She hears a faint “Hey, you okay?” from Brian.

She doesn’t respond.  She simply grabs the phone and dials the number.  The cameras catch her leaving the message, and they shut off after she hangs up again.

She can’t stop crying.

Jim’s just tired.

Tired of having to scramble, tired of having to look for investors, tired of having to compromise with the others.

Tired of being away from his family.

So he decides to throw out a name that could probably, hopefully, give them the funding they need: David Wallace.  There’s a collective sigh of relief.

Now he’s just had to throw David under the bus in order for them to even survive.  Perfect.

He gets back to his desk and sees a message on his cell.  It’s Pam.  He doesn’t know if he should be relieved or annoyed.  In any case, he gives it a listen.

[“I-I’m sorry to call back, I know you’re at a meeting, I just… what am I doing wrong, Jim?  I just keep trying and trying but I didn’t know that it was gonna be this hard… *sniffle* I’ll let you go, I shouldn’t have called.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”]

He nearly had to sit down.  He knows Pam’s a crier, any soft-spoken artist wildflower would be.  But to know that he’s the one who made her cry… it hurts.  It hurts like he’s never felt before.  How could he do this to her?  And over what, a recital?  There’ll be ten thousand more.  It was an honest mistake, and he took all of his frustrations out on her.

He calls her cell.  Naturally, she doesn’t pick up, so all he says is, “Hey Pam, um… I’ll be home as soon as I can.  We need to talk.”

And he leaves it at that.

Colin catches this from afar, and has to make a phone call himself.

It’s nearly midnight when he finally gets home.  He walks in the living room to see Pam on the couch in her PJs, trying to watch TV and failing.

“Hey,” he quietly greets.

She looks at him, noticing how uncomfortable he looks, “Hi.”

“You waited up.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she answers honestly and turns the TV off, “You said you wanted to talk?”

He’s not even sure how to begin, “I’m sorry.”

”No, I’m sorry,” she shakes her head, annoyed with herself, “I shouldn’t have called you back.”

“No, I… shouldn’t have made you cry in the first place.”

She knows he’s being honest, but she hates how awkward, how stilted this conversation is.  They used to tell each other anything and everything.  Now, though…

“I was just under a lot of pressure and—”

“And I’m not?”  Her response is cutting, almost purposefully so.

He’s confused by that, “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” she asks, getting up off the couch, “Do you realize how much I’ve been doing without you?  Everything.  When you were having your meeting with Doctor J, I didn’t check Cece’s hair for lice, and it got in the office.  I had to buy mayonnaise to put in people’s hair, Jim.  Meredith shaved her own head.”  He’d laugh if the situation wasn’t so serious.  “And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

And it hits him: this happened all the while he was having the time of his life with his childhood hero.  He could have helped her, supported her, but no.  Better to play ball with Doctor J instead.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I don’t want to stress you out, I’m trying to make sure you’re happy.”

“Pam, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the kids.”

“Do you?” she keeps at it, “Do you know why I didn’t get the recital?”

“No.”

“Senator Lipton called me and commissioned me to do the mural for the Irish Cultural Center.”

This annoys him, and she can tell.  “You answered your phone in the middle of a recital?”

“Yes, and I know I shouldn’t have.  But it was the best thing that’s happened to me all day.  I wanted to share the news with you and we could have celebrated together, but no.  You had to snap at me.”

“Pam, how many times do I have to say ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Dammit, Jim, I know you’re sorry.”  She keeps her voice down to not wake up the kids, but she wants to yell.  “But this isn’t you.  You’re not like this.  This job, this situation, is making you like this.”

He knows this, but tries to get through to her, “Look, things are tough right now, but they—”

“For how long?” she snaps, “How long will they be ‘tough?’  Because this, what’s happening right now, isn’t ‘tough,’ it’s unbearable.”

“What do you want from me, Pam?” he asks, infuriated, “I’ve had to make so many sacrifices so we can have something we all want.”

She gets offended, “First of all, you’re not the only one making sacrifices here.  And also, something we all want?  The only thing I want is things to go back to the way they were, before all of this happened.”

“So, what, you want me to just quit and go back to being stuck in some dead-end job?”

“Maybe I do.”

There it is.

She just put it out there that she probably doesn’t want this bright future that they can have.  She knows he’s trying so damn hard to push past all the BS and finally get to the point where they can finally be happy, together, but none of this is making her happy.

It’s not making him happy, either.

“Alright,” he simply says, “Then I’ll quit.”

Pam realizes he’s serious, and it kind of freaks her out.  “Jim, wait,” she backtracks, “I-I didn’t mean it.”

“You did mean it.”  His response isn’t accusatory or hurtful, but it’s the truth.

“No, I didn’t,” she lies, “I’m just tired and frustrated and—”

“So am I,” he interrupts, “It’s this damn job.  The two of us, we never talk anymore, and every time we do, we just fight.  God, Pam, tonight, hearing you cry… it was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.  And it wasn’t even the crying, it’s that it was my fault,” his eyes start to water, “Being away from you and the kids, it hurts, Pam.  It hurts like you wouldn’t believe.  It’s not worth it anymore,” he slowly walks up to her and gently holds her cheek, “I miss you.”

This simple gesture is the first time they’ve shared any physical affection all week.

Her own eyes start to water, “I miss you, too.”

And they kiss.  It almost feels like Casino Night, Jim thinks, him trying to reach out, begging, pleading.  Pam, thinking the same thing, deepens the kiss, wanting to say so much but having no idea where to even begin.  After they separate, they just hold each other for dear life, both of them fearing that the other will let go.

