Wow! I am stunned with the positive feedback, but many of you don't understand the concept of a "oneshot"-meaning 1 chapter. That being said, your encouragement has led me to want to continue for a little while longer. To the guest who asked me if they have asked me to write for the show, I can only say….I wish! When I was younger (in my teens) I wanted to be a fiction writer, but the only things I could write with any passion were works of fanfiction, and there are copyright laws involved there. I have always had a passion for good story-telling. But I am currently a teacher and being a teacher in these times, means having second jobs to make ends meet. So, while I am willing to make this into longer than a one-shot, just know that it will be slow on updates because I'm already, grading, lesson planning, writing my other fanfic (which is turning into its own epic). *Standard disclaimer, I am not making any money off of WCTH and it's show and characters*

Well, What Did You Expect, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth Thornton was left standing in the middle of the path for the rowhouses. She watched Nathan's stiff and angry stride finish going the rest of the way up to his house. Allie opened the door before he could...and the look on her face was of pain and disappointment, and she even glared at her teacher, before Nathan had entered and closed the door to the people outside. Elizabeth took a shuddering breath in as she scrolled around the rest of the people who had opened doors in curiosity. Mrs. Weise was standing with Opal. Cat Montgomery was with Emily. Both looked like they were struggling with whom they were going to support. She turned shakily as she met Rosemary's and Lee's looks of concern. Rosemary was immediately right at her elbow and helped her back inside her house. Lee and Rosemary gave each other a look of apprehension, and Lee gave Rosie a look that clearly said "good luck" as he turned back into their home. Elizabeth sat in her chair for a moment while Rosemary busied herself in Elizabeth's kitchen making them both chamomile tea. She let Elizabeth process what had just happened. While she and Lee had heard a good chunk of the conversation due to the thin walls, Nathan hadn't ever raised his voice during the entire exchange. No one else knew anything about what they had discussed, only that Nathan had been angry enough to storm away, and had clearly established to be interacting within only professional boundaries.

"Do you think he is right?" Elizabeth only asked as Rosie handed over the tea cup.

Rosemary didn't bother denying not having heard the conversation. This was too important.

"In some ways, yes. In others, no," Rosemary answered calmly back.

Elizabeth gave her a hurt look at the admission that even her best friend had agreed with Nathan.

"I don't mean this to upset you, Elizabeth, but you've been leading both Nathan and Lucas on for well over a year, now. We all had hoped you would have picked by now," Rosie explained.

"I did pick, though. I chose Lucas," Elizabeth pointed out.

"Have you?" Rosie asked back gently as she eyed Elizabeth's wedding rings. "If you truly chose Lucas, you wouldn't be wearing those."

Elizabeth looked down at her hand and nodded in agreement.

"But I just need time," Elizabeth said.

"We all know that, and we can't put a time limit on these things, but Elizabeth, when you galloped off away from Nathan, you avoided talking to him about it. You should have. For closure-see how you wanted to move forward, especially since Nathan has Allie," Rosemary said.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I see that now," Elizabeth admitted softly.

"And I can absolutely understand why Nathan is trying to keep you at a professional distance with Allie," Rosie continued while looking Elizabeth in her eyes.

Elizabeth took in a breath of offense.

"How so?" she said in self-defense.

"You're an amazing teacher, Elizabeth. But there are times when you cross professional boundaries into personal ones…" Rosemary started to explain.

"If I don't know about their families as people, I can't help them!" Elizabeth protested.

"Letting Opal and Allie stay the night at your house?" Rosemary said quickly.

"Opal was so sad to leave…" Elizabeth said.

"And that wasn't something you needed to fix. With the Weises they were thankful, but with Allie, she could have easily stayed with another family. One of her friends," Rosemary pointed out.

Elizabeth thought about that.

"Nathan was the one who asked, though," Elizabeth said in defense.

"Yeah, because you had already proven to be there on a personal level. This was after Allie's first sleepover," Rosemary said with an indignant tone.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Elizabeth asked.

"Think about it, Elizabeth. Allie was struggling with what to serve for dessert, and you gave her the idea of cupcakes. Then you said you would bake them and help them decorate. She could have bought some from the cafe," Rosemary said sardonically. "You haven't really tried to set boundaries where Allie is concerned. What she can come to you about. When she can come to you about them. It has to be confusing for her to be allowed unlimited access to your advice and guidance on anything, and then suddenly you establish, but also not keep, your boundaries with her."

Elizabeth took in a breath.

"But it's not like she has anyone else she can go to for those things. Everyone else has a mother," Elizabeth said in defense.

"But you're not her mother, either. And in choosing to pursue your relationship with Lucas, you've established that you don't want to be. It's not fair to her to keep that door open. It will only hurt and confuse her more," Rosemary said gently.

Elizabeth sat and processed this comment. She looked down at her hands.

"That's also true," she said softly, still looking at her hands.

