Pam didn't hear from Jim on her way home, but she figured he had just gotten busy, as he mentioned in his last e-mail of the day.

When she arrived home, the sun was lower in the sky and the air carried an evening coolness that brushed against her skin. Pam hummed to herself as she changed into some after-work clothes. She decided to order a pizza and wait for Jim's call. Tuesday was a busy night for pizza, apparently, because it was going to be 50 minutes before her pizza was due to arrive. Clicking on the TV and surfing the channels, she thought about doing something artistic- maybe her animation homework- but she didn't want to start something only to be interrupted in the middle by the pizza delivery guy or by Jim's phone call. She eventually paused on the Food Network when she saw brownies being made with three whole candy bars layered in the middle.

Her phone rang, and she smiled as she saw Jim's name on the Caller ID.

"Hey."

"Hi. What're you up to?"

"Drooling on myself."

"What?" The word shook with his light laughter.

"I'm watching Paula," she said in an exaggerated Southern accent. "She's making these brownies that have a chocolate bar cooked into the middle of them, and my mouth is watering, Jim. Let me just tell you."

"Oh man. I am aware of your chocolate addiction."

"I wish I had some brownie mix right now so I can make these brownies. Who cares if they're not made from scratch, I just want melty brownies."

Jim chuckled.

"So what are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm in my car stuck in traffic."

"Yuck. Is Stamford known for having a lot of traffic?"

"Parts of it. The highway especially."

"Do you live far from the office?"

"Not really..."

"So you'll be home soon."

"Yeah, I will."

"Hey, aren't you breaking the law right now by talking to me on your cell phone in the car?"

"Um, I don't think so, why?"

"Yes you are! Connecticut has a no-cellphone-while-driving law!"

"No they don't, do they?"

"Yes!" Pam dissolved into giggles. "I can't believe you didn't know that! You're the one who lives there!"

Jim laughed. "I guess I haven't been paying much attention, have I?"

"I guess not!"

They continued to talk for the next forty-five minutes or so. Pam got comfortable on her couch, curled up in the corner with the afghan wrapped around herself.

"Ugh, my pizza's late."

"You ordered a pizza?"

"Yeah, it was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. It's already been an hour."

"No tip," he said.

"No tip," she agreed.

"Hey, have you gotten home yet?" She realized they'd been talking for almost an hour and he hadn't mentioned getting home yet.

"Uh, not yet."

There was a knock at the door, and Pam jumped up. "My pizza's here! hold on a sec." She put the phone down on the coffee table and grabbed the wad of bills she'd taken out of her purse to pay the delivery guy with. When she opened the door, though, there was Jim, phone still up to his ear, huge grin spread across his face. Pam's eyes lit up, and she threw herself at him, almost knocking them both backward onto the steps outside.

"You're here!" she said, burying her face into his neck.

"I am," he answered wrapping his arms around her.

He was warm and soft and Jim, and he smelled so good, like home. She held him tight and breathed him in until she heard someone clear their throat behind Jim. She lifted up her head from Jim's shoulder, and saw the pizza delivery guy looking on uncomfortably from the sidewalk.

"Oh!" Pam said, separating herself from Jim briefly to collect her pizza. She thanked the delivery man and gave him the money she'd been holding onto.

She turned to Jim, and smiled at the way he was blushing and staring at the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He was so cute, she felt her love for him bubbling up in her chest.

"Pizza time," she said. He followed her inside, his hand lightly guiding her at the small of her back.

"How did you get here so fast?" Pam asked, setting the pizza box down on the table and reaching up into the cabinet over the stove to get plates. Jim leaned a shoulder against the doorway and watched her, still in disbelief that this was really happening.

"I kind of left work early... as soon as I sent you that last e-mail, I was gone. I thought it would be fun to surprise you."

I'm glad you did," she said, handing him a plate with three slices of pizza on it. She took her own plate of pizza, and they headed to the living room couch, Pam licking a stray blob of pizza sauce off of her thumb as she sat down.

Sitting close on the couch, they were silent for a few moments, the only sound was of chewing and crumpling napkins. "I can't believe we almost didn't say goodbye to each other that day," Pam said quietly.

Jim paused and put down his pizza, looked over at Pam. "I know."

Pam dropped her head to the back of the couch. "I just... couldn't give you what you wanted right away, you know? I had ten years of a relationship on my shoulders, and a wedding coming up in a few weeks. That's a lot to give up right on the spot." Her eyes drifted from the ceiling to look over at Jim. His brows were furrowed, and he looked convicted.

