Damage Control
by Steph
Summary: Michael goes too far, Toby cracks, Kelly plays matchmaker and Jim and Pam save the day.
Timeline: After Survivorman, but before The Deposition.
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.
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The day after Andy Bernard took his anger and frustration out on an innocent wall, Michael had Pam do some internet research on anger in the workplace. He wanted warning signs - things to help him figure out who was going to crack next.
"Crack?" she had asked.
?Crack,?" he had repeated, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue to demonstrate. "We have to do a better job at weeding out the crazies."
She hated to admit it, but as she began reading page after page of studies a little bit of paranoia began to set in. She wondered about Dwight, with his collection of weapons; about Angela, who was so tightly wound; about Creed, who, everyone agreed, was a little off.
When Michael looked through her notes and research, he didn't seem too impressed. No, he came up with an idea of his own - better than the studies done by famous psychiatrists.
His brilliant idea to make people happier was to start "Funny Hat Monday."
That first Monday he had worn a sombrero (which he later offered to sell to Oscar) and Dwight had worn some misshapen helmet that made noise while he walked. Pam had worn a baseball cap, which, everyone agreed, was not very funny.
No one else had worn anything and "Funny Hat Monday" was retired and the wall was fixed and Andy came back from Anger Management and Michael soon forgot about "weeding out the crazies" and Pam doodled over the notes she had printed out before finally just throwing them away.
Her slight, temporary paranoia faded and she stopped worrying about people cracking. About Dwight, about Angela, or Creed.
Funny how even at her most paranoid, she never thought about Toby. He was so easygoing, so mild-mannered that he would never crack. He was never even a possibility.
Toby's BAD DAY, as she and Jim would later refer to it (and in her mind the letters were all capitalized to differentiate it from the rest of Toby's bad days), actually started out as Michael's bad day.
Someone's client, someone who had, up until that day, been a loyal, VIP client, had decided not to renew their contract with Dunder Mifflin.
Ryan had been angry about something Michael had done or had not done and had been calling every few hours in what Michael had called "pissy little bitch mode."
Angela was demanding something or other for their upcoming Thanksgiving party and had stormed off in a huff when she hadn't received the response she felt she deserved.
And Michael's request for reimbursement for a session with a masseuse had been rejected.
"I know when your pervy mind hears the word masseuse you think of something trashy," he had scoffed. "But this was a real one in a professional setting. I had my underwear on at all times."
"I understand, Michael," Toby had said somewhat patiently. "But our health plan doesn't cover massages - no matter how legit. You'll have to pay this one out-of-pocket."
"But that's not fair, Toby. This job is the reason I had to go in the first place. The company should pay for it."
"But we don't."
Michael shook his head. "Why are you so cheap, Toby?"
"I'm not cheap," he said. "And if you want to take some time later, I'll gladly go over what the plan does and does not cover."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Michael sneered. "Is that why your wife left you? Because you're so cheap?"
Pam looked up from her desk at that. She didn't make a sound, only waited for any kind of response.
"I don't think that's really appropriate..." Toby said.
"You know what's not appropriate?" Michael asked. "You not letting me submit a request for a therapeutic massage because you're cheap. You know what? I'm not allowed to fire you, but I wish I could divorce you. You wouldn't show up and we'd get alimony that would pay for all the medical necessities that you won't let us have now."
"Okay," Toby said. "I'm going back to my desk..."
"Your ex-wife has such a sweet deal," Michael said. "She doesn't have to see you and she gets money. Where do I sign? Cause your ex is one lucky woman. Divorce was probably the best thing that ever happened to her."
And then, fortunately, the phone rang. Pam picked up quickly.
It was Ryan. That sent Michael storming off to his office, slamming the door.
Toby still stood in front of her desk.
"Hey, Toby," she said softly, wanting to offer something, anything.
He didn't answer. "Toby," she repeated, a little louder.
Still nothing. He gave no indication that he had even heard her.
Confused, she stood up and walked over to him. Stood directly in front of him. He was staring straight ahead, his expression completely blank, face completely pale.
By this time, most everyone had gone back to their work, their ringing phones, their unanswered email. Only Jim seemed to be watching them, a puzzled look on his face.
"Toby," she repeated one last time, placing her hand on his arm.
There was still no reaction. He continued to stare, his whole face frozen.
She looked back over to Jim, unsure what to do. He stood up.
She had to do something. She made a quick decision, took two steps toward him and put her arms around him.
