Everyone filed out of the conference room after another of Michael's crazy meetings and Jim was finally able to get back to work. When the Connecticut crew showed up in Scranton, space was scarce and with Ryan at Jim's old desk, he was relegated to the conference room with Andy. From there, he couldn't see Pam, but at least he could hear her voice. He loved hearing Pam's "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam." It reminded him that things were ok, that there were still parts of his relationship with Pam that were familiar without being awkward.

Of course, there were also a few times when he heard Roy's voice asking Pam if she wanted fish or chicken. Jim asked her about it later – apparently, they still had random plates left in the freezer from the canceled wedding. Roy also would come in at times with some random small talk at Pam's desk, but it sounded much icier than any of their conversations Jim overheard before he left for Stamford. He loved hearing Roy squirm and stutter, but he could always tell that Roy's presence made Pam uncomfortable.

With the whole company struggling, Jim immediately had new clients thrown on him and he was making sales all over the place, including a new rubber stamp and stationary place. Stamps and Things, or something. How could he not be happy about being given a new client that needed lots of expensive specialty paper? He packed his bag up and walked out to the coat rack by the reception desk to grab his stuff. "Ok, Beesly, I know you're more of a watercolor person than a rubber stamping whatever, but do you want me to pick something up for you while I'm out?"

Pam gave him a mischievous grin. He missed those so much. "Um...well, I was thinking with this merger, Michael has been a little down, so maybe a stamp that says 'Good job' or 'Terrific' that I can use on the monthly expense reports."

Jim tried hard not to laugh too loud thinking about what the guys in corporate would think if they saw that. I really miss this, Jim thought, but the words that came out of his mouth were "Not a bad idea."

Just then, he heard the door open behind him and his name come out of Roy's mouth. "Hey. Halpert." The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked at Pam, who had quickly replaced her smile with a nondescript look. "Good to see you back," Roy said, holding his hand out for Jim to shake.

"Good to see you, too," Jim replied as he felt his jaw tense up involuntarily. Roy started asking the normal small-talk questions – how has the move been? Are you glad to be back? Jim replied with small-talk answers, occasionally glancing back at Pam, who was staring at her computer screen.

Then Roy pulled out the Pam's-best-friend schlock. "Jim, you’re Pam's friend. Tell her she needs to come home."

Jim winced at Roy's proposal and tried to deflect it quickly, if only to make it less uncomfortable for Pam. "But she does go home every night. You know she has a new apartment, don't you?" Jim said while not trying hide to the sarcasm in his voice.

"No, no," Roy said quickly. Then his voice got quieter and he looked a little more serious. "Tell her she needs to come back to our home where she belongs."

Jim looked down at Pam, who was staring at her keyboard. This was awkward for both of them, but Jim could see exactly what Roy was doing. He had done the same thing to Jim the day Pam gave up on her art internship. Jim had realized what Roy's small talk about his supposed crush on Pam was really about: reminding Jim who Pam went home with every night. Things were different now.

Pam looked up and stared back at Jim. Her face looked a little drained of color, her eyes pleading for some kind of help with this situation Roy had put her in. Without looking away, with his eyes still locked on hers, Jim said "You know, I think Pam can make her own decisions."

A smile spread across Pam's face as Jim did that little nervous drumming with his hands on her desk. "So I'm headed to the stamp place. I have my cell if you need me," he stated nonchalantly. He gave a quick glance of acknowledgment to Roy, who seemed a bit shocked at the way the conversation was ending, and walked out the door.

Before it closed behind him, Jim heard Roy say, "Wow, Stamford made him arrogant," followed by Pam's reply.

"I actually like the new Jim."

Jim smiled and took the stairs down, two at a time.

*******

Jim was starving by the time he got back and without Pam at her desk, he felt no need to slow down. He threw his bag and coat on his chair and headed to the break room with a tuna sandwich and a copy of the paper in tow.

Pam walked in a few minutes later. "Oh, you're back!" she said, a little startled to see him sitting there.

"Yep, I've been here a whole week, so thanks for noticing," he said in return with a grin on his face.

Pam rolled her eyes. "You must have come back while I was in with Michael. I had to listen to another phone message from Jan, and help him dissect it. I feel sorry for him sometimes, and then there are times like just now when I don't."

She gave Jim a look of exasperation and turned around to start feeding quarters in the Coke machine. Jim looked at the small of her back and remembered how it had felt to have his hand on that curve in the middle, how his palm had just fit right there as he kissed her that night. They hadn't talked about it, hadn't even alluded to it since he had come back. In fact, he hadn't told anyone about it, and based on the fact that Roy didn't punch him today, he suspected Pam hadn't told anyone either. It was like that one secret that just belonged to them, and even they couldn't speak it.

The vending machine spit out Pam's Coke, and the clunk it made snapped Jim out of his thought process. Pam turned around and leaned up against the machine, fiddling with the pop top to avoid Jim's eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you for saying what you did today. You know, to Roy. Most days I'm ok, but there are others when he comes up here, and it's just too much work for me to handle."

"No problem." Jim hoped his answer sounded nonchalant, but as he watched her walk out, he started to feel this nervousness in his stomach, wondering again where she stood with Roy and where she stood with him.

Pam turned around in the doorway and looked back at Jim. "You know, I know you didn't expect to be in Scranton again after leaving, but I...I just...I wanted you to know that I'm glad you're back."

Jim couldn't hide his emotions this time. He gave her that sincere smile that always made her melt a little, and said, "Me, too." She smiled back and turned to go.

"Oh Pam!" Jim called out to her. Pam's head spun around to see Jim with his hand in his pocket. "I have something for you."

Her face lit up and she went bounding over to Jim, who was holding on to some little gift in his fist. "Hold out your hand," he said, and she dutifully complied. He put a red stamp pad in it with a new official-looking rubber stamp. Pam read the label: CONFIDENTIAL.

"Ms. Beesly, I'm sure you can make a few office memos to casually lay around the office, like maybe on Dwight's desk, that will need this." He was trying so hard not to burst out laughing thinking about the mischief Pam was about to cause.

She was trying to suppress her giggles, too, and then looked him in the eye. In a voice barely above a whisper, she said, "Did I tell you I'm glad you're back?"