Disclaimer: Owning the Office is not in the cards for me... yet.
A/N: This is it, folks. I'm down to the final two chapters. I had a lot of fun with this story and shed a tear or two. I just would like to say thanks again for the amazing reviews for this story. You guys blow my mind. I never thought I would get this much response from this story. I would like to give a big thanks to my pal, ktface3, for being just plain ol' awesome with the reviews and the advice. I hope you enjoy the conclusion. I wanted to be a little funnier since I was kinda depressing in the last few chapters, I hope you enjoy!
8:30 pm
Michael saw Dwight in his orange cap, running through the snow toward him. In all his life, he had never been so happy to see his lackey. As Dwight was coming closer, Michael noticed a second car with two figures emerging from it: one tall, one shorter with longer hair. As they got closer, Michael recognized them right away.
As Dwight came closer, Michael feared that this figure wouldn't know him at all. That it was just a mirage or a trick of the mind somehow. He was fearful that he was still non-existent and that Dwight might hurt him.
Dwight ran up to Michael, "Michael, are you alright? Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Bleeding? Wounded?"
Michael was still in awe of Dwight's appearance, "You know me?"
Dwight blinked, "Of course I know you. I know everything about you. Date of birth: March 13, 1962. Mother: Roberta Scott. You grew up on Kenneth Road in Dixon City. You have a stepfather named Jeff. You are the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin..." Dwight continued to list every achievement that Michael had ever done.
Michael listened as Dwight continued to ramble, stopping him by a hug, "I missed ya, buddy. Good to have you back."
Dwight stiffened at the close contact, but eventually softened, "You too, Michael."
As they were in each other's embrace, Pam and Jim came walking up. Jim cleared his throat, "Do you two need a moment alone. We can go back in the car."
Michael pushed Dwight aside and looked at Jim and Pam, who were smiling and together. They seemed happy and relieved. Michael ran up to them, "You guys know me?"
Pam looked confused, "Of course we know you. What are you talking about?"
Michael looked apprehensive, "But you two didn't know each other and..." He pointed at Jim, "You lived in Philly." He pointed to Pam, "And you were married to Roy..." He pointed to Dwight, "And you were regional manager and Jan... Where's Jan?" With that, Michael slid down on the the ground against a pole and looked straight ahead.
All three of them crowded around Michael and tried to get Michael to speak. Pam looked concerned, "Michael, what are talking about? Married to Roy?"
Jim mirrored her concern, "In Philly?"
Dwight looked even more concerned, "He's must be having some sort of existential meltdown." He grabbed Michael by the shoulders, "Michael, if you can hear me, do as I say! Walk into the light!"
Jim pulled Dwight away, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Dwight collected himself, "Just trying to guide him into the right path."
Pam shook her head. She came up closer and placed a comforting hand on Michael's shoulder , "Michael, are you alright? C'mon, talk to me. It's your friend, Pam." She looked over at Jim, looking frightened. "He's not responding. Maybe he's in shock."
Jim came up to him, "C'mon, Mike. It's you pal, Jim." He grimaced to Pam, who nodded her head. "Talk to us, man. We want to know if you're okay." He looked at Dwight, "Maybe we should just carry him to your car and you can take him home."
Dwight nodded, "Okay, but what about his car?"
Jim nodded, "I'll take care of it. Pam, could you -
Pam nodded, reading his mind, "Yeah, of course." Jim handed his keys over to Pam. "I'll meet you guys there."
As she turned to leave, Michael stirred, "Pam?... Pam?"
Pam turned on her heel, "I'm here, Michael." She tried to stand him up properly, "C'mon Michael, get up." Jim came to her aide and Dwight helped them stand Michael up, who was slowly coming out of his trance.
Michael blinked, "What happened?" He was looking from face to face, "Did I faint?"
Jim shrugged, "I think so. You just sorta slid. Is everything alright, man."
Pam rubbed his shoulder, "We've been worried sick about you! What happened?"
