Pam hangs her coat on the rack as she enters the office the following morning and revels in the way the weight leaves her shoulders with it. 

Jim called her. He really called her. Or he accidentally caught her by dialing the office, but that was semantics. He didn’t seem unhappy to catch her. 

Her desk greets her, the pen lid she’d been nervously fiddling with still front and center. She didn’t dream it. She’d spoken to Jim. 

The looming fear of the first time is no longer hanging over her. 

It had happened. There was no taking it back. There were only more conversations to come. 

He was coming to Michael’s condo’s birthday party tomorrow night. 

She felt a little like Dwight’s phone - of all things. Once Jim had unscrewed it and added a quarter every day. The weight had started to build up. It had become heavier and heavier. Then, one day Jim emptied it, and when Dwight picked it up, he had hit himself in the face with it, because it was just so much lighter than anticipated.

That was Pam today. The quarters had been taken out. She was much, much lighter. 

She hadn’t even realized how much the quarters had been weighing her down until she was free of them. 

They had finally spoken again. 

She brews her tea before sitting at her desk. She lets the sunshine fill her, the black cloud looming over her head has floated to another patch of sky. 

Michael blazes in in all his Michael glory. “Pamela,” he beams. “Receptionist extraordinaire.” 

“Good morning Michael,” she returns his smile and finds she’s faking it a little less than yesterday. 

He eyes her cautiously. “Any important email messages this morning?” 

She shakes her head carefully. “No, sorry.” Technically she’s not lying, there haven’t been any emails. 

He frowns at her momentarily, before schooling his features. “Not to worry. Plenty of time. You’ll let me know?” 

“Of course,” she lies through her teeth by omission. 

“Immediately?” 

“Sure.” 

Michael seems content with that. She’s not sure why she doesn’t tell him that Jim has said he’s not coming - her mind supplies the air quotations. 

It’s not that she’s looking for an excuse to email Jim again today, but maybe she’s looking for an excuse to email Jim again today? 

So, she does. 

Jim she types and this time it only takes her all of one second. She doesn’t like to boast, but her typed words per minute score is actually pretty good - when she isn’t overthinking every word. 

Of course, then the phone rings, well and truly interrupting her flow. She stifles a groan and lets her professionalism take the reins. 

“Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam,” she answers easily. 

“Hi,” the voice on the other end smiles at her. She knows the sound of a smile in his voice. 

“Hey,” she answers with a smile of her own. A pleasant warmth spreads through her, filling her from head to toe. It’s not the tea. 

“Michael asked me to call him today,” Jim explains. 

“Okay,” she nods, but makes no attempt to transfer him. “I was about to email you,” she blurts out. 

“Really?” and somehow his tone radiates joy. 

“Yeah.” 

“Do you want me to hang up so you can get back to that?” he teases. 

“Hmm,” she pretends to consider it. “No, I might as well just tell you now.” 

“Might as well.” 

This. This is what she was thinking about earlier. The first interaction is over. The worst is over. The awkwardness has lessened. They’re not them again, but they’re a whole hell of a lot closer. 

“So,” Jim prompts. 

“Oh, I was just going to tell you I hadn’t worked up the courage yet to tell Michael that you’re not coming.” And tell you to do your own dirty work her mind jokes, but she’s balancing a careful tightrope between what they had been and what they could be. They’re in a weird middle ground at present. As crazy as it seems, she doesn’t want to come on too strong and scare him away again. 

“Couldn’t face those puppy dog eyes, hey?” 

She loves that Jim gets it. No one else gets the enigma that is Michael Scott quite like the people who have worked with him for years. 

“Exactly,” she deadpans. “If only I were impervious to Michael’s charms.” 

“He’s hard to resist.” 

“The good news is now you get to do it.” 

“Pass?” 

“I’ll transfer you,” she threatens. 

He chuckles. 

It’s the best sound she’s ever heard. She wasn’t sure she’d get this again. His easy laughter. Him. 

“I have an idea,” he says and she almost swears that she can hear the shuffle of his hand rising to rub at the back of his neck in that delightfully awkward way it always does when he’s a little nervous. “You need to tell me if it’s too mean?” 

“Let’s hear it.” 

“I also, umm, needed you to know it was a joke and wasn’t real if Michael said anything about it.” 

“Oookay,” she answers slowly. She’s not sure she likes where this is going. 

“Well, I want to surprise Michael, obviously, like I said last night,” he adds. 

“With you so far.” 

“At the same time, I don’t want to hurt his feelings. He thought I left because he wasn’t a good boss,” Jim sighs. 

Oh Michael. Bless his sweet, completely self-centered heart. 

“Wow. Way to take something not at all about him and well, actually that makes complete sense,” her eyebrows head towards her hairline. “Please continue.” 

“So I need a good reason for not coming. And by good, I mean something that Michael will understand.” Which they both know to mean something that won’t hurt his feelings too dramatically. 

She snorts, “right. You’re in a coma? That’s going to be difficult for you to tell him given your condition.” 

“Ha. Exactly,” he pauses, inhaling a deep breath, the words coming out in almost a jumble.  “I was thinking about telling him I have a date. Again, not true, in the slightest.”

It’s almost like he saw into her mind last night, when he’d made the joke about having a hot date and she’d lost her goddamn mind with unspoken jealously. 

She’s struck with a fleeting thought, an imagine if… and then the words are out of her mouth before she has a chance to really think them through. “What if it was?” 

“Huh?” 

The idea crystalizes a little more in her mind. So much for not coming on too strong. 

There’s something in the back of her head that screams that this is it. This is the way she can ask for what she wants without having the courage to just come out and say it. She’s not as brave as Jim in a poorly lit parking lot. But, she can reach deep within her for a tiny ounce of courage. 

“What if you tell him you have a date, and I ask him if I can bring a plus one… and bring you. Then you’re not really lying and it’s like double jeopardy.” 

She hears a whoosh of air, like Jim’s been holding his breath, cautiously awaiting her response. She hopes he likes her answer. That he’s still open to it, to her. 

“So, I would be… your date?” 

Yes her mind screeches. Thankfully her mouth has a tiny bit more tact to it. “To the condo birthday party, yes.” 

“That sounds like some date, Beesly.” 

“Is that a yes?” she asks lightly, as if the entire world doesn’t hang in the balance. 

“Absolutely.”

She doesn’t realize that she’s forgotten to breathe until she sucks in an unsteady breath at his reply. 

“Okay,” she grins. “Okay.” 

“It’s a date,” he echoes the cacophony bouncing through her mind. 

She clears her throat, but her voice still comes out a little strangled. “I’ll email you my address. You can meet me there?” 

“Yes,” he grins. “Yeah, I can do that.” 

He didn’t expect the moment his life turned around to be 9.26am on a Thursday morning in Stamford. But, here he is. 

Un-engaged Pam Beesly has asked him on a date. It’s everything. 

He doesn’t know what to do with all this frantic, excited energy. 

He wants to jump from his desk. He wants to cheer from the rooftop. And maybe it’s a ruse, maybe it’s a prank on Michael. Yet, he knows Pam and she is anything but cruel and vindictive. 

She wouldn’t string him along like this now. She wouldn’t build his hopes up to send them plummeting back down. She knows how he feels and he knows in his very soul that she wouldn’t be that mean. 

It means something to her. It means everything to him. She suggested the date ruse. It’s not just a prank. 

How often does someone get a second shot at a first chance? He’s not going to screw this up. 

It’s a date and he will treat it accordingly. 

Before he’s had the chance to really rein in his whirling thoughts, Pam giggles. 

The sound snaps him back to some semblance of reality. 

“I’m going to transfer you to Michael now,” she whispers conspiratorially. “You good with the plan?” 

Is he good with it? It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. 

“Yeah,” he clears his throat. “I am so good with it.” 

“Try not to sound so excited when you talk to Michael,” she says and he can hear his joy echoing in her voice. “You’ll break his heart.” 

“Actually, I think it will help to have him hear how excited I am about this date. Maybe he’ll forgive me for blowing him off.” 

“Good point,” she’s smiling, he loves that he can hear it in her tone. “Okay. I’m going to email you my address. Good luck with Michael.” 

“Thanks Pam,” his throat is momentarily dry, he swallows around it. “I’m looking forward to our date.” 

“I can’t wait,” she replies earnestly. “See you tomorrow Jim,” and then there’s a silence that swallows his me too before the hold music kicks in. 

“Jim. Jimothy. Jim,” Michael greets him enthusiastically. 

“Michael,” he grins. “World’s best boss.” 

He doesn’t have to see Michael to know that his chest puffs up in response. 

“I’m marking you down as definite for my party,” Michael grins. “Don’t tell Dwight, but I think you’re the world’s best employee.” 

Yeah, he’s definitely telling Dwight that sometime. 

“Or maybe it’s a draw with Pamela. She’s also a great employee.” 

Jim can see through the casual name drop. It’s anything but casual. Michael knows what he’s doing. He just has no idea how well it’s working. 

“About that,” Jim says, cycling back to the putting his name down thing. “I’m so sorry Michael. I wish I could make it. Really I do. But something has come up.”

“What?” Michael gasps. “Did someone die?” 

That’s a reach, even for Michael. 

“No, no. It’s not that,” he clears his throat and winces preemptively in anticipation of Michael’s reaction. “I have a date.” 

“Oh,” Michael gasps. The joy seeps from his tone. “Are you sure?” Gone is any hint of humor.

Serious Michael is a thing to behold. He doesn’t come around often, but when he does there’s a weight behind his words. 

“Yeah,” Jim sighs. “It’s time.” 

“You do what you need to,” Michael advises. “Can’t you take her out on Saturday night instead?” 

“She’s busy on Saturday,” he lies. “I’m really sorry Michael. I just… really like her. I need to take this chance, you know?” 

“I get it, Jim. Your date comes first. That’s okay.” 

He does seem to get it, which Jim finds oddly disconcerting. He had expected more theatrics and for Michael to pout and argue with him. 

This is all the more unsettling. Sometimes Michael is far more understanding than people give him credit for. 

“Thanks Michael, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” 

“No worries, Jimbo. I’ll catch you on the flippity flip.” 

“Talk to you later.”

He starts to bring the phone back to the cradle when he hears a frantic - 

“Wait.” 

“Michael?” 

“You have to tell me, about how the date goes,” Michael adds. “Call me Monday?” 

“Deal.” 

He hangs up the phone. Friday night is going to be something else. He’s going on a date Pam… and Michael… and the rest of their, well her, colleagues. 

Michael sets the phone down and frowns in the general direction of the reception desk. Pam looks so happy today and he has to crush her dreams. Ugh. That’s the worst.

At least Jim didn’t email her and tell her he had a date. That means now he can break the news gently… at the end of the day. 

He gets up and closes his blinds. It’s too hard to look at Pam right now, knowing what he has to do. 

He can’t believe Jim has a date. That was quick, considering how devastated he still had seemed at the convention last week. She must be some lady. 

He sighs. Well, that’s that. This whole entire day is a wash. He can’t work now that he’s worried about how Pam will cope with this terrible news. 

He spends the day considering his action and decides a less direct approach may be gentler. If he blurts out that Jim is dating Pam might cry and he doesn’t want that. But, if he hints at it, she might get the message without crushing her too completely. 

He steadfastly avoids Pam until the end of the day, eating lunch in his office and timing his bathroom breaks when she’s on the phone. 

Considering Pam is one of his best friends in the office, it’s easier than he anticipates to spend the entire day ignoring her. She doesn’t even seem that devastated which is a testament to his subtle avoidance skills. He’s pretty impressed with himself to be honest. She doesn’t even notice that he isn’t talking to her. Yeah, he’s that good. 

At 5.01pm, he approaches her desk cautiously. She’s a cornered animal and he doesn’t want to scare her away. 

“Jim can’t make it to my party,” he regards her carefully, with far more solemnity than usual. 

“Pamela. If you were going to do something. Anything. Now is the time. If you don’t, it might,” he pauses, his gaze dropping to the floor, “it might be too late.” He offers her a sad smile that reaches all the way to his eyes. 

It’s completely genuine. 

Her heart catches in her throat. 

He really cares about this. About them. 

It leaves her wondering if this prank is a little harsher than they intended it to be. 

She follows through on her end regardless, and watches the light drain from Michael’s eyes at her words. “It’s okay, Michael. Hey, could I bring a plus one to your party?” 

“Like a date?” He’s far more subdued than normal. She’s tempted to just spill the beans. 

She nods. He regards her quietly for a moment. 

“Sure, Pam. But, only if he’s good enough for you.”

“You’ll love him. Trust me, Michael. It will all be okay.” She really means it, she thinks he can see the sincerity shining in her eyes. 

Michael will be beyond ecstatic when she shows up with Jim tomorrow night, she knows this to be true. She just hopes his enthusiasm is enough to counter balance the worry he’s carrying in this moment. 

“I hope so,” Michael sighs. “Good night, Pam.” 

“Night,” she murmurs to his retreating figure. 

Tomorrow evening can’t come quickly enough.