Pam hit the end button on her cell-phone and stopped trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. Her mother always tried to be encouraging and supportive, especially in matters related to Jim. Tonight, though, her words did little to comfort Pam, perhaps because her mom was starting to feel as hopeless about the situation as Pam did. Pam crossed her arms in front of her, trying to regain enough composure to go back to the warehouse and face her surprised co-workers and a probably very confused Jim.

She screamed and jumped about a foot when she felt something on her shoulder. She spun around and saw Jim, who had a slight smile on his face. She smacked him on the shoulder. "You scared the shit out of me," she said, quickly wiping her eyes.

Jim stifled a laugh, and Pam asked what was funny. "That might be the first time I've heard you swear," he said.

"That's because that's the first time you've snuck up on me like that!" Pam shouted, though her tone was more playful than angry. They stood silently, and Pam wrapped her arms around her middle. "What are you doing up here?"

Jim motioned back to the office door. "Um…Kelly told me you were up here. And I guess…I wanted to tell you that I'm going to miss you." He looked down at his shoes and chuckled softly. "Really miss you, actually."

Pam smiled slightly, "I'm going to miss you too." She took a deep breath, and wondered if her breath sounded as unsteady as it felt. "I hope the wedding goes well."

Jim nodded, "Yeah." He looked for several seconds at her like he was studying her. "Are you…"

Pam tried to maintain eye contact. "Yes?"

Jim's mouth was open, as if he was struggling to get the words out. "Are you leaving because of me?" he finally said softly.

Pam's eyes darted around, the door suddenly felt very far away. "No, I -"

Jim interrupted, "I mean, because of me … and Lisa."

Pam looked down at her feet, then at Jim's desk, then his hands, then the collar of his shirt, anywhere but his eyes. "I'm leaving because there's nothing for me here. It's lots of reasons."

"Is that one of them?"

Pam finally built up the courage to look at his eyes, and they were dark and piercing in the dim light. "Jim … I mean, maybe seeing other people get married and promoted made me realize those things aren't going to happen to me while I'm here."

He didn't respond, just kept watching her.

She tried to smile, "Why are we up here when there's a party downstairs? We should go back down." She started towards the door, but Jim stepped in front of her.

"Pam, don't do this again," he said, shaking his head.

Pam knitted her brows and scoffed, "Do what?"

"Walk away when you have something to say."

Pam shrugged her shoulders, "Okay, and what do you assume I have to say?" She tried to sound angry, but she ended up sounding more confused than anything.

His mouth was once again open, searching for the words. "Look, I heard you on the phone just now."

Pam bit her lip, trying to look at anything but the tall figure in front of her. "God, Jim, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to be honest with me," Jim said. It was more a request than a demand, and Pam could see pleading in his eyes when she finally allowed herself to look at them again.

"Fine," Pam said frustrated. She crossed her arms and her eyes traveled down to the floor. "I'm leaving because of you," she said quietly. She stared at a dark stain on the carpet; her nerves getting progressively frayed with every second Jim didn't say anything. "Do you have something to say?" she asked.

Jim looked down at his feet, biting his lip. "Pam," he looked up at her, "if I ever gave you the wrong impression…"

Pam started shaking her head; this was exactly why she never said anything, she knew it would be awkward, and Jim would reject her, and she'd look like a fool. "You didn't," she said. She put her hand to her forehead. "God, I'm so stupid," she said mostly to herself.

"You're not stupid," Jim said in a surprisingly stern voice. Pam was a bit startled when he wrapped his long fingers around her wrist, gently pulling her hand away from her forehead. Somehow both her hands ended up in his. "Pam, you're not stupid," he said, his hands gently squeezing hers. "You're funny and smart and easy to talk to, and the guy that gets you is going to be really lucky."

Pam sighed, trying to accept the fact that "the guy that gets her" isn't going to be Jim. She reluctantly met his eyes and couldn't help but be disappointed by the way he looked at her; like a friend and nothing more.

"You mean a lot to me, you know that, right?" Jim said, gently tugging her arms. "And we're going to be friends even after you leave, okay?"

Pam nodded as that F-word repeated in her head. She felt another tug on her arms; this time it was Jim pulling her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and her arms briefly fell limp at her sides before she tepidly returned the hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a whisper.

"I will be eventually," she said, feeling tears beading in the corners of her eyes. She sniffed and Jim released her from the hug, though his hands still held her arms. She reached up to wipe her eyes. "My mascara's getting a work out tonight, huh?" she said with a strained laugh.

"Here, look up," he said. She obliged, and he gently ran his thumb under her eyes to wipe away the tears. He smiled, "There, only a little smudged."

Pam had no idea what came over her. Maybe it was his smile, or how the delicate skin under her eyes was still warm from her tears and his touch. Whatever it was, she found herself standing on her toes and putting her hands behind his ears, gently pulling his head towards her.

Her kiss was more desperate than passionate; her dry lips landed somewhere on his bottom lip, his nose was smashed into her cheek, and she felt his neck stiffen under her hands. She broke the kiss and the heels of her feet dropped back to the floor. "Sorry," she whispered. She lowered her eyes and tried to step backwards, but something held onto her waist. She looked up to see Jim's eyes half closed, his head tilted, and his face getting closer to hers.