I read the four chapters that are up so far all at once and I'm looking forward to the next one! You mentioned the second chapter was a different format, but the way you slipped it in worked well for me. I liked seeing a little bit of what Jim's writing would be like, especially when he takes his time and chooses his words more carefully than he does when speaking.

Really enjoyable, can't wait for more!

There are a few tiny errors such as 'than' instead of 'then', but looks like you are getting help with such things.
Pam liking her courage for going so far as to buy the pastels but upset with herself for not being able to be open about it sounds very much like her.
Haven't read all you have posted so far but I couldn't go any further without saying that I thought she didn’t want to be the person she knew he would have allowed her to grow into being was a great line. Solid ending to the chapter I think :) Very glad there are two more chapters written already!

“I’m all set with that, but thanks.”
Pam's rarely snippy, but when she is...
“You, me, lunch. Seriously. This is important.”
Oooooooh,someone is going to have some explaining to do!

I'm enjoying this acknowledging-the-truth Pam. Once again I see how little she needed to say to Jim, all he needed was her to see what was going on.

Nothing insightful to comment except I loved loved loved the following lines for the imagery and/or emotion.
channel surfing on my thirty two inch television because the rhythm of it suited me
I was wondering of you meant soothed instead of suited, but the point about the rhythm was dead on.
His head poked into the room carefully like the head of a turtle
He shrugged, walking away, and I was left with my previously coveted, now suffocating solitude.
IMHO, writing is trying to be your friend again. :)

She blushed again.
jimhalpert: Saw that too.
lol. This is great so far, balanced between their lightheartedness and some serious thoughts underneath. I'm dying for more, hope you're feeling very inspired :)

I love the Jim/Pam fairytale so far, but they need some tough stuff to work through together, especially before the wedding so they know they can make it. As someone who was almost Pam's age when my parents got divorced, I'm feeling her pain. And hey, remember that GD himself has said that Jim and Pam are soulmates, so it'll all come out well in the end.

Author's Response: Yes, angsty moments can lead to adorable moments! And ahem, WHAT?!? When did GD say they were soulmates and why haven\'t I hearr aboiut it til now? :)

I've only read up to the line “Are you really going to marry him?” he asked softly. and needed to tell you that I'm already so invested in the fic that I'm thinking "Pam, if you don't catch on in the next two seconds, it's going to take FOREVER to get Jim out of his 'always failing on the first try' funk"

I can see Jim and Pam having the comfortable/awkward relationship they have in both chapters (I always seem to see them this way because there's no chance the transition from 'just friends' to 'engaged' was immediate, seamless, and complete. And although all may be forgiven, I'm sure there are still some past wounds that are simply going to take time to heal. So I suppose this review could be boiled down to "great characterization, great fic" :)

Author's Response: Wow, that is a great compliment! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

You're awesome. I love post-ep fics. You do grown up Jim so well. lol, that's what she said. He's still Jim, but... you know what I mean, he's grown up a bit. Also, details such as All of the trees were healthy are what makes me go, damn, you're good. The realistic crap that only someone in his seat would consider to be a major factor- details that make me forget I'm reading fiction and not Jim's thoughts.

Great ending... although I AM DYING TO SEE HOW PAM GETS THROUGH THE NEXT FEW DAYS AT HOME, at first in this fic she's still denying, he's still trying to help, makes you remember that they're still the same people despite all the 'evolving' that has been done.

Here's to TPTB taking this to great places (although after what happened to House after the incredible epic setup in S2 finale No Reason I try not to expect too much). Man, what a good past couple weeks.

Jan had to deal with him as a boyfriend too! No wonder she collapsed in on herself like a dying star.
Excellent line! I think you really expressed in this chapter how there's a niche in Dunder Mifflin for Jim that is not only a step up, but something he finds challenging and has a natural affinity for.

Author's Response: Thank you so much!! I\'m so glad you feel that way; me and the friends I\'ve made in the fandom have always thought that Jim would\'ve been great at corporate (which is why it is so darn squeeable when he turns it down on the show), so it\'s exciting to get to write it the other way where we get to see his strengths play out a little more and he doesn\'t feel stuck in a job. Really glad you caught that; you obviously have a great ability to read in between the lines. :) Thanks so much again!!

:) I want it to stop! But I can't stop reading it! I know it's going to make me want to cry and I keep clicking on it every time I see a new chapter... obviously I find it too plausible for comfort. I liked Mark being in there, Jim's got to have a few people outside of family who are going to help him move forward. Oh, and the flashbacks are fun.

8

I didn't understand how Jim and Karen got from "If you get an offer, you should take it" to Karen implying in Travelling Salesmen that she moved just for Jim. Interesting way of filling in the blanks.

Author's Response: Thanks! I didn\'t really write it for that purpose, but I\'m thrilled that you got something else out of it. \r\n\r\nBut even if Jim hadn\'t asked her out or vice-versa before they left Stamford, I think the main reason Karen would have gone to Scranton would have been because of Jim.

This is great, I can see why you had so much trouble with it. I see you have over 17000 views so asking for reviews is totally okay. Pam only seems redundant from Jim's side of things; she is where she is and she's trying to adjust.

Mentioning Jim wanting her to talk to him and not her mom was great. He really tried to skate around the r-word relationship but it really wasn't possible to avoid it. The ring thing: it's very Jim-ish to want to give her tangible proof of his feelings and something to hold on to but I don't know if he'd bring it up to her that way or if he'd be as wordy?

Also: OH YOU WENT THERE. Ugh, as soon as she had a backache I was thinking NO SHE WOULDN'T. SHE WOULDN'T. OH SHE DID. I'm really curious about how you're going to handle this.

Author's Response: I'm glad you said that about Pam being redundant. That was just one of my worst fears for this chapter, I didn't want anyone to get turned off by the argument. It's hard to make it so realistic and have their points be valid while I'm having Pam secretly go through something really terrible, and I can only hope that people connect the dots and realize why she's acting the way she is. Jim was definitely a little wordy, wasn't he? I just like to think that he's frustrated and it's just coming out, but as I mentioned to the reviewer below, I think Jim's the kind of person that might get to the point where it's all running out, quickly following with a complete 180 and shutting off a bit. The next chapter, I suspect he won't have much to say. I'm glad that I had a few people surprised by the end. I know it's such a sad thing to do, and like I said in my responses below, I feel so bad doing it when they're so happy on the show. I've had this whole story in my head and summarized since before I started writing it, which was before Company Picnic even aired. So that plays a big part in my hesitancy -- I didn't want people to think it was unrealistic that they were so careful in this situation. Hopefully I'll have an update for y'all soon. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to give me your thoughts. =)