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Great job of setting the scene with this chapter. Rainy day doldrums are the worst. Especially for Jim after his weekend of agonizing over everything. It's adorable that he comes back to life at even the prospect of meeting up with Pam, even if she has a boyfriend. Feels very true to canon.

From the brief bit of what we see of Roy, it seems that he's not a bad guy here, just not the right guy for Pam. Not that I'm complaining about a quick enter and exit for him so we can get to JAM-ness.

There seems to be a bit of a trend of Confident Jim around the archive lately and I love it. It's so refreshing to see Jim take a chance with Pam even while Roy is in the picture. I think you managed a good balance here with Jim being supportive of Pam but also giving her the push she needs to see there's something better out there.

Very cute image of her waiting in the rain by his apartment at the end of the day. Seems like she's got a hard conversation ahead of her though. All in all a great chapter. I really liked it.

Author's Response: That’s exactly what I was trying to put across- Roy’s alright but he’s not the one, Jim’s little shove was enough to put Pam in the right direction. Justice for Confident Jim, that’s what I say! Thank you :)

Very interesting to see all the internet stalking going on. Jim seems a bit out of control with everything here. If Roy was the peaked in high school and never looked back kind of jock, this Jim feels like a I'm going to be a frat boy forever kind of jock. both equally doucey to say the least. Though there's a hint that under it, the canon nice guy Jim might be hiding under there somewhere.

Pam though feels like she's at the same time girding herself for battle, and getting more steel in her spine. I've got a feeling she's going to need a lot of that to handle this Jim.

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It's a bit of a kick in the chest whenever I see this one updated. Mainly because the Jim and Pam here as so much different that the one's we've come to love. Of course it's also because of your skill as a writer to pull out real emotions from your reader that adds the the heightened sense of things.

Ok, I'm really glad that Pam is already not backing down from this Jim. He's a world class a-hole and having frat boy Andy at his side isn't doing him any favors. I mean Jim's right there too, not backing down either. It's a very different form of their banter since of course this is a very different form of them.

No issues on my end with the contract. Nice way to get everything across that you needed too. Though I am also with Pam a bit. Why IS Dunder-Mifflin going through all this trouble? It would be much easier to fire Jim, hire someone who's not going to embarrass the company and move on. Things to think about.

Also nice job adding in Flag Day there.

Author's Response: Wow. I mean, getting told that your update is a constant "kick in the teeth" isn't exactly what I was hoping to hear from anyone. And while i'm sure that you mean that in a sense of "I don't like where this is now," I won't lie, it's kind of rude to outrightly say. Again, if this isn't your cup of tea, I'm by no means forcing you to read it. I obviously have a plan for this story that I'm pretty excited about, but a majority of this review kind of just tore me down. Don't feel obligated to review my story for your own reviewing creds, or if you don't actually enjoy this particular style of AU.

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A very interesting chapter here. Clearly they're still getting used to being in each other company. They're still sniping at each other too. However there's more hints of the past there from Jim. Something from his past caused him to shut down and try to drown his sorrows in booze, drugs, and women. Run and hide as much as you want Jim. All those things just numb the pain, they don't cure it.

Pam's putting up a good front too. She's doing her best to be tough, but the inner soul of the kind-hearted Pam Beesly still seems to be there. At least from where I sit.

Even though this is a huge departure from canon, I still feel like the essesense of canon Jim and Pam are still in there somewhere. Should be really interesting to see where it goes from here.

Very much the feel of a small town Public Safety department. Nice slow not much to do kind of place. Though there is the age old First Responder superstition that if one utters one of the two dreaded words, the First Responder Gods will smite thee with a busy shift. The two dreaded words being "slow" and "quiet." Otherwise known as the "s" word or the "q" word. So that was good.

Yeah, lots of questions about the character drama part of all this. Really looking forward to seeing where you go with that part of everything.

Author's Response:

I'm glad you liked the feel/pace there, that's definitely what I was going for. It feels like the s and q jinx is something that transcends professions, in IT we generally associate that jinx with having a server fail spontaneously, having a client open a malware email and spreading it, or the internet going down at a location.

I'm glad the character drama has some hooks, as much as I dislike it in the television I watch. We should get some answers to the Roy questions next chapter there, so hopefully not a long wait there.

Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate your help and feedback! 

The only thing I'm confused about is the line "RM of Dunder Mifflin." Not quite sure what you're talking about there.

Other than that, nice to see Jim and Pam starting to hit it off. Jim seems like a good cop here. Courteous, professional, knows how to do his job.

Kenny getting arrested by Jim? That could prove interesting to see especially considering how Roy was acting. Nice way to add in a level of drama here. Really looking forward to seeing where you go with it.

Author's Response:

Sorry, the RM stands for Rural Municipality, size depends on the RM but the can be upwards of 10km^2 to 40km^2. I think they're quasi-equivalent to counties in the US but I'm not 100% on that.

Glad to hear you're looking forward to the dramz, hope it doesn't disappoint.

Thanks for dropping by to review! 

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Short but sweet. You still managed to capture the feeling of the episode in question, but the changes that are there due to Pam and Jim now being together and nice to see. I really like how Jim and Helene are getting on. Bodes well for the future. Nice update.

Author's Response: Thanks for reviewing, I'm pleased that you liked the tone of the chapter! 

No worries about time jumps for me. Most of us are already very familiar with the basic plot lines. Your plot, is the more important thing to my mind.

Jim and Pam are acting very cute here. I really like that Pam pulled Jim aside to see what was wrong with him. She's got a lot more confidence to have those kinds of conversations and it's great to see. Also good on Jim for being open to talking about things as well. Makes for a great change from the whole not talking about their feelings.

Author's Response:

Glad that wasn't jarring, I just wanted to be sure that there was some semblance of a smooth transition. I'm glad you liked Jim and Pam taking these issues by the horns, as a fixit it is my pleasure to take all of those "Just talk to them!" moments in the show and spin them myself.

Thanks for reviewing! 

Nice way to re-figure Yankee Swap in this AU of yours. Pam being quick enough to grab the iPod to use as bargaining chip was a really good idea. They're very cute together throughout all of this.

Author's Response: Thank you, glad to hear you liked it!

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I absolutely love the dichotomy of this chapter in regards to Pam's thoughts. That she's stressing over everything and coming up with all these reasons why Jim is acting the way he is. That he would be nervous about proposing and that's not anywhere near to being on her radar is adorable.

Great build up to the big moment. This a great fix for this episode. In canon this episode is always really bittersweet. Jim and Pam share their cute moment and then Roy's announcement shatters everything. Much nicer version here.

They get the moment on deck right this time around. Kissing at the rail and then a much nicer Jim moment. Lovely images all around. I really enjoyed this one.

Author's Response:

I'm so glad that you liked that juxta-position, I really felt like I was out there at points, so I'm happy to hear that it came together nicely for you. 

I'm so pleased to hear you liked the build-up. This entire chapter was really outside of my writing comfort zone, so to be affirmed in this way is great, so thank you.

Thank you so much for your kind review and feedback! 

So I'll admit I went back through "Pam 6.0" to skim though the Pam and Roy stuff in there. It's just been awhile since we've seen him so I figured it would be good to get a baseline of everything.

Despite everything, going out with Katy and the "chick from wings night," it seems Roy still hasn't gotten over Pam. Now I'll grant you that Pam's great. It just seems an interesting tack to take. I'm thinking when he saw the ring back on her finger he had hopes of something re-starting. But then of course his inner selfish child flares up and he gets the pepper spray he so rightly deserves. Nothing wrong with that.

The JAM wedding at Schrute farms? Why not? It's a uniquie twist I'll give you that. Thing is I feel they could have some fun with it. They're the paying couple so they could really lean into the whole "customer is always right" schtick to insist there are as few Dwight inspired oddities as possilbe.

Kelly was fun with her gushing over things and I also liked the change that Jim and Pam insist on signing the paperwork rather than let things trail off. Good way to call back to canon but still keep things new for this story.