Michael looked at them, "I'm not sure. I kind of..." The memories of the last few hours came rushing back at the speed of light, flashing glimpses of smiling faces and broken dreams. He shuddered, "I kind of just needing some time to think."
Pam breathed heavily, "Well... you scared the crap out of us. We were so worried and scared you might have..." She let the sentence hang in the air, too afraid to finish. She breathed deeply, "We're just glad that you're okay."
Jim nodded, "Yeah, man. Don't scare us like that again."
Dwight reinforced the concern, "Yeah, it's not safe to keep your friends on wits end like that."
Michael stood up, "Thanks for looking for me." He looked at all three off them and the question that had been bugging him finally came to the surface, "Wait a minute, how did you three know I was missing?"
Dwight looked around sheepishly, "Well... that's kind of of long story... but we fixed the problem."
Michael looked confused, "What problem?"
Dwight looked at Michael confused, "You know... the big client... the huge sale."
The memories of despair and failure came flooding back into Michael's mind, "Oh yeah... what about it?"
Dwight stood up straighter, "Well... thanks to my sales expertise and my power of persuasion, I, Dwight K. Schrute..."
Jim rolled his eyes, "Would you just get on with it, already."
Dwight spoke through clinched teeth, "Quiet you!" He directed his attention back to Michael, " I have won back the sale."
Michael looked at Dwight in awe, not sure he heard him correctly, "What did you say?"
Dwight smiled even brightly, "I saved the day and won back the sale. Everything is squared away."
Michael shook his head in disbelief, "But... how?"
Dwight shrugged, "I can't take all the credit. Most of it, yes, but... Jan did help out some." Pam nudged him in the side, "Okay, she helped tremendously."
Michale looked confused, "Jan? But... how could she help."
Dwight nodded, "She called me. She told me that Bernard, the idiot, lost the sale. She said something about him losing it because he's an idiot, which I totally agree with..."
Michael sighed, "Would you just go on with it, already. Bernard is an idiot. You made your point."
Dwight cleared his throat, "Noted. Anyway, I thought that I would try to get the client to reconsider his decision." He paused for dramatic effect.
Michael smacked his lips, "If you don't spit the rest out, I swear to God..."
Dwight nodded, "Okay... well, I spoke with the client, Mr. Tuscany, and we had a lovely chat. Turns out his cousin, Cletus, owned The Stock Inn -
Michael looked confused, "The what?"
Dwight rolled his eyes, "'The Stock Inn', it was a really adorable little asparagus farm near Dunmore. It closed up shop a little bit ago. Anyway, I told him that I owned Schrute Farms. Before I knew it, we were talking for an hour about the longevity of agrotourism in the States. Really nice guy."
Jim nodded, "Anyway, me and Pam were at the restaurant where Mr. Tuscany was and overheard most of the conversation. We introduced ourselves and told him that we too worked for Dunder Mifflin."
Pam nodded, "Yeah, he's really personable and -
Dwight cut her off, "Yeah, well... when I told him that we were still interested in his business, he was eager to be a part of it."
Jim nodded, "Yeah, he came right over to your condo to sign the papers. He's there with Jan waiting for you. That's when Jan told us about your fight and that you stormed off into the night. She wanted to make things right and try to help the best way she knew how. She's worried sick about you. She said you were gone for two hours."
Pam touched Michael's shoulder, "Are you alright, Michael. Really?"
Michael looked at the people in front of him and smiled, "I'm better know. Thanks for everything, guys." He started to get emotionally, "I don't... even know... what to say..."
Pam smiled, "Don't worry about. C'mon, let's get you home." Jim and Dwight nodded and headed their way back to their cars. Michael stopped Pam before she left too, "Pam?" She turned with a smile, "I just wanted to tell you... um... I just wanted to say that I think you're really strong." He looked down bashfully and started to walk to Jim's car when Pam stopped him.
"Why would you say that?" She looked at Michael with a bit of amusement and sincerity.
He shrugged, "Let's just say that I think that you possess very strong qualities and I'm really proud of how far you've come with everything. You know...with your art, and... um... with Roy and... um... Jim, especially Jim. What I'm trying to say is... um... I'm really proud of you." He gave her a sincere smile that made Pam choke up.
"Thank you, Michael. That... um... that means a lot that you said that." She gave him a quick hug and tugged him by the arm. "C'mon, last one to Jim's car is a rotten egg."
Michael moved more jubilantly, "Oh, you are so gonna eat my dust, Pam."
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Michael and Pam arrived at his condo, "We're here." Pam smiled as Michael unbuckled his seat belt. "Michael?"
Michael turned towards her, "Yeah?"
Pam cleared her throat and spoke meekly, "I... um... I'm proud of you, too."
Michael looked startled, "Proud... of me?"
Pam nodded, "Well... yeah. I mean... you been through a lot too. I mean... with the whole debt thing and not getting the promotion to New York -
Michael intercepted, "I withdrew from that."
Pam nodded, "Yeah, and all the stuff you've been through with Jan. I just wanted to say that I think you're really strong and I'm glad you didn't do anything... I don't care, I'm just glad you didn't try anything tonight."
Michael looked over at Pam, who had tears in her eyes, "I know that sometimes it may seem like we don't care about you Michael, but we do. We all do."
Michael was blown away by her open feelings, "Oh Pam -
She sniffled, "I'm just glad you're okay." She wiped away the stray tears, "C'mon, everyone's waiting for you." She started getting out of the car when she was stopped by Michael's hand.
"I was thinking of doing something... well... I decided not to." He smiled at her in spite of himself.
She smiled back, "Good. C'mon, let's get inside. It's starting to snow pretty bad out here."
Michael nodded and got out of the car, rushing over to his condo that glowed from within. As he ran toward it, he had a revelation: Jan's inside. At that, he ran faster than he ever had before.
Michael reached the door in record time and burst inside. As he looked around the living room, he noticed that all the shopping bags from before where all gone. Not one pink wrapping tissue or a gold bow could be seen. As Michael looked deeper into the house, he heard the familiar sound of Jan's laughter. His heart race as he got closer and closer and it got louder and louder. Finally, he saw her, drinking some tea with Mr. Tuscany and laughing at some anecdote he was telling her. She was laughing but a look of concern was visible on her face. In that moment, Michael knew she had never looked more beautiful. The only thing that he could think of to say was the only thought that raced through his mind the moment he saw her face, "Jan."
She turned around at her name and saw Michael standing there. In that moment, it was as if every fear, worry, concern, heartache, pain, or despair was wiped from her face. She felt everything that Michael was feeling and she couldn't control her movements. She ran across the room from Mr. Tuscany, who was in mid-sentence, and ran into Michael's arms. "Oh Michael!" She fell into his embrace perfectly and forgot to breathe. She felt her lungs ache but she didn't care. She was in his arms, she was home.
They both held each other for several moments, speaking in a language only they could understand. He breathed her in for everything it was worth. She was alive. She wasn't sprawled on some cold, damp floor in a darkened room. She was in his arms, holding him and needing him as much as he needed her. He clung to every tear, laugh and kiss they shared and breathed it all in, because it was real. She was so real.
As they slowly parted, Michael gently grazed the back of his hand against her cheek, "Hi."
She sniffled, "Hey." She found her favorite place in the world in the cup of his shoulder, "I missed you."
Michael chuckled, "You have no idea how much I missed you." They rocked back and forth, holding one another. It wasn't until Dwight cleared his throat that they realized they had a house full of people. Michael looked up, not letting go of Jan, "Oh... hey."
Jim and Pam looked away bashfully, trying to give Jan and Michael some privacy but Dwight wasn't coherent to subtlety. Dwight cleared his throat again, "We have a client in the room. Can't you two wait until he leaves to get all mushy."
Michael looked at Dwight very sternly. He reluctantly let go of Jan and walked over to Dwight, "If you ever do that again, I will kill you. And I won't miss you." He gave Dwight a glare that showed he meant business.
