A/N: New layout on this site gets under my skin for some reason.

I wish we could open our eyes to see in all directions at the same time.

- "Marching Bands of Manhattan" by Death Cab for Cutie

One morning at work at work several days later, Holly walked by David's office. She walked in and said hello.

"Busy morning?" She asked.

"Holly," he replied, looking distracted, "Yeah, it is. Kind of."

In truth, things were going slowly and he didn't have a lot to do, but his mind was elsewhere. Currently, the job was one of the last things on his mind.

"You've got that look," she mused.

"What's that?"

"It's like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Anything I can help with?"

"Just some personal stuff I've been thinking about. I'll be fine."

"Alright," she nodded and turned to leave.

He hesitated and then called her back, "Hey Holly?"

"Yeah?" she turned around again.

"Do you think a positive event can make up for a negative one?" he asked, looking earnest.

She paused momentarily, "It depends on what the two events in question are, but I think it's possible."

He nodded, "Thanks, Holly."

She furrowed her brow, "You sure you're alright, David?"

"Yeah. I will be."

Later that morning, Holly's phone vibrated, signaling that she had a text message. She smiled upon seeing it was from Sarah.

Hey Holl! I've got a business mtg in NYC later today, wanna do lunch?

Sounds like a plan. Lemme know when you hit the city.

Several hours later, she and Sarah were sitting in a Thai restaurant not too far from Recollection Publishing. Holly smiled. Sarah had found a job in DC after Dunder Mifflin had gone under, and they kept in touch regularly and had gotten together several times since everything had happened, but it was always nice to see her friend in person.

"So," Sarah said.

Holly raised an eyebrow, "So."

"How's everything with your man from Scranton?" she teased lightly.

"Sarah, he's not…we're not together," Holly stumbled out in reply.

Sarah nodded, sensing Holly's sensitivity about the subject, "Have you remembered anything new, Holl?"

"No, but Michael describes things in such detail, it's almost as though I remember being there. And even though I only met…or re-met, I suppose, him a few weeks ago, I think he's becoming my best friend here in the city."

"Which makes sense, Holl. Like I've told you, back when you were in Scranton, we'd talk on the phone and you would tell me about Michael. You guys were close before. Your brain may not remember, but I bet your heart does."

"Yeah," Holly replied "You know, I don't know how I ever would have gotten through this whole discovering that I've forgotten ordeal if it weren't for you. I mean, I guess I'm still going through it, but you made the first few weeks a heck of a lot easier."

"Always," Sarah responded, smiling, "So how are you doing otherwise?"

"Good. I'm still liking the job."

"How's Wallace doing?"

"He's still acting weird sometimes. Almost like he's got some crime to make up for. And he was asking me about redemption earlier. Very unexpected."

"You know, I could kind of see Wallace trying to save people," Sarah mused.

"With a total Christ-like persona," Holly added.

Sarah laughed, "Says the atheist."

She grinned, "Hey, hey."

Holly entered her apartment and leaned against the front door. She sighed and slowly slid down until she sat on the floor, knees pressed tightly against her chest. She'd had the perfect morning. Michael was sweet and fun, and he was quickly becoming her best friend in New York. This morning they had gone out to breakfast and then walked through Central Park. Holly couldn't deny that that they had a strong connection: their conversations rarely lagged, and she was completely comfortable around him. When she and Michael were together, things just felt right.

He felt like home. It wasn't the first time she'd had that thought, but before now she hadn't allowed herself to reflect on what that might really mean. As Sarah had told her earlier, feeling connected to Michael made sense because of the prior relationship they had shared. But what did all of this mean for the present day? The first relationship she had shared with Michael had ended. She'd married AJ, and that clouded her perspective on things with Michael.

What did it mean that she had been married to AJ? Was that supposed to make her feel less connected to Michael? Should she feel guilty about finding another man she felt close to after AJ had died? Was she being disloyal to him?

And then there was the matter of telling Michael about AJ. Was it something that she should tell Michael? Was she in the wrong for not saying anything about it, at least not yet?

She wasn't sure what she should do about any of this, and it made her nervous. She wanted – needed – perspective.

The New York City skyline was right in front of Holly as she sat on the top of a grassy hill in Central Park later that evening. She started at the purple sunset that seemed to touch the top of the buildings as she collected her thoughts.

"Holly?" a familiar voice asked.

She turned around, "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"This is kind of my place," Michael replied as he sat next to her, "I come here to chillax."

"Yeah, it's a good thinking place. So, how was work?"

"It was fun," Michael replied. Generally, he didn't work weekends, but there were two birthday parties that he'd needed to tend to at the skating rink after they'd had breakfast that morning. "So what were you thinking about? Um. If you don't mind me asking?"

"Life, and how it can take surprising turns, " Holly replied, still looking thoughtful.

Michael nodded in earnest agreement.

"Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"You've done a lot of talking about us, but now I should probably tell you something about me."

"Ok, go for it," Michael said encouragingly, sensing her nervousness.

"I don't know if you knew of an AJ from the Nashua branch."

"Yeah. He was in sales. You and he were…."

"We were together, yeah. And I eventually married him. We had our trials, but I loved him. He was…he used to be my other half," she exhaled sharply, "He died right before I moved here."

Michael looked shocked, "Oh, geeze, Holly, I'm so sorry."

"It was a drunk driver," she said softly, "I hated it afterward. I mean, I'd just lost AJ, which was awful enough in itself, and people kept acting like I was going to break. I really hated it, Michael. Losing him was so hard, but I'm not porcelain. I don't break that easily."

"I know you don't, Holl," he replied just as softly.

"Things were really rough for a while. Still are at times."

Michael nodded.

"Can I ask you something?" he spoke tentatively.

"Of course."

"Your wedding ring….it's none of my business and I'm probably too nosy for my own good, but…"

"It's here," she explained as she pulled the chain from under her shirt, revealing the diamond ring she wore around her neck, "He's gone, and I get that, but I haven't been able to take it off. Not completely, anyway."

"That...that makes sense," Michael replied, "I get that. You have a part of him, still, that way."

She nodded and was silent momentarily.

"Michael, there's more."

"Ok," he looked very concerned.

"I mean, maybe I shouldn't….I don't want to lay all of this on you all at once like this. I debated and debated with myself, but I couldn't not…as much as I love it here, sometimes you're one of the few things that makes sense, so telling you these things feels right, but —"

He took her hand, "Hey. I'm not ever going anywhere unless you want me to. So I promise you that it's ok to tell me whatever it is that you want to tell me."

"We'd been trying to have kids, and it didn't happen for the longest time. It finally did, right before…the accident," Her voice broke, "but after he was gone I miscarried."

"Oh, Holly," Michael said with heartbreak that matched the one on her crying face. He pulled her into his arms, and they were quiet other than her occasional sobs

They had been like that for what felt like some time when it began to rain. The water quickly built up speed as it came down, soaking both of them.

"Let's get out of this weather, ok?" Michael suggested as they both got to their feet.

She nodded, and as they walked down the hill Michael sadly reflected on the fact that he now knew what had caused Holly to have such sad eyes.

I just feel the need to expound on a few things:

Last scene took quite a while to write, but I'm really satisfied with the end result. Although Michael was everyone's favorite idiot for the majority of his time on the show, Holly definitely helped him grow, which I think is reflected here. Also, he still loves Holly very much and wants to be there for her, thus resulting in his lack of freaking out over Holly marrying AJ when he can tell she's distraught.

Yes, Holly breaks down here, but after this stuff happened to her she was ultimately able to carry on after these things happened. Hence the "I'm not porcelain" comment.

And finally, I'm sure you notice the review button, and it's getting lonely these days. Hint, hint. (: