Less to point out in Part III, but still some less visible notions that I want to make mention of.
Upfront I’ll point out some of the pervading themes that recur often in this part. I may not always point them out specifically in these notes, but you can look out for them.
One is water, splashing it on her face and washing, all indicative of baptism. This part is Pam’s metaphorical rebirth. Plus, in a way this experience replaces/eradicates the need for a future event where, standing ankle deep in water, she speaks from her soul to Jim after having walked through fire (was this symbolic of the hell she went through season 3?) to get the courage. So, the water is symbolic of that too, even if it’s her face and not her feet here. Let’s say the time travel turned everything upside down and on its head, so it would make sense.
Another is her constantly having to rely on herself. While we all want to see her get together with Jim at the end, first she had to pull out herself from where she’d been buried in the years with Roy. Only then was her transformation complete and with that her ability to allow herself to be happy with Jim.
The last is the bells and wings that are all over these last chapters – bells to wake her up, wings signifying a wide-open future that she finds on the other end of this journey and both clues back to the angel that is helping to get her there and win her own wings, Gabby.
Chapter 21 – Boxes and Cracks
Pam has gotten a few earfuls about Michael and his bathroom habits and you know why (but in case not) …they are important to the plan later on. I don’t usually like to write so much about bowels.
Once more those BLUE earrings stirring up trouble…but good trouble, right?!?.
Did you catch that both Michael’s have used the line My bowels wait for no man. But they do wait for Charmin? Michael may be having his own bit of growth in the experience but at his core he is the same Michael, thus the repeated line.
My thinking with the earrings going into the coat pocket – it was meant to stay lost and so it goes into the coat that got returned to Burlington. Plus, another mention of pockets in general. In the other timeline, she never does look for the other earring after the fight (which wouldn’t be there since future Pam has it).
Notice the mention of the weather getting colder- symbolic of the freeze on her heart or her attempt to keep it that way. Also, the coldness in her relationship with Roy -also set up for later. Speaking of set-up, the crack in the pavement – not just metaphoric, also a set-up for the end as was the line about the cracks in the other timeline after the fight.
Yet another set-up here was the question about the guard -Hank, who’s name she forgets – just so I can bring it back in Peeling Polish /Good Riddance and have a little fun bringing up the Tate name tag.
This chapter could have been subtitled the Rising Action for all the plot points set up – the choice of her shirts a big one.
Some lines may seem unimportant but really are very telling like this one, With only herself to rely on, her morning…this the first instance of self-reliance in Part III.
And we also get first instance of washing her face- after the fight with Roy.
Angel Clue (there may be less, but I’m still sprinkling them in here are there for fun):
If life were a movie, it would be time for the fairy godmother or guardian angel or mysterious stranger to show up to tell her what to do. (this line also inspired by the titular Time Machine Ingrid Michaelson song that comes up later - lyric - if life was a movie scene).
Chapter 22 – Espresso and Popcorn
I agree with Michael too, there ought to be an ex, as in ex-fiancé.
More cold, as they enter the warehouse – where Roy works. Penetrating and long lasting cold.
I couldn’t explain any clearer about the photo she finds of herself than Tiny Dundie’s line in a review she left for this chapter – “Pam's reluctance to see Roy for who he is today is her inability to let go of who he was before.” Thanks TD!
NO, the pages numbers are not meant to mean anything here – I don’t write steam – but interpret how you wish.
In case it wasn’t clear, Tiki Barber was a pro football player. Michael really should have known him, he was pretty famous at the time, but let’s just say he was having a brain fart. He’d been shown to know a lot less.
Angel Clue:
Michael told her the shower’s pressure was heavenly. (which has double purpose of being a reference to water/shower)
Chapter 23 – Packer Patrol
Stating the obvious perhaps, but more references to cold.
The switching up of the staircases – bit of foreshadowing. The front and back staircases also meant to be symbolic of idea of the two timelines and the switching off of which one they/she takes, both here and throughout rest of story, symbolic of the changes she is making.
