Chapter Six: Full Disclosures.

Once Pam regained a sense of where she was and what had happened, she let out a quiet "oh shit."

"Good morning. How are you feelin'?" The sound came from the kitchen, where Jim sat dressed and ready for work, crunching a bowl of cereal.

Pam covered her eyes in embarrassment and said "Oh, God, Jim, I'm so sorry."

"So, exactly how long have you been a drunkard?" Jim's openly sarcastic tone made Pam laugh and relieved some of her mortification. Some, not all.

"Ha ha. I don't know why I did that. I almost never drink."

"I figured. Any reason why you did last night?" Jim asks more seriously.

"A little nervous, I guess."

"Yeah, you know, I kind of figured that after you, you know, passed out. And, ah, you know, I feel really bad if you felt pressured or rushed into something. I really didn't mean to do that. You can take as long as you need. We're in no hurry."

"No, it's not . . . " Pam stops. "Thank you, you're very sweet. Oh, hey, what time is it?"

"Eight o'clock. I didn't want to wake you. So why don't you rest up here some more for as long as you want and you can go back to Emily's and get changed, showered, or whatever. And just relax. The door locks automatically, so, you know, you're welcome to stay or go whenever. But I thought I at least better get to work today. If we both call off sick again in the same week, I think the gig is up."

"Maybe the gig should be up."

Jim eyes Pam curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why don't we just go in today and just let things be what they are."

"Be what they are? And how is that, exactly?"

"Well, you know, that we're seeing each other in a non-occupational, extracurricular fashion."

Jim is very happy. "Are you sure?" Pam smiles broadly and nods her head yes. Jim continues, less happily, "What about Roy?"

Pam's smile disappears. "I don't want him to find out by rumor. I just have to pull the band-aid off quickly. I'll tell him this afternoon. I just don't want to keep up some ridiculous act like Dwight and Angela."

"Wait, what's this about Dwight and Angela?"

"I'll explain it later. You need time for your breakfast to digest."

"OK, so, um, should I go to work without you and you'll just be late, or do you want me to take you to Emily's to get ready?"

"Yeah, why don't we drive together. It won't take me that long."

"Great. Plus, then, I get to keep your car hostage and you have to come home with me to get it."


On the ride over to Pam's temporary lodging and then to the Dunder-Mifflin office, they debated the best way to disclosure their relationship. Jim suggested a memo. To which, Pam suggested that they just start making out on the reception desk. Finally, they agreed that they had to talk to Toby first because, as the HR representative, he had to process the paperwork declaring an inter-office consensual romantic relationship.

But, perhaps a formal announcement to the staff would not be unnecessary after all. Jim and Pam arrived together, at the same time, thirty minutes late. It was a conspicuous entrance, made even more so by the sudden hush when they came in and by the seemingly simultaneous turning of all the heads in the office save Michael, who had mercifully taken a personal day.

Now this, Jim and Pam couldn't even pretend not to notice. They kept walking straight back to Toby's desk.

When Toby looked up at them, he just nodded and said "Let me guess." He then held up the declaration paperwork. The couple blushed and nodded. "OK, let's go into the conference room, get this stuff signed, and I have to go through a couple of corporate policies regarding these kind of relationships and have you sign something that says that you have heard them and understand them."

As the three of them walked to the conference room, there is still no sound from anyone but all eyes follow their every move. Even as they sit there in the conference room, through the blinds, everyone still stares at them. Pam is a little freaked out. Jim whispers, "I don't think we even need to say anything."

Toby hands them some paper that needs signing and initialing. He says to them, in his polite and softly spoken Toby way, "Um, look, I'm not going to tell on you guys to corporate or anything, but you really should have declared this when it started."

"Um, but it only started a couple of days ago," Jim offers.

Toby nods knowingly, "Right and that's what I'm going to write down, but, just so you know for the future, you really should declare it in the first week."

"We are," Pam is getting flustered.

"Sure," Toby says.

After all the paperwork has been signed and initialed and all the policies clearly noted, they all get up to leave. When Jim and Pam emerge from the conference room, they are met with a startling round of applause from everyone except Dwight and Angela. Pam is mortified and turns around and buries her head in Jim's chest. But the office converges around them, genuinely happy. Even Angela manages a sincere smile from her desk.

"OK, OK," Jim says, trying to disperse his officemates. "Thanks and everything, but can we just get back to normal now?" As everyone begins to return to their desks, Kelly can't help herself and kisses Jim's cheek and gives Pam a hug.

When everything finally dies down and everyone is seated and back to the drudgery of work, Pam emails Jim.

Now Roy. P.

I'm coming down with you. J.

No, that could be a bad scene. P.

I'm not going to let you go alone. That's not an option. J.

I can handle this, really. I mean it—don't come. It'll just make things worse. P.

Jim doesn't like this at all. But he has an idea. He walks over to Kevin's desk.

"OK, here's the deal. Pam has to tell Roy about us in a few minutes and . . . "

Kevin interrupts Jim, "Oh, dude, that's going to be harsh."

"Um, yeah, and that's why I'm here. Pam insists that I can't come down with her and she won't listen to reason on this, and you once said you'd get my back. Well, I'm asking you to get her back. Could you just go down and make sure she's OK and take my cell phone if anything starts to go wrong?"

"Absolutely." Kevin hesitates and then says, "I can bring Oscar?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"And Ryan?"

"Sure."

"And Meredith? "

"You know, I think that'll be enough."

Jim walks up to the reception desk and Pam immediately reminds him that he can't come down to the warehouse with her. "Not a problem," Jim says to Pam's surprise. "Because Kevin is coming down to watch out for you."

Pam laughs. "Kevin?"

"Yeah, Kevin. And Oscar. And Ryan. And maybe Meredith."

"Really, Jim, nothing is going to happen."

"I know, I'd just feel better if somebody else was there. Look, it's either me or them, pick."

"Well, Meredith can kick ass," Pam laughs.


The wait for Pam, Kevin, Oscar, and Ryan to get back from the warehouse seemed interminable for Jim. He got up repeatedly from his desk and nearly went running down to the warehouse, but he forced himself to sit back down.

Finally, one by one, they filed back into the office. Ryan, then Oscar, Kevin, and Pam. The looks on all their faces did not reassure Jim. They looked shell-shocked and frightened out of their minds. As Kevin walks by Jim, he leans down and says "Jim, I don't think you want to go down to the warehouse alone—ever again." Kevin starts to leave and then stops to add, "Actually, don't go to the warehouse period."

Jim nervously walks over to Pam's desk. "What happened?"

"Oh, it went fine, really," Pam says, clearly lying. "We'll talk about it later."

Jim nods and starts to go back to his desk. But Pam adds quickly, "Oh, and Jim, maybe you better stay away from the warehouse for a while. Like forever."

Jim looks frightened.

The office was surprisingly cheerful the rest of the day, even for a Friday, even for a Friday without Michael. Sometimes people wrapped up in their pain and their own problems don't realize that their lives and their moods, however well they believe they've cloaked them from plain sight, effect the lives of all around them. Personal misery infects the physical properties of an environment in ways science can never explain.

And with Jim and Pam no longer suffering silently amongst them, everyone felt a palpable weight lifted from them and, for a short time at least, shared the couple's sense of content.

Of course, there were unintended consequences as well, as Dwight and Angela felt even more pressure on their own relationship's covert status. And then Jim and Pam had also to contend on Monday with revealing themselves to Michael and all the potential offensive sexual innuendo that would bring.

Now Jim could visit Pam at her desk without fear. "So, since I have your car hostage, you have to come home with me tonight. You tell me exactly what you want to do and I'll make it happen."

"Actually, what I'd really love is chance to make last night up to you."

"Make what up to me? I had a great time."

"You know what I mean."

"I mean it when I say that last night was incredible and you have nothing, nothing to make up to me, OK?"

"OK. Thank you, Jim."

"Now, whatever you want to do, I want to make it happen."

"Anything?"

"Anything that's not illegal. No, cancel that, especially anything that is illegal."

"OK, here's what I want." Jim comically picks up a notepad and pen to write down Pam's requests. Pam continues, "I want to pick up some take-out, go back to your apartment, and talk. And maybe listen to some listen to music. And lay down on your sofa with my head on your lap and listen to your entire life story, roughly since birth."

"Oh, come on, you're being too easy on me."

"You said anything."

"If that's what you want, that, my dear, exactly what you'll get." Jim smiles and takes an M&M. "Half an hour to go." Pam smiles back.


Quitting time arrives. When people walk past Jim as he waits for Pam to gather her things, some of them stop and smile at him, a couple even pat him on the shoulder, an acknowledgement that everyone knew how long Jim and suffered and how much they enjoyed seeing him so happy.

On the way to Jim's car, Pam floats an idea past Jim, "Oh, hey, maybe we can double-date with Angela and Dwight." Jim opens the car door for her. She continues, "we can watch Battlestar Gallactica together." She laughs.

"I knew you weren't going to let that go." At that moment, Pam's jaw drops and she tries to warn Jim, but everything happened too fast.

Jim felt himself being jerked back and turned around with great force only to be face to face with Roy.

"Didn't waste much time did you, Halpert?" Roy punches Jim in the stomach, causing Jim to release a deep cry of pain. Pam is out of the car and several office and warehouse staff are on their way to Jim's car.

Pam yells at Roy to let Jim go.

"Is this what you were after the whole time you son-of-a-bitch?" Roy slams Jim against the car, holds him by jacket, and punches him in the eye before three or four guys from the warehouse pull Roy away. Pam and the entire office staff converge around Jim to see if he's alright. Angela runs up to the office to get the first-aid kit and Dwight checks to see if Jim should go to the hospital.

They prop Jim up against the car, Angela puts an ice pack to Jim's eye, and Jim tries to assure everyone that he's OK. Pam is distraught and wracked with guilt. This is all my fault, she thinks to herself.

Dwight is even nice to Jim, offering to have Roy arrested. Jim declines, thanks everyone for their concern, and tells them to go on home. That leaves Jim and Pam alone by his car.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this happened. I am so sorry."

"You didn't hit me. You shouldn't be sorry. Besides, I can't really say that I blame him. If he had taken you from me, I'd be likely to want to beat him up too—except that, you know, he's enormous and scary. Let's just get out of here."

And so Pam drove Jim home.

"I'm sorry," Jim began as he sat on the sofa next to Pam, with the ice pack on his eye. "I wanted this night to be great."

"Hey, this wasn't your fault. Besides, I was the one that ruined last night and that was my fault."

"No, that was my fault too. I shouldn't have written that e-mail suggesting you stay over. I didn't mean to rush you and make you all nervous."

"I really do want to be with you, Jim. I just worry that . . . " Pam trailed off, embarrassed.

"What? What do you worry about?"

"Alright, this is embarrassing. I've only ever been with Roy."

Jim takes a minute to get the full meaning of what Pam has said and then responds, "That's not embarrassing at all. Now, Meredith being tougher in a fight than me, now that's embarrassing."

"I'm being serious."

"Why would that be embarrassing?" Here Pam is overcome with said embarrassment.

"Because I'm worried that you've been waiting so long for me and building this up and it's just not going to live up to what you're expecting and then you're going to be disappointed."

"In the sex, you mean?" Pam looks at Jim as if to say, "well, yeah."

Jim considers this for a moment. "Well, I mean that's possible." Pam is made even more awkward by Jim's seemingly brutal honesty and she looks away troubled.

"But," Jim continues, "but that's not about how many people you have or have not been with. To be honest, sex with someone for the first time is almost never fantastic. One night stands are generally horrible. Believe me, I know." At this last statement, Jim tries to backpedal, seeing Pam's raised eyebrows. "Forget I said that last part. What I mean is, no matter how great a connection with someone is or how attractive you find them or how much they turn you on or even how much you love them, you still have to get to know each other's, you know, . . . I mean, if you really love the person, it gets better and better and better. And believe me, I am ready and willing to put in the time and effort at any point you want to put me to work."

Jim's smile here is so genuine and so disarming, Pam can't help but be set at ease.

"I guess that makes sense," she admits. "I mean, it wasn't very good at first with Roy, but it . . . "

Jim interrupts, "Uh, yeah, I really don't want to hear or know anything about that."

Pam smiles and says "OK." She pauses and then says, "Thank you, Jim."

"No, I really appreciate you being honest with me."

"So, Jim, just how many women have you . . . "

Jim interrupts her quickly, "Oh, hey I think Battlestar Gallactica is on tonight." Pam laughs at his obvious diversionary tactic and reaches over to kiss him. She pulls the ice pack away from his eye and kisses the bruise. She gets up from the sofa and grabs Jim's hand to pull him up as well.

"Where am I going?" Jim asks.

"I'm putting you to work."


FINIS. Thanks for all the responses. I think I most wanted to prove to myself that a developing relationship between Jim and Pam could still be interesting and funny. That some of you also enjoyed the story is a real treat.