"Pam! Pam-Pam!"

Pam's head sprang up and she blinked several times. Where was she? Oh yeah...the office.

Work. Answering phones. Michael...

"Yes Michael?"

She realized she must've actually nodded off, so she tried to put on her most coherent face, widening her eyes, lifting her eyebrows. This was what happened when Jim wasn't around to instant message her all day long. She literally fell asleep on the job.

Man, she hated his out of town sales. They basically ruined her day. So what if she saw Jim every night at home? What was the point of sleeping with one of your bosses if he was always gone?

"Pam...do you know the quickest and most efficient way to brighten someone's day?"

Oh boy.

"You tell them happy birthday!"

Pam quickly replayed the events of that morning in her mind. Yes, she'd done that. "Michael I wished you a happy birthday as soon as you came in this morning."

His smile fell instantly. He glared at the camera, then at Pam, before realizing he still had more to say, even if she didn't play along with wishing him happy birthday again.

"Pam, I need exactly two things from you."

"Exactly two?"

"First, I need you not to sleep on the job. Be professional...ok Pam?"

She bit her lip and nodded just slightly as he continued, feeling a blush rise from the scoop neck of her new blouse all the way up to her chin. The embarrassment made her a little queasy.

Michael gave the camera a ‘See? I Can Be An Authoritative Boss' smile.

"Was there a second ... thing?" Pam asked, filling her voice with humility that she didn't quite feel.

He frowned at her in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"The second..."

"Oh...oh yes! Pam, I need you to consult with Dwight on some of my birthday arrangements. Since Jan has issue with us closing down the office during the workday to celebrate, we will instead being having a major blow out here...to-nigh," he said grinning widely. "We are going to party like it's 1999."

"What! I can't..." said shaking her head slowly and then more quickly as the reality set in. No, no, nooo. "Michael I can't do that. I have plans tonight. I can't -

"Oh...really Pam?" Michael said scrunching his eyebrows together and tilting his head. "Plans that are bigger than my birthday?...Well I'd like to hear what those could possibly be."

"Jim and I have been married for 10 months...today. And we just kind of wanted to..."

Michael slammed his hand down on the ledge of her desk dramatically. "Oh, ok...So not only are you not going to show up, but you're also hijacking my best friend as well...Thank you very much Pam."

Genuine confusion filled Pam's voice. "Who's your best friend?"

"Jim, Pam...who do you think?...Jim and I have been BFFs since he professed his love for you on the booze cruise. And if you don't know that...then I don't know what kind of employee you are...or what kind of wife you are....so...."

"But I thought Todd Packer was your best friend."

"He is Pam...he is.  But see I am capable of having two best friends," he said lifting two fingers in case she didn't understand. "I am capable of being loyal to more than one person and attending more than one party."

"There's gonna be more than one party?" God please...

"No! Just..." Michael got flustered and shook his head. "Pam would you just consult with Dwight? He's got all the details on all the shiz-nit that's poppin' off tonight....so...just...do your job Pam...That's all I ask. Nothing more - nothing less...just your 110%."

He started to walk away and Pam bit down on her lip, but couldn't seem to keep from mumbling under her breath anyway. Damn it! "My job isn't to plan your birthday parties."

"Oh I'm sorry...what was that?"

Crap. Had she not said that inside her head? "Nothing sorry...I..." The wheels in her head turned rapidly. Ok...there it was. She had it. Pam smiled, "Michael...is that....is that a new suit?"

Michael looked down, smoothed a hand over his chest and smiled back at her. "Yes...actually it's an original. Picked it up at the carwash...they sell suits there now. Brilliant marketing...you get your car washed, you get haute...culture...so, catch 22."

Pam tried not to frown as she nodded. "Well...you'll look great for your party tonight Michael. Really handsome"

"Careful Pam," he said pointing at her as he took a step back. He glanced at the camera "Don't go hitting on me because...Jan is coming tonight, alright?"

"Alright," Pam said nodding soberly. "I promise."

"And I expect she'll want to have sex on the conference table so..." he'd barely gotten the words out of his mouth before he burst at the seams in amusement. His laughter was replaced with a smile nearly devoured his entire face. "Thanks Pam..."

Pam let out the groan she'd been holding in when Michael disappeared inside his office.

Was he kidding! Ugh! This was not the plan!

