Oh goodness, I had the biggest scare ever. My Word didn't load correctly, and it said that I didn't have any documents. That would have ruined me. Thank the stars it was just an error, and everything's still here! Huzzah. Point of this story – it totally motivated me to write frickin' faster. Here's another update!

I only had about six pages of this written after posting the last chapter and BAM. New reviews already?! Good gracious, thank you so much! MikariStar, ScipioPB, imagine believe, and CheetosPotato you speed demons, you. Much love.

Warning! Double update!

Little Leprechaun's Day Out

Gill slammed the phone back into the receiver. Hard.

When Vaughn looked up on cue, he thought he'd be in for another nitpick argument about dress code or how late he was today or… anything. But instead, Gill was bent over his desk, furiously typing into a calculator with one hand and scribbling in his books with the other.

Vaughn picked up his headset and hesitated. He chanced another glance at Gill. The guy was definitely on edge. More so than usual. He was already moody when Vaughn waltzed in with Molly ten minutes late after they took the subway that morning. He made a mental note to pick up his car after work, since it was finally the day. Vaughn was glad, but he also felt like he might actually miss riding the subway…

Distracted, Vaughn shook his head free of the thoughts that felt like buzzing flies on his productivity. Yet, he paused again. That was a customer on the line. Gill hung up on a customer. That was unheard of. But what could it be that had him so riled? Hamilton was out today, having a meeting up at corporate (about Harvest Hobbies and the inevitable buy out, no doubt), but taking charge had never bothered Gill before. Rather, he reveled in it. Though Vaughn's first bet would have been the hushed up Harvest Hobbies fiasco, the pile of torn apart mail on his desk made him think otherwise. Gill was waiting on something to come in for months now. But what…?

Gill's head snapped up, and Vaughn casually punched in a nonsense number on his phone for cover. The blonde scrutinized him for half a second before snorting and going back to typing the numbers in his notebook into his computer.

"Yay! Happy St. Patrick's Day!" Rod celebrated with a shout. He had been gleefully anticipating his favorite holiday and was completely dressed for the part. Green suit, bow tie, and top hat with a plastic four leaf clover in his lapel, Rod was the perfect leprechaun. His natural orange hair contrasted garishly Irish with his ensemble, and his happy face beamed as he passed out pot of gold baubles to everyone in the office. Except Basil, of course.

Basil was glaring at him from within his box, hands over his ears as he tried to tune out his archenemy's enthusiasm. He growled occasionally if Rod ever got too close.

"One for you, my friend!" Rod said, placing the cheap toy on Allen's desk.

"Why thank you, Rod," Allen smiled. He picked up the little, plastic pot and turned it in the light. "I wish it was chocolate filled."

"But that's the exciting thing! One of them is!" Rod laughed in excitement. He winked to his friend. "Luck of the Irish to you!"

"Ow!" Alice whimpered, holding her sore jaw. She had bitten her own pot of gold at the news and found hers indeed was not chocolate.

"Rod, you're of German and Swedish descent," Allen said, his chin resting in his palm.

"This day is perfect, and nothing can ruin it for me~!" Rod merrily sang, skipping away to hand out more pots of gold.

"Did you get one yet?" Molly asked, leaning against Vaughn's desk and picking at her plastic pot of gold with her fingernail.

"No. Yours chocolate?" He asked, eyeing Gill behind her and noticing he was silently containing his rage with a hand to his head, staring down at his desk.

"Don't think so…" she sighed in disappointment. "I'd try to bite it, but I think Alice might've chipped a tooth on one of these things."

Vaughn chuckled and shook his head. Just this morning he had brought coffee to the subway station and waited for her. It was almost routine already. Locating Molly and finding seats together on the subway to work. It felt like riding the school bus as kids and having a favorite spot and travel buddy. He had started to bring things to thank her for constantly letting him use her subway pass. Just little things like coffee or doughnuts or breakfast sandwiches. The little pots of gold Rod was handing out reminded him of that. And how today had been the last day, and he didn't even notice.

With Molly still leaning on his desk and studying her free toy in her little pencil skirt, Vaughn suddenly remembered an offhanded remark of Denny's. "Thanks for not telling me how great her legs are, you inconsiderate jerk." Of all the things to remember… It wasn't like she was dying or even leaving like Candace. Things would just be going back to the same old, same old.

"Uh… you having a stroke, or…?" Molly was snapping her fingers in his face.

Vaughn had to actually tear his eyes away from her legs to get back to Earth, feeling like a total creep. He tried to hide his reddening face, wondering why this had to be happening. "Zoning out. Boring day."

"You don't like holidays? Not into the spirit?" She teased, lifting herself onto the corner by his pencil holder and crossing her legs.

Shit, what's wrong with me?! He quickly recovered, his anger at himself winning over his weird staring. Still, he fumbled when he nearly dropped his headset reaching for it. "Maybe I am having a stroke."

Molly wrinkled her brow in question, but she never got the chance to ask. A yell from directly behind her made everyone in the office jump.

"Enough!" Gill shouted. When he stood, his chair went sailing backwards.

Rod laughed uneasily, scratching at his face. "Ahaha, but look! You've got the chocolate pot of gold, Mr. Gill! Yay…?"

"No more of this! No more distractions, no more chatting, no more not work!" Gill fumed. The pot of gold crunched in his fist. "I have had enough nonsense for one life time! Out!"

Rod stared cross-eyed at the finger before his nose. "Uh…? Do I have to go sit in the corner again—?"

"No, out! Out of my sight! Mr. Rod, you are hereby suspended. Your pending termination will be put to review. Until then – you are trespassing here. Get out!" Gill slammed his hands down in finality.

Not even crickets would have chirped. Tensions between Gill and the doting Rod had never been good, despite all logical sense. Rod was one of the hardest workers in the office. And to boot, he was a beacon of hope. He was so happy, whatever it was he did or had to do. It made their shit jobs seem better whenever he smiled through it when they couldn't. Even so, he always irked Gill. But no one thought it would come to this.

Rod paled, unable to react. He was frozen in front of Gill's desk for a solid minute before he was suddenly flustered and red in the face. He mumbled incoherently with 'yes, sirs' and 'of course' and 'no nonsense' as he shuffled back to his desk. He paused, just staring at it. The little cubicle between Alice and Allen. He found there was nothing there he wanted and stumbled towards the elevator, changed his mind, and ran for the stairs. The door routinely shut behind him, creaking until it clicked.

Everyone was still. Louis, Tina, and Luke were peeking out of their office doors, wearing similar expressions of dumbfounded shock and disbelief. Vaughn first noticed Molly after she slid off his desk. She had a hand over her mouth and tears bubbling in her eyes as she looked between Gill and the stairwell. Why… because… Rod was just fired?

The first person to move was Allen. Appearing calm as ever in his stance, his face said different as he stopped before Gill's desk. Staring down at the Assistant Regional Manager with an expression that could only be described as murderous. Allen glared darkly, his entire aura changed, as he opened his mouth. "Change your mind."

Gill ignored this blatant order. He was already back to scribbling in his books.

"Look at me," something in Allen snapped. He shoved his sleeve up his arm, and on any other day, Vaughn would have snidely remarked that he was wrinkling his precious Armani suit. But right about now, he was ready to back him up if things got as ugly as they promised. It was easy to forget that Rod was still Allen's best friend. Often treated as a pet and ruthlessly teased, but his best friend all the same.

But Vaughn found himself doing something different. He put his hand on Allen's shoulder, clasping it less in comfort than in ready. He was holding him back.

"What right do you have?!" Allen fumed, trying to shrug Vaughn off, but he didn't take his eyes from Gill.

"Unless you'd like to pack your things, Mr. Allen, I suggest you take a seat," Gill muttered, completely collected and breathing easy.

Allen succeeded in breaking away from Vaughn, quickly turning. Vaughn tried to say something, anything, but he couldn't. Molly hurried up to show her support, reaching out to him but stopping midair. "Allen…"

Allen took in the situation, toying with the idea of throwing it all away. Quitting on the spot. Then he walked back to his desk. His co-workers watched as he slowly rounded the corner, his face composing itself back into the placid coolness he always exuded.

