Pam was giddy as she drove into work. She had something in her purse that would blow Jim's mind. She smiled as she saw Jim waiting outside in the crisp autumn air. He was looking so cute, his face lighting up at her approach, that Pam completely forgot what she wanted to share with him.

Jim started walking towards the front door of the office building, away from any prying eyes gazing down from the conference room or Michael's office. He did a quick scan of the parking lot, and seeing the coast was clear, drew Pam close to him and kissed her.

"Poor shy Jim," Pam thought as she kissed her boyfriend. They continued their embrace as they made their way inside, as they waited for the elevator, and as they rode up to their floor. Jim reluctantly pulled away just before the elevator doors opened.

Pam looked at Jim mischievously and pushed the door closed button. She smiled at his puzzled expression and said, "Darn, it's too late," as the door closed. "Oh well, I guess we need to go back to the first floor and try again," she said, pulling him back to her.

"Sometimes you just miss the window," Jim agreed as the elevator started down again.

When they reached to ground floor, Jim tried to step away from her. Pam smiled and continued to hold him close. The door opened to Kelly's over-caffeinated, oh-so-smiling, face.

"Oh, you guys are so cute," Kelly gushed.

Pam snuck a quick glance over at her blushing boyfriend.

"Sorry," Jim managed.

"Don't worry about it," Kelly said. "It's not like you guys are that old or anything. Once I caught Phyllis and her husband..."

"Bob Vance, Vance refrigeration," Pam supplied with a giggle.

"Whatever," Kelly continued, "And they were all over each other. It was SO gross."

"Sorry?" Jim managed, trying to work out what he was supposed to say. Kelly didn't appear to notice.

"Anyway, don't be surprised if you guys open the door one day and it's Darryl and me in here," Kelly continued, bouncing on her toes.

Jim and Pam silently wished that the elevator would speed up.

---

Later that morning, while Jim was grabbing a soda, Pam rushed into the break room behind him. She was carrying a small paperback book.

"There's something I wanted to tell you this morning," she began excitedly.

"And the sight of me in the parking lot drove it right out of your head," Jim chuckled.

Pam risked a look around, "Yeah, you looked so pitiful waiting for me,"

"Pitiful?" Jim asked. "Believe me, I don't do pitiful." He thought about that for a minute. "Well, not any more." He managed a smile at the thought.

"Anyway," Pam said, not about to be put off a second time, "One of my friends in art class loaned me a book last night. It's like, the greatest thing ever for us."

"Wow. Let me have it."

"It's called Jitterbug Perfume and it's by Tom Robbins."

Jim thought for a moment. "Nope, can't say I've heard of it. Why is this the greatest thing ever for us and not for everybody else?"

Pam was beaming. All she kept thinking was, "Jim is going to love this SO much." Finally, she opened the book and began reading, "This is how it starts, ‘The beet is the most intense of vegetables...'"

"IT DOES NOT," Jim managed, almost speechless.

"Shut it," Pam hushed, unconsciously imitating her boss. Chastened, Jim was silent, so Pam could continue reading, "The radish, admittedly is more feverish, but the fire of a radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes a current of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious."

"Oh my god," Jim started. "I'll never be able to look Dwight in the face again."

"There's more," Pam said breathlessly, "it says, ‘the beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip."

Jim was so proud of his girlfriend, he could cry. "There are no words Beesly." He shook his head slowly. "Well done."

"I started reading it last night," Pam said. "I'm marking the good parts for you."

"It is going to be so hard to work today," Jim chuckled.

Later Pam transferred a call from someone with a German accent to Dwight. Puzzled, she listened as he talked about Schrute Farm. A quick Google query found it on Trip Advisor. There were pictures. An old woman was sitting while Dwight was splitting wood. There was a caption that the farm, "catered to the elderly." After listening to Dwight's sales pitch, which floundered when he admitted that the only beds were twin sized, Pam knew what she had to do.

She avoided Jim's panicked expression when she made a reservation for two that evening at Dwight's farm. In her mind, this was perfect. She would have a night away with Jim before the holidays and family visits intruded. As soon as she finished making the reservation, she walked into the break room, knowing that Jim would be hot on her heels.

