Pam struggled into consciousness and was drowsily aware that her arms were wrapped around someone.

“Mm, Jim,” Pam mumbled, drawing him closer to bask in his warmth.

‘Wow, Jim is really hairy,’ Pam thought to herself, before she was rudely shaken from her reality by a slobbery tongue licking her face. Pam’s eyes shot open and she was greeted with a cheerful Nikita, laying on her bed where Pam had imagined Jim.

‘Just a dream,’ Pam though dejectedly, remembering some of the emotional turmoil that her frayed mind had fabricated for her in her sleep.

Pam looked at the clock, it was around ten in the morning. With a great sigh she rolled herself out of bed and into the bathroom to take out her contacts that she had left in overnight. Pam started a shower, and as she stood under the water, she tried to recall the events of last night.

 If she had dreamed up the emotional confessions on the doorstep, what other memories should she be questioning? Pam decided that she really didn’t want to burst any more bubbles yet, and exited the shower, drying her hair and lazily putting it in a ponytail, no loose curls today. Pam put her glasses on and then grabbed some sweats and a tank-top to go make breakfast for herself. Pam opened her bedroom door, Nikita bounding out of the room ahead of her, and started to slowly make her way down the hallway, deaf to the world as she just focussed on putting one foot in front of the other.

Jim had spent most of his morning after showering and getting dressed debating the creep factor of letting himself into Pam’s house to make breakfast for her. What if she didn’t wear clothes in the morning and thought he was a total perv? What if she didn’t remember him promising to come over and make breakfast? What if she didn’t remember their conversation on the doorstep?

In the end Jim decided that romantic and creepy were usually two sides of the same coin, it just depended on whether the other party appreciated it. Drunk Pam had taken a big chance last night, so Jim could do the same. Jim could only hope that sober Pam also wanted to take advantage of him. With that decision made, Jim walked over to her house around ten and let himself in using the spare key.

Jim heard the shower running when he entered, so he had no idea how much time he had until Pam emerged from her bedroom, but at least she was awake. Jim started rooting around her kitchen and procured the necessary supplies to start making some bacon, reasoning that if she could smell something cooking, she might not be as shocked to find someone standing in her kitchen. The bacon had just started sizzling when Jim heard the shower shut off.

Jim knew from previous experience that Pam didn’t really have much of a morning routine on a Saturday. The times they had gone for runs or picnics in the morning Jim had noticed that she usually didn’t do makeup, and her hair was usually still somewhat damp. With this in mind, Jim started on making pancake batter, because she could be entering the kitchen at any time now.

Jim’s assumptions were confirmed when a few minutes later, Nikita came skittering into the kitchen to greet him. Jim was always happy to see Nikita, because it usually meant that Pam was around, unless he was taking care of Nikita while Pam was out, but that also meant that he would see Pam when she picked her dog up. Jim gave Nikita some vigorous rubs around her jowls to get her riled up, he loved playing with her.

Pam trudged into her kitchen and was stunned when she looked up from her feet in the doorway. There was Jim, standing – crouching rather, playing with her dog, with bacon sizzling on a pan behind him, and what could only be pancake batter in a large glass measuring cup beside the stovetop.

“Oh my god,” Pam gasped, “It wasn’t a dream!”

Jim’s head snapped up from where he’d been playing with Nikita, the small grin he wore growing into a smile. Pam remembered seeing that look in his eyes last night, in what she had assumed was her drunken wishful subconscious, but seeing it now sent a shiver down her spine.

“Good morning to you too, Beesly,” Jim said with an easy smile and the same look in his eyes she had seen last night on the front steps. Pam felt her knees becoming a little weak and made her way to the island to sit on a stool.

“Please tell me nothing really bad happened last night,” Pam rested her head in her hands, “My memory’s pretty hazy right now.”

“Well, you can rest assured that you didn’t take advantage of me last night, I left before that could happen,” Jim chuckled.

Pam grimaced, her memory of that moment coming back to her, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I told you that.” Jim just laughed.

“Chocolate chips or no,” Jim asked, gesturing to the pancake batter that he was pouring onto a pan on the stove.

“Are you really asking me that,” Pam looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in challenge, “Only heathens have pancakes without chocolate chips, a fact that I’m sure I’ve made you well aware of before.”

“As you wish,” Jim smirked as he proceeded to sprinkle the chips over the cooking batter.

Pam was struck by his casual recital of the classic line from The Princess Bride however, suddenly recalling him speaking it to her as she held his hand before falling asleep. The pieces of her memory from the previous night were starting to fall into place. This was a big deal; Jim had admitted her that she was his type last night. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t seen it all along, and looking back at it now, knowing that Jim had seen the movie before, she was astounded at the realisation that he had been trying to let her know for a long time. He was probably just as terrified of this going awry as she was.

