Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters or The Office, although I am thinking I should buy the dvds......   No copyright infringement intended, I swear. 

Jim walked up to the glass door at the entryway to Dunder Mifflin and saw the faint reflection of candlelight inside.  He felt like he was having one of those dreams where you feel like you are falling.  His body felt light, almost weightless, and he had a sense of motion sickness. He shook out his hands that had mysteriously started to sweat and wiped his palms on his pants.  It was pure anticipation, excitement and fear wrapped into one single emotion.  He took a deep breath and opened the door, trying to walk in with confidence.  

He quickly scanned the dimly lit room, illuminated only by a single row of candles on Pam’s counter, just as in the sketch. He let his eyes rest on Pam, leaning on his desk in nearly the same position as before.  But this time, she wasn’t fidgeting or hiding, she was waiting.  Patiently.  For him.  As the door clicked shut, she looked up at him expectantly. 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

They spoke quietly as if they were afraid to ruin the moment with their voices.

He cleared his throat.  “So, Dwight said you had some pressing information for me.” 

“Yeah.”  It came out almost like a sigh in the form of a word.  “Very important information that I think you need to hear.”

She looked up right in his eyes, and he unconsciously held his breath.  He smiled, letting out a breathy chuckle, nodding shyly.  Like looking at the sun for to long, he needed a moment to regain his composure so he looked down for a moment avoiding her eyes.  After a few seconds he looked up at her through his eyelashes, biting back the involuntary grin on his face.  He finally fully met her gaze and the question on his mind was in his eyes and not on his lips.

“Course, Jim, you’re gonna have to come closer, if you recall this is sensitive information and the walls do have ears.”

Jim stepped forward until he was standing right in front of Pam. He rested his fingertips on either side of her on his desk, trapping her; he would not let her go this time.  She felt his hands graze her hips and she could feel his warmth so close to her.  She closed her eyes taking in the precious feeling of being so close while she reached down taking both his hands in hers. 

She held his hands in between them and looked up again daring to look deeply in his eyes while she said,

“Jim, I’m in love with you.  I have been for as long as I can remember, although I don’t think I truly realized it until last summer.  I’m not me without you, and I don’t think you’re really you without me.  I’ve loved getting back to our old friendship, but it isn’t enough for me anymore.  I want you, all of you.” Her voice broke and she let out a heavy breath, “I am so completely in love you and I’m hoping that you might still love me.”

Jim could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears and his entire body felt numb, except for the feeling of her hands on his.  He opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come.  Pam, standing here laying herself bare before him, had rendered him completely speechless.  He could see the tears in her eyes and he reached with one hand to wipe the tears away, caressing her face with his fingertips. He was almost afraid to touch her for fear that she would melt away, revealing this to be a cruel but wonderful dream. 

He pulled her to him as he leaned forward gently kissing her lips, hoping to convey in this kiss the words he couldn’t find at the moment.  She responded to him immediately running her hands up his chest and into his hair, savoring every sensation as long overdue.  He stepped in closer to her, and as they deepened the kiss she let her fingers wind in his hair.  The scene was eerily similar to before, as they broke apart for breath, both panting and looking at each other tenderly, Jim finally responded to her declaration.

Taking her hands back in his, he said, the joy dripping in each word,

“I’ve waited, wow, what feels like forever, to hear you say those words to me.  Pam, I definitely still love you, I don’t know how not to be in love with you.”

He could feel the emotion welling in his heart again as he leaned in to kiss her again.  This time, unlike so long ago, she did not deny him, she rose up to meet his lips, and again she brought her arms up around his neck to bring him impossibly closer. 

He kissed his way across her cheekbone and down her jaw, down her neck to where her neck and shoulder meet; his hands roamed slowly down her arms, as he savored the exquisite feel of the friction with her bare skin.  She leaned heavily against the desk knowing that her legs would no longer support her. His lips on hers felt wonderful and she marveled that she had managed to turn him away so long ago.  He ran his hands back up her back putting his hands on her shoulders, as he returned to kissing her lips. 

She ran her hands up and pressed them flat against his chest, as she pulled away for a moment, moving her hands up to his neck caressing the soft skin as she said,

“We should get out of here.”  Her voice sounded entirely foreign to her, breathy and scratchy but urgent.  She crocked an eyebrow at him as she said, “Your place or mine?”

They broke out in laughter both to ease the tension and bring themselves back to a more normal place.  “Wow, Beesly, that was clichéd.”

“Yes, yes it was.”

“How bout you take me home with you, I’ve never seen your place….. and I’d really like to.”

Pam leaned in to kiss him again, this time sweetly, then stepping back and nodding seriously, “That sounds perfect.”