“I don’t wanna fight anymore,” she finally says.

“Me, neither.”

“Can we sit down and talk instead?”

He can actually feel himself smiling, “Certainly.”

They walk over to the couch, Pam leading Jim by the hand.  As they sit down, he jumps up slightly, realizing that he nearly sat on one of Cece’s dolls.  It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it makes him laugh.  Pam wants to chuckle, and she usually would, but she’s too tired to even emote, and he picks up on it.  He starts after he gently tosses the doll to the side.

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” he tells her, holding her hands with his, “Be honest with me.”

She’s finally honest, “I understand you’re busy and I don’t want to stress you out more than I already have.  The frustrating part is I’ve just been doing everything by myself.  And Mom helps, but she can only do so much.  It’s too much to handle.  And when you’re here… I don’t feel like you’re really ‘here.’”

He nods, “Right.”  He knows it’s true, the job has required his full and undivided attention, attention away from his family, from the ones he’s doing this for.

“But I know you’re doing this for us and I’m super thankful for that,” she acknowledges, “But having to do everything without you…”

“To be honest, I never realized you were going through so much,” he says, “I’m just so concerned about the company and it’s longevity.”

“And I get that.  But it’s like I’ve had to sacrifice my own happiness for yours.  And I know you’re not doing that on purpose, but…” she trails off.

“You should never have to sacrifice your happiness for mine.”  He then considers something he would rather not be possible.  “Pam, I want you to be completely honest with what I’m about to ask.”

“Okay.”

“Do you really want me to keep at this?  Do you want to move to Philly?”

She can’t keep lying to him, or herself.  She has to be honest, even if it hurts.

“I… No, I don’t.”

“Why?”  He doesn’t seem angry or offended at all.  He simply wants to know.

“Because everything has become such a mess, and honestly…” the truth comes out, “I like our life in Scranton.”

She never said anything because some part of her shared his hope that their life in Philly will be just as perfect and idealistic as he kept saying it’d be.  But she just doesn’t want that.  She’d rather live her boring life rather than support him and his passion, his baby, something he put all this time into.  Despite all the times he’s supported her.  She’s clearly shown him how selfish she is.

It hurts.

“Okay,” he considers it, and after a few seconds, “Then we’ll stay in Scranton.”

She’s floored.  He’s really willing to give this up for her.

“Are you sure?” she asks hurriedly.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

All she can do is nod back, “Okay.”  She doesn’t resist, she doesn’t stop him, because this means she can have her Jim back.

“I’ll talk to the guys today and tell them that I have to bow out,” he explains, “They may want to meet with me the next couple of days just so they can find a replacement.”

“Right,” she understands that.  She can deal with that if it means having him back.

“Then I’ll call David and let him know.  Need to talk to Phyllis and Stanley about my clients.”

His clients.  He’ll have to get back into sales, the very thing he wanted to escape from.  She’s taking that escape away from him.

She needs to show her appreciation, “Thank you for doing this.  I know this isn’t easy.”

If he was honest, he’d admit this isn’t easy, but she’ll never know that.  He doesn’t love everything about Athlead, but it’s fun and new and it’s the first time he’s ever cared about work.  But he shouldn’t care about work right now.

“That doesn’t matter to me,” he says honestly, “You’re the only thing that matters, Pam.  I can’t apologize enough for putting you through this.”

His sincerity pierces her, “It’s okay, Jim.”

“No, it’s not,” he has to hold back tears again, “I promise you I’ll never put you in this position again.  From now on, we’ll make these decisions together.”

Together.  Just as it should have been from the start.

She can feel the thousands of pounds fall from her shoulders, “Thank you,” she says in relief.

“I gotta go back to Philly, but I’ll be at work this afternoon,” he embraces her and gives her another deep kiss, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

After a small smile, he departs, hopefully for the last time.

She decides to go back to bed, knowing that she’s still not going to get any sleep before her alarm goes off.

Jim plays the scenario over and over again, trying to figure out how to do this as easily and as smoothly as possible.  He soon realizes that none of this will be smooth or easy.  In fact, this is going to suck.

Athlead really was a mistake.

He calls an emergency meeting with Wade, Colin, Isaac, and Sandra.

“Jim, what’s this about?” Colin asks.  Out of everyone here, he probably already knows.

“Look, there’s no easy way to say this so here it is,” Jim takes a deep breath, “I’ve decided to resign as Vice President of New Acquisitions.”

Colin just nods.  As for the others, their breaths are taken away, as to be expected.

“What?  When?” Sandra asks.

“Effective immediately.”

“Jim, you can’t do this,” Wade begs.

“I have to.”

“What, is this about David Wallace?” Isaac asks, “We can find another—”

“No, it’s not that, it’s…” he’s not sure if he should reveal anything.

“It’s about Pam, isn’t it?”

All of them look at Colin, who already guessed.

The rest turn back to Jim, who looks down and admits something, “When all of this started, we agreed that I wouldn’t join the company.  We don’t have the money, and I’ve been gone for so long that...” he sighs, “All we’ve been doing is fight, and I’m tired of it.  And so is she.”

“Jim, this could be an amazing opportunity, for all of you,” Sandra points out, “Besides, we know you’re doing this for her.”

“And I mentioned that, but—”

“Think about what you’d be giving up,” Wade tells him.

