Author: Regency

Title: Let Them Talk
Characters: Tracy, Mac
Rating: K+
Keywords: Alternate Universe
Summary: Tracy and Mac take their relationship public at the Policemen’s Ball.
Author’s Notes: Yes, I know it’s the Nurses’ Ball, but I wanted there to be a Policemen’s Ball. Also, everyone needs a break from LuNacy sometimes. Okay, not everyone. I've never been everyone.

She was scared. He knew she was. This was the first time they’d be appearing in public as a couple, a big step for something that was just supposed to be a fling. Everyone would see them together tonight and everyone would judge; it could very well be a disaster.

Mac was prepared for that, but he wasn’t sure she was. He slid over on the seat and touched her thigh. She tore her attention away from the urban scenery gliding past and eased into Mac’s proffered embrace. They sat wrapped in one another for the rest of the journey to the MetroCourt.

He felt Tracy begin to withdraw into her shell as the familiar edifice rose into sight. She untangled herself from him at the last possible moment, ending their embrace with a light kiss on his jaw. He gave her space to collect herself. They wouldn’t be the same people here that they were when they were alone, at his place or any of the dozens of other places they felt comfortable enough to be themselves together.

He adjusted his tie. She smoothed her skirt again. The door opened and the Police Commissioner came to face the night. The usual contingent of Port Charles media photographers greeted him and he smiled, expertly fielding their intentionally prying questions. He linked his hands behind him, counting down time in his head. She was still in the car, not quite patiently waiting for her cue.

When he was sure he would either collapse or face Tracy’s wrath, he extended his hand into the shadows of the limousine and guided her out into the open. Tracy stepped out, facing the monster media with a photogenic smile. Mac held his breath. This could go wrong; Tracy could change her mind. He waited.

For a full second the flashbulbs stopped exploding and there was only him and Tracy on the red carpet, looking at each other. He put out his hand and it hung steady as stone in mid-air. Inwardly, he was scared out of his wits. This was the true test of what they had.

She laid her hand, palm to palm, on top of his. Just restraining a massive sigh of relief, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. Feminine strength personified.

He couldn’t explain how he’d gotten so far gone, how he of all people had fallen in love with a woman like Tracy Quartermaine, but he knew he had. The next step had to be saying it out loud.

He felt Tracy pull closer to him as they entered the MetroCourt lobby and, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the cool, understated brunette of his dreams and of their own private reality. There were glances already, but she only stared resolutely ahead. He followed suit until they entered the elevator.

When the doors closed, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her like his life depended on it. He wasn’t an emotional man--this was probably the most emotional response that could be evoked from him suddenly--but he was never more sure of how he felt about the heroine in this story than he was when she stared up at him and showed no regret.

Damn the press, damn the people, damn their families’ opinions. They would be together. Unlike the half dozen men who’d come before him, Mac was prepared to do what it took to keep Tracy. If that meant submitting to some probing questions, so be it. If that meant being judged, it would be no different than anything else he’d been through in his role as police commissioner. Loving Tracy might have changed him, but she wouldn’t change his life.

The lights on the walls blinked as they passed each floor. Mac put on his mask and Tracy had yet to remove hers. Tracy smiled at him and he saw an honest, sincere, affection. It was more than he’d hoped for. He offered her his arm again as they came to a delicate halt. The doors opened.

They stepped out together.