Title: Confessions… the fourth

Fandom: General Hospital

Characters: Luke and Tracy Quartermaine Spencer

Rating: G

Summary: Evening vignette

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

They were walking along the stone pathway in old Quebec City. Husband and wife were holding hands. Curiously, this wasn't something they did at home, but any time they were travelling, they walked in this manner. They stopped to look over the St. Lawrence towards Levis, as the sun started to set…

"Tracy, there is something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Hmmm?"

"I… oh, this is hard… we've come so far and I don't want secrets, but you're going to hate me for this one."

"Luke Spencer, what are you talking about? What have you done now?"

Looking away from her, Luke continued. "It's not something I've done now, it's what I said I did on our wedding night. Tracy, we never slept together that night. I'm many things, but I just couldn't. Trust me, babe, I thought about it. You were very willing – and so beautiful. But I had a momentary lapse in bad judgement, and just watched you sleep."

Tracy just stood there. She wasn't sure if Luke was finished or not, so she waited.

"If I had told you the truth, Wife, you would have been able to dump me and everything would have been a wasted effort. Then after awhile, I didn't want you to know because I was having so damn much fun. Eventually, after Alan's death, it became a moot point."

"So why are you telling me now?" Tracy asked, in the flattest tone Luke had ever heard. His heart sank as he watched her. What an ass he was, he should have kept this to himself. He'd blown it – again.

"I don't know. I don't know. Maybe this recovery has messed with my head. I can't keep secrets from you, Tracy. You are the only person on the planet that brings the truth out of me. Even when I'm working an angle, I can't keep lying to you for long. I'm sorry, I've messed this up, haven't I?"

Luke watched as Tracy's shoulders began to shake. She turned away from him, which made him feel like the lowest being on the planet. He'd hurt her so deeply. His big mouth, why did he start this? The sounds she was making were ripping through his heart.

As he watched her, she slowly turned towards him. He was prepared for almost anything, but not the complete mirth he saw in her eyes. She wasn't sobbing, she was laughing hysterically. Luke's jaw dropped open at the sight of her.

"Close you mouth, Luke, you'll catch flies", she laughed. His expression was priceless.

"Tracy… I... wha... Spanky?"

"Did you honestly think I didn't know that? I knew that morning we hadn't slept together, especially not three times. I'll spare you the biology lesson, but a woman's body can tell her these things."

"Why didn't you say something? If you knew, you could have ended the marriage that day."

Tracy's laughter slowed as she sobered. She was no longer looking at him in delight; she was looking at him for strength.

"Because, Luke, you gave a lonely woman someone to be with. For the first time in years, I could actually say 'my husband', and it wasn't something that I had orchestrated. As long as the money was what you wanted, and everyone thought I was duped, I could enjoy being Mrs. Spencer. I didn't expect it to last. I certainly didn't expect us to actually fall in love. But while it lasted, I wasn't alone."

Anyone walking along the pier that night would have seen a couple deeply in love and oblivious to the world around them. The husband was holding his wife close to his heart, kissing her face and eventually finding her lips. As they pulled apart and looked at each other, witnesses became speechless. These were the faces of pure love.