I know, late again! So since school has started, give me detention! I had a hard time coming up with August and then a story bunny reminded me about Cho and baseball. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, the title refers to trying to hit the ball past the outfield fence for a home run. Sorry for the baseball lingo.

DISCLAIMER: I am going to order the season 2 DVD's, but that's not exactly like owning them or the show is it? Sigh…..

August – Swinging for the Fences

To Cho, the problem with a command change, each person comes in trying to re-invent the wheel. The new boss, Hightower was no different. To be fair, she was taking over a CBI with a major black eye and bloody lip. The debacle of Red John killing agents in their own house was bad. Very bad. Minelli leaving or being forced out, depending on your source, right after left a CBI in need of a makeover.

Hightower came in and tried tightening rules and regs. Then someone came up with the brilliant idea of team building and making the CBI more a part of the community. The latest brain trust idea was the reason Kimball Cho and the rest of the team were currently standing on a dusty ball field instead of enjoying their hard earned time off.

Each unit was teaming up with a group of kids from a school for Down's syndrome to make up a softball team. They had made leagues and were finishing the season today. It was supposed to be all fun. Somehow those jerks in Hostage Negotiation had made it competitive. Each unit had ponied up $100 per agent. The unit whose team had the best record and averages won the pot. Of course, this was all under the radar.

Right now, the Major Case squat and Hostage Negotiation were up for the money. They played each other today. The winners would walk away with a nice payday. Their unit had done well. No one was surprised that Lisbon was a good player. She was in good shape of course, but it was her intense focus that put her over the top. Rigsby was a big guy with surprising speed. His patience and cheerfulness with the kids made them want to work hard to earn one of his really high fives. Grace was an athlete and well conditioned, and the girls all loved her. She brushed out each player's hair and made sure the ponytail went through the back of the cap just so. Jane was a surprise. His was in much better shape than anyone imagined. For all his studied laziness, he moved like a natural athlete, all cat like grace and balance.

But it was Cho who was their ace in the hole. Even though he had walked away from the game years ago, it never really left him. His fielding was a wonder. He would explode with speed and catch balls that any other team would have written off. After the first time at bat, when he literally hit the ball out of the park, the other teams would groan as he came up. They finally made him hit from the other side. Until they realized he was a natural switch hitter.

Part of him loved it. He was playing without real pressure. Only Sandovar from Hostages, who had played AAA ball for a season, was better. The kids were in awe of him, but a little afraid. He didn't smile like the other agents. But he taught Chelsea Winters how to pitch. She was the best pitcher they had.

As he strode up to bat, Cho closed his lips and blinked rapidly against the dust kicked up in the hot August afternoon. He had been playing really hard and found muscles he had forgotten years ago. He wanted nothing more than a cold beer, a hot tub and an even hotter massage from a certain young lady. Losing the hundred didn't bother him too much. But he knew Grace could really use the money to finance a trip to California for her parents. Rigsby had been saving his money toward some gym equipment for his apartment. Lisbon would probably find a way for the money to go toward her brothers and their kids. God only knew what Jane would do.

"Go get 'em Cho!"

A chorus of the girls echoing exactly what Grace had said followed. He glanced over; they were all standing at the edge of the dugout, trying to hold themselves like Van Pelt.

"You got this, Cho!"

Wayne was tying Justin Vickering's spikes as he yelled. Cho was pretty sure the kid untied them on purpose just so after he tied them, Rigsby would high five them. It had become a game with the boys. Rigsby would hold his hand up and they would all try to jump high enough to reach it. Justin and a few others all bent their caps rims exactly the same way Wayne did. Maybe this outreach crap was worth something.

All Cho knew at that moment was that it was the bottom of the 5th inning, the last they played in these shortened games. They were down by one run and Nicky Felsher, the fastest kid on the team was on 2nd. They were down to their last out.

Jesus, Cho hated situations like this. He half expected to see his dad sitting in the stands barking orders at him. This was why he had walked away. He knew they were all counting on him. Half the kids understood what was at stake. The other group just wanted to get to the picnic that was to start at the end of the game.

Strike one.

Oh Crap! He didn't even see that one coming. Focus Kimball. Get your crap together. Yeah, this kid is being told what to pitch by his coach. He knew exactly what was coming…

Strike two!

Seriously? He still had that kind of stuff this late in the day in this heat? Impressive. OK, now let's do this.

CRACK! There was nothing like the sound of a ball hitting the sweet part of the bat in just that way. You knew as soon as you heard it what it meant. A glance over confirmed it. It was sailing over the sign that welcome the Wilcox School and the CBI to the first annual Softball finals and picnic.

Tell that one good-bye!

As he trotted around the base, he could see Sandovar's face. It was a mixture of disappointment and respect. He probably knew at the sound of the bat what was happening. Heading for home, Cho smiled in spite of himself. Each kid from both sides was lined up at home waiting to high five him. And as he came to Rigsby finally, he jumped way up and did what none of the kids had done. He managed to smack Rigsby's hand, really hard. It stung, but it was so worth it to see the kid's faces and the wince on Rigsby's.

Yeah, maybe he would hit the batting cages just for fun, just as a change up to his work out routine after all.

Ok, believe or not, the last month in this series is coming up next. This year flew by on me. It will be up by this weekend, and when you see it, you will understand why.

Even after all this time, I still want reviews. Are you all still there?