Jim Halpert was a big kid. That was the best way to describe him. He loved to play jokes, goof off and just have a genuinely good time. He did of course do adult things, like his job, paying his bills and other such adult activities, but they weren’t really his number one priority.

Jim loved to make people feel comfortable and make sure they were having a good time, above all he loved making people smile. The one person that he loved made smile was his best friend Pam Beesly. Whether it was cracking a joke, playing a prank on Dwight or just talking to her Jim always found a way to get Pam to give him a smile.

So Jim was an adult in the sense that he was in his mid twenties and had certain adult responsibilities, but he still had a lot of growing up to do. Getting Pam to smile though isn’t how Jim Halpert finally became more of an adult. The story of how Jim Halpert grows up involves tragedy, love and two innocent children.

“So Beesly have you started packing yet?” Jim grinned down at Pam.

“No. I’m not leaving for another 10 days and I am only going to be in Chicago for two weeks for that design thing so I’m not really packing much.”

“Yeah but it never hurts to be extra prepared.”

Jim and Pam were sitting the break room enjoying the last remnants of their lunch. They knew that they had to get back to work, but they were enjoying each other’s company too much to really care if Michael or Dwight said anything. Pam and Jim had become closer over the past few months. Jim was Pam’s shoulder to lean on after splitting up with her boyfriend of seven years; little did they know that those roles would soon be reversed.

The rest of the day passed in relative calm. Michael had no snap meetings or thought there would be any disasters that he had to inform the office about. As Pam was packing up Jim approached her desk and asked her to join him for pizza and House. Pam happily agreed to meet him at his house at 7:30 after going home to change and run some errands.

At 7:30 Pam knocked on Jim’s door. He opened it and smiled. He loved spending time away from work with Pam and she felt the same about him. The two of them were always flirty but neither had made a move. Jim really wanted something more, he was beginning to fall in love with Pam. She could feel a connection with him that had never been there with Roy, but she wanted to be on her own for a little while, just to see what it felt like, but she knew that one day she would want to try a relationship with Jim. At 8 the pizza came and the two joked about their day and Dwight over their slices. The talk shifted from that to Jim talking about his niece and nephew.

“Well Jayson James or JJ is nine and his sister Elizabeth Darcy is five.”

“Wait Jon and Lily’s kids are named Jayson James and Elizabeth Darcy?”

“Well my grandfather’s name was Jason, so the two of them decided that if they had a son they would name him after him, but they spell it J-A-Y-S-O-N, just to be different. James because Jon says that I am his favourite brother, even though I am his only brother. Elizabeth Darcy was a little different. When Lily was pregnant she was going through a huge Jane Austen phase and since she was having a girl she decided that she was going to name her after her two favourite characters Elizabeth and Darcy so that’s where you get her name.”

“Aww that is adorable.”

“Yeah I guess. I just love those two and they are Jon’s whole world. I grab at any chance I can to baby-sit them. Oh well it’s five to nine let’s get settled for House.”

The two sat comfortably on the couch, Jim with his legs stretched out in front of him propped up on the coffee table and his arm on the back of the couch. Pam had legs tucked under her and was leaning slightly on Jim, if either noticed they didn’t say anything. It was ten minutes into the show and they were waiting for House to call someone an idiot when there was a knock at the door. Jim lifted himself and went to answer; Pam leaned forward to see who it was. When Jim pulled open the door he was shocked to see two police officers standing on his doorstep.

“Excuse me sir are you James William Halpert?”

“Y-yes.” Jim got out; his face the image of confusion, Pam had stood up and moved closer to the door to figure out why the officers were there.

“Sir we have some terrible news. Your brother and his wife were in a car collision with a drunk driver. I’m sorry sir but there were no survivors.”

Jim was still, it was as if time stopped and then just as quickly sped up and the words hit him. He dropped to his knees. He couldn’t hear or feel anything, he didn’t hear the officers explanation of what happened and he didn’t feel Pam put her arm around him all he could do was picture Jon and how happy he always seemed and how in a flash he wouldn’t see him anymore. He didn’t hear Pam say goodnight to the officers and take down the information that Jim would need to start making funeral arrangements, it wasn’t until he heard the door click that everything came back into focus.

Pam was kneeling in front of him looking in eyes; she had tears in her own. He lowered his head and the tears started to fall. Pam wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brushed her hands through his hair. They stayed like that for neither of them really knew then Jim pulled back.

“I need to call Larissa. She needs to know.” He knew this news would break her heart, after losing their parents five years ago to a car collision due to bad weather; this was going to be even harder to tell her. As Jim grabbed for the phone, Pam stilled his hand.

“Jim I know that your sister has to know, but I think that you should tell her in person. Tomorrow I will drive with you to NYC and you can tell her and then I will bring you both back here so you can…”

Jim looked at Pam and gave her a weak smile, he knew she was right. “Will you stay tonight?”

“Of course.”

For a week after Jim heard the news Pam visited him and his sister every night. She brought them food and she helped take some of the pressure off of planning the funeral. She still had yet to meet Elizabeth or JJ they had been visiting with Lily’s out in San Francisco, but she made sure that Jim called them to check on them, they were arriving tomorrow for the funeral.

“Ok so I think everything is set for tomorrow. JJ and Elizabeth are going to be brought to the funeral home with their grandmother and then they are going to stay with her at the hotel. Oh and everyone from the office is going to be there tomorrow as well.” Pam said as she was pulling on her coat.

“Thank you so much Pam. I never could have made it through this week without you around.” Jim pulled her into a hug and Pam wrapped her arms around his waist.

“It was no problem.” she pulled back a little, “and tomorrow I will be there with you the whole time.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Goodnight Jim.”

“Good night Pam.”

The next day was hard, on everyone. For mid July the weather was dismal, but the rain suited the mood of the day. Pam met Jim and Larissa at the funeral home in the morning. After breaking their hug Jim took Pam’s hand, he was going to use her strength to get him through the day. From that moment he didn’t let go until he and Larissa stood to make their eulogies. They said the most beautiful things about Jon and Lily. Pam’s heart broke when she heard the crack in Jim’s voice when he recounted the story of Jon teaching him how to play basketball for the first time and the tears started to fall when she saw Larissa break down and Jim just wrap her arm around her. When they returned to their seats Jim slid his hand back into Pam’s. When the service was over Jim’s co-workers came and offered the condolences. When Michael stepped forward Jim squeezed Pam’s hand tighter, but Michael just reached out his hand and patted Jim’s shoulder and then left. Jim breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Pam who just gave a little shrug. Jim looked around the empty chapel, everyone was heading over to the hotel for food and coffee, and then his eyes settled on two little bodies standing next to the caskets.

“Hey those are my niece and nephew. Do you mind?”

“No go ahead and be with them. I am going to head over to the hotel. I’ll see you there.”

Jim walked over to the two children. He squatted down and placed his hands on their shoulders. They turned and looked at them with tears in their eyes and Jim felt his heart shatter in his chest. That image was a worse blow that hearing the news about Jon. He pulled them into a hug and placed kisses on both of their heads.

“JJ, Lizzie. Do you guys want to come with Uncle Jim? We’re going to get some food.”

Lizzie nodded her head and JJ asked, “Do we have to talk to people?”

“No you can just get you food and then we can go to my house.”

“Uncle Jim, can we stay with you?”

“We’ll see JJ.”

**************************************************************

It had been a week since the funeral and Larissa, JJ and Lizzie were all staying at Jim’s house. With them around he hadn’t been missing Pam. She had left for Chicago two days after the funeral, but just as she promised she had called Jim everyday just to see how he was coping. Jim loved talking to her about how JJ and Lizzie were adapting and how they were slowly coming to accept that Jon and Lily weren’t coming home, but he really loved talking to Pam about how the design course was, she sounded so happy and bubbly when she talked about what she was doing. Today his conversation with Pam was cut short because Jon and Lily’s lawyer had shown up to discuss the will.

“Ok Mr and Miss Halpert,” the lawyer addressed Jim and Larissa. “Jon and Lily’s most recent will is from 2000 just after Lizzie was born. It states that each child will receive Jon and Lily’s savings and it will divided between them and put into trusts that the two of you will co-sign for so that you can put money in and as the two of them get older and want to take out money you can do that for them. They will come into these trusts when they are 18. As well both of you are going to be getting some money from them and the belongings in their house are passed to you to sell or to keep. Now the most important business, Elizabeth and Jayson Halpert. This is the third change to their will about who the children were going to live with. They stated that they want James William Halpert to be legal guardian and in this letter they expressed their desires.”

Jim was floored, honoured and scared-shitless. How was he going to raise to kids when he was still such a kid? He couldn’t think straight, he didn’t know what to say. He looked over to his couch where JJ and Lizzie were sitting and he signed the legal document taking guardianship of the kids, he couldn’t let them go anywhere else.

He thanked the lawyer and showed him out. Larissa also at this time had to head back to New York. She said that she would come down to help with Jon’s house and to visit with the kids. She hugged her brother and said that everything will be ok and he will be ok. After she left Jim walked over to the couch and knelt down to talk to the kids.

“Hey guys so I just got some news. Before your mom and dad left they made some arrangements for you. They decided that if something like this happened that you two would come to live with me, how does that sound?” The two kids looked a little stunned and confused. “I know this is hard for you to understand, but it will kind of be like the weekend sleepovers, just all the time now.”

The two nodded like they understood and like it would be ok, but Jim knew that he was going to have to explain everything one day.

After he tucked JJ and Lizzie into bed Jim flopped onto his bed and then he took the letter Jon and Lily wrote and read it:

 

Jim,

I know that this is a lot to ask of you and hopefully I won’t ever have to. I know taking JJ and Lizzie will be a big responsibility for you, but Lily and I both agree that you will make an excellent parent for the two of them. Taking them is going to change your life, but if I know anything about you, you are always quick to adapt. I know that you will be able to teach them a lot and I am certain that you will learn from them.

Writing this letter is one of the hardest things I think that I have ever had to write, well maybe not as hard as my senior thesis paper. I hope that you never read this letter, but if you do there are some things I guess I should tell you.

After losing Mom and Dad we became that much closer, not that we weren’t close before, but their loss showed me how important having your family around you is. I also remember that after they were gone you changed. You seemed to have a better grasp about how precious and fleeting life is. I think that is why you always want to have fun and are the joker. You are also caring, responsible and your capacity to love is over whelming. That is why we want you to raise JJ and Lizzie.

Lily and I know that you will teach them the humor in life. You will show them how to look at the world with a fresh eye. You will make sure that treat each and every person with respect and that people are deserving of kindness. You will teach Lizzie how to brave and how to stand her ground. Hopefully you will have someone, a woman, to teach her how to flirt, talk to boys (at age 35) and become the woman that Lily and I know she is. You will teach JJ how to treat women, how to look out for his younger sister, you better teach him all my basketball skills (since you know I was always better than you) and you teach him how to become a man. There is only one thing that you won’t teach them and that is how to love. That is the one thing you will show to them everyday for the rest of their lives.

Please love them and take care of them. I will love you always no matter where I am.

Love, Jon.

Jim fell asleep with the words of his brother in his head and his heart full of love and fear for the upcoming changes in his life.

Pam was sitting at her desk playing her 43rd game of free cell when Jim approached and draped his arms across the counter. The August sun had tanned them and Jim did have a nice summer glow.

“So Beesly I know you have been back for two weeks now and you’re too fancy for an Alfredo’s Pizza Café pizza dinner, but can I tempt you to come over?”

“Well I only eat deep dish Chicago pizza now, so you’re going to need add something to that offer.”

“Well you’ll get to meet Lizzie and JJ.”

“Nice Halpert, using your niece and nephew as bait.” She gave him a mock glare, but a grin tugged at her lips. “I’ll be there, six thirty good?”

“Yeah.” Jim smiled and went back to his desk; he couldn’t see the smile that Pam had plastered to her face.

 

**************************************************************

It was 6:15 and Jim just finished ordering the pizza and then he turned to JJ and Lizzie.

“Ok guys the person who is coming over tonight is one of Uncle Jim’s best friends. I want you both to be nice to her. I know that she is excited to meet you but she is also very shy.”

The kids didn’t say anything and just nodded. Right then there was a knock at the door and Jim turned to answer it. Pam was standing on his porch holding a bottle of grape soda and a container of Ben &Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. They smiled at each other.

“So you gonna let me in or are we dining al fresco?”

“Oh yeah come in. Here let me take those. Thanks for bringing them you didn’t need to.”

“Well I thought the least I could do was provide us with some dessert.”

Jim took the drink and ice cream and put them in the fridge and then led Pam into the living room where JJ and Lizzie were sitting on the couch. All three were nervous. Pam because she wasn’t very good with kids, for some reason she was never able to connect with anyone under the age of 13. JJ and Lizzie were nervous because they were still young and since losing their parents they had felt nervous around adults who they didn’t know. Jim walked over to the couch and led the kids to Pam.

“JJ, Lizzie this is Pam Beesly.”

Pam bent down and shook hands with both kids. She saw how much Lizzie looked like Jim and she guessed his brother as well, JJ though only had Jim’s eyes, he must have inherited more of Lily’s traits. After the introduction no one moved. Pam broke the silence by offering to get everyone drinks. When she returned with the drinks Jim and Lizzie weren’t in the living room, JJ was huddled over the coffee table. As Pam stood closer she could see that he was drawing something.

She sat down beside him cross legged and asked, “What are you drawing?”

JJ first just looked at her and slid the image over to her. It was what looked like a turtle with an orange mask and nun chucks. She smiled, she recognized immediately who he was drawing.

“So is Michelangelo your favorite? Mine is Raphael.”

JJ smiled and his eyes lit up just like Jim’s. “Yeah he’s my favorite. I like them all really. Do you really like the Ninja Turtles?”

“Yeah I like them and the Transformers.”

Pam could remember being eight or nine and watching the cartoons. Those two cartoons were the least girlie thing about Pam; she even had a Transformers lunchbox which she made cooler by adding Ninja Turtle stickers to it. It was those two cartoons that began her love of art; she would spend hours trying to draw Master Splinter or Bumble Bee.

“Do you think I could draw with you?”

“Sure.”

JJ handed her a clean sheet and his pencil crayons. She started with the outline she knew exactly who she was going to draw when her pencil hit the paper. As JJ added a background to his picture and Pam detailed hers they talked about cartoons and drawing. Pam learned that JJ loved to draw and that art was his favourite subject. She told him that she grew up drawing and that it was something that she still did. She said that if he really tries he could grow up to be an artist and she saw that he seemed to perk up when she said that. They had been there for half an hour and Jim or Lizzie hadn’t come back. Pam was mostly finished with her drawing and she thought she go find them. She signed the drawing and slid it over to JJ.

“Here’s my drawing. It’s Optimus Prime, it’s not very good I haven’t drawn him in years.”

“Wow. This is really good; maybe I will try to draw him next.”

“Well you can keep that, maybe next time I can draw a battle scene between the Autobots and the Decepticons. But right now I am going to look for your Uncle and your sister.”

            Pam stood and headed down the hallway. She stopped at the door where she heard Jim whispering.

“It’ll be ok Lizzie. You’ll see. I know you miss Mommy and Daddy, but they’re still here watching over you.”

            Pam pushed into the room and placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder. He gave her a look that said not now. She returned that look with one that said trust me. Jim stood, then leaned down and kissed Lizzie’s head. On his way out of the room Pam squeezed his hand.   

“Hey Lizzie, can I tell you a story?” Lizzie sniffled and nodded.

