“Well, I don’t think I’ll be here in ten years, but…” — Jim Halpert

“That’s what I said. … That’s what she said.” — Michael Scott

Andy is still on his boat trip.  It’s Week 11.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

“Gotta clear out these file cabinets people, a lot of these are dead accounts.”

Dwight — who’s pretty much taken over for Andy at this point — sifts through the files until he finds a letter… from one Robert Dunder.

“‘A valuable artifact has come into my possession,’” Dwight reads, “‘I have hidden it until such time as a person of strong intellect may safely recover it.  This golden chalice is of immeasurable historical and religious significance.’”

Yes, Robert Dunder found the Holy Grail and hid it in the building.

Or so Dwight thinks.

Pam, tapping Jim on the shoulder, signals him to the kitchen because she’s just gotta know.

“Did you send Dwight on a quest for the Holy Grail?” she asks him, whispering.

“Pam,” he whispers back, “I’m a little too busy these days to—” and then it hits him, “Oh, my God.  I did send Dwight on a quest for the Holy Grail!” he says through a chuckle.  She can’t help but chuckle along with him.

“The Dunder Code!” he lowly tells Brent, “I completely forgot about that prank!”  Brent didn’t, he was there; he got the footage.  “That had to be like six or seven years ago.  Stayed late every night for a month,” he sighs and laments that he “Had a lot more free time back then.”

The first clue?  ‘HIGHER THAN NUMBERS GO’... The ceiling above the accounting clump.

“God,” Jim quietly chuckles, “I can’t wait to see his face when he gets to the end and finds the… fake grail?  No grail?”

“You don’t remember?” she asks.

“I don’t.”

Second clue: A key with an x… The annex.

Third clue: ‘SEDES INTROIT’, Seat of Entrance… A couch cushion.

Fourth clue: Playing cards that form a flush… The men’s restroom.

Final clue: A toy forklift… The warehouse!

The office spreads out and searches for the grail.

“There’s nothing down here,” Pam informs Jim, using her cell phone to call his business number while he’s upstairs.

“Oh,” he says disappointed, “I expected more from young Halpert.”

With the warehouse in disarray, the whole office eventually gives up the search for the grail… not realizing it’s in the possession of Glenn, who’s using it for his morning coffee.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Darryl walks in from his new part-time job in Philly, not realizing the day that awaits him.

“Pfft,” Dwight insults his gym bag, “‘Athlead’?  Please.  They’re too lazy to call it Athletes Lead?  They should just call it ‘Stumpany,’ for ‘Stupid Company’.”  Dwight looks at the camera for approval of his sick burn.

“Nothing stupid about working for yourself,” Darryl responds honestly, “Hanging out with pro athletes, getting free tickets to the games.  That’s why I’m doing it.”

“You’re working for ‘Stumpany’?” Dwight responds, legitimately shocked. 

“Yeah, just weekends for now, but pretty soon, I’m switching over.” 

Dwight couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “What?” 

“Yep.”

Next thing he knew, he was calling Athlead.

“Hello?”

“Mark Muller, this is Dwight Schrute of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.”

“Ah, it’s been a while, Dwight!  How ya been?”

“What’s the big idea?  First, you try to lure in Halpert, now you’re stealing Darryl too.  When will it end?”

Jim, knowing this would happen, warned Mark a while ago; thankfully, they have the same sense of humor.

“Well, take your worst fear and multiply it by infinity.”

“You won’t stop until you’ve poached us all.”

“Yup, even you,” Mark responds while greeting the investor they’re meeting with from his desk.

“No,” Dwight presses, “I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let us lose me.”

“Have a good day, Dwight.”  Mark hangs up the phone and properly greets the investor.

And with that, a new challenge arises for Dwight: keep everyone working for Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

“Hey, everybody,” he announces, “Uh, coffee order is going around — on me.  Just sign your name below.”

Phyllis is excited, but like the form he had after Stanley’s heart attack, she’s suspect, “Wait.  This says ‘Dunder Mifflin Loyalty Pledge’?”

“This — uh, what?” Dwight feigns ignorance, “Double mocha latte, please?  You got it.  Just sign your name below.  Whatever you want.”

“Loyalty pledge?” Oscar asks.

“Come on, Dwight,” Darryl speaks up, “stop overreacting.  I’m getting all my work done here.  No customers have complained.  Nobody even knows.”

“We’ll see about that,” Dwight snaps back.

