She swallowed the lump in her throat as she shut the red folder in her desk drawer, the word “CLASSIFIED” disappearing from view. If she was being honest, she felt like crawling in that drawer right along with it. She had been so excited to give Jim his gift. The idea had come to her back in September and for a while, it was nothing more than a way to feel some sort of connection to Jim. She’d send a letter to Dwight and look to Jim’s old desk, trying to imagine what he would say about each letter. For a split second she could convince herself he was just out on a sales call and she could show him when he got back. He would hunch over her desk and point to his favorite part as he stifled a laugh and popped a jellybean in his mouth.
Then Ryan would catch her eye and the image would shatter and reality would once again rear its ugly head.
Then Jim came back. In a physical sense, that was. Occasionally, she'd catch a shadow of who he was before he left. A smirk, a "Beesly", a touch of sarcasm mixed with sincerity. But then he'd roll his sleeves down or spend an entire day without turning to face her and she'd shake her head, realizing how silly it was to miss the sight of someone's forearms as much as she missed their smile.
Waking up that morning, as she put on her favorite red sweater and Christmas earrings, she thought that she had found a foolproof way to bring out that elusive smile. She would gift him her prank that she'd been working on for months. She smiled at herself in the mirror as she pictured his reaction.
And for a moment, she got that reaction. A flicker of pride in his eyes and a smile that made her heart skip. But just as quickly, it faded as his eyes fell and skirted, explaining why he couldn't accept it. So she slid the folder in her drawer.
This holiday season, which was normally her favorite, had felt a little suffocating. It was her first Christmas alone. And even if most of her Christmases with Roy lacked a certain Hallmark charm, she still had someone to spend it with. This gift to Jim was the one thing she was looking forward to and now she felt more alone than ever.
The pit in her stomach lingered and nagged until Angela briskly walked past reception and beckoned her to the conference room with an eye roll for the party planning meeting. She gathered a notebook and a pen and walked to the conference room, pretending not to notice that Jim didn’t even look up as she passed him.
The meeting was uncomfortable, to say the least. Angela had shot down every idea Karen had come up with and Pam could almost see Karen deflate with every word coming out of Angela’s mouth. But what happened next was unexpected. Pam began to feel sorry for Karen. She knew it was irrational, but up until that point, she had kind of blamed Karen for the distance between herself and Jim. And yes, their relationship was a part of what was making things so awkward, but Pam realized that Karen really had done nothing wrong. And as she looked over to Karen’s desk and saw her looking so miserable after the meeting, she realized there was no need for both of them to have a terrible day. So, she walked across the bullpen and decided to lay down the weapons she’d been forging in her mind in order to befriend Jim’s girlfriend.
Before she knew it, they were planning their own party to rival Angela’s. And really, she was having fun. Slowly she began to forget about the embarrassment and hurt from when Jim turned down her gift. She was getting along with Karen–something she wasn’t sure she could do. Sure, things got a little crazy in the end, but what Dunder Mifflin party didn’t? It helped that Jim was out of the office for most of it, taking away the visual reminder of him.
After they combined parties with Angela, Pam left to go check the messages at her desk. As she did, she glanced up to see Karen and Jim leaning against Dwight’s desk exchanging gifts. A knot in her stomach tightened as it always did when she saw his shoulders relax they way they used to when he leaned on desks with her--smiled at her. Suddenly, it didn't matter how much fun she had earlier at the party. Like an old rubber band, seeing him laugh with someone else in a way that used to be reserved for her, something inside snapped, leaving nothing a proverbial red welt on what had otherwise been a pretty decent evening. She placed the phone back into the receiver despite having four unheard messages and walked to accounting.
"Hey, Angela? I thought that I could hang back and clean up the party for you. I know you've been wanting to go see that live nativity at the park and I…" she involuntarily looked behind her. "I really have nothing else to do tonight."
A tight smile briefly came to Angela's face as she considered Pam's proposition.
