Pam stirred awake and blinked to see Susan smiling down at her. She realized how awkward the situation was and quickly untangled herself from Jim’s arms. He let out a few harsh coughs before waking up fully and seeing the nurse.
“Hey Susan,” He muttered, turning onto his back with a wince. Pam straightened her clothes and watched as the nurse changed the medication on the IV pole.
“Hey yourself,” She smiled down at her patient. “The doctor’s going to come talk to you later, okay?”
“Sure,” Jim rubbed at his face at tried to push himself up the bed. Susan moved quickly to help him up and push the pillows behind him.
“Pam, it’s about eight-twenty,” Susan said softly. “I don’t know if you have work?”
“Crap!” Pam gasped, grabbing her purse. She turned back towards Jim and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you! I’ll see you after work!”
She hurried out of the hospital and jumped into her car, arriving at work about five minutes late. Pam smoothed down her wrinkled skirt and began to walk up to the office building, pausing when she saw several party rental trucks.
“Pam!” She looked up to see Andy jogging towards her. He and several other employees came from the Stamford branch but only Andy had lasted more than a month with Michael.
“Hey Andy, what’s going on?” She asked, smiling at him slightly.
“Well, my dear little Pamela,” He was grinning brightly. “This was supposed to be a surprise, we weren’t expecting you to come back today.”
“I was always going to come back today,” She shrugged.
“Oh no!” Michael wailed from across the parking lot when he saw her. “You weren’t supposed to come back today!”
“Yes I was!” Pam argued. She had taken a week off to spend time with Jim but was convinced she was coming back today.
“She was coming back today Michael, we discussed this,” Phyllis rolled her eyes and came over to them. “We were going to surprise you.”
“We’re having a fundraiser!” Michael blurted out, grinning widely.
“We figured the cost of Jim’s operation and his hospital bills would total about two-hundred thousand dollars, and with what he’s paid and the crappy healthcare we have there’s not much of a chance of him easily paying it off,” Phyllis explained with a smile. “We are hosting a fundraising event in Jim’s name. We’ve got food, casino games, a raffle, inflatables, and rides. Some things are outside but most of the adults are inside. Some local restaurants offered to cater free of cost and we’ve been promoting in the paper and a small amount of local TV time.”
“You’re kidding,” Pam whispered, tears filling her eyes at how thoughtful her coworkers were being.
“No, we’re not,” Michael was still smiling widely. “The event starts at five. You can help us set up and then go get Jim.”
Pam nodded and smiled to herself. She looked around the parking lot, which was being completely transformed before her eyes.
“Hey Pam,” She jumped and spun around to see Roy standing sheepishly behind her.
“Roy,” Pam smiled back and quickly hugged him. “You look good, I like the beard.”
“Thanks,” Roy laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “How’s Halpert doing?”
“Um, not too well. He’s tired all the time and he hasn’t improved at all,” Pam sighed, rubbing at her eyes.
“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that,” Roy said genuinely. “Well, I’d better get back to setting up some of the stuff.” He smiled slightly at her and walked over to where some other people were setting up an inflatable.
“You know,” Pam turned to her left to see Angela. “It was Roy’s idea to have the fundraiser.”
“What?” She asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Go ask him,” Angela rolled her eyes but allowed herself a small smile when Pam hurried over to her ex-fiancé.
“Can I talk to you?” She asked softly and Roy nodded, following her to a secluded part of the parking lot. “Is it true? Was this your idea?”
“Well, yeah,” Roy mumbled, obviously feeling uncomfortable. “I was watching the news and something about the cost of transplants came up. They talked about how some people weren’t able to afford the transplant and died because of it. I’ll be honest Pam, I love you and I want you to be happy. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to not be able to help him just because of money so I did some research and asked Jan. He’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve to loose the heart or go bankrupt because of this.”
Pam stared blankly at him before hugging Roy tightly.
“Thank you,” She whispered into his collar. “Thank you so much.” Roy rubbed her back and pulled back, smiling.
“You should call up his family,” Roy said softly, giving her another smile before going back to where the inflatable was being set up.
