“Jiiiim! Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Pam called out in a sing-song voice as she darted between trees. The snow under her boots crunched with each step. She kept looking around as white vapor escaped her mouth into the frigid air. Her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen though. The smack of a snowball hitting the truck of the tree she was standing next to did cause her to jump.

“Ah!” She ducked down and ran towards a thicker tree. “You missed me!” she yelled into the woods when she arrived at the new tree.

A voice greeted her from the underbrush. “Who said I was aiming for you Beesly?”

Pam couldn’t get a lock on his voice, despite her turning her head in circles trying to find him. “I think you’re just saying that,” she challenged. “All those years playing basketball and that’s what you have to show for it? Tisk tisk. Maybe you should have gone out for baseball instead!”

In response another snowball whizzed in and exploded at the top collar of the back of her coat. Her squawk of surprise echoed through the trees. Fortunately, Pam’s hair kept most of the snow from falling down to her shirt though. In an instant Pam turned around and launched the snowball she had in the direction of the one that had hit her. She knelt down to pack together more snow so she wouldn’t be let defenseless if she did catch sight of her quarry.

What had started as a simple afternoon walk through a winter wonderland had tuned into a game of cat and mouse between the two of them. Not that Pam would ever admit that she was the one who started the whole thing when she dumped a handful of snow down the back of Jim’s coat and then darted off into the wooded section of the park near her apartment. Nor would she ever admit that Jim had landed quite a few snowballs on her coat and jeans and she had yet to score a hit against him.

Without warning, yet another snowball found its mark. This one wasn’t aimed for her coat or legs. Instead it struck her right forearm causing her to drop the snowball she was holding.

“Hey! No fair- oof!”

Her protest was cut short as Jim leapt from behind a bush in a flying tackle.  They fell into the calf-high snow in a tangle of arms, legs, and laughter. Jim did twist around as they fell so she landed on top of him. Before she could gather her wits about her, Jim rolled them over so he was laying on top of her. Leaning forward her pressed a kiss to her cheeks that were rosy from the cold and a few snowflakes that had melted on them during their collapse.

“Jim!” she squealed. “Your face is freezing!”

“Good thing your face is so warm then,” he replied and buried his nose as far deep into her neck as he could.

“Gah! No! Get off!” Pam levered up and pushed him off her to the side. She picked up another handful of snow and rolled to her side to face him. “Watch yourself there buddy-boy, or the next handful goes down the front of your shirt rather than the back.”

Jim rolled to his side to face her with a gleam in his eye. “Bring it on Beesly.”

With a flick of his hand, he lightly tapped her glove causing her to lose her grip on the snow. This in turn led to the snow she’d been holding to fall on the side of her face, which caused her to let out another squeal. Jim thought this was absolutely hilarious and rolled back to his back holding his sides with laughter. Pam quickly grabbed another handful of snow and made good on her threat to shove it down the front of his coat and the shirt he was wearing under it. To prevent any form of reprisal she rolled over and straddled Jim across his waist and pinned his arms into the snow. She then leaned forward to kiss him, further preventing any escape he might have tried to plot.

Despite the chill of the air and the coolness of his lips under hers, Pam felt warmth glowing within her. As she deepened the kiss, she realized it had been years since she’d enjoyed simple childlike fun like this while out on a snowy day. Before any other thoughts of comparison could worm their way into her mind, she pushed them away. No point in thinking about the darkness of the past, when the present was so filled with light and joy. Eventually she broke the kiss and leaned up. Jim’s radiant smile matched her own.

“Mmmm, Beesly,” Jim reached up and brushed his knuckles across her cheek.

"Mmmm, Halpert” she purred back and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest.

Jim’s arms, now free, wrapped around her. The pile of snow that had been dislodged when they crashed to the ground muted some of the sounds of the woods. A whisper of wind and the call of a cardinal were all that they heard as they lay wrapped in each other's embrace.

After a few minutes, they did get up and called a truce. Jim insisted on brushing the snow from her coat and jeans, taking special care to clear off any snowflakes from her rear end. That earned him a smack on his own butt, before they linked hands to head back to Pam’s apartment. It was only a ten-minute walk before she was opening the door.

“I need to get out of these jeans,” she announced after they’d stripped off their coats, hats, and boots.

“No problem,” Jim said as he started towards her kitchen. “I’ll heat up some milk for hot chocolate.”

Pam leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You’re the best.”

It didn’t take her long to change out of her snow-soaked clothes and into some fuzzy fleece pants, thick socks, and a sweatshirt she’d ‘liberated’ from Jim’s closet. He was on the phone ordering a pizza when she emerged from the bedroom. Two steaming mugs of hot chocolate were waiting for her on her coffee table. Propped between the two mugs was a white envelope.

On the Fourth day of Christmas my office gave to me

Grinning, Pam sat down on the sofa and tucked her legs under her before reaching for the envelope. Pulling the card out she saw four pictures quartering the card. The top right and bottom left pictures were of her on the phone behind the reception desk. The top left and bottom right were of Jim, also with his desk phone tucked into his shoulder. The position of the pictures made it look like the Jim and Pam in the photos were looking and smiling at each other. Pam felt her grin grow wide as she turned the card over.

Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic Doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“Pizza will be here in about twenty minutes,” Jim proclaimed as he sat down next to her.

Pam threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She broke the kiss and leaned back with her eyes shining.  “How much footage did the Doc crew give you access too?”

Jim’s eyes glinted with the light of mischief she loved so much. “Enough,” he said simply.

“Well, it’s all great,” Pam picked up her hot chocolate mug and raised it in a toast. “To eight more days with enough pictures from the office.”

“Hear, hear!” Jim picked up his own mug and clinked it against hers.

They dissolved into laughter at her silly toast. After taking their first sip, Jim picked out a selection of DVD’s from her collection for her to choose from while they waited for the pizza to arrive. Pam tapped the case for Home Alone II. They spent the rest of the evening wrapped up in a blanket, enjoying pizza, and watching Kevin McAllister once again defeat the dim-witted duo of Harry and Marv.