“Ok this is the story of a young girl. She was seventeen years old when she lost her Daddy. Her Daddy was one of the greatest Daddies in the world, just like yours. She used to play with her Daddy and he would teach her all kinds of things like sports, riding her bike and how to beat everyone at Monopoly. Well one day the girl’s Daddy got sick and then he was gone. The girl couldn’t see him like she did before but she knew that he was always there with her. He was there when she had her first day of school, when she brought home her first real boyfriend and he was there when she went through a hard time in her life. This girl still misses her Daddy everyday, but she knows that he will always be there if she needs him. See Lizzie that young girl was me. And even though I miss my Daddy I know he’s still here in my heart. Just like your mommy and daddy will always be in your heart.”

            Lizzie stared at Pam. The tears had stopped, but the little girl saw the tears in Pam’s eyes. Then she offered the smallest of smiles and wrapped her arms around Pam’s neck. Jim couldn’t see this exchange, but he had heard the whole story. He didn’t know that Pam had lost her father so long ago and it broke his heart, but he was glad that she could offer some hope to Lizzie. He heard Pam pick up Lizzie and say that they should go to the bathroom to get cleaned up and heard the softest “Ok” escape from her small lips. He headed to the living room he didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping on such a tender moment. He joined JJ on the floor.

“Look what Pam drew for me.”

“Wow she’s really good.”

“Yeah. She told me that if I wanted to I could be an artist one day.”

            Jim chuckled at his nephew, such hope and optimism. Jim picked up a piece of paper and began to doodle. The doorbell rang and he went to grab the pizza, on his way back to the living room he saw Pam carrying Lizzie out of the bathroom. Lizzie’s face wasn’t red any more and she seemed a little happier.

“Uncle Jim look how Pam did my hair. French braids.”

“I know it looks nice. Pam is going to have to teach me her ways so I can do that too.”

Pam grinned and hugged Lizzie tighter, “Are you kidding Halpert a master only reveals her secrets to a deserving student.”

Jim laughed and they all sat around the coffee table which had been cleared. Over slices of cheese pizza the four of them told stories and jokes and enjoyed a night of laughter. It was 10 o’clock when Jim put JJ and Lizzie to bed; they had been falling asleep watching Shrek. Jim walked Pam to her car.

“Thanks for coming tonight. It really meant a lot to me and I can see that it did to the two of them as well.”

“Oh it was my pleasure. I really enjoyed my evening. Those are the two of the sweetest kids in the world and with all that they are going through they are taking it very well.”

“Well what you did really helped. Encouraging JJ with his art and that story you told Lizzie.” Pam’s eyes widened at the statement. “I didn’t mean to listen, but Pam what you said I could never… and I know that must have been hard for you, but thank you for sharing something that helped Lizzie.”

“It brought up a lot of memories, but it was the only thing I could think of to relate to Lizzie. I hoped by telling her my own story it would help her understand and begin to accept that her parents aren’t around and it felt good to help someone using my own struggle as an example. And Jim I watched you with those two and you are doing a great job, you will make a great dad and you will learn to say the right thing. Oh and if you ever need any help just call me, I’d love to be a part of JJ and Lizzie’s lives.”

Pam hugged Jim and they stood there for an extra minute savouring the happiness the night had brought. Jim slept that night for the first time since the accident with a slight smile on his lips.

It was mid September and JJ, Lizzie and Jim had been living together for almost two months. As the three spent more and more time together the pain of losing Jon and Lily had lessened. There were still moments that were harder than others, but Jim seemed to pull all three out. Every week had been a new and exciting adventure. Jim was beginning to grasp how to properly pull Lizzie's hair into a ponytail and he found his old basketball so that JJ could start learning how to play.

One of the tougher aspects of September was going back to school, for all three of them. Lizzie had just started kindergarten and she still didn't like going to school by herself, but she had made one good friend so she was starting to like it more. JJ who had just started fourth grade was better; he had all his old friends and even though he found some of the math work difficult, Jim was able to help him with most of it. Getting back into the groove of school was a difficult adjustment, to say the least. Jim applied and got into college for some writing and journalism courses. He went three times a week at night, but slowly he was finding out just how much he had enjoyed lectures and he was actually really good at writing.

The three also spent more and more nights with Pam. On weekends the four would go out for breakfast maybe see a movie, go to the park where Pam and Lizzie would swing while Jim taught JJ on the basketball court or just play board games if the weather was bad. Pam also baby-sat for Jim on his school nights, her art classes were every Wednesday at 6 and Saturday mornings so she was willing and always available to baby-sit. She would come over early and they would eat dinner and then Jim would leave. Pam, JJ and Lizzie would then do homework and when that was done they usually played games or watched a movie. Pam always looked forward to these nights, she was able to be a kid again and even just for a few hours JJ and Lizzie would have fun without thinking about their loss.

The most interesting part for Jim and Pam though spending all that time together was discovering the feelings that they had for each other.

When Pam would watch Jim tuck in JJ and Lizzie her heart would swell and she imagined him tucking in their kids, she always quickly brushed the image away. More and more however she noticed her growing attraction to him physically, he was tall, slender but she knew from their hugs he was toned and had more muscle than one would expect seeing him on the street, even though his face wasn’t the traditional type of handsome there was something in his eyes and his smile that gave Pam butterflies. This was all made more perfect by his amazing personality and the fact that he could make her laugh at almost anything. The only thing was she didn’t want to rush into a new relationship, even though it had been almost 10 months since ending the seven year long relationship with Roy she was enjoying her independence and being on her own was something she was really starting to revel in. She also didn’t want to start something that wouldn’t just affect her heart but the hearts of two you kids. She was quickly falling in love with the kids and she didn’t want to break their hearts or her own if something were to go wrong with Jim.

Jim just like Pam was noticing how every time she entered a room his stomach would tighten. He had developed a crush on her when he started, but it quickly went away when he heard about her boyfriend. But when he helped her through her tough times those feelings came back and had taken root, but even in those months before the accident he knew not to make a move because he saw that she was just trying to be on her own and he didn’t want to stop her from trying something new. Now though spending days with her he saw her beauty both inside and out, and he saw how she would glow when Lizzie or JJ did something amusing. It was though JJ and Lizzie that were now making him reconsider jumping into a new relationship. He knew that if he and Pam did go out they could be blissfully happy, but he was worried that JJ and Lizzie might think that Jim and Pam might be trying to replace their parents and he also didn’t want them getting to attached to someone new and then by some chance of fate or a terrible fight they break up and the kids go through another loss. At least as friends they wouldn’t have the extra pressure of trying to make it work for the sake of the kids.

Because the two of them felt these doubts neither made a move to push their relationship further. They flirted and made little comments, but when it would head into dangerous territory one of them would break it off with a light hearted comment about Dwight or Michael and the conversation would be changed. However there were those glances, and bright smiles that would make something inside them tighten, and their coworkers and JJ and Lizzie all took notice of blush that would rush to Pam and Jim’s cheeks.

It was now the end of September and JJ and Lizzie were having a PA day at school. Jim had called into work saying that he was going to be coming in for the afternoon and if it was okay to bring the kids with him. Michael immediately said yes and proceeded to explain to Jim how good he was with kids and how at night he would plan out his dream family. Jim on the other end of the phone listened to Michael almost break down into tears as he explains how one of his dream kids get sick and then he has to give up his kidney to save him, before Michael could say anymore Jim cut in and said that he had to go make breakfast and Michael let him go.

It was 12:30 as Jim, JJ and Lizzie entered the office, the two kids looked around shyly but when they saw Pam they ran behind her tall desk, hugged her and hid. Jim walked over, "Hey you two. You can't hide behind Pam's desk all day, you have to come out and say hi." The two faces turned away from Jim and Looked eagerly up at Pam as if she would allow them to hide behind the desk all day.

"Sorry you two. I have to agree with your Uncle Jim, you can't hide out here.”
“Thank you Pam.” Jim smiled.
“Well you know I can’t say to the cute uncle.” Both Pam and Jim blushed at the comment and Pam quickly changed the subject back to the kids. “If you two want I will come with you and then you can get all the Jelly Bellies you want."

