(no subject)
Jim had been practicing for the better part of the morning, reading his lines out loud as he swung on the hammock. Once he got how to say the stuff down, he figured, the actual acting out part of it would come naturally. He took having a part seriously - he was going to be the best damn Trinculo he could manage.
"Swum ashore. man, like a duck: I can swim like a duck, I'll be sworn," he said out loud, and repeated the sentence in a few different ways to see what inflection he liked. Fiona sat on his stomach, watching him.
He glanced over at the monkey after the fourth time repeating the sentence, smirking at her. "What? Stop staring at me like I'm crazy."
The monkey looked as skeptical as a monkey could look that Jim wasn't nuts.
"You wanna read for Stefano?" he asked after a moment, grinning as he pretended to offer his copy. The monkey took the book in her paws and chewed on one of the edges of it.
Jim rolled his eyes. Monkeys clearly did not appreciate the works of Shakespeare.
--
With the wedding getting closer and closer, Pam was starting to get visibly stressed. She'd left the hut rather early that morning, with a whisper to Jim that she was heading off to the hot springs for a little while. She'd actually spent most of the morning there, doing nothing more than sitting there, trying to relax. Eventually, though, she'd gotten bored, and, yes, perhaps a bit lonely, so she dried off, packed up her things, and went on her way.
She dropped her purse just inside the door to the hut and, after seeing that Jim wasn't there, walked over to the hammock. She smiled fondly, watching as Fiona nibbled on the pages of his book.
"You know, I'm pretty sure paper is not in any of the food groups, Jim."
--
"I was thinking that maybe if I let her eat some of the book she'll get smarter. Kind of like that theory that if you fall asleep on a book your brain absorbs the knowledge. Don't think it's working, though," he joked.
He glanced up from Fiona to smile at Pam, shifting over a little to give her room if she wanted to get on.
"I was actually trying to get her to read for Stephano. I don't think she likes Shakespeare, much, though, since apparently she'd rather eat the book than read it."
He tugged it gently out of her paws. She looked mildly disappointed.
--
Pam sat down gently, nudging him over a bit more with her hip. "You are such a dork," she informed him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "If you expect her to read for you, though, I think we might need to take you to see Dr. Deane."
She reached over and took the book from him. "Have you been doing this all morning?"
--
He snorted. "Oh, damn. A trip to see the doctor that looks exactly like Jennifer Lopez? Did I mention how I've been hearing voices? I've been hearing a lot of them. No, really."
He looked over as she took the book from him. "Yeah. Uh. Have to learn my lines since I got a part and all."
--
Pam glared at him, shoving him gently. "Shut up. I'll make you hear voices all right," she threatened before whacking him in the arm with the book.
"Oh!" Her face brightened up immediately. "Why didn't you tell me you got a part??"
--
Jim feigned pain as she hit him in the arm. "Ow! Man, talk about spousal abuse."
He had honestly waited a little while to make sure Geoffrey didn't change his mind and give the part to someone who was far more talented. He was still on the list, however, and it was days afterward. "Don't know. Wanted to make sure it wasn't a mistake, I guess. I'm still half-expecting people to see me at first rehearsal and demand my removal."
He was only half-joking.
--
"I'll give you 'spousal abuse'. I can withhold sex, you know," she warned. Pam narrowed her eyes at him, a look of slight confusion on her face. "Wait.. are you serious? Jim, c'mon.. You'll do great, I promise. And, for added pressure, Fiona and I will be front row at the performance, okay?"
She grinned at him innocently, then winked.
--
"You'd suffer as much as I would if you did that," he pointed out cheerfully. "And you know it."
Jim didn't look entirely sure at the compliment. He was honestly very nervous about the whole thing. He didn't expect to actually get a part when he tried out - thought it would be a one time thing.
"Might actually make me feel better to see you guys there," he admitted, reaching over to pet Fiona on the head. "Moral support and all that."
--
Pam raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "What? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she informed him, stretching her arms over her head casually.
She caught his look and frowned. "Hey, Jim. Seriously.. You'll do great. I mean, it's obvious that you're rehearsing," she pointed out, gesturing to his copy of the play. "Don't worry. Like I said... Front row."
--
"And I have the ability to do the same thing, you know," he reminded, holding up one of his hands and motioning to it with the other.
He offered a weak grin and nodded. She was probably right. He just needed to get comfortable with the cast and the character he would be playing. "Good. You're going to know the play as good as I am by then, because when I can't practice with Archie you're going to be Stephano for me. Since, you know, Fiona refuses to play the role."
He gave the monkey a look, which she quickly mimicked.
--
Pam nuzzled against his shoulder. "I know, Jim." She may have made some sort of approving noise, but quickly moved on.
"Do I look like a Stephano? Wait.. you know what? Don't answer that," she amended quickly. "Well, you know, Jim. Being that Fiona can't read.. might have something to do with her refusal," she teased, making the 'crazy' sign near her head while making a face at Fiona and pointing to Jim.
She slowly spelt out the word 'crazy' in sign language, biting her lip in concentration and hoping that she was getting the letters right.
--
Jim chuckled lightly, seeing the expression on her face that she quickly got rid of as she changed the subject.
"You don't need to act it out," he responded. "I just need someone to read my lines off of. And since most of my lines are conversation with Stephano, you're going to read his part when I need you to. Aren't you lucky?"
He eyed Pam's fingers and rolled his eyes. He had been studying sign language as much as she had from the book she brought home. "You're doing the 'r' wrong, you know."
He lifted his hand, doing it the correct way.
--
"Oh, so very," she said in a monotone voice. "I can't believe I could be so lucky."
Pam frowned, taking a quick glance at his fingers. "Oh.. Well, I was close. Here.. how about this?" she asked, while she flipped him off.
"Is that better?"
--
He made a face at her. "Well, fine. I'll find another partner then if you don't want to."
Jim settled back into the hammock, resting the book on his chest as he smirked at her. "That wasn't very nice."
--
"It wasn't? Huh. And here I was, thinking it was a good thing when someone wanted to do that.." She waggled her eyebrows at him in an over-exaggerated way.
"No, I'll help you. Maybe."
--
"I think you need to brush up on your sign language, then," he replied dryly.
He shrugged a little, waving the offer off. "You really don't have to. I just, you know. Figured I could use all the help I can get. Don't want to force you to do it, though. There's plenty of other people I can ask."
Maybe he was just looking for her approval especially.
--
"No, you dork. I want to help you," she insisted. "Stop being silly. Did you want to go over a little bit now? Or are you all worn out from running lines with Fiona?"
She laid down in the hammock, curling up against Jim's side, her fingertips stroking his chest lightly.
--
"I'm up for it if you are," he said, shooting her a grateful smile. He really did appreciate the offer of help. "It can wait if you're tired, though. Where have you been all morning?"
--
"Hot springs.. remember? Or were you still half-asleep when I told you where I was going?" she asked, moving closer to kiss the corner of his mouth. "I just needed to.. unwind, I guess."
--
"Any time you talk to me from the moment I wake up until around twenty minutes afterwards you're running the risk of me not understanding a word you're saying. Come on, Pam, we've been together for how many months and you don't know that yet?" he teased.
His smile faltered just a little as he leaned up to nudge his nose against her throat. "Still worrying about the wedding?"
--
"Yeah, I guess," she admitted, choosing to ignore his teasing for the time being. "It was nice, though. I didn't do anything... I just sat there."
She wouldn't tell him that she'd cried a lot, though.
--
Pam was a very good liar but was very poor at hiding her emotions when it came to her expressions. He could see something was wrong just by looking at her, that she was trying to act like it wasn't as big a deal as it actually was.
"You know, if you have things on your mind, worries, anything, you can talk to me about it, right?" he asked. "This thing is a team effort. I think if we both shoulder the stress it won't get too bad."
--
"I know," she replied, even though the smile she gave him faltered briefly. "It's nothing, really. I'm just... I'm needlessly panicking," she explained. "Thinking that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong... stuff like that."
Though, she was also worried that she was going to miss or forget something or someone. She was upset that her parents wouldn't be there.. especially her mom. She knew there really wasn't anything she could about that and, frankly, she wouldn't want her parents to have to deal with the island and all the insanity that comes with being here.
--
"What you need to do is start thinking positively," he responded, gently rubbing her back. "Bad stuff always happens when you think about it happening too much. It'll all be fine. And if a few snags are hit, we'll work around it. As long as we get to the 'I do' parts, that's all that really matters, right?"
He was worried too, of course. A lot could go wrong, especially with a place as unstable as the island. He didn't voice that, of course, because she didn't need him going around giving her more things to fret about. He was honestly starting to look forward to the wedding to just end. Somehow it was managing to give them both more headaches than they'll probably get actually being married.
--
"I guess you're right. I mean, I know you're right. It's just.. I'm having trouble getting myself to believe it. It's getting to the point that I just wish it was all over already," she confessed, feeling slightly guilty about feeling the way she did. "I know it sounds horrible, but I just want it to be over and done with, so we can be married and get on with our lives." And have children. It wasn't said, but... it seemed to hang in the air anyway.
"I'm sorry. I'm just... I don't know."
--
He laughed, wrapping his arms around her loosely, being careful not to move the hammock too much. Fiona had taken to sleeping on it on the side Pam wasn't lying on.
"Pam, you don't think I feel the same way? I honestly think I'm going to be more stressed during this wedding than I will be during the rest of our lives. It's all worth it, though, if it means giving you something special. And we're going to have that, I know it."
He wished he could make things easier on her. By the time the wedding came, he wanted her to be relaxed enough to enjoy it.
"Might not be the best wedding ever, but it's the best both of us could put together. And that is enough, I think."
--
Pam nodded, carefully snuggling closer. "As long as, at the end of everything, I'm married to you, everything will be perfect," she murmured, actually believing herself, rather than just pretending.
"I mean that."
--
He smiled, feeling his face redden.
"Is that all that will make you happy? Wow, should have told me, we could have been hitched a month ago. Shotgun wedding," he teased, unable to hold back his laughter.
--
Pam huffed and gave him a dirty look. "Shut up, you loser. You know what I meant," she retorted, pressing closer to nip at his chin. "Remember what I said before. I can totally cut you off."
The look on her face said she was completely serious. Though, now she was seeing it as more of a challenge than a threat.
--
Jim rolled his eyes, hugging her a little closer.
"I can live without it, you know," he insisted. "As long as I have you period, I'm happy. As it turns out, that is just a really nice bonus to being with you."
--
"Well then. If you see it that way, then how about it?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow. "That's what.. approximately two weeks? Maybe a little more, because of me working and stuff..."
At the very least, it could be considered interesting.
--
A bet. He always was a gambling man when it came to challenges from Pam.
"Okay," he said with a shrug. "Name your terms and what I get when I win."
He said it completely casually, as if there was no doubt he'd win.
--
She was a little shocked to hear him agree, but.. hey, she couldn't back down now, could she?
"Fine. No sex until after the wedding. The one to hold out the longest wins. But, I think we should make it a bit more difficult," she added, a gleam in her eyes.
"Teasing," she tapped on his chest to emphasize. "is very much allowed. I would highly suggest pulling out all the stops."
She smiled innocently at him. "How does that sound?"
--
There might have been a flash of indecision, then a small grin. Oh, he was planning.
"Okay. Alright, fine, those are the rules then. And what happens if I win?"
--
Pam shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. What do you think you'd deserve? Besides, who says you're going to win? If you think you're just going to go off and hide until the wedding, well, that's just not playing fair. But, whatever," she sniffed.
--
"Well, a bet isn't worth anything if there's no reward," he said, specifically not saying anything about her second statement. Keeping away from her and therefore staying away from her teasing was absolutely fair game in his opinion. "Obviously I'd need to give you something if you win, too.
--
"Goodness, Jim... I'm so glad that you're confident in your abilities, but you're still giving me a chance to name my reward." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and she rolled her eyes.
"All right. When I win, I get an entire weekend to do with you what I please. Whatever. I. Want," she clarified.
--
Now he REALLY liked this game. Either way, he won. He couldn't see the flaw in it at all.
"Okay. And if I win, you have to let me do whatever I want to you," he responded, smiling innocently up at her. "Entire weekend. Deal?"
--
Pam thought it over for a moment, then nodded.
"Is there anything you want to add to the rules? Because we could also add no masturbation on to that..," she suggested calmly as she gently pushed herself up, hoping to not wake Fiona up with the movement of the hammock.
--
"Sure, why not?"
He wouldn't be able to do that stuff where he would be spending a lot of his time anyway.
--
"Okay. Then, it's settled, right?" she asked. "Whoever cracks first is the loser. When shall we start? Right now or tomorrow?"
It didn't really matter to her, today was almost half over already.
--
"Today's fine," he said with a shrug, already getting up and taking Fiona with him. He knew he honestly had no chance winning offensively, so he was taking a defensive stance.
The damn monkey was going to be attached to him for the next week. He wasn't entirely sure he could even deal with kissing her very much.
"I'm going to go read in the hut. See you later."
--
"You don't want me to run lines with you?" she asked, slowly starting to realize that he was pretty much just going to keep at least three to four feet between them at any time. If she looked hurt, she hid it quickly, shrugging it off and stepping inside to grab her things.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk."
--
He hesitated before sighing. If just being her wasn't going to get him, being a big sucker would. "No, I do want your help. If you're willing to give it, still. I'm not sure I can do this without you. You're my favorite kind of support."
And he was speaking the truth, then. He had a feeling he'd end up giving up before the two weeks were over if he didn't have her to gently prod him when he got discouraged.
--
"If you don't, it's fine. Seriously, Jim. Don't make a big deal out of it," she said, making a face. "I'll come back later. I just.. want to clear my head a little bit. Fiona will help you."
If he really couldn't be around her for two weeks without being in danger of ruining the bet, well.. Pam wasn't sure how she felt about that. She should probably be pleased about that, but, somehow she just ended up feeling hurt. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, but she definitely wasn't going to back out now. Clearly she could hold out longer than Jim, especially now that it seemed like she wouldn't even be near him for the next two weeks.
--
He reached out and took her arm gently, shaking his head. "I'm serious. I'm gonna need you with this stuff, Pam, okay? You seem to be the only one that knows how to tell me I'm being an idiot and to stop worrying in a way that I believe you. Please?"
--
She sighed softly, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of her nose. "Well, did you want to do this now or did you want to get something to eat first? Personally, I'm a little hungry. I missed breakfast," she admitted. "But, whatever you want to do.. I'll obviously help you."
--
He hesitated, and it was possible he held Fiona just a little closer to him. The monkey had no idea what the hell was going on.
"Breakfast is fine. I haven't eaten either," he replied after considering it.
--
"Will Fiona be joining us today, or does she want to return to her afternoon nap?" she asked, slowly spelling out 'food-or-nap' while she spoke. She didn't expect an answer, as she didn't really have a way to illustrate either word, but she thought it couldn't hurt to try it anyway.
Pam smiled warmly at the monkey and moved closer to gently scritch her chin.
--
"I haven't fed her today, so I think we ought to bring her along," he said, letting her hop up onto his shoulder so she can perch there. "If that's alright with you, of course."
--
"Okay," she agreed, tugging her purse a little higher on her shoulder. Jim started walking, but she hung back for a moment. When he looked back at her, she shrugged and caught up with him, slipping her hand into his.
"Hey..."
--
Jim instinctively squeezed her hand, glancing over at her. He shot her a small smile.
"Yeah?" he asked, raising a brow.
--
She gently tugged him down, mindful of Fiona on his shoulder, and gave him a soft kiss.
"I love you."
--
He smiled, leaning his forehead against hers for a moment before gently tugging her toward the pathway.
"I love you, too. Come on, I'll make you pancakes. One of the few things I can put together without blowing things up."
--
"Pancakes?" she repeated, her face brightening like a child's. "Promise?"
She let him lead her on, leaning against him now and again as they walked. This was nice. It almost felt like they were just a dating couple, as if they were in high school or something, rather than a couple who was engaged to be married in two weeks. It just made her hope that they'd never... stop being like this. She wanted to say something, even opened her mouth once or twice, but couldn't come up with how to explain what she was feeling.
--
"Promise," he nodded, beginning to walk when it was obvious she was following him.
He didn't notice she had gotten quiet for a little while, maybe because he had gone into his own thoughts, but when he glanced over he caught her opening her mouth to speak before shutting it again. He gave her a curious look.
"Something on your mind?" he asked, nudging her a little with his elbow.
--
"Hmmn? What?" she asked, clearly being jolted out of her thoughts. "Oh." She blushed. "It's nothing, really," she insisted, though it was obvious she was slightly embarrassed about what she'd been thinking. Now she really felt like a school girl.
--
He grinned, seeing the blush creeping onto her face. He nudged her again.
"You're blushing," he pointed out, cheerfully. "It definitely is not nothing."
His attention was on her fully now as he waited for her response.
--
"Am I? Well, thank you for telling me, otherwise I wouldn't have even known," she mumbled, reaching up to nervously scratch at her throat.
She squeezed his hand gently and looked up at him, her eyes full of love. "I just... I like this," she simply replied, shrugging sheepishly.
--
Jim chuckled. "No problem. I'm always happy to point it out for you."
He raised a brow at her response, not entirely sure what she meant. They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary unless you counted the bet thing they had going.
"Um. You like walking?" he asked.
--
Pam rolled her eyes at him, though she ducked her head a little in hopes of hiding her increased blushing. "No.. Well, yes. That's not what I meant," she explained, making a little noise of frustration.
"I just mean.. maybe this whole... no sex thing.. it might be good for us," she stammered, eyes trained on the pathway stretching out in front of them.
--
His smile faltered a little as he looked away himself.
"Oh. Uh, wow," he said quietly, immediately feeling guilty. "Pam, I mean, you do know - you do know the stuff we do...I don't expect it. Being with you is always enough for me."
--
She stopped mid-step and stared over at him, worry written clearly all over her features. "Oh, god, Jim. No. That's.. That is not what I meant. Nonononono. I just meant... like. I don't know what I meant. Well, I do, I just.. I can't seem to explain it. But, that is definitely not what I meant. Oh god. Don't look like that. You look guilty. Jim, please don't.."
She bit her lip, chewing on it frantically.
"I just meant.. you know..." She gestured wildly with her free hand, as if that would explain it all.
--
He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. When he looked back at her he shot her a small, reassuring smile.
"Sorry. It just sounded like maybe something was wrong. I know things are...different between us, now. In good ways, of course, but if there's stuff you don't like, you do know you can tell me, right? I wouldn't care."
--
"I know, that," she reassured him. "It's nothing like that at all. I promise." She turned to face him dead-on, hoping that, even if she couldn't explain what she meant, maybe he'd just.. understand.
"There's nothing wrong with how we are, how things are between us, right now. There never was. I was just thinking like.. Oh, god. This is just.. This is going to sound so silly. I just know it is," she muttered to herself before looking up at him again. "I was thinking that.. somehow.. us not having sex would just kinda.. bring this kind of.. innocence to our relationship or something? I don't even know what that means, oh god," she whimpered, dropping his hand to bury her face into it.
--
His smile widened. He honestly couldn't help it; she always was cute when she was embarrassed. He reached over, gently lifting her chin up.
"Us? Innocent? We weren't innocent even when we weren't dating," he teased, trying to ease the tension or at least get a smile out of her.
--
"I know that, you dork," she replied, immediately reverting to sarcastic defensive mode. "I just.. never mind.." She turned away and started to continue up the path again. "I told you it was silly."
--
Jim frowned a moment before following after her, stopping her by gently grasping her arm.
"Whoa, wait a sec," he said, making her turn around and look at him. His expression was decidedly apologetic. "I get what you mean. I do. Sorry, I was just trying to make you laugh. It's not silly, I promise."
--
Pam made a face at him, then rolled her eyes. "Seriously, don't worry about it. I just.. I don't know. I just think about weird things sometimes, I guess." She gave him a half-hearted smile and gestured widely up the path.
"Are we ready to continue now? I think Fiona is getting impatient," she pointed out, as she was starting to nibble on the ends of Jim's hair.
--
"Stop, it isn't weird," he insisted. He wished he hadn't misunderstood her. He didn't like to see her look so uncomfortable.
After a moment of searching her face, he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Lead the way."
--
She hated that things were uncomfortable and weird now.. at least to her. It probably would've been better if she hadn't said anything at all. Or had come up with something that was actually silly or just made something up. She scrubbed at her face with her hands before looking over at him again.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to.. make things all awkward or whatever," she apologized. "This whole thing is just.. stupid."
Of course, she didn't mean the bet. But, she did. The bet was what had her thinking about these things, but she wasn't about to back out. It could still be fun.. if they could just.. not be awkward.
--
Jim hesitated, thinking. It was fairly obvious what had brought it all on, and hell, even why he had a vague feeling of discomfort around her.
"Let's just drop this bet," he said with a shrug. Hell, he'd admit defeat if that made her feel better. "And just call it an agreement. Nothing until our first night together married. That way, it'll be sort of special when the day finally comes and we're still just...enjoying each other's company until then.."
Stripping the competition part of it away just seemed to make things easier. He figured he'd offer the suggestion, because he knew her - she'd never be the first one to offer it herself.
--
"I dunno," she mused, reaching over to tug him closer by his belt loops. "I did kinda like the idea of trying to tease you until you exploded or something."
She winked up at him, a little surprised that she'd relaxed so easily. Maybe it was the change to forget the bet, or maybe it was something else. She wasn't sure, but she really didn't want to give up just like that.
--
"You realize you can still do that with or without the bet, right?" he asked, sounding amused. "But, uh, if you really want to keep it up, we can, I guess."
He'd deal with it, if she really was having fun with the idea.
--
"Well, if you want to change it into an agreement, that's fine. It's essentially the same thing, right?" she asked. Just without the...weirdness.
"Yeah. We'll change it to an agreement. No sex until after we're married," she decided. "Do you still want to keep the masturbation clause?"
She reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his as she started to gently tug on his arm to get him to start walking again. At this rate, with all the stopping and starting and stopping and starting, by the time they got up to the compound, they'd be serving dinner, not lunch.
--
"Yeah," he nodded. "No sex, no masturbation, nothing. If it makes you feel better, I'll admit defeat with the bet thing. I was the one who brought up dropping it."
He let her tug him forward again, falling in step with her quickly. He gently pulled his hand away, but only to wrap his arm around her waist.
--
"No, that's alright," she insisted, reaching up to gently pat her hand against his chest, then waving her fingers at Fiona. She dropped her hand down to settle over the one on her waist.
"It's still like a bet.. just with a different name," she reasoned before she snuck her other hand around his waist and grabbed his butt. "Do you really think you'll be able to hold out for two weeks?" She was only teasing and, honestly, he'd probably be better at waiting than she would.
--
He jumped a little when he felt her hand. He rolled his eyes at her, letting out a laugh.
"Very mature," he teased. He quirked a small grin as he shrugged at the question. "I waited three years just to get a kiss from you. Two weeks is something I can manage, I think."
--
"Now, now.. who said anything about maturity? Just because we're getting married, doesn't mean we need to be mature about anything. Besides.. who has a freakin' monkey for a pet?" she challenged, which caused Fiona to chitter and make kissy noises. "Isn't that like every little kid's dream or something?"
Inwardly, Pam breathed a sigh of relief. The tension had just melted away somehow and... things felt much better than they had ten minutes before.
--
He looked over at Fiona, then pouted at Pam. "There's nothing wrong with having a monkey as a pet. They're useful. Besides, we clearly were meant to have her, or else I wouldn't have stumbled upon her. Fate. The island's all about fate."
He paused, then suddenly grinned. "We should do something soon. Before the wedding. Raise hell together, just like old times. I mean, Dwight is on the island now. It's as though we've been handed entertainment by whoever brought us all here."
--
Pam looked up at him and blinked. "Are you serious? Oh, god. You're serious." She laughed, nuzzling her head against his chest. "Yeah, but.. what're we going to do? I just.. I don't even know what we could do.. But, you're absolutely right. We need to do something. We should recruit Tim and Duo to help us. I mean, with you and Tim thinking together.. we should definitely be able to come up with something good, right?"
--
"We do what we do best," he said with a somewhat devious grin. "Piss the hell out of Dwight. We made do with only supplies in the office back home and we sure as hell can find stuff here to pull it off."
He paused a moment, considering adding people to the mix. He grinned, slowly shaking his head. "I don't know, I think just me and you this time might be fun. No matter who I meet on this island, you're still always going to be my best and favorite accomplice."
It was strange, but it almost felt like a little slice of home was being given back to him. He did miss the little things sometimes, but messing with people - especially Dwight - with Pam was what he had missed the most.
"I think when we go after both Dwight and Gareth at the same time - then we should bring Tim into the mix. And oh, me and Tim already decided we're going to declare war on them one day."
--
Pam shook her head, stumbling a little over a rocky patch and clinging to him a bit. She mumbled an apology, flushing in embarrassment.
"Okay. Well, as long as we come up with something good, I'm all in," she replied. She rubbed her hand against his chest again and smiled up at him fondly.
"And here I thought Dwight showing up here was going to be horrible."
She sighed softly, leaning into him a little bit more and enjoying the weight of his arm wrapped around her. "You're still going to make me pancakes, right?"
--
He caught her instinctively, helping her regain her balance and shrugging off the apology. He grinned brightly at the response. "Oh, I'm sure we can come up with something fantastic. The kind of skills we had back home don't get rusty."
Sure, they had different things to work with, but that made the challenge even better. Dwight wouldn't know what hit him.
He chuckled as he glanced over at her. "I said I was going to make you pancakes, so I'm going to make you pancakes. I'll even put in whatever fruit you want into the mix."
--
"Bananas and strawberries," she decided immediately. "Fiona and I can share. You can have some too, if you want," she added, almost as an afterthought, smirking at him.
"Anyway, we should start planning. Definitely soon. Did you have anything in mind?"
--
"Oh, you two are so kind," he replied. Fiona, as if sensing Pam was pulling a two-against-one coup again, cheerfully moved and hopped off of Jim's arm onto her shoulder and sat there instead.
Damn monkey. Jim gave the animal a Look.
"Well," he said, looking thoughtful. "I guess it would be too mean to have Dwight go over and try to touch Serenity. Mal would probably shoot him."
Too bad. River would have found that funny too.
"Maybe we can get him to sit somewhere all day, waiting for someone to show up. With all the sci-fi people here, I bet naming one of them would get him excited."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. The whole sci-fi thing was going to be an angle in Jim's pranks that he would be using often. Maybe he could get Luke to point his light saber at him eventually to scare the crap out of him.
--
"Awww, hi, Fiona," she cooed, reaching up to gently pull her down into her arms for a cuddle.
"Yeah, um. No shooting, please," she insisted.
"Oh. Oh my god. Do you think... Do you think you could get Luke to pretend that he wanted to recruit Dwight into the Alliance or whatever the hell it is?" she suggested.
--
Jim's eyes widened immediately. Oh, the shit they could have Luke tell him to do. And even if Luke didn't go for it, there was plenty of other people they could talk to.
"He'd obviously need to go through training," he nodded, managing to contain the laughter bubbling up. "And then we'll see just how stupid he'd make himself look. Oh my god, Pam, that's brilliant."
--
Pam grinned broadly, blushing a little at his praise. Apparently she hadn't lost her pranking abilities. She couldn't help feeling a teeny bit pleased with herself. She was almost glad she had Fiona in her arms, because she'd probably be jumping around and clapping excitedly if she had her hands free.
"So, it's a good idea, then?"
--
"Amazing," he nodded. "And if Luke doesn't want to go along with it, there's so many people we can ask. Oh, man, I bet he'd know John too. Maybe if Luke says no, we can have John train him to be part of the Atlantis crew. There's so many possibilities."
He knew so many people who came from science fiction backgrounds. Surely they'd be able to find someone. Dwight would never see it coming.
--
"You're right," she agreed. "This is an amazing idea. And, yeah. If Luke doesn't go for it, you know John will. Perhaps we could even get them both to do it. Make him think they're competing for him or something."
--
"Exactly. Oh, man, this is going to be hilarious."
He held the door open for her as they reached the entrance of the compound.
"After you," he said, motioning for her to go ahead.