Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

“You’re lost.”

“Am not.”

“Hey, that guy looks trustworthy.”

“No.”

“Please, Pam, I’m a guy and I’m begging you to ask for directions.”

“I know how to get there, thank you very much.” Her fingers clenched on the steering wheel, making her knuckles seem to glow white in the darkness of her tiny Yaris.

“Really? Because this is the third time we’ve passed that Kmart so…”

"“I know where I’m going!” she yelled. Jim tensed. He knew how badly she wanted this night to go well. Finally, after years of waiting, he was going to formally meet her parents for the first time. What would normally be a happy occasion was marred by the fact they were not going to her childhood home; they were going to the new house her parents had just purchased. It was smaller and newer, and from what Pam gathered, it looked just like every other house on the block. He knew it was hard for her to go to a place that had never been her home and never would be."

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Just…let’s pull over, okay?”

She refused to look at him, but relented as she let out a frustrated sigh and pulled onto a residential street.

“This isn’t easy. I understand—“

“No, you don’t,” she snapped. “You have the perfect house, with the perfect family, with the dog that likes everyone except me. You have brothers and sisters who love you and nieces and nephews who love you more. You have a tire swing in the front yard and floors that creak even when you try to tiptoe—which I learned the hard way.” Even in her anger, she gave a small laugh at the memory.

“And I used to have that, too. An old house with all these quirks and memories, and now it’s just…gone.” She breathed the last word, and the heartbreaking sight of her head hung low was enough to give Jim the courage to reach out and take her hand.

“It’s true, you don’t live in the house anymore. But you did at one time, since you can remember in fact. Those new people that live there now? They’re going to have to live there for years and years to create the same amount of memories that your family made. And by then, your grandfather will be haunting them…or something,” he smirked at his bizarre attempt at comfort. But it got a genuine smile out of Pam, and she squeezed his hand.

“Thank you. You’re awkward, but thank you.” She winked at him and he felt his whole body relax.

“I’m sorry I snapped,” she whispered. “I’m just…stupid Mapquest.”

“It’s fine. Look, I had a friend who used to live in this area, I’m pretty sure I can get us back on the right road.”

“No, I’m determined to do this,” she clamped her hands on the steering wheel, fiercely looking at the street ahead of her.

“Well, it’s either my way, or the highway and I know how much you hate these interstates.”

Pam looked over at him, eyebrows raised in feigned shock. “Your way or the highway? Planning on getting rid of me?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he laughed, rolling his eyes at his verbal slip up.

“It’s a good thing I—“ she stopped short, and her eyes went wide as the next word lay on her lips, waiting to be spoken.

He waited. He had waited for so long to hear her say what he knew she felt. But if there was one thing Jim knew about her, it was that she needed time. And luckily, he had a lot of patience.

“Love you.” And there it was. Pam bit her lip, like she always did when nervous, and it made him love her even more that she would actually be worried that, after all they’d been through, he wouldn’t reciprocate.

“I love you, too,” he pressed her hand to his lips, a cliché gesture but one that Pam found utterly adorable.

“Alright, Beesly,” he said, stroking her wrist with his thumb. “Let’s hit the road. Which way are you taking us?”

Pam twisted her mouth upward, pretending to heavily weigh her options. After a moment, she smiled and gave a nod of her head.

“Your way.”

It was Friday night, and the first Friday night since they’d started dating that Jim and Pam did not have a date.  Pam had worried (foolishly in Jim’s opinion) that he would get sick of her, and though he ardently protested, she had insisted that they take this particular Friday night to themselves.

He’d never said no to her in the past, but he’d always respected her wishes.  And it was for this reason why Jim found himself alone in his apartment drinking cheap beer and watching the finale of a reality show he had never once watched.  He tried to remember back to his bachelor life, before Pam, and if it had been this pathetic.  Sure there were more parties, more adventures, more mornings where he had a hard time remembering the night before, but in the end, it had been just as meaningless as watching some frat boy win a million dollars just for being on TV.

As the credits rolled, the cordless phone ringing on the coffee table startled Jim, rattling his plate of half-eaten pizza.

“Hello?”

“Halpert.  Turn off the television and come out.”

“Mark, I know you keep hoping I answer differently, but I’m into women.”

“Shut up.  Seriously, Cooper’s, now,” Mark ordered, the noise of the bar crowding his words.

Jim sighed and wondered where his desire to go out went, and more importantly, why he didn’t so much care that it was gone.

“Normally, I would allure you with the promise of inebriated women, but dumb ol’ Pam had to ruin that one,” Mark jeered with amusement.

Jim smirked.  “Sorry, buddy.  Look at it this way, you’ll have a better success rate with me not there.”

“I liked you better when you were single and depressed.”

“Night, Mark.” Jim hung up the phone and lazily grabbed the remote to find something to occupy another hour of his night.  

He was halfway through an episode of "The Crocodile Hunter", lamenting the loss of Steve Irwin when the phone rang again.

“Mark, I don’t care how many drunk girls are with you, I’m not coming.”

“Jim?” It was a small voice, practically whimpering, and he bolted upright at the sound of it.

“Pam? What’s wrong?  Look, what I said, I thought it was Mark, I have no interest in drunk girls—“

“No, it’s fine, I don’t—can you come over?”

Jim smiled.  “Miss me already, huh?”

“Yes, well, no—I mean, I was watching ‘It’ and the power went out and I know it sounds dumb but I can’t be alone right now.”

Jim needed no more convincing.  “I’m on my way.”

xxx

She answered the door clutching the phone in one hand and her large comforter huddled around her in the other.

“Thank you,” Pam whispered, pulling him through her doorway and into a tight embrace.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.  “Believe me, I would have been here sooner, but all those damn stop signs and red-lights…I’m complaining to the city.”

Jim surveyed the room and understood why Pam had been so scared.  The small apartment was completely void of light, except for the one slip of a white beam coming from the streetlamp outside.  

“Don’t you own candles or something?”

“Sorry, I gave up my seduction routine when we started dating.”

“Good to know,” he poked her gently in the ribs.  “Come on, lead the way to a flashlight.”

“It’s in the hall closet,” she said, slipping her hands down his arms to meet his and stepped slowly through the darkness.

The only sound between them for a few minutes was steady breathing and the soft padding of feet on the carpet.  Jim gave her hands reassuring squeezes every few moments, reminding her that he was there and had no intention of leaving.

Then suddenly, he felt a tug at her comforter and realized he had stepped on it as she continued to move.  Pam let out a squeal as she fell to the floor, Jim following closely behind.

They landed next to each other, groaning at the intensity of their fall when Jim began to laugh and soon they were both in hysterics, splayed out on the floor next to each other.

“The blind leading the blind,” Pam mused.

“That’s the best you can come up with?  I’m disappointed in you, Beesly.”

“Hey, I can’t be clever, I’ve sustained a serious head injury,” she said between giggles.  

“Oh, have you?”  Jim’s hands followed her curls upward and began to gently stroke her neck.

Pam let out a content sigh, murmuring “Mhmm.”

“Well you are in luck then.  I majored in How to Treat Serious Head Injuries.”

“I thought it was Public Speaking.”

“I was a double-major,” he inched his face closer to hers, following the sweet puffs of air from her breath.

“Lucky me,” she whispered as his lips finally found hers, ceasing the ache in her head and replacing it with delightful dizziness.

They stayed wrapped in the embrace for what seemed like hours, and as Jim’s eyes adjusted to the light, he could see the soft curves of her face come into focus.  He smiled and couldn’t remember the last time things seemed so clear.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

“This is a terrible movie,” Jim muttered, shaking his head.

“Then why are you turning the volume up,” Pam countered with a laugh.

“Because if Brad Pitt is going to deliver bad lines, I want to hear them.”

In searching for background noise while they played the Game of Life, Jim had stumbled upon “Meet Joe Black” on cable.  Pam tried to reach for the remote, but Jim had shooed her hand away, insisting that he wanted to give it a chance.  They were a little less than an hour into the movie when Jim lost interest.

“So he’s supposed to be the devil?”

“Death.  There’s a difference.”

“And he happens to be trailing the dad of the girl he met in the diner while he was still alive?  That’s convenient.”

“I tried to tell you,” Pam teased in a singsong voice.

“Just spin the wheel, Beesly, you have yet to buy a house.”

Pam rolled her eyes, and spun the flimsy plastic wheel.  She moved her green car, with a pink and blue peg filling the front two seats, five spaces. 

“Yes! Finally!  Deal me the house cards,” she ordered, wiggling her fingers in front of her as she waited to make her choice.

Jim splayed the remaining cards out in front of her, and rolled his eyes as she took serious time to consider which one to pick.

“The cost of living is increasing by the second, Pam.  Let’s pick up the pace.”

“Excuse me for not wanting to get stuck with the split-level disaster like someone I know.”  She waved her hand over the cards once more before carefully taking one.  No sooner had she looked at her choice before she pumped her arms in the air and cheered.

“Yes! Tudor mansion!  In your face!” Pam did a small victory dance while grinning madly.

“First of all, never say ‘in your face’ again.  Second of all, that is completely unfair.”

“And you scoffed at my system,” she pretended to scold.  “Don’t worry, as you can see I have a few dozen guest rooms to spare at Casa de Beesly, and you’re more than welcome anytime.”

“Forget that, I’m just going to move in.”  Jim pretended to pout, but as the joke left his lips, his face lost any sign of amusement.  It was quickly replenished with a flush of red to his cheeks, and he avoided her eyes as he toyed with a loose thread in the carpet.

“Something wrong?”  Pam asked, trying to force the corners of her mouth to stop curling upward.

“Your turn,” he mumbled, still not looking at her.

“No, I just had my turn.  And you shouldn’t be embarrassed.  Who wouldn’t want to stay in this fine piece of architecture?”  Pam held up her card with pride, hoping humor would save the situation.  Instead, Jim got up hastily and moved toward the kitchen.

“Do you want anything?”

“Jim—“ Pam started.

“I’ve got more beer, soda…a hole I can crawl into,” he said through his teeth, sticking his head in the refrigerator, searching for beverages and trying to alleviate the increasing heat rushing to his cheeks.

Pam abandoned the game and leaned against the kitchen counter behind him, arms folded as she surveyed the nervous wreck he had become.

“Talk to me,” she said gently.

He shut the fridge door and grudgingly turned around to face her.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly?” 

“For—I didn’t mean to spring that on you,” he said, resting his head against the freezer.

“Jim, it’s a board game.  I didn’t read anything into it,” Pam said gently, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his forearm.

“I know…and maybe that’s why I got weird.” He looked into her eyes now, searching for any fear or doubt.  Instead he just saw confusion accompanied with the familiar look of love that was always undeniably present whenever Pam looked at him.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyebrows knit together, creating three subtle creases of worry in her forehead.

Jim shook his head.  “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does.  In fact,” she said with a sly grin, slipping her arms around his waist.  “It’s a matter of 'Life' and death.”

“Literally,” Jim joked, nodding toward the abandoned movie and game.

“Come on,” she prodded, rubbing his back in encouragement.

“I don’t want to have a guest room in the Tudor mansion.”

 “Okay…” Pam said slowly, trying to dissect what he was trying to say.

Jim laughed at how ridiculous the conversation had turned.  “What I mean is…I think we should live together.”

Pam’s jaw dropped a bit as she let out a small gasp. 

“Are you—are you serious?”

“Is that okay?” He had a tone to his voice that reminded Pam of a little boy asking for permission.

“I just had no idea that you were even thinking about that,” Pam said in bewilderment. 

Jim noted that she still had not answered his question, but still pressed on.  “I know it probably seems sudden, but to be honest, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile.  It’s just that my place doesn’t feel like home…unless you’re there.”  The blush crept in again as he an almost apologetic smirk accompanied with a shrug.

Pam fought hard to keep the tears forming at bay, but struggled as he looked at her with so much hope and anticipation.

“Oh right, yes!”  Pam laughed and threw her hands up.  “I was saying ‘yes’ so many times in my head I already thought I said it out loud.”  She moved her hands up to cradle the sides of his face.

“Yes.”  She kissed him as a seal to her response and when they broke apart, Jim grinned and spun her around the kitchen.  When they landed, they looked over to the TV, where Joe and the billionaire’s daughter were making “good use” of the chaise lounge by the pool.

Jim’s eyes went wide. 

“Whoa.”

Pam giggled. “I know.”

“So we’re definitely getting one of those chair-couch thingies for our place.”

Pam’s heart fluttered at the thought of their “place.”

“It’s called a ‘chaise lounge’ and where exactly would we put it.”

Jim shrugged.  “By the pool of course.”

“Of course.  You see swimming pools in all the traditional Pennsylvanian homes.”

“Well, it’d be indoor.”

“Did you win the lottery and not tell me?” Pam teased.

Jim laughed but then turned his expression more serious and determined.

“Our house can have whatever you want, if it makes you happy.”

Pam beamed.  “Will it have you?”

“That’s a given,” he returned her smile with one of his own and a small kiss on her nose.

“Then I’ll be happy.”

 

Disclaimer: Not mine in the least.

“I feel fat.”

Pam rolled her eyes, never looking away from the newspaper. “Stop.”

“No, seriously,” Jim said, studying himself in the mirror. “Do these pants make my butt look big?”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“You’re avoiding the question,” he turned around to point at her. “That means ‘yes.’”

Pam closed the paper long enough to glare at him. “When did you become a woman?”

“The same time you became a man who read the sports page on Sunday,” Jim turned back to the mirror, rubbing a hand across his stomach.

“Here,” Pam ruffled through the mess of the newspaper scattered across their bed. “The ‘Health and Fitness’ section. There’s a great article about getting rid of water weight.”

Jim faced her once more, his eyes wide in shock. “Beesly!” He jumped onto the bed, crunching the papers beneath him and bracing his arms against the headboard, hovering over her. “If I develop an eating disorder, it is all your fault.”

She grinned and kissed him. “I’m sorry, I just think you’re being ridiculous. You put on a couple of pounds; it’s no big deal. It’s probably from stress; I mean you sit next to Dwight and Andy. That’s not healthy for anyone.” As he frowned, Pam kissed him again and continued. “Tell you what, that gym on Main is having some ‘two for one’ special on memberships. I’ll go sign us up. We’ll get in shape, it’ll give us something to do together besides fighting with TiVo…”

Jim gave a half-smile. “You would do that?”

“Of course. Plus, it’ll be nice to be able to wrap my arms around you again.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

xxx

They planned to go Monday night after work, despite the inevitable mental exhaustion that comes after eight hours with Michael. However, the large stack of paperwork on Jim’s desk and Dwight pacing nervously around him indicated to Pam that she might be on her own. When 5:00 came and virtually nothing had changed at Jim’s desk, she made her way quietly over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Got enough work there?”

Jim gave a heavy sigh. “Of course we would sign a new client the day we’re supposed to go work out. I’m not sure I’m going to make it tonight.” He frowned and knit his eyebrows in worry. “Forgive me?”

“Of course. Though I’m not sure your shirt will, those buttons look ready to pop.”

He narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “Watch it.”

“See you at home.” She smiled and gave him a quick kiss, waving one last time as she rounded the corner out of the office.

Later, as she changed in the gym’s locker room, she felt a small tap on her shoulder.

“Sorry to bug you, but do you happen to have an extra hair tie?” A young woman with dark wavy hair asked, giving an apologetic smile.

“Oh, sure!” Pam replied, digging through her purse. “Here you go.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Two minutes out on that treadmill and my hair would have frizzed out like you would not believe.”

Pam laughed and pointed to her own curly locks. “Oh believe me, I know.”

“I’m Stephanie,” the woman greeted, extending her tan and well-toned arm.

“I’m Pam, nice to meet you. Oh, sorry,” she said, hearing her cell phone ring. “Just one second.”

“No problem,” Stephanie mouthed, tying the unruly hair up into a high ponytail.

Pam read the caller ID and immediately broke out into a grin.

“Still burning the midnight oil, Halpert?”

“This is hell. My vision is blurring from staring at these forms all day, I’m starving, and Michael might actually kill Dwight. I may have to appear in court.”

“How late do you think you’ll be?” Pam asked, toying with the laces on her running shoes.

“No idea. Don’t wait up for me, okay? At least one of us should get some sleep.”

“Alright, good luck. I love you.”

Even over the phone, Pam knew he was smiling. “I love you, too.”

She flipped the phone closed with a sigh, looking over at Stephanie who was eyeing her with a puzzled expression.

“This is going to sound weird, but that wasn’t Jim Halpert, was it?”

Pam’s heart kicked up a bit. “Umm, yeah. You know him?”

Stephanie began to blush and made steady eye contact with the ground. “Yeah, we used to…I mean, like a long time ago, we sort of dated for a bit.”

“Oh,” Her mouth went dry and it was now her turn to become focused on the tile floor.

“How is he?” Stephanie asked quietly, her face a mixture of nostalgia and a hint of regret.

“Good. He’s good.” The awkward silence surrounded the two women, both nervous and consumed with questions that they knew they couldn’t ask.

“Well, it was really nice meeting you, Pam,” Stephanie finally broke, forcing a small smile. “Say ‘hi’ to Jim for me.”

Pam merely nodded and managed a goodbye as she watched her walk away.

She steadied herself against her locker, wondering how there could still be so much mystery about a man she thought she knew so well.

xxx

Pam was still wide awake when Jim got home at nearly midnight, her run-in with his past at the gym replaying over and over in her mind.

“Hey,” he whispered, kicking off his shoes and collapsing into bed. “You’re still up?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep,” she replied shortly, flinching a bit as he kissed her cheek.

Jim fell back on his pillow, loosening his tie as a yawn escaped his mouth. “What a day. How was the gym?”

Pam let out a tight laugh. “Interesting. Stephanie says ‘hi.’” She could feel his body tense, and after a few moments he cleared his throat.

“Umm, I don’t—“

“Remember her? Tall, dark hair, perfect body, tan, ex-girlfriend. Does that help?” The bitterness escaped Pam’s mouth before she had a chance to stop it.

“Look—“

“How did I not know about her? We tell each other everything, Jim. We’ve talked about past relationships before, why did you never bring her up? Was she some fling? A one-night stand? A notch in your belt?”

“Pam—“

“No, I want to know.” Her voice was getting to an unusually high pitch and her breathing was heavy from the rate at which her heart was beating.

Jim hung his head low, struggling to find the right words to begin. “It was four years ago. We had been together six months, the first real serious relationship I’d ever had. Everything was going in the right direction; her family loved me, my family loved her—“

“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?”

“Let me finish,” Jim soothed. “I loved her. Until I caught her with another guy; my college roommate in fact.” He forced a small laugh. “I’d never seen Danny run so fast. Anyway, it ended and I was a miserable waste of life for a month and two days.”

“A month and two days? I don’t understand…” Pam trailed off, all bitterness and anger gone from her voice.

“A month and two days after we broke up, you started at Dunder-Mifflin” Jim’s hand found hers and he began to stroke her wrist with his thumb. “And I remember when I made you smile that day, after I asked you to lunch, I finally let go of Stephanie. Because not being with her meant that I could try and make you smile like that everyday for the rest of my life.”

It was a moment of clarity for Pam; she had always naively assumed that she was his first heartbreak. She had forgotten that life for him did exist before Dunder Mifflin, before her. She was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt and rolled herself into his arms, burying her head in the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jim rubbed her back, pressing kisses to her temple. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her sooner. No more secrets from now on.”

“Well in that case, I guess I should tell you,” Pam bit her lip and took a deep breath before continuing. “I like you with a little more weight.”

Jim’s eyes sprung open in surprise. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m serious. You looked so skinny when you came back from Stamford, you didn’t look like yourself. This,” she said, running a hand down from his full cheeks to pleasantly round stomach. “This is more like it.”

“So, does this mean no more gym?”

“At least for now,” Pam sighed, her eyelids beginning to grow heavy. “We can always just put another notch in your belt.”

“Uhh, poor choice of words there, Beesly.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

“What…what is it?” 

Jim beamed.  “A slicer.”

“Oh,” Pam said quietly, eyeing the heavy piece of machinery taking up most of her counter space.  “This is…unexpected.”

“I knew you’d be surprised.  This thing is amazing, it has four optional blade settings.  I know how much you like bread, and now you can cut it as thick as you’d like!”

Pam waited for the punch line.  She knew Jim would never actually get her a bread slicer, especially not for an anniversary.  Though they’d been dating over a year now, Jim still insisted on counting months, and they were up to number fifteen.  But by the never-waning smile on his face and the eagerness in his eyes, Pam resigned to the fact that he did in all seriousness buy her this contraption that she never would have bought for herself and would most likely never use.

“Wow, that’s really…generous.  Thank you,” she said, forcing a smile that she hoped so badly looked genuine.

His smile grew bigger as he bent down to kiss her lightly on the cheek.  “You’re welcome.  And thanks again for the watch.  Seriously, it’s great.  I’m going to go get ready for dinner, you should do the same if we want to make our reservation on time.” 

Pam nodded weakly and followed after him, casting a menacing look back at her anniversary gift that looked so out of place next to the teapot beside it.

xxx

“My relationship is dead.”

Miranda Beesly shook her head.  “You’re overreacting.”

“ ‘I know how much you like bread’?  Who says that to their girlfriend of fifteen months?”

“Honey,” Pam’s mother patted her hand patiently, pushing the used sweetener packets on the restaurant table aside.  “This is what happens in relationships.  That initial spontaneous, romantic spark just dims a little bit; it’s normal.  You guys have been together for a while now, and known each other a lot longer.  Frankly, I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.”

“But it’s Jim, you know?  Whatever happened to teapots and puppies and flowers for no reason?”

“Whatever happened to random yogurt lids?” her mother said knowingly.

“That was different,” Pam defended, though deep down she knew she was just as guilty for losing the unusual sentimentality that had defined them for so long.

“It doesn’t mean you’re in a rut, Pam.  It just means that your relationship with Jim is…evolving.”

Pam shuddered at the word and stirred her iced tea absentmindedly.  Their waitress strode up to the table.

“More bread for you ladies?”

“No,” Pam said a little too forcefully.  She caught her mother’s warning eye and corrected herself.  “No, thank you.”


xxx

Still troubled by the gift and its possible meaning, Pam even confided in Angela in the break room one day at work.

“Anglea.  I have this friend…let’s call him Daniel,” she said, using the mutual code they had developed.  “And he bought his girlfriend…Louise…kind of an unusual gift for their anniversary.”

“What kind of gift?”  Angela asked with curiosity.

“Umm…an appliance.  That slices bread.” 

Angela’s eyes widened a bit at Pam’s reply.  “Well that’s…very nice of your friend.  He appreciates a woman’s need to have handy tools in her sanctuary of domesticity. 

“But they’ve been together for a pretty long time and it just seems unlike him.”

Angela merely shrugged and got up from her seat.  “I wouldn’t think much of it.  It’s much like a Ginsu knife to help more efficiently cut certain types of vegetables.”  She threw one more knowing glance at Pam before briskly walking out the door. 

xxx

She awoke one Saturday morning to find both Jim and the culinary eyesore missing.  She found a note in its place that simply read:

Tried to use it earlier but it was broken.  Can you pick it up Joe’s Repair Shop at 11:00? I’ll be at my parents’ helping them install TiVo all day.  Don’t be jealous.

--Me

Pam laughed in spite of her annoyance of now having to spend a beautiful weekend afternoon retrieving the symbol of her relationship rut.

She made her way to Joe’s and found the owner behind the counter, whistling happily as he fiddled with some unidentifiable piece of machinery.

“Excuse me, my boyfriend brought in a bread slicer earlier for repair,” Pam said, embarrassed by the ridiculousness of her words.  “I’m here to pick it up.”

“Oh, right.  He actually came by earlier to get it.  But he said you’d be stopping by and asked me to give you this.”  He handed her a note with Jim’s familiar scrawl on it.

Was in the area and decided to pick it up.  Got a call from Angela and there was an “incident” with Dwight at dojo.  Went to go help.  Meet me there after you get this.

--Me

“Are you kidding me?”  Pam said out loud in frustration, pinching her fingers to her nose as she felt a headache start to edge its way in.

“Everything alright, ma’am?”  The owner asked in concern.

“Oh yeah, just great.  My boyfriend just has no romantic interest in me anymore and apparently he’s never heard of a cell phone to relay messages,” she grumbled, grabbing the note and marching out of the store.

She arrived at the dojo, only to find Angela waiting outside wearing her usual scowl accompanied with a very visible impatience.

“What happened? Is Dwight okay? Where’s Jim?” Pam asked breathlessly.

“Dwight sustained a minor sprain in a very uncomfortable region, but he should be fine.  He’s at home getting rest and Michael called Jim into work.”

“What?”  Pam nearly shouted, not even trying to contain her frustration.  “It’s Saturday!”

“Don’t take that tone with me, it’s not my fault Michael decided to do inventory early,” Angela said defensively.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.  But what are you even still doing here?”

“Jim told me to wait around for you and to give you this,” she said, shoving a piece of paper into Pam’s hands.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some ice packs to pick up.”
As Angela drove away, Pam read with growing irritation the latest in Jim’s messages to her.

Michael apparently equates male bonding with warehouse inventory.  Come save me.
--Me

Pam was torn between her mounting aggravation and her slight worry over why Jim wouldn’t just contact her directly.  Though she was growing tired of the chase he was sending her on, she made her way to Dunder-Mifflin, noticing only Jim’s car in the parking lot.  It was growing dark now, the street lamps casting large shadows over the pavement as she let herself into the building.  She found the office empty and void of light except for the single lamp shining from Jim’s desk.  She was hardly surprised to find a single piece of paper placed on his keyboard.  It was the shortest one so far, yet it sent a rush of excitement through her body as she read:

The roof.

Her breathing quickened as she climbed the narrow fire escape to the roof, the cold wind whipping her hair back from her face as she peeked her head out.  She saw him sitting in a lawn chair, his back towards her as bright white fireworks shot into the sky just over the building.  Pam moved slowly towards him, all exasperation vanishing and replaced with awe and wonderment bubbling inside her.  He kept his focus forward on the field in front of him, only turning to look at her when she finally sat down next to him.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Hi,” she laughed.  “Interesting day, huh?”

“Not as interesting as yours, I bet.”

“What’s going on?”

Jim shrugged and leaned over to pick up two paper plates, covered with two thin napkins. 

“I thought we’d have dinner.”

“Dinner,” Pam repeated.  “And you couldn’t call to tell me this because…”

“Because this way was more fun,” he said, taking the napkins to reveal two identical sandwiches, both cut into diagonal pieces.

“No, seriously, what’s going on.  You’re acting weird.  Dwight-weird, actually, and it’s kind of freaking me out.  So if you don’t mind, I’d really like to be in the loop on --”

“Funny you should mention a loop,” Jim said, resting the plates on the ground and pulling from his pocket a small velvet box that rested in a noticeably shaky hand. 

“It just so happens that I have one right here.  Not sure you can be in it, per se, it’s kind of too small for that…”

“Oh my God,” Pam murmured, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of the Jim getting down on one knee.  His eyes glistened as he took a deep breath and carefully opened the box to reveal a brilliant ring, catching the white light bursting from the sky in its smooth edges.

“I’m not going to pretend that we have a perfect relationship,” Jim began.  “I think it’s about as close as it can get, but we still have our moments.  But I know that we can always fix it, no matter what the problem,” he said, taking the ring out of the box and holding it carefully with his fingers.  “And I also know that we can help each other through anything. Work, family, getting Dwight to believe there’s a beating heart underneath the carpet in the conference room…which we are so doing on Monday, by the way,” he added with a wink.

Pam laughed through the tears that were now free-falling from her eyes.

“And I know, more than anything, that from the moment you walked through that front door on your first day, you saved me.  And I want to spend the rest of my life repaying you for that.”  Pam grinned, her entire body trembling with happiness.

“Will you marry me?” he finally asked.

And as if she’d been waiting for those words, she let out a loud “yes!” and pulled him up into a huge embrace.  The minutes passed by as they held onto each other before Jim finally pulled back long enough to slip the ring onto her finger.

“Did you honestly think that my only gift to you would be a bread slicer?”  he asked with a laugh.

“You are such a jerk,” Pam teased, hitting playfully on the arm.  “So this is what you were doing all day.  Planning all of this,” she said, gesturing to the scene around her.

“Well, I really did help my parents install TiVo.  It wasn’t a total lie.”

“And I’m guessing my Mom and Angela were in on this plan of yours.”

“And Joe,” Jim added.  “For a repairman, he really is quite the romantic.”  He smiled and rubbed the ring with his thumb.  “You like it?”

“I think it’s the best thing since sliced bread,” Pam giggled.

“Wow.  That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Be nice.”

“What’s the fun in that?”

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll still marry you.”

“Deal.”