The ride to the office is always better with Jim, Pam thought to herself as she pulled her car into the Dunder-Mifflin parking lot. Her Wednesday night drawing classes always got out late so she and Jim had decided it would be best to stay at their separate places on those nights. Which also meant a separate drive into the office on Thursday morning. Pam parked her car but didn’t get out until the last strains of John Denver and the Muppets singing The 12 Days of Christmas faded out on the all-Christmas music radio station she had on in the car. Grinning to herself at the image of Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Miss Piggy singing Christmas carols, she let herself into the building and made her way upstairs.

As was usual for her, she was the first to arrive. After hanging up her coat, her first task was to head to the kitchen and start a pot of tea for her, and coffee for Jim. A light smile drifted over her face as she pulled her teal teapot down out of the cabinet. By the time her tea and the coffee were brewed, many of her co-workers had arrived for the day as well. She looked back out towards her desk and was rewarded with the sight of Jim sitting in front of his computer. She poured a mug for him and walked back out of the kitchen.

“Hey you,” she said pleasantly as she approached his desk.

Jim’s eyes lit up and a grin formed on his lips as he looked up at her. “Hey yourself.”

Pam leaned against the edge of his desk facing the conference room. She set the coffee down next to his monitor. “I got you a mug.”

“Beesly, you are just the best,” he beamed back at her and took his first sip. “How was class last night?”

“Oh, same old, same old,” she shrugged. “We reviewed what’s going to be on the final as well as last-minute critiques for our final projects.”

Jim was about to reply with the phone rang at Pam’s desk. “Better go get that,” he pointed with his thumb towards the reception desk. “It is kind of why you’re here.”

“Yeah,” Pam sighed melodramatically as she stood up. “That and filling the jelly bean jar.”

“Yup, you know the important things.” Jim chuckled as she left.

Pam gave his arm light swat as she left and headed back to her desk. She set the teapot down as she reached for the phone. “Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam. Just a moment I’ll transfer you”

Punching in Stanley’s extension she transferred the call and set the phone back down. Pulling her tea cup out of one of her drawers she wiped it out with a tissue and poured her first cup of tea for the day. Going through the motions of starting up her computer were muscle-memory by now so it came as a surprise with her hands came into contact with something other than her keyboard when she attempted enter her password.

“What the-”

Looking down, there was a white envelope covering most of the keys. Neat block writing was on the envelope with each letter alternating green and red in colored pencil.

On the First Day of Christmas my office gave to me

She quirked a half grin to herself as she turned the envelope over to open it. Inside was a postcard. The image on it was one that triggered a wonderful memory in her mind. She and Jim were standing in front of her desk. She was handing him a small red box since she’d been his Secret Santa that year. Behind them, reams of paper were stacked on her desk in a vaguely triangle shape with all manner of Christmas decorations making the papers look like a Christmas tree. Her grin widened as she remembered that year’s party. It had been the year before Jim had given her the teapot now sitting on her desk. There was one detail that didn’t jive with her memory. Rather than the star she knew had been at the top of the paper tree, a red and gold Dundie award shone from the heap of papers from where it had been Photoshopped into the picture. Still she couldn’t help but giggle as she flipped the card over. More red and green writing was on the back.

A Dundie in a paper tree.

The card was unsigned, but she felt there was only one person in the office who would have gone to the trouble. A person conveniently enough was sitting five feet from her and had his ear pressed to his phone while he was shaking a pen between his fingers. Pam felt the tip of her tongue poke between her teeth as she opened up her IM progam.

Pbees: Thank you for the card. It’s very sweet.

She hit enter and looked up to gauge his reaction. She saw his eyes light up as her message appeared on his screen. He set his pen down and leaned forward to start typing.

Jhalp: Card? What card?

Pam rolled her eyes and started to type back.

Pbees: The First Day of Christmas card you left on my keyboard you dork. Where’d you get that picture though?
Jhalp: Oh, THAT card. You're welcome. Phyllis gave me a copy of that picture actually. She said she’d been saving it for a while. Something about waiting for the right time to give it to me/us.
Pbees: Well tell her it’s very sweet. Though you do know the 12 Day of Christmas traditionally occur AFTER Christmas Day. It’s still December 13.
Jhalp: The song’s True Love gave all the gifts after Christmas. If I’m not mistaken these are the gifts your office gave to you.
Pbees: So?
Jhalp: So, it stands to reason, considering who is in charge of this office that it would make the days get out of whack too.

The thought that Michael’s, Michael-ness could influence such a thing had Pam covering a laugh that tried to escape from her mouth.

Pbees: Good point. Should I be expecting another card tomorrow?
Jhalp: Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies my darling.
Pbees: :-P
Jhalp:  Love you too
Pbees: 😙

They both looked up at each other and shared a loving smile. Jim winking at her just added to the warm glow that had surrounded her heart when she’d read the card.

“Would you relax please?”

“Would you hurry up!”

“What’s the rush?”

“Please, as if you don’t know.”

“Know what? You’re awfully excited to get into work Beesly. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so keyed up to get inside.”

Pam grinned at Jim as they got out of his car and walked into the office together. She was tugging on the sleeve of his coat to try and get him to walk faster into the building. Jim, however, was deliberately taking his time. He put on a fine show of trying to stall as much as he could.

“I’ve just got a feeling there’s going to be something waiting on my keyboard when we get upstairs is all. Now would you please, for the love of all things Christmas, hurry up! It’s cold out here.”

With one last tug she managed to get him inside the lobby of their building. Jim started heading for the stairwell door. Pam was quick to intercept him and pull him towards the elevator.

“Oh no you don’t. Get over here.” She dragged him away from the door and pushed the call button for the elevator.

“What? I thought you said one of your New Year’s resolutions was going to be to take the stairs more often.”

“It’s not New Year’s yet,” she told him as the doors opened and they stepped inside. “Besides there are other reasons to take the elevator.” She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck as the doors closed.

“Yeah?” Jim gave her his best cock-eyed smirk as his own arms circled her waist. “What would those be?”

“This,” she said simply and rose up to kiss him.

Jim eagerly returned her kiss as the elevator started ascending. He especially didn’t mind when Pam’s hand travelled from behind his neck to push open his over coat and slide under his suit jacket to start caressing his back. He couldn’t stop the low moan of pleasure that escaped his throat. What did stop him was Pam swiftly pulling his dress shirt and undershirt out from the back of his trousers and reaching up to put her bare hands on the skin of his back.

“Cold!” Jim jumped back in shock. “Good god girl! There are these things called gloves! You should try them sometime!”

Pam only laughed at him and scampered out of the elevator since it had reached their floor. “Serves you right,” she called over her shoulder.

Jim stepped out of the elevator and dug behind his back to tuck his shirts back in. He turned the corner to see Pam had already unlocked the office doors and was turning on the lights. Slowly, stealthily, he tried creeping through the doors, but he misjudged his hand hold and the door slammed shut behind him.

The sound alerted Pam to his presence and she turned to see the predatory smirk on his face. With a squeal of laughter, she took off across the office heading for the kitchen. Jim was after her in a flash. Pam kept giggling and tried to pull Dwight’s chair out to impede Jim’s progress and give her a few more seconds. Using reflexes honed on the basketball court, Jim nimbly vaulted over the chair and caught up with Pam just as she reached the kitchen door.

“Gotcha!” he crowed triumphantly and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He pulled her away from the door and bent his head down to start nuzzling the collar of her coat to one side to gain access to the warm skin where her neck met her shoulder.

“Ah! Jim!” She was still grinning from ear to ear. “You didn’t shave this morning! That tickles!”

Pam kept laughing and did her best to dislodge his hand from her waist. She only stopped when instead of rubbing his face into her neck, he started kissing the soft skin there.

“Mmmm, Jim.” Pam closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Can you hold that thought for tonight when we get back to your place?”

“You bet,” he assured her with one last kiss. Finally, he released her as they knew it was only a matter of time before their co-workers would start to file through the door.

 Jim dropped his coat and messenger bag off at his desk and headed into the kitchen. Pam turned back towards her desk to deposit her coat on the rack. As soon as her coat was hung up, she turned to look at her computer. To her disappointment there was no card waiting for her on her keyboard. With a sigh she sat down, started up her computer, and logged on. She pulled open a drawer to get some paper out of the ream she kept at her desk. It was one of her habits to refill the paper in the fax machine feed tray every morning. Spinning in her chair she tapped the papers on the file cabinet to line them up before putting them in the tray. As she looked up she noticed something amiss in the fax machine. In addition to the sheets of white paper in the tray, there was another white envelope.

Instantly, a huge smile appeared on her face as she picked it up. After re-filling the fax machine tray, she took closer look at the envelope. Like the note from yesterday there was red and green block letters on the front. The only difference was the order of red and green letters was switched. Whereas yesterday’s letters had started with a red letter and then alternated to green, this letter started with green and alternated to red.

On the Second Day of Christmas my office gave to me

Her grin stayed completely intact as she flipped the envelope over, opened it, and pulled out the card. She couldn’t stop a sniffle or her hand coming up to the top of her chest when she saw the picture on the front of the card. It was another picture of her and Jim. She was proudly holding up a pair of origami doves while Jim looked on and was raising his hand for a high-five. She flipped the card over. More red and green words were on the back.

Two Olympic Doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

A light noise behind her caused her to turn around. Jim was leaning over the counter having just set down her teapot. From the wisps of steam coming from the spout, she could tell he’d taken the time to brew her a pot. His usual cock-eyed smirk was gone. In its place was the soft smile she swore he had only ever turned on her. She felt her heart melt just that much more.

“What was it today?” he asked innocently.

Since Stanley and Meredith had come in for the morning, Pam knew she couldn’t be as demonstrative as she would have liked to have been. She stood up, walked around the reception desk and enfolded him with a brief but meaningful hug.

“I know Phyllis didn’t take that picture,” she stated when she leaned back. “In fact, no one was taking pictures right then. How’d you get that shot?”

Jim shrugged a shoulder and helped himself to a jelly bean. “The doc guys owed me a favor. They gave me a bunch of still shots from their footage reels.”

Pam felt the corners of her mouth start to get a little sore from all the grinning she’d been doing. She also realized she didn’t really care. “Well if that strike of theirs ever gets resolved and they start filming again, we’ll have to thank them.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed.

Pam snuggled deeper into her pillow. She was warm, cozy, and content. The fact that she was also wearing one of Jim’s t-shirts, was laying under the comforter covering his bed, the man himself was spooned behind her, and it was the weekend thus allowing them to sleep in only added to her feeling of boneless-ness. Keeping her eyes closed she breathed out a deep sigh of serenity. Jim’s right arm was tucked under her neck and was stretching out across the bed. She’d brought her left hand up to his right to intertwine their fingers together. His left arm was draped over her waist, which she was holding with her left hand.

Jim breathed into her hair, causing a tingle to run across her neck and down her spine. She rolled to face him. Beside her, Jim shifted his arms to allow her to move closer. He rolled to his back and she followed his movement to rest her head in the crook of his neck. Pam’s hand traveled up to rest on his chest. As his arms wrapped around her back, she felt his heart beating strongly against her palm.

Tilting her head up, she brushed her lips against his. It had the desired effect. He deepened the kiss and his hands starting edging under the hem of her shirt. She smirked to herself as his hands traversed across the skin of her back while pushing the fabric up. Wearing clothes to bed is so overrated, she thought.

After they eventually emerged from under the sheets, and the shower, Pam returned to the bedroom to dig out her favorite t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and met Jim in the kitchen. He was busy turning bacon in a skillet.

He heard her pad into the kitchen and a smile bloomed on his face. “Hey you.”

“Hi,” she replied.

“Nice shirt,” he smirked and turned back to the bacon. “It’s my favorite.”

“Was your favorite,” she corrected. “It can’t be your favorite shirt anymore.”

Jim didn’t bother turning around and kept his eyes on the stove. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“’Cuz now it’s my shirt,” she said with a giggle in her voice. “So, you can say it’s your favorite shirt of mine, but by definition it can’t be your favorite since it’s not yours.”

This time Jim did turn. He fully intended to continue the debate, but his retort died on his lips. She was sitting at the breakfast bar grinning at him in a way that had visions of jinx playing in his mind. He shook his head with a laugh and stepped forward to steal a kiss across the counter.

“You are so lucky you’re cute,” he said as he pulled the pan off the stove and started transferring bacon to a plate.

“I know,” she grinned and plucked a strip of bacon from the plate as he passed on the way to the small table near the kitchen.

Pam sat down in his lap as they pulled their breakfast towards them. The plate of bacon joined the pancakes and orange juice already set out on the table. Pam poured juice for both of them before they dug in with gusto.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Pam leaned back and kissed Jim’s cheek once they were done eating. “I’ll clean up.”

“You don’t have to,” he protested.

“I know, but you cooked, it’s only fair that I clean up.”

“Far be it from me to suggest otherwise,” Jim relented and held his hands up in surrender.

It didn’t take long for Pam to rinse off their dishes or the pans Jim had used to cook. She closed the dishwasher and wiped her hands dry with a dish cloth in short order.

Walking into the living room she didn’t see him around. “Jim? Where'd you go?”

“In the bathroom,” his voice was muffled through the door. “Be out in a sec.”

Pam was about to sit down on the couch to find something to watch on TV when something caught her eye. Propped up against the TV was a white envelope. The alternating red and green letters were back to the order of the first day.

On the Third day of Christmas my office gave to me

Giddy excitement filled her as she skipped across the room to retrieve the envelope. Swiftly she pulled open the flap and took out the now expected card and retreated a few steps to sit on the couch. Three images filled the space. Each one took up a third of the card. In the top picture, she and Jim were sitting at the conference room table resting their heads on the wooden surface. In the bottom, they were again side by side, but this time rather than being at the table, the chairs were arranged in rows. She and Jim appeared to be counting ceiling tiles. The middle picture was the one that brought a tight throated smile to her face. In the picture her head was resting on Jim’s shoulder. He was staring down at his shoes while a secret smile played over his lips. The words of the back of the card helped to loosen the frog caught in her throat.

Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic Doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“Like it?”

Pam looked up to see Jim looking down at her. She held her arms up to him. Jim quickly leaned down into her embrace.

“They keep getting better and better,” she said with mist in her eyes.

Jim was about to reply, but was cut off as her lips claimed his. Not that he minded in the slightest. Nor did he mind when she pulled him down farther for a repeat of their activities from earlier in the morning.

“Jiiiim! Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Pam called out in a sing-song voice as she darted between trees. The snow under her boots crunched with each step. She kept looking around as white vapor escaped her mouth into the frigid air. Her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen though. The smack of a snowball hitting the truck of the tree she was standing next to did cause her to jump.

“Ah!” She ducked down and ran towards a thicker tree. “You missed me!” she yelled into the woods when she arrived at the new tree.

A voice greeted her from the underbrush. “Who said I was aiming for you Beesly?”

Pam couldn’t get a lock on his voice, despite her turning her head in circles trying to find him. “I think you’re just saying that,” she challenged. “All those years playing basketball and that’s what you have to show for it? Tisk tisk. Maybe you should have gone out for baseball instead!”

In response another snowball whizzed in and exploded at the top collar of the back of her coat. Her squawk of surprise echoed through the trees. Fortunately, Pam’s hair kept most of the snow from falling down to her shirt though. In an instant Pam turned around and launched the snowball she had in the direction of the one that had hit her. She knelt down to pack together more snow so she wouldn’t be let defenseless if she did catch sight of her quarry.

What had started as a simple afternoon walk through a winter wonderland had tuned into a game of cat and mouse between the two of them. Not that Pam would ever admit that she was the one who started the whole thing when she dumped a handful of snow down the back of Jim’s coat and then darted off into the wooded section of the park near her apartment. Nor would she ever admit that Jim had landed quite a few snowballs on her coat and jeans and she had yet to score a hit against him.

Without warning, yet another snowball found its mark. This one wasn’t aimed for her coat or legs. Instead it struck her right forearm causing her to drop the snowball she was holding.

“Hey! No fair- oof!”

Her protest was cut short as Jim leapt from behind a bush in a flying tackle.  They fell into the calf-high snow in a tangle of arms, legs, and laughter. Jim did twist around as they fell so she landed on top of him. Before she could gather her wits about her, Jim rolled them over so he was laying on top of her. Leaning forward her pressed a kiss to her cheeks that were rosy from the cold and a few snowflakes that had melted on them during their collapse.

“Jim!” she squealed. “Your face is freezing!”

“Good thing your face is so warm then,” he replied and buried his nose as far deep into her neck as he could.

“Gah! No! Get off!” Pam levered up and pushed him off her to the side. She picked up another handful of snow and rolled to her side to face him. “Watch yourself there buddy-boy, or the next handful goes down the front of your shirt rather than the back.”

Jim rolled to his side to face her with a gleam in his eye. “Bring it on Beesly.”

With a flick of his hand, he lightly tapped her glove causing her to lose her grip on the snow. This in turn led to the snow she’d been holding to fall on the side of her face, which caused her to let out another squeal. Jim thought this was absolutely hilarious and rolled back to his back holding his sides with laughter. Pam quickly grabbed another handful of snow and made good on her threat to shove it down the front of his coat and the shirt he was wearing under it. To prevent any form of reprisal she rolled over and straddled Jim across his waist and pinned his arms into the snow. She then leaned forward to kiss him, further preventing any escape he might have tried to plot.

Despite the chill of the air and the coolness of his lips under hers, Pam felt warmth glowing within her. As she deepened the kiss, she realized it had been years since she’d enjoyed simple childlike fun like this while out on a snowy day. Before any other thoughts of comparison could worm their way into her mind, she pushed them away. No point in thinking about the darkness of the past, when the present was so filled with light and joy. Eventually she broke the kiss and leaned up. Jim’s radiant smile matched her own.

“Mmmm, Beesly,” Jim reached up and brushed his knuckles across her cheek.

"Mmmm, Halpert” she purred back and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest.

Jim’s arms, now free, wrapped around her. The pile of snow that had been dislodged when they crashed to the ground muted some of the sounds of the woods. A whisper of wind and the call of a cardinal were all that they heard as they lay wrapped in each other's embrace.

After a few minutes, they did get up and called a truce. Jim insisted on brushing the snow from her coat and jeans, taking special care to clear off any snowflakes from her rear end. That earned him a smack on his own butt, before they linked hands to head back to Pam’s apartment. It was only a ten-minute walk before she was opening the door.

“I need to get out of these jeans,” she announced after they’d stripped off their coats, hats, and boots.

“No problem,” Jim said as he started towards her kitchen. “I’ll heat up some milk for hot chocolate.”

Pam leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You’re the best.”

It didn’t take her long to change out of her snow-soaked clothes and into some fuzzy fleece pants, thick socks, and a sweatshirt she’d ‘liberated’ from Jim’s closet. He was on the phone ordering a pizza when she emerged from the bedroom. Two steaming mugs of hot chocolate were waiting for her on her coffee table. Propped between the two mugs was a white envelope.

On the Fourth day of Christmas my office gave to me

Grinning, Pam sat down on the sofa and tucked her legs under her before reaching for the envelope. Pulling the card out she saw four pictures quartering the card. The top right and bottom left pictures were of her on the phone behind the reception desk. The top left and bottom right were of Jim, also with his desk phone tucked into his shoulder. The position of the pictures made it look like the Jim and Pam in the photos were looking and smiling at each other. Pam felt her grin grow wide as she turned the card over.

Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic Doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“Pizza will be here in about twenty minutes,” Jim proclaimed as he sat down next to her.

Pam threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She broke the kiss and leaned back with her eyes shining.  “How much footage did the Doc crew give you access too?”

Jim’s eyes glinted with the light of mischief she loved so much. “Enough,” he said simply.

“Well, it’s all great,” Pam picked up her hot chocolate mug and raised it in a toast. “To eight more days with enough pictures from the office.”

“Hear, hear!” Jim picked up his own mug and clinked it against hers.

They dissolved into laughter at her silly toast. After taking their first sip, Jim picked out a selection of DVD’s from her collection for her to choose from while they waited for the pizza to arrive. Pam tapped the case for Home Alone II. They spent the rest of the evening wrapped up in a blanket, enjoying pizza, and watching Kevin McAllister once again defeat the dim-witted duo of Harry and Marv.

“Uuuuuughh!”

Pam’s head leaned forward and crashed into her keyboard with a dull thud. Despite the weekend she’d shared with Jim, Monday had reared its ugly head and was doing its best to suck any form of fun, life, or joy out of the offices of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton. It was one of those sneaky Monday’s. The kind that started hinting and whispering that it wouldn’t be as bad as others that had come before. The sales staff had landed a few new contracts early in the day. The accountants started their day with their books balanced. The copier’s collate function actually worked for once. Michael was running late. It was the calm before the storm.

The proverbial shoe dropped and dropped hard. Angela discovered an error in the expense accounts and started loudly hounding Oscar and Kevin to find the discrepancy. The phones started ringing off the hook with customers trying to renew orders before the end of the year. Precisely at eleven, Michael burst in with Todd Packer. Due to Todd’s interference, no sales calls were happening anymore since Michael and Todd had declared a Manager vs. Bullpen panty-raid. They dashed around hanging up the phone any time the sales staff tried to make it through their call sheets.

It was then that the copier then decided it was a great time to flash an error code signaling it was low on toner. When Pam opened the machine to replace the cartridge, she discovered to her dismay it was a faulty error code. The toner wasn’t low, but in discovering this fact, she managed to get toner powder on the sleeves and front of her sweater.

“Hey there Pammy.”

Pam looked up to see Todd leering over the counter at her.

“Looks like you got a little something on the jugs. Here let ‘ol Packer clean that up for you.” He took a disgusting handkerchief from his suit jacket pocket and reached forward towards her chest.

“Back off!” she snapped and swatted his hand away.

“Oohh! Feisty!” Todd didn’t seem fazed in the slightest and reached forward again.

“That’s enough.” The voice was calm but cut through the bluster that had swept through the office with a low intensity.

Todd turned around to see Jim standing behind him. He scoffed at the taller man. “What are you going to do about it?”

Jim didn’t say anything in return. He simply crossed his arms, held his ground, and didn’t break eye contact with Todd.

“What are you looking at Nancy-boy?” Todd challenged.

Jim still didn’t reply. He was however joined by Dwight who got up to stand at Jim’s side. Dwight made a show of rolling his shoulders back after he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“What’s this? Two of you?” Todd laughed, but this time there was a slight tremor in his voice.

Phyllis joined her co-workers. She crossed her arms and pierced Todd with a look that had her eyes been lasers, would have melted through steel plate. Stanley joined them as well and raised his chin while folding his hands in front of him.

Todd was looking nervous now. He and Michael were quickly being surrounded by a growing ring of silent sales staff. Lastly Andy walked over and attempted to look intimidating by also crossing his arms and moving his lower jaw around. From her perspective, Pam would have normally let out a giggle at Andy’s antics, but she knew not to break the moment.

“C’mon Mikey,” Todd finally snarled and turned away. “These losers can’t take a joke.” He tossed an arm around Michael’s shoulder and steered the other man towards the doors. “Let me take you to this little place I know.”

The door closed behind them and at last a semblance of peace returned to the office.

“Thanks guys,” Jim said as they returned to their desks.  He turned around and walked the few steps to the reception desk. “Hey,” his voice was now soft and loving. “You okay?”

“I will be,” Pam let out with a huff. She was dabbing at her sweater with some tissues to try and get the toner out. “Thanks for that though. I think I need to head home during lunch and get a new shirt. This one may be ruined.”

Jim was going to reply when Pam’s phone rang again. Giving him an apologetic look, she picked up the receiver. “Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam. Hold please while I transfer you.” With well-practiced movements she placed the call on hold and looked back up at Jim. “It’s one of yours. Baxter systems.”

“Right,” Jim glanced at his watch. “Shoot, that one’s going to take me a while. I was hoping to be able to eat lunch with you. I might end making it a working lunch at this rate.”

“I know. I’m sorry babe.” Pam put a hand on his shoulder.

They reluctantly parted ways. Jim back to his desk. Pam set the phones to voicemail and plucked her coat off the rack to head down to Jim’s car to drive back to her apartment for a change of clothes. When she returned, she was relieved to see that both Packer and Michael’s cars were still missing from the parking lot. Heading back upstairs, she hung up her coat and turned to her desk. The sight that greeted instantly her melted away the stress of the morning. She felt joy filling her heart again.

Her teapot was resting next to her keyboard with a white envelope resting against it.

On the Fifth day of Christmas my office gave to me

The ceramic felt warm with a fresh pot of tea when her fingers brushed it as she retrieved the card within the envelope. Like yesterday there were four pictures on the card. Pam holding up her new teapot in her talking head interview. Her smirking at the camera as she added teabags to it in the kitchen. A wide smile of elation on her face as she pulled it from a recently unwrapped box. Her look of glee as she pulled the hot sauce packet out of the top. In the middle of the four pictures was a fifth. This one showed her beaming up at Jim as he was about to explain the bonus gifts within the teapot. Jim’s face was captured in an expression of wonder and awe at the sight of his gift to her gracing the reception counter.

Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic Doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

Pam looked up at Jim’s desk. He’d been watching her the entire time. She nodded her head towards the doors and walked out. Jim followed her at once. In front of the elevator she wrapped her arms around him. Any lingering stress from the morning drained out of her as she held the man she loved. Jim’s arms surrounding her were just as warm as any of the blankets they’d snuggled under over the weekend.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Jim said as he gently rocked her from side to side.

“I have a confession to make.”

“Oh? What’s this? Wait! Don’t tell me. You actually like tuna fish sandwiches. No, that can’t be right. Oh! Oh! I know! You went out and bought an engagement ring last July! That’s why we had all those dates where we didn’t have to spend any money, like flying kites in the park or going to the beach.” Pam flashed an evil smile at Jim as the elevator doors closed and the car started heading up. “No, not even you are that sappy. Hmmmm, I got it! You’ve been pining after some wonderful but untouchable girl for years. A woman so devastatingly beautiful that the thought that you couldn’t be with her would send you away from the hometown you love as a sad, sorry, sodden, shadow of who you once were.”

Pam finished her speech as the doors opened on their floor with a wide toothy grin on her face.

Jim pursed his lips and nodded approvingly. “Bonus points for the alliteration there at the end.”

“Why thank you,” Pam circled her hand in front of her and mock-bowed as Jim unlocked the door to Dunder-Mifflin and let them in.

“Sadly though, none of those are correct. The real confession is that I actually wasn’t at the Y playing basketball with Mark while you were soaking in the tub last night.”

“My bath bombs drive you away?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “I also needed to come back here and arrange a few things.”

“Yeah?” Pam’s eyebrows raised in anticipation. “What things?”

“Things to do with this.” Jim reached into his suit coat and pulled out a white envelope.

“Hand delivered this time. I’m impressed.” Pam had a look of approval on her face as she glanced at the front of the envelope.

On the Sixth day of Christmas my office gave to me

When she opened the card and looked at the picture, she couldn’t stop the peal of laughter that escaped her mouth. Two columns of three pictures each graced the front of the card. In the top left corner Dwight was standing at her desk. In the bottom right corner, he was holding the feet of dead goose he’d just dumped on the reception counter. The pictures in between looked like still frames from a movie reel of Dwight bringing goose down on the desk. The Pam in the pictures also grew increasingly disgusted as the goose the made its way down. Pam kept a hand over her mouth to control her giggle fit and turned over the card.

Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

She looked up at Jim who was smirking proudly. “You do realize there was only one goose last Christmas, right?”

“That’s why there are six pictures,” Jim pointed to each image in turn. “Besides, you try and think of something goose related that also ties into the office.”

Pam looked up and to the side for a moment and curled the side of her lip up as well. “Okay,” she relented. “I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head right now. But what does this card have to do with why you weren’t at the Y last night?”

“Well milady, if you will but observe.” Jim gently put his hands on her shoulders and turned her so she was facing towards Dwight’s desk.

“Oh ho ho ho!”

