The next morning, Pam was pulling her hair into a high ponytail, when she heard a soft knocking at her door. She felt her stomach jump slightly at the thought of seeing Jim and bit her lip imagining him on the other side of the door, leaning against the rustic wood frame, looking down at her through his floppy hair with a grin tugging at his mouth. She took a deep breath as she looked into the mirror, a small smile playing on her face, bounced on the balls of her feet and turned to answer the door. 

"Hi," she breathed as she swung the door open, only to be greeted by Toby's waiting face. "Oh, uh. Hi Toby."

"Hey Pam. Um, wanna go get breakfast?" he asked nervously.

Pam peered behind Toby to the small staircase that led up to her room, hoping that Jim was somehow just hanging about there. But no, there was no Jim in sight. She felt her face fall, but tried to pull it together for Toby's sake at least. "Sure," she tried to smile. "Let me just grab my sweater."

They made their way down to the small wood panelled dining room and took their seats at a round table for two. As Pam looked around the room hoping Jim would come strolling by, Toby played nervously with the cutlery that had been laid on the white linen tablecloth. Pam picked up the paper menu that was laying between their place settings and looked down, avoiding Toby's eye line as much as possible. They sat in silence, awkwardly smiling at each other whenever their eyes met, but Pam quickly darted her eyes back down to the menu.

"What do you, ahem, want to, what do you want to do today?" Toby mumbled, breaking the tense silence.  

"Um," Pam began, but was cut off by Betsy entering the room and making a beeline for Pam and Toby's table. 

"Good morning," Betsy exclaimed. "How did y'all sleep? 

"Great! This fresh air really knocked me straight out," Toby smiled. "Or, maybe it was the vomiting," he added sheepishly. 

"Hmm," Betsy frowned. "Well, what can I get you folks for breakfast?" 

"I'll take the yoghurt and granola please," Pam said, looking up at Betsy. 

"And for you?" Betsy asked, turning to Toby. 

He quickly grabbed the menu that Pam had placed on the table and scanned it. "Pancakes and bacon please." 

"Alright, coming right up," Betsy smiled, before turning to leave. 

"So, um," Toby began, breaking the silence that had returned. "Did you want to go on a hike? I picked up a leaflet and it looks pretty nice weather today, so maybe we could go on one of the trails?" 

Pam shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Uh, I'm actually going on a bike ride," she began, but Toby cut her off.

"Oh that sounds great. Can we hire bikes here?" 

"With, um, Jim," she quickly added. She watched Toby's face fall. "But, um, maybe we can hang out before we head home or something?" she said, trying to ease her own guilt.

"Yeah, sure," Toby smiled weakly. 

"So how are you feeling after yesterday anyway?" Pam asked, before taking a sip of water. 

"I think I'm all back to normal now. Definitely won't be touching whiskey for a very long time that's for sure," he said, seeming to relax ever so slightly. 

"Here we go," Betsy said, carrying a bowl and a plate in her hands. "Yoghurt and granola for you, and the pancakes for you. Enjoy!" 

Toby and Pam smiled their thanks as they picked up their cutlery. Pam took a big bite of yoghurt and smiled around her spoon at the familiar taste, as Toby poured the small silver dish of maple syrup all over his pancakes. He cut a large chunk and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. 

"Oh wow," he said, his mouth full of food. "These are amazing," he carried on, pointing down to the plate of food with his fork. He quickly shoved another forkful of pancakes in, only pausing to mop up more of the syrup.  

"Oh great," Pam smiled, unsure of what else to say. She took a small spoonful of yoghurt as Toby continued to shovel food into his mouth, grateful that they weren't having to make small talk. She carried on eating, looking around the small dining room and smiling politely at the other guests as they ate their breakfasts, before her eyes settled on the huge picture window. The view before her was breathtaking. Rolling green hills covered in trees as far as the eye could see, with Big Boulder Lake sparkling in the morning sun in the foreground. But it was Jim, walking across the gravel driveway that really captured Pam's attention. She couldn't help but stare at him as he walked back and forth across her eye line, one hand in the back pocket of his jeans, and the other holding his phone to his ear as he animatedly spoke into it with a large smile on his face. His open black and white checkered shirt flapped around his white undershirt clad torso in the light breeze. Pam tried to tear her eyes away from him, but couldn't, even though there was a tightening sensation in her stomach at who he was speaking to. Who could possibly be making him smile so much. 

Just as Pam had finally convinced herself to focus on whatever Toby was mumbling to her, Jim turned and caught her eye. If possible, his smile grew even wider, and he pulled his hand from his back pocket and held it up to her in a greeting. He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket as he walked towards the barn and disappeared out of view. Pam frowned into her bowl and pushed the remnants of her yoghurt around, wondering where Jim had gone. Although, she didn't need to wonder for long. 

"Morning," Jim drawled as he walked over to the small table, causing Pam to snap her head up at the sound of his voice. "How are you gu...oh wow, are you ok man?" 

"Uh, yeah?" Toby replied with a slight panicked edge to his voice. 

"Your face is all red, like really red," Jim said, leaning in closer to Toby. Just then, Toby doubled over in pain. 

"Oh my god, Toby. Are you ok?" Pam said, full of concern. 

"Um, maybe not," Toby replied weakly, clutching his stomach. 

"Oh no," Jim said, looking down at Toby's plate. "You ate the maple syrup didn't you?" Toby nodded at Jim as he covered his mouth with his hand. "It's our special house blend. My mom makes it herself. It's a bourbon maple syrup." 

"Oh god," Toby said, standing and dropping his white linen napkin onto the wooden chair. He pushed his way past Jim and ran out of the room. 

"Do you want to," Jim asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. 

Pam screwed up her nose. "He'll want the space. And also, I don't wanna see him vomit. It'll make me be sick." 

"Yeah I get that," he chuckled. He tucked his hand into the back pocket of his jeans and shifted from one foot to the other. "So, do you still wanna go for a bike ride?"

"Yes," she replied, too quickly for her own liking.

"Alright," he smiled, a slight blush tingeing his cheeks. "I've gotta do a couple of things this morning, but wanna meet me out front at noon?" 

"Absolutely I do," she grinned. 

-- 

Midday rolled around and Pam nervously stood at the entrance, trailing her foot in the gravel. She looked around for what felt to her like the hundredth time and wondered where Jim was. She checked her watch and saw the minute hand still hadn't quite reached two minutes past, so she looked back up for the hundred and first time. And that's when she saw him walking towards her, wheeling a bike with each hand.

"Sorry I'm late," he said slightly breathlessly, "my sister wasn't at her place and I had to wait for her." Pam gave him a puzzled look. "I called her this morning, just before I saw you, to see if I could borrow her bike for you. And she told me to get to her house at 11am, but she got stuck at work and didn't get there til like half past eleven. And then her bike was at the back of her garage and it took ages to get out." Pam smiled at him as he continued talking. "And I'm rambling," he laughed. "Hi." 

"Hi yourself," she smiled back at him, pulling the strap of her backpack up a little higher on her shoulder. 

He pushed the smaller of the two bikes over to Pam. "Shall we?"  

Pam nodded and took the bike from him. She climbed onto it and peddled forward, before wobbling back around to face Jim. She put her foot out and balanced herself as she watched Jim mount his bike and push himself forward. "So where are we going?"

"I thought we'd head towards the lake. I've brought a little picnic for us and a blanket. And maybe we could go canoeing too, if you're up to it?" 

"That sounds amazing," Pam smiled.  

"Follow me," he shouted as he quickly sped off, leaving Pam teetering slightly on the gravel.

She quickly sped up and within no time, Pam was riding alongside Jim as they made their way down a hill. With the wind whipping through her hair, the midday sun warming her face and Jim to the side of her, Pam felt more alive than she ever had done. They cycled next to each other in silence, just enjoying the sounds of nature all around them. The birds softly chirping, the light breeze blowing through the trees, a bee buzzing past them. Jim led them towards the lake and as the view opened up in front of them, Pam gasped slightly at the glistening water directly ahead, which caused Jim to turn to her with a slight smile. 

