Author's note: Dina C., Serindipity9, Scarily Girly, and shannanagin, I just want to thank all of you for consistently reading and replying to this fic. As a fellow reader, I know it's not easy to do that and I greatly appreciate the time all of you take out of your lives to do so. So, thank you from the bottom of my Jam filled heart. And to everyone else, thanks for even reading this fic.
With her head held high, Angela walked into the office. Immediately, her eyes went to Dwight's unoccupied desk. For a moment she stared angrily at his empty chair. When she hung her coat on the rack, she lightly sniffled.
The fluorescent lights bounced off her blonde hair as she strode over to accounting. It was one of the few times that Oscar and Kevin had arrived earlier than her. On these mornings, they stood by the water cooler and chatted with Jim.
No thanks to her morning crying session over Dwight, she was the last person to arrive. Through her tears, she had tried to style an intricate braid but failed and ended up wearing her hair down. This wasn't the first time her morning schedule had been disrupted because of him and she hated it.
She stopped when she saw the hardcover edition of Chris's novel on her desk. Cautiously, she approached her desk and opened the book. As she read the written message on its inside cover, a soft smile spread across her face. When she sensed the camera on her, she straightened her expression and placed the novel in her drawer.
Goosebumps appeared on Chris's bare forearms as she typed. She sensed a presence at the door and turned her head to the right.
Angela stood in the conference's room doorway aware of the camera behind her but unsure of what to say. After a long and awkward silence she finally spoke.
"Thank you," she said with a stoic expression.
Chris smiled. "You're-."
Angela left before she finished her sentence.
The camera stayed on Chris's confused face. After a moment, she gave an indifferent shrug and said, "I'll take it."
"There's a wonderfully shot scene in Stand by Me between Will Wheaton and a doe," Chris leaned forward. "It's morning time, it's very serene and they make eye contact. For a couple of seconds they just hold this uninterrupted stare. They make this really subtle yet intimate bond with each other. Gordie, Will's character, realizes that despite life's many heartaches there is still some beauty and purity in his world and a little smile comes to his lips," her dark eyes were looked adamantly into the camera. "My moment with Angela this morning….yeah, it was nothing like that."
Dwight stood by the toaster oven and watched his bagel slowly toast. With his coffee mug in hand, he leaned against the counter and took a sip. The bitter black beverage dripped from his lips as he put down his mug.
"Morning Dwight," Angela said as she went over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup.
"Angela," he simply said.
She ripped off a paper towel from the roll and offered it to him. "You have something on your mouth."
He looked at her before accepting it. "Thanks."
"So," she turned her back to him and added two sugars to her coffee. "Chris has apparently given everyone gifts."
"I heard she did," he simply said.
Adding cream, she said, "I'm going to keep mine…I don't want to be rude."
"Well, that's logical."
"Are you going to keep the box sets she gave you?"
He took another sip of his coffee before answering. "I think not. There are things in my life that are more valuable than the box sets…and cookies."
A gentle smile briefly came to her lips before she faced him. "I think you should keep them."
He stared at her with his blue questioning eyes.
"Isn't it really difficult to get one set, let alone two?"
"It is, even on ebay."
"Well then, there you go," she looked at him.
His mouth was straight but his eyes were radiant. "Thank you for the advice, Angela."
The happiness in his eyes teased her mouth and she forced herself not to smile. "You're welcome."
He nodded.
"I should get back to work," she opened the door.
"Will you be at Chris's party tonight? It's at the Gardens of Asia restaurant, the dress is casual and the menu has a vegetarian section."
She gave him a half smile. "I will," she stepped through the doorway.
He waited a few moments before heading towards the conference room.
"Chris, I need-," he began to say.
"They're under your desk," Chris said keeping her eyes on her laptop's screen.
"Thank you."
"You're-." Like Angela, he disappeared before she could finish her sentence.
The camera zoomed in on her face. "Those two are fated but I refuse to say the rest of that rhyme. Lunch is in an hour."
"Tonight," Meredith said to the camera, "Chris is throwing a 'thank you' party for all of us at Gardens of Asia. I'm really excited," she nodded. "We're going to be in the VIP section and there's an open bar, which is great." She realized how that last line sounded. "Because…I haven't tried any Asian drinks before," her smile was uncertain.
"What's up?" Pam looked at Jim as she finished her game of solitaire.
"Nothing, just bored," he put a jelly bean into his mouth.
"Same here," she agreed. "At least I didn't give my panties to a geek."
He swallowed the jelly bean and laughed. "That's too bad for Dwight then."
Chuckling, she playfully smacked his forearm. "I hate you."
"Ow," he rubbed his forearm and smiled. "Little rough there, Beesly."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm all packed up for this weekend."
"Nice." He pointed at the teapot. "Are you bringing.."
"Of course, it'll be a reminder of.." the camera man approached them, "home." She finished her sentence with a little white lie.
"And happy thoughts?"
"Definitely," she happily agreed before answering the phone, "Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam." Her face turned into a grimace. "I'll transfer you through."
"Who was that?"
"Todd Packer. I hope Michael doesn't invite him to Chris's party."
"You're not the only one," he griped.
"I'm really looking forward to it, but if he's there…"
Suddenly, Michael came out of his office wearing a huge smile. "Guys, great news, Packer's coming and Chris, I told him that he can come to the party tonight," he nodded and pointed at her as she stood by Phyllis's desk.
"Michael, you can't do that," Chris firmly told him.
"Why not? Everyone else is going."
"Because I invited them."
He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "So, we can fit in one more."
"That's not your decision. It's my party-."
He sang trying to ease the tension. "And you can cry if you want to, cry if you want to," he laughed.
"Michael," she went up to him and folded her arms. "He's not coming. End of story."
"Well," he copied her gesture. "What if I don't go?"
"Then you'll be missing out," she stood her ground.
He gave her a hard look. "You're gonna have to be the one to tell him."
"I have no problem with that."
"Michael," Pam interrupted, "Jan is on line one."
"We're not finished here," he told Chris as he turned away.
"Yes, we are," her tone didn't waver.
"Not!" he called out before closing his door.
"Yes!" She hollered back as she headed towards the conference room.
When he poked his head out to reply, she slammed her door shut and locked it.
"Who gave her a key?" He asked everyone.
"You did," Toby said from the water cooler. "On her first day."
"No one asked you Toby!" He shouted before finally retreating into his office.
"Who do I think would win in a fight between Michael and Chris?" Toby repeated the producer's question. "I'd bet on Chris because she's not Dwight…..and I'll cheer her on if it ever happens."
Obviously excited, Michael came out of his office and greeted Packer.
"Hey retard, what's going on?" He said to his friend.
"Nothing much you big queen," Todd replied and then spotted Jim leaning on Pam's desk. "Well, look at you queer, you're finally banging the receptionist."
Before Jim could react Chris came out of the conference room and stood in front of Packer.
In a nervous voice, Michael introduced her to Packer.
"Packer, this is, um, Chris. Chris this is Todd Packer," he said while looking at the both of them.
"It's a pleasure," she held out her hand.
He ignored her offer and gave her a slow once over. "So, you're the Chinese broad that Michael has been raving about all week. Not bad, not bad at all."
Pam took a hold of Jim's forearm when he tried to step forward.
"I'm Cambodian, actually."
"Like there's a difference," he looked around and saw everyone's eyes on them.
"Well there's the location of the country, the culture and the language," she folded her arms.
"Definitely the language," Creed interjected.
"Thanks Creed," Chris said.
"No problem," he raised his hand.
"Whatever," Packer said.
She stepped closer to him.
Michael felt the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"I just wanted to tell you that Michael was being rash when he invited you to the party tonight. See, I made the reservation two weeks in advance and well, I can't change it. Sorry," she kindly explained.
He shrugged. "That's not a big deal."
"Thanks for understanding." She turned towards Pam's desk.
A sigh of relief came from Michael. "So, Packer-."
"But just because I'm not invited to dinner, doesn't mean I can't work up an appetite," Packer said as he slapped Chris's butt.
A low hush overcame the office. Their eyes were wide while their mouths hung open.
Michael closed his eyes and shook his head.
Packer stared at her with a cocky smile.
With her jaw set she faced him. "You're going to apologize for that."
"The hell I am," he scoffed. "You don't work here, you can't do anything to stop me from doing it again," he stupidly tried to slap her again.
She grabbed his wrist and saw his smile fade. "You really shouldn't have done that," her voice was eerily calm.
"Wha-," he began to say before her fist met with his jaw. Before he could recover she punched him in the stomach and finished him off with a knee to his groin. In absolute agony, he cupped himself and fell forward.
All the men in room winced.
Her demeanor was composed as she stood on his back with her black stiletto boots. A content smile came to her full lips when she heard another groan come from him.
"I told you so," she shook her head. "Right now, one hundred twenty pounds of muscle is being painfully exerted onto to your back through my stiletto heels-."
"You psycho bitch, get off of me!" He managed to yell out.
"I wasn't," she pushed her right heel down, "finished."
He wailed.
Phyllis covered her mouth with her hand.
"Come on, Chris," Michael stepped forward. "Get off of him!"
"Michael I swear if you take another step forward you'll be next," she told him.
He backed away.
"Now Packer," she put her hands on her hips. "I think Michael here, is way too good for you. In fact, you're a horrible influence on him and I partly blame you for the man that he is. So, let's make a deal. If you agree to it, I'll get off your back, literally and you can go back to the hole you crawled out of."
His voice was haggard. "And…and if I don't?"
She applied more pressure with her right heel. "Well, then I'll just have to you paralyze you from the waist down or render you unconscious. Although," she slid her left foot up his spine, "I always get those two vertebras mixed up."
He tried to laugh. "I could push you off of me right now."
"Hmm, I don't believe you because you would have already done it and I assume the heaviest thing you've ever lifted is a six pack. So, what's it gonna be?"
After coughing, he said, "What do I have to do?"
"Apologize and mean it."
"I'm sorry."
"Good. Then, you have to promise to stay away from Michael forever. No calls, no-emails, nothing."
"What?" Michael said.
"Michael, stay out of this…unless you want your testicles in your stomach," she warned him.
"I was just saying…" He weakly protested.
"Done."
"Good. Last but definitely not least, you must take a picture with Phyllis-."
"But Chris.." Phyllis began to say.
"While kissing her shoes."
Phyllis blinked and smiled.
"Why?" He asked.
"Because you suggested that she was ugly when we all know that is far from being true. Phyllis is fabulous and it's about time that you acknowledge her fabulousness," she explained.
"Fine…I'll do it," he groaned.
"See, isn't it better to cooperate?" Chris snapped her fingers. "Come on Phyllis."
"I have my camera," Phyllis held it up. "Can someone take the picture?"
"I would be honored," Jim smiled and gladly took the camera.
Shyly, Phyllis stood in front of them and slid her foot forward.
Packer did nothing.
"Pucker up," Chris used her foot and pushed his head down.
"Smile Phyllis," Jim said as he snapped the photo. "Damn, Packer your eyes were closed," he clicked his tongue. "I'm gonna have to take it again."
"Oh come on!" Packer cried out.
"I got it," he looked at the photo on the back of the digital camera. "And Phyllis, you do look fabulous."
Phyllis kindly smiled. "Thanks Jim," she took her camera back.
"Can you please get off my back now?"
"All right," Chris said before rendering him unconscious.
Michael went to his knees. "You killed him!"
"He's just knocked out," she casually remarked after stepping off of him. "He'll be awake in less than an hour."
"Why the hell did you do that!" He yelled at her while getting up.
"Because he deserved it!" She shouted back.
"All he did was play a little grab ass and for that he deserves to get his ass kicked by you? God, I thought you were my friend and you do this to me?"
Her arms folded. "And I could say the same for you! All this week I have been nothing but nice and considerate towards you! I truly thought you knew me better than that! I am NO ONE's beer wench bitch Michael, especially this jackass's," she pointed to the unconscious man at her feet.
"Right on!" Kelly cheered. When their eyes went to her, she cowered back a bit. "Um…nevermind?" She sheepishly smiled.
He glared at Chris. "Hey, that jackass is my best friend-…"
"Which is pretty damn pathetic! Whether you believe it or not, he is beneath you but you're so blind and insecure that you sink down to his level every time he's here. And when he's gone, you use his obnoxious, offensive and inconsiderate attitude with your employees!"
He knew that she was right but he refused to give in. "Oh I do? Really?"
"Pretty much."
"Ooohhh, you think you know me so well," he obnoxiously replied. "Go ahead Ms. Know-it-all, tell me who I-.."
"You're a needy, rude, conceited and socially inept 15-year-old mama's boy with daddy-wasn't-there issues trapped in a 41-year-old man's body!"
A deep breathe came from Chris's mouth. She lowered her voice. "Until now, you weren't even aware of it. And these people," she glanced at everyone. "They have to deal with your sexist, racist, and homophobic remarks five days a week and they take it. Because you sign their paychecks. But also, like me, they know that you're not saying those things out of anger or hate; it's just ignorance….that you choose.
Then you go home to your gay friendly condo and wonder why you're alone. And why someone like Toby isn't. Let me tell you why. He's a good guy with a heart just like you but the difference is he's not afraid to show it. He doesn't put on this obnoxious swagger whenever he steps into this office; he's just him.
Michael, if you continue to go on like this…..you'll be alone forever," her voice cracked. "And do you really want that? Do you?"
Her painfully honest words had deeply wounded him. He had always known the truth but to have it exposed in front of everyone, it was beyond humiliating. Although none of them of spoke, he sensed their agreement with her which was just as devastating. His vision was blurred with tears.
"You're fired," he quietly said before realizing his mistake.
"I don't work here," she replied back.
"Then get out," he heard his voice shake.
"Fine, it's past five anyway," she went to the conference room to get her things. "Jim, I'll be waiting in the parking lot. Everyone, I'll see ya tonight," she stared at Michael before stepping out the door.
He looked at his co-workers and saw their discomfort. When he opened his mouth he felt a sob coming from his throat and he quickly closed his lips. Without saying a word, he went to his office, got his belongings and walked out.
"Wow," Toby said.
"I know," Oscar added.
"Seriously, that was more intense than the scene in Legally Blonde where Reese Witherspoon finds out if she made it into Harvard," Kelly said with a nod.
Ryan slowly turned his head and stared at her in utter disbelief.
Kevin, Angela, and Jim approached Packer's unconscious body.
"What should we do with him?" Kevin asked.
"Well," Angela folded her arms. "I suppose it's my responsibility to use the first aid kit to see if he's ok."
"Yeah, we should put him on the couch too," Jim said.
They all looked at each other before going over to the coat rack.
Wearing her coat and holding her purse, Pam sat in the conference room.
"This had to be the most painful, craziest, weirdest and greatest week of my entire life," she shook her head in amazement. "I made new a friend in Chris. Um, I'm finally being pro-active about my career," her eyes sparkled, "I'm really looking forward to that. I also learned that letting go is one of the hardest things to do…but it's absolutely necessary.
There were also some highlights like seeing Todd Packer getting his comeuppance and…." she remembered her phone date with Jim and grinned. "For the first time in my life, I don't know what to expect. I'm scared, but in a good way because I have certain opportunities waiting for me," Jim entered her mind again and a bright smile spread across her face. "I definitely won't let them pass me by."
Smiling, she walked out of the conference room, stepped over Packer's body and went over to the door. She took one last look before shutting off the lights and closing the door behind her.
"Ready?" Jim asked her as he stood in front of the door.
She taped a note for the night janitor on the door. "Yeah," she nodded and linked arms with him as they walked into the elevator together.
Her heels clacked against the marble floor as she went to over Michael.
"You came," Chris said sounding a bit shocked.
"Yeah," he tipped his head and shrugged. "I thought I'd be missing out."
She looked down at her feet then back at him. "Michael…I'm so sorry for everything," she shook her head. "I didn't-I shouldn't have done that to Packer, it was definitely out of line and idiotic. I mean, I know better than that and-it's just I lose it when a guy puts his hands on me-," she gulped. "Whatever happens with corporate, I'll take full responsibility…."
"Chris-" he began to say.
"Michael please, let me finish. I'm apologizing, which for me is very difficult."
He nodded. "All right."
She sighed. "It was totally wrong and hypocritical of me to call you out in front of everyone like that. God…I am last person that should be criticizing and judging you," she rolled her eyes and weakly laughed. "I..I have issues, MAJOR ones. Hell I have issues on top of issues deep fried in problems."
A light laugh came from him.
"I'm not gonna get into the psycho babble of it all but…I feel like I have to fix everything, to make it better and I have to have it done my way-or else. And I, um, I push and push even if it hurts the person's feelings." She whimpered. "You can even ask Jim. I've been pushing him to get with Pam for so long and-and I didn't even know her!" Her voice screeched and she quickly cleared her throat. "Then you…I get you drunk and you tell me your deepest fears and what do I do? I use it against you and tell all your employees! I am so screwed up!" She said while sobbing.
He put his arms around her and realized that she was just as flawed as he was.
Sniffling, she thanked him and began wiping away her tears.
"Well, I guess we're even now," he told her.
She looked up at him. "What?"
"You saw me blubber like a baby," he shrugged, "and now I've seen you."
"Yeah, we're definitely even," she agreed.
"Except…I'm a whole lot sexier when I'm crying," he playfully smiled down at her.
Laughing through her last sobs, she lightly hit his chest. "You're such a cocky bastard."
He chuckled and let her go.
"How do I look?" She asked after wiping her face one last time.
With a half smile, he looked into her blood shot eyes and said, "Beautifully damaged."
"Thank you," she told him. "I still can't believe you're here."
"It's not like I had other plans," he dropped his shoulders.
Her hands went to his chest. "You're more courageous than you think, Michael Scott."
He waved her off. "Come on," he offered his arm to her. "We have a party to get to."
"That we do," she accepted his arm.
When a familiar voice called out to her, he froze. "It couldn't be," he said to himself before turning around. "Jan?"
"Hello Michael," she uncomfortably said.
"What are you doing here?"
"Chris invited me," she said with an uneasy smile.
His eyes went to her.
"Everyone's already inside," Chris told Jan.
"I'll see you inside then," she glanced at Michael before stepping past them.
He kept his eyes on her until she disappeared into the hall.
"Michael, let me explain. I invited Jan way before I even came to Scranton and honestly, I didn't think she'd actually show up," she explained.
"Well she did," he sighed and put his hands in his pockets.
"Michael," she held his face. "Don't try so hard and…just see where tonight takes you." Standing on her tip toes, she lightly kissed his forehead.
Her words and kind gesture caused him to smile. "Let's go," he put his hand on her back and gently pushed her ahead of him.
From his seat, Jim watched his co-workers on the dance floor. They blissfully slowed danced to "Unchained Melody". The absence of the documentary cameras gave them the freedom that they sorely missed during the work day and some unexpected individuals took advantage of it.
Angela's eyes were closed as she rested her head against Dwight's chest. An adoring look was on Stanley's face when he gently spun his wife Terry. Jan held her breath when Michael dipped her. Their noses touched when he brought her back up and they shared a laugh. Meanwhile, Kelly brushed the side Ryan's face with her fingertips and watched a small smile come to his lips. Toby let his daughter stand on his feet as they danced. Jim couldn't help but laugh when he saw Chris doing the tango with Oscar.
He then turned his attention to other end of the table. With loving eyes, Phyllis gazed at Bob before whispering something in his ear. Kevin and Stacy shared a bowl of tofu ice cream. Creed took a sip of his Bubble tea as he spoke with Meredith.
A delightful smile came across Jim's face when Pam emerged from the rest room and walked over to him. He leaned over and whispered into her ear. She nodded and followed his lead as they put on their coats and left the hall.
When they arrived on the restaurant's roof, they walked over to the front of the building and leaned on the railing. A couple of moments passed before one of them spoke.
"It's like prom in there," Pam said.
"Yeah but it'd really sad if one of them were still a virgin," he quipped.
With mischievous grins, they looked at each other and said, "Dwight," as they shared a light laugh.
"I can't believe Michael even showed up."
"Well, him and Chris made up when he first came in," he waited a beat. "I'm more surprised at Jan coming," he chuckled a little.
"I know," she agreed. "But her and Michael…they look right, ya know? I mean, I wouldn't have guessed it at first. But from what I saw in there, they seem very happy together."
He nodded. "They do. Who knows, maybe after this week he'll change."
"Do you really think he will?" She looked at him for an answer.
"Anything's possible."
"It is," she nodded, "just look back at this week."
"Unbelievable," he said with a content sigh. "Are you ready?"
"Yep, in less than an hour I'll be heading to New York with Chris." She shook her head. "Just saying those words, it still doesn't feel real."
"I guess it'll sink in when you drive up to the bright lights of Manhattan."
"Definitely."
A wintry wind passed through causing her to shudder. From behind, he embraced her. Closing her eyes, she got lost in his comforting warmth and rested her arms on top of his.
"How's that?" He looked down at her.
She met his gaze. "Better."
Then, they turned their heads towards the sky and marveled at the luminous celestial blanket above them.