***********************************************************

Pam hung up the phone, smiling. She could hear it in her daughter's voice - Elizabeth was in love.

She couldn't believe her first-born, a grad student no less, was grown up enough to be in love.

"Jim? Where are you?" she called out.

"Living room, babe!"

Jim looked up from his book over the glasses he had recently started wearing. Pam had teased him mercilessly about needing reading glasses but honestly, she thought they made him even more sexy, if that was even possible.

He grinned at her, "What are you smiling about? Did you talk to Beth?"

Pam sank into his lap and rested her arms around his neck.

"Your daughter," she announced, "Is in love! And she's bringing him home this weekend!"

"Really?" Jim squinted at her. "I'll have to get my instruments of torture ready."

"Jim, come on! She's too old for the grilling you used to give her high school boyfriends! She's an adult!"

"No way, Pam. She will always be my little girl. Always!"

"You're so protective of the girls! If Ben brought home a girlfriend you'd be high-fiving him and gawking at her."

"I'd just be happy if he brought one home without a tongue piercing. Or a tattoo. Or both... Anyway, I can still harass Annie's dates, right?"

"Well, duh! I mean, she only brings home those horrid high school boys. Please do!"

"So what's this potential suitor's name?" Jim pulled off his glasses.

"Rob... something."

"Rob. Didn't she have a friend named Rob last year?"

"Same Rob. I guess things progressed from friendship to something more than that."

"Hmmm. Falling in love with a friend. Convenient. Sounds like he's settling."

"Jim!" she punched him lightly on the arm.

He pulled her in for a kiss. "Sounds like a great basis for a relationship. Maybe she is in love..."

"Jim, you be nice to him, okay? Promise me now!"

He looked her in the eyes and grinned, "I promise to try."

Pam sighed and rolled her eyes. "That poor boy has no idea what he's in for..."

******************************************************
Elizabeth and Rob arrived home late on Friday night. Pam was waiting up for them but Jim had been on the road for work the last two days and Pam sent him to bed early.

Her first impression of Rob was favorable - he was handsome, polite, and greeted her with a hug and a bouquet of flowers. Pam winked at Beth over his shoulder.

"Rob, you can stay in Ben's room - he won't be home from college this weekend."

After showing Rob to his room, Elizabeth pulled her mother aside. "I was kinda hoping we could stay in the same room, mom!"

"Well, honey, you know how protective your father can be."

"But mom, we're really serious."

"Well, a couple nights won't matter then, will it?"

Elizabeth knew not to push the subject. Her father was pretty protective of his daughters and she knew her mother was only trying to make things easier for everyone.

Besides, she thought with a sigh, this is the least of the problems that will come up this weekend.

*******************************************************

The next morning, Jim made waffles for breakfast. Poor Rob got them served with butter, syrup, and a side dish of the third degree.

"So tell me about yourself, Rob."

"Well, sir, I'm a senior and I'm studying theater and business. My parents insisted I have a backup in case acting didn't work out."

"So you're younger than Beth?"

"No sir, I took a year off after high school to work and travel."

"And where are you from?"

"Right here in the Scranton area. My family owns a farm."

"Really?"

"Yes, but my parents always had regular office jobs. Farming can be a little unpredictable."

"Like acting..." Jim said pointedly.

Pam thought she saw Rob squirm a bit in his chair but she secretly cheered for him as he recovered quickly. "Hence the business classes."

"Oh right." Jim, seeing he wasn't getting anywhere, dropped that line of questioning. "Shall we clear the table, mother?"

Rob jumped up immediately. "Let me, please."

Pam cornered Jim shortly afterwards in the bedroom.

"Well? What did you think? Good manners, well spoken, sensible kid. He might be good enough for your daughter after all?"

Jim cleared his throat. "Hmmph. We'll see."

Rob and Elizabeth had made reservations for them all to go out to dinner that evening. Once they were seated at the table, Beth convinced her mother to join her in the ladies room.

