Post-Cocktails Fic. :]
Title: the clock is ticking.
Author: amazingly_me
Fandom: The Office
Disclaimer: This absolutely does not belong to me; title is from a Snow Patrol song.
Pairing: Jim/Pam.
Rating: Eh. PG.
Genre: Het.
Spoilers and/or Warnings: Well, I started writing this and by the time I could have stopped, the whole thing was sitting there, reading in a weird but (hopefully) endearing style. So I decided to post it. :] Spoilers for Cocktails, and the promo for the new episode (new ep tomorrow! new ep tomorrow!). Written for 60 Minute Fics, the link to which I am to lazy to actually write down.
Summary: Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room. Pam Beesly is sitting behind her desk. And Karen Filipelli is deluding herself. But even such a comfortable arrangement cannot last forever. Basically, the aftermath of Cocktails, written in a rather (read: very) odd style. Forgive me. I was tired.
Jim is sitting in the break room.
It's such a simple sentence (seven words) and such a simple action (one he carries out almost every day).
Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room in the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin.
It's a more specific sentence now, and the word count gets a bit more dicey (is Dunder-Mifflin one word? is it two?) but still, Jim Halpert sits in the break room of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin, every day.
Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room in the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin with a black eye and a puffy lip.
This then, is where we break from tradition. Because traditionally, Jim Halpert does not have a black eye, or a fat lip as he sits in the break room. In fact, it's a situation he tries to avoid altogether, break room or no.
In fact, Jim Halpert did not even come to work today with a black eye or a puffy lip.
When we get this far, one begins to suspect (if one did not already) that there is a story to be told.
Karen Filipelli would rather that story was not told.
Here again, is something rather odd. Karen Filipelli is usually a straightforward person. Rational. Doesn't beat around in the bush. Sometimes even blunt. But this particular story is one she would rather sweep under the rug.
You see, Karen Filipelli has a new habit -- it's deluding herself, and while she's finding it requires practice, she gets better at it every day.
Every day she carefully trains her eyes on her monitor while Jim glances at Pam. Every day she practices keeping the conversation on safe topics as she chats with Jim over coffee. And every night, just before she falls asleep, she reassures herself -- she and Jim have talked about this, and they are stronger for it. Pam is not a threat to their relationship. Jim is fully invested in one woman -- Karen Filipelli. And that is all there is to it.
The shrewd observer (or even the not-so-shrewd observer) will have noticed one more name introduced in the above paragraph. That of Pam Beesly.
Our sentence about Pam Beesly is perhaps the most unusual of all.
Pam Beesly is ready for the story (you remember the story -- we brought it up in the eighth paragraph from the top) to be told. In fact, she can't wait for it to be told. She is nervous, yes. She is sitting on the edge of her seat and her stomach is in knots. But all the same, she wants the story told.
And this is most unusual for Pam Beesly.
Anyone who has known Pam Beesly for any length of time will probably tell you that she is not a person given to defiance. She is not a person given to a break from tradition, nor is she a person given to just saying things. She is cautious. She is rational. Sometimes, she is afraid.
But recently, Pam Beesly did a lot of things. The most prominent of these things was telling her boyfriend (who was also her ex-boyfriend and her ex-fiance) that Jim Halpert had once kissed her. On Casino Night. This is an entirely different story, and I would advise you to read it. You'll be hooked.
Pam Beesly told her boyfriend (his name was Roy) this story, and instead of being hooked, he was angry. Very angry. As what can definitely be classified as a direct result of this anger, Roy began to destroy a bar. And then, as destroying the bar was apparently not quite enough to halt Roy's anger, he proceeded to drive to the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin and rush through the door.
It is possible that at this point, you are beginning to suspect why Jim Halpert has a black eye and a fat lip.
Then there were several moments which deserve a break from this particular style of writing, and possibly some italics. I am going to give them all that they deserve.
There was a moment, one moment as Roy's fist rose through the air, that Pam thought she had a chance. A chance to make Roy listen. Just listen. Just once.
And then the moment ended, and Roy's fist rushed forward and there was a noise that Pam knew she never wanted to hear again. It was the thud of Roy's fist colliding with Jim's face, and it was the angry alto of Karen's protests, and it was, she realized, the panicking soprano of her own voice.
The only person not making a sound in all of this was Jim himself.
For some reason, Pam loves him all the more for that.
After those moments, there was the general rush of Roy being dragged away, and of Pam springing out from behind her desk (and then sitting back down again), and of Karen escorting Jim into the break room, and finding him ice.
And through all this, Pam Beesly prepared to tell her story. All of it.
Even as Pam Beesly was preparing to tell her story, Jim Halpert was telling a story that was entirely different and yet shockingly related to Pam's story.
Jim Halpert's story was running along lines regarding kisses, might-have-beens, transfers, and motives. And Karen Filipelli was listening, patiently.
Somehow, it was turning out that all her practice in delusion was coming to naught -- Karen Filipelli was being confronted by the truth. She didn't like it, but luckily, she didn't have to.
The end of Jim Halpert's story was not a happily-ever-after. It was a sort of fading away into silence, and then a silence. And as Jim Halpert knows from previous experience, silences can be particularly heartbreaking.
But Karen Filipelli, as you have already been informed, was an assertive woman. And she took it upon herself to end the silence.
"Make sure you change that ice in a couple of minutes." She said.
Then she got up and started to write her transfer request.
If Karen Filipelli was anything, she was efficient (and strong, and funny, and smart). By the time she was through, her transfer request read like her reasons were sensible, logical, and rational, instead of angry, and sad, and resigned.
By the time Karen Filipelli was writing "an excellent track record, including several years of work..." Pam Beesly was walking into the break room. It is tempting to write that she was striding into the break room, but it is probable that no one can change quite that completely, or quite that quickly.
"Hi Jim." She said.
And Jim Halpert looked up and met her eyes.
The next few moments, we will leave to Jim and Pam. Lord knows they deserve a few.
Author: amazingly_me
Fandom: The Office
Disclaimer: This absolutely does not belong to me; title is from a Snow Patrol song.
Pairing: Jim/Pam.
Rating: Eh. PG.
Genre: Het.
Spoilers and/or Warnings: Well, I started writing this and by the time I could have stopped, the whole thing was sitting there, reading in a weird but (hopefully) endearing style. So I decided to post it. :] Spoilers for Cocktails, and the promo for the new episode (new ep tomorrow! new ep tomorrow!). Written for 60 Minute Fics, the link to which I am to lazy to actually write down.
Summary: Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room. Pam Beesly is sitting behind her desk. And Karen Filipelli is deluding herself. But even such a comfortable arrangement cannot last forever. Basically, the aftermath of Cocktails, written in a rather (read: very) odd style. Forgive me. I was tired.
Jim is sitting in the break room.
It's such a simple sentence (seven words) and such a simple action (one he carries out almost every day).
Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room in the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin.
It's a more specific sentence now, and the word count gets a bit more dicey (is Dunder-Mifflin one word? is it two?) but still, Jim Halpert sits in the break room of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin, every day.
Jim Halpert is sitting in the break room in the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin with a black eye and a puffy lip.
This then, is where we break from tradition. Because traditionally, Jim Halpert does not have a black eye, or a fat lip as he sits in the break room. In fact, it's a situation he tries to avoid altogether, break room or no.
In fact, Jim Halpert did not even come to work today with a black eye or a puffy lip.
When we get this far, one begins to suspect (if one did not already) that there is a story to be told.
Karen Filipelli would rather that story was not told.
Here again, is something rather odd. Karen Filipelli is usually a straightforward person. Rational. Doesn't beat around in the bush. Sometimes even blunt. But this particular story is one she would rather sweep under the rug.
You see, Karen Filipelli has a new habit -- it's deluding herself, and while she's finding it requires practice, she gets better at it every day.
