"I'm late."
"I'm sorry?" Jim almost choked on his carrot stick.
"I just though you should know."
"What?"
"I mean, I haven't taken a test or anything. I've been kind of putting it off..."
He interrupted her. "Wait! Can you start from the beginning here?"
Suddenly Angela walked into the kitchen, flouncing over to the fridge while giving them a stern look. They waited for her to leave before resuming their conversation.
"I just thought you should know," Karen repeated.
"What does that mean, exactly?" Jim asked, his voice shaking.
"I think I'm pregnant."
He felt the ground open up beneath him as he grasped onto the counter trying to catch his balance. He had never passed out before, but he was pretty sure he was close to doing so now. She turned to the door and walked back to her desk without another word.
Jim went into the men's room and leaned against the sink, splashing water on his face. It took him a good ten minutes before he was able to walk back to his seat. He felt Pam smile at him, but he couldn't look at her. They had been dating for three weeks now and everything was going great. He was happier than he could ever remember being. And now...
Karen didn't look at him at all. He gazed in her direction several times but she wouldn't make eye contact. Finally, about an hour later, he stood up and walked over to her desk.
"We need to talk about this," he whispered, so low that no one else could hear.
"Fine," she replied, and she got up and followed him outside. They walked past the reception desk and Jim only nodded shortly to Pam, who felt her stomach drop as she watched the two of them walk out the door together. Ten, then fifteen minutes passed, and they still didn't return. She thought maybe she should go looking for them, but she made herself stay in her seat.
When Jim finally walked back in the door 20 minutes later, Karen wasn't with him, and he looked pale and out of sorts.
"Jim - " Pam started, but he cut her off.
"Not now. I'll talk to you later." He got his car keys out of his desk and turned to leave again. When he saw her panicked expression he stopped. "It's okay. I just... I'll call you later and explain." She nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "I love you," he said as he walked out of the office.
He had barely knocked on Karen's door before she flung it open. "Come in." He could tell she had been crying. "I bought a test. I haven't taken it yet," she said. He saw the box sitting on the coffee table.
"I mean, maybe it's just stress." She was still talking, but he wasn't really hearing her.
"Are you going to take it or not?" he snapped.
She winced at his harshness, and then picked the test up and went into the bathroom. He paced back and forth through her living room, nervously running his hand through his hair. She emerged a few minutes later, stick in hand.
"Positive," she said.
"No!" he practically shouted, rushing over to look at it. "It can't be. How can this happen?" His whole world was coming apart at the seams. This was it? After waiting so long to be with Pam, this was how it was going to end? They were happy, for Christ's sake. His relationship with Karen was over. He sat down on the couch and couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of his eyes.
Karen said nothing, just stood there, staring at the test. "What am I going to do?" she finally asked, choking back her own tears.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
She sat down on the opposite end of the couch. Finally, she said, "You should get back to work. I'll call Michael and tell him I'm sick or something."
Jim looked at her. "Are you serious?"
"What?"
"You think I can just go back to work? What the hell am I going to tell Pam?"
She was angry now. "What are you going to tell Pam? Are you fucking kidding me? My whole life is ruined, and it's your fault, so forgive me if I don't give a shit what you tell the girl you dumped me for, Jim." She stood up and opened the apartment door. "Just get out of here."
He walked out, not looking back as she slammed the door behind him.
He didn't go back to work. Nor did he call anyone to tell them he would be gone for the rest of the day. Pam was concerned and called his cell phone several times, but he didn't answer. And Karen didn't come back either. Pam was sick with worry, so much so that she finally told Michael she had to leave because she wasn't feeling well. It was four thirty, and she drove straight over to Jim's house. His car was there but he didn't answer the door right away. She knocked for several minutes, and then finally the door opened.
"Jim! What's going on?"
He motioned for her to come in but he said nothing, and then she saw the bottle of vodka on the table. She looked at him and knew that he was totally plastered. At four thirty on a Friday afternoon.
"What the hell, Jim? You're drunk?"
He nodded, stumbling over to his couch and grabbing his glass.
"Yep."
"You're scaring me," she said, and her heart was thumping so hard that she thought it was going to leap out of her chest.
"Karen's pregnant." He said it simply, nonchalantly, as he took another sip of his drink.
She just stared at him, willing herself to wake up out of this nightmare. When she didn't, she backed up to the door. "I gotta go."
Jim got up, tripping over his feet as he tried to reach her. "Pam, don't go!"
Pam looked at him once more, and repeated, "I have to go." She ran to her car, fighting the tears as she started it and put it in reverse. He had followed her, almost reaching the window but she backed up and drove away, leaving him standing in his driveway, alone.
Story Notes:
I was thinking what the worst case scenario would be for Jim and Pam the next time we see them, and this is pretty much it. Fortunately, nothing like this would ever happen on the show. ;)
Author's Chapter 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.