"We're gonna head just over there," he said as he tilted his head to the left and nodded slightly. Pam smiled and turned her handlebars to follow Jim. "So how long do you have before you're heading home today?"

"Oh, I'm not really sure," Pam replied with a slight grimace. She felt a pang of guilt that she'd hardly spent any time with Toby, but also relieved that she hadn't had to. "When we stop I'll send him a message and see what time we're gonna head back to Scranton." She gave Jim a smile, which he returned, but she noticed it wasn't quite as bright as the others that morning had been. 

Jim led them to a small clearing in the trees with trimmed grass and a rickety looking dock that led out onto the lake. He freewheeled his bike over to the edge of the grass and hopped off, before laying it on the ground. Pam followed him, laying her bike to the side, and watched Jim pull a blanket from his backpack and shook it out. "Grab a seat," he smiled, before plopping himself down and reaching into his bag. "So I wasn't sure what you'd like for lunch," Jim said as he began pulling packages out. A couple of packets of Sun Chips tumbled out onto the red checkered blanket, before Jim carefully placed two tin foil packages in front of Pam. "One is PB&J and the other is grilled cheese. Although, I guess it's cold now, so maybe it's just a cheese sandwich?" he laughed. 

Pam giggled at him before reaching for one, and watched Jim take the other. She opened it to find the cold grilled cheese sandwich. "Wanna trade?" she asked, smiling with her tongue just poking between her teeth. 

"Sure," Jim smiled as he passed his sandwich over to Pam. "French Onion or Garden Salsa?" he asked, holding up the packets of Sun Chips. 

"French Onion please." 

"Bold move. You better hope no one is intending to kiss you later on with that breath," Jim laughed as he tossed the packet over to her. 

"We'll see," she giggled, before ripping the chips open and putting one in her mouth. She smiled with a large crunch. "Oh shoot, let me send Toby a message before I forget." She reached into her backpack to find her phone. "Sorry," she said to Jim as she typed away on the phone. 

"No worries," he smiled as he reached for a can of grape soda. As soon as he pulled on the metal tab, a gush of purple liquid exploded over him. "Dammit," he exclaimed, standing quickly pulling his checkered shirt off and holding his white undershirt away from his body. Pam scooted backwards, crashing into the food and Jim's bag. "Oh god, I'm so wet," he groaned as Pam giggled up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she smiled down at the ground with an exhale through her nose, shaking her head slightly.

"Man, it's so sticky," Jim moaned, as he crossed his arms and carefully pulled his white, purple-splattered t-shirt off. Pam couldn't help but stare up at his lightly tanned stomach as Jim was wrestling to remove the shirt. Her eyes trailing from the smattering of chest hair, over his ripped muscles, down to the trail of hair that led below the waistband of his underwear that was peeking out from the top of his low slung jeans. "Uh," Jim murmured, breaking Pam from her stare, "can you pass my bag?" 

"Oh, um, yeah, sure," she rushed out, completely flustered. She passed his backpack over and tried to avert her eyes, but failed miserably. She eyed his slight six-pack one last time before quickly darting her eyes back down to the ground. 

"Shit," Jim mumbled as he fumbled through his bag.

"What's up?" Pam asked, her gaze trained on her shoes.

"I thought I had a spare shirt in here," he said, still rooting through the bag. "Ah ha!" he shouted as he pulled out something red. "Oh god," he groaned. 

"What is it?" She rose to her knees to look.

"It's this really old shirt, you can't judge me ok?" he warned. 

"Ok," she said slowly, a small smile playing on her lips in anticipation of what she was about to see. 

Jim took a deep breath and pulled the shirt over his head, before straightening it out slightly. It was more tight fitting than his white t-shirt had been and it stopped a little higher than the previous one. He pulled it down as far as it could go and looked at Pam, who promptly burst into laughter. "Oh come on, it's not that bad," Jim tried, as he sat back down on the blanket. "And Power Rangers are awesome." 

