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.

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"You lost that loving feeling...whoa, that loving feeling. You lost that loving feeling now it's gone... gone... gone... whoa-whoa-whoa..."

Jim sighed as he plopped on a chair in defeat, watching Michael sob through a drunken rendition of "You Lost that Loving Feeling." He looked back at Angela and raised his eyebrows at her. Maybe a karaoke-themed Christmas party wasn't such a good idea after all.

An hour into Michael's Christmas Bon Voyage and already most of the people in the office were getting restless. No one was prepared for a drunken, hysterical Michael Scott attempting to let out his frustrations through song, and things were getting increasingly awkward as Michael made a bigger fool of himself with his antics. His first song was met with a few snickers from Daryll and the other guys from the warehouse, but by the time he sang the last few notes of "It Must've Been Love But It's Over Now," every one decided it was far wiser to remain quiet.

Michael buckled to his knees during the closing chorus of sixth straight song, "You Lost that Loving Feeling," and so Angela was forced to help him back to his seat. But before Michael gave up the microphone, he slurred, "You lost that loving feeling, Dunder Mifflin! That goes for you too, Jan," leaving everyone stunned.

"Maybe we should call it a day," Phyllis whispered, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room.

"Come on guys, this is Michael's send-off. We can't leave things like this." Jim said, half-pleading to his co-workers to stay.

"Hey Ryan, Michael's always seemed to like you best. Do something." Kevin snickered.

"That's funny, Kev." Ryan deadpanned.

"Oh my god, you guys can't send Ryan again. Have you seen his shirt? Those tear stains on his shoulder have so not dried yet from when you sent him in for a heart-to-heart with Michael earlier." Kelly said, stroking Ryan's hand in support.

"I never knew he was just a big a cryer as Kelly." Ryan continued.

"Hey!"

"There's no way Angela's gonna let us end the party this early . Toby hasn't even gotten back yet from getting the streamers." Oscar noted.

Everyone sat back in their seats and groaned.

"So leave! Leave!!! No one's forcing you to be here." Michael screamed from the opposite end of the room, while Angela stood stiffly beside him.

"Angela is." Kelly whispered disdainfully. Angela looked back at her sternly and cocked an eyebrow.

Jim looked back at Michael who had sat back on his chair, still in tears. He surveyed the room, and observed his fellow co-workers who were getting uncomfortable with the gloominess that hung above them. He noticed Dwight's absence from the group, remembering that Dwight was so distraught with the news of Michael's dismissal, that he vowed to boycott the Christmas Bon Voyage in protest. Times like these he wished Pam was still around. The two of them always managed to bring the whole office together, even during the oddest of times. He remembered the day the toaster caught fire, forcing everyone to wait at the office parking lot and play silly little games. The day they organized the office olympics. The day they held a reading for Michael's screenplay. Jim suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He once again found himself missing Pam. Horribly.

For four months after Pam had left, Jim moped around the office, quietly mourning the end of a real friendship and the loss of a great love. Three days after she left, he thought it unusual that Pam had still not shown up for work, initially thinking that she had come down with the virus that had been going around the office. But when a loud-mouthed, busty blonde showed up in the office a week later and sat in reception, answering the phone with a nonchalant, "Dunder-Mifflin this is Janine," realization quickly set in. He staggered into Michael's office after working up the nerve (and strength) to ask about Pam, and when Michael confirmed his suspicions, he felt so ill that he wound up in the bathroom, heaving his breakfast through his tears.

He skipped work for the rest of that day and unceremoniously broke things off with Karen. He apologized for not being completely honest with her and himself. In the guise of self-preservation, he wound up pushing away the woman of his dreams, his best friend. Karen refused to talk to him for days, and eventually accepted a transfer to New York for a corporate position. When she started dropping by the Scranton Branch with Jan a few months later, she and Jim took steps to straighten things out between them, and now they were back to being good friends. Jim and Pam however, were another story. They, as things seemed, were irrepairable.

He eventually found out that Pam did move to Chicago, but even if Toby caved and gave Jim Pam's Chicago address, he never went after her. He did go to Chicago, for a sales convention, but after standing on the street across Pam's apartment building, mustering up the courage to see her, he chickened out dejectedly walked back to his hotel.

Although he was miserable without her, a bigger part of him was proud of Pam for finally having the courage to do something for herself, to first realize her dream of making a career in arts and design, and for starting a new life on her own, according to her own terms. He respected Pam's need for a change of scenery and he was not about to jeopardize her newfound peace just because he was finally ready to admit that he couldn't quite live without her.

He shook his head and tried to clear his head of Pam-related thoughts. These days, with it being the holidays and all, he found himself dwelling on things he wished he could have done differently to make Pam stay, but he realized that at that very moment, someone more important merited his attention -- Michael. Over the years, he had developed a soft spot for his boss, eccentricities and all, and he wanted to make his Michael's last day in the office a memorable one.

So, with another look around the room, he stood up from his chair and headed to the karaoke area. He tapped the head of the microphone several times to catch everyone's attention and cleared his throat. "Okay. Hey there everyone! My name's Jim, and today I'm taking requests." He toyed with the buttons of the karaoke machine until he found the song he intended to sing.

"This first song is for a certain special someone... the one who got away." he said, playfully looking at Michael's direction. In this situation, he knew all Michael really needed was to feel the least bit appreciated, and so he was ready to make a fool of himself if only to lift his boss's and the entire office's spirits.

"So Michael..." he trailed off, waiting for the opening notes of the song to start playing.

"And I...am telling you, I'm not going. You're the best man I'll ever know. There's no way I can ever go..."


Several of his co-workers started cheering, egging Jim on. Even Michael looked to be in better spirirts, visibly touched and surprised by Jim's inane gesture.

"Oh my God Jim, you CAN'T be serious. That's, like, a classic! I am so mad. If I were Jennifer Hudson, I would like totally be insulted," Kelly protested.

Jim paused for dramatic effect and smirked at the crowd before continuing. "No, no, there's no way. No, no, no, no way I'm living without you..."

Jim had been so preoccupied with his singing hat he didn't notice two figures slowly enter the office, carrying two large paper bags each.


"PAM?!?!?" Jim heard Michael say within earshot.

"Uh, no Michael" he replied, chuckling uneasily. "You know I'm singing this for you."

"Hey everyone." Jim heard an achingly familiar voice say, with his back still facing the door.

"Oh my God. PAM!!!" Kelly shrieked.

The room erupted in a chorus of Hey Pam's and It's good to see you's as Kelly and Michael both raced to welcome their former receptionist with a hug.

Jim met Kevin's eye as the latter stood up to greet Pam. "Is it really...?" Jim whispered still refusing to turn around.

Kevin waggled his eyebrows in an almost lascivious manner and moved towards the door.

When Jim finally decided to turn around and met Pam's gaze, his face had turned an unhealthy shade of white.

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