disclaimer: still not mine. (bursts into tears)

a/n: to everyone who reviewed, thank you so much! you guys are the gr8est, and your response blew me away! i hope you like this one too - it's not quite as hot, lol, but i really wanted to get some quality cassie time in, and sam had to make herself beautiful. (maybe jack will spruce himself up a bit, lol!) anyway, please let me know if this is as good as the first one!

Sam took the rest of the afternoon off work. Jack had been right – she was burnt out, and she did need some time to relax. In addition, if she was going to Florida with three hot guys (and maybe she'd meet some more while down there), she desperately needed to find something to wear!

She rang Cassie on her cell phone – luckily the teenager was on vacation – and arranged to meet her at the mall for some quality girl time. Five hours later both of them collapsed into the comfy leather booth of an old-school diner, exhausted but happy.

Cassie ordered the biggest ice cream sundae on the menu; Sam hummed and hahed briefly, but decided to forget her bikini diet – there really wasn't enough time for it to be effective, anyway – and ordered one for herself. All the hard work out of her way, she leaned back and smiled.

"Cassie, is my new look really worth all the money I spent in that salon you dragged me to?" she asked.

Cassie sent an admiring eye over her friend. She still found it difficult to believe that Sam didn't know how beautiful she really was. Tall, slim, blonde hair that Cassie would have killed for (though she was considering dying her own hair lighter) which was now coloured with gorgeous 'sun-streaks', deep blue eyes... Plus Sam had also gone for a full-body fake tan, and that set off her blonde hair even better.

"Sam, you're gorgeous," Cassie announced. "It was worth every penny."

Sam blushed. She still felt a little guilty about spending so much money on herself. "But the manicure won't last in the sea-water, and the guys will know my tan's not natural –"

Cassie held up a hand and Sam stopped mid-flow. "I'm obsessing again, aren't I?" Sam asked.

Cassie nodded, with a smile. "Yup. That's okay though – I love you anyway."

Sam smiled again, but was soon back to frowning. "And the clothes I bought – you don't think they're too, well, skimpy?"

She wasn't amused when Cassie began to laugh. "Sam, you're gorgeous, you're going to spend the holiday looking stunning, and Jack's eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you."

And she thought she'd been blushing before. "Cassie, he's my CO!"

Cassie smirked. "I know. Forbidden love – isn't it hot?"

And her cheeks just got hotter. "I don't love him!" Her voice came out somewhere between a squeak and a screech.

Cassie sighed. "Sam, he's crazy about you, you'd have to be blind not to see it."

Sam wondered who'd been responsible for removing her eyeballs. "Oh."

"And even if you don't do anything this week," Sam's eyebrows hit the ceiling, "You guys can still have a good time together, you know."

Sam could see the logic in what Cassie said, but she was worried it was fourteen year old girl logic, rather than the cool calm collectedness of an Air Force Major. "I guess."

The ice cream arrived and Sam dug in, desperate to avoid conversation. Cassie gave her a knowing look – shockingly knowing for a fourteen year old, in fact – and ate in silence as it was. It took a surprisingly short time for the two women to polish off such a vast amount of ice cream, but somehow they managed it. Finally Sam put her spoon down with a sigh, happy just to be able to relax.

Cassie had other ideas. "Come on, Sam, we haven't finished our shopping yet."

"Cassie, I'm tired." Sam didn't mean to whine like a teenage girl herself, it just came out that way. Unfortunate, really.

Cassie's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Come on, we've got to buy you a hot, sexy perfume that Jack will love!" She grabbed Sam by the hand and started pulling her out of the booth.

Sam started to protest, and then gave in. What would be the harm, after all? Jack wasn't exactly going to start sniffing her, but there was no harm in feeling good. No harm at all.