It had been a little over two weeks since Pam had received flowers from her ex. Jim never pushed Pam to talk about it, but took it as a good sign that she threw them away. Actually, she was about to throw them way when Kelly saw what she was doing and insisted on taking them. The day after the flowers came was like nothing ever happened. Jim made frequent visits to reception for jelly beans and the two joked like they were old friends.
Today was a big day. The camera crew came back today. Jim couldn’t figure out what they saw when they were here for those 6 weeks in the spring, but apparently it was enough to bring them back. Jim was just hoping he was doing enough to contain his school boy crush on Pam that the camera crew wouldn’t notice. He did not want to be pulled into the conference room to talk about that. Also adding to the excitement, well Michael’s excitement, was that tonight was the annual Dundies awards. Michael tried to convince everyone, including Jan, that the Dundies were a motivational tool, but in truth they were just an excuse for Michael to tell bad jokes and be the center of attention. At least corporate picked up the tab for food and drinks.
“Slim Jim,” Michael interrupted Jim’s train of thought, “Can I see you in my office? It’s top secret.”
Jim let out a groan and made his way into Michael’s office. This surely was going to be some stupid errand for tonight’s festivities and he was hoping he’ll be able to convince Michael to pass it off on Dwight.
“So, Jim Bag,” Michael started, “I really want to make sure everyone gets a Dundie tonight. You know, reward everyone, really boost morale, but I’m having a hard time coming up with a few and was hoping you could help.”
“The Dundies are in a few hours,” Jim replied, sitting down, “Shouldn’t the trophies be done already?”
“Theoretically, yes, they should be,” Michael stated, “But, I pay the guy extra to engrave them last minute.”
“Well, okay, why don’t you show me what you have already,” Jim replied and Michael handing him a slip of paper.
Jim scanned the list silently for a few minutes. He noted that he was receiving the “Fat Halpert” award again this year. It’s the same award he received last year and he still had no idea what it meant. He also noticed that Ryan was receiving the “Hottest in the Office” award, which was wrong on so many levels. Jim was about to comment on how incredibly inappropriate that award would be when he noticed what Michael had chosen for Pam, the “Runaway Bride” Dundie.
“Michael,” Jim started, trying to figure the best way to convince him this was a bad idea, “The Runaway Bride, really? You don’t think that’s a tad too personal?”
“What?” Michael questioned, “No. Why would it be? How many times do I have to tell you that this office is a family. There are no boundaries in a family and we can laugh about whatever we want. Plus, she’s obviously over it if she moved away to join us.”
Jim thought for a minute. Obviously, he would have to think another way to convince Michael to change Pam’s award. “It just seems like this obvious joke, that’s all,” Jim said, “And, I’ve always thought of you as the type of guy who didn’t go for the obvious laugh.”
“Well, you’re right about that, Jimbo, I am comedically humorous,” Michael replied with a smirk, “But, I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
With that, Jim returned to his desk, completely forgetting why he was called into Michael’s office in the first place. An instinct to protect Pam had kicked in and it was something he had never felt before. His mom always said he was a sensitive soul and a born protector, but he never felt this protective of anyone. He knew he had fallen for her, but it wasn’t until that moment in Michael’s office that he realized how deep it went.
The rest of the day went rather quickly. Jim was pretty sure that Michael’s excitement was rubbing off on the rest of the office. For him, it was the prospect of spending time outside of work hours with Pam. He had tried numerous times in the past two weeks, but was unable to work up the nerve to ask Pam to hang out, so as pathetic as it sounded, he was excited to spend time with her after 5 PM.
At 4:50, Jim shut down his computer and made his way to reception. He wanted to give her a heads up about her possible award for tonight.
“So, you excited about the Dundies tonight?” he asked, tapping her desk.
Pam just rolled her eyes in response. Jim had given her a rundown of what to expect at her first Dundies during lunch yesterday and he could tell she wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Oh, and I just wanted to give you a warning,” Jim said, struggling to get the words out, “Umm, Michael may or may not be giving you the ‘Runaway Bride’ Dundie tonight. I tried to talk him out of it, but I’m not sure if he’s going to change it.”
“Oh, umm, yeah,” she responded, “Don’t worry about it. He’s been making jokes about it since he found out a week ago, sooo.”
“Good to know,” he replied, “I just wasn’t sure if it would upset you so I thought you would want to know, that’s all.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it that way,” Pam replied, blushing, “Thank you, really. That’s really sweet.”
They made their way out of the office together so that Pam could follow Jim over to Chili’s. She had confessed to him a few days earlier that she still didn’t know her way around Scranton yet. Originally, Jim had offered to drive her himself, but she declined stating that she didn’t want to put him out of his way.
When he slipped into his car and made his way down the road, he couldn’t help but replay their conversation in his head. “She called me ‘really sweet,’” he thought aloud, “That has to count for something.”
*************************************************
Pam was still trying to figure out how she was going to handle receiving the “Runaway Bride” Dundie tonight as she followed Jim. Despite what she said to Jim about Michael’s constant jokes, she really wasn’t ready for her failed engagement to fodder for office jokes. She briefly considered going home and making up an excuse later about suddenly not feeling well, but truth be told, she was looking forward to spending time with Jim. He was the only friend she had made since moving to Scranton and it was going to be nice to not spend another night alone, eating in front of her TV.
She had been driving for a few minutes when her phone rang. Thinking it was her mom calling for their weekly chat, Pam answered without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey, Mom,” she said quickly, “Can’t really talk right now. I’m on my way to some silly office thing.”
“It’s not your mom, Pammy,” Roy’s voice interrupted her, “It’s me, baby.”
“Roy,” Pam replied deflated, “What do you want?”
“Listen,” he said, “I’m not calling to beg you to come back to me. I actually found a few of your sketch books in the back of the closet the other day and thought I’d drive there to return them to you. Then maybe we could get some dinner and talk. I really want to see you.”
“Roy,” Pam sighed, “You can just ship them to me. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come here. Besides, I have plans tonight.”
“Oh, yeah, a silly work thing,” he said mocking her, “Those aren’t real plans, you could easily get out of it. Come on, please, just dinner. Please, I really want to see you.”
“I said no, Roy,” she said raising her voice as she pulled into the Chili’s parking lot, “I know I’ve said this before, but I really wish you would stop calling me. I’m not going to get back together with you. Please just leave me alone.”
“No, I won’t leave you alone,” Roy replied with anger in his voice, “We’re going to get back together. I know you, Pam, you hate being alone. You’ve done this before, and I know soon that you will realize you aren’t going to find anyone better and you’ll come crawling back to me. I just have to wait it out.”
Pam didn’t know what to say in response to that. Given their history, he was right. They had broken up twice in the past, but each time she had gone back to him. “Not this time, Roy,” she said, tearing up. She didn’t give him a chance to reply before hanging up.
She looked out her windshield to see Jim waiting for her with his hands in his pockets. She was hoping that he couldn’t tell that she had just had an upsetting conversation. She was looking forward to having fun hanging out with Jim tonight and didn’t want to ruin it with him worrying about her upset state.
She got out of her car and made her way inside with Jim. She told him to find them seats while she went to the bathroom to freshen up. She was thankful that the bathroom was empty so that she could cry by herself in a stall. What Roy said had hurt her so much and she was crying at the thought that he could be right. She had acted so brave by leaving him and moving far away, but the truth was that she was scared. She had been in Scranton for a few weeks now and had made one friend. She was fearful of going back to what was familiar.
She was still crying when she heard two unfamiliar voices enter the bathroom. She realized she had to get herself together and get out of there. She wasn’t going to make friends sitting in a bathroom stall crying. She forced herself to stop the tears, exited the stall, and then splashed some water on her face before making her way out to the group.
She took her seat at a table with Jim. His face lit up when he saw her and Pam blushed in response.
“I was beginning to think you ditched me, Beesly,” Jim said smiling, “I ordered a beer, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted to drink.”
Without saying anything, she reached across the table and grabbed his beer. She took a big gulp, noticing the surprise on Jim’s face as she did so.
After finishing off Jim’s beer, she had ordered a margarita for herself. Jim watched her as she slurped up the last remaining sips out of two nearly empty glasses.
“I think those are empty,” Jim said with a grin.
“No, no. 'Cause the ice melts and then it's like second drink!” Pam said with a laugh, obviously tipsy.
The night continued on in much of the same way. When the waitress refused to serve Pam anymore, she started stealing drinks off other people’s tables. To her coworkers, she was just having a good time, but she knew she was drinking to remove the sting of Roy’s words.
When a couple of bar patrons began to tease Michael, Jim and Pam acted as his cheerleaders, encouraging him to keep handing out Dundies. After Michael gave Kevin the “Don’t Go in After Me” award and Stanley the “Fine Work” award, he announced the final award would go to Pam. She began to panic and her drunken elation began to fade. She glanced over at Jim, who had a look of pure panic on his face.
“I think we all know what award Pam is going to be getting this year,” Michael continued, “It is the "Whitest Sneakers" award! Because she always has the whitest tennis shoes on! Get on down here! Pam Beesly, ladies and gentlemen!”
Pam jumped out of her seat and happily accepted her award, grateful that Jim was able to convince Michael to change it. After she was done thanking her Keds and God, she made her way back their table where Jim was standing, waiting for her to sit back down.
She wasn’t sure if it was because she was grateful for him looking out for her, the large amount of alcohol she consumed, or a combination of both, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. He was the first guy she had kissed since breaking up with Roy and a rush of excitement ran up her spine. After sitting down, she glanced over at Jim, who was trying his hardest not to smile. “Did he enjoy it?” Pam wondered in a drunken haze.
After she fell off her barstool and got an unpleasant view of Dwight‘s naked torso, she was informed that she is never to return to this or any other Chili’s again. She clung to Jim’s arm for balance as he helped her out of the restaurant.
“So, you’re not in any shape to drive,” Jim said as they exited the restaurant, “Why don’t I give you a ride home?”
“Oh, actually, Angela lives right down the street from me,” she replied hiccupping, “I asked her for a ride while you were in the bathroom. Thanks, though. Do you want to wait with me while she gets her car?”
He nodded and they made their way to a bench near the entrance making small talk. He had her giggling when Angela pulled up. He helped her out of her spot on the bench and guided her to the passenger side of the car.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Pam glanced up at Jim.
“Shoot,” he replied.
She was trying to work up the nerve to ask him to hang out sometime. Not a date, really, just two friends hanging out, she was rationalizing in her head, but lost her nerve when she realized the camera was focused on her.
“I just wanted to say thanks,” she says, chickening out.
“Not really a question,” Jim responds, “Let’s get you home, you’re drunk.”
He helps her into Angela’s car and says goodnight. As they drive away, Pam turns and sees him just standing where they left him watching the car pull away. When he fades out of view, she leans her head against the window and falls asleep until they reach her apartment.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I present to you my AU version of the Dundies. To make up for how short the last chapter was, this one is looooong.
Same disclaimers apply, so don't sue me...
Same disclaimers apply, so don't sue me...
Chapter End Notes:
There you have it. Let me know what you think!
