10

This. Is. So. Awesome.

Much as I loved the last few chapters, I was kind of unsettled when the revelation and subsequent discussion happened online. At the time, I thought that that conversation really needed to be face-to-face. But this chapter's convinced me that that was the right way to swing it. This fic has a light tone to it, like the show, and a drunken confrontation would have been out of place.

And I love the idea that Jim is Hercules making reparations! Usually, at this point in a fic you can expect the rest to be kind of a montage of sappy, simple love - the equivalent of running through a field of daisies in slow motion. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just lacks substance, especially plotwise.) But, you've just had the big reveal, and now you're picking up the plot again with an idea that could easily carry an entire fic on its own! It's like two awesome fics in one!

Also, the reparations are a nice middle ground for Pam - she's not completely letting this go like a doormat, but she's also not harping on it, or using it as a stupid excuse to keep them apart. The way she's handling this could actually end up making their relationship stronger.

(Hopefully) Con Crit: I've just read "Distance Learning," and while I liked it, I kind of thought there was a problem with pacing. When Jim and Pam finally get together, they spend chapter after chapter agonizing about how they're about to be separated, and how incredibly much it sucks to be so far apart. It was almost a little humorous to see them agonizing about how little time they have over the course of their impromptu seven-day weekend spent together. I guess what I'm saying is, keep the plot moving; don't spend to long on one period of time or... it's just kind of less special to see them go on romantic dates when there's a bunch of them in a row, you know?

Sorry this was so long, I'm just really excited about this fic, and I'm in literary-analysis mode.