A/N: Again, huge thanks to all of the people who have been reviewing: Kellie Stults, ameliabedilia88, ayden03274, CemellaBones2747, Elly10, brittybaby0527, SadieJ, Darth Avery, Meddy Grey, maka.kaka, topethangel, daysofourlivesfan88, tradiferis, AmandaJacks, xoannabanana83xo, NaomiLovesNathan, Hannah Banana88, Gummy Bear With Attitude. You guys keep me going! I hope you all enjoy this chapter; as always, please let me know what you think. Thank you all so much!

The Office: Vegas Vacation

Part 4

The phone rang.

It was after the second ring that the receptionist picked up, and Jim smiled as he heard the familiar voice speak kindly to the client on the line.

"Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam."

Pam

"Yeah, I'm back from my break... a week late. But it's okay; everyone has been very understanding... I actually spent my time off with my mom, which was really therapeutic... I've got a new outlook on life, and I'm excited to see what happens... oh, and I don't hate Kelsey and Jim. I just wanted to clear that up... so... yeah..."

In the lull of the late morning, Jim rolled his chair to the reception desk and spoke in a hushed tone. "She's getting her hair done this weekend, so we have an opportunity Saturday morning from nine to twelve-thirty. Will that be enough time?"

"Ooo, that's kind of cutting it close," Pam informed him. "I think we'd need at least a good five hours. Is there a way we can make that happen?"

"I think her salon has a spa; I could schedule her for a massage and manicure or something."

Pam nodded in approval. "Perfect. So.. your place at nine?"

"Affirmative." As he spoke, the door opened, and he quickly returned to his desk. From across the small distance, Jim saw a small smile on Pam's face.

Jim

"No... nothing is going on with Pam... and that sounded totally unbelievable, so let me explain." He waved the camera closer, lowering his tone to that of a whisper. "We're having a little girl! I mean, Kelsey and I are... she's at six months, and we're starting to get stuff ready... and Pam and I are going to decorate the nursery, but it's a surprise, so... shush!"

Noon arrived; on the dot, Kelsey walked into the office. She smiled and waved cheerfully at Pam, who returned the gesture.

Kelsey

"I mean, Pam and I aren't close... but we don't hate each other... that's all you can really ask for in this situation, right?"

"Hey, hon." She said as she walked to Jim's desk.

He turned as she spoke, and smiled. "Hey. How you feeling?"

"Fine. She's been dancing today."

"Really? Let me feel." Jim placed his hand on her rounded abdomen; to his joy, he could feel the smallest stirrings of life beneath his palm. The smile widened into a grin. "Wow... she's going to be a ballerina."

"Or a soccer player." Kelsey said with a groan, then placed her hand on the back of Jim's chair. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Let me just..." he typed a finishing sentence on his sales statement, then closed the document. "Okay, let's go."

As he stood, Kelsey walked over to Pam's desk. "Hey, we're going to Hoss's. You want anything?"

"Ooo... could you get me some steak tips?"

"Potato or fries?"

"Fries, definitely."

"Good choice." Jim was by the coat rack waiting, so Kelsey ended the small talk. "We'll be back in a bit. See you."

"Bye." Pam called after them.

Pam

"Kelsey knows my history with Jim. I guess he kind of spilled it when they met, but, given their inebriation, she kind of forgot... but now... I wouldn't say we're friends... but we're not enemies."

"So," Kelsey began midway through her lunch with Jim. She paused to wipe her mouth on her napkin, then looked at him with glowing eyes. "I think I've come up with the name."

Jim's interest was less than sparked; baby names had been a regular topic of conversation for weeks now. Still, he appeared excited for her sake. In part, he was; it wasn't every day Kelsey claimed she found "the name".

More like every other day.

"Let me hear it," he said with a wave of his hand, urging her to speak. After a deep breath, she did.

"Zoe Jayne."

Zoe Jayne. Zoe Jayne Halpert. It did have a nice ring to it, he had to admit. But...

"Why that name?" He asked unenthusiastically.

Kelsey's face fell. "Don't... don't you like it?"

"I mean, it's nice... but Zoe Jayne? Really?"

Her smile had already faded, but now her mouth curled into a deep frown. "What about it?"

"It's so... retro."

"It's actually not; it's Greek for life, and, in case you've forgotten, Greek is my heritage."

"Like an eighth."

"Still."

"And Jayne?"

"Jayne... well, I don't know, but it's still pretty."

"Ah... pretty..."

The frown deepened. "What?"