He heads to the annex to find Clark, who is just so tired of being a temp.

“Bust out your complaint files,” Dwight demands, “I need everything you’ve got on Darryl since he started working for Athlead in the last few weeks.”

He begins to list them off when Clark interrupts, “They got us set up with Windows ’95, so… you’re kind of dreaming here.”

“Okay, I’m gonna need you to print it out.”  The dot-matrix paper tries its best.  Clark pulls a Jim look at the camera, and like Jim, he’d rather be anywhere else.

He instead does what every branch manager in Scranton does when they want others to solve their problems: hosts a meeting.

“Customer… Loyal… ty,” Dwight begins, “What is it?  Can you hold it in your hand?  Can you nudge it with your finger?  Can you dump it on a woman?  No.  Why?  Because it’s an idea.  But what does it mean?”

After a Grade-A example from Kevin, Mr. Romanko — a DM Scranton customer for 20 years — is used by Dwight to guilt Darryl into staying.  Of course, Romanko is a reasonable and forgiving man, but that’s not enough for Dwight.

After the meeting turns into the Erin and Pete debate thanks to Nellie (the guilt from earlier eating away at her), Dwight ensures Darryl’s loyalty to the company.

“Thank you so much for coming,” he greets Mr. Romanko, “Darryl and I will be here to serve you for years and years and years and years.”  The elevator door closes, and Darryl just looks at him confidently.  “So, should we go call Athlead and tell him to go screw themselves?

“Dwight, look, I’m sorry you’re having a hard time with this, okay?” Darryl explains sympathetically,  “Athlead is my future.  No disrespect to Dunder Mifflin, but if I can have fun at work, I want that.” 

“It can’t be more fun than selling paper and paper products!”

“It can.” 

“...Are you pretending to be crazy, huh?”

And now, there’s Plan D: luring Darryl into doing a delivery with him.  He knows what’s happening, and yet he’s still dreading it.

“You looking for fun?” Dwight cheerfully says, “It just found you!  Woo!  Ha Haa!  Here we go!  Yeah!”

The cameras effectively capture Darryl’s dread.

Dwight lures him in with cheap tactics like strobe lights and a miniature basketball, to no avail.  To make matters worse, he pranks an employee of a fast-food joint by throwing a milkshake back at him… and this sets Darryl off, as he grabs the keys from Dwight who tries to make a getaway.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Dwight asks in desperation, “No, I need the k— We have to go!”

“You just threw a milkshake in a restaurant where they make minimum wage!” Darryl rightfully chastises.

“It’s a YouTube thing!” Dwight makes an excuse as the employees approach him.

Dwight and Darryl walk into the kitchen, as Dwight has to clean the milkshake up, and is immediately hit with a milkshake himself.

As they get back to the building, Dwight confuses Darryl’s cough for laughter.  This is awful.  The last thing Dwight needs is his (well, Andy’s but let’s be honest with ourselves) employees to leave and be suckered into something less fun than selling paper.  He has failed…

…but really, he hasn’t.  Darryl watches Dwight get a milkshake thrown at him on YouTube, laughing his ass off.

“And… replay!” he says happily to the camera, hitting the spacebar.  After another giggle fit, he simply states “I’m gonna miss the paper selling business.”

He really will.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Erin has become far more assertive as of late.  She’s standing up for herself more, she’s being honest, and she’s letting herself call the shots, not anyone else.  And she concludes this is for two reasons: 1) Pete and Erin discussing the kiss.  Yes, it was addressed, and yes, they concluded that it was just the heat of the moment, and yes, they’re still close friends.  Having an adult solution to the problem at hand?  It felt reassuring.  It meant that not everything has to work out by chance or just waiting for things to work out automatically.  And, unfortunately, there’s 2) Andy’s absence.  She loves Andy so much, she misses him like crazy, and she fears that this new personality of hers… it’s making her mean.  It’s making her more grumpy and less friendly.  And she doesn’t want to be that person.  She’s becoming more and more selfish, and this isn’t like her.  Andy makes her happy and friendly, and that’s who she wants to be.  She’s upset with him, sure, and she wants to address it, but after that everything can go back to normal, and she can be her old self again.

And yet it still feels great to be assertive.

Nellie’s latest special project is a stroke of bonafide genius: pair two young office employees with creative minds and great work ethic to create a social media initiative.  And, naturally, that pair is Pete and Erin.

