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Story Notes:

Happy birthday Robert Dunder, if that even is your real name. 43 today, from Boston, middle name is Burke? All sounds pretty suspicious to me. Anyways, I hope I did this justice for you.

Thanks as always to YB for helping me figure this one out. 

I don't own anything here. Maybe a very old Gameboy if I look in my closet.

Author's Chapter Notes:
October 1st, 2016

"I can't believe you're making me spend my birthday with Dwight," Jim groaned as he reached for the pot of coffee that was sitting on the kitchen counter. "Why would you invite them for lunch? Today of all days?" He poured the black coffee into his red and white gingham check mug and stirred in the creamer.  

"Just be grateful I didn't have them stay with us," Pam smirked, holding her cup out for a refill as she leaned against the grey granite and wooden island in her pink cotton cami and pink and white pyjama pants. Jim deadpan stared at her as he filled her pink ridged cup. 

"This is not the way I wanted to spend today," he said after taking a sip of his drink. 

"I didn't hear any complaints this morning," she grinned, poking her tongue between her teeth. 

"Well, yeah," he said, moving closer to Pam, and pulling her closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up at him with a shy smile. "Kinda hoped we could carry that on," he said, before bending down to kiss her. She ran her hands up his grey t-shirted chest until they reached the nape of his neck and she pushed her fingers into his hair as their kiss deepened. 

"Daaaaad!" came Cece's shout from the large foyer, interrupting Jim and Pam's kiss. 

They broke apart and rested their foreheads against one another, wide but frustrated smiles on their faces. "And that's why we couldn't stay in bed any longer," Pam smiled.

"Ugh, I know," Jim groaned. He lent in for one more quick kiss, before Cece interrupted them again.

"Can we go now dad?" she asked, buckling her purple bike helmet under her chin as she walked into the kitchen. 

"Cees, I've gotta get dressed first. I'll be 20 minutes ok?"

"Alright," she whinged, before taking the helmet off and walking towards the den.

"Maybe save the shower for when you get back, huh?" Pam smirked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Does that mean you're gonna join me?" Jim asked, matching her arched eyebrow with one of his own.

"Absolutely not. It's because you're going to stink when you get home. And in case you've forgotten, we have guests coming. And two children in the house. Who are very much awake and running around. And it's," she looked at her watch, "8:52am. And you know what that means?"

"Babe, it'll be over soon. Like what, two or three more weeks til the morning sickness stops?" he said, gently stroking her stomach. 

"God I hope so. I'm too old for this, what were we thinking, having another baby at our age?"

"As I recall, we weren't exactly thinking," he laughed. Pam tried to hide her smile at another surprise baby. "And Beesly, you're only four years older than when you had Phil."

"Almost five years older. But also there weren't two kids to worry about then," she began. 

"There was still one kid to worry about," Jim interrupted, which earned him a glare from Pam. 

"Two kids is a lot more than one toddler," she shot back. "And I didn't have to worry about two morning drop offs and working hard at a job I actually care about and taking care of an enormous house," she said, waving her arms at the large kitchen.

"Oh no, your life is so terrible," Jim smirked. 

"You know what I mean," she laughed as she swatted his arm. "It's just a lot and I'm so tired, and I hate vomiting at 9am every morning."

He pulled her into his arms so that he could rest his chin on her head and stroke her back. "I know, but what you're doing is amazing and we're gonna have a little baby soon," he smiled to himself. 

"And no sleep," she said into his chest.

"Eh, it's not like we get that much anyway," he shrugged. "Alright, I better go take her on this bike ride." He kissed the top of her head before heading towards the door. "And thank you again for the present, I love it." 

"You're welcome. Again," she smiled. "Be home by 11am at the latest, ok? I want you guys cleaned up before they get here." Pam smiled to herself as she heard Jim grumble his way up the stairs, before the nausea hit and she ran towards the bathroom. 

--

At noon exactly, the doorbell chimed and Jim groaned. While Cece and Philip excitedly ran to the front door, Jim pressed his hands to his thighs and pulled himself up from the squishy brown corner couch in the den where they had been watching Monsters University while Pam got lunch together. 

"I'm gonna get it," Cece shouted, as she tried to push Philip, who was tugging on the door handle, out of the way.

"No, me!" Philip shouted back at her. 

"Neither of you are getting it," Jim said as he finally made it to the door. "And Phil, what have I told you about hanging on the door handle like that?" he asked as he removed his son from the handle. "It's gonna break off and then we're gonna be trapped in the house foreverrrr," he said with a tickle, making Philip giggle. "Alright, here goes nothing," he muttered to himself. After plastering on a fake smile and taking a deep breath, Jim opened the door. 

"Happy birthday," Angela said politely as soon as the door was opened, holding out a small rectangular present, gift wrapped in matt navy blue paper and tied with a silver bow. "You look well. 

"Thanks Angela. And you too," Jim smiled as he took the gift. "Wow, I didn't know you were pregnant again," he said, pointing to her small bump. "What are you, like four months along?"

"Eight actually," she replied.

"Wow, you look great. Eight months. You kept that a surprise huh?" he laughed. 

"I'm pregnant Jim, there's no baby to talk about yet, therefore there's no news to tell," she said curtly.

"Ok," Jim said slowly, rolling his eyes slightly. "Well, come on in," he said, gesturing with his arm into the house. "Pam's just in the kitchen finishing up lunch." Angela walked past Jim with a small nod, tightly holding the hand of her own Philip. Cece and the other Philip excitedly ran next to them as they walked to the kitchen.

"I will not wish you a happy birthday," Dwight began to say as he stepped forward, his youngest son strapped to his chest.

"I know, I know. Shrutes don't celebrate birthdays," Jim said.

"Well, I'm glad you remembered. There is no need to congratulate someone on their 40th rotation around the sun."

"40? Dwight, I'm only 38," Jim replied, confused.

"No, you were born October 1st 1976. You are 40 today, idiot."

"Dwight, I was born in ‘78," Jim said.

"I distinctly remember looking in your personnel file and it said you were born in 1976," Dwight replied, adamant.

"Oooh," Jim replied, suddenly remembering how he'd given himself two extra years of sales experience when he was applying for the role at Dunder Mifflin and had needed to make himself older. "Yup, you're totally right buddy. I guess I'm 40 today."

"Idiot," Dwight said as he stepped into the house. Jim closed the door behind him and took a breath "And why are you dressed like a woman?"

"What?" Jim asked as he looked down at himself to see the charcoal grey round neck sweater he was wearing, alongside his blue denim jeans and black socks. "What are you talking about?"

"The jewellery. Why are you wearing bracelets and a necklace?"

"Oh," Jim said, blushing slightly. "Well, the bracelets are from Cece, she made them for me for my birthday," he said as he touched the brightly coloured beads on his wrist next to his watch. He self consciously touched the back of his neck where his chain was visible, just peeking out from under his sweater. "And the necklace was..."

"I don't care, girl," Dwight interrupted. "When are we eating lunch? I'm starving."

"Uh, in like twenty minutes," Jim said as he looked down at his watch.

"Ugh, fine. Well, I guess there's time to show you how to use your ‘birthday present'," Dwight said, using air quotes. "We got you a Gameboy."

"Oh, uh. That's pretty cool actually. Thanks," Jim replied, looking down at the blue gift wrapped present he was still holding, somewhat surprised at the fun gift.

"It's not cool Jim," Dwight replied sternly. "It's so I can teach you how to properly play Tetris. Let me put Jedediah down and I'll teach you how to properly use a line."

"That was one ti..." Jim trailed off as Dwight walked away from him. He hung his head down and prayed for the afternoon to go quickly.

