-1AN: So I was a little worried with the last chapter that this might become a little bit too angsty, so after some teeny angst in the beginning of this chapter it really picks up. Thank you all SO much for your reviews, you're incredibly sweet. Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Also, still mad props to GreenFish for the beta!
Jim woke up to a camera in his face.
"Hey, Jim. Rise and shine, sweetheart." Jim blinked. One of the camera guys, Mike was grinning at him. Joe, who worked sound, was standing behind him holding the boom, looking equally amused.
"Mpph… what the --" Jim lifted his head to look around, groaning involuntarily at the pain in his neck. Where..? He slowly began to remember. The night on the beach, the secrets, the sketch, falling asleep in the hallway -- Oh, shit.
"Don't worry, it's pretty early. We might be the first ones to see you two." Joe said cheerfully, extending the boom above Jim's head.
Jim suddenly realized there was someone lying in his arms. Not just someone -- Pam. Somehow, during the night they had ended up on their sides, her back flush against his front. His hand was resting firmly on her stomach and their legs were inextricably tangled. And he was in his boxers.
Oh, God, Jim thought. He sat up quickly, and Pam muttered in her sleep. "Morning, guys," Jim said cautiously. He nudged Pam's back. "Pam, wake up."
"What?" she said sleepily.
"Pam, it's time to wake up now."
Pam's eyes opened a crack. Just enough to see Mike and Joe standing there, smiling like a pair of Cheshire cats. "Oh, god," she whispered, clutching the blanket to her.
"It's about… 6:30 now. You guys should probably go get ready. We'll, uh, interview you about this later," Mike said, lowering the camera. His smug grin seemed to fade when he noticed Pam's reaction; over the course of filming for months on end, the camera crew had become fairly close to the office staff. The look in his eyes was guilty and uncomfortable, as they turned and walked towards the elevator.
Pam stumbled to her feet, dragging the blanket with her. She was blushing furiously and quickly crossed the hallway to her door, fumbling for the knob desperately. She opened it, and Jim just barely heard her say, "I'll, um, I'll see you later," before she disappeared into her room.
Jim simply sat for a moment, resting his forehead in his hands. He finally stood using the wall for support. He couldn't think of another time that he'd felt so exhausted, as he headed down the hallway towards his room.
xxxx
Pam was so thankful that the door was open, she didn't immediately think as to why. She only realized when she saw Angela's neatly made bed.
Oh, God, she must have seen us, too, Pam thought. She felt kind of sick, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes started to spill over. She wasn't sure if she felt sick because she had been caught lying in Jim's arms, or because it had felt so right.
Pam walked over to her bed and fell into it gratefully; her muscles ached after sleeping for several hours in a hallway. She could still feel Jim's hand burning against the skin of her stomach, and her stomach fluttered with a feeling all too similar to homesickness. The feeling haunted her until she finally drifted off to a restless sleep.
xxxx
Neither Jim nor Pam came to the breakfast buffet that morning. Mike felt his stomach twist, clenched with guilt. His job was becoming harder and harder as he spent more time with the employees of Dunder-Mifflin, Scranton. He had essentially become friends with these people, and at times he felt he them better than they knew themselves.
Just like everyone else on the camera crew, Mike was rooting for Jim and Pam. Everyone had seen through the lens of the camera, and with their own eyes, what the two had between them. At first, nobody could stop talking about what great TV it would make. Over time, however, they themselves had been drawn into the story, and it had become much more difficult to film with an unbiased eye. Mike had been psyched about the hallway footage that morning, until he had seen Pam's face crumple.
Mike looked at Joe, who was sitting across the table, picking at his meal. Their eyes met, and Mike knew Joe had to be thinking the same thing.
"We made Pam cry," Mike said.
"I know."
"We really suck."
"I know."
"What do we do with the footage?"
Joe paused. "Dude, I have no clue."
xxxx
Angela stood next to Pam's bed, looking down at her sleeping figure. She figured it was late enough that she could wake Pam up now; it was unhealthy to sleep until such late hours of the day. "Pam? Pam, are you awake?"
Pam raised her head slightly, blinking sleepily. "Angela?"
"Yes."
"What time is it?"
"It's ten in the morning. If you sleep any later, you'll be tired all day and you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Pam sat up and stretched, facing Angela who walked over and sat on her own bed. "Oh, um --"
"I woke up at five this morning to go do some laps in the pool and I saw you and Jim in the hallway." Angela saw no need to introduce this topic gently. Delicacy was not the priority here.
Pam's eyes widened. She quickly looked away as she sat upright, crossing her legs in front of her.
"I think you know how inappropriate this is. You have a fiancé."
Tears immediately sprang to Pam's eyes, and Angela felt a pang of guilt. It was a new sensation for her; a few months ago, she would have been pleased at Pam's tears, seeing them as a sign of remorse. Recently, she had found herself becoming more compassionate towards people, and she wasn't sure as to why. It was perplexing as to why her usually firm resolve had weakened.
"It -- it really wasn't what it looked like -- I mean, it's just…" Pam's voice trailed off uselessly. "It was an accident. Nothing happened," she whispered.
"I know," Angela said, and Pam looked up at her, surprised.
"Jim and I are just friends," Pam said, her voice a little steadier, and Angela nodded mutely. Pam sighed. "Mike and Joe got us on tape though."
"I'm sure I could talk to them," Angela said, her voice calm.
Pam reached for a tissue from the box that sat on the nightstand and blew her nose. She looked at Angela again through her lashes, her head hanging slightly. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Angela stood up stiffly. "I know what it's like, to care for someone but to have to keep it a secret," she said. "But you have to be more careful." She was just about to leave the room when there was a knock on the door.
"Angela and Pamelama! Open up! It's the party police, and we've come to let you know there's gonna be a par-tay on the beach!" The voice was unmistakably Michael's.
"Michael, 'party police' are supposed to break up the parties, not start them," Angela said, not opening the door. Honestly, that man was so inappropriate. She admired Dwight's deep sense of loyalty, but really.
There was a pause. "Well, I don't know about that, but in that case we are the party starters, as in we're gonna get this party started!"
"Yeah!" Pam heard Dwight's muffled voice in the background.
Angela opened the door a crack, which Michael took as an invitation to burst into the room. He was wearing a t-shirt and swim trunks, and was carrying a boogie board, a beach ball and a hula hoop. When Pam saw what Dwight was wearing, she burst out laughing, clapping a hand over her mouth.
"What?" Dwight asked angrily.
"Oh, um, oh my -- nothing, just, uh, what are you wearing?" Pam asked, looking him up and down.
"It's a sarong, Pam," Dwight said. "I bought it at the gift shop. All the guys are wearing them nowadays. Jim said you might not understand. And he said it would just look stupid if I wore a shirt with it."
"I think you look very nice, Dwight," Angela said, raising an admonishing eyebrow at Pam.
"Thank you, Angela," Dwight said. They didn't look at each other.
Michael rolled his eyes. "All right, well, now that we're done with all the gay stuff, how about you two beach bunnies shimmy into your bikinis and meet us down on the beach! Or, we could wait for you here…"
"We'll meet you there, Michael," Pam said quickly.
Michael looked slightly disappointed. "Well, if you two are sure --"
"We're sure," Angela confirmed.
"All right," Michael said. "We'll, uh, just head down, then! Meet us there!" He scampered out of the room.
Dwight stood awkwardly for a moment. "I will hope to see you there, Angela."
Angela looked at Pam anxiously, who all of a sudden became very absorbed in reading the room service menu. "I hope to see you, too," Angela whispered. Dwight gave her the smallest smile, which she returned. He left the room, hitching up his sarong so he could run to keep up with Michael. Angela turned back to Pam, who was looking around helplessly.
"I don't suppose you could have a bathing suit I could borrow?" she asked.
Angela shook her head. "Why didn't you bring one?"
Pam sighed. "Well, you know Michael. I guess I just didn't really take him seriously about the whole thing. I mean, I threw some stuff in a bag, but that's it."
"Well, I guess I could understand not taking Michael seriously," Angela smiled her small, elusive smile, "but you should always be prepared, Pam."
Pam nodded, resigned. "Yeah, I've definitely learned my lesson. Especially since this means I'll have to borrow a bathing suit from Meredith or Kelly."
Angela winced slightly in sympathy.
AN: So yeah, I really can't emphasize the importance of reviews! What do you thing about furthering the story line with Mike and Joe? I was kind of nervous about adding completely new characters to the story, so if they don't flow I'll just kill them off or something. Just kidding. But not really.
Also, if you review, it makes me like you. And if I like you, I'll want to make you happy. And if me updating makes you happy, then I'll update fast! It's simple logic, people.