"Do you think I should turn this light on? It's kind of hard to see."

"Yeah, but block the bottom of the door with something first," Pam whispered. "Or they might see the light."

"I don't even know what we've got in here."

"Then turn on the light, and we'll quickly grab stuff to put in front of the door."

Jim waved his arm around for a few moments for the string in the middle of the room that led to the bare bulb overhead. Once he found it, he gave it a pull. They glanced around the illuminated room quickly. The room was even smaller than it had seemed when the lights were out. There was just a counter that lined the back wall, with boxes of cleaning agents and sponges stacked on top and underneath. a mop and a couple of brooms leaned against the wall in the corner. Jim and Pam quickly grabbed hold of some boxes, and quietly laid them on the ground in front of the door. 

With some of the boxes moved to the floor, they were able to rearrange things on the counter in order to create a space just big enough to stand up in.

Pam looked at Jim. "Ready?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Pam hopped up onto the counter, straightening her skirt as she stood up. As she did so, she temporarily lost her balance in the narrow space she had to stand up in. But Jim immediately reached up to steady her- her body had turned towards him in her attempt to regain her balance, so both of her hands ended up in Jim's hands in front of her.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her stand up straight again. She still gripped onto his hands once she'd regained her balance. Their fingers were clumsily woven together, and Jim took this opportunity to give her hands a little squeeze of encouragement. Her cheeks turned pink as she smiled and drew her hands from his, and she immediately began to survey the air vent.

Jim tried to hide the hopeful smile he felt forming at her reaction. "No, I thought you had one."

"Jim..." she said, a hint of amusement in her voice as she continued to stare up at the air vent.

"C'mon, Beesley," he laughed, "I'm not Dwight. I don't normally carry around unnecessary tools with me."

"Well, then maybe it would have been better to be stuck in here with Dwight instead. At least he would have been prepared," Pam said with a teasing smile.

"Oh man, you're killing me." He placed a hand over his heart dramatically.

Pam laughed a little. "Well, then how do we get this vent off?"

"Got a nail file or anything?"

"In my purse... which is in my desk."

Jim searched around for anything that could unscrew the screws holding the air vent to the ceiling. "I got nothing," he finally said, shrugging.

"What about a dime?" Pam asked.

"You think that will work?"

"I don't know. Do you have one?"

Jim shoved both hands into his pockets, and a moment later, pulled his right hand out with a dime held between his thumb and forefinger. Pam smiled and reached for it.

Jim watched as she struggled at first, and was about to offer to try when the screw came loose. Then another. Soon, Pam removed all four screws, and took down the grate. She handed it over to Jim, and he leaned it up against the cement wall.

"Okay, now how do we get up there?" She asked.

Jim scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I could hoist you up, and I think if I stacked up a few things, I could get myself up in there."

"Okay," Pam said, and took a deep, shaky breath.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, okay?"

"Yeah."

"No really. I am a first class hero. I've just kept it a secret because I don't want anyone asking for my autograph."

Pam smiled a little, and after a moment to collect her nerves said, "Come on, Hero Boy. Help me up into the ceiling."

Jim climbed up onto the counter and stood next to Pam. "Okay, how are we going to do this?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Well, I could lift you up like this," he demonstrated by gripping her firmly at the waist, and lifting her up a little and then returning her to her feet. "And while you're up there, you can grab onto the vent, and I'll help you the rest of the way while you lift yourself up." His hands still hovered over her hips.

She nodded, eyebrows raised. "Um, okay."

"I promise not to look up your skirt," he added.

Pam let out a surprised laugh, and began to blush again. "Wow, okay. Um, good to know."

"Ready?" Laughter remained in his voice, and his hands landed on her hips again as he began to hoist her up. Pam reached for the hole in the ceiling, and began to guide herself in. Jim held her legs, helping her the rest of the way.

"Are you okay?" he whispered when she was completely inside. In response, he heard  shuffling around, and then a bang. They both froze. Pam's shoes had hit the metal of the duct as she was trying to turn around in order to help Jim, obviously finding it too small inside to do so. Jim stood still, listening for a few moments longer for any indication that they were heard.

"I'm sorry," Pam whispered.

"It's okay.  Just... I think we have to take our shoes off."

"Jim..."

"It's too easy to bump them and be heard."

"But how are we going to run when we get out if we have no shoes?"

"Don't worry. We  just-- we need to take our shoes off now," he said, feeling more urgent that they should already be in the ceiling and going for help.

"I don't think I can reach my feet right now..."

"Hold on, I'll get them," Jim said, reaching into the duct. He pulled off her shoes carefully, and placed them on the counter against the wall. His joined hers within a few moments, and then he dragged over some boxes to stand on.

"Can you get in here yourself?" Pam asked.

"I don't know yet. Hold on," Jim said, as he assessed the circumstances. After a long pause, he said, "Yeah, I think I can. Can you move forward a little?"

Pam slid forward into the dusty vent. She already felt the grime in her nose, felt a sneeze coming on. She craned her neck and watched as Jim struggled to get into the duct without hitting his head, trying not to make too much noise. When he was finally all the way in, it was very dark. the only light was coming from behind Jim where they'd entered.

"Ready to go?" he breathed?

She nodded, but didn't move.

"Hey, you're fine," he reassured her softly, and reached out to rub a hand down her back. She nodded once more, and slowly began to move. Pam's heart jumped in nervousness when she realized she was leading them in the darkness.