Jim's cell phone was ringing. He was in the backyard with Phil tossing the football back and forth while simultaneously grilling burgers (and hotdogs for the picky kids) for dinner. It was a gorgeous summer evening and Pam was inside with the girls getting the rest of the food ready. Phillip hurled the ball at his dad, who was reaching into his pocket trying to find his phone. The ball landed at Jim's feet with a disappointing thud.
"Daaaad!" Phil whined. "Come on, you missed it!"
"Hang on a sec, kiddo. I gotta take this," Jim said, smiling at the screen.
"Is it your work again?" asked Phil. Jim's company, Athleap, was growing bigger every day, and he was taking on a lot of new challenges.
"Nope," Jim replied. "Not work. An old friend."
"There's my favorite boys!" Pam smiled when she saw Jim and Phil coming in through the back door. "Phil, go help your little sister wash up for dinner. And tell Cece to get off the computer, its time for dinner."
"Sure thing Mom!" Phil said as he took Amelia by the hand and led her up the stairs.
"Hey, pretty girl," Jim said as he snuck his arm around Pam's waist and kissed the top of her head. "Smells good in here."
"Thanks, Halpert," she winked at him. "How's the grill?"
"Um...good. Great," Jim stuttered. Pam narrowed her eyes.
"Please tell me you didn't forget."
"No...well, yeah, but I have a reason. One sec!" Jim yelled as he ran out to the deck. He returned a few moments later with a platter of burgers and hot dogs. "Good news, only a couple dogs were burned. We can give those to Chase right?" Chase was the family's beloved golden retriever.
Pam smirked. "I guess we can spare a few dogs for the dog." She laughed. "So why were you so distracted out there, huh?" Pam asked as she began to set plates and glasses on the table. Phil and Amelia liked to set the utensils.
"I got an important phone call," Jim said. "What are you doing Labor Day weekend?"
Pam paused with a plate in her hand. She looked at Jim and laughed. "I feel like I should be asking you what you have planned," she said.
"Wanna go to Colorado?" Jim asked excitedly.
"Colorado? Why Colorado?" Pam asked. "Who called you?"
"Why, the one and only Michael Scott," Jim replied with a grin.
The kids were pretty much bouncing off the walls ever since Pam and Jim broke the news of a mini-vacation to Boulder in a few weeks. Cece and Phil hadn't seen Michael and Holly since they were toddlers, and little Amelia hadn't met them at all, but the excitement of her older siblings had driven her into a frenzy. Michael and Holly were expecting their fourth (fourth!) child, and had asked Jim and Pam to be the godparents. They were flattered, of course, but couldn't help feeling a little bad that they had never asked either of them to be godparents to Cece, Phillip or Mel (although at the time they had their reasons-Cece was pre-Holly and Phil and Mel arrived after they had moved to Colorado). Jim also couldn't believe that Michael managed to have four kids in only four and half years while he and Pam had had only three in six years. But Michael and Holly were a bit older than he and Pam, and Michael had been pining for a family since the day Jim met him, so he understood. He understood so well. He never thought he would be such a family man. But just looking around the dinner table at his beautiful wife and children, he knew that there was nothing else he wanted more. Jim gazed at Pam and remembered everything they had gone through to get to this point-the years of flirting, dating other people, pranking Dwight, hiding their feelings; to that first date that changed his life, the early days of their relationship, Pam's months away in New York...and the bigger things: their engagement, finding out about Cece, the wedding, the honeymoon (FRANK AND BEANS!), raising their little girl, and then adding Phillip a few years later. Dunder Mifflin shenanigans and Jim's time in Philly starting Athlead, and those awful, confusing months apart. Then making the big move down to Austin, getting started again with Athleap, Pam's stressful job hunt (and ultimately successful art-gallery co-owner), and finding out about Amelia nearly immediately after that. None of his three children had been planned for, but Amelia was definitely not. He and Pam had agreed that they were happy with two kids. Fate just had to step in. But Jim was so glad that it had. While Phil was their little man and Cece was a daddy's girl, little Amelia Morgan was Pam's mini-me. She did everything with her momma. The two were attached at the hip. But Jim didn't think Pam minded much. Phil was three when Mel was born, and Pam had missed having a little baby to cuddle and kiss, and especially another little girl baby to dress up and put bows in her hair. And now that Mel was getting close to the terrible two's, he knew Pam was cherishing all the precious moments spent with her last (yes, definitely her last) little baby. Jim was pretty positive seeing Michael and Holly's brand newborn was going to throw her into another baby frenzy, but luckily he had gotten that taken care of as soon as Pam hit the 6 month mark with Amelia. With Pam, Cecilia, Phillip, and Amelia, along with Chase the dog, an assortment of fish, and Chuckles the hamster, their little family was complete. And despite himself, he was getting just as excited as the kids at the prospect of seeing his old boss again.