She couldn't be sure exactly when he ceased to exist, but the first day she suspected something was the day after she canceled her wedding.
She was tired and had a huge headache from crying all night, so at first she didn't notice the Jim's drawing of her was missing. She had hung it on her desk months ago, and after he had transferred without even saying goodbye, she put it in her top drawer so she could still see it if she really wanted to, but it wasn't hanging in front of her face, reminding her of what she had lost.
And she also didn't notice her teapot was gone, because she just assumed she had put it in the cabinet in the kitchen after washing it. Yes, with all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, her mind was elsewhere, so those little details didn't really register quite yet.
It was only when she sent out the email that things started to get weird.
At first she just addressed the email to those people that were supposed to be guests at the wedding. Then she decided to just include the whole office, even those who weren't attending, to stave off any gossip. And then at the last second she went to add Jim's name to the list. He didn't show up in the contact list, but she figured it was some kind of glitch with the email system since he had switched branches, so she added his address manually.
What happened over the course of the day was that she was flooded with people asking questions, or trying to comfort her, or just plain being nosy. So by lunch time she couldn't take it anymore, and told Michael she wasn't feeling well and needed a "mental health" day. He nodded and wished her well, and she went home. Then she had to deal with Roy coming by to get his stuff so he could go stay at his brother's place, and by the time she finally got a minute to herself, she sat down at the computer to check her work email.
Upon opening her inbox, she was startled.
From: Mailer-daemon@dundermifflin.com
To: Pamela.Beesly@dundermifflin.com
Date: June 5, 2006
Subject: addressee unknown
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
James.Halpert@dundermifflin.com
Technical details of permanent failure:
PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error addressee unknown
Why wouldn't Jim's email still work in Stamford? Pam was puzzled, but again, figured it was some kind of technical problem. The IT department wasn't exactly known for their competence.
It was unsettling to her, however, and that night she couldn't sleep - not because she had just canceled her wedding that was supposed to happen that weekend, nor because she had ended a nearly ten year relationship, but because Jim didn't get her email, and she didn't know why.
In the morning she got up and went to work as usual, and that's when all hell broke loose.
She cautiously tapped on Michael's office door. He was very hurt by Jim's sudden transfer and had declared Jim to be dead to him. So when she asked him if he had heard from Jim, and he replied with a disinterested "Jim who?" she wasn't really surprised. She went back to her desk and sat down. Kevin came by to check for faxes and she said conversationally, "So, have you heard from Jim since he moved?" Kevin just stared at her blankly and went back to his desk.
That was weird, she thought. The anxiety in her gut was growing. She finally flipped open the company directory and dialed the receptionist at Stamford.
"Hi Marcia, it's Pam from Scranton. Hey, could you do me a favor and transfer me to Jim Halpert?"
"Who?" asked Marcia.
"Jim Halpert. He was supposed to start there last week." She tapped a pen nervously on her desk.
"Um, sorry, Pam, no one by that name works here."
"Are you sure?" She was starting to panic.
"Positive. We had a new person start a couple of weeks ago, but it was a lady and her name was Sophie. No Jim."
Pam mumbled something and hung up. What was going on here? She decided to approach Michael again.
"Michael, what happened to Jim? I thought he transferred to Stamford but they have never heard of him there, and his email doesn't work..."
"Jim...?" Michael was still distracted by something on his computer.
"Jim Halpert, tall guy, sat right out there. Michael, I know you're mad at him but you just can't pretend he doesn't exist."
He must have sensed the annoyance in her voice because he finally looked up.
"Pam, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know a Jim Halpert."
"Michael, that's not funny." She felt tears in her eyes and her hands were starting to quiver. Suddenly Dwight appeared next to her in the doorway.
"Dwight, do you know what happened to Jim?" she demanded.
"Jim who?" Dwight said, expressionless.
"Jim Halpert, who has sat next to you for like five years."
He scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at her like she was crazy.
"Okay guys, this isn't funny. These past couple of days have been really hard and I think you're being jerks..."
Michael and Dwight both stared at her as if she had two heads.
She yelled out to the rest of the office, "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE JIM IS?"
Everyone just looked at her. After a painful silence, Phyllis spoke. "Who is Jim?"
That's when Toby emerged from the kitchen, looking down and carrying a piece of paper.
"Toby!" Pam gasped, approaching him and grabbing his arm. "Please, I need to know where Jim went."
Toby, like everyone else, obviously had no idea what she was talking about.
And that is when Pam's whole world went crazy.
Story Notes:
This is a weird story that sort of popped into my head. It has elements of Lost and the X-Files, but not really.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This starts off a couple of weeks after Jim has left for Stamford - the week before Pam's scheduled wedding.
