Yup. Another chapter. Here it is! hope you enjoy!

Chapter 40: The Offer He Can't Refuse

The next day, Cecelia called Valerie and told her what she had done for Danny. Cecelia even asked Valerie if she would like to come, but she declined.

Inwardly, Cecelia was struggling every day to have to choose between her best friend and her boyfriend. In the end, ultimately, Cecelia knew that she loves Danny more and is going to stop at nothing to make him happy. She spent the next week planning and packing to make this trip worthwhile for herself and all of her friends.

The flight was at six-thirty in the morning. Danny, Cecelia, Tucker, Danielle, Garth and Sam were going to Washington D.C. as part of Danny's birthday present. But really, this was more of a gift to all of them.

The gang was tired and dreary because the majority of them had spent the last night making last minute packing preparations. Danny especially was feeling tired. He didn't get one wink of sleep at all. It had always been his dream to visit NASA, and this was his first—and possibly his only chance of realizing it.

It was three people to a seat. Danny found an empty booth and sat down in the middle of the two seats. Tucker and Cecelia sat on either side of him. Across from Danny sat Danielle and a little old lady. Somewhere else in the airplane sat Sam and Garth, who were both tired beyond imagination.

Cecelia, in fact, seemed to be the only person on that plane who wasn't fighting to keep her eyes open. Once the takeoff commenced, Danny leaned on Cecelia's shoulder and fell asleep.

Danielle had her elbow on the armrest with her chin in her hand and her eyes closed. Tucker was listening to music and he closed his eyes as well.

Cecelia wished they hadn't left her all alone like this. For her, the flight was boring backpacks no matter how hard she tried, she could not fall asleep. Tucker was snoring.

The hotel was called Burgundy Lakes, and the title was misleading because there were no such things as burgundy lakes.

Garth got a bellhop to come and help with the luggage. The front desk was enormous. And one could just barely see over the counter.

"I'll check us in." Cecelia volunteered.

"I'll carry your bag." Tucker said to Danielle.

He winked at her and she smiled and shook her head. "I've got it, thanks."

They had to make two trips up the elevator before every one and every thing was on the fourth floor.

"Room 406." Cecelia announced and waved the blue card up in the air. She led the way and swiped the card through the card-reader. With a twist of the knob, the door flipped open. "Wow."

"Nice." Said Danny. "Be sure to thank your dad." He said to Cecelia.

"I must have thanked him a million times already…but…geez, this deserves another one!" Cecelia replied with a broad smile that stretched across her puffy cheeks.

"My parents used to rent rooms like this when we went on vacations." Sam said. Cecelia and Danny rolled their eyes.

The room's wallpaper was a rich nut brown and the ceiling was the same color. The floor was grey carpet and the trim was gold. The bed coverings matched the gold trim and the pillows were light green. There was a television in the center of the suite. The bathroom was large—with a bathtub so large it could probably fit all seven of them inside. The toilet was so shiny and polished that it looked brand new.

Tucker sniffed it. "Ah, I love that new toilet smell."

The beds were queen-sized, and there were two of them. This was going to get awkward no matter what. Nobody was looking forward to sharing.

Cecelia sent her father a text to notify them that they'd all made it here safely. "Dad would like to meet us at lunch, and then, give us a tour of NASA."

In their own way, the others cheered. Danny was the only one who cheered out loud. He gave Cecelia a loose hug. She kissed him on the forehead.

The six teens met Mortimer Hazel at a café that had a pretty good view of NASA—it was right next to it. Danny couldn't tear his eyes from the place during the whole meal. Most of the lunch time was spent listening to Tucker go on and on about his newest PDA. Tucker was convinced he was going to get a good career for himself as a software king because he'd already gotten a scholarship to a university of technology.

"What exactly do you do, Mr. Hazel?" Danielle took advantage of the brief time in which Tucker was not talking.

"Oh well I've invented shields and other security precautions to keep NASA's computers and buildings ghost-free. They're all astronauts and technology experts, so I'm the only one who knows how to work everything. Pays quite a large sum of money, this job. And my work's never done." Mortimer Hazel stood up and stretched, now that everybody had finished the meal.

"Mr. Hazel, sir, what are the chances—theoretically speaking here—of somebody getting a summer internship here? At NASA?" Danny asked.

"The odds aren't with you on that one, I'm afraid." Mortimer said. "But, it is possible, however, if your grades are superbly stellar."

"Danny's got great grades." Cecelia added.

"My grades are pretty fair." Danny agreed.

Mortimer showed the group to his station first. Mortimer had a nice little blue cubicle about the size of a master bedroom. There were a few desks, a swivel chair, and a giant clutter of papers all around. "Excuse the mess." Mortimer said.

Danny's eyes were locked on the space shuttle that he could see from the window. Mortimer put his hand on the boy's shoulder and said in a hushed tone, "I can see you're really into this."