Basil was wide-eyed at the whole affair, but he made one critical mistake. He was smiling. Laughing, even. After all, it wasn't like Rod was officially terminated. And being his rival, this could even be funny.

Since his sleeve was still ready, once Allen saw his humored face, he took a vicious swing. Alice screamed, quickly covering her mouth in surprise as Basil hit the floor. Vaughn thought about holding Allen back, but it was a one hit affair. The smack of contact of the fist with Basil's jaw seemed to echo. The intern looked more scared than harmed, crawling backwards on his hands to avoid Allen as he passed him up and collapsed into his chair. Eyes went to Gill. He was still writing.

Swivel chairs rolled as everyone found themselves back where they were supposed to be. Except one.

"Who… who needs 'em?!" Rod ran his sleeve across his runny nose as he hiccupped. How could he let himself cry over this? He needed to toughen up! This wasn't the end of the world! He said as much aloud. "Yeah! This isn't the end of the road for you, old pal! You'll get a new job. A better job!"

The determined leprechaun clenched his fists and looked to the sky outside his office building. The parking lot behind him was behind him for good. And quite suddenly, Rod had the urge to sing about it.

"It's funny how some distance… makes everything seem small…" the tenor began, re-enacting the movie scene by walking backwards away from his old place of work. "And the fears that once controlled me—"

"GET OUT OF THE STREET!" A car's horn blasted as it plowed down the lane towards him, brakes squealing in protest.

"Whoa, shit!" Rod shrieked, jumping the curb and resting his palms on his knees from the scare.

"Asshat!" The driver shouted out the window at him as he passed.

"Hey, maybe some people are having a real life musical, you inconsiderate git!" Rod shook his fist at the car disappearing in the distance. He took a deep breath, confidence building once again. He puffed out his chest and took a brave step forward, trying again. "I can do this! I'll go job-hunting! I'll turn in my resume all over town! Then I'll show that big, blond jerk what he's missing out on!"

"LEPRECHAUN!"

Rod turned, squinting down the sidewalk. A man on the corner with a long beard was pointing at him. He had dropped his plastic shopping bags at seeing the ginger's costume.

He chuckled, waving back to him. "Happy St. Patrick's Day, sir! Are you off for a pint?"

"LEPRECHAUN!" The man repeated at full volume, still pointing at him.

Rod felt a little awkward. Perhaps some people were best ignored…

"GIVE ME YOUR GOLD!" He shouted before taking off in a direct, intimidating sprint right for him.

Rod screamed and ran in the opposite direction, pounding down the sidewalk and around the corner, holding his top hat all the way.

It wasn't even lunch, and the day was agonizingly sluggish. Rod's disappearance weighed all too heavily on everyone's minds, causing a very silent couple of work hours. But the clicking keyboards were hollow. Slowing until they stopped. How could they just go on? Without one of their own? This was Candace all over again. But so much worse.

And no one was about to let Gill get off easy on this one. On his way to the bathroom, Dan tripped him. Molly 'accidentally' threw away his coffee. He found Luke's nasty spinach and mayonnaise sandwich smeared on his desk. Everyone was unanimously united in loathing him, all equally determined to make his life miserable. Until he filled Allen's direct 'request.' Change your mind.

But Gill wasn't going to back down so easily either. Determined to remain collected and stubborn in the face of the situation, he just straightened his tie and pressed on his merry way. He dusted off his pants, he got a new coffee, he brought out the paper towels. Nothing was going to make him withdraw his decision to get rid of Rod.

In fact, Gill was downright chipper about it. Not in the mocking attitude of Basil who had learned his lesson, but in a productive mindset. He'd repeat: "These things happen" and "Business is business." Truthfully, the office would probably get more work done now that Rod was gone. Not that he was the only nonsense doer, not by far. But he was a good, solid example. If someone fooled around at work, they'd get the can. Simple as that.

"Hello, Louis," Gill greeted the accountant at his door. "Do you have last week's budget report finished?"

Louis disappeared and reappeared just as fast, handing out a stack of freshly printed papers through the crack in the door. He didn't look at him.

"Thank you…" he looked over the report with a satisfied nod. He smiled at him. "Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's—"

The door slammed, barely missing his nose.

Gill rapidly blinked at it in surprise. He cleared his throat, letting out a small chuckle. "Ah… must not be a holiday guy…"

Glares followed him all of the way to his seat where he slouched, sinking lower and lower behind his monitor that doubled as a shield. He could still feel their hate… but he wasn't going to let that change anything!

Rod breathed hard, gasping and wheezing. The door's bell had chimed when he roughly dove through, and it still had a few jingles left. Rod looked around the room he was in and realized by the strong smell of fish that he had taken refuge from the scary leprechaun man in a seafood restaurant.

"Uh… sir? Table for one?" The girl at the hostess' stand warily watched him.

His expression lightened. "Of course! This place is perfect!"

"Thank you?" She ventured, wrinkling her nose.

"I'd like an application!" Rod declared, posing at the ready with his hands on his hips. He read her name tag: 'Ann.' Ann sounded like a good, trustworthy name. Like Rod! They'd hire him here for sure.

"Excuse me?"

"I want to work here! Where do I apply?" He asked. Ann was still staring at him, so he adjusted his bow tie, thinking it must be lopsided to receive such a baffled reaction. "What's the matter? Not hiring?"

"N-no!" She shook her head, ponytail braid flipping back and forth as she now looked absolutely terrified.

"Drat…" Rod snapped his fingers.

"No, s-sir! Your face!" Hiding her own behind her fingers.

"What? My…?" Rod lightly touched his cheek and was taken aback that it was doubled in size. Panicking, he felt all around his face and found his lips to be ballooning and his eyelids swelling shut. "Blut's 'appening?!"

"Help! 9-1-1! Someone!" The girl screamed, rapidly tapping a button underneath her desk.

Rod was suddenly surrounded as he fell to the floor like a rag doll. Men shouted orders and a woman gasped, saying something about an epinephrine injection. He was stuck with a needle to his thigh, and he coughed. He sprung upright like someone shocked him back alive, and his swelling was completely gone in a few seconds.

"He's alright!" A man gave his shoulder a pat. Relieved clapping from strangers dining erupted into a quick round of applause for his safety.

Rod stared down at his hands. "Huh… I knew I was allergic to bees, but who'd a thunk I'd have such a bad shellfish allergy? Learn something new every day!"

"Glad you've got a positive outlook on it, son, but you had better leave before this gets any worse," presumably the owner shook his head. 'Ozzie' was embroidered to his shirt right under a manager badge. "Can we call you an ambulance?"

"Oh, no, I think I'm just right and dandy now, thank—" before Rod could finish his sentence, the front door flew open, letting in cold air.

"LEPRECHAUN!" The bearded man pointed at him.

"Eep! He found me! Thanks for all your help!" Rod squeaked, jumping to his feet. He dodged as the man dived for him and slipped by, dashing out the door and down the street.

Diners gasped in horror as people collided and scuffled from the impact. The stranger leapt up unscathed, chasing back out the door after him. "YOUR GOOOOOOOLD!"

"Oh, come on. This isn't the end of the world."

After Gill went ignored when his pen rolled off his desk and landed next to Vaughn's, this fateful statement had everyone staring again. He flinched under the glares but remained calm. He pulled at the knot of his tie. "I mean… that these things simply happen, and we should—"

"What just happens? You becoming a raging asshole?" Allen remarked, grinning at this computer screen.

Gill blew at a stray lock of hair in his face. "Ahem… no. Rod's suspension should teach you all a lesson. That this is a professional environment, and we have a job to do. That comes first."

"I disagree."

Tina took the spotlight as she slowly put her last file in the cabinet and clicked the drawer shut, leaning against it for a second and looking down.

He was going to let her continue, but Gill felt like that was all she had to say. He cleared his throat. "It's not the first time someone's been suspended, and it won't be the last."

"Here it is," Tina spoke up again. She turned to face him. "We don't just 'do that' here. Haven't you learned anything?"

The serious tone from the usually mousy, paparazzi wannabe was odd for them all to hear. Gill fidgeted in his seat as Tina approached and stood before his desk.

"This is an office, I agree, but we're a team first. We get things done in groups. Luke and I write the brochures. Alice and Dan edit and publish them. Vaughn and Molly tag team to sell them and make sure things run smoothly. Louis used to have Candace to help him in accounting, but he's been loaded with the workload meant for two because our company is in jeopardy. Even you and Basil do quite a bit of work together."

Gill coughed lightly into his fist, attempting not to look at her, but Tina was holding a presence he couldn't compete with. She placed her palms on his desk, leaning forward. "And you just left Allen all alone to order our supplies and work with the agents and carriers. Ripped Rod right out from under him. What's he going to do now, huh? You think he can get all of that work done alone?"

"We can distribute the weight evenly," Gill sharply replied, finding a spot to jump in and defend himself.

"Wrong!" Tina barked. "We're all going to have to pick up the burden, slacking in our own departments just because you didn't think before you took out your temper on our innocent, ginger joke fuel!"

"We can get by just fine without him…" he said, though his certainty wavered under her glower.

Tina shook her head, pushing herself away from him. "You still don't get it. We're a team. All of us. It's not going to be all hunky dory if you cut someone out of the equation. Rod's more than some expendable employee you can get from any old temp agency! He's one of us! And we matter! Because we're a family! We stick together! And… and you just tore us apart… You ruined everything!"

She finally lost her courage and tears pricked her eyes. Tina spun away from him, stomping to her office where Luke was standing at the door. She passed him by without a second glance. After a moment, he started to clap. Molly quickly picked it up with a smile, followed by Dan and Louis. Alice stiffly set down her mouse and clapped, too, as did Allen. Vaughn slowly joined the applause, staring Gill down in questioning challenge.

The blond grumbled, his face red with embarrassment. He tried to go back to his work, but he was shaken this time.

Rod hugged his knees, hiding in a thin alley. The wind was cold, but it didn't have all of the harshness of winter behind it. Spring was looming.

"That's good! Spring is something to look forward to…" Rod encouraged himself. "Maybe I could get into construction… or in the very least, I won't be freezing in the snow when I inevitably lose my house! Ahaha…"

He shoved his face down. "I'm doomed."

The rustle of a paper bag caught his attention. He could smell hot cheese. Rod looked up and found a silhouette standing above him.

Before he could scream that it was the delusional man after him again, Rod realized the person was definitely female. She had long blonde hair and a friendly smile. She held out the fast food bag to him. "Hey, there! Are you hungry? I got this for you."

Rod blinked at her. "I… I'm not homeless."

She blushed, suddenly looking horrified. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I-I just saw you sitting back there, and you looked so sad, I—! Oh my God, I can't believe I just assumed—!"

"Hey, it's okay! Really!" He held up his hands to calm her down. He rubbed the back of his neck. "If it's any consolation, this might just be the worst day of my life, so…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" she said, moving to sit down beside him against the brick wall without hesitation. Rod scurried to make room for her, taking up his discarded top hat and holding it in his lap. She pointed to it. "What's that for? Do you have a job in retail?"

"Nah, just… this is my favorite holiday," he admitted, picking at a stray string around the hat band.

"I like St. Patrick's Day, too! My Grandpa was Irish, so my family celebrates it every year," she smiled. She opened the bag and produced a cheeseburger. "Hey, do you want this anyways? I'll eat the fries."

Rod shrugged. "If you're sure…"

"It's the least I can do for the worst day of your life," the girl said, digging in the bag and munching on the fry she found.

He smiled and took the sandwich, unwrapping it and taking a bite. She studied him, making him slightly uncomfortable. "Uh…?"

"Sorry!" She blushed again, staring down at her bag of fries. "I… um… any reason it's the worst day ever? Do you mind me asking?"

"Well…" Rod swallowed. "Let me see… I was suspended at work for liking this holiday too much, I found out I'm deathly allergic to shellfish, and I've been running from a strange man who demands 'my pot of gold.' Kind of a crazy day, huh?"

