Hi, I'm Kat and I'm new here to MTT. I'm not new to fanfics or the Office. I just can't believe I had never found this forum before. Seriously, where the hell was I? Anyway this is my first fic for here. And I've got another longer one in the works. Originally, I hadn't intended it for the Challenge, but since it already fit the criteria, I said why not. This takes place after Valentine's Day, because I have always thought that that was when Pam should've came to a realization. Or at least admit to what she had already realized. This is my take on what would've happened if she did. The quote, I thought, really summed up Pam's journey. And there's smut, because why shouldn't there be? This one follows the path of fluff, smut, slight angst, concluded with fluff. I am a die hard Jammer who believes in the happy ending.

Please review and let me know what you think. Jam forever.

Out of the Fog

""Often, it's not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don't know how to be."-Heath L. Buckmaster

One

Jim Halpert pushed another six-pack of beer into his already well-stocked fridge. It was Valentine's Day, and he was having a poker game. It wasn't the most romantic way to spend the most romantic day of the year, but Jim didn't want to think about romance.

He wanted to hang out with his friends, get a little drunk and just have some fun.

He just wanted to have some fun and not think about curly red hair, bright green eyes, and the sunniest smile he'd ever known. Especially because that sunny smile was probably grinning at someone else at that particular moment.

He closed his eyes and tried to push her out of his mind, but he had never been able to do that. He could never stop thinking about her and that was his curse.

Still, as he'd advised his coworker Kelly Kapoor earlier today, he was going to do his best to try and get over it.

"Jim, did you order hot wings with the pizza?" called Mark Schafer, Jim's roommate, as he bounded down the stairs. The two had been roommates since their Penn State days. Both were slackers, both were pranksters, both were on the basketball team. They gravitated to each other with an ease and carefree outlook that still characterized their friendship and confidence.

"Yeah, what time are Nate and Parker coming over?"

"They said six, but considering it's Nate, I'd say closer to seven. Drew still coming?"

"No, he's taking Lena out."

Mark looked impressed. "That finally happened?"

"Apparently," Jim said with a wry grin. "Dana isn't mad about you spending Valentine's Day playing poker?"

Mark shook his head and smiled at the mention of his longtime girlfriend. "Nah, as long as I come over after it's all over, she's good. We're going to spend all day tomorrow and the day after. She's shopping today."

Jim nodded. Mark and Dana had been together since college. And it was only a matter of time before Mark popped the question. Most likely after he got a promotion at his job at a small advertising agency.

"Hey, did you invite Dwight?" Mark asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Jim shot him a dark glance in return.

"Yeah, right, because that's how I want to spend Valentine's Day, listening to Dwight compare and contrast animal crap to Battlestar Galactica characters."

Mark let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, I'll bet." He paused for a second, eyeing his friend curiously. "Dude, we both know how you really wanna spend Valentine's Day," Mark had meant it as a joke, but realized how it sounded and winced as his words, shooting his old friend an apologetic glance.  Jim just shrugged and took a long sip of coffee, suddenly lost in his thoughts, mostly of her. Get over it, move on, move on, he chided himself.

 "You all right, man?" Mark asked and Jim realized he hadn't said anything for around two minutes.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's...it is what it is. I mean..." he shrugged it off.

"You know you could tell her how you feel, maybe?"

He shrugged and smirked. "Maybe." He knew full well it was too late for that.

Before Mark could respond, the doorbell rang. "Oh, its Hal," Mark said as he went off to answer the door.

Jim looked back down at the invitation. "That's...that," he said mainly to himself as he drummed his fingers on top of the microwave. He looked up at the ceiling and told himself that he'd have a good time tonight. If only he could actually convince himself.

A few hours later, the poker game was in full swing. Jim had already won forty dollars, because Nate and Parker still had not mastered the bluff. Two beers in, he was laughing and joking and his mind was nowhere near....

A loud knocking on the door shook his from his reverie. Mark looked at him. "We expecting anybody else?"

Jim shook his head. "I'll get it, pause the game." Jim grabbed his cards and headed to his front door. He opened it and was stunned by the sight he saw.

"Pam?"

There stood Pam Beesly with a somewhat stricken look on her face. "Hi, Jim," she said quickly. "I'm sorry to barge in. I heard you were having a poker game. And I just kind of needed to get...um, is it okay if I come in?"

Jim was pretty sure his eyes would've literally popped out if they could've gotten any wider. What was she doing there? On Valentine's Day?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said quickly. "Come in, come in."

"Thanks," she said, grateful that he didn't ask the questions she knew he had. She didn't know if he could see her swollen, red eyes in the dark of night. But if he could, he didn't enquire.

"Um, is everything all right?" he asked once she was inside. His voice was low, but judging by the loud laughter coming from his living room, his friends had barely noticed his absence.

The sincerity in his voice was almost enough to make her collapse. "No," she said, a soft strain in her voice. "But is it cool if we don't talk about it?" her green eyes pleaded with him not to ask her anything else. He let his eyes linger on hers for a long moment.

Finally, he broke into a large grin. "Sure thing, Beesly. You want a drink?"

"Several. Please."

Jim smirked at her curiously. "All right, well let's get you liquored up."

They walked slowly into the living room, Jim's curiosity rising with every step they took.