"Yes, sir, I've wanted to become an astronaut from the time I could talk."

"I'll put in a good word for you. My boss might like you. We're going to meet him next. His name is Mr. Hawkins."

Next, everybody followed Mr. Hazel for a show around the message system. The giant building had its own way of circulating memos to everybody. There was at least one secretary on every floor. There were men whose jobs solely orbited around them delivering memos to the computer crew.

Danny seemed to be the most thrilled out of everybody. Sam was becoming extremely bored, and Tucker didn't like the long walk. Sam was making obnoxious grunts and annoying complaints about all the time spent. Cecelia and Danielle were both getting fed up. Cecelia was ready to say something to Sam, but Danielle held her back.

Garth and Danielle had to keep their friends in the spirit of things, for Danny's sake. He does so much for them; so, the least they can do is make him happy.

"It's only one day." Danielle assured Sam in a whisper. Sam scoffed. Danielle rolled her eyes. "I'm just letting you know that you can either choose to enjoy this for Danny's sake or keep acting like a child."

Sam glared intensely.

"Oh yeah, I said it. And I'm not taking it back." Danielle stood her ground.

Sam backed down reluctantly.

Cecelia clapped softly in approval to her BFF.

Tucker stopped dead when he saw a big man in a blue uniform talking to one of the secretaries. "Whoa." Tucker's face froze in that expression. He tugged on the shirt of the person standing closest to him, which happened to be Garth. "Do you guys know who that is?"

"That's my boss." Said Mortimer as the man approached.

"Gerald Hawkins? The same man who approved my request to go to the University of Technology?" Tucker said in awe.

"Apparently…" said Mortimer.

"Hello, Mr. Foley. What brings you here?" asked Mr. Hawkins.

"Our friend, Cecelia, is Mr. Hazel's daughter." Tuck explained.

Mr. Hawkins barely had a chance to react when Tucker presented Danny in front of him.

"This…is Danny. Danny Fenton. He wants to be an astronaut. You should totally hire him for a summer…internship…thingy." Tucker laughed nervously.

"Yeah, definitely!" Cecelia tried to help.

Danielle threw in a "He'll be the best employee you will ever hire."

Mr. Hawkins was a patient man, but did not like to be put on the spot. "I'm sorry, but there are no spots available, Danny." He said woefully.

The tour proceeded, but Danny no longer cared.

His spirit was broken. Would he ever get another chance? Maybe when he was older and more experienced, he could apply.

It was nine o'clock in the night when the idea came top Danny. He was sitting on the hotel bed putting on his slippers and his loose pajama cap when he realized that Mr. Hawkins might be more willing to hire somebody he knew than just a random boy like Danny Fenton.

What would Mr. Hawkins say if Danny Phantom asked for an internship? The famous hero Danny Phantom? It was an offer Hawkins couldn't afford to refuse.

Danny was smiling smugly just as Cecelia came out of the bathroom. "Everybody's still brushing their teeth. It was getting a little crowded in there." Cecelia was in her pale green nightgown, and her hair was down. It wasn't brushed, but that was okay. She inched toward where Danny was sitting on the bed. "How are you going to take it? I mean, I know it was always your dream, but, well, I know you…and I know…you're not going to give up."

"You're right." Danny said, still smiling. He stood next to her now. They were very close.

"Valerie texted me earlier today. Told me she'd gotten back together with her old boyfriend Bob."

"Yeah, I remember him." Danny said. "He's Tucker's cousin, and he's a good person. I'm happy for Valerie."

"Me too." Cecelia took a deep breath and held Danny's hand tightly. Her voice might have been shaking a little. "So, now that she's all taken care of…maybe you and I, we could, go steady?"

"Sure!" Danny smiled. they shared a warm hug and kissed. He held her tightly, not wanting to ever lose her. He was glad he made a right choice for once by telling her how he felt.

Cecelia leaned back and just let him kiss her over and over. It was suddenly very hot in the room and she couldn't hold him close enough. They fell asleep in the bed.

That night, Tucker dragged Garth down to the game room. He really didn't want to go, but Tucker insisted he'd buy Garth some candy for his trouble. This left Danielle and Sam awake in the room.

Having nothing better to do on a vacation, Danielle sat out on the little chair on the balcony while she took extra special care to fix her hair. She pulled out her cell phone and browsed the internet for music. She put her headphones in so none of the neighbors would have to hear the rock-pop tunes. Eventually, Danielle, too fell asleep.

Sam was bored. She couldn't turn on the television because she didn't want to wake up Danielle and Cecelia. Sam didn't want to turn on the fireplace because there was no point in that. She didn't have anyone to text or call, and Danielle was occupying the one and only chair out on the balcony. Sam decided to take a nap on the couch.

Garth and Tucker ended up having only enough tickets to buy laser light, which Tucker was amused by. Garth let Tucker sleep in the only free bed while he himself slept on the floor next to the couch where Sam had fallen asleep.

