Title: The Right Thing

Author: Ms. Quartermaine

Summary: Written for the LJ Tracy Q. Ficathon. Challenge: Anniversary. Tracy and Luke spend their one year anniversary in the Markham Islands, but there's just one problem. Tracy wants a divorce, and this time, she's serious.

CHAPTER ONE

Insects. The pesky, little creatures buzzed around in Tracy Quartermaine's face as she stood behind a swaying tree. It had taken longer than she hoped, but she finally managed to track down that damn husband of hers…The husband that she lend a helping hand to in an effort to save him from the brutality of the "foot floggers" of the Markham Islands. The same husband that repaid her generosity by leaving her at the altar...to rescue a former flame who was willing to let an entire town of people die.

She didn't understand it. What she did understand was this husband meant a great deal to her, and she wasn't going to let some conniving tart steal him from under her. No. So…1 container of sunscreen, 2 bottles of insect repellent, and 3 pairs of expensive shoes later, she was going to take action. She watched disgustedly while Holly Scorpio, in a slinky summer dress with printed sunflowers, twirled her way towards Luke Spencer and then gracefully placed herself into his arms.

"All right. That's it," she spoke to herself, right before running into the rundown cottage. "Lucas Lorenzo Spencer!" she screamed.

"Spanky Buns?" he sounded surprised. "You look—" He surveyed Tracy Quartermaine from toes to head. Her pearly white shoes were no longer pearly, but instead covered in moist sand and dirt. The bottom of her slacks had been torn, and the sleeves of her jacket had been rolled up to the best of her abilities. Tracy's hair was disheveled, and tiny droplets of sweat fell from her forehead. Yep. Some people weren't made for the outdoors. Snooty businesswomen fell into this category. "—um, good," he finished. "This will have to wait, English. My wife is here."

"I can see that," she spoke daintily. "Take as long as you like. I'll be waiting in the bedroom," she said, practically prancing out of the room.

"Oh, I bet you will be," muttered Tracy, but Holly hadn't heard. Oh, how she would have loved to smack down that floozy right then and there, but after a brief moment of thought, she decided it wasn't worth the breath. On the other hand, smacking down her husband was.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Tracy Quartermaine slapped him across the face. "I bent over backwards to help you and—"

"Ooh, there's an image I could get used to."

"Don't even," she warned. "Don't you even dare."

Her eyes were full of hatred, for which she was glad, seeing as it hid the sadness that she felt inside. "How could you do this?"

"Are you saying I should have let Holly die?"

"You want to talk death, Luke?" she spit out. "What about your daughter? The one that almost died because of her?"

"Not true," Luke insisted. Holly didn't withhold the antidote until after Lulu had recovered. Same with your son."

"And that makes it all right?" She couldn't comprehend Luke's reasoning. Bottom line was that people lost their lives because this woman was too selfish to hand over the medicine.

"She was trying to make a buck." He spoke as if it was no big deal. "We both would've done the same."

"No," she shook her head. "I lie, I steal, I blackmail, but I do not try and make money off the deaths of innocent people."

Luke didn't respond.

"And then you pursue a relationship with this woman…"

"Rekindle a relationship," he corrected.

She shook her head, "Because that's so much better," she spoke sarcastically.

"Well, Spanky, what can I say? You insist there's nothing going on between us. I have needs, you know. Am I supposed to just sit and around and wait for you to fulfill them?"

"No," she whispered. How dare he make his attraction to Holly my fault.

"Ohh…so you do want me!" he smiled. "Well come on, Spunky. Show me what you can do," he paused, loosening his shirt collar. "Although I'm not sure anything could top our wedding night."

Tracy spoke quietly, "That's not what I meant, Luke. You won't have to wait any longer because as soon as I can, I'm filing for divorce."

"You what?" Surely, this was just another game. He'd ask for a divorce, and she'd refuse. She'd ask for a divorce, and he's refuse. It was the dance they did.

"You heard me. You and English," she spoke in a delicate British accent, "can have all the time together you want," she began to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm going to treat myself to a wonderful spa back on the other side of the island. Would've stopped there earlier, but was too focused on getting to you. Hmm," she laughed. "What was I thinking?"

"Spunky, wait—" He didn't want her to go. He hated this. Things got too close for them, and he'd take off because that's what he did. Commitment scared Luke Spencer. That's why Tracy Quartermaine was his perfect match in the beginning. They enjoyed being around each other. Neither of them actually expected their sham of a marriage to turn into a real one…well, as real as real could get with these two…but it had. Then came the warm fuzzies, a phone call from a woman who just wanted some fun, and out the window he went…literally.

"Good bye, Luke," she spoke softly, interrupting his thoughts.

"That's it?" He almost seemed upset.

"That's it," she smiled slightly, finally realizing that she was doing the right thing.

For a year, she had put up with the lies, the cheating, the blackmail, the humiliation, the kidnappings…the list was endless. And she wasn't going to deal with it anymore. Tracy Quartermaine was stronger than that. Daddy was right. Chasing after a man was pathetic and undignified. She should have never allowed herself to stoop that low.

"I got Justus on speed-dial. As soon as I can get a damn signal, he'll be hearing from me."

"But until then, we're still married," Luke insisted.

"Right. Listen," she ordered harshly. "I don't care that the divorce isn't official. I, for one," she pointed to herself, "no longer consider myself morally bound to you," she pointed her index finger at her husband. And then, she removed her wedding ring. "Here you go, Mr. Spencer. I'm sure it'll look great on Holly." She had no idea where in the hell that came from.

Luke laughed, "Spunky! You're not serious, are you? Why would I marry Holly?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Why would you sleep with her when you were married to me?" It wasn't supposed to be about the jealousy…not even a teeny-tiny bit. Luke Spencer had proven himself to be a worthless husband way before Holly Sutton Scorpio Whatever-she-called-herself entered the picture. But…it was hard for Tracy Quartermaine not to be jealous of the strikingly gorgeous, much younger woman…

PREVIEW: Tracy runs into Dillon and Lulu and tells them about the divorce.