Kevin was in heaven. More specifically, Kevin was having an awesome dream about Stacy and this girl he’d seen in a magazine. Together. Niiice.



Just as it was getting good Stacy opened her mouth and said in a man’s voice: “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in approximately five minutes. Please put your chairs in the upright positions and your tray tables away. We hope you enjoyed your flight with American Airlines.” That’s not right… Kevin thought to himself, puzzled. He then woke up, realizing where he was. He was kind of disappointed that the dream had been interrupted, but Stacy speaking with a man’s voice had ruined it anyway.



He sat up and yawned, batting away the tiny pillow that had gotten stuck to his face. He looked around, seeing that most people were awake. With the exception of Meredith, who was still slumped over her tray table, which was scattered with tiny bottles of alcohol. Kevin looked to his side, and saw that Jim and Pam were still asleep as well. Jim had his arm wrapped around Pam, her head resting on his shoulder, her face perfectly nestled into his neck.



Who do they think they‘re kidding? Kevin thought, bemused. Even Kevin could tell what was between them, and he was usually the last to know about everything. Especially accounting stuff, thanks to Angela. Dude, Jim’s so lucky. Pam is SUCH a babe. Kevin found himself momentarily distracted by the way that Pam’s shirt was gaping slightly open. Oh man, if Pam and Stacy hooked up, that would be so awesome. Pam moved and murmured something in her sleep, pulling Kevin out of his thoughts. He realized he should probably wake them up now. “Uh, Jim? Pam?”



xxxx



Jim remained deep asleep, but Pam began to stir ever so slightly, her eyes fluttering open. Her eyelashes brushed lightly against Jim’s neck, and he squirmed in his sleep. Pam wanted to ignore the low, dull voice that was calling her name; she was far too comfortable to move. She burrowed further into Jim’s side, taking in his smell…wait -- Jim? Crap… It hit her suddenly that she was quite happily curled up against Jim’s chest in front off all their co-workers. Double crap.



She sat straight upright in her seat, blushing furiously and turned to see Kevin give her one of his gleeful smiles. It didn’t take a mind reader to tell what he was thinking. Pam gave him an admonishing look and his face fell. He pointedly turned away from her to look out the window and Pam felt a twinge of guilt. Kevin was a fairly harmless guy, but the last thing that she needed was for him to say something to Michael.



“Hey, Jim, wake up.” She nudged Jim in the ribs, maybe a little bit harder than necessary. Pam felt more than a little embarrassed; she didn’t want anyone in the office to think something was going on between them when there wasn’t. They were just good friends.



Jim jerked awake when she nudged him a second time. “Mmph, what the hell?” he said drowsily, his eyes still heavy from sleep.



Pam couldn’t help but smile; his hair was tousled, and the flimsy airplane blanket barely covered a third of his lanky body. He rubbed a hand over his face and stretched his arms upward, his fingers grazing the low ceiling.



“We’re here.” she said, tearing her eyes away from him to start gathering her things and putting her shoes on. She reached up to scratch her head and groaned when she felt her hair, tangled and knotted from sleep. “Oh God,” she lamented, “my hair’s a total bird’s nest.”



“A ‘bird’s nest’, Beesley?” Jim chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, you look gr- fine.” Pam couldn’t help but notice as he tripped over his words, and she smiled inwardly.



“Cause you’re such a hair expert?” Pam said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.



“Oh my god.”



“What?”



“You just looked like Angela with frizzy hair.”



Pam laughed loudly and gasped, slapping Jim’s arm playfully. “Below the belt, Halpert!”



Jim stuck out his tongue mockingly.



Pam managed to borrow a hairbrush from Kelly (who had actually brought five) and threw her hair up in a bun. She knew that sharing hairbrushes was against everything the elementary school nurse had ever taught her, but she was on vacation. Might as well live a little.



xxxx



They finally got off the plane and Pam smiled when Jim all but kissed the carpet, ecstatic to be on solid ground. They walked out of the Miami Airport and were welcomed by a gust of warm air, tangy and salty from the sea. Everyone began to laugh and talk, giddy like children. It’s funny how something like the weather can change people so much, Jim thought, watching Stanley laugh and grin genuinely. The warmth and sunlight seemed to take years off of Phyllis’ age, and even Angela managed to refrain from commenting on the ‘debauchery’ that infested Miami.



People started to strip off their sweaters and jackets, letting the sun embrace their skin. Jim gasped softly when he saw Pam and he only just managed to cover it with a cough. She had taken off her wrinkled, button-down blouse, now wearing just a camisole that revealed her delicate shoulders and collarbone. The cami also left a strip of skin right above the top of her skirt exposed, and it looked so soft that Jim ached to brush it with his fingertips, just once. She was beaming, her face turned towards the sky as the sun’s rays highlighted streaks of gold in her hair. He just knew she would freckle more than tan, and it made him love her all the more.



“So Michael, what is our transportation situation?” Dwight asked, his eyes squinting from the glare.



“Already taken care of, my loyal friend.” Michael grinned. “Here they come now.”



“Where?” Phyllis asked, scanning the cars that turned the corner.



“There!” Michael said proudly.



Everyone stared, openmouthed. “Oh hell no.” Stanley said, looking at the monstrosities that slowed to a stop before them. Idling before them were two behemoth vans that were maybe white underneath the years of grime, rust lining the bottoms of the doors and the hubcaps. They were obviously far past their prime, and one of them coughed pitifully before its engine rumbled to a stop. The camera crew hastily began to set up as everyone continued to look at the vans in disbelief.



Creed whistled. “Those things are older than me!”



Michael tipped the two bored teenage boys who had brought the vans around, and turned to address the camera as everyone hesitantly began to load up their bags. “Do you know how expensive it is to take your whole company to Florida?!” Michael said indignantly. “Well, for those of you who don’t know, it’s a lot! We had to save some money where we could!" Michael crossed his arms, sulking. "Plus, Corporate wouldn't let me get the stretch Hummers."

Pam gasped, and then began to laugh when Dwight put one of Michael’s bags in the trunk and the van visibly sank a few inches. “This is a safety hazard!” she said, eyeing the van incredulously.



“Shhh, Pam!” Jim admonished. “You’ll hurt their feelings!” He stroked the side of one of the vans, murmuring softly, “It’s okay baby, she didn’t mean it.”



Pam grinned and Toby snickered quietly, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe Corporate agreed to this-” he started to say.



“Hey, you! Nice shirt! Take it off!” a voice called from behind them.



Pam thought she recognized that voice, and her face fell. “Oh no…” she said aghast, before turning around to see who it was.



“Pacman! The Packster!” Michael cried out joyously, running up to his best friend Todd Packer. “It’s Todd Packer everybody!” Michael called out. Todd Packer didn’t really need any introduction. He had been a revisiting plague on the Scranton branch ever since Jim had worked there and probably long before that as well. “I didn’t know you were coming, you sly dog!” Michael clapped Packer on the back.



“You think I’d miss this?!” Packer replied. “Man, the chicks out here are loco! Hot babes everywhere, all the time. I am going to get my freak on if you know what I’m sayin’!” He gyrated his hips for emphasis as Michael practically giggled, playing the perfect audience. Their relationship was not so much that of two best friends, but more of a “cool” older brother and his tag-along little brother. Michael essentially worshiped Packer.



Pam just stood next to Jim, her arms crossed. “I hope he gets Chlamydia.”



Jim snickered, loving the bitterness in Pam’s voice. “You have a mean streak, Pam Beesly.”



Toby shook his head. “I don’t know if it’s mean to wish Chlamydia upon Todd Packer. I think it’s just kinda karma.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed.



Michael began herding people into the vans, Dwight assisting him in any way he could. Pam was first into one of the vans, crouching to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. There were four rows of seats, covered in that awful fake brown leather found on most standard school buses. The van was stiflingly hot, obviously having sat in the sun for a while. “Holy God!” Pam said, almost in awe of the wreck that was their van. She took a seat in the back and Jim followed her.



“Oh my God!” he said, covering his mouth and nose. The van already carried some kind of stench, and the heat only intensified it. He took a seat next to Pam, eyeing one of the stains on the floor. “I don’t even want to know what that is.”



Pam smiled, despite the miserable conditions. “If someone had asked you yesterday what you would be doing today, would you have ever guessed this?”



“Nope. Never in a million years.” Jim replied. He winced and scrambled for his seatbelt as he saw Dwight take the drivers seat.



“Hey Dwight, crank the air conditioning!” Oscar called from the back. He had already removed his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt.



Dwight grudgingly pushed in the button for air conditioning. Everyone waited in silence. Nothing. Pam gingerly put her fingers in front of the vent next to her, hoping for the tiniest breeze. Nothing.



“Oh HELL no.” Stanley said again.



With that, they were off.