A/N: Sorry this took so long to update- this part has been floating around with me for a bit, I just had to sit down and finally write it out. We'll see where it goes. Thanks for being patient!
S.
The doctors office was bright: well lit and inviting. She felt comfortable here, at ease- with Jim's hand on her back;, guiding her softly into the room. She scanned the walls covered with colored sketches of developing babies and cute little toddlers in flower plants or dressed up as lady bugs. She felt the smile play on her lips before her eyes settled on the object in the middle of the charming room.
A chair?
No, not just a normal chair- a large frightening gurney with a paper covering it and two long silver pedals sticking out of one end. It looked like a huge bug waiting to eat her alive.
"What is that?" She whispered, the alarm evident to Jim. "Am I supposed to sit in that?"
"My guess would be yes." Jim mused, slowly nudging Pam towards the contraption. Pam remained rooted to the ground.
"No. Absolutely not. Nah-huh." She slowly tried to back her way out of the now frightening shack of torture.
"Pam, it's fine…" Jim encouraged, taking her around the waist and pushing her back towards the table. "Ill be here the whole time." He abruptly stopped, rethinking his words. "Unless they start that voodoo down there." He helped her hop on the table, now waving his fingers down at her nether regions. "I don't want to be any part of that." He joked.
She didn't have a chance to laugh before the nurse came in, looking bustled- but smiling brightly. "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Beesley." She read from the clipboard.
Jim's face made a took adopted an odd expression- Pam looked up at him and grinned at his expense.
"Err, no… it's actually Halpert…" he said, pushing a hand through his hair.
The nurse looked from Jim to Pam for a moment, recovering quickly. "Yes, of course, how supportive you are for being here for her!" She said brightly. Jim's face went from embarrassed to confused, hiding behind a tight smile.
"We'll let me just go get the doctor for you, Ms. Beesley," she emphasized the "Ms.", "just change into this cover and she'll be right with you." She handed her the paper covering and made her exit just as quickly as she came.
"Well Mr. Beesley, would you mind turning your back so I can change?" Pam joked, as Jim turned his back and rolled his eyes. She swore she heard him mutter an obscenity.
Paper clad and barefoot, she nervously swung her feet as they fell far from the floor, wondering exactly what to expect. Jim had preoccupied himself with an outdated magazine, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Good magazine?" She inquired, trying to kill time. She watched him cross then uncross his legs, finding his size a poor match for the wooden chair he was contained in. He looked up at her question and flipped to look at the cover of the magazine.
"Yes, very much so… just reading about 'How to Please My Man." He quipped sourly, flipping the magazine back onto the small table sitting beside him.
Pam grinned, tilting her head to one side to regard him. "You look. . . bored." She observed. He rested his arms on his knees, shrugging back up at her. "Nah," he answered, "just ready to get his boat going. It's so nerve wracking waiting."
"Boat going?" She questioned his odd reference, about to laugh when the door opened,
The doctor was young. Really young. Too young to be a doctor. Must be another nurse. Or an intern. Or candy striper. Anyone but the doctor.
But it was the doctor.
All the humor left Pam's face as she watched Dr. Morales swagger into the room. She was pretty. No, too pretty, Pam thought- feeling herself straighten and wishing she had done her hair or put on makeup or something.
The doctor was tall, a soft mocha complexion and wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. She was exotic looking, bright black eyes and was very obviously not pregnant herself- based on the tight clothing she wore under her white jacket. Pam instantly hated her.
"Good morning Ms. Beesly, sorry for the wait." The doctors voice had a soft twinge of an accent- a velvety sound that Pam couldn't help but just stare at her approach. She accepted the soft hand when the doctor gripped hers in a firm shake- noticing the manicured fingers compared to her chewed ones.
"Hi." Pam meekly responded, feeling suddenly self conscious in her hospital gown and ponytail. The doctor flashed a brilliant smile, trying to calm what she obviously misconstrued as nervousness at the procedure.
"There's no need to be nervous, Pam- we'll just check to make sure everything is normal and we'll be able to take a look at how the little one is developing."
"We'll get to see a picture?" Jim jumped in, the excitement evident in his voice. Pam with a bit of tenderness, her hatred momentarily leaving her to revel in the joy of Jim's face. He stood, flashing a smile and introducing himself hastily- realizing he'd had startled the doctor.
"Jim," he smiled, "Jim Hal-"
"Halpert," the doctor finished for him, taking his hand and smiling fully in his face. "Yes, the nurse mentioned you," she smiled, slowly taking in Jim's lanky figure. Pam sat there, blood beginning to boil in her chest- did she just check out Jim? She thought, and quickly dismissed, thinking herself crazy for such a thought.
But she watched the doctor as she held the handshake for just a moment too long for Pam's liking, Jim politely extracting himself to plop down into a chair closest to Pam. He leaned back over, his legs slightly twitching as he sat in excitement.
"So we get to see him?" He asked again, giving the doctor his best puppy dog look. She grinned down at him, obviously enjoying it. She half laughed- "Yes Mr. Halpert- you'll get to see the fetus." She flipped back her wavy hair to open the file in her hand, but her eyes never leaving Jim.
Pam looked from Jim to the doctor, waiting uncomfortably to be noticed again. The doctor suddenly turned back to Pam, realizing she was in the room as well and, recovering quickly added, "Are you ready for this Ms. Beesly?"
Pam wasn't so sure if she was.