--

"Ok, so I've got this all lined up here, and if I put the T shaped one in like," Dwight paused as he waited for the block to drop into place, "this, then it will clear the line and open up the big space here." He was sitting on the corner of the couch in the den, with Cece on one side of him and both Philips on the other. All of the kids were eagerly peering over Dwight's arms, staring at the tiny grey and black screen.

"Yes Dwight. For the fifth time, I know how to play Tetris," Jim groaned as he leaned his head back against the top of the brown coach. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to stay calm on his birthday.

"Uh, yeah sure," Dwight laughed, his eyes never leaving the Gameboy's screen. "Ok, so you see here, this is where the big points come from. I just have to wait for the line to drop, and there it goes, slowly, slowly. You need to make sure you don't accidentally hit the d-pad and knock the line into the wrong place," he explained to the eager children. "But if you're as awesome at Tetris as I am, you can do this," he said, holding the bottom of the d-pad down to quickly lower the line into the waiting hole and clear four lines at once. "Yes," he said with a fist pump. "And that's how it's done, Jim," he said smugly.

"Yup, you did it. You're amazing," Jim said dryly. "Can I have a go yet? On my birthday present?" he asked.

"Soon, let me just," Dwight trailed off.

"Dad, can I have a go," Cece asked Jim.

"Sure thing sweetheart," he replied. "Dwight. Give it to Cece."

"What? No. I'm winning here. You can have it if I die."

"You mean, when you die," Jim corrected.

"No, idiot. If. John Brzustowski wrote a thesis in 1992 on if you could play Tetris forever and concluded that you couldn't because of the infinite monkey theorem and how many S and Z pieces you're likely to get. However, the Tetris games made after 2001 guarantees that a player doesn't receive more that four S or Z pieces in a row and so I won't have that problem and therefore I can potentially never die," Dwight explained.

"But this is a Gameboy from 1989, so that's before the new rules came into play, and therefore you will die," Jim said, snatching the grey console from Dwight.

"Hey!" Dwight shouted, trying to catch the Gameboy back as it slipped through his fingers.

"Here you go," Jim said, staring at Dwight, but passing the console to Cece.

"Thanks daddy," she smiled up at him.

"Oh Jim, Jim, Jim, you really shouldn't have done that," Dwight said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"Because I hadn't finished teaching her everything there is to know about Tetris, and now she's doomed to be as terrible at it as you are," Dwight explained.

"Daddy, why are you so bad at this game?" Cece asked without looking up from the screen.

"I'm not. Dwight, tell her I'm not bad at Tetris."

"Nope. I will not lie to a child. That is why Philip and Jedediah know Santa is not real."

"WHAT?" Cece and Philip shouted together.

"Santa isn't real?" Cece cried, dropping the Gameboy onto the floor as she flung herself at Jim.

"No. What? No. Uncle Dwight is just being silly. Because," he paused, trying his hardest to think what to say, "because Phil and Jed call Santa, Bellpickle instead, he said, trying to soothe his distraught daughter.

"It's Belsnickel, idiot," Dwight said as he picked the console up and started playing the game that had been abandoned.

"Dwight, give her back the game," Jim said, trying to grab the Gameboy back.

"In a minute." 

"Dwight," Jim warned.

"Guys, lunch is ready!" they heard Pam shout and Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

--

"Ok, so we have turkey chilli and a veggie chilli too," Pam said as she pointed at two crockpots sitting on the large kitchen island. "And over here are buns and hotdogs, including veggie ones Angela," she said as she could see the blonde woman's mouth open in argument, "plus lots of different toppings. So help yourselves." The Halpert kids and Jim quickly dove into the turkey chilli as Angela began to ladle the veggie chilli onto a plate with a sneer. When everyone's plates were filled, the adults moved to the large kitchen table to sit down, while the kids went to sit on the floor on a picnic blanket that Cece had insisted on setting out. 

"When are you due to give birth, Pamela?" Dwight asked as he took a beef hotdog and squirted mustard on top of it.

"What?" Pam asked, choking on the sip of iced tea she'd just taken.

"I asked when you will be giving birth," he repeated.

"Why would you think I'm pregnant?" she asked cautiously, looking over at Jim with wide eyes. 

"Your breasts are larger, your stomach is bloated and I can smell the change in your hormones. I would put you at approximately 10 weeks pregnant," Dwight said, as he took a bite of the hotdog.

"I, um, uh," Pam stuttered, flushing red as she looked over to her oblivious children who were sitting cross legged on the floor eating their food. She pursed her lips together and took a small inhale through her nose. "Um, yeah. I'm about nine weeks, due at the beginning of May," she quietly said so as to not alert her kids of their new sibling. "We've not told anyone yet as it's still so early."

"I understand," Dwight said discreetly. 

"We wish you an easy pregnancy," Angela said with a solemn nod. "Was this one an accident as well?" Jim and Pam both flushed red and started to stammer. "Do neither of you have any self control?"

"Hey," Pam loudly whispered, "your Philip wasn't exactly planned if I remember the dates correctly. Angela, weren't you married to someone else at the time?" It was Angela's turn to blush with embarrassment.

"So, how's your hotel?" Jim asked, trying to break the tension that had arison. 

"It's adequate," Angela replied, pushing her chilli around her plate.

"They could take a few tips from Shrute Farms," Dwight said, as he shovelled a large spoonful of chilli into his mouth. "No themed rooms, you had to serve yourself breakfast and there was no livestock of any kind. And workshops? What workshops?" he bitterly laughed, before taking another large mouthful of chilli. 

"Next time you should definitely stay with us," Pam said before she could stop herself. Jim sent her a hard stare with furrowed eyebrows, as he shook his head slightly. "Uh, you know, once we finish remodelling," she trailed off.

"How about we go to the park after lunch?" Jim quickly said, changing the subject. 

"Yes, I will need to go for my daily walk. Pam, it will be just like old times, remember?" Angela said.

"How could I forget," Pam said under her breath with a roll of her eyes. Jim kicked her gently underneath the table. "I mean, sounds great. Hey kids, do you wanna go to the park after lunch?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Philip Halpert shouted.

"Nooooo," Cece shouted at the same time. "I wanna stay and play on the Gameboy. I haven't had my go yet!"

"Cees, we can play when we get back. Don't you wanna go on the zipline?" Jim tried to reason.

"No," she pouted. "Please can we stay home daddy," she said, giving Jim her best puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," Jim relented, unable to resist his daughter's pleading eyes that were so reminiscent of her mother's. "How about we play for a bit and then go to the park after?"

"Ok daddy," she smiled.

Lunch continued relatively easily, with only one snide comment from Angela, and laughter filled the kitchen with stories of the good old days. When Dwight had finished every last spoonful of turkey chilli, much to Jim's annoyance that there wouldn't be any leftovers for lunch the following day, Pam began to clear the table. Jim loaded the dishwasher and within a few minutes, the boys were restless to get to the park. 

"So we'll meet you there in what, like 20 minutes?" Pam suggested to Jim as she pulled on her jacket, flicking out her trapped hair from around her shoulders. 

"Sounds good," he replied, before giving her a quick peck on the lips. He watched Pam wrestle Philip into his jacket with a lot of screaming, as Angela and Dwight helped their kids into theirs with ease. Finally, the moms and boys left, leaving Jim, Dwight and Cece ready to play Tetris. "Come on, let's play in the den again." Before Jim could even pick up the Gameboy that was sitting on the kitchen counter, Cece grabbed it and ran through to the den, jumping onto the couch with excitement. "Hey!" he shouted. "What have I said about jumping on the couch?" 

"Sorry daddy, I'm just too excited! I'm gonna beat you!" Cece squealed. 

"She most probably will," Dwight nodded in agreement.

"No, I'm not. What? No. She's a child, I've been playing this since I was a kid. For like 30 years," Jim protested. Dwight let out a mocking laugh. "Shut up Dwight, I know how to play Tetris." 

"Alright, prove it," Dwight goaded Jim.