"Alright. I suppose it's the least you could do."
She walked back to her desk, actively avoiding looking toward Jim and Karen again. She wasn't exactly sure what made her volunteer to stay and clean. All she knew was that there was nothing to go home to besides a bare tree she still hadn't decorated, despite it being the 22nd, a bottle of cheap wine, and Cheers reruns. If she could delay going back to an empty apartment, she would.
The party began to wind down as coats were gathered and people began leaving the office for the night. Pam retreated to the conference room to begin her clean up, periodically glancing out the window into the bullpen. She dropped her eyes as she saw Jim help Karen into her coat before shrugging his own on and slinging his bag over his shoulder. When she dared to look up a few seconds later, she saw Jim at her desk. Faintly, she heard him tell Karen he would meet her in the parking lot. He looked at the reception desk, then around the office, then back to reception with a furrowed brow. Was he looking for her? She wasn’t sure she could face him right now, not with the hollowness she was feeling. She couldn’t wish him a merry Christmas with a smile knowing he was going to be spending it with someone else.
Jim drummed his hand on the desk a couple times and looked around the now empty office once more before reaching for one of her stacks of post-it notes and scribbling something onto it. He adjusted the strap of his bag and left the office, glancing over his shoulder as he walked out. Pam gave it four whole seconds after she heard the office door shut before basically running to her desk to see his note.
"Merry Christmas, Beesly
-Jim"
Her thumb brushed over his familiar handwriting. It should make her smile to see him thinking of her after how awkward things had been that morning. And not just that morning–it had been pretty awkward since he came back to Scranton. But all the note did was confuse her and leave her feeling worse. If he wanted to be friends and have things be how they used to be, he would have accepted her gift this morning. He had been doing this ever since he came back. Snag her on a hook, get her feeling like there may be a chance at normalcy (or maybe more), then pull back too hard on the line, leaving her behind in the process.
And despite all of that, she wanted him. She wanted him so much sometimes it felt like a physical ache. She admitted to herself months ago that she wanted more than just friendship, but almost more than that, she just longed to have her friend back. She wanted the laughs, the conversation, the familiarity, the comfort he brought. Everything felt flipped on its axis, leaving her disoriented.
She felt a burn behind her eyes and a lump form in her throat as she fought back tears. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. They were the ones who were supposed to be exchanging inside jokes for gifts. They were supposed to be pranking Dwight together. And now everything was different and just... *wrong*.
She pulled the garbage can from under her desk, wiped a stray tear with her sleeve, and watched as the note floated down into the basket.
Cleaning the party aftermath only took about 30 minutes, as a lot of people had already pitched in before leaving. But it was a 30 minutes where she couldn’t seem to harness her emotions. She had bottled up so much over the last several months and something about that simple post-it note released the floodgates. It felt good to cry, even though she knew there was a subsequent headache to follow. And by the time she had thrown away the last paper plate, she had composed herself. She took a deep breath, went to her desk, and retrieved the note from the garbage can, hastily putting it in her coat pocket.
As she exited the building, the frigid winter air smacked her cheeks and she pulled her coat collar up to her ears and folded her arms tightly to her chest. She was surprised to see her car wasn’t the only one in the lot. She saw tail lights of one car pulling onto the street and next to her car was…Jim’s. It was then she saw his tall frame with his head down, hands in his pockets, walking to his car. She stopped, and for a split second, she thought she might be able to turn around and head back into the building undetected. But Jim lifted his head and their eyes met.
“Pam?”
“Uh, yeah. Hey. What are you still…I thought everyone was gone.”
Jim rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “I just…” he started, motioning behind him with his thumb. Then his brow furrowed. “Hey, are you okay?”
Pam instinctively turned away and brought her hand to her face, suddenly realizing how puffy and red her eyes must look. There was no way she could hide the fact that she had been crying.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Beesly…”
She gave a sad chuckle, wondering how to explain this one away. “I just…I’m lacking a little bit of the Christmas spirit this year and I guess it got to me.”
He took a few steps closer and leaned against his car next to her. “What do you mean? You love Christmas.”
“Normally.”
He paused and looked down at his hands. “But not this year?”
She could lay all the cards out on the table right now if she wanted to. She could tell him how grey and monotone everything seemed since he left. She could explain that she missed him, even when he was around. Confess how she was dreading this holiday season because really, the only thing she wanted was for things to be the exact opposite of how they currently were between them. She scrambled to think of an excuse that wasn’t “I miss you”.
“Yeah,” she said. “My family is out of town for Christmas. Parents are…on a cruise for their 30th wedding anniversary right now. Penny is in Georgia spending it with her boyfriend’s family.” That was all a total lie. “So, things have felt different.” She caught his gaze and held it as she said the last word. “I haven’t even really done anything to get in the spirit though, I guess.”
Jim cocked his head. “The Pam I know has her Christmas tree up the second the last fork hits the Thanksgiving table. You eat, sleep, and breathe Christmas.” His face turned to concern. “I’m sorry things aren’t the same this year. With them gone and everything.”
“Yeah…” she averted her eyes.
They sat in the cold silence, the only warmth coming from Jim’s eyes burning a hole into her.
“You know,” he said quietly. “We still have…” he glanced at his watch. “...27 hours until it’s officially Christmas. I feel like that’s plenty of time to scrounge up some Christmas spirit.”
Pam’s eyes rolled playfully. “Yeah, okay,” she said a bit sarcastically.
“I’m serious!”
“I don’t know. Seems like it might be a little too late for that this year.”
Jim pushed himself off his car with purpose. “Nope. Unacceptable. I have an idea.” He unlocked his car and opened the passenger door. “Come on.”
She paused. Here he was again, casting his line, hooking her with his charm. She was skeptical. Who’s to say he wouldn’t show up to the office after Christmas and say no more than three words to her the entire day again? She wasn’t sure she could take the whiplash.
But his dorky smile and the quirk of his eyebrows were too much to say no to. She had been craving time with him, after all. So despite her better judgement, she let down her guard and lowered herself into his front seat.
Jim jogged around the front of his car and slid into the driver’s seat. He started the car, and took off the gloves she didn’t even notice he was wearing before. She picked one up and turned it over in her hands.
“Nice gloves,” she admired. They were a dark blue and almost looked like someone had hand-knitted them.
“Oh, thanks. Phyllis actually made them for me. Sent them to me after I moved to Stamford.”
The thought made her smile. Of course Jim would wear mittens that his coworker knitted for him. They weren’t perfect, but he wore them anyway, and there was something so incredibly endearing about it all.
“That was sweet of her,” she replied.
“Yeah, it was a nice surprise. And they keep my hands warm, so I can’t ask for much more.”
Pam smiled and buckled her seatbelt. “So, what’s your grand idea?” She was still finding it hard to fully relax as she hugged her arms to her chest.
Jim shifted into reverse and placed his hand behind her seat. The gesture felt strangely intimate and her breath caught.
“You’ll just have to wait and see, I guess,” he taunted.
She huffed as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I hate surprises.”
Jim let out a laugh. “Well, that’s not true and we both know it.”
Biting her bottom lip, she let out a small chuckle. He still knew her, even if it felt like he shouldn’t anymore. And while she wasn’t sure why he was doing this, given how he wanted nothing to do with her gift this morning, she decided to go with it and allow herself give into him, if only for tonight. She’d deal with the imminent heartbreak later, like she always did.
They had about 15 minutes outside the city limits before Pam noticed something.
"Hey," she said, pointing to the stereo. "This is my CD."
Jim stared at the road ahead of him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No, this is my CD!! It's the perfect mix CD in existence and it's mine. You let a guy borrow your car ONE time, and he steals your CD. I thought I lost it!"
Jim shrugged. "...it was a good CD…" he said in almost a whisper, a smirk playing on his lips.
Pam looked to the road, a smile betraying her as well. "Unbelievable."
"Finders keepers."
"I don't know if that counts when you steal it."
Jim replied by simply turning the music up louder.
She couldn't stop smiling, despite her best efforts. This felt like their old banter and their old friendship. It felt like the old Jim. There was still no indication of where they were driving, but at this point she didn't care.
Eventually, Jim turned onto a seemingly random street and Pam audibly gasped as he did. It was lined with enormous houses, each one covered in Christmas lights and decorations of every kind. There were inflatable snowmen, sparkling candy canes, and Santas in every form. Bright, colorful lights and soft, beautiful white ones. It was like nothing she had ever seen.
"Wow," she whispered.
"I know. My mom used to take us to this street every Christmas Eve."
"These houses are huge. And the lights!" she marveled.
Jim chuckled. "Don't get your nose print on my window, Beesly."
He continued driving slowly up the winding street, letting her take in each house. "Is this helping?" he asked.
She looked at him with a grin and nodded. "We're getting there."
"Well, what else is on your list of 'haven't done' this year?"
Pam sighed. "Pretty much…everything?"
"Oh boy. Okay."
He turned the car around and started driving back into Scranton.
"So what made your parents decide to leave over Christmas?"
"What? Oh," she recovered. "Um. Cheaper tickets I think?"
"Makes sense. When will they be back?"
"The, uh, 27th." She couldn't get herself to look at him.
"We're here!" he explained.
She ducked to look further out the windshield, grateful the topic of conversation had shifted. "...Cowley Park?"
Jim grinned. "Come on!" He threw his door open and got out, but kept his headlights shining toward the park, a fresh blanket of snow covering every surface.
When Pam finally got out, hugging her coat closer to her, she watched Jim trudge into the open field. He bent over and began forming a ball of snow in his hands.
"James Halpert, if you throw that at me…"
He lowered his shoulders and tilted his head, "Oh come on, I'm not that mean," he smiled. "We're going to build a snowman."
Cautiously, she walked closer, putting her arms out in case he was bluffing. But he bent back over and started rolling his snowball through the field in an attempt to make it bigger. Standing up, he put his hands on his hips, breathing heavily.
"I kind of forgot how much effort this takes."
Pam laughed. "Well, I'm in a pencil skirt so…keep rolling, buddy."
Jim let out a sigh, his breath dissipating in the night air in front of him. "Maybe we just make a toddler snowman?"
"Go for it," she said with amusement.
Jim leaned back over and began making the second snowball. Pam quietly grabbed a handful of snow and packed it together. She aimed for his back, but when she hurled the snowball at him, it hit him square in the back of the head. She covered her mouth with her hands, giggling uncontrollably into them as he slowly turned to face her.
"Oh," he said with a low chuckle. "It's on."
He bent down and picked up the entire snowman he had just made and ran toward her with it. She squealed, but before she had a chance to turn and run, she saw him slip in the snow and land flat on his back, the snowman in his hands landing straight on top of him. He groaned and Pam doubled over with laughter.
"I'm only a little bit sorry," she said as she walked over to him. She extended an arm down to help him up.
"I forgot to tell you the next thing on our list," Jim said as he took her gloved hand.
"Oh yeah?"
Swiftly, Jim pulled on her hand, bringing her into the snow next to him.
"We're making snow angels."
She punched him in the arm, then laid back in the snow, grateful for her long parka and hat she decided to wear today. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of cold air and smiled. Spending time with Jim had lifted her mood, as long as she blocked the rest of the situation out of her mind. He's still with Karen. Things were still different. He still rolled down his sleeves. But right now, she was with him and they were having fun and that was enough.
Simultaneously, they began fanning their arms and legs in the snow, then turned their heads toward each other and began laughing. Jim stood up first and offered his hand to Pam to help her up. She took it, somehow still electrified by his touch despite both of them wearing gloves, and they turned to look down at their snow creations.
It was quiet and Pam felt a shift as they stood together, arms barely touching. Everything was stilled by the snow and she still couldn't believe how this night had unfolded. Then Jim broke the silence.
"Hey," he said quietly. He looked down at his feet. "I'm really sorry about this morning. With the prank."
She was a little stunned that he would bring it up, so she did her best to wave it off. "Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I get it," she fumbled, trying to calm her fidgeting hands and even her voice.
He shook his head. "No, I was an asshole. It was an awesome idea."
She wasn't sure how to reply, so she just looked back at her snow angel. She could sense he wanted to say more, but suddenly she wasn't sure she was ready to pop this holiday bubble they were in.
"You can still have it." She nudged him with her shoulder and smirked. "Should you choose to accept."
He chuckled and caught her gaze. His eyes were full of sincerity and a softness that made her heart beat faster in her chest.
"I would really like that."
Suddenly, the headlights on Jim's car clicked off, leaving them with nothing but a dim, flickering street light to see by.
Jim looked to his car. "Guess that means we're done here."
They walked back together, brushing and stomping snow from their clothes and shoes. Jim started the car and turned on the heater, rubbing his hands in front of it waiting for it to warm up.
Pam looked at him, his cheeks and nose pink from the cold. It almost made him look boyish and it brought a smile to her face. She didn't want this night to end.
"Jim?"
"Hmm?" He tried warming his hands with his breath.
"Thank you."
He cocked a half smile. "Anytime."
Working up courage, she continued. "Why...why are you doing all of this for me?"
Jim looked down and contemplated her question. "You love Christmas. And you're my friend. And you were sad."
"I know," she hesitated. "It's just…things lately have felt…"
"I know," he said softly with a shrug, cutting her off. He looked over to her. "But I'm working on it."
She could see in his face that he meant it, and realized right then that maybe things hadn't been so easy for him either. He had laid his cards out and she rejected him. Then he had to come back to where it all happened and try to pretend things were fine when they obviously were not.
"I have one more thing on my list," she said to him.
"And what's that?" he asked, his tense shoulders relaxing.
"My tree is looking pretty sad."
He shifted the car into reverse and grinned. "Then let's fix that."
They went back to the office to pick up her car and Jim followed behind her as she drove home, her eyes continually drifting to the rear view mirror to catch glimpses of him. She pulled into her complex and led him to her apartment.
"It's nothing special," she said as she unlocked the door and went inside.
He stepped in and looked around, admiring her paintings she had hung on the walls. "No, it's very you. I like it," he smiled.
"I'll just grab the ornaments," she said, and walked back into her bedroom to grab the box. She took a moment to breathe, marveling that Jim was actually inside her apartment and how big that felt after everything between them.
She came back into the living room to see Jim sitting on her couch with his phone out. She wondered if it was Karen and felt a twinge of guilt that selfishly, she pushed aside.
"You ready?" she asked.
Jim shut his phone and put it back in his pocket. "Let's do this."
He began by stringing the lights while Pam sorted through the smaller boxes of ornaments and made them some hot chocolate. Coming out of the kitchen, she saw Jim holding up an ornament.
"Are you Jewish?" He turned the miniature menorah over in his hand.
Pam laughed. "Funny story, actually."
His eyebrows raised. "Go on."
"Okay, so when I was like 4 or 5, I saw that 'candle' ornament in the store and begged my mom to buy it for me. I guess she didn't have the heart to tell me we weren't Jewish and got it for me anyway. Every year after that I insisted it go on the tree and it became a running joke as I got older and learned what a menorah actually was."
"But wait. A menorah Christmas tree ornament…?"
Pam shrugged with a laugh. "Don't ask me! I thought it was pretty. I guess I just appreciate other cultures."
"Fair enough," he said, turning to hang it on a branch.
They continued hanging ornaments while Christmas music played and snow began to fall outside. Pam smiled to herself as Jim hummed along with the music and carefully placed each ornament on the tree. Watching him, she realized that somewhere between stringing the lights and now, he had rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie. Her heart fluttered and she bit back a grin as she strung more garland on the tree.
"Last one," she said, picking up a small ceramic Santa. She hung it on a low branch and stepped back to admire the tree. Jim flipped the light switch on the wall next to him, leaving only the tree lights to illuminate the room.
"It's perfect," she whispered.
Jim hummed in agreement. They stood together looking at the tree as Bing Crosby serenaded them in the background, and it was impossible to deny the magic of it all. Jim shifted and turned to face her, leaving only a few inches between them. He looked to Pam, searching her eyes as his own twinkled with the lights of the tree. She stood completely still, staring back at him, afraid of what might happen if she blinked. His arm lifted and he brushed a strand of hair off her shoulder, thumbed over her dangling earring, then left his hand to rest at the base of her neck.
"Merry Christmas, Beesly."
She closed her eyes at his touch and tentatively brought her hand to his chest. Slowly, he began to lean his head forward, and rested his forehead against hers.
"Pam," he whispered. "I--"
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
They quickly broke apart. Jim's hands shot to the back of his neck as he turned around and Pam straightened her sweater and walked to her door. Her heart plunged to her stomach as she opened it and saw who was on the other side.
"Penny! What are you doing here?" she said in a hushed tone. She gave Penny wide eyes and a knowing look that only sisters shared. "Are you back early from Georgia?" she said louder, so Jim could hear.
"What? Oh. Yes? Yes. Yes, I am," Penny said when she saw Jim inside. "I just came by to give you this sweater you left in my car yester--uh, last week."
"Oh, thanks! Um, this is my friend Jim."
Jim lifted a hand to wave.
"Jim, this is Penny."
"Her sister," Penny interjected.
Pam flinched. She was hoping by some miracle Jim didn't catch the fact that Penny was her sister. But he definitely knew now.
"Nice to meet you," Jim said, shaking her hand.
"Likewise," Penny said, making eye contact with Pam instead of Jim. "Well, anyway. I should go. Let you two do...whatever you're doing."
"Just decorating," Pam said as she pushed Penny out of the apartment.
"You better call me tomorrow," Penny whispered harshly before Pam shut the door.
Pam lingered, afraid to turn around and face Jim.
"So that's Penny," Jim said flatly.
She turned and forced herself to look at him. All she could do was nod. He folded his arms. "She wasn't in Georgia, was she?"
Pam looked to the floor and subtly shook her head. Jim was quiet but she could feel his eyes on her, needing more.
"Her boyfriend is from Carbondale," she admitted.
Jim sighed. "Then…why lie to me?" He sounded more confused than upset, but it didn't make her want to crawl in a hole any less. She could feel the tears begin to gather behind her eyes as she desperately tried to fight them off.
"I don't know," she whispered.
"Pam, you were crying in the office. There has to be a reason. It's obviously not because your family is gone."
She bit her bottom lip and shrugged, the tears now brimming her eyes. "Things have been…pretty lonely."
The pained look he gave her nearly shattered her. He started to walk toward her and instantly her defenses shot back up. She wiped a tear and continued.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have invited you here. You're with Karen and things are obviously different and I just need to accept that and move on."
"Pam, I--"
"No, you don't need to say anything. I just...it was nice to have the old you back. Tonight was great. So great. But I know I screwed everything up before you left and I need to stop thinking things can be what they used to." Now the tears were falling in earnest. "I guess I've just missed you, Jim."
Jim walked closer to her. "Pam--"
She quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve. "Maybe you should go. I don't want you to do something you'll regret tonight."
His shoulders fell and he rubbed a hand over his face. "If that's what you want," he said quietly and grabbed his coat off the arm of the couch. "Merry Christmas, Pam."