The temptation to stay was getting easier by the second, “I have thought about it, a lot.  But none of this is worth giving up—”

“Are you really going to have your wife dictate your life for you?”

Now all eyes are on Isaac, who makes a face like he instantly regrets what he just said.

Now Jim is pissed.  Isaac believes that he is so whipped to the point that he’s giving up this whole thing because “wifey said so.”  The guy who’s never been married knows his wife better than him, apparently.  Jim knows the man is his friend and is looking out for him, but right now, he’s acting like a douche.

“No, Isaac, I’m not,” Jim makes clear, “She’s not dictating anything.”

“Jim—”

“This is my choice,” Jim’s tone rises, “I’m choosing to be there for my wife and kids because they’re what’s important to me.”

“Jim, settle down,” Colin interrupts.  Jim exhales and relaxes.  “Look, I don’t want to upset you or anything, but… I’ve prepared for this.”

Jim’s confused, “Really?”

“I spoke to a former business partner of mine from my old firm,” Colin explains, “He mentioned to me that he’d love to work in advertising, specifically in acquisitions.  Knowing him, he’ll be the perfect candidate for your position.”

“Do you need me here to show him the ropes?” Jim asks.

“That won’t be necessary,” Colin reassures.

Now Jim feels guilty, “Guys, I… I can’t apologize enough for this.  I feel like I’ve wasted your time.”

There’s a silence before Wade speaks up, “Look, I might not agree with your decision, but I understand where you’re coming from.”

“Besides, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have gotten this far,” Sandra comments, “We actually have a shot at this and we have you to thank for that.”

“You’re a good man, Jim,” Colin says with a smile.

Jim smiles back, “Thanks guys.”

Isaac says nothing, he’s too embarrassed.

The meeting adjourns, and Jim shakes everyone’s hand, thanking them for the opportunity, even Isaac, who offers Jim a sincere apology.  Jim thinks nothing of it.

He spends the rest of his shift crafting a farewell email to send to the rest of his (now former) employees.  After it’s sent, he decides to just leave quietly with no fanfare or goodbye party.  He’s already out the door when

“Jim!”

It’s Darryl.

“I guess you read the email?” Jim asks.

“Man, I just hope you don’t regret it.”

“I’m not,” Jim says, “I need to do this.  For Pam.  I... I feel like I’m losing her.”

“Are you kidding?” Darryl’s surprised by that, “You two’ll be just fine.”

Jim wants to believe him.  He wants everything to work out so he won’t have to give this up.  But Darryl isn’t privy to everything that’s happened between them, he’s just an outsider looking in.  Jim understands that, and he wouldn’t wish this situation on him or anyone else.

“Look, we got into a huge fight last night.  The worst one we’ve ever had.  I just miss her, and I miss the kids, and they miss me, too.  I love this job, but I’d rather lose this over them.”

Darryl finally seems to understand, “Alright,” he gives Jim a powerful handshake, “Thank you.  For everything.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.”

“Well, now I gotta find a new roommate.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“No problem.  No offense, but you’re a real slob.”

“Oh, c’mon, I’m not that bad.”

“You used the same cereal bowl three mornings in a row.  Three!”

“I ran water on it before I used it again.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Darryl shrugs, “Say hi to Pam for me.”

“Will do.”

Darryl heads back inside as Jim calls a taxi.

Pam arrives at work as the crew packs up for the week, a normal Friday.  She finds Brian standing by her desk.

She smiles at Brent, who greets her happily.  But really, he’s the farthest thing from happy.  They now have to edit out Brian asking what’s wrong by tampering with the footage.  He gave Brian quite the talking to about interacting with the documentary subjects last night, and Brian just had to stand there and take it, despite how annoyed he is about the whole thing.

But Pam sees it differently.

“Hey Brian, you got a sec?” she asks.

“Yeah, hold on a sec,” he then looks to her.

“I shouldn’t have broken down like that,” she admits, “I feel awful.”

“It’s fine.  It was my first slip up in nine years of miking you.  I felt like I should’ve said something.”

She knows Brian well, he would’ve, but she didn’t need to burden someone else with her problems.  She’s already done that with Jim.  “Thanks for being a good friend,” she tells him.

“Sure, anytime,” he’s curious, “Uh, how about you and Jim?  Everything squared away?”

“Yeah.  Mostly.”

“Pam, phone call,” Erin interrupts their conversation.

“Um, hey, say hi to Alyssa,” Pam tells him.

“Will do.”

“Okay.  Thank you,” she sits down, hoping the phone call will get her mind off of things.

“Sure.”  Brian can’t lie to himself, if it wasn’t for the voicemail, he would have comforted her himself.  Just seeing his friend cry like that… he wanted to drive to Philly himself and kick Jim’s ass.  He knows better than to do that, especially since he’s on hot water with Brent and the others as it is, but he can’t help but be reminded of her time with Roy, how miserable he made her feel.  And now here’s the supposed love of her life, doing the exact same thing.  He wonders if it was worth even telling Jim about her breakdown, given how little he seems to care already.

“Hey, boom guy,” Meredith gets his attention.

“Oh, hey Meredith.”

“When are you gonna boom me?”

Jim’s on the bus when he dials David’s number.  He hopes everything can be smoothed over as quickly as before, but he’ll just have to see.

Surprisingly, David picks up.  “Hey David,” Jim greets.

[“Jim.”]

“Have I caught you in a bad time?”

[“Not at all, what’s up?”]

“That side project I was working on… I decided to quit.”

