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A/N:  So, I'm not really sure what this is.  This conversation has been circling in my brain since last night's episode. I decided to write it down just to get it out of my head, and then I thought you guys might like to see it, even though it's un-beta'd and was written in about an hour.  Not sure if it's a one-shot or not.  So I guess it's just a drabble?  Anyway, here it is.  Let me know what you think!

 

Jim yawned, trying to focus on the road in front of him.  Karen was asleep in the seat next to him, the radio turned down low.  The glare of the headlights from oncoming cars was starting to give him a headache, and he wished they were just home, already.

 

It had been a long day.

 

The vibration of his cell phone came as a welcome distraction, but when he saw the name displayed on the screen he debated whether or not to answer.  Karen was probably only dozing.  And he really wasn’t up for another long night of talking.

 

In the end, though, curiosity won out.  Sighing, and feeling slightly disgusted with himself, he flipped open the phone.  Would he ever be able to say no to her?

 

“Hello?”

 

“Jim?  Um, hi.”

 

“Pam?  What’s up?”

 

“Where are you?  Are you still at the party?”

 

“No, we’re in the car on our way back.”  Jim glanced over to his right, and sure enough, Karen’s head was lifted and she was lifting her eyebrows in question.  He shrugged at her, and then turned back to the road.

 

“Okay.  Um…I’m really sorry,” Pam said, her voice crackling through a bad connection.  “I know this isn’t a good time with Karen right there and all, but I really need to talk to you before you get back to Scranton.”

 

Despite himself, Jim felt himself growing intrigued.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

Pam gave a small laugh.

 

“I don’t even know.  I mean, I’m okay, I guess, but something happened tonight that you need to know about.”

 

“Okay…” He waited.

 

“Okay, um.  Wow.  This is awkward.”

 

Maybe it was just a culmination of the evening’s irritations, and the fact that he could feel Karen’s stare pounding into the side of his head, but Jim was starting to feel really frustrated with this perplexing call and with Pam in general.

 

“Just tell me, Pam,” he said, not trying that hard to hide his impatience.

 

He heard her take a deep breath.

 

“Okay, sorry.  Well, we all went to Poor Richard’s tonight.  Roy was there, and I don’t know…I’m so stupid.  I can’t even blame it on the alcohol.  For some reason I thought it was important for me to be honest with him.  So I told him.”

 

Jim knew immediately what she was referring to, and he felt his heart plummet.

 

“Told him what?”

 

“About what happened between you and me last May.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

For a moment, the echo of that night filled the silence between them.

 

“What did he say?” he finally asked.

 

“Jim, he went ballistic.  He was shouting…and he broke some glasses, and he and Kenny tore the place up.  I don’t know…it really scared me.”

 

“Did he hurt you?”  Jim knew the concern was obvious in his voice, and he knew he was going to pay for this conversation later with Karen, but he had to know.  If Roy had laid a hand on her…

 

“No.  No!  He wouldn’t do that.  But I think…I do think he might come after you, Jim.  That’s why I’m calling.  I don’t know if he knows where you live, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for you to stay somewhere else tonight.  Just give him the night to cool off, you know?”

 

She didn’t say it in so many words, but Jim knew she was telling him to stay with Karen for the night.  He knew it was stupid, but it hurt just the same.  Just another little pinprick to his heart.

 

“What about you?” he asked.  “What if he shows up at your place?”

 

“Don’t worry.  After the way he behaved tonight, I promise he will never step foot in my apartment again.  And if he pushes it, I’ll call the cops.  It couldn’t be more over between us.” 

 

Her voice was surprisingly firm, and Jim suddenly realized that what had happened between Pam and Roy tonight was monumental.  Somehow, he believed her words—she had left Roy behind, and it was for real this time.  This wasn’t just another fight among many.  It was going to take some time to really absorb this new development.

 

“Pam…” he hesitated, not sure if he should say anything at all.  “I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say that.”

 

“I know, right?  I should have done it a long time ago.  A really long time ago.”  She sighed, and there was moment of silence between them.  So much more needed to be said, but Jim was with Karen now.  Both figuratively and literally, unfortunately.  He glanced over to the passenger seat to see that Karen was still watching and listening intently.  Crap.

 

“Jim?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m really, really sorry about all of this.  It’s totally my fault.  I was stupid to think…”

 

“No, don’t say that,” he interrupted her.  “I knew what I was doing at the time.  And I’m not scared of Roy.”

 

“Well, okay…but promise me you’ll be careful, okay?  It’s not just Roy, it’s his brother, too, and Kenny will go along with anything Roy says.  I just can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt…”

 

“Pam, I’ll be fine.”  Her concern warmed him inside.  “I promise, I’m not going to go looking for trouble.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Jim knew that was the end of the conversation, but for some reason he was reluctant to hang up the phone, despite the troublesome presence of Karen sitting right next to him.

 

“Well,” he started after a long pause, but Pam interrupted him.

 

“So how was the party?  Did Michael manage to completely humiliate Jan?”

 

He smiled.  He couldn’t help it.

 

“Oh, Beesly.  You have no idea.  And Dwight was in fine form, too, of course.”

 

“Of course.”  She laughed, then, her voice tentative, shy:  “Tell me about it tomorrow?”

 

 Jim knew what she meant.  I should never have gone back to him.  I’m sorry.  Can we please be friends again? 

 

He knew he was getting sucked back in, but at the moment he really, really didn’t care.

 

“All the gory details, I promise,” he said.

 

“Can’t wait.”  He could hear her smile.

 

“So, see you in the morning?”

 

“Yep.  Have a good night, Jim.”

 

“You, too.  Bye.”

 

He snapped the phone shut and glanced over to Karen with an apologetic smile, but she was frowning.

 

“You called her Beesly,” she accused him, her voice flat.

 

Jim looked back at the road, the smile fading from his lips.

 

“Yeah,” he sighed.

 

 



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