The cashier is smiling as she rings up the teddy bear, stack of gossip magazines and a large pack of Sour Patch Kids and Jim pulls out his wallet when she reads the total.
“Visiting someone?” she asks.
“No, it’s just been a really hard day,” he smirks, handing her a twenty-dollar bill.
She giggles and blushes as she puts the items in a plastic bag, trying to hold onto eye contact with him as she hands him his change. But he just smiles and thanks her, leaving the hospital gift shop and making his way to the directory. He scans the list of wards till he finds “Maternity” and runs to catch an elevator going up. There’s only one other guy in the elevator and he holds his hand on the door to allow Jim to come in.
“Thanks man,” Jim says, reaching to hit the button marked “3” but notices it’s already lit.
“You visiting your wife?” The man asks.
“Nah,” Jim shakes his head. “Just a friend. You?”
The man, a little younger than Jim, nods fervently. “Yeah, it’s our first one. A boy, we think, but to tell you the truth I don’t know how anyone can tell from those ultrasounds. It could be an arm for all we know.”
Jim chuckles and the doors open with a quiet “ding.” Jim moves to the reception area as the man makes a right.
“Hope your friend’s okay,” he says over his shoulder, his voice friendly and with genuine concern.
“Thanks. Good luck,” Jim smiles and gives a small wave. He approaches the receptionist who is busy leafing through various files but looks up when she hears him at her desk.
“Hi, I’m looking for Samantha Fields’ room.”
The receptionist smiles and clicks at her keyboard. “Room 352,” she says, pointing to the long hallway to her left.
He thanks her and walks quickly through the hall, reading room numbers and catching glimpses of women with round stomachs resting, watching TV, visiting with family. He finally finds the room, the door just barely cracked open and he knocks lightly.
“Come in,” a soft voice calls from inside. Jim pushes the door open and finds her reclining with a remote in her hand, her blue eyes on the TV hanging in the corner. He clears his throat and she turns her head, her face breaking out in a wide but tired grin.
“Hey Jimmy,” she says, her voice cheerful but slightly hoarse with fatigue.
“Hey Sammie.” Jim sets the bag on a chair adjacent to her bed and leans over to kiss her temple.
“You’re taller,” she laughs, poking him in the ribs.
“You’re pregnant,” he retorts, lifting the bag from the chair and placing it on the soft afghan blanket covering her small frame.
“Ooo, presents,” Samantha rifles through the bag, gasping with delight as she pulls out the candy.
“You know me too well.”
“Yeah, I know that every time we go to the movies you steal mine. Now you have your own bag,” Jim teases as he sits in the rolling chair, sliding up closer to her bed and placing a hand gently on her swollen stomach.
“Hi baby,” he says softly, causing Samantha to let out a small laugh. “Why are you giving your mom so much trouble? I know you guys are supposed to fight, but at least wait till you’re out of there huh?” He looks back up to his friend with a more serious expression.
“You okay?”
She sighs. “A little sick of coming here and not having a baby when I leave, but other than that…”
“Is Nick here?”
She nods. “De-briefing with the doctors, seeing if they can tell us anything they haven’t told us before. I sent him on a mission to find candy too, but you beat him to it.”
Jim and Samantha’s friendship dates all the way back to the eighth grade, and since that time there have only been two instances of close physical contact between the two of them; once when she hit him in the eye with a softball and another when he had attempted to kiss her at junior prom. Both agreed that the softball was nicer. He takes pride in knowing it was he who introduced Samantha to his then college roommate Nick. But Samantha uses him as a scapegoat for whenever her husband messes up (“By the way, Nick keeps leaving his towels on the bathroom floor,” one e-mail read. “I blame you.”)
Now she is eight months pregnant and this is her fourth visit to the hospital in three weeks. The pregnancy is having complications and it hurts Jim to see the strong woman he’s known all his life be so vulnerable.
“You guys still fighting over names?” he asks, stealing a Sour Patch Kid.