The creation of “Derek McBlack” (aka Pete in sunglasses) and a handful of imaginary friends liking Dunder Mifflin’s Facebook page is working wonders.

“You two are geniuses,” Nellie compliments, “And I am a genius putting you two together.”

“Pete and I work well together,” Erin tells Brent, “— not that there’s anything special about Pete.  It could be any guy... or girl — not that I’m into girls.  Not that I'm into Pete.  Ahh!  What was the question?”  The question was ‘How’s the special project coming along?’.

After the two get their first real ‘Like’, Nellie couldn’t be happier… until the pair start being cute.  And now, there is genuine fear in her eyes.

“Oh God”, she panics at the camera, “Andy has just started to be nice to me, and now I just sent his girlfriend into the arms of a younger man… and I CC’d him on every incriminating memo.  ‘Pete and Erin don’t hold back, our social media presence should be hot, hot, hot.  Go at it vigorously.’  I did everything but unzip their pants for them,” she allows the words she just said to sink in, “Oh, God, Nellie.” 

During Dwight’s Customer Loyalty meeting, Nellie makes a point that loyalty is exactly right.

“Yes,” she continues, “I mean, it is everything.  Let’s all ask ourselves, have we been faithful in our relationships?” she makes a point that Darryl is “dating” Dunder Mifflin, but “flirting” with Athlead, “And we all know what flirting can lead to.”

Erin isn’t the best at picking up context clues… but she’s getting better at it. Furthermore, she’s getting pretty irritated with everyone talking about her personal life like it’s their business.

As Mr. Romanko tries to leave, Nellie continues talking, “So let's-let's use an example.  Take Erin.  Erin’s boyfriend Andy, is away across the ocean.  So is it all right for her to flirt with Creed, for example?”

“Let’s try it out,” Creed says.  Erin is shaken with fear.

Oh, God, NELLIE!  “No, let’s-let’s-let’s not say Creed.  Let’s say, Mr. X.”

And, of course, Angela has to open her big mouth, “Well, I think it would be immoral for Erin to cheat on Andy.”

Erin is getting fed up with her, “Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t you cheat on Andy?”

“Yes,” Angela curtly replies, “And he didn’t like it.”  Not quite denial, but definitely deflection.

“Does Mr. X know that Erin has a boyfriend,” Phyllis asks, “or did Erin keep that from Mr. X?”

And, like a certain office couple that got together years ago, Kevin connects the dots.  “Okay, this is really hard to follow.  Can we just say Pete because that’s the guy that Erin’s flirting with?”

And the two of them wish they could just disappear as the office continues to not mind their own damn business, as is the staple of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

Phyllis’ “urges” come through again, “Well, Andy’s cute, but he’s too vanilla, whereas Pete — he’s just one sick dude.  I mean, you know this guy likes to get weird.”  The camera is sure to pan to his horrified face.

“Remember when my job was about customer service?” Pete asks Brent, “I do.  I miss those days.  I was so young back then…”

Erin is getting even more fed up, “I’m just gonna say this one more time: Pete and I haven’t done anything.”

“It’s true!” Pete asserts.

“Yeah, right,” Meredith interjects, “With slammin’ bods like that, they ain’t playing checkers.”

“People, it’s 2013,” Oscar contributes, “Erin is a strong, independent woman.  Who says she has to end up with any man?”  He tries to get the room to clap and fails.

Erin has had enough as she stands up and faces the crowd, “Okay, can everyone please stop speaking for me?  Andy is my boyfriend.  Pete and I are just friends.  And that’s the end of it,” she shrugs, “Right, Pete?”

“That is correct,” Pete says, “Come on, guys, where is this even coming from?”

Kevin mentions his feelings for Erin, mostly from his heart… and a bit from his penis.

“Nellie,” Erin tells her assertively, “you have to shut down the task force.  I’m not sure if you need to start a new task force to do that, but please just do whatever it takes.”

What a relief!  “I suppose that will— that will be alright, yeah,” Nellie replies.

“Most relationships eventually die on their own,” Nellie informs Brent, “but sometimes they just need a little pillow over the face.  You’re welcome, Andy.  And you’re welcome, my own ass.”

Later on, she tries to find Erin to get some copies (because God knows she can’t work a bloody copier), but after not finding her in the entire office, she thought she took a walk outside.  A natural response to what just occurred.  She finds her… on the stairwell, with her cellphone.

“Andy,” she begins, leaving a message, “It’s Erin.  I hope you’re having fun.”  She’s smiling, but it’s not genuine.  “I got all your emails, and I saved them in a special folder.  Anyways… I miss you.  I miss you a whole lot.  Because today…” she sighs deeply, “I’ve acted very mean and rude and that’s not who I am.  And the more you’re gone, the more I’m gonna act like this.  So please…”  At this point, she’s getting emotional.  “Please call me back.  Call me.  I miss your voice and I know I’ll be myself again when you come home.  Please, Andy, I—” and the message timer runs out.

She leans at the wall, deep breathing to keep from breaking down.  She has a job to do.

Nellie watches all of this, her heart separating.  She cares about Erin a whole deal.  She helped her get the adoption form as well as Andy, she’s been working the social media initiative like a charm, and she’s the one who helped Andy be more patient with her in the first place.  Oscar’s right: she is a strong, independent woman, one who’s not getting the respect she rightfully deserves.

And Pete is her friend, and he respects her.  It doesn’t matter what their friendship is like, that’s all it is.  And Nellie realizes something: first Pam, then Darryl, now Erin.  She can’t let her past relationship affect the relationships of those she holds dear.

Later on, Pete awkwardly walks by the front desk to make his copies, Erin and Pete longing to talk to each other but fearing what the others would say.

“Hey.”

“Hello, Peter.”

And Nellie thinks… screw it: the social media initiative is not being shut down, and the roster is not changing.

“I am sorry that was so awkward for you two in that meeting,” Nellie begins, both of them looking at the table, “But I am going to have to reassemble the youth task force.”

“Oh, no,” Erin insists, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well, that is not your call,” Nellie makes clear, “I made the decision.  You have no choice in the matter, and everybody knows it.”

The pair look at each other, realizing that they have no choice, and they’re gonna be interacting a lot more… and they walk out of the room with the biggest smiles on their faces.

“I don’t know what’s going to come out of this,” Nellie admits to Brent, “Most likely and, hopefully, nothing.  But they’re just friends, and that’s been made very clear for me today.  It is not my place to pry, and I need to accept that.  And to Andy, you are a good man and I respect you.  But it’s as the Queen once said: ‘If you like it, put a ring on it’.”

Erin walks into the annex, needing to talk to Pete.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“I just wanna apologize for earlier,” she says.

He shakes his head, “You’re the last person who needs to apologize for whatever the hell that was.”

“It’s just… with Andy gone, I’ve just been so stressed and I’m getting tired of everyone telling me what’s going on in my own life.  But… I came across as so mean and rude, and that’s not me, that’s not how I act.”

Pete smirks as he packs up, knowing this feeling all too well, “Erin, there’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself.”

She thinks about it, “That’s what that was?”

“It certainly was,” he said, walking out, “took me years to learn that.”

She feels like a weight has been lifted, “Thanks, Pete.”

“Of course.”

They smile once again as they walk out of the annex together, Nellie looking at them from the table with a small smile of her own.

Toby walks in and sits at the chair next to her, “Hey, really nice job in that meeting in there.”

“Ugh, thanks I guess,” Nellie groans at the thought of it, “I was just concerned for Andy.”

“Well, uh, something tells me they’re not gonna make it,” he admits.

“Well, it’s no skin off my nose,” she chuckles.  He joins her in chuckling… and then touches her leg.  She quickly takes notice of this, “Oh my God, what’re you doing?”

Toby is intensely embarrassed, “Um, I-I—”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, I just—”

“No, no, no.  No.  God no,” he gets up and sadly leaves to his office to pack up as she continues, “No, no, no, no, no, no.  Oh my God, no.  No.  No.”

She’s asked about that moment by Brent and just shutters.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

“Cece’s ballet recital is today!” Jim tells Brent, with a warm, proud smile, “I cannot wait!   I've been working with her on her move.  It’s called the Cece Spin and Kiss.  Do you want to see it?  It’s kind of like this,” He gets out of his seat and demonstrates it, keeping that same proud smile, “It’s pretty cute, right?”

He then hears a knock from outside the conference room.  Brent pans over to Dwight, staring at him through the window.

“That dance made you look like a dork,” he insults through the glass.

“Dorksayswhat?” Jim replies.

“What?— Ugh, damn it!”  Dwight gets back to work.

Jim just looks back at Brent with the same wide smile, “Every time.”

Later that day, Pam and Jim are on their way to the recital with an excited Cece in tow.

“Hey, Cece,” Pam tells her, “We’re all gonna have dinner after your recital!  Are you excited?”

“Yeah!” she enthusiastically replies.

“Um, I’m actually gonna have to work late tonight,” Jim clarifies sadly.

“What?” Pam replies, shocked.

“I’m behind on cataloging my sales and I gotta get that done.”

“Hon, I wish you would have told me an hour ago when you knew you weren't gonna make it,” she chastises.

“Pam, I can’t put it off.  I barely have time to go to the recital.”

“I want Daddy,” Cece says, her disappointment evident.

Pam’s heart is breaking and so is Jim’s; he needs to find a way to fix it, and fast, “How about we have dinner tomorrow and you can spend the night with Grandma?  Does that sound fun?”

“Yes!” Cece replies, feeling better.

Pam’s at least relieved that she won’t leave the daycare center crying, “All right!  Let’s call her,” she tells her enthusiastically, “Hey mom!”

“Hey, honey!  I was just about to call you.”

“Are you close?”

“Already here.  Ugh, It was hard saving two seats.”

“Listen, Jim needs to work late tonight, again,” she says with a hint of annoyance as Jim frustratedly shakes his head, “and I’ve got some stuff I need to get done as well.  So we were thinking she and Phillip could spend the night at your place after the recital, and then we’ll all have dinner tomorrow.”

“Oh, that sounds great!  No problem!  Are you excited to spend time with Grandma, Cece?”

“Yeah!” Cece shouts.

“Thank you so much for keeping them tonight, by the way,” Jim tells Helene.

“Really, Mom, you’ve gone beyond the call of duty,” Pam adds.

“Guys, enough with the thank yous, I’m more than happy to do it.”

“I’d let you film it for me, Pam, but I’m not sure you know how to film a video on the phone,” Jim points out.

“Jim, please,” she replies, “I think I know how to point a rectangle at something.”

“He’s got a point, dear,” Helene adds.

“I know how to operate my phone, okay?” she tells them, annoyed once again, “Listen, we're getting close.  We’ll see you later.  Say, ‘Bye, Grandma!’”

“Bye Granma!” Cece says.

“See you all soon!”  A beat.  “You’ve still got to press ‘End,’ Pam.”

“There it is,” Jim sighs.

“Pwess end!” Cece adds as Pam annoyingly presses the button.

“Wait,” Jim asks, “Why do you have to work late tonight?”

“Well, if we’re not having dinner, I figured that I can catch up on some stuff,” she responds far too casually, “Besides, I was thinking we could talk about something.”

Jim sighs, knowing that arguing this would be pointless, and just sinks into his seat, waiting for the sweet reprieve that is the recital.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Little Ladybug Ballerinas!” the dance teacher announces as the recital begins.

Thank God Jim decided to be here in person.  Watching her little girl do the Cece Spin and Kiss flawlessly is something he would have hated missing.  But the thought crosses his mind of how many other things he’d have to miss.  And this goes beyond dinner.  Phillip’s first steps?  Cece learning to read?  Potty training Phillip?  Future recitals?  Family gatherings?  All these little “Dad events” that he may have to miss out on because of his work, things that he’s looking forward to being a part of.  But he needs to provide for them, he needs to get better at his job, he needs to bring those numbers back up ASAP.  Besides, Pam at least knows how to take pictures, he’ll still be able to see it, but it wouldn’t be the same.  He knows this.  He can’t stand not being there when he wants to be, but he can’t give up now.  He can’t.

Pam, unsurprisingly, is thinking the same thing.  He was tempted to stay there, tempted to rely on her mediocre phone skills.  The last thing he needs to miss is this, especially considering how excited he was for it.  She glanced at him doing the Cece Spin and Kiss in front of Brent earlier and it warmed her heart.  He’s such a good father and she knew that the moment she found out she was pregnant.  But… he’s killing himself.  He’s neglecting his family, even though she knows, with confidence, that’s the last thing he wants to do.  There’s something wrong.  Severely wrong.  And she’s gonna find out what it is and fast.

After the recital, Cece goes with Helene, but not without a myriad of hugs and kisses from two very proud parents.  It’s late afternoon when the couple returns to the office.  Pam brags about her little Cece to the accountants, showing them the full show; thankfully, Helene is more tech-savvy than her daughter, so she managed to get the whole thing.  Jim, meanwhile, sits back at his desk, eyes glued to the monitor, headphone set on, as always.

