It was 11:39 on a Friday morning, and things were just like any other Friday. Which meant that they were all at the office, trying to get some work done, but really thinking mainly about the weekend ahead of them.

“Everybody looks at the sneezing panda!!!”

It also meant Michael, not even pretending to do some work, grinning wildly at his employees before going back to his office.

Jim heard Pam sigh and turned to her, a little bit concerned. Though she wasn't showing yet, she was more tired than usual, and had already encountered a few episodes of morning sickness in the office. He quickly had learnt to be always ready to provide a distraction for their coworkers while she made her way to the bathroom as quietly as possible. That didn't seem to be the case today: feeling his eyes on her, Pam looked up and gave him a quick smile, rolling her eyes and then pointing to Michael's office.

Their boss had been particularly insufferable today, beginning the day with bad impersonations of celebrities Kelly was too quick to recognize, then deciding to work out in front of the reception desk, leaving Erin, Pam and himself with a view they could have lived without. He was now back in his office, engaged in one of his Youtube marathons, giving them relative peace, disturbed now and then by some chuckles and collective emails with inappropriate content.

Jim looked at the clock and decided he was allowed to blow off work until after lunch. He had already closed three sales this morning, and it was close enough to noon not to engage into a new call. All he had to do was wait for a few minutes, half an hour max, and he could then sneak out of the office with Pam, to go to lunch in a place far away from their coworkers and from potential inappropriate comments about vaginas, baby weight and shotgun weddings.

He sighed, and looked for something to do. He could prank Dwight, but quickly decided to give him a break. The poor guy was already convinced that the baby's middle name would be Frodo, regardless of the gender (Jim had used his best sales skills on this one, and had been particularly proud of himself, until Pam suggested that his prank could lead Dwight to volunteer to teach their kids everything about Mordor, hobbits and dwarves. That thought gave him too many nightmares), and if he was to talk to David Wallace about his idea of co-managers, laying off the pranks might be a good idea.

He browsed a couple of internet pages, until he decided a little bit of wedding planning could be in order. He knew the office wasn’t the best place for that, but hey, he had sworn to Pam that he wouldn’t complain this time if he heard some of her wedding planning during work hours, with a wink and the smug look he knew was her weakness.

He first decided to check their venue's website. They knew Niagara Falls might seem like a cliché, but they had their heart set on this place, and they at first had thought that it was far enough so that everybody wouldn’t feel obligated to attend. They had then wondered if their naivety was endearing, or if they were just still believing in fairies and unicorns to think that Michael Scott wouldn’t do anything in and within his power to meddle.

They also figured they could spend a day or two visiting the surroundings before taking off for their honeymoon (Puerto Rico or Mexico, Jim still wasn't sure). Even if they would probably stay in bed for the most part, he could still look for some activities to do – their first as a married couple.

He blinked as his head, almost against his will, turned again to Pam, who was quietly filling a sales report. Thinking about his wedding had always been easy, but just thinking about him being married to Pam (his fiance Pam. His fiance Pam, who was carrying his child. Their child. Oh God) always left him a little dizzy, like he couldn't fully comprehend or grasp the fact that two months from now, there would be a little ring on her finger officially proclaiming she was a Halpert. Just to think about it could give him chills.

And that's why they had to have their wedding in Niagara Falls, because he was just a big walking cliché – Pam says to him every now and then he's a huge sap, but he knows she secretly loves it. And that's why he was now looking for information about how to actually go see the Falls, because how lame would it be for them not to even go see them the day just after they got married? More chills.

Niagara Falls is one of the world's most popular honeymoon destinations... No kidding... Famous passengers to have set foot on the Maid of the Mist boat include Marylin Monroe, Jimmy Carter and Princess Diana – if Kelly knew their plans, she would be filled with joy and babbling speeches and useless bits of random information. All passengers receive a blue Maid of the Mist poncho – something borrowed, something blue, right?

A link at the end of the page caught his eyes. Getting married on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls. He chuckled involuntarily, because just seconds ago, he thought he was a cliché. Some people seemed to overdo him, apparently. He still read the beginning of the article.

“One of the great things about planning a wedding in Niagara Falls is that your options of where to have it are almost limitless.

So you have already decided that the traditional route of a church is not for you and are looking for more unique options that people will want to remember. Well, having your wedding ceremony on the Maid of the Mist is definitely one of the best ways to do so.”

Or one of the best ways to get all wet on your wedding ceremony, guaranteeing an angry bride (or, even worse, an angry mother-in-law), and some strangers witnessing your promise of undying love and fidelity, if you asked Jim. Not that Pam would get angry, but he had learned early on from his sister not to cross a woman about, or on, her wedding day. Well, it didn’t seem like the worst idea ever, especially after hearing everyone and their mothers’ opinion about how a perfect wedding should consist in, but wasn’t getting married right on the boat a bit… too much?

