I own nothing associated with the show, characters, or network. Too bad for me. 

***

Pam had never been this distracted at work. Two or three times during the day she realized that the phone was just ringing and ringing, but she hadn't noticed. She was staring at the way Jim's hair caressed his ears and the nape of his neck, and hearing his words over and over in her mind.

"Whatever did or didn’t happen with us, Pam..." That's what he'd said. The past tense. He was glad she hadn't married Roy because he was her friend. Whatever was making him so sad and tired, whatever was going on between him and Karen, it had nothing to do with her. He'd really moved on.

"...did or didn't happen." He'd been brave and she hadn't been. That's all that had and hadn't happened between them. And now it was too late.

Pam knew she was staring at him, but couldn't stop herself. She knew she should try one last time, to actually make herself say the words, but she didn't know how. Karen was everything Pam wasn't- assertive, beautiful, confident- and she and Jim were great together. They were. Even though Pam had been engaged when Jim had told her how he felt ("I'm in love with you."), he at least had known that Roy was wrong for Pam. Karen wasn't wrong for Jim. Pam was no match for her.

Karen stood up from her desk at that moment, and Pam watched her move gracefully across the office. She stopped by Jim's desk, crouching by his chair so she could speak into his ear. Jim nodded and followed Karen into the conference room, where they shut the door behind them.

For the fourth time, Pam ignored the ringing phone. Her eyes never left the conference room door. Anxiety and anticipation jumped around in her stomach and along her arms, making her fingers shake slightly. A slighly hysterical giggle escaped her lips as she wondered if this was what criminals felt like while the jury deliberated. She didn't know if she was guilty or innocent.

The door opened. Karen emerged first. Her eye-makeup was slightly smudged, but her head was high and her expression was composed. With firm strides she entered Michael's office and closed the door. Pam held her breath and waited for Jim to come out.

Finally, she had to inhale. Still no Jim. Michael's door opened, and Karen and Michael silently headed across the office toward Toby's corner. Still no Jim.

Pam's heart was beating too hard for coherent thought as she stood up. Without thinking, she flipped the phones to voice mail as she rounded the corner of her tall desk (tall enough for him to lean on and for her to hide behind). She stood still for a moment. This could hurt. This could ruin their friendship forever. But then she thought about his exhausted, sorrowful expression, the weariness in his posture, the defiance in Karen's eyes as she'd left the room, and Pam knew that Jim needed her. She licked her lips nervously and stepped toward the future.

***

Jim sat in the conference room and forgave Pam for something he had held against her for nine long months. He now knew that sometimes it doesn't matter what you want- or even what you need. He now knew that sometimes the only truth is what he'd said to Karen (what Pam had said to him):