Exact Time not specified, approximately one week before The Merger

Dunder Mifflin Scranton Conference Room

"So, Brian, we're not sure how long we can continue to get funding."

"But you're the producer, Lawrence.   Can't you do something?  The audience would really start to care about the people by this point.  We can't just leave it unfinished."  He'd really started to care about them.

"We need something major.  To draw interest.  But we can't do it in plain sight.  Do you have any particularly, shall we say, emotional footage?"

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Brian responded, unsure of himself, and fearful of how the footage could affect two of the subjects, "Last May, during the Casino Night...There was an incident."

"I think I know what you're referring to.  We need the subjects to see and react to it naturally without tipping our hand, at least not completely."

Uncomfortable, because he was already friendly with these people, Brian suggested, "Well, Michael and Dwight are making an orientation video for the Stamford people...Actually there's another scene to add to set it up..."

"We'll just add these clips to that video.  Michael will take blam...I mean credit, and no one will suspect us.  Besides, it might actually help them."

Brian sighed, "I hope you're right, I really do...for their sakes."

***

The Merger

Michael, on the video in background, rapping, "Spot. Scranton. What? The Electric City. Scranton.What? The Electric City. Scranton. What?" 

For a moment, the sound cut and the picture turned to black before a new video started.

The scene is on an exterior deck of a cruise ship on Lake Wallenpaupack during a cold January night earlier in 2006.

Michael asked, "Is somebody there?" 

Jim approached and asked, "What happened to you?" 

Michael replied,  "Captain Jack has a problem with authority." 

Jim asked with his usual smirk, "Oh, right, because you announced that his ship was sinking?" 

Michael replied, a little indignantly, "He just totally lost it. If you ask me, he caused the panic." 

Jim, exasperated, said, "What a night." 

Michael, trying to commiserate, "Well, it's nice for you. Your friend got engaged." 

Jim bitterly replied, "She was always engaged." 

Michael said earnestly, "Roy said the first one didn't count." 

Jim, first with sarcasm then solemnly said, "That's... great. You know, to tell the truth, I used to have a big thing for Pam, so... "

Michael, excited and surprised, "Really? You're kidding me. You and Pam? Wow. I would have never have put you two together. You really hid it well. God! I usually have a radar for stuff like that. You know, I made out with Jan..."

Jim said, mildly annoyed with the whole Michael-Jan thing, "Yeah, I know." 

Michael said, "Yeah? Yep. Well, Pam is cute."

Jim, with a ghost of a smile coming to his lips, "Yeah. She's really funny, and she's warm. And she's just... well, anyway. "

Michael, encouragingly replied, "Well, if you like her so much, don't give up." 

Jim, saddened, "She's engaged." 

Michael, indifferent to Roy, said, "BFD. Engaged ain't married." 

Jim, the first thoughts of an idea beginning to stir in his mind,  "Huh." 

Michael replied encouragingly, "Never, ever, ever give up."

The video suddenly went to black again and a new one began after a moment.  During this, Jim seemed to be going through a variety of his own emotions, while Pam somehow managed to look simultaneously both shocked and touched, based on what Jim said about her. 

The others in the room understandably didn't comprehend the gravity of what was just shown.

The new scene was altogether too familiar to two members of the audience and utterly soul crushing for one of those two.  The scene--a darkened Dunder Mifflin parking lot they had seen the previous May.  Pam, wearing a periwinkle dress, and Jim in a black sweater, formal shirt, and khaki pants.  Both Jim and Pam were still too stunned to try to stop the video and what came next. 

Jim asked Pam seriously, "Yeah. Hey, can I talk to you about something?" 

Pam, in return, jokingly asked, "About when you want to give me more of your money?" 

Jim responded, "No, I..." 

Pam, thinking he wanted to prank Dwight again or just hang out at the party, asked,  "Did you wanna do that now? We can go inside. I'm feeling kind of good tonight." 

Jim, marshalling more courage than he ever had before, "I was just... I'm in love with you." 

Pam, in complete shock, as she'd never actually consciously considered the possibility, replied, "What?"

Jim, already in resignation, continued,  "I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but I needed you to hear it. Probably not good timing, I know that. I just..." 

Pam, still in shock, replied, "What are you doing? What do you expect me to say to that?" 

Jim, already beginning to mentally brace himself for what was to come, replied, "I just needed you to know. Once." 

Pam, panicking, as she was never one for impulsive actions such as that Jim was asking of her, "Well, I um... I... I can't."

Jim, trying to maintain a neutral expression, despite his heart breaking, "Yeah." 

Pam, saddened over what she'd just told her best friend, "You have no idea..." 

Jim, becoming angry that Pam never seemed to take chances, "Don't do that." 

Pam, continuing, "...what your friendship means to me." 

Jim, pleading with the woman he'd wanted to marry since the second he'd met her, "Come on. I don't wanna do that. I wanna be more than that."

Pam, resigned, once again taking the easy path, "I can't. I'm really sorry if you misinterpreted things. It's probably my fault."

Jim, not believing her for a second, but wanting to end things on as amicable terms as possible, "Not your fault. I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship."

The picture changed to the office, near Jim's desk.

Pam, upset, talking on the phone, "About 10 minutes ago. No, I didn't know what to say. Yes, I know. Um, I don't know, mom, he's my best friend. Yeah, he's great. Yeah, I think I am." Jim enters the office. "I have to go. I will," finishing the conversation with her mother.   

As Jim approached, Pam said, "Listen, Jim..." She didn't speak, as they kissed instead. The picture then cut to black.

Jim paled, not daring to look anywhere except down at the table--certainly not to Pam on his right or Karen behind him.  Why, why had Michael done this? Making him relive the worst moment of his life, not just that, but in front of Pam.  And then there was Karen, whatever we were starting is done now, he thought grimly.  How am I...  How am I going to survive with her here?  Every day.  I can't.  Isn't that ironic?

The camera panned over the office workers-- Andy, Martin, Hannah, Stanley, Pam, Jim, and Dwight at the table, and Meredith, Tony, Phyllis, Kelly, Creed, Angela, and Karen sitting along the wall.

Half the new people--Martin, Hannah, and Tony-- looked at Jim in shock as if asking what was that?

Andy exclaimed, "Tuna!" as Karen angrily stomped out of the room to begin pacing in the bullpen.

Stanley seemed mostly indifferent, working on yet another crossword puzzle, mildly annoyed about the problems of the foolish children.  Creed seemed to be watching something small that no one else could see flying around the room.  Meredith and Phyllis looked at Pam as if she was the dumbest person on the planet as their responses would have been quite different if they had been in Pam's position.  Not unlike them, Dwight looked at both Jim and Pam like they were stupid too, albeit for a very different reason.  Angela just stared daggers at them, as was typical for her.

Toby and Michael, having been standing just outside the door, came back into the room after overhearing the unexpected video clips.

Toby said, "Jim, Pam..."

Michael shouted, clearly wanting to take credit for it, given the first clip, "God, Toby, can't you see they're in love?!"

Toby responded, "Michael, they..."

Michael angrily responded, "What do you know about love Toby?! You're divorced! No one loves you!  Why don't you go back to the black rock you came from?!"

Toby, dejected, not an uncommon occurrence for him, with his shoulders slumped, left the conference room for the Annex.

Dwight happily said, "Oh, Michael, you were paying attention!"

To the group, Michael said, "What?! He made me watch some science fiction movie. The chick on the screen was hot though.  Anyway, what's important is that Jim took my advice, and look where it got him!"

"Stamford?!" said Andy, trying to be helpful, but not really understanding the situation.

"True, but not what I was referring to."  To Pam, Michael asked, "I guess that's why you turned me down on Diwali, huh?"

This was enough to get Jim out of his haze, if only for a moment, to give the camera one of his I can't believe Michael did that expressions.  Pam just stared daggers at Michael while pretending not to notice Jim's reaction.