"But I wanna play first daddy," Cece whined. 

"Ok princess," Jim said, giving Cece the grey console, causing her to jump up and down on the couch again. "Hey!" he warned in a stern tone. Cece smiled a toothy grin like her mom, and Jim rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly with a small smile to himself. Jim sat down on the couch and slung his arm over the back of it. Cece immediately snuggled into his side and began to play the game. 

Initially Dwight relaxed into the seat of the couch that was perpendicular to Jim and Cece, but within moments, he was sat forward, elbows digging into his knees as he craned his neck to see the small screen. Thirty seconds later and he was standing in front of them, peering over the top of the screen.

"Dwight!" Jim shouted, as the other man's hair got so close to him it tickled his nose.

Oblivious to Jim's shouts, Dwight continued to stare at the Gameboy upside down. "Ok, Cece listen to me, you need to put that T just here," he said pointing to a hole on the top line, "and then flip the S round like that, good girl. And now put it over here," he said as he pointed again at the screen.

"I knowww," she whinged, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Turn the L twice and put it there," he instructed, before Cece cut him off.

"No, because then I won't be able to do this," she said. She concentrated fiercely on the screen, with her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth as she expertly directed piece after piece, eventually leaving the left hand side with one long hole. Two lines dropped one after the other, and she was able to clear the whole screen.

"Very impressive young Halpert. You could teach your father a thing of two," Dwight said smugly, staring at Jim.

"Oh ha ha, very funny. Just wait til it's my turn," Jim said to Dwight.

"Just take it from her."

"Dwight, I'm not going to take a toy from my daughter. I'll wait until she's finished and then have a go," Jim replied with a shake of his head. 

"I'm bored now daddy, you can have it," Cece said, tossing the Gameboy onto the couch and skipping out of the room. Jim scrambled to grab the console from the plush brown fabric. As soon as he had it the right way up in his hands, he frantically pushed the buttons to try and save the game. 

"No idiot, not there. Put it there. No, noo. What are you doing? Jim!" Dwight shouted, gesticulating wildly. 

Jim ignored him, concentrating just as hard as Cece had been doing minutes before, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth in the same way. He jabbed at the D-pad with his thumb, trying to move the pieces around successfully, but failing miserably. "Ah shit," he quietly said as the pieces stacked up on top of each other and the game quickly ended.

"My turn," Dwight said, snatching the Gameboy out of Jim's hands.

"No!" Jim shouted, grabbing it back. "That didn't count, it was the end of Cece's game." Dwight moved to try and take the console back, but Jim moved it out of the way just in time. He shook his head and tutted. "It's my birthday, and my birthday present. So I'm taking my turn."

"Fine. Go ahead. I'm happy to watch you lose again," Dwight sneered. 

Jim rolled his eyes and started his next game. Piece after slow moving piece slotted in next to each other, with Dwight standing over Jim, staring at the screen upside down, tutting and oohing every so often. As the game progressed, the pieces started to move faster. "Dammit," Jim muttered as he slightly missed placing one piece after another accurately, with a Z piece blocking a hole he'd left open.

"Idiot," Dwight laughed. 

"Shut up Dwight, you're distracting me," Jim said, clearly irritated. He carried on playing, managing to save himself three times before Cece came bounding into the den. 

"Can we go to the park now?" she whined. 

"In a minute sweetie, I'm just finishing this game," Jim replied, not taking his eyes off of the screen. 

"But daddy, please can we go? Pleaseeee," she asked again, climbing on the couch to wrap herself over Jim's hunched back, letting her chin rest on his shoulder. Her hair fell forward, covering the Gameboy, and Jim tried to move his hands so he could see the screen again, but to no avail. "Oh man," Jim said, as he watched the screen pile up with pieces and his game ended.

"Sorry you lost again daddy," Cece said sweetly. "Can we go now?"

"I guess," Jim groaned, as Cece hopped off of his back and ran to grab her sneakers. Jim put the Gameboy down on the coffee table and shook his head slightly. He saw Dwight grinning at him. "Come on, you know that wasn't my fault." 

"Whatever you say Jim," Dwight replied, before walking out to the foyer. 

-- 

"Think three is gonna be much different to two?" Pam asked as her and Angela sat on a bench watching the two Philips playing on the climbing frame. 

"Pardon?"

"Three kids. Do you think it's going to be a big jump from two to three children?" Pam repeated.

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about it. It's so easy to juggle the kids, and Dunder Mifflin, and Shrute Farms, and volunteering at the animal shelter, and running the PTA and teaching at Sunday School, that I don't think throwing another child into the mix will really change anything. You know?" she said, stroking her small bump slightly. 

"Yeah, completely," Pam said, rolling her eyes. "Oh hey!" she yelled, waving to a woman walking her golden retriever. "Emily!" The woman waved and started walking over towards Pam. "Angela, this is my neighbour Emily. Emily, this is my friend Angela, from Scranton."

"Lovely to meet you," Emily said in a British accent. "I've just moved to the area with my husband and two...Finn! Down!" she shouted as her dog began to jump onto Angela. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Finn, down. Come on boy," she said, tugging on his lead.

"Oh who's a good boy?" Angela said, rubbing her hands all over the dog's head. "You are, that's who," she cooed.

"Angela?" Pam asked, completely confused. "You know this is a dog right?" 

"Of course I know it's a dog," Angela replied in a babying voice. "It's the cutest dog in the world. Aren't you?" 

"But it's a dog Angela, you hate dogs."

Angela covered Finn's ears and stared at Pam. "Don't you say things like that in front of the D-O-G," she whispered. She carried on stroking the dog, lowering her face so that he could lick her cheek. Pam sat there in stunned silence, her mouth slightly open, watching Angela letting the dog lick her face.

"Angela?" Jim asked as he and Dwight approached the bench where their wives were sitting. Angela was oblivious to the men, instead still petting the dog. "Since when does Angela like dogs?" he asked no one in particular. 

"Since she's spent more time at the playground," Dwight said very matter of factly. "I was considering getting a dog for the farm, but it would wreak havoc with the beets and chase the horses."

Jim's phone began to vibrate in the pocket of his jeans, and he fished it out to answer it. "Hello?" he said as he turned to face the swings, before listening to the person on the other end of the phone. "Oh thanks for calling me back. One second." He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and turned towards the small group. "Sorry, I'll just be a sec." He walked over to a tree as he continued his conversation, Dwight staring at him as he walked off.

The three women carried on their conversation as Dwight continued to stare at Jim from afar. "Who's he talking to?" Dwight asked Pam suspiciously. 

"I don't know, Dwight. Maybe someone from work? His mom? Why?" Pam asked, trying not to lose focus from her other conversation.

"Seems strange. He'd asked the person to call him back. I'm going to investigate," he said walking off. 

"Investigate? What? Dwight!" Pam shouted, turning to watch Dwight quickly walking away.

"Ok, so then what?" Jim asked overly loudly as he spied Dwightly approaching him. "Ok, ok," he said, nodding his head. "But Jonas, what about. Oh wait, never mind," he said as Dwight stood in front of him.

"Jonas?" Dwight said to himself, knitting his eyebrows together. "Jonas Neubauer?" He moved to stand closer to Jim so that his ear was on the other side of the phone and listened to the conversation. "Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, snatching the phone from Jim. "You're cheating!" He put the phone to his ear and began to talk to the person on the other end of the phone. "This is Dwight K. Shrute and you are Jonas Neubauer, two time Tetris World Champion. I forbid you from giving tips to Jim Halpert to improve his game." He paused to listen to the other man speak as Jim stared at him, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. 

"Come on Dwight, I wasn't cheating," Jim tried to say, but Dwight just turned away from him. "Can I have my phone back now?" 

"But what about if I," Dwight said, but paused to listen. "Oh, but then wouldn't I." He paused again. "Oh. Oh I see." He turned around to face Jim. "Ok, well. Thank you. Can I get your number? I have a few more questions I'd like to discuss," he paused and lowered his voice, "in private." He took out his phone and quickly typed in Jonas's number before hanging up and handing the phone back to Jim. 

"So it's ok for you to get tips but not me?" Jim asked as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"That's different," Dwight called over his shoulder as he began to walk back to the playground. Jim logged lightly to catch up with him. "I am an excellent player already, I was merely confirming the best plays, whereas you are an amateur and therefore taking tips from the best Tetris player in the world to drastically improve your game, which is cheating." 

"Whatever you say Dwight," Jim said, slapping him on the back. 

--

"Who wants birthday cake?" Pam asked once they had all returned home.

"Me, me, me," shouted Cece and Philip Halpert together, as the Shrute boys silently put their hands in the air. Pam giggled to herself and took out Jim's birthday cake from its white cardboard box that was sitting on the grey granite countertop in the kitchen.  

"Is that peanut butter?" Angela asked as she walked over to where Pam was placing silver candles into the frosting. 

"Yup," Pam smiled. "Chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting and little mini peanut butter cups. Aren't they so cute?" she asked, taking one off of the pile on top of the cake, and popping it into her mouth. 

"How incredibly irresponsible of you to serve peanuts," Angela tutted.

"Why?" 

"What happens if one of us was allergic to peanuts? It's a very common allergy you know."

"But you don't have an allergy. And neither does Dwight. Or the kids," Pam replied, very confused.

"That's not the point, you should have checked."

"But I've known you for years. I know you don't have a peanut allergy. You used to give Phil PB&Js for kindergarten until they put the no peanut rule in place," Pam protested. 

"Well, you still should have informed me," Angela said, maintaining her stance.

"Ok, well, I made a banoffee pie for dessert for dinner tonight if you'd like a slice of that instead?" Pam offered.

"An English dessert? No thank you," Angels replied, turning on her heel and walking towards the den where a small commotion was coming from. 

"I just don't understand it," Dwight shouted as Angela walked into the room. 

"Understand what?" Angela asked. 

"How I just lost my game of Tetris so badly. I spoke to Jonas, and he told me all these different plays to make, and then I died almost instantly," he moaned as he paced the room.

"Who's Jonas?" Pam asked, following Angela into the den.

"He is the two time current Tetris World Champion." Dwight stated, as he sat down on the couch, clearly defeated. 

"And how did you get to speak to him?" Pam asked. 

"That's who Jim was on the phone to in the park," Dwight said.  

Pam looked up at Jim who upturned his mouth and scrunched his nose as he shook his head, and she stifled her smile. "Oh your investigation?" Pam asked and Dwight nodded his head as he picked up the Gameboy again. ‘Who?' Pam mouthed to Jim, and received back a ‘Mark'. She giggled again, earning her a glare from Angela. "Well, why don't you take a break from playing, and come and have some birthday cake."

"I will not take a break to eat a cake that signifies nothing," Dwight stated as he began another game.

"Suit yourself," Jim said as he followed Pam out to the kitchen.

After an out of tune version of happy birthday was sung to Jim, Pam cut the cake and handed out slices on paper plates covered in brightly coloured balloons. She placed the last piece onto a plate and took it into the den. "Hey Dwight," she said, placing the plate down on the table. "How's it going?"

"Terribly. I'm doing everything that Jonas told me to do. Placing Z's on top of S's, laying the lines flat, putting the T's back to back by the bases. But nothing is working. I die almost immediately." He threw the Gameboy onto the couch.

"Well, why don't you take a little break and maybe let someone else play?" 

"Like who? Cece?" he laughed.

"I was thinking more like Jim, you know, seeing as it's his birthday and all," Pam said, picking up the console and starting a game.

"No, not like that, you need to. No, Pam, stop," Dwight shouted as Pam began placing pieces as they dropped. 

"What? I'm doing well, look I cleared two lines at once," she said earnestly. 

"But that's not what Jonas said to do. You need to lay that line horizontally. Turns out after all these years, Jim was right," he said, shaking his head sadly. 

"What was I right about?" Jim asked as he walked into the room. 

"That you need to lay the long one flat. That's what Jonas told me to do."

"Alright, I think it's my turn now," Jim said, holding out his hand to Pam for the Gameboy.

"Um, one sec babe, let me just," Pam trailed off as she continued to play. Jim rolled his eyes and let out a small laugh as he sat down next to Pam, relaxing into the seat next to her with his arm slung over the back of the couch. "Dammit," she moaned minutes later when her game ended. 

"Oh so do I finally get a turn?" Jim laughed as he took the Gameboy from her. 

"Hey! I only played one game! And it wasn't even that long!"

"That's what she said," Jim and Dwight both automatically said.  

"Ok, I'm going to get dinner ready, you boys play nicely," Pam said, with a raised eyebrow at Jim. He gave her a mock offended look as she left the room with a smile.

"Alright, what have we got here then?" Jim asked as he pressed play on the next game. 

"It's a 1989 edition of Tetris, idiot. We've been playing all day. You should know that," Dwight said with a mocking laugh. Jim just rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly as he guided the first piece down. "No," Dwight shouted. "What are you doing?"

"What?" Jim asked without looking up from the screen.

"Jonas said never to do that. The long ones should always be horizontal. Just like you play them," Dwight said sadly.

"That was one time. Look, it doesn't make sense to do that now. The long one needs to go in this hole, and then I can clear 4 lines like this," Jim said as he shifted the line piece into a hole.

"I am not taking advice from you when I have the phone number of the World Champion right here," Dwight said, holding his phone up. "I'm going to call him right now and ask." He walked over to inspect a slightly dying plant on the console table as he started his conversation.

Jim continued playing as he listened to Dwight talk to ‘Jonas', trying his best to stifle his laughter by biting his lips together. He continued playing, dropping piece after piece expertly into place without anything to distract him. Finally, Dwight's call finished and he came back over to the couch. "Dammit," Jim said as Dwight sat beside him.

"What?"

"I lost my concentration when you came over and I died. Oh but wait. Look! I got the new top score!" Jim exclaimed.

"What? That's impossible. How?" Dwight asked as he grabbed the Gameboy from Jim. "No, no, no. How did this happen? You didn't follow anything Jonas said!" 

"I guess I'm just a natural. And plus, you told me not to cheat Dwight," he said as he stood up, leaving Dwight frantically trying to play a new game. "So I just listened to my heart, and turns out that was the best thing to do. Maybe you should do the same."

"Never. Why would I do that when I have the potential to become the next World Champion? I'll be able to beat Jonas himself in no time."

"If you say so," Jim smiled as he left the room. He walked through to the kitchen and slipped his arms around Pam from behind as she stood at the counter preparing pizzas for dinner. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered back. "Did you get a turn on the Gameboy?"

"I did," he said, moving to the side to steal a slice of pepperoni. He managed to take one and dropped it into his mouth with a smirk, but was swatted away when he tried to go back for another. "I even got the new top score." 

"Oh wow, well done you," she smiled, pleased for Jim who seemed so genuinely happy. "So not such a bad birthday after all?" she asked hopefully. 

"You know what? It's been a pretty good day. And hopefully it's gonna get better too," he said as he pulled her closer by her hips. 

"Oh yeah. Why's that?" Pam asked, intrigued, looping her arms around Jim's neck. 

"Well, Dwight and Angela are going to be gone soon, which means I'm hopefully gonna get to put the long piece in the hole again." He bent down to kiss her softly.

"Oh wanna beat your top score again do you?" Pam said with a glint in her eye once they pulled away.

"I wasn't thinking about Tetris, Beesly," Jim sighed, with a roll of his eyes. 

"Neither was I," she smirked.



MrsKHalpert is the author of 37 other stories.
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