I’ve always been a big fan of the Michael/Pam relationship, the one that grew from “Don’t Throw Garbage at Me”, to their tearful goodbye at the airport. It took time to develop on the show. In this fic, time travel sped it up.
Gave you a little HP references here, since this whole story is supposed to be a HP crossover.
Meta moment – the strikeout lines in the text were very hard to figure out how to code to get them to appear. After a little post-posting edit I added the …making the line she wrote through it that much more satisfying – which figuring out how to code it to appear that way was for me.
The stuff about the paths and roads a little foreshadowing to what’s reiterated in I can’t chapter. And a little nod to Superfan episode Pam Michael Scott Paper where Pam says she took the road less traveled, (the one with a sign that says "Those who pass shall die”) although this one a good road for her.
The few lines I wrote:
When she struggled with the copier, he was often quick to her side to help clear the jams, even after ruining a shirt or two early on when the cuffs became stained with explosive ink. Ever since, he began his work day with rolled up sleeves ready to go to war with the machine alongside her when it revolted – were meant to tell the backstory about why Jim’s sleeves were always rolled up (at least before he came back to Scranton in Season 3).
But it was late, she was too tired, and she didn’t have room on her list to add teaching Michael how to get out of a bad relationship to it. (Not to mention how could you teach it if you couldn’t even do it yourself, at least not yet)
Angel Clue:
This line: Maybe in the future, she could find a way to get him to reveal that she exists and find a reason they could meet in real life.
Chapter 24 – A New Twist on Randall’s Theory
Lots of foreshadowing dropped into this table setting chapter.
The mention of the Randall/Gabby magical kiss in the kitchen, placed intentionally as a reminder so when you get to the other magical kiss in the kitchen (not the one in chapter 29 – Time Machine but also there as a parallel) the story circles back and connects to that fairy tale.
Note the mention and detail of her shower.
Also, the mention of the expired yogurts, foreshadowing to Jim’s line in the same future chapter.
Mentioned up at the start but Randall doesn’t know about the code word since he overheard it before the shift to the timeline when he starts his own alt timeline- the one revealed in Chap - The Angel that got Away. Same with his being adamant about not knowing stuff. I’m sure the idea that Gabby and perhaps he too, were both angels was clear to many by now, but hoping that chapter brought a little surprise.
The mention of Pam’s different clothes.
The line: You won’t be able to see much unless you crack the door but there’s no better place to catch the good stuff than here in the kitchen.
We know that Michael uses the Great Scott line – and I’m sure most of you know the line was from Back to the Future and was Doc Brown’s own catchphrase. But I love that connection I was able to plop in here (consider that movie my Monk connection).
Since blue is not her color, I wanted to give Randall’s eyes a little more of what is her color, green, especially during this moment when he talks to her about being able to change her future but it has to come from her, not some predetermined fate.
Angel Clues:
The pressure was heavenly in the shower.
Randall hums Undercover Angel as he walks away.
Chapter 25 – Back from Vacation
I stand by that in the original timeline, the vacation was good, great even…it had been on the heels of setting the date. In the new timeline, that trip was a just a bit less so due to some of the changes that having another her mucking with time (and taking her stuff and Roy’s spare cash). But either way, she wouldn’t have anyone knowing anything different…admitting so was like pulling at a loose thread, and she wasn’t ready to have her world unravel. (But get ready, Pam. It’s coming).
A few HP references sprinkled in – to please the Potter fans who were promised a crossover. Also a foreshadowing to a Sandler movie that makes cameos again later.
But a big tell in the original Pam section was her thoughts about Katy, the little jealousy and I establish that she is aware it is not cool to man-hop. Always best to leave a little breathing room between new boyfriends, especially when they know each other.
If the beginning paragraph of the other Pam timeline felt a bit wonky, that is because I had sort of backed myself into a corner by having it be Angela about to walk into the kitchen in the last chapter, when I wanted Pam (the other one) to be the first to arrive in this one. And so I had to come up with a way to fix that…and it became mistaking herself for Angela – yikes.
I already mentioned the song in the chapter notes but it’s worth mentioning again…Pam and Roy’s song – yup Kelly is right on this one – it is about a couple who had broken up.
Chapter 26 – Boys and Girls
It’s a long chapter and yet I don’t have much to point out from this one. One thing that might have gone unnoticed was how Pam’s grumbling stomach seems to quiet when she’s around Jim.
Two easter eggs in the manifesto – one the reference to the chipmunk story which was a reference to my own story, A Chipmunk with Good Taste. It doesn’t exist in this same world (arguably it could in the original timeline had they not time traveled), but I humbly suggest it anyway, as it is a fun, quick one-shot. The second a nod to another story, Warrior’s Silver Wings while also serving as foreshadowing to the end.
This chapter was tricky. I had to tread the line of giving to much of certain secret away (for those who hadn’t already figured it out). Plus, I’m not sure if it was apparent there was a shift in POV from the first section (Randall’s) to the next (Pam’s) since he was existing in her timeline here and so the italics that normally indicated we were in another character’s present didn’t seem to be appropriate.---All part of the tricky issues of writing a time travel fic and doing it without an editor or even a beta.
Another line I feel worth pointing out … crown of her cinnamon hued curls, the bulk of them pulled back, not counting the few that had found freedom from the confines of the barrette. In the show Pam’s hairstyle changes when she does…this line is meant to evoke that idea.
I’ve said before this fic was not just about getting Jam together but also about the relationship between Pam and Michael, warping its developing speed to the closeness they shared at his eventual departure from Dunder Mifflin. I hope that came across in this chapter.
I hope also it had its moments of humor with the whole Kelly bit and Michael’s reaction to the Brad Pitt breakup (Which came around again in Chapter 33A- Caught in a Kiss)
And what was that thing he said about waiting?…that was a key line but by now I probably don’t need to tell you that.
Angel Clues:
There weren’t any for a few chapters and then boom – big one here. But I waded my toe in first with this line: Hell, it was why he felt justified to share it with her.
I’m still not going to come out and say Randall is/was an angel (because I still haven’t decided myself if he is/was) but the line he was about to say was that Gabby would get her wings, because she, like Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life, is working to get hers. So, interpret his back spasm as you wish.
Chapter 28 – Pummeled Moles and Hissing Cats
I’ll start by pointing out a continuity issue I messed up with. Maybe someone has an idea on how to fix it – or maybe its only a glaring error to me. The phones – they are ringing, incessantly at the start of this chapter, with no mention/notice of the changed ringtone from a chirp to bell-like trill that Ryan had supposedly changed it to. Now, my best explanation for this is it went unmentioned by that Pam; she was too preoccupied for it to stand out in her POV at least until much later when she was running up the stairs to catch up with Jim. But the new Pam is much more observant and aware of things she hadn’t been aware of before and it is noticed by her right away and thus in her POV. Does that work for you all?
Roy would tear off when the light went green, almost like he knows to get her away from the green as soon as possible before she notices it.
Euclid is a real street in Scranton and I chose it because I thought it sounded like it could have something to do with angels or gods but actually he was a Greek mathematician (not sure if I am showing my ignorance not knowing who this guy was). But I went on a bit of a deep dive into him (the OL would be so proud) to see if there was something angelic there. I found a lot of interesting stuff in this one article https://www.britannica.com/biography/Euclid-Greek-mathematician - like how important having a strong foundation is to math (and really to everything including a relationship, right) and his book includes the golden ratio (which is not all that relevant to this story but as those who know me know all my stories will touch on gold somehow). Wow, that was a tangent (umm, math word), let’s get back to the story.
When the new day took shape, it would be up to her to direct what would come. (relying on herself)
The clowder of cats, symbolically Angela, was a somewhat prophetic dream as she does almost make Pam decide to pull the rein on what she had started with Jim when we get to Chapter 33B- The Bells of Dunder Mifflin.
From almost the day he stepped into the Dunder Mifflin office, she knew a tiny seed had found its way inside her and though she tried to shield it from sunlight and limit its water so it couldn’t break through to the surface, it somehow still managed to fester and bloom to a flower where she never imagined one could grow. – foreshadowing of the final chapter – the flower that grew out of the crack – and true fans know that this was the visual metaphor that Greg Daniels gave for the show at large.
It was there, as the warm jet of water penetrated over her… (metaphorical baptism)
Chapter 29 – (If I Had a) Time Machine
Let me start by talking about the song, again. Sitting on this song was one of the things propelling me forward – making me write even when I didn’t have time or knew I would have to give up something else to find time to. I just wanted to get to the chapter where I could share this song. That’s how much I loved it. Then on the day I was posting, viewing the video for the first time I became downright giddy when the first person (after Ingrid) to pop onto the screen was none other than….Rainn Wilson and when 3 more Office actors cameoed I just about exploded. If you haven’t watched the video yet….go do that now. I’ll wait. It’s absolutely delightful. As for the song lyrics it’s the juxtaposition of we were never meant to be with the line, Some things are meant to be from Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love that I feel worth a big mention.
In the chapter itself:
Concrete, cement, cracks – all hints at what’s to come in the final chapter.
The solid blue shirt, as usual, blue creating problems for Pam. Of course, Roy’s eyes get even bluer when he gets teary during their breakup.
A few lines meant to remind you of the lost wings from earlier and foreshadow finding them in Chapter 35 -The Angel…
She could still continue with the flight plan. Her plane wasn’t grounded.
…there was plenty of runway left to achieve liftoff.
Also a reminder that… she was once a girl with dreams of more, more than just having a terrace with flowers, another storyline that comes back in that chapter.
We are reminded of the lottery numbers Michael has which show up again in the final chapter.
Dwight’s supersonic hearing is mentioned, which was later a possible reason he was at his desk and the ready with pepper spray.
And finally, another reference to cold in Roy’s hands when he desperately grabbed for hers.
Chapter 30 – Peeling Polish / Good Riddance
I can now reveal my struggle in this chapter – writing Randall’s POVs. As he is an angel or angel-adjacent, he has some knowledge of what events are changing, have changed or won’t happen (the prank with the Time Turner) but is still doing the filming for the original Randall so it exists when he returns. He is experiencing the day wearing both hats, as a cameraman and a spiritual guide, so writing in that mindset was tricky (plus I didn’t want to give away the reveal yet).
Just so you know the other Randall will be unaware a stand-in took his place in Pam’s experience (and Michael’s), but he is aware of time travel and the mind-fuck that goes with it. His memories and experiences will have been largely the same through the two weeks, except for the parts with Gabby and the time travelers. So, on this day, he did film the prank set up, did take Michael downstairs, and did a lot of stuff he later would not understand why he did, but won’t question it knowing it must have had to do with the time travelers messing with the timeline. Am I confusing you yet? Because I’m confusing myself.
Again, he is physically the same Randall but not mentally, a little bit the George Baily character getting to experience an alt life for the two weeks with Gabby, while she is there to help Pam and ultimately get her wings. Only he won’t know he experienced it. Gabby is a long-ago memory until Pam brings her name up in The Angel Who Got Away chapter.
I know, I’m not making this any clearer, am I? Perhaps, this twist was an epic fail, but hoping it doesn’t detract too much from the story at large.
Back to that, there two more references to water – her shower and her rinsing her face – (baptism).
Super-fan/Deleted scene reference: The line- when Michael calls Pam to get him, He just knew she was not smiling. The scene is alluded to it from The
Alliance: Seeing Pam not smiling when she is on the phone with clients, Michael advises her to do so and adds that the clients can hear her smile through the phone. He demonstrated by covering his face and speaking with and without a smile and asks her to guess if he is in each instance. -Go look for this scene - it's a funny one.
When Hank presses 9 three times, it’s another angel number. 999 shows up when you are close to achieving your dreams. It’s a reassurance that all is occurring as it should be. It’s a sign to let go of your fear and any lingering resentments, and trust in yourself to guide you through.
The Musak song playing is Good Riddance, appropriate in its title alone but also the line Michael remembers- in the end it’s right, is another reassurance all is headed towards the right outcome. (Fun additional tie-in, Jenna is close friends with Billie Joe Armstrong and The Office used his Boulevard of Broken Dreams later for the Secret Santa episode.)
Another part of Pam’s inner thoughts was line…then she’d just wasted close to a decade on the ground when she could have been flying. Another foreshadowing to finding her own literal and metaphorical wings at the end.
Two more things I just want to put out there…the favorite sweater she left behind, she couldn’t find it because the other Pam had it – but you knew that right? But even though the sweater wasn’t at the office either, the only place she hadn’t looked, we all know that her heart 100% was.
Lastly, Jim never knew what happened with Roy the night before so what he was reading in her face when he came in, was anger at Roy and even herself. But he interpreted it as anger from their fight and kept his distance, which then she interpreted as him holding onto anger over the fight and so she kept her distance. I meant it to be a little reminiscent of the season 3 arc, where they both held on to misplaced emotions and it kept them apart. Not sure if it came across that way.
Angel Clues:
Mention of Nick’s Tavern – in It’s a Wonderful Life, the bar Martini’s becomes Nick’s when Clarence is showing George the alt life.
Aforementioned angel number.
In Pam’s internal monologue the line she’d been on cloud nine after setting the date.
Chapter 31 – I Can’t
…think of anything I need to say about this chapter. Shocking, right?
Chapter 32 -Wearing Blue
The bit with Michael’s chewed seatbelt many of you recognize as an Easter egg of a deleted scene from Secretary's Day where Michael tells Erin "Sometimes when I am upset I will chew on my seatbelt," but I meant it to also have some utility in the Story of Pam’s growth with this line, The tear kept catching on the clutch lever, holding it back until Pam finally found the strength to force it down.
This chapter also features, bells (angel clue), water splashing on face (baptism) and relying on herself.
Oh, and the actual lyrics to the song Michaels sings in car are: I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change; And breakaway. Sing it Kelly Clarkson.
Chapter 33A – Caught in a Kiss
I did struggle with having Jim believe so easily. We know canonically he is not the type to truly believe in ghosts or other supernatural. But Pam is kissing him and he is just so blown away at what is happening he will accept almost anything. Perhaps and I allude to it later that he does question it some more but, in the end, he accepts it because it brought her to him, just like he says.
Time feels like it is stopping for everyone, in the various timelines. It very well could be.
Chapter 33B - The Bells of Dunder Mifflin
Note the intensifying cold, not just symbolic of the life Pam needs to get out of, but also instrumental in the plot. The icy cold forces Matt inside and he misses Roy’s quick return.
A few notes about cold diuresis (your body's way of preserving heat as it experiences a drastic temperature change and can result in urinary urgency) – it was a very hidden nod to the real Matt Sohn. He would know stuff like this as he had been a camera operator on many wildlife docs and reality shows like Survivor before The Office. (Fun crossover, he also worked on COPS, Michael’s favorite documentary from Chapter 14, Three Strikes). What’s also interesting (to me at least) is I had written this chapter, including the cold air makes him have to pee plot device to get him inside and then after a few days, I finally had a chance to listen to catch up and listen to the latest OL episode (OFFICE LADIES | EPISODE 133 - NEPOTISM), the episode where they talked about peeing. So, this bit was not an intentional nod to that, but worked out to be a serendipitous nod to it instead.
Carrot cakes, while having less sugar than red velvet cakes, still have plenty of sugar and are not quite healthy. Indian Lore is a badge you can earn in Boy Scouts.
Angel Clues:
Of course, this chapter is all about the bells. The bells of Dunder Mifflin, the bells of her heart and the bells that ring when an angel gets her wings.
Chapter 34- The Aftermath
The line about Gumby and the Hulk while a nod to the no less than two times Jim is described as Gumby in canon (Boom roasted – Stress Relief Season 5/ episode 13 and Gumby with Hair – Suit Warehouse Season 9/ episode 11) was also a color green reference – both his alter egos are that color.
Randall may not have been such a good actor after all, since he may have been back to the version that was onto to time travel but not the angel in his existence (or perhaps his own angel status) – again, leaving this ambiguous and letting you the reader decide.
Chapter 35 – The Angel That Got Away
So, the big reveal- been working up to it a while. I know I tripped a lot of you up with the mechanics of all this. In some ways I tripped myself up too but as I said upfront, and hint at here with the line about dreams…there are two versions of Randall, this one, the standard (except maybe in his knowledge/belief about the existence of time travel, and the one in a sort of dream state, dreaming of a life he might have had, if he were braver himself (if the story of Gabby were true up to a point, that point being he didn’t reveal his feelings and kiss her in the kitchen). I did intentionally leave a lot of this up to your own interpretation, creative bunch you all are, I hope it sparked some thoughts and left you thinking. What I hope was one interpretation (with all the hints) was that Gabby (in this story) was an angel. I do want to point out one possible continuity error which I can explain…in this chapter Randall says he last left her (the time travel version) on the deck of the boat, but he saw her again in the parking lot at the dock, before the shift…my reasoning it was a quick interaction, easily forgotten especially as it was around the same time where something major shifted in him so his memory of the before and after that exact moment would be hazy. Can you buy it?
I didn’t mean to disparage the terrace dream, only to point out in her old life her bar was set low. Roy and his influence had much to do with that. But it was still a dream and one that SHE WOULD make come true one day, so she does plan to share it with Jim (of course that means in this version of Jan’s seminar she hadn’t shared it with anyone else).
Did you like the mention of her hair? Once with Jim in the show, the frizz seemed to disappear from her tresses. This was my homage to that (hinted at in the article she had read back in the doctor’s office, in Chap. 18 - Art of Love). Of course, the eyesight is symbolic too and the line about paramedics – a first nod to Warrior.
Had to change Gil’s reaction to her art, since in this new version, Pam does have courage and honesty, displayed best in her avantgarde pieces. I am not too proud to say I love that I made her courage be an inspiration for Oscar to come out (as opposed to have to be unknowingly outed by Michael).
Embracing the turbulence- another hint to another reveal at the end of this chapter…lots of threads to tie up in this one…this one from Chapter 9 – The Brig, where she reflects on the toy wings given on airplane flights, that she had lost…that were symbolic of a future she once dreamed of that almost faded completely away being partnered with someone who didn’t see her and all she could be. Now with her own growth and self-esteem returning (from within and from having Jim as a partner), of course they would show up again.
And of course, this is meant to be your last Angel clue as well as a second nod to Warrior’s epic fic.
Here’s an image of jelly shoes 
for those of you not familiar.
Chapter 36 – Some Things are Meant to Be
Pam’s new car in this world is not a Yaris (The name "Yaris" is derived from "Charis", the singular form of Charites, the Greek goddesses of charm and beauty)- lovely as that it, I felt it was more appropriate for her to drive a Focus – with her new perfect eyesight and focus on the future.
I already mentioned the flower in the crack metaphor - and true fans know that this was the visual metaphor that Greg Daniels gave for the show at large. I always loved this description and this is my homage.
In reviews of last chapter some expressed a little sadness about Randall. Wanting to address that and bring him a happy ending in one or perhaps both of his existences sparked the end notes which also brought about a happy ending for Michael. Again, some things are meant to be.
One reviewer noted the juxtaposition of the lines from the songs featured lines...(we were never meant to be/some things are meant to be). It was totally what I was going for! Great job DJC!
There, now this is truly done. Whew.
If you have any questions, I have not addressed in my dissertation of my own fic, please ask. I’m not sure I’ll have an answer but I’d love to discuss.
