Michael was positively brimming with excitement. “Well,” he addressed the camera, sitting with his feet propped up on his desk “Every once in a while, we have a group-building activity. But I reeeally think this one is going to be a winner!” He was grinning like a little kid on their birthday, all but jumping up and down in his seat. “I told everyone to pack things like, uh, a swimsuit, a toothbrush and a ski mask.” Michael snorted at his own little joke. “Just to throw them off the scent, you know? They have no idea what’s coming.”
xxxx
Jim sat at his desk, slumped into his chair. He was pretending to do a Sudoku on his computer, but honestly, he was watching Pam. She looked tired and pale; there were small bags under her eyes, which were unfocused, staring into her desk. He still thought she looked beautiful, but he was pretty sure she could have a paper bag over her head and still look beautiful. But he knew that January was her least favorite month, that it drained something from her. The excitement of the first snow fall of December was gone, Christmas and New Years were over, and now it was just plain cold. It was the middle of winter, with no end in sight.
Jim pushed himself out of his chair, his long body unfolding to it’s full height. Pam obviously needed cheering up and he saw that as his job, a job much more important than selling paper for a failing company. He rested his elbows on her desk, his shoulder hunched up around his slightly-large ears. He wondered sometimes if she ever felt it too, the intimate nature of this everyday gesture. When he was so close he could see the speckles of green in her eyes. “So, did you pack your swimsuit?” he asked, smiling.
Pam looked up, happy to have company. If it had been anyone but Jim, she might have been startled. But they were so close now, that she was subconsciously aware of where he was all of the time. All best friends were like that, right? “Of course!” she smiled. “It’s the middle of January. Why wouldn’t I pack my swimsuit for something like this?” Jim laughed at her sarcastic tone, and she sighed. “I’m just hoping it’s not bowling again.”
“Pam Beesley!” Jim exclaimed with mock indignation. “Have you no faith in our great leader?” Pam simply sent him an exasperated look, and Jim chuckled. “I don’t know Pam, I think one of my favorite memories of this office is seeing a drunk Meredith beat Michael at bowling.”
Pam laughed. “That was pretty priceless.” she admitted. “Ooh, remember how, to keep Meredith from winning, Dwight tried to chase her bowling ball down the alley and stop it from hitting the pins?”
“Dwight got kicked out of the bowling alley and Meredith won anyway” Jim grinned, remembering. “And he’s always going on about how he can outrun an ostrich.”
“Now that’s a race I would like to see.”
Jim was about to reply when Michael barged out of his office. “Okay everybody, I have an announcement to make!”
Dwight rushed from his chair to stand next to Michael. “Listen up, boys and girls!” he bellowed, clapping his hands.
“God, it just gets me so hot when he starts acting all authoritative!” Jim whispered to Pam. She snorted, trying to stifle her laughter, and Jim began to laugh too. “What was that, Beesley?” he asked. “Was that a snort?! Very unladylike.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Michael said, shaking a finger at Jim and Pam. “If you guys would listen up, I think you will all be pleasantly surprised! Now, as you know,” Michael turned so he could address the cameras as well as his employees. “We have our great group-building exercise today! But this time, Corporate decided the because of the possible downsizing,” he emphasized ‘possible’ “they decided it was time for a company-wide group-building weekend!”
People shifted in their seats, turning to whisper to each other. Pam crossed her fingers. God, I hope it’s not camping… she thought.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Michael announced “We are going to Florida!”
Pam looked at Jim wide-eyed, and he looked back at her, equally shocked. “Wait, Michael,” Jim said “Is this a joke?”
Michael’s pride was obvious, his chest puffed out and his smile enormous. “I never joke about group-building, Jim! Nope, we have already spoken to your families, and we are all set to fly down to Florida for the weekend! We leave tonight!”
Pam looked a bit panicked. “Wait, we have time to go home and pack first, right?”
Dwight looked at Pam condescendingly. “Pam, Michael already told you what you needed to bring. If you didn’t come prepared, that’s your fault.”
Pam was torn between excitement and frustration. “I packed an overnight bag, just in case, but I didn’t actually think we needed a swimsuit! I didn’t bring a ski mask either, is that still on the mandatory list?!” she said to Jim. “Did you actually bring everything?”
“Actually, I did.” Jim nodded. “Partially because I thought it was funny, and also because I used to be a boy scout. ‘Always be prepared’, Pam.” he smiled at her, matching Dwight’s condescending tone.
“Well I was a girl scout, and all we ever did was march in the 4th of July parade in my town.” Pam huffed. She was actually pretty thrilled about all of this though. God knew she needed some time away from this weather, and she and Roy had been fighting more lately. It was mostly over stupid stuff, but Pam knew there was a bigger issue.
“Well, I promise you can borrow my ski mask.” Jim promised.
Kelly, after smothering Ryan in celebratory kisses, overheard Pam and Jim’s conversation. “Oh, Pam! I bought two new swimsuits, just in case, and you can totally borrow one!” She grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Oh, um-” but before Pam could answer, Kelly had already skipped away again. Pam bit her lip nervously. It was really nice of Kelly to offer, but Pam wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of wearing one of Kelly’s skimpy, most-likely hot pink bathing suits. Pam could just buy one there, but she wasn’t sure it was totally worth it. Oh well, she thought, resigned to the idea. Now that that was taken care of, she could just be happy about going to Florida!
Everyone was milling about the office excitedly, and Pam got up from behind her desk to stand next to Jim. “Can you believe this?!” she said, getting into the unusually upbeat vibe.
Jim chuckled, shaking his head. “Not really!” he said. “It seems kind of ridiculous that with all the problems Dunder-Mifflin is having, they decide it’s a great time to send all their employees to Florida. But I’m not about to complain. Hey,” Jim suddenly felt awkward “do you think they’re paying for warehouse staff to come too?”
It worried Pam a little bit, that after hearing this news she hadn’t even thought to ask if Roy was going to be coming. She had just been excited about spending a weekend with Jim, and all of her other co-workers of course. “Um, I don’t know…” she said. “Hey Michael?”
“Yeees Miss Pamela?” Michael said, sliding up to Pam’s side. “I can’t wait to see what great little bikini number you have!”
Pam winced, ignoring Michael’s last comment. “Is, uh, warehouse staff coming too?”
Michael sighed. Figures that during his big moment, someone would have to point out a flaw. “No, unfortunately Corporate decided that it was expensive enough to send all their office employees, so warehouse is not invited.” Michael shook his head, disappointed. “Corporate obviously just don’t see the value of group moral.” He then wandered away, going up to groups of people and fishing for compliments.
It took everything Jim had to hide his grin when he heard warehouse wasn’t coming, but he didn’t do a great job. He knew the camera caught it, and when he saw the questioning look on Pam’s face, he covered. “I just can’t wait to see Kevin in a swimsuit.”
Pam laughed as Michael walked back up to the front of the office. “Alright everybody, grab your bags! Let’s move it on out!” People began getting their things and putting on their coats, still chatting animatedly.
Jim shrugged on his coat, and he held up Pam’s for her so she could slide her arms through. She loved it when he did that. Once her coat was resting on her shoulders, Jim spontaneously slid his hand under her hair to gently lift it from underneath her jacket. She felts shivers dance down her spine when his long fingers brushed the nape of her neck, and she looked at him, surprised. He simply smiled, and offered her his arm. Blushing, she accepted it and he escorted her to the elevator.
The elevator was packed, and Pam stood with her back pressed to Jim’s chest. She barely came up to his chin, and he couldn’t help but discreetly smell her hair. He loved how she always smelled like strawberries, even without any perfume. His heart skipped a beat as she looked up into his eyes, still grinning happily, and he thought This is going to be quite a weekend.
AN: So yeah! Um, I think this fic could be really fun but I won’t continue it if I don’t get reviews. Not to make it sounds like a ransom or something… “Give me 20 reviews or you’ll never see the rest of this story”…
Basically, just review. I really love reviews. They make me write fast. Constructive criticism in cool too!
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Chapter Notes:
“And he’s always going on about how he can outrun an ostrich.”
“Now that’s a race I would like to see.”
“Now that’s a race I would like to see.”
