Chapter One

"I'm sorry, what was the question?"

Following Jim's interruption, the camera crew very quickly realised that Pam's mind was elsewhere, and started packing up for the day. As Pam made her way back to her desk, she noticed that most of the office, or that Jim, had already left for the day. Puzzled about what that meant for the rest of the evening, she went behind her desk to gather her things, and she found a note attached to her keyboard,

Pick you up at 7. Cant wait, Jim x.

Pam picked up the note, and smiling to herself, slid it into her pocket as she made her way towards her car. The drive home consisted mostly of Pam's thoughts flashing from Jim's face as she said what she said at the beach, his face as he asked her to dinner tonight, and then always back to Karen, what about her? What about New York? As Pam arrived back at her apartment, she tried her best to distance these thoughts from her head, and instead focus on tonight. Pleased to finally have an excuse to wear those new online shopping clothes, she quickly showered and dressed, all the while breathing deeply, whispering to herself, Relax! Its dinner with an old friend, your best friend. This shouldn't feel like such a big deal.

After what felt like forever, and also somehow felt far too quick, her doorbell rang. As she opened her door and saw Jim standing there smiling, all thoughts of nerves and what if's immediately evaporated. She returned his smile with a hello and a hug, and invited him inside.

"So Beesly, you hungry?" Jim asked.

"Starved!" Pam nodded, grabbed her purse and led the way out her front door. As they got in Jim's car, Pam was relieved to find how quickly they seemed to revert to the old friends they once were, laughing and joking about nothing and everything on the way to the restaurant. Her questions about Karen, and what exactly this dinner meant now seemed irrelevant, as she marvelled in how natural and relaxed things seemed between them. This normalcy continued throughout dinner, until their plates were cleared, and Jim cleared his throat.

"So, elephant in the room, I think we have some stuff to talk about," he started nervously. Pam looked up at him and smiling agreed, "Yeah I think we do."

Feeling a little more relaxed, Jim started again. "Firstly, I want you to know that I withdrew from consideration for the job in New York. I just..", he paused, "...it just wasn't what I wanted. David asked me where I saw myself in ten years, and I realised I didn't see myself in New York, or at least," he looked down, hesitant to finish his sentence, "..at least not with Karen." He finished quietly.

Pam didn't say anything, she wasn't sure exactly how to respond, so she simply looked up at him waiting for him to continue. "Pam, I know its a lot, but after what you said at the beach, I began to start thinking things I haven't let myself think in a long time, and I have to know, if perhaps you think we could maybe...if you wanted to talk about..."

"I'd love that." Pam cut him off smiling, and reaching across the table, held his hand in hers. Jim returned her smile eagerly, brushing him thumb over her knuckles.

At this point Jim looked up, and slightly embarrassingly realised they were the only customers left in the restaurant, and it was decidedly later than he thought. "I think we've let time get away from us a bit!" He laughed, Pam nodded, agreeing, "Time to get out of here," As they stood up however, Jim instantly felt a pang as her hand left his, and he eagerly reclaimed it as they walked towards the door.

Far to soon, they were approaching Pam's front door step. As they reached her apartment, she turned to Jim. "Thankyou so much for dinner Jim, it was beautiful," She said as she looked right into his eyes in a way she hadn't allowed herself too since that night so long ago. "I am so so pleased we are finally on the same page," she glanced down at their hands still intertwined as she continued, "but I really don't think we should rush things." She looked at her feet as she said the rest, nervous about Jim's reaction. "I have wanted to be honest with you all year, since you've been back in Scranton I have imagined being here so many times, and now that we are, I really don't want to mess it up." She braved a glance at Jim, who was listening intently to what she was saying, but definitely had a look of apprehension and, was that disappointment she could see? So she hurried to reassure him, "I just mean, this morning you woke up in New York with Karen, and I think it would be foolish for us to go too far tonight. We've waited this long, I really want it to be perfect." She finished, looking at Jim, gauging how he would react. He smiled, knowing she wasn't talking about sex, but about all of it. Jim leaned in, and kissing her on the cheek whispered, "We have the rest of our lives Beesly, there's no rush at all," as he turned to stand back up straight his nose touched hers, and as their eyes met, the intensity of that moment caught them both completely off guard. Neither of them were quite sure how long they stood like that, eyes locked, so close they could feel the other breathing, until Pam leant in and gently touched her lips to his. The kiss was simple, gentle, and although fairly tame, both new it was only the beginning.

Jim stepped away, and smiling said, "I guess Ill see you tomorrow then Pam,"

Breathing heavily, Pam responded with a grin, "See you then" as she turned and went inside.