* * *
“Don’t tell me you’ve already found all the hidden items.”
“There’s this kid hogging the September Highlights. We already found everything in the August issue, remember?”
“Punk,” Jim said, deadpan, and Pam snorted.
“Where are you now? Are you close by?”
“I just left, shouldn’t be too long.” Constructions signs flew past him in stripes of neon as he craned his head to look for the exit.
“Wallace wasn’t mad that you had to leave early, was he?” There was just the smallest hint of anxiety in her voice, Old Pam fretting about the trouble she was causing.
Jim chuckled, trying to reassure her, “Don’t be silly. He’s got two kids of his own, he understands . Michael, on the other hand, was trying to make a case for why he should be the Co-Plus Manager.”
“Co-Plus?”
“Well, there was also Supreme Co-Manager, Co-Manager-in-Chief, Commander Co-Manager, and Copa Cabana.”
“Um, is it sad that I could believe all of those?”
“Yep.” Cloud cover moved slowly overhead, blocking out pieces of the sun.
“Hmm,” Pam mused on the other end of the line, as he adjusted his seatbelt. They had begun to drive each other’s cars on occasion, which meant that the seats were never quite in the right position anymore. It was frustrating, true, but these mundane little signs of domesticity made him feel a little giddy. Like he was slipping into the comfortable shoes of Jim Halpert, husband and father.
“What?”
“You do realize this means I really get to sleep with the boss? That’s kind of exciting, not gonna lie.”
“Is this seriously just now occurring to you? Because I’m pretty sure kinky sex was my motivation in the first place.”
“Hold on –” He heard the creak of the chair cushion as she got up off her feet, and light steps. “Sorry about that, the woman next to me was giving me dirty looks and covering her kid’s ears.”
“Same punk kid who stole your magazine?”
“Hah, yes.”
“Figures. How do you feel about Dwight as a godfather?”
“Only if Angela gets to be godmother.”
“Pam, our child was conceived in sin, remember? There’s no way Angela says yes.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Say what?”
“That our baby was sinful or something. It makes me feel like I’m already a bad mom.”
There was entirely too much emotion in her voice, it was too high-pitched tight for this to be a thought that had just occurred to her. “Pam, we talked about this when you first went off the birth control, remember? How long has this been bothering you?”
“I don’t know,” she said, almost petulant.
“Pam, c’mon.”
“It just, gah, it’s been sort of in the background, and some of my mom’s friends sort of raise their eyebrows when they find out, and then Angela made that comment about the baby being a ‘bastard’ –”
“Pam,”
“I know! I know! I’m being ridiculous, and the important thing is that I have you and the baby and a new job we’re going to be a happy little family and I think I finally have everything I really want and I’m going to stop being so dumb.”
Jim was quiet as he let the car curve towards the exit. “Hey, Pam?”
“Yes?”
“I’m scared, too.” He could hear her sharp intake of breath, the tension of her stillness. “I terrify myself thinking of the ways I could mess this up, or the ways I’ve already messed this up. But then I remember that you’re there with me, and that makes things better again.” Jim parked the car in front of the white brick office and walked into the lobby where he could make out Pam leaning against the wall, mouth twisted and hands in her hair. She looked up and saw him standing, and made her way over with a small smile.
“I’m sorry,” she said, burying her face in his chest. He bent down to kiss the top her head and squeezed just a little tighter.
“We’re going to be fine, I know it. Especially if Dwight’s the godfather.”
She slapped his arm and laughed. “You pretend like you’re joking, Halpert, but I’m not so sure.”
“Don’t you want our baby to grow up wild and free on a beet farm?”
“No.”
“Just promise me you’ll think about it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Please?”
“Shut up, Halpert,” she laughed, before kissing his cheek and leading him back to the obstetrician’s office.
* * *
Author's Chapter Notes:
Uh, hey guys, *waves awkwardly*. Remember me? It's been awhile, and I'm rusty, but the new season inspired a little bit of writing.
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Chapter End Notes:
It isn't much, but it's yours.
Kestrel is the author of 4 other stories.
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