Jim counted on his fingers the amount of times he’d been in this position. Thankfully, he was able to place them all on one hand, but still, it was edging near to where he’d need to use his second wrinkled hand. He looked around the stark white hospital room and shuddered; he hated it when he had to be here.

“Jim?” his beautiful wife’s voice asked from the doorway, “Are you awake?”

He turned his head towards the door and took in the beauty of his wife. Her hair had long since turned an ashy mix of white and gray, the wrinkles around her eyes showed many worries through the years, and she had laugh lines around her mouth. But despite all that, he was as much in love with her as on the day he married her, if not more.

“Good,” she said as she walked in further, “the kids want to come up, but I told them to let you rest if you were already asleep. You need your rest.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted, his voice still sounding raspy and quiet. “It’s just a little chest cough. I don’t understand why you made me come to the hospital. It would have gone away on its own.”

“So you say,” she said with a chuckle, “but I wasn’t going to take any chances.”

“But it is Christmas, “ he pouted, “who wants to be in the hospital for Christmas?”

“No one,” she said, placing her hand gently on his arm, “but I’m not ready to lose you yet, and neither are the kids. We just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I know that,” he answered, “but I hate not being able to see my own grandkids open their Christmas presents.”

“I know,” she said again, “but please don’t be mad at me, Jim. I really didn’t want you to be here either.”

He nodded as his eyes fell closed, “No, I’m not sleeping again. Not before I have visitors.”

“They can come back,” she suggested, “they won’t mind.”

“Send them up,” he insisted, “I won’t sleep until I’ve seen them.”

“Okay,” she nodded, “I’ll be right back. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he answered a smile brightening his face. “Just get those pesky grandkids of mine up here.”

“Yes sir,” she answered with a mock salute. “Right away.”

James Anthony Halpert looked down at his leathery hands and sighed. It was his eighty-third Christmas and he couldn’t believe he was spending it in the Philadelphia Memorial Hospital.

He pulled out a small leather bound journal from the messenger bag on the table next to his bed and opened it up to the ribbon-marked page. Slowly, he wrote on the top of the page, Thirty thousand, three hundred, and seventy-two. That was how many days he’d been on this planet. It was an odd quirk, he knew that, but counting his days had been something he’d picked up in elementary school, in the fourth grade.

And he’d been doing it ever since.

A large wooden box stored the hundreds of notebooks he’d accumulated over the years, all detailing moments from every day of his long and fruitful life.

It had all started from a simple school assignment and it had turned into a habit he would never outgrow.

He would chronicle every day he lived so his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids would be able to look back and have a portrait of who he was. Yes, maybe his hands didn’t work quite as well as they used to and maybe his eyesight was slowly getting worse, but he had yet to miss a day since that first day of writing, and he wouldn’t break that now. So, he began to write…

He loved mornings at school. That is when they would do their writing and English work, his favorite subject. Nine-year old Jimmy had already figured out what he wanted to do when he grew up: he wanted to write.

Exactly what he wanted to write was still up in the air, but he knew that writing would be the best for him. He’d always been good at putting words together for a while, and knew that the essay sections of quizzes were his best chance at getting a good grade.

The bell rang as everyone took their seats, and Ms. Stiber turned around from the chalkboard to greet the class.

“Does anyone know what this number means?” she asked, and the room grew quiet. Jimmy was nervous. Numbers? Math wasn’t until after lunch; he wasn’t sure why there was a number on the board or why his teacher was asking about it. “Does anyone have a guess?”

Twenty heads turned from side to side to answer their teacher silently, and she grinned in response.

“I didn’t think so,” she said, and grabbed a piece of chalk, “Cassie, how old are you?”

“I’m nine and a half,” the blonde-haired girl in the front answered quickly.

“Do you know how many days old you are?”

“Days old?” Cassie asked, her confusion evident, along with her other classmates.

“Yes, “ Ms. Stiber nodded, “days.”

“Uh…nope.”

“How about you Clint?”

Another head shook no.

Ms. Stiber pointed back to the chalkboard and the number she’d written there before. “Okay, I want someone to read this number aloud for me. Any volunteers?”

A small number of little hands popped up into the air and Ms. Stiber pointed to one in the back of the room, “Kelsey?”

“It says,” Kelsey’s voice started as she peered at the long number, “um…eleven thousand, seven hundred and fifty six.”

“Very good,” Ms. Stiber answered with a smile and a nod, “now, I’m going to ask the class again, does anyone have a guess as to what this number is?”

One single hand raised in the classroom.

“Jessica?”

“How many days old you are, Ms. Stiber?”

“Very good Jessica,” the teacher beamed, “that is exactly right. Now, I know you all are a little confused, but I have a new writing assignment I want you all to start working on this morning. It’s going to be a paper on your life.”

“But we’re not old,” a voice from the back said.

“I know that Tony,” Ms. Stiber answered, “but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start writing about your favorite memories now. When you get to be ‘old’ you’ll want to have these memories.”

Jimmy looked down at his simple notebook and sighed. He started questioning the things he would write about.

“You’ll have through the end of the week to finish your paper, and then we are going to share them with the class. I want you to talk to your parents tonight and figure out how many days old you are as of today, and that will be the opening line to your papers. Any questions?”

The room was silent and Ms. Stiber nodded, “Okay then, class, please get out your English books and turn to page 139, and we are going to start where we left off yesterday…”

A chorus of moans answered the teacher as pages of books started rustling. Jimmy tucked his notebook away, already starting to think of the things he’d fill his paper with.

---

“So,” Larissa Halpert questioned her youngest son later that night, as he sat on a bar stool in the kitchen and she started dinner, “you have to figure out how many days old you are?”

“Yup,” he answered as he shoved another Oreo into his mouth. “And then I have to write about memories I have up until now.”

“That is an interesting assignment Jimmy,” Larissa commented, “I have to finish dinner, but I’d be happy to help you figure it out after. Is that okay?”

“Sure mom,” he answered after polishing off the glass of milk. “But I don’t know what memories to write about…”

“You don’t know what memories to write about?” she asked, “Why not?”

“I dunno,” he answered with a shrug, “what do you think I should write about?”

“This is your assignment James,” she reminded him, “you have to make that decision.” After a quick pause, she spoke again, “Although, you could write about the family vacation we took to the Grand Canyon last year… or how about Misty?”

“Misty is a good one,” Jimmy noted, “she was a great dog.”

“Yes,” Larissa agreed, “she was. You have lots of great stuff you could write about Jimmy, you just have to decide what it is you want to remember.”

“Thanks mom,” Jimmy said and he hopped off the stool and wrapped his arms around his mother’s waist. “I’m going to finish my math homework so I can start the writing assignment after dinner.”

“Good idea,” she agreed, and placed a gentle kiss on top of his head, “would you tell Peter to come here, it’s his night to set the table.”

“Sure,” Jimmy answered and sprinted from the room. After he’d knocked on his older brother’s bedroom door and delivered the message from their mother, he shut himself into his bedroom.

He tapped his Mighty Mouse pencil against his chin and struggled to write something down. He wanted to start writing down all his memories; he wanted to make sure he always remembered.

Four days later he turned his in assignment and that started it all.

Jimmy Halpert

Ms. Stiber’s Fourth Grade Class

March 10, 1987

Three thousand, four hundred, and thirty-seven. That is a lot it seems, but when I was figuring this out with my mom, I realized how small of a number it really is. Her number was a lot bigger. There were so many memories to choose from when I sat down to write this paper and I couldn’t decide where to start. So, I’m going back to the oldest ones.

When I was five, my parents took me and my two older brothers to see the Grand Canyon. My parents rented a big van, and we took two whole weeks to drive out there and back during that summer. It was so cool. I’d never been out of Scranton before that. At least, not anywhere out of Pennsylvania. We camped while we were out there and I got to ride a horse for the first time. It was the coolest thing ever. That place was huge. I remember my oldest brother Tom tried to trick me into jumping off this cliff area, and he got in so much trouble by my dad. That was pretty cool. That is my favorite family vacation so far I think.

Another good memory I have is of my first pet ever. Her name was Misty and she was a golden retriever. My brothers, Pete and Tom, had begged my parents for a long time to get a dog, and they surprised us for Christmas with her three years ago. Pete and Tom were so excited that they were jumping up and down. We had so much fun trying to teach her tricks and taking her for walks. I loved her so much. Two months ago Misty ran away. I was so sad, and so were Pete and Tom. We posted signs all over our neighborhood and on the bulletin board at our church, but she still hasn’t come back. We don’t want another dog because she was so special.

I hope I live to be a hundred thousand days old and do lots of cool stuff in that time. I want to remember everything.

No questions, no hesitation. It is the absolute worst day ever.

A day he isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to forget. No matter how hard he tries. The half a dozen beers he’s already consumed haven’t helped. He’s pretty sure nothing will.

Her words surrounded him, choked him.

“I can’t.”

He still feels like he is drowning. Her scent is still lingering in his nose and he wants nothing more to keep it there, but knows he should forget.

“I’m sorry...if you misinterpreted our friendship.”

He’s more than glad that Mark is gone for the weekend. He can climb into bed and not get out until Monday morning. And he knows that’ll be the soonest he’ll be able to move. He isn’t sure he’ll even want to move then.

“I can’t.”

He shuts his eyes for a brief moment, but she’s there. He closes his eyes and her eyes looking up to him as he brings down his lips to meet hers and her eyes after they kissed are haunting him now. He shakes his head in an attempt to remove the images from his mind, but as soon as he closes his eyes again, she’s there.

His eyes snap open. He can’t see her face now, and so his body starts to relax again. Maybe sleeping isn’t the best idea after all. At least not until he’s pumped himself so full of alcohol that when he finally falls into sleep, it’s dreamless. That is when he’ll think about sleeping.

“You’re still going to marry him?”

“Yeah.”

Her voice echoes in his head and he feels the tear slide slowly down his cheek. He doesn’t bother to wipe it away; another will be in its place after that anyways, so there really isn’t a point to fight it.

He’s emotional. He knows that, and he’s dealt with it. But it makes tonight even harder. It makes him more of a basket case now, and he doesn’t know what he’s going to do now.

He fingers his phone and debates using it. But he isn’t sure if that is wise. His brothers would mock him, his sister wouldn’t know what to do, and his mother would pity him. His father… his father would say ‘I told you so,’ and that is really the last thing he wants to hear.

He decides to pick it up. And after a few shaky breaths, he dials a number he doesn’t want to, but knows even better now than several hours ago that it will be inevitable now. His hands are shaking as he listens to it ring.

“Jim,” Jan’s voice answers, “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you tonight.”

“I know,” Jim agrees, forcing his voice to stay normal, “I hope I’m not calling too late.”

“Not at all,” Jan replies, “it’s barely ten and I’m still on the road. Have you made a decision?”

“I have,” Jim says, taking another deep breath. “I want to take the job in Stamford.”

“Jim that is great!” Jan exclaims, “You’ll be a perfect fit in Stamford with Josh and the group there. I’m glad you’ve decided. How long do you need to move?”

“Not long,” he says hurriedly, “the quicker the better.”

“Well,” Jan says, “I’ll be back in my office first thing in the morning and I can finalize the paperwork. We can have you in Stamford by the end of the week.”

“Thanks Jan,” Jim answers, “Sounds like a plan. I may take a couple days off this week to find a place in Stamford and pack…”

“Are you avoiding something Jim?”

“I’d rather not talk about it Jan,” he says and rubs his hand against the back of his neck. “I just need a break.”

“Take it,” Jan instructs. “I’ll take care of Michael tomorrow.”

“I’m going to have to pack up my desk.”

“Would Pam do it for you? You are friends, right?”

“I’ll do it,” Jim answers, “I’ll go and do it tonight. I’m not in bed yet, obviously.”

“Whichever you’d prefer.” Jan says, “but don’t worry about taking the week off. I’ll let you know when your first day in Stamford will be.”

“Thanks Jan,” Jim thanks her, “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Jan answers, “Bye Jim.”

“Bye Jan.”

He hangs up the phone and takes another deep breath, something he seems to be doing quite frequently now.

After slipping on his tennis shoes and an old college sweatshirt, he grabs his keys and heads for his car. He takes the ten-minute drive to the office, the last time he would, and stands for a second in the parking lot before he feels another tear slip down his cheek again.

Shaking his head determinedly, he grabs his key ring and lets himself into the quiet and dark building. The party must have broken up already, cause the warehouse is eerily silent and he is surprised by it. He didn’t think Michael would have let everyone leave before midnight.

Walking into the office is different now, and he can’t help but envision what transpired hours before.

Kissing her. Something he’d scarcely allowed himself to dream about over the last several years. But yet, tonight he’d kissed her.

And she’d kissed him back. She had. He won’t let himself forget that. It had at first given him hope, until they’d pulled back and the look on her face said otherwise.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Me too.”

HIs heart soared. Until he felt her pushing him away. That is when everything crashed down around him. She was still marrying her fiancé, the words he didn’t want to hear.

He grabs a box from the storage closet and throws the few personal things he has at his desk in the box. There are several mementos that reminded him of Pam—he hadn’t given her everything at Christmas—and for a fleeting second, he almost tosses them all in the garbage.

But he can’t do that. He really doesn’t want to. So he packs those carefully away in the corner of the box and brushes a tear from his eye. He picks up the box and heads toward the door.

He pauses at the door and goes back toward her desk. Running a hand through his hair, he picks up a pen and a piece of paper, and writes a short note.

I’m sorry Pam, for everything. I wish you all the best in your marriage. I just want you to be happy, that is all I’ve ever wanted. I just can’t stay here. I hope you understand. Goodbye Pam.

For a second he considers crumpling the note and walking out without a word, but that doesn’t seem fair to her. He has to make sure she knows that he doesn’t hate her, so he leaves under her keyboard, praying no one else finds it before her.

And with that, he steps out of the office for the last time.

Ten thousand, four hundred and forty one

Casino Night. Parking lot. Red hair, half up, sparkling in the street lamps and the moonlight. A blue tinted dress falling in all the right places. Saying the words I wanted to for so long. A dark office. Her soft words. Kissing her. The taste of her on my lips.

I’ll never forget.

“I can’t.”

Heartbroken.

College was over. He glanced around the now empty dorm room and groaned. His roommate and best friend, Mark, had moved out already, and the last of Jim’s stuff was scattered haphazardly around the cramped dorm. He didn’t have a job yet, which meant he’d be moving back into his parents’ house for now.

That was the last thing he wanted to do.

A shrill ringing interrupted his thoughts and he lunged for the phone.

“Hello?” he breathed into the phone as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

“Hey dork,” a familiar voice answered, and he couldn’t help but have a grin break out on his face, “Mom is wondering where you are.”

“I’m in my dorm,” he answered, “are you guys here already, sis?”

“Yeah,” she answered, “we’re by the library. Mom wanted to make sure she got a good seat.”

“That doesn’t really surprise me, Kara,” Jim answered and shared a quick laugh with his younger sister. “I’ll be down soon, but then I’m going to have to line up.”

“I know,” she said, “Mom is going to take about a million pictures today, just be warned.”

“Thanks,” Jim said with a groan, “I’ll have to make sure Mark doesn’t come anywhere near her today. He’s already skipped out of here though.”

“Good idea,” Kara agreed with a laugh. “See you in a bit?”

“Tell mom to give me five minutes,” Jim assured her, “No longer.”

“You’d better hurry.”

“I will.”

Jim placed the phone back on the receiver and shook his head. He loved talking to his baby sister. He was eight years older than her, but they’d always been close. It was the only thing that made moving home not so horrible. She’d been begging him to teach her to drive for ages, and since she’d be getting her permit this summer, he would finally be able to keep that promise.

His brothers would be missing his graduation, but he didn’t care. He wanted to skip it himself, but his mother wouldn’t have it. He couldn’t believe it, but he was actually jealous of his brothers for not being there.

He sighed and grabbed the tie hanging from the back of his desk chair, quickly tying it around his neck. Shrugging into the coat jacket, he grabbed his wallet and headed out the door.

He knew better than to anger his mother, and she would be furious if he was late.

“Hey man!” a friend from his hall called in greeting to Jim as he headed down the stairs. “You ready for this?”

“You bet,” Jim answered with a curt nod, “See you around Matt.”

“You too Jim,” he answered as Jim kept going down the stairs. He had made friends easy in college, Mark included, and he was known around the building as the prankster. He had pulled pranks on almost everyone in the hall at least once, and he was really starting to develop a gift of it.

It sure made life fun.

“There you are,” his mother called from across the courtyard of his dorm building, “I was starting to think you forgot about us.”

“Of course I haven’t forgot about you,” he answered as he placed a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “I couldn’t forget about you.”

“Well good,” Larissa Halpert smiled, “I want to get some pictures before the ceremony and then some after. Where is Mark?”

“I’m not sure where Mark is,” Jim answered, “he moved out yesterday and I’m not sure when him and Maggie are going to get here.”

