Okay, so y'all are getting Chapter 8 a little sooner than you normally would have. I have a busy weekend coming up and I won't be home for most of it. And since it's my turn to post a chapter, instead of making you wait all weekend, you get the chapter early. But, as always we would love some feedback. So, yeah, there you have it.

Also, can I ask one tiny favor? TELL YOUR FRIENDS! I'm kind of surprised how many hits we have, but not nearly enough people are reviewing (of course we love, love you failthful reviewers - you're all awesome/excellent - hehe). YOU SILENT PEOPLE! YEAH, YOU! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Okay? Thanks. :)

To your reviews:
Jamlover - Thank you! We're so glad you like the change in Pam. At the beginning Pam was supposed to be stressed out and annoyed, but we didn't want it to take away from the fact that she is an excellent mom. Hopefully you can still see her stress, but her fun side as well.
maddinkinz940 - You got your wish, we updated soon. :) As for seeing how the kids work their magic though, you'll have to wait just a little while longer.
thewayiam1403 - Thanks! I'm glad you think we're doing a great job of putting Pam in another role other than receptionist.
kerber1920 - Thank you! The kids are quite brilliant huh? LoL. Such a couple of smarty-pants.
Yabberli - Thanks! The kids are fun to write. How do you think we're writing it? Hehe. Can you tell if there is a difference at all? You let me know what you think and then we'll let you know...probably at the end. But, a hint is that we are both writing and we both have ideas. Happy New Year to you too!
xliteratiwhorex - Oh my gosh, don't die! LoL - Thanks!
dancer288 - Thank you! We all want Pam to be fun as well as successful right:)
katy04 - Wow, you're a genius.
EmptyHallway - See, it's early! I know you're impressed. :)
DeanParadise - Thank you! We're glad you enjoying it so much.
ktface3 - The kids are adorable and completely innocent (okay, maybe not completely - hehe). They are a lot of fun to write. Pam definitely is still a great mother, and we wanted that to shine through her no matter how stressed she is. I'm glad everyone is enjoying that side of her as well.

Okay, thanks everyone...Now go read. :)

Jim sat in the back of the restaurant in his office. The door was open and he could hear the hustle and bustle going on just outside. Glancing up from the reports in front of him, he looked out to see Derek, one of the new waiters, rushing out of the kitchen with a tray full of food. Derek was not one of the most skilled waiters in Jim's restaurant. In all actuality, Derek was a klutz. And just as Jim was watching Derek hurry along to the table with his tray, he watched him trip over a purse sitting next to a woman's chair. Oh God, please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't...

Derek righted himself just as he made it to the table to deliver the food and Jim let out a shaky sigh of relief. It wasn't Derek's day to work, but with the call-offs, he needed to find someone who could come in and help fill in. Derek had been the only replacement he'd called who had actually answered the phone.

"Derek?" Jim asked, his voice taking on a slightly panicky sound, which didn't suit him.

Derek's voice was groggy when he answered, "Yeah?"

Jim was audibly happier. "Hey man, this is Jim Halpert, your boss." He could hear Derek rustling around, already getting up out of his bed. "I'm short staffed today and I'm hoping you can come in, buddy."

"Absolutely." Jim could tell the kid was already rushing around trying to get dressed. "When do you need me there?"

"As soon as possible," he said and then added, "Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it."

"No, no," Derek sounded extremely happy. "Thank you. I'm just so excited about working at the best bistro in New York," he said.

Jim chuckled. Man this kid is good with the brown-nosing. "Thanks a lot, buddy. We'll see you here soon then."

Now Jim watched as Derek passed out the food to the table and smiled before walking away.

Jim's office was just off the side of the kitchen. He had wanted to be able to sit in his office and watch what was going on in the restaurant, but still not draw a lot of attention to it. It was discreetly decorated in the same décor as the rest of the restaurant and was not at all cluttered like the rest of his life. Most people just walked past it like it wasn't even there. But, it still gave Jim the chance to see everything and that's what he wanted.

As Derek was walking away from the table Jim caught his eye and motioned with his hand for Derek to come into his office. Jim could see the worry etched on his face and made sure to smile at the young man as he walked in.

"How are things going, Derek?" Jim asked, gesturing towards a chair across from his desk for Derek to sit down.

Derek set the tray against the chair and sat, his eyes worried. "Not bad," he said, his eyes darting back and forth. "I guess you saw my little slip up out there?"

Jim just nodded, leaning back in his chair and setting his chin in the palm of his hand. "Yeah, but it's alright," he said. "You're getting better. It wasn't anything like your first day here when you dropped that whole plate of Spaghetti Bolognese on Mr. Thompson's lap." Jim chuckled at the memory, hoping it would lighten Derek's mood.

Derek smiled a little. "Yeah, that wasn't all that great huh?"

Jim shook his head and leaned forward in his chair again. He linked his hands together in front of him on the desk and looked over at Derek with a thoughtful gaze. "Listen buddy, you're doing just fine. All I want to say is that you need to watch where you're going. If, when you come out of the kitchen, you check what's ahead of you before you get going, you'll be much better off. They always say 'hindsight is 20/20.' Well, I say 'foresight is saving your ass'."

Derek grinned, but Jim saw a trace of uncertainty still hidden in his eyes. "I'm going to tell you something that I want you to swear you'll never repeat." Derek's head was nodding vigorously and he had a gleam in his eyes. "Okay," Jim's voice was slightly quieter to divulge his secret. "Growing up, I always wanted to own a restaurant, so I knew I had to work in them. You know, get the feeling of being in that kind of environment…learn from the best." Derek nodded again. "I was a waiter from the time I was 16 years old." He paused to watch Derek's face light up. "But I'm telling you, Derek, I was the clumsiest waiter you'd ever meet."

Derek smiled when he saw Jim's. "Really?" he asked.

Jim nodded. "Oh yeah," he said, leaning back in his chair again, an amused expression on his face. "I was skinny, tall, and all arms and legs. I was just really awkward from the time puberty hit until I was almost 21-years-old. Not a great combination when you're trying to serve heavy trays of food." He stretched out his legs in front of him and continued, "I once caught a woman's hair on fire with a flaming dessert." Derek laughed and Jim smiled. "So, I know what you're going through. And you'll come through it." Jim was standing and Derek followed suit. Jim reached out his hand and shook Derek's.

Derek smiled again and grabbed the tray beside him. "Thanks Mr. Halpert," he said.

"No problem, buddy," Jim answered. "And it's 'Jim' remember?"

Derek nodded as he walked out of the office. "Right, thanks Jim," he said and Jim watched as he walked out of the office and into the kitchen. Good kid, Jim thought, sitting back down and looking at the reports in front of him again.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He was nervous and he didn't like how it felt. I'm the laid back goofball. I don't let things get to me like this. He groaned. My philosophy is that things happen, and once they do, you just roll with it. You've gotta make your own luck in this world. No use worrying. You can't control a thing. It was a good philosophy and it had served him well over the years. He didn't like to be stressed out. He didn't like to worry. And lately, that's all he'd been doing. On the surface you would think that Jim was cool as a cucumber like always – something that had burned his ex to the core all the time. But, in all actuality, he was just really nervous.

Having Mr. Swanson come in two weeks ago and say that he was looking for a new restaurant for his hotels had made Jim heady with excitement. But it wasn't a done deal. Jim knew that he was also looking at restaurants that were already chains around the country, as well as a few other places like his in New York. It was important to Jim to show Mr. Swanson that his restaurant, though small, was good enough for this type of venture.

Café Cabernet has been voted New York's best bistro the last two years. It had only been open for three. It made Jim feel good knowing his bistro was one of the best from the beginning. Over the last six years, the only things Jim really had put any passion into were his daughter and his restaurant. He had tried, for a mere six months to try and put that much passion into his marriage with Veronica, but she had made it apparent right away that it wasn't what she wanted. Jim had been hurt by it at first, but he'd realized that the only reason they were still together was because of Charlotte. So, instead of focusing his passion on Veronica and Charlotte, he shifted it to Charlotte and building his restaurant.

He looked around the office and then out into the dining area. This is my world. I own this. I created it. I will achieve the ultimate dream.

It was something he told himself all the time. Now it was time to actually make it happen. It was right there in front of him. All he had to do was grab it and hold on for dear life. He sighed and looked down at the reports again, trying to concentrate on them. Now if I could just relax enough to get through the rest of the evening, I should be fine.

