Jim and Pam shared a good-bye hug in the parking lot on his last day; she couldn't help herself, and he couldn't resist.

Not a word had passed between them in the days since "the incident", as Jim referred to it in his own mental commentary. Giving it a name that implied it had less significance disguised it as almost safe. A wolf in sheep's clothing.

Pam had watched silently as Jim emptied his desk of mementos from their time together as friends and partners in crime. It all ended up in a giant paper box among his desk lamp and framed photos of family. She looked on, observing the going-away party that was thrown for him. Silently from her desk she watched as hugs were exchanged, Michael's being the most dramatic and teary of them all. She met Jim's sideways glance from time to time, wishing she was right there by his side like his best friend again.

Before she knew it, the party was over and he was standing at the exit of the office, clutching the box overflowing with his past five years at Dunder Mifflin Scranton. He smiled sadly and said goodbye to his coworkers one last time. He met Pam's eyes briefly before he turned and left it all behind.

At the sight of him disappearing through that doorway with their shared memories held in a box, she flashed back on some of their happiest times together: all the pranks they played on Dwight together, secret conversations in the breakroom, Jim leaning over her desk as they talked quietly about anything and everything. Office Olympics, Jim's constant encouragement of her artwork, a tender kiss in the dim office... Something snapped inside her then, and she couldn't let a couple of awkward glances from across the room be their goodbye, the culmination of friendship and laughs and so much more. Her heart jump-started, silently shouting after him the words she couldn't get her mouth to form, and she abandoned her post at the front of the office and took the stairs two at a time, her heart beating so loudly that she imagined the sound was reverberating off the walls.

Her footsteps on the pavement announced her presence as she came up behind him. He was loading the box of his belongings into the trunk of his car. She could see him sigh, his shoulders lifting and falling, before he closed the trunk and turned to face her.

Her posture was so Pam, magnified by what he saw fighting to get out through her eyes. She had wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to keep everything from spilling out at their feet. Anger choked Jim's throat again because this was what she did best- bottle herself up, her heart broiling with emotions like a shaken up bottle of soda with the cap sealed tight.

His mind battled with his heart, and his heart won. He couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Pam, no matter how strongly his mind was yelling at him that he should. He took a step forward, his feet betraying his mind and obeying the demands of his heart, while his hands floated up to rest on her upper arms. Their eyes held. His fingers tenderly pressed into her flesh, and just like that she dropped her arms to her side. The cap was loosened just enough, and her chin trembled at the force of all that she held inside fizzing to the surface. A tear lingered on her lower lashes, and she fell forward into his chest, her breath hitching loudly. Her arms slid around his waist, her forehead pressed into his shoulder, and they held each other in a wordless goodbye. They memorized the feel of each other, the comfort and warmth, the way Pam fit just so into Jim's arms. Jim glanced up and thought he saw their coworkers observing their sad goodbye from Michael's office behind the reflection in the windows.

Pam stepped back then, head tilted, and a crooked smile slowly adorned her face. Another tear freed itself from her lashes and fled down her cheek. Nothing more could be said-- the situation hadn't changed. So Jim stepped back, nodded once, smiled a half-smile, and folded himself into his small car. Pam looked on as he pulled out of the space, her arms wrapped protectively around her middle once more. He smiled sadly as he passed her, and watched her get smaller in his rear-view mirror as he drove away towards Connecticut.

When his car was out of sight, Pam felt her chin trembling again, and her vision became blurry once more. Needing a few minutes to collect herself before she went back to the office, she slowly made her way to the side of the building. Before her was the tree where she and Jim often sat underneath eating lunch in the summer. the leaves were new and green, and she sat in the soft grass underneath it and drew her knees up to her chest. She let herself cry for a few minutes, hugging her knees, her forehead resting on her arms. Tears stained her skirt with dark wet drops. She lost track of time, but eventually she felt like she may be able to keep herself together for at least a little while. Standing up, she straightened out her skirt and brushed off the dried grass, and made her way inside. 

To Be Continued...