"No, no," Pam giggled, as she stared at the image of the red Power Ranger in a wide-legged stance who was holding a sword in front of him with both hands. "Power Rangers are awesome. It's just, why is it so small?"

"It's really old. I was going to give it to my nephew, he loves Power Rangers. Which is why it's in the bag," he said as his cheeks turned pink. 

"Well, I think you look great," she smiled as she passed Jim's packet of chips over to him. He took them with a slightly embarrassed smile.

After a moment of silence as they ate their food, Jim turned to Pam. "So do you think I could maybe come up to Scranton next weekend to see you?"

"I'd um, I'd really like that, but I'm actually going to New York next weekend."

"Oh," Jim replied, slightly sadly. "Maybe the weekend after? Or you know, when you have some time?"

"I'm going to be in New York for the next four weekends," Pam said, slightly quietly. Jim didn't say anything, but just hung his head and picked at his sandwich. Pam bit her lip slightly. "Um, maybe you could come visit me there?" Jim looked up at her a little confused, so Pam continued. "I've got an art internship through my company for the next four weeks. It's, uh, for most of the day on Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday, but maybe we could hang out in the evening or Sunday afternoon or something? Or you know, um, maybe when I'm back home if that's easier?" Pam felt her face flushing slightly as she waited for Jim to answer. 

"New York sounds pretty awesome. And an art internship? Wow," he smiled brightly as he squinted slightly in the sun. 

"Yeah," Pam said with a smile and a nod. "I'm really proud of it. My boyfriend," she began, but saw Jim's face quickly fall, "my ex-boyfriend. Well, I guess my ex-fiancé. Actually, it's kinda the reason we broke up. He wouldn't let me do it. And there were a million reasons to break up with him, and I guess that was the final push to do it. And I've not regretted it once. I'm just really excited for the future. And happy." She smiled at Jim. "Really happy."

Jim mirrored her smile. "And I'm really happy for you. I've never even been to New York, because you know, West Coast and everything. You'll have to show me all the cool fancy places." 

"Oh god," Pam groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I've no idea about cool or fancy." She took a deep breath. "I like things a little more rustic and warm. And tall." 

"Oh really?" he smiled cockily. Pam grinned at him with her tongue just poking out between her teeth. He blushed again and grabbed the tin foil that his sandwich had been wrapped in, fisting it into a tight ball. They gazed at each other, smiles playing on both of their faces. The tension was building between the two of them, and Jim knew that if he leaned over to kiss her on the blanket, that he was going to find it incredibly difficult to stop. And he really didn't think either of them would want to be found making out in the clearing. So instead, he cleared his throat. "Do you wanna go canoeing?" he asked, pointing his thumb behind him towards the lake. 

"Sounds great."

They cleared away the remnants of their lunch, leaving their belongings on the blanket and headed towards the little dock on the lake. Two canoes were knocking into each other in the water, each tied to a post of the dock. "Wanna go in one boat? Or take one each?" Jim asked as he sat down on the edge.  

Pam thought for a moment. "How good at canoeing are you?"

"Uh, pretty good? Like not the best, but I can definitely get us where we need to go."

"That's ok, let's take separate ones," Pam suggested.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he replied, clearly disappointed that they wouldn't be sharing a boat. He helped Pam down into one canoe, and was just about to lower himself into the other when he saw Pam push herself away from the side with her oar.

"See," she shouted, "this way we can race!" And with that, she put the oar into water and sped away from Jim. 

"Hey that's not fair," he yelled as he scrambled into the canoe and tried to push himself off. He paddled quickly to try and catch up with Pam. "Wait up!" He paddled faster and faster, water splashing him as he did so. Jim had almost caught up with her when Pam turned her head back to smile at him. She taunted him, a huge smile plastered on her face, when suddenly her boat hit something and tipped over. "Pam!" Jim screamed, adrenaline suddenly pumping through him as he began paddling as fast as he could to reach her. When he finally got to her boat, he found her floating face down in the water. "Pam. Pam. Pam!" he shouted, jumping into the water. He pushed her canoe out of the way and quickly hooked his arm underneath her to pull her the right way up. He swam on his back to the bank, supporting Pam with one hand as he did, praying desperately that she was going to be ok. 

He hauled her onto the grassy verge and shook her slightly, trying to wake her. He quickly realised that she wasn't going to, and so he tilted her chin upwards, pinched her nose and gave her five deep breaths that caused her chest to rise. Nothing happened. With full blown panic in his eyes, Jim moved on to give Pam chest compressions. He couldn't remember how many he was supposed to do, so after two rounds of the chorus of ‘Staying Alive', he moved back to give her another breath. As he was midway through the second breath, Pam suddenly began spluttering into his mouth. He quickly moved away and pulled her onto her side facing him so that she could vomit up a mix of lake water and PB&J.  

As soon as she finished, Pam's whole body slumped backwards, but Jim caught her and kept her on her side. "Hey Pam," Jim said softly, supporting her body and head with his hands. "You're ok, you're ok now." 

"Oh god," she groaned, struggling to look up at him. "What happened?"

"I couldn't really see because you were ahead of me," he began, his voice still full of concern.

"Beating you," she interrupted, trying to make a joke. 

"Yes, beating me," he smiled with a shake of his head. "And you must have hit a rock or something, because the next second, you were in the water and I was trying to get to you." 

"Wow, you saved me," she tried to laugh, but her teeth were chattering too much. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed," he said. "Although I really wish you hadn't eaten those French Onion chips," he chuckled, causing Pam to try to swat limply at his arm. "But we do really need to get you warmed up and I think I should call an EMT." Pam began to protest, but Jim was having none of it. "I probably shouldn't really be moving you, but I need to get my cellphone and something warm for you." Jim carefully scooped her up in his arms and walked back to their little picnic site. 

"I'm really sure I can walk," Pam shivered. "I'm feeling ok."

"Absolutely not," Jim stated, incredibly matter of factly. He reached the blanket in no time and set Pam down on the grass just next to it. She sat up, hugging her knees, her teeth still chattering. "We should, um, probably get you out of those wet clothes," Jim said, his mouth having gone dry.

Pam nodded with a weak, "ok," and with jittery hands tried to take her t-shirt off. 

"Can I help?" Jim asked, pointing to where Pam was trying to lift the hem of her shirt. She nodded and Jim moved to the bottom of the fabric. He tried his hardest not to look at where the wet, pale pink fabric of her t-shirt clung to her body, how he could see the lace of her bra or that she was so cold, her nipples were straining against the wet fabric. Instead, he took a deep breath and pulled the wet t-shirt over Pam's head. He used everything in him not to stare at her full, perfect breasts that were now clad only in a lacy white bra that clearly showed the dark pink of her nipples and instead lowered his eyes as he reached for the blanket. He wrapped it around her shoulders, noticing how there were goosebumps all over the top of her chest, and did his best to avert his eyes as they trailed over the raised skin of her breasts. Jim was just about to pull the blanket tight around Pam, when he realised she was still wearing her soaking wet jeans. "I should probably, uh," he trailed off, pointing to her legs.

"Oh, yeah," she shivered. 

Jim knelt down in front of her and untied her white keds before slipping each of them and her wet socks off. He moved his hands to her belt buckle and slowly pulled the leather from the metal loop, before opening the button of her jeans. He tried to loosen the tight wet denim from her legs without touching her too much, but ended up accidentally cupping her ass as he pulled a little too hard and almost sent her flying. "Sorry," he said nervously and carried on trying to get the jeans off of her. He'd got them down slightly, and it was at this point he realised he was face to face with the small, lacy white triangle of her panties. He immediately looked down at the ground. "Um, it might be easier if you sit down and then I can pull them off?" Pam nodded and went to sit down with Jim's help, revealing that the lacy white panties were actually a thong. "Jesus Christ," he whispered to himself as he looked up at the sky and scratched the back of his neck, anything to not think about her pert ass that he'd just seen and felt. As quickly as humanly possible, he managed to get Pam's jeans off and tucked the blanket tightly around her. "I'm just gonna call an EMT ok?" he asked Pam as he reached for his cellphone in his bag. He made the call, letting the operator know where they were and what had happened, and with his free arm he wrapped it around Pam to rub her arm and give her a little more heat. 

