The day had been the same as every other. He was finally getting back into the groove, back into the swing of things. Come in, do the least amount of work possible to stay employed, joke around with Pam, bother Dwight, roll eyes at Michael... It was comfortable again, or at least, comfortable enough to pass for normalcy.
Karen was sitting at his desk, trying to convince him to see "Blades Of Glory" with her that night - opening night. He really didn't want to spend the night with drunken teenagers and wise-ass, novice movie critics.
He was only half-listening as he got his stuff together to leave; she was saying something about how he'd rather stay home and watch the Phillies than go out with his "amazing girlfriend". A little cocky, aren't we, Fillipelli? he wanted to crack, but he didn't, instead saying, "That sounds right."
Kevin passed by then, tugging his bag over his shoulder. "Later, Jim."
"Kev," he replied, glad to be interrupted momentarily. "Have a good weekend, man."
Karen picked up again. "Okay, so this is what's gonna happen..." He tuned her out again, knowing full well that even if he did argue, he wouldn't win. She always got her way. It was just easier to let her go.
Suddenly, he heard Pam's unmistakable gasp. Then...
"Hey, Halpert!"
Angry. The other words flew from Jim's brain as he and Karen both turned to see Roy, standing in front of Pam's desk, his face flushed red, his eyes burning with hatred. The man was angry.
"Hey..." Jim started. He didn't even get that word finished before Roy lunged.
Someone screamed. Karen? Angela? He didn't know. He heard Pam yelling, pleading, "Roy! Roy!" He saw Roy's figure moving to him, his arm raised, his fingers fisted, his face contorted in a silent roar.
At that moment, with just seconds before his face met Roy's fist in a more intimate way than he could ever want, something inside Jim snapped. His memories filtered themselves, playing like sped-up videotapes, urging him on.
Roy at Pam's desk, screaming when he caught Jim and Pam hand-in-hand as they laughed together. Pam's reddened cheeks on the night of the Dundies, the fury in her eyes barely dulled when she'd joined him at the table. Pam's blue eyes dark with shame, anger, and sadness when Roy told her that her dream of going to New York for art classes was silly. The fear in Pam's eyes when he mentioned Roy after The Kiss - the emotion that had him wanting to take her away...
That night, he'd wanted to sweep her up and carry her thousands of miles away, where nothing from her past could hurt her again. He'd felt protective, angry that she would be so hurt, and so in love with a woman who maybe, just maybe, might love him back if she had the chance.
The memory of that night was what made him react.
Just seconds before Roy's fist would have crashed into his cheek, Jim pushed Karen away from the scene and ducked. Roy lurched forward, his hand not connecting with anything, looking confused as Jim popped back up and took a swing. He prayed, prayed harder than he ever had in his life, as his arm flew through the air.
"Oh, my God!" That, he knew, was both Pam and Karen, crying out in unison. It was ironic, really - the girl he was fighting for and the girl he should have been thinking more about, both worried, both unsure, both scared only for him.
The sickening sound of skin against skin, bone against bone, jolted Jim back to reality. His eyes refocused, his breathing tried to correct itself. He looked back to where Roy was...where he had been.
Now, Roy was bent at the waist, his hands cupped over his face, blood leaking between his fingers. He straightened up, moving his hands to reveal a bloody, bent nose. Jim wondered momentarily why his hand didn't hurt if he'd done that much damage to Roy - who was definitely bigger and harder than he - but he didn't have time to dwell on it as Roy tried a second time to hit him.
This time, he didn't go into the same kind of trance. Instead, with some courage that he didn't know he had, Jim raised his right hand again and - crack - connected with Roy's jaw. The bigger man stumbled again, kept standing only by the security guards who'd just hurried into the room.
"Anderson! Halpert!" one of the men yelled. "Break it up!"
"What the hell is going on?" the other cried.
Dwight stepped in. "Roy came in and tried to hit Jim. He just acted in self-defense. According to Article 12 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.' I believe that Jim's honour and reputation were being attacked when he was threatened in his office, in front of his girlfriend and co-workers, so that should cover him."
For a brief second, everyone turned to look at Dwight, who looked utterly pleased with himself. "Uh," the first guard said, slightly confused, "is...um, is that what happened?"
Jim was touched to see that everyone nodded. Even Pam. God, she's siding with me? Why?! he thought as she discreetly wiped tears from under her eyes.
"All right, then. Let's go, Anderson." They led Roy out of the office, but before the doors closed, he managed to get one last thing in.
