Clutching the bag of freshly baked malasadas, Lou stepped into the elevator and hit the button to take him up to the SICU floor. Watching the doors as they slowly slid shut, he sighed as he remembered the last conversation he had had with Danny just the night before, just after he and Kono had walked into McGarrett's and Danny's shared ICU room to find Danny finally awake. Lou swallowed hard as the conversation with the younger man, who he had no doubts was still under the influence of extremely potent painkillers, replayed in his head. A conversation that had ended with Danny stating that he was thinking of returning to Jersey, leaving Lou with no illusions after talking more at length with Chin about Danny's application to return back to Newark PD and what Grace had told him about how Danny was feeling that Danny was not only thinking of leaving but had already made up his mind.
Damn it, it was Danny who had helped him to hold it all together when Ian Wright had kidnapped Samantha. Danny was the one who had given him hope when he thought all hope was gone. It had been Danny's understanding and willingness to share his own experience when Grace had been kidnapped and Danny's urging of him not to give up that had saved him from curling up in a ball, lost in grief for the daughter he was sure he had lost. It was Danny who had given the strength to get back up and the courage to carry on, not to give up hope and to keep his faith that Samantha would return to him well and safe he thought all was lost.
He felt the icy tentacles of guilt tighten around his heart, he owed the younger man more than Danny could ever know but despite this, he knew his own guilty complicity with how Danny was feeling. He swallowed hard as he watched the elevator lights flicker on each floor it past as he remembered all the times he had had fun at Danny's expense believing Danny knew it was not meant personally or maliciously but it was just his sarcastic sense of humor or the times he had questioned or dismissed Danny's rants or theories on a case only to discover afterwards that Danny had been right but never really acknowledging it the fact afterwards to Danny or even admitting to Danny that he thought that Danny was a good cop with great cop instincts.
He knew it had taken them a bit of time to really warm up to each other after they had first met but during the last two years after he had joined Five 0, they had become they had become good friends, and he wasn't going to let Danny just walk away not knowing just how important he was, not only to McGarrett, but to the rest of the team … to him.
Feeling the elevator jerk to a sudden stop, his hold on the bag of malasadas tightened as the doors slowly opened and he stepped out and headed towards the glass doors leading into the SICU, determined to make amends with Danny for all he had done and determined not to leave until he had convinced Danny to stay here in Hawaii with his Five 0 ohana where he belonged.