"Mhmm," she murmured, her eyes still searching the cabinets.

"Do you think he's too tall? I think he's too tall." Kevin's voice dripped out slowly, drilling the low, monotone syllables right into Pam's nerves.

"Uhh, yeah, pretty tall, I guess." She was proud for remaining so non-chalant, storing her real feelings about his height (and everything else for that matter) for the next time her mom asked her about work.

"Who do you think would win if I got in a fight with him?" Pam began to roll her eyes at the obviousness of the answer, but one look at Kevin told her that the few remaining scraps of his pride were riding on her answer to the question.

"Between you and me, Kev," she whispered, looking around for eavesdroppers in an over-exaggerated way. "I think you could take him."

Kevin beamed and puffed out his chest slightly just as Kelly walked in.

"Hey Kelly, Pam thinks I could beat up the new guy."

"Who? Jim? Please. Your only hope of winning would be to sit on him. Pam, how could you even think that? He's pretty cute you know, and now that you're single-"

"Kelly," Pam made a quick cutting motion to her neck, signaling that it would be a good idea to stop talking, if that was even possible. "Let's not go there."

"But I'm just saying you-"

"What are talking we about?" Pam felt her face flush as of course, Jim chose this moment to walk into the kitchen.

"How you and--" Kelly started to say before Pam quickly cut her off.

"Kevin would make for an interesting fight!"

Kevin's smile slowly widened. "Yeah. Pam thinks I could beat you up."

Jim's eyebrows shot up in surprise towards Pam, his face spreading into a smirk.

"Oh, really? I thought you had more loyalty than that, Beesly."

She stood there, stunned with a dopey smile on her face as she heard him say her last name with such warmth and a subtle undertone of affection.

It was a nickname.

A sharp jab in the ribs from Kelly's elbow alerted her to the now silent room staring at her, waiting for a reply of some kind. Jim looked proud of himself; amusement hanging from the corners of his upturned mouth.

"Oh...yeah, well. You're the new guy, so, I haven't seen what you can...do." She kicked herself internally at her complete lack of articulation, but her fumbling seemed to only make Jim grin broader.

"Excellent point. You're right. Kev, come on, you and me. Let's go," Jim threw up two fists, playfully jabbing the air in front of him. Kevin joined in the fun, standing up and throwing his body into various kung-fu positions, causing the room to roar in laughter.

"He's adjusting really well, isn't he?" Pam said quietly to Kelly, watching as the two grown-men continued to play-fight.

"Yeah, and to think Michael didn't want to hire him."

xxx

"Jim, I want you to know, I always wanted to hire you."

"Oh, umm, okay. Thanks."

"I mean, seriously, don't listen to Jan. She's on medication for...everything. Anyway," Michael cleared his throat, leaning on the edge of his desk, attempting to tower himself over a seated Jim. "The point is, we're glad to have you here. You're doing great. Listener counts are up, we're getting more hits on the website."

"That's great."

"I'm not done. Unfortunately, those phone lines are quieter than a woman having sex with Toby."

"Wow," Jim shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"So! I'm instituting a new segment on your Friday show called ‘What's up, Doc?' You'll have a highly trained therapist, a personal friend of mine, on the air to take people's calls, let them tell their sob stories, and offer up his advice." Michael wagged his eyebrows, looking at Jim to share his moment of brilliance.

"Okay, so...what would I be doing exactly?"

"Umm, you know, say hello. Make the people feel welcome. We're paying this guy like, a lot of money to do this, so you should really just let him talk."

Jim frowned, but realized there was no sense in arguing with a man wearing a South Park tie. "But, just Fridays right?"

"Abo-lutely. The rest of the week is yours to talk to yourself, Giant Stay Puft Jim Man."

Jim forced a smile and stood up to leave. "Thanks, Michael."

"Hey, don't thank me. Thank Dr. Todd for being able to get away from rehab on such short notice."

"I'm sorry, what?"

xxx

"Okay, we've got Melissa on line 2. Melissa, go ahead, you're on the air with...Dr. Todd," Jim said through gritted teeth.

"Hi Jim, umm, I love your show."

"Thanks Melissa, I appreciate it."

"I'm sorry, did you have a question for me, sweetheart?" Dr. Todd interrupted, impatience seething through his voice.

Pam kept her eyes trained on the board in front of her, allowing herself a quick eye-roll that she hoped no one could see.

"Oh, sorry. Umm, my mother-in-law keeps interfering in my marriage, and I was wondering-"

"How long have you two been married?" Dr. Todd interrupted yet again.

"Six months."

"Six months?!? Listen babe, take it from someone who's been married a time or two in his day, if you're already startin' to complain at six months, this ain't gonna last."

"Dr. Todd, please-" Jim started, throwing a pleading look to Pam.

"I'm tellin' you, none of my marriages lasted longer than six months because all of them started whinin' and complainin'..."

"Huh. Can't imagine why," Pam said. It was when she heard a long silence in her headphones that she realized both Dr. Todd and Jim had heard her, each staring at her in shock; one looking quite angry, the other looking immensely pleased.

"Pam? Did you want to say something?" Jim encouraged, his eager eyes telling her to continue.

She swallowed hard and took the mute off of her microphone.

"Hey Melissa? Listen, is your husband an only child?"

"Yes, actually, he is. How did you know?"

"Only children tend to have these kinds of mothers. She's used to being the only woman in his life, calling the shots, looking out for what's best for him. Just keep in mind that she's only doing it because she cares, not to be annoying or to try and sabotage things. Plus you said you've only been married six months? Things are still new; she's probably waiting for that ax to fall so that she can come to the rescue for him. This is your chance to show her that you are a strong, capable wife who can work little problems out with her son without her help."

"Wow, that...that makes sense. Who...who am I talking to again?"

"Oh, umm, I'm Pam. Just the board operator," she said weakly, the empowerment she felt while giving advice slowly dwindling as she remembered her place.

"Pam, thank you so much. And thanks Jim!"

"You're...you're welcome," Jim said, still staring at Pam with pride. "Umm, we have to take a break but we'll be right back with more of your calls."

Jim hit mute as Pam began the commercials, shyly meeting his gaze.

"Who the hell is she?" Dr. Todd shouted, his head jerking towards her as she now cowered her head towards her legal pad.

Jim smiled. "She's my new co-host."