"Yes! I love Jelly Bellies." JJ said. Lizzie didn't respond, she just grabbed Pam's hand and they walked out from behind the desk.

Just as they were heading to the break room Kelly caught a glimpse of JJ and Lizzie through the kitchen window and ran out.

"OH MY GOD! They are soooo cute. Jim they look exactly like you!!! You are so lucky that you got them, I mean not how you got them but that you are the one who looks after them and you got them at the perfect age. I mean they know how to talk and they can do things themselves and you don't have to worry about changing diapers. Of course though you missed out on them being cute little babies. I just wish I could have my own kids now but only as a little babies and then have someone else raise them until they get to an age where they can do things for themselves. I couldn't deal with the crying and whining and toilet training. Oh you are just so lucky."

She bent down to look at Lizzie who was hiding behind Pam because of the barrage that Kelly had just unleashed. As Kelly flitted off to the annex to tell Toby about how cute JJ and Lizzie are Michael walked out of his office. He was on his way to the kitchen and almost ran over JJ in haste. Michael stopped and just stared at the boy and then looked at Lizzie still behind Pam.

"Hi. I'm Michael. Me and Jim here are like brothers so you guys can just call me Uncle Mikey."

JJ raised his eyebrows in surprise, almost a classic Jim face and said, "That's ok. I think I'll just call you Michael."

"Oh too bad, I'm a really fun uncle, probably more fun than Jim over here. Hey there Lizzie Lizard, do you want to come help me organize my office toys?" Lizzie looked at him and then quickly shook her head.

Just as Michael was about to ask another question Jim cut him off. "Ok well Michael me and Pam are just going to take them to the break room to grab some snacks."

The four walked off leaving Michael standing outside his office slightly disappointed that he couldn’t get the kids to call him uncle Mikey or hang out with him. In the break room they found Dwight finishing his lunch.

“Hello tiny ones. My name is Dwight K. Schrute and I work with your uncle. Question: Do both of you have slacker tendencies like Jim?”

“Actually Dwight these two are not slackers at all. They work three times as hard as me and probably two times as hard as you.”
“No one works harder than me Jim. I have the highest sales record. I work from home the weekends, after tending the beets and I work through holidays. So that makes me the hardest worker.”
“Well Dwight these two are actually in training to be spies.”
“What?! They are too young to be spies.”
“Yeah well Lizzie is, but JJ just started his training at SKI.”
“I don’t believe you, go on.”
“Well I really shouldn’t tell you. Let me ask JJ if it is ok.” Jim bent and whispered in JJ’s ear. JJ nodded in response. “Ok he gave me the all clear to tell you about it. SKI or Spy Kids International is a top secret world organization that trains kids to be spies. They have them all over the world. I was freaked out when they came to the door requesting JJ. I went and tried to look them up online but there was nothing. When I asked about that they told me it was for the kid’s protection. So now on weekends JJ goes for training.”
Dwight was silent thinking it over. “I can’t see why they chose him he looks so weak, so does she.”
Pam jumped in, “Actually Dwight it helps if the kids don’t look all muscles and bulk. It helps with their blending in with society. And they said JJ has the potential of leading a team on a mission soon, and when Lizzie is old enough to be a great leader.” Jim smiled over at Pam and gave her a wink, she blushed and looked away.
“Well when I have children they will be even harder workers than these two and be admitted into the program earlier.” He turned to JJ, “Now give me the address or phone number so I can contact them to let them know to leave spots open for the children of Dwight Schrute.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Schrute, but that is classified information. If I told you I would have to kill you. Plus the agency will find you when they need you.” At that moment JJ’s watch beeped. “Uncle Jim that is code to call in, can I use your phone?”
“Sure. Let’s go. See you later Dwight.”

After leaving Dwight stumped and a little angry in the break room, the rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. Jim was working, making three large sales. Pam taught JJ how to use the shredding machine and gave him a stack of documents to shred which he seemed to enjoy. Pam had Lizzie help her organize the files by her desk. Dwight suspiciously watched these activities. He had listened to JJ’s phone call before and became convinced of spy activity, he was watching to make sure the top secret company documents were not taken by the pint sized spies. Jim also like Dwight looked over at the three of them. He saw the smiles on all their faces, he heard the occasional laugh from Pam and Lizzie and in those moments he got the feeling that he could spend the rest of his life with the three of them having fun and enjoying each other's company. Pam looked up and gave him a huge smile and it was in this moment that Jim started to feel something deeper from Pam. He knew that he liked her, but it was more than that he knew he was starting to fall in love with her. But then Dwight said something- about how beets are essential to the growth of pre-pubescent children, especially ones that are in training- to interrupt his day dream.

At 5pm Jim, JJ and Lizzie left the office. They were going out for dinner tonight and Pam had said that she might join them for dessert after her art class. It was 7:30 when Pam met them at Cooper’s; they had just put their dessert orders in. Jim had ordered her a cappuccino and Jim offered to share his Chocolate Chip cheesecake with her. Pam smiled warmly at Jim. As they ate dessert they joked about the spy prank on Dwight, and how scary both Michael and Kelly could be. Pam said very little but watched Jim with the kids and she saw a man who would be a great father, and something inside her changed. She suddenly felt warm and flustered and realized that maybe what she felt for Jim was more than a crush; maybe it was the real thing. Jim made a flirty comment towards Pam and she quickly responded with her own. Both felt the colour rise in their cheeks, JJ and Lizzie looked at them, looked at each other and smiled.

As September turned into October Jim and the kids got closer. They had all adjusted to school and JJ had even made the junior basketball team. When he found out the news he had called the office and told both Jim and Pam about how he drove passed the tallest kid and sunk the basket. That night Jim, the kids and Pam went out for a celebratory dinner. Even Jim had a little success in school one of his professors had published a short story of his in the school paper, Jim brought it in a showed it to Pam who cried when she read the story because it was about his feelings the night he found out his brother had died.

As October drew to a close Jim had to go to a convention in Philadelphia. Pam had offered to look after the kids Thursday night, Friday and Saturday.

“Ok so I will probably be back Sunday morning if the traffic is good, afternoon if it sucks.”

“Ok that’s fine. I know where everything is and I’m sure the three of us will have a good time, we don’t need Jim Halpert to do that.”

“Please Pam, there is never any fun with out me.” Jim gave her a wink and then squatted to talk to JJ and Lizzie, “Now you two have to be good for Pam. I don’t want to hear that you were tobogganing down stairs, eating just junk food or fighting.”

“We won’t Uncle Jim. Plus we like Pam more than you, so we would never do anything to make her mad.” JJ joked and Lizzie let out a small giggle.

“Pam said that if we were good she would teach JJ some art stuff and show me how to make pigtails.”

“Ok well just have fun.” He opened his arms and both kids hugged him.

Pam walked him to his car and they were joking and flirting. “So are you excited for the paper convention?”

“A little, but since Michael isn’t going to be there I am going to have to host the party for all the ladies.”

“Of course. You can’t deprive the ladies of the dorky paper salesman Jim Halpert.”

“Pam I would have you know that women can’t resist me, they find me charming and sexy.”

“I seem to be pretty good at resisting. I mean I haven’t jumped your bones yet.” Pam slapped her hand across her mouth and her eyes were wide.

Jim saw her reaction and smiled. “I know you have thought about it.”

“Yeah I need you, I want you. Oh Baby, Oh Baby.” She responded sarcastically.

Jim changed the subject, “I can’t believe my own niece and nephew like you more than me.”

“Well that’s because you don’t have my skills Halpert.”

“What skills?”

“My skills at getting people to fall in love with me.” The minute the words left her mouth, Pam knew it was going into dangerous territory. Jim looked at her with a shocked expression unsure what to say he countered with a joke.

“JJ said liked Pam not loved so you still have a ways to go.”

