Jim swivelled his chair around to look at the reception desk. There sat Maiya, the new receptionist. She offered him a warm smile, which he reluctantly returned. Maiya was a nice girl, pretty young though. She reminded him a little of Karen; she was not only mixed race, but she also wore a lot of pantsuits and thicker makeup than Pam. But she, unlike Karen, had curls. They were darker than Pam's curls, but still curls.

Pam.

It had been over a few months now. 

Jim and Karen had drifted apart over the past few months, ever since Pam had exited, and they both knew why. But neither of them said anything. They didn't need to. However, they were still together, as far as Jim was concerned.

Maiya was nice, a good receptionist, but everytime she picked up the ringing phone and said "Dunder Mifflin, this is Maiya" he had war flashbacks to a certain cardigan-clad artist. His heart ached just thinking about her.

He thought back to that one night when he had sent her the messages proclaiming his love for her. She hadn't responded to that, and they hadn't texted each other since. Maybe it was for the best.

Every so often, Roy would come up to the office, or Michael would take the workers down to the warehouse for one reason or another, and Jim always made accidental eye contact with him, without fail. It was awkward.

Despite being very different, Roy and Jim both had something in common; they both loved Pam Beesly. Though Jim loved Pam more, he could argue.

Jim had been very surprised when he had read that she was in a bar, of all places, and especially in California too. 'She really is evolving,' he thought to himself. 'I will admit that I'm proud.'

And he was. Just because he didn't want them to be apart didn't mean that he wasn't proud of her for going out and doing this. Jim always got excited when Pam showed courage. He wanted her to be more confident. He wondered if she would be shy and timid in the bedroom too, or if she would be a different kind of girl. Well. Only Roy could answer that one.

He wondered if she still thought about him. He relaxed in his chair, looking over at Ryan. Little bastard had taken his seat. But like he himself had said, Jim was a nice guy, and he wasn't going to argue with him over a damn seat. That would be childish, and Jim was now the assistant regional manager. Sorry, Dwight. 

Ever since the big promotion, Jim had tried to act more professional. He had covered up his forearms, and he barely pranked Dwight anymore. The office was pretty disappointed. All of them (apart from Dwight, of course) had been pretty excited at the news of Jim's return, since that meant more pranks and more fun in the office. Since Jim had left, the air in the office had been clouded in upset, particularly in the area of the receptionist's desk. They had been really despondent when it turned out that Jim had changed his tune entirely.

Jim missed that whole pranking lifestyle. Part of him wanted to go back to it. He rubbed his eyes, stretching his long legs out in the chair. Karen glanced over at him momentarily before she looked back at her computer, still wanting to blank him.

He yawned. It had been ages since he had slept well. He remembered Pam's cute little advice about 'a full 8 hours'. He now realised just how correct she had been. It had been really cute when she had called after him. "Don't fall asleep at your desk!" She had said. God, she was adorable.

Without thinking, Jim got to his feet and headed in the direction of the annex. Kelly peered over at him, her face lighting up when she saw him. "Oh my Gosh! Jim!" She hopped up from her chair and collided with him. He chuckled, awkwardly patting her. "Hey there, Kelly. How are you?"

"I'm great! Has Ryan been talking to you about me?" She asked quickly, letting go of him. Jim paused, pretending to rack his brains, before he said "not really, sorry."

"Oh, right." She looked upset, but not surprised. "He's just playing hard to get." She insists. "Anyway, did you want something?"

"I, um, I actually came over here to talk to Toby." At the mention of his name, Toby turned to look at him. "Hello Jim."

Kelly nodded. "Oh okay." She sat down again. Jim went over to Toby, his hands wedged in his pockets. "Hey Toby. Uh, listen...I was just wondering...I know that Pam isn't part of the company anymore...but I was just wondering...would it be possible for you to tell me her new address if you have it?"

Toby flinched at the mention of her name. "I don't think that would be possible, Jim...even if the company did know, then we wouldn't be able to disclose that kind of information to you without a reason or permission from the person in question, which...none of us have permission from Pam. She hasn't spoken to me since her departure."

Jim froze momentarily, before he nodded. He suspected as much, but it was always worth a shot. He reviewed his options in his head, then smiled weakly at Toby. "Alright. Thanks man." He swept away back to his desk quickly before Toby could accept his thanks and considered his options again.

***

Pam was lying on her Queen sized bed, her eyes shut. After her sexual encounter with Lorenzo, they had gone out for breakfast and she had given him her number. She had promised to call him. It had been 3 weeks. She had not called him since the meal. 

She was wearing nothing but a sky-blue tank top and fluorescent pink shorts. She was sweaty and out of breath. She had gone for a run around the block, and was boiling as well as exhausted. She panted for a while, feeling much like a dog. Her eyes were screwed shut.

She thought about Jim. Jim arm gently brushing against hers. Jim running his hand through her hair. Jim's lips against her. Jim cradling her body. Jim's hand slowly moving down...

Much like her fantasy, Pam found her hand slowly snaking down her body and gradually dipping into her shorts...

A knock on the door forced Pam to rip her hand away from her nether regions and sit up, looking surprised. Who was that?

She began to panic. Her parents knew her new address, but they had not informed her that they were coming over. It could be Lorenzo but why so suddenly? Wouldn't he have also given her some notice before coming over?

Pam liked this neighbourhood, and she had made some new friends, sure. But it was dangerous late at night. Scary. Unpredictable. 

She stood up, the floorboards beneath her feet creaking far too loudly for her liking. Pam grabbed the baseball bat beside her art easel and crept to the door, breathing heavily. She looked inside the peep hole-

And dropped the bat straight to the floor as it clattered loudly. She slowly opened the door. There, stood before her, was Jim Halpert. Pam stared at him for a good few seconds, before falling backwards as the world around her went dark.

***

"Pam! Pam! Pam!" 

She groaned loudly as she regained consciousness, her eyes slowly opening despite her vision being incredibly bleary. She saw Jim in her sight and almost fainted again. "Jim...stop saying my name..." she muttered, rubbing her eyes weakly. "Oh thank God you're okay," she feels him taking her into his arms. 

"What are you doing here?" She whispers, staring up at him. Pam wondered if she had actually passed out after going on such a lengthy run and the Jim that she saw before her was a hallucination or a figment of her imagination. "I was just...coming to see if you were okay."

"It's none of your business," Pam insists, but she's feeling far too weak to move out of his arms. "But...I suppose I appreciate it. Thank you for coming...I think. How did you even find my place?" She asks softly.

"I had to do a hell of a lot of asking around, I'm willing to admit. I asked Toby first but he said he couldn't tell me anything even if he did know your address. Then I met up with your sister, who I asked next, and she slapped me across the face when I asked. Said something about me breaking your heart. I got nothing out of her. Then I asked your Mom, who also slapped me across the face. It seems to be a thing that runs in the Beesly family on the female side, slapping me."

She pushes out a feeble laugh.

"She also didn't tell me anything. Lastly I asked your dad, who was a lot more civill. He finally gave me your address, after I did a lot of toadying." Jim admits.

There's a silence as they look at each other, Pam still lying in Jim's arms weakly. "...you're here." She whispers.

He smiled softly. "Yeah...yeah, I'm here." He tenses, his eyes wandering a little. "...Pam, I-"

"-No, don't say anything, Jim." Pam shifts out of his arms and she stands up, attempting to regain her strength. "I know what you're about to say, and I don't want to hear it. You don't get to say any of that shit to me anymore! You're with Karen! You have made my life a living hell! You don't get to tell me you love me anymore!" She screamed.

His eyes widened.

"...I was just going to say that I think you should put a bra on, I can, uh, see a little too much."

"What?!" She looked down and remembered that she had taken her bra off after the run for comfort. She could see her own nipples through the light blue material. "Shit," she muttered and scowled at him. "Don't start looking, Halpert."

"As if I would," he says, only half-joking. He doesn't tear his eyes away from her face, though he really wants to look...elsewhere. "Uhm, but, other than that... I think we should talk."

Pam sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "I think you're right. Hmm. If we're gonna do that, though, I should get you a drink. Tea or coffee?"

He grins. "Grape soda."

She attempts to hide her smile, but fails. "Yes, sir." On her way past him into the kitchen, her hand gently brushes against his groin. He jumps, but she only offers him an innocent smile. He wonders if that was a mistake or on purpose. He doesn't mind either way; all he knows is that there is something he would rather do than just talk to Pam Beesly.