"Hey guys," Jim called out. "This is Pam. She'll be joining us." Mark's eyebrows shot straight up, but he stayed silent. "Pam, you know Mark and that's Nate, and Hal and Parker." Jim's friends gave Pam a friendly wave.

"Hi," she said somewhat sheepishly. "I'm sorry for intruding on Guys' Night."

Mark smiled. "Your intrusion is quite welcome, I'm certain," his voice holding more than one allusion. Jim shot him a rather menacing death glare. "Well as bets had not been placed for this round yet, I'm certain we can deal you in."

Pam smiled. "Thanks," she said sitting down on the sofa. Jim sat next to her, longing to know what had brought her to his door. He'd have to get a moment alone to ask, a moment alone period.

As Nate shuffled the cards and prepared to deal, Mark got Pam a shot of tequila which she downed almost instantly.

"Slow your roll, Beesly," Jim chided playfully. "We do not want a repeat of the Dundies."

Pam shrugged, trying to cheer herself up. "Maybe I do," she said with a wry grin. "Mark, I'll take another one." Jim laughed, but hesitated for a second, his mind going back to a certain moment of the Dundies, the one he most wanted to repeat. Did she remember kissing him? Did it even register in her inebriated state? He'd thought about it constantly for weeks.

"OH, I like you," Hal said with a smile. "Any girl who can handle her tequila is all right with me."

Pam laughed genuinely and shot a familiar glance at Jim. "See, I don't need a chaperone. I'm one of the boys."

Jim laughed, knowing how wrong she was, but he didn't disagree. Mark brought her another shot which she downed just as quickly as the first. "So is this an AA meeting or a poker game?"

"Let's do it," Jim said, challenging her with the tone of his voice.

Two rounds in, Pam had won once, ditto for Jim. She remembered him saying that his friends were idiots. She didn't know if held true anywhere else, but it most certainly did when it came to poker. Nate had obvious tells, Parker kept dropping his hands to where you could see his cards. Hal couldn't seem to get anything higher than three fives. Mark was a good player, but he'd gotten several less than magnificent hands.

"Lambs to slaughter," Jim said as raked in the latest ante.

"One day, Jimmy, one day," Parker said as he tossed his cards in the air in defeat.

"Yes, but not today, Park."

"Keep talking, Stretch, your luck is bound to run out."

Pam raised an eyebrow. "Stretch?"

Nate smiled. "That's what we called him in college."

Pam grinned. "Because he's tall?" she snuck a glance at Jim who was turning red and shooting his friends menacing stares.

Hal and Nate exchanged a wry glance and turned to Pam with large smiles. "Oh, no, not ‘cause he's tall. See, we didn't come up with it. His ex-girlfriend did. You can hazard many a guess as to why she called him that." Nate took a swig of beer and laughed. "Another girlfriend called him Energizer."

Pam fought off a chuckle and glanced over at Jim who was now the color a very ripe tomato. "I will fucking kill you," he said shaking his head and rolling his eyes at his buddies.  Pam realized she'd heard him say the word fuck before. And for some reason, she liked it. Usually, she thought it was crass, but from him it was almost...hot. She blushed slightly and cleared her throat.

"Any other nicknames I should know about?" she asked, her eyes dancing with glee.

Mark laughed. "Yes, but the rest are completely inappropriate to speak of in front of a lady."

Pam smiled, realizing that she liked Jim's friends. They were super cool and nice and a lot like him, to be honest. They didn't mind having a girl around, they included her, made her feel welcome. And they didn't make some inappropriate remark about her breasts every five seconds like Roy's friends. The only one she could tolerate was Darryl, because he knew to can the trash talk when a lady was present.

The rest of Roy's raucous bunch had no such home training, especially Kenny. Thinking of Roy nearly sprang tears to her eyes and she cleared her throat and tried not to lose her mind. It was clear: she needed another drink.

"You want a beer?" Jim asked Pam, as if he'd read her thoughts. He did that a lot, she realized, knew what she wanted before she could even ask.

"Oh yeah that'd be gr-," she was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. "Oh, it's my sister."

"You can take it on the back porch," Jim said pointing her to the right direction.

"Thanks."

He watched her go, wondering what was going on, wondering what had brought her to his door on this night, of all nights. He heard the door to the porch open and close behind her. He turned to look at all his friends who were giving him incredulous looks.

"What?"

Hal weighed his words for a second. "So...that's...her?"

Jim was confused for a second as he hadn't mentioned to Hal or Parker or Nate anything about Pam, only Mark and then it dawned on him. He shot his roommate a glare.

"Telling you something it like taking an ad out in the Scranton Times."

Mark shrugged. "They wanted to know why you've been in such a foul mood. I had to tell them something. But the real question is: what the hell are you still doing here?"

All his friends nodded in agreement. "What the hell are you still doing here?" Parker as he sat down his beer.

Jim was beyond confused. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Dude, the girl is at your door on Valentine's Day. What more do you need?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "She's engaged, asshat."

Parker nodded and spoke slowly as if Jim's comprehension was severely diminished. "Exactly. She's engaged and it's freaking Valentine's Day, but she's here. It don't take a whiz to see all is not well in Shangri-La. This is when you come in for the swoop."

"Come in for the swoop? How old are you?" Jim deadpanned.

"No, Park's right," Nate said emphatically. "Clearly, something went down with her and her man. And she came to you. Which clearly is like one of those unknown signal things. The things women do subconsciously or some other Freudian shit. This is when you make a move."

Jim looked at all of them like they had five heads. "Are you freaking kidding me? She's going through something and I'm supposed to make a move on her?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "We said make a move, not cop a feel. Look, at the very least, show her you're everything that guy isn't. James, let's talk straight. You've been lusting after her from the day you started working at that paper jail. You owe it to yourself. And you owe it to me for listening to you bitch and moan for the past five years. Go out and there and just...try....something."

Jim shook his head at his friends, but maybe they were right. Clearly, he wasn't getting over her. Every date he went on went absolutely nowhere because he couldn't stop thinking about her. And she was here, she had come to him. Maybe...just maybe...she felt it too.

"What the hell," he said aloud before heading out to the back porch.

She was there, her arms draped over the bannister, staring out into the darkness.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked. She jumped up, startled.

"Jim, you scared me!"

"Sorry, just delivering your beer. Stella Artois light."

She smiled as he handed it to her. "You remembered."

"Yeah." He moved a little closer towards her, their shoulders barely touching. He kind of dreaded starting this conversation on his least favorite subject (Roy) but it had to be done. "So, I know you said you didn't want to talk about it but, shouldn't a girl like you be with her fiancée on a night like tonight?"

She laughed darkly and took a long swig of beer. "Yeah, if I had one," she said finally.

His ears and his heart perked up. "I'm sorry, what?"

His eyes flew to her left hand which was suddenly missing a highly important ornament.

She took her hair out of its clip and shook it out. her fingers running through it, her hair falling into her pace like a copper-colored halo; the light from the doorway catching the golden streaks in her hair.

He fought the urge to kiss her and kiss her and kiss her and kiss her. She let out a long whoosh of air and lowered eyes to the ground. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet his. It seemed a long, appropriately dramatic pregnant pause before she spoke.

"I called off my wedding," she said with an almost dark chuckle at the end of her sentence. She cast her eyes down again and for a long moment he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what the appropriate thing to say, and so in the end his concern (and agonizing curiosity got the better of him.

"What happened? I mean, do you mind if I ask?"

She shook her head. She sighed, and he could tell that she was upset. She turned to face him, and he noticed that the top button her blouse had come undone, he could see the swells of her breasts rising and falling with her breath. He forced himself to focus on her eyes, not her body and her newly minted availability.

"It's Valentine's Day," she began. "And I'm not the crazy sentimental type, but I thought he would do...something. You saw Phyllis get the entirety of 1-800 Flowers delivered to her and he didn't even to think to get me anything. And I was going to let it go, try to salvage it or whatever. So we get home, and he invites his brother and their drinking buddies over. On Valentine's Day. And I tell him that I thought we could spend it together. And he said that we had a thousand Valentine's Days to spend together, so why was this one so important? He didn't get why I was so upset.  His whole argument was that he has to buy me something for our anniversary, for my birthday and for Valentine's Day. And I was so upset. And I couldn't figure out what I had did to make him treat me like that. And then it hit me: I let him." Pam hadn't thought she was through crying, but as she relived their angry confrontation, a thousand different emotions sprang up.  Jim knew this was the part where he was supposed to say something comforting, but he didn't know what that was.

He settled for a cliché and more than slightly dishonest, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and met his eyes again. "Don't be. I'm not."

"You're not?" He shifted his weight and braced his arm again the bannister, leaning closer to her.

"No," she replied with a small smile, the shakiness of her voice finally leaving. "I feel like...like I've a come out of a fog. I feel...relieved. It just it came to me...out of the fog, so to speak: why am I here? What am I staying for? For a guy who can't even remember our anniversary, who still thinks that I like rice pudding because I liked it when we were eighteen? Last year, for our anniversary, he gave me a necklace that his sister was planning on throwing away! And I pretended I was okay with that. What did I do that for?  For two pumps from two inches? For five years of orgasm-less sex and a guy that can't find the clit in the daytime with a flashlight-," she stopped her rant when she saw Jim's eyes shoot up and his mouth drop. "Sorry," she said with, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. He wanted to make her blush all over. "I didn't mean to scandalize you."

He laughed lightly. "You didn't. But um, were you serious about...all that?" he couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that jerk-wad, had had this girl all this time and hadn't been pleasing her. Was he that selfish? Did he pay that little attention?

She nodded and laughed darkly. "Yeah. Now I'm looking back, and I just can't believe I stayed this long. I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

He shook his head emphatically. "No, he's the idiot." He gently placed his hand on top of hers. "Can I be completely honest for a second? I mean, is there like a chance you're going to get back together with him tomorrow?"

Pam shook her head. "That ship is effectively sailed."

Jim fought back a smile. "Well, then, I'll just tell you: I hate the guy. I physically hate him. I always have. I think he's an asshole. And you, you are way too good to be with a guy like that."

Pam's eyes widened and she tried to hide her blush and smile at his words, suddenly flushed at the sound of his voice. "Really?" she asked, somewhere between shyly dismissing him and daring him to continue.

"Yeah, you are. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you," he said, his voice become slightly more impassioned than what would've been considered discreet.

