Some would say that his relation-ship had sailed. Some more accurate people would say that his ship had not so much sailed as sunk. He preferred to think of it as running aground, catching on fire, capsizing, and sinking to the bottom with coral and cephalopods residing inside it.

And he couldn't be happier.

Because right now he was strolling slowly through the parking lot three-quarters of an hour before quitting time with the woman he loved more than anything else in the entire world - and she loved him back. They skipped out of work together, smiling, laughing, and kissing, to go make something of their new relationship, amidst Michael's embarrassing high-five attempt and thumbs up from other more reserved co-workers.

"We should have done this a long time ago," beamed Pam, gripping his jacketted arm tightly with both hands.

"Well worth the wait," Jim replied before kissing her again.

They were heading toward his Saab, not really sure where they would go after that, and not really caring as long as they were together, when Pam's smile unexpectedly fell. "Karen?" she said.

Ah. Karen. Jim felt really sorry about the way he had treated her. Terrible even. It had torn him up inside to break up with her, even though it had been tearing him up more each day he continued living the lie. Trying to force himself into having fun with her in New York before the interview, knowing that it meant more to her than it did to him... Everything he had done with her had been so unfair.

The worst had been how she had finally found out about his... thing... with Pam. He had expected her to tear him a new one right there on the beach, but she had acted far better than he could have imagined possible. Not that she had been happy about it. She was upset, and rightly so, but had been mature about it. He could only hope that she remained as cool this time around, considering how he'd left her without warning in New York.

He hated being a such a bastard. Someday he'd have to try to make it up to her, but for today all he could think of was Pam.

Obviously this preoccupation was clouding his senses because it slowly dawned on him that Pam's query hadn't been simply expressing concern over the wounded heart of their co-worker, but instead was meant to alert him to the fact that Karen was currently approaching them.

He disentangled himself from Pam's embrace and prepared to have the talk he wasn't at all ready for. It was then that he realized what Karen had brought with her.

***

Steve the camera guy zoomed in closer on Jim and Pam as they slowly made their way through the parking lot, arm-in-arm. He had to settle for the far away shot through the blinds, though he wished more than anything that they could get a mic down there. He couldn't hear a thing they were saying, but his intuition told him it was something steamy (or at least editing could make it look that way). The two of them finally getting together would be so good for the show. He'd nearly teared up right along with Pam at yesterday's dramatic dinner invititation.

Oh-ho! Here comes Karen! The only thing better than sappy true love is a love triangle, especially one so messy that Pythagoras couldn't even figure it out. So, he should feel bad about wanting to see some flying fur (especially since he was genuinely happy that they were finally together), but he was a filmmaker first.

Steve zoomed further in to get their reactions, picking up a great worried look from Pam, then he panned over for Karen's expression.

It took him about a second for what he saw to register in his brain, but it felt like hours as he couldn't believe his eyes. "Shit," Steve murmured under his breath, then louder as he came to his senses. "Shit! She's got a gun!"

"Huh?"

"Karen's going to shoot Jim and Pam!"

Andy's "What?!" was trampled by Ryan's "Oh my God! Somebody call 9-1-1!"

"I'm on it!" yelled Dwight, calmly punching in the numbers on his phone.

At the commotion Michael came bounding over from his office to join Steve and the others in peering through the window. The apprehension and fear were plain on his face as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, muttering a curse before running for the exit.

What could Steve do? He kept filming.

Dwight chatted tersely with the dispatcher.

***

Jim stared down his woman scorned, and boy was she full of fury. Her eyes were bloodshot and hooded and dead to the world, but her lips held a most severe scowl. She was pointing a handgun at him threateningly. Her voice was practically a hiss.

"You..."

"Karen, I'm so sorry."

"A voicemail, Jim? You didn't even have the guts to breakup with me face-to-face."

"I know I acted badly, Karen," he said, "Yesterday, and for a while now." It was really painful to bring this up again. Looking down the barrel of a gun though, it's not like he had much of a choice. "I should have been honest with you from the start. I wasn't, and I'm sorry. You deserve better." Pam looked at him, as if to say 'you broke up with her over the phone? you jerk'. Yeah, he earned that.

Karen sneered at him. "Fancy words, Halpert. Maybe you should have thought of that before you ripped my heart out."

"Karen, I want to make it up to you. Tell me what I have to do to help you."

"Dammit, Jim!" On any other day he would have made a 'Bones' McCoy joke. Today, he didn't want to die. "I loved you," she yelled, voice cracking. "I moved across the country for you. Away from my family. My friends. My life. I wasn't helpless, Jim. I wasn't forced to come here because I had no other choice. I could have gone anywhere, done anything. But I chose to come here because I loved you and I thought you loved me too." Her gun hand quivered with every shout, every betrayal. She would be on the verge of tears except that she had cried herself out already. "God, I was so stupid. To think I relocated, tore up all my roots and just left for a man who didn't love me. Who never even had a chance of loving me. Ha! Now I'm stuck in this piss-ant town in a dead-end job that I hate and the only friend I thought I'd made in this God-foresaken hellhole is running off with my boyfriend."

"I didn't want to hurt you, Karen," pleaded Pam. "You've never been anything but a great friend to me. I never wanted to come between you - it just sort of happened." Not exactly true, but now wasn't the best time to argue the details.

"Yeah right, Jezebel," she kept the gun pointed at Jim. "You both lied to me. How blind was I that I couldn't see it? Or maybe I did see it and just wouldn't believe that you could be such a bastard." Karen drew in a long breath, trying to steel her dissolving resolve. "What was New York then, Halpert? What was getting away together? How long have you two been planning this? Months? Years? Don't try telling me this just happened. Who am I to get in the way of this cosmic love story?" she mocked. "After all, I'm not good enough to commit to, just good enough to drag along across two states to give people the illusion that you've moved on. You never had any intention of staying with me, did you? Was that it? Was I just a game to you? Well you should know by now that I take games very seriously."

"Karen, I-" Jim began.

"Don't you dare say it, Halpert."

"I never meant-"

"SHUT UP!!!" She pulled the trigger.

***

Pam watched in shock as Jim clutched his hand to his chest. He reached out to her as he stumbled to his knees, the blood pouring from under his hand, mouth moving silently in a hopeless plea.

"Jim!" She clutched him with all her strength. "Stay with me!" As he collapsed before her, she watched her life effectively end.

***

Michael emerged from the lobby just in time to see Jim fall to the pavement. "Jimmy..."

***

"What have I done?" The gun fell from her limp fingers. Pam was huddled, crying over Jim's lifeless body. She whispered it again to herself, "What have I done..." And Karen, too, collapsed to her knees and sobbed.

***

"No! Jim!" she cried for what must have been the hundredth time this minute. She held his body in her arms, swaying slightly. His pulse was gone. He was dead. Jim had been torn away from her a second time. This time she had realized what he had meant to her. This time he wouldn't be coming back.

To lose him now after finally embracing him for the first time... "We never had any time... I wasted so much time..."

***

He stumbled toward the grisly scene, blankly moving forward. Jim's blood was sprayed all over Dwight's Trans Am. Michael would never be able to appreciate the irony.

***

Karen crawled over to Jim's body. She wanted to hold him too, but couldn't stand the thought of shoving Pam out of the way. She had no right. Instead, she consoled herself with just the slightest of touches. All hope that he was still alive was vanquished when she felt his arm. Damn me for being such a good shot, she thought. She wasn't lying about being 'KarentheJimSlayer'. She almost had to laugh.

The sound of sirens filled the air as squad cars zoomed down the street into the parking lot.

She'd done it. She'd killed him. Just pointed the gun at him in all her rage and squeezed. "What am I going to do?" Karen asked no one in particular. She already knew. With one last look at Jim's face, she crawled back to her fallen pistol, put the barrel into her mouth, and fired.

***

Pam didn't come into work the next day, or the day after that. She didn't phone in, and the police knew nothing. On the Monday, Toby went to her apartment. Everything was gone. No car. No furniture. No boxes of cutlery. The landlord was equally surprised to see her apartment empty.

No forwarding address.

***

"Hey, can I borrow that hammer?" asked Steve the camera guy, not stopping to wonder why Creed had a hammer (and many other miscellaneous things) on his desk. Not bothering to wait for his answer (which was "Huh? Who are you?") he smashed the video cassette into little bits, then lit the tape on fire. The plastic burned with a satisfying flame and a noxious smell.

Creed stared at the melting plastic. "I have some stuff that's more fun to burn." He offered the camera guy his baggie. "It'll be more therapeutic."

***

The camera guys were packing away their equipment for the last time. The decision had been made at all levels to cease production and no one was sad to see them go.

So Andy says to them: "So now you guys know how the Discovery Channel feels since the Crocodile Hunter got whacked."

"Shut up, Andy," says Michael.

The director somberly announced the last set of interviews.

***

"I guess," Ryan shrugged, "I mean what I feel we can... take away from this?" shrugging again, looking uncomfortable. "Is that we should to cherish what we have, because you don't know when it's going to be taken away from you. Y'know?"

***

"We're getting back together," said Kelly. "I'm just not as excited as I thought I'd be."

***

Roy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I thought that if anyone was going to murder Halpert it would be me."