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.
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Jim's stomach rumbled loudly as he glanced at the clock at the bottom of his screen. No wonder he was so hungry. Ellie had decided her cereal would look better on her head than in her bowl, so he'd not had time to eat breakfast that morning. He quickly glanced over at Pam before making his way over to reception, picking up a handful of jellybeans, and tossing them into his mouth all at once. He'd only been working there a couple of days, but he already felt as thought he'd made a friend in Pam.
"Hey, so do you have any plans for lunch?" he asked, making a face at the taste of his jellybean concoction.
Pam laughed at the repulsed look on his face. "Not enjoying the little creation that you made there?"
"No!!" He replied, as he swallowed almost immediately, sticking his tongue out in disgust.
"What did you make?"
"Tiramisu," he explained, pointing to the little jellybeans recipe card that she had placed next to the bowl.
"Tiramisu?"
"Yeah 2 cappuccinos, 1 cream soda and 1 chocolate pudding."
Pam began gathering papers from her desk and stapling them together, before arranging them neatly in the outbox tray in front of her. "Do you even like Tiramisu?" she asked.
"Not particularly," he laughed as he leaned over her desk to see what she was doing. "So, you free for lunch? I don't want to get in the way of your...solitaire or anything."
"Oh, ha ha! Don't poke fun at the solitaire, Jim," she teased. "But yeah urm, I am free for lunch, did you want..."
"Yeah, you wanna go grab something to eat? I don't think my sandwich is gonna cut it." His stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, causing them both to laugh. "Cugino's or Coopers?"
"Ohh Cugino's! And maybe if we're not full, we could run by Friendly's afterwards and grab a Conehead?" she asked, her face lighting up at the thought of it.
Jim pulled himself up from his leaning position on her desk and winked. "You're on, Beesly."
XxXxXxX
They arrived just as they opened for lunch, opting for a booth at the back of the restaurant. The waitress took their drink orders and handed them both their menus.
Jim laughed nervously and cleared his throat when he noticed Pam staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing...so, tell me stuff."
"What sort of stuff?" he laughed as he played with the menu in front of him.
"I don't know... important stuff, like... why did you move from California to Scranton? Are you married? What's your favourite sandwich filling? That kinda stuff."
"Wow, okay... urm. Favorite sandwich filling would have to be ham and cheese, and I moved back to Scranton because I was fed up of great weather ALL the time," he teased, a crooked smile overtaking his face.
"Yeah, I can see why that would bother you," she smiled. "Seriously though..."
"I guess I just wanted a change. I grew up here, my family still lives here... and I really wanted to sell paper."
"I can understand why you would. It's definitely a high flying lifestyle that people will resent you for, just wait and see," she laughed nervously, taking a deep breath, thankful for the interruption by the waitress. They ordered their meals and looked at each other across the table, both waiting for the other to speak first.
Pam smirked. "Ignoring my questions already, hmm? So, you're not married?" She asked, tearing a bread roll in half, offering him a piece.
He shook his head and accepted the bread she was offering, dipping it generously in the oil in front of him. "Nope, you?"
"No."
"Cool." Jim responded, silently cursing himself for sounding so lame.
"How about dating? Are you seeing anyone?" she asked as she hastily spread butter on to the bread in front of her.
"No. Are you?"
"No," she replied, pausing briefly. "Wait, so you're not married? Or dating anyone? Really?"
Jim laughed at the shocked expression on Pam's face. "Yes, really. Why, does that shock you?"
"Yeah, it's just... you're pretty cute, that's all. It's unusual for guys like you to still be single."
Jim blushed at Pam's boldness. "I suppose I'm just waiting to bump into that special someone in a Starbucks line or something." He teased, trying to lighten the moment.
Pam laughed as she watched him anxiously playing with the wine glass in front of him.
"So, what about you? Why aren't you married yet?" he asked her as he folded his hands on the table in front of him to try and control his fidgeting.
"I guess I've just not found the right person to settle down with," she explained honestly as she took another bread stick from the basket.
Jim looked up and stared at her for a moment before looking away. "I think you'll be alright. Someday you'll find that guy who will pull a Jerry Maguire on you and say you had him at hello."
"Jerry Maguire? Really, Jim?"
"Hey, it's a good movie. Don't mock its brilliance..."
"Oh I wouldn't dream of it," she teased as she brought her hand up to rest on her heart. "You complete me."
They both laughed and their eyes met across the table, where they held their gaze until the waitress came over with their food. She cleared her throat to get their attention, and somehow broke the spell that had formed between them.
