“Last night was the worst night of my life,” Michael says as he sits in the conference room.  “I don’t know what I was thinking, going to Dwight’s house.  His freaky inbred cousin scared the crap out of me…God.  And of course we had beets for dinner.  But worst of all…he keeps a picture of me in his bedroom.”

Dwight shakes his head irritably.  “I keep pictures of all the men I admire in my bedroom.  Mainly that’s just Michael and my cousin Mose, but…”

The camera pans to Pam who’s watching Jim out of the corner of her eye.  She looks up, and notices the cameras with start.  She turns her focus to her computer.

“Last night was not too great,” Jim says, defeated.  “Actually, yesterday was pretty much an all-around sucky day, so…”

Kelly beams broadly at the camera.  “Oh my god, you will not believe,” she nearly squeals.  “Pink high heels, on sale, twenty dollars!” The camera follows her gaze down to her feet.  “I love my life.”

Pam sits at her desk, glancing up at Jim occasionally.  She thought after what happened the other day…maybe things would be different.  But he’s ignoring her, never looking her way, not saying a word all morning.  She sighs.

Dwight looks around the office with a smirk.  No notes all morning.  He pats himself on the back and mutters, “Job well done.”

Steve-the-camera guy looks around the office.  This can’t be right.  Jim and Pam not speaking.  Dwight triumphing over the prank.  Productivity at an all time high.  No, everything is completely wrong. 

He grins to himself as he thinks of a way to remedy the situation.

Ryan decides that it’s best to just leave the staplers.  He’s sure that Creed will steal them back, of course he will.  But really…how badly does one really need a stapler?  Surely this never-ending battle is not worth it.

And as though Creed is reading his thoughts (God, Ryan hopes he’s not) he walks over to Ryan’s desk and places a stapler on it.

“Truce,” he says, and Ryan smiles.  Finally. 

But when he comes back from lunch the stapler is gone and Ryan seriously considers quitting.

“Tricked him again!” Creed says with a grin.

At Dwight’s desk is a post-it note, stuck to his bobblehead.  Dwight widens his eyes angrily and snatches it up.  Dwight—I'm coming.  I’ll be in the parking lot, waiting for you at five. 

Dwight yelps and glances quickly over his shoulders.

Steve sets up the camera on a tripod in the conference room.  He sits down in a chair across from it and smiles nervously.

“Hi,” he begins.  “Uh, you don’t know me—well you kind of do, but not really, uh…I’m the camera guy, hi.”  He waves.  “Um.  Since this office is going to shi—the dogs, I decided to help out a little.  So.  What you’ll see next is all my doing.  Thanks.”

He bows before hurrying away and picking up the camera once more.

The camera films Michael through the window of his office.  He’s reading note that says: Josh is the one after your job.  Meet me in the parking lot at five.  But hide behind my car, and only jump up and yell when you see me approaching—Dwight.  Michael’s face scrunches up in anger.  Of course.

“Michael!” Dwight is banging on the door.  Michael jumps up to let him in, and before he can say a word Dwight blurts out, “I need to go get some camouflage.  Okay?  It’s for the thing.”  He coughs pointedly.

“No.  Stay here.  I’ll send someone else.”

He sticks is head outside the office.  “Jim, I need you to run to the store.”

Jim stands with a groan and asks, “What do you need?”

“Um, camouflage for Dwight.  Oh and take Pam, she has the corporate card.”

Jim pulls at his tie nervously. “I don’t think corporate will like—”

“It’s a matter of life and death!  Go now.  And that’s an order.”

Jim shrugs and turns to Pam, who’s looking anywhere but at him.  Of course.

They leave and head to Jim’s car, neither saying a word.

When they get to Walmart, the store is decked out in Halloween decorations.  Jim guides Pam to the children’s section.

“What are you doing?” she asks, “Shouldn’t we go to like…the hunting aisle or something.”

“No, I have a better idea.”

He’s looking at the Halloween costumes and pulls down a fairy princess costumes.

“What?” Pam asks, confusion all over her face.

Pam giggles in spite of herself.  She realizes suddenly that she’s spent too much of her time ignoring Jim and being angry with him.

“Jim.”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you being weird today?  I mean…what’s going on?”

He says nothing for a moment, just stares absently at the costumes before him.  She crosses her arms and waits.

“I broke-up with Melissa.”

Oh.  Of course, she realizes.  He’s upset because they broke up, that’s why he’s been acting weird.  So it had nothing to do with her after all…

Her stomach sinks.

“Oh.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean—I just thought…”

He brings his gaze to her face.  “Wait.  I broke-up with her because of what happened between us,” he pauses and adds, “Because of everything that’s always been between us.”

She says nothing, just stares at the ground.

“And then I went to your house and saw you were back with Roy, and God…I don’t know.”

She looks up at this.  “Wait—what?  I’m not back with Roy.”

“What?”

“I had dinner with him last night…he begged me.  Wait, you were at my house?”

He grins sheepishly at her.  “Yeah, sorry.”

Neither says anything for a few moments.

“Let me get this straight,” Jim says slowly.  “You’re not with anyone.  I’m not with anyone.”  Pam nods along and he pauses before saying, “Then tell me again what we’re waiting for?”

She smiles widely after a moment.  “Um…nothing?” she ventures.

“That’s what I thought.”

When he kisses her by the costumes, he can’t help but smile against her lips because for the first time, neither one of them is pulling away, or running away, and for the first time it can last and last.

It does.

And as he walks out of Walmart, he has a bag with the princess costume in one hand, and her own hand in the other.

Dwight glances at his watch.  It’s getting late and Jim’s not back yet.  He’ll have to leave without the camouflage.  He searches the office for Michael, but he’s nowhere in sight.

He walks stealthily out to the parking lot towards his car.  He’s almost there when he hears a yell, and someone jumps up from the other side.

Dwight lets out a piercing shriek before noticing that it’s Michael.

“Michael, what are you doing?”

“You told me to meet you here.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Then who was that note from?”

“What note?”

Dwight glances into his car and notices a bag on the seat.  He throws the door open and pokes the bag cautiously, quickly pulling his hand back should it attack.

The bag doesn’t move.

He pulls it out, looks in the bag and sees a bright pink dress.  A little girl’s dress.

The End.