He pulled the door open and walked out without looking back. If she didn't feel alone before, she certainly did now. Twice now she had driven Jim away. Twice she let her mouth speak before her heart and almost instantly regretted it. She sat on the couch and buried her face in her hands.
A few minutes passed and she heard a soft knock on her door. She composed herself the best she could, wiping the mascara from under her eyes, and opened the door.
"Jim?"
"I wanted to return this to you." He handed her the CD from his car. As she took it from him, he held on tighter, not letting go, and shook his head. "No, that's not true. I just needed an excuse to come back up here." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Oh man, I can't believe I'm doing this again," he muttered under his breath.
She frowned, confused. "Doing what again?"
He stared at her, pleading with his eyes for her to understand.
"Doing what again, Jim?"
He let out a long breath. "I broke up with Karen."
"You what? When?"
"After the party tonight. That's why I was still in the parking lot when you came out."
Her mind was racing, recalling everything that had happened that night. "But...why?"
Jim lifted a shoulder and gave a sad smile. "Turns out I miss you too."
A small laugh of disbelief leaves her chest, mixed with a few tears that had been threatening to escape.
"After a talk with Michael of all people, I realized I wasn't being fair to her," he continued. "I was going through the motions, but everything always came back to you. So I called it off. Then you came out of the building and you were upset and I just knew I was willing to get my heart broken again if it meant I could make you happy for one night."
She took a step closer to him and took his hand in hers. "I don't want to break your heart."
He smiled with relief and looked down at their joined hands, running his thumb over the top of her hand. He looked up and met her gaze. "Promise?"
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Promise."
"Then can I please hug you now? I've been dying to all night."
She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, closing her eyes and sinking into him. He snaked his arms around her waist tightly and buried his face in her hair. "I don't like to see you sad," he whispered in her ear.
She pulled back and linked her hands behind his neck, pulling his forehead against hers. "I'm not sad anymore," she whispered back.
He grinned and inched his face closer to hers. "Good," he murmured, then gently brought his lips to hers.
There was a comforting familiarity in his kiss, even though they had only been here once before, and it almost felt like she was coming home. When they eventually broke apart, Jim placed his hand on the side of her face and looked straight into her eyes with a deep sincerity. "Now can we go inside and figure out Dwight's final mission, or what?"
She chuckled and softly kissed him again. "I thought you'd never ask."
Story Notes:
I listened to Ingrid Michaelson's version of "All I Want for Christmas is You" one too many times (if that's even possible--it's amazing) and couldn't get Season 3 Pam out of my head. So when Secret Santa came around, this fic was basically begging to be written.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, but I'm crossing my fingers that Santa will actually listen to me this year.
More important disclaimer: I am severely sleep deprived thanks to a newborn, so please pretend any typos and plot holes don't exist. Please and thank you. ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, but I'm crossing my fingers that Santa will actually listen to me this year.
More important disclaimer: I am severely sleep deprived thanks to a newborn, so please pretend any typos and plot holes don't exist. Please and thank you. ;)
Chapter End Notes:
I'm pretty sure I was able to fit in all seven elements I was given in one way or another! They were:
-A snowman or snow angel
-An ornament or other holiday decoration with an unusual backstory
-Meeting the parents and/or other family (bonus if it's unexpected!)
-Knitwear of some sort (scarf, mittens, etc)
-Something lost gets reunited with it’s owner
-Pam or Jim dreading the holidays for some reason (and how the other makes it better)
-A trip to the “rich” neighborhood to look at decorations
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!!
Also a big thanks to my sister from another mister, nicemorningtoo, for letting me bombard her with passages and questions. You the real MVP. No coal for you this year.
WanderingWatchtower is the author of 23 other stories.
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This story is part of the series, Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2021. The previous story in the series is Parties for Hosting, Marshmallows for Toasting. The next story in the series is Schrute Farms Christmas.