"Nothing..." Jim took a bite of his salad. "I just thought you said you wanted to avoid traditional, ultra-feminine names because you didn't want her gender to limit her.

"How is Zoe or Jayne going to limit her?"

"It could."

She pushed her plate away and crossed her arms. Then, staring intently at Jim, she said, "There's something you're not telling me."

He forced his face to remain unmoved by the accusation. When her comment irked no response from him, Kelsey stood.

"I'm going to the car." She hastily swung her purse over her shoulder and shoved in her chair. "Dont' forget the steak tips... for Pam." She spat the name venomously, as if it burned her tongue to form it. Then, turning on her heel, she walked away.

Kelsey didn't say a word as Jim handed her the steak tips. Neither of them spoke during the ride back to the office; Kelsey didn't even say thank you when Jim held open the door for her.

"Here's your steak tips, Pam," Kelsey said, setting the box on her desk with no attempt to be gentle. As she made to leave, Jim grabbed her hand.

"Kelsey," he whispered.

"No, Jim," she answered through clenched teeth. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Come on; don't be like this," he pleaded.

She looked him straight in the eye, and without emotion, said, "I'll see you at home." Then, she pulled free of his grasp.

What could he do? Not keen to cause a scene, Jim simply let her walk away, and hoped they would resolve it later.

Jim

"It's not that I don't like the name Zoe Jayne. Actually, I love it; it's very pretty... but the reason I am hesitant is because, when Pam and I were dating, we talked about baby names... and Zoe was her number one name..." Jim lowered his eyes, looking at his hands. "I just don't know if I could do that to her... or to me."

Two days passed. Jim was exhausted, because Kelsey had made him sleep on the couch for the past two nights. The third morning after their fight, Jim awoke to the sound of Kelsey in the kitchen. He rose from the sofa, and entered the kitchen with no small amount of reluctance.

"Good morning," he said.

She didn't even look at him. "Good morning," she repeated from her place at the kitchen bar, where she sat eating a grapefruit half. "Your breakfast is on the stove."

Jim went and looked; like every other Saturday morning, Kelsey had made him pancakes, bacon, and toast. It had become a tradition in the past few months, though normally she ate with him.

Judging by her briefness, he guessed she was still not ready to make up.

Yet, three days was too long, he felt. So, determined to resolve it, Jim took the stool next to her and placed his hand on her back.

"How long are we going to let this go on?" He asked softly.

She finished her grapefruit. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said.

"Kelsey-"

"-Why can't we just agree on something for once with this baby, huh?" She finally exploded. Jim was a bit shocked, but let her vent. "You don't want to use the cradle my great-grandfather made, you don't want to name her Zoe Jayne. When is it ever going to be enough for you?"

"Come on, I've given a lot for this-"

"-Yeah. Where are your stretch marks?" She was standing by now, arms crossed. "Where's the career you had to give up? Where's the family you had to leave behind?"

Did a tear fall from her eyes then? Jim couldn't tell, because she swiped at her cheek angrily before it had even sat there long.

He had never thought of it that way; he'd had to share his home, he'd had to make room for a wife and a baby...

But she'd forsaken all she knew. She'd left her modeling career, her home, her parents, her friends...

Jim Halpert rarely thought of himself as selfish... he did feel so then.

"Kelsey..." he walked towards her, genuinely apologetic, but she recoiled from his touch.

"No... I'm late for my appointment. Goodbye, Jim." And she placed a hasty, bittersweet kiss on his cheek before walking away. The door shut behind her with a slam.

Part of him desperately wanted to go after her. He even went to the door to do so... but at the last moment, he stopped himself.

He needed to make it up to her, somehow.

Glancing at the clock, he saw that he still had a few minutes before Pam arrived. With that in mind, he hastily threw on a pair of jeans and flip-flops, then ran to his car. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Hey," Pam said as she got out of her car. Jim had just pulled into the driveway, and she had parked across the street. She pointed at the bags he held. "What's in there?"

"Some stuff," he replied with a smile. "Just some last minute thoughts on the nursery."

They walked into the house and up the stairs. "Did you paint the base color?" Pam asked.

"Yep, but Kelsey doesn't know it. I've been doing it while she sleeps." He opened the nursery door. From the drape-less window, light poured in. The stark-white walls were now a soft and soothing pastel pink, the color Pam and Jim had agreed upon some weeks ago.

"Perfect. And you have the purple?" She asked.

Jim nodded and pointed to the corner. A can of paint stood next to a basin with two brushes in it. "I didn't want to draw the lines without another person, though. I know I'll get them crooked."