As an aside the best way to deal with pepper spray is flush out the affected area as soon as possible with warm water and then a long hot shower with a mild soap as soon as possible. There are wipes available that can take away some of the sting so those can work too.

Author's Response:

I had to do a re-read too, to make sure that I kinda had the tone right for the Roy obtuseness. My thoughts being Katy and wings night chick were honest attempts to move on, but they wouldn't put up with him when the cards were down and Roy misses that about Pam. Too bad Pam stopped putting up with him too. I didn't start the chapter thinking that this is the route it would take, honestly it was going to be a bit more awkward banter and a defeated Roy, but then this happened and I felt like it could work. I agree, Pam is great. 

The arrangements at Schrute Farms will definitely be fun, just I hadn't planned the location and that's where the chapter took me and it was just all sorts of ironic. Dwight played a part in the formation of their friendship, so it's funny that he gets to play a part in their wedding as well.

Jim's not going to let Toby have those forms slide, they're engaged! I'm glad you liked that change. Kelly is of course the primary source of office gossip, followed closely by Phyllis and then Angela. I also felt like she would totally listen in on everything that goes on in HR for the ammunition. 

Thank you for the pepper spray aside, that bit was actually a subtle nod in my mind to your great story This Thing Called Life! I re-read that a little while ago and for some reason the cleaning wipes stuck with me. Too bad that Pam didn't get that same advice.

Thank you for the kind and constructive feedback as always! I for one am happy that Roy may never need to be seen again, unless of course he crashes the wedding. I don't think I'd be that cruel to his character though, Dwight probably has a spud gun just for such occasions. 

Lots of fun with this chapter. I loved that you kept in Pam tries to bribe the kids with candy. It's a solid plan. Also that she does make a connection with Abby with art. Abby was also fun saying Pam is already an artist and asking if Pam and Jim are already married. Very sweet.

It seems a nice balance of some of the traits of pre-Fancy New Beesly we see in canon S1 and the new more confident Pam we see in this AU. A lot of that seems to be since she's with Jim now, which is fun. She's got someone in her corner to really be there and help her so she doesn't have to do things (like wedding planning) completely alone. Loved that.

Glad you got some time to post a chapter. This one was fun.

Author's Response:

I'm glad you liked it. Not only did I keep the candy... I added more, because really, how could she not have chocolates up there!? Abby and the art was fun, I don't remember if that scene was deleted or not but it was a real downer, so flipping it around felt great, glad you got something from that. I couldn't help but through some of that child-like perceptive bluntness in there, sometimes kids say the darndest things. I wish one of them would have commented on it in canon, but oh well, that's what we're here for!

Of course, she is after all, Pam 6.0 ;). Jim being in her corner is definitely a huge plus though, you've got that bang on. In canon she almost went for the internship before Roy shut her down, so with no active discouragement this time around she's in much better shape in that regard.

Happy to hear you liked the chapter, thanks for sharing your thoughts! 

Lots of fun here. Especially with Pam being the one who is silent this time around. You had her really quick on her feet there in the interview, to claim right to remain silent and for counsel. If Dwight had really been on his toes he would have realized that cousel means an actual lawyer not just someone close to the accused. As it is though it's a great way to show that Dwight is all blowhard since he doesn't get that distinction. Jim of course is great in the interview.

Lovely throughout. Even silent the JAM banter works great. They're clearly in a great place and it's a joy to read.

Author's Response:

Well, you know me, I'm all about two things - Fluff and flipping things on their head. I'm really glad that swapping their roles around in this one worked for you, it was a lot of fun to write it. The interview was a pleasure to write, a mashup of some original content and then some classic goodness thrown in for good measure. Dwight's ignorance and arrogance go hand in hand, I hope he doesn't come off as too much of a jerk though! This story is shamelessly all about putting Jim and Pam in a great place - I haven't really done much on the conflict side of things, and I'm not sure how I feel about that! I've had some ideas but I kinda forgot to include them in this chapter with all of the fluff, woops!

Thanks for taking the time to review!