"Now, I do think that Nathan's parting comments, both in the parlor and in the street, were him lashing out because he is hurting, Allie is hurting, and he has a protective streak the size of Canada," Rosemary said, giving her a small smile.

Elizabeth could only nod in acknowledgement.

"What do I do, Rosemary?" Elizabeth asked with her own pain lacing her words.

"Well, he's been very patient with your need for space and time. The best thing you can do for them, is to be just as patient and respectful of their need for space and time," Rosemary said gently.

Elizabeth cried a few tears.

"You'll need to take some time to think about how much you are willing to fight for your friendship, or if you will be okay with letting him go," Rosemary said as she patted Elizabeth's hand gently.

"Thank you, Rosemary," Elizabeth said.

"Anytime. I'll see myself out," Rosemary stood and left Elizabeth to her thoughts.

That night in the Grant house, was a sense of mourning and loss. Allie had cried herself to sleep. Nathan had held her until she was. He hadn't cried until he was alone, and it was quite late. Nathan knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he had taken to sitting on their couch with his head in his hands in the dark. It was in the stillness of the night that he heard Allie whispering frantically again.

"Dear God, I don't know why you don't think that Mrs. Thornton is good for us. But I can only hope that you have a better plan for him in the future. A better woman. But I also know that Uncle Nathan is hurting so much. Mrs. Thornton is his first real love, and I know he will put a wall to protect us both in the future. Please God, can you ease his pain? He's the best, and he doesn't deserve to be hurting like this," Allie's voice trickled down the stairs.

Nathan's heart clenched in pain, but also love for his little girl. Nathan leaned back and listened to her finish her prayer and go back to sleep.

The next morning, Allie woke up with puffy eyes, and a bit of hunger. As she was washing her face, Allie saw through her window that Mr. Bouchard had Mrs. Thornton's and his own horse saddled, and they were talking on her front porch. Mrs. Thornton seemed to be a little unsure and had obviously not had a good night herself, but Mr. Bouchard talked her into going with him, and they rode away on the old mine road.

Allie sighed in disappointment before finishing her washing and going downstairs.

Nathan was working on a light breakfast and waiting for her to come down.

"Hey, Allie, you doing okay?" Nathan asked as he looked at her.

Allie gave a shrug.

"Are you okay, Uncle Nathan?" Allie asked back.

Nathan looked down at the table before meeting her eyes.

"No, not really. But this is part of being human," Nathan said.

Allie nodded.

"Allie, I want to talk with you about this afternoon," Nathan said as she sat down to eat her breakfast.

"What about it?" Allie asked as she grabbed toast.

"Are we attending your ceremony?" Nathan explained.

Allie paused as she thought about what that would entail and how hard it would be. She looked up at him in apprehension.

Nathan patted her hand.

"Allie, this is your choice. If you want to go and participate and celebrate the end of a wonderful school year, and Robert's graduation, then I will go with you," Nathan said.

"You would? Even after…?" Allie gestured her thumb over her shoulder which was the direction of Mrs. Thornton's house.

Nathan nodded.

"If you want to go. I'm always here. No matter what," Nathan said firmly.

Allie smiled thankfully at him.

"Do you think my friends will think less of me if I don't go?" Allie asked.

"If they truly care about you, they will understand, and if they don't, then perhaps you shouldn't be friends," Nathan said firmly.

Allie nodded.

"Will you think me a coward?" Allie asked softly.

"Not at all," Nathan patted her hand.

"Uncle Nathan, I would rather stay here," Allie said as she looked Nathan in his eyes.

"Then we are staying here," Nathan said as they continued to eat.

They spent their morning just being together. They read to each other and played some games, and then were interrupted about mid-morning by a firm knock on the door, followed by some gasps of surprise and someone shushing the others.

Nathan and Allie both stood up. Nathan opened the door so that Allie could see past him, but was technically in front of her. On their doorstep were Robert, Anna, Emily, Opal, and Cat Montegomery. They both showed their surprise in having them all here.

"We've been informed of what happened last night," Cat said.

"We just want you to know that we're okay with both of you not attending," Robert said kindly, sounding almost like a man.

"We brought you some flowers to brighten your table, and hopefully your day as well," Emily and Opal said as Anna handed them over.

Allie took them with a smile of thanks and sniffed them.

"Alright, we've intruded on their time long enough. Go finish getting ready," Cat shooed the children away from the porch just as Lucas Bouchard rode back towards town. They all stared in shock for a minute before heading to the Montgomery home.

"Nathan, I'm going to grab Allie's Certificate of Completion for the year. I know how important they are," Cat smiled kindly at them both before leaning in to whisper, "I also feel like you should know that while Elizabeth has known us longer, we're your friends too. You have friends here who aren't Elizabeth."

Nathan looked surprised to hear that and gave a quick nod of thanks before she turned and walked to her house.

"MILES MONTGOMERY!" Emily shouted in frustration.

Nathan watched as Cat turned into a mother sniffing out a problem.

As Elizabeth was setting up she hadn't noticed that the Grants hadn't shown their faces outside that day. She usually could sense where they were. But after last night, and the preparation for graduation, she hadn't seen them at all. Elizabeth had assumed that both would be at the ceremony. Allie and Robert had gotten close. Allie was friends with a lot of people who would want to celebrate with her. Nathan and Allie hadn't missed a ceremony, or a concert. She had assumed that this would not change after last night. So, it was as she was greeting everyone who was showing up that she began to worry. Thinking they were just running a little late, Elizabeth decided to get started. She gave her speech. She had Robert stand. The school choir sang their song, which melted her heart, but she also noticed the absence of Allie. After the ceremony was completed, she heard whispers from the row house parents all saying how proud they were of going through with the song, but she brushed it off as stage fright, not that they were all feeling angry at her. She continued with the leave takers, and said good-bye to the Coulters and Canfields. She was beaming quite happily as she watched her students and parents walking home and playing.

Bill was standing with her as the last of attendees were slowly gathering up. Just Cat and her family were left around.

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" Elizabeth asked with a wide smile.

Emily nodded politely.

Cat smiled, but grimaced right after.

"The ceremony was nice, as always, I would like to pick up Allie's certificate. Do you have it?" Cat asked.

Elizabeth paused and frowned.

"Oh. I can bring it to them later," Elizabeth said.

Bill and Cat both froze.

"I offered to bring it to them. It's no trouble, besides you're busy with your novel, and having a free afternoon to spend with Jack surely must be something you're craving," Cat said.

Elizabeth was surprised, but handed over the certificate with a strained smile.

Cat waved as she escorted her children who were still in her home and walked towards the rowhouse.

"Bill, what just happened?" Elizabeth asked as she looked up at him.

Bill was silent for longer than normal.

"Bill?" Elizabeth encouraged.

"I'm trying to find a nice way of phrasing some truths that will hurt you," Bill replied.

"Please, just say it," Elizabeth said.

"Alright, while no one can say for certain WHAT Nathan and you fought about last night, the consensus around town is that he is mostly in the right. Allie was the one who wrote the lyrics to the song. She was heavily involved in its creation. I heard the choir talking this morning about what to do, since Allie and Nathan wouldn't be present today, Robert suggested still doing the song to honor both you, the amazing teacher you are, and Allie, so that everyone could see how much growth she's made with her writing," Bill said with his matter-of-fact voice.

Elizabeth was shocked by his words.

"I had been hoping to talk to them today," Elizabeth said. "I think I should do so anyway."

Elizabeth got her determined and stubborn look on her face as she began to walk towards the rowhouses.

"Woah, Elizabeth, where are you going?" Bill asked in surprise and his displeasure at the action showing.

"To talk to Nathan and Allie," Elizabeth said as if that should be obvious.

"Don't you mean Constable Grant and Miss Parks?" Bill asked her back using the same tone she had.

"Bill, this won't get settled if we don't talk," Elizabeth said.

"I agree, but you've let your fears rule you from having some much needed honest conversations with Nathan and Allie, and that has caused this mess. You definitely need to talk, but you can no longer determine the time and place. They're hurting and need to lick and tend to their wounds in peace," Bill said with a look of recrimination.

"Bbb...bbut…" Elizabeth started to protest and turn back to the row house.

"Elizabeth, I love you like a daughter, but you're a pain in my butt. There are things you haven't learned yet: you are not always right, and you aren't always welcome. Nathan has asked you to give him time and space, and it is less than 24 hours later, and you can't even hold yourself to that request. It's no wonder that neither one of them have been able to hold you to the boundaries you said you wanted," Bill glared at her.

"Bill!" Elizabeth protested in hurt and indignation.

Bill just gave her a long stern look in return.

"Elizabeth, I guarantee you, if you don't give them the same respect they have given you in this stupid up and down with Bouchard, they will leave. If you still want their friendship you need to respect them enough to not be involved in every aspect of their lives, and that has to be okay with you."

Elizabeth was clearly struggling with the idea of leaving them alone and not knowing those details she had been privy to.

"I mean it, Elizabeth. If I find out that you reached out first, I will help them move," Bill said sternly.

Elizabeth looked up at him in hurt and betrayal.

"Well, what did you expect, Elizabeth? For everything to go back to normal?" Bill shook his head.

Elizabeth sighed heavily.

"It seems like everyone has been staying quiet about how wrong they think I've been, and now that Nathan has spoken out, everyone else is following his lead," she said with pain.

Bill looked at her softly.

"We don't say anything because we know that you've been through a lot, and you're still hurting and missing Jack. We figured that it would be a phase, and then you would move on."

Elizabeth just nodded as she was fighting back tears. Bill walked her home.