here.”

She groaned in both dismay and in reaction to his small caress. “You don’t understand! I’m going home tomorrow.” She met his gaze as he moved his head from her neck. “To my parents. I’m spending the weekend with them.” Her voice echoed the disappointment she saw on his face.

Jim just looked at her. Two days without her after waiting this long shouldn’t be a big deal, but his heart wasn’t listening. He gave a wry grin. “Parents, huh?” he leaned back as he nodded acceptingly. “Well, I’d just tell them you got it in a bar fight.”

When she just rolled her eyes, he let go of her hands to pick up the remote. “Oh, and Pam,” he said, watching the screen as the show came back on. She too, had leaned back and was fingering the spot on her neck. “FYI; they’re more likely to ask about the one on your earlobe.” He pointed out helpfully, grinning as she successfully, this time, jumped up to go to the mirror. He winced a little at her tiny wail of ‘Jiiim!’ as she surveyed the damage.

He ignored the swat across the top of his head and glanced at her as she sat down in a huff. “So what are you doing Monday night?”
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