My Everything

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chapter 1

Autumn was Pam's favorite time of year.

She loved how the crisp, golden leaves clung to their branches until a steady wind stole them away, how the air around her smelled so fresh and clean. How everyone's wardrobe abruptly shifted from flouncy summer dresses and cargo shorts to thick, wool sweaters and long scarves wrapped around their necks. At work, people would start submitting their Christmas vacation requests to her while the party-planning committee would set their sights on Halloween. Pam would kick up the thermostat in her condo a few notches, and she would eventually decide that it was time to dig out the portable heater from the depths of her closet that she liked to keep beside the bed to ward off the cold evening chill.

The mornings at the office during autumn were especially comforting. Pam would bring from home a steaming cup of coffee in her travel mug, which served to keep her hands warm on the short journey from the parking lot up to her reception desk. She would shrug off her coat and neatly hang it on the coat rack, checking to see if the voicemail light was lit up as she did so. If it was, she would gently press the button on the phone pad with a finger and let the messages play out on speaker as she readied her workstation, since she was usually the first one there. If there were no messages, she would ready herself in silence, listening to the heat vent beside her as it hummed methodically and eventually kicked off.

This time of year, she substituted her usual variety pack of multi-colored jelly beans on her desk for a more seasonal, wrapped-caramel option. She found most of the people in the office liked caramel, but not everyone, so she mixed in a few M&M's as an attempt at appeasement.

Seated at her desk now, she would cup the mug in her hands and enjoy the sweet silence of solitude, waiting for her computer to boot up as she sipped at her coffee. Eventually, she would hear the weighted footsteps of the person who was usually second to arrive at the office every morning. Dwight Shrute.

She tilted her head up slightly to greet him. "Good morning, Dwight."

He gave her his usual, stern gaze out from behind large glasses that took up almost a third of his face. "Pamela."

He made his way to his desk quickly, never one for exchanging pleasantries. Not that she expected anything more. Dwight was an exceedingly peculiar creature, almost a freak of nature if she was being completely honest. But the same quirks that made her roll her eyes up to high heaven were the same quirks that entertained her endlessly, and in a weird way she knew her work life wouldn't be near as fun without him in it.

Next to arrive would be Angela, or sometimes Phyllis, depending on who caught the elevator first. Both would greet her with a small, polite smile as they passed, and Phyllis would usually take a few candies from Pam's desk as she did. Pam would begin responding to the dozens of emails that had collected in her inbox, most of them requesting confirmation about received paper shipments to the warehouse downstairs. She didn't mind responding to those—she could do them in her sleep. She would finish up the rest of her coffee, and her eyes would take in the morning sun gradually lifting higher in the sky through her boss's office window across from her. The small amount of frost clinging to the window panes would slowly melt away, and the rest of her co-workers would trickle past her, silently making a bee-line for their desks.

Somewhere during all that, Jim would usually arrive, setting his coat on the coat rack beside her with a quick "Morning, Beesly," murmured in her direction and a smile playing on his lips.

He had a thing about calling her by her last name, which no one else did. Not that she was complaining.

Usually she would look up from her desk and give him a "Morning, Halpert," with a matching smile. She had to tilt her head up to look at him because he was so tall. His soft brown hair would be tousled across his forehead in a way that should have made it appear untidy and unappealing, but to Pam it just reminded her of a kid who'd just rushed in from playing outside with his friends.

She would usually look away at that point and get back to her emails, but this morning marked the start of her seasonal autumn routine. She kept her gaze on Jim and lifted up her mug. "Today's September first!"

Jim chuckled. "Ah, I see that. The ceremonial mug has been resurrected. It is now officially fall."

She smiled and pointed a finger in front of her expectantly. "Annnddd..."

He took in the small container of caramels and M&M's sitting on the center of her desk. "Oh yes, and how could I forget, the sacred caramels. A Beesly classic."

Pam nodded. "Well, they're for everyone, not just me."

"I'll have to come try some later, then. The next time Dwight annoys me, which will probably be in the next-" He checked his watch for comedic effect. "-ten minutes or so."

She flashed an impish grin and Jim made his way to his desk a few feet away from her.

His desk location had proven to be quite convenient for them over the years. It only took Jim a few large steps to get to her if he had to quickly fill her in on a prank-in progress, the target usually being Dwight. It was also in perfect proximity for facial expressions to be shared instantly across the room at the most recent antics of their boss, which was a near daily occurrence.

Sharing these interactions with Jim had become the highlight of Pam's work days and made the hours she spent at reception fly by. She found herself almost looking forward to something out of the ordinary happening just so she could discuss it with Jim afterward and delight in his reaction.

Turning her attention back to her emails, she lost track of time until she heard a loud voice erupt from the entry to the office space on her left, and knew it must be a little after 9:00am.

"Hellllooooo New York Cityyy! How's everyone doin' this morning?" Her boss, Michael Scott, had made his typical boisterous entrance, of which she had long become accustomed to, as had everyone else in the office since half of them barely managed to look up in his direction. He strode up to Pam's desk with a wide smile, last to arrive to the office as always.

"Pamma mamma jamma, what's up today? Anything cool going on?" He slapped both his palms on top of her desk enthusiastically.

"Uhmm..." Pam grasped for something that would satisfy him, knowing that the odds were against her. "It's...September first?" she offered up meekly.

"Well...ok, Pam. No, that's not, no. That's not interesting, that's not fun. We need some FUN around here, people!" He made his way to the center of the office with his arms spread out imploringly, addressing the entire room and demanding their full attention.

"I want some fun ideas from every one of you by the end of the hour! Something that will give us a break from our pointless, hum-drum lives. Make it happen!" And with that sweeping declaration, he made his way into his office, leaving the door ajar as he always did. Most everyone slowly turned back to their desks, resuming work as if nothing had happened.

Jim locked eyes with Pam from his desk and shook his head in mock disbelief. She held back a laugh as she shook her own head in return, and she couldn't deny the small jolt of excitement she got when his eyes had looked up to find hers automatically.

She knew some people might look at her life in the office as dull and boring, but to her, it was as fascinating and intricate as a finely-crafted puzzle box.

Morning soon slid into afternoon, and Pam's fingers had started to cramp up somewhat. She pulled away from her keyboard, flexing her fingers in an attempt to relax them. She had been trapped in an email vortex for the majority of the day. Apparently, a shipment of high- gloss paper had somehow gone missing yesterday, but the error had finally been traced to an incorrect address given to someone in the warehouse.

Unfortunately though, it hadn't affected just one paper shipment like everyone had previously thought—there were actually several shipments that had needed correction. Finally, after almost four hours of back-and-forth through email, everyone had been notified and set right, but it had taken a good deal of effort on her part, much more than usual. She sighed softly and continued to stretch her fingers.

A shadow fell over her just then, and she looked up to find Jim smirking down at her as he unwrapped a caramel.

"Tough day at the office?" His face was a mask of seriousness, elbows resting on the slightly raised surface of her reception desk.

"Ha ha. Very funny." She lightly massaged her neck with one hand, lolling her head back and forth with the motion. "Actually, yes. I've been swamped with emails all day,"

"Care for a distraction?"he said as he quirked up an eyebrow.

"Anything."

"Well," he dropped his voice low as he leaned in closer and she tried not to notice his aftershave. "I'm planning to drive Dwight slowly to the brink of insanity." He popped the caramel into his mouth.

She pressed her lips together, suppressing a giggle. "How can I say no to that?" Straightening up in her chair, she glanced over at Dwight, who was seated at his desk beside Jim's, sifting through papers on his desk unsuspectingly. "So, what do I do?"

"Nothing, just play along. And observe." He slunk away from her desk and back to his own, appearing completely casual. A minute or two went by, and then Pam heard a low-pitched whistle emit from somewhere around his desk.

Dwight glanced up instantly and the noise stopped. He gave a puzzled look for a few seconds, then resumed his work, typing away at his computer.

Again the low-pitched whistle filled the air, barely audible but just enough to be noticeable by Dwight, Jim and Pam.

This time, Dwight looked up completely, turning his head from side to side like a dog, trying to decipher the noise. The whistle stopped and he closed his eyes to concentrate as he tried to hone in on its location. After waiting for a few moments, he opened his eyes and slowly turned back to the computer monitor, although still on high alert. He tentatively resumed his typing.

The whistle began for a third time, and Dwight pushed himself away from his desk, getting on his feet. He shot Jim a glare, arms stiffly at his sides.

"Alright, Jim. I know what you're up to!" His voice was stern.

Jim glanced up from his computer lazily, chin balanced on his fist. "Oh? What's that?"

Dwight put his hands on his hips and Pam giggled quietly to herself, a silent observer to another one of Jim's hilarious pranks.

"That noise. You're making that noise." He stepped closer and pointed at Jim for emphasis. "Stop it, Jim."

Jim shifted his eyes back to his monitor, feigning disinterest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, admit it. Don't you hear it? Listen."

They both fell silent, and Jim looked up at Dwight expectantly with eyebrows raised. The only sounds heard were light keystrokes from multiple office keyboards, and the occasional click of a mouse.

"I don't hear anything, Dwight. Maybe it's the furnace."

Dwight spun on his heel and plopped back down into his desk chair, frowning deeply. He was considering resuming his work when the sound started up again. He shot up so fast his chair toppled backward behind him and Pam had to hide a smile behind her hand.

Quickly, Dwight made his way up to her desk and she hastily worked to re-arrange herself into a more casual posture, pretending to be absorbed in the Word document open on her computer screen.

"Pam, do you hear that noise?" He peered out at her from overtop his glasses. "Tell me you can hear that!"

She kept her eyes on her screen, revealing nothing. "What noise?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Pam! You need your hearing checked. This whole office needs their hearing checked." He ran to the wall nearest Jim's desk, pressing his ear up against it, hands splayed out on either side, listening intently. Jim turned his chair around to face him.

"What're you doing?"

Dwight lightly tapped a fist to the wall. "Could be a burst pipe, or a leaking gas line. Shrutes have perfect hearing. We could hear an eagle land two cornfields away." He began to slowly walk down the full length of the wall, ear pressed against it all the way, skipping the big glass panes of the conference room, until he reached the group of large shelves adoring the back of the office.

Pam's eyes darted back to Jim, who was clearly enjoying every second of this. He chewed at the end of a pen and gave her a sly wink, which she returned. Dwight had moved on to pressing his ear to the floor now, crouching low as he slowly dragged his ear across the carpet. Michael emerged from his office at that moment, taking in the sight of Dwight on all fours with his rear end stuck up in the air directly in front of his boss.

"Dwight. What...what are you doing right now?"

"Michael, there's a potential workplace hazard that is threatening this office and has to be found and rectified before it's too-"

"Ok, you idiot, let's just stop that...stop that! Dwight, I said stop that and go back to your desk. Right now!"

"But, Michael, you don't-"

"Who's the boss, Dwight? I'm the boss. Me. Who? ME! So, let's go, you freakshow!" he exclaimed, shooing Dwight up and away from the carpet. Even Michael Scott, possibly the craziest one of them all, could recognize the ridiculousness that was Dwight.

Dwight reluctantly removed himself from his crouching position on the floor and made his way back to his desk, defeated. Michael took a few more steps toward the center of the room as he regarded the office in front of him with crossed arms, clearly getting ready to make another ridiculous announcement that had nothing at all to do with their work.

"Alright everybody," he said, clapping his hands together, "since none of you came to me with any ideas about how to make this day fun, because you are all a bunch of losers, I have come to a decision that we are all going to make a trip to the dollar store in order to buy me another set of plastic, wind-up teeth for my desk."

Michael was known for keeping various little trinkets (mostly small toys meant for children) in his office on his desk. Pam would occasionally spy him fiddling with them while he was on the phone with a client or someone calling to check up on him from the corporate office. She felt the toys acted as somewhat of a security blanket for him, something to soothe his nerves. She thought it was quite endearing.

Pam raised her hand with a question. "What happened to your old set?"

"Very good question, Pam. I seem to have cracked them while trying to fit them in my own mouth. It turns out they are not to scale."

