Not a bad day.

It was an honest summary. As honest as Jim was willing to be. You know, without having to lay all his cards out on the table for a documentary crew who seemed to think any demographic would be interested in wasting their time on the goings on of a dying industry. Why should he lay bare his soul for these people who looked just as bored as he felt? For some documentary that would air, or not, years from now and make him look the lovesick fool he was.

So, yeah. In short, it was not a bad day. Not a bad day at all.

In truth, for anyone else, it would've been a no good, awful, terrible day. For Jim, realistically, it should have been, too. He knew that. He knows that with every fiber of his being. The same being that was being stretched too thin and frayed as it was being pulled apart at the very seams all because of the girl who just happened to grace his existence... in the form of falling asleep on his shoulder.

Who was that guy that everyone had once barely learned about in their high school history classes? Cortes? When he thought he found the fabled El Dorado, a city made from literal gold?

That's what Jim felt like. As if a goddess herself had shone her loving light upon a wretched soul like him. A sinner. A nobody.

Pathetic.

Jim had left, or floated, out of the conference room behind everyone else and after Pam as if he was on cloud nine. Is this what it felt like to join the Mile High Club? He'd probably never get the chance to know so he would just have to assume this was it. It felt great. Euphoric.

As everyone gathered up their things and slowly milled out the door, talking about their weekend plans or silently thanking whatever god they believed in that they made it through another Michael Scott work week, Jim was gathering up those memories of how it felt. Her hair that tickled his neck. The smell of her shampoo. The weight of her sleep-laden body leaned against his. Way more important than his iPod. Which he did happen to forget on his exit from the office this Friday afternoon. It could be considered later to be the greatest accident to have happened to him when everything played out the way it did. Ever.

Jim had no way of knowing that just yet. Instead, he was happy to tuck this tiny moment into the bulging folder in his mind that was full of three years worth of stolen moments just like that one.

Did he ever mention that he was and would always be pathetic?

Pining away for an engaged girl whom he could almost bet everything he had on that she felt something for him, too? The most pathetic. Excruciatingly so.

He was still floating on cloud nine as he was wishing her a good weekend and exiting the office. He was still above the clouds as he got into his car and drove all the way to his house he was sharing with Mark. He was still in the stratosphere when he realized, after wanting to finally listen to music to put some lyrics and instruments to this elation, that he had indeed left his iPod at work. That small bummer couldn't deflate the mood he was in regardless. He was almost certain of the fact that the whole state of Pennsylvania could have a damn earthquake and break off from the continental US of A and float off into the Atlantic and he wouldn't have the foggiest idea.

All because of Pam.

He was tapping his right hand against the steering wheel to the beat of a song that was playing in low tones on the stereo as he was pulling into the office parking lot. His left hand was hanging out the open window feeling the late summer air and sun on his skin and he was honestly feeling the best he had in a long time. His mind was still reeling with a surge of dopamine that had flooded his body and he was feeling good. Giddy. Happy.

Something finally burst that bubble long enough for him to become more aware of his surroundings. While he was driving he should've already been aware, but excuse the man for his momentary lapse in judgement when he was feeling like he was on top of the world. The thing, or person, who finally brought him back to the moment was the same girl who was causing these feelings anyhow.

Pam.

She was standing beside her car, with her hair gently blowing back from her face and shoulders, with a sour look on her face. Jim couldn't tell it from here with 100% certainty, but she looked upset. Her face was shining in the sun which could only mean there were or had been tears recently at some point. Okay, so that was like a cold bucket of water on his pleasure/reward system that had been flooded with the feel good chemicals his brain regularly refused to give out. Yet, more importantly, his concern for Pam won out over any feelings of 'Well, it was good while it lasted.'

Besides, it was Pam. He’d do anything in the world to be able to spend even five more minutes with her. If he could make her feel better in the process and break off even more pieces of his own heart to patch her own? Well, it's not like he needed it anymore anyway. It had belonged to her for three years now.

He spun the steering wheel with one hand in an easy and effortless turn and let it slide back through his fingers to right itself as he parked. He was idly remembering a girl he had dated, what seemed like aeons ago, mentioning how she thought it was sexy to watch him do that. He was incredulous and had asked for clarification, but all she only said rather enigmatically, 'Girls have a thing for a man's hands. I don't know how to explain it.'

Jim had carefully tested out this theory with Pam, but he was never certain if her glazed eyes that watched his fingers and hands with such rapt attention as they lounged over her desk and into her space were because she thought they were sexy or if she was just bored. Maybe he'd never know.

Past girls, theories on whether or not his hands were sexy, and all other manner of things that were dancing around in his head were swept away with the hot breeze. He was moving out of his car and was walking towards Pam as the first serious beads of sweat started to form along his hairline, chest, and underarms. This late summer Pennsylvanian heat was no joke.

“Beesly, you know you can actually leave at 5:00, right?” Jim was saying as he carefully ambled up to Pam on the sidewalk, “No one is going to give you any grief or overtime pay for that matter.”

Pam spun towards Jim as if he had truly spooked her. Jim wasn't entirely sure how he had done so unless she really was in a world of her own while she worried her bottom lip and glowered at her stationary car.

Her cheeks still showed the signs of wetness that her tears had left. The sun beating down hadn't quite evaporated them from her skin. It also couldn't account for all of the redness of her nose and eyes. Nor could it be blamed for the barely contained pools precariously hovering just over the edge of her lower lids threatening to roll down if she even blinked too hard. She sniffled quietly and tried to rub her hands over her face discreetly to wipe away the remnants of her outburst just a few minutes before Jim had pulled into the lot.

“Oh,” She managed to squeak out as she gathered her thoughts, “Well, someone has to keep this place running and...”

She couldn't continue and Jim knew what was going to happen before he saw it play out in real time before his eyes in the hazy afternoon summer sun. Her face slowly crumpled and she shook her head as if trying to fend off the onslaught of tears that were destined to fall once more down her porcelain cheeks. The dam gave way and the sobs that escaped her mouth were so heartbreaking that Jim physically couldn't hold himself back and he reached out for her. He didn't even think about what this would look like if someone barreled into the parking lot or if Roy, God forbid, came around the corner shouting out, “I caught you, you bastard!”

He just pulled her into his embrace, silently hoping he hadn't started to stink from his deodorant wearing off, and tucked her head under his chin protectively. His fingers smoothed over her head and her cascading curls that were loosely working their way out of the clip that held them back and at bay. His body began swaying gently of his own accord as he held her within the safety of his arms and waited for her to calm down enough to tell him what was going on. He was fearful and worried beyond belief, but the fact that she seemed to melt right into his embrace calmed his own pounding heart enough to ease his anxiety.

Her arms were sandwiched between their bodies and she had managed to snake them up to grab hold of Jim and pull herself closer to his comforting scent and body heat. Her fingers on her left hand laid pressed closely to his chest right over his heart while her other hand snaked up to just barely clasp the hairs on the back of his neck that were just starting to curl up and away.

Bliss. This is bliss. To think I thought her sleeping on my shoulder was heaven... Fuck, this is ecstasy.

Jim's thoughts and nerve endings were alight with a fire that he had never had the fortune to know of before. He never knew he was capable of feeling the things he was feeling and just from holding her in this embrace as they swayed back and forth. Her sobs had tapered off into small hiccups and sniffles, but still they remained pressed closely together, neither of them willing to move out of the comfort they had found themselves in.

Alas, the moment had to end sometime. Pam slowly pulled away and cast a sheepish glance up to Jim's eyes before cutting her gaze down to her shoes and the sidewalk they were standing on. It’s cracked and chipped concrete seeming to hold on to the answers she was looking for.

“I'm so sorry. You probably think I'm nuts or something. I know, but...” Pam trailed off as she lifted her head and scanned the desolate street in front of the office building, “It's been a rough day... a rough week...” She finished lamely.

“Really? I thought you were just so excited to see me that you burst into tears. I've been known to have that effect on women.” Jim tried to steer the conversation back into safer waters. He had known Pam long enough by now that she didn't like to even broach the topic of them or this invisible thing between them.

“Haha, Halpert,” Pam laughed sarcastically, but she smiled up at him all the same, “No, my car won't start and Roy won't answer his phone... Though I don't know why I would expect him to. We've been fighting all week.”

Great. He didn't necessarily want to talk her through another one of her and Roy's fights. It practically broke him every time. The end of his day had started so well and now he was going to have to play the sexless therapist to her relationship again... Fuck.

“I saw some messages on his phone. Not that I was snooping. I had heard his phone ring and thought I would answer it for him to be nice, but I got there too late... I saw it was a number I didn't know and then he had a bunch of text notifications from his same number... They were being very, um... flirty,” Pam got out in a sudden rush as if she had been holding all of this in and couldn't bear to do it any longer. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were downcast and he saw that she was ashamed. It's as if she was embarrassed. She looked as if she had somehow done something wrong.

“Jesus, Pam... I-” Jim started to say but was cut off by Pam holding one of her small hands up. He shut his mouth so quickly he almost bit his tongue, but what she had to say was more important tongue injury or no tongue injury.

“So, we had a big fight and... I threw my ring at him and said I would be staying with my parents for a while. Which is where I've been staying all week... Yet, he was supposed to put a battery in my car and I guess he never actually got around to it and now I'm stuck here. I tried calling him, but with it being Friday and all he's probably already out with the warehouse guys, so...” She shrugged and toyed with her fingers sheepishly.

It was then that Jim noticed that her left ring finger was indeed bare of the gaudy dime-a-dozen engagement monstrosity that Roy had presented her with long ago. He was racking his brain for any memory of seeing her without it this week but he was coming up blank. Somehow, even though his eyes had been trained to that abysmal piece of jewelry since the day it came into existence, he had missed it.

He must've been standing there staring at her looking like a fish out of water with his mouth slightly agape, because she fidgeted nervously under his spaced off gaze. Fuck. Here he was ruining another perfect opportunity.

“So, I was wondering... if it wasn't too much trouble... if you would take a look at it for me?” Pam asked timidly.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, of course.” Jim was fumbling with his words and his mind reeling with the new and monumental information that was dumped on him.

Pam, for her part, seemed at least a little amused. Not in a way that could be interpreted as jeering, but just endeared with Jim's inability to formulate responses in an efficient manner.

“Thank you,” she replied simply as she stepped over to the driver's side door to her car and opened it to climb it. He heard her pop the hood and climb back out as he was walking over to his own car to retrieve the jumper cables he had stashed away in the trunk for occasions such as this. His feet were tapping out a quick and energized rhythm against the black asphalt as he returned to Pam's car and lifted the hood to inspect the engine underneath. He made quick work of attaching the cable to the corresponding spots on each of their vehicles and then jogged back to his own car to get in and start it up. He cast his eyes over to Pam's and nodded his head as a signal for her to crank her ignition.

The sound of her car feebly clicking away was not music to either of their ears. With its failure to start Pam seemed once again on the verge of tears, because everything in her life seemed to be going every which way but right. Jim couldn't allow those tears to fall again as much as he had enjoyed, selfishly, clinging to her and soothing her. He jogged back over to her car, unhooked the cables, and motioned for her to try the ignition again. Once again the sound of feeble clicks echoed into the heavy summer air and then ceased.

“Okay, well, good news and bad news,” Jim spoke as he rolled his sleeves farther up his arms and leaned further into Pam's open hood, “good news is that it isn't the battery... Bad news is that it sounds like the alternator.”

“Uh, what's an alternator? Is that... expensive?” Pam began questioning as she climbed out of her vehicle to stand by Jim and peer under the hood. He could tell by the way her eyes danced and skittered across part after part that she had no idea what he was referring to in the slightest. It was cute and expected.

Jim listed one hand to point to the said piece of equipment, and took notice of how Pam's eyes first scanned his revealed forearms, and then travelled down to stare at his hands for several seconds. Her gaze finally proceeded to land on the designated target. Though, her attention soon returned to Jim's hands. Interesting.

“Anyway, it's what basically helps convert gas powered energy into electric energy for your battery. So, if the alternator isn't working then the battery isn't going to work, “ Jim explained simply as he tapped said alternator with his index finger. Pam's eyes eagerly and thoughtfully followed the motion. “Depending on the issue at hand... it can be anywhere from 500 to 1000 dollars to fix.”

“Oh, no...” Pam sighed heavily and Jim watched as her brows furrowed in deep thought. She seemed once again awash with the enormity of her current predicament.

“I said it could be... lucky for you Jim's Auto Care and Free Hug Shop is considerably cheaper. No cost to you.” Jim offered her his signature lopsided grin with a crook of his hand as he held his hands out to either side of his body in a 'Come one, come all' gesture.

“Oh, Jim, I couldn't possibly let you do that for me!” Pam protested with a shake of her head

“You wouldn't be letting me... I would be offering my services as a good Samaritan and a good friend.” He quipped back. He wouldn't back down on this one. His mind's eye flashed with images of him and Pam at his parents house in the driveway while he worked on her car and she kept him company with glasses of cold lemonade.

“Okay, well... I will pay you back 100 percent. That's not negotiable, Halpert.” Pam finally relented with a small smile and a sense of her coy humor coming back. Jim couldn't help but give her one of his own before he pursed his lips and thought and squinted up as if he was in deep thought.

“That might not be negotiable, but I will determine the currency in which this deed will be paid back to me in full, so...” He drew it out and didn't miss how her smile was growing bigger and revealing her white teeth behind her pretty pink lips. She didn't smile like that often enough. He loved it. “I think you should at least accompany me to the part store to get said parts for your car and then hang out with me while I fix it up with you to keep me company.”

This was dangerous territory he was treading on and he knew it, but with Roy possibly out of the picture this was his chance to be bold. Yet, he also didn't need to come off as a vulture who was circling the skies above her dead relationship ready to swoop in and snatch her heart.

Tread carefully, Halpert. Carefully.

“That's not a payment,” Pam added and Jim felt himself start to deflate. He had tried, right? “That would be an enjoyable day for me and I don't see how that would benefit you monetarily, but a deal's a deal, right?” she said as she stuck out one of her small hands for him to shake.

Just like that he was inflated to capacity, fit to burst, with elation. God, he was so fucking thankful he had forgotten his iPod.

“Deal.” He found himself agreeing all too eagerly as he took her much smaller hand in his and shook it.

The moment both passed too quickly, and seemed to last forever, when their eyes locked over their clasped hands and held each other's gazes. The hot summer sun was beaming down at them in it's close to sunset heat and Jim found that he really needed to get home and shower and put on more deodorant otherwise he would run her off with his smell, but he couldn't bring himself to want to leave this bubble he had made for them here. Finally, their hands released and they stood side by side in front of her car as Jim released the stand holding up her hood and gently closed it.

“Oh, so, what exactly brings you back to the office this late? Were your superhero senses tingling that a lady was in desperate need of a hug and a tune up on her car?” Pam asked conversationally.

“Ah, yes. I actually was in such a hurry to leave the madhouse today that I forgot my iPod here at work and I came back to get it. I can't survive without some tunes all weekend long,” Jim answered as he turned to start his way to the door, “You still have a spare key?” he asked hopefully.

“No, Dwight took it from me. Said I was not to be trusted with such an important item as the key to our office dwelling,” She rolled her eyes playfully as she spoke and quickened her pace alongside Jim to keep up with his much longer strides, “but, I know where he hides the spare,” she added helpfully whilst looking up at him.

“Beesly,” Jim said with adoration and lifted his left hand to his chest to be placed over his heart, “what would I do without my best girl keeping Dwight on his toes for me?” It was a little bold, but he hoped the sentiment and the quasi pet name hit its mark.

She blushed and ducked her head while she shrugged to try and hide from the compliment in her very Pam way. Bullseye.

“Crash and burn?” she said helpfully.

“In a blazing inferno, for sure,” Jim agreed and revelled in her laugh that sounded so carefree and light. He loved that sound.

They had just entered the building and were making their way to the elevator, Jim's finger extended to press the button to open the doors, when she asked him quizzically, “hey, since when did you know so much about cars? I didn't know you were so handy underneath a hood.”

The doors slid open smoothly and they both stepped inside in sync. He waited for the doors to close once more and as the elevator began to move them upwards to their floor before he answered her. Once again he would have to tread carefully, but he was feeling awfully bold after his last two little chances had paid off for him. When had he ever been so lucky?

“Beesly,” he stated simply, his voice had deepened a pitch and was gravelly much like it was when he was tired or very aroused. He was definitely feeling twinges of the latter being so close to her in this elevator and smelling her sweetness, “there's a lot of things you don't know about me, but yes, I am very handy.”

Her reaction could be considered purely sinful from his viewpoint.

She visibly reacted to his change in pitch. His darkened eyes seemed to pin her to her spot as her face flushed a beautiful shade of pink. Her hand automatically went up to her neck to toy nervously with the small gold chain and charm suspended there. Her quick intake of breath and the way she seemed to try to involuntarily cross her legs was enough for Jim to know he had at least made her a little more than damp in her panties.

“Where, um...” she shook her head as if to clear it, “where did you learn all of that?”

“Oh, well,” Jim said, slipping back into his normal speaking voice, “I was always excited to help my dad work on his old '68 Mustang and so we spent a lot of our free time out in the garage. Therefore, I picked up a thing or two. That and he promised me that when I have 'earned it' he will bequeath to me said car.”

“Oh,” was all Pam said in reply as the elevator came to a stop on the doors slid open.

The next several moments were filled only with the sounds of their breathing and footsteps. That and that palpable tension that seemed to be radiating between them more so than usual. It was almost as suffocating as the humidity outside and made both of them sweat in ways that weren't because of the heat.

“Okay, so, where does Dwight hide this spare key now?” Jim asked as they finally made it to the doors of the darkened office.

“Um...” Pam seemed to be fidgeting more than she had in the elevator now.

Jim only raised his eyebrows at her with a slightly amused smirk as he waited for her to collect her thoughts and tell him where this elusive key was hiding.

“I mean... It's actually,” Pam stopped to clear her throat and point to the ceiling tile in the corner, “he hides it up there against the where the tile meets the wall.”

Jim followed where her finger was pointing and squinted up at the spot in thought before he clapped his hands together and then looked at Pam expectantly with a small smile.

“Alright, so... due to the fact that I don't know its exact placement... why don't I lift you up there so you can reach it since you seem to know where it is.” Once again he was feeling bold. It was just that after what had happened in the elevator he wanted to have the opportunity to put his hands on her. Even if it was just going to be innocent touching.

He wasn't quite expecting how eager Pam would react to something that simple and friendly. Her head seemed to bob up and down frantically in the affirmative much like his desk mate's bobble head. She licked her lips as she stepped over to the far left corner in front of the glass Dunder-Mifflin door and turned her head to spy at Jim shyly over her shoulder.

He had gotten them this far and so he wouldn't allow her to call his bluff. Jim took one long stride and was soon right behind her with her back pressed against his whole front. Once again time seemed to do that weird fast forward and slow motion thing as it had in the parking lot. Jim placed his hands on her hips, decided against it, and moved them to fit around on either side of her tiny waist. As he hefted her up his left arm went to circle around the front of her waist, while his right held her steady on her hip as he lifted her.

Pam reached up and lifted the white speckled tile just an inch as she searched around for the key. It seemed that maybe she wouldn't find it or that Dwight had at least moved it before she let out a triumphant, “aha!” and brandished the key for Jim to see.

Realistically, Jim could've reached up there all on his own and gotten the small golden key, but this was a much better, if more convoluted, approach. It was definitely preferable to the alternative. This way they both were a little out of breath from their limited contact and Jim knew for sure now he really wasn't the only one who felt something between them if Pam's shaky legs and flushed face were anything to go by.

“Okay,” Pam squeaked before she cleared her throat to continue, “let's get that iPod, shall we?”

They made their hasty entrance and exit into the office. They carefully placed the key back where they had found it. Pam hadn't said anything to Jim verbally, but just stood in the spot she had previously and waited patiently for Jim to lift her once more so she could put the key back in its exact spot. Her 'you wouldn't have known how to put it back just so and then Dwight would definitely catch us,' seemed like a flimsy excuse that they both knew was just that.

All in all it took them maybe five minutes to leave the office and head back out to the parking lot. The dilemma of Pam's transportation situation seemed to dawn on her once more and she started digging in her purse to call a cab when Jim gently grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“I obviously have a working car and I'm more than happy to take you back to your parents' place,” Jim began, “Or... we could go get something to eat first because I'm starving and going by how little you weigh. I know, because I just lifted you up, you need some food too. Then I can drop you off. If you want.”

Pam seemed to mull it over as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. He could tell the conclusion she was coming to and before she could mention what it was that was getting her hung up so Jim spoke up once more.

“Your car will definitely be safe here in the lot. My dad and I can come by tomorrow to get it loaded up and brought to my parents' house and then I'll work on it over there. Sound good?”

“That seems like a lot of work for you to do... I can give your dad gas money for the trouble,” Pam insisted. It truly was adorable that she was more worried over the fact that Jim and his dad would be put out trying to help her than over her not having a vehicle.

“Hey, it's not an issue. You don't have to worry about it,” Jim soothed as he started off toward his car with Pam following beside him, “it's what friends are for.”

His emphasis on friends was slight, but Pam picked up on it. She always did. They operated on the same wavelength it seemed. She looked up at him with a small smile and that now familiar blush tinting her cheeks as she nodded her agreement. Jim stepped over to the passenger side door and opened it for her to which she quietly thanked him before climbing in. Once she was safely tucked inside Jim closed her door and then jogged over to the driver's side door to get in himself. As he slid behind the wheel and buckled his seat belt Pam was already in his glove box leafing through his selection of CDs. He started the car, put it in reverse with one hand resting on the back of her headrest, and then drove them out of the parking lot and into the street.

“Go Radio?” Pam questioned while holding up the shiny disc for Jim to see, “Are they pretty good?”

He had listened to that album non-stop when it came out last fall. The lyrics of so many songs looped through his head on repeat every day. Every moment he looked at her.

I won't lie, I've waited a million hours just to say that I will die if you leave me...

“Uh, yeah. They're really good,” Jim finally managed to fumble out as he pressed the gas pedal on a green light, “I think so anyway.”

“Well, if it's got the Jim seal of approval it must be worth a listen,” Pam said with delight and a smile shot in his direction before she deposited the CD into his stereo.

The opening chords and piano of the song soon filled the car as the lead singer began to serenade them with the lyrics of 'I Won't Lie'. It almost felt ironic in a painful sort of way that Pam would be sitting here with Jim in his car listening to a song he felt in his bones every time he was near her.

She was humming along with the window down and her hair stirring in the wind that was blowing in. The sunset was lighting up her hair like a halo of fire. The reds and golds playing equal parts to make her a crown fit for a queen. Who would've thought, as Jim dreaded going into work this morning, that his day would be ending with Pam riding shotgun listening to his music. In his car. With him.

He could live in this moment forever.

The car ride was briefly interrupted by Pam asking sheepishly if before they went to eat if she could pop into the store to buy a few things. She needed laundry detergent as she felt bad for using her mom's for her own clothes. On top of that she needed just a few things to make staying in a house that wasn't hers a little more cozy. Her creature comforts. Candles, body wash, and a new pillow because the one she had been using was hurting her neck. Jim all the while tagged along after her pushing the cart through the aisles and offering advice where he could.

Coconut or Vanilla for the candle smell? Is Spring Time Meadow Burst a weird name for a fabric softener? Should she get some fuzzy slippers or would that make her look like a child?

He helped her check out and they got all of the bags loaded back into their cart and were headed to the front of the store when Pam stopped him by grabbing his hand. He noticed she didn't let go even after she got his attention. She even led him to what had caught her attention by pulling him along behind her. As if that was a needed precaution. He'd follow her off a cliff if she'd ask.

“I'm going to get one of these rings in this coin machine. Do you want one?” Pam cheerfully.

Leave it to her to make a simple trip to the store fun and exciting with her little adventures. She had such a child-like excitement even for the little things when she could let her guard down and Jim found that refreshing and endearing. He grinned and nodded his agreement while digging into his pocket for some spare change.

“Nope! You are fixing my car and taking me to dinner. I can at least pay for our 25 cent plastic rings,” Pam giggled.

“Okay,” Jim said and threw his hands up in mock frustration, though his large grin gave him away, “if you say so.”

It was fifteen minutes later, when they finally decided on a place to eat, that they were now admiring their 'bling', as Pam said, in the parking lot. Hers was a large silver colored piece with a big green chunk of plastic serving as the gemstone. Jim's was gold and gaudy and had what was supposed to be a ruby. They looked quite the pair giggling in his car over cheap coin machine rings with Go Radio still playing a soundtrack around them.

“Okay, Beesly, let's go inside and get you something to eat.” Jim finally pulled himself away from their conversation and moved to open his door, “but just wait right there for a second, okay?” He added when he saw her move to get out of her side of the car.

He jogged over to the passenger side once he was out and opened the door for her. Jim offered his hand like a true gentleman and when Pam gave it to him, he kissed it, before helping her out and into a standing position. He was feeling extra bold as the evening wore on. If Pam was still here and willing to let him take her out to dinner, after having spent an hour and a half in each other's company already, he felt pretty safe with giving her a peck on her hand.

His boldness was once again paying off and Pam blushed a deep shade of pink as he uttered her thanks. He didn't want to lay his PDA on too thick though and chose to walk side by side with her into the restaurant, it was an Olive Garden, instead of grabbing her hand to hold. They were still touching. Her shoulder bumped into his upper arm with every stride they made and he could feel the heat of her hand that was oh so close to his. The gap between them was  both an inch and a mile wide at the same time. So close and yet so far.

The sheer amount of good will that Lady Luck had bestowed upon Jim today was enough to make him feel like he was floating. All the way to the waitress at her podium and then on to their little booth in the back that she placed them in. He couldn't have told you her name, what color her eyes were, or even if she had a clown nose as part of her employee outfit, because all he was seeing was Pam. She seemed softer around the edges now that she was in a good mood. She was more carefree and her laughter came to her easier as they sat at their booth sipping their drinks and waited for their orders of chicken fettuccine Alfredo to arrive.

If this wasn't a date, whether they both acknowledged it with such a title or not, then he didn't know what was.

They chatted animatedly during their dinner and Jim found himself several times throughout their conversation wanting to pinch himself. This really couldn't be real, he must surely be in bed still dreaming before his alarm would wake him to another Friday morning. Yet, as his wrist watch ticked the seconds off one by one he was finally willing to believe that this was real. He was on a date with Pam for all intents and purposes.

“Okay, so dessert here looks ridiculously expensive but also so good...,” Pam said as she looked over a menu card that sat on their table.

“Mmm, well, that's where you're lucky today. I know how to get us some free dessert,” Jim quipped back. His eyebrows raised in a challenge hoping she would understand as his eyes darted quickly to her coin machine ring and back.

“Oh my God... you wouldn't!” Pam exhaled with a giggle, “what if they caught us and knew?”

“What? And ruin our perfectly good engagement at their fine establishment? Trust me, they eat this stuff up. It's good press,” Jim said with a wave of his hand, “All that's left to figure out is... if you're too much of a chicken to go through with it.”

“You. Did. Not. Just. Call. Me. A. Chicken,” Pam said in mock indignation.

Jim pretended to think hard as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and scratched his chin thoughtfully before he answered.

“Nope. I most certainly did call you a chicken,” he repeated as he looked directly at her over the table, his eyes daring her with dark promise, “so, what will it be, Beesly?” his voice had dipped a pitch again just like in the office elevator.

Her reaction to it this time was much the same as before, but her resolve seemed to harden and she answered his dare with a smirk of her own before he nodded her head minutely.

“Okay, then do it. Propose. So we can get some free dessert,” she challenged him back.

She was calling his bluff, or trying to anyway, not fully thinking he would actually go through with it. He caught the look of surprise that lit up her features for a brief second as he reached across the table and slipped the chunky plastic ring from her finger. Then, without missing a beat or giving her time to protest, he got down on one knee outside of their booth and presented the ring to her as if it were the most authentic and expensive piece of jewelry in the world. Pam, because she was always quick to catch on to Jim's schemes, gasped audibly and brought her hands to her face in mock surprise. A few people turned their heads and looked on at the proposal as if it were genuine. They seemed to be fooled, which fit right in with Jim's plan perfectly.

“Pamela Morgan Beesly,” Jim began with a tremor in his voice. This might be a fake proposal, but Jim couldn't help but let the feelings he truly had for Pam bleed through, “Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man on earth by marrying me?”

There were 'awww’’s heard all around them and a sniffle from the older couple from two booths ahead. There were scattered yells of, “say yes! Say yes!” and even a few, “go get 'em, Champ’s’ thrown in.

The moment wasn't genuine, or at least Jim and Pam knew that, but despite that fact they were still looking at each other with rapt attention and adoration. Jim truly felt that in a way he was laying his heart and feelings all on the line. He was cashing in his chips. What she did with that, he wouldn't know until she told him though her face was telling him a lot from her expression.

“Yes,” Pam said quietly for only Jim to hear. Her eyes were brimming with tears that had nothing to do with the act they were putting on for free dessert, “absolutely.100%. Yes.”

“She said yes!” Jim said as he jumped up, one fist raised in the air triumphantly, while the entire restaurant lit up in cheers. Pam came to stand beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck and without question, or even letting Jim know about what she was going to do, kissed him.

Her hands came to cradle his face as she pressed her lips impossibly closer. Jim's brain went offline for the briefest of seconds, before it did an emergency reboot and all systems came online all at once. Synapses were firing electrical impulses all over his body, but the only thing he cared about was her lips on his and her hands on his face. He kissed her back fiercely for what once again felt like a lifetime and not long enough. Her hands tangled in his hair for the briefest of moments. While his own arms snaked behind her to press his palms into her back trying desperately to feel more of her all once.

The whoops and the cheers died down finally as they pulled away from each other. Jim, with a shaking hand, placed the ring back onto Pam's finger and then brought it up to his mouth to kiss tenderly. When their eyes met there was a new and renewed sense of heat between them. He felt it pooling low in his abdomen and coiling there restlessly. He saw the same need mirrored in Pam's own green eyes and her flushed face. There were two high spots on her cheekbones that were a deeper pink than her usual blush. Her lips were still moist from their kiss and slightly parted as she tried to regain her composure.

Jim knew one thing for certain then and there; They were going to take their free dessert to go and he was going to take her back to his house after their first 'date'

A hurried 'check, please!' followed by some laughs and scattering applause lead to a take-out box and Jim's quick excuse to go to the bathroom so he could let off some steam and splash water on his burning face while Pam waited outside the entrance to give her mom a quick call.

Which is where Jim found her, her back to him, as he opened the door to go outside himself and paused as he heard some of her conversation to her mother wondering anxiously if now that they were out of the restaurant that she would take it all back.

“Yeah, no... No, I'm going to be going home with Jim if that's alright. I know we were supposed to have dinner...” Pam trailed off and Jim couldn't hear what her mother was saying but he assumed it couldn't be bad with what Pam's words were next.

“I know, I know... You really don't think it's too quick after...?” She paused briefly and Jim could tell that she was biting her lip to hold back a smile as she shifted her weight from foot to foot and played with a strand of her hair.

“I know…” There was a longer pause this time and Jim was starting to get a little worried, but the next thing Pam said sent his heart almost through his chest with how hard it began to beat against his ribs, “Yeah, Mom... I think I do... No, I know I do. I love him and if I'm being honest... I have for a long time.”

Thank you, stupid iPod for being forgotten at work. If Jim hadn't been floating away on cloud nine from Pam napping on his shoulder, he wouldn't have left it, and if he hadn't left it he wouldn't be overhearing Pam tell her mom that she loved him.

He was going to explode. Into a million pieces. Bits of Jim would be scattered across the parking lot and entry way of this fine eatery for all of Scranton to see. He could die a happy man right here.

He barely had time to compose himself and act like he hadn't overheard Pam's conversation as she hung up the phone and he pretended to be just now exiting the building. He didn't want her to know he had heard, not yet at least because he had big plans for the two of them this evening. He was going to be the boldest he had been yet and hoped it would pay off as he wanted it to.

“Sorry I took so long. Shouldn't have had so much water,” Jim said with what he hoped was a normal smile.

“Oh, no. You're fine. I was just... letting my mom know I might be late. If... that's okay?” Pam asked hesitantly. Her eyes were flashing him her feelings like motel vacancy signs.

'Please take me home. Please love me. Please,' seemed to be etched across her features in a fluorescent glow.

Jim licked his lips because suddenly they felt bone dry. He was actually going to take Pam home. She would be going home. With him. A day he had dreamed of for three years now was coming true. He quickly collected himself and gave her a nod as he reached for her hand to tangle their fingers together.

“Absolutely, that's okay,” Jim said huskily, “I would hate to not get to spend the evening with my fiancé.”

Pam’s answering blush was all the answer he needed as they walked hand in hand across the parking lot and to his car. The summer sun was finally fading just beyond the horizon and it lit the sky up in deeper shades of orange and red. It was the perfect evening to a day that had ended up 'not bad'. Jim really couldn't ask for more. He wouldn't ask for more.

The drive over in the car was quiet. There was only the sounds of the tires on the road, the cars driving by, and the A/C as it blasted them with chilled air. They were both shivering the whole way not that it had anything to do with the air conditioning, but just the jolt of static that seemed to buzz back and forth between them. They were crossing a boundary now. One they had tiptoed around for years, but were finally crossing that bridge over into the “Something More” category. It was a breath of fresh air for Jim, but it was also uncharted waters. Even a skilled sailor, which he was not, would be daunted with the task ahead. The act of actually getting to come undone with the person you loved most in the world. The person who completed you in every sense of the word.

Yeah, so, in short, Jim was white knuckling the steering wheel with a mix of panic and arousal.

The drive to his house wasn't long and while Jim had hoped it would last longer he also didn't. He was thankful he didn't see Mark's car in the driveway yet. Good. He wasn't home or maybe he was at his girlfriend's place. That would give Jim and Pam the time alone that they needed. Not just for... their physical activities, but to talk. He felt like after they finally crossed this threshold there would be a lot to talk about. He was prepared for it, had been since the day they met, and welcomed it.

“Um, the living room is just through there. You can make yourself comfy. I'm just gonna change real quick. I feel like I'm covered in sweat,” Jim rambled as he shut the door behind them and locked it whilst pointing to the doorway that led off into the living room, “which must sound really arousing but I took a poll around town and women found my 'musk' enticing so... Yeah.” Suddenly the carpet looked like a good place to melt into a puddle.

“Well, I wish I had been around when you were going door to door for that poll... I would have answered that your 'musk',” Pam even raised her hands for air quotes and Jim couldn't help but blush, “is very satisfactory. Or most likely to induce a positive response. Or whatever your poll was measuring with...” She seemed to fluster herself as she went on.

“Okay, great. I'll be sure to pen that down,” Jim quipped back with a grin. He stretched his arm forward in an 'after you' gesture and waited for Pam to make her way to the living room and seat herself on his couch before he scampered quickly away down the hall. First, to the laundry room to grab a soft blue cotton shirt and some black basketball shorts, and then to the bathroom to freshen up his sweaty underarms.

New non-sweat drenched clothes? Check. Deodorant? Check. He was golden.

He wandered back down the hallway and into the living to find Pam perusing through one of the books on the coffee table. It was The Fellowship of The Ring.

“Please don't tell Dwight I've read that. Numerous times actually,” Jim said softly and Pam nearly jumped out of her seat from the noise causing Jim to chuckle and hold his hands up apologetically, “sorry. I didn't mean to startle you,” he finished as he moved to sit beside her on the couch. Their legs were touching and he could feel the warmth of her body through the thin material of his shorts.

“I wouldn't dream of it,” Pam said as she looked at him deeply. Her eyes seemed to be searching his for some answer. He hoped she was seeing everything that he had always felt for her on display as if it were a billboard. 'I love you', 'I've always loved you', 'give me a chance and I can prove I'm better than him in Every. Single. Way.'

She seemed to have found her answer. Her eyes became half-lidded as she looked down at his lips and back up to his eyes. Her skin flushed with the red spots coloring her cheeks like expensive blush. Her chest heaved with the strength of her breathing and he could see a tendril of sweat that slipped down her neck and plunged down between her breasts and knew then that he had to have a taste. Still, first things first...

Their lips crashed together and it was clumsy at first, but electrifying. It sent shock waves through both of them. When Pam immediately opened her mouth to moan, Jim took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside to just taste.

She tastes just like Juicy Fruit.

The same pieces of gum he had shared with her today after lunch and in his car after dinner flavored her mouth in the most exquisite way.

She arched into him and he wrapped his arms around her back to press his palms there. He pulled her impossibly closer and he felt her breasts against his chest and her knee pressing almost painfully into his thigh. Okay, they would definitely have to move.

He gently started pushing her back and once their lips broke contact Pam features clouded with uncertainty and worry and Jim knew that she thought he was rejecting her. He quickly shook his head to quiet any of those treacherous thoughts and pushed her a little more firmly until she fell back against the cushions with her hair fanned out across the decorative pillow on the other side. Her arms were bent at the elbow with her wrists and hands on either side of his face and her palms facing upward. Her fingers curled loosely around some of her curls as she gazed up at him lovingly and with more than a little impatience. Jim took his time regardless. He was drinking in the sight of her so dishevelled and beautiful on his couch. In his house.

He didn't keep her waiting for long and covered her body with his own, as his mouth went right for her neck just behind her ear. He teased the skin there and soaked in the gasps and whines she made from his attentions paid there. She bucked her hips into his and he couldn't help but growl as the sweet friction rubbed his throbbing erection in just the right way. Pam whimpered at the noise and tossed her head to the side as if submitting to him and bearing her neck for him to mark.

To make her his.

He sucked her skin between his lips hard to be sure he left something there for her to remember this by. For anyone who saw it to know that she belonged to someone. He didn't stop until he was sure he had left a sufficient mark and when he pulled away, sure enough, there were the reddish purple dots that signified it would be a deep purple come tomorrow. Good.

He slowly moved his way down her body, tried unbuttoning her shirt but when he became irritated just decided on ripping it open. He'd buy her a new one. After he framed this one to put on his wall as a memento.

He kissed his way across her chest, suckling only on the tops of each breast, before moving farther south. He'd pay more attention to them later as he had more grand plans in store for Pam.

His kisses trailed down her chest, her belly pausing only briefly to nuzzle her belly button which earned him a gasp and giggle, before he lowered himself to the waistband of her skirt. His hand moved to the back to find the zipped before pulling it down slowly tooth by tooth. Once it was loose enough around her hips, he pulled it down with Pam helping by elevating her hips. He tossed the gray piece of fabric somewhere over his right shoulder and heard the muffled 'thump' as it hit the carpet. His eyes then landed on the simple white cotton panties that Pam was sporting. There was something almost erotically intoxicating about the simplicity of her underwear. It was simply Pam.

He pushed his nose to the front of the fabric and breathed deeply the sickeningly sweet and heady smell of her arousal. She was completely wet from just his kisses and light touches alone and he could feel the dampness through the thin layer of cloth that was keeping him from being where he wanted most. Without fanfare or much ado he ripped her panties down her legs, much to Pam's surprise if her breathy gasp was anything to go by, and tucked them into one of his pockets to keep the garment from getting lost.

The sight before him was mouth watering and sinful. Her pretty pussy was shaved bare and mostly smooth from stubble. Her lips were glistening with the evidence of her arousal and he could just see the pretty pink center of her throbbing cunt.

“Oh, fuck,” he couldn't help but growl out because it was quite possibly the hottest fucking thing he had ever seen, “this little pussy is so wet for me. Fuck. Such a pretty pussy you've got, Pam.”

“Mmm,” Pam panted, “please, Jim. Please.” Her hands found his way into his hair and twisted into the strands and urged him closer to her aching pussy. She writhed underneath and bucked her hips to try and get friction.

Jim wouldn't keep her waiting and while he was eager to just dive right in and absolutely wreck the petal pink depths of her cunt, he was going to show her he could be gentle when he wanted to be.

He settled himself between her splayed hips and wrapped his arms around the outside of her legs to allow him to rest his palms face down on her smooth and tiny stomach. He peppered the skin around where she wanted him to be with small kisses before going right for her clit with his tongue. The sudden change in direction and pressure nearly sent her shooting off the couch, but he used his arms to force her back down and to keep her steady. Her hands were tighter in his hair as she pushed his head against her harder. He'd let her have her way as he was in no mood or condition to object. He wanted this just as badly as she did.  

Jim continued with the pressure and motion of his tongue as it slid across her pussy. He focused mostly on her clit, because she seemed to be a girl that liked as little teasing as possible. He, of course, was only going on this based on her sounds and whines whenever he strayed too far. She also used her legs to anchor him into place when she became too impatient with his teasing.

“Jim!” It was a breathy prayer as she writhed underneath him trying to get impossibly closer to his tongue, “please. Please, oh, God. Please!”

He wrapped his lips in a tight oh and sucked on her clit. Hard. The ensuing response almost took him off guard as she bucked her hips and nearly flung him off the couch. She was practically sobbing with want and need and her hands were welded into his hair as she pulled fretfully at the strands tangled within her pale fingers.

“What do you need, baby? Tell me what you need,” Jim pulled his mouth from her drenched pussy long enough to demand. His words were deep and gravelly and they had the same effect on her as early. She shivered, whined, and gasped. Her mouth was slack and her breathing harsh as she tried to get her brain to formulate even the most basic of sentences.

“Kiss me. There. Suck me,” she gulped down air to try and clear her fogged brain, “make me come, please. Please.”

He was more than happy to oblige, but Jim was feeling bold again. Bolder in fact than he had ever felt before, now that she was pinned beneath him with her pussy against his mouth and her wet arousal on his tongue.

“Who's pussy is this?” Jim asked darkly while his thumb slowly rubbed circles around her clit while he spoke. Never quite touching the place she wanted him, needed him, most. “Who does it belong to?”

Pam seemed to struggle with words or even thinking. She whined pitifully when she realized Jim would not touch her until he got the satisfactory answer. The only answer. They both knew the answer to his question. After this she belonged to no one else besides him. Mind, body, heart, and soul. Well, and pussy.

“Yours,” She gasped wildly, “It's yours. It's always been yours. No one else. Ever,”

“That's my good girl,” Jim praised and she seemed to preen at such a compliment before going back to bucking her hips when his mouth met her clit again.

The rest came all too quickly as he kept the pressure and speed up. Her crescendo was lovely to behold as the closer she got to the edge the quieter she became. When the waves of her orgasm finally hit her, she pushed Jim's head harder against her pussy and began to grind her hips almost involuntarily with his name on her lips. It was beautiful. A work of art.

Jim had no time to recover. As soon as her orgasm ended and the trembling in her legs began she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him up. He thought maybe she was going for a kiss and didn't want her to be grossed out by the taste of her on his lips, but instead he hugged him hard against her and buried her face into his neck. She trembled as the last visages of her arousal slowly dissipated and her shaking legs finally stopped twitching. His body was pressed to hers so firmly, that Jim was beginning to worry she would be crushed under him. He tried moving, but as soon as he did she clung tighter to his frame.

“Sorry,” Pam mumbled into the sweaty skin of his neck, “I just get... kind of shy after... I feel like I was a little slutty. You just look so… pretty when you go down on me,”

Jim couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head as he moved enough to kiss her cheek. He had never heard that one before. Yet, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. It was endearing though that even after something as personal and physical as what they had done happened that she was still Pam. Shy, soft, and sweet.

“You've got nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of,” Jim soothed, “it was pretty hot.”

He felt her small hand wiggling from around his shoulder and then between them. She had just hit the waistband of his shorts when he grabbed her wrist and pulled away. The look of hurt and rejection that crossed his features made him wince, but he wasn't rejecting her. Far from it.

“Hey, no,” Jim said in hushed tones, “Trust me. It's not that I don't want it. Or want you to touch me,” he allowed her hand to feel the very prominent tent showing between them, “but this isn't about me or my pleasure. You've been going through a lot this week. You don't have to 'pay me back' or whatever. I just want to make you feel good. For now. Later, obviously we can do more... but I want tonight to be about you.”

Pam's small smile that slowly lit up her face was almost as beautiful as her face when she came. Almost.

“Sorry, I guess I'm just used to... not getting anything and then having to make sure someone else has a good time...” She ducked her head and bit her bottom lip as the thought of Roy and sex with Roy flooded her thoughts. She was glad that chapter of her life was now officially over.

“Well, get used to always having an orgasm now, Beesly. I can and will deliver on that,” Jim quipped back with a self-satisfied smirk. It was good to know he was better than Roy in another way. Fuck, Jim couldn't help but loathe that guy more than he did before.

They slowly moved away from each other then, laughed shyly at Pam's ripped shirt, and picked up some of the mess they made. Jim offered for her to take a shower which she eagerly agreed to. He carefully slipped a change of his clothes onto the bathroom counter while she was washing herself off and turned to leave, thought better of it, and pulled back the shower curtain to poke his head inside to give her a kiss.

“I'll grab a shower after you’re done. I got a shirt and shorts out here on the counter for you.” Jim told her before pulling away. Pam's soft, “thanks.” followed him out of the bathroom and made his heart feel lighter than it had in a long, long time.

When they were both freshly showered and deposited back on the same couch as earlier, with Jim's legs kicked up on the coffee table and Pam curled into his side, as they watched David Bowie's crotch bulge in Labyrinth, they heard the front door open. Pam startled and tried pulling away, but Jim held her firmly against his side with the arm he had across her shoulders until she settled back into him. Her head took its previous resting place against his shoulder as her hand reached from his to tangle their fingers together.

“Hey, man,” Mark started as he came in, “Ho- Oh, sorry.”

“Hey,” Jim greeted back looking up as Mark came into the room with his girlfriend, Amanda, and settled on the love seat off to the left, “Pam, this is Mark and Amanda. Mark and Amanda, this is Pam.”

“The Pam?” Mark nearly spit out his drink he had just taken a sip of. Smooth.

Jim shot him a glare and a 'come on!' expression, but Pam just laughed in response. At least she was a good sport.

“I'm assuming you talk about me a lot then?” She teased with a bright smile and Jim couldn't deny her anything if she always smiled at him like that. He just nodded and scratched the back of his head with the arm and hand not wrapped around her.

“If you mean non-stop then yes. He does,” Amanda gushed, “I'm so happy to finally get to meet you. Jim has told us so much about you. Are you guys dating now? That's so great. Now we can finally get Jim to go out with us.”

“Um,” Pam bit her lip shyly and Jim's breath stopped in his chest. Well, this was the moment of truth. “Yeah, we just had our first date, actually.” The air left his lungs in an almost audible 'whoosh'.

Amanda 'awww'ed and she and Pam then got into a detailed discussion of their date and how it compared to others. 'Thankfully he didn't leave me at a high school hockey game thankfully...' was thrown out and Jim couldn't help but smirk at that. He was happy to just listen to their conversation and sleepily watch the movie before them.

“Alright,” Mark sighed as he clapped his hands and moved to get up as the conversation came to a friendly lull, “we were actually just stopping by to grab some things. I'm going to stay at her place for the weekend, if that's cool.”

“Oh, yeah, man. That's fine. I have to work on Pam's car tomorrow with my dad anyway.” Jim said as he raised his hand in farewell, “nice seeing you guys. Have fun.”

Everyone exchanged their goodbyes then with Amanda snagging Pam's number and a promise to meet up for a double date soon. With every passing minute their relationship seemed to be solidifying and Jim couldn't help but feel like this was natural. This was how it was supposed to be. The two of them together. Always.

The rest of the night was simple and quiet with just the noise of the TV and their intermittent conversation. Eventually, Jim moved to lay down across the couch and Pam laid down on top of him with her head pillowed on his chest. That was how they eventually fell asleep tangled together under the throw blanket they had pulled down from the back of the couch. As they both closed their eyes and sleep finally took them they were both thinking along the same lines, 'This is how it should be.'

With a groggy and muffled groan Jim opened his bleary eyes and tried to place what exactly had woken him up and why.

First, he noticed the heavy weight on his chest and body. His memories of earlier in the evening came rolling back to him like a freight train and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Good, it hadn't been a dream then. Pam was still sleeping soundly on his chest.

Secondly, he noticed that there was a ringing coming from the direction of the coffee table. He could just make out the bluish white hue that was lighting up the screen of a phone. Great. It was probably Mark for some reason. Jim imagined somehow that he and Amanda both forgot to be the DD and would now need rides back home. Well, it still could do nothing to deflate his good mood as he swiped the phone from the table and pressed 'accept' before pressing it into his ear with a grumbled, “what's up?”

Everything came to a skidding and crashing halt when the voice on the other end, the angry and very Roy voice, said, “who in the fuck is this?”

It was like a bucket of cold water pouring over Jim and he hastily leaned to sit up enough to gather his thoughts and hopefully jostle Pam awake gently in the process while he tried to formulate a response. She grumbled a bit while he sat up and rubbed her tired eyes while looking at Jim. He held his finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture as she blinked owlishly at him, her curiosity peaked. He had accidentally grabbed Pam's fucking phone when Roy was giving her a drunk 'take me back' call. He couldn't have Pam making a noise and then this turned into a bigger issue than it was.

'What a way to crash the fucking mood, dickbag,' Jim couldn't help but think venomously, 'get a fucking grip and learn to read the signs. She doesn't fucking WANT you.'

