Image credit: JAG: Tony Esparza/CBS

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JAG

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You recently appeared in Playboy -- fully clothed. How'd you pull that off?
I wore a bikini in an episode last year, and right after that Playboy called with an offer. It was definitely a nice chunk of change. I thought about it for ten minutes, but when I listed the pros and cons, it was SO evident that it wasn't what I wanted to do. So we decided to do 20 questions instead, and they took some really pretty, sexy pictures. So I got to do a sassy little interview and I didn't have to get naked.

You're a cancer survivor. How did that change your life?
I had thyroid cancer, and if you're going to have cancer, that's the one to pick. They just took out my thyroid gland. I'm totally fine. I take a hormone pill every day, and I don't have any side effects. But at the time -- 11 years ago -- it was pretty scary. I was just starting out as an actress, and I was a little party girl at UCLA, totally not responsible. But when this happened, it was enough for me to say I need to change my life. And I did.

You have an ankle tattoo that has to be covered up for the show. Is that a military guideline?
Officers aren't allowed to have tattoos that show. Enlisted people are, so I don't know what happens if you're enlisted and decide to become an officer. Thank god for laser surgery, I guess. But there's a lot of things like that. You can't cross your arms when addressing a senior officer, for example; and higher-ranking officers walk to the right of lower ranking people. It's a little restrictive as an actress, because you just have to stand there a lot of the time, no tapping your pencil or chewing gum.

So, when is your character finally going to get it on with Harm (David James Elliott)?
I know it's been very frustrating for the audience, but we've made it work. The first few years we played it as an attraction between the two of us, but nothing was ever said about it. Then it came up, but one of us would always have a boyfriend or girlfriend, so nothing could happen. Then I got engaged, and we had an episode where we told each other all our feelings and were wondering why we didn't say something before. Now the engagement didn't work out, but we still can't get together because of some things you're going to see in coming episodes. But it's going to be fun, because I've been getting the scripts and thinking, I can't believe I'm saying that!