A/N: This story is told is written from a pro-LucaBeth perspective but is also pro-Nathan. It is set in a period beyond season 8 and the characters have moved forward and Elizabeth is with Lucas and Nathan on his own with his adopted daughter. If you are 'Team Nathan' I would ask that you refrain from negative comments about the show or its writers and look at this story for what it is - which is an attempt to honor the love many of us see in Lucas and Elizabeth and also to give Nathan a very happy ending as well.

A WARNING BEFORE YOU READ. If you are Team Lucas, the first ten chapters WILL BE extremely hard as tragedy strikes early on. Many have expressed shedding tears and several have indicated they stopped reading the story around chapters 4-6 because it was too painful. In every case where those readers chose to pick the story up again, they have said they were glad they did and really liked where it went. Some are even rereading it. I PROMISE you, that if you will keep reading the situation gets better and soon, if you have the same experience my readers have conveyed to me that they had, you will be smiling and happy again.

For team Nathan, this story is for you too. Nathan is a great character who has a lot of complexity that I enjoy. I want him to have happiness and romantic love too. I took special care in developing the character who would fulfill this desire. I really hope you enjoy it and look forward to your feedback. I want this story to be a story of reconciliation between the characters as well as #hearties everywhere.

Finally, this story is intended to be one of up to six stories which will follow our heroes and their families through the decades. The next story will pick up at the end of the 1920s and the great depression. Following that, I want to do one where Jack Jr. and Nathan's son go to war. The continuation of the series will take a while to complete as I have other writing projects but it will come. I love the story and characters that Brian Bird, Janette Okes, Alfonso Moreno, John Tinker and all of the writers, cast and crew have created and hope that this little contribution helps you to love it more as well.

Most characters belong to the creators of When Calls the Heart. The story itself and a few original characters are mine. Now, on to our story.


Hope Valley, Alberta, Canada - 1968
A Temporary Goodbye.

Elizabeth Bouchard and her husband Lucas sat in mournful silence at the graveside of Sergeant Nathan Grant as Hope Valley's minister, Dr. Cooper Canfield, preached a farewell sermon. For forty-seven years Nathan had been their dearest friend, but of course it had not always been so. You see, Lucas and Nathan had once competed for Elizabeth's love – both exhibiting virtues that any woman would have considered admirable. But in the end, it was Lucas who won her heart, her hand and her lifetime of joys and sorrows - and it was Nathan who willingly stepped aside.

For a short time, things were awkward between the couple and the town's dashing constable – but tensions eased as life progressed. Lucas and Elizabeth went on to marry and had three children together and Nathan moved on - finding the love of his life in a woman named Emily Reardon who came to Hope Valley in the early fall of 1920. Emily and Nathan would soon marry and she would give him two children, a son who was his namesake, and a daughter named Lily.

But the romance and domestic histories of the Grants and Bouchards is not what this story is all about. Rather, it's a tale of how beauty can spring forth from ashes and how hearts, once broken, can heal stronger than ever before.

It all began on a fateful day in September 1919 – a day that began with hope and happiness but ended with brave acts, tearful pleas and tragedy that would change their lives forever.