A/N: So, I wasn't sure if I was going to write anymore of this, but I got inspired and that was that. I'm having fun writing something different. New characters to explore and different situations to put them in. I'm having a blast exploring the world of Dunder-Mifflin. Well, anyways…on with the story. Feedback and reviews are much appreciated!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Office or have any affiliation with NBC. I would love to meet the cast though. I love John, he's so adorable.

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She couldn't focus. She sat at her desk, taping her pen against the mouse pad, watching the second hand on the clock across the room tick slowly. Too slowly.

Five twenty two and forty five seconds.

She just wanted the day to end. She wanted to forward the phone to voicemail, gather her purse, and head out of the door and down the elevator. She didn't think that was too much to ask.

Her lips turned up in a smile when out of the corner of her eye she saw the brightly colored paper that had been waiting for her when she returned from her interview earlier that day. A note she knew she would treasure forever.

I'm back. For good. I've never stopped loving you, not once. We have lots to talk about but I'm determined to make this work. You are it for me. I've got some errands to run and I have to talk to Michael. I'll pick you up at your place at six-thirty.

Love you,
Jim

She re-read the words and the grin on her face didn't go unnoticed to the camera crew who were trained and paid to watch the lives of the Dunder Mifflin employees. She shrugged it off and pressed the red rose to her nose again, drinking in its fragrance.

Five twenty six and fifty one seconds.

Just about three minutes were left and she decided to take the opportunity of having Michael gone already for the day to escape. She forwarded the phones and grabbed her purse.

At five twenty eight she was in the elevator.

She taped her foot impatiently as she watched the numbers drop until she was on the ground floor finally. She smiled and waived to the night guard and stepped out into the Pennsylvania sunshine. Even though spring was in full season and summer was just around the corner the air still had a chill and she pulled the sleeves of her cardigan down to protect her arms against the wind.

When she got to her car she chuckled as she found another single red rose was tied to a piece of paper, secured tightly under the driver's side windshield wiper.

She pulled it out and lifted the flower to her nose. Unfolding the paper she smiled at the familiar scrawl.

It's been only minutes since I left that last note on your desk and headed out and I'm already counting down the minutes until I pick you up tonight. I want to say I'm sorry. Sorry for everything I've put you through over the last few months. For not being here when you needed me the most. You are my best friend Pam and I think it was love at first sight. Heading home to get settled and I'll pick you up later.

Love you,
Jim

The giggled erupted before she knew what was happening and Kevin gave her a strange look as he walked by her on his way to his car.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded giddily and he shrugged. She climbed into her car before anyone else came out and tried to read her expression. When her car started the radio was blasting from her stressful drive in and the song that happened to be playing made her grin. It was one of the songs that Jim had placed on a tape he'd given to her for Christmas in the teapot. She loved the irony.

Five thirty five and two seconds.

She sped home. The only thing on her mind was getting home and changing so that she would be ready when he picked up her. She didn't want to make him wait anymore. He had waited long enough. They both had.

She fumbled with her keys as she tried to get them into the lock of her apartment door and sighed when the door finally flung open. She dropped her purse, keys, and mail on the table by the door and ran towards her room, stripping off her cardigan as she went.

Five fifty one and twelve seconds.

She had just less than forty minutes to be ready. She didn't know if she was going to make it. She nodded to herself, an understanding that she would be ready to go by the time he knocked on the door.

She didn't worry about the clothes she left laying all over the floor from her quick undressing and stepped into the warm shower gratefully. Spending just enough time to condition her curls to make them easier to manage and quickly, but carefully run a razor over her legs, she stepped out again.

Six o'five and fifty five seconds.

She wrapped the towel around her waist and ran her fingers through the mass of curls on her head before applying mouse for styling. She decided to leave her hair down, pinning only a few curls back to frame her face.

Six eleven and six seconds.

She grabbed her compact from her dresser and went to work applying just a touch of makeup to her clean face. Some foundation, a touch of blush, finishing powder, and mascara and with that she was satisfied.

Six seventeen and fifty eight seconds.

Now she was stuck. She had been racking her brain on what to wear. Would he be dressy still, in the suit he wore in New York for his interview? Or would he have stopped off at home and changed into a more comfortable outfit of jeans and a sweater? She didn't know and she wasn't sure she had time to call him.

She grabbed her phone and pressed the number four speed dial.

"You aren't changing your mind are you?" Jim asked after only two rings.

"No!" Pam exclaimed hurriedly and Jim continued.

"Well, then I said I'd be there at six thirty," Jim sighed, "I'm not late yet."

"I know," Pam told him in a frenzy. "But I don't know what to wear because all you said was dinner and I didn't want to wear jeans if you were still in your suit or wear a skirt if you were in jeans. Help me out here."

"Oh," Jim said chuckling, "calm down."

"I'm trying," Pam said, "But…"

"It's okay. I'm nervous too."

"You are?"

"Oh yeah," Jim said nodding his head to no one. "But to ease your mind I'm in jeans. We are doing causal tonight."

"Perfect," Pam answered and pulled a dark pair of jeans from her closet. "I'll talk to you when you get here."

"I'm on my way."

"Drive slow."

"Will do."

Pam threw the phone down on her bed after hitting end and pulled on her jeans. Rummaging in the closet she debated on what to pair it with.

It is still chilly, she thought,so I could get away with a sweater. But, I don't want to wear a sweater in case the restaurant is warm.

She ended up decided on a pale pink three-quarter sleeve top with a v-neck. It was classy, yet comfortable, and it complimented her features well. She threaded silver hoops through the holes in her ears and fastened a necklace around her neck and reached for her shoes.

Six thirty nine and twenty seven seconds.

As she was slipping on a pair of silver ballet flats she heard the doorbell rang and she instantly smiled.

She bounded down the stairs checking her reflection in the living room mirror before she threw the door open.

Six thirty and forty eight seconds.

"I tried to drive slowly," Jim offered with a smile and a handful of flowers. "You look beautiful tonight and these are for you."

"Thank you," Pam said shyly, "and your timing is perfect."

"Good to hear," Jim said handing her the flowers. "So you are ready to go?"

"Just let me put these in some water and we'll be outta here. Come in."

"Thanks," Jim said stepping into the foyer. This was the first time he'd ever been in her house. He had gotten her address from the office directory and map quested his way there. He looked around at the simple décor that just screamed Pam.

"Nice digs here Beesley," Jim called through the wall and Pam chuckled.

"You want a tour?" she asked coming around the corner with the vase and flowers in hand. "It's not anything spectacular."

"I'd love to see it."

"Okay," Pam nodded. "Well this is the foyer and that in there is the living room." She motioned for him to follow as she showed him the rest of the house. He made little comments about things around the house and Pam blushed more times than she would have like and Jim was elated.

"What's n here?" Jim asked pointing to her closed bedroom door.

"Um," Pam hesitated, "it's my bedroom. But it's messy; I'll have to show you it some other time."

"I don't mind a little mess," Jim added and reached for the door.

"Jim," Pam exclaimed but didn't make it back to him before he had pushed the door open and was standing in her room. "I told you it was messy."

"Rushed you a bit today didn't I?"

"Just a tad," Pam said chuckling. "I didn't mind though."

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

Pam nodded and blushed again and Jim just smiled.

"Okay Halpert," Pam changed the subject, "you ready to go?"

"I am, if you are."

"Great, cause I'm starved."

"I thought we would go to Chili's."

"Funny."

"I'm being serious."

"Then you are eating alone tonight."

"Okay, so I'm kidding."

"That is what I thought," Pam teased. "What do you have in mind for tonight?"

"Start with dinner and just see how it goes. We have a lot to talk about I think."

"I would agree to that."

"Good," Jim said and took her hand in his. "Let's get out of here."

Six forty one and fifteen seconds.

Pam nodded and allowed Jim to lead her to his car. The tension in the car was lifted when Jim flipped on the radio and Pam started singing along. Jim started in shortly after as they drove through Scranton and Jim parked in front of a small Mexican place.

"I know you like Mexican food," Jim started and Pam nodded.

"This is great."

"Is this awkward?"

"A little."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling that way," Jim sighed. "I was scared there for a minute."

"I'm nervous and scared too," Pam started. "I guess I'm scared of screwing this up."

"I won't let that happen," Jim assured her. "I wasn't kidding in my note today when I said that I was back and here for good. You can't get rid of me now Beesley."

"I don't want to," she said shyly and Jim beamed. He led her into the restaurant and waited briefly for their table to be ready.

Six fifty eight and seven seconds.

Conversation flowed easily, she told him about Dwight's power mad day and he laughed at the picture she had created. When she pulled the Schrute Buck from her purse and handed it to him he had tears in his eyes from the laughter.

"Man," Jim exclaimed when he was finally able to stop laughing, "I missed like the best day in the office."

"You sure did," Pam confirmed, "and I haven't even told you the best part yet."

"There's more?"

"He was 'in charge' for a full day," Pam answered with a smirk. "Did I tell you yet that I was his secret Assistant to the Regional Manger?"

"Nope," Jim said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yup," she told him. "He was keeping the title still himself, so he was both Assistant to the Regional Manager and Regional manager. I held the title 'in private.'"

"Man," Jim exclaimed again. "I can't wait to see that on the documentary footage. I wonder if I could convince them to let me preview today early."

"We'll have to ask tomorrow," Pam told him. "But, how was your day?"

Jim paused as he took another bite of his dinner and looked up into Pam's eyes. He could tell by the look on her face she was waiting expectantly for the explanation of what his day held and why he was sitting across from her at the moment. And frankly he didn't blame her.

"I guess it is my turn huh?" he asked almost teasingly and Pam shrugged and focused her eyes on her plate. "It is. I know that and I owe you an explanation."

"You don't…"

"Yes I do," Jim answered cutting her off. "I left Scranton because I couldn't handle the thought of you marrying Roy."

"I know," Pam sighed and Jim just shrugged.

"After that stupid casino night," Jim paused and cleared his throat, "fiasco, I dare say. I wasn't sure I would be able to come in to work each day, see you, and act like everything was fine or normal…"

Pam hung her head in guilt and he reached across the table to grab her hand, "I don't blame you for that. I need you to know that. I didn't mean to spring that on you like that. At all. I was going to talk to you about the transfer actually, I had already talked to Jan about it and she had said something to me that night about it as well. I wanted to talk to my best friend about it and then you were there and we were alone and my brain didn't register what was happening until it was too late…"

"I was caught off guard that night Jim," Pam broke in. "I didn't know what to think or how to respond, especially since at that point I was ready to jump into your arms and ride off into the sunset, so to speak."

"It still wasn't fair of me to do that to you," Jim told her. "I called Jan right after I left. I had her rush the transfer so I could be on my way before I changed my mind. I regret not staying around or saying goodbye, but I just couldn't."

"How did you find out that I didn't marry Roy?" Pam asked. "Michael told me that he talked to you at the convention and you already knew."

"Ryan told me," Jim explained. "When he got my job and moved into my desk he found some stuff that I mistakenly left behind and called me to get an address to mail it to. We talked briefly and some point he mentioned the tension in building with the broken engagement."

"Oh."

"It was all I could do at that moment to not get in my car and drive back here, but…"

"I know."

"By then Karen and I were talking, not dating, but talking. Getting along really well and I thought that I was actually over you. I wanted to be. It hurt too bad to still love you. Though, even through dating Karen, moving back here, and trying to ignore you, I still loved you. I don't think I will ever stop."

"I was so afraid that I had lost my opportunity."

"During the beach games when you spilled all of that stuff after your coal walk, I knew then that I would never really be over you, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself I was…but I still didn't know what to do."

Jim paused again and folded his hands together, "I didn't want to hurt Karen. I cared about her. But I knew that stringing her along would be worse. I tried to see if I could figure out, that is why I went to New York with her, went on that interview, but she was talking about the future and I just couldn't do it. Then in the interview I saw your note and my heart and brain finally got in sync. I told David I wasn't gong to take the job, called Karen, and told her I was staying in Scranton. I told her that my life was in Scranton and I couldn't run away from it anymore."

Pam had tears in her eyes and it was her turn to reach towards Jim. He accepted her hand by wrapping it in his and looked up into her eyes. "I had to stop running from my feelings."

"I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

They shared a silent moment before turning back towards their meals, both analyzing their admissions and feelings. Jim broke the silence again.

"I need to ask you something," he said and Pam nodded anxiously, "you said that I was the reason you broke off your wedding. I want to know why."

"You really have to ask?" Pam questioned and took a deep breath when he nodded. "After you told me you were in love with me in the parking lot I knew I couldn't go back into the warehouse and act like everything was normal. I needed to talk to someone, so that is when I headed to the office. I was on the phone with my mom and I told her everything that happened and she was asking me how I felt. At first I said I didn't know and then she asked me point blank if I was in love with you too and to answer her honestly, I told her I was. When you came in she was saying something about Roy and I cut her off and then well, you kissed me and I lost all of my nerve."

Jim nodded and encouragement for her to continue and she took a shaky breath, "when I got home I was near hysterics. Thankfully Roy was already passed out in bed dead asleep so I didn't have to face him. I was so confused. There were feelings for you in my heart without question, but at the same time, I'd been with Roy for so long, I loved him too. The rest of the weekend was hard. I tried to act like nothing was wrong, but it didn't work. He asked me several times if I was okay and I would lie and smile and assure him I was fine.

"Monday when you didn't show for work I was torn," Pam admitted. "I wanted to see you, to talk to you, to try and sort out my head and heart and you weren't there. So I did what I could on my own and when Michael told me you had transferred I gave up and told myself that I was supposed to be with Roy."

Jim hung is his head and she knew there were probably a million thoughts flying around in his head.

"I ignored the sad looks I would get at work, changed the subject whenever someone started asking me about you, figuring we were still in touch, I even avoided the subject with my mom. I was a wreck. I threw myself into planning a wedding I didn't really want to attend and a week before I finally gave up. I called my mom sobbing and blurted out all of my feelings and she raced down here. She took me out to dinner and we talked and I decided then I was going to end it with him."

"I'm sorry…" Jim stammered and Pam just shook her head.

"It wasn't your fault," Pam assured him. "It wasn't. I needed to do it. For myself. I needed to be independent, to figure out my life. If you would have stayed I would have ran to you. Which, wouldn't have been horrible, but I need to sort everything out on my own first. I had been with Roy for so long that I didn't have any concept of what my life, on my own, would be. I needed that break. Mom checked into a hotel and we drove back to my place so I could pack and stay with her. When we got there Roy was home and I began to shake, literally. Mom headed upstairs to pack my stuff while I talked to him. She made her presence known first though; maybe to help me…I'm not really sure."

"I wish I would have been there for you, Pam," Jim told her. "I know you needed to do it on your own, but I still wish I could have been there."

"I know," Pam said. "Breaking it off was easier than I thought. I don't think that either of us had really been happy but were trying so hard for the other. When I handed the ring to him and told him I couldn't marry him he nodded, almost like he expected it."

"I left with my mom and we camped out in the hotel room, eating junk food and watching movies. It gave me a chance to retreat from reality. I called in on Monday to work, faking sick and I apartment hunted. That is when I found my place and thankfully was able to move in right away. Tuesday I called in again and went about canceling the wedding. Wednesday I finally returned to work and Michael of course asked me what was up. How getting sick the week of my wedding was a bad thing and such. I told him I wasn't getting married and that took care of that."

"Wow," Jim breathed. "I don't think that I could say sorry enough for everything I put you through."

"No Jim, you can't keep beating yourself up for it. It's done, in the past, I've moved on. I've dealt with it all. I'm excited for the future."

"The future is looking pretty bright," Jim agreed and Pam grinned. "You ready to get out of here? We've had a pretty emotional night."

"Yeah," Pam agreed. "Let's go."

Nine eleven and forty two seconds.

When Jim pulled into her driveway she was already staring to yawn and he smiled and the way her face curled up.

"Someone is tired," Jim commented and she didn't try to hide it.

"Yup," she answered, "and we have to go to work tomorrow."

"We do," Jim said. "What do we tell people?"

"I dunno, what do you want to say?"

"Would you be mad if I asked you if we could keep this between us for awhile? I just don't want to flaunt my newfound happiness in Karen's face and she'll most likely be there."

"True," Pam said sadly. "I don't want her to hate me."

"I don't think it is you that you have to worry about," Jim teased. "I'm worried about my body parents being detached."

"Don't joke Jim."

"Sorry."

"Let's keep it quiet," Pam told him. "No one needs to know our business yet anyways and the camera crew has gone for the summer hiatus so we have some time to ourselves."

"Sounds like a good plan," Jim agreed pulling her into his arms as they stood right inside her foyer. "A secret office romance."

"Goodnight Jim."

"Night Pam, sweet dreams," he answered placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before shutting the door behind him. She watched as he walked to his car and drove away before she headed upstairs and collapsed into bed.

Nine forty seven and twenty two seconds.

She fell asleep with a huge smile on her lips.

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A/N: Wow, so this chapter ended up much longer than the previous. Not that I'm upset about that at all. This is more towards the normal length of my chapters. Anyways, enough about me…please review/pm and let me know what you think. I'd love to know!