"That's fine. We'll do that now." Rifling through the bag, Jim pulled out a chalk line; Pam grabbed one end while he held the other, and they made two lines on three of the walls. The first line was horizontal, about four feet from the ground; the second was just six inches above that. They lined the chalk with blue painters tape. Then, Jim opened the paint and poured it into the basin. It didn't take long for them to paint in between the lines. When they finished, Jim nodded in approval.

"It looks great. I love those colors together." He stated.

Pam smiled. "It has something special, doesn't it?" She wiped her hands on her paint-stained jeans. "Now, for the flowers."

"Oh, actually," Jim began, "I was wondering if we could put something different on the border."

"Sure, I guess... what did you have in mind?"

"I was wondering... if you could write Zoe Jayne."

Pam froze, and tears instantly began to gleam in her eyes.

"Zoe Jayne?"

"Yeah..." he cleared his throat, "because that's what we're going to name her."

"Zoe..." Pam's eyes narrowed. "Did you choose that name?"

"No; no, I didn't. Kelsey did. Honest."

"And did you tell her how I feel about that name?"

Jim sighed. "Pam, listen; I tried. I tried to talk her out of that name because I know how you feel about it, but I can't just come right out and say to my wife that we can't name our child that because my girlfriend likes that name."

"Ex-girlfriend." Pam corrected.

"Ex-girlfriend. That's what I said." She rolled her eyes. "Pam, please..." he gingerly took her hand, feeling his heart break as the tears that had been threatening to fall from her eyes finally did. "I know this is hard for you, and I know it's unfair. If you really don't want to, fine; we'll go back to the first plan... but I was just hoping you'd do this for Kelsey, for Zoe... and for me."

When he had finished speaking, Pam pulled out of his grip and turned away. He heard her cry softly for a few moments. Then, finally, in a determined, stern voice, she said, "I'll do it for Kelsey... and I'll do it for Zoe." She faced him, "but I'm not doing it for you, Jim."

He didn't respond to her; he really couldn't. He hadn't expected her to do it for him, if he really thought about it.

The fact that she did it at all was a miracle.

Jim didn't enter the nursery again until several hours later, when he had finished assembling the rocking chair and was carrying it upstairs. As he entered, he couldn't help but gasp.

The dark purple stripes were finished; about every foot or so, Pam had written "Zoe Jayne" in beautiful pink letters, finishing with a blue flower on the end of the "e" in Jayne. On the fourth wall -the one they'd left without a stripe- she'd painted two large flowers, one blue, one purple. On the bottom right corner of that wall, she'd painted "ZJH" in purple.

As he entered, Pam froze.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

He nodded. "It's wonderful, Pam..." he answered, rather breathless. "I can't even begin to tell you... how amazing it is."

She wiped her hands on her jeans, then began to roll up the plastic tarp that protected the carpet. "Well, I'm finished, so I'll go now."

As she began to leave, Jim grabbed her arm. "Hey..." He could feel her reluctance to be pulled in again, but she allowed herself to remain, which he was thankful for. "Please... don't be upset."

"And why not?" She asked angrily.

"Because I never meant to hurt you." When she snorted disdainfully at the meager response, he grew defensive. "I didn't! I wanted to be with you, Pam, but you pushed me away!"

She dropped the tarp and didn't even apologize when it splattered paint on Jim's shoes. "Oh, and I suppose that's what drove you to Vegas, caused you to drink and get some stranger knocked up!"

"Don't say knocked up." He answered defensively.

She pulled from his grasp. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I offend the image of your perfect little wifey?"

"Come on; don't be like that. I did what I had to."

"No... what you had to do was give me time to sort out this whole infertile thing, and you were too selfish to do that without wallowing in self-pity and misery." Her hand clapped over her mouth, as if she realized the sting of her words too late.

And sting they did; they hit Jim like a thousand knives to the heart.

He took a deep breath; when he spoke, his voice was calm and controlled. "I messed up and I have to live with it. I screwed up what we had and had to let you go. Don't you think I know that? I live every day knowing that I will never love another woman like I loved you, knowing that most of my heart will always belong to you..." He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists as his wedding band caught the light. "But I have to let you go; it's not fair for you or for me, but I can't be a good husband or father if I spend every day..." His voice trailed off, his composure betrayed as his voice cracked under the weight of threatening tears. Through clenched teeth, he managed to say, "For the sake of Kelsey, and for Zoe... I have no choice."