Pam’s eyes grew wide as the laughter bubbled out of her. All of Dwight’s desk supplies were either covered in double sided tape or had rubber bands wrapped around them. Attached to the tape or threaded into the rubber bands were small red and green craft feathers. Pam couldn’t hide the smile from her face as she walked over to inspect Jim’s handiwork.

“So, hold on,” she looked back at her boyfriend. “You spent three hours doing all this? I’m impressed.”

“I never really got him back last year for dumping that goose on your desk.” Jim walked over and fluffed up a few of the feathers looking quite pleased with himself. “I mean sure there was how I tricked him at the Benihana lunch we went on, but it didn’t feel the same as an actual prank. Then we watched Home Alone the other night and it got me thinking. In the first movie, one of Kevin’s traps was that he got Harry all covered in feathers. I thought, perfect! I’ll tar and feather Dwight’s desk!”

“There’s no tar here,” Pam had a quizzical look on her face.

“Tape and Rubber bands. T-A-R.” Jim pointed to each item in turn, his grin still fully intact.

Pam matched him smirk for smirk. “Oh, so pleased with yourself.”

“I am actually.” Jim stood in front of her and settled his hands on her hips. “None of his stuff is damaged in any way, I’ve created a more, shall we say festive ambiance to the office, and most importantly made you smile.”

“The trifecta, nice.” Pam nodded sagely before leaning up to kiss him.

They broke apart almost at once when they heard the door open. Creed ambled in without looking their way and headed for his desk. Knowing they needed to curtail any more overt displays of affection, Pam and Jim grinned at each other before separating to start their work day.

Dwight’s reaction when he arrived was nothing short of spectacular. Jim had been standing behind Pam’s desk, very legitimately preparing to fax a contract to one of his clients. He stopped that and put a hand on the back of Pam’s chair as Dwight started lecturing the office about misfeasance and hostile work environments.

“I am going to review the security tape, right now! Whoever violated my desk will be found and punished!” Dwight concluded.

At Pam’s desk, Jim opened her top drawer and surreptitiously withdrew a VHS cassette. “Does he mean this security tape?”

Long years of pranking stood Pam well and she kept her face straight as Dwight thundered past the desk. Inwardly though she was beaming at the prank Jim had pulled off. She looked up at him proudly after the door slammed behind Dwight.

“Come on,” Jim nodded towards Dwight’s desk.

Together they removed every piece of tape, rubber band, and feather which had been carefully arranged for easy removal. It all went into a plastic garbage bag that Pam kicked under her desk as soon as they were finished. Jim sat down in his chair and pulled up a spreadsheet just as Dwight walked in with Hank.

“It’s all right here! Clear and convincing evidence of damage to personal and company property!”

Hank looked at the desk Dwight was pointing towards and shrugged. “What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong with it? Everything’s wrong with-” Dwight’s tirade stopped in mid-sentence as he looked to see he desk back in order. He all but ran to his desk and started pulling everything up in a vain attempt to find the feathers that had once covered the surface. “No! No! No! No! It was here! Feather’s everywhere!”

 “Call me back if you find anything.” Hank sighed and turned around to resume his post in the lobby.

“Michael!” Dwight stormed into Michael’s office, slamming the door behind him.

At her desk, Pam finally let her laughter loose. The double prank had worked perfectly. Raising her hand, she met the air-five Jim sent her way.

Home, home, home, home, just get home. The thought kept cycling through Pam’s mind as she steered her car towards her apartment complex. Snow was falling harder with every passing minute. She’d run out of wiper fluid halfway through her drive home from her last class session of the semester. She was relying on the spray of dirty water and slush being kicked up from the cars ahead of her to get her windshield wet enough that her wipers would be able to wipe away the rest of the salt and grit. However, as soon as her wipers settled back down, the dirty water dried, leaving a thin film of salt and dirt on the glass. Combined with driving at night and the snowstorm, it was making for a hazardous drive home.

Forcing her hands to relax on the steering wheel, she turned the knob on her wiper control once more. The wiper blades skipped over her windshield leaving an uneven pattern of clear and dirty streaks that made driving just that much harder. At last she pulled off the road into her parking lot. Steering the car into her usual space, she shut off the engine and leaned her head forward onto the wheel in relief.

“Thank god,” she whispered under her breath.

The day had been stressful enough. She’d hardly seen Jim at all since Michael had insisted on taking the sales staff out on a “re-bonding” experience for most of the day to Chuck E. Cheese’s as a way to try and apologize for his behavior on Monday. Sure, he’d texted her throughout the day, but it wasn’t the same as looking up and seeing him. The snow had started falling soon after she left the office to head to her last night of class. She felt she’d done well on the written exam and had presented her final project paintings clearly to her class and professor. It was that they had to critique everyone else’s work which had drained most of her remaining energy. And of course, she’d forgotten to eat dinner so she was also starving.

“I’ll get it all tomorrow,” she said to herself after a glance in the back seat at the school supplies, she’d tossed in once they’d been dismissed. Pulling her coat closed she stepped out of the car and up the walkway to her apartment door.

The sights, sounds, and smells that greeted her when she opened the door were anything but what she was expecting. Rather than the dark apartment she’d left, her small front hallway was lit up by strings of white Christmas lights leading towards her living room. Nat King Cole’s version of The Christmas Song filled the space. The smell of spices hung in the air as she took off her shoes and coat. Following the lights, she rounded the corner to her living room.

Jim was just setting down two plates on her coffee table. From her vantage point she could see they were filled with herb-encrusted baked chicken breasts, stuffing, and a side of sliced carrots covered in a brown sugar glaze. A bottle of white wine was already resting on the table. He turned to face her after he set down the plates.

“Welcome home,” he said with a soft smile.

Pam quickly walked forward to enfold him in a hug. “This smells wonderful. Thank you.”

“It was the least I could do since we didn’t get a chance to see each other today,” he breathed into her hair. He leaned back so he could look into her eyes. “You can tell me all about your final over dinner.”

She went on to explain everything while they ate. Jim popped The Santa Clause into the DVD player to have on as background noise during their dinner. Soon Pam had finished her dinner and leaned back against her armrest. Jim finished eating as well and pulled her feet up to his lap. Using long steady strokes, since he knew her feet were ticklish, he started rubbing her feet as they watched Tim Allen’s character transform into Santa.

The combination of good food, a favorite movie, and foot massage lulled Pam to sleep. She woke up to Jim softly nudging her shoulder.

“Hmmmm, I’m sorry,” she sat up rubbing her eyes that were sticky due to having fallen asleep still wearing her contacts. “What time is it?”

“Almost eleven,” Jim informed her. “Come on, let head to bed.”

“The dishes,” she turned towards her kitchen, but Jim held stopped her.

“Already done.”

She scowled slightly. “Jim, you made dinner. Whoever didn’t make the meal does dishes, that’s the rule.”

“I know,” he shrugged. “But it looked like you needed the rest. Besides, there weren't many to do. I’d already put soap and water in the pans before you got home, so it was easy to wash them out along with the plates.”

“It’s just, you’ve been so sweet these past few days with the cards and everything.” She got up off the couch to stand in front of him. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to wait on me hand and foot. I’m a big girl. I can pull my fair share of everything.”

Jim pulled her to him. “I know,” he said after pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But we only get to have our first Christmas together once, and I want to make sure it’s memorable.”

Pam leaned back to look at him. “Just the fact we’re finally together makes it memorable enough for me. All the rest, the cards, the meals, it’s just one big huge bonus.”

“I’m very glad to hear that.” Jim pulled her back to him. “I love you, you know that Beesly?”

“I do,” she replied into his chest. “I love you too Jim. So much.”

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a few more moments. Pam finally leaned back and gave him a peck on the lips, before heading to the bathroom to take out her contacts. Jim made sure the doors were locked and the lights were off and retired to her bedroom to change from his jeans into a pair of blue pajama pants. Pam came in from the bathroom and stripped down to her panties and cami before sliding into bed with Jim. They reached for each other as they started to settle down to sleep.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Jim jolted back up and rolled over to dig into the pockets of his jeans. “Here you go.” In his hand was that day’s white envelope.

On the Seventh day of Christmas my office gave to me

Pam sat back up and retrieved her glasses from her nightstand. She let out a bemused giggle when she took out the card and saw the images on the front. Over a photoshopped background of a pond, an ice sculpture of two swans was repeated three times across the card. The same ice sculpture Andy had wheeled into their conference room when the Dunder-Mifflin Infinity program had launched. The two birds started out looking fine, but as each image of it repeated itself on the card, it was clear the ice was melting. The fourth and last picture was when one of the two ice swans had crumbled away leaving its partner standing next to a tray of collapsed ice.

Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“Very cute,” Pam told him with a grin.

“Thanks.”

Pam rolled over to set the card on her nightstand and turn off the light. She then rolled back into Jim’s arms. Together they fell asleep.

“Hey, ready for lunch?”

“You bet, let me switch the phones.”

Pam set the phone to voicemail before standing up to join Jim in walking towards the kitchen. They collected their lunches and made their way into the break room and claimed spots at the far table. Jim bought the last two cans of Coke from the machine and set them on the table as he sat down next to her. They spent the lunch hour working on the logistics for some new pranks. Pam also tried to wheedle who Jim had for office Secret Santa. She drained the last of her soda and turned, what Jim called her, puppy dog eyes on him.

“Please Jim,” she let out with a hint of a pouty lip. “I promise I won’t tell.”

“You’ll find out tomorrow. Besides weren't you the one who said it’s the anticipation that makes the game that much more fun?”

“I didn’t say that!” She lightly swatted his arm for good measure.

Jim just laughed at her and downed the last of his drink too. They were so caught up with their conversation that they didn’t realize Andy had wandered in until he spoke to them.

“Milady, m’Tuna,” He bowed slightly without turning to directly face them. “You guys know if we’re out of any of the soft type drinks today?”

“Coke,” they said together.

Pam realized at once what had happened, but she was a tad slower off the mark than Jim.

“Jinx!” he beamed right at her.

Her eyes shot up in alarm and surprise. Jim’s own face carried a look of delighted glee. Andy hadn’t noticed anything as he was still staring at the vending machine.

“So, what do we have left then?”

“Looks like grape, a personal favorite of mine, orange, regular or diet root beer, or water,” Jim said as he looked over the choices. He then turned back to Pam. “Which do you recommend?”

Pam’s eyes and mouth cocked in annoyed expression Jim knew well. Really, her face screamed. Quickly she stood up and pointed to the root beer button for Andy. Collecting her garbage, she ducked out of the breakroom and headed for her desk.

She’d just finished sending of a text message when Jim arrived and leaned over to pluck a few jellybeans from the dish. She’d opened a new game of Free Cell and was busy arranging cards.

“So, here’s what I’m thinking,” Jim said as he popped a buttered popcorn candy in his mouth. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a refresher course on how to use the copier.”

Pam glanced up at him with her eyebrow still cocked but then turned back to her game.

Jim went on. “After all we’ve had that thing here for years and there only seems to be one person who can tame the foul beast that it is.”

She didn’t even look up at him when he paused.

“So, what do you think? Should I have Michael call a meeting so you can teach us how to unjam the thing or replace the toner. I know I for one, am still unsure on how to get the collate function to work.”

The cards on her screen fell into place causing the chain reaction she loved so much. As her score tallied Pam reached for her pad of sticky notes and a pen. She quickly sketched a stick figure falling through what was clearly thin ice. The stick figure in question also happened to be wearing a shirt that read, ‘Jim,’ across the front. Peeling off the note she rose up and slapped it on his tie.

“Wonderful representation Beesly,” Jim nodded approvingly after he peeled the note off and looked at it. “I shall add this to my growing collection of your artwork. Years from now I’ll be able to say, ‘I knew her when.’”

The buzzing of Pam’s phone distracted her for a moment. Flipping it open she read the text and replied with a simple, ‘yes.’”

Jim noticed at once. “’Yes?’ Yes to what?”

Pam was saved from trying to answer with the opening of the door. Her face lit up with anticipation at the sight of her sister walking up to her desk.

“Pam!” Penny beamed and returned the hug Pam gave her as she approached. “Hi Jim,” she said after she released her sister.

“Hey Penny. What brings you here?”

“This.” Penny dug into her purse and produced a red and white can of Coke which she happily placed on the reception counter.

Pam already had her dollar bill out and handed it over to her sister. She took the can and grinned just a little to sweetly at Jim as she held it out to him.

“Wait a minute,” he backed up a half step. “This wasn’t in the rules.”

“Oh Jim,” Penny shook her head at him. “You have so much to learn.”

Pam nodded sagely. Jim still hadn’t taken the can so she set it on the counter and gave it a couple taps in his direction. As she knew it would, the gesture trigged a fond memory for both of them. Jim’s wary expression faded and he took hold of the can at last.

“You two will have to educate me then,” he said and cracked the can of soda.

What he didn’t know, and what both Pam and Penny did know was that it would be a good idea to step back from that particular can of Coca-Cola. Penny had received Pam’s ‘yes’ text and had vigorously shaken the can just prior to her arrival. The sticky soda exploded from the can and sprayed all over Jim. He jumped back with a shout of surprise but kept the can in his hand.

Pam and Penny dissolved into laughter that instantly had every eye in the office turn their way. Jim joined their laughter and wiped drops of Coke off his hands. After explaining the slight kerfuffle to Michael, the sisters graciously offered to help Jim clean up the mess. Penny bid them goodbye with a promise to catch up over the weekend at the Beesly family holiday party. Pam walked her sister down to her car and waved good-bye. When she returned to her desk, the empty Coke can was resting next to her pad of sticky notes. A white envelope sat propped up by both. In addition to the usual greeting on the outside of the card, a yellow sticky note also adorned the envelope.

On the Eighth day of Christmas my office gave to me
‘You definitely earned this one today Beesly’

Pam’s laughter returned full force as she pulled out the newest card. In the background of the card a wooden barn stood to one side. A paddock filled the rest of the space. Arranged throughout the paddock were eight photoshopped images of Dwight’s cousin sitting on a stool next to a selection of goats. Each image also had a bucket next to it that Mose was filling with goat milk.

Eight Moses milking
Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

She carried the card over to Jim’s desk and leaned herself against it. Jim cast a wary but bemused eye at her.

“Truce?” she asked

“Truce,” Jim agreed.

Pam smiled down at him. “Oh good. While it’s fun to mess with you from time to time, I think we do our best work when we’re a team rather than opponents.”

“I fully agree. Have something in mind?”

Pam’s grin widened and she leaned down to whisper in Jim’s ear. His eyebrows raised in delight as he listened to her. His imagination kicked into overdrive at Pam’s suggestions for activities once they were back at his place once the work day ended.

“Why is the angel above the star on this tree?”

Pam turned around from where she and Jim were decorated the office Christmas tree in the conference room. The two of them were finishing up with the decorations when Angela walked in holding a plate of cookies.

“Also why is the table not set up yet?” Angela continued to fume. “There’s no place to set out the food!”

“Hey, relax,” Jim started.

“No Jim,” Angela turned her frosty glare on him. “The party starts in ten minutes. There has to be time to properly set out everything prior to the start of the party. Otherwise people will get hungry after Secret Santa waiting for food to be set out.”

“I can handle the rest of this,” Pam said softly to her boyfriend indicating the tree. “Could you grab Kevin and Oscar and get the table set up please?”

“Sure,” Jim’s face lost its momentary look of annoyance. He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze as he left the room. “Oscar! Kev! Could you guys help with the table?” Pam heard him calling across the office as he left the conference room.

“What kind of cookies did you bring this year?” Pam tried to keep her voice pleasant, it was Christmas time after all.

Angela just scoffed at her co-worker. “Don’t change the subject. Why is the angel above the star?”

“Oh, um,” Pam turned back to the tree. “Jim and I were just getting ornaments on the three. I guess we didn’t really pay attention to what was going where.”

“Typical,” Angela looked off to the side.

She was interpreted by the arrival of Jim, Oscar, and Kevin who were hauling in the parts of the conference room table from the storage closet. With the experience of years of having to set up the piece of furniture, the three men soon had it assembled and pushed against the wall of windows. The tree was in the back corner with chairs along the exterior and back walls. Angela set down her plate of cookies and swiftly left the room to head to the kitchen to bring out more food.

“Could you switch the angel and the star please?” Pam asked after Kevin and Oscar left.

“Of course,” Jim replied. He walked over the tree and swiftly changed the ornaments in question.

Pam put the last snowflake ornament she was holding on a branch and stepped back as Jim finished his task. She wrapped her right arm around his waist as his left arm draped across her shoulders. They tilted their heads together to admire their handiwork.

At three ‘o clock precisely Michael emerged from his office in his Santa suit and dashed about, telling everyone to stop their work for the day. Dwight donned his elf hat and ears and instructed everyone to join him in the conference room for the Secret Santa gifts. Jim and Pam chose chairs next to each other and sat down as everyone else filed in. The gift giving started up as soon as everyone was seated.

Pam was the first to get her present. It came in a large but lightweight present bag with tissue paper covering the top. Tossing out the tissue paper, Pam pulled out a light green cable knit blanket.

“That’s from me,” Phyllis told her. She was sitting on Pam’s other side.

“Thank you,” Pam smiled at the older woman. “I love it. It’s so soft and warm.” She brought a swath up to her cheek to fully experience the feel of the wool.

“Big enough for two. Bobby has had nothing but compliments, let me assure you.” Phyllis leaned over and whispered in Pam’s ear since Dwight had tossed Kevin his present.  Phyllis had a gleam in her eye and glanced towards Jim.

Pam immediately felt he face grow warm, but not from the blanket. “Yeah, thanks,” she whispered back.

“Micheal!” Dwight blurted out and held out a box wrapped in silver paper.

“Ohhh, what could it be, what could it be?” Michael was quivering in excitement as he tore off the paper and opened the box. His face lit up in excitement as he pulled four DVD’s from the box. Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, and Robin Williams: Live on Broadway. “Oh, captain my captain!” Michael exclaimed as he held up the movies.

“Our fearful trip is done,” Jim spoke up. “The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.”

Michael looked over at Jim with a slight frown. “It’s a quote from the movie Jim. Besides it’s Christmas time, not sailing time.”

“You’re right Michael,” Jim nodded. “Merry Christmas. I know Robin Williams is your favorite comedian and I heard you’d finally bought a DVD player so I thought you’d like those.”

“These are from you?” Michaels expression changed instantly back to joy. Jim just nodded with a grin on his face. “Thank you.”

While Michael continued to look over his gifts Pam leaned over to Jim. “That was really sweet.”

He looked down on her fondly. “And it prevents him from changing Secret Santa to Yankee Swap.”

“Still not going to let him live that down?” Pam had a grin on her face.

“Never,” he grinned back.

Pam’s smiled widened to show her teeth. A motion caught her eye though. “Oh Jim! Your turn.”

He looked over to see Dwight was holding out a present for him. “Thanks Dwight.”

“Took you long enough,” Dwight muttered under his breath.

It was a small box with green, white, and red striped paper wrapped around it. When he opened the box, the first thing Jim saw was a note with some very familiar handwriting.

So we’ll always get the timing right.

Setting the note aside, Jim pulled a small velvet drawstring bag out of the box. Inside the bag was a gold colored pocket watch. Pushing the button on the clasp, the front lid flipped open to reveal a simple watch face. On the interior of the lid was a small picture of Jim leaning over Pam’s desk. In the picture they were both looking up and smiling at the camera.

“Merry Christmas,” Pam grinned up at him.

“Pam, wow,” Jim’s face darted between the watch and her. Joy and wonder danced across his face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Pam draped her new blanket over their laps as the gift swap went on. Jim closed the watch and put it in his right hand. Gently he took Pam’s left hand and bought it over so they held onto the watch together. The rest of the Secret Santa exchange happened uneventfully. After the last gift was given, people picked up their trash and started mingling around the office.

Jim and Pam held back at her desk to watch the antics as they sipped cups of cider. Michael had commandeered the TV in the conference room and had Mrs. Doubtfire plugged in. Several people had gathered around him to watch the movie. Darryl showed up from the warehouse and helped Dwight set up the karaoke machine. Kelly was the first to grab the microphone and started in on an enthusiastic rendition of Maria Carry’s All I Want for Christmas is You complete with impromptu dance number.

“How many times do you think she’ll sing that” Pam asked with a slight nod of her head.

Jim tilted his head back and forth a couple times. “I’d say at least nine times.”

“Nine?” Pam looked up at him quizzically. “Why nine?”

“Because of this,” Jim kept watching Kelly but pulled a white envelope from his back pocket and held it in front of Pam.

On the Ninth day of Christmas my office gave to me

Pam’s expression turned to one of expectation as she opened her newest card. Multi-colored spotlights and a disco ball shining down on a stage provided the background. Across the stage were nine images of Kelly singing or dancing. Pam recognized them all as from previous office parties or trips to Poor Richards. She flipped over the card to read the days note.

Nine Kellys dancing
Eight Moses milking
Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree.

“Very fun,” Pam beamed. She looked up at Jim and was about say thank you. Her words died in her mouth with a grin of bemusement.

Jim had donned a Santa hat and was holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads. Pam couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her. She leaned forwards and kissed him with a hand on his cheek.

“Merry office Christmas party Jim.”

“Merry office Christmas party Pam.”

Pam couldn’t help the shiver of nervousness that ran down her spine as she and Jim pulled into her parent’s driveway. The holidays were stressful enough. Over the last few months she’d noticed her parents had seemed to be growing apart. She saw some of the same signs in her parents that looking back, had been there with her relationship with Roy. She talked on the phone with her mother regularly, but rarely heard any news of her mother and father doing things together. Likewise, her father had seemed to withdraw from playing an active role family affairs. Jim noticed her look of apprehension at once.

“Hey,” he reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.” Pam hung her head for a moment before looking back up at Jim. “I really hope this is just kind of a rough spot for them.”

“Me too.”

“Come on, let’s head inside. It looks like Penny and Craig are already here. If your parents get to be too much, we can always disappear with them.”

“I don’t think it’ll come to that. Not with the rest of the Beesly clan showing up too,” Pam said as they got out of the car.

“Right,” Jim agreed as he fished a crock pot filled with queso dip and bags of chips out of the back seat. “Let me see if I’ve got the family tree right. William, your dad is the oldest. Married Helene and had you and Penny. Penny is dating Craig and it’s ‘getting serious.’ Next is your Uncle Dan, married to Holly who have Jill and Robert. Jill is still single. Robert is married to Alison and they have one kid, Rebecca. After that is your Aunt Mary-Jo who is married to Ryan. They have George, married to Grace with three kids, Andrew, Jody, and Sam. Harry who is single and Amber who is engaged to Anthony also with no kids. Last is Aunt Rosie who never got married or had kids. Presiding over everyone is Meemaw Sylvia and Pawpaw Phillip.”

“That’s everyone,” Pam said as she walked with Jim up the driveway carrying some tote bags with White Elephant gifts in them. “I’m impressed that you remembered everybody. We really only have big Beesly get-togethers on the holidays or if someone’s getting married.”

“Occupational hazard m’dear. I learned pretty quick to keep track of names.” Jim didn’t even try to hide the smugness in his voice.

“Uh-huh,” Pam gave him a good-natured hip-check as they approached the door.

It was open so they let themselves in. The sounds of kids running around and other conversations filled the house. After Jim and Pam took off their coats and shoes, they descended into the madness. The crock pot was snatched from Jim’s hands to join the other food set out kitchen counters. Pam was whisked from Jim’s side to help some of the other ladies prepare the meal. Jim found himself being pulled into the den where the Penn State game was on.

After catching up with relatives, Pam escaped the lunacy that was the kitchen. She reached down and grabbed a couple beers from a cooler and headed towards the den to find Jim. He wasn’t there.

That’s odd. She thought to herself. Turning from the entrance to the den she walked across the hall to the large living room. The Christmas tree had a wide array of gifts set under it. Next to the tree Pam saw her Meemaw perched in the wingback armchair that was pointed towards the fireplace. She had a glass of sherry wine in her hand. Jim was kneeling on the hearth, setting logs and kindling on the grate. A box of matches was resting next to him. As Pam approached, she heard the conversation.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Sylvia pointed to the fireplace

“Absolutely!” Jim grinned as he tore up strips of newspaper to add to the firelay. “I may have stopped going to Boy Scout camp for basketball camp after my sophomore year in high school, but I never forgot how to build a fire.”

“You were in Scouts?” Sylvia sipped her wine. “What rank did you get to?”

“All the way to Eagle Scout,” Jim said with pride.

Sylvia nodded approvingly. “Good for you. What was your Eagle project?”

“His what?” Pam was close enough now to join the conversation.

Jim answered her. “One of the requirements for Eagle Scout is to come with and give leadership to a service project that benefits the community in some way. It’s supposed to be kind of above and beyond the normal kind of thing a Scout might do. I led a big clean-up effort for a youth center that does a lot with under-privileged kids. We cleaned up all the outside areas of the center, repaired the blacktop on the basketball court, painted over a lot of graffiti, that kind of thing.”

“Sounds like a worthy cause indeed,” Sylvia remarked.

Jim and Pam stayed talking with Sylvia. After Jim had the fireplace set to his satisfaction, he got the fire going with one match and not a drop of lighter fluid. Penny and Craig eventually found them and joined in the easy conversation they had going. Dinner was a causal affair with people grabbing what they wanted from the potluck and finding any convenient space to eat. Jim would later remark the Beesly family White Elephant was a lot more fun than Dunder-Mifflin Yankee Swap, even though the rules were essentially the same. Pam told him it was due to the fact they knew what the rules were going into the game. Jim walked away from the game with a puzzle that claimed to be the world's most difficult jigsaw puzzle. The picture on the box was of a collage of Dalmatians. Pam looked over and read on the box the puzzle pieces were double sided with the same picture on both sides. However, the image was rotated ninety degrees from one side to the other.

“How long is that going to take you?” she pointed at Jim’s gift

“Oh, who knows,” he said. “How long is that going to take you to polish off?”

Pam held up her bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream proudly. It had been a hotly contested item. “Guess we’ll find out together.”

The party stated to break up after the gift exchange. Pam and Jim along with Penny and Craig agreed to stay to help clean up after the rest of the relatives left. Pam was bringing some folding chairs back to hallway closet when she heard tense voices from her parent’s room. Helene was bickering at William for some perceived injustice from Sylvia. William was steadfastly denying her concerns, which wasn’t helping placate Helene. Slowly Pam backed away from the door.

Her quiet mood persisted during the ride back to Jim’s apartment. Claiming a headache, she changed into the pink robe she kept in Jim’s closet and retreated into his bathroom to draw a bath. She poured in a generous amount of lavender scented bubble bath, doffed her robe, and stepped into the tub. The warm water usually helped to ease her stress, but she was finding it hard to stop remembering her parent’s argument. A knock on the door broke her reverie.

“Come in.”

“Hey,” Jim said softly as he sat down on the closed toilet lid.

“Hey,” she replied.

“Want to talk about it?”

Pam let out a sigh. “It’s nothing you haven’t heard before. I think I just need something to take my mind off it is all.”

“Your wish is my command.” Jim reached behind him and pulled out a white envelope and a hand towel.

On the Tenth day of Christmas my office gave to me

The corners of Pam’s mouth started to sneak upwards as she dried off her hands to open the envelope. What she saw caused a bubble of laughter to echo through the bathroom. She instantly recognized the façade of their office building. Set along the edge of the roof were a line of ten Michaels. She instantly placed the scene in question from when Michael had tried to lecture about the dangers of depression. The back of the card confirmed what she had thought up when she saw the image

Ten Michaels leaping
Nine Kellys dancing
Eight Moses milking
Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“He is kind of the lord of the office, isn’t he?” The twinkle was back in Pam’s eye.

“Just don’t let him catch you saying that,” Jim warned.

“Duly noted.” Pam handed Jim back the card for him to put on the counter so it wouldn’t get wet. “Now are you going to just sit there or are you going to join me in this nice warm water?”

On the Eleventh day of Christmas my office gave to me

Pam ignored the pointed looks coming her way from Jim’s parents and sister from across the Halpert family table and slid her next card out of its envelope. She started laughing uproariously at the image on the card. A dirt path snaked its way along the bottom of the card with trees set in the background. Along the path were eleven figures, each one playing on a neon green recorder. Every figure was dressed in a different costume, but the scowling face of Dwight stayed the same. There was Karate Dwight, Farmer Dwight, Star Wars Dwight, Recyclops Dwight, Bear Suit Dwight, Cylon Dwight, Regular Office Dwight, Elf Dwight, Volunteer Sheriff Dwight, CIA Dwight, and lastly Basketball Dwight complete with face mask. Pam wiped tears of merriment from her eyes and handed the card to Larrisa for her to look at as well as read the back.

Eleven Dwights a-piping
Ten Michaels leaping
Nine Kellys dancing
Eight Moses milking
Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

“Has he really worn all those outfits?” Larrisa asked.

Jim looked up from Pam, who was still chortling on his shoulder, to answer his sister. “All but the bear suit and the Cylon. Those were just some creative photoshopping.”

“Pam honey, are you doing okay over there?” Betsy asked after she took a look at the card.

“Fine,” Pam managed in a tight voice.

“Nice job son,” Gerald said approvingly when it was his turn to look at the card.

“Thanks Dad,” Jim grinned as he took the card back. “My first choice would have been to have the line of Dwights lined up like the Rockettes doing a kick-line, but that would have messed up with the whole theme.”

Pam had almost gotten her laughter under control. However, the mental image of line of Dwights lined up with their arms over their shoulders, doing a high kicking dance number caused her to nearly fall out of her chair with laughter. Jim caught her though and made sure she wouldn’t fall over. Pam had her eyes closed due to the laughter escaping her and was holding her hands to her sides by this point.

“Ow,” she finally managed to croak out.

Jim rubbed her side and looked over at his mother. “So? Dessert?”

“I’ll get it,” Betsy said as she got up from the table. “You stay there and try not to hurt her anymore.”

“Hurt her?” Jim adopted a look of mock-concern. “I would never!”

“Uh-huh,” Betsy deadpanned as she gathered plates bring to the kitchen.

“I take it this is the latest in a series then?” Gerald pointed at the card that was now laying on the table.

“Yup,” Jim replied. “Just one more to go for tomorrow though.”

“What’ll that be?” Larissa asked.

“Ooh, sorry sis, you’ll just have to wait for Tuesday. I’m sure Pam will be willing to bring the whole set over when we get here on Christmas.”

Pam had finally regained her composure, mostly. The occasional giggle would still slip through. “I’ll bring them, don’t worry.”

Betsy came back in from the kitchen carrying plates, vanilla ice cream, and homemade apple crumble still warm from the oven. Betsy started in on a story of how three-year old Jim had decided he hated clothes. She spent the summer chasing the naked child through the house and yard. A task made harder since she was pregnant with Larissa at the time.

For his part Jim didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. “I just wanted to get an early start on my tan,” he said smugly.

They exchanged a few more stories as they ate dessert. Larrisa said goodbye after they finished with a promise to share more stories when they gather again for Christmas. Gerald looked over at his son.

“C’mon Jim. Let’s get the dishes done. Let the ladies get off their feet since they made dinner.”

“No problem,” Jim agreed.

While Pam and Betsy retired to the family room, Gerald and Jim started cleaning the dishes.

“She really is wonderful,” Gerald said without preamble as he filled the sink with soap and water.

Jim looked down for a moment before turning to his father. “Yeah, she is. She always has been.”

Gerald adopted a more serious tone. “You’ve been talking to us about her for years Jim. It’s clear you two are great together. Hold onto that son. Hold onto it as hard as you can and never let it go.”

“I won’t,” Jim said simply.

“Good.”

Across the house in the family room Betsy and Pam were settling down on the couch.

“Thank you so much for dinner,” Pam started. “It was lovely.”

Betsy waved her off. “Our pleasure.”

Pam leaned back into the deep cushions of the couch. A feeling of golden contentment filled her.

“He’s never brought anyone else home you know.”

“What?” Pam perked back up.

“Jim,” Betsy pointed towards the kitchen. “Even during high school and college. Jim always said he might have ‘hung out’ with a girl but we never met any of them. You’re the first girlfriend he’s brought here.”

“Oh,” Pam found she couldn’t find anything else to say. In her mind she reviewed their history together, both the ups and downs. This new information threatened to overwhelm her. “I, um...”

Betsy smiled at the younger woman and put a motherly hand on Pam’s arm. “Pam honey, I didn’t say that to make you upset. We know how much you mean to Jim. I told you that because I want you to know how much you mean to him.”

Pam swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart warmed by Betsy’s kind words. “Thank you. I think I’ve gotten an idea of that though.”

“The cards, like the one he gave you at dinner?”

“Those,” Pam nodded. “And just the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life being with Jim.”

Betsy’s face all but disappeared in a wide grin. “It shows.”

Jim and Gerald finished the dishes in short order. They chatted with Gerald and Betsy for a while longer before they also took their leave. They ended up back at Pam’s apartment curled up under her new blanket. It’s a Wonderful Life played on the TV while they indulged in a second dessert of cookie dough ice cream sundaes. Once the ice cream was eaten, they stretched out on the couch to watch the rest of the movie play. Jim wrapped his arms around her as they spooned under the blanket. By the time the end title card rolled; they were fast asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms.

“I really can’t believe corporate is still keeping all the branches open today.”

Pam’s voice was decidedly dejected as she and Jim trudged through snow up past their ankles to the front door of the office building. The snowplow obviously had been delayed in clearing out the parking lot. She walked behind Jim who was blazing a path to the front door. Mainly he was only succeeding in getting his shoes covered in snow.

“How much you want to bet we’ll be some of the only ones who actually come in today?” Jim asked as he held the front door open for her.

“Thanks,” she said as she passed him on her way into the lobby. “If there’s eight or more people in by ten I’ll give you a back rub when we get home tonight.”

“Hmmm,” Jim’s eyebrows shot up with a pleased expression. “So, by that token if there are seven or fewer people, which include you and me you know, I owe you the back rub.”

“That’s right,” Pam gave him a saucy grin as they stepped into the elevator.

The elevator doors closed and Jim took a few steps to stand close to her. “Deal.”

He leaned down and sealed the bet with a kiss. Caught up in the moment, they almost missed when the doors opened on their floor. They went through their normal routine of opening the office for the day. Jim turned on the lights while Pam made her way to the kitchen to start a community pot of coffee and brew a pot of tea for herself. She brought Jim a mug on her way back out to the main office. No one else had shown up yet, however her phone was blinking with the signal for new voicemails. Dutifully she listened to them.

“Toby, Kelly, and Ryan are all going to be no-shows for today,” she announced when she hung up her phone.

“Can’t blame Toby,” Jim said. “I think it’s his holiday with Sasha so he’d want to spend as much time as he could with her.

The ringing phone prevented Pam from replying to him. “Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam. Oh hi Oscar. Yeah, no we got in, barely though. Kind of slippery in some spots, but the salt trucks were out. Sure, if I see Michael, I’ll let him know. Okay. Have a Merry Christmas. Yup. Bye.”

“No Oscar?” Jim didn’t bother looking up from his game of 3D Pinball.

“No Oscar,” Pam confirmed. “You do realize that if only three more people call in, I’ll win the bet.”

The corner of Jim’s mouth snaked upwards. “You mean I’ll have to take my wonderful girlfriend home with me and run my hands up and down her back? Oh, horror of horrors!” he deadpanned. “What ever shall I do?”

Pam laughed and threw a crumbled up post-it note at him. It bounced off his monitor to land on his desk. The rest of the morning progressed quickly. One by one, over the next half hour, every other employee of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton called to say they were not going to make it in. Her grin of triumph for winning the bet was wide. Jim just gave her a lopsided smirk as she excused herself to use the restroom before they too headed for Jim’s townhouse. When she came back, Jim was standing near the coat rack. She quickly ducked behind her desk to turn off her computer. She was slightly delayed by the sight of a white envelope on her keyboard. Her grin stayed intact as she plucked up the card. She finished shutting off the computer before she turned to Jim while opening the envelope. The red and green letters on the envelope were written in the same blocky script.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas my office gave to me

“Back to where it all started?”

“What can I say? I’m a sentimental kind of guy.”

Pam had a suspicion as to what or who would be on the card. She wasn’t disappointed. A ring of twelve miniature pictures of Kevin on his drums surrounded a large jar of M&M’s.

Twelve Kevins drumming
Eleven Dwights a-piping
Ten Michaels leaping
Nine Kellys dancing
Eight Moses milking
Seven swans a-melting
Six geese a-flopping
Five teal teapots
Four calling phones
Three pointless meetings
Two Olympic doves
And a Dundie in a paper tree

Putting the last card back into its envelope, Pam reached up to bring Jim’s face to hers for a deep kiss. She held him close as his lips glided over hers. She wasn’t really expecting it when he took a step forward which had the effect of pressing her against the edge of the reception counter. Passion started to simmer within her as Jim deepened the kiss. Reluctantly, she broke from him and leaned backwards when he tried to re-establish their lip-lock.

“Not here,” she said soothingly.

Jim took a deep steadying breath and leaned his head on her shoulder. After a moment he looked up at her. “As you wish.”

She gave him a peck on the cheek to take some of the sting away. “You do owe me a backrub when we get home. A proper one at that, and to my mind a proper back rub includes the use of massage oil.”

“Oil?” Jim perked back up. “Interesting Beesly. Wouldn’t massage oil ruin that lovely sweater though?”

Pam leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Who said I’ll be wearing a sweater?”

Despite the snowstorm, it seemed they made it back to Jim’s place in record time.

Bright sunlight shone through the window of Jim’s bedroom. The golden rays of light perfectly complimented the glow in his chest as he woke up. He opened his eyes to see he was laying on his back with Pam resting against his right side facing him. She was basically laying half on him and had her head resting on his chest. He started tracing patterns on the bare skin of her back with his right hand, while curling the fingers of his left hand into her hair.

“Mmmmmm,” Pam hummed. “That feels wonderful.”

His lips curled up in a smile before he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Merry Christmas.”

She rolled slightly to get a better angle to look up at him. Her grin matched his. “Merry Christmas to you too.” She scooted up to give him a soft kiss before resting her head on his chest again. “That really does feel good, having your fingers in my hair.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” he said. “I know I’ve told you this before, but it was something I’d been wanting to do for years. Run my hands through your hair. For a long time, it was one of those out-of-bounds areas. Friendly hugs, touching your arm, high-fives, all those I could get away with. It made me long to touch you other places.”

“Yeah?” An impish smile filled her face. “Like what other places?”

“Like your hair obviously. But also places like here.” Jim took his hand out of her hand and ran his fingertips from the base of her ear, down the side of her neck, along her shoulder, and to her upper arm. He was rewarded by the sight and feel of goose-bumps rising on her skin.

“Or here.” His hand left her shoulder to brush from the outside of her knee, along her outer thigh and across the curves of her hips.

“Ohhhh, Jim,” she shuddered

“Want me to stop?”

In reply she climbed the rest of the way on top of him. “Don’t you dare!” She leaned forward to claim his mouth with hers as his hands found other areas to roam.

Much later, after they finally crawled out of bed and the shower, they made their way down to the kitchen. Pam had liberated yet another of Jim’s sweatshirts as they made their way into the kitchen.

“Since we were in such a rush to get back here yesterday, we didn’t get a chance to stop by Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast for today.” Jim opened his cupboard and pulled out a loaf of bread. “How does French toast and sausage sound for breakfast?”

“You were the one in the rush yesterday may I remind you,” she teased. “But French toast sounds lovely. I’ll get the sausage going.”

“You don’t have to,” Jim protested.

“I know,” she replied as she dug a frying pan out of a cupboard. “But I want to. Consider it to be the start of a new Christmas tradition. We cook breakfast together, that way we both have to do the dishes together too. That way neither one is left waiting for the other one to get done, to open presents.”

“Deal,” he nodded at her.

Breakfast was soon cooked, eaten, and cleared away. They walked into Jim’s living room to sit down next to the tree they’d set up at the beginning of the month. A small pile of presents sat ready and waiting for them.

“Are there any presents you want me to save for the end or anything like that?” Jim asked as he handed her presents to her.

“Yes, actually.” Pam told him while pushing his presents to him. “This one, save it for last.” She indicated a medium sized flat present.

“Ladies first.” Jim gave her a nod.

Grinning excitedly Pam reached for her first gift and tore off the paper. Her eyes grew wide with surprise when she saw what she’d unwrapped. “Jim! Old Holland oil paint! This is wonderful!”

“Oh good,” he said glad she enjoyed her first gift so much. “The guy at the art supply store said that’s a good one.”

“One of the best,” she told him as she opened the box containing the set of paint tubes to inspect one. She quickly set it aside and looked up at him. “Your turn.”

Jim selected medium sized present himself. “Hmmm what could it be?” He raised it to his head and gave it a couple gentle shakes. “I don’t head anything breaking so that rules out anything fragile.”

“Dork!” she leaned over and swatted his arm.

He just gave her a cheeky grin as he tore off the paper. It was a plain cardboard box secured with some tape. Using a fingernail to cut through the tape, Jim opened the flaps. “Nice!” he let out when he saw what was in the box. He pulled out two novels. Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy. “A continuation of my birthday presents I take it?”

“Yup,” Pam nodded. “You said you wanted all the Jack Ryan books.”

“I did,” he said and set the books off the side.

Pam reached for her next gift and made short work of the wrapping paper. A small black box was revealed. When she opened the lid, a ruby necklace set on a silver chain and matching earrings sparkled up at her. “Oh Jim!” she breathed out. “These are beautiful!” She leaned forward to give him a loving kiss. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. I figured they’d go good with that red sweater of yours.”

“The one I was wearing last year when we almost sent Dwight to the CIA?”

“That’s the one.” He nodded. “It’s a great sweater and it looks really good on you.”

Pam beamed at the compliment. “Thanks. Your turn again.”

Jim pulled another present to him and drummed his fingers on it. A distinct metal sound came from under the wrapping paper. “Beesly! You got me the all-metal camping mess kit I’ve always wanted?”

Pam giggled at his sarcastic but fun tone of voice while he tore off the paper.

“Excellent!” Jim held up the complete DVD set of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. The ten-episode mini-series came in a metal case that housed all the separate DVD’s. “This is great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she beamed back at him. “Okay last one.” She reached for another box about the same size as the one her necklace and earrings had come in. After tearing off the paper and removing the lid the only thing in the box was a folded piece of paper. Taking it out of the box she unfolded it and read aloud what he’d written on the note.

“’Good for one new easel and three blank canvases from A.C. Moore Arts and Crafts’” Her eyes grew wide as she finished reading the note. “You’re kidding! Do you know how much those can cost?”

“I do actually,” he replied. “That’s why you’ve got a note rather than the actual thing. I didn’t really know which one would work best for you. So, I figure we’ll head over there after work sometime so you can pick out an easel that fits your needs the best.”

Pam knee-walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a fierce embrace. “This is wonderful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said into her shoulder.

After a minute she leaned back and looked down at the last gift he had to unwrap. “Last one for you. I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous about this one.”

“Oh?” he cocked an eyebrow at her. “How come?”

“You’ll find out,” she said simply.

When Jim ripped off the wrapping paper he was somewhat confused to see one of her portfolios from her art class in his hands. The cover read; ‘Second Chances.’

“Is this the big project you’ve been working on all semester that you wouldn’t let me see?”

“It is.”

To Jim’s trained ear, he thought he detected a hint of anxiety in her reply. He confused expression melted into one of speechlessness as he opened the cover to look at the first drawing. He recognized the scene instantly. It was a portrait of him and Pam standing outside the office listening to music after their grilled cheese meal on the roof. However rather than standing apart like they had been on the night, the figures on the page were wrapped in each other's arms.

Jim looked up at her. “Pam...I...um.”

“Keep going.” She pointed to the rest of the book. “There’s more.”

Turning the page Jim saw himself looking at another scene from their past. Rather than standing apart, the Jim and Pam on the page were kissing as they stood at the rail of the Lake Wallenpaupack Princess. Flipping the page, the next images showed him and her enjoying a cup of coffee. In the background the moon shined through the window of the diner they were sitting in. By the clothes Pam had drawn them in, Jim realized the image was supposed to have been the night of the Stamford-Scranton merger. The next page was of a scene he didn’t remember. In the picture Jim had the door to an apartment open to reveal Pam standing outside soaked to the bone from the rain falling outside.

“I don’t remember anything like this ever happening,” he said hoarsely and looked up at her.

“Yeah, that’s because it never did,” Pam agreed. “But if I had a second chance, I’d definitely have driven up to Stamford in the rain to tell you how I felt.”

It took Jim a moment to swallow the lump in this throat her explanation caused. The tightness returned in full force as he turned to the last image in the portfolio. Pam was in her Casino Night dress standing next to Jim’s desk. Jim saw himself there next to her. The two figures were wrapped in each other’s arms in an embrace that hadn’t happened in real life. Looking closely at the picture, Jim saw another detail that was different from what had happened that night. In the picture, Pam’s left ring finger was bare. The ring in question was laying on Jim’s desk as the two figures held each other.

Jim looked up at Pam, speechless as he tried to absorb her gift. She had moved so she was kneeling in front of him. Her eyes and expression glinted with kindness and love.

“I don’t think there’s any way either of us can fully make up for all the mistakes we made in the past,” she started. “I know we talked a lot about all that last summer when we first started going out and we forgave each other. The thing is, I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if something different would have happened in moments like those,” she tapped the portfolio. “I’d like to think we would have had out happy ever after, but we’ll really never know.
“I created all these pictures as a way for us to remember something important. That second chances don’t come around very often.” She reached a hand up to hold his cheek. “We got one, and I don’t want to waste it thinking about what could have been, when what we have now is so wonderful. That’s why I’m giving these to you. Because I know how much you would have wanted things to be different back then. But also, to remind you that even though things didn’t turn out the way they did in these pictures, we are now together. Not in a drawing or a painting, but for real. And that’s more wonderful than any picture could ever be.”

Jim closed the portfolio and set it aside. He reached out to her and she leaned forward into his arms. Words escaped him for several long minutes. Rather than saying anything, he simply held her close and rocked her gently from side to side. At last he was finally able to clear his throat enough to speak.

“Thank you,” he whispered to her.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered back.

After several more minutes of holding each other, which included Jim leaning back far enough to kiss her, they finally broke their embrace. They were both smiling at each other.

“Merry Christmas Jim,” she said softly.

“Merry Christmas Pam,” he smiled back.