Samantha laughs and rolls her eyes. “Yes. I don’t see what’s so bad about ‘Shawn.’”
Jim crinkles his nose. “I’m going to have to take Nick’s side on this one. What about a girl?”
“He desperately wants ‘Lucy.’ I personally am trying to stay away from naming our child after a cartoon character.”
“But you’re more than willing to name your son after a zombie movie?”
She laughs but her smile quickly fades into a frown. “It may not even matter…”
“Hey,” he takes her hand in his. “You’re going to have this baby. There’s a lot I need to teach little Shawn or Lucy if he or she is going to be my new accomplice in playing pranks on Dwight. He’d never suspect a baby.”
Samantha’s smile returns as she recognizes the infamous name he had so often said in stories about his ridiculous workplace.
“How’s Karen?”
Jim gives a weak smile and shrugs.
“She’s good.”
Samantha hesitates before asking her next question.
“How’s Pam?”
“And now we’re changing the subject. Do you need another pillow?”
“Jim,” she says calmly, her voice making a small plea for him to talk.
He sighs in exasperation and shrugs.
“She’s fine, I guess. Nothing’s changed. She’s still…Pam.”
Samantha stares at him for a few moments and he becomes uneasy.
“You hate her for that, don’t you?”
Jim is taken aback at her words, but she gives him a look that reminds him just how much he’s not fooling anyone.
Nick comes in then, a bag of Skittles in hand, and rushes to his wife before even noticing Jim. Samantha clears her throat and nods her head towards their guest. Nick’s face lights up in surprise and laughing pulls Jim into a hug. He sits on the edge of his wife’s bed, kissing her at the same spot on her temple that Jim had just a few minutes earlier.
“He brought me candy,” Samantha says with delight, holding up the now half-empty bag with pride.
Nick shakes his head. “Jim, how many times do I have to tell you to stop hitting on her? She turned you down, I can’t help it that you’re a bad kisser.”
Jim smirks and watches his old friend dote on his wife, fluffing her pillows and refilling her glass of water. The truth is, though they give each other a hard time, Jim has never quite seen two people so unbelievably in love, so willing to face life’s struggles hand-in-hand, so committed to making it work that they can sit in a hospital room for the fourth time this month and still manage to crack jokes. Except that he has seen it before, just at arm’s length and never quite being able to reach it. And he’s getting tired of trying to reach and only grasping at air.
He’s lost in his thoughts when the nurse comes in and announces that visiting hours are over and Nick gives Jim one last hug before leaving to call and update his parents on the baby. Jim’s alone with her again, and it’s the culmination of her looking so small in her bed and the uncertainty of the baby’s health and thoughts of Pam that make him suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. He kisses her on the cheek, leaving a tear just above where his lips were and Samantha looks at him lovingly.
“I love you, Jimmy. Thank you for everything,” she gives his hand a squeeze and now her eyes are starting to glisten.
“Love you too, Sammie. Bye baby,” he says rubbing his hand over her swelled abdomen. “Now don’t come out of there until you’re good and ready. The key to a successful prank is having ten fingers, ten toes, a healthy heart, and a smart brain, and I won’t settle for anything less.” He looks back up to Samantha and gives her a wink before standing and moving to the door.
“Jim,” she calls to him, just as he steps out to leave. He looks back at her, eyebrows raised in question.
“Just… don’t settle for anything less, okay?”
He smiles at the sound of his own words and nods at her.
“I won’t.”
Jim shuts her door and leans against the wall for a moment, wiping away a few more stray tears. He takes his time walking back to the elevator, listening to his shoes echo against the tile floor and somewhere the sound of a baby’s faint cry.
Story 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.
This is in response to the hospital visit prompt over at the "Office Prompts" Livejournal community (which is a fantastic new community that you all should definitely check out. /shameless plug). Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter End Notes:
Hope you all liked it :) It's raining really hard here today and you know what would cheer me up? Reviews, if you feel so inclined.
Wendy Blue is the author of 18 other stories.
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