my word, it didn't come, it doesn't matter (Jim)

The swells of the lake are different up on the top deck; smaller, but less predictable. Everything is miles away: land, the office, even Roy and Katy doing snorkel shots. Pam must feel the freedom, too, because suddenly she's bringing up things they never talk about. It's the first time he really thinks about telling her. What if becomes I'm gonna do it. Maybe it's the alcohol, or seeing her outside of their familiar surroundings. Or maybe it's the waves, giving him a light feeling that he mistakes for courage. The moment slips away, into the dark water rushing past, but the courage doesn't. It grows and spreads until he's leaning against the bar with a cheap beer in his hand and can't wait another second to tell her. 

It turns out to be too late that night, but months later, he's standing in a parking lot and imagines the ship's deck rising beneath his feet. This time, there's nothing to stop him.

the human tragedy (Michael)

His morning starts, for the first time in years, without the invigorating aroma of grilling bacon. The ceiling of his new condo is already cracking. Jan still won't talk to him about her feelings. The red light is blinking on his answering machine: eight unheard messages from his mother and no one else. And the bubble wrap on his foot is starting to smell funny.

It never even occurs to him to stay in bed. 

follow the unknown with something more familiar (Dwight)

A Schrute fears nothing. Michael heroically demonstrates his tolerance of gays by embracing Oscar, and Dwight knows he must follow his leader without question or cowardice. He rises from his chair, back straight and strong. No hesitation. Hesitation is for the weak. It's his first time kissing a man who isn't a blood relative. At least Oscar smells a lot nicer than Mose. 

Angela won't let him near her for two days, but when she does, soft hair and tiny hands dispel all his concerns about homosexuality being transmissible by touch. 

no simple explanation for anything important any of us do (Angela)

After a week of miserable introspection and prayer, she decides that something must be done to save Dwight's job. She cannot continue to let him suffer the blame for her own failings, no matter how noble his actions. The snow falls peacefully outside the window while she watches intently, asking Jesus to forgive her weakness and give her the courage to do what needs to be done. Her knees quiver as she enters Michael's office. Words of explanation come out in a rush, confession punctuated with a sigh of relief. 

Bravery is rewarded with a slow, meaningful handshake to celebrate a triumphant homecoming. 

the necessity of living with the consequences under pressure (Jan)

She stares at the papers on her desk, Michael's childish signature running over the first few letters of her own controlled scratches. A carefully formed heart over the "i" in his name makes her stomach clench and she has to cover the bottom half of the page with her empty pack of cigarettes. There's still time to feed the waiver through the shredder, get the copy back from David and call the whole thing off; explain to Michael that it just wouldn't work. But then she remembers his emotional speech about all the things she never had with Gould. (Just because she hasn't said it, doesn't mean she doesn't feel it.) 

She can always change her mind later, and besides, what's the worst that could happen? 

 

courage, it couldn't come at a worse time (Pam)

Bravery, she learns, is accumulative. Each time she does something scary, it gets easier. Soon, the most terrifying thing she's ever done (canceling her wedding) is at least twelve daring leaps behind her. Hot coals don't seem like too big a deal; they'll hurt far less than getting turned down for coffee after days of summoning up the nerve to ask or standing alone in front of watercolors that no one bothers giving a second glance. The skin will heal, just like everything else. It's a good kind of burn, racing across fire and sand and embarrassment until everything is in the open. 

Sure, the timing is all wrong and maybe it's too late for the happy ending they should have had a year ago, but she still goes home with hope in her heart.