"Mom, we asked Rob's parents to join us."

"Honey, why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, Rob thought it best that you didn't know."

"Why not?"

"You already know his parents."

"What? His name is Rob Martin. I don't think we know any Martins from Scranton."

"Well, actually, Martin is his mother's name. He took it as a stage name because his father's name is... well, a little strange and hard to pronounce. He's been acting since he was 16 and he just always used that..."

Pam raised her eyebrow at her daughter. "Honey, what is his father's name?"

Elizabeth swallowed hard. "It's, um, Schrute."

Pam blinked slowly, not quite taking it in yet. "Excuse me?"

"Schrute? I think you used to work with his parents at Dunder Mifflin a really long time ago."

Pam clapped a hand to her forehead, leaning against the counter for support. "Oh my goodness. Your father is going to be, um, surprised!"

"I know, mom. That's why I never said too much about Rob even when we were friends. But then we... and I just... I just want dad to like him."

"When did you know who he was?"

"It took a while. I mean you don't really talk about your parents' jobs too much when you first meet. Anyway, it was pretty funny when we finally figured it out." She smiled hopefully at her mother.

Pam grabbed Beth's arm, "I hope your father thinks it's funny."

"Mom, don't tell him, okay? I mean before they get here."

"You want to just... spring that on him? He's not as young as he used to be, honey. Do you want him to have a heart attack?"

"Come on, mom, is it really that big a deal?"

"You must have thought so if you didn't say anything!"

"Well, I mean, all those stories. They can't be true can they?"

Pam was getting exasperated. The stories were true. Every one. "Honey, have you met Rob's parents yet?"

"Ummm, no. But I did talk to his mother a couple of times on the phone."

"Do they know who you are?"

"They don't know my last name. They think Rob and I are just friends."

"Oh dear. Look, we'd better get back. And I don't care what you say, I have to warn your father. Otherwise this could get ugly."

Elizabeth nodded, realizing her mother was right.

They made their way back to the table. Pam's face was ashen and Jim gave her a quick are you okay? look that they had perfected over the years. She shook her head a bit, then putting on her best happy tone said, "Jim, do you want to come with me for a minute?"

He was confused. "Pam, what is it?"

She spoke through clenched teeth. "Jim, I just REALLY need to talk to you about something."

He rose slowly, dropping the napkin on the table. "Sorry, Rob. We'll be right back."

Pam grabbed his hand and literally pulled him toward the rest rooms where she ducked down behind a row of potted palm trees.

"Pam, what on earth has gotten into you?"

"Shhhhhhh! Just shut up and listen for a second! It's Rob!"

"What about him? He's not good enough for YOU now? I can't believe after all your lecturing..."

"JIM! His last name..."

"Martin, yeah, so?"

"Except it's not. His mother's name is Martin. It's a stage name!"

"And? Come on Pam, get to the point!"

"SCHRUTE! It's Schrute!" Jim's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"Angela and Dwight are his parents!"

"No way!" he choked out.

"Yes way! And they're coming here! TONIGHT!"

"Here? When?"

Pam looked up and grabbed Jim's arm, pulling him down to crouch next to her. She couldn't speak for a moment but she pointed wildly from behind the trees towards the front of the restaurant. Sure enough, Angela and Dwight were just entering the front door. Jim and Pam watched in silence as they followed the hostess to their table.

Angela had her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Dwight looked much the same but with grey hair and thicker glasses. Jim and Pam looked at each other and both clapped a hand over their mouths to stifle the fit of laughter that suddenly struck them.

"Oh my god, Halpert, our kid is in love with a Schrute!" Pam gasped between giggles.

"Don't blame me, Beesley, I wanted to send her to an all girls school."

"You wanted to put her in a nunnery!"

"Whatever. So are we gonna hide behind the bushes all night or are we going to be with our daughter and her..."

"...her Schrute?" Pam finished. They both burst into laughter again.

There was a table for two on the other side of the trees serving as their hiding place and they were starting to give Jim and Pam strange looks.

Pam leaned over to Jim, whispering conspiratorially, "All right. We have to pull ourselves together. You sneak into the men's room and I'll go into the women's room and we'll both come out in 30 seconds and we'll walk very casually to the table like we've been in the rest room this whole time!"

"I've got a better idea. I'll grab Dwight's wallet, sneak into the kitchen and, hey, do you think they have Jello in a fine restaurant like this?"

"Jim!" she hissed. "Just go in the men's room and I'll meet you back here."

"Ok. Which signal will you use - flushing twice or the exotic bird calls?"

She smacked him on the arm. "Smart ass."

They walked out of the rest room trying to look respectable. Jim took her arm and guided her to the table. Dwight and Angela appeared to be grilling Beth and didn't even see them approach. After a moment, Jim cleared his throat.

Dwight's head snapped up, followed closely by his wife's. Jim watched Dwight's jaw drop as he realized who was standing there. Angela made a sort of gurgling sound in her throat.

Rob chirped up, "Mom? Dad? I'd like you to meet Elizabeth's parents, the Halperts. I believe you may already know each other?"

The silence was deafening.

Dwight leaned over to Angela and whispered loudly, "Remember on Lost, when they met 'The Others'?"

Pam looked at Jim and rolled her eyes.

Angela narrowed her gaze and gave her son that judgmental look that Jim and Pam were all too familiar with. "You neglected to tell us Elizabeth's last name."

Rob was an actor, but when it came to performing under the pressure of his mother's withering gaze, he faltered. He gulped audibly and tried, "Didn't I, mom? I thought I had mentioned it?"

Almost nailed it, Jim thought, but his voice was just a tad too high. Although this kid does have some pretty good acting skills.

His esteem for Rob crept up a notch. When he realized that he had spent several enjoyable hours with Rob without noticing immediately that there was a bizarre mutation in his gene pool, it went up again.

Dwight piped in. "Question. Jim, how much money do you make now? And how many people do you directly supervise?"

Rob interjected quickly. "Dad! I think there will be plenty of time to catch up with the Halperts. Why don't we all sit down and eat."

"That's a wonderful idea, Rob!" Elizabeth chimed in.

Dwight stood and grasped Jim's hand, pumped it firmly three times, no more, no less, and nodded. He turned to Pam and ran his eyes up and down her body. "Pamela. You're looking well for a woman of your age who has given birth."

Pam bit the inside of her mouth to keep from breaking out into another fit of giggles and said graciously, "Thank you Dwight! You and Angela are looking well also."

Angela looked like she was having trouble biting her tongue, but for the sake of her son, she kept quiet. She allowed the corners of her mouth to lift slightly into something that was supposed to resemble a smile but had more in common with a grimace. She nodded at Pam and Jim.

Just as the silence was beginning to reach an uncomfortable level again, the waiter approached. He was unnaturally cheerful.

"Good evening, folks! My name is Todd and I will be serving you this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

In unison, Pam and Jim blurted out, "I think we need some wine..."

Angela sniffed, "Drinking alcohol is a sign of weak character."

Rob rolled his eyes discreetly at Elizabeth and sighed, "Mom, you know you have a glass of wine now and then. And Dad goes out drinking with his poker buddies every…"

Dwight coughed loudly and quickly interrupted, "Robert, you know I am merely the designated driver at those games."

Pam choked on a giggle as Jim pretended to suddenly be very interested in the menu.

Elizabeth spoke to the waiter, "Why don't you bring us a bottle of cabernet and a bottle of chardonnay to start, thanks."

"Very good."

Angela looked at Elizabeth and said, "You seem to know an awful lot about wine. Are you even old enough to be drinking young lady?"

"As a matter of fact Mrs. Schrute, I'm almost 24 years old, so yes, I am."

Atta girl, Beth, Jim thought, sending a wink to his wife.

"Shall we order some appetizers?" Jim asked. "How about the hot crab dip?"

"Jim, have you forgotten that I am a vegetarian? And Dwight can't eat shellfish."

"Sorry, Angela. Yes, I did forget. It's been a long time since we last broke bread together so my apologies."

Pam was drinking her water and began to cough on it. Jim leaned towards her, "Are you okay, honey?" Pam nodded, afraid she might laugh if she spoke. Or looked at him.

Jim turned back to Angela. "Perhaps you'd like to choose the appetizer?"

"We have dinner rolls. That will be sufficient," she said, closing her menu.

The waiter came back with the wine and made a great show of uncorking it and passed the cork to Dwight for his inspection. Dwight looked at it, shrugged, and placed it in his jacket pocket. The waiter was perplexed but he poured a small bit of wine in a glass for him to taste. Dwight held up the glass impatiently, "Can you fill that up please?" He looked at Jim and Pam. "I mean really, that's barely enough for a sip!"

Jim turned away so as not to laugh and when he caught his daughter's glance, he saw the disbelief in her widened eyes. Jim just smiled and nodded slightly as if to say, "See? I told you so!"

"May I take your dinner orders now?" Todd asked gamely.

"I'll have the swordfish." Elizabeth ventured.

"That sounds good, sweetie. I'll have the same." Pam added.

Jim and Rob ordered steaks and the waiter turned to Dwight.

"Your beef, is it USDA Prime?" he asked, peering over his glasses at Todd.

"Yes sir. It says so on the menu."

"Right. Good answer. Just checking. I'll have the rib eye with béarnaise sauce. But hold the eggs in the sauce. Oh, and the butter"

"Sir, béarnaise sauce is mostly eggs and butter. Perhaps you'd like crumbled blue cheese on it instead?"

Dwight shook his head emphatically. "No, I'm trying to watch my cholesterol."

The waiter was patient, but even he let out a little sigh. "Sir, maybe you would prefer the fish? Or perhaps the chicken?"

Jim piped up, "Dwight I thought you could raise and lower your cholesterol at will?" He glanced at Pam out of the corner of his eye but she was making a concerted effort to look anywhere but at him. He could see her shoulders shake almost imperceptibly.

"Well, Jim, yes of course I can but I try not to do it very often. It becomes more difficult with age."

Jim finally made eye contact with Pam and she made a noise and moved her menu quickly over her mouth.

Dwight turned back to the waiter. "I guess just give me the steak plain, no sauce. Can you deduct the cost of the sauce also?"

"Sir?" The waiter wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

Dwight explained slowly, and yet a tad impatiently, "The steak comes with some sort of topping, yes?" The waiter nodded. "Then I think if I forego the sauce, this saves the restaurant money. Savings that should be passed onto me, the customer."

The waiter started to speak but Jim cut him off. "Dwight, we'll take care of the bill so don't worry about the cost."

Dwight turned back to the waiter. "I've changed my mind. I'll have the surf and turf." He closed his menu with a snap.

Rob turned seventeen shades of red. "Dad, I really think..."

Jim put up his hand, "No, that's fine, Rob. We'll take care of the check. Please have whatever you all want."

Angela was last to order. "I'm a strict vegetarian." she told the waiter curtly, "What can I possibly eat on this menu?"

"Well, ma'am, we have a pasta primavera dish which is quite good. Or the eggplant parmigiana is quite good as well."

"Fine. I'll have the pasta. And a green salad, no dressing."

The waiter left and the silence settled again over the table.

Jim rushed to speak. "So, Rob, how long have you two been seeing each other?"

Immediately he regretted it as Angela added, "Yes, Robert, exactly how long have you been keeping Elizabeth's secret identity from us?"

Rob retorted, "Mom, she doesn't have a secret identity - she's not some sort of superhero."

Dwight corrected him, "It's superheroine, son. And that would be very cool..." he trailed off, clearly in a reverie that involved some sort of caped crusader.

Jim elbowed Pam and she coughed and stomped on his foot under the table. Then he coughed. Elizabeth knew what was going on between her parents and tried hard not to pay attention to them, fearing she would start laughing as well. It was a crazy Halpert family thing and she was used to it.

Angela kept harping on him, "You know what I mean. Why didn't you tell us she was, well, who she was?"

Pam got defensive, "What difference does it make who she is? She's a good girl, smart, and talented!"

"I'm sure she is. It's not my place to judge." Pam rolled her eyes. “I just meant he's known she was a Halpert for some time and has known that we were acquainted previously. Why did he keep it from us? That," she added smugly," is akin to lying."

Rob was flustered. "Mom, I didn't lie to you. I just sort of ‘forgot’ to mention it."

"Robert, are you disrespecting your mother?" Dwight chimed in.

"Dad, this is exactly why I didn't tell you. You're ganging up on me when I haven't even done anything wrong here! I mean, Elizabeth and I are in love and we just want to be happy and have our families get along when we get married..."

"MARRIED?" Pam, Jim, Angela, and Dwight all said at once. Loudly. Everything came to a halt as all the other patrons in the restaurant turned and a hush fell over the room. Then people began to applaud.

Angela jumped to her feet. "Stop clapping! These two are NOT getting married! Go back to your own dinners!"

Sheepishly the other diners returned to their meals.

Pam jumped up and hugged Elizabeth. "Honey, you're getting married? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Well, mom, that's what this dinner was supposed to be for. Dad, I'm sorry Rob didn't ask your permission. He really wanted to but I asked him not to so it could be a surprise."

"Beth, I understand, honey! If this is what you want, we're behind you all the way. Congratulations, son." He shook Rob's hand and hugged his daughter tightly.

Angela poked Dwight in the arm. "Are you just going to let this happen?"

Dwight looked at her, "What am I supposed to do about it, woman? He's a Schrute and he probably enthralled her with his many charms." Angela rolled her eyes. "I mean look at her. She's got good child-bearing hips and it appears as though she'd be quite capable of feeding thirsty Schrute babies..."

Pam's jaw dropped. Jim leaned towards him and said in a low voice, "Listen, Dwight, that's my daughter and you'd better just stop talking, right now."

Elizabeth was horrified but she had inherited the ability to torture people who deserved it. She added, for good measure, "Besides, we don't even know if we want children."

Angela gasped. "Young lady, the whole point of marriage is procreation!"

"Oh my god!" Pam choked out. "You still believe in that crap?"

Angela glared at Pam, "The Bible is not 'crap'!"

"Uh, no, I meant that out of date uptight Christian, anti-feminist stuff. You're a career woman, Angela. How can you believe in that?"

Angela ignored her comment. "Robert, you are not marrying that girl and getting involved in her family of heathens!"

Rob stood up and said quietly, "Yes, mother, I am. So you'd best get used to it."

Angela threw her head back. "Hmmph. Well, I won't be there. Dwight you may take me home now."

He looked up at her stricken, and whined, "But I didn't get to eat my surf and turf yet!"

She gave him a look. He pouted, "Fine. I'll go get the car." He slunk away.

"As for you young man," she pointed at her son, "You do whatever you like but your brother and your cousins will inherit your share of the beet enterprise. You are cut off." She grabbed her purse and stormed off.

Elizabeth turned to Rob. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry!"

Rob smiled wanly. "No, I'm sorry. She didn't mean any of it."

Pam looked at Jim, he looked at Elizabeth, she looked at Rob..

"Yes, she did," they all said at once.

"Jinx!" Elizabeth said weakly. "Oh well, I guess we should eat our dinner." She added as the waiter arrived with a large tray.

"Actually," Jim said arching an eyebrow, "That went better than I expected it would!"

Simultaneously, Pam and Elizabeth threw sugar packets at him as Rob laughed heartily.

Jim raised his wine glass with a grin, "Welcome to the heathen family, son!"

Without Angela’s involvement, the wedding planning actually went very smoothly. Pam couldn't believe how much easier it was as she thought back to dealing with Roy’s mother during her ill-fated first attempt at a wedding. The second time was a piece of cake as she and Jim had a fairly simple ceremony with little planning or parental interference.

Elizabeth had stated emphatically from the beginning of the planning process that she liked the idea of simple, but somehow had gotten more elaborate as time went on. "After all", she kept saying, "I’m only getting married once."

"Easy for her to say," Jim said to Pam one night as they navigated the sea of invoices spread across the bed. "I've got two more kids to marry off!"

"Don't worry, babe," Pam tried to assuage his fears of having to forego retirement in order to afford the expense, "Ben will likely get married skydiving or scuba diving and it’ll only cost us the price of a round of drinks for everyone at a bar afterwards. And Annie keeps telling me she's never getting married because boys are losers."

Jim smiled. "She's my favorite child."

"Jim!" Pam tackled him and pushed him back against the headboard.

"If you're trying to punish me, Pam, you've clearly forgotten how to go about it," he said, eyes twinkling as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

She pretended to try to get away. "I think I have some things to tell Elizabeth about marriage that might change her mind about this whole wedding thing."

Jim clutched his chest. "Ouch! How can you be so cold? Do you know how many girls I had to beat off with a stick while I was waiting for you to get your act together and realize I was your one and only?"

Pam giggled. "Who? The vapid cheerleader? The weird chick from corporate? Yeah, they were really competition for me. Yawn!"

"Oh, Beesley, I thought you would mellow over time but you are still so cruel!" he reached to tickle her. She eluded his hands and was attempting to tickle him back when they heard a knock at the door.

"Mom? Dad? You guys decent?"

Jim smiled and called out, "Barely! You'd better hurry up and come in before your mother tears my clothes off!"

Elizabeth entered the room with trepidation, one hand covering her eyes. "I'd better not see anything that's going to traumatize me. Again!"

"Oh, Beth, there's nothing traumatic about two people who love each other!"

"Whatever, mom. I'll be the judge of what traumatizes me!" she plopped down on the bed next to Pam.

"What's up, sweetie?" Pam reached over and fondly stroked her daughter's hair which had the same unruly quality as her father's.

"I just spoke to Rob. His mother wants to meet with us again. Seems she's had a change of heart and she wants to be at the wedding."

"What happened?"

"I don't know! Rob was sketchy on the details but I think his father talked some sense into her. He didn't want to miss his son's wedding."

"Dwight talked some sense into someone? Hmmm. What's that like?" Jim mused.

"Dad! Come on and be nice now."

"Honey, they're the ones who called us heathens!" Jim winked at Beth.

"Actually, Jim, only Angela called us heathens. Dwight wanted to stay!" Pam added.

"For the free food..." he replied.

"Right, but the important thing is he wanted to stay!"

Elizabeth waved her arms to get their attention. "Okay, parents! Let's focus here. How am I supposed to deal with that woman interfering with the biggest day of my life?"

Pam patted Beth's arm. "Sweetie, she hasn't done anything yet. We'll deal with problems as they arise. Now go get some sleep. You promised me you wouldn't go all bridezilla on us and with 3 weeks to go, now is not the time!"

"I know, mom. You're right. I’m going to get a good night’s rest and I’m not going to think about it now." She hugged her mother and her father. "'Night you guys."

As she closed the door, Pam looked at Jim and said, "Angela is getting involved. What the heck is gonna happen now?"

Jim pondered for a moment and replied, "I can't even imagine. But like you said, we'll deal with it if and when it happens. Anyway I think you're trying to distract me from what was going on when we were so rudely interrupted by our ungrateful offspring!" He lunged across the bed and began tickling her again.

She shrieked with laughter as he pulled her close and said, "Now about all these clothes you have on..."

"Jim! Behave!" but she was pulling him closer too.

He tugged at her shirt and teased her, "Angela is right. Green is kind of whorish. I think you should take it off..."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she heard the laughter coming from their room. But despite trying to block out thoughts of what her parents were probably doing, she still hoped that she and Rob would still be that happy after 30 years together. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, thinking dreamily about her future.

**************************

Angela walked briskly into the reception hall. "I thought we were going to the church?" she looked at her son.

"No, mom, I said we were going to the place where we were having the ceremony."

"So which church are you using?"

Elizabeth and Rob exchanged a look. "Mom, listen to me, we're not having the ceremony in a church. We're getting married here. Outside. In the gardens. You saw the flowers - it's lovely there."

"You're not getting married in a church? That will not do, Robert."

"Well, mom, the wedding is in 11 days so I think it will do," he said wearily.

"Don't take that tone with me, young man! Dwight, tell your son to respect his elders!"

Dwight was eating a sample of the cake Beth had brought from the bakery for them to try. He continued chewing, spraying crumbs from his mouth as he dutifully intoned, "Respect your mother, Rob."

Angela glared at Dwight and snatched the fork from his hand. "He's your son too. Don't you have anything to say? And don't talk with your mouth full!"

Dwight looked at her as he took his time about swallowing the tasty dessert and then smiled. A smudge of frosting spread from his lip across his cheek. "Angela, we've done the best job we can to raise Robert. Now he's a grown man, he wants to get married, we should respect his wishes."

Go dad, Rob smiled to himself. Then braced himself for the fireworks sure to follow. They didn't come.

A tear dripped from Angela's eye. "You're right, Dwight. He's always been a well-behaved boy. We've instilled good values in him. We have to trust that he'll continue to live by those values and maybe even positively influence the heathens - I mean Halperts!" She corrected herself and smiled sweetly at Elizabeth.

Rob started to protest but Beth gently placed a hand on his arm to stop him. She moved towards Angela and said quietly, "Thank you for being so understanding," and she hugged Angela.

Angela looked like a deer caught in headlights with arms stiffly by her side in Elizabeth's embrace. She softened a bit and patted the girl's back once. "There, there dear. You must come from a family of... huggers."

Elizabeth smiled and stepped back. "As a matter if fact, I do! We're a crazy bunch of huggers and heathens, us Halperts are!” She glanced at her watch. “Rob and I are supposed to meet with the coordinator now. Would you and Mr. Schrute like to look around at the gardens? We shouldn't be long."

Rob and Beth searched for the coordinator for several minutes but couldn't find her anywhere. They were passing through the kitchen when they heard peculiar noises coming from a small office. When they opened the door, they were greeted by the sight of Rob's parents sprawled across a desk. Angela appeared to be licking Dwight's face and murmuring something about tasty frosting. Her skirt was hiked up around her waist and.....

Rob quickly shut the door and shot Elizabeth a horrified look. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him away. Giggles were already starting to escape her lips and when she pushed through the door leading outside she erupted into a fit of laughter.

Rob continued staring, slack-jawed, at nothing. Eventually his gaze fell on her and he too started laughing. He picked her up and twirled her around, kissing her, loving her laughter.

When they finally came up for air, he stroked her hair fondly and chuckled, "Well, at least your parents and my parents are still hot for each other after all these years!"

She giggled as she looked deep into his eyes. "That bodes well for us, don't you think?"

"Absolutely!" he agreed and he swept her up into another kiss. "I love you, Beth."

"I love you too, Rob," she sighed softly, her arms draped around his neck. "Hey. Question. Is it too late to elope?"

Immediately his hands moved down to tickle her. She shrieked and ran away, laughing all the while. He had a huge grin on his face as he chased her into the garden yelling after her, "Oh, you are so dead, Halpert!"

******************************************

It was a beautiful wedding, even Angela had to agree. Near the end of the reception, Jim was standing by the bar looking across the room at his daughter and her husband. He shook his head and a tear dripped from his eye, not for the first time that day, as he saw how radiantly happy she was.

Dwight approached him holding a plate from which he was eating his third piece of cake.

Jim nodded at him. "Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How did you do it, man?"

"To what are you referring Jim?"

"What did you say to Angela to get her to change her mind about being here today?"

"Oh, I didn't say anything." Dwight smirked slightly. "I held out on her!"

"Excuse me?"

"I withheld from her. You know," he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby and whispered loudly, "I didn't give her any of the 'Schrute magic'."

Jim’s eyes flew open wide. "WOW! If you're saying what I think you're saying, I definitely did not need to hear that!"

"True story, Jim. She can't go without me for more than a few days so I just outlasted her."

Jim felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Pam standing there. Her face was pale and her mouth was open slightly. Clearly she had caught at least part of their exchange. Dwight shrugged and walked off, happily munching on his cake.

"Jim, did he just say what I.... No, you know what? Never mind!"

"Yeah. Probably best to just let that go, Pam. Although I'm not sure I'll be able to look Angela in the eye. Ever!" 

She giggled and hugged him, facing the dance floor. "She looks really happy, doesn't she?"

He held her, kissing her hair. "Yes, she does. They both do."

"I'm so glad for her but I still can't believe our daughter, out of all the men in the world, fell in love with a Schrute. Do you think this is karma paying you back for all those pranks you pulled on Dwight?"

He raised his eyebrow at her. "I pulled on Dwight? I believe you were involved in a good number of those pranks, Beesley!"

"So this is my fault now?"

"Not totally, but I think you should acknowledge your share of the blame!" he teased her.

"Duly noted." she gave him a quick kiss. "I must confess, I'm glad she's keeping her own name. I just get a shiver when I think of Angela and Elizabeth both being called 'Mrs. Schrute'. Am I being silly, Jim?"

He laughed. "Maybe, but I know what you mean! Especially now that I know Angela can't go more than a few days without..."

She immediately clapped her hand over his mouth. "Ewwwww! Jim! Just stop talking right now!"

He grinned wickedly at her. Just then, the DJ announced the last dance.

He held out his arm. "Shall we, Mrs. Halpert?"

She smiled. "We shall, Mr. Halpert!"

Elizabeth grabbed the microphone and she and Rob stood facing the guests.

“We just wanted to thank you all one last time for coming! Rob and I are so happy and honored you could be with us today. We also want to acknowledge our parents and thank them for being such great role models for us. Thanks Mom and Dad! I love you guys so much.” She choked up and handed the microphone back to Rob, made her way over to Jim and Pam and held them both tightly. Rob followed suit and hugged Dwight and Angela.

The crowd circled around the happy couple as they swayed together for their last dance. Jim held Pam and they both cried a little, one last time, as they watched their baby leave for her honeymoon.

As the party broke up, Angela made her way over to them. She was actually smiling.

“I just wanted to apologize again for my behavior,” she said quietly.

Pam looked at Jim and said, “There’s no need to apologize, Angela. Everything worked out and the kids had a beautiful day!”

“Yes they did. I shouldn’t have judged the child from the sins of the parents.” She said sweetly.

Pam was willing to just let her comment slide when the smile disappeared from Angela’s face and she grew serious. “However, I might have more to say when the grandchildren arrive.”

Before they could ask her what she meant by her comment, Angela turned abruptly on her heel and walked briskly away. She grabbed Dwight, who was happily involved in yet another piece of cake, and left. Dwight waved goodbye as he was swept along in Angela’s wake.

Jim turned to Pam. “Wow! She is really wound up tight!”

Pam couldn’t help but giggle as she whispered in mock horror, “Jim, there’s going to be a whole new generation of Schrutes and we are going to be their grandparents!”

Jim laughed, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! Come on, grandma, let’s go home and get out of these clothes.”

She leaned up and kissed him. “Now that’s the best idea you’ve had all day!”
 

THE END............for now!