Pam smiled, marveling to herself at how silly her boss was. There was no question that he could be a jerk sometimes, excessively vulgar even. But no matter how ridiculous he got, Pam would be reminded that it was definitely preferable and more entertaining than the alternative; a corporate stuffed shirt with no personality and no heart.

Suddenly, the phone rang beside her and she lifted the receiver to her ear. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

After a few seconds, she responded to the caller. "Alright, I'll transfer you." She looked up and got Michael's attention. "It's Jan, Michael."

"Oh! Okay, great, okay." He clapped his hands together again. "I'll take it in my office." He turned to go back but paused and addressed the office again. "So, I guess our little field trip will have to wait a while. I have a smoking hot woman waiting for me on the other line."

"If you want, I could run out and buy a set of teeth for you." Pam offered, quickly meeting Jim's eyes, hoping he would take the bait she was offering up.

"Well, sure Pam, that would be grrrrrrrreat. Like Tony the Tiger. Are you sure you don't need any help? I could make Dwight-"

"No, that's okay, I'll go, too. Make sure she gets the right kind." Jim innocently interjected.

"There we go. Good man, Jim, way to step up. Ok Autobots, roll out!" And with that, Michael disappeared into his office, closing the door as everyone wearily turned their attention back to their desks. Pam got up from her chair, setting her calls to direct-to-voicemail, trying not to notice the slight tingle of anticipation running up her body at the upcoming "field trip".

Jim made his way to the coat rack, grabbing his coat and handing over hers, giving her a lop-sided grin with raised eyebrows as he did.

"Shall we?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So, how did you do it?"

"A small recorder underneath my desk. I recorded a tea kettle whistle at home last night."

"Ah, you are truly the master at the sport of Dwight trickery, Halpert."

"I wouldn't say a master. But, I could probably teach a class on it."

Jim and Pam slowly made their way through the aisles of the local dollar store, keeping an eye out for plastic wind-up teeth. Currently, they were in the birthday party aisle, which was brimming with brightly colored streamers and balloons. Pam sifted through a bin of party favors next to them and pulled out a small kaleidoscope.

"I love looking through these. You can pretend you're looking into another dimension." She brought it up to her eye and inspected the swirling mix of brightly colored beads and mirrors through the small hole.

"Does that dimension have any Michael's or Dwight's in it?" Jim stood close to her, inspecting the bin himself and grabbing a finger skateboard.

"Mmm, no, not that I can find. But it does have an office...and it looks like there's a little version of me in there. And, oh look, there's a Jim too. Except now, you're the receptionist and I'm the salesman."

"Interesting. I guess I better practice my phone voice." He raised his voice up to a shrill pitch and cleared his throat. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Jim."

Pam giggled and set the kaleidoscope back in the bin, only to have Jim scoop it back out. "No, we should buy this. I think it's time you started your own toy collection on your desk."

She smiled and looked up at him. "Only if you buy the finger skateboard. You could ride the half-pipe up the side of Dwight's customer files."

"Deal." He held out the shopping basket he was holding and they set their little trinkets inside. They made their way down the next aisle full of cheap greeting cards for every occasion under the sun. Jim quickly snapped up a birthday card with a picture of an old cartoon woman whose breasts hung low to her knees.

"I should totally get you this for your next birthday."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Only if you want to make it the last card you ever give." She picked up a get-well card with a drawing of two puppies on the front. "This is cute."

Jim was standing a few feet down the aisle now, inspecting the rows of cards in front of him for more funny ones. His eyes fell on the wedding cards and he picked one up. "Well, we know which card I won't have to buy you for a while. You and Roy haven't even set a date yet."

Pam sucked in her breath. His words were definitely meant to be teasing and fun, but they unexpectedly cut through her like a blade. She was incredibly sensitive when it came to the topic of her wedding. Or, lack thereof.

She had been engaged to Roy Anderson now for almost three years, and he hadn't seemed the least bit interested in setting a date. She'd brought up the topic here and there over the last few months to test the water but he'd always answer with a "We got lots of time to plan this, babe!" or "They just came out with a new Dodge Ram! You know we gotta save up for a new truck, Pammy." So, she had let it slide for the time being, again, and a feeling of uneasiness settled in her stomach whenever she thought about it.

She tried to keep her face neutral. "Yeah, that's for sure." She kept her eyes on the greeting cards in front of her, pretending to browse through them while biting the inside of her cheek.

Jim instantly came to stand beside her, sensing her mood change. "Ah, sorry." He shifted the handle of the grocery basket in his hand. "I...that wasn't very cool to say."

Pam looked up and gave him a light smile, seeing how he was awkwardly trying to repair the situation. "It's okay. It is kind of comical in a way. I mean, engaged for three years, and no end in sight...do they make cards for that?"

Jim reached out in front of him and plucked out a card from the very top of the display. "How about this?" He held the card up with two fingers. The front of the card read "Sorry for your loss" in swooping, elegant script.

She chuckled lightly and snatched it away from him, tucking it back into the display neatly. "Not quite the right message, but the sentiment is appreciated nonetheless." They started walking down the end of the aisle and into the next one. This aisle was filled with cheap home décor along with a multitude of scented candles. They both stopped and started smelling various ones, laughing at the cheesy names on the labels.

"This one's called "Lucky Bloom." Pam lifted the green candle to her nose and breathed it in deeply, instantly coughing as she held it away from herself immediately. "Ugh, that doesn't smell lucky at all." Her voice was muffled as she stuffed her nose in the crook of her arm.

Jim gently lifted the candle from her hands, testing it out for himself. "Hmm, that's-" He took another quick sniff. "It smells like lavender mixed with...pine?"

She crinkled up her nose. "Well, whatever it is, it's gross." Pam tried another candle, this time a deep orange one. "Ooh!" Her eyes lit up instantly as she smelled it again, inhaling deeply. The side of Jim's mouth cocked up at her reaction. "Like that one?"

"Yeah, it's actually really good. What's it called..." She turned it in her hands to read to label. "Autumn Dreams."

"Well, that's pretty perfect." He reached the grocery basket out to her. "Put it in."

She eyed it hesitantly. "Well, okay, but I'm paying for it." He rolled his eyes at her mockingly as she carefully added it next to their other purchases. "Beesly, everything in here is like, a dollar. I'm not too concerned about it."

"I know, I'm just saying." She looked up at him then, and saw the twinkle in his eyes as he teased her. She loved joking around with him, so much so that she was hoping this store would spontaneously generate 20 more aisles so they could keep browsing together indefinitely. She felt her cheeks heat up and she quickly looked down, starting to make her way down the aisle in front of him again. Where did that thought come from?

She walked by an assortment of picture frames, and stopped to inspect a few. Most were cheap and much too small, but there was one that she kind of liked; a simple wooden frame in a warm shade of chestnut brown. She picked it up, and upon closer inspection, saw it held a picture of a smiling couple wearing a wedding dress and a tuxedo. Pam frowned and set it back down.

Jim observed her reaction and was beside her again. "Do you see you guys getting married anytime soon?" he asked hesitantly.

She didn't know what to say to that question. She didn't even know the answer herself. It wasn't that she was deeply religious, or needed to show everyone how committed she was to her relationship. She didn't need the fancy dress or the beautiful wedding ceremony, family and friends all showering her with congratulations.

She needed Roy to prove to her how much he cared. Because every day that passed without his acknowledgement of their wedding served to slowly chip away at her certainty that he did, in fact, love her.

And that was a terrible way to feel.

Pam stared out at the picture frames, hands in her coat pockets, silent for a few seconds. Finally, she tilted her head to the side, deep in thought. "I don't know. I really don't."

Quickly, she blinked and looked up at Jim, trying to disperse the heavy air that had suddenly settled around them. "We've both been pre-occupied with things, I'll just have to remind him next time I see him." She flashed a fake smile and tried to re-capture their jovial mood of a few minutes ago. "I think the next aisle has toys in it. Let's go."

-Thank you so much for taking the time to read! The story is basically 99% written already, so all I have to do is post the chapters every few days/ weekly, do some final editing and finish up the ending. I've always loved Jim and Pam as a couple (especially in the early seasons), so this story is very fun to write!