It wasn't how she expected things to happen. It certainly took him by surprise. Jim hadn't talked to Pam in weeks, beyond the necessary office interactions. Not since Phyllis' wedding. Not since she left that wedding reception with him. Even if she didn't go back to him. Weekend or lifetime - she still made her choice. That's how he saw it because that's how it was. Once again she'd made her choice. What wasn't clear was why he was so blinded by anger whenever he thought about it. It wasn't his business anymore. So he tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about her. And the best way to do that was to pretend Pam didn't even exist anymore.

But it was impossible to deny her presence when Michael appeared in the office that afternoon and dumped a huge project on Jim's lap. A regional report and survey that Michael had been sitting on for weeks and that had to be express mailed to New York by the next day. At first Jim held his ground, arguing with Michael that even if he was authorized to sign off on the report, Michael had no right to ask him to drop everything and do this. It was a project that would take hours and hours to finish properly.

Michael apologized, told Jim how right he was, and then put on his coat. He instructed Pam to help Jim in any way possible, for as long as it took to get the report out that night, and walked out of the office. Jim stared in shock at the closing door. Not because he had an outrageous amount of work dumped on him, but because he realized he would be forced to work next to Pam for the rest of the day. And as he flipped through the papers that now sat on his desk, he knew the situation would take them well into the night.

His response after shock was panic, and he briefly considered having Karen help. But when he looked over at her, he knew he could never explain to her why he wanted her to stay. He could say he just wanted the opportunity to spend more time with her, but that would be a gross exaggeration. Nor did he have the energy to maintain the role of supportive boyfriend for that whole time. Not with Pam in the same room. He could manage to maintain his wall of apathy towards Pam, or his facade of happiness with Karen, but he knew he couldn't manage both. Not for the whole night. He decided it would be easier just to take his chances with Pam. It wasn't as if she'd gone out of her way to talk to him lately. She was probably just as annoyed at having to work with him. It was better to make as little of it as possible. He gathered the offending paperwork and moved into Michael's office to get started, shutting the door behind him.

That Pam was uncomfortable with the turn the day had taken would be an understatement. She had been on the phone with Michael all that morning, reminding him about that report, telling him he needed to come in. She expected it was going to be a long night for her. Most things involving Michael took a great deal longer than necessary. But she never suspected he would take the path of least resistance and just not do it himself. She never expected she'd be facing a night alone with Jim Halpert.

Not that it was going to be a whole night, she chided herself. It would be a few hours, but not much more. She would be in her own bed – alone – by nine. That she was sure of, and it's what she kept telling herself. It was just work that needed to be done. Never mind that she hadn't had a single friendly conversation with Jim in ages – much less spent significant one-on-one time. She remembered watching him dance with Karen last month and assumed their relationship had been moving on to the next level. That's why he had no time for her anymore. She tried very hard to pretend that it didn't matter. He'd moved on. But it did matter, and every day he ignored her it mattered a little bit more. So the thought of spending time alone with Jim filled her with both excitement and dread. Excitement because the fact of the matter was that she was in love with him, and she knew it only too well. It was a realization long in coming, but when it did, it hit her hard. Any time with him was worth having, even given his recent attitude towards her.

But just because she knew she loved him, it didn't mean his behavior hadn't upset or angered her. Their relationship had been restrained and polite since he returned from Stamford. It hurt, but she respected the distance he put between them. She hoped that with time it would wear away and then she'd have a chance to renew their friendship to the level it had been before. Hoped for more than that, actually, but she was trying to be realistic. He was with Karen now, after all. But he had been all but ignoring her for the last few weeks. Since Phyllis' wedding, actually. Even when he had to talk to her about Dunder Mifflin issues, he seemed barely civil at times. She couldn't think of a single reason why he should be so cold to her, and so as it continued it fueled a slow burn that Pam was finding harder and harder to overlook. And it was the risk of finally blowing up at him if given the chance that worried her the most.

The rest of the work day passed at its normal tortuous pace, and Pam's eyes kept drifting to Michael's office to see what Jim was doing. He kept the door shut, but through the open blinds she could see him hunched over the desk. He got up only twice: once for soda and later for a bathroom break. She couldn't help but keep tabs on him; it's what she was best at. In addition, she was in the rare position to see his face. It was a sight she'd sorely been missing. Over the past few months she'd learned everything there was to know about the back of his neck. She knew his neck better than anyone should ever know anyone else's neck. She was convinced she could pick it out in a line up if she ever needed to. It was much better to be able to glance up and see his furrowed brow, his asymmetrical nose, his full lower lip that jutted out as if he were pouting when he was trying to concentrate. And as she stole yet another peek at the face she loved, he looked up and caught her staring. He frowned slightly and she quickly averted her eyes, feeling a flush creep across her cheeks. Apparently he didn't even like her looking his way. She kept her eyes on her desk and monitor until people starting leaving for the end of the day.