It was like hugging a statue. A statue who showed no sign that he was aware she was hugging him, that she was even there. It was scary. If it weren't for the occasional ragged sounding breath...
She began to rub his back in slow circles. There was nothing sexual about this - more maternal, if she would have to classify it. As if she were a mother and he were a child with an upset stomach, a scraped knee, or in the middle of a very bad day.
She wondered briefly if what she was doing was wrong, inappropriate. She almost laughed at the silliness of that thought. What was someone going to do?
Report her to her HR rep?
People had started to notice that something was not right. One by one their coworkers looked up from their work and stared openly at the two of them, no one making a sound.
Dwight stood up, ready to take charge. "We need to get Michael."
"No!" That was Jim and his voice was firm and she was very relieved when Dwight seemed to obey.
Just when she was beginning to wonder how long this would continue, and whether they really should get someone, someone more prepared for these types of situations, Toby suddenly slumped against her, the surprise of his weight forcing her to take a step back and brace her arm against her desk for leverage. If she moved her arm, she feared, it would send them both tumbling to the floor.
She looked over to Jim again who nodded and walked over to them. He put his hand on Toby's back, straightening and steadying him, allowing Pam to disentangle herself.
"Hey, buddy," Jim said in a quiet, conversational voice. "How about we go to your desk now?"
Toby blinked a few times at them, swallowed hard, and said, "Okay."
Pam tried not to wince at how flat his voice sounded.
"You okay to walk?" Jim asked.
Toby frowned. "Yeah," he said.
Jim looked at Michael?s door, still thankfully shut, and walked with Toby down to the annex.
--
Toby was not walking very steadily, Jim noticed as he walked behind him. But he was walking and they eventually made it to the annex. Toby sat down, his breath still coming in short, shallow, irregular bursts. He did not look good.
"Relax," Jim said. "You're okay."
"Jim!" A very excited-sounding Kelly shrieked. She practically skipped over to the two of them. "What are you doing here?"
"Just talking to Toby," Jim said.
"Cool," Kelly said. Then she noticed Toby. "What's wrong with you? You look funny."
"Toby," Jim said, "is having a really bad day."
Which may have been a bit of an understatement.
"Oh that sucks," Kelly said. "I remember a few months ago right after Ryan and I broke up, I was having this really crappy day and I was having major PMS too and I thought the dress I was wearing made me look really fat and..."
"Kelly," Jim said. And because he really had no follow up, he said lamely, "Why don't you say something nice to Toby?"
Like he was a kindergarten teacher or something.
But it must have worked, because Kelly seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. She hoisted herself onto Toby's desk, sitting so she was facing him. She stared at him for a few seconds, placed her hands across her heart for emphasis, and said, "Toby, if I weren't dating Darryl, I would totally make out with you."
Well that wasn't quite what he was going for.
"Thanks Kelly," Jim said.
"No, seriously though what?s going on?" Kelly asked, still sitting on the desk, legs swinging.
"Bad day," Toby said. He rubbed his eyes. "Bad, bad day."
His voice, Jim noticed, was beginning to sound a little more normal, less out-of-it.
"Maybe it's none of my business," Jim said, "but maybe you should see someone."
"You should so see someone!" Kelly said. "My friend Lacy is sweet and also kind of a slut. Oh and she's totally into older men! You two would be so perfect together."
Jim laughed. He shouldn't have, but he did. Even Toby seemed to smile a little.
"Thanks Kelly," Jim repeated, more genuine this time.
Kelly's phone rang. She sighed and stood up. "Yell if you need me."
When the two of them were alone, Jim said, "Welcome back to the land of the living."
"Thanks," Toby said. "I wish I could tell you what happened."
"You just froze. And it was very creepy."
"Well, I didn't exactly plan it. It just happened."
"Do you want to go to the hospital or something? Get checked out by someone?"
"No," Toby said. He attempted a smile, but it didn't quite work. "I'll be okay."
"Was it Michael being a jerk? I think he was having a crappy day too?"
"Michael was having a crappy day? Oh poor guy," Toby said sarcastically. "Hey, Jim, want to hear about my day today?"
"Sure."
"Today is... was my wedding anniversary. Today would have been our tenth anniversary. And tonight my ex-wife will go home and spend the rest of the evening with my daughter and another man and I'm, as Michael is often so kind to point out, going home to nothing. To no one. And I think maybe I'll be able to go to work today and not have to think about things like that."
"And Michael makes all those cracks about your ex and your divorce today?" Jim said. "That sucks, man."
"Of course it sucks," Toby said. "I won't comp him for a $200 shiatsu massage done at a day spa..."
