As the office empties Pams cleans up her desk and sends her last few faxes of the day. At last, she is alone. She thinks back to her final interview for the day with the camera guy, Bobby.

If he never comes back again, that’s okay. We’re friends, and I’m sure we’ll stay friends. We just, we never got the timing right, you know? I shot him down, and then he did the same to me. But you know what? I’m totally fine. Everything is gonna be totally fine. I have my family, and my friends, and I know that one day I’ll find someone. At the very least I’m glad that I’ve had the friendship with Jim that I have. If I didn’t I might be married to Roy and not really living the kind of life I want. I’ll always owe that to him.

So now she sits at her desk. Co-workers have gone home. Camera crew has packed up for the day. She can hear the quiet buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead, and the near silent hum of the computers.

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.

She keeps playing her words over and over in her head. She is totally fine. She would be totally fine, but she misses him, she does. She aches to laugh with him, talk with him, conspire with him. She aches to feel his arms around her, his lips on hers, her hands in his hair. But it was done. He is gone.

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.

She doesn't want to cry. She’s cried enough over the past year to last a lifetime. She was different now. Wasn’t she?

No more crying. No more regrets or looking back. She said what she said. The ball was in his court but he didn’t want to play this game anymore. Maybe she hadn’t said enough. Maybe she should have taken him aside at the beach. With moonlight in her eyes and the sound of the water in her ears and told him. Really told him. How she wanted to his friend again, yes, but also how she wanted to be more than that, finally. How she wanted to lay on the couch with him on lazy Sunday mornings. How she wanted to cook dinner with him. How she wanted to wake up next to him and feel him strong and solid behind her and wrapped around her. But she didn’t. She settled for safer things. Things like I miss you. You were my best friend. I called off my wedding for you. Looking back now she doesn’t think it was enough. No more regrets though. Time to look forward. He's happy now. That’s all she wants for him. Right?

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.

As she sits at her desk she feels the lump in her throat and the stinging in her eyes. She surprises herself by chastising herself out loud to an empty office. “No. I’m not going to cry”, she promises. She stands up and scrubs her eyes with her hand, fans herself to keep calm, collected. To keep on the façade she has worn all day. Pam gathers her bag and coat, turns off her computer, and switches the phones to voicemail. Her eyes sweep over the office once more. She tells herself that she is just making sure she hasn't forgotten anything, but really she feels her vision being pulled to where he belongs. Where he might never be again. She feels the lump again and clears her throat.

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.

She walks out of the office and over to the elevators, pushing the button and sighing as she waits. She hears the car come up to her floor and lurch to a halt. The doors open and she steps inside. She thinks about all of those moments before that night. The end of those days where they would laugh and talk and walk out with one another every night. She would steal a glance at him while he stretched his long arm to hold the door open for her. She would feel a warm flush creep up her neck when she would see his long finger push the button for the ground floor. She would pretend she didn’t see him glance over at her, a small knowing smile on his face. She kept up a façade on those days, too. She would go through her days pretending that she was fine. She was in love with her fiancée and her best friend was simply this amazing man who made her feel like there was a hurricane somewhere in her deep and low, but that didn’t mean anything. Right?

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.

But she isn’t fine. Nothing was fine. This was wrong and it felt wrong, and she feels something break inside her. Before she can convince herself not to, she starts to cry. She's crying for the friendship she lost and the man she loves who she let slip away. She leans back against the cold rear wall of the elevator…god why is it so slow? She puts her head back and closes her eyes, giving in to the empty feeling that she has been trying to avoid all day. She stands there quietly and lets the tears fall, no longer able to run from the feeling of loss, regret, sadness. She will be okay, she will. But right now it hurts. It hurts like hell and she can’t stop it anymore.

The elevator grinds to a halt with a loud thud. There is a beat before the doors open and Pam immediately tries to compose herself. She doesn’t need Bill, the security guy, seeing her cry. She hastily begins wiping her tears as the doors open. She keeps her head down to avoid talking to anyone and as she steps forward she walks into something strong and solid.

“Oh sorry…” Pam looks up to see the person who is blocking her quick exit from the elevator.

It's him. She feels the hurricane, deep and low, again.

“Uh. Hey.” He looks down at her. A wave of recognition flashes through his eyes as he realizes she’s been crying. It hurts his heart to know that it was probably because of him.

“H-hey.” She fumbles. She stands there open mouthed, and she blinks quickly for a minute, as if she could be hallucinating and he’s not really standing here in front of her.

“Fancy meeting you here, huh?” He quips. He gives her a sad little half smile and she feels something warm wrap around her heart.

“What are you? I mean, I thought you would be in New York?”

“Yeah,” he begins, “about that. I, uh, well. I’m not.”

“Yeah, you’re not.” She nods. She smiles. She waits.

They stand there for a minute. The air between them is different now and they are all sparkling eyes and timid smiles as they look at one another. They laugh as the door almost closes in between them, and he gently grabs her arm and pulls her forward. She thinks he’s pulling her out of the way of the elevator door, but he’s pulling her into his arms and she feels warm and safe and god he smells so good. She drops her bag at her feet and wraps her arms around his waist.

After a few minutes he brushes his lips over her hair and clears his throat to speak.

“I got your note.” He whispers.

For the first time that day, she smiles. Really, really smiles.

I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine.