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Well I'm sorry to see Dwight go, and before they get to visit Schrute Farms - although we did get to revisit much of the dialogue from the episode in which they did - good fun there.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I was a little surprised to see Pam tell Gould Jim was being distracting - being military and all - would she risk him losing leave or having to drop and give 50 - but I quickly saw there was no risk, she knew who she worked for.

The items from Booze Cruise cleverly snuck into this chapter did not go unnoticed. As did the Princess Bride line although we are years ahead of that movie's existence.

While not moving the plot much more than Losing Dwight, this chapter was still delightful.

I enjoyed the talk of mythology, the stars and the Sugar Moon name origin.

The picture of the intimacy was the perfect amount and I adored the final line.

I believe you mentioned there was set up for the future here so looking forward to what that is.

I guess I was wrong  - not finished with Silver Wings before knowing the next POTUS - even though I doubt we'll have an answer tonight, I also doubt I will get to read another 13 chaps before we do. In any case I'll be enjoying this fic for a few more weeks it seems and looking forward to it.

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Enjoying this story more and more. Love how you are tangling the show dialogue into the story in interesting ways and restructuring full on scenes. Fun stuff.

I do enjoy the deeper look at the Jim and Mark (Griff's) friendship.

I will say I do not like Helene but I'm pretty sure that is intended and you have plans for this storyline and I'm intrigued to see where it goes.this new twist on her makes for some tension to be resolved which I do like.

I notice some foreshadowing. Looking forward to the payoffs later whatever they may be.

Author's Response:

Thank you as always for your kind and thoughtful reviews. I'm having a lot of fun putting in canon lines but in new ways with this one. Glad you like it. Jim and Griff are likewise great fun to play with. You'll see more of that bond as you keep reading. Yes, there is a point to why I'm writing Helene the way I am. Glad you're still enjoying this one. 

Always love Pam's letters. They have such clever details like the chaperone being so holier than thou to not allow writing on the Sabbath, her own secret soldier she writes to but mostly Pam's inability to keep an indoor plant alive and the new ones every week. PLus the mention of the typing. Not sure if there was meaning to the batting averages -do fill us in if there was.

Little twist on the Beesly divorce - making the Dad more sympathetic in this tale.

Of course the rest of the chapter with the G-Man (named ed truck of course) posing as reporter and the plans to nail Danny Cordray starting to take shape and that Pam want him to know its her and the ladies is all very entertaining. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out - of course I know we'll be going back to the boys first and looking forward to that too.

Author's Response: Glad you caught all the details in Pam's letter. No real meaning behind the baseball stats. In my research of wartime letter writing civilians and family members were encouraged to include seemingly ordinary details about everyday life to those they were writing to. Thus the inclusion of some stats. 

Thanks for the nod about the Beesly parents divorce. We didn't get a whole lot of information about it in canon directly from William or Helene. A lot of what we got was filtered through Pam or after the fact at Jim and Pam's wedding where Helene was understandably a bit miffed about everything. So I figure there's room for some latitude. 

Yup, Ed Truck shows up. I needed another male figure from canon who wouldn't be overseas and he seemed to fit the bill. It'll be a lot of fun to see how it all plays out. Thanks as always for your constant support of this story.

Ok Warrior I am loving this story - for lots of reasons...lets go bit by bit...

I grew up very close to Mitchell Field. I don't even know the history of it so you did your research - and all the references - you are military or ex-military? Of really good at delving into research for your story?

Enjoy this moment,” he whispered. “Because you’re never going to go back to a time before you met our squad-mate Dwight.” How you brought all the little references and pranks into the story her - just delightful.

I can See Pam being affected by the newsreels - (sidenote to you if you can you might enjoy the Plot Against America -HBO miniseries based on Norman Roth book - 1st few episodes slower but gets good at end).

Swing dancing - such a nice scene him teaching her to dance and I can just hear the big bands playing. Plus the line - Because the lady is always right, that’s why.

I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting so just know it was all great.

Can't wait to go to the beach.

So glad I finally decided to dive into this one.

I will have to add the rest of my jellybeans later now that I know I only have 5 to dole out.

PS - wow I thought for sure you had made the elevator out a nod to BBT with the name and all - serendipitous coincidence I guess.

Author's Response:

Glad you're liking things thus far. That's fun about Mitchell Field. I just got my info about it off Wikipediea. It was a WWII military base near NYC so it fit for the story I had planned. I'm not military or ex-military. However aviation and military history have long been hobbies of mine so it's fun to indulge them a bit with this story.

As AU as this story is, I feel it's important to keep it grounded to the characters, lines, and situations from The Office. I'm sure you'll catch more things like that as we go on. I'll have to look into that miniseries.

The swing dancing was fun. Especially because back when I was in paramedic school, after class I'd meet my girlfriend (now wife) and we'd go swing dancing. Those were some of the cues they used to teach us.

Can't wait to hear what you think of the trip to Coney Island. Thanks again. 

It was time for me to jump in on this one. ive got a lot of catching up to do but if you can find time to read and review all you do in between saving people's lives and delivering your own child then I can commit to a chapter a night and maybe caught up by the time we know who will be president.

Ok first impression, well written and would expect nothing less from you. I'm picturing Top Gun, mixed with Call of Duty (yes I picked up on the Stamford call name and of course Jim is Jester) mixed with A French Village as I read.

Pam on the cockpit dash. I would have like more of her but I know it's the set up and leave them wanting more applies here. So much that I'm on to the next chapter already.

Author's Response: Glad to have you hear. Honestly I didn't even remember Jester from Top Gun for that one. It was more along the lines of Jim is a prankster, thus a Jester and it sounds good. Also the Cooper call sign is a shout out one of the restaurants in Scranton the characters sometimes mentioned.

Glad the set up chapter worked well for you. I remember having a lot of fun writing those chapters so I'm glad you enjoyed them too. 

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im going deep diving but I'm having loads of fun doing it especially stumbling on this one

The picture you painted of the family watching the game is just adorable with the rivalry and the innocence and the love.

And all the references in the story - bonus fun. now I know them from Office Ladies but they must have been from other sources and I'm sure I missed some since I only became an Office Fan in 2020. GBBS and bread, watching the game Pam and Phyllis in their trailer, 13 hours all made this playful yarn even more fun. I did have to look up the Gloria reference but that when I did I smiled again.

Personal note : not much of a hockey fan anymore but did live on LI during the islanders heyday and the parades used to go right down my street - I lived near the collsium where they played (I'm a bit older than most around here, in age but not spirit) so once again your story brought up some old memories. So thanks again.

Author's Response:

Thanks for looking into this one too Maxine. The other big real world references here was that John and Jenna had a bit of a Twitter war going back and forth during the Stanley Cup finals that year. I used a lot of their tweets as dialoge between Jim and Pam. Mainly in the "Stanley's going home with Pam tonight" and "So that's how you want to play this Beesly?" So that was fun. All the other references were just fun things I put in as a laugh. 

I only watched Game 7 that year, took notes of things, and then wrote this story the next day. It was fun. Thanks for taking the time to review. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.

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Another wonderful story.
Mr. Rogers was a part of my childhood so it was a trip down memory lane for me too. One that reminded me of the 7 year old who answered a call for her father from a Mr ROGERS (a common name after all) and could not contain her excitement that Mr. Rogers was on the phone for her dad.

Pam is a wise and resourceful mom. Jim rocks too for relieving her from dinner duties. And you rock too for being one of the helpers you mention in your story.

Author's Response: Thanks. It was fun to bring this one to life. I remember I'd had a few rough shifts at work and somehow the YouTube rabbit hole led me to that quote from Mr. Rogers. It helped. The great thing about writing is it can help us all in so many ways and I wanted to share some of that with the community here at MTT. Glad you liked it.