“Oh,” Larissa said and paused for a moment. “Well, I want some pictures with him, so make sure he doesn’t disappear after the ceremony.”

“Yes mom,” he answered, sharing a smile with Kara. Then he noticed his father standing off to the side and gave a friendly wave, “Hey dad, didn’t see you over there.”

“Oh, I just let your mom do her thing,” Kevin Halpert said. Larissa groaned at his comment, to which he answered, “Oh honey, I’m just kidding.”

“I gotta get in line, Mom,” Jim interrupted, “Let’s take a couple pictures so I can go, okay?”

Larissa nodded and starting snapping pictures like the photographer she was. He couldn’t remember a time when a camera wasn’t attached to his mom’s arm. It was something the Halpert clan had gotten used to at a young age.

After several pictures and lots of groans Larissa released Jim to get in line with his fellow graduates.

“So Jim,” a guy from his hall greeted, “have you found a job yet?”

“Nope,” he answered embarrassedly, “I’ve sent several resumes out, but really haven’t heard anything. I guess getting a degree in English wasn’t the smartest thing.”

“You’ll find something soon I’m sure,” Greg assured him, “and are you still planning on getting your teaching certificate?”

“That is the plan,” Jim answered with a nod. “Somewhere in the future at least.”

“Good,” Greg answered, “You’d make a good teacher. All right, let’s get this show on the road. I’m ready to be out of here.”

“Me too,” Jim answered, and several people murmured their agreement around them. Jim smiled. College life was really about to be over for good.

He was going to have to be an adult.

It was going to suck.

---

The ceremony was dragging on and on and Jim was ready to just screw it and leave, but he figured that wouldn’t look too good, so he forced himself to stay in his seat.

He was trying his hardest to ignore his mother and the constant clicking of a camera. He shook his head at his mother’s ability to still embarrass him, even as a college graduate. Jim kept his face forward in attempt to block out his family’s craziness.

“Hey,” a guy named Daniel whispered, “Hey Jim.”

“Yeah Danny?”

“I need to talk to you after this is all finally over,” he whispered, “I’ve got something you might be interested in.”

“Okay?”

Daniel turned forward again and Jim furrowed his brow in confusion. He knew Daniel, not great, but he knew him. He didn’t know what Daniel would want to talk to him about.

After what felt like hours later, they were finally throwing their hats into the air and that was it. They were finally done!

Hugs and cheers were emitted from the large graduating class, and Jim said goodbye to the lots of friends he’d made over his four years there. He was surprised with how much he actually going to miss it.

“Hey Jim,” a girl that was in one of his writing classes greeted him, “Are you glad to finally be done with U of P? I know I am!”

“Um,” Jim answered honestly, “I’m not sure. It’s a little daunting, isn’t it Amy? To be thrown into adult life?”

“Yeah a little bit,” she said with a smile, “but I think I’m ready to have a career. I got a job in New York at a magazine, so that is really exciting.”

“Congrats Amy!” Jim exclaimed and hugged her quickly, “That is awesome!”

“What are you going to be doing?”

“Uh,” Jim stammered, “I’m not sure yet actually. I’m still looking.”

“Good luck,” Amy said, “Look me up if you are ever in New York, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Jim nodded, “Same here. Don’t forget us here in little Philadelphia.”

“You couldn’t be forgotten,” Amy flirted, “And I won’t. Talk to you soon.”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded as he watched Amy walk away.

Jim looked around the group and smiled. It was really good to be done. Amy was right, having a career was going to be great. Getting married and settling down with the right girl, it was all going to be worth it.

---

“Just one more Jimmy,” Larissa pleaded, “Get in there, Mark. There it is, the boys.”

“Mom,” Jim begged, “Please. We’ve been taking pictures for ages, and Mark is going to dinner with Maggie and her parents and needs to go. And I’m sure Kara is starving.”

“Yes!” Kara exclaimed in agreement, “Starving! Please, lets go eat!”

“Okay,” Kevin agreed, “Lets go. Wherever you want to go Jim. It’s your day.”

Kara threaded her arm through Jim’s and they started off towards the parking lot and the cars.

“Hey Jim!” he heard Daniel’s voice call from behind him, “Wait up!”

“Daniel,” Jim greeted, “you wanted to talk to me, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, “and I’m headed home this afternoon so I need to talk to you now.”

“No problem,” Jim answered, “Hey Kara will you tell mom and dad I’ll meet them at the restaurant. I won’t be long.”

“Sure,” Kara said and placed a kiss on his cheek. “But hurry up, I really am starving, big brother!”

“Sorry about that Daniel,” Jim turned back to his classmate. “What’s up?”

“I couldn’t help but overhear that you are still looking for a job…”

“Yeah,” Jim answered, “I am. Do you know of something?”

“I do,” Daniel told him, “but it isn’t in Philadelphia, it is in Scranton.”

“Scranton?”

“It’s a fairly small town about two hours away from here...” Daniel started to tell him.

“Oh I know,” Jim interrupted, “I lived there until I was eleven.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Jim answered, “ I was born there. That's weird.”

“I agree with you there,” Danny lauged. “Are you still interested?”

“Uh, yeah. Where is it?”

“My Uncle works in HR for this paper company and they are hiring a salesman.”

“A salesman? For paper?”

“Yeah,” Daniel shrugged, “Sounds kinda boring, I know, but I just thought I’d let you know. I can give you my uncle’s number if you want.”

“You know what,” Jim said, “that would be great. Anything is better than nothing. We’ll see if it works out. Thanks for thinking of me.”

“No problem,” Daniel said with one of those manly pats on the back and handed him a business card. “His name is Toby and the company is called Dunder-Mifflin Paper. From what my uncle says, the boss is a little nuts, but it has full benefits, good pay and vacation time.”

“Thanks Daniel,” Jim told him honestly. “I’ll give him a call in a bit.”

“See you around Jim.”

“Bye Daniel.”

Jim studied the business card in his hand. This wasn’t the job of his dreams, but it was a job. Maybe he’d give ‘Uncle’ Toby a call today.

---

Jim couldn’t believe it was that easy. He pulled up to the restaurant where he was meeting his family and flipped his phone closed. After an odd conference call with Daniel’s uncle Toby and the regional manger, Michael, he practically had the job. All he had to do was come in for an interview that week, sign some papers, and he was in.

He couldn’t believe it was that easy.

“About time big brother,” Kara greeted him when he arrived at the table. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry,” Jim said as he sat down, “Daniel, a friend from my floor, wanted to tell me about a job in an office where his uncle works. So I called and asked about it.”

“And…?” Kevin asked, “Does it sound good?”

“It isn’t my dream job,” Jim answered honestly, “but it has great pay, full benefits, and flexibility. I actually have an interview on Wednesday.”

“Honey that is great!” Larissa cooed. “Where is it?”

“It’s at Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company,” Jim told his family, and watched as confusion spread over their faces.

“I’ve never heard of that company before,” Kevin stated, “is it here in Philadelphia?”

“Uh no,” Jim answered, “that is the only thing. It is in Scranton.”

“Really? Isn't that where grandma and grandpa live?” Kara inquired.

“Yeah,” Larissa answered, “your dad and I meet there. We moved when you were three, Kara, because of your dad's job. I’ve still got a few friends who live there. I thought you were going to move home though Jim.”

“I was,” he said, “but I haven’t been able to find a job here mom. And if I can find a job in Scranton…”

“So, when will you know?”

“Really, I think I’ll know Wednesday. Michael, the regional manager, seemed to think I was hired already and I just need to sign paperwork. I guess I’ll know then. I have to be at the office at ten am on Wednesday. If I get it, I’ll look around that afternoon for a place to live.”

“Sounds good son, “ Kevin told his son, “but do you have the money to put down on a place?”

“I’ve got some in savings, yes,” Jim answered, “not a lot, but some. I’ll just scrimp and save. I’ve been doing fine so far.”

“We’ll help you get settled if you get the job,” Larissa assured him, “we helped Tom and Pete venture out on their own too. Right honey?”

“Of course,” Kevin answered. “Now, let’s eat.”

“I’m going to miss you big brother,” Kara whispered, “but I better be able to come and visit you whenever I want.”

“Sure thing,” he answered back, “and I’ll still promise to help teach you how to drive.”

“Promise.”

“Promise.”

---

Eight thousand, two hundred, and fifty-nine

Another ‘milestone’ in my life happened today. Graduation from college. It’s been crazy. It’s been a crazy four years really. I’ve met some great people and made some lasting friendships. Mark for one, who as my roommate and best friend has been in many of these great little entries, will be someone who I’ll be friends with for a long time.

And that is exciting. I like making those types of friendships.

I’m hoping that someday a friendship like that will develop with that special girl who I’ll grow old with.

I’m a romantic; that I know. Kara makes fun of me for it all the time.

I haven’t been one to believe in fate, but that might have been shaken a little today. A job has been almost dropped into my lap. It’s at a little paper company a few hours away from my parents, but I think I’m ready to venture out. I mean, I grew up there. Weird huh? I was eleven when we moved away. Besides, I actually do have family there still. My grandparents still live in the house where my dad grew up. It may be nice to be near them again.

I go for an interview in a couple days, and I’ll apartment hunt if it looks good.

Maybe being an adult won’t be so bad after all.

Jim pulled his long legs as close to his chest as possible, while at the same time trying to secure the down comforter that Pam had insisted on buying and was now hogging. The chill of the early March air was seeping through the windows of their house, and he silently cursed the loose window.

Pam shifted again in her sleep and the blanket was once again pulled off of Jim’s shivering body. Shaking his head, he flung his legs over the side of the bed and quickly and quietly tip-toed out of the room. The house was silent in the early morning, and Jim debated on whether or not it would be worth it to try and sleep for another hour or just stay up and go for a run.

He flipped on the small TV in the kitchen and tuned it to ESPN as he started a pot of coffee. The ring on his finger sparkled brightly under the light from the TV and a smile broke out on his face, just like every time the ring caught is glance. It had been two years since he’d seen her walk down the aisle towards him, and he wouldn’t change a minute of that for anything.

It easily was the best two years of his life.

He smiled as he tied his gym shoes as he thought about the red-headed beauty that slept just up the stairs from where he was sitting now. He scribbled a quick note, just in case she woke up, and headed out of the back door.

The chill hit his face with an unsurprising jolt as his legs carried him down the driveway and out into the street of their neighborhood. He’d been so nervous when he’d first shown Pam the house he’d bought. She’d been there before of course, but it was different showing it to her as their own.

It had taken a lot of time and energy, but the house was now suited to them, from his old basketball hoop that was screwed back into place in front of the garage, to the art studio Pam spent as much free time as possible in.

It was their home.

Scranton was beautiful at sunrise. It always had been. He glided easily through the streets of their neighborhood on his long legs and let the morning stiffness ease it’s way from his muscles. He took a deep breath of morning air and assured himself that he’d do this more often for himself. It was a good to start the morning off on a positive note.

He turned the corner and headed back towards the house. He wanted to make sure that Pam was settled before he had to leave for work. He knew she was having a hard time to adjusting to bed rest and he was trying to make it as easy as possible.

It had been months of cravings, mood swings, morning sickness, and raging hormones and there wasn't anything he would think about changing.

A grin spread out over his face as he remembered when Pam had broken the news to him.

“I can’t go to lunch with you today,” he told her approaching the reception desk with a frown, “Michael scheduled a sales meeting with the library and I have to go.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a sly grin, “I’ve got some errands to do anyways. Will you be back here before I leave for the day?”

“Not sure,” Jim answered with a groan, “knowing Michael we could be there all afternoon. It’s probably a good thing we took separate cars this morning. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry Jim,” Pam comforted him, “I really don’t mind. Go and do your thing. I’ll see you tonight at home.”

“Love you,” Jim said, jumping slightly over the corner to place a gentle kiss on her lips, “and I’ll see you later.”

“Love you too,” she answered, “and don’t worry about dinner. It’ll be ready when you get home.”

“Okay Jim-bob,” Michael exclaimed enthusiastically, “enough with the kissy-face. It's time to knock the socks off these guys! You ready?”

He nodded solemnly, threw one more desperate look to Pam, and followed Michael out of the office.

It had been a long afternoon, filled with senseless jokes from Michael and feeble attempts to convince the Scranton Public Library that they were the paper company for them. Luckily they had closed the deal,and when he got back to his car, Jim laid his head against his steering wheel in relief. It would mean a substantial commission for him, and it could be even more useful in paying off the mortgage.

His phone chirped in his pocket, and he pulled it out and smiled as he read the text message from Pam.

Hurry home hubby! Dinner is on the table and I’ve got a surprise for you…see you in a few?

He typed a quick response and made the quick fifteen minute drive home. When he pulled up everything seemed normal, as did it when he walked through the front hallway. It wasn’t until he reached the dining room that he started to notice the difference.

Pam had set their normal places at the table, and the aroma of whatever she had made filled his nostrils and made his mouth water, but there was something different. An extra piece of furniture that hadn’t been there that morning.

“I went and got that from my mom’s house as soon as you and Michael left the office today,” Pam’s voice started talking behind him. “My grandfather made it for her when she was pregnant with me.”

“Pam?”

“She promised me that when I was pregnant, it could be mine,” she continued, ignoring his pleading look. “You have no idea how excited she was when I called her today and asked for it.”

“You’re…we’re…us, we are going to have a baby?”

Pam nodded, her smile growing with each passing second, “I know that we had planned on waiting a little longer, but…”

“We’re pregnant?”

Pam nodded again and suddenly he was picking up her and spinning her around in the air, “We’re pregnant!”

“Jim,” Pam scolded with a laugh, “please put me down.”

“Oh my god,” Jim exclaimed and jumped back from her, “did I hurt you? Did I hurt the baby?”

“No, you didn’t hurt us Jim. I’m just a little nauseous. I thought morning sickness was supposed to be just a morning thing, but nope. Not for me. Little Halpert here has had me nauseous for a while now.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before? I had no idea…”

“I wanted to have it confirmed before I told you.”

“Confirmed?”

“I took the at home test on Saturday while you were playing basketball with Mark,” Pam explained with a smile, “and that ‘meeting’ I had yesterday with the school, yeah, it wasn’t a meeting. I was at the doctor's.”

“I would have gone with you if I'd known.”

“I know that silly,” she assured with a peck on his cheek, “but I had my own idea on how to tell you if I was. And this was so worth it.”

“We’re going to be parents.”

“Yup.”

“Michael is not going to be my child’s godparent, I’m just making sure you know that now.”

“So Dwight would be acceptable.”

“Hell no.”

Pam giggled and wrapped her arms around him. He grinned into her hair as he brought one hand around to graze her stomach, this was a perfect moment.

He rounded the corner, and their little house came into view. Both of their cars sat in the driveway, and the bushes that Pam had planted right after they moved in lined the walkway. He smiled as his eyes found the window that housed the nursery Pam had been working on for months.

When he walked through the front door he quickly slipped off his running shoes and was about to take the stairs back up to their room when he heard a crash and a curse coming from the kitchen.

“Pam?”

“Damn it Jim,” Pam was yelling, “where in the hell have you been?”

“I couldn’t sleep and went for a run, are you okay?”

“Does it sound like I’m okay?” she asked, and when he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he just about passed out from the sight of his wife doubled over pain. “I’m in labor Jim. Pick up your jaw, grab my bag from the front closet, and get me to the hospital.”

“Got it,” Jim mumbled in a frenzy and ran up the stairs. He pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed an old sweatshirt. Slipping it over his head, he grabbed his wallet and car keys from his dresser before running back down the stairs, Pam’s hospital bag in hand.

Carefully he helped her into his car, threw the bag in the backseat, and called Toby as he took the winding roads to Scranton Memorial Hospital.

“Nobody from the damn office better show up before I’m ready to see anyone,” Pam said through clenched teeth as the pulled up to the hospital.

“Toby knows not to tell anyone until I’ve called him back,” Jim assured her. "Don’t worry…”

“Shut up Jim and get me a freaking wheel chair!”

Jim nodded silently and grabbed the bag from the backseat as a nurse helped Pam into a wheelchair. About an hour had passed until they were comfortable settled into a room, Pam threatening the nurses with bodily harm if she wasn’t provided the drugs she wanted.

Jim stood by her faithfully, holding her hand and doing whatever she asked to keep her calm and comfortable.

“I should probably call our families,” Jim suggested after about an hour of waiting. "Your mom and sister will want to be here.”

“Yeah,” she nodded during a calm moment between contractions, “and they’ll have to make a bit of a drive. I want your mom and sister here too. Please Jim…”

“Sure thing honey,” Jim agreed and placed a kiss on her forehead before sneaking out into the hallway to make the calls.

“Hello?” Emma, Pam’s sister, greeted after a couple rings.

“Hey Emma, it’s Jim. Pam wanted me to call you…”

“Oh my god,” Emma screeched, “she’s gone into labor hasn’t she? I’ll be right there.”

