Title: The Future Is Coming
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Carl Hickman/Louis Daniel
Fandom: Crossing Lines
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,370
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.

***

What would their future be like?

Louis stood on the balcony of the hotel room he and Carl were staying in during their honeymoon in the south of France, looking out over the sea.

The waves came in slowly, inevitably; he knew that those waves were like his life, the past, present and future all rolling together into one whole.

The tide went in and out, just like happiness. He'd had great happiness when he had married Rebecca; even though he had known that she wasn't the true love of his life, he had cared deeply for her, and through the ups and downs of their marriage, it had mostly been a good one.

Of course, when Etienne was born, there had been more happiness, though that had been cruelly ripped away from them with the little boy's death.

Louis looked up at the fluffy white clouds above, a soft smile on his face. Something told him that Etienne was looking down on him now, smiling and happy for him.

Marrying Carl was the best thing he'd ever done for himself.

He was happier than he could have ever imagined being; this marriage would be better than good. This time, he had married his true love, his soul mate.

He belonged with Carl, more than he ever had with Rebecca. And he was sure that she was also looking down on the two of them and smiling for how things had worked out. He knew that she wouldn't want him to grieve for her and Etienne, but to be happy and to get on with his life.

It had taken him long enough to do that, hadn't it? And now, he was moving towards his future, a future that rested with the man he loved.

He had never been so happy in his life, not even when Etienne was born.

Perhaps he and Carl would adopt a child someday, Louis though, a smile curving his lips. He would love to do that. But that was something for the future.

Even given the fact that they both worked at a dangerous job, he was sure that at some point, they would decide to adopt and have a family. Still, it was early days; this was only their honeymoon, and they had plenty of time to think about the future.

That future stretched out ahead of them in glorious technicolor, a future that he was sure would be full of love, laughter and happiness.

Of course, there would be dangerous times for both of them, as well. Louis knew that neither he nor Carl would give up working with the team.

They shouldn't have to. They both loved what they did for a living.

After all, it was a part of both of them -- and it was also how they had met. He couldn't imagine himself or Carl doing anything else, really. They would simply have to make their work a part of their life, as well as their family, when they decided to have one.

That would happen, he assured himself. Carl might not have had children in the past, but Louis knew that he wanted them. They'd talked about it before.

Louis smiled at the thought of his husband holding a baby, a beatific smile on his face as he looked down at the child. He could just see that in his mind's eye.

Carl would be a wonderful father; he didn't doubt that for a moment. Any child would be lucky to grow up with him as a parent. And the baby would have a loving home, with two parents who would love and cherish it. He could definitely see that clearly in their future.

But again, the future was something that seemed far away at the moment.

But was it, really? he asked himself, the smile still on his lips. Every moment took him closer to that future, and he found that he wanted it to arrive sooner rather than later.

The future was coming upon them more quickly than he had realized it could. There was no need to wait too long for things that he had always wanted.

Raising a family with the man he had always loved was one of those things. Yes, they should give themselves a little time to get used ot being a married couple, but not too much time. After all, what was the use in waiting when they both knew just what they wanted?

There was no need to wait if they were both in agreement, Louis told himself. And he was sure that once they talked about it, Carl would feel just as he did.

They could start planning their future now.

It would be a glorious future, Louis told himself, his smile growing. He was married to the man he loved, and they could start a family. What could be better than that?

He turned his head as he heard Carl come up behind him, leaning back into his husband's embrace. Carl's warm arms wrapped around his waist, and he lowered his head to brush his lips across Louis' in a soft, gentle kiss. "Hi, baby," he murmured. "What are you thinking about?"

Louis looked out to the sea again, the smile still on his lips. "Us," he whispered. "Us, and our future together. The family we will have. The love we will share."

He glanced at Carl, to see his husband smiling and looking happy.

"We will," Carl said, his voice very soft and loving. "We'll have a lifetime of love and happiness ahead of us. And we'll raise a family. I've always wanted to have a kid."

Louis nodded, feeling a glow of warm happiness around his heart. He should have known that Carl would agree with him, that he wasn't just dreaming pipe dreams.

"I want another child," he said softly, looking up at his husband again. "No, not as a replacement for Etienne. I love being a father. And I believe that despite what we do for a living, we have a lot of love and advantages to give any child. We would be good parents."

Carl nodded, obviously in agreement with Louis' words. "I couldn't agree more. We've got a lot to give a child. I think we should look into adopting. Soon."

Now it was Louis' turn to nod. "Very soon, my love," he murmured, turning his head back to gaze at the sea again. "The future is coming more quickly than we might think."

"The future is here," Carl said, kissing his cheek. "And we're riding the tide."

"Yes, we are," Louis agreed, placing his hands over Carl's where they lay on his stomach and squeezing the other man's hands gently. "And it's going to be a wonderful ride."

"It is," Carl agreed with him, smiling as he squinted out at the waves lapping at the sand of the beach. "We should go for a walk on the beach, baby. I've been wanting to do that all day, and it's getting toward evening, so it's cool enough to do it without getting parched."

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," Louis said as they disentangled themselves from each other and headed back into their hotel suite hand in hand.

Walking on the beach. Such a small thing.

But it was something that he was sure they would do several times in the future -- the two of them, and at some point, they would also walk and play in the waves with their child.

It was a future that Louis looked forward to with every fiber of his being. Raising a family with the man he loved, in a circle of love and happiness.

He had finally found what he had always been looking for.

The future was coming, and it would upon them sooner than they might think.

***