“Well, considering you're calling my phone,” Jim lied smoothly as his plan clicked into place inside his brain, “so, I think it's a bit bold of you to ask who I am. Who's this?”

“I'm calling my girlfriend's phone, jack-ass,” Roy slurred, “Why is some guy answering my Pammy's phone?”

“Oh,” Jim feigned, “This is Roy? Oh, shoot... You know, I was helping Pam after work today. Her car wouldn't start and I was helping her carry some stuff out of the office when we dropped it and we must've grabbed the wrong phones. Is everything okay? I can run it back over to your guys' house if need be.”

“No, man... That won't be ness... Nescahsary,” Roy fumbled drunkenly, “she's staying at her folks' place anyway... Got mad at me for foolin' around with a slut, ya know?”

No, Jim couldn't say he could relate to the feeling, but he allowed Roy to continue on his drunken rambling.

“An'way, she... uh... Could you, uh, talk to her for me, man?” Roy then asked pleadingly, “Ya know how it is with us guys and how we... wander from time to time... You’re Pam's best friend... So you'll talk to her for me when you see her, yeah? Make her understand?”

“Yep, I'll do that Roy. No problem,” Jim said with his lips pressed together. He chanced a glance at Pam and her face looked pale and she was holding her hand to her mouth in shock. Jim hoped it hadn't ruined what had just started to take hold for both of them. Or he'd kill Roy.

“I gotta let you go, man, I got a busy today ahead of me tomorrow. I'll talk to Pam when I drop her phone off at her parents' place. So... talk to you later, man.” Jim rushed. He just wanted this conversation over with so he could take care of Pam who seemed on the verge of bolting.

“Thanks, Halpert. You're a good guy.” Roy said in parting before Jim ended the call and tossed the phone back onto the coffee table and turned to Pam.

There was a stunned silence before Jim couldn't take the building tension in the room and he took Pam's hand in his to help ground her. She looked up at him and offered a weak smile, which was a good sign, before she fell into him and tried to hide her face once more in his neck. Even better.

“Hey, I didn't,” Jim trailed off trying to find the right words, “lie about... what happened between us because I'm ashamed or regret it. I just... didn't think telling a drunken Roy at 1AM that his 'girlfriend' was sleeping with me on my couch would make for a good situation.”

“No, no, I understand. It's not that...” Pam paused and then tried snuggling deeper into Jim, “It's just... embarrassing that he is still bothering me. I told him it was over. It's also... I hope it doesn't seem like I'm moving too fast... I just feel like this has been building between us for a long time and it just seems... natural.”

“I agree... I've liked you...,” Jim paused himself before deciding he might as well be up front about it. Hell, he had his tongue in her pussy only hours before, “I've loved you for a long time now.”

Pam pulled away from her hiding spot in Jim's neck to look into his eyes. What she saw there, Jim was hoping would tell her everything she would ever need to know about his love and devotion to her. Only her. She seemed satisfied and with tears brimming in her eyes she gave him a chaste kiss and pulled away once more to speak. Her hands found his, and she looked down as they joined together and took a deep breath.

“I have felt the same for a long time... longer than I really wanted to admit to myself before this because... Well, I was with Roy and it felt wrong that I should have feelings for someone else, you know?” Jim nodded his understanding and for her to continue, “so, I buried it really deep down. That is... until what happened with Roy and then what happened between us today. I just want you to know that I will need time to get everything sorted out and find my feet again... but that it in no way means I don't want this or you... or that I don't feel it. I love you, too, Jim. I have since probably the day I met you and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to come to terms with it but... could you give me time to let the dust settle before we make it public? I want you to myself first before everyone at the office finds out... and to give it a decent amount of time because of Roy...”

“Pam,” Jim started and had to wet his suddenly dry lips before he could start again, “I've waited three years for you... I can wait a little longer. As long as I know I have you...” He saw Pam nod which solidified his resolve, “... then I can wait.”

With their conversation completed and their feelings laid out bare for each other to see like a hand of cards on the table they both felt lighter than they had in a long time. This is the feeling that allowed them to float down the hall to Jim's room and to settle into bed for the rest of the night with the TV playing reruns of Friends and their legs tangled together. It's what helped them fall into an easy and refreshing sleep. They had finally found their way to each other and it was just as wonderful as they had imagined when there was a cavern and ocean between them with no safe harbor in sight.

The day that dawned after was just as great as the evening before. Waking up in each other's arms, cooking breakfast together, and getting ready for the day felt as natural as breathing.

Jim kept his promise of towing and fixing Pam's car at his parents' house, just as Pam kept hers about keeping him company and handing him tools when he called for them like a surgeon during an operation. They spent their whole day together and she got to meet his parents, who adored her, and he got to meet her for dinner that night. It felt like they had been together for a lifetime even though their relationship wasn't even 24 hours old.

So, yeah, the weekend wasn't that bad for Jim or Pam either.

The weekend finally bled into the regular work week and even that couldn't dampen their spirits in the slightest. They kept their routines the same, because really nothing between them had changed besides they had now pursued the romantic part of their relationship. They were still Jim and Pam. Which meant pranks, jokes, jelly bean breaks, and sharing lunches in the break room. It meant shooting funny faces at each other in the conference room during Michael's antics and sharing sly glances when no one was looking.

By the time Friday finally rolled around and Michael was demanding a friendly basketball game between the office and warehouse staff to see who would be working on Saturday they both were buzzing. They wanted to touch each other, kiss, hold hands, spend the weekend watching movies, and exploring their new relationship. To work on a Saturday would throw a wrench in those plans even if they would be together.

It also meant being in close proximity to Roy. He hadn't stopped calling Pam at night and tried going to her parents' house to only be roughly turned away by Pam's father at the door with a threat to call the cops. They weren't too eager to be in the same space as him, even if he didn't know about their relationship. Jim almost felt sorry for the guy because he truly didn't know he had lost Pam for good. Jim had her now and he wasn't ever going to let her go or do anything that would jeopardize her faith in him. There was no woman on this planet who had a mind, body, or soul like hers. Or pussy, but that was another subject altogether. Why would he waste a lifetime with her, over some over-used, toxic waste dump pussy like Roy had done? The thought itself was even beyond Jim's comprehension.

It was Roy's loss. Fuck him.

The act of playing basketball might actually help relieve some of the pent up energy Jim had that was only doing damage left bouncing around inside his mind and body. If he got to knock into Roy and beat that sorry asshole at the game, too? Well, that was just a bonus.

There was also the added bonus of Pam cheering for the Office team, just Jim actually, from the sidelines. He couldn't help but notice that Roy was throwing her quizzical glances every time she clapped and yelled every time Jim scored. The pouting face of his grown ass just gave him the overall look of an unwashed pug. It also served to get the lumbering idiot more involved in the game and by that... more involved with trying to block and knock Jim around.

By the end of the game, where Michael famously and very Michael-ly, gave up their win and touted that the office people were more than willing to work Saturdays, Jim could tell Roy was seething. It didn't help he had busted Jim's lip and didn't seem to boil off any of his rage. It truly only served to make Jim more on edge. He was really ready to finally put Roy in his place once and for all.

Luckily, Jim didn't have to wait long for it all to finally, after three years, come to a head.

Everyone else from the office and most of the warehouse had milled out of the parking lot pretty quickly. Grumbles from the office side and cheers and whoops from the warehouse side. All except Jim, Pam, Michael, Dwight who insisted on acting as Michael's own personal bodyguard after the showdown after the game, Darryl, Roy, and a couple of warehouse dudes Jim couldn't really name.

Roy had been obviously waiting out in the parking lot by his truck with Darryl and the guys. Jim spotted him just as he and Pam and more reluctantly Michael and Dwight opened the building’s doors and trudged out into the afternoon heat to head to their cars.

“Hey, Halpert!” Roy's hoarse and clipped yell came from across the lot. Jim's knuckles tightened on his gym bag at the grating quality to the other man's voice. Too much alcohol and smoky air from bars had done a number on it in the short two weeks Pam had been gone and was no longer keeping him in check.

He felt and saw from the corner of his eyes Pam tense next to him. Her hand darted out to gently touch the back of his elbow. He couldn't tell if she was trying to stop him from what he knew was coming or ground herself. Probably a bit of both.

“Yeah?” Jim called back indifferently and stopped his forward motion. He planted himself where he was on the asphalt and waited. If Roy wanted to start this he would have to come to him.

“What was that back there?” Roy jeered and he started forward, leaving Darryl to walk after him with a look of caution until they were just an arm's reach away from Jim. He could see the sweat pouring down Roy's face still and the ruddy color to his cheeks. The smell of his breath even from here was almost enough to knock Jim down. Fuck. The guy couldn't even stop drinking long enough to do a day's work? Christ. Pam had really dodged a bullet with this one.

“A friendly game of basketball? Or was there something else you were talking about?” Jim asked roughly. He squared his shoulders back and stood at his full height before the angry, drunk, and disgustingly sweaty other man. He had at least two inches on him. Not much, but Jim also had a hell of a reach compared to Roy's stumpy gorilla arms.

“You were all fucking over me in there. Trying to show off like you're some hot-shot super star,” Roy cut his eyes to Pam who was standing a few feet away being bracketed between Michael and Dwight, “Showing off for Pammy, I'm sure. My girlfriend.”

They all seemed anxious about what was going to happen next. Pam cut her eyes away and turned to keep Roy's searing gaze from her. As if they could tell where this was going, Michael and Dwight stepped in front of her to block his view. Dwight glowered and Michael himself seemed to feel the need for an adult approach to this situation and followed suit. Roy wouldn't be getting the access to Pam that he wanted with them there.

“Fiancée, Roy,” Jim said in a deadly tone dripping with venom.

“What?” the other man barked and took a step forward to try and intimidate Jim. It didn't work. Jim held his ground.

“I said, 'fiancée'. She was your fiancée, Roy,” Jim spat, “was being the key word there, dumb ass.”

Roy didn't take too kindly to being called what he was and Jim could watch almost in slow motion what was going to happen next before it did. Roy reared his arm back and swung, but he didn't have quite the reach he was expecting and Jim stepped out of the way causing the bigger man to stumble. Jim took the opportunity to knee Roy in the side of his ribs and push him down to the asphalt of the parking lot. He fell heavily and groaned, but rolled over quickly even in his inebriated state and stood back up to face off with Jim again.

“You really don't want to play this game with me, Roy,” Jim said with deadly seriousness. His voice had once again taken on the deep and gravelly quality. He was fucking around. He'd pummel this fucker into the hard parking lot beneath them if need be. If felt like Roy would respect that show of force and dominance.

“You were supposed to talk to her for me! Make her come back!” Roy roared and barreled forward. He didn't seem to have much coordination or forethought into what he was doing and so Jim reared back his arm with a closed fist and swung it through the air until it connected with Roy's nose. There was a sickening crack and a spurt of blood. The bigger man fell like Goliath before David and went to his knees wailing about his 'fucking nose'. Good. Now, to add salt to the wound.

“I did talk to your fiancée, Roy, or as you like to call her... Your 'girlfriend',” Jim began as he towered over his hunched figure, “me and your girlfriend were playing dress up at my house the night that you called her phone. She was wearing my clothes, in my house, in my bed... Better yet... I gave your girlfriend cunnilingus on my couch.”

The few people in the parking lot gaped in shock and he heard Pam gasp. Shit. Well, he hadn't meant to embarrass her at all... It had just come out really. He wanted to make a point. She was his now. Not that he owned her like she was property as Roy had done, but she belonged to him; heart and soul just as he did to her. Roy really needed to understand that.

“You gave Pammy an STD!?” Roy yelled as he tried to stand, but grimaced and fell back on his ass. Well, no one could ever claim that this dude was smart by any means. Pam, Dwight, and Darryl at least knew what the word meant and shared shocked faces.

“I ate your girlfriend's pussy on my couch like a man, Roy. That's what it means. Now fuck off and leave us alone. Leave Pam alone. If I ever fucking see your ass anywhere near her again I'll do worse than break your fucking nose. I'll rearrange your whole sorry excuse for a face. Is that clear?” Jim barked.

“Whatever, man... Fucking have her. Fuck,” Roy groaned, “Help me up, man, please...” he said to Darryl. The pair were able to get him back to standing and Darryl helped Roy hobble back to his truck. Jim watched as he got loaded in and drove out of the parking lot with Darryl and the other warehouse guys following suit.

Well, it could have ended way worse all considering.

It was just Jim and Pam now. Well, as well as Michael and Dwight. He couldn't be that lucky all the time he supposed.

“Oh, my God... Jim!” Pam said as he ran over to him to hold his hand in both of hers. She inspected it for any cuts or abrasions and once she was satisfied he had none she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard.

“You could've gotten hurt! Don't you ever scare me like that again, okay?” She added when she broke away and flung her arms around him in a hug. Her heart had been beating wildly in her chest the whole time she watched the two of them. She couldn't help but also feel a niggling sense of excitement to watch the man she loved humiliate the man who had caused her so much grief for a decade. She'd let him in on that little secret though once they were finally alone.

“Thanks, Beesly, but I think I handled myself alright,” Jim told her lovingly as he folded his arms around her tiny frame and pulled her tight against him.

His eyes panned over to where Michael, with Dwight in tow, was walking over. Well, it wasn't the best situation when Michael and Dwight now knew about his and Pam's relationship. By the end of the day, or before, the whole office would know the details of what went down after hours. Jim started to try and beg Michael to not to open his mouth in a very Michael fashion and blab about what happened when Michael actually surprised him.

“Take care of her, Jim. Same to you, Pam-a-lama-ding-dong. If a man is willing to fight for you, not like Roy fight, but... Well, you know what I mean,” He said with a very exaggerated flapping of his hands, “then he is serious when it comes to his love for you. Also, when you guys come clean to the whole office I get to say I knew the whole time before anyone else because we're all best friends.”

“Sure, Michael,” Jim and Pam said together as they held each other in a loose embrace. It's times like these when Michael could actually be a good friend and a decent, while still silly adult.

“So, when I get a hot mama does that mean we can go on double dates?” Michael asked with a waggle of his brows. Ah, well...

“Of course,” Jim answered, which caused Pam to look at him quizzically, but he only offered her a shrug. If Michael was willing to let them announce their relationship on their own terms then he was willing to sit through an evening watching him terrify a young woman into trying to be with him.

“See you guys tomorrow!” Michael waved like a sugar hyped five year old as he turned to walk to his car.

Dwight stood in front of them still and seemed to be having an internal battle with himself unti, he finally seemed to piece together what he was going to say.

“That was an excellent show of skill you used against Roy, Jim,” Dwight said uneasily, “I can see that Pam is in capable hands and will not be requiring me to escort her home for her own safety. I, too, have a lady of my own who I would defend with such violence at any and every opportunity.” He seemed to have a wistful and far-off look in his eye as he thought about this woman.

“Thanks, Dwight,” Jim said, and he was actually very thankful he found, with surprise. Was this opposite day or something? If it was, he could take it compared to how it could have turned out.

“You all have a great evening. I have a woman to service,” With that Dwight turned on his heel and walked off to his own vehicle.

They watched and waved as the two men left the parking lot and then started to walk to their own cars. They would be spending the evening once again at Jim's house, as Pam still hadn't found an apartment yet, watching movies and eating pizza. A good ending to an otherwise stressful day.

Jim stopped them halfway to their cars, which were parked side by side in the lot, and turned to Pam to kiss her hard on the mouth.

Her surprise was evident at first and Jim couldn't help but grin into it, but surely enough she melted into his arms and kissed him back lovingly. The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to leave them breathless. A week previously they had made a monumental decision in this parking lot that had changed their lives forever. When they pulled away the enormity of it all seemed to finally settle over them and as they gazed into each other's eyes they knew this was the beginning of the rest of their lives. The story they would tell their children. How they knew they had found 'the one'.

As they got into the respective cars and drove to Jim's house they couldn't help but finally feel at peace. This was it. This is what they had always been waiting for.

A week later, Jim bought a ring. He was waiting for the right time to propose and held onto it for a week before realizing that any time was the right time for them. He proposed to her at dinner with her parents.

At the end of the month she officially moved in as Mark and Amanda had decided to take the next step and live together. They were able to make the house their own and Jim helped her paint the walls and redecorate the now spare room into an office/art studio for them to share.

They set a date for a spring wedding, because it's what Pam always dreamed of. She'd look lovely surrounded by green and blooming flowers at an outdoor venue. The sun would light up her hair like a halo and he'd be the happiest man that had ever had the fortune to live on this planet. It would be the fairy tale they had always wanted. He'd make sure of it.

So, all in all... not a bad day, not too bad of a week, a hell of a good month, and a cosmically exceptional year.