The hotel was beautiful. A limo had been waiting for them at the airport, and the driver had been told to look for a couple with a big black dog, so there hadn't been any trouble figuring out who he was supposed to be picking up. Jack had one arm around Sam and the other was holding the handles of both of their suitcases. It wasn't comfortable, but he wanted to hold her, too.

Sam had her left arm around Jack and the other hand was holding Jaffer's leash – although the lab was behaving beautifully, and had been the entire trip.

The driver jumped forward and took Jack's bags from him with a huge smile both for the newlyweds and for Jaffer.

"Welcome to Jamaica!" He told them as he turned and opened the back door of the limo with his foot. He'd already hit the button that opened the trunk of the limo, and he deposited the bags there while Jack shook his hand to get feeling back in it.

"Thank you," Sam said, smiling as Jack opened the door a little further so she could precede him into the long white car.

"The bar is stocked, Sir," the driver had told them as he closed the door behind Jack. He didn't wait for a reply; he simply ran around the car and got behind the wheel. It was a half hour drive to the hotel from the airport and it was late. He knew they'd come in from the western half of the united states, so it wouldn't seem so late to them, but he was sure they'd want to have a chance to relax a bit after the long flight. Besides, the driver knew they were newlyweds, and even with the big dog, he was sure they had other things on their minds right then besides a sight-seeing tour.

They'd cuddled the entire drive to the hotel. Hands slid along cloth – and occasionally under it – but there wasn't anything too naughty going on in the darkened back seat of the limo. Jack was reserved by nature when it came to such things; after all, although with Sam it was sometimes easy to forget that.

The service at the hotel was first class as well. They'd been met by a small army of valets and doormen and the only thing Jack had to hold on the way to their room was Sam's hand. Which he did willingly. Sam still had Jaffer's leash, and when he hesitated at a potted tree that was in one of the lobbies, she groaned softly and prayed he wasn't going to stop and take a pee right then and there. From the looks on the bellboy's face, he was hoping the same thing.

They both visibly relaxed when Jaffer finished his sniffing and left the tree dry.

"Your room is ground floor," the man told them as they walked. "There is a sliding door and a small area for your pet to... do whatever he needs to do."

"Do you get dogs here often?" Sam had asked, surprised that the classy hotel had arranged such a thing.

"Oh, yes! Occasionally someone will want to bring their dog – or cat – with them, and they get first claim to the garden room. It is fenced, so he will be fine. He's a lab, right?"

"Yup."

Jack had answered that question, unable to keep out of any conversation that was about Jaffer. It was just the way he was.

"Beautiful dogs! And friendly."

Of course, Jaffer was looking cheerfully around him, anyways, so there was no doubting that he was friendly. A dozen guests had already walked past them as they walked to their room, and twice they'd been stopped so Jaffer could get acquainted.

"He's a pussycat," Jack agreed. Of course, neither mentioned that the pussycat had tried to rip a guy's throat out less than 12 hours before. That probably wouldn't have gone down well with the hotel management.

Sam hid her smile.

At the door, the bellboy handed Jack the keycard to the room, and asked if he knew how to use it.

"Oh, I've seen a few of them in my day," Jack had drawled. After all, the entire base was filled with security doors that needed keycards like this one.

"I will leave you, then. If you need anything, feel free to pick up the phone in your room and dial 0. The operator will call me."

"Thanks."

The man gave Jaffer another quick look, then bowed slightly and headed back down the hall.

Jack opened the door, but reached out and grabbed Sam's arm when she started through it.

"Were do you think you're going?"

"What?"

He rolled his eyes and took Jaffer's leash from her hand.

"Stay there."

He entered the room first – well, second, after Jaffer – and set the bags inside the door. Then he came out into the hallway, and scooped her up into his arms before she realized what he was doing.

"It's a tradition, Sam," he told her, as he carried her across the thresh hold of their room.

She wrapped her arms lightly around his neck and rested her cheek against his, more than willing to be in his arms.

"I thought you hated traditions?"

"I hate traditions that keep me away from you. I love the ones that let me hold you closer."

He turned his head, then, and kissed her gently. A soft, slow kiss that soon grew heated. Sam was glad she was still in his arms, because she knew that her knees would have turned to jelly by the time they separated, coming up for air.

"Close the door, Jack," she whispered. "It's late, and I'm ready for bed..."

He smiled, and set her on her feet, his eyes shining with love as he turned and closed the door, then locked it. He didn't walk back over to her, though. To Sam's surprise, he turned to his bags and started rummaging through them.

"We can't go to bed yet, Sam," he told her, his voice muffled because he was turned away from her – which was giving her a fine view of his bottom, but it was a lousy way to make a conversation.

"Why not?"

"We have another tradition to fill, first." He turned around and she saw he was holding a CD in his hand. "You still owe me that first dance."

Sam smiled.