*All day he’d been pouring all his hope into the idea of a second chance, a vessel for happiness while the rest of his life fell apart around him. Now he knew he’d been filling up a glass with a hole at the bottom and he felt as empty as the used coffee cup that lay sideway on the pavement next to his car.*

Oof, this hit.

Author's Response:

My favorite line I wrote in this chapter too. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks as ever for the read and review. 

When I got to the phone call with Kelly and saw the wall of text I squealed in delight. I love how she completely inadvertently put Jim back on the correct track.

Author's Response:

So glad you enjoyed my version of Kelly. 

Many thanks for the review. 

*They find him at the same time. She still thinks perusing some guy’s Facebook profile before she’s met him is weird. It would feel even weirder by herself. But there’s something conspiratorial, almost fun, about doing it with Jim. It somehow makes her feel less creepy.*

Love this. Loved getting inside Pam's head, learning a bit more about their backstory. But wait, did Jim cheat on Katy in college? I feel like we need to hear more about that...

Author's Response:

Ah, thank you so much! And yes haha sorry it was sort of briefly mentioned in the first chapter - but no, no cheating Jim from college. That *would* be an interesting story…

Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to leave feedback!  

1

Pam is in so deep and she seems to be actively aware of it. I'm really loving the banter between her and Jim, you've nailed it.

*And her last guilty thought before she climbs into bed is that she wouldn’t have minded Jim seeing the dumb teddies on her comforter, and she doesn’t know what that means.*

Ooh, this hit.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much ! Haha, Pam in too deep and aware of it is quite fun to write. Ah and that’s so great to hear on the banter, thank you! :) 

1

THIS WAS SO GREAT! I loved her conversation with Katy, and Jim's voicemail was just perfect.

I feel you on the odd number thing, my OCD also hates it. But I would also not be opposed to more, haha. Either way, great stuff!

Author's Response:

Ah, thank you so much! I discovered through writing this that voicemails are actually a slightly strange thing to write (/maybe come across better on TV)…so I’m relieved you thought that worked!  And haha, it is deeply upsetting - I wrote something else that was twenty-nine chapters, and I’m still not totally over it. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to review! 

SAVE MICHAEL

Author's Response: This is my favorite review

*They’re permanently written into the space between you, an unspoken poem punctuated with laughter and tears and touches that last just a little bit longer than either of you are expecting.

You hope the poem has two authors. But it might just have one.*

Okay girl, you KNOW I'm going to gravitate to the angstiest part. This was beautiful.

I'm having too much fun and now I have to go to bed. More tomorrow!

1

*“Wow, those are amazing!” Michael says. “I always thought that if we encountered aliens, they would look like some sort of monster, like something with the body of a walrus with the head of a sea lion. Or something with the body of an egret with the head of a meerkat. Or just… the head of a monkey, with the antlers of a reindeer, with, ah… the body of a porcupine.”

“You done?” you ask him.*

Hahah extra points for working this in, wow

*Pam sits up straighter in her chair. “Um… I don’t know the answer to that, actually. I don’t know the biological components that would allow for that.” She looks at your, briefly out of the corner of her eye. “I’d have to ask an anthropologist.”

The reporter shrugs, undeterred. “Dr. Halpert?”

You look at Pam, whose face is straight ahead, eyes twinkling, lips pressed together as she tries not to laugh. “I don’t know,” you say, not taking your eyes off her. “Antimatter storms aren’t in my field of research. I’d have to ask a cosmologist.”*

OMG get a room, guys! Oh wait... THEY ARE

The idea of Pam and Jim being trapped with Dwight for weeks in space and nothing else to do besides pranks is just an honest to god goldmine.

"Michael holds up his hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. Okay? I don’t trust outer space."

I don't know why but this made me laugh so hard and I heard it in Michaels voice and I'll be thinking about it for the rest of the night lmao

1

*Pam ends up falling asleep on your shoulder about two hours in. So, you know. Not a bad flight.*

VERY cute way to work this in. (Also, random, but Japanese BBQ was my first date w my husband so thumbs up)

*She slips her hand into yours after a quiet moment. You’ve been to outer space and back, and yet you’ve never felt more alive than you feel right at this moment.*

STTAAAAAHHP

*He gives you a genuine smile, which is somehow more terrifying than his fake smile. *

This was so accurate and observant, I loved it

*“I don’t know how to be the little spoon.”

Pam laughs against your shoulder blades and lets you roll onto your back. “You’ll learn.”*

Okay I love these little moments you've written for them, like they're already so comfortable with each other I love them so much omg

*You’ve been mixing work and flirting since day one, so why stop now?*

How true that is

*You go back to kissing once you’re in the elevator, then stop once you’re in the hallway. And then Pam closes the door firmly behind you, and you don’t have to stop anymore.*

This is a GORGEOUSLY written couple of lines

Look [clap emoji] at [clap emoji] me, [clap emoji] sweetheart [clap emoji]

ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME

*You’re still too proud to be sad right away. This is Pam. She’s my girlfriend. She works for NASA, you think.*

Loved this chapter. Good for them for fucking in the bathtub. xo

I'm bringing Pam. I fear this is the wrong choice.

1

Wow, this was inspired by my chapter? I'm touched!

You did a great job filling in this convo. I agree, they never rehashed the investment which is annoying, but I assume since they were investors that's how Jim was able to jump back into Athlead a year later without skipping a beat.

I really like how you allowed Jim to explain to Pam the ways in which this opportunity wasn't as great as we were supposed to think it was. She was also not privy to how important this was to him (nor were we)! Jim had years and years to articulate his desire to move on from DM and never really did beyond a passing joke here and there, so the fact that he finally went all in when he had a wife and two small kids is just a big yikes, in my opinion. And a lot of what Jim did in S9 felt OOC to me, I did not care for the way it framed Pam as the bad guy.

Anyway, all of that to say... we needed a scene like this for Jim to take a little responsibility. You did a great job!

Author's Response:

Thank you!  And thank you for the inspiration as well.

The fact that Jim could jump back in at a moment's notice was really odd, so the investment answers that question, too.  You hit the nail on the head with that.

THANK YOU.  Legit my biggest gripe with this whole storyline that had so much potential.  And I have no qualms with his motivation whatsoever, but framing Pam as the unreasonable one in the finale was awkward to watch, especially considering she was given no warning or time to prepare for any of this and it was sprung on her.  Of course she would back him up 100% if he just told her how he felt about his job.  Communication is their biggest weakness as a couple, but after two kids you'd think it wouldn't be THIS bad.

Thanks for the review!