AN: Please please please review, otherwise I'll just figure it sucks andI'll let it drop! And review because...it's good for the environment.

Pam sat at her desk, copying a fax for Michael. She usually made multiple copies of things for him like faxes, because he had a horrible habit of losing everything. She couldn’t count the number of times he’d made her stay late to help him look for his car keys, his cell phone or one of his stupid little magic gadgets. He was hopeless.



It seemed like the days at Dunder-Mifflin had slowly become longer and longer. It used to be that she’d wake up even a little bit excited for work, and some days it seemed like the time had flown by. But that was before everything changed, and now she didn’t really have anyone to talk to or waste time with. Namely, Jim. Sure, he said hello and goodbye every day, and in passing he would make a cautious joke, but it wasn’t enough. She was used to so much more.



Pam stared at the back of his head while he typed slowly and surely on his computer (65 words per minute if she remember right, and she knew she did). She’d always loved how his hair flipped out (just at the ends) in it’s own quirky way. And from this view she could silently admire his broad shoulders and that spot at the nape of his neck that she wanted to kiss so badly. But it bothered her horribly that she couldn’t see his face anymore. She hated that she missed out on any of his everyday expressions, whether he was staring at his computer blankly, looking into the distance with a mischievous glint in his eyes, or even just making faces at the camera.



She missed so much about him that simply didn’t belong to her anymore. She kept having to remind herself that those things had never belonged to her. And now they belonged to someone else. And to make matters worse, she couldn’t even hate Karen. She had this great sarcastic wit, and she was really nice. Pam could tell why he liked her. So Pam had made nice, and some days it felt like she was closer to Karen than to him. That really stung.



Pam was pulled out of her thoughts as someone barged through the office door. She didn’t look up immediately, but when she did she was shocked to see Roy, weaving unsteadily with a beer can in his hand. He had been sober since his DUI, and he’d been going to AA meetings weekly per orders of the judge. Pam had thought he was doing really well.



“Pammy…” Roy slurred, falling back into his old endearment for Pam “I gotta talk to you babe…” He all but fell forward, supporting himself on the desk. He was speaking so loud, too loud, as if he had headphones on and couldn’t hear the volume of his own voice. Pam knew without looking that everyone in the office was watching them. Her gut twisted at the thought of Jim casually spinning around in his chair, cool and distant to the drama that was brewing because it was no concern of his.



“Roy, you have to leave. Go call your sponsor, we can talk later.” Pam may have ended it with Roy, but she still cared about him, and it scared her to see him like this again. He had told her that in AA, they admitted that there was a high chance of relapse, but she hadn’t really believed it.



“No!” Roy was shouting now, his emotions building. “Why’d you do it Pam?! You never told me why! 10 fucking years Pam! And one day you just decide ‘That’s it’?!” Roy gulped down more of his beer, spilling some of it on his shirt.



Pam was flushed, torn between worried and mortified. She stood, trying to placate Roy. “Roy, what are you doing? You‘re drunk at work. Come on, let’s talk about this outside.” She really didn’t want to be alone with Roy while he was like this, because sometimes he got nasty when he was drunk. But at this point she didn’t care, she just wanted to get away from the pressure of so many eyes watching them. And she could swear that she could physically feel Jim’s gaze in particular, trying to pin her down and make her look at him. But she just couldn’t. She felt the shame through her whole body, down to the tips of her toes.



Roy flinched, snatching away his hand when she lightly touched his wrist. “No dammit, we’ll talk where I fucking want to talk. You never gave me a goddamn reason, you owe me. Was there someone else?!”



Pam would have done anything to just melt into the floor at that moment, just disappear. Roy could be incredibly oblivious to some things, but he had been with Pam for 10 years and he knew her pretty well. And when he asked that question, and when her eyes wouldn’t meet his gaze, he knew the answer. He clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. “There was wasn’t there?! Were you fucking someone behind my back Pam?!”



Pam could feel her eyes welling up with tears and she shook her head. “No Roy, I didn’t cheat on you, I just- can we please talk about this someplace else Roy?” Finally, she couldn’t help herself. She looked at Jim. And the expression on his face caused her tears to spill onto her cheeks. Maybe she was imagining that look on his face, just because she wanted it so badly; a look of worry and concern, a hint of anger and protectiveness, and something even more. When she met his eyes, she felt a shiver run down her spine.



She quickly tore her eyes from his, looking back at Roy, but it was enough. He had seen. Something in Roy’s chest rumbled, and Pam’s heart beat faster in fear. Both Michael and Dwight were on a sales call, and Toby was too timid to handle this. Everyone else had frozen, not wanted to attract attention to themselves.



“Halpert…I fucking knew it!” Roy growled. “I knew for a while that he wanted to fuck you Pam, but I never thought you would fall for it. ‘Just friends’, that’s bullshit!” Pam couldn’t help but agree to that. They had never been ‘just friends’. “You called off the wedding for him, didn’t you?” Roy accused, and Pam couldn’t even speak. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. Roy bursting into the office completely smashed, and revealing everything that had remained so neatly covered up for nearly 4 years. Pam’s heart almost stopped when Roy turned on Jim.



“Halpert, I trusted you man.” Roy’s voice was low and dangerous.



Jim got up from his seat so quickly that it was knocked backwards, clattering against the floor. The noise was harsh against the dead silence of the office. “Whoa, whoa, dude, it’s not what you think.” Jim spoke for the first time. It was almost hard to get the words out, the air was so thick with tension. “Pam and I never- I swear dude, we were just friends, that’s it.”



This time, no one in the office believed it. Especially not Karen, who watched with her mouth slightly open in shock. Jim’s denial just pissed Roy off further. “Bullshit!” He yelled “You fucking pulled something and made her cancel the wedding didn’t you?! Did she cancel the wedding for you?”



No one except Pam really knew the answer to that question. “I have no idea man, I swear, she never cheated on you with me. We were just-” Jim couldn’t even finish the lie before Roy threw himself at Jim.



Everything happened at once. As Roy lunged for Jim, Pam couldn’t help but let out a small scream that turned into a gasp. It was as if some spell had been broken. Phyllis snatched up her phone and called for security. Most people stood up or shrank away from the fight, unsure of what to do.



Roy was drunk enough that he wasn’t much in fighting shape, but he was heavier and more muscular than Jim. Roy’s first punch swung wild, but his second one managed to clip Jim’s cheekbone, splitting it neatly. Everyone was surprised when Jim punched back, ducking below Roy’s wild punches and hitting him hard in the stomach. Roy (who had wrestled in high school), was just wrapping his arm around Jim’s neck in a headlock when Ryan and Kevin took a hold of each of his arms. They hauled him backward simultaneously, managing to break his grip.



As soon as Ryan and Kevin pulled Roy away from Jim, Roy just went limp, and to everyone’s embarrassment, he began to cry. Jim touched his fingers gently to his cheekbone, and winced. It was bleeding pretty badly, and the blood was just so shockingly red. Finally security arrived, and just as quickly as it had started, it seemed like it was over. But when Jim looked into Pam’s eyes, then Karen’s, he knew it had barely begun.