Hours pass as the other employees depart, and Jim, returning from the restroom, sits down and looks knowingly at Pam, sifting through a folder.

“So you really have work you need to catch up on?” he asks knowingly.

“Yup,” she says matter-of-factly, putting the folder away.

That’s it.  “Pam, I know what you’re doing.”

“Good,” she replies, swiveling her chair in his direction confidently, “Because we’re talking about this.”

There’s no turning back now.  “Look, I know this has been difficult, and I’m sorry, but I—” 

“No,” she presses, “No more apologies.  We’re getting to the root of this.”

“Pam,” he emphasizes, frustrated, “I don’t know how else to tell you, okay?  I’m doing everything I can every week to bring home something—”

“I am— I am trying to help you, Jim, okay, how could you not see that?” she pushes firmly, trying to wake him up, “For the past four months, I’ve been doing everything I can to make you happy, but you’re not telling me what’s actually wrong with you.”

“There isn’t anything wrong,” he insists.

“Yes, there is!  So just be honest and tell me, please.”

“…Fine.  I should have called Mark back,” he finally admits with a frustrated shrug, “Got it all out in the open, are you happy?” he looks at her knowingly.

She knew it was coming, but she still feels hurt, “...Of course, I’m not.”

“Which is why I didn’t say anything,” he points out incredulously.

“Jim, this entire time, you have constantly told me that you made the right decision not calling Mark back.”

“I know I did,” he explains with a hint of guilt as he rubs his forehead, “I just… I don’t understand why you’ve been so resistant to the idea of us—”

Mama Beesly interrupts him, “Honey, I’m sure Athlead will be a huge success, okay, but you working there is not a risk I’m willing to put our family through.”

“What risk?” he asks, desperate for a suitable explanation, “The risk of a better life?  Something better than…” he gestures from his chair at the empty, mundane prison that surrounds him, “this?”

“Jim, Athlead is a really big risk,” she points out, her voice firmer, “And this isn’t the first time you’ve made a huge risk and not run it by me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” he’s genuinely shocked at her response, “You’re not serious, right?  I mean, how is that fair?  I didn’t call the number, we agreed to it.”

“I know you didn’t, it’s just that…” she sighs.  She regrets how she approached it but she has to be honest.  “Jim, you bought a whole house without consulting me.”

“The house I bought for us?”

“We should have talked about it,” she presses.

“Why shouldn’t it have been a surprise?”

“Because that was a major milestone in our relationship that I wasn’t aware of,” she tries to be understanding so she can get through to him, “Look, it can’t happen, okay?  And I hate that it can’t because I know you want it—” 

“Like you wanted Pratt and Michael Scott Paper Company?” Jim emphasizes, his anger hidden by his demeanor but no less evident, “From what I recall, you did those without consulting me, have you not?”

She can’t argue with that, but his delivery is intimidating, “You’re right, I did,” she admits plainly but genuinely, “And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he replies, “I mean, you went for something no holds barred, and I was there for you, so…” 

His face is getting more punchable by the second.  “Um, I don’t appreciate how you’re acting right now,” she tells him, rightly frustrated.

“I’m sorry, I just…” he puts his head in his hands but suddenly shrugs his arms in confusion, “can’t figure out why on God’s green earth you don’t wanna give this a shot!” he says through a humorless, tired chuckle.

“Jim, we have two mouths to feed,” she argues, her tone getting harsher, “Okay, we can’t just move to another city for something that could fall apart within a year!”

He can’t fight that argument either.  Instead, he asks, “And you think the kids can’t enjoy life in Philly?”

“Jim, Cece’s not even three yet!  Besides, you know how she is, she-she’s shy and demure and resistant to change—”

“Is she the one resistant to change or are you?” he raises his eyebrows, already knowing the answer.

Pam, realizing that Jim has called her bluff, goes on the defensive, “I’m-I’m sorry, Jim.  Okay, I’m sorry that I’m not willing to uproot our entire family and ship us all to Philly just so you can have everything you want!”

And it’s at this very moment that Jim Halpert reaches his breaking point.  Leaning forward, with a sharp tongue and a booming voice, he takes out all of his frustration, his anger, and his insecurities on his wife in just four sentences.

“I’m wanting this just for me?  Is that what you think?  I’m wanting it just for me?  If that’s what you think, then this is a really sad night!”

This is the loudest and most frustrated he’s ever been to her, and it shakes her to her core.  How do you respond to that?  When the man you love, your other half, just… snaps?  Yells at you?  Gets so intense that you’re honestly frightened of what you should say next?

You can’t respond.

So she just looks towards her monitor, trying to cover her emotions

“You know what?  I’ve got work to do,” he frustratingly concedes.

The whole fight ends with a quiet “Okay” from Pam as she sniffles and tears well up in her eyes… which Jim takes notice before putting his headset back on.

His heart sinks.  This… this is a nightmare.  A nightmare he can’t wake up from.  This is something that he’d promise that he’d never do to her again once they started dating.  Something that, even in their most intense fights, never happened.  Something that if Jim Halpert from ten years ago saw this, he’d be kicking his ass.

He made Pam cry.

He made Pam cry.

He made.  Pam.  CRY.

The past five minutes don’t matter anymore because HE MADE PAM CRY!

…He’s no better than Roy was.

And now she’s about to sob.

He drops the headset and practically leaps from his chair and briskly walks to her, getting on his knees and swiveling her office chair facing him.  “Oh God, Pam…” his voice full of guilt and desperation, “Pam, I’m so sorry.”

She can’t even look at him right now, she keeps her head in her hands and simply asks, “What am I doing wrong?” she begs to know through her tears.

“Nothing, Pam,” he responds, softly holding her hands with his, bringing them from her face to her lap, “I’m what’s wrong.  I just…”  She waits for him to finish his sentence, pleading that he’d say “Something’s wrong with me and I don’t know how to fix it.”

One would think this will make her more upset… but in a way, she can’t be more relieved, regaining her composure.  Admitting is the first step.  “How long have you felt like this?”

“Four months, like you said,” he clarifies, “I’m becoming someone I don’t want to be and I don’t know why.”

It’s not only him that thinks he needs out of here, but her as well.  She releases one of her hands and holds his cheek, “Do you think you need help or a leave of absence?”

“…Yeah,” he admits, “I thought I could handle it, I… I didn’t know that it would be this hard.”

It’s practically instinct for her at this point as she smiles and says, “That’s what she said.”

He can’t help but lightly laugh at her Scott-ism, “Nice.”  He then realizes what he needs to do next, “Can you, um… email Toby and David?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you,” he swallows, trying to maintain his composure, “I’m, uh… gonna go pack my things.”  They both mindlessly turn the computers off and get their stuff together.  Jim puts on his coat at his desk when she walks up to him.

“Okay.  Ready to go?” she simply asks.

He turns to look at her.  Just… look at her.  This beautiful woman that he’s so lucky to have married.  And he… he’s losing her.  He’s losing her and it’s all his fault.

He once again holds her hands.  “…I…”  He suddenly embraces her, clutches onto her fiercely, fearing that this moment — that the past decade — was nothing but some cruel dream.  His eyes close, praying that she won’t force him to let go and walk out on him, even though it’s what he deserves.

She just stands there, arms out, still not knowing how to respond, “Jim, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” he shakily responds, “I… I hurt you again.”

Breaking up with Katy.

Australia.

The complaints to Toby.

The confession.

The kiss.

Breaking the engagement.

Stamford.

Never calling her.

Stringing Karen along.

Her art show.

Roy’s murder attempt.

The house.

The Cathy incident.

Not being there for the kids.

Lying about Athlead.

And now… making her cry.

“I just keep hurting you,” he whispers.

Her heart is breaking.  “Oh, Jim…” she whispers as she wraps her arms around his neck.

The two embrace each other tightly, trying to take each other’s pain away.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

The office, knowing about Jim’s leave, is quiet, which is extremely unusual.

Pete walks from the copier, and out of the corner of his eye sees Erin at her desk.  She’s shuddering, clearly from a round of crying, eyes bloodshot with tear stains on her makeup.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asks, genuinely concerned.  He knows who this is about.

She sniffles before answering “Yeah, I’m okay.”

He can’t help it, he just has to say it because he’s that worried about her, “Well if you ever need someone, I’m here.”

She smiles brightly and replies with a quiet “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he responds, wearing a smile as well.  As Erin deep breathes before picking up the phone, the camera tracks Pete walking away… and then stops to zoom in on Dwight at his desk, who is visibly upset.

“Dunder Mifflin, this is Erin.”