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The MTT Noobs finally figured out how to collab. 10 chapters of what occurred during the hiatus of S4. Answers to Jam's First Holidays together.
1 This was great, the humor of the first part, then the turn halfway through with a more serious moment. Ending with the fluff. Awesome job.
Michael hosting Thanksgiving because he doesn’t have any family to celebrate wasn’t supposed to make me sad but it did. 😭
Question: when do you guys headcanon they first said their I love yous to each other? I would love to know!
1 We. Worked. Out.
This was so great. Tooth-rottingly sweet. Jim is seriously earning that Best Boyfriend card.
I love that he managed to get screen grabs from the doc crew, and Pam’s redo? Amazing.
1 This entire chapter was so cozy and lovely. Really like what you did creating such atmosphere, and your Jim and Pam banter is on point.
*Perching her head on her hand, she got lost in her own daydreams of him. They’d spent perfectly endless days discussing their past with one of the hot buttons being what they nicknamed, “Before”. He told her that he wasn’t completely incompetent driving a stick shift and she let on that she’d watched him in ways friends wouldn’t watch each other. They’d spent years on the wrong path, both feeling like they were in a never-ending haunted house. The conversations would last well into the night and that’s when Jim would typically confide in her how different this late-night conversation was for him than his ones with Karen. These he looked forward to, while he loathed Karen’s attempting to get out of them with any excuse that would fly.*
Loved all of this.
1 What an appropriately inappropriate office-not-at-the-office party! Poor Michael, love the twist that Pam and Jim knew about Hunter before the Dinner Party. I CACKLED at Meredith's fluffer suggestion and the fact that Kelly is clearly so self-absorbed she can't even tell it was Jim and Pam in the bathroom. Top it all off with being very impressed at Jim's four times (while drunk!) because they deserve nothing less.
1 oh my GOD that was intense!
(also i need to know which characters Jim and Pam play Mario Kart with)
Author's Response: Pam is always Toad.
Jim, despite constant teasing from his brothers, plays with Peach.
(Thank you so much for reading this story! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!)
For a minute there I thought you were going to break my heart. I loved the ending. This was so great!
1 “ But the way she made him feel, somehow broken and whole simultaneously, sent all rationale out the window.
He loved her.”
ugh this made me FEEL THINGS
1 Oh, DJC. This was truly something special.
Bits I loved:
*It’s not really the point, but she kinda loves that he’s defending the little things in their little world.*
*She tries to keep her face impassive, no reaction, no signal that “yup, ya got me!” The problem is, the world’s gotten very familiar with what she looks like trying not to react to things.*
I was called out here: People were using her husband’s face to reply to tweets
I really love the way this unfolded, trying to nail down the timeframe in space. You created a realistic portrayal of how their world would have been while their relationship was still in a very volatile state.
*They’re trying to make a point of talking to each other about the important stuff, even when it’s hard. They know they both screwed up, they both failed to communicate, they both put their life together at risk. (Sometimes she feels like they’ve almost switched sides, gone from only blaming each other to mostly blaming themselves.)*
This feels so, so real. It's stuff like this that makes me appreciate the S9 arc more than ever before.
*There had been times it seemed to her their story and their memories were what was keeping them going. Because the guy in the expensive suit walking away from her wasn’t always someone she wanted to beg to stay. But the guy who knew her favorite flavor of yogurt and got her Dundie changed? The guy who watched “fireworks” with her on the roof? The guy who gave up a great job for a yogurt lid and a note and proposed to her at a gas station in the rain because he just couldn’t wait anymore and held her like the most precious thing in the world when she found out she was pregnant? The guy who bought her that teapot? The guy she knew would always look for her even when everyone else made her feel invisible? She wasn’t going to let him go without a fight.*
STOP, MY HEART
*There’s pre-prepped ham and cheese and tuna sandwiches in plastic triangle boxes, a Diet Coke and a grape Fanta. Behind them, a framed copy of a receipt for those same items from a rest stop gas station in New Jersey. Total: $0.00, and “congratulations you two!” in pen below it.*
This one was my favorite of all the little keepsakes. I gasped.
*There’s a single daisy labeled 2005. In a world where her fiancée doesn’t get a good deal on waverunners, this would be her wedding day. Instead she’s lying in a field of flowers with her best friend, desperately afraid he’s about to kiss her and desperately afraid he won’t.*
Please tell me you write a fic about this moment and if you didn't, I'm officially begging you to.
*She feels reassured and cherished and loved and seen, in this space that’s just his and hers.
And she thinks to herself, I have a lot to make up for, too.*
Bravo, my friend. This all feels very authentic and it's officially gone into my headcanon. Well done!
Author's Response: I'm really glad you liked this one - I feel like there's a lot to say about this period in their history, feels like a very rich area, and somewhere I really enjoyed digging into.
It really is fascinating to place the documentary running right after AARM, right? Like, that's such a specific, challenging time for them to revisit their early days, doing so while they're trying to heal from a new challenge.
Ah, yes. Early seasons Jim made a lot of deposits I think Season 9 Jim was counting on to pay the bills, if you know what I mean.
I just love imagining the clerk at that gas station, watching these two nutjobs pull off the highway in separate cars and then get engaged.
There IS in fact a story behind Pam and Jim in the daisy field in the summer of 2005. Maybe it'll get finished one day.
I'm glad this worked for you, and thank you so much for taking the time to read and review!
Another AU fic about the post-Casino Night events. What if Pam found it in herself to tell Jim she called off her wedding? Based on the song Picture by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow.
1 Well, damn. You shouldn’t hate angst because you’re great at it.
“There was no use in leaving up a house of cards when the bottom row was well on its way to collapsing.“
Oh, this is beautiful.
Michael laying out the terrible pictures and no one taking any but Jim is so in character for both. You painted a really nice image of that photo, I could see it in my head.
“But the Pam that was in the photo was the real Pam, and he had just spent yet another night with imaginary Pam, who was still better than any woman he could ever hope to have. He couldn’t look at real Pam anymore. Not when he had to accept that imaginary Pam was the only woman who could ever be his.”
I love this take. I always assumed Jim convinced himself he’d made everything up he thought Pam felt for him as a self preservation tactic, but the idea he’s actually thinking she does feel something and is trying to tell himself she doesn’t leaves a bit more hope on his end.
I don’t know if you intended it, but Pam sobbing on the steering wheel made me think of Fun Run.
Throwing away the picture? OUCH, PAM.
I enjoyed the multitude of emotions you had her go through in this chapter. I think at this stage she would be absolutely all over the place.
1 Pam’s prank on Dwight was awesome, haha!
“ The thought of breaking up with him terrified her, but the thought of going through with her wedding scared her even more.”
This. This is such a great way to show the beginning of the Evolution of Pam.
Okay the convo with Roy was so good. They truly never humanized him until after the breakup, really, and you did a great job with that balancing act. And love that Isabel is there for her.
1 “Yeah,” Jim replied tonelessly. “Cause I’m your best friend or some dumb shit like that.”
Um, my heart stopped too! HOW DARE
“ He spoke mainly as king, prince, and joker of the Friend Zone, but also to reassure her that he treasured their relationship more than practically anything in his life.”
Oh, I loved this. Brutally perfect.
1 “ Jim had been circling the block her apartment building was on for several minutes, nothing but a damn parking spot separating him from literally reuniting with the love of his life.”
As a resident of LA, this detail stuck out to me painfully, lol
“ Pam was stunned. Time? She wanted the exact opposite of time. She wanted to catapult them a month or two into the future, when they had moved past the unsettling, out-of-synch feelings of guilt and regret and had settled into feelings of patience, trust, maybe even true romance. She wanted to have him kiss her again, and then she would grab his hand and they would run off into the sunset—well, sunrise was more likely at this point, given it was almost midnight.”
Oh, how I loved all of this.
“ She gently broke off their kiss, squeezing his hands appreciatively. Her eyes flicked to the hallway, and back down at him. “Do you want to, um… lie down?” she asked, figuring that was the nicest way to frame the question.”
This is SO PAM I adore it sooooo much
Okay. So. I’m typically not super into reading Jam smut but this... was not that. This was absolutely beautifully written, so emotional, perfectly paced and wow just a wonderfully in character first time sex scene. Blew my mind. Well done.
“ “Did you, um, sleep okay?” she asked.
It was a dumb question. But what was she going to say, I don’t know how I can ever sleep again without you with me, and I want to make sure you’re okay with that?
He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
It was a lame answer. But what was he going to say, You make me so happy that holding you as I fall asleep cured my insomnia?”
This exchange was *chefs kiss*
I’m really glad this had a happy ending. I wish this is how it had actually happened, sometimes I just wanted to knock those two dummies’ heads together.
So, so good. Thanks for sharing!
Author's Response:
😭😭😭 Thank you so much for your sweet reviews! They truly made my night, and I’m so glad you liked the story. (PS I’m from Southern California myself, so I’m particularly glad you appreciated Jim’s parking hassle, lol.)
1 THIS IS SO CUTE.
*“Out there, Michael Scott hired you. In here? Pam Beesly owns you.” *
This is amazing.
Okay I loved every second of this.
*Friday night he’d laid in bed, laid awake until 3:00 in the morning, and marveled at how two people could look at each other, right at each other, eyes aligned and minds seemingly so very far apart, how their souls could almost brush and never quite connect until they positively collided.*
This is absolutely beautiful.
1 Kids are in bed and let me tell you, I enjoyed this immensely.
“The driver just smiles and rolls his eyes as the tipsy couple all but intertwine like ivy on a trellis, making the most of the ten-minute drive from the bar.”
This is such a great visual.
“He settles on top of her and takes her hand in his, kissing her ear, her neck, her shoulder, like he has all the time in every world in every solar system. He explores her to his heart’s content, and soon she doesn’t know whether to arch against his hand or his mouth, she just wants to be up and as close to him as possible.”
Okay wow I felt that.
“He’s strong and warm. He’s emblematic of everything she needs. He pushes her to her best, keeps her on her toes, and gives her a safe place to land if her toes get a little shaky. He gives her butterflies without nerves and makes her heart start again when it stops.
They’re so perfect together.”
“From here it’s a dance, except this time, swaying is dancing. It’s dancing without formalities or precision or anything other than maintaining tempo. They make up their own effortless steps and lyrics to the music until they find what they need, and they let that carry them up into the endless night sky.”
Omg you write them so beautifully, this is exactly
how they have sex, I’m convinced. This was so perfect and them. Well done, friend 🔥💗
Somewhere between Casino Night and Gay Witch Hunt. Pam's honest thoughts over her feelings for Jim, and he leaving for Stamford, as she's parked in front of his former apartment.
1 *Parked, in front of 7 Laurel Drive as if you’d magically return. Magically teleport 143 miles northwest for the girl who broke your heart.*
*What will it take for you to realize that I feel the same way, Jim? I can. I can. I CAN.
Until you know, until you come home, I’ll drive alone past your street.*
All of this is just OUCH. And lovely.
Beth the waitress returns!
A series of stand alone, slice of life, one-shots in Pam and Jim's life, all tied together with the thread that runs through them; they all end with dinner at Christopher's, where (in my headcanon) they had their first date.
The first and the last chapter NOW COMPLETE work in tandem, but everything in between is its own story if you want to pop in for one whose title strikes your fancy.
1 I'm really enjoying the way you're showing us all the beats of their relationship through the eyes of this waitress, it's such a clever concept!
*When he’d been forced to take the seat with his back to it, he’d subconsciously angled his monitor so the reflection it captured would be the same as the one he’d been staring at since he first started at Dunder Mifflin. *
Okay wow, this never occurred to me and I love this idea.
*When he pulled her name for the office gift exchange, it felt like a sign, a push from Eros, or Cupid or whatever deity was in charge of his romantic destiny to tell her what she truly meant to him. *
Beautiful.
The step stool kiss was the cutest thing ever, omg. It feels familiar like you said but I can't place it.
(I'm not sure if WHMS coined the phrase "out there" but I definitely associate it with that movie and I definitely caught that)
Author's Response:
So nice to hear you are enjoying it. It was fun to see Jam through another set of eyes in my first story so I thought to keep it going. Truth is when I started the first story I meant to keep it going to cover more of them but I wrote it first person and wanted to switch it up. So I closed it out and started a few others and made it a series. This one is part of that series and has taken on a life of its own now.
Anyway - I know he was with Karen but as we know his thoughts (and eyes) were always with Pam.
Yeah, I was also thinking about WHMS when I wrote the line. But isn't it Bruno Kirby's character who says it. Either way yes, I think that may be the movie that coined the phrase.
Thanks as always for the reviews. Loving them.
Oh, Max. This is my favorite chapter so far. You took me right back to those early days with a newborn (particularly the first). Some of it was so spot-on it made me relive how wonderfully awful it all was.
*It wasn’t until she met Jim that she got a proper education in the subject of chemistry*
Oh my god, I adore this.
*Jim tested out his swaddling skills, which had improved slightly since the hospital, but then again so had Cece's ability to wiggle and squirm so his bindings were more?snack wrap?than?burrito.*
This is a great way to work in Jim's canon swaddling prowess and how, when presented with a real infant, all of that completely goes to shit.
*breast mangling device*
so true and so funny!
*Cece carried on with unrelenting cries as he switched her to the other shoulder. Knowing the further risk he posed by asking, he made a follow-up inquiry all the same.
“Could she be hungry?”
If he could grab the words back from the air, he would have.*
Okay I can SEE this scene. You wrote it so perfectly. Also I remember wanting to throttle my husband for similar stupid questions, hahaha
*It didn’t matter she knew she was with her father who would do everything in his power to soothe her and was perfectly capable of watching her while she took a short walk down the block. All she could think was how out-of-body she felt as her nostrils filled with the scent of the night air instead of Desitin and baby shampoo and Cece.*
This separation anxiety is so real and so well portrayed here. This entire chapter was wonderfully visual but I can see Pam's increasing panic as she attempts to make it around a single block without breaking down.
*There on the couch was Jim, now down to his bare chest.? Cece lay sprawled across it, strapped in by the large hands that even when layered atop each other, covered the span of her whole body. They both were fast asleep.
Smiling as she gazed upon the two people she loved most in the world, immediately she felt whole again.
Another time she might have grabbed her pencil and sketchpad to capture the moment in graphite but in this instance settled for picking up her camera to preserve the memory. Fortunately, it was only Jim she woke with the sound of the shutter and the spark of the flash.*
This is so soft and perfect, I adored it. They deserve all the happiness in the world.
The first night out was great, I love how Beth taught Pam about pumping and dumping (essential) and her anxiousness about wanting to go home and Jim's desperation to get her to relax were both so well done.
Glad they got some at the end, too. Good for them.
Brava, amazing job!
Author's Response:
Aww this review was the best. Really made me feel like I connected with you as someone who knows what the experience is like. I'm a little more removed from it but as you can see the memories don't fade and in fact become a little more vivid as the little birdies fly the nest.
Thanks you so much for all the words and validation and for loving it so much, especially the Cece asleep on the chest scene - one of my favorite moments to write.
Thanks again from one mom to another.
*In all the romcom movies they watched, it was the best friend’s job to hold back hair and make gentle circles on the back of the vomiting character as they hung over the bowl. He was her best friend, wasn’t he, so naturally he followed her in to perform his duties as hair holder and back rubber.*
This is so sweet, I love it so much. And he so would.
*“Did pregnancy libido hit you yet?”
If she had enough of a rosy glow for Beth to notice on her cheeks before, now they were so crimson she didn’t even need to answer.
“Ah so it has. Enjoy that.”*
YAS PAM ENJOY THAT
(best part of pregnancy imo)
I can't believe I'm only realizing this now, but is Beth... you?????
Author's Response:
See we were really aligned on this one - I was smiling so wide when I read your SS story that had the similar theme.
So Beth - we share a name and a few traits so I guess you could kind of say that - but really she is an amalgamation of many different people I know. I'm not quite that outspoken, never been a waitress, am happily married. But I did have a bean bracelet (which I lost long ago- sadly)
I'm so happy you gave this story a read - but now you have to wait for the rest.
Still a million thanks for all the reviews.
*That though the words had not yet been said officially, for richer or for poorer was how he loved her, and he would have Creed marry them in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot if need be. Jim was sure he had some kind of ordination and license to perform weddings.*
Okay. I would have loved to see this, haha
I like how you tackled the strain on their sex life that could have been going on at this time. And I see we also agree Cece was conceived after Michael sold the company ;)
Author's Response:
Jim is what we call a mensch - well not quite always but with Pam he is, but as for Creed - well remember DJC (never know if I should write it as JDC or DJC) wrote a piece A Real Mensch - that was in part born out of this idea (and his talking head from the Fun Fun episode).
But yeah, me too.
As far as stress and sex goes, yeah I feel like this would be the time one would kind wreak havoc on the other - but resolve itself in the most beautiful way - Cece.
Thanks for binging through these but now that you have only one more I'm feeling the pressure to get another chapter written.
Anyway, big thanks for reading and reviewing.
*“Not saying you can’t but Pam, you have to know he still likes you.”
“And he still knows I’m engaged.”
“Yeah, well, you were engaged once before, too.”*
Oh, OUCH, Jim. OUCH. But I get it. I don't understand the argument (not by you, but by others) that Pam would easily leave Jim for Alex or Brian or whoever because she did it before. I'll never see or understand that argument. Jim is the One for her, and she wouldn't have done that for anyone else.
*She’d done nothing wrong. If anything, it was him who had crossed the line years before, but if given to do it all over, he would do it again. Was this what Alex was doing now?*
This is a perfectly reasonable thing for Jim to be feeling in this moment, but again, once his fears are quashed I hope to never see it from him again.
Their hot makeout sesh finally knocking the clown down was PRICELESS.
Author's Response:
Pam and Jim, while seemingly perfectly compatible are still a regular couple who I imagine would have their fights, and I always wanted to write that into a story but could never quite think of what they would fight about.
As I wrote this chapter, just as a fight would this just came up - irrational I know but isn't that usually the case with a fight.
Don't worry as I mention in the notes, Alex kind of fades off into oblivion (just like on the show) after this.
Tying it all to the clown painting was really satisfying and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.
THANKS!
I love how tuned in your Jim is to Pam's disappointment. It's very sweet. You're totally right btw, it's eerie how closely our headcanons aligned on this one!
*By morning all he’d come up with was to cover the beam on the underside of her mouse to keep it from working, hoping she’d call him over for help before she flipped it over to investigate why. The cause of its malfunction would be the small note he’d have taped there that would read, From the minute I met you I knew we clicked. Marry me, Pam.*
OMG okay that's cute but not enough. Good instincts, Jim.
*He knew before then he was in love but it was in that moment that he could taste eternity with her, know their souls would be tied to each other forevermore. It was there in the sky, in her touch, in the way she looked away from the horizon and into his eyes, the gold of the heavens reflected in hers. There were few words spoken that morning, but there didn’t need to be. *
Wow, this is beautiful!
*“Jim, I’ll be honest. I was upset. It was super romantic sitting watching fireworks with you, real ones this time and it had me thinking how symbolic the moment would be if only you would have...”
Jim looked down at his plate. It was exactly the reason he’d paid Phyllis to get those fireworks. He’d had a whole speech prepared about all the moments they’d shared right there in the office that led them to that instance. Freakin’ Andy.*
Freakin' Andy is right. The parallels between what that proposal would have been and their first "date" are too much for my heart to handle. Although I can't complain because the real proposal is my all time fave Jam moment ever, so...
Excited to see what's next!
Author's Response:
You went on a reading binge - but I'm so glad - thanks for all the great review, starting with this one.
Yes, I often feel like we see things very similarly when I read your stuff...reaffirming and fun to have that similar viewpoint.
I thought so too, save it for a Dwight prank - although they (Jim and Dwight) take a bit longer to click.
Awwh thanks. Yeah I was deep in my Gold story stage around this time - I tend to let my stories bleed into one another.
Freaking ANDY -yeah it would have been...but yeah I enjoyed the proposal at the gas station as well.
Thanks again - ever so much.
1 *It wasn’t like it was the sweater per se. It wasn’t revealing or particularly clingy, sheer or otherwise what might be considered by your average man as provocative attire. But Jim wasn’t your average man, and when it came to Pam, she never knew what might drive him into a sexual tizzy. Just the other day, while at the sink rinsing a dish, she used her stockinged foot to rub at an itch just below the knee of her other leg, and before she knew it Jim was behind her massaging the spot with his hands, and once he removed the stockings, his mouth, taking care of the itch on her leg but creating a much more significant tingling to other parts of her body.*
Yowza. I love this.
*“Well thank you, Beth,” he responded to her but the glimmer in his eye was all for Pam. “I got a really special present this year. It was a long time coming but it was well worth the wait.”*
swoon
Loved Pam's disappointment to everyone's reaction to them coming out, I can totally see her feeling that even though on the outside she would appear not to care. I wonder how she would feel if she knew Michael repeatedly forgets they are dating later in the season lol...
Okay thanks a lot, I was having such a good time and then she mentioned the Dwangela breakup and I got all sad. BUT Kelly and Ryan with the drink in his face TOTALLY MADE UP FOR IT.
Author's Response:
Oh thank you - as you know my steam writing is never all that "descriptive" but I tend to feel hinting at what is to come and letting the imagination take over is a lot more provocative. Thanks for validating.
Had a lot of fun with bringing some other couples into the restaurant. They won't be the last.
THANKS for your reviews! Always love to get them.
*Feeling a little relieved, after all her dream proposal didn’t include morning breath and the glasses she’d just put on,*
This made me chuckle because this is basically exactly how I was proposed to, lol
*However, upon returning an hour later the office seemed much the same except for a decorative sign on the door to the conference room that featured a bright pink 30.
Once again, she flashed Jim a questioning look as they neared his desk.
“I warned you Kevin was involved. Guess the Kelevin doesn’t work when you use it to calculate years.”*
Actually LOLed
*But it was only a fleeting thought, one that vanished as soon as she thought about how immature he still was himself. Having a baby would mean she’d be left to take care of a new tiny infant all by herself while also still attending to a very large child.*
You know, I wonder about this sometimes. It's always weird to me that Jam had an unexpected pregnancy after only a year or so, and it never happened with Roy. I always rationalized it that subconsciously breeding with Roy was something she didn't really want to do, or that they didn't have a lot of sex, but I still am not quite sure. Anyway, I really like the idea that she considered it as a way to lock him in, then talked herself out of it. (Also, that accidents are more likely to happen when you're having a ton of sex as Jam obviously were)
Their conversation about kids was so cute, and the brief mentions of Niagara are great nods to what will come.
Author's Response:
Well isn't that something. I'm sure it was romantic and beautiful and had it been Pam's it would have been too.
Mine while while I was folding laundry.
Planning the party was fun - Kevin and Michael really outdid themselves.
Well I have my thoughts on the unplanned pregnancy too - you will see.
Thanks again for reviews that make me smile and think.
