When he woke the next morning, Jim kept his eyes shut tight, and tried his best not to shift or change his breathing. Because somehow, Pam was still there, tucked into his shoulder, her hair tickling his chin and her legs entwined with his. He needed to pee, kinda wanted to sneeze from her hair also tickling his nose, and his arm was falling asleep. Yet somehow he'd never felt more relaxed and peaceful. 

But as he lay there and listened to her slow, even breathing, he felt a mild sense of panic begin to leak into the edges of his thoughts. 

Oh god, what if she woke up and it was weird? What if she got upset, and wanted to leave? She'd said last night that their friendship wasn't ruined but what if, by the light of day, she regretted coming home with him? Pam definitely wasn't the type to jump headfirst into anything, so what if---

She stirred, her breathing changing. Jim shifted and looked down into her face, trying to keep his expression somewhat neutral. Pam blinked a few times, then opened her eyes and looked him full in the face -- and smiled. Jim's heart rate slowed, a matching smile creeping across his lips. 

"Hi." 

"Mmm," she returned as she stretched her arms out across him. "Hi back." 

Pam moved as if to get up and then stopped, her arm holding the sheet tight to her chest. 

"Umm. Where's the bathroom, again?"

Jim chuckled and shoved the sheet off of himself, quickly donning boxers and pretending not to notice Pam's blush. He grabbed his robe from the chair next to the closet and held it out to her. 

"Second door on the right when you go out towards the living room. Don't worry, Mark is actually out of town until like, Wednesday. So we've got the run of the place today."

Pam got up and quickly shrugged on the robe. She was squinting a little and Jim remembered that she wore contacts, and was probably feeling the effects of having slept in them. 

"There's actually contact solution in the medicine cabinet, if you need it. Just pay no attention to the Ex-Lax, that is definitely for a prank on Dwight and not for personal use." 

Pam giggled a little as she slipped out the door, and Jim felt a small rush of relief, again. She was acting pretty normal. Good signs. He hurried into some jeans and a plain black t-shirt and went out to get some coffee going. He wasn't sure if she was going to be sticking around all day -- he hoped so-- but he could at least make her coffee. 

He was just setting out two mugs when Pam came into the kitchen, still wearing just his robe, her arms wrapped tight to her body but looking alert. 

Jim turned, smiling but searching her face to try and get a sense of her mood. She looked pretty calm, and she wasn't avoiding his gaze at all. 

"Coffee? I don't have hazelnut creamer, unfortunately, but we do have just regular vanilla, and then this weird coconut-y one..."

Pam smiled. "Vanilla is good, thanks." She joined him at the counter, stopping just shy of arms length from his side. Jim handed her a cup, their fingers brushing gently. They stood in companionable silence for a moment, both leaning against the counter and sipping slowly. 

Jim cleared his throat quietly before speaking. "Did you want to grab a shower or anything?" 

Pam choked a little on her sip of coffee. Jim's eyes widened as he realized she thought he had meant a shower together.  

"I'm gonna just, uh, clean up in here a little," he hurried to say. "So, yeah. Towels are in the cupboard next to the tub and...do you want some clean clothes, like some sweats or whatever?" he finished lamely. 

Pam visibly relaxed. "Yeah, that would be really nice, actually. Sorry, I... yes. Please."

Jim set his coffee cup down, studying her face carefully. "Hey. All good?" 

Pam nodded, looking down at her feet for a moment. "Definitely. I just... I really, really don't usually do stuff like this. I don't know how I'm supposed to... it's just a little weird, right?" She looked up at him, eyes worried. 

Jim reached out and captured a stray curl near her cheek, moving a little closer. "Maybe. But what I do know is... I am really glad you're here." He looked intently into her eyes, trying to convey the depth of his words. She smiled, the worried creases around her eyes fading as she did. 

"I'm glad too," she almost whispered. Jim tucked the curl he held behind her ear, his thumb tracing her cheek as he did. He leaned in and kissed her gently, slowly, intentionally. Her breathing hitched and she curled her fingers around the wrist of the hand he still held to her face. Jim drew back after a moment, gently taking her coffee cup from her other hand. Pam grinned. 

"Jim Halpert. You should know better than to take my caffeine from me." 

Jim laughed, setting her cup down next to his own. "Is that a threat, Beesly?"

Pam continued to grin, her eyes bright and playful. She stepped forward, closing the space between them and throwing both her arms up around his neck. "Maybe." 

Jim wrapped his arms around her waist in return, pulling her in close. "Well," he smirked, "I think I can probably handle whatever you're plotting." 

Pam hummed in dissent. "Don't be so sure, Halpert. Clearly, I'm no longer predictable." 

Her eyes darkened a little, the smile slipping. "Oh God. Roy... I have to find a place to live, and tell my parents, and get all my stuff...."

Jim tightened his grip on her waist. "Hey. You'll be fine, okay? And I'll help you find a place, or whatever you need me to do." 

She nodded mutely, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I think I'm gonna go take that shower." 

Jim released his hold on her. "Totally. Do you want your clothes, or just some sweats? I think your skirt is uh, still in the living room..."

Pam blushed at the reminder. "Sweats would be nice, for now. I'll have to make some phone calls in a bit, try and figure out where I'm staying until I can find a place." 

He nodded understandingly. His instinct was to offer up his own place, but he didn't think Mark would appreciate the intrusion, at least not without warning. Besides, he wasn't sure how comfortable Pam would be with it -- it'd be too much like moving in together, and they weren't even together yet... just figuring things out. He shook off the thought and gestured for her to go ahead to the bathroom. 

Pam disappeared into the bathroom and Jim returned to his bedroom to grab her some clothes, picking out his smallest possible sweats and a t-shirt. Hesitating, he also retrieved her underthings from the floor, tucking them into the folds of the shirt. Approaching the bathroom door, he knocked softly. Pam opened the door a crack and Jim quickly averted his eyes from her bare shoulder, holding out the pile of clothing wordlessly.

Pam smiled and reached her arm around the door to accept it, still holding herself just out of sight. "Thanks," she said shyly. "I'll be out pretty soon." Jim nodded, not trusting his voice. Pam gave him a little smirk and closed the door again, and the shower started a moment later.

Jim realized he was still frozen in the hall, staring mutely at the bathroom door. He shook his head a little, turning and retreating to the kitchen, feeling dazed. Twenty-four hours ago, he wouldn't even have dared to imagine this scenario, but now she was here, with him. Twenty-four hours ago, he reminded himself, she was still engaged to Roy. Take it easy, tiger. She's gonna need time to figure out how she feels about all of this. He just hoped she wouldn't run for the hills. 

****

A little while later, Pam emerged from the bathroom.  She'd formed a vague plan while she was showering, friends she could stay with and times when she could get her things from her-- from Roy's place. In the meantime, though...Jim. Pam could hardly believe where she was. She was in Jim's house, wearing Jim's clothes, after spending all night... she blushed at the thought. What had gotten into her? She couldn't blame it on the alcohol, even with what a lightweight she was. No, she was definitely sober enough to make the decisions she had, and when she thought about how Jim had made her feel last night... Pam shivered to herself a little. Definitely worth it. Roy had never made her feel that way, even on his best nights. 

She stepped into the living room, and Jim looked up from his spot on the couch, smiling. 

"Hey! Feel better?" 

Pam smiled back shyly. "Yeah, thank you. Is my purse in here? I need my phone..."

Jim hopped up from the couch and gestured to a chair on the other side of the room. 

"I put all your stuff over there actually, your skirt and uh, top and shoes and whatnot." 

Pam's cheeks felt hot and she crossed to the chair, avoiding Jim's eyes. Don't be dumb, she thought to herself. The man has seen you naked, you don't need to be embarrassed about him folding your clothes...

She retrieved her cell phone from her purse and opened her text messages. There was one from Angela, asking where she'd disappeared to, one from her mom asking if everything was okay because Roy had called looking for her, and --her eyes widened-- eight texts from Roy.

She quickly scanned them. 

"pammy im sorry"

"please come home now this isnt funny"

"where are u" 

"someone said they saw you leave with halpert. i swear to god pam"

"answer me are u with him"

And the rest were just her name and variations on how sorry he was. 

Pam sank into the chair, holding her phone limply in her lap. Jim hadn't sat down again, and he crossed the room now, looking worried.

"Everything okay?"

Pam held up her phone in answer, the screen open to the text with Jim's name. His eyes scanned the screen quickly, then snapped back to her face. 

"Shit."

Pam nodded. She felt ready to cry. She had known they couldn't stay in a bubble forever, but this was falling apart faster than she expected. Way faster. 

Jim scratched the back of his head, looking conflicted. 

"What do you need? Do you need me to take you home?" 

Pam shook her head automatically. "No--no, I can't...I can't deal with Roy head-on right now. I can't...especially if he sees you dropping me off or whatever. I'm--I'm kinda scared of how he'd react if he knew that we'd...you know. Been together." 

Her hands shook slightly as she brushed her hair back from her face, and Jim crouched in front of her, taking her hands in his. 

"Pam, did he-- he didn't ever hurt you, did he?" His voice was tight and quiet, his gaze serious. 

"No. He never did. But there were times...when I kind of think he wanted to? Or could have." Pam's eyes welled up with tears and her voice shook as she stared into her lap.

Jim made a quiet, angry sort of noise. "Okay. Come on. Come sit on the couch." He pulled her up gently and sat them both down on the couch, tucking her into his side and kissing the top of her head. She sniffled quietly into his shoulder for a moment. 

"I just.. this is all really insane. I didn't mean to drag you into anything. And I don't know who saw us leave, and who else they told... what if everyone in the office knows already? God, Angela is going to give me the dirtiest looks on Monday!" 

She looked up into his face, feeling slightly hysterical. Jim gripped her hand tightly, thinking. 

"Well, I guess we've got a couple choices. For today, anyway. We can run around trying to put out fires that may or may not exist yet, or -- we can eat some late breakfast and watch tv," he ended with a slight grin. 

Pam rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. "Well, that depends."

"On what?" 

"On what's for breakfast."

***