About 15 minutes later, they heard the sound of a siren getting close, which caused Pam's head to jump from Jim's shoulder where she had been resting it, snuggled against him. "Hey, that must be the EMT," he whispered to her. They both looked as the ambulance parked up to the side of the clearing, and two guys jumped out of the cab. They made their way over to where Jim and Pam were sitting, holding a stretcher between the two of them with a jump bag balanced on top of it. 

"Hi guys, what's happened here?" one of the paramedics asked as they set the stretcher and bag down on the ground and crouched in front of Jim and Pam.

"We were out on the lake and she must have hit a rock or the canoe capsized or something. When I got to her she wasn't breathing, but I did some basic CPR and she coughed up a lot of water," Jim explained, his arm still protectively wrapped around Pam. 

"Ok, thanks, uh?" the paramedic said, as if asking Jim's name

"Jim. I'm Jim."

"Thanks Jim. I'm Ethan and this is Steve," he said, pointing to himself and then his colleague, who were both wearing PA Dept of Health EMT uniforms. "What's your name?" Ethan asked, turning his attention to Pam. 

"Pam Beesly," Pam replied, still shivering slightly.

"Pam, don't worry, we're going to take good care of you," Ethan reassured her as he began pulling equipment out from his bag. "I'm just going to take your temperature ok?" He placed a thermometer into Pam's ear and as soon as it beeped, Ethan looked at the reading and scribbled the number down on a pad. He reached for a tin foil blanket that he put on top of the checkered blanket that Pam was wearing. "It's a little low, but that's to be expected. I'm just going to take some more observations, ok Pam?" Pam nodded as Ethan continued his assessment and began to ask Pam questions. "How old are you Pam?" 

"29."

"And have you drunk any alcohol today?" Ethan asked. 

Pam thought for a moment, yesterday and today suddenly a scramble in her head, until she worked out the whisky tasting had been the day before. "Uh, no. No alcohol." 

"Any medical history? High blood pressure? Seizures? Diabetes? That kind of thing?" 

"Uh, no. Nothing."

"Have you taken any drugs today? Or are you on any prescription medication?" Ethan asked. 

"No drugs. But I am on birth control," Pam said, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jim's cheek flush a little pink as he looked up at the sky again. 

"Are you, or could you be pregnant?" 

"Um, no," she said a little awkwardly. "Definitely not to either of those."

"Any allergies?"  

"No, nothing. Oh god, Toby," Pam suddenly said in a panic, her hand flying to her head, which caused the blanket to slip slightly. Jim caught it and pulled it back around her shoulders. 

"Who's Toby?" Ethan asked.

"The friend that I came here with. I've no idea what time it is or when I'm meant to meet him."

"Ok, calm down Pam. There's no need to worry about that right now. The only thing you need to do now is rest somewhere warm, and have lots of hot drinks. Is that going to be possible?" 

"Yup, I'll make sure of that," Jim quickly said.

"Ok, other than mild hypothermia, everything seems fine. Can we take you somewhere?" Ethan asked.

"Would you be able to take us up to Warrior Liquor?" 

"No problem. Let's get you guys packed up," Ethan said as he pressed his hands to his knees and stood. Jim stood too, unfurling his 6'3 frame for the first time in what seemed like an hour. He stood and stretched, causing the tight red t-shirt to rise up even more. "Oh hey, cool shirt man," Ethan said as he pointed at Jim's chest.  

"Uh, thanks?" Jim replied, a little confused. "You like Power Rangers?"

"Who doesn't?" Ethan laughed as he helped Pam up. "Bet you didn't know that the actor who played the very first Red Ranger became a paramedic after he stopped acting?" 

"No way," Jim smiled as he took Pam's hand and they made their way to the back of the ambulance. "That's awesome!"

--

"Ok, just a couple more steps," Jim said as he guided Pam up the steep wooden staircase to her room. He unlocked the door and held it open as she walked inside.

She stopped abruptly and looked at him, still slightly shivering in the blanket. "Will you stay with me?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Absolutely," he replied as he walked into her room and closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"I'm just gonna take a shower, and you know get the lake off me and stuff. Warm up a little under the water," she said as she headed towards the bathroom. 

"Ok," Jim croaked out, not entirely sure what to do with himself while Pam was showering. Definitely, definitely don't picture her naked under the water, he thought to himself as he wandered around the room that he'd been in countless times before. But for some reason, it felt entirely new to him. The way that her sweater was neatly folded over one of the brown leather chairs. How he could make out the mark of her lips on one of the water glasses on the table. When he looked at white walls, adorned with the watercolours, he imagined it was Pam's art hanging there. Or at least what he imagined her art would look like. He paced around, not wanting to sit anywhere in his wet jeans, and wondered what to do so not as to appear awkward when Pam eventually reappeared. Before he had too much time to think, he heard the shower turn off, and moments later, the door to the bathroom opened and steam billowed out. 

"Hey," Pam said shyly, a fluffy white robe wrapped securely around her as her wet hair dripped around her shoulders.

"Hi," Jim replied hoarsely. "Feeling a little warmer?" 

"Yeah, but I think I'm going to get into bed," she said as she pulled the white comforter back on the huge bed. 

"Good idea. Can I make you something warm to drink?" he asked. 

"Tea would be amazing," she smiled. 

"No problem," Jim said as he walked over to the small desk that held the tea and coffee while Pam got herself comfortable in the bed. "Here you go," he said a few minutes later, bringing the steaming mug of tea around to the side of the bed where she was laying. Pam took it with both hands and thanked him with a smile. "Ok, I should probably get out of your hair, let you rest," Jim said almost reluctantly. 

"Can you stay?" she pleaded. "I just really don't want to be alone right now." 

"Uh, sure. I just, I kinda need to get out of these wet clothes." 

"You're welcome to take a shower and warm up?" Pam suggested.

"Um, yeah. I'll, um, just be a few minutes," he said nervously before heading into the bathroom.

Pam gazed up at the string lights wrapped around the beams on the ceiling and sipped her tea. She bit her lip thinking about Jim running his hands through his hair as the hot water pounded down on his body. How the water droplets would run all over his broad shoulders and make their way down his body, following the trail of hair from his navel downwards. She thought about joining him in there. How he might be gentle with her and tenderly kiss her as he washed her, or maybe he'd be rough and push her against the tiled wall, kissing her furiously, hands roaming all over her as water streamed over both of them. The squeak of the faucet broke Pam out of her trance and she quickly sipped her tea to calm herself down. 

As Jim walked out of the bathroom, Pam quickly averted her gaze away from where the white towel was slung low around his hips. She tried not to notice the drops of water from his hair that were making their way down his body, exactly as she'd imagined. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what to do with my wet clothes, so I've left them in the tub," he said a little bashfully. "Didn't really think about not having any dry clothes to leave here with," he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. The muscles in his arms flexed as he did so, and Pam found it increasingly harder not to stare at him. 

"I, um, I should probably change my contact lenses," she said, pushing back the covers on the bed, "get some non-lakey ones in." She walked towards the bathroom and motioned to it so that Jim could move out the way to let her pass. She ducked her head in thanks as they switched places and disappeared inside, closing the door.  

Jim wandered over to the bed and perched on the edge, rubbing his hands over his cooling skin. A soft knocking moments later pulled Jim towards the door of Pam's bedroom. Without thinking, he instinctively opened the door and as he pulled the heavy wood towards him he panicked that his mom was about to find him essentially naked in a guest's room. 

