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"We're in here."

Pam leaned against the front door and tried not to roll her eyes as she reached down to pull one heel off at a time. If her husband's voice got any hoarser it would disappear completely. Either that or get more annoying, she thought.

And that was precisely why she should have gone to the gym (the resolution that she hadn't mentioned in the office for fear of unsolicited commentary) before coming home.  It would have helped to burn off some of her frustration, but she just hadn't been able to muster the energy.  She'd promised herself - she'd go at least two times a week, until she lost those last pesky 5 pounds of baby weight...but no.  She was only a few weeks into January and she was already breaking another promise to herself.

Not that Jim's little cold was making it any easier ("I really think it's the flu...I ache like all over, Babe...Look, it hurts when I do this..."). 

As Pam passed the kitchen she sighed. Apparently having a cold meant you couldn't be bothered with little things like throwing baby food containers away...Nope, not even when the waste basket was literally two feet away.  Yes, ok, their daughter was also sick and it was tough being at home with a sick baby, yes...but still!

God, just two weeks prior Pam herself had the same exact "flu" and had gone about her daily activities much the same as always - but nope - not James Halpert.  No, for him being sick meant just...giving up every responsibility he had.

Pam took a deep breath.

Ok, so even as she thought it she knew it wasn't true.  She was just frustrated after not having caffeine for hours and thinking that right then the one resolution she could get behind was making a glass of wine per night - per hour - until she went to bed - part of her daily routine.

Great. Her one accomplishment would be becoming an alcoholic before the year's end.

Fantastic.

Pam finally mumbled, "Ok," in response to Jim's greeting and tossed her keys into the dish on the kitchen counter because that's where they kept the keys - not on the ottoman.

She walked into the living room and Jim and Cece sat cuddled up on the couch. Cece was riveted by that cell phone commercial with the little green cartoon robot.  She pointed at it, looked back at Jim and said "Da" and then looked towards Pam in the doorway and said, "Da" again.

Their child had great discrimination skills.

"Did you know the green robot was her daddy? I swear this commercial's come on like ten times today and she's said that every time."

"Don't take offense...I'm daddy too," Pam said smiling at her daughter. Cece leaned back against her real daddy then and shut her eyes.

"She gives everything she's got to the robot every single time and then it's back to lounging," Jim said, his scratchy voice cracking on robot. "She didn't even want to play with that weird stuffed, Velcro, Pelican thing Isabel got her."

Pam moved closer to the couch and placed one hand on each of their foreheads. "She doesn't feel hot...and neither do you."

Jim frowned for a moment and then smiled up at her. "Somebody had a baaaaaad day."

If he attempted to be charming she was going to hit him - that much was for certain.  He could be charming again once he took his keys off the ottoman and threw away the baby food containers and came to work to protect her from the idiots! Until then she didn't want him smiling at her with that Rudolph-Red nose for God's sake.

"I don't want to talk about it. Want me to take her upstairs? Try and put her down for a nap?"

"No, it's already late...This way she'll sleep tonight."

Oh yeah, that logic seemed airtight. The only problem was that Cece had skipped the free logic lessons offered in utero. Cece slept when Cece wanted to sleep - regardless of fatigue level.  It was as if she were afraid she was going to miss something.

Probably the green robot.

"Besides," Jim said then. "I don't get to hang out with her like this every day. Wanna make it last."  

Pam thought about hitting him for real then because his big red Rudolph nose pressed against Cece's hair was pretty damn cute and she was just so very annoyed with him.

"You don't have a fever," she said sinking down next to them on the couch.

Jim frowned. "I never said I did."

"Well Jim, I'm sorry but you don't get to skip work unless you have a fever...that's just - the rule."

His hoarse voice squeaked.  "Really? That's sympathetic. Thank you."

"You wanna talk sympathetic?" Pam said, turning towards him. "I had to watch Michael force feed Kevin a broccoli stalk while of course he was really just being passive aggressive about Holly's inability to break up with AJ...while you got to stay home and cuddle on the couch and drink cocoa."

Jim lifted his eyebrows. "There really wasn't any cocoa drinking...but..." he said as he passed Cece over to Pam. "Cuddle away."

Pam sighed because the feel of her daughter immediately melting against her made some of the frustration start to wane almost instantaneously.  Thank God, this was one thing she absolutely hadn't failed at.

"You sure you don't want to get pregnant again like...now?  I mean if all maternity leave is, is cuddling then..."

"Shut up," Pam said smiling in spite of herself.

Jim reached out to rub her shoulder as she cooed to Cece, "I'm sorry your sick my poor baby."

"Man, what about me?"

Pam kissed Cece's sticky cheek. "You didn't go to work. You don't get any of my sympathy."

Jim sighed. "Force feeding...Broccoli...No break up...I'm guessing that means the resolution idea didn't really go over too well."

"Explain to me why I even try," Pam said finally looking at him. "I mean, really."

Jim lifted his hand to her hair instead of her shoulder, and combed his fingers gently through the ends.  "I like your hair today."

"Don't try and suck up now, Halpert."

He grinned. "If it makes you feel any better Cece and I did make one stop today...Didn't we Cease?" He said, while still combing his fingers through Pam's hair.  "We went out and got a carton of Rocky Road - just for Mommy."

Pam smiled softly.  Damnit.  "Aw...Cease, did you do that for Mommy?" She asked, silently cursing the sudden tears in her eyes.

Over ice cream.  Over her husband going out - when he was sick - and "achy all over Babe" - to buy a flavor of ice cream that he hated because of his ridiculous aversion to marshmallows - because he knew she would need it.

 "You're such a bastard."

Jim laughed. "You're welcome...I just kept thinking about how excited you were last night when you were making that sign...there was virtually no way for our co-workers not to ruin it.  They're basically incapable of any sort of prolonged pleasantness because they're pod people...Green robot people," Jim added then, making a face at his daughter. Cece giggled and Jim finished, "We thought Rocky Road might be in order."

Aw man...

Pam moved closer and put her feet up on the Ottomon next to Jim's, pushing his car keys aside without saying a word about them because he'd used them to buy her ice cream.

She laid her head on Jim's shoulder then and thought about how much better things were even before the ice cream. 

When she snuggled closer he said, "I don't want to get you sick," and she said, "I don't care...I haven't seen you all day."

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