“Jim,” Pam started, not quite sure how to phrase what she wanted to say, “I seem to recall that there was something that drunk me very much wanted to tell you when I was sober.”

“And I, you,” Jim said, flipping a pancake, “But how about we save that for after breakfast.”

‘Jim might be in love with me,’ was all that occupied Pam’s mind as he continued flipping pancakes while her mind raced connecting all the dots. Jim was her best friend; he had been for years. Sometimes he looked at her with an emotion she couldn’t place, because she was too scared to think about it. Jim had always been there to encourage her to pursue what made her happy. He hadn’t dated anyone for almost a year and a half. He held her while she cried, asking for nothing in return. He helped her start her new life over the summer. He introduced her to his sister, who was now also her friend. He always seemed to know how she was feeling and how best to cheer her up.

Jim might be in love with her, and she might be in love with him. This was amazing and terrifying all at the same time and Pam was hardly paying any attention until Jim shook her from her reverie with a question.

“Where do you keep the syrup Beesly?”

Jim could tell that Pam was deep in thought, and the silence was starting to make him nervous. He was in love with her, and he had all but spelled it out for her last night. The fact that she might not remember was driving him wild, and so he fell back on what he knew, making her laugh.

“Middle shelf, pantry,” She answered, looking like she had just realised he was there all over again.

Jim found the syrup in question, a bottle of maple.

“What, Aunt Jemima not classy enough for you,” Jim asked as he held the syrup’s handle between two fingers as if it had offended him.

“I just like maple better, it’s what we grew up with,” she explained with a slight smile.

“I can’t decide if this makes you a socialist or a commie,” Jim deadpanned, struggling to keep a straight face, “Regardless I’m going to have to report you and have you deported to Canada.”

Pam laughed at the absurdity of the accusation, “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Halpert.”

Jim and Pam chatted idly over pancakes and bacon, just enjoying being in each other’s presence. Jim thought it was weirdly intimate to be able to see this side of Pam and wanted nothing more than to be able to do this every morning for the rest of his life. She was somehow even more beautiful in her tank-top and sweats, with still drying hair and glasses, than he had ever seen her. Jim could tell that she had something big that she wanted to tell him from the way she kept worrying her bottom lip and could only hope that it wasn’t an apology for how forward she had been while drunk.

They finished breakfast and did the dishes together, and it just felt so natural that Pam was convinced that she needed to get this off her chest as soon as possible. She just had to take a chance and hope this worked out. Pam lead Jim to sit on the loveseat in her living room, curling up in the corner facing towards him and mentally prepared herself. This was it, the moment of truth, the release of months of tension.

“Hey, Jim, I have something I want to say, but I just – It might be weird, but, I need you to know that no matter what, you are my best friend, and if what I’m about to say– If you don’t – y’know,” Pam trailed off, she was rambling, “Ok, phew, here we go, just going to go right in and say it,” she paused, seeing the look of cautious optimism on Jim’s face, “I’m in love with you.”

Jim was over the moon. Pam Beesly had just admitted that she was in love with him. He suddenly recalled last night on the steps, when he had been lost in thought after her question, her fear about ruining their friendship, and realised that he needed to break out of his head and say something fast.

“Do you remember asking for a redo of last night’s kiss,” Jim asked, not waiting for an answer before proceeding, “Now would be good, because I’m in love with you too and I think I might be dreaming.”

Jim saw the tears in her eyes, and the smile on her face, as she practically launched herself across the loveseat and wrapped her arms around his neck. She clung to him and he held her there, loving the feeling of having her in his arms.

Pam burrowed into Jim’s embrace, allowing her to just bask in his warmth like she had wished she could when she woke up. She held on for dear life, knowing that this was it, this was huge. She was in love with her best friend and he loved her back. Pam finally opened her eyes when she felt a warm tear land on her nose, and she pulled away enough to look into Jim’s eyes and finally acknowledge what she saw. The look that she could not place, that he was giving her right now, was love, and joy. Jim was crying tears of joy and Pam couldn’t restrain the giddy excitement in herself any longer.

Jim met her halfway, seeming to have sensed as he always did what was on her mind and staying one step ahead of her. They kissed. Jim tasted of maple syrup and hope and the future.

Jim felt Pam start giggling and finally broke the kiss, “What?”

“We did this so backwards,” she gasped between giggles, “We fell in love before we’ve even gone on a date!” Pam broke down into more giggles, shaking in his arms.

“Yeah, I guess we did,” Jim was smiling so much that his face hurt, and he broke down and joined her in laughter, too overjoyed to care that he sounded hysterical in that moment.

Today was the first day of the rest of their lives, Jim could only dream of what the future held for them.