Michael asked Pam, "So was that Casino Night clip the reason you called off your wedding?"  When Pam just glared at him, Michael kept on pestering, showing a surprising degree of insight, "So were you just lying to him or to yourself as well?"

Pam replied, in an authoritative tone unusual for her, "We are not having this conversation."

Michael kept on, "So are you just afraid of this one," pointing to Jim, who, by now would have compacted himself onto the floor and oozed out of the room if possible, "rejecting you? ‘Cause we all know he wouldn't.  Even today I caught him stealing glances at you."

As both Pam and Jim started blushing, Michael kept trying to get her attention, "Pam! Pam! Pam!" he screamed as he walked closer to her.

It was then that Pam just snapped.  All of her frustrations since that night in May came to a point--Jim blindsiding her and leaving without even saying goodbye, calling off her wedding, and finding a way to live independently. In addition, she had naturally assumed that Michael had just revealed one of the most difficult moments of her life to the whole office. 

Michael was now within arm's reach of her, and she was angry.     

Swiftly she stood up, relapsing into despair and with no small amount of anger, she slapped Michael in the face. Thinking that Jim and Karen were a couple, she cried, "No! He doesn't want me!"  She then ran out of the room.  

Jim, finally shocked out of his stupor, walked out of the Conference Room to follow anyway, regardless of any of the confusing mix of impressions just given.

Just before this, in the Annex

Karen had stopped pacing and had followed a dejected Toby to the Annex.

"Toby?" Karen inquired.

Toby swiveled around in his chair and asked, "Hey, Karen, what's up?"

"I need to leave this branch.  I know I just got here, but with the...additions to the video, I don't think I can stay here.  Jim and I were just starting to see each other..." holding up her index finger to stop him from saying anything, "it was nowhere near needing to fill out any HR forms for you.  And after Halpert's little display...I need to transfer again, or I'll quit." she spat, the last part with considerable bitterness.

Wide-eyed, Toby responded, "Okay, Karen, I'll look and see if we have any positions open that fit your qualifications, and I'll get back to you."

"Thanks, Toby," replied Karen, who left for the bullpen to find Jim.  She needed to break up with him, if that's what it was even called.

Bullpen

Karen walked swiftly back to the bullpen to see a number of her soon-to-be-former coworkers milling around.  In particular, Michael was walking around aimlessly, rubbing his cheek and limping.  What did the idiot do now, she thought.  Jim had shared a few of Michael Scott's greatest hits before they'd left Stamford.

Jim was trying to worm his way through the crowd.  "Jim?" Karen called.

His shoulders fell in defeat, his initial impulse to find Pam temporarily forgotten.  He knew what was coming.  He walked over to the couch by the entrance to give them some small modicum of privacy, and Karen joined him there.  He sat down while she stood.

"You know I moved here for you, right?" she asked.

"You decided to move, not me, and we've barely even begun dating..." replied Jim, his voice barely more than a whisper, his gaze downcast.

That stung.  But sadly true.  Karen wasn't normally one for jumping head over heels into relationships.  As to why she made the jump this time, she couldn't say, but there was something she could do about it.  "Was I supposed to be some sort of rebound?!"    

In response, Jim just nodded, before he spoke, "I really like you, but..."

"I'll never be Pam," Karen finished.

Jim nodded, tears welling up in his eyes, still looking at the floor.

"So I think whatever we had is done."

Jim glumly nodded again.

"I've already talked to Toby.  I'm going to transfer...I don't think I'd be a good fit here.  If there aren't any openings, I'll quit and move back to Stamford."

Jim nodded.

He looked so miserable though.  Karen actually felt bad for him. Dammit, she thought.  "I don't know what happened after I left the meeting, but I'm guessing it was pretty significant."

Jim kept nodding.

"I can't believe I'm saying this Halpert, but go get her."

Jim finally looked up at her and gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, Karen," said Jim.  He now had a pretty good idea of where Pam had gone off to--it just came to him in a flash.  Even now, he knew her almost as well as he knew himself.

He left the office for the roof.

The Roof

Jim climbed the ladder and opened the roof hatch.  He climbed up onto the roof and looked around to find the backside of a very familiar person who seemed to be looking down over the city.

Jim walked over and stood next to her on her left.  He marshalled his courage as he'd done the previous May to look at Pam, said "Hey," rather than  the ground.

Pam momentarily glanced over at him, and said "Hey," back.  Knowing her as well as he did, he could tell that, though she was very upset, she was putting up a brave front to contain her emotions.    

"Can we talk?" Jim asked earnestly.

"Sure," Pam replied, still avoiding looking Jim in the eye, her expression a conflicting mix of fear, sadness, and anger.  

Before Jim could speak, Pam pre-empted him,"I've been all over the place the last five months.  Calling off the wedding was the hardest thing I've ever done.  I had my parents, Penny, and Izzy to help some, but I didn't have you.  You're my best friend and you just left without even a 'good-bye', " as fresh tears came to her red, puffy eyes. The bags under her eyes Jim now noticed made it clear she'd been going through these emotions in the past few days.

Jim replied, tears now unbidden coming to his eyes,  "I'm sorry.  I was in pain. A lot of it.  More than anything else, and I just could not face you.  At least not without crying or doing something that would make Dwight think I had the plague," he ended with a grin briefly matched by her own.

Then Pam got serious again, "I'm sorry too.  I should have called you and told you that I called off the wedding and why...And that...that night, I panicked and didn't tell the truth--you didn't misinterpret anything, I did.  It just took...time for me to admit it to myself and everybody else.  And to not be ashamed of how they'll see us or how much time I wasted being with Roy."

Hopeful, for the first time in months, and desperate to not misinterpret anything, Jim asked nervously, "So Michael was right? I really was the reason you called off your wedding?"

After a few moments that seemed like millennia to Jim, Pam finally looked him in the eye and replied honestly, "There were a lot of reasons to call off my wedding. But the truth is, I didn't care about any of those reasons until I met you."   

Dumbfounded, Jim asked, "I'm glad I could help?"...But why did you say ‘I can't'?  And why didn't you tell me about cancelling the wedding?"

"You know me, I'm not as confident or impulsive or brave as you are.  You caught me off guard, and I panicked.  Afterwards...I thought you'd reject me and move on."

"Pam, you're everything to me, I couldn't move on if I tried.  And you don't have a monopoly on cowardice--I chickened out over the past year.  A Ton.  Like Halloween, when I didn't apply for the Cumberland Mills job, because even though it was twice the pay, I should have told you the view from my desk would have been a whole lot worse and why.  Christmas.  That's a story for another time, but you would have certainly known.  On the Booze Cruise, I was literally seconds away from telling you when you said ‘I'm cold' and walked back inside. Okay, yes, I should have talked to you instead of Toby about the wedding planning, and maybe why wedding planning itself wasn't such a good idea in general.  There were other instances, but you get the idea.  That being said, you're brave too--it takes real courage to change your life like that, I need to know one thing," Jim replied, which got a smile from Pam.

"What?" Pam asked.  

Now it was Jim's turn to be brave, as he asked, "How exactly do you feel about me?  I know it's not exactly fair to you, but I can't go back to being just best friends, I love you too damn much," and he could not stop the hope shining through in his voice.

He would remember her response for the rest of his life.

Be brave, Pam thought.  She turned toward him, stood on her toes, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips.  "Does that answer your question?" Pam asked with a smirk.

"Yeahppppp.  So do you wanna go out after work?" Jim replied, more than a little dumbfounded.

"Wait, what about Karen?" Pam asked with a sudden panicked awareness that, to her knowledge, Jim still technically had a girlfriend.       

"First of all, we weren't even really dating yet.  Second...after the video, she figured out that, on some level, I would be using her to put distance between you and me.  She rightly said she didn't want to be a rebound, and I couldn't disagree with that. And she's transferring again.  Yeah, I'm a little messed up right now," he laughed.

"Me too.  So it's a date.  But can we take it slow? Considering..."

"As you wish," Jim replied with a smile, before pulling her to his chest in a hug.  In part, due to the Princess Bride reference, Pam's smile matched his.  Both knew they would have issues due to the events of the past several months, but they were confident that they could work through them.  Together.

After a few minutes in the calm November coldness of the roof, they both returned to the maelstrom of the office.

Bullpen

Jim and Pam walked into the office.  They reflexively stopped holding hands before anyone could see them.  While Jim sat at his desk, Pam noticed Angela by the Conference Room door, though the others were still milling around.  Remembering Michael's crazy amount of preparations for the day, Pam wanted to see if the Party Planning Committee needed her help.  "Hey, Angela, do you need any help with getting ready for the next thing Michael has planned?" Pam asked.

Rolling her eyes, Angela replied severely, "Your whorish little display of adultery and the commotion it caused disrupted our schedule.  I'm still waiting for Michael to decide what he wants to do.  Roy is a good, reliable man, and you...cheated on him with that...scruffy looking troublemaker!" she was practically shouting by the end.  Instinctively, Jim and Pam exchanged glances, silently both repressing the need to say the word "nerfherder".

But then reality hit.  Pam couldn't have been more shocked if Angela had physically slapped her.  Yeah, Pam (and anyone else within a five mile radius) had known that Angela was kind of a judgmental bitch, but she never expected Angela to call her out in such a public fashion.  In addition, there was a lot Angela didn't know about her relationship with Roy.  Hell, there was still a lot Jim didn't know, or his confession would've happened a lot sooner.  At least Pam hoped so.

Jim immediately stood up, like he was setting himself up for what he wanted to say.  Knowing, sadly from experience, that Pam wasn't exactly the best at confrontations, and that his and Pam's relationship was a lot more complicated than anyone could see from a two minute clip, he wanted to help.  Besides, neither Angela nor her not-as-secret-as-she-thinks boyfriend were exactly Jim's favorite people.

Pam had mentioned her suspicions of gross! Angela dating Dwight not long before that night in May and he'd just forced the idea out of his mind in Dwight's hotel room.  

Angela certainly didn't help the situation by calling Jim's new  best friend-turned-girlfriend a slut on an unusually trying day.  In public no less.

A hush fell over the office.

Employing an angry tone no one in the office had actually heard him use before,  Jim spoke, almost yelling, "And you're a nun?!  Pam told me what you and Dwight have been doing around here.  Pam's more...chaste than you'll ever be!  You're nothing but a self-righteous hypocrite overly obsessed with disease carrying animals!"

No one, Pam included, had seen him that worked up before.  When the others around him gave him a combination of shocked and questioning looks, Jim said, "What?! You can catch diseases from cats.  I saw it on cable."  Doing his best Dwight impression, he continued, "Toxoplasmosis is not a joke," which got a snort from Pam.

As Angela indignantly stalked off towards the kitchen, Pam turned around and hugged him hard, whispering, "Thank you.  No one has ever defended me like that, not even..."  well, they both knew she meant Roy, but, understandably neither of them wanted to say or even think his name.  Their coworkers all saw them hugging, but, for once, no one commented, admittedly for differing reasons.

Michael's office door opened just after Angela left.  Michael and Dwight emerged as Jim and Pam jumped apart.  "What's going on?" Michael asked the group, while Pam averted her eyes, embarrassed and worried about her job after previously slapping Michael.  Dwight walked over to his desk and sat down, ignorant of what had happened between Jim and his not-secret-anymore girlfriend.  Not that anyone except Pam had actually believed him.

For once, I'm trying to be the responsible Assistant to the Regional Manager, suck it Dwight.  Jim replied, "Just a minor difference of opinion."

"Really?" asked Andy, "'Cause it sounded like Angela called Pam a slut, and you kinda turned it around on her."

"Thank you, Andy," sarcastically replied Jim, though Andy actually thought he was being sincere.

Whatever Dwight's understandably irritated response would have been was drowned out by a loud yell in a harsh masculine voice, "Hey, Halpert!" Roy screamed, advancing from the entrance toward Jim.

Dammit, I think he knows.  I can not catch a break today. Okay, well, one, Jim thought, smirking even now, while deftly maneuvering Pam behind him.

Dwight, observing the angry Roy's prompt approach, fist raised, mentally noted that nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.

"Roy!" screamed Pam.

Quickly taking action, Dwight grabbed his spud gun from under his desk, and aimed it at Roy, shouting, "Look, dumbass, I have you targeted in the eye with a potato that can easily fracture your skull.  You could easily be dead before you hit the ground.  As much as I've come to dislike Jim over the years, I won't allow you to hurt him.  The safety of this office must come before my personal preferences."

When Roy continued to advance, Dwight took a chance and fired a warning shot that whistled just past Roy's ear, which made a considerable crater in the wall in addition to a loud crashing noise that made everyone take notice if they somehow hadn't already.  Roy turned around, saw the impact, and visibly appeared to deflate.  He whipped back around, but didn't advance.

"I'm sorry..." Roy trailed off.

Unexpectedly, Pam stepped in front of Jim, shielding him instead, and calmly said,"We were over for a long time before Jim helped me see how bad you and I were together.  But I'm the one who ended it. So, if you want to blame someone, blame me," while Jim watched in shock, somehow even more impressed with the woman he'd fallen hopelessly in love with years before.  Fancy new Beesly indeed, thought Jim, awed by how she'd stood up for herself, without needing any input from him at all.

Roy, defeated, just turned back around and walked out of the office.

Michael said to the group, "As much as it pains me to say this, somebody get Toby in my office to talk...okaaaay Roy stuff.  Also Angela, to get today back on track," before closing the door.  

"Thank you, Dwight," said Jim, sincerely touched.

"Your thanks are neither wanted nor appreciated," replied Dwight.

Not wanting to be around for the return of Angela, Jim asked Pam, "Do you wanna..."

"Absolutely I do," Pam replied with a smirk.

"But I didn't even ask where..."

The look she gave him indicated without words the feeling of do I care?

"As you wish," he said to her before both took what amounted to an early lunch.

Epilogue

It was close to five in the afternoon, and most of the staff were filtering out of the office.  Michael had been kept in his office by personnel matters.  He'd been getting yelled at by Jan over the phone and wasn't exactly in high spirits.  She'd been angry over him firing Tony Gardner as he was trying to quit and thus having to pay severance.  Jan also wasn't exactly thrilled over Karen Filippelli wanting a transfer, but was ultimately okay with it as she'd known Michael's management style wasn't for everyone and been unaware of the Jim-Pam-Karen love triangle that had briefly existed.  She could, however, live with firing Roy Anderson as it had sounded like he'd been about to physically assault Jim Halpert.  Neither Pam's slap nor Dwight's damage to the wall were mentioned.

Just as stupid Toby had left and Michael could finally leave for the day, there was a knock at the door.  "Come in," said Michael, fortunately fully clothed.

The door opened, and Jim and Pam walked in, before Jim quietly closed the door, not wanting to draw attention to the upcoming discussion.

"Michael," said Pam.

"Pam," replied Michael.

"I'm sorry for slapping you, but why did you show everyone those scenes?" Pam asked incredulously as Jim nodded along.

Michael was now in a quandary.  He was as surprised as anyone by those clips, being ignorant of the documentary crew's involvement, but he also wanted his friends to be happy.  He hadn't gotten as far as he did as a salesman by being unable to read people after all.  In a rare show of maturity and sincerity, Michael replied,  "It's okay Pam.  I just wanted you to be happy."

Pam was touched, and not exactly unhappy as to how things had worked out, though a tiny part of her was unhappy about the Roy aspect of the situation--they'd been together for ten years after all.

‘'It's fine, Michael," Pam replied, pointing a finger at him, "Just don't do it again."

Jim, already inching towards the door, eager to go out with Pam, said, "Yeah, so we're gonna leave for the day."

"Lovebirds," he scoffed to himself, watching them go with a smile.  Not a bad day.