One Shot Collection

New Beginnings (The Office)

There were five things Pam and Jim didn't count on when they invited Ryan Howard to live with them in Austin.

Drake Howard

Pam never expected that she was going to get an adopted son out of the arrangement.

It was a quiet evening for the Halperts in their new Austin home. It was Jim's turn to read to Cecelia and Phillip before bed, so he was doing that upstairs. Meanwhile, Pam was sitting quietly on the living room couch, sipping a small glass of wine next to Ryan, who was cradling Drake lovingly. The two sat there in silence as Pam nursed her drink.

Ryan carefully looked at Pam. "Would you like to hold him?" he asked, quietly.

Pam looked up from her glass, mildly surprised, "Oh, sure."

She put her glass down on the table in front of the couch before Ryan carefully handed Drake off to her.

Pam adjusted the baby Drake in her arms so he would be comfortable and looked down at him with as much wonder and enamorment as she did the day she saw him for the first time.

"He's... a really cute kid," she breathed, her gaze not leaving the tiny child.

"Yeah," Ryan replied, softly.

Pam waited a moment before carefully looking up to Ryan, "Would you... tell me about his mother?"

Ryan shrugged, his hands in his lap, "Sure. What do you want to know."

She shrugged in response, "Anything you're willing to tell me, I guess."

Ryan thought for a moment, "Her name was Christine. I met her while I was in Ohio. She wasn't... a bad person. She just wasn't a good person either. She went out for a charger to her E-cigarette one day when Drake was about a month old and she just... never came back. I knew she wasn't thrilled about having Drake; the fact that I don't even know if I'm his actual father tells you that he wasn't exactly planned. I had a feeling she was going to leave that day. WHen you run away from things your entire life, you sort of get a feeling when those things are about to happen."

Pam's eyes widened a bit in realisation, "That's why you were so determined to get him back."

Ryan nodded, "Yeah. I mean, I haven't been there for a lot of people and people haven't really been there for me. But whether he's actually my son or not, it's my responsibility to be there for him. "

Pam nodded her head, taking it all in. "I think that's really brave of you, Ryan."

"Thanks," he replied, smiling a little. He looked back over to them, "Did you want me to take him back?"

Pam looked from Ryan to the baby Drake. "Could I... hold him for a little longer?" she asked.

"Sure. I trust you, Pam," Ryan said. He stands up and gestures upstairs. "Is it okay if I check on Cece and Phillip?"

"Would you? That would be great," Pam smiled.

Ryan nodded and started going upstairs.

Pam continued to hold Drake for a while, admiring the small child that was only a little younger than her own son. Maybe it was that maternal instinct that made her so drawn to Drake Howard, seeing as his own mother abandoned him. She faintly hears Ryan and Jim upstairs with the children, but she almost doesn't notice when Jim comes downstairs.

Jim leaned over Pam's shoulder, "Should I tell Ryan that he's not going to get his kid back anytime soon?"

Pam laughed lightly, "No, that's okay. Do you want to hold him?"