I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: a fun little snippet; consider it a short little interlude in a new normal. I had no idea what to call it, so it's simply "T-Ball".
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O
C.J. stood at bat feeling butterflies in his stomach. He'd missed the ball entirely on his first four swings at the T. Four swings! Four whole swings were too many! In a real baseball game, he'd have struck out and that was just no good. Next year, he wanted to play in Little League and he had to get better. Biting his lip, C.J. stared hard at the ball. He knew everyone was looking at him and cheering, but only his daddy and Danno mattered. And Aunt Emily because Danno was Face-timing her live while he was at bat. So, he was trying hard to do exactly what Danno had showed him so he could hit the ball this time.
He pushed his helmet up with one hand as he looked at the spot out in the field where he wanted the ball to go. C.J. quickly checked his feet, making sure he could feel his dark blue cleats in the red dirt and 'stand strong'.
Hands back, head down, C.J. was ready. Danno had shown him how important it was to do all of that so he could follow through on his swing in a big arc.
He had to hit the ball even if he did get as many tries as he needed because T-Ball was for little kids and C.J. wasn't one of those anymore. He sure wasn't going to be a little kid when he joined Little League next year. Now though, he glanced towards Danno where he was standing by third base.
C.J. had missed the ball four whole times and he was nervous, but Danno gave him a happy thumbs-up sign as he held up his cell phone in the air with his other hand.
Aunt Emily was watching him and Danno wasn't worried at all.
'Watch the ball,' Danno quickly signed, tapping near his own eye, and C.J. sucked the corner of his bottom lip between his teeth. He needed to hit the ball this time or else his team would lose the game. The team coach would say that there were no losers in T-Ball. Because they were too little, the adults didn't really keep score in T-Ball at all.
However, C.J. had a running tally in his head - just like he knew his daddy did, too.
The real score was eight to six and his team was losing by those two runs. There was one more batter left after him. He figured that his job was to get on base. If he did that, then Joey Ortiz could run home from third. Then, his team would only be one run behind and with him on base and Kai Thomas up after him, they could maybe win the game. Or, at least tie it because that would be okay.
C.J. hadn't known anything about the Blue Pollywogs or baseball or T-Ball until his daddy had signed him up for the Honolulu Police Department sponsored team. His new brother, Charlie, hadn't been interested in playing at all. And at the time, C.J. thought he might not like it either. But Danno had wanted him to try and his daddy had given him a helmet and a baseball glove, along with a white and blue uniform that had a small HPD crest on its pocket and the number five on the back.
Then, they'd gone shopping and bought the new special cleats for C.J. to run in.
He had loved his new uniform. However, when he'd gone to his first practice, C.J. had been scared. He felt like he needed Charlie. He didn't understand the game. He hadn't known what to do for the longest time and had been very shy. Now though, things were much different. He had new friends. C.J. found out that he loved baseball and ... he was really good at the game.
Daddy said he had a great eye. Danno said he had an even better arm and that was why he was so good at playing first base. Both Daddy and Danno said that he was a natural ball-player and that made C.J. feel special.
But now, he was at bat and everyone was watching him. Danno had Aunt Emily on the phone. They were waiting and he breathed in deep while toeing the dirt.
He thought about all the things he had been told to do.
'Watch the ball,' Danno always said.
'Hit it hard! Crack it!' Daddy told him. Advice which always made Danno roll his eyes towards the sky.
'No,' Danno would insist while shaking his finger shamefully from left to right as his dad laughed the entire time. 'No cracking ... no slamming ...'
'Just ... hit it hard,' Daddy always said, interrupting Danno and sometimes swinging Danno clear off the ground while Danno's arms windmilled like crazy through the air.
He could hit it hard. Concentrating on what he needed to do, C.J. zeroed in on the ball which shimmered in the heat. It was perfectly balanced on top of the T. He was going to watch the ball but he was also planning to crack it. One more check of his hands and elbows and he was swinging as hard as he could. This time, he kept his eyes on the ball and he felt the solid crack of his bat in his hands as he followed all the way through.
He didn't stop to see where the ball had gone; he just knew that it went. Daddy always said just to run right away, too. So C.J. ran hard towards first base aware of the first base coach and the hand signals that said run faster! And he did, getting there in time to see Joey tagging home base and high-fiving the home base coach before realizing that the second base coach was jumping up and down and waving his hands at him.
'Here! Come to second!' Eyes wide, C.J. ran towards second base and jumped on the bag with both feet. He looked around trying to see where his ball had gone when the second base coach, Mr. Ortiz, gently tapped the top of his helmet.
'Good job!' His mouth said and C.J. laughed out loud. But Mr. Ortiz pointed to the outfield and C.J.'s mouth fell open in surprise.
His ball had gone really really far! Two kids from the other team were still chasing it down!
'Go to third!' Mr. Ortiz, who was a police man and also Joey's father, said as he pointed to third base. He made a downward motion with his hands. 'Run ... stay there!'
Feet flying through the dusty field, C.J. took off again, running hard to third base now with one eye on who had the ball. He got to third base with time to spare as the ball sailed back towards him. He was safe! And technically, in a real ball game, C.J. thought he might have hit a triple!
C.J.'s ball had gone farther than he had hoped and he grinned happily. Excitement growing, he waved to Danno, who waved back. Then Danno pointed to the phone which meant that Aunt Emily had seen C.J.'s big hit, too.
'Good job!' Danno mouthed to him, smiling the entire time.
'Watch Kai ... get ready ... watch your coach, too,' Danno signed next and C.J. nodded as he fixed his helmet. He needed to concentrate and be ready. The game was almost over but no matter what, C.J. felt good. He couldn't wait to tell his brother about his big hit once Charlie got back from visiting his mother and step-father. That almost made him think about his mom and feeling an odd pang in his stomach which made him feel dizzy, C.J. quickly looked for Steve.
His dad was where he had been for the entire game. Everything was okay and C.J. took another deep breath. Hunkering down with his hands on his knees and rocked in the direction of home plate, C.J. focused on Kai who was now getting ready to take a swing at the ball. Kai was C.J.'s newest friend and a super good hitter.
Behind Kai, their team's home plate coach for the day, caught C.J.'s eye and C.J.'s grin came back bigger than before.
'Ready?' His dad signed quickly and C.J. nodded. Wearing a blue and white Pollywogs team shirt with a matching baseball cap, C.J.'s dad, held up his hand, a signal to C.J. that he was paying attention and would tell C.J. exactly what to do ... and when. Ever serious, C.J. nodded again as he watched his dad coach Kai through his next at bat.
C.J. was on his toes as he watched his friend take his first swing. He held his breath as Kai's bat connected with the ball on the first try. He thought the ball would go far. Instead, the ball bounced off the T and then rolled a little bit towards first base and C.J. watched as three of the other team's players all tried to get it at the same time. They fell down and lost the ball in the grass and amongst their gloves, scrambling on their knees and arguing about who should pick it up and get to throw it.
But then someone had the ball and was tossing it ... Kai was running and ... C.J. jigged on his toes, looking at Steve.
'Daddy!' He signed even though he probably wasn't supposed to do that during the game. During the game, Steve was supposed to be his coach and was supposed to be helping all the players just like Mr. Ortiz had helped C.J.
'Come on ... come on ... come on home!' His father waved to him as Kai tried to beat the ball to first base. C.J. bounded off his toes like a rocket. He got to home plate fast and gave his dad a high-five as he scored another run for his team.
'That's my boy!' Steve signed proudly to C.J. just as Kai made it to first base by the skin of his teeth. 'Go see Danno quick!' His father signed and C.J. whipped off his helmet.
He was all smiles and giggles as he took off loping towards Danno. His dad would need to stay on the field and help the next runner and batter until the game was over; C.J. understood that and he needed to see his Aunt Emily. Jumping into Danno's arms, C.J. wrapped his legs around his waist. He ducked his head to Danno's shoulder so he could see the cell phone's screen.
'Aunt Emily!' He signed. 'Did you see me?! I cracked it hard! And Daddy is coach today, too!'"
It was late in Ohio. Night time and very cold. His aunt was wearing a thick sweater, but she was wide awake. There was a cup of hot tea on her desk and lots of work papers. She was nodding excitedly and blowing him kisses.
'I saw you!' She signed and said. 'You did great!' Her eyes were shining brightly and C.J. laughed out loud again.
'I hit the ball! It went far ... ,' He held up three fingers to explain how he had hit a triple, not sure how to say it right. 'I got far and then I ran home!' He signed it all probably too fast and maybe not even entirely right, but his aunt was just as happy and then signing how proud of him she was for doing so well.
'I love you sweetheart!' His Aunt Emily signed and he smiled from ear to ear, nodding. Using both hands, he signed back that he loved her, too and was so, so happy that she had stayed up late to see his T-Ball game. They looked at each other then, saying nothing, each happy just to visit for a few minutes until they had to say good-bye. C.J. had to finish the game and his aunt needed to go to bed.
Cupping C.J.'s head closer, Danno kissed his cheek before putting him down. He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair and then tried to smooth it into place. C.J.'s smile faltered as he looked from the cell phone and up into Danno's face. He didn't know why, but his chest suddenly felt heavy and tight. When that happened, it was a lot worse than just having butterflies in his stomach.
Sometimes he got confused inside but Danno always seemed to know when it was happening. Like now.
'I love you and daddy loves you. Very much,' Danno both signed and said. He pointed towards Steve, smiling, still finger-signing the word for 'daddy'.
C.J. wrapped his arms around Danno's waist. He loved Danno, too and his daddy. He snuggled in closer, hiding his face, soaking in how Danno's hand felt so strong and warm on his back. He could have stayed there longer, but then Danno was bending down to him and gently pushing him towards the field. The game was over and it was time to line up to shake hands. It was tradition and important.
C.J. looked up again at Danno, feeling better before he trotted back to his team. He ran to stand next to Kai and missed the two-handed high-five which his dad gave Danno.
A hard jubilant slap of his hands that nearly knocked the smaller man clear off his feet.
~ End. ~