First thing in the morning—before sunrise, actually—Danny woke up. Gently and carefully, he pushed the sleeping Cecelia off of him. she was vaguely aware that he was there because she opened her eyes for one brief moment, only to close them again and fall back asleep. Danny pulled all of her hair to one side so it would not tangle around her when she woke up.

Danny shoved a granola bar into his mouth and flew off to NASA before anyone else could wake up.

"Danny Phantom!"

"Wow!"

"Cool!"

"My kid loves you!"

The moment that Danny entered the building, attention was immediately drawn to him. It was probably the glowing green eyes that gave him away. He asked a secretary for the directions to Mr. Hawkins's office.

"Right down that hall and then take a left, a right, and then a left and you're there."

"Thanks."

"Wait! Can I have your autograph?"

Danny's eyebrows rose. It was still early in the morning and he hadn't expected to go ghost at all during this little vacation. So he was still in his old Fenton habits. "Sure." He signed her coffee mug with a permanent marker and she squealed in delight.

The next thing Danny knew, he was knocking at the office of Gerald Hawkins. Before he could knock a second time, he felt something clod and metal prodding at his spine.

"Don't. Move. A. Muscle, ghost punk." A small, elite, steel-toed SWAT team of three men cornered Danny. Danny put his hands in the air. "I don't know how you got past the ghost shield, but, where you're going there won't be any need to ask questions." Although Danny could not see the man's face, he knew he was sneering.

Danny let out a sigh of relief as Gerald Hawkins opened the door. "What's all the—Danny Phantom?" Gerald gasped and put his hand on his heart. "You? Here? Standing at the door to my office?"

Danny clenched his teeth, wondering if the man's exasperation was for good or bad reasons.

"Shoo! Shoo, boys! Don't you know a hero when you see one? This is Danny Phantom! He's the one that saved us from the Disasteroid two years ago!"

At Hawkins's command, the SWAT guys dispatched.

"Danny's a good ghost. And those are very rare, mind you." Gerald informed them as they walked away. "Come in, Danny." Gerald put his arm around Danny and closed the door behind them.

Gerald Hawkins had an office with two walls entirely made up of windowpane glass. It was stellar. The desk was big and black and could probably seat twelve people around it, though there was only one chair. The carpet was soft and mushy, and it sunk beneath the feet. There was a coffee table and a few lounge chairs with a radio and television in the center of the room. That's where Danny and Gerald sat while Danny explained how he'd wished to apply.

"Hmm. Well, since all our internships for this summer are filled up, you can come back your senior year and I'll have a spot saved just for you! How about that? A hero, coming to work for NASA!" Gerald was bursting with excitement and Danny was about to burst too.

The rest of the week was spent visiting monuments and parks and stuff—nothing compared to NASA, which was all Danny could think about. Danny was otherwise occupied.

Garth and Sam seemed to be falling for each other more and more as the week progressed. They found themselves getting wrapped up in those slightly-awkward battles between pride and desire. Sam wanted to maintain her dignity while falling head over heels for this guy who was tall, dark, and strong, and undoubtedly her perfect match.

She was beginning to melt down his cold exterior. Sam has a way of being very personal and precise. That annoys most people, but Garth actually needs it. He knows it, too.

Danielle and Tucker were now sort of unofficially dating. Everybody seemed to think they were so cute together, so they decided to take a chance and kiss during one of the many photos the group took together.

The steady couple—Danny and Cecelia—was what linked all the friends together. The year began with Sam and Tucker being Danny's friends, and Danielle and Garth being Cecelia's friends. Somewhere along the timeline, the six of them have all intertwined to form this team of friends where everybody knows their place, and everybody is happy with it.

This week was filled with tasty hot Italian dinners, exotically colored desserts, many photos (courtesy of Danielle), bags of souvenirs, and loads and loads of kisses from the couples.

Danielle was set on getting at least one picture of Sam and Garth by themselves, and she made them stand in front of the wishing fountain with the sun beating down on their backs.

"Kiss." Danielle commanded.

Garth kissed her ever so slightly. Sam wasn't expecting that and everybody could tell. "So this makes us an official couple then?" Sam asked.

"Yup." Garth brushed the little black bangs out of her eyes. He and Sam didn't let go of each other for the rest of the day.

Tucker and Danielle were holding hands, and Danny had his arm around Cecelia. Everything was absolutely perfect! Nothing could mess this up! It was like living on cloud nine.

Danny. Danny was amazing, Cecelia thought. And he seemed so happy the whole week. Having a recent breakup didn't seem to affect him at all. Yes indeed, Danny was the bravest and coolest guy in the universe. I love D.C., Cecelia thought.

And so Danny Fenton left Washington D.C. having realized one of his greatest dreams. Nothing could make his life any better, except maybe getting his own ghost lair, of course.