By the time Jim came out of Michael's office again, they were the only two left. Pam had pretended not to notice when Karen stopped into to talk to Jim before leaving for the night. She also pretended not to see Karen lean over and try to kiss him goodbye. Pam did, however, note that he turned his head slightly away, and so Karen kissed him on the cheek and not on the mouth. That fact made Pam much happier than she knew she should have been. Much happier than she'd ever willingly admit.

“Here's the first set of numbers I need you to check,” he said without introduction as he approached her desk. He dropped a file on the counter. “You'll have to pull up the files from last quarter's sales to make sure I got them right.” With that he turned and walked back into Michael's office.

Pam scowled and picked up the file. Maybe they weren't going to be friends any more, but he could at least be nice. She glanced at the papers and knew this was going to take a while. She decided to move to the conference room where she could grab a drink, spread things out, and in general be a bit more comfortable. It was nearly twenty minutes later that she found herself slipping off her shoes and curling her feet up under her as she pulled her chair closer to the table. She was comparing sales figures when Jim's voice startled her.

“I wondered where you went.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, “Just here.”

“Thought maybe you'd left.”

“Don't tempt me,” she replied. She didn't know if he would take that as a tease or a threat, and in her current mood, wasn't even sure how she'd meant it either.

“O-kay,” Jim sighed. He continued to stand in the doorway, staring down at her as she faced away from him at the table. His left hand rested on the doorknob as he ran his right hand through his hair. He cleared his throat, causing Pam to turn back towards him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he replied, irritated by her snappishness. He was going to suggest they order in some dinner, but clearly she wanted as little to do with him as possible. If that's how she felt, that was just fine with him. “I'm going back to Michael's office.”

“Okay,” she shrugged, turning her back to her paperwork.

When she heard him slam Michael's door she dropped her pen and ran her hands over her face. What the hell was his deal? Her stomach was starting to growl, and she had thought perhaps she'd suggest they order a pizza, but his standoffishness and quick disappearance killed that idea. Why was he going back into Michael's office? Couldn't he just work in here with her? It's not like he needed the distance of a closed door to concentrate when there was only the two of them left. She wondered for the umpteenth time how in the world their relationship could have gotten this fucked up, and picked up her pen to keep working. If he wasn't going to talk to her, then she might as well get things done as soon as she could and get out of there.

She was nearly done with the first file when Jim appeared with another stack of papers for checking. He dropped them on the table silently, and was walking back out of the room when Pam sighed loudly.

“Is there a problem?” He asked politely, turning back around.

“Is there a problem?” Pam parroted, tilting her head thoughtfully. “That's exactly what I've been wondering.”

“Is there something wrong?” He asked, brow furrowing.

Pam didn't reply, but instead just stared down at the paperwork in front of her.

Jim couldn't hide a frown. “If you've got something to say, then just say it.”

“Why are you being like this?” She said, swinging around in her chair to face him.

“Like what?”

“Like this,” she said, waving her hands in the space between them. “Like you don't even know me. Like I'm just some stupid receptionist that works for you.”

“You don't work for me,” Jim corrected, though he knew it sounded lame even as he said it.

“Why can't you just work in here?”

Jim shrugged. “I have everything set up in there,” he replied, nodding back towards Michael's office. “I didn't realize it was such a big deal.”

“It's not,” she replied, looking away. “I just – never mind.” She turned back toward the table.

He stared at her for another minute then walked out of the room. Pam was stacking up the pages of the first set of reports she had finally finished when he walked back in, files in hand. He dropped them on the conference table and pulled up a chair to sit across from her. She gave him a surprised look.

“Can I join you?” He asked gruffly.

“Sure,” she shrugged. She knew she should be happy that he decided to sit with her, but it still irked her that she practically had to ask him to do it. It hurt a bit to think that in the past, it never would have even been a question. They were always finding reasons to be together.

If she thought his proximity was going to finally start up a normal conversation between them, she was wrong. Even has they sat together, they might as well have been worlds apart. Jim didn't look up from his paperwork, and the only sounds coming from his direction were those of pen scratching against paper. The more he ignored her, the more Pam wanted to pick up her mug and hurl it at his head.

The silence continued for nearly fifteen minutes before Pam realized she had to say something or she really was going to throw something at him. She wrestled with what she wanted to say, and in the end surprised even herself with her bluntness.

“Why won't you talk to me?” She asked him directly.

Jim's pen stopped in midair at her question, and for a moment he didn't even move. Then he very gently laid his pen down and looked over at her. “I'm not trying to ignore you, I just want to get these damn reports done so we can go home. I assumed that's what you'd want too.”

“I'm not talking about just now,' she said, a hint of resentment evident in her voice.

“I'm not sure I know what you're talking about,” he replied blandly, turning his attention back to the work in front of it.

“Like hell you don't,” she growled.

Jim's eyebrows shot up in surprise at her tone. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Pam said, pushing her chair back from the table. “What is wrong with you?”

Jim leaned back in his chair and crossed his arm over his chest. “I'm not the one who seems to be shouting right now.”

Pam stood up. “Fine,” she muttered, picking up her cup. “If that's how it's going to be you can do these damn reports yourself. I'm tired of this.”

Her imminent departure brought Jim to his feet without a second thought. “Hey, wait,” he said, trying to beat her to the door. “Let's just take a timeout here.”

His tall frame was partially blocking her exit so she stopped and held her ground, glaring up at him. “A timeout for what? There's nothing here to timeout for. You don't talk to me, you don't acknowledge me – I'm invisible to you.”

“That's not true,” he admitted, his eyes focused on the carpet.

“Really?” Pam scoffed. “You know, you never were a good liar.”

Jim glared at her defensively. “What is wrong with you, Pam?”

“What's wrong with ME?” Pam practically yelled. “I'll tell you what's wrong with me.”

She paced half the length of the conference room then turned back to face him. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she was aware she was shaking. But something had finally snapped inside her, and no matter what the consequences there was no turning back from what she was about to do. From all she was about to say.

“Jim, I called off my wedding for you,” she said, stepping closer. “And now we aren't even friends anymore.” The look on his face told her she had completely disarmed him with this announcement, and she took enough courage from his reaction to continue. “You used to be my best friend before you went to Stamford. I miss you. You were the one who always was there to support me. Now you barely talk to me.” She took a deep breath and continued. “You were the first person who told me I could draw, who said they believed in me. Yet you didn't even come to my art show.” She swallowed back the unexpected feeling of threatening tears. “I really miss you,” she added softly.

Jim took an uneven step sideways and leaned back against the conference table. Collapsed would be a more accurate description, as Pam's words sunk in. He felt like his head was spinning, and he struggled to believe he was truly hearing the things she was saying. He looked everywhere around the room but at her, because he knew if he did he would be lost. This was not at all what he was expecting, and because of it his defenses were failing him completely.

Pam stood silently for what felt like ages waiting for him to say something. But he didn't. And the longer she stood there the more she realized what a fool she was. Things were irrevocably broken between them. She started to feel like the walls were closing in on her, and knew that she had to leave, unfinished reports be damned.

She put her head down and started to walk out of the room when Jim suddenly leaned forward and stopped her by grabbing her wrist. He still wouldn't look her in the eye, but he did ask one question.

“Why did you leave the wedding with him then?”

The sound of anger in his voice surprised Pam even more than the question did. She stared down at his hand, so much larger than hers and wrapped so securely around her wrist. She couldn't help but think that he hadn't touched her in a long, long time. When she looked up, she finally met his gaze. She was thrown by the myriad of emotions she could see behind his eyes – feelings that she couldn't be sure she recognized yet still looked achingly familiar.She'd already said so much, a bit more of the truth certainly couldn't change things.

“I needed someone to want me,” she said softly, “and you didn't.”

Jim glanced down at where he held her, and his thumb brushed softly against the inside of her wrist, sending a shiver through her. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He wasn't sure he trusted himself to talk. Instead he looked at her, really looked at her, allowing himself to look deep into her eyes for the first time in a long, long while.

When he stared at her like that, she understood completely why he had kissed her last summer, even after she had told him she couldn't be with him. She'd never in her life wanted something as much as she wanted to kiss him at that moment. Kiss him though she was sure it would only lead to awkwardness later. Kiss him though he was attached to someone else now. So she did the only thing her body would let her do. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Her free hand reached up and cupped the side of his face, partly as a way to steady herself against the rush of sensation kissing him had ignited.

She felt the roughness of his chin against hers and it brought back memories of how much smoother his face had felt under her hands and lips last time. It was just due to the fact he hadn't shaved since early morning, but to Pam it was like a reflection of how everything had changed between them. He was harder around the edges in almost every way since the last time they had kissed. His words had become harsher at times, his body language warned her away, his glances were no longer inviting. Seemed fitting, somehow, that even his skin seemed to want to keep her away. But it was too late for that. She had no intention of going anywhere but closer.