The daily profit and loss reports on his desk were staring up at him. He had been looking at them for the last 45 minutes. These are perfect. I know my numbers are perfect. I have a knack for this stuff. I have it right. And even though he had made Pam think he hadn't been preparing for this meeting, he had been. He had been preparing his whole life for this.

He ran a hand through his hair again and put the reports back in the manila folder. I can't keep looking at these. They're not changing and I know they're perfect. I just need to calm down and let the restaurant show Mr. Swanson it has what he needs.

He was about to stand up from his desk chair and walk into the kitchen for a bite to eat when he heard squealing outside in the dining area. He instantly recognized it as Charlotte's voice and he looked out to see her running wildly through the dining area to him. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" she was squealing. His heart jumped and a smile spread to his face as he watched her run toward him...

That was until he saw Derek coming out of the kitchen with another plate of food.

Quick as he could, Jim was out of his chair and walking out of the office to intersect the collision he could see occurring in the near future. "Charlotte honey, slow down," he said, striding out of his office. His voice wasn't panicky, but firm and even though he knew Charlotte had heard him, she still wasn't stopping. He was coming up behind Derek now, and he could see Charlotte coming towards them.

Everything was going in slow motion.

Jim could see the tray full of food that Derek was carrying. It had three dishes full of red and white sauces on top of loads of pasta.

Jim could see Charlotte's backpack bouncing up and down on her back as she ran towards him, her arms outstretched and her mouth open with a smile.

Jim could see the table that Derek was headed to, right where Charlotte and Derek would collide. It was a table with three women, each wearing business suits and looking proper.

And then, with the blink of an eye, things were moving at regular speed again and Jim acted instinctively. He reached out and grabbed Derek's shoulder, halting him. Derek teetered and Jim grabbed the tray with a free hand, stabilizing it like a pro. He firmly placed Derek out of the way, holding the tray in his hand now. With his newly freed hand, he set it out in front of him and cradled Charlotte protectively to his leg as she ran into it. The tray shifted slightly as Jim's body shook to the side after the impact, but the food was still there. He patted Charlotte's back and smiled down at her.

"Hi there sweetie," he said gently, a smile on his lips. Charlotte smiled back up and at him and hugged his leg tighter. "Can you go sit in daddy's office?" he asked. "I'll be right in there."

Charlotte nodded and ran off. Jim looked over his shoulder as she went and then stole a glance at Derek, who looked sheepishly down at his black shoes. Standing at the table of women now, Jim averted his attention to them, placing a smile on his face and said, "Ladies, you're all looking lovely this afternoon."

He watched smiles spread to their faces and he started doling out plates of pasta and sauce to them. "Now, who had the Shrimp Alfredo?" he asked.

A few minutes later he was handing the tray back to Derek, who looked upset. "I'm really sorry again, Jim," he said and took the tray from him.

Jim put his hand on Derek's shoulder and smiled. "It's alright, you're new. You'll get there." The calmness of Jim's voice perked Derek up and he smiled. "But," Jim added, looking slightly sterner than he would normally have. "Make sure you look ahead of you. Foresight is saving your ass."

Derek nodded and walked out into the dining area to wait on another table. Jim sighed and shook his head as he made his way into his office, where Charlotte was sitting. He noticed Pam and Kade there as well and smiled to himself. He noticed Pam's change of clothes. She really looks nice. Who would have thought a women's pant suit would be that sexy? Jim shook his head to drop the thought. Not sexy, Jim. Not sexy. You're not looking for a woman. You need to focus on your career and your daughter. He was walking into his office and staring down at Charlotte, who had a huge smile plastered on her face. Yeah, your daughter who almost caused a disaster to your career.

Charlotte stood up and hugged him again around the knees. Jim leaned down and picked her up into his arms and hugged her back. "Charlotte honey?" he asked, trying to pull her off his neck. When she looked at him almost all of his anger slipped away and he smiled gently. Damn this little girl for being so cute. "What did daddy say about running in the restaurant?"

A guilty look furrowed her brow and Jim couldn't help but think she looked absolutely adorable. "That I'm not supposed to do it," she said in almost a whisper.

"That's right," he said and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry daddy," she answered, looking like a little girl who had just lost her favorite stuffed animal.

Jim's heart broke a little. "It's okay," he said. "Just don't let it happen again."

She hugged him tightly around the neck again and then he set her back down on the floor, where she immediately starting chasing Kade around his desk in a game of tag. Jim watched for a second and then looked up at Pam, who had a smile on her face.

"That was some fancy footwork you did out there," she said, giving a little giggle.

Wow, she is adorable when she giggles like a little girl. Jim ran a hand through his hair again and smiled. No, Jim, not adorable. She's not allowed to be adorable. Your daughter is adorable. Not your daughter's friends single mom. "Yeah, it's amazing what you can do under duress," he said with a lopsided grin.

"I don't think that was a compulsive act," she said gently. "That was more of a skilled move…like you've done it a million times before."

Jim laughed. "Maybe," he said.

Pam smiled at him and he gestured for her to take a seat. As she sat down, instead of sitting behind his desk, he sat in the chair beside her. He watched her put her purse in her lap and fold her hands gently on top of it and then cross her legs at the ankle in the same manner. She looked extremely proper sitting that way, almost like a doll that you were afraid to touch. If Jim hadn't noticed that she had a glob of green icing in her hair, he might have thought she was actually made of wax or glass.

"You look nice," Jim said with a small chuckle. He saw Pam's eyes light up and he added jokingly, looking up at her hair, "I think the green icing is, pardon my pun, the icing on the cake." He watched Pam's eyes widen and instantly her hand went to her head.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, groping around in her hair. Within a few seconds she had put her hand right in it and she groaned. "Oh God."

Jim laughed and reached over to a table at the side of his desk and grabbed a glass of water and a cloth napkin. He dipped the napkin in the water and stood up in front of Pam. "Here," he said, grabbing her hand to stop her from picking at it. "Let me get it for you."

He ignored the tingling sensation that had run up his arm when he'd touched her hand, and instead started running the napkin through her hair, getting out the remnants of the green icing. He also ignored how silky her hair felt as his finger tips grazed it lightly. Stop, Halpert. Just stop.

He moved back away from her and smiled down at her when she looked up at him. "Is it all gone?" she asked as one hand went back into her hair and the other was groping in her bag. She pulled out a little hand mirror and opened it quickly, taking a look.

Jim nodded. "Yeah, it's gone," he said as he sat back down.

Pam looked relieved. "Thank you," she said. "That could have been overly embarrassing."

Jim chuckled and nodded. Kade and Charlotte were still running around the desk, and just as Charlotte came running past him he stuck out his hand to stop her. She grinned up at him and he smiled at her before saying, "Slow down, please." She nodded and took off again, only this time at a steadily quick walk. He averted his attention again back to Pam. "How was she?" he asked.

She smiled. "Absolutely fine," Pam answered. She looked at the two kids wreaking havoc in the office. "They get along really well." She looked back at Jim and smiled wider. "It's nice to see Kade with such a good friend. He's always talking to people, and he's very outgoing, but he never really has good friends to play with. They've definitely connected on a new level."

He listened to her talk and watched how her mouth formed the words as they came out. He was finding himself memorized by her mouth. Still watching her mouth as it smiled at him, he answered, "Well I'm glad to hear it." He watched her smile fade and realized he was staring. Wake up, knucklehead. You can't just stare at her. She'll think you're a freak. Which you probably are. He tore his gaze from her mouth and looked into her eyes slightly sheepishly. To change the subject, he fixed a smile on his face and asked, "So what was with the icing?" He gestured towards her hair again and he watched as she absently put a hand to her head again.

"Oh," she said, her voice shaking slightly with laughter. "We might have had a small food fight."

Jim looked at her a second with disbelief in his eyes and then a laugh erupted from him like a volcano. He was doubled over in his chair laughing as he heard Pam laugh as well. "Oh God," he said, his voice barely coming out. "I can't believe it." He wasn't sure why he found this so hilarious, but he continued to laugh, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked up to see the same Pam laughing and crying as well.

Kade and Charlotte had stopped running around in the office and were both staring at their parents. Each of them had a cute smile on their face, mixed with confusion. "What do you think they're laughing about?" Charlotte asked, wrinkling her nose slightly and tipping her head to the side.

Kade looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno," he said. "But they look kind of funny."

So, there you have it. Now it's going to be a few more days before you get another chapter (sorry, we're just both a little busy right now), so you have PLENTY of time to review. LoL. Thanks for sticking with us everyone:)