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The good old days, the honest man;

The restless heart, the Promised Land

A subtle kiss that no one sees;

--

The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun

When you read my mind

The Killers, Read My Mind

She watched him ask Karen.

Heard his exchange with Ryan.

But never thought...

So when he appeared at her desk, voice low, conspiratorial, she almost squealed a little.

It hadn't been necessary for him to explain; she knew to extract the number from Andy's phone and keep it at her desk for later use.

Her instant messenger chimed at 10:23.

JHalpert: Hand-off. Water fountain fake-out. Cover me.

Instructions. Their own office short-hand.

She smiled, but tried not to, and followed his lead.

While Jim lobbed the "device" into the ceiling, she sipped innocently - and let herself remember the way his fingers had grazed hers, reaching for the phone.

The rest of her day was filled with covert looks, timed calls and numerous hushed giggles.

She'd heard people talk before, about not being able to go back; but all day, it sort of felt like last year.

And the closest to happy she'd been in months.

So, when Oscar's party started, she walked by Jim's desk, plopped a sombrero on his head, and continued to the drink table without a word.

Her own silent challenge.

He was next to her a few moments later, inspecting Andy's "overreaction."

"Wow."

She loved it when he said that.

"I know."

He reached toward the hole, "Oh my god, that's half inch dry-wall."

"I think we broke his brain."

The laughter that broke out of him was old. Tapped from a place she used to know.

And hers rippled up from somewhere deep to match it.