[“Oh,”] this takes David by surprise, [“Okay.”]

“Yeah.”

[“Well, I was going to have Dwight recruit a junior salesman to cover for you, but it seems like I don’t have to.”]

“Good.”  Knowing Dwight, Jim can only imagine how the hell that would have turned out.

[“Have you talked to Phyllis and Stanley about your clients?”]

“Not yet, I’m on my way back to Scranton now, I’ll do it then.”

[“Great.  But if you don’t mind me asking, what made you decide to quit?”]

Jim pauses, not wanting to say too much but needing him to understand, “You don’t mind if I get a bit personal, do you?”

[“Doesn’t leave this call,”] David reassures.

“As you know, I started working at Athlead’s offices in December, and me being out of town, back and forth… it started to affect my marriage.  I was so focused on making Athlead work that I rarely ever considered Pam and how she feels about it all.  I felt like I was losing her, and-and nothing is worth that.”

David’s response surprises him, [“Well, I gotta tell you, Jim,”] he commends, [“a lot of guys in my circle?  They wouldn’t even change their golf schedule to shore up their marriage, let alone their professional goals.”]

Jim nods, “Yeah.”

“I know I won’t.”  After what Isaac said, Jim now knows he definitely won’t.

But David’s curious, [“So this company, you mentioned that it’s an advertising firm?”]

“Yeah, we—” Jim quickly corrects himself, “they meet with professional athletes directly to discuss how they want to promote themselves.”

[“And you worked in acquisitions?”]

“Yes, sir.”

[“Good to know…”]  Jim can tell that David’s mulling something over from the other line, but he’s not sure what.  [“I’ll keep in touch.”]

Jim’s puzzled, trying to figure out what else David needs to tell him, “Okay, great.”

[“Good talk, Jim.  Have a great rest of your day.”]

“You, too.”  After Jim hangs up, he breathes yet another sigh of relief.

Jim finally arrives at Dunder Mifflin, where he oddly feels at peace.  He walks over to his wife, who gives him a small smile as he pecs her on the lips.

Dwight looks up and down at him as he gets situated, “So, Pam told me you’ve come crawling back.”

“That’s not what I said,” Pam quietly defends herself.

“I wouldn’t say crawling,” Jim jokes as he sits down, “More like…”

“Graveling?”

“Sure.”

“Psh, whatever.”  Dwight tries to convey how little he cares, even though he obviously totally does.

“Well, now I’ll be getting all my clients back,” Jim says proudly, “and then I’ll get even more.”

“Oh, really?” Dwight asks him condescendingly.

“Really.”

Dwight scoffs, “Please.  Like that’ll happen.  You have no drive, no initiative.  All you do is sit there with your gelled hair, making sarcastic quips all day.”

Pam listens to the conversation, trying to keep from breaking down.  He’s right, that is what Jim does all day.  He could be making his own idea a reality.  But no, best to stay here and do nothing because she prefers Scranton, she thinks that Athlead isn’t worth it, and she’s keeping him from his dream.  She breathes out her anxieties, hoping she’ll be fine, but Dwight just has to antagonize Jim one more time.

“You’ll be lucky if you’re out of here by the age of 70.”

She gets up and hurries out the door.

She knows that Jim will follow her down the stairwell, but what should she say to him?  “Sorry I deprived you of this amazing opportunity”?  “Thank you for giving up your passion project for me”?  “I hope you enjoy being in this dead-end job forever”?

She stands there, halfway down, swallowing her emotions and doing everything she can to not break.

“Hey,” he reaches her.

“Hi.”  It’s all she can say to him.

“Are you alright?  What’s going on?”

The concern on his face… she can tell all he wants to do is to help, to prove to her that he loves her and he’ll do anything to make her happy.  But what worries her is that she’s not doing enough to make him happy.  That she isn’t enough.

She can’t stop it at this point, “I’m so sorry, Jim…”

“Hey…” he gathers her in his arms as she starts to cry into his shoulder.  After a bit, they ease away and he gently cups her face to wipe her tears.  “What’s wrong?”

“It-it just hurts,” she laments.

“What hurts?”

“Seeing you give up this huge opportunity for me.”

He’s confused.  This is what she wants, isn’t it?  “Pam, I’m doing it for us.”

“You shouldn’t have to.  You’re so smart and talented and I’m afraid that I’m keeping you from your dream.”

“Pam—”

“I would never want to hold you back, especially after you supported me through Pratt and sales and everything else.  You deserve better than this, Jim, and I’m afraid you’ll realize that and…”

“And what?”

She starts to cry again, “You’ll start to resent me.”

He hugs her again, trying his best to calm her down, wanting to get rid of all this fear and doubt.  How else can he tell her exactly what she needs to hear?  He’s not sure, but he has to try his best.

He pulls back and gently rubs her shoulders as she attempts to control her emotions.  “Pam, listen to me,” he starts, “I could keep working at Athlead.  I could keep busting my ass to gain investments and look for potential clients.  I could keep working with Doctor J and all my childhood heroes.  But I won’t, because none of that means a damn thing if I don’t have you.”

She knows he’s being genuine, he does want her.  But he wants Athlead too (at least part of him does), and she wants to give him that.  She just wishes she had the wherewithal to take on everything like she had to before, knowing it’ll only hurt them both even more if she tried.  But she can’t forget the look in his eye when he first told her about it six months ago, he was so excited.  Despite all the shit he put her through, she wished it would have worked out, too.

