"Hey," Pam said, seeing Jim walk into the break room.

"Hey," he replied.  He began to put money into the machine and Pam let out a grumble.  "Ugh," he echoed, teasing.

"Everything ok?" Pam asked.  She knew something was wrong.  She knew Jim better than anyone in the office--including Karen--and she knew that something was not right.

"Um, yeah.  Why... do you ask?"

Pam shrugged.  "You just... look tired."

Jim shrugged.  "Oh. Yeah well, I guess there's been a couple late nights. Karen and I have been up talking."

"Talking, huh?" The tease was out of her mouth before she could edit it.  She knew what she had implied with it, and she honestly did not want to bring that up with Jim--let alone get that picture in her head.

"Yeah.  Really," he insisted.  "Talking, and... not a whole lot else."

"And you're sure everything's alright?"  He didn't answer immediately.  "Jim," she said in a lower tone.  "I know you.  Something isn't right.  I don't want you to think that you can't talk to me.  I hope you know that you can.  You can tell me anything," she said in a serious tone, although it reminded her of when she had teased him with those words when she had jinxed him.  She also remembered the look he had given her when she had said it.  She longed for that look now.  She wanted that look more than anything in the world at that moment.

Jim let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head.  "It's just... you know... stuff that, ah, Karen...  She's just worried about some things... from my past."

Pam bit her lip.  "Something about last May?" she asked, suddenly bold.

"Something like that," he mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"So you really wouldn't want to talk about it with me, huh?"

Jim shook his head.  "To be honest, I'd... rather just try and... move on."

Pam looked down, letting out a slow breath.  What he was really saying is that he wanted to forget all about it--that he wanted to leave her and what she had once meant to him in the past.  If he succeeded, she would have no chance with him.

"I'm sorry," he began.  "I just--"

"No," she said, feeling tears creep into her eyes.  "It's fine."  With that, she turned on her heel and rushed out of the room, heading for the bathroom.  Once in the ladies' room, Pam collapsed on the couch and cried until her eyes were red and swollen--until she had no more tears left to bleed.  She was out of chances.  She had missed her opportunity, and there was no going back.  He was gone.

***

When Pam had dried her eyes and was able to rejoin the office without it being completely obvious that she had been crying (even though her eyes were still red and swollen), she went to her desk and sat down quietly.  She thought she saw Jim glancing up at her as she walked by, but she wasn't sure, since she had kept her head down.

Later, at the party, Pam was not herself.  Or maybe she was more her old self than she had been the last few months.  She was quiet, withdrawn, and did not really participate much in the activities.  She also drank more champagne than she should have, considering that she was still at work.

The party called for additional sodas, which were in the refrigerator.  Pam went into the kitchen to retrieve them, and Karen soon entered after her.

"So I guess you have the Ben Franklin wig and the costume and you figure, how can I put this to practical use?" Karen said, joking about Ben.

Pam smiled weakly, but said nothing.

"Hey um, I wanted to talk to you. I know this is weird or whatever, but Jim told me about you guys," Karen said cautiously.

"Huh?" Pam replied, suddenly nervous.  Had he updated her since that morning?  "What do you mean?"

"Well that you kissed. And we talked it through and it's totally fine, it's not a big deal. It's just a kiss. Wait- you're not still interested in him?"

All color drained from her face.  "Um, well..."

"Pam?" Karen urged.

Pam sighed.  "Look, you guys are good together, and he's... over me, and you guys should just...  Just don't worry about that, alright?"

Karen wrinkled her forehead.  "Pam, I probably shouldn't be saying this, but... he's... not over you."

"Well, he's trying!" Pam laughed bitterly.

"Yeah," Karen replied softly.  Somehow she knew that she was part of that trying--that he was trying to get over Pam by dating her.  It all made sense now.  When he realized that they would be heading back to Scranton, he was suddenly interested in her.  He was using her as a shield.  Part of Karen wanted to sock him in the groin and scream a string of curses at him.  But another part of her--the somewhat sappy, romantic part--felt sorry for them.  She felt like they were just missing each other.

If Karen were honest with herself, she would admit that they were actually meant for each other.  The jokes they shared--the history that they had--the prank they had pulled on Andy.  And really, part of her knew that she would soon tire of Jim's pranks.  She knew she would soon go into her mode of changing the man she was dating.  And if she knew that there was someone out there who would accept him as he was, she would feel guilty.

Karen took in a deep breath and grabbed Pam's hand and dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" Pam asked.

"To settle a debate."  Karen led Pam out of the main office, and out towards the stairwell leading to the warehouse.  A stripper was giving Michael a very awkward lap dance as the ladies entered.

"Woah!" Michael exclaimed, clearly embarassed, as the ladies descended the stairs.  "Hens in the... cock house..."

Darryl, Jim and Stanley shook their heads as Kevin nodded with that famous smile.

"What're you two doing here?" Kevin asked.

Both ladies knew what he was thinking.  "Not happening, Kevin," Karen said, walking straight for Jim.  He stood, curious why Karen and Pam were both there.

"What's up?" Jim asked, looking between the two women.

"We need to talk," Karen told him.  "Let's go upstairs."  The three went up into the stairwell and stopped on the landing.  Karen finally let go of Pam's wrist and put her hands on her hips.  "I'll be honest," she said.  "I'm a little tired of being caught in the middle.  Pam, you're great, and I think you're a good friend.  Jim, you're an awesome boyfriend.  But let's face it: you guys still have feelings for each other.  Jim, you told me yourself you still have feelings for Pam.  Pam, it's obvious you have feelings for Jim.  So Jim, as much as I am enjoying being your girlfriend, I don't think we can really be... anything... until you figure out if you and Pam will work out.  If you do, that's great.  There will be plenty of fish left for me.  If not, well, maybe I'll still be around."

Jim looked utterly confused and amazed, all at once.  He looked at Pam.  She looked just as confused.  "Um, Karen, are you sure--"

"Yes," Karen said firmly.  "Look, I won't be happy if I know that you're both still pining after each other.  I'll still feel like I'm in the middle--like I'm just being the buffer.  I don't want to feel like that."  When Jim and Pam still said nothing, she went on to say, "Now hurry up and accept the break up before I change my mind."

Jim nodded.  He took a step forward and planted a chaste kiss on Karen's cheek.  "Thank you," he said, his voice cracking. 

Karen sighed.  "Yeah, it was nothing," she muttered, looking away.

Pam smiled and gave Karen a big hug.  "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Karen said softly, hugging her back.  "I think you had dibs on him anyways."

Pam chuckled and finally released Karen from the embrace.

"I'm gonna... go tease Ben Franklin some more," Karen said, moving towards the exit into the hallway. 

When Karen was gone, Pam and Jim looked at each other blankly.  They weren't sure what to do.  It was such a strange, abrupt situation. 

Jim let out a sigh.  "So... are you free for dinner tonight?"

Pam chuckled.  Jim had missed that sound.  "Yes," she replied, beaming.

"Great," he replied, clasping his hands together.  "Then it's a date."