CHAPTER 4

By the time everyone had finished their lunch, they had come up with a pretty good plan - although they would need some help from the local baseball team. Steve was sure that it wouldn't be a problem. He stepped out onto the beach to make a phone call as the others continued to talk. Mama came back out and sat down with them for a few minutes. Invariably the question of babies came up. "So, when can I expect my grand baby, eh?" Matt and CJ were both used to the question by now, but it still caused them to blush.

"We're working on it, Mama." CJ was laughing nervously and Matt just smiled. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be much longer at all and decided not to say a word.

Steve walked back in. "Okay, I just talked to Larry Mossberg over at the Manos training facility. He says we're in luck: their pitcher is having emergency surgery as we speak and they need a replacement right now...their backup is in Japan because his wife went into labor." He grinned at Houston. "Think you can still pitch?"

"Pitching isn't the problem. Sliding into base: now that might be a problem. Maybe I won't have to." Matt was grinning broadly.

"And as for you..." Steve pointed at Danny. "They have been needing another catcher. Looks like you might be it for the moment." Turning back to Matt he said, "Larry wants you there pronto." He leaned over and gave Mama a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for a great lunch."

Matt looked over at CJ. "Guess you better hang out here with Mama and Vince. I'll call you later." He leaned over and gave her a scorching hot kiss, causing Vince and Steve to both roll their eyes.

"Alright, you two, come up for air already. Gees!" Vince loved giving the two of them a rough time, but he really was happy that they had finally opened their eyes and figured out how in love they really were.

Matt whispered something in CJ's ear and received a shocked reaction. "What?!"

"You heard me. And I mean every word of it, CJ." He got up from the table and went out to Steve's truck to bring his wife's suitcase inside. Vince stopped him on his way back out. "What was that all about?"

Houston looked around to make sure that Mama wasn't near by. "Look, I'm not sure and she isn't either, but I've got a feeling..." He looked at Vince. "She may well be pregnant. Just keep an eye on her for me, would you? And don't say anything about it, not even to Mama. I could be wrong."

Vince grinned and shook his head, nodding. "The secret's safe with me. I'll try to get her to take it easy." He patted Matt on the back. "Give me a call if you need some help, okay?" Matt nodded and headed on out the door.

Steve pulled into a parking space in front of the training facility for Hawaii's only major league baseball team: the Manos. Mano is the Hawaiian word for shark. "Alright, so you're going to try to make yourself irresistable to Miss BigNBusty. Think you can handle that?" McGarrett grinned at Houston.

"Actually, I'm not sure. I might be out of practice." He smiled over at the former Navy Seal, then got out of the truck. "How about you, Danny?"

As the three of them headed inside to talk to Larry Mossberg, Danny started strutting. "All ladies find me irresistable. You two should know that by now." Matt cracked up and Steve just looked at his partner with a grim shake of his head.

After shaking hands with the team manager, Matt and Danny were being scrutinized by the man. "Yeah, I guess folks would buy that you're an almost-past-his-prime pitcher." Mossberg walked back around his desk as Matt stood there with a shocked look on his face.

"Well, I'm not THAT bad – am I ?" He looked over at McGarrett who was having a hard time not cracking up.

"And how short did you say you were?" Mossberg looked Danny up and down.

"You mean how tall, right? I'm 5'5"." Danny was obviously trying to make himself look taller.

"Okay, go to the locker room and get dressed out. Hey, Williams, if you can't find a uniform to fit go to the souvenir stand – they have uniforms for kids there. Practice starts in fifteen minutes." Mossberg dismissed them and Matt and Danny headed to the locker room, both with a worried glance at McGarrett.

After the pair was gone and the door was closed, Mossberg chuckled. "Actually Houston looks like he could be playing for quite a while. I was just trying to get him in character." He and Steve both cracked up. "I thought there was a height requirement to be a cop?"

"He just made it." Steve was having a good laugh over Danny.

A short time later, Matt and Danny were out on the practice field with the rest of the team going through warm up exercises. Steve and Mossberg were standing nearby watching. Matt had shown Steve a picture of Alyssa Forte or Miss BigNBusty as CJ called her. He was keeping an eye out for her but so far hadn't seen her.

As the team spread out across the field, Matt walked up the pitcher's mound. He was a little nervous: other than a few pickup games when he was in the Army and with friends in LA, he hadn't played baseball in quite a while, and he had certainly never played professionally although he had been heavily recruited since his sophomore year in high school. He took his time warming up and before too long was impressing Mossberg. "This guy is actually good, McGarrett. Why hasn't he been playing?"

"Well, he hasn't really played since college. He went into the Army after he graduated and has been doing other things since." McGarrett had read up about Matt and knew a good deal more than he was telling Mossberg. He was impressed by Matt's pitching as well and impressed that Danny had managed to catch the majority of the pitches.

After a couple of hours, Matt was taking batting practice. He wasn't as nervous as he had been when he took the pitcher's mound, but those butterflies were starting up again as he got ready to step up to the plate.

Matt thought back to when he was a small boy and his dad Bill had taught him how to bat. He had been so scared of getting hit by the ball but Bill had finally made him understand that you can't be afraid of what might happen in life: you have to take charge and make things happen. Just before he stepped up to the plate he closed his eyes and said quietly, "Okay, Daddy, here we go. Help me out here."

He stepped up to the plate and nodded at Mossberg who was running the pitching machine. The first pitch wasn't very fast and Matt didn't have any trouble hitting it, although he didn't try to knock it out of the park. He still needed to warm up some and didn't want to get hurt by trying to show off.