"With someone who gets how funny and talented and beautiful and sexy and amazing you are. Someone who makes you feel like the sun sets and rises with you. Someone who wakes up every morning and goes ‘oh, my God, I'm with Pam.' Someone who gives you a reason to fall in love with them a little more every single day."

They didn't break eye contact and Jim suddenly remembered himself, realizing that his speech was more revealing than he intended.

She looked down at the ground, afraid and excited by what she saw in his eyes, hoping he couldn't see it mirrored in her own.

"You see all that in me?" she asked, her voice low and soft.

He removed his hand from hers and gripped the bannister. He didn't answer right away. He had involuntarily thrown the gauntlet down. He hadn't meant to be so forthcoming, but it was like saying the things he had always wanted to. Once he started, he hadn't been able to stop.

But he knew there was more to be said. The question was would he finally take it there?

"I do," he responded. "I think...you're...amazing."

Pam smiled up at him. He was the best. He was always the best. He was so great, so funny, so smart. He had always made her laugh, he always made her smile. He always made her feel better when Roy had done something to make her feel like crap. He was always there...she always wanted him to be.

Epiphanies weren't something she was accustomed to. But suddenly, she understood them. And she was certainly sure that she was having one of them now. They stood there, bathed in warm yet inadequate porchlight, forearms practically touching as they both leaned against the bannister. The silence was pregnant with possibilities. Pam knew it was her chance to talk.

"Well," she said keeping her eyes on the railing. "I think you're amazing, too." She let her forearm brush against his, the heat radiating between them. So this is what is to feel sparks, she mused as she felt heat from his arm run next to hers.

He grinned lightly. "I'm glad, because there's kind of something I need to get off my chest."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"This," and with that, he leaned in gently and kissed her. He pressed his lips lightly to hers at first, asking for permission. She granted as she returned his kiss, her hands slowly rising to his chest and then his face. His hands went to her waist, pulling her in. Their lips melded into each other, Jim fighting every instinct not to push too hard too fast. But god, he wanted her.

She broke the kiss and gently rested her forehead against his lips and chin. He didn't say anything, not sure if she was about to take five steps back and bolt.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he told her before he planted a kiss to her forehead.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to."

Meanwhile, back inside the house, Jim's friends were dying with curiosity.

"I wonder what's going on," Hal said as he opened another beer. "They've been out there a while."

Parker scoffed. "They've been out there like ten minutes. Besides, what if she doesn't want him?"

"She does," Mark said emphatically. "She wouldn't be here otherwise."

Nate cracked a wicked grin. "You think she'll get a taste of Stretch the Telephone Pole tonight?"

Nate had purposely left that part out of Jim's college nickname out, realizing that some things Pam needed to discover on her own. Mark laughed, remembering whenever he would come to find the sock on the door of their dorm and hear Jim's girlfriend loud vocalizations.

"I don't know, Jim doesn't put out on a first date, if that is in fact what's happening," Hal said skeptically.

Mark shrugged. "For that girl, I'm most certain he would. And I, regretfully have to go. Voyeurism isn't my thing and I've got a girl waiting for me in a cool bed that's dying to be warmed. Let me know if anything goes down."

With that, Mark took his winnings and his leave, silently praying that everything would go well for Jim. God knew he deserved it.

Back on the porch, Pam stared up at Jim for a long moment. He waited, waiting for her to take the next step. She had to, he wouldn't push it. They both knew it. Her mind and her heart raced; that kiss seemed to jolt and center her all at once. He searched her eyes. There was definitely longing in them. A hint of lust, maybe. But there was a tremor behind him that gave him hope. Maybe. Just maybe, she loved him too.

She kissed him, stronger this time. Her hands running through his hair, pulling him closer. He had no problems reciprocating, returning her kiss just as forcefully, pulling her closer, trapping her between his body and the bannister.

He lost himself in the taste and feel of her lips. It was better than he could've ever imagined. He was pretty sure he was already addicted to her. One of his hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her tighter until there was no space between their bodies as the other tenderly stroked her hair. He prayed he would never have to go back to their platonic pretense. At this point, he knew he couldn't. He could never settle for just their witty banter and playful smiles. He had to have her, more of her, all of her.

Pam felt like she was floating, high on the headiness of their kiss. It was like she'd never been kissed before. She moaned gently, and Jim stiffened for a millisecond. Next thing she knew, he was pulling her away from the bannister and pushing her up against the outer wall of the house, their lips never breaking.

He kissed her with everything he had, with a hungriness and a longing she'd had never known. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands gripping his hair, relishing in the way his lips devoured her. He tasted like beer and cayenne and a hint of a parmesan, he smelled like pine and cinnamon and wintergreen and something else distinctly him. She couldn't get enough of it. His hands stayed firmly around her waist but she wanted them everywhere. She felt a jolt of energy between her legs and she moaned into their kiss, remembering that this is what is was to be turned on; to want and be wanted.

She felt herself getting warmer (and wetter) as Jim's hands left her waist and moved to her hips, pulling her closer until there was no space between their bodies. She moaned into the kiss and Jim felt the blood rushing to his manhood, his jeans constricting uncomfortably. She gasped lightly and he knew she could feel it too. Stretch, huh? Girth too, so it would seem. She nearly giggled at the naughty thoughts filling her head, one louder than all the other ones: those jeans of his had to come off.

She abruptly broke their heated kiss, their chests heaving. Jim worried he'd gone too far; he also wondered if it was too far to ever go back. He stared into her lidded eyes, waiting for her next move.

Her next words would forever be burned into his memory:

"Can we go upstairs?"

He blinked rapidly, unsure if he'd heard her correctly. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't dreaming. Somehow, despite his brain still being in a fog from their kiss and the lust boiling in his loins, he managed to form a cohesive thought.

"Yeah." He extended his hand to her, and she took it, her fingers curling around his. Jim was pretty sure his next door neighbors could his heart pounding out of his chest. In recent events, he'd kissed her like there was no tomorrow, held her in his arms and gone just shy of confessing his undying and all-consuming love for her, but somehow nothing, nothing compared to simple, beautiful gesture of taking her hand in his.

He held her palm the way he wanted to hold her heart, gently yet firmly, as he opened the door and led them inside.

Pam took a deep breath and gripped Jim's hand a little tighter. She wanted to go to Jim's room, she wanted to be in Jim's bed. She didn't know who was she at the moment. But she felt...right...she felt certain. She felt like she was herself. Her heartbeat quickened and her face flushed when she thought about their kiss. She would have never expected such passion or such talent. She wondered what she was in for. Something told her that she would be surprised and in a good way. She suppressed a smile as she thought about him.

Had this been there the whole time, brimming under the surface, hiding in the fog of her dead relationship with Roy? Had he really been there, waiting for her?

As they climbed the steps, she took note of his broad shoulders and his flushed face and his long legs. They were friends, that much was true. But this was something different, something...more than friends.

Maybe that was what they were, maybe that was what they always had been.

She followed him up the stairs, seemingly unnoticed by his friends in the living room. In honesty, Jim had forgotten his friends were there. He was a man on a mission. If she's not in love with me by the end of this night, she never will be.

They stepped inside his bedroom, the sound of the door swinging shut behind them making them both jump a little. For a moment, they didn't meet each other's eyes. When they finally did, it was nanoseconds before their lips crashed together with an urgency neither was prepared for.

Their bodies melded into each other, Jim's hands running through Pam's curls while hers wrapped around his waist. She started to tug at his shirt and he gently placed his hands over her, stopping her. He pulled away and looked at her longingly. He had to know before this went any further.

"Pam, are you sure about...this? I mean, is this what you want?" he braced himself for whatever her response would be, hoping that this wasn't just some tequila-fueled rebound, hoping that she was where he was, hoping that this wasn't all in his mind.

Her eyes searched his and she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so safe, so cared for. "I'm sure," she said her voice an octave above a whisper, but steady. "Unless you don't want..."

His eyes widened. "Are you serious? All I want to do right now is rip your clothes off and make you come until you can't stand. The thing is, if I have you, if I really have you in my bed, I'm never going to let you go," his voice had grown huskier and his eyes had gotten darker but his gaze held steady. He gently caressed her cheek, waiting for her permission to continue.

She swallowed slowly as her mouth had grown dry with his impassioned decree. Currently, all the liquid in her body was flowing south and she knew what she wanted. She cupped her hand behind his head and pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his lips.

He returned it eagerly, opening his mouth over hers as he slowly and softly kissed her. It was less urgent, more passionate. He was savoring her, teasing her, drinking her in. He knew what he was going to do. He'd make love to her, then fuck her senseless, then repeat.

There they stood in the middle of his room, his hands cupping her breasts and kneading them softly. She groaned as she felt his soft, daft fingers cup her through her shirt and bra. He gently placed his knee against the apex of jean-clad center and rubbed slowly. He was going to take his time, make her beg, make her see just what she did to him.  

Her lips fell away from his as her head rolled back at the sensations he was creating. He planted a trail of hot wet kisses along her neck and collarbone as he made quick work of the buttons of her shirt and tossed it to parts unknown. He revealed her white lace bra and sucked in a breath. Here he was in his room, undressing Pam, the girl of his dreams, the love of his life. His eyes roamed over her greedily. Her hair was mussed and untamed, her skin had a deep flush that he was more than happy to take credit for, her breasts rising and falling with her chest trapped inside her bra and driving him mad with lust. The sight of her went straight from his eyes to his cock and he was pretty sure he was harder than he'd ever been. He was in awe of her beauty

She flushed over his examination and fought the urge to cover herself. In the back of her mind she wondered if he was impressed. He knew her number, but she didn't know his. She knew there was Katy who loved to show her assets off. And there were at least two girlfriends from his college days. She wondered how she measured up.

She wouldn't have to wonder for long. Jim dropped to his knees to pull down her jeans. She gripped onto his shoulders as she stepped out of them; nearly going dizzy from the fact that she could feel him exhaling on her center. He reached for her panties next, relishing in the fact that they were completely soaked and they'd barely begun. Once she was completely naked, he began his assault.

He planted a trail of gentle kisses and nibbles along her thighs and calves encouraged by the breathy sighs and sharp exhales she let out. Her hands gripped around his shoulder and the top of his hair as he worked his way up. He stopped at her center and placed one teasing kiss on her recently trimmed folds. She nearly came right then. Her knees buckled and she let out a soft expletive. She arched into him, craving more. But he didn't linger which released a whimper from her. No he continued his way up, kissing her waistline, her navel and her stomach.

"Jim," she breathed out, knowing she needed more. The way he was working her up was driving her crazy. He knew what he was doing and she was nearly putty in his hands. But maybe that was only fair. He'd been putty in hers since the day they met.

He rose to stand over her again, unabashedly drinking in the sight of her. She blushed all the way down to her toes and he grinned wickedly. He pulled her towards him and then walked her over to the center of his room he gently turned her around to face the full length mirror on the wall.

"Can you see what I see, Pam?" he whispered in her ear as he ran his hands down her arms, making her shudder. "Do you see how beautiful you are, how perfect? You have no idea what you do to me." He planted a kiss as the base of her neck as his hands reached out to palm her breasts eagerly.

She moaned at his ministrations. "Show me," she said in a breathy whisper. She turned around to face him and realized he was still fully clothed. She tugged at his shirt, which he more than happily threw over his head. She reached for the fly of his jeans; but he stopped her.

"Not yet," he said as he pulled her towards his bed. He picked her up bridal style and placed her gently on the bed. He wasted absolutely no time in crawling beside her and then hovering over. Their eyes met and Jim thought sure that at any moment he would wake up and this would just be another one of the many vivid dreams he'd had about having her.

Then she reached up and kissed him eagerly. He broke the kiss at length and planted kisses along her neck and collarbone. It was time to find out what she liked, what made her pant, what made her scream and everything in between.

He lowered his mouth over one of her breasts and sucked gently, while taking the other in his hand and kneading firmly. She arched into him, gasping. "Jim, oh god, yes." His masculine pride swelled and he was sure he would never get tired of hearing her say his name like that.

He continued his intense attentions to her breasts, reveling in every moan and sigh and groan she released. Her breathing was growing shallow and quick. Everything he did sent a sharp jolt of heat to her center which by now was soaked with desire. She had no idea he'd be this talented or this thorough. She felt herself clenching against him. And she could feel his hardness, long and thick and waiting against her thigh. She was pretty sure she was going to come just from his mouth and hands on her breasts. She had no idea if she could. But when he scraped his teeth lightly across her nipple, she saw stars, a jolt of energy pulsing through her straight from her core. She thrashed around wildly against the pillow as long-dormant sensations ricocheted through her.

Jim ceased pleasuring her to watch her come, watch her splay out over his pillow, watch her breasts rise and fall tantalizingly as her breath slowly came back to normal. "You're beautiful when you come," he told as he gently stroked her forehead with his palm.

She smiled up at him, eyes shining with lust and longing. A soft kiss followed, both wanting and needing more. Jim fought to control the need literally aching through his loins. The only thing he wanted was to bury himself inside her and make her scream. But this wasn't about him...not yet anyway. He started working his way down again, kissing her neck and collarbone, nibbling gently at the stretch between her skin.

Pam had barely come down from the high of the afterglow before she registered Jim starting up again. He kissed his way down her body, lingering here and there. Her breath hitched as he reached her navel and then her waistline.

"Jim," she whispered in an as even a voice as she could muster. "You don't have to-,"

"Pam," cutting her off abruptly. He lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do this, taste you and make you come?"

She blushed at his words, not knowing what to say. Words didn't seem to be enough to convey how she was feeling at that moment.

Her eyes closed as his breath exhaled over her drenched folds. A soft kiss followed and she moaned deeply, arching into him. He gently dragged his fingertips across her opening, dipping in slightly to scrape her clit with his fingernails. Her breath hitched as he teased her clit, eliciting a succession of sharp breaths and gasps from her, working her closer and closer to the edge.  And then he abruptly removed his fingers and replaced it with his tongue. He gave her a long sweeping lick. Her legs opened wider giving him more access and he dove right in, pushing in and out of her with his tongue, drinking her all in and she writhed against him deliciously.

"Jim," she couldn't stop herself from crying out. She wrenched a hand into his hair, pushing him down further. He nibbled at her clit, scraping lightly with his teeth, every move pulling a sound out of her she didn't know she could make. She moaned, grunted, sighed, gasped and panted his name in what had to be the most glorious cacophony he had ever heard.

Pam had never known pleasure like this. Roy didn't even compare. She had never been the type to be an addict, but she was pretty sure she was now addicted to the lips and tongue of James Halpert. "Fuck, Jim, I'm so close...oh God...yes." She felt herself clenching, the sensation overwhelming her, and before she knew it, she coming, falling over the edge, awash with pleasure, Jim lapping at her juices as she came. She sat up and moaned his name louder than she had, her entire body alive with euphoria, her hands still tightly clenched in Jim's hair. * The orgasm didn't stop there, it went on, buzzing through her body, shooting little sparks of pleasure from the top of her head down her toes.

She collapsed back onto the bed in a heap. "Oh...my...God."

Jim tried not to be too pleased with himself, but he couldn't help it. He had wanted her like this for so long. And they weren't done. He had to have her, had to feel her around his now marble-hard cock. He had to know what it was to bury himself inside her and make her come again and again and again. When her breathing became less frantic, he gently kissed his way up her body, before settling his lips on hers.

