Sadly, I am not an author of any persuasion (unless writing program descriptions and email correspondence to program participants counts as fiction -- which, I suppose, some days it does) but I am an avid reader and a huge fan of "The Office." I'll admit, I was such a huge fan of the original UK version that I procrastinated about watching the US version for far too long. Thanks to my BFF Kate (who is a writer, and a darn fine one IMHO) that has been rectified and I'm now a true blue fan, one who is desperately in love with the fictional character of Jim Halpert. I am equally smitten with the Jim/Pam pairing so finding this veritable fountain of JAM fanfic is just marvelous! 
Imagine Jim’s confession on Casino Night never happened and Pam actually made it down the aisle on June 10th . . . only to say “I don’t”.I've got a great idea -- how about "Jim hated Australia. He hated it like Michael's staff meetings (when Pam wasn't there to distract him), like Angela's religious judgments of, well, everything and Dwight's bobblehead collection. So he called the airline, changed his flight home and first thing in the morning he headed for the airport. The next day found him on Pam's porch tentatively pressing the doorbell."
And VOILA! Instant segue to fluffy smut!!
Just kidding. ;-P
My two favorite moments from this chappy are:
Maybe the timing could have been better, but calling off her wedding had been a stroke of fucking genius. She was so tired of being with a man that somehow always managed to press just the wrong buttons. WORD sister. True dat.
When the emotions – the real scary emotions like regret and fear and loneliness and not the ones he could handle like anger – hit, Roy delayed, changed the subject, diverted the landing. Diverted the landing! I love your way with metaphors. So well written!
It's great to see Pam starting to spread her wings, recognizing her own strengths and her own power.
Can't wait for the next chappy!!
OK, I loved the entire chapter and I thought the whole "polar bear searching for an ice float-global warming" metaphor and thought it was both funny but also kind of touching in that it was a really great comparison for Pam's situation. Who'd have thought??
But as much as I loved everything else, it was this line that I adored:
God, you really are an idiot, his penis taunted him again. And this time he completely agreed.
You know, I should have guessed that -- like the rest of Jim Halpert -- his penis would also be witty and faintly sarcastic. Loves it!!
9 GUH! This was a GREAT chapter so you can officially stop torturing yourself. So many perfect moments and wonderful lines -- where to begin?
"Had just seeing him pulled the needle off the record?" Frakking brilliant metaphor -- LOVED this.
"Then he pulled away from her and every ounce of who she was becoming silently ached." WOW. Just...wow! I love this line and how it implies that somehow Jim is the conduit or the channel that helps guide her from the girl she was to the woman she wants to be.
"This kiss said, think about it and I’ll be back and maybe I love you." GO JIM! Way to throw down the proverbial gauntlet!
I think that this perhaps best sums up what I love most about this chapter which is that Jim has declared himself loud and clear and he's barely said a word to do it! But the bottom line is that Pam can't pretend for a second that he doesn't have feelings for her (and vice versa) or that he's "abandoning" her or that she's allowed to continue to be so much flotsam and jetsam in the current of her own life. She's got all the info and needs only to figure out what SHE wants now -- and then reach out and take it. Just awesome!!
Can Jim hurry up and get on that plane so he can get back already? He's made his point now so .... on to the fluffy smut!! :-)
Author's Response: Thanks so much, SV! I\'m glad it wasn\'t too bad . . . I don\'t know why I struggled with it so. Anyway, I appreciate your specifics -- it\'s always so nice to hear what people liked (or didn\'t). I\'m anxious for Jim to get back, too (especially since I\'ve never been to Australia and can\'t really say much about it ;-). Anyway, it\'s not real time, so he\'ll be back soon! And then we shall have smut!
9 And yeah, I think it is safe to say that your loyal fans are hanging on your every word waiting for, you know, THAT. But in the meantime...
First of all, I loved Pam's comment about becoming an eccentric lamp lady -- that really tickled me! But it just killed when I got to this line: He was tempted to just spend the week at Pam’s beck and call, bringing her beef ‘n cheddars and moving her lamp and whatever she wanted. Because that kind of sweet generosity and devotion is SO Jim to a tee.
Having said that -- although there was a little teeny tiny (OK, maybe slightly bigger than that) part of me that wanted Jim to be like ... "hey, I'm off, you're off...wanna come see some kangaroos with me??" -- I was really pleased and kind of intrigued to see Jim take a hard line and decide to go on his trip anyway, although he was sorely tempted to stay and be there for Pam for whatever she needed. I think sometimes too often in fic Jim's written as Pam's beck and call guy -- and while I don't necessarily have a problem with that in principal, I think that in this situation, for Pam's sake as much as for his, he does need to be that guy who says (well, you know what I mean) "You need to figure out your life but it's something you've got to do on your own. And once you do, I'll be here." I thought that was a great choice for you to make as a writer.
I can't wait to see what happens now that Pam's faced with the reality that Jim can't hold her hand while she figures this stuff out. And more to the point, what happens when she DOES figure it out -- 'cause I'm thinking Jim better watch out when she does!!!
Author's Response: I\'m very slow in responding to reviews, but thank you as always SV for your wonderful one! You always give so much detail and information and they are a pleasure to read. Seriously. I appreciate the time you put into them (I\'m sure all writers do). Thanks so much. And I\'m glad you liked Jim going to Australia. I was tempted to make him stay . . . but he needed to play just a little hardball, I think. ;-)
9 Great chapter! I had a friend who called off her wedding (not quite at the alter, but close) and this is very much what the day after was like for her -- very realistic -- and her emotions were very much along the same lines too. It makes sense that when you cut someone out of your life that has been tied to every aspect of it for that long that even if you felt a sense of relief (in doing the right thing) you would also experience moments of true panic at how completely different your existence would be, questioning your ability to live that new life. I'm kind of waiting for Pam to have a mini-breakdown to let out some of the sadness of this (my friend broke down sobbing like a month later in a movie theater while we were watching "Moulin Rouge" -- it was very surreal) because I'd think that she'd need to grieve the loss of Roy and that part of her life, even if only a little.
OH! And I loved that you alluded to the fact that perhaps her decision wasn't really that big a surprise to the people that knew her the best -- that her parents, rather than being upset or mortified by her decision to say "I don't", might actually be relieved too. Nice touch! And Pam's comment about becoming some kind of crazy slutty soap opera character made me LMAO. Too cute!
Can't wait to find out what happens now that she's gathered her courage and given her secret love a call. *rubs hands together with relish!*
Author's Response: Thanks SV! Oooh, I like the idea of a delayed breakdown . . . I could definitely see that happening. I think the emotions of grief and relief are very unpredictable, so it\'ll be interesting to see where this goes. Thanks, as always, for taking the time to review!
9 WOW. Just...um....wow. The most perfect blend of lighthearted fun with dramatic undercurrents dusted with just a smidgen of smooching. Love it! Can't wait to see what happens next! Will Pam break down? Will Jim expound on his "more than" confession? Will they throw caution to the wind and give us a little steam? Inquiring minds want to know! :-)
Author's Response: Wow right back at ya, SV! You\'ve just absolutely articulated my goal as a writer, I think (blend of lighthearted fun, dramatic undercurrents and smooching). I\'m not kidding! I really appreciate it! Glad it\'s working for ya. ;-) As for what happens next -- your guess is as good as mine ;-)
10 Wow! I just found this story and I love it. Love, love, love that drama of the last minute "I can't" -- and you've executed it so well that it feels organic. Somehow still like the show even though it's very clearly AU. Is it silly to be proud of a fictional character? Because I was so proud of Pam for being brave enough to say "I don't" even though it was the 11th hour. And I have to admit I was almost equally proud of Jim for showing up at the wedding no matter how hard it might be for him because he's trying to be a good friend to Pam -- which is exactly what she needs. Of course, once he's let her cry on her shoulder and she's had say, 8 hours to mourn the end of her relationship with Ray, I think the smooching should commence. Does that make me a bad person?
I am really enjoying the way this story unfolds and I can't wait to see what happens when Jim goes to see Pam at the hotel. OH -- and I loved the nod to "Famous" as it is also one of my absolute favorite stories in the fandom. Good taste!
Author's Response: First, totally agree about \"Famous\" -- I love a lot of fic, but that one has me wrapped around its little finger. Second, I didn\'t even give Pam 8 hours to mourn before the smooching commenced (whoops!). Does THAT make me a bad person? ;-) Thanks so much for all of your comments, as always.
9 Are you KIDDING me? You've got to be kidding me. Tell me that comment about you disliking this fabulous story was sarcasm at work -- because how could you not be bust your buttons proud of this? Seriously!
I love how you've given us small, new peeks into the world of Jim and Pam. I've grown to love the idea of really taking the show to be the documentary it portrays, with Jim and Pam real people who's lives are unravelling (or intertwining, as the case may be) before our very eyes -- not to mention the eyes and ears and cameras and boom mics of the crew.
There was a moment in each of these five parts that just killed me.
In Part 1, it's all in the title: There's a beat between she's and great. Because there is SO much being said in that space. It hinted at a bigger story and of a wealth of things unspoken. Probably delicious, but definitely unspoken. I think for me as a viewer of the show, that was the moment that made me lean forward with that wonderful feeling of anticipation for the first time.
Part 2: When she stops him after the second time, he nearly screams: tell him. [Such a girl.] I love how invested the camera guy is -- against his will! And how despite the fact that he'd like to remain detached and not get all girly, like us he can't help but be drawn in by the Jim/Pam romance. Love it!
I adored pretty much all of Part 3 but it was this line that really did me in: The hopeless romantic side of Mindy buys a can of grape soda, and she leaves it in the cooler under her desk. Because, like us, no matter how hopeless it seemed at times and no matter how often we wanted to rail our frustrations at the two of them for being so blind and stupid and just TORTURING us (and eachother) this way, we couldn't give up on the hope that maybe, just maybe they'd figure it out one day. This line just perfectly sums that up.
Part 4: He tries to keep his finger off the record button when he's around him. Nothing more depressing than having someone record your depression. God knows we all felt Jim's pain but it is kind of bittersweet to see that the crew felt it too -- enough to respect the man's need to some measure of private grief, no matter how small. Very poignant in it's simplicity.
And Part 5 did it all for me in that last two lines: These crazy kids. Steve presses his lips together to hide his smile. Because no matter how pollyanna-ish it might be to believe that Jim and Pam will get their happily ever after, it is nearly impossible to be immune to their joy in one another. Even crusty, cynical old Steve.
If you think this is your bad stuff, I can't wait to see what you've got coming next -- I'm betting it will blow me away! Really -- you did a wonderful job with this and you should be proud.
Author's Response:
Oh, whoa; you've made me feel sheepish now!! I'm kind of annoyed with the way some of the lines flow [or don't] but you've made me feel so much better about this story as a whole, now, including some of the parts I disliked, so thank you. :D Seriously. I can't even begin to tell you how much this review has meant to me.
Although oof, now I'm not so sure about my follow-up! I hope it lives up to your expectations. :D
You are amazing.
Pam doesn't like to plan things, anymore.
10 What a lovely dessert to the absolute JAM feast Thursday's eppy gave us! As gooshy as I get just thinking about Jim and Pam's happily ever after, I don't want it to happen just yet so I love this interlude that hints at that but is content to just relish the wonder of their relationship now. And this?
Sometimes when he has his arms wrapped long around her and his voice vibrates through his chest and her back and into the core of her she imagines that they’re older and that they’re still in love like this.
Simply spectacular Stablergirl!
Author's Response: lol that is the perfect description of this! A lovely dessert ;-) Thanks I love that sentence too, and I'm so glad you reviewed, I love reading your reviews all of the time!! The best of the best of reviewers for sure, SeluciaV, for sure.
9 Oh are you the evil genius! Giving us that he did propose and that Pam did say yes, but leaving the actual moment up to our (admittedly fruitful) imaginations. Brilliant!
I love how this is so full of both the tenderness and the joyfulness that makes Jim so very...well...Jim. And this moment?
He laughs at himself, in the elevator on the way up to the top floor. He’s been without her for less than forty-eight hours, and already he’s falling apart…
And then he reaches into his coat pocket and he says to himself, that’s okay, because after tonight he’ll never have to be without her ever again.
Utterly swoonworthy. Me loves!!!
8 Thank you for showing this little glimpse of the "human" version of Jim Halpert, not the often over-idealized personification of the perfect male we often want him to be. Trust me when I tell you that I have NO problem with that Jim, but it is refreshing to see the side of Jim that is jealous, irrational and sometimes downright grumpy. Well hell -- even when he's grumpy and jealous and irrational he's still the cutest damn male on two legs.
That having been said, I have to admit that this line made the whole damn thing for me:
I'm a donkey on the edge! my brain screams maniacally.
Because even at the height of frustration and irritation the man still thinks in cartoons. How do you not love a guy like that?
Well done!
Author's Response: Thank you! The \'human\' Jim is exactly what I was intending...we all love Jim of course but he\'s got the same emotions and struggles we all do. It\'s fun to try to get in his head because he keeps a lot of things quiet, but I can\'t help thinking he has all these dark thoughts like everybody else does.\r\n\r\nAnd that has to be one of the best Shrek lines, so...\r\n
8 This was lovely -- just beautiful! I loved joining Jim on his journey to that perfect gift (and it truly was perfect). And Jim's note to Pam? So wonderful it made me teary. I hope beyond hope that one day we'll actually learn what Jim confessed and hid in that simple little envelope at Christmas -- and I hope it is something just like this!
Well done!