Disclaimer: I don't own the Office. NBC does.

The Office: After Jim asks Pam out.

Flames not necessary, but I do appreciate any constructive criticism.

By the way, thank you dancer288, for your suggestion. I'll keep that in mind.

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Smelling the Roses: Chapter 6

Sometime with their kisses, Jim had landed up on top her. His lips still continued to meet hers with continued passion while his fingers divested themselves in her brown locks. Maybe her arms were around his neck, she wasn't completely sure. All she knew was that she couldn't think very much at the moment with the on slot of Jim on her, kissing her to no brain activity.

Her nose flared, searching for more air with her mouth preoccupied. She kept this up until she finally had to break away.

Pam panted, sucking in precious oxygen and she knew for sure that Jim's eyes were darker. Jim smiled down at her, his thumb fleeting across her cheek and slowly running over her bottom lip. She smiled back at him, feeling incredibly warm. She watched as he looked down at her lips, back at her eyes and in that pattern until his mouth began to descend back down. They were just about to make contact when she halted him. "Jim.." She whispered, her breath barely audible.

"Yeah?" He asked with a dazed smile as he eased down next to her, his arm casually draping over her stomach. "I'm not sure what to-" The brown haired young man placed a finger over her lips, quieting her speech. "How about Office Space? Plus, I already have it on DVD." As a response, the receptionist rolled on top of him briefly to give him a peck then stood up off the bed. She stretched her arms like a cat, and inched toward his shower as a hint. He only nodded. Just before she disappeared into the bathroom, she agreed to the movie he suggested.

Pam gradually found the light switch, flicking it on to reveal a basic but nice bathroom. Tans and light browns were the main colors, giving it a simple and warm feeling. She got the shower ready quick and undressed while waiting for it to warm up, the shirt slipping over her arms easily. Her eyes met themselves in the mirror, reflecting a woman who was still engulfed by the smell and touch of the man she cared for more than anyone else.

Her body adjusted quickly to the strike of the warm water, the droplets flowing down her form. And she closed her eyes, the image of Jim's eyes that dark green and slightly brown stuck in her thoughts. She had never seen them that dark of a shade, and it made her curious. What had she done to get them that way?

She got out of the shower minutes later, the pajamas she had borrowed in a pile on the tile floor. The towel she got out of the closet was white. She wrapped it around herself, looking around but to her dismay, there weren't any clothes that she could wear. Biting the side of her lip, she finished drying off but her hair still a bit wet, she opened the door ajar and peaked her head out. "Jim?" Her green eyes searched for her confidant but to no avail. Taking another check, she tip-toed out and jogged across the room.

She opened the drawers as gracefully as possible, grabbing the smallest shirt of his that she could find as well as a pair of string pants. Perplexed at her situation, she figured that she would have to use her previous undergarments. A fake cough paused her in her tracks, turning her head around to find an amused Jim at the doorframe.

"Hey…umm, do you mind? I needed something to wear." A chuckle left him, followed by his shaking head.

"No, I don't mind really Pam. My abode is yours." She jogged over and kissed him on the cheek before scampering into the bathroom to change.

She looked different, maybe refreshed or happy. She couldn't tell. All she knew was that she could be herself, she wasn't trapped by Roy's handcuffs. She could be herself, she could be Pam Beesly. And Jim too. He wasn't with Karen anymore.

Karen…She was a topic Pam had avoided at the start, not forcing him to tell her immediately…after all, they were just getting together. The lack of knowledge about Karen and his trip to New York was still a mystery to her; a mystery that had slowly begun to nag at her. She finished tying the drawstring comfortably, and left the room, a casually dressed Jim in her sight. He had already set up the movie, and had set up a place to sit on the bed, leaving an empty space for her to relax next to him.

"I'm all set. Do you want something to eat? …drink?" She paused, his speech so light and carefree. She hated to bring up the subject and was about to but she didn't. He raised a brow at her silence, and she shook her head to clear her thoughts. She would talk to him about it, just not now. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that…You're a distraction" The words caused a smirk to lift at the corner of his lips and she continued, "I wouldn't mind some seltzer?" She raised both shoulders in a suggestive gesture, causing only a grin from him.

"Well, come on Beesly."

Before she knew it, he was standing up and picking her up. She was lifted into his arms bridle style, not knowing when she was taken off the ground. He carried her to the top of the stairs and let her down, giving her a huge smile. She held her hand against her heart; drums beating against the walls of her chest. "Don't do that…" Her tone only a light threat. "What…this?" and he motioned to pick her up again by lowering an arm toward the back of her thighs and the other for the top of her back. The action only making the young woman dash down the stairs and into the kitchen. She could hear his amusement from his place upstairs.

A hand opened up the fridge, taking a good around the beverages and taking out a pomegranate seltzer. Putting it on the counter, she began to twist the cap and abruptly felt arms come around her middle. Lips kissed the back of her head, then the top, before the head came down to relax on her brown curled hair. Pam let her body fall back against his, her fingers tracing down his arms to lock with his fingers. "All right, you win." She mumbled, content with his arms around her.

"What do I win?" He asked in a teasing tone.

Pam grinned, staying silent to mess with him. "You get to…What do you want?" Jim's head went down for a second, bringing it back up to look into her green eyes. She saw multiple things, all unidentifiable, race through his intense orbs. Instead of answering her, he put his head on her shoulder, leaning it against her head and keeping his arms around her. He simply embraced her; not what she was expecting. He always surprised her. She ran a hand slowly through his hair, the soft texture gliding against her digits.

Jim stayed there, she couldn't keep track of how long nor did she care, and she let him remain there. Pam mirrored his actions, leaning against his head with her cheek against his. The next words slipped past her lips before her realization.

"I want to know what happened…with Karen and the job offer."

She felt his body stifen against her and she almost wished that she didn't say anything. She kept her mouth closed but a part of her wasn't…a part of her demanded the information. He loosened from her, taking a step back and gazing down at the floor for a few moments. She busied her hands by casually crossing her arms over her stomach.

"What do you want to know exactly? I'm not with Karen anymore and I didn't take the job…" Jim trailed off to no particular path, a confused look in his eyes when he looked up at her. He wasn't sure where she was going with this but listened intently as always. Meanwhile, Pam dueled with her tongue, unsure of what to say exactly. Her right foot stepped to the side all the while maintaining eye contact with him. She fought her urge to look away from the green intensity of his eyes, and spoke, deciding to just say whatever she was thinking.

"This may be an easy answer or…nevermi- You and Karen are over. I'm correct on that right…" She drew out her last word, inwardly knowing that Jim was not that kind of guy nor would he ever be. He'd never cheat or anything like that. He was true. A nod from him followed her statement, and he urged her to continue with a small smile.

"Do you care about her still?" Pam asked immediately after, her speech clearer and more concise. He cocked his head to the side as if the question was in a different language. "Do you-" She started and a fast reply from the young man sounded. "No, not in that context. She's a neat person but I'm not interested in getting back with her…if that's what it is boiling down to.."

"What went on with the job? Why didn't you take it? It was such an awesome opportunity! It was an offer for the taking. Why did you pass that up? Why…" The receptionist gradually stopped after her verbal strike, her pink lips pressed together with brows knotted. Jim took a careful step forward, going to reach out to touch her but instead bringing back down to his side.

"I didn't take the job because it wasn't for me. I'm not interested in doing that kind of stuff at all. I'm no high employment guy. And well, I wasn't going to pass up maybe my only chance of finally taking a step toward us." His words spoken so sweetly, she smiled slightly, she really did, but she thought he would have been perfect for it.

"You were a great fit for it..I looked up what I could find about the position and you would have been amazing in it…I just…What I'm saying is…Don't make important life decisions based on me…" Pam said, her speech almost frail but determined. "Don't hold back because of me Jim. Please don't. I won't be that girl that chains you." She released a breath of relief and anxiety all at once, happy that she got out what she had been thinking about for a while and crazy that she really wasn't sure on what he was going to say to her interrogation.

She saw him open his mouth once, then close it again. His feet shuffled and he stared at her for what seemed like weeks until he took a few paces more, getting closer to her. This time he did raise his hand, caressing her cheek and placing it on the side of her neck.

"You're the woman that is one of my best life decisions. You're the one I want to be with. And I'm happy at Scranton...because of you. So, no, I'm not holding back and I don't plan on ever holding back on you ever again…" He paused, licking his dry lips and continuing. "Pam, don't think for a second that you're a chain to me."

Sometime she had put her head down, her hair a set of drapes falling to the side as her ears absorbed the words. Tears prickled at her eyes and her cheeks impossibly heated. As cheesy as it sounded to herself…she just wanted to kiss him, she didn't…she couldn't. She was frozen, stuck to her place.

Maybe it was the pure rawness of his words or something else, she couldn't contemplate for long however, as her chin was pushed up by a gentle finger. And those deep greens that she had been looking in for years now, looked just at her. The bottom of his thumb ran along the edge of her jaw as well. His eyes and touch sent her senses into a frenzy, making goosebumps spread over her creamy skin.

She brought her hand up, running it along his cheek and down to his lips. Pam smiled at him before leaning up to peck him. She drew back seconds later, his eyes still closed moments later. His arms came around the top of her back and shoulders, pulling her close. Her chest was fully pressed against his chest, her arms now limp at her sides. She wasn't sure if she was still smiling, she didn't care though…she couldn't think much at the moment besides the resolution to her only hesitance in their relationship. Jim held her until a small voice piped out, "Jim…I'm sorry to- you're killing me."

A light chuckle came from him, happily letting her breathe for a little bit. His entangled arms around her back, subtlety fell down her back and pushed up. Her body propelled up slightly and not too long after, those familiar arms tightened once more. Sneaking her arms up, she coiled them around his neck with a grin. In order to stabilize herself better, she wrapped her legs around Jim's waist and let her head fall on his shoulder. Jim released a rich laugh, stumbling while adjusting to her weight. Her laughter joined the party as well.

They swayed around until her back landed against the fridge unceremoniously. The action only fueled her enjoyment more. Their noise quieted after several moments and looked at each other with smiles. Her green eyes glittered and she proceeded to kiss his forehead. "We should umm- watch the movie probably." She grinned with her words, and Jim smirked. "Let us be on our way, my Lady."

After he let her down, Pam went over and grabbed her forgotten seltzer, walking ahead of Jim, toward the stairs. Jim then shot his hands out and ran his hands down her sides in a quick motion, tickling her and causing her to race up the stairs. "Jim Halpert! I'm going to get you!" She pouted at him, himself being at the bottom the stairs with a huge grin. "Just try Beesly. I dare you." The brunette bit at the side of her lip, went into Jim's room and put her drink down on the nightstand. He came in shortly after, turning his head in search of his favorite receptionist.

"Boo." A soft voice sang out as hands came from the shadows of behind the door and onto the sides of Jim Halpert. He jumped at the surprise, his head falling back in endless chuckling and onto her left shoulder. "Payback is such a beautiful thing eh?" She whispered by his ear with a smirk, continuing her crusade.

A once dull noise in the back tuned it's way into both of their ears, each one looking in the direction of the phone. Jim rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion as he walked toward the device, picking it up with a hello. She followed with a smile, her arms coming around him and planting her head against chest.

"Of course man… No, you're being ridiculous. I know, and I didn't….You're thinking way into this…All right, see you dude. Bye."With that, Jim hung up the phone and yawned a little.

"Who was that? Don't tell me it was Michael…I really don't want to go in on a Sunday."

"Ha, no it wasn't…no worries about that. It was just Marc. He was wondering how the weather and stuff was up here…and how our date went." Pam smiled, leaning up and kissing Jim on the side of his mouth then a few minutes on the lips. "And what is he up to?" She asked curiously. Marc was a cool guy, nice too.

"He's in Boston. He's visting some friends there, touring the city…whole bunch of stuff. Where were we?" Jim went to kiss her, and she slyly stepped to the side with a smirk. "We were just going to start the movie."

"Oh..yeah, right. What are we watching again?"

"Office Space."

"We better start that huh? Or…we're not going to get to this movie anytime soon…" His mouth formed a sweet smile. She folded her arms, waiting for more. "You're…well, very easy to lose time over."

They finally got the movie going a couple minutes later, cuddled up on the bed. They watched it with mirth, and laughed hysterically at scenes in particular. Jim started crying in laughter as Ron Livingston, David Herman and Ajay Naidu's characters went out into the field to bash up the dreadful copier machine. Pam landed up pausing the movie so he could get a chance to breath again. He gulped down a portion of his water bottle and resumed the movie. "Wow, I still love this movie.." He thought out loud. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. Their smiles never left.

"That was an amazing movie…so good." She managed out while her head laid on Jim's left thigh. His hand was fiddling with her brown strands.. "I be-believe you hav-have my stapler…" She shook her head dramatically at his impersonation, doing the Caesar thumb up at him. "Decent but has potential Halpert."

"Excuse me? I can do one of the best impresions. Let's see what you can do."

"All right. Fine." She replied with a small smile. "I-I bel-ieve you have m-my stapl-ler."

Jim mimicked her actions from before but instead smiled with approval. "I'm impressed, that's not bad at all. Nice job Beesly."

"I think you owe me something Jim…doubting my skill and all." She gave him the come hither finger gesture. He smiled a great amount as his hands slipped down to her sides and raised her up onto his lap. His head tilted forward, his nose bumping and rubbing along hers. Pam let her arms cross around his neck, her fingers twisting around the back hairs.

He laughed, soft and warm. It swept along her face, her cheeks barely flushed. She nuzzled his nose again before kissing just the outside of his mouth. "You're awesome Jim Halpert."

"Nah, you're way amazing-er Pam Beesly."

"Is that even a word?" She whispered out, an eyebrow half raised.

"It is now." Jim replied, smirking at the woman in front of him.

They were quiet for a while, her doing pecks along his cheek or vice versa and later him resting his face into the crook of her shoulder. He turned his head, placing his lips against the side of her neck and kissing it twice.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something." He piped in, his head raising and looking her in the eyes. Those green eyes shined with all the things he loved to see in them. "You want to be my date to my parent's wine tasting? I know, a adult wine thing but hey, it could be a lot of fun. And my parent's have been kind of bugging me to go to one so…maybe you could drink alcohol with me?"

She chuckled, she couldn't help it. "I'd love to be your date" leaning in and kissing him, pulling away seconds later. "Have I met your parents…? No I haven't! This will be so neat to talk with them. Maybe…Oh, perhaps I can see tons of embarrassing baby pictures."

"Oh man Pam, the baby pictures…they don't need to be looked at. And I guess they'll find out um-"

"That you have a girlfriend?" The brunette finished off his sentence smoothly.

"I'm still getting used to that…" Jim admitted with some blush on his cheeks.

"You mean…you didn't tell them?"

"No…I wanted to be a surprise in person, sort of thing. It's cooler." He put his head slightly down, the top of his head against her chin.

"I love you..." Pam mumbled out softly, her head going on top of his head. His hair smelled so good, it was like-

She found herself responding to Jim kissing her plain on the mouth. He separated from her, his eyes sparkling so lightly that she was mystified by them insanely.

"You said…told…You said it.. I mean..-" He was so delighted. She could have sworn that his eyes had watered up…they had. "I love you a lot Jim."

"I love you a lot too." He responded with soft speech. He pulled her into a tight but breathable hug, rocking her slowly back and forth in his arms.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me."

"Like a kid in a candy store?" She asked cutely, her head against his neck.

"More than you'll ever know."

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Wow, I believe that's my longest chapter. I hope it was enjoyed.

--This is most likely one of the last few chapters I'll write for this story. I may do 2 or 3 more chapters.

--I'll keep in mind any suggestions made to me, and may even do them.

--Feel free to give your opinion by clicking the bottom left corner button.