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Pam knew that Jim was unpredictable. Even when she thought she knew everything about him - his personality; his deepest, darkest secrets and thoughts - he would constantly surprise her. Take that Casino Night from a few years back: she was just having fun with her best friend when suddenly he surprised her and he wasn't just her best friend anymore. Or when he spontaneously asked her to dinner, or proposed, or recited a poem that he had written during their wedding vows.
So when she asked him to run out to the grocery store and buy a few things for dinner, she should have been on her guard. She should've figured he was going to bring home a little something extra.
--
Pam was just getting ready to make the tomato sauce for tonight's spaghetti dinner when she opened the fridge to find that they were out of garlic. She did a quick survey of the kitchen to see what else they needed, then made her way to the backyard. She opened the door to find Jim sitting with Jen, playing checkers.
"No, no Jenny, we don't put those in our mouth," Jim laughed, taking the small piece from their three-year-old daughter.
"Oreos..." Jen said quietly, reaching for more black pieces.
"Nope, let's not eat the checkers," Jim said. He picked Jen up, and was ready to take her inside when he saw Pam watching them from the doorway. "Beesly," he smiled, "your daughter's trying to eat our game, here."
"Oh, I see how it is. When she tries to eat the checkers, she's my daughter, huh?" Jim shifted Jennifer over to her mother, and she snuggled into Pam's arms.
"Mama," she murmured faintly, and her eyes slowly fluttered closed.
Pam kissed her head gently, and began to speak to Jim in a whisper. "Can you run out to the store? We need a few things."
Jim nodded, and Pam motioned to the list on the counter. "I'm going to put her to bed," she whispered. "I want her to be awake before dinner... Try to get back in about an hour, okay?"
"Okay," he whispered back. He placed a kiss on Jen's head and one on Pam's lips, and walked out. He waved goofily and she giggled, causing Jen to stir.
"Oh, shh, shh," she whispered, rocking her daughter back and forth. "Come on, sweetie. Let's put you to bed."
--
Since then, two hours had passed by, and Jim still wasn't back. She wasn't upset, though, because Jen was still asleep and wasn't hungry yet. She was worried, though, because he hadn't called yet.
"Where is he?" she muttered, glancing up at the clock for the third time in the past two minutes. She had been trying to busy herself with the dishes, but was having no luck. She was either checking the clock, or simply wishing that Jim would call.
As if he could read her mind, her cell phone started to ring. She picked it up quickly, answering with a quiet, worried, "Jim?"
"Hey, yeah." His voice was in a hushed tone, but she could hear the excitement through the phone. "Listen, do you think you could wake Jen up for me? I have a surprise for... well, for both of you."
"I- sure," she said. "Is everything okay, though? Not to sound like a naggy housewife or anything, but you've been gone for two hours!"
"I know," he said, "and I'm really sorry. But trust me, I think you're gonna like this." He let out a small laugh. "I gotta go. Love you!"
Before she had the chance to respond, she heard a click, and with that, the phone line was dead. "Huh," she said to herself.
She shrugged Jim's weird behavior off and ascended the stairs, waking Jen up gently.
"Jenny, sweetie, c'mon. We have to get up now," Pam whispered. Jen stirred, rolled over, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and fell back to sleep. "Please? Daddy has a surprise for us!"
Jen's eyes flew open. She lifted her arms, signaling that she wanted to be held. Pam scooped her up, placing a kiss on her frazzled hair. "Oh, Miss Jennifer, you got your Mommy's curly hair."
"S'pretty," Jen mumbled sleepily, taking a strand of her mother's hair in one of her tiny hands. Pam smiled at her daughter's flattering candor; it wasn't every day she got such an honest compliment. (Shocking, since she had Jim as a husband, but true.)
Pam carried Jen down the stairs and into the living room. They sat on the couch, Jen half-asleep, Pam smoothing down her curly hair. Even when Jim's car pulled into the driveway, the pair didn't stir. Pam simply continued what she was doing, only lifting her eyes to see Jim's "surprise."
She nearly jumped when she saw it.
Jim walked in quietly, carrying a small bundle in his arms. Jen didn't stir when she heard the door close, or her father's footsteps entering, but her head snapped up when she heard a quiet bark.
Jim set the small puppy down on the floor, and it immediately ran over to the front of the couch, wagging its tail. Jen began to squirm in her mother's arms, and Pam set her down next to the small puppy.
"Be gentle, sweetie," Pam cautioned. "Stick your hand out so that he-"
"She," Jim interjected quietly.
"-can smell you first," Pam continued. "That way she won't get scared. She'll become your friend, Jenny."
Jenny giggled when the puppy began to lick her hand, then her face. She gently ran her hand over it's small head, it's big ears, it's huge paws. Surprisingly, the puppy sat patiently, letting Jen get used to it.
She looked up at her daddy, the puppy's big ears in hand. "Swimmers?"
Jim laughed, causing the puppy to flinch and scurry behind Jen. "Sorry, girl," Jim said quietly. "No, Jenny. They're not swimmers, they're her ears." Jim pointed at his own ears, and Jenny looked down at the puppy. "Swimmers," she murmured, petting the dog's large ears.
"I think we have a name," Pam said. She squatted down next to Jenny, and began to pet the puppy that had taken such a quick liking to her daughter. "Jenny? What do we want to name her?"
"Fish!" Jenny squealed in delight, flapping the puppy's ears. "Swimmer! Swimmer!"
Pam stood up next to Jim, letting Jen have some room with their new puppy. Pam turned to Jim, raising her eyebrows with a smile. "This story had better be good."
"There were adoptions today, at the shelter across the street from the supermarket," Jim explained. "I went in, just to look, mind you... and then this little cutie caught my eye."
Pam rolled her eyes. "You're such a sap, Halpert."
"Shut up!" he laughed. "She's the runt, y'know. Someone had to take her in." He looked at her with his eyes comically wide, and his bottom lip jutted out. "Can we keep her?"
"You learned that face from Jen, didn't you?" Pam looked down at her daughter, who was rolling around on the floor, chasing the little brown bundle around. "Well, she is cute..."
"Yeeees..."
"And Jen already loves her," Pam continued.
"Uh-huh..." Jim added on. "So, does that mean we can keep her?"
Pam let out a sigh. In an attempt to be more convincing, Jim pressed a kiss to her lips. Pam laughed, breaking away gently. "That's not fair."
"What?" Jim asked innocently.
"You're cheating!" she exclaimed. "You know your pouty eyes and your kisses weaken me."
"I... yeah," Jim admitted with a laugh. "But c'mon, Pam, it's not like you were ever gonna say no, right?"
"You know me well," Pam observed quietly. She reached down to pet their new puppy, smiling to herself. "Welcome home, Swimmer."
-
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter End Notes:
This was the dog that I had in mind: http://media.merchantcircle.com/25786762/brown%20puppy_full.jpeg
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Also, please leave reviews - good or bad. Preferably good ;-)
BSan is the author of 4 other stories.
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