My Heart Beets for You

It was a bright early morning when Jim arrived to the office. He stifled a yawn as he neared reception to put up his coat. Smiling Jim waved good morning to Pam and made his way towards his desk.

After Jim had basically fled to the Stamford Branch, Pam had decided to leave Roy and focus on herself. She had made it very clear to Jim she had wanted to stay friends and so had Jim after moving back to Scranton.

Surprisingly during his time away flashes of dorky glasses and mustard colored shirts invaded his mind instead of the cute receptionist he had once longed for. The beet farmer's smirk and colored eyes would follow him throughout his long days at Stamford, leaving behind a hollow feeling in his chest.

As he sat at his desk he noticed Dwight still hadn't arrived, causing a flicker of worry to flare in Jim as he set his computer for the day. He knew the older man was always early to work, never missing a day of work in his years at Dunder Mifflin. Jim shook his head maybe he's just running late, he thought as he continued to take out files from his desk drawer.

At reception, Pam started to note down Michael's notes as she waited for his arrival. She had been on her third note when the ring of the phone startled her from her peaceful writing. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam." She answered staring at her sticky notes. "Is this Pam?" A voice answered back confused. "Yes, this is Pam. Who is this?" Pam asked looking at the phones caller number. "This is Mose. Dwight told me to call this number during emergencies. This is an emergency." Mose responded a bit shaky as he breathed into the phone. "Oh my god! Is Dwight ok what happened?!" Pam said as she turned to Jim who had made his way to her side. "He needs help. He's sick and won't let me in his room. He keeps making noises and he didn't eat anything last night, even though it had been meat and beets for dinner" Mose said still breathing into the phone. "I'll go check on him!" Said Jim already by the door with his coat and satchel in hand. Pam nodded watching as he ran to the stairs not wasting any time with the elevator.

Jim made his way to Dwight's farm at full speed, passing yellow light after red light until he made it to the dirt road leading to the house. Outside stood Mose jumping and waving both arms in an up and down motion. Jim parked his car and got out with a bag full of meds and veggies he had dashed to the store to get. "Hey Mose, I'm Jim." Jim said as he stuck out his hand. "I know." Mose said motioning Jim to follow him as he went up the stairs. "He's really cranky. He told me to leave and tend to the beets, I have to go. Use what you need to help him." With that Mose turned and left, leaving Jim outside Dwight's room. He knocked on his door, "Dwight? It's Jim, open the door." "No! Leave at once Jim, I'm not opening the door!!" Dwight slurred his words followed by a nasty cough. "Dwight you sound like you're coughing up a lung, just let me in!" Jim jiggled the knob with force. "Ok, that's it." Turning, Jim went to the kitchen and found a knife to open the door. He went back upstairs and fit the knife in the crevice by the knob and forced it in until a small click resonated in the hall. Jim stood and pushed the door open. He found dwight trembling under the covers with tissue paper littered on the floor. "Oh god, Dwight!" Jim said rushing to his side and pressing his hand to Dwight's forehead. "You're burning up. Why didn't you let Mose in? He could of helped you!"

Dwight shuddered as the cool hand made contact with his forehead. He leaned in to the touch as it formed some relief from the horrible heat he was feeling. "Mose doesn't even know how to tie his own shoe." Dwight slurred his words as a wave of dizziness hit him again. His eyes were red and watery as he looked up at Jim. "What are you doing here?...are you here...to prank me.." Dwight continued to slur his words as he closed his eyes. Jim shook his head and set the bag by the bedside table, "No, Dwight. I'm here to help you, ok. I'm going to run the water for you to shower. Lets see if that helps break that fever, ok." Jim said touching Dwight's cheek before going to the room's restroom. Dwight continued to tremble and cough, feeling out of it. He didn't understand why Jim was here. He was supposed to be his enemy, yet Jim had arrived to care for him. His heart clenched as he saw Jim return with his rolled up sleeves and shaggy hair. Jim had a slight frown on his face as he continued to see Dwight tremble.

"Alright lets do this." Jim bent down and helped uncover Dwight. He helped Dwight sit up and almost carry him to the restroom. Trying to let go of Jim, Dwight's legs buckled and he quickly held on to Jim again. "Hey you can't let go right now, you're going to fall." Jim said as he sat Dwight on the toilet. He took his pants and shirt off then continued with Dwight's clothes. "I'm going to help you stand, ok?" Jim asked as Dwight shook his head trembling even worse now.  "You cant stand on your own Dwight. I need you to hold on to me. I'm going in the shower with you."

Jim and Dwight stepped in the shower the water hot and steaming. The immediate effects were evident by the sigh Dwight let out. He clutching onto Jim, relaxing as he leaned against him as well. "Hey, you doing alright Dwight." Jim said as he made work out of lathering Dwight's hair. Dwight nodded and continued to hold on to Jim. He pressed his forehead against Jim's shoulder and closed his eyes. The dizziness was back but with less force. Jim continued to clean him, proceeding to go lower on his body until Dwight stopped Jim's hand. He gripped at Jim's wrist and took the soppy washrag. "I can do this part, thanks" Dwight said red faced as he cleaned his privates. Jim's face had gone red and hot by Dwight's hand. He hadn't noticed to proximity of his hand and immediately looked away.

Once done with the shower, Jim helped dry Dwight and change him into comfortable clothes. He took some old pants and a shirt of Dwight's to put on. He then helped settle Dwight comfortably on the fresh sheets he had set. "Hey I'm going to borrow these clothes for now, I'll return them tomorrow. I'm going to go down stairs and make you some soup, also I got you some medicine but you cant take it without anything in your system so..." He pointed towards the door and nodded. He quickly set the pot and ingredients on the stove, occasionally checking on Dwight who had fallen asleep. Once done with the soup, he served some on a bowl placing it on a bed tray with a glass of water and some medicine. He went back upstairs, careful with the tray and opened the door. After setting the tray on the bedside table he sat down next to Dwight and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey Dwight, come on time to get up. I made you some soup and there's some medicine you need to take." Jim caressed Dwight's head, smoothing back his hair. Leaning down, Jim pressed a small kiss to Dwight's forehead before continuing to lightly shake him. Dwight slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Jim. "Hey sleepy head time to get up. Come on time to eat." Jim said as he helped Dwight sit up on the bed. He set the tray on Dwight's lap and opened the pill bottle, handing him one helping him hold the glass of water. "Thanks Jim." Dwight said giving him a small smile. Jim smiled back, "do you want me to help you with the soup?" Dwight shook his head and drank his pills. He placed down the glass and picked up his spoon. "Did you make this, Jim" Dwight asked looking at the mouthwatering chicken soup on his lap. "Yeah I did. My mom taught me actually, she thought it had to be one of my go to dishes when sick so, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well it looks amazing." Dwight said as he leaned forward taking a spoonful of the heavenly broth. He hummed in satisfaction and continued to eat. "This is extraordinary Jim. Your going to have to make some more of this for me some other time," Dwight said enjoying the soup. Jim blushed and nodded, watching Dwight with butterflies in his stomach.

Once done with his food, Dwight thanked Jim again as Jim picked up the tray taking it downstairs. After cleaning the dishes Jim made his way to Dwight's room and stepped inside. "How you feeling Dwight?" Dwight smiled and motioned for him to come closer, "I'm feeling better Jim, thank you again for helping me." He took Jim's hand and laced their fingers together. Jim lightly squeezed his hand, keeping their hands together. They gazed into each others eyes and slowly leaned in. They stopped, just a breath away. Jim's heart raced looking into Dwight's blue eyes, shifting to his lips and back again. He waited for Dwight to move away but he never did, choosing to close the distance capturing Jim's lips in a chaste kiss. Dwight's eyes fluttered close deepening the kiss as Jim responded. They broke the kiss for air leaning their foreheads together. "Why..? I thought you hated me, Jim," Dwight said staring into Jim's eyes. "I never hated you Dwight. I realised in my time away that all of those pranks where my equivalent of pigtail pulling and I missed you so much," Jim said pressing a light kiss on Dwight's lips. "I missed you so. so. much," Jim emphasized with each kiss. "I missed you too. I didn't know work could be so boring without you," Dwight said smiling into the kisses. "I tried pulling some pranks back at Stamford but it wasn't the same," Jim said hugging Dwight, settling himself on the bed. "I don't think it's wise to sleep with me right now Jim, I might get you sick." Dwight said as he settled back into Jim's arms covering them with the sheet. "I think I'm going to be fine," Jim said closing his eyes.