Pam didn't say a word as she gathered her tarp again and went to the door. She paused as she was about to leave, her back towards him as she asked in a whisper, "Do you love her?"

It was a question he'd been dreading from her. And it was a question she needed to have answered. He knew it. So, with a soft voice and gentle words, he spoke.

"I think I might. Or I could, if I let myself."

Her heard her breathe in sharply, and from the shaking of her shoulders, could see that she was crying. Jim placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her hair, breathing in the scent so familiar to him as he whispered to her.

"I'll miss you, Pam."

She didn't speak for several long minutes, even after he wrapped his arms around her and held her. Finally, she could take no more, and repeated his words.

"I'll miss you, too, Jim." She whispered, then left quickly. From where he stood in the doorway, he heard her get into her car and slam the door, then speed off. He felt it was almost ironic and symbolic; so quickly she'd come into his life, quickly and unexpectedly.

And so quickly, she had to leave.

He'd hurt her. Badly. And he had to live with the consequence.

Maybe he was selfish. Maybe... but he was determined to change. He'd lost Pam because of his problems; he refused to make Kelsey and Zoe suffer, too.

Returning to the garage, Jim rummaged for the large box Kelsey's parents had sent a few weeks before. He carried it to the nursery and set to work immediately. He'd lost one chance at happiness; he would make the most of the second.

Of that, he was sure.

The door opened; Jim heard it from the nursery, where he was finishing putting together the rocking chair. He screwed the last bolt into place, then put the decorative pillow on the seat and set the chair in the corner. Just a few feet away from it, he placed Kelsey's grandfather's cradle. Kelsey had bought tons of baby sheets and blankets, and Jim covered the mattress with one of each. He heard her footsteps coming up the stairs, so he hurried out of the nursery and met her on the landing.

"Hey," he said brightly.

She smiled at him; the memory of the earlier spat had faded. "Hey." She touched her hair, which had been highlighted and cut to her shoulders. "Do you like it?"

He smiled at her. "I love it. You're beautiful." And he placed a kiss on her lips. When he did not pull away within moments, Kelsey was surprised. As he finally did, she let out a small laugh.

"Is everything all right?" She asked.

Jim nodded, a small, secretive smile on his face. "Everything... is perfect. And I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?"

He covered her eyes and led her down the hall to the baby's room. He opened the door and brought her through the doorway before lowering his hand. Then, in a whisper, he said, "All right... look."

She opened her eyes, and immediately let out a small cry of joy.

"Oh, Jim! It's beautiful!" She breathed, bringing her small hand to her mouth as she walked around the room. "I love it. And you have my granddad's cradle! Thank you!" She clapped her hands together excitedly, then froze as she looked at the wall. "Oh my goodness." She touched the purple border, tracing over the name written in pink paint. "Zoe Jayne... Jim... does this mean..." She looked at him, her eyes welling with tears as her voice trailed off.

"You were right. It's a nice name." He said simply. She hurried to him, throwing her arms around his neck; he could feel her tears on his skin as she cried happily. He drew back enough to wipe them away, then said, "And just so you know... Jayne means 'God is gracious'."

"Zoe Jayne... 'Life, God is gracious'..." Her smile widened. "It's perfect. Oh, Jim..." She looked up at him, "I can't wait to be a mommy."

"Me neither. I mean, I can't wait to be a daddy. I'm sorry," he closed his eyes, "I'm a little flustered right now, but I'm just so happy that you're happy with this." He opened his eyes again. "I really wanted you to be happy, and I'm so glad you are."

"Jim, you've always made me happy; you know you don't have to try so hard." Kelsey said softly, taking his hands.

"I know... but I just want to. I don't want you to ever feel like I don't care about you. Because I do."

"I care about you, too, Jim."

He smiled softly. "No, Kelsey... I think what I'm trying to say is..." He sighed deeply. "I... I just think I'm starting to love you."

That sweet smile on her face brightened, and she hugged Jim tightly. After a moment, she whispered, "Jim, I know I've started to love you. As against the odds as our relationship might be... I feel like I've found something special with you."

He held her close, taking in that perfect moment; he wanted to remember it. The way she smelled, the sound of her breathing, her little tears rolling down her beautiful face, the stirring of her belly as Zoe Jayne Halpert kicked happily within.

They had been married. By law, they were a family.

And now, at last, they began to feel like one.

But Jim would be lying if he said he didn't still see Pam's face when he closed his eyes. He remembered her vividly, as if she were real enough to touch...

He hoped it would fade in time.