"And then before I even had a chance to get my thoughts straight, you were leaving. I lost my best friend, Jim."

He could see her eyes becoming shiny with tears. He moved closer to her so that his leg was touching hers. A comfort to both of them- a silent assurance that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I just had to get out of here. I wish I had known what you were thinking... If I had known you were even considering it, I think things would have turned out a lot different."

Pam nodded. "Yeah, I think we both should have spoken up. We're not so good at the communication thing."

Jim chuckled. "Not so much."

"We'll have to work on that."

"Your e-mail was a pretty good start... too bad it got caught in the Spam filter."

"I know, right?" Pam laughed, and scooted down lower on the couch to lean her head against Jim's shoulder. He sighed. "I'm glad we're here now."

It had been a simple conversation, but it was all they needed. They'd both spent months analyzing everything that had happened between them, and simple confessions and apologies were all they needed now.

After a few moments of silent contemplation, Pam broke the remaining tension by suggesting a movie.

Both looked at each other, and then judged the distance to the DVD rack.

"I don't feel like getting up," Pam whined from where she was leaning up against Jim with the afghan over both of their legs.

"Me either," he said, not wanting to disrupt the comfortable position they'd sunk into on the couch together.

Both remained immobile, once in a while claiming they were really going to get up that time, but never actually making movement from their nest on the couch.

Finally, Pam moved, but it was only to turn herself to Jim, and bury her face into his neck. She nuzzled him a bit, and he wrapped his arms around her and repositioned himself slightly, leaning them back into the corner of the couch where the back and the arm met. His arms roamed up and down her back slowly, and Pam placed a couple of light kisses against Jim's neck. His fingers squeezed her hips in response.

"When do you have to head back?" She asked against his skin.

He felt goosebumps pop up on the back of his neck and down his arms at the sensation of her breath and lips against his neck. "Not until tomorrow," he said, his voice husky.

She lifted her head up, suddenly. "Really? Why not?"

"Are you trying to get me to leave? How rude," he said, smiling. Her face was just inches from his, and the anticipation was delicious.

"No!" She smiled and shook her head vehemently. "I'm glad. But how come?"

"I'm going to look for apartments tomorrow."

"In Scranton?"

"Yes, in Scranton. You said you still wanted me to come back, right?" He smiled.

"Yes! I just-- wow. it's all really happening," she said quietly, looking into his eyes.

He actually hadn't planned this when he'd left Stamford that day. He had just had an overwhelming need to actually see Pam for the first time in eight months. He wanted to talk to her face to face, to start things in motion between them, again. But the way things had gone- the way they were able to address most of what had happened between them, the way they were able to fall back into their old rhythm again, he didn't want to wait any longer and was pretty sure Pam was on the same page.

"Are you going to stay here tonight?"

"Oh, um, I actually hadn't thought that far ahead... I don't want to just assume that you'd let me crash on your couch for the night. I can find a motel-"

"Of course I want you to stay here!" she swatted him playfully across the chest. "I just didn't know what your plans were."

"Oh," he said, smiling again, his eyes darting down to her lips. The corner of her mouth crooked up into a half smile, and then his lips met hers.

Finally.

His kiss was like water to a wilting flower. She came to life, lips returning his kisses, hands reaching up to caress his face, his neck, his hair. Unlike Casino Night, there was no desperation in this kiss. There was excitement and happiness, and comfort. It was gentle and joyful, and so sweet. It went on until they were out of breath, until they'd slid into a more comfortable position in the couch- lying down, side-by-side, facing each other.

Until Pam fell off the couch.

Neither had realized how close to the edge of the couch she had been until Jim moved his arm from around her waist to slide his hand up her neck and cup her face as he kissed her. The loss of support caused her to teeter on the edge. She reached out to Jim in order to attempt to balance herself. But she'd already started falling, so her momentum, and the way Jim scrambled to catch her, just proceeded to pull Jim off the couch with her. They landed on the floor in a tangled mass of limbs and giggles.

"Oh man, I am so sorry," Jim laughed.

"Oh, real sincere," Pam said, still giggling.

"It was funny." he laid his head back onto the floor and laughed up at the ceiling. He hadn't felt so free and happy in a long time.

Pam just put on a feigned angry face, shook her head, and then leaned down to kiss him once more.

"I'm glad you're back," she said between kisses.

"Me too." he replied, squeezing her more tightly. "It's good to be home."