“I’m here for you now, like I should have been,” he continues, “I want to be here for you.  The only thing that matters to me, that’s always mattered, is you.”

She looks down, still ashamed of herself, “I just want you to be happy,” she whispers.

“You already make me happy,” he reassures, gently lifting her head up, “This is exactly where I want to be, and even if it takes the rest of our lives, I’ll prove that to you.”  He gives her another kiss, and she realizes how badly she missed this when she returns it.  He then gets an idea, “Hey, how about you let your mom keep the kids tonight so we can spend some time alone?”

“I… I’d like that.”

“And then we can spend the weekend with the kids.  I’ll have my phone off the whole time.”

“That sounds nice.”

He starts to smile, “Doesn’t it?”  She starts to smile as well, the first genuine smile she’s expressed today.  He embraces her yet again, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“And I promise you, everything will be okay.”

He’s said this before, many times before, but this time she believes him.

A few hours later, the workday ends.  Pam, ready to leave, gets up while Jim has to finish one more call.

“One moment, please,” Jim tells the person on the other line.  He turns to Pam, “I’ll meet you downstairs,” he lets her know quietly.  She nods and leaves, just wanting the day to be over already.

Jim wraps up his call and gets up to leave when

“Jim.”

He turns to Dwight.

“Before you leave, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier today.  You make a fine salesman.”

Jim feels like he’s dreaming.  A compliment about his sales… from Dwight?

“Wow.  Thanks, man,” he responds sincerely as he puts on his jacket.

“You’re welcome,” Dwight almost doesn’t want to say this aloud, but he can’t deny it, “And Jim?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s good to have you back.”

Jim smiles, “Good to be back.”

Dwight grants Jim a small smile back as the latter turns around and departs.

Helene happily agreed to keep the kids.  She could almost hear the relief in Pam’s voice as she told her that Jim’s home now, really home.  Cece and Phillip miss their Daddy, but Mommy reassured them both that he’s back and will be around a lot more often.  Cece also gave Pam a great idea, a surprise for Daddy.  She loves it.

As soon as the couple walk in the house, they immediately take to the bed, just so they can sleep the whole day off.  It was only a few hours, but they both feel far more rested afterwards.  When they wake up, they finish off that last DiGiorno pizza before it gets freezer-burned.  Jim’s usually not a fan, but they don’t have the energy to go out and, after all the stress and deadlines, the taste of sauce and cheese on cardboard never felt so heavenly.

It’s 9:15 PM, and Pam can hardly believe that she’s sitting in Jim’s lap, their arms wrapped around each other, mindlessly watching what’s on.  For the past month, she’d feel cold and uncomfortable around this time, but now she’s never felt more at ease.

She kisses his cheek, “I missed this,” she whispers.

“Me, too,” he responds.

She doesn’t want to ruin the mood, but she needs to say something, just so they can get everything out of the way.

“I want to ask you something about work, and then I’ll let it go, I promise.”

“Sure,” he responds casually.

“I was honest with you when I said how I felt about Philly.”

“Right.”

“And I want you to be honest with me.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want to keep working at Dunder Mifflin?”

“…I don’t know,” he answers, “I wouldn’t mind working in another department or something, but being a salesman, it’s just… boring.  Like mind-numbingly boring.  Before I called them and accepted the job, throughout the whole day, I felt trapped.  Like I needed an escape.”

“I never knew you felt that way.”

“I never said anything.  Especially since you seem so happy with our lives here in Scranton.  I guess I went for Athlead because it was something different.  It was new and exciting and something I’ve always dreamed of.  And it was, for a while.  Despite all the fun I had, the longer I worked, the more hectic it was.  I was under constant stress.  I actually had to keep tabs on my blood pressure.”

“Really?  It was that bad?”

“Yeah,” he admits, “I’m definitely not going to miss sales if I decide to move on, but part of me isn’t going to miss Athlead, either.”

Pam gets a determined look on her face, “Well, you will move on,” she says, “I’m not about to let you stay at a boring job for the rest of your life.  You said that you’re not gonna sacrifice my happiness for yours, but I’m not about to let you sacrifice your happiness for mine, either.”

“I’m not sacrificing anything.  I’m fine where I am.”

“You deserve better than ‘fine,’ Jim.  Let’s look for something you’d love, something that you can be proud of.  I know there’s not a lot of options here in Scranton, but there’s gotta be—”

“Pam, baby,” he stops her running thoughts, “I appreciate it.  I really do.  But for the next 48 hours, I don’t even want to think about my job, either of them.  It’s been weeks since I’ve got to spend any time with my wife and kids and I wanna spend as much time with all three as I can before I have to get up Monday morning.  So let’s just table the discussion for now, okay?”

She starts to smile again, “Okay.”  Considering the past 24 hours, she agrees that it’s better to just not speak about it for a while.

“Good, because there are other activities we could be doing right now,” he gives her that smile, the one she can’t get enough of.

“Oh?” she asks playfully, “And what other activities would those be?”

“Allow me to show you.”  He carries her back to their bedroom, her giggling all the way.

“Daddy!”

Little Cecelia, wearing her puffed-up purple coat and bows in her hair, runs in the arms of her father as soon as her feet touch the ground, completely ignoring her mother.  Pam wasn’t offended, she knew how badly Cece missed him.

Jim kneels down and embraces his daughter, squeezing her tightly, and gives her a big kiss on her cheek.  “I missed you so much,” he says.

“I missed you,” she says happily.

