It all started with a shirt.

Well, the need to buy a new shirt, actually. But let's get to that later.

It was exactly six days into dating Pam, and damn, it was better than he imagined. In six very short days, he watched everything he hoped for, yearned for, sacrificed for, just unfold in front of him like a blossoming flower. The scent of New York had worn off of him, the precise haircut was now a little more untamed thanks to some product and the wizardy of his hands. The sting of Karen's words were now banished to the corners of his mind, because she was gone, and he had come to terms with their vast differences before they even started.

He felt bad that he had hurt Karen, that he had hurt anyone at all. But all that pain and suffering got him exactly where he wanted to be in the first place. With Pam. The first date sealed it for him. It's a little presumptuous but...okay, he just felt like all those lost moments where he wondered "Does she? Could she? Maybe..." all came crashing down and revealing themselves truthfully as they discussed the past year and what it had done to them. Individually and together.

It felt so good to be honest, well sort of honest, because most of that first date, he was waiting for some kind of catastrophe to occur, like a killer asteroid, or a herd of rhinos to come crashing through the wall, because fate had a history of not being too kind to him. But that never happened, and he found himself in her apartment later that night, his fingers brushing her hand as she stood in her doorway, biting her lip. Trying to figure out if she wanted him to come in, he supposed. He guessed later, she did, because evidently, he found himself waking up next to her.

She did this sort of smile blushing thing and whispered, "Hi."

He felt the lump formed in his throat from being in total awe of her. "Hey."

The morning after "the date" consisted of him gathering his socks and jeans that were discarded unceremoniously in odd places all over her apartment. The last five nights have pretty much been the same, and it was then, Jim realized...he hadn't washed laundry in forever, because he hadn't exactly been home long enough to do laundry. And that would seriously mess up his dinner date he had planned, and Saturday was not a day he wanted to spend doing anything other than being with Pam. Laundry was out. He had clean underwear and a clean pair of jeans, so all he needed was a shirt.

So the quest for said shirt began on a Saturday morning; a morning he kind of had to force himself away from Pam and into the shower. He pulled into the Steam Town Mall parking lot and made his way towards Aeropostle to find a shirt, stopping only to get a smoothie. Jim wondered briefly if he walked differently and if it was noticeable because it felt like he was fucking floating on air. He hasn't felt this way since he...well since he first met her. That giddiness, a headiness that was way to girly to admit to anyone. He felt so many conflicting emotions, anxiety and calm, thrill and fear...it was totally weird.

And then he wondered how she felt about all this. Obviously she liked him, and had for a long time; she was just to afraid to admit it. But it was obvious now, there was mutual ground, or at least it seemed obvious, as she stroked his face this morning and kissed his shoulder as they lay in bed, utterly exhausted.

It made Jim wonder how deeply she felt for him, because he knew, without a doubt, that he was definitely still in love with her. She looked like she wanted to say it several times already, but instead she would do this thing where she bit her lip and just lean over and kiss him senseless. How could he complain about that?! Maybe she was just afraid to say it. Maybe not. She wasn't the same timid Beesley and if their new found sex life was any indication of how bold she was...then damn, he better buckle up and say a prayer. She'd say it soon, she'd say it and his heart would explode out of his chest and it would be so gross...but so worth it.

It was taking a long hike to Aeropostale that he passed by something that caught his eye, something that fogged his thoughts. The twinkling in a display window of Zales Jewelry store. He stopped suddenly, eyes transfixed on the sparking jewel and it just called to him. A simple diamond, with a gold band and a woman in the display pictured smiling with that same ring. And then something terribly weird happens...an image of Pam flashed before him.

Not that he didn't think of marrying her before, but back when he had nothing but dreams and hopes, sure it made sense. But now he has her, really has her, and was it even right to contemplate marriage at this point? He used to remember sitting there watching her suffer through her wedding plans with Roy and he wanted so badly to tell her being engaged wasn't supposed to hurt, like she was hurting. That it was supposed to be a precursor to the happiest moment of her life with, whoever would be lucky enough to marry her. He used to strangle those thoughts in his throat as he listened to her on the phone, about to cry because Roy said the cake she liked was way too pricey and she needed to call back and change to a cheaper cake.

He remembered things like that and wondering what he would do differently, if it was his ring on her finger.

No...no. No. He thought, an internal conflict raging within him. Stop. Are you frigging insane? It's been a week! Okay, okay, it's been five years but still...it's been a week since you actually took a step towards something even remotely romantic...this is insane! You are supposed to be focused on buying a shirt of some kind, maybe a polo shirt with stripes or...Why am I walking into the store?! Stop it! Aeropostale is the other way!

But he was standing in front of the counter before he could register what he was doing and a saleslady walked up to him, sorta freaking him out with how big her smile was.

"Hello, are you looking for anything particular today?"

No, I am not. I am-

He swallowed down the protest.  "Um....I'm...yeah. Engagement rings?" His voice cracked when he said it. He looked around frantically to see if anyone he knew was walking past. Phyllis could be shopping today, Meredith maybe, or Kelly, who practically lived in the mall. Maybe even Creed who just hung around loitering. What if they walked by and saw him and ran back and told Pam? They probably would think it was for Karen, since no one had any idea he and Pam were together.

He could see Kelly jumping up and down at reception. "Pam, I was buying this cherry lipgloss at the mall this weekend and I totally saw Jim buying a ring at Zales. Was it for Karen? Probably not, because...he totally broke up with her. You saw how she basically cussed him out in the kitchen. So dramatic. Oh my god, Pam...like you have the same exact ring on your finger that I saw him pick! Because if I know anything, I know diamonds. Wait...Did Jim...are you guys together? Whoa, are you pregnant? If you are it's totally cool, because lots of Hollywood couples have babies then get married!"

He shook himself out of his reverie to see the saleslady, he guessed her name was Bridget, smiled brightly at him, tapping on the display case. "Here you go. Some of our finest collections. What cut of diamond does your girlfriend prefer?"

Jim bit his lip and looked down for a second, the internal conflict still raging on. Shit, this is exactly why I need to walk out and take my ass to Aeropostale and call it a day. This is crazy! Seriously. But she did say once she thought a marquise diamond would be nice...my god, am I seriously doing this?

He looked back up to see the saleslady (was it Bridget again?) waiting for a response. "Marquise diamonds. Like that one...in the display."

She nodded. "Excellent choice! Here..."

Jim watched as she pulled out a display case and sat it in front of him, then she unfolded a cloth and set the ring on it.

"Look at the detail and the clarity on the ring. One to one and a half carat is nothing to shake your head at. It's definitely an absolutely stunning piece. And this one...over here...this is the signature ring with a marquise and four round diamond accents..."

And as she talked, Jim marveled at the rings, imagining Pam's hand outstretched, her fingers wiggling. He thought of how she would look, how she would feel, what she would say once that ring was on her finger. He thought of a future with her, a bright, calming one...where they were finally building towards something together. And his chest heaved at the sight of her, loving him for eternity, having his kids, and...

He forgot that he was in Zales for a minute. She was still talking about the rings, and his eyes scanned over them, none of them quite jumping out at him like he wanted them too.

"And this one," she said, handling a beautiful marquise diamond with a gold band as she placed it in front of him. "This one will bring her to her knees."

His eyebrows arched as she smirked and slowly he looked over the ring. And it was beautiful...nay...amazing. But it wouldn't bring her to her knees, it would bring him to his. He picked it up between his long fingers and his mind briefly wondered what the hell he was thinking right now.

He wondered if he could afford such a ring, especially one he's doing on an impulse buy, but then he remembered. It wasn't such a spontaneous thing. Honestly...he'd been scoping rings for years playing that game "If Pam were my fiance'...", doing the same thing he's doing now, but back then he would really kick himself, because she wasn't and all signs pointed to her keeping Roy's Walmart ring on her finger.

But now, that shackle of a ring was replaced by a bare finger.

As he felt the cool metal against his fingers, the ring dwarfed between them. A smile crept slowly across his face as he nodded, "This...is it."

And the saleslady seemed to be happy, after all, she had been explaining rings for the last...oh...twenty minutes to him. "Do you want to get it today? Do you know her ring size?"

Jim placed the ring down, and seriously contemplated what he was about to do. He was about to buy an engagement ring...for Pam. After a week. But seriously, this one week summed up so many feelings and it healed so many past wounds that, he felt certain that the only way this would end was in vows.

Plus, he had money saved from his botched Australia trip and from his time in Stamford. He didn't care about any of the excuses why not to anymore...all he cared about was when to ask. Besides, he knew her ring size the day after they ate at Cugino's...because he couldn't take his mind off the fact she was engaged then. He watched her in a daze as she placed the small velvet box inside another box and then, in a nifty looking bag. Aeropostale's was completely forgotten. Polo tees were the last thing on his mind.

He flipped his cell phone open after he got in his car, his knees a bit wobbly from the experience.

"Hello?"

"Jon...it's me. Jim."

"Duh. What's up?"

"Nothing...uh, just...bought a ring for Pam."

"Oh yeah how's that going so fa- wait, what?! Did you just say-?"

"I got Pam a ring."

"What do you mean a ring? Like a promise ring? Like I promise that I've been mooing over you for five years. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon type of ring?"

"Close, but um...more serious."

"You're fucking kidding me! Are you...wow. Um... Jim, it's only been a week, dude."

"I know, but...it just feels right."

"Okay, okay. Fuck. A ring? Dude. I swear, have you guys even-?"

"That is NONE of your business."

"Wow. Shutup. Little brother's taking it seriously, huh?"

Jim took a deep breath. "I never felt so right about something."

"So when are you going to ask?"

"I don't know. Not now, it's too soon...for her."

"I gotcha. Wow. Well um...keep me posted."

"Will do," Jim replied shutting his phone and staring at the bag.

It just felt right. It felt...great, actually. And now all he had to do was plan the perfect way to propose and totally kick Beesley's ass.