It’s Weird Dream Wednesday.
Every Wednesday, she and Jim spend their lunch hour sharing any odd dreams they’ve had in the past week. Always good for a laugh, especially when they try to interpret them.
Just one reason why she won’t be sharing last night’s dream with Jim.
She was at the fax machine, trying to replace the paper roll. Just trying to do something, anything, normal, but tears kept dripping on the paper’s edge, making it impossible to feed into the machine.
She took a step back, hugged the roll to her chest, and hung her head. Damn it, Pam, get it together. Just get the paper in, the faxes out, and you can go home. Not that that will be much better, but—
“Are you okay?”
Her skin jumped. She hadn’t heard him come in. “Oh. Yeah. Just trying to finish up.” She began to fiddle with the paper again, not turning around. Don’t let him see. Hoping she looked preoccupied, she said, “Did you forget something?”
“Briefcase.” He was coming toward her, pointing to the roll. “If you cut the edge at an angle, it’s easier to feed – why are you crying? It’s not that hard.” A chuckle. Then an awkward moment. Then his hand on her back.
“Pam?”
She closed her eyes. She really didn’t want to share this with him. He wouldn’t be able to help anyway. But his hand was warm on her back, and then she was talking.
“We had an argument. I’m not even sure how it started. Something stupid.” Not something stupid, something huge, and her heart was breaking, and her eyes were sore, and her throat felt raw.
He took the roll of paper from her. “Well, it must have been more than that. You don’t cry often.”
He noted how often she cried? Or didn’t? She sniffed and looked up at him. She’d never noticed just how tall he was.
“Scissors?” He trimmed off the wet edge, and began feeding the roll into the fax. He pushed a button and the paper loaded. “There. See?”
“Thanks. I just have a few faxes to send, so…”
He was watching her. “In my experience, a man who makes a woman cry doesn’t deserve her.”
Okay, so he wasn’t going to go. She thought about what he’d said and wished she could see it in such black and white terms, but her life was gray.
She pushed a few buttons and hoped the fax was going where it was supposed to. “He just sprung a surprise on me, that’s all.”
A big, ugly surprise. Her nose began to sting again, so she took a deep breath. “He’s leaving me.” Had she really just said that?
“Roy is?”
Throat tightening to a whisper, “Not Roy.”
Can’t breathe.
“Oh. Oh. Right, Australia. But you knew that.”
Not just Australia. Her chest ached and tears came again.
He was at a loss, but moved to comfort her because that’s what a hero is supposed to do. She rested her forehead on his tie. His arms felt stronger than she ever would have suspected.
His voice was gentle. “Hey, it’s only for a week. Right?”
She looked up and saw eyes she’d seen only once before, mid-concussion. She was suddenly aware only of how close he was and that he smelled disturbingly good and that he was rubbing her back and then she was kissing him.
He stiffened, but only for a moment. When she finally pulled back for air, her lower lip popped from between his lips.
“Pam…”
“Dwi--”
She had jerked awake, panting.
And vibrating a little.
It had taken a long time to fall asleep again.
Definitely not sharing this one.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Spoilers thru Conflict Resolution.
Spoilers thru Conflict Resolution.
nomadshan is the author of 44 other stories.
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