Whatever Happens: Chapter 3

I would like to give a big thank you to all the people who are reading this story, especially to the ones who are reviewing. Reviews are wonderful. On that note...

maddikinze940 and dancer288: I'm glad you two like it so far. I don't like the idea of Roy and Pam having kids either, but bear with me :)

Ashely: Wow, your first line made me panic a little! My main goal is to keep everyone in character as much as possible, so it means a lot to me that you felt Jim was correct. And, of course, it won't be easy getting there, but Jim and Pam will end up together. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, lol.

Jamlover, Moony44, and pambeesly: I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far!

Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I probably started it four separate times, and never finished with something I really liked. This is more of a transition chapter anyway.

Well, Pam thought as she sat down at the receptionist's desk at work, it's done. Jim knows.

As Pam began to tend to the small mountain of faxes that were waiting to be sent out, she thought back on breakfast. Now, Pam found it strange that she had been so anxious. She had been all right until he actually sat down across from her, and then the butterflies in her stomach took over. Just seeing Jim had been nerve-wracking, but telling him about the baby… well, Pam had been more nervous to tell Jim than she had been when she told Roy. Of course, as her husband, Roy's reaction was somewhat more predictable: he was going to be a father whether he liked it or not. Fortunately for Pam, Roy, and the baby, he seemed to be on board and looking forwards to being a parent as much as Pam was.

Jim, on the other hand… well, his reaction was not at all predictable. Pam had to tell him. This was so life-changing that there was no other option. She had been concerned about telling him face-to-face, however. Honestly, Pam would rather have done it over the phone, maybe leave the news in a voicemail. She knew that at some point, Jim had at least thought that he loved her, and Pam certainly didn't relish telling him if that was the case. She knew that she wouldn't be happy if someone she loved was having a baby with someone else. After how close she and Jim used to be, though, she felt she owed it to him to tell him in person. When Pam had arranged to meet him for breakfast, she had been prepared for several different possibilities. First, Jim might not care at all. After all, while he had been one of Pam's closest friends in Scranton, he had moved to Stamford. Perhaps he had moved on from her as well. Second, Jim might be upset. He might think it was weird that she was contacting him again. Maybe he would even be resentful. And, of course, as it turned out, he might be happy for them.

Pam smiled to herself. She was glad he was happy for her and Roy.

Now she just had to tell the people at work.

Since she would prefer to not have to tell everyone individually, Pam was toying with the idea of telling just one person, who would then inform everybody else. If you had information that you wanted everyone to know, the obvious person to tell would be Michael. Insensitive and chatty, Michael would make sure everyone knew within two minutes. Of course, it would probably involve either a public announcement or an urgent memo, undoubtedly phrased in the most vulgar and embarrassing way possible. Or there was Kelly. The office gossip would not rest until everyone knew, and at least Kelly would be positive about it. Yes, Kelly would be the person to tell.

"Hey, Pam!" Kelly exclaimed. Pam looked up. Kelly was standing in front of her desk. "Where've you been all morning?"

Pam smiled, realizing what perfect timing Kelly had. "Oh, you know, just running some errands," Pam dismissed Kelly's question quickly, eager to get to her big news.

"Oh. Well, everyone missed you," Kelly replied, inspecting her manicure. She dropped her hand abruptly, an excited expression on her face. "Oh my god, did you hear what-"

"Actually, Kelly, I have some news," Pam cut her off, not wanting to sit through another celebrity gossip tirade.

"Oooh! Really?"

Pam nodded. "Mm hmm."

"Even better. What is it? You have to tell!"

Pam leaned forwards conspiratorially. On the other side of the desk, Kelly did the same, an eager gleam in her eyes. Even more than celebrity gossip, Kelly could not resist the draw of office gossip. "I'm pregnant," Pam whispered, a smile stretching across her face.

"You're- Really?" Kelly squealed. "Aww, you're gonna have a baby! Roy's the daddy?"

"Yeah, of course," Pam answered, slightly disconcerted that Kelly had needed to ask.

"Oh my god, this is the greatest thing!. How far along are you? When's the due date?" Kelly wanted to know, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"March 29th."

"You're going to have a spring baby! I'm so happy for you two," Kelly exclaimed, darting around the desk to give Pam a hug.

"Oh, thanks, Kelly," Pam said, patting Kelly on the back softly.

"It's awfully soon, isn't it? I mean you guys just got married, what, six weeks ago? Were you two trying to get pregnant?" Kelly asked.

"Um, no, we weren't trying, but we're really excited," Pam answered awkwardly.

"So, do you have any names picked out yet?"

"Uh, Roy and I hadn't really had a chance to-"

"I've always loved Maya and Zen. You're welcome to either of those, if you want." Kelly shared, leaning back against Pam's desk.

"What if it's a boy?" Pam asked doubtfully. She wasn't sold on either name either way.

"Zen is if it's a boy, silly," Kelly giggled. "Ugh, I have to get back to work. We should totally go out to lunch to celebrate!"

"Oh, um, yeah. Definitely," Pam responded, slightly overwhelmed by Kelly's exuberance.

"Awesome!" Kelly called back over her shoulder as she practically danced away, leaving Pam with odd the sensation that perhaps Kelly was more excited than she herself was.

"Hey, Jim," Karen greeted him as he dropped his bag next to his desk and plopped down into his swivel chair.

"Hey," Jim replied slowly, twisting a little to the left, then a little to the right repeatedly.

"You okay?"

Jim stopped twisting. "Hmm? Yeah. I'm fine," he assured her.

The dark-haired woman shrugged. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

He didn't respond; even if he could bear to put the thoughts in his head into words, there was no way Karen could understand. No matter how many colorful adjectives Jim used, it was not possible for Karen to comprehend how his stomach writhed, how his chest had tightened and even now, an hour and a half later, it was still difficult to breathe, or how suddenly it just seemed like the world had fewer things to look forward to. There just weren't words to make her understand that.

Jim booted up his computer. He knew there was no way he could be productive today, but he could at least pretend to be working. The morning's events had made him feel lost and exhausted. Absently, Jim ran a hand through his hair, thinking of the image of Pam at the diner, laughing and happy. He hoped he had been able to convince her that he felt nothing but happiness as well. That façade was what had made him exhausted. It was remarkably tiring to pretend to be cheerful for her. He could do no less, however; Jim could no more be openly unhappy and dampen her enthusiasm than wave his arms and fly away.

Jim had known that someday Roy and Pam would have children. It was inevitable, and he had accepted that fact. Married people have children, and Roy and Pam were married now. But there is a big difference between "someday" and "happening now". Jim told himself that if Pam and Roy had children later, he wouldn't have cared so much. He would be more removed from the situation and it wouldn't affect him so greatly. Whereas now… now, Jim kept involuntarily picturing it. He pictured Pam, large with child. Jim imagined the baby, small and fragile, later growing into a kid who would go to school, and maybe play soccer… all with Roy. Jim shook his head; his imagination was running rampart, and it felt like it was killing him.

"You okay there, Big Tuna?" Andy asked. Jim glanced up from his computer screen to see Andy turned around and watching him. He wondered briefly how long the Cornell graduate had been staring at him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Jim lied. Just dying slowly, he thought. "Why?"

"You've been looking at a blank screen for the past six and a half minutes," Andy replied, consulting his watch.

"Right. Better get to work, then."

Please revieeeewwwwwww.