“Are you ready?” Pam asked grinning over at her fiancé who sighed and stared sadly at the office building.
“No,” He moaned. “Can we just come back in a week?”
“No,” Pam laughed and opened her car door. “Now come on you big baby, it won’t be that bad.”
“You really think so?” Jim sighed and grinned as Pam grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entrance.
The ride in the elevator was silent as the couple waiting to get to their floor. Jim felt a sudden, immense sadness when he realized that the past few months, while incredibly stressful and horrifying was one of the best times of his life. Jim gently rubbed the ring on Pam’s finger and smiled at her.
And in a few moments he was going to be sitting at his desk just like before.
Pam opened the door to the office to see that it had been covered in incredibly bright red streamers and balloons. Jim tried to turn around to leave but Pam pulled him back.
“Jim!” Kelly squealed, wearing a bright red dress and matching heels. “Oh my God! I’ve been so worried! It’s so good to see you!”
“Kelly!” Michael snapped from the door to his office. “Please! Please! The man just got back from a traumatic surgery! He almost died. Please just give him some space.”
Jim smiled at Kelly who was on the other end of the room. Michael walked slowly towards him with his arms out as if he was approaching an animal.
“Hey,” He said softly with a careful smile. “How are you feeling champ?”
“Michael, Jim got out of surgery almost two months ago,” Pam tried but Michael waved her away. He continued to walk slowly to Jim, making him uncomfortable.
“Hey Michael,” Jim said just as slowly then grinned. “This place looks amazing!”
“It does!” Michael visibly brightened and looked around the room proudly. “We picked red because of the ‘Go Red’ campaign. We’re here to support you Jim.”
“Wow,” Jim nodded slowly. “We’re you aware that the ‘Go Red’ campaign is for women with heart diseases?”
“What?” Michael’s face fell.
“But it’s great!” Jim tried to comfort the obviously upset Michael. “Really, I really appreciate it. It’s a great welcome back!”
“We missed you!” Their boss’s face crumpled and he quickly pulled Jim into a tearful hug. “Welcome home my son, welcome home.”
There was a long awkward silence as the hug continued far longer than was comfortable.
“So,” Jim said, voice slightly muffled. “I should just get back to work.”
“Yeah,” Michael wiped tears from his eyes and sniffed loudly. “Work my friend, my brother. Work and feel alive.”
“Will do,” Jim patted the older man’s shoulders. He sat down in his old chair and turned on the computer, seeing Pam sit at her desk in his peripheral vision. With a faint smile, he picked up the phone and started his calls.
~*~
Jim glanced up from where he was making his tea to see most of the office look away awkwardly. He sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“Okay, I know you’re all really curious so go ahead and ask questions,” He turned to see his obviously embarrassed coworkers.
“Did it hurt terribly?” Phyllis asked softly, leaning forward slightly.
“It actually felt pretty good after just because I could actually breathe,” Jim smiled into his tea and took a long swallow. “But before it was incredibly painful. I was just exhausted and my chest ached. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
His coworkers chuckled softly and Jim felt more at ease. Throughout the day he had felt like they were avoiding him or being intentionally quiet and gentle.
“So, are you like all better now?” Kelly asked, picking at her salad while eyeing Kevin’s pizza.
“Um, kind of,” He shrugged and leaned against the counter. “I have to take medication for the rest of my life to prevent rejection but I feel great!”
“Did the doctors look like those on Grey’s Anatomy?” Kelly asked, suddenly perking up. “Oh my god, I like both McDreamy and McSteamy but I think McDreamy is a little bit hotter.”
“No, they didn’t.” But Jim went unheard as Kelly continued to tell the plot of the show to a very unenthusiastic Oscar.
Jim edged his way out of the kitchen and walked over to the reception desk. Pam grinned up at him and leaned back from her solitaire game.
“So, is coming back to work everything you dreamed of and more?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. “Did you take your pills?”
“Yes mom,” He rolled his eyes. “This sounds horrible but I was actually expecting everyone to make a bigger deal, besides the lovely decorations.”
“They didn’t want to get you food because they believed that food contributed to your heart problems,” Pam said with a grin. “I think you overestimated how much everyone cares about anything here.”
“True, true. I guess I’ve been around people who actually enjoyed and were good at their job for far too long,” Jim sighed.
“I suppose so,” Pam patted his hand in mock-sympathy. “Now, you better get back to work. I’m not paying for this wedding by myself.”
“I see how it is,” Jim smiled. “You’re just trying to get rid of me.”
“You got me,” Pam returned to her solitaire game and moved a card.
Jim smiled down at her and went to sit down at his desk, wincing slightly when he pulled his still tender incision. It had healed to the point where it was still a harsh scar but no longer raw. The scar was rather embarrassing to him and he kept a shirt on at all times to avoid having it be seen.
“Are you in pain?” He looked up to see Dwight blinking at him owlishly.
“No, just pulled it is all,” Jim drained the rest of his tea and set the mug down.
“Then don’t pull it,” He replied matter-of-factly.
“I missed you Dwight,” Jim grinned after a long moment of silence.
“Psh, baby,” Dwight rolled his eyes but Jim noticed that the older man was ignoring the stack of papers spilling over to his desk.
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali