Warrior, I have to say I’m a little bit worried going into this chapter... I feel like we’re getting into the action & I don’t want anything to happen to Jim!
Only reading is going to answer these questions for me...

My heart was in my throat during the action! Which is obviously an indicator of some good action. I have to tell you, when Jim’s hand were locked on his instruments & the sweat was stinging his eyes I had a flicker of fear that maybe he hurt & it was something more. I’m glad it wasn’t. I’m also glad that having Pam there, albeit in picture form was enough to start to settle his nerves & ground him once again. Lovely imagery there.

I actually don’t hate this version of Roy. Huh. How about that. I feel like him & Jim get on okay without Pam in between them (even though, she kind of is, but they don’t know that...)
I liked that you had Jim lose it a little back on ground. All that high stakes adrenaline has got to go somewhere... It’s a lot to process.

Alex, hey? That was a bit of a surprise. Nice way to bring him into it. You’re including just about everyone to ever appear in canon in this story it seems. That’s an impressive feat.

Aww, Dwight, and one of my very favorite lines from canon. And, wow, way to make a very dramatic entrance there...

Oh Jim. That letter from Pam came at the perfect moment. The day ended a whole lot nicer than it really was.
All in all, this was an epic update!

Author's Response:

Jenna! Thank you for this wonderful review. I'm ecstatic you enjoyed it so much. I'm glad the scenes of Jim dealing with the adrenaline of combat worked for you. I was basing some of those scenes on first hand knowledge. 

I'll admit it's kinda fun to write Jim and Roy as friends rather than Roy mostly clueless and Jim hating his guts from afar. There's a bunch of Pam and Karen friendship fics out there. I figured I'd try to explore what would happen if Jim and Roy were more friendly.

Thus far there's only a few non-canon characters. Bringing in Alex to paint the plane nose art seemed appropriate.

Dwight in a confined space filled with smoke? How could I not use those lines.

I always intended to end this chapter with a letter from Pam. Just like in the air, her letters are going to be what Jim holds onto when the going gets tough. I have a book filled with first hand account of real 8th Air Force flight crews and many of them said that's what letters from home would do for them. Kinda fun to put in some real history too.

Like I said, I'm glad you liked this chapter. Thank you so much for your constant support of it.  

Oh. My. Plot twist.
That was so very unexpected. Roy. Roy. Roy talking about “his” girl back home. Up until that moment, I thought how sweet, how serendipitous that the plane Jim is paired with is a reminder of Pam. I should have known from the fact it was Pammy - that should have been a red flag. Oh boy. Roy.
I now have questions (that I fully expect to be answered by the story at some point, but I’m putting them out there anyway). Does Jim know who he’s meeting? Roy would have no idea, obviously... Although, I feel Jim’s picture will point that out to him at some stage. I can’t remember if Pam ever told Jim Roy’s full name. I feel there’s potential he can piece together from the other information regardless.
I hate that Roy is still calling Pam his girl. That does not bode well...
I was fully prepared to spend this review giggling over Dwight’s reappearance and feeling for Jim over the harsh reality of war that’s he’s having to deal with in his slightly battered plane. But here we are...
Roy. Roy? Roy. Oh no...
What a wonderful update!

Author's Response: Remember way back in those Thanksgiving chapters? I did mention distraction being a powerful tactic. Works great for a writer too. Thus the re-introduction of Dwight, the feelings of foreboding, and lets face it probably a good amount of excess description. Still it was fun to finally bring this plot element to light. I'll save you the time from having to go back. No, Pam has never told Jim Roy's full name. Meemaw mentioned it once though. Remember Conroy back at Thanksgiving? So at this point, nope, neither one knows who the other is. Which could make this a lot of fun. Always glad to hear from you.

Nice to see an update! I’m kind of hoping that Ryan appearing with lipstick on his collar means that Kelly is looming somewhere in the chapters to come. Although, I’m also definitely keen to see which of the Dunder Mifflin ladies show up in the baseball plot...
This chapter did feel a bit like a filler as you mentioned, but that only serves to make me all the more impatient for the next update...

Author's Response: Thanks. I needed to get things set up so that when Jim deploys the radio call signs and everything make sense. Yes Kelly will show up, but later. More baseball stuff to come next chapter.

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Are you aiming for longest story that you’ve personally written, or longest story on the archive? What’s the word count you’d need to hit? Either way, I’m excited to follow along!

I don’t traditionally go for AUs. I’m more of a fix-the-ep, fill-the-gap, kind of gal. That said, I’m down for any well-written epic (which this looks set to be). Besides, who couldn’t love Pam & Jim in any setting... I’m looking forward to see where you go with this, I’ll definitely be tuning in!

Author's Response: I'm going for longest story on the archive. A challenge to be sure, but hey aim high. This will need to be over 163,000 words to reach that mark, so we've got a ways to go. Glad to have you along for this ride, or is flight the right word here? I hope you'll enjoy what I've got planned.

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It really was a good day! Ah, to be young & completely smitten... I find it difficult to comment when there’s nothing more to say than, more please - which is the situation I find myself in after this chapter. I wanted to ask, the information you’re adding about squadrons, planes, etc., did you research specifically for this fic? Or is a preexisting area of interest/knowledge? You certainly come across like you know what you’re talking about (particularly to someone like myself who knows nothing of the sort). I feel like I’m learning as I go with this story... It’s very sweet that the anecdote with your wife has made it into fic - I think it’s easiest to write what we know & a little part of ourselves makes it into every story (& that’s how we end up with a great variety of many takes on the same characters/events).

Author's Response: Thank you. It was a lot of fun to write this chapter. I've always been a military history buff so there's a lot I knew already. However I have done A TON of extra research for this fic which has added a lot to what I've already known, so a bit of both there. I'm glad you're still enjoying this so much.

I have to say, this is probably the first time I haven’t liked Pam’s mum in the fic world. Normally she’s written as very pro-Jim. This is a fun change. I have a feeling she’s about to cause all sorts of problems...
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the repurposing of snippets from the show. The prank on Dwight was fantastic. Reusing the Booze Cruise with Helene? So, so good.
I’m really looking forward to the second part of Thanksgiving & saying what mayhem Helene manages to achieve...

Author's Response: Thank you as always for your kind words Jenna. That's the fun thing with AU I'm finding is that it allows for a lot more flexibility with the characters. Still it's important to keep an eye on the source material, thus the things from the show. I hope I can live up to your expectations.

Okay, Jim having his ceremony with William made me feel all the feelings. That was some unexpected sweetness/bonding.
Nice to see David Wallace introduced/included. Oh, and a few other bonus inclusions in that squadron list.
Huh. I was not expecting the baseball storyline, and was definitely not expecting that it was the catalyst of the story! That was a twist for sure!
I confess, I’ve never seen A League of Their Own - is it worth watching for context purposes?
I know you’re intending for this to be the longest story out there & I feel as if you’ve definitely opened up its potential with a whole new storyline in there for Pam too. You’ve really managed to surprise me with this... I now have my fingers crossed that we’ll get to see some of the other ladies from the Office in this context. I feel like Meredith would make a mean ball player...

Author's Response: Thanks Jenna. I'm having fun putting in little scenes like the Jim/William salute so I'm glad others are enjoying those too. As I told Comfect, I had to dig deep into wikipediea to get all the names for the squadron roster. Some were a given, but to get the full list took some looking.

It shouldn't be 100% crucial to watch "A League of Their Own," and still follow this story. For context purposes so you'll have an idea of what the baseball uniforms and such look like it might be worth it. We'll most assuredly see some of the Office ladies as this new story line starts to build up.

The reference to the Booze Cruise & Michael’s strange list of decoy “must brings” was great! I love how always manage to insert many a moment from canon (& in pretty unique ways no less). Which leads me to asking, does Gould have a wife named Jan who will make an appearance at some stage?
I wouldn’t necessarily call this a filler chapter, what with Pam and Jim’s weekend away feeling fairly significant to their journey. Nice to have confirmation that Jim & Mark will remain at the base. I have to admit, I was half hoping that Dwight would turn around & say that he was “pranking” then by telling them he was leaving. I loved all the references to Schrute Farms. I think that manure line is one of my favorite laugh out loud kind of moments in canon, so I was very onboard with you repurposing it here!
Looking forward to reading about the rest of Pam & Jim’s weekend away!

