I was listening to "Butterfly Kisses" while writing the last major chunk of this chapter. No matter how many times I listen to that song, I always end up bawling like a baby.

Pam:

Well here we are. It's the big day. I'm getting married! In less than an hour! To Jim!

Wow. That sounded a lot less dorky in my head.

Jim stood by himself in an empty hallway of the church. He bounced nervously on the balls of his feet as he stared off into nothingness. In less than fifteen minutes, he would be standing in front of his family, friends, and God and swearing his eternal love to the woman of his dreams, and he couldn't stay still. He was brimming with too much excitement.

"Hey."

Jim started at the sound of his brother's voice. His head whipped automatically to see Jon Halpert standing just a few feet away. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't sensed his brother approaching, a skill born from years of being ambushed by his older siblings.

"Hey," Jim quietly replied.

Jon had to smile at his brother's demeanor. He'd felt the same way just before his wedding.

"Easy there, Jimmy. You're going to sweat the gel out of your hair."

"It's hair spray."

Jon opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it. Instead, he clapped his hand onto Jim's shoulder and guided his brother to a bench.

"Sit down."

Jim sat.

"Take a breath."

He did.

"And another."

Jim obeyed.

"Better?"

Jim nodded.

The two men sat in silence until Jim suddenly spoke up. "What if I trip and fall flat on my face."

"You pick yourself up and keep on walking."

"What if I mess up my vows?"

"Just read what you have written. You can't screw that up."

"But shouldn't I be making eye contact?"

Jon resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his little brother's questions. He'd asked the same things just before his wedding and their father had given him the advice that he himself was currently dispensing.

"If you can't remember what you wrote, then tell her you love her and that you'll always love her."

The lapsed into silence again, both staring at the same spot on the floor.

"Keep things simple, Jimmy. It's already the biggest day of your life. Don't need to make it any more complicated than that."

They heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and looked up to see their very pregnant sister making her way towards them.

"What are you two freaks doing by yourselves?" Larissa asked.

"Hey. I was just giving our baby brother some last minute advice. Did Mom send you?"

Larissa shook her head, "I volunteered."

Jon stood up, making room for Larissa on the bench. "Take a seat."

"Then I'd have to get back up," Larissa replied, motioning to her belly. "It's almost time to go in anyway."

She turned her attention to Jim, who was back to staring off into space. "How're you holding up?"

Jim looked up at his sister and smiled. "I'm good."

"Good. On your feet, kiddo. Everyone's waiting."

Jim obeyed, and the three of them made their way to where everyone was gathered. Jon and Larissa were on either side of their brother, with their hands on his elbows, as if they were worried that he was going to bolt.

And they couldn't resist getting a couple of jabs in at the last minute.

"Look at him, Larissa."

"I am."

"Like a lamb to the slaughter."

"Oh yeah. Looks just like Bob at our wedding."

"Hey! I'm right here, you know."

Identical smirks appeared on Jon's and Larissa's faces. Their baby brother had stumbled into an old trap. They used to freak him out with this when they were kids.

"No, you're not."

"Don't..."

"You're not here. We're not here. It's all just one big illusion."

"I'm telling Mom."

"Go right ahead. We'll deny the whole thing."

Pam:

I remember used to trying really really hard to see what my future would be like. And a lot of the time, as wonderful as a lot of those dreams were, they used to scare the heck out of me. But in the past couple of years, everything's been coming together, and a lot of those dreams are becoming real. And…now…it's still scary. But exciting at the same time.

Jim:

Back when I first started working at Dunder-Mifflin, my dreams started becoming really vivid. But that's all they were. Dreams. You know.

And for a long time I believed that they would stay that way.

But now that they're all coming true…it's a great feeling. Like anything's possible.

You know?

Pam:

Jim helped me see that growing up didn't mean that I had to throw away my dreams. It didn't mean that I had to give up all those things that I aspired to do. He pushes me when I think about giving up, and comforts me when I fail. Then he pushes me right back out there to try again.

I wouldn't have a fraction of the life that I'm living if it wasn't for Jim.

Jim:

Being with Pam taught me that although life might not always turn out the way you thought it would as a kid, you shouldn't let it get you down. She showed me that you have to fight for things. And to keep fighting for them if they mean that much to you.

Kevin Beesly quietly approached the partially open door before him with practiced ease. Years of working late nights had made him a pro at looking in on his children without waking them from their dreams. He gently eased the door open to see Pam with her back to him, staring at herself in the mirror.

This was the first time he was seeing Pam in her wedding dress, she and his wife had kept it a closely guarded secret from everybody. And Kevin could see why they did. Because this dress turned his Pam, already so beautiful in his eyes, into something more.

He knocked lightly on the doorjamb to get Pam's attention.

She turned to face him, and the sight brought tears to his eyes.

His baby girl was all grown up, dressed in her strapless wedding dress that simply flowed to the ground, with her hair and makeup done perfectly.

But those weren't what held his attention.

It was her eyes. Wide and bright

Then there was her smile. One that made her entire face seem to glow.

Kevin remembered a time when smiles like this were few and far between.

Roy was a good guy, but that was the problem. He was a guy.

Still reliving the glory days of high school while Pam lived on empty promises and forgotten dreams. She stuck with it. Made the best of her situation wherever she could.

His daughter was a fighter, but after years of going nowhere, Pam had begun to lose her spark.

Began resigning herself to a life she settled on, not one she made for herself.

And then Kevin was back in the present. Staring at a completely different woman. Someone who had dreams and aspirations, and was working hard to make them come true.

He was about to give his daughter away to the man who relit that fire in her. The one who convinced her to reach for the stars once again.

"It's time to go, Pumpkin."

Pam nodded and bent to pick up her bouquet.

Holding it in front of her, she straightened and looked straight at her father.

"How do I look, Daddy?"

And there she was. For one last moment, he had his baby girl again. Coming to him in the living room wrapped in her grandmother's old silk scarves and clomping around in her mother's shoes. Asking him if he thought she looked pretty.

And he gave the same answer as he used a very long time ago:

"You look beautiful, Pammy."

Kevin took the initiative and stepped into the small room, walking up to his daughter.

"Ready?" he offered Pam his arm. She quickly threaded her own through it.

"Uh huh."

Jim:

Even on my lowest days, knowing that I've got Pam to turn to makes me smile. She makes me feel so alive.

Pam:

Jim…makes me feel as if I have the whole world in my hands. He makes me feel safe. And alive. And. He's…He's everything.

Jim:

She's everything to me.