Pam married Roy, but Jim's return to Scranton complicates the life she thought she wanted.
Ooh, Pam's revenge was good. ;) And I love that the difference in Pam's relationship status has caused them to interact in such a way that Karen's picking up on their vibe so much sooner than she did on the show. It gives me hope that they'll find it in them to be completely honest about their feelings a lot sooner too.
Oh, this is wonderful. I think this is an utterly believable reason for Angela to turn against her sister - her beliefs are everything to her. And for it to keep it up for so long is so sad, knowing that she does love her sister.
Karen POV post-Branch Wars. Spoilers through BW.
She tries to pinpoint the moment when being near him went from making her feel bubbly and young to brittle and needy.
Nicely done. I absolutely believe that this would be going through Karen's head - a determination to move on but unable to stop herself from missing and wishing.
Author's Response: Yeah, that's how I see it -- and plenty of us have been there. I don't think she was pining this whole time, by any means, but seeing him there and interacting with him for the first time since everything would have brought back a lot of the post-breakup turmoil, I think. Thanks so much for the review!
Love it! Jim's awkward confused and surprised reactions to Karen and her new life were kind of perfect. And this was a very believable and promising Jim/Pam fight and resolution.
Author's Response: Thanks! I think that Pam and Jim (when the show finally returns. Curse you NBC!!) are headed toward an impasse. Jim is still awaiting his character arch, and whether that will leave them going in two different directions for awhile... well we'll just have to wait and see ;)
You don't want to wake up one day and realize that both of you are unhappy because you weren't the person he thought you were. There's no way you can compete with Fantasy Pam.
Oh, love this. Love the connection to Gatsby, love Pam's very believable fears.
When I read this line, Not the Pam who snored sometimes, or kicked in her sleep. Not the Pam who couldn't keep a plant alive to save her life, or the Pam that was capable of screwing up no-bake cheesecake. I found myself thinking, "aw, but I bet Jim loves all that about her!" so it was really nice to see him immediately affirm that without her really having to press, totally getting what she was thinking just from her explanation of the book.
A phone call interrupts their Valentine's Day date.
Hee! Very cute. Those Halperts are such good schemers. :)
Author's Response: They are, aren't they? Hee. I loved the thought of Jim scamming Pam into accepting. I think she'd still say yes! Thank you!!
This is so, so good. I find it so touching that Kelly actually acknowledges that Toby takes such beatings from Michael and no one stands up for him, even though they consider him a friend. And it's a very, very good question - why *don't* they? And her still being unable to stand up for him, even after realizing that and spending this evening with him, says so much. And I also love her realization that he's broken - Kelly doesn't come off as very insightful on the show, but it's very believable here and I love that she shows such empathy. The ending is very bittersweet and believable.
Ooh, I'm glad he seems to have figured it out. He'd have to, considering all the obvious similarities the fan keeps pointing out between herself and Pam - a lot of recent big life changes, alone for the first time in awhile. Curious to see what the email says, but he has a right to be annoyed with her obviously so wanting to reach out to him but unwilling to do it to his face.
Also, I don't remember if this was mentioned, but I'm assuming these letters are typed up, not hand written? He'd probably recognize her hand writing right away, right?
I love hand-delivered, honest, supportive messages. I also love fan club meetings :) This chapter left me very hopeful!
Member's Choice - For just a brief second, he feels almost happy. Or at least not unhappy. Maybe the absence of unhappiness is the new happy.Oh, this was wonderful. This is exactly how I imagine their relationship was behind closed doors - Jim recognizing the wonderfulness of Karen and wishing he could truly appreciate it more, while still being unable to stop thinking about Pam - and Karen doing everything right, everything by the book, and still not really connecting.
Author's Response: Glad to hear we see it the same way ;-) As you say, they simply didn't connect. Chemistry is mysterious...I think he genuinely cared about Karen, but you love who you love. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing Semby!
Sometimes, still, he would wake up in the middle of the night just to make sure that she was okay, that there was no blood. And only when he had made sure of it, made sure that it was just her, clean and peaceful, did he close his eyes and fall back asleep.
Lovely - I think you did a great job of showing the spectrum of emotion and pain they'd go through if this happened - not able to let it go, even years later, even though they hadn't even known they had anything to lose in the first place. And the ending was very rewarding after all of that :)
Author's Response: I had actually planned to have the end be the beginning (if that makes any sense) and decided that it would be much better if you learn they have the baby after all of that pain. I'm glad you liked it!
Ohhh, that is not a good thing to happen, indeed! I can imagine Jim just stunned as a result. I'm glad they could be so adult about it and not have a huge all out fight over it - Pam's ability to convince him with relative ease that it didn't mean anything proves the strength of their relationship.
Author's Response: i think the only way this works for me as a huge jam fan is that (a) we know pam is way, way over roy and (b) jim can easily be swayed by pam. otherwise, this fic would be pretty depressing...
AU Season 2, some undetermined amount of time after Booze Cruise. Roy invites Jim to a house party.Yum! Great start. Quite the cliffhanger. And I love the general feel of the whole party and Jim and Pam's following conversation - just random drunken talk. And I love how well you've managed to show how much the cameras are interwoven into their lives - they've spent so much time watching what they say, how they react, that they're thinking about them constantly, even when they're not there.
What if Roy was lying when he said he'd never cheated on Pam? What if Pam was always a little less healthy than she let on? What if everything, everywhere, is only meant to fall apart?Oh, this is wonderful. I love that she finally got her raincoat, and from him :)
Ouch, indeed. And Jim letting it out like that was mighty satisfying. I'm hoping that will help her rather than hurt her, but she's so fragile here I can't really tell what will make or break her. But she had to see that what Roy's doing is not okay, and what she's doing to Jim is not okay either. Looking forward to seeing where this goes from here!
Yay for Pam feeling inspired to do something about her situation! Yay for Pam telling Roy the truth about what she knows and not taking his crap! And I thought you were going to end this chapter on a downer after the Poor Richard's scene, but now i have hope...
Also, just FYI, I noticed one teeny little typo: “I know what you've been diong,"
Wonderful! I love the big paragraphs of her disjointed confession... I love that it's non-linear and all over the place, it seems very Pam, and definitely very confused-trying-to-be-honest-Pam. And I love the understanding that it "isn't about Roy." And the Dickson City joke, cute! :)
Lovely! I love the contrast of Jim's bitter, pained, coping laughter throughout versus her happy laughter in the very last line. And I love your AU ending - her simple slightly awkward, "Um, before? I was wrong," and no big explanations or declarations of love, that's just so Pam.
Awww! That was too freaking adorable. Possibly the best proposal scene ever.
Aww, Kelly! In some ways, I think this is the kick in the gut she needs to see that he's not the perfect boyfriend she imagined him to be, but that's still really crappy circumstances. But go Kelly, making it on her own! (hopefully)
Aw, this would have been a much happier merger day resolution for both of them. Lovely story!
Author's Response: I agree, Semby. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
A look at what might have happened between The Job and 'round about Money. Lots of steam in the beginning, then some angst for good measure.Oh, gosh, the end of the first chapter was like a rush of cold water. Such happiness throughout and then... bam. But I think you did a great job exploring the emotions Pam would be feeling after finding those - irrational, knowing it was from a past they've supposedly left behind them, but unable to let it go completely. That's a harsh reminder.
I sure am a sucker for Dwight/Jim bonding - loved that aspect of this chapter! And I really like the obvious absence that they both feel when they have to sleep alone now, and I love her little make up gift/proposition!
Pam gets drunk at Kevin's wedding and decides she and Jim need to get a room. Oneshot fluff.
Shout out to the WildBerryJam. I love so much about the things she choses to be(ta).
No spoilers, really, but through S4 just to be safe.
Aw, I love drunk Pam! This was very sweet.
Author's Response: thank you!
She couldn't be sure exactly when he ceased to exist, but the first day she suspected something was the day after she canceled her wedding.
Whoa, that was unexpected! So was it all a dream? I'm so confused, heh ;)
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