Author's Response: I always look forward to your reviews Jenna. Mainly because it seems like you're the only one leaving me reviews these days. Thank you. I'll admit it's a lot of fun to weave in all the canon elements. If you go back and watch, "Money," you'll also find the online review Jim and Pam left woven in here as well. Does Major Gould have a Jan? Interesting question to be sure. Forgive me, but we'll just have to wait and see. 

Since you've been so great about reviewing, I will let you in on a little secret. The next chapter sadly will not be a continuation of this weekend getaway. However at some point I'm sure it'll come back up. I need to advance the plot more with the next chapters, but also needed to stop in here at this point in their story as well.

Again thank you so very much for your constant reviews. It's very much appreciated. 

Not quite the idyllic morning after for our favorite pair... which makes it all the more realistic I suppose. I feel for them both in the kind of awkwardness that follows. Although, I love the idea of secrecy & the potential for so many things to go delightfully wrong. I’m hoping Pam’s upcoming date is a complete disaster in the best ways possible, even more so than on the show...

Author's Response: "delightfully wrong".....DEFINITELY what tempted me to write this in the first place. haha...there are so many possibilities.

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There are never too many post Casino Night stories - especially ones where Pam gains some earlier courage. I’m glad you’ve decided to add this one to the mix! You’ve set this up really nicely, poor Stamford Jim is understandably not having a great time. Looking forward to seeing where you go next!

Author's Response: Thank you so much for the encouragement and kind words! I hope you like it!!

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Boy, oh boy, are you good at building tension. I need to stop reading this until it’s complete - I’m far too impatient for this updating business...

Author's Response: bahahaha omg that's the best compliment I could ever hope to receive! Thank you!!

Hello. Hi. I am SO excite.
“For too many years, I saw it.” Okay, so Helene is more perceptive that I gave her credit. I love that she’s challenging Pam on this. It’s such a mother move.
If she has to make out with Jim to prove something to her mother, I’m not going to be mad...
You’re throwing me into remembering why I love this version of Pam so much. She’s got that extra bit of Fancy New Beesly sass and she shows it in spades here with the way she handles Helene.

“Jesus, look at him. Think he’d switch places with his brother? I’d marry him in an instant.”
“See, about that…”
I want to copy this whole entire thing and be like this, this is my favorite. But that would be insane, but like *this*, this is it. It’s perfect. Same, Penny, same.

“You’re prettier than Katy.” Finally someone gets it. Sign me up to team Betsy.
Why does Pam giving tea as her drink of choice do something to me? It’s fine. It’s the most simple of canon choices and I love to see it so much.

“I’m not just saying that because you’re the first girl he’s ever brought home to meet me.” Oh stop. Do I love Betsy? I think I do. It’s such a contrast to Helene.

“Pam had to bite back a laugh over the fact that she’d found herself on the receiving end of two women with knives that evening and Jim’s beloved security was nowhere to be found.” Coley. You write the words so well. I love this tinge of humor. It’s perfect.

Damn. It’s so good. That little slip from Betsy with NYU and Pam just acing it.

Oh. Oh. Okay. I got the mother wrong, but still the same brilliant, delightfully trope-y plan.
“Just wait until my mother isn’t watching.” PERFECT.

OH. You’re just going to put that final line in there and assume we’re okay. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine.

If we’re still here?! Coley. COLEY. It goes without saying, but I will always be 110% here for anything you do.

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In the words of my favorite 90s hit, “two enthusiastic thumbs up!” Yes, yes, yes to the fake married trope. I am living for this!
The almost marriage to Ryan - oh god, was not expecting that. I love how you’re using everyone in so many different roles in this. It adds a fun little twist to just about every mention of another supporting character.
Your use of “it’s a date,” was perfect. The tone was so different, but so great for this story.
I love this Pam, she’s got that fancy new Beesly sass in droves! It’s probably my favorite thing about this story.
As always, I can’t wait to read more!

Author's Response:

I will always accept a Clueless quote!

I don’t know what it is with the Ryan thing but like.... I can’t stop throwing him into these roles now? I’m not even sorry about it. And I LOVE so much that you’re on board for the fake marriage trope. I worried it would seem to soap opera-y, so I’m really happy that it’s going over so well so far. I’m also glad to see this Pam is working too - she’s definitely different than Canon Pam because she’s seen some stuff, ya know?

Thank you so much for reading!