Pam walked down the hallways of the hospital, heels clicking sharply on the white floors. She had left work and had gone straight to the hospital, excited to see Jim.
After a couple days Jim had been transferred to the ICU. He was still incredibly weak from the surgery and was starting physical therapy. The office had signed a giant card for him, complete with a poem from Michael, and had sent their best wishes.
She turned the corner and froze. Jim was standing in his room, wearing his hospital gown and a pair of grey sweatpants. He was leaning slightly against a physical therapist and taking a few shaky steps.
Pam paused, simply watching him. He was still wearing a mask to protect him from infection and had lost a ton of weight. A huge smile spread across her face when he took a shaky step, leaning heavily on the physical therapist and closing his eyes.
The smile slid off Pam’s face when Jim began to shake his head and lose his footing. The physical therapist grabbed a nearby chair and helped the trembling young man to sit down.
“It’s no problem Jim,” She heard the physical therapist say gently as she quickly stepped out of the way of the window but on the other side of the door. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you may have trouble getting your strength up but a few steps is a great start.”
“A great start?” Jim snapped back sharply. “I played basketball in high school and have been active all my life. Now suddenly taking a few steps is a huge deal? I’m always tired and even after the transplant I’m going to have to do therapy and take medication for the rest of my life!”
“Jim,” The therapist said, laying a hand on the exhausted young man’s shoulder. “I know this is hard…”
“You know! You know what it’s like to slowly grow so weak that you can hardly move? I’m so sick of everyone treating me like I’m made of glass!” Jim snarled. “Now get out!”
The therapist paused for a moment and stepped out of the room, sighing. He gave Pam a small smile before making his way down to the nurse’s office.
Pam glanced into the room to see Jim glaring out the window, eyes dark. She knocked hesitantly on the door jam and he whipped his head towards her, a smile forcing the mask up slightly.
“Hey you! Like the evil scientist look?” He waggled his eyebrows. “I knew the SARS scare turned you on so I thought this mask would be fun.”
“You got me,” Pam said with a forced smile.
“What’s up?” He furrowed his brows in confusion. “Are you okay?”
“Are you?” She asked, laying a hand over his.
“Yeah,” He shrugged. “I actually feel great. I’m breathing better and you missed it but I took a few steps! It was pretty intense.”
Pam nodded slowly, feeling the worry build up in her. She rubber his hand gently before a sudden rush of anger exploded in her.
“Come on Jim!” She snapped, taking him by surprise. “I saw you get angry at the therapist. I know that you aren’t getting better as quickly as you want but I wish you could see it through my eyes! Before the surgery you were hardly able to talk so yeah, a few steps are awesome. In fact, it has to be the most amazing I’ve felt in a long time. I feel like a broken record but Jim I swear to God that if you keep talking like this I’m not going to come back.”
Jim stared intently at her as tears started to trickle down her face. His hands tightened into fists until his knuckles were white and he grabbed at her shoulders.
“What are you saying?” He whispered. “Are you saying that you’re going to leave me?”
“I can’t,” Pam sobbed. “I love you Jim. But I can’t stay if you’re going to torture yourself and hurt yourself further. I know it’s hard but please just don’t feel sorry for yourself. Put yourself in my shoes! What if you had to watch me slowly grow weaker and slowly die? Then suddenly, imagine I get the heart that is going to save me and I still am acting like I’ve lost the will to leave! I love you so much Jim, but I’m not going to sit here and watch you kill yourself, I wont survive that!”
She sobbed hysterically and Jim quickly wrapped her into a hug and pulled her towards him. Pam placed her hand over his chest and felt the course stitches and beneath that was a rather firm fast heartbeat.
“I’m so sorry,” Jim kept whispering into her hair, voice muffled by his mask. “God, Pam, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Pam just held onto him, sniffing. She could not imagine leaving Jim but she could not survive watching him kill himself by just giving up.
~*~
“Hey,” Pam smiled shakily at Jim as the therapist helped him move to the edge of the bed.
“Hey!” Jim grinned brightly at her, eyes crinkling behind the mask, as he slowly got to his feet. “Want to walk with me to the end of the hall?”
“Why Mr. Halpert you charmer,” She laughed and stood next to him as the therapist took his arm and helped him walk out of the room.
Pam looped an arm through his and the therapist stepped back. Jim laid a hand on hers as they walked slowly through the hall, the IV pole scratching on the floor behind them.
“You know, this is our first walk together as fiancées, it’s been almost a month since you proposed,” Pam rubbing at his back. “But this is perfect, so romantic.”
“Ah yes, I’m still wearing a mask although I know the hospital gown turns you on. The fluorescent lights shining off the charts and my hospital bracelet are just stunning. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jim hugged her back and pressed his chin to her head.
“Do you want to rest?” Pam asked as they reached the end of the hallway.
“No, I’m okay,” He said slightly breathlessly. “This is great, I love walking with you.”
And Pam loved it too. The transformation to healthy, happy Jim was amazing. Pam found herself never going home, she went straight from work to the hospital and spent the night there.
“The doctor says I can go home tomorrow, although I will still have to wear a mask for awhile” Jim beamed at her. “And they say I can go to work in another week. Maybe we can convince Dwight that if he comes too close to me he can get sick. This could be fun!”
“You’re kidding me!” Pam grinned and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so excited! I’ll move all your stuff into my apartment! This is going to be awesome!”
“Your apartment?” He asked, amused.
“Well yeah, Jim your bedroom is on the second floor and you have to walk up stairs. It makes more sense to move in with me,” Pam said awkwardly.
“Well, if it’s for my health,” Jim grinned and squeezed her arm.
“Of course,” Pam laughed. “Look we made it to the other side.”
“Will you look at that,” Jim looked back at the therapist who was smiling brightly at the young man. “I guess you’ll have to walk with me more often.”
“Always,” Pam grinned and quickly stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali