"Bye, Jimmy! See ya tomorrow!" Five year old Jimmy Halpert waved to his best friend Ethan and jumped off the bottom step of the bus. He'd had the best day EVER, and he couldn't wait to tell his mommy about it.

He pulled the door open and threw his backpack and Mighty Mouse lunchbox on the floor. His mom would make him pick them up, later, but he had to show her his picture first.

"Mommy! In kinnergarden we made art! I drew Booger, it looks real good!" Booger was the goldfish he'd won all by himself at the fair in September. His mommmy and daddy had let him name it, and he even got to feed him everyday.

He made his way into the kitchen, holding his drawing. He'd painted Booger green and blue, which wasn't really what he looked like, but his teacher Miss Phillips had told him to use his 'magination. Underneath it, Miss Phillips had teached him how to write MY BEST FRIEND in a big purple marker.

"Mommy!! Where are you?"

"I'm in here, Jimmy." His mommy sounded different. Like she was sleepy? Maybe she needed naptime.

"Mommy, are you sleepy? You can borrow my banket for your nap if you want."

"Jimmy." His mommy was standing in his bedroom, next to Booger's tank. "About Booger." Jimmy could tell something was wrong. "Honey, Booger went to fish Heaven today."

"Then let's go and get him back. I want to show him my picture I drawed!" He held it up, and when his mommy saw it, she looked sad.

"Jimmy, he can't come back from fish Heaven."

That was silly. Booger was Jimmy's best friend, even better than Ethan. Why would Booger leave? Was Jimmy mean to him? Did he hurt Booger's feelings? He didn't remember doing anything, but he wanted to tell Booger that he was sorry. He looked up into Booger's fishtank, but he wasn't in there.

"Mommy? Where is he? I want to tell him I'm sorry if I hurted his feelings, I didn't mean to."

"Jimmy, Booger is gone. But you didn't do anything to him, and he knows that you love him." Jimmy could hear the front door open and knew that his big brothers were home from school. His mommy reached out and gave him a hug, telling him that she was sorry, then stood up to go into the kitchen and fix their after school snack.

Jimmy looked down at his picture of Booger. He didn't mean to cry, since he was a big boy now, but he couldn't help it. One big fat tear fell on the picture, making a spot on one of the green spots he'd drawn.

He wiped his face and lovingly set the picture in front of Booger's take. Maybe he would get another fish someday, but not right now.

"Bye, Booger. I'll miss you. You were my bestest friend. I hope you like fish Heaven."

"Jimmy! Your snack is ready!" He sniffed once, wiped his face again, and ran out of his room to go get his snack and watch cartoons.

The last time he remembered crying was when he had been playing basketball in the seventh grade. He jumped up, intending to dunk, and somebody in front of him got knocked down. Right into his crotch. He'd fallen to the ground, hands cupped, and thought he was going to throw up. Instead, he felt tears coming out of the corner of his eyes. He'd been embarassed, but his teammates reassured him that he took it like a man.

This time, there was no baketball. He was just sitting on an uncomfortable pew in a scratchy suit, and it was finally setting in that he would never see his Grandpa Jim again. Big Jim, that's what he'd always been called. He's who Jim was named after, and the family member that Jim felt most connected to.

Big Jim was supposed to take him flying next week. He'd been a pilot in World War II and still recreationally flew planes from time to time. Jim hadn't been flying with his grandpa since he was younger, but he loved it. He had been looking forward to it for weeks, and now it wasn't happening, because his grandpa had suffered a heart attack one day while he was home alone. By the time his grandma got there, it was too late, and there was nothing anybody could do.

He bowed his head, listening to his grandpa's best friend telling stories about what a great man James Spencer Halpert had been. It sounded weird to hear his full name. He wished that everybody would just call him Big Jim...but it probably wouldn't have made him feel any better.

He bowed his head, not really caring that most of his basketball team was there. They would understand. And if they didn't, then screw them. He'd lost his grandpa, his role model, his hero.

His mom wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed, whispering something that he didn't hear, trying to make him feel better. When the tears finally slid down his cheeks, he didn't bother reaching up to wipe them away.

He usually didn't mind babysitting his brothers kids, but The Little Mermaid? Really? He'd never liked this movie as a kid, even though Ariel was pretty good looking for an animated mermaid. He'd always been more of a The Jungle Book kind of guy, but when he suggested that movie, he was greeted with a shriek and a whack to the knee with a plastic baseball bat.

Pam agreed to come over and help, seeing as how she'd been on the phone when he'd been assaulted. She'd made it there just in time for his least favorite part of the movie--that stupid 'Kiss the Girl' song. This part of the movie had always made him want to vomit. When the doorbell rang, he opened the door, expecting a hug and the kiss at the very least. Instead, she'd pushed him out of the way, running into the living room and throwing herself on the couch.

"Oh, this is my favorite part, Jim! I'm so glad I made it in time for this song, it's the best Disney song ever!"

Jim groaned. "Really, Beesly? I'm so disappointed. You obviously have never heard 'The Bear Necessities'." She just smiled at him and began to sing along. It was pretty cute, he had to admit. She even had a little Jamaican accent. She looked over and caught him smiling at her, and her cheeks flushed. It was adorable.

"Pam. You don't have to keep singing. I'm already impressed."

She laughed, but didn't stop. "Sh-la-la-la-la-la float along, and listen to de song, de song say, kiss the girl! Woah, woah!"

God, he was amazed by her. He couldn't believe that he'd gone so long without this woman in his life, and then he'd let her slip away. And then he'd had to sit there and pretend like he didn't still love her, scared that his chance was gone and he'd never really get over her. But here she was, sitting on his couch, wagging her eyebrows and singing a silly Disney song.

"Come on, Jim, aren't you gonna kiss the girl?" She winked at him, and he leaned in to cup her face and do what the dancing Jamaican crab told him to do.

"Gross, Uncle Jim! Girls have cooties!" A loud THWAP resounded through the room and Jim's knee began to throb. Holy God, that kid has an arm! It hurt, a lot. He kind of wanted to cry, but Pam was sitting there...and she was giggling? This was humiliating.

"Shut up, Beesly, it really hurts!" He was laughing, too, though, and the tear that leaked out of his eye and rolled down his face could be due to the fact he'd just been clobbered with a plastic bat (again) or because the whole situation was pretty funny.

Or maybe because he finally had the woman of his dreams...even if she was sitting on his couch, clutching her stomach, laughing at him as he clutched his knees and swore through his teeth that the next movie they watched would be The Jungle Book.

He was pacing. He hated it when people paced. What did wearing a rut in the carpet do? Nothing. It was annoying, but he was doing it: back and forth, his feet dragging through the carpet that they had yet to deshag.

They'd been so careful about protection. Pam even had an alarm set on her cell phone so she made sure to take her pill at the same time every day. Had she missed a day? Had she stopped taking it and not told him? He remembered something about their pharmacist telling them that antibiotics cancel out birth control, and they'd used condoms...right? He couldn't remember.

Not that it would be a bad thing. It would be a great thing. They'd been talking about kids for a while now, but were they really ready? He still wanted to find a new job, she still wanted to take some more classes. They'd only just finished taking down the paneling throughout the house, and they still had so much work in the house to do before they were completely satisfied. Would there be enough room for a baby? Enough time? Enough money?

He raked his fingers through his hair. God, three minutes had never lasted for so long. He wondered if test had already developed and Pam was in the bathroom crying, or...or throwing up or...he didn't know. He just wished that she would come out already.

"Jim." He whipped around to find her standing in the doorway of the living room, the slim plastic stick in her hand. She was too far away for him to see the results of the test, but her eyes were shining. He crossed the space between them in two steps and took her face in his hands, his eyes searching for the answers that he was already pretty sure of. She took a deep breath, then smiled. "Jim...you're gonna be a daddy."

Instantly, his worries disappeared and a bubble of elation welled up inside of him. He'd been dreaming about this moment, wishing for it, hoping for it for so long, and it was finally here. Yes, he was ready for a baby. They were ready for a baby. The money and the space and the time? They would make it. They could do this, and he knew that there would be no baby in the world more loved by their parents than this one.

He knew he was crying when Pam reached up to wipe his tears from his cheeks, not caring about her own. He pressed his mouth to hers, pulling her to him, but careful not to crush her stomach. When they pulled away, she was laughing and he was smiling so big his cheeks hurt. He leaned his forehead against hers, still not quite believing it.

"Pam," he breathed, his voice husky. "I'm gonna be a daddy."

He couldn't take his eyes off her. This was a moment he'd been dreaming about since the first day he met her, and it was finally here. A million memories were flashing through his mind: the first time she'd smiled at him, all their silly pranks, the fights they'd had that had broken his heart but made their relationship stronger.

She was the love of his live, and he couldn't believe that she was standing there. His heart softened at the smile she flashed when she caught his eye, the flush on her cheeks, her curly hair spilling over her shoulders. He wanted to lean in and kiss her forehead, tell her he loved her, but she'd lowered her gaze to the hem of her dress.

He almost broke down when she looked up again, tears shining in her eyes as she said her vows. She was just so breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. He instinctively reached out to her, wanting to comfort her, but then the minister was saying that the bride could be kissed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jason Wayde!" He stood up and clapped as his daughter made her way down the aisle with her new husband.

Later, as he danced with the former Miss Molly Halpert, he couldn't help but to get choked up. "Mol, I'm just so proud of you. And you look so beautiful, so much like your mother. I'm so happy for you, honey." He knew the tears were in his eyes, but he didn't reach to wipe them away.

"Daddy." She leaned in, kissing his cheek. "I love you, too."