Dwight coughed and nodded, "Sorry. I... um... Mr. Tuscany, let me produce those papers for you." Dwight went into another part of the condo to keep himself busy when the papers where only two feet away from where he stood.
Mr. Tuscany smiled at Michael, "Mr. Scott, pleasure to see you again." He extended his hand for Michael to shake.
As Michael shook Mr. Tuscany hand, he smiled, "Thank you for coming over. I can't begin to tell you how much -
Mr. Tuscany halted him, "Say no more. I just wanted to come over here myself to tell you that your salesman Mr. Schrute and your wife -
Michael was about to protest but Jan covered his hand with her own. She gave him a seductive smile which perked Michael up even more. He nodded, "Well... thank you again."
Mr. Tuscany laughed, "Well, I couldn't possibly not support the local businesses when my poor cousin lost his inn because of the lack of local business. That's why I was interested in your company in the first place. I could have easily went to one of the larger chains like Staples or Office Depot, but when there's small businesses out there right in your backyard... you'd be foolish not to take advantage." He happily patted Michael's back. "And with a fellow agrotourism enthusiast among you, it would be practically criminal."
Michael nodded, "Well... Dwight is the company's top salesman."
Mr. Tuscany seemed impressed, "Really, well no wonder. The kid's got a true knack for the art of the pitch."
Michael nodded, "That he does, sir. That he does."
At that moment, Dwight came in with the papers, passing them to Mr. Tuscany, "Just sign -
Mr. Tuscany waved him off, "I know where to sign." As he crossed his t's and dotted his i's, the whole room became more and more excited. When Mr. Tuscany made sure that everything was in order, he passed the forms onto Michael, "Here you are good man. I believe that's all."
Michael nodded and shook Mr. Tuscany's hand, "Thank you for everything. I'll give you a call on Monday."
Mr. Tuscany nodded, "Alright, sounds good. Possibly to lunch. I haven't been to Jilly's in years." he began to put his coat on and walk toward the door.
Michael followed, "Sounds great, sir. I look forward to it." He patted him on his back, "Be careful out there. It's getting pretty rough out there."
Mr. Tuscany scoffed, "Rough, Smough. I have handled much worst than this in my sleep." He laughed at his own joked, as did everyone else. "Good luck to you, Mr. Scott. I'll see you Monday afternoon."
Michael nodded, "I'll be there." As Michael closed the door and made sure Mr. Tuscany was a reasonable amount of distance away from the condo, Michael screamed, "We did it!"
Everyone started cheering and clapping, relieved that the tremendous burden resolved and any major problem were averted. Everyone gave each other hugs and high fives. The condo was filled with joy and relief. Michael offered everyone something to drink, which everyone eagerly obliged. Jim offered to help Michael in the kitchen.
As Jim was grabbing sodas and beers out of the fridge, Michael came up behind him and clapped his hand on his back. Jim smiled, "We sure were lucky, huh?" Michael nodded but didn't respond. He looked over at Jim and smiled. Jim turned around and noticed, "What?"
Michael shrugged, "I'm really glad that you were hired here."
Jim chuckled, "Thanks. You hired me."
Michael chuckled too, "That's not what I meant. I'm really glad to have you as part of the Dunder Mifflin family. It wouldn't be the same without you."
Jim looked amused but felt Michael was being sincere, "Thanks, man. It wouldn't be the same without you either." Jim started making his way towards the den when Michael stopped him.
"By the way, buddy. I just wanted to tell you that I think you can play the guitar really well. You should join Kevin's band." Michael smirked and closed the refrigerator.
Jim looked stunned, "How did you -
Michael shrugged, "You don't have to. It was just a thought." He left the room, humming 'Australia'.
Jim looked even more stunned. "The Shins?" He shook it off and walked after Michael.
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As Jim, Pam and Dwight were leaving, they all said goodbye to Michael. As Jim closed the door to his car and slowly backed out of the driveway, Michael closed the front door. He turned around and found Jan cleaning up the kitchen counter. Michael slipped his arms around her waist and held her, but she nudged him away. When she turned around, she had a stern look on her face. Michael was caught off guard, "What's wrong?"
