It was a thrilling Christmas for Dwight. He had spent the entire day pelting Jim with snowballs to the point where it felt like he had finally broken him. He remembered how his nemesis would flinch at the sight of him raising his arm. He had actually stopped attacking him hours ago but had already planted the seeds of fear in his mind. It excited him to know that after years of getting prank, he was finally getting his revenge.

When Jim waved a white flag as a symbol of surrender, he refused. He told him he would only accept if in return, he would hit his wife with a snowball in the face. It was only a ruse however, as he knew Jim would be too weak to even do something as harmless as throw a measly snowball at Pam to protect himself. He knew what he had to do to culminate this victorious day and called up Nate for a special project outside the office.

It had been thirty minutes since Jim started attacking every snowman in sight. Dwight continued to stare at him from the safety of the rooftop, reveling at the mess that he created. It was already late at night. The camera crew had already left him alone. Everyone else in the office had also gone home to celebrate the holidays at home, including Hank the security guard since Dwight offered to close the building for him.

It was only their cars left in the parking lot. Jim focused his attention on one particular snowman and continuously whacked it with his umbrella, as Pam begged for him to stop from their vehicle. Dwight thought to himself how lucky he was that she had to stay late to clean up after the Christmas party which gave him ample time to set the trap for the unwitting paper salesman. He laughed menacingly as he knew Jim still had no clue that he was up on the roof.

A few minutes later his eyes suddenly went to a familiar figure that was approaching Jim. He was shocked to find someone still in the park at this time, let alone someone from the company. The two of them seemed to be having a normal conversation at the start, but as time went by, he could see Jim beginning to tense up as he tried to ease the situation. His eyes then widened as he realized what was about to transpire.

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Jim grew increasingly tired as the night went by. He had to wait for Pam to finish up cleaning before he could finally escape this nightmare. Dwight was nowhere to be seen after they did not agree on their terms of surrender. He regretted everything he did that day that led to him sitting in the office in fear. He wished he could go back to eight hours ago, run to his past self who was about to pick up a snowball, and smack him in the head. He knew it was his fault for instigating the fight but he did not expect Dwight to retaliate. It was not even his most elaborate prank but he was immensely paying for the consequences.

As he and Pam walked to the elevator, the lights began to flicker. He had second thoughts about not wanting to hit Pam with a snowball. He couldn't erase from his mind that if he had just agreed to do it, the fear would stop. He knew he had the capacity to soften the impact, but then realized that it might not have worked as Dwight would have probably forced him to do it another time. He brushed away the thought, knowing that it was already too late to negotiate.

As they exited the lobby, Jim was horrified to see numerous snowmen blocking the path to his car. His mind went back to the time when Dwight emerged from one and started throwing snowballs at him while he was defenseless. He was certain that his nemesis was hidden inside one again waiting to sneak up on him, but he knew he had to get his wife to safety first. He held a firm grip of his umbrella on one hand while he clutched on to Pam's arm with the other as they continued walking. He stared at the eyes of each snowman that he came across and prayed that it suddenly would not disintegrate and reveal a screaming head hiding inside it.

When they were a few feet away from their car, he decided that it was finally time to retaliate. He forced Pam to get inside the vehicle and whipped his messenger bag across the nearest snowman. He then used his umbrella to stab another one repeatedly before whacking his head off. He grew desperate with each figure that he destroyed, wondering where Dwight was hiding.

He ignored Pam's pleas to stop as he fixated his attention to one particular snowman at the center of the parking lot. He continued whacking it with his umbrella until he had completely obliterated it. He realized with each hit that his coworker had driven him to a state of helplessness. He had done numerous pranks on him but he admitted to himself that he could never do something this brutal. He would have continued hitting the snowman to pieces had he not heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, Jim."

He stood in fear as he prepared himself for another set of snowballs coming his way. It took a while for him to realize that it was not Dwight's voice. He turned around and sighed with relief as he saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Gabe."

"What are you doing?" Gabe asked.

"Umm," Jim thought about how to explain the situation to his coworker. He realized upon seeing all the destroyed snowmen that it looked like he had gone insane. "I just really don't like snowmen so I thought, why not take a few of them down?" 

He awkwardly looked at Gabe, scratched his head, and continued, "Yeah, it sounds weird. It's just…Dwight really got carried away with the snowballs."

"Yeah, I noticed what happened a while back," Gabe said as he laughed, "Dwight really did a number on you did he?"

"I guess he did," Jim said. He couldn't help but notice how Gabe could not stand still and was playing with something in his coat pocket, "Hey man, are you okay? You seem kinda off."

"Oh," Gabe said as the smile from his face suddenly disappeared, "Now you care about how I'm doing?"

Jim was startled at his sudden change in expression, "…I'm sorry. What?"

Gabe remained in silence for what seemed like an eternity. He looked like he was contemplating on whether he should continue with what he was about to stay. All Jim could do was wait for him to speak up. He looked at Pam who had a puzzled look on her face and he merely shrugged at her.

"You know, Jim. When I met you, I really thought you were a nice person. Everyone seemed to get along with you except for Dwight, but a lot of people don't really like Dwight," Gabe finally spoke as he tried to maintain his composure, "but then as time passed, I began to notice how much of a jerk you really are."

Jim stared at him in silence, unsure of how to react as Gabe continued, "I finished the little assignment Jo gave me. It took me two weeks before I got through the entire book. When I called her back tonight with my comments, she screamed at me saying she did not order me to do such a thing. It suddenly clicked on me that this happened on the same day I told you about the commission cap. I realized I had fallen for one of your stupid pranks. I tried to explain it to her but she was having none of it. I wasn't sure is she was having a bad day but…she fired me, Jim."

Gabe then started crying as he placed his hands on his knees, "Why'd you have to do that Jim?"

Jim was surprised about Gabe's revelation and felt guilty upon realizing the part he played in his termination. He slowly approached him and noticed how he reeked of alcohol. He then began to comfort him and said, "Gabe, I'm so sorry. Look, I'll call Jo now. I'll explain everything, you don't have to—"

"No!" Gabe angrily shouted and stood up. Jim suddenly froze as he saw a gun being pointed at him.

"Oh my God, Gabe…" he slowly backed away and put his hands up, "Gabe. Calm down. There's no need to do this."

Jim could feel his heart beating fast as he realized the danger he was in. Luckily, Gabe's back was behind their car so Pam was not in his line of sight. He could not get a good look at her but he could see that she remained still on her seat. He wanted to get a clearer view of what else she was doing but he had to make sure Gabe was unaware of her presence. He was clearly unstable and intoxicated, so the last thing he wanted to do was bring his wife in harm's way.

"You did this to me, you asshole!" Gabe continued screaming at him while sobbing. As he wiped the tears from his eyes. Jim took advantage of this momentary distraction and looked at Pam. He noticed she was about to leave the car and had a worried look on her face. He shook his head, signaling her to do otherwise, which caused her to stay put. Gabe did not seem to notice this interaction and continued, "Why do you always have to bully people, Jim? Is it because Dwight was too weak to do something about it? You thought no one would finally stand up to you?"

"Gabe, I'm sorry. Please, we can fix this. Just hear me out," Jim continued speaking in a calm manner but noticed how his hands were also trembling, "I know I may have been a jerk and I did something really bad, but please…I'm begging you. It doesn't have to be this way. We can talk to Jo. I won't say anything about this, I swear. Don't do something you'll end up regretting."

Gabe stared at him fiercely with the gun still pointed at his direction. His hand was visibly shaking and he started tearing up once again. He then put his arm down and stared at the ground. As he continued to sob, Jim was unsure of what to do next. He did not want to make any sudden movements as the gun was still in his hand.

Gabe then looked up at him and said, "You see Jim… I really don't think I'm going to regret this."

"Gabe, no!" was all Jim could utter out as he saw his coworker raise his hand yet again. He heard a loud bang before he fell on the ground. He found himself staring at the night sky thinking about how beautiful it looked. He also realized how cold the snow that his head was lying on felt. 

"Was I shot? I didn't feel like I was shot. Why am I thinking about the snow? Will I get to go home soon?" he thought to himself.

A few seconds later, he came back to his senses. He was breathing rapidly as he held his right hand to his face and saw that it was covered in red. He failed to notice where it was initially clutching so he had no idea where he was shot.

"Pam…just hide and call the cops," he thought to himself as he wondered how much Pam had witnessed. He hoped she would not do anything that would put her in harm's way. He knew that if he were to die on this day that he needed her to stay alive. A few moments later, he saw Gabe standing over him.

"Gabe…" he said shakily as held out his hand in front of him, "Pl—Please…"

Gabe looked at him without any visible expression and pointed the gun at his face. With his hand still shaking, he said, "I'm really sorry it has to end this way."

"Shit, I'm going to die here. Pam, please tell Cece that I love her," was all he could think of as he closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable. He thought about Pam and when they first met, when they got married and when they found out she was pregnant.

"It's really true that your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die," He noticed in the darkness that lights were blinking back and forth. He wondered if he had already been shot and he was about to enter the afterlife. However, he still felt strangely alive. He opened his eyes and was blinded by the headlights which Pam was using to distract Gabe.

"Pam, don't do this…Just run," Jim thought as he saw him turning around at her direction. He wished he could stand up but could not find himself being able to move. He questioned how much he was bleeding as he suddenly felt weak. As Gabe kept walking, he suddenly noticed an unknown figure tackling him to the ground. 

"Guardian angel?" he wondered. He felt relieved and hoped that Pam was protected as he closed his eyes.

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While Jim was trying to calm Gabe down, Pam felt herself wanting to come to his aid. As she was about to exit the car, she saw him shaking his head as if asking her to stay put. She reluctantly obliged and remained seated. She tried dialing the emergency hotline her phone but realized her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She tried to calm herself down but as she tried to continue, but was too late as the gun was already fired.

She felt terrified at the sight of her husband lying on the ground while bleeding. Gabe slowly approached the Halpert car as she continued playing with the headlights in order to distract him. She knew Jim wouldn't want her putting herself in danger, but she had to do something to prevent him from delivering the final blow. As he continued walking in her direction, she looked around her surroundings to see if there was any weapon she could use.

Before she could think any further, she saw Dwight suddenly tackling Gabe on the ground which caused him to release the gun from his grip. She quickly took the weapon and immediately went to Jim's aid.

"Oh my God, Jim. Jim? Please wake up. Jim?" she said as she continued tapping her shoulder. Eventually, Jim opened his eyes.

"Pam..are you okay?" he whispered to her as blood continued to flow from behind him.

"I'm fine. But I won't be if you die. So I need you to stay alive, Jim. Okay? It's going to be okay," She said as she kissed his forehead. She then looked for the source of the bleeding. She opened his coat and shirt, and saw that there was a wound at his side, just below his rib. She pressed one hand against it and used her other hand to frantically search through his messenger bag for something she could use to stop the bleeding. However, all she could find were papers and the comic book that she gave him as a present.

She then took off her coat and tried firmly pressing it against the wound. She also took his phone and immediately called 9-1-1.

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Dwight rushed from the entrance of the building to see Gabe approaching Jim and Pam's car, with Pam playing with the headlights. He had heard the gunshot while he was rushing from the stairwell and was angered to see Jim lying on the ground. He felt frustrated over his hesitation on whether  to wait for the elevator to arrive. He wondered if there was anything he could have done faster to prevent Jim from getting shot.

He then snapped out of it and immediately ran towards Gabe. He was able to tackle him before he could get within arms reach of Pam. He saw the gun being released from his grip. He tried to reach for it but could not do so as Gabe kept tossing and turning to free himself from his grasp. Luckily for him, Pam immediately picked up the gun and kept it within her vicinity.

He tried his best to restrain Gabe but he recoiled in pain as he was elbowed on the face. He was fearful that he was going to attack Pam who was distracted trying to help Jim. However, he saw him running away and exiting the premises instead.

He was about to chase after him when Pam called out his name, "Dwight!"

He turned around and saw her crying, "Dwight, I can't stop the bleeding. Oh my God, Dwight. Help us, please. He can't die here!"

"Alright Pam. Calm down," he immediately rushed to Jim's side and firmly pressed the coat against his wound and further examined him, "Okay, there's not exit wound. Just this one. I'll take over from here. Have you already called 9-1-1?"

"Yes," she replied as she let go of the coat, her hands still shaking, "they said they'll be here in about five minutes. That was two minutes ago."

"Alright, now I need you to check your car for any towels. I am sure you have those since you have a kid with you," he said as he kept his hands pressed on the wound, "Then hand them over to me. Once you do that, go back to the office and get my car keys. There's a coat inside my car. Wear it. It's freezing here."

"Dwight, I'm fine, we have to worry about—"

"I know that, but you also can't freeze to death here," he interrupted her.

Pam nodded as she went to her car to get supplies. When she went back hand Dwight the towels, Jim spoke, "Pam?"

"Oh my God, Jim?" Pam immediately rushed to his side and held his hand, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I am," he replied, "How are you? You should get a coat. It's freezing."

Pam wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Well, you have mine. But keep it, I'll get the one from Dwight's car. Glad to see you still have a sense of humor after getting shot…Okay, I'll be right back. I love you so much, okay?"

"I love you too."

She kissed him on the lips before heading upstairs.

A few seconds later, Dwight heard Jim speak up again, "Dwight…"

"Jim?" 

"Am….I….dying?" he asked.

"No Jim, you are not dying here," Dwight replied, "Not on my watch."

"Thank you…" Jim breathed heavily as he continued, "Dwight…"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Pam…I love her."

"You just did a while ago."

"I know that… just tell her again… please"

Dwight refused to listen to what seemed like Jim's dying wishes, "Tell her yourself Jim. She'll be back in two minutes."

Jim remained in silence again. Dwight actually wished he would speak more often just so he could have a sign that he was still alive. He could not muster up the strength to check for a pulse as doing so, in his opinion, meant that he was acknowledging the possibility of him dying. His fears were alleviated when he spoke again, "Dwight…"

"What?"

"In case I don't…make it. I know you think…I hate you…but I don't. It's just… how my brothers…treated me. I just thought—"

"Jim, don't do this," Dwight looked at him in guilt, thinking about how he indirectly caused this to happen by letting the prank go too far. He wished he could tell him that he doesn't hate him but refused to believe that he was going to die on this day, "You are not dying here, okay? You can't let Gabe get away with this. Think about your daughter, you are not going to let her grow up without a father."

"Cece…she needs daddy"

"Yes, Jim. She needs you. Help is almost here, so you have to stay alive. Pam needs you to stay alive. Okay?"

Jim closed his eyes and seemingly lost consciousness again. Dwight held his breath and was about to wake him up when he heard him mumble, "Okay…I won't die here"

Dwight continued pressing tightly on the wound hoping the bleeding would stop. Not a few seconds later, Dwight heard Pam say, "Dwight! They're here!"