Jim was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he was going to get Pam’s parents alone without arousing her suspicion when she called and solved the problem for him – he hoped anyway.

“Hello beautiful,” he answered his cell, seeing her number on the caller display.

“Wow, do you say that to all the girls that call you,” Pam shot back.

“Just the pretty ones,” Jim smirked as they fell into their usual banter.

“Well, I guess that’s alright,” Pam paused, “So the reason I’m calling is I just got off the phone with Penny.”

“Mhmm,” he hummed encouragingly, nodding along even though she couldn’t see him.

“She thought it’d be a cool idea if we all showed up early tomorrow to surprise my parents and make brunch for them this year, would you be up for that?”

“Yeah, sounds like a great idea, do we need to bring anything other than the gifts?”

“No, they should have everything, we’re just going to kick them out of the kitchen and take over,” Pam explained.

“Good, I call dibs on making the bacon,” Jim seized the opportunity, bacon was much less involved than all the other trappings of a continental breakfast, so that could give him the time alone with Pam’s parents that he needed.

“Ok, wow, I knew you weren’t a sous-chef or anything but really Jim,” she mocked him with a playful lilt in her tone.

“Well, I don’t know any of the landmines involved with your family traditions, what if I made scrambled eggs and that got me exiled? I can’t take that risk,” Jim feigned worry.

“Well, I can promise you there are no land mines, so long as you stay within the clearly marked path, but I’ll let this one go because I wouldn’t want to risk your exile either, I don’t like my odds by association” Pam joked back.

“Glad we’re on the same page, I am not opening myself to criticism in front of your family. I’ll stick to bacon,” Jim defended his choice.

Jim stayed on the phone with Pam a while longer until he started to hear her yawning with increasing frequency.

“Hey, I should let you go to bed, we’ve got an early morning tomorrow if we’re going to be early to your parent’s,” Jim said to bring their call to a close.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Pam sounded disappointed, “I’ll pick you up around seven,” she bounced back.

“Who said you were driving Beesly,” Jim asked with a smirk, “I don’t remember voting on this.”

“Executive order,” Pam yawned, “So suck it, Halpert.”

Jim chuckled, that caught him off-guard every time, “All right, I suppose I can ride shotgun just this once, see you then.”

“G’night, Jim,” Pam managed after letting out a huge yawn.

“I love you and have a good sleep.”

“Love you too,” Pam said drowsily, and Jim heard sheets rustling through the phone.

It was really endearing to him how Pam refused to be the one to hang up their phone calls, even before they had been officially together. Jim heard what he could only assume were blankets being shuffled around in the background and he imagined Pam burrowing under the covers. Jim listened as her breathing steadied and she fell asleep, after a minute or so of her steady breathing Jim was able to bring himself to hang up and go get ready for bed himself. It felt strangely intimate that she would fall asleep on the phone with him. Jim finally crawled into bed after brushing his teeth and changing and was grateful that at least he wasn’t going to be driving in the morning, because he had to be up in six hours.

The next morning found Pam loading up her car with presents and Nikita’s kennel, stuffed with supplies for a long day away from home. Pam was grateful she didn’t have to find anyone to take care of her dog, both sets of parents seemed to love Nikita. Pam’s sister Penny had been away for College and hadn’t met Nikita yet, so Pam was excited to bring the dog to her parent’s house so her sister could meet her.

Pam finished loading the car and drove down the block to pick up Jim, and after a quick hug and a mumbled ‘Morning’ from Jim they were on the road. Pam couldn’t help but notice that Jim seemed a little fidgety, which was odd considering that he hadn’t really been nervous when she invited him over for Thanksgiving, and he had already met her parents on a number of occasions and it was obvious that he had charmed them. Maybe he was nervous to meet Penny? Pam decided that must be it, sibling approval was very important after all. Not that Penny hadn’t already done that before they had even started dating, when they were still just best friends… but Pam decided she wasn’t going to worry too much about it, Jim was naturally charismatic anyway. Instead, she gave Jim a big smile as he turned back from leaning into the back seat to scratch between Nikita’s ears, and reached over to take his now free hand in hers and rest them on the center console.

After a couple hours of driving they arrived at her parent’s and unloaded the car, Nikita bolting from the back seat and excitedly trotting up the front steps to sit in front of the door. As they started walking towards the house carrying a bag each, Pam noticed Jim hesitate, and saw the anxiousness flash across his face before he could hide it from her.

“Hey,” Pam grabbed his elbow as he turned towards her on the path, “No need to be nervous, I love you, so they love you too,” she smiled encouragingly.

“Thanks,” Jim smiled convincingly, but Pam thought she could still see something bothering him, “I love you too, very much,” Jim added as he pulled her into a tight embrace, their winter paraphernalia making it a little awkward.

Pam decided not to press him, and instead turned to continue towards the door where Nikita was impatiently waiting, her tail having swept a half-crescent of snow clear from the porch like a giant living swiffer-sweeper. Pam chuckled at the mental image as they came to the door and met Jim’s inquisitive eyes when he cocked his head at her.

“I’ll tell you later,” Pam promised as she got her key out to let herself in, so as not to alert her parents and spoil the surprise.

That became a moot point as she pulled the door open to find her sister waiting in ambush. Penny immediately launching an all-out affectionate assault on Nikita as she unknowingly squeezed beside Pam and into the entryway. After many ‘Aww’-s and ‘Who’s a good girl?’ and a fair amount of belly scratching from Penny, the jig was up and her parents made their way in from the living room to see what all the ruckus was about. Penny finally let up on Nikita and stood, so Pam stepped forward to give her a big hug.

“Nice to know you missed me,” Pam teased as she let go, “You greet my dog way better than me.”

“What, you want belly-scratches and baby talk too,” Penny shot back, “Because that can be arranged!”

“On second thought, I love you, great to see you again,” Pam backpedalled, and Penny burst into giggles.

Pam moved on to greet her parents, and when Helene made a move towards the kitchen to start making brunch, Penny intercepted her and banned Helene from the kitchen. Pam worked on making some eggs of both varieties and threw some hash browns in the oven as well. Jim was frying some bacon on a griddle, while Penny made pancakes on the stovetop. Nikita sat in the doorway with her head cocked and tongue lolling out to the side, obviously very intrigued by all of the wonderful smells. At some point Pam noticed Jim had finished making the pound of bacon and had plated and covered it, but he seemed to have disappeared. Penny was busy filling her in on her studies between bouts of interrogating her about Jim however, so Pam couldn’t really investigate and it soon left her mind as she focussed on not giving any embarrassing details to her overly curious little sister, and not burning their brunch.

When it came time to set the table and serve brunch, Pam was pleased to see Jim make a reappearance, seeming much less fidgety than he had been on the ride over. Pam was glad that he was settling in nicely with her family, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself if they didn’t get along. That was a lie, Pam admitted to herself, she would probably do what she had done when she was with Roy – visit infrequently and endure an awkward, stifling atmosphere in the house. Pam was overjoyed to feel the laughter and happiness around her, Jim just fit right in.

After they finished eating and doing the dishes, they exchanged gifts. Pam and Jim gave as a couple, which tickled Pam so much, as with Roy although she had put both of their names on them, he never invested the time to come along and pick them out with her like Jim had.

The time to leave came much to quickly, and soon they were packing their gifts, bundling them into the trunk and luring Nikita into the back seat of her car with some cold bacon before they set off back towards Scranton to try and make it to Jim’s parent’s in time for Christmas dinner.

Jim was relieved that the most nerve-wracking part of the day was over. After asking Penny to keep Pam occupied and being met with a nudge and a wink when he made his escape to go talk to her parents, he had been instilled with a little bit more confidence that maybe he wasn’t crazy. However, actually asking her parents the question he felt he should had been one of the most daunting conversations in his life. Jim was glad that was all over with, and he tried to put it from his mind and simply enjoy how seamlessly Pam had inserted herself into his family’s dynamic. Even his brothers seemed to have warmed up to her and his niece Vanessa was smitten, they were hanging out in the corner colouring and doodling. Jim nearly choked on his drink when he heard Vanessa call her ‘Auntie Pam,’ and he had to keep the glass by his mouth to try and hide the huge smile that had grown there.

Jim had been worried that Pam wouldn’t want to come back here given the grilling his brothers had given her when she was over for Thanksgiving, but thankfully like always Pam was quick on her feet and gave as good as she got, which seemed to have earned their grudging respect. It also may have been due to his threat to never babysit for either of them (again, in Tom’s case, ever, in Pete’s case) if they somehow scared Pam off, but Jim didn’t put much stock in that, even if Vanessa did love ‘Uncle Jim.’

Nikita was draped across Larissa’s lap, who was sitting in the recliner next to the loveseat that Gerald and Betsy presided over the proceedings from. When they announced it was time to pass out the presents Jim couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth when Pam volunteered herself and Vanessa to be Santas, much to his niece’s delight. Of course, Vanessa ended up with the largest pile of presents, but such was the lot of the youngest in the family. Pam got a few of her own, and a couple were addressed to Jim and Pam as a pair.

Pam was having a great time at the Halpert gathering. After the presents had all been opened Vanessa had conscripted her and Jim to help with a Lego set that was for ages ten and up.

Pam couldn’t refuse when the little girl innocently asked, “You’re over ten, aren’t you Auntie Pam?”

At some point Nikita made her way over to sit across Jim’s lap and stole the show, Vanessa had seemingly forgotten that there was a dog sitting just across the room just waiting to be pet up until that point. The girl showered Nikita with pets and scratches behind the ears eagerly, and Nikita basked in the attention, rolling over to present her belly for rubs.

When Nikita fell asleep in Jim’s lap and Vanessa didn’t look too far behind her, the adults all agreed to call the evening to a close. Tom gingerly picked up his daughter and made his exit with his wife and bundles of presents. Pete and his wife were staying the night at the Halpert’s, as well as Larissa who had been staying there over her semester break, so they made no move to leave. Jim and Pam bid farewell, giving and receiving hugs all around, before coaxing a tired dog into the back seat of her car to make their way home across town.

Jim kissed Pam goodnight before he left her car and paused, suddenly remembering that she had promised to tell him what she was laughing about on her parent’s porch.

“Hey,” Jim said, ducking his head back down into the car as he held the passenger door open, “You never told me what cracked you up on your parent’s porch,” he accused.

“What,” Pam looked deep in thought before she brightened up, “Oh! I was laughing because Nikita was like a living Swiffer-sweeper with her tail, blowing all that snow clear behind her,” she giggled.

Jim laughed along with her, marvelling at how adorable some of the stuff she shared with him was. After bidding her a final good night, and parting with shared ‘I love you’-s, Jim finally shut the passenger side door and watched as she drove off down the block to her house. Jim turned to head inside after he saw her tail lights disappear and made his way in with his modest collection of gifts. When he got inside, he went up the stairs quietly to put them in his room, and then slipped out to quickly brush his teeth before he stripped and lay down in bed. Jim had hoped to fall asleep quickly after such a long and emotionally draining day, but his mind wouldn’t allow it. Seeing Pam with his family, and being welcomed in to hers just confirmed everything that he already knew, she was it for him. Admitting that to himself wasn’t even a challenge. He hadn’t told her in those words, but every day he tried to find a new way to show or say that he loved her.

Today Jim had taken the fir- second – Jim amended mentally, he had bought a ring previously after all – step to hopefully showing Pam once and for all just how much he loved her. Now all he had to do was ask, and while he was pretty sure she wouldn’t say no… was it still too soon? It had really only been just about half a year since she ended her relationship with Roy, and they had only been officially dating for a few months now. Jim didn’t want to wait though, he just wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but did she feel the same way?

Jim supposed he was just going to have to ask and find out. Needless to say that realization led to what felt like ages of second guessing, while at the same time looking for the perfect opportunity to lay it all out. In the following weeks Jim did his best to hide his nerves from Pam, and he was pretty confident he was doing a good job, because she hadn’t said anything. Jim just hoped he cold get it out before she noticed his daily struggle.