“Okay, really, that’s enough,” he suddenly heard Pam say.

“Excuse me?”

“Check your emails.”

“Michael?” That was an easy guess.

“You’ve been warned.”

Expecting the worse, Jim opened the email, and apprehensively clicked on the link leading to a Youtube video. There was definitely an improvement from the sneezing panda video, as it featured humans, who were apparently dancing down the aisle of a church during a wedding on some hit song.

“The fact that he needed to caption this as “BEST. WEDDING. I. WAS. NOT. IN. EVER” is disturbing enough, but the fact that he’d played this over 10 times already?” Pam grimaced. “Lunch can’t come soon enough.”

Jim chuckled. “Ten minutes and we’re out of here.” He smiled and went back to the video, which was still playing in a corner of his screen. Well, the happy couple didn’t seem to mind all the dancing guests. He could see why Michael loved it, obviously. Jim was pretty sure his boss was keeping himself busy in his office by rewatching this and taking notes for the next wedding he’d be attendi…

Oh crap.

Crap crap crap crap.

If Michael or his coworkers could read his thoughts, he was screwed beyond imagination. Quickly looking around, he surveyed the room as his colleagues watched the video. Was he paranoid, or did it seem like Phyllis was enjoying this too much? Of course Andy or Erin would like it – hell, Andy would probably be jealous he hadn’t thought of it first -, but Phyllis? Come on! Not to mention that he heard Kevin mutter “Nice,” and that Kelly had replied to the collective email, congratulating Michael for having found the “absolutely awesomest and best use of Chris Brown’s Forever,” while managing to insert the words “Ryan,” “love,” “wedding” and “excited” in the same sentence.

Okay, first of all, don’t let Pam notice he’s panicking. ‘Hey babe, Michael just found the perfect way to ruin our carefully planned wedding” – no. He risked a glance in her direction, only to see Pam standing at the reception desk, asking Erin some questions about a form. Good. Not that he had any idea what to do next, but still, it gave him time to try to get rid of the nervousness.

His mind was racing. The invitations were sent, and Michael had granted a free day to everyone so they could attend the wedding. There was no way back on that, except for maybe eloping. One part of his mind whispered that he could have done that a few months ago – a five-minutes signing in a dark office in Ohio with Pam, and only Pam, seemed so much better now that he’d seen the video. But another part of his mind reminded him that if it was up to him, he could also have married her years ago, right on the spot, as he stood in front of her desk on his first day at Dunder Mifflin.

But Pam deserved better than a rushed wedding. They deserved better. Their history deserved better than just a paper signed in front of someone who wouldn’t know them, and who wouldn’t appreciate everything they had been through to get here. On the other hand, they also deserved better than Michael trying to dance in front of all their friends and families. As much as it pained him to do so, Jim remembered Phyllis’ wedding. And his memories were not fond at all – even without going to the Pam and Karen portion of the evening.

His eyes fell on his screen, where a tab on his browser still showed him images of the Falls and of the Maid of the Mist. The capitain of the boat was smiling at him, with all this water in the background. And suddenly, he didn’t mind being a big walking cliché, being made fun of by his brothers for writing his vows six months before the actual ceremony, being teased by his sister that of course he should be excited, because “every little girl is excited about her wedding day, Jim, you can’t be the exception!”. Because yes, they deserved better.

He saw Pam rising from her seat, bringing a hand to her stomach before letting it drop quietly, as not to draw attention on her. She smiled at him, and he couldn’t help grinning. He didn’t want to be that guy, but it seems that every little gesture Pam made these days only made him fall even more in love with her. It didn’t seem possible, and yet he was constantly proven wrong by her, the future mother of his child, who kept doing things like saying “sorry” every time she threw up, or leaving post-it notes with potential baby names on it everywhere, ranging from the good, the bad, and the crazy. Because she was perfect like that, he knew she wouldn’t mind that much Michael being the idiot at their wedding. And because she was perfect like that, he wanted to bring her so much more than that on her wedding day.

“You’re ready?” she asked him while putting on her coat, grabbing his and handing it to him.

“Yeah, I just have to make a quick phone call before leaving actually. Would you mind getting the car? I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes.”

“Sure. See you there.” She grabbed the keys on his desk, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking towards the door.

He watched her leave the office, his smile betraying all the emotions in his head, his mind already rehearsing all the details of his new back-up plan. He went back to his computer, the mouse already browsing though the page to go click on the contact info.

He did have a phone call to make today.