"And suddenly you?re the enemy."
"Of course I'm the enemy," Toby said. "I'm always the enemy and I never do anything."
"You're right," Jim said. Then, "But maybe you should do something."
"Yeah? What do you have in mind? Throw a punch?"
"No, but you could..." Jim stopped.
"What?"
No, Jim wouldn?t say anything. This wasn't the right time.
"Never mind. Forget I said anything."
"No," Toby said. "I want to hear what you have to say."
"Well," Jim said. He paused, still a little unsure. There was a part of him that had wanted to say something like this to Toby for awhile.
It wasn't that Jim blamed him for Michael's actions or anything - because where Toby was concerned, Michael could be especially cruel, but Jim had started to think that maybe if Toby reacted to things a different way, things could be different for him. Maybe saying something to him now could prevent what had just happened from ever happening again.
Toby was still looking at him expectantly and Jim decided to go ahead with that he wanted to say.
"I think you really need to stand up for yourself once in awhile. Not just with Michael either. In general. You walk around here sometimes looking like... I don't know... a little puppy who's just expecting to get kicked or something. You don't have to just stand there and take everything. Because, seriously, that mumbly, mopey, poor-me thing you do sometimes when something bugs you or when you want something can be a little annoying and it might not be helping things for you in the long run."
"Fuck you, Jim."
Neither of them said anything after that. It was a toss-up who looked more shocked.
"Sorry," Toby finally muttered. He gestured to the various files on his desk. "Want to file a complaint against me?"
"No," Jim said. "Because I think I may have deserved that."
"No, you didn't," Toby said. He rummaged through his desk drawer, finally taking out a bottle of aspirin. "And I'm really sorry. As you've seen already, I'm not quite myself today. I know you were just trying to help. And I do appreciate what you...you and Pam did for me earlier."
"It's okay," Jim said. "It probably wasn't the best time to say stuff like that to you."
"But I insisted," Toby said. "You didn't even want to say anything. Remember?"
Jim shrugged. "If you really want me to be honest, I'll tell you there's a little part of me that's proud, because in a way you just stood up for yourself. You just passed Step One of Jim Halpert's Guide to Life. Or something. Congratulations on dropping an F-bomb on your teacher."
"I'm afraid to ask what Step Two is."
"I don't know," Jim said. "Going after something you want?"
Toby laughed.
"What?"
"You don't see anything funny about you telling me to go after something I want? You don't see anything wrong with that advice?"
And that's when Jim knew. He had suspected for a little while that Toby had feelings for Pam, but he had never said anything. He had never seen much of a point. And he hadn't been 100% sure.
But now, without saying anything definite, Toby had just confirmed his suspicions.
"I think you should go after what you want," Jim said carefully. "With some exceptions of course." He made sure he could still hear Kelly talking and giggling on the phone before lowering his voice. "Say you have a thing for Kelly. You shouldn't make a move on her because she?s with Darryl. And she and Darryl are very happy together right now."
Toby sighed. "Right. Kelly and Darryl. Of course."
"Not that Darryl isn't sympathetic. Because Darryl knows what it's like to have a crush on Kelly."
Toby wasn't looking at him, but Jim noticed the slight splotches of color on his cheeks. Better than the gray tone his skin had had earlier.
"And Kelly and Darryl are going to keep going out," Jim said. "Not letting them sign a document won't stop them from going out, but it might make things a lot harder for everyone in the future. Including you."
Toby still wasn?t looking at him so Jim continued. "Here's the thing too. Both Kelly and Darryl really like you. Darryl thinks you?re a pretty cool guy and wouldn't want to stop being friends over something like this."
Maybe he was laying this on a little thick.
Toby sighed again, finally meeting his eyes. He looked exhausted, drained. "I wasn't always like this."
"I know."
"I really don't know what happened out there," Toby said. "I just remembering hearing Michael saying that and everything just sort of stopping." He frowned. "And everyone saw me, right?"
"Don't worry," Jim said. "Michael was in his office the whole time and Pam and I will do damage control with everyone else."
"Jim," Toby said. "When Pam was there... I was sort of aware that she was there, but not really... I mean I wasn't trying to... it wasn't some kind of ploy or anything..."
"I know," Jim said. He started to head back, but turned to look back at Toby. "You scared the hell out of me back there."
"Sorry. For everything. Including the swearing."
"No problem," Jim said. He smiled. "Let me know when you're ready for Step Two."
