Title: An Open Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Carl Hickman/Louis Daniel
Fandom: Crossing Lines
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 782
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Carl Hickman or Louis Daniel, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

He had said yes. He was going to marry Carl.

Louis couldn't hold back a smile as he lifted his hand to admire the engagement ring on his finger. It seemed so right, so natural. He'd never been happier in his life.

It still seemed almost unbelievable to him that he was actually engaged to the man he loved. He hadn't expected this to happen. He'd never thought that Carl would ask.

He'd thought that Carl would be perfectly happy to simply be together, to be a couple without the bonds of marriage. He should have known better, really. For all of his protests of being a rebel, in some ways, Carl was a traditional man. Being married to the person he loved was important to him.

As for himself, Louis had thought that his first marriage would be the only one. He hadn't contemplated being married to Carl, as he'd thought that it would never happen.

But now, doors were opening to the future, and marriage was one of them. What had seemed impossible was now going to happen, and he was glad of it.

Being married to Carl was going to be wonderful.

Of course, there would be people who would look askance at them, who would shake their heads and wonder if Louis had gone insane. But he didn't care about their opinions.

The only thing that mattered was that he and Carl were happy. The two of them belonged together; they were indeed two halves of one whole, melding together perfectly.

Not only were they a good couple in their personal lives, they made a formidable professional team. They worked well together; the team came together around the two of them, and even Michael Dorn admitted that Carl and Louis were the heart and soul of the team, the ones who pulled it together.

They had managed to find a happy medium between their work and their personal lives, something that he had never been able to do with Rebecca.

He had loved her, in his own way. But Carl was the person who he was intended for, the true love of his life. Carl was the person who his heart had always reached out for.

A whole new life was starting for him, when he'd thought that his life was as good as over. And he was going to grab hold of that life with everything that he had, and live it to the fullest. It was an unexpected gift, and he wasn't going to turn his back on this second chance that he'd been given.

What would being married to Carl be like? he asked himself, smiling broadly. Oh, it would be wonderful, all right, and it would probably also be frustrating.

The two of them wouldn't always get along. He was prepared for that. They would have times when they fought like cats and dogs. He was sure of it. They would have arguments.

But through it all, they would still be in love. After all, they belonged together.

He'd loved Carl from the first moment they had met. There had been a meeting of souls when their gazes had met; he had known that he belonged to this man.

Back then, he'd been afraid to acknowledge how he felt; he had run from those emotions, and he had spent far too many years regretting his actions.

Oh, he had made a decent life for himself. But with the death of his son, that life had fallen apart; he had wandered in a haze of grief after that. If Carl hadn't come back into his life, he would have probably been dead by now; he would have been too reckless, too careless with his safety.

Thankfully, that hadn't happened. He and Carl were together now, and they would stay together for the rest of their lives. Louis hoped that their life together would be a long and happy one.

He couldn't know what the future held for them. No one could. But whatever that future was, he would embrace it with open arms, and an open heart.

Louis couldn't stop smiling as he looked at the ring, the symbol of their union.

The future was wide open, and there were a million possibilities in store for them.

Whatever that future held, he was more than ready for it.

***