Jim’s eyes slowly opened and winced at the bright light in the bedroom. He had been discharged from the hospital a few days before and had been staying at Pam’s apartment ever since.
He noticed that Pam’s side of the bed was empty and just for a moment enjoyed the soft sheets and the warm blanket that Pam’s grandmother had made that covered him. Jim still felt like he was in a dream and could not imagine a better situation.
He heard Pam’s soft voice from the kitchen and assumed that she was on the phone. Jim sat up in bed and swung his legs over the side. His breath hitched as pain flared through his chest as he jarred the incision and nausea swept through him.
Jim pushed himself up and pulled a warm robe on. He found that wearing a t-shirt would rub against his incision so his attire for the past few days were his robe and a pair of pajama pants.
As he walked down the hallway he had to pause every so often to catch his breath and fight down nausea.
“Hey,” Jim called as he stepped into the kitchen and froze.
A tall blonde woman was standing by the counter and jumped when he spoke. Jim gave her a quick awkward smile and pulled his robe closed, wincing slightly when it hit his incision.
“Hi!” The woman smiled brightly. “You must be Jim, I’m Penny, Pam’s sister.”
“Oh!” Jim put a hand out to shake hers while still holding his robe together. “I’m so sorry I thought you were Pam. This is kind of awkward.”
“Yeah a little,” Penny crinkled her nose almost exactly like Pam did when she laughed. “That’s okay though. Do you need to sit? I know you just got out of the hospital.”
“I’m actually okay,” Jim smiled kindly. “I’ve been laying down or sitting for a long long time so it feels good to stretch my legs.”
“Okay, so here’s the list,” Pam said as she walked through the kitchen door and jumped when she saw Jim there. “Holy crap Jim! I didn’t know you were awake! Why didn’t you call me to help you in here?”
Jim rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Penny as her sister maneuvered him into a chair.
“I’m fine Pam,” Jim smiled. “Really I feel great.”
“Oh, okay,” Pam looked frazzled and quickly ran a hand through her hair. “Anyway, Penny is going to stay here for a few days and help me out while you get better.”
“I’m getting groceries,” Penny held up the list.
“We were going to have breakfast before Penny went, care to join us?” Pam asked motioning towards a pot of oatmeal sitting on the stove.
“Uh, sure,” Jim shrugged. “I’m just going to go put a shirt on.”
He motioned towards the bedroom and slipped out of the room before Penny giggled and grinned at Pam.
“He’s a cutie,” She waggled her eyebrows. “And he looks great for getting a transplant a few days ago.”
“You should have seen him a few weeks or even a few days ago,” Pam sighed and stirred the oatmeal. “He was in pain or exhausted all the time. There was even a point when he was so depressed that he rejected the transplant, it scared me to half to death.”
“Oh my gosh,” Penny’s hand went to her mouth, eyes wide.
“But now,” Pam turned around, eyes shining. “He’s so full of life and is really trying to make this work. I mean, its obvious that he’s frustrated how long its taking but I think his expectation are too high.”
“I’m ready!” Jim came back into the room, slightly out of breath from the walk to the kitchen. “Do we have any orange juice?”
“Yeah,” Pam pulled the carton out of the refrigerator and pulled out his medication separator. “And you need to take your medication.”
Jim quickly swallowed the pills and washed them down with a long gulp of orange juice. He winced at the chalky taste in his mouth and took the bowl of oatmeal that Pam handed to him and her sister.
“Thanks,” Penny grinned. “So, when do you get to go back to work?”
“In another month,” Jim answered, stirring his oatmeal around. “It’s really supposed to be when I feel much better, like walking longer distances and my appetite improving.”
“I guess it helps that selling paper isn’t very strenuous,” Penny stirred in some brown sugar.
“Not strenuous?” Jim gave her a mock glare and rolled his eyes towards a smiling Pam. “I have to remember the prices of pure white cardstock and the discounts we’re having on recycled goods. Can you imagine the stress of having to sell multicolored index cards in bulk! It’s unimaginable.”
“I’m sorry,” Penny threw up her hands in defeat. “I guess you should stay home for longer.”
“I might have to,” Jim nodded seriously causing Pam to giggle.
Pam noticed his expression falter and he paled slightly. She quickly grabbed the wastebasket and handed it to him just as he lost what little breakfast he had eaten.
The light atmosphere was instantly lost as Jim continued to dry-heave weakly into the wastebasket. Pam rubbed his back and could feel the harsh spasms through his muscles. Penny wetted a washcloth and laid it down over the back of his neck.
“Just breathe,” Pam was whispering in his ear as he gasped through the pain, tears in the corners of his eyes from the stomach acid burning his throat. “Please Jim, just breathe.”
He collapsed backwards in the chair, breathing harshly. Pam quickly put the wastebasket aside and rubbed his shoulders.
“The medication makes him nauseous,” Pam explained softly. “The oatmeal might have been too heavy, I’m sorry.”
Jim nodded weakly and squeezed her hand.
“I’m sorry to kill the mood but I need to go lay down,” He said hoarsely. The two women nodded quietly and Pam helped Jim rise, allowing him to lie down on the couch.
“I’m going to go to the store,” Penny said, grabbing her purse. “I’ll grab you some ginger ale and saltines Jim.”
The young man raised his hand in response and Penny gave Pam a quick smile before walking out the front door. Pam filled up a glass of water and handed it to her fiancé.
“Thanks,” He said hoarsely. “I’m sorry, I thought it was getting better.”
“Well, it is,” She smiled at him and rubbed his knee through the blanket. “You’re not constantly green and sitting in the bathroom all day.”
“Yeah,” Jim shuddered and gulped down the rest of the water. “I couldn’t watch my Iron Chef recordings in the bathroom, and I knew you wouldn’t let me move the TV in there.”
“No, that would be stupid,” Pam laughed and sunk down next to him, jumping when he hissed in pain.
“I’m fine, I just jarred my incision,” Jim muttered and wrapped his arms around her. “When are you going back to work?”
“Next week, I figure you’ll be able to take care of yourself by then,” She kissed his jaw slightly.
“Aw,” He whined. “But who will get my food and my fuzzy socks?”
“I guess you’ll have to do it yourself lazy,” She said back with a smile and snuggled back into his arms. Jim chuckled and fell silent; soon the sound of deepened breathing told her that her fiancé had fallen asleep.
Pam gently turned herself in his arms to see that his eyes were closed and his head was resting on the back couch cushion. She slowly moved her hand up and rested it on his chest. Through the thin fabric of his t-shirt she could feel the roughness of the healing incision and the strong heartbeat.
~*~
“Hey Pam,” Michael grinned, standing in front of her desk. “Paaaaaaaaam. Paaaaaaaam. PAM! I’m so glad to have you baaaaack! Your replacement was horrible! She had no sense of humor.”
“Imagine that,” Pam smiled slightly, still trying to reorganize her desk. It seemed like everything had been moved in the time she had spent away.
“How’s Jim?” Michael asked, poking through the jellybeans. She could tell that he had been dying to ask. “I mean the guy got his heart hacked out of his chest. Was there a lot of blood?”
“Michael!” Oscar scowled at him from the copier.
“Um, I wasn’t actually in the operating room with him,” Pam said slowly and Michael let out a harsh breath, glaring.
“Really Pam? Really? I would have sat in the operating room with him and held his hand! He was probably scared and needed someone there for him! But no one called me, not until he was already under the knife,” Michael’s voice cracked and he put a hand to his mouth.
“No one is allowed in the operating room Michael,” Pam said slowly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “It’s not safe.”
“That’s a lie!” Michael threw his hands up and scowled. “Don’t you think I know B.S. when I hear it? When my cousin Kim had surgery her husband got to sit with her!”
“Was she having a baby?” Oscar asked scathingly. “You’re allowed in for a c-section but not for a complete heart transplant.”
“Oh,” Michael stared ahead blankly and rubbed the back of his neck. “So, how’s Jim?”
“He’s doing well,” Pam smiled, not continuing Michael’s earlier conversation for his sake. “His medication is making him a little nauseous and sleepy. But he’s in less pain than he was before. He should be able to come back to work in a couple weeks.”
“Great,” Michael’s grin faltered slightly and he quickly hurried to Dwight who was typing furiously on his computer.
Pam’s smile slipped off her face when she looked up and saw Jim’s empty desk. Thankfully, the cleaning crew had continued to wipe down the dust and tidy up the papers. She was so lost in her thoughts that her phone vibrating scared her into jumping.
Glancing down she smiled to see it was Jim.
I’ll take care of dinner, ok? : )
Before she was able to respond Dwight was suddenly standing over her desk with a piece of paper. Pam could read the title Causes of Myocarditis and Heart Failure
“Pam, is there any way Jim could have had polio?” He asked abruptly, Michael standing behind him, looking worried.
~*~
“I’m home,” Pam called out as soon as she shut the door and pulled off her shoes and coat. “You’re going to be so proud of me! I’ve convinced Dwight that you have polio, I’m betting that he wont talk to you for weeks!”
Her excited stream of words was cut off when she stepped into the kitchen. Her plain white kitchen was covered in small candles and a beautiful meal of pasta and homemade bread was on the table. Jim grinned at her, wearing a pair of old jeans and a buttoned up shirt.
“Hey! I was wondering when you were going to get home,” He looked suddenly unsure of himself.
“What’s this?” Pam started but her voice faded when Jim slowly got down on one knee. He winced sharply when he jarred his incision but waved off her attempt to help him.
“So, I know we didn’t want to do this in a big way,” Jim smiled up at her as her eyes filled with tears. "But, you’re the reason I got through this. You’re the reason I found myself trying. You’re the reason all those nights in the hospital didn’t kill me. I didn’t think just asking me while I was dying in bed worked. So, I asked your sister to take me to a jewelry store and I got this.”
Pam gasped when he pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it to show a ring.
“Pam, I think its some kind of weird irony that while my heart was failing, it also got stronger because of you and I know that I had a moment of weakness before, but I don't want to leave you. Ever. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” She whispered brokenly, sniffing and wiping away her tears. “Of course I’m going to marry you.”
Jim grinned brilliantly, slipping the sparkling ring onto her trembling finger. He stood with help from her and embraced her tightly.
“How many times did you practice that speech?” Pam asked, smiling tearfully.
“I lost count,” Jim smiled into her hair. “Why? Was it a little cheesy?”
“A little,” Pam leaned back and kissed him firmly. “But I like cheesy.”
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali