I am obsessed with this story! You write the tension between them so well! Can’t wait for more

Author's Response: Ah, thank you so much! That's so lovely to hear, I'm really glad :) Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback, I really appreciate it! 

These two are going to be the death of me. Jim being so concerned for Pam and then Pam helping him with his fear of heights. And then their shower “together.” And then when they felt like how they used to out on the balcony. Jim pointing out that Pam didnt say “see you in the morning” has me concerned, I know theyre planning on sneaking out but I hope nothing happens. Ugh. I need 100 more chapters of this at least

Author's Response: Haha, sorry about that - thank you so much! It was very nearly a shower together, lol. My plan on writing this fic was not to make it quite as angsty/painful, but...I'm not sure I've succeeded so far. It was meant to be a fun oil story, whoops. I can promise that I'll try to resolve the 'see you in the morning' relatively quickly though :D Thanks so much for reviewing, I always love reading your feedback! 

Yay! I was happy to see your update and an amazing one!
I don't know where to start, but it was nice to witness Pam and Karen's interaction. I guess Karen already guessed who Pam really was... and Pam's choice of pseudo is lovely :)
Also, I like that girls took everything into their hands. Curious to see what they will find out!
(I can't get rid of the impression that Danny is trying to put Pam into Jim's bed to distract him from the article and California's; that makes him even more disgusting).
Thank you for sharing this story with us!

Author's Response: Ah, thanks so much! :) So I think Karen is astute enough to maybe recognise someone else that's caught up with Danny...and hehe, I am all about the girls taking things into their own hands. (I will also say that Danny's motivations will eventually be revealed). Thanks so much for reviewing, I'm really glad you liked this one! 

You’re back!!!

So it’s nearly midnight here, but I saw that this story was posted and had to write a review.

Firstly, I am glad that Pam decided to go through with her investigation. I think it’s really important that she found out what was going on behind her back or what Danny was shielding her from. I love Karen here, which is rare, but she was so blunt and simultaneously comforting at the same time.

And, of course, she was very informative. Pam needed to hear that Danny is indeed an asshole; I think that the information coming from someone who dated him is really important, especially since he seems to have a track record of treating his SOs poorly. It definitely sucks to hear your fiancé is using you for your land to help his screwed-up boss, but I’m glad she heard it before they tied the knot. I can honestly say now that I don’t think Pam really loves him anymore, or if she does, it’s not showing at all.

Now I’m a little confused as to why she didn’t want to tell Angela what she knew about Danny and instead was very vague, but I’m sure that will be sorted later.

I was happy to see that Pam does want to totally destroy Danny now. It’s good to know that Jim was committed to not writing the story, but I’m glad that Pam wants him to. Time for Danny to receive his comeuppance.

Lastly, I think it’s so cute that Jim would say out loud that Pam flirting with him leaves him helpless. He obviously was just thinking it and then accidentally let it slip, and it’s even better when Pam doesn’t pull away. I’m glad that their story isn’t over yet and that Jim isn’t just leaving.

Sleep deprived,

BlindManCassidy

Author's Response:

Ahh, thank you so much! (And sorry, haha). I'm really glad to hear you liked this one :) And Karen lol - I felt like I owed her a fic where I didn't write her as awful. And yeah, I thought Pam did need to hear from someone else who could relate to what Danny was like.

So the Pam not telling Angela everything was more because she doesn't know 100% at this stage whether Danny is using her - she just suspects. But wants to find out for definite...

Really glad you liked Jim's accidental slip too :D Thanks so much, as ever, for your feedback!   

Hmmmm. I'm wondering when we're going to get a better sense of what Jim thinks Danny and the Californias are up to. I'm very curious now. And I increasingly suspect Bill Beesly was set up. (That was a very nice way to work in Danny not calling her back, by the way.)

Again, I'm struck by Dwight's suspicion here. Obviously we know this is 150% wrong and very much about Dwight and Michael insisting that Jim is following a seduction strategy he's told them repeatedly he's not using... but again, I do appreciate that you're giving Jim a chance to reflect on whether maybe he is in fact a changed man just as Pam starts to consider whether he's changed as much as she thinks.

You just did a lot of really good, subtle work here, especially with how Pam doesn't really realize how much she's been manipulated about the house.

"Jim would say the guy has a pretty good read on her, only he doesn’t mention her sense of humour. He doesn’t once say that she’s funny" is a classic Jam line in any universe.

Looking forward to seeing how Ms. Filippelli gets herself involved in all this...

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the Danny not calling her back mention, hehe. I sort of got that he was doing it to preserve her feelings/avoid awkwardness on the show, but the trying to make someone question their own recollection of something also struck me a bit shitty and manipulative. And yeah, I did write this with the idea that Dwight's suspicion wasn't wholly unfounded based on past experience...even if Jim wasn't fully aware of it at the time. Thanks so much for reviewing!  

Oh my... there're so many moments I adore, and each of them is so powerful that they felt like gunshots. Jim doubting himself? Bam! Pam's dream about a house with a terrace, that almost came true and felt so wrong? Bam! The rain scene? Bam, bam, bam! I'm dead (but in the best possible way!)
Without a doubt, I'm going to re-read this story many times.
And I like how you added those tiny moments to the other layer of the story — the oil one. So many things intertwined here, I'm not even going to try to guess what's going on. Only one thing — is Pam going to meet (talk to) Karen? I'm already thrilled about this interaction :)
Thank you so much for your story (and for the regular updates!)

Author's Response:

Ahaha thanks so much! That's really lovely to read :) And yep - Pam is going to talk to Karen...

 Thank you so much for reviewing! (And sorry lol, realise I've not been as regular with my latest update). I'm so glad you're enjoying it though! 

First thing I'll say is that Jim REALLY needs to pull a good prank on Dwight. Dwight is just overbearing here and needs to be taken down several pegs.

Pam's thoughts continue to roil around. Her thoughts about the house, the terrace, and memories from childhood all seem significant. The sight of her father's land in the ledger is all sort of interesting. Skipping a head a bit, the fact that Robert and Danny are both lying about it doesn't bode well for them from where I sit.

Yet more reasons to dislike Danny here. Not only is he lying to Pam, but he's also lying about her to Jim. I really like that Jim can so easily see through the charming veneer Danny puts on. He says seemingly all the right words about Pam, but with none of the heart of who she is. None of the soul of her character. Once more Pam is an object to be used by Danny, not a person.

Really great use of the storm here. It really feels like this has shaken things up a lot. The crash of the rain and thunder have snapped something in her. She knows Danny isn't right. Clearly she's been angry at Jim since she felt like he's just using her to get a story on Danny. So when Jim says he's not going to write the story, I think that more than anything is the thing that clicks that Jim is really trying to be the person she knew, even if his hands are somewhat tied. The cage she's been trapped in feels like the door has been burst open.

The call to the Chronicle there at the end feels like the first attempt of Pam sticking her head out of the cage. She knows the cage, she's comfortable in the cage. Until now I'm not sure she was aware she was in it. Venturing outside is new, scary, and different. However she is starting to peak out of the bars to explore things for herself and I love that.

Really looking forward to seeing where we go from here.

Author's Response:

Thanks so much! Haha, Dwight does need pranks to keep him normal. My thinking was that, in a job Jim actually likes, and with no Pam to make laugh, he might spend a bit less time pranking... 

I'm really glad you liked the storm! And yes to Pam coming out of her cage :) 

Thank you so much for reviewing, I'm really pleased to hear you're enjoying it! 

I am so hooked!!!

Author's Response: Thank you so much! That's so great to hear :D

This might be the best chapter you’ve ever written, Basscop69.

So, we must start with Jim and Helene - where it all begins. I think I love her the most - she sees Jim as he truly is, that same little boy who loved her daughter way back when. I also feel bad for her - she’s lost everything because of her husband. Friends, family.

Next, we’ve got the two daughters. I’ve always appreciated Penny as a neutral character, but in this story, she seems more replicant of the popularized version of Larissa, which I appreciate more.

I think it’s cute that Pam was so shy to show off her wedding dress, although I can understand her and Jim’s hesitance, after all that went down the day before. And of course it’s not a dress she wanted, but one that was expensive and fancy.

I thought it was adorable how much more invested Jim was in her painted butterflies (awesome story name right there) because *she* was so much more invested in them. And then you’ve got Danny’s hesitance and purchase of paper to draw on instead. News flash, fucko: if she wanted paper, she would’ve gotten paper.

Then, just as things are going alright, we get a call from William and learn he’s refused parole.

This was the scene for me. I mean - it’s just so relatable. Watching these characters break because the father is so stubborn and can’t do what’s right for his family, ruining his relationships with them despite their attempts. I’ve been there.

And, while Danny is god knows where, then there’s Jim, who takes out the fucking cake and frosts it so that these girls can comfort there mother. While Danny is god knows where, Jim is in the kitchen helping Pam frost the cake. While Danny is god knows where, Jim is making his family-in-law and fiancée laugh and smile in this devastating time.

So it’s all the more satisfying to see Jim and Pam finally reach a place of friendship. Pam is genuinely grateful for his help, while Jim is acknowledging the bubble they’re in - they won’t mention Danny or anything that occurred last night because they desperately want to get along again. They want to be kids again.

Which can only bring us to Pam considering her relationship with Danny in comparison to Jim; the ideal, ‘perfect’ man versus Jim. The known versus the unknown. It’s a damn difficult decision, which only makes “ She ends on he loves me not.
She tells herself she's not sure who she means” all the more impactful. On the one hand - she’s not sure if her fiancée loves her or not? On the second hand - she can’t just pursue Jim and give up everything she has for a life she doesn’t know or understand (yet). On the third hand - she’s picking flowers and repeating a childhood rhyme in hopes of rekindling her love for Danny - red flags! On the fourth hand, she’s picking flowers and repeating a childhood rhyme for Jim.

This one hit close to home, Basscop69. Fanfiction at its finest.

Tears in these soulless eyes,

BlindManCassidy

(Accidentally deleted my first review, this ones a bit messier)

Author's Response:

Ahh thank you so much - that's so unbelievably kind of you to say :) I'm really glad you liked this one!

I did enjoy writing Helene and Penny in this, and some of Pam's family dynamics - and yeah, I thought the difference with Penny in this fic is that she knew Jim from before, when she was also growing up, so might be a bit less neutral towards him than she is in canon.  And haha, painted butterflies would be a good story name! ('News flash, fucko' also really made me laugh. Very true though).  

And yes, I wanted to show that it was Jim doing the simple stuff and just being there that made a difference, and matters so much more to Pam than big gestures - so I'm really pleased that came across!

One thing I will say, on Pam's love for Danny...she's never actually said either way whether *she* loves *him*. She's definitely very unsure that he loves her though (/knows that he doesn't, deep down...)  

Thanks so much again for your lovely review :)  

Holy cow tension! And yet at the same time a calmness that balances it so well. The tangle of emotions going through both of them through all of this was a joy to read.

I do like that it's seeing Helene and Penny that causes Jim to drop his guard some more. Especially if he's been missing on close friends and relationships. To get a piece of that back would of course help with that. Yet at the same time he has this feeling of borrowed time. As much as he wishes this could be his life, he knows it's not and you can just feel the ice crushing in around his heart.

Likewise with Pam. She has a fiance who looks at her and by every measure treats her right. But it's Jim who truly sees her. Despite the distance, despite the time apart, it's still Jim that her thoughts linger on. So just as the ice is growing over Jim's heart, it almost feels like the ice around hers is starting to crack. That she can maybe start to see the bars of the cage that surround her life may be painted gold but it's ugly iron underneath. But just maybe there's a whisper of a breeze through the bars calling to her that says she can find a way to free herself.

That she wants Jim to stick around that she reached out to him. Great writing.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! And haha, yes to the holy cow tension.  I did want to give Jim and Pam some time away from the craziness of Robert California's parties / Angela & Dwight to start to properly reconnect, so I'm really glad you enjoyed that.  I am also loving the imagery of Pam in a golden cage with Jim as the breeze calling to her 😍 She is eventually going to work out free herself, lol. Thanks so much for reviewing! :)  

So we're learning more about the accident now - both how big a deal it was, and how it plays into Pam and Danny's relationship. Very interested in where you're going with this, especially with the idea in mind that our boy Danny's not such a great guy.

Danny just keeps smoothly bowling over Pam here, and it's noteworthy that Jim seems to catch every time how unhappy it makes her, maybe even to an extent she's not prepared to admit to herself. A lot of interesting parallels with her very different canon relationship with Roy here, down to the references to Boys and Girls.

I love the way their history plays into this chapter. As always you're doing a wonderful job parceling out the backstory/exposition in a natural way.

Dwangela, and Dwangela's guide to seduction, is fantastic and appropriate and hilarious. As is the fact that Pam does, in fact, more or less blue screen Jim's brain, even before he catches a glimpse of the Pam he used to know.

I appreciate you adding in a little about how Jim feels about using his charms this way... I'm still wondering if this is a Jim who is genuinely farther from himself than he believes he is, although it does seem like he's maybe using his powers for good.

Oh, yeah. They're *definitely* not going to have sex on the trip to the rigs. Jim is right about that. ::eyeroll::

Author's Response:

Ah, thank you so much! That's so lovely to hear :)

Haha, I'm really glad you enjoyed the Dwangela's guide to seduction, I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm just not sure how those methods could fail. Also, I think blue screening Jim's brain might now be my new favourite expression. I will say that I don't think Jim has quite figured that out for himself, on using his charms - but yeah, he's definitely still got principles. But he is also *definitely* definite on the no sex. At all. 😁 

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You gave us a very intriguing window onto Pam's backstory here with the reveal that her father is in prison... looks like The Accident might have been on Bill Beesly.

I'm very interested in seeing how you're going to use Karen here! A Karen as Jim rival and possible past Danny paramour sounds like it has a lot of potential.

You're doing well making Danny's condescension subtle, the kind of thing Pam can take as a judgment on her without making her look spineless, as opposed to Robert's more blatant disrespect for her. You're walking a good line with too-smooth Danny here - although I do appreciate the extent to which Jim can see the moves he's making.

Michael, a newspaper editor, being so blatantly Wrong about the difference between libel and slander is gorgeously Michael.

Author's Response: Thanks so much! I definitely felt like I needed a Karen who was not as awful as she was in my other AU. And there might be a small element of Jim being able to spot Danny's moves here because he can turn the charm on too (even if he's not quite as bad (/good) at it). I'm really glad you enjoyed the Michael, hehe. Thanks for reviewing! :)    

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So yeah that was interesting to say the least. Feels like Pam's still on edge after the elevator encounter when Danny is showing Jim around the offices there. Even more so as the idea of Jim heading out to the rigs surfaces. Nice little bit of foreshadowing with Pam and her trepidation with the rigs. So there was an explosion and now William's in jail as a result? Also skipping ahead a bit here, but Danny was the only one to stand behind him. Slick Danny, real slick. Stand behind a guy (who has oil on his land) it seems other feel are in the wrong, propose to his daughter to double down on the good graces. More reasons for me not to like him.

Dwight is so annoyingly Dwight through all of this. Just charging straight on ahead with little to no tact. Come on Jim take him down a peg or two. Though on the other hand Dwight's Dwightness is also kind of pushing Jim to be a bit more open with Pam so in that regard it's kind of okay. Great writing to bring that out.

Angela pushing Pam to seduce Jim like that was a hoot. Even more that Pam actually went along with it. You could tell she was uncomfortable. You could also tell Jim saw right through it, yet at the same time he's not immune to her either.

End then there at the end the first bits of real honesty from the two of them. Nice to see some, not all but some, of the B.S. stripped away. However they're argument at the end really had the same feeling as the "I'm fine with my choices" fight from canon. Jim questioning her because he knows she's not fine. Pam firing back out of loyalty, pride, and seeming circumstance. Nice way to bring that out.

Also you're rocking it with the updates on this one. Great job in getting a lot of writing out.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! And yes haha, Danny is definitely slick 😏. I'm really glad you enjoyed the Angela/Pam seduction plan, I found that very fun to write. I want more Angela/Pam team-ups basically. And yeah, Dwight is helping Jim in his own special Dwight way. Really pleased you liked the end bit too, I did want them to get there a little bit faster on the honesty this time, lol. Even if not all the way. Thanks so much for reviewing! :)