I read the four (thank you!) new chapters last night and couldn't even leave a review, because I had no words.  I reread all 17 chapters this morning.  I still wanted more, so I mapquested the neighborhood so I could remember.  I added the Central Park Grill (the CPG! So many great nights I barely remember!) so I could take the walk with Doug and Jim.  Sure, it's a little creepy, but it's all your fault. 

<slaps a $50 on the table>  I'm out, Jerry!  I got nuthin!

Loved drunk!Jim, but fierce!Pam with the wooden spoon was pretty great, too.  I loved "were you baking?" and the last line was very sweet. 

Sweet fancy Moses!  "Gravel dipped in chocolate" is just so...great.  When Jim says, "Shhh.  I've got you"...well, yeah.  The hotness is very hot, but I snorted at the image of a slack-jawed Michael getting KO'd by Dwight.  So funny. 

You know, I've had fleeting moments where I wondered how the hell Jim got that desk in there when I've watched this episode!  I knew someone had to have helped him, but that's as far as I got with that thought.  This was great, jlangblues!

This:

He looks so comfortable. And for some really weird reason, she almost wants to cry, kind of. Not because she’s sad but because he’s happy and that just makes her so, so happy.

is so sweet and so sad and Jim and Pam's inner and outer voices seem very real and natural to me.  You'll be writing more then, yes?

I don't even know what to say about this. The last two paragraphs - Pam's disorientation when she stops to think about her old life - somehow, I felt disoriented.  You did such an excellent job of creating a whole life for them, that I forgot all about Roy and answering phones and all of it.  I ran away in my twenties and lived in a treehouse in the Caribbean for two years.  It can happen and you wrote it so well.  Just amazing and wonderful.

It's like Sophie's Choice.  This is great (of course) and I really, really want to know what the heck Jim is going to do with himself.  But, but, there's that other fic that I'm dying to read, too!  Can you do both?  I vote for both.

Author's Response: With finals coming up, I'm not sure I'll be able to manage...then again I'll be looking for maximum procrastination so we'll see!  Thanks for reading!

So clever and so fun!  I love Michael and Dwight ripping off Wayne's World and the Toby chapter was so excellent.  Willy Loman!  And Jake Palmer marrying Lindsay Lohan?  Obviously!  Great job with this and thanks for such a fun read.

Author's Response: Thanks so much! I had so much fun writing it and hoped to make people laugh!

What a perfect description of this haircut, Colette - part sophistication and part little boy - and I imagine this is just how Jim felt about getting it.  "It's only hair" and just going along with it as part of his "new" self.  I really can't wait for the next chapter, cause I'm humming a little Bruce Springsteen right now.  Such a great story idea.

Author's Response: Glad you like the idea...it's been kicking around my head for a while and wouldn't leave me alone. Jim's hair is such a 'thing', eventually someone had to use it as a frame for a fic, right? And I agree - as 'mature' as that cut was, it just screamed little boy too. Okay, one more part coming - so, keep humming ;-) Thanks, Sweetpea (wasn't sure if this one would grab people, so the review is especially appreciated.)

Thirty, I just can't say enough good things about this chapter.  Even though I knew what was coming, it still read so beautifully and so full of emotion.  The image of him sitting at the bar with his head in his arms telling time by what was going on back in Scranton is just crushing.  You know, I just don't know how you do it - there aren't a lot of words here and the ones you use are simple and straight-up but wow!  So much feeling.  So well done.

Author's Response:

Thanks so much Sweetpea!  After all the, uh, action in the first chapter, I was worried at first that the second would be kinda boring, so I'm glad it worked.  It's a good thing I have you around to say "write more here;" I definitely notice a big difference between the stuff I wrote before you were beta-ing and after.  Now I find myself looking at the older stuff and thinking "hey, too rushed!  Expand this moment!"  Speaking of which -- I completely blame the head-in-arms bar scene on you, because someone suggested I add more Jim disintegration. ;) 

Whew, all this angst does take it out of me though.  Next step: write a chapter in which neither party cries.  I know, I know.  Lofty goals.

Yes, it certainly was a big one and I'm so glad to see it posted.  It was so great to see Pam being free with her feelings and Jim being rewarded (ahem) for his patience.  But what happens when they go back home?  I can hardly wait to find out! :-*

Before I go any further, I have to stop and say this is where I left off last night when I couldn't sleep.  So good up until now.  Love the Family Halpert - so warm, so fun you've made this holiday so real. 

Sorry, I have to move on and finish, but I've really enjoyed this so far!

Okay, I'm so glad it's a big, fat ring!  Pam needs a huge (but tasteful, I'm sure!) rock after that bit of shiny lint she had on her finger for so long!  Really loved the proposal.

Pam's dad - I love reading about people who are less than perfect and you did a great job with him.  We know Pam trusts her dad, but that's really all we know about him.  I think you filled in the blanks beautifully and gave a great backstory to why Pam would tolerate Roy's indifference.  Jim's recognition that there is more going on underneath the surface is perfect, I think.  It says a lot about Pam's character, as well.  I like that it reveals a bit about Jim's first thoughts about Pam and those seem spot-on to me - cute girl, wicked sense of humor, but she's kind of quiet...what's going on in that head of hers?  Yeah, that seems perfect to me.

More, right?  Okay, good!