Pam quickly dressed and used her cell phone to call a cab, desperate to repress the thought of Michael taking off her clothes. Some things are best left forgotten. It was two in the morning and she wanted to get back to her own bed. She sat outside, shivering against the cold, and tried to reconcile the events of the day. She thought about the people who had been at Dunder Mifflin when she started work. How had Jim's illness shaped their feelings towards the friendly salesman?

In a way, it made sense that Michael had never mentioned Jim's health. She remembered how badly he had reacted when his former boss, Ed Truck, died. The thought that Jim, who was even younger than Michael, could pass away must have been terrifying.

Obviously, Michael considered Jim a friend and had a high opinion of the salesman. Maybe the reason why Dwight was still assistant (to the) regional manager was because of Jim's condition. It was obvious that while Michael knew Dwight was a good salesman, he had little respect for the high strung beet farmer.

As the cab showed up and Pam asked to be driven back to Dunder Mifflin, she started thinking about how Dwight treated Jim. It could be that part of the reason Dwight put up with Jim's pranks was his out of deference to the younger man's condition. That being said, she remembered how often Dwight would talk about his genetic superiority. Jim's pranks always seemed a bit more ruthless after Dwight went off on one of those rants. Granted, Jim's meanest prank had taken place after Dwight had loudly informed Pam that "women's problems," were no excuse for being late for work. She laughed remembering how Jim had somehow managed to find Dwight's house and insert an indelible ink cartridge into the shower head in his bathroom. It had taken five weeks before all traces of pigment were scrubbed from Dwight's pale face.

Pam paid the cabbie and got into her small car. She cranked up the seat warmer; it was the only extravagance she'd allowed herself when she bought it. As she drove home and let the heat loosen the tightness in her back, she thought how protective Phyllis had always been to Jim. Even Stanley never had a bad thing to say about him, and the things Stanley liked could be safely counted on one hand with a finger or two left to spare. Then she thought about how concerned Jim had been when Kevin announced he might have skin cancer.

The only person whose actions she couldn't understand was Angela. She must have known about Jim's condition, yet she had always been cold to him, even before he really began pranking Dwight.

She got back to her apartment and nibbled on a cereal bar before settling into bed. As she pulled up the blanket, she started thinking about Jim. How he had dropped out of college and started at Scranton, hoping that the change would make everything better. Just like how after she told him she was going to marry Roy he had transferred to Stamford, hoping for the same thing. How he said he hadn't wanted to be pitied or to guilt Pam into having feelings for him. She wondered if that was why he kept silent about his feelings for so long. That was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Pam got up early so that she could visit the hospital before work. Larissa Halpert was still there, and both she and Jim smiled as the receptionist entered the room. "We had a good night," she told Pam. "Jim was able to go to the bathroom by himself and he's already had breakfast."

Jim shot a glare at his mother, "Mom, please don't talk about me like I'm three years old."

Larissa shot back a deadly smile. "Just giving you incentive to never put me through this again, dear."

Pam's eyes grew wide, "Damn, she's good," the receptionist thought. She walked over to Jim's bed and took his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Physically, it's fine. I'm just really tired." Jim did look better. His skin had lost the gray sheen of the previous evening and they had removed the IV. "Otherwise, I just feel stupid," Jim admitted. "It's going to be so weird having to go back and face everyone. Especially since this probably wouldn't have happened if I'd taken better care of myself in Stamford. It's just that things were so crazed at the end. And we'd pulled it off. I mean, if Josh hadn't just been using our work to get a better job at Staples." Jim mused for a moment. "That doesn't even sound like me, does it?"

"I'm glad you recognized that, it was beginning to freak me out," Pam admitted. "It didn't sound like the Jim I..." Pam remembered they weren't alone, "knew."

"Well, all I can say is it's a good thing I've come back," Jim replied. "I wasn't really fond of Corporate Jim."

"But hey, it worked out for you. I mean, think of what it means now that you're Dwight's boss," Pam said.

Jim chuckled. Then his face fell, "I'm not going to be able to do anything to him now. It would be like, Jim is an evil boss." He looked like a child who had lost his second favorite toy.

Pam patted his hand. "Don't worry. Michael is Dwight's boss and he makes Dwight do his laundry." Seeing Jim's confused look, Pam simply said, "Long story. Well, I have to go. I've got a long day answering phones ahead of me." She leaned forward and gave Jim a quick kiss. It was a short peck, the kind of kiss you give someone when their mother is watching you. "Think about me today," she said.

"That's something I can do," Jim replied.

Pam arrived at Dunder Mifflin a few minutes early. The new guy, Andy, was already in the office. Just as Pam turned on her computer, Roy came into the office and walked up to her desk.

"Hey Pammy," her ex-fiancé said.

She could never convince him just how much she hated that nickname.

"I saw the ambulance. How's Halpert?"

"They think he'll be okay. They installed a pacemaker."

"That sounds serious. I feel kind of guilty about yesterday. I just wanted... I don't know...I wanted to show..."

"I know," Pam said, and she did. There was no need to make Roy say that he wanted to show Pam that he was a better man than Jim. She knew that Roy saw himself as competing with the salesman, but that wasn't the issue. Jim and Pam fit. They had the same sense of humor, the same appreciation for each other, the same need to spend time together. Roy would be perfect for a lot of women. Jim was perfect for her.

"So probably no more basketball for Halpert, huh?"

"I don't know," Pam answered. "The doctor said that he could resume a normal life. I don't know if that means he'll be working out or not." She looked around and saw that Andy had gotten up and moved to the break room. She turned back to Roy, wanting to say this in the gentlest way possible. "Look, this thing with Jim has made me think." It killed her to see the glimmer of hope in Roy's eyes. "I realized that Jim means a lot to me and I need to be with him right now. I hope this won't be weird for you."

Roy's face fell. He knew now that he had really lost her. "Yeah, I understand... I need to get to work." He turned around, not wanting her to see just how much he was hurting.

After Roy left Andy left the break room and ambled up to Pam's desk. "So Pammy, how's the Big Tuna?"

The next person who called her "Pammy" was going to lose a finger. "Who?"

Andy clarified. "Big Tuna, the conquering hero, the new number two..."

"Around here we mostly just call him Jim," Pam said.

"Figures. Scranton," Andy said. "Look I know that you're friends with Tuna and, judging from the guy who was just here, several other men around the office, but you might want to think about the new sheriff in town?"

"Who?" Pam asked again, torn between confusion and outrage.

Andy shook his head and began speaking to Pam as if she were a child. "You should think about me, my little owl. After all, Michael left me in charge on my first day in Scranton."

"Everyone else was at the hospital," Pam noted.

"It's just a matter of time," Andy continued breezily. "Dwight's obviously a mental case, Tuna is too fragile, and Michael is hanging onto his job by his fingernails. Josh couldn't have left at a better time for me. A few well chosen words to Jan when she comes to inspect the troops, and yours truly is going to be the head honcho around here. If you stick with me, you could really go places," he tried to look down her blouse as he grabbed a jellybean.

"I have faxes that need to go out," Pam said, her jaw clenched as she pulled some papers to her chest.

"Think about it," Andy said, his face deadly serious.

The Scranton crew showed up at their normal times, and all of them wanted updates about Jim's condition. Pam avoided going into the details that Clarissa had shared with her, although she was tempted to relay the information to Dwight.

When Michael showed up Pam thought she saw him blushing. She thanked him for the ride and the place to crash. To her shock he didn't mention undressing her before putting her to bed. She was so relieved that Michael hadn't broadcast it around the office that she didn't really mind when he announced to everyone "Now we need to be nice to Pam today. She's in love with Jim so she has to be going through a lot right now."

Pam merely buried her face in her hands as she heard Kelly squeal. At least she'd already told Roy. That was the small blessing in this. When she was able to look around the office again, Kevin caught her eye and giggled at her. Karen had her head buried near her computer monitor.

At nine-thirty, the phone rang for about the twentieth time that morning. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

"Hey, it's Jim."

"Hey, how are you doing? Any more bathroom successes you want to talk to me about?"

"Please," Jim begged. "My mom has been absolutely brutal today. She finally went home a little while ago. I'm not even going to tell you what she said to the nurse this morning."

"Something about a sponge bath?"

"Don't even go there, Beesly. Listen, my cell phone's at my desk. Could you charge it and have someone drop it off here? If any of my clients really need to talk to me you can just patch them through."

"So I'm speaking with Corporate Jim?" Pam asked.

"It's better than sitting in this bed watching SportsCenter on a continuous loop."

"I was thinking of visiting you at lunch, so I can do it."

"Wow, that'd be great. I mean, I know you have a lot of stuff to do..."

"Jim, you know that I don't. Can I bring you anything?"

"Maybe jellybeans?" Jim asked.

"Sure." Pam saw nobody was near her desk, so she said softly, "Hey, I wanted to ask you about one of the Stamford guys."

"Who?"

"Andy."

"Yeah, he's kind of strange. And I say this as someone who's worked next to Dwight K. Shrute for five years. I put his stapler in Jello and I thought his head was going to explode."

Pam's frown deepened. Should she tell Jim what the new guy had said? No more secrets, she decided. "He came by this morning and said that he thought he'd be in charge of the branch soon. It was kind of slimy."

Jim was silent.

"I'm sorry, I know it's probably the last thing you need to hear now but..."

"No, I'm glad you told me. I got that vibe from him in Stamford. With Josh around, he managed to keep it low-key. I'll have to do something when I get back. Tell you what, transfer me to Dwight."

"He and Andy have already had an insult match this morning, just so you know." She didn't want him to have to deal with this now. "I didn't mean to..."

"Stop it Beesly. You did the right thing. Know that I love you and let me talk to Mr. Bears, Beets, and Battlestar Galactica."

"Love you," Pam whispered back. She put Jim on hold and called out, "Dwight, Jim is on the phone and wants to talk to you."

Dwight looked surprised. Pam silently monitored the conversation as Dwight looked happier and happier the longer he was on the phone. When he hung up, he marched over to Andy and said, "Jim has, quite appropriately, named me acting number two in his absence. He also suggested that you might benefit from some field time with me so that I can show you the Scranton way of representing Dunder Mifflin."

Pam stifled a giggle at that. She could picture Andy's reaction to being dragged to Dwight's beet farm. From the stories Jim and Ryan had told, this was going to be an event Andy wouldn't forget anytime soon.

Dwight dropped by Pam's desk and whispered, "Jim said that you alerted him to the situation with Andy. I appreciate your assistance and loyalty."

"It needed to be done," Pam said solemnly.

"I think the time in Stamford did him some good," Dwight mused. "I... I hope things work out for you." In spite of everything, it seemed that even Dwight liked Jim.

Pam started to tear up. "Thanks. I'm going to drop off his cell phone at lunch. If you need him, you can call."

"He mentioned that, but I wasn't certain he was being serious. Interesting. I need to call my cousin Mose." Dwight went back to his desk.

Pam was confident that she would have a story to tell Jim by lunch time.