Disclaimer: I don't any of these characters or The Office. No copyright infringement intended.

♥ 

"Let me go make that coffee," Jim told Karen as they opened the door to his house and huddled inside to the comfort of warmth.

"See, that is why I hate wearing dresses. My legs get so cold when I have to go outside," Karen said, following him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I hate wearing dresses too. They just make me feel so exposed," Jim said, smiling at his own joke, but Karen didn’t laugh. The coffee was already on, and Jim made a mental note to thank his roommate for knowing him so well as to want coffee at this hour. "How do you take your coffee again?" he asked, turning around to face her as he poured some coffee into a mug. She sighed, and crossed her arms. Her lips twisted into a sideways slant as she looked up at him with big eyes, asking him with her gaze to read her mind.

"How many times have we gone over this?" Karen said, giving him the same caring but disciplinary tone his mom used to use with him.

"I know, I’m sorry. I just can never remember. I’m convinced that Dwight’s Battlestar Galactica talk all day has permanently damaged my ability to tune in to people. All my brain knows is how to tune out." Karen smiled a little. "Just tell me once more."

"Just sugar," she answered, leaning against the counter, and unfolding her arms. He mixed the sugar into the mug, stirred it, and pushed it across the counter to her as he began to mix his own. "Thanks," she said with a smile, and kissed his cheek.

This was the part of their relationship that he couldn’t get used to. At work, it was all okay because they had to be professional, or at least that was the excuse for never being close to her during the day. But once work was over, she could kiss him, and she took advantage of the opportunity. It felt awkward, like something forced by the standards of having a "relationship," but to do so much as show any hint that he felt that way would be a suicide mission– or at least it would mean the maiming of his sleep cycle again.

"So was tonight as bad as you thought it was going to be?" Karen asked as Jim took a sip of his coffee.

"Would’ve been better if I wasn’t thinking the whole night that I was dating the hussy of Dunder Mifflin," Jim teased. Karen finally laughed, and pushed his arm a little.

"Oh, c’mon! You gotta admit that I got you good," she said.

"Yeah? Well, I should tell you something then. I dated Jan once. And Kelly, and Angela, and Meredith, and Phyllis, and ... Kevin. Jealous yet?" Karen smiled warmly, and put her coffee down on the counter. She wrapped her arms around Jim’s middle, sighing into his shirt and leaning her head into his chest. There was that awkward feeling again. What was he supposed to do? Should he hug her back?

In an absolute paragon of perfect timing, Jim’s cellphone began to ring. Karen let him go, and tended to her coffee as he fiddled through the pockets of his suit jacket.

"Hello? Oh, hey Kevin," Jim said as he answered the phone. Karen held back a laugh jouncing in her throat.

"What a coincidence. It’s your ex!" Karen whispered.

"Hey, Jim. You would NOT believe the stuff that happened tonight," Kevin said in his usual monotonous voice. He sounded even more boring on the phone.

"Yeah? Everyone have fun at the office while we went to the CFO’s?" Jim asked, picking up his coffee mug, and pacing about the kitchen. Karen distracted herself with a piece of mail.

"We went to Poor Richard’s, all of us," Kevin said.

"Oh, great. Skip out on work to go get drinks while I’m not there. Thanks, Kev," Jim joked. "So what happened? Please tell me that someone convinced Angela to get drunk."

"No. We were all just hanging around, and something happened between Pam and Roy." Jim immediately got an excuse ready to get off the phone. He didn’t think he wanted to hear this. "They were talking about something, Roy might’ve said your name, and then he just went CRAZY. He started yelling at her, and I think they broke up. He and his brother tore the bar apart, smashing stools and throwing everything at the walls. It was some scary stuff." Jim stopped dead in his tracks, and almost dropped the coffee mug in his hand. He placed it on the counter, and glanced at Karen out of the corner of his eye. She wasn’t paying any attention. As inconspicuously as he could, Jim left the kitchen. He couldn’t rush or Karen might get that something’s up. He kept his strides slow, steady, and small, appearing aimless until he finally reached his bedroom.

"Is Pam okay? Is she still there? Can I talk to her?" Jim whispered into the phone as quietly as he could while still being audible to the other end of the line.

"No, she left right after they started breaking stuff," Kevin said.

"So she’s okay then? She didn’t get hurt... right?"

"Uhh, let me think... Yeah, she should be fine," he answered. Jim released the taut breath choking him as the restriction of panic fled his system, and relief consequentially pulled in with the emotional tide.

"Oh, alright. That’s good," he said, faking a tone of indifference. "Wait, what did you mean by ‘Roy might’ve said your name?’"