XxXxX
Jim yawned as he dumped his messenger bag into the passenger seat of his Honda Accord. To say he was looking forward to the weekend was an understatement. His first full week at Dunder Mifflin had completely and utterly drained him and he couldn't wait to just get home, change out of his damn suit and relax with his little girl. He was just about to put the key in the ignition, when he noticed Pam and Toby approaching his car. Out of everyone in the office, he was closest to those two; especially Pam. From the moment he walked in he knew they'd become friends, she seemed to share the same dorky sense of humour he did. He smiled to himself as he remembered Pam's comment when she walked him over to his new desk. She grabbed his elbow lightly and whispered, "Enjoy this moment, Jim, because you're never going to go back to this time before you met your desk mate Dwight..." He thought she was exaggerating, but no. It turns out that Dwight Schrute was in fact the strangest person he'd ever met - followed very closely by Creed.
Jim rolled his window down. "Hi."
"Hey, you wanna grab a beer? A couple of us are heading over to Poor Richard's for a bit." Toby asked as he nodded his head towards Meredith, Kelly, Bob and Phyllis, and some of the guys from the warehouse who were all waiting over on the other side of the parking lot for them.
Jim looked up and saw Pam smiling at him, and his fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel. "As much as I'd love to, guys, I can't tonight."
"Oh, okay." Pam replied as she played with her necklace nervously. He could have sworn she sounded disappointed by his answer.
Toby leaned his hand in and slapped Jim's shoulder awkwardly, "Yeah, it's Friday night, you've probably got a date planned or something, huh?"
"Yeah, urm...something like that." Jim looked at his watch. He knew his Mom had to be somewhere by six. "Hey, guys, sorry. I really have to go."
He looked at Pam. She looked disappointed; Toby just smiled and nodded his head.
"See you on Monday."
"Bye, Jim." Pam said quietly as she waved him off.
XxXxX
Jim was looking forward to spending the entire weekend with Ellie. The guilt he felt when he left her each morning with his Mom was starting to overwhelm him. He knew he had to remember that Ellie didn't hate him for it, and that it was probably good for her to spend some time away from him, but it didn't make it any easier.
As soon as he got home he could hear his Mom talking to Ellie, announcing that he was home, and he could already hear how excited she was. Slipping off his shoes, he stepped into the living room and immediately got down on all fours and crawled towards Ellie, who was sitting on the floor in between her Grandma's legs, her little feet bouncing up and down excitedly.
"Hey, Munchkin. Daddy's home."
Ellie clapped her hands excitedly before placing a thumb of one hand, with her fingers open, up to her forehead and tapping several times, a lot harder than was necessary.
As Jim reached Ellie, he got up on to his knees and scooped her up into his arms. "Hey, careful, Sweetheart. You're going to hurt yourself," he explained as he took her hand and showed her how to tap her forehead gently. "Daddy Daddy Daddy," he repeated, enjoying watching her copy the sign back to him on her own.
"Thanks for looking after her, Mom, was she okay?"
"She was as good as gold as usual." Betsy smiled as she leaned down and kissed Ellie, before placing a kiss on Jim's cheek. "So, I have a few minutes before I have to leave. Talk to me."
Jim smiled. That was twice someone had said that to him today. He looked at his mom suspiciously and laughed, "About what?"
"I don't know, work, maybe? You haven't really talked about it. Are the people nice?"
"Yeah. I get along well with a couple of people. The others...well... they're...you know, there are no words to describe them."
"That bad?"
"Well, today was Diversity Day..." Jim explained, as he sat Ellie on his lap and began doing the actions to "Round and Round the Garden," on her upturned palm.
"That doesn't sound so bad." She said, laughing at the look on his face.
"No, it doesn't - but it was. Michael made everyone wear these cards on their head, with a different race written on it... and then made everyone try and guess what their card said by talking to people."
"Oh, that sounds..."
"Insane?"
"I was going for different, but yes, it sounds a little... immoral to say the least. What did yours say?"
Jim laughed as he remembered the moment when he learned exactly what his card said.
"Urm, urm. Okay I've got it. This is so easy! You'll get it right away," Pam laughed as she looked up at Jim with the card stuck to his forehead. "It's really cold where you're from, eh?"
Jim bit his bottom lip, to stop himself from laughing, but still managed to look confused. "Russian?"
"Jiiim, no. Okay... I have it; you'll get it this time for sure. So..." She paused mid sentence and shook her head, "Some people think you all live in igloos and urm... you really love maple syrup..."
"Hmm. Could I be Canadian, ehhh?"
"YES."
"Good job with those hints, by the way," he teased, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Wanna get oat of here, ehhh?"
"Are you going to be doing that incredibly realistic accent all day?" she asked him as she made her way out of the conference room.
He kept the joke going a little longer, loving the reaction he was getting from Pam. It'd been a long time since he'd had this much fun, especially with someone of the opposite sex. "Sooaarrryyyy Pam! Does this bug you? Where should we go? What abooot the break room, eh? Or maybe the kitchen?"
"You're ridiculous."
"Pam sounds nice, is she pretty?"
"Mom!" Jim replied defensively.
"What? I was just wondering."
Jim grabbed the knot of his tie, loosened it quickly and popped open the top button of his shirt. "Yeah... I guess she is."
"Do you like her?"
Jim stood up and Ellie looked at him as she brought a cupped hand up to her mouth, showing him she wanted some food. "You want something to eat, Sweetheart?" he asked, mimicking her action. He made his way into the kitchen and poured some Cheerios in to a bowl and gave a couple to Ellie.
"So, do you?"
"What?" he asked, watching Ellie try and shove as many Cheerios in to her mouth as she could.
"Like that girl Pam?"
"Mom. Don't. Even if I did like her, it's not like I can do anything about it. I have Ellie to think about now. Plus, I don't think she'd be too thrilled to be starting something up with someone who has a kid."
Betsy smiled knowingly, folding her arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. "Oh, so you know that for sure do you? When you told her about Ellie, she immediately tensed up and started avoiding you?" she teased.
He knew what his Mom was doing. God, why did he suddenly feel as though he was back in tenth grade?
"I haven't told them about Ellie."
"What? Jim, are you crazy? You have to tell them! Isn't she on your insurance?" Betsy asked him as she stood up quickly, folding her arms in front of her as she waited for an answer.
Jim looked at his Mom before turning his attention back to Ellie. "Of course she's on my health insurance. People at corporate know, just... no one here."
Her tone softened as she waited for him to explain. "I don't understand."
"It's just... I don't want people thinking I'm using Ellie as an excuse... you know? Or that I want special treatment. I need for them to trust me and to know I'll pull my weight around there before I tell them. " He pulled out a stall at the breakfast table and sat down, placing Ellie on the bar in front of him.
"Jim, not everyone's like your old colleagues. You were unfortunate and worked with some narrow-minded jerks, but you can't think like that."
"I know, but..."
"No buts, Sweetie. Think about it okay? If not for yourself, then do it for Ellie. Don't you want to put her picture on your desk?" she asked, smiling at the change of expression on Jim's face.
"Yeah, of course I do," he replied, thinking about the many pictures he had taken of his little girl that would be perfect for a frame on his desk.
XxXxXxX
After his Mom left, he grabbed some dinner before carrying Ellie upstairs. He carefully removed her hearing aids and bathed her quickly before getting her ready for bed. He brought her back downstairs with him, where they snuggled together on the sofa with a warm bottle of milk. He loved moments like that, when she was so sleepy and heavy in his arms, but her eyes still snapped open to make sure he was still there.
He couldn't imagine what it was like for Ellie, to be living in a world of silence, and that scared him. He was her Daddy. He should have been able to make everything okay; he should have been able to fix everything and he couldn't. That killed him. He wanted to make sure that she knew he was there, that she was safe, and that she was his world. He rested his head back and thought about what his Mom had said.
Maybe it would be good for him to start dating again... maybe he'd ask Pam out one night next week. As soon as that idea popped into his head, he felt guilty. What was he thinking? He didn't have time to date anyone. As much as he knew he would love to, he just couldn't. How could he commit himself to a romantic relationship when he was 100% committed to being a father?
He could feel Ellie getting heavier and he peeked down to see that she was struggling to finish her milk. He removed her bottle and carried her upstairs and tucked her in.
Once he was satisfied that Ellie was settled, he made his way to his bedroom and threw himself down on to his bed face first. Why was he still thinking about what his mom had said? He'd not thought about dating at all until tonight. Well, not consciously, anyway. He closed his eyes and all he could see was Pam standing in the conference room, with the card stuck to her head, trying to get him to work out he was Canadian. He got it right away, it was easy, but he loved watching her put so much energy in to it. He loved how he made her laugh when he produced this insanely bad accent. He was slightly embarrassed, but kept it going just because he loved to hear her laugh. She was so pretty when she laughed. She did this thing where she threw her head back and...
Oh God, he thought, I'm screwed.
TBC
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this has taken me so long to update. I went on vacation to NYC and forgot to bring this chapter with me pff!!! Thanks again to my amazing beta JamJunkie14 < who needs to write write write!!!!
Chapter End Notes:
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I hope you're still with me. I have lots planned for this story and would love to know what you think =)
I just realised that Round and round the garden is actually an English nursery rhyme, that is usually accompanied by a finger play. Here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_and_round_the_garden
I hope you're still with me. I have lots planned for this story and would love to know what you think =)
I just realised that Round and round the garden is actually an English nursery rhyme, that is usually accompanied by a finger play. Here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_and_round_the_garden
