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Story Notes:
Set post-Niagara.

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Author's Chapter Notes:
Came up with this after watching Sports Nation and their 'End of the Day' segment (starts with people saying all their iterations of "at the end of the day").


At the End of the Day

Jim Halpert hates his job roughly half the days he walks out of the doors of the Scranton business park to his car. The other half he thinks it's not the worst thing ever.

He's thankful that, whether they drove together, work in the same building, spent all day with one another or not, Pam will be at home with him for dinner. Going back to the days without her would be too difficult for him.

He debates with himself, and only himself because Pam has a strange way of turning his arguments against him, on how he feels about Dwight Schrute. Back when he had been in Stamford, Jim hadn't missed Dwight, but Jim had been trying harder than anything to forget Scranton completely. Then, back in Scranton, when Dwight had left, it hadn't been... right. He can work at Dunder Mifflin without Pam, but he's not sure he can work there without Dwight. (That's why he doesn't include Pam in the debate: she'd never let him hear the end of it.)

So half the days he walks out feeling annoyed at something Dwight has done, and the rest of the time he thinks Dwight is the only reason he comes back the next day. And the mortgage. And the baby.

Michael is proving to be a great warm-up for dealing with kids. Jim's kid, not someone else's visiting kids. There are days that Jim just sits behind the wheel of his car and considers that before he can drive home. His kid. His baby. It's terrifying. Michael is terrifying. Jim isn't sure how he'll cope.

Sometimes he wishes the people he worked with weren't just acquaintances. Really, no matter how friendly they all were, they weren't friends. It's too bad really; the barbecue, three years ago, had been a success, even after Michael had showed. He wouldn't mind ordering a pizza and watching a game with Kevin, Oscar, probably Andy, though he might draw the line at Creed. Pam would definitely draw the line at Creed.

Jim wonders where his life is going. It's fuzzier now than ever, but in a good way. Scarier, but good. He walks out thinking, 'If I get fired tomorrow...' but then he sees Pam smile, and knows they'll work it out. His promotion is a decent step in the right direction, but he doesn't fool himself: Dunder Mifflin is in trouble. There's no telling how long this will all last.

Infrequently, Jim wonders how things would be different if he had not withdrawn his name from consideration for the corporate position. Would he have gotten the job? Maybe. Would he have stayed with Karen? Maybe. But would he have been happy? Probably not. He still allows himself to wonder, and wonder what it Pam had been with him then, how would it have been different? This ring on his finger, it would have been there much sooner. That is the one thing he's sure of.

Jim appreciates the simplicity of his life now. Inside the office, sometimes the insanity is at levels nobody could believe unless experienced firsthand. And with a baby coming soon (and the sudden lump of fear in his gut when he considers that fact), simplicity is a welcome thing. Work, hold on to sanity, leave with Pam, go home with Pam, serenity.

He waves away all the nagging thoughts. Walking out, winter or summer, rain or clear skies, there is a realness, a welcoming familiarity, a comfort in Dunder Mifflin and Scranton. He doesn't think he'd do well in New York, or Philadelphia, or any major city. He's not exactly a country boy, but this life is one that suits him.

Perhaps in the future he and Pam will have to move for one reason or another. Jim thinks that he wants to stay in a place that has seasons, and it's not unreasonable to have a car and to drive places when you want to. A lot of people have unkind things to say about Scranton, but it's his home, and has been his entire life. Right now, he wouldn't change a single thing.

Jim's happy. He's happy to be married to Pam. He's happy to be a nervous and expectant father. He's happy to be in Scranton. He's even happy to be managing people that he doesn't think anyone can manage.

At the end of the day, Jim's home.

End

Chapter End Notes:
Comments and criticism always welcome and appreciated.


sachiel is the author of 6 other stories.
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