There was something in the way Pam looked at him that told him she was going to kiss him. He knew it before she even began to lean in. But knowing something doesn't necessarily mean you believe it, and as her lips pressed warmly against his, Jim's only thought was that this had to be a dream. But her hand against his face felt real enough, and her lips urging him to relax under hers told him it was real enough. He found himself slipping his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her hips as he pulled her closer. The height he lost by sitting back on the table made her fit perfectly in his arms, and only to added to the illusion of fantasy, for who ever thinks of things like logistics or height differences when caught up in a fantasy.

He closed his eyes and let her lead. He expected her to stop at any minute. To pull back, apologetically, and give him an excuse for why she'd kissed him and why she was sorry. It was just how she'd conditioned him to react after all these years. She'd give him a little, only to pull it right back. It's why he had to finally move on. Except with the feeling of her hands in his hair, and the warmth of her body now pressing against him, he knew he was a liar. He hadn't moved on, and he never would. He never could. So he grabbed onto this opportunity with all he had, and returned her fervor with passion of his own. She was going to have to be the one to stop this, because he knew he certainly wasn't.

Any doubts that Jim was going to reject her kiss were gone within the first ten seconds. As she leaned into him, his arms locked behind her and he pulled her flush to him, up against his torso and between his legs as he half-sat on the edge of the conference table. She expected that he would pull back, that he would make an excuse for why kissing him wasn't something she should be doing. He certainly had a very good reason to make her stop. But he didn't. Instead, his lips met hers greedily,and when his tongue reached out to taste her lips, she tightened her grasp on his shoulder to stop the dizziness. Her fingers wove their way through his hair like they did the last time they'd had the chance, and more he pushed for the more she gave. For right or wrong, she knew she would kiss him for as long as he'd let her. She wasn't about to be the one to stop what had started.

The stood together like that as minutes passed, neither saying a word nor breaking their skin-to-skin contact. She kissed her way across his cheek and down his jaw. He nuzzled against the soft skin under her ear while his hand reached up to twirl lengths of curl through his fingers. It was if they both knew they would shatter this moment with words. There was too much to say, so they said nothing. The room was silent except for the sounds of their breathing and their beating hearts.

Pam moved her hands down his shoulders and around his waist. As she ran her hands along his back she thought that she'd never seen, much less touched, so much of his body. She tugged his dress shirt out from his trousers and placed her hands along his warm back. She heard him take a sudden deep breath, and she worried briefly that she had gone too far, until she felt Jim snake his hands under her shirt, his fingers trailing along the waistband of her skirt. She hugged him closer, and was surprised but pleased to feel him hard against her. She pushed her hips closer to his, and his soft moan told her all she needed to know. She turned her face toward his and kissed him deeply.

Jim couldn't remember the last time he had been so turned on by a kiss. Not that this was a simple or ordinary kiss by any means. By this point they'd gone past even the point of casual necking. He felt an intensity in her touch, in her kiss, that was matched only by what he knew he was feeling. He moved one hand from her waist to her collar, and tugged at her neckline to place kisses along her shoulder. His fingers moved down to the buttons on her blouse, and as of their own accord began to undo them. Pam tilted her head back, eyes closed, reveling in the experience. She soon found herself reaching up for Jim's tie, loosening it and then turning to the buttons on his shirt. They had both succeeded in their tasks when unexpected voice changed everything.

“I knew you'd starve if I didn't bring you something,” Karen called out as she walked into the office. “And since you seem to like living on pizza --”

Karen stopped talking as she reached the conference room door. The vision of Jim and Pam, both looking only half-dressed, somewhat startled, and completely guilty was definitely not one she was expecting. Jim looked at Karen then looked away. Pam was still half-facing Jim and didn't know where to look. She lowered her head and self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear while her other hand tried to rebutton her shirt without actually calling attention to the fact that she was rebuttoning her shirt. She was about to move to away from Jim when she felt his left hand press into her hip, stopping her.

Jim was speechless for the second time that evening. What explanation could he possibly give? He felt Pam starting to pull away, and instinctively reached out to stop her. It wasn't so much that he wanted to present a unified front to Karen as the fact that he was uncomfortably aware of his state of disarray. He glanced back up at Karen, who was staring him down with a look of pure fury. He cleared his throat and tried to think of something - anything - to say when Karen spoke again.

“It's a shame I didn't wait another ten minutes before arriving,” she said. “Looks like I would have witnessed quite the show.”

“Karen,” Jim began weakly, still struggling for something to say.

“Fuck you, Jim,” she retorted. “I'm glad to see all your efforts to get over her are working. Enjoy your pizza.” She dropped the box on the floor with a loud thud, and turned away, walking hastily out of the office.