Pam reached into the purse that sat beneath her desk and flipped her cell phone open before it was even completely out of the purse. She text messaged instead of calling just in case Jim was still in his meeting:

4get bout plans 2nite - Mike's B-day. COME BACK!!!

With a long sigh, Pam slipped on her cardigan and deposited her phone into a small pocket. The one bright spot to this afternoon was that her search for Dwight began and ended in the kitchen. At least she could eat her lunch while they talked.

He was standing next to the vending machine when she walked in.

"Hi Dwight, Michael asked if I could -

"Pam, just the person I wanted to see. Sit down - you don't have time to eat."

Goodbye bright spot.

Pam frowned and reached inside the refrigerator, pulling her yogurt out as slowly as she possibly could.

He sighed in response to her dawdling. "Listen, the party planning committee is already way behind on this. No fault of Angela's of course. She wasn't aware that the party was going to be taking place after hours and she may not be able to attend because her cat is scheduled to go into labor at any moment."

She was afraid to ask, but did anyway. "Her cat is scheduled?"

"She has very disciplined cats.......Anyway, it's up to you then to carry on the plans. Michael's been very explicit in his requests....You should write this down," he said as Pam sat down at the table in the corner.

"I didn't bring a notepad with me," Pam said nonchalantly, presenting her empty hands. She peeled back the foil lid on her yogurt container. "I've got a great memory though...so shoot."

The look on Dwight's face almost brought back the bright spot...

Pam smiled and dipped her spoon inside the mixed berry. She brought the spoon to her   lips and just as quickly shoved it back into the yogurt. Grimacing as she pushed the yogurt away.

Ugh...God...what in the world...

Dwight rolled his eyes knowingly. "You just realized what live and active cultures meant?...Figures."

"What?" Pam asked, still frowning as she pulled the foil lid back over the yogurt, covering it up. She stared at it for a moment. Maybe it had gone bad? She glanced at the date...no.

She turned and tossed it into the waste basket without a second thought. Ugh

"Wasteful."

Pam's fairly vast well of patience was rapidly starting to evaporate. Michael's birthday, no anniversary dinner, bad yogurt...

"Dwight just...tell me what I need to do ok?"

"You should really write this down."

"Oh for God's sake!" Pam shouted. "I don't need to write a damn thing down! Just TELL ME!"

Dwight literally took a step back as his eyes bulged out of his head. Pam realized instantly that she'd never raised her voice to him before. She'd never really raised her voice in the office period. The only person to ever really hear her lose it wasn't here right now and had yet to return her text!

"Sorry...I just...Dwight, I promise you I'll remember every word - please, read what ever is on your notepad so I can get to work on it...I wouldn't want to waste any more time." She said, forcing herself to bite her tongue.

"Ok...it's your funeral," Dwight said getting his bearings. "Michael would like his traditional ice cream cake. However he wants a scanned photo of him and Jan in Jamaica on the top...not the...naked one. This one," he said pulling a photo out of his pants pocket.

It was the same exact photo that had caused all the drama. Michael had simply photo shopped a bikini top on Jan.

Pam took it from Dwight and pulled a face. "Perfect."

"He would also like Darryl to D.J. the event....Michael hasn't asked him yet," Dwight added as a quiet aside. "In the event that Darryl says no...you are to say to him "Fleece it out for a brotha with a swiftness." If that fails...I'll borrow my uncle's D.J. equipment and do it myself," Dwight added soberly.

Pam rolled her head around on her neck. Stretching this way and that. Was it her or was the day actually getting longer instead of shorter.

"Ok, anything else?"

"Of course Pam...this isn't a child's party."

That was debatable.

"First off," Dwight continued, pointing to the cabinets. "We need to stock this place with liquor. Michael wants everyone hammered. Also, go through Michael's rolodex and invite everyone you see with a doodle of a birthday hat next to their name. That's Michael's system."

"I know about Michael's system...what else?"

"Gifts......I'll be bringing my own because it's still being personalized...I have to go pick it up. Other than that a new package of Night Swept and he also likes gift cards to the car wash. Pam...this assignment should be your top priority for the rest of the day. Forget about the phones," he said as if the phones were the least important part of anyone's job.

He was messing with her on the wrong day.  "Under whose authorization?"

"Uh, I just told you...so obviously - mine."

"Well, I think I'll wait until I hear from Jim...he's number 2."

Dwight shut his eyes for a moment. "Pam...when Jim is not here I am ranking number 2."

"That's not true -

"And when Michael and Jim are both not here," he said cutting her off. "I'm the number one ranking Dunder-Mifflin employee."