"This isn't over, Halpert! You can't kiss Pam and get away with it! She was my girlfriend, and I don't care what you felt for her! She was mine!"
Behind him, Jim heard Karen's sharp intake of breath, followed closely by Kelly's hushed, hurried voice. Part of him knew it was over, right then and there, but he didn't care. What he cared about was Pam - his Pam, who was crying again, having given up on wiping her tears away.
His hand was starting to sting, and he lifted it and shook it a few times, hoping to relieve it with...what? Air? Who'd made that remedy up, anyway?
He bent his head as Pam got to his side, her eyes locked on his. "You fought for me," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You actually fought for me."
"Black and blue were never my colors," he said automatically, and his heart was lifted by the sympathetic smile she gave him.
"Oh, God, Jim, I was scared." Pam took his injured hand in both of hers, her fingertips gently brushing the swollen knuckles. He winced. "I thought he was going to kill you."
He shrugged. "Guess it wasn't my time."
"How the hell can you joke at a time like this?" She was still smiling. "Jim, I'm...I'm sorry."
It seemed to him that she forgot where they were. He nearly had, too - suddenly, although Karen and Kelly were just inches behind him, and Kevin, Michael, and Dwight were in front of them, they were practically alone in the office. Angela and Oscar weren't watching from behind their little cubicle, Ryan wasn't inching towards Kelly to calm her, Stanley wasn't trying overly hard to look uninterested as he listened in. They might as well have been alone there, Jim perched on the end of his desk, Pam in front of him, holding his hand.
"Why are you sorry?" he finally asked, not breaking their eye contact.
Pam raised an eyebrow, and Jim laughed at how closely she'd mimicked one of his facial expressions. "This is my fault. I told Roy that you'd kissed me - that I kissed you back." Her voice was quiet again, keeping the conversation between them.
Toby rushed over, handing Pam a towel full of ice cubes. She placed it over Jim's fingers, her eyes silently apologizing when he cringed again. "It's not your fault, Pam," he replied gently. "If it's anyone's, it was me."
She laughed carefully. "Hold this right here," she said, moving her hand from the towel and placing his free one over it. He looked at her questioningly as she rubbed her cold hands against her skirt. "Is everyone still here?"
He chuckled. "Unless they have magical powers, I'd have to say yes. No one's opened the door in at least five minutes."
"Ah, well," she sighed. "I guess they'll just enjoy the show, then."
Another questioning gaze. "Beesly, what are you talking about?"
She placed her hands, now warmed by the friction of her skin against her skirt's fabric, on either side of his face. "I'm tired of pretending, Jim. I can't ignore it anymore. Wrong or right...I just...can't."
And when her lips met his, nothing else mattered. There was no "can't". Jim didn't hear Kelly's squeals of delight, or Angela's disapproving "tsk"s. He didn't hear Michael's inappropriate comment. And most of all, he didn't hear Karen as she silently picked up her bag and left the office. He didn't know at that moment that she wouldn't be back. He didn't care at that moment.
When the kiss broke, Pam leaned her forehead against his. "Promise me you won't fight again, please."
"I can't promise that, m'lady. I have to defend my honour and reputation - isn't that what Dwight said?"
Pam brushed her thumb over his lips. "Since when do you listen to Dwight?"
"Sometimes I think he really knows what he's talking about." Jim smiled at her. "But I can pretty much promise you that this isn't going to happen again." He lifted his hand. "I forgot how much it hurts even when you're not the one getting punched."
She moved the ice and lifted his hand to her lips. "You're very brave, Jim Halpert. I'll give you that."
"I don't need that," he replied softly. "I need you."
Once more, with their co-workers around them, Pam pressed her lips to Jim's. He tasted her promises there, felt five years of waiting and watching and hurting and praying in her soft skin. And as his good hand wrapped around her and clutched at her waist, he knew that it, that they, would be different from there.
He knew that somehow, they were going to be okay.
Story Notes:
Contains spoilers for 4/5 Episode. Title from Hanson's "Go". This story is specifically for my friend last_tsarina, (from LJ,) who said, and I quote, "You write a fic in which Jim finds his inner manly man and I'll be the first in line. Fighting!Jim makes me hot. the words OOC won't cross my lips...keyboard...whatever." I'm holding you to that, hon. ;)
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
Author's Chapter Notes:
Written in two hours, with just a basic idea of where it was going. Forgive me if it rambles - it's unbetaed because I wanted to keep the stream-of-consciousness feel to it.
CallieJames is the author of 11 other stories.
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