Danny sighed as he heard someone enter the room, wishing that everyone would just leave him alone. Turning his head towards the door, Danny reluctantly opened his eyes to discover Lou standing in the doorway, looking first at Steve's empty bed before looking across at him. "If you're … wanting to … visit Steve… you might have ...to wait …. until they…bring him…back…up from…".

"Radiology, I know." Lou finished for him, his chest tightening as he realized that Danny had instantly assumed that he was here to visit with McGarrett and not him. "The nurse told me that McGarrett's been taken down to radiology for a CAT scan to check his new liver but it's not McGarrett who I came to see." Lou continued as he walked around the bottom of Steve's bed, snagging a chair with his foot, and pulling it closer as he reached the side of Danny's bed. "I just bribed the nurse with the best damn malasadas on the island to give us five minutes of uninterrupted time together, so we, my friend, can have a little overdue talk."

"I'm tired…Lou," Danny murmured, too tired, and hurt to even try being polite anymore as he closed his eyes and turned his head towards the wall. "I really…don't feel… like talking."

"That's okay, Danny, 'cause you're going to do all the listening while I do all the talking, understand?" Lou announced, not waiting for Danny to reply as he sat down on the chair.

Aware the Lou had no intentions of leaving until he said what he wanted to say, Danny sighed loudly as he reluctantly turned back to look at him.

"First of all, I want to ask you just what the Hell did you think you were doing?" Lou began with a little more heat than he meant to as the anger of watching Danny ignore his own injuries, to get justice… No…Lou corrected himself… Not justice … Danny had wanted revenge … revenge for what had happened to Steve, washed over him like a tsunami. "What the Hell did you think you were doing pulling a McGarrett on us, Danny?! I expect McGarrett to ignore his own injuries and race off on some insane quest to arrest a suspect but not you! You're the one we depend on to be McGarrett's voice of logic." Drawing a deep breath to cool his anger, he lowered his voice as he added softly, "You could have died by going all McGarrett on us!" Swallowing hard, his voice trembled, "Damn it, Danny, you almost did!"

Looking down at his lap, he shook his head, blinking away the hot tears burn the back of his eyes, the fear that they were going to lose Danny, still far too raw, and the very real fear that even though he was on the road to recovery, they might lose him still because of their own treatment of him. Determined to change Danny's mind about leaving, he looked up, aware that he had Danny's silent but limited attention as he continued. "Look Danny, I know when we first met, we didn't actually get off on the best foot. I thought you were a smart- ass and you probably thought I was-"

"An…arrogant…son of…a …bitch." Danny whispered.

"I was not arrogant!" Lou protested before he shrugged and chuckled, his cheeks coloring a little, "Well okay, maybe I was, but just a little…" He saw a small ghost of a smile flicker across Danny's face as he cleared his throat and continued, knowing that the clock was ticking down and he held no doubts that as soon as his five minutes were up, he would be made to leave. "But after I got to know you, I realized that as much as a smart-ass you can be, you are also one of the best cops that I have known or worked with." He thought he heard Danny give a soft snort of disbelief and his heart sunk, aware that Danny didn't believe him, although he couldn't blame the younger man after the way he had treated him. Hell, if he were in Danny's position, he doubted he would believe what he was saying, himself. Drawing a deep breath, he nodded, "Yeah, I guess I deserve that, I guess you were right when you said I can be an arrogant son of a bitch. But please believe me when I say, I understand just why McGarrett chose you to be his partner because if I had have been McGarrett and setting up the Five 0 taskforce, there's no one else I would have wanted by my side or watching my back. But you're more than a good cop, Danny, you're a good friend and I have to admit that I haven't been as good a friend to you as you have been to me and I am sorry. But I promise that I am going to make up for that starting right now and what I am going to tell you is not up for debate!

We both know that once you get out of here, you are going to need help for at least a couple of months while you recover getting around and with the kids. And let's not fool ourselves here, we both know that your family are not going to be able to stay here that long to help you and that as much as you say you want to, you're not going to be well enough to go back to Jersey. And I promise you that is something we are going to have a serious talk about that later.

But for now, we both know that staying with McGarrett while you both recover, isn't really a viable option either. Hell, we both know that McGarrett ain't gunna follow his doctors orders and he is going to push the limits every chance he gets and that you wont get the rest you need cause you will be more concerned of keeping McGarrett safe and you have already shown us if that means risking your own health if that's what you have to do to do so, then what you do that's what you will do.

I also know as a father myself, that there is no way after everything that has happened between you and Rachel that you are not going to want Rachel to take both kids back to the mainland for God knows how long it's going to take you to get your strength back. Not after everything she has done in the past.

So, here's what's going to happen and there's going to be no debating about it!" Smiling, Lou held up his hand as he saw Danny open his mouth to object before he lowered his voice and added softly, "At least not until you're well enough and strong enough to think about what it. Renee and I have decided that you are going to need someone to help you with the kids and around the house when you get home. So this is what is going to happen until you are fully back on your feet, Renee is going to help you during the day and either Renee, Samantha, or myself are going to make sure that you and the kids get to where ever you need to go until the doctors give you the okay to drive."

Danny shook his head as he whispered weakly, "Lou…."

Lou jumped as he heard the nurse behind him announce, "Your five minutes is up, Captain, Detective Williams needs his rest."

Turning towards the nurse, Lou nodded before he turned back to Danny as he slowly rose to his feet. "I told you this isn't up for debate, Danny." He reminded Danny as he patted Danny's arm before he added softly. "Look, I know that you're going to say - that Renee and I don't have to do this. But please let me do this. You have always been a good friend to us, and I'm afraid that… that… I haven't been …" He swallowed hard as he looked down at his friend, deciding that no matter how hard it was to admit how he was feeling, if ever there was a time, it was now. "Damn it, Danny, when they raced you back into surgery and then you developed septicemia, I was so scared that we were going to lose you. And then last night when you said you are thinking of leaving…Hell Danny, I know you might not feel like it at the moment after the way we…I… have treated you but you're more than just a friend, Danny, I think of you, Grace and Charlie as family."

"Captain!"

He turned and nodded at nurse waiting impatiently at the door for him to leave before he looked back down at Danny. "Looks like I have to go but before I go, there is one thing I want you to know. You and McGarrett are my closest friends, Hell, if I am going to be honest, the two of you are the best friends I have ever had. Both of you have always had my back no matter what and as much as I deserve to, I don't want you to leave because of me."

Turning, without waiting for Danny to speak, he turned and hurried towards the door. Hesitating as he reached the door, Lou turned back to Danny and swallowed hard before softly admitting, "You know Danny, when you were training for the inter-departmental games, just after you had donated your bone marrow to save Charlie's life, I jokingly called you the weakest link in the team but I was wrong to say that, you are the link that keeps us all together, without you, I don't think there would be a Five 0. Hell, Danny, I know without you, McGarrett would have killed himself years ago with his insane stunts and ideas. I should never have said that, even as a joke, I'm sorry." Turning he hurried out of the room leaving Danny staring at the empty doorway, uncertain of how to feel or even react to Lou's visit.