“Good guess," Jim replied, impressed. "We're in room three thirteen at Scranton Memorial,” he told her, and she screamed with delight again. “I’m calling your mom next…”

“Good,” Emma told him. “Tell her I’m on my way to get her, and we’ll be there as soon as we can. Let us know if anything changes, okay Jim?”

“Yeah,” he nodded even though she couldn’t see him, “see you in a bit.”

His conversation with Annette Beesley was very similar. Lots of squealing and laughing and her promising that she’d be there just as soon as she could. Phone calls were made to the rest of her family, including her dad.

Jim knew he didn’t have to be nervous about having Annette and Dave together, but he still was a little apprehensive. The last time that they were together had been at Emma’s wedding a few months ago. It had been tense, but even through the divorce they had managed to stay friends.

Jim shook his head to clear his thoughts and pulled his phone back out.

“Jimmy,” his mother greeted, and he groaned. “That’s right, sorry. I’m not supposed to call you that anymore, am I?”

“I’m thirty two years old mother,” Jim answered, “I think my childhood nickname should be long retired by now.”

“I’ll try harder,” she promised. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of talking to you this morning?”

“Well,” Jim teased, “I thought you might like to know that your youngest son is about to become a father…”

“WHAT?” Larissa exclaimed, much like Pam’s own mother, “she went into labor? When? How far along is she? Why didn’t you call me sooner? I’m on my way…”

“Mom,” Jim scolded, “calm down. She went into labor this morning, she isn’t very far along, we wanted to get settled before we called any family, and we would like for you and dad to be here…”

“We’re coming,” she answered, “bye.”

Jim let out a strangled laugh as he heard the click of his mother’s phone.

“Jim?” one of the nurses questioned coming up beside him, “Pam is asking for you.”

“Coming,” he answered with a smile and headed back into Pam’s room.

“Did you call everyone?”

“I still need to call my siblings,” Jim told her with a kiss, “but I called your dad too. I hope that is okay…”

“Of course,” Pam nodded before tensing a little. Jim could sense another contraction coming on and grabbed her hand, and when the pain subsided several minutes later, they went right back into their conversation. “I want him here too. He should get to meet his grandchild on its birthday.”

“Okay,” Jim smiled, “good. I’m going to call Kara. She’ll kill me if I don’t call her and let her know.”

“Oh I know,” Pam agreed. “She’s been a great help and I promised she could be here. Are you going to call Pete and Tom too?”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded, “I’ll give them a call in a little awhile. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing better,” Pam assured him. “The contractions are hell, but it’ll be over with soon enough with amazing results.”

“Are you still happy we decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby?”

“Of course,” Pam told him, “I’m glad we don’t know. It makes it more interesting that way…”

“Even though you had to paint the nursery in ‘neutral’ colors?”

“Yes,” Pam rolled her eyes, “even with the nursery painted in neutral colors. I love the Winnie the Pooh theme we went with. I love classic Pooh, I always have”

“I’m glad you’re happy…”

“I am. Jim this day is going to be great. I’m so excited.”

“Me too Pam,” Jim said as he kissed her forehead. “Though, I don’t know if I should say this now, but I’m a little nervous. I mean, we’re going to be parents…”

“You are going to be an amazing dad, Jim. I know it.”

“You think so?”

“No,” Pam told him, “I know so. Now, go call your siblings so you can get back in here. And I want to know when our families are here, got it?”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll be right back. I love you Pam.”

“I love you too Jim,” Pam whispered. “Hurry back.”

---

Jim was pacing around the floor of the delivery room, unable to keep still.

“Jim,” Pam yelled, “you have to calm down. We’re fine, I swear.”

“This seems to be taking a lot longer than it should,” Jim argued, and the doctor chuckled a little. “What doc? It does.”

“I love first time parents,” Pam’s doctor commented and a nurse smiled. “Don’t worry Jim, Pam is right, everything is going fine. Usually the birth of the first child takes longer. Pam is progressing along fine. Why don’t you step out into the hall for a second and calm down. Maybe update the family?”

“Pam?”

“Go Jim,” Pam moaned, “I’ll be fine and someone will come get you if the baby starts coming. My mom is probably freaking out.”

“Sure,” Jim reluctantly agreed and took a deep breath when he stepped into the hall. Kara was right there handing him a lukewarm cup of coffee.

“Here,” she said with a grin, “I thought you might be able to use this if you ever came out.”

“Thanks sis,” he said, and wrapped a arm loose around her shoulder. “Thanks for being here, I know it means a lot to Pam and it means a lot to me too.”

“No problem Jim. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. How is she doing?”

“She seems to being good,” Jim said, “I think I’m more of a mess than she is. I’m freaking out.”

“That is understandable Jim,” Kara assured him, “this is your first time, but hopefully not your last.”

“I can’t think about that yet,” Jim laughed, “we have to get through this one first.”

“Sure,” Kara nodded. “Are you out here to update the family? Mom is going crazy.”

“Yeah,” Jim told her. “Pam wants to make sure that everyone is staying informed. Do you know if Pete or Tom knows?”

“I talked to both of them a little bit ago. Pete was going to get Lindsey when she got out of work and head up here. Tom wasn’t able to get away that minute, but promises he’ll get to see his niece or nephew as soon as he can.”

“No problem,” Jim shrugged, “I wasn’t at the hospital when Anna was born, or Luke for that matter. I get it.”

“Well you have a excuse about not being at the hospital when Luke was born, you were on your honeymoon. Not your fault he came almost a full two weeks early.”

“Jim!” his mother exclaimed, “Is everything okay? Why are you out here?”

“Pam suggested that I come out here and just fill everyone in on what is going on,” Jim told the families, “and I think I was stressing everyone out a little. I’m nervous.”

“No reason to be nervous Jimbo,” his dad laughed. “Worst thing to do is make Pam even more uncomfortable than she already is.”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded, “I’m learning that. She just wanted to let everyone know that she is going good and everything is progressing great.”

“Good,” Annette smiled, “and you should probably get back in there.”

“Certainly, “ Larissa agreed, “we’ll see you again soon. And you’ll be a daddy.”

A huge smile broke out over Jim’s face and he just chuckled. “I will. Crazy.”

Eleven thousand, eight hundred, and fifty-six

I became a father today. To a beautiful, angelic, baby girl. She’s perfect, absolutely perfect. Pam was amazing. I just can’t believe it. It was insane. There were so many emotions going through my body that I wasn’t sure what was happening.

Then she was here.

Marissa Amelia Halpert.

My perfect little girl. She has Pam’s eyes and, unfortunately, my ears. And I’m hoping that her hair is curly like Pam’s, and that she has her artistic talent. Though, I have to say I hope she has my sense of humor. Well, Pam and I really do share a sense of humor, so I guess that is something she can get from both of us.

Pam is resting right now and I’m just watching them both sleep.

There really is nothing like this feeling.

I can’t wait to show her off to the world and watch her grow up and teach her all the amazing things that only a father can teach her.

She’s already got me wrapped around her little finger.

I’m a dad.

Holy crap.

Jimmy Halpert paused in front of his mirror and ran a hand through his messy hair. He looked over his appearance another time and tugged on the hem of his t-shirt. The fact that it was the first day of high school was terrifying to him.

“James!” Larissa’s voice called from down the stairs, “You’re going to be late! Tom is getting ready to leave and you have to go with him and Pete.”

“Coming,” he answered, “I promise.”

“You’ll be taking the bus if you miss them,” she warned, “I have to take Kara to her class so I won’t be able to take you.”

“I know.”

“Okay,” Larissa said. “I’ll see you after school.”

Jimmy didn’t answer, and as he heard the door close he grabbed his book bag and ran downstairs.

“Good god squirt,” Pete groaned, “what took you so long? I promised Emily I’d meet her before the first bell. We’re going to be late.”

“Sorry,” Jimmy apologized quickly and climbed into the backseat of his oldest brother’s car.

He wasn’t overly close to his older brothers, but they still were the type of family that would have each other’s back and stick up for each other. He was glad to have that going into high school.

“You’re going to be fine,” Tom assured him when he noticed Jim wringing his hands together nervously. “Besides, you’ve got the two of us. And no one is going to mess with Pete’s younger brother.”

“Thanks,” Jim muttered, “I appreciate it.”

“No problem little brother,” Pete said with a waive of his hand, “but I’m blaming you if Emily gets mad at me for not meeting her.”

“I can deal with that,” Jimmy shrugged.

When they pulled up to the school, Pete pulled his old car into the student parking lot and they went their separate ways.

Jimmy wandered the halls for a moment of their suburban high school. They lived about ten minutes outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs and lived the typical All-American family life.

“Hey watch it!” an angry voice warned him after a small collision, “stupid freshman.”

“Sorry…”

“Just be more careful next time,” the big guy muttered and put his arm back around the girl at his side and just stalked off.

“Don’t worry about him,” a female voice said beside him as she closed a locker, “he’s just a stuck up football player. Hi, I’m Cassie.”

“I’m Jim,” Jimmy answered, suddenly deciding he was too old to be called ‘Jimmy‘ anymore. It was time to have a more grown-up name.

“Welcome to Kennedy High,” Cassie said with a smile, “so, you’re a freshman?”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded, “what grade are you in?”

“I’m a freshman too,” Cassie said as a pink tint blushed her cheeks, “but my older brother is on the football team here already. Max, the guy that you ran into to, is a jerk. My brother doesn’t get along with him very well.”

“Oh,” Jim said as he adjusted his book bag. “Well, I should probably get to my homeroom. Where are you headed?”

“Ms. Stein,” Cassie told him after a quick look to the schedule in her hand. “You?”

“Mr. Griffin,” Jim answered and kicked his shoe against the floor. He was really hoping he’d have the same class. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Definitely,” Cassie beamed. “Maybe we can bump into each other at lunch?”

“I like that idea,” Jim agreed. “See you later.”

“Bye Jim.”

He watched as she walked away, her blonde hair bouncing behind her, and smiled. It felt good to already have a friend, and couldn’t wait to see what else the day had in store. His nerves felt as if they were finally calming down a bit.

Before he knew it lunchtime was nearing, and he juggled the different books he’d been assigned through his morning classes as he tried to make his way back to his locker. He was hoping that Cassie would be at hers too, and so he was disappointed when she walked up and he wasn’t there.

“Jim,” Pete’s voice asked behind him, “you doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded as he turned around, “I’m just starving now. Ready for lunch.”

“You can come and sit with me and my friends if you want,” Pete offered and Jim thanked him. “Seriously, it won’t matter.”

“Eh,” Jim paused and scanned the hallway for Cassie’s blonde hair, “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

“Whatever,” Pete said with a grin, “if you want to, you can. My usual table is over by the art wing. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks Pete,” Jim said genuinely, “I really appreciate it.”

“That is what brothers are for, right?” Pete asked with a shrug and turned and walked away.

“I didn’t know Pete Halpert was your older brother,” Cassie’s voice stated from behind him, and he turned around, surprised. “I guess that’s because we didn’t exchange last names earlier. He’s a friend of my brother.”

“Really?”

“Uh yeah,” Cassie giggled, “you still wanna have lunch?”

“Sure,” Jim answered, trying not to sound overeager. He didn’t know enough about Cassie to form any kind of crush yet. “Lead the way.”

“Sweet,” Cassie said and smiled up at him. “I’ve got some friends who were supposed to be saving us seats at a table not too far. Let’s go.”

Jim nodded and followed closely behind Cassie in the crowded hallway and into the lunchroom. He was anxious to meet some of Cassie’s friends. He hoped that they weren’t too weird. He chewed on his bottom lip, a nervous habit he’d picked up as a toddler.

“Hey guys,” Cassie greeted a table where two other girls and another guy were already sitting, “this is Jim.”

“Hi,” Jim offered as confidently as he could with a wave.

“Hey man,” the guy greeted, “good to see Cassie introducing another guy to our group, I’ve been outnumbered way too long.”

“Oh please Nick,” the girl with shiny black hair chided, “you wouldn’t be outnumbered if you knew how to make friends.”

“Leave him alone Kim,” Cassie groaned as she rolled her eyes. “Sorry Jim. They get like that sometimes.”

“No problem,” Jim shrugged, “and I’m happy to help you out Nick.”

“Great,” he said with a laugh, “so, do you like baseball?”

“No sports talk,” the other girl interrupted. “That isn’t allowed here.”

“But…”

“Nope,” she said again, “sorry Nick. But you know that I hate it.”

“I’m not fond out if either,” the girl named Kim said, and Cassie agreed.

“Fine,” Nick pouted, “later then Jim, okay?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “for sure.”

“Oh,” Cassie exclaimed suddenly, “I’m a horrible friend. I totally didn’t properly introduce you to everyone. Sorry Jim, this is Kim, Nick, and Kendall. We’ve all known each other since we were in diapers.”

“It helped that our mothers all went to the same birthing class,” the redheaded Kendall commented with a soft laugh. “I guess it made them bond. We had endless play dates as kids and we’ve been close ever since.”

“Yeah,” Nick agreed, “it’s a little weird to have my best friends be girls, but hey, it works.”

“You’re just glad you have friends,” Kim teased. “So Jim, what middle school did you go to?”

“Uh,” Jim stammered, “I went to Hendricks.”

“The private school?” Kendall asked.

“Yeah,” Jim answered, “my parents applied for me to go there like the second they knew we were moving to this area. And for some reason they let me in.”

“Wow,” Nick stammered shoving a fist full of fries into his mouth, “so why are you in public school now?”

“I didn’t want to go to private school anymore,” Jim answered with a shrug. “My brothers would go on and on about this school and I just felt like I should go here too.”

“Were your parents cool with that?”

“Not at first,” Jim told them, “but they warmed up to the idea. Pete and Tom really helped there.”

“Wait,” Kendall interrupted, “your brothers are Pete and Tom Halpert?”

“Yeah, is that a bad thing?”

“Nope,” Kim stated, “it’s a good thing. A very good thing. Your brothers are like royalty here. The basketball team would be lost without them. Can you play too?”

“They taught me everything I know,” he shrugged. “I’m okay I guess.”

“Are you trying out for the team?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“You should,” Cassie encouraged, “if you play anything like your brothers, you won’t have a problem getting on the team at all.”

“Thanks,” he said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll think about it.”

“Totally,” Nick agreed, “and if you want me and some guys meet down at the basketball court at the rec center on Saturday mornings. We’re always looking for more players.”

“That sounds good,” Jim nodded, “I’ll think about it for sure.”

“Great,” Nick cheered, “we need good players. But you’re going to be on my team, just saying…”

“I thought we had agreed to no sports talk,” Kendall scolded, her blue eyes shining from behind her glasses. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah boys,” Kim added, “has anyone had Algebra yet?”

“You really want to talk about school Kim?” Cassie asked. “Do we have to?”

“Nope,” Kim sighed, “anyone got anything?”

“We’re pathetic,” Kendall groaned, “oh my god, Cassie, did you see Jackson McGree in homeroom this morning? He looked good…”

“No boy talk!” Nick cried. “No.”

“But…”

“Nope,” Nick insisted, “come on Jim, back me up here. Please!”

Jim shrugged, “I’m sorry, but I have to agree with Nick here. Why don’t we talk about movies or something…”

“Speaking of movies, there is going to be a showing of The Shining in the park on Friday night,” Kim piped up. “You guys wanna go?”

“The Shining? Really Kim? You know I hate scary movies,” Kendall protested, “can’t we just watch a movie at your house Cassie?”

“Oh come on Kendi,” Kim groaned, “it’ll be fun. And there will be tons of people there?”

“In the park?” Jim asked, “where?”

“There’s a park that near the rec center where they set up a big screen one Friday a month, well, during the warmer months, and you can go and watch movies. It’s free, unless you want to buy some snacks from the concession stand,” Nick explained. “We try to go to all of them. Lots of kids come out for it.”

“Oh,” Jim muttered, “I never knew that.”

“How long have you been living in Overbrook?” Kendall asked, popping another grape into her mouth.

“We moved here right before I turned twelve, so I guess about two years.”

“And you spend most of your time with Hendricks,” Cassie stated simply and Jim nodded.

“I didn’t know anyone else,” Jim shrugged, “so yeah. And I focused a lot on my grades and school.”

“Don’t worry Jim,” Cassie said smiling, “we’ll get you a social life. But you have to come with us to movie night at the rec.”

“Sounds like fun,” Jim answered. “Sorry Kendall.”

“It’s okay,” she sighed, “can’t win them all.”

There were a chorus of laughs from around the table and the conversation started turning to other things. Jim had to admit, it was a pretty good first day of high school.

Five Thousand, Four Hundred, and Sixteen.

So high school isn’t the scariest thing around. I actually had fun and my classes aren’t that bad. Actually I think they are pretty easy, but I guess that is from taking all those ‘advanced’ classes last year. My Algebra teacher is actually thinking about bumping me up to the next higher class. We’ll see.

But I met some really cool people today. It was really easy to become friends. Nick Anderson for instance, him and I are going to be cool. He loves baseball too and even goes to Phillies games with his grandpa. His grandpa has season tickets or something. Anyways… lunch was fun with him and Cassie Jenkins, Kendall Peters, and Kim Canteen. Cassie is actually the first person I met; she’s pretty cool. Kendall and Kim are awesome too. I mean really, they were all great.

I can see myself really being friends with them, like good friends.

Which is good. I need to make some good friends. I really don’t have too many of those.

Pete and Tom were great too. As much as older brothers can be, at least. They really are good brothers. I’m lucky to have them.

The bright rays of sunlight came intruding into the room and assaulted his eyelids, prying them open. It took him a few minutes to remember exactly where he was and why he was there. He turned his head, out of the brown hair that was spilling over him, and focused his eyes to the clock that sat on the nightstand. It was still early—early enough that he knew better than to wake Karen—so he carefully and skillfully removed himself from the bed without disturbing her and stepped out onto the balcony. The sun was coming between the tall skyscrapers that made up the New York skyline and Jim lifted his head to breath in the city air.

It smelled like smoke and trash, and Jim wrinkled his brow in disgust. He wasn’t sure that New York held the fascination to him as it did to Karen. She been talking all week about moving to New York, moving away from Scranton, and he’d smiled and nodded, and played right along with it. Now he was starting to doubt his desire for this job.

Their night in the city had been fun; he couldn’t deny that. Sneaking into Spamalot and going to dinner in the little restaurant across from Central Park was perfect. Their hotel was beautiful; it had been what he thought he wanted.

But then in his dreams he saw her face. It had been the same scene playing over and over in his head since Michael’s beach day and he couldn’t forget it. He still wasn’t sure what it meant. She said she missed having fun with him, missed his friendship and wished he’d ‘come back.’ That was all well and good, but it didn’t mean she loved him.

And that is why he was hours away in a hotel room with a different woman, getting ready to interview for a job he was sure he could get. This is what he needed to do. Karen was right, it was time for him to move on, and he would never do that in Scranton, not sitting a few feet away from her every day. Karen was right; they would never work there. Maybe away from Scranton they could.

He supposed that trying would be good. Karen deserved that at least.

“Jim?” her voice was groggy with sleep as she called to him, “Are you here?”

“On the balcony,” he answered, and a few seconds later she was stepping out into the warm New York air with him. His dress shirt from yesterday was the only thing she had on and it fell loosely around her shoulders.

“Morning,” Karen drawled as wrapped her arms around his waist, “do you wanna order up room service for breakfast, or get dressed and have it down at that cute little bakery around the corner?”

“Let’s go to the bakery,” Jim suggested, “I’m just going to jump in the shower real quick.”

“Why don’t I join you?” Karen suggested with a tone that made him uncomfortable.

“I’ll be quick,” Jim said as he sidestepped around her and headed into the room, “it’ll be better that way, okay? Will you put on a pot of coffee on though? I know its horrible quality, but I’m going to need the caffeine.”

“Sure,” Karen mumbled as he closed the door to the bathroom. He knew it wasn’t the way she was hoping to start the morning, but there was too much rolling around in his brain to let that distract him.

It wasn’t until nine that they finally left their hotel room and headed out into the city for the day.

“I’m so glad we decided to stay here an extra night,” Karen chattered happily as they walked towards the corner bakery. “Maybe we can actually go to a full show tonight.”

“Sounds good,” Jim agreed with a smile, “I wonder if Michael’s already at corporate?”

“Probably,” Karen laughed. “Can you believe he drove all the way here yesterday, on the wrong day? That is so like him…”

“I know,” Jim commented and started picking at the pastry in front of him, “only he would do that.”

“I’m just wondering if Wallace is serious about him being a candidate for the job,” Karen muttered, and Jim raised an eyebrow at her in question. “What?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Jim, come on. It’s Michael…”

“He’s a little unorthodox, sure, but he’s got a good heart and he is good at sales.”

“Michael may be good at sales, Jim,” Karen argued, “but he is not good at being a manager or leading people. He would do horrible in this job.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Are you seriously defending him?”

“I guess I am.”

“Jim…”

“Karen…”

A strained silence fell over them as she picked at her fruit and he took a sip of coffee. He hated fighting with her; she was a good person and he cared about her. But he also knew that he didn’t feel the same way she did.

She hadn’t been afraid to say “I love you” to him, however, he hadn’t said it back. He knew that it disappointed her when he didn’t, but he wouldn’t lie to her that way. He couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t fall in love with Karen.

“I’m sorry Jim,” Karen apologized softly, “I know Michael is your friend…”

“We’re not friends, exactly.”

“Right,” Karen smirked, “I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. Will you forgive me?”

Jim nodded, and Karen smiled fully and linked her fingers through his. They sat for a few more minutes in silence before they moved to get up.

“We really should be going,” Karen informed him. “My interview is at eleven, so…”

“Yeah,” Jim agreed quickly, “wouldn’t want you to be late. Are you ready Filipelli?”

“Oh yeah,” she grinned, “and I’m ready to kick your ass.”

“Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck.”

“You sure about that?”

“Completely.”

“Well I guess we’ll see about that,” Jim teased and Karen gently smacked him on the arm. She grinned as she grabbed her purse from the back of her chair.

Her hand automatically reached for his and his wound fingers into hers. It felt stiff and strange, and Jim wasn’t sure why. He wanted to make it work; it wasn’t fair to Karen if he didn’t give it his all.

“Do you want to hail a cab?” Karen asked him, pulling him from his thoughts, “or do you want to walk. It isn’t too far.”

“Uh, cab. For sure.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Karen gushed, “I hate walking in heels.”

Jim pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as he stuck his hand up for a cab. Karen squeezed his hand and smiled up at him lovingly. He would grow to love this woman, he would.

---

Sitting in the lobby of Dunder Mifflin corporate was a surreal experience. Karen was busy studying the newspaper next to him—the business section he thought—while he haphazardly browsed the Sports section and observed Michael. Jim knew Michael wanted the job, and that he felt like he had it already, and Jim was concerned what would happen if he didn’t get it.

He knew Karen thought his interview was a joke, but Jim thought a little more of David Wallace than that. Michael was unorthodox and out there sometimes, but he had a good heart and wanted the company to succeed. Jim didn’t think that David wouldn’t interview him if they weren’t considering for the job. Even if they weren't convinced he was right for the job.

“Michael,” Grace, the receptionist, called, “David is ready for you now.”

“Thanks Grace,” Michael answered enthusiastically. “Okay kids, here goes nothing.”

“Good luck Michael,” Jim told him, and Michael nodded.

“Don’t need luck Jimbo,” Michael answered, “but thanks.”

Karen hadn’t looked up from her newspaper during the interaction, but Jim knew she was trying to keep her smile from showing. She was mocking Michael and he was really put off by it.

“Man,” Karen whispered loudly about twenty minutes after Michael left, “I’m dying. I think I need some caffeine. Want to go and grab a cup of coffee with me?”

“Um,” Jim paused, “maybe…”

“Karen,” Grace interrupted them, “David is ready to see you now.”

“Oh great! I guess I’ll have to take a rain check on that coffee huh? Wish me luck?”

“Good luck,” Jim answered automatically and felt her hand squeeze his quickly. The office fell back into a calming silence as he waited for Karen’s interview to be done and his to start.

Time seemed to be slowing down as he read the same sentence in the magazine he’d switched to about fifteen minutes after Karen had went in, and he was ready to get back out into the warm spring sunshine.

“What do you need David?” he heard Grace’s voice ask and he strained to hear her quiet conversation. “Of course, I’ll have security right there… Jason, hi it’s Grace. There is an issue in David’s office with Jan Levinson. Yes, if you could send a couple guys up… thanks Jason.”

“Is everything okay?” he had to ask.

“I’m sure it will all be fine,” Grace explained, “it just seems Jan was made aware of her impending job loss and has taken it awfully hard. Just sit tight, everything will be worked out in a bit.”

Jim nodded and focused his eyes back to the words on the page, even if he wasn’t sure exactly what he was reading.

Then it all happened so fast.

Jan was still yelling as the hallway door opened and two security guards escorted her out. Karen took a tentative seat next to him and they watched as Michael came into view. It was all starting to make sense. The job they were interviewing for was Jan’s, something he and Karen had already known, but Michael hadn’t.

And he’d been the one to spill the beans.

He heard as David told Michael they wouldn’t be hiring him, Michael instantly withdrew his name from consideration, and David, gracious as he is, let it go. Jim shook his head in disbelief and stared at Michael as he left the hallway.

“Wow,” Karen breathed, “that was some serious... hardcore... self-destruction.”

Jim had to agree, “Yeah. Kinda feel bad for her though.”

“Don’t,” Karen insisted, “she’s nuts.”

They shared a laugh and Jim glanced at his watch. It was now past noon. “Oh, man,” he started, “You know what? This might take a while. You really don't have to stay, if you don't want.”

“Okay, good,” Karen agreed with a grin, “because, um, a bunch of my friends are meeting downtown for lunch. And, I was gonna meet them, so...”

“Okay.”

“Just call me when you're done.”

“Sure.”

“Good luck Halpert.”

“Thank you,” Jim answered, and then it was just he and Grace in the spacious lobby. Her voice caught him off guard.

“Dunder-Mifflin this is Grace.”

It was so simple and yet so many memories where released in that simple five word statement. He, however, was picturing a pale-skinned girl with long auburn hair and a totally different name. He hated that something so simple could make him think of her so easily. He was here to escape her and that didn’t even seem possible. He didn’t know what he was going to do if this idea of moving away didn’t work.

“We won't have a future in Scranton. There's one too many people there.”

Karen’s voice echoed in his head. He knew that she was right. If he was going to build a life with Karen, then getting out of Scranton was his only option.

“Jim,” David Wallace’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “I’m ready for you now. Sorry about that little, explosion, it wasn’t how the ordeal was supposed to be handled.”

“With Michael involved, that doesn’t surprise me,” Jim answered, and the CFO let out a small chuckle. “So, have you been keeping up with the Sixers? If you haven't noticed they've been playing pretty well lately.”

“I don't know how I feel about hiring a Sixers fan,” David teased back a little and Jim started to relax. It was an easy conversation to have.

Then everything was turned upside down on him.

“Uh, oh, hey, do you have your quarterly numbers?” David asked. Jim nodded, pulling the folder from his shoulder bag. Karen had taken care of getting their sales reports together, and she’d been adamant that everything was perfect.

That is probably why he was shell-shocked when her note fell into his lap, the gold yogurt lid medal shining back at him. Everything came rushing back in one quick sweep:

“Jim, they refer to it as Flonkerton.”

“Hum.”

“In English, box of paper snowshoe racing.”

“Fair enough, but I like Flonkerton.”

That had been a crazy great day. One that he thought would show her just how right they could be together. But she’d gone home with Roy, just like normal, and he’d went home alone.

This was not how he had expected the day to turn out, and now David was asking him a question, and so he forced himself to focus.

“How do you think you function here in New York?”

“What's that? Oh, uh, great. You know? I just um, I really appreciate the buildings, and uh, the people, and um, there's just a energy... New York has, uh... Not to mention, they have places that are open past eight. So that's a... bonus.”

Jim was relieved when David laughed and he took a deep breath to calm down his now racing heart. He needed to focus on the CFO in front of him and the interview.

“You've been in the Scranton branch a long time,” David started again. “What have you liked most about that place?”

Jim’s eyes once again focused on the note in his hand. Pam’s neat print placed on there perfectly. And she was wishing him luck. It almost felt as if she was letting him go.

He didn’t know how he felt about that.

“The friendships,” he heard himself answer.

“Okay,” David said with a nod, and paused for several seconds. “Well, we want the person who takes this position to be here for the long haul. So... long haul. Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

“Uh,” Jim stumbled over the obvious answer as a million and a half thoughts rolled through his head. “Well…”

“You okay Jim?”

Jim nodded his head, “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry David, I completely spaced there for a moment.”

“No problem,” David assured him. “So…ten years?”

“To be completely honest David, the only thing I can say for sure about where I see myself in ten years is…” Jim paused, “married. I know that may sound crazy, but there is this girl…”

“Karen is very lucky,” David nodded, and Jim winced, “or not?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Jim answered honestly, “but it isn’t Karen. I’m sorry to waste your time with this David.”

“It isn’t a waste Jim,” David said. “You have to understand you are a front runner for this job. I was very excited to hear you were interested in it. Right now it is just between you and another candidate.”

“I’m honored David,” Jim replied and shook his head in disbelief, “and I can’t believe I’m doing this, but…”

“What is it Jim?” David asked, leaning forward on his desk.

“I can’t take this job,” he answered honestly and rushed. “My future isn’t here in the city. At least, not yet.”

“Well,” David sighed, “I’m sorry to hear that Jim, really. I probably shouldn’t say this now, but I was planning on offering you the position.”

“Wow,” Jim rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “and I really am honored David, and if things were different, I’d be here in a heartbeat. But…”

“Things are different,” David finished for him. “Go on Jim, get out of here. Do what you need to do.”

“Thanks David,” Jim told him genuinely. “I’ll see you around I’m sure.”

“You bet Jim,” David stood and offered his hand and Jim shook it. “Have a good drive back home.”

“Home,” Jim said with a deep breath. “Sounds good.”

David didn’t say anything else as Jim quickly exited the office and made a quick trip down the stairs. He needed to work off some of the anxiety that was building up in his muscles. There was a fountain not too far from the front entrance of the Dunder Mifflin corporate office and Jim sat down with his head in his hands.

He fished his phone out from his bag and pressed the number three to activate his speed dial. It wasn’t long until Karen’s voice filled his ears.

“Hey Halpert,” she greeted much to cheerfully. “Your interview done already? Did he let you down easily?”

“Um, Karen,” he answered, “we need to talk.”

“Jim,” Karen questioned, “what is going on with you? Is this about your interview?”

“Kinda,” he answered. “Do you think you could meet me by that fountain in the courtyard across from the corporate office?”

“Uh sure,” she answered. “I’m only about ten minutes away. I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks Karen,” Jim nodded even though she couldn’t see him, and with that he hung up the phone. He returned to his original position, head hanging, until he heard the clip-clap of Karen’s heels on the pavement stop in front of him.

“So Jim,” she started briskly, “what’s up?”

He couldn’t look up at her as he answered, “David offered me the job.”

“Wow,” Karen exclaimed. “Jim, that is awesome! I knew you would get it. So, when will you start? Are they providing you an apartment in the city? I wonder if they have anything open for me or if I should start looking around for something else…”

“I didn’t take it.” Jim whispered, and Karen stopped in her tracks.

“What?”

“I turned it down, Karen.”

“But…why?”

“I’m so sorry,” he started, “but…”

“This is about her, isn’t it?”

The venom that dripped from her voice as she spit the question out made Jim wince. This was quickly spiraling out of control and was fully aware of how ugly this could become.

“Are you going to answer me?”

“Karen,” he started, and then paused. Taking a deep breath, he started again, “You are an amazing woman, and I’ve had so much fun getting to know you. But…”

Karen didn’t interrupt him when he paused again, and Jim was forced to finish his thought.

“I’m not right for you. This,” he said, motioning around him to the city, “isn’t for me. I like the comfort of Scranton and the pizza place I’ve been going to for years. I like the familiarity of knowing the check out girl in the grocery and running into friends randomly at the movies. I’m not cut out for big city life.”

“You could be if you really wanted to be, Jim. If you weren’t being held back by…something.”

“I’m sorry Karen,” he started again, “I know that may not sound like much right now. But…I can’t do this anymore.”

“So you are just going to go running back to her now, aren’t you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Cut the crap Jim,” she hissed. “I at least deserve some honesty.”

“I know,” he agreed, “ you deserve a lot better than what I can give you. And in all honestly, I have to see what could develop with…”

“Please don’t say her name right now,” Karen requested, and Jim could swear he saw tears in her eyes as he nodded. “Um, I’m going to, uh stay here… in the city, for a few days. I’ve got the weekend to sort some stuff out…”

“Karen,” Jim said as he reached out to comfort her, “I really am sorry.”

“I have to go,” Karen answered abruptly, “just leave my stuff at the hotel. I’ll come and get it later.”

Jim nodded and watched as Karen stepped back away from him again, and walked off towards the street.

---

He was trying his hardest not to speed too quickly down the highway. He was still trying to figure out what his next step was going to be. Rushing into the office and sweeping Pam off her feet didn’t seem possible; there was too much history and too much to talk about to rush into something too quickly.

His phone vibrated against the plastic of his cup holder and he grabbed it quickly. He activated the blue tooth device that Karen had insisted he get and said hello before he could check the caller ID.

“Hey little brother,” Pete greeted him, “how did the interview go?”

“Um,” Jim paused, “It went pretty good. Until I told the CFO I didn’t want the job.”

“I’m sorry Jim,” Pete said much more calmly than Jim had anticipated, “you did what?”

“I told David I couldn’t take the job,” Jim answered, “that I didn’t think it was what I wanted right now.”

“I doubt Karen was very happy about that.”

“Well…”

“You ended it with her,” Pete stated, “didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t love her Pete. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to love her. Not like…”

“Not like you love Pam,” Pete finished for him. “Is that it?”

“Don’t judge me big brother,” Jim protested. “She loves me too, I know she does.”

“She’s got a crappy way of showing it…”

“I can’t hear this right now,” Jim argued. “I know you and Tom think I’m crazy. But I don’t care. I’ve got to follow my heart Pete. I’ve got to try.”

“But what has she done to show you she cares?”

“There was the beach.”

“And you told us that you didn’t think it really meant anything.”

“I was lying. It meant something, I just didn’t know what to do with it.”

“And suddenly you do now?”

“She hid a note in my reports today,” Jim said much quieter, “something simple and completely Pam, and I just know. I don’t expect you to understand…”

“Well you’re certainly right about that,” Pete assured him, “but I do want you to be happy. And if you think that Pam is really the one…”

“She is.”

“Then I’ll support you. Tom too, you know that.”

“Yeah.”

“Kara will be thrilled,” Pete commented off-handedly, “she never liked Karen.”

“She never met Karen.”

“She still didn’t like her.”

“Kara has always adored my stories of Pam,” Jim agreed with his brother. “Maybe before long you’ll be meeting her.”

“She better not hurt you again…”

“She won’t.”

“I’m just saying,” Pete reiterated himself, “she better not. Gotta go Jimmy, Camille just got home. Talk to you soon?”

“Yeah, “ Jim assured his brother, “I’ll call you tomorrow if I can.”

“Be careful.”

“I will,” Jim answered quickly. “Bye.”

Jim threw his phone on the passenger seat of his car and ran his hand through his hair. He knew that Pete was trying to be helpful, but his older brother’s help was more aggravating than anything else. He didn’t want the doubts that Pete had voiced to be rolling around in his head right now.

Because he knew that the note could have meant anything. It could have been a simple, good-bye and good luck. And he couldn’t let himself doubt his decision now.

He was only thirty minutes outside of Scranton and he glanced down at his radio clock. It was only four o’clock, and he knew that he’d be cutting it close, but he could get to the office before she left.

He had to.

When he pulled into the Scranton Business Park parking lot twenty minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw her little Yaris parked in its normal spot. He pulled up next to it and shut off his car. Laying his head against the steering wheel, he took several deep breaths to calm his nerves and slow the pounding of his heart. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to say or do, he just had to do something.

Finally mustering up enough courage to get out of his car, he slung his bag over his shoulder and took the stairs up to the office two at a time. It felt good to stretch his muscles after the long drive back from the city, and he only paused for a second when he reached the Dunder Mifflin door.

He was a little surprised when he pulled the door open and Pam wasn’t sitting in her normal spot behind the reception desk. He turned the corner and saw a familiar pink cardigan through the conference room window.

“Damn it,” he muttered quickly and quietly. Stupid cameras, he thought to himself, she’s in a stupid one-on-one with the cameras. Oh well.

Before he could stop himself, he was opening the door to the conference room a little more harshly than he’d intended.

“Pam—Sorry,” he mumbled towards the camera guy, Jake, and turned his attention back to Pam, his heart pounding so loud he was sure she’d be able to hear it. “Um, are you free for dinner tonight?”

“Yes.”

It was simple and direct and Jim felt the smile on his face grow. There was no hesitating in her answer, and it felt as if a fifty-pound weight was lifted off his shoulders.

“All right,” he answered with a grin. “Then… it’s a date.”

Her smile he was sure mirrored his, and he shut the door behind him before she could respond besides the small nod she’d given. Turning around, he knocked quickly on Michael’s office door before letting himself in.

“Jimbo!” Michael greeted him overenthusiastically. “You and Karen back from New York already?”

“Uh,” Jim stuttered, “I’m back from New York. Karen… is not.”

“Woo-hoo,” Michael exclaimed. “She got the job?”

“I don’t know,” Jim told him honestly, “but we aren’t together anymore…”

“You just can’t keep ‘em, can you?”

“Michael…”

“Wait,” Michael interrupted, “is this because of Pam? And that little speech she made at the beach last week? You still have feelings for her?”

“Karen and I just don’t fit together,” Jim told him, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well, great!” Michael exclaimed happily, “you aren’t going to be breaking up the family. I knew you couldn’t do that to me.”

Jim just shook his head and finally looked around him.

“Michael,” he asked, “why are your office walls black?”

“Oh that,” Michael just smiled. “Dwight got a little zealous after I left this morning. He’s going to fix it after office hours tonight. Speaking of after hours, I’d better head out. Jan is back at my condo and I want to make sure she’s getting moved in alright.”

“She is moving in with you?”

“Yup,” Michael beamed. “Decided it on the drive back. Wish me luck Jim-bob.”

Jim nodded, “Good luck.”

When Jim walked back into the office, it seemed as if most people had already left. Andy was at his desk and so was Angela, but other than that the office had cleared out rather quickly. He picked up his bag from his desk chair and headed back out to his car.

His heart jumped when he saw Pam leaning against her car, playing with the chain that hung from her neck, waiting for him.

“You didn’t give me any details, Halpert,” she stated simply when he came into hearing range. “You said dinner tonight, but…”

“It would help a little if we actually made plans huh?”

“Just a little.”

“Well,” Jim thought for a moment, “I’d really like to go home and freshen up a bit. Why don’t I pick you up at your place at seven?”

“Sounds good,” Pam agreed and her smile was bright. “Do you know the apartments on Cherry Street?”

“Um, Groveland?”

“Yeah,” Pam nodded, “I’m in apartment two o’ five.”

“Awesome Beesly,” Jim said as he made a mental note of her apartment number, “see you at seven.”

“See you then,” Pam called as she climbed into her little car and Jim let out another breath.

This is it, Jim said to himself, I’ve got a date with Pam Beesly. Don’t screw this up.

---

Just short of two hours later, he was sitting in the parking lot of Groveland Apartments, trying to get up enough courage to go and actually knock on her door. So many thoughts and concerns had drifted through his head in the last couple of hours, and he’d done everything he could to put them to rest.

It wasn’t working as well as he had hoped it would.

“Come on man,” he told himself, “just pick up the flowers and knock on her door. It shouldn’t be this hard.”

He grabbed the bouquet he’d picked up from the florist on the corner, checked his reflection one more time in the rearview mirror, and finally got himself out of the car. With his long legs it didn’t take him long to reach her door, and before he could talk himself out of it again he brought up his hand and knocked.

“Coming,” he heard her through the door, and he tried to steady his breaths. What felt like hours, though he was sure was only seconds, passed before she opened the door, but when she did his breath caught.

She had changed from the outfit she’d been in at work and was now in a pair of dark wash jeans with a fitted white top he’d never seen before. Her hair was down around her shoulders in soft curls and he was sure she’d never been more beautiful than at that exact moment.

“I’m just about ready,” she was saying, and he forced himself to focus on her words. “Do you want to come in?”

“Sure,” Jim muttered, trying to clear the fog that had settled around his brain. “Um, these are for you…”

He held out the bouquet of yellow roses, which he knew were her favorite, and he could see a slight pink fill in her cheeks.

“Thanks Jim,” she gushed. “They are beautiful. Here, come in. Let me get these in some water and grab my purse and I’ll be ready.”

“No rush,” he assured her. “You look beautiful by the way.”

“Thanks,” she called from the kitchen before walking back into the small living area with the roses neatly arranged in a crystal vase. “Would you like a tour?”

“Sure,” he grinned, “I’ve got to see this ‘only one kitchen.’”

She giggled a little bit and the smile on Jim’s face grew a little more. He was sure his face was stretched as far as possible, but it kept growing a little bit every time he remembered that they were actually here, doing this. Dating.

“Very funny,” she teased, “well, obviously this is the living room. Out here is my super tiny screened in porch, and through that door is the kitchen.”

He followed her into the kitchen and grinned at the pictures of the refrigerator. There was one that of them together at a Christmas party several years ago. It had been the Christmas of the teapot, which he also noticed had a spot on a backburner on her stove.

“It seems very you,” he complimented, “I like it.”

“Thanks,” she replied, and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “That is pretty much it. The first door down the hallway is the bathroom and my one bedroom is the door right after that. It’s small, but it suits me.”

“It does,” Jim agreed, “it’s great. And I love the art on the wall. Is it all yours?”

“Uh yeah,” Pam told him, “just some random pieces. I’m glad you like them.”

“You are incredibly talented Pam,” Jim assured her, “I always knew that.”

Pam smiled again and grabbed her purse from the coffee table in the living room, “Well, I’m ready to go if you are.”

“I am starving,” Jim teased. “It’s been a crazy day…”

His voice drifted off into a slightly awkward silence, and Pam’s smile faltered for a minute. He hadn’t wanted to bring up this particular subject right away. He had hoped to enjoy dinner and some ice cream and then maybe with a walk through the park have the discussion he knew they needed to have.

“Jim…”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “I didn’t want to start out the night with this, but…”

“I think we should,” Pam told him. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Jim agreed, “but I really am starving. Can we get dinner first?”

Pam hesitated for a moment before a smile broke out on her face again and she nodded, “Sure, let’s get dinner.”

Jim wasn’t sure if her smile was forced, but he knew that he’d be able to think better after he got something in his stomach. The last thing he’d had to eat was a bag of pretzels that he bought from the gas station on his way out of the city earlier that afternoon.

The car ride to the restaurant was filled with comfortable small talk as Pam told him all about the adventures she’d had while Dwight was in charge.

“So let me get this straight,” Jim interrupted for a moment, “he made you the Secret Assistant Regional Manager?”

“Secret Assistant-to-the-Regional Manger, Jim,” she clarified. “Get it right.”

“I’m sorry Beesly,” he teased. “I wish I could have seen that. I’m sure it was incredible. You must have pulled it off perfectly.”

“I did pretty good, if I do say so myself,” Pam boasted a little, “but I haven’t even got to the good part yet.”

“There’s more?”

“Oh yeah,” she gushed, “two words: Schrute Bucks.”

“What?”

“Schrute Bucks, Halpert. Pay attention, will you?”

“I’m not sure I even want to know what those are.”

“Oh you do,” she assured him, “especially when you come to know that I have saved a file folder worth of them in my desk.”

“Nice!”

“Oh it is,” Pam exclaimed, “besides the fact that they are worth practically nothing.”

“What are we going to do with your stash?”

“Not sure yet,” Pam shrugged, “but we can think of something.” When she looked outside her window she shrieked, “You have to be kidding. I’m not leaving the car. Nope.”

“Come on Pam,” Jim pushed with a teasing glint in his eyes, “It’s just Chili’s.”

“Nope.”

“Okay,” he relented, “I was just kidding. I wouldn’t make you go into Chili’s. We’re actually going to Cuginos.”

“Really?” Pam asked. “That sounds…perfect.”

“I was hoping you’d think that,” Jim said with another face splitting grin. When he pulled into the parking lot of his favorite Italian restaurant, he felt himself grow nervous again. He wasn’t sure why this was so hard.

“This is weird, isn’t it?” Pam asked, suddenly making Jim nervous that he’d actually spoken his last thoughts out loud. She played with the chain aroud her neck as she continued, “I didn’t think it would be weird.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Jim admitted, “but it will get easier, won’t it?”

“I believe so,” Pam agreed, and he got out and went around to her door. Opening it for her, he waited for her to join him. She looked up at him with her big eyes and started talking again, “I know that things might be tough to start out with, but I want this to work. We just have to work together…”

“Nothing would make me happier, Pam,” Jim assured her and wrapped his fingers around hers. “Our toughest hurdle to man…”

“Communication,” they answered in unison, and they immediately both called out, “Jinx.”

“Ha!” Pam exclaimed, “I said it first! But, I’ll allow you to talk…it’d be a pretty boring date if I had to hold up all the talking.”

“Thanks,” Jim laughed. “I’ll remember that next time.”

“You’d better,” she grinned. “Now, are we going to eat or what?”

“Of course we're going to eat,” Jim teased her, “I wouldn’t keep that monster that is your stomach from food.”

“I appreciate that,” Pam exclaimed. “Let’s go.”

He led her into the restaurant, and because of his resourcefulness, they were seated in just a few minutes. After drink orders they were blanketed again in silence.

Jim took a deep breath and started talking before he could stop himself, “I’m sorry. I should have said that ages ago, but I am. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

“I did so many things wrong, Pam,” Jim continued after squeezing her hand. “So many things. I didn’t mean to be such an ass.”

Pam chuckled a bit, “I wasn’t blame free either…”

“I put you in a position I never wanted to,” Jim explained. “I didn’t mean to do that to you. It was selfish, and though I can’t really say I regret telling you how I felt, it was pretty crappy timing.”

Pam nodded, not sure what she could say. Jim just kept talking.

“I was planning on talking to you about the transfer,” Jim admitted, “I was really hoping you’d tell me to stay or something like that, but…seeing you look… beautiful, everything came out. My thoughts just jumbled together and I was telling you, well, you know…”

His voice trailed off and Pam waited patiently for him to continue. Before he could their waiter came back and they both quickly ordered.

“In the office that night,” Jim started again when the waiter left their table, “holding you…it felt like this wonderful and crazy dream, but then you pulled away. I know why you did, but, everything came crashing down around me and I felt like I was drowning.”

“Jim…”

“Don’t apologize Pam,” Jim stopped her. “Just, don’t. It was my fault. I just couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t walk into that office every day and see you with his ring on your finger and going by a different last name. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get over you if I saw you every day. So I left.”

“I didn’t want to push you away,” Pam interjected. “And I’m sorry too, Jim. I should have called you after I ended things with Roy. I wanted to, but I was scared.”

“Scared? Of me?”

“Yes. Well no. When you left, I honestly thought you hated me. I meant what I said at the beach, Jim, there were lots of reasons not to marry Roy, but you made me see them. You made me want to listen to them.”

“Pam…”

“It’s my turn, “ she insisted, and Jim nodded. “You were my best friend and I told myself that the feelings I had for you were just that, friendship. But I knew better. And that made me feel guilty. I was engaged and yet, I had a deeper connection with you. That scared me.”

“But…”

“But I’d been with Roy for so long that I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know who else I could be. So, when I ended it with Roy, I was scared that running straight to you wouldn’t end the way I wanted it to. I didn’t want you to be my rebound, and to be honest I didn’t want to rub it in Roy’s face. He was a big part of my life for so long, that I felt I owed it to him to be considerate of his feelings too. He was pretty upset when I told him I wasn’t marrying him.”

“I can understand that,” Jim assured her. “I was torn when I heard you had called off your wedding. It was an emotional day for me.”

“I’m so sorry Jim,” Pam offered again, “I should have been the one to tell you. That much I know. But, by the time I felt I was ready to tell you, that I was ready to see if you still felt the same way about me, the branch was closing down, then it wasn’t and you were coming back. And then Karen was with you…”

“I am an ass,” Jim confirmed to her and Pam smiled a bittersweet smile. “Karen and I struck up a pretty good friendship in Stamford. We joked around, went out for drinks a couple times, but was never too serious. Just fun.”

Pam nodded, but kept silent. Their food was delivered and has Pam started to pick at her plate Jim continued.

“When I found out that Stamford would be the branch closing and Jan offered me a position back here, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I could handle being around you again. I was certain you didn’t feel the way I did and I panicked. Karen, well, she sort of became my buffer. I’m sorry I hurt her, but…but I could never feel for her what I feel for you.”

“Jim, what happened today in New York?”

“My interview with David started out great. Not to sound…boastful, but I had a feeling I was the front-runner for the job. When I pulled out my expense reports I found your note. And things just stopped.”

“Okay…?”

“David was asking me what I liked about the Scranton branch and all I could see was your face. And then he asked me about my future and where I saw myself in ten years and once again, you were the only thing I could see. Sitting in his office I saw a future that I’d always dreamed about fading into nothing while something completely different took its place. And it was something I wasn’t comfortable with.”

“Then?”

“I apologized for wasting his time,” he continued, “and withdrew my name from consideration and left. Then I had to call Karen.”

Jim grew silent for a moment and Pam chewed on her bottom lip waiting as she waited for him to go on.

“I really didn’t want to hurt her, but I did. And I feel awful for it. She didn’t deserve to be treated the way I treated her, but I couldn’t get away from there fast enough. I had to get back here, to you, to see if we really could do this.”

“I’m sorry you hurt her too,” Pam consoled him. “But I’d be lying if I told you I was upset that you did it. When you came into the conference room and asked me out for tonight, man, I was flying.”

“When you said yes,” Jim smiled, “well, let’s just say that even the weird conversation I had with Michael right after couldn’t bring me down.”

Jim threaded his fingers through hers again and squeezed gently. “I’m fully dedicated to making this work Pam. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I’m with you,” she replied with a bright smile, “all the way.”

“Good,” Jim exclaimed. “Do you want to know anything else?”

“I think we pretty much covered as much as I can handle tonight,” Pam suggested and Jim nodded in his agreement. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jim agreed, quickly paid their bill, and walked back out to his car. The ride back to Pam’s house was filled with a much lighter banter and Jim felt as if he was walking on air. When he walked Pam up to her door she turned to look at him and fumbled with her keys.

“Do you…” she started, “do you want to come in?”

“As much as I would love to Pam,” Jim assured her, “I’m not going to. I’m going to be a gentleman, give you a kiss goodnight, and go home. But I’ll definitely be calling for a second date.”

Pam smiled and allowed him to give her a chaste kiss goodnight.

“I had a great time tonight Jim.”

“Me too,” he told her. “I can’t wait to do it again, soon. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” she nodded, and Jim waited to head back to his car until she was securely inside and he head the lock slip into place. Their first date was over and Jim slipped back to his car, grinning the whole time.

Ten thousand eight hundred and three

What a long day. It started one way in a big, unfamiliar city, and ended right where I’ve supposed to be all along.

I couldn’t have imagined a first date with Pam like the one we had tonight. Sure, it was overshadowed in some places by the crap we’ve put ourselves through in the last several months, but overall, it turned out pretty darn good if you ask me.

I’m not looking forward to facing Karen again. I hurt her, badly, I know that…and I am truly sorry for it. I didn’t mean for it to happen, it just, did.

I can’t regret it though. Pam is my future. I can’t doubt that for a minute. And although the road to here as been bumpy and it isn’t about to get completely smooth, I’m ready to weather the storm with her by my side.

Hum, I wonder if it is too early to tell her that I love her. That I never stopped. I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

He knows that he shouldn’t be this nervous. It’s a normal right of passage for any kid—well, young adult—but it still didn’t make it any easier.

“Dad!” he heard his name being called from down the hall. “Are you almost ready? I need to get going!”

“Almost Rissa,” he answered, and grabbed the last box from her now empty room while Pam stood in the doorway.

“It’s strange huh?” she asked, and Jim could only nod. “I’m so proud of her.”

“Me too,” Jim assured her, “she got into Harvard! It’s amazing!”

“She takes after her dad,” Pam grinned, and Jim shook his head in response. “Oh but she does.”

“Right,” Jim teased, “I still think she’s more you than anyone else.”

“Are you going to be staying in Boston tonight?” Pam asked changing the subject suddenly. “Or are you going to drive back tonight?”

“I still haven’t decided,” Jim told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I'll probably try and drive back tonight. It just depends on how long it takes us to get her unpacked. I wish you were coming with us.”

“Me too,” she assured him, “but we’ve got four other kids we have to think about. Emmett has that parent/teacher conference thing I have to go to, and Jackson would kill me if I wasn’t at the football game tonight, since he’s starting for the first time. I’ll take lots of pictures though.”

“You better. I hate that I’m missing it.”

“He understands why babe,” Pam told him. “But you better go. Call me later, okay?”

“You bet,” Jim said as he kissed his wife goodbye. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Pam whispered as she followed Jim out into the large living room. “Marissa…”

“I’m going to miss you Mom,” Marissa cried into her mother’s shoulder as Jim watched them say goodbye. “I’ll be back for a visit before you know it.”

“You’re going to come back for the twins’ thirteenth birthday party next month, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Marissa reassured her. “Addison and Sophie wouldn’t let me anyways. But I’m hoping to come at least once before that too…”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will mom, I promise. I love you.”

“I love you too baby girl,” Jim heard Pam whisper in her ear. “Okay, you and your dad better get on the road. You don’t want to hit traffic. Call me when you get to Boston?”

“I will for sure,” Marissa promised. “Okay dad, are you ready?”

“Yup,” Jim nodded, “let’s go.”

Pam stood on their front porch as Marissa climbed into her Chevy Aveo, loaded down with boxes, and Jim started his own car. He took a deep breath and pulled out onto the neighborhood streets, on the road to move his little girl to college.

It was going to be a long day.

They wove their way through the early morning Philadelphia traffic, and Jim bobbed his head along with his favorite radio station. He wished they didn’t have to drive separate cars, but Marissa had wanted to take her car with her, so he was following behind.

He was so proud of Marissa. After graduating in the top five percent of her class and being accepted to Yale, Harvard, Sarah Lawrence, Stanford, and every other college she’d applied for; Marissa had taken months to decide where she would end up.

He and Pam had gone over the pros and cons with her and made sure she knew that they would support her decision, whichever way she went. Though, Pam was not thrilled when Marissa hinted she was thinking about Stanford; having her oldest child on the opposite side of the country made Pam anxious. He was glad she’d gone with Harvard too; Boston wasn’t nearly as far away as Palo Alto, and the fact that she would only be five and a half hours away comforted him.

His phone buzzed and he picked it up quickly.

“Hello?”

“I’m starving dad,” Marissa’s voice rang in his ear. “Can we stop somewhere and get something to eat?”

“Sure sweetie,” he answered. “ Want anything specific?”

“I saw a sign for a diner at the next exit,” Marissa told him. “Let’s go there.”

“Sounds like a plan, Ris.”

“Great dad,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. “Just follow me.”

“I thought I was doing that already?”

“Very funny, bye.”

“Bye.”

He hated to say he played favorites, but Marissa had always held a special place in his heart. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was the oldest, or if it was the scare they’d had with her with she was six months old that made them fear they’d loose her, but they’d always had a special bond.

Jim was pulling off at the exit when his phone buzzed again, although this time it was work. He shook his head and picked up the phone to hear the voice of the secretary, Janice, greet him.

“I’m so sorry Principal Halpert to bother you today,” her voice started right out, “but, we’ve had a small situation here. Some, um, profane graffiti on the outside east wall of the gym.”

“Oh no. Do we know who did it?”

“No,” Janice told him, “which is part of the problem.”

“Yeah,” Jim agreed. “What is Calvin doing?”

“He’s asking around,” Janice told him, “but he wanted me to let you know what was going on.”

“Thanks Janice,” Jim sighed, “I wish I could come in and help Calvin handle it, but he’s a good assistant principal and knows what he’s doing, and I’m already two hours away with Marissa on our way to Boston. I’ll be back Monday though. Did Calvin get maintenance to paint over it?”

“They started about twenty minutes ago,” Janice assured him. “We’ve got pictures though.”

“Sounds like you’ve got everything under control for now. Have Calvin give me a call this afternoon so we can discuss it. “

“Yes sir,” Janice answered quickly. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

“No worries,” Jim reassured her as he pulled into a parking space outside the diner. “Talk to you later.”

Jim flipped the phone shut as Marissa bounded up to the door of his car.

“Everything okay dad?”

“Oh yeah,” Jim told her, “some kids just spray painted graffiti at school. Mr. Mathis is handling it though.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sweetie,” Jim wrapped an arm around her, “today is just for us. No worries.”

“Okay,” Marissa grinned. “I can’t believe I’m on my way to college.”

“Neither can I,” Jim agreed with a sigh. “It feels like just yesterday they were handing you to me for the first time. And now here you are, grown and leaving for college. It’s unbelievable.”

“Do you wish I would have stayed closer to home?”

“You know we would have loved for you to stay closer to home,” Jim answered her honestly, “but Marissa, your mom and I are so proud of you. You’ve done amazing things.”

“Thanks dad,” Marissa blushed, “it’s been a wild ride, huh?”

“It always has been,” Jim said with a grin. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.“

“Dad, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Jim told her, “you can always ask me anything.”

“You know, we’ve all heard your love story with mom, but…”

“What’s up sweetie?”

“How did you know that mom was ‘the one’? I mean, it could have ended so differently…”

“Yeah it could have, easily.”

“But it didn’t.”

“And really Marissa, it was all because we both had the courage to finally admit to ourselves what we could be together. And no we have five beautiful kids and a happy life together. And I love your mother more today than I ever thought possible.”

“You’re such a romantic dad.”

Jim felt his cheeks grow warm, “Yeah, always have been.”

Before Marissa could continue the waitress came up to take their orders. Once the waitress left Marissa started back in with her inquiry.

“But how did you know she was the only one for you?”

“There was nothing I couldn’t do without thinking of her,” Jim answered honestly, “and seeing her with her ex just killed me.”

“The one she was engaged to, right?”

“Yeah,” Jim nodded. “I tried to be just the friend she needed, and at the time, wanted, but I couldn’t lie to myself anymore…”

“And that is when you told her how you felt, right? At a work party for that company in Scranton.”

Jim nodded again as the waitress dropped off their plates, “Casino Night. But then when she turned me down, I was crushed.”

“And you left and went to Stamford, where you started dating that other girl.”

“Do you want to tell the story or do you want me to?”

Marissa giggled, “You, of course. I just like hearing it and it’s hard not to help you tell it.”

“I know,” Jim smiled at his daughter, “you all have heard the story so many times it amazes me you still want to hear it.”

“It’s just so romantic.”

“Not all of it Rissa,” Jim assured her as he picked at his eggs. “A lot of it hurt, and we went through a lot of pain to get where we are now.”

“But it was worth it, wasn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t change a thing now if I could,” Jim told her. “There were times when I wished we could go back and avoid all the hurt and just jump into our happily-ever-after, but I’m not sure it would have been the same if we had.”

“Do you think you would have still gotten married?”

“I want to say yes,” Jim told her, “but I don’t know. There is no way to know that for sure. I think we both had to find out who we were and what we wanted in life before we could dive into a relationship.”

“That makes sense,” Marissa agreed. “I hope I find someone who I can share that with.”

“You will sweetie,” Jim assured her. “You just have to have patience. It probably won't happen with the first guy you date.”

“Well obviously.”

“Is this about that boy, Jeffrey, was it?”

“Jason,” Marrisa automatically answered and shook her head, “no...well, maybe a little.”

“A little huh?”

“I really thought that...”

“That he was the one?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, he was the first boy I ever really liked and I thought we'd really have that high-school sweethearts thing going for us. Stupid I know...”

“You are not stupid Marissa,” Jim scolded, “and just because it didn't work out with him doesn't mean you aren't going to find someone ten times better out there. It means he wasn't the one for you.”

“But...”

“Hey sweetie,” Jim interrupted after her voice trailed off, “you are incredible and somewhere out there a boy who is worthy of you will realize that and make you fall in love with him and he'll be your one.”

“How are you so certain I'll find him?”

“Because I know he'll find you,” Jim answered, “he'd be crazy not too.”

“Thanks daddy,” Marissa whispered, “that means a lot.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too dad,” she said quickly and wiped her eyes. “Um, okay. We should probably go. I want to try and get there before noon.”

“You got it,” Jim declared and picked up the check to pay. “We’ve got about another three hours to get there. We should make it okay.”

“I don’t have to be there right at noon,” Marissa reminded him, “but I’d like to be there with plenty of time to get checked in. And I want you to try and get back for Jackson’s game tonight.”

“Marissa,” Jim sighed, “he’ll understand if I can’t make it.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but then again, it’d be awesome if you could be there. You know he’d love it. I don’t want to keep you from the rest of the family.”

“Rissa…”

“No more discussing,” she declared, and Jim shrugged. “Let’s go. If I have my way, you’ll be back for his game. Let’s hit the road, Jack…”

“You are so much like your mother.”

“Funny,” Marissa giggled, “she always tells me that I’m just like you.”

----

Jim couldn’t remember the last time his muscles were so sore. He’d been carrying boxes up and down stairs for the past two hours, and was silently cursing his daughter’s choice of a third story dorm room.

“It has the best view,” she had told them. “I’ll be able to see the sunrise better.”

He had to laugh a little bit at her thinking. He remembered back when he was in college and couldn’t remember a single time he’d been up before nine, but Marissa had always been an early bird. Waking before dawn and strolling down the quiet streets of their neighborhood with Angel, their chocolate lab, had always been her favorite time of day.

“You must be getting old dad,” she teased when she found him in the courtyard taking a much needed break. “You should have said something…”

“I’m fine,” he assured her, “just sore.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” he said with a quick nod. “Is that everything?”

“Yup,” Marissa told him with a deep breath. “I’m all moved in.”

“How does it feel?”

“Um, great and terrifying, all at the same time.”

“The terrified feeling will fade.”

“I hope so dad.”

“You are going to do great here sweetie. Did you call your mom?”

“Yup and she told me to tell you that you should just meet them at the high school.”

“She did not.”

Marissa smiled coyly, “Well, okay…maybe I told her that you would meet her there.”

“I don’t have to leave yet, Rissa.”

“I know you don’t have to, and it means so much to me that you drove down here with me dad, but I think I’m ready to do this on my own. I’m going to be fine.”

“You might be, but what if I’m not?”

A single tear ran down his daughter’s face as she tried to smile. “I miss you already daddy. Take care of my brothers and sisters, would you?”

Jim nodded reflexively and wrapped his little girl in his arms. She squeezed him tight and he had a feeling this was harder on her than she was letting on.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stick around for a while?” Jim asked. “We could get something to eat for dinner, maybe go to a movie…”

“Go dad,” Marissa reiterated, “I’m really going to be fine. Cheer for Jackson extra loud for me, okay?”

“You got it,” Jim nodded. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

After one last squeeze Jim reluctantly climbed into his car and headed south, headed home.

----

Eighteen Thousand, Six Hundred, and Twenty-Nine

Today was a pretty hard day for me. But sending your baby off to college would do anyone in, I’m sure. I’m so proud of her though. Marissa Amelia is off at Harvard, deciding what she wants to do with her life and how she wants to change the world. And I hope our conversation about boys today makes her feel better. (Though, I'm ready to go find that Jason kid and knock some sense into him.) And even though I'm no where ready to see her growing up and getting married I hate seeing her hurt. Any guy would be lucky to be with her...I'll have to make sure they know that.

I’m one proud dad for sure. And I’m not just proud of her, I’m proud of all my kids. It amazes me still that I was blessed with five beautiful and healthy children.

I miss her already, but Boston isn’t too far from here (at least it’s not as far as Stanford!) and she’ll be back often.

I can’t believe I’m old enough to have a kid in college. Man, time really does fly…

The first three days of summer brought gray skies and claps of thunder, and kept the Halpert boys trapped inside raising trouble. But on the fourth day of their summer vacation, Jimmy woke up to sunshine and blue skies, and he tore out of his bed as quickly as his legs would take him.

Just as Jimmy hit the front door, his mother’s voice stopped him, “James Anthony Halpert don’t you go outside yet!”

“But mom!”

“Nope,” Larissa scolded from the kitchen door. “I told your brothers the same thing. You can’t go outside until your dressed and have had breakfast.”

“Fine,” Jimmy pouted, and stomped off towards the kitchen.

“And you better quit with the attitude, young man, or you won’t be able to go to the park at all today.”

Jimmy sank down into his chair at the kitchen table across from his older brothers, who were already well into their plates of waffles. Jimmy’s father sat at the head of the table with his cup of coffee and the newspaper while Kara cooed from her highchair.

“Do you have to go to work today dad?” Pete asked with his mouth full, and Richard Halpert nodded in response. “Awh man, I wanted to go fishing today.”

Richard chuckled, “Sorry buddy, but parents don’t get summer vacations. I still have to go to work, but why don’t we plan on going fishing this weekend out at the lake?”

“That sounds good,” Pete answered. “We should go camping too!”

“Yeah!” Tom agreed, shoveling a forkful of waffles into his mouth. “We haven’t been camping in ages!”

Jimmy nodded in agreement and Larissa merely chuckled.

“Your dad can take you boys if he wants, but I think Kara and I will stay here. I don’t think she or I would enjoy a weekend in the woods.”

“I’ll think about it boys,” Richard agreed, “but I’m not making any promises yet, okay?”

All three Halpert boys nodded their heads in agreement and continued to down their waffles. They weren’t about to argue with that at all. Jimmy smiled at his father and Richard ruffled Jimmy’s hair as he walked by.

“I’m outta here,” Richard told his family, quickly kissing his wife good bye, “I’ll see you later. Boys, be good for your mother today, got it? If not, you can kiss any talk of our camping trip goodbye.”

“Yes sir,” all three Halpert boys chorused in unison, and Richard smiled.

“Okay,” Richard said with a nod, “I’m hoping to be home early. If not, then I’ll call.”

“Sounds good honey,” Larissa answered. “See you tonight.”

Jimmy shoved the last piece of his waffle in his mouth and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm.

“James, use a napkin,” Larissa scolded. “If you boys are done with your breakfast, go upstairs and change into play clothes, brush your teeth, and put on your gym shoes. We’ll head to the park once all of you are ready.”

“Thanks mom!” they all chorused again and Kara, not to be left out of all the fun, let out a squeal and babble from her high chair. Jimmy ran up the stairs and into his room. Pete, Jimmy’s twelve-year old brother, had promised him that he’d teach him some basketball drills that he’d learned when he joined his junior high basketball team, and Jim couldn’t wait. He’d be in the fifth grade come September and wanted to join the basketball team at the local YMCA.

“Are you ready squirt?” Pete asked from the door. “Mom told me to come get you.”

“I’m ready,” Jimmy answered as he finished tying his old Reebok sneakers. “Did you grab the basketball?”

“Tom has it in the front yard,” Pete promised. “Let’s go!”

Jimmy nodded and followed his brother down the stairs and into his family’s minivan. The ride to the city park was quick, but Jimmy still impatiently bounced a leg up and down in excitement.

“Alright guys,” Larissa started as she pulled into the parking lot, getting her children’s attention. “Stay close to the basketball courts and the playground. Please make sure you don’t go too far so I can keep an eye on you. Kara and I will be near the benches.”

“Okay,” Tom agreed without hesitation.

“Make sure, Pete and Tom, that you keep and eye on Jimmy, understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” Pete and Tom answered together, and Larissa nodded.

“Good,” she said, “and Jimmy you better listen to your brothers.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jimmy answered with a muted groan. “Can we go now?”

“Yes you can,” Larissa told them as she un-strapped Kara from her car seat. “I’ll call you when it’s time for lunch, okay?”

They all nodded before running towards the basketball courts on the other side of the fairly quiet parking lot.

Within thirty minutes the Halpert boys were sweaty, hot, and tired. Jimmy jogged back over to the benches, where his mom was sitting with his sister, and collapsed onto the seat.

“Tired?” Larissa asked him, and Jimmy nodded. She handed him a packet of Sunny Delight and he drank it up quickly. “Are you having fun?”

“Oh yeah,” Jimmy exclaimed, “I love summer break. Thanks for bringing us to the park.”

“Of course honey,” Larissa assured her youngest son. “I’m glad you’re having fun with your brothers.”

“They’re going to help me get on the basketball team next year,” Jimmy exclaimed. “I’m so excited!”

“Well I’m proud of you,” Larissa told him, “and your dad is too. We can’t wait to go and cheer you on at your games.”

Jimmy beamed at his mom and grabbed a carrot stick to munch on.

“Can you sit here with Kara for a minute while I run to the car?” Larissa asked, and Jimmy nodded. As she walked away, he grabbed the hands of his one-year-old sister and engaged her in a game of peek-a-boo. A few minutes later Pete and Tom where on their way over to the bench where Jim was sitting with Kara.

“Where’s mom?” Tom asked as he shoved a handful of chips into his mouth. “I’m hungry.”

“She went to the car,” Jimmy informed his siblings, his eyes never leaving his baby sister. “I think she went to grab the sandwiches for our picnic.”

“Sweet!” Pete exclaimed happily.

“I’ve got lunch!” Larissa called to the kids as she reappeared in the distance. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I’ve also got a few ham and cheese sandwiches too.”

“I want ham and cheese,” Jim told them, and Larissa handed him a foil-wrapped sandwich before distributing the rest of the picnic lunch.

“Make sure you throw away your garbage before going back to play,” Larissa told them, and they nodded, “there is a garbage can right behind you Tom.”

“I’m done,” Jimmy announced. “Can I go and play some more?”

“If you’ve cleaned up your mess, then yes you may.”

“Okay,” Jimmy answered with a nod of his head, “I’m going back to the basketball court.”

“Wait for your brothers to head over there,” Larissa warned. “Stay on this side of the parking lot until they’re ready to go.”

“Aw mom!”

“No arguing,”

“Alright,” Jimmy groaned and headed towards the swing-set, shuffling his feet. By now the playground had filled up with several families, and Jimmy managed to grab the last available swing in the line. He smiled to the blonde girl next to him, and when received only a scowl in response, Jimmy quickly turned his attention forward again.

Pumping his feet, he propelled himself higher and higher until it felt like he was going to go straight over the bar, and he pretended he was flying.

“Jimmy!” he heard someone call his name. “JIMMY!”

He looked over and saw Pete and Tom, standing several yards in front of the swing set, with the basketball under Pete’s arm.

His oldest brother started talking again, “You ready to go practice some more? Tom and I are headed back the basketball court.”

“Okay,” Jimmy answered his brothers before pumping his legs a few more times and preparing himself for a jump. “I’m coming.”

Jimmy pushed himself off the swing and went flying in the air towards his brothers, landing hard on the ground. Too hard.

“AH!” he cried out as a shooting pain went through his left leg. “AH!”

His eyes filled with tears as the pain quickly grew worse, and he looked up to find his brothers’ worried faces in front of him.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Jimmy shook his head no and Pete ran off in the direction of their car, where their mother was loading the remnants from their picnic into the trunk.

The tears finally spilled over and there was a crowd growing around he and Tom. Kids were whispering and pointing and Jimmy just wanted to get up and walk away.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

“Oh baby,” Larissa exclaimed as she reached her son, Pete not far behind her with Kara squirming in his arms. Larissa leaned over him to get a look and her eyes grew dark. “We’re going to take you to the hospital. I think you might have broken it.”

“Will I have to wear a cast?” Jimmy asked through his tears.

“I don’t know,” Larissa told him as she and Tom carefully lifted him up. “We’ll see what the doctors say. Pete, you need to get Kara into her car seat.”

Pete nodded wordlessly and walked ahead of them.

Jimmy’s heart was racing and his breaths were shallow as he continued to cry. It was the most pain he’d even been in. Even more than when he fell off his bike and had to have stitches put in his forehead.

When they got to the hospital, Larissa instructed Pete and Tom to sit with Kara in the waiting room until their grandparents could get there to pick them up, and went with Jimmy while he had an x-ray done.

It was hours later before they finally were able to leave. A blue cast ran from Jimmy’s ankle to just above his knee. Larissa and Richard, who had rushed over as soon as he had heard, were thankful for a clean break and no need for surgery. Jimmy, however, was mourning the loss of his summer vacation.

“This stinks!” he exclaimed as his dad helped him into the back of their minivan. “I’m going to have to wear this stupid thing all summer long.”

“You should have thought about that before trying to be Superman,” Richard scolded. “You’ll remember that for next time huh?”

“Oh Richard,” Larissa sighed, “I think he’s gone through enough without a lecture tonight. We’ll deal with this more in the morning. Can you run by the grocery store and get some popsicles?”

“Popsicles?”

“Please?”

“Okay honey,” Richard agreed after a moment, and Jimmy sent up a silent plea that the popsicles would be for him. His dad finished getting him in before turning to his wife to say, “Just popsicles? Do you need anything else while I’m there?”

“Um,” Larissa thought for a moment, “yeah actually. We’re almost out of milk and could you get some pancake mix? I used the last of what we had this morning.”

“Sure,” Richard assured her, and placed a quick kiss on her lips, “see you at home.”

Jimmy waived to his dad as he shut the door and drummed his fingers against his cast gently as they made the drive home.

It was going to be a long summer.

---

Three Thousand, Four Hundred, and Ninety-Nine

Man. This is the worst day of my entire life. I broke my stupid leg today jumping off of the swing-set at the park and now I have to have a cast on my leg all summer long. The doctor at the hospital said it would be at least six weeks.

SIX WEEKS!

This stinks! I’m not going to be able to practice basketball at all. I probably won’t make the team now. Stupid swing set. Of course this had to happen right at the beginning of summer. I’m totally bummed.

Though, I did get this really cool cast, and Tom and Pete already signed it. Mom and Dad too! And, I’ve gotten all the popsicles I could want since coming home. So…I guess it might not all be bad.

Jim shuddered against the pale yellow sheets, the early morning chill colder than he’d expected it to be; the comforter that he and Pam had picked out for their master bedroom had slipped down around his legs. It was the beginning of May, but the cold air lingered in Pennsylvania, and Jim was anxious for summer and the warmth that accompanied it.

Pam squirmed a little in her sleep, nestling in closer to his chest and sighing a little sigh, and Jim fell in love with her all over again. It was in the little moments like these that made him sure there wasn’t another woman who could ever take his fiancé’s place. He knew when she made that walk down the aisle, it would be perfect and their own, and he couldn't wait for it.

He had no idea how much planning and detail it took to plan even a small and simple wedding. Or the cost. Booking the church, reception hall, photographer, caterer, the cake... it all added up so quickly. He knew they were starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed with the whole process.

It made him hate Roy just a little bit more.

The last time Pam had been planning a wedding, she had done most of it on her own. And it made Jim’s skin crawl. He was determined to not make her do that again. He had been a part of all the discussions and planning so far, even if they hadn’t really gotten past a tentative date.

Pam moved again in her sleep and Jim knew she was starting to wake up. He placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled when she sighed and scooted closer to him.

“Morning,” she whispered against the fabric of his t-shirt, and he whispered it back against her hair. “What time is it?”

“Nearly seven,” he told her. "We should probably get going if we want to make it to work on time.”

“Eh,” Pam shrugged, “getting to work on time is overrated. Couldn’t we just stay in bed all day?”

“I wish,” Jim assured her, “but I’ve got a conference call with a potential client today that I really can’t miss.”

“That’s right,” Pam nodded with a grin. “I forgot about that. Alrighty then, might as well pry myself out of bed.”

“How about this,” Jim offered, “you get up and I’ll make breakfast?”

“Raisin Bran?”

“How did you guess?”

“I know you,” she grinned and stood up, pulling her tank-top down. "Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Jim nodded and followed Pam down the stairs and into their modest kitchen. The sun was just beginning to rise over the town of Scranton, flooding the little room with soft rays of early morning light. As they gathered the necessary items for their simple breakfast, they moved around in a completely coordinated pattern and sat down to eat together.

Jim loved the mornings. It was time that they were able to just be together, and even when they weren’t talking it was so them. He glanced up and eyed Pam as she scooped up another bite of cereal, and he felt like his heart was going to burst.

He suddenly didn’t want to wait any longer.

“You know what I want to do today?” he asked quickly, and Pam looked up with her eyebrows raised in question and shook her head. “I want to marry you.”

Pam’s eyes grew big as she swallowed the mouthful of cereal she’d just eaten, “What?”

“I want to marry you today,” Jim told her again. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“You are serious, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“But…what about the wedding?” Pam asked. "Our families, friends? You don’t want them there?”

“I dunno,” Jim answered honestly, “I know that I’d like them to be there, but our wedding really is all about us, or at least it should be. It seems as if we're bending over backwards trying to please everyone else, and I just want to be your husband--"

“You are so right,” Pam interrupted, and Jim’s head snapped up. “We shouldn’t have to pick our wedding date around my cousin’s camping trip and your aunt’s travel plans. We should plan it for us.”

“I agree.”

“And if we plan to do it today, while everyone is still at work, well... then that is when we do it.”

“Are you serious?”

“You aren’t backing out now Halpert,” Pam asked, “are you? You're the one who suggested this to begin with.”

“I’m not backing out,” Jim assured her. "But, don’t you want a wedding? A church ceremony with bridesmaids and a cake and me in a tux?”

“I can do without all of that as long as I get to be your wife,” Pam said, reaching across the table to grab his hand. "And yes, I realize how cheesy that just sounded. But could we really do it? Get married today?”

“We’ll have to find someplace where they don’t have a three day waiting period for marriage certificates,” Jim said, “but yeah, we could.”

“Well then,” Pam grinned, “I’ll do some research when we get to work. And I’ll bring a dress…”

“We are really going to do this,” Jim said, the disbelief in his voice, “get married today.”

“Yup,” Pam replied, her face glowing, “we are.”

Jim’s grin grew wide and he reached across the table to place a kiss on her lips. “Well then Beesly, let’s get moving!”

“I love you, Jim.”

“Love you, too.”

---

The quick ten minute drive to the Scranton Business Park was quiet, and Jim stroked Pam’s palm with his thumb as their entwined hands rested on the arm rest between them. There was an overnight bag in the backseat and a garment bag in the trunk, which housed the dress that Pam had picked out to wear.

Jim knew the dress well; it was the same pale pink dress she'd worn to the fancy dinner he’d taken her to for their one year anniversary in New York. They had spent the weekend in the city touring art museums and relaxing in Central Park, and ended it with an utterly romantic dinner at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. That same dress was now packed away gently to be the dress she became Mrs. James Halpert in.

The very thought took his breath away.

“I’m going to look up places when we get to work,” Pam reminded him. "Hopefully we can somewhere that isn’t too far away from here.”

“I agree,” Jim nodded, “I shouldn’t be much longer than an hour on this conference call, so I’ll talk to Toby about getting tomorrow off so we can have a extended weekend wherever we end up.”

“Sounds good,” Pam nodded, “just don’t give anything away.”

“It’s not me we have to worry about…”

“Excuse me?” Pam asked with a teasing tone covering her words. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“If I remember correctly, it was you who ousted us to the camera crew…”

“We were cornered,” Pam defended herself with a laugh. "Your, 'you can edit anything to look like anything'line wasn’t going to get us out of it.”

“They were totally buying it,” Jim argued, and Pam just glared at him skeptically. “Okay, maybe they weren’t.”

“They weren’t,” Pam assured him as he pulled into the parking lot. “I can’t believe we're doing this!”

“What? Working on our wedding day?”

“Getting married,” Pam gushed. "Our parents are going to flip.”

“Just remember,” Jim said as he pressed a kiss to her temple, “this is our wedding for us. We’ll have a dinner or a ceremony or something for them later on.”

“I know,” Pam told him, “I just can’t wait to be your wife.”

“I can’t wait to be your husband.”

“God,” Pam groaned after a quiet second, “we sound like we're quoting lines from a cheesy movie. But I can’t help but love it.”

“I love you.”

“Okay, we really need to stop now or it is going to stop being cute and I’m going to throw up... But I love you too.”

---

Jim’s head snapped up suddenly as he watched his fiancé at her desk from inside the conference room. Thankfully, his conference call was starting to wind down and he was all but sure he had nailed the sale. But he could tell that something had Pam irritated.

“Jim,” the voice on the other side of the phone started talking again, “I’m going to have to go over these numbers with my accounting department, but I don’t see anything wrong with them. I should be able to let you know by tomorrow.”

“That would be great Mr. Collins,” Jim answered, and then remembered he wasn’t planning on being in the office the next day, “but I’m going away with my fiancé for the weekend and won’t be in tomorrow. I could call you again Monday.”

“That's fine Jim, and please, call me Garrett,” the voice answered again, “and have a great weekend with your fiancée. I’ll talk to you Monday.”

“Yes sir,” Jim smiled. "Thank you Garrett.”

Jim disconnected the call and took a deep breath. This was another huge sale that he’d been counting on, and he was so glad he’d nailed it. It was a relief to get any money they could right now, especially with Pam’s impromptu decision to temporarily leave Dunder Mifflin and be employed under Michael Scott Paper Company. Although it had been a tough couple weeks, he was incredibly proud of her. Jim slipped out of conference room and headed back to the Annex quickly to catch Toby and check about getting some time off.

Ten minutes later, he was settling back into his desk with a vacation day planned for both him and Pam for the following day. It was all falling into place. When he glanced at Pam he noticed right away that she was stressing out about something.

Her eyebrows were pulled together and her nose scrunched up in thought and he heard a quiet groan exit her lips. He pulled up his instant message chat box and his fingers went to work quickly.

JHalpert: What’s wrong Beesly? I could hear that from over here.

Pam looked up at him in surprise and Jim grinned at her. He could tell that she hadn’t noticed him take his spot back at his desk and shook his head gently. He tapped his foot against the carpet as he waited for her to respond.

PBeesly: Youngstown, Ohio

JHalpert: I think I can deal with Ohio.

PBeesly: It’s a five hour drive; we’ll have to leave here by 11:30 to make it to the court house before 4:30.

JHalpert: Do you still want to do this?

PBeesly: I want to be your wife today.

JHalpert: Then let’s do it. I’ve already got tomorrow cleared with Toby.

PBeesly: Perfect. I’m emailing Michael now…

JHalpert: I hope he doesn’t ask too many questions.

PBeesly: He shouldn’t, he’s been distracted today. It’s only 11 and he’s already asking people about their lunch plans.

Jim stifled his laugh as Michael chose that moment to interrupt the office and beg someone to join him for lunch. His little espresso cup in his hand.

“Guys,” he started as he put on his typical ‘I’m about to make an extremely funny joke so you better laugh’ face, “I'm scared. I'm really scared. I think I'm growing into a giant. Because look at this normal sized coffee cup. Looks so tiny in my giant hand now. Anybody want to go to lunch with me later on?”

Jim couldn’t help but laugh when Dwight automatically answered, “I do.”

Michael shuddered and directed his attention away from Dwight, “Okay. How about a woman? Pam?”

Jim sucked in a deep break as he heard his girlfriend charm her way out of lunch. He had to hand it to her, the contractor excuse worked well. They of course hadn't actually talked to a contractor already; they were doing what they could on their own and then planning for major projects afterward, but had decided they would start that work after the wedding.

Which would be today. It took Jim a minute to realize again that at this time tomorrow, he’d be a husband.

He was pulled from his daydreams when Erin walked up to their island and tried to trade pleasantries with Dwight. Jim shook his head as Dwight bombarded her with reasoning on how she didn’t have to ask him how he was doing every time she walked up, and was in disbelief when she took Dwight's criticism with a smile. An actually genuine smile.

“Did somebody here leave a map in the printer to Youngstown, Ohio?” Jim heard her ask, and he traded a look with Pam.

Dwight took it upon himself to try and smoke out whoever had printed it, especially when he found out it was a map to a courthouse.

Dang it, Jim thought to himself, and just by looking at her, he could tell Pam’s expression mirrored his thought process exactly. Dwight, however, was easily distracted, and was examining Erin’s driver’s license and birth certificate with great enthusiasm when Jim felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Could we see you and Pam in the conference room for an interview?” Jane Michaels, one of the co-producers for their office's insane documentary, asked, and Pam nodded in response. They linked hands on the two-second walk to the next room, and Pam leaned up and whispered in his ear.

“I think we’re caught.”

He nodded as they settled into their chairs in front of the window.

“Thanks guys,” Jane said as she sat next to Carlos, one of the camera men. “Just a few questions and then you can be on your way. You know the drill.”

“We do,” Jim agreed, “after five years of doing this, I think we could do these in our sleep.”

Jane and Carlos both laughed before she spoke again. “Well, thankfully that isn’t a part of your contracts. So, either of you know anyone who would need to go to Ohio to get a learner's permit early?"

“There are other reasons to go to Ohio,” Jim offered, and almost before he’d finished the simple statement, Pam interjected.

“We're getting married today!”

Jim snickered a little bit as the words burst out of Pam's mouth, and the jaws of both Jane and Carlos dropped open. He turned to Pam with a smirk and she shrugged, "So, it turns out it's the closest place to get a marriage license without a 3 day waiting period."

“Tell 'em how it happened!” Pam instructed him, sensing that the crew didn't quite believe their ears, and he obliged. There was no way around it now. Pam grabbed onto his arm as he started explaining the reasoning for a sudden elopement. It wasn’t too long later when the red light on Carlos’ camera shut off and Pam pulled Jim up to his feet.

“Congratulations guys,” Jane told them with a smile. "We’re really happy for you.”

“Even if it means you don’t get to film our wedding?” Pam teased, “I know you guys were hoping to show that next fall.”

“Eh,” she said with a shrug, “doesn’t matter, really. We just really want to see you two happy, and it’s obvious you are.”

“Thanks,” they said in unison, and Jim continued, “besides, this way you’ll get to have the rest of the office’s reaction at the news. That’ll be a good cliffhanger.”

“True,” Jane agreed. “Now you two get out of here. We’ve got to run downstairs to where this whole Café Disco thing is happening.”

“Good luck,” Pam told them, and slipped out of the conference room and into the bathroom, where she had stashed her bag earlier that morning.

“We really are stoked for you guys,” Carlos added. "Now, how far away is Youngstown again?”

“Much farther than you would want to drive, I’m sure,” Jim teased, and Carlos only shrugged.

“He’s just messing with you, Jim,” Jane promised. “I won’t push those kinds of boundaries.”

“Thanks,” Jim answered honestly, “we appreciate that. Besides, I’m sure the reaction you get from everyone when we get back on Monday will be TV enough.”

“Very true,” Jane agreed. "See you guys Monday.”

Jim nodded and waited for them to leave before sneaking down the back stairs to pick a bouquet of flowers from the side of the building. He didn't think the flowers that Michael had insisted on planting each year would ever come in handy. Jim quickly picked a handful of daffodils and took the stairs back up to the office.

The rest of the office was quiet as he waited for Pam to emerge from the bathroom. Everyone except Stanley, who was asleep at his desk, had gone down to the closet Michael had turned into a disco.

It made their escape easy.

When she finally opened the bathroom door, Jim had to remind himself to breathe. He took a shaky breath and held out the flowers. “These are for you.”

“They’re beautiful,” Pam answered as she took them and brought them to her nose.

“You ready?”

She smiled up at him before taking his hand in hers, “Yeah.”

They walked through the office and into the elevator in near silence, only commenting on the eeriness of the quiet office mid-day. When they exited the elevator in the lobby, they could hear the music coming from the old Michael Scott Paper Company office, and Jim paused for a moment.

“We should probably stop by. It'd mean a lot to him,” he said out of the blue, and Pam had to agree. He glanced at his watch and knew they were already pushing it time-wise, but if they only stayed for a song or two, he could make it up with his speed on the highway.

The room was a lot more crowded than what either Jim or Pam expected, and they shared a look of amazement. People were actually having a good time. Pam dropped the bag from her shoulder and pulled Jim into the room. Midway through their first song Michael assured them they didn't have to stay if they didn't want to.

Jim assured him, “We're gonna stay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. At least for one more dance.”

Michael beamed, and Jim turned his attention back towards his fiancée.

“You know,” he started, “you really are a dorky dancer.”

“Like you are any better,” she retorted, and he just pulled her to him. He held her close for a few moments and placed a hard kiss against the top of her head.

As another song started to play, Pam slowed her dance movements slightly and Jim followed suit. She opened her mouth to talk, closed it, and then opened it again.

“This is so cheesy.”

Jim nodded, “Yes.”

“I like cheesy,” she told him, and he nodded again.

“Me too.”

“Yeah,” Pam started and paused for a moment, “I think maybe I want a 'wedding' wedding.”

“Me too.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes raising to meet his.

“Yeah,” he answered quickly, and Pam threw her arms around him and pulled him close to her. Jim could feel her move her lips against his ear when she whispered 'thanks,' and hugged her closer to him.

When they finally walked out of the building an hour and a half later, they had dissolved into laugher as soon as the office doors were shut behind them.

“I still can't believe that Erin actually invited someone to this thing,” Pam gasped out in between laughs.

“I know,” Jim agreed, “or that anyone else would end up showing up. Did you see Kevin and Lynn in the corner? That was so disturbing.”

“I KNOW!”

“Woah there Beesly, calm down.”

“I think Michael may have spiked the cappuccino.”

“I didn't see any alcohol.”

“You weren't looking for it.”

“True.”

“So...”

“So...”

The car fell silent for a moment as Jim took a couple deep breaths, “Um, do you want to go home...?”

Pam shrugged, “I don't know. We don't have to go to work tomorrow, so maybe we could still go away for the weekend.”

“I don't want to be the stick in the mud, Pam,” Jim said with a grimace, “but we probably shouldn't. Not when we need money for planning a wedding and remodeling the house.”

“Right.”

Jim couldn't help but feel like he was drowning in the silence left after her simple response. This wasn't the way the day was supposed to be ending.

“I want to give you the wedding you want, Pam,” he said suddenly, causing Pam to look up sharply. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I love you Jim,” Pam gushed, “and I want to declare that love for you in front of a church full of our family and friends. I want the gorgeous white dress and the frilly bridesmaids dresses. I want your niece to be the flower girl and my dad to walk me down the aisle. I want the whole thing.”

“And I'll move heaven to give that to you,” he assured her, “I will. Let's spend tomorrow planning, really planning, scoping out churches and reception halls and flowers. Anything you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Do you think...”

“What?”

“Do you think we could start brainstorming tonight? Have a nice relaxing night in?”

“Sounds like a perfect plan to me.”

---

Eleven Thousand, One Hundred, and Five Days

Today was almost my wedding day. Crazy isn't it? I woke up this morning just knowing that I wanted to marry Pam as quickly as possible. And that turned into a plan to drive five hours away and get married in a courthouse with no one there but us and the judge.

But, once again, things don't always go the way we originally plan them.

Amazingly enough it was Michael who talked us out of the impromptu elopement. And he did it without even realizing it. Michael's Cafe Disco, as odd as it sounds, made us realize just how badly we wanted the whole wedding, complete with the cheesy reception. So, we are back to square one. Sorta.

We picked a date tonight. And have pretty much decided where the wedding and reception will be located. And decided on how many attendants we're each going to have, and have almost figured out who they will be.

We are debating on colors still...but I'm sure that'll be figured out tomorrow, or sometime soon.

But we're getting married, and that is all that really matters.

Jim sent the basketball through the hoop in the empty gymnasium with ease, and used the hem of his practice jersey to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He retrieved the ball and sent it through the hoop again with a resounding swish and couldn’t help but grin. He could hear the sounds of his fellow students starting to get louder in the hallway, signaling the end of their lunch period, and Jim jogged towards the locker room to change back into his normal clothes.

“You know,” he heard a voice call to him, “if you keep skipping lunch, your gym shorts aren’t going to stay on anymore. They’ll fall right off your hips.”

“And you would have a problem with that?” he teased back when he turned to see his girlfriend standing at the door, arms crossed over her chest, a small smile on her face.

“I wouldn’t like my boyfriend’s business to be flashed in front of the whole school,” she answered quickly, “so yeah, I’d have a problem with it.”

Jim shrugged and walked up to her, placing a kiss on her lips, careful not to ruin her outfit with his sweat, “I brought you a coke and some chips,” she told him.

“Thanks babe,” he said as he took the offered lunch from her hands. “I’m going to change so we can get to class in time. Wait for me?”

“Yeah,” she said with another small smile, and Jim noticed something wasn’t right about her expression.

“What’s the matter?”

“Huh?” she questioned as she turned back towards him, a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice in her hands. Her forced smile didn’t reach her eyes, and Jim put a hand on her shoulder.

“You seem… off, or something. Like you’re trying too hard to be happy. You can tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she told him, and she twisted the class ring on her finger. It was a nervous tick that Jim had become well aware of over their nearly four-year friendship and two-year relationship. It cemented his belief that she was lying.

“Don’t lie to me Cassie,” he stated firmly, “I know you better than that. What’s wrong?”

“I’m not feeling well,” she answered honestly, and Jim sat down on the bleachers with her as she continued to twist the ring around her finger. “I haven’t been feeling completely well for a couple weeks now.”

“You’re sick?”

“I don’t know yet,” she answered quietly. “But… sick wouldn’t really be the right word.”

“Cassie,” Jim started pushing a lock of her long blonde hair from her face, “I’m not quite understanding this here. Please just tell me?”

Cassie nodded and wrung her hands together nervously. The empty gym was silent, save the sounds of their breathing, until the bell shook them from their thoughts.

“We’re going to be late,” Cassie said suddenly, moving to stand up. Jim grabbed her hand to keep her from leaving. “Jim…”

“I don’t care if we’re late,” he answered, and she reluctantly sat back down. “Now, will you please stop being so cryptic and just tell me what is going on?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Cassie…”

There were a few moments of silence before Jim heard her quietly speak the last six words he’d ever expected to hear.

“I think I might be pregnant.”

He didn’t say anything, he wasn’t sure he could.

“What?”

“I just realized it this morning,” she told him, “I thought I was just stressed, but…”

“You…what?”

“I know we tried to be careful,” she said, “and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t know…I mean, I’m not sure if I actually am…”

“Pregnant?” Jim’s voice cracked as he asked the one-worded question. “But…we…I…oh god.”

“I know,” Cassie assured him, “trust me, I know. I’m going to be dead. DEAD. Oh god.”

“You said you didn’t know for sure yet,” Jim asked, and Cassie nodded. “You haven’t taken a test yet?”

“I haven’t had time,” she answered. “I only thought about it this morning before school. It didn’t really hit me until third period, and then you weren’t at lunch…”

“You have to take a test,” Jim said suddenly, “right away.”

“I don’t carry pregnancy tests around with me, Jim,” Cassie muttered, frustrated. “And I sure as hell am not asking the school nurse for one. Actually, I don’t know if she would even have any…”

“Let me change and we’ll drive over to Drexel Hill and get one there.”

“Right now? We’ve got class…”

“Cassie, we’ve already missed fourth period. So what if we miss two more? I don’t think I’ll be able to make it the rest of the day with this…looming over my head.”

“Looming?”

“God,” Jim apologized, “that isn’t what I meant…I just…what I meant was…we’re in high school Cassie. You’re going to Yale next fall. A baby…that’ll change everything…”

“I know that Jim,” Cassie assured him, “I am more than aware of that.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

They were both quiet for a minute, then Cassie spoke again.

“Even if I am…you know…I may not keep it.”

“You aren’t seriously saying that you’ll…”

“I don’t know Jim.”

“But…”

“I’m eighteen Jim and so are you. We aren’t ready to be parents.”

“I know.”

“You got that scholarship to Notre Dame you’re waiting to hear about, I’m heading to Yale. We don’t even know where we’ll be a couple in nine months…”

“How did this conversation maneuver to breaking up?”

“It’s not.”

“It sure sounded like it to me, Cass.”

“I really don’t want to fight with you Jim. Not today.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” she said with a sniffle. “I’m just worried, and scared, and I don’t know what to do. I just don’t know.”

“I guess we should probably go.”

“How are we going to get out of here without being seen?”

“We’ll go out through the back hallway by the locker rooms. No one is ever back there and my car isn’t parked far from there. Besides, I’m the star basketball player; they wouldn’t put me in detention. It’ll keep me out of the playoffs this week.”

“So full of yourself.”

“Just speaking the truth. Wait here,” he told her, “I’m going to change and I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

Jim stood up to jog across the gym and then paused, turned back, and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. She sank down into his embrace and his lips grazed over her ear.

“We’ll be okay Cassie,” he promised her, “no matter what, we’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he assured her, “I love you Cassandra Jenkins, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make this okay.”

“Anything?”

“Yes,” he answered quickly. “Anything. Wait here.”

---

Jim bounced his leg up and down where he sat at his desk in his bedroom. The ride to Drexel Hill and back hadn’t taken very long, and he’d driven them to his house so that she could take the tests they’d bought. They hadn’t been sure on what type to get or how many, so he watched anxiously as Cassie grabbed three different tests.

“We want an odd number,” she’d told him. “Best two out of three I guess.”

He had nodded and paid for their purchases, neither of them able to look the cashier in the eye. The drive back to Overbrook seemed unbearably long and for a while they couldn’t move from the car once it was parked in the Halperts’ driveway.

“We should really head inside now,” he’d mentioned after a solid ten minutes of silence and Cassie nodded in agreement. “I think we’ll feel better when we know. Either way.”

“Yeah,” she had quietly agreed. “I guess the waiting isn’t doing us any good.”

Jim’s heart began beating faster when he heard the door to the bathroom open and close and the footsteps of his girlfriend came down the hall.

“Now we just have to wait,” he heard her say as she sat down on his bed. “They take about three minutes.”

“You took all of them?” Jim asked before he joined her on his plaid comforter.

“No,” she answered, “I took two of them. If they come back with different answers then I’ll take the third.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he said, and maneuvered himself back to lie on his pillow. Cassie’s head landed gently on his chest and he felt her breath against his chin.

“I…” Cassie started and then stopped. After a shaky breath, she started again, “I think that if I am, you know, I won’t be able to get rid of it. Maybe we could look into like adoption or something.”

“Okay.”

“I just…”

“It’s okay Cassie,” Jim assured her. “Whatever you decide, we’ll be fine.”

“Thanks Jim.”

Jim ran his fingers through her long hair, one of his favorite past times, as they lay there quietly. Cassie finally sat up about twenty minutes later and stretched her legs in front of her.

“I’m going to go and check on those now.”

“Do you want me to, um, come with you…?”

“No,” Cassie answered quickly, “I think I need to do this on my own.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she answered, and placed a chaste kiss against his lips. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Jim nodded, “if you are sure.”

“I am,” she assured him. “I promise, this is the way I want it.”

“Alright.”

Jim focused his attention on the ceiling fan as Cassie left his room. In order to keep his mind off of whatever the results might be, he started counting backwards from one hundred. It was random, he knew, but he had to do something.

He was so focused on counting that he didn't hear Cassie re-enter his room. When she sat down on the corner of his bed, he pushed himself up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He could see the tears in her eyes and his stomach dropped.

“We don't need the third test,” she told him calmly. “Both tests came back negative. I'm not pregnant.”

“You're not.”

“Nope,” Cassie told him and let out a huge breath of air. “I'm going to go.”

“You don't have to do that.”

“I know,” she assured him. “But, I need to clear my head. I'll talk to you later.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Jim.”

Cassie grabbed her book bag off the floor and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Can we not tell anyone about this?”

“If you don't want to.”

“I don't,” Cassie told him, “at least not yet. Maybe someday, but...”

“I understand,” he told her, “see you tomorrow.”

---

Six Thousand, Six Hundred, and Fifty-Nine

Today was surely on hell of a day. I mean...I...I could have become a father today. That scares the shit out of me. I love Cassie, I do. I want to marry her someday. But we're still in high school and neither of us are even close to being ready for a child.

Is it wrong for me to feel relived? Because I do. Very much so. I mean...

God, I feel like a prick.

It would put my scholarship at risk and Cassie's future too. She wants to be a doctor and is well on her way...man. We got lucky...

Which is a poor choice of words actually. This is going to change things. I don't want it to, but it will. I just hope that Cassie doesn't completely freak out and pull away from me.

She loves me, I know she does...but this really does change things...

Our futures have changed...I guess we'll see what happens next.