"Pam, what are you doing?" He was clearly worried that his girlfriend had gone insane.

"Oh come on," Pam replied. "Haven't you always wanted to see what Dwight's farm was like?"

Jim thought about that and she could see the idea growing on him. "Well..."

"It'll be great!" she promised, her eyes wide.

"But why are we making a reservation for tonight? I mean we have to work tomorrow."

"We get it over with," Pam said, "then we can have the whole weekend to mock it. Besides, do you really want to waste a weekend with Dwight?"

"You have a point there," Jim agreed. "So, are we really gonna do this?"

Pam looked at him expectantly.

"Okay." Jim said, shaking his head.

---

They met at Pam's place for the drive to the farm. Pam was bouncing on her toes by the time Jim knocked on her door. She tossed Jim her bag and smiled at his slight shrug as they walked to his car. She had left her new paperback on her nightstand with deep regrets, knowing that if she read it to Jim their laughter would probably keep Dwight up.

As they pulled onto the dirt road that led to the farm, Jim marveled, "I can't believe this is real." They were actually glad that the cameras followed them to the beet farm. They knew that without some video proof, nobody would believe the scenes that followed.

After Dwight's bedtime story, Jim and Pam settled into their bedroom for the night, the camera's finally kicked out. "So," Jim said, "I'm sure if you asked nicely, you could get Mose to tuck you in."

Pam suppressed a shiver. "Please, don't even go there."

Jim sat on his bed and looked over to Pam. "So, how are we going to do this?"

Pam suppressed a smile. "What do you mean?"

Jim looked at his bed and then over at hers. "I mean, what are we going to do about the beds?"

"We both have one," Pam noted. "So I guess we'll just sleep and that will be it." She really didn't think they should sleep together tonight; it would just be too strange.

"Huh," Jim muttered. He settled in under the sheets, as did Pam. She snuck a look at him as she cut off the light.

Before they could fall asleep, they began to hear a strange, banging sound. Pam ventured out and saw Mose using an outhouse. The look on his face as he saw her totally freaked her out. She hurried back to the irrigation room.

"So, what was it?" Jim asked.

"Never mind," Pam replied. "Just help me push these beds together."

Jim almost put up an argument, then he realized that if the beds were together he'd be touching Pam, and he decided to help her.

Shortly after they had pushed the beds together and had snuggled together, they heard moaning. Pam pushed Jim out of bed saying, "Your turn."

Seeing Dwight so heartbroken brought back unwelcome memories for Jim. He held Pam close to him all night, but sleep wouldn't come.

---

The next day, Jim and Pam struggled through an artery-clogging breakfast and made their way into work. They were confident that the sleepless night would be something they'd be talking about for years.

But Jim couldn't shake the memories Dwight had stirred up. He was quiet most of the day, reliving the thousand times he'd looked at Pam with love, only to have her smile and leave with Roy. How after Michael read out his complaint about Pam planning her wedding during work time that he'd gone home and cried, ready to do anything if it would take the pain away, even for a moment.

If Jan hadn't told him about the job before casino night, he didn't think he would have survived. That night had been the last straw. It was like all the color had drained out of his world except for the blue of her dress. When she told him she'd misinterpreted their friendship, he had wanted to die.

When Angela announced she wanted to date Andy, Dwight had crumbled, just as Jim had so many times before. He followed the farmer and told him, the best that he could, how he had gone through the same thing.

That's when Jim realized; he had been scared to come back completely to Pam. He'd been afraid, afraid to show others how he felt about her, afraid that he might say or do something wrong that would drive her away. So he had tried to hold part of himself back. But it didn't make any difference. Pam would always hold his heart. And he just had to trust in her love and compassion. Holding back, in the end, wouldn't change a thing.

The certainty gave Jim a clarity that he'd lacked for years. He strode purposely back to the office, kissing Pam at her desk, daring anyone to raise objections.

And that's when Pam knew that the Jim she'd fallen in love with was back.