Pam walked into the Office that day already feeling drained. She and Roy had been fighting again late last night and again this morning. She wasn’t even really sure what they were fighting about anymore, just that she wasn’t happy anymore. She hadn’t been for a long time.

It only really started to come into focus though the day of Meredith’s unofficial birthday party. Dwight had asked Jim for an alliance and they had been messing with him all day. Everything had been going great until Roy came in and saw her and Jim laughing. Roy just got so aggressive and had made this huge scene in front of the whole office and she had just stood there feeling embarrassed and furious at him for overreacting so harshly.

It hadn’t been until they got home that she had finally gathered up the courage to ask him what the hell he was thinking, and they had been fighting almost everyday since.

The incident with the basketball game and his comments on Katy the purse saleswoman had only made things worse as time wore on. It was almost two months later already and she really didn’t know what to do anymore.

Jim had been the only thing keeping her sane at this point. He always seemed to know she was having a hard time before she even said anything about it, and would go out of his way to make her feel better. She loved having him as her best friend and didn’t know what she would do without him in her life.

As Pam walked over to her reception desk she was struck with a startling realization. Today was the day of the infamous Dundies ceremony, meaning that she would be left to reel Michael in even more today than usual.

She had only just started up on checking her messages when she noticed him standing in front of her.

Pam looked up to find Jim holding two coffee mugs, with a leisurely grin on his face and she couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“You looked a little drained so I thought you could use some tea.” Jim ended his sentence by placing her mug next to her hand and looking at her expectantly. Pam cocked her head and smiled before taking a long sip of the warm liquid, smiling a bit more when she realized he had made her favorite.

“Thank you, I really needed that.” She sighed before she went on to explain that she and Roy had been fighting again, to which Jim gave her a tight-lipped nod. “Do you wanna talk about it more later at lunch? Maybe getting it out there would help you figure out what you want to do about it.”

His offer was rewarded with a calm smile from Pam and a gentle nod “Yeah, that sounds great”.

He nodded and grabbed a jelly bean before heading back to his desk to attempt to get some work done, knowing that Michael would be a handful since it was Dundies day.

As she watched Jim walk back to his desk, Pam couldn’t help but wonder about her friendship with him. When she thought about it, she always felt like breaking out into a big grin that would make her cheeks hurt. He always seemed to know what she was thinking and knew exactly how to make her laugh and smile. He made her feel like working as a receptionist at a paper sales company where Michael Scott was her boss wasn’t so bad, as long as she got to see her best friend everyday.

She tried to think about the last time Roy had made her feel that way, that happy and loved…

but was mortified to realize she came up blank.

Jim had thought Pam had liked his offer to let her talk about her thoughts on Roy at lunch, but when he came around her desk to ask if she was ready to head to the break room, she had shook her head and said she was going to eat lunch at her desk. He could tell that she wasn’t angry, she just looked...dazed. He was a little worried about her.

Jim knew it was a bit ridiculous to worry so deeply about something as simple as a dazed look on his best friends face. He told himself it was because she was his best friend, not because he was head over heels in love with her.

He hated having to admit to himself that he was in love with her. She was engaged for God’s sake! Everyday it got a little bit harder to keep in. To not run up to her, grab her shoulders and tell her just how much he wanted her to be his. She deserves so much better than Roy.

“Hell she even deserves better than me” he thought to himself, sitting there eating his ham and cheese. As he tuned out Ryan and Kevin’s small talk, he couldn’t help but wonder if how Pam was doing again.

Pam had seemed to be in a better mood by the time Jim got back from lunch, and was sitting in the conference room watching something on the tv.

He walked over and rapped his knuckles on the open door a couple times before stepping in.

“Hey what’re you doing?” Jim chuckled a bit as he watched the video of Michael trying to do a backflip.

Pam giggled a bit with him before answering. “Michael is having me review all of his old tapes of the previous Dundies so that he can put together a highlight reel for tonight...” she looked back to the screen only to see Michael trying to sing his version of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. “...so naturally I’m in hell” she finished, hearing Jim snort a bit beside her.

“Well good luck with that, I’m going to go back to my desk and enjoy not having my ears bleed.” Jim laughed a bit at the withered look she gave him and walked away to his desk with a small smile on his face.

Later when he heard Michael award Pam and Roy the “World’s Longest Engagement” dundie on the tapes, and saw Pam get that look on her face, he knew he had to do something. He couldn’t stand seeing her get up there and be humiliated every year, so this time he was going to do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

Jim walked out of Michael’s office, happy that he had been able to convince him to get rid of the “World's Longest Engagement” dundie. He had barely taken two steps when he knocked right into Pam, nearly causing her to fall in the process.

He quickly reached out and grabbed her upper arms to steady her and her hands rested on his elbows. He had been frantically apologizing and asking if she was okay when he noticed the peculiar look on her face.

“Pam? Pam I just nearly ran over you, are you okay?” his face warped into one that matched hers unknowingly, his eyebrows scrunching up and raising in concern.

Pam tried to hide the fact that she was about to cry, but she knew he could tell anyway. She had been about to walk into Michael’s office and tell him that she was done with the tapes for the day when she overheard his and Jim’s conversation.

She couldn’t believe he had done that for her. She had never even told him how much that had bothered her and he still went out and did one of the sweetest things for her.

And all she could think was “Roy would have NEVER done that for me...never”

It all came crashing down on her at once. The fighting, his constant flirting and checking out other women, his laziness, the lack of effort he put into their relationship, his disregard of her thoughts and feelings, and how he kept pushing back their wedding day.

Everything from the past three years. All at once.

She was shaking, feeling as if she was about to scream or vomit, or both, when Jim had run into her.

Feeling his warm hands on her arms and seeing the concern for her on his face broke her.

It broke her because when was the last time Roy had looked at her like that? When was the last time Roy had cared for her the way Jim did all the time?

When did she start wanting so badly to spend time with Jim instead of Roy?

Pam’s head started to spin and she must have gone pale because the next thing she knew, Jim was saying something over his shoulder to Michael and guiding her out of the office. He walked with his arm around her right shoulder and his free hand on her left arm until they reached the entrance to the roof.

Jim noticed the realization of where they were seemed to be enough to get her out of shock. He had seen that she needed to get away and had told Michael that Pam was sick and he was going to take her home.

Which he fully intended to do.

But first he wanted to take her somewhere he knew she could talk freely about what had been on her mind.

Jim bent down to look her in her eyes while still gently holding onto her arms. “Hey? You think you can climb this?” he gestured towards the metal ladder that led to the roof. Pam didn’t say a word but looked him in the eye and nodded. He stepped back and made sure she got up okay before climbing up himself.

They sat down in two lawn chairs he had brought up for them once before. This had been their spot for years. Almost since they had both been at Dunder Mifflin. They sat their in silence for a while before Pam said something.

“I don’t think I love him anymore.” It was barely a whisper but Jim had heard her, and he felt his heart leap into his throat when she said it. He didn’t really know what to say and what he wanted to say certainly wasn’t appropriate at the moment, (something along the lines of “Hell yeah, leave his lazy ass and be with me!) so he just sat there with wide eyes.

Pam simply looked out over the trees as she thought about what to say next. She didn’t really know where to start so she just started talking. Suddenly it was all spilling out of her and she was up and pacing, waving her arms around.

“It’s just Roy barely puts for the effort to pretend to care anymore! He’s controlling and demanding and just acts as if I’m his mother and I should do everything for him! He never cared for me the way you do, even in the beginning, and God! Why can’t he be more like you?! Someone thoughtful and smart and can make me laugh so hard my sides hurt. Someone who knows everything about me and just CARES. All he does is drink beer and watch tv and when he’s not doing that he’s going out to the bar doing God knows what until past midnight! He talks about how hot other girls are IN FRONT OF ME and then doesn’t understand why that makes me upset! He ALWAYS disregards my feelings and my thoughts and my opinions and my dreams, just EVERYTHING. He’s lazy with everything in our relationship and I just…” by this point Pam had started crying, sobbing in between words, and gasping for breath. “I just can’t do it anymore Jim...I just don’t love him anymore.” She dropped her hands and her shoulders slumped. She looked exhausted and miserable.

Jim had been fighting the urge to jump up and wrap his arms around her from the beginning, but he had let her pace and rant with tears in his eyes the whole time. He didn’t know if they were from sadness or relief though. It killed him to see Pam this upset, but he hadn’t missed the part of her speech where she kept wishing for Roy to be more like him. She wanted to be with someone like him. He had no plans to rush her or push her though, he didn’t want to spook her and she obviously needed a friend right now.

Jim stood and walked the couple steps over to her, wrapping his arms around her. Usually he would wait for her to hug him like this, but it seemed like it was worth the risk right now. Pam seemed to have no problem with it, as she curled up into him with her hands on his chest and her face pressed into his neck.

His arms moved with her sobs and pulled her close. “Hey, hey it’s okay. You’ll figure this out okay? And I’ll be here to help you as much as you want. It’ll all be okay I promise.”

Her voice came out muffled from his chest but he still heard her. “I wasted eight years of my him. I’m so stupid.”

“Hey! Listen to me, you are in no way stupid. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. You were in love with him, and it’s not like you wasted your whole life on him. You get to have a fresh start, that’s always awesome. And I’m gonna be here for you the whole way alright?” He rubbed her back as he spoke, trying to chose his words carefully so that he didn’t reveal just how happy he was she was over with him.

Pam pulled away, the full realization of what she was saying washing over her.

Eight years. Eight years of her life and she was going to throw it all away in a moment.

“Jim...how am I going to do this? I...I don’t know if I can do this.”

Jim felt his heart drop down into the floor. Every ounce of hope she had given him in the past fifteen minutes just dashed away in a sentence. He swallowed hard and looked down at the ground. “Pam...I’m not going to tell you what to do okay? This is up to you. But if you do decide that you don’t want to be with him anymore...if that’s what you decide I know that you are strong enough to do it.”

Pam seemed to hear him but just looked off into the air with tears in her eyes. She felt numb, so she simply nodded her head. “I think I just need some time to think all of this through”

“Yeah...yeah of course.”

Jim and Pam had climbed down from the roof in silence. They’d said goodbye in the lobby as Roy came along and swept Pam away to his truck.

She looked just as numb as she felt but Roy didn’t seem to notice, so when he tried to kiss her she turned and made sure he only got her cheek. Roy didn’t seem to notice her reluctance to kiss him either.

But Jim did.

He noticed everything.

And once again he felt like maybe he’d have a chance with the girl he was in love with.

For anyone paying attention, the ride back to Roy and Pam’s apartment would have obviously been an awkward one.

However Pam was the only one in the truck who really noticed.

The Dundies were at six thirty so they didn’t really have much time to get ready, let alone argue again.

And yet Roy seemed to want to pick a fight as soon as they got inside.

“Pammy do we really have to go to this stupid office thing of yours? That idiot boss of yours gets on my nerves.”

Pam rolled her eyes but kept her cool. “Roy come on, we said we’d go. Plus it’s free food and drinks. That’s always something you love”. At the mention of free drinks, Roy seemed to perk up a bit and got ready without much protest. There was still an obvious tension that hung in the air but the two chose to ignore it.

When they got into the Chilis the Dundies had already started. Pam spotted Jim and waved, smiling as he gave her a slight smile and wave himself. The thought popped into her head that she wished she could sit with him rather than Roy and Daryl, but she brushed it away quickly.

Pam knew that she had to pick the right time to tell Roy that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be with him anymore. A very small part of her wanted him to try and win her back. She just wanted him to show some effort.

The other part of her though, that part knew that there wouldn’t be any change. Even if he showed a little bit of improvement at first, there would be no difference in the long run.

Pam chose to talk to him about it tonight after the Dundies, knowing that the weekend would give her enough time to figure out her living situation.

Pam finally focused back on what was going on around her, only to hear Daryl speaking to Roy.

“Hey, let’s go to Poor Richards”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

Michael noticed the two warehouse men gathering up to leave immediately. “Um..Hey guys, where are you going? Pam, come on the show’s just getting started.”

“Sorry…”

Feeling a bit called out Pam didn’t really know what to do, so she gathered her coat and followed Roy out to his truck.

Jim watched as Pam walked out of the Chilis, feeling his stomach drop a bit in disappointment. Ryan leaned over and whispered so that Michael wouldn’t hear. “Hey man are you staying?”
Jim hesitated. “Um, yeah, gotta eat somewhere.”

Pam jogged a bit to catch up with Roy outside as he stalked towards the truck.

“Roy. Roy! Come on really?”

Roy turned on her, obviously angry.

“What do you mean ‘really?’ Come on the only good thing about that stupid event is the one award he gives us every year, it’s just not worth it!”

Pam stood there in shock, mouth gaping. He really saw that as the redeeming quality of these award ceremonies? Something that humiliated her? Something in her snapped and she started yelling.

“Really Roy?! THAT’S what you like about this?! God I can’t believe you sometimes!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! It’s a fucking funny joke why’re you being such a bitch about this?!” Roy yelled right back at her and started to walk towards the truck.

Pam followed him and yelled on.

“Because that’s what happens every time!”

“Well yeah he’s a jackass!”

She couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Every year Roy! He humiliates me every year!”

Roy ignored her, grabbing her arm and yanking on her. “Come on get in the truck we’re going to Poor Richards”

Pam jerked her arm out of his grip and yelled back at him “No! No, I don’t wanna go. I’m not going!”

Roy yelled after her as she started back towards the Chilis. “Pam, no!”

“No, you know what, if you had asked me, then you would know!”

Pam stopped and stared, thinking about the situation she was in.

Now. She had to do this now.

“Roy...God I can’t do this anymore-” Roy cut her off

“Yeah Pam I’m tired of fighting too, lets just go-”

“No, Roy...I mean I can’t do US anymore.” she took a deep breath as she finally got the words out, watching to mix of horror and anger settle onto Roy’s face.

“What? Pam are you fucking kidding me right now!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? You know what no, no, you’re just tired. You’re just getting cold feet. Come on Pammy let’s just go home and we can talk this out.”

Pam sighed as she came to the full realization that he wasn’t going to make this easy.

“Roy, no. This isn’t something we can just talk out...I don’t love you anymore. And I don’t think you love me anymore either! We aren’t the same people we were in high school Roy, we’re not!”

She saw as Roy’s sad and pitiful face morphed back into pure rage.

“Is there someone else? Is it Halpert? I swear to God I’ll kill him!” Roy started to walk but towards the Chilis, but Pam caught him and pushed him back.

“Roy, NO! There isn’t anyone else! Okay, stop!”

Roy shoved her backwards. Hard.

Pam fell and hit the ground. She hit her head on the gravel, and when she sat up a bit she felt the world spin.

Roy was still yelling, but everything sounded fuzzy.

He had never pushed her before. Never hit her before either, but when she looked up, Pam managed to make out the fuzzy image of Roy’s fist hurtling towards her.

Jim had been walking to the bathroom when he heard the shouting. He hesitated a bit before walking out of the Chilis towards the parking lot.

He almost threw up at the sight in front of him.

Pam. On the ground, her head bleeding.

And Roy, standing above her with his fist raised.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Jim was sprinting full speed towards the two.

He slammed into Roy and knocked him to the ground. He only had to punch him twice before Roy passed out. Jim jumped up and ran over to Pam, skidding to a stop beside her.

“PAM! Pam, oh my God, are you okay?! What the hell did he to do to you?!”

The dazed look on Pam’s face terrified him, and she wobbled a bit as he helped her sit up.

Pam could see that it was Jim who had helped her up, but she could barely make out what he was saying. He head was pounding and her stomach was rolling. She was terrified still but felt one hundred times safer with Jim around.

“..roy..he-....he tried to...broke up wi’ him….got really angr…” the choppiness of her voice confused her and made Jim feel as if he would die. He sat down on the ground next to her and pulled her closer to him.

“Okay Pam stay with me okay? I need you to stay awake and I’m gonna call the police.”

Pam’s head slumped against his chest, but he heard her mumble a weak “okay”

“911, What’s your emergency?”

“Hello? Yes, this is Jim Halpert, my...uh my friend and her ex-fiance just got into a fight and he pushed her. She hit her head really hard and I need an ambulance at the Chilis on uh...375 Wilkes Barre Boulevard, please!” Jim was frantic, but tried to keep his voice from shaking as he described what he knew to the operator.

“Okay Jim, keep calm for me alright? I’ve got an ambulance and a patrolling officer on their way to you right now, it’ll be about five minutes. I’m gonna need you to keep your friend awake okay?”

Jim did as he was told and made sure Pam kept her eyes open. Just as the operator said the ambulance and police officer arrived five minutes later. He described what he knew to the officer. He was told that he did the right thing in defending Pam and was left to watch as they loaded her into the ambulance. By now a crowd had started to gather, people having heard the sirens from inside.

Dwight was knocking on the window of the police cruiser where Roy had been detained, trying to investigate him.

Michael was crying and trying to yell at Pam in the ambulance that everything would be okay, which Jim thought was oddly sweet.

Everyone else was just standing there in shock, not really willing to believe what they were seeing.

Jim barely noticed as the EMTs started waving him over.

“Sir? Would you be up to riding with us? Miss. Beesly is asking you.”

Jim nodded and jogged over to the ambulance, jumping up inside just as they closed the doors.

Pam was laying on the stretcher, an oxygen mask on her face and an EMT leaning over her pressing gauze to the gash on her forehead. Jim felt the tears gathering in his eyes as he looked at her. She looked so small and he felt useless. He knew how cheesy that sounded, even in his own head, but there were no truer words that could be said.

Except maybe that he was terrified for the woman he loved more than anything.

Just then Pam’s eyes seemed to focus on him, and she reached out to grab his hand in hers.

Her voice was weak but it was there. “Jim..?”

He smiled as well as he could through the tears fighting their way to his cheeks.

“Hey there Beesly. How’re ya feeling?”

“Heh...I’ve had worse. You should see the other guy” Jim smiled a bit at the fact that even with a concussion Pam Beesly was still determined to make jokes. He decided to go along for both their sakes.

“Yeah really? Damn I’d hate to see the face of the poor sap who picked on Pam Beesly.”

Pam smiled along with him and squeezed his hand a little tighter. Her face turned more serious not too long after.

“I just wanted to thank you. I really don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t-”

“Hey...hey don’t think about that. And don’t thank me for that okay? I couldn’t just stand there and let him-” Jim’s voice cracked. He had to stop and take a deep breath before he could go on.

“I would never let anyone hurt you like that.”

Pam smiled a bit again at that.

“Yeah...I know.”

And with that, the ambulance doors opened to the ER wing.

After spending several hours in one of the ER’s temporary rooms being examined and having tests run, Pam was admitted to the hospital. The doctors told Jim and Pam that she had a moderate concussion and a broken wrist, which she probably had gotten trying to catch herself when she fell. Thankfully she didn’t seem to have any swelling or bleeding of the brain so they were planning just to keep her for a couple days for observation.

Pam had fallen asleep pretty quickly after the doctors gave her some pain-killers for her  wrist. Jim had stepped outside afterwards and called Pam’s parents, letting them know what had happened and where Pam was admitted. They thanked him for taking care of her and told him they would be there tomorrow.

Now Jim prepared himself for what was definitely going to be a trying phone call.

Letting Michael know what was going on.

Jim took a deep breath as he held the phone to his ear yet again. The phone only rang twice before a frantic Michael answered.

“Jim! Oh my God what happened?! Is Pam okay? Ohhh myyy God she’s dead isn’t she?! Oh God!! Jim why aren’t you crying, Pam is DEAD THIS IS HORRIBLE”

“Oh my God Michael, Pam is NOT DEAD. She has a concussion and the doctors are keeping her for a couple days for observation that's all. Roy pushed her and was about to punch her when I tackled him. The police took him in after taking my statement and are coming by later to talk to Pam. I was just calling to let you know that Pam and I won’t be in at work on Monday. I’m gonna help her move out of her place with Roy and get settled in her new place.”

Michael seemed to grow more serious and calm as Jim went on and was in full on concerned-boss-mode as soon as Jim finished.

“Alright, yeah of course, both of you take a few days off to get things settled. Don’t worry about losing a sick day or anything, I’ll make sure you get paid time off. Jim be sure to let Pam know that we all love her and that Roy - dammit Roy!” Michael heaved a huge sigh and let out one of his signature yells of exasperation before continuing. “Roy won’t be here when she comes back is what I was trying to say. Damn this is gonna be so much paperwork, uuuuggghhh!...Take care of our girl Jim. I mean I’m not worried, anyone with eyes can see how in love with her you are, it’s almost gross….just...take really good care of her.”

Jim couldn’t help but smile a little. “Uhh thanks Michael...and I will. I promise. See you soon.” Jim snapped his phone shut and went to grab some sodas before heading back to Pam’s room. Grape for himself and a Coke for Pam.

When he walked in Pam was still asleep. He couldn’t blame her, she’d had a really long day. Seeing her laying in a hospital bed with her wrist all bandaged up and an IV in her arm...it was really hard for him. She just looked so small in that bed, so fragile. He couldn’t stop picturing her on the ground, with Roy’s huge fist rushing towards her. He’s thinks he may actually vomit if he thinks about what may have happened if he didn’t get there in time. What Roy may have done to her.

He feels like he almost lost her today and it scares the hell out of him. The only comfort he has now is knowing that Roy is locked up and she’s gonna be okay.

Jim pulls the surprisingly comfortable hospital chair over to the side of Pam’s bed, and holds her good hand in his while he watches over her. He brushes the back of his fingers across her cheek, admiring her face without all of her hair draped over it.

Pam’s assigned nurse, Madison, had offered to help Pam get her hair out of her face earlier, and had very gently pulled it up into a messy bun when Pam accepted.

Jim had though his heart might stop when she did it. He had never seen Pam with her hair up before. He thought it might be one of his favorite ways to see her.

He’s not sure when he falls asleep, but the next thing he knows he wakes up to the feeling of someone’s hand in his hair. Jim lifts his head from where he fell earlier on Pam’s hospital bed. When he looks up he sees Pam with a weak smile on her face. Jim instantly jumps up and grabs her hand in his.

“Oh my God Pam, hey how are you feeling?” his voice came out rushed and frantic and Pam giggles at him.

The giggling turns into full on hysterics.

Okay so the pain-killers haven’t worn off.

“I’mmm doooin GRRREAT! Ha I’m a tiger. Grrrr!”

Jim tries to stifle a laugh at Pam’s drunk-like-behavior. He’s never seen her this loopy before and it’s already turning into quite the show.

Suddenly Pam gasps. “Oh my God Jim! I never got my dundie! I wonder what it was gonna be?! Aww I miss my dundie. Hey, Jim, do you think my dundie misses me? What do you think my dundie is doin right now?” Pam flumps back into her pillow as she babbles on, looking up wistfully at the ceiling of the hospital room. Jim just laughs and prepares himself to try and get Pam to settle back down.

“Tell you what. I’ll call Michael tomorrow and see if he’ll tell me what it is. Although he may want to come present it to you himself.” Jim talks low and quiet as he pulls the covers up over Pam’s shoulders, but at the mention of a presentation, Pam sits back up in excitement.

“Oh my gosh that would be so fuuunnn!! Call Michael and have him come finish the Dundies HERE, it’ll be so much FUN!”

Jim makes a mental note to remind Pam she said that.

And to NEVER let her live it down.

“Alright Pam, sounds good.”

“Jim, I just wanna thank you. You saved me. God saved me. Jim I feel God in this Hospital tonight, don’t you?”

Jim smiles a bit at her wide-eyed look. He takes a second to thank God for putting this wonderful woman in his life, loopy and otherwise.

“Yeah. I do. Now come on, try to get some rest.” Pam lays back down and Jim takes his place in his chair beside her bed. It’s silent all of five minutes when Pam speaks up again.

“Jim?”

“Yeah Pam?”

“Are you in love with me?”