Hey guys, another story for you! For a while, I've been thinking: what if Greg and Morgan had been together from the start? What if they already knew each other before they started working together? I know, I know - a lot of episodes show they didn't know each other yet, but just forget about that as you read this story, okay? ;) It's going to be three parts... and I hope you'll enjoy this first part! :)

Chapter 1 - A stranger on a flight

After he had gotten on the plane, Greg froze as he got close to his row, unable to help but think: 'Yes!' He was sitting in row 26 with seats A and B together – seat 26B was his and in seat 26A was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long blonde hair and even from where he was standing he could see her blue-green eyes. He instantly felt attracted to her, something that had never really happened to him before. Yes, of course he had seen beautiful women before and liked them, but this time it felt different somehow… He smiled as he realized he'd get to spend over an hour sitting next to her. This really had to be his lucky day!

He walked on to his row, trying to act casual. He calmly put his carry-on luggage in the compartment above his seat before sitting down. The woman looked up at him for a moment before returning her attention to the window.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her even though she wasn't looking. "Guess I'm your neighbor for the next hour!"

She looked at him for another moment. "I guess."

Her attention immediately went back to the window. Greg didn't want to give up so easily, though.

"You going home or leaving home?" he asked her, still with the smile on his face. She looked at him, an empty expression on her face. "Both."

He raised his eyebrows at her mysterious answer. Before he could ask her to explain it, she snapped: "Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk, okay?"

He quickly held up his hands. "Okay."

He took the onboard magazine and started flipping through it. Lucky day… yeah, right! Why would someone like her be interested in him?

Morgan glanced at her neighbor from the corner of her eyes. She suddenly realized how rude she had sounded. It wasn't his fault she was in a bad mood, he had just tried to make conversation!

She glanced at him again, a little longer this time, and started to feel even worse when she saw how cute he really was. Maybe not men's swimsuit commercial cute, but still cute. She remembered seeing he had dark eyes and his light brown, almost sandy colored hair was a little spiky. The little spikes told her he was used to wearing his hair like this, but that he had just had it cut. She rolled her eyes when the thought went through her mind. Typical SID behavior! Or CSI, as she was hoping to become.

She gently touched her neighbor's arm. He was still flipping through the onboard magazine, trying very hard to show her he wasn't going to bother her again.

"I'm sorry," she said when he looked up at her. "I didn't mean to sound so rude. I'm just not having a good day, but I don't want to bother you with it."

He put the onboard magazine away, still looking at her. "Why not? Maybe you should bother me with it…"

She frowned and raised her eyebrows at the same time. What was he on about?

He saw the confusion on her face and quickly started to explain what he had meant: "I don't know you and you don't know me. After this flight there's an almost one hundred percent chance we'll never see each other again, meaning I can just forget about what you said. In the worst case scenario I'll have the worst hour of my life, best case scenario I can help make your day a little better…"

In his own mind it sounded like a perfect explanation. She could talk, he would listen and keep looking at her for an entire hour without having to explain his staring. It was perfect!

It actually didn't sound so bad what he said… What did she have to lose? Boring a total stranger for a little over an hour? And he was right: in the best case scenario he could help make her day a little better.

"Okay," she said as the stewardess started to announce the safety video. "I told you I was both leaving and going home as LA used to be my home, but I'm trying to find a new home in Las Vegas."

She lowered her voice as the safety video began: "I just lost my job and I'm flying to Las Vegas to find a new job."

Her neighbor smiled pitiful at her. "Guess that's indeed not the best day… But there's plenty of jobs in Las Vegas, you won't have any trouble finding one, I'm sure!"

She looked at him with her eyebrows raised up high. "You sure about that? Cause I have to go beg my father for one!"

The safety video had ended and the plane started moving away from the gate. With her voice back to a normal volume level she continued: "My parents split up years ago and I haven't spoken to my Dad since then. The only times we talked, I told him I didn't want to see or hear from him ever again. But now I have to go face him and ask him if he has a job for me."

He wondered what kind of job she was looking for if only talking to her Dad could help her. He didn't ask her, though, he just said: "Well, at least you know the person you'll have your job interview with. That could be an advantage!"

"You don't know my Dad," she said. "If you did, you'd prefer a stranger as well!"

"Maybe you'll feel really proud of yourself after talking to him," he suggested. She looked up at him, a smile slowly appearing on her face. "You really see the bright side of everything, don't you?"

He shyly shrugged his shoulders. This time she gave him a real smile. "You were right, you did make my day better."

He held out his hand to her. "Greg."

"Morgan," she said as she shook his hand. Morgan? Why did that name sound so familiar again? He decided not to think about it, one of his mother's many friends he had met the past week probably had the same name.

Greg… Where did she remember that name from again? She just couldn't remember anymore.

"So, what about you?" she said, trying to change the subject. "You going home or leaving home?"

"Both," he immediately answered. She grinned a little at him. "Don't tell me you're going through the same thing as I do!"

"No, but it's still a little of both," he smiled at her. "I was born and raised in San Gabriel, that's not too far from LA, but I've been living in Las Vegas for years now. Every vacation I have I go back home, though, and then it feels like San Gabriel is my home again."

He was really cute when he smiled! She couldn't help but feel a little dizzy when he smiled at her. Come on, Morgan, get a grip, she warned herself. You can't fall in love with a total stranger you just met on a plane and will never see again after you've landed!

"Must be nice to have two places you can call home," she softly said to him, smiling a little. He felt his heart skipping a beat when she smiled at him like that. She really had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen!

"I'm sure you'll soon feel right at home in Vegas as well," he tried to reassure her. His reward was another smile. "I hope so! I haven't been in Vegas for years, has anything changed lately?"

"More casinos… More hotels… More tourists losing their money…" he summed up. She grinned at him. "Just like I thought: nothing has changed!"

He smiled at her and started talking about a few good things in Vegas that had changed lately. She happily joined in the conversation, which soon changed subjects. It went from Vegas history to food to hotels in funny places to pets… It seemed like they could talk about anything, even though they hardly knew each other. And the closer they got to Vegas the more Greg realized he was falling in love with this beautiful woman sitting next to him.

By the time the captain announced they were approaching the Las Vegas airport Morgan started to feel nervous again, but mostly disappointed. She'd never see Greg again after this, she didn't want this to end just yet! They had been talking non-stop the past hour about almost everything, something that had never happened to her before. She liked him, he was totally cute and whenever he smiled at her, she felt butterflies in her stomach. How could she not see him again after the plane had landed?

How could he not see her again after the plane had landed? He wanted to postpone the moment for as long as possible, so he asked her: "Do you have a place to stay in Vegas yet?"

"Yeah, I got a room in a hotel," she told him. "I didn't wanna go apartment hunting until I was sure I had a job."

"Smart move," he honestly thought out loud. "Would you like me to give you a ride to your hotel?"

She immediately smiled at him. "Yeah, that would be nice!"

She just had time to tell him which hotel she was staying at before the pressure on her ears from the landing procedure made her stop talking for a while. She looked out of the window to hide the huge smile on her face. She didn't have to say goodbye to him just yet!

When the plane had finally landed and taxied to the gate, Greg waited patiently till he and Morgan could get off.

"So when do you have your job interview?" he asked her while they were waiting.

"Tomorrow," she told him. "If you like I can let you know how it went…"

"Yeah, I'd like that!" he said, hoping he didn't sound too eager. "I'll give you my number…"

"Here…" She handed him her cellphone. "Put your number in, I'll call you."

He handed her his cellphone in return so she could put her number in as well. Just as they were both done, they were allowed off the plane. Greg showed Morgan the way over to the luggage belts, even though she would have been more than capable to find them herself. He helped her with her suitcase, collected his own and then took her over to his car.

As soon as they were outside Morgan shook her head. "I really have to get used to the temperature here again! I had forgotten how different from LA it feels around here!"

"It's not always like this, though," he told as he lifted her suitcase in his car. While they drove to her hotel he told her about some crazy storms they had had with thunder and hail stones and about some extremely cold nights up in the mountains.

"Great," Morgan said. "Heat, thunder, hail stones and cold… I'm really glad I came to Vegas!"

But she laughed, making him smile as well.

Through the window she saw the sign for her hotel. She had to decide now, even though she had already decided she wanted to see him again by giving her his number.

"Look, do you wanna come inside and have a drink with me or so?" she asked as he parked his car. "My treat, to thank you for driving me here!"

He nodded and she noticed a happy spark in his eyes as he said: "Sure!"

He sounded just as eager as he had before when she had suggested she'd let him know how her job interview had gone. There was no doubt about it: he liked her as well!

After she had checked in, they went over to the hotel bar and sat there for nearly two hours – talking and laughing, like they had known each other for years. Finally Greg knew he had to go now as he still had to get home before his shift tonight.

"I should probably try to get some sleep before meeting my Dad tomorrow," Morgan said with a sigh after he had apologized for really having to leave now.

"You'll be fine," he tried to reassure her. In a desperate attempt to stay just a little longer with her he asked: "Can I walk you over to the elevators?"

She smiled warmly at him. "Yeah, of course you can."

She grabbed her suitcase and walked over to the elevators with him. After pressing the button she looked at him. "I'm really glad you sat next to me on that plane."

"Me too," he smiled at her.

This was her chance, she knew it… She hesitated for only a split-second before taking a step towards him and kissing him softly on the lips.

She surprised him with her kiss, but he almost immediately forgot the surprise effect she had had on him and kissed her back. Before they had a chance to get lost in their kiss the elevator told him it had arrived. Both unwillingly they broke apart.

"I'll call you tomorrow," she promised him. She grabbed her suitcase and entered the elevator, looking back at him and smiling as the doors closed. With a huge smile on his face he turned around and started walking towards his car. Something told him this wouldn't be the last time he'd see her.