“I don’t see what anyone can see
In anyone else but you.”
- “Anyone Else But You”, The Moldy Peaches
Jim’s heart beat rapidly in his chest, and his palms were sweating profusely. Dwight kept giving him suspicious stares, and Pam had already sent two instant messages asking if he was okay. He said yes, of course, but truthfully, he was about as far as he could be from okay. This felt serveral hundred times worse than the first date jitters and worlds away from the nervous energy the first exhilarating time they undressed one another. No one ever told him he was going to feel like throwing up and passing out at the same time, and he wondered how so many millions of men could survive this experience. His brother had done it, Michael had done it once (albeit unsuccessfully), and hell, even Roy had done it! So why did he feel so shaky and lightheaded?
He really needed to calm down. He didn’t want it to be like this. He just built this moment up so much in his mind, thought about it and planned for so long, and he was terrified he was going to blow it. If he didn’t get his act together soon, however, he really was going to ruin everything. She would be onto him soon if he couldn’t compose himself. Thinking fast, he jumped out of his chair and escaped to the bathroom for some cold water on his face and a few deep breaths. Man up, he told his haggard reflection. He took one more deep breath, then emerged from the bathroom and headed over to reception to try to counter the damage he’d done earlier with his worrisome behaviour. He popped a jelly bean in his mouth and leaned against reception, hoping he looked a little better than he did a few minutes ago.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked him worriedly. “You were looking pretty sick.”
“Michael’s last e-mail,” he rolled his eyes. “They sometimes have that effect. Shouldn’t have eaten so much right before sexual harassment day.” If she remembered that he barely choked down a piece of toast this morning, she let it slide.
“It’s probably wise not to eat anything right before any kind of seminar Michael is having,” she agreed.
“So how bad you think this one’s going to be?”
“Well, the blow-up doll wasn’t in its normal place this morning, so on a scale of one to ten, somewhere around a twelve,” she answered wryly.
“I’m going with thirteen.”
“Good call.”
“So I have something really important I need to ask you. It’s kind of serious, so if you need to think for a minute, I understand,” he said, trying hard to keep a straight face.
“Oh. Okay. Um, break room?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Just think before you answer, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” she nodded, her eyes growing a little wide.
“There’s no good way to ask this, so I’m just going to say it. Will you still need me? Will you still feed me when I’m 64?” he managed to ask without laughing. “Just tell me the truth.”
A smile played on the edge of her lips, but she resisted, always up for a challenge. “That depends. Will you rent me a cottage on the Isle of Wight?”
“If it’s not too dear,” he shrugged.
“I hate you.”
“No, you really don’t,” he smiled happily, his nerves mostly forgotten now.
“Are you ever going to let me live that down? It is on your iPod, so I can hardly be judged for listening to it,” she pointed out.
“It’s not that you were listening to it. It’s that you were listening to it very loudly….and singing along,” he reminded her, loving the way her cheeks immediately flushed the colour of her sweater. “It was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.”
“Just one of them?” she teased.
“I’ll get back to you on the rest. I better get back to work. Lunch in an hour?”
“Sounds good,” she smiled, and he resisted the urge to lean over and kiss her on the cheek before heading back to his desk. Thankfully, their playful banter had rid him of the urge to throw up, and he was no longer sweating. All he needed to do now was think of the perfect thing to say, and his plan could be underway.
Honestly, he didn’t mean to snoop through her desk. This whole thing had been a rather serendipitous mistake. Three weeks ago she woke up with a fever, a cough, and a pounding headache. She used up her sick days taking time off during his bereavement leave, so the first two days of her illness, she dragged herself into work. By day three, he couldn’t sit at his desk and watch her misery any longer. Her fever hadn’t relented at all, and she alternated between freezing cold and burning up, so she had barely slept the night before. He turned off the alarm so as not to wake her, then called Michael and informed him she was staying home today. He retrieved a large glass of orange juice and left it on the nightstand with a note explaining she was under his direct orders to stay in bed all day. After checking to make sure there was plenty of soup in the fridge, he reluctantly kissed her warm forehead and left to spend a boring day at the office.
Despite the fact that Jim promised to give up some of his own sick days for Pam, Michael still insisted on making a huge show of her absence. Ryan filled in and answered the phone most of the day, but unfortunately, he was also supposed to go out on a sales call with Stanley around three o’clock. To spare everyone the inevitable theatrics, Jim rescheduled his own sales call and volunteered to cover the desk for her.
Ten minutes in, he discovered why Pam had time for so many sketches. He didn’t realise anything could be more boring than his own job, but clearly, he was wrong. Five games of Free Cell later, the phone rang for the first time in hours. The call was for Stanley, so Jim opened the top drawer of her desk for some of those little memo pads she wrote message on. He smiled just a little, thinking of how they had been used for their entertainment, sometimes with commentaries on Michael’s behaviour, some with ideas for pranks, and a few that made them blush. More than once, her infamous message pad had been used to request his assistance in the supply closet or on the roof. He located the pad, wrote down the message, and then went to put it back in the drawer. And that was when he saw the box.
At first, he didn’t think much of it. He remembered her buying it and being inordinately thrilled with the purchase, but it was another twenty minutes or so before he started to wonder why she would bring it to the office. Most of her supplies – pens and staples and paperclips – were sorted in neat little plastic trays. The boxed seemed a strange addition to the top drawer of her desk, and eventually, curiosity got the best of him. He felt just a little guilty, but she shared everything with him anyway. He recognised her neat handwriting on the bright orange notes, but at first, he had no idea why she had written them. As he racked his brain, however, he realised why all the words were familiar – these were his words. He recalled these moments between them, the whispered confessions, the solemn declarations. A slow smile spread over his face, and his heart did a little flutter in his chest. He suddenly wished he could just be at home beside her, repeating these words back to her and reminding her how much he meant all of them. It was such a sweet sentimental thing to do, such a testament to her affection. After all, he had his own Pam box once, filled with even more ridiculous items like hot sauce packets and a yearbook photo.
When he went home that night, he didn’t say a word about his little discovery. Though he would love to tease her about it, the plan was beginning to form in his mind. He needed more time to think and prepare, but he knew her little box was going to be exactly what he needed. He warmed up her soup, fluffed her pillows, and recounted the more humourous highlights of the day, leaving out the little tidbit that he’d been at her desk for two hours.
Over the next few weeks, the plan grew and developed and began to take shape. Their one year anniversary was last Monday, and initially, he thought he would do it then. After the box discovery, however, he decided it needed to be a little less predictable. So he bought flowers and made reservations at a fancy restaurant, then surprised her with a pair of tiny diamond earrings. She was excited, of course, and presented him with an amazing watercolour that was promptly given a place of honour in the living room, but he knew there was another piece of jewellery she was hoping for that night. At some point all the “ifs” becoames “whens,” and their future together was a certainty instead of a possibility or even a probability. He almost felt bad for disappointing her, but he reminded himself she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. He wasn’t about to let this drag on, all-too aware of her incredibly long courtship with Roy followed by years of engagement with no wedding. Jim Halpert was not going to take her for granted, but he wanted her to have the big moment. Roy casually asked her in bed one night, and he didn’t have anything to prove, but she deserved the surprise, the big gesture, the story she would repeat over and over again. So he picked Tuesday, just a week after their one-year anniversary. Michael had already announced plans for another update on sexual harassment policy, and he knew it would be the perfect time to surprise her.
He picked out the ring several months earlier while visiting his brother in Philadelphia. Jon, of course, told him to go for it right away. His family adored Pam, and they were anxious for him to make it official, but he needed a few months to save first. He put down a deposit to hold it until the time was right, and then over the weekend, he drove back to Philadelphia to pick it up. It was a long drive for a ring, but it was more than worth it.
And now all that was left were the right words. The velvet box was sitting in the top drawer of his desk, just waiting for him to put the rest of the plan into motion. But he’d spent the whole morning trying to think up the right words and still had nothing. Of course he’d been spontaneously romantic at least four times before, but when he actually tried to think of something, all he could think of was lame movie quotes. Somehow, he didn’t think anything from a Meg Ryan movie was going to do the trick. He’d gone so far as to write out ideas on a piece of legal paper, then promptly ripped it up and disposed of it.
In the end, his inspiration came from an unlikely source. He looked up and saw Kelly kiss an embarrassed Ryan on the cheek, then wondered for the hundredth time what it was exactly either of them saw in the other. They were such an unlikey couple, and Kelly clearly grated on his nerves. There had to be something worth sticking around for, but Jim really couldn’t figure it out. Then again, he couldn’t imagine seeing anything in someone who wasn’t Pam.
And that was it. He had it. He grabbed a post-it note, scribbled out the question with trembling hands, and retrieved the ring from its box in the drawer. It didn’t take long for Michael to summon her into his office with an urgent request, and he jumped at the small window of opportunity. He had only a few seconds to plant the ring and the note without her noticing, but he managed to pull it off and then grabbed a cup of water so he would have an excuse to be up. He smiled sweetly at Pam as she walked by, then headed back to his desk.
Right at noon, he grabbed her jacket for her and informed her they were going out for lunch. She looked a little surprised, but he wanted to make sure they had a few uninterrupted moments alone. “So are you excited for Michael’s sexual harassment seminar today?”
“Are you sure we can’t just sneak out for the rest of the day?”
“Oh, come on, you love sexual harassment day.”
“As my boyfriend, I am fully expecting you to spare me from humilation today,” she warned him.
“Not in my job description, Beesly,” he shook his head.
“Jiiiim,” she whined. “You’ve been at these. You know what he’s going to do.”
“Speaking of humiliation,” he changed the subject. “Did you happent to notice Kelly practically molesting Ryan at his desk today?”
“I go out of my way not to notice. It was almost amusing in the beginning, but now I’m just starting to get a little disgusted.”
“Yeah, I really don’t understand that relationship,” he shook his head, starting to
feel his palms sweating once more.
“I know Kelly can be annoying, but-”
“Wait, can be?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Okay, is,” she corrected herself. “But he’s just using her now. That’s never justified,” she said seriously.
“There’s got to be something he sees in her, or I really hope he would just break up with her.”
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “I just think it’s really cruel of him.”
“It is,” he agreed, taking a bite of his sandwich and timing himself so he made sure he got this just right. “I don’t see what anyone sees in anyone but you, so maybe I’m not a good judge.”
She immediately stopped eating and looked up, the expression on his face telling him he hit the nail on the head.
“What?” he asked, feigning self-consciousness and inwardly crowing with pride.
“Nothing,” she tried to play it off even as a deliriously happy smile spread across her face. She turned back to her food, and he watched her for just a moment in pure satisfaction and near-giddiness. Not much longer now, he was certain.
They slipped back into the office and parted with a chaste kiss on the lips. He tried to pretend like he was focusing and not wondering when she was going to jot his words down on a post-it note, but unfortunately, as soon as she sat down, the phone rang. And then rang again. Jan was not surprisingly pissed off with Michael about something he’d done or hadn’t done, and as usual, Pam was the one who had to try to run interference. He shot her a sympathetic look, but his heart once more began its rapid flutter. Michael would insist on holding their meeting soon, and he really didn’t know if he’d be able to survive that with his ring sitting in a box at Pam’s desk. He might actually lose his mind if she didn’t find it before the seminar.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dwight asked after a few minutes.
“What are you talking about, Dwight?”
“You look nervous. Uncomfortable. What have you done?”
“Why do you assume I’ve done something?” he asked, not lifting his eyes from the paper he was pretending to study. Really, he didn’t even know what it was.
“Your eyes are wandering. You’re sweating. You’re tapping your foot repeatedly,” Dwight listed off. “Classic signs that you’re nervous about something, which probably means that you’ve done something and you’re afraid of being caught.”
“No, it’s just….” he trailed off and looked around the office for dramatic effect. “Okay, you can’t say anything.”
“I wont’,” Dwight swore quickly, leaning over in anticipation of the secret.
“It’s just…Pam and I heard something on the news on the way back from lunch today,” he whispered.
“What? What did you hear?”
Why did he have to make this so incredibly easy? “The CIA has gotten some reports suggesting terrorists might be attempting to infiltrate midsize companies in the upper Northeast.”
“That’s ridic-”
“Paper companies, especially,” he continued.
“Why would they do that?”
“Think about it, Dwight. It’s subtle, it’s unexpected. No one would ever think to investigate a company like Dunder-Mifflin for terrorist activity. They destroy us from the inside, and they do this with hundreds or thousands of companies until the economy eventually crumbles. Pam and I realised….we just don’t know who we can trust here, you know?” he asked, feinging real, actual concern about this.
“You think it could be Kelly?” Dwight asked conspiratorially.
“No,” he shook his head. “Too obvious. Probably someone like Phyllis. Maybe Angela,” he added thoughtfully. That effectively shut Dwight up, and he was once more able to return to his paperwork.
Just when Pam finally returned to her desk, looking frustrated and annoyed, Michael emerged from his office and summoned everyone into the conference room. Of course. Just when he finally had his chance, Michael calls them into their meeting. He had never, ever hated his boss as much as he did right at this very moment. He rose reluctantly and looked over to Pam, but she waved him on. “I have a few faxes Jan wants me to send,” she rolled her eyes. “Save me a seat,” she requested.
Jim nodded and forced a smile, fighting the urge to just ram his head against a wall. He followed his other co-workers into the conference room and found two empty seats in the corner of the room where he could just sit and sulk for the next hour or so of this ridiculous meeting. At this rate, Pam might not have a chance to open the box at all today, and if she didn’t do it today, would she have forgotten about it by tomorrow? He would have to come up with something all over again. He would have to sweat and shake and fret once more, and he was beginning to wish he’d just asked her last week at their anniversary dinner. At least he would have gotten to ask her the question.
Michael was just finishing his second inappropriate joke in two minutes when the door to the conference room suddenly burst open. Everyone turned to look at Pam, and immediately, Jim jumped up out of his seat. She was beaming radiantly even as tears streamed wildly down her cheeks, and something was glittering in her left hand. “Um, excuse me, Pam,” Michael said, annoyed that everyone’s attention was no longer directed towards him. “We are in the middle of a very important meeting, which you have just very rudely interrupted.”
But Pam didn’t seem to even notice that Michael had said anything. She was too busy staring at Jim, and he was staring right back at her, waiting for the magic word. The room had suddenly grown completely silent, and all Jim could hear was his own heart pounding in his ears. Come on, Pam. Say something. Please, I can’t take this, he thought desperately.
“Pam,” he began. “I…”
Before he could finish, she was half-running and half-skipping across the conference room. She threw her arms around him and began to cry as they embraced. “Yes,” she managed through the tears.
“Really?” he asked, almost afraid this was’nt really happening.
She laughed deliriously and stepped back just far enough to kiss him passionately on the lips, obviously not worried about their audience.
“Oay, see, this is exactly the kind of thing we’re talking abut here,” Michael said,
attempting to draw the eyes back to him. “Get a room, you two! We’re trying to have a meeting here!”
“Michael, shut up!” Kelly squealed. “Oh my God, you guys are totally getting married, aren’t you?”
The room erupted with a chorus of “awws,” but Jim and Pam were in their own private world. “Do you like the ring?” he whispered, picking up her hand and admiring the way it looked on her finger. He immediately decided he’d made the perfect choice, and after so many years of staring at a ring on her hand and hating everything it meant for him, he couldn’t believe she was finally his.
“I love it,” she answered, still crying softly.
“Show us, Pam!” Kelly urged her excitedly. “Please please please can we see it?”
Jim wrapped a protective arm around her waist as she finally turned to acknowledg the roomful of people staring at them. She held out her hand to show Kelly, and soon all the women of the office were inspecting it and voicing their approval. The other responses were typical, with Stanley looking bored as ever, Ryan looking at Kelly in complete terror, and Toby looking like a lost puppy.
“Michael, you should totally let them go home,” Kelly advised him. “They need to celebrate, and ooh! Start planning a wedding! Oh Pam, can I be a bridesmaid? Please?”
Pam looked to Jim to save her, and he quickly swept in for the rescue. “Well, we still need to pick a date and everything. We’ll have a lot to think about. We might just have a really small wedding,” he informed her, knowing Pam would want an intimate affair instead of the huge event she and Roy were going to have.
In the end, Michael did let them go home, though they paid the price in inappropriate comments about what they were going to do when they made it back to the apartment. There was no way he would ever get everyone to focus for the sexual harassment seminar, so really, Jim had done a service to the whole office by proposing today.
“This is so gorgeous,” Pam sighed happily a few hours later as she lay tangled up in the sheets beside him and once more admired the ring on her finger. “When did you get it?”
“I picked it out months ago,” he admitted. “It was in Philly. That’s why I really drove up there over the weekend.”
“But how did you know about the box?” she asked curiously. “When were you snooping in my desk?”
“I wasn’t snooping in your desk,” he defended himself. “It was when you were sick. I covered the desk for a few hours while Ryan was out. I opened the drawer to get a message pad and found it. Do you care?” he asked nervously. “I just saw it and couldn’t figure out why you would have it at work. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I don’t mind,” she shook her head, planting a light kiss on his cheek and sidling up a little closer. “I’m a little embarrassed you found it, but since you used it to ask me to marry you, I don’t think I can be too upset.”
“I hope not,” he smiled in pure bliss, reaching over to cup her face and kiss her again.
“So does this mean you’re done saying romantic things to me? Or are you just going to always have an ulterior motive from now on?” she asked playfully.
“Oh, I’ve always had an ulterior motive,” he answered casually.
“Oh really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“Making you fall in love with me, of course. I think it worked rather well.”
She giggled a little and looked up at him with a smile he wanted to remember for the rest of his life. “You do, do you?”
“Oh yeah,” he nodded, kissing her bare shoulder, then her neck, then her lips. “Absolutely I do.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer still applies. I do not own "Anyone Else But You" by the Moldy Peaches, nor do I own any of the rights to anything Beatles-related. Sorry this chapter took me a little longer than the others...I've been law school visiting in California! This is the last chapter so it's a bit cheesy, but I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews...they have been a delight!
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