--
A few minutes after he left, Kelly hung up the phone and stuck her head over the cubicle. "Were you and Jim talking about me? I swear I kept hearing him say 'Kelly and Darryl.'"
---
Jim meant what he said about damage control. He went to Dwight first, telling him how stressed out Michael had been lately and he didn't need to hear about Toby as that would only stress him out more and Dwight wouldn?t want to be the cause of Michael's stress. Dwight assured him that this was true and he wouldn't say a word to Michael.
Andy, looking happy just to be included, also agreed to keep the secret and then insisted he was a better secret-keeper than Dwight.
Jim went to Stanley next, who muttered something about Michael's mouth and him sticking his nose in other people's business. The accounting department was concerned about Toby (to varying degrees - Angela seemed like she didn't want to be bothered) and also promised not to say anything.
Finally Jim went to Creed. Told him that what happened to Toby was the man's own personal business - something he figured Creed would appreciate.
"Toby's the black fella who sits in front?" Creed asked. "You tell him that Creed didn?t see nothing, Creed didn't hear nothing."
--
At the same time, Pam was talking in the break room with Phyllis and Meredith. Pam told them about it being Toby's tenth anniversary...well it would have been if they hadn?t divorced - and it was probably the worst possible day for Michael to bring up the divorce like that.
"Poor guy," Phyllis said sympathetically. "He always looks so sad."
"It's the eyes," Meredith said. "And the voice. But mostly the eyes."
"I wonder if he's doing anything for Thanksgiving," Phyllis said "It's only a couple of weeks away you know and we have a ton of people coming. I wonder if Toby would like to come. Bob's a great cook."
"That's such a sweet offer, Phyllis," Pam said. "Why don't you ask him?"
"Okay," Phyllis said, smiling a little, happy with her idea.
Once Phyllis left, Meredith snorted. "Please. You and I both know what Toby needs right now and it isn't turkey dinner with the Vances."
Stupidly, not knowing that she would live to regret it, Pam asked, "What do you think Toby needs right now?"
After making sure they were alone, Meredith gave one very explicit suggestion (complete with a suggestive hand gesture) of what he needed and then lowered her voice and confided that she would be more than happy to be the one providing the service.
"Okay then," Pam said, her voice high, her face red.
"Thanks in advance for passing along my offer," Meredith said.
What? "Um," Pam began, "maybe this would be better coming from you."
Meredith laughed. "No. That would be embarrassing."
Right.
--
Worried about Toby's general well-being and being the curious individual that she was, Kelly eavesdropped on his phone conversation. She was as quiet as possible and still could just barely make out what Toby's weary, whispery voice was saying.
"I know I shouldn't be calling... Sorry. Yeah. I know. No, I know. I remember. I just - just have been having a really horrible day at work and even though it's not my week, I wanted to know if I could please take Sasha out to dinner tonight. I know it's a weeknight and I promise to have her back early... It would just mean a lot to me right now and - Yeah? Really? Great. I'll be there around six. Thank you."
Kelly smiled to herself. She then pulled her pink address book out of her purse and searched for Lacy's current phone number.
--
An hour or so before the end of the day, Pam made the long trek to the annex. Toby's back was to her facing his computer.
"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to startle him.
He turned around and Pam was relieved to see that he looked better. Like he usually looked.
"Hey."
"Jim and I are going to go get some pizza tonight after work. Want to come with us? It's not the fanciest place in the world, but the pizza's really good. And free garlic bread."
"Thank you," he said. "But I'm having dinner with Sasha tonight."
"Good," Pam said. She smiled at him. "Good."
"Pam," he said. "I'm sorry for before. When I...well when I collapsed on you. I wasn't really aware of what was going on or my surroundings. I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable for you."
Pam felt herself inexplicably tearing up and blinked quickly. "I just want to know you're feeling better."
"I'm feeling better."
"Good," she said. "I should be getting back. Phones and all."
"Right."
She blinked again. "Bye Toby."
She walked away quickly, wiped at her eyes, and almost didn't hear his quiet "Bye Pam."
--
Kelly had just stuck her head over the cubicle again to tell Toby she had found Lacy's number and to reiterate how hot and slutty her friend was when she realized he had just picked up the phone and was dialing.
She was about to sit back down when she heard him say, in a stronger and more determined voice than he had used in his last phone call, "Ryan Howard, please."
This time she didn't even pretend not to eavesdrop.
--
"So weird day, huh?" Jim asked Pam as they drove away from work.
"Yeah," she said. She looked out the window.