"Hi Pa..." Toby trailed off when he realised he was face to face with a towel clad Jim. He took a big gulp. 

Jim breathed a slight sigh of relief when he realised it was Toby. "Hey man," he said, clutching the towel at his hip tightly. "Pam's just in the bathroom, hold on." Jim turned to walk towards the bathroom, leaving the door to the room open.

"Uh, thanks," Toby said quietly. His eyes were drawn to the unmade bed with the covers laying haphazardly on it as if it had very recently been used.

"Hey Toby," Pam smiled as she walked towards where Toby was standing. She held her robe tightly together across her chest. "How are you feeling?" 

"Um, much better now. Definitely wasn't as bad as yesterday, but I don't think I'll be having anything with whisky in for a long time to come." He looked at Jim and Pam awkwardly, and then again to the unmade bed. "I, um. You, uh, you didn't reply to the message I sent you about leaving around now." He looked down at his watch. "But um, I guess, uh, you've been a little preoccupied," he said, his face almost entirely scarlet by this point. 

"Oh, no, it's not what you think," Pam quickly said. "I had an accident while we were canoeing and Jim saved me." She looked up at Jim with a shy smile. "And the EMT that came to check me over said I have mild hypothermia and need to rest and stay warm." 

"Oh wow, I'm sorry," Toby said with a small wobble of his chin. Pam smiled and shrugged. "So I'd messaged you to say we should probably leave around now so that we don't get back too late. Sunday evening and all. But, uh..." he trailed off. 

"I think I should probably stay here tonight," Pam replied. She could see Toby was about to say something, most probably to offer to stay too and drive her back the next day, and she really didn't want that. "I think I'll take a personal day tomorrow and then make my way home by bus or something," she quickly added. 

"I'd be happy to drive you home," Jim called from the side where he was standing, getting slightly cold in just his towel while the conversation continued. 

"Oh amazing, thank you," Pam smiled. She turned her attention back to Toby. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to spend too much time together between your sickness and my accident. But the whisky making tour was awesome. Thank you so much for bringing me." 

"You're, uh, welcome. I guess I'll see Tuesday then?" Toby mumbled.

"Yeah. And Toby," she said, reaching out to touch his arm, causing him to look down at where her hand met his jacket sleeve. "Really, thank you for bringing me here." Toby turned with a half smile and sad eyes, and Pam closed the door to the bedroom before turning her attention to Jim. "Are you really sure it's ok to drive me home tomorrow?" 

"Absolutely it is," he said as he pushed a wet curl behind Pam's ear. "So, um," he began, but the words died on his lips as his gaze met Pam's. His eyes darted to her mouth, which parted ever so slightly. He held his breath for a split second before leaning down to kiss Pam, pulling her closer to him by the tie on her robe. Jim wrapped his arms around her as her hands eased their way up his bare chest, loving the way that her nails scratched through his chest hair ever so slightly. She sighed ever so slightly into the kiss, and Jim couldn't help but smile. He pulled back slightly, looking down at her with happy eyes. Pam smiled up at him, but he felt her shiver in his arms. "Hey, you still cold?" he asked. 

"A little," she replied, rubbing one arm.

"Here, let's get you back into bed," he said, moving towards the bed to pull the covers back. Pam's eyebrows shot up with a little smirk. "No funny business I promise," he laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I promise." 

"Ok," Pam smiled as she climbed into bed. 

Jim climbed into the other side of the bed, pulling the covers over himself, glad finally of the warmth from something more than just a towel. He leaned his back on the wooden headboard, and pulled Pam against his chest. For extra warmth, he told himself. He felt her head rest gently on his shoulder, and he couldn't help but smile. "I've had a really great time with you," he almost whispered.  

"Apart from the whole near-death-drowning experience," Pam laughed with a slight blush as she looked up at Jim.

"Yeah, apart from that little bit," he smiled down at her, before she settled more snuggly into him. Not a bad day, he thought to himself with a smile as he looked up at the illuminated string lights above, not a bad day.