A/N: I did it. I reworked the piece to make the snow more plausible. Thanks for the constructive feedback! Hopefully this makes the story more believable. More constructive feedback is much appreciated. (curtsies) -S.

As always, I don't own Jim or Pam or anything related to The Office. Please don't sue me, you'd only get my dogs. (Who are rotten anyway.)

XX

Maybe it was the fire in his eyes that scared her. Maybe she was afraid of getting set a blazed by it. But that's the problem when you play with fire: you may get burned.

Right now his eyes were fixated on hers, drilling through her very being and leaving her exposed and vulnerable under his scrutiny. She was oddly self conscious at that moment, not really sure what to do with her hands. She settled with laying them awkwardly across her stomach; the seat belt biting into her shoulders as she did so. She knew he was right, she was just to terrified to admit it. To him or to herself.

Things were really, really bad. She knew it. Her fingers slid down her stomach to her thigh , wincing slightly as she felt the damp wetness that stuck to her fingers as she tried desperately to hide the acrid smell of blood that oozed through them.

Things were really, really bad.

XXXXX

"Pam, let's go!" Jim shouted up the stairwell. He was weighed down by two suitcases and a small duffel bag, all Pam's. He waited for some sort of sign that he was heard, but was met with only silence. Puffing with the strain of effort from the baggage, he kicked open the door leading from the stairs and into the setting sun and soft downfall of snowfall.

He juggled the heavy luggage, shifting it around until he could reach into his pocket to extract his car keys. He thumbed the automatic release and the trunk clicked open with a slight pop. He laughed at the ludicris amount of luggage she needed for 4 days.

He finally was able to finagle all the bags into the trunk and close it with frozen fingers. He stood there for a moment, cupping his hands around his mouth and warming his numb fingers with his warm breath. Finding that futile, he tucked them under his armpits and tried to warm them there.

"Pam. . ." he called under his breath, rocking on the balls of his feet. "It's colder than piss out here."

After a few more seconds, his resolve wore out and he decided to go back into the warmth and get her. As he was opening the door into the entryway a flash of curly hair bounded out of it and caught him around his waist, and pulling him off guard.

"Christ, Pam! You scared the shit out of me!" He gasped into her giggling hair. He wrapped his arms around her and used her to straighten himself.

"Oh please, you big girl." She laughed, standing on her tippy toes to plant a kiss on his nose. He felt a shiver go up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Are you ready for this?" He pulled her toward the direction of his car, softly covered with fresh snow.

"Yes. I think so. Yes. Maybe. " He face played over a serious of emotions, trying to set on an answer. "Yes." She managed with a little more confidence.

Jim loved the way she looked when she smiled; so warm and beautiful. Her smile made a grin creep into his features.

"Okay, Miss Fancy Art School graduate. . ." he chuckled as he took her by the hand and led her through the snow to the warm car. She snuggled into the front passenger seat that he held open for her and her eyes trailed his long figure as he made his way to the drivers side.

She had been a mess of emotions since that morning: they were leaving for New York that night, deciding to head up on Friday to give themselves a couple days to enjoy the city before she was meeting with a few potential firms for jobs on Monday.

As excited as she was about the program, the idea of being away from Jim was torturous. She had been horribly spoiled the last year by being able to have constant access to Jim, that the three months she had spent without him had been hard. The idea working without him seemed dreadful, and living in a city without him almost unbearable.

She reached for Jim's hand and intertwined her fingers with his long ones. As bittersweet her feelings were at that moment; she was happy. She was happy that she was with Jim, she was happy about the prospect of finding a new job, she was happy with her life.

"Things had never been so perfect," she sighed as she softly laid her head on his strong shoulder and watched the snow danced in the darken night as they pulled out onto the open road, heading to New York.