AU. What would have happened if Jim wouldn't have gone to Stamford. Set during Casino Night. Reviews are like Pringles: You can't have just one and you always want more!
Ooh, I can't wait to see how you envision this going with Jim staying in Scranton...update soon, please!
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“God, Jim. There’s been an…there was an accident and…Roy came back and he got upset and…God, he shot Della Jim, Roy shot her.” And suddenly Jim’s not even breathing.
Color me intrigued! I'd say you've got me hooked...
And wow, I can't wait to see the fallout of all of this in future chapters! More, please!
Oh man. You've still got me reading, no worries there. But I'm curious as to when Jim and Pam slept together. Was it right before the wedding? And if so, how long has he been with Karen and how long was he gone from Scranton? I assume you'll be telling us all of these details as the story continues, so I guess I'll just say...update soon, please!
Good lord.
Poor, poor Pam. Poor everyone, really.
Yeah, you still got me! Can't wait to see where you are taking us. Update soon, please!
Jim getting to know his daughter via an iPod is ingenious, really! And I didn't think Pam's explanation was confusing at all. Given the info that she had, I would have made the same assumption she did. And to think that assumption took her into a miserable marriage with Roy? How sad.
I'm really digging this, just as I do all your stories. More, please!
I wanted to tell you how much I loved this part: “I just, I know that he won’t want to ever leave this town now. He has too much tying him here, and this isn’t what I wanted out of my life, selling paper in Pennsylvania. I had dreams and I thought he could be a part of the life I always wanted, but I’m afraid I can’t be a part of the life he’s going to want to live.”
Not because I'm a hardcore JAM shipper, but really because I loved that Karen looked at the situation kind of dispassionately, in regard to what she wants, and what Jim is sure to want, and how much compromise is too much? Plus, I can't see Karen staying in Scranton longterm, no matter what universe it is, so this turn of events is very believable to me.
You're a med student and you do all this awesome writing? I'm REALLY impressed. Can't wait for the next chapter!
*sigh*
Just perfect. And I love the dark chocolate ones too...
Adding to favorites. Epilogue, please!
Post The Negotiation (no spoilers).
My attempt at working it all out. This will span ten chapters and will include flashbacks to previous episodes/seasons.
I am really enjoying this story! I like non-crazy Karen, so I'm excited you're going to try to write her more sympathetically.
The four-leaf-clover story was so sweet -- I could really imagine that happening between them at that point in canon.
Looking forward to more...update soon, please!
I'm glad you like it so far - and yes, as much as I enjoy some of the fics with bitchy Karen in them (because they're believable - I mean, she could be anything, based on the blank canvas the writers have presented her as), I like to try to incorporate her perspective. She's not right for Jim, IMO, but man, is she getting a crappy deal (in a way - I'd have been out the door after the Yes Heard Round the World).
Thanks for reviewing; I'll update soon!
Guh. Perfectly reasonable feelings for Jim to have, but still breaks my heart anyway. *sigh*
God, I'm such a one-track-minded shipper sometimes.*hides face*
More, please...
I'm a hypocrite, because I, too, am one-track minded (and I am convinced that these two will be together by season's end.
And I can promise you a happy ending to this one very soon. :o) Thanks for reviewing!
Oooh. Wow. And it all comes back to the four leaf clover. Nicely done.
And you know this -- It was almost like a compulsion, the sudden need she felt to go with this impulse, no matter how much it terrified her to consider the possible consequences. -- was exactly what Jim was feeling on Casino Night.
Can't wait for the next chapter, seriously!
Absolutely, lapdogdesign - thank you! I'm trying to emphasize how much she understands where Jim was that night, what it was like for him...because i think it's an important part of their eventually coming together.
Thank you so much for the review!
Oh wow. (Is that my response to every chapter?) I had stopped watching Ally McBeal by the time RDJr. was on there, so I never thought their innocuous viewing of an old TV show would tie in to their relationship in this way. Go Karen for realizing it, and especially for this line: I don't want to be the girl you have to really...try to feel it for. That is the exact right way to describe how Jim feels about Karen, even though he can't admit it to himself. *hugs Karen AND Jim*
And poor Pam. Here she is, making (what to her is) a huge grand gesture, really putting herself out there -- only to get absolutely no outward reaction from Jim. At least Jim's grand gesture got a reaction from Pam. Pam's attempt to reach out just leaves her further in limbo. Poor girl. *hugs Pam*
Excellent update. Can't wait to see how you envision this situation getting resolved! More, please!
I'd stopped watching it then, too, but I was hearing such good things about his performance that I tuned in and was immediately hooked. He was such a great character. Sigh. (On the re-watch, though, I was thinking that someone needed to smack Ally.)
I'm glad you felt sympathetic for everybody - that's what I was going for!
Thanks for reviewing --
...and things come to a head. Man, the tension! I will be stalking MTT for the next update to this story, that's for sure!
Author's Response: Oh the tension indeed! :o) THanks for reviewing!
Oh man. I never thought I'd see sex between Jim and Pam as something as devastating as this. God, will someone just say SOMETHING? *sigh* I really can't wait to see how you envision them coming back from this and getting some kind of a happier ending (oh, gosh, I hope you envision them working it out!)
Though I loved that sex with Jim included the phrase "She didn't exhale until she'd taken him all in..." :D
Excellent chapter. More, please!
Oddly enough, this fic was borne from the idea of there being this incredible awkwardness after the sex. I usually write it as they both spill their guts, have sex, and it's all wonderful and dreamy. I wanted to explore what it'd be like if they had impulsive sex without figuring things out first, and I though it could be realistic that they'd feel awkward afterward, you know?
Thanks so much for the review!
Oh my god...the ending of this chapter was just so cathartic and wonderful and...gah. Awesome.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Bring on the last chapter. Great job!
"Oh come on...like we haven't been faking it all these years anyway."
Absolutely perfect ending. Brought a grin to my face and everything. Great job on this fic. I'm adding it to my favorites right now. (Kinda surprised it wasn't already there.)
Oh man. This was rough. But I can see him feeling this way -- hopefully subconsciously, because I really don't want Jim to be this harsh in canon. I interpret those same things as kind of a defense mechanism, but I bet subconsciously there is a little enjoyment there.
Who is the stranger? I'm totally wondering...
More, please! (And yes, I had to look up the word 'regicide'. *facepalm*)
Never expcted him to considerf leaving again, but it makes sense. Being in Scranton (but not with Pam) was killing the essence of who Jim is.
Good thing Pam set him straight, though! Can't wait to see how he sorts it all out. More please!
Jim gets fussy and Pam gets fed up.
Spoilers through The Negotiation.
I love all kinds of fanfic. Wild AUs, steamy gapfillers that show what the censors won't let us see in canon, schmoopy happy-ever-afters -- you name it, I love it. But I especially like fics that are so realistic that they feel like a transcript of a future episode. And this fic is one of those.
I feel like things between Jim and Pam are going to have to get a little nastier, a little more blunt, probably more hurtful, for the air to ever really be cleared. (Canon asshat!Jim seems headed in that direction.) You've done a great job of showing that here. This is not surprising because I'm a big fan of your other fics. In fact, I'm off to see if there are any of yours that I've missed.
Great job!
Pam and Jim decide to get it out of their system...Literally. This idea just wouldn't get out of head, especially after all the fight fics, I figure there has to be another way to get rid of the sexual tension- why not actual 'casual' sex. Oh and it's going to really backfire. P.S. This is way fluffier than my usual stuff AND almost finished too. So there's that.
OMG...you MUST update soon. I'm so into this idea -- as deluded as they both are, this should be hysterical and enlightening -- it's kinda scary.
And I love your descriptions of his voices -- stinkbombing woodshop, get Dwight pregnant behind the middle school -- they make me giggle.
More, please!
Ouch. Of course Pam overheard that. And even though everything he says is a) intended to reassure Karen, and b) probably perfectly reasonable (the bit about having built it up in his mind to a point it cannot possibly live up to) and something he BELIEVES -- it would still be crushing for Pam to hear him say that the real Pam is just ordinary and nothing special (certainly the way I'd take it if I were in Pam's shoes.) Especially this bit (to Karen):"You're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me, I mean you're beautiful and brilliant..." implying that Pam ISN'T any of those things.
The fact that WE know (hope) he's completely deluded softens the blow a bit, but still. Poor Pam. *hugs her*
More, please!
Hypercolor t-shirts? LOL! I haven't thought about those in a zillion years.Go you for remembering what they're called.
Man, Jim trying not to react to Pam's (Pam's) rising hemline was incredibly sexy. As was Jim trying to quash the tenderness that appeared after seeing her photographs (including ones of him.) It all adds up to the feeling of inching up the giant hill of a rollercoaster...it feels like we're right at the top where you stop momentarily before plunging into...everything.
Awesome. Can't wait for more!
Oh my god, I think I died when I read this: "I'm not going to lie Pam, I want to fuck you." There's something about the crude/non-flowery language that guys use that flips my switch. Jesus.
In addition -- the flipping on the back, the groping, the whimper(!), were unbelievably hot. *fans self* And that was just from a kiss!
And i forgot to comment in the last chapter about Jim showing up in a suit with wine and flowers. It was so sweet because to me, he was (subconsciously) thinking of the night as more than an appointment to have sex. Or at least that this is a situation Jim doesn't have much/any experience with. Pam either. Reminds me of the line from Pretty Woman - "I appreciate the whole seduction scene you got going here, but I'm a sure thing."
Anyway...excellent chapter. I'll be checking back hourly often for the next one! (And I saw that you changed your rating! Wheee!)
Oh wow. You broke my brain too. GO PAM for laying it all out there -- that she loves Jim, and that he's hers for the night -- really going for it (without a hint of desperation either)...and she even threw a Hellcat in there for good measure. o/ Confident!Sexy!Pam is AWESOME, and your version seems totally in character.
Dumbfounded!Jim is just as exciting to watch...he actually thought sex with Pam would be unremarkable? *giggles at him* Silly, silly boy.
I cannot wait to see how Jim tries to go back to Karen after THIS, because you KNOW he will. I'm almost more excited about the prospect of *that* than the actual smut.
I said almost.
Wow. Seriously, wow. Your speedy updates are my crack. More, please!
OH my god.
Amazing. "...suddenly, they're in one of his fantasies" -- "this moment has given him enough masturbation fodder to last a lifetime" -- yeah, Jim is in waaaay over his head.
CAN/T WAIT for the next chapter. At this point, I need a cigarette, and we haven't gotten to the actual sex yet!
*sigh*
Just perfect.
Loved Jim's description of how his body parts are feeling -- and how now that they all KNOW, that there's no going back.
Very, very well done. Can't wait for the epilogue.
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