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Story Notes:
Yeah, so this is kind of a Karen story. And by that I mean, it's a Karen story. The title is from the song by Ryan Adams, well it's actually, "Elizabeth, you were born to play that part." And the lyrics are from another Ryan Adams song, "Everybody Knows." And if I could make it any more confusing, please let me know.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay, so this came to me when I realized that most of my songs (due to their fairly depressing nature) are more suited for Jim and Karen's relationship than Jim and Pam's. And plus, I kind of feel bad for Karen. So here's to Karen. Please don't ever come back on the show, but I hope there's a happy ending out there for you somewhere.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended



You and I together
But only one of us in love
And everybody knows




Karen is many things, but stupid is not one of them.



She sees how he looks at Pam. She sees a lot of things that Jim either thinks she doesn't, or doesn't care. And she's not sure which of those is worse.



But what's worse than Jim pining over Pam, what's worse than him staring at the reception desk and then turning away when Pam looks up, is that everyone else in the office sees it too.



She can't stand the thought that these people pity her. Pity her.



And maybe she is stupid, because instead of packing her bags and finding a new, better job somewhere, anywhere, else; she sits watching everyone in the office watch Jim watch Pam, and pretend that this is all okay.



The thing is, and it's kind of a big thing, Karen thinks she might be in love with Jim. Which is all kinds of stupid, because he's so clearly in love with Pam. But he's with her, and that has to count for something.



It occurs to her, fairly often actually, that in all probability, she's just a footnote in the epic story "Jim and Pam: An Office Romance." If this was a movie, she would be the secondary character used to cause angst for a short amount of time. The girl he's with right now before he figures out he can have the girl of his dreams.



Karen is many things, but apparently, the girl of Jim's dreams is not one of them.



But at night, when they aren't at the office, aren't surrounded by all things Pam, she thinks that he could love her. That maybe he just needs a little more time, a little more time before he can truly put Pam behind him. Karen thinks if she can just get him out Scranton, away from Pam, she has a fighting chance.




He says her name,
it echoes in my head like it was a canyon
He says her name, he says it and I know what's up




Karen knows that she can't stay in Scranton. Knows it as soon as she causes a scene and yells at Jim in the office in front of everyone, in front of Pam, knows that she can't possibly work here with him and with her.


She's already talked to Wallace, and she ignores the way that Jim and Pam exchange sly smiles, or the fact that Jim has already moved into his old desk, the one where he can see Pam out of the corner of his eye. She ignores all of this, because it hurts too much not to.


Karen settles in Utica, and actually kind of likes it. And there's a little bit of retribution when Jim shows up at her office wearing women's clothes and a fake mustache. It's like the universe's way of cutting her a break.


She starts dating again, and always asks how they feel about receptionists.


She hears that Jim and Pam are engaged through the office gossip hotline. She wants to pretend that it doesn't mean anything, that it was bound to happen, and it doesn't come as a surprise. And while that's true, it still sends a wave of pain through her, and she holes herself up in her office for a little while, focusing on sales reports and numbers and her vision blurs a little, and she blames it on allergies.



She's not surprised when she doens't get invited to the wedding, but she is surprised when she gets an email from Michael Scott with pictures attached from the wedding.


Two of our family members became one this weekend, his email read. It went on about love and hotness and the joining of two souls, and it was sent out to basically the whole company. She's just enough of a masochist to click on the pictures. Most of them are of Michael with Jim or with Pam, or by himself, but some of them are just of Jim and Pam, and they look so damn happy.



It's after that email that she quits Dunder Mifflin all together, moves to San Diego and tries her hand at a totally new start. Utica, as it turns out, might have been geographically far enough away, but it wasn't far enough away in any other sense.




She runs into Jim Halpert two years later, standing in a drugstore in New York City. She's there on business and hopefully to see the guy in her company that she's been flirting with long distance, and she spots Jim down the aisle. She wants to turn around, go the other way, pretend that she didn't see him, but he sees her and smiles a little and waves.


"Karen! Hey," he calls and she notices for the first time that he's in the baby aisle, his basket full of diapers and formula and she glances down to see her own basket full of condoms. "What are you doing in New York?"



"Oh, a business trip," she answers, and she sees his eyes drift down to her basket and a Jim smirk appear on his face, and she wants to feel annoyed, but she's kind of missed it.



"I heard you left Dunder Mifflin," he says, and she nods.



"I heard you got married," she replies, and he smiles and nods.



"Yeah, two years now," he says. "And we have, uh, a daughter. Dwightina."



"Oh God," Karen groans. "Please tell me you are kidding." And Jim's face breaks into a grin and he laughs.



"Totally kidding. Her name is Maggie. She's seven months old," he fumbles for his wallet and pulls out a picture, and it's a beautiful little baby girl. And Karen's surprised by how happy she is for him. Really, honestly happy.



"She's beautiful," Karen says softly.



"She's her mother," he replies. Somehow they end up at a coffee shop a few doors down, catching up on the past few years. He tells her about them moving to New York and Pam's budding art career and his job as a high school English teacher and all about Maggie. And Karen talks about San Diego and how it's great, warm and beautiful, but she's always been kind of an East Coast girl, and it's nice to talk to Jim, because if she wouldn't have been stupid enough to fall in love with him, he probably would have been a really great friend. Both he and Pam probably would have been really great friends, and she's sorry it didn't go that way, that it had to turn into a messy triangle where she was never going to win.



Her phone rings, and it's that guy from her office, Paul, and she has to excuse herself, but not before Jim invites her to dinner at his and Pam's apartment before she leaves town, because he knows that Pam would just love to see her, and she can see that he means it, and she knows that it's probably true, because Pam is kind of the best and most forgiving person she knows.


They hug and Jim grabs his bags full of diapers and formula and some ice cream for Pam, and disappears into the New York night, and Karen calls Paul back and hails a cab.


And she breathes out and leans against the vinyl and thinks that maybe she'll move back east. She thinks she really likes Paul, and who knows, maybe she's the lead in this story, the story of Karen and Paul. Maybe she'll even have a happy ending.


She'd like to think so.


bashert is the author of 37 other stories.
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