Disclaimer: I... OWN... NOTHING!!!

A/N: Okay, people. This chapter is pretty short, by my standards, but very funny. I had a lot of fun with this chapter and I hope you see why after you read it. There's about five more chapters left and they are all very good, I promise. I hope you, the readers, have been enjoying this tale. I know I have been and I'm going to miss it after I'm finished, which should be about Friday or Saturday. Thanks for all the lovely reviews and encouragement. You guys seriously rock! Okay, enough of that. Back to the good stuff...

9:56 pm

Michael and Paul stopped in front of Jilly's Restaurant & Bar, a banquet style restaurant. There were a lot of people around, even being a Thursday evening. There was a live band playing a catchy tune and couple and families were enjoying good food and company. The place was decorated with holiday décor, which illuminated the place from outdoors. It looked so inviting and welcoming.

Michael looked into the window, "Me and Jan used to come here when she lived in New York and visit me. I always had a nice time here."

Paul nodded, "Yeah, it's a nice family place and the food is delicious."

Michael looked suspicious as Paul quickly covered, "Or so I've read".

Michael rolled his eyes and pointed inside, "So, who's in there from the office?"

Paul beckoned Michael to follow through the front entrance, "C'mon, there's someone I wanna show you." Paul proceeded to walk through the door.

Michael closely followed and noticed that the room was even more crowded than he thought. He didn't see anyone he recognized until he heard a familiar voice, "Hello, folks and welcome to Jilly's. How many in your party?"

Michael whipped around and noticed a small group standing close to him, "Four, please."

Michael turned to see the face of the maitre d', and found the face of Andy Bernard. "Right this way, folks."

Michael was completely awestruck as he saw the Cornell alum sitting the group of people to their seats. "Andy... a waiter?"

Paul shook his head, "Yeah... Dwight fired Andy about a week after the merger."

Michael whirled around, "There's was still a merger?"

Paul nodded, "Oh yeah, but only about two people actually transferred. Andy and um... what his face?"

Michael sighed, "Karen?"

Paul shook his head, "Oh no. She left Dunder Mifflin after the merger. She moved to New York and is a junior exec at a ad agency."

Michael nodded, "Who else transferred?"

Paul finally answered, "Oh yeah, Something Gardner. Anyway, he left shortly there after when he met Dwight."

Michael shook his head, "Geez, Dwight got rid of everybody."

Paul shook his head, "You don't know the half of it." Paul and Michael followed Andy as he was making sure other patrons were being taken care of. "Poor bastard. He was fired from Dunder Mifflin but he never got help for his anger issues."

Michael looked confused, "But I thought he went -

Paul shook his head, "Nope, Dwight never sent him. He still suffers from the 'grumpies' frequently. He was in a Capella troupe for a bit, but that kinda fell through, so he stayed here in Scranton. It wasn't as fast paced as New York and he could start over." He shrugged, "His new pursuit is acting. He was in some local community theater projects, but with his anger problems, it's difficult for him to have a stable gig."

Michael shook his head in pity, "Poor – Hey!" Michael took a look around and spotted someone in the far corner. He made his way shouting to Paul, "I think I saw Oscar... with Gil."

As Michael edged closer to the back, it was confirmed that it was indeed Oscar Martinez with his lover Gil. Michael got a closer look and gasped, "Wow... look. It's Oscar." He thumbed to Paul, "I kissed him." Trying to cover up, "A very manly 'I'm your boss and I respect that your a homosexual' type kiss."

Paul rolled his eyes and focused his attention on Oscar, who was holding with Gil, completely oblivious of the rest of the restaurant. Oscar was telling Gil a funny joke, "And then he said, 'Well... that's why we're balanced.'" He and Gil both laugh at the accounting joke. They seemed to be fully enjoying themselves until Oscar became suddenly quiet, "Oh c'mon, look." He budded his head in the opposite direction, near the band. Michael and Paul both followed his gaze, which led to a short blonde speaking with a taller man in glasses. "I can't believe she's here. Angela never goes out, especially on school nights."

Angela was eating a salad and laughing politely at something that her gentlemen friend was saying. She was facing Oscar's direction when she noticed Oscar staring at her. She nodded toward her friend and excused herself. As she was heading over, Oscar started cursing himself for being so obvious with his staring. As she approached the pair, Oscar and Gil let go of each other's hands and placed them under the table. Angela smiled cordially, "Hello, Oscar." She nodded in Gil's direction, "Gil, pleasure to see you."

Gil nodded and smiled back. Oscar cleared, "Hi, Angela. Didn't expect to see you here this evening."

Angela nodded, "Yeah, I'm actually having dinner with a gentleman friend I met through Phyllis. Very nice and religious."

Oscar nodded, "That's great, Angela. Good for him being... that." Gil nodded in agreement, still stunned at her presence at their table.

Angela nodded, "Yeah, well... just wanted to say hello to you both. And to tell you that I saw you holding hands and I would just like to inform you that you're in a family restaurant, a place for families and children are afoot. You should be aware that they are impressionable and can easily be inquisitive about your... lifestyle. I just hope that God will forgive you for your sins and put mercy on you both." She shook her head disappointedly, "Well... goodnight to you both." She turned on her heel and walked back to her table.

Gil's mouth fell open during Angela's chastising, completely thrown by her bluntness and completely lack of decorum. Oscar shook his head, "I don't hate people, but I really dislike her, intensely."

Gil nodded in agreement, "God, what a completely uptight bitch!" He reached across the table and took Oscar hand the he haphazardly laid next to him. Oscar smiled and felt comforted.

Michael looked at the exchange and looked puzzled, "Why are they -

Paul nodded, "Hiding it? Well... you see, since you never outed Oscar last year, he never came out of the closet. To most of the employees at Dunder Mifflin, he's just another red-blooded heterosexual."

Michael stifled a giggle, "Fat chance."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Well, Angela knows from her suspicious attitude towards everyone and doing some snooping around. She has been thoughtful not to spread around the news, simply because she figures that if no one knows, that it doesn't make it true."

Michael looked in her direction, "Who's the Poindexter? He looks like some religious freak or something."

Paul nodded, "Yeah, you're pretty right on the ball with that one, Michael. He is highly religious and doesn't believe in promiscuous behavior. Dennis is a friend of Phyllis; he's the family veterinarian. A true Christian man."

Michael nodded, "Well… I guess Angela is pretty well off than too. She found the perfect man for her."

Paul looked over at Angela sullenly, "Hmm… I'm not entirely sure that's true. I'm pretty sure there was someone else out there for her but with certain circumstances, they were not able to be together. Either it was promotions or egos or arrogance, Angela never truly found her perfect mate."

Michael looked confused, "Who the hell are you talking about?"

Paul shook his head, "Nobody."

Paul looked over at Angela and Oscar and turned toward Andy. He exhaled sharply, "Well… this bunch is pretty much screwed. Where the hell is Kevin? Is he dead or something?"

Paul chuckled, "No, he's not dead. Not hardly." Checking his watch, "C'mon, if we leave now, we can see Kevin and some other folks."

Michael turned to leave and made one last turn to Angela, "You really need to loosen up a bit. Get laid or something."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Would you c'mon?" Paul walked through the wall and headed to his motorcycle.

Michael shook his head and looked over at Andy and Oscar and walked out the wall towards Paul.

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10:12 pm

Michael and Paul approached Kevin's house pretty quickly. Michael heard music playing in the distance, getting louder as they got closer to Kevin's garage. Paul walked through, as did Michael, revealing the source of the sound.

Kevin was behind his set of drums, sipping on some beer. "C'mon, we have to practice 'Message in a Bottle', before midnight. I got work in the morning. You know how Dwight gets." He shook his head, "He yells a lot, like a lot. I don't need that."

The other members nodded and finished tuning up, attaching straps to guitars and making sure the amps were connected properly. As this was going on, the garage door opened with Darryl and Lonny coming in. Darryl started giving the bassist a handshake, "What up, fellas."

Lonny walked over to Kevin, patting him on the back fiercely, "What up, son?"

Kevin knocked fists with Darryl and Lonny, "We were just about to practice '. Just waiting on 'you know who'." Kevin rolled his eyes and look toward the door to the adjacent room.

Darryl nodded, "What did he do this time?"

Kevin smacked his lips, "Nothing. That's the problem. He thinks he can just prance around here all high and mighty because he rocks on the guitar and he has the voice of an angel."

Brian, the bassist, spoke up, "Yeah, man. I have to get home soon. My wife's been riding my ass about bringing home some fabric softener and some tampons all day. I gotta go soon."

Lonny shook his head, "So, where is he?"

Kevin pointed to the door, "In there, as usual."

Darryl waved it off, "Don't worry about it, man. Next month, we'll be on the road again."

Michael looked over at Paul, "On the road? What are they -?

Paul nodded, "Kevin and his band found success about two years ago. They got their big break at Pam and Roy's wedding. They were spotted by Darryl and Lonny and one of Darryl's friends, who's a up-in-coming music producer from New York."

Michael gasped, "Wow... from New York. I knew Darryl had some family up there, but... man."

Paul rolled his eyes; "He saw Kevin and the band and signed them three weeks later. They do gigs all over the state. At county fairs, at carnivals, local bars, and even in the local music festival in Pittsburgh. They have been all over. They're now the biggest Police cover band in the state. Next month, they kick off their first tour. Mostly on the east coast, but they're branching out. They even released an album. It wasn't that big, but it will be."

Michael nodded, "I knew Kevin's band was good, but wow."

Paul shook his head, "The band you heard was terrible. This is entirely different."

Michael looked confused, "What's so different? Kevin's playing the drums and his buddies are still playing the other instruments. What could be the difference?"

Paul motioned to the other side of the room, where smoke came from the room next door. The door opened and out came a man Michael would have least suspected, Toby.

Michael mouth fell open, "Oh. My. God."

Toby came out of the adjacent room. His hair was long enough to be in a ponytail. He had some scruff on his face and looked completely stoned. He was wearing a vintage Ramones T-shirt and some raggedy jeans. He was smoking a joint and had two provocatively dressed women hanging off his arms. He spoke in his usual monotone, "Are we about to practice?"

One of the woman started to giggle in a soft, high-pitched voice, "Well... duh, silly. Don't you see everyone waiting?"

Toby chuckled and slapped her on her bottom, "Get over there and watch me play."

Both women giggled incessantly and sat on a nearby couch, watching as Toby strapped on his guitar and ripped a minor G chord. He winked at them and turned to Kevin, "Let's do this."

Kevin nodded and started the beginning beats of 'Message in a Bottle'. As the song progressed into the chorus, Darryl and Lonny nodded along with the beat.

Michael looked at Toby, "What the hell is this?"

Paul chuckled, "Yeah Toby's a bit different."

Michael scoffed, "Different? He actually looks… cool."

Paul nodded, "Yeah, he's Mr. Cool. Toby joined the band about three years ago. He showed Kevin his guitar skills and was immediately inducted into the band. With the help of Toby, Scrantonicity reached un-chartered waters. They were actually getting gigs. They were actually sounding decent. They actually sounded like a real band."

Michael looked over at Toby in disbelief, "But look at him, with his long hair and stubble. He looks… not like Toby. He seems kinda…"

"Badass?" Paul nodded, "Yeah, well… being the lead in the band can get to anyone's head. For the first time in Toby's life, he is actually attracting woman, his coworkers noticed him. He's able to be himself, without the threat of a certain someone breathing down his neck –

Michael whipped around, "Hey! If your thinking that I'm cramping Toby's style –

Paul nodded, "Obviously."

Michael shook his head and stated pacing, "This is getting ridiculous! Creed and Kevin are on tours, Meredith is a hobo, Stanley's alone and Toby's cool! Everything is nuts!"

Paul shook his head, "No Michael, this is just a life with you."

Michael looked at Toby and turned to Paul, "Who's Jim? I wanna see Jim."

Paul nodded, "I think it's time to see our pal, Jim. C'mon." Paul turned around toward the door. He turned back to Michael rubbing his chin, "You think I'd look good with stubble. I thought about but –

Michael pushed Toby through the wall, "No on cares. Let's go."

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10:39 pm

Michael and Paul jumped on the motorcycle and headed toward their next destination. During their trip, Michael seemed to realize that this trip was longer than the other trips that they had taken that evening. When the bike finally stopped, Michael got out and look around.

Michael was searching the streets, looking for something familiar. "Where are we?"

Paul shrugged, "Not in Scranton."

Michael whirled around, "Not in Scranton? Where are we? In Stamford?"

Paul shook his head, "Nope."

Michael was about to say something when he saw a group of people shouting, "Hey look, there it is. The Liberty Bell!"

Michael looked at Paul, who simply nodded. Michael looked in the direction as the group who were staring at the Liberty Bell. "We're in Philadelphia?"

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More to come. The next chapter is the one many of you have been waiting for… this chapter is all about Jim. I hope you really like it. I added something different to the next chapter to help me tell the story of Jim, so if you guys want, please listen to 'Australia' and 'Split Needles' by The Shins. It will just help you understand it better and listening to James Mercer's voice is enough reason than any to listen to these songs. Just to explain, the first song is chipper, the second is kinda deep. Thanks for reviewing and keep on reading. It's just gets better, I promise!

If you don't review, I'll punch in the throat! (Or have Dwight do it for me.) PLEASE REVIEW!!!