“Oh just go to your convention Halpert.”

Jim was pulling out of the driveway and he heard Pam yell towards the house, “Ok guys he’s gone. Time to party!!” She knew that his window was down. He chuckled and headed to Philly.

Thursday night Pam cooked dinner and then the three set out to do some work. Pam was finishing up a piece for her art class, it was a portrait of JJ drawing and Lizzie looking through a Dr. Seuss book on the couch behind him. JJ cleared the kitchen table and worked on his English homework and Lizzie pulled out her numbers book that she loved practicing in. After everyone finished their work they settled on the couch and watched Pirates of the Caribbean. At 9 Pam put the kids to bed and went back to the living room and pulled out her copy of Atonement, after seeing the film she wanted to read the book. It was 11:30 and Pam’s eyes were heavy, it was then that she realized she didn’t know where she should sleep. She could sleep on the couch, but she didn’t know where the blankets or pillows were, so she made the logical choice to sleep in Jim’s bed. When she was changed and crawled into his queen bed she didn’t think it was logical anymore. It smelled like him and she thought of him sleeping between these sheets wearing nothing but boxers. She blushed feverishly at the thought and felt a heat in her stomach, but she didn’t want to leave the bed. She fell asleep to the thought of sleeping in the bed with Jim.

Friday night was pretty much a repeat of Thursday night all of them worked and Pam finished her painting. JJ and Lizzie stayed up a little later tonight and by 10 were falling asleep leaning on Pam who was watching 20/20; it was as if Pam was in a flashback, she could remember doing the same thing on Friday nights when she was still in elementary school. She picked up Lizzie and gently woke JJ and put them to bed. She then went into Jim’s room and read for a bit before falling asleep in the Jim scented sheets. Saturday morning Pam woke up a little earlier. She went to grab the news paper and started making bacon and eggs for breakfast. JJ and Lizzie joined her in the kitchen at 10:30.

“'Morning you two. So I have to drop off my painting at the school today. So we can all go and then do you guys want to see a movie and go for dinner?”

“Can we see The Game Plan?” Lizzie asked excitedly.

“JJ you in for Game Plan?”

“Sure. I heard it was really good and really funny. Can I see your painting before we go?”

“Of course, I’ll show it to you after we eat.”

They made quick work of the breakfast and Pam promptly put the dishes in the dishwasher and then bought out her canvas.

“Ok so I did this for class, but when it’s done I want you two to have it.”

She pulled back the cover and looked expectantly at JJ and Lizzie. They were silent just admiring the image that Pam had painted. JJ looked at it really closely and examined the brush strokes and the colours.

“Wow, this is amazing. I wish I could do this.”

“Hey when we go to the school I can ask about summer art courses for you.”

“You would do that?”

“Absolutely. Ok now let’s get dressed and then we can go.”

They dropped off the painting at the school around and Pam was able to grab a few pamphlet describing different summer art courses for youth. JJ was particularly interested in the animation course and the graphic design course. By the time they reached the movie theatre it was 12pm and the movie started at 1:30pm. They got their tickets, drinks and a large bag of popcorn and went to get good seats. Pam had to admit that there were funny parts of the movie and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson did a good job. When the movie finished it was close to 4. Pam took them back to Jim’s where they changed clothes and got ready to go out for dinner. Pam took them to Applebee’s and they shared fajitas and a brownie for dessert. At home JJ and Lizzie both took showers and instead of going to their room they joined Pam in Jim’s bed.

“Pam are you and Uncle Jim going to get married?” Lizzie asked Pam paused French braiding her pig tails; she was startled by the question.

“Well Lizzie I’m not even dating your uncle so I wouldn’t know.” Pam had no other way to respond.

“Well I want you to so that you can be my Aunt Pam.”

“Lizzie you can’t just say things like that.” JJ cut in.

“It’s alright JJ. But me and Jim are just friends.” Even though in her heart Pam wished she could be more.

“I agree with Lizzie, but I know that it’s still kind of weird. I overheard Uncle Jim talking to Aunt Larissa on the phone about it. He says that he’s worried that if you two did go out and then break up it would be too hard on me and Lizzie.”

Pam was shocked at the revelation from JJ; Jim was feeling the same things she was. “Hey I just want to let you two know that I will be here for you always. Whether Jim and I date or we just stay friends. I love you guys and spending all this time with you has made me a better, happier person.”

That’s when they heard sniffling coming from Lizzie. “Hey Lizzie what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Come on, I’m a good listener you can tell me.”

“Sometimes it’s like I forget Mommy and Daddy when we do things and that they would be mad at that.”

“Oh no sweetheart. Come here,” Pam pulled her under her into a hug. “Your Mommy and Daddy would never be mad at you for having fun and not thinking about them all the time.” She wrapped her free arm around JJ before continuing. “They would want both of you to do the things you love and to move on with your life. It may feel like you are forgetting about them, but you aren’t. You just have to think about the things you do and how that would make them proud. They loved the two of you more than anything in this world and they wouldn’t want you to be sad thinking about how they aren’t here. They would want you thinking about all things in life that they wanted you to accomplish and how happy you will be. And if you ever feel like you are forgetting them and you feel sad here is something I do that will help remind you of them, talk to them. I know that you can’t see them, but if you talk to them in your head it’s like they are there and that way you never forget them”

Lizzie stopped crying and JJ was now hugging Pam. She kissed both of them on the head and then moved down the bed to snuggle in. She felt that after this they could sleep with her in the bed. The next morning around 11 she was woken up by someone tapping her feet. She opened her eyes and saw Jim; he put his finger to his lips to keep her quiet and then signalled to meet him in the kitchen. Pam gently removed herself from the bed and joined Jim in the kitchen.

“Hey how was the convention? Any ladies?”

“It was good and no there was no one. Was there a slumber party last night?”

“Sort of, we were all in your bed talking and then Lizzie got a little upset, thinking that she was forgetting Jon and Lily. So I let them stay with me.”

“Oh. Is she ok?”

“Yeah they both are, and they both are going to be ok.” Pam smiled, “Oh but you might want to talk to Lizzie about asking certain questions.”

“Why what did she ask?”

“If we were getting married.”

“Huh. I hope you set her straight” Pam nodded and Jim blushed then changed topics. “So what are we going to about brunch?”

“Well how about we do a picnic brunch out at the park. The leaves have mostly fallen and since it’s still warm outside it will be nice.” Pam responded. She was a little disappointed that they hadn’t really addressed Lizzie’s comment.

They woke up the kids, made the food and packed everything into Jim’s car. They made it down to park, and found a place close to the basketball court that was not covered in leaves to lay down the blanket. They ate their food in amiable silence, with the sound of a bird every so often breaking through. When they were done Jim brought out the basketball and all of them headed for the court.

“So how do you want to play this? Boys vs. Girls or each girl gets a basketball star?” Jim asked dribbling the ball

“Well if you put it that way I am going to have to go with the real star and play on JJ’s team.” Pam retorted sneaking the ball away from Jim.

“Fine I get the all star Lizzie.”

They played quite a fun game for half an hour. The score was tied at zero, but everyone was having fun. Jim now though was showing of some of his dribbling skills that he did not notice Pam sneak off and grab a handful of leaves. She put her finger to her lips to keep JJ and Lizzie silent and just before Jim launched the ball she flung the leaves at him. He turned at look right at her.

“Oh you are so dead Beesly.”

“Only if you can catch me."

Pam took off running. Jim quickly caught up to her and pulled her into the nearest pile of leaves. Jim was practically on top of Pam, their faces mere inches apart and they both were breathing heavily from the exhilarating chase. Jim looked into Pam’s eyes and then down at her lips. Pam wanted Jim to close the gap between their mouths but she couldn’t wait any longer and raised her head crushing her lips against his. She pulled back and looked in his eyes and before she could say anything he lowered his head to kiss her again. In that moment or minutes that they kissed they effectively forgot about JJ and Lizzie until they heard giggling coming from above them. They both looked up into the smiling faces of the kids. Jim pulled Pam up from the ground, but she didn’t let go of his hand. He looked at her and just smiled, his thoughts were interrupted by Lizzie,

“Are you going to get married now?” They all broke into a laugh.

As October faded into November Pam and Jim began exploring their relationship further. They hadn’t slept together yet, they wanted to take it slow so that they could fully enjoy the time they spent together and they wanted to make sure that what they had was strong. They went on dates (mostly lunch dates away from work, Michael and Dwight), yet it was hard because of JJ and Lizzie and they often just went out as a group, but both Pam and Jim were enjoying there new found coupledom. 

However as the weather cooled down, Jim’s personality seemed to cool as well. He was a little bit more irritable and a little short with those around him. Not Pam or the kids, but Michael and Dwight especially if they were being particularly annoying. He had even refrained from pulling some pranks because he didn’t want to deal with either Dwight investigating around the office or listening to him rant. Pam saw this change and asked if anything was wrong, Jim just gave her the standard answer that he was fine. He wasn’t fine though. School work was piling up, he had two papers that he had to finish, work was just getting more stressful as corporate downsized another branch and Scranton got more clients and Jim who could usually deal with the stress was finding it harder and harder. 

This Friday though everything came to a head. Larissa had shown up the night before- Jim had forgotten he had invited her for the weekend- and she disturbed the writing zone that he had gotten into by asking him about his life and what was stressing him out. JJ had developed a little bit of an attitude, that to Jim seemed a little bit more mean than just joking around and JJ had been making Lizzie cry almost daily. That morning when he walked into the office he said good morning to Pam, but really didn’t give her his usual smile. He went and sat at his desk and got straight to work. He ignored pretty much everyone for the majority of the morning. Pam knew that there was something, but she didn’t want to press him. They ate lunch together in the break room, and each made flirty small talk, but there was an underlying tension to Jim. As they finished she squeezed his hand to reassure him that if he wanted to talk to her he could. At 4 Jim went to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, Pam couldn’t stand this quiet, brooding Jim so she followed him.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” He responded “Can you pass the milk?” Pam handed it over.

“Jim. I want… Jim what’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I’m fine.” He said back with a harshness in his voice that Pam had never heard.

“Jim don’t lie to me. I know you well enough to know that there is something bothering you. Talk to me.”

“There is nothing going on. Between you and my sister what is it with everyone wanting to know how I am. I am FINE, I wish everyone would just leave me ALONE!” He practically yelled this at Pam and the minute the words were out of his mouth he wished he could pull them back.

The pain registered in Pam’s eyes and she was shocked, “Sorry I asked.” An iciness in her response and she went promptly back to reception.

            Jim stood in the kitchen for another minute gaining his composure before he went back out into the office. The rest of the afternoon passed in much the same way as the morning, except Pam never once looked over from reception. At 5 Pam left without saying bye and Jim couldn’t blame her. The way he spoke to her gave her the right to be pissed at him. By 5:30 Jim was shutting down his computer feeling miserable and had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he had messed everything up in his life, his relationship with Pam, he was going to fail out of school and he didn’t know how handle JJ and Lizzie. He felt as though everything was closing in around him and he couldn’t stop. He took a few deep breaths and left the office for home.

            When he got home it was quiet and he was happy that he would get some work done before dinner. He was just turning on his laptop when Larissa came into his room.

“Hey where do you keep your can opener?”

“It’s in the second drawer by the fridge? Why do you need it?”

“I am making dinner.”

“Ok well call me when it’s ready.”

“That’s going to be in like 10 minutes.”

“Ok.”

That is not what Jim wanted to hear. He wanted dinner to be ready in an hour so he could at least have gotten some work done. Instead of opening his essay he surfed the internet and checked his email until Larissa called everyone for dinner. Everyone sat around the table and put food on their plate.

“So I was wondering that if tonight you guys could keep it down so I can do some work?” Jim asked looking around the table.

“Yeah sure, I’ll keep us entertained.” Larissa said.

            When dinner was finished Jim went back to his room. He had been working solidly for an hour when he heard the tv blaring. He went out and asked them to turn it down, they did and Jim went back to work. Half an hour later Lizzie came into the room asking Jim to help her read a story. He told that he was busy and that she should go ask Larissa. The two interruptions had broken his concentration and now he was a little angry and frustrated. It hadn’t even been five minutes when he heard the yelling coming from living room. He stormed out his room and into the living room to see Lizzie and JJ yelling at each other and Larissa trying to calm them down. From what Jim heard of the yelling it was that Lizzie has interrupted what Larissa was teaching JJ and demanded that she be helped first, and when she tried to do this JJ got mad and started yelling, which made Lizzie yell in turn.

“JJ, Lizzie. Stop yelling at each other.” Jim said raising his voice just slightly, but JJ kept taunting his sister and Lizzie was yelling back.

“JJ stop calling your sister names. Lizzie stop provoking your brother!” He tried again louder, still he was ignored and now Jim was fuming.

“STOP!! BOTH OF YOU JUST STOP!” Jim had never yelled at the kids before and their faces displayed their fright as his outburst. “I CAN’T WORK WITH YOU TWO YELLING. I just… I can’t” With that Jim grabbed his keys and left with the door slamming behind him.

            Jim drove around trying to calm down, he just was still so angry. He couldn’t go home, not after the way he acted. He stopped at Poor Richard’s and had a couple beers and then he went to the only place he thought he would be able to talk. He was just about to knock on Pam’s door when she opened it. She had the phone in her hand, she said bye to the person and opened the door wider to let Jim in. He looked around awkwardly and Pam broke the silence.

“That was your sister. She told me what happened, she also said that the kids are ok, she talked to them about…” she didn’t have to finish.

She looked at him standing in the doorway. He looked so worn down, as if he had just run a marathon, she could also smell the tinge of beer on his breath. They both walked over to the couch, Pam wrapped her arm around Jim and then he just broke down.

“I just I couldn’t do it anymore. I have all this work and the kids and I can’t do it anymore. There is just too much.” A tear rolled down his face. “I yelled at them Pam. I yelled because of all the shit that is going on. I just I lost it and now they are going to hate me. I just if this is how I am now, how am I going to be as a father. The fact that I could get so angry at two kids who did nothing wrong, just the volume and fury that I heard come out of me scared the shit out of me. This isn’t what Jon and Lily would have wanted.” There were more tears now. “I know that I scared them, but I scared myself more because I fucked up. I yelled and then I left, how could I do that to those kids that I love more than anything else. It’s… Everything is just so fucked. And then after the way I snapped at you today, it was an asshole move. I don’t expect you to take care of me or even want to be with me.” He lowered his head into his hands, trying to hide both his pain and his shame.

            Pam took her hand and cupped Jim’s cheek. What he had just told her was honest and pure and her heart swelled for him at that moment. She used her thumb to brush away some tears from the corner of his eye. She looked at Jim and the kissed where her thumb had just been, she then kissed his cheek and then she lightly brushed her lips against his. She pulled back and they stared into each other’s eyes, she knew that she shouldn’t make any comment on his outburst, so she said what was in her heart, “Jim I think I’m starting to fall in love with you.” That was all he needed to hear and then Jim crushed his lips against Pam’s. This kiss was frenzied, passionate and breathtaking. Jim’s hand ran down Pam’s ribs to the hem of her shirt and snuck under, his fingers tripping along the skin of her stomach. As Jim pushed Pam further into the couch Pam let out a small moan, but then pushed Jim back up to a seated position. Jim pulled back, “Pam. I’m sor-” Pam cut him off with another kiss. She then stood and took his hand, the look she gave him conveyed to him that they should do this right, and not on her couch. She lead him to her bedroom, as they walked he trailed kisses down her neck. In her room they undressed each other, exploring each other with their hands and lips, they fell back onto her bed and lost themselves to their passion.