***********

Pam woke up with sunlight streaming across her face from her bedroom window.  She rolled over very slowly, looking over her shoulder at the man lying next to her.  Her breath caught in her chest as she felt the love for him roll through her.  She had heard other people say how they just knew someone was the one, the one that was made for them to spend their life with.  When she was with Roy, she had always laughed at that sentiment, thinking it overly romantic and unrealistic.  But now, she knew she was wrong.  She truly believed that Jim was meant for her and only her; and as she watched him sleep she knew that she would wake up next to him every morning for the rest of her life.

She slid out of the bed so gently that he barely stirred.  Reaching down she picked up his dress shirt from the floor and put it on padding quietly into the kitchen to start a pot of tea.  She grabbed half a bagel and started nibbling on it as she walked through the living room, looking at the remnants of last night.  There was the half consumed bottle of wine that they forgot to re-cork, wine glasses, candles on the mantle burnt down to a nub, and an empty container of fried rice.  She pondered on cleaning it up, but decided just to leave it there a little longer to remind her that it was real.  They really did talk into the wee hours over her favorite cabernet. She smiled remembering how his eyes sparkled in candlelight.  She laughed thinking about how they both remembered that they hadn’t eaten, and they ordered Chinese food because the place around the corner was still open and on her speed dial, which he will undoubtedly never let her forget.

She took the hot water off and poured a mug of tea, picking up her sketchpad as she went back into the bedroom.  She slid back into the bed and realized that Jim was apparently a fairly heavy sleeper.  Roy used to wake up cranky if she as much as turned over too much for his liking, but Jim seemed very content in her bed.  He had rolled over facing the sunlight and she loved the way the light fell across his features, hair tousled, sheet around his waist.  She leaned against the headboard and started to sketch him while he slept.  As her pencil created each line, each curve, each shadow she felt like she was touching him with her fingers.  She’d never been so happy in her life and yet she knew this was just the beginning.

*****

Jim lingered in that place in between asleep and awake feeling a peace that was unbelievable.  He thought back over the night before, replaying in his mind the moment when Pam told him that she loved him.  Everything about last night had been unlike anything he had experienced before.  Finally being with Pam, honestly sharing their feelings, laying the foundation for the rest of their lives.  As he came to reality, he heard a scratching noise that he couldn’t place; he opened his eyes and the sight of Pam took his breath away.

She was sketching him, with the sunlight coming through the window behind her, the light catching in her loose curls.  She was wearing his shirt from last night which was so intimate and sexy that he felt an incredible wave of love and passion wash over him. Hitting him all at once, he realized that it would never be enough to just date her, or just live with her, he wanted to marry her.

He took in a deep breath, and smiled, “Morning.”

“Hi.”  She moved to put the sketchpad down and nuzzled in next to him.  “Sleep well?”

“Yeah, really well.  You?”

“I slept like a baby, I felt so safe with you here.”

They both held on to each other, words being completely unnecessary for once in their relationship.  In fact for the first time, they were each at a loss for what to say next.  This was unfamiliar territory for them, the tension and angst having disappeared with the morning light.  Jim finally broke the silence,

“So Beesly, I hope you know that you’re stuck with me now.”

She kissed him tenderly and responded,

“Well you’ve been my friend, then I was without you, then I loved you, and now I can’t imagine my life without you. So being stuck with you sounds pretty delightful.”

He smiled at her, feeling such incredible joy and relief and said the only thing he could,

“I love you, Pam, with all my heart.”  He pulled her toward him, pressing her head to his chest, holding her tenderly.

“I love you too.”

They held each other for a while until, all of the sudden, Jim started laughing almost uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?”

“I left Dwight in the warehouse awaiting further instruction on our little corporate espionage project; I wonder if he’s still there?”

“Hmmmm, you know he did help us get together, even if he didn’t realize it.  Maybe, as a reward, we should let him gather intelligence on a mole in our very own office?”

Jim raised his eyebrows, weighing this idea in his mind, “What a great idea!  He mentioned Creed being suspicious last night….”

“We could leave a Staples bag on Creed’s desk Monday morning.”

“And you could ‘intercept’ a call ….maybe overhear some kind of plot to bring down Dunder Mifflin…..”

“And you tell Dwight that you would never have suspected Creed except for his comment and suggest to Dwight that he keep an eye on him….”

“Keep a log of his activities for a week, 24 hour surveillance….”  They were now sitting up in bed, so excited over their prank that they were practically bouncing on the bed.

“Perfect, Halpert, perfect.”

“Yes, Beesly, it will be.”

He smiled warmly at her, mesmerized by her childlike excitement, loving the fact that they were still best friends and yet now they were more.  So much more.