"Well, I thought he said your name. They were talking, but I wasn’t paying attention until he said something pretty loud. I didn’t totally catch it. I thought he said, ‘Jim can’t onto who?’ And then he just... started yelling."

"Oh...? Well, thanks for telling me. Sounds like it must’ve been exciting. I’ll see you Monday then?"

"Yeah, enjoy the weekend. Later."

"Bye," Jim said as he snapped his cellphone shut. He stuffed it back in his pocket, and returned to the kitchen.

"So what did Kevin want?" Karen said, tossing the piece of mail onto the counter and taking a sip of her coffee.

"He, uhh, was just telling me about how they all went to Poor Richard’s after we left for the cocktail party. You know, people got drunk and stuff. Listen, uhh... This day has just totally worn me out. I really just want to head off to bed, but...?"

"Oh," Karen said, the sound of disappointment springing off the word. "Well, yeah, that’s okay. Call me sometime this weekend, yeah?" She finished her coffee in a few gulps, and left the mug in the sink.

"Do you want me to give you a ride home?"

"Are you kidding? You’ve had a long day, and it’s only two blocks. I couldn’t possibly let you drive me. So yeah, you should definitely get some sleep," Karen said, walking to the door.

"I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow or Sunday," Jim said as they reached the front door. He held the door open for her, and just before heading out, Karen pecked him on the lips.

(these kisses are supposed to be habitual and feel natural, but every time...)

They exchanged good nights, and Jim shut the door behind her. He kicked off his shoes, threw his suit jacket onto the couch, and loosened his ties. He rushed to the phone, and dialed Pam’s cellphone number, fumbling over the buttons in the hurry. Dial tone.

"C’mon, c’mon, Pam... Pick up... What the hell happened tonight?"

"Hi, this is Pam! Leave a message, and I promise to get back to you." He hit the redial button. Dial tone. Answering machine. He cursed under his breath. Redial, dial tone, answering machine. He finally gave up, and hung up the phone.

Jim collapsed face first onto his bed. What was he thinking? Kevin had already told him that Pam was okay. He couldn’t call her without making it obvious that he was trying to extract information. But his mind was a freeway of questions, and he couldn’t approach her at work or Karen might flip off the handle. He smiled into the pillows as he remembered not to overlook one of the best bits gathered from Kevin: Pam and Roy broke up. It didn’t really matter whether or not Pam was single since she wasn’t interested in him either way, but he hated having to see her taking comfort in another man’s arms.

(but, hypothetically, if Pam was interested...)

♥

Pam woke up during the credits. She yawned, and stretched out every joint in her hands and feet, giving them a good wake up. It still wasn’t that late yet, but Pam was never one to stay up past midnight and the day had been a trying one.

She turned off the TV, and dragged herself to her bedroom. Sitting on the night table was her cellphone, and the screen blinked. Three missed calls and no voicemails. Roy, obviously. Without checking who had called, she turned off her phone, and climbed into bed.

♥

Jim Halpert had always hated Mondays. Always. They took the "Worst Day of the Week" prize every week, and the other competitors never had a chance. The weekend was his time to feel like Jim again, his time to remind himself his life didn’t revolve around paper, and Monday was always the day that ended that necessary recharge. Mondays to him were like the alarm clock that interrupted a really, really good dream. So when Jim found himself looking forward to Monday and thankful that it had finally arrived that morning, he knew that his life had truly become backwards. There were just so many questions that needed to be answered, and he had resolved to talk to Pam about them.

As he got out of his car and made his way towards the elevator, he started to draw up strategies. His first chance to talk to her without Karen being around would be the first thing in the morning. Pam always got there early, but Karen didn’t always get to work before Jim did. If she wasn’t there yet, he could talk to Pam. If that didn’t work out, he could always catch her while she was in the break room or if Karen went herself. His last resort: inconspicuously ask Pam to meet him somewhere else, although the obvious danger in that tactic was that Karen would see him ask.

The elevator doors rolled back, and Jim walked into the office. There was Pam behind her desk, whiting something out, but as he put his coat on the coatrack, he saw that Karen had already arrived. Damn.

"Morning, Pam," he said with a smile. Pam looked up, a little surprised, but flashed him that addictive, sweet smile of her’s.

"Hey, Jim," she said. He sat down at his new desk– really, it was his old desk since it had belonged to him before Ryan took it– and watched both ladies from his peripheral vision in hopes that one of them could give him a chance to talk to Pam alone.

The hours passed mercilessly. Pam wouldn’t go to the break room, and Karen refused to leave the room either. He was starting to think that he would have to use his last resort, however dangerous it was, when Karen finally got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as he saw the ladies’ room door swing shut, he pushed his chair back, and was on the verge of sitting up when Roy walked in the room, past reception without a sideways glance at Pam, straight to Jim’s desk.