"But Michael is here. And Jim will be back so..."

"Pam, just do what I'm telling you to do, ok? Or...or I'll have to tell Michael."

"But I'm confused. If you have the authority to be number 1 when Michael's not here...why would you need him to -

"Just!...Pam just....Michael said to!"

Pam bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep from giggling as Dwight threw his own list at her and stormed out of the kitchen. She lost it before the door even swung shut behind him though. Her phone rang in her pocket and it brought an even bigger smile to her face. Finally!

"Hey!"

"Hey," Jim said and he sounded far away. "Sorry I didn't text you back, but I figured I'd get a chance to call you...Listen, it doesn't look like I'm going to get back there until almost five."

"What! No!...Why? Jim...I'm dieing here," Pam said leaning back in her chair.

"Michael's in typical birthday form, huh?" Jim said, turning down the volume on his radio.

"Worse!...And Dwight. Dwight just told me I have to get a picture of him and Jan scanned on the cake! That same stupid picture, only Michael photo shopped a bikini top on Jan!"

"Shut up."

"Yes!"

"She's gonna love that...That almost makes up for tonight."

"No it doesn't. You're not the one who has to get all this crap done and still manage to do her actual job...although according to Dwight I don't have to do my actual job...so..."

Jim frowned, checked his blind spot and then moved into another lane. It was an odd tone for her to take in reference to running a couple of errands for Michaels' birthday. She loved getting out of the office, no matter what the reason usually.

"Come on, you know that's not what I meant. It doesn't make up for us not getting to celebrate tonight...obviously."

"I know...sorry, I snapped at you..."

"S'ok."

"So what's the hold up?" Pam asked, absently doodling on the table with her finger. J - I...

"Uh, there was some mix-up with their original order. So first I had to smooth things over and now I have to find out where the hell the mix-up happened so I can guarantee nothing like this will ever happen again...or they're never buying from Dunder-Mifflin again...specifically never buying from me again, so...I'm on my way to corporate right now."

She stopped doodling and sat silently for a moment.

"Pam...can you hear me? Pam?"

"No...yeah I'm here. Listen, I have to go shopping for Michael so...just...give me a call when you can. Happy 10 Month Anniversary."

Jim frowned again. He certainly had time to talk right then. He had a long drive ahead, and apparently she was getting in her car too...He'd obviously said the wrong thing, though he wasn't quite sure what that was.

Most of the time he could read Pam like the back of his hand, but every now and then he was reminded of how new at this marriage thing they were.

"You ok?" He asked softly. "I'm sorry about not being there."

"Yeah...I know...You didn't do anything wrong. It's just this day. Just tired I think..."

