Disclaimer: I don't own The Office….

AN: Ok, wow, words cannot describe how sorry I am for this long wait. I knew it was going to be a while, but I had no idea it would take me this long to get another chapter out. I am so so sorry! But thank you so much for those who are sticking with me through my random updates. And I'll say it again: I will finish this story. It will be done. This I can promise. Anyways, yall have waited long enough, so without further ado, onto……

Ch. 7

A loud clatter from the kitchen woke Pam from her slumber. As she stretched, she glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

1:08 pm.

She had fallen asleep. Yet again.

She didn't know why she was so tired lately.

I guess when your body's been through a trauma like this, it needs lots of time to recover.

She looked around again, and realized that she last remembered being on the couch in the living room. And now she was in Jim's room.

She smiled at the thought of Jim carrying her in here to sleep.

She slid out of bed and decided to investigate the commotion in the kitchen.

The sight that greeted her when she looked in the doorway almost made her fall down in laughter.

Jim was strolling around the now messy kitchen, cookbook in hand, trying to match up pots, utensils, and ingredients to the pictures in the book. He was so absorbed in his mission, that she was able to watch for a few minutes unnoticed as he picked up a turkey baster, held it up to a picture in the book, squinted his eyes in examination, sighed, and threw it back in a drawer as he realized it wasn't what he needed.

She couldn't help but giggle.

The sound broke through Jim's focus, and he spun around to face her, looking very guilty for some reason. He glanced around the room, then back at her, and gave a helpless shrug.

"May I ask what on earth you are doing?" Pam asked between laughs.

"Uh…cooking?"

"Right. Let me help you with that."

She walked over to him and pried the cookbook out of his hands, then set it on the counter. Opening the freezer, she examined its contents before asking, "Pepperoni or cheese?"

A grin broke out on Jim's face. He loved this girl so much.

"Always pepperoni."

After the frozen pizza was cooking away in the oven, Jim pulled Pam into the living room and directed them to the couch.

"Okay Pam. I know this is going to be hard for you, but I think it's time. We need to go to the police. The only way to make sure you are completely safe is to make sure he is behind bars. And that's my number one priority. To keep you safe."

Pam sighed.

"You're right. I can't put this off any longer. Let's go to the police station after we eat."

"That's my girl. I'm so proud of you."

Pam shared his smile, then reached out to take his hand with hers.

"Thank you Jim. For getting me out of there. For saving me. I-I-" She turned away from him as tears filled her eyes.

Jim reached out for her chin and turned it back toward him.

"Anytime Beasley," he said as he leaned in to touch their foreheads together.

They remained like that, staring into each others eyes, until Pam suddenly pulled back.

"Oh my gosh! Work!"

Jim chuckled.

"Don't worry, I took care of it. It seems you passed on your viral infection to me and we're both out sick."

"Well you just think of everything, don't you?"

They shared a grin, before the pizza timer interrupted them. As Pam went to get it out of the oven, Jim was glad for the moment alone. Worry crept into his eyes. When he called in, he found out that Roy hadn't been in to work at all either. No one had seen him. Jim didn't know whether this was good news or bad.

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Pam was trying to be brave. She was sitting ramrod straight in the front seat, looking out the passenger window as Jim drove home. But Jim could tell she was frightened.

They had just left the police station with not so good news.

After Pam relayed her story to two police officers, they had sent a team out to their house to arrest Roy. But Roy was nowhere to be found. It seemed as if he hadn't even been there at all in the last couple of days.

The officers tried to reassure Jim and Pam, telling them that they were issuing a statewide lookout for him and would do their very best to track him down. But it wasn't enough. Knowing he was out there, anywhere, terrified Pam.

Jim reached across the seat to place his hand on hers. She turned to look at him, giving him a halfhearted smile before turning back to the window. He could see the tears forming in her eyes in the reflection.

And then Jim made a decision.

He wasn't going to wait for the police to find Roy.

He was getting Pam out of here.

And they were leaving tonight.

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Surprisingly Pam hadn't put up much of a fight when he told her they were leaving for a while. She hadn't even asked where they were going. Which proved, despite her strong front, just how frightened she was. She had quietly packed up her few things while he made a couple of phone calls.

Twenty minutes later it was decided. He was going to take her to stay with his brother and sister-in-law in Manchester. He had given Pete a brief overview of the circumstances, revealing just enough details to show the urgency of the situation without embarrassing Pam too much. Pete and Cindy were more than happy to help out in any way they could, even if it was simply providing a place to stay for an undetermined length of time. With any luck, Roy would be caught in a matter of days and this whole thing would be over and done with. But Jim knew that was probably asking too much.

Jim turned around when Pam entered the living room. He glanced at the bag in each hand, and was just about to ask why she had two when she beat him to it.

"I went ahead and packed you a few things too," she said, blushing a bit. "I hope that's all right."

"Yeah, yeah that's perfect. Thanks Pam," Jim smiled, ducking his head and blushing as well. For some reason the thought of Pam rifling through his clothes embarrassed him a little, especially knowing she probably picked out boxers for him too….Man, he felt like such a little schoolboy again.

After a moment of silence, with neither of them moving, Jim snapped out of it and walked forward to take their bags from Pam. As he turned to head out the door, he felt a tiny hand on his arm, stopping his movement.

Spinning back to face Pam, he was surprised at how close she was to him. She stared up at Jim, a slight smile gracing her lips, before she placed the palm of her hand against his cheek. Jim never saw it coming. The next second, Pam stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Although it only lasted a few seconds, it was by far the best kiss of his life.

Pam shyly looked up to see his reaction, and almost wanted to laugh at the astounded look on his face. She had certainly caught him off guard. But that surprised look soon melted into the biggest smile she had ever seen.

No words needed to be said. Jim simply grinned and gazed adoringly down at Pam, while she smiled up at him with the sweetest look on her face. Soon, however, Jim remembered the reason he was holding two bags.

"We should probably get going," he said, wishing they could stay in that moment forever.

"Yeah," Pam replied softly, looking away from Jim's gaze.

Jim shifted one bag to join the other in his hand, then held his now free one out to Pam.

Pam glanced at it for a second, before setting her hand within his offered one.

As they headed out the door, Pam shifted her hand to lace their fingers together.

Jim couldn't help the wide grin that broke out on his face.

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Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it! And my next update won't take as long as my last one….my life has been slightly less crazy so I should be able to get it out much, much quicker. Have a great day guys! Happy Friday!!

Until next time,

Western