In an effort to extinguish any possibility of Cecilia whining the entire time about being freezing cold, Jim bought them both hot chocolates from a nearby coffeeshop. They clutched the foam cups in their benumbed hands and sipped at the steaming liquid as they wandered down the cool October streets of Scranton.

"Are we there yet?" Cecilia said with a slight groan, opening the lid of her cup and prodding the melty marshmallows with a twitch of her finger.

Jim chuckled. "Cece, we've only been walking for, like, thirty seconds."

"Still..." The teenage girl mumbled quietly. Jim saw, out of the corner of his eye, his daughter withdraw her hand from the coffee cup and dip into her pocket for her cell phone. Jim looked away, taking a sip of his own drink.

The two walked in silence for awhile. Jim took in his surroundings, a fond, reminiscent gleam in his eye as Cecilia walked beside him, texting apathetically on her phone. Surprisingly, not many Scranton residents were out this evening, sending an odd, lonely chill upon the rather dilapidated old town. The cold dusk shone faintly through gray clouds on the horizen as only Jim and Cecilia wandered down the cracked and broken sidewalks of Scranton.

After many bland minutes of walking, their hot chocolates gone and thrown away in a nearby dumpster, Cecilia shoved her cell back into her pocket with an impatient huff. Looking back up, the girl pushed her bright blonde bangs away from her eyes and slumped her shoulders. "Dad, this is really stupid. Where are we even going?"

"You'll see." Her father said tantalizingly.

Cecilia, who did not like to be humored, scowled. "Wherever we're going, I'm sure it's not as fabulous as you're making it out to be."

Jim glanced at the girl before gazing pensively out into space again. "Hm... you would think that."

Cecilia didn't answer, and the two trekked on. They turned onto Slough Avenue when Jim felt that he should at least fill her in on what they were about to see. Licking his lips nervously, Jim glanced sideways at his daughter and broke into speech:

"So, about twenty years ago, I began working at a certain paper company located right here in Scranton – a small business establishment, called Dunder-Mifflin. Your mother actually worked there as well... she was the receptionist and I was a salesman. Both jobs were desperately dull – trust me, it was awful. All the days just seemed to blur together after a while, y'know?"

Jim paused and looked over at his daughter again. She was looking at her father, listening intently. Jim looked forward again, continuing:

"... I won't hesitate in saying that fell completely and hopelessly in love with your mother the moment I laid eyes on her, and possibly even more so when she spoke to me that first time." Cece gave what seemed to be an involuntary giggle, and Jim smiled, allowing a short, reflective silence to grow between them. Cecilia broke it, however:

"What did she say to you, exactly?"

Jim smiled, and then recited the phrase off from memory. Cece's face showed utter bewilderment and confusion.

"Who the hell is Dwight, and why would you want to enjoy a moment to yourself before meeting him?"

Jim pretended to shudder. "Trust me – you just would. I'll tell you more about him some other time."

Cecilia nodded, coaxing him to continue with the story. Jim took a deep breath, and went on:

"Anyway, yeah... I could tell, even then, that your mother and I were meant for each other. Obviously, we clicked right away. We became friends almost immediately – I seriously doubt I would've survived that mind-numbing atrocity of a job if it weren't for Pam..."

"... Let me guess," Cecilia interrupted, squinting fixedly into space, "Your's and Mom's friendship grew over time in that office, with innocent glances and smiles at each other here and there, until you guys tentatively ease into an awkward, yet overall exciting relationship that hits many hardships and roadblocks over time, but all that's done is turn your formless lump of a romance into a solid, indestructible diamond that's ready to face all the challenges and assertions of a marital companionship."

Cecilia finished, staring into space for a few more seconds before coming to herself with a small shake of her head. She then looked up at her father, who was staring at her.

The girl grinned meekly. "Sorry. Katie and I just watched When Harry Met Sally last night."

Jim raised an eyebrow in an amused sort of way. "Yes, I can see that."

Cecilia giggled uncomfortably, tucking a yellow lock of hair behind her ear. Jim suddenly spotted something beyond his daughter, and stopped in his tracks. He nodded in that direction.

"Look."

Cecilia turned to look where her father was gazing and stopped too. They had reached a rusty gate, at least twelve feet tall, locked shut with an equally rusty padlock and chain. A large sign hung on the wire gate: "Warning! Stay out! This structure is the property of Scranton City Hall..."It continued with a large paragraph underneath about fining violators. To their left and right, overgrown hedges rose high and covered most of the gate which spanned the lot's perimeter; a cheap camouflage to a somewhat ugly protection system. Through the small portion doorway of the gate that wasn't blocked by hedges, however, Cecilia could see a neglected parking lot in front of a vast, grey-bricked building. Weeds grew out of the cracks in the cement, and several windows in the building had been smashed out. A sign saying Local Scranton Business Park hung pathetically from one of it's ends above the smashed-open front door. The entire structure looked as if it were falling apart at the seams.

"Pretty." Cece supplied expressionlessly.

Jim peered at it sadly through the gate. "Well... that 'pretty' place was once Dunder-Mifflin."

Cecilia's eyebrows raised ever so slightly, her eyes roving over the building's unchecked face. "Oh."

"Yeah, I didn't think it could've gotten much worse than it was before I'd left, but..." Jim trailed off. Cecilia offered a weak chuckle.

There was a silence, until Cecilia finally broke it, still gazing at the building with her long-lashed eyes. "So this is where it all happened?"

"Yep." Jim's lips twitched slightly, staring at the business park as well, "...But it happened just a little differently from what you guessed."

Cece grinned sheepishly and finally looked away from the office park to gaze up at her father. "How did it happen then? You two didn't 'ease into that awkward yet exciting relationship' did you?"

"Nope. She was engaged, actually."

The girl blinked, looking slightly taken aback at his bluntness. "Come again?"

Jim laughed, leaning a shoulder against the wire gate and looking down at his daughter. "I said that your mother was engaged to a different guy when I met her. Roy, I believe his name was."

Cecilia's eyes suddenly flashed. "Are you serious?" she said loudly, and Jim was shocked to hear anger in her voice. "You stole Mom away from her fiance? That's awful! She was about to get married and you just thought you would - ?"

" - Whoa, whoa!" Jim cut her off quickly, raising his hands up, his eyes wide. "It wasn't like that! It wasn't like that at all!"

Cecilia quieted, though she still looked thoroughly disgusted with him.

Jim continued. "You have to understand, Roy's and Pam's relationship was very shaky from the start. Your mother was very unhappy being with him, and the two had actually been engaged for almost four whole years before Pam had to call it off. And I swear..." the man added sincerely, "... I never once tried to seduce your mother away from Roy while they were together."

Cecilia still looked sulky, though slightly reassured. "You swear?"

Jim nodded once. "I merely brooded in self-pity, that's all."

She looked at him for a second before giving him a reluctant smile. "Okay."

Jim smiled fully back. Bravely, it seemed, he reached out an arm and wrapped it around Cecilia's slim shoulders, pulling her roughly yet lovingly to his side in a one-armed embrace. He was relieved to hear the girl giggle when he did this, feeling her blonde head press gently against his ribcage. Grinning, Jim began walking down the sidewalk, still holding his daughter at his side. Luckily, Cecilia seemed to enjoy being in this close proximity to her father. When she spoke next, she sounded much cheerier:

"So you two got together after Roy and her broke up?"

"Not exactly. A few weeks before Pam left him, actually, I finally brought up the nerve to tell your mother how I really felt. I told her that I was really sorry, but I promised her that everything I said was true. And I just didn't want to leave without her knowing... just once... just so that all of my feelings for her wouldn't mean nothing..."

Cece looked up at her father, who seemed to have zoned out a bit. His eyes were unfocused, and he was gazing at the sidewalk in a vacant sort of way.

"You were going to leave?" Cecilia piped up suddenly, and Jim seemed to come to himself with a small shake of his head.

"Yeah. Uh... you see, I had accepted a transfer to a different Dunder-Mifflin Branch. I was tired of pining over your mother; I figured it was finally time to move on, y'know?"

Cece nodded understandingly, her head still resting against her father's jacket.

"So you left Scranton?"

"Yup, I went to Stamford, Connecticut. And during that time, I kept trying to move on with my life, but to no avail. I even started dating a different girl: Karen." Jim smirked as he felt his daughter stiffening beside him. "... but that kind of went to pieces after she and I got transferred back here to Scranton."

Cece looked up at Jim with wide, shocked eyes. "No..."

Jim laughed. "Yep, it was pretty surprising. There was a mass merger between our branches, meaning I had to go back to the very office where I had continually gotten my heart broken for over three years."

Cecilia shook her head. "If I were you, I'd've just moved to a different state." Jim smiled.

"Don't think that thought didn't cross my mind. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end I managed to convince myself that Karen and I had a good relationship going, and that I was completely over your mother. But... I was sadly mistaken."

"Duh." The girl deadpanned, and Jim chuckled.

"Yeah, if only you were there to hit me over the head..." Jim pointedly shook his daughter, and she laughed. Reaching up, she smacked her father in the head, and Jim flinched away as if she had hit him hard. Both of them laughed, still walking down the cold sidewalks of Scranton with Jim's arm slung casually around her shoulders. The two were still grinning as they turned back onto the road where the car was parked.

"So you and Mom got together after you and that other girl broke up, right?"

Jim looked down at Cece, and smiled. "Right."

They walked for a few more seconds in silence.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

Cecilia smiled, tilting her head up toward her father. "If you and Mom die, and forget to leave me and Katie a will... could I sell your guys's story for movie rights?"

Jim shoved her playfully, and after a brief tussle, Cecilia broke away from her father and sped toward Cuginos parking lot at breakneck speed, laughing hysterically. Jim, grinning hugely, chased after her.