DISCLAIMER: I, shockingly, don't own this.

Okay, I'm very sorry for the fuck up with the first story post. Things got messed up when I tried to add something at the end and I somehow deleted that story. So I had to re-post it, with an add on at the ending of Ch One, so check that out if you haven't. Here's Ch Two!

Jim and Pam were back to themselves.

Since he'd broken up with Karen, Jim and Pam had spent a lot of their time talking, laughing, and even pulling a few pranks on Dwight.

Pam still hadn't told Jim how she felt though. Jim had just gone through a breakup, was still going through it, since Karen was still working there, and that wouldn't be right. Pam wanted Jim to feel safe with her. She wanted him to know that he could trust her with his heart again and not be hurt, not have her smash it to pieces like she had before. She wanted him to love her and trust her again.

Neither Jim nor Karen had told anyone that they'd broken up.

Karen wanted to avoid the office drama. And Jim… didn't real care either way.

Everybody had to go on sales calls and were paired in groups of two's. Jim and Dwight. Andy and Michael. Phyllis and Karen. And Stanley and Ryan.

When Jim got back, Pam told him about the very interesting day with Angela she'd just had.

"No, I'm totally serious…" Pam leaned in over her desk up to Jim and whispered, "I think that Angela and Dwight are… you know?"

"Getting it on." Jim finished.

"Ew!" Pam shook off the gross thought. "Don't say that!"

Jim almost broke out into laughter. He'd felt so alive since he'd started hanging out with Pam again. Like he used to feel. At Stamford he'd been okay, but everything felt so… lifeless to him. "Didn't we have this conversation a year ago?"

Pam laughed. "Yeah. We did. It makes sense though. I mean, they're almost exactly same."

Jim smiled widely down at Pam. "It's entirely possible, Beesly. But, how do you think that that would work exactly? Do you think they butt their heads or rub their backs up against each other or something?"

Pam laughed. And Jim laughed along with her.

They were so preoccupied that they hadn't even noticed that Karen had walked in, straightening her hair from the makeover Phyllis had made her get. She scowled.

Karen then walked up to Jim and interrupted him and Pam. "Hey."

Suddenly the air became so thick and tense that Jim and Pam's smiles dropped from their faces.

Jim let out an awkward, nervous breath of, "Hi."

Karen shot a glance in Pam's direction, making her direct her attention back to her computer.

Karen then looked back to Jim. "I need to talk to you."

Jim cleared his throat. "Um, okay."

Karen walked into the break room and Jim followed, closing the door behind them, as Karen leaned on the vending machine. She then turned around, pissed.

Jim swallowed nervously. "What's this about?"

"Phyllis told me about your little crush on the receptionist." Karen sneered.

"Karen…" Jim started.

But was quickly cut off by Karen. "Is that why you broke up with me?" she asked harshly. "So you could make a go for her?"

Jim almost stuttered. "Um… I… I don't…"

"Because I don't get. I mean, no offense to Pam, but, she's pale, frumpy, kinda dull, and…"

"That's enough!" Jim was suddenly angry. "Look, I'm really sorry for… everything. But, don't you dare attack Pam, okay. Pam is the most kind, warm, loving, amazing person and she doesn't deser…"

"Oh my God." Karen suddenly saw it. "You're in love with her." She was almost disgusted by it. "And you were just… using me to get to her."

Jim's anger dissipated, and he felt guilty again. "No… I… I already told Pam how I felt, before I left for Stamford and she didn't feel the same way. But, you're right. I was using you. And I know that was wrong, okay, I know that. That's why I ended it. I really am sorry, Karen."

"'Sorry' isn't good enough." Karen stepped up close to Jim, seething. "I moved to this shithole for you."

Jim bowed his head. "I know."

"You're so pathetic." Karen spat. "How do you live with yourself? She's never gonna feel the same way about you, ya know. If she didn't before, then she never will. You're gonna be stuck in this little friendship thing, forever. Pam's gonna be with a lot of guys and you're just gonna be her friend standing on the sidelines. And you're never gonna be anything more to her than that. Then, you'll know that you gave up the best thing that ever happened to you, for nothing!" Karen's words sprayed out of her mouth like venom. She then snorted at Jim, sickened by his presence, and left the break room.

Jim was just completely silent, still staring at the floor, letting Karen's words slice away at every ounce of his heart and soul. She was right. He knew she was right. About most of it anyway. Nothing had changed. He still loved Pam. And he was still just a friend to her. What was he doing? Why was he letting Pam do this to him again? Why was he letting her touch him so deeply again? What was wrong with him? Did he have a suicide wish? Was he really not going to be satisfied until she destroyed him so completely that he just wanted to die? Why couldn't he just let her go? Why couldn't he move on? Why couldn't he stop loving her? Karen was right. Nothing had ever or would ever change between them. Pam would never love him. And he felt like a complete idiot for letting himself hope that she would, again.

Jim could feel tears coming to his eyes, but he didn't care enough to wipe them away.

When Karen stormed out, Pam quickly rushed into the break room to check on Jim, carefully entering. "What was that abou…" she stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Jim staring at the floor, upset. "Jim."

Jim, without really even thinking, jerked his head up at his name coming from Pam. He saw her and then instantly regretted it for letting her see him like this.

Pam walked up to Jim, very worried. "Are you okay?"

Jim looked back down, trying to hide his tears. "I'm fine."

Pam's heart broke. She quickly pulled Jim into a hug. "It's okay."

Jim wanted to hug Pam back. But he hesitated, not wanting to allow himself to fall back into her again. He couldn't help it though. She was so warm and comforting that he didn't even care that it was all just a lie. He just wrapped his arms around Pam, holding her tightly, soaking up every bit of her embrace.

Pam whispered to Jim. "It's gonna be okay." She held Jim tightly, clutching him close to her body, feeling almost protective of him, weirdly, like a mother. Pam was so furious at Karen for whatever she'd said to make Jim so upset. The only time she'd ever seen him like this was on Casino Night. And she was the cause of that, and she hated herself for doing that to him. Now, she hated Karen too.

Karen had absolutely no idea what she'd done. Pam had always tried to be civil and sympathetic to people. Anyone. No matter who they were. She couldn't do that now though. She couldn't find that part of herself.

Karen had officially made an enemy out of Pam.

I really hope you liked this one! I worked very hard on trying to make Karen sound not too over-the-top with her little rant. And I wanted to make Jim alot more sympathetic, which is what I was trying to do when I added that thing at the end of the last Chapter. Because, a reader had some nasty words to say about Jim. And I wanted to make it very clear that Jim really did feel sorry about this, what he did to Karen. Also, could someone please tell me if Stamford is spelled with an 'm' or an 'n'. I honestly don't know. And please bring continuity mistakes to my attention as well. And, just to clarify on something, because Jim and Karen hadn't told anyone about their breakup, Phyllis and Karen still had the same conversation in the car after the sales call.

Please, and I mean everyone...

Review!