"Wow, have I been an ass," was all he could think.

Jim Halpert had dug himself a hole. A really deep one filled with too many mistakes.

The first had been not giving Pam any time to think things through. Maybe she would have said something on Monday, maybe it would have changed things. But no, he was too immersed in his own emotions to wait. Everything had backfired and he just needed to get out... get away from all things Pam.

And there was his second mistake... running away. It was probably his biggest error, because it happened to lead to more problems than solutions. Like Karen.

For starters, he had hated living in Stamford. It just wasn't home... so what if his paychecks were bigger and he didn't have to face Pam everyday? Not that Stamford wasn't a nice place, it just wasn't home.

Karen made it more like home. She was friendly, smart, and someone fun to talk to and laugh with, not to mention hot. Time spent with her reminded him a little of the time he spent with a certain receptionist back home, but it didn't bring back the pain. It just made him more comfortable, more like his old self. Starting a more serious relationship with Karen did not seem like a bad idea at the time.

But things got weird after the merger. Jim had to work harder to keep his feelings for Pam at bay after he saw how much she had changed. She was still Pam, just more confident and independent. For the first time in months, he didn't really want to push away thoughts of her. He wanted to let her back in.

It didn't take long for Karen to figure things out, and suddenly dating her was definitely not fun or enjoyable. That's when she began her attempts to "mold" him into her idea of a perfect guy. It started with those glares that spoke volumes on her disapproval of his pranks and visits to reception. Then there were the little comments on his commitment to his career or unruly hair. The little comments escalated to small discussions. He should have cut it off right there.

Before he knew it, no topic was out of bounds (for Karen at least) during their three to four hour late-night phone conversations, like the one he'd just had on "the importance of commitment and not telling lies." This is why Karen was a mistake.

But what he was really angry at himself for was how he had treated Pam since he came back. There was no excuse for that. He didn't even want to begin to remember... like the time I practically cast her Christmas present off as worthless or refused to grab coffee with her... yep, nice going, Halpert.

And then Jim realized... "Maybe I can still change things, maybe it's not too late."

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