"Ok...you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well...I love you....and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Pam smiled softly on the other end. "Ok, I love you too...bye."

~~~~~~~

Pam tiredly combed her fingers through her flat ironed and curled hair. Hair that she'd styled specifically for this occasion. A nice dinner out with her husband  - not ice cream cake and jello shots in the office with Michael.

Folding her arms atop her desk, she pillowed her head there. The music coming from Darryl's sound system made her head throb. It was 5: 15 and Jim still wasn't back from his trip to Manhattan.

Manhattan...the corporate office...where Karen worked now. Great.

She knew she was stupid to even be thinking about that, but there you had it. While Jim hadn't given it a second thought, she'd been thinking about it ever since his phone call. It didn't help that she felt bloated and pudgy today.

Feeling sorry for herself, Pam used her long hair to curtain her face, blocking out the light. When she heard the door open a second later, her head shot up. "Ji-

"Where's that gay birthday nerd Michael Snott?"

Nope. Not Jim, but the ever lovely Todd Packer.

Seriously? What had she done to deserve today?

Pam took a deep, cleansing breath. "Probably getting another one of Meredith's jello shots in the kitchen. You should go find him."

Packer leaned against her desk instead. "Yeah...I'll just sniff around for him.......Oh man I almost forgot...I heard you married Halpert the homo...What the hell? First he's with that smokin' hot chick from Stamford...what was her name...Kate? Katie? Karen?"

Super.

"It doesn't even matter what her name was," Packer said finally. "I just wanna know how he keeps bangin' chicks when he's obviously pointed in the opposite direction if you know what I mean..."

No idea what you mean. You're being so cryptic.

"Seriously what does he do, volunteer to try on all your panties first?" Packer laughed in that sickening way that he had of laughing.

Pam pressed her fingers to her temples. "Michael's in the back."

"Ooh...would you look at that," Packer said and actually reached out to touch her hand, pulling it away from her head.

Pam yanked it out of his grasp. Eew.

"...So that's the ring huh," Packer smiled, completely unaffected by her grimace. "Damn...a lot bigger than I thought it'd be......Halpert compensating for something?"

So now she was over it. How could she end this?

"Actually no."

"Let me ask you this...When you two go at it - who's on top?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "Who says anyone is?"

Packer's face registered confusion. Just as Jim's face registered surprise.

Pam's registered only mortification.

Packer sighed in sudden boredom, "Well I'm gonna go find the gay nerd..."

"Good luck with that," Pam whispered.

Jim pursed his lips tight in an effort not to smile, but he couldn't help it as he leaned over her counter, taking the place of Packer. His fingers dangled off the ledge towards Pam and pride laced his voice, "Wow...So...what position were you referring to there Beesly..."

She felt herself blush like crazy, and she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I didn't know you were standing there...You could have...cleared your throat or something."

"Why would I have done that?"

"To save your wife humiliation?"

"I don't think I needed to save my wife from anything."

She smiled and reached up to play with his fingers. "I felt compelled to defend your honor."

"Consider it defended..." He said, leaning close. His voice sounded a little tired and a lot sexy. She wanted to leave and listen close...go somewhere only she could hear him. "Howya doin Mrs. Halpert?"

She sighed. "Better now."

"Yeah , me too....you wanna get a quick drink?...Since we're here...and it is the man's birthday," he added tiredly.

Sometimes - like now - it struck her all over again how different her life was now. She was actually with a man who had enough social grace to realize that it was their boss's birthday and no matter how badly they both wanted to leave, the polite thing to do...the decent thing to do was to stay for at least awhile.

Even though she desperately wanted to leave, a part of her was turned on simply by the fact that he didn't.

Pam smiled and stood up more quickly than she should have apparently because she stumbled. But it wasn't just a stumble, because the room jumped into motion

Jim's hands were on her waist instantly. His fingertips stilled against her sides. How had he gotten around the desk that fast?

"Hey...you ok?" He asked, frown lines creasing his forehead when she glanced around, a bit disoriented.  

"Yeah, no...I...."

"Did you already have a few second drinks, Beesly?" He asked, infusing his voice with an amusement he didn't quite feel. She looked pale.

"I think...Oh yeah, I haven't really eaten much today. A candy bar about an hour ago."

"Well that's a problem," Jim said easing his hand from around her waist. He slipped it inside of her hers instead and pulled it to his lips for the briefest of moments. Depositing the softest of kisses against her knuckles. "We'll get some ice cream cake and then get the hell out of here, ok?"  

She smiled softly at him. At the concern in his eyes. Now he wanted to leave. Her husband was better than ice cream.

The thought made her giggle. They were lyrics to a song.

He frowned at her as he messily forked a slice of cake onto a plate for her, but the expression quickly morphed into a smile. She was off the charts moody today. For the past few days actually.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing," she said still smiling back at him as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You are in the weirdest of moods," he said chuckling lightly. "But ok..." he lowered his voice so no one else could hear. "If it makes you touchy-feely I'm all for whatever it is."

Once they both had their slices, Pam forced herself to nibble a few bites before sitting the plate down in disinterest. With disbelief clear on his face, Jim forked the rest of her uneaten cake on his own plate.

They listened to Packer ad naseum and then listened to Michael go on and on about his trip to Jamaica with Jan. A trip that had happened ages ago...Jan nodded politely at everyone - her expression one of barely concealed agony.

Michael must have sensed that the crowd was getting a bit bored, so he went all out.

"But at the end the trip it got not so fun...because Jan got her period...so..."

Jan's agony became completely unconcealed. She cut Michael off and practically dragged him into his office, where she drew the blinds violently. Moments later it sounded like something was thrown or slammed against the door.

Jim eyebrows rose and he glanced at Pam to catch her reaction, but she was practically sprinting to the break room. Concerned, he put down his drink and went after her.

Her head was in the refrigerator. "Hey...what's the matter? You ok?"

"Yeah...I...No, I'm fine" she said absently, rooting around for something near the back of the fridge. Jim moved closer, just as she pulled a yogurt from the back. When she took it out, she stared at it for a moment and then sat it on the counter.

"Pam if you're not feeling well we can take off....or, listen it's not too late to check out that restaurant that you wanted to -

"How was Manhattan today?"

Their eyes met for just a moment before she glanced back at the yogurt and Jim shook his head.

"What?"

She was peeling back the lid of a yogurt now. Sniffing it, frowning, putting it back on the counter.  She stepped away from it, covered her mouth with her hand and then just as quickly pulled her hand away.

"Wow."

Jim tilted his head. "Pam, what is going on?"

"You didn't see Karen today did you?" She asked looking up at him then "Because right now I don't think I could handle it...I mean I know you and I know you wouldn't...I just...not today."

Huh? Was that why she was acting all weird? Was this what had happened earlier when they'd been on the phone? She thought he'd been going to Manhattan to see Karen?

No, this felt like more.

"...Pam, no. I didn't even think about her being there until I was on the road home again...and then all I thought was thank God you and I have what we have...Pam, you know this. I don't need to say this...do I?"

"No...I..."

Another sentence that trailed into oblivion. Jim shoved his hands in his pocket. "Ok, Pam? Why the hell do you keep staring at the yogurt?"

"I can't eat it. I'm pregnant."

The air stilled. "Are you...what?"

She shook her head and smiled as she pointed at it. "I can't eat the stupid yogurt! I nearly gagged just from smelling it. I yelled at Dwight. I yelled at Dwight."

"Ok...Could you take it from -

"I'm pregnant. That's all it could be."

Jim felt the world shift beneath his feet as he watched her count something on her fingers. There was that word again - pregnant. Yes, that's the word he thought he'd heard.

"Pam...I'm...One of the symptoms can not be yelling at Dwight. Because if it is...I've been pregnant -  

"No. Listen. It's been 6 weeks since my last period," she said cutting him off.

Jim needed only a beat for it to sink in. He smiled crookedly. "You're serious?"

"I think so...I...I mean I haven't been keeping track as well since I stopped taking the pill, but I just assumed it would take longer than...I don't know..."

Jim could barely contain himself. He wanted to run outside and tell everyone in the office. Everyone on the block...in the city...in the state.

He instantly realized what a cliché he'd become in the blink of an eye - and it was great.

This cliché had him tingling from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

He stepped towards her, needing to close the distance. For the moment, maybe he could just share the news with his wife....the future mother of his child. Holy...

"Basically you didn't realize I was so potent...I get that a lot."

Pam smiled up at him as she grabbed his fingers, playing with them at their sides. "You better not get that a lot."

Jim had his hands sliding along her back when it seemed to hit him all over again. "Shut up, for real?......Pam!"

"I know!" she said hopping a bit. "I'm freaking out!"

"Come on," he said pulling her towards the door suddenly. "Listen, we should tell like everyone. Have Dwight light some fireworks, unearth some piñatas from storage...this is big Pam. This is huge.

"No! Oh my God...wait, no...no!" Pam said tugging on his arm, with no real result. She literally had to dig her heels in. "Stop pulling me...listen!"

"What on Earth could you possibly want to tell me right now that's bigger than a baby?" Jim asked, positively giddy. "Pam let's give the people what they want out there!"

Pam laughed out loud. "Jim...listen. We can't. I think we're supposed to wait...or something. I mean just in case you know...At least let me take the home test first and go to a doctor and...you know. All that stuff."

"But you are right? You're pregnant."

Her heart leaped inside of her throat and seemed to get stuck there. She could barely swallow. He was so excited. He so wanted this just as much as she did.

And they both knew it was the beginning of something...amazing.

Pam smiled softly and touched his face. "Yes...I am...I know it."

"Ok..." he took a deep breath and nodded as if to reconcile the fact that he couldn't say a word for now. "Ok Pam...we can wait. ...We can do this...Besides, Michael would never get over it if we stole his thunder right now......it'd be like that time his mom rubbed cream on him for hours."

She giggled. "You're right......And hey, The Dundies are in a couple of months. So, we should wait until then."

Jim's mouth fell open. "Oh yeah because that'll be better. Should we do it in the middle of his monologue or an Elton song?"

Pam twined her fingers with his over and over again, shifting from foot to foot in excitement as she gazed up at him. "Listen Jim...I really wanna win Shortest Marriage Before Getting Knocked Up."

Was it weird that he wanted to kiss her and high-five her. It didn't matter...he did both - because he could.

"It's in the bag, Beesly..."

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