Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. Just a modest fan and writer.

A/N: Got me another little "what if" Greg/Sara story. Remember ficlet #35? (You don't have to read it to make sense of this) I liked that story alot, and I thought why not have a "what if" where Greg and Sara meet at an even younger age. Yes, this ficlet has Greg and Sara as little kids meeting in a park. It's one of my favorite stories I've written thus far. I hope others like it too.

Ficlet 41: Childhood Crush

Some days were busier than others. Today was not one of those days.

Catherine, Nick, Greg, and Sara gathered around the table in the break room, taking a lunch break. Since they were done eating, they started discussing the latest cases and slowly but surely they were getting off track.

"That little girl reminded me of my first childhood crush."

The group gave Nick a few weird looks, coupled with amused smiles.

"I'm serious. I liked this little red head girl in the third grade but she didn't seem to return my feelings. Especially when I accidentally dropped a frog on her hair."

The women burst out laughing and Greg just "tsk'd tsk'd".

"It's funny... my first childhood crush was a bit older than me. I met her during vacation only once, and I never knew her name," Greg said as he lazily made a paper football.

"Is that why you're so interested in older women now?"

"I guess," he shrugged in a way to suggest he wasn't entirely joking..

"Well, do tell, Greggo. Don't leave us hanging."

"Okay," he sighed, "It was when I was six and a half. Me and my parents visited California's Disney Land and since it was a long stay, we went to other great cities. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco. Anyway, it was at this particular city park where I saw her…"

-Flashback...-

A young, scrappy boy with a mop of brown hair ran towards a sand box in the 1980's San Francisco park. He had a small toy shovel ready to build a mighty castle including a fortress and moat. His parents looked on a few feet away, and for a while, he was the only kid in the entire park.

Suddenly he realized he needed water for his moat, and carefully sidestepping the sand structure, he ran over to a nearby water fountain.

That's when he saw her.

A small, rail thin girl with long curly brown hair. Her petite stature belied her age. She was just a few inches taller than the young boy but her face, particularly her dark eyes, held a serious expression. It was a pensive gaze that almost scared him. But then he reminded himself that she was just a kid, like him.

"Hey. Can I use that?"

She looked at him and stepped to the side, watching him take a drink before grabbing some water in his palms and running towards the sand box. The little brunette was not expecting him to pour the handful of water into the sandbox and come running back.

She was obviously confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm building a sand castle and I gotta fill my moat!"

She realized what he was trying to do and surprised him by letting out a small laugh, "You're going to take forever filling up that moat if you just use your hands."

The boy scrunched up his nose in thought, "What else can I use?"

She walked over to a woman by a bench. The woman obviously didn't pay attention or even care as the girl rummaged through her large purse, and pulled out a half empty soda bottle.

"Is that your mom?"

"Yeah," she replied as she dumped the soda into the fountain drain before methodically rinsing it and carefully filling it with water.

"Here you go," she handed the bottle to him.

"Thanks!" He excitedly made his way back to the sand box and carefully filled his moat.

When he finally finished, he wiped his forehead in happy tiredness. He heard his mother calling for them to leave and became lively.

"Just a few minutes, pleeeaaaase?"

"Five minutes, and then we have to go, Greg."

He nodded and proceeded to look for the owner of the bottle. She wasn't by the water fountain or the slide. Making his way over to the see-saw, he spotted her, recognizing her hair behind a tree. He smiled.

"Here. This is yours," he walked over and handed her the empty bottle.

"It's okay. You can keep the bottle in case you get thirsty. How did your moat turn out?"

"It's awesome! You should check it out," he puffed his little chest in pride.

"I was actually going to go swinging."

"Okay! I like the swings," he eagerly followed her along the gravel path to the other side of the park. There was no one else at the swing set.

"Who's going to push who?"

She looked at him with a quizzical look, "Don't you know how to swing by yourself?"

"Uh… sure I do. You go first."

She gave him a small smile before taking a seat, and she slowly swung herself back and forth. Pumping her arms and leaning forward, then backward, she started to gain momentum. He looked on in wonder as she went higher and higher. Before he knew it she was reaching nearly the highest tree branches.

In the swing next to hers, he tried to mimic her actions but only managed a few inches of movement before tiring himself out.

"I can't do it," he sulked.

She noticed his gloomy expression and just shook her head softly, "Fine. I'll push you."

He was laughing in joy as he felt the wind in his hair, swinging higher and higher. She was pretty strong for a girl. Suddenly he felt his face grow warm and he was sure he turned red when he realized he used the word 'pretty' to describe her.

Just as he was about to reach the bar, he heard a loud, annoyed voice. He quickly called out to slow down and she obliged. His parents were watching him from a few feet away and they were obviously in a hurry.

"Young man, it's been ten minutes and we have to go right now!"

He reluctantly jumped off and looked at the young girl with sad eyes.

"I gotta go."

"It's okay. Nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

He just frowned again, not wanting to tell her he was visiting that particular city for one day. Then he thought of something.

"Here, keep this."

"Your plastic shovel?"

"You gave me your bottle, so take this."

She looked oddly moved by the gesture, "Thank you."

"Bye!" He ran off, forgetting to ask her name, but hoping he could convince his

parents to come back to the park someday.

-End Flashback-

Sara's eyes were growing wider near the end of his story and she finally spoke up, "You're the little boy I met in the park!"

Greg looked at her in surprise. As soon as he saw her eyes, he realized she was telling the truth.

"You were my first crush? It figures…"

She playfully hit him over the head with her folder which prompted him to humorously complain about her ruining his hair.

"By the way, whatever happened to my shovel?"

"I'm not sure."

Greg pouted, feigning hurt at her for not treasuring his old beloved toy shovel..

"Well, where's my bottle?" She asked him.

"Ummmm…. how about I buy you a new soda bottle," he amended.

"Fine. And I'll buy you a new plastic shovel," she smiled.

--

I originally asked some of the sandle shippers in the CSI forum I frequent if they know of any cute Greg/Sara stories where they meet as children. I think there's a Grissom/Sara story floating out there where an adult Grissom meets up with a young Sara. That's... not what I was looking for. So since no one knew of any, I took it upon myself to write one. Anyway, if there are any stories where Greg and Sara meet at a young age, please tell me! I'd love to read and review them. If not, maybe writers will be inspired to write their own sandle-as-children stories (and if you do, PM me the story or tell me in the review section.)

Thanks for reading! And once again, I hope the sandle shippers liked this fluff.