As Jim gets back up, Pam walks over with Phillip, all bundled up.  “He missed you, too,” she says, handing over their son to him and smiling wide.

“Hey, buddy,” he whispers to him.  Phil coos in response, resting his head on Jim’s shoulder.  He nearly cries, realizing how close he was to losing all of this.  The very sight of this has Pam barely holding back tears herself.  “Come on, let’s get you two inside,” he says.

Cece hurries to the front door and Jim’s close behind, Phil in tow.  Helene walks up to Pam and she hugs her.

“Thank you so much, Mom.”

“Of course, I’m glad I could help,” as the ease away, Helene asks, “How are things?”

“Things are… better,” Pam reports, “Not a hundred percent, but certainly better than they were.”

“That’s great,” Helene rubs her daughter’s arm in comfort, “You have no reason to feel guilty.”

Pam nods, “I know.”

Soon enough, the Halpert family is gathered in the kitchen, just enjoying each other’s company.

“So, I’m not allowed to know?” Jim asks.

“No, it’s a surprise!” Cece answers while she eats her snack.

“Am I allowed to guess?”

“Okay,” she allows.

“Is it… a new drawing?”

She giggles, “No.”

“Is it a tea party?”

“Nope.”

“Dad, leave her be,” Pam joins in while feeding Phil, “Let it be a surprise.”

“What, you scared that I’ll get it right?”

“Then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, now wouldn’t it?”

“Exactly!” Cece grins.

He chuckles, “Alright, I’ll just wait.”

Afterwards, Pam moves Jim to the couch and Phil on his exercise saucer in the living room.  Pam comes back a few minutes later, walking awkwardly while holding a blanket in front of Cece.

“Need some help there?” he asks with a smirk.

“Shush, Halpert.”  The two ladies finally get into position.  “Gentlemen, I present… the Little Ladybug Ballerina!” Pam moves the blanket and reveals Cece in her ballerina outfit from a few days ago, wings and all.

Jim, knowing this was coming, is still just as elated.

“It was her idea,” Pam says before sitting next to him.  She mentally snapshots Jim’s bright smile.

“Here we go,” he says as she plugs her phone into a couple of speakers and hits play.

As Cece recreates the entire dance (including the Cece Shuffle) impeccably, Jim realizes that missing the recital was a good thing, because this is way better.

The entire weekend was filled with the same type of “family fun” activities Jim usually finds overly-sentimental and cheesy, but the fact that he’s with Pam and the kids is more than enough.

It’s Sunday night, and with the kids in bed, the young couple are already in PJs, her snuggled up against him and lying her head on his chest, with his arm around her.

“Best weekend ever?” she asks him.

“Definitely in the top five.”  They kiss yet again.

“You must be missing the bachelor life right now,” she says.

“Part of me does,” he admits, “but I really needed this weekend.  Plus, I don’t think Darryl would tolerate me as a roommate.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he thinks I’m a slob.”

“Well…”

He rolls his eyes, “Not you, too.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who reuses cereal bowls.”

“I run water over them,” he defends himself.

“Yeah, that gets them clean.”

“It does!”

“You know what really gets them clean, Jim?  Soap.”

“Whatever you say, Beesly.”

Her face falls slightly, “I’m sorry I’ve been such a drama queen.”

“Hey, don’t apologize.  I needed a wake-up call.”

“You did, but I approached the situation all wrong.”

“We both did,” he kisses the top of her head, “We can only move forward from here.”

She nods.  “I know you haven’t given any thought about where you wanna work.”

“Actually, I have.”

“Really?”

“For a little bit.  I figured if Dunder Mifflin gave me any sort of new position, I could stick around, but maybe I could be a marketing consultant for BMI instead.  Or work for a local ad agency,” he’s curious, “Have you ever thought about life after Dunder Mifflin?”

“I really haven’t,” she admits, “I just love what we have here, and I don’t want to risk that.”

“I understand.”  He didn’t before, but he does now.

“But more than that, I want you to be happy, too,” she says, “I know I’ve said this before, but you won’t be a salesman forever.”

“You think so?”

She smiles, “I know so,” she kisses his cheek, “And look, if Dunder Mifflin offers you a great opportunity, don’t hesitate on my account.”

“Well, I promise you, we won’t move until you’re a hundred percent ready.”

Her smile widens, “Thank you.”

Jim sighs contently before he reaches over and turns off his bedside lamp.  They smile at each other as sleep overcomes them.

“I love you.”
“I love you.”

It’s already nine, and Jim finishes another call with one of his regulars when a familiar figure walks in.

Erin’s the first to greet him, “Hi David!”

“Hi Erin, is Jim available?”

“One moment.  Jim!” she gets his attention, “Are you available?”

Jim and Pam look at each other and back at her.  “…Yes,” he answers, like it wasn’t already obvious.

Erin smiles at David, “Yes, he is.”

David raises an eyebrow, “Thank you, Erin,” he walks over to him, “Jim.”

“Hey, David,” Jim smiles as he gets up to shake his hand… and is immediately beaten to the punch by Dwight.

“David!  Good to see you,” he greets.  Both Halperts have to keep from laughing.

David forces a smile as he returns his handshake, “Good to see you, Dwight,” he directs his attention back to Jim, “Conference room?”

“Um, sure,” Jim says.  Pam gives him a concerned look, and he just shrugs in response.

“Certainly,” Dwight tries to join in.  He follows the other two until Jim shoves him away and shuts the door in his face.

“Thank you for that,” David breathes a sigh of relief as he sits down.

“No problem,” Jim smiles as he relaxes in his seat.

“Look, I’ll just cut to the chase,” David starts, “Thanks to Scranton, sales have skyrocketed.  But we don’t want to get complacent.  That’s why we have a bottom-up hybrid marketing team in the works, run by in-house and agency professionals.  We’re still in the planning stages, but we want you to be at the forefront.”

Jim’s jaw drops, “Seriously?”

“Vice President of Advertising.”

Jim tries to take it all in, “I mean, this is a corporate role, David, wouldn’t my family and I have to move to New York?”

“I already accounted for that,” David reassures, “You can stay in Scranton and act as the corporate liaison to the branch.  Of course, you’ll have to travel to New York from time to time, but not for long.  And we’ll provide you all the amenities you need,” David finishes his pitch, “So?  What do you say?”

He’s worried.  He wants to include Pam in this decision, but this could be something great for them.  Sure, it’s not working with Doctor J, but it’s better than what he’s been doing the past decade.  Then he remembers what she told him the night before.

“And, look, if Dunder Mifflin offers you a great opportunity, don’t hesitate on my account.”

“I’ll do it.”

David smiles, “Excellent.  Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you,” Jim smiles back.

“I’ll be staying here for a few hours to help get you situated, but first, go ahead and let your coworkers know.”

“Um, certainly,” Jim’s not sure whether or not any of them will listen, or even care, but he decides to try, leaving the conference room.  Luckily, everyone’s in the bullpen, so no issues there.  “Hey, guys?  Can I have your attention?”

Nothing.

“…Hello?”

Dwight rolls his eyes at him and whistles loudly, getting everyone’s attention, “Jim, you have the floor!” Dwight announces.

“Thank you, Dwight.”  He nods in response.  “Well, as it turns out, I just got promoted.”

There was a collective gasp, as Dwight stands up, “Jim, if you make me Assistant Regional Manager, I promise you that I will be the most loyal and dedicated—”

“I’m not Regional Manager.”

“Oh, thank Christ,” Dwight sits back down.

Jim keeps from rolling his eyes, “Anyway, I’ll be working for a new marketing effort as Vice President of Advertising.”

Pam has a question, “And we won’t have to move?”

“Nope, I’ll be stationed right here in Scranton.  Barring the occasional trip to New York,” he turns his attention back to the rest of the office, “But yeah, that’s it.”  The rest just casually resume their work without giving him any congratulations.  Of course.  “Thanks, guys.”

As Jim returns to his desk, Pam looks at him with those bright eyes he can’t get enough of, “I’m so proud of you.”

He smiles at her, “Thank you.”  She smiles back as he resumes his work.  She then immediately makes reservations to a favorite restaurant of theirs to celebrate.

Jim, surprisingly, enjoys his new job.

He’s moved to the annex, in a new office where Kelly and Ryan’s cubicles used to be.  Though he misses his wife by his side, the fact that she finds any excuse to be with him is enough for the both of them.

His new role isn’t as glamorous as Athlead and it doesn’t pay nearly as well.  But he still got quite the pay raise and is working in a field he’s interested in, even if it’s to sell the most boring thing imaginable.  He works alongside a reputable team to help beef up Dunder Mifflin’s advertising, and despite how disorganized it might be right now, he’s up for the challenge.  He’s actually engaged and cares about his work.

And, not even three days into the job, some BS has to start.

David has made mistakes in the past, but having Dwight recruit Jim’s replacement really takes the cake.  It makes sense in that Dwight is the top-performing salesman of the company, but he’s also far too biased.  And a weirdo.  He just had to invite a whole gaggle of his weirdo friends to interview for the job; the fear (and stench) is so powerful that Pam had to step outside to work on her mural.

Inevitably, much to everyone’s relief, Clark got the job, at the expense of Dwight losing all his friends.  Pam always has a way to make him feel better, which — unfortunately — nearly kills Clark.

“No, it does matter who ends up sitting next to Pam,” Jim explains to the crew, “The people around you are basically who you end up spending your life with.  I mean, because of where my desk was, I spent all those years looking at Pam, and I fell in love.  So, that stuff matters.  Definitely does.”

Brian couldn’t agree more.

“That’s such bull.”

Jim and Pam are now at home, discussing Brian’s altercation with Frank.

“I know, right?”

“What was he supposed to do, just watch you get beaten up by that jerk?”

“Yeah, he saved my life.”

“God…” Jim shakes his head, “I have to call and thank him.”

“I know he’d appreciate that.”

He gets up from the couch to call Brian.  He doesn’t pick up, Jim figured as such, so he left him a short message, thanking him for what he did for Pam in that situation.

A situation, Jim feels, he should have fixed instead.

Today was his first day trip to New York, and though he’s excited about what’s to come, he can’t help but remember when he was with Doctor J while Pam was stuck at home with mayonnaise in her hair, having to console a bald Meredith.

After the call, he comes back and wraps his arm around her, “Again, I’m really sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

She can tell that Jim’s still guilty for everything that’s happened, that he wants to take it all back and be the great father and husband he already is.

“Jim, you were at a meeting,” she reassures him, “An important meeting.  I completely understand.”

“Thank you.  I just… I want you to know that I’m here now.”

She cups his cheek and gives him a tender kiss, “I know you are, baby,” she smiles supportively, “so don’t let this one time get to you, okay?”