Every day she carefully trains her eyes on her monitor while Jim glances at Pam. Every day she practices keeping the conversation on safe topics as she chats with Jim over coffee. And every night, just before she falls asleep, she reassures herself -- she and Jim have talked about this, and they are stronger for it. Pam is not a threat to their relationship. Jim is fully invested in one woman -- Karen Filipelli. And that is all there is to it.
The shrewd observer (or even the not-so-shrewd observer) will have noticed one more name introduced in the above paragraph. That of Pam Beesly.
Our sentence about Pam Beesly is perhaps the most unusual of all.
Pam Beesly is ready for the story (you remember the story -- we brought it up in the eighth paragraph from the top) to be told. In fact, she can't wait for it to be told. She is nervous, yes. She is sitting on the edge of her seat and her stomach is in knots. But all the same, she wants the story told.
And this is most unusual for Pam Beesly.
Anyone who has known Pam Beesly for any length of time will probably tell you that she is not a person given to defiance. She is not a person given to a break from tradition, nor is she a person given to just saying things. She is cautious. She is rational. Sometimes, she is afraid.
But recently, Pam Beesly did a lot of things. The most prominent of these things was telling her boyfriend (who was also her ex-boyfriend and her ex-fiance) that Jim Halpert had once kissed her. On Casino Night. This is an entirely different story, and I would advise you to read it. You'll be hooked.
Pam Beesly told her boyfriend (his name was Roy) this story, and instead of being hooked, he was angry. Very angry. As what can definitely be classified as a direct result of this anger, Roy began to destroy a bar. And then, as destroying the bar was apparently not quite enough to halt Roy's anger, he proceeded to drive to the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin and rush through the door.
It is possible that at this point, you are beginning to suspect why Jim Halpert has a black eye and a fat lip.
Then there were several moments which deserve a break from this particular style of writing, and possibly some italics. I am going to give them all that they deserve.
There was a moment, one moment as Roy's fist rose through the air, that Pam thought she had a chance. A chance to make Roy listen. Just listen. Just once.
And then the moment ended, and Roy's fist rushed forward and there was a noise that Pam knew she never wanted to hear again. It was the thud of Roy's fist colliding with Jim's face, and it was the angry alto of Karen's protests, and it was, she realized, the panicking soprano of her own voice.
The only person not making a sound in all of this was Jim himself.
For some reason, Pam loves him all the more for that.
After those moments, there was the general rush of Roy being dragged away, and of Pam springing out from behind her desk (and then sitting back down again), and of Karen escorting Jim into the break room, and finding him ice.
And through all this, Pam Beesly prepared to tell her story. All of it.
Even as Pam Beesly was preparing to tell her story, Jim Halpert was telling a story that was entirely different and yet shockingly related to Pam's story.
Jim Halpert's story was running along lines regarding kisses, might-have-beens, transfers, and motives. And Karen Filipelli was listening, patiently.
Somehow, it was turning out that all her practice in delusion was coming to naught -- Karen Filipelli was being confronted by the truth. She didn't like it, but luckily, she didn't have to.
The end of Jim Halpert's story was not a happily-ever-after. It was a sort of fading away into silence, and then a silence. And as Jim Halpert knows from previous experience, silences can be particularly heartbreaking.
But Karen Filipelli, as you have already been informed, was an assertive woman. And she took it upon herself to end the silence.
"Make sure you change that ice in a couple of minutes." She said.
Then she got up and started to write her transfer request.
If Karen Filipelli was anything, she was efficient (and strong, and funny, and smart). By the time she was through, her transfer request read like her reasons were sensible, logical, and rational, instead of angry, and sad, and resigned.
By the time Karen Filipelli was writing "an excellent track record, including several years of work..." Pam Beesly was walking into the break room. It is tempting to write that she was striding into the break room, but it is probable that no one can change quite that completely, or quite that quickly.
"Hi Jim." She said.
And Jim Halpert looked up and met her eyes.
The next few moments, we will leave to Jim and Pam. Lord knows they deserve a few.