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JENNA BENNETT - this holiday fic was a delight!

It has everything I love in a story
-a spunky new character we never met before
-ensemble snark and shenanigans that was spot on
-a glimpse at the future with a confident and self-actualized Pam
-Jim mayhem and Jim mush (plus the added bonus of his mini-me in on the mayhem)
-parent perspective - (I have such a soft spot for Jim's mom knowing what it's like to raise boys)
-Roy bashing
and a happy ending.

I do love the Anna character - she's a spitfire.

I just love the way you weave your stories. Your vision is so much what I see in them and for them and you tell it so well.

Note to self -must read more from Jenna Bennett.

Thanks for this!

Happy Holidays!

Oh and the note about tense - I feel you!

what I really am enjoying (maybe not the best word since there is so much darkness and sadness in the Now) is the role Jim is taking on with Pete. But him being a father-like or at least big-brother like figure to Pete is a touching. Likewise for the way Pam and Erin are -I always wished they'd leaned into that a bit more on the show.

All the rest is so well written that I can hear the gravel in Mac's voice, the scruff of his look, the slowness of his movements.

It's so understandable the way Pete is feeling, but Jim is right -anything to protect his family. What a world you've put them in. Dark and ominous but what a great read so far.

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Oooooh. I'm usually much more wordy but in the interest of getting into more reading I'll try to be brief. So good. I've got goosebumps envisioning the world. Sad Dwight not here (although hi spirit seems to be and that is almost as satisfying). Pete and Erin. Love that they are here as I always saw them as the simpler, younger version of Jam. Emphasis on the simpler but you've already taken advantage of the older wiser mentor relationship I see for them. I do see the shades of a quiet place. I'm hooked and ready for more.

Author's Response: Thank you, Max! I'm so happy you are enjoying it so much. Thanks for taking the time to read and review! :)

Finished this a few days ago and hadn't had a chance to leave a review until now (in the small chance you are still seeing these).

I really appreciated how you wrapped this one up - with Pam strong in her need to be independent and be with Jim, them coming back to visit with the old couple with the parallel story, and the repeated line of Katy of course with a different answer.

Again, we think very alike as I have some parallels of my own in stories I had written long before I ever read this... including a mention of pivoting (guess we both watch Friends).

Anyway wanted to share with you my enjoyment of this story and if you are out there reading this...maybe consider dropping by with some new stuff. Meantime I'll be sure to check out some of your other stories.

Author's Response: Hi! Yes, I am reading your reviews! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review. I'm so glad people are still finding these and hopefully enjoying them. I don't see myself writing any more for "The Office," but if you go over to fanfiction.net and look me up under this same screen name, you'll find lots of other fandoms I've written for. I'd love for you to check them out. In the meantime, again, very cool that you are reading. 

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So I know Jim's nickname for her is Moneypenny but I feel a better one for her here is Pennywise - you've written her to be quite so.

I enjoyed this exchange:

“It was the bittersweet kind,” he said, his voice smooth and deep, like dark chocolate.

“Not my favorite,” she said, trying lamely for a hint of levity. She sensed his smile.

“Oh, I know. Good old Hershey’s for you, Beesly.”

“I don’t like the bitter with my sweet.”

“Sometimes,” he said thoughtfully, “it’s worth it, just to have a taste. Better than nothing at all.”

And Dwight - yup you wrote him well.

Looking forward to seeing how you bring this baby in.

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I have a thing about fics that have them
drinking hot cocoa made with milk (love that detail). And about fics at DM without everyone else around. Bless Pam’s kind heart for making Jim stop. Also loving that she knows to call Jim when her car won’t start (He’d no doubt be there in a flash). Great set up to force them alone together in the place where they fell in love to get her to truly see how she really loves (at least I hope where this is going). Looking forward to how it all goes down.