Author's Chapter Notes:
Pam tries to explain to Jim what is happening to her.
Pam awoke with a start, sitting upright in the bed. When she did so, she groaned with pain and grabbed her head, which was throbbing. She was trying to figure out where she was and what had happened when -
"Feeling better?" His voice startled her, and she jumped. He was sitting in the corner on the uncomfortable desk chair, leaning forward with his hands folded.
"Jim," she said, trying to piece together what he was doing there.
"Here's a question for you," he said, standing up and presenting her with a bottle of water. "Who the hell are you?"
"Jim..." she began, but she could see he was agitated.
"You know me. I don't know how you know me, but you do. I need to know who you are."
She took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She took a drink of water, and noticed he was now offering her something in his hand.
"It's just ibuprofen," he said. "You probably need it."
"Thanks," she replied, gulping it down.
He sat on the edge of the bed, not looking at her. "You mentioned Tommy. Why? What does that mean to you?"
Pam swallowed, and tried to get him to meet her gaze. When he wouldn't, she sighed. "You were nine. He was your best friend. You were going to Little League. Tommy's dad was driving. You took something of his - some kind of handheld game - and he took his seatbelt off to try to grab it back from you. The car was hit from the side. You were fine. Tommy was... killed."
Jim had his head in his hands, still not looking up.
"You had trouble dealing with it," Pam continued. "You wouldn't talk for like a month and your mom and dad took you to a psychologist."
She heard a hitch in his breath as he spoke. "I never told anyone about that. We lived in Boston then. We moved to Pennsylvania six months later."
She didn't say anything and it was a few moments before he spoke again. This time, he turned to face her.
"How did you know about it?"
Again, Pam felt tears welling in her eyes. "You told me. In the breakroom one day while we were eating lunch. I don't remember how it came up but - "
He interrupted her. "Wait, you said you didn't work at CTX..."
"I don't. It happened at Dunder-Mifflin."
"Dunder what?" He was clearly confused.
She shook her head, and said, "You know what? It doesn't matter. You'll never believe me."
"Try me." He was staring at her intently now, so she continued.
"It's like... I am in this alternate universe, and I don't know how or why or maybe I'm just crazy, but... Okay, you were my best friend. I am the receptionist and you are - were - a salesman. We hung out at work a lot, and we were pretty close." She faltered, not knowing if she should get into more detail than that.
"How close? I mean, were we together?"
"No. Well, not really. I was engaged to someone else, and you were... not." She looked up to see if she could read his expression, but it hadn't changed.
"And that's it?" He was obviously skeptical.
"No, that's not it. Ugh, I don't even know how to explain. Okay, a few weeks ago you told me that you were... in love with me. And we kissed. And then I told you that I was still going to marry my fiance, and you left. Transferred to another branch." Her words were coming fast and she was rambling, but she went on. "And you left without saying goodbye. I was devastated, and then a few days ago I broke up with my fiance, and that's when I started noticing that you... didn't... exist anymore."
She stopped, took a breath, and looked at him.
"You don't believe me."
She still couldn't tell what he was thinking. He took a long time to speak.
"No, I don't believe you. Are you kidding me? That is the craziest thing I have ever heard."
She nodded mutely as she started to cry once more. Something in his expression melted a bit, and he cautiously put his hand on her shoulder.
"But obviously you believe it. Is there anyone I can call for you? I think... I think you need some help."
Silently, she agreed. He was right. It had to be all in her head. Of course, that didn't explain how she knew this person whom technically she had just met - and how she knew intimate details about his life - but he had to be right. Right?
And with that, she gave up.
Chapter End Notes:
Don't worry; it's not over yet!
