One Last Wish in Vegas~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Total Vaughn Lover

A/N: Thanks to the three people who reviewed! Thanks so much! I hope you'll like this more in the next part! It's not going to be Delinda and Danny, it's actually going to be with the young girl with the dying wish! You'll see!!!!!

Without further ado~~~~~~

Part II

"No more mail!" Ed Deline a.k.a Big Ed shouted, slamming his fist on his nice executive desk in his office that overlooked all of the security floor. "And no more question concerning that letter!" he bellowed, his blue eyes flashing with an obsessive rage.

"But sir, it's a death wish, if you will just," the consultant was trying to reason. "What do you think it would look like if the Montecito was in the papers blaring that the casino will let girls who bare everything in but cannot grant the wish of a dying child?"

"And what do you think will happen if word goes out that we're letting kids into casinos? It'll be an outrage. There is a reason why Las Vegas is called "Sin City!" Ed retorted in as calm a tone as he possibly could hold with the consultant who was riding his last nerve.

The consultant and Ed stared hard at each other for about five minutes. It was evident that this man didn't know Ed, if he had he would have known that reasoning with him was a waste of time.

"I~I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Deline," the consultant mourned, shaking his head sadly as he rose from his seat. He gave the head of security a sad glance then finally left the office, slamming the glass door behind him. However Ed didn't even cringe.

Danny was currently hurrying up the stairs, trying not to wallow in the points he'd won with Delinda. Man, that was probably the first time in Montecito history that a guy had actually made the girl want to be friends with him. Yeah, yeah, he was feeling pretty high on himself for the first time that morning. He was so high in his element that he didn't notice the depressed figure of his old childhood friend that was slowly descending the stairs.

"Good morning, Danny," the consultant greeted in a grave tone, still fresh from the pain and disappointment he'd experienced in being pushed out of Ed's little glass walled-in office.

"Good morning, Chip," he greeted the young man, Chip Hefter. "What brings you to the Montecito so early in the morning? And to security?"

"I'm part of the Last Wish Foundation now, have been for eight months now. I represent anybody in the Las Vegas area," he informed Danny who brought himself to a strict posture and folded his hands.

"As you were, Danny," he chuckled when he saw that not an ounce of positiveness lingered on his friend's expression.

"No. I'm just trying to pay my respects. I mean if you're here, that means that you've come with someone's request to do something with our casino before they~~~uh, pass on," Danny grimaced, not sure what the appropriate term was for death situations. But he had enough sense in himself to know that "hit the bucket," wasn't one of them. "And I'm sure the Montecito would love to be of assistance."

"Well, the casino part was okay with it, but they told me I had to clear security," he piped up then his smile fell into a frown. "And that's where I came to a dead end."

"What? What do you mean by that?" Danny demanded, half chuckling, thinking there had to be a mistake.

"Exactly what I said. Security denied it."

Danny adopted a look of deep concern. After his mother had died, he'd found a notebook she'd kept, listing a bunch of things she'd wanted to do before she'd had to go and now as vengeance for his mother, he tried to make every effort to make sure those kind of wishes were granted. He folded his arms and leaned it. "I'm the protégé to Big Ed, maybe I can get you a meeting with the head honcho, no one says no to Ed."

"That won't do any good," Danny's friend mumbled as he started up the stairs. Danny paused in step and shot his friend a glance. "I was just in to talk to him, he gave me the big no."

"B~Big Ed gave you the big no?" Danny confirmed with him. His friend nodded solemnly. He also looked a bit like he would have loved to punch big Ed in the face. "I wonder why. He's got a daughter himself. He can be pretty intimidating but~~~he's not heartless."

"At least, I think," Danny added as a mental note to himself.

"Then can you try talking to him for me? She's supposed to be hitting her eighteenth birthday very soon but the doctors are doubting she's going to make it~~~that long," he mourned, looking very sad.

Danny was about to nod and do everything in his power to help him but he stopped himself when he heard the bit about her not being eighteen. "She hasn't hit eighteen?"
His friend nodded his head to confirm it. And now Danny had some rethinking to do. Now he knew why Big Ed hadn't let it go, she was underage. Oh god, he was definitely going to need aspirin now. Danny put a hand to his forehead, that also covered his tear-filled eyes.

"Danny~~~I know how this sounds but, before you shut me out, think about the girl. Please, Danny McCoy. She doesn't deserve to be sick and if I had the power to make sure she made it I wouldn't say anything."

"I know," Danny cut in, his voice coming out a bit more harsh than he'd intended. "How shy is she is of eighteen?" he asked then, trying to be understanding.

"T~two weeks."

Danny bit his lip. He really didn't like what he was about to say but he really didn't know what he was going to say to Ed to make him change his mind. He was already in for a deep conversation regarding what he'd done to make his daughter dump him.

"A~are you absolutely sure that she can't hold out till then?"

Danny couldn't believe he'd actually said that. Neither could his friend. "Danny, what kind of question is that? Of course we're always going to be optimistic, we're trying to believe she'll just miraculously pull out of this but~~~she's getting drastically worse and me and her parents think it's time that her wish be granted, before it's too late."

Danny shook his blond head, very disappointed with himself. He admired his friend for not beating him to a pulp for being a jack ass who was concerned more about what would happen to him and not about the young girl who'd just been caught in an unlucky situation.

"I understand," Danny corrected himself immediately then averted his glance to the daunting glass door that led to his probably unhappy boss's room. "I~~I, I wasn't thinking. Of course I'm going to try and get this girl her wish. Let me see what kind of strings I can pull with Ed. I'm assuming that you'll be around so I can get back in contact with you."

"Of course," he beamed as he handed his childhood friend an official looking card. "Thank you, Danny."

"Don't' thank me yet. I can't promise you anything," Danny warned him, not wanting to be responsible for letting him down later

"It's tine, as long as I know you've tried, the family is not going to stop thanking you for this," he cried and Danny gingerly reached out his arm to pat him on the back. He was sure glad he didn't have his job. He'd probably be okay until he actually had to watch the kid die, thanking him for getting him his last trip to Disneyland, a meet with his favorite baseball player, whatever it was. His friend had been a crack user back in highschool, it amazed him how much more mature he'd become and Danny found himself drowning in admiration.

Finally the "One Wish," guy left and Danny shot up the stairs. He then paused to take a composing breath and then entered the room, where Big Ed was studying a screen, his back to his protégé.

"Ed?"

"NO MAIL!" Big Ed shouted suddenly and he whirled around in his chair at record speed and threw a glass against the door. Danny shielded himself by ducking under the chair that he'd practically named his own since he was in here so much of the time.

"Not mail, Ed. Just your protégé checking into work," Danny assured him, peeking over the chair at his boss, wanting to make sure the coast was clear before he stood up.

"Danny!"

"Is it safe to join you?"

"Yeah, yeah, come on in," Ed urged him and Danny felt like Big Ed sounded a bit too happy. To see him, at least.

Danny tentatively stood up and then scooted back, careful not to screw up his leather shoes by avoiding the shards of glass. He immediately put a call in for a custodian to stand by so he'd be readily available when he needed him then shoved his cell phone into his pocket and folded his arms. "You wanted to see me?"

"Oh yeah, yeah," Ed confirmed, slapping his forehead as though that action fixed his momentary memory lapse. "Well, it wasn't urgent really. Just wanted to make sure you were at work."

"Uh huh," he stammered as he dusted off the leather seat and lowered himself onto it.

"First off Danny, I~ I'm sorry about you and Delinda," Big Ed lamented, actually bowing his head for emphasis.

"She told you," he chuckled, crossing his leg over one knee and cocked his head back as if to say "thanks God for making my life even more miserable, I owe you one!"

"First thing this morning," he exclaimed, looking very pleased with himself. Danny had to control himself not to throw a punch or challenge his boss to a fist fight he knew he wouldn't win. "But she does this all the time. Try not to think about it. And besides, you two weren't~~~"

"Right for each other?" Danny finished for him. "I know. She gave me the "I'm great, above average," speech. But if you really don't' want me to think about it, let's change the subject."

Big Ed was visibly shocked by his employee's directness but let it go, this time. "Fair enough," his boss agreed then before allowing Danny any input, he jumped into a list he'd created in his memory. "Now Danny, today I want you to watch the black jack table, there's going to be that European international champion thing going on and we also have a big time V.I.P coming in on top of that and Sam wants added security."

"Would that be the girl?" Danny blurted out and a second later he realized he couldn't have mentioned it at a worse time.

"Excuse me? Who is this girl you would be talking about?"

"The girl, you know the one from the "Last Wish Foundation," Danny prompted, "I know you couldn't have been serious about not letting the Montecito grant one tiny wish."

He yiped as he ducked to keep from being smacked by the champagne glass that his boss was aiming at his head. "Ed! What's the big idea?"

"I~~~don't~~~want~~~to~~~hear~~~another~~~word~~~of~~~that, Danny," he said slowly so that there couldn't be any mistake of his protégé understanding it word for word.

But Danny wasn't going to let it go that easy. "S~she's dying, Ed. I know you heard the story, my friend already told me he was in to see you."

"Did he also mention that I said no?"

Danny nodded. "But come on, I really don't' think it'd be unreasonable to let her in. I think in fact the Montecito should be honored that she'd chosen us as the last place she wanted to be in her life."

"Danny McCoy, do you know what will happen if we let in one underage child? Hell is going to wreak havoc, that's what!"

"I~I'm willing to take the risk, Ed. She's seventeen but she's almost eighteen. She's lucky if she lost her virginity and I don't think any seventeen year old should go into the ground without experiencing all of life's sweetness," Danny argued, holding his own.

"Are you saying that you would drop your security position for a day to become a host to this girl if I let her in?" Ed asked carefully, folding his hands before him on his desk.

"If you would let me, yes."

Ed looked for a second as though he were considering this as an option which made Danny's heart pound harder. Yes! He was going to make a difference, something good was going to happen today. "Well Danny, you would be required to do everything the girl bids, after all, like you so sweetly mentioned, this would be her last wish and your job would be to grant her it, every one of them."

"I understand," Danny beamed as he got to his feet, ready to go down to the casino floor and tell his friend the good news. "So is this an okay?"

"NO."

Danny was sure he'd been hit so hard he hadn't seen it coming. "No? But I thought~~~"

"You thought wrong. Danny, I can't afford to cause his chaos. We have enough on our hands looking for cheaters and smashing scams so we can keep our jobs. We don't have time to be making wishes come true, and definitely no time to be babysitting!"

There was an awkward pause that followed that outburst where they both stared at each other. Danny finally stared down at the ground and mumbled, "Fine."

"Fine," Ed repeated, thinking he'd agreed all too easily. He watched Danny head for the door the way an owl watched the mouse he was about to pounce on.

"I'll do it on my day off," Danny informed him which made Ed stand up, hobble over to Danny, grab him roughly by the collar and dropped him down in his former seat. 'Ed, you got issues today. What's the big idea?"

"Did you not hear what I said?"

"Of course I did. And while I'm on schedule I will adhere to every word you say~~~except that part about not dating your daughter but~~~I didn't know," he began ranting.

"Stop it right now unless you want me to get really upset with you Danny. Now listen to me. Even if you are off-duty, it doesn't change the fact that you would be bringing in an underage girl into the casino and you can't do that whether you wanted to or not. It's the law."

"It's also the law that you cannot threaten bodily harm to someone," Danny cursed under his breath and was thankful Ed didn't hear it. Instead he put on a concerned expression. "I can probably find someone to fix her up with a fake I.D."

"Danny, your job is to bust people who sell fake I.D.s!"

"Yeah, but can't I just buy one off of them, and you know strike a deal like, you let me make one and I won't send you to jail today, but come around tomorrow and you'll wish you didn't," Danny proposed, not letting up.

"No, Danny."

"Come on, I've seen you do it before."

"No Danny!"

"Ed!" Danny finally shouted which actually also meant him pushing Ed down into his seat and leaning towards him with his knuckles on the table. "I now that you've got a heart somewhere under all that muscle mass. Imagine if it was Delinda. How would you feel if the Casino you worked with wouldn't let you pull strings with them to get your daughter her dying wish?"

Ed let out a low dark chuckle. "You really think making this personal for me is going to get you anywhere?"

"No because you'd probably threaten them bodily harm if they crossed you," Danny said dryly, wearing that smart ass expression he used to guilt trip his boss.

Ed detested it immensely.

The scene was just about to get very ugly but fortunately one of the security guys broke into the room at the right time. They were both informed that there was some interesting movement on the entrance camera.

Ed pulled on his jacket and walked ahead of Danny, only he got stopped with him blocking the door with his arm. "Come on, just one favor. I've been nothing but loyal to you and I've been mum about your death threats."

Unfortunately Ed had put up an invisible wall, the wall he placed before him to block out Delinda's nonsense chatter about why she strongly felt her daddy should buy her every little thing she desires, or his wonderful wife constantly nagging him to lighten up at family gatherings.

Danny sighed as he followed Ed out into the main security room located just below their level. Things hadn't gone like he'd thought, and he suddenly felt he'd ruined every chance of getting Ed to do anything for him by acting the way he had. He hung his head as they stood and watched the screen in question.

Mike Cannon was an the entrance doing his job as the best valet at the MonteCito. He waved off a V.I.P as he went through the casino doors.

"Enjoy your stay, Mr. Bellargino!" he hollered in his thick "from the ghetto," accent.

"Thanks, Mike," the Italian business man called back as he threw him a nice green bill.

Danny stared at the screen and gave Ed a sideway glance. "Isn't Mr. Bellargino one of our biggest players? One of our normal players?"

"Quiet," Ed hushed him, still staring at the screen and Danny rolled his eyes but turned back to watch the scene just in case Ed's instincts were right on the mark as they usually were.

Mike slapped a high-five to one of his fellow valets, chided the slow bellboy to hurry it up with their V.I.P's luggage. Then he saw the sleek and very good mannered Mike sigh as he went over to greet a family of three. It was evident in the way he moved that he'd met them before and they weren't high on his favorite list.

"Sir, Mam, like I have already explained to you, you two may enter the gaming area but the little one might not enjoy it very much. I mean, drunks, hookers, extreme display of PDA and streakers. No, your little girl doesn't need to know about that behavior for at least another ten years."

"I understand, but couldn't you make an exception in this case?" the "Mother," purred, actually flirting with the valet despite knowing her husband was standing right there.

"I~I'm sorry but no can do. What I can do though is get our casino host Samantha Jane to get set you up with a nice suite and you can take turns playing the games and then later you can enjoy find dining at our own club Mystique and I'm sure if you give her just a little tip, she'd be glad to watch the little one for a few hours," Mike offered, flashing his million dollar smile.

Danny found himself grinning. He was sure Mike had been a salesman in his past life.

"Oh that's a most generous offer," the husband exclaimed as he took the card, exchanging glances with his suddenly equally exuberant wife.'
Unfortunately their daughter didn't seem too pleased with Montecito's generosity and made that clear by gibing off a big wail and began stomping her feet.

Danny watched Mike comfort the child and shook his head. They were concentrating on a crying child? What was Ed thinking? He had to be wrong this time. He could be monitoring the big event going on at Nessa's table or order a close up of the restaurant where sexy Delinda would be working.

Oh! And here comes the migraine.

"Danny, I think they're pulling something," Ed told his partner with that "owl on prey," eye.

"What?"

"Yeah. I've got this really hot instinct that they're creating a diversion."

Danny stared at the scene and rolled his eyes. "To do what exactly?"

Ed looked as though he were stumped for a moment but then he said in a very oily voice, "why don't you go down there and find out? And on the way you can go see how Nessa is doing at her table."

Danny still looked skeptical about wasting his time going after one of his bosses' hunches but he wanted to keep his job. He nodded to him, straightened his jacket then headed for the door.

"Oh, and it might be a good idea to go see Mike. He might report that they're being suspicious," the head of security hollered after his very ill- looking protégé.

"Or demand of me why I'm slacking off instead of bringing down the bit time roller who's been too lucky at the poker table on camera 87," he thought to himself but he went anyway, willing to do almost anything to get away from Ed's scrutinizing eye

Ed watched satisfied then returned his eye to the screen, now sporting a furrowed brow. If Danny had watched him just a bit longer, he would have figured out that Ed actually did know what was up.

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Total Vaughn Lover