“…Okay,” he decides to let it go, “By the way, tell Dwight that I absolutely love the penis he painted.”

“Actually, that was me,” she says with pride.

“No way,” he nearly dies of laughter, “Beesly!  Oh, my God!”

She laughs alongside him.

“At least my crying won’t get you fired.”

Jim can’t let that go.

What if Pam didn’t call him that night?  Would she have confided in Brian?  Would he even know that she cried, or would she have hid it like she did everything else?  Would Brian have told him or just kept it to himself?  Why did she never tell him that Brian asked her if she was okay?  Why did Brian never call him to tell him that Pam was crying?  Brian’s their closest friend out of all the crew members, surely he would’ve said something if she didn’t call, right?

He lets this barrage of hypotheticals keep hitting him on the way back to work, Pam equally as on-edge from the lunch.  They stopped talking to each other for the rest of the workday.

It’s 5:05.  “Ready to go?” he asks her.

“Yeah.”

He hands her a bag, “Happy Valentine’s Day.  Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

She pulls out one of her sketches from her time at Pratt, neatly framed.  “Wow.  I didn’t know you kept this.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She gives him a small smile and embraces him, “Thank you.”

He hugs her back, almost for dear life, “No problem.”

As they pull apart, “What if we just forget about today and enjoy our bottle of wine?” she offers.

“I’d love that,” he says, “but do you mind if we talk before then?  You know, after today?”

Her face falls, “We need to, don’t we?”

He simply nods.

She sighs, “Okay,” they walk out of the office, “Thanks again for the present, I love it.”  Her smile comes back.

So does his, “I’m glad.”  He puts his arm around her as they head to the elevator.

They don’t need to fight anymore, all they need to do is talk.

[“So let me get this straight,”] David asks Andy over the phone, [“You hired a marketing consultant for your branch despite knowing full well that we already have a company-wide marketing team?”]

“Yes, I did.”

[“Why?”]

“…I just felt that—”

[“You know what?  Nevermind.  I don’t need to know why.  Just don’t do it again.”]

“David, have you ever had your heart ripped out of your own rib cage?”

[“…What does that have to do with anything?”]

“Because if you knew half the pain I went through, then you’ll fully understand why I hired that consultant.”

[“Thin ice.”] *click*

Andy just sighs dramatically, and then notices Jim walk in.

“Hey Tuna!” Andy gets his attention, “Thanks for ratting me out to Wallace.”

Jim’s already done, “No Andy, I should be thanking you for making my job harder.  In fact, you should be lucky that I never mentioned to David that the only reason you hired that consultant was because she’s Plop’s ex.”

“Jim—”

“I also never mentioned that you hired and fired Gabe in the span of five hours because he’s Erin’s ex.”

“Look, I understand your frustration,” Andy says, “However, you must understand that Plop is an asshole”
“Andy.”
“who stole the love of my life.”

Jim shakes his head, “Andy… you can’t make her love you.”  With that, he departs to his office, leaving Andy some time to think.

Throughout the day, Pete avoids Andy while Erin just glares at him.

The following weeks were filled with poisoned cupcakes, documentary promos, broken elevators, and paper airplanes.  As time goes by, the Halperts manage to find their footing, and they’ve now become fully themselves again.  Even Jim’s packed schedule never deterred them from focusing on each other.  Everything’s back to the way they should be.  Everything’s perfect.  That is, until…

“DWIGHT SCHRUTE… IS… MANAGER!!!”

Well, now they’re even more perfect.

But then Pam hears about Athlead’s buyout, and it makes her question everything.  She hates that this doubt has taken root in her mind again, because it’s pointless.  He’s happy in Scranton, he’s happy working here, he’s happy.  That’s all that matters.  But… he could be happier.  He could be building a business with all his friends, he could be working with his childhood heroes, he could be in the epicenter of dream job, his baby.  They’re going to make millions of dollars off of his idea.  But instead he’s here, trying to promote paper because that’s all he knows.  That’s all he’s ever known.

Is this really enough?

Is she really enough?

“You are… everything.”

She gets up and embraces him, thanking him, not just for the video and the card, but for everything.

He hugs her back, just as thankful.

A full year passes and, after an absolute whirlwind of a wedding day, the Halperts finally return home (or rather their “old” home) and get ready for bed.

“So, what kind of cake will Dwight be giving you on Monday?” Jim asks, getting under the covers.

“I dunno,” Pam answers, “Hopefully nothing beet-flavored.”

“Hey, at least you’re getting cake.  All I’m getting is a recommendation.”

“You can always ask David for a cake.”

“Nah, he’s busy enough as it is.  Dwight’s still Scranton’s manager, after all.”

She chuckles, “You joke, but you will miss him.”

“Yeah, I will,” after turning off his bedside lamp, he wraps his arm around her as she holds onto him.

“Are you scared?” she whispers.

“Scared of what?” he whispers back.

“Of moving.”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” he thinks out loud, “But look at what we’ve gone through before.  If we managed to survive all of that,” he shrugs, “this won’t be any different.”

“You’re right,” she nods.

“And think of it this way: once the culture shock dies down and we get situated, we get to pursue our passions.”

“You mean our dreams?”

“No, I don’t,” he clarifies with a bright smile, “I already have my dream right here.”

It’s the cheesiest thing he’s ever said, and she kicks herself for wanting to cry.  “I already have mine, too,” she returns, smiling back at him.

After a kiss and an exchange of “I love you”s, they finally get to sleep, excitedly awaiting what tomorrow will bring.