Phyllis, Stanley, Oscar, Kevin and Meredith are stationed around the conference room window, watching the snow starting to fall.
"Well, I don't care what Michael says. Bob says we're leaving at noon," Phyllis tells the rest of the group.
"If you're leaving, then so am I. I'll be damned if I get stuck here in a blizzard on a Friday night," says Stanley.
Suddenly, a voice from the doorway startles them.
"You all need to get out of this room. Some of us have a party to get ready for." Angela's icy glare sends them scurrying away.
She starts putting out plates and cutlery onto the conference room table, when Dwight walks in.
"Hello Angela."
"Hello, Dwight." She doesn't look at him.
"I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas," he says meekly.
She doesn't answer at first, then after a long moment: "Okay."
"And to say I'm sorry. About Sprinkles." He looks down at his shoes.
Angela is taken aback, not sure what to make of his uncharacteristic apology. Dwight waits for a few seconds and then leaves the room.
~~
Dwight: I am not a sentimental person. Sentiment is reserved for weak-willed do-gooders. I am not, however, above apologizing when it is warranted. Like that time I accidentally ran over Mose with the backhoe.
~~
Pam is in the breakroom again, perusing the selections in the vending machines. Jim walks in, holding a white envelope in his hand.
"Hey," he says.
"Hi." She studies his face for a second. "Are you mad at me?"
He lets out a labored sigh. "No, I'm not mad, Pam. I'm just, I don't know, a little hurt, maybe?"
She frowns. "Look, I'm not sure I can really explain it. I want to live with you, I do, but there's this little part of me that thought that maybe the next time I lived with someone, I'd be..." She can't finish.
"Married?"
"Um, yeah."
Jim swallows hard, and looks away.
"Jim, please talk to me."
He takes a breath and says, "So you don't want to marry me?"
That was not what she expected. "What?"
"I mean, you wanted to marry Roy, but you don't want to - "
"No!" she yelps. "That is not what I meant at all. I just didn't know if that... if it was something... that you wanted... to do." She gets flustered and wonders why this is so difficult.
"Of course that's what I want," he replies. "Did you really think any different?"
"I didn't know, Jim. We've never talked about it. I just wasn't sure, and I didn't want to assume, and... "
Suddenly, Jim starts laughing. "You're kidding, right?"
She looks up at him, puzzled. He responds by putting his arms around her and hugging her close.
"I would marry you, Jim," she says in a whisper.
"Good, because I already bought the ring," he whispers back.
She pulls away. "What? Are you serious?"
"Dead serious," he replies with a grin.
"When did you..."
"That... is not important. And if I told you, it may scare you off," he teases. She playfully swats him on the shoulder.
They smile and laugh for a moment, and then he says, "Look, I'm willing to wait for you to be ready for the moving in thing. I won't pressure you anymore. But in the meantime - " He holds up the white envelope in his hand, " - I wanted you to have this."
~~
Jim: Two years ago, I got Pam for Secret Santa, and I... well, I told her some things in the card I put in her gift. But I chickened out and stole the card back before she could read it. The only thing is that she knew that I took it back, and she has asked me a couple of times what it said. So... this is our first Christmas together, and I figured, why not.
~~
"Really?" she asks, holding it with both hands as if it's magical.
"The only thing is that you have to read it when I'm not in the room," he says before kissing her gently on the forehead and returning to his desk.
Pam stares down at the card, contemplating it.
Meanwhile, Bob Vance walks into the office and asks Phyllis if she's ready. Michael darts his head out of his office.
"What, are you guys going out for lunch or something?"
"We're going home, Scott. I let all my employees leave already. It's really coming down out there," says Bob Vance.
"No, no, no. Phyllis can't leave! Our Christmas party - "
"We're going. And if you were smart you'd let your folks go too."
Michael stares up at Bob Vance, momentarily thinking he could challenge him, but instead he backs off and says, "Okay, Phyllis can go. But no one else."
~~
Michael: I don't see what the big deal is. It's a little snow. We get snow all the time in Pennsylvania. And Bob Vance of all people should love to drive in the snow. You know, because of the refrigerator thing.
~~
Chapter End 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.