The next pitch was faster but he still managed to get a decent hit off of it. The third pitch was a scorcher and Matt missed it completely. He gave the time out sign to Mossberg, stepped out of the box and readjusted his gloves, helmet, and attitude. "Come on, Daddy. We need to hit a good one now." He stepped back into the box and when the scorcher came this time he sent it all the way to the outfield wall. Mossberg's approval was easily heard.

"Now that's a hit, way to go, man." He nodded at Matt.

Although he didn't hit every single pitch, Matt hit enough and well enough to keep Mossberg and the others who were watching him satisfied – and that was just what he had in mind. When practice was over and he had showered in the locker room, Matt was getting dressed when the team's first baseman walked up and introduced himself. "Gerry Brockton. Good to meet you." The two men shook hands as Matt pulled on a shirt – not wanting to give away the fact that his shoulders and just about every other part of his body were in pain.

"Nice to meet you. First base, right?" Matt sat down and pulled on his boots.

"Yeah, that's me."

Danny's locker was right next to Matt's. Brockton stuck out his hand in Danny's direction. "Don't think I caught your name?"

"Danny Martino." They shook hands.

"Listen, there's gonna be a party tomorrow night. Several of us are going to be there and there will also be some ladies there. You're invited." He handed Matt and Danny each a piece of paper with an address. "See you tomorrow at practice." Brockton walked out of the locker room.

Matt's phone vibrated and there was a text from CJ: she had left a rental car out in the parking lot for him and the key was on the left front tire. He texted her back and told her he was about to leave and that he would meet her at Mama's. As he and Danny walked out to the parking lot, he casually glanced around as he put on his sunglasses: there didn't seem to be anyone paying any attention to them and he found the key that CJ had left and slid in behind the wheel of the red Mustang. He couldn't help but laugh: it was exactly the same color and make of car that had gotten Steve McGarrett after them when they came to the island to announce their engagement. After a rocky start, it had turned out to be a good friendship.

After dropping off Danny downtown, Matt pulled into the back parking lot of Mama Novelli's restaurant and noticed that it was still busy. The Novelli's were running one of the most popular resturants in the islands – and with good cause: nobody could cook like Mama. He slipped in through the side door and then went back to the office where he found CJ, Vince, and Mama all talking. He walked in and sat down on the couch next to CJ, giving a grunt as he did.

"Whatsamatter, Ace, are you sore?" Vince was sure Matt was: although he was in great shape, it had been years since he had played sports on such a level.

"A little. Think I could get an icepack for my shoulder?" He gingerly moved it around. Vince grinned and headed into the kitchen, coming back in a minute with a baggy filled with crushed ice and a towel.

"So how did it go?" He handed the ice to Matt who unbuttoned his shirt part of the way and put the ice on his right shoulder.

"Pretty good. We got invited to a party tomorrow night by the first baseman – Jerry Brockton." He looked over at CJ. "He said that there would be some ladies there."

"Well, maybe that will include Miss BigNBusty." She smiled at Matt and knew what was going through his mind. "Don't worry about it Matt, I'm not." He gave her a kiss and leaned back on the couch. CJ picked up a couple of pillows and put them under his arm. "Kinda reminds me of the old days." She gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Yep, it's been a while, that's for sure." He didn't say anything for a minute, then looked at his wife. "Got any aspirin, babe?"

"Nope, but this should do the trick." She handed him another type of over the counter pain med and he swallowed them down with a sip of the water that Vince had brought back with the ice pack. She turned back around and went back to the discussion that she and Mama had been having about sauce recipes and Vince went back to working on the restaurant's books on his computer. He heard a noise and turned his head, then gave a low chuckle.

"I think somebody might be just a little bit tired." He jerked his head in Houston's direction and the other two looked over to see him with his head tilted back on the couch and lightly snoring. The phone rang and Vince answered it quickly. "Novelli's. Hi, McGarrett, what's up?" He listened then said, "Hold on, let me put you on speaker." He pressed a button then gave the cop the go ahead.

"I just got done talking to Mossberg. Houston impressed the hell out of him – and practically everybody else there. Has he shown up yet?"

Vince laughed. "Yes and no. He's here but he's taking a nap right now."

McGarrett laughed. "I'd say he earned it. I saw him pitching but had to leave before he got up to bat. Mossberg says he should be playing professionally. Not bad considering it's been how long since he played?"

"About ten years, give or take." CJ looked over at Matt who was sleeping peacefully. "He wanted to play baseball and football when he was a kid...but other things came first." She had oftened wished he had played as a professional athlete: then he wouldn't have been in so much danger over the years. "He said that he was invited to a party by the first baseman – Jerry Brockton, who told him that there would be some ladies there."

"Yeah, Danny just told me that. Let's see if we've got anything on this Brockton guy." Steve pulled his keyboard closer and began searching on the player. "Looks like he's had a few brushes with the law over the years: a DUI, and a small possession charge. That's about it."

"Okay, I'll tell Matt when he wakes up. Maybe the party tomorrow night will get the ball rolling." She looked back over at her husband who was still out like a light.

"Alright. Tell him if he needs me just let me know, okay? Talk to you later." He hung up the phone as Danny drifted into the office. "We wrapped up the Shinobi case this afternoon. All of 'em are cooling their heels in lockup right now." He looked over at his partner. "Mossberg called a few minutes ago. He was impressed by Houston."

"What about me?" Danny was starting to get slightly offended.

" He said you were okay. But Mossberg was really impressed by Houston's pitching and hitting today."

"I can't believe he said I was just "okay"." Danny looked over at Steve and gave him a mad look.

"Grow up, Danny." Steve got up and headed out the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To catch a few waves before dark." The former SEAL walked out into the hallway whistling.