            They made love twice that night. The first was passionate and full of lust. The second time was slower, sensual and it was as if everything both Pam and Jim were feeling were said with their bodies. Jim woke to Pam places kisses across his now stubbly jaw. He tightened his arms around her and then pulled them so they were resting against her headboard.

“Morning.” He smiled, his voice gravely and sexy.

“Hey,” Pam kissed his jaw again. “Do you want some breakfast? I mean after last night I could eat.”

“Yeah me to. Pam last night was… it was amazing. It was more than…” He couldn’t even finish his thought.

Pam cupped his cheek. “Last night was amazing and Jim I mean what I said, I really am starting to fall in love with you.”

“I think I am too Pam.” She smiled and kissed him gently on the lips. “I am sorry though about yesterday afternoon and breaking down last night. I never meant for all that to come out at once. I kind of thought it would scare you off.”

“I’m glad that you were honest Jim.” She was looking in his eyes. “I don’t know exactly what you are going through, but I want you to know that you can tell me when you are stressed. I also know that we are going to snap at each other, but that doesn’t mean I want this…us to end.”

Jim grinned and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Ok. But I still feel bad, so let me say again that I am sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me, but I do grant you forgiveness, just this once.” She joked, “but you do though need to apologize to Lizzie and JJ.”

            They made breakfast together, stealing kisses and enjoying playful banter about who would make a better Iron Chef. Jim admitted Pam’s omelette was great, but his famous grilled cheese sandwich would win the judges over. While Pam was in the shower Jim called home and asked Larissa if everyone was up, he told her that he would be home soon. At noon he and Pam pulled into his driveway. Pam told Jim that she would stay, but she and her sister would be in the kitchen while he talked to the kids. He was greeted at the door by Larissa. He hugged her and apologized and she said it was ok and that everyone gets a little stressed. She said that the kids were waiting for him in the living room. Pam and Larissa then went into the kitchen and Jim went and knelt in front of JJ and Lizzie who were sitting on the couch.

“Hey guys.” He offered a timid smile, neither JJ or Lizzie offered one back. “Ok. First I just want to say how sorry I am that I yelled last night. I didn’t mean to get so angry and I wasn’t angry at you two. I was more frustrated at everything that I have to deal with. I just want you to know that I never want to hurt you guys.”

“Aunt Larissa said that to us last night.” Lizzie said.

“Well your aunt is right. I just want to let you guys know that there will be times that we get mad, at each other or at life, and we will yell but I will never stop loving you. I want you to know that. So am I forgiven?”

“Yeah” JJ said.

“Good.” Jim spread his arms and JJ and Lizzie both were tucked into a hug.

At the end of November Jim had handed in both his papers and now it was December and he was just waiting to find out his marks. As well as November got colder and December came JJ and Lizzie both got colds. Jim was actually handled taking care of the two sick children very well. He had of course Pam there to help when things got a little tougher and also to make her delicious chicken noodle soup for the kids. She also was an enormous help when he himself got sick for a few days. She took and picked up the kids from school and even though he was sick she would still spend time sitting with him in his bed watching TV or just talking. After Jim recovered he had taken Pam out for a thank you dinner, however because he had hired a baby sitter he had to go home and the two of them could not spend the night together. That was one of the down sides to having the two kids. Whenever Jim and Pam wanted to be alone or spend the night together it was almost impossible. There was the occasional night when they wouldn’t go out at all and spend the evening in Pam’s bed making love and eating and then Jim would go home, but even those nights were few, but Pam and Jim had learned to deal with it. 

However Jim wasn’t worrying about his relationship with Pam or the marks that he was waiting for from school, he was more concerned about preparing Christmas for JJ and Lizzie. This was going to be the first one with Jon and Lily and he wanted it to be special, it was also his first Christmas with Pam and he wanted to get her something memorable. 

Everyday at work Pam had been getting more and more excited about Christmas and winter in general. Jim could see her happiness and it bubbled over into his happiness. She had told him that winter was her second favourite season after fall because the blankets of snow that cover everything, and her most favourite thing tobogganing and then sitting around with mugs of hot chocolate and watching different Christmas movies or listening to Christmas carols. She had been even more excited Christmas this year after helping Jim and the kids decorate his place and then her place. She was going to share with JJ and Lizzie some of her favourite Christmas movies including A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Pam had watched twice a year, every since it came out, once on Halloween and then at Christmas). She had also decided on what to get the two kids and Jim, and his gift was really important as she wanted to reflect her dreams for him and her love for him as well. 

It was the last day at work, before the almost two week long break that everyone was getting for the holidays, and Michael’s Christmas Party was in full swing. Jim saw Pam leaning on her desk and sauntered over and leaned next to her. They were careful not to show too much affection at work. They didn’t want any inappropriate comments from Michael or anyone else and also they enjoyed keeping the secret.

“So Beesly ready for the holidays?”

“Yeah!” She said so enthusiastically that Jim chuckled. “I can’t wait to go home to see my parents and my family that are coming over for Christmas lunch. Oh and I am really excited for our December 26th Christmas Extravaganza. I really hope that there is snow that day so we can go tobogganing.”

Jim just stared down at Pam and wondered how he got to be so lucky that Pam was in his life. “Yeah JJ and Lizzie are really excited about that two. They can’t wait for you to open the gift that they got you.”

“They didn’t have to get me anything.”

“They really wanted to. Lizzie told me straight up that they were more excited about what they got you than what they got me.”

“Well I can’t wait. Hey look it’s twenty after six do you want to leave and join Larissa and the kids at home. I really can’t stand to hear Dwight sing another carol.”

“Sure. Let’s get out of here.”

They said their goodbyes and wished everyone Happy Holidays and went to Jim’s where they found Larissa and the kids about to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The two of them joined the other three in the living room and settled in for a night of Jim Carrey comedy as the Grinch.

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

On the 26th Lizzie bounded into Jim’s room and jumped on his bed.

“Wake up Uncle Jim! Pam’s coming soon.”

Jim looked at the clock and the red numbers showed that it was only 9:30 am and Pam would not be at the house until one.

“Lizzie it’s still early. Pam isn’t going to be here for a couple more hours. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit?”

“I can’t I’m not sleepy.”

“Ok well then what do you want to do so early in the morning?”

“Can we make some cookies for Pam when she comes.”

“Sure I think that I have some cookie mix somewhere.” 

Jim picked up his niece and carried her into the kitchen and set her down on the table and grabbed everything that he needed including the  chocolate chip cookie mix, the bowl and the eggs. Jim let Lizzie pour the mix into the bowl as he added the eggs and the butter, then let her stir it until it was ready. They had just put the tray full of cookies in the oven when JJ came out of his room rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“What are you guys making?”

“Cookies for Pam.” Lizzie answered licking some left over cookie dough off her finger.

“Nice. When is she coming over Uncle Jim?”

“She said that she would be here around one.” Jim knew that it was a two hour drive back to Scranton from her parents and with the roads being slippery from the past two days of snow he knew it would take a little longer. “Ok well since both of you are up let’s clean up a little and then wash up before Pam comes.”

            JJ and Lizzie went into the living room and began picking up the stray pieces wrapping paper that had been discarded from furiously unwrapping presents yesterday. Jim cleaned up after the baking the mess and took the now golden cookies out of the oven and set them to cool. He then wiped down the rest of the kitchen and then joined JJ and Lizzie with a garbage bag in the living room for all the garbage they collected. It was around 11:30 when the cleaning was done and Lizzie went to wash up. JJ went for a shower after her while Jim helped Lizzie get dressed and then pull her hair up into a pony tail. After helping Lizzie Jim went to set out his jeans and sweater for the day and then jumped into the shower. He shaved and ran his fingers through his damp hair, his version of combing it. He got dressed and then joined the two kids in the living room where they all placed their presents for Pam under the tree.

            It was just after one when they heard the front door open and heard Pam call out.

“Merry Christmas! Where is every one?”

When JJ and Lizzie heard this they took off towards the door. They practically tackled Pam when they both went in for hugs. Jim hung back just to watch the exchange. Pam was beautiful. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, her eyes were sparkling and the smile plastered on her face was indescribable. After hugging JJ and Lizzie she stood erect and gave Jim a smile and then walked over to him.

“Merry Christmas.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Jim’s arms immediately wound around her waist and he deepened the kiss. They broke the kiss when they heard a sound of disgust come from JJ. Pam grabbed Jim’s hand and led him into the living room. Lizzie was already bouncing around, excited for Pam to see what her and JJ had gotten her. Pam sat on the floor and rested her back against the couch, Jim sat beside her.

“So what did you two get from Santa this year?”

Lizzie answered first. “I got two new Barbie’s, a jump rope, a big girl bike and sparkly helmet.”

“Wow. When the weather is nice we can all go for bike rides. What about you JJ?”

“Well I got the skateboard that I really wanted, a couple of interesting books, and a couple DVDs and an iPod.”

“Nice. So what did your uncle here get you?”

At the question Lizzie ran from the living room. Pam gave Jim a concerned look, Jim shot one back that said ‘don’t worry’. JJ then answered, “He gave me a couple cds from my Dad’s collection and that he said were essential to my growing up and for Lizzie he got her a photo album of her, Mom and Dad.”

That’s when Lizzie re-entered the room. “This is what he got both of us. His name’s Chester.” Pam saw that Lizzie was holding a black and white Kitten, Pam smiled at Jim and went over to pet Chester. “What inspired this? Have you been spending time with Angela, Halpert?”

“Nope, but that is where I got the kitten. Ok Lizzie I think you should put Chester back so that we can give out more presents.” When Lizzie heard Jim say that her face lit up and she ran from the room again, she returned within a matter of seconds.

“Ok well first how ‘bout you two open what I got you.”

            Pam went into her bag and pulled out two gifts. She handed the one in pink wrapping to Lizzie and the one in Ninja Turtle wrapping to JJ. JJ let Lizzie go first. She opened the first part which was a book on teaching how to do different hairstyles. Pam knew that it was a little advanced for Lizzie, but she also knew that it would be useful for Jim and later on Lizzie could learn how to try out some of the styles. The second part of the gift was a Polly Pocket play set which included a house and a couple of the dolls. Lizzie let out a little squeal at the present and then practically jumped into Pam’s lap to give her a thank you hug. When Lizzie had settled JJ opened his. The first again was a book, this book though was an art book on teaching how to draw comic book heroes and villains. JJ was really pleased with that he couldn’t wait to start drawing. The second was a Transformers video game for his PSP. JJ gave Pam a hug as well, Jim was happy that the two kids enjoyed their gifts and that Pam had picked out the most perfect things. He leaned over and whispered that in her ear and then placed a kiss on her temple.

            After that tender moment Lizzie announced that it’s time for Pam to open her gift. Pam smiled and shrugged her shoulders and she acted like she was a kid again. JJ spoke just before she unwrapped the present. “So this is from me and Lizzie, and well Uncle Jim helped a little.” Pam gingerly unwrapped the gift. The top present was a coffee table art book. It was filled with different artist’s paintings and descriptions of the artists. The second part brought tears to her eyes. It was a black and white photograph and a simple black frame. The image was two separate photos that had been combined to almost blend into one. The right hand image was Pam sitting next to JJ, both were working on different art projects. The left hand picture was Pam sitting behind Lizzie braiding her hair and Lizzie was reading through a Dr. Seuss book.

“Oh wow you guys. This is amazing, I… thanks you two.” Pam enveloped JJ and Lizzie in a hug.

“Yeah Uncle Jim helped me with the Photoshop for the picture and Lizzie thought that you would really like the book.”

“I love them both.” She hugged them again and looked over at Jim and mouthed ‘thank you’. “Ok well since it is nice and snowy today and the sun is out do you guys want to go tobogganing?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Ok you two get ready and me and your uncle here will clean up.” JJ and Lizzie went to grab their snow gear and Pam crawled over and cuddled up to Jim. “That was really sweet of them and you for helping them.” She kissed his jaw.

Jim looked down at Pam and said, “I have something for you too, but would you mind if I give it to you when we get back?”

“Sounds perfect since I have something for you too.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent sledding at the golf course where the hills were perfect for them. When it started to get dark they all headed back to Jim’s where everyone changed into pyjamas, Nightmare before Christmas was put on and everyone snuggled in with cookies and hot chocolate. The busy day meant that JJ and Lizzie were out before Jack Skellington even took off to deliver the presents. Jim and Pam put them to bed and returned to the living room.

“So before we fall asleep ourselves I want to give you my gift.” Pam said reaching for the large package behind her bag and then a smaller one from in her bag. He opened the smaller package first. It was a leather spiral notebook, he opened to the first page and it read:

For all your future brilliant writing ideas. You will be great.
I love you,
Pam

“Thanks Pam, this is going to be really great for my short story writing class.” Next he went to open the larger package. It was plainly wrapped in a cloth and tied with a string. He pulled the string and lifted the cloth and he was met with a brightly covered canvas. The painting was the one that Pam had been working on since the end of November. She had snapped a picture of Jim and the kids napping on the couch and that was what she painted. Jim was silent for several minutes, he just admired the image and his heart swelled at the love he felt for Pam and for the kids. Pam watched Jim’s expression as he looked; she watched as he scrutinized it and then as his expression changed to love. He turned to her,

“Pam this is simply amazing. I just I knew that you were a great artist, but this is just wonderful. Thank you so much for the gift.” Before she had a chance to answer he leaned in and kissed her. It started of tentative as a thank you, but he quickly deepened it and Pam opened her mouth to him as he pushed her further down onto the couch. Just as Pam was going to pull off Jim’s shirt he stilled her hands.

“We can’t do this here Beesly. Plus I still have to give you your present.”

“I thought this was my present.”

“I knew it. You only think of me as an object.”

“Obviously, I only hang around because I love your body.”

Jim kissed her again and then pulled her up off the couch. “Come on. Your present is in my room.”

“I knew it.” She smirked.

Jim held her hand as he led her to his room. She sat on his bed as he went to get her gift from his closet. He came back with two packages one was small and the other was about the size of her lap. He handed her the larger one first and she opened it. It was a set of new paint brushes, charcoal, artists colour pencils and water colours. Pam had mentioned that she had needed new art supplies and the fact that Jim remembered and had gotten her top quality was beyond what she had expected. “Jim I can’t believe you got me these. These are like the best kind and now I am itching to use them.” Her hand running over the row of brushes and she leaned over and kissed Jim on the cheek. Next he handed her a small box, by the shape of it Pam knew what was inside. She was scared, shocked that this was moving so fast and the tears that pooled in her eyes threatened to fall as she looked up at Jim. He saw the fear in her eyes and knew that he had to explain. He took the box from her and opened it; inside was a simple silver band with a ruby (Pam’s birthstone) stone.

“Pam I can tell that you thought this was a different kind of ring, but this ring is a promise from me to you. I know that it seems a little rushed, but I have known you for years now, you’re my best friend and I just wanted to let you know that I love you. I’m in love with you.”

Pam didn’t speak for a minute she just gazed at the promise ring and then back at Jim. “Jim I… this is the most… thank you… I’m in love with you too.” She smiled as Jim took the ring and slid it down her finger. It was beautiful and against Pam’s pale skin the ruby really glowed. Jim brushed Pam’s hair out of her eyes and brought his lips in for another kiss. This kiss was passion and love and lead to Jim and Pam making love on top of his comforter.

            After they snuggled under Jim’s covers and their breathing returned to normal Pam rested her hand on Jim’s chest. She looked at how the ring sparkled in the minimal light from the street lamp. Jim placed kisses on her forehead and Pam moved in closer to Jim’s warm body. They lay awake whispering words of love, talking about each other, about the kids and about the future and what ever that would bring.