Pam pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed Larissa, practically brimming with excitement.
~*~
The parking lot and warehouse were transformed into an almost carnival-like setting and the warehouse was set up as a casino. People were beginning to arrive by the dozens and Pam could not help but smile at the proud looks on her coworker’s faces.
“I’m going to go get Jim,” She told Michael, who was standing in line for his fourth cotton candy. Michael beamed with excitement and nodded vigorously.
Pam’s heart beat harshly in her chest as she pulled up to the hospital. She stepped out to see Susan standing by the loading dock, waving at her.
Another nurse who Pam did not recognize wheeled a very confused Jim, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, out onto the loading dock.
“What’s going on?” He asked, giving her a smile.
“Nothing,” Pam said sweetly. “We’re going to go on a little trip.”
A hospital van pulled up to the side of the loading dock and they helped Jim in, folding up his wheelchair and putting it in the back. Pam slid in next to him and Susan got into the passengers seat.
“So, where are we going?” He asked again.
“You’ll see,” Pam grinned when he sighed, annoyed. They drove in silence for a few more minutes before Jim suddenly realized where they were.
“We’re going to the office?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. “This is your big surprise? The office.”
“Maybe,” She drew out the word and laughed when he rolled his eyes and sank down in the stiff chair. His annoyed expression changed quickly to complete confusion when he saw the bright lights and the top of a Ferris wheel peeking over the wall surrounding the parking lot.
“What?” Jim turned to Pam, bewildered.
“Jim, here’s the surprise,” Pam started, grinning brightly. Jim’s eyes locked on the huge banner that read ‘Have a Heart!’ right at the entrance to the parking lot. “Everyone at the office has organized a fundraiser for you. I know we never talked about funds when it came to the transplant but let’s be honest, we probably can’t afford much without going into debt. They want to raise money for you and have put so much effort into this.”
“Seriously?” Jim’s expression was one of complete shock.
“Yeah,” Pam nodded, tearful, and pulled Jim into a hug. “They’re so excited to see you.”
Jim was silent as Susan pulled out his wheelchair and set it up outside. He was still able to walk a little bit but would grow exhausted so quickly that he had to sit down. While Jim was not happy about being restrained to a wheelchair, he decided it was worth it to even get around.
He was clearly overwhelmed by everything that was going on and tightly held Pam’s hand as Susan wheeled him into the parking lot.
“Jim!” Michael had been waiting by the entrance and sprinted over to them as soon as he saw them. He leaned over and gave Jim an awkward hug.
“This is amazing Michael,” Jim said, smiling brightly at his boss.
“Isn’t it?” Michael beamed, looking around the huge crowd of people.
“You have no idea,” Jim was still grinning but noticed that Michael was trying really hard not to stare at the wheelchair or the IV port in his hand. “You haven’t come to visit me man.”
“Well, I’ve been really busy,” Michael shifted awkwardly. “And sick people are gross. Except you dude, you look fantastic.”
“Yeah,” Jim laughed. “I have a x-box set up in my room though, come by whenever you want.”
Michael’s whole face lit up and he nodded vigorously. They stayed and talked for a while before Michael declared that he wanted a hot dog and ran off before the line got too long.
“Jim Halpert,” David Wallace walked over to them with a bright smile and shook Jim’s hand. “It’s good to see you.”
“David,” Pam noticed that Jim seemed genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“It’s really impressive how everyone pulled together,” David nodded, looking around the brightly lit parking lot. “My father actually passed away from heart disease. I’m just really glad we could do something to help you.”
“Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me and my family,” Jim said sincerely. David nodded and smiled, shaking Jim’s hand once again and leaving, allowing Jim and Pam the first moment together since they got there.
“Susan, I can take care of him from here,” Pam offered the nurse, giving her a smile. “You can go get something to eat.”
“God, thank you Pam, I’m starving,” Susan was off in a flash, leaving the couple alone.
“This is perfect Pam,” Jim said, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “Thank you.”
“I just found out about it this morning actually,” She admitted, squeezing his hand. “This was all the office, they did this. And Roy was the one who had the idea.”
Jim’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but he remained silent. His eyes flickered somewhere behind her and he sighed.
“Hey Pam, go grab yourself something to eat and grab me a bottle of water,” He smiled at her and let go of her hand. Pam quickly turned around to see Roy talking to some other warehouse employees.
“Alright, I’ll be right back,” She said, walking slowly to the concession area.
Jim paused for a moment, running a thin hand through his hair. He realized that he truly was not strong enough to push his chair all the way over to where Roy was standing and quickly gave up trying.
“Roy!” He tried calling out but his voice cracked. “Roy!”
The larger man turned to see Jim give him a timid wave before doubling over in his chair coughing. Roy paused, excused himself, and walked over to where Jim was.
“Hey man,” He said awkwardly, watching as Jim tried to catch his breath. When he finally was breathing normally, he looked up.
“Hey,” He smiled. “So, Pam told me that this was your idea. You can’t even imagine how much this means to me.”
“I’m just glad I could help,” Roy mumbled.
“Yeah, uh, I don’t really know how this works,” Jim chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.
“You know,” Roy straightened up and looked at Jim firmly. “This shouldn’t be awkward. You are better for Pam than I ever was. When I wasn’t there for her, you were. Now you need her and she wants to be there for you. I should have seen it sooner.”
“I’m sorry,” Jim tried to apologize but Roy put his hand up.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Seriously, this is past us. I’ve actually started dating again and I’m happy. I’m glad to see that you two are happy.”
“Thanks,” Jim smiled. “You have no idea how that makes me feel better. You know, when I get better we need to play basketball. I bet I could still beat you.”
“Yeah?” Roy grinned. “Alright, I’ll play you.”
“Hey!” Pam smiled hesitantly and walked up slowly, handing Jim a bottle of water. She held a container of fries and a bottle of soda.
“Hey,” Roy smiled back and Jim took a quick swig of the water. Then Roy took a glance behind them and waved at someone. “This is Brooke.”
A tall brunette grabbed his hand and smiled at them both. Pam relaxed quickly and smiled back at the other woman.
“Hi! You must be Jim and you have to be Pam,” Brooke shook both of their hands. “It’s so good to meet you both finally!”
After about twenty minutes of talking, Pam noticed that Jim’s head was drooping slightly with exhaustion. She excused them, wheeling Jim over to a secluded part of the parking lot.
“Do you want to go back to the hospital?” She asked softly.
“No,” Jim shook his head, sitting up straighter and rubbing at his face. “I’m fine. It’s only like eight o’clock. I’m good.”
Pam nodded but did not look convinced. She could tell he was completely exhausted but Jim would still smile and talk to any person who came up to them.
Around ten Jim was almost out of it. His head was leaning against her body since she was standing so close to the side of his chair.
“You look exhausted man,” David said as he walked up to them. “I just wanted to tell you that we’ve raised almost thirty-thousand dollars tonight. We’re going to keep doing this until around seven in the morning so we’re most likely going to raise even more money.”
“Seriously?” Jim’s eyes widened. “Jesus David, that’s amazing.”
“It is, but you should go and get some sleep. I know how exhausted you must be,” David gently clapped him on the back. “Just know Jim, that you’re always going to be able to keep your job here, regardless of how long it takes for you to get back to work. You’re a very talented member of this company and we’re honored to have you here.”
“Thank you David,” Jim said softly, shaking the other man’s hand. There was a flurry of goodbyes and hugs as Pam and Jim moved to the entrance and into the hospital van.
As they drove back, Jim rested his head on her shoulder and had his eyes closed.
“Jim,” Pam lightly jostled him and he cracked one eye open. “Earlier, the doctor was supposed to talk to you. What did he say?”
“Ah,” Jim shifted slightly, closing both eyes again. “Apparently, I’ve been moved up to status 1A on the transplant list.”
Pam froze, tears filling her eyes, and wrapped her arms around him. Moving up to a 1A placement on the list meant that he was first in line to get a new heart, but it also meant that he was getting worse quickly.
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali