(Untitled)

[the_support]

Parties were always something Ellie enjoyed throwing, and this one was no different. While she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before for some very good personal reasons, she was up early and cooking up a storm for most of the morning to finish up what she hadn't made already, while Devon took over setting things up outside. With his help, as

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[jim_halpert]

Jim would never really get used to not having Pam to come to parties with, though he knew he ought to make a conscious effort to get out more. After getting Sam dressed up, he headed over to enjoy some of the festivities, intent on having a good time, for Sam's sake, at least.

"Do you want some mashed potatoes, Sammy?" he asked her as he stood in front of the food table. Upon seeing her try to reach down immediately to put her hands in the contents of the bowl, he turned slightly to make sure she didn't do so.

He went to go put some on a plate for her. She was sounding miffed at being denied the ability to do what she wanted, but at least she wasn't crying.

[be_normal]

"He's terribly cruel to deny you that way, isn't he?" Gwen asks the little girl, and then leans in to add in a stage whisper, "I prefer to eat them with my hands, too."

She smiles up at Jim, who she knows simply because everyone does. "She's adorable." Everyone being at the party seems a poor excuse to not make an appearance, so Nate's cradled over her shoulder, sucking happily on a bit of her hair as he watches the crowd.

[jim_halpert]

Jim bit back a smile as he put a nice big glob of the food in the middle of the plate. Sam seemed to forget about the near burst of tears she'd almost gone into with the distraction, and he found himself very, very grateful.

"It's one of the fun things about parenting," he replied, glancing over at Gwen once he was done putting some vegetables on the plate, too. "Thank you. It was an interesting feat getting her into this dress this morning. I'm not thinking it'll be clean for too long, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts."

[be_normal]

"Keeping it clean is no fun, Dad," Gwen says as she makes a funny face at Samantha. "You just tell him, that is why they invented washing machines." Nate gives an unexpected squawk from around her hair, and Gwen laughs. "See? We all agree on this. Get with the program, Jim."

[jim_halpert]

"I'm sure she'll have ample opportunity later to find ways to get dirty. It's still early," he pointed out. And he was sure he was right, too. "Ways that don't include messing up an entire bowl of food. Not sure I know the host well enough to let that happen."

He held up a tiny chunk of fruit to her, and she took it from him to eat it. He could already tell some of the juices of the fruit was going to end up on her, if her chin was any indication.

"So, how have you two been?" he asked Gwen, reaching for a napkin to wipe at Sam's face before giving her another piece of food.

[be_normal]

"We're okay," Gwen replies, her tone instinctively softening. "We're... hanging in there. How about you?" It's a hell of a thing, what this place does to people, and even with as nice as it is to have someone to relate to, she's sorry that anybody else has had to go through the same sort of heartbreak she's endured since Peter left.

Instinctively, she catches a wayward rivulet of juice on Sam's chin with a finger, and wipes it on the hem of her shirt.

[jim_halpert]

"Good days, bad days," he replied, with a slight shrug. He knew she'd probably get that without him going into it. There were moments he honestly felt like breaking down, but there was never really enough time to do that with Sam with him. "Can't do much but keep going forward though, right?"

[poison_lipstick]

"Here, let me get that for you, Jim," Saffron said as she came up, and without waiting for an answer, took the plate from him and put a scoop of mashed potatoes on it. "Hi there, pretty girl," she said as she handed the plate back to Jim, but not before she took a bite of potatoes with a spoon and fed it to Sam.

[jim_halpert]

"You're a lifesaver," he admitted, as Sam happily accepted the food, the near bout of crying at least momentarily stopped. It didn't take her long to try to reach over and get her hands in the bigger pile. "Sammy, the food's for eating, not playing."

[poison_lipstick]

She threw Jim a wink before picking up the spoon again and feeding Sam another bite. "Oh, she's just hungry is all," she said, smiling at Sam. Sure, she wasn't crazy about kids in general, but she was remarkably good at adapting. Plus, this was Jim's kid, which made it different. "Are you taking good care of your daddy, sweetie?"

[jim_halpert]

Sam had a thing for playing with that particular food, which was why Jim kept an eye on her. She was bound to get dirty, but he thought maybe he could hold off on that happening for at least a little while.

"More," she replied, when Saffron stopped feeding her. It was one of the few words she knew and understood so far, and Jim grinned down at her.

"Of course she has," he said, leaning forward to kiss her temple lightly. "And keeping me on my toes, as always."

[poison_lipstick]

"Well, yes, ma'am," Saffron said, smiling, and got Sam another bite. "I bet she does." As hard as it must have been for Jim to be without Pam, Saffron was glad that he at least still had his daughter.

[jim_halpert]

"How have you been?" he asked, as Sam accepted the next spoonful of food, though she very nearly got her hand on it before it went in her mouth, too. He knew he hadn't been a good friend lately to much of anyone, which he really did feel bad about.

[poison_lipstick]

"Not too bad," she replied, glancing up at Jim with a smile as she got another spoonful. Sam already had her mouth open and waiting by the time Saffron got the spoon to it. "Same old, same old, really." She wasn't about to bring up her disappointment over Tony and Jamie's disappearances, which paled in comparison to what Jim had faced. "How about you?"

[jim_halpert]

"About the same," he shrugged slightly. It was true, mostly. There were some bad days, but he always managed to push through them. "Really busy, usually. Which I surprisingly don't mind."

For all the idleness he had at home, he had surprisingly gotten used to how busy things were now. It kept his mind off a lot of things, which was good, given the situation.

[poison_lipstick]

Saffron nodded in understanding. "It's better to be busy, I think," she commented. "Better than sitting around twiddling your thumbs, at least." That gave a person too much time to think.