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Author's Chapter Notes:

Originally posted 20 February 2021

Y’know that old cliche, “I look back and I ask myself, ‘how did I get here?’”

Yeah, that’s me right now.  I’m on a train back to Stamford with Jim Halpert, the man I’m falling more in love with by the day, right after we had our first getaway, his arm around me, the two of us being sickeningly cute together.  How did I get here?

Casino Night happens.  I’m too damn weak to tell him how to feel, ending with him walking away, holding back becoming a sobbing mess as he quietly says “Okay” and leaves.  (I’m just relieved I can look at it now as a pitfall, rather than my final chance.)  I was so sad, so heartbroken, so afraid to accept the truth…

…And then I harshly tell Roy that same truth not two hours after and we break up.  Confess to Jim that I’m in love with him in the middle of the night a week later (after he had already transferred).  Drive three hours to his new place in Stamford so we can talk through our insecurities, fall in love, and eat sandwiches.  Convince him to stay put so we can make a better future for ourselves.  Spend the night at his place.  Buy round-trip tickets to Philadelphia for our first getaway the next morning.  We’re surviving and thriving a long-distance relationship, three weeks strong.  And, on top of all that, we… and when I was supposed to get married.

Not to mention the fact that so many moments we shared are being recreated, almost by fate.  When I said I’m finally taking a chance when I bought the tickets: Women in the Workplace.  We went ice skating this past Friday: Michael’s birthday.  ‘Islands in the Stream’ playing in the cab on our way to dinner Saturday: Jim’s barbecue.

But I’m too exhausted to dwell on all that right now since we… yeah.  Deciding to nap on the ride home, I go ahead and lean on his shoulder, take a deep breath to relax: Diversity Day.  Since Jim needs his music, he gets his iPod and hands me an earbud: the fireworks.  “Y’know,” he quietly tells me, “if there weren’t people here, I’d cordially ask if you would like to sway with me.”

I roll my eyes, failing to hide my smile, “I’m not dancing in the middle of a passenger train.”

“There’s a difference between the two.”  He was joking, obviously, but I can sense the remorse.

I hold his hand and look at him, sincerely.  “There wasn’t that night.”

He wants to explain himself, “Look, about what I sai—”

“Forgive and forget.”  I kiss him on the cheek.

He’s feeling better, much to my relief.  “You make it look so easy.”

“It’s so not, Jim,” I’m honest, “It helps when you’re with me.”

“Likewise.”  He’s finally relaxed.  He’s not at peace yet, neither am I.  We’re getting there.

He presses shuffle on his iPod as he looks out the window to daydream, enjoying the scenery.  As the synth chords start, a Yazoo song of all things helps me connect the dots as to how I got here.

Looking from a window above
It’s like a story of love
Can you hear me?

I gave Jim all the signs.  He knows, he always knew, because he gave me his own.  We could have been the office’s Romeo and Juliet.  I don’t want to acknowledge the signs were even there.
So I lie.

Came back only yesterday
I’m moving farther away
Want you near me

I’m at my desk the next morning, and Kelly breaks the news to me.  I shatter.  I want to leave, want to be as far away from that desk as I possibly can be, but I’m stuck.
I just want him back.

All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew… Only you

My brain suddenly creates a ‘what if’.  I tell him I’m in love with him right in that parking lot, and I call Roy to end it.  After I hang up, Jim stands there, having no idea what to say.  Then I hug him, hold him as tight as I can, and, thank God, he starts holding me too.  Neither of us hasn’t the slightest idea what to do next, but it doesn’t matter right now, because he loves me.  His love was all I needed.
It’s all I’ve ever known.

Sometimes when I think of her name
When it’s only a game
And I need you

After Roy drives off, Jim lays it all on the line, hoping that this was more than friendship.  Nah.  Just misinterpretation.  Just us being friends.  Just a game of poker.  Nothing more.  He still needs me to know, if only once.
He needs me.

Listen to the words that you say
It’s getting harder to stay
When I see you

“What?”  “What are you doing?”  “What do you expect me to say to that?”  “I… I can’t.”  “You have no idea what your friendship means to me.”  “I’m sorry that you misinterpreted things, it’s probably my fault.”  These are the words that make him not even want to look me in the eye anymore.  The words tempt him to move away, the words push him to say ‘yes’.
The words force him to leave.

Two choruses and an instrumental, and another ‘what if’ is created.  As he starts to walk away, I drop the ring, loud enough for him to hear it *clang* on the carpet floor.  He turns around, I run into his arms, and I break down as I tell him I love him back, but we — again — haven’t the slightest idea what to do next, how to handle any of this, what to tell Roy.  He sits us down and I’m on his lap, him holding and shushing me for a while.  “Everything’s gonna be fine.”  I believe him.

This is gonna take a long time
And I wonder what’s mine
Can’t take no more (Can’t take no more)

“You wanna know what I regret, Pam?  The past nine years of my life!”  I fear I made a mistake telling Roy the truth, the whole truth… then I hear those words.  They start all of this.  He causes all of this.  Because now I want to let go of all that pent-up regret.  I don’t want it anymore.
I can’t take it anymore.

Wonder if you’ll understand
It’s just the touch of your hand
Behind a closed door

“Me too.”  Jim assumes I’m being honest, that I’m finally acknowledging what I was thinking, what I was feeling.  I am… but I lie again.  He slowly lets go of my hands and walks away.  He leaves Scranton.
He’s gone.

All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew (All I ever knew)
Only you…

One last ‘what if’: Jim’s there the next day.  The whole office could be there for all I’d care, I walk into that office, kiss him, tell him I don’t have a fiancé anymore, and we walk out, hands held tightly.  Some sort of climactic exit like that.

For years I wasted time trying to deny how I felt, being stuck in a mistake of a relationship, seeing him wanting more, me trying desperately to prove him wrong until I just couldn’t anymore.  I am in love with him.  He’s the only one I’ve ever met, I’ve ever known, who understands me.  It was always him.
Only him.

That’s how I got here.

I’m reading a lot into it, projecting even.  It’s a breakup song, yeah, but it’s not about my life.  Everything’s fine now.  But even then, I have to hug his right arm, even though I don’t have to.  He’s right next to you, Pam.  Get a grip.

He notices I’m uneasy because he can tell like that, and he kisses the top of my head.  We both give each other light smiles as I close my eyes and the song fades.

The next song is Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’.  He presses skip as quickly as he can.  The song after that manages to lull me to sleep.

We have a much-needed conversation the evening after we get back.  Jim’s in the bathroom shaving, clad only in a towel, while I’m lying on his bed, still dressed.  “I mean, it’s your choice, Beesly,” Jim tells me through the open door, “I’m not making you do anything.”

“I appreciate that,” I assure, “but I’m too conflicted.”

“Well, pros and cons.”

“Oh, right, duh,” I say, “Pro: I get to see you every day for six days.  Con: You’ll be at work for eight hours five of those days.”

“Yeah.  Oh, pro: sightseeing.  Getting used to Stamford.”

“Well, the con is that you won’t be with me because you’ll be tired after work so you won’t wanna do anything.”

“You are not wrong,” he admits while watering his face.

A thought suddenly occurs to me, “I think… I think it’s best if I do leave.”

“What makes you say that?” he asks as he exits the bathroom, not offended, just curious.

“Beyond the cons, I kinda need some time to myself?”  I start to panic.  “Not that I don’t wanna be with you, and we spend enough time apart as it is, it’s just—”

“I get it,” he lovingly assures, laying next to me, “You just need some time to yourself.  I kinda need it, to be honest.”

“Yeah, this weekend’s been fantastic, but it’s also been a lot.”

“It has for me, too.”  He pulls me towards him as I lazily wrap my arm around him, head on his chest.  “Beesly, I have never, in my entire life, would believe something like the past weekend could happen.”  He’s making my heart flutter so much that I actually think the phrase ‘he’s making my heart flutter’.  “Just,” he kisses my cheek, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I sigh, “I wish I wasn’t such a wreck yesterday.”

“Pam, you’re going through a lot of changes right now,” he mentions, “I mean, you have changed so much.  For the better.”

I’m puzzled.  Me?  Change?  “How so?”

“I mean, you’re more confident and assertive and outspoken,” he compliments, “And yet you’re still… you,” he shakes his head in disbelief, “You can do so much better.”

With that last sentence, he takes me right back to that train, when I’m listening to that song, reliving everything that’s happened.  Because he’s right, I did change.  A lot.  And he doesn’t even know why.

“Jim,” I hold his cheek, “I’ve changed for the better because of you,” I explain quietly, “If you didn’t say anything, I could’ve married him.  When you said that, you couldn’t hide how you felt anymore, and as hard as I tried, you knew I couldn’t either.  And you pushed me to admit that to myself.  Like I said, you woke me up.  I’ve said and done so many things to you that I regret… and I’m done putting both of us through that.”  Both of our eyes are glassy as we kiss, both of us thankful that we can do this without having to hide.  “Thank you.”

He suddenly clutches me once again, his arms around me, and I do the same.  “Thank you,” he whispers, getting himself composed.

And now I sigh, “God, I just— I don’t wanna leave.”

“I don’t want you to,” he holds me tighter, “I’m gonna miss you.”  Dammit, Jim, stop trying to make me cry!

“I’m gonna miss you.”  We lay there and hold each other for what feels like forever.  Though the whole Stamford thing feels like it’ll be forever, it won’t.  I know that.  So I have to say it for the both of us, “This won’t be forever.”

“We’ll make sure it won’t,” he reassures, kissing the top of my head.  A thought then crosses his mind, “Well, we still have some time to say ‘goodbye’ before tomorrow.”

We pull apart slightly, and I ask, “What do you mean by that?”

He smirks, “You know…”  And there it is.

I shake my head, “You just took your shower.”

“I can always take another one,” he posits, “besides, you haven’t taken yours yet.”

“A compelling argument, Halpert.”

“Not bad for someone who dropped Debate in college.”

The last words I say before we ‘say goodbye’ are “You’re such a dork…”

As I drive home the next morning, I call Penny to tell her.  [“Okay, first of all, thank.  God.”]

She can practically hear me roll my eyes through the phone, “Gee, thanks.”

She laughs, [“I kid.  Seriously, though, I’m really proud of you.  I can tell how happy you were the past three weeks, and now it makes sense.”]

“Yeah.”  I am, I really am.

[“I’d say I can’t wait to meet the guy, but I feel like I already know him at this point.”]

My heart swells, “Yeah, you probably do.”

[“So who else did you tell?”]

“He called his family and friends yesterday.  I just told Dad, still need to tell Izzy and Jocelyn.”

[“Gotcha,”] she pauses, [“I noticed you left someone out?”]

“I know,” I sigh, “I still need to prepare.”

She snickers at that, [“You need to tell her at some point, Pam.”]

“Pen, you know full well how Mom’s gonna react,” I push, “She’s gonna want to be told everything, down to the last detail.  She’ll be worse than Kelly.”

[“Your coworker?”]

“Yup.”

[“Well, I’m sure the whole office will be very supportive if y—”]

“Oh, hell no,” I stop that right in its tracks.  And now she’s laughing at my pain.  Damn you, Penelope Beesly, for putting that thought in my brain.

[“You’re no fun!”] she jokes through her laugh.

“And you’re on thin ice,” I joke back, unable to hide my chuckle.

[“Did Roy ever find out?”]

I was afraid he’d come up.  “He doesn’t even know I’m seeing someone.”

[“I’m guessing you won’t tell him, either?”]

“Hopefully he’ll never find out.”

[“Honey, it’s sweet that you still care about Roy,”] she starts, [“but if you don’t tell him, someone will.  Be it Joyce or Mom or, heck, maybe one of your coworkers.  You and Jim worked in the same building for years, after all.”]

“True.”

[“You can’t spare Roy’s feelings anymore.  He just… needs to accept it.”]

I shake my head, my sympathy for the man evident as I ask, “Have you seen his mugshot?”

There’s silence before she lovingly presses me to do something like she always does.  [“Pam, I want you to tell me, right now, that you know you’re not responsible for Roy’s actions.”]

I take a deep breath as it comes out, “I know I am not responsible for Roy’s actions.”

[“Feel better?”] she asks.

“…Yeah.”  I do, I really do.


3.07 “Branch Closing”

It’s around 7:50 in the morning when Karen walks in and greets Jim.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

She becomes curious, “Who are you faxing so early in the morning?”

“Oh, um…” he tries to come up with a reasonable explanation, “kinda hard to explain.”  She accepts that and walks to her desk.

“I don’t have a ton of contact with the Scranton branch, aside from, y’know,” Jim explains to the doc crew, “But before I left, I took a box of Dwight’s stationery.  So, from time to time, I send Dwight faxes.  From himself.  From the future.”  Old habits.

Jim reads the fax aloud to the crew


offscreen, as Dwight grabs it from the fax machine.

“‘Dwight, at 8 A.M. today, someone poisons the coffee.  Do not drink the coffee.  More instructions will follow.  Cordially, Future Dwight.’”

And, seeing Stanley walk out of the kitchen with his morning coffee, he knew exactly what to do next.

Running over, yelling a “Noo—!” he knocks a confused and pissed off Stanley’s coffee mug from his hand.  “You’ll thank me later.”


It’s happened.

It’s come to this.

Anyone with working eyes could see it a mile away.

It’s something that Jan’s been trying to prevent for weeks, but even she can’t prevent the inevitable.

She has to deliver the news, and she’s dreading it.

Not for her idiot ex, not for that ass in Stamford, not for that maniac who owns a beet farm and will be fine if he gets laid off.  But for the honest workers who put in the time, the ones who might not even afford to move, the ones that had to suffer for her idiot ex’s mistakes.  For the company’s mistakes.  For her mistakes.

And then there’s the two of them.
The couple who trusted her to alleviate David’s justifiable suspicions.
The couple she trusts won’t make the same mistakes she made.
The couple that gives her hope that, yeah, maybe she can have it all.

They have to go through even more hurdles because of the closing, and that’s what she’s dreading the most.

And, of course, the first person she has to break it to right after Toby, is her idiot ex.

God, today’s gonna suck.

“There she is,” Michael greets Jan as she enters his office, “Jan Levinson.  First”
“Michael.”
“…thing in the morning.  Love to start my morning with a hearty bowl of JAN.”

“Michael—”

Just call me Levinson in the mooorning, beeh-beh—”
“Michael.”

“Yes.”

She tries to frame this as delicately as possible… but there’s no way she can, “I am here to tell you that we are closing the Scranton branch.”

“……I don’t understand.”

“The Board voted last night to close your branch.”

“…On whom’s authority?”

“The Board’s.”

“…What?”

“I’m very sorry,” she genuinely is, “I don’t… don’t relish telling you this,” she doesn’t at all, “You’ve been a big part of this company, and the Board asked me to thank you for your years of service.”  They sincerely do.

“You’re welcome.”

While a few Scranton employees will be transferred, the rest will be getting severance packages.  However, a final decision has not been made on who’ll be transferred.

Jan can tell Pam won’t be transferring.  And she’s hurting for them both.

Michael freaks out, putting his face in his hands (since he’s a severance package person)… and Dwight notices.

“Oh, my God.  Oh, my Goood!” Michael attempts to keep himself together.

Pam notices, as the faint shout of his “No!” perks her ears.  Kevin asks her what she thinks they’re discussing.  She doesn’t know and hopes it’s not what she thinks it is.  He then asks if it’s serious.  Still doesn’t know, still hopes it’s not what she thinks it is.  She’ll call Kevin and update him.

Please tell me you spray-painted the company car or something, Michael.

Ryan’s noticing now, thinking what’s happening is something serious and work-related instead of neither of those.

“I don’t get it—” Michael has to stop his chomping teeth desk toy, “I don’t get it because our numbers aren’t that bad, things are looking up, it’s, i— y’know—”
“Well, it’s not all about numbers, Michael.”
“Well—”
“It’s-it’s about talent.”

“Oh, you gotta be… Josh?”  Yup, Josh.

David Wallace sees Josh as the model branch manager: suave, well-spoken, well organized, and — most importantly — tactful.  None of these describe Michael, and though David does like the guy, it’s clear to both him and Jan that Josh will be the one that will play an important role in the company’s future.

Michael believes that role to be ‘King of the Stupid Universe’.

Jan hurriedly leaves a distraught Michael to his own devices, hoping that they’ll be able to make it once it’s official.  Before she leaves, she urges him to use discretion, and then he begs “Don’t hurt me like I hurt you.”  And, as ridiculous as this moment is, she’s hiding her real emotions as she exasperatedly walks out.

“It is an outrage,” Michael rants to the crew, “that’s all, it’s… they’re making a huge, huge mistake.  Let’s see Josh replace these people.  Let’s see Josh find another Stanley.  You think Stanleys grow on trees?  Well, they don’t.  There is no Stanley tree.  Do you think the world is crawling with Phyllises?  Show me that farm.  With Phyllises and Kevins sprouting up all over the place, ripe for the plucking… Show me that farm.”

Despite the piss-poor analogy, Michael’s correct.  Josh lacks a certain understanding that Michael possesses.  Though Stamford has always had great numbers, its sudden rise to success is primarily because of Jim; Josh is well aware of this fact, he never got to know him as a person, not really.  His sense of humor, his aspirations, his insecurities, his dedication to the one he loves, he is ignorant of all of that.  Same with the often overlooked and undervalued Karen, whose competitive nature motivates her to advance her career, thus getting the branch higher numbers.  Same with Andy, whose incompetence hidden behind a wide grin and ass-kissing lips is why Stamford is not as successful as it could be.  Oh, he’s capable to learn all of this, but he never bothers to have an actual conversation with any of them.  But, hey, Call of Duty takes precedence.

Josh can deduce why Stamford’s doing well, but Michael can deduce how.

Right now, he’s just walking around the office, trying to take in the nostalgia (and annoying Stanley), as Dwight makes him feel weird (yet again), “Hey stranger.”

“Don’t say that, that just sounds weird, please.”

“Sorry, I just feel like we haven’t talked in a while.”

“Well, we have nothin’ to talk about, Dwight.  Just do your work… while you still can.”

Those four words give Dwight pause, shaken.  He looks at Michael by his office door, who’s trying to contain his crushed spirit.

“When you become close with someone, you develop a kind of sixth sense,” Dwight explains to the crew, “You can read their moods like a book.  And right now, the title of Michael’s book is, Something Weird is Going On…colon, What Did Jan Say?  The Michael Scott Story.  By Michael Scott, with Dwight Schrute.”


Karen, excited to share the new gossip, walks over to Jim.  “Hey, um, did you hear about your friends in Pennsylvania?”  Pennsylvania?  “Rumor has it that the Scranton Branch is—*cht*,” she confirms his greatest fear with a guillotine hand motion.

Oh no.  No no no no no.

“Really?” he says, feigning a look of slightly-surprised indifference, “Wow, that’s bad.”  No no no no no no no no no.

“Um…” Andy decides to butt in, “sorry, the Scranton branch is closing?” he decides to subtly mock him, “In your face!”  Stay classy, Andy.

Jim attempts to save face, “Well, I work here now—”
Mmmm, suck-ah!”

Jim looks at the camera with pursed lips, hiding his urge to toss the bastard out the window.  The camera follows him looking down, typing away as fast as he can.


Pam suddenly gets an alert from her AOL direct messages:

JIM9334: Need to talk to you about something during lunch. Work-related. If you hear anything, DON’T PANIC.

She gets concerned, but she knows she can trust him.  Then Michael walks by, wearing a rather uncomfortable grimace, automatically making things worse.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, great!” he badly lies, “Amazing.  Best physical condition of my life.”  One could tell.

“What did Jan want?”  What did she want, Michael?

“Nothing.  Just checking in.”  A beat.  “I can’t tell you, so…”

“What can’t you tell me?”  What can’t you tell me, Michael?

“Nothing, Pam.”  And yet he does tell her through a harsh whisper, “whatdifferencedoesitmake?we’llbegoneinacoupleofweeksanyway.”

What?”

“What?”

“You just said that we’re gonna be gone—?”
“Do I have any messages?”

“Michael, what’s going on?”  This can’t be happening.

After Dwight further backs him into a corner, Michael is forced to reveal the shutdown.  Toby advises him that it shouldn’t be discussed until all final decisions are made.  Michael, naturally, calls him a traitor for finding out before he did.

“What about us, Michael?  Do we still have jobs?” Angela asks pointedly.

“I don’t know, probably not,” Michael answers honestly, “This is the worst!”  He attempts to get his emotions in check but ends up sporting a face that looks like he swallowed a peeled lemon whole.  “So,” he concludes, “This has been great!  So let’s get back to work and do the best job that we can.”  He then decides to interrogate Toby in his office, who simply accepts his lot in life, as he always does.  Dwight stops the cameraman from walking in right after he is stopped from walking in.

The cameras pan so they can capture Pam’s fear.

Some of Scranton’s employees discuss their thoughts with the crew.

“It makes perfect sense that it would happen today,” Ryan vents to them, “because I just received this in the mail.”  He holds up a dandy card box.  “A thousand business cards with this address and phone number.”

“I don’t want to blame anyone in particular,” Angela tells them, “I think everyone’s to blame.”

“If I get to stay—” Kelly expresses to them through her over-the-top, mascara-staining tears, “and Ryan is laid off, I will kill myself.  Like Romeo and Juliet.  The Claire Danes one.”

But not all take the news poorly.  “I couldn’t be happier,” an all-too-giddy Stanley reveals to the crew, “I’m gonna take the severance and retire.  My wife and I are gonna travel,” he can’t help but chuckle, “I really couldn’t be happier.”

Meredith walks into Michael’s office to inform Michael that, despite Carol, she’s still “willing” if he is; she’s keeping a promise from six years ago involving their last day of work.  It wasn’t Michael.

His day just keeps getting worse and worse.

“It’s a blessing in disguise,” Pam attempts to hide her fears to the crew, “Actually, not even in disguise,” her voice wavers, “In my fantasy, I always thought I would slap someone, make a big speech and storm out forever,” despite her emotions, she wishes something like that will happen one day, “but this is good, too.”  Her face scrunches slightly, unable to hide it anymore.  With an “Excuse me,” she quickly gets out of her chair and walks off.

The camera follows her exit, Angela noticing Pam leaving the conference room, her cell phone out.

She doesn’t know.  But even she did, no one else would find out from her.  Not even Dwight.


Stamford, Connecticut!” Andy singsongs around his coworkers who’re clapping in rhythm, “Stamford, Connecticut!

Jim focuses on his monitor, frightened by Pam’s silence.  Suddenly, Josh walks up to him, “What happened?”

What do you think?  “I think the word got out about Scranton.”  Josh is… pensive as he rubs his chin, but Jim needs more information.  “Hey, uh, do you know any more details on that?  Like is uh… anybody transferring here, or…”  Like a new receptionist, or?

“Uh, no, nothing’s definite.”  Can something be definite?  “In fact, you know what, um,” Josh apprehensively addresses the rest of his staff, “Excuse me, everyone?  I know there are some rumors going around, but… nothing is definite, alright?  Um, you guys have done a great job, getting our numbers up around here, but until this thing is official, let’s just keep working, huh, y’know?  Be professional.”  Oh, yeah, they’re doing a great job at that so far!

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the oh-so-professional Andy declares, “Or fearless leader Josh Porter!”  And he is met with a round of applause.  Josh is still pensive as Andy asks him to take a bow.

Meanwhile, Karen can’t help but notice Jim as he looks at his cell phone and steps out to answer it.


[“Well, I can transfer to another branch and I can get you there.”]  Jim’s comforting an emotional Pam, who’s stationed in the stairwell.

“Jim, I might not be able to afford another city,” she swallows, “Because I might not get a job there or anywhere else and the severance will only take me so far and I just”
[“Pam—”]
“enrolled for the Spring and I may have to move back with my parents”
[“Pam…”]
“and we’ll be farther away and I dunno how else this will pan out, Jim…” she sheds some more tears.

[“Hey, hey hey… let’s breathe, okay?”]  He attempts to comfort her over the phone, his voice breaking in stress, as she nods her head as if he could see her.  [“Alright, deep breath.  Follow my lead.”]  They deep breathe in tandem, both feeling ever-so-slightly more relaxed.  [“I’m gonna find out everything I can, and we’ll work from there, okay?”]

She deep breathes as she takes in his words, “Okay.”

[“We’re gonna be okay, Pam.  I promise.”]

“We’re gonna be okay.”  She nods again, reassuring herself.

Back in the office, “You’re kidding!” Roy expresses his surprise to Angela.

“No,” she laments quietly.

“What does that mean?”

Kevin answers, “Well, some of us are fired and a few are going to Connecticut.”

Roy is all too curious, “Do you guys know who’s going where?”  He notices Pam walking back to her desk, recovering from her breakdown.  He needs to be there for her when the dust settles.

“Oh don’t worry,” Angela brightly reassures him, getting his attention, “You’re gonna be fine, Roy!  You’re very… strong.  And capable.”  While Roy is weirded out, Kevin just giggles.  “Oh, grow up!”

What was that thing about the slow train from Philly again?

“I don’t want to work here without Pam,” Roy laments later to the crew, “It’d just be… loading trucks without any meaning… y’know?”


Creed takes a picture of Stanley packing and uploads it to his computer, “feeling nostalgic”.


“’Ey, Mike,” Warehouse Foreman Darryl Philbin greets Michael, who returns with a salute.

“Darryl,” Michael sighs, “Noble Darryl.”

“Look, I heard about the office,” Darryl says in genuine sympathy as Michael gives him an awkward shoulder pat, “Tough break.”

“I know, I know,” Michael accepts the inevitable, “Well, I’ll land on my feet,” he tries to maintain himself through it, “Don’t worry about me.”

“I wasn’t.”

“So, you’ll be okay too.  You’re a warrior.  You’re smart, capable.  You’ll find something else and—”

“Actually, Bob Vance bought out the warehouse,” Darryl reveals, “So he’s keeping on the whole crew, so we good.”

“…Awesome.”  Once again, Michael’s world is crumbling around him.

“This is my house,” Michael angrily informs the crew, “The CFO is taking away my house and giving it to Josh.”  That’s not how this works.  “And Josh is giving the garage to Bob Vance.”  That’s not how any of this works.  Despite his ignorance, he still dramatically looks away in exasperated fury.

In a bid to fight for his family, he plans to drive all the way to New York and tell David Wallace personally that he’s making a big mistake!  Guess who else goes with him?

“Oh, good, you’re bringing Dwight.”  Pam’s not even hiding her agitation anymore.

And Ryan?  Well, his reaction is no different from the thousand others he’s had to what happens around him.

Since Wallace is out of the office, the two decide on a Plan B: his home address.  How did Dwight find out his home address?  Simple: Christmas cards.

“You sent him cards?” Michael asks, “You never met him.”

“But when I do, we’ll have something to talk about,” Dwight smirks with confidence to the camera at the backseat.


Jim’s conversation with Pam left him shaken.  He doesn’t blame himself for not mulling over the impact of an event like this, and neither does she.  This came out of absolutely nowhere, giving them no time to prepare for it.  But now, a monkey wrench the size of his arm was thrown and they don’t know how to handle it, but they have to.

The shy and soft-spoken Pam is keeping it together.  The confident, charismatic Jim is barely keeping it together.  But they have to.

But the more information he has on his hands, the better of a plan the two can come up with, which is why he re-enters Josh’s office.  “Hey, do you have a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?”  Josh is gearing up for his announcement, so he puts on a brave face.

“I know it’s not definite or whatever, but uh… do you know who’s coming over here from Scranton?” Jim raises his eyebrows.  Literally anyone?

Josh hides behind a confident smile as he shakes his head in sympathy, “I honestly don’t.  I don’t know.”

Jim keeps pressing, he’s hiding something, “Okay, so is it like sales or… accountants…?”
“You know what, Jim, I wouldn’t worry about it,” he awkwardly gives half-laughs.

And Jim plays along with his own, “What does that mean?”  What does that mean, Josh?

A bright-faced Jan opens Josh’s office door and walks inside, “Ready to talk logistics?”

Both men prepare themselves for the trainwreck that’s about to happen.

But Josh is right about something: Jim has nothing to worry about.


“I just feel like it could have been something special if we could have kept working together,” Ryan tells Kelly, lying through his teeth, “but I’m gonna go someplace else and you’re gonna go someplace else…  It just doesn’t make sense.”  Kelly accepts his reason excuses as fact.

It doesn’t make sense.  Like their relationship.

“This kinda worked out perfectly for me,” he admits to the interviewers, “I got some good experience.”  He did.  “Uh, Michael’s gonna write me a great recommendation.”  Michael would, in the form of a sonnet.  “And as far as me and Kelly goes, I think it’s for the best.”  You and everyone else.


Creed sells one of the small printers for quite a bit of money.


As Michael and Dwight ascend to Wallace’s doorstep, Michael describes his actions to the crew, making an odd comparison, “This is exactly what Michael Moore does, a famous documentar-rian.  He goes up to people with a camera and he’s like, ‘Why did you do this?  Why did you pollute?  You are bad.  You’re a bad person.’  It’s very dramatic.  Although, I can’t say I was a big fan of Bowling for Columbine, because I thought it was going to be a bowling movie, like Kingpin.”  Dwight very loudly uses the door knocker, just to really demonstrate their anger.  “And it wasn’t.  It was something, else.”

If there’s one thing Michael knows, it’s movies.  He should make one himself.


“So, Josh will be running what is now called Dunder Mifflin Northeast,” Jan begins, “which is all the offices north of Stamford.”  Josh’s anticipation is getting the better of him.  “And Jim, if you want the job, you’ll be his Number Two,” she offers Jim with a pat on his shoulder.

“Wow.  Uh… sure, absolutely.”
“Awesome!”

Jim’s excitement is evident.  He’s not a fan of this job, not by a longshot, but it’s only been half a year and now he’s A.R.M.  How did that happen?

Pam believes he has all the potential in the world and has told him this time and time again.  He only assumed it was out of support.  His parents, Larissa, Johnathan, Tom, and Pete (the latter two on a good day) all support him, too.  But why?  Because of moments like these.  For one gleaming moment, Jim felt something he has never felt before: accomplished.

If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d forward another message to Dwight from Future Dwight telling him the news.  And — as much as he hates to admit it — he kinda sorta understands where Dwight’s coming from.

As for Jan, she’s done all she could for Jim, but there’s another proposal she’ll try to talk Josh into.  For her.

“Excuse me, Jan,” Josh interrupts, “I’m sorry.  I’m gonna have to stop you there.  I, um… will not be taking the job.”

…You can’t be serious.

Jim looks between the two, his stoic face hiding a million unanswered quesions, while Jan does the usual “calm-before-the-storm” pose of cocking her head to the side and fiddling with her earrings, “Wha— …excuse— why not?”

And, at this moment, Josh delivers the news in a methodic — and clearly rehearsed — manner, “As of today, I have accepted a senior management position at Staples.”

A beat.  “Today?”  He nods in shame.  “You leveraged your new position with us into another offer?”  He sighs in shame.  “Damn it, Josh.  This whole restructuring thing was based around keeping you, I—”

“I’m sorry, all right?  It’s done, it’s done,” a surprisingly quiet and defeated Josh admits.

As Jan frustratingly leaves to go make some calls, Jim just takes this all in, looking Josh in the eyes one final time before he says goodbye to Stamford forever, his feelings of betrayal hidden behind a look of exasperation.

Feelings so strong that the possibility of the “Godly Miracle” coming to pass because of Josh’s decision has yet to cross his mind.

The second the cameras cut off, he shakes his head, doesn’t say a word, ignores Josh’s “Jim, c’mon, wait—!”, leaves his office, and pulls the handle hard enough so the door slams lightly behind him, silently thanking God no one paid it any attention.

Josh is the one man that gave him this opportunity and made him feel valued.  Josh gave Jim the job, the leads, the benefits.  Josh tried to make Jim feel welcome his first few weeks.  Josh constantly talked Jim up, showing off all the potential he has but Jim never expresses.  Josh even approved of Jim and Pam’s relationship and got HR to approve of it, as well.

Then Josh pulls this.  No heads up, no prior meeting, not even a damn email sent the night before.  And it’s not just Jim who’ll be hurt by this.  Karen, Andy, Polly, Hannah, Martin, Tony, Olive, Kyle… all of their jobs are on the line, as well.  It doesn’t matter that he talks to, like, two other people here besides Josh — only one of whom he gets along with and actually likes — and it doesn’t matter that the staff was legitimately cheering about Scranton’s closing.  That doesn’t mean they deserve having to job-hunt out of nowhere.  Jim has had to.  It’s hard.  It sucks.  And, in his case, it didn’t yield any results.

Jim depended on him.
Jan depended on him.
Everyone outside his office especially depended on him.

But it’s done.  It’s done.

Then he thinks about it: Jan has been fighting for their relationship and David supported them, in a rather touching and motivating way.  Josh only talked him up to flaunt the branch’s reputation.  Karen became his closest friend here.  He earned the job, the leads, the benefits, and the opportunity.  And Michael, when he’s not being an overbearing ass, assures him how valuable he is.  Not as a salesman, but as a friend.

And the hardest part about all of this is… is that Jim was also staring at himself.  How is this any different from his stunt?  Sure, his decision is much less severe than Josh’s (since everyone still had jobs by the time he left), but that doesn’t make it sting any less.  Right now, Jim’s experiencing the hurt he gave to Pam, Michael, and everyone else.  And part of him is thankful for that.  He swears there and then, that this mistake will be one he will never repeat.  Ever again.  No matter how strong the temptation, no matter the reason, no.  Not again.  Never.  Again.

He thinks all of this as he walks to the conference room, knowing the crew is going to want a response.  He manages to keep his cool to not raise any suspicions.  When they ask him his thoughts, he sighs through his nose, looking off to the side.  With hurt still evident on his face despite the “Jim Smirk” trying to cover it up, he turns to them and answers with the following,

“Say what you will about Michael Scott, but he would never do that.”

Josh Porter was the poor man’s Michael Scott all along.


“Okay,” Dwight reports to Michael, “all visible points of access are covered.”  He walks up to him, both back at the end of the house’s walkway.  “So, do you know what you’re gonna say when he shows up?”

“I will improvise,” Michael answers, “I will speak from the heart.”

“No.  Bad idea,” Dwight advises, “You need an attack plan.  Here, I’ll be him, you be you.  Let’s practice.”

“Okay.  All right.”

Act One, Scene One, “‘Dum, dum, dum, dum… coming home from work—’”
“Excuse me, Mr. Wallace?  David Wallace?”

“‘Yes? What is the meaning of this?’”

“Can you tell us why you are shutting down Scranton and putting 15 people out of work?”

“‘Well, the branch is no longer financially viable, it’s simple dollars and cents.’”

“Yes, but these are employees, sir.  These are human beings.”

“‘Listen, Scott,’” Wallace’s actor places his hand on Michael’s shoulder, “‘it’s no longer financially viable, we’re losing money, okay?  It’s not a charity.  It’s a business.  And it’s a dying business.’”  Michael is shaking on the inside, understanding that this sounds like something Wallace could say, just not as blunt or morose.  “‘Look, the whole… business model a small regional paper company, it simply doesn’t make sense to—’”
“Stop-stop it!  Just—”  End Scene.

Michael composes himself after having listened to the truth, “Okay.  He’s not going to say any of that.”  Again, he would, just not as harsh.  Michael never knew he could feel so intimidated by something like this in his whole life.

“Whoa hey, why not?”

“Because he’d be intimidated, and I, just… let’s start again.  Just be more scared of me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t touch me this time.”

“‘Dum, dum, dum, du, doy, du, do… coming home from work…’”
“Excuse me, Mr. Wallace?”
“‘AH!’”


A while after Pam relaxes, a forlorn Kelly walks up to her and asks her to sign her yearbook company directory.  She does so, initially unaware that Kelly was serious.

And Roy looks on from the kitchen windows.  His eyes are still bloodshot; whether it’s from tears or alcohol, no one asks.  Not even Darryl.

Kelly, Best Wishes, Love Pam?”  Kelly wants nothing half-assed.

Pam takes a minute to think, “PS: what a long, strange trip it’s been!”  Kelly, back in high school for only the fourth time that day, laughs at that, and Pam can’t help but smile along with her.  She needed that.

Unsure of what to do next, Roy slinks back to the breakroom.


Jim paces around the conference room, wandering thoughts speeding through his brain.

They slow down when Karen notices him from outside as she walks towards reception.  She holds out her arms as if to say ‘Anything?’

Jim just shakes his head and shrugs.  ‘Not yet.’

She can’t help but peer through the window as the thoughts in his head speed back up.  Will he be out of a job now?  Is he gonna transfer somewhere else?  I mean, it ain’t Stamford so that’s a plus.  But still, how is he going to get her there?  Scranton’s a small city, relatively inexpensive, and probably the only thing she can afford right now.  Not to mention her art classes, which she’ll have to quit.  Even transferring the credits will be an uphill battle, it’s now November.  He desperately wants her to finish the year because she deserves it.  He knows jack about art but she’s talented, and the classes only motivate her to keep at it.  Even her mother threatened to ground her if she didn’t take money to help pay for art school, so clearly, independence is a big thing for her and he’s not making her move in until she’s comfortable.  But what if they don’t have that option?  And the promotion!  Is he gonna lose that too?  That would be a lovely carrot to dangle in front of him.

What’re we gonna do?

And then Jan enters, “So… we are still scrambling here,” she begins, feeling like she’s about to snap in half (which is a good third of her workday), “But uh, it looks like Scranton is going to absorb Stamford.”

Jim’s eyebrows raise, only being able to respond with a “Wow.”  An impossible merger just became a reality,

“And I know that you left there a while back, but we would like to offer you the Number Two position—”
“I’ll take it.”

and he gets to keep the promotion.

She’s initially shaken by the suddenness of his response, but his subdued giddiness tells her all she needs to know.  “…Okay!  Great!”  Her slight laugh indicates that she’s relieved as all hell.  They shake hands and she tells him that they’ll be talking logistics sometime tomorrow.  “Oh, and congratulations.”

He’s aware by her delivery that she’s not talking about the promotion.

“Thank you.”  As she closes the door and strides off needing to break it to the other staff members and Scranton, he slowly sits on one of the chairs in a posture more relaxed than he’s felt the past month, just taking a second to clear his head, and his smile widens.  He laughs quietly.  His eyes are becoming glassy from unshed tears of relief and unabashed happiness.  The kind of happiness a cynical prick like him would mock.  It’s been nearly six months since he’s felt something like this.  It makes him thankful, amazed, and even hungry all at once.

Wow… It’s actually happening.

Amidst his silent, reserved celebration, an assortment of groans of disbelief can be heard from outside, topped off with an “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” from Andy.  He feels bad for them, and yet as awful as it sounds, he can’t bring himself to feel anything more than that.  Because the Godly Miracle has come to pass and Stamford doesn’t matter anymore.

It doesn’t matter, because he’s going home.


A determined Meredith walks up to Toby’s desk, asking him the same question she asked Michael earlier.  It wasn’t Toby.

Meanwhile, Roy is chatting with Pam.  She answers his question, “I’m kinda okay with it, actually.”  It wasn’t the truth, but she hides it well.

“Oh, that’s good, that’s-that’s… that’s great!”  He doesn’t want her to leave, and she can tell as he sighs out awkwardly.  “Um… y’know what you’re gonna do, then?”

Not yet, please stop asking.  “Well, y’know, I got art school.”

“No, that’s— yeah, of course!” he remembers, “You should totally do that.  That’s a great idea.”  Despite his support, she can tell it’s disingenuous.

“Yeah, um, I am.  Already.  I started a while ago.”  Roy, please, you’re making this harder for me.

Roy can tell at that moment how badly he screwed up.  He’s trying to get her back, right?  So how was he not aware?  Why did she never bother to tell him?  Did she hate being in the relationship for that long?  Who else knows about it?

“Wow, that’s… that’s terrific!”  Another awkward sigh.  “That’s awesome.”  She hides how awkward she feels with her fake expressions, but she’s happy he’s trying.  “Well, cool,” he slinks away from the reception desk back downstairs, “I’m glad you’re doing that.”

The moment he leaves, she shakes her head and sighs.  Should I break it to him?


Dwight reveals a very apt truth to the crew, “You can learn a great deal about a man from his trash.”  Wearing rubber gloves, he finds something, “Case in point,” he reveals, “Satellite TV bill.  Hm.  Lesson learned: he’s rich.”  Makes sense.  “Hm, coffee grounds.  Was he enjoying a delicious hot beverage?  Or… disguising the scent of cocaine from drug-sniffing dogs?”  Makes less sense.  With a look of suspicion, he gestures to the building behind him, “’s a nice house.”


“Hey guys,” Phyllis greets the two accountants, “Uh, I’m trying to organize a little group lunch for everybody since you know, we’re never gonna see each other again.”  That’s the spirit, Phyl.

“Where are we going?” Kevin asks.

“I thought maybe DJ’s.”

Kevin’s not a fan, “How about Cugino’s?”

“I don’t want to go all the way to Dunmore,” Angela refutes in her usual tone.

“How ’bout Cooper’s then?”

No seafood.”

“But, I don’t want to go to DJ’s.”

“Oh, now all of a sudden you get picky?”

“Okay.  Forget it,” Phyllis walks away.  This is why she can’t have nice things.

Kevin considers another option for lunch to Angela, “Hooters?”

“…No.”


Creed sells one of the company computers for $400.  Meredith looks on from her desk, impressed.


Dwight passes Michael a large bottle of Gatoraid to “replenish his fluids” (he never mentions where it came from), and Michael responds by opening the bottle cap that isn’t there with his tie.

Yeah, they’ve been there for quite a while.


Jan enters Scranton Business Park, silently cursing Josh Porter’s name after loudly cursing it in the car on the way there.

The absolute gall of him to even… a-and it wasn’t that he switched companies, hell, it wasn’t even that he leveraged the position.  Yes, it’s underhanded, but that can happen in a business like this.  Maybe she could’ve if she had the chance and decided to take it.  But he knew, he knew Dunder Mifflin Northeast was based around him staying with the company!  And poor Jim… she knows he’s not one to display his emotions (something the two of them have in common) but she could tell how hurt he was under that calm veneer; it’s an action she’s performed far too many times to not notice.  And, after addressing the rest of that office, he certainly wasn’t the only one who felt betrayed.  (Andy kicked a full wastebasket across the room like a football.)  At the very least, she managed to get the merger to Scranton, which she wanted all along.  For them.  Though David was willing to hear her out, Alan and the Board were less keen on the idea.  Too bad they no longer have the choice.

Right now, all she hopes is that Michael doesn’t screw this up or discovers a way he can screw it up.  Who’s she kidding?  Of course, he will.

The one silver lining that’s keeping her from just cursing at the wind is Jim, salvaging this entire ordeal, all the while happily anticipating a heartfelt reunion with Pam.  Those few minutes made her day, and the only thing making this worth it.  And them back together gives her a sense of peace.

She can have it all.

The running thoughts stop as she presents her usual self once again and strides in to find Michael’s office empty.  “Where’s Michael?”

“He’s not here,” Pam answers.  Jan slowly walks up to her, wanting something concrete.  “I don’t know where he is.”  I really don’t, Jan.  You’re scary when you do that.

To add insult to injury, the staff are goofing off instead of doing their work.  No wonder the branch was gonna be closed.  “Wha— …what’s going on here?”

“We know the branch is closing, Michael told us.”  Phyllis is not shy with her disdain.

“Oh, God,” Jan looks up in exasperation, dropping her bag and needing some Ambien, “Okay, you know what everybody?  I’m sure there is a better way to do this but I’ve driven something like 400 miles today and I’m completely exhausted so I’m just gonna tell you: Your branch is not closing, Stamford is closing.”  Pam lets out a sigh of relief, actually happy that she’s keeping this awful job.  “Um, for the time being, it seems that all your jobs are safe.”

Kevin and Angela celebrate with a hug.  Phyllis celebrates by hugging Stanley, who longs for God to take him where he stands.

As Jan tries to leave, Pam has to ask, “Is it because of Michael?  Did he actually do something?”

Jan yelled about it to her sister on the way there, poor thing doesn’t need to hear it.  “Well… reasons are not important— Would you just call him, please, wherever he is… and tell him?”

“Sure, uh, Jan”  A touchy Jan sighs and turns to her attention.  She has to know something, she’s done too much for us already.  “um, do you know, is anyone coming back to Scranton?”

“Back?”

Smooth, Pam.  “Coming to Scranton, is anyone coming to Scranton?” she asks quickly.

“Well,” Jan reveals, “we do know of one person who’s coming back.”  The delivery is rushed, out the door two seconds after she says it, but her subtle look of support and congratulations to Pam indicates the obvious.  The receptionist’s eyes widen, only slightly, resisting the urge to turn to the camera so she won’t raise any suspicions.

It’s… it’s happening.

Cut to her in front of the crew for comments, her just staring at them with a face like she just saw a U.F.O.  “Um…” is all she could manage before she expresses her current emotions, about to ugly cry happy tears, keeping them at bay.  She looks down and bites her bottom lip as she realizes that the Godly Miracle has come to pass.  She looks back up at them, composing herself and having so damn much to say.  But all that comes out is

“I’m sorry, what was the question?”

It doesn’t matter, because he’s coming home.


Dwight and Michael wait by the company car and think about getting food.  Suddenly a cell phone rendition of The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘My Humps’ gets the latter’s attention.

“Who is it?” Dwight asks.

“The office,” Michael says looking at the caller ID on his cell.

“Gonna get it?”

“No, not until I have some good news for them,” he responds, letting the tune play out, “Not until I have some good news.”

…That good news doesn’t have to come from David, Michael.


B-lum, blum-bum, blum-bum-bum-blum, Dunder Mifflin Action News,” Andy singsongs as he turns his office chair facing Jim.  He holds his highlighter like a microphone.  Jim can’t help but give an amicable smirk at Andy; when he’s not being a total asshat, he can be a charming and likable guy.  “Jim Halpert, will Big Tuna be transferring to Scranton?”  He gestures his ‘microphone’ to Jim.

“Yes,” he responds happily, “Yes, I will.”  The camera pans to Karen, curious about the immediacy of Jim’s response.  “I mean, Jan offered me the job, so I figured I’d take it.”

“Yeah, well, even if I don’t get transferred, I’ll probably… be fine,” Andy reassures himself, “Cornell has an extensive alumni at work so…” Jim’s disinterest is on full display, “We look out for each other.  Probably go back and teach or something.”

Jim can’t help himself, “Where’d you go to college?”

“…Cornell.”  Andy’s not quick on the uptake.

“Oh, that’s good.”

As Andy swivels back around in exasperation, Jim gives a “Jim Smile” to the camera.  He hopes Andy gets transferred because Scranton would be far more interesting if he does.

But Andy’s not the only reason he’s smiling.


Pam makes conversation with Ryan in the kitchen as she makes her tea with the teapot, “I guess some new people might be coming from Stamford.  Should be fun, new blood.”

“Is Jim coming back?”  Ryan asks because that’s the last thing he wants.

Pam is put off by the pointedness of the question.  Wow, okay.  “That’s, um…” she tries to come up with something, “I hadn’t thought about it, huh.”  She tries to hide her excitement.

“I just don’t want it to be weird… y’know?”  What do you mean by that?  “I mean, I took his old job and his old desk.”

“Yeah,” she answers, “that might be weird.”  For you, maybe.  “Overall though, we still all have our jobs, so good news, right?”

“Oh, yeah, totally.”  Well, it’s certainly good news for someone.

“Ahhhhh!” Kelly runs up and hugs him from behind, pinning him to the fridge, “I’m so happy we don’t have to break up now, Ryan!”  They hold each other, him giving her the most genuine look of excitement he could fake as she starts kissing him repeatedly.  “This is the best day of my whole life—!”

Cut to Ryan in front of the crew, “I dunno… can’t explain it.”  He has never looked more defeated.


Karen manages to get Jim’s attention by tossing a paper clip at him.  He swivels to face her and she’s wearing a smile.  The same one from a while ago.  When she was very happy.

“So, back to Scranton, huh?”

“Yup.”

“Didn’t you move from there, like six months ago?”

He sighs, “Scranton… it’s not that bad.  I’m kinda glad I’m moving back.”

“Hm,” Karen tilts her head, excited to ask him, “Does Pam live there?”  She raises her eyebrows and grins.

She knows.

Now that she’s found out, he just clicks and replies quietly with, “Yup.”

“I knew it, I knew it!” she shout-whispers, still grinning ear-to-ear.

He shakes his head, “Was it that obvious?” he whispered.  His happiness is palpable.

“It was pretty obvious, dude,” she says through a laugh.

“Yeah,” he nods.  It’s all he can bring himself to say; it’s been five hours and he’s still taking it in.

Despite everything, Karen simply says, “I’m really happy for you two.”

“Thanks.”  He decides to switch gears.  “How you doing with all this?”

“You know, I’m fine.  I’ll be better when I know if I have a job.”

Jim is legitimately surprised, “You’d actually move to Scranton?”

“Yeah, if they let me, I think I-I think I would.”

He doesn’t get it, “New York City is 45 minutes down the road from here.  And you wanna move to Scranton?”  This is something she’s never considered until this moment.  “Honestly, knowing you, I’d move to New York.”

She hates hearing that because he’s exactly right.

“…Yeah, you know, I might do that.  I— who knows?  I-I might do that,” she shrugs.  As he swivels back around, she tries to figure out what to do next.

She’s aware that he was being supportive and didn’t mean anything by it.  And she prefers the city, anyway, why would she stay in some small town that doesn’t have anything to do?  It makes no sense.  And yet…

Yeah, she can’t lie to herself, nothing is going to happen.  She’s not that girl, and Jim made it clear that night that he’s not that guy.  She’s not over him, not completely, but just because she can’t have Jim doesn’t mean she won’t find someone else.  She’ll make new friends, new memories.  It’s unfamiliar territory, and that’s always exciting.  Besides, she’s never been one to sit still.

But she needs to weigh her options, because if she chooses Scranton, she’s not walking away.

Meanwhile, as Andy flails napkins in the kitchen during his emotional breakdown, Josh approaches him, “Hey Andy!”

Andy collects himself, “Josh, what’s up?”

“I just want to say thanks. Good luck,” Josh reaches out to shake his hand.  Again, all of this is very rehearsed.

“Thanks, man.  You, too.  Totally.”


Stanley unpacks his box full of his desk supplies, lamenting the fact that it’s over.  At least now he has something to look forward to.

Meanwhile, Meredith walks back to her desk, congratulating Creed for earning over $1200.  She answers her office phone, and it’s former warehouse worker Gary Trundle.  The guy.  She tells him to meet her at her place in twenty minutes.

Hey, what he won’t know won’t hurt her.


“Anything?”  It’s closing time, and Michael’s in the driver’s seat.  He’s only had a small bag of Funions for lunch and needs a proper meal.

Dwight, in the passenger seat, frustratingly sets his binoculars down, “Nothing.”

“What if this doesn’t work?” Michael laments, “What if the office actually goes under?”  His thousand-yard stare indicates his genuine fear.  The last thing he wants is for his employees, his friends, his family, to lose their jobs… and it’s the last thing David wants, as well.  But when one’s hand is forced, there’s nothing left to be done.  Michael is always one to tackle anything, believing he’s the solution, even though he’s wrong most of the time.  But this?  The lack of agency?  That is what’s scaring him.

Thankfully, Dwight’s right by his side, “Then it was an honor to have worked with you.”

The absolute sincerity in his voice pierced Michael’s heart.  No matter how much of an idiot he is, Dwight’s the backbone of Dunder Mifflin Scranton… and a loyal friend.  And Michael, for a brief moment, recognizes this to be the truth with a pat on his shoulder.  It’s not the only time he recognizes this truth, either.

Dwight spends some time recounting the memories they’ve shared:
— Michael hazing Dwight with a fire extinguisher on his first day.
— Dwight’s first sale, and his subsequent promotion to A.R.M.
— The basketball game.
— The trip to the hospital during Dwight’s concussion.
— When Michael told him he cared about him.

Michael doesn’t want to hear anymore, because it’s Dwight.  He (quickly) goes next:
— All of them.  Every last one.

And he means that.

“What about when Jan said the branch was closing?”

God, Dwight!”

“Well, it doesn’t…”


“Hey Pam,” Kevin offers, “we’re going to Poor Richard’s.  Creed’s buying shots.”

For the first time while working in Dunder Mifflin, she makes the choice to go to Poor Richard’s herself.  “Sure, why not?”

“All right.”
“I’ll meet you guys there.”
“Cool.”

Phyllis walks up to the desk and leans down, wanting to know something she’s been curious about for a while now, “Hey, I hear Jim’s coming back.”

“Really?” Pam asks, hiding her actual reaction, “Where did you hear that?”  This is Phyllis, I shouldn’t be surprised.

“Well, I was—”
“Hey Ryan, you coming?”  Kevin interrupts, offering the same courtesy to Ryan.

“Uh, yeah, we’ll meet you there,” Ryan responds, stalling an intense conversation with Kelly.

“Awesome.  Let’s go, Phyllis.”  Phyllis will tell her later as he walks out the door.

As the rest of the office walks out, Roy reenters, “Crazy day, huh?”

Her face displays genuine care, but she’s tired of seeing him constantly try.  “Yeah.”  Roy, please…

“Yeah!  Man…” yet another awkward silence before he replies, “I’m uh… I’m really glad you’re still gonna be working here.”

“Yeah, me too,” she responds, and not for the reasons he believes, “I mean, it-it’d be a pain to find another job, so…”

“Yeah,” he responds, “totally.”

“And um… I’m looking forward to seeing Jim again.”

His face becomes one of genuine surprise, “Wait, Halpert’s coming back?”

“Yeah, he is.”  The same excited look she’s had for hours shows back up.

“Wow, tha-that’s great!” he says, trying to hide his disappointment.  He… he thought he had a chance.  To get her back.  To make things right.  To change.  That’s why he keeps trying.

“Yeah, and…”  Jim had to break it to Karen, this isn’t any different.  “We’ve been together for a while now.”

He now knows.

Roy’s eyebrows raise, “Really?”  This reaction isn’t even one of disappointment, but rather shock.

“Yeah, and we’re still going strong,” she replies.

“Yeah, no, I could— …can’t even imagine.”  He couldn’t.  He wouldn’t.  And, after everything, she doesn’t blame him.

“Yeah, it’s been intense, but,” she shrugs, “I’m just glad he’s coming back.”  She wants to hide that damn look to spare him, but her anticipation and face muscles can’t help themselves.

“Wow,” he finishes, “Congratulations.”  His poker face is failing him, but not enough to tell.

“Thank you.”

He tries to pinpoint what to say next, but quickly realizes there’s nothing more to say.  “Alright, I’ll see ya.”  After a couple of taps on her desk, he finally walks off, depressed beyond belief.

“Okay.”  The delivery is quiet and full of pity, but she’s happy it’s out of the way.  And that he’s at least okay with it.  He took the high road.  He’s trying.

She takes her tenth deep breath for the day… until she gets a text, and — once again — smiles brightly as she responds to it.

“A year ago, I would’ve dreamed for a severance and some time off,” she tells the crew before she leaves, “but, as weird as this sounds, I couldn’t be happier.


“There’d be another annoying boss, another desk, I’d have to learn everything all over again.
Karen simply stares at her monitor as she keeps weighing her options.  It’s taking her longer than she assumed it would.


“And, besides,” Pam finishes, “there’s finally a reason to stay.”  She can’t stop smiling.


As Jim stands up and puts on his coat, Karen gets his attention, “Hey, um, I think I am gonna take that job.”

He looks at her inquisitively as he slides his cell phone back into his pocket.  “Really?  You sure?”

“Yeah, I mean, I think I’ll have a better time there than I ever did here.”

He stops, attempting the impossible task of finding the right words, “Well, speaking from experience,” he grabs his satchel, “It’s… an entirely different beast.”

“Oh, I’ve heard stories,” she says through a light chuckle.

“Yeah, you’ll be living them.”  They share a light laugh.  “Have a good night,” he says as he walks off.

“You, too.”  She turns off her computer and, for once, her face doesn’t fall.  A genuine smile remains.  It’s not forced, it’s not very happy, it’s just a simple smile.  A smile that indicates that things are looking up.

“I honestly think it’d be good for me,” she confesses to the crew, “I mean, I never really felt at home here either, so… hopefully, that’ll change.”

She’s always up for a challenge.


Michael and Dwight still await Wallace on the steps of his walkway when Michael realizes that this whole exercise was pointless.

He just lays down on the grass before him, about to cry and lamenting how this was a stupid idea, that he’s such a stupid idiot, how he let everyone down and lost everyone’s jobs!  Everyone hates him!  Nobody likes him anymore!

“Oh, my God!”

Dwight’s sudden exclamation gets Michael’s attention.  Stamford’s branch is closing.

They did it.  They did it!

As the two celebrate, chest-bumping and Ooh-Ooh-Ooh-ing away, Michael then realizes something:
“…How did we do it?”
“I don’t… I have no idea.”
“I don’t understand.”

Yeah, they didn’t really do it.


“Well for a minute there, I saw myself… selling my house, moving to Costa Rica, learning how to surf.  But, Costa Rica will still be there… when I’m 65.”

If there’s one thing that Toby has yet to catch, it’s a break.

Chapter End Notes:

The Monologue — I liked writing this one, but not sure about it.
I needed to solidify the explanation as to why the timid, shy, and slowly blossoming Pam from Season 3 is completely done away with here.  She went from 0 to 100 real quick, so I decided on a certain song from Jim’s iPod (more on that shortly) that could sum up how and why she snapped.  Fun fact, the second ‘what if’ was gonna be the beginning of this story, but I thought the long-distance concept had more potential.
The conversation with Penny was fun, and the strongest part IMO.  We only see her in “Niagara” (which makes sense since the show’s called The Office and not like this site where it’s Jim and Pam centric), but I would think that she’s the complete antithesis of Pam personality-wise while sharing her sweet disposition, shy mannerisms, and sense of humor.  To me, if anyone besides Helene would push Pam to lay it all on the line for Jim, it would no doubt be Penny.  (Izzy would’ve driven Pam to Jim’s place and made her if she wasn’t going through something.)

The Episode — Unfortunately, the transcript I found for this episode was the broadcast one, while the one I was watching was the Producer’s Cut.  The AU bits were more difficult to incorporate than usual because of the different script; I didn’t even bother using one of the Jim talking heads after he talked to Josh, I just went straight to the phone call.  Hopefully, this reads better to you, dear reader, than it does to me.
This episode is pretty darn fun!  You have Michael and Dwight doing their shtick, little moments where each character shines, and who could forget this?  Like “Initiation”, I went a bit far with the introspection again, but the Staples reveal was just too good.  And I wanted to hint at some things to come for both Jan and Karen.  They were prevalent in the episode and this chapter felt appropriate to indicate where they’ll be going.  And, thank the Good Lord above, the Stamford arc is dead.  Two diamond subplots in a whole lotta rough.  Nice job cheering on people who’re losing their jobs, Stamford, very cool.

‘Only You’, Yazoo — I finally get to the title drops.  I chose this as the theme of the series for two reasons:
The first reason is this was always Pam’s story, but she gained even more focus as I kept writing this.  This became Pam’s Casino Night song.  I feel it conveys her emotions throughout the events of Episode 2.22 and the first monologue.  While I don’t want to interpret the song into something it’s not, I figured it could work since, well, Pam is known to over-analyze things as she admits here.
The second reason?  This.  Originally the song was just meant to present the general themes of the story while being a wink-wink-nudge-nudge easter egg.  Then I recalled the scene itself as I was writing this.  Though I haven’t seen all of the UK Office itself, I’ve seen some clips and know the general plot of it.  I don’t wanna spoil anything from ‘Christmas Specials Part 2’, so I’ll just say this: I unintentionally made Pam follow in Dawn’s footsteps. The song itself is fantastic, give it a listen.  By the way, if you're curious, ‘The Scientist’ is Jim’s Casino Night song.  Give that a listen, too, it’s not a fun time.
On a slightly related note, I’m making a playlist for this whole AU.  (Maybe share some of it as a fic?)


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