He did stop long enough to clean up a bit and shave. Not that he wanted to impress Cassie or the guys, but Ian was well aware that as a cadet of the USAFA, he was supposed to set an example of military decorum, and part of that was how he looked out in public – even out of uniform. He'd learned that at his father's knee, and there were some lessons you don't ignore.

Once he was clean and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt – and the pie was gone – he pocketed Jack's keys and pulled on his leather jacket. Jack gave him Shawn's address, and told him that they'd most likely be home when he got back, but if they weren't they'd leave him a note telling him where they were. He nodded, and left, and Sam looked over at Jack with a smile once the door was closed.

"Cassie's going to love you forever for suggesting to him that he take her with him."

"I thought she already loved me forever...?"

"Well... now she'll love you that much more."

Jack grinned, and pulled her down on top of him, cuddling her close as he moved a little to make room for her on the couch with him.

"As long as you love me forever, I'll be happy."

She cuddled against him, kissing him softly.

"I'll love you even longer than that, Jack O'Neill..."

"I love you, too, Sam..." His smile softened, and he heard the truck pull out of the driveway. "Well... now that we got rid of the kid... can you think of any way to spend the rest of the afternoon?"

"I thought you weren't planning on leaving the couch until bedtime?" She asked him, her hand sliding deliciously under his shirt.

"Oh... I'd say it's bedtime..."

She giggled softly, but didn't disagree.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Ian didn't have any trouble finding the Fraiser's house. It was right where he'd left it, after all. He pulled up, parking on the street since Janet's car and another car he didn't recognize were in the driveway, and got out of the truck, preening just a little because the truck was really just as cool as the convertible, and he was definitely going to have to get himself one.

He walked up to the door, and rang the bell, immediately hearing Cassie's dog start barking and scuffling at the door. It opened a moment later, and Ian found himself face to face with a stranger. A guy about 40 something, with dark curly hair and absolutely no military look about him. Ian had been around military guys and women all his life, and he knew when someone was – and wasn't – and this guy wasn't.

"You must be Ian..."

Ian bit back a comment that immediately came to mind – he recognized the voice as that of the guy on the phone, and it was an instant reaction to want to be a smart ass and get back a little for the guy giving him a hard time on the phone. Instead, though, he nodded.

"Guilty."

The man smiled, and opened the door a bit more, allowing him to come in.

"I'm Emmett Bregman."

"This is mom's boyfriend," Cassie said coming up behind the two, dressed in a skirt and sweater, with a pair of black knee high boots to compliment the outfit. She smiled at Emmett, who gave her a smile in return, and then Cassie turned to Ian. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are."

"Hello, Ian," Janet said, coming up behind him as well. He noticed her eyes went to his head, and he was sure she was trying to think of a way to get him to sit down long enough to let her look at the stitches there, but Ian wasn't going to give her a chance if he could avoid it.

"Hi, Doctor Fraiser. Do you have a set time you want Cassandra back by?"

"Just don't stay out too late."

"We won't."

"Let's go, Ian." Cassie smiled at her mom, and Janet knew she was eager to get away from her and Emmett and be alone with Ian. She understood – and wasn't too worried. She trusted the cadet.

Ian opened the door for Cassie, nodded goodbye to Emmett and Janet, and followed the girl out the door and to the truck.

"Well, he seems like... a nice guy..." Emmett said.

Janet smiled.

"He's fine, Emmett," she told him, taking his hand and using it to put his arm around her waist. "Besides, I'm glad he called, because Cassie can do something besides hang out with us, now. It'll be fun for her to spend a little time with some of her friends instead of her mom."

He smiled, and hugged her tight.

"I suppose so... as long as you trust him-"

"He's not going to do anything inappropriate with or to her," Janet told him – again. She did like the fact that Emmett was so protective of Cass, but it wasn't necessary in this instance. "Now..." She pulled him back inside and closed the door. "Weren't you saying something earlier about just how much you missed me?"

He smiled, and kissed her.

"Want me to show you?"

OOOOOOOOO

"So... your mom's boyfriend, huh?" Ian asked, looking back at the door as he held the passenger door of the truck open for Cassandra.

"Yeah." She smiled as she got into her seat. She loved it when a guy opened the door like that for her – usually, though, Jack was the only one who did it. And sometimes Emmett.

"What does he do?"

"He's a journalist – makes documentaries and stuff like that."

Ian tossed a final look over his shoulder, in time to see the door close. He supposed he was just grumpy about the whole telephone call thing and wanted a reason not to like Emmett. Not that it really mattered, he supposed. It wasn't like he was planning on hanging out with the guy or anything. Turning his attention to Cassie, because she was the one he was with, after all, Ian made sure she was all the way in closed the truck door, then walked around and got behind the wheel.

"You look nice today," he told her absently, as he started the truck.

Cassie blushed, and smoothed down the front of her skirt, glad she'd decided to dress up just a little.

"Thank you. You look good, too."

Oh, did he ever.

He nodded his thanks, and pulled the truck out into the road.

"You'll have to give me directions to Shawn's house," he told her, telling her the address. "I've never been there."

She'd only been there once herself – with Sam once – but she knew the road he lived on, so she was fairly confident she could find it again. She gave him directions and they drove in a comfortable semi-silence to meet up with the others.

OOOOOOOOO

Ian recognized the jeep in the driveway when he pulled into the Adams' about half an hour later. It was the one that River had driven Shawn and Gina to Jack and Sam's on Thanksgiving, and presumably belonged to Shawn's mom or dad. He turned off the truck and opened the door for Cassie, and then the two of them went up the walk and Ian reached his hand out to ring the bell – just as the door opened, and River's blonde head poked out.

"We gave at the office," he told them with a grin, pretending to slam the door shut.

"You're going to be donating blood in a minute," Ian warned him.

River laughed, and looked back over his shoulder as a woman came up to the door behind him.

"Let them in, River," Dotty said, smiling and opening the door wider so that Cassie and Ian could come into the house. "You're letting all the heat out."

Cassie smiled and entered the house, with River wrapping his arm around her waist and taking her in, greeting her as if she were a long lost friend and he hadn't seen in her forever. Ian had frozen the moment he'd heard her; his eyes alarmed, and his body tense.

He knew that voice. It was one he'd heard in his dreams only a few nights before – and not one he'd ever heard before that. And the minute he froze, looking at her like that, Dotty knew that he knew, and he couldn't even recognize the emotions that flickered across her face.