They kissed and kissed and kissed, and Pam could feel him hard and throbbing, still in his jeans. She didn't know if she could come again, she felt pretty near spent. But it was so completely worth it. And she wanted him, she wanted him inside her. She reached for his belt buckle, but he stopped her and made extra quick work of it, kicking his jeans off and then his boxers.

He rolled away to reach for something in his drawers, but she reached for his arm. "We don't need one," she whispered. He nearly came right then.

"What? You sure?" he turned to look in her eyes, to make certain of what she had just said.

"I'm on the pill...and I want all of you," she said as she nodded her head. She sat up on the bed, and gave him her best come hither look.

He swallowed and crawled back over to her, a soft smile on his face. She cast her eyes down quickly and her eyes widened. He was big. No, he was huge. Long and thick and hard and ready and she was pretty sure her mouth was watering along with other places further south.

He grinned at her intense scrutiny. She hadn't met his eyes in thirty seconds.

"Like what you see?" he asked with his usual cheeky grin.

She smiled at him, their witty, playful banter still in place. "Get over here and find out."

He smiled and gently pushed her back down to the bed.  He gently kissed her forehead, then her cheeks, then her lips softly, gently as her legs opened around him. His hardness brushed up against her folds and she sucked in a deep breath.

Their lips met again in a heated, sloppy, intense kiss. Jim gently raised his hips and slowly entered her. He broke their kiss so he could watch her face. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as he entered her inch by inch, glorying in her slick, tight heat. "Fuck, Pam," he whispered as he finally bottomed out, her tightness clenching around him sweetly.

"You're so huge," she whispered as she relished in the feel of him, stretching her inner walls and touching places she didn't know existed. They stayed there for a moment, enjoy the feel of each other. And then he moved, pulling all the way out, before pushing all the way back in, drawing out with slow, long strokes that made them both moan.

He fought for control of himself, wanting to make her come again before he did. It was then she learned why he was called Energizer. He could keep going and going and going and going. He alternated between soft and slow and hard and fast, short and swift, long and deep and Pam was mewling and canning with sounds she didn't know she could make. Her hands gripped the sheets and clawed at his back as he went longer and deeper than anything she'd ever had before.

He sucked at her breasts, nipped at her neck and toyed with clit, all while never relenting from the pace he'd set. Pam wasn't sure how much she could take, her sensory overload was becoming very real. Every inch of her swam with pleasure and euphoria as evidence by her many, many moans of delight. Jim had even managed to find The Spot, something Roy had been totally inept. He'd lifted her up into a sitting position, thrusting into her furiously, yet tenderly. The new angle caused direct contact with a Spot Pam had long thought she was born without and she saw stars. "God, yes, there, there," she mumbled incoherently.

Jim more than did what he was bid, and it wasn't long before Pam came harder than she ever had in her life, screaming his name, him swallowing her screams with a greedy, kiss. But he didn't stop thrusting, kept going until another orgasm washed over her, slower and longer this time, stretching out into what seemed like days, running bliss and pleasure into every chasm and corner of her body. She clamped down, tightening around his length, causing his eyes to nearly roll back from the feel of her, her breasts bouncing wildly as she rode it out. Jim kept thrusting gently, bringing her down slowly, maintaining strict control over himself.

"Harder, Jim...please." And control was over from that point on. He pounded into her, losing himself in her the way he always wanted. And it wasn't long before he brought them both over the edge again, him spilling into her with one last thrust. He quickly rolled off of her, resting beside her as they both came down from their high.

The night was far from over. They alternated between making sweet, intimate love and outright fucking so hard they thought the bed would break. When they were finally spent, they nearly fell asleep immediately. Nearly.

As Pam settled her head on Jim's chest and seemingly slipped into slumber, he whispered "I'm in love with you." He cursed himself for not being able to say it aloud...when she could hear.

The thing was she did.

The next morning, Jim woke up and found his friends had left...in a hurry. The cards were left discarded on the table along with beers and plates that still had food on them. A note was attached to the coffee table: Stretch, we want details. Have fun. Peace out.

He rolled his eyes and quickly cleaned up his living room. Pam was still asleep, apparently he had really worn out her the night before. He smiled to himself. He'd had sex with Pam. He rolled his eyes, realizing his thought process was on the same level as Michael Scott's.

He couldn't help it though. He had had the woman of his dreams, the love of his life in his bed, moaning his name. He decided he was going to cook her breakfast, remembering that she liked her eggs scrambled soft with Swiss. She also liked raisin toast with honey. He thought he could manage that.

He started grabbing everything out of the fridge and pantry that he thought he would need. He was almost tempted to call Larissa and ask about how "soft scramble", but didn't want to interrupt her morning with her husband. He could figure it out, he hoped.

He was already thinking about how he would bring it up to her in bed, when the front door opened and in walked Mark.

Jim was pretty sure he could hear tires screeching to a halt inside his brain. "Dude, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Lisa?"

"Yeah, slight pit stop," Mark said apparently not noticing Jim's clipped tone or how he kept glancing up at the staircase. "I forgot my cell. I'm just here to grab it."

"Oh, cool, I'll help you find it," Jim said thinking the sooner he got Mark out of there the better. "Um, where did you last have it?"

"I don't know. I thought it was in my pocket. But maybe I left it near the coffee table. You check down here, I'll check upstairs."

"NO!" Jim said way more forcefully than he intended. Mark gave him a pointed (and slightly taken aback look). "Uh, I mean, I'll check upstairs. And you can look down here."

"Dude, I might've left it in my underwear drawer. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't exactly want you sniffing around my boxers."

Jim couldn't argue with that logic, and for once his retort-filled head failed him. He couldn't' think of a single response that wouldn't make him sound crazy or irrational or both. "I know it's just um..." he began and that was when Mark took a closer look at the kitchen.

"Halpert, are you cooking?" he asked, incredulity and inquiry rising in his voice.

Naturally enough, that was the very moment Pam chose to walk down the stairs-in nothing but Jim's oversized Eagles t-shirt. "Hey Jim, do you have an extra toothb-," her words came to a halt when she noticed Mark was there. She stopped dead in her tracks. For a moment no one said anything.

"Um, hey, Mark," Pam offered weakly.

Mark glanced at Pam and then back to Jim who was avoiding his eyes like he was Medusa. "Hey, Pam," he finally said doing everything in his power to keep the knowing grin off his face.

Jim cleared his throat. "Pam, there might be an extra one in the linen closet. Their eyes met and she bounded back up the stairs with a velocity he wouldn't have believe she possessed.

Mark turned his eyes on his friend.

"Shut up," Jim told him before he could get a word out.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have too, that face says it all."

"No, that look on your face says it all. And on hers. It says ‘somebody fucked last night'. I don't believe it."

"Would you shut up. She can hear you probably."

"You're making her breakfast?" Mark asked taking more note of the things in the kitchen. "She's got you this whipped after one night? Damn."

Jim shook his head at his friend. "Would you get out of here?"

Mark smiled expressively. "Sure thing, Stretch. Or was it Energizer?"

Jim practically pushed Mark out the door at that point. "Just let me know when it's safe to come back and I want details."

"You and the rest of them," Jim said before he shut the door.

He shook his head and laughed and turned his attention back to breakfast.

He had just cracked three eggs into a bowl when Pam emerged again, still wearing nothing but his shirt, her hair was curlier than its usual, sweated out a little, he guessed. Her lips were swollen, and he could see a small hickey on her neck. She had never looked sexier in his opinion, she had never looked more perfect.

"Um, I should go, maybe," she began. His face and his heart started to sink.

"Pam, no, Mark's gone. He won't be back."

"It's not that," she said, thinking of trying to be a reasonable adult human being. "I mean this...this...we were drunk and..."

"We were not drunk," Jim cut her off, stalking towards and grabbing her arms. "We were not drunk. We knew what we were doing."

She didn't answer him. She wouldn't even meet his eyes. "Pam, look at me. Look at me." He lifted her chin. "I love you. I am in love with you. I have been since the day we met. And you can't tell me, not after last night, that you don't feel it too."

"I..I...I just got out of a long relationship and I don't know if I should do this...and you're...you're my best friend and-,"

"Pam, no. Don't do this. Don't try to deny what happened or diminish it. You said it last night, you came out a fog. And look what happened. We were in that bed together. You know it, I know it." He gently cupped her cheek. Tears filled her eyes. "I love you," he repeated, hoping to get through to her.

"I don't know if I can do this. I...can't...I don't know. Jim...are you even listening to me?"

"I hear you, but I can't concentrate because I want you in my bed. I said if I ever got this close, I wouldn't let you go. And I won't. Pam, I love you. I know it's not good timing. I know that, I just...you have to know that I love you."

"Jim, what do you want from me?" she asked, trying to find a way to break their gaze, and yet, somehow, she could not.

"You. I want you. I want you to be mine. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you in my bed every night. I want to make you breakfast. I want to watch you sketch kids flying kites in the parks and prank Dwight everyday with you. I want to throw you on top of this countertop and make love to you. I want you to be my Valentine. So don't walk away and don't pretend that we can write this off. Just come upstairs and get in my bed."

She paused for a long moment. It was like she was standing in the middle of a forked road. Her past was behind her. Her future, like everyone's, was unclear. She didn't know what would happen today or tomorrow or even in the next few hours. She didn't know what, but it struck her suddenly, she knew who.

He was right. She had come out of a fog. And she saw clearly for the first time in a long time. And when all was said and done, there was nothing to do but kiss him and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.

So that was exactly what she did.

Next thing she knew, he had hoisted her up in his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist, and carried her off to the aforementioned and already broken-in bed.

Hours later, when they finally came up for air and Pam was resting peacefully across Jim's bare chest, running her fingers through the coarse hair, she sighed in true contentment, something she hadn't known for a long time. "I love you, too," she whispered before planting a kiss on his chest.

The smile that broke out on his face was absolutely irrepressible. His heart soared. Not wanting to reveal just how emotionally affected he was, he thought for a second and then figured out what to say. "So does this mean you're my Valentine?"

Pam sighed. "I guess it does."

"Oh, well in that case, we gotta do this right. I gotta get up, get you flowers and chocolate and take you dancing. Right here, right now. We gotta get this together, Beesly. We cannot have our first Valentine's so flagrantly disregard tradition. It will not stand."

Pam's laughter flowed right out of her heart and soul and suddenly she knew why clarity was such a treasured thing.

Finis.