Seasons

By

1st endeavor

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Spoiler: "Identity Crisis" Bones of Contention" "Hardball"

A/N: Thank you for your reviews

Chapter 12:

Previously in "Seasons"

"A swing and a miss. Strike One." Bradley called out.

Don cursed himself; he knew better than to go after a low outside pitch. He clenched his jaw, vowing not to make the same mistake again as he readied the bat for another swing. He got a piece of the next ball but it foul tipped right into the catcher's glove.

"Strike Two. Bottom of the ninth, two outs with the bases loaded."

Don wiped the sweat from his upper lip then planted his back foot firmly in place while Kenny got into his position to throw the ball. He shifted his weight backwards, twisting his hips slightly as he positioned the bat for his swing.

"Here's the pitch by Baxter."

Kenny threw the ball and Don took a small step forward to increase his hitting power as the ball approached him. He gripped the bat tightly; adrenaline coursing through his veins, eyes locked on the approaching ball. "Wait for it-wait for it," Don whispered then he stepped into his swing.

CRACK!

A hush fell over the crowd as everyone in the stands rose suddenly to their feet; all eyes locked on the ball as it soared across the field.

"That's a long drive into left centerfield, that ball is gonna be…. OUTA HERE, IT'S GONE! A GRAND SLAM HOMERUN FOR DON EPPES!" Bradley was so excited that he was shouting into the mike. "THE CROWD IS UP AND I MEAN EVERYONE, BLUE TEAM, RED TEAM IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE. EVERYONE'S ON THEIR FEET AND CHEERING FOR DON EPPES".

"Mackenzie scores, Brooks scores, Charles Eppes is rounding first base to score and behind him his brother is taking a well-deserved victory lap around the bases. Final Score: Red team -6, Blue Team- 3. Ladies and Gentleman that was a rare sight indeed and I sincerely hope that someone in the audience recorded that hit; I'd love to see that in an instant replay."

"OH MY!" Larry exclaimed, forgetting that his mike was on; his voice raising an octave with his excitement. "Just eyeballing it I'd estimate that the ball traveled roughly 121.82 meters."

"Ah…hmm...what was that, Larry?"

"Possibly 400 ft more or less." The professor absently scratched his head and gazed at theball's landing position. "Of course there are so many variables to consider like the ball's height above the field and the horizontal distance that the ball traveled, the angle of impact, the height that the bat struck the ball …."

Roger switched off his mike momentarily then reached over to tap the cosmologist on the arm. "What'd you say we just go with the estimate?"

Slightly embarrassed, Larry shrugged and released the mike. "Oh….yes…of course." He rose to his feet, eyes lit up with excitement. "Ah, Don's a good friend of mine so if you don't mind I'm just going to run down and congratulate him."

"I understand completely, Professor. It was nice working with you." Roger replied quickly as Larry gave him a hasty nod then closed the door behind him. The announcer chuckled then switched on his mike once again.

"That's as good as you see in the Majors, folks. It just doesn't get any better than that! "

.

Don didn't need to watch the ball or hear the deafening roar of the crowd behind him, he'd known the instant that the ball had connected with his bat that he had hit a homerun; there had been very little vibration in the bat at contact which meant that he'd hit the ball right on the "sweet spot" of the bat and as every batter knows a ball that hits that spot will go a further distance than one hitting any other part of the bat.

It was an exhilarating feeling; a heady and intoxicating sensation that he wanted to savor and never end but glory was a fleeting thing which he well knew so he began a slow jog around the bases; there was no need to run now, with his hit they had won the game. It was as if he was back with the Stockton Rangers once again, only this time it was even better because everyone that he cared about was here to share it with him.

They were all there, standing near the home plate; Alan's beaming face towered above the others, pride and joy for his eldest son reflected in his every movement. Charlie stood beside of him his baseball cap sitting perilously on top of his curls; his brown expressive eyes shining brightly with love and pride for his older brother's triumph. Robin was there cheering him on and giving him a look that spoke of a more intimate celebration to come that set his heart on fire. Amita and Larry were there too jumping up and down with excitement and waving him home. His heart swelled with joy and he realized that his overwhelming emotion wasn't just from hitting the homerun but from the love he shared with those people waiting for him.

Robin was in his arms as soon as his foot left the home plate; he lifted her off the ground, swung her around then they shared a passionate kiss.

"I never realized how exciting baseball could be." She whispered teasingly in his ear.

"Exciting, huh?" Don whispered back with a wink of his eye. "Just wait until later."

"Be still my heart," Robin replied playfully as they parted.

"I knew it was going to be a homerun," Alan bellowed loudly to be heard over the deafening roar of the crowd; enveloping Don in a big hug as soon he and Robin separated. "Congratulations, son."

Don grinned broadly, "Thanks, Dad,

"Awesome hit, bro," Charlie quipped, grinning from ear to ear. He gave Don a hi-five but was surprised when his brother pulled him into a fierce hug as well. As he returned the hug he recalled once saying that they were not a "hugging kind of family" but the Eppes men had all experienced emotional changes in the past few years and he not only welcomed the new closeness that they all shared but cherished it with all of his heart.

"That was a pretty awesome slide you made there, kid." Don said, returning the compliment.

"Thanks," Charlie said shrugging self-consciously; his hat finally giving up its struggle to stay on his head and tumbling to the ground.

"That was an amazing hit, Don," Amita said stepping between the brothers to give him a hug then quickly picked up Charlie's hat before it was stepped on.

Larry was next with a congratulatory handshake then Neil, Hank and the members of both teams surged forward to surround him and he found himself bombarded by their jubilant and buoyant cheers then suddenly they lifted him up and set him on their shoulders then paraded him around the field to the cheers of everyone there.

Finally the excitement was over and the crowd began to disperse either wandering back to their picnic tables or to check out the various stands and tables.

The players gathered up the equipment and piled it all in one area then went their separate ways.

Alan glanced at his watch then rushed over to the cosmologist. "Larry, come on we have to get going it's almost time to judge the pies."

"And I must say that it's perfect timing too." Larry replied, a hungry light appearing in his eyes. "A snack would be most welcome right now."

"We'll catch up with you later." Alan called over his shoulder as he and Larry eagerly hurried off for the contest.

"Man," Charlie complained rubbing his shoulder. "My aches have aches." He limped over to one of the benches then slowly sat down; groaning slightly as he attempted to massage the back of his neck.

"That's a vast understatement, bro," Don murmured as he, Amita and Robin joined him on the bench.

"Ooh," Amita groaned. "I may never get up from here."

Robin leaned around Don to catch her eye. "I know what you mean. Out there on the field I totally forgot about my aching muscles but now they hurt even worse."

"The adrenaline rush of the game boosted your energy level while you were on the field. " Don told her wincing as he put an arm around her. "But now that's it's over you're going to feel twice as tired as you were."

"Then I'm with Amita," she moaned dropping her head against his chest. "I may never get up either."

"Maybe we could just rest here for a little while," Charlie mumbled wrapping an arm around Amita then he closed his eyes and rested his head against hers.

"It would be more comfortable in the car." Don suggested; his eyelids half open.

Charlie, Amita and Robin all opened their eyes and looked at him then turned and gazed longingly toward the parking lot.

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Charlie conceded tiredly. "We could take a short nap and then rejoin Dad and Larry."

"It's agreed then?" Don asked his eyes drifting from face to face. They all nodded but nobody made any efforts to move. He sighed heavily. "Okay. On three then? One…two…three."

Slowly and painfully the four of them began to rise then one by one they shuffled forward. Sore arms and tired leg muscles made their movements appear stiff as they threaded their way through the crowds. On more than one occasion they had to sidestep teenagers dancing to the lively tune of LMFAO'S Party Rock Anthem.

"Every time I hear this song I have visions of large hamster's dancing all around me." Don remarked, prompting tired smiles and chuckles from the other three.

"Yeah," Charlie chortled, "and robots too."

The foursome had almost made it to the parking lot when they heard a sound that made them all wince, especially Amita and Robin.

"There you are ladies." Faye exclaimed, almost shouting to be heard over the loud music. "I've been looking all over the park for you." She rushed forward and hooked one arm around Amita's left arm and the other around Robin's right one. "We still have lots of work to do. Come along now."

Both women turned pleading looks to Don and Charlie who stood in shocked silence as their women were pulled into the crowd and disappeared from view.

Still staring at the last place he saw Amita, Charlie shrugged uncomfortably and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Ah…I …ah…suppose we should have done something, huh?"

"What could we have done?" Don asked, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

Charlie shook his head, his curls swinging from side to side. "Nothing. It was sort of out of our hands."

"Right," Don affirmed, trying to dispel his feelings of guilt. "Now what?"

Two pair of brown eyes met then darted toward the parking lot.

"The girls would want us to continue on even if they couldn't join us, right?" Charlie asked his eyes focused on Don's SUV.

"Yeah, sure they would. " Don agreed but his voice held more doubt than conviction.

The brothers had only taken a few steps forward when suddenly their path was blocked by Neil and Hank.

"Hey, Don," Hank exclaimed excitedly. "Listen, Neil and I have a bet on where the ball hit your bat so we need you to show us exactly where it hit."

"Look, fellas," Don replied, trying to edge his way around them, "how about I get back to you on that."

"Now's the perfect time for it." The burly ranger argued clamping a large hand on Don's right shoulder.

"Come on, Don," Hank urged, taking him by the left arm to lead him away.

"Hold it guys." Don sputtered. "Charlie and I were just…"

Hank twisted around so he could face the mathematician. "Charlie can come too."

Charlie's eyes flitted from face to face then settled on his brother's visage. He recognized that look on Don's face, the raised eyebrows, the narrowed eyes silently warning him that if he knew what was good for him he'd better come along with them. It was one that he remembered well from his childhood days, it was the look that his brother would always use to make him do whatever Don wanted him to do.

But it wasn't going to work this time, he waved a hand dismissively and took a step back; his eyes lighting up mischievously. "No, no you go ahead. There's something else that I need to do."

Don's eyes widened with surprise but before he could protest the two men began to bombard him with questions as they lead the reluctant agent away. "No…wait…Charlie..." Don called over his shoulder before he disappeared into the milling crowd.

With a slight smirk on his face Charlie began to shuffle toward the parking lot once again. "Surely Don and the girls would want at least one of us to get some rest and that might as well be me." He muttered out loud, trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. The mathematician heaved a sigh of relief when his Prius came into view; the thought of the reclining passenger seat was so alluring that he would've run over to it if he had been able to but since that was out of the question he had to settle for just walking faster.

Finally he stood beside of his car; he quickly fished the keys from his pocket but before he could press the button to open the door a voice called out from behind him. "No," he groaned inwardly, squeezing his eyes shut. 'It's not fair, it's just not fair."

"Excuse me Dr. Eppes but I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

Charlie opened his eyes and stared at the person's reflection in the window of his car then he took a deep breath and turned around to face the stranger.

TBC