DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Office – unfortunately.
Okay, so this is a new story I've decided to work on. Jim and Pam…childhood friends, growing up, and then a story of when they are teenagers. I'm still working the details out, but here's the first chapter. Hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think.
A pretty woman sat at a small round table in a crowded café, one hot summer day. Her round stomach kept her a slight distance from the table and she patted her forehead wearily with a damp napkin.
"Do you mind?" Another woman had appeared, and was gesturing to the chair opposite the first woman. "I'm sorry, it's just so crowded and I can't really be on my feet too long." She laughed and patted her own pregnant belly.
"Oh, of course not!" The second woman gratefully sat down and reached her hand out over the table.
"Charlotte Beesly." She said, tucking an auburn curl of hair behind her ear.
"Lucy Halpert." They shook hands.
"How far are you?" Charlotte asked politely. Lucy let out a big sigh.
"Around 26 or so. You?"
"Almost the same – I'm 24 weeks." Charlotte said, touching her belly lightly.
"Isn't it just terrible, in this heat?"
"Oh, yes. Our house is just an iceblock these days, I can't bear the heat. My husband has to wear a coat inside; I make him turn the air conditioner up so high!" They both laughed.
"It'll all be worth it in the end, though."
"Hmm, I can't wait. Are expecting a boy or girl, do you know?"
"Well, we decided not to find out. We want to be surprised, but my husband just seems to be sure it's a boy." Lucy admitted.
"We want to be surprised to." The woman smiled at each other.
"Do you know what you want to order, ladies?" A waiter appeared by their side.
"Oh, um...lobster with peanut butter, please." They said sheepishly at the exact same time. They looked surprised at each other and burst out laughing. Their friendship was sealed.
Bonding over their same cravings – lobster and peanut butter – the 2 women's friendship grew. They sat on their verandas, eating cherry tomatoes and slim wands of celery, complaining about their swollen feet and sharing names.
"For a boy, I like James or Matthew. But for a girl, I like Sarah or Chloe, and were still debating over Ella and Rose." Lucy said.
"Oh, I like James! James Halpert, what a great sounding name. And Sarah is quite sweet. I like Luke, Noah or Xavier for a boy and Alexa or Pamela."
"Pamela Beesly. That's nice. So is Noah."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Char, I swear, these kids are going to be the best of friends." Charlotte nodded contently and looked at the afternoon sun, setting over the ocean.
"Yeah." She said dreamily. "Definitely." They sat peacefully for a moment or so and then –
"Oh!" Lucy sat straight up fast, clutching her stomach.
"Lucy?" Charlotte straightened up too, and looked at her friend in concern.
"Oh! Ouch! Ouch, Char…Char…I think the baby's coming!" She gasped, breathing hard.
"Lucy! Oh my…I'll…I'll get Michael!" Charlotte cried, calling for Michael Halpert. Se grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed it.
"Oh…oh, okay. Lucy, breathe! Just breathe Lucy! C'mon you can do it, quick let's get you to the car!" Charlotte almost shouted in her panic. Michael burst out of the house and the next thing Charlotte knew, they were at the hospital, racing down the hallway, Lucy crying out in pain. 10 hours, 2 minutes and 48 seconds later, at 2:02am, James Peter Halpert was born. And exactly 2 weeks later, at 4:01am, Pamela Morgan Beesly was born. The tiny bundles of joy were just destined to be together, everyone kidded, as the 2 lay beside each other in the nursery. For months after, the 2 proud mothers watched their babies roll around on the grass, playing with their feet and sucking on pacifiers and sweet, small strawberries. Fall followed, and the green leaves of the trees turned warm reds and bronzes, and fluttered delicately to the ground. Jim and Pam, Jam, as they had affectionately been nicknamed, were just beginning to crawl and crept around in piles of colourful leaves.
"Ugh, when will it end?" Lucy groaned, bouncing a screaming Jim on her hips.
"Never. What have we done to deserve this?" Charlotte complained, walking Pam around the kitchen, patting her back soothingly as she sobbed. The babies were toothing and Lucy and Charlotte found that they cried less (just barely, but less) when they were together.
"Look, look, Jim, its Pam! Say hi to Pam!" Lucy offered desperately. Jim's screams turned to whimpers as he watched a sniffling Pam over his mother's shoulder.
"That's it! Watch, look at Jimmy, Pam." Charlotte said relaxingly.
"Yes, look at each other and please, please be quiet." They laughed wearily. After several long, exhausting weeks, a couple of little white teeth shot up and Jim and Pam proudly smacked their gums, showing off their new teeth to anyone passing by.
"They weren't so cute when those teeth were growing." Charlotte said lovingly.
"Oh, just wait for the terrible twos." Lucy sighed, but smiled.
"Anyway, at least they have each other."
"I'm sure that lessens the blow…for them." They both laughed.
Lucy rushed around her house, searching for Jim and Pam, who was spending the night there, while Charlotte and Christopher Beesly were out of town. Both Jim and Pam had learnt to walk a little, and since then, they'd been almost impossible to handle. It was a dark night, and buckets of rain were pouring outside.
"Michael!" Lucy cried over a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning. "I've lost Jim and Pam!" She said, near to tears.
"Calm down, honey, they have to be here somewhere. Where were they before you realized they were missing?"
"Um…in the living room, watching Babar."
"Okay, I'll look upstairs; you stay here and keep looking." He strode up the stairs quickly leaving Lucy fretfully searching. She looked around the couch and in the kitchen cabinets. She was looking behind the TV when she heard laughter.
"Luce, come up here." Michael appeared at the top of the stairs. "I found 'em." Lucy hurried up the stairs and followed Michael into their room.
"Where? Where?" Lucy cried. Her husband walked to their bed and lifted the covers.
"Look. Under the bed." Lucy got down on her knees and peered under the bed. A smile spread over her face and she clapped a hand to her mouth.
"Oh, how sweet! They look so peaceful!" And there, under the bed, safe and protected from the howling wind and pouring rain, were Jim and Pam, tucked under a blanket. Pam was clutching a small plush elephant that Lucy recognized as Jim's. How sweet they looked, huddled together in their footie pyjamas, dark eyelashes against their plump cheeks, their stomachs rising and falling. Lucy stroked Jim's tousled caramel-coloured hair and ran her hand through Pam's auburn curls. She looked just like her mother.
"Should we put them in their own beds?" She wondered aloud.
"Nah let them sleep." Michael said, putting his arm around his wife. "Let them sleep."
So, what'd you think? I can't wait to write more, this chapter was really fun. Please review, it would mean a lot to me. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! xx