"Yeah, wow!" She nodded in agreement. She let out a sigh, looking up at the cloud spotted sky. "Your life sounds so interesting. I'm just on break from where I work at a Laundromat."

"That can be fun, too, though… right?" He tried to cheer her up, already halfway through with the burger. Rod hadn't realized he was so hungry until now. The girl had good instincts.

"Not really…" she shook her head sadly. "People leave behind all sorts of gross stuff. And I just have to sit there and watch them. This one time, a couple came in and totally tried to do it on the washer line!"

"Ew, no way," Rod gasped.

"Right?! I had to call the cops," she shuddered.

Rod balled up the wrapper. He grinned. "Well, that sounds pretty crazy."

"I guess…" she shyly nodded.

"Oh! Duh!" Rod face palmed, startling the girl. He held his hand out to her. "My name's Rod! Thanks for the sandwich."

"Oh!" She echoed, covering her mouth. She quickly chewed the rest of her fries and smiled in return, taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm Rio."

"Rio? Cool name," he said.

She giggled. "Aha… thanks…"

"You know, Rio, you're really nice," Rod declared in all sincerity. "I've never met anyone who goes on break and feeds the homeless."

Rio rolled her eyes. "Well, you're not homeless, so…"

"But you've done this before. I can tell," he insisted. When she bashfully looked at her shoes, it confirmed his guess. "It's so cool you just came up to a total stranger so fearlessly and—"

"LEPRECHAUN!"

"That's my cue!" Rod jumped to his feet like a bolt of lightning struck him. He picked up her hand and shook it again. "It was really nice meeting you, Rio! I hope I'll run into you again someday!"

"Y-yeah! Bye, Rod!" Rio barely managed before he was sprinting away. Seconds after he left, a man hurtled past the alley. She poked her head out and watched as the bearded guy barreled down the sidewalk after Rod. She shook her head, biting another fry. "Definitely not as interesting as that!"

Gill was biting his nails as it neared three in the afternoon. Work had been all but halted. Though it wasn't official, most of the employees were more or less on strike until Gill would get some sense into him. Still, a select few were drilling away at their keyboards.

Like Alice. Eyes half-lidded in mild boredom, she stared ahead attentively like a robot on the line. Her fingers didn't stop even when Gill cleared his throat above her.

"This pains me to ask, but…" he pulled at his tie again. It had gone completely, pathetically askew. "The Flower Bud brochure? I just need confirmation of your final edit…"

Alice was still staring flatly ahead.

"Alice?" He tried. "Really? Nothing?"

Ignored. Though she paused a second, she just hit space and continued unhindered.

"Alice?" His impatience ebbed.

She didn't even blink.

"Alice, you, too?" Gill's voice softened into a whisper.

She hit enter three times, refusing to lose her poker face.

Gill turned away. In one swift movement, he swept by Molly and grabbed his coat as he opened the door to the stairwell and disappeared. The office became deathly quiet. Alice stopped typing, her hands hovering over the keys. She smiled.

Gill pounded down the steps, muttering curses to himself and to everyone in the office. "Damn that coffee… those disgusting sandwiches… tripping me up… A family?! Who's she kidding? Damn Alice and her… everything! Damn it all!"

Everyone had their faces pressed against the window as they watched Gill march across the parking lot. He passed the last car and turned down the sidewalk towards the dumpster. After all, there wasn't far to go since he had never left the block all day.

Rod was huddled next to it, murmuring pleas and panting from all of the running. He was sniveling and sad and everything Gill wanted to see. Yet Gill sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Rod. Get up. You're not suspended."

Rod's eyes snapped open, recognizing the voice. He squinted up at Gill and the sun behind his back. He scowled. "I used to admire you, Gill. I looked up to you. Like my idol who wasn't Allen. You were so hard-working and smart and bootylicious, and then you went and threw me out like I was a dog. Well, this dog has rabies! I mean teeth! This dog has teeth! And I ain't coming back just like that!"

"Get inside," Gill said.

"Sounds good," Rod stood, dusting off his green suit and trailing behind as Gill led the way back.