For notes and disclaimer, please see part one. Additionally, many thanks to revdorothyl for the spark, without which we wouldn't have a St. Patrick's Day entry. (Being of good Irish stock myself, it was going to bug me, being unable to have one. Thank goodness for revdorothyl's comment on livejournal!) ~K

Here are a couple things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot: Casey finally makes up missing Valentine's Day with Ellie. And Downy protects their privacy from inquiring minds.

Lucky

Casey grimaced when he strolled into the Buy More. It wasn't the nicest smell... but it wasn't the worst he'd ever experienced, either. The music, he noted, wasn't the same canned, elevator crap as normal, but something festive, something jig-worthy.

When he saw Morgan, he realized what day it had to be.

The short, bearded manager wasn't in his usual suit but one of moss green. His real beard was covered, poorly, by an orange-red fake one. On his head was an oversized top hat; on his feet, floppy fake boots with gigantic gold buckles.

Casey grunted when he saw that Morgan's name tag had been swapped with one that proclaimed him to be: "Lucky."

Morgan, in his best fake accent, which was downright atrocious, cheered when he saw the Marine. "Top of the mornin' to ye, Johnny boy!"

Casey said nothing in return as he headed toward the large appliances. The closer he got, the more that smell invaded his nostrils.

He realized he should've known when his eyes landed on Jeff and Lester over a couple hotplates with large stockpots.

"I told you," hissed Lester, "that blarney is not a real ingredient in stewed cabbage."

"Blarney is in everything Irish," Jeff said, blinking.

"Well..." Lester huffed. "Okay, fine! But you can't take bologna, write over the wrong letters with a Sharpie and call it blarney!"

Jeff inhaled deeply. "I think it's better now. With the secret ingredient."

"It's not a secret ingredient when you have the package sitting here!" Lester lifted the offending lunch meat.

"See! Look there," Jeff said, pointing at the packaging. "It says blarney," he said in a stage-whisper.

Casey wondered if Jeff had been smoking craic.

Lester took a calming, if shallow, breath: "Let's move onto the corned beef, okay?"

Jeff delighted in pulling out a disgusting mess of slop from one of the refrigerators.

"What is that?" Lester shrieked.

Jeff showed his best friend the glop he had created, from creamed corn and ground beef. "It's the corned beef."

Casey rubbed at the growing pain at his right temple. It was going to be a long, long day.

Casey smiled when he opened the door to Ellie's apartment later that day. He was attacked, in a good way, with the smell of something absolutely delicious for dinner.

Before he could even take the first step inside, however, he was met with a small, furry, purring creature. Downy rubbed against his ankle and he was helpless but to pet the calico.

"Nice to see you, too."

She mewed happily.

Fully entering and closing the door, he heard Ellie call out from the kitchen as he lowered his backpack onto the floor.

"Hope you brought your appetite. I thought we were going to have a houseful but, apparently, the pull of that nasty green beer at that Irish pub not far from here is too strong. What's that pub called? Mc-something?"

"McDonald's?" he asked with a grin.

Ellie just laughed.

"So, we lost all our dinner guests," Casey said. While it wasn't Sunday, he knew that Chuck and Sarah were supposed to be there, and Alex and Morgan.

Ellie emerged from the kitchen with a tray of the most succulent-looking lamb chops, surrounded by roasted carrots and onions. She set it onto the table, beside the steaming bowl of homemade mashed potatoes and the salad crafted with an assortment of greens.

That was his Ellie. Thoughtful, creative, and culinarily ready to celebrate any holiday.

She smiled. "Just you and me," she said softly. "Well... And Downy."

They both turned to see the cat lounging in the windowsill overlooking the courtyard. It was her favorite spot in the entire living room. When Casey looked back at Ellie, she smiled at him.

Before she could move back into the kitchen for something else, Casey caught her hand lightly before pulling her close. She eased into his arms, closing her eyes as he dropped a kiss on her hair.

"I'm so lucky," he said softly, "with you in my life."

Stay tuned...