He didn't know what else to say. There was a part of him that wanted to ask her if she knew about Toby's crush on her. There was a part of him that wanted to tell her the conversation he and Toby had had earlier.
But it wasn't his place and he wasn't even sure that either of them felt like talking so he turned on the radio and let the soft music fill the car.
"Did you see his face?" Pam asked suddenly. "How empty he looked?"
"I did," Jim said, turning off the radio.
"It was like he was in a trance or something," she said. "I was really scared. And the more I think about it the scarier it seems."
"He'll be okay though," Jim said. "He's going to see Sasha tonight and Kelly wants to set him up with her friend."
Pam didn't answer. Finally she said in a small voice, "He just cracked."
"Hey," Jim said, reaching for her hand. "We'll give him a call tonight. See how he's doing. If he needs anything."
"Okay," she said. "That's a good idea."
She squeezed his hand and turned the radio back on.
---
The next morning, it took Pam a little while to find her way back to the annex. Michael had a ton of menial little tasks for her to do and it was ten o'clock before she went to see Toby.
He wasn't at his desk though.
He had seemed better last night when they had called him. He had told them that Sasha had lost another tooth, how she had drawn some new pictures for him.
"Bring them in tomorrow," Jim had said. "We'd love to see them."
Maybe he had decided to take a day off. Lord knows the guy deserved one.
And then her stomach lurched as she imagined terrible possibilities: an empty bottle of pills, a razor taken to a wrist.
But they would have heard if that had been the case.
Unless he hadn?t been found yet.
"He's not here," Kelly said helpfully, coming up behind her, taking her out of her morbid thoughts.
"Where is he?" Pam asked, trying to keep her voice even, steeling herself for something.
"You didn't hear?" Kelly asked. "Because this is so totally great."
Pam relaxed. "No. What?"
"So okay. Apparently Toby and Ryan are kind of friendly now after their little camping trip and Toby called Ryan here before he left yesterday and just said he was having kind of a bad day and Ryan just up and approved all this vacation time for him."
"Good," Pam said. "Is he actually going away or just not coming to work?"
"Okay, here's the cool part," Kelly said. "He's going to Costa Rica. Probably on the plane now. Toby's in the tropics, baby!" She said this with a little hip shake and then frowned. "Costa Rica is the tropics, right?"
"Wow," Pam said. "He just left?"
"I guess so," Kelly said.
"How long is he going to be gone?"
"I don't know. And I know he's usually a jerk and everything, but it was kind of sweet of Ryan, wasn't it? To just approve all this time without any warning at all?"
"It was nice," Pam said. "I'll see you later, Kelly."
---
Kelly stared at her phone. She had no idea how long Toby was going to be gone.
Maybe she should call Ryan again and ask him.
---
A week and a half later, Pam was going through mail, sorting out various forms and bills when a
brightly-colored postcard slipped out from between two thick manila envelopes. She stared for a few seconds at the beautiful, blue water before turning it over. It was addressed to her and Jim.
Face and neck sunburned, sore from head to toe from surfing lessons. Will be eating nothing but ramen and crackers for months to pay for this trip. Yet having such a great time. Pam: Found a great local author here. Will bring books back for you & Oscar. Jim: The relationship forms you want are in the second drawer near my desk. Kelly knows where. Fill them out and I'll file when I?m back on Tuesday. Give my love to most. - Toby
P.S. - Jim, does this mean I'm ready for Step Three?
Pam reread the short message, not understanding the P.S., but smiling just the same. She turned the postcard around again, amazed at how beautiful the water looked. She walked over to Jim and handed him the postcard. "I'm going to get the form," she told him and headed back to the annex.
She went to Toby's desk, and with Kelly's help, located the relationship disclosure form. She lingered by his desk for a minute noting a neon pink post-it stuck to his computer with the name Lacy on it and a phone number, both written in Kelly's distinctive handwriting. On his desk, there was what looked like a letter, folded up and taped with his name on it. Pam thought it might be a woman's handwriting, but she didn?t recognize it.
Pam wondered if it was from Meredith.
And then she kind of wished she didn't.
She walked back toward the main office and gave Jim the form. He was still looking at the postcard.
"So is he ready for Step Three?" Pam asked.
"I think so."
"And what is Step Three exactly?"
Jim shrugged. "Not sure yet. But I like to aim high, so I'm thinking world domination." He reached over, grabbed a piece of tape from Dwight's desk (which resulted in an angry "Get your own, Jim!") and handed both the tape and card to Pam.
She taped it to her desk and went back to sorting the mail.
The End
Steph is the author of 37 other stories.
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