The Office: Vegas Vacation
Part 2
Two Weeks Later
The office was abuzz with activity. Well, as abuzz as the office normally got anyway. It was a Friday, the most blessed day of the week. The uncharacteristically cheerful vibe was no more than an anxiousness to get out of that place and into the free world, if only for a fleeting weekend. Most of them were counting down the hours until five o'clock, when they could leave their week behind. Five o'clock was still two hours away, so Pam was surprised when Jim stood, slung his leather bag over his shoulder, and walked to the coat rack.
"You leaving?" She remarked with no small amount of surprise.
He nodded, folding his jacket over his arm. "Yeah, I have some business to take care of."
"Oh... well, I was saving this for later, but..." she rummaged through the bottom desk drawer, smiling as she straightened a moment later and presented him with two slips of paper, "I know what a big fan you are of Dave Matthews, and I've just happened to snag two tickets for tonight's show at Montage Mountain."
Jim's jaw promptly dropped. "No. Way."
She grinned widely. "Yes, way!" She extended one of the tickets to him. "Wanna go with me?"
Of course! His insides screamed, telling him to take the damn ticket. His fingers burned to reach out for it... but he stopped himself, reminded of his responsibility.
With a sigh, he shook his head. "I can't tonight, Pam."
Her face fell, visibly disappointed. "Oh... you already have plans?"
"Something like that. It's not that I don't want to-"
"-No. It's fine." She forced a smile, but it lacked all the warmth of her previous joy. "Have a good weekend, Jim." She whispered, though there was not the slightest kindness in her tone. It was an expression of politeness, and the following silence was thick with tension.
Jim hated the secrets. Hiding was killing him... but he was more afraid of what she would do if she knew. He knew that nothing could stay hidden forever; when the Vegas debacle finally came to light, he would have a lot to explain.
But he just needed time, and he was doing his best to use all he had. He craved the normalcy, begging it to remain as long as possible; he needed it to get his head around all that was going on.
Still, the hurt in Pam's eyes, and the sound of betrayal in her voice gave him plenty of food for thought as he drove home.
Pam
"I bought him tickets to Dave Matthews, and he can't go! What the hell! Everybody knows that if you get offered free tickets to Dave Matthews, you take it! God... what makes it worse is I told Kelly if Jim didn't go, I'd take her, so... yeah"
That was at three o'clock; now, it was near 7:30. She would arrive at any minute.
She... meaning Kelsey, of course.
She was driving back from Virginia Beach. She was probably tired, probably hungry, and probably a little upset.
And she would be moving in with him that night.
Jim spent the afternoon tidying up. He was a mostly tidy person anyway, but he wanted to make the best impression he could on Kelsey. So... counters were dusted, windows were washed, and he vacuumed more thoroughly than he ever had before.
Jim
"Yes... and it was interesting."
Oh, and he cleaned out the spare bedroom, which he'd been using for storage. Now, it was totally bare, but he knew that wouldn't last for long.
It would only be six months before a new one -boy or girl- came along with a need for that room.
Jim had very sweetly cleared out enough space in the closet to accommodate her clothing. He didn't know what they'd do about dresser space; they'd have to figure that one out later. He did invest in a new comforter for the bed, one a little more girl-friendly.
Girl-friendly... looking around his clearly masculine home, the comforter -a plain thing of simple blue material- was about the only thing even slightly feminine. Band posters hung on most of his walls; a large Fight Club banner was mounted behind his flat screen TV downstairs. A signed Phillies pennant hung in a glass frame in the entry way. Not a stitch of femininity could be found anywhere; even when he and Pam had been dating, his decorating had remained relatively untouched.
Then again, he and Pam never lived together.
He saw a shadow of headlights on the wall, and heard the sound of a car pulling up. Standing, he went to the door and looked out the window; sure enough, a silver Jetta had pulled into the driveway. Kelsey got out and popped the trunk. As she began to remove her luggage, Jim went outside.
"Hey." He said, walking towards her.
She looked at him and smiled. "Hey." She replied.
As she reached for her suitcase, he took gentle hold of her wrist. "Should you really be lifting?"
A smirk crossed her face. "Well, I put it into the car just fine."
"Well, how about you let me get this stuff? I'd just feel safer about you and... and..."
"The baby?" She finished, raising an eyebrow as she spoke.
He smiled awkwardly. "Well, yeah." He reached for the bag, but just before he grabbed it, he pulled her into a well-meant hug. "By the way, I'm glad to have you here."
Kelsey let him hold her, though she couldn't help but notice his affections were awkward, almost brotherly. Still, she gave him credit for trying. Smiling, she watched as he struggled with her monstrous suitcase, then grabbed the smaller bags for herself. After closing the trunk, Jim reached for her hand, and he held it tightly as he led her towards the house.
Or rather, their house.
To Jim's surprise, Kelsey had not brought as much stuff as he thought. Apparently, she'd sold or given away a lot to make the trip easier, but, "My parents are sending a few things to me, like books and such."
Books and such. He could deal with books and such.
What shocked him most was that she seemed to genuinely like the house. She explored, asking questions, smiling as he took her on a tour of what would be her home. As she looked around the bedroom, she couldn't help but smile. It was a thing Jim couldn't help but return.
Maybe, just maybe, they could do this. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so hard after all.
Jim
"Yeah, Kelsey moved in. I mean... I didn't really see what else there was to do. I want to be responsible for my actions, and with her being three hundred miles away... it would be hard on a kid, you know? And since she was out of a job, it was fairly easy for her to see the logic so... now it's just getting to know each other that... could get awkward."
Unpacking was fairly easy. As expected, Kelsey had a lot of clothes, even for a woman... but they managed to find a place for it all in the end. The shoes were a different situation entirely, and shoving them under the king-size bed would have to do for the time being. When it had all been done, Jim went downstairs to get a drink. When he returned, he found that Kelsey had left the master bedroom and walked to the spare room.
She lay in the middle of the floor, her eyes focused on the light that hung suspended from the ceiling. As he entered, he noticed her hand had absently begun to rub her abdomen, which had only slightly begun to round, and looked more like extra weight than a baby bump.
He would never say that to her, of course.
When she made no move to stand upon his entrance, he decided to join her. Without a word, Jim lay down next to her, shoulder to shoulder, and stared at the ceiling. He let a moment of silence ensue before speaking.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly.
She answered with a sigh. "The same thing I've been thinking about for the past three months; the baby."
"You scared?"
She didn't say a word, but from the corner of his eye, he saw her nod.
He also noticed that she began to cry.
Rolling on his side, Jim looked at her, genuinely concerned. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know... just scared I guess." She met his eyes. "I didn't think it would be this way."
He knew how that felt, and he reached out, touching her arm in an effort to comfort her. "I know... I didn't either. And as much as it may suck right now," she appeared stunned, but he defended his remark gently. "Let's not lie; it does. I remember our circumstances before Vegas. I was in love with someone else, as were you, and because of this, we've had to let go of the past. It sucks, it hurts... but it's going to be worth it. This baby will be the most loved baby in the world. I promise you that."
She offered him a small smile. "Thanks, Jim."
"You're welcome." He put his arm around her and let her head rest on his shoulder. "And it's all right that you're scared... because I am too."
On Monday morning, Jim awoke to the most delicious smell in the world: fresh-brewed coffee, eggs, toast, and chocolate-chip pancakes. With a smile, he rose from the couch -because sharing a house didn't necessarily merit sharing a bed, and he was gentleman enough to not make more uncomfortable a thoroughly awkward circumstance- and walked into the kitchen. To his joy, Kelsey stood in front of the stove, pouring syrup on the plated pancakes, then placing an egg and toast next to it. As she turned around, Jim noticed she was wearing one of his green long sleeved tee-shirts; it skimmed down her torso, reaching nearly as long as the boxers she wore.
Which, he recognized, were also his.
Kelsey felt his eyes studying her attire. With a sheepish grin, she let out a small laugh as she walked toward him, the plate in her hand. "I... just think they're comfy."
"Thank you," he said as he took the plate, then rifled through the silverware drawer for a fork and took a seat at the kitchen table. Kelsey sat in the seat across from him, and before he took a bite, Jim looked at her with a lifted eye brow. "So, men's clothes are comfy?"
The embarrassed expression still across her face, Kelsey offered a reply. "I just like the way they feel. Not men's clothes... just yours." She pressed her nose against the cuff of the shirt, sniffing it. "They smell good; they smell like you."
"Well, I have been known to smell good, I must say." Jim said, taking another bite of pancake. "This is really good, by the way."
She shrugged off his compliment, but a blush rushed to her cheeks. "It's the housewife in me... not that I'm a house wife or expecting to be a house wife," she rushed to correct herself. "I'm just... kind of a nurturer personality. If that makes sense... does that make sense?" She rested her chin in her hands. "I'm sorry, I know I'm rambling. Should I stop?"
"Well... I wouldn't call it rambling as much as talking yourself in circles." He said teasingly.
"Good thing I'm not insecure about it or I might take that personally."
As Jim lifted another forkful of pancake to his mouth, he asked, "Why aren't you eating?"
"Oh..." Her eyes dropped, focused on the tiled floor. "I just... can't eat in the morning."
He blinked. "Do you get morning sickness that badly?"
She straightened in her chair and met his eyes. "I mean, I feel fine today... it's just kind of like a lottery. Some days I feel fine, and some days," she shrugged, leaving the remainder of the sentence unsaid, finishing instead with, "I just find that I feel better if I don't eat until around noon."
"Well... as long as you're healthy. You are healthy, right?"
Kelsey smiled. "I'm healthy, Jim. Which reminds me, I have a doctor's appointment next Tuesday." She said as she stood and began to rinse off the pans she'd cooked in. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw the glint in her eye as she spoke. "He's going to try to sonogram the heartbeat and take a picture."
"Can he do that this early?" Jim asked as he finished his breakfast, and took the plate to the sink.
"Well, I'm about twelve weeks, and they can predict gender as early as fourteen, at some practices." Looking up at him, her smile grew wider. "I'd really like you there, if you could make it. It's pretty cool to see."
"Well, in that case, I'll be there. Now... do you need help with the dishes?" He asked.
She shot him a look. "It's almost 7:30 and you're not even showered! Go get ready for work; I can take care of this." She insisted, playfully elbowing him out of the way. When he began to protest, she took him by his arm and led him out of the kitchen. "Don't worry about it! You just worry about being on time for work, okay?"
He smiled down at her. "If you insist."
"Well, I do."
"Fine."
"Fine."
He stuck out his tongue at her. She stuck hers out too.
"You're such a child." He teased.
Her jaw dropped in mock offense. "You're such a child."
"Ah, actually, I'm older."
"Oh, by, like, six months. And you're still wasting time." She pointed towards the staircase. "Now get up those stairs and wash up or I will do it for you." The twinkle in her eye reflected her playfulness, even if her expression was stony.
"Fine, fine, I'm going!" Jim raised his hands in surrender and began to walk up the stairs. On the third one, he turned and said, "By the way, breakfast was delicious. Thank you."
The icy expression softened, and the true Kelsey came out again. "You're welcome."
Jim
"She's all moved in... which means that half of the race is run...
Pam was particularly cold to Jim when he entered the office, not responding to his cheerful, "Good morning", and throwing away the latte he bought for her on the way in. He'd expected as much, and went to his desk without another word.
That was how he remained the whole morning. He didn't say a word to a person he worked with; he didn't even torment Dwight (though it would have been easy to). Instead, he worked hard, knocking out three sales before lunchtime. It's a good thing he did, because it was at lunchtime that chaos struck.
Kelsey entered the office ten minutes after noon. Stopping at reception, she said, "I'm looking for Jim Halpert."
Perplexed, Pam silently pointed to Jim's desk, where he was on the phone. Kelsey smiled and walked over to him. When he saw her near, he froze.
Oh, God, no...
He hung up the phone, losing a sale, for certain... but he could have cared less at that moment.
"What are you doing here?" He asked softly.
She held out a brown bag to him. "You left your lunch at home. I just thought it'd be nice if I brought in. Give me a chance to meet the people you work with."
"Jim," Dwight began, staring hardly at the strange woman before him, "who is this woman?"
Kelsey turned and extended her hand with a smile. "I'm Kelsey Crane. You must be Dwight."
He ignored her hand. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I'll let you know after I do a background check." He scribbled her name on a piece of paper. "Kelsey Crane." He muttered, then looked up and said beneath his breath, "About 5'8", light brown hair, blue eyes... unnaturally tan skin. Possible sun-baker?" He scribbled down more information as Pam walked over.
Inwardly, Jim died a thousand deaths. Anything, anything but that...
"I'm sorry, who did you say you were?" She asked with faux kindness.
Kelsey was genuinely sweet as she turned to Pam. "Kelsey Crane. I just moved here."
"From where?"
"Virginia Beach."
"Virginia Beach." Dwight mumbled, writing it down in messy shorthand.
Pam's lips pursed together as she looked at Jim, who could only stare, totally shell-shocked as the tragedy -or comedy- unfolded around him.
"And how did you come to know Jim?"
Kelsey began to see that the good-natured grilling was, in fact, not so good-natured after all. Her defenses went up immediately, and she said, "I'm sorry, it seems I've introduced myself but you have yet to return the favor."
"Oh, really? Hm... well, I am Pam, Jim's girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Kelsey glared at Jim.
"Ex..." he offered meekly.
"Yes, girlfriend. And you are..."
She met Pam's eyes, and stated with an air of defiance, "Kelsey Crane, former model for Wave Riding Vehicles, Hotline Surf Company... and did I mention I'm Jim's wife?"
"Wife!" Pam exclaimed.
There was a moment of stunned, livid silence as both women -and Dwight- looked to Jim for an answer. His reply?
"...Ex..."
Jim
"In the words of Shakespeare... 'The shit hath hitteth the fan... eth'."