Jan turned on her heel with a few glasses in her hands, "What's wrong, you ask? I don't know... maybe my boyfriend ran into the night and disappeared for nearly three hours!" She dropped the glasses in the sink, "You scared me to death, Michael." Some tears started to fall from her eyes, "You left without an inkling at where you were going. You just stormed out of here and didn't turn back. You screamed at me and yelled at me. You said some awful things to me and about yourself and how you wished -" She couldn't finish the sentence. She slid down to the floor and began to cry uncontrollably, crying for herself, crying for Michael, crying for what she could have lost, crying for what she knew she could have.
Michael crossed the floor and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. He held her and breathed in the scent of her hair, the perfume he always thought was sexy. He held her for a long time and let her cry, after all, it's what he did. He let her express herself in anyway possible, even if that meant she had to shred a single tear. But right now, he didn't care what the reason was for him to be on the icy cold tile kitchen floor. He was with her, holding her and touching her and breathing her in. No matter what the reason was, it was irrelevant. He was happy and content in her arms.
When she finally collected herself, she looked up into his green eyes. She would have never saw herself on Michael Scott's kitchen floor a year ago, crying her eyes out. She never saw herself doing a lot of the things she did with him, but the thought of never being able to do those things with him, not being able to look into those green eyes again caused her to breakdown in their kitchen. She never in a million years expected to be so in love with Michael, but imagining a world, a life without him in it was too bleak and dark to comprehend. Looking into his eyes now, she took a breath and did the one thing that no other man but Michael let her do, express herself. "Michael, what happened out there? Where did you go? What took you so long to come back? Why did you leave? Leave me?" She sniffled into his chest, "I'm sorry if I -
She was silenced by Michael cooing, "Shh, don't talk like that. You did nothing wrong, okay?" She nodded into his chest. He took a breath, "I... um... I went to the bridge that passes over Lake Scranton. I went there to think about stuff, you know. My life, my past, my present..." He looked down at Jan, "My future." That made her smile. "I thought about where I fit in this world, where I belong."
Jan looked up and wiped her face. Sniffling, "So... where do you belong?"
Michael smiled and pulled her closer to him, "Right here." He held her tighter, "I didn't leave because of you... but I came back because of you."
Jan stiffened a bit at his poignant revelation. She relaxed though, feeling that her place in the world was wrapped in his arms. She spoke firmly, "Don't ever do that again, ever." She nestled into the cup of his shoulder and inhaled, "Don't ever do that again."
Michael nodded, "I won't, I promise." She felt him nodding and she smiled.
Michael looked around the kitchen, "What happened to all the gifts?"
Jan shrugged, "I returned the ones I could. We got back like $1600 and have $300 credit at Sears."
Michael nodded, "You didn't have to do that. We're okay, now."
Jan nodded, "I know, but... I just... I should have been more aware and considerate. I wasn't and I promise not to be that way anymore."
Michael shrugged, "Okay. More money for some new magic stuff I wanted to get. There are these new gloves that when you wave them, they -
Jan put her finger to his lips, "Shut up." She smiled which made him chuckle. She leaned back against him and sighed happily. "This feels so nice. We should do this more often."
Michael made a mental note to make it a standing ritual to hold each other on the cold tile floor. The thought made him laugh. Jan laughed as well, as if she were thinking the same thing.
He smiled and felt completely at peace. He didn't have the extravagant things in life: fancy car, big house, a decent credit rating. But he had all he needed, right here in his arms. She was his entire life and more. Loving her was as easy as breathing and nothing else matter more. He whispered in her eye, "I love you, Jan."
Without a falter, she answered right back, "I love you, Michael."
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More to come. The next chapter is the epilogue. I hope you really enjoyed this story and this chapter. I am going to miss this story so much! Ugh! But alas, all good things come to an end. Thanks reader for sticking with me.
This is for those who haven't written a review: FOR SHAME!!!! For those who have, disregard the previous statement. That is all.