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Author's Chapter Notes:

Pam deals with Jim's first day of absence. This is in between Livin' the Dream and A.A.R.M because there were six days of no-nonsense before the events of A.A.R.M.

I also added Pam's POV from the day of their argument.  


Pam felt emotionally worn out from the events of the previous day. She was not expecting her conversation with Jim to turn into a full-blown argument. She was relieved to have finally let her thoughts out, but she was not ecstatic that it was done at the expense of her husband’s feelings.. 


“Maybe it’s for the best if I won’t be here for a few days,” she recalled a dejected teary-eyed Jim telling her in the car.


“You’ll be in Philly?” She asked.


“Yeah, I guess. Maybe some time apart will be good for us. Isn’t that what our therapist said?”


Pam did not want Jim to leave, especially after just having told him that she cannot find it in her heart to open herself up to him. She was even more worried that going to Philly might push him to go through with the tour. She wanted to tell him all of these but eventually backed and nodded in agreement, “Yeah, maybe it will be for the best.”


Later that night, she sat herself on the couch and looked at a picture of her and Jim at their wedding.

“…we should try to take mental pictures of the high points”


Looking at the photo made her reminisce about the time her veil got torn during her wedding. She called Jim for comfort and he did the sweetest gesture by cutting his own tie.


“I miss him, I really miss him.”


Her nostalgia was interrupted by Cece jumping on her lap. She was followed by Jim who said that Cece wanted him to see her dance recital. They had multiple rewatches of the video and each time, she glanced at his cheerful eyes, clearly brought about by seeing their daughter on stage.


As Cece fell asleep, Pam laid her head on Jim. Strangely, even when their marriage seemed it was at the brink of collapse, she could still find comfort in him. She was overcome by the feeling of safety in Jim’s shoulder that she started falling apart, as if it was her way of begging him to stay.


As she continued to cry, she felt a kiss her on her head and Jim’s hand rubbing her back to console her. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” she heard him say. She felt guilty over the thought that Jim, despite the pain that she had caused him prior, was still concerned about her. As her weeping came to a stop, she remained on Jim’s shoulder and drifted off to sleep.


She had been awoken by the sound of Phillip crying. She checked the clock and realized that she snoozed her way through her alarm and was about to be late for work. Cece who was also about to be late for school, was also asleep on the couch.


She checked the guest bedroom to see if Jim was there and was saddened to see it empty. “Of course he left, that’s what I agreed to,” she thought to herself. She then saw a piece of paper on the bed and picked it up.


She teared up upon seeing the words “Pam”, “Cece”, and “New Baby” on the left side and “Everything Else” on the right side. It was the same list that Jim gave to her when she was bummed out over being on the “Loser” column in Robert California’s list. She then read the note at the back of it.


Beesly,


I know it’s been a rough few days but I have never given up on us. And I hope you haven’t too. I know spending time apart will be difficult but I hope this will work and you can finally trust me again. I love you and I’ll see you soon.


She placed the note on her chest before setting it on a nearby drawer. She then obtained her phone and texted Jim: “Have a safe trip. Love you.” then went on to get ready.


After bringing Phillip to daycare and Cece to school, Pam arrived at the office with only minutes to spare. She did not want to be late on Dwight’s first day as regional manager. 


“Pam, good to see you on-time and at work,” Dwight said. “I can’t say the same for your husband. His first day as assistant to the regional manager he says ‘He has to take care of something’. I mean what is he taking care of, disposing a dead body in Phila-whatever?”


“Probably not,” Pam replied. “But he’ll be back soon”


“Well, I hope so. I can’t run an office without my number two. I mean, I’d get a replacement but let’s face it, there’s not really much to choose from.”


“Maybe I can do it Dwight,” Kevin said as he approached him.


“Okay, Kevin,” Dwight said. “If you can finally tell me where paper comes from, I’ll consider it. You have ten seconds,”


Kevin stared at him, unsure of what to say, and then walked away.


“I thought so. Anyway, back to work everyone. Any form of nonsense will not be tolerated.”


The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Pam was actually impressed that the office had gotten so much work done under Dwight’s leadership. She then gazed at the desk beside her and wished Jim were with her. She wondered what amazing pranks he had in store when he came back.

 

“If he comes back...”


“Hey Pam,” Phyllis said as she walked up to her. “I heard you and Jim might be getting a divorce and just know that if you ask us to pick sides, Bob and I will choose you. Well, probably not Bob. He likes Jim.”


“Thank you Phyllis. I… wait what?” Pam suddenly realized what she was thanking Phyllis for. “Wait, you think we’re getting a divorce?”


“Well yeah, I mean isn’t this why he isn’t here now, because you can’t stand being with each other. Plus, with what Clark told us the other day, it made sense.”


“Okay, that is not why… okay, can I have everyone’s attention,” Pam said as she stood up. “Can I just have a show of hands: Who thinks Jim and I are getting a divorce”


Pam was annoyed that everyone except Creed raised their hand, and that the only reason Creed didn’t raise his hand was he didn’t know Pam was married to the “tall guy”


“Okay, thank you,” she sarcastically said as she went back to her seat. She tried to keep her focus on work when she received a phone call from an unknown number.


“Hello?”
“Hey Pam, this is Wade from Athlead, I’m just wondering if you know if Jim has already decided on what to do with the tour. We’ve been trying to reach him but he’s not answering our calls.”
“Oh, ok. Well, he should be there in a while. Why don’t you just ask him when he gets there?”
“Wait, Pam. Jim texted us just a while ago that he’s taking a leave of absence for the next three days. Didn’t he tell you?”


Pam was shocked upon hearing that Jim was not in Philadelphia. “Where is he? Is he with someone else? Why didn’t he tell me he wasn’t going to Philly?”


She was snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that Wade was still on the other line.


“Hello?”

“Wade, sorry I’ll have to call you back.”
“Ok, let me know when if he says something”


Pam hung up the phone and went inside Dwight’s office, “Hey Dwight, did Jim tell you why he wasn’t coming to work?”


“Yeah, I told you,” he replied. “He said he needed to take care of some things and will be gone for three days”


“Did he tell you where?”


“He didn’t. I just thought he meant he’ll be going to Philly. I mean, he does go there a lot so I thought…wait, so he’s not in Philly?”


“No, he’s not,” she said as she grabbed her phone upon getting a text message, “He—oh my God! That’s Jim!”


——————————————————


Jim arrived at baggage claim to get his belongings. Upon getting his bag, he started walking towards the arrival bay. He looks awkwardly at the camera crew as they continue to film him.


“So I am not in Philly,” he said. “I’m sorry you guys had to pay last minute flights for this. I mean, you didn’t have to follow me so that’s not really on me. Anyway, no one knows I’m here and I didn’t really tell anyone because well… It’s just...”


“Jimbo!”


Jim turned around and saw Michael Scott coming towards him. He was holding up a sign that said “James Halpert — Best Friend to Michael Scott”


“Michael!” he went to give his former boss and old friend a hug, “I haven't seen you in so long. I missed you, man.”


“Right back at you. Okay, then. Let’s go and get you settled in. You are going to have a blast here. Boulder City! You will be taken for a ride my friend. That’s what she said.”


The two of them chuckled as Jim loaded his bag into Michael’s minivan.

Chapter End Notes:

Note: So the main reason why I had the fight from the last chapter be so intense was because I needed a reason for Jim to go to Colorado because that was always how I wanted the story to progress. I'll need time to update this since I need to know what can be done in Boulder to make it realistic and what exactly Michael and Jim will do there.

Reviews are highly appreciated, like the way Kelly appreciated that Ryan gave a baby an allergic reaction just so he could talk to her.


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